E xhortations
The Newsletter of the
“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”
Volume 2 Number 2
Confession of Sin
and Restitution
John Zeug
Following a recent discus-
sion on this topic, I though it
good to commit to paper my
thoughts, based upon Scrip-
ture, and my understanding
as to why we as Apostolic
Christians believe that con-
fession of sin and restitution
are an inherent part of the
conversion experience.
When John the Baptist be-
gan his ministry, he declared,
“Repent ye: for the kingdom
of heaven is at hand.” (Mat-
thew 3:2). Those who re-
sponded to the message
“... Were baptized of him in
Jordan, confessing their sins.”
(Matthew 3:6). Many of the
Pharisees and Sadducees
who came to his baptism
without being willing to expe-
rience a change in their lives
were rebuffed by John the
Baptist with, “O generation
of vipers, who hath warned
you to flee from the wrath to
come? Bring forth therefore
fruits meet for repentance”
(Matthew 3:7-8). It is clear
from the above Scriptures
Summer, 1997
Apostolic Christian Publishing Company
that what was expected in the
way of “fruit” was acknow-
ledgment of specific sin in
people’s lives, and that part
of the repentance experience
was to confess these sins. It
also appears that this confes-
sion was not a simple state-
ment of acknowledging that
“I am a sinner,” but that the
repentant persons were so
sincere that they had the de-
“He that
covereth his
sins shall
not
prosper...”
sire to be unburdened of
their sins in response to Prov-
erbs 28:13: “He that covereth
his sins shall not prosper: but
whoso confesseth and for-
saketh them shall have
mercy.”
Jesus began His ministry
with the same message: “Re-
— II Timothy 4:2
Summer, 1997
In This Issue
+ Confession of Sin and Restitution — Page 1
+ The Need of Repentance — Page 3
+ “I Will Remember the Works of the LORD”
— Page 4
+
Growing in Knowledge — Page 8
+ “Shall I Find Faith?” — Page 11
+ The Prodigal Father — Page 15
+ In The Night — Page 16
pent: for the kingdom of need to be free of the guilt
heaven is at hand.” (Matthew brought on by wrong-doing
4:17). We see the sincere re- no matter how embarrassing.
sponse by Zacchaeus after Christ recognized both his
faith and humility, and thus
his encounter with Christ,
“Behold, Lord, the half of my declares, “This day is salva-
goods I give to the poor; and tion come to this house, for-
if I have taken any thing from somuch as he also is a son of
any man by false accusation, Abraham.” (Luke 19:9).
I restore him fourfold.”
(Luke 19:8). As a chief Repentance is not just a
among the publicans who momentary feeling sorry for
had become rich, probably sins committed. The Holy
through “false accusation”, Spirit inspired the apostles to
his conscience urged him to give a clear understanding of
be willing to make this right. the depth of true repentance.
What a testimony of the To the members at Corinth,
power of Christ working the Apostle Paul rejoiced
through him! He did not earn that those in the church who
his salvation by confessing needed to repent truly did so.
and making restitution, but
his faith convicted him of the Continued on page 2
Exhortations • 1
E xhortations Confession of Sin and
Restitution
Continued from Page 1 given trespass? Does not
The Newsletter of the Scripture clearly indicate
Apostolic Christian Publishing Company They did not just feel bad for that the convert should ask
what they had done, “But for forgiveness of man as well
“And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency that ye sorrowed to repen- as of God? The Apostle Paul
of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. tance: for ye were made sorry writes, “If it be possible, as
For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus after a godly manner, that ye
Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and might receive damage by us
in nothing. For godly sorrow
in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching
worketh repentance to salva-
“I believe
was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstra-
tion of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand tion...” (II Corinthians 7:9-
10). Also the Apostle John
that in
in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” (I Corinthains
2:1-5). writes, “If we confess our today’s
sins, he is faithful and just to
This is the common thread which unites the articles in this forgive us our sins, and to evangelical
issue of Exhortations. Each of them deals, in some manner, with cleanse us from all un-
what happens when man — the motivating nature of man — righteousness.” (I John 1:9). world
confronts the Word of God. Repentance includes Godly
sorrow; confession — making
many have
So long as the Lord tarries, every generation will face the
same challenge of coming face to face with God’s Word. What the sin known; and a turning tried to
impact will it have on our lives? Will we accept and embrace around — no longer continu-
the Word of the Lord in faith with a humble heart? Will we ing the sin or the sinful prac- provide an
dismiss it out of hand as we despise and reject it as “unfashion- tice.
able”, out-of-step with the times?
easier
Or will we perhaps be among those who try to find a middle I believe that in today’s road...”
course, a way to accommodate the gentle commands of God to evangelical world many have
the sinful ways of the world? Will the life-giving Word of God tried to provide an easier
road of repentance by coun- much as lieth in you, live
change us, or will we change the Word of God so that we need peaceably with all men.”
not give our entire life? seling souls that they need
only confess sins to God. (Romans 12:18). If this ex-
Only a genuine experience of the new birth in Christ and of That is an interesting con- hortation is addressed to the
empowered, sanctified living in Him to the end will avail us cept. Since God already believer, should not the con-
anything in that day when He shall return to claim His church. knows everything about us, vert seek to make things
telling God the sins one has right, as much as is possible,
“Strive thou, till thy zeal is burning, with all men?
And thy first-love grows so warm committed is really only an
That thou all this world art spurning, acknowledgment, not confes-
sion. While acknowledgment Another scripture indicat-
Half-love will not bide the storm.” ing that confession is part of
is indeed a necessary first
step as part of repentance, the healing process is to be
the humbling experience that found in the General Epistle
comes through confession — of James: “Is any among you
especially to those whom we afflicted? let him pray. Is any
Exhortations is the newsletter of the Apostolic Christian Pub- merry? let him sing psalms. Is
lishing Company, Syracuse, New York. Its purpose is to declare
have wronged — is part of
the fruit of repentance. It is any sick among you? let him
and promote the original doctrinal standpoints and practices of

the Apostolic Christian Church through the publication of rele- both a true testimony of the call for the elders of the
vant articles, both historical and contemporary. sincerity of the convert’s hav- church; and let them pray
ing received the grace of God over him, anointing him with
Correspondence regarding this newsletter and other publica-
to repent, and a testimony to oil in the name of the Lord:
tions identified herein may be addressed to: Apostolic Christian
other unconverted people of And the prayer of faith shall
Publishing Company, P.O. Box 416, Syracuse, New York 13215-

0416. Email may be sent to: exhort@acpub.org . Visit our World the reality of the power of the
Wide Web site on the Internet at http://www.acpub.org Holy Spirit to change lives.
What if an unconverted per-
Gregory D. Kufchak — Editor
son were fully aware that a
Gaius W. Laubli — Associate Editor convert had not asked him
David M. Freund — Business Manager
for forgiveness of something
they both knew was an unfor-
save the sick, and the Lord
shall raise him up; and if he
have committed sins, they
shall be forgiven him. Con-
fess your faults one to an-
Continued on page 3

