J T the Trumpet give an uncer tain sound, \tfho shall prepare him self to the battle? 1 Cor, 14-8
Stand in the Name of Jesus Stand in His Name alone, Stand not in fleshlj) power, Stand not in strength thine oWn.
F E B R U A R Y 1921
BEWARE OF RECKLESS GIVING RESOURCES Your tithes and offerings should be viewed as sacred funds entrusted to you by the Lord, and to be invested for Him. RESPONSIBILITY You should seek the wisdom of God in the distribution of these sacred funds. You have a right to know, and are account able for knowing, where your funds are going, and the character of work and workmen entrusted with them. REWARD If faithfully administered in His name and for His glory, you will find your reward in the glory. Your funds will welcome you “ in the everlasting habitations.” REGRET If you have carelessly turned your funds over to be used in schools and colleges where the Bible is belittled and faith de stroyed, or for the support of missionaries or teachers who are untrue to the Word of God, you will suffer loss from your invest ment, beside the consciousness that you have aided in the destruc tion of souls. RECOMMENDATION There are some schools that are safe. There are some mis sionary societies loyal to the whole Word of God, and there are missionaries in every land who are not counting their lives dear unto themselves. We will gladly serve you without charge and put you in touch with dependable societies, agents and agencies. Write for any desired particulars. T. C. HORTON, Superintendent, Bible Institute.
T H E K IN G ’S B U S IN E S S MOTTO: “I,the Lord, do keep it, / will water it every moment, lest any hurt it, / will keep it night and day. «■■ '■■■■■i.Bsai ....... .. '*r i- Isa. 27:3 ■ ir-g-g,1.»..". .......... t v ........'^.la-s P U B L IS H E D M O N T H L Y BY T H E BIBLE I N S T I T U T E O F L O S A N G E L E S $36-558 SOUTH HOPE STREET. LOS ANGELES. CAL. Entered as Second-Class Matter November 17» 1910. at the Post Office at Los Angeles» California under the Act of March 3» 1879 Acceptance formailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103» Act of October 3» 1917 authorised October 1. 1918. Volume XII February, 1921 . Number 2
Rev. T . C . H O R TO N » Editor in Chief
Rev. KEITH L. BROOK S. Managing Editor
A L A N S. PEARCE, A d*. Manager Contributing Editors
D R . F. W . FARR
DR . FR EN CH E. OLIVER
REV. W M . H . PIKE
D R . A . C . D IX O N
Furnish us names and addresses of worthy missionaries or Christian- workers who would enjoy The King’s Business, and we will send the maga zine to them free. CONTENTS Editorials: Wanted—More Mothers (107), From Home to Hell (108), Just Waking Up (109), The Battle of the Clouds (111), The Forces of Faith (111), World Vision in Prayer (112), Subtle Ser mons (113). 'Sentence Sermons (114) Song—“Not I, But Christ“—-Catherine E. Grill (1 i 5) Right Home ¿ife—By Dr. John R. Stratton (116) Building On “Other Foundations”—By Rev. C. H. Fountain (120) The Problem of Perfection-—By Rev. Geo. Goodman (124) He Being.Dead Yet Speaketh—By K. L. B. (127) Modem Science and Christianity—By, Arthur Mercer (129) Bible Institute Happenings— (131) Evangelistic Stories—By Institute Workers (134) Homiletical Helps (141) Notes On Jews and Prophecy (144) Thoughts For Unsaved People (146) Helps For Young Students (147) International Sunday School Bessons (148) . Daily Devotional Readings—By Dr. F. W. Farr (176) ^Terrible Conditions in China—By Rev. Reuben Torrey, Jr. (183) ^Editorial Afterthoughts (186) Book Review (188) Does the Bible Mean What It Says?—By Dr. I. M. Haldeman (189) The Anti-Christ Systems—By Dr. Mark A. Matthews (190) PLEASE When sending subscriptions, address correspondence to OSes of The King's Business, Bible Institute of Los Angeles, BSt-BBS South Hope Street Checks may be made payable to Bible Institute of Los Angeles. Do not moke checks or money orders ,to individuals connected with the Bible Institute. Y E A R FOREIGN COUNTRIES, INCLUD ING C A N A D A $1.24 - SINGLE COPIES 15 CENTS O N L Y O N E D O L L A R A
Working For You W I THOUT WORRY TO YOU
The Bible Institute of Los Angeles
wift'îT1,.'0.c"“ INVEST YOUR FUNDS
for you in definite« Gospel Work, where the WORD OF GOD is honored, thus
GIVING YOU A LIFE INTEREST from FOUR to N I N E percent, according to your age and GIVING YOU A DAILY JOY
in the consciousness that your investment can never be used for other purposes
Write Us For Full Particulars T. C. HORTON, Supt. Bible Institute of Los Angeles
WANTED—More Mothers
B are not thinking now of wives. There seems to be plenty of them, and many of them change their names so often that one does not know exactly what to call them when saying ‘ Mrs. — — • We are thinking of mothers; real mothers; old-fashioned mothers; womanly mothers; the kind that make the home. We are short on homes; real homes. We are short on mothers; real mothers. There are lots of “ tots” growing up, and “ kids innumerable, but they are so different from real children, the kind that have the imprint of a mother upon them, the tokens of a mother s care, a mother’s holy kiss, the holy touch of a mother’s hand, the fragrance of a motherly, Christian home. God designed woman as the home-maker, but somehow she seems to have been side-tracked. There are so many good women,—well-meaning, even Christian women,—who have been hearkening to a strange world-call to a “ new sphere,” a “ higher sphere,” a “ cultured sphere,” a sphere of prominence, where the books of great writers can be discussed, and politics and' social service and great national and civil interests considered; a sphere where the humdrum of the homd and family can be forgotten for a while, and the mind and heart find opportunity for expansion in the affairs of state and nation! The mother has a new vision. She can discuss great affairs with her husband. She can help to educate him,—if he can ever find time for it; for he, too, is engrossed with his lodge and his club and cannot give much time to the home. He must work hard to earn the necessary money with which to meet the monthly bills, which furrow his brow and put a weight upon his shoulders, and he must depend upon his wife to run the home, and she must depend upon the servants, and—oh, the children? Well, they must go to school andj look after themselves the best they cab, for this is the Twentieth Century and the New Age has an influence upon the home not always conducive to harmony. The husband and wife are broad ening out in opposite directions, and their attitude in the home towards each other fills the children with wonder; and somehow, somehow, the word “ home” has lost its former meaning, and the reason is clear: The home is without the mother! Is some serious mistake growing and deepening in the heart-life of women? Is the aspiration of the .woman taking the place of the God-given
