Graham guardian., 1916-03-10

| fS<ssass2s2S2ss-.s5- szezss( luOlS, Dul uH wise,
| lRASI0R -RQSSElg) redeeming the
time, because the
| days are evil. "-Ephesians 5:t5, l6.
| The speaker called attention 10 the
fact that the Bible is addressed only
to the Church; for the Lord Is not
dealing with the world al present.
Many lose sight of this point, and
| therefore are confused when they at
tempt to study the Scriptures. The
| Lord is not telling mankind what to
do. but is iustructing His servants as
to what steps they should take from
the time when they become His people.
| Before any one can understand Gods
word he must take the step of full
conservation to the Divine will
| To Christians, then. is given the mes
sage of this text. Gods children
should conduct themselves wisely.
carefully, redeeming the time. We re-
deem our time when we make some
sacrifice, In order to have time for
some other purpose. There are GER
tain natural claims upon our time. We
must eat, sleep, earn living. etc. Our
| families. our friends and our neighbors
have some proper claims upon US.
| Husbands have some proper obliga-
| tiOns toward their wives. and wives
toward their husbands; children to-
ward parents. and parents toward
children. Then. beyond our obliga-
tions. the world presents many allure
ments, Thus our time may be filed
full in multitudinous ways
But God has called His children to
be New Creatures. He has put into
their minds new plans. new interests,
and into their lives new work. new OBJ
legations. Since they have found that
the Lord has invited them to become
joint-heirs with His Son Jesus In the
glOries Of the Kingdom, they have re-
allied that all things earthly are but
transitory; and they wish to set their
minds on the Heavenly things But
they find very little time for medita.
ton upon the things which God has
promised to His children. To them,
therefore, the Apostle says. Redeem
the time"-buy II back. Curtail other
things. that you may have more time
to cultivate your own character. to
study the Scriptures.
How to Study tho Bible.
The Pastor here gave some valuable
suggestions as to profitable Bible
study His profound knowledge Of
Scripture renders these suggestions
especially helpful He showed that
the mere reading of chapter after chap
ter does comparatively little good. and
that study by outline produces much
better results. Like an arithmetic, the
Bible is full of problems to be studied,
not merely read. We should study the
Scriptures according to what God out
lines as His Plan Of the Ages. In
this there are five main divisions; from
Creation to the Deluge. from the Del
ugc to Christ's First Coming. from His
First Coming to His Second Coming,
then the Millennia Age. lastly the
ages to follow Each Scripture should
he examined in relation to Its context
The proper understanding Of Gods
Word requires much time and study.
Therefore no Christian can afford to
spend cOnSeCrated time In gratifying
the HppetiteS. tastes and desires Of his
old nature. however right and proper
these may be In their own place. IL
as a New Creature he lets himself
drift. the flesh will take possession Of
everything. Then he will die Of spir-
itual starvation. The duty of each
Christian Is first to build himself up
spiritually. and then assist others.
Why 1.-THE Days Are Evil"
Today many blessings OF an earthly
kind are coming In. preparatory to the
New Age. The nearer we get to the
establishment of Gods Kingdom, the
grcHter is the pressure on all sides. |
This should be an incentive to Gods |
children to assemble themselves for Bi- |
bic study OIebrews l025.D All about |
us is the fire" Of the great Day OF |
the Lord" which Is to try every mans |
wOrk"-his faith structure. Only those |
faith structures that are built with the |
gold, silver and precious stones OF
Gods Truth will stand the test
God expects His children to be care |
ful Of their time. their conduct, their |
apparel If any of these have thought |
that in their conservation their earthly |
interests will be just as well cared for |
rs before. then they either do not I'M
derstund conservation or else are not
living up to their covenant Of sacrifice. |
Christians should give less attention to
bodily comforts and more time to Bible
study. to service for the Lord. the
Truth and the brethren This Is His
arrangement for them as New Crea-
lures. They profess TO have renounced
the pride and vanity OF the flesh and to
have set their affections on Heavenly
;hings. Therefore they should live up
TO their profession
-sSS