Proof of Salvation

        Some time ago, we looked at the story of the paraplegic, brought by his four friends (Luke 5:18-26). They couldn’t get into the house or even near Jesus because of the packed crowds around. Did they give up or walk away? Not they!

        They made their way to the roof (with the stretcher), broke up the tiles and wood frame, and through all the dust and falling dirt, lowered their friend right in front of Jesus. Jesus’ reaction is amazing, and His first words are, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” The Pharisees and the teachers of the law thought this was blasphemy. As Christians, we know that He had the right and the power to forgive. But what was the proof that the man was forgiven? Jesus shows it in a physical, emotional and moral change—the man picks up his mat and walks home, praising God.

        Another example of this life change would be the maniac of Gerasa (Luke 8:26-39)—strong physically, but out of his mind. Next, we see him clothed, in his right mind, and sitting at Jesus’ feet. The last we see of him, he is telling all over town how much Jesus has done for him.

        One final example from Scripture—there is another whom we find at Jesus’ feet: the woman who “was a sinner” (Luke 7:36-50). This time the order of events in the story is adjusted a bit, but the life change is just as sure. A woman makes her way into the home of Simon the Pharisee. As Jesus reclines at the table to eat, she stands behind. Her tears begin to wet His feet, then she “wipes them with her hair, kisses them, and pours perfume on them.” Jesus tells Simon that this is a show of “her great love.” What a change in her life!

        Can we relate? When we trusted Jesus, did some change come about in our behaviour too?Were we set free in some way? Did we come to peace with others? Was there a new direction to our love? The Lord makes it very clear that something changes. And with the cripple, the maniac, and the street woman, everybody else could see the change too.

              

“Giving Up”

        You may have heard the (possibly legendary) story of Winston Churchill, invited to speak at a boys’ school. When his turn came, he walked up to the podium, said, “Never give up! Never, never, never give up!” And with those few words, he sat down. 

        We wish it were that simple, but there are other factors. For instance, several quotations have been posted to the internet recently, such as, “Walk away from people who put you down; walk away from fights that will never be resolved.” Another one is “Sometimes you have to give up on people, not because you don’t care, but because they don’t.” Pretty harsh statements!

        Does any of this tie in with Scripture? Do we really have to face that difficult choice—try harder or walk away? On one hand we have Isaiah 62:7— “You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest…” We also have the story of Jacob, wrestling with a “Man”. Genesis 32:26— “I will not let You go unless You bless me.”

        On the other hand, we have Acts 21:14, where Luke, and Paul’s other friends ‘gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”’ Paul was going up to Jerusalem, even to his death. Paul himself had to give up, in 2 Corinthians 12:8, when he pleaded with the Lord three times to take away his “thorn in the flesh”. Paradoxically, Paul triumphed by submitting.

        Perhaps one of the greatest conflicts from a human point of view was in the Garden of Gethsemane. Peter was prepared to fight, and hacked a man’s ear off to prove it. Jesus said, “Enough!”, and let the posse arrest Him. 

        It really is difficult—try harder? Walk away? Again, it’s a question of seeking “the Lord’s will.” Jesus knew the right thing to do in the garden. In the final analysis, pray, read your Bible and consult the Lord and faithful fellow Christians. Giving up is not failure; it led to our Lord’s great triumph.       

Modern Persecution

        When I was a child back in Thunder Bay, I was sitting with my family in our small church one winter evening when the front door burst open. The preacher, John Norris, at his pulpit only 30 or 40 feet away, was facing the door and shouted, “Look out!” As he ducked behind the pulpit, a crash came from the floor right in front of him as a snowball exploded. By the time men got to the door and looked out, the culprits were long gone. I was very afraid that this was the beginning of persecution for the tiny church but, no, things settled down peacefully after that. 

        Not so in Cambodia in the 1970s. Philip Yancey tells of another door flung open. But this time a band of heavily-armed soldiers burst into the little church. They violently lined the congregants up, threw a painting of Jesus to the floor and said, “Now, if you spit on this picture you live, if not you die!” One by one, some of them worked up a tiny bit of saliva, enough to satisfy the leader. Then a teenage girl was confronted. She looked down at the Lord; she crouched and picked up the picture; in love she wiped it with her sleeve— and died with a bullet through her head! 

        How small our persecution has been in North America, compared to the Apostle Paul’s. We can admire his faith and his commitment: — “For Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor.12:10)

Christ Arose!

          Low in the grave He lay,

              Jesus, my Saviour,

          Waiting the coming day,

              Jesus, my Lord.

          Up from the grave He arose

          With a mighty triumph o’er His foes;

          He arose a victor from the dark domain,

          And He lives for ever with His saints to reign;

          He rose! He arose!

          Hallelujah! Christ arose!

          2.  Vainly they watch His bed,

              Jesus, my Saviour,

          Vainly they seal the dead,

              Jesus, my Lord.

          3.  Death cannot keep his prey,

              Jesus, my Saviour,

          He tore the bars away,

              Jesus, my Lord.                       BHB #344

        I’ve visited assemblies and churches with wide spectrums of doctrine but on Easter Sunday, this is the hymn they all converge on—Robert Lowry’s great hymn of resurrection. This is Saturday—“Low in the grave He lay”—the devil could honestly say, “Jesus is dead!” But then comes Sunday! Did the devil see this coming‽ We think not! “Up from the grave He arose!”
        Lowry is represented in the Believers Hymn Book by only this one hymn but he authored other well-known songs, including Shall we gather at the river, What can wash away my sin, and Weeping will not save thee.

        As well as his own songs, he was also the composer of

music for Fanny Crosby (All the way my Savior leads me), Annie Hawks (I need Thee every hour), and S. Dryden Phelps (Savior, Thy dying love).

        Robert Lowry was born March 12, 1826 in Philadelphia. At the age of seventeen, he joined the First Baptist Church there and became active in Sunday School work. After graduation from the University of Lewisburg (now Bucknell University), he served for many years as pastor in West Chester, Pa, New York City, Brooklyn, Lewisburg, and then in Plainfield, N.J. Later in his career, he took on the responsibility of publishing a succession of Sunday school song books, including Bright Jewels, Pure Gold, Royal Diadem, Welcome Tidings, and half-a-dozen others.

        One more song deserves mention—How Can I Keep from Singing? This appeared as a poem in 1868, then Lowry composed his own tune and published it in Bright Jewels for the Sunday School (1869). The song rejoices in the nearness of Christ, our Rock, because He is “Lord of heaven and earth.”

          No storm can shake my inmost calm

             While to that Rock I’m clinging.

          Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,

             How can I keep from singing?

        Folk singers, including Pete Seeger, Judy Collins, ‘Peter, Paul & Mary’, Enya, and ‘Celtic Woman’ have latched onto this song but they’ve taken Christ out of it. For them only “love” is lord, and they have inserted bits about tyrants and death knells—how sad. Only Audrey Assad has kept the full Christian association and the original words. 

        Lowry said of his songs, “The tunes of nearly all the hymns I have written have been completed on paper before I tried them on the organ. Frequently the words of the hymn and the music have been written at the same time.” Robert Lowry died at his residence in Plainfield on November 25, 1899, but his songs and music live on to bless us.