Seven Final Questions . . ,249

Seven Final Questions . . ,249

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The Secret of Joy . . . 245 Promise of the Future . . ,245 The Hope of His Coming . . .247

21. SEVEN FINAL QUESTIONS Seven Final Questions . . ,249

DO YOU BELIEVE ON THE SON? WHAT IS YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARD SIN? ARE YOU AN OBEDIENT SERVANT? ARE YOU SEPARATED FROM THE WORLD? ARE YOU ANTICIPATING THE COMING OF CHRIST? DO YOU LOVE THE BRETHREN? Do You PRACTICE SIN?

It is the best of times and the worst of times, writes the novelist who thinks that the world, this world, is a perfectible place.

But for the evangelist it is the other way around. It's the worst of times and the best of times. Worst in that this world is bubbling with imperfection-sin, war, rebellion, chaos, poverty, disease. Best in that there's a way out of sin and disease and the despair engendered by them, that the Bible describes the way, that Jesus Christ is the way as well as the truth and the life.

Such an evangelist is Billy Graham, who for almost half a century has preached from the Bible to audiences around the world. He's really an itinerant evangelist in the sense that he has sought souls all over the world. Traveling by plane, train, and ship, he has conducted crusades all over the United States and in most of the capitals of Europe, in South America and South Africa, as well as in the Far East. More than two million souls have accepted his invitation to publicly accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

His shuttle evangelism is not unlike Saint Paul's. Traveling by horse, camel, and commercial grain ship, the Apostle of the Gentiles visited such international centers of the Roman empire as Jerusalem, Ephesus, Corinth, Caesarea, Galatia, Damascus, Antioch, Athens, and finally Rome, where he was eventually martyred. Everywhere he went he presented the hard and pure teaching of Jesus Christ.

At one point or another in their careers, theologians and preachers of all Christian denominations come to feel that

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Christian doctrine has an inner clock, that its pendulum has been winding down, that its ticking has become less audible, less reliable, over the rough course of centuries and cultures.

There's a certain logic in this, but it's a logic not verified by fact. In the course of his own career, Graham has seen that the harder the doctrine, the more believable it is. And hence he has had no difficulty in presenting, much as Paul before him, the Gospel whole and entire-angels, miracles, virgin birth, atonement for sin, Heaven and Hell-to the people of the world in a literal, non-critical acceptance of the biblical narrative.

Graham's "one great failure" in life, according to an interview given to Time magazine on the occasion of his seventy-fifth birthday in 1993, was an intellectual one. He felt he hadn't devoted enough time and energy to the academic study of theology and Scripture, even when the opportunity presented itself. Instead, acknowledging his own lack of intellect, and indeed lack of appetite, for theologizing, he decided to make the Bible his text, and to stick to it.

And so he has. Billy Graham's preaching has presented the entire Bible, from the beginning to end, from Genesis to Revelation. He makes a variety of topical references along the way, dozens of them in any one sermon; if the great D. L. Moody could insert fourteen stories in one sermon, so Billy Graham could illustrate his own sermons with a swirl of stories, anecdotes, and headlines. But apart from each transitory reference, which was meant only to illustrate a point he was making, his preaching is still Jesus, the Word of God's word, the Bible.

Uncluttered, and indeed unfettered, by a social or theological agenda that might be fashionable one day but unfashionable the next, his preaching has had a certain purity of tone. It takes listeners back in time, to the apostolic time, where they have the distinct impression that they may be listening, not to a contemporary American

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evangelist with an urgent voice, but to Paul or Peter or Timothy talking with irresistible enthusiasm about this person named Jesus.

One gets the same impression reading Billy Graham's books. This is not to say that reading Graham is like reading the Gospel. But it is to say that this collection of excerpts from Graham's published works, The Faithful Christian, contains the evangelist's thoughts on the same topics chosen by the writers of the Gospels and Epistles in the New Testament.

Biographer William Martin, author of A Prophet with Honor: The Billy Graham Story calls Graham "an icon not just of American Christianity but of America itself." Perhaps that's because his influence has spread beyond his denomination. His form of Christianity, a centrist Christianity that can generally be believed by Bible churches as well as liturgical churches, has flowed through American Christianity like a mighty Mississippi, seeking whom it might nourish, whom it might serve, whom it might save.

William Franklin Graham, Jr., was reared on a North Carolina farm, where he learned piety from his parents. He didn't want to grow up to inherit the farm; he wanted to play baseball. But a conversion experience intervened. He wasn't knocked off his feet by a voice from a cloud, as Paul had been; rather it was like being picked off first base with too long a lead. "I didn't have any tears, I didn't have any emotion, I didn't hear any thunder, there was no lightning," he recalled for Time magazine. "But right there, I made my decision for Christ. It was as simple as that, and as conclusive."

He attended Bob Jones College, the Florida Bible Institute, and finally Wheaton College in Illinois. There he met Ruth Bell, the daughter of missionaries to China. She herself wanted to do big things for the Lord, like converting Tibet; instead, she accepted the proposal of the young man with high hopes and married him.

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On his call to be an evangelist, he told Time magazine his wife was the greatest influence. "I thought God called you," interrupted his wife of fifty years. "Well, he told me through you too." And she has been an influence in his books. Countless are the references to her, to her experiences, to her wisdom; and many are the quotations from her poetry. The Grahams have six children and many grandchildren.

For many years the Grahams have lived in a comfortable log home in the mountains of North Carolina, 3,200 feet above sea level. "As much as my wife Ruth and I enjoy our home,. . . " Graham has written, "we spend very little time there because God has called us into the valley of life where the lost people are. If we spent all our time in the hills and on mountaintops, how would we effectively serve God?"

The excerpts in The Faithful Christian are drawn from articles and many of Billy Graham's published works from Calling Youth to Christ (1947) through Storm Warning (1993).

One virtually unknown title has proved to be invaluable when it comes to understanding Billy Graham the person as well as Billy Graham the evangelist. A Biblical

Understanding for Evangelists (1984) is his commentary on the fifteen Affirmations made by four thousand participants at the International Conference for Itinerant Evangelists in Amsterdam, July 1983. The words of the Affirmations themselves form a sort of creed or code for the itinerant evangelists like Graham, and indeed through them, eventually, to their audiences. His commentary is not only on the wording of the Affirmations themselves but also the outline of his own teaching, ministerial life, and beliefs. "May we see a renewed dedication in this generation," he wrote in the Introduction, "to the priority of evangelism on the part of every child of God."

Near the end of every revival meeting, the evangelist invites members of the audience to come forward as a public sign of accepting Christ as his or her own Lord and

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Savior. It's not a casual invitation; it's an crucial one. Graham always gives several, very excellent reasons for this. Jesus taught that there is an eternal destiny for each individual, either Heaven or Hell; they have no assurance of continued physical life tomorrow; and a delayed decision can result in a heart that's hardened to the call of God's Spirit.

In its way, this book, The Faithful Christian, is itself an invitation to meet, not only Billy Graham, for he has written all the words, but also Jesus Christ, Who is Himself the Word, Who spoke the Word of God Himself, and Who Himself promised eternal life.

-Bunny Graham Dienert

Challenge and Thrill

There are a lot of people who think that to be a preacher all you have to do is to preach twice a week and conduct prayer meetings-about an hour and a half's work per week. Many consider the ministry an easy and lazy profession and many have said, "If you cannot be anything else, be a preacher." But a preacher who is true to the Word of God must not only preach the Word (2 Timothy 4:2) but must expose false teaching (1 Timothy 1:3). A minister who is true to his calling must warn people against the danger of heresy and false doctrine. Many times he is tempted to soft-pedal because people may misunderstand and he may make enemies. That is why Paul said, "I am praying for you day and night, Timothy." Your pastor needs prayer that God will give him courage to stand true. Timothy was called upon to "reprove." That was a hard thing for a young man to do! Paul told him to

"rebuke." That, too, is hard! First Timothy 5:19 tells us that Timothy was instructed to handle church discipline. All these problems are faced by a minister of the Gospel. Your pastor or evangelist carries a thousand and one problems and has hundreds of things to do that you never hear of. Yet Timothy was a young man, and Paul charged him

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with these great responsibilities. The greatest challenge and thrill in the world is to preach the Gospel-even though many times it costs!

Gift of the Evangelist

W e must be clear about the nature and necessity for evangelism as it is presented to us in the Bible. We must be clear also on the legitimacy and importance of the call to be an evangelist.

How important is evangelism to the church? If a fire is raging in the world, how important is a fire truck? There would be no church without evangelism.

The gift of the evangelist is one of the major spiritual gifts God has given the church (Ephesians 4:11). The gift of the evangelist is just as valid and crucial for the church today as it was in New Testament times.

Paul in his last letter commanded the young pastor Timothy, "Preach the word; . . .do the work of an evangelist" (2 Timothy 4:2,5). Tragically, the church has often lost sight of the legitimacy and importance of the biblical evangelist. When it has, the church has grown stale and lifeless, shrinking in numbers and spiritual impact. But when it has rediscovered and encouraged the gift of the evangelist, God has blessed the church with spiritual harvests. May God grant that the gift of the evangelist will be seen once again as central in the world church, so that God's people may reach out more effectively to a world that, apart from God, is lost and dying.

God's call to the special ministry of evangelism is distinct from other callings in the ministry of the church. In Acts 21:8 we read that Philip is identified as "the evangelist." Now, this does not detract from the truth that all Christians are called to be witnesses to their Lord and Savior. And pastors, in addition to their shepherding, teaching, and administrative responsibilities, are to be

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involved in evangelism.

But he who is called to and set apart for the work of an evangelist is to devote his time and effort singlemindedly to this God-given task. He is not to be distracted by anything likely to deflect him from this. Persecution will not weaken his resolution. The persuasion of others will fall on deaf ears. Only the clear leading of God will cause him to change his ministry.

Invitation and Urgency

Every time I give an invitation I am in an attitude of prayer-because I know the situation is totally dependent on God. Incidentally, this is the moment in a meeting when I feel emotionally, physically, and spiritually drained. This is the part of the evangelistic service that often exhausts me in every way. I think one of the reasons may be the strong spiritual battle going on in the hearts of so many people. It becomes a spiritual battle of such proportions that sometimes I feel faint. There is an inward groaning and agonizing in prayer that I cannot possibly put into words. I am sure every true evangelist senses this.

Urgency is another ingredient of this aspect of the evangelist's ministry. Of course, whenever we preach, there is a sense of urgency in the message, but this comes to a climax at the moment of invitation. The urgency I feel at that time is compelling. I know there could be many who, if they leave without making their commitment to Christ, may never have another opportunity like this again. When the call for decision has been made and many are responding, I still feel a continuing sense of urgency for those who are holding back. I've felt the same urgency as I've shared Christ with an individual on a plane, or in an office. Urgency is an indispensable part of the work of an evangelist.

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The urgency in calling people to a decision is based on three concerns.

First, Jesus taught that there is an eternal destiny for each individual-either Heaven or Hell (John 5:25-29). The eternal destiny of each individual depends on a decision made in this life (Luke 16:19-31)-to be followed by a life of obedience. No decision for Christ can be made after death. "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27).

Second, we have no assurance of continued physical life tomorrow (Proverbs 27:l). There is an urgency to the Gospel because life can end at any moment. Someone to whom we speak may never have another opportunity to hear the Gospel and accept Christ. "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Third, a delayed decision can result in a heart that becomes hardened to the call of God's Spirit. The Bible warns us about being "hardened through the deceitfulness of sin" (Hebrews 3:13). The Bible also warns, "He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy" (Proverbs 29:l). So the evangelistic message always contains a note of urgency born out of the teaching of Scripture.

This urgency is expressed by the evangelistic call to all who hear the Gospel. This call is an integral part of the evangelist's responsibility; he does not merely preach truth but proclaims it with a view toward some of his hearers responding positively to the Gospel. Of course, the Gospel must be simply and understandably communicated, the issues made plain, the necessity of a responsepositive or negative-clearly taught. At that point the evangelist is dependent on the power of the Scripture and the ministry of the Holy Spirit to work in and through the message in the hearts of all who hear.

While the evangelist is essentially a harvester, his message may be used by God in another way. It may be a

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preparation of some hearts for a subsequent positive response-a planting of the seed of the Gospel. For others, it may be a watering of that seed which leads to decision. God is sovereign and we cannot dictate to Him the stages through which He may choose to bring an individual to saving faith. Paul wrote, "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase" (1 Corinthians 3:6-7).

The call to decision is scriptural. It is found repeatedly throughout the Bible. It begins with God calling Adam and Eve (Genesis 3) when they hid from Him because of their sin. It ends with God's call by His Spirit through His witnesses and evangelists, "The Spirit and the bride say,

'Come.' And let him that heareth say, 'Come.' And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely" (Revelation 22:17).

The Word of God is a re-echoing invitation to lost humanity to turn to Him.

Bible in Hand Hill of Beans 1 wish today that all the ministers in this country could stand behind the sacred desk and preach as having authority. I wish that every man who professes the name of Christ and holds this sacred Book in his hands could back up every word and say, "Thus saith the Lord." I believe it is the message of the hour, the message that needs to be proclaimed from the housetops, in the streets, down on the avenue, in the church, or wherever one might find professing Christians-"Thus saith the Lord." My illustrations don't amount to a hill of beans. What I think about them doesn't amount to a hill of beans. My ideas about philosophy, politics, or world events mean absolutely nothing. I believe that today men and women are hungry to hear "Thus saith the Lord." Today people want to

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hear what is on the pages of this Book. They want to know what God has to say. They want to know what the Bible says. Night after night in this campaign I have been trying, to the best of my ability, to tell you what God says instead of what man says. Instead of what philosophers or politicians say about world events, I have been trying to tell you what the Scriptures say.

Jesus spoke as a man having authority. Jesus stood up and spoke as the Son of God, and today we can follow Him and speak with authority concerning the Word of God. He was the greatest Teacher of all times.

More Than Great Literature

There are those who regard the Bible principally as the history of Israel. Others admit that it sets forth the soundest ethics ever enunciated. But these things, important as they are, are only incidental to the real theme of the Bible, which is the story of God's redemption as it exists in Jesus Christ. In an editorial which appeared 30 June 1983, the International Herald Tribune recommended that the Bible should be read as literature because it is "The English language at its best." Those who read the Scriptures as magnificent literature, breathtaking poetry or history, and overlook the story of salvation miss the Bible's real meaning and message.

God caused the Bible to be written for the express purpose of revealing to man God's plan for his redemption. God caused this Book to be written that He might make His everlasting laws clear to His children, and that they might have His great wisdom to guide them and His great love to comfort them as they make their way through life. For without the Bible, this world would indeed be a dark and frightening place, without signpost or beacon.

The Bible easily qualifies as the only Book in which is

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God's revelation. There are many bibles of different religions; there is the Muslim Koran, the Buddhist Canon of Sacred Scripture, the Zoroastrian Zend-Avesta, and the Brahman Vedas. All of these have been made accessible to us by reliable translations. Anyone can read them, comparing them with the Bible, and judge for themselves. It is soon discovered that all these non-Christian bibles have parts of truth in them, but they are all developments ultimately in the wrong direction. They all begin with some flashes of true light, and end in utter darkness. Even the most casual observer soon discovers that the Bible is radically different. It is the only Book that offers man a redemption and points the way out of his dilemmas. It is our one sure guide in an unsure world.

Sixteen hundred years were needed to complete the writing of the Bible. It is the work of more than thirty authors, each of whom acted as a scribe of God. Those men, many of whom lived generations apart, did not set down merely what they thought or hoped. They acted as channels for God's revelation; they wrote as He directed them; and under His divine inspiration they were able to see the great and enduring truths, and to record them that other men might see and know them too.

During these sixteen hundred years, the sixty-six books of the Bible were written by men of different languages, living in different times, and in different countries; but the message they wrote was one. God spoke to each man in his own language, in his own time, but His message basically in each case was the same. When the great scholars gathered together the many ancient manuscripts written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, and translated them into a single modern tongue, they found that God's promises remain unchanged, His great message to man had not varied.

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Investing in a Bible If you do not have a Bible in your home, go out and get one now-get the one that suits you best, get the size that is most comfortable for you to handle, get the type that is most pleasant for you to read, and then settle down and find out for yourself why this one Book has endured. Don't be afraid to invest in the best Bible you can affordfor that is what you are making: an investment. We spend our money for expensive clothing which perishes but hesitate to buy the best in Bibles which is an investment in eternity. Find out for yourself why it answers every human need, why it supplies the faith and strength that keeps humanity marching forward.

If you and the Bible have had a long absence from each other, it might be well for you to renew your acquaintance by reading again the Gospel of John. While this is considered one of the most profound books in the Bible, it is also the clearest and most readily understood. It was written for the very purpose of showing the how and the why of man's salvation, so that the questions of the mind as well as the gropings of the heart might be satisfied.

After reading the Book of John, you might acquaint yourself with the Gospel as taught by Mark, Luke, and Matthew, noting how these men of widely different personalities and writing styles set forth the eternal story of redemption through Jesus. You will become aware of the powerful, universal truth that underlies all Gospel teaching and be impressed anew with what the biblical writer meant when he said, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever" (Hebrews 1329.

When you have read each of the Gospels individually, start in at the beginning of the New Testament and read straight through all the books in order. When you have done that, you will have developed such a taste for Bible reading, you will have found it such a fountain of inspiration, such a practical counselor and guide, such a treasure

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chest of sound advice, that you will make Bible reading a part of your daily life.

A knowledge of the Bible is essential to a rich and meaningful life. For the words of this Book have a way of filling in the missing pieces, of bridging the gaps, of turning the tarnished colors of our life to jewel-like brilliance. Learn to take your every problem to the Bible. Within its pages you will find the correct answer.

But most of all, the Bible is a revelation of the nature of God. The philosophers of the centuries have struggled with the problem of a Supreme Being. Who is He? What is He? Where is He? If there is such a Person, is He interested in me? If so, how can I know Him? These and a thousand other questions about God are revealed in this Holy Book we call the Bible.

What is God Like? A simple, straightforward answer to this very basic question is hard to find-unless we simply remind ourselves that God is just like Jesus Christ! All the attributes of God are seen in Jesus Christ: His love, mercy, compassion, purity, sovereignty, and might. This is why our faith in God must always be Christ-centered. As Dr. Michael Ramsey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote: "The heart of Christian doctrine is not only that Jesus is divine, but that God is Christlike and in him is no un-Christlikeness at all."

The greatness of God defies the limitations of language. As I read the Bible, I seem to find holiness to be His supreme attribute. However, love is also a prime quality. The promises of God's love and forgiveness are as real, as sure, as positive, as human words can describe. God is holy love.

Behind the love of God lies His omniscience-His ability to "know and understand all." Omniscience is that quality of God which is His alone. God possesses infinite knowledge and an awareness which is uniquely His. At all times, even in the midst of any type of suffering, I can realize that He knows, loves, watches, understands, and, more than that, He has a purpose.

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As a boy I grew up in the South. My idea of the ocean was so small that the first time I saw the Atlantic I couldn't comprehend that any little lake could be so big! The vastness of the ocean cannot be understood until it is seen. This is the same with God's love. It passes knowledge. Until you actually experience it, no one can describe its wonders to you.

A good illustration of this is a story my wife told me about a man in China who was selling cherries. Along came a little boy who loved cherries; and when he saw the fruit, his eyes filled with longing. But he had no money with which to buy cherries.

The kindly seller asked the boy, "Do you want some cherries?" And the little boy said that he did.

The seller said, "Hold out your hands." But the little boy didn't hold out his hands. The seller said again,

"Hold out your hands," but again the little boy would not. The kind seller reached down, took the child's hands, filled them with two handfuls of cherries.

Later, the boy's grandmother heard of the incident and asked, "Why didn't you hold out your hands when he asked you to?"

And the little boy answered, "His hands are bigger than mine!"

God's hands, also, are bigger than ours! Some of our modern experts in theology have made attempts to rob God of His warmth, His deep love for mankind, and His sympathy for His creatures. But God's love is unchangeable. He loves us in spite of knowing us as we really are. In fact, He created us because He wanted other creatures in His image in the universe upon whom He could pour out His love, and who, in turn, would voluntarily love Him. He wanted people with the ability to say "yes" or "no" in their relationship to Him. Love is not satisfied with an automaton-one who has no choice but to love and obey. Not mechanized love, but voluntary love satisfies the heart of God.

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Were it not for the love of God, none of us would ever have a chance in the future life!

Some years ago a friend of mine was standing on top of a mountain in North Carolina. The roads in those days were filled with curves, and it was difficult to see very far ahead. This man saw two cars heading toward each other. He realized that they couldn't see each other. A third car pulled up and began to pass one of the cars, although there wasn't enough space to see the other car approaching around the bend. My friend shouted a warning, but the drivers couldn't hear, and there was a fatal crash. The man on the mountain saw it all.

This is how God looks upon us in His omniscience. He sees what has happened, what is happening, and what will happen. In the Scriptures He warns us time after time about troubles, problems, sufferings, and judgments that lie ahead. Many times we ignore His warnings.

God sees all and knows all. But we are too limited by the finiteness of our minds and the short time we have on earth even to begin to understand the mighty God and the universe He has created.

The Trinity

W h e n I first began to study the Bible years ago, the doctrine of the Trinity was one of the most complex problems I had to encounter. I have never fully resolved it, for it contains an aspect of mystery. Though I do not totally understand it to this day, I accept it as a revelation of God.

The Bible teaches us that the Holy Spirit is a living being. He is one of the three persons of the Holy Trinity. To explain and illustrate the Trinity is one of the most difficult assignments to a Christian. Dr. David McKenna once told me that he was asked by his small son, Doug, "Is God the Father God?"

He answered, "Yes."

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"Is Jesus Christ God?" "Yes." "Is the Holy Spirit God?" "Yes." "Then how can Jesus be His own Father?" David thought quickly. They were sitting in their old 1958 Chevrolet at the time. "Listen, son," he replied, "under the hood is one battery. Yet I can use it to turn on the lights, blow the horn, and start the car." He said,

"How this happens is a mystery-but it happens!" This is a terribly difficult subject-far beyond the ability of our limited minds to grasp fully. Nevertheless, it is extremely important to declare what the Bible holds, and be silent where the Bible is silent. God the Father is fully God. God the Son is fully God. God the Holy Spirit is fully God. The Bible presents this as fact. It does not explain it.

God the Father

Some see God as a harsh father, waiting to punish His children when they do something wrong. Others perceive God as unable to handle the evil on earth, or indifferent to the suffering caused by it.

God's love is unchangeable; He knows exactly what we are and loves us anyway. In fact, He created us because He wanted other creatures in His image upon whom He could pour out His love and who would love Him in return. He also wanted that love to be voluntary, not forced, so He gave us freedom of choice, the ability to say yes or no in our relationship to Him. God does not want mechanized love, the kind that says we must love God because it's what our parents demand or our church preaches. Only voluntary love satisfies the heart of God.

God is a God of love, and He is not blind to man's plight. He doesn't stand on a mountaintop, viewing the wrecks in our lives, without shouting a warning. Since

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man caused his own crash by his rebellion against the Creator, God could have allowed him to plunge into destruction.

From the very beginning of man's journey, God had a plan for man's deliverance. In fact, the plan is so fantastic that it ultimately lifts each man who will accept His plan far above even the angels. God's all-consuming love for mankind was decisively demonstrated at the cross, where His compassion was embodied in His Son, Jesus Christ. The word "compassion" comes from two Latin words meaning "to suffer with." God was willing to suffer with man.

In His thirty-three years on earth, Jesus suffered with man; on the cross He suffered for man. "God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:19). An important verse to memorize is: "God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:s). God's love did not begin at the cross. It began in eternity before the world was established, before the time clock of civilization began to move. The concept stretches our minds to their utmost limits.

Can you imagine what God was planning when the earth was "without form and void"? There was only a deep, silent darkness of outer space that formed a vast gulf before the brilliance of God's throne. God was designing the mountains and the seas, the flowers and the animals. He was planning the bodies of His children and all their complex parts.

How could creation be by chance? Even before the first dawn, He knew all that would happen. In His mysterious love He allowed it. The Bible tells us about the "Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world" (Revelation 13:8). God foresaw what His Son was to suffer. It has been said there was a cross in the heart of God long before the cross was erected at Calvary. As we think about it, we will be overwhelmed at the wonder and greatness of His love for us.

God's love liberated man from the beginning of time to

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do his own thing, but whatever his choice, there were to be either benefits or consequences. Adam and Eve enjoyed the benefits for a while, but they forced every generation that would ever be born to face the consequences.

It was the love of God which put the Ten Commandments in the hands of His servant, Moses. It was His love which engraved those laws, not only in stone, but also upon the hearts of all people. Those commandments became the foundation of all civil, statutory, and moral law and the basis of conscience. It was God's love which knew that men were incapable of obeying His law, and it was His love which promised a Redeemer, a Savior, who would save His people from their sins.

It was the love of God which put words of promise into the mouths of His prophets, centuries before Christ came to this planet. It was God's love that planned the political conditions before the coming of Jesus Christ. Greece, as the great power during the four-hundred-year period before the birth of Christ, prepared the way for His message by spreading a common language throughout the world. Then the transportation problem had to be solved, and the great Roman Empire came into power and built a network of roads and developed a system of law and order. So by using the common language and the Roman roads and legal system, God spread His Word through the early Christians. The Scripture says that "when the time had fully come, God sent his Son" (Galatians 4:4).

God the Holy Spirit

The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is a person. Jesus never referred to "it" when He was talking about the Holy Spirit. In John 14/15 and 16, for example,-~e spoke of the Holy Spirit as "He" because He is not a force or thing but

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a person. Whoever speaks of the Holy Spirit as "it" is uninstructed, or perhaps even undiscerning. In Romans 8:16 the King James Version refers to the Holy Spirit as "itself." This is a mistranslation. Nearly all of the newer translations have changed "itself" to "himself."

We see from the Bible that the Holy Spirit has intellect, emotions, and will. In addition to this, the Bible also ascribes to Him the acts we would expect of someone who was not just a force, but a real person.

He speaks. "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God" (Revelations 2:7). "And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them"' (Acts 13:2).

He intercedes. "And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words" (Romans 8:26).

He testifies. "When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of Me" (John 15:26).

He leads. "And the Spirit said to Philip, 'Go up and join this chariot"' (Acts 8:29). "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God" (Romans 8:14).

He commands. "And they passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; and when they had come to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them" (Acts 16:6,7).

He guides. "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come" (John 16: 13 RSV).

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He appoints. "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood" (Acts 20:28).

He can be lied to. "But Peter said, 'Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God"' (Acts 5:3,4).

He can be insulted. "How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?" (Hebrews 10:29).

He can be blasphemed. "Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the age to come" (Matthew 12:31,32).

He can be grieved. "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30).

Each of the emotions and acts we have listed are characteristics of a person. The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force, like gravity or magnetism. He is a Person, with all the attributes of personality. But not only is He a Person: He is divine as well.

Throughout the Bible it is clear that the Holy Spirit is God Himself. This is seen in the attributes which are given to the Holy Spirit in Scripture, for example. Without

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exception these attributes are those of God Himself.

He is eternal. This means that there never was a time when He was not. "How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Hebrews 9:14).

He is all-powerful. "And the angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God"' (Luke 1:35).

He is everywhere present (that is, omnipresent) at the same time. "Where can I go from Thy Spirit? Or where can I flee from Thy presence?" (Psalm 139:7).

He is all-knowing (that is, omniscient). "For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God" (1 Corinthians 2:10,11).

The Holy Spirit is called God. "But Peter said, 'Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God"' (Acts 5:3,4). "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18 RSV).

He is the Creator. The first biblical reference to the Holy Spirit is Genesis 1:2 (Moffatt) where we are told "the spirit of God was hovering over the waters." Yet Genesis 1:l says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." And in Colossians 1 where Paul is writing to the Church at Colossae about the Lord Jesus Christ,

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among other tremendous truths he tells us, "For in Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things have been created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together" (Colossians 1:16,17). Thus, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit were together creating the world. To understand and accept these facts is of the greatest importance to every Christian, both theologically and practically.

Fruits of the Spirit Of all the passages in the Bible which sketch the character of Christ and the fruit which the Spirit brings to our lives, none is more compact and challenging than Galatians 5:22, 23. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."

There should be no more distinctive mark of the Christian than love. "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35). "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren" (1 John 3:14). "Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law" (Romans 13:8).

Returning from his young son's grave in China, my father-in law wrote to his mother in Virginia, "There are tears in our eyes, but joy in our hearts." The joy which the Spirit brings to our lives lifts us above circumstances. Joy

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can be ours, even in the midst of the most trying situations.

The Greek word for "joy" is used repeatedly in the New Testament to denote joy from a spiritual source such as

"the joy of the Holy Spirit" (1 Thessalonians 1:6). The Old Testament likewise uses phrases like "the joy of the Lord" (Nehemiah 8:lO) to point to God as the source.

Peace carries with it the idea of unity, completeness, rest, ease, and security. In the Old Testament the word was shalom. Many times when I meet Jewish friends I greet them with "Shalom." And often, when I greet my Arab friends I use a similar term that they use for peace, salam.

Isaiah said, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee" (Isaiah 26:3 KJV).

Patience is the transcendent radiance of a loving and tender heart which, in its dealings with those around it, looks kindly and graciously upon them. Patience graciously, compassionately, and with understanding judges the faults of others without unjust criticism. Patience also includes perseverance-the ability to bear up under weariness, strain, and persecution when doing the work of the Lord.

Kindness, or gentleness is a term that comes from a Greek word referring to the kindness that pervades and penetrates the whole nature. Gentleness washes away all that is harsh and austere. Indeed, gentleness is love enduring. Jesus was a gentle person. When He came into

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the world, there were few institutions of mercy. There were few hospitals or mental institutions, few places of refuge for the poor, few homes for orphans, few havens for the forsaken. In comparison to today, it was a cruel world. Christ changed that. Wherever true Christianity has gone His followers have performed acts of gentleness and kindness.

This is derived from a Greek word referring to that quality found in the person who is ruled by and aims at what is good, that which represents the highest moral and ethical values. Paul writes, "For the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth" (Ephesians 5:9). He also says, "To this end also we pray for you always that our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power; in order that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you" (2 Thessalonians 1:11, 12). Again Paul says in commending the church in Rome, "And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able also to admonish one another" (Romans 15:14).

The reference to faithfulness (or "faith" in the KJV) is not to faith exercised by the Christian, but rather to faithfulness or fidelity, produced by the Holy Spirit in a yielded Christian life. The same word occurs in Titus 2:10 where it is translated "fidelity" in the King James Version. This trait of character is highly commended in Scripture. Fidelity in little things is one of the surest tests of character, as our Lord indicated in the parable of the talents: "You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in

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charge of many things" (Matthew 25:21). Morality is not so much a matter of magnitude, but of quality. Right is right, and wrong is wrong, in small things as well as in big things.

The word "gentleness" here (or in the KJV, meekness) comes from a Greek word meaning "mild; mildness in dealing with others." Jesus said, "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5). Nowhere in Scripture does this word carry with it the idea of being spiritless and timid. In biblical times gentleness or meekness meant far more than it does in modern day English. It carried the idea of being tamed, like a wild horse that has been brought under control. Until tamed by the Holy Spirit, Peter was a rough and ready character. Then all of his energy was used for the glory of God. Moses was called the meekest of men, but prior to God's special call to him he was an unbroken, high-spirited man who needed forty years in the desert before he was fully brought under God's control. A river under control can be used to generate power. A fire under control can heat a home. Meekness is power, strength, spirit, and wildness under control.

Self-control (temperance in the KJV) comes from a Greek word meaning strong, having mastery, able to control one's thoughts and actions. John Wesley's mother once wrote him while he was a student at Oxford that "anything which increases the authority of the body over the mind is an evil thing." This definition has helped me understand "self-control."

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The GzJt of Healing

The Holy Spirit gives the gift of healing (literally, the gift of cures). Many cases of healing appear in the Old Testament, and certainly the New Testament is full of instances when Jesus aid His disciples healed the sick. Throughout the history of the Christian Church countless instances of physical healing have been recorded.

The ministry of physical healings through spiritual means is sometimes associated with faith healers. Many of these claim to have the gift of healing or at least some special power. Tens of thousands of people flock to these healers. And thousands more are urged to write certain radio and television preachers who claim to have this gift of healing. Indeed, mass attention has been focused in recent years on the Christian faith and physical healing.

However, we must distinguish the operation of what the Bible calls the gift of healing from a second method of healing. Some place their emphasis on the faith of the one who needs healing-telling him it will happen if only he believes. By this they mean more than those who believe that forgiveness, cleansing, and acceptance with God spring from the atoning work of Jesus on the cross. They think that any Christian who becomes ill can claim healing by faith. Note that this has nothing to do with the gift of healing as such. Such teachers may believe, for example, that physical healing for disease is in the atonement of Jesus Christ. To them the death of Christ on the cross not only results in the offer of forgiveness for our sins, but also physical healing for the body. Both, they believe, come to us by faith.

This kind of healing has to do with faith rather than just the gift of healing itself.

All of These Kidc

Jesus' disciples were irritated. The Master was tired from teaching all day, and here were all of these little kids pushing Him around. Can't you imagine the scene? Their mothers wanted the boys and girls to touch Him, and the disciples sought to shoo the children away. But Jesus reached out and said, "Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me; for of such is the kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 19:14 KJV).

Translated into modern vernacular, that meant, "Let the children alone, don't stop them from coming to Me. Don't you know that the kingdom of Heaven belongs to children?"

We must all enter the kingdom of Heaven with the simple faith and trust of a child, but a special place is reserved in the heart of the Lord for the young ones.

One mother of a child who died said, "I thank God for loaning us the little fellow for a few years, and for the knowledge that we will see him again when we are united with Christ after death. What a joyous reunion! What a wonderful Savior, to provide the gift of eternal life!"

How true it is that the Lord must love little children, because He calls so many of them home. Our hope that

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those who die as children are lovingly taken by God to heaven was expressed beautifully by King David when his infant son died: "I will go to him, but he will not return to me" (2 Samuel 12:23).

The Rich Young Man

D o you remember that moment in Jesus' life when a rich young man came up to Him and asked, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus answered, "You know the commandments." The young man answered, "All these I have kept since I was a boy." It was quite a claim. Jesus must have looked carefully at the young man. He must have seen that this seeker was telling the truth. The rich man was sincere, a struggler, a lover of truth. So Jesus answered him, "Sell everything you have and give to the poor. . . .Then come, follow me." The young man couldn't do it. It would have cost him too much. So "he became very sad" (Luke 18:18-23) and turned away. He missed the chance of a lifetime. He asked for life and missed it. He clung to the standards of living to which he had become accustomed, to his security, and he lost everything. We must not let this happen to us.

This does not mean Jesus necessarily calls all of us to renounce all wealth. God may entrust wealth to some individuals who are to use it for His glory. But the rich young ruler's problem was not that he was wealthy, but that his wealth came before his commitment to Christ. Is there anything in your life that is keeping you from Him? If so, there is no shortcut. You must loosen your grip on it before you can reach out to Christ.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

Probably one of the most graphic descriptions of Hell in the Bible is given by Jesus in His parable of the rich man

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and Lazarus. During his life the rich man refused to help Lazarus, a poor beggar who yearned to eat the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. When the beggar died, he was carried to Abraham's side, which was what we would describe as Heaven. The rich man was sent to Hell and was in torment. Jesus did not imply that having wealth means being doomed to Hell, nor did he say that being poor guarantees anyone the right to Heaven. However, it is a graphic description of the unbeliever's suffering apart from God.

According to the parable, the rich man looked up and saw Abraham, with the beggar by his side. He spoke through cracked, parched lips and pleaded for Abraham to ask Lazarus to dip his finger in some water and bring it to him to cool his tongue. "I am in agony in this fire," he cried.

But Abraham said there was a great chasm between the two worlds and it was "fixed," or permanent. No person on one side could cross over to the other. In other words, the one in Hell had been given a choice of direction during his life on earth, and now he had to suffer the consequences of his decision to live for himself instead of for God. There was no second chance.

The Good Shepherd

T h e wonderful picture of God as our Shepherd is found in many places in the Old Testament. One of the Psalms begins, "Hear us, 0 Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock (Psalm 80:l). It's great to think that the Everlasting God, the Almighty Creator, condescends to be the Shepherd of His people.

David makes the relationship a personal one in the best known of all Psalms. "The Lord is my shepherd," he cries exultantly, "I shall lack nothing" (Psalm 23:l). The rest of the Psalm tells us what we shall not lack. It speaks of the shepherd's provision as He leads us to the green pastures,

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His guidance along the paths of righteousness (that means the right paths), His presence with us in the dark valley. No wonder David testifies, "My cup overflows" (verse 5)- such are God's boundless blessings.

Isaiah adds a further touch to the picture when he says, "He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart" (Isaiah 40:11). The figure here indicates the tender care with which the Lord supports His people on their journey and the strong love with which He enfolds them.

In the New Testament, Jesus uses this same figure and applies it to Himself. He says, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. . . .I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me" (John 10:ll-14).

Note four things about Jesus the Good Shepherd. He owns the sheep: they belong to Him. He guards the sheep: He never abandons them when danger is near.

He knows the sheep, knows them each by name and leads them out (see verse 3).

And He lays down His life for the sheep, such is the measure of His love.

How thankful we should be, weak, wandering, and foolish as we are, that we have such a shepherd. Let's learn to keep close to Him, to listen to His voice, and follow Him. This is especially important in times of spiritual peril. Jesus tells us not to be misled by the voices of strangers (verse 5), and there are many strange voices being heard in the religious world of our day. Don't be deceived by false teachers. Jesus is the Good Shepherd: trust Him. And Jesus is the door of salvation: Enter by that door, and you will find the full and abundant life He came to bring (verses 7-10).

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Miracles

T h e gift of performing miracles takes its key term, "miracles," from a Greek word meaning "powers" (2 Corinthians 12:12). A miracle is an e;ent-beyond the power of any known physical law to produce; it is a spiritual occurrence produced by the power of God, a marvel, a wonder. In most versions of the Old Testament the word

"miracle" is usually translated "a wonder" or "a mighty work." Versions of the New Testament usually refer to miracles as "signs" (John 2:11) or "signs and wonders" (John 4:48; Acts 5:12; 15:12).

Clearly, the wonders performed by Jesus Christ and the apostles authenticated their claim of authority and gave certitude to their message. And we must remember that people did ask Jesus and the apostles this question, "How do we know that you are what you say you are, and that your words are true?" That was not an improper question. And at strategic moments God again and again manifested Himself to men by miracles so they had outward, confirming evidence that the words they heard from God's servants were true.

Jesus and the Intellectual

T h e intellectual. . .already has his mental outlook logically formed into a coherent system with all of the pieces fitting together in a neat mosaic, so that the removal of one piece destroys the pattern. The intellectual thinks he must be able to understand before he comes to Christ. The intellectual just cannot reach out and grasp a helping hand because he must have the situation explained in terms of his system of thought. He wants to know the source of that help, the manager of that help, because he has already committed himself to a set of assumptions that are rigid and all-inclusive. From his point of view, his system is complete.

