No. 3
MARCH, 1914
Voi. V
FIFTY CENTS A YEAR
M O T T O : “ I the Lord do keep it. Ï will water it every moment lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.’— Isa: 27:3. THE KING’S BUSINESS B. A. TORREY, Editor J. H. SAMMIS, T. C. HORTON, J. H. HUNTER, Associate Editors Entered as Second-Class matter November 17, 1910, at the postoffice at Eos Angeles^ ¡California, under the Act of -March 3, 1870'. Organ pfThe Bible Iiistitute of,Ld^ AingeieSi Inc. ■Auditorium Building, Cor. Fifth and Olive, Los Angeles, California.
DIRECTORS
E. A. K. Hackett. S. I. Merrill. R. A. Torrey, Dean. Giles Kellogg. Robert Watchorn. William Thorn.
Lyman Stewart, President. Rev,; A. B. Prichard, Vice-President. William Thorn, Secretary. J. M. Irvine, Treasurer. T; C, Horton, Superintendent. H. A. -Getz.
I DOCTRINAL STATEMENT 'iwjbt hold to the Historic Faith of the Church as expressed in the Common Creed of Evangelical Christendom and including: The Trinity of the Godhead, ji.Thjê Deity of the Christ.
The Maintenance of Good Works. ! The Second Coming of Christ. 3 The Immortality of the Spirit. : The Resurrection of the Body, it ij The L ife Everlasting of Believers. ; The Endless Punishment of thè Im penitent. The Reality and Personality Of Satan. (4) Spanish Mission. Meetings every night. (5) Shop Work. Regular services- in shops and factories. (6) Jewish Evangelism. Personal work among the Hebrews. (7) Bible Women. House-to-house visitation and neighborhood classes. (8) Oil Fields. A mission to jn en on the oil fields. (9) Books and Tracts.' Sale and dis tribution of selected books and tracts.
. The Personality of the Holy Ghost. |p|hfè Supernatural and Plenary au thority of the Holy Scriptures. Hffihfl Unity in Diversity of the Church, which is the Body and Bride of'CErist. |Thé Substitutionary Atonement, liphe Necessity of the New Birth. P in r n n e * ^ e Institute trains, free of ill I p 0 S Beost; accredited men and Women, in the knowledge and use of tie Bible. (1) p I! 8 f •HI6111Classes held daily ex cept Saturdays and Sundays. (2) Extension work. Classes and con ferences held in neighboring cities and towns. (3) Evangelistic. Meetings conducted by our evangelists.
OUR WORK
The I n s t i t u t e
THE KING’S BUSINESS
. Table of Contents Editorials: “ Need Bible Criticism Make the Church Uneasy?” — Secular Papers Defending1 the Bible while Some of Our Theologians Are Undermining Faith in It—The Silliness and Inaccuracy of a Higher Critical Scholar Exposed. . . . 125 By W. H. Gfiffith-Thomas, D. D .................... 130 “ Like Men that Wait” (Poem ). By D. W. Whittle...................... 136 The Fundamental Principles of Christianity in the Light of Modern Thinking. By John M. Maclnnis, B. D................ 137 Wouldst Thou Be Perfect? (poem ). By Maltbie D. B ab cock ... 140 With the Lord (Obituary). By T . C. H o r ton ............................... 141 From Gloom to Gladness (Easter poem). By J. H. Samm is.. . . 143 Studies in the Gospel According to John. By R. A . T o r r e y ... 144 The International Sunday School Lessons. By J. H. S.*........... 149 The Heart of the Lesson. By T . C. H o r ton .. . . . . . ........................ 157 Junior Endeavor Topics.. By J. K H. S ............................................ 159 A t Home and Abroad ..........T............................... ................................ 161 Hints and Helps............ ................................................... . 165 Questions and Answers. By R. A. T orrey ........................................ 170 Bible Institute of Los Angeles............................................................... 171. Book Reviews..................................................................................... .. 180 The Christian Life: Its Perils and Protection.
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DR. TORREY’S NEW BOOK THE RETURN of the LORD JESUS The Key to the Scriptures, and the Solution of AH Our Political and Social Problems or The. Golden Age that is Soon Coming to the Earth
By R. A. TORREY, D. D. Dean of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles
The Second Coming of the Lord is most ably presented by Dr. Torrey as the most precious truth the Bible contains— the safeguard against all current heresies, errors and false hoods—the believer’s hope and joy.
