King's Business - 1967-08

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A U G U S T ; ^ » 7

...to the training of thousands of young men and women for Christian service

THE BIOLA FELLOWSHIP Consists of those who desire to be faithful stewards in B IO LA 's ministry. Their stewardship con sists of regular support of the GENERAL, RADIO, or M IS SIO N A R Y funds. THE SPONSORSHIP PLAN Any friend who d e sig n a te s $200.00 a year for student training becomes a "Student- Sponsor" and likewise a par ticipant in the training of volunteers for worldwide service for Christ. THE CHR IST IAN 'S W ILL Many people intend to remem ber B IO LA in their wills, but many procrastinate, with fre quent resultant losses to the Lord's work. An inquiry to our office will bring information. THE INVESTMENT INCOME Those who want to give a part of their savings for investment In this Christian enterprise, and at the same time receive regu lar dividends, find this plan ade quately meets their needs. THE TRUSTEE ACCOUNT Preferred by some with Savings and Loan accounts. Donor, con sidered a trustee for BIOLA, is in complete control while living. A t death, the remaining balance goes to BIOLA.

ILA SCHOOLS and COLLEGES, INC. Mirada, California 90638 i interested in: HE BIOLA FELLOWSHIP

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HE INVESTMENT INCOME

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Dedicated to the spiritual development of the Christian home T h e K i n g © B u s i n e s s A PUBLICATION OF BIOLA SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES, INC. Louis TyTalbot, Chancellor • S. H. Sutherland, President • Ray A. Myers, Board Chairman Vol.^S^j No. 8 * AUGUST, in The year of our Lord 1967 • Established 1910

DO YOU HAVE $300, $500, $1000, or more to invest?

A r t i c l e s SUPREME EXPERIENCE — Vance Havner..................................... 8 EXPO '67 — Martin Wolf........................................................ 11 W ILL HELL EVER BE EMPTIED INTO HEAVEN? — Lewis C. Hohenstein................................................ 12 PRESENTING CHRIST IN A N IGHT CLUB — Al Sanders............. 15 ENJOYING EACH OTHER FOR LIFE — David and Mary Mullins 17 COCKTAILS — Lillian P. Danielson............................................ 21

would you like to put these funds into effective and profitable use ? Then,

you should know about MOODY ANNUITIES Christian men and women are often concerned about the matter of investing their funds. Some do not wish to become involved in stocks and bonds because of the fluctuation and uncertainty of economic conditions. But they are interested in security and an as sured income. Moody Annuities meet both of these requirements. This is what you should know about Moody Annuities: (1) . . . they assure an income up to 9.09 per cent (depending on your age) and this for as long as you live. To support this guarantee are the resources of Moody Bible Institute. Since plan’s inception almost 60 years ago, the Institute has never missed an annuity dividend payment. And in additiont this extra dividend . . . (2) your annuity funds are carefully put to work in the great program of Moody Bible Institute, and thus you share directly in the blessings of this world-wide gospel ministry. ■ M a y

MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR — Samuel H. Sutherland............. 4 DR. TALBOT'S QUESTION BOX — Louis T. Talbot..................... 22 CULTS CRITIQUE — Betty Bruechert........................................ 23 TALKING IT OVER — Clyde M. Narramore............................... 24 BOOK REVIEWS — Arnold D. Ehlert........................... ............... 26 JUNIOR KING 'S BUSINESS....................................................... 28 SCIENCE A N D THE BIBLE — Bolton Davidheiser........................ 31 OVER A CUP OF COFFEE — Joyce Landorf................................. 32 CHRISTIAN WORKERS CLIN IC — C. Chester Larson................... 34

C o v e r

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We’ll be happy to send you the FREEl>ooklet. Double Dividends, which explains the Moody Annuity Plan in detail. It contains a chart showing income rate for all ages, explains tax l)enefits and tells you all about the many ministries of Moody Bible Institute in which you’ll have a share.

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ADVERTISING— for information address the Advertising Manager, The King's Business, 13800 Biola Ave., La Mirada, California 90638. MANUSCRIPTS— "The King's Business" cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to manuscripts mailed to us for consideration. Second-class postage paid in La Mirada, Calif. Additional entry offices in Los Angeles, California. Printed in U.S.A. by Church Press, Glendale, California. ADDRESS: The Kina's Business, 13800 Biola Ave., La Miraaa, California 90638.

