USING THE INTERNET FOR GOD'S GLORY- W.F. BELL

I often look at my books here in my study, wondering about their authors, and exactly how all these hundreds of books came to be written and printed. It was once a very laborious task, from the handwritten originals, to corrected copies, to editing for the press, to laying type by hand, to printing on a manual press (before electricity), then collating the pages, and finally binding. What a tremendous amount of work once had to be done to publish a book, including the Bible (and there still is much work involved).

Once I whacked away at a typewriter, using an eraser constantly, then later using white-out to cover over errors, having to make a copy that was acceptable, discarding lots and lots of paper in the process. After editing and comparing, either a Xerox copy had to be made, or some process of filming had to be done to get a finished product ready for the press. Now, as we all know, you can write, edit, correct, process, and then send out to millions worldwide with a click of a button. How times have changed in the communications world.

God our Creator has given us hands and minds to work with. He blesses our knowledge and wisdom to communicate to others. It is a great blessing from God's hand for us to have the Internet. It has often been used wrongly (just as radio and television), but still the benefits of using such a tool are unparalleled in the history of the world. To that end let us ever use such for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the proclamation of His eternal Word. We don't have to travel by foot over land now, or travel by ship on long ocean voyages, or even go by airplane to the distant parts of the earth, in order to actually tell "the greatest story ever told." What a wondrous opportunity and yet responsibility we have to "declare God's glory among the heathen" (Psalm 96:3).

But what we must remember is this: using any means of communication must be in accordance with God's holy Word. That is, we must never have wrong motives, or tell things that are not true. We must do through the Internet the same as we would do in person, when delivering messages personally. God blesses His Word, but not necessarily our interpretations of it. Errors can be mixed in with truth. We must be very careful about speaking the truth faithfully. "Sing unto the Lord, bless His name; shew forth His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the heathen {the nations}, His wonders among all people" (Psalm 96:2-3). "And he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully" (Jeremiah 23:28). In every way possible, we must always say with Paul, "For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God" (Acts 20:27).

In using the Internet for Christ's glory, let us proclaim His Lordship. Men as sinners must bow to Christ as Lord. This is not an option. This is not something to argue about. Either Christ is truly "Lord and God," or He is not (John 20:28). We dare not compromise the holy Person of our precious Savior. We must honor Him, or we do not honor the Father (John 5:23). There is but one true way of salvation, and that is through the Mediator's spotless life, work, and death, that of our Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6; I Timothy 2:5). We must not put Christ on the same shelf with other gods!

"We preach Christ crucified" (I Corinthians 1:23), and as a successful Savior. He has not been defeated by men or devils. "He shall not fail nor be discouraged," said the prophet (Isaiah 42:4). "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (I Timothy 1:15), and His mission was accomplished. The angel's announcement to Joseph is blessedly true for all time: "And she [Mary] shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). This is the glorious good news we declare to the nations: Christ Jesus is a real and mighty Savior! Come, poor sinner, bow at His feet, and worship only Him. His righteousness alone can cover your filthy rags, justify you before a holy God, and land you safe some day in heaven's pure world (Acts 10:43 and 13:39). There is no other message to declare. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only Savior of sinners! Repent, turn from sin, worship Christ, for He is your only Hope, and it is His glory alone we desire!