THE

WORD AND WORK A MONTHLY MAGAZINE

SET TO DECLARE THE WHOLE COUNSEL OF GOD

J . R. ClARK, Publishor

VOL. L No. 12 DECEMBER 1956

IN THIS ISSUE

Poem: Star of the East

"The Days of Our Years" - E. L. J. Pitfalls of Orthodoxy - N. B. Wright •

My God And I -J. H. McCaleb

The Preacher's Responsibility - Frank Gill

In Our Own Affections Mrs. Paul Knecht

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266

268

269

270

272

"Work Out Your Own Sa lvation" - Leroy Yowell 27 4

Term "Manifesto" Objected To - Stanford Chambers 276

Precious Reprints - The Throne of David (II) 277

Ben's Budget 280

"The First Love" - H. L. Ott · 281

One Man's Opinion J. R. Clark 283

Seed Thoughts - J. L. Addams 284

News and Notes 286

Charles M . Nea l 288

A Report To Friends Inside back Cover

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THE WORD AND W ORK VOLUME L , DECEMBER, 1950

E. L JOitGENS0:-.1 AND J. n. CLARK, EDITORS

THE WORD AND WORK 2518 Portland Ave. Louisville 12, Kentucky

Entered at the Loulsvillo, Kentucky, Post O ffice as oocond class matter. Slnqle subscription, $1.50; two aubacriptiona, $2.75;

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STAR OF THE EAST

Hrighl<.'~ t and best of the ~on' of the mornin!!. Dawn on our d:u km·" and lend u' thine aid!

Star of the Ea~t. the hut iwn adorning, Guide where our inlant Redeemer is laid.

Cold on hi~ cradle the dew-drops arc shining. Low I ies his head with the beast' of the stall:

Ange ls adore him in lumber recli_ning, Maker, ancl ~fonarch. and Sa\'Jor of all.

Say. sha ll we yic• ld hiu1. in costly devo tion. Od01 ~ of Edo111. and off' rings divine?

C erns of the 111oumain. and pc:u-ls of the ocean. Myrrh from the forc~t. and gold lrom the mine?

VainJy we o ll cr each ample oblation, Vainl y with g ifts would his favor secure:

Richer by fnr is the heart's adoration, D earer to C od arc the prayers of the poor!

Brightest ami bc~t of the sons of the morning, Dawn on our darkness and lend us thine aid!

Star of the Ea:.t. the hori;on adorning. Gui de where our infa n t Rcdecn1cr is laid.

2()5

"THE DAYS OF OUR YEARS" E. L .J.

B)' thi titne we arc about to round the corner of 1957; ami h ow we wish we could look t ill funher around that corner, to ~ee what the year might hold for us!

Ano th er " mil e-:.tone" (a word from h orse-and-buggy days) will soon be passed! There a rc not man y of them for any of us, and very. fe w for son te o f us. "Three-score )Cars and ten , or even l>y reason o l strength (our:~core years_" : beyond that ~L _is "borrow~d time": a nd the average hie-even wllh our lowered ml <ult morta li ty rate-:JS n~t n early that. 'o wonder ~ lo~es . the man of Cod, \)rayed-m h1s psalnt on Cod 's Eternity a nd Man's Tran.~itoriness-t ·wt we might Jearn lO n u mber our days a nd ''get us a h eart of wisdolll." And n earer yet. perhaps, i the comin~ of th e Lo rd:

" For yr t :1 l ittle while H o w sh ort! ho w shun ! H e that cometh will come, .-\nd ,,·ill not d elay.' ' - ( Heb. 10:37, Gr.)

It is well that we ha ve broken up into bits and pieces the years of our li,·e : ~cc-oud~ . m i nute~. hour~ . clays. week , momhs, years. decades; beyond that th e century and the 111illc:nnium. How drab a nd how difficult 0 11r lives mi~ht be, if a ll wem straight along, witll never a change! l'\o clay anti no n i<rht, no spring and no fall. no Sunda ys and 110 hoi idays, no birthdays a nd no :111n iversaries, no Thanksgiving a nd II (J Christm:l)!

Some of these time-breaks are but conven ient man-Jllade meas­urcntcnts witho m any rca on in na ture: but others are d eep in the tla tlt l'<: of thing~ and in th e plans ol C:od.

The earth turns on it s a x i ~ . aud we have the so lar day: evening ant! lllorning, o ne d :ty.

The moon turns on its axis. and we have the lunar ntonth- two o r three days less than o ttr cale nda r mo nth.

The earth revolves around the sun (rather, the sun contplews an :~pparent revo lution around the ecliptic). and we have the year­abom 31i5 Y-1. day~ .

l~ut d eep in the being o r God (and thcrerore in the Law of C od), a nswering tO th e heart and the n eed of nt an , i~ the di visio n which we ca l l a week, with its day ol rest and worship. 0 what. a price we shall pa)·-in our lives. and in o ur children , and in o ur na t ion- because we lla\'C not t r u .\ l l.l c/ Cod in this; trusted Hint to g ive us strength to \Jro­ducc Hto rc in ~ ix da ys than we shall in scvt:n l Long agu- a hun< red ) c:a1 !> or more-tltc fa t llO lt ~ Hudson Bay ex peri mem provcd it : that men who g ive God one day or seven a<:complish more in mater ial, plt y~ i cal resul t~. t lt :t n tho~c \\' hO forge t to remember Lhe glor ious resur­t e<" t iou day. BUL that i ~ :1 rea l " \\'c:.tcrn " s tory tOo le ngth y for this p urpose, but one to thrill the !teart. of a ny C ltt·is tian boy who reads it.

Yes, it is we ll t.h:tt life is bro ken up lor ttS into these time fragments. An d it i ~ God'!> ol\'11 pla n for lll> th:u we ~ha ll Ji,·e them o n e by o ne,

~()(j

and day by da y. witho ut tnttlu e a nx ie ty for the ttlOtTOI\'. "Be no t therefore anxious for 1 he morro w: for the nt(IITOW wi II IJe an x iou~ lor itse lf. Sulllcie lll unto the dn )' is the evil thereof."

' 'One step at a time d ear Savior: I cannot ta ke :1ny 1110re.' '

lt is n ever the burden of today that breaks tne n down . It is o nl y when Lh C' burden o f tomorro 1,. is added to the burden of today tha t the load becomes 1.00 heavy to bea r.

A nd so it is well tha t we ran nol sec l'a r a ro und tha t corner of tom orro w. and tlw cotning days. On ly by the '' word of prophecy." which to 11 is m ade "more su re" (~ Peter I: 19), ca n we know t ha t unknown future; and then only in its general outli nes. and on ly as Go d has willed to reveal it a ccord ing \o o ur capaci ty and for o ur w nt fort. A nd how st ra ng-e it is to think- how ttnhcl ieva b lc w lt<:ar­tha t there a re C hristia n people who do not wan t tn know e1·cn /Ita 1! T he things th :u arc befo re us, the 1cry things we m ay. perha ps, have to pass throug h-and yet we close o ur eyes to the \Vord ! \Ve close our cars to t he preaching, dtlihcra tC'ly choosing ig norance and d :1rk· ncss ! But so a lso it was in the t l<t ys of oalt: "they knew no t un til the noocl came, and too k th em a II away." And the Savior adds, "So shall be the com ing of the So n o ( man> M an y thing· there a re indeed that arc in m ercy conrea lcd from u~: and they " belong ttnto .J ehovah our C od. " Bttl the things that a rc rcvcakd :tre nu t con cea led: and they " belo ng umo us a nd to o ur children forever." ".Eighty years ago, A. Campbell sa id- and how much t r uer a re th ese words today:

"Now is the ti me lo r srudem s of propheq· to trim their la111ps. to keep their vig il. a nd to watch. "

Yet. we may be sure that th is current year h olds much of pain and sorro w. 0 yes. there will he songs and happy m eetings. a nd ~weet associatio ns. with new and lasri ng friendsht ps; but there wi II be tears a nd partings; it could even rome to pass tha t there wottld be blue tars again in our windo ws, yea , and some gold stars. "Daddy. did God have a Son in the service?" asked the boy as he ga lctl on the lol,·-lutng ing evening s ta r. " Yes." sa id the father, " and fi e tnad c the su prcllle sacri lice."

"\Vhen eyes are bea ming ·what words can never te ll; \ Vhcn tears arc strc;nning frorn the ir crystal ce ll: When h a nds arc lin kcct th a t dread to pan. vVhen heart is m et w ith thro bb ing heart, 0 bitte r, bitter is th e sm art or them that bid farewell.' '

Yet the sil ver lips h ave sa id. the voirc of Him wlto loved tts sa id: "l.c l uot yo u r h e;.n be trou hled: be lieve in Cod, bel ie\ •' :also iu

me. In 111)' Father's !muse are manv man~ions: if it wen· 1101 :>o. I wo u ld have· told )'O ll : for I g;o I<• p repa re a pla n· fo 1· you. An d if I go and prepare a plarc fur }Oil. I coniC again, and wilt rcn:ivc you 111110 myself: that where J a tll, 1here yc may he also."

A n d aga in by the H o i)' piri t, in the words of Pau l:

"In no thing he a nx io11~: bill iu cvt:r ything h)• p ra yer and ~up­plication with th:lllk~givill): let l'nnr rcquc~t~ he: made: J..uowu 1111tu

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(,()(1 , Anti the pcau· or (:oil . 1\ hirh pa~'cl h a II lllldl'l"'l:lllllillg, bh:tll guard )Our heart• :mel )<HII thuught~ in Christ Jou),"

After all to the children o l C.od. "the future is as bright a!> the ptomises of God." H ow ht ight they are! :\nd how exceeding h'Teat and J.>rccious lor our troubled time~.

·•t know nut where I I i~ hands lilt Their fronded palms in air; I only know I can not drift J~eyond I l is love a nd care."

PITFALLS OF ORTHODOXY :\. H. Wright

When the l.ord ~aid: "\Vhet cfore let him that thinkcth he l>taml­cth take heed lest he fall", and, "Try )OIIr own selves, whether ye arc in the Iilith", He meant [or us to take these words to heart. His way, IIIOIC<J\'er. to keep the!>e word~> ftOIII carrying a 'sting' with them is that we take his every word w heart. li e wills that we circlllll\'eJH th e pitfalb of the encn•y by a lnll knowledge and diligent applica­tion of !lis truth.

Pitfa lls to orthodoxy there arc- they lurk in the most unJike ly pl ace~>. Our <:onsideralio n ha~ to do with o nl}' two ol them. The~e two daint our attf'ntion becau~e ol the pri11nples involved in each. The two are: The Standard ol Orthodoxy, and, The F;lilure To Ex­amine the Proof-text Of the Orthodox. A corollary to the latter is .1 fai lure LO exam ine tcrtain texts di:.astromly O\erlookcd by the ma­jori t y- lcader:..

The standard (of which we ~pea k) i ~ often <1 fah.c one. C:h<~nce are that this standard is impo cd by a group of the most influential (()Jlgrcgations or by a lllllllbcr or pt cacher~ held in the highest e~teem. Others hclievc and preach ano1 ding to the tenetS which pass the front line g uard, finally to be au:.eptctl in Lhe very citadel it:.cll. Sin<·c approval is placed on mc~sagc and messenger, 'we' then h:wc the truth- no more remains to be learned: every other 111 ind auto­lila t i<:a II)' is unsound to thc poi Ill ol being a voided. Therefore, out goe<, the truth ol Cod, thtllH forth by the orthodox, hid in the ar­c hi\'es of neglect and buried by th<. dust of time.

The ~econd principle, name ly: Failure to Examine the Proof­text. i ~ illustrated by the mual auiwde toward Romans. chapter six. For )C:II~ \Ollie o r u turned to the chaptel tO find proof that bap­tism is a burial. So it is, and ~o we bel ieve Romans (j to teach. ln­veMigawrs. however, tOO often <ea~ed there. In personal COll\'er a­tion or in public pn:aching of the Word, the text proved to be a life­:.:wet; skillul u~e was often made of it with te lling efl ecl. Then the Lord finally succeeded in indicating to us that wc would do well to look at this passage again: to invc~tignte the fundamental message. Baptisn1. upon so doing. was ~ • ill there, but it was not the subject of 1hc th:I(Ht'r. \\'c had lllil>~t·d the lllain purpose of the lloly Spirit's m<:!t~age. Some ol out rcligiou~ neighbor~>. 011 the other hand. had caught the main theme. At the 'ame time they nti'>5Cd wh:n we romidcrcd to be the object of the 'proof-text'. In our 'orthodoxy' we temaincd fot a time ohli\ iou~ of the real <ecrct of the Clui'ltian li fe.

:.1118

It is not necessary to go far to find a second illustratio n o f fail ­ure w read all of the revealed Word. His tnllh says that Christ died for our sins. Praise God, it is true. Now, wherein does ' victory over mar siu-natu re lie? By ceasing to read when the Word continued, we che:lled ourselves and others. There was no comprehension of the ground of victory in the other purpose of the death of our Lord.

A word now, as to the corollary, is sufficient. To offset the ex­tre me position of some of om religious ne ighbors who claim that Christians roday arc baptized by the Spirit, as \fCre t he apostles o n Pemec:ost , we use certa in Scriptures in the proper way. But at the same time we were blinded to a cen ain text wh ich gives the sco-et o[ sanctification. \'\1e showed how the believer, obedient in the faith, is cl eansed, regencr:ned. and added w the body of Christ. But the secret of being a healthy member which functions p roperl y in the body was foreig n to om comprehension. \Ve ceased to read, when the l Vord of God continued its ministry of instr uction. Our preach­ing which fell short o f the fullness of God's revelation was accepted. R ather than reaching out and goitag forward, .some wen: left with the only a lternative: i.e. w say the same thing in another way.

\ ,Ve propose to submit, not for your approval, but for your pray­er ful considera tion. an article on "The Other Purpose of the Death ol Christ," a nd then o ne o n "The Union Which Sanctifies."

MY GOD AND I .J. H. McCa leb

"And him as good as dead"! l l tose words keep ringing in my ears with their beautiful music

of hope. You recogn ize immed iately that this expressio n is about Abraham, the ma n of faith ; the man who took God a t His word, and never swer ved fro m his belief and uuer trust. And God blessed Abraham and made of him a great nation. Through him all the peoples of the world were blest.

I know of o ther men who were "as good as dead" , and to whom Cod gave the power w accomplish great things. When I was a boy. Lhere was a certain man who never failed to stir me when he made talks a t the various meetings o f the loca l congregations. His formal education was meager a nd his environmental influences had been negative; in fact, he had wasted much of his life in riotous living. His body a nd his face carried tbe marks of dissipation. And then h e ··came to himself'. Jn all his weakness and despair, he threw himself upon the mercy of God. " Him as good as dead" God took u nto Him· self ami ust:d him with great power, a po wer that still has its mark upon my life for good.

I know another man who wasted many of his days outside the law and inside the walls of prisons. God took him, too, "and him as good as dead". T hat new li fe sta nds out as o ne of love, humility and abundant good works.

"And him as good as deadl" Beau tiful music of hope indeed. It is never too late if we will only hearken to His b lessed voice while it i:, sti ll today.

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THE PREACHER'S RESPONSIBILITY Frank Gill

An honest reading of E1.ekiel ){: lli·2 1 should impress upon us the great responsibility or ''the watchman U lllO the house of Israel," or of the Christian preacher and teacher . With that responsibili ty com­m itted unto him by the Lord (and such a position should never be a:.Sllllled), the individual is to "hear the word at my mouth and give them warning from me."

T he wicked are to recei\'e warning from Cod concerning the end of their evil living. O ne may heed Cod's word of warning while a no1.her wi ll "turn not from his wickedness, nor from his \vicked way." There is a like result for the wicked one who con­tinues in his sin- whet.her he has heard or not-"he shall die in h is iniquity." B ut the watcl1man's welfare is vastly affected by whether or not he has delivered the warning. "When I say unto the wicked. Thou shalt !>Urcly die: and thou giv~t him not warning, nor speakcst to warn the wicked from his wicked way, 1.0 save his life; the same wicked man shall d.ie in his iniquity; but his b lood will I require at thy hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked. and he turn. not (rom his wickedness, nor lrom his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity: bu t thou ha~ L delivered thy soul" (Elck. 3: 18, 19). There is a like resuiL to the sinner; Lor whc1.her he has heard the warning or not, he must die in his iniquity. But the watchman's soul is either bound or delivered according to whether or not he gave wnrni ng. If he fails, the sinner's b lood wil l be required a t h is hand ; if he is fa ith fu l, he de livers h is soul. H ow Lrcmcndous is the responsibility of the one who s1.ands ns watchman wi th regard to the spiriLUal and the eternal. Can we wonder 1.h ~1t .James said. "Be not many of you teachers, my brc1h1 en, knowing that we shall receive heavier judg­tnem" U as. 3: I).

For an example of fai1.h fulncss in the position under considera­tion let us look a1. the grea t apo:.tle to t he Gentiles. Paul could not he condemned all an unfaithful "watduuan", for in speaking to 1.hc Ephesian elders he declares himself "pure (rom the blood of all n1C11.'' Why such a bold statement? "l·or I shrank not from declar­ing unto you lhe whole counsel of God," he said (Acts 20:26, 27). Pa ul preached all of Cod's word- and so must every faithful servant of God. The preacher or teacher is to declare all that God has spoken-n01. what he likes; no t that with which he rtgrcC!.; nor what he thinks is essential. But he is to proclaim e\'eq•thing that God has spoken-His truth on every sub jcct.

FiTst ·principles? Yes, they arc needful. . In (<teL Lhey are abso­IULcly necessary, and their importance should never be discounted. Thus, we find this aposl.le who is pure from tile blood of al1 men declar ing these things. Faith: "Believe on the Lord J esus, and thou shalt be saved, :llld thy house" (Acts 16:3 1). R epentance: "vVhere­forc, 0 king Ab'l·i ppa, I was not di!>obedicm to the heavenly vision, but declared both to them of Samaria first, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the country of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that Lhe)' shou ld repent and tutu to Cod, doing works worthy or repem-

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:111ce" (Ans 2ft: 19. 20). Baptism: " For as ma ny o l you as were baPi tited inw Christ d id put on Christ" (Cal. 3:27) . . And those who rpay want to include ' 'confession" in first principles we refer to R om. 10:9; 10. fo1· Pau l's word on that subject. These th i.ngs need tO be known; and so Paul preached them.

For Christians dwn:h order and worship is o f importance, and on such mauers every child of Cod needs instruction. L ooking through the epistles of this true servam of God. we find, then, that he neglects not to adeq uate ly tre:H t hcse subjects. ' 'V c read his instruc­tions concern ing teaching (2 T im. 2:2: 1: I. 2, etc.) and concerning prayer (Phil. 4:6, 7: I Tim. I :2. etc.). He gave teaching concerning the reason Cor and the proper observance of the communion, or l .ord's supper (l Cor. II ). All o f his converts were taught to g ive and how to give (2 Cor. 8 ami Y: I Cor. 16:2, etc.). And about spir· i tua l sing ing, its proper auotivation, a nd purpose he also gave instruc· tions and admonition ( I Cor. 14: 15; Eph. 5: 18-20; Col. 3: 16, e tc.). These thing constitute a ,·ita! pan of the church's li fe and work. T herefore, l )aul preached ll1ese thing~ faithfully.

Spiritual growth and developmcm must be continually evi­denced in the church of our Lord. So, this man, who "shrank not from declaring . .. the whole cou nsel of Cod," emphasized the ncces­:.ity for a nd the means of ::.piritual growth and development (H eb. 5: 11 - fi:S).

Something about which the church must ever be conscious and concerned is the matter of daily Christian living. Si nce this is true, t he apostle Paul alway::. showed the practica lity of the gospel. He constantly cal led for sanclification a nd holy living a mong God's people, comrasting the fruit of the Spirit with the works of the flesh (Gal. 5: 16-2·1). He beseeches us to be imitators of God as be loved

children (Epfl. 5: I), and to !Jut ofT the old man with his doings and to put on the new man (Co . 3:5£).

Nor did this (aithful witness shun prophetic themes. Rather he spake much about "LI1c wmin~ of the Lord J esus Christ, and our gathering together un to him." He gave words of comfort to sorrow­ing hearts as he pointed to that "blessed hope" when the Lord shall come and the dead in Christ shall rise first, the living sain ts tO be <:ha nged. and wgether they be caught up to meet the L ord in the air and to be ever with H ilfl ( I Thes. 4: 13-18; l Cor. 15: Phil. 3:20, 21). Yea. and he ~ ~ 10ke of the Jailing away, of the man of sin, the day of the Lord, am related subjects (2 Thcs. 2). All of this because he decl;u·ed the whole counsel of God.

But in and through it all he wa preaching noth ing "save J esus Christ nnd him crur ilied" ( I Cor. 2:2). Paul ta ugln these things no t as formulae, by a faithful observance of which we may be saved, but a.'J Ll1ose things which establish and mnintain a r enl fellowship with the resurrected Savior. Christ was the message. Without H im a ll of these things would have been meaningless and powerless-just so many empty words. T oday, our churches receive much law but little LORD; anuch doctrine but li ttle DEITY: much Christianit): but little CHRIST. But in. and through it all, Paul proclaimed J esus Christ.

27 1

Yea, he said, "I shrank not from declaring unto you anything that was profitable ... "· (Acts 20:20). And this could mean but one thing; namely, that he proclaimed all the word of God. For as !te, himself, said in 2 Tim. 8:16, "All scripture is ~veil by inspiration of God, and is profitable ... " (Authorized Verston). Therelore, he was true to the command of our Lord which said, ..... teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you." And to such as do so there is the promise, "And lo, I am with you always even unto the consummation of the age" (Matt. 28:20, marginal reading).

Only when this is done has the preacher faithfully discharged his responsibility so that he may say, "I am free from the blood of all men." The book of Acts is not sufficient. -Frank Gill.

IN OUR OWN AFFECTIONS Mrs. Paul Knecht

"Ye are not straitened in us," Paul wrote to Corinth, "but ye are straitened in your own affections" (2 Cor. 6: 12). Paul's heart was enlarged by the love he had for the Corinthians. He told them in the same letter (2 Cor. 7:3b), "For I have said before, that ye are in our hearts to die together and live together." Incidentally, notice the order of death and life in that statement. We usually reverse it, putting Jife first. We say we will "live and die together", or, "in such a place", as if death were the consummation of li£e. But Paul puts it the other way. All the while he was in the ficsh he was in constant jeopardy of his life. "I die dairy," he said (1 Cor. 15:30, 31). And when he was facing the death of the body, "I am in a strait be­twixt the two," he declared, "having the desire to depart and be with Christ; for it is very far better" (Phil. I :23). Dying daily in this life and facing the actual death ut· his body, he looked confidently to the future, so he could say to the Corinthians in that order, "We die together and live together." But we go back to the point.

In his speech to them Paul had not withheld anything. The fullness of his love had enlarged his heart and opened up his mouth. It is a mark of true friendship when all reservations are removed. Paul knew something of that from experience. He had tried to join himself to the apostles soon after his conversion and they would not accept him. They were afraid of him. Though they may have loved him in a sense, they would not receive him into their confidence. But love needs also trust for its highest fulfillment. Though he stood in the same grace they did, chosen of God as were they, and approved on the same wound, yet they were cautious, not recognizing the Holy Spirit in h1m until Barnabas came to his aid. The Lord saw to that for it was necessary for his work's sake that he be on a basis of highest friendship with the other apostles. There can be fine, true love without trust, but trust is a necessary !.art of the deepest love so in. disputable to the higest service of Go . Paul must have felt keenly his failure to gain the fellowship of the other apostles, knowing that his own well-earned past reputation was back of their fear. It would

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ha ve Mraiwnccl ( limited) hin1 g.cillh if hi-. lcllowship with them had no1 been eHab lishccl. '

Perhaps that is why he dealt with the Corinthian~ o n a ba is of tn•~ t in s;me of all h e knt·w ol their pas1 li\'es. His m o uth was opc·n wward them. H e spoke free!)' · not on ly in d ecla ring to 1hem the whole CCIIUIM!I ol Cod. btll. in pointing Olll their faults (whirh were grievous), always recognizing in thc1n the indwelling Sp•rit of Cod ( I Co r. 3: l£i) and encoural{i ng them to overcome through Him .

Therefore he co uld trul y say, "\'e :1rc not straitened in me" a nd, tho11g h he did JHH, he could have added. "ne ither am I .,trai te ncd in m y own a llenio ns." Straitened

Paul wid them plainly ( it was a sign of his love lor them that h e deah thu~ frankl y with t hem). " \ t· :u·e !.trane ned in )OUr own al­l cuion~ ... Their heart~ ,,·e• e not enlarged by love, but limited :1nd narrow('cl b)• lack of it. ThC)' may h a\'e had some love. but it wa too fcdJie IIJ enlarge thei• hcaJt\ and tlwy were straitened bec:amc ol it. stra i H·ntd i 11 their (JW II alft·tt iom- 1 hi., , too, after Paul had wl'i ucn in a lo11ller lcne1 hi:, wo nderl ul thaptcr o n love ( I Cor. I ~). The Cor· inthian church h ad not only lail<:d in love themselves b1 1t had seem­ingly b lamed their failure 0 11 Paul. This is iu1plicd in the dcfc11se he m akes here in verse 1 ~. :\l1 e1· charging them wiLh liule alfenio11 he cxhortl> thc 111 , "Be )'C aho enlargtd.'' It is n:mini~cent of the J ew~ when they t)uestioned God\ love ( ~ l al. I :2). "Where in hast thou lon.:d m?" they asked whe n he .. aid, " I have loved thee."

" It i~ Cod who \\'OJ keth 111 )011 both w will ;111d to work lor his good plca~urc.'' H e clocl> th ruugh 11 ~ "atcordiug to the power that wo1 kcth in u~." \Vhen o u1 wor k is poor and hindered we arc not s traiten ed in Him. but in our o wn alfections. ." ~liTO\\' and limited h 1hc worker whose hean i\ not enlarged by love. li e will find mall)' cxwscs lor no t d o ing the thing' llw Lord wou ld have hi111 do. But il h e halo been b les~cd with loq.;ivtnc~s of si ns. rcalit. ing what that m eans and what it co~t, he will g ladly find and do m a n y thing~ in the sen ·ice of the ~bHer. Lo,·c is tCaction to forgivenc s a nd roJliC:. in li ke proponion. The II'OIIIan loved mw:h who had been forgive n much (L uke 7:-17): "bm to whotn little b forgiven." the Lo1d J c~m l>a id. "the s<1me loveth little.'' II you have greatly s· nncd li ke the prodiga l and hcen forgi,·en }Ott h;ne capacity for great lc)\e. But it }Ott han· ~inncq little (all h a\C' :.inned) the least sin put' )OU on the ~amc ground with the p1odigal and the Lo rd paid th e ~atnc price lor forgiving you as for him. The thankful, appreciati\c heart is full of love and m ercy and good fru i ts .

Be assured or this. you do 1101 know C.od in u uth , :111d have no tru e peace, il you are depe11ding 011 ti 111cs ;:tnd places. Renwml>cr thnt whatever God g ive:, you to do. moment to nwmeut. that is the ver y bc~t thing you cou ld pm.,.bly he doing . :tncl you lillie know where ami when the l.orcl will ll teet you. li e who doel> not ~eek and lind G od C\'eqwhere. and in e\erything, finds H im nowhere and in nothing . 1\.nd he \\'ho is not at the Lord's service in ever) thi ng, is at ll is !lcrvice in nothing. loitn Taulcr.

2i:l

"WORK OUT YOUR OWN SALVATION" Leroy Yowell

"So then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who worketh in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:12- I 3).

When I was a boy of twelve my father came to me, and pointing to a small triangular shaped field of young cotton near our house he said: ''I'm giving you that patch of cotton. You work it out and when. the cotton is sold all ot the money will be yours." From then on that little field of cotton, which was less than an acre, held an entirely new interest to me. I proudly pointed it out to neighbor boys as such and father always confirmed my claim. Of course I knew that when he said, "you work it out," that he meant I was to sec to it that the weeds and grass were kept out and however much I was expected to work in other fields on the farm I was especially responsible for this one. I remember having some misgivings later with regard to my faithfulness in the matter but I never doubted that father would do exactly as he had said that he would.

So it is with our salvation. God gave it to us; it is ours; the wondrous gift of His love bought and paid for by God, Himself, when Christ died for us, made accessible to us through faith in .Jesus Christ who loved us and redeemed us by His precious blood. "ln whom, having also bt·lieved, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise." "For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man should glory" (Eph. 1:13b; Eph. 2:8-!l).

Now I could never work fo,. such a gift as that, but I can and must "work it out". It is mine already. It is "your own". God says it is and He can not lie. He would have absolutely no reason to tell me that I am sa\'ed unless it is true. He is in no way ob­ligated to me and I am in no position to demand aught of Him. So if He says, "by grace have ye been saved", I believe Him; and if He says, "work out your own. salvation", I understand that He means for me to work out that which I already have. I :nn to give all diligence to make my calling and election sure (2 Peter I: I 0). I mn not for one minute to presume that such a precious gift can be handled carelessly; in fact, the very preciousness of it demands the utmost care. II I am careless it is a sure siJ.,rn that I not only am unmvarc of its true worth but that I also have little regard for the one who gave it to me. "And if the word spoken through angels proved stedfast and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward how shall we escape if we neglect so grcnt a salvation?" (Heb. 2:2, 3).

But someone will say, "If you have eternal life you can not lose it; else it would not be eternal life." This bit of human reasoning is substantiated, they say, by such scriptures as John 10:27, where

274 .

.Jesus says "my sheep hear my voice and I know them, and they fol­low me: and I give them eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand;" also other similar scriptures which comfort God's people and reassure them that they are not alone and that God will certainly see them through and perfect them unto the day of Jesus Christ. Uut the same sheep who hear their Shepherd's word of comfort and reassurance also hear His voice of warning, and they are not concerned with theological dogmas, hut they arc concerned with the whole counsel of God, and that on any subject. And if their Good Shepherd says, "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling," they (ear and tremble and wm k. But their fear is not slavish, nor is their trem­bling unto despair: and their works arc not works of meriL as if they would in some way repay God for the salvation which He freely gives, but such works are simply that "labor of love" which issues from grateful hearts. Hearts that are filled with love for Him be­cause He first loved them.

And if we should fear that God, having given us salvation.. has left us to work it out alone our fears arc dispelled in the thirteenth verse where we find that "it is God that worketh in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure." No, if we were left in our former weakness and frailty there could be no hope, not even for the best and strongest of us. for "the mind of the Jlesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither ind~ed can it be: and they that arc in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the ftcsh but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you" (Rum. 8:HI). Again the cotton patch illustrates a po:n.t. For instance, when my father told me to "work it out" I knew that he would supply the means. I was ,iust a barefoot twelve­year-old boy with no tools to work with and no means of obtaining them. I knew that it was my father's hoc with which 1 would cut the weeds. It was father's cultivator and horses with which I would plow the ground. It was father's wagon with which the cotton would be hauled to the gin. And besides that, I knew that father, himself, would help me. If he loved me enough to give it to me he certainly would not withhold anything that was needed to care for it. And so it is with our salvatiOn: "He that spared not His own Son but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things?" (Rom. 8:32). '"'c have no power of om own, but we can "be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might" (Eph. 6: 10). It is God's Spirit by which we shall be able to "put to death the deeds of the body" (Rom. 8: 13). It is God's righteous­ness which we have by faith (Rom. 3:21, 22); God's Son whose blood cleanseth our sins (I .Jolm I :7): (;od's love that is shed abroad in om hearts (Rom. 5:5). "For we arc his workmanshif> created in Christ Jesus for good works. which God afore pre,>ared t tat we should walk 'm them" (Eph. 2: HI). Now unto him. w 10 is a hie to do cxceed"ng abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him he the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations for e\'er and ever. Amen (Eph. !t:20-2I).

275

TERM "MANIFESTO" OBJECTED TO Stanford Chambers

Information is due readers of \Vord and Work concerning the reaction to our request for a "manifesto" by those who practice (still practicing) the disfellowshipping of their brethren who do not go along in conformity with their prophetic interpretations. We re­CJUested, and the situation demandS, a dear, definite, affirmative statement of what specifically must be believed and taught in order that full fellowship may be exercised. No such statement has ever appeared. Only one to our knowledge has made a gesture toward compliance.