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AUGUST, 1967

a message from

H e lp S a v e a C h i ld from Starvation and for Service! began rescuing homeless boys Samuel c. Hsiao an(j gjris in China, winning w as re s c u e d in them to Christ, training them C h in a as a bey. f0r service. Many, including Samuel Hsiao, became widely used Christians. Sponsor a child—only $15.00amonth. Today the Home works in Hong Kong, Beirut» Leb anon, and Rartallah, Jordan with the help of hundreds of supporters like you. You can help support a child for only $15.00 a month. | H O M E O F O N E S IP H O R U S D e p t. 11 | 3939 N. Hamlin Ave., Chieaft, III. 60819 » ( ) Send Information ( ) Enclosing my gift I i Name_______________________________________ ______ > » Address______________________________________— _ i »_______________________ 50 years ago, Leslie Anglin .

theeditor ^

BY DR. SAMUEL H. SUTHERLAND PRESIDENT, BI0LA SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES, INC.

A HORRIBLE EXAMPLE

CEYLON and INDIA GENERAL MISSION and Pakistan Christian Fellowship Our Ministry Includes

j ^ l u c H h a s b e e n w r i t t e n in recent years about juvenile delin quency. Periodically voices have been heard decrying adult delinquency. On April 27 a news item appeared, pinpointing this devastating indictment o f adult delinquency in a very alarming manner. A professor o f sociology at the University o f California at Berkeley headed an eighteen-month study into the world o f juvenile drug-users. The study was financed in large measure with grants from the Department o f Health, Education, and Welfare. It was a very thorough study which produced some most enlight ening results. The drugs most commonly used by the younger generation were marijuana, amphetamines, barbiturates, and LSD. There was a "fu ll and frank discussion” in the effort to make the users o f these drugs aware o f the dangers. However, it was stated that "practical rather than moral arguments were used, such as the danger o f deterioration o f health and personality and o f arrest and acquiring a criminal record.” It was hoped by the investigators that such an approach would be more effective than that employed in schools, churches, welfare agencies, police sta tions or courts. It was reported that "they [the young addicts] co-operated with us voluntarily and not as a captive group.” But the investigators soon found out that they were failing completely to persuade the juveniles to give up the use o f drugs. The argu ments against use o f these drugs were not sufficiently convincing and the dangers not real enough in the minds o f the young users. "From their personal experiences and observations they could refute the claims that drugs usually led to health or personality deterioration,” the report stated. Many o f the young users came from broken homes, but "they pointed out that the breaking up o f homes was due to other factors than the use o f drugs.” The report declared that "the youths’ arguments for use o f drugs included the statement that drugs increased conviviality, did not lead to violence, resulted in harmless pleasure, and were much less harmful than the use o f alcohol— a use that is openly sanctioned by society.”

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Two facts stand out in this report which seem to be o f spe cial significance as related to the church life and our country. One is that the vast majority o f these youthful drug users come either from broken homes or from homes where there is very little, if any, satisfactory home life. The second fact is that the users claim that these drugs are no more harmful than alcohol which is so fully sanctioned by modern society. In both cases, it is the older generation which is severely indicted. Alas, we o f the older generation must admit that this indictment is only too accurate. Justifiably, we are shocked at the widespread addiction to these drugs by the younger generation. The stupidly inconsistent posi tion, however, on the part o f the older generation lies in the fact that we are not equally appalled at the universal use o f cigar ettes and alcohol. These are accented as a part o f modern life even in the most respected circles. Why haven’t these youthful drug addicts as much right to the drugs o f their generation as the older addicts to the drugs o f their generation? We believe the logic is irrefutable. O f course, this is no way condones the use o f destruc tive drugs such as those so popular among the oncoming genera tion o f citizens. We are only lifting our voices once again con cerning the damnable use o f tobacco and alcohol by such a large segment o f the American public. The organized church has remained silent for almost a generation in regard to the evils o f the smoking and drinking habits. Sanitariums and mental institu tions throughout the land are filled with hopeless addicts or alco holics. Yet, seldom, if ever, do we read any pronouncement by any o f the leading denominations, urging legal curtailment o f the sale o f these drugs or emphasis upon the moral implications o f the use o f tobacco and liquor. It is left for secular magazines like The Reader’s Digest to wage an important but rather futile battle against the widespread use o f tobacco, not from a moral point o f view, but purely from a practical and health standpoint. T o try to get legislation against the use o f tobacco and liquor would create a great yowl and howl on the part o f users who loudly pro claim that their rights are being infringed upon by the "do gooders.” Yet nothing whatever is said about the problems that are created for the "do gooders” by those who indulge in the extensive use o f tobacco and alcohol. Police departments and courts o f justice spend an abnormal amount o f time dealing with problems directly created by the users o f alcohol. County welfare agencies, sanitariums, and other public health agencies are required to spend an abnormal amount o f time dealing with physical con ditions brought on directly by the excessive use o f tobacco. The “ do gooders” o f necessity must help in the support o f these agen cies, organizations, and institutions. Therefore, we would very respectfully suggest that we do have a right to have a say in the sale and use o f these drugs. It is one thing for an individual to live like the devil’s very own, wrecking his own life and health, but it is'something else again when a large segment o f the public which does not indulge in that sort o f business has to come to his aid in (Continued on Page 25)'