The following excerpts from press notices indicate how the book is being re ceived:
“Like all of Dr. Torrey’s books this book is written with absolute clarity and is free from passion.’B-The Pacific Presbyterian. “ The book is no exception to the author’s other writings in its clear, clean-cut state ments of God’s truth.”—Christian Herald of London. “Dr. Torrey offers this as ‘the key to the Scriptures.’ He finds the second coming or Christ mentioned 318 times in the 260 chap ters of the New Testament, and he considers it ‘the most precious truth the Bible con tains.' ” “Dr. Torrey is vigorous in his style, and his appeal is wholly to the Scriptures. This book gives a concise and reliable statement of the pre-millennarian view by one who holds it firmly and intelligently.”—The Pres byterian, Philadelphia. “For a comparatively small book it is ex ceedingly exhaustive on the glorious theme all Christians should have so much at heart. It could not be simpler, and, for clear Scrip ture teaching, it is a book after our own heart.”—The Morning Star, London. "Dr. Torrey writes in the earnestness and simplicity of a profound Christian faith. He believes the Scriptures and takes God at His word.- Jesus is to come again. This is his assurance, and the theme of this volume, which is full of the Scriptures.’! “The able treatment of this important sub ject which is given in these pages will, we are sure, be appreciated by many who love to think of Christ’s reappearing, and who regard it as the only remedy for the present condition of the world. Dr. Torrey’s book is
sure to be widely read, as it deserves to be.” —The Life of Faith, London. “If our readers desire a concise and yet comprehensive treatise to put into the hands of an inquirer, this is the one by all means. It treats of the importance of our Lord’s coming1again, its certainty, the manner of it, the results, the time, and our attitude with reference to it. It also gives a collation of Scripture passages on the second coming of Christ for individual study. We urge the study of this subject upon all our Christian brethren, both ministers and laymen, sug gesting that they could not get a better text book with which to begin the study than this of Dr. Torrey.”—Christian Workers’ Maga zine, Chicago. “This great evangelist, Bible teacher, scholar and author has put his whole heart into this little work. He mentions as one of the four great religious experiences of his life his realization of the Bible doctrine of Christ’s Second Coming. He says: ‘It trans formed my whole idea of life, it broke the power of the world and its ambition over me, and filled my life with the most radiant op timism even under the most discouraging cir cumstances. He is absolutely true to the Scriptures and quotes both the Old Testa ment and the New Testament very freely. It is a most heartening little volume, published in good type and on splendid paper, and at the small price should have a large circula- pon It is true to the Scriptures and loyal to the Lord and will strengthen the faith, brighte nthe hope, quicken the zeal and purify the life of any true child of God who reads it. ”—The Western Recorder, Louis^- ville.
Can be had in two Binding«—Cloth 50c. Paper 25c.
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LOS ANGELES
The King’s Business
Voi. 5
MARCH, 1914
No. 3
“Need Bible Criticism Make the Church Uneasy?” I N the January 8th issue of THE CONTINENT, there is a very specious but .misleading leading article under the above caption. O f course, Bible criti cism need not make the Church uneasy, neither has the true Church any reason to be uneasy about anything else, we know our God and can trust Him and He today, as well as in Isaiah’s time,- “ will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed upon Him” (Isa. 26:3). We also know that the Bible is the Word 'of God, and that none of men’s attacks, no matter how specious nor how furious, can undermine the “ impregnable rock of Scripture.” Heaven and earth may pass away but His Word shall not pass away (Matt. 23:25). The .Book that has successfully withstood eighteen centuries of assault by the Devil’s heaviest artillery, is not going down before the air guns of modern biblical criticism. But while this is true, there can be no question that the faith of many young men and young women who are professed Christians is being undermined by the teaching that they receive in some of our present day universities, which they are assured is the result of the latest scholarship but which, in point o f fact, is utterly unscholarly. Neither can there be a doubt that there are a large number o f ministers in our evangelical churches who have been shorn of their power by the fallacies of the biblical criticism that is taught in some of our leading theological seminaries. The article to which we refer has many misleading statements in it. For example, we read, “ Of course, it is unthinkable that God would inspire a lie. But this question (that is, the question o f inaccuracies in.biblical statements re garding history and physical science) does not have reference to lies, it is con sidering such innocent inaccuracies as are bound to creep into the annals of any time or people even when transmitted through the most honest and sincere historians. Besides, it looks to various forms of fanciful literature as allegory, poetry and romance, which every intellectually alive nation has produced more or less abundantly.” Now the real meaning o f this any one who is posted as to present-day discussion knows. It is an attempt to insidiously poison people with the notion that statements which are plainly made as history in the Old Testament and are treated as history by our Lord Jesus Himself and by Paul are merely “ allegory," poetry and romance.” It also is meaut to suggest, as it does suggest, that the historical part of the Bible and such scientific statements as are made, abound in “ innocent inaccuracies.” It loses sight of, or seeks to obscure, the fact that biblical History is not merely “ transmitted through the most honest and sincere historians” but is inspired history, that is, the writers were inspired in their selection of their material and in their method of recording it. Here is another dangerous statement in the article, “ Suppose now, in form ing the canon of His inspired Word, God chose to speak a part of His message through some earnest man who, in common with his neighbors, accepted tra ditions of history not in all details literally exact—would God correct that man’s history before letting him speak the spiritual message inspired in him?”
