Editorial
HAVE YOU EVER THANKED GOD?
I suppose you have at one time or another, for one thing or another. But have you ever thanked God for His greatest gift of all? The Apostle Paul thus expresses his gratitude. "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift" (II Corinthians 9:15). But what is this unspeakable gift of God?
"The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23b). Eternal life is God's unspeakable gift. Unspeakable in that it defies description. It beggars attempt to fully comprehend or adequately explain it. Human language is a vehicle too small to carry to our understanding the fullness of the meaning of this gift of God.
The gift of God is eternal life. Eternal life is both everlasting and abundant. Gifts we receive on our birthday and at Christmas have one outstanding characteristic -- they are only temporal. A child gets a toy, and before the day comes to a close, the toy lies broken in a corner. We get clothing, and before the year is out, they are threadbare. We receive mechanical devices, and before a decade passes, they are ready for repair or the junk. Material gifts are temporal. But not so with God's gift of eternal life. It is just as it says, "eternal" life. Not ours just for a period of years, then to fall or be snatched from our possession, but ours forever, without fail, without end. Staggering to the imagination, but wonderful to contemplate!
The gift of eternal life is also abundant. Since our conversion, we have found out experientially some of the abundance of life in Christ. This is only a token, however, of the abundance to come. We have merely stepped over the threshold into the vast expanse of the yet unexplored vistas of the abundant life which God has laid up for us who love Him. If our present taste of life in Christ is sweet, how much more so when sin, death, and hell no longer dog our steps.
Eternal life is God's gift. Since it is of God, then the thanks belongs to Him. No thanks to us. He gave, we receive, and give the thanks to Him. A gift is a gift. To have it, you receive it. Upon receiving it, you thank the giver. What impertinence not to thank the giver. So it is with God's gift. To have eternal life, you receive it. Upon its reception, you thank God for it. Have you ever thanked God for eternal life? Maybe I should first inquire. Have you ever received God's gift of eternal life? If the answer is in the negative, then what better time is there than the present to thankfully take what God freely offers you through Christ?
The gift of eternal life has been purchased by Christ. Christ Himself paid the price with His own precious blood, There had to be a sacrifice, blameless and without spot or blemish. Christ became that sacrifice upon the cross. We have not the means to purchase God's gift; nor the righteousness to merit it; nor the strength to earn it -- even it it could be given on such a basis. But it is not given on such a basis. It is given on the basis of Christ's righteousness and His redemptive work on the cross. The gift of God is eternal life "through Jesus Christ our Lord."
But not only is eternal life "through" Christ, it is also "in" Christ. It is obtainable in His own person. When He became flesh, He became eternal life Personified. "In Him was life . . . the life was manifested." He is the Creator of it and its dispenser. "He gives eternal life." So the fact is that we receive eternal life by receiving Christ Himself. "This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life."
"The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." What better time than at this Thanksgiving Season to echo Paul's sentiments: "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift." Have you ever thanked God for eternal life in and through Jesus Christ? If not, why not? Why not now?
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"Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold . . . but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." -- I Peter 1:18,19
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IN SHADOW AND IN SUNSHINE
By Brian Surer
Brian Surer was a young man 25 years old, married and the father of two children. Starting in his early teens, he had an outstanding career in the newspaper business and had won several top awards. He had written for magazines and television, traveled widely, covered Presidential news conferences, and his first book, "Generation In A Rut" has been published. Although he was raised in a Christian home, the following letter outlines a dramatic change of events in his life.
Dear Jim:
The basic reason for writing at this time is to tell you something about my cancer and my wonderful Lord. Many of the friends to whom this same letter will go have been praying for me and I extend my thanks. I believe you are entitled to know how the Lord is answering those prayers.
Actually, this is an ideal time to send this letter, as just recently I have had additional news concerning my condition. I share this news with you so you may know what needs exist for prayer.
As perhaps you already know, I spent the month of February, following my surgery, undergoing daily treatments of maximum cobalt. All of the radiation was directed at killing the cancer in lymph nodes located in the small of the back and, in particular, the area around the kidneys. On February 19, I was given a chest x-ray which showed some signs of a spread of the cancer to the lungs. For this reason the doctors at Landenau Hospital decided to suspend the cobalt treatments during March and await further test results.