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WHERE CAN A JEW FIND CHRIST? On street corners, in homes, in shops, and in our witnessing' cen ters, our workers faith fully proclaim the story of redemption 'accord ing to Moses and the prophets, and the gos pel message from the New Testament, and Jews are finding the Saviour. For help in witnessing, or for your own spiritual need, write to: Rev. A. A. MacKinney General Director American Messianic Fellowship 7448 N. Damen Avenue, Chicago, III. 60645 generous income, and to determine with certainty the disposal after their death of that which the Lord entrusted to their stewardship without delays, deductions, inheritance taxes, and probate court costs.

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AUGUST, 1967

People to theNews Dr. Peter Veltman, dean of Wheaton College, announced nine new appoint ments to the faculty for 1967-68 term. Also one administrative staff member will begin full-time teach ing in the fall. Twelve teachers and one administrative officer are discon tinuing service with the college. Two faculty members are retiring and three are taking leaves of absence. Additional replacements are yet to be named, according to Dr. Veltman. The Evangelical Free Church of Amer ica held its 83rd conference at the Lafayette Hotel and the municipal auditorium in Long Beach, Califor nia, during the latter part of June. Major addresses were given by John B. Anderson, Rockford, Illinois, and Evangelical Free Church Layman representing the 16th district of Illi nois in Congress, Robert N. Thompson, member of parliament, Ottawa, Can ada, also a Free Church member, and Dr. Arnold T. Olson, Minneapolis, presi dent of the denomination. Dr. Roy L. Aldrich has retired as president of Detroit Bible College according to Dr. M. C. Patterson, chair man of the board. At the graduation ceremony held at Covenant Baptist Church, Detroit, Mr. Patterson also reported that Dr. William A. BeVier, Vice President of DBC, has been named interim president to take ef fect immediately. In disclosing that Dr. Aldrich is stepping down from his post after two decades as head of the college, Dr. Patterson stated that the Board of Directors has con ferred on Dr. Aldrich the title of President Emeritus. Scofield Memorial Church, Dallas, Texas, combined the commemoration of ninety years of its history with the celebration of forty years of con tinuous ministry to the church of its pastor, Dr. Harlin J. Roper, in May of this year. Dr. Roper used the same text, II Corinthians 5:20, that was used for his initial sermon as pas tor of the church the third Sunday of May, 1927. The length of Dr. Rop er’s pastorate at Scofield Church makes him the dean of Dallas pas tors. The church, independent of de nominational affiliation, has 1375 members and an annual budget of slightly over $100,000, half of which

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goes to foreign missionary activity. Roy L. Challberg, assistant director for World Vision of Korea, reports, “ Thousands of families in Korea are on the verge of abandoning their children because of the lack of day care centers.” The remarks came as he returned to his post in Seoul after a year’s furlough. The Korean eco nomic conditions are slowly improv ing. Because of the lack of television, Challberg says, the children are us ing more of their creative potential. This may be one of the factors which has caused much of the society to display a greater degree of initiative in certain areas, he explained. The Korean government feels they are on schedule toward total reconstruction as they pass another five year goal. However, total reconstruction is still in the future. Currently, thousands of children still face abandonment. Dr. Bemon Moetenson, General Direc tor of TEAM, has announced the ap pointment of the Rev. Carl W. Davis as Home Secretary of the mission in Australia. At the request of TEAM’S Australian Council, Mr. Davis will initiate an active program of repre senting the ministry of the Mission in schools and churches. The growing missionary interest in Australia has resulted in a number of young peo ple’s responding to TEAM’S call for Commonwealth citizens to serve in areas such as India and Pakistan where they can more easily gain entry. World Vision International of Monro via, Calif, has sponsored an inter national art talent contest, with more than 15,000 orphans and needy chil dren between the ages of six and 18 participating. These children, aided by people in America, Australia and Canada, will be representing 19 coun tries including Vietnam. According to Dr- Bob Pierce, president of WV, the program is the first of its kind and will give the children a chance to display abilities which otherwise might not be recognized. The Indo-Burma Pioneer Mission hon ored Mr. Watkin R. Roberts, a veteran missionary to India, with the Distin guished Missionary Citation at its annual banquet. Speaker for the eve ning was Dr. Richard C. Halverson, vice president of World Vision Interna tional. While in India, Missionary Roberts opened village schools for the backward tribes and introduced the first printing press. He has been active in various organizations. At age 82, Mr. Roberts is still active as an elder in the famous Peoples’ Church of Toronto, Canada. His wife, Gladys, is a hymn writer. One of her well-known songs is “Wounded For Me.”