108
THE K I NG ' S BUS I NES S aspiration of the mother? Can the real kind of men and "women be de veloped in homes where the wife has wrong conceptions of motherhood, and of the holy joy of moulding and fashioning the heart life of boys and girls? Would it not be well to dig into the history of some of the men of renown and find what part their mothers played in their making, and thus obtain a real estimate of the difference between a mere club woman and a big-hearted, clear-visioned home-builder, from which would come c h ild re n to the manor born” ? And it might not be out of place to pray about it. —T. C. H. \ FROM Home to Hell A secular newspaper, reporting the Laymen’s Evangelical Conference held in New York City, quotes a message from the lips of a converted gambler, at one time the proprietor of thirty-six gambling houses in that city, to the effect that all the policemen in the world could not suppress gambling. He said: “The fault doesn’t lie with the underworld. The underworld is a result. The fault lies with the homes—with the home life of church members. There's where the recruits for the city’s hellholes are prepared. During the twenty years I was in the game I found that about all the men and women who filled my houses and bet themselves into ruin were the product of the homes where card playing was encouraged. It’s across the friendly poker table or in the bridge game that Satan puts his fiery brand on the young men and women of America. It’s in the so-called Christian homes that the gambling fever begins. The underworld isn’t trying to drag innocents down. It doesn’t have to. The homes are turning out more re- cuits than they can possibly handle. They can’t he chased hack with an axe. They’ve been given their education by their parents. They’ve got their worldly wisdom at the dances, card parties and other social diversions which feature modern social life. There is nothing in the underworld that can furnish them any surprises and they are more likely to start a redder one of their own.” Our own experience with men tallies with the testimony of this con verted gambler. The gambling game has its inception in the respectable homes of many of our church members. Of what avail that the preacher and evangelist cry out against the sin of the gambler and the harlot when the parents are sowing the seed in the home, cutting the cards and dallying with the dance, and setting the seal of their approval on these soul-destroy ing agencies in the presence of their children? Have you ever pictured the frenzy of the meeting in the lower regions of these parents and children, and the bitter, biting, sarcastic, stinging accusations of the children when they charge their parents with “ You brought me here!” Talk about hell and its eternal tortures from which there is no escape! Here is a suggestion worth while considering. What can be done? Well, if you are a preacher,- you can paint the pictures for your people, and do not fear to put all the coloring in. You can never make it too vivid. If you are a parent, you can make your home what God would have it to be—a refuge from ruin for your children. And both preacher and parent and every Christian can pray andi labor and turn the tide of the home life from hell to heaven. -T. C. H.
109
THE K I N G ’S BUS I NES S
T T ill II — ^ I TP.Ì ü KW/fF
Will the Operation he Successful?
JUST Waking Up The post-millennialists are just beginning to wake up to the fact that many preachers and teachers in this country thave been studying and preaching the Bible for many years; and that a great constituency of Bible people has been raised up ; a constituency with Bible in hand and love in the heart; a people who cannot be moved from ^The I oundation by sophistry or sweet, soothing sayings, but demand a * Thus saith the Lord.” ' It is rather embarrassing for the opponents of the premillennial doc trine, as set forth so fully in the Scriptures, to be handed a Bible and requested to give the Scripture proof in denial of the doctrine of the imminent coming of the Lord, so they have commenced to print books. It is easier to write a book and bolster up the “ post” theory, than it is to produce the proof from the Word. . Now an honest presentation of the Seripture in defense of a doctrine, is a fair form of procedure, and we have been waiting, watching and won dering why it never comes. But, of course, it never can come, for the Scripture cannot be broken. It is easy to make charges and seek to confound premillennialism with Russellism and Seventh Day Adventism, and other false systems, but that is not meeting the issue fairly. We have scanned the religious newspapers and magazines for some straightforward testimony from the Word of God against the premillennial doctrine ,but it cometh not. We are told that prCmillennialists are “ swinging in hammocks” wait ing for the Lord, and that they are “ lacking in missionary zeal,” and all that old “ musty mush,’’—-when, as a matter of fact, every live Christian knows that the evangelists, the missionary leaders, the great outstanding preachers and teachers of the Bible, have been and are premillennialists.