Well, this week we learned the results of these latest tests and the chest x-rays have my doctors concerned. It seems that the earlier x-rays showed several spots indicating the "possibility" of cancer. Now the latest x-rays clearly reveal extreme spread of the disease. It seems that cobalt can't be used for treatment of lung cancer, especially when it is as wide-spread as mine. Since surgery is also out of the question, the doctors have to come up with another method of treatment or throw in the medical towel.
I can only praise God for the fact that my future is not solely in the hands of these doctors. I know He has a purpose in this experience, no matter what He wills for me. It may sound strange, but this cancer, with all its pain and related symptoms, has been the greatest experience of my life. It has brought me to the point of total committal to Christ -- a point we so often talk about and so seldom reach. I have literally placed my life in His hands. As strange as it may seem, by facing death I have learned the meaning of life, and it is wonderful now to know the full meaning of Paul's great statement: "For me to live is Christ, to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21).
I recall that, as a teenager, I used to carry a bookmark in my Bible that said: "only one life 'twill soon be past; only what's done for Christ will last." I only wish I could share the true meaning of these words. Tomorrow always seems like a better time for Christ and His service. I know now that although there may not be a tomorrow here -- praise God there will always be a tomorrow with Him. How wonderful it is to know the true meaning of the words, "for what is your life? it is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away" (James 4:14).
Several verses from the Bible have become especially dear to me in recent months. The one now on my desk is the verse, "in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God, through Christ Jesus, concerning you" (I Thessalonians 5:18). When you consider all that it means, how can you do anything else but praise our great and mighty God?
Dr. V. Raymond Edman, president of Wheaton College, once wrote in one of his books that the "trial of faith provides the discipline of darkness for God's child, that he may learn to trust his Father in the shadow as well as in the sunshine." What a blessing to know that He is there waiting to be trusted. I can only pray: "Lord, whatever time on earth You now give me, may it count for Thee. May Christ be glorified in everything I do."
Were it not for the cancer and the subsequent time it gave me to think, I might have gone home to face my Lord with an empty record -- an empty life.
This is no longer so, because of what life now means to me. The same God and the same promises await you, too. All that is needed is to claim them.
God bless you and keep you,
In Him,
Brian Surer
John 3:30
(Mr. Surer went to be with his Lord shortly after the writing of this letter.)
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"O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make
a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us
come before his presence with thanksgiving . . ."
Psalm 95:1,2
THANKSGIVING
HIS LAST WORDS
SOME YEARS AGO, in Germany, a young man lay upon the operating table of a hospital. A skilled surgeon stood near, a group of students round about.
Presently, bending over the patient, the surgeon said: "My friend, if you wish to say anything, you now have the opportunity, but I must warn you that your words will be the last words that you will ever utter. (He had cancer of the tongue.) Think well, therefore, what you wish to say."
You can readily imagine that such a statement at such a time would give pause to anyone. The young man therefore waited, apparently lost in deep thought.
A deep solemnity settled over the faces of the onlookers. What words would he choose for such an occasion? The students bent eagerly forward.
Some time passed, and then the lips at last parted, and at the sound of his voice you could have seen the tears swim in the eyes of those present "Thank God, Jesus Christ!"
(From Three Thousand Illustrations by Walter B. Knight;
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI.)
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MAY JESUS CHRIST BE PRAISED
When morning gilds the skies,
My heart awaking cries:
May Jesus Christ be praised;
Alike at work and prayer,
To Jesus I repair:
May Jesus Christ be praised.
When sleep her balm denies,
My silent spirit sighs:
May Jesus Christ be praised;
When evil thoughts molest,
With this I shield my breast:
May Jesus Christ be praised.
Does sadness fill my mind,
A solace here I find:
May Jesus Christ be praised;
Or fades my earthly bliss,
My comfort still is this:
May Jesus Christ be praised.
In heav'n's eternal bliss,
The loveliest strain is this:
May Jesus Christ be praised;
The pow'rs of darkness fear,
When this sweet chant they hear:
May Jesus Christ be praised.
Be this, while life is mine,
My canticle divine:
May Jesus Christ be praised;
Be this th' eternal sone,
Thro' all the ages on:
May Jesus Christ be praised.
-- A German Hymn
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BE THANKFUL
ONE OF THE weekly duties of a young American girl in India was to visit a certain group of high-caste Hindu women -- all younger than herself, mere girls, most of them, though already wives.