A preaching brother and editor has offered a statement of a general nature (an unacceptable substitute), which fails to afford the information sought. Request is for a statement of the specific things which must be believed and taught. \Vhy there should be hedging on such vital matters we can discover no valid reason. The brother object~ to the term "manifesto", saying that it is a military term. \Veil, drop the term and just afford the specific information asked for.

In the course of some exchanges with this correspondent it is ascertained that one thing requisite to lellowship is the mnillennial view that the throne now occupied by the Lord Jesus is the throne of David. Issue is thereby joined, and such a proposition is to be denied as unscriptural. unprecedented, unwarranted as a test of fellowship. Those forcing this tenet, severing fellowship on such ground, are pursuing a d. visi\·e course, excommunicating brethren who fully rely upon the promises concerning David's throne as certain of fulfilhnent, only the time for which being in disagreement.

That Jesus is now seated upon David's throne is a mrdinal doc­triue of anlillemzialism, and those who so teach an: to that extent mnillennial, however much they may try to avoid such identification. Some other articles of amillennial belief are to the effect that this present Christian dispensation is "The Millennium" of Revelation. We write to inquire whether that must be subscribed to as a <tuali­fication for full membership. If so then there is afforded another item for denial in public discussion. Amillcnnialism teaches that Satan is bound and is now serving out his imprisonment as John fore­M:e~; must that view be subscribed to? Anullennialism teaches that "the t:mes of restoration" spoken ol by the apostle Peter (Acts 3: 19-21) arc this present dispensation, going on now, the "restoration of all things" Jcferred to by Peter to be completed before Jesus comes from heaven; is that tenet one of the musts!' It is incunibent upon those exercising the prerogative of excommunication to state dearly the requirements to be met, as well as to state specifically and definitely what is taught by the accused for which they must be excluded. The a~umed Jnerogati\'e, the usurped authority, the whole practice of disfellows tipping brethren on prophetic issues, and the amillennial or other views back of and responsible for the practice which has come into vogue is what we have challenged, and since the wicked practice wntinues, our challenge stands.

2i6

FRO:'>! THE PF.N OF R. II. BOLL

THE TIIUONE Of OA \'10- II

But the controversy arises over the ttuestion wlre11 the Lord .Jcsw, was to assume David's ihrone- whether He has done so a lready, or whether that C\'Cnt is )'Ct to transpire. Those who hold that Chri~ t i:. already sitting on O:t\'id' throne present in the main the following line of argument:

I. Da\'id's throne was "the throne of .J ehovah.'' 2. All authority in he:t\ Cn and on earth is Christ':, now; which

(ertainly mu~t include the throne oi Da\'itl. 1$. Da\·id's rule was 0\ er Cod's people, Israel. ChriM's present

nile is O\'er God' people, the spiritual I rae!, which is His dlllrdl or kingdom.

•1. T he Mripture foretell s that the ChriH was to be a pri est upon I I is throne ( (Zech. 6: I !1). Bu t Christ cou ld not be a priest on earth. Therefore His throne, which is David's, is in. heaven .

5. The :tpostlcs plainly declare (it is claimed) that Jesus was set 011 Oa\·id'~> throne at the tintt: of I lis a~cen~ion ami exaltation (Acts 2:2!1-~2; 5:lSI ).

The~e argumentS seem 10 tho e who make them quite convincing and conclusi"e: but their fon c weakem un.<.l<:r exa ntination.

I. David'~ throne w:t~ the the throne of Jehovah ouPr Israel­not God':. ab~lme rule in he:l\en, blll a 9overnment on earth, dele· guted cxprc~ly to Da\·id ami Da\'id's fa mily [or e\'er. Cod' throne in heaven wa~ in no wi~c all'cC't<>d, and He did not at an y time ab­dira te J l is own upreme authority and right of government over the world, nor even over Jsrae l, though he delegated the administrat ion or the govet nntent o[ Israel to DavH.I's house. The thought thett God's tlu tme was at :my time brought down to the earth when brae! asked ami recei\'Cd a hu111an king. :mtl that God':. throne wa~ lor th ~tt time ~u:.pcnded, and fina lly take n hack to he;l\ en, refme i~elf in its own ab~urdity.

2. To :.a)' tha1 C:lu i:.t tnu:. t be on. Da\'id·~ throne now. because a ll autlwl'it) :ttl(l power Ita:. been given imo !lis hand~. i~ fal se rea­~on ' ng. In Rt:\', I I the 10111 and twenty elders g ive the l.ord thanks because, they i>a)', "Thou ha~t taken thy great power and didst Tcign." The power has been His all the time, hm at the right nwtnCnt-C:od·~ lliOmeltt- ll c tul:t•l it. (Rev. I I: I 7). In the next verse ( 18) we read that it was "the tinte or the dead to be jt1dgcd.'' Christ hH~ been judge a ll along, bttl only in Cod 's time will He exercise I lis power as judge. That time is not yet; nei ther is the t ime yet for Hint w take His great pO\n:r anti reign. in the ~en~e ol Re\'. I I: 17.

3. Da\'id'~ rule was O\ ct C.od's people, I rae!. But D:l\·id ne\'el' ot wpied the throne (sphen· of go\ ernment) \\·hich tlte Lord Jesus Clu ist holds today; nor halt the Lord J esus Christ on the other hand ever yet occ 11/Jil'd that tht one on which Oa\' id sat. David'!> tule ex-

'1.77

tended over Israel; and David's son fell heir to that particular ri~ht and sphere of kingly rule by virtue of the Divine promise. 'I he Lord Jesus has indeed other and wider prerogatives than those He inherited from David; but from His father David He inherited spe­cifically the right to the throne over the n.ation of Israel. "The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David; and /w sht1/l rule otJe,· the house of jacob for ever" (Luke I :32). Now, the "house of Jacob" is not "the church"; but it is the nation descended from the twelve sons of Jacob. That, exactly, is the sphere of rule which the Lord Jesus inherited from His father David. The present position in heaven of our Lord Jesus Christ in the place of supreme authority over all the un.i\'erse, could be held by Him regardless of tribe or descent, without any infringement upon the prerogati\'es of David. Rut over the nation of Israel (and tlmJ1115h it over the nations of the earth, as promised) none except the scton. of David's house could have the sovereignty according to the terms of the oath­bound covenant. The Lord Jesus is not now exercising any dis­tinctive rule over the people of Israel. Really, no nation is lurther from being subject to the rule and government of the Lord Jesus Christ than the house of Jacob, a people nationally disobedient and rebellious unto this day. ·

4. The argument offered in proof that David's throne is in heaven is that drawn from Zedt. 6:13 in connection with Hebrews 8:·1. The prophecy of Zechariah says that the Christ should be "a priest upon his throne." But Heb. 8:4 declares that "if he were on earth he would not be a pt·iest at all." It would follow then that if He is a priest on His throne, and since He could not he a priest on earth, that His throne is in heaven. •

The argument hinges on the application made of Heb. 8:4, "Now if he were on earth he would not be a priest at all." If that means that the Lord Jesus would forfeit His position and office as a Priest if He were personally on earth, the argument might have some force. Rut a mere glance at the context of Heb. 8:4 reveals the fact that the inspired writer was not speaking of the personal presence or absence of our Lord's person, but ntther of the nfltlll'e of His priesthood, that it is of a heavenly, not an earthly order. The reason given, why "he would not be a priest at all" if He were on earth is that "there arc those who offer gifts according to the law, who serve that which is a copy and shadow of the heavenly things." The place of earthly ministry in the earthly sanctuary was given to the sons of Aaron; in which minisu·y the Lord Jesus could have no place, seeing He was neither of that family nor 'of that tribe. "For 1t is evident that our Lord hath sprung out of Judah; as to which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priests." · (Heb. 7: 14). The sanctum·y in which .Jesus minjsters is "the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man." And His priesthood is not of the earthly and carnal order of Aaron ("made after the order o£ a carnal com­mandment"), but after the order of Melchizidek. He has not entered into a holy place made with hands, but into heaven itself, there to

•It 1s. of course, understood and conceded that the Lord Jesu~ hold~ now, in hea\'en, the throne of universal sovereignty at the right hand of the Father. It is the throne of D:l\'id which is in question here.

278

appear bdore the lac e or God lor II~ : :tnd l ie ~h:tll appear front the nce a :.etond t intc, a pan fron t ~i n , LO them that wait for H im, unto s;tlvation ( H eb. !):2·1, 28).

Hu t none of these faw, warram the w nclusio n t hat Hb p riest­hood would cease if at any tillle li e :.hould return to the earth. \Vh i le the twtllre of II is priesthood demanded II i'> asccmion and cmrancc into the hea\'cnly sancwary, it i not to be inferred that i t con fi nes I l is p erson to the preci nn s of heaven . Nor docs it fo llow that when H e leave:. hc:l\'Cil (as one day H e w ill, Arts I: I I; I T hcss. •I: IG) li e thereby forfe i t ~ ll is ra n k and p laee as Cod's Priest. l ie is a priest fur e11er al ter the o tder of ~lelchiledck; and H e " hath J l is p riesthood unchangeable' ' ( l ieu. 7:24). The func:tion which specially required I li !> personal pre enlC in the heaven ly s:111ttuary was per­lorm ed on «· lor all (Hcl>. !1:2 ~3) after wh ich H e .111t down (Heh . I :3; 10: 11-111). Btll I f is tn i ni ~ L I') ol imcrces~ ion will not be abrogated by ! l is descen 1. llis re tu rn from h ea ven will no t d eprive Him of the acces w C:od \\'hich e ,·cn 1\ leldlitcdek, His pro to type, enjoyed , who o lficiatt:d 011 earth. although he was not a min i:-. tcr of an y earthly 'anctuarr: and en:n we han.:, already. acce~ into the H o liest of all throu~h I lim, thoug-h we are now on the earth ( l leb. 10: 19). Man i­fest !)' then , although th e l.ord J esus coul d n ot be a priest o n earth in the seme in \\'hich ll cb. 8:4 11~elt the ten n, H e is the heaven ly prie~t cvc:n \\'hile li e c.:c: utes dCJwn on the ea rth, when lie comes agai n . For C\ en C..:ht i:.tiam arc here and now prie u, of Cod. not wi thstanding the fact that their spher'! ol pric:.tly ministration lies in heaven , at the Throne ol Gn•ce auo\'e .

.Sin ce th en th ere ill 1111 g ro u nd to believe 1hat th e Lo rd Jc~us n·nounce:. 01 lorleit~ Hi~ p• ic:. thood b y His personal return to the earth, it doe:. n o t follow I rom Zcd1. 6: I !l, that the throne of David is in hea\'ell.

5. ' J he arg u111e nt which i put forward as the :.trongc\t and nHJM (Ontlu:.i\'c to pro\'C th ;•t Je~u~ C..:hril>t b now 0 11 David'~ throne is th:t t ' 'the apostles p l:. in ly decla re that .J esus was seated o n t he th rone of Da\'id at the time of His a~cen ion and cxa lwtion. \ Ve n1ust therelmc cxantine fairly and impnrtially the srripwre passage~ which a t e :.11 ppo,ed to pt me thi~. \\' c h:l\ c (in i tCIII!I " I" and "::!" a bove), shown what is the nature o f David's throne and the s<:ope o l his rca l111: that David's thro ne was not the eternal throne ol Cod's • • n i ve•~a l r u le. whi('h the Lord .Jesus Christ now shares, ~ea tcd at God\ right hand ; but that in all :.cri pture reference David's reahu was rH'tr the hou~c ol J awb. the nation or Israel.

Bm we ate told Lhat in .-\ct 2:~9-3~l iL is plainly ta Led that Clu· i~ t wa~ rabed lrotn 1 he dead in 01 der to he ~ea ted on David':. throne. Thi:. i~ ljllitc t rue. But th e SUt temeut or the proor-text docs not go so Jar a:. LO ~ay that He was there and then seated on Da\'id's throne. H e;: re i~ the pas~age :

"13rcllu cn. 1 111;n -':I) lllll<i )Oil fred) uf 1he paLriaHh l>.nicl, thai he hulh .lied ancl "'·" buried. and hi' 1uouh is 1\ilh '" 11111o rhi' da). !Icing rhc•cfmc a JIH>phcl, and l.nul\111g th.ll (.ucl h.td >IHHn wi1h an <>alh tu hi111. tlt.Jt of lhc flml ol his loin~ Ill' 1\'0II Id ' CI lllll' npun hi, lhlllllt': he IOIC,l'cing lhis •pakc or the •c,urrcrliou of Christ. that ncithct "'"' he left umo ttadc,, nor t.licl hi$ tlt:'h "''' (XHTII pl iun. !'his jl'~II S did ( .od tabc up, whereof we all arc wirnc~scs. Jll'ing lhc acfun· II\' llac l'igh1 hand ol' C:od t'\:allcd, and having rcn:i1 ccl ul' rill'

~7!1

Father the pnnnise of lhe Hoi)' Spirit, he hath poured forth thi~. which ye !ICC

and hear." Here it is simply stated that God had sworn with an oath to

David that of the fruit of his loins He would set one upon His throne, and that David being a prophet, foresaw and foretold the resur­rection of the Christ, in which fact the promise concerning David's throne is guaranteed. The risen Christ was of the seed of David according to the flesh (Rom. 1 :3)-and it is carefully noted that His flesh (which was the only link by which He was joined to the house of David), did not sec corruption. Thus, by the resurrection of Jesus, the ancient oath and prom1se of the reign of David's seed upon his throne, which was to be "for ever", was made possible, and its fulfill­ment assured. That is as far as this passage goes. To say that by Christ's exaltation to God's right hand He was seated on David's throne simply begs the question. Nor can. it be so. For David never occupied tnat throne; nor has Jesus as yet taken the throne of David, nor asserted His right and rule over the house of .Jacob. In fact, to this day, the throne of David is yet "0\·erturned" (Ps. 89:41). The throne which our Lord Jesus Christ now occupies is not overturned, nor ever has been. So likewise the statement in Act'> 5:31-

"Him did God exalt with his right hand to he a Prince and Savior, tn give repentance to brae! and remission o£ sins".-

This does not say that He sits on David's throne; but that He was exalted in order that He may gh·e repentance and remission of sins to Israel. When the nation accepts this gift and turns to Him, then, not till then, will He assume "the throne of His father David" ;mel "reign over the house of .Jacob for ever" (Luke I :3~).

All authority in heaven and on earth is Christ's now. This includes all the right and power of David's throne. But He bides His time. In this present age Satan is yet the prince of the world, and its god; and Satan's throne is yet on earth. He holds sway in the whole world (John 14:30; 2 Cor. 1:1; Rev. 2: 13; I .John 5: 19). The day is nearing when Christ shall talle His b'Teat power and reign (Rev 11: 17); and to Him, not only the house of Jacob, but all the nations of the world shall bow in submission. Tlien "the king­dom of the world shall be the kingdom of the Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever" (Rev. J 1: 15).

A LATE "BEN'S BUDGET" Bro. Jorgenson's recent notice of me warmed my old heart, and

I'm not ~aying I did not need it. I'm not in the class of those who do not miss Bro. Boll. But, doubtless, he was called away when our Master thought it best. If God has not given us unusual blessing out of his life and labors, we will do well to charge the loss to ourselves. In our brother and Paul, "Boasting was excluded." If "our Father who art in. heaven" continues to leave laborers here, the spirit of our departed one will be consciously felt by those who are left "to labor and to wait." Lamentin!? all past ermrs-in all of us, let us lovingly press on "till the harvest JS past and the summer is o'er." Love to all.

-Ben .J. Elston, De Ridder, La. 280

.,THE FIRST LOVE" H . L. Ott

A s I rend the acroun1 of Acts J notice one out swmling feature 111 the early church th<tL hal> now disappeared. "Am! all that believed were wgether, and had all things common; and they sold their pos· se~sions and goods a nd eaned them to a ll, according as any man had need" (Acts ~:'14, 45). J"he first thing that comes to me is the ir one­nc1>ll of fellowship, " they were wgcther''. 1 have he:ud it said that misery loves contpa ny and this may be true. However, 1 know for a fact that real happiness covets fe llowship. H ere is an example of real love, for what they had the)' wanted to share with all (1 Cor. 12:26).

Not ice that neither Peter nor John said a nything to t hem about giving, nor made any men tion o( need. This act of selling their po~ess ions and goods was a iJ a volumary work of Jove, the love of Cod in their hearts overflowing. As J esus had said, "Love one another, even as I have loved you" (john 15: 12). "For as many as were po~scsser:. of land or homes sol<i them and brought the price of the things that we;:n: ~old. and laid them down at the apostle!>' feet: ,\nd distribution was made unto each, according as any one had llCed" (Acts 1: 34, 35 ).

Do you mea n that I ant LO ~e ll my house and possession a nd g ive i1 10 the church? I o nly mean tO ~ay what the Lord has :dready said: "This is my commandment. that yc love one another, even as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down h i~ life for h is lriends" (John l !l: 1 2- l ~t)

Thi' is the lo \·e that was in the early chu rch. J o hn writes in his fit l>l epi~tlc that we should love in deed a nd truth. " H ereby know we love. because he laid down his life for us: and we o ught to lny down our li\e:. lor the brethren. lllll. whoso hath the world's good~. a nd bcholdeth hi ll brother in need, and shuue th up his compas~ion from hint . how doth the love of God abide in him? My little children, let Il l> n ot love in word, ne itlH:r with the to ngue; but in deed n11d truth" (I J ohn 3: 16-18).

Let us look at what .J antc~ h a~ to say on this matter. "Wha1 doth it profit , my brethren , if a man say he hath faitl1, but have not works? Can that faith save him? If a bro t11er or sister be naked and in lack of daily food, a nd o ne of you say unto the m, go in peace, be ye w:n mcd and lilled: and yet yc give them not the things nccdrt tl to tl1e body; what d o th it profi t? Even so faith if it h:tve no t works is d ead in itsell'' (James 2:11-17). ARE WE I NDEPENDENT OF ONE A NOTH E R ? vVe say we are independe nt and have no headquarters here on earth nor governing bod y. This is all true. Hut is it no t pa:;t time for all the body of C hrist to combine its powers and re­sources to fight the evil o ne by the p reachi ng of the gospel of our Lord J esus Christ? Pa ul writes to the Corinthians concerning the bod y o f C hrist: "For as the body is one, and hath many members, ;ntcl a ll Lhc mcmiJcrs of the body, being man y arc one bod y, so a lso is Christ. For in o uc spirit were we a ll baptized into one body whether j ews or Greeks, whether bond or [ree, and were all made to dr ink o f o ne spirit, for the body is not o ne member , bu t man.y.

28 1

But no w are they man y lllCJllbcrs but o ne body. and the eye cannot !lay to the hand I have no need of thee: or again the head to the foot l have no need of you. Nay, n•ucl1 rather, those members of the body which seem to be more feeble. are necessary: And those parts of the body. which we think w be l e~s honorable, upon th<:Se ·we bestow m01;e abundant ho nor: and Ollr uncomely rarts COlllCiiness; Whereas OUI0

comely parr.s have no need: Bm Coc tempered the body together, g iving more abundantly to that part which lacked; that there should be no scltism in the body: Bur that the members should have the same car(; o ne for another. And . whe thet• one member suffereth, all the members su lfer with it: or one member is ·honored, all mcutbers re~ joice with it'' ( I Cor. 12: 12·26).

Now, we are the body of Christ. H ere we find th e oneness that was lo und in the Cllrly church wh ich had the first love. ln a recent lc u cr lrom Brother R id1ard Ramsey, he sta tes, "Many churches and preadtcrs are always talking about the need ·for mission work, and most o f them give a few dollars now and then. All of us are praying for mission work and for the Lord to raise up more workers. All this talk is good talk. But talk will never accomplish the job. 'When !\loses prayed to God at the Red Sea, God said to Moses: "\,Vherefore criest thou to mer Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward" (Ex. 1'1: 15). It is useless to pray for something that we a lready have. \Vc already have the workers a nd we are not using them."

I a m working with a sma ll congregation that is o nly three aud one-half years old and have been with them £rom the beginning, seeing them grow very slo wly. l have wot·ked in Louisville and have supported 111yself all this time. wh ich , of course kept me from puLLing the time needed into this work. Now they have undertaken to have a fu ll time minister three days a week. J thank God for this, but I believe if the congregations of God's people ha d the first love, this work co uld be seven da ys a week. I speak not o nly (or the work a t LaGrange, but for every new work.

\Vhy do the deno minatio ns start missions and have them grow into self-supporting bodies in just a few ye;u·s? They work togeth er!

Ju tht: words which the apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians (4:1 0-17): " ... I re jo ice in the Lord gre<ltly that ye have revived your thought for rne; wherein ye did indeed take thought, but ye lacked opportu nity. Not that I sp~ak in respect o f want: for I have learned, in whatever state I am, therein to be content." "T can do all thingl! in hint rhat strcngthcneth me. Ho wbe it ye did well that ye had fellowship wi th my afflictions." ''Not that I seek for the g ift; but ~ seek for the fruit that increaseth to your account." We are remincleg. o f a relevant stcltement in t.he book of R evelatio n: "But J have this a~ainst thee. t.hat thou d idst leave thy first love. Rcme111ber therefore w11cnce tho u art fall en. a nd repent and d o the first works: or e lse l come to thee, and will move thy candlestick out o( i ts place, except thou repent. He that ha th a n ear let him hear what the Spirit sa ith to the churches."

Churches would do well to share in the good work being done in the little church at LaC• a nge, Ky., where llrother Ott ministers. - Pub.

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ONE MAN'S OPINION J. R. Clark

The debate between Robert C. Welch and H. E. Schreiner, which took place in Louisville in November, is now history. l;our hundred on the average were present during the four nights. Each brother affirmed for two nights what he believed about the kingdom prophecies and the reign of Christ.