110 THE K I NG ' S BUS I NES S We are told by our “ post” friends that the world is getting better, and that saying is a laughingstock to every fair-minded, sensible man, whether Christian or unbeliever; for the sin and unrest of the world is greater today than ever before in its history. One cheap method of attempting to discredit the premillennial doc trine is noted in a recent issue of “ The Christian Century” which asks if a new denomination is emerging. It says that “ in recent years the Moody Church of Chicago, forsaking the evangelical orthodoxy of its great founder, has turned largely to a propaganda of the second coming of Christ. A short course of instruction in proof texts of the Bible is being furnished stúdeñts to go out and preach these doctrines. In Los Angeles a similar institution has been founded with a $1,000,000 property. They claim that they are teaching ‘just the Bible.’ It might seem that this element is about to slough off from the evangelical denominations and form a new denomination, one that will have much in common with the Adventists and the Plymouth Brethren.” The only thing that is wrong with this statement is that it is false—not a suggesion of truth in it—excepting the statement that the Bible Schools named do “ teach the Bible,” and to this charge we plead guilty before the Lord and before our fellow men. We really do teach the Bible. But there never has been a suggestion or a thought of a new denomination among premillennialists. They are representative of all denominations, and these good brethren need not think that they will be able to bolster up their lost cause and unscriptural position by throwing dust. Just let them get out their Bibles, and show us from it where we are wrong, and we will gladly follow where the Word leads. A recent advertisement, in a religious periodical, starts out as follows: “ PREMILLENNIALISM—Thoughtful preachers and Sunday School teachers need to be fully aware of the fallacies and danger of the modern Premillennial propaganda. The following.list of books offers an effective equipment in meeting and defeating this modern heresy.” Then follows a list; of recent books and prices. Perhaps they will be cheaper after awhile, but they look cheap to us at any price! “ Fallacies and danger,”—well, well! Come up, John Wesley! What a mistake you made! George Mueller,—seven and a half million dollars passed through your premillennial hands and none of it stuck to your fingers. The Gospel was given,to the world and thousands of children call you blessed, but you are tagged now; you were a dangerous man! Come up, Hudson Taylor, father of the China Inland Mission with its thousand missionaries, and take your medicine. You are tagged “ danger ous” ! Rise up, Moody, Whittle, Needham, Gordon, Brooks, Pierson, Chap man, Alexander and a thousand other blessed departed saints,—you" are tagged! Turn your faces to the wall,—Torrey, Gray, Shelton, Pettingill, Munhall, Ostrom, and a multitude of other preachers, teachers, evangelists and laymen,—you are tagged “ fallacious—dangerous!” We are sorry for you all, but this is the decision of the Methodist Book Concern. —T. C. H.
THE K I N G ’S BUS I NES S
1 11
T he battle Pf the Clouds Years ago a party of us were climbing Mount Mitchell, one of the highest peaks east of the Rocky Mountains, and saw what one of the party called “ the battle of the clouds.” It was a scene never to be for gotten. We ascended gradually along the crest of the mountain nearly nine miles. On the west to our left the sun was shining) in all its glory, but there had been a conflict of clouds on that side for a while, cloud meet ing cloud as they were brought together by contrary winds. The wind blew .from the east toward the sun. . White soldiers of light stood on the crest and met the black soldiers of cloud as they marched to the' attack. The conflict raged for half an hour. It was a scene that thrilled. By and by we saw the clouds begin to waver. They parted, opened, fell back, seemed to stagger, while the sunlight followed up the victory, pursuing the clouds as they fled, and vanquished them until every valley was filled with the glory of the sunlight. In all . conflicts between clouds and light the clouds must sooner or later be defeated, for clouds are temporary and transient, while the sun light is permanent. When clouds seem to triumph, it is only a temporary victory. And in the conflict of the ages between the clouds of unbelief and the sunlight of faith in the Eternal Word of God victory for faith is certain. He who believes shall not be confounded. By faith in God and His truth we are on the side of light. We have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness., We “ walk in the light.” We “ put on the afmour of light” and the God of light will give the victory. —A. C. D. T he forces of Faith Note the roll-call of unbelief—learning, society, prejudice, self-interest, religion, and authority. Over against the learning of the schools is the wisdom and revelation of God. Over against the aristocracy of position is the aristocracy of character. Over against prejudice is truth; and in the battle between truth and prejudice, truth sooner or later will be vic tor. Over against religion degenerate is religion regenerate; over against the religion that debases is the religion that exalts, the religion of the heart, the religion of God with its holiness! and power. Over against all human authority is the authority of Christ. In a word, over against all the fallacies of the times are the facts of Christianity.. Facts are mighty forces; they are the foundation of the church, the Christian Gibraltar against which all waves of opposition dash themselves to pieces. Facts dispel fancies and destroy fallacies. Facts are immortal. You may obscure them but you cannot destroy them. They never sleep, but are always on guard or on the firing line. Facts are the fires on God’s altar of truth that bum continually. They are the stars in every night, the sun that rules every day. And Christianity, bless God' is a religion of facts...
112 THE K I N G ’S BUS I NES S There was a three-fold fact which the early disciples brought against the opposition of unbelief: the fact of Christ in His death, resurrection and exaltation. Death meant atonement; resurrection meant life; exaltation meant power. By atonement sins are put away; by life character is built up ; by power all opposition is overcome. And another fact flows from the translation of this fact into ex perience. The disciples were not messenger boys carrying facts; anybody can do that. These disciples were facts Qn feet, with eyes and hayids and hearts; they were the incarnation of the death, resurrection and exaltation of Jesus. In them these facts lived and moved and had their being. “ We can but speak the things that we have seen and heard. ’’ They were men with a vision of Christ and a revelation of God. They had seen' Jesus and heard His voice. This vision and revelation—a very part of them selves—have beep the irresistible facts in the history of Christianity. Speakng without experience is fuel without fire; it may be brilliant, but it is the brilliancy of burnished steel. Speaking withi experience has the brilliancy of the sun that carries with it light and warmth. It is a stream from the fountain that refreshes those who hear. Speaking with out experience is simply dust driven by the wind that blinds and stifles. Are we messenger boys bringing the truth, or are we the truth? Jesus Christ did not say, “ I have the truth,’' but “ I am the truth” ; not “ I have life,” but “ I am life,” and when the Christian can say not simply “ I have the truth, I have life,” but can feel it in his soul and speak it from his heart, God will work through him in mighty power. He can but speak the things which he has seen and heard. —A. C. D.' ■SMs. 3V-- a» WORLD VISION in Prayer There are two classes of people upon the earth that think in world terms, for they are the only people that are trained- along this line. The Jews, because they are scattered throughout the world and because they are clannish, are interested in all their fellow relations the world over. They think of the conditions of their Jewish brothers in the different countries and know the finances of every land. They control in a large measure the money markets of the world and therefore they are trained to think in world terms. But they do very little praying for the world, they rather “ prey” upon it. The other class of world-wide thinkers is composed of Christians who are interested in world-wide missions. Paul thought not within the sphere of Tarsus alone, or of Greece, but the whole then known world. This seems to be the Divine plan, that the Christian be as broad in his vision as the world. Of course there are a few commercial men who have traveled widely who think of the world as a whole in relation to commerce, but, alas, few of these pray. God wants His Church to grasp the whole world in prayer. This was very forcibly illustrated in an appeal for prayer that came through one of our Missionary Boards. It said, “ pray for the political conditions of the world as the work of evangelization depends
113
THE K I N G ’S BUS I NES S not a little upon peace and order. For in China, where brigandage, civil strife, and famine increasingly imperil life and hamper missonary opera tions, state craft alone is utterly inadequate; the problem^, at heart, are spiritual.” _Tr , . ' The Christian would grip the world m prayer. We are too apt to pray for our Church and our community and forget world conditions. A few months ago the General Director of the China Inland Mission came into the office on a matter of business. Before leaving he suggested having a word of prayer. He never once mentioned1China in his prayer, but he prayed for European countries, Africa, the Islands of the Sea, and especia y South America. Concerning this last mentioned country, he went into some detail, telling God about the condition of the government, the people, and the need of workers there. Before he closed his prayer we were taken around the world. Its people, its need of Christ, its oppression and misery and misrule were all laid before God. It is said of his predecessor, Dr. J. Hudson Taylor, that he was greatly burdened during the latter part of his life for South America and prayed much for that country* although he himself founded the China Inland Mission and spent most of his life m ^ ^Shall we not pray with a larger vision than heretofore? Let us learn all we can about these vast countries and be ever praying for a worid-wide revival. ~ W- H‘ P‘ m SUBTLE Sermons There are some very clear "warnings in the New Testament against the last phase of religion in this age. We are plainly told that there will be ministers masquerading as ‘‘ministers of righteousness who will preach trQth—but not THE TRUTH (John 14:6). They will exhort us to be full of sweetness, to be kind and helpful, honest and upright—but they will have not a word to say about the sacrificial death of Christ as the only approach to God and the only source of righteousness that is acceptable with God. These babblings will be eagerly listened to. They are of the flesh. (GaL 5 49-20) All heresy suits the flesh because it minimizes sin. None need wonder at the large followings gained by policy preachers It is prophesied and the big following of worldly people is an indication of the mfernal origin of the things taught. The adversary is bending, every, subtle energy to the task of deceiving men as to the way of salvation. Rev. C. H. Fquntain in ‘‘Prophetic News” said recently: ‘‘The magnitude of religious error is largely in proportion to its sub tlety and the subtlety of the error lies in the fact that often the words spoken are true, but only if addressed to the right people. One may listen to num bers of sermons in which no effort is made to distinguish between sinner and saint. It is assumed that everyone in the audience is a Christian. The un saved are confirmed in their belief that their position before God is all that could be desired. The impression is given that God is an indulgent Father who is aware that we have a great deal to contend with and will deal merci fully with our small failings, with possibly a word or two of indulgent re proof.” —Kl L‘ B'
Faith is first of all an experiment, then an experience. Paths of duty and service would open to us more readily and clearly if we would give more heed to the art of lis tening. "Be still and know that I am God." There is no calamity but sin; for everything else let Gcd be praised. That which we have given up. for God is not forfeited but transferred. There is no greater mistake than to suppose that Christians can impress the world by Compromising with It. The Word is not to be preached by fits and starts, but according to Paul, during two seasons-—“in season and out of season.” It is ours to serve; God will preserve. OUTBURSTS OF EVERETT TRUE . — a n o -rue, aid s o c ie ty tuiu. M eerA
The praise life wears out the self life. The man who deceives you most is yourself. When a man is wrapped up in himself, he makes a pretty small parcel. It is better to have a heart Without words than words without a heart. You do not need to run after happi ness. Do all the good you can and hap piness will run after you. He is truly a humble man who does hot feel proud when people praise him for his humility. . In the morning, praise God for oppor tunity—but make some use of it before the morning goes. A ton weight of human literature is not worth an ounce of Scripture. When the tongue of slander stings thee, let this be thy comfort; they are not the worst fruits on which the wasp alights. The man who is sorry he didn’t do it yesterday is always going to do it to morrow. Thé only had habit many a good man has is boasting that he hasn’t any. He who preaches economy to his wife by the yard is apt to practice it by the inch. . You can save yourself a lot of trouble by not looking for it. A soup serving church is rarely a soul saving church. Little prayers will be the result of little conceptions. A divorce-endorsing preacher suits an undivorced-from-the-world church. An idler is a watch that wants both hands; as useless when it goes as when it stands. He who embraces in his prayer the Widest circle, of his fellow creatures is most in sympathy with the mind of Godr Clipping a tiger’s claws never makes him lose his taste for blood. Too many people are deaf to counsel and open to flattery. There is always danger to those who have to talk much about religion, that their religion may become a thing of the head rather than the true religion of the heart. He who cannot hold his tongue can not hold his friends.