She taught them the Life of Christ by telling them a new chapter in it each week, as they sat about their apartment, idly busy over their embroidery frames.
She had come at last to the account of His death on the cross, and was quietly relating the incidents of those six hours, when she caught the sound of sobbing -- in the room, she thought.
She paused, looked keenly about, saw nothing unusual, concluded the sound must have come in through the high lattice from the women's courtyard, and went on with her reading.
Presently the sobs came again, unmistakably from a young girl whose back was almost turned toward the American girl. Quickly she knelt by her side, asking gently, "What is the trouble? Are you ill? In pain? What can I do to help you?"
Through her raining tears the Hindu heathen girl answered, with sobs, "Oh, I cannot bear it -- not another word! He suffered so -- and you said it was for me! Oh, I cannot bear it -- I love Him so!"
Said the American girl when she told it afterward, "And I never knew till that minute how little I had loved my Saviour -- I who had never shed a tear over His suffering for me."
Have you ever thanked Jesus for dying for you?
(From Three Thousand Illustrations by Walter B. Knight;
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI.)
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O COULD I SPEAK
O could I speak the matchless worth,
O could I sound the glories forth,
Which in my Saviour shine,
I'd soar and touch the heavenly strings,
And vie with Gabriel while he sings
In notes almost divine.
I'd sing the precious blood He spilt,
My ransom from the dreadful guilt
Of sin, and wrath divine;
I'd sing His glorious righteousness,
In which all-perfect, heavenly dress
My soul shall ever shine.
I'd sing the characters He bears,
And all the forms of love He wears,
Exalted on His throne;
In loftiest songs of sweetest praise,
I would to everlasting days
Make all His glories known.
Well, the delightful day will come
When my dear Lord will bring me home,
And I shall see His face;
Then with my Saviour, Brother, Friend,
A blest eternity I'll spend,
Triumphant in His grace.
-- Samuel Medley
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SERMON SERIES
Romans 8
No. 19
AN OPEN AND SHUT CASE
"Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that jutifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." -- Romans 8:33,34
Presiding Judge
Plaintiff Defendant
Prosecuting Attorney Defense Attorney
The Charge The Penalty
The Verdict
IN OUR TEXT we have all the ingredients for a lawsuit. The place is the Supreme Court of Heaven. The presiding Judge is the Chief Justice of the universe, God Himself. The plaintiff and prosecuting attorney is the Devil. God's elect are the defendants and Christ is the defense attorney. We are charged with breaking God's law; the penalty death. It remains to be seen the final verdict.
So let's enter the court room, take our seats, and see how the litigation proceeds. Satan versus God's elect. --
THE PROSECUTION
"Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? . . . Who is he that condemneth?" After reading the immediate, foregoing context, one wonders who would be so foolish as to lay anything to the charge of God's elect, or to seek their condemnation. But the fact is, there is one who does just that. We read about him in chapter 12 of Revelation. He is "called the Devil, and Satan," and he is "the accuser of our brethren . . . which accuse(s) them before our God day and night" (9,10).
Contrary to popular opinion, Satan is not at present bound in hell. He is very much in this world, and in fact has access to heaven where God dwells. In Job 1:6 and 2:1 we see him appearing before the Lord. We know why he was there from subsequent events. He had a charge to lay against God's servant Job. He continues today, day and night, his diabolical work, bringing accusation against the brethren. And with his charge he demands the maximum penalty of eternal banishment from heaven's society and God's presence.
The sad part of this case is that the defendant is guilty as charged. To make it more personal, I am (and so are you) guilty of breaking the law of God. If Satan's charge were untrue, then I might stand up to my full stature and proclaim my innocence for all the hosts of heaven and earth to hear. But it is true. Every word of it. I have broken the law, I have sinned. I deserve the penalty.
Instead of defiantly declaring my innocence, I must stand with bowed head, admitting to the truth of the charge and the justice of the sentence, submitting to the execution of the sentence if that be the will of the court. Yes, I am guilty as charged. I throw myself upon the mercy of the court. I do not demand justice. I know if I got what I deserved, I would be thrown into hell without further ado. I plead guilty; I request mercy. "God be merciful to me a sinner."
And be it known to all who are interested in this great trial that "with the Lord there is mercy." "He delighteth in mercy." "God . . . is rich in mercy." So we read in our text: "It is God that justifieth."
