King's Business - 1920-09

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H RISE,

go ... and preach unto them the preaching t h a t I hid thee. Jonah 3:2

They ceased not t o t e a c h and preach J E SUS CHR IST Acts 5:42

SEPTEMBER 1920

EXCELLENT COURSE FOR BEGINNERS BY CORRESPONDENCE E3 E3 E3 A Minister W rites: “ 1 think the new Correspondence Course on Book Study by Mr. Pike is the best course of Bible study for beginners that 1 have ever seen and that it is a good course for anyone who has not a comprehensive view of the Bible. The facts are so systematically arranged that it should not be hard to memorize them.” This is on e o f five strong C orresp ond en ce Courses offered b y the B ible Institute o f L os Angeles Write for information about Correspondence study to SECRETARY CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOL Bible Institute of Los Angeles 536-558 South Hope St. WE WANT 500 The Great Nieed of the World At the present time is trained Christian workers who stand for definite things. Hundreds are going into various kinds of SOCIAL SERVICE— let those who believe in God’s program now give their lives to HIS SERVICE. ARE YOU READY? The Bible Institute of Los Angeles is a great Training Camp, founded on the OLD BOOK. Recruiting Office, Room 211, D. L. Foster, Sec’y. 536 S. Hope Street., Los Angeles, Cal.

THE KING’S BUSINESS MOTTO: “I,theLord, do keep it, / will water it every moment, lest any hurt it, I willkeep it night and ’day - ■ ■ - = Isa. 27:3 " ' ' 1’ " . ' — ¡-J PUBLISHED M ON TH L Y BY THE BIBLE IN S T ITU TE OF LOS ANGELE 536-558 SOU TH HOPE STREET, LOS ANGELES, CAL. Entered as Second-Class Matter November 17, 1910. at tke Post Office at Los Angeles, California under tke Act of Marck 3, 1879 Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917 authorized October 1, 1918.

Volume XI

September, 19 2 0 .

Number S

R ot . T . C . H O R T O N , Editor in Ckief

Rev. KEITH L. BROOKS, Managing Editor

Contributing Editors

DR. F. W . FARR

DR. FRENCH E. OLIVER

REV. W M . H. -PIKE

CONTENTS Editorials: Why Not Pray? (821), Sitting With a Traitor (822), What’s the Matter With the Churches? (822), Premillennial Doc­ trine Fundamental (824), “World Friendship” (825), How Times Change (826), Did the Jews Crucify Christ? (8,26), Afterthoughts (827). Sentence Sermons (829) A Church After God’s Heart—-By Rev. H. S. Wallace (837) The Court of Final Appeal— By Rev. Henry W. Frost (839) Bible Institute Happenings (841) Evangelistic Stories (844) Plain Facts About Salvation— By Rev. F. W. Huling (849) Homiletical Helps (853) Truth and Error (855) Notes on the Jews (858) Sunday School Lessons (860) Daily Devotional Headings— By Dr. F. W. Farr (881) Shadows That Haunt the Jew (890) Fundamental Studies— By T. C. Horton (893) Bitter Dregs of Spiritism— By Rev. George C. Garrison (895) would appreciate The King’s Business.' Remember we accept gifts to our Missionary Fund for sending out The King’s Business. PLEASE When sending subscriptions, address correspondence to Office of The King’s Business, Bible Institute of Los Angeles, 536-561 South Hope Street. Checks may be made payable to Bible Institute of Los Angeles. Do not make checks or money orders to individuals connected with the Bible Institute. Y E A R FOREIGN COUNTRIES, INCLUDING CANADA $1.24 - SINGLE COPIES 15 CENT Cleaving to Christ—By Dr. W. B. Hinson (830) The Crowning HeresyH-By T. Marshall Morsey (835) The Case of Professor Case—By K. L. B. (906) The Necessity of Grace—By Rev. J. D. Jones (906) O N L Y O N E D O L L A R A

A PRACTICAL PROPOSITION You are entitled to know WHERE and HOW your money is used in the Lord’s work. AVOID ALL WILD CAT CALLS A good investment may be a foe o f the best. INSURE YOUR INVESTMENTS FOR THE LORD OPPORTUNITY SPELLS OBLIGATION The world is die field. The work is definite. What the f Lord has laid upon your heart to do with your funds you should i have the joy o f doing, and we will gladly help you to do this by | giving you the benefit o f our years o f experience in studying the I world field, the work and the workers. " We are in touch with missionary enterprises in this and j other lands, where loyal-hearted men and women are laboring I with unfeigned faith in the whole Word o f God, and with unfail- I ing devotion to the souls o f the lost. I Don’t waste a penny! Make it go as far and as fast as you can in the saving o f souls out o f a ruined world. We will joyfully serve you in the matter without any charge, I and put you in touch with dependable agents and agencies. f Write us for any desired particulars. j

BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES. T. C. Horton, Superintendent.

