100
February 1927
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
said Dan Crawford, “are sinning against a flood of light.”_ Charles Scott of China said :$?I have never met a heathen living up to his light, and furthermore they know they are not.” Suppose one did 1 Could his pagan morality be made to satisfy the claims of a holy God? We cannot say so (Acts 4: 12; John 3:18, 36; 14:6). We can believe, however, that the sending forth of every missionary is the answer of the groping prayer of some honest heathen heart. Missionaries have often told of discover ing such upon their entrance to fields to which God had sent them. Many ask—“If the heathen have a light, why not leave them alone ?” Simply because they have no hope of salvation as they are, and because they may rise up in the judgment against us who have found through the Gospel of God’s love the one way to heart peace. We ourselves would be heathen but for the Gospel having been brought to us. Furthermore, our light, the word of Christ, tells us to go to them. If they are punished for not living up to their light, what will be our condemnation if .we do not live up to our increased light? We cannot escape the commission of Christ. “All power” is behind it (Matt. 28:18); “all nations” are before us (v. 19) ; “all things” which Christ taught His disciples make up the message which we, are to bear (v. 19) ; “all the days” (al ways) (v. 20), He has promised to stand by those who obey His call. These are the four “alls” of missions. Our lesson committee not only placed before us a passage giving the church’s permanent marching orders, but one from Acts 16:6-15, showing how those who obey this call will have the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Paul, Silas and Timothy were no more clearly led in their missionary travels than are many devout modern missionar ies. “They were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach in Asia” (Acts 16:6). God sometimes , guides by hindrances. If He does not desire you to go to a for eign field, He will put plenty of bars in your way. Those who jump the bars and go are courting failure; those who stay at home when the bars are down will find nothing but misery at home. God orders our steps (Psa. 37:23), also our stops. He may guide as clearly by the closed door as the open one. Why should the Spirit forbid a man to preach the Gospel anywhere? God knows the opportune time better than we do (Acts 19:1, 8 , 10, 26, 27). It is not' enough to be in a good place doing a worthy work. We must be in the place to which God has called us and at God’s time. A vision comes, to Paul—a man of Macedonia calls him to come over and help (v. 9). It is recognized as God’s call (v. 10 ), and the vision is obeyed. The man of Macedonia turned out to be a woman—riot a native of Macedonia at all but of Thyatira in Asia. The ship in which they sailed for Phil ippi had in it the seeds of all that has de veloped in Europe. A woman, Lydia, (v. 14) was the first convert in Europe, the continent in which Christianity was des tined to win its greatest victories. It was an epoch-making meeting on that quiet river bank (v. 13). The Gospel stole upon Europe like the dawn. It be gan in a women’s prayer meeting.
Let us not despise the day of small be ginnings. Let us put our best into the little opportunities at hand. Paul put his best into a talk at a group prayer meeting on a river bank. Jesus put His best into a talk with a woman at a well. Who can tell what may spring out of our obedience to a vision from God? Though we may not ourselves go to the foreign field, we may be the means of leading to Christ some other person who will herald the Gospel to a whole con tinent. ' —*> - P ith and P oint Of every dollar given for Christian work, we spend 98 cents for home work, two for foreign. We treat Christ the way we treat the heathen. We are saved because of past mission ary efforts. What about the coming gen eration?: ; ; We will .never be able to carry out Christ’s world-wide commission with our spare cash. If God wants you on the mission field, neither your money nor yorir prayers will prove an acceptable substitute. If there were more abiding in Christ, there would be fewer abiding in America, -—o— S uggestive Q uestions What is Christ’s first word to sinners? (Matt. 11:28)? To Christians? (Matt. 28:19). After converts have been baptized, what is the Christian worker to do? (Matt. 28:20). Row much, of the teachings which Christ gave His Jewish disciples is to be given converts in this age? (Matt. 28:20). Are Christ’s teachings in the Sermon on the Mount for the Jew only? (Matt. 7: 24, 26). For how long a time are we commanded to keep propagating Christ’s teachings? (Matt. -28:20). What is said of those who cast off the commands of Christ? (1 John 2:3, 4; 1 Tim. 6:3, 4). Do we have a right to claim the prom ise of Matt, 28:20 if we are not going forth to represent Christ in the world? Need we ever have any fear of what God may call us to do? (Jer. 1:7, 8 ). —o—. I G olden T ext I llustration “G o ye therefore and teach all nations” (Matthew 28:19) The words of the Master in the insti tution of the Lord’s Supper were—“Drink ye all of it.” One Sunday in a large church the communion bread had been passed. The minister asked, “Are there any who have been missed in the passing of the bread?” A Christian woman told the pastor afterward that his question had brought before her mind a strange vision. She seemed to see men and women from heathen lands holding aloft their hands and cryirig out, “Yes, we have been omit ted. No one has brought the Bread of Life to us.” ", This Bread has been entrusted to us as God’s stewards. How can we withhold it from the perishing souls of India, China, Africa and other lands, knowing that we ourselves would have been des tined to perdition but for some one hav ing brought it to us ?
Selected from “Thè Morning Star” (June 30, 1921), written by Mr. Philip Mauro. T he G reat C ommission T H E Lord’s charge to His disciples for "L their age-long and world-wide work, which charge is commonly and appropri ately called “the Great Commission” (Matt. 28:19, 20), is in three parts. These are ( 1 ) teaching (or more properly mak ing disciples of) all nations; ( 2 ) baptis ing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; (3) teaching t h e m to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. I. M aking D isciples , Thè first clause, rendered in the O. V. “teach,” means “to make or caUse one to be a disciple” (see Strong’s or Young’s Concordance), and is so rendered in the R. V. in Bagster’s Interlinear, and other versions. The Lord used this same verb in Matt. 13:52, where He said (literally), “Therefore every scribe who is discipled unto the kingdom of heaven.” Again it is used of Joseph of Arimathea, of whom it is said (literally), “Who also himself was discipled to Jesus” (Matt. 27:57). Thus, the first business of the apostles and servants of Christ was, and is, to make disciples, that is to say, to bring men to Christ and attach them to Him as followers and learners. It is significant that thè next time we meet the words “make disciples” is in connection with the ministry of Paul ; for we read in Acts 14:21, “And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many {made many disciples) they re turned to Lystra.” Thus we find Paul carrying out the Great Commission of Matthew 28 in a Gentile city. We further see by this Scripture, as indeed from many others also, that the appointed means for making disciples was the preaching of the gospel. The Lord’s words as recorded by Mark (16:15) were : “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel,” and as recorded by Matthew, “Go ye, and make disciples of all nations.” Preaching the gospel is the means to be employed, and making disciples is the re sult. Both are. foUrid in Acts 14:21. This exhausts, so far as wè are aware, the usages of this particular word in its verb form. But the substantive from which it is derived—“disciple”-—occurs over two hundred times. The book o f , Acts shows how diligent the apostles and evangelists were in making “disciples,” from among both Jews and Gentiles. In fact, for a long time those converted under the preaching of the gospel were called by no other name than that of “dis ciples.” And by whatever name they were called “disciples” is what they actually were (see Acts 11:26). This is very important, because it shows that the in tended and proper effect of the gospel is to bring men to Christ in the permanent relationship of followers and learners. For a disciple is a learner, but, more than that, he is one who keeps company with his teacher. It is a very precious and intimate relationship. We believe we have here a lesson of the first importance, but one which has
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