Young Christian: Volume 21, 1931
Table of Contents
The Blood of Jesus Christ Only
The gospel had been preached for several successive evenings in a village. After the last meeting, the old servant of God who had brought before his hearers the good news of salvation by grace, spoke a few words to a young girl as she was going out. She had attended the meetings regularly but, to all appearance, without having received any impression from them.
“Annie,” said he, looking seriously at her, “the blood of Jesus Christ only, can make you pure before God.”
Annie felt somewhat hurt by this personal notice, and more still by the strange words which had been spoken to her. They continued to ring in her ears as she returned home. She said to herself,
“I lead, anyway, an honest and prudent life, and although I do not doubt that I have my faults, most people are much worse than I am, why then can I only be purified by the blood of Jesus Christ?”
But the Spirit of God who had directed Annie’s attention to these words, did not allow her to rest. What she had heard the last evening came back vividly to her mind and began to trouble her.
“All have sinned,” the preacher had said, “and come short of the glory of God.” Rom. 3:23. Was it not true?
“Yes,” she was obliged to answer; “for whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” James 2:10. There then came before her that other passage of scripture which says:
“Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.” Gal. 3:10. “Ah!” said the poor girl, “all these passages of the Word of God condemn me!”
Thus the Holy Spirit recalled to her mind, one after the other, the passages which convinced her of her true state before God. The light had shown into her soul, and she saw a vile and condemned sinner who deserved death and eternal separation from God. In passing from darkness to light, this light as yet but revealed her misery. However, God did not leave the work unfinished; He had begun with Annie, and He would show her the remedy: the only remedy for her state. She saw, in the light of God, the meaning of the words which had been addressed to her:
“The blood of Jesus Christ only, cleanses us from all sin.”
She understood that Jesus had given His life for us, that He had suffered the judgment of God in our stead, and in consequence of that, God had been able to forgive all our sins.
“Yes,” she said to herself, “the blood of Jesus Christ only, can purify me from all sin.” She laid hold of this precious truth in her heart, and God spread abroad peace in her soul.
As she came home, the happy girl felt impressed to go to the bedside of her sick and aged father.
“Father,” she said, “the blood of Jesus Christ only, can purify you before God.”
The father was a pious professor, who, in the presence of eternity, had long been occupied with serious thoughts, but who was still far from a settlement of the question as to how he, a sinner, would be able to meet a holy and righteous God, and to dwell in His presence. He opened wide his eyes on hearing his daughter speak thus, and asked her for an explanation of her words. Annie recounted simply what she had heard, and what had occurred to her. She told her father that God has declared in His Word that all are sinners, and as such are unable by themselves to enter the glory of God in heaven, but that God, in His love for us, has given us His Son for a Savior, who has borne on the cross the punishment due us for our sins.
“Then,” she added, “the Word of God says that the blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, cleanses from all sin those who put their trust in Him.”
As for the young girl, so also for the soul of the aged father, these truths so grand, and at the same time so simple, were sweet and precious. He also found by faith the efficacy of the blood of Jesus, the pardon of his sins, and peace with God. He was able thenceforth to celebrate with a happy heart, the riches of the grace of God, who has prepared so great salvation for lost man.
The following day his son Charles came to pay him a visit. The sick man reached his hand to him and, by way of salutation, said:
“Charles, the blood of Jesus Christ only, can make you pure before God.”
Charles was astonished and touched. He listened to the words of his aged father, whom he loved tenderly, and who now announced to him the marvelous fact of the love of God, and bore witness to the peace which he had found in believing in the value of the blood of Christ.
That was a decisive day in the life of Charles. A great change began to take place in him. He was troubled in his soul at the thought of his sins, and turned to Jesus, the Son of God, who invites all sinners to come to Him. He proved the truth of the words of the Savior, who said:
“Come unto Me, and I will give you rest.”
He believed in the efficacy of the blood of Christ to cleanse from all sin before God. Thus, in a short time, the daughter, the father, and the son found pardon, peace, and life, in believing in Jesus, and the perfect work of salvation accomplished by Him on the cross; a new proof that “the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.” The father and his two children became witnesses of life by faith.
