They All With One Consent Began To Make Excuse

They All With One Consent Began To Make Excuse “They All With One Consent Began to Make Excuse”
Paul Southern
Abilene, Texas

“And they all with one consent began to make excuse.” (Luke 14:18.) The tendency to make excuses is an inherent characteristic of mankind. It is not exclusively indigenous to any one soil; neither is it confined to any one age. In fact, it has no geographical or chronological limitations. Since the inception of sin back in the very morning of time, man has been making excuses for his transgressions and disobedience. Thus Eve sought to justify her eating of the forbidden fruit on the ground that “the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise,” and when God asked what she had done she said: “The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.” (Genesis 3:6; Genesis 3:13.) And Adam was like a good many of the modern excuse-makers who go around with open mouths swallowing everything that comes along. His frivolous excuse was that “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” (Genesis 3:12.) Sin is a malicious brat which nobody is willing to own; therefore man tries to justify his negligence with flimsy excuses. When Moses was called upon to deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage, he made several excuses before accepting the responsibility. “Who am I, that I should go unto Pharoah, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?” he asked. (Exodus 3:11.) “They will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice,” for I am not an eloquent man. (Exodus 4:1; Exodus 4:10.) By the same weakness, Aaron tried to extenuate the sin of worshiping the golden calf at the foot of Mount Sinai. To Moses he said: “Thou knowest the people, that they are set on evil. For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us.” (Exodus 32:22-23.) The Israelites clamored for a king. Their excuse was that Samuel’s sons were inefficient judges, but the real reason was that they wanted to be like the nations around them. (1 Samuel 8:4-5.) Saul was once commissioned by Jehovah to destroy the Amalekites, together with Agag the king and all the cattle. His excuse for failing to fulfill the command was that “the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the devoted things, to sacrifice unto Jehovah.” But in the language of the prophet Samuel: “to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:21-22.)

During the time of our Lord, the burning tendency to make excuses flared in open flame. In the parable of the Great Supper, a gracious invitation was extended to many to come to the feast. “And they all with one consent began to make excuse.” One had bought a piece of land which he wanted to go and see. Another had bought five yoke of oxen that should be proved. The third had married a wife, therefore he could not come. Thus they betrayed their gross ingratitude and lack of interest in the feast.

Since excuse-making is a universal and perpetual propensity of mankind, we are not surprised to observe that it continues unabated today. In its essential characteristics, human nature is always and in every place the same. Consequently, we have disciples within the Lord’s church who make excuses for our puny evangelistic program. It shall be the purpose of this study to review some of these excuses. That the religion of our Lord is universal in its application, inter-national in its scope, is a divine truth impressed throughout the New Testament. Having tasted death for every man (Hebrews 2:9), Jesus became “the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.” (1 John 2:2.) In the great commission He said: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15'.) His final message to the apostles from the hillside of Bethany, just before His ascension, was: “But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be mv witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8.) The responsibility of propagating the gospel story has been delivered to the church of the living God, which is “the pillar and ground of the truth.” (1 Timothy 3:14-15.)

What are we doing about it? I am not a morbid pessimist; neither am I a blind optimist. And I would not minimise the great work which has been and is being done by the Lord’s people. At the same time, a casual glance at our evangelistic program shows that lethargy reigns. The fact that we have the truth seems to be a spiritual sedative. Too many Christians have hidden behind the tree of excuses and “are at ease in Zion.” “Why stand ye here all the day idle?” (Matthew 20:6) is a searching question which should pierce the heart of every disciple. In answer to the question we hear one group of brethren say that the ignorant heathens are not responsible for their conduct. This is a very wholesome doctrine and full of comfort for indolent Christians. Hence they excuse their spiritual laziness on the pretext that God will take care of the heathens. If the doctrine is true, there is so such thing as an alien sinner, and Peter did not know what he was talking about when he said: “Repent ye, and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins.” (Acts 2:38.) What makes a man a sinner anyway? Are the heathens in a state of safety until they hear and disobey the gospel? If so, we must conclude that the gospel makes sinners instead of saving them. It is impossible to save that which is already safe. The truth of the mat' ter is that the. heathens are lost because they are in sin, and not be' cause they have not been baptised. Jesus did not come into the world to make sinners, but “to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10.) The gospel of Christ is not just an agency of destruction, but the power of God unto salvation to every one that belie.veth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1 :J 6 ) It is God’s lifeb'ne which must be thrown out to a world sinking in the stormy sea of sin If men refuse to take hold of it, they die in their sins and are lost eternally because they are sinners. Refusing to obey the gospel only intensifies their guilt, for they have spurned God’s proffered mercy and have trampled under foot the blood of Christ. But the heathens are sinners already. They have a “law written in their hearts” which they fail to keep. (Romans 2; Romans 14, 15.) Without the gospel, they have no hope and are without God m the world. (Ephesians 2:12.) When Jesus comes, he will render “vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus.” (2 Thessalonians 1:8.) What a challenge they present to the church of the Lord! From Greenland’s icy mountains to India’s coral strand I can see the smoke of thousands of villages without a Saviour. Will Jehovah hold us guiltless if we allow them to go to the judgment unprepared to meet their God.

We have some very indefinite brethren who are hard to reach. With one blanket excuse they say they do not believe in foreign evaiv gelistic work. Such an admission is tantamount to saying that they do not believe, the gospel. Jesus clearly taught that “the field is the world.” (Matthew 13:38.) Furthermore, he said, “Ye arc the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14), and He commands that we evangelise the whole creation (Mark 16:15.) At the household of Cornelius, Peter said: “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and wurketh righteousness, is acv ceptable to him.” (Acts 10:34-35.) Must we, like Peter, go up on the housetop and see a great sheet let down out of heaven, wherein is all manner of fourTooted beasts and creeping things, in order to convince us that the gospel is addressed to every creature? Must we hear the Lord say: ‘ Rise, Peter; kill and eat”? In Jehovah’s sight, there is no such thing as home missions and foreign missions. Distance means nothing to the God of all nations, and every race is precious in his sight, “for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain even of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.” (Acts 17:28.) Our marching orders insist that we go to the utter' most part of the earth, and break the bread of life in regions 'beyond. A diagnosis of this excuse shows that the trouble is not opposition to foreign evangelism, but a lack of spiritual life.

Suppose that the churches of Judaea had been opposed to foreign evangelistic work. The gospel would never have been preached in “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” Fortunately for us the primitive church believed in world-wide evangelism. I am thankful for their unselfish devotion, and with Paul want to say: “I am a debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you also that are in Rome.” (Romans 1:14-15.)

Other exquse makers are more definite. They oppose foreign missions on the pretext which has been labeled “The Once-And-For-All Theory.” The argument is that every nation under heaven was represented on Pentecost, and the gospel was taken to them. If they have neglected it, we are not obligated to take it to them now. Such a doctrine is but a sorry subterfuge of an impenitent heart. The apostles who were guided into all truth had no such perverted ideas. They continued preaching to the end of life, and their itinerary ever led them into regions beyond. Furthermore, the audience present on Pentecost did not include the Gentile nations. Those assembled there were all Jews who had come up to Jerusalem to observe a Jewish festival. It remained for Peter to evangelise the first Gentile convert when he took the gospel to Cornelius. (Acts 10) But let us grant that all Gentiles heard the message during the apostolic times. Some of them must have failed to keep it, for several hundred years after Pentecost our Gentile ancestors were found in heathenism when the first missionaries from Italy reached the shores of England. If it is wrong to take the gospel to the heathens now, it was wrong then. By such reasoning, we have no right to try to be Christians. The fact that one generation spurns heaven’s invitation is no reason why we should withhold the gospel from the next. Hundreds of thousands in Texas have turned a deaf ear to the gospel during the past few decades, yet we continue to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ in the Lone Star State.

