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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
October 1924
even without the testimony of the Word of God, but it is there stated definitely and distinctly. There is no peace to the wicked. The sinner is under the law of the Ten Commandments. The saint is under the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Violation of law by either brings unrest. “ I delight to do thy w ill” is the only solution for sinner or saint. “ He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.” He does. No one else can Nothing else can. He satisfies. The sinner must have Christ as Saviour and the new nature which Christ gives, or it is hopeless for him to try and find peace or rest elsewhere. The saint must be in harmony with Christ’s will, or he, too, is hopelessly restless. “ Come unto Me, and I will give you rest” is a message for the Sinner, and it is also a message for the saint. Knowing the truth about Christ as Saviour, does not give rest to the sinner. He must have Christ Himself. Knowing the truth about Christ ’s promise to the saint, “ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you; let not your heart be troubled; neither let it be afraid” means nothing to the saint unless he accepts the peace upon the implied terms. There is but one place of rest and peace for sinner and saint, and only one,—simple, practical, available —but, sad to say, so little known or appreciated. Pil low the head on the bosom of Christ. Let us prove it, practice it and preach it. THE NATION’S NEED A three-fold cord is not easily broken, and there is a three fold cord which represents the essential need of our nation now if we are to be saved from the wreck which history has recorded concerning the decadent nations. Every day, in every way, the decline of our beloved Country from the standards set by our forefathers, is definitely recorded. Slowly, but surely, we are going down grade. In the beginning, the descent was grad ual, but now it is a regular toboggan slide. And, too, there is a hilarious indifference which compels the level-headed, liberty-loving, loyal Christian citizen to stand in wonder as to the ultimate result. Can the tide be stayed? If so, how and when? If we are entering the portals of the period so faithfully portrayed in the Scriptures, as “ the last days;’ ? there can be no final stemming of the tide, but we can do what we are commanded to do by the Word of God, and that which practical experience justifies. What is the three-fold basic need in our land ? First —Christian homes. When we speak of “ the home’ ’ .we are touching the mainspring, for if we are to have a Christian nation, we must start with a. Christian home, where the father and mother, with Bible in hand, seek by precept and example to “ bring up a child in the way it should g o ” so that “ when it is old it will not depart from it.” Thé first ten years of a child’s life largely determine its future character-and citizenship. The largest factor in the proper training of a child is a definite determination upon the parents’ part to use every possible means, in a loving, consistent, prayerful manner to inculcate the doctrines of the Gospel and win the child to a personal acceptance of Christ as Saviour and Lord. History proves that such children form the bone and sinew of the church. A mother’s loving admonition,
loving prayers and loving tears have often meant more to some of us than anything else. A home without a real Christian mother is nothing more than a boarding house, from which children are glad to graduate. The second factor is the church, and here we face the same problem that we do in the home. Respect for the church demands that it be a joyful, holy place— not a dancing hall, not a picture show academy, not a Young People’s Debating Society, not a Sunday “ merry-go-round” —but a place where there is loving, reverent, tender wooing and winning of the child to the Bible stories and the Bible storehouse of sweet, strong truths in such a way as to make the deepest possible impress upon the mind and heart. Pity the pastor and the’ people of a church where there is no conscious, deep need of “ putting first things first!” An atmosphere Can be and must be created which will, by the power of the Holy Spirit compel a love for Christ and for His 1 Word. Do not say that it cannot be done.. It has been done, it is being done, and where it is not being done, then take down the sign of “ Church” and put up the sign “ Amusement Center.” You Can attend the service and “ weakly’ ’ entertain ments of such a place with the assurance that nothing will be said to offend the most fastidious tastes. “ You can have a good time at every service! Bring your pocket book with you and make generous offerings, by which we may glorify ourselves!” The third element of importance is the. school. Our public schools in this country were rightly founded and, in the early days, functioned in a way to promote the best interests o f the nation. The Bible had its place,, Doctrines were not taught, but pupils were taught to reverence and honor it. The influence of the Bible inculcated loyalty to God and to the flag and greatly aided in producing good citizens. The Roman Catholic church, conscious of what it would mean to the children of their faith to have the Bible read in the schools (even though it was not expounded), confined the education of their children to their own parochial schools-—which they had a per fect right to do. Influences were afterward set in motion which eventually eliminated the Bible from our public schools,. but our Romanist friends have out witted us by retaining their own children, of early age, in their own schools, while the Protestant children have been denied the benefit of Bible reading in the public schools. Thus the third straud in the cord has been weak ened as an influence for good, and even children brought up in Christian homes have been weaned away' from their faith in' God and have been taught that the Bible is not God’s Word, but man’s word, and not trustworthy. What can be done? Every true Christian home must put emphasis upon the importance of the Bible as the foundation of Christian character. Then they must insist that their church shall be a Bible church, and-j-. where possible—both home and church must use their combined influence for a private Christian school where the Bible will have its proper place, and thus make the best possible provision for the education of their children. Then, too, they must be willing to sacrifice to this end. Roman Catholic parents pay the price tor their parochial schools. Are not our children of as much value to us as their children are to them? If we are to accomplish anything in stemming the tide and meeting the need of our nation, we must prayerfully consider this three-fold cord and act accordingly.
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