Evangelism in the Sunday School

Evangelism in the Sunday School

I have been asked to speak with you for a few minutes on the general theme of Evangelism through the Church School. I think it well for us to have an understanding of what we mean by evangelism. There is a narrow concept and there is a broad concept. In the narrow concept, evangelism is leading an individual unto a personal commitment to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. All too often we have thought of this type of evangelism in terms of a mass meeting, gospel singing, effective preaching, emotional appeal and a sawdust trail. I do not mean to criticize this type of meeting for they have their place and are once again having their place in the life of the Church. But often times we forget the chief recruiting agency is the Church School where through inspired teaching, dedicated teachers, Sunday after Sunday exalt the Lord Jesus Christ. We need more and more of this kind of evangelism.

In its broad sense evangelism is not only bringing a person to a personal commitment but it is also helping that person to go on and “grow up into the fullness of the stature of manhood in Christ Jesus.” For we understand that conversion is not a crisis, it is also a process – the process of growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ. This is the purpose of the Church and as the right arm of the Church it is the purpose of the Church School.

Now we in the Presbyterian Church have a Church School of which each one of us and each member of the congregation can well be proud. The staff of the school – the general officers and the teachers – are a group of men and women dedicated to the “high calling that is yours in Christ Jesus.” As the Apostle said concerning the members of the Church at Philippi, so I can say concerning you, “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.”

As I visit the homes of new comers to Charleston, many times I am reminded of you. Many, many fathers and mothers have told me that one of the reasons they want to make the First Presbyterian Church their Church home is because their children are so happy in our Church School. Time and time again people have said, “My you have a wonderful Church School.” I trust that this causes your chest to puff up and tour head to swell at least a little bit. Our Church School is doing a good work as a recruiting agency not only for the Church but also for Christ; and it is doing an excellent work as a training school in Christian discipleship.

We must ever think in terms of doing a more effective work. Now I do not intend to speak in terms of greater effectiveness, in terms of greater lesson preparation and presentation. This of course is most important. But I want to speak for just a moment on that area which is my primary responsibility – the area of visitation or personal relationships, or pastoral oversight. There is a sense in which each Church School teacher is a pastor – God’s under shepherd over the members of your class, as shepherds it becomes us to take a personal interest in the sheep committed to our care. Certainly like the Good Shepherd we will know our sheep byname. If one is absent from the fold, we seek him out patiently and constantly until he is brought back. In the case of new members in our class we ought to visit them in their home, write a letter of welcome, or telephone.

We can’t emphasize personal contact too much.

Dr. Robert W Kirkpatrick

First Presbyterian Church, Charleston W VA

Evangelism – Its Challenge

Evangelism – Its Challenge

He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, "Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house." And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly. When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, "He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." (Luke 19:1-10)

Evangelism is one of the most beautiful words in the English language. In the New Testament it is clothed with the garments of God’s love; it is shod with the shoes of brass that carries it unto the highways and byways, into the briers and brambles, over hill and dale; it is crowned with God’s highest praise and commendation.

 Yet it is the word which we shy away from, which we use in a more or less apologetic tone of voice. One reason for this may be traced to our revolt against a sensational type of evangelism which has prostituted religion to the service of a religious racket. A revivalist radio preacher in a southern state admitted on the witness stand that in five and a half years he had reached in gifts of $370,000. Recently a large tabernacle was erected in the town of Richmond, California, bearing a huge sign which extended across the full length of the tabernacle, announcing itself as “The End of Time Tabernacle.” On the left side of the poster was printed an hour glass, showing that but a few grains of sand remained in the upper half. On the other side of the poster was a clock face, announcing that it was much nearer than one minute to midnight in the story of mankind. Above the poster were indicated jagged flashes of lightning. It does not need too violent an imagination to picture the kind of preaching which was being poured night after night from the rostrum of that tabernacle. In sheer self-respect we have felt it necessary to dissociate ourselves entirely from this travesty of the preaching of the gospel. This self-respecting revolt against a spurious evangelism has carried away many from the thought of evangelism. The time has come when as followers of Jesus Christ we must each take up the gauntlet; accept the challenge to become heralds of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Evangelism is one of the most challenging words in the New Testament. It is a word and a work which challenges us to “publish abroad tidings, tidings of peace, tidings of Jesus, of redemption and release. It challenges us to go to a sin sick, soul-needy world and tell the sweetest story ever told: “God so love the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

The challenge of Evangelism is the challenge of doing a Christ like work. Why did Christ come into the world? Did He primarily as a healer of men’s body, as a teacher of their minds, or as a redeemer of their souls? Turn to the second chapter of Mark and we behold a man incurably ill brought to Him, borne by four friends. What were the first words to this helpless and hopeless cripple? “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” How often He spoke this same word to those who were brought to Him whose bodies and minds were sick. He would heal these diseases by striking at the root of the disease. For it was sin that marred God’s perfect creation and permitted disease and death to do its worse.

Listen to His teachings. One day they complained because He was mingling with the publicans and sinners, the social outcast of His day. The answer that He gave to those self-righteous Pharisees was not a sermon on social justice, or economic sharing, or political purity. He said, “They that be whole need not a physician. I come not to call the righteous but the sinners to repentance. “He knew that when men repented of their sins, received the forgiveness of sin and brought forth fruit from repentance then these attendant evils would be righted. He said, “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for His sheep.” “I am the living bread … and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I give for the life of the world.” John 3:16-17. By many teachings Jesus clearly taught that He came into the world to save man from sin.

What was the message of the eleven Apostles? Turn to the opening chapters of Acts of the Apostles and read anew the sermons of Peter. The burden of his message was Christ, crucified and risen. The passage of his message was: “Repent and receive the forgiveness of sins.” What was the burden of the Apostle Paul, admittedly the most Christ like man to ever walk the face of the earth? Listen to his message to the Churches, to the rulers, to the philosophers. No word is spoken in regard to the slavery of his day, to the political tyranny of Rome; no attempt is made to rouse the masses of down trodden men to revolutionary action. Over and over again he tells the old, old story of Jesus and His love manifested on His death on Calvary. “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all accepting that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” Paul had full confidence that as these sinners were regenerated by the redeeming love and sovereign matchless grace of God that they in turn would become the light of this world, the salt of the earth which would turn the world upside down.

These men went forth to evangelize in obedience to the command of Christ. This is the challenge that comes to us today: to arise in obedience to the last command of Christ and to carry on to its completion that which was begun nineteen hundred years ago on a hill called Calvary.

The challenge of evangelism is the challenge of an enduring work. Jesus said, “Lay up not for yourselves treasures on earth, were moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steel but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and where thieves do not break through and steel.” Job said, “Naked came I into the world and naked I will leave it.” The only thing we can take with us into the presence of God, into that new heaven and new earth are the deeds of love and mercy that we have done in the name and for the sake of Christ.

Have you heard a kindness shown? Pass it on;

‘Twas not given for one alone, pass it on;

Let it travel down the years, let it wipe another’s tears,

Till in heaven the deed appears pass it on.

The greatest kindness shown to anyone here was that day when somebody came and said, “Come see, we have found the Messiah,” and then pointed you to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. How wonderful it will be to stand in the presence of God in the company of those whom we have had the privilege of influencing for Christ.

Have you found the heavenly light? Pass it on;

Souls are groping in the night, daylight gone;

Hold thy lighted lamp on high, be a star in someone’s sky,

He may live who would die, pass it on

The challenge of evangelism is the challenge of rewarding work. It was James our Lord’s brother who wrote: “Let him know, that he who covereth a sinner from the error of his ways shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.”

We know that it is God who gives the increase but the same God has given unto us the privilege of sowing the seed of the word and of watering the seed that another has sown. The most rewarding and satisfying work in all the world is that of having had a part in the redemption of human souls from destruction. The most rewarding work in my ministry, is the ability to look back and see here and there a life that God has given me the privilege of touching for Christ. I am not thinking only in terms of lives that have been steeped in the darkest depths of sin. Thinking of those who had been living for self and who are now living for Christ and others, of those who had been beset with fear, worry, quite but now live for the free air of God’s grace and love and mercy.

This era in which we live will probably be known by historians as the era of man’s search for new order. We have witnessed the struggle of Germany and the rise of Nazism, of the rise of Fascism in Italy; we have beheld the struggle in Japan, China and India for a new way of life; there is the rise of Communism and in our own beloved country we seen the emergence of the New Deal. Man is seeking, grouping, grasping for a better way of life, for a New Order of things. Poor deluded humanity, why do they not know that nineteen hundred years ago a lowly Nazarene laid the foundation of a New Order, the fellowship of the redeemed. Those who in complete abandonment of self gave themselves to Him find complete supply of physical and spiritual needs. When He becomes King of men’s lives then social inequalities vanish. We live in a day when young men and young women are devoting themselves with great zeal and devotion to the establishment of Satanic rule of Communism, to the establishment of a rule that issues forth in lie and deceit, the destruction of personal rights and property rights, in war, strife and bloodshed. What a challenge for us to have a part in the establishment of a Kingdom of Love, joy, peace and righteousness.

Those who accept such a challenge have a reward of knowing that their labor is not in vain. “Earthly kingdoms may rise and fall but His Kingdom is constant and will remain.” We know, on the authority of God’s Word that there will come a day when the knowledge of God will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea, and that the kingdom of this world will become the Kingdom of Christ. He who is engaged in the work of Christ is on the winning team.

Now let us get down to reality. Let us each personally face this question. Have I accepted the challenge? Am I obedient to Christ? Am I a winner of men? If not, what is the cause of my being a fruitless branch on the vine? Once we have found the cause of our failure, let us confess it, get right with God and begin to work for Christ in winning men. Here is the greatest work in the world. It was central and fundamental in the life of Christ, in the lives of the Apostles and all through the centuries since. It is the need of our community, our country, our civilization today. Here Jesus as He says to you: “Simon, son of Jonas, do you me? Feed my sheep.”

Dr. Robert W Kirkpatrick

First Presbyterian Church, Saint Albans, W VA, September 9, 1951

Life for a Look

Life for a Look

"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15)

“I’d never join the Presbyterian Church.” This was the statement that a lady made to me a number of years ago. When I asked her, “Why?” She replied, “You don’t believe that one has to be born again. All you believe is that one has to put their name on a piece of paper to become a Christian.” Certainly the Presbyterian Church believes that in order to become a Christian one must be born again. We believe it because the Bible teaches it. Jesus said, “Verily, Verily I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

The very nature of man demands that he be born again. Man who was created to have fellowship with God is now at enmity with God. He was created that he might show forth the praise, glory, and honor his creator but is unable to do so. The entrance of sin into the heart and nature of man makes man unable to do that for which God created him. I was driving back from Philadelphia several years ago, we were not far from the “city of brotherly love” when the motor of the car suddenly sputtered and died. I know little about a car but I got out and lifted up the hood and I could see nothing wrong, the car seemed to be in perfect shape. I got back in and pressed the starter and lo and behold the motor started. So off we went and it wasn’t long until it stopped again, and the car became incapable for doing that for which it was made. This time I stepped on the starter and again it started. To make a long story short, we ultimately found that on the timing gear there was a wire that was loosely connected. This loose connection prevented the machine from doing that for which it was made. As soon as the trouble was discovered and repaired the car preformed its function. Sin destroyed the connection between God and man, rendering man incapable to do that for which God created him. Man cannot perform his proper function until through the miracle of the new birth that connection is repaired.

It is the purpose of Almighty God is to paint upon the canvas of your life a likeness unto the Son of God. But you do not paint a beautiful life upon a dirty canvas. I was interested in watching some sign painters who were recently in town. I realized that before a new sign was painted that a new and clean surface was created by the application of paint. Before God reproduces upon the canvas of your life, the likeness of His only begotten Son your life must be cleansed by “the washing of regeneration,” and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” “Except a man be born,” Jesus said, “of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.”

The one who said to me, “I’d never join the Presbyterian Church” was confused in her understanding of the new birth. She believed that when it occurred it was accompanied by many outward signs such as shouting and crying. Such is not necessarily true. Jesus said, “Marvel not that I said unto you, ye must be born again, the wind bloweth where it wills, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but cannot tell from where it comes and where it goes: so is the every one that is born of the Spirit” Sometimes the wind blows with the force of the gale and other times it is the blowing of a gentle breeze that hardly stirs the leaves of a tree. So it is with the miracle of the new birth that takes place. Sometimes it is with great outward manifestation, but most often it is accompanied with little change. You see the needs of men differ, some need to be scoured and others need to be rinsed but all need to be washed with regeneration. Here are two men, one miner who emerged from the pit, and the other a dentist just getting ready to minister to a new patient. Both need to be washed. The miner scrubs and scrubs, the dentist merely rinses his hands.

The new birth is of God and not of man. John wrote: “To as many as received Him to them He gave power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe upon His name; who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, not of the will of man, but of God.” Man does not inherit a place in the Kingdom, all are first generation Christians. I am forever grateful for the marvelous heritage that is mine. I rejoice that I was born in America but American democracy can never be substituted for God’s regeneration. I am thankful that my Father was a Christian, which he raised me in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord,” but his citizenship in heaven can never be accounted to my account. I am ever grateful for a godly mother but I can never gain entrance into heaven upon the bases of her faith, nor go upon the wings of her prayer. My entrance into the kingdom must be on the bases of my faith and in answer to my prayer: “God be merciful to me a sinner and save me for Jesus’ sake.”

Man does not earn a place in the kingdom. “It is not of the will of the flesh.” Man does not go to heaven on a New Year’s resolution. God does not receive an old life patched up, He wants a new life in Christ. The story is told of an elderly man who lived in an old house, situated upon a very valuable corner lot in the business section of town. One day the town’s leading business man and citizen came by and asked if the man would sell his house. It thrilled and pleased the man that one so important should want his house. He said, “I’ll sell in a few weeks. Come back then and I will give you the deed.” The old man spent the intervening time patching up his house, seeking to make it ready for the new owner. He repaired the roof and the pouch, he painted it outside and in, and he repaired broken plaster and papered the walls, and replaced broken window panes. When at last it was looking almost like new, he completed the sale. Sometime after going by his old home, he saw workman busily tearing it down. With tears streaming form his face he went to the man to whom he had sold and demanded to know why his house was being torn down. He had patched it and made it like new so that it would be worthy for its new owner. The new owner patiently explained to the old man that he didn’t want the home patched up; he wanted the lot upon which he might build a new home. God doesn’t want your life all patched up by resolutions, He wants to build a new life upon the old lot.

The new birth is not of “the will of man.” It is not something that man can give unto us. It is not ours as the result of education, or membership in the visible Church or any other organization. You can take a pig out of the sty and wash him and cleanse him but he will still go back to the mud hole. He would need a new nature. So it is with man: he needs a new frame of heart and mind. This comes not from inheritance, not from within our own lives, not as a gift from our fellow men; it comes from God.

The possibility of a new birth is rooted in the very nature of God. God is love. Because God is love it was inevitable that He should seek to save His children from their sin. It was inevitable that God should do something to restore the broken connection, to cleanse the soiled life. Love with God is never mere words; it always finds its expression in deeds. “For God so loved the world,” said Jesus, “that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved.” The Incarnation, the entrance of the only begotten Son of God into this world is the measure of God’s love for man; it is the evidence of God’s sincere desire to receive the Prodigal home again.

In order to explain to Nicodemus the way in which a man may be born again Jesus referred to a familiar incident that took place during the forty years of wandering in the wilderness by the Israelites. “And Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Nicodemus was well versed in the Old Testament; he knew exactly to what Jesus was making reference. There came a time in the wilderness that the children tired of the monotony of desert life. They murmured against God for having brought them there, and they yearned for the life of Egypt. “And the Lord sent serpents amongst the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people died.” In their terror they cried unto Moses to do something, Moses interceded with God on their behalf and God instructed to have a brazen serpent made and lifted up before the people. God said, ‘It shall come to pass, that everyone who is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.” They looked upon the brass serpent and were healed, they received new life. They received life for a look.

One day men laid hold of the Son of God and led out to a place called Golgotha. There they lifted Him up upon a cross to die. To men that cross was a symbol of shame and degradation. But God has taken that cross and made is a symbol of salvation. The Christ of the cross says, “Look unto me and be saved.” All who in faith look unto Him, received salvation. The connection between you and your God is repaired, your life is cleansed, and you receive the power of the Holy Spirit which enables you to live a life to the glory of God.

Often time’s men have a very trite conception of faith. We make it weak, puny, namby-pamby thing. Faith is more than intellectual asset; faith is surrender, it is committal. Everyone in this room this morning believes that it is possible for you to go to Charleston, and go out to Kanawha Airport, board an airplane and fly to Miami. You believe that such is possible, and that plane is capable of taking you safely. Yet there are those here who would not act upon that faith, would not commit themselves to the plane. They say, “I’ll go by car, by bus, by train, or I’ll even walk, but I will not go by airplane.” Each one here this morning, I am certain, agrees with all I have said. For after all I have merely presented the teaching of God’s Word. You believe that man needs to be born again because of the essential nature of sin which we are all guilty. You believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God was lifted up upon a cross to save men form sin. You believe that He is willing and able to save. Now I ask you have you acted upon that in faith? Have you committed yourself to Him?

It was carnival time at Niagara Falls, New York. One of the feature attractions was a tight wire walker. One day he advertised that he was going to stretch the wire across the brink of Niagara Falls. A great crowd lined the bank of either side of the fall. The man walked safely across. Then he carried an umbrella across, and then a chair and then various other objects. He came down from the wire and went to an eight year old boy standing nearby. He said, “You believe I can walk across the wire.” “Sure,” replied the boy. “Do you think I could carry you over safely?” “Yes” came the answer. “Then come let me do it,” said the man as he reached down to pick up the lad. With that the boy turned and scooted away. The boy gave intellectual assent but was not willing to commit himself to the man’s keeping. Jesus Christ is the only way from man to go across the falls of sin. You believe that. Have you committed yourself to Him? He offers you this today, “New life for a look – the look of faith.” Will you fix the eye of faith upon Jesus?

Dr. Robert W Kirkpatrick

Maxwell Presbyterian Church, August 6, 1953

Evangelism – Its Place in History

Evangelism – Its Place in History

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John *testified about Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'" For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. (John 1:1-18)

Your theme for this Church year is “Know Christ – Make Him known.” During the Bible hour this week we are to talk together concerning the seconded part of this theme: “Make Him known.” This is evangelism. The bases of our study will be the Gospel of John. Naturally we cannot hope to conduct a systematic study of John’s gospel. We will use the gospel as our source material for study in evangelism. You might be interested in the titles of our study:

1)    Evangelism—Its place in History

2)    Evangelism – Its Message

3)    Evangelism – Its Method

4)    Evangelism – Its resources

5)    Evangelism – Its Claims Upon Me

In preparation for tomorrows study will you read the third chapter of John.

Evangelism has always been the primary aim, purpose and program of the Church. When a Church or the Church ceases to be evangelistic in character it signs its own death decree. Evangelism is and must ever continue to be the blood of the Church.

Perhaps there is no singular word in the Christian vocabulary which has suffered more from those who claim to love it than this great New Testament term: Evangelism. Often time’s evangelism is associated with periods of great emotional appeal; it has been identified with all sects and denominations that move from periods of so called revival to another; it has been thought in connection with certain unsavory practices and publicity stunts. The result is that the mere mention of evangelism raises a barrier in the minds of people.

The time has come for us to reclaim this word and to clothe it in the garments of respectability. Christ gave us a definition of evangelism in the words of the great commission: “Go ye into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost teaching them to observe whatsoever things that I have commanded you. Lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the earth.” In its narrower scope evangelism is bringing men to Christ; in the broader scope evangelism is bringing men to Christ and training them in the way of Christ. The message of evangelism is the message of the Christmas angel: “Fear not, for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people, for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord.” The evangelist is the one who heralds the news.