....................................................................................... |25,000 byDecember 31, ’20 | | Go a l Set For K. B. ; | S U B S C R IP T IO N S |King’s Business Week | I S E P T E M B E R 6 t h to 1 1 t h 1 = This Appeal is T O V O U . Please Turn to Page 828 jjf iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

W H Y NOT Pray? A newspaper published in Washington has an announcement to the effect that the prayer meeting in a certain church will be discontinued as the people do not care to gather to pray, and there are other matters of greater importance to which the evening can be devoted. This item moves us to ask the question, “ Has the prayer meeting lost its place in our church life?” We do not believe it has where the Bible maintains its place, and in proof of this cite the following : In a recent prayer-meeting of the Church of the Open Door, in Los Angeles, five hundred people were present and nearly fifty written requests were handed in for special prayer. These requests presented a miniature moving picture of heart and home life, revealing the sin, sorrows, suffering, and sickness of people, some mem­ bers of the church, some from distant cities. This was not a special meeting, but just the regular Wednesday night service. There is no musical program, no exposition of Scripture, no addresses—just a prayer service. The Scripture is read from the hearts of the people. Then there are testimonies to answered prayer. Then requests for prayer. Some people come ten or fifteen miles to be present. Are any testimonies to answered prayer, heard ? Of course. For bodily healing? Yes. For souls saved? Yes. For reconciliation of separated families? Yes. For guidance in business matters? Yes. For funds needed ? Yes. For backsliders restored? Yes. For evangelistic meetings? Ye§. Fpr everything you can think of in connection with the ordinary, everyday life of believers? Yes. What is the effect? Increased faith in prayer.. Increased desire to be instrumental in helping others by prayer. Increased desire to live so that God can answer prayer. Are specified numbers necessary before God can answer prayer? No. Is college or seminary training necessary? No. Is ordination necessary? No. What is necessary? 'Consciousness of need. Old-fashioned faith in the Word of God. Common horse sense in a leader.

822 THE K I N G ' S - B U S I N E S S Are there any dangers?- Yes. What? Religions cranks. They can kill any meeting in short order, and people with little pet hobbies; people with long-winded testimonies; people that think they are foreordained to occupy most of the time in a.service; well-meaning, ignorant people who live in a limited spiritual sphere, who prate about holiness, sinlessness, sanctification, divine healing, or some other good doctrine, until you wish their one-stringed instrument would break and somebody, would come along with a harp with a thousand strings. These good friends are hard to get along with. They are ‘ ‘ meeting-killers” , sure enough. You must be kind but firm with them; be frank with them. Tell them that there are some other pebbles on the beach. Tell them that you are authorized to appoint them a committee of one to stay at home and pray for the meeting. When you have but an hour for your prayer meeting you cannot hon­ estly give one of these dear friends fifteen minutes to tell you how holy and sweet they are, or what wonderful revelations they have had, or how we can all become just as sanctified as they are. Even in an all-night service we have to curtail the testimonies of these friends by cutting them down to three minutes. If you can handle this part of the program and keep sweet at the same time, there is nothing to hinder your having a real prayer-meeting in any church any where. You can have such real spiritual results as will gladden the heart of your pastor. You can change things in the church. You can pray some people out and some people in, and give great pleasure to the Lord. Try it and see. . C. H. . .$* 4 . SVi- §te ate ate S itting withaTraitor One of the Congressmen of our Country, stated his opposition to sitting with a traitor, referring to'another Congressman-elect, who was charged with disloyalty. We honor him. We could wish that every Christian Min­ ister was as loyal to Jesus Christ, and would take his stand against recog­ nizing and sitting on the same platform at a religious service with a pro­ fessed preacher who denies the Deity and atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ, sitting with a traitor, recognizing him as a brother Minister, who is a minister of Satan, receiving him, instead of rebuking him, giving him the hand of fellowship, rather than the cold shoulder, bidding him God-speed rather than good riddance. The traitor holds in contempt the man who thus falsifies himself; who lacks the courage of his convictions. And what does our Lord think of it? Has not Jesus^Christ suffered sufficiently without compelling Him to sit with a renegade? If Christ be in us the hope of glory what right have we to heap indignities upon Him? Christ loves the sinner, but for Judas, He has only the-word, “ Traitor!” I I B t - c . h . , W H A T ’S the Matter With the Churches? Rev. Newell Dwight HilliS, in a recent article in McClure’s Magazine, endeavors to answer this question. He is alarmed because so many thousands

THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NE S S

823

of men are leaving the ministry, and quotes a statement that ten thousand young men are giving up their churches to enter the field of education. He says that in one Western town seven men withdrew from the ministry to enter other forms of work. He tells us that the charters of the great univer­ sities show that they were founded to educate and train men for the ministry. He speaks of the red-blooded young men from the army, and that the min­ istry has no attraction for them because, of the smallness of the salaries. He asks: “ Why support five little churches in a town, with five janitors, and five sets of furnaces, and five little choirs, and five ministers, when we could all come together and have one common church, with wonderful music and a well-paid minister?” Dr. Hillis writes a long article, but he does not tell us the real reason for the existence of this state of affairs. Of course, Brother Hillis, if you lived in one of these small towns, you would want all the people to come -and sing in your church, and pay you for preaching,—hut many of us wouldn’t care to hear you. You have a false note in your message, and you,are one of the men who are responsible for the present condition of the church. You have slipped a cog and lost your hold on the Bible, and so have these great universities and colleges. They have been telling the young men about the mistakes of Moses, and the prophets, and Jesus Christ, and the-Apostles. They have been building them up in unbelief. Why should a young man go out with a Bible in his hand (which he does not believe) and tell people his opinion of its teaching, and what he thinks Cod ought to have done and said; and what Jesus Christ and Paul would have said if they had lived in this century and graduated from Yale or Harvard or Union? >, Would a young man presume to enter the profession of law and stand before the judge and tell him that the Supreme Court had made a great mistake, and he wanted to correct it? Would he take a text book on en­ gineering and tell his associates that the principles were all wrong? The reason that young men are not entering the ministry is because there is no real foundation for their doing so. If the ministry is presented

