1967

As the years pass, history unfolds and brings ever nearer the second advent of our Lord Jesus Christ. For mankind in general the year 1966 was one of crisis and perplexity. Men and nations grappled with the complex problems of the modern world. The dawn of a new year finds many of these problems unresolved and new ones loom ahead.

Great Britain is still in the throes of an economic crisis. The problem of Rhodesia remains. What does 1967 hold? Will the new initiative to join the European Common Market prove successful? If so, what results will flow from this momentous development? Whither the Commonwealth? These are a few of the questions which will occupy Government and public attention in the months ahead.

In the international sphere the situation is even more critical. The terrible struggle in Vietnam drags on. New problems loom in Europe. Israel's relations with her neighbours deteriorate. Political unsettlement persists in many parts of Africa. Millions in India are on the verge of starvation. China is still the enigmatical giant among the nations. The Secretary-General of the United Nations warns of the drift towards war. Such is the picture of the world in this twentieth century, blazoned in the headlines of the daily Press.

The Christian is assured that the ultimate solution to all this travail lies in the personal return of our Lord Jesus Christ, first to the air for His Church, and then to the earth to reign in righteousness. In the meantime, our duty to pray and to witness are priorities to be pursued regardless of political circumstances and change. And for each one of us there is also the personal challenge of increased devotion to our Master, referred to by our co-worker R. Darke in "A New Year Message" on page 5 of our present issue. None of us knows what lies in store for us in our personal lives in 1967, but if "For. to me to live is Christ" be our watchword, then time will be put to its most profitable use.

If men have made history in 1966, God too has been at work using another year of human history' for His own purposes of grace. The building of the Body of Christ has proceeded. Many sinners have been saved and placed in that glorious Church. Men, women, and children of many races have been reached by the gospel of Christ. Will the year 1967 see the completion of this age-long purpose of God? God alone knows, but our Saviour

"... waits with keen, expectant gaze,

The coming of that day of days,

The day of His reward."

During 1966 developments in the religious world have speeded up the march towards reunion. The greater number of influential leaders in the major denominations now appear to accept and support the ecumenical movement. They are prepared to barter vital truth recovered at the time of the Reformation in exchange for this great religious combine with which they seem fascinated. A formula which will be acceptable to all has yet to be devised but will, no doubt, eventually be found. The momentum of the movement is so rapid that those in the denominations who are deeply concerned about it are coming to realise how powerless they are to stem the tide.

We pointed out on this page in May last the dilemma which this ecumenical drift would bring to born-again believers in the various denominations. This dilemma is becoming more obvious as events move forward. It was powerfully emphasized in a remarkable address given by Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones at the meeting of the National Assembly of Evangelicals in London in October last. After tracing the history of the ecumenical movement, Dr. Lloyd Jones said, "We are confronted with a situation today suci1 as has not been the case since the Protestant Reformation." He said that the whole movement at present was towards a national church that will eventually include the Roman Catholic Church, and that the position of evangelicals in the denominations was "a pathetic and tragic one". He asked, "Where are the evangelicals to start m this whole matter? Were they prepared to try to modify the existing situation, or were they prepared to start afresh and go back to the New Testament to find what was the true Church?" Herein lies the dilemma which confronts many born-again believers, whether to remain inside their denominations to try to counter the trend to Rome or to come out. According to the Press headline when the above address was reported, Dr. Lloyd Jones's appeal was: "Evangelicals-leave your denominations!"

Many students of the history of the Reformation will discern that the present situation in Christendom can be traced back to the Reformation itself. As its designation implies, the Reformation was a movement inside Christendom, not a separation from it. Much as we owe, under God, to the Reformers for their valiant struggle to recover some of the fundamentals of the Faith, their failure to define the great New Testament truth of the Church and the churches of God has proved an omission not unrelated to the present ecumenical movement. More could be written along these lines. We may return to it in a future issue, if the Lord will.

As announced last month, we hope to publish in this magazine during the present year a series of articles on "New Testament Churches of God". It is not claimed that there is anything new in these articles, but the great importance of the subject to disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ is sufficient reason for restating these truths at the present time.

unknown | Jan 1967
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