September 1927
556
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
crucified, but it will be, and must be experimentally cru cified, so that Christ may be enthroned within us. Jesus Christ must of necessity be Lord of the whole situation. We, like John, must decrease, and Christ must increase. To be thus, we must not only be baptized in the Spirit, but we must moment by moment Walk in the Spirit and dive in the Spirit. A picture of what it means to be Christlike is found in 1 Cor. 13th chapter. Christlikeness can be produced or experienced only through the power and presence of Christ’s indwelling. So T h is Is O rth o d o x y ! S OMEONE sends us a newspaper report of graduation exercises at Reed College, Portland, Oregon. At some length the thesis of one of the graduates is quoted, and the headlines declare that “Reed Seniors are Found Orthodox in Views.” The speaker, the daughter of one of the professors, had made a cereful survey of religious beliefs, and it was found that most of the class members “had great admira tion for Jesus.’l l Most of the students “conceive of God as law and order.” Some held that “God has personal traits.”' Evil and suffering are not thought of as punishment for sin by any of the students studied. A denial of divine guidance by a supernatural outside power received more support than any other view on guidance. Only three students have any idea of a supernatural power interven ing or answering prayers; four remarked, about prayer, “It doesn’t work.” The larger number think of the Bible as a collection of writings, some of which are great literature. Another large group think of the Bible as a history of the relig ious thought, and to some extent the actions, of the Hebrew people. None of the students studied believe in resurrection of the body. Quite, a number would like to believe in per sistence of the personality after death, “but cannot do so.” Regarding immortality, most of the students say they do not know. All of which shows, if the situation is .correctly re ported, either that these students have given little thought to religious matters, or that they have imbibed the stock arguments that some college professors are wont to let slip in their class rooms. It shows again what urgent need there is of putting into the hands of college students concise literature that will set before them the subject of Christian Evidences. D r. Jo s e p h P a r k e r ’s W ords Any pulpit that founds itself on personal invention, cleverness, ingenuity, audacity or affected originality, will most surely cover itself with humiliation, and pass into merited oblivion. To me the Bible is a Divine revelation. It is not a book containing a revelation It is a revelation. We place the Book itself in an awful position. We separate it from all other books. We make skeptical crit icism a profane offense, and devout obedience an essential element of spiritual character. The Book is to us verily as God Himself. There is only one Book in the world which can prove the Inspiration of the Bible, and that is the Bible itself.
public and private, and at the same time exonerate our selves; and yet claim to be Christians and hold up a high standard'of Christian experience. If Christlike, nothing but sin and heresy should separate us, God’s people. L if e I n T h e H oly G host Christlikeness, or the Christ-life, is to be, in character, like Christ. It is the life lived in God through the Holy Ghost; produced only through God’s living, moving, and having His way and will done in a living soul, moment by moment. It is a life lived not through human effort, but through submission and perfect resignation to the will of God, which will produce rest and confidence in the Lord. The Christ-life produces spontaneously all the characteristics of Christ; and especially quietness, peace, and rest in God, in the midst of turmoil, confusion, and the most trying circumstances. It rightly distributes our energies and time, and puts us in proper relationship in the church, with our fellowmen and with God. It gives us a divine love for all mankind; and as far as we are con cerned, causes us to be at peace with everybody, with our enemies as well as our friends. To be Christlike is to be humble, loving, kind, gentle, longsuffering, patient, considerate, and easily entreated. It will cause us to have the lamb-like nature combined with the lion nature, to be modest in speech, in our deportment and attire, and always willing and ready to help the weak and needy, as the Lord directs. Christlikeness will give us power with God and men, power to heal the sick, and to raise the dead; authority over the devil and demons, so that we can (in the name of the Lord) cast them out and bid them go. liriJohn 14:12. As Christ was, in His humanity, so shall we be. Can this be possible unless one is baptized in the Holy Ghost, is absolutely subdued, and is willing, and ready at all times, and under all circumstances, to say, “Thy will be done, oh Lord. No more I, but Christ” ? We, His people, must admit, if we are honest, that among God’s children, there is greet need of Christlike ness of this character. This will necessitate much hum bling, confession and prayer. The lack of Christlikeness in the body of Christ has created much havoc. It has caused us to dwell upon non-essentials, rather than upon essentials. It has. produced fanaticism, heresy, isms, schisms, controversies, dissensions, divisions, separations, manifold. Spiritual power imparted to God’s people, where such things as these are in evidence, and largely controlling us, would be ruinous. We all know it is the tendency of Christians to seek spiritual power, which is all right and Scriptural, if it be for God’s glory. Too often, however, it is sought irrespective of Christlikeness, and to exalt the human rather than Christ. We are too apt to commercialize God’s possessions, given to us as a trust, by using them for our own exaltation, or for our own interests—therefore He withholds them. W ha t C h r ist ’ s ,C ause S uffers Christlikeness is a gem, and should be sought because of its supreme worth, to ourselves, and to society. It is certainly a necessity. Without Christlikeness (which of course is produced only through Christ), we do ourselves an injustice, or rob ourselves. The cause of Christ suf fers, and the impression which we produce upon others for good, notwithstanding all our activities, and all that we can say, is comparatively small. To be Christlike, we must give the Lord the pre eminence, always and under all circumstances. There fore the flesh, or the self life, must not only be reckoned
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker