program had already overflowed into apartment houses, dwellings, sheds and offices, and furthermore, in the past number of years a series of financial campaigns had netted them more than $ 1 , 000 , 000 . 00 . All of this is commendable and emula- tory, but it is to be regretted that the news item either consciously or uncon sciously omitted something of impor tance. How many souls were brought to the Lord Jesus Christ in this drive? Was this expansion the result of the faith ful proclamation of the old-fashioned gospel? Had there been a real heart growth in grace by the membership? Was this program of expansion positive ly centered around the Person of the Son of the Living God? Did the purpose of the church continue to be an unquali fied emphasis upon the need of the world without a Saviour and the desire to do what could be done to meet that need? This is a day of mammoth projects. Buildings are larger, bridges more mag nificent, highways more extensive—but as for the church of Jesus Christ, God has little interest in size. Rather, a church of two or three with Christ in the midst is greater than a huge bustling organization without Him, which means that it is without spiritual life. Soviet Missionaries W E understand that according to Samedi-Soir, a French weekly, there are now six Russian theological seminaries engaged in training 3,000 students for infiltration into all the churches throughout the world. Three of the seminaries were said to be for the training of men for Catholic and Prot estant countries; two were for reaching Buddhists, Confucianists, Moslems and Brahmans; the last one for the conver sion of Israelites. It is presumed that part of the Soviet strategy for the sub jugation of the world includes the en trance into churches by missionaries loaded with Soviet propaganda. This is worthy of deep concern on the part of the Western nations. On the other hand, the very fact that the Soviets have begun to rely upon the age-old method of propagation by mis sionaries is something too. When the Lord commanded His disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel, He was giving a principle which has since proved its value in the centuries which have followed. It is sad indeed that the Christian church for the last millennium at least has failed to use the principle of missionary endeavor to the fullest. Far too many churches have merely toyed with the idea and have not sup ported it wholeheartedly. Were there to be a genuine dead-in-earnest application by the believing church of today to the principle of propagation by trained mis sionaries, it would not be long until there would be no communistic threat to the world. May God give us a revival of missionary enthusiasm that will sweep round the world, taking with it multi tudes into the kingdom of God. T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
Peter and the Rock Again O NE of the points of interest in the city of Rome is St. Peter’s Church, 619 feet long, 470 feet high. Its principal claim to churchly glory is the oft-repeated Roman Catholic claim that it is erected over the Apostle Peter’s tomb. For ten years the shovels of papal-appointed archaeologists have been excavating the area below St. Pe ter’s. Recently a report has come that tombs have been uncovered, but any statement regarding St. Peter’s grave was carefully avoided. Over one particular verse in the Scripture a great controversy has raged (Matt. 16:18). Did our Lord mean that Peter was to have a pre-eminent posi tion in the early church? The Roman theologians have constantly affirmed this, while the Protestants have said a positive “No.” It would seem that this question could be definitely solved by an appeal to Peter’s own testimony as given in his first letter, chapter 2, verses 1 to 8. Here: the Apostle, who had thrice denied Christ and thrice proclaimed his love for Him, speaks in words which can not hide his deep adoration of his Lord. Christ, to Peter, was the Stone, the living Stone, the chosen Stone, the pre cious Stone, the chief Cornerstone, the elect Stone, and to those who reject Him He is a Stone of stumbling and a Rock of offense. If these words are at all revelatory of the heart belief of the Apostle Peter, surely we are to under stand that Peter’s unshakable convic tion was that the great Rock upon which all Christianity was to be built was none other than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. We commend to all men who are uncertain on this point, including Roman Catholics, the re-reading and meditation upon the letters of the great Apostle Peter. I T was a news item that called this to our attention. A large and influential church had just completed a fund-raising drive that netted more than $250,000.00. This money was to be subsequently used in the erection of additional educational facilities. But the news item went on to state that there was a great host of folks interested in the church; there were nearly three-score weekday activi ties by organizations, and the teaching A Certain Church Plans Expansion
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!
With the opening of school in j September, The Bible Institute of j Los Angeles will offer a new course j of study accredited and recognized | by the United States Office of j Education. The addition will be | the Bible College Course which j will enable a student to receive a ! Bachelor of Arts degree in four J years. j The change comes as a result of j the foresight of the Board of Di- j rectors who are making every ef- j fort to keep abreast of the spirit- [ ual and educational needs of to- J day. The spiritual demands have | remained the same through the J years and the Bible Institute is j equipped to meet them, but the J educational requirements have ] been changing rapidly. There- J fore, it has become necessary to j enlarge the extent of training in J order to provide these degrees. j This program expansion will I affect the three schools of training i in the following way: the regular j three-year Bible Institute course j leading to a diploma will continue j as usual; the Bachelor of The- | ology degree which formerly took j four years to complete will now j be granted in five years; and a f student pursuing a Bachelor of j Arts degree can major in one of j three fields of study — Bible, j Christian Education or Music and j receive his B.A. degree in four j years. The name, “ The Bible Institute J of Los Angeles,” will remain the j same and the purposes of the Bible { Institute will not be changed. The j Bible College Course is merely an j addition to work already offered | and in no way takes the place of j that which is being taught at | present. It is significant to note j that there will be as much Bible J and related subjects taught in the j Bible College Course as are being | taught at present. As always, the j Bible Institute of Los Angeles j stands for the thorough study of j God’s Word and dedicates itself | to the task of training young j people for the work of proclaiming j the unsearchable riches of Christ j to a lost world!
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