The Newsletter of the

Apostolic Christian Publishing CompanyExhortationsExhortations“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”

— II Timothy 4:2

Volume 1 Number 3 Summer, 1996

“Ye Must Be Born Again”— A Treatise on Conversion and the Way to Life in Christ Jesus —

Ben Sommer

This treatise, written so longago by the late Brother BenSommer, is without a doubt thedefinitive statement on Scrip-tural conversion as understoodand taught by the ApostolicChristian Church from thevery beginning of its history.

Printed in convenient tractsize, this work is probably themost widely circulated writingpublished by the ApostolicChristian Publishing Com-

In This+ “Ye Must Be Born Aga

+ The Life of Samuel He

Page 2

+ An Unjust Judge — P

+ Music: Its Nature and

+ Wherewithal Shall a Y

His Way? — Page 11

+ From Among the Lowl

+ Here Am I — Page 16

Summer, 1996

pany, and is available in quan-tity.

The Awakening

When the divine lightbegins to dawn in a

human soul and the soul be-comes aware of its unclean-ness and unworthiness, whatis more natural than that oneshould resolve to men hisways, to discontinue doingthe things which the quick-ened conscience shows him

Issuein” — Page 1

inrich Fröhlich —

age 8

Its Effects — Page 9

oung Man Cleanse

y — Page 15

to be wrong, and to do better!

Thus begins the first skir-mish of a battle which is to gothrough many stages beforevictory is won and the soulattains to its liberation fromthe power of darkness andevil.

Often as long as one is awilling servant of sin he is aptto harbor the illusion that,should he choose to do so, hecould any time, at will, throwoff his vices and live a virtu-ous life. It is only after thesoul has challenged thepower of sin by making a re-solve to cease from sinning,that the soul discovers howgreat is the power of sin overit.

Wise are they who at thisstate learn quickly to seek Je-sus Christ, the Savior, whohas broken the yoke of Satanand who is able to make thosewho believe and obey Himtruly free. But often this wis-dom is not so quickly learned.

The human heart is proudand is loath to confess itself,

thus unable to free itself. Sothe struggle goes on. Some-times the soul has victory and

Continued on page 4

“Thus

begins the

first

skirmish of

a battle

which is to

go through

many

stages

before

victory is

won...”

Exhortations • 1

Bravely strive when God doth call thee,When He turns to thee in grace;Cast off aught that would enthrall theeAnd would hinder in the race.

Strive thou, till thy zeal is burning,And thy first love grows so warmThat thou all this world art spurning,Half-love will not bide the storm.

Many of the articles in this edition of Exhortations focus onthe call to every sinner to forsake the sinfulness of this vainworld, and be reconciled with God through Jesus Christ HisSon. The Scriptures clearly identify this experience as founda-tional: it is the only and irreplaceable basis for a life of faith andservice to God; it is the needful first step in a lifelong race whichmust be run with patience and care.

Each and every footfall of the race must be resolute andpurposeful, directed aright toward obtaining the prize. Any-thing less than complete dedication will not sustain us for theduration of the race. Other allegiances, other pursuits, arehindrances that misguide and slow us along the course we mustrun. Time also is fleet. It passes all too quickly and is gone. Weneed to redeem it wisely if we want to claim the incorruptibleinheritance, the glorious crown which the Lord has promisedto those who love Him.

Surely how we run the race is important, but if we never enter,if we never begin the race, the possibility of ever winning iseternally lost.

Like clouds in the sky and like ships on the sea,Our lives are uncertain, and ever will be!Who knows just how long anyone will be here?O grasp your salvation with trembling and fear!Work out your salvation withtrembling and fear!

Exhortations is the newsletter of the Apostolic Christian Pub-lishing Company, Syracuse, New York. Its purpose is to declare

and promote the original doctrinal standpoints and practices of

the Apostolic Christian Church through the publication of rele-

vant articles, both historical and contemporary.

Correspondence regarding this newsletter and other publica-

tions identified herein may be addressed to: Apostolic Christian

Publishing Company, P.O. Box 416, Syracuse, New York 13215-

0416. Email may be sent to: exhort@acpub.org . Visit our World

Wide Web site on the Internet at http://www.acpub.org

Gregory D. Kufchak � Editor

Gaius W. Laubli � Associate Editor

David M. Freund � Business Manager

The Newsletter of the

Apostolic Christian Publishing CompanyExhortationsExhortations The Life ofSamuel Heinrich Fröhlich

Part 3

2 • Exhortations

New Beginning

An invitation to Wilhelmsdorf in Württemberg (Ger-many) seemed a sign from heaven for Fröhlich, andhe preached there for a congregation that had sepa-

rated from the state church. However, this church was notreceptive to his doctrine, for it clung to infant baptism, and hadleft the state church only because of the liturgical baptismalformula.

In this new beginning, Fröhlich served several families atvarious places as private tutor. In addition, he associated withthe Old Baptists (Mennonites) and preached in their circles (in1831) and kept in contact with his former congregation atLeutwil.

Continental Society in London

Through a preacher in Frankfurt-am-Main, Fröhlichlearned to know the Continental Society of Londonwhich supported ministers and teachers. One of these,

Pastor Bost, who had been expelled from the state church, wasactive in Geneva. Through his mediation, Fröhlich offeredhimself in 1831 for a diaspora-preaching place in theRhineland.

In February, 1832, Fröhlich was baptized at the hands of Bostin Geneva, and thereupon, at private meetings, proclaimed thetrue Gospel here and there. He pointed men to Christ forrepentance, faith, and baptism according to the words of Christas the first Christians had done.

On January 9, 1836, Fröhlich wrote: “It never entered mymind that I should found a sect here on earth; rather, it was andis my purpose to gather children to God. If I could not placemy confidence in the Lord my God, that He had called me toHis Gospel, I would indeed repent for having begun somethingupon which the Lord could not place His blessing, or with whichHe could not be pleased. However, I now place myself whollyinto His hands that He might lead me according to His goodpleasure.”

EvangelizationFirst Missionary Journey in Aargau

Fröhlich began his missionary work in Leutwil, his for-mer congregation. Hardly had the news spread that hewas there than 200 to 300 persons gathered every

evening that he might preach the Word of Christ to them. Somealso came to spy on him; the majority, however, came fromdesire. Within a week many hearers, whom he had instructed

Continued on page 3

Summer, 1996

The Life ofSamuel Heinrich Fröhlich

Part 3

before and in whom God had prepared the way, requestedbaptism. Fröhlich examined them carefully to be convinced oftheir faith and of their knowledge, and admonished them tocount the cost of following Christ. Then he baptized them,according to the instruction of the Lord; and on Palm Sundayhe could, for the first time, celebrate the Lord’s Supper with 38members.

Meanwhile the foe was not idle. When many were gatheredtogether, a gendarme appeared and ordered that all who hadsheltered Fröhlich must appear before the district magistrate.Fröhlich did not permit himself to be intimidated and contin-ued to preach the good tidings. A summons followed, and hewas told to leave the village at once and to return to his nativeBrugg. In vain did he refer to the highest Aargau court. Hetraveled to Aargau to the magistrate and was dismissed with awarning.

Later on, a gendarme dragged Fröhlich out of a meeting andbrought him to the magistrate at Lenzburg. In answer to thequestion, “Who commanded you to preach?” his reply was,calmly: “Christ.” The angry official raised his hand to strikehim, but withdrew it under a stream of profanity. Finally, hetore Fröhlich’s clothes and emptied his pockets in order to findhis books; then he ordered the gendarme to put him in prison.When Fröhlich appealed to the fact that the magistrate atAargau had not arrested him, he was finally allowed to go free,and began his wearisome journey to Brugg.

Second Missionary Journey in theCanton Bern

Since it seemed impossible to be active further in Aar-gau, Fröhlich once more turned to Pastor Bost atGeneva: “I have been declared scot-free. In Aargau I

was arrested and banned. Where shall I go?” In the missionfield he felt himself a beginner and a novice. He would haveliked to go with Paul to learn of him “how with simplicity andshrewdness the Gospel might best be spread.”

The new constitution had granted religious freedom andfreedom of conscience. When Fröhlich referred to it before theofficials, he was told that he could believe what he chose, butthat he could not convey it to others.

In July, 1832, Fröhlich journeyed to Bern to meet with Bost.But Bost had departed because those who would prevent theinterview had informed him that Fröhlich was behind bars inAargau. That the wearisome and costly journey might not havebeen undertaken in vain, Fröhlich resolved to go on a mission-ary journey from Bern.

Continued from Page 3

Summer, 1996

Third Missionary Journey in Emmental

On August 11, 1832, Fröhlich made contact by letterwith Christian Gerber, Langnau in Emmental, elderof the Baptist church there, whom he had never seen,

but of whom he had been told. Agreement of their views onbaptism attracted him thither.

Ten days later he himself traveled to Langnau and visitedChristian Gerber, who then was nearly seventy years old. At ameeting of all the deacons, Fröhlich laid before them, by wayof introduction, a copy of the letter to the English ContinentalSociety in which he, on May 14th of that year, had answered sixquestions. [These are published in Individual Letters and Medi-tations, S. H. Fröhlich.] The gathering seemed to agree withthese explanations.

Fröhlich held daily meetings in the area, and was generallyaccompanied by the elder of the church. The attendance grewlarger and larger. On Sunday, September 2nd, the number ofhearers at Langnau was between four and five hundred. Ac-cording to the custom of the time he preached for three hours.The word was not without fruit, but the foe sensed the danger.On the following morning the state church pastor raised hisvoice in warning during a meeting of the citizens. Despite thefact that a deacon who was present defended the accusedfearlessly, Fröhlich was haled before the magistrate, who de-cided after a brief hearing that Fröhlich was to leave theterritory within 24 hours.

Back at Brugg, Fröhlich could not, in spite of the prohibition,keep from visiting the persecuted churches in Aargau. In Leut-wil where there were 45 baptized souls, a penalty had beenplaced upon any who would permit meetings in their homes.“We have a great cloud of witnesses before us, who, for thesake of freedom in Christ, were ready to sacrifice goods andblood, whose imitators we should be in patience and faith,” hewrote on September 24, 1832.

Fourth Missionary Journey to Zurichand East Switzerland

In October, 1832, Fröhlich began his activity in Zurich,where two of his sisters lived. They were, as yet, unde-cided to go his way, but they were no longer offended by

him. He found no hearing, however, among his former acquain-tances.

Great was the joy of seeing one another again when he, inCanton Thurgau, visited the congregation Wagenhausen atStein am Rhein, where he had served as vicar four years before.Although the teaching of the baptism of believers met withopposition, he parted from them in the good hope that theywould finally find the way.

In St. Gall also he met with opposition on the question, whilehe found many receptive hearts in Herisau. On November 21,1832, he reached Wattwil, where a year before a commonlaborer, Adolf, of Zurich, who was active in the Word of God,had worked after his expulsion by the authorities and had left

Continued on page 14

Exhortations • 3

“Ye Must Be Born Again”

rejoices therein, then again itsuffers defeat, finding itselfovercome by the power of sinto do what it would not1 andgoes down into the depths ofdespair being condemned ofits own conscience. “Owretched man that I am! whoshall deliver me from thebody of this death?”2

Under the Law

Thus the soul is broughtunder the law. Ever

trying to keep the law ofrighteousness to be justifiedthereby, but often failing, itfinds no satisfaction and nopeace.

No, this is not the way toattain the newness of life.This is patchwork, mending arent here, while a greater oneappears elsewhere. Over-coming one weakness by aconcentration of the will,only to find oneself falleninto another and perhapsgreater one. This is the errorto which Jesus refers when hesays, “No man also seweth apiece of new cloth on an oldgarment.”3 Christ means bythese words to warn usagainst patchwork; againstefforts to mend and improvethe old natural life in order toattain virtue and be justifiedbefore God.

The remedy is not to im-prove our natural life, but togive it up, to lose it, as Jesus

Continued from Page 1

4 • Exhortations

1 Romans 7:192 Romans 7:243 Mark 2:214 Luke 9:245 Romans 6:66 John 3:37 Acts 16:308 I Timothy 2:49 Matthew 7:710 Philippians 2:13-1611 Mark 10:1512 Matthew 18:3

said: “Whosoever will losehis life for my sake, the sameshall save it.”4 Paul said strik-ingly to the Romans: “Ourold man is crucified withHim, that the body of sinmight be destroyed, thathenceforth we should notserve sin.”5Now, we were notphysically crucified withChrist, but we are crucifiedwith Christ when through re-pentance our sinful nature,the sinful life, is nailed to thecross and perishes.

Thus the way is paved forthe new life, for the new birth,as Christ said to Nicodemus:“Except a man be born again,he cannot see the kingdom ofGod.”6

But what is more naturalthan Nicodemus’s question:“How can a man be bornwhen he is old?” Or the ques-tion of the prison keeper toPaul and Silas: “What must Ido to be saved?”7

The Way

In the following para-graphs we shall endeavor

to show, in words as directand simple as possible, theway by which men can attainto the new birth; realizing,however, that our best effortsin this direction are vain ifGod does not open the heartsto receive, understand, andbelieve His word.

The first essential, there-fore, is a humble attitude, areceptive mind, a willingnessto be instructed and cor-rected: in short, a willingnessto cooperate with the graceof God and not to resist Him.

We must have confidencetoward God, that He desiresour salvation, as Paul writesto Timothy, “It is the will ofGod that all men should be

saved.”8 There is nothinglacking on His part. He hasprepared the way and callsmen through the Gospel tocome to Him on this way. Heis faithful and true and keepsHis words of promise: “Ask,and it shall be given you;seek, and ye shall find; knock,and it shall be opened untoyou.”9 For He promises twothings, two specific works inthe New Covenant: namely,to enable us to choose and to

do His good pleasure.10

But our seeking of Godmust be a sincere and whole-hearted affair. God is not im-pressed by words andphrases. He sees the heart,and the sincere yearnings ofour hearts reach Him if theyare expressed only in deepsighs or in such simple wordsas, “God, be merciful to me,a sinner.” On the other hand,He is unmoved by the mosteloquent and finely phrasedprayers which scholars canform, if they are not the trueexpressions of the heart’syearnings.

If a person would attain tothe new life, he should behonest and sincere with him-self and with God, for Heknows all things and cannotbe deceived. If we lack sincer-ity we deceive only ourselves.If we approach and seek Godin sincerity and true earnest-ness and in the way pre-scribed in the Gospel, wecannot fail, for God’s way is a

“God is not

impressed

by words

and

phrases. He

sees the

heart...”

way upon which the simplecannot err, if they are sincereand obedient.

Not only is simplicity ofmind no obstacle to our find-ing God’s ways and to ourunderstanding His message,but it is in fact an essentialcondition to understandingGod’s ways. Christ says:“Verily I say unto you, Who-soever shall not receive thekingdom of God as a littlechild, he shall not entertherein.”11

Among all the obstacles wemeet in turning from thenatural to the godly life, oneof the most difficult is falsehuman wisdom and philoso-phy. Just as the human heartdesires to be justified in itsown virtue, so does it also de-sire to be guided by its ownwisdom; and both of thesedesires are serious obstaclesto God’s work.

God’s wisdom is infinitelyhigher than human wisdom,and one of the highest lessonsthat we must learn in comingto God is to completely sub-ject our own wisdom andthought to His wisdom anddoctrine. The child is recep-tive and teachable, whereasthe adult mind is full or pre-conceived notions and con-ceit which hinder the wisdomfrom above from findinglodgment in our hearts. Thatis why, as Christ said, if we areto receive the kingdom ofGod, we must do it inchildlikeness:12 that is, by be-ing teachable, receptive, andin simplicity.

When the soul has reacheda state of humility, of teach-ableness, and a realization ofits dependence upon Christfor grace and guidance, alarge forward step has beentaken toward the new birth.Often this is the most difficult

Continued on page 5

Summer, 1996

“Ye Must Be Born Again”

part of conversion, for thenatural man loves his “ownself” and is slow to give it upso that Christ might be bornin him.

In Repentance

All this time, prayer isplaying a great role in

the work of regeneration.Many of us were taught fromchildhood to pray, but as longas the soul is untouched bythe divine life, our prayersare mostly an empty form:mere words and phrases ren-dered largely through habitand a sense of duty. How fu-tile are such prayers! But achange is taking place. Thedivine light is dawning in thesoul.

The conscience is quick-ened and condemns pitilesslynot only our past transgres-sions, but such new transgres-sions as are still committed aslong as the soul has not laidhold in faith on Christ as itsSavior. Now the soul is trulyunder conviction and islashed by the accusation andcondemnation of the Law.Having not yet laid hold onfaith nor received thestrength which comes onlythrough faith in Christ, thecrucified and risen Lord whois the Victor over the powerof sin and death, the situationseems hopeless. Doubt, fear,and despair torture the soul.

Now prayer partakes of adifferent nature. It becomesa yearning, a crying, a sighingto God for help. The finephrases are forgotten. Some-times without words the soulsighs to God, and sometimes

Continued from Page 4

Summer, 1996

13 Romans 10:1314 Psalm 51:1715 Psalm 32:3-5

with such simple words as, “OLord, help me; O Lord, bemerciful to me and forgiveme my many sins, and makeme free from sin.”13

These are days of darknessand despair, but, O, howhealing are they if we allowthem to serve the purpose forwhich they are sent: namely,to lead us to truly and ear-nestly seek the Savior. Thesedays make it possible for thesoul to bring to God the oneoffering which He will not de-spise: a broken spirit and abroken and contrite heart.14

This is repentance in the

sense used in the Gospel. It isa deep feeling of remorse andregret for past sins, a struggleto become free from sin anda reaching out to God forhelp. It is born out of a reali-zation that God is holy andrighteous, and that those whowould stand in His presencemust be purified and sancti-fied in order to be acceptable.

Confession

Anew important need isnow experienced by

the soul — a need which isquite the opposite of whatthe soul previously desired.The natural man, in dark-ness, is not very much con-cerned because he hassinned, but he does fear that

“A change is

taking

place. The

divine light

is dawning

in the soul.”

he might be found out by hisfellow men. Therefore, tokeep his sins under cover ofdarkness is one of his chiefconcerns. Now that the soulis enlightened, it is torturedby the consciousness of itsguilt before its Maker andhas an actual desire, even adeep-felt need to make con-fession of its sins.

It is like the impurities ofthe body gathering into alarge painful boil. The painbecomes very severe and thesufferer longs for the timewhen the boil becomes “ripe”so that it may belch forth itspus and impurities and allowthe healing process to begin.So the soul in repentance hasan increasing desire to “openup” and pour out a confes-sion of its past sinfulness.David experienced this afterhe once forgot God and fellinto a great sin, for which heafterward repented so con-tritely. His confession of re-pentance was made openlyand written into a psalm ofinstruction and published,even printed in the Bible,where you and I may read ituntil this very day. It is re-corded in the thirty-secondPsalm, where he says, “WhenI kept silence, my boneswaxed old through my roar-ing all the day long. For dayand night thy hand was heavyupon me: my moisture isturned into the drought ofsummer. I acknowledged mysin unto thee, and mine iniq-uity have I not hid. I said, Iwill confess my transgres-sions unto the LORD; andthou forgavest the iniquity ofmy sin.”15

Apologies

When a repentant per-son becomes con-

victed in his conscience ofwrongdoing against anotherperson, it is essential to con-fess and apologize and,

where possible, make restitu-tion to that person. Some-times this is not so easy be-cause it involves personalpride. In such cases it is all themore necessary and whole-some that it be done. Notonly is it very helpful and

healing to the confessor, butit gives the very best kind oftestimony to the wrongedperson of the change whichthe grace of God is accom-plishing in the repenting per-son. There have been caseswhere a person to whom theapology is made by a repent-ing person was so struck andimpressed by the humble andpenitent attitude of the con-fessor that it caused that per-son also to turn to repen-tance, and thereby becamethe direct means of saving asoul.

But there are sins whichare against God and His lawonly and involve no otherperson. In fact, all sins areprimarily against God, andonly secondarily against ourfellow men. The truly repen-tant person will feel the needof confessing these also.While such confessions areusually made to elders andministers of the church, thatis not absolutely essential.

“The

natural

man, in

darkness, is

not very

much

concerned

because he

has sinned.”

Continued on page 6

Exhortations • 5

“Ye Must Be Born Again”

Such confession can be madeto any mature believing per-son in Christ toward whomthe confessor has a feeling ofconfidence that he or she willunderstand and sympathizeand will know how to counselthe confessor, and will keepsuch confession confidential.Of course, such a confessionis always to be made in sincer-ity and uprightness.

That confession of sins isan essential fruit of true re-pentance is evident in manyplaces of the Scriptures. Evenof John the Baptist it is writ-ten, the people “were bap-tized of him in Jordan, con-fessing their sins.”16 When

the Gospel of Jesus Christwas brought to the Ephesiansand accepted by them, wealso find that confession wasthe fruit of repentance. Weread: “And many that be-lieved came, and confessed,and shewed their deeds.”17

When unrepentant peoplecame to John the Baptist forbaptism, he refused themwith these cutting words: “Ogeneration of vipers, whohath warned you to flee from

“Bring forth

therefore

fruits meet

for

repentance.”

Continued from Page 5

6 • Exhortations

16 Matthew 3:617 Acts 19:1818 Matthew 3:7-819 James 5:1620 I John 1:921 James 5:1622 I Peter 2:923 Genesis 32:26-28

the wrath to come? Bringforth therefore fruits meetfor repentance.”18 Undoubt-edly an essential part of thefruit consistent with repen-tance which John missed inthese insincere candidatesfor baptism was a readinessand willingness to confesstheir sins as the other haddone, to whom John’s bap-tism was administered.

That confession is an es-sential part of the cleansingof the heart, not only in theoriginal cleansing during re-pentance, but also in after lifeif a Christian should againthrough unwatchfulnesscommit sin, is shown by thefollowing Scripture texts:“Confess your faults one toanother, and pray one for an-other, that ye may behealed.”19 “If we confess oursins, he is faithful and just toforgive us our sins, and tocleanse us from all un-righteousness.”20

Experience

Not only is the confes-sion of sins as an es-

sential part of the cleansingof the heart in repentancethoroughly established in thedoctrines of the Holy Scrip-tures, but the experience ofthose in our days who haveattained regenerationthrough repentance and faithconfirms the absolute need ofconfession as a means of un-burdening the heart and ofobtaining the strength to re-sist and throw off the powerof sin.

To the soul in repentancewho is not yet ready and will-ing to make confession of itssins we can only say: “Thefruits of repentance are yetincomplete. Press forwarduntil you have grace to pour

out all filth (be it much orlittle) of the old life.” It is nodisgrace for a repentant per-son to confess sins, but anhonor. It marks definitely theend of the old life of unclean-ness and the beginning of thenew life in Christ in right-eousness and purity.

However, the doctrine of

confession as herein ex-pounded must not be con-fused with the Roman Catho-lic confessional, where thebeliever, supposedly stand-ing in grace, is permitted tocome from time to time toconfess his sinfulness to apriest who is supposed tohave authority to forgive thesins of those who accept thepenance he prescribes, whichoften consists at least in partof the payment of money, os-tensibly at least, for a goodcause.

Nowhere in the Scripturedo we find a commandmentto confess sins to a priest, orany officer of the church; butthe Scripture says, “Confessyour faults one to another.”21

For all true believers, unitedin the Church which is thebody of Christ, are a part ofthe “royal priesthood”,22 andthey being in union and com-munion with Christ can inter-cede for each other withChrist and with the Father.

“... The

power of sin

over us

must be

broken. The

love of vain

things must

perish out of

the heart.”

Wrestling with God

In this state of repentancethe soul must wrestle

with God and Christ inprayer as did Jacob, whowrestled with an angel ofGod all through the nightseeking a blessing. The angelsaid to him, “Let me go, forthe day breaketh.” Jacob re-plied, “I will not let thee go,except thou bless me.” Jacobprevailed and received ablessing and a new name:“Thy name shall be called nomore Jacob, but Israel: for asa prince hast thou power withGod and with men, and hastprevailed.”23 So may the re-penting soul say to the Lord,“I will not give up. Thou hastpromised to help me and for-give me. I hold Thee to Thypromise.”

It is not hardness nor un-willingness to forgive sinsthat causes God to allow thesoul thus to suffer and strug-gle in the “slough of de-spond”. This experience isnecessary to bring about cer-tain changes in the heart.Willfulness and stubbornnessmust give place to obedienceto Christ; pride and arro-gance must be displaced byhumility and meekness; anddoubt and unbelief mustyield to faith. The will anddetermination to serve Godonly must become over-whelming. Those in repen-tance, who ask God’s forgive-ness, must learn to forgivewhere others have offendedthem.

The love of things sinfulmust be changed into a loath-ing of them, and the power ofsin over us must be broken.The love of vain things mustperish out of the heart. Theseare fundamental changeswhich are the real essence ofconversion — of being bornagain.

Continued on page 7

Summer, 1996

“Ye Must Be Born Again”

Superficial evangelistsoften speak lightly of “ac-cepting Christ as our Savior”.That, of course, is necessary;but our marriage to Christthe heavenly Bridegroom,

like all marriages, must be amutual affair. It is not only aquestion of whether we ac-cept Him, but much more ofwhether He accepts us. Hewill accept us. He is bound byHis Word and His promisesto accept us when we meetHis conditions and come withthe true fruits of repentanceasking to be forgiven by Himand to be accepted of Him. Itis while the fruits of repen-tance are being developedand ripened that this strugglemust go on. The length andfierceness of the struggledoes not depend nearly somuch upon the degree of oursinfulness (for the sacrifice ofJesus Christ upon the cross issufficient to atone for all sins,though they be as scarlet), asupon the stubbornness of ourwill and the tenacity with

Continued from Page 6

“It is not

only a

question of

whether we

accept Him,

but much

more of

whether He

accepts us.”

Summer, 1996

24 II Corinthians 5:1725 Romans 6:426 John 16:1327 John 14:2628 Hebrews 6:1-2

which we cling to our old life.

Repentance, then, is notmerely remorse for pastwrongdoing, but a strugglewithin ourselves; a strugglebetween the forces of goodand evil; a struggle in whichour will plays an important,but not the decisive, part.Our own will unsupportedcould never overcome theevil in our nature, not only forlack of strength, but becauseit, itself, is not perfectly pure.

As the struggle goes on, thesoul becomes more con-scious of its need, of its com-plete dependence upon thegrace of God: in short, of itslost condition without Christ.It wrestles with God, plead-ing to be forgiven, pleadingfor strength and victory,pleading for peace, and vow-ing over and over to God toobey and serve Him untodeath, if He will only help andreceive us.

The soul becomes moreand more ready and willing toyield itself to Christ and tobelieve and accept God’s wayof salvation; to believe in Je-sus Christ as the Son of Godand to believe in His atone-ment for sin through Hisdeath upon the cross and inthe shedding of His blood asa blameless, perfect Lamb ofGod, for the atonement andthe forgiveness of the sins ofall men who believe and ac-cept His salvation.

Accepted by theSavior

But the climax comes,not when we accept

Him, but when He accepts us.When He sees the fruit ofrepentance ripened, theheart purified, the will sub-dued into obedience to Him,

then He changes our hopeand belief that He can andwill forgive our sins and ac-cept us into a conviction, intoan assurance that He has ac-cepted and forgiven us. Thusthe struggle ends. Peace andjoy fill the heart. An all-con-suming love fills and over-whelms the soul. This loveknows no bounds. It em-braces all men — friend andfoe — and burns with a desireto tell all men of the life-giv-ing, soul-saving, healing, andliberating power of God inJesus Christ.

That soul is converted!

Baptism

The man of sin has per-ished in the heart, has

been nailed to the cross withChrist: “Old things arepassed away; behold, allthings are become new.”24

The man of sin, the Adamnature, being now slain, cru-cified with Christ — that soulmay now be baptized into thedeath of Jesus Christ andarise with Him to “walk in

newness of life.”25

Thus baptism is not themeans of obtaining forgive-ness of sins, but is the enseal-ing of an established fact, ofa conversion that has gonebefore. By immersion intowater, the burial of the Adamnature is symbolized; by aris-ing our of the water the res-urrection to a new life of god-liness and holiness is symbol-ized. The bath in water sym-bolizes the cleansing of theheart; which cleansing, how-ever, is not done with water,but by the atonement in the

“Thus the

struggle

ends.”

blood of Christ.

The Holy Spirit

Now the heart, beingcleansed, is prepared

to receive the Holy Ghost asa permanent tenant. He shallbe, and is needed as a Com-forter, as a Guide throughlife, to guide us into alltruth.26 Jesus said, “He shallteach you all things, andbring all things to your re-membrance, whatsoever Ihave said unto you.”27

The anointing of the HolyGhost is an essential part,without which no convertedsoul is fully furnished andequipped for the journey andbattle of life. A solemn rite isordained in the Word of Godwhich, when accepted in obe-dience and faith, and afterproper preparation, becomesthe means by which this pre-cious gift is received: namely,by the laying on of hands,with prayer, after immersion.

The writer of the Epistle tothe Hebrews includes thisrite, along with repentanceand baptism, as among theprinciples of the doctrine ofChrist, when he says, “There-fore leaving the principles ofthe doctrine of Christ, let usgo on unto perfection; notlaying again the foundationof repentance from deadworks, and of faith towardGod, Of the doctrine of bap-tisms, and of laying on ofhands, and of resurrection ofthe dead, and of eternal judg-ment.”28

Also we find that the Apos-tles Peter and John, whenthey went to Samaria, havingheard that Samaria had re-ceived the Word of Godthrough the preaching ofPhilip, practiced the layingon of hands for the giving ofthe Holy Ghost upon those

Continued on page 8

Exhortations • 7

“Ye Must Be Born Again”

who believed and were bap-tized. We read: “Then laidthey their hands on them, andthey received the HolyGhost.”29

While this rite is ignored orneglected by most denomina-tions of nominal Christianity,it is well established in theHoly Scripture and should begladly embraced by all truebelievers who desire to ac-cept the whole counsel ofGod.

What a Blessing

What a wonderful ex-perience to be led

out of darkness into light! Tobe led by God’s goodness intorepentance; in repentance tobe led to faith in the Son ofGod; by Him to be freed fromthe power of sin; by Him tobe washed and cleansed ofour sins that are past, to re-ceive forgiveness of sins andpeace with God; to beclothed with the white gar-ment of justification throughJesus Christ; to receive bap-tism in the name of the Fa-ther, the Son, and the HolySpirit; by the laying on ofhands to receive the gift ofthe Holy Spirit; to have thelove of God richly poured outinto our hearts!

What aResponsibility!

What an experience!What a blessing!

Also what a responsibility!

Henceforth we are nomore our own, but are be-

Continued from Page 7

8 • Exhortations

29 Acts 8:1730 Galatians 5:2231 II Peter 1:1132 Hebrews 6:4-533 Hebrews 6:9

trothed as the bride of theLamb to Jesus Christ, theLamb of God, the heavenlyBridegroom.

Henceforth we may nomore live unto ourselves, butunto Him who lived and diedfor us.

Blessed are we if we con-tinue in this faith and in thislove all our days, being faith-ful unto death, bearing fruitof the Spirit,30 serving Godand our fellow men in love,keeping the commandmentsof Christ, growing rich ingood works done in the Lord.“For so an entrance shall beministered unto you abun-dantly into the everlastingkingdom of our Lord andSaviour Jesus Christ.”31

But woe unto us if, afterbeing saved and havingvowed to serve God and tokeep the commandments ofChrist, we fail to do so; if wecontent ourselves, merely be-cause we no longer live in sin,and neglect to labor inChrist’s vineyard and harvestfield; if after having said, “Igo, Sir,” when the Lord calledus to labor for Him, we ne-glect to go and neglect to la-bor.

Woe unto us and doubledeath if, after we have been“Once enlightened, and havetasted of the heavenly gift,and were made partakers ofthe Holy Ghost, And havetasted the good word of God,and the powers of the worldto come, If [we] shall fallaway, and... crucify... the Sonof God afresh, and put him toan open shame.”32 There isno second regeneration forsuch. “But, beloved, we arepersuaded better things ofyou, and things that accom-pany salvation, though wethus speak.”33+

An Unjust JudgeAn account of an occurrence that

took place in Europe some years ago

This is a reprint of an article which appeared in TheVisitor, July, 1930, pp 151-152. The Visitor is a formernewsletter of the Apostolic Christian Publishing Com-pany. The author of this article is unknown.

The magistrate of a certain town was angered by thefact that nearly every time the elder, Brother _____, camethere the church membership of the believers was in-creased. He, therefore, determined to employ a drasticmeasure to stop that. He notified Brother _____ that if hecame there again, the magistrate would have himousted by sending him home in the charge of twogendarmes. (Note: gendarmes are a sort of militarypolice. Only people who have committed serious crimeswere thus publicly forced to march under their escortfrom one town to another.)

When there was need at the aforementioned town,Brother _____ was again called. The magistrate thenwrote a long letter and gave it to two gendarmes. Theycame to Brother _____ and he was compelled to go withthem on foot to his home town.

This brother, however, was a well-to-do miller there,and as the two gendarmes arrived there with him in theircharge, a stir was caused among the people. As themagistrate of that town saw Brother _____, he ex-claimed, “Why, Mr. _____, what has happened to you?”

The two gendarmes wanted to deliver both the letterand their prisoner to the magistrate, but he said: “Justtake the letter back and ask the judge to let this man gohis way in peace.”

Then Brother _____ asked the magistrate that the twogendarmes who had been compelled to walk such along distance with him be permitted to come to his homeand rest a little.

When the brother reached home he asked his wife toserve them some refreshments. After that Brother _____took the Bible and read a selection from it and ex-pounded the way of the truth and salvation to them.

Having seen this, one of the two gendarmes startedto weep. He arose and took his gun to the magistratewho had sent him, and he resigned his position asgendarme. In two weeks he could be baptized.

Two weeks after the first had resigned, the secondtook his weapon and also went to the magistrate andresigned. Two months later he too could be received intothe congregation of God’s children. +

Summer, 1996

Music: Its Nature and Its Effects

“

n

u

s

f

So What’s theBig Deal?

“So what’s the big deal? Ilike the music I listen to. I don’ttell you what you can listen to,so what gives you the right totell me? Just listen to the words,that’s the important part. Youwere raised in a different cul-ture, at a different time, andthat’s the only reason why youdon’t like today’s sound. Any-way, I don’t care. When I’m bymyself or with my friends, I’lllisten to what I like. It’s notgoing to hurt anyone — be-sides, it really blesses me.”

Contemporary Christianmusic is a subjectthat often is hotlydebated withinour families,congregations,and our brother-hood. It is notcontroversial be-cause people areunsure of theirfeelings. Indeed,many have their minds“made up” regarding thesubject. There are those whooppose popular contempo-rary Christian music and oth-ers who are equally per-suaded that it is perfectly ac-ceptable. At the heart of thecontroversy is this main ques-tion that must be answered:

Is Music Neutral?

Music is a combination oftones, rhythm and meter thatproduces a unique composi-tion of sound. The arrange-

Mark Igic

Brother Mark Igic is a min-ister in the San Diego, Califor-nia, congregation. This articleis a well-reasoned analysis ofsome of the pertinent issuessurrounding the topic of musicas it relates to the Church.

co

beca

un

Summer, 1996

ment of these componentswill determine the final prod-uct. I believe that our Lord,who has created sound, hasalso given us the basic “toolsand material” with whichgifted people can arrange aunique musical composition.Often lyrics are added ena-bling composers to commu-nicate more clearly withthose who listen to their mu-sic. There is an endless vari-ety of beautiful melodies andharmonies that are possible.

Can these basic buildingblocks of music be arrangedin such a way as to producesomething that is inherentlyright or wrong? We under-stand that the lyrics of songscan be either good or bad,however we must think aboutthe musical sound. Are allmusical forms neutral and us-able for either good or badpurposes (depending on thewords), or can the music itself

be either good or bad?

If music can be either goodor bad, then we as the follow-ers of Jesus Christ must knowwhich music is acceptablewith God. If, however, musicis neutral and our prefer-ences are decided entirely byour upbringing, culture, andenvironment, then we mustconcede that all types of mu-sic can be legitimately used topraise the Lord. This wouldinclude such contemporarymusical forms as rap, reggae,jazz, soft rock, heavy metal,

It is not

troversial

se people are

ure of their

eelings.”

punk rock, country, urban,and others. If you look at themusic section of the averageBible book store, you willknow that this is certainly be-lieved by many musicianswho profess Christ.

Research

Understanding the ques-tion at hand, let us look at theefforts of some who havecarefully studied music andits effect.

+ Dorthy Retallack con-ducted an experiment atTemple Buell Collegewith plants and music.Under controlled condi-tions, one set of plantswas exposed to rock mu-sic and a second set toclassical music. The re-sults were most interest-ing. The plants exposedto rock & roll actuallygrew away from thesound source and diedwhile the plants exposedto the classical musicgrew toward the sourceand flourished. Mrs.Retallack remarked, “Ifrock music has an ad-verse effect on plants, isthe rock music listenedto so long and so often bythe younger generationpartly responsible fortheir erratic, chaotic be-havior?”

+ Dr. Howard Hansenspeaks about music, asquoted in the AmericanJournal of Psychiatry: “Itis made up of many in-gredients and, accordingto the proportions ofthese components, it canbe soothing or invigorat-ing, ennobling or vulgar-izing, philosophical ororgiastic. It has the pow-ers for evil as well as for

good.”

+ Dimitri Tiomkin a com-poser and conductor, inspeaking about rock mu-sic: “The beat is aimed atexciting the listener.”

+ Dr. Masterson, head ofthe adolescent outpa-tient clinic at the Payne-Whitney PsychiatricClinic stated: “The beathas genuine sexual impli-cations.”

+ Dr. David Noebel notesthat our physical being isessentially rhythmic.Our respiration, heart-beat, pulse, speech, gaitall have a naturalrhythm. He writes: “Nowfor a man to maintain asense of emotional andspiritual well-being, it isessential that he not besubjected too much toany rhythms not in ac-cord with his naturalbody rhythms, and thatthe music combinerhythm with melody andharmony.”

+ Dr. John Diamond hasdiscovered in his studiesthat a particular beatused in rock music is theexact opposite of ourheartbeat. Exposure tothe beat, he writes,“Heightens stress andanger, reduces output,increases hyperactivity.”

A Form ofExpression

Besides this telling re-search, there is another im-portant angle for our consid-eration. Music is art, a formof expression. As the artistwill paint his perception ontoa canvas, and the poet pens

Continued on page 10

Exhortations • 9

Music: Its Nature and ItsEffects

i

i

p

f

a

the thoughts of his soul, soalso a composer’s music willmirror his philosophy. Popu-lar artistic expressions havealways been a reflection ofthe society they come from.

The Western World, as weknow it, has historically re-flected a faith in the CreatorGod in its culture and socie-ties. This fundamental aspectof Western Civiliza-tion and Thought hasbeen under a sus-tained attack. The phi-losophy of Humanism,(which deifies manand excludes God) hasswept from Europe toand through the Westand the results have beendevastating: abortion, eutha-nasia, adultery, divorce, thedemise of the traditionalfamily, the glamorization ofhomosexuality and other de-viant behavior, the teachingof evolution in the classroomas scientific fact, the anti-Christian bias in the mediaand in Hollywood, etc. Theseare all inevitable conse-quences of the Humanisticphilosophy. As foretold inII Timothy 3, these are theperilous times that shallcome in the last days.

Dr. Henry Morris in hisbook, The Troubled Waters ofEvolution, expresses this inclear terms: “One need onlyexplore modern literature,listen to modern music,watch modern drama, or viewmodern art to becomequickly convinced that theyare all pervaded by a spirit ofamoralism and atheism thatcan only be grounded in thebelief that science has provedman is an animal and God isdead.”

Again to quote Dr. Noebel

Continued from Page 9

“T

sp

f

S

10 • Exhortations

in his article, ChristianRock — A Stratagem ofMephistopheles, “The Hu-manist declared war onGod... and their literature,art and music are weapons ofthis warfare. The nihilismand anarchism of men whono longer believe in Godautomatically results in artwith certain characteristics...The philosophers and think-ers spoke... the artists

painted their philosophicalconcepts... men of letterspropagated their philoso-phy... and musicians put it allto sound.”

Indeed this philosophy isbound up in the roots of rock& roll and its many step-chil-dren.

Listen to the words of H. R.Rookmaaker in his book,Modern Art and the Death ofa Culture: “A new musicemerged, again completelynon-intellectual, with athumping rhythm and shout-ing voices, each line and eachbeat full of the angry insult toall western values... their pro-test is in the music itself aswell as in the words, for any-one who thinks that this is allcheap and no more than en-tertainment has never usedhis ears.”

Discernment

The above documentationshowing that rock music (andthe many related styles suchas punk, acid, and rap) is det-

o discern the

rits, we must

rst have the

irit of God.”

rimental to the well-being ofthe individual and society isbeyond refutation. However,for the true Christian, thereis yet a more important con-sideration: that of the HolyScriptures.

God’s Word has alwayswarned His children to beseparate from the sinful in-fluences in this world and tobe on guard against the de-ceptions of the enemy. To dis-cern the spirits, we first musthave the Spirit of God. To thisend, the Spirit and Word ofGod teach us to discern byexamining the fruits (Mat-thew 7:15-21).

Though Scripture prohib-its us from imitating the prac-tices of the ungodly, manycontemporary Christian mu-sicians imitate the musicalperformances and even thepromotional strategies oftheir secular counterparts.Their popularity (and suc-cess) in many cases is directlylinked to their ability to en-tertain. A great following isformed as T-shirts and otherfan club items (with their

name and logo) are soldalongside the cassettes, CDsand videos. The modern dayrock concert is duplicated inthe name of the Lord, andso-called “Christian” per-formers/entertainers receivethunderous applause while aGod whose name is Jealouslooks on. All this is part andparcel of the proud and re-bellious spirit found amongso many secular musicians.How foreign this is whencompared to the meek andsubmissive spirit of the childof God!

“Let us be care

to confuse ple

and blessin

Loss of Neutrality

Is Music Neutral? Defi-nitely not! If you have everobserved a live rock concert,you have seen the frenzy, andchaos in the audience. Oftenit is complete pandemonium.Would this be duplicated ifthe musicians merely went onstage and read the lyrics totheir songs without playing anote of music? Obviouslynot. Music can be very pow-erful. It should be obviousthat music is not neutral.

It is true that the musicalsounds in and of themselvesare neutral, but when theyare arranged together theylose their neutrality. This isillustrated for us by thinkingof the letters of the alphabet.By themselves they areamoral, but combined in cer-tain ways they can formwords of blessing or cursing,and thus lose their neutrality.Lines drawn by an artist areof themselves neutral. Ifhowever, they are used tocreate pornography they losetheir neutrality. Why should

we think dif-ferently ofmusic?

This is soclear that onemust resort tothe philoso-phy of Hu-

manism to claim that all mu-sical forms are neutral andtherefore any can be used topraise the Lord. This is thephilosophy that states thereare no absolute truths, no ab-solute right or wrong; rather,it is dependent upon our en-vironment, circumstances,and personal beliefs.

ScripturalReasoning

It has been said that the

ul not

sure

g.”

Continued on page 11

Summer, 1996

Music: Its Nature and ItsEffects

Wherewithal Shalla Young ManCleanse His Way?

“

o

e

n

t

i

Bible does not specificallyforbid us from using musicalforms such as rock (neitherdoes it specifically forbid usfrom using cocaine). Thisreasoning is only for thosewho have not the Holy Spiritto teach them the meaningand application of God’sWord.

Many have also said thatthey receive a blessing fromlistening to “Christian” rock.Let us be careful not to con-fuse pleasure and blessing. Itis God who must be pleased.If something pleases us butdispleases God, it is not ablessing to us regardless ofhow much pleasure we re-ceive from it.

When we are told thatmany younger people can bereached with the gospel mes-sage via a musical form thatthey can relate to, we mustremember the example of theApostolic Church. The apos-tles were sent preaching inthe power of the Spirit. True,the Apostle Paul became aRoman to win the Romans,and a Jew to win the Jews; buthe did not become a drunk-ard to win the drunks, or usefoul language to communi-cate with those deep in sin.We are called to beware ofwolves disguised as sheep,not to disguise our sheep aswolves.

Satan’s Devices

I believe that the aggres-sive spirit in which thesetypes of music are often per-formed produces rebellion inthe willing listeners. Aggres-sion breeds aggression. Iwonder if my peers in thechurch have noticed howsome believers who justified

Continued from Page 10

Summer, 1996

listening to the “heavier”type of contemporary Chris-tian music are now listeningto secular rock as well.Should this be any surprise?We are told to listen to thewords and not to worry aboutthe music; so is the switch tosecular music (which is in-creasingly common) beingmade because of the words?Can we deny the clear con-nection?

I believe that music is avery powerful tool that Satanand his horde are using tocorrupt the hearts and mindsof God’s people. This is veryevident when we consider theHumanistic philosophy thatis required to validate musicthat is carnal. As brethren ofthe Apostolic ChristianChurch (Nazarean), it is es-sential that we be not igno-rant of Satan’s devices thatare employed to compromiseour spirituality and divideour fellowship.

Our Rich Heritage

Music has been an impor-tant part of our rich heritage.Through it we have theblessed opportunity of wor-shipping together as achurch. Certainly there ismuch beautiful music withwhich we can worship theLord and edify one another.Of course we cannot expectthat each one of us will haveidentical tastes and prefer-ences for music. In the samemanner that our God has de-signed much variety withinthe fixed laws and order ofHis Creation, so also there isa wide variety of music that istruly pleasing to God andgood for us. Toleration mustbe used, but so must discern-ment. +

Philip N. Braun

The following excerpt is transcribed from a sermon preached bythe late Elder Brother Philip N. Braun of Syracuse, New York, onApril 19, 1976. It was through the blessing of God, and theforesight and vision of this dear departed brother, that the ApostolicChristian Publishing Company was founded in the 1920’s. TheBible text for this message was Psalm 119:1-24.

I can recall when I was ayoung man, unconverted andstill in repentance, that a verydear brother from Switzer-land who had visited here, onhis return home wrote me aletter which I prized veryhighly. It was Brother Theo-phil Hinnen, who haslong since gone to hisreward. And in thisletter he opened by averse which is quotedhere in this Psalm:“Wherewithal shall ayoung man cleansehis way? by takingheed thereto accord-ing to thy word.” Ayoung man or a youngwoman: it is the samein the eyes of theLord; the Apostle says inChrist there is neither mannor woman — they all aresons and daughters of theAll-Highest after they havebecome raised to a new crea-ture through the death andresurrection of the Son ofGod and faith in this work ofsalvation.

“Wherewithal shall ayoung man cleanse his way?”It is a period of time when ayoung man even knows thathis way needs cleansing: thatis, a point of time in which hebecomes aware of some-thing. Up to that time he hasnot yet come under that ofwhich the psalmist herewrites and says: “Blessed arethey that keep his testimo-

bec

th

the

nies, and that seek him withthe whole heart.” The testi-monies of the Lord have notyet become known to him insuch a way that they judgehim and condemn him. Thatis an important time in thelife of a young person.

Up to that time they are ina time where evil is not im-puted to them because theydo not know what is good orwhat is evil, and the Apostletells us that the strength of sinis the law. When we becomeaware of the will of God, thenwe are past this stage in whichwe are living in the innocenceof our life before we come toan age of accountability. Ac-countability, and the law en-tering into our life, are thesame thing. If we do not knowthe law, we cannot break it,because we do not know itand it is not imputed to us.

But once we do become

When we

me aware of

will of God,

we are past

his stage of

nnocence”

Continued on page 12

Exhortations • 11

Wherewithal Shall a YoungMan Cleanse His Way?

m

s

o

n

in

u

s

m

a

aware of the will of God, andthat we cannot accomplish itby ourselves, then we haveentered into thestage after the stageof innocence: thefirst stage of ourlife. In those earlyyears the Lord has aspecial care andprotection for chil-dren and those whohave not yet grownup into the knowledge of thewill of God. It was said ofeven Jesus Himself that Heshall send His angels to takecharge of Him that His footbe not dashed against thestone. There is a special angelfor each and every child thatprotects them and keepsthem, so that they do notcome into a loss of their soul’ssalvation. This time graduallycomes to a close, and wecome to know that there is aGod in heaven, and that Hehas a law for us which is ablessing if we can keep it, andwhich also is a curse for us ifwe do not keep it.

So at this point this veryword of which the psalmistspeaks — “Wherewithalshall a young man cleanse hisway?” — that is the time.From then on, he has a wres-tling with his conscience. Isthis right? Am I doing right?I like to do this, but is it right?On the other hand, he is nowin a state where he has anaccountability because heknows the will of God, andthe psalmist here says, howcan he cleanse his way? Itsays here, “By taking heedthereto according to thyword”: taking heed to hisway, his doings and his omis-sions, according to the Wordof God. Now here is where

Continued from Page 11

“Fro

ha

c

12 • Exhortations

the creative work of the Lordenters into the life of a hu-man being. As soon as the lawchallenges him, and as thelaw convicts him of wrong-

doing and of sin, then he caneither enjoy a state of disobe-dience and love of sin, he caneither go on in this way, or hecan seek to love the ways ofthe Lord. And when hechooses this way — to seek tolove the ways of the Lord —then he has before him aclear path outlined in theWord of God, as it says here,“By taking heed thereto ac-cording to thy word.”

And what does this wordsay? This word tells theyoung man or the youngwoman that it is time to takeheed to your ways and see ifyou are in the will of God orif you are careless about it: orif you would rather forget itand hide from God in someway. Our first parents hid

from God, and that is thenatural thing for every youngman or young woman to do.

Then the Lord does not letsuch a young man or a young

then on, he

a wrestling

with his

nscience.”

“Our first pare

from God, and

the natural th

every young m

young woman

woman drift in this way, butHe keeps telling him in theassemblies of the children ofGod, in his own conscienceespecially, that this is wrong,and this is right. And whenthis comes up in the humanheart, then it is a choice. Along time it takes sometimesuntil the choice is made. Andwhen the choice is oncemade, that is the very begin-ning of a life in God. That isthe very beginning of how ayoung man can cleanse hisway before the Lord: when hemakes the choice that hewants to love the Lord. Hedelights in the law of theLord.

But, alas, he finds that eventhough he likes it and de-lights in it, yet there is an in-herited thing in hishuman body whichmakes it impossiblefor him to carry outthe will of God andthe delights which hehas in his heart. Andso he is now wretched,much more wretchedthan when he was ayouth, and when hedid not know anything aboutthe law. The law was good!The law told him what wasright and what was wrong,and yet, unless he can liveaccording to the will of God,he is much more wretchedthan he was before. And this

is the state ofwretchednessin which Godwants everyhuman beingto come ere hereveals to himHis Son, Je-sus.

The Apos-tle Paul said,

“And when it pleased God toreveal His Son in my heart,then I consulted not withflesh and blood, but I wentand did what was required.”But this revelation does not

ts hid

that is

g for

an or

to do.”

“B

to

hi

th

come by the will of man or byour own efforts (although wemust have a love for the willof God), but God tests us tosee if we love him enough, sothat we want to go on and getaway from this state in whichthe good things that wewanted to do we could not do,and the evil things we did notwant to do we had to do.Every believer has gonethrough that stage. It is a nec-essary stage in order to realizethe longsuffering and thegoodness of God.

And then, He opens oureyes. It says here, “Open thoumine eyes, that I may beholdwondrous things out of thylaw.” That is a part of thestate of conversion in which aman finds that he is delight-

ing in the ways of the Lordand loves the way of theLord; but, alas, he is still ahuman being, and he is still inneed of the heavenly hand,reached down from heaven,to help him so that he can dothe will of God. And that isthe place where the Lordworks: just like when a per-son is born, there is a certainstage in which this gestationmust take place in his heart.Finally he comes to a pointwhere he’s entirely worn outand tired and through witheverything that is opposed tothe will and the love of God.

And in this state, he canreceive peace: that is, “thepeace of God that passeth allunderstanding.” “Where-

t God tests us

ee if we love

enough, so

t we want to

go on...”

Continued on page 13

Summer, 1996

Wherewithal Shall a YoungMan Cleanse His Way?

H

s

n

m

.

withal shall a young mancleanse his way?” When hecomes to know that he has tocleanse his way, by takingheed thereto, looking overhis life, according tothe Word of God.

Now, the Lorddoes not wish a per-son to stay in thisstate indefinitely,but it is a state inwhich I have had topass through, andevery believer hashad to pass through, so thathe can adore the Lord andcall upon him as the one whocan do what I couldn’t do. Hegives His blessing when wehonor His Word and believe,first of all, that we arewretched out of our own na-ture. If we don’t have Christwe are the most wretched ofpeople, but with Christ weare the most blessed of peo-ple. And in this way, if theLord will open our eyes sothat we can behold the won-drous work of salvationwhich He has wrought uponthe earth so that men can getout of this wretched state andturn their back to the worldand to sin and crucify allthose things within, so thatthis love of sin is entirelydead, then the Lord will pass

Continued from Page 12

“

bles

ho

an

B

Summer, 1996

from there to a blessedpeace. The law no longer willcondemn such a one, eventhough he has passed fromthe stage of innocence into astage where he is under thelaw, after this struggle is over:

he has peace with God, andhas no more condemnation.And when that time comes,then he is ready to make hisbaptismal vows to his heav-enly Father through JesusChrist in holy baptism.

I believe that is what theLord wishes to tell us in thisafternoon hour about thewondrous things: “Openthou mine eyes, that I maybehold wondrous things outof thy law.” “The law of theLORD is perfect, convertingthe soul.” The law is kept inone thing: in the old covenantit was necessary that there bea table of commandments —first on one side, then on theother — and many minorcommandments. But there isone law that must be in the

e gives His

ing when we

or His Word

d believe...”

lossoming Youth, thou our hopHear now the voice that is caFollow the hand,That oft thy welfare hath planPointing to Christ and salvati

heart of every child of God,and that one law is that welove the Lord.

If we love Him, then Hewill take us by the hand. Andwe love Him, because He isthe greatest; He is the mostbeautiful; He is the loveliestof all that we have ever be-held or will behold. And it isthis admiration and love forGod which leads a soul sothat he does not need anymore these laws. Nothingcondemns him anymore, be-cause he loves God. And hedoes what God wants be-cause he loves Him. And thatis the difference between theOld Testament and the NewTestament: that in this lovehe is like a child to his father.

He is like Adam was beforethe Fall, that he walked andtalked, and there was lovethere. And the fervor of thislove is when we receive for-giveness for the things thatthe Lord shows us that wemust cleanse our way from.When He shows us this, andwe see that the Lord has away to wipe out these thingsand make us perfect before

“Nothing

condemns hi

anymore, beca

he loves God

e and our fond expectation,lling in sweet invitation!

ned,on!

— Zion’s Harp

Him, oh, then there is peace;and the fervor and the love ofGod wells up in our heart,and we can do something. Wehave then the strength in ourmembers to go forward in thebattle of life, and we receiveafter this peace the mostwondrous way: namely, thatwe are able then to make acovenant of a good con-science with our Savior andour Heavenly Father.

In this, I believe, the Lordwould have us: our youngpeople, and even those whoare yet young in the ways offaith, although old in years(both can happen), but espe-cially those in our midst whoare young, the tender blos-som of youth. “Wherewithal

shall a young mancleanse his way? bytaking heed theretoaccording to thyword.” May theLord bless thesesimple words. It isnot a matter ofgreat wisdom ofman, but it is a mat-ter of taking heed to

the Word of God, and look-ing at ourselves, and beingdrawn by the love of God toa respect and a reverence anda love to follow Him. He willgive the success then: an ex-perience that everyone mustmake who ever comes to Je-sus and receives the peace ofGod in his heart that is greaterand purer than anything elsein the world. +

use

”

, Hymn 168

Exhortations • 13

Though trouble assail, and danger affright,Though friends should all fail, and foes all unite,Yet one thing secures us, whatever betide;The promise assures us: ”The Lord will provide.”

Though often a storm our hearts may oppress,Though trouble alarm and Satan distress,Though “What shall befall us?” we often have sighed,Yet naught shall appall us: “The Lord will provide.”

No strength of our own, nor virtue we claim;Our trust is alone upon the Lord’s name.In this, our strong tower, for safety we hide;Therein lies our power: “The Lord will provide.”

— Zion’s Harp, Hymn 86

The Life ofSamuel Heinrich Fröhlich

Part 3

many awakened ones behind. Here Fröhlich remained severalweeks, during which time he held meetings and strengthenedthe knowledge of the baptism of faith and deepened it. InHauptwil (Thurgau), where he had never been, he learned toknow the Brunschwiler family, who sought the divine truth andwere deeply touched by his word and teaching concerning thebaptism of faith. A daughter of this family, Susette, he chose in1836 as his life’s partner.

London

In Hauptwil, Fröhlich received an invitation from theContinental Society of London for a visit of threemonths. First he concluded his visitations in the area and

then returned to his home. At the end of January, 1833, Fröh-lich went to London where he stayed almost five months. Thejourney led him down the Rhine, over to Antwerp, via Paris. Inthe archives of the “Strict Baptist Church”, which upheld thebaptism of faith, there are records of his stay. Fröhlich felt verylonely in London. He felt like Elijah on Mt. Horeb, and wrote:“Behold, what doest thou here in England? I do not rightlyknow why I came here, and yet I was called hither, and by thewill and guidance of the Lord. I have been zealous for the Lord,and I am here now, and wait as to what I am to do.”

As much as Fröhlich treasured it to have support ($100 peryear), he saw that it was bound up with difficulties. The Conti-nental Society was now suffering from financial cares, so thatit was not in a position to support him nor to pay Bost’s salaryin Geneva. On its advice, he returned to the continent to work“where the Gospel is not known or preached, and where onemay find tolerance and entry.” The recommendation that thezealous missionary might work in Strasbourg (as only in Francewas the freedom of preaching the Gospel permitted) was notpossible, likely for political reasons. Fröhlich returned toBrugg.

Return

Boldly, Fröhlich once more took up his work in hisnative city after his London visit, in mid-year 1833.During his absence two brothers from Württemberg

had directed the congregations in Aargau. One of these hadbeen arrested at a meeting, the other during a visitation of thesick, and were held for weeks in the Lenzburg prison. InSeptember, 1833, both were brought to the border. Their per-sonal property was sold at public auction to defray the costs.

A Bern brother was banned from Canton Aargau and movedto Toggenburg, from where he sent an urgent call to Fröhlichwhen several souls requested baptism. “Bitter experiences have

Continued from Page 3

14 • Exhortations

taught me not to be too hasty in this matter,” he wrote in hisdiary in September, 1833, “for some whom we have baptizedhave apostatized when Satan began to rage. Everyone whopermits himself to be baptized must be ready, not only toreceive the blessings of the Cross of Christ, but also to take upthe Cross of Christ.”

Storms

In the beginning of October, 1833, a message came fromthe English Continental Society stating that for lack offunds it had to be dissolved. Fröhlich did not allow

himself to be discouraged for that reason. Bravely he startedon a journey through Aargau to Suhr, Rapperswil, Hun-zenschwil, Schafisheim, Aesch, and Teufental. He held meet-ings everywhere, despite the persecutions that followed hisevery step. “As long as I kept silent I was left alone; as soon asI began to testify of Christ I was persecuted.” For the first timethree elders were ordained to serve the churches of Aargau.

In Hauptwil (Thurgau) also, where Fröhlich continued thework which had been begun, the Word found response. Themeetings were attended by 200 persons, and by the beginningof the year 1834, the number of baptisms had risen to 60. Thisdevelopment was bound to bring the opponents to the fore.There were publish warnings from the pulpits, also threats. Thenewspapers decried the enthusiasts and sectarians. Participantsat the meetings were manhandled to the shedding of blood withstones and sticks. Twelve state church pastors demanded theremoval of Fröhlich from Hauptwil. At the end of February, amob of several hundred people destroyed a house, the occu-pants of which barely saved their lives.

Now the storm broke loose ubiquitously. All the newspaperscarried reports so that Fröhlich became known and was reviledthroughout Switzerland. He had to flee from Thurgau, and onhis passport it was noted that he had been expelled as asectarian. The police watched him wherever he went. +

Summer, 1996

FromAmongtheLowly

Andrew Vargish

This article is reprinted fromThe Visitor, Vol. 4, No. 11,November, 1930, pp 248-249.The Visitor is a former news-letter of the Apostolic Chris-tian Publishing Company. Wewould be interested in receiv-ing biographical informationon the brother who authoredthis article.

“Go thy way: for he is a

chosen vessel unto me...”

(Acts 9:15).

From the beginning of timeGod has selected men andwomen to carry toward ful-fillment the heralding,preaching, and glorificationof His Son Jesus Christ, theRedeemer of mankind. The

“They were

prepared, we know,

by the Lord; they

could be used

because they had

the necessary faith

and love toward

God.”

Summer, 1996

Great Purpose has alwayshad men fitted to serve. Theywere prepared, we know, bythe Lord; they could be usedbecause they had the neces-sary faith and love towardGod. “He is a man after mineown heart,” said the Lord ofDavid. Of Paul the Lord saidthat he was “a chosen vesselunto me, to bear my namebefore the Gentiles, andkings, and the children of Is-rael” (Acts 9:15). “Not bymight, nor by power, but bymy spirit, saith the LORD ofhosts.” (Zechariah 4:6). Andthe Corinthians were told“how that not many wise menafter the flesh, not manymighty, not many noble, arecalled: But God hath chosenthe foolish things of the world[mankind] to confound thewise; and God hath chosenthe weak things of the world[mankind] to confound the

things which are mighty; Andbase things of the world, andthings which are despised,hath God chosen, yea, andthings which are not, to bringto nought things that are” (ICorinthians 1:26-28).

Moses, whom God used asemancipator, and who ac-cording to the Egyptian ruleshould have died with themany other Jewish boys(Exodus 1:22), was rescuedfrom death by Pharoah’sdaughter and was reared inher house to be the devasta-tor of her own land. Joshuawas only the son of Nun.

King David was he of

“... Not many

mighty, not many

noble, are called.”

whom God said: “I took theefrom the sheepcote, from fol-lowing the sheep, to be rulerover my people, over Israel”;Jephthah, son of a harlot;Gideon, called while thresh-

ing wheat, were all menwhom God called from alowly estate to becomemighty in His service. Samuelbecame God’s servant fromearly youth because hismother prayed, promising tosacrifice what she asked for.He was the son of a motherwho in her humility was in-sulted by the high priest.From farmlands came Sam-son and he who became KingSaul, the first Jewish king.And aside from their calling,what were Elijah and the be-lieving Elisha, Jeremiah,Ezekiel, and Isaiah who said,“Lord send me?” And wasnot the same thing true ofJohn the Baptist, clothed incamels’ hair clothing, eatinglocusts and honey; and Marysinging, “My soul doth mag-nify the Lord... For he hathregarded the low estate of hishandmaiden” (Luke 1:46-48); and finally, the Elevenand Paul, who became build-ers of the church. And beforethese and after are many ris-ing out of obscurity to sinkback again after havingserved faithfully. These arevessels for an honorable usein the house of God.

It is wonderful when we

“I took thee from

the sheepcote, from

following the

sheep, to be ruler

over my people,

over Israel.”

contemplate the service thesemen represent. The work wasto be done, and for it Godchose the man, woman, andeven child. Without the workof each individual (be it greator small, much or little) therewould be a link missing in thechain of the progress of theplan of God: the redemptionof man and the glorificationof Christ.

Today, as in times past,God is searching the hearts ofmen, to choose and leadthem out of the common-place of sin, and to as manyas will receive Him, he givesthem the power to becomethe sons of God, even tothose who believe on Hisname (John 1:12).

After receiving that son-ship, we should prove faith-ful. Each has a work to do.Paul, writing to the young la-borer Timothy, says, “Studyto shew thyself approvedunto God, a workman thatneedeth not to beashamed...” (II Timothy2:15).

And it still pleases God tochoose from among thelowly. +

“And before these

and after are many

rising out of

obscurity to sink

back again after

having served

faithfully. These

are vessels for an

honorable use in

the house of God.”

Exhortations • 15

The Spirit called, somehow I knew the voice from heaven came,It beckoned me to come and claim what God had done in Jesus’ name.But I was young, and life was filled with foolish, youthful play,“Not now,” I said, and quickly turned the Messenger of God away.

The years passed quickly, each day bringing more and more to do,Each moment filled with many tasks that needed done before I’m through.God called again; I quickly answered, “Here am I”; He called for me that day,But I sought neither grace nor time, and sent the Messenger away.

With scarcely time to concentrate on things that must be done,It seems I can’t accomplish all before the setting of the sun.The whole world rests quite heavily on shoulders I possess,There isn’t time for Godly things that give my heart distress.

The golden years came into view just when I thought work had no end.My tired mind and weary soul embraced them as a long lost friend.Now is the time to reap the fruit that years of labor wrought for me,The good times others talked about, the time I never thought I’d see.

Then came the voice, familiar now, that called so many times before,Annoyed a bit, I heard Him plead with me to seek the Kingdom’s door.Just when I’m free to follow dreams long years have held at bay,Again I answered, “Here am I, please call for me another day.”

Now I am old, and quite alone, too frail to follow futile dreams,My loved ones busy with their lives, none cares for me at all it seems.I wait, in silent solitude, to once more hear the Savior’s call,It’s been so long since last I heard: the call may never come at all.

With deep regret and hopelessness, I wonder what each day will bring,Or if the day will dawn for me to cope with pain and suffering.But most of all I wait with dread, I’ll be among the lost,Because I answered, “Here am I,” but never counted up the cost.

Here Am I

Robert W. Freund

“Remember now thy Crea-tor in the days of thy youth,

while the evil days comenot, nor the years draw

nigh, when thou shalt say, Ihave no pleasure in them.”

— Ecclesiastes 12:1

The Newsletter of the

Apostolic Christian Publishing CompanyExhortationsExhortationsP.O. Box 416

Syracuse, NY 13215-0416