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INTERNATI<NAL DESK
(Continued from page 32)
problems- not entirely of their
own making. The years under colo–
nial masters were a mixed blessing.
Ma ny nations seized- or were
gran ted- independence befo re
they were maturely ready . They
were often saddled with frontiers
that were long ago decided by com–
mittee in Europe rather than by
those who really understood Africa.
The people of Africa generally suf–
fer from diseases that have been
eradicated everywhere e lse on
earth. 1n spite of a high rate of
infant mortality, populations are
rising faster than the supply o f
developed resources. One can only
look at the tragic conditions with a
sense of dcep compassion. But they
must realize that they have brought
much of this on themselves by bor–
rowing heavi ly and then spending it
unwisely. They embark on expen–
sive prest ige projects that fall apar\
befare they are finished . And then
waste precious resources and brain–
power seeking influencc on the
inter national stage, instcad of
working on problems at home.
That is what sets the Cameroon
Republic apart. While there is sti ll a
long way to go, sal id progress ha!
been made. The country's leaders
haven't made a name for themselves
internationally- as 1 said at the
beginning, most people know practi–
cally nothing about them. But as
Solomon wrote in the book of Prov–
erbs, " ... befare honour is
humili–
ty"
(Prov. 15:33). The Cameroon–
ians have been humble. They faced
their situation realistically, and have
not tried to become something they
are not. Their example should not go
unnoticed or unrecorded.
No nation is going to escape
completely the problems of the
next few years. Events on the Euro–
pean continent are soon to change
the shape of all the world. The
Black African nations may not be
in a position to have much say in
what happens. Nevertheless the
Cameroon Republic at the moment
is in a better position than most to
weather the storm. May the new
president continue to lead his coun–
try along the same commonsense
path to national success. o
40
Personal from.. .
(Continued from page
1)
with a message from heaven. This
message was essentially the same
as he had instructed the first two
humans.
lt
had to do with God's
government and rule over them,
of his way of life that would cause
every good and with the gift of
eternal 1ife.
But again, humans (with few
exceptions- 120 in all) did
not
believe
what he said! They called
him a liar!
Let me quote: "As he [Jesus]
spake these words, many believed
on him. Then said Jesus to those
Jews which believed on him, If ye
continue in my word [his MES–
SAGE], then are ye my disciples
indeed; and ye sha ll know the
truth, and the truth shall make
you free" (J ohn 8:30-32).
They answered him sarcastical–
ly and hosti lely. They were Abra–
h am 's descendants a nd were
already free.
" l know that ye are Abraham's
seed," responded Jesus,
"but ye
seek
to
kili me.
because my word
[his gospel message] hath no place
in you."
They believed on the messen–
ger- but they
rejected his mes–
sage- they
didn't believe what he
said!
J esus continued, " But now ye
seek to kili me, a man that hath
told you the truth [his gospel mes–
sage] , which l have heard of
God."
Later, Jesus said, " And because
1 tell you the truth,
ye believe me
not .
...
why do ye not believe
me?"
(Verses 45-46.)
Befare the end of the first cen–
tury that message was suppressed
and another false "gospel" substi–
tuted. Christ's message was not
proclaimed to the world again
unti l now-in the lat ter half of
the 20th century!
But God saw to it that his
word- his message to ma nkind–
was inspired and put into his
writ–
ten
Word. But even today, the
religions that have appropriated
Christ's name preach about the
PERSON of Christ- about the MES–
SENGER-but they do not proclaim
his MESSAGE- his
true
gospel.
And in many basic doctrines
they teach the very opposite of
what J esus and the first apost les
taught. They condemn the cus–
toms J esus observed, and observe
customs J esus and the Bible con–
demn.
Today, a professing adherent of
"Christianity" will say, in sur–
prise, "Why, you sure ly don't take
the Bible
literal/y,
do you?"
Humans have written books by
the millions. People read and take
them
literally. They take them to
mean what t hey say- a nd say
what they mean. But the Bible?
They can't seem to
believe
it can
mean what it plainly says.
For example, the Bible says,
"The wages of si n is DEATH"
(Rom. 6:23). Bu t professing
Christians will say, "But death
doesn' t
mean
death- it means
everlasting life in hell fire!" God
SAYS "deat h"-but they d on' t
believe what God
says-and
since
this is his word, they don't believe
his message!
This same verse says, also, "But
the gift of God is eterna! life
through J esus C hrist our Lord."
Do they believe eterna! life is a
gift of God? No, they believe we
are " immortal souls" who already
have
eterna! life. But God says in
his Word, "The soul that sinneth,
it shall die" (Ezek. 18:4). God
says that- but professing Chris–
tians don't believe what he says!
He says the same words again m
Ezekiel 18:20 .
God said the same thing to
Adam and Eve, " ... in the day
that thou eatest thereof [of the
tree of the knowledge of good and
evil]
thou shalt surely die"
(Gen.
2: 17) . And in verse seven God
says he " formed man of the dust
of the g round, and breathed into
his nostrils the breath of life; and
man [made of the dust of the
g round) became a living soul. " To
this "soul" God said he would
"surely d ie" if he disobeyed, tak–
ing the forbidden fruit.
It
was Satan who said, "Ye
shall NOT surely die." Today those
who profess Christ believe what
Satan sa id . But they do not
bel ieve what God said!
And what about modern science
and h igher education? Like our
first parents, they reject revelation
The PLAIN TRUTH