824 T HE K I N G ’ S B US I NE S S as a profession to be guaged by what it will pay a man in dollars and cents, of course men will not respond, and we are glad of it. The call of the Presi­ dent for young men to rally in defense of their country found a response in red-blooded men, did it not, in spite of poor wages, great sacrifices, great danger, loss of limbs, loss of eyes, death? Has it come to such a pass that the dollar mark must be put upon the ministry? Is there no appeal to red-blooded young men in the cry of the crucified, risen Lord to go forth and preach the Gospel of grace to dying men? Is there no longer any call to a life of sacrifice for the Lord of glory? No compassion for the souls of men? No love for the lost? It was not money that moved Christ out of Heaven, but it was mercy. It was not money that attracted the early church to the regions beyond. It was persecution. It was not money that made Peter and John preachers of the Gospel. It was real Christian manhood. It was not the call of the dollar that stirred Paul, but the cry of the crucified, risen Lord. It was not money that induced men to be martyrs for Christ’s sake. It was not pay, but principle that brought the Pilgrim Fathers here. It has not been money that has induced missionaries to go to the neglected fields, hundreds of whom have gone trusting absolutely in the promises of God for their support. The so-called “ red-blooded men” that have turned their backs upon the ministry for which they have been educated, because the salary was small, were too small for any salary which could be offered them, and there must have been a “ yellow” streak in their blood. The matter with the churches is the character of so many of the leaders. The matter is the false conception given concerning the business of the church. The program laid out for the church is found in the Bible. When­ ever men have gone with the Bible in their hands and have given a “ Thus saith the Lord” , people have responded, and men and women have been built up in faith. When men have tried to run the church without a Bible, and have put on a program of social service, welfare work, moving pictures, dances, entertainments, etc., the thing has proven a failure,—and thank God it has. Such a program is a travesty, an insult to the Lord, and a reflection upon the call and calling of the church. There are plenty of good churches in our land, manned by godly men, fruitful in service, which give the lie to any suggestion that there is anything the matter with the church, but one thing,-—the absence of a Bible in the hands of a man who knows it, and has had a call from God to preach and teach it. —T. C. H. PRE-MILLENNIAL Doctrine Fundamental In the First Epistle of John, the second chapter, 24th verse, John says, “ Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning.” And in the 28th verse he says, “ And now, little children, abide in Him: that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His Coming.” It is clear then that the doctrine of our Lord’s return had been given to the Church at Ephesus at the beginning, and that dispensational truth was designed for babes in Christ.

THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NE S S 825 Experience has taught us that nothing has proven so intensely interest­ ing to young Christians, or older untaught Christians, as the unfolding of dispensational truth, and nothing seems to anchor people to the Word of God, as does this phase of truth. This is not strange because when one sees the plan of God as set forth in the Scriptures, the Bible becomes a book of 'real interest. In a multitude of classes now being held by the Bible Institute workers in churches and homes, among people of all classes, rich or poor, the club women, or among the old fashioned common people, the truth concerning the purposes of God proves to be a turning point in human lives. Jesus taught it to His disciples and to the Jews. The apostles taught it to both Jews and Gentiles. It was the message from the beginning. A message fraught with the greatest interest, and most profound consequences, although an unknown doctrine to many believers. We thank God that all over the world there is a revival of interest in this fundamental doctrine. The devil hates it, the Romanist hates it, the higher critics hate it; worldly Christians hate it ; 'but God loves i t ; Christ loves i t ; the Holy Spirit loves it, and thousands of believers love it and recognize in it the truth that changed the current of their lives. —T. C. H. “ W o r ld fr iend sh ip ’’- N ext Thing on the Program Ladies and gentlemen: The next thing on the program is the propa­ ganda of the “ World Alliance for International Friendship Through the Churches.” (Headquarters New York.) The official organ of this move­ ment, which has already gained great headway in Europe, is known as “ World Friendship.” The names of a number who have been leaders in the Inter-Church Movement appear as directors of this new movement. A copy of “ World Friendship” is before us. ‘ It says that there will be a series of international conferences. Among the subjects to be discussed are the following: The Church and Disarmament; International Ethics; Relation of Christian Unity to International Peace; A Possible Basis of Co­ operation Between the Churches and Other World Organizations, Scientific, Social, Industrial, Economic, Promoting International Good Will, Including Universities, Socialists, Trade Unionists; Organizations for Securing Liberal Legislation, Press Agencies, Social Workers, etc. We are informed that: “ Distinctive in organization from the confer­ ence of the World Alliance, but parallel and co-operating with its leaders most cordially, an International Conference of the Roman Catholic Com­ mittee of International Studies, will be held.” This movement numbers among its adherents Cardinal Gibbons in America and Cardinal Mercier in Belgium and is “ bringing a powerful support to the ideal of the society of nations throughout the Roman Catholic world.” It is hard to tell just what this new alliance with the world stands for. It is easier to tell what it doesn’t stand for—for nowhere in “ Worfd Friend­ ship” do we find any reference to the Word of God. Certain leaders are -determined to produce a universal church in one way or another. If a church will not co-operate with one of the modern big movements, they are