The roots of evangelism go deep. When you look at the massive trees on the campus of Davis and Elkins you see only the outstretched limbs, and the rich growth of leaves. But this tree could not live without a tap root going down from the trunk to the ground. It could not live without the network of roots that correspond to the limbs, holding the whole tree in place as the winds blow upon it, and feeding it with food taken from the ground. The tap root of evangelism is found in the loving heart of a Father – God. The roots of evangelism are found throughout the Old Testament. Its branches and fruitage are found in the New Testament times and in this present age in which we live.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and God made man in His own image and placed man in the world which He had created. Man’s first home was in the Garden of Eden and all that man needed for his welfare was to be found there. Man had only one restriction placed upon him. “He was not to eat of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.” But man used his God – given gift of freedom of will to rebel against his Creator and he ate of the forbidden fruit. Man had sinned. But where sin abounded, grace did more abound. The eternal God appeared unto sinning man and gave His message of hope and cheer: “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; and it shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise His heel.”

Years passed on, and then one day from Ur of the Chaldeans’, He called Abraham and said, “Get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee, and I will make of thee a great nation … and in thee and thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” Generations came and went: God’s promise to Abraham of seed was fulfilled, out of him had grown a great nation, Israel, and under God’s guiding hand the land of Palestine was given to them as their home. Then it was God that called from the sheep cote a young lad, David, the sweet singer of Israel and anointed him king of his people and said unto him: “I will set up thy seed after thee and I will establish His kingdom … and I will establish His throne forever.”

Many times God’s people forgot Him as sin came into their midst and the glory of Israel began to dim, but through the darkness always there shown the beacon light of God’s love as the prophets, the great men of God stood out to call men back from sin, and to point the way to Him who would come to take away the sin of the world. Listen to their voices:

“And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and the branch shall grow out of his roots: and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of council and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord; with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove the equity for the meek of the earth.” “Behold a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which is, being interpreted, God with us.” “But thou Bethlehem, Ephrathah, which are little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me, that this is to be ruler of Israel, whose goings forth are from old, from everlasting … and He shall stand and shall feed His flock in the strength of Jehovah, in the majesty in the name of Jehovah His God, and they shall abide; for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. And this man shall be our peace --- For unto you a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulders: and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever.  The zeal of the Lord of Host will perform this.”

Finally the fullness of time has come. God sent forth His Son. The word became flesh and dwelt among us, (and we behold His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth … and as many as received Him to then He gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believed upon His name.” “The grace of God … appeared.”

God, the eternal God who had created the heavens and the earth, the God of grace who had given these marvelous promises came to earth in the person of His Son. He became bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. The record of this matchless life is familiar to us all.

The purpose of this man’s life was to seek and save that which was lost. He came not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give His life as a ransom for many. That His ministry and His message might continue throughout the rest of time he gathered a band of followers about Him, whom He trained and sent forth to proclaim the good news. These went forth everywhere preaching the Word.” Throughout the Christian era a “noble army, men and boys, the matron and the maid,” have followed in their footsteps proclaiming unto the world the message of salvation, through Christ the Lord.

On December the 4^th in Augusta, Georgia the Presbyterian Church of the US, (The Southern Presbyterian Church) was organized. At that time the first general assembly adopted this statement: “The General Assembly desires distinctly and deliberately to inscribe on our church’s banner as she now unfurls it to the world, an immediate connection with the headship of our Lord, His last command … regarding this as the great end of her organization, in obedience to it as the indispensable of her Lord’s promised presence.” thus from the hour of its conception our Church affirmed its evangelistic purpose. Today we are in the midst of the Program of Progress. The Program of Progress has five goals: Evangelism, Church Attendance and Growth, Organization of New Churches, Presentation of Stewardship of Life and certain financial objectives. You notice that it is evangelism that heads the list and also that each of the other objectives are evangelistic in nature. The protestant denominations of America are enlisted this year in a United Evangelistic Effort. The Young people of our Assembly have chosen an Evangelistic theme: “Know Christ, Make Him Known.” This all points to an increased emphasis upon evangelism.

