In Gen. 3:1-5 we have the beginning of moral evil on earth. The Holy Spirit relates the fact with
its instruction for every child of Adam.

"Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And
he said unto the woman, Yea, has God said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" It was
but a question of what God had said. But where this is allowed, He is dishonored, and a breach
is made in the line of defense for the enemy to enter. To doubt God’s word is the beginning of the
worst evil; it is to sit in judgment on God, whereas only He can and ought to judge.

Under the seeming modesty of a question Satan was undermining the prime duty of a created
being. And what did he particularly seek to accomplish through his question? To insinuate a doubt
of God’s goodness. What! May you not eat of all the trees? Is it possible that you are forbidden
any? How can God love you and withhold a single good thing from you? Surely there must be
some mistake. "Has God said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" Is it so?

It is written, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (Jas. 4:7). Eve, on the contrary, listened
and conferred. The mischief was begun. The serpent substituted the more distant and abstract
"God" of creation for "Jehovah God" (Gen. 3:1), the Creator in moral relationship with man.
Thus she fell into the trap and discussed the question raised only to excite desire for what God had
prohibited. Yielding to the devil, instead of turning away at once, Eve became a prey while she
continued her conversation with the serpent.

"And the woman said unto the serpent, Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but of
the fruit which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you
touch it, lest you die." Had Eve held fast the sense of her responsibility to obey, she would have
resented the question, rather than answered it. And her answer lets us see that the evil intent of
Satan did not fail to have its effect. She added to the prohibition, and took from the penalty.
Jehovah had not said a word about touching the forbidden fruit, but had in the most assured terms
threatened death in the day of eating it. Exaggeration of truth is no more the truth than diminution
of it; either enfeebles, and both are Satan’s work.

Eve well knew and could tell the tempter the liberty given as to all other fruit, as well as the
penalty for partaking of the one forbidden tree. Yet she ventured to hear what the serpent had to
say when there was already the proof that he was by his question challenging the truth of God’s
goodness. Did not God delight in their happiness? From whom came their most bountiful
provision? Was she cherishing dependence on Him and confidence in Him? How worthless is
knowledge which issues not in grateful praise and simple-hearted obedience! Alas! unbelief has
grown greatly since the days of Eve!

Emboldened by his crafty success the enemy advances. "And the serpent said to the woman, You
will not surely die." It is no longer insinuation against God’s good will, but open assault on His
truth. And it is the same lie that has beguiled mankind ever since. Death is hidden diligently from
men’s eyes; and when it cannot be hidden, its importance is explained away. People are willingly

ignorant, and are earnest only to enjoy the present. Let us eat and drink, and tomorrow go here
or there and get gain. Ah! you know not what will be on the morrow. It is certain, now that man
is fallen, that "it is appointed unto men once to die, [and] after this judgment" (Heb. 9:27). But
men lend a ready ear to him who deceived Eve; though unable to deny the truth, they do not
believe it because it would paralyze their pursuits and poison their pleasures.

Further, the serpent held out as a bribe the good of evil. "God knows that in the day you eat
thereof, then your eyes will be opened, and you will be as God, knowing good and evil." The
serpent was saying in effect, "God is jealous; I am your friend. He would keep you ignorant. Take
my advice:be independent and know for yourselves as He does." Thus Eve received the lying foe
as her best friend when his slander of the living and true God entered her heart. Open sin and ruin
followed without delay.

The remedy is not in man, but from God in Christ for him_indeed, for the most guilty if he
repent and believe the gospel. The Lord Jesus is the only Deliverer, as indeed is foretold in Gen.
3:15. He vindicated God and vanquished Satan in every respect in which the first man failed. The
gift of Christ displayed God’s immense love to the world; His death for sin was the proof of God’s
truth no less than of His love. What a contrast there is between the Son of God and those who,
being only human, seek to be as God and, in so doing, become Satan’s slaves! But thanks be to
God, who through Christ crucified and risen, gives the victory to all who call upon the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:57).

Let me tell you about an event that turned the whole current of my future course from that day to
this.

I had heard that Captain W. and a few other Christians met on the first day of the week to break
bread, like the disciples in Acts 20. One Lord’s day morning, I went to see what this could mean.

I found them gathered in an upper room in Wellington Street, Sheffield (England). I sat behind,
and naturally looked for the pulpit. There was no pulpit, but a table spread, or covered with a
white cloth, and on it the bread and wine in commemoration of the death of the Lord Jesus.

I then looked for the minister, or president. There was no such person. All the believers gathered
were seated around the table. A deep, solemn impression fell upon me:"These people have come
to meet the Lord Himself." I have no doubt it was the Spirit of God that thus spoke to me.

It is impossible to describe the sense I had, for the first time, of being in the immediate presence
of the Lord Jesus, according to that word, "For where two or three are gathered together in My
name, there am I in the midst of them." I could scarcely notice what was done, I was so
overwhelmed with the presence of the Lord. No one can have any idea what this is unless really
gathered to His name.

What a contrast to everything I had seen before, and yet how simple! It was like going back to that
which was in the beginning of Christianity_before any priest was heard of to offer in the church
a sacrifice for the living and the dead.

I was surprised to find, strange as this gathering together of Christians to break bread appeared
to me, that it was exactly what we find in Scripture. Instead of even a minister at the Lord’s table,
I found the same simple liberty as described in 1 Cor. 14:29-37.

I was greatly struck with each believer worshiping the Lord in dependence on the Holy Spirit. I
felt that was my place, deeply unworthy as I was of it. Well do I remember the thought, "This is
my place, if even it were to be a doormat, for these Christians to wipe their feet on me."

After some weeks, I was named as one who desired to obey the Lord, "Do this in remembrance
of Me," and through grace, I took my place as one redeemed to God at the table. Shortly after
this, I experienced one morning, while we sat in silent, what I had never known before_the
leading of the Spirit of God.

It came as a gentle whisper from the Lord:"Read 2 Corinthians 1," and very precious thoughts
came into my soul on verses 3-5. I felt agitated, so much so that perspiration ran down my face
and body. We had sat some time in silence. I felt bidden to rise and read, but had not courage to
do so.

At length, Captain W., who sat at the other side of the room, arose and said, "Let us read 2

Corinthians 1." Then he ministered the very thoughts the Spirit had laid on my heart. This was
how I first learned the leading of the Spirit in the midst of Christians gathered to Christ. This has
been a matter of frequent occurrence for these many years.

D. FUTURE TRANSFORMATION
1. Bodies of Humiliation

We have seen that we are a new creation. We are also being transformed while yet in earthy
bodies. This is not all God has for us. We now shall see that "we shall bear the image of the
Heavenly" (1 Cor. 15:49). God has predestined us "to be conformed to the image of His Son, that
He might be the firstborn [that is, preeminent, foremost] among many brethren" (Rom. 8:29).
What a promise this is! Not a mere outward resemblance, but just like Him! Not earthy any more,
but entirely heavenly. (Note, the Greek word for "conformed" in Rom. 12:2_"be not conformed
to this world"_has the sense of a superficial and temporary resemblance. But it is a different
Greek word for "conformed in Rom. 8:29, meaning a permanent, thorough conformity, inside and
out.)

This was an Old Testament hope. Both Job and David testify to this (Job 19:25-27; Psa. 17:15).
The New Testament is full of this hope also.

In Phil. 3:20,21, we read:"We look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our
vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body." This change is not a continual
renewing happening upon this earth, but awaits His coming. "Our body of humiliation" (JND) is
a better translation than "our vile body." Our bodies are not exactly vile although we may do vile
things. Our bodies are "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psa. 139:14). But they are earthy and
weak and frail (Psa. 39:4-7). They are easily injured and killed. They humiliate us in many ways.
They get sick. They sometimes smell or make sounds we do not want them to make. We are not
strong enough or coordinated enough to do some things. We fall short when we try, we stumble,
we fall, we make mistakes, we get confused, we get hurt and bleed. We gradually age, get aches
and pains and spots and wrinkles, and finally die. Ecclesiastes 12 gives a graphic picture of the
aging process. This, however, is not the end. God has something better ahead for the believer (2
Cor. 4:16-18). It is a "far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." Even though we might
suffer terribly now for Christ’s sake, or as victims of sinful acts of others, we have this hope. All
of the creation groans together for this … the redemption of our body. It will be blessed when we
are brought into liberty of the glory of the sons of God (Rom. 8:18-25 JND). Other scriptures
enlarge on this:

Our bodies will be changed "like unto His glorious body" (Phil. 3:21).

"We shall be changed" (1 Cor. 15:51-58), with no more corruptibility or mortality. In other
words, we won’t age or die.

We shall "be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven." We have "the earnest (advance,
pledge, or binding part payment) of the Spirit" as proof of this (2 Cor. 5:1-9).

"We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2). No longer will we see Him
obscurely as through a dim window, but "face to face" (1 Cor. 13:12).

The disciples got a glimpse of this glory in the transfiguration (Matt. 17:2), and later in the
resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. Saul, on the road to Damascus, saw Him in glory. The
sight transformed his whole way of thinking and his entire life. He desires that our whole person
be like Him in that day (1 Thess. 5:23).

And is it so_I shall be like Thy Son?
Is this the grace which He for me has won?
Father of glory (thought beyond all thought!),
In glory, to His own blest likeness brought!

2. A New Body

We each have a "soulish" body. It attends to the appetites of the soul. The soul naturally attends
to the demands of the body (Luke 12:19). Each of us also has a spirit as well as a soul. The spirit
of man "knows the things of a man" (1 Cor. 2:11). This is different from the soulish part of his
nature that a man has in common with beasts (which so confuses the evolutionists). But our bodies
are not "spiritish" bodies yet. They are earthy, but soon shall be heavenly. Jesus rose from the
dead with a new body–a heavenly one suited for the spirit in control instead of the soul. He passed
through shut doors (John 20:19,26), appeared and disappeared (Luke 24:31,36), had flesh and
bones (but blood was not needed anymore; 24:39), and finally ascended bodily into the air and
passed into the heavens (24:51; Acts l:9; Eph. 1:20; Heb. 4:14; 9:24). He is there seated_a Man
in glory (Mark 16:9; Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:3; 10:12; 12:2). He will return in His resurrection body
to get us. We will then be changed to be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is (1 Cor.
15:51-54; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 John 3:2). Later we shall return with Him, in bodies like His, to
judge His enemies on earth (2 Thess. 1:6-10; Rev. 19:11-21). Then we shall reign over the earth
as the bride of Christ for 1,000 years (Rev. 19:7-9; 20:6). After that, we shall be with Him,
unchanged, for eternity (Rev. 22:5). This is not fairy tales, science fiction, fantasy, fanciful
dreams, or wishful thinking. It is real! It has already happened to Enoch and Elijah (Gen. 5:24;
Heb. 11:5; 2 Ki. 2:11). It has already happened to Jesus. It will very soon happen to us (Rev.
22:20). Do we really believe this in our hearts? How it should affect our walk on this earth_as
pilgrims passing through (1 Pet. 2:11), as ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20), as citizens of
heaven (Phil. 3:20). Let us live as such!

Behold, what wondrous love and grace!
When we were wretched and undone,
To save a ruined, helpless race,
The Father gave His only Son!
Of twice ten thousand gifts divine,
No gift like this could ever shine!

What of the unbelievers_cast in Adam’s image, responsible to display God’s image, lost, corrupt,
fearful, rebellious, self-centered, idolatrous souls? God will allow them to complete the path they
have chosen. By His grace He created them and allowed them to live and experience His bountiful
goodness and mercies (Psalm 107; Matt. 5:45; Acts 14:15-17; Rom. 2:4; 9:22). Men chose to
create idols instead of the true image of the God they knew (Rom. 1:20-23; Josh. 24:2). They
persisted even after they were forbidden by Moses (Exod. 20:4; Lev. 26:1; Amos 5:25-27; Acts
7:42,43). Even now men are self-centered and covetous, and "covetousness … is idolatry" (Col.
3:5). There are false prophets, false teachers, and false christs abroad even now. Jesus Himself
warned of such (Matt. 24:5,24), as did John (1 John 2:18-23; 4:1-6). This secret iniquity already
is at work (2 Thess. 2:7).

4. The False Image

Soon we shall leave this earth, and the One who restrains it, the Holy Spirit in us, will go with us.
Then men will be presented a false Christ, a false prophet who will deceive by miracles and who
will erect an image in a holy place then found in Jerusalem (Matt. 24:15,24). He looks like a lamb
but speaks like a dragon (Dan. 11:31-39; 12:1; Rev. 13:11-19; 14:9-11; 15:2; 16:2). He is an
abomination which brings on a desolator (an invading nation sent by God upon His idolatrous
rebel Israel). This antichrist displays himself as God (2 Thess. 2:4). Then the Lord, the true image
of God, will return and destroy them. The fearful and unbelieving will be cast into the lake of fire
(Rev. 21:8). Solemn fate! What a useless eternal loss when eternal life is available–free for the
taking–in Jesus. "Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift" (2 Cor. 9:15). Will you not
repent, take Him, and be changed eternally into His image?

FRAGMENT
It is in Christ that all our thoughts are adjusted, set right, judged, and purified. Everything relates
to Him; we do not eat without Him, we do not drink without Him. What we say and what we do
are said and done in the name of the Lord.

FRAGMENT
Can we say of any when going into their house, “That person brings me to Christ”? If one had
paid a visit to the apostle Paul, would not that person have come away with a fresh taste of Christ?
I have often come out of the house of a poor bedridden soul feeling, “Oh, how I wish my soul
were like that!” Oh, that the pulse of Christ were throbbing in every one who belongs to Him!

No pen can write, no tongue can tell, what the blood-shedding of Jesus has accomplished. The
wondrous fruits of that one sacrifice, both Godward and manward, are infinite in their variety.
The intrinsic value of that blood has fully met all the claims of God, every demand of the law, and
the whole need of man. It has laid a foundation, or rather, in itself forms the foundation for the
full display, throughout eternity, of the glory of God and the complete blessedness of His people.

The virtue of the blood of Christ is felt throughout the highest heights of heaven, and appreciated
there in a way that we can have no conception of here. But in due time its power shall be
manifested throughout the whole universe. The blossoming desert (Isa. 35:1), the wolf living with
the lamb (11:6), the reign of peace and plenty throughout the whole creation in the day of Christ’s
millennial glory (Rev. 20:4), shall alike proclaim the redemption-power of the blood of the cross.
And on the other hand, the awful consequences for sinners who despise that precious blood shall
be endured forever in the deepest depths of unutterable woe. Its power must be felt everywhere.

To the believer, the truster in that precious blood, it has opened the pearly gates of heaven, and
shut forever the gloomy gates of hell. It has quenched the flames of the burning lake, and opened
up the everlasting springs of God’s redeeming love. It has plucked him as a brand out of the fire,
cleansed him from every stain of sin, and planted him in robes of unsullied brightness in the
immediate presence of God.

(From Help and Food, Vol. 8.)

"As unknown, and yet well known" (2 Cor. 6:9).

It is our purpose here to investigate a few New Testament characters whose identity God has seen
fit not to reveal, much as some of us, in our short-sightedness, might wish that we knew.

A Zealous Follower

The first of these, and perhaps the most noted, is found in Mark 14:50-52:"And they all forsook
Him and fled. And there followed Him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his
naked body; and the young men laid hold on him. And he left the linen cloth and fled from them
naked."

Now who was this young unnamed man, we ask? No one on earth can tell us with certainty. There
have been many conjectures, including James, the brother of the Lord, and John, the son of
Zebedee. However, were we compelled to hazard a guess, we should say it was John Mark, the
writer of the Gospel himself. Or else it was a young man with whom John Mark could well
identify because of his own failure many years later when he gave up and left Paul and Barnabas
while on a missionary journey (Acts 13:13). He may have recorded this little episode concerning
the young man as a warning for all_particularly young men_against presumption in the beginning
of their purpose to follow and serve the Lord.

This young man, probably roused out of sleep by the noisy rabble, ran into the street. Recognizing
the Prisoner and moved by mere enthusiasm or indignation, he was determined to follow Him
whom the apostles had so ignominiously forsaken. But mere natural zeal and its good intentions
is insufficient to maintain one through a course of discipleship; only grace, grace given us by God,
can accomplish this. This young unnamed man appears to have been lacking in this area, and
failure and shame were the result. It was probably not so much fear for his life as it was fear of
the ridicule of his fellow youths who laid hold on him. His natural courage failed him and he
hastened to make his escape from his tormentors, leaving his night cloth in their hands.

Here indeed lies a lesson for all would-be disciples and followers of Christ. To such we would
say, in the language of the hymn, "The arm of flesh will fail you." The confident language of faith
is, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13), and "Not I, but Christ"
(Gal. 2:20). All attempts to follow and serve and suffer for Christ in the energy of mere natural
courage or enthusiasm will result in what we see exhibited in this undoubtedly sincere
zealot_namely, failure, exposure, and shame.

Let us, then, His servants, no better in ourselves than this unnamed young man, learn from him
the needed lesson of self-distrust. And let us follow the pattern of the writer of this account and
of our Lord in manifesting that thoughtful love that "shall hide a multitude of sins" (Jas. 5:20).
Let us not be ready or eager or even willing (unless compelled by a sense of duty) to make known
a fellow disciple’s faults or failures, but diligent rather to conceal them from the knowledge of
others, and from the vulgarly curious in particular.

A Would-Be Assassin

Simon Peter was perhaps the best known of the twelve disciples of Christ. But with respect to one
negative event in His life he remained anonymous until nearly the close of the first century. This
event was when he, with inexcusable haste, drew a sword and with more serious purpose, no
doubt even to kill, cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest. The incident is recorded in all
four Gospels, but it was given only to John to divulge the name (Matt. 26:51; Mark 14:47; Luke
22:50; John 18:20). And had John not revealed the identity of the culprit we should never have
known this side of heaven who it was. John’s Gospel was probably written about 96 A.D., so
Peter’s identity in this matter was concealed for more than a half century until after he was dead
and therefore when the publication of his name could injure neither him nor his influence and
usefulness.

We might wonder why Peter’s anonymity was preserved with regard to the sword-wielding
incidence and not with regard to his far more serious threefold denial of his Lord. Perhaps it was
to keep him from getting into even more trouble with the authorities than he already experienced
because of his witness for Christ (Acts 4-12).

How perfectly natural to the human mind to wish to know who the would-be assassin might be as
the dramatic narrative was read; but it was not to be during the lifetime of the guilty one. His Lord
was compelled to perform a miracle (something He was never eager but rather reluctant to do) in
restoring the severed ear, and also to offer an apology for His disciple’s misconduct, saying,
"Suffer thus far" (Luke 22:51). How wondrously gracious of Him! and even more gracious was
His restraining of the earlier evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, from recording his name.

Oh, how admirable that "love of Christ" that for so long a time kept covered the name of His
energetic though often mistaken disciple! May a similar love in us, ever constrain us to a like
concealment of our brethren’s faults and failures, and even sins, if these last be not of sufficient
seriousness to call for some extreme penalty.

(To be continued.)

Precious, precious blood of Jesus,
Shed on Calvary,
Shed for rebels, shed for sinners,
Shed for me.

Precious, precious blood of Jesus!
All the price is paid!
Perfect pardon now is offered,
Peace is made.

Precious, precious blood of Jesus,
Jesus, God’s own Son,
Telling that the work is finished_
All is done.

Precious, precious blood that cleanseth
All who come to God;
This the sinner’s only title_
Jesus’ blood!

Precious, precious blood that shelters
From the wrath to come,
Gives the sinner right to enter
That bright home!

Precious, precious blood of Jesus!
Theme in glory bright!
Through it saved ones walk and worship
In the light.

Though thy sins are red like crimson,
Deep in scarlet glow,
Jesus’ precious blood can make them
White as snow.

In Part I of this series we discussed the need for the unbeliever to prepare for death by repenting
of his sins and placing his trust in the finished work of Christ on the cross for his sins. We also
discussed the desirability of believers preparing for heaven by seeking to live our lives here on
earth as we will one day in heaven. In this way we can begin even now to taste the joys and
blessings that we will experience in full measure throughout eternity.

Preparation for Leaving Earth

As we prepare ourselves for heaven on the one hand, we need to concern ourselves also with what
we are going to leave behind on earth when we die. There is truth in the cliché, "You can’t take
it with you"; in a certain sense, we will leave everything behind when we die (or are raptured, as
in 1 Cor. 15:52). But we must be careful that what we leave behind is not too much, not too little,
and not the wrong things.

Let me explain what I mean by posing some probing questions:

1. If you were to die tonight, how much debt would your family be saddled with? Without your
salary, would your family be forced into bankruptcy? Would there be enough value in your assets
(for example, house, automobile, furniture, appliances) to fully pay your creditors, or would they
be left "high and dry"? ("Owe no man anything," Rom. 13:8, certainly is applicable in this
context.) Or even if your family has little or no debt, have you built up enough of a "nest egg" to
help your spouse through the initial crisis of separation and reduced income?

2. Have you and your spouse trained and instructed one another in each other’s household duties
and responsibilities so that if you were to die tonight, your spouse could step in and keep all
aspects of the household running smoothly? For example, do both you and your spouse know how
to prepare a meal, program the microwave, and use the washer and drier? how to write checks and
balance the check book? where to find important papers (such as the deed to the house, automobile
title, certificates of deposit, stock certificates, bank passbooks, unpaid bills, etc.)? what financial
assets and liabilities your family has? how to change a tire, replace the battery in the smoke alarm,
start the lawn mower, and replace a washer in the faucet? how to change a diaper and dress a
child?

Similar lists of questions could be drawn up concerning your job, the business you run, or your
responsibilities (such as treasurer) in the local assembly.

There may be various reasons why certain family responsibilities have been assigned to or carried
out by one spouse rather than the other (for example, natural abilities or interests, habit, tradition),
and it may be more efficient to have a division of labor. But each spouse should have some
working knowledge of the other’s domain so that the death of one spouse would not leave the other
totally helpless in any area.

3. If you were to die tonight, would you leave behind anyone whose spirit you have wounded, who

carries emotional scars because of you, to whom you have spoken angry or unkind words, with
whom you have had a strained relationship or have not been on speaking terms for some time, to
whom you have lied, or about whom you have gossiped to others? Would you leave behind anyone
to whom you have stubbornly, proudly refused to confess a wrong? It is true that "you can’t take
it with you," but is this really what you want to leave behind_people you have hurt and with
whom you have never been reconciled?

Scripture places a premium on making right our wrongs toward others (Exod. 22:1-14; Lev. 6:5),
confessing our faults and sins to those whom we have offended and sinned against (Jas. 5:16), and
being reconciled with those who have anything against us (Matt. 5:23-26). How awful it would
be to sin against an unbeliever and then to die without confessing it or making it right! If the
unbeliever by God’s mercies is saved, in spite of the blot we have put upon the testimony of
Christ, then we shall rejoice to be able to confess our sin and be reconciled when we meet together
again in heaven. But if that unbeliever goes to the grave without being saved, we will have lost
forever the opportunity to confess our sin to the one we have sinned against. Here, surely, is a
solemn example of what it will mean for a saved person to "suffer loss" (1 Cor. 3:15).

If we have sinned against another believer (maybe our spouse, or a parent, or a brother or sister
in the local assembly), and if we don’t clear it up in this life, no doubt it will have to be cleared
up when we get to heaven as a result of our appearance "before the judgment seat of Christ" (2
Cor. 5:10). Heaven is a holy place. There can be no sin where thrice-holy God dwells. And
therefore, there can be no unconfessed sin nor unreconciled people there either. In fact, the
clearing up of all of the sins and offenses and misunderstandings that have separated and divided
believers here on earth will be one of the reasons for the supreme joy and happiness that will be
found in heaven.

In view of these things, why wait!? Let us humble ourselves to confess our faults and sins to our
brothers and sisters in Christ, our husband or wife, our parents, our children, and seek to be
reconciled with them even now in this life. What joy and happiness will flow from it! What
deliverance from guilt and shame! What new found power for ministering the Word and for living
the Christian life! And what immeasurable benefits to those sinned against, releasing them from
all excuse to be resentful, bitter, angry, or vengeful toward you, and to be filled with self-pity and
depression because of the wrongs done to them! So by humbly, sincerely confessing your sins
against another, you not only free yourself to live as God would have you to live, but in many
cases you will help to deliver the person initially sinned against from his/her own sinful response
to your sin.

May each of us desire to live our lives so that if we should die suddenly and without warning, we
would not leave behind (1) a pile of debt for our survivors to have to worry about; nor (2) a stack
of new responsibilities of which our survivors are quite ignorant; nor (3) any souls who are still
hurting and stumbled as a result of our sinful or un-Christlike behavior.

(To be continued.)

There is nothing in all the thoughts of God more wondrous than that God can love such as we are
with the same love wherewith He loves His Son (John 17:23). And He does so love us; I know
it for myself, and dishonor His Word if I do not know it. If He says it, is it not that I may believe
it and take it home to my heart, and enjoy it now in this world? And is it not that I may use it as
my constant guard and protection against everything that flesh, or world, or Satan can bring
against me? He loves us as He loves His Son.

Do not say it is too high a thought. I know nothing so humiliating_that so convicts us of being
nothing_as the fact that, so loved, we should so little feel it; that so loved, we should so feebly
return it; that so loved, we should yield to the cares, the vanities, the thoughts, the pursuits, and
much else that is not in accordance with such love.

It is the delight and the desire of God that those who are His should enter into the greatness of His
love. No glory, nor sense of it, nor confidence in it, nor waiting for it, ought to be enough even
for such hearts as ours. It is a wonderful thing to think that we are to share the glory of Christ;
but it is even more wonderful that we have the same love. The same God who gives us the glory
of Christ will have our souls enter even now by the Holy Spirit into the community of the same
love.

(From Lectures on the Epistle to the Ephesians.)

Oh, the bitter pain and sorrow
That a time could ever be,
When I proudly said to Jesus,
"All of self and none of Thee."

Yet He found me; I beheld Him
Bleeding on th’accursed tree,
And my wistful heart said faintly,
"Some of self, and some of Thee."

Day by day His tender mercy,
Healing, helping, full and free,
Brought me lower, while I whispered,
  "Less of self and more of Thee."

Higher than the highest heaven,
  Deeper than the deepest sea,
Lord, Thy love at last has conquered;
"None of self and all of Thee.

"Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Rom. 12:2).

As the redeemed of the Lord it becomes us continually to keep before us that it is not our salvation
but the glory of God that is the ultimate end. We ought never to lose sight of this. In order that
we may do our part as witnesses for God in this world, it is necessary that we should not be
conformed to the world but be transformed. Without this it is entirely impossible to be witnesses
for God in a right way. We may think we do this thing and we do another thing to the glory of
God, and yet only insofar as we are not conformed to this world, but are transformed, are we truly
witnesses for God.

We have been bought by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. As God in Christ has done
so much for us, and as the precious and adorable Lord Jesus Christ has done so much for us, it
well becomes us that we, the sons of the Most High, should not wait for the afterlife in order to
aim to be conformed to the image of God’s dear Son. We shall in that day be perfectly conformed
to the Blessed One (Rom. 8:29), but as far as we are able we should aim at it day by day already
in this present life.

It is most important to keep before us that it is the will of the Lord that we should be transformed,
and that this is possible through the renewing of our minds. In our natural, unsaved state we go
our own way. We may be amiable people in the eyes of our fellow men. We may be honest and
moral, and every one may speak well of us even before our conversion, but yet we go our own
way. In this state, it is entirely impossible to please God because we do not set Him before us. We
do not do what we do to the praise of His name. We use our bodily strength, our mental powers,
our talents and gifts just as we please, in order to gratify ourselves. We do not use them to the
praise and honor and glory of God.

Likewise, in our unsaved state, we do not use our profession, our business, our money for the
Lord, but we use them as it pleases us. That is how we dishonor the Lord. All the resolutions that
we may make to be in a different state will not alter the case.

Thus it will go on until we are convinced that we are sinners, needing a Saviour, and until, as lost,
ruined, guilty sinners, we have put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and have accepted salvation
through His atoning sacrifice alone. In this way we are renewed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
In this way we obtain spiritual life, and thus begins the possibility of our being transformed.

It must be recognized, however, that this is only the beginning, and we should not be content with
the beginning. Our hearty desire should be to be transformed. In this way we show our love and
gratitude to our heavenly Father by being witnesses for Him in this evil world.

Conformed to the Image of God’s Dear Son

We must not forget that the eyes of the world are upon us, that they want to see whether there is
a difference between us and themselves_whether our lives witness for God, or whether they do

not. In order that, in some measure at least, we make progress in this conformity to the image of
God’s dear Son, it is most important that day by day we seek to keep before us both what we have
been redeemed from and what we have been redeemed unto.

First, from what have we been redeemed? Once we belonged to the power of darkness, we were
the slaves of the wicked one, we were the children of the devil. But now we have been brought
out of this state and have been transplanted into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. We are no longer
dead in trespasses and sins and we are no longer slaves of the world and of our own wicked evil
hearts. The more we realize these things, so shall we be constrained by love and gratitude to seek
increasingly to be conformed to the image of God’s dear Son.

Second, unto what we have been redeemed? All our sins have been forgiven; we are justified
before God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; we are begotten again, children of God for time
and eternity and, as such, heirs of God and joint-heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ; before long we
shall reign with Jesus, before long we shall sit with Him on the throne, and with Him judge the
world.

Let us keep before us that we shall spend a happy eternity in glory with the Lord Jesus Christ, that
our own eyes shall see that blessed One, that our own hands shall be allowed to touch that blessed
One, and that in seeing Him as He is, we shall be like Him, not only obtaining the glorified body,
but be perfectly free for ever and ever from every sin. The more this is kept before us, the more
we shall be constrained in this present life to seek the glory of God.

Miserable Going Our Own Way

Further, it is well to keep in mind that it is the will of the Lord that the human creature should not
be happy while walking in separation from God. God has determined that the human creature shall
be miserable going his own way, and that peace and joy in God and in the Holy Spirit can only
be obtained by walking with God in the fear of the Lord.

Living for God

In the next place, it should be our deep, hearty longing to have but one single object for our
life_to live for God, to please God, since it is impossible that in going our own way we should
be happy or could really have peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Let us not be satisfied until our
whole heart is given to the Lord. May each of us be able to stand before God and say:"My
Father, You know all things; You know that Your poor child is feeble and weak, but You know
also that my heart is given to You:You have my heart." If we cannot yet say this, let us be
determined that our whole heart should now be given to the Lord!

Then, my beloved brethren, we must not lose sight of this that, though we desire with our whole
heart to live for the Lord, in ourselves we are weak and feeble. We have no strength of our own.
It is most important that we remain conscious of our own weakness and nothingness and ignorance
all the days of our lives and therefore in simplicity and in the consciousness of our weakness, cling
and cleave to our heavenly Father in prayer. We must be men and women given to prayer. Day

by day we must go to our heavenly Father for help, strength, support, wisdom, and everything that
we need.

Bow Before the Word of God

Coupled with this, we must let Him speak to us. When we pray, we speak to Him. When we read
the Word of God, our heavenly Father speaks to us. Are we really men and women who love the
Word of God? How does it stand with us in this matter? How much have we been reading the
Word of God? Oh, beloved in Christ, it is most important that we be men and women given to the
reading of the Word of God_reading it regularly and consecutively.

Our reading of the Word of God should be accompanied by meditation. Let us meditate, even if
only for a short time, upon a small portion of the Word, and do this always with reference to our
own hearts. Let us read the Word of God practically, as the Word of God, so that our fallen
reason bows before it. It is God who says it, and that should be enough for us, whether we can
understand it with our fallen reason or not. "What … you know not now … you shall know
hereafter" (John 13:7) is applicable in this respect also. We should patiently and prayerfully and
believingly wait until that time comes when we shall see why it is so and why it is expressed in
this way and not in another. Let us always have it before us practically that the Holy Scriptures
are the Word of God, and therefore it becomes the fallen human being to bow before the
Scriptures.

We must mix faith with the Word, and we should read and ponder it with the special object of
carrying it out in our life. If we do not mean to act according to it, prayer and the reading of the
Word will profit us very little. It is given to us for the very purpose that we should act according
to it, and in doing so our peace and joy in the Holy Spirit will be increased more and more.

The blessedness of this I have known in my own happy experience for the last 48 years, and I can
recommend this very particularly to my beloved brothers and sisters in Christ. Let us be honest.
Let us never cease to act according to the Scriptures. Even though there is weakness (as at the first
may be the case), we shall surely make progress in knowledge and in grace.

Honest Confession at Once

If we fail in any way after all this, what then? Let us make simple, honest confession at once,
without hypocrisy or without seeking to excuse the failure. Having confessed before our heavenly
Father, let us then seek to experience the power of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ afresh with
regard to our own hearts and to lay hold of the promise:"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). Let us
consecrate our heart afresh to God, yield ourselves to Him, and seek His grace with regard to the
future.

If any one were to go on in this way, what would be the result? He would realize the fulfillment
of the promise of our adorable Lord:"Whosoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall have
more abundance" (Matt. 13:12). The more one walks in this way, he will be less and less

conformed to the world and more and more transformed to be like the Lord Jesus. Though it be
but little in comparison with what it might be and what it ought to be, still there will be more and
more conformity to the image of our precious, adorable Lord even in this life. He is worthy, that
blessed One who laid down His life for us_He is worthy that we should seek to live for Him!

Oh, my beloved Christian friends, let us aim at this! The Lord delights to bless us. If we are only
willing to receive blessing, He is ready to give far more abundantly than we ever expect to
receive. It is a blessed thing, even for this life, to walk in the ways of the Lord with the whole
heart.

Wholly the Lord’s

In this one thing we must be honest that there does not remain to ourselves any part of the heart.
God wants the whole heart. He says, "My son, give Me your heart" (Prov. 23:26), not "part of
your heart." Nor does He say, "My son, give me a little of your money," but He says, "Give Me
your heart." He will accept nothing in the place of the heart.

When the heart is really given to the Lord, then our purse is given to Him also; then our
profession and business are given to Him also; then our houses and lands belong to Him also; and
all we have and are belongs to the Lord. At this we should aim; may we be satisfied with nothing
less.

(From Counsel to Christians.)

When a person is baptized, he goes to meet his just end in death and burial. Baptism means simply
burial, putting away in death those who were under the penalty of death, and in reality were not
fit to live. Of course, our sinless, spotless Lord–who also was baptized–was an exception to this.
His baptism symbolized a work on behalf of others.

We speak here of water baptism. The baptism of the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13) is an entirely different
thing. Water baptism is the act of a disciple of Christ. It effects nothing in itself and conveys no
virtue. It is simply a picture of burial in death.

Two scriptures give us, with great fullness of meaning, the truth as to baptism. "As many of us
as have been baptized unto Christ Jesus have been baptized unto His death. We have been buried
therefore with Him" (Rom. 6:3,4 JND). "As many as have been baptized unto Christ have put on
Christ" (Gal. 3:27 JND). Baptism means that we have come to the end of self by the death of
Christ. We have touched Christ in His death.

God "has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ" (Eph. 1:3 JND). In
order to do this it was necessary to remove the hindrance to what He had purposed for us. This
was twofold–our sins and ourselves. The full gospel is that not only our sins but we ourselves
have been put away. A half gospel results in stunted Christians. They would not think of clinging
to their sins as they cling to self, their worst enemy, knowing not the truth which baptism preaches
from the house tops. Would God put away sins and not the self from which the sins came? How
slow we are to own its utter ruin and complete condemnation in the cross of Christ.

If we want to know what self really is, the following scriptures, among many others, will tell us:
"Every imagination of the thoughts of [man’s] heart was only evil continually" (Gen. 6:5). "Ah,
sinful nation … the whole head is sick and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even
unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores" (Isa.
1:6). "I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips" (Isa. 6:5).
"There is none righteous, no not one…. There is none that does good, no, not one…. There is no
fear of God before their eyes" (Rom. 3:10-18). "The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit
against the flesh:and these are contrary the one to the other" (Gal. 5:17-21).

The work of Christ on the cross has effected the removal of both sins and self. As to our sins,
Christ was "delivered for our offenses and has been raised for our justification" (Rom. 4:25 JND).
As to ourselves, we are dead by His death. "We have died with Christ" (Rom. 6:8 JND). "I am
crucified with Christ and no longer live" (Gal. 2:20 JND). These verses give us the negative side
of the truth–what was against us and what we have been brought out of. This prepares us for the
positive side of the truth–what we have been brought into.

In place of self we "have put on Christ" (Gal. 3:27). Sins and self are gone only to have Christ
now for everything. He has become our practical substitute in the path here. He is now our true
self. We walk by the rule of new creation in which "Christ is ALL" (Col. 3:11). "For me to live
is Christ" (Phil. 1:21). It does not say for Christ, but implies Christ instead of me. The Lord Jesus

lives and acts in and through us, instead of our living for Him, being something for Him, and
doing something for Him.

Let me illustrate this truth with a little anecdote:A church member went to her minister and
complained, "I cannot get along with Mrs. X. I simply cannot love her as I should." The minister
replied, "Are you willing to let Christ love her through you?"

The essence of sin is being conscious of self and acting of ourselves independent of God (see Gen.
3:7-11). In 1 John 2:12-17, the message to the "fathers" who have reached the stage of Christian
maturity is simply, "You have known Him who is from the beginning." "This is life eternal, that
they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent" (John 17:3).
Faith knows Christ and Him only. In Him faith also sees and knows the Father. "I in them, and
Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one" (John 17:23). The knowledge of the Father
and the Son in eternal life displaces the knowing of self and being self-led. We can forget
self–GOOD or BAD or any other kind of self. Instead, we "grow in grace, and in the knowledge
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. 3:18).

(Adapted from an assembly bulletin of 1950; submitted by Edwin Read, Jr.)

In the third chapter of Philippians we find the spiritual energy that carries the saint onward in the
race to Christ in glory. This chapter reveals the power which gives the saint complete superiority
over all the circumstances through which he has to pass, not as making him insensible to their
sorrow, but able to "rejoice in the Lord always" (Phil. 4:4).

How instructive in this way is the life of the Apostle Paul. He was cut off from the ministry that
he loved; he was shut up in prison at Rome; and after laboring "more abundantly than they all"
(1 Cor. 15:10), he discovered that "all they who are in Asia be turned away from me" (2 Tim.
1:15) and "all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s" (Phil. 2:21). Yet in spite
of all this, he could say, "Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, Rejoice."

You will find plenty of trouble, plenty of conflict, for Satan is not bound yet. The more we go on,
the more we shall know opposition, sorrow in the Church, and saints individually going wrong.
All these things ought to press upon our hearts, but at the same time we ought to have the power
which lifts the heart totally above them. This is the communion and faith that links the heart to
Christ and walks with Him, come what will.

Christ, the "Man of Sorrows," was the example of this. Who was so ready to serve as He? Even
Martha, whom He loved, tried to get Mary away from listening to His words. The disciples sought
to turn Him aside when He told them of His death. All showed a misapprehension of what He had
come for_to "give His life a ransom for many." Yet in the midst of it all, He could ask that His
disciples might have His joy fulfilled in them! (John 17:13).

If we really have this joy of Christ, we can "endure all things for the elect’s sake" (2 Tim. 2:10),
because we are in spirit with Him, and He with us in it all. He endured all things_even the
cross_"for the joy that was set before Him" (Heb. 12:2). It is not the mere buoyancy of a heart
ignorant of the power of evil or of the opposition of Satan. But it is real power, where the depth
of evil and opposition is apprehended, and the power of the Lord is known and trusted in as above
it all!

If my soul is living in the immediate center of the power of Christ, it will feel the pressure of the
evil, but will not be depressed_"In nothing terrified by your adversaries." The practical daily
supplies of strength depend upon the heart’s being with Him who has overcome it all, who has all
power in heaven and on earth. The first mark of this power, when the tide of evil is present, is
patience. That which "endures to the end" is better than a miracle! Thus we learn the graciousness
and power that keeps the heart free to think of what Christ has wrought in others, free to be
occupied with the whole Church. Paul’s affections were fresh for each "true yokefellow" (Phil.
4:3) as though all had not forsaken him; and though all sought their own, it did not hinder the
going out of his heart to others.

In prison, chained between two soldiers, the Apostle was cast more than ever on the Lord. But he
learned to rejoice_not in the prosperity of his work, or in the prosperity of the Church, or of the

saints, but_"in the Lord always"! What holy, Christ-like feeling is expressed in these trials! As
the psalmist says, "I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth"
(34:1). How did it come about? "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him" (verse 6).

Paul, standing before King Agrippa, says, "I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear
me this day, were both almost and altogether such as I am, except these bonds" (Acts 26:29). He
does not say, "I would you were all Christians," but such as I am"! There is a happy man! He was
so conscious of the blessedness he had in Christ, so full of the love of Christ, that he could wish
you were as he was! His heart’s complete, internal happiness was in Christ, so that the
trials_trials even in the Church, which are much more deep and real_only carried him to Christ!

Are we so conscious of this blessedness in Christ that we can say to others, "I would you were as
I am"? Do you say, "Only an apostle could say this"? No, it is what every Christian, old and
young, is called to! The only difference is that a young Christian rejoices more in himself and his
blessings. The fathers rejoice more simply in Christ for they have come to know Christ; they have
a personal acquaintance with the Lord Jesus Christ, and rejoice in intimacy with Him.

When evil springs up_when the power of Satan is present_the heart has to do with Christ in
resurrection, who has destroyed him who had the power of death. He says, "Be of good cheer, I
have overcome the world" (John 16:33). He starts us with this testimony, having gone Himself
into a place where evil cannot reach. He has not taken us out of a world governed by Satan’s
power, but He keeps us from evil, because we are not of the world as He is not of the world (John
17:15,16).

When we are running the race, we are to look away unto Jesus who has begun and ended this
whole course of faith (Heb. 12:2). He met the power of Satan in the beginning and in the end; He
was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin. He overcame him who had the power of death
(that is, the devil), and is set down at the right hand of the Majesty on high_the victory won. We
are to enjoy Him now, high above and independent of the things we are passing through. Do not
let any present circumstances occupy you. Do not look away from Him to them_but rejoice in
the Lord!

We must be with Him in spirit for this; thus our "moderation" or yieldingness ought to "be known
unto all men" (Phil. 4:5). If I am happy in Christ, am I looking for my rights in this world? Christ
had none! Oh, no! my treasure is elsewhere. I am going out of this world; I can wait for my rights
until Christ has His. May our hearts be weaned from things here. Christ passed through it, leaving
all to go its own way. In the presence of unrighteousness, the spirit is apt to rise; but let us
cultivate the subduedness that yields. The Samaritans would not receive Him, and He turned aside
into another village (Luke 9:51-56). Why didn’t they receive Him? Because He had "steadfastly
set His face to go to Jerusalem"! The half-hearted would not receive Him because He was doing
the very thing that marked His devotedness to His Father. And so it will be with us; the religiously
half-hearted will not want us if we set our face steadfastly to go right!

"Be careful [or anxious] for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God" (Phil. 4:6). It is true that we have cares

and sorrows, and we would have more if we were living more as servants among the sorrows of
this world. But there is a tendency for us to get away from Christ and thus become anxious even
in caring for others. Thus we must tell God, and this carries us so above the cares that we can
rejoice in Him.

What does God give to the heart that has given all its cares to Him? "The peace of God, which
passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (verse 7). Is
God’s heart taken up with circumstances? Is He troubled by them? Is His throne shaken by the
folly and the wickedness of the world, or even the failure of the saints? Never! Put your cares,
then, on God, and He will put His peace into your heart_the inexpressible peace of God! The
peace of Him who knows the end from the beginning shall keep your heart and mind through
Christ Jesus. There is no indifference, carelessness, or coldness, but supplication, earnest entreaty,
and all with thanksgiving.

A man whose heart is filled with thanksgiving, reckoning on God, goes to Him with prayer and
supplication, and the soul having left all on God, feels His hand under the trouble, and can say,
"It is His affair, not mine."

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true … honest … just … pure … lovely … of good
report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things" (verse 8). May our
hearts be free to find the good in people. Jesus could find the least bit of grace in a poor soul; His
heart was ever ready to enjoy it:"I have meat to eat that you know not of" (John 4:32, concerning
the woman of Samaria); "Mary has chosen that good part" (Luke 10:42); "Behold an Israelite
indeed, in whom there is no guile" (John 1:47, concerning Nathaniel). It is well that our hearts
be kept free to enjoy the fruit of the Spirit in others, as being occupied with what is good!

"Those things which you have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do; and the
God of peace shall be with you" (verse 9). It is not only His peace, as in verse 7, but Himself.
"The very God of peace sanctify you wholly" (1 Thess. 5:23). "The God of peace … make you
perfect" (Heb. 13:20,21). Peace is the effect of a full and perfect work. He has "made peace
through the blood of His cross" (Col. 1:20). Why? Because He has gone through everything that
was contrary to God_has borne the wrath (the very opposite of peace) of God. The instant He was
risen, He came into the disciples’ midst and said, "Peace"! And now to us God takes this
wondrously blessed name of "the God of peace."

Faith is needed to be able to rejoice always in the Lord, the feet going where God would have
them go, not avoiding evil merely, but walking where He would lead us in every detail of life_in
our habits, dress, behavior, and conversation.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (verse 13). It is a different thing to say,
"Christ strengthens me," from saying, "I can do all things." Paul had learned it. He had learned
how to be abased and how to abound. Think of what the Apostle experienced in his lifetime:"In
journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in
perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils
among false brethren; in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in

fastings often, in cold and nakedness" (2 Cor. 12:26,27). And through it all, he could say, "My
God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:19).

What reality there is in the life of faith_walking in secret with God. We are poor hands at it; but
the world cannot touch it, Satan cannot rob us of it, and the trials that come to us in that path only
prove us superior to every circumstance through the power of His grace! God grant that we may
know it and Him in it.

(This was originally published under the title, "His Praise Shall Continually Be in My Mouth.")

O Jesus, Lord, my Life, my All,
Hast Thou now set Thy love on me?
Then chain this heart, Thy captive thrall,
To beat for evermore for Thee!

Alas, I know it beats not true–
To Thee a grief, a shame to me:
Do Thou each wayward pulse subdue,
And wholly sanctify to Thee.

I trust Thee–break my stubborn will;
I would not count the cost to me,
If in the wine-press love distill
From this poor bruised heart to Thee!

Yea, chasten through my pilgrim years,
In faithful, tender grace to me,
Till self shall melt to love and tears,
And lavish all its wealth on Thee!

Lo, from vessels, earthen only,
Shining forth in ceaseless grace,
Reaching weary hearts, and lonely,
Beams the light from Jesu’s face!

Earthen vessels, marred, unsightly,
Bearing Wealth no thought can know:
Heavenly Treasure, gleaming brightly–
Christ revealed in saints below!

Vessels, broken, frail, yet bearing
Through the hungry ages on
Riches given with hand unsparing–
God’s great Gift, His precious Son!

O to be but empty, lowly,
Mean, unnoticed and unknown,
Yet to God a vessel holy,
Filled with Christ, and Christ alone!

Nought of earth to cloud the Glory!
Nought of self the Light to dim!
Telling forth Christ’s wondrous story:
Broken, empty–filled with Him!

(The preceding two poems are from Hymns of Grace and Truth, copyright 1904 by Loizeaux
Brothers, Neptune, NJ; used by permission.)

"Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden (Psa. 68:19, Revised Version). In the KJV this
verse reads, "Who daily loads us with benefits." Both thoughts are true, and as we lay hold of the
former, we are made to acknowledge the latter. Besides being the more accurate translation, there
is a special sweetness and tenderness in the words, "who daily bears our burden." We have trusted
in the Lord as our Sin-Bearer, "who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree" (1
Pet. 2:24). We have proved His risen power in lifting the burden of guilt from our heavy-laden
souls; but do we realize that He wants us to trust Him as simply and prove Him as fully to be our
Burden-Bearer?

"Who daily bears our burdens." This is a ministry of love that is constantly going on and is
therefore open to our continual enjoyment. The Lord does not wait until our burden becomes so
heavy that we fall beneath its weight; He feels all the little weights of worry as they accumulate
upon our minds. The difficulties and anxieties that are interlaced with each day’s routine make up
the burden of the day; it is this that Jesus bears. Would it not sweeten life if we were more mindful
of this? He not only knows, but feels, how unfit we are to carry the cares of this life, for He is
"touched with the feeling of our infirmities" (Heb. 4:15). Therefore, in the power of divine
compassion which not only sympathizes but helps, He stoops to take the weight of all our interests
upon His shoulders.

He daily bears our burden, and yet He bids us cast our burden upon Him. Why? Because we are
no better off having a Burden-Bearer walking by our side if we hug a bundle of worry to our
breasts. "Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain you" (Psa. 55:22). Here is a divine
precept linked to a very precious promise. However, we must be careful not to set aside such
precepts and promises as applying only to circumstances of dire distress. How much we shall lose
if we shelve in our memories such a promise as this, only to make use of it in cases of emergency!
Our great Burden-Bearer would have us roll upon Him all the little things that perplex or ruffle
us, and mar our enjoyment of His peace. What a privilege it is to welcome our Lord Jesus into all
the lights and shadows of our everyday life! If we avail ourselves of this privilege, we shall
become blessedly conscious of the fact that He "daily bears our burden." Our eyes will be opened
to see many tokens of His lovingkindness which we should not otherwise have noticed, and the
thorny paths of life will blossom with answers to prayer. May we allow Him to lead us into this
joy.

(From Help and Food, Vol. 28.)

"I, Patrick, a sinner!" Thus the patron saint of Ireland begins his own confession. St. Patrick knew
he was a sinner and found salvation in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It surprises many to learn that Patrick was neither Irish nor Roman Catholic. Probably a Scotsman,
his loyalty lay with the ancient church of Britain which never came under papal yoke.
Patrick was born around 389 A.D. At the age of 16 he was kidnaped by pirates and taken to
Ireland where he was enslaved. Patrick tells his own story simply and beautifully in his
Confession, translated into modern-day English:

"I, Patrick, a sinner, rude, unfaithful, and despicable. My father, Calpurnius, has a small farm
near where I was captured. Although I was almost 16 at the time, I was ignorant of God. They
brought me into captivity in Ireland with several thousand men. This we deserved because we had
departed from God. We had not kept His commandments, and we disobeyed our teachers who had
reproved us for our own good.

"The Lord was angry with us and dispersed us among many nations where strangers saw my
depravity. It was there the Lord helped me sense my unbelief, remember my faults, and restore
my whole heart to Him. God saw how mean I was and pitied me because I was so young and
ignorant. He kept me before I even knew Him or could discern good from evil, and He
strengthened me as a father would his son.

"I cannot keep quiet about how God blessed me in my captivity. His reward was allowing me to
exalt and confess His wonders before every nation under heaven.

"There is no other God, nor was there ever before, nor shall there be after Him, except God the
Father. His Son, Jesus Christ, existed with the Father. He created visible things, was made Man,
vanquished death, and now exists in the heavens. God gave Him power over things in heaven,
things in earth, and things under the earth. Every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord
and God, whom we believe shall come to judge the living and the dead.

"God will render to everyone according to his deeds and pour the Holy Spirit upon us abundantly
as a gift and pledge of immortality….

"Before I was humbled, I was like a stone that lies in the deep mud. Then God the Almighty lifted
me up on high and placed me on His side. I should shout thanks to the Lord for His benefits that
man cannot even estimate. May everyone, great and small, consider the Christ who roused me,
a fool, from amid those wise and skillful in the law and inspired me to serve this nation faithfully.

"I’ll voice without fear the gift of God, the eternal consolation, and spread abroad everywhere the
name of God. I will leave this knowledge to my Gaelic brothers and children, whom I have
baptized.

"After I came into Ireland, I worked daily feeding sheep, at night I prayed, and God’s love and

fear increased in me…. I remained in the woods and mountains and got up before dawn for
prayer."

After about six years of slavery, Patrick managed to escape. He eventually made it back to Britain.
In the year 432, at the age of about 43, he obeyed the call of God to return to Ireland as a
missionary; there he remained for the rest of his life. Patrick writes concerning his evangelistic
labors:

"It is good that we fish diligently, as the Lord teaches us, saying:’Follow Me, and I will make
you fishers of men.’ Therefore, we should spread our nets so a multitude may be taken for God….
I seek no honor from any of you. God’s honor is sufficient for me. In the present world, God has
exalted me more than I can measure. I was not worthy for Him to do this for me. Poverty and
calamity suit me much better than riches and delicacies. Indeed, if I desire riches, which I do not
have, I am unhappy. I expect daily either massacre, entrapment, reduction to slavery, or
something else.

"But I pray for those who believe and fear God. If anyone considers reading this that I, Patrick,
an uneducated sinner, have written in Ireland, let them never say that it is my ignorance. This is
my confession before I die."

After serving his own generation, by the will of God, for 33 years, Patrick died on March 17,
465. Seldom have native ability and spiritual gifts been more remarkably combined than in this
Spirit-led, self-denying missionary of the cross.

His difficult experiences as a slave did not embitter him against the Irish, but rather prompted him
to bring them to Christ. During his first year in Ireland, Patrick faced intense opposition, but he
was crowned by wonderful success. Many came to know the Lord and were baptized.