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Nicodemus was an intellectual. He, too, had a rigid philosophical and theological system worked out, and it was a good system. He had even included a belief in God. The intellectual structuring of his philosophical religious system excluded Jesus as the Son of God.

But what did Jesus tell this intellectual? He said something like this: "Nicodemus, I am sorry that I cannot explain it to you. You have seen something that troubles you. You have seen something that does not fit your system. You have seen me to be good, and you have heard me say that I am God, that I act with the power of God. This does not fit your system, but I cannot explain it to you because your assumptions do not allow for a starting point. Nicodemus, to you it is not logical. Nothing in your system permits it. I am sorry I cannot explain. You will just have to be born again" (John 3:l-5).

In other words, Nicodemus had to start without even being logical from his own point of view. He had to start without fitting what Jesus said into his system. He had to take a leap of faith into a new system.

If you are to find the answer to your search, you too may have to reject much of your old system and plunge into this new one. As Dr. [Kenneth L.] Pike says: "The intellectual needs to be told that his system as a whole must be replaced.. .that he must be born again. Christianity is not an accretion, it is not something added. It is a new total outlook which is satisfied with nothing less than penetration to the furthest corners of the mind and the understanding."

Conflict, Not Coziness

Jesus Christ spoke frankly to His disciples about the future. He hid nothing from them. No one could ever accuse Him of deception or making false promises.

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In unmistakable language, He told them that discipleship meant a life of self-denial and the bearing of a cross. He asked them to count the cost carefully, lest they should turn back when they met with suffering and privation.

Jesus told His followers that the world would hate them. They would be arrested, scourged, and brought before governors and kings. Even their loved ones would persecute them. As the world hated Him, so it would treat His servants. He also warned, "a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God" (John 16:2).

The Christian therefore must expect conflict, not an easy, cozy life. He is a soldier, and as it has been said, his captain never promised him immunity from the hazards of battle.

Many of Christ's early followers were disappointed in Him, for, in spite of His warnings, they expected Him to subdue their enemies and set up a world political kingdom. When they came face to face with reality, they

"turned back and no longer followed him" (John 6:66). But the true disciples of Jesus all suffered for their faith.

We are told that the early Christians went rejoicing to their deaths, as if they were going to a marriage feast. They bathed their hands in the blaze kindled for them and shouted with gladness. One early historian, witnessing their heroism, wrote, "When the day of victory dawned, the Christians marched in procession from the prison to the arena as if they were marching to Heaven, with joyous countenances agitated by gladness rather than fear."

How true were the words of Paul to the early Christians: "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22).

Someone has said that these are God's "permitted contradictions" in our lives. However, there is a drastic difference between God's permissive will and His perfect will for our lives. We strayed from that perfect will when Adam chose to disobey God in the Garden.

As life hits us head-on, we can respond with resentment,

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resignation, acceptance, or welcome. We are the living examples of our responses.

The Great Com m issio n

I t is hard to imagine what must have been passing through the minds of that little band of eleven disciples as they clustered around the risen Lord Jesus Christ on a mountain somewhere in Galilee. They recently had gone through the misery of apparent defeat, watching helplessly as Jesus was nailed to a cross. Their dreams of a world kingdom under Christ's rule were shattered. Then came the reports from the women who had visited the tomb early on that first Easter morning-reports that He was alive! At first they doubted; but as time went on, they knew the reports to be true, for Jesus Himself appeared to them many times. Finally, He comes to them and issues the greatest challenge they-or we-could ever hear: "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:18-20).

These words of commission need to be restudied and obeyed by the whole church, and especially by those of us who are evangelists. In that one statement the Master summarized all that we require for our task.

Jesus commanded-Go with My power. "All power [authority] is given unto me in Heaven and in earth. Go. . . !" (Matthew 28:18-19). Without that announcement of His authority, the Great Commission would have lacked justification and motivation. But under that authority, we can direct divine power from Heaven and destroy demonic power on earth. Jesus has all power in Heaven and on earth! As John Stott put it (at the World Congress on

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Evangelism in Berlin in 1966), "The authority of Jesus Christ extends over all creatures, whether human or superhuman, over the church, over nations, over the devil and his works."

Jesus commanded-Go with My program. "Go. . . make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you" (Matthew 28: 19-20, NKJV). We are to evangelize men and women. The New English Bible renders this, "Make all nations my disciples" (Matthew 28:19, NEB). That personal pronoun makes it clear that our task is not only to call for decisions for Christ, but to make disciples for Christ. Also, we are to baptize men and women. We are to bring converts into the fellowship of the church. This is the significance of the One name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are to catechize men and women. We are to "[warn] every man, and [teach] every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus" (Colossians 1:28).

Jesus commanded-Go with My presence. "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20). In the person of the Holy Spirit, Jesus has promised to be with us every day, and come what may-until the task is finished-and to the end of time. What a promise, what a comfort!

The Great Quest

You started on the Great Quest the moment you were born. It was many years perhaps before you realized it, before it became apparent that you were constantly searching-searching for something you never had-searching for something that was more important than anything in life. Sometimes you have tried to forget about it. Sometimes you have attempted to lose yourself in other things so there could be time and thought for nothing but the business at hand. Sometimes you may even have felt that you were freed from the need to go on seeking this nameless thing. At moments you have almost been able to dismiss the quest completely. But always you have been caught up in it again-always you have had to come back to your search.

At the loneliest moments in your life you have looked at other men and women and wondered if they too were seeking-something they couldn't describe but knew they wanted and needed. Some of them seemed to have found fulfillment in marriage and family living. Others went off to achieve fame and fortune in other parts of the world. Still others stayed at home and prospered, and looking at them you may have thought: "These people are not on the

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Great Quest. These people have found their way. They knew what they wanted and have been able to grasp it. It is only I who travel this path that leads to nowhere. It is only I who goes asking, seeking, stumbling along this dark and despairing road that has no guideposts."

But you are not alone. All mankind is traveling with you, for all mankind is on this same quest. All humanity is seeking the answer to the confusion, the moral sickness, the spiritual emptiness that oppresses the world. All mankind is crying out for guidance, for comfort, for peace.

Man the Searcher

The Bible tells us that man began in the image of God and lost his way. A good indication of the human predicament today is a sign on the rear window of an automobile: " ~ o n ' t folloime. I'm lost." Carl Jung, the eminent psychologist, once said: "Man is an enigma to himself."

There is within every man a certain sense of frustration. Voices echo from within the inner chambers of his soul: "I ought not to be the way I am. I was made for something higher. There must be a supreme being. Life was not meant to be this empty." These voices, often unconscious and unarticulated, cause man to struggle onward toward some unknown, unnamed goal. We may try to evade this quest; we may detour into fantasy; we may revert to the lower levels of life and seek escape from this laborious truth. Indeed, we may even give up temporarily, throw up our hands, and say: "What's the use?" But always some inner compulsion drives us back, and invariably we take up the quest again.

Men in every culture are engaged in this eternal search. I took some of my college work in anthropology, where we studied primitive societies. We never found a tribe anywhere in the world, no matter how primitive, that was not

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engaged in this search. It is a search to find purpose and meaning in life. It is a search to find truth and reality. It may be crude, primitive, or even vulgar; but it is still part of the search!

Walking and Talking with God

I n the beginning, God and man were friends. They walked together and talked together. They made great plans as to how this planet was to be populated and developed. The planet earth was to show God's glory to the entire universe. It was to be the center of God's activities in His partnership with man.

It is quite evident that God desired the fellowship of a creature like man. Thus man was created with a high and exalted purpose, a high and exalted destiny. Man was to be God's closest friend, His partner in cultivation and development of the earth.

God did not create man a piece of machinery so that He could push a button and man would obey Him. Man was no robot. Man was a "self." He had dignity and he had ego. He could choose whether he wanted God's friendship and fellowship or not. God did not want His creature to love Him because he was forced to do so. This would not be true love. He wanted man's love and fellowship because man chose to love God.

Thus from the very beginning God proceeded to test man's love and friendship. This is why He put the tree in the garden. He said: "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shall not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:16,17).

God promised to reward man with "the tree of life" if he obeyed, but God invoked the penalty of death for disobedience. We do not know all that "the tree of life"

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implies, but the reward must have been something far beyond our comprehension. If we accept the Genesis account, which Christ certainly accepted, then all of life has meaning.

True and Fake

The two altar fires outside Eden illustrate the difference between true religion and false religion. One belonged to Abel who brought of the firstling of his flock as the offering to the Lord God. He offered it in love, in adoration, in humility, and in reverence. And the Bible says that the Lord had respect unto Abel and his offering. The other belonged to his older brother Cain, who had brought a bloodless, cheap offering to the altar, and the Bible says that "unto Cain and his offering God had not respect." How could the Lord God be so capricious? After all, did not Cain attempt to please God, and was he not perfectly sincere?

This story was put in the Bible to teach that there is a right way and a wrong way to make contact with God. Abel made his sacrifice humbly, reverently, and sacrificially, bringing his very best to God-and he came in God's way. Cain made his sacrifice grudgingly, selfishly, and superficially-but he also disobeyed God in the way he came for he came without faith. When God did not sanction and bless his sacrifice, Cain became angry and killed his brother. Abel truly loved God and worshiped Him. Cain's worship was a meaningless religiosity, as empty and hollow as his whole life became. Leaving his family, he walked the earth embittered, crying unto the Lord: "My punishment is greater than I can bear" (Genesis 4:13).

Here we see the emergence of a stream of religiosity, branching off from the mainstream of true worship of the Lord God. Throughout history this stream is destined to become an ever-widening river. Man is eternally torn

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between the true and the false, the worship of idols and the worship of the Lord God, the lure of religiosity or the recognition of the plain biblical teaching of the way of salvation.

Even while Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the tablets of stone "written with the finger of God," humanistic religion was breaking out in the camp of Israel. The people said to Aaron: "Up, make us gods which shall go before us." Aaron submitted to their demands and said: "Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and your daughters, and bring them unto me. . . .And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, 'These be thy gods, 0 Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt'" (Exodus 32:1-4).

As time moved forward, other idolatrous tributaries flowed into the mainstream of religion-Baal, the god of tribes of Canaan; Chemosh, the god of Moabites; Dagon, the god of Philistines; and Molech, the god of the Amorites. If all the gods of history were listed by name, a good-sized volume would be needed to hold them all.

The inescapable implication of a counterfeit is that the real thing exists. No one ever counterfeited a seventy-fivedollar bill. Every counterfeit bears witness to the reality of the currency it copies. So in the midst of all the plan and programs men have devised to satisfy their religious urge, true religion does exist and is available for all who will come to God on His terms.

Babylon 1 want to take you in your imagination back twenty-five hundred years. Babylon rules the world. Situated at the top of the Fertile Crescent, enclosed within walls so thick that four chariots could ride abreast, pierced by a hundred bronze gates where sentinels stand watch day and night.

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Babylon, mighty Babylon, on the left bank of the Euphrates River, the mightiest city in the world, at the crossroads of antiquity; the center of world commerce; the richest city on earth. Out on the far-flung battlefields of the world her armies were gaining victory after victory under the leadership of the victorious general Nabonidus.

The hanging gardens of Babylon were one of the seven wonders of the world and were built by Nebuchadnezzar for his Median queen the beautiful daughter of Xerxes, who had helped his father conquer Nineveh. These gardens were constructed on several tiers of arches, one over another, each bearing a solid platform four hundred feet square. The terraces were covered with flowers, shrubs, trees and gardens. Underneath, in the arches, were luxurious apartments.

As one looks at the ruins today, he finds it hard to realize that there once stood the great Babylon, a city of extravagance and luxury beyond imagination, unsurpassed in the history of the world, but now a scene of utter desolation and ruin.

The king of Babylon at this particular time was Belshazzar (Daniel 5). He was young and handsome, a haughty, proud and high-spirited young man, puffed up with false glory that he had never earned. He was the kind of young fellow who never gave the serious things of life a second thought. His motto was: "Eat, drink and be merry, and have a good time." God was far from his thinking. He was determined to sow his wild oats and to have his fling. Although God had said, "The wages of sin is death" and, "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap," Belshazzar thought he could beat the game of sin. He thought he could get away with it.

Thus, in spite of the warning of God's servants, he determined to have a banquet, a party that would be second to none that the world had ever seen.

The luxury, the splendor, and the brilliance of his extravagance would be the talk of the empire. One day he

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called his chief servant and said, "I am going to put on a party that will be the biggest that this old world has ever seen. I want you to get the finest foods, the rarest wines, the best orchestra, the hottest dancers, and send invitations to a thousand of my lords and noblemen. I will show them." Thus the preparations got under way.

Could he get away with it? Could he disregard God in his life? Could he flout sin in God's face? Only a few years ago God had thrown his grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar, from the throne because of sin. Could any man beat the game of sin? Could any young man go on, have his fling, sow his wild oats and never have to pay for it? Let's see!

