Can Jesus Christ Be Trusted?

Fundamental Evangelistic Association
selected articles from:
©FOUNDATION
A MAGAZINE OF BIBLICAL FUNDAMENTALISM
Dennis W. Costella, Editor; Karel Beyer, Production Manager; Matt Costella, Copy Editor
M.H. Reynolds, Jr. (1919-1997), Founding Editor

As one of the seven founders of the Fundamental Evangelistic Association, I. A. Moon wrote this book with a desire to accomplish a twofold purpose: to point unbelievers to Christ and to ground believers in their faith. Since its inception in 1928, the Fundamental Evangelistic Association has purposed to preach the Gospel to the unsaved as well as teach the Word of God to those who have already believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. This book is a useful tool for evangelism as well as spiritual growth. Using personal illustrations and a writing style that demonstrates his wit and wisdom, I A. Moon reveals from the Word of God why mankind fell, why he needs to trust in Christ in order to possess a relationship with the Creator, why Christ fulfilled the will of the Father and bore our sin, why Christ was qualified to suffer on our behalf and what Christ is preparing for those who have placed their trust in Him.
          I.A. Moon clearly and eloquently explains in this book why Jesus Christ can be trusted and why He must be trusted. Can Jesus Christ Be Trusted? is being published for the first time ever in this September-October 2000 issue of FOUNDATION Magazine with the prayer that believers and unbelievers alike will read it and benefit from its contents and that Jesus Christ will be glorified as the Word of God is clearly expounded. Read this special issue of FOUNDATION Magazine, study it diligently with an open Bible and then pass it onto an unsaved friend or relative or even another believer who is endeavoring to grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Our Lord promises that all who believe in Him will have everlasting life (John 3:36) and all who subsequently abide in Him through fellowship and study of His Word will experience peace and joy and will not be ashamed before Him at His appearing (1 John 1:34, 2 28).

Can Jesus Christ Be Trusted?
by Irwin A. Moon
This resource is available in a printed booklet (52 pages) from the
Fundamental Evangelistic Association

CHAPTER I

UNIVERSAL DISTRUST

The human heart is naturally distrustful. It is not easy for us to "take anything for granted." We do not implicitly trust anyone or anything. Some of us have learned, through sad experience, that we cannot even trust ourselves. We live in a world of distrust. Individual distrusts individual. Group distrusts group. Nation distrusts nation. This situation is more than tragic, since peace of mind can come only when an absence of distrust actually exists. When confidence possesses the human heart, tranquility reigns. Joy and happiness begin.

In the world today, we hear much about "lack of confidence" and what will happen when "confidence is restored." What means this universally inherent condition of the human heart? Is the present manifestation simply an aggravated condition of that which has always existed in a greater or lesser degree in every human breast? All past history would seem to indicate that this is so.

Mere human speculation here only serves to add greater confusion. Unaided, mankind has never been able to arrive at a correct understanding of the "downward tendency" in human life. Always confident of success, however, man continues to speculate. After nearly six thousand years, man's unaided efforts have solved nothing, and his continued refusal of information from a Higher Source is but a further and striking manifestation of this "downward tendency" In his nature-a strong characteristic of the very thing he is seeking to understand and correct.

Since no two persons in all the world think exactly alike on all subjects, or even on one subject, it is only logical to conclude that if we would know the truth of any matter, we must go outside of humankind altogether. And in seeking to understand the source of this universal distrust, which, with increasing dismay we behold in every human breast, we are forced to look beyond all merely human knowledge and speculation. In our quest, therefore, only one other source of information is open to us, and that is revelation. Here, evolution and all other theories and speculations, whether they be labeled science or not, must stand aside.

THE START OF THE TROUBLE

The traveler who unexpectedly came upon the Mississippi River at its mouth and daily watched its enormous disgorge of billions of gallons per minute was seized with a great desire to know the source of all this great flood. Arduously following the long trek to its source, he finally arrived at lake Itaska in the far north. One exclamation fell from his lips as he contemplated the long and tortuous streams which he had followed: "The Father of Waters!"

Before us day after day is the great stream of humanity with its constant disgorge, day and night, of sin and misery and heartache and sorrow and disappointment and death. What is the source of all this? There must be a reason for it. There must be a cause somewhere. Revelation furnishes us the only true and satisfying explanation. And as we make our quest back to our first parents and take our stand in the Garden of Eden, let us contemplate what happened there and the dire consequences that followed: We find we have discovered, not "The Father of waters," but "The father of lies" who, by his artful cunning, succeeded in taking from our first parents their unquestioning trust and confidence in their Creator and sowed in their very beings the seeds of distrust.

SIN’S NATURE AND RESULT

God's will is the law of this universe. Whatever God wills is law. Anything, therefore, not in accordance with the will of God is lawlessness. And lawlessness is sin.

There is no trouble on the earth or in the universe that is not, directly or indirectly, the result of sin. Death, both physical and spiritual, is the result of sin. If there were no sin, there would be no death. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned (Rom. 5:12).

There are approximately 750,000 words in the English language, and the worst word in our language, and all other languages, is the word sin. Sin is a terrible thing. It is that abominable thing which God hates. Sin is so bad that, if let alone, it would wreck the entire universe. We human beings are so familiar with sin we think but little about it. God alone knows how bad sin is. It is so bad that God was compelled to do something about it, and He has done something about it. One of the characteristics of sin is that it makes us who are afflicted by it oblivious to its awful nature and results. Not only we human beings but also all animal and creature kind suffer because of sin.

The Bible uses the word sin 702 times. God's Word also uses other words to indicate sin in several hundred places. The Bible tells us the source of sin in the universe. It tells us how and when sin started in the human race. It tells what sin has done, and will yet do, for the race and for each individual member of it. It tells what God has done about it and of what He is yet to do. It tells us how to get rid of it and tells us of the consequences if we do not get rid of it. The subject of the Bible is sin. if sin did not exist, the Bible would not exist.

Every Sunday school and every church exist due to sin. Every school house and every school teacher exist due to sin because sin caused us to lose our knowledge. Every tailor shop and every clothing store speaks to us of sin because sin caused us to lose our clothing. Every drug store and every doctor's sign speaks to us of sin because sickness is a result of sin. Every cemetery and every undertaker speaks to us of sin because death is the result of sin. Every jail and prison in the world exist as a result of sin. Every padlock speaks of sin. Every court room and every lawyer remind us of sin. Every drop of sweat on a human brow speaks of sin. Every noxious weed and every thorn and thistle exist as a result of sin. Every piece of decayed or blighted fruit or vegetable and every broken or gnarled tree speak of sin. Every hungry mouth and every infant's cry remind us of sin. Even every rainbow reminds us of the reality of sin.

Apart from sin there would be no sorrow and heartache and trouble and sighing and bitterness and strife and want and neglect and moaning and groaning and hatred and murder and divorce and suicide and cursing and envy and pride and all the rest of the long, long list, and no departure from the will of God. If there were no sin, there would be no distrust and unbelief, and God would be believed one hundred percent. God hates sin with an infinite hatred.

THE TROUBLE ANALYZED

Having identified the trouble, its nature and results, let us now seek to analyze it – to ascertain, if we can, the real heart of the matter. One hundred and fifteen times in the New Testament alone, the word believe is used to show the way of salvation from this awful mess of sin into which the whole world has been plunged. In addition, other words are used as synonyms of the word believe 35 times, making it 150 times in the New Testament alone that salvation is promised on the sole condition of believing on Jesus Christ. And not once is salvation promised on any other basis. How many times is God required to say a thing before it is true? Manifestly, only once. But here, 150 times God offers salvation on the one condition of believing on Jesus Christ.

Now the question arises: Why does God place salvation upon this basis and not upon some thing that man might be required to do? If He desired to make it simple and easy for us, why did He specify "believe" rather thin some other way, as for instance, "He who watches the sun rise shall be saved" or "He who turns his thumb down shall be saved" or "He who pays a penny shall be saved"? Well, some people are blind and cannot witness a sunrise. Some do not have a thumb to turn down, and some are so poor they do not have a penny. But all can believe. And though it is true that all can believe, yet this is by no means the reason why God places salvation upon this one condition of believing.

Let us go back now into the Garden of Eden where, so far as the human race is concerned, the trouble started. And, in contemplation of what happened there with such dire consequences to all our race, let us see if we can determine why we must believe in order to be saved. Man, created in the image of God, given a sovereign will and the power to exercise that will according to his own choosing, is placed in a perfect environment. His Creator imposes only one prohibition, but this prohibition involves the exercise of his power of choice.

In the following Scriptures to which our attention is now called, we have presented to us the tragedy of all tragedies and the tragedy of all ages. Let us notice carefully and thoughtfully what is said and what transpired. In Genesis 2:16-17 we read the following: And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Here is stated not only the prohibition but the reason for such prohibition: death. Notice also that God Himself, the Creator of all things, the omniscient One, gave this command. The One who knew what the consequences would be, He who “cannot lie" (Titus 1:2), gave the reason for this prohibition.

For the next step in this terrible tragedy we turn to Genesis 3: 1-6, where Satan, the “father of lies," comes on the scene in the form of a serpent, and we read: Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”

QUESTION RAISED

The finest way in the world to create a doubt and insert an opening wedge in a trusting mind is to ask a question, and this method was used by Satan. Whether or not this was the first question the woman had ever been called upon to answer, we do not know, but we have her reply in verses two and three: And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. Now notice the reply of Satan: And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.

Here we have before us the great triangle. And that which is so often spoken of in society today as "the eternal triangle" no doubt has its incipiency right here. Let us get the picture of this triangle and feel the force of it: GOD, SATAN, EVE. On one side is the pronouncement of the God of the universe, the Creator: In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die (Gen. 2:17). On the other side is the declaration of Satan: Ye shall not surely die. And here stands the woman, with her power of choice, compelled to make a decision. Upon her decision hangs the fate of the whole human race. What a fateful moment. We can imagine every creature in all the universe of God standing in breathless silence, awaiting the outcome.

On the one hand is God, with His infinite love, not offering to interfere with Eve's power of choice lest that created right be taken from her. On the other hand is the father of lies, exercising all his cunning and diabolical hate. Eve must make a choice to believe the one or the other. They are as opposite as the poles. Both cannot be right. Either she must doubt the One and believe the other, or she must believe the One and doubt the other.

DECISION MADE

How long it took Eve to make her choice we do not know. But choose she did, and in the sixth verse we read: And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

THE TRAGEDY

The choice is made. The curse has fallen. Death is inevitable. Now what has happened? She has chosen to disbelieve God and to believe Satan, to doubt the only wholly trustworthy being in all the universe and to put faith in the one who is least trustworthy.

If to express or imply a lack of trust and confidence in an earthly friend is the greatest offense to that friend, what a sin it must be to doubt God! Nothing could be worse than this. All other acts of sin of which the human race is guilty are as nothing compared to the sin of unbelief. Failure to believe God in anything is the greatest of all sins. It severs every tie that binds us to God.

You have a son. You love that boy, and through the growing years of his life you have enjoyed each other's love and confidence and fellowship. There comes a day when that boy comes to you and he says, "Dad, I don't believe you anymore. I have no confidence in you." And he follows this up by taking up with your worst enemy and by giving him the confidence and fellowship he had previously given you. Let me ask you, is there anything that boy could do that would hurt you as much as that? Is there anything that would bring to you as much sorrow of heart and cause as great separation between you as to have him withdraw confidence in you and give it to another whom you knew to be wholly untrustworthy? Surely not. And just so long as he felt that way toward you, no overtures on his part toward you in the way of favors or kindness could be accepted by you. There could be only one ground upon which to meet to restore the former fellowship, and that is the ground of perfect confidence. The only thing that can cure unbelief is belief. The only cure for doubt is faith. The day that your son came to you and from the very fullness of his heart said to you, "Dad, I believe you. I have confidence in you. I have been completely wrong all through the years in doubting you. I now believe you in everything," that would be a glad day for you and also for the boy, a day of great rejoicing.

When our first parents in the garden disbelieved God's word and believed the lie of Satan, they committed the gravest offense that could possibly be committed against the holy and righteous God.

DISOBEDIENCE FOLLOWS DOUBT

Disobedience quickly follows unbelief. It is always so. In exact proportion of unbelief comes disobedience. As we disbelieve, we disobey. And in the same proportion that we believe we will obey. The song-writer penned these appropriate words which accurately describe the proper order for all time:

"Trust and obey, for there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”

Having disbelieved the word of God and believed the word of Satan, Eve took of the fruit thereof and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. Immediately the seeds of death were implanted, and the separation was complete.

GRACE OF NECESSITY

It is a law of nature that “like begets like." We get crab apples from a crab apple tree. And every descendant now of this first pair has that same fallen nature and has within him the same seeds of death. Man has forfeited every right to life. He is under the inevitable sentence of death. He has absolutely nothing within him to commend him to God's mercy. He is justly condemned to death. God can now leave man eternally alone without any intervention in his behalf and still act in perfect justice toward him. Nothing in man can now have the slightest claim upon God's favor or mercy. Man has now no righteous claim upon God nor any just complaints to offer. All have been forfeited by his own deliberate choice.

Manifestly, therefore, if God shows any mercy toward us, it cannot be on the grounds of justice; for justice, in the circumstances, can make no such demands upon God. All overtures toward us on God's part, therefore, must be on the basis of pure grace—“Favor to the undeserving."

No unsaved person understands the doctrine of the grace of God and the necessity for salvation by grace. If he did, he would not long remain in his unsaved state. It is also greatly feared that the vast majority of Christian people understand little or nothing of this foundation principle upon which our salvation rests. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast

THE COMMAND IS BELIEVE

Through faith." Now we understand why salvation is “through faith." We understand why the statement is: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. It is because the only thing that can possibly cure unbelief is belief. And so we are commanded to believe in order to be saved.

We are not asked to live a righteous life in order to be saved. We are commanded to believe. We are not asked to leave off this sin and that sin in order to be saved. We are commanded to believe. We are not asked to live the Golden Rule in order to be saved. We are commanded to believe. We are not asked to keep the commandments in order to be saved. We are commanded to believe. We are not asked to pray in order to be saved. We are commanded to believe. We are not asked to confess our sins in order to be saved. We are commanded to believe. We are not asked to join the church and be baptized or sing in the choir or pray and testify or give to the poor or give to the support of the church or treat our neighbors right or live a moral, upright life or all of these things put together to be saved. We are commanded to believe.

JESUS CHRIST THE OBJECT OF OUR FAITH

We are not asked to believe in a church. We are commanded to believe in a Person. We are not asked to believe in a creed, a system of ethics or a doctrine. We are commanded to believe in a Person. We are not asked to believe in each other or in humanity. We are commanded to believe in a Person. We are not asked to believe in "the divine spark" in the human life or the "inevitable triumph of man's inherent goodness." We are commanded to believe in a Person, who is outside of ourselves and who has promised to come inside.

To "believe on" is to depend upon. To "believe in" is to put confidence in, to trust in. And here we are commanded to depend upon and to put confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ and in no other person or thing. The matter is all-important. Since we are commanded to place our eternal welfare into the hands of a Person, by depending upon Him, by putting our trust and confidence in Him, we may well ask, who is this Person? What are His qualifications, His abilities, His purposes and His motives, that we are asked to put our trust in HIM? Is He trustworthy? Can He be trusted implicitly in such an important matter?

CHAPTER II

WE CAN TRUST JESUS CHRIST BECAUSE OF WHO HE IS

Who is this Person who is represented to us as being a good and sufficient Savior? The announcement of whose birth was proclaimed by the heavenly messenger on that first Christmas morning as good tidings of great joy … to all people?

Three great events stand out in the Christian life of this writer. The first of these was when unmistakably, and from the Word of God, he came to know that surpassing truth that salvation is wholly and solely by grace. That was a wonderful day. The peace of God flooded his soul, and song was started then that has never stopped singing.

The second great occasion was when he came to know from the same Word of God that Jesus Christ existed before He became a babe in Bethlehem, that He was none other than God manifest in the flesh. Yes, He was the greatest man who ever lived, but He was also God and existed from all eternity. What a wonderful and tremendous fact. For days, and most of the nights, the writer was lost to things around him in contemplation of this wonderful truth. He has since that time heard others express themselves in much the same way upon coming into the knowledge of this glorious fact of our Lord's preexistence.

The third great occasion was when he came into possession of the Scriptural truth concerning Christ's return. But more of this later. The truth concerning the deity of Christ is so little understood by the great mass of professing Christians and is of such great importance in connection with this matter before us, that it is suggested that we look carefully at some of the Scriptures concerning this important truth.

GOD MANIFEST IN THE FLESH

I have no doubt but that to at least some who read this, it will be a surprise to know that the “Jehovah” of the Old Testament (mentioned more than 6,000 times) is none other than the Jesus Christ of the New Testament, that it was this same pre-incarnate Christ who appeared to Abraham on the plains of Mamre (Gen. 18), that it was He who wrestled all night with Jacob at the brook Jabbok (Gen. 32:24-30), that it was He who appeared to Moses in "the burning bush" and commissioned him to be the deliverer of His people from bondage in Egypt (Ex. 3). He it was whom Joshua discovered after crossing the Jordan, standing with a drawn sword, ready to lead the hosts of Israel to victory (Josh. 5:13-15). He it was who led the children of Israel through the Red Sea and was with them in the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, which fact is fully attested by this statement in 1 Corinthians 10:14: Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

JESUS CHRIST THE "I AM"

When Jehovah commissioned Moses to be the deliverer of the people of Israel from their bondage (Ex. 3:13, 14), Moses asked to know whom he should say had sent him on such an important mission. And in reply he was told to say that I AM" (the self-existing One) had commissioned him and sent him. And when we come to Jesus Christ in the New Testament, we find Him applying this same name to Himself. I AM" the bread of life. I AM" the way. "I AM" the truth. “I AM" the life. I AM" the good shepherd. “I AM" the door, etc. At the mere mention of this name at the time of His arrest in the garden of Gethsemane, those who came to arrest Him “went backward, and fell to the ground (Jn. 18:6). In John 8:24, salvation is made conditional upon the belief of this fact, for we read, For if ye believe not that I AM He, ye shall die in your sins."

In Matthew 1:23 we have a very positive and clear statement: Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel which being interpreted is, God with us. So that is who He is—“God with us." And because He is God, we can trust Him with our salvation. He has the power to be a Savior and the wisdom to be a Savior.

CREATOR OF ALL THINGS

We can trust Jesus Christ not only because He is presented to us as God, manifest in the flesh, but also because He is presented to us in Scripture as the Creator of all things. The fist words of the Bible are, In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Gen. 1:1). And in John 1:1-3, concerning Jesus Christ who is there called the “Word," we have this statement: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made. Verse 10 says, He was in the world, and the world was made by Him and the world knew Him not. And in verse 14 we read, And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. Here we have Him unmistakably identified as the Creator of all things. Wonder of all wonders, that the One who became a helpless babe in Bethlehem, who became very man of very man, who went about doing good, who hung on that Roman cross and gave up His life's blood for you and for me, is the omnipotent Creator.

In Colossians 1: 14-19 we read: In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him: And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell. What a wonderful statement concerning this wonderful Person. Surely we can trust Him.

THE PRINCE OF LIFE

We can also trust Jesus Christ because He is the Prince of life. Man's greatest need is life. We live in a world of death. We are dead while we live, and we live while we are dead. These are strange words, but Scripture bears them out. In 1 Timothy 5:6 we have this statement: But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth spiritually —dead in trespasses and sins.

And not only so, but men are twice dead. First of all, we are dead officially. God's decree has gone forth. Ezekiel 18:4 declares that the soul that sinneth, it shall die. Again, Romans 3:23 says all have sinned. And the nineteenth verse of this same chapter says, Now we know that what things soever the Law saith, It saith to them who are under the Law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. The verdict, then, is guilty for every soul in all the world. The sentence of death is passed upon us.

Second, we are not only legally dead, but we are actually dead. In Romans 5:12 we have these words: Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned-not the sentence of death passed upon all men, but death passed upon all men, death itself. So we find that all men are now actually in a state of death. Let us remind ourselves that there are no degrees of death. If a person is dead, then that person is dead.

Here is a case: A man comes down in an airplane crash from an altitude of 10,000 feet, crushed beyond recognition. The plane catches on fire, and only a few charred bones remain. He is dead. Another case: A man in apparent health and vigor suddenly passes in a heart attack. He is dead. Still another case: A beautiful young lady, tired of a life of sin, turns on the gas. Her heart stops beating. She is dead. They are all equally dead. One may be embalmed a little more nicely than the others. The work of the mortician may make one a little more pleasant to look upon, but the fact remains that each is just as dead as the others.

Every soul born into this world is dead, stillborn, spiritually dead. Some turn out to be harlots, some drunkards or thieves or murderers. Some become “honorable members of society." Some become religious and “join the church." But all are equally dead—dead in trespasses and sins. All will remain dead until they have received life by receiving the Prince of Life. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life (1 Jn. 5:11-12). Man's greatest need, therefore, is life. His constant desire, his every effort, his consuming zeal is for life. And life he must have or forever remain in his state of death.

Now, into this realm where death reigns, Jesus Christ has come. And we hear Him saying in John 10:10, I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. It is evident that in this text He is not speaking to us of physical life; that life we have naturally upon coming into this world. We also have a never-ending existence. Such life we know to be created life—life that is subject to death. But He is speaking to us here of another kind of life—uncreated life (called also “eternal life"), life that is not subject to death. Now we know there is but one eternal, uncreated life, and that is the very life of God Himself, life which has always existed. And it is this life which our lord has come into the world to bring to us—His own life.

In John 1:12-13, we have this statement: But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of (lit. “out of") God—not because of God's influence or power, but literally out of God. That which is born (out) of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born (out) of the Spirit is spirit (John 3:6). So there is offered to the one receiving Jesus Christ, His own life, and they shall never perish. It is thus we become the actual children of God, having His life, His nature, His characteristics.

So, into this realm of death, Jesus Christ came and hath brought life and immortality (“deathlessness," 2 Tim. 1:10). What a welcome Visitor! Could anything bring greater rejoicing to all mankind? No wonder the announcement to the shepherds said, Good tidings. We may now expect every heart to rejoice and leap for joy, every tongue to be loosed to gladly and speedily proclaim the Good News to every creature in all the world. Surely the message will swiftly be carried into every dark corner in all the earth, and all will have life.

But hold! We are not taking into our reckoning the character and awful nature of this thing we have identified as sin and its influence upon human hearts. For the sad story is read in Acts 3:15 that they killed the Prince of Life. What another tragedy! Man, in the midst of his dire need of life and in the blindness of his sin, destroys his only hope and source of life. Once more man has sealed his own doom. He has cut off his only way of escape and slammed shut the door in his own face.

If man is ever to live, he must have life from the Source of all life, from Him who is the Prince of Life. For in Him was life; and the life was the light of men (Jn. 1:4). But man's only hope now lies dead and buried.

GRACE AGAIN

Once again it is evident that if God is to make any overtures toward man or do anything whatsoever toward his salvation, it must be solely upon the basis of pure grace. For man has again, through the choice of his own free will, put himself in the position where he has no claim upon God's bounty or upon God's mercy. And God is not bound by any law of justice to extend any consideration or favor to man. God can righteously leave man eternally locked in the pains of death, so far as any claims upon Him are concerned.

But we read that God so loved the world (Jn. 3:16). And although men "killed” the One who alone could give to them the supply for their greatest need, nevertheless God, in a fresh manifestation of His infinite grace, raised Him from the dead. Today He lives, offering eternal life to all who believe, for it is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world (Jn. 6:33). And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish (Jn. 10:28). Surely we can trust Him because today He lives and holds out to us, in infinite love, His own eternal, uncreated, everlasting, deathless life on the one condition of believing

PRINCE OF PEACE

Again, we can trust Jesus Christ because He is the Prince of Peace. Many contrasting principles exist in the world. We have light and darkness, right and wrong, truth and falsehood, righteousness and sin, belief and unbelief, life and death, etc. But one of the greatest contrasts is that between peace and war.