About a year after Patrick began his work, King Leogaire and his princes summoned him to
celebrate a Druid festival at Tara. The Druid priests filled with rage against him and declared they
would destroy him through enchantment and magical spells if he dared come. But nothing daunted
Patrick. He brought a company of young men whom he was training for ministry into the king’s
presence, singing a hymn now known as "The Breastplate of St. Patrick" (see accompanying
article), which was a statement of his faith.

Patrick believed in salvation by faith in Christ alone. The Church was to him the entire body of
believers, not a worldly system with a powerful and haughty hierarchy imposing its rule over the
laity. Christ was all in all.

Patrick’s testimony resulted in the conversion of the King of Tara and many others. From there
Patrick preached the gospel in Tailtan while the heathen celebrated a pagan festival. He was ever
engaged in preaching the gospel, baptizing and teaching the converts, and gathering them into
churches.

Patrick’s labors resemble the Apostle Paul’s missionary journeys. Often in danger of losing his

life, he endured much physical suffering and evangelized the greater part of Ireland. This one time
swineherd, the greatest missionary of his day, knew and loved the gospel of Christ, which alone
is the power of God unto salvation.

In this faith Patrick lived and died, leaving behind a great host to be his "crown of rejoicing" in
that day.

(Adapted from The Real Saint Patrick, published by Loizeaux Brothers, Inc., P.O. Box 277,
Neptune, NJ 07754. Used by permission.)

In a world that has been completely disarranged by sin, it is inevitable that even the saintliest and
the best should at times have to carry heavy burdens and to bear grievous loads. That is true of
the children of God irrespective of age, sex, or social position. However men may differ in other
things, they are all one in this_that each has his own specific problem or sorrow or cross.

These burdens are of various kinds. There are burdens of the body, such as chronic invalidism and
the limitations of old age; burdens of the mind, such as perplexity and anxiety; burdens of the
soul, such as loneliness and the consciousness of regret.

There are three verses in the Bible that tell us what our Heavenly Father says to His children who
are carrying such loads. The first says that "Every man shall bear his own burden" (Gal. 6:5). The
second exhorts us to bear "one another’s burdens" (6:2). The third tells us, "Cast your burden
upon the Lord" (Psa. 55:22). The first of these scriptures speaks of something we must do; the
second of something we should do; and the third of something we may do.

Something We Must Do

"Every man shall bear his own burden." There are burdens that we cannot share. Each heart
knows its own bitterness, and has things with which a stranger dare not intermeddle (Prov. 14:10).
Perhaps the most poignant and distressing of these is the consciousness of sorrow for mistakes that
lie in the past_for sins committed even after we were converted to God. "In the inner room of life
sits Regret with her pale face; and Shame with dust on her forehead; and Memory with tears in her
eyes." The cross that our own hands fashion_the self-imposed burden, the self-inflicted
torment_is the heaviest cross of all.

Now, if to life’s burdens there is to be added the haunting memory of past transgressions, the load
will prove too heavy for us. It is just here that our Heavenly Father comes to us with the message
of deliverance and healing and rest. His Word makes very clear the way of deliverance, not only
from the penalty of sin, but also from its devastating consequences in the heart and memory and
earthly life of the pardoned one. Some sins are committed against God alone and should be
confessed to Him alone (1 John 1:9). Other sins may be committed against an individual privately;
these should be put right with the individual privately as well as confessed to God (Matt. 5:23,24).
A third class of sins may be of a public character as, for example, when a man publicly slanders
another, or where an entire community or nation is affected as in the case of Achan (Joshua 7).
The last-named offenses necessitate public confession, as well as confession to God.

From long experience of such problems as they affect the children of God, I would say to any
burdened one:Beware of allowing the enemy of God and man to drive you into confession in
public of that which should be spoken into the ear of God alone, or that which only God and the
individual concerned should hear. Some extremely sensitive Christians have done these things, but
there is no necessity why they should be done. When the thing that has lain like a burden on the
heart has been put right in accordance with the foregoing principles, then you will enter
experimentally into the blessedness of assurances such as these:"I have blotted out, as a thick

cloud, your transgressions, and, as a cloud, your sins; return unto Me, for I have redeemed you"
(Isa. 44:22). "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from
us" (Psa. 103:12). "Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more" (Heb. 10:17). We indeed
are foolish if we resurrect what He has buried, or remember what He has forgotten. That does not
mean that memory has, with us, ceased to function; but it does mean that the sting has been
removed from the sad recollections of the past, and that regarding them the mind and heart are at
rest. Therefore:

Waste no tears
Upon the blotted record of past years,
But turn the leaf and smile, oh smile to see
The fair white pages that remain for thee.

Something We Should Do

"Bear one another’s burden, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

In the Greek the Apostle uses two entirely different words when he refers to the burdens that must
be borne by the individual Christian and those that can be shared with others. In Gal. 6:5 he uses
a word that describes a soldier’s kit which a soldier alone is expected to carry. In 6:2 he uses a
word that describes a series of packages, some of which may be carried by others. And so the
scripture which we are now examining speaks of a sacred and most helpful ministry which is
within reach of us all:"Bear one another’s burdens."

A concrete illustration of how that ministry may be exercised, and a description of the person who
is fitted to exercise it, is given in Gal. 6:1:"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, you who
are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness:considering yourself, lest you also be
tempted." Three questions arise in this verse:(a) What is to be done? "If a man be overtaken in
a fault … restore such an one." The word translated "restore" is a surgical term and is used of the
resetting of a fractured bone or dislocated limb. These are operations that call for the tenderest
touch and most qualified skill. (b) Who is to do it? "You who are spiritual." The physician
required for this task must be truly spiritual. (c) How is he to do it? "In the spirit of meekness,"
ever bearing in mind his own liability to be similarly tempted. He comes alongside his erring
brother and, with gentleness and a lowly heart, fulfills the law of Christ.

Softly he toucheth for the reed is tender,
Wisely enkindles for the flame is low.

Something We May Do

"Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain you." The Scottish version is very
expressive:"Fling all your care on Him, for He alone can hold you straight."

Note carefully that this scripture does not say:"Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He shall
sustain it." The promise is that He shall sustain not only it, but you. Henry Moorhouse, when

heavily pressed on one occasion, had the meaning of these beautiful words suddenly flashed upon
his soul. His little daughter, who was a paralytic, was sitting in her chair as he entered the house
with a package for his wife. Going up to the little lass and kissing her, he asked, "Where is
mother?" "Mother is upstairs." "Well, I have a package for her." "Let me carry the package to
mother." "Why, Minnie dear, how can you carry the package; you cannot carry yourself." With
a smile on her face Minnie said, "Oh no, Papa; you give me the package and I will carry the
package and you will carry me." There is, surely, a great lesson for us here.

Cast thou thy burden on the Lord;
What then? Will He bear it while I go free?
Nay, weary soul, not thus doth read the Word:
He will sustain_not it, not it_but thee.
The burden still is thine:it is thy gift,
Bestowed by Him who knoweth all thy need:
But now the everlasting arms shall lift
And fold thee close_and thou shalt rest indeed.

It is helpful to compare this heavenly counsel with two similar verses in the New Testament_Phil.
4:6,7 and 1 Pet. 5:7. These may be summarized thus:(a) What we are to do:"Cast all our care
upon God." (b) How we are to do it? "By prayer and supplication." (c) Why we are to do it:
"Because He cares for you."

This counsel is all-inclusive. "Casting all your care upon Him"_heart cares, domestic cares,
business cares, small cares, great cares_every conceivable kind of care. Let us always remember
that there is nothing too great for His power (Jer. 32:17), nothing too insignificant for His love
(Matt. 10:29-31).

What a friend we have in Jesus!

We continue our study of a few New Testament characters whose identity God has seen fit not to
reveal. "As unknown, and yet well known" (2 Cor. 6:9).

Two Trustworthy Brothers

Two unnamed brothers, highly commended by the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 8, next claim our
attention. As to the first, he writes:"And we have sent with [Titus] the brother whose praise is
in the gospel throughout all the churches; and not that only, but who was also chosen of the
churches to travel with us with this grace" (8:18,19).

Many have been the guesses as to what individual is meant in this passage. However, it is enough
for us to know that he was a brother devoted to the spread of the blessed gospel and had so
conducted himself that he was well known in this connection in all the assemblies. What an honor
was this bestowed by the Holy Spirit on a servant of the Lord! His work commended him far and
wide, and this was better by far than having his name written out for us on the pages of
inspiration. Having obtained this confidence of all of the gatherings of the believers, he was
considered a fit man to accompany Titus in his conveyance of their bounty to the poor saints at
Jerusalem.

Another unnamed brother was appointed to accompany these two. Paul refers to him as one
"whom we have often proved to be of diligent zeal in many things, but now more diligently
zealous through the great confidence he has as to you" (8:22,23 JND). He apparently was not a
laborer in the Word and doctrine like the first, but a trusted messenger, of which the early
churches often had need in the absence of modern communication services. He was a hopeful man,
since he could have confidence in such as the Corinthians. He was evidently motivated by that love
which "believes all things, hopes all things" (1 Cor. 13:7).

Though these brothers’ names are unknown to us, they are nevertheless honored names, and the
honors bestowed upon them are such as all believers might well covet. Nothing whatever is said
of any gift they might have possessed, any fluency of speech, or ability to teach or preach. The
points noted of them are diligence and faithfulness, dependability and confidence in their
Corinthian brethren.

May the Lord give us to covet earnestly these qualities of diligence, earnestness, and faithfulness,
and such a life as shall bring about deserved recognition by the assemblies of God.

A Peacemaker

"I entreat you also, true yokefellow, help those women who labored with me in the gospel" (Phil.
4:3). Here we have yet another anonymous person mentioned. Whatever his name might have
been, we have something even better than a personal name. He is styled "true [that is, genuine]
yokefellow." What honor is conveyed in the term–a genuine, a faithful, a dependable fellow
laborer of the apostle. Paul entreats him to help those women (evidently Euodias and Syntyche)

who labored with him the gospel. The "help" the apostle entreats was to try to bring together
again these two alienated sisters who had become so in connection with the work of the Lord. He
was requested to act as peacemaker between them, and this was indeed a most delicate
commission–one requiring rare grace and special moral qualifications. "Blessed are the
peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God" (Matt. 5:9).

With what admirable delicacy does the wise apostle here refer to the conflict between this pair of
active Christian women. He deals with it not by an elaborate exposure of its obvious wrong, but
by carrying it into the sanctuary of holiness and peace, there to die. How prominent in the dear
apostle was that love that "shall cover the multitude of sins" (1 Pet. 4:8). And how rare today are
these genuine workers for Christ to whom this designation of honor could be truthfully applied.

There are many who are ready enough and fitted by their spiritual state to promote friction and
discord between believers, to cause alienation, and to destroy confidence between those who labor
in and for the Lord. But true promoters of godly peace, helpers in the so often needed service of
reconciliation among brothers and sisters in Christ, are distinguished by their regrettable rarity.

O Christian covet earnestly to be a promoter of peace among the Lord’s flock, where there is often
so much to cause friction, where so many nurse grievances, where unbecoming coolness so often
settles between those who are exhorted to "love as brethren." The commission is yours, as it is
mine, and may we ever seek grace to be used in this blessed ministry of reconciliation among the
so often alienated members of the household of faith.

(From Holding Fast and Holding Forth, Vol. 22.)

She asked to be made like her Saviour;
He took her right then at her word,
And sent her a heart-crushing burden
Till the depths of her soul were stirred.

She asked for a faith strong, yet simple;
He permitted the dark clouds to come,
And she staggered by faith through the darkness
For the storm had quite obscured the sun.

She prayed to be filled with a passion
Of love for lost souls and for God;
And again in response to her longings
She sank ‘neath the chastening rod.

She wanted a place in His vineyard;
He took her away from her home,
And placed her among hardened sinners
Where she_humanly_stood all alone.

She saw she must give up her ambitions
Which had been her "air castles" for years;
But as she knelt in consecration
She whispered, "Amen," through her tears.

She wanted a meek, lowly spirit;
The work He gave answered that cry,
Till some who had once been companions,
With a pitying smile, passed her by.

She asked to lean hard on Her Saviour;
He took human props quite away,
Till no earthly friend could give comfort,
And she could do nothing but pray.

I saw her go out in the vineyard
To harvest the ripening grain;
Her eyes were still moistened with weeping,
Her heart was yet throbbing with pain.

But many a heart that was broken,
And many a wrecked, blighted life,
Was made to thank God for her coming,

And rejoiced in the midst of the strife.

She had prayed to be made like the Saviour,
And the burdens He gave her to bear
Had been but the great Sculptor’s teaching
To help answer her earnest prayer.

"Blessed are the peacemakers:for they shall be called the children of God" (Matt. 5:9).

Observe that it is not those who live in peace, walk in peace, or keep peace, that are crowned with
the divine blessing, but those who make peace. Some who have a peaceable nature are the least
qualified to make peace, and are in danger of being unfaithful for the sake of peace. The
peacemaker must be impartial; he must see that mercy and truth meet together, that righteousness
and peace kiss each other (Psa. 85:10).

Time must be given for God to work:peace cannot be forced. But wherever there is the smallest
possibility, consistent with the holiness and truth of God, of bringing peace into a scene of
conflict, the Christian should count upon God for guidance and help in bringing peace.