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AUGUST, 1967

W it h in A PEW VERSES in this chapter (II Cor. 6:1-10), Paul goes from height to depth and rises then to greater height than ever. He relates an experience in the third heaven now fourteen years past. From vision to valley he drops to tell of his thorn in the flesh. He sought deliverance which was not granted. He asked for subtraction but he got addition! He is made to realize that the grace of the Lord is sufficient and he rises again to glory in God’s strength made perfect in weak ness. This passage ought to settle forever the ques tion, “What is the Christian’s greatest experience?” One thing ought to be clear at the very outset: IT IS NOT A TRIP TO THE THIRD HEAVEN. There has been a lot of useless discussion of what Paul actually experienced. If he could not tell it him self, we need not pry into it to find out more than his bare statement. Was he bodily present there or did his spirit take a brief sojourn? He did not know, so how can we? Where is the third heaven? Does Paul have in mind here the Jewish idea of a first heaven, the aerial heaven; a second, the side real heaven; a third, the spiritual heaven? All of this is beside the point. Paul had a supernatural experience. Let it go at that. We like visions and raptures and sensational revelations.^ From childhood we are always trying to get into one third heaven or another. As a small boy I read the adventures of Alice Through the Looking Glass and wished I might somehow get through our old dresser mirror into all the won ders of Looking Glass Land. Some time ago the papers told us of little Dickie Bonham who wanted to fly like some of the comic book characters. He leaped off a cliff, injuring himself fatally. In the hospital he said, “Mother, I almost did fly.” Well, we almost do fly at times and we are always try ing to get up into some exalted state above the hum drum range of day-by-day. The drunkard seeks escape through his bottle. The theater-goer gets a “ lift” vicariously through the screen. A good love affair transplants a romantic swain out o f this world. The religious mystic takes a better road in contemplation of the Divine. Anyhow, we are always trying to “get away from it all” in some sort of third heaven. Some have been granted real and rich spiritual

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ness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens, received their dead raised to life again. All that is indeed mighty deliverance. But there follows immediately another host of saints who did not fare that way: they were tortured, had trial of mockings, scourg- ings, bonds and imprisonment, were stoned, sawn asunder, tempted, slain with the sword; wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, af flicted, tormented. These were not granted deliver ance but they, like the others, obtained a good report through faith. That was the main thing; whether or not they were delivered was incidental. The Hebrew children, facing the fiery furnace, said, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will de liver us out of thine hand, 0 king. But if not, be it known unto thee, 0 king, that we will not serve thy gods nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” Whether or not they were delivered from the furnace was not the supreme thing. To be faithful to God was paramount; all else was secondary. The Christian’s greatest experience is not some mighty deliverance. The Hebrew children’s greatest experience was walking with the Son of Man in the midst of the fire. If they had been de livered from the furnace, they would have missed that walk with God in the fire. If Paul had been delivered from his thorn in the flesh, he would have missed something infinitely greater. Mighty deliverances make great stories which cause audiences to hang on to every word. But they can bring distress to some listening soul by their very contrast to his experience. He may not ha,ve been granted deliverance from his thorn and what is wine to the delivered may be vinegar to the undelivered. We should relate such deliverances with great caution and it is better if we have some thing greater to tell than the removal of Satan’s messenger in our case. The Christian’s supreme experience is not even A REMARKABLE ANSWER TO PRAYER. Paul’s prayer was answered but not in the way he expected. If it had been, he would have received a smaller blessing than that which came through the denial of his request. Now God does grant amazing answers to prayer. He does often give us