2 • Exhortations Summer, 1997

Confession of Sin and
Restitution The Need of
Continued from Page 2 blood, the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of his
Repentance
other, and pray one for an- grace” (Ephesians 1:7). As Edward Baer
other, that ye may be healed. converts confess their sins, From The Visitor, November, 1930
The effectual fervent prayer they are, in effect, being When Jesus began His ministry, He preached this
of a righteous man availeth brought to the foot of the message: “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at
much.” (James 5:13-16). cross to be washed by His hand.” (Matthew 4:17).
Some have argued that this blood, and we then can be This was the kernel of His message to all who had not
scripture is directed to physi- assured of the promise that yet heeded it and accepted Him as their King and Lord.
cal healing only; however, “... thou wilt cast all their sins It was His message to those who had not yet been
verse 15 specifically men- into the depths of the sea.” awakened by God’s message, and who had not yet
tions committed sins prior to (Micah 7:19). What a graphic turned from their wrong course of life.
the direction to confess one word picture: to visualize our
to another, coupled with It is a striking thing that the Lord made this plea and
sins to be washed away and command — for it is both a plea and a command — the
prayer, to effect healing. then buried into the deepest essence of the beginning of the Gospel. And though this
My personal counsel to sea, never to be raised again is striking, it is not strange. It is a very logical thing that
those who have come to the with a feeling of guilt. Satan Christ should have called on His hearers to do this, and
point of wanting to be freed cannot then come later to that He placed it before them as a vital duty. For it was
from the guilt of sin, is to re- tempt us by saying, “You absolutely necessary that they should recognize them-
mind them of what happens have only acknowledged selves not as they would like to have prided themselves
to sins that are specifically your sin.” We can rejoice that to be, but rather as they were in God’s sight: and this
brought to the foot of the we have fully understood and was very different.
cross to be washed “white as experienced “... repentance These people needed to see how high God’s standard
snow” (Isaiah 1:18). It is toward God, and faith to- was, and it was necessary for them to realize that they
through Christ, “In whom we ward our Lord Jesus Christ.” were sinners. Besides this, it was necessary for them,
have redemption through his (Acts 20:21). + moved from within, to choose to humble themselves and
to admit that they were sinners. Then it was needful also
to start on a very different path.
Only in this way could they be ready for the kingdom
of God in its dual sense — both that it should come
within them, as Christ said to His disciples, and also that
If thou would’st own the gift of grace
they should be ready to enter the kingdom in which
And heaven’s joy inherit, nothing evil shall enter, but which the Lord Jesus will set
Then walk by faith before His face, up and which will be an eternal kingdom.
Led by the Lord’s own Spirit. But as pertinent and necessary as it was in the time
when our Lord was on earth that men should repent in
Thou must with Christ be crucified, order to receive His kingdom, and to be prepared to
And all thy sins and all thy pride enter it, it is no less needful and important today. For
Upon His cross must perish. everyone needs the Savior, and a person cannot share
in the salvation which Christ has brought through the
shedding of His blood, unless one does humble himself
In true repentance, die to sin, before the Lord, recognizing: “I have sinned. I cannot
stand as I am before God’s righteous judgment. I must
In Jesus’ name believing! have a Savior.” One finds that not only has he done
Baptized into His death with Him, wrong, but that his heart is evil and needs to be changed.
Full pardon be receiving! It needs to be purified and given new impulses and
made responsive to God’s Spirit.
Who dies with Christ will with Him rise,
If a person sees these things, and sees with shame
A new life’s way before him lies — and penitence that his life has been so unworthy and
The road of life with Jesus. sinful that he is undone without the Savior, and if he can
truly call, “God be merciful to me, a sinner!” — then is
he given the opportunity to take another very important
— Zion’s Harp, Hymn 106
Continued on page 10

Summer, 1997 Exhortations • 3

“I Will Remember the Works of the LORD”
— A Historical Sketch of the Apostolic Christian Church —
as told by Brother Henry Michel
Part II
The Gospel of
Repentance
A
fter a while he
[Fröhlich] received
another call to a
small town called Leutwil in
the country of Argovy in
Switzerland. This is a nice,
quiet village, just a few miles
from the village from which
my wife came. Having re-
ceived that call, he went
there. It was a very much ne-
glected congregation. He
preached the full Gospel,
preached remission of sins,
preached salvation by the
grace of God. After two or
three sermons, many were
deeply moved and brought
under conviction to such an
extent that sometimes he
could hardly continue to
speak. There was a wonder-
ful awakening, and everyone
came and confessed his sins
and cried to the Lord to be
saved.
But the revival was not con-
fined to that village: it spread
to the neighboring ones also.
People told their friends,
“Come and listen. This is
something different.” So they
came from all the neighbor-
ing towns, from all the other
churches so that the villages
had empty churches on Sun-
day, and the church of Leut-
wil was filled with people
hungry for salvation.
You can understand how
much jealousy that wrought
in the preachers of the neigh-
borhood. They made com-
4 • Exhortations
plaint after complaint to the
authorities of the church.
“Go and see what the trouble
is. He is really turning the
whole church upside down.
Take his license.” So they al-
ways sent people who lis-
tened and made notes and
brought back notes about the
sermon; but generally not
“He preached the
full Gospel,
preached
remission of
sins, preached
salvation by the
grace of God.”
correct notes, for they did not
know about shorthand at that
time.
After a year of his preach-
ing there, nearly everyone in
the congregation had come
into repentance, and many
had found peace in Jesus. On
Good Friday, two days before
Easter, it was told him that he
had to leave quickly and go to
his home town. During the
evening sermon, on the day
commemorating the day
when Jesus was crucified, he
spoke once more of Jesus,
and then he said, “I must go.
I received the decision that I
have to leave the church.”
There followed a lamenting,
a weeping aloud of all, and
they asked him not to go. But
what could he do? He left
these poor ones who really
were afterwards like sheep
without a shepherd.
Rejection
hen he came back to
T his home town,
Brugg, and won-
dered, “What shall I do?” For
a whole year he was quiet
there, sitting, as he said, like
Joseph in his prison, until the
Lord would let him out. As
his diary reports, he felt as
thought he were being
shaken through a screen or
sieve, being prepared for his
ministry.
He wrote in his diary: “It
was never in my mind to cre-
ate a new congregation. My
goal was to help gather the
children of God. If I would
not put all my trust in God,
my Lord, that He has called
me to preach the Gospel, I
“He felt as
thought he were
being shaken
through a screen
or sieve, being
prepared for his
ministry.”
would have to regret to have
started something to which
He would not grant His bless-
ing, and that would not be
according to His will.”
But now the official church
had rejected him. They did
not allow him to speak.
Shortly afterward, they took
his license away, and it was
forbidden him even to preach
in homes and to travel across
the country.
He cried to God, “What
shall I do?” He said, “I am
putting everything into the
hand of the Lord, that He
shall decide according to His
good will.” Then suddenly,
he had the fire in his heart
again, and he had to go. “A
living spring of water cannot
be stopped.” So he went.
First Spiritual
Fruits
he first place to
T which he went on his
missionary journey
was to the village of Leutwil
where he had preached,
where he had been forbidden
to go, where the many had
heard the call of Jesus. He
came at night that nobody
would see him, but like a fire
the rumor went through the
whole village, “Samuel is
here.” They all came, about
two hundred, before the
house, and he had to go out
of the house and preach to
them in the open air. It was a
joyful meeting, and they all
thanked the Lord and said,
“Oh, we are so thankful that
you came back. Nobody took
care of us in the meantime.”
Evening after evening they
had a meeting in the open air,
and evening after evening he
preached of Jesus. The next
Continued on page 5
Summer, 1997