826 THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NE S S apt to fall into tlie toils of the other, not realizing that all are tending toward the prophesied great religious Babylon of the last days» Beware of world alliances and world friendships. . . —K. L. B. HOW TIMES Do Change! At last Joan of Arc has been made a full-fledged saint and can be invoked and venerated. The process of making saints has been changed since Bible times. Saints were formerly made by acceptance of Christ and being regenerated (Acts 9:13; Heb. 1:10-14), but it (ook the Pope to make Joan of Arc a saint. The Roman Catholic Church which now makes her a saint burnt her alive in 1431 as a heretic. With no -advocate, this pure maid who dared to call on God without going to Him through a priest, was condemned and her body burned in the presence of Roman bishops, ecclesiastics and notables. Below the stake where she burned were the words, “ Jeanne, ealled ‘ The Maid,’ liar, abuser of the people, soothsayer, blasphemer of God,.pernicious, superstitious, idolatrous, cruel, dissolut, invoker of devils, apostate, heretic.” Now she is made a saint and what becomes of the papal doctrine of infallibility? . What is the reason for this peculiar move after five centuries? For many years the superstitious among the French have treated Joan of Arc as a heroine saint and the ending uf the war in favor of the allies was by many attributed to her. Even Marshall Foch said as much. This was the psychological moment for the Roman Church to step in and claim the glory, for France, the elder daughter of the church, has of late been very rebellious against her crafty mother. Rome seizes the opportunity of honor­ ing Joan, the child of the common people, with a view to regaining her lost prestige among the common people. While the Roman Church threw every­ thing into the balances in favor of the Kaiser, she now steps in and takes the glory for the allied victory. The Pope makes no confession of the error of the church in murdering Joan, but evidently hopes the majority, ignorant of the history of the affair, will never learn the true facts. After so long a time, trust the Pope to give some good explanations if they should be called for. Beat Rome for duplicity if you can. —K. L. B. j&jy W? DID the Jews Crucify Christ? ' Rabbi Isadore Myers of Los Angeles has been giving a lecture in some of the large Protestant churches of Los Angeles on the topic “ Who Crucified Jesus?” attempting to prove that the Jews were not responsible for the crucifixion. The pastor of the First Congregational Church, the pastor of \ the First Baptist Church and the pastor of the Trinity Methodist Church are reported in the papers as having presided at these lectures in their churches, and are said to have eulogized the lecturer and praised the efforts of Rabbi Myers to remove prejudice. Were' the Jews responsible for the crucifixion of our Lord? Let us glance through just one of the Gospels. John 5:16, “ Therefore did_ the Jews persecute Jesus and sought to slay Him.” 5:18, “Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill Him because He made Himself equal with God.” 6:41,

THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NE S S 827 “ The Jews murmured at Him because He said, I am the bread of life.” 7:1, “ The Jews sought to kill Him.” 7:11, “ The Jews sought Him at the feast.” 8:52, 29, “ Then said the Jews unto Him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Then took they up stones.” 18:12, “ The band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus and bound Him.” 19:7, “ The Jews answered him, We have a law and by our law He ought to die because He made Himself the Son of God.” 18:35, “ Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me; what hast thou done?” After all, it is not material who delivered up onr Lord to crucifixion since it was according to the determinate counsel of God that He should be ‘ ‘ wounded for our transgressions ’ ’ (Acts 2 :23-24). In one sense every sinner of all time had part in it, hut the Scriptures plainly declare that the Jews were responsible for His delivery unto death* What is to be gained by.seek- ing to prove that they were not responsible? Certainly it will not remove prejudice, for the Jews today detest the name of Jesus Christ with the same bitterness as ever and would as quickly seek to crucify Him were He here today. Dr. Myers and his eulogizers are on the wrong track. Christ died for the Jew as well as the Gentile and instead of telling them they had no part in killing Christ, they ought to be telling them just what Peter told them in Acts 3:17-19, “ Now brethren, I know that through ignorance ye did it as did also your rulers, but those things which God before hath showed by the mouth of all His prophets that Christ should suffer, He hath so fulfilled. Repent ye therefore and be converted that your sins may be" blotted out. ” —K. L. B. E d it o r ia l a f t e r t h o u g h t s Pathfinder says when everybody has been supplied with ouija boards they are going to start turning out lumber for houses once more. No; they should have said— for insane asylums. Have you noticed that the loafers are the ones who are doing the most kicking about the cost of a loaf? Get busy! Those who believe in re-incarnation would do well to adopt the motto: If at first you don’t succeed, die, die again. Is there any bigger sham in the world than a Christless sermon? What an empty well is to a pilgrim in the desert, a Christless sermon is to a soul thirsting for God. Here’s a suggestion. Itr-is said that John Brentz who died in 1570 was at his own request buried beside the pulpit of his church, so that should his successor ever teach that'which was contrary to the Word, he could raise his head out of the grave and cry, “ YOU LIE.” Dr. Townsend has discovered that the phrase exploited by the critics, “ The Bible CONTAINS the Word of God,” was actually in the Universalist Confession of Faith in 1803. Nothing new from these fellows. Remember the fellow who said, “ Hath God said?” Let’s have a rest from these “ drives” for a while. What do you say? A writer in “ Life” suggests that if someone wants to get up a popular meeting, let the speaker arise and say, “ Ladies and gentlemen, this meeting was called for the purpose of starting a campaign to raise funds for the impoverished contributors to innumerable other campaigns.” Everybody fias been driving except the driven, and the drivers have been getting reckless of late. Let’s try the Bible method of money-raising for a while. — K. L. B.

To Every King's Business Friend

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SEPTEMBER 6th to 11th WILL BE KING’S BUSINESS WEEK W e Want to Reach The 2 5 ,0 0 0 Goal

Basis of Our Appeal Our policy for our paper has met with marked approval. We have gone forward month by month with an increased subscription list. WE HAVE NOT ADVANCED THE PRICE. While other magazines have increased their price, we have held ours to $1.00 per year. We have made it bigger and better. We can only use a limited number of selected advertisements. Set apart September 6th to 11th, and during that week secure for us one or more subscribers. , You yourself may be led to subscribe for one or more friends. Securing subscriptions will be a real helpful Christian service. You will never know what great things may eventuate from a monthly spiritual Gospel message such as The King’s Business carries. WILL YOU HELP US? If so, send us a postal and we will send you helpful literature for this purpose. Hundreds of you have said so. We have published it at a loss. Our advertisements help us to meet the deficit.

