The Ohio Independent Baptist, October 1961

\\ { WO KERS TOGETHER " l~ r ,, c r~ I b rt , t getht r ,,,itl1 (~<'hl.'' ,. 1d t}1C \ r'( l~ l, \&1 I }1 in1s<.'lf ,llll\ .t\l~)l le . "l 11 v t I Hl nt l \ J l ,, , ,, , tcrc"l· l)\l t ~. , ,1,e , n\.rc 1,t · \\ l11t ,, 1, true of tll ... e (\\ ) ' l r, ,\ nt, , t 111 ,,t is t l UC ()f • ll ,vl1 lab l l r the 1 l)f" l. 1 lu:·v .1rc, ,1, } • \ll ,.1) 1n 1 hili t'l i.1n " ) l k · ftll o,v~. }11 tll (. g r ,t, n,c tl1at l S t ree \\ htther , , ,e or kt1 ,, e ,"-11 c tl1"r r n c1t \ll l rn-a~nin b l t, t ' ,. ,, l , t vcr tl1c1r r~.1r– ticulnr" o rn1 l l.1 t) r, .111d ,vl1.1re, cr cl1c1r enon1i 11 tt n.. 1re 11l)ot er~ t<.>~t·r hec ,., 1th l, "~ ,,·it 11 t)ne .1nocl1e \\ c.. get c •. n " , ,>f it ,, hen t\ "-on, err tc.ll s o t all t he i't 1 ..... e .t11 l (._ l1u rt he cl1.1t tn fluln(cd }1i1 11 t r1 . l:e h's t1n.1l dcc.1 10 0 He.1"en ,,Till g ,e , n1 c.. \t1rpr1 ·e · a ,,t d1sco\e1 }10 ,, , cl·e l.lD ,.>r o n11llio n 11.1~ been blend– ed t ,~c.. htr tt) l,rodule cl1e "beautiful briJe of h 1,t ·· Gt)t1 11 .1 g1\ en the 1ncrea e an l .ill tt1t: 1 r.11 e belong to him and , t0 u, 11.1 • heen g 1\ en tl1e pr1v1lege of .1 -; t n!! tl1e 1[a rcr-\\ orkn1an . It G,..1.J 1 .lble to p. o.Juce a masterpiece bv an al i-,, 1~e con1b1 na t1on o f the efforts of n1.1nv lore ,, orke ..s. an c.1 e\'en o f mu– ruallv 1e~lous an1..l J 1 ·co rdant servants, ho,"' 4 n1uLh more can he use the efforts or tho<;<:. ,vl10 labor harmoniously? oc th.it any of us do that co perfection_, but c.,'"' rne of u at le.1s t cry to approximate the 11.. 1 eal 1 TH:\ T I \'\"HAT AN A OCIATION I ~ FOR- to help cs to " ork together in l 1ke-n11nded brotherhood! We do not sur– rencter any o f ou r God-given freedom "hen \\ e do that- unless we do not truly belie\ e ou r confession of faith! All of us have our indi"·1dual views and empl1ases 1n things not covered by that contess1on , but o n the fundamentals we a re ag reed. \X 7 e not only should but can work co~erher harmon1ously, because we believe all e. H o" r different it roust be with fu ndamental bel ievers in the Ohio Bap– tist Con\'ent1on , v. here they try to fellow– 'ih1p v.•ich ocher pas tors and churches that u<:ny everything rhar they themselves hold dear. \X 7 e co .1 lJ nor help but wonder how Pastor ~ r 1ll1am Lhlarter v: ill feel when n~~ che rch plays host to the state con– ,·encion th is fa ll and opens his pulpit to D r. Ed" ·1n T . D a hlce rg. Some of the ocl1er speakers ma} be Jus t as radical or more so, bur smooth as th s man is, and able tu sound qui te fu ndan1ental at times, Pasto r chlatter Lannot l'!clp but knov.– thar he sran~s for the Ye: y opposite of "hat he has fairhfu l l:; preached all these , ears. l e ma), he rhat r:e and all che ocher fundamentalis ts " 1 ho a re sti ll in the con– venrion are so used to such inconsistencies that they do nor bother them . bu t v.·e thank God that our speakers agree on rbe _gospel message! Our missionaries preac. h abroad v."hac " re p reach at home. 0 ' r colleges a nd seminar:es s~reng chen the fa ith o f 01.: r you ng peorle instead of "'·eaken ing it. Becau e chis IS so, \,\ e har e the S\'\ eetest fel~OTI/Ship Pf"" <"Sible this side of hea , ren when vle meet in our annl'al m ee~1ngs WHAT LACK WE YET? Enough churches chr t care enough for -u h fello"-'Ship co $encl messengers' Our <.:< nvcntion riti,s ,vc)tdd say that is l,c– t ,tll sc ,ve .l I c t<><1 i ndt: t">endcnt . 01 .. hn 1,111an tell, 1n his l.lst 1sc;u<.· of sc<.· ing a dcl.tJJidat– ~ i '>tgn, h.1n~1ng C)n Pnc n.1iL tl 1 .1t I c1intc l thl ,, .. ty t<) an I 1)1·1>1 1)1 r J3a1,cisc hur t h. 'l~he ,,c)rd "Independent· ,,<1s in b i,c.,ger lettc: s th., n the rest, and 1o!nccl <)lit chc n1<>r,1l ch,1c \\ l"' en B,lpt1c;t churchcc; ,\rt too inclc1endcnc they run do\\n and l)ccon1c dt l.1pidatcd sr>1r1tt1ally and other– ,, 1 e 1ncc it e\ 1dencly w,ts nor a Regu– l.tr B,tpt1 -.; t church. \\C ( OUl l l use the same ill"srra tion to pre,t(h tl e \'al 1 ·e of associat– ing ,, th u . bt r "e ,von't Ealh year one \>r 111 ) e ot tl1ese 1nde1"'endent Baptist cl1 1 11<.br s sees the \-.isiom of co1n1ng into our f ello\\ sl1i1), so v.- e will try to be nice to cl1em and \~oo chem. Wl1at we can'c understand is tha t some cl1urches will a k tor f ellov.ship, for tl1ey want to be listed on our roster; but they don 't seem to feel any nee<l of meeting with us. Yee it is such fello\\·ship that brings mutual inspiration and encouragement. KINGDOM TRUSTEES ' 'Bl' t seek ye first His kingdom, and H :s righteousness." Matt. 6 .33. Tre int'rests of the Kingdom are left 1n our hands, To prosper or to languish in near and distant lands. The lost will never fathom the meaning of God 's grace Unless they see its passion expressed upon our face. 'Tis not in our conversion we prove, what we confess, That we seek first the Kingdom and God's own righteousness: But in our conversation and little things we do Men see our honest preference for Kingdom values true. In prayer our first petition Is...1,1ay Thy Kingdom come;' ' In thought, our meditation 1s on our heavenly Home; Ves, even in our business we seek the gre3ter good, And serve our God and Savior as every Christian should. - R. T. N. What lack -vve yet ? A united pulling and v. ork1ng for the few associational objeas ~ e have. H ow simple our program is in compa riso n ,vith that of the convention. Our meet ings continue for o ne more ses– sio n than theirs, and yet their program covers tv.'O pages and ours two columns of one page! Ir could be argued that we do not concern ourselves with some needs that shoulJ burden ou r hearts; bu t one thing is evident and that is th.i t all of our churches and pastors should back up the few things that we do try to do as an assoc iation- make our camping pro– g ram and you th rally an expanding suc– cess, put our state paper into all our homes, get busy on that home for the aged we are still just talking about, push our \\ omen's rallies and now our men's re– t reat. What is worth doing at all is \VOrth doing v.Tell, and there is no excuse for lackadaisicalness in the Lord's busi- ncss. ·rhus far the only things we cnn l)oast of ,ire our carnping r,rogram for our young 11cc)J1lc, and c>ur women's missic>n rallies. ()ur first men's retreat was won– derful as a bcgjnning, but v:c shr> 1 ld h,1vc l1a<l at lc:ast 50 more men in at– tendance What lack we yet ? Wholc -he11rtcd dc– voc1on to hr1st in evangelism an l .,hris– t1an living! If wc believe tl1at Jesus ( hrist is as \Vonderful as we do, and if v:c hc– l1eve the world is as lost \virhout him as \\ e claim, why do \\'e not go all our for world evangelizarion? The lose will never be impresse l with oar claims co an apostolic faith, if they do not sec in u~ an apostolic zeal. How many of us are workers together \\ 1th God- sowing the gospel seed. watering it witl1 our tears, and reaping prec ous souls ' That is somethjng we cannot do unitedly except as we do it at the same time all the time on our home fields. We believe a few days of inspiration in our state meet– ings will contribute to this work; but after all, that will only be true if we bring the inspiratio n back and express 1t in work. Brethern, let us thank God for all we have accomplished to date, and then high– ly resolve to do more! NOT FOOLISH TO GIVE Jim Elliott, who gave his life to evan– gelize the Auca Indians of Ecuador, has given vs these v.•ords of wisdom: "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." He meant to say, "All of us must die sooner or later, so why should we be so afraid of giving up our lives, when in the giving of tl-:em we can gain eternal riches ?" All who are sure of salvation through J es'.ls Christ ought to be able to face physical danger with the same conviction. When leaders in the National Cot1ncil of Churches say chat v.·e ought to prepare our minds for the possibility chat An1erica may be taken over by the Communists. under the plea that it is better co be Red than dead, they betray a lack of faith in the life to come. They do not even have the p atriotic courage of Patrick Henry, who s;i id, "Give me liberty or give me death. " When v.'e spare ourselves in the struggle to "'in souls and build up our churc.res, " 'e betray the fact chat v:e have the s1me spirit as chose Liberals, no mat– ter how fundamental we may claim to be. Too many of our members excuse themselves from such an easy service as filling a pew on Sunday night because they feel 1c is too taxing! They are try– ing to save a life that they canno t keep. Hov.,ever, money is something else we cannot keep. Sorr.e:imes "e lose 1 t long before v. e die~ h ..1 t 1r is ce:-ta1n th~t "e ~·111 part with ic then If the. e is some alchemy by which v. e can turn e1rthly l)Ossessions into heavenly riches, why are we not anxious to discover it as the ancients were to find a way to lead ifiltO gold ) Jesus said ( according to the American Revised rendering of Luke 16: 9 ) "Make to yourselves friends by means of the mam– mon of unrighteo~sness; that, v. 1 hen it shall fail, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles."