EDITORIAL
"Troubles, troubles, troubles, and more troubles!" This might be a free translation of the Apostle Peter's expression, "manifold temptations," (I Peter 1:6), which he used when writing his first epistle to the persecuted Christians scattered throughout Asia Minor in his day. He referred to their testings under trial. And he said they were "manifold."
We who have passed through special times of testing may think that we have a monopoly on it, as though it originated with us and found its consummation in us. And indeed at times it seems Peter's expression fits us pretty well. But actually we have lots of company in our troubles. Peter reminds us "that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world." Paul says, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man."
One noble saint of God of our century, Martha Snell Nicholson, writes of herself: "The shocked ears in time grow used to hearing words which once were strange when applied to one's self -- tuberculosis, temperature, hemorrhage, asthma, gall bladder, arthritis, ankylosed spine, angina, sinus trouble, anemia, ulcers, amoeba, Parkinson's Disease, cancer. A grim procession when these are but words: grimmer yet when they are actual facts." And we think we have a monopoly on trouble. Mrs. Nicholson indeed was an illustration of "manifold testings under trial."
But even comparatively light affliction can at the time seem pretty heavy. And I would be the last to minimize your pain or sorrow or whatever your trouble consists of, even though it may not be as intense as with someone else. Your plight is very real to you, and distressing, yes, and with all the accompanying by-products it is "manifold." It is little comfort to you that someone else has suffered more. Their pain or sorrow doesn't necessarily lessen yours. What you need more than anything else is a sure word from God: a word of assurance that He is aware of your troubles and is on hand to help. And He is.
Is it "manifold temptations" we experience? Then know, my brethren, it is no greater than "the manifold grace of God" (I Peter 4:10). A free translation of this "manifold grace" might be: "Grace, grace, grace, and then some!" God has grace sufficient for our every need, and some left over.
The word "manifold" might be translated, "of divers colors." So what is the hue of your trial? Maybe it is the blackness of midnight imprisonment, or the red-hot furnace of affliction, or the grey of sickness unto death, or just a blue Monday. Do not despair, God has grace "of divers (various) colors," and just the hue or variation to meet your special need.
Grace means favor. God's grace is favor bestowed freely upon man, unmerited and unearned. It is given through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" It is received by faith.
So, what is your need? It has been met by God in Christ. No matter what shade of color it takes, God's grace in Christ Jesus is sufficient for it. If it's salvation you need, Christ is your salvation; receive Him. If you need physical or spiritual strength, Christ is your strength; rest in Him. If you need comforting in sorrow, Christ is the healing balm for your soul; trust Him.
Do you need to "grow in grace," then grow "in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory now and for ever." Is it wisdom you need for living in this complex world; is it righteousness to stand before God; sanctification before men; or redemption from sin's enslavement; are these what you need? It is Christ "who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption." Christ is "all in all."
He is "the manifold grace of God" personified. We may sometimes feel like we are "manifold temptations" personified, due to our many troubles. But God's Person is more than a match for our varicolored trials, and more than sufficient for our much tested person. God help us to depend on Him.
Yours in His grace,
Art Gordon, Editor
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The lady prof is a
WARRIOR ON WHEELS
By Dorothy C. Haskin
Dr. Rebecca Price pressed her hands against the white spread covering her hospital bed. As she studied the doctor's face she braced herself for his words. The best she could hope for was a diagnosis of a slipped disc.
Carefully the surgeon explained the results of the past few days' tests. But all the careful wording couldn't hide the truth. The diagnosis: malignant tumor of the spine, affecting the nerves. The surgeon concluded by saying, "Medical science, at this time, knows no way to help you. Unless God works a miracle, you will never walk again."
Miss Price remained stunned until the doctor left the room. Then her mind wildly grasped the hope he had included to soften his news. Perhaps a miracle. Surely there would be a miracle! But common sense reminded her, "You've had two tumors removed already. There were no miracles those times, except the miracles of medical science. And this time medical science offers no miracle."
Instinctively Miss Price covered her face, as if to escape the unpleasant truth. "I have to work," she told herself. "I am busy serving the Lord. Surely God will let me walk again."
"But suppose there is no miracle?' Her practical nature persisted..
She drew her hand down and faced the thought of years of immobility. "I can either spend the rest of my life in self-pity or I can believe that the Lord has allowed this for a purpose." This time when she closed her eyes she prayed, "Lord, I can still trust You. I believe." And deep in her heart came peace.