experiences such as Paul enjoyed. Men of the Bible met God and many of the saints have been granted those rare and lucid intervals when earth fades and heaven becomes intensely real. Fox, Bunyan and Finney, for instance, reached uncommon alti tudes. In our day we have read how George Truett had a peculiar experience of Christ. We do not doubt these men for their word is reliable. I am not inclined to take some other stories I have heard without plenty of salt. They leave me cold. When I hear some visions related, I merely wonder what the “ visioneer” had for supper before he reached his third heaven! But even when raptures are genuine, they are not the Christian’s greatest experience. In fact they may be dangerous. If it hadn’t been for Paul’s third heaven, he would not have had his thorn in the flesh. That thorn was given, he tells us, “ lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations.” He repeats the rea son, “ lest I should be exalted above measure.” Such experiences are not good for other people if you tell them too often. Listeners who are hun gry for such exalted states themselves begin look ing for “ it,” seeking some strange escape from reality, trying to work up a self-induced ecstasy. Paul began this passage telling about “ It” — the third heaven—but he ended talking about “ Him” —the Lord Himself. Anything is dangerous that starts people looking for “ It” instead of “Him.” God does indeed sometimes grant a “trip to third heaven.” Peter, James and John had a rare day on the transfiguration mount but when it ended they saw no man save Jesus only. We are so prone to get excited, trying to build three tab ernacles to house our red-letter day, but actually such occasions are incidental. They are not the Christian’s supreme experience. Nor is the most important thing A MIGHTY DELIVERANCE. Paul was not delivered from his thorn in the flesh: but if he had been, he would have missed something greater. God does indeed again and again deliver from danger, disease, temptation, disaster and death. We are told in Hebraws of a glorious galaxy of faith heroes who subdued king doms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weak

AUGUST, 1967

wonderful! If He removes your thorn, glorious! But whether He does or doesn’t, you have found something better. Instead of being exalted above measure, bragging about a vision, you boast of a victory. It usually takes some kind of thorn to bring us through to this supreme experience. Notice that Paul says, “THERE WAS GIVEN TO ME a thorn in the flesh.” Although it was a messenger of Satan, it was, nevertheless, definitely a part of the process. It took trouble to bring triumph. Do not think of Paul’s thorn as something extraneous. It was the means God allowed to bring Paul to a greater blessing. It was part of his supreme expe rience for without it he would have been exalted above measure and he would never have reached the point of utter dependence on Christ. Better be buffeted by Satan than exalted above measure! You will observe that Paul did not merely re sign himself to his affliction. Resignation is better than rebellion or a stiff-upper-lip Stoicism but it is not the highest attitude. We may acquiesce and resign to the inevitable because we have to ! After all, there isn’t much we can do about it. Resignation may bring a martyr complex and a selfish pride in putting up with whatever comes. Better than all this is acceptance—accept the will of God when adversity comes, learn whatever les sons are in it and believe that it works for our good. That is a wholesome and healthy spirit. Re bellion or mere endurance of affliction may wreck us. Resignation may make us “proud that we are humble.” Acceptance falls in step with God’s plan and purpose and enables us to safely trust though we may not fully understand. Some things of course are never to be accepted. They are the will of the devil and must be resisted and defeated. But that which cannot be removed may be turned to God’s glory and transmuted from a burden into a blessing. Paul accepted his thorn and turned what might have been his stum- blingblock into a steppingstone. He did not grum ble about his infirmity; he gloried in it. This, then, is the conclusion of the whole mat ter. The Christian’s supreme experience does not lie in raptures and revelations, trips to third heav en. It does not lie in mighty deliverances or re markable answers to prayer. These are indeed pre cious when God pleases to grant them and they make exciting stories but left to themselves they may exalt us above measure. The Christian’s supreme experience is to get past all incidental and secondary things to Christ Himself and His sufficient grace. Then, no matter what God grants or what He refuses, He Himself is our portion and our reward and we can sing with Paul, “ I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessi ties, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” HI]

what we ask and sometimes in astonishing ways. I am not minimizing that. Books have been com piled, recounting marvelous cases where God said, “ Yes.” Some of them are spectacular, sensational, and we play them up. But they are not the Chris tian’s supreme experience. Yet I would have you observe that although Paul was not granted deliverance from his thorn and although his prayer was not answered in the way he desired, he was granted an experience greater than all this. In the strength of it, he out- traveled, out-preached, out-wrote and in general out-performed any preacher of his time. Certainly that is spectacular and sensational after all! What was Paul’s—and what is the Christian’s — supreme experience? It was the discovery of what in a sense he already knew, that God’s grace is sufficient and that as he lived day by day in simple dependence upon that grace, God’s strength was made perfect in his weakness. Actually we are not to read the Lord’s answer to Paul in this ac count as something He said on that particular occa sion. Rather it was something He had been saying through the years, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” It was something Paul already had in Christ and already knew but now it became actual in expe rience. Like the poor dirt farmer who discovered oil on his few acres, it was a coming into posses sion of what was already there. Indeed it simply means coming past third heav ens and everything else to Christ Himself. It is Christ that Paul has in mind when he talks here about the Lord. He says he will glory in his infirmi ties “ that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” The Christian’s supreme experience is to get through to Christ Himself and to where he can say, “ Now Thee alone I seek, Give what is best.” It is getting past revelations and exaltations and deliverances and prayers and great days and spots on a map or dates in a book to the all-sufficiency of our Lord. We make much of seven heavens but when we glory in Christ we have an experience greater than all other experiences because it in cludes them all. It may not sound as exciting in a testimony meeting to say simply, “ I have found Christ sufficient day by day” as to relate a hair- raising story of some personal rapture. But it is better to have heaven come down daily in the pres ence o f Christ with us than to be caught up to a third heaven now and then. I’d rather have some thing I could tell any day and all the days than to have heard words I could not utter! After all, the Lord Jesus promised to be with us literally “ all the days, even unto the end of the age.” It is better to boast of the Christ of Every Day than to tell strange stories of One Red-letter Day. Then, if God grants you a trip to third heav en, good! If He grants you mighty deliverance,