We have among us some anti-missionary Christians who give a kind of patriotic excuse. They claim they believe in world-wide evangelism, but think that we must first begin at home. Such patriotism is admirable, if indeed it is sincere. Every Christian should be interested in his homeland. “Breathes there the man with soul so dead, Who never to himself hath said, This is my own, my native land!” The apostles were told to begin in Jerusalem, but their marching ordeis led to the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:8.) If the devil can get us to camp at home until every heathen here has been converted, the world will never be evangelized. Too many churches keep a big supply of home work stored up as a kind of conscience easer. But the fallacy of such an argument lies in the fact that its exponents do very little anywhere. As a matter of fact, those who are doing the most at home are doing the most abroad. Excusing ourselves from doing foreign mission work on the ground that we have neglected the homeland is a poor means of carrying out the great commission. We shall never reduce the number of heathens at home by refusing assistance to those farther away. At a time when idolatry was rampant in Israel, God dispatched Jonah to the heathen city of Nineveh to preach. Having passed through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, Paul assayed to preach the gospel in Bithynia, but the Holy Spirit led lum across the restless waves into Europe. (Acts 16:6-10.)

Others view the great commission as an impossible duty. They say that the evangelisation of the wrorld can never be accomplished, because it is beyond our ability. Evidently there is a mistake somewhere. Jehovah has never commanded anyone to undertake an impossible task. When a duty is beyond human ability, God supplies the means of accomplishment. Jesus has promised to be with us always, “even unto the end of the world.” (Matthew 28:20.) Hence I believe, that we “can do all things in him that strengthened! me.” (Php_4:13.) We can discharge our obligations at home and abroad if Christians will support the work with prayer, purse and person.

It is useless to plead poverty as an excuse for the great dearth of missionary activity among us. If you think that we are so poverty stricken, take a look at the magnificent temples of worship some of our brethren have built, and to which they refer as “plants.” We shall never have, any money for evangelistic work so long as churches invest more in masonry than in gospel ministry. The religion of Christ consists of more than carpentry, costly carpets and cushioned chairs. And if you think that any appreciable number of our members are on starvation, just park near the theater entrance some night and count the Christians who enter. The average American family spent approximately $40 for moving pictures in 1936. The average cigarette smoker spends around $50 per year for cigarettes alone. Which do we love more: Ja43 or Jesus? Cigarettes or Christ? Gas or gospel? With reference to finances, we. sometimes hear the excuse that our missionaries spend too much. Forsooth! We. ought to be ashamed of the way we have treated some of them! We have some skinflints in the church who are so stingy they will skin a flea for its hide and tallow, and ruin a six-bit knife. Talking about church finance, seems to nauseate them. It has been said that giving to the Lord is hke learning to chew tobacco: it makes you sick at first, but you soon learn to like it. Some carping critics have even accused our missionaries of misappropriation of the brotherhood’s funds. Others have said that Brother J. M. McCaleb became rich in Japan. Perhaps he has become rich, but his is an intangible wealth which cannot be measured in terms of silver and gold. The best cure for such unfounded criticism is for the critics to journey to some outpost of Christianity and see how economical our evangelists are forced to be. In this age of mass production, there is a tendency to put religion on a competitive basis and demand so many visible results for so many dollars invested But it is impossible to determine the cost per capita of converting heathens anywhere, and it is downright sinful to reduce Christianity to such statistical formulae. After all, one soul is worth more than all the world “'For what shall a man be profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? or what shall a man give ill exchange for his life?” (Matthew 16:26.) If all of our foreign evangelistic work saves only one soul, we still have a sizable balance to out credit on the financial ledger. During the year 1935, the churches m Japan alone reported 38 baptisms. This may sound meager when compared with some of our exaggerated field reports in the homeland, but'we must remember that the Japanese are not so eager for iioivsectarian religion as we first supposed. What with ah the superstition, tiadition, and denominational dogma, evangelistic work sails under adverse winds in any heathen country.

We are ashamed to admit it, but we have some church members who are opposed to any kind of evangelistic work. Their excuse is that the people will not hear us anyway. How do we know they will not hear until we try them? I am sure that some will listen if we give them a chalice. But suppose that none will give heed. It still remains our duty to preach the gospel to everybody. Our responsibility does not end until We deliver the message. God will take care of the. re* suits. “Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days.” Some congregations seem to exist solely for the purpose of meeting on the Lord’s day to tickle the vanity of a group of worldly members who have honeycombed the church. In the. language of Brother J D. Tant, “we order our religion in pack' ages bound by the four walls of the church house, and if a man doesn’t come inside these walls we don’t go out to get him.” Once I was talking with a church about holding a mission meeting. An elder of the congregation said he. did not really see much need for it since we, had preaching at the church house twice on Sunday and again on Wednesday night. But Christianity is a going religion, and the church is essentially a missionary institution. Too much regimenta' tion is dangerous. We have too many rest camps already where only a few Christian soldiers are at work. If functioning properly, our religion insists upon scattering itself.

We often hear the excuse that some of our preachers have de' serted the. faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. We regret that there have been some traitors within che Lord’s army. However, heresy m the church is nothing new under the sun, Beginning at Jerusalem, we find impostors all along the way. False teachers right there in Jerusalem tried to'fasten Judaism on the church. Demas forsook the Lord’s work, “having loved this present world.” (2 Timothy 4:10.) Hymenaeus and Alexander made shipwreck of the faith. (1 Timothy 1:19-20.) Taul warned the Galatians of “some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.” (Galatians 1:7.) The church at Pergamum had some, who held to the teaching of Balaam and some to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. (Revelation 2; Revelation 12-17.) But the reverberant note throughout the New Testament is that the disciples went everywhere preaching the word.

We understand readily why a few missionaries have deserted to che denominations. In the first place, poor judgment was used in sending them. out. Some were physical weaklings, some were professional beggars, and others were poisoned with doctrinal defections long before they left the shores of America. No person should be sent to another land until he has first proved himself at home, Furthermore, our responsibility does not end when the evangelist reaches his destination. Failing to support him financially and to look after him spiritually may be as big a sin as desertion I Inless they have repented, it is probable that some chuiches in America have the blood of a few missionaries on their hands. But the fact that some preachers have disappointed us only increases our responsibility . I am not going to quit feeding my child wholesome food simply because some human pigs have made hogs of themselves. Neither can the church afford to quit feeding the wTorld the bread of life because some impostor has tried to garnish it with a deadly poison. Realising the great hardships and temptations which confront the missionary on the foreign field, we should make it a practice to send some of the strongest men we have. Perhaps Paul is the most outstanding Christian of the cen-turies. And no doubt the church at Antioch felt the need of his services, but when the call came ringing they sent him across the restless waves. (Acts 13.) And then the shout, goes up from every camp that we must guard against unscriptural organisation in our evangelistic work. We. heartily agree. The New Testament teaches that we should not go beyond that which is written. (1 Corinthians 4:6.) I he center and authority of all religious activity, whether at home or abroad, is the church of which Jesus is the head. The Bible plan is for every Christian and every congregation to be missionaries. But it sometimes becomes expedient for congregations to cooperate in order to support a man while he is preaching in a virgin field. It was done during the apostolic, age. We do it in the. homeland and nothing is said about it. Why does ’t become smful if ten or a thousand Christians pool their money and send it to the support of a laborer across the seas? If it is done in the name of the Lord and each church is its own missionary board, there is nothing wrong about it. In fact, the New Testament teaches that it is even permissible to go among the. chuiches and stir up their minds in this respect While we guard against an unscriptural plan on the one hand, we neglect to fulfill the great commission on the other. Which is the greatest sin: to refuse to do anything for fear of going beyond that which is wntten, or to let millions go to the judgment unprepared to meet their God? 1 aidiness in entering the harvest fields was responsible for the first missionary boards and societies of the digressive church. We can obviate this evil within our own ranks by rallying to the support of the work in a scriptural way.

We welcome the wholesome discussion of any Bible subject, for it is conducive to spiritual development. Indeed Jude tells us to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints.” (Judges 3.) But it seems to us that some brethren do nothing but wrangle over dry bones of contention with no issue involved. We are as argumentative as the proverbial Greeks who spent months at a time discussing how many angels could sit on the point of a needle. Fortunately, they did not wait until the moot question was settled to the satisfaction of all before they began to use the needle. Let us make another illustration anent this point. At midnight an alarm comes to the fire hall telling of a house which is going up in flames. The firemen rush away to the scene, only to find that the building is across th? street and about a block removed from the nearest fire plug. Suppose that the fire chief calls his men together, and they open a discussion regarding the best means of getting the water from the plug to the fire. While thev argue the question, pitiful wails go up from men, women and children trapped in that funeral pyre. No, that is not the way firemen do it, but that is the way some of our brethren act when we talk of pouring the water of life on a flaming world. From every quarter of the globe the alarm is coming—from across the streets, from across hills and valleys, from across state lines, from across international boundary lines, yea, from across the seas come pitiful wails from millions of burning souls, while we “with denial vain and coy excuse” argue over the best means of taking them the gospel waters. The fault, dear friends, is not in God’s evangelistic program, but in ourselves that we are failures. It is a sad commeiv tary upon the church of our Lord, and should challenge the loyalty of every disciple.

We come now to consider an excuse, the foundation for which perhaps has crippled our evangelistic program more than any other one thing in recent years. We refer to the matter of doctrinal differences. Many brethren maintain that we must settle our doctrinal differences at home before we attempt to do anything abroad. We readily admit that division is a barrier to Christian progress. Jesus realised that unity is one secret of rapid growth, so He prayed “that they may all be one.” (John 17:21.) But like the proverbial poor, differences will always be with us. As long as we have no pope, and there is individual thought and action, there will be a diversity of private opinions among us. Such a condition is normal with human beings. Hobby riders have infested the church since the beginning of the Christian era. Judaistic teachers in Jerusalem tried to make every church of the first century bow to their interpretations. The Thessa- lonians were disturbed over a perversive doctrine which taught that the resurrection was already past. (1 Thessalonians 4:1-18.) In Corinth the disciples were divided into four warring camps, some of Paul, some of Apollos, some of Cephas, and some of Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:13.) The Galatians tried to reach the benefits of the cross through circumcision. (Galatians 5:4-6.) The Colossians were poisoned with an Oriental doctrine known as Gnosticism which included vain philosophy, Judaistic ritualism, angel worship, and ascetic practices. (Colossians 2.) In post-apostolic times, one storm after another rocked the old ship of Zion and caused some members of the crew to mutiny. Paul warned the Ephesians of the time when “from among your own selves shah men arise, speaking perservc things, to draw away the. disciples after them.” (Acts 20:30.) To Timothy he said: “For the time will come, when they will not endure sound doctrine; but having itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts; and w'ill turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside unto fables.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4.) Fortunately, Paul did not wait until all doctrinal differences were settled before he carried the message into regions beyond. “Determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified,” he said: “necessity is laid upon me; for woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel ' (1 Corinthians 2:2; 1 Corinthians 9:10.) As a result of his undying seal. and in spite of the. prevailing schisms within the body, he was able to say that the gospel “was preached in all creation under heaven” during his generation. (Colossians 1:23.) In the language of a contemporary, some brethren today “are watchdogs of orthodoxy, but onlv stray hounds in putting it into practice.” If they were as concerned about godly living as they are about pre-millenialism, unscriptural organisations, and Christian colleges, our doctrinal differences would soon appreciably decrease.

What right has a person who will not pay his debts to lump on innocent Christian colleges and missionaries for things they are not gufi.ty of? “He drat is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” (John 8:7.) It is a wonder some of our creed makers don’t pass a manifesto demanding that we put pants on all the jack-rabbits in West Texas. If there be one among us who has been favored with a special revelation concerning the most effective means of settling our doctrinal differences permanently, and of evangelising the world, let him step forth and .show us. What the church needs today is fewer persons telling us what the church needs.

There remains one other phase of rhis subject which we should like to emphasise. Pleading inability as an excuse, many Christians attempt to shift the responsibility of evangelistic work to others. But the duty of preaching the gospel falls upon every member of the church without exception. Every disciple is a priest charged with the responsibility of personal evangelism. The first church met with astonishing results because, “They therefore that were scattered abroad went about preaching the word." (Acts 8:4.) The religion of our Lord will never permeate the modern world until each person does wThat he can. Many plead that they have not had suitable preparation, but such is a flimsy excuse. The Samaritan woman had known the Saviour for only a few minutes, but she rushed away into the city exclaiming that she had found the Christ. If a person know's enough to be a Christian, he knows enough to tell others rhe way of life. “Just a w’ord or a song as we’re passing along will count in the sweet bye and bye. You may never be a Campbell, a Lipscomb, or a Calhoun, but there is a work that you can do.

If you cannot sing like angels,
If you cannot preach like Paul,
You can tell the love of Jesus,
You can say He died for all.
“If you cannot cross the ocean,
And the heathen land explore,
You can find a heathen nearer,
You can find one at your door." The gates that stand ajar to the faithful will close their portals to selfish Christians who bury their talents and go to the judgment alone. “Wherefore thou art without excuse, O man. These are but mere pretexts which camouflage the real issue. If there is a dearth of missionary activity among us today, there is only one reason, namely: a lack of love for the Lord and His church. Jesus said: “If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15.) Can we say that we have kept the faith as long as we try to justify our spiritual lethargy with petty excuses? The President of the United States calls for volunteers, and thousands march forth to defend their country on the field of battle. The King of Kings calls for volunteers, and just a handful respond. Is it true that the Kingdom of Zion has no more native sons who will carry the message of life into regions beyond? The world’s greatest need is salvation; hence we should dedicate ourselves to the work committed unto the apostles in the long ago. That sacred task is the completion of the great commission, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15.) We are living in a fast and reckless age, an opportune time for the accomplishment of great things in the Master’s service. The army of the Lord needs reinforcements, and it is our duty to enlist under the banner of Prince Immanuel. Such an ideal of unselfish service for the Master is glorified. Having enlisted, let us answer the agonising cry of the millions which is ringing in our ears. From every quarter of the globe we hear them say, “Come over into Macedonia, and help us.” Their appeal comes down to us as a challenge of the unfinished world task. In the early morning, a dawning light appears in the east and floods the world with lustrous glory. The king of day, the sun, in radiance clothed, comes forth to place a crown of gold upon the snow-capped peaks. The rays fill the valley, dispelling all gloom, until every nook and corner is flooded with light. Dewdrops are dried away, and flowers burst forth with new life. As we think of this picture, we wonder why the glorious light of Golgotha’s cross has not shown around the world, dispelled the darkness of sin and placed a crown of glory upon the risen Lord. There is but one answer: too many professed Christians have lived for sensual pleasures, and have not been moved by a vision of service to others. It is for us, and especially the young of today, to spread the blessed news of salvation. May the good Lord help us to break down every barrier, remove every excuse, and burn ourselves out in service. With such an ideal constantly before us, let us here and now rededicate ourselves to the Master’s service, and carry the angel’s message of peace and goodwill to all mankind.

Then when the purple mists settle on the graying hills, when the shadows lengthen eastward and the swallows take the. westward way, we can lie down m full assurance of the fact that we shall spend eternity in the home of many mansions. The passing of such a character who has been led by the. missionary mind of the Master will be as beautiful as a glorious sunset at the end of a perfect day. “And they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” (Daniel 12:3.) “Go ye therefore, and make disciples of aU the nations, baptising them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” (Matthew 28:19-20.)

QUESTIONS FOP DISCUSSION
1. Show that excuse making is rather natural and universal.
2. What is the duty of the church today relative to the truth?
3. What is the condition of the people in heathen lands? What is the responsibility of every Christian regarding the situation?
4. How answer the excuse: “I just don’t believe in foreign missionary work”?
5. Discuss home vs. foreign missions.
6. Can we of this generation carry the gospel to every creature? Should we?
7. What is the financial problem that is hindering foreign missions?
8. What about the excuse: “No use to preach the gospel because the people wiH not hear”?
9. Should the faithlessness of some discourage us? Discuss.
10. Is congregational cooperation in missionary work scriptural and desirable?
11. What about settling oui differences before doing missionary work?
12. Whose responsibility is it to Jo foreign missionary work?