Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

me"
creature."
would."
good."
it
yourselves."
nothing."
men."
nothing."
wife."
pillar."
ing of the first day of the week to put
sweet-smelling spices on the body of
Jesus to preserve it. On their way to the
grave they
wondered who would roll
away the stone from the mouth of the
tomb or sepulchre. Instead of digging
down and lowering the casket into a
grave as we do, they
had a cave-like
place on the side of a hill where they
laid Jesus' body
and a huge stone cov
ered the entrance. Who would roll away
the stone But as they came near the
place, they saw that the stone was rolled
away already! And when they looked in
they saw a young man who had on a
long white garment. The women were so
frightened that they could not speak.
So the young
man (an angel) said,
"Don't be afraid. I know you have come
to see the body of Jesus. Here is where
He was laid, but He is not here. He is
risen! Go to the disciples and tell them
(and especially Peter) that I will meet
them in Galilee just as I said I
I wonder why Peter was named.
Wasn't he one of the disciples Yes,
Peter was one of the disciples. Peter
was one who liked to brag about him
self. I'm sure you have seen some boys
and girls like that. Peter tried to brush
it off when Jesus warned him that he
would be tempted to deny Him. Surely
he would never deny Jesus. Why, he
was ready to die with Him. But Peter
did deny Jesus and Jesus turned and
looked on Peter. Peter went out and
wept bitterly. He was broken-hearted.
How could Jesus have anything more
to do with one who had so denied Him!
But this message especially to Peter was
a message full of love and forgiveness.
Then when Jesus did meet with His dis
ciples He asked Peter three times,
"Lovest thou
as Peter had denied Jesus.
just as many times
Jesus appeared to several people and
groups of people and then forty days
after He had risen from the dead He
was speaking to His disciples and said,
"Go ye into all the world and preach
the gospel to every
Then Je
sus was taken up, up, up. And a cloud
received Him out of their sight. Jesus
is alive and He is in heaven, sitting at
the right hand of God the Father plead
ing for you and for me.
Jesus has paid the price for the sins of
all who will receive His gift of salvation.
As soon as we receive this precious gift
we must do just what those women were
told to do. "GO QUICKLY AND TELL''
(Matthew 28:7).
Suppose you had borrowed $1,000
from the bank. You intended to pay it
back in a certain time. But you got hurt
and couldn't earn your money so you
could pay back the $1,000. As the time
came when you should have paid the
154
bank, you went to the banker and told
him your troubles. The banker tells you
that you need not worry for some friend
knew your condition and he paid the
$1,000 for you. Well, you could hardly
believe it but pretty soon your eyes fill
with tears even though you have a smile.
The lines of worry soon leave your face
and before you know it you are telling
your friends and neighbors about your
friend. Jesus has paid the penalty for
your sins. He has also obeyed God for
you. Do you believe this Wouldn't you
think the man in our story would have
been silly if he had said to the banker,
"No, I don't believe any of my friends
put in $1,000 for me. I just must try to
pay the $1,000
somehow"
But he is not
as silly as the one who just won't be
lieve that Jesus died on the cross for our
sins. How thankful we should be and
how anxious we should be to tell the
good news of salvation to our friends!
"For God so loved the world, that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whoso
ever believeth on him should not perish,
but have everlasting
life."
SABBATH
SCHOOL LESSON
March 27, 1955
THE CHRISTIAN AND THE SOCIAL
ORDER
Rev. W. J. McBurney
(Lessons based on International Sunday School
Lessons; the International Bible Lessons for
Christian Teaching:,
copyrighted by the Inter
national Council of Religious Education.)
Matt. 5:13-16; Luke 10:29-37; Rom. 13;
Eph. 4:17-32; I Peter 4:12-19
PRINTED: Matt. 5:13-16; Luke 10:30-
37; Rom. 13:8-10; I Peter 4:12-16
MEMORY: Rom. 12:21: "Be not over
come of evil, but overcome evil with
Christ speaks several times of salt.
Only once can His words be understood
literally. That is when He said, "Salt is
good."
It makes food pleasant, and the
Galilean Fishermen could not have
marketed their fish in Jerusalem with
out salt.
Christ said, "Ye are the salt of the
earth."
As His redeemed people, we are
to make the world more pleasant, and
ward off social decay. James had much
to say about the damage speech could
do, flowing from an unbridled tongue.
Paul said "Let your speech be seasoned
with salt,
and be at peace one with an
other."
We are not to carry
around in a salt-cellar,
our salt
we might not
have it with us at a needed moment.
Christ said, "Have salt in It
should be a quality in our personality.
In connection with salt, Christ utters
two terrible warnings; the first is
against the loss of this saving quality in
our personality. "But if the salt have
lost its savor, ...
is henceforth good
for
We never saw savorless
salt. At least, I never did. There is no
way in nature which salt looses its
by
savor. Salt cliffs
centuries
standing in
the sun, are as salt as ever. Salt has
been in solution in the ocean for thou
sands of years,
and is still salty. On the
shore of Salt Lake, it has been desolved
and dried countless times, and is still
salt for our tables.
Christ's listeners knew all about salt
without savor. To this day, the Jews and
Arabs that live near the Dead Sea or the
Valley
of Salt floor their bake-ovens
with salt, because it absorbs much heat
and gives it off slowly. After many fir
ings, the salt looses its character, be
comes insoluable in water, therefore
has no taste: for salt is tasteless until
dissolved. Then this savorless salt is cast
out to be walked on in front of the oven,
and new salt is put in the oven. Christ
called this burnt out salt, "Good for
nothing, but to be cast out and trodden
under foot of
And He was talking
about folks who should be "the salt of
the
for
earth."
A terrible doom, to be "Good
The other warning
was against sins
that Christ enumerates that preceded
the flood and the destruction of Sodom.
He did not mention gross sins, but
rather the common pleasures and occu
pations that were good in themselves,
but were made the chief end of life,
giving God a secondary place, if not
crowding
Him out entirely. Read this
description of life (Luke 17:26-32) and
compare it with what we see today.
How easily these things can be put first
and be made the chief end of our lives!
Then passing
the general disaster of
the flood and fire, Christ gives the per
sonal, individual warning, "Remember
Lot's
This has often been trans
lated literally, without examining the
text. Is the story
of Gen. 19:26 to be
understood materially, or figuratively as
Christ spoke of salt Christ spoke of
two kinds of salt; "good" and "good for
nothing."
Notice that we are not told of
anything that was done to, or happened
to Lot's wife. She did two things; she
looked back, and she became. The second
appears to have been the logical result
of the first. Did she become good salt, or
the burnt out, good for nothing kind
Then she became "a
The word
pillar, appears a hundred times in the
Old Testament. In every time save one,
it refers to a person or object regarded
for beauty
or support. Now that one
time it is from a different Hebrew word
that is used eleven times, but only once
translated "pillar." Nine times it is
translated "garrison" and once "gover
nor."
These should support and be a
strength in their community. All these
COVENANTER WITNESS