OUT AND OUT CHRISTIANITY.
Reginald A C Symes Scunthorpe 1910 Reginald Anthony Colmer Symes (1877-1933) came to Scunthorpe as a young solicitor in 1899 and was appointed managing solicitor at the offices of A M Sharp, Solicitors. In 1900 he purchased the practice and the firm of R A C Symes & Co in Scunthorpe High Street continued until 1999 when a series of mergers evolved as Symes, Bains and Broomer from 2004. Mr Symes is best remembered for his dedicated work amongst boys and young men. His own deep Christian faith inspired him to encourage these boys to come to know Jesus Christ as their own Saviour and to live fruitful Christian lives. Mr “Reggie” Symes ran many Clubs and Bible Classes for the boys. Of these, the most well known was the “Keenites” (ie “keen” Christians), an interdenominational society for all those who had made a true commitment to Christ. The following is an extract drawn from Mr Symes’ book entitled Out and Out, published in 1910. Mr Symes’ aim is as vital today as it was in his day: to bring people to a knowledge of their need for Jesus Christ as their own personal Saviour. OUT AND OUT A STRAIGHT TALK I want to have a straight talk with you, my friend. Don’t let us beat about the bush, but let us come to the point at once. Are you an out and out Christian? That is the first question I want to ask you. I put it first, because it is the most important question in the whole world for you. “Well”, you may say, “what do you mean by a Christian?” True, the word is sometimes used in a broad sense. We live in a Christian country, and most people are, at any rate, nominal Christians. Again, at baptism we are all made “Members of Christ.” But by “an out and out Christian” I mean one who (1) knows the Lord Jesus as his own personal Saviour, (2) has given himself without reserve to Him for ever, and (3) strives day by day to live as Christ would have him live. Are you an out and out Christian in this, the highest sense of the word? So many answer “I don’t know!” I’m afraid that usually means “no”, for if one is trusting Jesus as a Saviour, one must surely know it! Others reply, “Oh! I don’t think I’m worse than anyone else.” Perhaps not. But there are only two sides - for God or against Him, and unless you are definitely “on the Lord’s side” then it is clear that you are on the devil’s side. Now face the question. “Are you really an out and out Christian?” If not, then don’t you think you had better become one? The Christian life is the happiest life - the only life worth living. “Well,” you say, “I’ll think about it.” By all means, but think about it now, for “now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation.” I was speaking like this to a lad in my Bible Class one Good Friday evening, and he turned round and said, “Will you please show me the way?” What a grand opportunity it gave me to show him the “way of salvation,” and, thank God! he decided there and then for the Lord. Let us suppose, then, that you have given me the same opening, and perhaps there might be the same happy result. FIRST, Do you realise what sin is? Do you realise that you are a sinner? Sin is the most awful thing in the world. It was sin that crucified Jesus. And you are a sinner, for “all have sinned.” One sin is enough to keep you out of heaven. God hates sin. “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” And so you would be doomed to eternal punishment if it were not that: SECOND, Jesus died for sinners. That means that Jesus died for you. So just imagine your name here (I’ve left room for it). Jesus died for . Now what does that mean? It would be impossible to explain in a few words why or how the death of Jesus saves us. The atonement is like a great mountain; it has many sides, and you can only see one side at a time. But perhaps the following story will serve to illustrate one side of this great truth: Dr Guthrie tells us of a ragged schoolboy, who had committed so bad an offence that the teacher felt it necessary to publicly thrash him. But when the culprit was stripped, he was found to be such a living skeleton that the master had not the heart to beat him. Turning to the others, he asked, “Will anyone volunteer to take his place, and be punished in his stead?” At once another boy stepped out, tears of pity brimming in his eyes, as he said, “I’ll take his place, sir.” So Jesus took the sinner’s place. “Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust.” “He hath made Him to be a sin-offering for us, Who knew no sin.” And when, dear friend, you are called up before the great Judge to give an account, you will have to admit that you are a sinner and deserve punishment. But will you be able to say, “Jesus has suffered instead of me?’ “He bore my sins in His own Body on the tree?” But before you can claim all this, there must be: THIRD, Repentance. “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Are you really sorry for your sins - not because of their punishment, but because God hates sin, and because sin caused Jesus to die? Are you willing to give up your sins - all your sinful habits, for always? Not even one pet sin may be kept: it must be absolute surrender! Are you willing to give your heart entirely to Jesus - henceforth to do only what He would have you do? If you can say “Yes” to all this, then the next step is: FOURTH, Consecration. “Consecrate yourselves this day to the Lord.” Just kneel down, and tell the Lord Jesus how sorry you are for all your sins, and that you want to have them all forgiven by Him, and that you, here and now, give yourself entirely to Him, to be His for ever. Here is a prayer that you might use thoughtfully and quietly, thinking carefully and honestly about what you are saying and Whom you are addressing: Lord Jesus Christ, I am really sorry for all the ways I have sinned against You and other people. Thank you for dying for me, to cleanse me from my sins. Please forgive me and come into my life to change me and make me a new person. Fill me with your Holy Spirit so that I may live a life that is pleasing to you. Amen. Then, dear friend, as you rise from your knees, (if you have done all this from the heart), yon are a Christian! Does it sound too good to be true? But it is a fact! Two things remain - you must believe you are a Christian (that is what we call faith), and you must, with God’s help, strive