# The Lutheran Pioneer_St. Louis_1897_S25 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) Che Autheran Pioneer. A MISSIONARY MONTHLY. Pusuisuep By THE EVANGELICAL LutmeraN SynopicaAL CONFERENCE OF Norto AMERICA. R. A. BISCHOFF, Editor. Entered at the Post Of_ice at St. Louis, Mo., as second-class matter. Vol. XIX. St. Louis, Mo., July, 1897. No. 7. Thy Will Be Done. Whate’er Thy will, Lord, keep me still, Thy will is best, So let me rest. Cometh to me, To-day from Thee, Sunshine or rain, Pleasure or pain, Gladness or grief, Distress, relief, Sickness or health, Poverty, wealth — May I believe All I receive Is sent in love From Thee above. So let me rest, Thou knowest best, Whate’er Thy will, Lord, make me still. Selected. qc - oe Salvation. Neep oF SALvATION. Man needs some one to save him from his sins. He may say, ‘‘I do not feel the need of a Sayiour.’? But whether he feels it to be true or not, it is nevertheless a fact—man needs salvation from sin. ‘he Bible thus de- scribes man’s condition as God sees him: “The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness init; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment’’ (Isa. 1, 5. 6). No man as he is by nature can say, ““That may be true of other people, but it is not true of me.”’? The Bible says, ‘‘There is no differ- ence; for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God’’ (Rom. 8, 22. 23); ‘‘There isnot a just man upon earth that doeth good and sinneth not’’ (Eccl. 7, 20); ‘‘There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none that Underatandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable: there is none that doeth good, no, not one’? (Rom. 3, 10-12), Education, and culture, and what the world calls morality may gain for man the praise and honor of the world, but these things do not recommend him to God. All men stand before Him as miserable, lost, help- less sinners. Yes, helpless sinners. So help- less, that they can find no help whatever in themselves, or in any other creature in heaven or onearth. So helpless, that God only can help them. He did help them. There is sal- vation for every sinner, but SALVATION IS ONLY IN Curist. Jesus says, ‘‘I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.’’ Again He says, ‘‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me (John 14, 6). Notice, our Saviour does not say a way, as if there were other ways, but ‘the way, the truth, the life.”’ Therefore the apostle says of Jesus: ‘‘Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4, 12). Salvation is in Christ alone, because He alone is ‘‘the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world;’’ He ‘‘who did no sin bare our sins in His own body on the tree.” Thus He pro- cured that full salvation offered to every sin- ner in the Gospel. He that believes the Gos- pel takes the salvation which is in Christ only, and he has everlasting life. He that does not believe the Gospel, no matter who he is and no matter what else he believes, he that does not believe the Gospel rejects the salvation which is in Christ Jesus, and since there is no other salvation, he is lost forever. Therefore, ‘believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”? Do not say that you are too great a sinner. You may be a great sin- ner, but you have a great Saviour. The sal- yation which is in Christ is greater than all your sins, yea, greater than all the sins of the world. ‘‘Come now, and let us reason to- gether, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson; they shall be ag wool” (Isa. 1, 18); ‘‘This is a faithful say- ing, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief”? (1 Tim. 1, 15). Precious truth! Christ Jesus came to save even the chief of sinners. Come to Him, that is, be- lieve in Him, and you have that salvation which is in Christ alone. ‘tHe that hath the Son hath life; he that hath not the Son of God, hath not life’? (1 John 4, 12). The Christian and Good Works. Luther says, and says truly, because so the Scriptures unquestionably teach: ‘tGood Works do not make a Christian, but one must be a Christian to do good works. The tree bringeth forth the fruit, not the fruit the tree. No one is made a Christian by works, but by Christ; and being in Christ he brings forth fruit for Him.’’ It is folly to imagine that one is a Christian because he does a work that people are pleased to call good. Heath- ens can do that too. That which constitutes a Christian is his embracing the righteousness of Christ by faith. But one that does this will by an inward necessity do good works. If you are a Christian, your fruits will not be wanting. —_—s +o or Insured Forever. I was traveling lately with a friend, writes a pastor, from London to the north of Eng- land, and we had taken our seats and the train was about to start, when a gentleman got into the carriage. A friend who accom- panied him, after bidding him farewell, came back and said, ‘‘By the way, have you got an insurance ticket?’’ ‘‘Oh, yes,’’ said the gentleman. ‘‘I am insured.” My friend turned to him, and said very quietly, ‘‘Are you insured forever?”’ The gentleman looked. up, seemingly surprised, but answered (not. at all understanding what was really meant), “No, I only insure for a year at a time.’” “But I,’’ said my friend, ‘‘am insured for- ever.’’ Still misunderstanding, the gentleman replied, ‘‘Oh, yes, I know you can do it by one payment; but it costs a great deal.’ My friend answered, ‘‘Yes, mine was done by one payment, and cost a great deal indeed. It cost me nothing, but i cost God His Son.’”