“I Will Remember the Works of the LORD”
Continued from Page 4
week he baptized thirty-eight
believers. That was the be-
ginning: the first time he bap-
tized. These were the first
who as a result of his ministry
accepted Jesus in baptism.
Mountains &
Valleys
ut you can under-
B
stand that the
authorities were not
happy. Complaint after com-
plaint came, and six weeks af-
ter he had returned to this
village, the police came and
said that he had to leave
within twenty-four hours. He
did so. He went from place to
place, from village to village:
he was chased from one to
the other. No rest was given,
and no place where he could
go. Everywhere someone
who heard he was there told
the police, and he had to go.
One day he was preaching
in a small town, and it be-
came known, and the police
came during the meeting and
took him away. He had to go
for many miles and had to
appear before a judge. The
judge asked him, “Who told
you to speak? From whom
have you the authority to
speak? Where is your li-
cense?” He answered, “I
have a license.” The police
said, “No, your license has
been taken away.” Samuel
said, “I have one,” and the
police said, “From whom?”
“From Jesus.”
Then he said, “Ask this Mr.
Jesus” — he said Mr. Jesus as
a joke — “Ask this Mr. Jesus
to give you this in writing.”
He answered, “I have it in
writing right here,” and he
showed him his Bible. The
officer wanted to put him in
Summer, 1997
jail, but he could not do it;
and the officer, after mock-
ing him, after insulting him,
released him and allowed
him to go on. That is the way
he went from town to town.
In one journey that he
took, he had to cross a moun-
tain. A terrible thunderstorm
came up, and he had to go
seven or eight hours in a most
dreadful storm and rain. He
arrived in the city of Bern,
which is our capital, shivering
from fever and so sick that he
went directly to the doctor.
The doctor said, “Poor man,
you are in a terrible condi-
tion. I cannot let you go
away,” so he put him to bed
in his sleeping room, and he
was there for six weeks, dur-
ing which time the doctor
took care of him. This doctor,
incidentally, was a good
friend of the president of the
Swiss Confederation: the
president of the country like
your Mr. Truman. Later on,
“Who told you
to speak? From
whom have you
the authority to
speak? Where is
your license?”
this doctor was very helpful in
time of persecution. So
everything that happened re-
ally was a miracle.
Once he came to a beauti-
ful green valley, the valley
where the famous Swiss
cheese is made, Emmental.
About five hundred came to-
gether at one time. He
preached, and do you know
how long? For three hours
about John, chapter 16, verse
7! After three hours they had
supper, and after supper he
started again. The result was
a movement, an extraordi-
nary movement, and the
church that was then founded
is still existing. But the police
came in that evening and
gave him twenty-four hours
to leave the county. The old
man who had invited him to
his place was named Gerber.
There are many Gerbers
here. He took him in his car-
riage to the border of the
county. They took leave, and
he said, “I am sorry that you
have to go.”
A Marked Man
n Samuel Fröh-
O lich’s passport,
which he had to
have, they put in red ink the
remark: “This man is a terri-
ble sectarian, a very danger-
ous man. Every policeman
who sees this man should put
him in jail, or chase him out
of the country.” In one
town — it was the town
where I started to preach —
the preacher said in church
on the Sunday following Sa-
muel’s visit, “A terrible, terri-
ble thing happened to our
town: the most terrible epi-
demic, sickness, or plague
could not be worse than what
has happened. This sectarian
family called Samuel Fröh-
lich came to our town. Be-
have, and be careful. He is a
terrible man.” Three days
later a big fire started on one
end of the town, and the
whole town except two
houses disappeared. In-
cluded in the destruction was
the church. It was the biggest
fire disaster that ever took
place in Switzerland; and the
church, where it had been
said that the most terrible ca-
tastrophe that could happen
“A terrible,
terrible thing
happened to our
town: the most
terrible
epidemic,
sickness, or
plague could not
be worse than
what has
happened. This
sectarian family
called Samuel
Fröhlich came
to our town.”
would be better than the
coming of the sectarian, was
gone.
So from one town to the
other the Gospel came, and
joy came. The papers were
full of this. They spoke of this
man as the most dangerous
man, and he was chased from
one place to the other. He
could never travel in the day
time, but at night, so he
would not be seen. But the
more they tried to punish him
and persecute him, the more
they advertised the cause for
which he was striving; and
everybody was speaking and
everybody was wondering,
“What is the reason of this
persecution?” And the peo-
ple who came to see generally
Continued on page 6
Exhortations • 5

“I Will Remember the Works of the LORD”
Continued from Page 5
came and found peace and
joy.
The Difference
ust to give an example
J of what happened —
remember, it was for-
bidden to preach in
houses — if somebody would
preach in the house, the
preacher would go to jail, and
the proprietor of the house
also. So it happened in one
place that he had meetings
for a few evenings. There was
an old man who was put in jail
and came before the judge.
The judge said, “What is the
idea? We have a church: why
have church in your house?
What is the difference in the
“I went to
church all my
life and nothing
stirred in my
soul. Now... my
whole heart is
drastically
changed.”
preaching in the church and
in your house?” This old man
said, “Oh, certain differ-
ences. Do you want to
know?” “Surely I want to
know!”
“Oh, the same differences
as between day and night, or
between life and death.”
“Oh, you don’t want to say
there is such a difference!”
“Surely.” “Now explain
why.”
6 • Exhortations
“Now you see, I am an old
man — see my hair? I went to
church all my life and nothing
stirred in my soul. I went in
and went out and there
wasn’t much change. So I
think that what I heard there
was just chaff. Now we had a
few meetings in my house,
and I heard the message of
this man, and something is
stirring, growing, working in
my heart. My whole heart is
drastically changed, for I
think this man has been cast-
ing out good seed: corn, and
not chaff.” That is what he
said, and he went to jail be-
cause he was an offense to
the church. So it went from
house to house, and village to
village, and the number of
believers was growing.
To Abound and to
Suffer Need
re you interested in
A knowing how many
congregations ex-
isted after six years of the
missionary work? Fourteen
congregations with a few
hundred believers in six
years, in spite of the most ter-
rible persecutions!
It happened then that Sa-
muel Fröhlich wanted to
have help. He heard of a so-
ciety that was formed in Eng-
land which was called “The
Baptist Continental Mission-
ary Society”. This Baptist
Continental Society wanted
to send out missionaries from
England or to appoint mis-
sionaries from France and
other countries. Samuel
Fröhlich wrote to these peo-
ple. At the same time, an-
other preacher was driven
out of the church, a man
whose name was Bost, and
these two came together and
helped each other. It was
Bost who had baptized Sa-
muel Fröhlich a few years be-
“He had the
wonderful help
of zealous
brothers who
were appointed
as elders. They
were just as
joyful as he, and
they spent many
nights, especially
Sunday nights,
in jail. But the
Gospel was
spread.”
fore. These two worked in
Switzerland under the super-
vision of the Baptist Conti-
nental Society in London. I
do not think that they sent
more than 100 dollars or 200
dollars a year to finance the
whole missionary work.
In 1833 they asked Fröh-
lich to come to London, and
he spent four months there.
He said that sometimes he
was very unhappy in that city,
and he went back. After a
while they wrote to him, “We
cannot be of any further help
to you because we do not
have any more money.” They
had no more funds for mis-
sionary work in Europe, and
the Baptist Continental Soci-
ety disappeared because of
lack of funds.
So Samuel Fröhlich was
left alone; and being left
alone, he started to organize
the congregations. He had
the wonderful help of zealous
brothers who were appointed
as elders. They were just as
joyful as he, and they spent
many nights, especially Sun-
day nights, in jail. But the
Gospel was spread. I know a
small village, near where we
are building a church now. It
is a village of perhaps eight
hundred to one thousand
people. When he came there
were five hundred who came
to listen to his message, and
afterwards the boys of the vil-
lage were throwing stones at
them.
Now in 1840, that is fifteen
years after he started, there
were fifty-five congregations.
Ten years later there were
fifty-five more. That makes
one hundred ten. So in thirty-
five years of missionary work,
they had built with the help of
God one hundred ten con-
gregations. Is that not won-
derful? Do you not think it is
a wonderful result? They
were so joyful although they
were terribly persecuted.
Persecuted from
City to City
ou may perhaps not
Y know the reason for
the persecution.
There were these reasons:
first, it was forbidden to
preach in houses, so the one
who preached, the one who
gave the house, and the ones
who attended these meetings
were all guilty. Once a
brother was preaching. He
had a beard. The police came
and tore his beard out — the
whole cheek was bleeding —
and that is the way he was
Continued on page 7
Summer, 1997
 church where it was baptized.
“I Will Remember the Works of the LORD” The father was compelled to
pay the fees and expenses in-
Continued from Page 6 cidental to this.

taken to jail for ten miles.
You have no idea what they
“Once he
received the
news that one of
his boys was
dying. He
wanted by all
means to go to
sit at the bedside
of his dying
son...”
suffered just because they
had meetings, and meetings
were forbidden.
There was another reason
for persecution. There was
not compulsory military serv-
ice, but one question was
capital: and that was the
question of marriage. No one
had the right to marry people
except the Lutheran Church,
the Catholic, and the Jews.
So if you were not Catholic,
Jewish, or Lutheran, you
could not get married: you
had to remain single or join
one of these churches. They
married anyway, and Brother
Fröhlich married, too, but
the authorities would not rec-
ognize this marriage. His wife
was punished and fined for
each baby she had. They did
not have the right to live in
the same house, not even in
the same village. He had to
live separated from his family
for seven years.
Once he received the news
that one of his boys was dy-
ing. He wanted by all means
to go to sit at the bedside of
his dying son, but he expected
to be put in jail any moment.
But God had mercy on him,
and on that night a terrible
fire broke out and the police
were kept busy at the fire, and
they left this man sit at the
bed of his dying boy. How-
ever, he was not permitted to
go to the funeral.
Another reason for perse-
cution was that since the
church was considered as the Attendance at the training
State Church, everything the lessons for confirmation, and
church requested was obliga- the confirmation itself, were
tory. The baptism of newborn compulsory. I know of two
children was compulsory. I girls, who died as faithful sis-
ters, who were put in jail on
Saturday night and then
brought by the police the next
morning to Sunday School.
At the confirmation cere-
mony each pupil received a
“Even funeral Bible verse as a dedication.
services were These girls received the quo-
tation: “Depart from Me, ye
considered an cursed, into everlasting fire.”
offense. When
Another girl whom I knew
well when she was a grand-
Fröhlich did not mother had spent time in jail
at the age of thirteen because
come because he she had visited our Sunday
had been warned, School.
the police beat
Even funeral services were
the brother who considered an offense. At
held the one funeral the police had
been instructed to arrest Sa-
services.” muel Fröhlich as soon as he
would appear. When he did
know of a believing father not come because he had
who was put in jail so that the
been warned, the police beat
police were free to bring the the brother who held the
newborn child to the official services. +

O spirit of the martyrs, waken!

A watch upon the temple towers place,
Who e’er proclaim God’s Word unshaken,
And boldly go the enemy to face:
O may their call to every nation ring
And many souls unto salvation bring!
I s that true flame no longer burning?
Is that first love now grown completely
cold?
Does no one have the Spirit’s yearning
To bring the souls to Christ and to His fold?
Where is the martyr spirit, where the zeal?
Has selfishness now smothered Christ’s appeal?
— Zion’s Harp, Hymn 111

Summer, 1997 Exhortations • 7


Growing
in Knowledge
Richard Falkenburger
Brother Richard Falkenbur-
ger is an elder brother in the
Kitchener, Ontario, Canada,
congregation. The following
meditation, given on October
6, 1996, is based on the Scrip-
ture text II Corinthians 11.
On the way over to
church, you pass a
number of other
“Ninety percent
churches. Interestingly
enough, most of those
other churches have a
sign out with a picture of
Franklin Graham telling
that they support and
they invite others to “the
percent wrong.
crusade”. As you well
know, it’s this coming
week. For the last couple
months, I have received
a barrage of letters invit-
ing me and the church to
this crusade. Needless to say,
I threw them all away. Of all
the evangelists in the world,
he is probably one of the best.
But, he also is dead wrong in
some very, very important
points. Ninety percent right,
ninety percent inspiring, ten
percent wrong. So wrong you
can lose your salvation, and
those who want to enter in
will not. You see, I know
much, much more about his
father than I do about the
son. His father has been
around for years and years —
well known, well accepted.
Those who follow him and
go to the crusades are moti-
vated, inspired: “Yes, yes,
that’s good. Oh, yes, I’ll do
it.” And you know what hap-
pens? As the Scripture says,
in times of trouble, in times
of offense, in times of temp-
tation, they fall away. That’s
exactly what happens, be-
8 • Exhortations
cause the root is not there.
He is only one of umpteen
thousands nowadays. Years
and years ago there were very
few. As time went on, nowa-
days it’s fashionable to be an
evangelist: fashionable and
profitable. The Scripture
tells us, “Beware, go not after
right, ninety
percent
inspiring, ten
So wrong you
can lose your
salvation...”
them.” It tells us, “Hold fast
to the faith you once ac-
cepted.” We, as human be-
ings, have a great desire to
always increase in knowl-
edge, grow, and smarten up.
That’s in us. So, when some-
one comes along like this and
says, “I have something new
to offer, a little bit more than
you’ve heard before,” our
ears pick up: “I’d love to
know that.”
Well, when it’s further
away, it might not be as dan-
gerous. But what if it comes
here? Well, then it’s danger-
ous. You see, the Scripture
says here, As the serpent be-
guiled Eve through his sub-
tlety, as he twisted her mind,
as he changed her mind
through his very devious
ways, it warns us: be careful.
We’re not dealing with flesh
and blood. We’re dealing
with another spirit; we’re
dealing with the serpent. Oh,
and you can’t see the serpent,
so there is no serpent.
There happens to be a
spiritual power: call him the
serpent, but call him the
devil, and call him your ad-
versary. That serpent be-
guiled Eve, twisted her, and
that serpent is working today
just as hard. He’s worked
right through history, always
finding different means, dif-
ferent ways. Today he’s got
the twisting of the mind: de-
sire for knowledge. “Good, if
they want knowledge, let’s
give ’em knowledge, and let’s
give ’em knowledge with a lit-
tle twist in it — just a little bit
to get them off track.”
Our Sunday School teach-
ers, our Bible Class teachers,
even our ministers, anybody
who teaches, craves knowl-
edge. Why, if we are to teach
somebody else, well we better
know ourselves. So we run to
the bookstore, and there they
are: books and books and
shelves and shelves. Most of
“Who did it? Who
sowed the discord?
Do you think man
did? Read the
Scripture: Satan
did, through his
subtlety.”
them written by Pentecostals,
most of them written by other
denominations, and we gob-
ble it up: “Yes, that’s good.
Yes, that’s right.” And you
know what it is? Exactly the
same thing: ninety percent is
good and right, and ten per-
cent is dead wrong. And we
go through the leaves like
nothing. “Well, it’s just a little
bit, not all that bad.” The seed
is sown. And then wait, then
wait for a few years. Wait for
something to happen. And
you listen to what happens.
Do you know what’s wrong
with our churches today from
coast to coast? The ten per-
cent of this worldly doctrine
has filtered into them, and it
has divided the brotherhood
so badly. Yes. Who did it?
Who sowed the discord? Do
you think man did? Read the
Scripture: the serpent did,
Satan did, through his sub-
tlety. It wasn’t all that bad, it
was just a little bit bad: not
bad enough to divide a fel-
lowship — but then the seed
grew. Then you influenced
somebody else, and they in-
fluenced somebody else. And
then it’s not just an idea, it’s
then their doctrine. Don’t
you tell me different. And all
of a sudden, within a fellow-
ship you have people think-
ing so differently.
How did it happen? Look
what happened to Eve
through the subtlety of the
deceiver. It says, “so your
minds should
be corrupted
from the sim-
plicity that is in
Christ.” It’s
your minds that
are corrupted.
That’s what
he’s after, and
that’s what he
has successfully
corrupted.
From what? It
says here, from
the simplicity
which is in Christ. Because
we are so hungry for knowl-
edge, we want to make things
more complicated as they go
along. “Well, let’s figure out
all the details. Let’s get into
this aspect, also.” And it says
here, “from the simplicity,
which is in Christ.” You see,
it’s not complicated to save
Continued on page 9
Summer, 1997

Growing
in Knowledge
Continued from Page 8
your soul. It’s not compli-
cated to get to heaven. It’s
plain simple. Yes, and Satan
“The Scripture
says: ‘Grow in
faith and in the
knowledge of
Him.’”
has told you, “It’s compli-
cated. You’ve gotta know all
this different stuff.”
To be a Christian, the
Scripture says, deny your-
selves, take up the cross, and
follow him. You see, we are
willing to deny ourselves
when we first find Christ. We
feel like nothing, we’re con-
victed we are nothing. We’re
convicted that Christ is
everything: He’s our all in all.
Then, slowly, slowly but
surely, the same deceiver
comes along and wants to
add to your conversion expe-
rience; “Well, you don’t want
to be ignorant, you don’t
want to be just a simpleton.
Let’s add a little bit of polish
to this. Let’s add a little bit to
it.” And so, as time goes on,
as you are supposed to grow
in faith — the Scripture says:
“Grow in faith and in the
knowledge of Him.” It
doesn’t say to grow in all the
worldly things. It doesn’t say
to grow in all the things that
the world applies the Scrip-
ture to. It says, “Grow in faith
and in the knowledge of
Him.”
Go back and see what He
was all about. Did He care
about the government of the
world? Did He care about the
Summer, 1997
unions of the world? Did He
care about the structure of
the world? He says, “They’re
ordained to run the world,
but don’t get involved.” He
never did. He never
spoke evil of it; He
never did get involved.
He says, “My kingdom
is not of this world.
Where I’m going
there’s a far, far
greater Kingdom.”
And that’s exactly
what He wants to
teach us about; not the
things of this world. It says,
“The things of this world pass
away. They are of this world
and not of the Father.”
Read the Scripture, and
you’ll be inspired to know
that what He teaches you is
of eternal value. What He
teaches you is what God has
said from the beginning, and
He will say forevermore.
What this world teaches you
is what we call the target, ac-
tually: what they call gray ar-
eas: and they make white
what the Scripture clearly
says is black. You see?
When you look through
the churches across the coun-
try, what are the divisions?
“They make
white what the
Scripture clearly
says is black.”
What are the problems?
Some of them are make-up,
eternal security. And then
you wonder, “Is it really
worth dividing the fellowship
over such trivial things?”
Then you realize there’s just
a little more to all of this than
just those things. It says right
here: “For if he that cometh
preaches another Jesus... if
[you] receive another spirit
which ye have not received...”
That is the problem: it’s not
just a word, it’s not just an
idea, it’s not just a thing. You
realize there’s something
much, much more going on.
There’s something that
makes you nervous about it.
It better make you nervous. It
says right here there is an-
other spirit involved, and it is
not the one Spirit of the Lord.
Yes, that’s the problem.
“Another spirit is
involved, and when
another spirit is
involved, there is
what we call a war
going on. And when
a war goes on, there
is a winner and a
loser.”
That’s why you feel uncom-
fortable, that’s why you feel a
little uneasy, that’s why
you’re nervous about it. An-
other spirit is involved, and
when another spirit is
involved, there is what
we call a war going on.
And when a war goes
on, there is a winner
and a loser. Think for a
moment: what if the
other spirit, the spirit
of this world, wins in
your life? You know
what happens: in time, one
day, you realize, “The others
are all backward. The others
are all wrong. Well, I’m right,
and I think actually the peo-
ple of the world are right.
And the people that I was
baptized with? They’re
wrong.” Why? Another spirit
has controlled you. That’s the
problem. You see the end re-
sult: A division among the
brotherhood, among your
own family, a division within
you until you’re totally taken
in. And once we are, well, we
don’t want to be the only
ones — let’s see if we can’t
persuade somebody else.
The Apostle Paul said to
the Galatians, “O foolish
Galatians, who hath be-
witched you?” If we recall
what happened back then, a
few persuaded others so it be-
came a whole
doctrine in the
church. Thank
God we don’t
really have that
problem to a
great extent
here — to a mi-
nor extent, but
not to a great
extent — but it
sure is through-
out this de-
nomination,
and it sure is
throughout
those profess-
ing Christians
in the world.
“Who hath bewitched you?”
Who hath changed your
minds? All of a sudden now
you think differently. “Oh,
yes, I’m more enlightened
now, I’m grown up a little
bit.” That’s not how things
work. Oh, it works when you
learn the things of this world,
but it is not how things work
in the way of Christ. He does
not teach His children one
thing, and then twenty years
later teach them something
else, because they are now
more mature. That is not how
the Spirit of God works. He
is the same always, and He
teaches young converts the
same as the older ones.
Yes, you have much more
Continued on page 10
Exhortations • 9
Growing
in Knowledge
Continued from Page 9
experience. Hopefully, you
have grown in faith and in the
knowledge of Him. When it
says that, just think of the
fruit of the Spirit: “Oh, I now
have more love, I now have
more peace, I have now more
joy”; yes, see, that you didn’t
have before. You had it to a
certain level, and then, when
trouble came, you caved in,
right? Well, as you mature,
when trouble comes, you do
not cave in. As a matter of
fact, you use the Spirit of the
Lord, and all the fruit and all
the grace you have, to con-
front that. Yes, that’s growing
in the knowledge of Him,
that’s growing in the power of
the Lord.
If the Lord could persuade
you today, be satisfied with
the faith that was delivered to
you. You will not go back-
wards, you will not stand still
in your faith. By the power of
God — by the power of
God — you will increase, you
will grow, you will become
more Christ-like, you will be-
come more Christian; and all
the virtues and all the graces
that Christ Himself had will
by His pleasure be added
unto you. That’s how it
works. Christ gives freely and
willingly to whomsoever He
will. And you think that is a
real random, pick-and-
choose thing? Not for one
minute. He who knows the
hearts, He who chooses the
hearts, He who discerns, He
is the one that gives.
And you know, it is so sim-
ple, back to the old state-
ment, “Deny yourself, take
up the cross, and follow
Him.” The key — the key to
victorious Christian living, to
becoming a great one in the
10 • Exhortations
The Need of Repentance
Continued from Page 3
sight of God: self-denial. You
yourself, and everything that step in repentance: it is, after he has thus begun to face
Satan would like to provoke himself and God, that he go further and act in accord
in you — your good looks, with that knowledge.
your smart intelligence — it’s
And what does this imply? Can it mean anything less
for this world only. You go to
than that one must confess and forsake his sin (Proverbs
school: it’s for this world, pe-
28:13)? As long as a person is not willing to do the latter,
riod. It is not for eternal life.
he is not penitent. And unless he becomes willing to do
So even the most simple of
the former, he will not be able to leave and to conquer
minds can be given the grace
sin. But if one comes wholeheartedly to the Lord and
of God, so greatly that God
faces the light as Zacchaeus did (Luke 19:2-8), and if he
will even say to them He is
seeks, so far as it is possible, to make restitution for
well-pleased with them. Yes,
wrongs done to others — if he comes to the Lord in that
even the simplest can please
spirit — he shall believe surely that the Lord has died for
Him, because they have de-
him. And in Christ he shall, through faith, find forgiveness
nied themselves, taken up the
of his sins.
cross, and are following Him,
and are waiting patiently on
Him for Him to give the For to heal and to save from sin was the purpose of
graces they need. And what Christ’s coming (Luke 19:10; I John 3:8). That is also His
He gives to you, that’s what purpose in calling souls to repentance. The Lord com-
you need. mands that men should repent, not because He would
deprive them of anything worthwhile but because He
would heal them and forgive their sins. And this is
If you then covet other
impossible so long as they persist in their sins.
gifts, and say, “Oh, look at
this, look at him, look at this,”
Yes, so long as a person is self-righteous or feels
that is not what He’s given
self-sufficient he cannot come to Christ. The Lord met
you. You are not responsible
some such people, and He said that the prostitutes and
for that. Don’t covet it. Be
tax-gatherers (these latter many of whom were dishon-
thankful for what He has
est) would go into the kingdom of God before they. Many
given you. Don’t look across
of those who were gross sinners recognized their con-
the fence to what your neigh-
dition and repented, but such who held that they were
bor has. Work with what you
“good enough” rejected the Lord and lost their oppor-
have, and He will bless you
tunity.
for it.
“But the anointing which But still now the call goes forth to hearts who do have
ye have received of him a need. The kingdom of heaven is being brought close
abideth in you, and ye need to those who hear this call of Christ: “Repent: for the
not that any man teach you: kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And what greater bless-
but as the same anointing ing can there be than to heed that call today while it is
teacheth you of all things, still the day of opportunity and salvation?
and is truth, and is no lie, and
even as it hath taught you, ye It is a great privilege to turn to God, but it is also an
shall abide in him.” (I John earnest duty. God commands all men everywhere to
2:27). The Spirit of truth repent (Acts 17:30).
teaches you all things you
need to know. Don’t go to
And it is written: “To day if ye will hear his voice, harden
anybody else to find out what
not your hearts.” And that is still our plea as messengers
God wants for you in your
for Christ. He invites and promises: “Come unto me, all
life. And it says here, “... ye
ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you
shall abide in him.” If Christ
rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am
is on your side, if He is your
meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your
Teacher, you need nothing
more. Amen. +
souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
(Matthew 11:28-30). +
Summer, 1997
Jesus Poses an Important Question:
“Shall I Find Faith?”
S. J. Braun
This article was written by
the late Brother Samuel J.
Braun, of Syracuse, New York,
in collaboration with the late
Brother P. I. Schiler, of Pfäf-
fikon/Zürich, Switzerland. It
was originally written in the
German language, and it was
distributed by these and other
brothers during their mission-
ary labors among the German-
speaking populations of Brazil
and Argentina in the year
1937. It is available in tract
form from the Apostolic Chris-
tian Publishing Company.
“Nevertheless when the
Son of man cometh, shall he
find faith on the earth?”
(Luke 18:8).
With this question the
Lord wanted to make His dis-
ciples aware of the dangers
which would come to pass in
the course of time: namely
that, particularly at the
end time of the Chris-
tian era, the pure and
unadulterated Word of
the Gospel shall be-
come more and more
supplanted by human
teaching; and for that
reason, the number of
people who shall attain
to a living faith in Jesus
Christ through true re-
pentance and conver-
sion shall diminish.
Someone might ask
how this could be possi-
ble, given that the Bible
has been translated into
nearly 700 languages
and delivered to the greatest
portion of the peoples of the
earth. Likewise numerous
are the many preachers who
proclaim Christ through vari-
ous means. And so one might
Summer, 1997
ask, “Do they all preach
Christ?”
The fewer the personal de-
mands that are placed on
people to purify their hearts
from sin through faith (Acts
15:9 and I John 5:4) — that
is, the more conveniently one
can attain to being called a
Christian — the more nu-
merous are they who confess
in name to being Christians.
This is the Babel of today;
and so much the more must
the question of the Son of
God give us pause for consid-
eration: “Shall I find faith
when I come again?”
“Then said one unto him,
Lord, are there few that be
saved? And he said unto
them, Strive to enter in at the
strait gate: for many, I say
unto you, will seek to enter in,
and shall not be able. When
once the master of the house
is risen up, and hath shut to
the door, and ye begin to
“The pure and
unadulterated
Word of the
Gospel shall
become more
and more
supplanted by
human
teaching.”
stand without, and to knock
at the door, saying, Lord,
Lord, open unto us; and he
shall answer and say unto
you, I know you not whence
ye are: Then shall ye begin to
say, We have eaten and drunk
[served communion] in thy
presence, and thou hast
taught in our streets [of the
various creeds]. But he shall
say, I tell you, I know you not
“The more
conveniently
one can attain
to being called a
Christian, the
more numerous
are they who
confess in name
to being
Christians.”
whence ye are; depart from
me, all ye workers of iniq-
uity.” (Luke 13:23-27). This
word spoke the Lord truly to
the Pharisees who would not
have Christ to rule over them,
who wanted to be saved
through their own righteous-
ness.
But is it any different in
so-called Christendom,
throughout which they daily
crucify Christ by their sinful
works and thus make of Him
their Servant of sinners?
“What fellowship hath right-
eousness with unrighteous-
ness? and what communion
hath light with darkness?”
(II Corinthians 6:14). The
Apostle writes to Timothy
(II Timothy 4:3-4): “For the
time will come when they will
not endure sound doctrine;
but after their own lusts shall
they heap to themselves
teachers, having itching ears;
And they shall turn away
their ears from the truth, and
shall be turned unto fables
[false teachings].” Im-
ploringly speaks the Prophet,
“Who hath believed our re-
port? and to whom is the arm
of the LORD revealed?”
(Isaiah 53:1). The arm of the
Lord is Godly strength ex-
tended to man to ransom him
from the bondage of sin, for
Christ says, “Whoso-
ever committeth sin is
the servant [slave] of
sin. And the servant [of
sin] abideth not in the
house for ever,” (John
8:34-35), but only he
whom the Son shall
make free.
In another place it is
written, “They have for-
saken me the fountain
of living waters, and
hewed them out cis-
terns, broken cisterns,
that can hold no water.”
(Jeremiah 2:13).
It is perilous to turn
our ears from the truth
and to forsake the Fountain
of Living Waters. Not in vain
has the Apostle thereof spo-
ken: “But if our gospel be hid,
it is hid to them that are lost”
(II Corinthians 4:3), because
they focus their vision too
much on the things that pass
away. And thereupon says
Christ the Lord: “Because
they seeing see not; and hear-
ing they hear not, neither do
they understand.” (Matthew
13:13). “For this people’s
heart is waxed gross, and
their ears are dull of hearing,
and their eyes they have
closed” (Matthew 13:15).
It is given to understand,
therefore, only to those who
are desirous of salvation, and
to whom it is an upright de-
sire and concern to find their
soul’s salvation — not to
those who say, “Lord, Lord”:
Continued on page 12
Exhortations • 11
Jesus Poses an Important Question:
“Shall I Find Faith?”
Continued from Page 11
“Not every one that saith
unto me, Lord, Lord, shall
enter into the kingdom of
heaven; but he that doeth the
will of my Father which
is in heaven.” (see Mat-
thew 7:21-27). But the
entrance to salvation
“Christ did not
will be revealed in the
Word of God to those in
particular who seek for
the light and under-
standing from which all
wisdom comes, who do
as those men who were
desirous of salvation
said, “Men and breth-
men are able to
ren, what shall we do?”
(see Acts 2:37-38).
Jesus’ word still applies to-
day: “Narrow is the way,
which leadeth unto life, and
few there be that find it.”
“But wide is the gate, and
broad is the way, that leadeth
to destruction, and many
there be which go in thereat.”
(see Matthew 7:13-14).
The way could not possibly
be described more precisely.
Paul gives warning in
I Corinthians 3:11-12, “For
other foundation can no man
lay than that is laid, which is
Jesus Christ.” “But let every
man take heed how he
buildeth thereupon,” wheth-
er it be human teaching —
which is dead faith — or that
new birth which occurs
through real faith. Therefore
it becomes a matter of great
importance how Christ is
preached: whether as a Re-
deemer and Liberator from
the servitude of sin, or else as
a Servant of sinners. Christ
did not merely teach moral-
ity, for completely unbeliev-
ing men are able to do thus.
12 • Exhortations
How can it possibly help us if
we know the teaching of the
Cross of Calvary and believe
it according to the letter, or
that we call ourselves Chris-
tians because we belong to a
merely teach
morality, for
completely
unbelieving
do thus.”
church or fellowship? For
every man must give an ac-
count before the judgment
seat of Christ (II Corinthians
5:10), and whoever has not
gone through a true repen-
tance and conversion, and
been redeemed from his own
perverted being (as it is writ-
ten, “If the Son therefore
shall make you free, ye shall
be free indeed”), the death of
Christ avails him nothing.
People have it exactly
backwards: they boast them-
selves that they are Chris-
tians before they have been
converted and have become
a people redeemed from sin
and the power of Satan (Ro-
mans 6:16-23), which occurs
alone through grace unto re-
pentance (Acts 11:18), and
through faith and the bap-
tism of faith.
The Scripture says, “A
fountain does not send forth
at the same place sweet water
and bitter,” (see James 3:11),
neither can a blighted tree
(with the old nature of
Adam) bring forth good fruit
(see Luke 6:43-49; Matthew
7:15-20); likewise does one
not attach new patches (of
moral improvement) to an
old garment (of the sinful na-
ture) — it would not hold
(see Matthew 9:16-17).
Can one earn his way into
heaven through good and
moral deeds? Or can some-
one become righteous unless
Christ has forgiven his sins
and unrighteousness? Many
people attempt this through
their own piety, for which
cause Christ says they strive
to enter into the kingdom of
God, but they will not attain
it (see Luke 13:24).
That we belong to a church
or fellowship will not ulti-