to live like a Christian. We must take these in order. FIFTH, Faith. You must believe that Jesus has now saved you. So many people fail at this stage because of the very simplicity of God’s plan of salvation. They expect to suddenly feel some strange new feeling somewhere inside them, and when it doesn’t come they think that they must have made some mistake, and that they haven’t really been saved at all. But salvation is a matter of faith - not of feelings. It is just a question of taking God at His word. Let me tell you another story to illustrate what I mean: The great Emperor Napoleon was one day reviewing his troops. He had, as usual, let the reins fall on the back of his favourite charger. Suddenly, something frightened the horse, and it bolted. An ordinary private soldier dashed out of the ranks, caught the bridle, stopped the horse, and handed the reins back to his royal master with one hand, saluting him with the other. “Thank you, Captain,” was all the Emperor said. Most soldiers would have thought that the Emperor had made a mistake, that on the spur of the moment he had not noticed that his brave rescuer was only a common private, and not an officer. But that soldier had such implicit faith in his Emperor - and his Emperor’s word - that he saw in that simple “Thank you, Captain” his august master’s determination to raise him to the position of a captain in the army. So, without a moment’s hesitation, he inquired “Of what regiment, sire?” The Emperor, delighted at the man’s simple faith in his Monarch’s word, answered, “Of my own Guards!” The Emperor passed on, and the soldier did not return to his place in the ranks, but went straight to where the officers of the crack regiment were standing. “What are you doing here, fellow?” they asked. “I am an officer in his Majesty’s Guards,” was the quiet answer. Thinking the strange incident had turned the man’s brain, they said, “What! you an officer! Who told you that?” “He said so!” was the reply. May we not learn from that soldiers simple trust? He just took his master at his word - and acted upon it. That is what we mean by Faith. “Whosoever believeth in Him...hath everlasting life.” He “is passed from death unto life.” The moment of faith is the moment of salvation. Satan will put all sorts of doubts into your mind. “Oh you’re not properly saved!” and so forth. Don’t believe him - believe God! From the moment of consecration (as mentioned above) you area Christian. Believe it. Hang on to this for all you are worth. “Jesus has saved me, so I am a Christian. I will believe. O God, help me to believe it - help me to live up to it.” SIXTH, And now all that remains is for you to go on, day after day, year after year, in simple trust in your Saviour, and striving to follow Him. For remember that true Christianity is not a mere profession of faith. It means Christian living! When someone becomes a Christian, this new life will manifest itself in all aspects of life: at home, at work, at school. A Christian’s life must be consistent with his or her profession of faith. If a professing Christian is lazy and “slacks” his or her work, or is selfish and sulky at home, the world won’t think much of Christianity, will it? The Christian life is not at all easy. There are many difficulties to overcome, but there are many helps along the way too. ABLE TO KEEP One of the first difficulties that meets the new Christian is a kind of doubt or fear whether he or she will be able to keep true to the Master. Some even hesitate to let their decision for Christ be known to their friends - at any rate for a time - lest they should fail to live up to their profession of faith. This is a great mistake. Directly you have crossed the river, there must be no going back. Burn the bridge behind you, that there may be no possibility of retreat. Let your family and friends know of your decision for Christ, (whether they will be pleased or whether they will scoff) for thus you will not only be obeying your Saviour’s command to confess Him before men - but the very fact of your having made this declaration of faith will be an incentive to you to “strive to walk worthy of the calling.” How often a new Christian has said to me, “I doubt whether I can keep it.” I always reply, “Of course you can’t keep it; but there is One who can keep you. “The Lord is thy keeper.” He is “able to keep you from falling.” Surely you don’t question His power to do this? He who controls the world and the entire universe can surely keep you true to Him. And He will do, if only you will trust Him. As I write these lines I am reminded of the tramcar lift at Folkestone which ascends from the shore to the top of the cliff. On a visit there I thought how nice it would be to be taken so easily right up to the top of the Cliff. But perhaps the machinery might go wrong, when the lift was halfway up; perhaps the rope might break, and what then? So I spoke to the conductor and he simply said, “I’ve been on the lift for eighteen years and we haven’t had an accident yet!” Don’t you see the lesson? Christ has been piloting His children right up the “steep ascent to heaven” for around two thousand years. No one, who has put his or her whole trust in Him, has ever known Him to fail. And do you think He will fail you? But you must have a share in the battle. The Captain will come to your rescue when you are hard pressed. But you are the soldier, and you must fight, in your Captain’s armour, and under His direction. A little chap was once walking home with his aunt, wearily dragging the cricket things with which he had been playing. “Shall I carry them for you, dear?” was her inquiry. “No thanks, auntie,” replied the little fellow, “I’ll carry bat and stumps, but…you carry me!” That little boy was smart; he had a fine idea as to the “fair division of labour.” But he teaches us a lesson. We have our burdens to bear; we have our share in the fight. But we may rest ourselves on “His Almighty strength.” So - “Ask for the Saviour to help you, Comfort, strengthen, and keep you; He is willing to aid you - He will carry you through.” THE KEENITES’ PRAYER O Lord Jesus Christ To whom I have given my heart and life, Live Thou in me. Speak through my lips; Shine through my eyes; Control my inmost thoughts; And may my whole life witness for Thee today, For Thy glory’s sake. Amen. R A C Symes
