September, 1934
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
304
Second, in that inevitable separation or judgment, Christ will be the infallible instrument o f the discrimination. The Scriptures repeatedly assert that Christ Himself will be the Judge, and the infallible One will make no mistake. “ Shall not the Judge o f all the earth do right?” (Gen. 18:25). M an ’ s A ttitude and the S eparation In the next place, the separation will be made according to the attitude toward Christ and its consequent conduct. He Himself stands on the great dividing line. He was the great Divider in the days o f His flesh. They who stood around the tribunal of Pilate had an option o f two choices, Barabbas or Jesus. They took their choice and cried out in the very anger o f their hearts, “ Release unto us Barab bas,” and said o f the Lord o f glory, “ Away with this man, . . . Crucify him.” He was the great Divider in the day o f His death, and the division was determined by the attitudes toward Him o f those divided. He died between two thieves. One was penitent, and the other impenitent. The crucified Christ was then the line o f demarcation, and He has been ever since, and will be at the day o f His com ing. He is the issue. Those who are honestly good love Him with all their hearts; those who are evil hate Him with all their being, hence their rejection o f Him. In our attitude toward Christ, the essential man is revealed.- Thus you see the separations then and now and in the end are one o f principle, namely, the government o f Christ in thè individual life. What is your attitude toward Him ? Have you accepted Him as your Saviour? If not, then He is your Judge, and the conclusion o f His judgment will be your separation from life eternal (which means the life o f God in the soul o f man)— a separation from the presence o f God, and the fellowship o f the saints ; between you and them will be an impassable gulf. “W ithout E xcuse ” Third, that attitude and character will be considered in the judgment day independently o f circumstances. Any one can accept or reject Christ as personal Saviour. The pre rogative of choice is yours. Your father or mother may not be Christian, but you can be. Your environment may not be conducive to Christian character, but a man can become a Christian in the worst o f slums. Notice that the Scripture says that two shall be in bed sleeping, living under the same circumstances and in the same environment, but in the day o f His coming, the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two shall be in a field toiling, or grinding at a mill, living together in the same environment and under the same circumstances; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men lived in the company o f Jesus; one became a Judas, and the other a John, because o f choices that they made. Our destiny is in our hands. Choice determines char acter, and character determines destiny. It is not a matter o f heredity or environment; it is a matter o f the human will, or what you will to do with Jesus Christ. It is a ques tion o f life and death, o f attitude and character ; o f condi tion and conduct, and eternal destiny. “ These shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” That is the divine decree, and none can escape it. I f He should come now, many would be taken— some would be left. There would be no mistake; “ the Lord knoweth them that ,are his.” Would He recognize you as His own ? Is the mark o f His grace upon you ? Are your sins buried by a personal faith beneath the blood ? What ever your circumstances, choose Christ, whom to know is life eternal.
2. A New Rule : “ As many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them” .(Gal. 6 :16 ). The new title was the rule o f the cross. Paul would measure everything by the cross. The cross would be his yardstick o f faith to test every religious scheme. It would be his yardstick o f morality to test every worldly indul gence. It would be his yardstick o f honesty to test every human practice. And to all who followed this new rule, would come “ peace.” When we measure our lives by the cross, we, too, will have “ peace.” 3. A New Mark: “ I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus” (Gal. 6 :17 ). The Greek word used for marks is stigma [pi., stig mata ], and the common English meaning is that of a mark o f infamy or disgrace. The marks Paul bore were not mere religious engravings or signs, nor were they the re productions o f the physical marks of crucifixion. Certain persons have claimed to have been supernaturally marked with the crucifixion wounds of Christ in imitation of His death. Nowhere do we read in the Scriptures that we are to be imitators o f Christ’s death, but rather o f Christ’s life, as here in Galatians:, “ Christ liveth in me.” This life is not an imitation o f Christ in a mechanical religious sense, but is instead the effect o f Christ in us. The stigma upon Paul was an allusion to the brands with which the Orientals marked their slaves. It was also a reference to the common custom o f being marked with the particular pagan god which one worshiped. Paul’s stigma was seen in the welts o f the Roman rods laid on his body, and the scars o f stones cast upon him. These marks he bore for his faithful tes timony to Jesus Christ. But they were more. They were an evidence o f moral and spiritual marks upon Paul’s char acter. They indicated divine ownership, and therefore sub mission to every divine requirement. Paul’s life was a cross-marked life. The Lord Jesus was cross-marked. The cross left its marks upon His head, upon His heart, upon His hands, and upon His feet. And when the cross has truly marked our characters, it will leave its marks upon our head with a crucified intelligence, upon our heart with a crucified affec tion, upon our hands with a crucified service, and upon our feet with a crucified walk. against daughter, and daughter against mother, and friend against friend; and that condition obtains to this day. Again and again we read in the gospel, statements like this: “ So there was a division among the people because o f him.” I f this separation occurred in the day of His humili ation, there is no reason to believe it will not occur in the day o f His glory. He says it will, and it will take place on a world-wide scale. The righteous will go into life everlasting, and the wicked— those who have rejected Him as their personal Saviour— into eternal punishment. There are two things to say concerning this parting. First, such a separation is a moral necessity; the justice of man and the holiness o f God demand it. There is no logic that cart convince me that in a universe created by a just and holy God, Judas and John, and Nero and Paul, and sinner and saint, will live together in eternal fellowship. The laws o f the universe demand that there be a separa tion in the final state o f things. And God says there will b e ; otherwise heaven would be hell, the universe demor alized, moral distinctions nullified, and the character of God destroyed. THE LORD’S COMING [Continued from page 301]
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker