Vol 3:1 (January 1957)
Editorial
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to usward;” consequently, we have reached the year 1957 of the Christian era. How we thank God for His kindness throughout the past! Now, with the latent possibilities of another year before us, may we seek a closer walk with the Master, and a more definite resemblance to Him in our behaviour. Through Divine grace, may we glorify Him in our bodies and in our spirits.
True discipleship is the adherence of the soul exclusively to Christ, the continual looking to Him, and the constant following Him irrespective of where He may lead. The truest quality of Christian discipleship exists in the performance of the will of the Lord as He reveals it, the doing of His supreme will as the expression of implicit obedience which tolerates no alternatives. Decisive discipleship can only be practised through a complete denial of self, self with its vices and virtues, its peevishness and pride, its affections and aversions.
The Lord has made plain that discipleship leads to sacrifice, “If any man come to Me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26). He also asserted that discipleship results in suffering. “Then said Jesus unto His disciples, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matt. 16:24). Nevertheless, discipleship with Christ enjoys many precious compensations, “Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you…, Everyone that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My Name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life” (Matt. 19 28-29).
In the Devotional section, our brother Tetstall of England presents this matter as a challenge to the heart. It would indeed be well, if at the opening of another year, we responded to this appeal, and determined by the grace of God to be more lowly and more holy followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The thought of personal holiness receives considerable emphasis in this issue. Our esteemed contributor, F. J. Squire, in the section under “Prophecy,” through his splendid article on “The Purifying Hope” lays stress upon the practical sanctification that results from living in view of the personal return of our Lord. Ernest B. Sprunt, in “Lambs of the Flock,” similarly maintains the emphasis upon this moral quality that appears so rarely among the older as well as the younger Christians.
The doctrinal article, “The Holy Trinity,” by David Leathem, could result only in the conviction that God desires that we be holy even as He is holy.
Please notice the arrangement to facilitate the renewal of your subscription. In Canada this may be sent to the office; in the United States, to our American Representative. Subscribers in Britain should consult our brother David Craig, whose address will be found along with the others inside the back cover.