The Star In The Night
When the moon is down and the night is black, a star will shine down with compelling brilliance. For its true beauty to be understood, the star must be seen against a background of unrelieved darkness; when the sun lights up the heavens, the star is dimmed and unseen.
Jesus Christ, the "bright and morning star," can be truly known only when he is seen against the awful background of human sin and depravity. The worth of his "Saviorhood" is measured by the peril and the destruction from which he saves; if man is not lost and undone and eternally ruined, then he has little need of a "savior."
Our modern world has become so arrogant and proud in its growing knowledge, so puffed up over human achievement that "Sin" is a concept that is fast-fading from the human consciousness. Even preachers of today are wont to confuse sin with poverty or sickness or ignorance, and equate sin simply as some form of mental illness. The result is that the race does not see, and cannot appreciate, the worth of Jesus Christ. Refusing to recognize sin for what it is, men cannot truly evaluate the worth of him who came to save from sin. It is only when the full and hideous reality of SIN is faced with all its blackness that Christ is seen in all his beauty and glory. The Star must be seen against the background of the night.
— F. Y. T.
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Do You Really Believe?
To ask the average member of the church such a question would be to insult his integrity as a Christian; yet to truly believe the Bible and to know that it is the only way to save the world would motivate instant concern and anxiety over the condition of the unsaved. A truly believing person has to be a person who is busy about the salvation of others, one for whom the "go" and "seek" of Christ's teaching are taken as seriously as are his "repent" and "be baptized."
We have quoted Mark 16:16 so often in our sermons as almost to have made it trite; but how easily we overlook the verse that precedes it—that verse that speaks of going "into all the world." That verse gives the same challenge to each generation that it gave to that humble band of Galileans who heard the words as they came from the lips of Christ. They believed what he said—they believed him when he spoke of repentance and baptism; they believed him also when he said, "go ye into all the world."
Only when we pray and think with a map of the world on our hearts can we realize the scope of God's plans; for God is not bound by race, or color, or position in life. To be sitting idle while souls are being lost is to join hands spiritually with Nero who fiddled while the funeral pyres of martyrs outlined in grim etching the silhouette of a pagan city. To let the mistakes of others deter us from exerting ourselves to the utmost in carrying the gospel "to every creature" is very, very similar to the weak excuse of the man who refuses to obey the gospel because of the failures of so many Christians to live as Christians should. For the true believer there are no excuses—there are deeds.
— F. Y. T.
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Now, That You're A Christian
You are a member of the church of Christ. From day to day you are conscious of a deep inner satisfaction of heart and mind; for you know that there is no question and no problem in religious practice concerning which you need be embarrassed.
With your knowledge of the Bible, you could never feel at ease belonging to a denomination in which Bible statements were either antagonized or ignored. You could not belong to a church that taught salvation by "faith only" for you know the Bible plainly says we are NOT justified by faith alone. You could not belong to a church that sprinkled babies, for no such practice is mentioned in the Bible. By the same token you could not be happy in a church that burned incense, used instruments of music, observed the sabbath day, practiced polygamy, or did any one of a hundred other things unknown to the New Testament.
You are following the path beaten out by thousands of early Christians—a path that is clearly marked by "thus saith the Lord." Saul of Tarsus was one of the most faithful and humble members of the church to which you belong. He became a member of the church exactly as you did. God added him to it when, as a penitent believer, he was "buried with Christ through baptism." Timothy, Silas, Luke, Matthew, Peter were all members of the church of Christ. You are in illustrious company.
As you are not ashamed of such fellow-Christians, do not let them be ashamed of you. Maintain that faith for which most of them died. Heads up; eyes forward; you are a child of God!
— F. Y. T.
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