HOMESICK
We’re homesick for loved ones, yet tarry away,
Just waiting the summons of God to obey;
For loved ones enraptured in Heaven’s embrace,
Now faultless presented before the Lord’s face;
Now washed from the fountain from sins that annoy,
In likeness of Jesus, in fullness of joy.
We’re homesick for inklings of words from above,
To feast on their message with those whom we love.
How achingly lonesome our tarrying here,
Though sweet is the friendship with others so dear;
How wondrous the dawning; Eternity’s day,
When called to His Presence, forever to stay.
Samuel M. Lehigh
TELL IT AGAIN
September, 1980 marks the completion of thirty years of publishing Bible Helps booklets. Bible Helps was the vision of my father, who was the author of the article being reprinted in this issue. He went to be with the Lord, February 19, 1970. He was born December 28, 1876, married in 1905, called to the ministry in 1909. In addition to his work in the ministry he was a salesman, teacher, and farmer. In his busy life, father came in contact with many people, but he seldom ever talked with people without the thought of their eternal destiny uppermost on his mind.
From my earliest childhood, I remember father taking down the big family Bible to read to us stories from the Old and New Testaments. Then we would have prayer. He was never too busy to help us with our school work or with any problems that came our way. He was able to advise, counsel and comfort.
When he became too feeble to drive out to talk with people about their souls, sometimes I would go. Once he asked me to go again to a man who would not yield his heart to God, but I hesitated, stating that we had talked to him so often to no avail. “Just try once more,” he would say, “Eternity is a long time.” This reminded me of the lines:
“Tell it again. Tell it again.
Salvation’s story repeat o’er and o’er.”
His determination to do God’s will and win souls for Christ makes me think of the song:
“There are hearts that never falter,
In the battle for the right.”
One day father called me to his room and beckoned me to his big roll-top desk. He was feeble, his hand shook and there were tears in his eyes as he opened a drawer and pulled out his will. “Just so you know where it is,” he said. He had few material possessions, as he had been giving and helping folks ever since I can remember. What he had he willed to my mother. Only one legacy I requested, but this he could not give. I asked for his knowledge of the Bible, his aptness and talent in speaking to lost or troubled souls, his closeness to God and his complete desire to do His will.
By God’s help it is our purpose to continue the witness to lost souls. We believe that my father, and all our saved departed loved ones are now in glory land no more homesick for Heaven but anxiously waiting our coming. May you pray with us for lost souls as we “Tell it again . . . Salvation’s story repeat o’er and o’er . . . ”
May God bless you for your prayers, gifts and offerings for the Bible Helps work.
Amos Lehigh
FIVE STEPS TO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
By Samuel M. Lehigh
Where did the human race come from? “God made the world and all things therein . . .. And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us: for in him we live, and move, and have our being . . . for we are also his offspring” (Acts 17:24-28). “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). Paul says: “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
Because man is spirit, he is God-conscious (Job 32:8); because he is soul, he is self-conscious (Psalms 42:11); and because he is body, he is world-conscious. God created man above all animals, for animals are not God-conscious, and cannot be tempted to sin. One must have an understanding and a will of his own to choose to worship God. Whenever a child is born, he is an offspring of God, an immortal soul, and must exist forever. A soul cannot be annihilated.
The devil is also an offspring of God—but he tried to be God and became the devil and must be cast into the lake of fire prepared for the devil and his angels, where all the lost people go, with him.
THE FIRST STEP _ INNOCENCY AT BIRTH
Man was made in the image and after the likeness of God and was created innocent, but fell in the snare of the devil. Jesus came from God and went to God. He is the express image of God and could not be tempted to sin. Though He was tempted in all points yet without sin. He could die for the sin of the world. “Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Only a virgin-born sinless One could die for the sins of the world.
No one need answer for the Adamic Sin, only for his personal sins. We must be redeemed by faith in Jesus Christ. But a newborn child has no personal sins. The first step toward God is the innocency of childhood. All unaccountable persons are saved by the death of Jesus. “And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them; and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, suffer the little children to come under me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God (Mark 10:13-14).
THE SECOND STEP _ ACCOUNTABILITY
Where does sin come from? Sin comes from the heart. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Even very young children have a tendency to sin. Before the child is born, pre-natal influence may direct the course of life. The early training of Moses gave him a faith that forty years of Egyptian schooling could not erase. Every generation must be retaught early to get God established in the heart. Treat a child as a guest, with kindness yet with firmness. Every child must learn obedience. “Children obey your parents.” Spank a young child if you must, but never shout at him or scold harshly. Kind hearts are the gardener, kind thoughts are the roots, kind words are the blossoms, kind deeds are the fruits. O for more kindness in the home.
