GladTidingsO F T H E K I N G D O M O F G O D 11446600

GladTidingsA Helping Hand – page 3

The New Jerusalem – page 7

Problems Galore – page 16

A Helping Hand – page 3

The New Jerusalem – page 7

Problems Galore – page 16

Bible Talks, Study Classes, Sunday Schools and Youth Clubsare held regularly by Christadelphians worldwide. The address

of your nearest group can be obtained from either the Distribution Secretaries or from the local agents or

information addresses given above.

Bible VersionsThe version most used in this issue isthe New King James Version (NKJV)and other versions are sometimes

used.

� The New King James Version iscopyrighted by Thomas Nelson.

� The Revised Standard Version is copyrighted 1946 and 1952 by the Division of Christian Education of the NationalCouncil of Churches in the USA.

� The New International Version is copyrighted 1978 by New York Bible Society

GladTidingsO F T H E K I N G D O M O F G O D

122nd Year 1460

AcknowledgementsPhotographs:

Rock Climbingphotos.com

Illustrations:Art Today

Bible Companion (pages 10-11) bycourtesy of “The Christadelphian”

ContentsA06

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Local information is also available from:Fiji – Bible Mission, Box 1012, G.P.O., Suva, Indonesia

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Editor: Owen Tecwyn Morgan26 The Crescent, Hampton-in-Arden, Solihull, B92 OBP, England, UK glad.tidings@virgin.net

Publisher: The Glad Tidings Publishing Association (a registered charity) number 248352

ContentsA Helping Hand.......3

God’s New Society....5

The New Jerusalem...............7

The Bible Companion Bible Planner ........10

The Riches of the Gospel ............12

Problems Galore .................16

Have you Read? TheBook of Jonah .....18

A monthly magazine published by the Christadelphians (brothers and sisters in Christ) and available throughout the world.Its objectives are – to

encourage study of the Bible as God's inspired message to men; to call attention to the Divine offer of forgiveness of sins

through Jesus Christ; and to warn men and women that soon Christ will return to Earth as judge

and ruler of God’s world-wide Kingdom.

122nd Year 3

disappearance of much of the world’slargest delta, Bangladesh. Now the polaricecaps are melting at an alarming rateand fears are growing again about risingsea levels.

Who’s Helping Hand?If human activity is causing the presentdanger, what can we do about it? InDecember 2005 up to a million peopletook to the streets of more than 100cities in 33 countries to demand greatergovernmental action to prevent globalwarming.

They were warning about Killer Storms,Rampant Disease, Rising Sea Levels,Devastated Wildlife, Water Shortagesand Agricultural Turmoil. In short, theywere saying that at present mankind isdestroying the earth. But what can we doabout it?

There is something we can do which ismuch more effective than insulating ourhouses, switching off electricalappliances or recycling our waste. Wecan reach out to God for help. He iswaiting for us to do just that.

There was once an occasion whenIsrael was devastated by a succession of

catastrophes. Locusts stripped thecountry bare and armies

desolated it. There wasneither food nor freedom,

whereupon the prophetJoel issued this

appeal:

“Now, therefore,”says the LORD,“Turn to me with

all your heart, withfasting, withweeping, and with

mourning.” So rend

If you fall over, a helpinghand is always welcome toget you back on your feet.Or if there’s a majorobstacle ahead, someonereaching down to help canmake all the difference. In dangerous places it canbe the difference betweenlife and death.

Dangerous TimesWe are living at a time when anythingcould go wrong to anybody, anywhere inthe world. The more complex our societybecomes, the more extensive are theopportunities for catastrophe on a grandscale,. and the more difficult it can be toput things right.

Take global warming as an example. Ifscientists are right, and more than athousand eminent ones have recentlyagreed on this, we are facing a globalcrisis. But politicians have difficultymaking policies that improve the envi-ronment.

Everybody wants an improvedeconomy. That drive to improve livingstandards is perfectly understandable indeveloping countries like India andChina, where increasedindustrial activity and greaterconsumption of consumergoods is likely to makethe global situationeven worse than italready is.

A few years agothe United NationsSecretary General,Kofi Annan, warnedthat a rise in sealevel could lead to the

A Helping HandA Helping Hand

4 Glad Tidings

your heart, and not your garments;return to the LORD your God, for he isgracious and merciful, slow to anger, andof great kindness (Joel 2:12,13).

God Reaches OutGod is always waiting for our response,wanting to help us out, ready togive assistance. Removed farfrom their land for nearly 2000years, the nation of Israel werehelped to return in spectac-ular fashion by their God,who had been waiting forthem to ask for His help.He was ever willing torescue them becausethey were the descen-dants of Abraham, God’sfriend:

“But you, Israel, are myservant, Jacob, whom I havechosen, the descendants of Abraham myfriend. You whom I have taken from theends of the earth, and called from itsfarthest regions … I have chosen youand have not cast you away: Fear not,for I am with you; be not dismayed, for Iam your God. I will strengthen you, yes,I will help you, I will uphold you with myrighteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:8-10).

God is waiting to save the earth inmuch the same way, wanting people toreach out to Him and seek His help.Soon, whether people ask or not, He willintervene to save the world from comingdestruction. He intends to rescue thosewho want to be rescued and restore theearth to a wholesome condition, as Godalone can. If you want to be among thatgroup of people who are rescued by God,here’s a helping hand.

Read Yourself RichIncluded in the centre pages of this issueis a Bible reading planner. It can help youread right through the Bible to find out

about God and His gracious purpose. Youcan do nothing better if you want to avertthe coming global catastrophe for youand your family. Human governments aretoo preoccupied with the need to stay inpower, and keep everybody happy. Theywill never take the decisive action that isneeded in time to rescue the position.They may talk but they will not act.

God has an action plan whichwas spelled out in detail long

ago. You can read it foryourself by setting aside afew minutes each day andfinding out about God,the Lord Jesus Christ, thecoming Kingdom of Godon earth, and the need to

be ready for all that willhappen. The earth and its inhabi-

tants will be called toaccount, and many of them will

be destroyed because of theirrebellion against God’s master plan.Notice how relevant these words are,even though they were written over 1900years ago:

There were loud voices in heaven,saying, “The kingdoms of this world havebecome the kingdoms of our Lord and ofHis Christ, and He shall reign forever andever!” … The nations were angry, andyour wrath has come, and the time ofthe dead, that they should be judged,and that you should reward your servantsthe prophets and the saints, and thosewho fear your name, small and great,and should destroy those who destroythe earth” (Revelation 11:15-18).

But all those who have accepted therulership of God in their lives, and wholearn to live according to His ways canlook forward to much better times in amuch better world.

Editor

122nd Year 5

Time TravelLet us climb into our imaginary timemachine and make a swift journey backto about the year 60 AD. We are going tovisit a town in a Roman province, in whatwe call today Turkey, which had thename of Colossae.

It was a Sunday, then known as thefirst day of the week. We are paying avisit to a rich man by the name ofPhilemon. He possessed a spacious villa,the kind which has been found in theItalian city of Pompeii, destroyed by theeruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD.

Philemon is acting as the host to acompany of local Christians who havecome together to celebrate what theNew Testament speaks ofas “the breaking ofbread”, a simpleceremony to commemo-rate the sacrifice of the LordJesus (see 1 Corinthians11:23-26). It was a simpleceremony: there would beScripture readings, prayersand hymns.

Mixed SocietyThere was something unusual about thepeople who had come together: therewas Philemon, the wealthy host, andthere was also one by the name ofOnesimus. They both partook of thebread and the wine, as though they wereequals. That in itself was very unusual inRoman society. Slaves had no rights as

such, and they were sometimes treatedlike cattle by a cruel and demandingmaster. True, there were some who weremore humane who, in certain cases,gave a good slave his freedom.

But there was one crime for which aslave could be put to death. That waswhen he ran away, and the offence wasall the more serious if he also robbed hismaster. Now this was precisely whatOnesimus had done. So we must askourselves how could so extraordinary asituation have come about?

Letter to PhilemonTo get our answer we must go to a shortbut very precious piece of writing – aletter written by the apostle Paul toPhilemon, the owner of Onesimus. Thisshort letter provides a lot of information

which we shall use. But first youneed to understand that when

he wrote this letter theApostle was a prisoner inRome, awaiting his trialbefore the Roman

emperor. He was to answercharges brought against him by some ofhis fellow countrymen.

The conditions of his imprisonmentwere very relaxed and he was free topreach the Gospel and to receive hisfriends. Somehow, in circumstances ofwhich we know nothing about of aprecise nature, Paul came in contactwith Onesimus in Rome. The runawayslave must have heard about Paul, for

Part One

God’s New SocietyGod’s New SocietyIf we could travel back to the first century, what would the early

believers be like? Using the Scriptures as a guide, Tom Barling takes uson such an imaginary journey in this series, so that we can sample the

new society that God was developing among early believers.

6 Glad Tidings

his master Philemon had been convertedby the Apostle. He may even have knownPaul was in prison in Rome and madecontact with him.

Runaway SlaveWhat we do learn from the letter sent toPhilemon is that Onesimus had run awayfrom Colossae and was in possession ofsome of his master’s property for, writingto Philemon, Paul uses this tactfullanguage:

“If he has done you anywrong or owes youanything, charge it to me”(v.18).

After his conversion tothe Christian faith and hisbaptism, Onesimusproved of great service toPaul and the latter wouldhave liked to keep him byhim (v.13). But Paulthought this was wrong,so he decided to send himback to Colossae, taking withhim the letter Paul had written toPhilemon. In that letter the apostlecalled on the latter to forget the past – toforgive Onesimus and to welcome him asa brother in Christ!

It is evident that this is precisely whatPhilemon did. It gives us a remarkableinsight into the way in which the Gospelof salvation removes social barriers andwas creating in the Roman world a newkind of society.

Travelling CompanionWhen Onesimus started out on his longjourney home, from Rome to Colossae,he did not go alone. He travelled in thecompany of Tychicus (see Colossians4:7-9) who was also carrying a letter –this one addressed to all the believers inColossae (see Colossians 1:2). In suchcases, it would be the practice to read

the letter to the church as it assembledfor the breaking of bread, on the first dayof the week. It would be a wonder if Pauldid not foresee this and write somethingsuitable to this rather special occasion.

So we can imagine Philemon andOnesimus listening with rapt attention tothe reading of the letter. Chapter 3opens by reminding believers (of allages) that they are now leading a newlife. They are told not to set their minds

on earthly things, but onthings above, for, says Paul:”you died, and your life is

now hidden with Christ inGod” (3:2-3).

Here surely is theconception of a new

society, recruited fromamong men and womenwho are called to abandontheir old way of life and to

live a new one in ChristJesus. All this is pressed

home later in ChapterThree:

“Here there is no Greek or Jew, circum-cised or uncircumcised, barbarian,Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all,and is in all. Therefore, as God’s chosenpeople, holy and dearly loved, clotheyourselves with compassion, kindness,humility, gentleness and patience. Bearwith each other and forgive whatevergrievances you may have against oneanother. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.And over all these virtues put on love,which binds them all together in perfectunity” (Colossians 3:11-14).

As these words were read out, surelyPhilemon would turn to Onesimus,nodding his head with approval of whatthey had both heard, and with a smile ofloving forgiveness on his face.

Tom BarlingAll Quotations from the NIV

122nd Year 7

The Bible has much to sayabout the city of Jerusalem –its past, present and itsglorious future. It is fromhere – at the centre of theearth – that the Lord JesusChrist will reign as King.

He is to sit on the throne of KingDavid and from there he will rule theearth. That was what the angel Gabrielpromised long ago when he said this toMary, the mother of Jesus:

“Behold, you will conceive in yourwomb and bring forth a Son, and shallcall his name Jesus. He will be great,and will be called the Son of theHighest; and the Lord God will givehim the throne of his fatherDavid. And he will reignover the house of Jacobforever, and of hiskingdom there will beno end” (Luke 1:31-33).

And Jesus made itclear that he was bornto be a King who wouldrule for God when he saidto his followers, aboutJerusalem:

“I say to you, do not swear at all:neither by heaven, for it is God’sthrone; nor by the earth, for it is hisfootstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is thecity of the great King” (Matthew5:34,35).

Spiritual CentreThe Old Testament makes it clear thatJerusalem is to be transformed at theComing of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is tobe a centre of worship, and the fact

that a King reigns there once again willbe the cause of great joy and rejoicing.As the Psalmist said:

“Great is the LORD, and greatly to bepraised in the city of our God, in hisholy mountain. Beautiful in elevation,the joy of the whole earth, is MountZion on the sides of the north, the cityof the great King” (Psalm 48:1,2).

But the New Testament teachingadds a further dimension by remindingus that God is not just concernedabout bricks and mortar – about archi-tecture, cities, palaces, temples andsuchlike. He is concerned aboutpeople too. What sort of a place wouldJerusalem be if Jesus was there by

himself, with nobody elsepresent?

New JerusalemThere are four importantpassages in the NewTestament all of whichconvey a spiritual viewof Jerusalem – a view

actually found in the OldTestament too. As you

read them you may bethinking, “These passages

about a glorified Jerusalem aren’tabout a future literal city; they’re aboutpeople.”