Brother Schreiner, who believes that Christ will yet sit on David's throne, gave mud1 of his time to the reading of the Scriptures with a minin1um of comments, accepting the passages at face value. , To Urother Vlelch the kingdom prophecies of the Old Tesrament scriptures were seen to converge in th e church. To him the churd1 is spiritual l srael and is the promised kingdom of God over whid1 Christ is now reigning from where He sits at Cod's right hand. He thus affirms that the father's throne is David's throne.

A reporter from the Courier-Jounal, Louisville, had this to say about the dispuwnts: "Mr. Schre111 er tended to be quiet, persuasive, <llld pleading. while Mr. \'Velch was bombastic, fun poking, and demonsu·ative." 1 think this estimate was true.

Urother Schreiner 's su·ong point lay not in dever debating tactics, put in the fact that he traced the high points of the kingdom tcad1ing lhrough the Bible from 2 Samuel 7 through Revelation 20, showing that Christ would yet sit on David's throne and reign in righteousness over Jsrael and over all the earth. Brother '\1\' elcb attempted to dis­prove Brother Sclu·einer's position. In so doing it was necessary in many instances for Brother Weld1 to array himself against the pas­sages cited. inadven enLiy, of course.

Brother Welch made several serious charges against Brother Schreiner's belief, based not on anything that Brother Schreiner a(­finned in his argumems, but as 81 other Welch said, upon the impli­cations and logit:al concl usions deduced from the proposition St:hreiner affirmed. Some brethren joined in with additional serious charges in their local bulletins. Sud1 charges as that Brother Schreiner and those who hold. a similar position "vitiate the Gospel, deny verbal inspiration of the St:riptures, make the church an aftenJ10ught, deny the bodily resurrection of Christ, say that the church is not subject to Christ, etc." These are ser ious charges and Brother S,!=lweiner properly disavowed them all. None of them is u·ue.

Thus comes to light the reason that we hesitate to engage these bredtren in debate. Not content with a ttempting to answer your ar­guments, they take advantage of the occasion to make such accusa­tions as cited above in order to blacken you and put you in bad light with everyone who will give ear to their words. Brother Schreiner was careful in h is speech, knowing that some might wish to catch hitn in his talk, and sought to give no occasion by his statements for sud1 accusations. If these brethren wish to conduct more such studies (Jf our differences before the public, here is a suggestion: Let them refrain £rom seeking to wreak ruin on their opponent by unwarranted accusations.

Of course, these accusations were not a surprise to us, and do not alter our love for these brethren, and our desire for fellowship with them and their people.

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Seett7~ J. L. Addams

LET US APPROACH THE NEW YEAR WITH THANKFUL HEARTS

POOR VET THANKFUL United St;ues Senawr j. W. 801ilcy,

or :'\orth C'.arolhm. while dt>scribing the post Civil War conditions in the South, suid: "My father made $000 a }'ear and supported a wife and five children. But we weren't pcHlr. We were ju,t a~ happy folk as you ever saw. Sure, when we struck more than one match a day mv mother used to scold us. Matches w~re mighty precious in the hou~ehold. I wore Ill}' older brother's pant.•. and nn- younger brother wore nunc. When 1ve ate an apple at night we used to save the core., and put them on the mantel·piccc to feed the chickens in the morning. But we got along; a happier famil)' you never did sec. It was a wholewmc life. For thirty years we lived that way-like the lilies of the field and the birds of the air-just as happy.''

DON'T STEAL THE LORD'S DAY In urging the sacreclnt-ss of and grat·

itude for the Lord's nay, a Chinese preacher said, "It came to pass that a man went to market, having a string of seven large copper coins. (Chinese coins at·e carried on strings over the shoulder.) Seeing a beggar crying for alms, he gave the poor creature six of his seven coins. Then the beggar, in­stead of being grateful crept up behind the man and stole the seventh also. What an abominable wretch! Ye•, but in saying this you condemn yourselves. You receive front the hand of the gracious God six days, yet you are not content. The seventh you also steal and spend It for )'OUr pleasure. Do you think God is pleased by this in­gratitude?"

heart, like the naked eye, or the finge~ In the sand. dlsco1·ers few mercies. Bu~ let the thankful heart sweep through the day and It will discover the many mercies as the magnet finds the sll'cl in the sand.-Sel. '•

BE THANKFUL A prominent 11odet)' man askt"<l a

pre;u:ht'l' whether It was according to the rules of etiquette to say· grace ai a banquet. . :

The preacher replied, "I do nut know much about etiquette. but I re· member seeing on the wall of a farm: er's home a picture showing mules and oxen at a crib. These were devouring foddt.T and scattering some beneath !heir. f~t, and over the picture was this mscnpuon: "'Who withou! prayer sits down to eat,

And who Without thanks then lca\'CS the table,

Tramples the gift of God with feet; And is like mule and ox In stable.' "

THANKFUL FOR WHAT? I met a rich man who's grown old

and very infinn, too. Said he, "M)· lad I'd give my gold to be as strong a; you!"

Said I to him, "I crave your wealth, a fact I won't deny, yet riches can't restore r,our health, so you're more poor than I.'

Then, later on, by chance I met a man devoid of sight. I thought, my lot would be worse yet were I in that man's plight. I asked, "My friend, how can you smile, since nevermore you'll see?"

He answered, "Life is well worth­while, and just as sweet to mel"

A man on crutches hobbled by, and A THANKFUL HEART whistled as he went: the need to use

If one should give you a dish of sand them brought no sigh. He walked­and tell you that tltere were particles he was comertt. of steel In it, you might take his word To some the world seems harsh and and )OU might look for the particles cold, and life a bitter curse; and they're with your eyes, or stir the sand with inclined to sneer If told that their Jot your lingers, hoflng to detect the bits could be worse. And, still, the rich of steel. But I you should be given man that I met, the crlpP.Ied man the a magnet and if you should sweep it blind, had lcantt.-d that life held s~vcet· through the sand the particles of steel ness yet, which trouble helped them would all cling to it. The unthankful find.

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\\' ith lhii\C three IIICn )0111" lot COlli· (Mil". l'heu, li~e me. ' llu'll &I\. ' I hfiUJ:h our life see111S :11 · lime~ tnt· l.tir, we sh11ultl gi,·c thanks [()da)."­Unknown.

SOM E NEW HEATITUUES l lle,,.~ed is the nnut who cau endure

:111 huur in a place of worship a~ well a~ 1 wo hours in a place of a museme n t.

Jll c,~ed is the man wh (>SC w;1tch keeps d1111c h lime as well as huoincss lime·.

1\le••ed ib the m~n who has the J:I.ICC 10 lc:nc his critic:J l spirit ou the ~idcw:1 lk when he comes to church.

1\l~d ib Lhc mau who lm·t~ 1hc dnu ch with his pocket book :t) \H!II a• \1 ith hh hC.lll.

1\lc"ed h the man who is faithful em a wnunillee.

Ulc-.ctl is the man who lov~ his dn11d1 enOII)\lt lO prdiSC it.

<:ONVEitl' J::Il WITH A FlY In one ol j ohu Wesley's 1nee1ings,

111a11) )Cars ago in Dublin, Ire land , an l ri\lunan wlw w<.- quite uppo~ed 10 the pt caching b 111 \ CI')' fond uf 11111si ~. <il'lellltinctl IU allend one of the lllc.'CI· ins.:s itt ordct to hear thc s inging. lie rcwh etl to Mop his cars as soo11 as 1 he ptcachi11g bc.>gau. After the h)lllll he '·" with his he.ul down and hi~ ftn)\etS in hi' c-:u).

IIIII ·•• he :..1L tints a fl y lit upon h h nn-e. rhe 111311 mO\C!d his hand 10

dri\'e it awa) and in so doing, nine \wtd> te~ched his car: "" l ie that hath eal\ 111 lt~.1r, let him hear."" Fwm thai nWIIU'IIl IItts tll:tn , who was an unguclly r:n c·ru~cepet. had no res t in his ~o ul. lie · lbtc:ned eagcr l) to the Gospel a nd hct.nllt: a CO n\ CI rc:d lll:tll l

GOU Ul'iClJ ,\ NGEAUlE

It i' :.:ud 1har !>purgc."OII \\'Cnl 10 a untuln home aud 1\':tS shu\\'11 a IIC\1

hat II 11p1111 II hith \\'a' a weathel\ aue 1\llh 1111~ le!\1 of >Ui(JiliiC upon it ; "" (,od i' lu\e."" ~fllii!;CUII >.tid IO the 111.111 : " \\hat du }Oil mean b)' pull in); lh:tt 'criptute upon lhe wc::llhcr·\,llle? Du }OU utt:a n that God's love i, n~ changc.11Jic ·'' the wind?"" ""Oh, uo,"" wa\

1he replv. " I mean IU ':1\' thai Cod is lmc whic.he,er W<t) the: \\' inc! hi0\1~."

rite ch ild of God l'lllt alw:t)> be thaukful if he remernhcts lhal Cod ach in ion:. "All thin)!~ wor~ together fm good" for those that lnvc God ;111d :til' CJIIctl acwrclin)! lo IIi' pur pu,c.

DOWNFALL OF CHRIST IANS An eagle, can~· ing- a scrpcnl in its

lalun,~ 111 i1 s nest i11 ril e rtHIUIIIllin , wns hillen to lhc hc·arL ancl fell w the j{l"() llnd.

"" ll:l\e you ever sccu a Christian man or woman fall in the <:une way? You d11 no1 know the se<.tel of 1he fall. but lhl· Otnnisdent e'e uf God b<IW it. That m:lllcc r of pr.t)Ct, that >ecrcl dishonesty in hu•iness, that steaiLh) indulgence in the intoxicating cup, that licentiousness lln,c.'CII of men. lh:ll M"Cret tampcrin,; "ith unhclicf ancl etwr, \\,ts the )Cr· pc11 r ar the lteal'l 1ha1 hruughl the C<tf;le dO\\' tL""

NO l'OCKET IN A SIIRO UO " l 'se )OIIr mo11ey while you're living,

011 IIIII /t()a rei i I 1(1 h<; \11011d; \'mt 0111 nc,cr 1.ckc it wil 1 you,

There's no pocket in a shroud. Gold can help you uu nu farther

!'han the gra'e):trd whetc )OU lie: •t hough )OU at•c rich while hving,

\'cm'rc a pauper whcu )Oll die. Usc it then some lives ro brightcu

.·h through life thC)' wcaritr plod; l'lare )Our haul. account in h<."a\ en,

,\ml gmw rid1 ruw:ucl your God."

