The Ohio Independent Baptist, April 1961

ll R,\l 1 11 I'' , \ n in1.,~in.,rr li.1lc>~uc l1.l\t'd ()n 1 tile 2 l : t 2 traun11 ht { )\ er Jc)Ul"t). l l fl R lt d, cen1 ,tr.t11ge thlt n1t•n t,.\ul I rc)b ,\ t<.) n1l1 L ,le 1 , , t l, Re 111t .ind _gu.lrde l ni ,c.ht .1nd d.t\. \ n~ , llll!C' ttll th.lt tl)Oqt'Cf(_)f, ot h.1lf ':rl1c c: th ~111.)U l l t lt~· l)t~ .1u~e ., qt1.t.ke a \YOKC 11t~ l.1,,n! t)ur ,, tn1en telt no fc.1r. l1ut tl1ce 1n p.lni tl"1 the t1cld! ·ould 1t be true , \n .tnFel ()t the l or\.1 .tf tr1~hted chcn1? JOH I dt~ n<.)t kno,, , but tl11 1 kno" - my heart In(li ne · t0 t.11 th. iy ) ounger feet out-ran \ .ou. Peter.•1nd the open tomb proclaimed :\ r1 ~·en Lord! To thieve ,,•ould steal the corpse nd lea, e the grave-clo the , ri ch with precious myrrh ; 1 1 or v. ould there t1me be fou nd for them to work And lea\ e before the ,,·on1en came. PETER Yes, John, I knov, ju t ho~v you felt, for nascent faith Like naci,·e intuition seized my mind ~ rhen, ent' ring in, I sa~· those garments lie. To th1e,·es " 'ould neatly fold them thus; and did You see the napkin, that had lain across His face, ~·rapped up as if he ne·er would need Its gentle folds again? A risen Christ , ou ld cake the robes of heav' nly glory back And henceforth never need a winding sheet! JOHN Theo vlhy not now believe, and let the seed Of faith grow up and blossom into fruit? Why smile at Mary Magdalene and call Her story but an idle tale? Recall The promise, and the warning, coo, that he W ould die upon a cross. That prophecy Came crue: then why no t take this promise to Thy troubled heart and hope and pray that soon The on o f God shall show himself to thee? PETER If Jesus v;as indeed the Christ I o nce Confessed and then denied, I understand Too "'·ell just v.·hy he passed me by and let That loyal, fearless Magdalene f irsc see H im glorified. I even fear no tears Of penitence can earn the privilege ordlund and J<>hn 7 () 1- 10 to hcl1> rcc,lll how fajth Of c;t1ch .1 ,1ght for ine; but, Jo hn. e \Vere dcc.c1vcd tl1e J)rom1sed King of kings 1u t sic on D,1vid 's tl1rone, not d1e u1,on A < ross! I \vell remember how he spoke When adular1on turned to blame, and crowds Forsook, until we twelve alone remained. H ow little then I thought that J udas would Betray and I deny! No cross for him Would I allow, nor fai lure for myself. And yet it cannot be that Christ should die! When he is born and takes King D avid·s throne, The rabbis say he reigns for evermore. JOHN The rabbis say- who cares what hirelings teach , Who sold their perjured lies before the court And killed our precious Lord? No, Peter, no! The rabbis can no more command my mind Then they can win my heart with perfidy! A r isen Christ will reign and live to see The travail of his soul well satisfied! PETER Yes, J oho, I know youth yields to holy wrath, And love convinces soon a willing mind; But I am older , and I never pull The line until I know a fish is there. 1 'he evidence 1s strong, and well I wish I cou ld believe; but I must sif t it ou t Alone. ·Tis evening now, so pray for me With all the ochers in the upper room. Perhaps i n Kidron's vale, or back beside The empty tomb 1·11 find the truth I seek. Perhaps the One who comfor ted the thief Upon the cross will comfort even me. PETER AN HOUR LATER Unbolt the door and let me j n ! The Lord Is risen indeed, and loves me still! 0 J ohn, I was more bold to enter in a nd scan The evidence, a nd feel the folded shroud; But your quick i nsighr at the tomb was right– Y our feet were quicker, quicker, too, your heart! 'Twas gui lty fear enslaved my troubled mind Until forgiveness set it free co grasp The truth. The Christ must die for sin-for mP-e- And rise, ere he the Prince of Life could be! THE DIVORCE QUESTION On page five we are reporting an im– portant council that was called recently by the Midview Baptist Church to settle the question 9.~hether divorced and re– married people should be received into membership, and if so, whether they should serve as officers or teachers. The council came up with some helpful con– d usioos. and Pastor Frank Odor is very happy over the result. courage to tackle chis problem. Our churches cannot avoid it in these days when 20% of all marriages end in divorce and when most divorcees remarry. Yet it has been allowed co grow up like T opsy in most of our churches, who in Mrs. Stowe's novel only "growed up" by her– self. Every church has divorced and re– married members, and must have if they are evangelistic; and most of our churches have teachers and minor officers with such a past, and some seem to have no conscience about it even for deacons and pastors. We are not proposing that the recom- mendations of the Midview council be adopted by our state asociation, for some would want stricter rules and some more lax. It is evident in the reported d iscus– sion that all the pastors at the council were not in full agreement. Nor do we ex– pect all readers to agree with all the Scriptural interpretations offered in the first part of the meeting. We do be– lieve that m ost will agree fairly well with the five deliberate recommendations, even if they will think of many unanswered questions. We hope our readers will not judge these things for some of the things (Continued on next page) We are glad chat some o ne had the