© evore “«Acs TiK© to . A * ANACfSLS OP *TMAO IMPORTANT ISSUESOfs TH6APPROACHIN’GL pfëc^sioêNTtA*- eceç. Tl©N# THS E
JWC A HACfs
Copied from Los Angeles Record
(An Excellent Duet)
Not I, But Christ. Copyright, 1920, by Catharine E. Grill*
Catharine E. Grill.
C. E. 6.
a
i --- £—<
s ---
mMj a 1. Christ, mySav - iour, dwelleth with me In the tem - pie of my soul, 2. Christ, whose pow’r can keep ns ev - er, Thro’onr lips shall speak each day 3. May we show His lore and mer - cy Tothe world now dead in sin; 4. “Not I,but Christ,” bethis our mot - to, As life’s journey we pur - sue; ♦ V -a- -*-• - a - - a - - a - - a - -t— t - T - ■ f c r ' t r r a a . a a . ■ a a <3 a s £ L* • e -- i - I d
w. m £ Guides my wayward, falt’ring footsteps, O’er my life takes sweet control Words of comfort, hope and blessing, Teach us what to do and say. May we point men to the Sav-iour, Precious souls for Him to win. May we bear our Saviour’s likeness, May our lives be pure and true. . . . . ; m —*—r— É è—
m
C horus . N__ N à
—N- -N—K-
“Not I, but Christ,” O bless-ed Saviour, Come, cleanse our h«»rtsand dwell with- _ m -a- -a- -a- ja __ a ^ -ja .-.^ — T :f--r
a s
y. v v
V
V
V
'' n Is N !v rii.
À
I
I T * in; Now shine thro’us in all Thy beau-ty, Il - lu - mi - nate this world of sin. •
0 -
0 -
........................ T r f i »
y y ♦ . 1920 Summer Class Song of The Bible Institute of Los Angeles. Dedicated to Mr. Lyman Stewart, President of Institute.
Is the Mainstay of the Republic Crumbling? Is a House a Home? What of the N ext Generation? Danger!! By DR. JO H N ROA CH STRATON Calvary Baptist CKurcH, Nev? York
decay of the home life of the people? We are surrendering more and more to the materialistic conditions of our modern life, and the home circle is be ing broken up. The family altar has decayed almost universally, and more and more we are going outside of our homes for recreation and pleasure. With multitudes of people^ today, it seems th&t home is the last place they want to be. When everything else has played" out, they go home. For any family to really develop along wholesome and normal lines, the members of the family need to be much together . But with the father gone all day in business,, and the mother also often'gone all day in society and at club and theater, the unity of the home life is sadly broken up. Instead of gather ing around the fireside or at the piano, as in the olden days, for loving fellow ship and joyful songs,—as soon as sup per is over, the members of the average home today scatter far and near. The young people go to the theater, the movie, or the dance hall, or some worse place of resort, and even the mother and the father are often found leaving their homes seeking their social satisfactions elsewhere. These condi tions are fundamentally harmful. After many years of observation as a pastor in the homes of the people, I record it here as a profound conviction of my mind and heart that the modern theater and movie show have done more than any other single force to mar and destroy the holier things of human life. Especially have they harmed the home life and the children of today. I re joice to see that my old friend, Dr. M. P. Boynton, df Chicago, has recently denounced these evils in most scath-
HE fundamental need of human society today is the reestablishment of a right home life. Out of the home, at last, flow all of the forces that make our educational system, our religion, and our
society what they ought to be. The proper care of childhood and meeting that, the reverence and love of parents by children, is set forth in the fifth commandment, and in the sixth verse of the twenty-second chapter of Pro verbs. The commandment reads, “Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be lofig in the land that the Lord thy God giveth thee” (Ex. 20:12), and the verse in Pro verbs says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” God promises all who heed these precepts, the bless; ing of long life. This promise applies to the modern man as much as it did the ancient Jew. We Americans can not expect to have, as a heritage, the goodly heights of Lebanon and the forests of Gilead, the snow-crowned summit of Mount Hermon, the beauties of the Sea of Galilee, or the picturesque wonders of the Jordan valley; and yet the obligation of children to hold in tender affection and highest honor the parents who gave them life and nur tured their tender years, has not been diminished, but rather has grown with the passing centuries. The love of a son for a good mother, the respect of a child for a true father, these are among the holiest and most beautiful things of earthly life. The Danger Point Today Is it not true that the greatest dan ger point in our society today is the
117
THE K I NG ' S BUS I NES S ing terms. His denunciation is none too strong. He truly says that the average show, both in theater and movie house, appeals to the grosser lusts of the flesh and strikes at those very ideals which in the past have made the home influence strong and young people clean and fbspectful to parents. The Pertness of Btodem Children Do we not see already on every side evidences of the evil fruitage from this wrong sewing? The pertness of' many children today, their sophistication— even when they are very young—and their flippant attitude toward tiheir parents and all grown people, is often shocking. The use of such expressions in connection -with the father *as “the Governor,” and in connection with mothers as “the old lady” are distress ing symptoms of wrong tendencies. Do we not, however, need to face the ques tion whether the parents are not really the ones who should h e . blamed for such unfortunate conditions wherever they exist? If parents do not bring up their children in the way they, should go, need they he surprised if, in the after years, those children are lacking in reverence, respect, and even love for them? When we look thoughtfully at the motherhood of today, how much of it can we say is really Christian? Cer tainly not that part of it in which wives and mothers seem to live for nothing except the vapid vanities of social life, with its selfish ambitions, its feverish haste and its disgusting and vulgar ef forts at display, where the hostess tries to outdo all the past performances of her rivals. The type of mother that turns over the care of the children to the tender mercies of hired nurses and spends her time gambling for cut glass punch bowls at bridge whist parties, or attending the theater in a half- dressed condition, can surely not be called, by even any stretch of charity, a
“Christian mother.” Such mothers may belong to all the forms of religion, but they know nothing of the real Christ, or of the meaning of His great Kingdom. Nor can they expect to com mand much real respect or reverence from their children. The Higher Motherhood And when we turn even to the higher type of mothers can we claim that in all cases they are truly Christian? When we remember what Christianity really is; that it is the revelation of a new life; the impartation of a new hope; the seeking after a new Kingdom higher than the kingdom of earth;— must not the conventional type of womanhood, even in its higher reaches, be said to fall below the mark? A woman who devotes herself to her home life, who is a faithful wife, affectionate parent, who comforts her husband, and looks carefully to the well-being of her children, even before any consideration of her own happiness; who is indus trious, loving, hospitable, given to good works; when we see such a type of woman today, must we not go further and ask in what manner does this woman differ from the good women of other nations and ages who are not and were not Christians? How is such a mother today superior to the pagan Roman matron* or better than the Greek mother who worshiped her gods and schooled her children in virtue? “Do not even the publicans the same?” asked Jesus concerning these ordinary duties, and then He adds, “Be ye there fore,” (instituting thus once more the sharp comparison between the pub licans, or the unregenerate, and those who are Christians), “Be ye. therefore perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect.” Must not the truly Christian mother then be something higher and greater than the ordinary “good” mother? Such a, mother as this will dress mod estly and live discreetly. She will in-
118
THE K I N G ’S BUS I NES S
culcate true principles of chastity and virtue, both in her sons and her daugh ters. Short of that, there is no per manent hope for the future. The Father in the Home of the Future And, with the same frankness, let us ask what type of fatherhood does the rising generation need to insure Its pur ity and growth into righteousness? Surely not the type of father who puts money and business success above every other earthly consideration, even to the neglect of his children. While I was living in the State of Texas, there occurred a tragedy that shocked the State. A young man of nineteen belonging to -one of the finest families of Dallas was shot down dur ing a drunken debauch in a house of ill- repute. His father was one of the best known men of the city and had amassed a large fortune. He stood in the dark ened parlor where the body of his boy lay in a coffin. Only his pastor was there with him, as with broken-hearted agony, he stretched up his hands to heaven, and cried, “O God, if you will only give me back my boy, I will give up all the dirty dollars that I have piled up while I have been neglecting his young life!” Equal with the responsibility of the mothers, is the responsibility of Chris tian fatherhood in trying to right the wrong conditions of today, to rear a God-fearing generation, and to heal the moral sore of our modern society. The flippant father, the slick, selfish, over fed, luxury-loving, church-neglecting, ease-seeking biped of today, the man who indulges in impure stories, who is inclined to smile at sanctity and»wink at evil, and who accepts immorality as a matter of course with a shrug of the shoulders, is no truly Christian father and he cannot raise a son or a daughter who will truly respect him or who will help make this world what it ought to be.. Some time ago as I walked toward the church for the night service, in another
city, I saw a crowd of young boys gath ered under the street light at the cor ner. Somewhat startled by the profan ity and lewdness of their conversation, I stopped in the shadows just outside the circle of light and quietly listened. The conversation of those boys and young men was positively nauseating, with its profanity and its immoral filth. And as I listened and watched I saw the, older boys take up a collection and send one of the younger boys into the drug store across thle way to buy cigarettes for the crowd. This was upon Sunday night, and the buying and the selling of cigarettes to a minor and on Sunday night was contrary to the law. But I saw that little lad in knee breeches make the purchase and then come out and light his cigarette with the other boys, as they continued their degrad ing talk. I passed on down the street, heavy at heart, and on my way, in going by the home of the boy who had purchased the cigarettes, I saw the father of the lad in the front room with his feet on a chair and a big cigar in his mouth, as he read the sporting pages of a Sunday newspaper! His lit tle boy was going to hell in the streets of the city, without any proper restraint or direction, and he, .the father, though the church bells were ringing, was sog- ging in laziness and self-indulgence, and almost imbecile ignorance of the harm that was being done his offspring! We cannot raise a pure race, nor can we create a -righteous society with such fathers as that! Our Country’s Strength The time has passed for mincing words about these matters, and in the face of the terrible conditions in the world, we need to face the facts and humbly before God strive for a better ideal of life and for truer and nobler Christian living. The home-life of the people is the last hope of the Republic. If ithat fails, all has failed. Many are deploring today the decay of the church and the growth of a wrong spirit of bit-
119 just and right, but it is inevitable. Yonder in the city of Memphis, Ten nessee, some years ago, a young girl stood at midnight on the bridge span ning the Mississippi River. The pity ing moon looked down in tenderness upon her and seemed to realize her dis grace. The cool waves whispered in vitingly to her, as she gazed into them and wondered If amid their silent depths there was not some rest for a betrayed and broken heart. At last the thought of her shame made death seem better to her than life, and to hide her sorrow she plunged down to a watery grave. Now listen! At that same hour, as the newspaper accounts later showed, in a saloon of that city, a sap-headed dude, in Half-drunken vanity, stood and boasted (though not knowing of her suicide) that his fortieth girl had been seduced and robbed of her virtue! Oh, tell me not that there is not a time and place where that awful wrong will be righted! Some say that they can not believe in a God Who has a hell, but I can no longer believe in God if He has nòt the purpose and the power to right that wrong; for that villain, so'far as the laws of earth are concerned, escaped. When the news of the suicide and of his connection with it was pub lished in the papers, he sneaked out of thè city, doubtless to continue his career uf infamy amid other scenes. The results of his crimes arc eternal in the wrecked lives and blighted souls of his victims, and to the last atom of his guilt eternal Jus tice will weigh out his due reward, self- imposed and fully deserved! FAITH IS VENTURE Faith is nothing else but the soul’s venture. It ventures to Christ, in op position to all legal terrors. It ven tures on Christ, in opposition to our guiltiness. It ventures for Christ, in opposition to all difficulties and dis couragements.—W. Bridge.
