Torch, Spring 2002

2 TORCH / Spring 2002 Editor Dr. Martin Clark Managing Editor Roger Overturf Associate Editor Kara Steinman Proofreaders Martha Baldwin Wendy Orchard Senior Designer Michael Bieniek Photo Editor Scott Huck Cedarville Torch Vol. 24, No. 1, Spring 2002 Published by Cedarville University Dr. Paul Dixon, President NO PAID SUBSCRIPTIONS Cedarville Torch is published for alumni and friends of Cedarville University. Direct comments and requests for extra copies to: Managing Editor Cedarville Torch 251 N. Main St. Cedarville, OH 45314 937-766-7808 pr@cedarville.edu www.cedarville.edu ISSN 1093-4618 Follow the Romans Road to Salvation! Romans 3:10-11 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.” Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 10:9-13 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” f you spend much time considering the state of cultural deterioration, you might easily become cynical and disillusioned. This is true even absent the events of September 11. Political leaders not only engage in illegal and immoral activity, they also relish in such conduct and even claim to be “saving the Constitution” by defending their actions. The entertainment industry shamelessly promotes the homosexual agenda, routinely depicting same-sex relationships as normal, even admirable. Who can operate with compassion in the face of such rampant depravity? Paul, writing in Romans, describes a culture very similar to the one in which we find ourselves living. He describes his jailers as “being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them” (Romans 1:29-32). Paul spends much of the remainder of the epistle explaining why he chose to continue to present the claims of the gospel to those around him. He was compelled to minister to others because of his own experience of grace. That is precisely the position in which we find ourselves. We who are Christians have experienced a matchless work of grace through the person of Jesus Christ. This experience compels us, rather than withdrawing in revulsion, to reach out in compassion. May God grant us the insight and courage we need to transform our culture in the same way that Paul, the apostles, and the first century church transformed theirs. Robert K. Rohm Vice President for Christian Ministries I Wars W Culture