ofttimes a sad neglect of the capstone of the message, which is the resurrec tion story. Many messages have been delivered setting forth the anguish, the sorrow and all the cruel details of the death of Christ, and these things are truly words of life to sinful hearts, but without the glad note of the resurrection the gospel message is incomplete and, to a de gree, faulty. There are other reli gious leaders who have suffered and died, there are other religious leaders who have paid the price for their be lief. Practically all the religions of the world are founded in some degree or another upon the supreme sacrifice of the one who was the head. Chris tianity is not unique in the fact that its great leader died. The uniqueness of Christianity lies in the fact of Christ’s deity and of the truth that death could not hold Him. He rose from the dead because of who He is. Then there is the added truth that the resurrection is the stamp of God’s approval upon the death of His Son. Else how would the sons of men know that this death was divine, a death such as no other that has taken place since the world began? How would it be known that* the death of Christ was in truth the divine remedy for the woes of mankind? It is through the resurrection that notice is given once and for all that God has accepted the sacrifice of His dear Son, and that the way of grace and mercy has been made open for sin ners to become saints. Added to all of this, there is the related truth that the resurrection is the gladdest note in the Bible. It is the note containing the most hope, for inherent in the fact that our Lord came forth from the tomb is the wonderful promise of our own resur rection. It is because He lives that we, too, shall live. If Christ had not risen again there would be no pos sibility that any child of God should ever walk the heavenly streets, but with the resurrection of Christ comes the added guarantee that salvation includes not only forgiveness of sins, but new life eternally. It is rather a sad commentary on our spiritual condition and an ac knowledgement of Satan’s influence that in many Christian circles the all transcendent truth of the resurrec tion is sounded but once a year and that on Easter Sunday, whereas, this verity should be the natural culmina tion to every gospel sermon. Its preach ing accounted for the growth of the church in the first century. T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
communist domination. Whole chap ters of the world's history are ob literated and new ones substituted. For these hordes, what was formerly good is now bad; what was formerly black is now white; what was for merly cherished is now scorned; what once meant life can now mean death. The first fifty years of the twen tieth century—the most violent, the most dramatic, the most confusing the world has ever known—have fad ed into history. All this has been taken from the confusion of a news analyst. Perhaps he does not know that this is proof paramount, this is a demonstration of the fact that man kind is wholly unable to govern him self. Thank God, there will come a time when upon the throne of the world will sit none other than God’s dear Son in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The Resurrection Is the Gospel Too T HERE is but one place in the Scripture where the gospel is defined. Contrary to the thinking of many people, the gospel is not synony mous with truth contained in the Scripture nor yet the Scripture itself. The gospel, as its name implies, is the good news for sinners. It is the open door by which lost, unworthy, condemned humanity may be forgiven and enter once more into fellowship with a holy God. First Corinthians 15. verses 1 to 4 categorically state the gospel. It is simply that Christ died, was buried and rose again according to the Scriptures. If a so-called gospel sermon does not include these three cardinal points, then it is by no means a gospel sermon. Wonderful as the truth may be re garding the death of Christ, and glorious as it is to preach, there is
The Editor’s Dilemma E DITORIALS appearing in the public press offer a barometer of the world’s thinking. Here is one from the pen of William L. Ryan of the Associated Press, entitled “ The World in Turmoil.” “ The year 1950” argues analyst Ryan, “ ought to go down in history as the year of unreality. It was a year in which ordinary words began to lose their meanings.” For instance, the word United in the United Nations meant that only for a part of the United Nations, for the United States was still at war with Japan and Germany technically, but in reality we were at peace with them; while on the other hand, the United States was at peace with the Soviet Union and China, but in real ity we were at war with these coun tries. The word democracy had two violently opposed meanings. For the eastern communists it was the peo ples’ democracy, meaning the iron rule of a police state which was supposed to be acting in the best interests of all the people, while in the United States the term democracy meant the rule of the people, by the people, and for the people. In 1950 enemies were friends and friends were enemies. The Soviet Union overran the Eastern Euro pean countries when those nations were her enemies. Now the govern ments of those countries clasp the Soviet Union to their bosoms as their only true defenders. Austria who was never actually at war as a nation can not achieve peace. The treaty she seeks is not a treaty of peace, but a “ treaty of independence.” She has neither peace nor independence, nor will she have so long as the Soviet Union persists. History has lost its meaning for hundreds of millions of persons under
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