"T H EOLOGY" Oil "CI IIU ST "

A j r1panese worker vi~i ling n semi· nary in Tennessee :.aiu w :. pt•omising ' ""len I, ""II rot her. )'"n have fl nishctl c.ulkge: we need )Uti iu Jap.tu. Why don't HHt go?-"

'1 he Slll<.lenl explained that he had 10 ta~c his seminar} oout)C anti mmt M ncl y 1 het>IOJ:Y bdor c he beta me a llll'-\l(lll:tl').

l he Japan~o"c g.l\e .tn an\l,cr which applte> not onl) IU Jap.ut hut w our uwn land: .. Brothel, Jap:m can do wul~out tl!~olt•g)'· lml satl l} ncnb J e~U$ Uu I\ I. ...

H IS l'LAN J'Oll ME "When 1 stand <It the judgmcm seat of Christ, and He shows me

H i~ plan for me, The plan ol my lilc a~ it miglll ha\'C been, 1l He'd had J l is way, an<IJ see I low I blocked Hi111 here, and I checked Him Lltctc, And I would not yield n•y will- \Viii there IJe grid in my Sa' iot 's C) es, grief though he lo\ c~ me sti II?' - Selected.

285

NEWS AND NOTES LouisviUe, Ky.: My visit with the Lo· na~t Street Church in Johnson City. Tennessee, for a two-weeks' meeting wa~ very plc-o~sant. It was good to work with Brother Waldo Hoar, mv brother­in-law, and to be in his home. Also it wa~ good to work with the church there. One was baptized into Christ, another who had been aniliatl'11 with a denomination, took his st;md as a plain N'ew Testament Christian, and one came for reconsecration. Other young people had had it in mind to come, but were hlndcrt'fl. \Ve trust that by now they have turned to the Lord. On the last day we had a big home-coming dinner, which was thor­oughly enjo)·cd b}· all. -J. R. Clark.

Dallas Texas: Mt. Auburn Church has been greatly blessed of God the past few months e\·en though no regu· Jar minister has been on the field.

Such men of faith as Vernon Lawyer, F.. A. Rhodes. E. L. Jorgenson have hl-cn led of God to bring \·cry helpful messages, as well as local men, includ­ing I>r. Horace Wood. S. A. Lawyer, and myscl£. We deep!}· appreciate the interest and prayers of God's people t!Verywherc.

The work continues to go forward. locally, as well as through the radio ministry. The response from the radio programs has been very cnt'ouraging. Some very good contacts have been made recently, including an inmate in our state prison. We look to the Lord to continue His blessings upon His church here.

I am still feasting upon the rich spiritual blessing receh·cd during the Bible Conference. I think iL was the \'ery best that I have had the privilege of attending.

May the Lord continue Hi~ hlcs.~ings upon each one there rc.-stKmsihle for the Word and Work. It gets better and better! -Cecil E. nrooks.

ness of sin-is a much needed topic and I am considt-ring yours.-Emest Beam tn E. L. J.

In last is~ue of Word and \\' ork Wt! c-.1rricd a notice of the dcpanure of Mrs. J. E. Burton. We have in our files a letter from Sister Burton. dated Ocrobcr IR, neatly written. in which she s:lid. "I have been enjoying the Word and Work very much and pray God's richest hlcs.~ings on e\'ery effort."

New Era, 1\fich.: The Word and Work is so dear Ill me. I re01d it (rom cm·cr to cO\·er. I am sc• thankful that it continues to be )mhlishcd. Surd~ the coming of Jesus our Lord and our TC.'11emption is near. Praise God! -:\1~. Ida I.utenberg.

Danville, Ky.: Please note th:ll I want both Word and \Vork and the Quar­!erly. The Word and Work quarter)~ ts the best by far of any.-1\fary n. Powell.

Marblehead, l\la!l.!l.: I fl-cl I need the help I c:an get from the writings in the Word and Work. I have just finished reading Mother's (Mrs . .J. E. Burton) Octuber edition. She hacl gotten about half-way through it before she pas.'ICtl on. -Mary Edmond 1-fookway.

The Go~-pel meeting at Ebenezer church of Christ in Mercer Count\·. Ky .• where Paul Clark preaches, closed with three baptisms and two recunse· crations. Edwanl Schreiner was the evangelist.

Hall C. Crowder, of Gallatin, Tenn .• was with the Onnshv church, l.ouis­ville, in a meeting from Nm•cmbcr II to 18. The Kentucky Bible C.ollqce chorus visited us the first Sunday with a program of song at three in the af­tenwon under the diret:tion of Dale .Jorgenson. A capacity crowd of breth­ren and friends heard the chorm and pronotmct'd it \'cry good. One wav they said it was with a contribution ot

Long Reach, C:Uiir.: Your statement $141:16 Brother Crowder preaches the regarding IUIIv Graham I think he- (;ospl'l with power and rom·iction. ~peaks the wisdom, thinking, :md gen- Uuring the week four hundred differ­era) deportment of brethren of the em individuals were prt'llent. This w;ts restoration mm·cment sc•me one hun· uur goal and we reached it right on the dred or more yc-o~rs ago. More, I think nose. as we say. Friendship canis which your article is rich in the gro~cc and were signed each ni~lll by those aucnd· goodncs., of God that often was missing lng fur the lirst lime, enuhled us If> a hundred years ago, but present at the keep count. One was baptized and lirst. Marriage and Di\'Orce-how not three others came for rewnsccration. to compromise yet show God's forgive- We feel that others were impressed

28(i

.111cl 11ill 111111 to Chri'l son11 . if tht• Lord rani~. Also there were sign' of 1e1hal in the church . - J. IC ClarJ,.

ltuaint ~l ini ,u-,: lhother j orgen->on a uti '' ife arc in Dall:n, Te,:h, 11'hc1e ht· i. preaching unlil the ~ 1 1 . Auburn church e m locate a regular rului•tt•r. l' hcy will he there for a 1111111 1h . or two at least. Thei r Dn l1 :1 ~ :ulthc" I~ !N I!i Ahra ms Road, Da llas. ' I t·xas.

,\ Reu cr Wore! :mel W or k I n 1957 I t gttt'\ without .S.1) ing that our la te

cdi rtll . lhnthcr lloll, e'cellccl all nf ~~~ 11 ith hi~ gifted pen. T his i\ a rommou ft·cling anwn:: uur writer~ aud our 1110\t demut rcadeN. Uut we ~till publi ~h hi' 11' riting~-sclec1 articles from the g 1 e. II ,wrc 1dtich he leFt. TIHI~ i( we i111ptme upon what the reM o r us h:11e hccu dniug thruugh the yt·an t luough a witkr Clll'et-.tge of our need~ in :u·t i· tic\ we ctn h a1·e a helltT a nd a more "'cl'ul pcrind ifa l. This we ho pe, h )' C:ntJ', ); l':t< t•, to tin. i\ lorc an· •cnd iug arlf l'lt•' a nd goutl w ti tiug talcll l i> hciug II II COl crcd . \\' t• h ope W :t il nOUn((' hag· gel and better plans for the " 'onl <tud \\'orl.. MWIII. ·1 he tommemlatiom that 1\e puhlbh fmm time to time :u e 110

1clkttion 1111 lh o ther 1\ol l. lluth tho'c: who '' 1 ite iu prai,ing our dfurh a ~ttl the editur• arc aware that 1\wthct lloll ha, had nu peer autong us.

.\l .uti la , l'h i lippint:ll: llcll )' aud 1 n·· lll l lll'tl fwm ll1111g Ko ug a wec'l.. HRU

totl:l) .... The d ay before we ll'fl I ~ , wtlc-tus :u the school :~ uti 7 :ulu ln, wc·rc' hap ti7ccl (len er da ted Oct. 26.) I here ll't•n· liv•· C h ill t'SC ha p ti tcrl }C·'·

••·nl:11 .... I h~;lt' were abo th ree Hli ­pin'" bap tized (f1 om ;\m. ;, let tcr). Four c·antc (Oiw.trd at the Engli>h •en· io· \C,terdar to accept Christ. One of t hc·w ' ' ;" Cercli ua an to~ fur whom we h.llt' ltL'cn pr:ning ln r :1 hilt); time•. ( l· rmu a lctl l'l dated ' u' . 1!!.)

uu11l Saturday e\euing. 110 did not hal e IIIII C:h time 10 MUtl) it. .•. L'ISI night in chorus practice ,,·c Sl:H ted un some Christmas songs. \\'e even pr:tC· ticctl a while on the llallclujah Cho· 1 "'· l w.ts ~urpristd at how well we got :tloug. hut we nt·cd Mac ou the ~O· pr:uao.- De nuis A lleu .

1\ettv a ud D c un is h ave silo. or e ight in lht'l r home continua lly, w h ich is n t lraiu on their li na u ccs. :\bo their fwub arc not comin~ iu n~ furmerly. W e >houlcl h 'Cp their ~upport u p h J 1101 les than 300.00 Scud routribu­tion~ to J<Lmcs 11. Fra7ce. 2208 Dearing C:t .. l.ouiwillc. K ~·· - l'uh.

l l:tpp) ~lt:cti n~,: ;\ 1 Uu~;~,:cr Church ll was ID) pril ilegc to be with the

Dugger church in a mt:cting which clmctl :'\m·cmher -1 . The scn ·icc-; were '"·II :lltendcd and th e interest was un­mually good . Sh: p('oplt: rc•po ntl etl t~l the invi tatio n , ;uad man y m ore p n· l':t tcl y expressed tl!cm se!vcs a'. hay ing cxp~.: rienccd a rcv tva l 111 t h ctr h\'CS. Ha u th r.:r Cl)•nwre i~ estccuted ami lo1cd not nul \' hy h is rougrC!,>r~liou. hut hy the whi1lt community. Thc1c is a good , pirit o f fcllow~hip amoug th_e brethren in this arc;a. ami the Lorcl tS rc:Cci \ ing ginn• through the lahnrs of lho. C:I)IUOre anti the Dugger llrcth· rcn. - J . .L. t\ ddams. !>r.

Louis ,•Wt:, K ).: The Shawnee ch urch rcccntl\' ht:ld ;1 ~cries o£ Re,·i••al Meet· iug' of fi fteen da)S duratiou wi th B1~o . R. E. l)al'is, of lla llas. Tcxa~. as C\':1 11 ·

gcli~t . ll is mcssa~cs were uf a h igh orclc r . d enouncin g sin anrl e tu p h a, izi ug 1 he power u f C od, the love ant! grace of ( ,orJ a n d the n eed of spiritua l li1•ing o rr the part nf C h ri,ti.tm. The re were lrH• .ttldcd 10 the fOII);I'l1folliHll, illl lnd · ing I\\' O haptisms aud thtee pi:H"iug llle lllhCr,hip. 'ome >iXtCCII otheiS C.\.•

prt-...'-Cd publici~· thci t tle.,ire to ha\e a 1lmer walk with Cud.