Dr. Price's long battle with illness began 13 years ago, although paralysis did not occur until 1957. During that summer Miss Price noticed that she grew tired easily, that her legs were so weak she couldn't walk. She entered a hospital for a physical check-up. While there Dr. Price reached down one day to scratch her leg. Suddenly she realized. I can't feel my nails! I'm numb. For a moment her mind whirled. Then she hoped, Perhaps it is a slipped disc. But her hope was dashed with the final diagnosis.
It seems as if all her previous life had been a good foundation for meeting this crisis. Her parents, Emmet and Helen, lived in Blacksburg, VA. They were Southern Presbyterians -- the staunch kind, present whenever anything was going on at the church. They brought their daughter up on the Bible and the Westminister Shorter Catechism.
When Rebecca was 11 the church held a series of revival meetings, including a special meeting for children on Saturday afternoon. Rebeca went and was converted at that meeting.
When the time came for college, Rebecca went to Mary Baldwin College. One of the teachers, Mary E. Laekenan, taught her the inductive method of Bible study. This method has fascinated Rebecca ever since. Miss Laekenan also urged her to attend the Biblical Seminary in New York, but to young Rebecca, seminary sounded like a stodgy place. She wanted to quit school and get into the adult business of earning a living.
Miss Price taught public school for a year but somehow wasn't satisfied in her work. Next she worked on the small town newspapers for six months, writing news and features. Still she wasn't satisfied. Perhaps she did need more training.
Other friends urged Miss Price to attend Biblical Seminary. This time she said, "I've no money." But she knew that God answers prayer. If He really wanted her to go He could send her. Cautiously she prayed, "Lord, if You want me to go, please provide the money."
An aunt of Rebecca's died, leaving her the exact amount of the tuition. Taking this as her answer, Miss Price attended the seminary. There she learned to accept the will of God for her life. And she learned to accept trials in His strength.
After her graduation from seminary, Miss Price accepted an assistanceship there while securing her doctor's degree from New York University.
From the seminary Miss Price went to Wheaton College. She taught there for 16 years. When Fuller Theological Seminary was being organized on the Pacific coast, both Dr. Harold J. Ockenga and Dr. Carl F. H. Henry informally approached her about coming to the seminary to teach. She didn't go then but in 1950 Dr. Henry spoke to her again. She had been at Wheaton a long time and couldn't throw off the associations of the years quickly. She prayed and considered.
Two years later in 1952, Miss Price became the only woman teacher at Fuller. She is professor of Christian Education there. And the Seminary has proved to be all she'd hoped.
It is not easy to be a warrior in a wheel chair. Miss Price must have someone with her all the time. She lives with friends, Mr. and Mrs. James Brookhart.
It takes two hours to get Dr. Price up and ready for her day. This includes time for dressing and breakfasting. When she gets from the wheelchair into the car she must be helped to use a plastic sliding board.
Dr. Price goes to Fuller Seminary Tuesday through Friday, arriving by ten and spending an average of three hours there. She teaches seven hours each week and spends the rest of the time counseling students. She does her studying and paper rating at home, sometimes also having student appointments there.
There have been a thousand adjustments to make. Sometimes the small things, such as frustration of not being able to pick up a dropped pencil, make a wave of anguish sweep over her. She admits, "During the first year of adjustment, there were times when I would be low in spirit. But these times come less often."
It is as she answered the surgeon in Chicago. During her months in the hospital he asked her, "Don't you ever have any doubts?"
"When you're brought up on Romans 8:28," she answered, and explained, " 'All things work together for good to them that love God,' then you don't have doubts."
(Copyright 1962 by Harvest Publications, Chicago IL. Reprinted from TODAY.)
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POEMS
By Yvonne Virginia Smith
I KNOW SOMEONE
" . . . For I know Whom I have believed."
II Timothy 1:12
I know Someone Whose Name I dearly love,
It melts my heart, and lifts me far above
The cares and din of earth, until I meet
The Christ of God before the Mercy Seat.
I know Someone Whose presence is so real,
The pressure of His nail-pierced hands I feel,
And falling at His feet I cannot tell,
Why He should die to rescue me from Hell.
I know Someone Who every longing fills,
Whose Presence with me all my being thrills,
Whose face I long to see, all else above,
Whose feet I long to clasp in grateful love.
I know Someone Whose form hung on a tree,
Whose blood was shed all for the love of me,
Whose head was bowed beneath my load of sin,
Who every victory on the cross did win.
I know Someone I love more every day,
His voice I love to hear along my way,
His face I love to see, His presence feel,
None else so dear as He, no one so real.
I know Someone I want the world to know,
The price He paid, the debt to Him they owe,
And where they've never heard His precious Name,
I want to tell them that He took their blame.