126 THE KING’S BUSINESS The implication of this is plain enough, and the answer is simple enough, if God chose a man to speak part of His message and that message included the history of redemption, He certainly would;' make him exact in recording that history. Further on the article says, “ It was not the history which inspiration was given to convey, but a message of God’s character, power, love and purposes.” This is specious but misleading, for it is by the history that the “message of God’s character, power, love and purposes” is conveyed. In fact, Christianity is not speculations, but facts. The Gospel is facts (see 1 Cor. 15 :l-4). If the facts are untrue, the revelation cannot be true. The editorial goes on to say, “ Bunyan, writing ‘Pilgrim’s Progress,’ pro duced; by God’s Spirit a volume full o f God’s truth. Yet his story is fiction— allegory.” This statement is illogical to the point of silliness. ' Are we to understand that Bunyan was inspired in the sense and to the extent that the men whom God chose to be the human instruments in the preparing of His Word were inspired? In the very next sentence the writer himself says that he was not. He says, “ To be sure, Bunyan was not inspired as the Bible writers were.”’ Then the whole argument ■ falls to the ground. The writer goes on to ask, “ Might not the Spirit have used a talent for allegory in some of them (that is the Bible writers) also?” Certainly He might in writing alle gory, but thé trouble with the present-day biblical criticism is, that whàt is definitely stated as history (and what the Lord Jesus and Paul interpret as his tory) is taken as allegory. The writer goes on to say, “ Indeed, a host of Christians have already seen the first chapter of Genesis in new meaning and bèauty ündér some such thought as this; As lorig as that chapter was taken for matter-òf-fact chronicle only, it seemed in distressing conflict with geology.” To this the answer is simple enough.. Any Christians who have seen thè first chapter of Genesis as allegory have seen it as what it is not intended to bè. It is’ given as history, its whole significance depends upon its being history,-and so far from there being any distressing conflicts, with geology, the greatest geologists that this country has ever produced have said that it was in most striking harmony with the teaching of geology. It was the privilege of the writer to specialize in geology under the greatest geologist that America ever produced, Prof. James G. Dana, of Yale, one of the greatest men of sciènce of the age, and Prof. Dana said in his hearing that one reason why he believed the Bible to be the Word o f God was because of the wonderful agreement of the teaching of the first chapter o f Genesis with the most recent discoveries, of geology. Lord Kelvin,, admittedly one of the very first scientists of our day has said that there was absolutely no conflict between the teachings of the first chapter of Genesis and the established results of modern science. When men like Lord Kelvin make such assertions as this, it is almost amusing for men who have no name whatever in the scientific world to make statements like that found in this editorial, or statements' like that made by a leading Scotch theologian who has no ñame whatever in the world of science or of history, that, any one who took the first chapter óf Genesis as being scientific or historical did not know what science or history were. Men who know more about history as a science and more about physical science in one day thàn this theological writer will in a lifetime have frankly stated that the first chapter of Genesis was accurately scientific and the very foundation of history. The writer in THE CONTINENT goes on to say, “What is the Bible
THE KING’S BUSINESS 1 27 for? To tell men how to find their way home to God.” Correct, but if it is full of historical and scientific inaccuracies,-it cannot tell any clear thinker the way home to God. In the closing sentence in his article, the writer seems to try to hedge. He says, “ Besides the general trend of investigation runs continually more strongly to demonstrate the exactitude of Scripture, even in details not necessary to its mission. Scholarship is more and more positively affirming the Bible to be reliable history.” These words are true, but they invalidate the whole earlier part of the editorial. The fact is that what has been called “ scholarly criti cism” of the Bible is being discovered to be utterly unscholarly. It is true that many who have read more or less of the German Destructive Criticism of a generation ago, (or Scotch or English echoes of it) and have not kept abreast o f modern discoveries in the domain of archaeology and of biblical criticism are still making these old assertions and boasting of their scholarship in doing ’ it ; but, in doing so,, they show that they are not scholarly no"r up to date, but unfortunately they do have the ear of a large share of our teachers in univer sities and theological seminaries and are undermining the 'faith of men who are to take the pastorates of our churches at home, and alas! are even going to the foreign field and doing an awful work in upsetting the immature thinkers among the native converts who are preparing for missionary work. Secular Papers Defending the Bible, while Some of Our Theologians Are Undermining Faith in It. I N striking contrast with the editorial in THE CONTINENT, a Presbyte rian paper, is one in COLLIER’S WEEKLY, which is not supposed to be a religious paper. We give the same herewith : “Back to the Bible” “ Certain of our wise men of today have shaded away sin till it becomes an expression of temperament. They tell us that we sin, because our grand father sinned, and because our home is situated in the wrong block. These are clever words of clever comforters, and surely they ought to wipe away forever the tears'from our eyes. But they do not speak to human need. They leave the sinning one to continue in despair. He does not ask that his sin shall be explained away. He wishes forgiveness and a fresh start. In the Book, which is not read as it once was, there are no soft words about sin. But the way out is shown. And not only is forgiveness offered in this Book, but man’s need o f comfort is met. There is comfort in plenty. These writers knew the human heart. »They saw man broken by his toil and his grief. And»for this, too, they' had the answer. They told of a Being of love, hidden just back of this rude and temporary universe. This love, they said, is conscious of how the littlest child and the old man »re sick at heart for one to come close to their loneliness. Has the human heart changed under the wear of the centuries, so that sin no longer seeks forgiveness and grief has no need of a comforter? Have our ships sailed so far that they have revealed to us a braver continent than the field where pain once reigned? Is our science so acute that it has banished failure from man’s life? Is man’s heart at last self-sufficient and all-sufficing?”
