Christian Chronicle (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 8, No. 49, Ed. 1 Wednesday, May 9, 1951 Page: 2 of 8
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MAY 9, 1951
PAGE TWO
Number 50
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BY JAMES E. CHESSOR
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Each weak the editorial article which ia adjudged moat
timely and valuable will be printed on this page
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ARTICLE OF THE WEEK
THE CHRISTIAN CHRONICLE
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Volume* VIH May 9, 1951
Published Wednesday of each week except the last wook in Jupe and
the last week in December at Abilene. Texas.
82.00 Per Annum in Advance
12.50 Outside United States
Send all communications and articles to Box 1158, Abilene. Texas.
OLAN L. HICKS . Editor
Entered as second-class matter October IB. 1944. at the Poet Office al
Abilene, Texas, under the Act of March 3. 1879.
responded and stated he wanted
to renounce Catholicism and be-
come a Christian. We helped him
to obey the gospel by listening to
him affirm his faith in Christ
and he was buried in baptitsm in
the Seine River behind Brother
Hall’s house. We have great
hopes that this man will do much
in preaching the gospel. He has
a fluent command of English,
and French.”
Ogden, Utah Has
Great Need For
More Workers .
BY A. P. HENTHORN
839 22nd Street
• Ogden, Utah
During the past three months
three have been baptized by the
church in Ogden, Utah.
We have had an average above
60 for the Sunday morning wor- •
ship hour and a good attendance
in class work.
Of course many that should be
present are not there and while
some have been sick we hope that
' • -.........
t nWlniMil'Wf1** i«
day ha ra- -during this effort,
turned for both the English and
French service. He was back
again the following Wednesday
and the next Sunday. During the
intervening t|me we had several
- z other opportunities to talk to
him and help him with various .
proDlmns. Three Sundays ago he great hopes.
Bk ""a. 'J ________- .X'3 —k
_
G. K. Wallace In
Clarksville Series
BY WARDER K. NOVAK
The Clarksville, Texas, church
has just closed its annual spring
meeting. Brother K. G. Wallace
of Wichita, Kan., ably presented
the gospel during the 10 nights
(April 13-22) and a -3—uw-—rae wormipping world consists of the wiarcns—noei, me faithful witness, versus
were baptized and one restored faithful people of God, worshipping Mm ac- Cain, the rebel (Heb. 11:4). Next, Enoch, who
ceplably; the unfaithful, worshipping him -« • -
We had the largest crowds in vainly, in a manner repugneant to him. The one
this congregation’s history, with
many brethren coming from dis-
tant points. I am glad to report
that the work of this congrega-
tion continues to move ahead and
that we anticipate the futur^ with.
own presumptuous, stubborn wills.
“Except ye believe that I am he." said Jesus,
the Saviour sent, “ye shall die in your sins.”
Again, “Ye will not come to me that ye may
have life." Yet again, leaving them without
excuse, “If any man willeth to do his will, he
shall know of the teaching, whether it is of
God, or whether I speak from myself.” (John
7:17.) Yet more: "If ye abide in my word, then
are ye truly my disciples; and ye shall know
the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
(John 8:31-32.)
This line of demarcation in the religious
world separates between True and False re-
ligion-—true worship of God, vain worship of
G»xi, The- worshipping world cdnsTsfs of the
faithful peopl ~ ~ ..... —
-r- . ceptably; JS^dUnfaithful. worshipping him
serves him in hope, because of their faith:
the other, without hope, because of their
doubt Because God has not left himself "with-
91ft witness,” revealing his will unto man, none
■s'
v; ? i:
......£..........
I. WALKING BY FAITH—
Faith is conviction—confidence. Faith pleases
God. Without faith we cannot seek to find
him, nor come to him to be well-pleasing unto
him. Without faith in his son, the Lord Jesus
Christ, we shall die in our sins—his atonement
shall avail us nothing, We believe, and act; or
we disbelieve and die! It all hinges upon
faith—depends upon it.
Faith, therefore, is the motivating principle
of the virile Christian’s life; it permeates his
life. It is the foundation of his spiritual life.
It underlies his thinking, his purposing, his ac-
tions. Without it he would be spiritually dead,
bereft of spiritual life. As "faith without works
is dead, being alone,” so a life without faith
is dead, being alone—bereft of God, of Christ.
To come to God is to believe that he is God,
a rewarding Father; to come to Jesus is to
believe that he is the. Saviour that was sent
to redeem the lost, every soul of man that will
accept him. To be well-pleasing to God is to
believe that he is "in Christ, reconciling the '
world unto himself;” to obey Jesus Christ is
to accept that authoritative word he was sent
to deliver, even “the word of reconciliation.”
(2 Cor. 5:18-21; Matt. 17:5; Matt 28:18-20.)
Therefore, in the light of necessity—of glow-
ing revelation—faith is indeed “the greatest
thing in the world,” because it is first before
love or obedience. Everything counted as well-
pleasing unto God is predicated upon faith.
Without faith no man can be a Christian, nor
bear Christian fruits—he is barren; he is noth-
ing.
II—WALKING BY OPINION
On the* other hand, “whatsoever is not of
faith, is sin.” That is the realm of human op-
inion—a man walking in his own way. If, as
has been said, "there are only two principles
others will come to realize how in the universe—one, obedience to God; the
u 4u„.. —j-. -- other, rebellion against him,” to walk by faith
is to obey him, to walk by human opinion, un-
supported by the revealed testimony of God,
is to disobey him—rebel against him.
Hence we have the cleavage of every re-
sponsible soul, into two unequal groups—the
Loyalists, the Rebels. If we mean the Bible-
reading religious world, this plummet-line of
division cuts across it, to separate the True
from the false—those standing in the truth,
those standing in error. It narrows to this—
Truth versus Error. As motivating principles
the demarcation is Faith versus Opinion. This
line classifies all in error who do not obey
God in Christ Jesus, but who walk according
much they are needed in the
work.
During the past 26 months we
have baptized 17 and had 11 place
membership with us. Even yet we
feel the need of many more both
for their good and ours. Some
time ago we learned there were
to be three more preachers sent
to Utah to work, but they are to
go to Provo and not to Ogden.
If some good church is looking
for a fertile field to help or a
place to send a missionary, there
is none better and no need great-
er than this. For the past two
years only two preachers 4n the
whole state and now we will have
only five and only three congre-
gations in the state. Pray for us.
Another Frenchman Converted, Former
Catholic, Now Plans To Be A Preacher
By MALCOM HINCKLEY
We recently wrote of a young
Ukrainian of great promise who
had been obedient to the gospel
in Paris, and at the same time
also told of an outstanding young
man who was expected to take
the same step. We are happy now
to report that he, too, has become
a Christian, and to tell you more
of the circumstances attending
his conversion.
This brother is a native French-'
man who was formerly a Catho-
lic. He had even made a pilgri-
mage to Rome by foot from his
home in Rouen, Frajice. In the
words of Brother Owen Aikin
who writes concerning him:
"This pilgrimage was made in
order that he might seek to quiet
the religious fears and distur-
bances that were beginning to
come into his mind concerning
the Catholic church. Observances
at Rome, however, made him
more uneasy than ever about the
Catholic church. He could see
the church there was so different
and perhaps even worse than
the Catholic church in his own
home section. Coming back from
the journey he relates he stop-
ped at a priest’s house along the
w’ay to ask for some food and
lodging for the night, but that
the priest very abruptly refused
him and sent him on his way
hungry, wet, tired and discour-
aged.
"Finally, here in Paris he was
able to hear about the church.
He came for the first time one
Wednesday night recently, in-
tending to observe and then go
away, but instead of going lie re-
mained and began to ask ques-
tions. We talked with him for a
long while and then made an ap-
pointment to talk further the
following day. The next day he
appeared and brought with him
a long list of questions on reli-
gious matters, mostly in connec-
tion with things that he had been
taught by the Catholic church.
These questions we answered in
a kind way, using the scripture.
He was amazed that we should be
able to give him references from
the Bible to answer his questions.
We gave him a New Testament
and told him to read it. He seem-
ed very pleased with that gift
and promised to read it. We re-
ferred him especially to the
book of Acts to tell him how to
true or false, according to their own free
choices. The one is rooted and grounded in
God, to do his will; the other is rooted and
grounded in their own wisdom, to obey the
dictates o> their own false opinions. The one r
shall be saved; the other, lost, and that world
without end!
That men might be without excuse who
walk in their own lusts, after the false coun-
sels of their own hearts, God sent Jesus Christ
into the world to make known His will re-
specting the redemption of lost souls—to point
out their own way of escape. He is that
Prophet of whom Moses wrote, “to him shall
ye hearken in all things whatsoever he shall
speak unto you," on peril of utter destruc-
tion if they fail to harken. (Acts 3:22, 23.) And
that Prophet spake many simple command-
ments for us to obey. These we obey in faith,
or reject in doubt. If we obey them in faith,
✓•we are blessed; if we disobey in doubt, we are
cursed. The one shall be saved; the other lost.
I It all hinges on faith. —
in BASES OF FAITH AND OPINION
"Now faith is assurance of things hoped for,
a conviction of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1.)
It depends upon evidence, and God gives the '
evidence in abundance. Aforetime it was given
through the testimony or example- of patri-
archs and prophets; now, through his Son and
the apostles. This wealth of evidence produces
faith—or there is no faith.
In religious mefters, in all worship of God
thiough Jesus Christ, fai'.h obeys tne direct
commands of the Saviour implicitly. More-
over, it gathers up his will from approved or
inspired examples. It all resolves to this prin-
ciple or premises: If God hath spoken it in
Christ Jesus, supreme law giver, we must obey
it. To refuse to obey it is to rebel—to walk
presumptuously in our own way. Opinion has
nothing to support it except the fraU or evil
surmising of the creature. Such walk in their
own opinion, and not in the light.
They "set at naught all of God’s counsels,
and will (have) none of his reproof.” They,
therefore, “shall eat of the fruit of their own
way, and be filled with their own devices."
God shall mock them “when their fear ccm-
eth ... as a whirlwind, and sudden destruction
cometh upon them”—because, presumptuously,
they have rejected him, rejected his Son from
being Lord and Saviour over them. (Prov. 1:
24ff.)
So faith is predicated upon what “Ged hath
to the course of this world, accordmg to their spoken” through Christ Jesus, or what he re-
quires by approved example. Non-faith, dis-
belief, is based upon nothing save man’s va-
rious and flimsy opinions, motivated by hi*
desire to have his own way. He may, at the
last day, cry, "Lordl Lord!” but the Saviour
shall then say, ‘T never knew you!” That is to
say, “You rejected me; you never obeyed me;
your worship was an abomination to me—
depart from me, ye rebel!”
IV EXAMPLES OF FAITHFUL OBEDIENCE
In Paul’s encompassing “cloud of witnesses,”
the heroes of faith, we shall see clearly what
it is (1) to walk by faith; (2) what it is to
walk by opinion. He fi™t mnntinns the P*-----
triarclis—Abel, the faithful witness,
walked *vith God by faith, (Verse 3f,i. Then,
Noah, who, “being warned bf God concerning
things not seen as yet, prepared an ark to
the saving of his house” (Verse 7). Note that
the faith embraces "a conviction of things
r not seen”gVerse 1), and that Noth believed;;
stand without knowledge or responsibility— God simply upon his word* and built the ark.
they know o, <™ld know, wtrerrtn nwylUnd. ~ Ho dould not loreMe . flood, ». God did. but
Therefore they are “without excuse." They are 7' fconttawd oa Pwt 1)
- i
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Hicks, Olan L. Christian Chronicle (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 8, No. 49, Ed. 1 Wednesday, May 9, 1951, newspaper, May 9, 1951; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1306135/m1/2/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.