Q. Wh at a t t i t u de ought one who be- lieves in the Bible as the infallible Wo rd of God to t a ke toward a pastor who does not t h us believe in t he Bible and who is u n d e rmi n i ng t he faith of t he young pepple in his church, and some others by teaching t h at the Bible h as ma ny e r r o rs in it? • A. F i r st of all, you ought to p r ay for your pastor; pray t h at God will open his eyes to the t r u th and also open his eyes to see t he great h a rm he is doing l h r e e godly men in a church in a New En g l a nd city who had a pastor who was a brilliant man but who t a u g ht error in- stead of t r u th got together to p r ay for t h e ir pastor. Every week they met for p f a £ ? r > 2 , ! t e n t i m e s Praying f ar into the night. They said n o t h i ng against their pastor to others but they said much for him to God. Every Lord's Day they went to h e ar him preach and t o watch t or t he answer to their prayers. One mo r n i ng it became evident, before t he pastor had gone f ar in his sermon t h at God had opened his eyes to t he t r u th and God gave to t h at church under t h at pastor s ministry t he greatest revival t n at t h at city had ever known. 2nd. A f t er praying mu ch knd earn- estly you should go to your pastor in a S?™ i, humility and love and talk to him about t he h a rm he is doing. Many a pastor has no realization of it what- ever. Wllttl. . 3rd The probability is that, if you have his eyes opened, you will have occasion to rejoice as much in his work as you now lament over it. But if it should be t h at the pastor h a r d e ns his h e a rt and will not see t he t r u th o? course, you cannot support him in his ( I I —T HE SCOPE OF THE LAW—a Duties God ward.) 3—T he t h i rd c omma n dme n t. " Th ou Shalt not t a ke t he n ame of the LORD ^ God in vain; for the LORD ( J e h o v a h) will not hold him 5 ? i a k . e t h H l s n a m e l n ^ i n . " HiX. .¿0:7; Deut. 5:11. ( a )—T he third c omma n dme nt de- clares t he sacredness of God's n ame or names. These s t a nd for wh at He is and show f o r th the glorious p e r f ed K Si a " r i b u t e s - H e h a s revealed Himself to us t h r o u gh His names. "Ha l- lowed be Thy n a m e" is the essence of this third c omm a n dm e nt L. H.
e r r o r. In t h at case, you should pray t h at the church may have its eyes open- ed to see t he h a rm t h at is done and should deal with the u n f a i t h f ul pastor. If t he church will not do it. then of course, t h e re is but one t h i ng ta be done, to w i t h d r aw f r om t h at church and go to some church wh e re the t r u th is preached. Colleges and theological seminaries and individual teachers and ministers t h at are u n d e rmi n i ng t h e faith of many, especially t he y o u ng •are being supported today in their e r r or by the gifts of men and women who a re thoroughly loyal to t he t r u t h. E r r or would never have gained t he foothold t h at it h as in orthodox churches today if loyal believers had not allowed t h em- selves to be misled into s u p p o r t i ng in- stitutions and individuals in the incul- cation of e r r o r. The gifts to t he church come largely f r om those who believe in the whole Bible, and yet these gifts have not seldom been used for t he sup- port of men and institutions t h at were t e a r i ng down t he f a i th t h at the givers were trying.to build up. It is not perse- cution to r e f u se to support a teacher t h at you believe to be teaching f u n d a- mental error. It is only good common sense Of course, every man should have liberty to t h i nk for himself but if his t h i n k i ng leads him to hold views diametrically opposed to those of t he persons who are supporting him he ought to be glad to pay t he price of his convictions and to suffer t he with-- drawal of support on the p a rt of those who believe he is in f u n d ame n t al error, i h e one who supports a teacher of e r r or is a p a r t a k er in his evil works d i J o hn 1 1 ). ( b ) —T he requirements of the third c omma n dme n t. n ^ T J x ? h a l l o w i n g of the Name of God. Matt. 6 : 9; Deut. 2 8 : 5 8- P sa 2 9 : 2; 68-4; Rev. 15:4. „ reverent observance of all trod s ordinances. Mai. 1 : 1 4; Eccl K -1 • (1 Cor. 11:24125-28-29.) ' n S ^ — P ? holding of t he Wo rd of God as holy, and of absolute and su- ?o® m „ e . ° r sovereign authority. P s a . Jno." i ' o f « B " ° ' c . ) S a - 4 2 : 2 1 1 M a t t " 5 : 1 8 ; ( 4 )—Re v e r e n c e, sincerity, t h o u g h t- i i i n l S S 7 a - n d f a t h i n P r a ^ r , praise or thanksgiving. 1 Tim .2:8; Phil. 4:6. Jamison
The Law: Its Purpose and Scopi
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