In the blood of Jesus there is a full and sufficient response to the agonies of a troubled conscience; there only, can rest for the soul be found.
Whoever you may be, reader, may you thus put your trust in Christ, in the efficacy of His sacrifice for your salvation. However exemplary your character may be, there is not for you any other ground upon which you can be received by God, and enter into His glory, than by the blood of Christ.
Fragment: Labor, Not Rest
This is the time of labor, not of rest; no rest to be looked for here and now, but laboring to enter into that rest. O how blessed the day of its appearing after toil! It is indeed long patience, but patience is the word; and while we are patient, the Lord makes it short.
The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 14
What an end to every display, and to every allowance of the old bad nature we are seeing in these chapters full of precious instruction for the children of God! The first three verses of the twelfth chapter gave us the necessary introduction to these things, and we shall never profit as we should by what we are taught, verse by verse, in the more than three chapters beginning with the twelfth, unless those three verses are made thoroughly ours, in a practical way. O, what dishonor to Christ and what sorrow Christians have brought upon themselves individually and upon others, by neglect of these chapters of the Epistle to the Romans!
At the end of the 12th chapter we had a short verse of very wide application,
“Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Only ten words easy to remember, and you meet the need for them every day in your Christian life.
Again, at the end of the 13th chapter we have another arresting verse. Christ is the believer’s life, dwells in him by the Spirit, as set forth in the eighth chapter, verses 9, 10, 11; as He is thus within, will not you, dear young Christian, wear Him outwardly, owning Him as your Lord?
“Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Galatians 3:27, as will be seen from the context, refers not to something I may do, but to my new position before God in contradistinction from what I was before my conversion. There it is “Christ,” identification with Him through His atoning death appropriated by faith; here in Romans it is owning His authority, “the Lord Jesus Christ,” that I am to exhibit Him in my life.
Romans 14 takes up the subject of the weak brother. God was saving both Jews and Gentiles, and the Gentile believer gave up altogether his idolatrous system, but the Jew who believed, had difficulty in seeing that old distinctions with regard to meat, and to days of religious observance were at an end. He was weak in the faith, but should be received, yet not to doubtful disputations, or “disputes in reasoning” (or “the determination of questions of reasoning,” as the end of the verse may be read). This is exactly the spirit of what we have been reading in the last two chapters, is it not? Christianity, according to the Word of God, and disregarding what men have endeavored to attach to it, that is not contained in that precious volume concerning it, has nothing to do with the observance of days (excepting the first day of the week, the Lord’s day, and that is a privilege, not a command), nor of meats to be eaten or not eaten (Gal. 4:10; 1 Tim. 4:3).
Nor are we who are Christ’s to despise the brother whose faith is weak, thinking ourselves, to be somewhat, who after all are equally objects of God’s grace. On the other hand, the brother who in conscientious weakness refrains from doing what his better taught fellow-believer does with the full sanction of Scripture, is not to judge him; for God has received him. How admirable are the ways which God would have His children exhibit in their lives here on earth! As another has said, we are taught to bear with conscientious weakness, and to be conscientious ourselves.
Each, in these cases, is to be fully persuaded in his own mind. It is a question of what is due to the Lord; we are to acknowledge Him in all our ways, for none of us lives to himself, and none dies to himself. We belong to Him, whether living or dying, and this is connected in the ninth verse with His having died and lived again, the fundamental truth of Christianity. This leads to the solemn consideration of the tenth verse.
“We shall all stand (or be placed) before the judgment seat of God.” (“God” is the correct reading, here, not “Christ.”) Then the twelfth verse,
“So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”
The quotation in the intervening verse is from Isaiah 45:23, which includes all, everyone; in our chapter only believers are referred to.
Now in John 5:24 it is plainly stated that the believer “shall not come into condemnation,” and this word “condemnation” is in many other passages translated “judgment,” which indeed is the true meaning. The believer shall not come into judgment, but is passed from death unto life; his sins will never be brought up to bar his access to God’s presence, and 1 Peter 2:24 expressly states of Christ that He
“His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree.”
They are gone then, no more to appear to shut me up to a lost eternity.
The Word of God cannot contradict itself, nor is there even the appearance of contradiction here; our chapter simply declaring that we shall all stand before the judgment seat, and every one of us shall give an account concerning himself to God. We have a somewhat parallel passage in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15. These scriptures show that the lives of believers will pass in review after we reach our heavenly home in the new body according to the Lord’s promise in John 14:3, according, too, to Romans 8:38-39, and to 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 1 Corinthians 15:51-57, and other passages.
We shall see, each of us, our past as God has seen it, and we shall each give an account of our stewardship. Should this not speak very solemnly to us each, who know Christ as Savior and Lord? All that I have done, said, thought, is coming out there; not to decide whether I am to spend eternity in heaven or hell, but that I may see what my life has been: what in it was for self, and what had Christ as its object.
We are therefore enjoined in verse 13 to no more judge one another in these matters concerning which the chapter is written, and we are to be careful lest there be something in our lives that is or may be a stumbling block or fall-trap for our brother. The apostle could say,
“I know, and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean of itself”; he was altogether clear that the truth of the gospel frees the soul from every ceremonial requirement under the law; yet “to him that esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.”
If on account of meat my brother is grieved, I walk no longer according to love. God will not allow my brother to be destroyed by my unloving and unlovely course, but it is in that direction that my conduct tends, as far as he is concerned, who is my brother for whom Christ died.
Very preciously these considerations are summed up in what follows (verses 16-23). May we take what is contained in them very much to heart, for our own blessing and the good of God’s children generally! In the last verse, read “judged,” or “condemned” instead of “damned,” which is a translator’s error.
“Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” refers to the believer’s life; yours and mine, dear young Christian; an important word, and a word of warning, is it not?
To be continued (D. V.)
The Low Place
We live at a moment in which man is pushing himself upward and onward. “Excelsior” is a very popular motto just now. Let us look well to our mode of interpreting and applying it. “He that exalteth himself shall be abased.” If we are to be governed by the rule of God’s kingdom, we shall find that the only way to get up is to go down. The One who now occupies the very highest place in heaven is the One who voluntarily took the very lowest place on earth. See Philippians 2:5-11.
Here is our example as Christians, and here too the divine antidote against the pride and restless ambition of the men of the world. Nothing is sadder than to witness a pushing, bustling, forward, self-confident spirit and style in those who profess to be followers of Him who was meek and lowly in heart. It is utterly impossible for anyone to indulge in this spirit if ever he has really measured himself in the presence of God. To be much alone with God is the sovereign remedy for pride and self-complacency. May we know the reality of this in the secret of our own souls. May the Lord keep us truly humble in all our ways, simply leaning on Himself, and very, very, little in our own eyes.
To Him That Overcometh
“To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.” Rev. 2:17.
The “white stone” seems to mark the individual approbation of Christ; the “new name,” peculiar intercourse between Christ and the individual, different from that which all shall share alike, different from the public joy. There is a public joy. All saints will together enjoy the comforts of Christ’s love, will enter into the “joy of their Lord,” and with one heart and one voice will sound His praise. There will also be joy in seeing the fruit of our labors, as it is said,
“What is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?” 1 Thess. 2:19.
And again there will be another joy in seeing the company of the redeemed, all according to Christ’s heart in holiness and glory. But besides this public joy, there will be Christ’s peculiar private individual recognition and approval—the “white stone,” and the “new name which no man knoweth save he that receiveth it.”
Christ speaks elsewhere of His own new name as Head of the new creation. There are old names belonging to the Lord Jesus, but His new name is connected with that into which His Father brings Him, when all things which have failed in the hands of man, will be established and developed in Him; and having thus Himself a new name, He gives us also a promise of a new name. We are not only to know Jesus, and be known of Him according to present circumstances, but to have a special knowledge of Him in glory, according to the glory.
Our souls must value this personal approval of Christ, as well as think of the public approval. The latter will be great blessedness; but there is no peculiar affection in it, nothing that stamps peculiar love on the individual. Glory will be common to all, but glory is not affection.
This “new name” is a different thing; it is the proof of Christ’s value for a person who had been faithful in difficult and trying circumstances, for one who has acted on the knowledge of His mind, and overcome through communion with Him. This will be met by special individual approbation. There is the public joy and approval in various ways, and the manifestation of our being loved by the Father as Jesus is loved. But this is not all that is given for our encouragement in individual conduct through trial, failure, and difficulty; there is also this special private joy of love.
When the common course of the Church is not straight, not in the full energy of the Holy Spirit, though there may be a great deal of faithfulness, yet there is danger of disorder. We find that the Lord then applies Himself more to the walk of individual saints, and suits His promises to the peculiar state in which they are. There is a peculiar value in this. It takes out of all fancied walking (the especial danger which belongs to such a state of things)—each according to his own will, chalking out a path for himself, because of the unfaithfulness and disobedient walk of the professing body. What faith has to do in such circumstances, is to lay hold intelligently, soberly, and solemnly on the Lord’s mind, and to walk according to it, strengthened by the promises which He has attached to such a path as He can own.
This at once refers the heart and conscience to Jesus, while full encouragement to the feeblest saint. And it is very precious to have thus the guidance of the Lord, and the promise of His own peculiar approbation! So peculiar, that it is known only to him who receives it, when the course of the Church is such that one is thrown greatly on individual responsibility of conduct. But then, while it gives us strength for walk, it puts the soul in direct responsibility to the Lord, and breaks down human will.
When the professing Church has become mingled with the world, “eating and drinking with the drunken,” those who seek to be faithful must often have to walk alone, incurring the charge of folly and self-will (and that, too, even from their brethren), because they refuse to follow the beaten path. And indeed it is quite a real danger, a natural consequence that, when the common course is broken up, individual will should work. The natural tendency would ever be towards self-will.
Our only safety is in having the soul brought under the sense of direct responsibility to the Lord by such warnings and promises as these, which both guide and supply strength to stand free from all around, while the consciousness that Christ marks and owns our ways, will sanctify as well as encourage our hearts. For it must be joy to anyone who loves the Lord Jesus, to think of having His individual peculiar approbation and love, to find that He has approved of our conduct in such and such circumstances, though none know this but ourselves who receive the approval.
But, beloved, are we really content to have an approval which Christ only knows? Let us try ourselves a little. Are we not too desirous of man’s commendation of our conduct? or, at least, that he should know and give us credit for the motives which actuate it? Are we content, so long as good is done, that nobody should know anything about us—even in the Church to be thought nothing of?—that Christ alone should give us the “white stone” of His approval, and the “new name which no man knoweth save only he that receiveth it?” Are we content, I say, to seek nothing else? O, think what the terrible evil and treachery of that heart must be that is not satisfied with Christ’s special favor, but seeks honor (as we do) one of another instead!
I ask you, beloved, which would be most precious to you, which would you prefer—the Lord’s public owning of you as a good and faithful servant; or the private individual love of Christ resting upon you, the secret knowledge of His love and approval? He whose heart is specially attached to Christ will respond—the latter. Both will be ours, if faithful, but we shall value this most, and there is nothing that will carry us so straight on our course as the anticipation of it.
Waiting Pilgrims
We may have the hope of the Lord’s coming, being glad to get to the end of this desert, because it is a desert; or we may long to get out, because Canaan is at the end. If it is not the latter, we shall be in danger of being tired with running, which is always wrong. We should be in the spirit of waiting pilgrims, not weary ones. We ought not to be weary; I do not say we are not, but we ought to be ever desiring His coming, because He is precious.
In Revelations 22:17, the bride says “Come,” in answer to what He is, when He says,
“I am the bright and morning star.”
God does not reject the cry which comes to Him as “out of the depths”; but there is a difference between the cry of distress, and the cry of desire.
A Young People's Meeting: Part 1
The Question Box
No. 1
Question: 1. What is the difference between the regular meetings held in the Hall, where women are not permitted to speak, and other meetings, such as the Sunday School and young people’s meetings, where the sisters do take part?
Answer: The meetings held in the Hall, with the exception of the Gospel, and the Sunday School, are Assembly meetings. These include the regular scheduled weekly meetings, such as the Breaking of Bread, Bible Reading, and Prayer Meeting, or special meetings called by the Assembly, whether for open ministry, humiliation, discipline, etc. In all of these meetings, the Assembly meets as such, gathered to the Name of the Lord Jesus, with Himself in the midst, according to Mattjew 18:20. “If therefore the whole Church (or Assembly) be come together in one place” (1 Cor. 14:23). In these meetings, properly called Assembly Meetings, it is not permitted to women to speak ... “for it is a shame for women to speak in the Assembly” (1 Cor. 14:34-35).
The Gospel Meetings and the Sunday School may be considered as activities connected with the Assembly, but not properly Assembly Meetings. The Assembly is certainly responsible for all that is carried on in the meeting room; but the ones who preach the gospel, either in the Room or elsewhere, are directly responsible to the Lord, as His servants. They can surely count on the Lord’s being with them, as in Matt. 28:20, but He is not in the midst, in a gospel meeting, as in Matt. 18:20. This applies also to special meetings, when servants of the Lord may give addresses or lectures to Christians. The Sunday School bears the character, primarily, of a children’s gospel meeting. The one who is responsible for it may ask others to help, sisters to instruct the young children and older girls, and brothers for older boys. It would be unscriptural, according to 1 Timothy 2:11-12, for a woman to preach the gospel publicly, or to engage in public ministry, or prayer, should a brother be present. Her place is one of silence and subjection, and the reasons are given in the scripture just referred to (1 Tim. 2:13-14). But instructing children, or other women, is surely within the legitimate sphere of her service for the Lord. The spiritual instinct of a subject, godly woman would soon manifest what was within her proper sphere, better than any cut-and-dried rules.
Our young peoples’ meetings are informal gatherings held in various homes. Neither the privileges nor restrictions of regular assembly meetings are applicable to such gatherings. We could not claim Matthew 18:20, for instance. We could not execute discipline tonight, nor make an assembly decision, even if all the brothers, or even all the sisters, were present, for it would not be an assembly meeting. We could not receive to nor put away from the Lord’s Table. In Acts 18:26, Aquila and Priscilla invited a brother named Apollos to their home, and together they expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. The mention of Aquila’s name first, in this passage alone, would indicate the subject place taken by his wife, though perhaps the more spiritual and well-taught of the two. So tonight, we might say that we have been invited to spend the evening in this home, to speak together about the Lord Jesus, and His things, and to seek to help and encourage one another along the path. As gathered in this informal way, the sisters should feel free to ask questions, offer suggestions, or take part in any other way that would not be inconsistent with the subject place.
“When a little company has come together, not in an assembly meeting, but, say, to meet in a home, it is not correct to apply Matthew 18:20 to such a meeting. You can count on the Lord to be with you, and to minister by His Spirit, but you can do nothing in the way of discipline. A good illustration is that of the House of Parliament. When they are convened in the proper place, and have the proper chairman in their midst, they can make laws; but if hundreds of them convene without their chairman, they could talk about laws, but could make none.”
(To Be Continued)
The Christian's Hope
The Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Tim. 1:1.
1. To be with Him. John 14; and 1 Thess. 4
2. To be like Him. 1 John 3:2.
3. To see Him. Phil. 3:20,21; 1 John 3:2.
4. To serve Him. Rev. 22:3,4.
5. To reign with Him. 2 Tim. 2:12.
6. To live with Him. 2 Tim. 2:11.
7. To appear with Him. Col. 3:4.
One Step at a Time
“As thou goest, step by step, I will open up the way before thee.” Prov. 4:12. (Another Translation)
“Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way.” Ex. 23:20.
“This God is our God forever and ever: He will be our Guide even unto death.” Psa. 48:14.
The New Year begins a new journey,
One step at a time we may see;
But looking to Jesus for guidance,
The way will be opened for thee.
One step at a time, simply trusting
The One who is holding thy hand,
The One who with infinite wisdom,
Each step of thy pathway has planned.
The Shepherd has marked out thy pathway,
The end from beginning He knows;
But light He will give “As thou goest”—
One step at a time Jesus shows.
One step—but one step is sufficient—
Faith trusts in the Father above,
Who worketh all things for our blessing,
Whose dealings are ever in love.
Faith rests in the One who is guiding,
And trusts Him who goeth before;
Whose love cheers and brightens the journey,
Whose presence gives joy evermore.
Fragment: The True Basis for Peace
You will never get peace by dwelling upon your conversion—whether it was good or bad—deep or shallow. Neither can you get peace by looking at your state or your progress.
It is very important to judge your state and your walk; but you will never get peace by so doing; nor will you ever make progress by being occupied with yourself—gauging and analyzing your feelings and frames.
The true basis of peace is a full Christ for the heart. The true secret of progress is a whole heart for Christ.
Correspondence: Works and Rest; 1 Pet. 3:19;John 13:1; To and Fro in Dan.12:4
Question: What works were finished from the foundation of the world? (Heb. 4:3.) What is the rest which remains to the people of God? (verse 9.)
Answer: God had wrought in creation and then rested from His works when He had finished them, but man did not enter into it. Neither did Joshua nor David give God’s people rest; so that the rest of God is still future, and believers will enter into it. We are to take care not to appear like coming short of it. It is laboring now as Christians; it will be resting when God’s rest comes.
All taint of sin shall be removed,
All evil done away;
And we shall dwell with God’s Beloved,
Through God’s eternal day.
Question: Did the wicked who were drowned at the flood, go into everlasting punishment in Sheol, or did they have another chance when Christ preached to the spirits in prison? (1 Peter 3:19.)
Answer: All the wicked that died before, at, or after the flood, will be raised to stand before the great white throne (Rev. 20:11-15). This is the resurrection of judgment. (John 5:29.)
When an unsaved man dies, his soul is in prison, awaiting the judgment (2 Peter 2:4, 9); he is also in torment. See Luke 16:23, where the rich man’s soul is “in torment,” while men give his body a funeral. It is everlasting punishment; justice cannot be defeated when Christ is the judge. The wrath of God abideth on the sinner. (John 3:36.)
There is no preaching or offer of salvation to a man after death. There was no preaching in the prison. The Spirit of Christ preached through Noah to the people who lived at his time, then they were drowned, and their souls are in prison for their disobedience to the preaching.
When Christ died, His spirit went to the Father.
“Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit.” Luke 23:46.
His body was put in the grave. Then He arose, and after forty days He ascended up on high. He is now the Man at God’s right hand. It is a man—spirit, soul and body—that ascended. He had been in death, but could not be holden of it. That was “the lower parts of the earth.” When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive. Satan is vanquished, and we are set free, sharing His triumphs now over sin, death and Satan’s power. This is our blessing now, as brought to Himself to share His place before and with His God and Father.
Question: What does, “He loved them unto the end” mean? (John 13:1).
Answer: Christ’s love is eternal, it cannot cease, nor change. It is proved by what He did on the cross (Eph. 5:25).
In the present by what He is doing (Eph. 5:26). In the future by what He will do (Eph. 5:27).
In the glory we will still feast and delight our souls in His love. So here on the journey until it end, we can count on Him to care for and provide all we need, spiritually and temporally. There is no end to His love. “The end” here, must therefore mean, all the way through (see also Heb. 7:25).
Of Him and His love will we sing,
His praises our tongues will employ,
Till heavenly anthems we bring
In yonder bright regions of joy.
Question: Who are the many that “run to and fro”? What knowledge is increased? (Dan. 12:4.)
Answer: It is the last days of Israel’s history under the times of the Gentiles. Another translation puts for “run to and fro,” “shall diligently investigate.” The Psalms, Prophets, Gospels and Revelation will be well investigated, and guidance given to both converted Jews and Gentiles then, where the Gospel of the Kingdom is preached. It is not yet. Daniel’s book is still sealed.
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