“Speak gently to the little child,
His love be sure to gain,
Teach him in accents meek and mild,
He may not long remain.”
It is said that in pagan lands nearly half of the children die in their innocency. Children should never see the ugly pictures on television. Parents are terribly responsible for bringing children into the world, and failing to establish God in their hearts in early childhood is a serious sin. A child has a free will, with which God does not interfere. He must learn to choose to obey God rather than self, and obey God rather than man. The closer a child stays to God the less steps he has to learn to be established in good habits of prayer and Bible reading and church attendance. Every child must learn early to respect things sacred and to sit quietly in church services.
Every person that grows up to the age of accountability must be converted, and can be saved no matter how sinful he has been. The blood of Christ can save him. “The Spirit will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8). When a person knows he is a sinner, there is hope for him. There is hope that he will repent and turn away from sin unto God. We all know better than to live as though there were no God.
THE THIRD STEP _ CONVERSION
Why are not all persons converted? Life begins before one is born, and spiritual life begins with faith that brings conviction. Are not all persons convicted that they are lost? I believe they are, but are ashamed to confess Jesus. Paul says: “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, the just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:16-17). Why do not all believe their Creator? “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). The answer is that children are allowed to grow up as though there were no God. “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:4-10). “For we are laborers together with God; ye are God’s husbandry; ye are God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:9).
When God takes hold of a man He makes a new creature out of him; he will be reborn, for God himself pays the debt of sin against him, by sacrificing His Son: “Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Romans 3:25, 26). So God pays our debt, forgives our sins of the past life, no matter how bad they were, if we believe what He says, and repent and are baptized for the remission of sins. Paul’s life was very sinful when God called him, but he repented and was baptized to symbolize the washing of his sins (Acts 22:16). So we are entirely forgiven for sins that are past. We have taken the baptismal vow to live faithfully until death. “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:12-14).
Much is made of the suffering and death of Christ, and that is right; we can never say enough of the blood shed for the remission of sins. We are entirely forgiven. We are counted as though we have never sinned. By the baptismal vow we are separated unto God and justified—for how long? Well! how long is the marriage vow good? Until death. Both parties must be true to the promises. When we are converted we are justified and sin cannot condemn us. When we are sanctified sin cannot control us, and when we are glorified sin no longer exists.
THE FOURTH STEP _ SANCTIFICATION
Sanctification has two parts. First it means to set apart unto God’s service, and this was done at conversion. The second part means to make holy, and this must be done all our lives. We must keep the baptismal vow until death. It is possible that a saved, justified person can still be lost? Is it possible that a born-again person can be un-born? Is it possible that two married persons can be separated? Married people cannot be separated if they keep their promises before man and God. Born again people cannot be un-born, but they can die, as a once saved person can put off sanctification until he dies.
The children of Israel are given as an example: “They were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:2-4). But many did not enter the promised land. They lost their original faith (Numbers 14).
Paul says: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). Again he says: “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled” (Hebrews 12:14-15).
Again Paul says: “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus . . .. Brethren, be followers of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an example. (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things). For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself” (Philippians 3:14, 17-21).
Multiplied thousands have given their lives to gain eternal life, and we should not be ashamed to suffer and bear His cross for the joy set before us.
God can make us holy and keep us holy if we are willing to let Him. “For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14). God does everything for us if we are willing. “But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30). God takes us out of the world and puts Christ in us and gives us the promise of eternal life. “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6:17-18). And what is the unclean thing? It is the sin and style of the world. Christians are saved people. If you love Jesus you must walk with Him in order to be sanctified. Paul says: “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him; rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving” (Colossians 2:6-7).
Only when we walk with Jesus, and do the things that are pleasing to Him can we hope to be sanctified and thus be saints unto God.
THE FIFTH STEP _ GLORIFICATION
How long does sin exist? “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9). Sin is like leprosy, the only way to get it out of a house is to burn the house and build a new one. “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 5:1). Then sin does not exist.
Glorification is the eventual, final transformation which will take place when the believer inherits his home in Heaven, living eternally in a new body. Romans 8:16-18 speaks of that time: “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.”
“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen” (Jude 24:25).
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