The day dawns. The sky is an oriental blue. This day has been declared a holiday throughout all Babylon. The king is throwing a party for a thousand of his lords and noblemen. It will be the most extravagant banquet the world has seen. Everyone is excited. Bands are playing the national airs. Flags are unfurled. There is dancing in the streets. Gaily colored costumes are evident everywhere. Jeweled chariots are coming in from every part of the empire bringing ambassadors, army officers, nobles, lords and men of high distinction to Belshazzar's banquet.

The evening shadows gathered, and hundreds of people line the walks and streets to see the notables enter the great banquet hall. Belshazzar is the host. The soft oriental music excites the mind and flesh. Dancers dance; wine flows freely. The party continues into the night. The orchestra plays wilder tunes. The dancing gets faster and faster. Immorality and disgusting sin are evident everywhere.

A cloud comes over the moon that has been riding high in the sky as if to hide its face from the wicked scene below. A soft breeze sweeps over Babylon as if the elements are trying to blow away the shameful stench of sin.

It is almost midnight. Suddenly the intoxicated mind of the young king seems to have gone wild. He calls a servant to him, whispers in his ear, and the servant leaves the hall. In a few moments the servant comes back bearing in

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his arms the gold and silver vessels of God. What is the young king about to do? Does he dare to shake his fist in God's face? Are not these the vessels that had been dedicated to the use of God in the Temple at Jerusalem? Are they not sacred? Does he dare to desecrate them?

He stands and orders the servants to pass the vessels. Then he proposes a toast to the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood and stone. The guests are breathless. They did not think that the young king would dare to go this far but in their wild, intoxicated, carefree spirit they assent with ungodly laughter. The party grows wilder and wilder.

Again Belshazzar stands to propose a toast and holds in his hand one of the ornate golden vessels of God. Suddenly the vessel crashes to the table. Belshazzar's face turns white. The joints of his loins are loosed, and his knees smite one against the other. A deathlike silence grips the banquet hall. Women scream and faint. Every person's eye is riveted to one spot on the wall. An armless hand is writing over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall. The young king has come face to face with the supernatural for the first time in his life, and he is afraid.

He has an army, but he is afraid. His coffers are filled with silver, gold, and precious jewels, but he is afraid. He is surrounded by his best friends, but he is afraid.

Belshazzar was frightened. He tried to interpret the writing on the wall, but he could not. He called in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers and said to them, "Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom" (Daniel 5:7). They were an overconfident lot. They were the scientists, the philosophers, and the psychologists of the day. Certainly they could read and interpret anything. Confidently, they set about their work. Soon their faces turned white, and trembling they left the banquet hall one by one. They could

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not read the writing. Why? I will tell you. It is impossible for a man outside of God to read God's handwriting (1 Corinthians 2:14): "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

By this time Belshazzar's mother came. . . . [she] realized the predicament of her young son and said, "0 king, live forever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed: there is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers; forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpretation."

Immediately Belshazzar took his mother's advice and sent for Daniel. Daniel was brought in. Though they put him in a lions' den, he would stand true to God. He was strong, magnificent, of sterling character. His righteous, piercing eye convicted Belshazzar before either had spoken.

"Daniel! Do you see that writing on the wall? If you can read that writing I will put a gold chain around your neck. I will make you the third ruler in the empire, and I will put royal robes on you." Notice Daniel's answer. There was no weakness here!

Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. 0 thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honor: and for the

majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages,

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trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly

throne, and they took his glory from him: and he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and

his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will. And thou his son, 0 Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of Heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee and thou, and thy lords, the wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified: then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. And this is the writing that was written, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing. MENE: God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL: Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES:

Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

Belshazzar quaked and cringed. He was afraid. His heart was pierced with conviction at his own folly. God's words came back to him: "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap"; "The wages of sin is death"; "The soul that sinneth, it shall die."

The piercing scream of a sentry could be heard at the gate. While the party had been at a high pitch the great Medo-Persian army had changed the course of the great Euphrates River and had marched under the walls of Babylon. That night Belshazzar the king was slain. His soul went out into eternity without God and without hope to a place of everlasting punishment! God had said, "Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting."

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Notice, he wasn't weighed in the balance of what other people thought of him or even in the balance of his own thinking. He was weighed in God's balance. He didn't weigh enough. He didn't measure up. He didn't stack up. He was like the man of whom Jesus tells who looked from one moonlit field to the other and said, "Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry."

The king retired to bed. An agonizing scream pierced the midnight air. The servants rushed here and there. Finally one of them said, "It is the master's room." Breaking down the door, they found the master writhing and dying. His hands were folded in a strange manner as though he had been holding on to something and suddenly it had slipped away. Then a voice from Heaven was heard which said, "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee." The king had been weighed in the balance of God and found wanting.

Tonight God is weighing you! How much do you weigh?

Man us. God

Modern man is in conflict with the tmth of God at this point. Cod speaks of a fall and a condemnation, and His key word is "grace." Modern man speaks of the soul's native goodness, its aspirations and natural good will. Man's key word is "works."

God speaks of the depths into which men have fallen and the depravity of the natural man. Man boasts of his nobility, his ideals, and his progress.

God calls men to believe in Christ or be lost. Man says that it is enough to try to be like Christ. Man's goal is imitation, not redemption.

God says that Christ is the Savior of the world. Man says that Christ is just a great example.

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Slowly we have drifted away from the biblical truth: "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Hebrews 9:22). Modern man would like to make of the cross a thing of sentiment-a trinket to be worn around the neck-an ornament on a church steeple or an emblem stamped in gold on our Bibles. A certain romantic interest has gathered around the story of the cross. But it is the suffering and sacrifice of Christ on Calvary that symbolize man's utter helplessness to save himself. The cross as the supreme symbol of suffering reveals two basic facts that cannot be denied: the depth of man's depravity and the immensity of God's love.

Loneliness

First, there is the loneliness of solitude. I have felt the loneliness of the ocean where there is never a sound except the booming of the surf along rock-strewn shores. I have felt the loneliness of the prairie with only the occasional mournful howl of the coyote. I have felt the loneliness of the mountains broken only by the sighing of the wind.

[Second, there is] the loneliness of society . . .That poor creature living in the dingy tenement who never receives a letter, who never hears one word of encouragement, who never experiences the handclasp of a friend-that wealthy society leader whose money has bought everything but love and happineseach knows a loneliness few can understand.

Third, there is the loneliness of suffering. Some years ago we received a letter from a radio listener who for five years had been crippled into a sitting position by arthritis. For five long, weary, painful years she was unable to stretch out or to lie down, yet she wrote, "I have spent many a day alone, but never a lonely day." Why? It was Christ who made the difference. With Christ as your

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Savior and constant companion, you too, although alone, need never be lonely.

Fourth, there is the loneliness of sorrow. In the eleventh chapter of John, we read of Mary and Martha. Their brother Lazarus was dead. Jesus had not yet come. They stood beside the body of their brother and wept. For you, too, perhaps the world has become a vast cemetery containing but one grave. You have stood in the sick room and watched the one dearer than all the world to you slip beyond your reach. You crave fellowship. You want someone to come along with a strong hand to help wipe the tears away and put the smile back on your face, and give you joy through the sorrow. Jesus can do just that. The Bible says, "Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you" (1 Peter 5:7). God loves His children. If you are willing to trust Him and give yourself to Him, He can carry your sorrow.

Fifth, there is the loneliness of sin. . . .Perhaps you at one time thought you knew the joy and peace of being born into God's family. You experienced the sweet fellowship of God's people. You tasted the complete happiness and satisfaction of Christ's presence with you, but you sinned. You went out from the presence of Christ, and you have found that it is night. You have neither the fellowship of Christians nor the fellowship of sinners, and certainly you no longer have the fellowship of Christ. Perhaps there is no loneliness quite so bitter as the loneliness of a backslidden Christian. Yet there is forgiveness for you. As you confess and forsake your sins, your fellowship with Christ will be restored. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

Last, there is the loneliness of the savior. Thousands of human beings were swarming around Him. There was great joy at the Passover season everywhere, but Jesus was "despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces

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from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53: 3-6).

Jesus was alone. He had come to His own, and His own received Him not. "But all this was done, that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled" (Matthew 26:56). The crowds who had so recently shouted, "Hosanna," had that very day shouted, "Crucify him. Crucify him." Now even His loyal twelve had left.

And at last we hear Him cry out, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34). Not only had He been forsaken by His human companions, but now in that desperate and lonely hour, He-because He was bearing our sins in His own body on the cross-had been forsaken by God as well. Jesus was enduring the suffering and judgment of Hell for you and me.

Seurching in the Wrong Places

Over 2500 years ago the prophet Isaiah looked out on a people who longed for happiness and security but were looking for it in the wrong places. They were running to the marketplace and to places of amusement, spending their money madly for things which brought them no permanent satisfaction.

He stood before them one day and gave them the Word of God. "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without

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price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? And your labor for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness" (Isaiah 55:1,2).

Isaiah didn't speak negatively and berate them for their sins in this particular sermon. He didn't grab the bottle from the drunkard's hand, he didn't lecture them about the evils of gluttony, he didn't shame them for their immoral practices. He overlooked that for the moment. He simply asked them: "Are you getting what you want out of life? Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your labor for that which does not satisfy?"

If Isaiah were living today he would probably stand at Forty-second and Broadway in New York, in the Loop in Chicago, or on Market Street in San Francisco, and simply ask the milling, restless throngs: "Are you getting what you want? Are you finding satisfaction?"

He would ask the actress, surfeited with fame and fortune, but peering out on life hungrily: "Are you getting what you want?" He would say to the eminently successful financier who commands his fleets and controls his industries: "Are you getting what you want?"

He would say to the laborers and workmen of America who are enjoying the highest standard of living in history:

"Are you getting what you want?" He would ask the youth of America: "Are you getting what you want?"

He would say to the consumers of America who have the best homes, the most comfortable furniture, the finest food, the cleverest gadgets, and the smoothest, most powerful automobiles: "Are you getting what you want?"

Isaiah did not leave them with an unanswered question. He went on to tell them that there is a satisfying way of life, if they would seek it. He exhorted them to abandon their vain searching for pots of gold at the end of mythical rainbows, and to start searching for happiness where it is really found, in a right relationship with God.

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Two Sets of Eyes

T h e Bible teaches that you and 1 have two sets of eyes. Your physical eyes may have 20/20 vision, but your spiritual eyes may be blinded. In fact, the Bible teaches that we have been blinded by a supernatural power. The Scripture says in 1 Corinthians 2:14, "But the natural man (that's the ordinary man) receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4:4, "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."

In other words there's a supernatural veil over our minds and over our spiritual eyes, and that's why a person can never come to Christ or to God by intellect alone. The Gospel just doesn't make sense. You'll never be able to figure it out logically step by step because sin has affected your thinking processes. Your normal intellectual life is conformed to this materialistic, secular world. And that's why the Gospel is "foolishness," the Bible says. The Bible says the preaching of the Cross is "foolishness" to them that perish.

Rationalizing God

If you try to rationalize God exhaustively, you will fail. There are mysteries about God that we will never understand in this life. How can the small and finite, limited to time and space, understand an infinite God! We should not think it strange that it is impossible to comprehend God intellectually, when it is equally impossible to explain many mysteries in the realm of matter. Who can explain why objects are always attracted to the center of the earth?

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Who can fathom the law of gravity? Newton discovered it, but he could not explain it.

There are many arguments we could marshal to give evidence of the existence of God. There is scientific evidence pointing to God's existence. For example, whatever is in motion must be moved by another, for motion is the response of matter to power. In the world of matter there can be no power without life, and life presupposes a being from which emanates the power to move things such as the tides and the planets.

Or there is the argument that says nothing can be the cause of itself. It would be prior to itself if it caused itself to be, and that is an absurdity.

Then there is the law of life. We see objects that have no intellect, such as stars and planets, moving in a consistent pattern, cooperating ingeniously with one another. Hence it is evident that they achieve their movements not by accident but by design. Whatever lacks intelligence cannot move intelligently. An arrow would be useless without a bow and an archer. What gives direction and purpose and design to inanimate objects? It is God. He is the underlying, motivating force of life.

Thus many evidences and many arguments could be advanced to indicate that there is a God. Yet the plain truth is this: God cannot be proved by mere rationalization. He cannot be contained in a tiny man-made test tube or confined to an algebraic formula. If God can be fully proved by the human mind, then He is no greater than the mind that proves Him.

Just Enough Natural Religion

There, back in the very beginning, was the introduction of natural religion upon the human scene as an effort to circumvent God's plan. Natural religion, however, is not

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always a crude invention of early man. Today it is the fulltime effort of many intellectuals to circumvent God's plan. Some of them are professors of religion in our universities; others are even leaders in the church.

The Apostle Paul said of man's corruption of God's general revelation into a naturalistic religion: "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. . .who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever" (Romans 1:20-25). This is a biblical picture of man's perversion of God's revelation, with all its primitive crudity, sensuality, fetishism, superstition, and magic. It has passed through many refinements and much refurbishing. Today it presents itself in the forms of intellectual respectability, but in primitive cultures it still exists in the same forms of debasing sensuality and deceit.