The same supplication that draws God’s blessings down draws the soul up. What is worldliness? It is simply pursuing the activities of the present life without thought of God. Many Christians need to be con­ verted from lying in bed in the-morn­ ing. The effort to express more than we feel eventually destroys what feelings we have. If you would not eat forbidden fruit, keep away from the forbidden tree. It is our business to do right and God’s business to see that we come out right. Three mountain trips: Go to Sinai and see your sins; go to Calvary and behold your Saviour; go to Zion and view your home. The. greatest of all faults is to he conscious of none. The Bible should be read as a priv­ ilege and not as a task or act of pen­ ance. Good had it been for some saints if they had never known prosperity. Faith never yet outstripped the bounty of the Lord. A grateful mind is a great mind. Abom ination!-------------------------- DEUTERONOMY 22:5 The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s gar­ ment: for all that do so are an abomination unto the Lord thy God.

The fellow who has an abundance of push will get along without any pull. The prayers of God’s people are the best walls round my house. Fritter away the early morning in other pursuits than seeking God, and you will make poor headway seeking Him all the rest of the day. Empty buckets are fittest for the well of grace. Better that Saul had continued in obscurity tending his father’s asses, than to be enthroned and so soon de­ throned. Whatever our circumstances, it can­ not be necessary to disobey God. Some men who will not respond to the snap of any man’s finger will re­ spond to the snap of a pocketbook. If you are too big to obey, you are too little to be obeyed. Christ sends none away empty but those who are full of themselves. One of the curses of the ministry is utter smoothness. When a file gets smooth it is of no account. Some men are known by the company they cannot get into. Never make a plan without seeking God’s guidance. Never achieve a suc­ cess without giving God the praise. Let great men beware of flatterers. Remember nature has given us two ears that we may hear both sides. Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness. A gash in the conscience may dis­ figure the soul forever. Be steadfast, unmovable: never un­ buckle your armor until you put on your shroud. The lazier a man is the more he intends to do tomorrow.

Cleave to Ckrist Or Turn to tke Fads?

A Sermon Preached tr? the Pastor of the East Side Baptist Church, Portland, Oregon DR. W. B. HINSON

women, we are singularly beset by that very thing today. There are thousands of people in America who would rather be criminal than be poor. And there are hundreds of thousands in America who look with more contempt upon a poor man than they look upon a bad man. And we have gone on making life more complex, and so filling it with additional requirements, until at the thought of the simple life our par­ ents lived we scornfully laugh. And when a man enters this city even good people ask the significant question, “ What is he worth?” And they do not make any reference to character when they say that. They are simply talking about the amount of his cash. And we are in danger of being absorbed in the temporal things. You young people think you have to start where your fathers and mothers left off. And because of all that, you are missing the greatest things of life. I read yesterday a sentence that seemed to come out to me from the buried past, of a young woman who married a poor young man and said, “Now I shall have the joy of helping you carve out your fortune.” But has not a man got to live? And are you advocating a re­ turn to . the old methods that are archaic and ancient and would be out of place? No, I am advocating no such thing. But I am saying we should learn to put first things first, and I will venture to say it would be better for us to get back to the simplicities and away from the complexities' of our every day life.

John VI:66: “ From that time many of His disciples went back and walked no more with Him.“ HE Lord had preached a won­ derful sermon on the Bread of Life. His audience He ac­ cused of thronging Him not for what He said or what-He was, but because they partook of His miracles in supplying them with food. When they remonstrated and said, “ Moses gave our fathers manna in the wilderness,” He denied their statement and said, “ Moses gave you no manna. It was given by my Father in Heaven. But I bring unto you the Bread of Life.” And they murmured, saying, “ How can this fellow give us the Bread of Life? Do we not know his parents and all about him?” And He said, “Why murmur ye in your hearts, for I say unto you except ye eat my flesh and drink my blood, ye have no life in you.” And they said, “ How can He give us his fle'sh to eat?” And He answered, “ All that my Father hath given me- shall come' to me.” Poor Christ! He had to find solace in some­ things! “ And him that cometh to me 1 will in no wise cast out.” “ And from that time many of His disciples went back and walked no more with Him.” You see there were three reasons ly­ ing right there in the heart of the narrative that influenced those people in going away. First, they were ab­ sorbed in temporal things. What shall we eat, and what shall we drink, and wherewith shall we be clothed? was the creed of their souls. Now, men' and

THE K I N G ' S BUS I NE S S There was a teacher once who said a few wise things that I am old fash­ ioned enough to still believe. He said,' “ Having food and raiment, therewith be content.” We smile at His simple philosophy, and we say He lived long ago in a land other than ours. But you know some people call Him God yet, and I am among them. And He said, “ For about all you actually need is food and raiment.” If we satisfied ourselves with those simple things of life there would he fewer furrows in the brow and not so many crow’s feet about the eyes, and a great uplift would come to the heart and cheerfulness would displace gloom. And He said another thing. He said, “ Men shall not live by bread alone, hut by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Which being interpreted I suppose would mean something like this: It is not what you have got in the hank, it is what you have got in yourself. The words of God in this great hook of nature; the meadowlark’s lilt and the robin’s song, the blossom­ ing rose and the perfumed lily, the Ore­ gon clouds, those great sky navies, the verdure on the hijlside, the glory of sunrise, the mystery of twilight, the solemn suggestiveness of the stars. These words of God; we should live by them. And the words of God in the sacred book, the great promissory notes of Jehovah given to us, telling us if we only do right, bread shall he cer­ tain, water shall be sure, and no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly. A quaint philosophy harking hack to an olden time? Yes, and yet today the challenge of David may he thrown out, “ I have been young and am now old, yet have I never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed beg­ ging bread.” My Lord said another thing I often think about. He said, “ A man’s life consisteth not in the things Which he

