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CHRISTIAN
(Continued from page 16)
(they are found in Exodus 20 and
Deuteronomy 5) and see if there is
not room for improvement in your
life. 1n this materialistic, industrial
age, you may be especially sur–
prised at what the fourth and tenth
commandments have to say.
Our free booklet
The Ten Com–
mandments
explains the command–
ments in detail, gathering together
the various scriptures to show how
each one is applicable in today's
world. You may have a copy simply
by sending your request to one of
our addresses. See inside the front
cover of this magazine.
True Conversion
Being a real Christian involves
every moment of every day.
Every activity, every social situa–
tion, every endeavor, every goal and
plan- Christ has revealed laws that
bear on every fac.et of life. We are
even to let our thoughts be ruled by
the
Lord
Jesus, "bringing into cap–
tivity every thought to the obe–
dience of Christ," as the apostle
Paul expressed it
(JI
Cor. 10:5).
To sorne that sounds extreme.
But it's in the Christian Bible. The
apostle Paul was only repeating
what the Bible says time and again:
To do God's will is to follow his
way of life totally. There is a price
to pay, however, and for sorne that
price may be too high. That price is
surrender of the
SELF.
"Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his
thoughts ... ," God says through
the prophet l saiah. "For my
thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,
saith the Lord. For as the heavens
are higher than the earth, so are my
ways higher than your ways, and
my thoughts than your thoughts"
( lsa. 55:7-9).
A real Christian is one who seeks
God's way of life, his t houghts, his
will. What lsaiah was describing
was genuine repentance-the kind
of repentance necessary to begin
the Christian way of life. When
multitudes asked the apostle Peter
how to become Christians, Peter
responded with the same thoughts
(Acts 2:38).
28
But these inspired instructions
are seldom followed today. Why?
Why in the mass evangelistic cam–
paigns of the world are people
encouraged to make a spur-of-the–
moment "decision for Christ" and
to come forward in an "altar call,"
and to be pronounced "saved" or
"born again"?-when that is not
how Peter said to receive the Holy
Spirit, which is God's free gift that
leads to eterna! life. No wonder
such "conversions" often last only a
matter of days or weeks!
Why
Do So Few Know?
Here is where many people stumble.
They begin to grasp what real Chris–
tianity is all about, then they look
around them at the people they
know. Or they think of individuals
they have known in the past–
friends, relatives, perhaps. And they
use them as standards of compari–
son.
T hey say to themselves: "Uncle
Henry and Aunt Ruth and my friend
John did not literally obey Jesus'
instructions. But they weren't 'bad'
people either. T hey lived the way
they tbought was right. 1'11 take my
chances along with them and with
the millions and millions of other
professing Christians who are just
average people. Surely God won
't
deny eterna! life or salvation to
them! God is merciful."
God is merciful. That's true. But
then what did Jesus mean when he
said keeping the commandments and
other lesser requirements are neces–
sary to inherit God's free gift of eter–
na! life? He meant exactly what he
said. Uncle Henry and Aunt Ruth
and fr iend J ohn and all the millions
who have professed Christianity
Caughtln
ADeDtTrap?
Our free booklet
Ending Your Financia/ Worries
offers sound,
practica! advice on ending personal financia! woes. For your copy, use
the card in this issue or write our oflice nearest.you.