I know Someone Who claims my life, my all,
And at His pierced feet I humbly fall;
And all I am or have I count as loss,
To bear for Him the message of the cross.
HIS CONSTRAINING LOVE
"For the love of Christ constraineth us."
II Corinthians 5:14
But Lord, I am afraid, and when I look ahead,
I fear the task that You may give to me;
And Lord my heart fills with a dread
Of what I may be asked to do for Thee.
Lord, I am not gifted, and when I dare to think
Of where I may be called to go, I fear;
And though I long to go, I shrink--
For God, there are some things that I hold dear.
And so I struggled in my soul, while Christ my Lord
Stood by with silent gaze fixed on His child;
My heart was pierced as by a sword--
I could not bear the sight when Jesus smiled.
His look of tenderness and love brought back to me
A scene that happened in the long ago;
I saw a Form hung on a tree,
I heard Him whisper, "Child, I loved Thee so."
And then He took my hand and drew me far apart
From all the noise and din of earth, and there
He spoke the words that broke my heart,
"Do you love Me, Child? Do you really care?"
Thus broken, I clung trembling to His nail-scarred feet,
I gave my will, He took it while I prayed;
He filled me with His peace, so rich, so sweet;
And seeing Jesus, I was not afraid.
For how can I e'er fear the One who loves me so?
This precious Christ demands my life, my all;
How can I help but yearn to go? --
Could I but follow when I hear Him call?
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"PLEASE REMEMBER ME"
By Dana M. Pankey, D. D., Th. D.
Pastor to the Sick and Shut-ins
A heart-cry we often hear.
A reminder of our Christian and moral duty and obligation toward the sick and shut-ins.
GOD's WORD, the Bible, is clear in teaching us our obligations and duties toward God and our fellow men. These duties are many, but I'll confine this article to our duties toward the sick and shut-ins.
Jesus said in Matthew 25:40, "Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." He is talking here about visiting the sick, helping the needy, etc. Over and over it is taught in Scripture.
Hebrews 13:3 says, "Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body." It is unfortunate that many people are unaware, or simply ignore, these plain teachings of God's holy Word. It is unfortunate that many people are unconcerned about the sick and shut-ins. It means so much to the shut-ins when others show an interest in them.
"Remember them"-- that is, with kindness and practical active aid. Enter into their bondage as if it were your own. Bring it as near to you as if you were an actual participant in it. Feel for them as you would wish others to feel for you, knowing that in the body you may be called to suffer in a similar way. Remember them in prayer.
Visit the sick and shut-ins. Show an interest in them. Find out their need and do something about it. When you visit and promise to come again, keep your word. It is far better not to promise at all than to raise their hopes and then to leave them watching and waiting for a promise never to be fulfilled. Some are loyal to this ministry, but comparatively few. There is great need for thousands more.
One thing most sick people want is mail. Even a greeting card helps a lot. It makes them feel they are not completely forgotten and brings them a few moments of cheer. When I first had my illness, in 1954, any mail that came was like having a visitor. I used to lie in my bed, anxious and eager for the mailman to come, and if he brought me a letter or a card, showing that someone cared, it added joy to my whole day.
One of the shut-ins I now serve (I call them my "members") said that she "lives on mail." This good lady was hit by a car and left paralyzed; now all she can do is sit in a chair day in and day out, and think. No wonder she "lives on mail."
I write to a 94 year old man who has been bedfast many years from a stroke. I always enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope so he can answer. This helps him pass a few minutes while reading my letter, and gives him something to do in answering. He seems to enjoy and receive a blessing from it.
Another lady has been confined to a wheelchair for 42 years. She is so crippled with arthritis that she cannot get her hands to her mouth, or push her wheelchair around. Imagine, forty-two long years of this. We could go on and on concerning those with Multiple Sclerosis, Myasthenia Gravis, Muscular Dystrophy, and various other physical disabilities. But they all have this is common: they want mail.
My friends, remember the shut-ins, they can't forget. Remember a shut-in today; you will be glad you did. Their days and nights are long. Many get very lonesome. You can be a friend. A friend is one who comes in when the world goes out. If you want real happiness, do something for someone who can't do for himself. "Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy" (Psalm 82:3). It is human nature to want understanding and recognition. And again it is human nature to be despondent if we do not get it.
Some of the sick are cheerful. But many are lonely and forgotten, and some are unwanted. It means a lot to these people for someone to take the trouble to remember them with a visit, or with a letter or card.
Many invalids have no hope here, and some have no hope hereafter. They know they will remain as they are, for the rest of their lives. Some will never walk again on their feet and legs, or use their hands and arms. Some must lie on their beds day and night. And some of them never see a soul all day long. Others roll their wheelchairs up to the window and quietly sit there all day, and just watch the rest of the world go by. Most of them will have to be satisfied (as best they can) to live a life shut IN and shut OUT from most physical pursuits. This will be their lot in life till death releases them from this body. And the appalling thing is that so many well and able-bodied people seem to care so little about these needy ones. They are just "too busy" to stop and fellowship with those who are physically handicapped.
"Please remember me," is the heart-cry (if not the audible cry) of many shut-ins. To remember them is a rewarding job, not only for them, but it will do your own heart good. You can be a messenger of good will to the sick, the bedridden, the wheelchair victim, the invalid, the aged and the lonely. If you suppose that you are too busy to bother, then friend, you're just too busy to be a Christian.
God hasn't forgotten or neglected these sufferers. Here are some of His commands concerning them:
"Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another" (Romans 12:10). "Distributing unto the necessity of saints; given to hospitality" (Romans 12:13). "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep" (Romans 12:15).
"Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2). "As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith" (Galatians 6:10). " . . . in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves, Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others" (Philippians 2:3-4).
"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God" (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
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SERMON SERIES
Romans 8
No. 5
IF YOU HAVE NOT --
IF YOU HAVE --
"But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. But if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you, he that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall give life also to your mortal bodies through his Spirit that dwelleth in you." -- Romans 8:9-11
IN THE VERSE immediately preceding our present text, we read, "And they that are in the flesh cannot please God" (8). This is God's sweeping pronouncement against all mankind that are out of Christ. Even their worship which is supposed to be Godward is not pleasing to God. This strikes right across much that we label religious today, negating it worth, at least from God's standpoint. "Cannot Please God" could rightly be inscribed above the doors and altars of thousands of our churches. These worshipers would come to God in their own way--the flesh's way, and like Cain of old they nor their offering are acceptable to God.
Of true worshipers it is said, "But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you" (9a). "God is a Spirit," said Jesus, "and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth."
IF YOU HAVE NOT --
"But if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (9b).
If anyone has not the Holy Spirit dwelling in him, that person is not a Christian Every Christian has the Spirit of God living in him. If he has not, then he has never had a vital, soul-changing encounter with Christ. He is not born-again. He is lost and on his road to eternal torment. Every true Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. That is what the verse teaches.
Paul the apostle had to deal with this question. Once as Paul arrived in Ephesus he met some men who claimed to be disciples. Noting that something wasn't quite up to par, Paul proffers the question: "Did ye receive the Holy Spirit when ye believed? And they said unto him, Nay, we did not so much as hear whether the Holy Spirit was given."
Now this sounded strange to the apostle's ears, as the Holy Spirit had been given to the believers at Pentecost, and he himself had received the Holy Spirit when he believed in Christ. "Into what then were ye baptized," queried Paul. "Into John's baptism," they said. "John baptized with the baptism of repentance," continued Paul, "saying unto the people that they should believe on him that should come after him, that is, on Jesus.
"And when they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And . . . the Holy Spirit came on them . . . "
These twelve men were disciples, but not of Christ. They were disciples of John the Baptist. The reason they knew nothing of the coming of the Holy Spirit was that they had never believed in Christ. When they believed in Him, the Holy Spirit came. Some ten years later, Paul writes to the church in Ephesus concerning Christ -- "in whom, having . . . believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise." And so is every believer in Christ sealed with the Holy Spirit.
So if you have not the Spirit of Christ in your life, you are none of His, you do not belong to Christ, you are not truly a child of God.
IF YOU HAVE --
If, on the other hand, you have the Spirit of Christ in you, having trusted Christ as your Saviour, that is --
"If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the spirit is life because of righteousness" (10). The fact is that Christ IS in your life when you believe on Him. It can be truly said, in fact, the Trinity dwells in you. Of the Spirit Christ said: "He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." Of Himself Christ said: "I will come to you." Of the Father and Himself Christ said: "We will come unto him (the Christian), and make our abode with him."
Now "if Christ is in you . . . the spirit is life." This is what happens to the human spirit when Christ enters the life. The spirit of man is quickened or made alive. This doesn't prove true of the believer's body however, as our text points out.
Though Christ is in you, "the body is dead because of sin." Nothing startling happens to our body at conversion. Sometimes we wish it were so, but our body remains pretty much the same old body as before. Oh, perhaps a smile replaces a frown, but over-all it is the same body after, as before we were saved. Though we are renewed in spirit, it still remains true, "the body is dead because of sin."