When sin entered God's perfect universe, war began; and it has continued ever since. Prior to the entrance of sin, war was unknown, just as death was unknown prior to the advent of sin. But when sin entered, along with it came darkness and wrong and the lie and disobedience and death and all the rest of the foul breed and war. With the entrance of war, peace took its flight. Wherever sin has entered, war has followed, and peace has departed.

The history of the human race ever since the great tragedy in Eden is one continuous story of conflict and warfare: conflict within the individual breast and between individuals; conflict within the individual group and between individual groups; conflict within the individual nation and between individual nations-war, in every tribe and tongue and nation. Sin has taken peace from the earth.

During all this time of conflict, man has continuously and vainly endeavored to bring about peace, and all his efforts have been without avail. Man, by his own unaided efforts, can no more bring peace into his heart and into the world thin he can bring life to himself or to the world. He is just as helpless in the one as in the other. Peace, like life, must come from the One who has peace. It must come from the One who is the source of peace: the Prince of Peace.

Through the ages, every device and ingenuity of man has been used to bring about the continuously longed for peace, but the beautiful white-winged bird cannot be coaxed to come near. These sad results are due to the fact that man does not recognize his helplessness in the task of establishing peace. One of the characteristics of sin is to make us feel self-contained and independent. And so we call great national peace conferences to establish peace. At such conferences, we not only neglect to consult the plan and principles for establishing peace as laid down by the Prince of Peace, but we do not even mention His name in connection therewith.

Oh, that the nations would invite Him to be present and preside at all such conferences, ask for His guidance and His wisdom, adopt His program for peace and trust Him and rely upon His power. But no! For just as men rejected the Prince of life, so men reject the Prince of Peace.

Sin in the human heart says, “We can do it alone. We do not need His plans. We can get along without Him. We are self-contained." And the world staggers on to its own final destruction, heedless of its impending and certain doom, vainly, and oft times frantically, striving for peace. But there is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked (Isa. 48:22).

The alarming increase in the number of suicides these days reveals something of the turmoil and conflict within the individual—no peace within. The crowded condition of our divorce courts speaks of the orifice in the home. Our homes are not homes where peace dwells because the Prince of Peace is not invited to dwell in them. There can be no peace where He is not, whether it be heart or home or nation. Just as there can be no life apart from Him, likewise there can be no peace apart from Him and His wonderful presence.

History reveals the fact that during the past 150 years there has not been a single day when there was not war, either within a nation or between nations, somewhere upon this earth. And during all this time, man has been endeavoring to bring about peace. Man can no more quiet the strife and turmoil of this world than he can quiet the restless waves of the sea. But He who spake calm to the angry waves of Galilee alone can speak peace to this troubled world. That is His business—to bring peace!

Satan is the arch conspirator of the universe. The Word informs us that with him sin first started. The Word of God does not elaborate upon this. The simple statement in Ezekiel 28:15 is this: Thou was perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. Now iniquity is lawlessness, rebellion, sin. And with this rebellion came war.

CHRIST’S UNDERTAKING

Jesus Christ has undertaken the job of putting down the rebellion, of putting sin out of the universe, of bringing in universal and everlasting peace. First Corinthians 15 :24-28 gives us a suggestion of the finish of this undertaking:

Then cometh the end when He (Christ) shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father: when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet... And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all. We have here a very plain and simple statement of a time, in the ages to come, when Jesus Christ will have completed His great undertaking, when sin everywhere shall be put away and when everything that rears itself against a holy God shalt be put down and underfoot. Then, the Kingdom established by Christ in order to carry out this purpose, will be turned back to the Father, that God (the Trinity) may be all in all.

Briefly, this great program of His—this program of bringing in everlasting peace—involves three things. First of all, peace with God must be established (Rom. 5:1). This was brought about by His death on the cross, where He met every demand of righteousness and justice and paid the full price required. In consequence of this act, all those who believe are "justified" (acquitted), and peace with God is established. God is perfectly satisfied with the price paid. Justice has been met 100 percent. The sinner can be released under proper orders of the Court. Therefore being justified (acquitted) by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:14-17 says, For He is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace; and that He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: and came and preached peace to you which were afar off and to them that were nigh. Christ made peace through the blood of His cross (Col. 1:20).

Second, as a very important part of this wonderful peace program, He has provided for, and now freely offers to every individual, the peace of God. If man is ever to enjoy either the condition or Person of peace, he must have the turmoil quieted within his own breast. This quietness is called the "peace of God." It is not enough to have peace established with God. To have the conflict cease that was raging between us and God before the atonement was made was of prime importance, was of first necessity. But this is not all. Man must have peace within himself. Outward quietness is of little avail so long as the upheavals of his own unregenerate heart are surging within.

For this need, the Prince of Peace has made abundant provision. John 14:27 says, Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. How true is His statement, not as the world giveth. The peace that the world gives is a mere temporary cessation of hostilities, brought about usually because one or sometimes both belligerents are exhausted. It does not mean that the difficulty is removed. War has never really settled anything. When peace is declared, a temporary outward calm exists, but there is no inward permanent adjustment. And so soon as one or both sides regain sufficient strength, the trouble starts anew. This is as the world giveth. But the Lord from glory gives not as the world giveth. The world is concerned with things. But the Lord is concerned with matters of far greater moment. For the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost (Rom 14:17). Therefore the command is, Let the peace of God (Christ) rule in your hearts (Col. 3:15). And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Phil 4:7).

Only one thing more needs to be said just here: Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee (Isa.26:3). Yes, because he trusteth in Thee. And the one who does not trust Him does not have peace.

Finally, the program of this wonderful Person is not finished when peace is established with God nor also when the peace of God is distilled in the individual heart, but it must continue until peace is established throughout the whole disturbed universe—wherever sin has gone. In Isaiah 9:6-7, the Messiah is called "the Prince of peace. The government shall be upon His shoulder... Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end... to order it and to establish it… for ever. This is the grand consummation toward which all things directed by Him are moving. And we read that He shall not fail nor be discouraged (Isa. 42:4). Surely we can trust Him since He is our only hope for peace, for heart, for home, for nation. He is our peace.

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

Once again we can trust Jesus Christ because He is the Light of the World. Doubtless we shall never know the full damage sin has wrought. Were it revealed to us all at once, it would completely overwhelm us and crush us. God in His infinite mercy veils our eyes. But we have come to know this, that just as there was no death until there was sin, and no war until there was sin, so there was no darkness until there was sin. Darkness is a result of sin, just as sickness and death are results of sin.

Scripture contains abundant evidence indicating to us that man, before sin entered, was clothed in light. But with the entrance of sin, the "light went out," and man was found "naked." You behold an electric bulb when the switch is turned on, and all that can be seen within is light. Turn the "juice" off, and immediately the small filaments or wires can be seen. They are naked. Just so was the human body prior to the entrance of sin. But when sin entered, the light went out, and we were found naked. Genesis 3:9-11: And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself. And He said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? One proof of the knowledge of their nakedness was due to a "revealing" that came with sin.

A hint of what that glorious light was like, which emanated from the bodies of Adam and Eve prior to the fall, is suggested by the way the face of Moses shone when he came down from the mount. He was compelled to put a veil over his face before the children of Israel could look upon him. We have another such suggestion in the transfiguration of Christ. Matthew 17:2 says, And His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light This must have been as wonderful sight. In Daniel 12:3 we have a suggestion of the restoration to us of that light when the saved, having been washed from their sins and having also been released from their sinful bodies, have been "clothed upon" with that "house which is from above," for we read, And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

But sin is here as an awful fact, and with it is a world of darkness. We not only live in a world of darkness, but we are under the power of that darkness. And just as man is helpless to bring life and peace into a world of death and war, so he is equally helpless to bring light into this world of darkness. And the cry goes up for light! Light! Let us see! Let us know what lies ahead! Give us Light!

What is light? We do not know. What is life? We do not know. light is much like electricity. We know how it manifests itself. We know how it acts. We are able in a measure to handle it and control it and use it, but we know not what it is. John 1:4 says, In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. Life is light. And He is both. And the only life and the only light we shall ever know is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Just as previously noted that into this world of death He came to bring life and immortality to light (2 Tim. 1:10), so also He has come into this world of darkness to bring light. In John 12:46, Jesus Christ says, I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on Me should not abide in darkness. Again, John 8:12: Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world; he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. Physical light? Yes! He is the creator of it. Spiritual light? Surely! He is that light. No light exists apart from Him.

