The Bible is the oldest book in existence; it has outlived the storms of thirty centuries. Men have endeavored by every means possible to banish it from the face of the earth: they have hidden it, burned it, made it a crime punishable with death to have it in possession, and the most bitter and relentless persecutions have been waged against those who had faith in it; but still the book lives. Today, while many of its foes slumber in death, and hundreds of volumes written to discredit it and to overthrow its influence, are long since forgotten, the Bible has found its way into every nation and language of earth, over two hundred different translations of it having been made. The fact that this book has survived so many centuries, notwithstanding such unparalleled efforts to banish and destroy it, is at least strong circumstantial evidence that the great Being whom it claims as its Author has also been its preserver.- Matt 11:11  |
|
|
WHERE ARE THE DEAD?
"Men and brethren, let me freely speak to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day....For David is not ascended into the Heavens." #Acts 2:29 ,34
Accepting the recognized fact that the whole world is rapidly going down into death and the estimate that twenty thousand millions of our neighbors and friends have already gone thither, our topic will be recognized by all as a most pertinent one. To be without thought on this subject or to discuss it lightly should be esteemed a mark of insanity, signifying as little reasoning capacity respecting it as that possessed by the brute creation. Whatever our previous thoughts on the subject have been, we are all inquirers for the truth, and as such endeavoring to have our minds as free as possible from superstition and error. More than this I trust that, living in this blessed land so highly favored of God, and having some acquaintance with His Blessed Book, the Bible, we have learned to appreciate it as a Divine Revelation, able to make us wise in the wisdom which cometh from Above.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
SALVATION FOR EARTH AND SALVATION FOR HEAVEN
"So great salvation, which began to be spoken by our Lord, and was confirmed unto us by those who heard Him."-#Heb 2:3 . In the past many of us misunderstood these words-"so great salvation" -and have thought them to apply merely to an "elect" few of the saintly followers of our great Redeemer. Surely it should not be thought strange if a closer examination of God's Word would demonstrate to us that as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are His ways and plans higher than ours. (#Isa 55:9 .) It should not surprise us to find that our forefathers were generally in considerable darkness in respect to "the length and breadth and height and depth of the love of Christ, which passeth all understanding." (#Eph 3:18 ,19.) It should not surprise us to find that our Savior will yet see the fruitage of the travail of His soul and be satisfied (#Isa 53:11 ), and that this satisfaction will result from the salvation of more than the "little flock," who walk in His steps and who, like Him, "present their bodies living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God," in the service of Truth and righteousness. -#Rom 12:1 .
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
THE WORLD'S JUDGMENT DAY
"God hath appointed a Day in the which He will judge the world."— #Acts 17:31 . True, it is not today fashionable in civilized communities to worship images; and yet in another sense it is still fashionable. To a great extent idolatry still prevails throughout the civilized world, but in a different form from that of old. No longer do we bow before wooden images, but before inward images—the images of our minds, our mental aspirations—with some, wealth and fame; with others, ease and pleasures; and with still others, the creed idols of our forefathers—miserable misrepresentations of the true God. St. Paul on Mars Hill preached Jesus and the resurrection—Jesus as the Redeemer from the death sentence, making possible the resurrection of the dead by satisfying the demands of Divine Law against the sinner—the resurrection as the means or agency through which the blessing of the Savior’s death will reach Adam and all the families of the earth. As we follow St. Paul’s thought we shall surely be blessed by his view of the Gospel.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Twofold Object of Gospel Preaching |
 |
 |
 |
TWOFOLD OBJECT OF GOSPEL PREACHING
"This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."—#Matt 24:14 . In the words of our text our Lord Jesus Christ makes a statement as to the purpose of the Gospel Message of the present Age. That purpose is quite different from what Christian people in general have thought it to be. Many have supposed that the object to be attained during this Age has been the conversion of the world. But not so, according to the Scriptures. The end mentioned in our text is not the end of the world, but the end of the preaching of the Gospel. After the preaching of the Gospel has accomplished its work, this kind of preaching will no longer be necessary. The work of this Gospel Age, as laid out by the Master, is not the conversion of the world, but the preaching of the Gospel as a witness to all the nations.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|