Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

eproved."unjust"us."us."wisdom"glory."light is kin to darkness. They were deadin their trespasses and sins but Jesus wasboth the life and the light of the world."Marvel not if the world hateyou."Themarvel would be if the world did not hatethe regenerate. "Every one that doeth evilhateth the light neither cometh to thelight lest his deeds beIII. A Kind of Universal Brotherhood"God made of one blood all nations ofmen"(Acts 17:24), so all men havingdescended physically from an originalpair have a flesh and blood relationship.But after the fall of Adam all men werein a universal brotherhood of death, "InAdam all died" in trespasses and sins."All mankind descending from Adam bynatural generation sinned in him and fellwith him in his firsttransgression."Catechism Q. 16. There are two kinds oflife and of death, physical and spiritual.Which of the two classes of brethrendoes the text of our subject require us tolove and forbid us to hate? Our brethrenaccording to the flesh or our brethren inChrist? The answer is both. "When wewere yet sinners Christ died for"Love your enemies, bless them thatcurse you, do good to them that hate youand pray for them which despitefully useyou, and persecute you, that ye may bechildren of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on theevil and the good, and sendeth rain onthe just and on the45).(Matt. 5:44,How can one keep from hating thosewho are terriblywicked? One cannot lovethem for what they are but for what bythe will and grace of God they may become. Saul of Tarsus could and did become the apostle Paul who seemed tolove and labor more abundantly thanthey all because of the grace of God inhim.1. To know the state of your soul examine your love. If you love your brethren both according to the flesh and inChrist you have the assurance that youhave passed from death unto life.2. If you hate your brethren either inthe flesh or your brethren in Christ youare assured that whoever"hateth hisbrother is a murderer: and no murdererhath eternal life abiding in him."Pray that God will make us like Himself in our attitudes toward both theregenerate and the unregenerate.Pray that God will give us the samecompassion on the victims of sin as wehave for the victims of physical maladies.W. M. S. DepartmentMrs. Ross Latimer. Editor,Prayer Hour. 1:00 P.M. MondayW. M. S. LESSON FOR DECEMBERBy Marjorie McElroy CoxREDEMPTION ANTICIPATEDBible Reading: Proverbs 8:22-31I. Redemption Foretold. Psalms 2:7"And I will declare the decree, the Lordhath said unto me 'Thou art my Son,this day have I begotten thee.' "The main theme for this year's work is"True and how can we trulyhave wisdom unless we know JesusChrist as our own personal Saviour andRedeemer? Our lesson for this month,the month in which practically the wholeworld celebrates the Birth of Jesus, weare to turn our thoughts toward JesusChrist as furnishing redemption, or theransom, or the deliverance, for our souls.Redemption was foretold hundreds oftimes in the Old Testament and men andwomen of God anticipated the time ofGod's promised deliverance by a Saviour.In Psalms 130:7 and 8we read, "LetIsrael hope in the Lord for with the Lordthere is mercy, and with him is plenteousredemption; and he shall redeem Israelfrom all his iniquities.II. Assurance of Redemption. Job 19:25Job was one writer who stated verypositively concerning this Saviour. "ForI KNOW that my Redeemer liveth andthat he shall stand at the latter dayearth."upon the Do you KNOW thatyour soul has been redeemed from death?Have you had the faith to believe thatJesus Christ paid the price of redemption with His very life? If a person isreally a Christian and believes the Biblehe must know that his reward is eternallife through Jesus Christ our Lord. Hebrews 9:12 states, "Neither by the bloodof goats and calves but by his own bloodhe entered in once into the holy place,havingobtained eternal redemption forOur catechism states, "Redemption iscertainly applied, and effectually communicated, to all those for whom Christhath purchased it; who are in time by theHoly Ghost enabled to believe in ChristGospel."according to theIII. Heirs of Redemption. Ephesians 1:7tyAn heir is a person who inherits properor virtues of a deceased person. Sowe could not become "heirs of redemption"until after the death of Jesus uponthe Cross. Again I refer to the ShorterCatechism in question 29, "How are wemade partakers of the Redemption purchased by Christ?" "We are made partakers of the redemption purchased byChrist by the effectual application of itto us by his Holy Spirit."We are made heirs of redemption notbecause of anything we have done, orthrough any merit of our own, but because God has chosen us to be partakersof redemption through His great love."For by grace are ye saved through faithand that not of yourselves, it is the giftof God ; not of works lest any man shouldboast."And again, "Not byworks ofrighteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us, by thewashing of regeneration and renewing ofthe Holy Ghost, which he shed on usabundantlySaviour."through Jesus Christ ourIt is Christmastime again but let us notforget what the season really means. Letus thank God for the hope that is provided through our Saviour. Let us thankGod that we have been chosen to sharethis blessed heirshipwith other Christians, that because of redemption purchased at such an awful price as death,that we can look forward to spendingeternity with our Heavenly Father.Ephesians 1:7, 13 and 14. "In whom wehave redemption through his blood, theforgiveness of sins, according to theriches of his grace. In whom ye alsotrusted, after that ye heard the word oftruth, the gospel of your salvation; inwhom also after that ye believed, yeweresealed with that Holy Spirit ofpromise, which is the earnest (or token)of our inheritance until the redemption ofthe purchased possession, unto the praiseof his1954 Minutes of Synodnow ready. Send Orders toChester R. Fox, Treas.209 9th Street, Pittsburgh 22, Pa.Price $1.00 per copyPraythat God would make us continually conscious of how we may imperilour soul by hating those whom we shouldlove.EVERY FAMILY IN THE CHURCHshould have a copyNovember 17, 1954317