\\'t• l CLOiliiiiCIHI JIHJI he1 1),11 h as ;Ill .thk c\an~;clist who \\'anh tu he U >cd

of Cod. - " 'illis . \lien. Furthct· itltC'Ie,ting excerpts from

lknnis' k ll t-rs follow: "\\'c had anothn c·a athqual;c Satmda )' ni~ht jaa.t ·" w•· I• Cie pr.1}ing hdon· gou1g llucchcl, K).: \ Vc had llmth er lloyd ltl hcd. Ynu nt·H·r cx:11 1h ~;c•t "'c·d w " 'ith '" a r 11un·ltcl thu n h la> l Sunday. 1he111 ht•I':I IIS<' )Ull n CI'el' kUUW wha t i' li t• is :1 ~ I rong Il l :I ll !I I II I il ~Clot I. :18 liiCII gviug w tOIIIC next. It lastccl a h01 11 1'011111 ~;ooducss. li b p lea is fait h and fmq ~t'UJtuh .... We h ai'C LWellt )' ~Ill· love fo r Christ a ncl H is Chlllch . !l is •lcut~ IIIIW. Th,· Ch inese llihlc ~llld ) lll f'efll appeal for gn:alc t interes t in "'" ' at \11 .,. l.cc·, ..,a tu rd:" 11 iJ,:hl. 'llu·~t· thJ \\elfarc o f J, c ru uckv ll ihle College. " 'Cit: ""'r thirt) pn.'Scnl. l'hat i' tht" hi' ... ml-,titring thought~ shoultl wnkcn Ja r~;c~t fro\\'cl thal 1\'C h a l e had lm .• "' Ill "!;re:tter thiug' ror Cud." \\'~; lun~ tiuiC .... l p rt-:tdled iu (;hint..,<: feel that the 1\ucthd dtllll h is grow· .11 the C:hinc•,c SCI\iCe }e51erda~ . I did ing. nut onh· in munb~:r~. hut also in 11111 !;t'f tht· lit't third of it tt.ul'l:m·tl faith :mel piet).

~H7

Our lo ng-time mini ~ t cr. ll ro thcr Jnhll T . ( ; lcnn, is nor on I)' a good preacher, tc:tchcr, :tncl Riblc scholar. lllll is also a mighty man or faith :n:d prarer. His cll:ep. entludng love for God ami His \\'ord. couplctl with humhlc love• for fc ll<M>hip wirh rhe hn:rhrcn. marks the war for others. ,\II g-lory be ro Cod as we tread rhc pilgrim parhway.-W . R. Reader. Th;:nks~h· ing Scrvit-c Well i\ u cndcd T his ycn r the joint 1 hanksgiving

~cn·i cc of rhc l.ouiSI'i llc ate<l churches wa• held a r Sellersburg . We estimate that O\'Cr four hundred wen: present. T he o ffering c11nc 111 seven hundred do llar· plus. R(•hc•rr lloyd hroughr a good tuc,.sagc. The radio 'ingcrs made· the sc rvkc jo}fnl with a rendition o f the Hallelujah chorus.

SHOP AT WORO AND WORK ·w ord ami Wo rk n eeds more busin cs.~

l'rom her frieud~ w tncct her o bliga· rions fro m nto nlh to 11Hllllh. \Ve have Greeting Cards, llihlcs in both 1\mcri·

r.w Sta ndanJ and Kiu~ j r11 otes, ~;oocl br)oks, church supplies. Our te lephone numher has been changed . . . . C;tll SP 6-8966. Plea~e favor us with your !look and Greeting Canl hu~in e;s.

The f'o rrlnnd Ave nue Frida)' night llihlc c\a~s has been resumed with Stan· fo rd Chambers as teacher. Current lf.:s,on' a rc t•n "The 13ook of Daniel." Pt·icc On GREAT SO NGS Guin~ Up The h)nutal Great Songs Of T.hc

Church will go 10 $ 1.25 after tltc first of the yea r. We have about a hun· dred o n hand wltirh we can se lf fo t S 1.10 plu~ postage.

Head "A Rcpon w Fril·nds" o n in· side bac.k cover.

Itccept ion For Umthcr Ch amhcrs T he Portland r hutTh . f.ouiwi ffc. is

anH VtliH' i ng a rcrept iuu itt hottu r of H• o thc·t Cha111hcrs' eightieth hirrhda y o tt rhc cvcuiug of Dcccmher 28. All friends of Brorhcr Chambers welcome. Come 10 J>ort land church at i:·l5 .

CH MlL ES M . N EAL

l was deeply moved by the news of the recent, swift departure ol this brother, his home-going from Winches ter, Kentucky. The "Neal boys" and I grew up on opposite banks o f "Buttermilk Creek," Sul­livan County. Indiana. \ 'VC became charter members (a r Deckard sdwolhouse) of what is now Berea congregation (name suggested by their stepmother). \ '\1e got our start in public service at Berea. \Ne sLUd ied together, prayed together, planned together. and preached together. 1 married Charles and h is first wife and when she died , conducted her funeral. H e gave a short period of t ime with the Linton church, and was then induced to move to Dugger, where he labored in two periods of years. a shorter period at Portland, Me., com ing between. Knowing that he felt tll :u a chang-e would be good [o r Dugger, knowing, too, the Main Street church at Winchester was in need (had asked me to help them locate a preach­er) l recommended Chas. Neal to them and them to him. His several years with Ma in Street stand out beca use of som e vcrr. thorough Bible dass wo rk, courses ;mel o utline studies hard ly exccllec . l think 1 have received and preser ved ::~11 of them.

Brother Neal terminated his work with Main Street and "hit the road" for a time. entering open doors he was poi n ted to W est and Southwest hy "Bible R esearch Socie ty." li e wrote th <~ t he h:rd ncvt.:r taken his " membersh ip" awuy from Berea, where he first c<~me to know the L ord.

ln my last le tter, not so long back, he, age-conscio us. thOuf{h below fourscore years. said that sho uld the Lord call him before His return fo r which he lo ng had hoped, he expected no loss or disap· pointment from having so hop<~d. for Pau I to the Thessaloni<tns affords our hean s full and blessed assurance in all such respects. Our prayers a nd affection are lor the wife a nd famil y.-Stanford Chamhe1 s. 28H

A REPORT TO FRIENDS

Urothct· HoU used to ask bow the Word and 'Vork " ·as getting along finan­cially. A few nthers h:wc shown etmcent in one W:t)' or another about this phase of our worl. . or roursc, '~c do Ita' r bill~ to meet c;~ ch 1110nt h - ollicc help, print· ing hills, pmtagc, ut ilities, HIKes, ntcrrhancli~c, upkeep on oua· hui lcl in~. Onr plan is to pay bills on the telllh o( each 1110nth. For the l:ls t six months we have hccn obliged to hold our printing bill-the largcst-uulil the Iauer part o£ tlte ano111h. With very fe w exceptions we have clcnrcd t.his last bill within the month .

.!Iince llrother lloll's dcpnrwre we have been looking around for a c:~pablc

·oun~ man to work with BrotJtcrs Jorgenson :md Clark in the publica tion work. ,\ncl nm•· we hnn: good nc" ''! Fran!. Gill of Abilene, Texa.~, is to he Office and lluol. .!!tore \l :magcr bcginllinJ; the ftf\t Of the )C:IT. ~0\\ thfll \\C arc c:Jlling a )'01111):: married man into oau· olficc the Worcl and Work )huuld he 1111 a stronger fina ncial footing.

Wurcl :mel Work (ri(•tuh c:m ht'lp hy tltt·owing their llook, llihlc, Grrcting Carel, .111d C lturch Supply hu,incs~ uur Wrt)'· , \ littk more btt3inc:~ will mean the tlilrercnt•c hctwec11 heing able to pa) our new m:tu and keep debt free and 1>111' failure tn ~o dn. We ha\'C a uicc liuc of Bibles, nooks, Grcctinl{ C:tnls, etc. Jmt g h r th )CJllr hu,incs~-c,pccin ll ) 1101\' ur Chri ~tmas time. Ahn respo nd tn

unr rorthcutllillg' suh•c.riptiull clri\'(: :111cl help u~ incrc:ISc 0111· li ,t h ) 20011, whirh we whh tu do. T he las t tlwusand nlw:t)~ cnllt CS cheaper- a hi~;gct· lis t p:t )~ 11ut hcttt•r than a small li~t. And our li•t ;, IIIIlCh too ;mall.

I hi ... i, o tn· :-. hU') · \'uau~ p n Cu.)uagc \Viii lu;lp u~ h oH c th is ) UUII).; JII.UI in 0111 puhlic:u iun circle. llrorhcr Ho ll used to •ay rhat the Word a11cl Wml. i\ the 0111~ ann we had ro rcadt out with the Gospel aJICI that we must l.ccp it going. Le t m ~:o fnrward! What ahmtl :1 higgcr nncl bette r Word and Work foa· 1957? To rnllla(l th t:lll St• 6-89(i() nr ,,rift• Wnrcl a11 cl \\'orl. , 25 18 l'unlnllcl ,\\cnuc, Lu11 l." ilk 1 ~. Kcnt11 rky. llc ttcr ,, till, 1hnp in our swre hc twcc11 th t• hu11rs o(

!1:1111 A. \1. :uul ii :UO 1'. M. - l'ub.

NOTES ON THE PENTATEUCH By C. H. Mcintosh

To a multitude of Christians these volumes haYe shed a flood of lig~t by un(olding the person a nd work of Christ in that portion of Scripture which bc£orn seamed but ceremonies o'f n bygone disponsat.ion, nnd they have ministered rich spiritual blessing to their souls. Titl es : Notes on Genesis, Notes on Exodus, Notes on Leviticus, Notes on Numbers, Notes on Deuteronomy (2 volumes) .

Sold Sep~rntely, per volume

Tho sol of six volumes . . . . . . •.. . ... , • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$2.00

$10.00

Order from WORD AND WORK, 2518 PORTLAND AVENUE, lOUISVIllE 12, KY.

The STORY HOUR Series TWELVE ATTRACTIVE VOLUMES • • • • • • • • • RICHLY ILLUSTRATED IN COLORS

Other Titles in

The Series

Bible Picture Book

Bible ABC Book

Bible Primer

Favorite Bible Stories

BEDTIME STORIES Hero Is one of the most popular tltlu

In the Story Hour Series. 11 interest ing and entertaining tales, each with on im· plied mor11l. Contains 43 octuol photo­graphs. For ages B to 11.

A HIVE OF BUSY BEES A grandmother tells o story ooch nlghr­

"Bee Obedient," "Bee Grateful," "Bee Polito"-to Joyce who has boon stung by 1 bee in the orchord. A rwo·color lllus· trillion on each pogo. For egos 10 ro 14.

Other Titles in

The Series

Fireside Tales

Sunnv Hour Stories

HaPPV Hour Tales

Bible Character Jewels

PATHS OF UPRIGHTNESS Conrolns 75 character-building srorl os

helpful to children and Sunday School teachers. lllusrrared wirh black and whlre halftones, decora tions in pen ond ink ond 2 masrorplecos in full color. Ages 10 to 14.

STORIES OF JESUS 27 stories wrillcn to make rhc lifo of

Jesus clear and interesting ro children Contains 41 lllustrorions, 15 in full color, tho work of masrors The lirtlo ones will bo delighted wirh rhis book. For ages 6 to 10.

Price, SOc Each