128 THE KING’S BUSINESS The Silliness and Inaccuracy of a Higher Critical Scholar Exposed. I N the HERALD AND PRESBYTER of January 21st, 1914, is found the following article by John Tallmadge Bergen of Minneapolis. It needs little comment. It shows on the one hand how a deliberate attempt is being made to inoculate our Sunday School children with the pernicious falla cies of the Destructive Criticism, and 'on the other hand how weak and un- scholarly and foolish this Destructive Criticism often is. Dr. McFayden is considered as one of the brightest of the Destructive Critics, but this article exposes some of the almost incredible inaccuracies and lack of sound logic of the supposedly “ scholarly criticism” : “ The Sabbath School lessons as taught in THE HOMILETIC REVIEW of August, by Professor J. E. McFayden, are a startling example of the weak ness and poverty of the naturalistic method of biblical study. In his lesson on “ Crossing the Red Sea,” he makes a palpable geographical slip when he writes, Whether the Gulf of Akaba to the right, or, as most scholars suppose, the Gulf o f Suez to the left, or perhaps even a lake north of this , . . ’ It is no matter of doubt that ‘most scholars’ would suppose it to be the Gu}f of Suez or an extension of the same body of water. No scholar can have supposed that the Red Sea of the crossing of the Israelites could have been the Gulf of Akaba, which lie's east of Sinai. “ Again, in the lesson, ‘The Bread from Heaven,’ Dr. McFayden writes: ‘It is Very probable that in some waÿ the quails in Exodus 16 have crept in from Numbers 11; they are certainly of no importance in Exodus 16.’ It is plain to every one who studies the topography of the peninsula on which these events took place, and also, the habits of the birds, that where the miracle is reported to have taken place is the identical locality where the quails cross from Africa to the scores of Asia in the spring time. Even from a naturalistic standpoint one would think that the quails were very much in place in Exodus 16. Only the miraculous enlargement of a natural event is needed to fill every exegetical requirement. “ Our cautious teacher goes on to say : ‘ But again there is reason to be lieve that this chapter appears-earlier in the book than it once did.’ . He cites' the laying up of the pot o f manna before the ‘testimony’ to,prove that, when the pot of manna was laid up, the ‘testimony’ or tabernacle was- standing complete; and therefore the chapter which is constructive and orderly in the history of the jo'urney of Israel must have been later in the book. And does the professor fear that the pot o f manna sealed up. in its divine security would not keep until the ‘testimony’ could be erected? It was a matter of only a few weeks when they would arrive at the Holy Mount, and the building of the ‘testimony’ was completed before the end of the first year. “ But the final and heart-breaking weakness in Professor McFayden’s les sons is his retreat behind the naturalistic explanation of the manna by Professor Driver. The tamarisk tree is brought in once more; and^ts white juice, falling in the night from an insect’s sting, and forming on the sand into small round grains of sweetish tasté and good for Arabs’ food, is the manna. Professor McFayden does not quote all of Dr. Driver’s statements ; that would be going too far ; but the fatal inference suggests itself to the reader and the super natural fades away from the Bible history. But there is a .hilarious side to
THE KING’S BUSINESS 129 this explanation, also. Tamarisk trees exude gum for two months only; and tamarisk trees are comparatively rare in the peninsula of Sinai. ‘The entire supply would not feed one man for a year.’ Tamarisk gum cannot be baked, except to vanish away from any food form. It contains no food elements capable of nourishing the human body. At best it is but a passing confection, or even medicine. Let us picture, then, the children of Israel journeying for forty years and accompanied by the necessary forests of tamarisk trees and the needful insects doing ever their stinging business under divine guidance, and the gum with its constituent elements changed into nitrogenous food values— one can hear the monks of Mount Sinai chuckle as they imagine such a wealth of tarfa gum! Either this, or the inference that the passing use of a little handful of the gum was the historical foundation for the myth of the manna! We find no escape from the dilemma into which Professor McFayden has been led. Then there comes.to us the solemn scene in Galilee when Jesus sadly told the expectant multitude that He would not longer give them earthly bread that came down from heaven. ‘It was not Moses that gave you the bread out of Heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread out of heaven.’ If the manna of Exodus is*not a miraculous bread, there is a moral stain upon the testimony of Jesi^s. ‘Bread from heaven’ is the testimony of Nehemiah 9:15; ‘Bread from heaven’ is the testimony -of Psalm 105; ‘And he rained down manna upon them to eat, and gave them -food from heaven’ is the testimony of Psalm 78. “We who are preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ in America are dis gusted when a magazine of standing and historical worth foists upon us the frayed out, vapid exegesis of Dr. Driver. That school of interpretation had its day, did its bitter work and left its wrecks all along its pathway. We do not care to hear of it in up-to-date Bible study. We earnestly warn all our brethren, ministers and laymen, against such publications. Keep them out of sight! They are but sad relics.”
|jjj«t run» la (ttlfriat rtarn from tlje hrah anit hrromr tiff firat fru ita o f tljem that alrpt, (0 fceatlf, m lym ia tlfg ating? © graue, mljere ia tlyg uirtorg? ®lfe a tig g o f hratlj ia at«; anil tiff atrrngtlf o f at« ia tlje lam. Hut tlfanka ho to (Hah, mlftrlf gtarttj mb tfye oirtorg ttjrooglf o « r iCarh 3 m t a flUfriat. Elyereforc, mg hclotteh brethren, he g e atrhfaat, «nmoueable almaga abomthutg in ttfe morfe o f tiff ffiorh, faraam«rlf aa ge knout ttfat gour labour ta not fn oatn tn ttf& Harh.— 1 d o r . 1 5 : 2 0 ,5 5 - 5 8 .
The Christian Life: Its Perils and Protection*
GR IFF ITH -THOMAS , D. D. think of our P erils . It would almost' seem as though St. John gives us his teaching largely in a three-fold way. There are three perils mentioned in this epistle. 1. The first is called “ t h e world .” In chapter 2:15-17, we have the most important passage in this epistle, on that subject.- What is the world? I wish somebody could tell me. It is .one of the most difficult things to de fine; indeed, I would say it is impossi ble to define it. Perhaps the nearest approach -is, that the'world means everything in «the present order of things separate frjim God. At any rate, this is clear: the world is not a sphere, but an atmosphere; not a po sition, but a condition; not a place, but a power; not a territory, but an in fluence. This passage tells us of a three-fold evil in the world. “ Eove not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the vainglory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” Perhaps the word materialism, in its widest sense, is the best idea of what worldliness means. And yet even here y.ou will notice that there is no close definition. There are many things that could be called “ the lust of the flesh, the lust o f the eyes, and the vainglory of life.” There are some things’ that are recognized at once clearly as of the world, and the Christian soul, as a rule, finds practically no difficulty in detecting these. The difficulty comes with other things which are amongst the doubtful ones, and as far as lean see we can only test them by their ef fect on the Christian life. What is the effect of these doubtful things on our devotional life of prayer, our de-
By REV. PROFESSOR W . H. F RO.M the Epistle, as a whole, we have endeavored to see sorrie- thing of the purpose of the Christian life, with its privileges in that purpose; and then how that Christian life may be experi enced arid lived by God’s own method of proof in- the light of the Divine Pattern of bur Saviour. We must now look at the Epistle more in detail for its teaching of various aspects of the Christian life. It is manifestly impos sible to cover anything like all the as pects found' even in this short epistle, but for this morning we must look at some dangers of the Christian life, and how they are to be met; because even the highest and truest life has its per ils. We might have supposed that the higher our experience the more im mune we should be from attack. But of the five “ heavenlies” in the Epistle to the Ephesians, one o f them has to do with our enemies in those very heavenly places. And so’ this Epistle, while concerned with the fullest, strongest, highest, deepest truths, does not fail to remind us of dangers in that' pathway. You will remember that in Psalm 63 we have, first, “ My soul thirsteth for Thee”—the soul seeking. Then we have, “ My soul shall be satisfied”— the soul satisfied, ' Then again, “ My soul followeth hard after Thee”—the soul making progress. But it does not stop there, for the next verse tells us, “ Those that seek My soul, to de stroy it.” It is when the soul is seek ing, satisfied, and following that Satan endeavors to destroy it. I. . P er il . First, then, this morning, let us *An address delivered Tuesday, August 5, 1913, at Montrose Bible Conference, Montrose, Pa.
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Antichrist.
votional life of Bible meditation, and our practical life of Christian service ? Do they make us less desirous of prayer, or. of the Bible, or of work for God? If they do, we may be per fectly certain that somehow or other they come within the category of that which is “ of the world.” At any rate, there are two dangers in worldliness; the danger that the line of demarca tion is removed; and the danger of our spirituality being robbed. Worldli ness removes the line of demarcation between the Church and the world, and it robs the soul of everything that is. included in the term spirituality. You will notice in this passage, ( “Dove not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him” ) that there is a contrast between the two loves. Love, in the Bible, we know is not a senti ment, but a sacrifice; not a feeling, but a fact; not an emotion but an energy. Therefore, loving the world means the definite, unmistakable attitude of the soul which can be described by this word, “ love.” Notice, also, in passing the doom of the world. The world is passing away, and its lust. So that you have as an enemy the love of the world, and this is our first peril. I have said very little yet that will en able us to detect worldliness, but I hope, before I finish, to say a little more along this line. I will just add one thing—I believe it will apply to, perhaps, ninety-five per cent of our problems. Whenever we are in doubt as to worldliness, worldliness, it may be, companions; worldliness, it may be connected with our intellectual life; worldliness, it may be, connected with our recreation; this will go far to settle the question: “What, in this re spect, would the Lord Jesus Christ wish me to do?”—not “What would Jesus do?” ; but “What would He now have me to do?”
2. The second peril is ‘ called “ A ntichrist ” (2 :1 8 ). “ It is the last hour; and as we have heard that Anti christ cometh, even now there have arisen many Antichrists.” You have another reference to Antichrist in 4:3. As far as I can read the New Testa ment, the Antichrist of St. Paul is sec- idar, the Antichrist of St. John’s epis tles is religious, and the Antichrist of the Apocalypse is both secular and re ligious. Antichrist means the oppo nent of Christ, but 1 would beg of you earnestly to notice that it is an oppo nent who imitates, he who is against Christ, because he is an imitator of Christ. Today according to St. John, we have the spirit of Antichrist. By and by there will be the person of Antichrist. Fundamentally he is not what we should call irreligious, but rather religious. You find in St. Paul’s epistles, and you get it here, too, that he is the one who opposes by imitation. Whenever you find a spuri ous coin circulated, you may be per fectly certain that there is a good coin somewhere about, because people never imitate a bad thing. This imi tation of Christ is splendid testimony to the power of our Lord ; and our greatest danger in the Christian life' today is that there are so many imita^ tions o f Christ. I should like to show this morning how this epistle, writ- : ten ages agOj seems to have antici pated various forms of the imitation of Christ today, which are really anti- Christian. There is one imitation of Christ called Christian Science, which is nei ther Christian nor scientific. What does that really mean? It is an imi tation of Christ, but it imitates by de nying the Son, and of course, denying the Atonement. Some years ago, as the result of a fire in that church which is now St. Paul’s, Portman Square, London, we occupied for our services
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a large room close by the church, and the Christian Scientists were occupy ing, during their first attack on Lon don, another room in the same build ing. Going through their room to reach my own place of service one Sunday morning, I took up their hymnbook, and I noticed that every thing distinctive of Jesus Christ was altered in some of the old-fashioned hymns. We sing here, “ Jesus shall reign where’er the sun.” That -was altered to “ The .Lord shall reign where’er the sun.” This is- only one instance out of many that could be adduced to show that Christian Science is not Christian; and it is not Chris tian because it attacks Christianity at that most vital part, the Atoning Sac rifice of Christ, with all that is in volved of sin in the sight oLGod. Another imitation of Christ today is called “ Millennial Dawn.” It should be Millennial Darkness. Here, again, it is religious, but it is an imitation, one that denies the Deity of Christ, and the Sacred Trinity of the New Testament. There are other denials, but these are sufficient for our present purpose. Whatever else you may say about Millennial Dawn teaching, itdoes not teach the Christ of the New Testa ment. . Young Christians should be particularly on their guard, because these things are spoken of a.s coming from the International Bible Students’ Depository—all innocent and delight ful words, but not in that connection. Another imitation of Christ is Spir itualism, that craving for contact with the unseen which marks so much of our modern life. One well-known person, wrote a little while ago, that “The veil is becoming thinner between this world and the next, and perhaps bve and bye we shall find that those who have passed on in front of us will be surrounding us as helpers.” I want to ask this question this morning for your consideration: Are the dead
with us? or are they with Christ? I know that Hebrews 12:1, is some times used to illustrate the thought of a vast arena in which we are running, and the dead are encompassing us about, looking down upon us as we run the race. “ Seeing we are com passed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us run.” Well, now, it so happens that there was a very fa miliar word in the Greek available to the writer, meaning eye-witness, spec tator. He could have used that as eas ily as possible, but he did not, for the word “witness” is not eye-witness, but “ testifier.” . The fact that the writer avoided the very thing that would have given the Spiritualist his idea is surely a testimony to the Divine Inspi ration of Scripture. “ Seeing we are compassed about”—-not with so great, a crowd of spectators looking down upon us, but of those who are bearing witness to God. The same word is found again and again in the gallery of faith in Hebrews 1L If St. Paul— mark this, please—could have helped the Christians by coming back from the unseen, why should he have been in “ strait between two’G-whether to depart, or to stay? If he could have come back to help them, there would have been no question at all; he would have gone. If St. Peter could have come back and helped those believers to whom he wrote in 2 Peter 1 :14, 15, why did he take such precautions that after his death they might know and be established in the truth? That is not absolutely essential if the dead somehow or other can help those that are living. So I want to say that Spiritualism is one of the most terrible corrosives .of spirituality. Wherever there is Spiritualism, you will find, sooner or later, a loss o f belief in the Deity of our Lord, in sin, and in the Atonement. David said, “ I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.” That, read in the light of the New
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Testament passages to which I have referred, seems to show perfectly clearly that the veil is not becoming thinner, but rather the spiritual intui tion o f those who talk and write like this, is becoming vastly thinner in stead. There is one more modem move ment called “ the Tongues Movement.” I want to speak with respect, and yet with faithfulness, about this. I "do not hesitate to include it among those movements, though from an entirely different point of view, which can only be described as essentially anti-Chris tian. It is impossible for me to enter fully into this. I will only ask you to notice that in the New Testament the gift of “ tongues” is inferior to all the rest. Of all the gifts in 1 Corinthians 12, this comes last. If you will look at the Gospels, there is only one ref erence to it in them; and only about three in Acts. Elsewhere in the New Testament it is only found in 1 Cor inthians 14. That does not look very much like prominence. But in the light of what is happening today we ought to face this fact and study our New Testament as to what “ tongues” means. There is no proof in Scripture that these “ tongues” were to be permanent gifts in the Church. There is no proof whatever that the possession of these “ tongues” means the possession of the Holy Ghost. Amid all the dif ferences and controversies connected with terms and ideas about the Holy Spirit, I will challenge any one to show that these ‘Tongues” are o f ne cessity a proof that the person who claims to possess, and use them is un der the dominion of the Holy Ghost. But if you will study the locus classi- cus . of this subject (1 Cor. 14) you will find, in particular, how inferior “ tongues” are to the gift of prophecy, the inspired proclamation of the Gos pel ; you will see how St. Paul sets
very light store by these tongues, and speaks almost of them in opprobrious language, unless there is at the same time interpretation. Once more—and I believe this for us is of greatest importance—there is no ethical value in these “ tongues,” and anything that is not of immediate, direct ethical value stands condemned in the light of the New Testament holiness. “ By their fruits ye shall know them,” and so far as this Tongues Movement as a whole is con cerned, we know that there are things absolutely unmentionable connected with it, the very contrary of ethics. Whenever a movement, be it tongues, or any other, is not ethical, it is not Christian, i f there is anything in our lives, or our churches, that is not ethi cal, it stands ipso facto condemned. The truth is that this Tongues Move ment is a form of spiritual material ism—a craving for the visible, as though the visible and extraordinary were the normal way of the Holy Ghost’s working. As a matter of fact, it is the quiet, calm, restful fellowship with God in Christ that marks the Spirit’s movement more than anything else. The Devil. 3. The third peril is t h e D evil (3 :8). Elsewhere he is described as the slanderer of the brethren, the ac cuser, the tempter. But here in this epistle he is. the seducer (2:26, and 3 :7j. By seduction, here, it means ab solute. leading astray in conduct as well as in thought. “ Them that se duce you” (R. V. “ lead you astray” ). It is not merely intellectual aberration, but moral aberration also. As you look at these three perils, the World, Antichrist, and the Devil, notice that all of them unite in opposition to the Incarnate Deity o f Christ, to His Atoning Sacrifice, and in one form or another to practical righteousness in
