422
TH E
K I N G ’ S
B U S I N E S S
October 1925
Extracts from “THE BRIGHT SIDE OF DEATH” . By Dr. A. C. Dixon
“Absent from the body— Present with the Lord” Death is a sleep. The body becomes unconscious. As one lies down to sleep at night, expecting to wake in the morning, so we may lie down to die expecting that the body which loses consciousness shall wake to life in the morning of the resurrection. Jesus said to His disciples, “Our friend Lazarus is fallen asleep, but I go that I may wake him out of sleep.” So our Lord will one glad day say to the angels of heaven: “Our friends on earth have fallen asleep. Let us go and wake them out of their sleep.” The wakening of the body is as certain as its sleeping. But the soul does not .sleep with the body in the grave. The body is only the tent in which the soul lives, until death shall release and send it to a better home. It is evident, therefore, that while death is a sleep for the body, it is rather an awakening for the Spirit. The important question remains to be answered: Where goes the Spirit at death? And the answer is three fold. (1) It goes to be with Jesus Christ. Our Lord said to the converted malefactor, “Today shalt thou be with Me.” An aged Scotchman, asked what he thought of death, replied, “It matters little to me whether I live or die. If I die I will be with Jesus, and if I live Jesus will be with me.” Paul defined life as being at home in the body while we are absent from the Lord, and death as being absent from the body while we are present with the Lord. ( 2 ) The soul goes to be with Jesus in Paradise. Our Lord said to the man who whs dying at His side, “Today shalt thou be with Me in Paradise.” In a vision Paul “was caught up into Paradise and heard unspeakable words which it is not lawful for a man to utter.” It is clear from this Scripture that in Paradise there is to be a larger revelation than any we have had or could endure here. (3 ) Death in introducing the Christian to the presence of Jesus in Paradise enlarges his sphere of opportunity and activity. “To die is gain.” Paul declared that to depart and be with Christ “is far better” than remaining in the body. Be it remembered that Jesus is not in the grave. He came out on the third day. If we would find Him we must seek Him not among the dead but among the living. He is the God of the living. When Paul said, “The time of my departure is at hand,” he used a word which carries with it the idea of lifting anchor, spreading sail and going out of the land-locked har bor into the open sea. To him death was not contraction but expansion. The passage is short, but it is not dark, for the Chris tian’s way shines brighter and brighter till the perfect day. Death rather parts the curtains and wakes the spirit to everlasting day. There is only one thing better than dying, and that is to be alive when the Lord of Life shall come in glory. I do not desire death, and try to shun it, for I want to do all the good I can, and remain, if possible, to the day of His glor ious appearing; but, when death does come, I shall welcome it as a vanquished enemy, made to serve its conqueror by setting at liberty the spirit that is now in the bonds of limitations. Let no child of God live in bondage to the fear of death. The Lord of life holds the lines and guides His children safely through the gates of death into the Paradise of God. “H e being dead, y et sp eaketh.”— H eb. 11:4.
AMZI CLARENCE DIXON JULY 6, 1854— JUNE 14, 1925
have fou g h t a good fight, I have finished m y course, I have k ep t th® faith : H enceforth th ere is laid up for m e a crow n of righteousness, w hich the L ord, th e righteous judge, shall give m e a t th a t day : and no* m e only, b u t u n to all them also th a t love H is ap p earin g ” — 2 Tim . 4:7, 8. H is M otto ^Text: “ W o rth y is th e Lam b th a t w as slain to receive power, a n d riches, and w isdom , and stre n g th , an d honor, an d glory, and blessing.”— Rev. 5:12. jjACULTY and students, together with many friends, gathered in the Bible Institute of Los Angeles to listen to the exercises of the graduating class of ’25, were shocked to hear Dr. Maclnnis read a telegram announcing the death of A. C. Dixon the day before. It hardly seemed possible to those who had but a few months previously enjoyed his gracious fellowship within the walls of the Institute, that Dr. Dixon had passed through “The valley of the shadow.” Born July 6 th, 1854, at Shelby, N. C.,;he was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1876. His first pastorate was at Chapel Hill, N. C., followed by three years ministry in Asheville, N. C. In 1883 he became pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church, Baltimore, where he remained until 1890. The interval between 1890 and 1921, when he returned to the city of Baltimore as Under-shepherd of the University Church, marked the greatest years of his life.; The follow ing appointments he filled with distinction and abundant blessing:' Hanson Place Church, Brooklyn, N. Y., 1890-6; Ruggies St. Church, Boston, 1896-1901; Moody Church, Chicago, 1901-11; Metropolitan Tabernacle, London, 1911- 19; Member of the Faculty and Special representative of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles,' 1919-1922. The subjoined extract from “The Bright Side of Death,” delivered before he went to be with the Lord, will be read with interest. M g H ■ B s
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