By Robert W. Ross
befriends you or performs some gracious act in your favor, the gentlemanly thing to do is to say “ Thank you.” The more costly the act, the more expensive the gift, the more incumbent upon one to ex press his deep appreciation. It is never right to accept true and noble love and never acknowledge it. In decent society man volitionally does not rebuff the advances of unselfish kindness, particularly if it is undeserved. The more unmerited the gift, the deeper should be the grateful response. This is exactly the situation with re gard to Christ and the soul. Nothing in the sinner merits the love of God in Christ. Every man born of woman is the natural enemy of God. “When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son” (Rom. 5:19). “ While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Is it not the moral duty of every sinner gratefully to acknowledge such lové and grace, and willingly to step out on the side of Jesus Christ? Is it morally right for any man, even though he may be hindered by the fear of failing in the Christian life, not to align himself with the cause of the Saviour? It is ethically right to identify oneself with Christ. If Jesus Christ were no more than a teacher, it would still be binding upon every honest man to accept Him as a leader and a guide in life. There is not an honest man in the world who will accuse Jesus Christ ‘of false hood or, uncleanliness. Neither can He be said to be the author of an inferior code of ethics. Everywhere the name of Jesus Christ is a synonym for holiness and truth. Evèry virtue extolled by men He mani fests in the highest degree. No man ever needs to apologize for the Son of God. It is spiritually right to submit to Christ’s Lordship and to follow Him. The one great fact that stands out in the life and death of Jesus Christ is this: what He was and what He did were absolutely essential to the salvation of any soul. This cannot be said of any other religious leader. The history of religion reveals no other Saviour. Dear friend, you who are afraid to step out for Jesus Christ, let me ask: Is it the right thing to refuse identity with Him? Is it right morally? Is it right ethically? Is it right spiritually? Then if it is wrong to deny Him, you must ac cept Him now, for this is the right thing to do. Furthermore, when you become a Christian, you receive a new power to do the things Ood requires of you. It is the blessed birthright of every believer to possess the power of God in his life. If he does not have this power, it is his Page Thirteen
O NE of the greatest obstacles, to a man’s becoming a Christian and a loyal follower of Jesus Christ is fear. Twelve spies were sent into the Prom ised Land for reconnaissance. Upon their return, they all brought back glowing accounts of the fertility of the land. But ten of them were filled with fear. These men reported to Moses: “ We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight” (Num. 13:31-33). - They wanted the blessing that abound ed in the land they had just explored, but they were afraid to possess it! They were ready to say concerning the ter ritory they had investigated “ Surely it floweth with milk and honey.” But they also said, “Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak
Surely in the world there are those who while they have a deep respect for the Christian faith, for the Christian church and for the individual Christian, still say, “ Nevertheless . . . it is not for us.” Many, familiar with the Gospel and the delights of being a child of God, through fear, push these things away. For such there are seemingly insur mountable obstacles that keep them from stepping out for Jesus Christ. I want to mention some of these obstacles and show how God can remove them. First there is the fear of failure. It was this that kept the ten spies out of the Promised Land—“We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.” No man wants to be a failure; every self-respecting person desires to be a success. This desire is legitimate and, if employed in the proper manner, a genuine boon to progress. But if the urge for success is frustrated by an overwhelming fear of failure the re sult may be tragedy. With this in mind, I want to encourage everyone who would follow Christ but is afraid to try. It is far better to try to do the right thing and fail than never to make an attempt! Now, is it the right thing to do to accept Jesus Christ and to live for Him? You know it is the right thing for many reasons. It is morally right. Whenever a man
there” (w . 27, 28). J A N U A R Y , 1 9 5 3
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