THE KING'S BUSINESS

S e r m o n s F rom

A t E X P O ’6 7 by Martin W o lf Montreal, Quebec, Canada

T HE Hope Diamond in the glit tering crown of Canadian Cen tennial celebrations is EXPO ’67 which is taking place from April 28th until October 27th in Mon treal, Quebec. The theme of this World Exhibition is “Man and His World.” Amidst the many magnificent National and Theme Pavilions is the strategically lo cated S ermons F rom S cience P avilion with its theme “ G od and His W orld .” Throughout the day, crowds fill the 300-seat auditorium. There they see the work and workings of our Infinite God in the world of science. This is done by means of a variety of Moody Science films, as well as live sci entific demonstrations of the ex acting physical laws in the uni verse, by Dr. George Speake of the Moody Institute of Science. At the conclusion of this presen tation, the visitors are invited to see another presentation on the important matter of how they can make a personal contact with the God of Creation. Those who are interested come into our 65-

seat “ Conference Room” where on film Dr. Leighton Ford pre sents the Plan of Salvation, using the Four Spiritual Laws which govern man’s relationship with God. The Lord has richly and abun dantly blessed the outreach from the start. Before the end of the first week, there were more than 20,000 people in the main audi torium. Of these, more than 6,000 remained to see the Leighton Ford film. Who are these people who re mained to hear the Plan of Sal vation du r in g these opening days? Quebec has a population of more than 6,000,000 of whom more than 5,000,000 are French- speaking Roman Catholics who have never heard the Gospel. Since Montreal is the second largest French-speaking city out side of Paris, the vast majority of those remaining have been these French Canadians. Thus, in addition to the average indi vidual there have been priests, nuns, as well as many student priests from the local Catholic

seminaries. Others who have heard the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ have been Jewish people, Muslims, Hindus, cultists and even those who claim they don’t believe anything. We praise and thank our wonderful Lord for the opportunity of sharing Jesus Christ with all of them (John 3:16). You may be wondering, “Well, what happens after the Leighton Ford film presentation of the Gospel?” Trained counsellors un der the guidance of the Holy Spirit seek to open a conversa tion with a visitor. The counsellor personally presents the Plan of Salvation with the aim of leading the individual into a personal de cision for Jesus Christ. In the first three days, the Holy Spirit brought over 80 into a personal relationship with the Saviour. We feel that each one of “new babes” in Christ is a result o f the fervent prayer of God’s people. We would appreciate deeply your prayers as God continues making New Men in Christ Jesus at EXPO ’67. HU

AUGUST, 1967

BIBLE STUDY FEATURE

*»ir Lewis C. Hohenstein

V ERY rarely DO I speak on the subject of retri butive action or punishment from the hand of God—the subject of Hell—and the rarity of my speaking is not because of my lack of concern, but because I feel so inadequate to deal with such a subject. When speaking on judgment and punish ment, we should have the attitude of Robert Mur ray McCheyne, the great Scottish preacher, who never spoke to his people until he had wet the cushion of his study chair with his tears. Then he always spoke as a dying man speaks to dying men. Will God ever empty Hell into Heaven? A few weeks ago a young Los Angeles police man was shot by two men as he stopped a car to make some inquiries — a senseless murder. Some statistics were released at the time that are quite shocking and revealing: Since 1960, thirteen Los Angeles police officers have been murdered, and of those thirteen, eleven have been shot to death by men who were paroled from the state prisons of California. We certainly should ask: Do we dare to pour Hell into Heaven? Every home that is effective, where the author ity of that home is respected, has some kind of

