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T h e B u s i n e s s IN THE BEGINNING . . . By ROY TALMAGE BRUMBAUGH, Tacoma, Wash. ¿ B , ¡¡¡1 Q f lan oJtn ^Dniered K i n g ’ s
February 1932
and evil, thou shalt not eat of it.” We see in the first utter ance of the devil the sphere o f hjs activity, Sataq does not concentrate in the criminal world, nor in thé sphere of immorality. He does not concern himself about the red-i light district, nor about Communistic centers. Atheistic headquarters do not confer often with Satan. It is not necessary for him to bother with evil persons and move ments. These do his work without diabolical guidance. Christ said, “ For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts [reasonings],murders, adulteries, fornications,thefts,false witness, blasphemies” (Matt. 15:19). The natural heart naturally serves the carnal self and the devil. . There are those who say that the Bible contains the Word of God. The Bible is the Word of God. If you would read the utterances of Satan, it is not necessary to scan humanistic literature. Read the sermon$,$f,present- day rationalists. Listen to the subtle utterances broadcast from Unitarian pulpits located in churches bearing the, evangelical name. The literature o f cults masquerading as Christian also reveals the fact that the devil specializes in the religious realm. The devil concentrates his* attack upon the church. He opens the batteries of the satanic artillery on the truth. That the world approves o f its god will be clearly seen if we remember that anything that seemingly disproves the Bible is printed on the front pages of most newspapers, while any recent discovery that con firms the Word o f God receives scant notice, or is entirely ignored. “ The whole world lieth in the evil one” (1 John 5 :19, margin). : ^ l
he B ible is the mirror of life. Current events are but a duplication of that which has happened often. The scene may change; the manners and customs of the people may not remain the same; but human nature changes not. The natural heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. The Pacific Northwest was settled by hardy pioneers. However, the spirit o f the trail-blazer is ancient. Abraham and Sarah were preeminent pioneers, going out at the com mand of God, but knowing not where they were going. The “ eternal triangle” is ancient. In Genesis 39, we read about Potiphar, Potiphar’s wife, and Joseph. However, the dif ference in this case is that one side of the triangle was square. When Lincoln emancipated a numerous people, he was but imitating, in a faint way, the work of Moses who delivered Israel out of the iron hand of Pharaoh. We see strong men today in the grip of subtle flappers. This is but the story o f Samson and Delilah retold. The intrigues of present-day court life are an echo of what we read in the book of Esther. Benedict Arnold may have thought he was doing an original thing when he sold his country for gold. Perhaps he had never read the story of Judas Iscariot. Some think that the present fundamentalist-mod ernist controversy is a child of the twentieth century. Any one reading the Acts and the Epistles knows that church controversy began when the apostles were alive. S atan The devil appears! How comely he looks! He is called “ serpent,” which means “ shining one.” The caricatures that we see of the devil must amuse the adversary of our souls. We have seen him represented as a hideous being: horns in head, malignant eye, hoofed feet, a serpent-like tail, a lobster-like complexion, a dagger-like beard, con stantly exhaling the breath of hell. The devil is not so foolish as to masquerade in a form like this. Paul tells us that Satan transforms himself into an angel of light. He presents himself to people in an attractive attire. He dresses like a gentleman: high hat, stiff collar, white shirt, creased trousers, cutaway coat, gloves, and a walking stick. Sometimes he looks like milady. If he had appeared to the first woman not as an angel of light, but as the evil one, Eve would have run from him unto God and salva tion. However, the attractiveness of the “ shining one” fascinated her, and she fell. T he F irst U tterance I f we understand Genesis 3 thoroughly, we shall under stand temptation and shall know who is tempting us. In verse 1, we have Satan’s first recorded utterance. It is not spoken to the man, but to the woman. Neither did he tempt Adam and Eve when they were together— in union there is strength. He first tempted the weaker vessel, and that when she was alone. Unto the woman, Satan said, “ Yea, hath God said?” He threw doubt on God’s Word. God had said, “ But of the tree of the knowledge of good
“ With His Stripes W e Are Healed” My sins laid open to the rod The back which from the law was fr e e ; And the eternal Son o f God Received the stripes once due to me. Nor beam was in His eye, nor mote, Nor laid to Him was any blame; And yet His cheeks for me were smote — The cheeks that never blushed for shame. I pierced those sacred hands and feet . !,»dsr, That never touched or walked in sin; - *r I broke the heart that only beat The souls o f sinful men to win. That sponge o f vinegar and gall Was placed by me upon His tongue;. And 'when derision mocked His call I stood that mocking crowd among. And yet His blood was shed fo r me, To be o f sin the double cure; And balm there flows from Calvary’s tree That heals my guilt and makes me pure'. ' ■ — J ames M. G ray . <
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