f Calvary
by Vance Havner
to fishing. Christians who are living on the wrong side of Pentecost usually live in fear and not a few revert to their old ways. Peter had been called to bigger business than fishing: “ Fol low me and I will make you fishers of men.” Too many of us are doing trivial things when we could do tre mendous things for God. Dr. Graham Scroggie said: “ The trouble and tragedy is that the church has been content to live between Easter and Pentecost, on the right side of justi fication but on the wrong side of sanctification; on the right side of pardon but on the wrong side of power.” The disciples of John mentioned in Acts 19 who had not so much as heard whether there was any Holy Ghost are not the only ones of that variety. If the Holy Spirit ceased His operations today some Christians and churches would never know the dif ference. That is why some carry on with strange fire instead of super natural fire, painted fire instead of Pentecostal fire. That is why we re sort to stunts and shows and enter tainment and high pressure promo tion. Pentecost was its own publicity. A Christian is a believer trusting Christ as Saviour, resting in the fin ished work of Calvary. He is a dis ciple following a risen Lord. He is a witness filled with the Spirit. He is on the right side of Calvary, of Easter and of Pentecost. On the day of Pentecost there were 120 Chris tians who had an experience of all three. There was a preacher who preached all three: “ Him . . . ye have crucified” . . . there was Calvary; “Whom God hath raised up” . . . there was the resurrection; “ He hath shed forth this” . . . there was Pente cost (Acts 2:23, 24, 33). No wonder the congregation cried, “What shall we do?” Is not this the pattern for true re vival? Let a handful of men and women living on the right side of Calvary, .Easter and Pentecost, pro claim all three and men will first ask “What meaneth this?” and pres ently they will inquire, “What shall we do?” END.
many are on the wrong side of Cal vary and have not been saved from the penalty of sin. Too many others are on the wrong side of Easter and have not been delivered from the power of sin. Some have gone to church for years but have never dreamed that they died and rose with Christ and that, just as He never went back to the grave, so they should not return to sin and the world but be living witnesses to the power of His resurrection. With regard to our departed loved ones we often live on the wrong side of Easter, sorrowing as those who have no hope. To be with Christ is far better. They are not “ lost” if we know where they are. We do not look for them in a grave for we seek not the living among the dead. “Death can hide but not divide; Thou art but on Christ’s other side. Thou art with Christ and Christ with me; United still in Christ are we!” Let us live on the right side of Eas ter! We need not visit His tomb with the spices of formal respect. We need to be out on the highways, not weep ing but witnessing, for He is not dead but risen. Living Between Easter and Pentecost Finally, consider the tragedy of living on the wrong side of Pentecost. The disciples were poor witnesses be tween Easter and Pentecost. They were hidden behind closed doors for fear and Peter led them in a return Y o u r Praye r Requests Each morning at eight the editor ial staff of King's Business magazine gathers for prayer. Over the years God has answered the heartcry of thousands. Should you have a re quest we would count it a privilege to take it to the throne of grace. Your request will be held in the strictest confidence. Address: The Editors, King's Business, 558 So. Hope St., Los Angeles 17, Calif.
control from Galilee. No man is a Christian until he accepts the finished work of the Cross and rests his soul upon it. We are not saved by what happened in Galilee but by what took place on Golgotha. We are on this side of Calvary. There is also such a thing as living on the wrong side of Easter. I know that Easter is not a Bible word but we use it for convenience. Thomas was on the right side of the resur rection chronologically but on the wrong side experientially when he demanded visible signs before he would believe. He knew that Jesus was dead. He did not believe that He was alive again. The world today knows that Christ died . . . that is a fact of history. But the world does not believe that He rose again. The Emmaus disciples had heard a report of the resurrection but they had not seen the Lord. He was a report, not a reality, and that is the trouble with a lot of us today. What is factual has not become actual. One cannot live on the memory of a dead Christ. Christianity does not honor a corpse; it hails a conqueror. We do not seek the living among the dead. The angel at the tomb said to the women, “ Tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you.” He is not behind us in a grave, He is ahead of us. A Once-a-Week Religion There are Christians who believe doctrinally that our Lord arose, but in experience they live on the wrong side of Easter as though He were still in the grave. They pay Him formal tribute on Sunday but on Monday they live as though He were a corpse in Galilee. They honor Him on Easter and live the rest of the year as though He were a fairy tale. But we share the resurrection with Him. That is the significance of bap tism. “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4). We are dead to sin but alive unto God. How many church- members ever understand that? Too
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