“woodshed.” In the schools of our county and state, if the authority of the teacher is to be respected, there must be a principal’s office with a paddle. If the authority of the state and nation is to be respected, there must be prisons. It is only right, then, for us to assume, without any revelation from God, that if the authority of the Sovereign God is to be recognized and understood and not mocked, there must be a Hell. Hell is a necessity. It grows out of a need. I have never spoken with reference to retribu tive attitudes, as far as God is concerned, but that someone asks if I think God would forever punish a human being for his rebellion. The problem is not that we have a wrong concept of God, but that we have a wrong concept of the nature of man. Someone once said to Dr. Bamhouse concerning the eternity of Hell, “ You wouldn’t even punish a cat for that long.” Dr. Bamhouse explained that if a cat were going to live forever and ever and could not die, if that cat were infected with a dis ease with which, if left alone, he would infect all other cats with the same disease, so that we would have a universe filled with diseased cats running

THE KING'S BUSINESS

around forever and ever to infect all other animals, we would not think twice before we relegated that cat to a separate place where it could not infect other creatures. You and I and every human being are created “ living souls.” We are created to live forever and forever so that somewhere in some state we shall be existing eternally. Therefore, if there are those who are involved with an infection of sin, that if allowed to go on forever would infect all other human beings, certainly a gracious and good God could do no less than to relegate them to a place and a condition where they would not infect all others. God in His graciousness must make provi sion for those who by their own free will have chosen to live in rebellion against His authority. Let us look at the nature of Hell. Have you ever been there? Maybe you have and don’t know it. C. S. Lewis, in talking about the conclusion of all things, explains that when mat ter is all concluded and everything is finished, there will be two groups o f people left. Group number one will be a group that will have said, “Not my will, but Thine,” to God. This is Heaven. The other group will be a group to whom God has said, “Not My will, but thine.” This is Hell. I think we can see, if we will, the depths o f the thinking of Lewis on this question and begin to understand that there will not be a single soul in Hell that has not chosen to go there. Do you ever dream of Heaven? It is easier for me to think of Hell. Hell is born in every one of us. Where does Hell begin? The Scripture tells us that Hell, or Gehenna, was created for the Devil and his angels. It began in Lucifer who became Satan. For man it began back in the Garden of Eden. God said to man that he could eat of every tree that was in the Garden save of the tree of the fruit o f the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The woman did not sin, but she was deceived and she ate of the fruit. Paul tells us, “Man was in the transgression.” It was not some little simple thing; it was wrestling with the ideas and the thoughts that are involved with eternity. Adam finally took the fruit and said, “ O.K., I’ll go to Hell with you.” That’s where it began, when man put his will up against the will of God. Every one of us is bom with the fire of Hell in our very being. Where does Hell begin? Some time past I was asked to come to a home. There the wife said to me, “ Pastor, I don’t know what we are going to do with Grandpa; he’s become so crotchety and so cantankerous, we just don’t know what to do.” Later on I talked to the hus band, and he said to me these words of wisdom, Rev. Lewis C. Hohenstein is pastor of the First Brethren Church, Whittier, California.

“Grandpa isn’t any different; he’s just more so.” One day, some years ago, a young wife came to see me about an aunt who, because of financial cir cumstances, had to live with them. She was com plaining about the aunt, how terrible she was in the home, and how no one could live with her. She looked at me in panic and said, “ Pastor, will I be like that when I grow old?” I asked her if she remembered how her aunt was when she was her age, and she said, “ She was just like me.” I had to tell her that unless she ceased to be the center of her world, she would be like her aunt when she grew old. Hell is more than a place; it is a condition. In the first chapter of Romans, the Apostle Paul, writing to the church at Rome, three times spoke concerning the pagans in the world, “And God gave them up . . . and God gave them up . . . and God gave them up. . . . In Hebrews the third and fourth chapters, the writer to the Hebrews pleads with the people, “ Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.” For thirty-eight years the children of Israel walked through that desert and they never changed their minds. They became con firmed in their arrogant rebellion against God. When did hell begin? Maybe we didn’t understand what Hell was at the beginning, but it began be fore we were ever bom, because we were bom with this nature of selfishness. When the Apostle James wrote to the church that was dispersed, he talked about one of the prob lems which is universal, the use of the tongue: “ Even so the tongue is a little member and boasteth great things. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity; so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell” (James 3:5, 6). The first death is the separation of the body and the soul. The second death will be the separation of the resurrection body and soul. Let’s follow then the thought of James. He is talk ing about the persons who used their tongues wrongly. That is the greatest sin of the world today, gossiping. I have called in homes in my ministry where people, now grown old, pleadingly say, “ Pastor, the people o f the church don’t call on me.” It is very apparent why people don’t call on them—because they are so self-concerned and so vitriolic in their speech, so caustic and critical of this generation. They talk about everybody and tear people apart. Then they wonder why people “give them up.” People give them up just as God will give men up. What is Hell? It is that one of these days one will not have a body to manipulate but will have within him