mately be the decisive factor
on the day of eternity, but
“That we belong
to a church or
fellowship will
not ultimately
be the decisive
factor on the
day of
eternity...”
rather that we have this testi-
mony in us: “that God hath
given to us eternal life, and
this life is in his Son.” (see
I John 5:11-13). It is further
written in verse 12, “He that
hath the Son hath life; and he
that hath not the Son of God
hath not life.” This denotes a
putting on of the being and
the mind of Christ.
The so-called Christians
say, “Man must continually
acknowledge himself as a sin-
ner before God until the end
of his life,” and accordingly
he counts on ultimately find-
ing grace before God on the
day of eternity, for “Christ
has even died for such sinners
on the cross.” This is entirely
contrary to wholesome
teaching and is in no wise in
agreement with the Word of
God, for how can we serve
God in a newness of life so
long as we have not died unto
sin? As true as it is that God
does not desire the death of a
sinner, so true is it also that
mankind must live unto God
and not unto sin (see II Peter
3:9). this time of ignorance
God has overlooked, but now
commands all men every-
where to repent (Acts 17:30):
namely, no longer to remain
a slave to sin, for Christ has
come to redeem mankind
from this sad condition. This
decisive marker of Godly
truth may not be perverted;
and whosoever teaches
mankind otherwise
does not teach and
preach the pure Truth,
and is responsible for
the great wretchedness
of misleading so many,
many souls into a false
Christianity. Christ
Himself said of such,
that both the blind and
the leader of the blind
shall fall into the ditch
(into destruction) (see
Matthew 15:13-14).
And further still to con-
sider is what the Lord
said to the scribes and Phari-
sees: “Ye have taken away the
key of knowledge: ye entered
not in yourselves, and them
that were entering in ye hin-
dered.” (Luke 11:52).
How much sorer punish-
ment, do you suppose, shall
that servant receive who
knew his master’s will but did
Continued on page 13
Summer, 1997
Jesus Poses an Important Question:
“Shall I Find Faith?”
Continued from Page 12
not do it? (see Luke 12:47):
that is, instructing people
contrary to the Gospel and
leaving them in an error-rid-
“How long yet
would one leave
these people in
this error
without
enlightening
them according
to the
Scripture?”
den faith — as though they
were people redeemed
through the blood of Christ,
while they daily prove that
this is absolutely not the case.
How long yet would one
leave these people in this er-
ror without enlightening
them according to the Scrip-
ture?
An additional error is peo-
ple believe when they par-
take of communion in the
church that their sins are for-
given them. Is the Lord’s
Supper really for the forgive-
ness of sins, and not much
rather for a remembrance
and a proclamation of the
Lord’s death for him who has
put on Christ in the baptism
of faith — in that he, through
faith in the blood of Christ,
has been made righteous;
and that prior to having expe-
rienced in his heart the for-
giveness of sins, he can testify
that he has received through
the death of Christ the ability
Summer, 1997
to live a righteous life?
Therefore Paul says in
I Corinthians 11, where he
gives direction concerning
the Lord’s Supper, “Where-
fore whosoever shall eat this
bread, and drink this
cup of the Lord, un-
worthily, shall be guilty
of the body and blood of
the Lord” (v 27); and
further, “For he that
eateth and drinketh un-
worthily, eateth and
drinketh damnation to
himself, not discerning
the Lord’s body.” (v 29).
In general, why do so
many Christians stand
in doubt concerning
that which they profess
to believe, or that which
they have been taught
from their youth up and
in which they have been in-
structed? The answer: be-
cause it is a dead faith accord-
ing to the letter, and not a
living faith which has pro-
duced a regeneration within
their own heart. But how can
a person under the law of sin
do the works of righteous-
ness? How appropriately
speaks the Apostle Paul of
unredeemed mankind —
mankind under the law: “O
“The answer:
because it is a
dead faith
according to the
letter...”
wretched man that I am. The
evil that I would not, that I
do; and the good that I
would, I do not.” (see Ro-
mans 7:19-24). Accordingly,
so stands the person as long
as he serves the law of sin: not
under enabling grace, but un-
der powerlessness. Precisely
in verse 23 is the word con-
cerning a law in the bodily
members of the unredeemed
(not of those who stand in
grace), which strives against
the law in the mind of every
individual who has the yearn-
ing toward good; yet takes
him captive in the law of sin
that is in the members of
every unredeemed person.
And so the topic in
this chapter concerns
two differing laws:
+ The Good Law of
that nameth the
God
+ The Law of Sin,
which takes the un-
redeemed captive.
One should read
Romans 8:2-9 with
special care.
The powerlessness of the
Old Covenant is evidenced in
the adultery and murder that
David committed in spite of
all his other good works, be-
cause he was still under the
powerlessness of the Old
Covenant and not in the state
of grace in Christ’s blood. In
like manner, Peter’s de-
nial is evidence of the
powerlessness under
the Old Covenant until
the fullness of the New
Covenant in Christ’s
blood came into force,
for the Holy Ghost was
first given after Christ
was glorified (see John
7:38-39; Luke 24:49).
And so Peter as well was not
yet endowed with the prom-
ised power from on high.
(See Acts 1:4-5; John 15:26).
“But after that the kind-
ness and love of God our Sav-
iour toward man appeared,
Not by works of righteous-
ness which we have done, but
according to his mercy he
saved us [that is, made us
righteous] by the washing of
regeneration, and renewing
of the Holy Ghost; Which he
shed on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Sav-
iour” (Titus 3:4-6).
So transforming is the
power of the Gospel yet to-
day that it creates entirely
new creatures (II Corin-
thians 5:17), who are kept
through the Godly power or
grace that is with them: that
they need no longer sin, nor
“Let every one
name of Christ
depart from
iniquity.”
render their members as in-
struments of unrighteous-
ness, as they formerly did.
Read the letter to the Ro-
mans, chapter 6, verses 6-8. It
is clearly stated in the Word
of God: “Let every one that
nameth the name of Christ
depart from iniquity.”
(II Timothy 2:19). Is that
what the many people who
call themselves Christians
do?
As God impressed on Is-
rael, “Israel, your salvation is
in your hands” (see Hosea
13:9), even today the Godly
truth lies so near to everyone,
that the more the Bible is
published abroad so that
each one may recognize what
truth is, the greater will be the
responsibility, on that day, of
Continued on page 14
Exhortations • 13
Jesus Poses an Important Question: righteous, no, not one: There
is none that understandeth,
there is none that seeketh af-
“Shall I Find Faith?” ter God.” And in verse 17 it
says, “The way of peace have
they not known.” And so it
Continued from Page 13 weapon of death after the whither he goeth.” (John lies then on mankind
other. All this is simply a sign 12:35). Therefore let every whether he will accept the
that God will send them man prove himself as to how proffered grace which leads
the one who has not partaken strong delusion, because they it stands with his undying to a genuine new birth and
of its redeeming power. will not accept the love unto soul. It is written, “Knowest renewing of the heart, or
Christ said, “By their fruits the truth: that is, the Scrip- thou not, O vain man, that whether he will indifferently
ye shall know them,” (see tural teaching unto redemp- the goodness of God leadeth neglect or even despise the
Matthew 7:16-20), as to who tion from the power of sin thee to repentance?” (see things of salvation (redemp-
the children of light are, Romans 2:4). He who would tion) in Christ Jesus.
and who the children of come to God must seek Him
this world. So long as “Knowest thou earnestly; and he who seeks
earnestly with upright prayer A merely emotional, or
repentance alone is
taught, without telling not, O vain and pleading will also find half, conversion, however,
that which hitherto remained does not lead to the standing
mankind that they must man, that the hidden: namely, that verily in grace of a redeemed one
be set free from the
God forgives sins through Je- which, through the mercy of
power of sin through goodness of God sus Christ. This is not some- God, attains to true peace of
the redeeming power in
the soul in and through
the blood of Christ, leadeth thee to thing that someone can be
talked into, but rather is an Christ Jesus.
such circumstances as
today’s common occur- repentance?” experience of the heart, an
rences will persist: actual release from the
power of the devil. May God grant His bless-
where mankind heartlessly (see II Thessalonians 2:11- ing to that which has been
slaughter each other and, 12). Christ said to His disci- Paul writes concerning the written, which arises out of a
through the works of hate ples, “He that walketh in unredeemed (see Romans love toward God and to our
and the Hater, develop one darkness knoweth not 3:10-12): “There is none fellow-man. +

