Silas C. Nair, silasnair@sify.com
Salvation is received in a very simple manner. Man as a sinner is doomed for destruction. But the God of love sent His Son to pay the penalty on man’s behalf. Jesus Christ died for the sinner and thus paid the penalty. God has accepted this and raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Man only needs to repent of his sin and turn to Christ for salvation. When he does this and puts his faith in Him he is saved. His sins are forgiven and he becomes a child of God. This is salvation as defined by Bible.
In salvation a repentant sinner is justified, which means he is declared as not-a-sinner. His standing before God is changed. He is also regenerated. This means a new life – life not simply of eternal duration, but life of eternal quality – is given to him. He is also adopted into the family of God. This means that he becomes an adult child of God with all the privileges of this position. He is sanctified, i.e. set apart for service to God. The blessings of salvation do not end here. In the plan of God he is already glorified and one day he will change his place to be with God forever in his glorified body.
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Dr. Johnson C. Philip
Ask students of any Sunday-school to name their favorite book in the Old Testament, and a large number of them would say “Daniel”. Here is a book that has charmed generations, and the fascination is still not dimmed. Such is the greatness of this book with a mere 12 chapters.
In the last article we noticed the way in which Nebuchadnezzar ordered the training of hostages. Almost 70 noble and royal young people meeting stringent physical and mental criteria were selected. However, the book gives us a glimpse of developments in the lives of only four of them. Perhaps there were many in the group who were more promising than these four, but what resulted in the end was determined not by their inherent abilities, nor by their training, but by what spiritual decisions they made.
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Resisting The World, Dr. Johnson C. Philip
The book of Daniel is remarkable in that though it is only 12 chapter long, it has fascinated both young and old alike. This book is a delight not only for the Sunday School student, but also for the most outstanding scholar in the world.
In the last article we noticed that Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon instilled a puppet government in Jerusalem in the summer of BC 605. He did not have time to restructure everything, and consequently he took plenty of hostages with him. Of these, fifty to seventy young men were from royal families. The king ordered that they be trained in a way as to make them totally loyal to the Chaldean empire. The best ones were chosen. A lot of care was given to them so as to bring them up to the king’s expectation. We read,
And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king’s meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king. (Dan 1:5)
Babylon was one of the richest kingdoms of that time. The best of the best food, which the king himself consumed, was to be given to them. This was partly to put them at ease, partly to win them though their “stomachs”, and partly to change their food habits, all contributing to brainwashing. Surprisingly, the same is going on all around us today though most of us do not seem to realize it. The greed for food and the consumption of popular but unhealthy food has been adversely affecting the spiritual life of millions of children and young people in the affluent countries. Now the same thing is being seen in our own country also.
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