831 possesseth.” Suppose you lost all the at­ tritions that have collected about your life, what would you be then? That is what you really are. The Hebrews have a deep saying, for they say God does not take much stock in adjectives, He likes nouns. He does not say rich man, influential man, talented man, he says “ man.” What would you he worth if you lost your money, and your house went down in ruins, and you stripped and peeled like old Job in the days gone by? What would you he if He put His torch to the universe tonight, and you saw all the material possessions going up in smoke? How much would you be worth if your body were dead? How much treasure have you got laid up on the other side the starry skies? We are becoming too much absorbed in things temporal. It is America’s be- setment, and America’s sin. And then they were under the power of a bad example. The people were turning away from the preacher and moving down among the vineyards to their homes. Ah! we think we are strong, but there is no one among us so strong he is not influenced by his surroundings. Unconsciously there comes upon your life the influence from without; and strong as you may be and careful, the bad example will have its weight and will have, unless God pre­ serves you by His grace, its ill effect. With whom do you associate, young people? Did you ever hear that pro­ verb, “ A man is known by the com­ pany he keeps?” You show me a man’s friends and I will tell you a great deal about that man’s character. I have been watching people now for a great many years, alnd I have observed how the swing and pull of a bad example has ruined so many I have known. A concrete case arises before me, of a man I fellowshipped with in church, was with him in church work, baptized his whole family, and he had a fool of a wife; and God help the man'who

THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NE S S hazardous thing to declare one’s self in favor of a spiritual ministry. You see then you will have to take issue with so many fads and follies.. You will have to run counter to so many theories and fancies. You will have to stand for the living truth in the midst o f . snake-like lies, and snake hiss and sting. And very often the church makes it harder still for the man to exercise this spiritual ministry, like a little man in this town who one day said, “ I am tired of hearing about heaven.” Well, he had better not be, because all he will ever hear of heaven unless he changes his ways will come through hearsay. | The danger of a spiritual ministry. If Jesus Christ had accepted the popular acclaim and proclaimed Himself to be the deliverer of Israel from the thrall-’ dom of Rome, they would have crowned Him King. And they slew Him because He would not do that thing. But there is one greater danger, and I go on to tell these preachers whenever I lecture to them of the dangers of an unspir- ,itual ministry, which is greater than the danger of a spiritual ministry, because it will damn you and damn your con­ gregation, too. And Jesus Christ was teaching those people it was not by Pharisaic form but by a regenerated heart and a reconstructed life alone could they do the will of God. And they were willing enough to adopt the creed so long as He said nothing about changing the conduct; they were will­ ing to paste texts of Scripture on the brow so long as they were not forced to work texts of Scripture out in the life. Therefore they went back and walked no more with Him. And as I stand here and see them in fancy go­ ing away, a few things come up in my heart. How small are the beginnings of alienation between the heart and God. What is it Tennyson says?— “ The little rift within the lute.

832 has got that weight hanging on him! And his wife thought she ought to he in society, poor little creature. And she got into society, and he got out of the ■church, and his spirituality de­ parted. And today he looks like an Egyptian mummy. For his very body is dried up in his eager hunt that en­ ables him to maintain his position in Society. The swing and pull of a had example! And then we are not only influenced, but we influence others. And I thought this evening I would venture to place before you this altruistic phil­ osophy, that you had better be good for the sake of the people you influence. A man came to me once and told me of a course of conduct he intended pur­ suing, and I said, “ That means your damnation, my friend.” And he said, “ If I choose to damn myself; is that anybody’s business but my own?” And it was given me to say in remonstrance then, “ I waive the question of your right to damn yourself, but I assert you have no right to damn your boy.” And there was enough manhood left in him to cause him to say, “ You are right. Pardon me. I shall not do it.” You influence somebody else. Ah! somebody holds the faith because you hold it. Somebody is strong because of your strength. Somebody’s serenity depends upon your poise. So take care how you are influenced, and be careful how you influence, and do not set a bad example. Taking Issue with the Fads. And then they had a third thing. They were disturbed and annoyed by the spirituality of our Lord’s preaching. They said, “ How can He give us His flesh to eat and His blood to drink? 'It is a hard saying. Who can bear it?” I am in the habit of saying to young preachers when I have the privilege to address them, these two things. I warn them of the danger of a spiritual min­ istry. DidJ mean that? Yes, the dan­ ger of a spiritual ministry! It is a