“E very spirit prove, O prove ye,”

Thus commands He who doth love ye;
”If they all by God are taught,
Or in worldly error caught!”
T o him who in Christ confideth,
And in His commands abideth,
All those spirits will be known —
Those whom Satan calls his own.

B y their fruits ye all shall prove them,

By the teachings that do move them;
Ye shall prove them by their mind,
By the earthly gain they find.
T he confused, with truth, O girt Thou,
And the erring ones convert Thou,
That Thy flock may e’er increase,
To Thy glory and our peace!

— Zion’s Harp, Hymn 127

14 • Exhortations Summer, 1997

 The Prodigal Father
Conrad Sommer
Excerpted from The Visitor,
April, 1930.
Usually the word prodigal
is used to mean wasteful, es-
pecially in spending money,
but it is also defined as “lib-
eral to the point of extrava-
gance.” Only with hesitancy
does one dare to call God
G
od in
all His
handiwork
has been
unstinting...
prodigal — that is, extrava-
gantly liberal or generous —
and it is done now only to
bring home a great truth
about His nature and what
this truth should mean in our
lives.
We begin, then, by saying
that God in all His handiwork
has been unstinting and has
been liberal to the point of
what might be called waste-
fulness — at least so it would
seem to our dim eyes seeing
through the glass of human
understanding. Look first
upon His fields where every
plant that grows brings forth
a rich number of seeds — far
in excess of what is needed
for the next year’s growth:
many seeds are wasted. Look
deeper into His creation and
see the storehouses of coal,
oil, gas, and ores buried
there; see the mighty streams
with their immense force of
water power, the rushing
Summer, 1997
winds apparently wasting
their forces, and the yet en-
tirely unharnessed powers of
lightning. In our own body
each muscle fibre of our
heart has a stored ability to
develop and increase enor-
mously in size when disease
or extra exertion throw an
added demand on the heart.
The lungs, composed of tiny
air sacs, have these in number
much greater than most of us
ever need; one entire lung
may be collapsed and yet ac-
tive life continue. So in our
whole body, as in all the
world, God has provided so
abundantly that much of His
riches is never used. Let us
remember, however, that
that which in many cases is
not used is in other cases a
much needed reserve.
But as the spiritual is
higher than the physical, so is
God’s infinite generosity in
this realm the more beautiful
to see. Is there one who reads
[this article] who responded
to the first call that God gave
him to come to repentance;
or, if so, who later used every
bit of God’s blessing and
never let any of His grace fall
to the earth unused? If such
there be, he is blessed indeed.
More often many invitations,
entreaties, and even kindly
warnings from our Father in
heaven have fallen on un-
heeding ears.
Part of the seed of the
sower also fell on the wayside
and in shallow soil. And some
seed which had made a good
beginning was finally choked
by thorns and thistles (Luke
8:8). The company of Jesus
and all that it wrought in the
other disciples was wasted on
Judas. Ananias and Sapphira
(Acts 5:1-10) truly “received
the grace of God in vain.”
But more comforting are
the shining examples of
God’s boundless benevo-
lence working victory in hu-
man souls. The words of Je-
sus to Saul: “Saul, Saul, why
persecutest thou Me? It is
hard for thee to kick against
the pricks” (Acts 26:14) —
these did indeed stop Saul’s
mad course; however, only
after the death of Stephen
and the sufferings of many
others had been viewed by
him apparently in vain.
The parable of the Prodi-
gal Son (Luke 15:11-32), the
Good Samaritan (Luke
10:30-37), the prophecies in
the Old Testament about the
Messiah, and Christ’s state-
ments: “In my Father’s house
are many mansions”; “I am
o
ur
hearts
cannot hold
all that He
gives.
come that they might have
life and that they might have
it more abundantly”; “And
whatsoever ye shall ask in my
name, that will I do”; “I will
not leave you comfortless; I
will come to you”; “My peace
I give unto you: not as the
world giveth give I unto
you” — these and, finally, the
Savior’s atoning sacrifice all
testify to God’s generosity
and grace flowing to us in a
stream so full that our hearts
cannot hold all that He gives.
What shall such a realiza-
tion mean to us? What is
asked of those who are chil-
dren of the Father in heaven?
Is it not clear that: We must
live toward God and toward
each other expressing gener-
osity — such a generosity
that goes to what may seem
extravagance: “Then took
Mary a pound of ointment of
spikenard, very costly, and
anointed the feet of Jesus,
and wiped His feet with her
hair” (John 12:3). When,
upon seeing this act, the be-
trayer Judas protested that
the ointment should have
been sold for the poor, Jesus
said: “Let her alone, against
the day of My burying hath
she kept this. For the poor
always ye have with you; but
Me ye have not always.” Is
this not the very way we
should love one another?
When death has come, men,
too late, extravagantly bring
their tributes of flowers. And
often the kind word and the
reconciliation that should
have come in life are spoken,
vainly, at the grave.
But while Jesus was still
with them, Mary — feeling
perhaps that “Me ye have not
always” (John 12:8) —
brought forth her costly oint-
ment. She brought the serv-
ice of love in time.
It remains, then, for us as
individuals to catch hold of
each other, and to bind unto
us our brother, our sister, our
neighbor, not with one but
with many bonds, and not
with a cord of straw but with
an extravagance that seeks
the finest steel even as God
would bind us unto Him with
His unspeakable great Gift,
His Son. +
Exhortations • 15

In The Night
Walter Meister
From The Visitor, July, 1930
“Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and
keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his
shame.” (Revelation 16:15).
The silhouette of the Lord coming in the night is projected
to us in these words. We have therein a vision which makes
those who are not worthy to meet the Lord shudder and
tremble. But to those who love Him, it is a cause for rejoicing.
It strengthens and encourages them.
The Lord says, “Behold.” He wants us to be awake and to
see, even though this may be in the dark of night. It has
always been the endeavor of the Lord to give to His children
a certain helpful vision. This He does again in regard to His
second advent. To know what will be the time and season
shall not be of interest to us (Acts 1:7). But to know that He
is coming must ever be of concern to us. His time may be
any time. Here He says, “I come!” How? As a thief! At
midnight, when the darkness is the deepest and when all are
asleep, He will come.
He comes, bringing blessing to His own. This He says here
in His own words. But to His enemies, He is a feared and
hated thief.
In reality He does not come to steal, but to bring His own
out of this earth. He comes at night because it is night on
earth and darkness covers it. People have rejected the light
to that extent that it has become utterly black on the face of
E xhortations
The Newsletter of the
Apostolic Christian Publishing Company
P.O. Box 416
Syracuse, NY 13215-0416
the earth. People do not see things anymore: they have no
vision. Some say there is no soul; others, there is no body;
others, there is no God. And as if that which they do not see
did not really exist, so they act.
“Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments,
lest he walk naked.” In the daytime, when we pass through
the city, everyone is dressed up and no one need tell them
that they do well in being clothed. The above words indicate
that reference is being made to a time when, according to
nature, all will strip off their clothes and go to sleep. It is then
that our wakefulness is demanded. It is upon those who then
watch, with their garments, that the blessings come. Those
who stand truly under Christ’s constant instructions know
that a night in the spiritual world does not call for sleeping
by God’s children, but for wakefulness.
So then, God’s children and all who want to be saved, let
the world deny what they cannot see. Let them gratify their
slothfulness by going to sleep. Be not like them. See the
Redeemer coming through the shadows, His reward with
Him. When the Lord has come and has taken His own, then
they shall all awake and see, for a glaring light shall follow.
Although now people strip off their clothes to go to sleep in
an unconcerned way because nothing is seen, in that light
the shame of everyone who does not wear a garment of
divine righteousness will be seen by all the world. And the
nakedness of the ungodly will be indeed a shame. For they
do not use any of their faculties in a Godly way, but in a way
of lust and of abomination. So hear the word of God, which
says, “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with
me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”
(Revelation 22:12). +