iULY, 1946
Sunday night in the fall of 1902, I stayed at home reading my Bible and this good book of Dr. Patton’s, espe cially a chapter with the heading, “The Holy Ghost Saith Today.” As I read, I saw the whole plan of sal vation—that Christ offered me His death on the cross as a full and suf ficient atonement for all my sins. The question that confronted me was: Would I accept this offer? I was young and loved the world, and I felt that if I accepted His pardon and salvation, I would have to give up the world and its pleasures. There was a s t r u g g l e , but finally God brought to bear upon my conscience the words, “My spirit shall not al ways strive with man” (Gen. 6:3a). I was afraid to refuse, so I knelt down in my study, and accepted His gracious offer, ahd rose up, saying— “ ’Tis done, the great transaction’s done, I am my Lord’s, and He is mine.” I wa§ now born again, and I began immediately to testify. First of all, I told my mother, who was surprised and delighted. I began family worship at home. Then I began to consider my life’s work, and since I had tasted the sweetness of God’s grace, the law no longer appealed to me. I now de termined to go in for grace instead of law! “E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply, Redeeming love has bean my theme And shall be till I die.”
PERSONAL TESTIMONIES BY MEMBERS OF THE SIOLA ADM IN ISTRAT ION
Samuel H. Sutherland , Dean:
I was born in a Christian home. From earliest childhood, I knew .of the Lord, but I cannot recall just when I was born again. However, the experiences leading to my entering the ministry are very definite. Prior to the entrance of the United States into the World War I, even though I knew the Lord wanted me in full-time Christian work, I tried to compromise by offering to go into Y.M.C.A. work. That did not bring me any peace of mind. I thoroughly dis liked decision services and would avoid them whenever possible because I felt so definitely that the Lord had His hand on me, and I did not want to submit to His will. Finally, in desperation, I promised Him that I would go into full-time Christian work either at home or abroad and would serve Him any place—except in .China. I have never been able to figure out why the thought of working in China was so repulsive to me. Still I had no peace in my heart. It was after long and troublesome h o u r s that I finally yielded. I even included China in my surrender! Later I learned that God did not want me in China, but wanted me to be willing to go as He directed. I thank God for praying parents who did not try to coerce me into going into Christian work, but who left it entirely in the hands of the Lord to lead as He saw fit.
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Reid McCullough, Professor of Biblical Lar.guages: I was reared not in a Christian home, but in a religious one. I went through public school, high school, and university without any serious reli gious thought. But, after I had finished the university, and was planning to go to King’s Inns, Dublin, to study law, I became quite interested in the Bible. I attributed this to the teach ing of my English professor in Queen’s University, Belfast, Professor Mac- Mullan. He used to point out in class i the beauties o f . the language of the King James Version. This appealed to me, for I was fond of literature. Soon I was curious about the mean ing of the passages, and I found my- soli consulting religious books at home that threw light on the Bible. I was’ particularly impressed by a book written by Rev. W. J. Patton of Dromara, County Down, entitled, “ Pardon and Assurance.” Soon I was under deep conviction of sin; I had discovered that I was a lost sinner on the way to Hell. One
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