that way! The Lord Jesus Christ said, “Who soever therefore shall confess me be fore men, him will I confess also be fore my Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 10:32). And Paul was right behind his Saviour when he tells us, “ For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto sal vation” (Rom. 10:10). There you have it; a tasting heart equals a telling mouth. By personal experience I can hon estly say that there is nothing which so strengthens and encourages and builds up the Christian life as this matter of confessing Christ, of wit nessing for Him, of telling others what He has done for you, what He means to you. What a real blessing you get from it. I remember an old preacher saying, “ If we make a good deal of Christ,- He will make a great deal of us.” It’s tragic . . . and terrible . .-. that so many have bogged down right at this practical point. Here is one place where the old saying, “ Silence is golden,” is a devil’s lie. Let’s not be like that old Sphinx lying there in the dust of Egypt of whom it is oft en said, “What secrets she would re veal if she could only speak.” Re member, the closed mouth leads to the open pit of failure. Concentration . . . Be Studying “ Search the Scriptures” (John 5:- 39). The old devil, the everlasting enemy of our souls, never sleeps. For a long time he tried every trick of his trade to keep you from becoming a Christian, from ever beginning this great and glorious new life. But now that you have been “ delivered . . . from the power of darkness and . . . translated . . . into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Col. 1:13), do you think he gives up, calls quits, leaves you alone? Not on your life— and how well you know it, if you are a genuine Christian. Now remember this. Satan will try one of two things to trip you along the way, and land you in the pit of failure. Note them carefully as we come to our third step, concentration. Either he will try to hold you back bv waving the so-called pleasures of this world before you . . . or he will trv to push you into the fog of fan aticism. That old deceiver (Rev. 12:9) has had plenty of practice along this line. What does this mean to us? Only one thing . . . we need to keep in the middle of the road with Christ, a sure and safe and proven guide. Everything leads right up to this . . . concentration. And what are we go- continued on page 34 13
in operation impossible . . . trying to live this new Christian life in the old Christless heart, which God says is “ dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1). Only the Lord Jesus Christ gives the “power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12). Do you see? are you saved . . . are you sure? Are you on the right track? Remem ber, it’s regeneration — not religion; it’s Calvary—not church or creed; it’s the precious blood of the Son of God —not the books of the sons of men. You are on the right track, you say. Good. That makes success sure, for everything will be worked out according to “ Christ in you” (Col. 1:27), not you in yourself. Perhaps some of you are on the right track, but have slipped off to the side. You’ve grown cold, gone back, lost your first love (Revelation 2:4), made a mess out of things. Now is the time to about-face, confess your sins, and buckle down to business. The time is short, the hour is late, and real Christians have never been so desperately needed as right now. Remember, it’s only in the saints that sinners will see the Saviour, so let’s all get on the ball, and start right. Confession . . . Be Speaking “ Confess with thy mouth” (Rom. 10:9). Have you ever had a thrilling experience—meeting someone special or being in on something big? Sure, we’ve all had them, and how real they were! And what did we do about it? Did we keep it to ourselves, lock it up deep inside, where no one would ever know about it? Not if it were the real thing. Why, we just went out and told everybody about it, we shouted from the housetops, we just couldn’t help it. We couldn’t keep it to ourselves, for it just doesn’t keep that way. It’s the same in the Christian life. It certainly was a happy day when Jesus washed all our sins away, was n’t it? What a marvelous moment when that heavy load of sin just rolled away at the foot of the Cross; not bit-by-bit and year-by-year, but all at once. Why, it seems almost too good to he true. If you are a real Christian, you cannot keep it to yourself. It’s no secret that what God has done for you, He can do for others . . . and this brings ps to our second step in this business of making a success in the Christian life . . . confession. The first was commencement , you remem ber, the need of beginning the right way, and now this second step, con fession, follows right behind in logi cal order. In fact, when the first is appropriated, this second will be auto matic . . . it just can’t help being
the world . . . that of living the Christian life? Should it not be just as important . . . and even more so . . . to plan, to work, to be concerned about being a success in this? How important in the sight of God, for the benefit of the souls ever about us, as well as for our own spiritual good, to really be, in every sense of the word, a successful Christian. This should be our main goal, our highest aim; and if it isn’t, there is something radically wrong with our Christian life. In his inaugural address upon be coming President of the United States, General Eisenhower gave us “Nine Points,” or steps, for the success of his work. But do you know, in a very real sense, being a true, and faithful, and an out-and-out, success fu l Christian is an even more im portant job than being President! That’s right! For in the Christian life, we are dealing with the souls of men, with things that have to do with eternity, with heaven or hell, things that carry on long after, and far be yond the grave. And because of the importance of this, I should like to give you seven steps, or practical points to help you along the way. Since they are based upon the Word of God, we can take them up in all certainty, and be sure of that spirit ual success which He has waiting for each of us. Commencement . . . Be Started “ Ye must be born again” (John 3:7). Remember, “ first things first!” You can’t begin the successful Chris tian life, unless and until you be come a Christian. That ought to be evident. Like every other job, there has to be a definite beginning. There was a day' when you began school. There was a day when you began that position. You just didn’t grow into the thing, or bank upon some body else being there. There had to be a definite day, a basic beginning. It’s just the same with this important issue in the Christian life. You must have a definite day in which you be came a Christian, in that clear and sharp way which the Word of God uses in calling anyone Christian. There must be the basic beginning when you personally passed “ from death unto life” (John 5:24), actually being “bom again” (John 3:3), real ly becoming a new creature in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:17). Now, don’t hurry by; this is very important! I want to tell you that if you, whoever and whatever you may be, have not really and truly begun at this bed-rock beginning, there will be danger, yes—real dan ger in reading any further. You will only be deceiving yourself, working
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