Divine preparation for becoming a peacemaker is found in the preceding beatitude:"Blessed are
the pure in heart:for they shall see God." The pure in heart are at peace with God through the
precious blood of Christ. Cleansed from all sin–whiter than snow– they see God, and have
learned much in the divine presence that fits them for peacemaking. He who walks with God lives
in the spirit of self-judgment and judges all that belongs to himself naturally. He thereby gains
complete control over his own spirit, temper, words, and ways. The pure heart is a peaceful heart,
loves peace, and earnestly desires the peace and happiness of others.

"All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do" (Heb. 4:13).

It is a blessed thing to know that we "have to do" with God (Heb. 4:13). If we are seeking
happiness, where shall we find it, except in God? He is not only the source of our blessing, but
the blessing itself.

Once we really come to know God, we will know Him as love (1 John 4:8). Then, knowing that
everything comes to us from Him_no matter what the circumstances_we interpret all by His
love. I may be called on to pass through pain and sorrow and trial as part of His discipline; but
everything that comes from God comes from a source and spring in which I have confidence. I
look, through the circumstances, to Him, and nothing can separate me from His love.

Where God is but little known, and where there is not therefore confidence in His love, there will
be murmuring and rebellion at circumstances. In such a case, the sense of having to do with God
will cause more fear than gladness.

Is it not true that we often stop, practically, at the circumstances in which we find ourselves placed
and consider only our feelings and judgment about them? This is a proof that our souls are not
living in the fullness of communion with God. That with which we should be occupied is, not the
circumstances, but what God intends by them.

There may be some secret evil working in my heart of which I am as yet unaware. Then God
sends some circumstance that discovers to me the evil in order that it may be put away. Is not this
a blessing? The circumstance does not create the evil which it excites; it only acts upon what it
finds to be in my heart and makes it manifest. The evil being discovered, circumstances are all
forgotten; God’s end alone is seen.

If there are circumstances that try and perplex our hearts, let us ask the question, "What is God
up to with me?" The moment the soul finds itself in communion with God about the circumstances,
all is well.

(From Collected Writings, Vol. 16.)

In Part I of this series we discussed how believers ought to prepare for heaven by seeking to live
our lives here on earth as we will one day in heaven. In Part II we considered ways we ought to
prepare for leaving this scene, particularly making sure there are no souls who are hurting or
stumbled because of our sinful or un-Christlike behavior.

Preparation for the Death Event Itself

The way people die is very unpredictable. Some die suddenly, unexpectedly, without symptoms,
and without warning. Others die slowly, and often painfully, as disease destroys the organs of the
body. We do not have much say in how, when, or even if we are going to die. (Remember, the
Lord may return before we die; 1 Thess. 4:17.) So how can we prepare?

I suggest that we can begin even now praying that the Holy Spirit will give us the ability to be a
bright, positive testimony for our blessed Saviour as we die, just as we desire to do so as we live.
A Christian brother told me a few years ago that he often prayed that the Lord would take him
before his mind should deteriorate to the point of possibly saying or doing anything that would
dishonor Christ.

Just a week ago, as I write this, I attended the funeral of a dear fellow believer, Brother D. There
I learned of both the horrible pain he suffered the last week or two before his death and his shining
testimony for Christ in the midst of his suffering. The brother who gave the funeral message told
of a local pastor who came to the hospital to visit Brother D’s roommate. After listening to the
pastor give empty, humanistic words of hope and comfort to the man in the next bed, Brother D
mustered up all of his strength and said, "The most important question is, What do you think of
Christ?" The pastor replied, "Well, yes, that is something to consider." To this, Brother D
responded, "That is the only consideration." How wonderful it would be if we all had such
spiritual boldness and energy, not just on our death beds but during our active lives as well!

An African tribal elder who was more than 100 years old told the story of when missionaries first
came to his district, 100 years previously. He recalled, "We didn’t understand their message and
we thought their ways strange. So, as a tribe, we decided to poison them slowly. I’m the only
living survivor who knows this story." During the next few years, those early pioneer missionaries
and some of their children died one by one, victims of what the mission thought to be the rigors
of Christian service in Africa. But the people of the tribe knew better. After some years, the
people of the district began to turn from animism to Christianity. "It wasn’t because of the way
they lived," the old man said, "but it was how they died that turned our hearts to God." (This
account is by Terry Madison, published in the World Vision magazine, Childlife.)

In 1563, John Foxe published a book that became known as The Book of Martyrs. In it he
described the lives and deaths of men and women–from the first century apostles down to his own
day–who were martyred for their steadfast faith in Christ and for teaching from the Bible. Let us
look at the final words of a few of these martyrs as reported by Foxe:

Polycarp, Smyrna, about 155 A.D. "The proconsul again urged him, saying, ‘Swear, and I will
release thee–reproach Christ.’

"Polycarp answered, ‘Eighty and six years have I served Him and He never once wronged me;
how then shall I blaspheme my King who has saved me?’…

"’I will tame thee with fire,’ said the proconsul.

"Then said Polycarp, ‘You threaten me with fire that burns for an hour and is soon extinguished,
but the fire of the future judgment and of eternal punishment reserved for the ungodly you are
ignorant of. But why do you delay? Do whatever you please.’…

"When they would have fastened him to the stake, he said, ‘Leave me as I am, for He who gives
me strength to sustain the fire will enable me also, without your securing me with nails, to remain
without flinching in the pile.’ Upon which they bound him without nailing him. So he said thus,
‘O Father, I bless Thee that Thou hast counted me worthy to receive my portion among the
number of martyrs.’"

John Oldcastle, London, 1418. "As he was come to the place of execution … he fell down
devoutly upon his knees, desiring Almighty God to forgive his enemies. Then stood he up and
beheld the multitude, exhorting them in a most godly manner to follow the laws of God written
in the Scriptures, and to beware of such teachers as they see contrary to Christ in their
conversation and living. Then was he hanged up alive in the fire, praising the name of God so long
as his life lasted."

William Tyndale, Vilvorde, Belgium, 1536. "Brought forth to the place of execution, he was tied
to the stake … crying at the stake with a fervent zeal and a loud voice, ‘Lord! Open the King of
England’s eyes.’"

Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, Oxford, England, 1555. As his execution approached, Latimer
prayed particularly "that God of His mercy would restore His Gospel to England once again; and
these words ‘once again, once again,’ he did so beat into the ears of the Lord God, as though he
had seen God before him and spoken to Him face to face…. How mercifully the Lord heard his
… request in restoring His Gospel once again unto [England]….

"When he stood at the stake … and the tormentors about to set the fire to him … he lifted up his
eyes toward heaven with an amiable and comfortable countenance, saying these words, ‘God is
faithful, who does not suffer us to be tempted above our strength.’"

Nicholas Ridley was burned at the stake along with Hugh Latimer. When they brought a flaming
torch and laid it down at Ridley’s feet, Latimer said to Ridley, ‘Be of good comfort, Master
Ridley, and play the man. We shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as
I trust shall never be put out.’"

We must not pass by two more sterling examples from the pages of Scripture. Stephen, as he was

being stoned to death, cried out, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing
on the right hand of God…. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit…. Lord, lay not this sin to their charge"
(Acts 7:54-60). And finally, let us listen to some of the words of the Lord Jesus Himself from the
cross:"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do…. Verily I say unto you, Today you
shall be with Me in paradise." "Behold your son! … Behold your mother!" "My God, My God,
why hast Thou forsaken Me?" "It is finished."

Few, if any, of our North American readers are in danger of being executed because of our faith
in Christ. However, in other parts of the world tens of thousands of Christians lose their lives each
year because of their faith. If the Lord should tarry another couple of decades, such a thing is
entirely possible in North America as well.

But given our present state of safety and security, what can we learn from these accounts from
Scripture and from Foxe’s Book of Martyrs? I believe they encourage us to approach old age,
infirmity, diminution of physical powers, decreasing independence, serious illness, pain, and death
with calmness, faith, contentment, and continual dependence upon the Lord. Listen to the Apostle
Paul’s words from the Roman prison:"I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be
content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound; everywhere and in all things
I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all
things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:11- 13). Also, after recounting the many trials
and troubles he experienced in service for the Lord, the Apostle writes, "I will glory of the things
that concern my infirmities…. Most gladly … will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power
of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities,
in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake:for when I am weak, then am I strong" (2 Cor.
11:23- 12:10). In the same epistle, the Apostle encourages the suffering saints on the basis of their
assurance of eternal life:"For our momentary and light affliction works for us in surpassing
measure an eternal weight of glory" (4:17 JND). Even excruciating pain for months or years will
be seen as "momentary and light" once we get to heaven.

Preparation for the Death of a Loved One

The counsel here is of the same order as that given in Part II, "Preparation for Leaving Earth,"
in the previous issue. Especially important is the need to confess and clear up any wrongs we have
done against others before death removes the opportunity. I read once about a young Christian
woman, perhaps college age, who had a poor relationship with her mother. On a particular
occasion, they exchanged angry words over the telephone and the daughter hung up on her
mother. That night the mother died very suddenly of a stroke or heart attack. The daughter,
understandably, was devastated, filled with remorse and guilt, having no way to obtain her
mother’s forgiveness.

When there are unresolved conflicts with one who is now deceased, it can take a long, long time
to work through and overcome one’s grief because of the impossibility of being fully reconciled
this side of heaven.

We sometimes hear the advice:"Do not do anything you would not want to be found doing at the

moment the Lord comes." We might add to this:"Do not say or do anything to another person that
you would regret for the rest of your life should that person suddenly die before you have had an
opportunity to be reconciled." The Lord Jesus’ counsel in His Sermon on the Mount bears
repeating:"If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything
against you, leave there your gift before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your
brother, and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly while you are in
the way with Him, lest at any time the adversary deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver
you to the officer, and you be cast into prison" (Matt. 5:23-25). The "prison" here could in certain
instances refer to the chains of guilt and remorse.

It is easier to deal with the reverse situation. If the one who has died is the offender and you are
the offended one, it is your privilege to forgive the offender, "even as God for Christ’s sake has
forgiven you" (Eph. 4:32). Let us not be like the woman I met once who was still bitter toward
her husband twenty years after he had died. What an emotional and physical toll such bitterness
took on that woman!

In the next issue we shall consider further aspects of dealing with the death of a loved one.

His grace is sufficient, whatever the pathway,
His strength in thy weakness shall perfected be;
So great is His love it never can weary
Of meeting thy need and of caring for thee.

His grace is sufficient, thou ne’er canst exhaust it,
Be strong in that grace which floweth to thee,
Draw largely, continually, out from His fullness,
He still is sufficient, He careth for thee.

Thou’rt nothing but weakness, His arms are around thee,
Not a thing canst thou do, but simply lie still,
And learn in the pathway of simple dependence,
A song of thanksgiving, since this is God’s will.

Then cling in thy weakness for He is beside thee,
Upholding, supporting, sustaining thee still;
And know that the Father is only just working
To mold thee and fashion thee unto His will.

Thy weakness He’ll use to display His own glory,
Resurrection strength then shall perfected be;
And thus thou shalt prove through the wilderness journey,
His grace shall be always sufficient for thee.

"[Barnabas] exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord…. Then
departed Barnabas to Tarsus for to seek Saul" (Acts 11:23-25).

How young converts need such exhortation and encouragement! Our Lord has warned us, "No
man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God" (Luke
9:62). May God help us to plow a straight furrow_to go on in the path of devotion to the Lord,
to cleave unto Him with purpose of heart. What a valuable work did Barnabas carry out with the
new converts to Christ!

Barnabas was a self-effacing man; he realized his own limitations and was glad to recognize a man
with greater ability than he had himself. As he ministered, he thought, "There is another man who
can help in a better way. I am going to bring that man here.

Barnabas had been interested in Saul. Saul had come to Jerusalem and wanted to join himself to
the brethren there, but they were afraid of him and feared that he intended to turn them over to
the authorities. But Barnabas spoke up and told how Saul had seen the Lord in the way, and that
He had spoken to him, and that he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. So the
believers at Jerusalem lost their fear of Saul and received him into their fellowship.

Barnabas recognized the remarkable ability of Saul of Tarsus, and knew he was a chosen vessel
to give the gospel to the Gentiles. Barnabas might have said, "I can go on ministering here with
nobody interfering with me." But no, he said, "I would do better to fade out a little and get a more
capable man to take my place," and off he went to Tarsus. So far as we know, Saul was in
retirement, as though he had failed to qualify as a preacher of the Word after he left Jerusalem.
Perhaps he felt he was not worthy to serve the Lord since he had persecuted the Church.

Barnabas found Saul and "brought him unto Antioch." I like that. It suggests to me that Paul was
not ready to go until Barnabas (gently and kindly, no doubt) persuaded him. And so Saul went,
and "it came to pass that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church and taught much
people."

How blessed was the assembly at Antioch to have the ministry of the gifted apostle. And how
blessed has been the whole body of believers ever since to have the written ministry of the Apostle
Paul for their instruction. Let us be thankful for the work of encouragement carried out by men
like Barnabas in the Church.

(Adapted from Lectures on the Book of Acts, published by Loizeaux, Neptune, NJ; used by
permission.)

For nearly a year I kept the flask-shaped cocoon of an emperor moth. The cocoon is very peculiar
in its construction. A narrow opening is left in the neck of the flask, through which the
transformed insect forces its way. The empty cocoon is as entire as when it was occupied, with
no rupture of the interlacing fibers occurring during exit of the moth. The great disproportion
between the exit diameter and the size of the emerging moth makes one wonder how the exit is
ever accomplished at all; it never is without great labor and difficulty. It is supposed that the
pressure to which the moth’s body is subjected in passing through the narrow opening is a
provision of the Creator for forcing the juices into vessels of the wings, these being less developed
at the time of emergence from the chrysalis than they are in other insects.

I happened to witness the first efforts of my imprisoned moth to escape from its long confinement.
Nearly an entire morning, from time to time, I watched it patiently striving and struggling to get
out. It never seemed able to get beyond a certain point, and at last my patience was exhausted.
Acting as though I was wiser and more compassionate than its Maker, I resolved to give it a
helping hand. With the points of my scissors, I snipped the confining threads to make the exit just
a very little easier. Immediately, and with perfect ease, out came my moth, dragging a shrunken
body and little shriveled wings. But in vain did I watch to see that marvelous progress of
expansion in which the wings silently and swiftly develop before one’s eyes. I longed to see the
exquisite spots and various colors which were all there in miniature assume their proper size. I
desired to see this creature_in truth one of the loveliest of its kind_appear in all its beauty.

But I looked in vain. My false tenderness had proved its ruin. It was never anything but a stunted
abortion, crawling painfully through that brief life which it should have spent flying through the
air on rainbow wings.

I have often recalled the lesson I learned that day. It has helped me to understand what the
Germans call "the hardness of God’s love." I have thought of it often when watching, with pitiful
eyes, those who were struggling with sorrows, suffering, or distress. It has seemed to me that I
was more merciful than God. If left up to me, I would have eagerly cut short the discipline and
given deliverance. Short-sighted fool! How do I know whether one of these pains and groans can
be spared? The far-sighted, perfect love of God, which seeks the perfection of its object, does not
weakly shrink from present transient suffering. Our Father’s love is too true to be weak. Because
He loves His children, He chastens them, that they may be "partakers of His holiness" (Heb.
12:10). As Christ Himself was "made perfect through sufferings" (Heb. 2:10), the sons of God
are trained up to obedience, and must be brought to glory "through much tribulation" (Acts
14:22).

(Shortened from the tract, "The Burden Bearer," available from Moments With The Book, Box
322, Bedford, PA 15522.)

Barnabas is first mentioned in Acts 4:36,37:"Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas
(which is, being interpreted, the son of consolation), a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,
having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet." Barnabas is an
Aramaic name and the Greek word used to translate the name can be translated into English as
consolation, comfort, exhortation, or encouragement. Although the King James Version uses
"consolation" in Acts 4:36, in modern English "encouragement" has a more robust connotation
than "consolation." Not all of us need consolation, but we all need encouragement.

Barnabas is first mentioned concerning selling land and giving the proceeds to the apostles. In Acts
9:27 Barnabas introduced Saul of Tarsus to the apostles and told them of Saul’s recent conversion
and subsequent preaching in Damascus. In Acts 11:22,23 we read that Barnabas was sent from
Jerusalem to Antioch, and "when he came and had seen the grace of God, [he] was glad and
exhorted [or consoled, comforted, encouraged] them all, that with purpose of heart they would
cleave unto the Lord." Then he went to Tarsus to get Saul and bring him to Antioch.

Barnabas and Saul (now called Paul) traveled together, along with Barnabas’ cousin, John Mark,
on Paul’s first missionary journey (Acts 13,14). Paul wanted Barnabas to go with him on a second
journey (Acts 15:36). However, Paul and Barnabas went separate ways because they could not
agree on whether to take Mark along again. Paul regarded Mark as unstable because he had left
them during the first journey. Barnabas wanted to given Mark another chance, perhaps desiring
to encourage him. Who was right? Perhaps both were. Mark seems to have grown spiritually
under the guidance of Barnabas (verse 39), for a few years later Paul asked Timothy to bring Mark
to him, "for he is profitable to me for the ministry" (2 Tim. 4:11). Also, the Holy Spirit used
Mark to write the second Gospel.

It has been said that Satan’s main weapon against Christians is discouragement. Encouragement
is a ministry that can be carried out in public or private, by men or women, and is vitally needed.
What is the purpose of encouragement? Is it just to have people feel good about themselves? No,
encouragement, like all other aspects of ministry, is to help Christians to become more like Christ
and to develop and use their spiritual gifts to serve God and encourage others.

What is the best way to encourage others? Is it to point out their faults, their slip-ups, their
ineptness? No, the best way is to use Phil. 4:8 as a guiding principle and concentrate on the
positive. If a person is teaching doctrinal error or is engaging in actual sin, he must be admonished
immediately, although even then as gently as possible (Gal. 6:1). But if a person is merely inept
or forgetful or ignorant, we do not need to criticize all his shortcomings. In the assembly Bible
reading, if a brother speaks for an hour and says only one memorable sentence, let us concentrate
on that one sentence:"Brother, I really appreciated your thought on _____." Soon, there will be
two sentences per hour, and with further encouragement, three, and so on.

In the home, if the wife makes good biscuits and burns everything else, let us talk about the
biscuits. If the husband does one thing that pleases his wife, she should express appreciation for
that one thing rather than nagging him about the other things she does not like. With

encouragement, the husband may turn into a model husband. If we can only think of one thing
positive our child said or did in a given day, it will be a great encouragement to him/her to remind
him/her of that one thing (or as many as there are) at bedtime.

Satan does not need our help in his business of accusing and discouraging the brethren. Let us
build up and encourage each other. How wonderful it would be if each of us could receive the
name "Barnabas" from our brother and sisters in Christ because of our help and encouragement
of them.

FRAGMENT
Robert Moffat tells of a man coming to him in great distress because his favorite dog had eaten
his New Testament. "The Book is so full of the words of love and kindness, they will make him
so gentle, he will be of no use for hunting," he complained. The man had seen wild savages
transformed into gentle disciples by faith in the Word of God.

Let us consider briefly the interesting New Testament character of Epaphroditus. We are not told
very much about him, but in what we are told we see a great deal of what is lovely and pleasant.
We see much that makes us long for the same kind of men today. As we read about Epaphroditus,
may the Holy Spirit lead us to cultivate the same grace which shone so brightly in that dear and
honored servant of Christ!

"I supposed it necessary, writes the Apostle Paul, "to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and
companion in labor and fellow soldier, but your messenger, and he who ministered to my wants.
For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness because you had heard that he had been sick.
For indeed he was sick nigh unto death; but God had mercy on him, and not on him only, but on
me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I sent him therefore the more carefully that, when
you see him again, you may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful. Receive him therefore
in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation, because for the work of Christ he was
nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me" (Phil. 2:25-30).

We see that the inspired apostle bestowed upon Epaphroditus many high and honorable titles,
styling him his "brother and companion in labor and fellow-soldier." It is quite possible that some
of us, on reading this, may feel disposed to inquire if Epaphroditus was a great evangelist or
teacher, or some highly gifted servant of Christ. We are not told that he was a great preacher or
a profound teacher in the Church of God. All that we are told about him is that came forward in
a time of real need to "stop a gap," as we say. The Philippians had it upon their hearts to send help
to the Apostle Paul in his prison at Rome. He was in need and they longed to supply his need.
They loved him and God had laid it upon their loving hearts to communicate with his necessities.
They thought of him and longed to minister to him of their substance.

How lovely was this! How grateful to the heart of Christ! Listen to the glowing terms in which
the imprisoned apostle speaks of their precious ministry. "I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now
at the last your care of me has flourished again, wherein you were also careful, but you lacked
opportunity…. I have all and abound, having received of Epaphroditus the things from you, and
odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God" (Phil. 4:10-18).

Here we see the place which Epaphroditus filled in this blessed business. There lay the beloved
apostle in his prison at Rome and there lay the loving offering of the saints at Philippi. But how
was it to be conveyed to him? These were not the days of sending bank checks or postal money
orders. There were no railways. It was no easy matter to get from Philippi to Rome in those days.
But Epaphroditus, that dear, unpretending, self-surrendering servant of Christ, presented himself
to supply the missing link, to be the channel of communication between the assembly at Philippi
and the apostle in Rome. He did not aim at doing some great showy thing, something which would
make him very prominent and cause his name to be blazed abroad as some wonderful person. Ah,
no! Epaphroditus was a dear, self-hiding, lowly servant of Christ, one of that class of workmen
to whom we are irresistibly attracted. Nothing is more charming than an unpretending, retiring
man who is content just to fill the empty niche; to render the needed service, whatever it is; to do
the work cut out for him by the Master’s hand.

There are some who are not content unless they are at the head and tail of everything. They seem
to think that no work can be rightly done unless they have a hand in it. They are not satisfied to
supply a missing link. How repulsive are all such! How we retire from them! Self-confident, self-
sufficient, ever pushing themselves into prominence. They have never measured themselves in the
presence of God, never been broken down before Him, never taken their true place of self-
abasement.

Epaphroditus was not of this class at all. He put his life in his hand to serve other people; and
when at death’s door, instead of being occupied with himself or his ailments, he was thinking of
others. "He longed after you all, and was full of heaviness"_not because he was sick,
but_"because you had heard that he had been sick." Here was true love. He knew what his
beloved brethren at Philippi would be feeling when informed of his serious illness_an illness
possibly brought on by his willing-hearted service to them.

All this is morally lovely. It does the heart good to contemplate this exquisite picture. Epaphrodi
tus had evidently studied in the school of Christ. He had sat at the Master’s feet, and drunk deeply
into His spirit. In no other way could he have learned such holy lessons of self-surrender and
thoughtful love for others. The world knows nothing of such things; nature cannot teach such
lessons. They are altogether heavenly, spiritual, divine. Would that we knew more of them! They
are rare among us with all our high profession. There is a most humiliating amount of selfishness
in all of us and it looks so hideous in connection with the name of Jesus.

Let us again notice the very touching manner in which the inspired apostle commends Epaphro
ditus to the assembly at Philippi. "He longed after you all and was full of heaviness, because you
had heard that he had been sick. For indeed he was sick nigh unto death; but God had mercy on
him, and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow." What a tide
of divine affection and sympathy rolled in upon that unpretending, self-sacrificing servant of
Christ! The whole assembly at Philippi, the blessed apostle, and, above all, God Himself, were
all engaged in thinking about a man who did not think about himself. Had Epaphroditus been a
self-seeker, had he been occupied about himself or his interests, or even his work, his name would
never have shone on the page of inspiration.

Thus it will ever be. A man who thinks much of himself saves others the trouble of thinking
about him; but the lowly, the humble, the modest, the unpretending, the retiring, the self-emptied,
who think of, and live for others, who walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, these are the persons
to be thought of and cared for, loved and honored, by God and His people.

"For the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of
service toward me." Thus it was with this most dear and honored servant of Christ. He did not
regard his life, but laid it at his Master’s feet. Hence the apostle calls upon the church to hold him
in reputation. Thus the honored name of Epaphroditus has been handed down to us by the pen of
inspiration. His precious service has been recorded, and the record has been read by untold
millions. At the same time, the names and doings of self-seekers, the self-important, the
pretentious of every age and place are sunk in eternal oblivion.

(From Short Papers, Vol. 1, ©1975 by Believers Bookshelf, P.O. Box 261, Sunbury, PA 17801;
used by permission.)

We have discussed several aspects of preparation for death_both our own and that of a loved one.
Let us now suppose that the death of a loved one has occurred. What are some of the emotions and
problems that we have to work through following the loss of a loved one? And how can we best
help others who are grieving over such a loss?

Dealing with the Death of a Loved One

Let us begin by giving another’s definition and description of grief:"Grief is the emotion, or
complex of emotions, we experience when we lose anyone or anything we care about deeply. An
amputee who loses an arm or a leg goes through grief…. A boy may grieve when a romance
breaks up…. Grief may touch a worker when he retires from a long-held position…. Whenever
we lose some person or possession that has provided emotional security or satisfaction, grief may
follow" (Haddon W. Robinson, Grief, ©1974, Zondervan Publishing House).

The several Hebrew and Greek words translated "grief" and "sorrow" often carry the meanings
of pain, sickness, weakness, or affliction. For example, Job’s three friends did not speak to him
because "they saw that his grief [literally, pain] was very great" (Job 2:13).

Sometimes Christians who have lost one near and dear to them are admonished by well-meaning
comforters:"Now you must get hold of yourself and not mourn and weep; you ought to be happy
to know that your beloved is safe in the arms of Jesus and is happier than ever before." The last
part of that statement is blessedly true for all who are truly saved and die in Christ. However, it
does not mean that it is wrong for one to grieve, to feel keenly the pain and loneliness of
separation from a loved one. The Apostle Paul wrote, "I would not have you to be ignorant,
brethren, concerning those who are asleep [or have died], that you sorrow not" (1 Thess. 4:13).
Sometimes we stop there, but there is more to the verse:"Even as others who have no hope." So
this verse is not telling us that we ought not to experience grief and sorrow when a Christian loved
one dies, but that our grief is going to be different in character from that of one who has no hope.
Our grief is lightened somewhat by the knowledge that our loved one is with the Lord and that we
shall one day see our loved one again in heaven. But nevertheless we still grieve because of the
present loss we have incurred and because of the ensuing loneliness. There is no better illustration
in Scripture of the propriety of grief and mourning than that provided for us at the tomb of
Lazarus:"Jesus wept" (John 11:35).