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me why! Twist the scourge around His naked shoulders till the great red welt comes up, but what is your reason for doing it? It pains Him. I do not pity Jesus half so much when they scourge Him and crown Him with thorns as when He heard Peter over yonder say, “ I know not the man.” Do you not know there is a question in this Old Testament that makes the tears start to the eyes. “ And one shall say unto Him, ‘What are these wounds in Thy hands?’ And He shall reply, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends’.” Oh Christ is like man in one thing. He is at the mercy of His friends. Who cares for what an enemy says? But when a friend says an unkind thing, how it cuts! Who cares though an enemy pass one on the street with averted glance? But when a friend does it, suddenly the air grows cold, and the skies get gray. It pains Christ. And it is a tragical, terrible thing to do, to go away from Jesus! Do you know there is a prayer I have commenced praying these last two or three years, “ God, don’t let me spoil it all.” I would say if He rent the heavens at this moment, I have been true to His Gospel. I have preached Him. I have- believed Him. I never put a bit of it behind my hack. I never cared though hell opened up. And I would sooner He would strike me dead on this platform than let me live to undo all of that. The tragedy of go­ ing away from Christ! Deeper than the tragedy of slapping the old mother's face; more ghastly than the tragedy of digging the heel of your boot in your father’s grave. “ They went away and walked no more with Him.” They went away from what? From the Bread of Life, to starve; from the Water of Life, to thirst; from the rest of God, to be storm-dfiven forever; from the light into the darkness; from the glory into the gloom; from heaven into hell; from God to the devil. They went away.

Which by and hy will make the music mute, And ever widening, slowly silence all.” I trust I. am within hounds when I say it was a dark day with lots of peo­ ple in Portland when they came into possession of an automobile. You see they go so far out in the country on Sunday afternoon they do not get hack in time for the Sunday night service, and now everybody knows them as “ oncers.” And then on Wednesday evening they go out to view nature. What is it they say? “We worshipped God in the cathedral of Nature?” Oh, the hypocrites! Is that what makes the trousers wet eighteen inches up the leg? Worshipping God in the cathedral of Nature! I would sooner be damned for fishing on Sunday than for lying about it! A little more money will do it. A woman had candor enough to tell me once in the years gone by that for the sake of getting up in society-she had left the Baptist church and gone over to the Episcopalian. So how small are the beginnings of this alienation of soul. But how slowly this does its deadly work. The old rules and prac­ tices observed; the bread lifted to the mouth, and the wine; only the heart is getting' chilled, and the enthusiasm is waning, and God have mercy on us all, the old verses that used to come to the lip volcanic with force are now said, yes, that is the right word, they are said. And there may be prayer, but it is perfunctory. And they nearly thank God that they find that they have got a short chapter to read! How terrible! And how causeless it all is on the part of Christ. I do not know to whom I am speak­ ing now, but I know the Man I am working for is bidding me speak to some person. What cause had you for turning away from Christ? What hurt did He ever do you? What blessing did He withhold from you? Push the thorns into,His brow, but in God’s name tell

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834

I would never go away from Him. I know the mystery that surges about me; but when the mystery is &t its blackest I lay hold of Christ’s hand a little tighter and say, “ Lord, I am not going to lose you.” I feel the pull of people turning away from Jesus, but I go right up to Him and say, “ Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.” And I put all my heart in my passionate speech now as I say, Man, do not go away from Jesus. Do not do it. There they go. And I will he truthful with you. They have been going ever since, and they are going yet. Do not join them. If you look at Him you never will. They dropped their eyes to the ground— I know they did— and they looked at one another, and then they turned their back on the Lord of Life and Love, and went away. And I cannot get away myself from the horrible fascination of that phrase, "And they walked no more— never again— they walked no more with Him.” You may have come up to the turn­ ing point tonight. It may he He stands tonight and says, “ Now choose. Make up your mind, and cast your decision for Me or against Me; with Me or apart from Me.’S Well, write down my name, sir, that I am for Christ. And, Oh! may this my glory be, that He, who has so much reason to be ashamed, is not ashamed of me. THE CONVERTED PURSE A Methodist laborer in Wesley’s time,- Capt. Webb, when anyone in­ formed him of the conversion of a rich man, was in the habit of asking, “Is hig purse converted?” He agreed with Dr. Adam Clarke, who used to say he did not believe in the religion that cost a man nothing. S E E P A G E 8 2 8

And they walked no more with Him. “ Such language holds the solemn sea To the sand along the shore.” And' what did they go to? 0 1 know not. To destructiveness, perhaps. Maybe they entered homes that evening, and the young folks had been learning to look towards Jesus through those people.' And when they went into those homes they said, “We are through with the Nazarene.” And possibly those children are in hell tonight because their fathers and their mothers went away from Christ that afternoon. Do not go away from Jesus. Oh, I am sick of being calm and collected as I talk. I am tired of being logical and argu­ mentative. And yesterday .I wished I could cry and beg of you not to go away from Jesus Christ. You young people, do not let some fool’s utter­ ances about evolution lead you away .from the Christ who shed His heart’s blood for you. There is a dirty atheist in this town. They tell me he is athe­ istic, and X know he is dirty. And he said to a minister of my acquaintance a while ago, “ So you like Burns, do you? But Burns satirized religion.” But Burns also said— “ An atheist’s laugh is a poor return To Deity offended.” I hope to have a chance to say that to that unclean, leprous snake some of these days. It won’t avail you much to make a little money if you lose Heaven. It won’t avail you much to have a nerve titillated if you are damned through it. And the reaction of losing Jesus will be a very poor harvest to reap for the little hit of amusement and pleas­ ure. You know this life down here is so pitifully short and , eternity so tremendously long. And the hollow laughing of some companion who may laugh you into hell but cannot laugh you out of it is less important than the “ Come thou blessed of my Father,” falling from the lips of Christ. I would not go away from Jesus if I were you.

Tne Crowning Heresy Tke Satanic Denial o f the Permanence o f Christ’s Flesh. Is He Coming Again in a Body? By T. MARSHALL MORSEY

“He that was and is and is coming or ‘the coming one’.” This form, just as it is here used, without the article, is used to speak of Christ’s second coming elsewhere in Scripture: Matt. 24:30, “ Then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn and they shall see the Son of Man ‘coming’ on the clouds.” Luke 13:35, “ Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.” There are many other passages using the present participle of this word in this future sense. There is, however, a stronger proof in the word itself. The nature of the original word is of such that its present participle must of necessity have a future meaning, in relation to a defin­ ite destination. If I am looking for a friend to pay me a visit, as long as I can say “ he is coming” or "my com­ ing friend” or “ my friend coming in person,” his arrival is future. He may be on his way, he may he in sight, hut I can only thus speak until he arrives. After his arrival the tense must of necessity be a past tense. This present tense used in a future sense is, further, very significant, for it expresses the be­ lief of the apostles and early church concerning the Master’s imminent re­ turn. By no possible translation could this refer to Christ’s first coming. Naturally one wonders why this should be considered such a great heresy as to attach to it the title Anti- Christ. If this is the spirit of the Anti-Christ that means that this is the great teach­ ing that the Anti-Christ will deny. But why should he deny particularly “ Christ coming in the flesh?”

A certain professor in a theological seminary maintains that Pre-Millenial- ism is the “ crowning heresy of today.” Therefore, I have entitled this discus­ sion, “ The Crowning Heresy.” The Second Epistle of John attacks with severity the false teachers and gives directions as to how to treat them. It is not the purpose of this ar­ ticle to discuss these various kinds of false teachers and how to treat them, interesting though that is, for it is contested ground. We want to discuss here the mean­ ing of verse 7, “ For many deceivers are gone forth into the world, even they that confess not that Jesus Christ com- eth in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the Anti-Christ.” There has been some discussion as to the meaning of this— “ cometh in the flesh.” Some have given to it the same meaning as in I Jno. 4:2-3., where “ come” is a past tense and refers to Christ’s first coming, the Incarnation. This inter­ pretation has been due to the fact that in both, the one spoken of is branded as an Anti-Christ. We shall refer to the explanation of that later. The question now before us is this: Is it possible for this phrase here used to refer to the first coming of our Lord? Westcott, theprince of all Greek New Testament scholars, whose work of textual criticism of the New Testament was so magnificently done that all work since has been hut a rehash of his work, states that this refers to Christ’s Second Coming. According to Thayer,the present participle of the Greek word for “ come” always means future time: Rev. 1:4,

THE K I N G ' S BUS I NE S S be more spiritual than the rest in their denial of the permanency or reality of Christ’s flesh. So it is today. This Gnosticism is still with us, in various cults and with us even among the evangelical minis­ try. They maintain that Christ’s com­ ing is a spiritual coming. They point with scorn at those who look for Him in the flesh and boast themselves even as the Gnostics of old, as being more spiritual. This shall continue until the one comes who shall embody this teach­ ing in himself and shall deceive the world, the Anti-Christ. This is the crowning heresy of the church of all ages. For, carried to its logical conclusion it makes the Incar­ nation merely temporal. It makes the Resurrection foolish, for why resurrect a body that is only to be dissolved? The phantom theory is plausible if this is true. It further makes our resur­ rection foolish for if we are not to have a body with components of the old body, why a resurrection? The spirit has gone to be with God. It has in the Revelation that Satan’s rage is awaiting its return to the resurrection body. Not to confess “ Jesus Christ coming in the flesh” leaves us in a hope­ less confusion of foolishness, uncer­ tainty and unreasonable doctrines. DUMPING GROUND There are people who use their friends as dumping grounds, and unload on them any choice bits of scandal the* may chance to pick up, as though they were conferring a favor. As long as human nature is what it is, there will be plenty of such unloading to be done; but what noble mind wishes to be put to such ignoble uses, and to have made in any part of his spiritual' domain a scavenger heap?— Sel.

836 Let us look first of all at the other references nearly paralleling this. I. Jno. 4:1-3, Here he speaks of Christ’s first coming, “ has come in the flesh.” This is the Incarnation. Naturally Satan attacks this for this is the founda­ tion of Christ’s work in overthrowing his kingdom. It is the very heart of Christianity— if Christ were not truly in the flesh then we are still in our sins and Satan reigns. But let us think further. Does the Incarnation end at Bethlehem? Certainly not. Does it end at Calvary? No. For He said dur­ ing the resurrection days, “ a spirit hath not flesh and hone as ye see Me have.” He ate and drank with them. Did it end at the Ascension? No. For He says, “ He will drink the fruit of the vine anew with us in the kingdom." The permanence of Christ’s flesh is the assurance of our own bodily resurrec­ tion. Further, when Christ- came the first time He was victorious over Satan, when He comes the second time it will be to take over the kingdom. This is what Satan tries to combat. We read in the Revelation that Satan’s rage is so great because he knows his end is near; Christ is preparing to set up His kingdom. Satan tries to deceive the world that this will not be— this is the spirit of the Anti-Christ that he sends to talk to them. This is the "seducer” that- seduces the bride and shall finally be embodied in one man. That is why this is the crowning heresy. It is the denial of the permanency of the flesh of Christ. It is making it purely tem­ poral and economic. It is striking at the roots of Christianity and our blessed hope. This was showing its head in the Gnostics in John’s time. It is note­ worthy that all of these Gnostic heresies united in this denial of the flesh of Christ. Some denied that He ever came in the flesh. Some affirmed that 'His body was only for the period of earthly habitation. They claimed to

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