ion, but no man has a right to be wrong in his facts.” Where Mr. Baruch acquired this principle we do not know, but it is one which God has long used in dealing with the sins of man. The matter of sal vation through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ is, and always has been, on a free will basis. Men may accept His peerless sacrifice, and come to know the unspeakable joy that comes from the realization of the removal of the burden of sin, or they may reject God’s offer of mercy. One of the primary tenets of the New Testament is that, while God offers salvation full and free to every member of the human race, no one is compelled to receive this offer from His hand. Every man has a right to his own opinion. He may deem it wise to become a Christian, or he may consider the gift of God worthless to him. However, on the other hand, God is anxious that the world shall know the facts of life. In order that this may be, He has literally packed the earth with incontrovertible evidence regarding His person and His will. Fact number one is the existence of God, and evidence for it fills our vision from the tiniest blade of grass to the mightiest galaxy in the sky. The second great fact is that all must recognize the presence of sin in the world, and its results upon mankind. This evidence too is on every hand, and one need go no farther than his own heart to find it. God holds man responsible to open his eyes and to view the inex orable consequences of trangression against Him. The third great fact is that all redemption is through Christ. In order to emphasize the name of His Son, God has stamped it upon almost every phase of life. Great holidays constantly bring Him to mind; dates which we inscribe upon publications, letters and busi ness documents call attention to Him. The church, the great mission ary enterprises, rescue missions, Bi ble distribution, radio programs, and a score of other sources, point to Christ. But the greatest witness is that of men and women whose lives have been transformed. These are the facts which God ex pects man to carefully consider. After they have been fully under stood, one has a right to his own opinion. One may accept the Re deemer, or willfully turn away from Him. T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
unsaved present. This offers a splen did opportunity to reach with the necessary message the two great classes of men. First, the gospel plan of salvation, the good news of the death and resurrection of Christ for sinners, must be presented to the lost. Then, the church of God must be fed with the heavenly manna of His truth. But, as every minister of Christ stands before such a divided audience, he must make a clear dis tinction between the messages to the two classes. The one who is outside of Christ should be made to understand that the principles and practices of the Christian life do not apply to him until first he has taken the all-im portant primary step of receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour. Far too often confusion is created as to the matter of entering the Christian life. It is nothing short of tragic to give any sinner the impression that if he attends church, reads his Bible, spends time in prayer, is baptized, partakes of the' Lord’s Supper, or joins in other Christian practices, that God will receive him on this basis. What he needs to know is that he must take the sinner’s place, realizing himself wholly bankrupt so far as merit is concerned. Then, reaching out with the arms of faith, he must receive the absolutely un merited gift of salvation from the hand of God. This does not mean that every ser mon needs to be a gospel sermon or even that the message to saints must necessarily have an evangelistic ap pendage. A few well-chosen sen tences from the minister, emphasiz ing the fact that Christian truth is for Christians only, will meet the need. The Spirit of God Himself will, by His own matchless wisdom, bring a sense of conviction through the exclusiveness of the message. Thus will be born in the heart of the sin ner a longing to know what God re quires of him in order that he may become a saint.
Directed Service TN the last chapter of the Gospel of John a beautiful and tender scene is described. It was one of the days following the resurrection of Christ, and the disciples were very disheart ened. Things were different since Christ had risen, and apparently He was not going to walk and talk with them on the same plane as He had before His death. Peter, taking the lead, said in effect: “As for me, I guess I’ll go back to the fisherman’s trade.” Other disciples followed his example, and, having secured a boat, they fished throughout the night. But to those skillful fishermen it was a night of complete defeat. Not one fish was caught! But in the grey dawn a regal Figure stood upon the shore, with a question upon His lips concerning the fishermen’s success. Their gloomy reply was that there were no results at all. While all of the fishing paraphernalia had been employed and all of the skill of the fishermen had been brought into play, the entire operation was wasted, so far as results were con cerned. But the story has a happy ending, for the Lord Jesus Himself told them where and how to fish, and there was a great haul. This incident was used by Jesus as an illustration of His plan for His chil dren to engage in spiritual fishing under His direction. As with all Bible narratives, this one has a real meaning for the fol lowers of Christ today. There can be no lasting service done for God ex cept under the direction of His Son. All other service, even though ap parently performed as Christian work, is wasted effort. One of the first desires of the Christian should be to secure the sure guidance of his Master. To do this, we must ever earnestly oppose the spirit of the age which urges organization, advertis ing and promotion. God wants it clearly understood that His work is not to be run by modern business methods, but can only be accom- pished by His own spiritual power, released in answer to believing prayer.
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i t Divide Your Audience
No Right to Be Wrong lyTR. Bernard Baruch, our very wise elder statesman, and adviser to several presidents, is responsible for an exceedingly pertinent observation: “Every man has right to his opin
T N nearly all audiences gathered to hear the preaching of the Gospel, there is a mixed group of saved and Page Four
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