THÉ KI NG' S BUS I NÉSS
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Nevemfcor, 1936
themselves with its proclamation. Little wonder it is that the whole world heard the gospel and that Christianity spread so rapidly! If Christianity is to spread today, we shall need to emulate the zeal of these early Christians, secure a firm grasp of the truth concerning the Person of Christ, be fully assured concerning the certain retribution of the wicked, and know that Christ alone has. salvation for sinners. II. R elying on th e T ruth (Heb. 11:32-40). The heroes and heroines of the faith men tioned in Hebrews 11 were convinced that there was another world distinct and apart from this material sphere, a world in which' righteousness and glory were to be found.. The vision of that world blinded their- eyes to the glittering things of time and! sense, until physical pain and even the loss: of physical life were nothing in compari son. They “had respect unto the recom pense of the reward” and counted not their lives dear to themselves. They were unlike some Christians today who refuse to engage in, or assist mis sions which do not exhibit large results in souls saved and nations blessed. What if these Bible heroes had waited until good results were seen ? What if they had said in the face of persecution, “What’s the use? The people will not accept our mes sage ; let us cease” ? They believed that God would take care of the result. His Word would not return unto Him void, but would accomplish that which He pleased, though the result would be not only salvation but also condemnation. We have no need to wonder at the spread of the truth in that early time; we have need to be ashamed at our listlessness shown through the pitiful efforts being made today to reach the heathen peoples with the gos pel. We draw back from service, excusing ourselves because results are small and much persecution is entailed. But what an exalted position is ours, for these faithful ones cited in Hebrews 11, persecuted, but faithful even to the sacri ficing of life for the spread of the truth, cannot yet obtain the promises, but must needs wait for such as we before coming to perfection (vs. 39, 40). III. , S urrendering to t h e T ruth (Heb. 12:1, 2). The phrase, “cloud of witnesses” (v. 1), does not mean that the saints who have preceded us are now regarding us, but it refers to those mentioned in the previous chapter who testified to the fact that a life of faith is possible. We are exhorted to yield ourselves to the Lord even as they; and, if we do so, Christianity will be spread. As they laid aside everything that would hinder their business for God, so “let us lay aside” the weights which hinder our service. The figure of speech used is of a race in which all of one’s energy is needed and demanded. The “weights” are not to mean necessarily sins, but things, perhaps lawful in themselves, which hinder the run ner in the race. “A ll things are lawful
build a ladder this morning? I have it started. Two of the steps are already on. I am sure that you have never seen such a strange ladder as this one. I call it “The World’s Longest Ladder,” because it reaches from the sins of earth to the golden streets of heaven. Notice, the first step is black, reminding us of sin, and the top step is gold, suggesting the streets of gold. I brought the other steps, and I will nail them on while you watch me. The second from the bottom is red. This reminds us of Jesus Christ, who shed His blood on the cross to cleanse us from sin. There could be no ladder from earth to heaven if Christ had not come and died for the sins of the world. It is well for us to remember this truth at the Christmas season when people are remembering the birth of Christ. The third step is white. The blood of Christ cleanses from all sin. No one will be allowed in heaven who has not been cleansed by the blood of Christ. We will put this blue step in the fourth place. Moses told the children of Israel to bind a border of blue on the bottom of their garments. When they were tempted to look toward earthly things, this blue border was to remind them that they were God’s people. God wants Christians today to be separated from worldly things, The fifth step is green. Trees that are green are growing and fruitful. God wants His children to be growing and fruitful for Him. I have already told you that the yellow step refers to the golden streets of heaven. I am sure that you will agree with me that this is the world’s longest ladder. It reaches from the sins of earth to the glo ries of heaven. Let us never forget that the Lord Jesus came into the world to make this ladder possible. by angels, the Law, was true, and that every transgression and disobedience would receive its just recompense of reward. With this truth in mind, they bent every effort to give the gospel to every one in order that those who believed might escape sin’s punishment. It would be well in our day were there more assurance of the truth of God’s Word relating to punishment of sin ners, as well as the assurance of God’s love for sinners. One is as certain as the other, and if the former were allowed to have weight with us, the missionary enterprises would be very .vitally forwarded, and Christianity would spread with the zeal and haste that it did in the days of the early believers. Furthermore, those early Christians real ized that there was no other way of salva tion than that given through Jesus Christ (vs. 3, 4). The “great salvation” spoken by the Lord, confirmed by those who heard Him, witnessed to by God’s granting of signs, wonders, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, was to them the final Word from God. They knew that there could be no salvation apart from Him, and hence they busied
tiful home with God to live on this earth, and to suffer death for us, that through His death all of our sins might be blotted out from God’s remembrance. And if we know that He did this, and if we believe that He did it just for our sakes, surely we will take Him as our Friend and Saviour and love Him dearly. When we are celebrating Christmas, there is another thing which we must remember. God, the heavenly Father, sent His Son. It was His great love for men which made Him willing to give up His Son and to let Him be separated from Him for a time. Can we think of this love which God showed to us without loving Him in return? And in the Bible it tells us that one of the ways we can show our love to God is to love one another. If you are a Christian, God has put a love for others in your heart.
Object Lesson T h e W orld ’ s L ongest L adder
Objects: A small ladder with six steps, and a hammer. (Nail only the bottom and top steps on the uprights before taking the ladder to class. Color the bottom step black and the top yellow. Crayons can be used satisfactorily. Color the four other steps red, white, sky-blue, and green). Lesson: How would you like to help me
DECEMBER 27, 1936 THE SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY IN SOUTHERN EUROPE (Review) H ebrews 2:1-4; 11:32 to 12:2
Golden Text: “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 11:15). Outline and Exposition I. G rasping t h e T ruth (Heb. 2:1-4). T h e early Christians who were instru mental in spreading Christianity re tained the truth by their constant at tention to the apostles’ doctrine, and by united prayer (Acts 2:42). They firmly held to that which had been delivered to them, and they proclaimed it far and wide (Acts 8:4), until in that generation the gos pel went throughout the then known world (Col. 1:23). We also have heard the truth and are, in these verses, exhorted to grasp it firmly and not allow it to slip away from us, or, as the Revised Version states, allow ourselves to “drift away from” it (Heb. 2:1, R. V.). The early Christians were assured of just retribution awaiting sin of every character (v. 2). They knew that the word spoken
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