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October 1931
T h e
K i n g ’ s
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duties, thinking they will thereby soothe their consciences and be able to say to the world: “We are doing good.” But while they are doing good in a superficial way, they are .abandoning the church; they are neglecting their church obligations; they are getting away from God, es caping responsibility, and repudiating the doctrine of ac countability to God. The church is the only place for the Christian man. In the name and authority of Christ, he can accomplish in the whole field of Christian activities all that God would have him accomplish. R esponsibility to O ur F ellow M en Men are forgetting that they are responsible for their fellow men. Why is the church not actively engaged in the work of rescuing men? Thousands are standing in the bread lines today. One who has occupied the presidential chair says—-and rightly says—that a large percentage of those who are in the bread line are there due to the fact that men have forgotten God and the moral principles involved in the Christian life and experience. Whose fault is it? Have we lost sight of the fact that we are our brother’s keeper? By simply furnishing a soup table for the passing bread line, we are not keeping our brothers. Why have we not evangelized? Why have we not stabil ized, by the inculcation of moral principles, this vast army of men who are today turning against God and against the government? ■ Irt whose name are we going to do this? In the name of Christ, in the authority and power of His name, let Us move forward. The past has been glorious, the present is momentous, and the future is big with possibilities. In His name and authority, let us proceed!
There can be no scholarship without a Biblical foun dation. Without a moral and Christian foundation, educa tion results in equipping depraved humanity with expert knowledge and technique that make possible the commis sion of crime. Education alone never changed a depraved heart nor created a right spirit. It can not equip with moral power and technique an immoral character and a degenerate heart. It is folly to establish political government, or any other kind of organization, and to leave out discipline. Authority and responsibility must be followed with ac countability. There must be judgment, there must be pen alties, and there must be enforcement of the penalties. But' if characters are not regenerated, if the individual citizen is not saved, society is not improved by the incar ceration of a few. It is the breaking down of the con sciousness of moral accountability that is destroying the life of this country. M oral and S piritual W ork I nside the C hurch Men must be brought to realize also that their great moral and spiritual work must be done inside the church. There are more pagans today using the service clubs as an excuse and as a solace to their burning con sciences than ever before in the history of the country. The service luncheon club has no authority. It does not teach accountability; it does not speak against the great sins, the moral wrongs, and the social collapses of the day; but it does offer an opportunity to feed a hungry child, to furnish crutches to a crippled man, or to buy a bathing pool for some athletically inclined group. Men eagerly enter into the performance of. those superficial
HOW PRAYER BUILT A CHURCH . . . By ELLA G. BENNETT, * Los Angeles, Calif.
hile in Guatemala, Central America,, as a missionary, I was first located in the little town of Santa Maria de Jesus. At that time, there were: twenty-one Indian believers in this town, and there was a little church partly built. One day I said to the missionary, in charge, “If the Lord should \ send me the money in answer to prayer, might I finish this little church?” He replied, “I should say so! It has stood like this for several years, and the mis sion has not had the money to finish it.”
explained tp the Christians that we would pray that the workmen would not have to leave the work until it was completed, that God would send in all the money needed to pay the workmen at the end of each week, and that enough might also be received to buy materials for the following week. Week after week, the money came as needed. After the church was all inclosed, the car penters still had considerable work to do. They had to put in the windows and make the benches and the pulpit, etc. At this juncture
So we prayed, the Indian believers and myself, that the money would come. •After a short time, enough money was received to enable us to finish the roof and to put in the two ends of the building. Then I sent for carpenters to begin the work, at the same time .telling the Indians not to let the carpenters know that we did not have enough money on hand to finish the church, for they would not stay if they thought we had only a handful of money. I ♦Miss Bennett is a graduate of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles.
they said, “We are going to finish this work by contract.” But I answered, “Oh, I would rather have you go on as you have been doing, by the day.” “No,” they replied, “we want to do it by contract.” “Well,” I said, “how much will the contract cost?” “Seventy-five dollars,” was the answer. “When do you wish the money ?” “When the work is done.” Again I questioned, “When will it be finished?” One of them answere.d, “Two weeks from today.”
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