All over this world the cry goes up, "We're groping in darkness. Where is the light? How can we get light?" Listen! By believing on Him who is the Light of the world. John 12:36 says, While ye have light believe in the light that ye may be the children of light.

Again the cry, "But we are in a peaceless world, war all around us, war within us, no peace anywhere. We want peace! How can we have peace?" listen again! By believing on Him who is the Prince of Peace. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee; because he trusteth in Thee (Isa. 26:3).

Again the cry, "But we are perishing in a world of death. Why should we perish? We want life! How can we get life?" Listen again! By believing on Him who is the Prince of life. That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life (Jn. 3:16, 36).

In the Garden of Eden, One was disbelieved and disobeyed. Through that disbelief and disobedience, the whole world was plunged into darkness and war and death. Today we find, not some other person, but that same identical Person, who in the Garden was disbelieved and disobeyed, offering to us light and peace and life if we will believe Him and obey Him. He offers Himself to us, as Light and Peace and Life.

CHAPTER III

WHAT HAS HE DONE

This One who represents Himself to us as being a good and sufficient Savior has not only come into our world of death to bring us life and into our world of darkness to bring us light and into our warring world to bring us peace, but He is represented to us as having already accomplished a first and very necessary step toward the work of saving us who are lost because of sin. Let us, therefore, consider what He has already done in this connection and ascertain, if possible, if the service rendered is a proper service and necessary to our salvation.

Before sin had ever fastened itself upon the human race, God gave warming that it would bring death: For in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shaft surely die (Gen. 2:17). And continuously, down through the ages, God has given forth this same warning in one way or another. In Ezekiel 18:4 He says, The soul that sinneth, it shall die. And in the twentieth verse of the same chapter He repeats it: The soul that sinneth, it shall die.

This pronouncement, made by Almighty God Himself, has never been rescinded. It is in force now, even as these pages are being read. Shall die is the word, and God never takes anything back. He does not have to. There is no reason why He should. When He makes a statement He has all the information in reference thereto, and there is no occasion for the later modification or withdrawal or cancellation of anything He has ever said. And so when He says, The soul that sinneth, it shall die, that statement stands forever. Likewise in Romans 6:23 we have His further statement to the same effect: The wages of sin is death. Death is a just penalty for sin. God has never mentioned or suggested anything else for it. Sin is of such a nature that it demands just that.

Some few years ago here in our state the "Hoof-and-Mouth Disease" broke out among our cattle. Those in authority immediately commanded that wherever the disease appeared, not only the ones affected, but the entire herd should be killed and buried. Some instances of herds of two and three thousand were destroyed when only a few individual cases appeared amongst them. Now why was that? Simply because that disease was of such a nature that it demanded just such drastic measures.

At another time, in a certain section of the city of Los Angeles, the "Black Plague" broke out. Immediately the health authorities had a rope stretched around the entire section, comprising about eight city blocks. Around this section were stationed sentrymen with guns and with orders to "shoot to kill" if necessary. One man was shot down trying to escape the district. Now, why was that necessary? Because the "Black Plague" is of such a nature that it demands just such drastic measures.

And so God says, “death" to sin. Sin is of such a nature that it demands just such drastic measures. We are so used to sin and so constantly with it that we think little about it. But God knows how bad sin is. He knows it would wreck the universe if let alone, and so He says, "shall die.” And since all have sinned, only one consequence faces the entire human race, and that is eternal death.

BUT GOD LOVES

Our attention is now called to a "new angle, as we say, in this tragic situation. For we read that, while God hates sin with an infinite hatred and has pronounced death for sin and sinner, He nevertheless loves the sinner with an infinite love. This we do not understand. We can understand why we should be punished with death because of our sin, but we do not understand how God can love us. But He does. He has proven it in what He has done.

Since man, the object of His love, is justly under condemnation of death because of sin, and because God could not righteously set aside or disregard His own law of punishment, a serious problem arose. His righteousness and justice and His own law demanded the punishment of the offender with death. His infinite love for the offender called for his release from guilt and salvation from death. His problem, therefore, was to satisfy both these demands and at the same time administer perfect justice in the case. Just one way was possible, and that way He gladly chose and pursued.

BARE OUR SINS

Death was inevitable because of sin. And since God could not righteously set aside the just penalty, He chose to pay the debt Himself that thus He might righteously release us, the object of His love.

A circumstance that occurred in the boyhood days of the writer caused to be indelibly stamped in his memory a true picture of substitutionary punishment. My father was a Quaker and an upstanding, Godly man. Coming from early Puritan stock, he had high ideals as to right living and desired to rear his children to be like-minded. Among other things, he taught us that "every wrong deserves just punishment." He also believed in the admonition of "spare the rod and spoil the child." And because he believed in it, he used the rod. But never in anger did my father strike one of us. Whenever any of us did that which called for such punishment, there was a time appointed for interview with my father when the matter was gone into thoroughly and dispassionately. My father was careful to have us see the wrong in ourselves before punishment was meted out, so there was never any resentment or feeling that we had been unjustly dealt with. He was careful to have us understand that we deserved punishment and would then send the offender out into the orchard for a "switch," with instructions to bring "a large one or a small one, whichever thee thinks thou ought to be whipped with." Few of us ever felt we deserved only a "small one" by the time the interview was over, and so we usually brought a "large one.”

Upon one never-to-be-forgotten occasion, the writer was sent for a switch with the above admonition, and because I realized I deserved a good sound thrashing I brought a large one. Upon my return, I found my father had removed his coat and vest and had a very grave took on his face. As I came up to my father he said, "Son, this has been a great wrong and must bring a hard punishment. I have decided it is too hard for thee to bear, and I have decided to take it myself and thou has to lay it on."

Now this was a difficult situation, as you may well imagine. I loved my father and respected him above every other person. And to be compelled to cause him pain at my hand was unthinkable. But my father's word was law, and I knew at once that I had to do what he had asked me to do, though it was some time before I could make the attempt. After much earnest entreaty, I took the "switch," and raising it, I fell forward on my face as I struck one lick. I had no strength to make a second stroke.

Nothing more was ever said about the incident. I knew that my father chose to take the punishment himself because he loved me. Nothing was said at the time, nor afterwards, about how God had, for very love of me, taken upon Himself the punishment that should come to me because of my sins. But when, years later, I came to see that Jehovah God became man for the express purpose of dying in my stead and to take upon Himself my guilt and the punishment that should righteously come to me and all because He loved me and knew the punishment was "too hard for me to bear," I could more clearly understand the whole transaction.

Yes, Christ died for our sins... He was buried... He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:34). Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed (1 Pet. 2:24). All this was done because God so loved the world. The natural human heart knows no such love as that. And we stand in amazement and admiration as we behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world (Jn. 1:29). Therefore, we can trust Him because He has already borne our sins.

TOOK OUR STANDING

Standing is everything. In the business world we have "Brandstreet's" and "Dun’s" commercial reports, giving the financial standing of everyone in the business world. In making up these reports, not only is the ability to pay taken into account but the moral standing and character as well-his reputation in the community, in the business world among those with whom he has been doing business, his honesty and integrity, his obedience to the laws of the land and his loyalty to the government. In brief, his reputed and known standing in the community and business world, along with his ability to pay, determines his rating.

Now what is the standing of the unsaved human soul before a righteous and holy God? First of all, he is hopelessly bankrupt. He has no ability to pay. He never has paid his debts to God, and lie will never be able to pay them, try as he may.

Second, his standing in relation to God's righteous laws is worse yet. He has never kept the laws of God and never will. He will not keep the laws of God, for one thing, because he cannot. He is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be (Rom. 8:7). Again, he will not keep the laws of God because to do so would mean he would not be permitted, thereby, to follow his own fleshly and unspiritual desires, which he feels he must satisfy. He refuses to ignore his own desires. Therefore, his standing before God and His holy and righteous demands is the lowest of all creatures—a hopeless bankrupt, in spirit, soul and body; an outlaw, having broken every law of God and with no ability to keep them; and last of all, a sinner, a sinner by choice and under sentence of death.

