The Ohio Independent Baptist, May 1972

• • io by Rev. John Lineberry •• / , /' til e. /()Ve.' (>/ /JJI\I C(> llSll<li fl C(/1 ll<i, l >eca11se \\'e t/11,s l\'l're all cleac/". jr,<l~ c. , tl1<1t if <J11e cl1ecl / <> r <111. r/1e11 I I C <> r. 5 : I 4 It I a J)tt i ftll "'ghl to "ee 1 1an, ,..1f ,0u' , {:r, ant. ldngt11shing tipon tl1c J1112t1,, ,1\ ot ,er, i c. Ho\\ tragic - it 1" to hear t ne sa, ... I t1 ed to do tl11 · r that ." Ho,\ ..~ad 1t 1 to hea r .._,n '\,l\' , ··1 u. ed to be a preacher , r I tl ed t be a deacon. or a tru tee, unda, h l teacher. o r I u ed to he a ul-\\ inner. or I tt cd lo attend the er\ ice of the church , o r I u ed t upport the te tin1on)' of the local church \\ ith m)' pra)'er , pre ence, and gift . or I u ed to be a concerned .... hri tian. ·· uch one who have lipped off the beaten path of ser– \'ice ha\e urel)' lo t their motivating diligence . Their nt1mber i legion. Thi e~plain Vv hy tVv'enty percent of God' people ha\e to do eighty per– cent of the \\/Ork. David Living ton aid . 'Anyth ing \\ orth doi ng i v. or th doi ng with en– thu ia m:· There are t\\ O things initially we ought to get out of the verse in the text above. One i that men are hope– le 1) lo t 'without Chr ist . The other i that Chri c· love con trai ns us. We ought to take a fresh look a t these often that we might not allow our clear per pective to become blurred and fogg)' . The great apo tle Pau l was moti– \'ated b}' the love of Chr i t to go after the ouls of men. He was stirred to reach men \.\ ho slip and slide o n the broad road of ruin into H el l. Paul had been brought up in a trict Jewi h famil y. All that he had been taught did no t meet the deep ) earning of his heart. H is re ligion \\ as power less to ave and decadent to del1\er. H e ca l] it the "Jews' relig– ion" in Gala tian I: 13. 14. Our Lord earlier had de cribed the passove r as the Je'As· pa over (John 2 : 13 ). The pa O\'er had lo t 1ts real ignificance in Je\\ ish relig1ou th ink ing. T here v. as noth ing in Pau] ' re– ligion to mot 1\. ate him. to pur him on V.'i th a hol}' urgency to <;eek the oul o f men in al\•at ion . H1 re- lie1on \\'a a burden in tead of a .... ble 1ng. It v. a a drudger} instead of a delie:ht. It \\a "" a cold . lifele55. hear ties routi ne rather than a heart- 4 IAAY, 1972 '-va rn1ing, oul -upl ifting, pirit-enno– hltng mini . tr which evoked the very l1e t th at Paul had to give to the Lord J e u in yielding urrender that men mi ght be ought for the Saviour . Paul ' reli gion wa a blight in- tead of a boon . When he met the Lord Je u on the Dama cus turn– pike, omething wonderful took place. H e became a new creation in Chri t and wa orda ined by the high court of heaven to be a courageous witness of redemptive mercy 'to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings and the children of Israel" (Acts 9: 15 ), thus Paul was summoned to ervice by the resurrected Lord from the excellent glory . Hi life would never ever be the same. Paul gladly responded immediately to that holy commission to preach Christ. We read: "And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues , that H e is the Son of God ' ' (Acts 9 :20) . This was a mighty miracle of God's grace and power. The proud Pharisee became a powerful preacher. The bl aspheming persecutor of the Church became a bold proclaimer of Christ . The arrogant , self-righteous religion– ist became a fa ithful herald of the un– searchable ri ches in Chri t ( Eph. 3: 8) . The man Paul now enjoys a living rela tionship with the Lord Jesus. Thi is no t something abstract afar off which he reads or thinks about but a vita] 1ife-changing experience near at ha nd even in hi heart since hi soul ha been tran formed by the effecti ve power of the go pe1 . It i a bles ed reality tha t Chri st live in him. Paul deli ghts in "the riche of the glo ry of thi s my tery . . . Christ in you , the hope of glory" (Col. 1: 27) . Chri t is also the glory of our hope. E njoy ing the abundant life in liv– ing union with Chri st, feeling the very heart throb of hi Master, Paul , a favored rec ipient of God' saving grace. could say ' Rejoice in the Lord alway : and again I ay. Re– joice· · ( Philip. 4 :4). The hri ti an 1 ife i one of joy and rejoicing. '" r(J t ·II 111 c n o f l1r i st's wor1<.l crful lc)\' l' is l 1 atd 's 01 ti va ti11g clcli gt1t . }1 c \\'O tli " o nst1 ai r1 ' tl1" is t1 scc.l o nl y here ( or . 5 : t ~i ) in the cw ·1·cs ta- 111cnt . It n1c a11 s ' ' to \trgc." ut o it'llJ)CI.' ' It was ttsccJ in a scnt cnr r . "sc i1ecl with a feve r ," with tJ1c wortl "sci1cd" be– ing the tranc; la t1 on . Infcct 1ot1<; d iscascs arc <; preacl in the fever tage. We neecl to he sc11cd with go~pcl fever o that we will , prcad the good news of hrist' love far and near . Paul is urged on and impelled by hrist,s love which moves him on– ward to achieve great things for God . He know fir t hand the mighty power of the go pel as it reaches out to ave Jew and Gentile ( Rom. I : 16). Paul know that the gospel is God' redemption for man 's ruin, God,s ri ches for man's rags, God's blessing for man's blight, God's cure for man's sin. Let us then be motivated to minister to the needs of men be– cause we have a great God with a great gospel for all men everywhere. North Bethel W.M.U. Spring Rally "CHANNELS ONLY" was the theme of the SPRING RALLY of the North Bethel Women's Mi ssion– ary Fellowship held at the Fostoria Baptist Church, Fostoria, Ohio. Nine– teen of our fellowshipping churches were represented. Total attendance was 166 with the attendance award going to the Fostoria Baptist Church. The offering for the day totaled $560.13 with $376.00 turned in from · Quarter Banks". A check for $450 is being sent to Baptist Mid-Missions for the Bangui Baptist High School in Central Africa Republic. The morning session was given over to two workshops. Special music was provided by a Girl 's Ensemble from First Baptist Church Findlay, Ohio. A "Book Fair" was conducted by Miss Bernice Mick from Cedarville College Book- tore . Election of officers resulted as follows : Pre ident, Mrs. Nancy Jones Faith Baptist , Defiance; Vice Presi– dent Mrs. Roberta Miracle , First Baptist, Findlay; and Secretary-Treas– urer, Mrs . Laura Retcher, Faith Bap– ti st, Defiance. The afternoon session began with the "Mertz Snerts Kid's Time Show" from Cedarville College. This fasci– nating means of getting out the gospel with puppets was enjoyed by all in– cluding the nursery children. Mrs . Nancy Hartwig was our after– noon speaker. Plan now to attend our FALL RALLY. That's Thur day, ovember 2 1972. . . . Re pectfully submitted by Laura Retcher, Sec.-Treas. THE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST