Gryphon 1962 - Adm.monash.edu.au

YOU ARE NOT AN ENGINEERYou are not an engineer becau se you own aslide -rule!You are not an artist becau se yo u wear a beard!You are not an expert on electro nics if yo u havea Television licence!And you are not a Ch ristia n becaus e yo u conformto an outward Reli gious Form or Ce remony.You are not a Ch in aman because yo u ea t withchops ticks.You are not a Sco tsm an beca use yo u wear a kil t.You do not become a horse hy being born in aStable.And you a re not a Ch ristian because you havebeen born in a so-called Ch rist ia n cou nt ry .H ow th en d o you becom e a true Ch ristia n?The things mention ed above a re ou twa rd cha racrerisrics, It is possible to imitate, to d ress up and10 co p y certai n national cha rac te ris tics, but to bea Chinaman, yo u must be born of C hinese pa rents,to be a true Sco tsman you m ust be born o fScotch parents, a nd so on and to be a true Ch ristia n, you mu st be bo rn ag-ain by th e Sp irit o f Go d .T he Lord J esus Christ sa id :" Very, ver ily, I say unto th ee , ex cept a m an beborn again, he cannot see the Kin gdom of God. .. Verily, verily, r say unto thee, ex cept a ma nbe born of water and o r the Spiri t, he can no t en te rin to the Kingdom of God . T ha t whi ch is born ofth e flesh is flesh : a nd that wh ich is born of theSpiri t is Spirit. Ma rvel not that I sai d unto th ee,Ye must be born again ." (John 3: 3-7.)No th ing less than new birth, a spi ritua l experiencewhereby you a re born ag ai n in to the familyo f God, ma kes yo u a child of Cod, therefor e, a trueCh ristian.1t is possible to be ou twa rd ly ve ry reli giou s andto d o a ll th e things that yo u are su p posed 10 do ,anti yet remain unconv e rted. It is possible 10 bevery ungodly, indifferent and ca rel ess in you r manncrof life a nd to be in exac tl y th e sam e position,'hat is, un con verted.There were many who prid ed themsel ves on th eiran cestry, their religious background and on theirconform ity to certa in outward religio us p racticesand sta ndards an d even claimed to hav e oneFather, even God , bu t because th ey h ad not experienceda change of heart and we re not prepa redto ask God for this cha nge, Jesus sa id to th em ,"Ye a re of you r fa ther the devil".T o be a rrue Christian you must be born again.To be born ag ai n you m ust be prepared toac kowledge yo ur need and r eceive the Lord JesusChrist, wh o now offers you a full an d fre e pardonfro m your sin and a new life by Hi s H oly Spirit.Ar e you p repared to receiv e H im ?He challenged th e pe ople of H is day, even asHe challen ges yo u now ."He was in the world and th e wo rld wasmade by Him and th e world kn ew H im not. Rutas many as receiv ed H im , to them gav e He thepower or the right to become the sons of Go d,even 10 th em that beli eve on H is name, wh ichwe re born not of th e bl ood , nor o f the will of the/lesh , nor of th e will of man but of God ." (JohnI: 10-13.)T he pe na lty for sin has been paid b y Christ inHis deat h upon the Cross. This is a fact o fhi sto rv, It can becom e a very definite fact ofexperie ucc in yo u r own heart and life if you a reprepared to do as Christ Himself invites you todo : "Verily, verily, 1 say unto lOU he th atbeli eveth on Me hath everla sting Ii e". To be atrue Ch l'istja D., you have 10 believe, th at is commityou rsel f 10 Ch rist, thanking Him for His death foryou personally, in viting Him 10 co me into yourh eart ant: life a nd henceforth, trusting Him a ndHim a lo ne for you r salvation now and forever.'Th is i i Life eternal, th at you might kn ow th et rue (; od and J esus Ch rist Whom He has sent.J esus said : " I am the Way, the Truth and th eLir e. no mar; come th unto rh e Father but by Me"." Him t ha t cometh to Me, I will in no wisecast o ut."Are you prepared to come to Je sus Christ r i ~h tnow, receiving Him into yo ur own heart and Iife ,believing tha t He can and will do a ll th at Hehas promised , b oth for lime and eternit y? Thereis no li fe to be co mpa red with th e true ChristianLi fe. Only the foolish pass this by. There is noway other than that indicated in th e Bible, whichha s been quoted in the pass age s a bov e. Act now.P rove for you rsel f the jo y an d certainty of th etrue a nd only Christian life, which is, Christ inyo u.Man y stud en ts of this College have found L ifewith a capital "L" throu gh trusting Ch rist as theirSaviou r and living for Him. Through the CautecCh ris tian Felo wship we have sought to m ak ekn own this new li fe to peopl e, you ng and old.Weekly meetings have inc luded informal Biblestud ies, film s and a variet y of Speaker s, centredon the Ch r istia n life. We have been privilegedth rough the year to h ear Nationals from Indonesiaand India; and have di scus sed vital Social issuesfro m Communism to Marriage relationsh ips.During August a su ccessful house-party was helda t Macedon . .. down from th e top of the mountainma y re ma in painfully in th e memory of so me.Alt ogether we have had a lot of fun and a greatd eal of fellowship together; we are hoping you willmake a point of meeting with the C.C.F. nextyea r as we are planning 1963 with you in mind.Peter Sumner.15