From the Editor

The Two-Fold Deliverance

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9)

There is a better way to live than the world has yet discovered. The history of humans has been that of perpetual crime, horrible murders, cowardly suicides and constantly recurring wars. Humanity has progressively and scientifically devised better and more terrible means to obliterate the enemy. Look at the record, stones, bow and arrow, spears, swords, firearms, machine guns, increasingly large caliber guns, tanks, aircraft, rocket bombs, battleships, and finally nuclear bombs. For every offensive weapon, a new defensive implement was devised, shields, forts, heavyarmored warships, antitank guns, antiaircraft guns and radar.

The past century has witnessed phenomenal scientific progress in the fields of mechanics, hygiene, and medicine. But little progress, if any, has been made morally and religiously. Someone has aptly suggested that we declare a scientific holiday for one hundred years until we can bring our morals abreast of our science. To retard scientific progress arbitrarily is unthinkable, but to increase moral practice and religious life is imperative if the race is to survive.

A revival of religion is not merely the cry of churchmen but should be the demand of scientists if we are to escape complete annihilation.

President Truman once said to the nation, "I do not believe there is one problem in this country, in the world today which could not be settled if approached through the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount.

If a man is drowning, I have two necessary things to do, I must get the man out of the water and then I must get the water out of the man. In bringing to man full salvation, first I must get the man out of the ocean of sin and then I must get the sin out of the man. If I get the man out of the water and neglect to get the water out of the man, he will expire. If I get the man out of sin but fail to get the sin out of the man, it will not be long until he is back committing sins. John puts it thus in his First Epistle: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

There we have full, complete salvation, forgiveness and cleansing, justification before God and purification of the heart. Forgiveness of our sins, for our committed acts and thank God, He will forgive and wipe out and cast them in the sea of His forgetfulness to be remembered against us no more forever.

We then stand legally before God as though we had never committed a sinful act. But John also says that God will do more than forgive us our sins, He will also "cleanse us from all unrighteousness." So, that corrupt, depraved nature, the old Adam that which causes us to commit sinful acts can be cleansed.

Forgiveness is a forensic, judicial, legal act changing our relationship to God from a sinner and a rebel to a son. Cleansing is a work wrought in us whereby the old Adam is crucified, killed, eradicated and our innermost nature is purified.

The Wesleys taught and spread this glorious truth resulting in a sweeping revival which saved England from a revolution.

There it is a twofold deliverance, "save from wrath" by forgiving my transgressions, and "make me pure" by cleansing my innermost nature, the double cure.

You must be a Christian before you can successfully "try Christianity." You must have Christ in your heart before you can carry out His ideals. Here is the promise made by God, "If we confess our sins, He is

From the Editor

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Strong and Useful Christians

In our Lord's parable, it is by trading that the talents are increased. Talents are capacities. They are given to us as possibilities only, requiring to be developed. In a hand there may be the artist's or the musician's skill, but it must be brought out, and the only way to do this is by long and diligent practice. In a brain there may be the gift of the poet, the inventor, or the entrepreneur, but it must be called out, and there is no way to do this but by using the talent in its small beginnings, until it grows unto full vigor. The same is true of spiritual talents. We are taught that we should grow in grace, that is, in all the beautiful qualities which belong to the Christly character.

Take patience, for example. If we would grow in this grace, we must begin at once to practice patience in everything. It is a lesson, or an art, which must be learned, it is not bestowed upon us complete, as a gift.

Take kindness. Every Christian has the capacity for kindness, but there must be long practice of this grace before it will grow into its truest and best.

Take sympathy, of which there is such need in all Christian service. There is an impression that anybody can sympathize. Almost anybody can feel sorry with one who is in distress, but this is only a small part of the sympathy which is truly helpful. To sympathize is to be able to enter deeply and intensely into the experience of others, and then to add the strength of one's own life to make them braver and stronger, to help them to be victorious. Wise sympathy is the outcome only of experience. Thus, the only way to grow in the graces and virtues of the Christian life is to exercise those graces by keeping them at work.

It is not easy at first to confess Christ before the world. The fear of ridicule is a heavy cross to bear. The atmosphere of the school or the street, or the playground, or the place of business, is so different from that of the church that what was a delight and a joy in the friendly fellowship seems almost impossible among those who are unfriendly. But here, too, the gentle grace grows strong and vigorous in patient and habitual practice, until by and by the timid young Christian is known everywhere as a quiet, but faithful, consistent friend of Jesus Christ.

In every good thing we can learn to do, we must start as a mere beginner. Everything must be learned in personal experience. We can do nothing well at first, nothing that is worthwhile. Hence it is that Christian work is the best means of grace, indeed, it is the only means of developing for much usefulness, the graces and the powers which exist in larger or smaller measure in every Christian life.

Many good people read the account of the man with the one talent, who wrapped it up in a napkin; the lesson is for everyone who does not put his talent to work so that it may grow. There are thousands of talents wrapped up and hidden away in the hearts and hands and heads of church members, gifts for usefulness and service, which never come to anything because they are never exercised.

This teaching is startling when it is remembered that we must give account of our talents and capacities, not merely returning them unused, but bringing them back developed to their full power.

We will never make anything worthwhile of our life unless we take hold earnestly of Christian duties and activities. Devotion has its place. We are devoted to reading our Bible, we see visions of heavenly beauty, and hear promptings to services of love. We bow in prayer, and are drawn into communion with Christ, and find great joy in his love. We attend church, and our hearts are warmed into a glow as we listen to the preacher's stirring words. We sit at the Lord's Table, and as we remember the love of Christ and His devotion unto death for us.

All this is right and proper. But if we allow such feelings and emotions to fade out without ripening into action, we have received only harm and not good. For, every Christian should promptly and eagerly enter upon some line of Christian service, beginning at once to follow Christ in work for the good of others. We all owe this to our Master, and to our fellowmen, and, besides; it is in this way only that we can grow into strong and useful Christians.

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