CHRISTIAN READER

North and South, Red and Blue

One of the lesser known facts about the Civil War is that, among all of the bloodshed and brokenness, a great revival of Christianity took place. War has a way of driving atheism out of its participants and the War Between the States was no different. Men of great Christian character fought on both sides of the divide—some wore gray, some wore blue—but the army of northern Virginia seemed to have an unusual wealth in this regard. While the stalwart leadership of Generals Lee and Jackson no doubt had something to do with it, the honor and integrity of the group as a whole was noted by all, friend and foe alike.

The Blessing of Not Getting

by J.R. Miller (1840-1912) from his book, Silent Times

There is one class of mercies and blessings, of which we are not sufficiently ready to take note. These are the things that God keeps from us. We recount, with more or less gratitude, the good gifts that we receive from him; but there are many blessings that consist in our not receiving.

Time in the Furnace

Trials are a fact of life for the Christian. One of the disingenuous aspects of modern evangelism is the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) promise that everything will be OK when you turn to Christ. Nowhere does the Bible inform us that life will get easier and more enjoyable by becoming a Christian. If anything, the Bible promises the opposite. "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance" (James 1:2-3). The Bible teaches that God chastens those whom He loves in order to refine and purify them (Romans 5:3-5; 1 Peter 1:6-9; 4:12-13). 

As Your Righteousness

The following is the eighth chapter from Andrew Murray's book, Abide in Christ.

"Of God are ye in Christ Jesus, who was made unto us wisdom from God, both righteousness and sanctification, and redemption." (1 Corinthians 1:30)

THE first of the great blessings which Christ our wisdom reveals to us as prepared in Himself, is --righteousness. It is not difficult to see why this must be first.

The Deity of Christ

by Benjamin B. Warfield
(Professor of Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, 1887-1921)

A recent writer has remarked that our assured conviction of the deity of Christ rests, not upon "proof-texts or passages, nor upon old arguments drawn from these, but upon the general fact of the whole manifestation of Jesus Christ, and of the whole impression left by Him upon the world." The antithesis is too absolute, and possibly betrays an unwarranted distrust of the evidence of Scripture. To make it just, we should read the statement rather thus: Our conviction of the deity of Christ rests not alone on the Scriptural passages which assert it, but also on His entire impression on the world; or perhaps thus: Our conviction rests no more on the scriptural assertions than upon His entire manifestation. Both lines of evidence are valid; and when twisted together form an unbreakable cord.