This is a dark picture. But it is darker still as we gaze upon Him who took out standing, as we look upon the One who took upon Himself all the bankruptcy, all the outlawry and all the sin of the world-took our standing. And again we are to remind ourselves that all this He did for us because He loved us. Surely we can trust Him.

PAID OUR DEBT: DEATH

"Shall die" is the sentence that hangs over the head of every soul coming into this world because all have sinned. Jesus Christ does not come to the individual and offer to die in his stead. He has already died, and for all. He did not ask our permission to die for our sins, to pay our debt of death. He did not tell us before His death that He even intended to die for this purpose. Because He knew this to be the only way by which we could escape, He did it, and then told us about it afterwards. Surely this is the supreme test. No greater manifestation of regard for us than this could possibly be given. Now we know we can trust Him. For if while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8), there is no further need to test His integrity and His concern in our behalf. He is worthy of every trust, of every confidence.

REDEEMED US

When our first parents in the garden listened to the voice of the tempter and acted upon his suggestion, they then and there "sold out" to him the whole human race. From that sad day forward, we were under the control of that evil one, doing his bidding, having his nature, with no power to extricate ourselves from his dominion. But the time came when that Other One whom we are asked to trust came and paid the price of our redemption and liberated us, redeemed us, bought us back!

This is, again, an accomplished fact. In Exodus 6:6 we have Him saying, I am the LORD and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm. And in Galatians 3:13 we find that that which was promised in Exodus 6:6 as being yet future is now an accomplished fact, for we read, Christ hath redeemed us.... being made a curse for us. The price has already been paid. It only remains for the individual to enter into the enjoyment of his redemption by an individual faith and trust in the One who paid the necessary price.

CHAPTER IV

WHY DID HE DO IT?

In the previous chapter, we have noted some of the things that the Lord Jesus Christ has already done in our behalf. First, He took upon Himself our sins. Second, He took our standing—became Himself the guilty one, standing in our stead before a holy God and His righteous law. Third, He Himself bore the punishment that should righteously come to us. Fourth, He paid the debt of sin, which we owed and which had been placed to our account: death. Fifth, He paid the necessary price to redeem us, which was the shedding of His own blood, for without shedding of blood is no remission (Heb. 9:22).

Now all these things, rendered in our behalf, each costing an infinite price, are of infinite value to us. The question, therefore, arises: Why did He do these things? What were His motives? What were the mighty impelling influences?

In our every day world of affairs, we have come to know that nothing is ever done for another, either for or against, without a motive of some kind. What that motive is determines largely our reaction toward the one who did it. If we find the motive to be a dislike toward us, we have one kind of reaction. If the deed was prompted by a selfish desire for praise and applause, we have another kind of reaction. And, if we discover that the governing motive was love for us, then we have still a different reaction. Our hearts' full response awaits a knowledge of the real motive behind the accomplished deed.

So, in the matter before us, what was it that caused the Son of God to voluntarily take upon Himself the combined guilt of all the world and pay the full price of redemption? We venture to suggest a few things.

HE ALONE COULD

In our effort to ascertain the motives prompting this infinite service in our behalf, we find first of all that He alone could. We have already noted the fact that our entire race has been sold to Satan and is in his control. We have also noted man's utter helplessness to do anything to extricate himself from this sad dilemma in which he finds himself. If, therefore, man is ever to be rescued from this pit of destruction into which he has willfully plunged himself, help must come from the outside. Our whole race is bankrupt and helpless. Not one of us can do any effectual thing about it. The question then arises, from what source shall the needed help come? Who is He who can and will fill this universal need?

THE REDEEMER

We are again reminded in Galatians 3:13 that Christ hath redeemed us. Redemption has already been accomplished. Redemption always presupposes something lost. It may be a lost possession. It may be a lost position. It may be a lost enjoyment. Or, it may be all three of these together, and this is true in the case before us.

As redemption is a law of the recovery of values that have been lost, this word is rightly used in Scripture to interpret the method by which Jehovah undertakes to restore to us all our racial losses. To be sure, if we have lost nothing, then we do not need a Redeemer. But tremendous are the losses we have sustained. Let us consider some of the things we have lost.

First, we have lost our natural communion with God. Before sin entered, man had free and unrestrained communion with his Maker. He was in every way at ease in His presence. There was no embarrassment. There was perfect fellowship and unmixed enjoyment. But when sin came in between, this perfect communion, which was both natural and easy, was lost. Man could no longer come into God's holy presence. In his sinful condition he was not permitted to do so. And had such permission been granted, he would only have been miserable in most extreme measure, for no sinful soul could be at ease in the presence of a holy God. Therefore, the once priceless communion, which one time man enjoyed with his Creator, is lost.

Second, we lost our natural sinlessness and holiness. Just how great is this loss we shall never know until we have been released from our sinful bodies and are permitted to stand again in His wonderful presence, complete in Him, like Him, without sin and holy. But we sometimes get a faint hint of it as we long for the time when even the "smell of the devil" will be burned out of us.

Third, we lost, in the truest and highest sense, our natural immortality. Man was immortal until sin came. Death was unknown. There was no such thing as fear, no "Safety First" signs anywhere, no need to be cautious, no desire on the part of anything or anybody to take life and no power to take life, no need to look both ways before crossing the street. Man was in perfect harmony with the will of God, and in His will there are no accidents. Just as the billions of heavenly bodies today obey His will with infinite precision, so man was immune from disorder and death.

Fourth, we lost our cosmic sovereignty in natural law. At the time of his creation, man was given power over the forces of nature. All animal and creature kind were put in subjection to him. Man lost this sovereignty through sin. And down through the ages, man has unceasingly endeavored to regain this control but with discouraging results. He builds up the wall at this place, and it falls down over there. He builds it up again over there, and it falls down somewhere else. He builds a harness to control some force in nature, and the machine blows up and kills him. A holocaust of fire destroys him. A flood of water overwhelms him. The hurricane blows him to pieces and destroys his work of a lifetime. And try as he may, he cannot regain control.

Fifth, we lost our power to be eternally happy. Unhappiness was unknown before the entrance of sin. Life was one continual state of happiness and bliss, nothing sordid, no disappointments. Life did not become stale and tasteless. All these are a result of sin.

Sixth, the Garden of Eden has been exchanged for a world of thorns. We had been under the Creator's blessing. We came under His curse. In the sweat of our face must we eat bread, until we return to the ground.

Seventh, the image of God in us has been supplanted by demoniacal characteristics. Though created in the image of God, we shall never know to what awful depths we have fallen until we awake in His likeness again.

Eighth, we lost our knowledge. Satan played a mean trick on us. He promised us the ability to know-that we should be as gods. But acting upon his suggestion brought us just the opposite. Why is it that I have to "knit my brow" and "scratch my head" and say, "I don't know. I can't think"? Something has happened to me. What was it? In the realm of creatures, we find that all animals and birds and creature kind upon coming into the world know intuitively, without having to be taught, all they need to know for their life's existence. It is only we humans who have to be taught everything that we know.

Some years ago we had a small pet monkey in our home. We acquired it when it was only three months of age and were sure it had never in its life seen a hawk. We soon came to know many of its characteristics and to recognize many of its different noises and sounds, particularly that of fear.

One day, it was fastened by a chain along a path in our backyard. Presently we heard it giving the sound of fear, and upon looking in its direction, we saw it looking apprehensively up into the sky. Upon looking up we saw a hawk hovering over. The hawk was causing its fear. It was a small Java monkey and could have been easily carried off by the hawk. Further facts are these: Other birds of numerous variety, and some even larger in size, were commonly flying above the monkey day after day, even airplanes. But it expressed no fear until the hawk appeared, and then it knew by natural intuition, without having to be taught, that this particular bird was an enemy. These same natural characteristics have been noted times without number in all animal and creature kind.

Our intuitive knowledge is small indeed. We spend literally billions of dollars every year on our public and private schools, on our lecture platforms, our books and daily press, for instruction covering every activity of our lives. Why is all this necessary? Our evolutionary friends tell us that man is the highest product of evolution. If this is so, why the necessity of spending billions of dollars and time and effort to acquire knowledge? And why is it that all creatures of the so called lower forms of life are required to spend no time or effort at all to know all that they need to know? If the process of evolution has made such superior creatures as we, why are we in respect to knowledge still inferior to even the lowest animals? What happened? The evolutionist has never ventured an explanation of this unfortunate handicap in human nature, and he will never have the temerity to do so.

SUPERIOR KNOWLEDGE OF ADAM

The knowledge possessed by our first parents before they sinned has never been equaled or even approached by any person since. The full extent of Adam's superior knowledge and mental ability we do not know, but a hint is given to us in Genesis 2:19,20 where Adam gives names to all the animals and all creature kind. This might appear at first thought, in the minds of some, to be trivial. But to give the names as Adam gave them required a knowledge of the nature, habits, characteristics and purpose of every creature brought before him. And we find that so accurate and suited were the names given by Adam at that time that no change has ever been found desirable or necessary in even one single case.

But what became of that knowledge? Why do we not have it today? Simply because when sin entered, the mind became darkened. The light went out. We lost our knowledge.

Ninth, we lost our clothes. Referring again to the realm of the creature, we find that in every case the creature grows its own clothes. No effort. No anxiety. No concern. But every suit is perfect, appropriate and beautiful. But what is our situation and condition?

Again we suggest that if man is the product of evolution and the highest in the scale of all creatures, why is it he does not have as much sense as the lowest creature to grow his own beautiful clothes? Why does he spend again other billions of dollars and time and concern and worry to provide himself with clothing? Perhaps no other one concern of man, with the exception of that of food, calls for as much effort and expense as the simple matter of clothing. And there is no let up. The obligation is constant, day after day, year in and year out.

Now a perfectly natural question is this: If man is so wise and intelligent and so far advanced in the scale of life, why does he not use a little of that intelligence and wisdom and grow his own clothes, out of his own body, as do all the animals of every class. Again, our evolutionary friend will venture no reply or even suggestion.

The Word of God furnishes us the only satisfactory information. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof and did eat and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons… And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself (Gen. 3:6-7, 9-10).

And in this, another way, sin does its devilish work. They became “naked," and they made themselves aprons. And this is what mankind has been doing ever since–making themselves aprons to cover up the nakedness caused by sin.

In the twenty-first verse of this same chapter we find that God, in His mercy and grace, did... make coats of skins, and clothed them. We also find in this circumstance that something had to be sacrificed in order to clothe them, thus typifying and foreshadowing the sacrifice of Christ, whose death made it possible for us to be clothed with His righteousness.

Thus far we have mentioned but a few of the many things that became lost to us with the advent of sin. And to the thoughtful, it will be readily apparent that any one of the things mentioned is a tremendous loss. However, of the full realization of that loss, we can have but little understanding. For it is also apparent that unless we have had, previous to their loss, the full experience of their possession, we will not be able to fully comprehend their value. Adam and Eve alone had this experience. We have never had it. True, we have had the experience of the distress and sorrow and heartache that have come from being without these infinite blessings, but we have never had the joy of their possession.

CAN THEY BE REGAINED?

The question before us, therefore, is this: Can we ever come into possession again of these infinitely valuable things which were at one time ours? Are they recoverable? We venture an emphatic Yes! provided, however, there is:

(a)    A Probator; who can prove our legal claim.

(b)   A Redeemer, who can pay the price, and

(c)    A Claimant; who is poor enough to cry “Avenge me of mine adversary."

Before indicating the further requirements and qualifications necessary for this restoration of lost values, it is to be noted that man is not the only loser.

GOD SUFFERS LOSS

God has also lost tremendously by the fall of man from his created position. First, God is humiliated as He views the wreckage of His perfect work. Man, the highest of all created intelligences, created in the Creator's own image, given the place of highest responsibility on the earth has, by the exercise of his own self-will, made choice against his Creator and, through continued disobedience, fallen to the lowest place.

Again, God has lost the honor and the worship that the whole human race owes Him at every mile of its age-long journey. And not only so, but man has transferred that honor and worship to God's great enemy and the ~things" set up by that enemy.

Once more, God has lost man's fellowship and has positive antagonism in its place. We have not only lost God's fellowship with us, but He has lost our fellowship with Him. We were created that He might enjoy us and that we might enjoy Him.

These are tremendous losses. And although God is omnipotent, He cannot restore these by a direct and sovereign act because His infinite righteousness and justice stand in the way. He must act lawfully and in conformity to strict justice. He must, therefore, establish His claim and find a Redeemer who is both able and willing to pay the price for redemption. Is there such an One to be found? Yes, praise God!

THE LAW OF REDEMPTION

The law of the right of redemption in the Old Testament is always entrusted to and vest in one who is of blood relationship, to one who is next of kin. One of the best illustrations of the operation of this law is to be found in the fourth chapter of the book of Ruth: Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down. And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down. And he said unto the kinsman, Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech’s: And I thought to advertise thee, saying, Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know: for there is none to redeem it besides thee; and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it. Then said Boaz, what day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance. And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself lest I mar mine own inheritance: redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it.

Before us in this simple narrative we have set forth one of the most profound truths in all the Word of God. The kinsman," who was first of kin, the one who had the first right and the first obligation to redeem, says, I cannot redeem it for myself lest I mar mine own inheritance: redeem thou my right to thyself for I cannot redeem it. Here we have a direct reference to Adam, our first of kin," who cannot redeem." Adam, the first federal head of the race, is not only unable to redeem our losses, but he cannot redeem his own. He is equally helpless with all the rest of us.

But Boaz, the next of kin, (reputed to be the richest man in all the land at that time) represents the “Second Adam," our lord Jesus Christ who is our next of kin, the second federal head. Now listen to Boaz: If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it then tell me, that I may know: for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee.

For the full application of this passage, we have only to look at our great Kinsman Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. We have already indicated how that the law of redemption in Scripture requires that it must be by one who is of blood relation to the loser. Since, therefore, both God and man are losers, is it possible to find in all the universe of God one who can fill the place of redeemer for both parties?

Let us look again at the requirements. First, He must be of blood relationship to both God and man. Second, He must be able to redeem. Third, He must be willing to redeem. And fourth, He must, as Probator, prove our legal claims. Thank God that while there is only one in earth or sky or sea, there is One.

We can now, more clearly than ever before, understand the absolute necessity of the virgin birth of Christ. If Jesus Christ had not been born of woman, He could not fill the requirements of a Redeemer for us. And if He had not been born of a virgin, conceived by the Holy Ghost, and thereby having God for His Father, He could not fill the requirements of a Redeemer for God. It is to be observed also in this connection that had He not been born of the virgin and had had an earthly father as we, instead of God for His Father as He has, He not only could not have redeemed us, but would then Himself have been in need of redemption.

We have, therefore, before us the glorious fact that we have in Jesus Christ, and in Him alone, all the requirements necessary, including the specific one of blood relationship to both parties. He alone occupies this unique position. No mere human being could redeem us. Man could not redeem himself. No angel, or even archangel, could redeem us because an infinite sacrifice was required. God the Holy Spirit could not redeem us because He is not of blood relationship. Only God the Son has all the requirements necessary. He is able to redeem. He is willing to redeem. And thank God, He has redeemed. Galatians 3:13 says, Christ hath redeemed us. Titus 2:14 says, Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity. 1 Peter 1 :18-19 says, Redeemed... with the precious blood of Christ Galatians 4:45 says, But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

RESULTS

Yes, Christ has redeemed us, and now what are some of the results?

Communion restored. We have mentioned the loss of our communion with God as one of the things to be recovered. In John 14:23 our great Redeemer mentions the way the individual Christian may have restored to him that lost communion: Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. This verse implies that the entire trinity of the Godhead comes to make His home with the Christian who complies with this verse. If one is a child of God, he has already the Holy Spirit. And in addition thereto, here are conditions that bring him in blessed abiding communion with the Father and the Son as well. It is quite true, however, that the full restoration of our communion will be when we have put off these sinful bodies of ours and shall awake in His likeness.

Sovereignty restored. Yes, we lost our control over the forces and the laws of nature, but listen to Paul in Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Holiness restored. Colossians 1:21-22: And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblamable and unreproveable in His sight.