This fact was true of Lazarus even after Jesus wrought the mighty miracle of raising him from the dead. Lazarus' body was still subject to death, he had to die again. Jesus one day broke up a funeral procession. A young man had died and was being carried out for burial. Jesus spoke "and he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And He delivered him to his mother." But that wasn't to be the last coffin for that young man. His body would yet be laid to rest under the sod by loving hands.
Every-BODY is born to die. Of course that wasn't the original purpose of our Creator. But because of sin the body is dead. We may postpone the inevitable by the miracles of medical science, or even by a miracle of the Almighty apart from human means, but that day will come to all. Sin -- death. That's the way it works. Death follows sin. Death comes to all as a result of sin. Both to the Christian and the non-Christian. As the rain falls on the just and unjust alike, so death comes to all alike, whether the person has Christ in his heart or not.
How then is the Christian any better off than the non-Christian? In many ways. Our text mentions two in particular.
THE SPIRIT IS LIFE
First, for the person who has Christ in his heart, "The spirit is life because of righteousness." This is a present blessing. This is something we have right now. The body is dead and dying, to be sure, "but the spirit is life." This means eternal life. Eternal life starts now. It is not just something for the far-off future, but for the here-and-now. It is the possession of all who have Christ in their lives.
Once we were dead spiritually. Our spirit, made in the first place to love and worship God, had through sin died. Paul says of us: "You . . . were dead in trespasses and sins." He says we were "all" in this condition. "But," says he, "even when we were dead in sins, (God) hath quickened us (made us alive) together with Christ." "For by grace have ye been saved through faith."
Through sin we had become only two-thirds of a personality. We were body and soul, but the spirit was dead. We had not the part of our person which was especially created to appreciate God. But when that spirit is touched by the Holy Spirit and we are by Him introduced to Christ and He enters our life, then our dead spirit is brought back to life, and that, eternal life, never to die again. Yes, "if Christ is in you," and He is if you believe in Him, "the spirit is life because of righteousness."
The body is dead because of "sin"; the spirit is life because of "righteousness." Not our righteousness. The Bible declares all our righteousness as filthy rags in God's sight. Our spirit is quickened because of HIS righteousness. Nothing we can do or have done can resurrect our dead spirit. Only what He has done. It is His righteousness alone that effects our renewal of spirit. It is a righteousness that He imputes to us, gives to us when we believe. " . . . even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ unto all them that believe."
But can we be fully satisfied with just this aspect of salvation? After all, we are only a complete personality when all three parts are alive and working properly. If we should stop here, we would still be only an incomplete personality, with a living and active spirit and soul, but with a dead body. When we go out to meet God, are we destined to just float around in space somewhere for the rest of eternity as disembodied spirits? Are we to end up as bodiless creatures, only two-thirds here? No indeed! There is more for the person in whom Christ dwells. There is hope for the body too.
LIFE ALSO FOR THE BODY
"But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you, he that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall give life also to your mortal bodies through his Spirit that dwelleth in you" (11).
The redemption of our soul and spirit takes place immediately when we believe in Christ; the redemption of our body does not take place immediately, but awaits a future redemption. We "who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for our adoption (placing as sons) to wit, the redemption of our body . . . we with patience wait for it."
Because we have to "wait" for the salvation of the body, does this mean there is any doubt as to this coming to pass? No, we "who have the first-fruits of the Spirit," shall also have the "further-fruits of the Spirit, even "the redemption of our body."
The guarantee of our bodily resurrection rests on the fact of Christ's bodily resurrection. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in us and shall do the same for us. "He that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead SHALL give life also to your mortal bodies through his Spirit." God's salvation is not only eternal, it is complete. He saves the soul and spirit when we believe, and gives His word for it that the body will be saved in the future -- made new and immortal and everlasting, no more subject to death and decay.
What will our body be like? I don't know and I'm not concerned. We are told that we shall have a body "fashioned like unto His glorious body." Talk about Mr. and Mrs. and Miss Americas, these bodies beautiful can in no way compare with His glorious body. If there is perfection anywhere, certainly it is in our Lord Jesus Christ, glorified at the Father's right hand. If there is a perfect body anywhere, surely it is His body. And ours is to be "fashioned like unto His."
One day, "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump . . . the dead (in Christ) shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven . . . and the dead in Christ shall rise . . . (and) we which are alive . . . shall be caught up . . . " Oh glorious day of our completed redemption!
This is precious to me. I am sure it is to you too, especially those of you who through some illness or accident have been made to realize the weakness and limitations of this present body. My word to you, on the authority of God's Word, is, "LOOK UP!" This is not the end of the matter for the child of God. Be assured "your redemption draweth nigh." "For now is our salvation nearer than when we believed."
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