The Ohio Independent Baptist, December 1971

\llll . 4 : 17 ''1\ tdr l1nll ris i11 Ja t1l. t1ro11 .. i11 l,ra ,1:· s11nkc tl1t: pt 01}h "l 11nlaa111 "1 h" f\1tt1rc to f retell. \ ' ith pen C)C~ he . av Hi111 In a ,,ak,ng. consctot1s trance. In the light of in piration F,1r off in tin1e' e pan c. That Star has long been hining 1ore brightly than Balaam knew: nd the Throne will surely follow To make the promise true. Bethlehem· Star ha risen, Sign of the Saviour's birth: Worship. and wait His crowning A Lord of all the earth. ... Ralph T. Nordlund Jlts trurulnun iltrt While we do not know the exact date of the birth of the Lord Jesus we do kno,.., the TIME of His entrance into the world. It was night when Jesus was born in Bethelehem. But when the messengers of Heaven heralded His birtl1 the darkness gave way to LIGHT and "The glory of the Lord shone round them.' ' It was quite different at His death. The very opposite took place. As the Darkness gave way to the Light when He was born, just so the Light gave way to Darkness when He died. This was no mere accident, nor a coincidence. It was the language of creation giving a message that spoke louder than words. God was governing the natural world on both occasions, and would have us know that when Jesus was born, LIGHT had come into the ,vorld. But when ,vicked men took Him and nailed His body to the tree , they gave proof that they did not want The Light. Since the death of Christ on Calvary, the world has been groping in darkness , unable to find its way out of the labyrinth of error and sin. Only those who by faith, accept Christ as Lord, come to the LIGHT and the knowledge of The Truth. We know aJso the PLACE of His birth. Christ was born in Bethlehem. Had the story of His birth been invented by men, they would have had the King born in Jerusalem, but not so with the plan of God. Christ will someday RE– TURN to Jerusalem, but this will be when He comes back to earth to reign as King. His first coming had to do with the Cross, not a throne. Hence He was Born in Bethlehem ' 'the House of Bread." It was most proper and fitting that it sl:ould be this way, for is He not The Bread of Life? Did He not liken Himself to the corn of wheat that must " . . . fall into the ground and die?" How significant then, that He, the Bread of Life, should be born in a city the name of which means "House of Bread." We also know the MANNER of His birth. He was born of a Virgin. He had no earthly father. The Lord Jesus did not inherit a "human nature" from Mary. Had this been true, He could not have been Saviour, for Mary herself needed a Saviour. The Miracle of the Virgin Birth was simply God's way of having His Son become clothed with the garment of the flesh, but it was not sinful flesh, it was only, "in the LIKENESS of SINFUL FLESH' ' (Romans 8: 3). We know also the PURPOSE of His Birth. He came to die! Nothing else brought the Lord Jesus from Heaven to earth. The final message from Heaven on the night Jesus was born was, " ... He shall save His people from their sins." . . . But How! God says "without the shedding of Blood there is no remission of sins..." (Hebrews 9:22). The Cradle and the Cross are inseparable. Between His Birth and death we have a course of His 1natchless, sinless, perfect life, but His ministry on earth was simply a means to an end - The Cross \¥as His goal ! He had come to die t John 12: 27-33). It was necessary that He be born as He was born , in order that He might die the death that He died. . . . Dr. Henry C. Grube The Ohio Independent Baptist - Published Monthly by - THE OHIO ASSOCIATION Of REGULAR BAPTIST CHURCHES SECOND CLASS POSTAGE paid at Xenia, Ohio. POSTMASTER: Please send Form 3579 to The Ohio Independent Baptist Box No. 160 Xenia, Ohio 45385 Ed itoria I Off ice: Box No. 160 Xenia, Ohio 45385 , Rates of Subscription: $2.00 per year; $5.00 for three years; EVERY ACTIVE FAMILY PLAN, $1.15 per subscription; BUNDLE LOT PLAN (mailed directly to the church}, $1 .00 per subscription. Minimum bundle order - 1 S copies; single issue 20 cents. Your Editorial Office should have all news and advertis· ing copy in hand no later than 30 days prior to printing. Advertising rates will be sent on request. STAFF Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A. Donald Moffat Box No. 160, Xenia, Ohio 45385 Circulation Manager . . . . . Stuart L. Chaffe. Box No. 160, Xenia, Ohio 45385 Women's Editor . . . . . . . . Mrs. Inez Milner 2195 Brockway Road University Hts., Ohio 44118 State Missionary . . . . . . . Earl D. Umbaugh 2150 Marhofer Ave., Stow, Ohio 44224 State Y outh Director . . . . . . Robert Anthony 705 Graham Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 0. 44221 COUNCIL OF TEN Chairman ..... ... .... . . . . Lynn E. Rogers State Rt. 82 & N. Boyden Rd., Northfield, Ohio 44067 Vice·Chairman . . . . . . . . John R. Woo<l 1 I 40 Rush Ave., Bellefontaine, Ohio 43311 Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . Kenneth L. Andrus 315 S. Kensington Pl., Springfield 45503 Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William A. Brock 4663 Trabue Rd ., Columbus, Ohio 43228 Program Chrm. . . . . . . . . W. Dean Henry 541 Brown St. , Akron, Ohio 44311 Missionary Clirm. . . . . . . . . George A. Bates 304 Center St., Blanchester, Ohio 45107 Education Chrm. . . . . Raymond F. Hamilton Gallia St. at Waller, Portsmouth 45662 Young People's Work Clzrnz .• Non1an Bos\vorh Cedarville College, Cedarville, Ohio 45314 Kenneth R. Smelser . 123 W. Liberty St. Medina, Ohio 44256 Earl V. Willet ts . . . . . . 250 West St. Berea, Ohio 44017