AUGUST, 1967

Let us look in the 12th verse: “ These are spots in your feasts of charity [or love], when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear.” They come to the communion service and there is no fear of consequences. They act as if they are Christians when they are not; they are hypocrites. The next verse states, “ Clouds they are without water, car ried about of winds.” These clouds look as if they are going to bring us rains of refreshing, but in stead they bring us smog. “Trees whose fruit with- ereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots” : boasting, fruitless lives. “ Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever”—energized toward evil, and cut free from the gravity of God’s love. God could never empty Hell into Heaven for a very simple reason: The people in Hell wouldn’t want to go there. Let me quote C. S. Lewis again: “ For a damned soul there is nearly nothing. It is shrunk, shut up in itself. God beats upon the damned incessantly as sound waves beat upon the ears of the deaf, but they cannot receive it. Their fists are clenched, their teeth are clenched, their eyes fast shut. First, they will not, in the end they cannot, open their mouths for food.” Jeremy Tay lor, in his great sermon on “The Punishment of God,” says, “ The progress of sin may be mercifully slow, but it is certain at last, if unhindered, to bring the sinner to the irrevocable doom. At first sin star tles the sinner, then becomes pleasing, then fre quent, then habitual, then confirmed. Then the sin ner becomes impenitent, then obstinate, then deter mined never to repent, and then he perishes.” He goes out in a confirmed state of irrecovery. Let me ask you in the words of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, what is your attitude toward the witness of God as He brings His Holy Spirit to bear upon the sensitiveness of your nature ? Listen to His words in Luke 12:10: “ And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.” Will you respond with the response of your soul to the love of God? Is it, “ I don’t need Your love,” or is it, “God, be merciful to me a sinner” ? One of these days we are going to be standing in one of two groups at the end of things where one group will be saying, “Not my will, but Thine,” and the Lord will be saying to the other group, “Not My will, but thine.” Where do you stand today? God would empty Hell into Heaven if He could. God would love to empty Hell into Heav en, but He can’t, because when we choose to go there, as Jeremy Taylor says, we choose to go over the broken body o f Christ, and we choose it because we don’t want Heaven. Q b ]

memory. Jesus tells us of a man who died and went to Hades. When he asked to have Lazarus sent across the gap, that he might dip his finger in the water and put it on his tongue, Abraham said, “ Son, remember. . . .” Memory is the cruelest thing I know. Remember! There came a time in my life when I thought if I could just go back in my life and erase the memory of all the harsh things I have said, of all the things I have thought, o f all the things that I have been, what a Heaven it would be! Then one day I found a way of washing away all of the dross. I came face to face with the reality of God in Jesus Christ, and He washed away my Hell! I put my Hell on Him. This is the choice that we have to make if we are to be delivered from Hell. What is Hell ? Hell is the complete moving into eternity in a confirmed state of rebellion against the will of God. You don’t have to die to go to Hell; if you don’t know Christ, you are living in it right now. Jesus said, “He that hath the Son hath life, he that hath not the Son hath not life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.” You say that the Bible says it’s fiery. “ Fiery” - I don’t know how you would express it. I remem ber when I was a youngster I lied to my father and got my brother in trouble. He received a severe punishment, and I lived in hell! It was fiery-burn ing! I would have put my fist into a bucket of scalding water if I could have recalled the words. The pain of the sensitive soul who lies or cheats is worse than any fire that ever burned. I do not know what the Lake of Fire is, but it cannot be less severe than we can imagine. There are two sections of Jude we should con sider. Verse 6: “ And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha . . .” These people, who had sold themselves to sexual perversion, will forever have that burning lust in their souls and will be unable to fulfill the lust in the exercise o f the flesh. Have you ever sat and listened to two old codgers, un godly men, as they talked about their lives in the past? They acted as though they had just gone through some kind of contest. They marked off the various evil things which they had done. They look around and eyed the young girls and they go through all of the titterings and gigglings o f some teenager, but in their bodies you know they are just as dead as a doornail. Think of the misery and the hell of such people, having to exist throughout eter nity in this kind of a burning, consuming fire. This is what is seen in Sodom and Gomorrha. Hell, then, is the confirmed state of existence in rebellion against God.

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