Young people you are living in a day when there is evidence of a “stirring in the mulberry trees.” You have never heard this phrase before. It comes from an experience in the life of King David related in 2 Samuel 5:23-25 "When David inquired of the LORD, He said, "You shall not go directly up; circle around behind them and come at them in front of the balsam trees. "It shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then you shall act promptly, for then the LORD will have gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines." Then David did so, just as the LORD had commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer."

Dr. Robert W Kirkpatrick

Love in Four Dimensions

Love in Four Dimensions

Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus *said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. "Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit." Nicodemus said to Him, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? "Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. "If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? "No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. "For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. "But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God."(John 3:1-21)

The cross is the yardstick that measures the love of God. So long as the cross remains silhouetted against the horizon of time man cast rest assured that God who created him and placed him  upon this earth is manifestly a God of love. Nature foes not cry aloud of the love of God for there are too many cruel and ugly things in nature along side of the beautiful and lovely. History is an excellent commentary upon the ways of God but history apart from the gospel does not convince us of the love of God. Surely the world of human affairs with all that we see about us of injustice and tragedy is not the place to become convinced of the fact of God’s love. The one all conclusive proof of God’s love is the cross which if it could speak would say: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” In these words of our text we find revealed the breadth and length, the height and depth of the love of God.

First: the breadth of the love of God. God so loved the world. World is the term used in Scripture in three different senses. In its first sense it means the universe of created things. In the beginning God created the world and all that therein. Its more usual meaning as it is found so frequently on the lips of Christ and the writers of the Epistles, it that of those evil forces which are opposed to God and goodness. Jesus says, “I have chosen you out of the world.” John says, “Little children love not the world.” The love of that world is deadly to faith and holiness. Its third sense is that which is employed here. It is the world of man that God loves. It is the world of men without distinction or exception.

God loves us all. Can we grasp what that means? He loves all who are seated in this auditorium. I wonder if we as we look over the people gathered here could say that to each one: “I love you.” I wonder if in all honesty and sincerity you could say to each one gathered here: “I love you. I have no feeling of jealousy, envy, hatred, animosity in my heart towards you?” he loves us all! It make no difference to Him what our nationality is, what the color of our skin happens to be, or what our talents are; He loves us. He loves all men no matter what condition they find themselves. He loves the prodigal who dwells in the swine pit; wasting his God given talents; the rebel who defies God’s authority; the skeptic who denies His existence; the ingrate who despises His love and goodness. God loves us all – all sorts and conditions of us.

God loves each one of us. It is not sufficient to think of God’s love for the world of men in general terms; we must personalize and understand that God loves me. Say to your own heart; “He loves me and gave Himself for me.” Just to say, “God so loved the world” is to become lost in that which is so vast, so cosmic, so impersonal. If the Scripture teaches us anything at all about God it teaches us that He is a personal God who is interested in each individual. He is so interested in you that the very hairs of your head are numbered and He knows you by name. He knows when a sparrow falls to the ground and you are much more valuable than it. God is in, love which each person of this world. You are not lost in the great mass of humanity. God loves all of you, God loves each of you.

Second: The length of the love of God. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” God so love that He gave. The test of love is the length to which it will go. Love is not love if it will not go all the way. For the soldier who gave his live on the battlefield for love of country, to the playmate who gave his life to rescue another playmate who was loved; to the missionary who died on the mission field out of love for God and man, the one test of love is the length to which it will go. Love gives. It is measured by what it does for and bestows upon the beloved. God could not love without giving and giving magnificently.

The love of God takes us to Bethlehem. The little babe silently sleeping in his mother’s arms is God’s gift of love to man. Christina Rossetti expressed it beautifully in her poem:

Love came down at Christmas, love all lovely, love divine;

Love was born at Christmas, stars and angels gave the sign.

The truth of God’s love takes out upon the highway of life where we behold the Son of God giving expression of love in the healing of the sick and blind and lame; in the words of instruction, comfort and sympathetic understanding that He spoke.

Immortal love forever full, forever glowing free,

Forever shared, forever whole, a never ending sea.

