The Sabbatb

Waikato Times, Volume 108, Issue 18159, 25 October 1930, Page 18 (Supplement)

The Sabbatb

DAILY REMEMBRANCE. TEXT AND PRAYER. October 26. Blessed Be God.—Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you. Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. —1 Peter 1:3-5.

Prayer.—Bless the Lord, 0 my soul and all that is within me bless His holy name. October 27. The Cost of Redemption.—Ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation. .' . . but with the precious blood of. Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.— 1 Peter 1:18, 19. Prayer.—“ Throned upon the awful tree, King of grief, I watch with Thee.” Ootober 28. Babes in Christ.—Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye •may grow thereby; if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.— I Peter 2:1-3. Prayer.—“ Give me, Lord, a faithful heart guided by Thee." Ootober 29. God’s Praises —Ye are a ohosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of the darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.—l Peter 2:9, 10. I Prayer.—Let the people praise Thee, 0 God, let all the people praise Thee. October 30. Sanctify the Lord God.—But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and j he* ready always to give an answer j Lo every man that asketh you a reaI son of the hope that is in you, with ! meekness and fear.—l Peter 3:15. Prayer.—“ln love my soul would bow, My heart fulfil its vow.” October 31. Humility and Exaltation.—Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.—l Peter 5:6, 7. Prayer.—“ Glory, laud, and honour Unto Christ the King.” November 1. ' The God of ail Grace. —The God of ! ail grace,' who hath called up unto ! his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, i after that ye have suffered a while, < make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, < settle you. To him bo glory and < dominion for ever and ever.—l Peter t 5:10, 11.

Prayer.—Lord God we rejoice that Thy grace is ever sufficient.

CHRISTIAN ASSURANCE. THE CONFIDENCE OF FAITH. Modern divines, not without reason, :ght shy of what used to he called Me doctrine of assurance. We may believe that the faith of a Christian

justifies him in such confidence that whatever happens he will never be deprived of God’s care, and that in his greatest trouble his needs will never oe ignored, but there is no ground for thinking that he cannot by his perversity render himself incapable of benefiting by all that Divine love may offer.

The doctrine of assurance has been interpreted to imply that grace once given and pardon once received remain a permanent possession. In support of this view certain texts of Scripture are employed which seem quite clearly to justify it. They need not be quoted, but it is enough to point out that the method of abstracting texts from their contexts has frequently led to perversion of the truth.

The disciples lived in the conviction of God’s love and found their faith j endorsed by their experience. They . were persuaded that he was always with them in the energies of His t Spirit. They were certain of His . care and His constant readiness to as- . sist them in all their varied fortunes. It was in the midst of\ utter perplexity I that St. Paul declared: “I am per- ! suaded that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus." The First Martyr. [ This assurance receives impressive demonstration in the history of St. Stephen. He was among the first, if not the pioneer, of that new move--1 ment within the Christian Church by which all men and women were welcomed on equal terms to its fellohvship. He recognised 1 that the attempt to confine Christianity within the borders of Judaism must fail, for the revelation of God through their Master had shown that all men were offered the grace of life, and that God's mercy passed beyond national distinctions and was freely offered to all men. It is not difficult to imagine that St. Stephen was conscious of inner questionings on this matter. What right had he to suppose that the most devout men of his day were wrong? At this juncture, when confronted by the vehement protests of the Jews and without the support of his fellowChristians, he became in a special degree conscious of the presence of his master. “Behold,” he cried, “I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.” In their unbridled fury his enemies carried him out of the city, but as they stoned him to death the Lord’s care was revealed to St. Stephen. Commending his spirit to the Master he knew to be present, and assured that God was still with him, he prayed that the sin of his persecutors might not be laid to their charge. The Divine Presence. The mystic vision of the Living Christ is usually associated with times of quiet contemplation. He manifests Himself to the soul when in silence it awaits Ills revelation of Himself. In quietness we learn the full significance of Christianity. Yet we must also recognise that the revelation of God may be given to men in the t clamorous demands of the world, or c as they confront its vigorous opposi- c tion. v

Such was the experience of St. Stephen, who saw the Ascended Lord above the hail of stones flung by his persecutors. So faithful men ever since those days of the first martyr have been assured of the Divine Presence. There is no promise that faithful Christians shall be saved from danger or pain. The sign of their faith is the Cross, and ail that it represents must have its place in their lives. Yet the Christian has his own assurance of the Master’s presence, and the conviction that the final satisfactions of life are to be found in Ilis is never betrayed.

There is no need for fear. It is true that it is always hard to be a Christian. The one fact on which we can make the venture of life to which we are called is that God is always

true to Ilis servants. This is the basis of their present confidence and the ground of their assurance, that neither life nor death can separate them from Eternal Love.