Natural religion is opposed to divine revelation, which accepts the Bible as the authoritative source of the ideas of sin and justification by faith in the atoning death of Christ. Natural religion rejects almost everything in the Apostles' Creed.

This is not to say that natural religion does not contain elements of truth, or embody some high ethical standards and moral values. Some of its followers at times employ terms that recall the language of the Bible. While the morality encouraged by natural religion may win the approval of men, it neither secures acceptability with God nor reflects His full moral demands. In fact, some of the crudest immorality in human history has had the sanction of natural religion, as the Apostle Paul reminds us in the Epistle to the Romans.

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The Bible teaches that Satan can transform himself into an "angel of light," adapting himself to every culture and every situation, even at times deceiving true believers. Counterfeiters always try to make their counterfeit money look exactly like the real thing. This is how Satan operates today. Thousands of people have been herded even into the church without a vital experience with Jesus Christ. They have substituted good works, community effort, social reform or a religious rite for personal salvation. Many people have just enough natural religion to make them immune to the real thing. Every time I go to the Far East I take cholera shots, and usually I get sick from the shots. Actually I get a small case of cholera, which makes me immune to the dreaded disease should I come in contact with it in my travels. This is true of most vaccinations. And it is also true in the realm of religion. There are many people who have just enough religion to be immune from a genuine personal experience with Jesus Christ. Therein lies the grave danger for thousands of professing Christians.

Seven Deadly Sins

Pope Gregory the Great, at the end of the sixth century, divided all the sins under seven heads. He said that every sin that a man commits can be classified by seven words. He named the sins: pride, anger, envy, impurity, gluttony, slothfulness, and avarice. They have been called down through the centuries "the seven deadly sins." These sins are nowhere collectively mentioned in a single passage in the Bible, and yet they are all condemned separately in many places. Thomas Aquinas and most of the great theologians have agreed with Pope Gregory, and these seven deadly sins have become a recognized part of moral theology.

These sins also became the subjects of poets. The scheme of Dante's Purgatory follows the order of the seven deadly sins. They are also discussed fully in Chaucer's

"Parson's Tale" and in Marlowe's Doctor Faustus. Even a recent Italian movie was entitled The Seven Deadly Sins.

The first of the seven deadly sins is pride. It naturally comes first-for as we read in Proverbs 16:18, "Pride

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goeth. . .before a fall." Pride is thus the mental and moral condition that precedes almost all other sins. All sin is selfishness in some form or other, and pride consists essentially in undue self-esteem, delighting in the thought of one's own superiority over his fellows. The Scripture says in Proverbs 16:5, "Everyone that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished." Again in Proverbs 29:23 we read, "A man's pride shall bring him low: but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit."

The pride thatl~od loathes is not self-respect or a legitimate sense of personal dignity. It is a haughty, undue selfesteem out of all proportion to our actual worth. It is that repugnant egotism which is repulsive to both man and God. It is that revolting conceit which swaggers before men and struts in the presence of the Almighty. God hates it. It is an abomination unto Him, which means that it makes Him shudder. God has said in Psalm 101:5, "Him that hath a high look and a proud heart will not I suffer." God cannot stand or endure pride. He hates it.

Pride may take various forms, but it all emanates from the haughty human heart. Some take pride in their looks, others in their race, others in their business, others in their social life. In other words, pride may be spiritual, intellectual, material, or social. The most repugnant of these four is spiritual pride. This pride of the spirit was the sin that caused Lucifer, the Devil, to fall. This is where sin actually began.

We read in Isaiah 14:12-15, "How art thou fallen from heaven, 0 Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

"For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into Heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

"I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to

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Hell, to the sides of the pit."

Here we find Lucifer saying, "I will," five times. "I will be above God." It was the pride of his heart that was the first sin ever committed in the universe. When we, like Lucifer, begin to feel that we are self-contained and selfsufficient, we are on dangerous ground.

Anger is one of man's most devastating sins. This is one sin which everyone is capable of committing. The tiny baby has a fit of temper and loses its dinner. The little boy has a tantrum and upsets the family decorum. The wife loses her temper and develops a sick headache. The husband gets angry and loses his appetite. Every member of the family is subject to its blight. No one is by nature immune to this dispositional disease of human nature.

Anger breeds remorse in the heart, discord in the home, bitterness in the community and confusion in the state. Homes are often destroyed by the swirling tornadoes of heated domestic anger. Business relations are often shattered by fits of violent temper when reason gives way to venomous wrath. Friendships are often broken by the keen knife of indignation, which is sharpened by the whetstone of anger.

Anger is denounced by the church and condemned by the sacred Scriptures. It murders, assaults, and attackscausing physical and mental harm to its victims. Its recoil, like a high-powered rifle, often hits back at the one who wields it, doing equal damage to the offender and the offended.

Because anger has brought so much unhappiness and confusion to the world, God loathes it. In Psalm 37:8 we read, "Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; fret not thyself in any wise to do evil." Jesus condemned it in no uncertain terms and classed it with the heinous sin of murder. He said in Matthew 5:22, "I say unto you, That

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whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say. . .Thou fool, shall be in danger of Hell fire." The wise Solomon said in Proverbs 16:32, "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit [is better] than he that taketh a city." The Bible again says in James 1:19, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every

man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger."

Envy and jealousy can ruin reputations, split churches, and cause murders. Envy can shrink our circle of friends, ruin our business and dwarf our souls. Procrastination may be the thief of time, but envy is the murderer of souls. We read in Job 5:2 that it can kill a person (modern psychiatry bears this out), "For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one."

There is a Greek story about a man who killed himself through envy. His fellow citizens had erected a statue to one of their number who was a celebrated champion in the public games. But this man, a rival of the honored athlete, was so envious that he vowed that he would destroy that statue. Every night he went out into the darkness and chiseled at its base in an effort to undermine its foundation and make it fall. At last he succeeded. It did fall-but it fell on him. He fell, a victim of his own envy.

The Bible, whose counsel is wiser than top psychiatrists, tells us not to be envious of the rich. In Psalm 49:16 we read, "Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased." Envying those who are more prosperous than we are does not add one dollar to our assets, but it bankrupts the soul. The envious man somehow feels that other people's fortune is his misfortune, that their success is his failure and that their blessing is his curse. The irony of it all is that if he builds up such a case in his mind and soul, his failure is inevitable. I have

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never seen a man who profited in any way by being envious of others, but I have seen hundreds cursed by it. You cannot have a full orbed personality and harbor envy in your heart. We are told in Proverbs 14:30, "A sound heart is the life of the flesh, but envy the rottenness of the bones." Envy is not a defensive weapon-it is an offensive instrument used in spiritual ambush. It wounds for the sake of wounding and hurts for the sake of hurting.

There are three facts about the sin of impurity which I would like for you to notice. First, the sin of impurity marks. In the days of slavery a slave could be identified by the marks of his master. When men become mastered by sin, it is inescapable that the marks of sin are upon them. The reddened eyes and bloated cheeks of the alcoholic, the nervous twitch of the dope fiend, the lewd stare of the impure, and the haughty look of the proud are all imprints of inner wickedness. Immorality, which is the sin of perversion and unnaturalness, has a way of making those who harbor it unnatural appearing. The shifty eye, the embarrassed blush, the suggestive glance-these are all marks of the impure. They are the outward signs of inward impurity.

But the outward marks are slight compared to the blemishes which impurity etches on the personality and upon the soul. Guilt complexes and bad consciences are fashioned in the fires of lustful passion. Out of unbalanced practices of impurity grow phobias which alarm even our most skilled psychiatrists. But worse than all, impurity mars the souls. The Bible says in Galatians 5:19, "The works of the flesh are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, and lasciviousness." The Bible says that the sin of impurity is the result of the deceitfulness of sin. The Bible teaches that "There is none that doeth good, no not one" (Psalm 14:3), and that the entire human race has been

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tainted by the disease of sin. The Bible also teaches that those who are guilty of this sin of impurity shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Jesus interpreted the Seventh Commandment which says, "Thou shalt not commit adultery," when He said, "Whosoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already. . ." (Matthew 5:28). Jesus said that a person can be guilty of this sin by thought and word, as well as deed. There are thousands today who are guilty, whose souls have been marred by the sin of impurity, and who have become separated from God because of this besetting sin.

Next, impurity mocks or deceives. Paul, writing to Titus, indicates that even he knew the deceitfulness of immorality before he came to know Jesus Christ. He said in Titus 3:3, "For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures. . . " It has deceived kings, prophets, sages, and saints. Do not think for one moment that you are immune to its blight! Even the wise Solomon, who through experience had every reason to know, said, "Fools make a mock of sin" (Proverbs 14:9).

Too many people underestimate the power of impurity. Samson toyed with it, made sport of it and thought he had it under control, but in the end it controlled him and ruined his life. David, chosen of God, came under its subtle spell and in a moment of weakness was deceived by the overcoming powers of impurity-and he was years climbing back to God up the steep stairway of repentance. Homes have been lost in a fleeting moment of weakness, kingdoms have been bartered for a transient pleasure, and an eternal heritage has been squandered for an hour of Hell's diversion.

Impurity mocks those who harbor it in their hearts. Impurity mocks when its harvest is gathered. In Galatians 6:7-8 we read, "Be not deceived, God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption.. . ."

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Impurity, when it is finished brings forth remorse. Some of the most miserable men I know are those who are haunted by the memory of the wasted, wanton years of impurity. God is willing to forgive them, but they are not willing and able to forgive themselves. The magnitude of their sin has grown through the years, and it has born its fruit of regret and remorse. They have sown to the flesh, and of the flesh have reaped corruption. Their impurity mocks them, haunts them and derides them. Like every other device of the Devil, it has taken away from them all that is good and has given them nothing in return. Satan drives a hard bargain!

Then, impurity masters. The Bible says in Romans 6:16, "Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey?" Many people are mastered by impurity because they have given themselves to impurity.

Gluttony is a sin, first, because it is a physical expression of the philosophy of materialism. It laughs at righteous restraint and scorns temperance and decency. It cries, "Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die." It makes no room for God and has no consideration for eternity. It lives for the present, and its philosophy is, "You live only once, so live it up."

Jesus gave us a classic example of a man who lived for this life only. In his prosperity he said, "I will pull down my barns and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry" (Luke 12:18,19). His philosophy was little different from our materialistic philosophy of today. Build bigger. . .take it easier. . .drink more. . .eat more. . . enjoy life more.

We hear this philosophy blaring out of our radio and

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television sets from morning till night. The accent is on comfort, ease and the satisfying of our appetites. We see it pictured in our magazines. Everywhere we are encouraged to easier living and more and better food-with the accent on the things of this world. Temperance, restraint, and self-discipline are being forgotten in the rush toward ease and plenty. This generation, shot through with the materialistic philosophy, is trying in vain to drink its way to happiness, fight its way to peace, spend its way to prosperity and enjoy its way to Heaven. How easy it is in this day to fill our minds with rubbish, our stomachs with trash-and starve our souls. God has said in Deuteronomy 8:3, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."

Gluttony is a perversion of a natural, God-given appetite. We must fix in our minds the fact that sin is not always flagrant and open transgression. It is often the perversion and distortion of natural, normal desires and appetites. Love is often distorted into lust. Self respect too often is perverted into godless ambition. When a Godgiven, normal hunger is extended greedily into abnormality so that it harms the body, dulls the mind, and stultifies the soul, it becomes sin. In Proverbs 23:21 we read, "For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty; and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags."

The gratification of our fleshly appetites is not to receive first importance in our lives. Jesus said, "Take no thought saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink?. . .But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:31,33).

Most of us have disregarded Jesus' warning about putting our fleshly appetites first. Too many of us spend our lives in the pursuit of the material, crowding Christ out altogether; and then in the last frenzied, hurried moment of life we cry, "God have mercy on my soul!" I ask you: is it fair, is it intelligent, to wait until the last sec-

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ond of life upon this earth to transact life's most urgent business-settling your account with God? Of course it is not fair, and I seriously doubt the genuineness of such a deathbed repentance. God may give a man a chance on his deathbed to repent of sin if the man has never been warned and has never heard the plan of salvation clearly explained. But to a man who has deliberately rejected Christ and continued in his sins, there is little hope that he can find peace with God in his last hours. The Bible warns that a day will come when a person will seek Him but will not find Him, and call on Him but He will not hear.

The Bible indicates that the sin of slothfulness engenders a negative kind of life which is stagnant and ineffective and which renders a person unworthy of being a follower of Jesus Christ. Spiritual laziness is not only a sin against God-it is a sin against yourself. It measures the distance between what you ought to be and what you actually are. It shows the difference between the person you are and the person you could be.

Slothfulness is the destroyer of opportunity and the murderer of souls. It kills stealthily and silently, but it kills just the same.

The slothful man is like driftwood floating downward with the current-effortlessly and heedlessly. The easy way is the popular way, the broad way, the way of the crowd. It takes no effort, no strength, no manhood to be lost.

A drifting boat always goes downstream-never up. A drifting, slothful soul inevitably is drifting toward an eternity of destruction.

Many a man has lost his life in an automobile accident, not because he was a bad driver, but because he was a good driver-asleep. Many persons are fighting losing battles spiritually, not because they are really bad, but because they are spiritually slothful, sleepy, and drowsy.

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Ephesians 5:14 declares, "Awake, thou that deepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light."

Many persons have lost their health and their life, not because they have abused their bodies by sin, but because they have neglected their bodies. They were just too lazy to take care of themselves.

Slothfulness reaps its annual harvest of thousands of deaths on the highways, thousands of physical breakdowns, and a staggering amount of suffering and misery across the world.

The sin of doing nothing has been called in the Scriptures the sin of omission-which is just as dangerous as the sin of commission.

You do not have to do anything to be lost-just be slothful about your soul-just do nothing. Jesus said that it is easy to be lost. He said, "Wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat" (Matthew 7:14).

In the parable of the talents given by Jesus, we read not only of the reward of the faithful servant, but of the judgment of the slothful servant. His judgment for doing nothing was as great as the judgment of those that had committed adultery and murder. Matthew 25:26-30 records His sentence: "Thou wicked and slothful servant. . .take therefore the talent from him. . . and cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." The unprofitable servant had done no outward wrong-he simply was too slothful to carry out the responsibility which had been assigned to him. His sin was the sin of slothfulness, the sin of doing nothing.

The chief sin of the ten virgins was not immorality, lying, or cheating-it was slothfulness. They simply neglected to provide themselves with oil. They were judged, not for flagrant sin, but for laziness and unfaithfulness. When the bridegroom came, the door of opportunity slammed shut, and the voice of God echoed in judgment, "I know ye not" (Matthew 25:12).

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In every area of life the slothful person is the loser. The slothful, lazy student who spends his time loafing in the campus store can never hope to be on the honor roll. Diplomas are usually awarded for faithful work and diligent study-not for native talent or ability. It is usually the person who is willing to work who wins the applause of his professors. On the farm, in business, in the school, in the shop, and in every area of our lives, slothfulness is judged and faithfulness is rewarded.

Slothfulness is a destroyer in everyday life. On its account, lives have been lost, cities have been ravaged by fire, and homes have been broken. It has kept the hobo from a life of respectability, the prostitute from living a life of purity, and the thief from being honest.

Someone has aptly said, "It isn't the thing you do, friend; but the thing you leave undone, that gives you a bit of a heartache at the setting of the sun."

The encouraging word we might have spoken to a discouraged friend, the helpful deed that would have made someone's burden a little lighter, the bit of money pressed lovingly into the hand of the needy-these are the neglected things that bring remorse and rob others of the help they need. When through slothfulness we fail to do that loving deed, Jesus' words of judgment ring in our ears,

"Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of the least of these, ye did it not unto me" (Matthew 25:45).

Avarice, the close relative of covetousness, is probably the parent of more evil than all the other sins. In fact, 1 Timothy 6:10 says that the "love of money is the root of all evil." Men driven by avarice have robbed, assaulted, attacked, embezzled, slandered and murdered. Covetousness was one of the first sins to raise its venomous head in the Garden of Eden. In Genesis 3:6 we read that "when the woman saw that the tree was good for food,

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and pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat." This sin of avarice is as much a part of the natural man as breathing. From babyhood to old age it motivates our actions and shapes our behavior patterns.

It has also forced its way into our ethical ideology. Such catch phrases as "self preservation is man's first instinct," "self protection is the first law of life," "look out for number one" are all adages of avarice.

The Garden of Eden was a place of indescribable beauty until the sin of avarice crept in. After that it was an eerie swamp with a flaming sword of judgment which turned every way. Life can never be hallowed with the bliss of Eden, and man can never know the fellowship of God until he finds victory over the blighting sin of greed and selfishness. No sin can rob life of its beauty and radiance as thoroughly as the sin of avarice.

Scan through the pages of the Bible and note the trail of abject misery which this deadly sin has made through human history. It was an unholy, unnatural lust for selfish gain that caused King Ahab to covet Naboth's vineyard and eventually to murder to achieve his avaricious end. But the voice of God came to Ahab, saying, "In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood" (1 Kings 21:19).

Avarice first claims our souls, then seals our destiny. Ahab little dreamed that the innocent seed of greed in his heart would in the end bring forth a harvest of death and judgment. Joseph's brothers sowed the tiny seed of avarice and greed when they sold their godly brother into slavery, but little did they foresee the harvest of famine and misery which they were to reap when avarice came into full bloom.

The rich man of whom Jesus spoke sowed a crop of selfishness and greed, and Jesus said that it brought forth plentifully. This rich man soon came to know the futility which comes from full barns, full pockets, but an empty

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heart. He was soon to drop dead with a voice from heaven saying, "Thou fool, this night thy soul is required of thee" (Luke 12:20).

Judas, driven by avarice, sold his Lord for thirty pieces of silver but found out that life was not worth living without Him. Throwing the tarnished silver at the feet of the greedy with whom he had made a poor bargain, he went out and hanged himself; but long before the life was choked out of the body, his soul was dead-it had been strangled by greed and avarice. To all the Ahabs, the Judases, the foolish men of every age who live selfishly and greedily, Christ says in Luke 12:21, "So is he that layeth up treasures for himself and is not rich toward God."

Sinners By Choice

While the tendency to sin has been passed on to us from our first parents, we are also sinners by choice. When we reach the age of accountability and are faced by the choice between good and evil, we all at some time or other choose to get angry, to tell a lie, to act selfishly. As David said: "Behold I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me" (Psalm 51:5). This does not mean that he was born out of wedlock, but rather that he inherited the tendency to sin from his parents. Thus Jeremiah said: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9).

A seventeen-year-old boy stabbed an old man to death in Brooklyn. Later at the police station he said: "I don't know why I did it." "There is," said a great lion tamer, "no such thing in the world as a tamed lion. A lion may be on good behavior today and a whirlwind of ferocity tomorrow." None of us can really trust our hearts. The Bible vividly puts it like this: "Sin croucheth at the door" (Genesis 4:7 RV). Given the right circumstances, most of us are capable of almost any transgression.

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This does not mean that every person is devoid of all qualities pleasing to men. Man may have certain moral qualities. He may be a gentleman in every sense of the word. However, the Scriptures teach that every person is destitute of that love for God that is the fundamental requirement of the law. It means that the average man is given to prefer "self" to God.

Because man fails to meet God's requirements, he is guilty and under condemnation. Being guilty means that he deserves punishment. God's holiness reacts against sin, because He is a holy God. Thus there is "the wrath of God" (Romans 1 :18).

Evil Imaginations

Y o u can commit immorality by evil imaginations. In Genesis 6:5 we read: "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." God is concerned with our imaginations, for they in a large measure determine what kind of a persons we are to be.

Solomon said: "As [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7). If our thoughts are evil, then our acts will be evil. If our thoughts are godly, then our lives will be godly. Robert Browning said: "Thought is the soul of the act." Ralph Waldo Emerson said: "Thought is the seat of action, the ancestor of every action is thought."

If God destroyed the world during Noah's time for its continual evil imaginations, is it not reasonable to believe that all of the sin, lust, and licentiousness rampant today grieves His heart just as it did in that day?

Many people dream of sin, imagine sin, and if granted the opportunity would indulge in sin. All they lack is the occasion to sin. So in the sight of God they are sinners as great as though they had actually committed immorality.

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Spiritual Pride

Spiritual pride, because it trusts in one's own virtue rather than the grace of God, is earmarked for God's judgment. It induces in us a contempt for others, and makes us contemptible to those about us. It says with the repulsive Pharisee of old, "God, I thank Thee that I am not as other men are." It is smug, self-satisfied and full of conceit. God loathes spiritual pride because it presumes to be good in its own right. It is the strutting of a tramp clad in filthy rags who imagines that he is the best dressed of all men. Spiritual pride would be humorous if it wasn't so tragic. God has sounded a stern warning for these descendants of the Pharisees. He has said in James 4:6, "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble."

There are some people who think they have a corner on the Gospel. They have become conceited, smug, proud and pharisaical. There are others that glory in their selfrighteousness, and think that they are better than other people. They don't do this, and they don't do that. They keep the letter of the law, but have long since forgotten the spirit of the law. They are guilty of spiritual pride. There are also others who think themselves to be pure and all others impure. They have forgotten that there is no such thing as a completely pure church. Jesus taught that the chaff and the wheat would grow together and that we would not be able to distinguish them until the end of time. Yet we have many Pharisees today going about trying to throw the chaff out of the wheat, doing that which God said could never be done until Christ comes again. We have many going about pulling specks out of other people's eyes when they have beams in their own eyes. They have a haughty, superior, "chip on the shoulder" attitude. They spend their time criticizing and gossiping about others. This is the worst pride of all.

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In tellectudl Pride

Another form of pride is intellectual pride. The Bible says to those who suffer from this kind of spiritual delusion in 1 Corinthians 8:l-2, ". . .Knowledge puffeth up, but love edifieth. And if any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know." This kind of pride manifests itself in arrogance toward the unlearned, the illiterate and the oppressed. It forgets that our mental capacities were given by God, and that the knowledge we attain is largely the labor of others. Is this reason for intellectual arrogance? Paul says in Romans,

". . .Mind not high things, but condescended to men of low estate. . . "

Intellectual pride is too often the enemy of the Gospel of Christ because it gives its possessor self-confidence rather than God-confidence. We read in Proverbs 3:5, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." But the intellectually proud are not like that. They like to put God in a test tube; and if He cannot be put in a test tube, then they cannot accept Him. They do not like to lean on Him and trust Him. They cannot understand that faith goes beyond learning, knowledge, and even reason, and accepts that which may not even appear logical to the mind. To have knowledge without faith is to use only half of your mind. The Psalmist says in Psalm 111:10, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. . . "

True religion, contrary to the conception of some, increases your intellect rather than distracts from it. Paul, himself an intellectual, said in Romans 12:2, " . . .be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. . . " The kind of intellectual pride that is given to intolerance, bigotry, and smugness, God hates. God abhors intellectual pride. He says in Proverbs 26:12, "Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? There is more hope of a fool than of him."

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Fuhe Religions

Suppose a neighbor of yours or a member of your family has become involved in a religious group and is urging you to look at it seriously and become a member. Or suppose someone knocks on your door and with a warm smile asks to share a few ideas about their religious group with you or give you some religious literature. What should you do to avoid being deceived and led astray from the truth of Christ? Let me suggest three questions you should ask.

First, is Christ worshiped as Lord and Savior? The central question today is still the same as that Jesus asked almost two thousand years ago: "What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?" (Matthew 22:42). Some cults dismiss Christ completely or suggest He was only a great teacher. Some claim salvation is not to be found in Christ, but only in their leader or founder, or in their teachings. Many cults claim to have a high view of Christ, but deny that He rose again from the dead, or that He was the unique and divine Son of God, or that we are saved only through His atoning death on the cross.

But Jesus declared, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). The apostle Peter summarized the consistent message of the New Testament from beginning to end: "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Don't be deceived! No human leader, no group, no set of religious teachings or philosophical ideas can save you from your sins and reconcile you to God. Only Christ can do that-and He will, for all who turn in simple faith and trust to Him as Lord and Savior.

Second, is the Bible central as the one true guide to faith and practice? Cults and false religions often ignore or even deny the full inspiration and authority of the Bible as the Word of God. They often substitute instead another

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book or a set of teachings that are not based on the Bible. Some cults pay lip service to the Bible as the Word of God, but then add a second book to "interpret" the Bible "correctly" according to their own man-made teachings. One prominent cult in America claims it bases its teachings on the Word of God-but has made its own "translation" of the Bible which twists the meaning of the Bible's clear teaching.

The Bible is God's Word, and as such it is our authoritative source of truth about God. It is not the product of men's imaginations-although God used men to write itbut comes from the Spirit of God Himself. "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:20,21).

Third, is participation in a local Christian fellowship encouraged and practiced. One common characteristic of many cults is that they claim that they, and they alone, have the whole truth. They therefore strongly discourage their members from participating in the worship and instruction of a Christian church-and may even take violent measures to prevent it.

Science Doesn

O u t of the new age of science and technology there has been emerging a new faith of scientism that displaces biblical faith. This nuclear age has greatly reduced the faith that was woven deeply into the culture of the past. One scientist said: "The world picture of the nuclear age does not include God. The cultivated man today finds no God in his reactor, and he finds none through his telescope. God is not among the rushing electrons, and He is not visible in outer space." There is no doubt that there are new powers of science that respond to the touch of a button at the shrine of computers, rather than at the word of our

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prayers or at the altars of our churches. In our hands is a power that seems to our finite minds as great as that we once attributed to God. To many this is the power of a god, and in a new way we hear again the words of the serpent to our first parents: "Ye shall be as gods" (Genesis 3:5). Yet like the other gods of our generation, science does not satisfy the deep longings of the human soul. The more man learns, the less he knows. Thus many of our leading scientists have come to express their faith in God.

To Adapt or Not to Adapt

I n all my evangelistic ministry 1 have never felt a need to "adapt" Jesus to the many and varied nationalities, cultures, tribes, or ethnic groups to whom I have preached. I believe in contextualization. That is that we adapt our methods and terminology to the people to whom we are ministering. I try to adapt illustrations or emphasize certain truths that will help a particular audience understand the Gospel more clearly in light of their cultural background. But the essential truths of the Gospel do not change. All things were created by Him, and He sustains all creation, so the message of His saving grace is applicable to all. The facts concerning His virgin birth, His sinless life, His sacrificial and substitutionary death, His resurrection and ascension to the right hand of the Father, and the glorious hope of His return must not be diluted or distorted in any way.

