102
TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
March 1925
wicked—the unsaved. Sin is man’s burden and Christ is the Burden-bearer. We know the story. Why do we not have a heart for the sin-stricken, suffering, hungry- souls, into whose faces we look daily as we tread life ’s highway? What is the outstanding characteristic of Christ? A heart. How was it manifested? Where did He go? What did He do ? Read the Gospels and see. Read the Book of Acts and see how that heart was duplicated by the Holy Spirit in the lives of the apostles. Have a Heart! How can we have the heart that hopeless humanity needs to see expressed ? By opening wide the door of our poor hearts to the fulness of pos session of the Holy Spirit who lives in us, but who is so often relegated to the limits of a small space. Let us yield our wills until our hearts shall be the happy home of the Holy Spirit and we will Have a Heart ! THE LOVE LINGO , Silly sentimentality is taking the place of sturdy, Scriptural messages, in many pulpits. A recent illus tration of this is furnished by a subscriber in an East ern city who sends us a newspaper account of the' Sun day evening discourse by one of the pastors in a theatre, in which he announced that “ Christianity according to Christ is clearly a way of love.” ' He went on to say: “ In spite of much in the Old Testament which represents God as an implacable ruler of wrath, jealousy and vindictiveness, Jesus taught that He is a Father of love, who cares for the people of earth and is not willing that any should perish.” If the preacher had been fair to the Gospel of Christ as manifest in His own words, he would have said that Christ spoke but little of God’s love save as that love was manifest in the cross, where God poured out His Wrath upon His Son when He bore the sins of the world. He would not have left the people in ignorance by a mis-application of the word “ love.” God is love, but He is also a God of wrath. God is love, but God hates sin. Jesus said: “He th a t believeth on th e Son h a th everlasting life; and he th a t believeth n o t th e Son shall n o t see life; b u t th e w rath of God abideth on him .” John says, through the Holy Spirit: . “If any man love th e world, th e love of th e F a th e r is n o t' in him .” Jesus says: “F o r th e F a th e r him self loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed th a t I came o u t from God.” Jesus is the One who pronounced the “ woes” upon men: “Woe unto- the world!’’ “Woe unto that man by whom the offence cometh!” “ Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” . “Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you!” Words of warning, voiced in sorrow! The poor, old, sin-sick world needs the truth. It needs to know that God loves and that love is mani fested in the shed blood of His Son whom He surren dered to the cross to expiate sin; and that only by the “ Woe unto you, blind guides!” “Woe unto you that are rich!” “ Woe unto you that are fu ll!”
acceptance of that Son can man have his sin forgiven and have imparted to him the new nature essential for a life with God through eternity. Christ gave no “ lovey-dovey” messages, nor did the apostles. They sounded out the solemn warning with unswerving fidelity,-®“ Repent! Believe! Receive!” The'only place of refuge for a sin-sick world is in the outstretched arms of Him who hung upon the cross, from which the dripping blood spoke the words of real import concerning the love of God: “F o r God so loved th e world, th a t He gave H is only begot ten Son, th a t whosoever believeth on Him, should no t p er ish, b u t have everlasting life.” DISTRUST AND DESTRUCTION Faith is the foundation of all constructive building, whether in the material or the spiritual realm. Men must have faith in and implicitly obey God’s natural laws in constructing any sort of structure or mechan ism, whether they recognize and obey His spiritual laws or not. A question mark concerning the foundation is fol lowed by doubt, and doubt by distrust, and distrust by destruction,—but this is the age of the question mark, among young and old, concerning the Bible as the Word of God;:the standard of morals; the stabil ity of our government ; the sacredness of the marriage tie; the shocking stories of crime, their consequences and punishment. The roots of distrust are running down deep into the foundations, and it behooves us to be asking the ques tion: What is the cause and what is the cure of this curse which threatens the destruction of our civiliza tion? Will we find the answer from the boys and girls, or from the parents, or from the professors or the poli ticians,—-or are they all engaged in this seed-sowing of doubt? Surely, there is. a screw loose somewhere, and it must be tightened or the foundation will fall to pieces. The damage is already tremendous, and delay means disaster. Is there, then, a foundation for faith in the spiritual realm? If so, where is it? What is it? It must be found in God, for He is the “ author and finisher of faith. ’’ He laid the foundations of the universe, and His laws govern it. How about His laws in moral and spiritual affairs? Has God left the regulation of that sphere to the conceited brain of sinful man,—or has He here, as in other realms, manifested His unchang ing and unchangeable laws ? Where are these laws to be found? In His Written Word. There are to be found the fundamental laws of human life by which men can build noble, righteous character. If this is true—and it is—why stand by], while the enemies of God and man blast at the founda tions of faith which God has established, and view with indifference the ruined lives of young and old who, without a foundation for their faith in the inerrant Word of God, can never erect their “ building * * * made without hands, eternal in the Heavens” which will stand the test when “ every man’s work shall be tried by fire. ’’ Shall we not rather diligently “ study to show our selves approved unto God, workmen that need not to be ashamed,” rejoicing in the assurance that “ the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His.”
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker