Soul-winning Agency
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When all those who profess to be Christians are Christians in
deed and in truth, the Sabbath school will be no longer a dry round
of service. The teachers will then understand the lesson that Christ
gave to Nicodemus, and will teach it in all its momentous bearing on
human destiny. Jesus said to the ruler in Israel, “Verily, verily, I say
unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of
God.” Except a man be born again, he cannot understand the character
of the heavenly kingdom, or discern its spiritual nature. Christ was
saying to Nicodemus in these words:
“It is not learning you need so much as it is inward renovation.
You need not to have your curiosity satisfied so much as to have a
new heart, and until that change takes place, making all things new,
it will result in no saving good to you for Me to discuss with you My
authority, My work, My mission as One who bears the credentials of
Heaven.”
To Know and Give the Truth to Others
The lesson which Christ gave to Nicodemus is important to every
teacher, to every Sabbath school worker, to every youth and child. It
is certainly important that we become acquainted with the reasons
of our faith, but the most important knowledge to be gained is the
experimental knowledge of what it means to be born again. The great
want in our Sabbath school work is the want of the light of life. All
through our ranks are needed men and women who have learned at the
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feet of Jesus what is truth, and how to present it to others. It requires
holy men, men who have humility, who are abiding in Christ, to be
educators of our youth in the Sabbath school.
The Greatest Need
Nicodemus came to the Lord, thinking to enter into a long dis-
cussion with Him concerning points of minor importance, but Jesus
laid bare the first principles of truth, and showed Nicodemus that his
first need was humility of heart, a teachable spirit, a new heart; that
if he would enter into the kingdom of God, he must be born again.
Are there not those who hold responsible positions in the Sabbath
school who would be irritated and annoyed if I should testify to them
that, though they are rulers in Israel, they too need to be born again?