March 22, 2023

( Perhaps he hoped by some religious ceremonies to
gain eternal life .)
MARCH 22 , 2023
Editor | Dr . Shelton Smith Vol . LXXXIX , No . 6

The Message Clear and Plain

9

What a Joy to Be a Christian

3

The Son-Rise Service

17

The Language of Christ ’ s Resurrection Wonder • Certainty • Joy

EVANGELIST HYMAN APPELMAN
“ The Lord is risen indeed .”— Luke 24:34 .
Never in all the history of the world was there a day of greater gladness than that on which our Lord arose . Never was there greater cause for joy . Were not Christ risen from the dead , our faith and hope would be in vain and we should all yet be in our sins .
When Jesus Christ was laid in the grave , great was the triumph of His enemies ; great the dejection of His friends . The sorrowful disciples had fondly hoped “ it had been he which should have redeemed Israel ” ( vs . 21 ); but now their hopes are buried in His grave .
Conceive then how great was their surprise , their joy , when Jesus actually arose and appeared to several of them ! Our text is ex - pressive of these passions . The statement was made by the ten apostles to the two brethren who

Forty-Four Percent of U . S . Adults Say Aftermath of COVID-19 Has Made Them “ More Open to God ”

The Barna Group released a report … based on a survey of 2,000 U . S . adults conducted … October 21 – 31 , 2022 , that found 44 percent of U . S . adults described themselves as “ more open to God today than I was before the pandemic .”…
Overall , 80 percent of those surveyed expressed some level of confidence that “ there is a spiritual or supernatural dimension to the world .” Half of respondents maintained that they were “ certain it exists ,” while an additional 30 percent stated that “ I think it exists , but I ’ m not certain .” Meanwhile , just 11 percent said , “ I don ’ t think it exists , but I ’ m not certain ,” while the remaining nine percent deny the existence of a supernatural dimension to the world .…
[ Barna Group CEO David ] Kinnaman cited the research as evidence that “ Americans seem open to a different antidote to help make sense of life in these chaotic times ” defined by “ a global pandemic , racial upheaval , political unrest , soaring inflation , rising interest rates and … the ongoing threat of COVID and all its variants .”…
As Kinnaman noted , “ Religious affiliation and church attendance continue to decline ” in the U . S . Barna ’ s 2020 State of the Church report found that just 25 percent of Americans identify as practicing Christians .…
… Kinnaman said ,…“ It doesn ’ t really matter where they are coming from , people are weary of the constant tension and division we see played out on the public stage and in our social media feeds , of hurtful
Continued on p 2 ▶ had seen Christ at Emmaus and had just returned from thence to relate the joyful news .
Before they could well speak , the apostles saluted them with this pleasing sentence , “ The Lord is risen indeed , and hath appeared to Simon ” ( vs . 34 ). The two disciples , in their return , communicated what they had seen and heard and how “ he [ Jesus ] was known of them in breaking of bread ” ( vs . 31 ). Blessed , heavenly news ! Well might each one of them be anxiously eager to tell it .
We may place the words of our text in three points of view and consider them as the language of wonder , certainty , joy .

The Building Begins Below the Baseline

MATT MORRISON Pastor , Gospel Light Baptist Church , Walkertown , North Carolina
“ And the rain descended , and the floods came , and the winds blew , and beat upon that house ; and it fell : and great was the fall of it .
“ And it came to pass , when Jesus had ended these sayings , the people were astonished at his doctrine :
“ For he taught them as one having authority , and not as the scribes .”— Matt . 7:27 – 29 .
“ Therefore whosoever heareth these
sayings of mine , and doeth them , I
will liken him unto a wise man , which
built his house upon a rock ” ( vs . 24 ).
The first word in this verse is
“ therefore .” If you had a good Bible
teacher , you were probably told
Wonder
Consider , then , the words as ex -
that when that word appears at the beginning of a sentence , it means you are to look at what that word is “ there for .”
It is a conclusion . In other words , the Lord Jesus Christ has taken
conclusion on it as a capstone . He is bringing it down to our level .
He is saying , “ I ’ ve put a lot of words into this , but here is what I want you to understand .”
Continued on p 18 ▶
what He has said and has put a
Continued on p 9 ▶

Sincere , Seeking , but Sadly , He Went Away Lost

DR . JOHN R . RICE

( Perhaps he hoped by some religious ceremonies to

“ And , behold , one came and said unto him , Good Master , what good thing shall I do , that I may have eternal life ?”— Matt . 19:16 .
This man felt assured he was good , yet he was not sure of eternal life . There was some holy unrest in his heart . Oh , yes , for the Scripture says , “ There is no peace , saith my God , to the wicked ” ( Isa . 57:21 ). Even the self-righteous wick ed , even the moral wicked man has some unrest , some un - certainty about this matter .
That is why Arminian people who work to keep salvation are

gain eternal life .)

never quite sure that they will make it . Only the ones who wholly trust in Jesus Christ and His atoning blood can be absolutely sure of salvation , for Jesus is perfection and certainty and all our righteous - nesses are as filthy rags . One cannot have the assurance that he would like to have from these spotted garments of our self-righteousness .
I remember how Dr . H . A . Ironside , who had once been a Holiness preacher and Salvation Army officer , told me that when he claimed sinless perfection and
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