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of the Father that you will overcome the love of the world, and then you will be in the world, yet not of the world. The diver goes down to the deeps, but he is in contact with the air above. As long as he is in touch with the air above he is safe, but the mo ment the communication is cut he is in danger, and, perhaps, death will come. The Christian, so long as he keeps in contact with the love of the Father, can go as deep as he likes into the world, in order to glorify God and do service for Him. In the world, yet not of the world! Fill the heart with the love of the Father, and the love of the world has no power. 2. Our protection is in the Son. This is opposed to the Devil (3 :8 ),, “ For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might. destroy the works of the Devil.” Notice care fully how. the Lord'Jesus Christ is brought before us in this epistle as our protection against the Devil. First of all, His past work is mentioned. The foundation facts of His revela tion are given in the first three verses. Then His past work, His work of re demption is emphasized. “ The blood” (1 :7 ), “ the propitiation” (2:2 and 4: 10). Then His present work is em- ,phasized—His advocacy above (2 :1 ), His indwelling (4 :4 ). It is the Lord Jesus Christ, in the past and in the present our perfect Divine Redeemer, who meets and overcomes the power of the Devil. 3. Our protection is in the Spirit as opposed to Antichrist. In 2 :20, you have the anointing of the Spirit; in 4: 12, the indwelling Spirit. The anoint ing enables us to distinguish, to know the difference between truth and er ror. “ Ye have an unction . . . . and ye know.” r The indwelling en ables us to maintain the difference be tween the wrong and the right,' in the power of the Holy Spirit. As we look at this, our threefold
Christ. In other words, no need is felt of redemption ; and whenever any movement sets light store on redemp tion it stands condemned. There is a little book, “ Salvation by Character.” The New Testament says “ Character by salvation.” Salvation by culture, by civilization, by character—these are wrong, because there is no redemption in them. It is culture, civilization,' character through salvation. There is a story of the Middle Ages about a monk in his cell being visited by Satan in disguise. Satan said, “ I am the Lord Jesus Christ.” The monk said, “ I would like to see the mark of the nails in your hands.” That was quite enough. Satan soon vanished. Every error—mark this—one way or another, is directly opposed to the Atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, be cause that Atonenlent. involves Deity and Incarnation. They oppose Deity and Incarnation because they oppose the Atonement, winch is the culminat ing point from the standpoint of re demption. II. P rotection . I turn now to O ur P rotection . Here again, our protection is three fold : 1. First, the Father, “ If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” The Father is op posed to the world, and the revelation of the Father in this epistle is two fold. “ God is light” ( 1 :3) and “ God is love” (4:16). One is knowledge, and the other is power. No negative protection will suffice ; you cannot meet the world by anything negative— you must have something positive. A mother once said to her oldest daugh ter, “Go out and see what Johnny is doing, and tell him not to.” Nò nega tive attitude will do in regard to the world. You must have what Chalm ers calls “ the expulsive power of a new affection.” It is only b.y the love
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lower death rate at Panama than in the finest city in Canada. When thè French were tackling that problem there was a death rate of 170 tó the I, 000. Now the death rate is as low as nine per 1,000. Why? Progres sive mèdicine has solved the problem. Malaria was the great trouble, and its cause was considered to be a species of mbsquito. Means were found to exterminate the mosquito by destroy ing its breeding places, and malaria is now absolutely under control. All those who go there have to obey the medical officer of health, and he has granted that people may have a holi day even in the district of Panama. So it is in the spiritual life. The progressive power of the Gospel in our lives will give us spiritual health, which will always keep us from peril, and this health is only possible as we are in occupation with God. Our pro-- tection, as you see, is not within, but without in this sense: that it is se cured by the fact that we are in union with God the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, As we shall see tomor row, the secret of it all is faith. Faith receives from the Father His love, faith receives from the Son His grace, faith receives from the Spirit His un derstanding arid His power. That is how, by being occupied with God, we are immune from spiritual disease and illness. In a church where a mission was held, the minister heard that a little girl, named Mary, had given her heart to the Lord and had determined to serve him. A few days afterward he met IViary and said, “ I am so delighted you have given your heart to the Lord J. esus. What will you do when Satan comes knocking at the door of your heart tempting you?” “Don’t you know, sir? When the Devil comes to the door of my heart tempting me, I say, ‘Please Lord Jesus, do You mind going to the door this time ?’ and when
peril, and our threefold protection, let us bear this in mind : that in the pres ent day there seem to be three lines o f attack, as some one has well point ed out. One line is Skeptical, another Heretical, and the third Fanatical. The Skeptic comes and wants you to doubt and disbelieve God’s revelation, and sometimes His existence. The Heretic comes and says, “ The old view o f things is wrong, o f at any rate, in adequate. God’s progressive teaching is developing in every direction, and there are new ideas about Him and His truth that need to be noticed.” The Fanatic does not doubt God’s Word or disbelieve it ; he goes beyond Scripture and reason as well. How are we to meet thèse three lines? Against the Skeptic, God’s Word; Against the Heretic, the whole of God’s Word; against the Fanatic, nothing but God’s Word—the truth, the whole truth, and nothing büt the truth. And so we shall find this : that spiritual immunity from peril will come along the line of spiritual health. Doctors tell us that the reason why microbes attack us is that we are below par. If only we are healthy and strong, we can appropriate and assimilate them by the million. I have no doubt that is what we are do ing every day, if we are well. Chris tianity will always be curative, but it is always preventive. We rejoice in the power of the Gospel to redeem, to restore, to cure. But we also need to think of those who, having been cured, need to be prevented from get ting unwell again. There is one striking example of this in connection with modern medi cine. The greatest triumphs of medi cine have been rather along the line of prevention than along the line of cure. During the winter thousands of tourists visited the Panama Canal dis trict, about the healthiest place in all America. Some sixty thousand work ers are employed there, and there is a