THE K I N G ’S BUS I NES S terness and strife in the state; but we need to face the fact that all of these unfortunate conditions have a deeper cause, and that is the decay of the home life of the people. Unless we strength en our homes and build them up, and especially unless we reestablish our family altars, and rear our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, we must suffer the consequences. Well did Dr. Chapman say: “The influence of family worship is as lasting as eternity. Many a boy who appears restless at the family altar has an impression made upon him which comes back to him with tremendous force afterwards, when he is out in the world and is battling with sin. Many a girl is ¡kept from doing that which is inconsistent because of her recollection of- the trembling tones in her father's .prayer, and the sound of her mother’s voice in song. So many times we find ourselves drifting, and suddenly we stop as if a hand had reached out to lay hold upon us. It is impossible to drift further, and all because the hand was a memory, and the memory brought before us the time of family worship when our fathers were praying, and the very atmosphere of Heaven was round about us.” A house is not a home. Home is a spiritual fact; home is an atmosphere. One poor room-—the humblest tene ment in this city—-may be a true home if only the right spirit is there. And any man and woman who builds sueh a home will not only receive the bless ings of Almighlty God, but will have the consolation also of knowing that they are serving their country in high and holy ways and doing the noblest work this world will know until it is trans formed into the Paradise of God! The thought that a good God Would allow any soul to go ito hell is stagger ing to some superficial minds, but we need to remember that the results of sin are infinite and eternal, and there fore, eternal suffering for sin is not only
.Building on “Other Foundations” Is The Doctrine of Self-Salvation A Safe Proposition ?
Cainite Religion Renewed Bÿ REV. C . H . FO UN TA IN
Fount of humanity.” “Christ was the world’s greatest ethical Teacher, Di vine in the sense that all are Divine; so good that His deluded followers took Him to be a god.” “Those who record the virgin birth sought to secure for Him the honor of celestial paternity.” “A virgin birth and a resurrection are no essential part of the Christian faith.” “The recorded miracles of Christ,are merely legendary exaggera tions.” “Every man must atone for Jiis own soul.” “Hell does not exist and never will." “Man is his own saviour.” “If man ever had a fall, it was a fall upward.” “The ‘gospel of gore’ be longs to the dark ages. Nothing of the kind was needed." “There is no far- off Judgment Day, and no judge ex ternal to ourselves.” “All are sons 01 God, and all will be saved.” These are some of the least of the “doctrines of devils” to be found in the religions of Christendom today. And it must be admitted that many of these, though not so crudely stated, form the basis of much of the preaching of today. Man as his own saviour; the Lord as an example, not as the atoning God; the ascent of man and his es sential divinity; aversion to or de preciation of the remission of sins by blood, and the pre-eminence given to self-improvement; these things are no torious in almost all the churches. The “gospel of gore” has been an of fence to men since the days of Cain, and the doctrine of attaining heaven by their own merits has attracted them since our remote ancestors sought to build a tower at Babel. “Let us build us a tower whose top may reach unto heaven, and
T seems beyond all question that the great doctrine of Christendom today is self-im provement, while the prevailing principle is either to aim at some small improvement, or, far more generally, to follow
one’s own inclinations and leave every thing else to chance and the mercy of God. Instead of calling sinners to re pentance and personal regeneration, the aim of most preachers seems to be to get everyone to assist in the work of re generating the world. But as Society, or the Nation, or the World is composed of individuals, no regeneration or re formation of the mass can possibly come about, apart from that of the individual. And if men try to build on any founda tion unknown to the Bible, their hopes are foredoomed to failure. There is lit tle need to wonder why, with all the enormous expenditure of energy in the religious world, and the ever-increasing maze of organizations run on the most approved business lines, there is yet such an infinitesimal result. It is not due to the failure of Christianity. It is due to the folly oif trying to build on “other foundations,” and Christianity has only one— the regenerate heart, without which the Christian life has not even begun. There is no need to quote at length, in support of this contention,^from the vagaries of Christian Science, Spiritual ism, Russellism, and numerous other “isms” and cults. A few flat contradic tions of Scripture from the New Theol ogy, probably the most widely accepted of all heresies in this country, will suf fice. “God is essentially man—the
121 way of atonement, and chose his own. He disliked the idea of blood, as many do today. He could see no reason for it. Nor perhaps can we. But God does not ask for our opinion. He simply states the fact: “Without shedding of blood there is no remission” ; “for it is the Blood that maketh atonement for the Soul” ; without explaining why. Nothing more was required, nothing less would suffice. But Cain has many fol lowers. Millions today are exceedingly busy bringing to God the fruits of the earth, and offering Him something He has never asked for. As well might a man who has been refused by an insurance company on ac count of his heart, assure them that he can sing and play the piano. And the preacher who leads men to suppose that no atonement is needed, or that, in any case, “a fair show in the flesh” is quite enough, has gone in the way of Cain. “And ran greedily—for reward—af ter the similitude of Balaam.” Money is not the only form of reward. There is the reward of popular applause and the favor of the worldly. And for that men will sometimes stifle their convic tions and become soothsayers, prophets of smooth things, ever ready to pipe to the tune that is paid for. “And perished in the gainsaying of Core.” What is “gainsaying”? Simply saying against. And what did Core (or Korah) say against, and against whom did he say it? In Numbers 16 we find that this man, with certain others, “famous in the congregation, men of renown,” gathered themselves together against Moses and Aaron. . Moses, through whom God spoke to the Israel ites, had been enjoined by Him; “Speak unto the children pf Israel, and bid them . . . do all My commandments, and be holy unto your God.” This com mand evidently caused great displeasure to Korah and his company, and through, their spokesman they said: “Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the con gregation are holy, every one of them,
