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T HE K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
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the divine commandments because God has enlarged th eir hearts. It is the tendency of the water of life to rise as high as its source. But Christians do not obey the com mandments of God in ,o rd e r to become righteous: they obey them because they are righteous. They do not work for salvation: they work out a salvation th a t is inw rought by God, who dwells in them by the Holy Spirit. God never imputes to Christians the sins th a t so easily beset them and so often prevail against them , and from which they cannot justify themselves. No sooner do they confers the defilements of th eir daily walk than Christ washes their feet in the tru th of His atoning work. God is faith fu l and righteous to for give them their sins- and to cleanss_ them from ail unrighteousness. It is God th a t justifieth. We are made righteous by faith, we are sanctified by obedience to the di vine laws. We live by faith, we grow by obedience. Our life is not by law, but we find it in law. Sanctification is another name for growth, for develop ment in the divine life, for growth in grace, not under law, and for entering into the possession of all th a t is ours by the free gift of Christ. The Galatians were conscientiously' fru stra tin g th e grace of God and stu n t ing th e ir souls by getting under the divine law : they were exhorted to stand fast in th e liberty wherew ith Christ had made them free. We need th e same exhortation. T h at which is ciooked cannot be made straigh t. Let th e flesh go. T ru st in th e covenant of grace, which is ordered in all things and sure. As we have received the Lord Jesus (by faith alone) so let us walk in Him. Our self-righteous labors do b u t give life to our sins; b u t faith, grace and love always fulfill th e law in him who, being made rig h t w ith God by faith, once for all, claims his rig h t to perfect and perpetual peace.
^luiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiwiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiuiliiHiiiiiiiiHijiiiiiiiuiiminimiiiiiiiiiiiMmiiiiMiiiiiiniiHiiiimiiiiUiii^ The Biblical Word “ Protestant” § ■' G. A rnold Bennett fllllNÌIIIUillllTlllllllllilllllllllli;illllllilillllllllllillllllHIIIIINÌIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!llllllilllllllilll!lllllllllilllllililll
|OW constantly in conversation w ith Roman Catholics have we found them attem p t whole sale refu tation and seek refuge
by saying, “ But the word P ro testan t is not in th e , Bible.’’ To this, of course, a very easy and n atu ral rejoinder is, “Neither is the word Catholic!” But th e term . P ro testan t need never be ashamed of its pedigree and hence needs no Such re to rt wherew ith to de fend itself, for it has a far, far better case th an the term which is. synonymous with Rome. The word “P ro te sta n t” is indeed found in the Bible, and may be located in the passage contained in 2 Chronicles 24:19. Here we read these words, “Yet He sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the Lord; and THEY TESTIFIED AGAINST them , but they would not give ear.” In the Latin Vulgate Version of the Bible, th e v er sion to which Rome boasts her appeal and adm iration, the words which are tran slated “They testified,” stand as follows—-“QUOS PROTESTANTES.” The Latin term “PROTESTANTES” ■is th e equivalent of th e Hebrew word “UD” and th is same word is translated in th e Old Testam ent in the Authorized Version as follows: 14 times as Testify. 1 tim e as Be Witness. In the evidence then of the Latin Vul gate Version of the Word of God, so frequently appealed to by th e Roman Church, the word PROTESTANT stands in all its glory as a Testimony, a W it ness, a W arning and a P rotest. What a grand heritage th is word is. 1 tim e as Call to Witness. 1 time as Give Warning. 5 times as PROTEST.
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