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the Devil sees the Lord Jesus he will just touch his cap and say, ‘Beg par don, sir, I find I’ve come to the wrong house.’ ” There is not much error in that. The Lord Jesus Christ said con cerning some one, “ The Prince of this world cometh and findeth nothing in Me.” When the Lord Jesus Christ has possession of us, the Evil One toucheth us not. Jesus Christ Himself said, “ Be of good cheer, 1 have over come the world.” We have also the Apostle’s words, “ Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.” This occupation with God is invari ably connected with the Word of God gi-and this is almost my last thought this morning, because it is most im portant. Keeping His Word (2 :5 ) the Word abiding in us (2:14) ; keeping His commandments ( 2 :3 ) ; doing the will of God (2:17). I would like to write this, if I could, first upon mv own heart, and then upon everybody else’s; but the Holy Ghost will do it. Every error is in some way connected with the Word of God; and every safe guard is also in some way connected with Holy Scripture. When we real ize this we see the stronghold de scribed stated by the apostle in the
last three verses o f his epistle. Turn to these and with them I close—verse 18, “ We know” ; verse 19; “ We know” ; verse 20, “we know.” I will read it if I may this way from the Greek: “We know that every one who has been permanently be gotten from God does not continue in sin; but he who was begat of God (i. e., the Lord Jesus Christ) keeps him, and that Wicked One does not touch him. This “ we know,” in oppo sition to the Devil. “ We know that :we are of God, and that the whole world is permanently lying in the Evil One.” This is, “ we know,” in opposi tion to the world. “ We know that the Son of God has come and is here, and iias permanently given us an under standing, in order that we may keep on experiencing Him who is the genu ine One; and we are in Him who is the genuine One, in Jesus Christ.” This is “ we kndw” in opposition to Anti christ. This is the stronghold against our threefold peril in connection with the Son of God and His marvellous work and redemption. “ This is the genuine God and life eternal. My lit tle children, guard yourselves from idols.”
“Like Men That Wait” By D. WHITTLE L IKE men that wait” ; pass on the word, The warning word, ye men of God; Though dangers press, though foes' may hate,
Still firmly stand, “ like men that wait.” "Like men that wait” endure the scorn; The Master once all this hath borne; ’Tis trial now. and sorrow great, But bear it all “ like men that wait.” “Like men that wait,” tho’ night surround, And fainting hearts are all around; He tarries long, the hour is late; Now gird your loins, “like men that wait.”
The Fundamental Principles of Christianity in the Light of Modern Thinking* By JOHN M. MACINNIS, B. D. III. THE MEANING OF LIFE.
G OD found fault with the people o f Isaiah’s day because they did not think. He said that the dumb brutes were more consistent in their activities than were His people because His people did not consider. It is very hard to get men to think in any age. Even in our own day, when men boast of their freedom of thought and intelligence, a very superficial study of conditions will reveal that much o f what men speak of as “ free dom of thought” and “ independent thinking,” is nothing but the result of superficial reading. The great flood of theological books that Come from the press in a single year contain com paratively little original thinking. This lack of thinking is particularly con spicuous in the so-called practical things of life. The average man is so driven by his immediate physical needs and desires for pleasure that he does not take time to stop to ask deep and searching questions about the meaning and value of the life that he is living. Yet, it is impossible for men to live life at its best without some clear idea o f its meaning and purpose. In order to build intelligent ly we must build according to plan and purpose. There is no sphere of life where this' is more true and impor tant than it is in the matter of the liv ing of life. If we would get the most out o f life we must understand its fuller relations and deepest purposes. Jesus understood and lived life in a deeper and fuller sense than anyone —........ •An address delivered by Rev. John M: Maclnnls at the Montrose Bible Conference.. Copyright, 1913, by John M. Maclnhis.
else who has ever lived. Therefore we naturally turn to Him and ask, what is the meaning of life as understood and lived by Him? The fact that he consistently embodies His interpreta tion of life in His own living makes it easier for us to understand the essen tial facts as set forth by Him. He is the truth concerning man. He is what man was intended to be. He filled life full. That is, He realized it perfectly. Therefore He Himself is our best interpretation of life and of its. meaning. While he did not write any exhaustive treatise on the nature and meaning of life He did live life so that He could say “ I am the life.” He is life in the sense that He embodies its principle fully and gives it perfect expression. His life, there fore, is a perfect interpretation of life and to understand it is to have the best possible philosophy of life and its true meaning. O f course, we are con scious of the fact that we cannot fully understand His matchless life. Yet, there are certain things about it that we can know and these are sufficient for the outlines of a real philosophy o f life! In the first place no one can study the life of Christ without seeing very clearly that its deepest meanings are found in His relation with God. He had communion with God. He spoke to God and God spoke to Him. This communion was vital in His life. It was as essential to the kind of life that He lived as are bread and water to the life o f the body. Jesus could not have been Jesus without that commu nion and relationship. That is an-
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