That’s quite right; they are. But thatdoesn’t mean that the future ofJerusalem can just be spiritualisedaway – as some people do when theytake such passages to refer to thechurch, and not to the actual geo-graphical location.

You can’t be true to God’s Word andjettison the huge amount of Bibleteaching about God’s coming Kingdom

The New JerusalemThe New Jerusalem

8 Glad Tidings

on earth and Christ’s personal returnto rule over it. How can you abandonGod’s covenant with David (which wasconfirmed with an oath, remember)and its confirmation by the angelGabriel?

As we have just seen, hepromised Mary in the clearestpossible terms that Jesus willoccupy King David’s ancientthrone, which was inJerusalem.

Things to ReadHere’s a summary of the four NewTestament passages about the NewJerusalem, and you might like to lookthem up and read them in full:

�Galatians 4:24-26Jerusalem as it then existed isdescribed by the apostle Paul as aplace that represented the bondage ofthe old covenant. Jerusalem “which isabove” represents the freedom of thenew covenant in Christ.

�Hebrews 12:22-24Mount Zion, the city of the living God,the heavenly Jerusalem representsthose who truly belong to Jesus Christ– the mediator of the new covenant –and to his Father in heaven.

� Revelation 3:12New Jerusalem, the city of God, willdescend from heaven and then thename of God, Christ’s new name andthe name of God’s city, NewJerusalem, will be written upon thosewho are deemed righteous.

� Revelation chapter 21This chapter describes the newlycreated Jerusalem as a place of greatjoy. The holy city, New Jerusalem, willdescend from God as a bride. God willthen dwell with His people. They will

experience no more death, pain orsorrow. They are the Lamb’s wife.

In this detailed symbolic description,the holy city Jerusalem is seen to beilluminated by the glory of God and theLamb and is adorned with precious

stones. It is described as a giganticcube measuring 12,000 stadia or

about 2200 km in all threedimensions – length, width

and height. The cube, likethe Holy of Holies in the

Old Testament tabernacleand temple, represents the

place where God will dwell in aholy relationship with His people.

There are other details in the chapterabout New Jerusalem that help tomake it clear that this is a symboliccity. After all, Revelation is a book ofsymbols.

Redeemed PeopleAll these passages present spiritualideas about what the new cityJerusalem will be like when it isinhabited by righteous people whohave been redeemed by the savingwork of Jesus. They don’t cancel outwhat the Old Testament says about thecity’s glorious future, the topographicalchanges that will occur, the ways itspeople will be rescued from neardisaster and the rebuilding that willthen take place.

The New Testament teaches thesame things, as we would expect. Itdoesn’t replace the teaching of theOld, it adds to it. Its particularemphasis is upon the change that willoccur to the people who are to inhabitthat new world. Here’s the apostle Paulagain, quoting from the Old Testamentand then explaining how thosepromises will come about:

“So all Israel will be saved, as it iswritten: ‘The Deliverer will come out of

122nd Year 9

Zion, and he will turn away ungodli-ness from Jacob; for this is mycovenant with them, when I take awaytheir sins’ … For as you were once dis-obedient to God, yet have nowobtained mercy through their disobedi-ence, even so these also (the Jewishpeople) have now been disobedient,that through the mercy shown you theyalso may obtain mercy. For God hascommitted them all to disobedience,that he might have mercy on all”(Romans 11:26-27,30-32).

The first two verses cited by theapostle are certainly about the nationof Israel – described as “Jacob” – andthe city Jerusalem, termed “Zion”, itsalternative name. They are cited fromIsaiah chapter 59, and the “Deliverer”who turns away Jacob’s ungodliness isnone other than the Lord Jesus Christ.

Literal and SpiritualPaul brings together both literal andspiritual ideas about Jerusalem. To thepicture painted in the Old Testamenthe adds a new dimension, portrayingJews and Gentiles together, as onepeople who have been redeemed by

the saving work of God in Christ. He isthus making two powerful points.

1. The city is to be revived andreformed, to become the mostjoyful and glorious place on earth,when its King has come. In otherwords, Jerusalem’s future glory willbe real, literal, substantial, magnif-icent and peaceful!

2. Jerusalem is also the symbol ofa perfect future relationshipbetween God and His people.God will rescue and redeem apeople from all nations who will livein His kingdom and work alongsideHis King, until at last all the earth issubject to Divine rule, andeverything gives God the glory thatis His due.

What steps are you going to take totry to ensure that you see andexperience Jerusalem’s glorious futureand become part of that perfect rela-tionship with God? This is the greatest,finest and truest opportunity you couldever hope to have. Don’t allow it to slipfrom your grasp.

Mark Sawyer

Bible CompanionBible CompanionThe Bible Reading Tables on pages 10 and 11 of this issue are indaily use by Christadelphians all over the world, and have been formany years – since they were compiled by Robert Roberts in about

1853. Read the specified chapters every day and you willhave read the Old Testament once and the New Testamenttwice during the course of this coming year.

There is nothing more beneficial than exercising your mindin the Word of God. It will be a blessing to you every day andit will help you in all that you do. God is offering to help.

Reach out and get that helping hand!

Bible ReadingOld Testament Once – New Testament twice each year – Read

Bible ReadingOld Testament Once – New Testament twice each year – Read

By courtesy of The Christadelphian

g Tablesd God’s Word every day and prosper

g Tablesd God’s Word every day and prosper

12 Glad Tidings

Jesus once said: “How hardit is for those who haveriches to enter thekingdom of God!” then heimmediately gave anillustration.

“It is easier for a camel to gothrough a needle’s eyethan for a rich man toenter the kingdom of God”(Luke 18:24,25).

It was a very dramaticway of saying that thethings that areimpossible for manare possible withGod. And Jesus wasteaching that the possession ofriches in this life can make it harder toobtain the true riches of the gospel. Nowwhy would that be?

Material RichesThere are quite a lot of people whofeature in the Bible who were decidedlyrich in material things. Those people arenot regarded as hopeless cases: many ofthem are described as faithful and well-pleasing to God – people like Abrahamand David in the Old Testament, forexample. When the words of Jesus arerecorded in Mark’s account, there is aninteresting extra piece of information:

“Children, how hard it is for those whotrust in riches to enter the kingdomof God!” (10:24).

That’s the real point! Thedanger is not about having riches,but trusting in them, rather thanin God! Again, to quote anotherwell-known, but frequently

misquoted verse from the writings ofPaul the apostle:

“For the love of money is a root of allkinds of evil, for which some have

strayed from the faith in theirgreediness, and pierced

themselves through withmany sorrows” (1 Timothy6:10).

He had just beenwarning Timothy aboutthose: “who desire to berich (who) fall intotemptation and a snare,

and into many foolish andharmful lusts” (6:9).

It’s the love of, or desire for,riches that leads people intodisaster and deadly danger, sofar as their spiritual lives are

concerned. That’s as true today as whenthe apostle wrote. Think of the numberof people who go weekly to gamble inone way or another, because they wantto be rich! Desire can produce moredesire, and selfishness can lead tocrime. History is full of such unhappydevelopments.

That’s Mine!There’s a story in the New Testamentabout a young man who went to Jesus,apparently anxious to obtain eternal life,but went away sorrowful when Jesus puthim to the test. He had asked what hecould do to earn eternal life and Jesus

told him the price that had to be paidif he was to earn it:

Jesus said to him, “If you wantto be perfect, go, sell whatyou have and give to the poor,

and you will have treasure in

The Riches of the GospelThe Riches of the Gospel

122nd Year 13

heaven; and come, follow me.” Butwhen the young man heard that saying,he went away sorrowful, for he had greatpossessions (Matthew 19:21,22).

Although he had kept God’s law fromhis youth, this good young man didn’twant to lose the things he thought werehis — his possessions. It seems hetrusted in them! Knowing God’s law heshould have trusted in God. He showed asimilar lack of faith in God as did Adamand Eve in the Garden — they were notcontent with what God had given them,they desired more and desire led to sin.

Return to DustWe get used to the things we call our

own, whether we live in luxury or poverty– in a big house or a little shack. But weshould never forget where we areheading and how we aredestined to end up.Here’s the gospeltruth about oursituation:

“Godliness with content-ment is great gain. For webrought nothing into thisworld, and it is certain wecan carry nothing out. Andhaving food and clothing, with these weshall be content” (1 Timothy 6:6-8).

This means that we are all really poor,for there are no pockets in a shroud! Wecan take nothing with us when we go, foreverything we are and have is going todust. It was what God said in the Gardenof Eden, when he explained what deathreally is. God said to Adam:

“In the sweat of your face you shall eatbread till you return to the ground, forout of it you were taken; for dust you are,and to dust you shall return” (Genesis3:19).

The fact is that we have to work if we

want to eat but when our work is over wewill cease to exist, unless God takesaction on our behalf. Death is an uncon-scious state – a process of decay anddestruction in the grave. But God, andGod alone, can reverse that process andraise us from the dead by His power andrestore our consciousness. He can bringus back to life by resurrection, but if hedoesn’t we will be gone for good!

God-DependenceIf follows that in this life we are whollydependant upon God for all we need. Hegives us life and all things. The sad thingis that so many people nowadays hardlybelieve in Him; they think they are

masters of their own destiny.They talk a lot about

their “rights”, butnever about theirresponsibilities toGod. Death comes toeveryone: there is no

escape. So if we do not think

about God in this life,why should He think

about us in the life tocome, when Jesus returns to raise thedead? What should we do, to make surethat we get hold of the true riches – acommodity that will last forever?

First of all, let God speak to you fromHis Word, the Bible, and listen to whatHe has to say. God is calling to youthrough your reading of His Word. Areyou ready to hear? Here’s just oneexample of God speaking to us in theBible and encouraging us to take notice:

“Hear this, all you peoples; Give ear, allyou inhabitants of the world, both lowand high, rich and poor together. Mymouth shall speak wisdom, and themeditation of my heart shall bring under-standing” (Psalm 49:1-3).

14 Glad Tidings

Gifts from GodLife is a gift from God which we shoulduse properly. We are meant to enjoy it,but it is primarily an opportunity for us toget to know God and His purpose, so wecan find out about His offer of eternallife. It was the wise man Solomon,writing about the marvel of God’screation, and all the work that God hasdone to make it such a wonderful worldwho said: “every man should eat anddrink and enjoy the good of all his labour– it is the gift of God” (Ecclesiastes3:13).

What wonderful things there are inGod’s world – the songs ofbirds, the wonders of thesunset, the colours of theflowers, to name but a few.These are rich gifts, to beappreciated to the full. As theapostle Paul said in thepassage we have consideredseveral times already:

“Command those who arerich in this present age not tobe haughty, nor to trust inuncertain riches but in theliving God, who gives us richlyall things to enjoy” (1Timothy 6:17).

But those things are not given us sothat we can live heedlessly and selfishly.Paul was writing to people who hadalready committed themselves to Godthrough baptism into the name of theLord Jesus Christ. They were followers ofJesus, as you might want to be also. SoPaul could remind them of their respon-sibilities to God and went on to say:

“Let them do good, that they be rich ingood works, ready to give, willing toshare, storing up for themselves a goodfoundation for the time to come, thatthey may lay hold on eternal life” (1Timothy 6:18,19).

What a contrast between the uncer-tainty of riches and the certainty of theexistence of Almighty God; and what apromise for those who were faithful andobedient! These faithful believers arebeing promised exactly what the richyoung man had been seeking – eternallife.

Eternal LifeThe first thing to understand is that“eternal life” (or immortality) is not oursby right. We are born mortal, and so faras immortality is concerned we aredestitute! The Bible does not entertainfor one minute that we have an immortal

soul as part of ourmakeup. The Biblesays man was made aliving soul, not anever-ending one.Sooner or later webecome a dead soul.The Bible doesn’tmince matters aboutthe reason: we diebecause of sin – “Forthe wages of sin isdeath ...“(Romans6:23).

But, you might ask,if that is so, why talk

about “eternal life” at all? Here’s thecomplete quotation:

“For the wages of sin is death, but thegift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesusour Lord” (6:23).

This free gift on offer from God is at thecentre of the gospel message. It’s a gift;we can never earn it, which is what therich young man had to learn. It is theresult of the grace of God: we do notmerit it of ourselves. It’s possible ofcourse to refuse God’s gift, but we hopeyou will think carefully about it. The firststep is to realize we are no better thanour fellows, rich or poor. We must see

122nd Year 15

ourselves as helpless, having nothing.Any treasures we have heaped up in thislife will be of no help. That’s why Jesussaid:

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasureson earth, where moth and rust destroyand where thieves break in and steal;but lay up for yourselves treasures inheaven, where neither moth nor rustdestroys and where thieves do not breakin and steal. For where your treasure is,there your heart will be also” (Matthew6:19-21).

Instead, said Jesus, “seek first thekingdom of God and His righteousness,and all these things shall be added toyou” (6:33).

Our Real NeedIf we let the Bible speak to us we shallsee the need to confess our poverty andto accept the covering for our sins,

provided in the sacrifice of the LordJesus Christ. We will come to understandthat we need to be baptised in water,which symbolizes for each one a newbirth. It’s the God-given way of making anew start in life, of symbolically dyingwith Christ, so that we can live with himin God’s Coming Kingdom for evermore:

“Now if we died with Christ, we believethat we shall also live with him” (Romans6:8).

It’s no wonder that the apostle Paulprayed to the Father that believers wouldcome to this realisation:

“That you may know what is the hope ofHis calling, what are the riches of theglory of His inheritance in the saints”(Ephesians 1:18).

Roy Waddoup

Help with Your Daily Bible ReadingUse the World Wide Web to help you to do the daily BibleReadings, using the Bible Planner which is featured on pages10 and 11 of this issue.There are over 10,000 comments, charts and tables from40 different Christadelphians.

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16 Glad Tidings

Crime AboundingIt is difficult to know how growing crimeand violence in Society can be reduced,or indeed removed. For deadlocks, steel-mesh doors, burglar alarms, andsuchlike, are selling more briskly thanever before.

Our local newspaper recently reportedover one hundred burglaries in ourhousing estate over a period of severalmonths, and our own home suffered fiveattacks of theft and petty vandalism in asimilar period. Local police admitted thatas they are always understaffed, there islittle they can do to reducesuch activity.

It is no secret thatmany police officershave left the Force indisgust, deploring theincreasing leniency ofthe judiciary towardsfelons convicted aftermonths of hard policework. The leniency ofjudges may be connectedwith the fact that prisons arefull and overflowing as the crime rateclimbs, but it doesn’t end there. Violenceand rape are prevalent in most largecities, and the press report at least amurder a day, and usually far more thanthat if we survey the situation interna-tionally.

There is also increasing corruption anddishonesty in both business and political

circles; especially the latter, causing thepublic to be openly cynical about politi-cians and statesmen in general. Therehave been some very public trials of wellknown political figures in manycountries, and some lengthy imprison-ments. But it seems that every day thereis another embarrassment along similarlines.

Relationships Failing The marriage scene is no more encour-aging. In so-called liberated countrieswhere religion has been largely rejected,more people are now just living together

as a matter of coursethan those who aregetting married.Marital unfaithfulnesshas become common-place; divorce is

increasing and moreand more unmarriedmothers seem contentto depend on society tolook after them and theirchildren, it being difficult

for them to get work whenchild care is so expensive.

The outcome of all this is the havoccreated in family life, and the childrenare always the sufferers. There is adownward spiral here – with diminishedparental control, and increasingvandalism and petty crime among theyoung. This is often complicated by drugand alcohol addiction. All of which is

The Failure of Humanism – 3

Problems GaloreProblems GaloreIf mankind exists as the pinnacle of an evolutionary process which has

happened by chance, then there is no God to put things right. Man has to solvehis own problems unaided and make sure that society improves and develops so

that everything gets better and better. In this series Malcolm Edwards isexamining whether or not there are such signs of improvement.

122nd Year 17

symptomatic of a society that hasmorally lost its way, and which doggedlygoes on treating the effects and not thecause.

Who’s to Blame?Sociologists and psychologists are inperpetual disagreement as to why theseproblems persist in our so-called‘enlightened’ society. They appeardesperate to find possible solutions.There was once a serious debate onAustralian TV between two Americanscientists – Prof Roger Masters and DrPeter Breggin – on whether the risingcrime rate might be caused by toxicchemicals in the environment, such aslead and manganese.

It seems that anything is worth investi-gating as a possible cause. But nobodywants to face up to the fairly obviouscause – that humans are bornwith a perverse nature, andneed to be taught obedienceto a higher moral codeearly in life. People whowill not acknowledgethat God existsdon’t want toconsider the possi-bility that there is a Powergreater than themselves, whocan tell them what and whatnot to do. They want complete freedomof action.

Helpless HumanismThe very nature of humanism demands atrial and error code of morals whichadvocates the freedom of the individualto do whatever feels good, provided itdoes not harm others. The morality ofthe Bible has to be discarded by suchpeople, since it appeals to a higherauthority who lays down inflexible rulesfor daily living, and which work wellprovided every one obeys them.

� Humanism can never openlycondemn sexual activity outsidemarriage, by consenting adults,whether heterosexual or homosexual.

� Since the freedom of the individualmust always be paramount, evenincest, must go uncondemned.

� It was inevitable that prostitution andpornography would eventually belegalised, and today no film makerdare depict gay-lesbianism asimmoral.

A generation has now arrivedwho know little of Biblical ethicsand they are largely free topractise whatever sexualabnormality they may please,without censure. There is akind of helplessness behindall this as self-indulgenceincreases on all fronts aseach successive generationindulgently explores andexploits the new morality.The questions to ask are – 1. Do you think Society isgradually improving underthe guidance of peoplewho believe thateverything isacceptable provided itdoes no harm to

anybody?

2. Or do you think that mankind needsthe guidance and help that Godoffers, and His rescue plan, whichalone can save us from ourselves?

The Bible contains that offer for allright-minded individuals, and there Godpromises to put everything right whenthe Lord Jesus comes to establish a newand better world.

Malcolm Edwards

18 Glad Tidings

Have You Read?

The Book of JonahThe Book of JonahWhat is it about? God sent Jonah the prophet from Israel

to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, 1000miles away, to tell its inhabitants ‘Repentor be destroyed’. Unwilling to go to thisviolent nation that had long oppressedhis own people, Jonah took a sea voyagein the opposite direction! God sent aviolent storm causing Jonah to admit hisdisobedience. The sailors threw himoverboard and the sea calmed. A hugefish swallowed the prophet, spewing himashore after three days. Chastened,Jonah went to Nineveh and preached tothe people. They repented, much toJonah’s regret.

What was life like inIsrael at that time?

Israel’s 41 year rule by Jeroboam II (BC825-784) was the most prosperous ithad yet known. With all this outwardprosperity, however, iniquity widelyprevailed in the land (see Amos 2:6-8;4:1;6:6 and Hosea 4:12-14).

Assyria, was the super-power at thattime and it was always a threat. Nineveh,its capital city is described by a historianas having walls 100’ high with 1500towers each 200’ high.

When did this happen? Probably 8th c BC.

How many chapters? Four short chapters: 48 verses in all.

Where will I find it? Among the minor prophets: the eighthfrom last book in the Old Testament.

122nd Year 19

� Jonah is no mythical figure (2 Kings 14:25)� His effective preaching – note the change from the mariners’ paganism (Jon. 1:5)

to their prayer to “the God of Israel” (Jonah 1:14)� Why did the heathen Ninevites repent so quickly? Was it because Jonah had been

bleached by the fish’s digestive juices, or had the account gone before him of aman swallowed whole in the ocean?

� The humility of the heathen Ninevites who believed God (3:5), whose king humbledhimself (3:6) and proclaimed a national fast (3:7-9)

� Jonah’s wonderful prayer (2:1-9) that goes from despair to confidence in God’ssalvation

� The portrayal of God’s character. He is patient, the Creator (1:9); hears prayer(2:2); saves (2:9): relents (3:9-10, 4:2); is gracious, merciful, slow to anger andabundant in loving kindness (4:2)

Jonah’s similarities to Christ:

� Jonah willingly accepted his fate, and acknowledged his sin (Jonah 1:12). Jesuswas sinless, but he too accepted his death willingly (Isaiah 53:7; Matthew20:28)

� Jonah was saved from corruption (2:6), just as Jesus’ body was saved fromcorruption by His resurrection (Psalm16:10)

� By the sacrifice of one man (Jonah in 1:12) many were saved; by the death ofJesus, many were saved (Romans 5:19)

� Jesus mentions Jonah as a sign of his own death and resurrection (Matthew12:38-41; 16:4:Luke 11:29-32) while Jonah’s preaching is compared to that ofJesus’ (Matthew 12:41).

What does it mean for me?

� God is everywhere; we cannot run away from Him. � His compassion is for all people, everywhere. He wants them to be saved (1

Timothy 2:4) whether a failing Israelite prophet or heathen gentiles. � Sometimes humility must come before a servant of God can be effective. Instead

of standing before the King of Nineveh, Jonah found himself being challenged bythe ship’s captain and the other mariners (1:10).

� Admitting wrongdoing is not enough. Something must be done about sin. AfterJonah’s confession the sea continued to rage (1:11,13).Calm came once Jonahwas thrown into it (1:15).

� Prayer reaches God from anywhere, even from the prison of a fish’s belly. Jonahrepented then got on with the job God called him to. God will always give asecond chance.

What should I look out for?What should I look out for?

Local Information

Glad TidingsThe good news Jesusbrought was called “theglad tidings of the kingdomof God”. He was the Onewho, at his secondcoming, would reign asking on David’s throne.Meanwhile, his messagewas the royal law bywhich his disciples werebeing prepared for the kingdom andhis miracles were living attestationsthat he was Son of God as well as sonof David, bringing them a foretaste ofthe kingdom age

Harry Tennant

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