Immortality restored. John 10:28: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. John 5:24: Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Happiness restored. Psalm 16:11: In Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. Only the redeemed soul can be thus in His wonderful presence and enjoy the pleasures for evermore. This is the work of the Redeemer.

Eden to be restored. John 14:2: I go to prepare a place you. The Garden of Eden must have been a wonderful place, but what shall we say of the place that is in preparation for the redeemed? A hint is given to us in 1 Corinthians 2:9: Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. Personally, the writer is getting anxious to look upon that wonderful place.

Image of God to be restored. 1 John 3:2: Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. Can we understand this? No! But what a wonderful prospect to which to look forward. Like Him! How is such a thing possible? Only in the transforming power of God.

Knowledge to be restored. 1 Corinthians 13:12: For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

Clothes to be restored. We will be clothed in His righteousness. Daniel 12:3: And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament. Matthew 13:43: Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father.

The full enjoyment of all these restored blessings, made possible by our Redeemer, is yet future. However, they are just as assuredly ours as if we were already in their full possession. And we now have the enjoyment of many of them to the full extent of our, at present, limited capacity. Yes, thank God, He has not only redeemed us but has provided for a full redemption of all we have lost. Surely we can trust Him.

GOD GETS BACK ALL HIS OWN

This same wonderful Redeemer is able to restore all that God has lost as well. In 1 Corinthians 15:22-28 we have a hint of the time when He shall have made a full restoration and has turned everything back to God the Father. We read, Then cometh the end, when He (Christ) shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For He hath put all things under His feet. But when He saith, all things are put under Him, it is manifest that He is excepted, which did put all things under Him. And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all. Truly, we can trust Him.

LOST AND HELPLESS

In our attempt to analyze that which prompted Jesus Christ to undertake the redemption of sinful man, we suggest as a further impelling motive that man in his sinful condition is not only lost, but helpless. No adequate understanding of the utter helplessness of fallen man in this condition can be had apart from a further consideration of the nature of sin.

To all of us, when the word sin is mentioned, there immediately comes to our mind the idea of an act. And this idea is correct. Sin is an act. But sin is far more than an act. Sin is a state–and such a state in which there is a complete absence of righteousness. Two states of existence come before us: The one in which God dwells is characterized by perfect righteousness; the other, in which the lost human soul dwells, is characterized by complete unrighteousness. In the natural, we "compare ourselves among ourselves" and are "not wise" (2 Cor. 10:12). We speak of one person being better or more noble or more honorable than another. In this we do not take God, and His righteousness, into our accounting. We are simply "comparing ourselves among ourselves" and do not consider God's estimate, which says, all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags (1sa. 64:6). For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Rom.3:23). Yes, all are guilty of the act of sin, for all have sinned. But also, all have come short of the glory of God. Now, we find that Jesus Christ is the glory of God. Therefore, all have come short of the divine perfections of Jesus Christ. Not only is it true that all have come short of Jesus Christ, but all are short of Jesus Christ and have nothing to commend us to God. That is our state, and we in ourselves can do nothing to change it.

Again, sin is not only an act and a state, but sin is also a nature. And what a nature it is! It is a nature that is enmity against God. Romans 8:7 says, Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. This carnal or fleshly nature of ours is not simply at enmity toward God, but is enmity. It is itself enmity against God and cannot be brought into subjection to God, even by God Himself.

Fallen man has a threefold incapacity. He cannot understand God; he cannot please God; and he cannot obey Him. Man is, therefore, not just simply estranged from God through sin and lost in the sense of having strayed away from Him, but man is utterly helpless. Can this be at least one reason why Jesus Christ has undertaken our salvation? Nothing so appeals to the heart of love as the spectacle of hopeless helplessness. And as the great Kinsman Redeemer looked upon the lost and helpless condition of our race, we may well understand the impelling motive that sent Him to our relief in grace. Surely, we must trust Him, for certainly we cannot trust ourselves.

BECAUSE HE LOVED US

But there is a third reason, a reason more impelling than all others, why Jesus Christ came to the rescue of lost humanity. For God so loved the world, we read. Some one has said that the word so in John 3:16 is the most expressive word in my language. Of the truth of this statement we are not prepared to say. However, we do not hesitate to say that all other words in all languages together and including the word so are wholly insufficient to express the love of God exhibited to us in Jesus Christ. God's love for a lost soul is the most astonishing and amazing fact in all the Word of God. From the first mention of sin in the book of Genesis on through to the last chapter of Revelation, and side by side with God's infinite hatred of sin, is God's infinite love for the sinner.

The knowledge and the experience of the love of God grows on the child of God. Like the traveler climbing the mountain side, the higher he climbs, the broader the vision, the more there is to see. The more one knows and the more one experiences of the love of God, the more there is to know and experience.

The only language in which love can express itself is the language of sacrifice. Infinite love, therefore, can only express itself in infinite sacrifice. Jesus Christ, who is God manifest in the flesh, being an infinite Person, made, therefore, an infinite sacrifice and in doing so gave expression thereby to infinite love. This love and this sacrifice was, and is, on behalf of the sinner, the one who has no claim upon God and to whom God is not obligated by any claim arising out of His righteousness and justice. Surely, in the face of such love and such a sacrifice on our behalf, we can trust Him.

CHAPTER V

WHAT HE HAS PREPARED FOR US

To bring about the complete salvation of a lost soul is a tremendous undertaking. So many things are involved. So many things are rigidly required of the sinner, of which every sinner is destitute and which he cannot furnish by any possible effort of his own.

PERFECT RIGHTEOUSNESS REQUIRED

Required, did we say? Yes, just that. If the redeemed soul is to live forever in the presence of a holy and righteous God, it is required that he have a righteousness in keeping with his surroundings. To be in the presence of God with anything short of a perfect righteousness would be intolerable, not only to God, but to the lost one as well. The company of the damned in eternal torment would be preferable to the “consuming fire" of God upon the unrighteous one in His presence.

But how may the lost soul acquire these things which are required of him and of which he is destitute and which he cannot produce? To answer this question is to reveal the heart of God.

The first requirement from man on the part of God was death for a broken law. This requirement man could furnish in himself, but in the doing of it, it would mean he could never be saved but must remain eternally in a state of death. This would bring about the satisfaction of God's broken law and satisfy justice, but God's love for the sinner would not let Him be content to permit man to thus suffer until He had given him a chance to righteously escape the inevitable consequence of his sins. The only alternative, therefore, was for God to take upon Himself the punishment and suffering that was justly due to the sinner, for the debt of sin must be paid and God's immutable justice must be satisfied.

Just here is where many fail to understand the necessity of Christ's atoning death. They do not seem to understand that God must first be just before He can be merciful and gracious, that He must maintain His righteous laws 100% and

CHAPTER I

UNIVERSAL DISTRUST

THE START OF THE TROUBLE

SIN’S NATURE AND RESULT

THE TROUBLE ANALYZED

QUESTION RAISED

DECISION MADE

THE TRAGEDY

DISOBEDIENCE FOLLOWS DOUBT

GRACE OF NECESSITY

THE COMMAND IS BELIEVE

JESUS CHRIST THE OBJECT OF OUR FAITH

CHAPTER II

WE CAN TRUST JESUS CHRIST BECAUSE OF WHO HE IS

GOD MANIFEST IN THE FLESH

JESUS CHRIST THE "I AM"

CREATOR OF ALL THINGS

THE PRINCE OF LIFE

GRACE AGAIN

PRINCE OF PEACE

CHRIST’S UNDERTAKING

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

CHAPTER III

WHAT HAS HE DONE

BUT GOD LOVES

BARE OUR SINS

TOOK OUR STANDING

PAID OUR DEBT: DEATH

REDEEMED US

CHAPTER IV

WHY DID HE DO IT?

HE ALONE COULD

THE REDEEMER

SUPERIOR KNOWLEDGE OF ADAM

CAN THEY BE REGAINED?

GOD SUFFERS LOSS

THE LAW OF REDEMPTION

RESULTS

GOD GETS BACK ALL HIS OWN

LOST AND HELPLESS

BECAUSE HE LOVED US

CHAPTER V

WHAT HE HAS PREPARED FOR US

PERFECT RIGHTEOUSNESS REQUIRED