Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

gressions;'malefactor."world,"Even when the law of God written thereraises its warning against sin, the sinfulheart seeks to silence that voice, and toexcuse its conduct. It is the wicked heartof man that encourages him to ignorethe warningvoice of conscience. Thereare many other voices also which tend tokeep sin in check, fear of police power ofthe State, fear of losing the respect ofthe community which is necessary for oneto earn a living, fear of losing one'shealth. Sometimes these monitors areobeyed in measure, while still the evilheart is prompting this action because itappears to be most likely to gratify self.The wicked heart is not changed merelythrough experience or instruction. Itmay be made to see that "crime doesn'tpay,"or that clean, moral living promotes good health and vigor, and that"honesty is the bestpolicy."But thewicked heart still seeks to establish itsown righteousness (Rom. 10:3).Here is a sad basic reason for churchesgoing modernistic. Churches were full ofunconverted people. These unconvertedbegan to exercise their influence to maintain the lie that theywere righteous. Thismodernistic trend is simply the effort ofthe wicked human heart to try and showthat it is righteous; for modernism indoctrine is a fabrication to seek tolerance for the unconverted in life, withinthe Church.An earlier effect of having so many unconverted in the churches was the withdrawal of some and the formation ofso-called "splinter" denominations. Thisleft the larger older churches more andmore in the control of the unconverted,and so, inevitably, they began to entrench themselves behind ideas thatwould justify them in their worldliness.And so modernism is not wholly something foisted on the Church from leadersin high place. It is something demandedbythe unconverted masses.There must be a recognition of sin,conviction of its hatefulness ina deepGod's sight, a holy fear of standing beforea holy God. Sabbath breaking, lack ofrespect for those in positions of authority, hatred and envyeven toward thosewhom we recognize as Christian brethren, acquiescence in immodest if notoutright uncleanconversation, businessgain through lack of straightforwardnesswhen such could reasonably be expected,relating incidents partially so as to givean impression just opposite to that whichwould be given were all the facts told,covetousness, these are not isolated sinsrequiring a mere change of conduct.Jesus said, "For from within, out of theheart of men, proceed evil thoughts,adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts,covetousness, wickedness, deceits,laciviousness,an evil eye, blasphemy, pride,foolishness"(Mark 7:21, 22). Surely theNovember 3, 1954state of the Church today calls for somepain and sorrow of heart, for repentancefor a heart not right withGod, not justadmission that some things we have beendoing are not just right and we ought tochange our conduct. "Cast away fromyou all your transgressions,.18:30-32).. (Ezek.God's Remedy for Sin is a New HeartAny remedy less radical is bound tobe a total failure. The Gospel accordingto John was one of the latest writtenbooks of the New Testament, well towardthe end of the first century. Probablyhalf a century had passed before the account of Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus was written in Scripture, yet theapostles and preachers and missionarieswho ministered before this time hadabundant Scripture aside from John 3,to show the need for this deep seatedchange. David cried out, after being convicted of his most notorious sin, "Createin me a clean heart, O God; and renew ame."right spirit within (Psa. 51:10;find others).God was not here (Ezek. 18:31) commandingwhat man cannot do. He hadpromised to give a new heart. "And I willgive them one heart, and I will put anew spirit within you : and I will take thestony heart out of their flesh, and willgive them an heart of flesh. .(Ezek.11:19; see also 36:25-27). Yet, in theaccomplishingof this change of mannerof life, what we must do goes to the veryheart of life. Matthew Henry says, "Wemust 'cast away from us all our transwe must abandon and forsake them with a resolution never toreturn to them again. Give sin a bill ofdivorce; break all the leagues we havemade with it; throw it overboard, as themariners did Jonah, for it has raised thestorm ; cast it out of the soul, and crucifyit as aIf worldly companions insist that you"are too fanatical," that you "live in adifferentadmit it. The personborn of the Spirit sees that which thehuman eye alone cannot see.God Alone Can Implement the RemedyEven when men are persuaded by thedisappointments and failures of life thatthey need to be converted, the promptingof the flesh may insist that the Spirit ofGod is unable to act until we relent andgive the permission. This seems to be thedesperate, last ditch grasping of the sinful heart, after some shred of the creditin the transaction of salvation. Perhapsthis explains the lack of permanence, thesoon return to the worldly life, in somany who have yielded to a persistent,emotional appeal to accept Christ.John tells us (12:40) that the failure ofmany to believe on Jesus Christ was infulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah(6:10), "Make the heart of this peoplefat, and make their ears heavy, and shuttheir eyes; lest they see with their eyes,and hear with their ears, and understandwith their heart, and convert, and behealed."This is sometimes referred toas "judicial hardening." Those who oftenturn away from God's proffered grace,and harden their hearts (Ex. 8:15, 32;9:34), find that their hearts are hardenedby the act of God (Ex. 10:1, 20).Let not man postpone the day ofobedience to God. "Quench not theSpirit."If God hardens hearts in workingout His sovereign purposes, then surely,in accord with His pleasure (Ezek. 18:32)He supremely can impart the new heart.For discussion:1. Must conviction for sin always include sorrow that the heart was not rightwith God, or may it concern only the actof misconduct?2. Whydoes Ezekiel tell us: "Makeyou a new heart," when this is a work ofGod?3. Show from Scripture (John 1:12, 13and/or others) that God is the authorof our salvation.Prayer:For conversions of persons your congregation contacts;For a converted membershipCovenanter Church;in theFor those who are suffering because oftheir witness to the need for conversion.THE LOST SCISSORSA group of teen- aged girls were packing a bale of clothing and other articlesfor shipment to missionaries in charge ofan orphanage of the Sudan Interior Mission in Nigeria. There was much bustle,fun and blessing in doing it.Shortlyafter the shipment went out,one of the group leaders asked another ifshe had noticed a small pair of scissorsanywhere. She had used them the day wepacked the bundle. However, the scissorscould not be found.Some weeks passed and a letter of acknowledgment came from the missionaryin Nigeria. She told of the need and disposition of the various articles and thenwent on to say how much she appreciatedthe small pair of scissors which were enclosed. She had mentioned to anothermissionary just before the bale arrivedhow much she needed a small pair ofscissors. God indeed knew of that needand they were then on the way to her.This incident was a source of inspiration and blessing to that group. Todaythe group leader whose scissors went toNigeria is herself a missionary in Frenchequatorial Africa!Margaret Hill (Gait, Ont.)285