THE K I N G ’S BUS I NES S let us make us a name.” And mankind has been trying to do so ever since. It was impossible then; it is impossible still. The controversy between atonement by blood or the fruits of the earth, and between attaining heaven by grace through conformity to God’s demands, or trying to escape future judgment and obtaining entrance to heaven by building a tower of man’s own devising, is al most as old as the human race. The “golspel of gore” was the cause of the first quarrel on record. Cain and Abel are representative of all Christen dom. “By faith (or belief in God’s Word) Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain,” and Cain slew him. “And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his broth ers righteous.” We have no warrant for supposing that Gain was an aban doned reprobate. His evil lay chiefly in the fact that he rejected God’s way pf atonement and brought something “nicer”— the fruits of the earth. And men have been bringing them ever since. But that which is of the earth is— earthy, and that which is born of the flesh is—flesh, and no human effort can make the one heavenly or the other spiritual. Today we have the same cleavage; those who offer God what He demands, and those who offer what they think ought to satisfy Him. Today the follow ers of Cain vastly outnumber the ad herents of Abel. Cain has triumphed. The fruits of the earth have won the day. In Jude we find a reference to three outstanding men, men who may be re garded as typical of, or as representing, great numbers of modern preachers— Cain, Balaam and Core. “Woe unto them, for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the errbr • of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.” ■What was the way of Cain? Simply this: that he tried to improve on God’s
122
THE K I N G ’S BUS I NES S “Vengeance belongeth unto Me. I will recompense, saith the Lord.” “Tomorrow the Lord will show you who are His and who are holy.” He will. He will show it when the Lord comes for His people. Not one unregenerate, unredeemed soul will then mount up with eagle’s wing into the air, not one who is trusting to the fruit of the earth, nor one who imagines he can atone for his own soul, nor one who rejects the Word of the Lord, and does despite unto the Spirit of Grace, will be in that great company. “The Lord knoweth them that are His.” Still more so will He show it when He gathers the dead, small and great, before Him in judgment. Many there will be in that great throng who, like Cain, have rejected the only God-ap pointed atonement; dike Balaam have been all things to all men for reward; and like Korah have spent their time assuring men that ali the congregation are holy—every one of them. “He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy. Of how much sorer punishment, sup pose, ye, shall these be thought worthy?” Like Cain they must forever go out from the presence of the Lord, having their part with “the fearful and unbelieving and . . . all liars,” for such they are, who “bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, causing many to follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of,” For, according to Scrip ture, everything else pales into insignifi cance before The Lie, by which, in whatsoever form it may be uttered, hu manity is seduced from the plain truth of the Bible. To reject the Word of God for the puerile guess-work of men, is for anyone a serious matter; to teach men so is infinitely worse. And judgment is inevitable. They will perish, says the apostle, because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved. And as with Pharaoh, when men harden their hearts
and the Lord is among them.” Moses’ answer was short and sharp, and pro phetic of a greater judgment: “Tomor row the Lord will show you who are His, and who is holy, and on that fate ful morrow “the earth opened' her mouth and swallowed them up, and they all went down into the pit. . ... . . and perished.” That -was God’s reply to their pre sumption in rejecting His ordinances, and asserting that without any such useless and unnnecessary atonements “all the congregation were holy, every one of them.” Korah has many follow ers today. He was of the sons of Levi, the priestly class, a minister to the peo ple. "Seemeth it a small thing that the God' of Israel hath separated you to stand before the congregation to minis ter unto them?” A small thing! Nay, it is one of the most serious things a man can attempt, to speak in the name of God. Korah and his company—ministers and men of renown in the congregation —were the New Theologians of their day. They may, perchance,’ have dis liked, as men do today, the "gospel of gore.” i They resented it. There was no need for such pagan superstition, and as for this Moses, they were quite as good as he, and probably better. “Ye take too much upon ourselves^ the con gregation is already holy, every one/’ Higher Criticism and New Theology are no new things. Their apostles in the far-off past were Cain, Balaam and Korah. | And the judgment on each was sharp and drastic. Cain, driven out from the presence of the Lord; Balaam, slain with the sword; Korah, plunged alive into the bowels of the earth. But who shall say that the destroyers of God’s Word, who go about to establish their own and their congregations’ righteous ness, and have counted the blood of the covenant as an unholy thing, shall meet with judgment any less severe? It is in this connection the apostle adds,
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108Made with FlippingBook HTML5