But warm sweet tender even yet a present help is He;

And faith has still its Olivet and love its Galilee.

The healing of His seamless dress is by our beds of pain;

We touch Him in life’s throng and press, and we are whole again.

But any full understanding of God’s love must take us to Calvary and stand with those “Who watched Him there.” Here we behold the full and complete expression of God’s love. We see Him giving Himself: “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.” God made not only a sacrifice of His Son on Calvary for the sin of the world: God gave Himself. “The Church of God which He has purchased with His own blood.” Here then is the supreme manifestation of the love of God for the world; here then is the length to which God is willing to go to show His love for each of us: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” “God commands His love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” 

Thirdly: The depth of the love of God. “That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish>” the plain intent of the love of God is to deliver man for the depth and death of sin – that “They should not perish.” This is not theology. The Bible clearly teaches that there is a heaven to gain, it just as clearly teaches that there is a hell to shun. If the grace of God in Christ does not snatch men from the depths of hell, all sin and degradation what chance of deliverance does man have.

Jesus came to the unlovely. He came not to call the righteous but the sinners to repentance. We can all love the lovable. We can respond to those who lavish their hearts upon us. But how many of us have that depth of love which is kind to the unthankful and the evil? Let a man prove false to us, let him flash his temper upon us, let him block our career, or eye us with scorn and hatred for him is born within us. A single act of neglect will sometime dry up the shallow pool of love that we have for another. But not so with the love of God. God so loved that whosoever believeth – whether rich or poor, lovely or unlovely, the guiltiest, foulest, most unclean – should not perish.

Jesus the Son of God became the son of man. Jesus crowned with the garment of heaven became wrapped in swaddling bands. He received the homage of angels accepted the denial of Peter. He who was worthy of the Father’s kiss accepted the kiss of Judas. He who wore the diadem of heaven traded it for a crown of thorns. He who reigned from the heights of glory became obedient unto death even the death on a cross. How unsearchable is the depth of His love for sinning man.

Fourthly: The height of the love of God. “But have everlasting life.” The height of God’s love is seen in the high and holy purpose it cherishes. God love the world of sinning, rebellious men; into that world He sent His only Son to live and die that man might be lifted out of the depths of sin unto the heights of eternity. “That where I am, there ye may be also.” 

If we would comprehend the height of God’s love we must leave cross – crowned Calvary and go into the garden of Joseph of Arimathea and hear the angel say concerning God’s Son, “He is not here, He is risen.” And now we hear Him say, “Because I live, ye too, shall live.” The knowledge of the height of God’s love answers the age old question of Job: “If a man die shall he live again?” The answer is yes, it is the purpose of God’s love that we might live eternally.

“And when the task on earth is done, when by thy grace the victory is won,

Even deaths cold wave I will not flee, since God through Jordan leadeth me.”

The height of God’s love leads out of the veil of tears into the land of endless joy. It leads through the valley of the shadow of death onto the mountain top of God’s presence. It leads us across the Jordan into the Promised Land of heaven where the saints immortal we shall dwell. In that land life shall be lived to the fullest, talents which in this life lie buried shall be unearthed and used; we shall see Him and be like Him in all His glorious perfection. There are no more powers of hell can prevail to mar our peace. There we “shall be filled with all the fullness of God.”

The height of God’s love leads us to this present moment, eternal life is something which we can have here and now. We can have this life which death cannot harm, which tribulation, and distress, persecution and famine are powerless to menace. But how can we have it? Our text discloses the answer – “whosoever believeth.” That whosoever includes each one of us. It includes all, it excludes none. Whosoever believeth in Jesus Christ shall be lifted out of the penalty of sin and given eternal life. This means more than intellectual assent. It means total commitment of self unto Christ as our Savior and Lord. It mans to cast ourselves just as we are upon Him.

Won’t you do that now? This matter is too important and too urgent to postpone. Suppose this were your last opportunity to hear of the breadth and length, height and depth of the love of God. What would you do? What will you do now?

Dr. Robert W Kirkpatrick

First Presbyterian Church, Hinton W VA, February 20, 1955