Does grieving always begin at the time of death? If the death is sudden and unexpected, grief of
the survivors will generally begin with the emotion of shock and disbelief upon receiving word
of the death. However, if death is the culmination of an extended period of illness, pain, and
suffering, the grieving often begins long before the actual death. It may commence with a
diagnosis of cancer or with a declaration by the physician that "there is nothing more we can do."
In this instance, the course of the grief may be quite different from that where the death is sudden
and unexpected. This is because the one who is dying and the loved ones go through the grief
together. In a certain sense, they share the pain, discomfort, and embarrassment associated with
the illness. They also share_and help each other work through_the fears and uncertainties of the

future. The dying one, even though a believer, may have fears about the increasing pain, or what
it will be like to die. The survivors may have fears about ability to cope with life without the loved
one. But by the time of actual separation by death, the survivors may have already worked through
much of their grief.

A brother once told me that he felt guilty that he did not experience more grief following the death
of his wife. But the fact that his wife had suffered with cancer for many months before she died
meant that he had already experienced a great deal of grief while watching his loved one’s life ebb
away. Her death_with its release from all the pain and suffering_was in a sense a great relief to
the rest of the family.

The practice in some circles of not telling the sick person that he/she has a terminal illness only
makes the grieving process much more complicated and difficult. Besides, it is sinful and
hypocritical (Rom. 12:9), a cruel lie of pretending that nothing is wrong. Another describes the
consequences of lying to the patient:"A false, artificial relationship (everyone was always afraid
that he might find out) began to grow. Most dying persons know anyway, but everyone (all
around) was afraid to broach the subject. No significant communication between husband and wife
or children and parent took place. The problem got in the way every time they were together.
They could never really talk about the expected death or about what was going to happen after
death. Fear grew in the one who was to be left that the deceased might have been able to relieve
by his wise help and careful planning during those last few months. On the other hand, a vital
ministry of love and help was withheld from the dying loved one who was effectively cut off from
everything he needed. The physician and family meant well, but because they violated God’s law,
they destroyed all that might have been good. They could not plan together for the eventuality of
death. There could be no last words to the children.

"This terrible situation so often exists today. One person dies and the family … remembers the
lies, the hard days, the emptiness, and fear. There was no grieving together before death possible.
Nothing relieves and helps grief more than this…. Much of the heartache of grief could be
removed by proper Christian communication prior to death. If a husband and wife discuss the
expected death beforehand, grief can be lessened by open exchange, reconciliation (if necessary),
planning, preparation, warm moments and honest joint prayer and ministry of the Word. There
can be pleasant memories of these last weeks or months, in contrast to the empty dread that
accompanies the lies. Children can be challenged to duty and devotion as they were by the dying
patriarchs. When people need one another so desperately, why should lies drive them apart?" (Jay
E. Adams, "Grief as a Counseling Opportunity" in The Big Umbrella, ©1972, Presbyterian and
Reformed Publishing Company).

It may be instructive for us to observe David during two periods of grieving. The first relates to
the death of the child born to him by Bathsheba as a result of their adulterous relationship. When
the Lord struck the child with a serious illness, David grieved for six days while the child was
dying. At the same time he prayed that God would be gracious and allow the child to live. But
when the child died, David "came into the house of the Lord and worshiped" and he said to his
servants, "I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me" (2 Sam. 12:15-23). David had repented
of his sin with Bathsheba and was restored to the Lord (12:13). This would seem to be the reason

David was able to work through his grief rather quickly, even though the child was taken away
by the Lord as a judgment upon David for his sin.

David’s grief over the death of his grown son, Absalom, was quite a different story. At the time
of his death, Absalom was in rebellion against his father, and had even wrested part of the
kingdom away from his father. The death of Absalom meant victory for David’s army and the
restoration of the entire kingdom to David. But when David received news of the death of
Absalom, he wailed, "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would God I had died for
thee, O Absalom, my son, my son! … And the victory that day was turned into mourning unto all
the people; for the people heard say that day how the king was grieved for his son" (2 Sam. 18:31-
19:2). David’s army commander, Joab, rebuked the king for behaving as if he loved his enemies
more than his friends. No doubt, what made the death of Absalom so difficult for David to handle
was the fact that there was an unreconciled condition between them that could never be resolved
on earth, plus no real assurance that they would meet together in heaven.

This brings us back to the points made in Parts II and III of this series about the importance of
resolving interpersonal conflicts before death comes in and makes it impossible. How can a pastor
or counselor help a person who carries a load of guilt from unresolved conflicts with one who has
died? First of all, the survivor must be reminded that through the death of Jesus Christ there is
complete forgiveness with God. If he is willing fully to forgive the deceased person for his/her
part in the conflict, he must at the same time accept God’s forgiveness_provided for us at an
enormous price_for his part.

Second, while the survivor cannot experience reconciliation with the deceased person, he can be
encouraged to do whatever possible to right any continuing wrongs stemming from that conflict.
This might involve confessing his wrong, making restitution, and/or showing special kindness to
the family of the deceased person.

Third, the survivor should consider other relationships in which the same patterns of conflict may
yet exist. He should do everything possible (Rom. 12:18) to be reconciled with other persons in
his life.

The following account by Jay Adams illustrates what we have been talking about:"The friend of
a young girl who was killed suddenly sought help. He said that he had failed to use many
opportunities to witness to her about Christ. Now it was too late. He had become deeply depressed
over this matter and had come to believe that he was guilty of sending her to hell. Nothing anyone
could say would relieve the depression that had developed. Help came in the form of three things
that had to be done:(l) He needed to repent and to confess his sin of failure to witness. Truly he
had sinned against God and against the girl and had to be called to repentance. (2) He needed to
get his theology straightened out. He was not responsible for the eternal destiny of that girl,
although he was responsible for witnessing to her. She did not go to hell as the result of his sin;
if she went to hell, it was for her own sin. She was responsible to God for her sin; his
responsibility was to witness to her about it and about her need for a Saviour. Each was guilty of
separate sins. Truly his sin entered into the question of her eternal state, but she would suffer
eternally for her sin, not for his. (3) He could do nothing about the past but to repent, yet genuine

repentance would lead to fruit fitting to repentance:if his repentance over the sin of failure to
witness was sincere, he would do differently in the future. As a matter of fact, genuine relief came
only when he made a list of persons to whom a witness was long overdue and began to do what
he could to make up for lost time."

Helping Others Who Are Grieving

How can we help others who are grieving? First, we must be willing to weep with them. "Rejoice
with those that do rejoice, and weep with those who weep" (Rom. 12:15). This may include being
willing to let the bereaved one do all the talking and being a patient listener. And it may include
just sitting and holding the hand of the grieving one and wiping away the tears. "A little girl lost
a playmate in death, and one day reported to her family that she had gone to comfort the sorrowing
mother. ‘What did you say?’ the father asked. ‘Nothing,’ the child replied. ‘I just climbed up on
her lap and cried with her’" (Haddon Robinson).

During the period of initial shock, the grieving one may say things that are themselves shocking.
There may be expressions of anger toward the deceased person ("Why didn’t he take better care
of himself?"), or hostility toward God ("Why did He allow this to happen?"). However, this is not
the time for lectures and rebukes (possibly later if the anger persists). Martha mildly rebuked the
Lord, "If Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." The Lord gently responded with an
encouraging word, "Your brother shall rise again" (John 11:21,23). A little later, Mary spoke the
same words to the Lord. He responded by weeping with her (11:32-35).

After the funeral, when all the guests have returned home, and the bereaved one is all alone in the
house, do not forget him/her! Supper time and evenings may be particularly difficult for one
recently widowed since these may have been the times of most frequent companionship with the
departed spouse. So inviting that person to dinner_and encouraging other friends and family
members to do the same_may be an immense help to such a one. On such occasions, we should
give the grieving one every opportunity and encouragement to talk about events in the past.
Haddon Robinson observes that "we are inclined to avoid mentioning the person who has died,
thinking that our comments will open wounds. Seldom is that true. Occasionally mentioning a
conversation or a happy incident from the past can show that others, too, have loved and miss the
person who has died."

Death often brings about great changes in a person’s life. Former companionship, security,
activities, rituals, and patterns of living are broken down, and in their place new ones need to be
built up. C.S. Lewis writes of the "laziness of grief." We may be of help to grieving persons by
encouraging them after an appropriate period of time to take up activities and renew friendships.

Illness, old age, pain, affliction, and death of a loved one are some of the ways God uses to uproot
our hearts from this present world which is passing away (1 John 2:17), and to redirect them to
the world to come (Eph. 1:21; Heb. 2:5; 6:5). So let us pray for ourselves and for one another that
when death comes into our lives, and the intense grief and loneliness that accompanies it, even this
might serve to draw us all the closer to our blessed Saviour. May we come to appreciate more the
One who Himself was preeminently the "Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief" (Isa. 53:3).

And may we thus be brought to a deeper, more constant longing for the heavenly realm where
"God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow,
nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain" (Rev. 21:4).

"Jesus Christ … has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel"
(2 Tim. 1:10).

"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, [Jesus Christ] also Himself
likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him who had the power of
death, that is, the devil" (Heb. 2:14).

These verses state unequivocally that death has been abolished and the devil has been destroyed!
Many of us may exclaim, "Would that death were abolished, and that human tears should
nevermore be shed over those who have died!" Is not death as active today as ever? how then is
it abolished? Is not the devil as active today as ever? how then is he destroyed? The answer lies
in the meaning of the Greek word katargeo translated "abolished" in the one verse and "destroy"
in the other. It does not mean "cease to exist" but "to be made of no effect." The best translation
of the word is found in Gal. 3:17:"That it should make the promise of no effect." Christ has
made both death and the devil to be of no effect, or to amount to nothing.

But is it really true? Indeed it is. Contrast the cry of the Old Testament saint with the joyous word
of the New Testament saint as he looks death squarely in the face. The one mourns, "In the cutting
off of my days I shall go to the gates of the grave; I am deprived of the residue of my years. I
said, I shall not see the Lord … in the land of the living" (Isa. 38:10,11). The other sings, as it
were, "We are always confident, knowing that, while we are at home in the body, we are absent
from the Lord (for we walk by faith, not by sight); we are confident, I say, and willing rather to
be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord" (2 Cor. 5:6-8). This is quite a different
air, and a much sweeter one; may we learn to sing it more and more clearly.

Let us, dear reader, enjoy another of these happy contrasts together. David groaned, "O spare me,
that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more" (Psa. 39:13). But the Apostle Paul
sang, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of
my labor [that is, to live is worth my while]; yet what I shall choose I know not. For I am in a
strait between two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better" (Phil.
1:21-23). To die is gain! To depart is far better! What power has death over one who can so
speak? It does indeed amount to nothing.

The Apostle Paul was privileged to give us a personal account of the glorious realm that lies
beyond death. "And having stoned Paul, [they] drew him out of the city, supposing he had been
dead" (Acts 14:19). There was the bruised body, quite unconscious, being dragged through the
dirt in utter dishonor; but where was the spirit? Well, according to Bible chronologies, it was
approximately 14 years after this that Paul wrote, "I knew a man in Christ above 14 years ago
(whether in the body, I cannot tell, or whether out of the body, I cannot tell; God knows), such
a one caught up to the third heaven,… into paradise, and heard unspeakable words which it is not
lawful for a man to utter" (2 Cor. 12:2-4).

During the journey of the bruised body in shame and dishonor through the streets of Lycaonia,

the spirit was caught up to the place of departed spirits of the redeemed. There it received its
highest honor_God’s honoring thus answering to the devil’s shameful dishonoring. It is very
comforting to realize that the Apostle does not write as if this experience were related to his being
an apostle or of superior spirituality. It is just "a man in Christ," so the poorest, feeblest, youngest
one who is "in Christ" will surely follow the same path some day. Are you in Christ, my reader?
What momentous issues hang upon the answer!

Let us note, too, for our further comfort, that this man "in Christ" was so free of all self-
occupation in paradise that he did not even know whether he was out of the body or not. This tells
us that Paul knew perfectly well that it is possible to hear and see and be conscious while out of
the body. Further note that he had no difficulty in recognizing where he was, for was it not his
own home? Surely it was, and every one "in Christ" will feel quite at home at once. What a
comfort!

Think of it, my beloved. For breath to cease, for heart to stop, for pulse to throb no more, means
"gain," "with Christ," "in paradise," in "the third heaven," "present with the Lord." Thus, surely,
death is ours, a servant like every other minister (1 Cor. 3:22). And death, as the King of Terrors,
is abolished.

Yes, even the certainty of death is gone. It is by no means sure that the eye that now reads these
lines shall ever close in death, for it is written, "We shall not all sleep" (1 Cor. 15:51), and "We
who are alive and remain shall be caught up" (1 Thess. 4:17). What a hope! It has, indeed, been
deferred for a long time. But it will not seem long when_in Christ’s company and changed to be
like Himself_we look back on the days now so often dreary.

Sickness, pain, and weakness still are around us on every side. But in the midst of these trials, we
hear Him say to us, "It is I, be not afraid" (Matt. 14:27), and "My grace is sufficient for you" (2
Cor. 12:9). Thus we triumph through all such trials.

For those who remain after a loved one is taken home, there is still sorrow; the deep places of the
soul are broken up. But when faith resumes her place the bitterness goes, and the sorrow becomes
only like the beauty of a storm cloud spanned by a rainbow.

May the same tender grace that has provided this rich comfort grant us to avail of it to the full.
Thus may we praise Him in joyous liberty here and long to be with Him who has abolished death
and destroyed him who had the power of death, the devil. "Wherefore comfort [or encourage] one
another with these words" (1 Thess. 4:18).

(From Satan:His Person, Work, Place and Destiny, Loizeaux Brothers.)