Jesus is not only the Christ, He is also "God, our Lord and Savior." This is a staggering, almost incomprehensible truth: God Himself has come down on this planet in the person of His only Son. The incarnation and the full deity of Jesus are the cornerstones of the Christian faith. Jesus Christ was not just a great teacher or a holy religious leader. He was God Himself in human flesh-fully God and fully man.

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Christianity j% r Skeptics

There is no doubt that naturalistic religion has invaded the church today. Many of our concepts of the church are secular. Even the mission of the church is often changed from a biblical basis to a secularized one.

There is a strong movement, especially in Protestantism, to recast the Christian message in order to make it acceptable to modern man. These people contend that the intellectuals reject Christianity today because "they cannot accept certain traditional beliefs which were really the envelope in which the message was sent, rather than the message itself." Yet these modern theologians fail to agree among themselves as to which part of the New Testament is to be retained and which part is to be thrown out. Many of them seem to agree that the miracles were myths. They regard the resurrection as a subjective experience of the disciples rather than as an objective historical event. These theologians call God "the ground of being." They deny absolutely that Jesus Christ was supernatural. They say that He was a man who was so good and unselfish that God's love shone through His humanity rather than in the biblical terms of the Incarnation. . . .In trying to make Christianity plausible for skeptics, they have succeeded only in making it meaningless.

All the way through the Bible we are warned against false prophets and false teachers. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. . .wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them" (Matthew 7:15, 20). Sometimes it is very difficult even for a Christian to discern a false prophet. There is a close resemblance between the true and the false prophet. Jesus spoke of false prophets who "shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect" (Matthew 24:24). Paul tells of the coming Anti-Christ, whose activity in the last days will be marked

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by "signs and lying wonders" (2 Thessalonians 2:9). Satan's greatest disguise has always been to appear before men as "an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14).

Who Said Life Wm Fair?

H a v e you ever heard a child wail, "It's not fair!" There are thoie who have made their fortunes on other people's misfortune. The Bible never promised that life would be fair. Christian living that sounds like an article on the lifestyle page of the newspaper may leave us unprepared for a world where Hell does break loose. We are in a battle on this earth, and there is no one who is excused from service. As we pray and give thanks for the end of the Berlin Wall and the opening of Eastern Europe to democracy and religious freedom, we also realize that new tyrannies challenge the Christian faith. We must not become complacent in our sanctuaries.

In some churches and religious television programs, we see an effort to make Christianity popular and always positive. This may be a comfortable cushion for those who find the hard facts too difficult. Within the New Testament, there is no indication that Christians should expect to be healthy, wealthy, and successful in this present age. Jesus said, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first" (John 15:18). Christ never told his disciples that they would get an Academy Award for their performances, but He did tell them to expect to have troubles.

This age is interested in success, not suffering. We can identify with James and John who wanted choice seats in the kingdom. We might even ask for reclining chairs and soft music.

Our Lord was ridiculed, insulted, persecuted, and eventually killed. In the face of opposition, He went about "doing good." Even His enemies could find no fault in Him. He became the greatest teacher of moral values the

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world has ever known, but after only three years of public ministry He was executed as a criminal.

"Good" people do not escape suffering in this life. The Bible lists in Hebrews 11 the heroes of the faith, both Jew and Gentile, who were tortured, imprisoned, stoned, torn apart, and killed by the sword. They didn't wear designer jeans but went about in animal skins, destitute and tormented. Those early believers wandered in deserts, crossed mountains, and hid in caves. They were the homeless of that time, without even a cardboard shelter.

In America today, being a Christian is sometimes equated with having good health. Some popular nutrition and psychology publications recommend that a sound body may require a strong spiritual life. Many of these writers lean toward a hybrid of Eastern religious thought and humanistic psychology, but others have been biblically sound. I believe that exercise and proper eating habits are very important, since the Bible says that the body is God's holy temple, but I don't think that superbodies equate with committed Christian discipleship. Some of the greatest saints I've known have been those with physical infirmities.

The Wreckage of Sin

The Bible teaches that sin affects the mind. "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. . . neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14). While a man may be brilliant in some things, he may be grossly confused about spiritual realities. The Bible teaches that there is a veil over his mind. Before a person can be converted to Christ, this veil must be lifted. This is done by the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. Without this "veil-lifting" there is no possibility of a man's coming to God. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not anti-intellectual. It demands the use of the mind, but the mind is affected by sin. It is in the service of

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a rebellious will. In the final analysis a man must submit his mind to the Lordship of Christ.

The Bible teaches that sin affects the will. Jesus said: "Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin" (John 8:34). There are vast numbers of persons living under the tyranny of pride, jealousy, prejudice, or perhaps they are living under the bondage of alcohol, barbiturates, or narcotics. Even some who do not want to do the things they are doing are powerless to quit. They have become slaves. They cry for freedom, but there seems to be no escape. But Christ said: "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). He is the truth. He can set you free.

Sin also affects the conscience, until one becomes slow to detect the approach of sin. The Bible talks about the deceitfulness of sin. Psychologists have learned that they can put a frog in hot water and he will jump out. However, if they put a frog in lukewarm water and gradually heat it they can boil him without his jumping. So it is with sin. There was a time when you were disturbed and conscience-smitten about a certain sin. It may have been immorality. It may have been a lie. It may have been the first time you cheated in school. But now your conscience bothers you hardly at all. Your heart has become hardened. You no longer have a sensitivity to things you know to be wrong. You have built up a rationalistic system to keep your conscience quiet. In the first chapter of Romans the Apostle Paul said that because men were so given over to their sins, "God gave them up." God once said concerning Ephraim: "Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone" (Hosea 4:17).

A F o m of Insanity

You know the Bible teaches that sin is a form of insanity? The Bible says if our Gospel is hid or veiled, the veil must

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be in the minds of those who have spiritually died. The spirit of this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe and who prevent the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, the image of God, from shining in there. Notice, "The spirit of this world." There is an evil spirit in our world that blinds us to the reality of what God can do. It blinds us to our own condition. Then the Holy Spirit comes along and convinces us of our sins, and we sit and think about it, and we are disturbed and unhappy about our condition. We don't know where to escape. We don't know which way to go. But [the prodigal son] decided to do the right thing. He decided to get up and go back. He said, "I have sinned against Heaven." He didn't just say,

"I have sinned against my father." He said, "I have sinned against God." That's your problem. Your problem is not a family relationship. Your problem is not really a race problem. Your problem is a problem with God. You get the problem with God straightened out, and you will have a new perspective on how to straighten out some of the other problems. That's the real problem. The real hangup in your life is what to do about God, what to do about Christ. Let Him come and change and transform your life and see the fulfillment and the power and the strength you will have.

Invitation to Do Wrong

Nowhere in the Bible will you find immunity from temptation promised. It is common to all and will be with us to the end. Every Christian can and should expect temptation.

Being tempted is not sin. Yielding to temptation is sin. Temptation comes from without the mind; sin comes by cooperation from within the mind. Realize that temptation is not synonymous with guilt. Our Lord was tempted of the devil, but certainly He knew nothing of guilt. Because He was seeking to do His Father's will at all

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times, Jesus was able to defeat the devil when He was tempted in the wilderness. All who seek to have the mind of Christ are armed to meet temptation.

Temptation in the sense of an invitation to do wrong never comes from God. "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man" (James 1:13). God allows us to be tempted, however, so that we may be victorious and gain strength for future conflicts, and so that our characters may be developed and our usefulness increased. In the same chapter we read, "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him" (James 1:12).

Dr. F. B. Meyer once said, "Don't fear temptation. Don't fear that you will fail. Don't dread defeat. Instead, know that the moment a poor trembling heart lays itself at the feet of Christ, and one thin languid hand touches the hem of His garment, that moment virtue streams in to be the complement of even twelve years of weakness."

"The Lord is faithful, Who shall establish you, and keep you from evil" (2 Thessalonians 3:3).

Sexual Sin

Some say that the sexual revolution is slowing down. People are seeing the ravages of AIDS and adjusting their life-styles. Charles Colson said, "There is painful irony in the fact that it took AIDS to accomplish what no amount of pulpit pounding could do. People have a greater fear of disease than of God's judgment!"

A loving God ordained monogamous marriage and the sanctity of what we call the traditional family. Within the bounds of marriage, sex is a gift of God, but when it is misused the possibilities are frightening. This is nothing new in our generation. Sexual immorality has always

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been a cause of death, judgment, and Hell. AIDS has clearly reminded our society of that, but the reality is not limited to AIDS.

Fatal Attraction, a popular movie of recent years, told the story of a supposedly respectable man who decided one short affair outside his marriage wouldn't hurt. The beautiful woman with whom he slept turned out to be a borderline psychotic who then crosses the border. In the film's terrifying climax, she nearly kills his wife. The story reflects what deep within our hearts we already know; if we want our lives to be good, indulging in what is unholy is risky business, to put it mildly. The gift of sex is misused with reckless disregard for the consequences. Tragically, within the Christian ministry we see occasional examples of that abuse. What was meant by God to be beautiful within the bounds of marriage is degraded in everything from advertisements for perfume to comic strips. How much further, oh God, can it go?

The Bible shows Jesus dealing with sexual sin in several stories. The woman described in John 8 is one. Jesus had been praying all night before this event took place. He was teaching on the porch of the Temple, and a crowd had gathered. Suddenly there was a rude interruption as the Pharisees dragged before Him a poor woman who had been taken in immorality. She was crying. She expected to be stoned. It was a setup to trap Jesus by asking Him what should be done with the woman.

Jesus' dilemma was this. If He said yes to stone her, He would be in trouble with the Roman authorities, because they alone held the power of capital punishment. If He said not to stone her, He would break the law of Moses. He would be caught either way. So Jesus stooped down and wrote something on the ground. We can only guess what He wrote in the sand that day. Could it have been that He wrote the Ten Commandments?

He said, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her" (John 8:7). Imagine those

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religious leaders shifting from one foot to another, their eyes on the ground, not daring to look at one another. None of them could cast the first stone, because they were all guilty. They had dragged themselves to judgment, just as they had dragged the woman. Unfortunately, some Christians have treated those with AIDS in the same way, trying to make a point in an argument, instead of seeing the victim as one more of us sinners needing to be forgiven and cared for.

We understand this story, because we know we are, in our own way, standing in the crowd needing forgiveness, too. We may not be guilty of adultery, but we may be guilty of idolatry, lust, greed, or whatever our private or personal sin is. We may not carry the AIDS virus ourselves, but God forbid as modern-day Pharisees we should condemn others while carrying the virus of our own unconfessed and unrepented sins.

When Sigmund Freud began writing in the early part of this century, he complained of the narrowness of the Victorian era and attributed many neuroses to the sexual repression of his society. But if Freud were to come back today, he might reverse his stand and attribute our modern mania to the license and lack of sexual boundaries.

Historically the church, for the most part, has tried to teach that guilt and suffering are a result of sexual immorality. That is why there is no such thing as "safe sex." It may be sterile and clinically free of disease, but it is not safe from the pain of heartbreak it may cause. However, what right does any church have even attempting to approve of life-styles or certain acts for which God prescribed the death penalty in the Old Testament?

Why did God make us sexual beings? I was speaking to the cadets at West Point, and as we were driving away, the chaplain said to me, "You know, God gave us one of the most difficult things ever to handle. . .sex." He asked me if I knew why. I said I thought I did.

In the first place, God has given us sex to attract us to

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the opposite sex. That is natural and normal. In the very beginning, He looked at all He had made and called it good.

Second, sex was given for the propagation of the race. None of us would be here if it weren't for sex. That is the way God intended it, and it is the way He meant, within the bonds of matrimony, to produce children.

God has given us our sexuality as a means of expressing our love. This is why sex is not just for playboys to amuse themselves; it is the deepest way we can say to our spouse, "I love you and only you. I give myself completely to you alone."

Human sexuality was given as a glorious contribution to married love. It was given so that a man and a woman could express the unity that binds them together. We find ourselves in emotional quicksand if we go outside those rules of marriage, frequently resulting in depression, despair, or possibly disease.

Sin has a great impact on sex. It follows that if sin affects your sex life, it will also affect the rest of your life. Often it drives people to seek refuge in further sexual activities and other diversions, instead of turning to God.

Rebels against God who have misused the gift of their human sexuality are a growing army during our day. What God has given us as a gift of joy has often been turned into an instrument for our own destruction. But there is the wonderful good news of God's compassion, like that of Jesus speaking to the woman who was dragged before Him for her adulterous acts. Jesus told her to leave her life of sin and that she would not be condemned.

Rebels against God come in many forms. Some believe every disease, every accident, is caused by sin. Their judgmental attitude causes heartache in many lives. Other rebels defy God's laws and cause pain for themselves that may multiply in the lives of others.

Pious and judgmental attitudes will not soothe troubled hearts. The hope is in Jesus Christ, the light sent into this hopeless world.

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