THE ARBITRATION
The great and eternal Judge of the universe -- there is no higher authority, no higher court -- has ruled me not guilty. God has declared me just and righteous and without sin. He has dismissed the charge against me and waived the sentence. "It is God that justifieth."
His word is supreme and final. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." That is the reason for the question: "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" The obvious answer is that no one can rightly do so. Satan does. But to no avail. For it is God who declares His own people acquitted. Nothing can supersede His pronouncement nor undo it. When God speaks, it is done. God has spoken. He declares His chosen ones to be innocent of the charge.
But how could God do such a thing, when it is very evident that the defendant is anything but innocent. In any court of our land, this action would be considered a breach of justice in the worst sense. This would be adjudged by all decent citizenry a flagrant miscarriage of justice. For the judge to declare a known criminal innocent and turn him loose when all the evidence points to his guilt, shows an utter disregard and contempt for law and order.
In our case, the law was clear, the charge was true, the defendant found guilty, the sentence just, but the Judge justified the accused. Well, we know God is not unjust. There must be some explanation. And there is an explanation in our text.
THE DEFENSE
The question is asked: "Who is he that condemneth?" The answer is the nobody can condemn God's children. But why? Because they have a big Brother who is acting as their defense attorney. You remember Satan was called the accuser of "our brethren." Why are they called "brethren"? Because they are the children of God and brothers of one another and also brothers, by the same token, of the Lord Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son. And He it is "who also maketh intercession for us." He pleads our cause. But why should His attorneyship guarantee our acquittal before the Supreme Court of Heaven, especially in light of the fact that we were known to be guilty as charged?
When we examine His credentials we shall discover the reason the case is an open and shut case in our favor. Truly we were guilty and deserving condemnation, but HE, our Attorney, took our place. This is called substitution. He substituted for us. He bore the guilt of our sin, took the blame; and He submitted to its penalty, was condemned in our place. He was not guilty. He did not deserve to die. Yet our Scripture declares: "It is Christ that died."
Why did He die? For us who had sinned. He died to deliver us from sin and condemnation. The guilt was established, the verdict pronounced, the sentence read, and the criminal was about to be led away to his fate when up stepped the defense Attorney and volunteered to take the criminal's place. An unheard of thing. Yet this is exactly what Christ did for us. The spectacle of the cross was the result of His offer. Christ hung there dying the death we deserved, undergoing the judgment due us.
The law now has no more demands against us. Our big Brother and Attorney exhausted its demands. This is why God can now pronounce us innocent. This is the reason the inspired scribe of Scripture can ask -- "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect," or "who is he that condemneth?" No one can justly do so. "It is God that justifieth," because "it is Christ that died."
His first credential then that makes our Defense Attorney a winner is that He took the place of His client and thus Himself bore the penalty. But that is not all. "It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God." Christ died for our sins, rose for our justification, lives on high to make intercession for us.
Does Satan, by the permissive will of God, have limited access to God's presence? The answer is yes. But our Christ is exalted continually at the right hand of God. Does Satan accuse us before God? Again the answer is yes. But our Christ died for us, rose for us, and pleads for us. Satan's day is coming when he will be cast out of heaven unto the earth, and then to be finally cast into the lake of fire prepared for him and his angels. But our Christ abideth forever in the presence of God the Father, and we with Him.
The evidence that our Attorney presents in the court of heaven in our defense is His own blood and righteousness. He who was without sin died for us who were altogether sinful. The Just died for the unjust. His blood was the evidence of His death. Like the high priests of old, Christ entered into the Holy of Holies and presented His shed blood before the presence of God. God's acceptance of His sacrifice was evidenced by His raising Him from the dead, and exalting Him at His own right hand.
The Father-Judge accepts the evidence which Christ presents (His own blood and righteousness), and declares us just, and sooner or later the accuser must retire in defeat, it is a foregone conclusion, an open and shut case. Satan has lost the case against us, having absolutely no grounds upon which to charge or condemn us.
But are you one of God's elect? Are you one of Christ's brethren? Have you been justified by God? The Scriptures declare that God is just "and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." So the question of importance to you is -- Do you believe in Jesus? Have you received Him into your heart and life as your Saviour and Lord? If you have believed in Christ Jesus, then you are one of God's elect, there is no longer any charge against you, you are acquitted by the court of heaven, God has justified you, you are no longer under condemnation, you are accepted in the Beloved, and where He is, you will also one day be.
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