6 *
^ u s m e g
1 WILL ransom them from the power of the grave; I \tfill re deem them from death. O gra\)e, I \tfiil he thj) destruction. (Hos. 13:14)
G od hatK both raised up the Lord; and 'Will also raise up us by H is own power. (1 G c r.> : 14 ) ■
»
EASTER NUMBER - April 1923
I f you knew... That you could invest $100 or $100,000 and receive an income on the same while you lived, and that at your death it would be working for you Would you do it? Hundreds of people have been mistaken by planning to give to good causes through their wills, but heirs and courts have found a way to defeat their purposes You can if you will We can take your funds, make an acceptable contract with you, pay you a specified sum semi-annually or annually, and insure your investment Will you do it now? Your income will be from 5 to 10 per cent according to your age at the time of making the contract. The investment is guaranteed by unincumbered property worth two and a half millions of dollars.
Full particulars on application to T. C. HORTON 536-558 South Hope Street, Los Angeles, California
THE KING ’S BUSINESS MOTTO: "I. tkaLord. 4ohap tt l winmotorUovary moment hat any hurt U. 1 wtu hoopItnightandday.“ , ----- ---i, , ha. 273 r.irwmv,:"« ■ „ ------ , ................. PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES 536-558 SOUTH HO PE STREET, LOS ANGELES, CAL. E n tered me Second-C lass M atter N ovem ber 17, 1910, a t th e P o st Office a t Los A ngeles, C alifornia, u nder th e A ct of M arch 3, 1879 A cceptance fo r m ailing a t special ra te of p o stag e provided for in Section 1103, A ct of O ctober 3, 1917, au th o rized O ctober I. 1918 Volume XIV_______ ûÿAxX .March, 1923 Number % 7
Rev. T. C. HORTON, E d ito r in C hief
Rev. K EITH L. BROOKS, M anaging Editor
ALAN S. PEARCE, C irculation R epresentative Contributing Editors
.DR. F. W . FARR
DR. JOHN N. MacINNIS
DR. A . C. DIXON
CONTENTS E d ito rials: Gloom and Glory (339 ), Have a H eart (340 ), F ata l Fellowship (341 ), Risen as He Said (341 ), Deadly Heresy (343 ), Mine Adversary Has W ritten a Book (344) Bible Briefs— (346) L ite ra l Resurrection— By Rev. Wm. K irk Bryce (347)
Rationalism and Resurrection— By Rev. G. W. McPherson (350) Sleight and C raftiness of, Skepticism— By Dr. A. T'. Pierson (353) Baptism w ith th e S p irit and F ire— By Dr. J. J. Sims (357), W h at is Theology?—-By Dr. A. C. Dixon (360) The Jon ah Story— By Dr. R. A. Torrey (362) Resurrection of th e Body— By Rev. H. S. Miller (369) Notes on th e Jew s an d Prophecy—-(366) Bible In stitu te in Hunan— By F ra n k A K eller (368) Evangelistic Stories— (370) HDmiletical Helps— (376) Gospel Song Interpretation-—By Robert Harkness (382) Reform ation—Regeneration—By Mrs. E. A. Wilson (383)
In tern atio n al Sunday School Lessons— (384) F undam ental Sunday School Lessons— (413) C u rren t Religious Comment—-(433) Good Books— (436) PLEASE W hen sending: subscriptions, a d d ress correspondence to Office of The K in g ’s B usiness, Bible In s titu te of Los Angeles, 536- 558 South Hope S treet. C hecks m ay be m ade payable to Bible In s titu te of Los A ngeles. Do no t m ake checks or m oney o rd ers to individuals connected w ith th e Bible In stitu te . Y E A R FOREIGN COUNTRIES, INCLUDING CANADA $1.25—SINGLE COPIES 15 CENTS Special Club Rate for Ten or More Subscriptions 75c Each O N L Y O N E D O L L A R A
I’m LAUGHING with Joy ------------
, ■ Because the Contest for the Scholarship is on, and I am going to hundreds of new homes I Just Can’t Tell You How Happy I Am
r
EASTER NUMBER
Oh, le t me know The power of Thy resurrection! Oh, le t me show Thy risen life in clear reflection! Oh, le t me soar Where Thou, my Savior Christ, a rt goiie before! In m ind and h eart Let me dwell always, only where Thou art, — (Havergal) •j.( - ¿Mfc, .$!£. sM get M i
THE GLOOM AND GLORY The Bible pictures are wonderful, and so often they, go in pairs. The glory of'Eden was obscured by the gloom of the burse, and that gloom was dispelled by the glory of the promise through the seed of the woman. So has run the history of hiiman life—days of gloom ; days of gladness: But there are two pictures of outstanding importance—companion pictures which have a depth and height of meaning such as no other pictures ever can have.: One pieture is on Mount Calvary- •-the picture of a Man. \ He hangs between two thieves. His head is bowed. Dark clouds are gathering above the Cross and they settle over His head. An agony unspeakable fills the soul of the Man and Hé cries out, “ My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” The veil of the temple was rent in twain. The earth did quake and the rocks were rent/ Silent, sombre, gloomy fear settled over the sightseers. The God-Man was dying. He-cried with a loud voice and gave up the ghost, The crowds disperse amidst the gloom. You will never see another picture like that. Keep it upon the wall of your heart and look upon it often. It has a message, never changing, always appealing to you. It has a voice crying through the ages to all who look upon it, saying, “ It was for me ! It was for me !’* There is another pieture. Hang, it upon the wall of your heart, also. It is the picture of the; same Man. There are scars in His hands'and in His feet that speak of the cross. But His feet are now standing on the Mount of Olives. A little group of loved ones are with Him. and He is saying the goodbye words. Suddenly He is lifted up from their midst and those hands are over them in blessing, and through the nail-holes shines the light of day and blessings are descending upon,them. He is gone! ’A cloud receives Him out of their sight. He is glorified and angels are there to put the last tint upon the glowing picture: “ This same Jesus shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into Heaven.” n The gloom is gone forever. The glory shines from above. The Scrip tures cannot be broken. His coming was prophesied in Genesis 3:15: ’
340 T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S “And I will pu t enm ity between thee and th e woman, and between thy seed and h er seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou sh alt bruise his heel.” His death was prophesied in the 53rd chapter of Isaiah : “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; th e chastisement of our peace was upon him ; and w ith his stripes we are healed.” His coming again is predicted and- His feet shall stand where they stood before (Zech. 14:4). “And his feet shall stand in th a t day upon th e mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east.” and the glory of that day shall know no end,: (Zech. 14:6-9) : “And it shall come to pass in th a t day, th a t th e ligh t shall not be clear, nor dark. But at shall be one day which shall be known to th e Lord, no t ;day non n igh t; bu t it shall come to pass, th a t a t evening tim e it shall be light. And it shall be in th a t day, th a t living w aters shall go out from Jerusalem ; half of them tow ard the form er sea, and h alf of them toward, th e hinder sea; in summ er and in w inter it shall be. And the Lord sh all be King over all th e e a rth ; in th a t day th e re shall be one Lord, and his name one.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. —T. C. H. g H !¡É HAVE A HEART Have patience with us. We do not want to continually harp on the heartlessness of the professors in our schools whose daily delight seems to be the weakening of the faith of students in the Word of God, and who seem to take pleasure in the process, of administering the poison of doubt and denial concerning the authority of the Bible,—but the call comes so continuously to us from heart-broken fathers and mothers that we cannot turn a deaf ear to their pleadings. Listen to this: “We have a special request to ask of the In stitu te and th a t is th a t you pray for our boy nineteen years old. We are having special prayer fo r him here. He has finished two years of college work. He used to be a sincere Christian. He h as read his Bible th rough five times, and a t th e age of 12 had read his New Testam ent th rough seven times. But his first year a t College (a church college a t th a t) has been th e means of making him a to tal unbeliever. Morally, he is good.” . Safeguard your children thè best you can. See to it that the seed of the Word is sown deep in their hearts. Arm them against the attacks of the enemies of God. Charge them to contend for their faith. No man or woman has any right to take advantage of their position in our public schools to cast any slight upon God’s Word. If it is not per mitted to be taught, it must not be permitted to be denied. Boys and girls and young men and women have a right to openly question the right of any teacher to cast a slur upon the Word of God and, thank God, some are now doing this. If the pupils are afraid, let the parents go to the school, face the teachers and demand that they cease their Satanic work. Have a heart for our beloved country lest it be bereft of the founda tion upon which it was built—the Bible. We are willing to fight for the flag, but what meaning would our flag have, if we surrendered the Bible? —T. C. H. A PROPOSITION YOU CANNOT Have a heart for the children of others! Have a heart for the true church of God !
s
T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
341
FATAL FELLOWSHIP The Word of God must always be our guide, as believers, ini life and service. The Word is always clear with respect to* both. It must not be a question of what we think, but what God says. We have been thrust into a world condition and a church conditioxr which necessitates our falling back upon the Word of God in matters of our relationship to professed Christians,- which relationship is often very trying and sorely testing. Here is a test: There are many good people, professing Christians— some dn the pulpit, who have changed their position concerning God-s Word and concerning the Deity of Jesus Christ. We may love them; we may have had fellowship with them in the past; but now what attitude must we take toward them? Shall we be guided by our sincere regard for them as former fellow-workers, or former leaders in Christian service ? Or must our Christian intercourse be severedt Should we look to the Word of God for direction as to what to say and what to do? Can we go contrary to the plain teaching of that Word, and be swayed by personal feeling, or must we bow to the command of the Book and sever the tie and sever the fellowship? No harder task confronts God’s people. Deniers of the inerrant Word of God are the enemies of God. He says so. To have fellowship in spirit ual things with them is to make void the Word and hinder our fellowship with the Holy Spirit. There is no common ground for true belieyers save that grounded on God’s Word. Fellowship with those who deny the Virgin Birth and Aton ing Blood of Jesus Christ are His worst enemies, and fellowship with them is fatal to us, for immediately our fellowship with Him is broken. Loss of fellowship with Christ means a restless life and loss of power. —T. C. H. “RISEN AS HE SAID” The resurrection of Jesus was God’s “ Amen” to all that Jesus had said and done. The devil and his followers -put little stock in what Jesus said about His coming resurrection. No doubt there was a three-day jubilee in hell while the body of Jesus lay dead in Joseph’s tomb. But it came to a sudden end— because Jesus had said something. He has said even more—and because all the powers of hell and earth were unable to keep Him in the tomb, Christians will continue to believe His words: ‘‘The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” “ I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” Let us come then to the vacant sepulchre of Christ and sing for joy. Death for our sainted loved ones has been abolished. “ Sorrow may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning.” You have laid your loved ones AFFORD TO IGNORE (See Page 439)
342
Uly tîe k m r Liotth
M Î thatHe
i n t h e latterfop «penthe earth
in their graves—but just as empty as was the tomb of Jesus on that morn when the angel announced His resurrection, just so empty will be their graves when another angel sounds his trumpet and Jesus returns in glory. Blessed morn that dawned on the empty tomb of Calvary ! Will not that coming morn be even more blessed, when, as a result of Christ’s fin ished work, we join the glorified throng? It was the first day of the week when God called forth- light. This was but thé light of the. created world, but now the real Light of the world, He who brought life and immortality to light, has had a corresponding birthday. Saturday, the last day of the old period, was indeed for all a day
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S 343 of darkness and despair. The Light burst forth on the first day of the week, it is the Lord’s Day, for it was then that He aro^e “ AS ,HB SAID.” —k L B . A DEADLY HERESY We have often shuddered as we have read or listened to the shocking statements that liberal ministers have made concerning our Lord Jesus Christ. Most of them hesitate to express their views concerning the Holy Spirit. We confess to a feeling of horror as we recently’read some utter ances of a noted preacher concerning the Holy ]|pirit. "'He "is quoted as saying : “ It has come to pass th a t between the jargon of the Holiness convention on th e one hand, and the elaborate mystifications of the theologians on th e other; th e average man in our churches has well nigh ceased to th ink or care about th e sub ject of the Holy Spirit a t all. ‘Daddy,’ said a little girl of my acquaintance, ‘I can understand what you mean by the F ath e r and th e Son bu t I haven’t any use for the Holy Ghost.’ And there, in the refreshing frankness of a little child.’s speech, th e thoughts of many h earts are, revealed.” y Such shocking profanity from the lips of a man of culture and refine ment would be hard to account for but for the fact that we are'plainly told in the New Testament that in the last days Satan will have his ministers 6f righteousness who will come as angels of light. This learned man goes on. tO S a y : \ ' ; y > “ It would seem th a t we should best give intelligibility and rea lity to our thinking, and best serve th e in terests of our religious life if we made no -attem p t to distinguish between th e Holy Spirit and Christ. . Throughout the 14th and fol lowing chapters of Jo h n ’s Gospel no a ttem p t is made to;¿distinguish betwêeü th e coming of the Holy Spirit and Christ’s own coming to abide in and w ith His dis ciples.’; :,He then quotes w ith approval a saying of Dr. Marcus Dods: “ I doubtj; if we can make much of. a personal Holy Spirit interposed between Christ and us.” This is exactly wfipt the devil has always been seeking to do—niafee religion wholly.human, .substitute mere human experience and opinions about Christ for the supernatural birth and infilling of the Holy ©host. It is a deadly heresy. The preacher goes on to say: “L ittle groups w ithin th e Christian church have fastened on a few fam iliar New Testament phrases— ‘th e baptism of the Spirit,’ Ted by th e S pirit,’ ‘filled w ith th e Spirit,’ etc., and have made them into something like th e watchwords and badges of a p a tty ; b u t when we ask what religious experience, what sp iritual reality of any kind lies behind th e words th a t are so freely bandied about, we are often a t a loss to answer.” It is heartbreaking that Such a learned man should be at a loss on such a vital questionnas this. Nevertheless, the church possesses, ip biography pnd theology, a vast body of literature setting forth in a ihastef'ly way thA spiritual reality and the religious experience of the Holy Ghost, and thou sands upon thousands live today to testify of the unmistakable billing with the Spirit and His marvelous leadings in their lives: Rev. G. Armstrong Bennetts, in a recent article, well saÿs Concerning the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, that it is the central truth of the Christian religion in accordance with that Word of Paul, “ If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” The test question of Christian experi ence is this, “ Did you receive ¿the Holy Ghost when you befieved?” —K. L. B.
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
344
"MINE ADVERSARY HAS WRITTEN A BOOK” Of course Mr. Horton’s exposures of Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick in these columns have brought us many letters. Some of- our correspondents are having a hard timé to believe that The King’s Business had told the truth about the matter. One writer says: “ You are wasting your tim e denouncing men who do not agree w ith you in some details. I have been inspired by reading Dr. Fosdick’s books on prayer, to a higher stand ard a t living and a desire to know Christ better. This, to my mind, proves th a t he is not a false teacher.” Another says: “ Of course I do not have the full text of Dr. Fosdick’s sermon before me, but when I th in k of th e g reat blessing some of his books have been to me, I m ust say I for one scarcely relish such a b itter unchristian attack upon a m inister.” We can readily understand how Dr. Fosdick has endeared himself to some whose lives have been uplifted through some of his earlier devotional writings, but suppose that he has now gone back on the great verities of the faith! Will many continue to follow him because of their gratitude to him for his earlier writings? Job once said: “ Oh that mine adversary had written a book!” (Job 31:35). Just while many are doubting the truth of reports concerning this preacher, he comes out with a new book. A few quotations will bear out the position heretofore taken by Mr. Horton regarding Dr. Fosdick. A gentleman once noticed the letters “ U. S.” printed on the right hind leg of a negro’s mule and asked the owner if it was formerly the property of Uncle Sam. “ No, sah,” replied the negro, “ that U. S. ain’t fo’ no Uncle Sam. That means Un Safe.” With all due respect to Dr. Fosdick’s earlier writings, he has now branded himself “ Un Safe” His latest book is “ Christianity and Progress” . The publishers say it is a work that will start you thinking. It does—but in the wrong direction. The book contains a series of lectures delivered at Vanderbilt University as “ A Defense and Advocacy of the Christian Religion” . He starts with that serene attitude characteristic of our liberalists, when he speaks of “ well instructed minds being forced first to accept and then to glory in the pro gressive nature of Christianity” (page 144). He has little use for “ the out grown categories of a static world” and leads us on to “ achieve with wis dom and courage some fundamental reconstruction in our Christian think ing” (page 48). This progress, he plainly tells us, involves “ the abandon ment of an external and inerrant authority in religion” (page 153). He thinks the writers of the Bible were men “ whose days are as grass” and whose statements therefore “ need to be revised” (page 155). The phrases already quoted would be sufficient for most people. We will venture a few more quotations to make sure that we have not misunder stood the author. The God of the Old Testament he spells with a little “ g” . He calls Him “ a war god, leading his partisans to victory” (page 210). He thinks the church’s conception of God is all wrong. God, to him, is “ the CREATIVE REALITY” (page 225). Mrs. Eddy’s name for God, “ the Divine Mind” , is more appealing. A WHEEL WITH SIXTEEN SPOKES WHICH
T H È K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S 345 He holds that Christ shared with His generation many forms of thought which modern scholars have outgrown (page 203). He throws out the substitutionary atonement (page 43). Christ is seen as a divine revealer helping individuals and saving society. He ridicules all miracles' (page 227). The miracle of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea is placed alongside the story of Aladdin’s lamp (page 51). He condemns the church for “ dividing mankind into two classes, the saved and unsaved” (page 238). He holds that in practically every man’s life “ a door or window has unwittingly been left ajar, and through that God steals in” (page 239). Dr. Prank M. Goodchild well says of the book : “This is a singular book. It shows much kindliness toward th e agnostic and very little tow ard the present-day church member. It seems like th e effort of a man to ride a t th e same tim e two horses going in opposite directions, th e resu lt or which is d isaster to th e rid er and distress to th è spectators.!’ ‘ —K. B B. ^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiumiiniiiiiiiiHiiniiiniMiiiHiiaiiiiiifliiniiiHiiiiiniiiiiiininfiiiiiniiiHninimiuiiiiiniiiimiiiii mis
H!
§5
| P lease H av e M ercy!
if An unfortunate combination of circumstances has caused our J subscription offices to be piled full of mail, with the result that U complaints are being received. Overcrowded offices, the illness H of several valued helpers and the moving of the Biola Printing M plant to their new location have combined to upset our usually fj efficient system. We are handling the mail as fast as possible and jl hope to catch up soon. In the meantime, will our friends please §f bear with us and pray for us.
FOBM OF BEQUE 9 T TO THE BIBLE INSTITUTE / give and bequeath to Bible Institute of Los Angeles, incorporated under the laws of the State of California.. _______— _______________ Dollars, and I direel that the release of the President o f the Board of Direttors of said Bible Institute of Los Angeles shall be sufficient discharge to my OMseutors in the premises.
SPEAKS FOR ITHLF (See Inside Back Còver)
.afrtürrritiirifHiiiiriiriirrifriiiiiiifii^JiifiiiriiiiuiitiiiritiiiirriiiiriiiiiiiirifrrirrtfitifiiifiiïfffiifffïiiiffirfïrrtffirwfrfïrrB'rfïrftrrrffrrrirrrrrffrçi:
1
B IBLE
<$##>
BR I EF S
MARGINAL NOTES FOR YQUR STUDY BIBLE
iiiiiiiii n i in in in in in in in in in ìiiiil.i.iijiiiiiiiiiii in in u m i in in î iiiiiiiiiiiiii m i m u il iiiiiii m in in m in
turion (Mt. 2 7 :54 ). 3. Recognition as th e Son of God (Mt. 27 :54 ). 4. F aith of a dying crim inal (Lk. 23 :42 ). The dying thief could not use his hands and feet,, but his h e a rta n d tongue were free. Cf. Lk. 23:43; Rom. 10:9-10. The last th ing Jesus did for His dis ciples— Lk. 24:5 Q. The burden of the exhortation of ’’John ’s Gospel is “Believe.” The word •occurs in all b u t two chapters, 101 times in all, , F o rty -th ree tim es in John. Jesus says, “Thè F a th e r h ath sent me.” i The jword “ grace” occurs 125 times in the New Testament. The first soul w inner of the New Testament— Jn. 1:-40-41. The best answ er to .skeptics— Jin, 1:46. , - - .r The expression “ verily, verily,” .¡meaning “ in most solemn tru th ,” oc curs 25 tim es in Jo h n ’s Gospel,. and not »elsewhere. ■ jf « . Ttitj,,, The one Commandment of th e Virgin 'Mary—Jn. 2:'5v ” ' Three classes God loves: World (Jn. ■3 :T(i) ; The ! obèdiènt (Jn. ’Ì 4 :2 3 ) . Givers (2 Cor. 9:7 )\ Why men are lost— Jn. 3:18. The indwelling Spirit— Jn. 3. The infilling Spirit— ch. 4. The Overflow ing Spirit— ch. 5. Life for us as a gift-—Jn. 4:10. Life in us as: a well— Jn. 4:14. Life from us as a river,—Jn . 7:38. F rom the? fall to th e incarnation, God the F ath e r worked. From th e in- carnation to the Cross, God th e Son worked.. From Pentecost to th e ;p res- ent, God the Holy Hpirit works.
.s Note th a t Christ’s first sermon was a failu re from a human point of view— ¿Lk. 4:28, 29. Where to build our faith— Lk. 6:48. T he best place to take one’s doubts— Lk. 7:20. . | | The most im portant ,lheme discussed in heaven— Lk. 9:31; "LnPet. 1:10-12; Rev. 5:8-9. f i Note th e call of Christ to th e great ^harvest field is for “ laborers,” not “Doctors Off Divinity’’’i- L k . 10:2. The only tim e it is recorded th a t Jesus rejoiced-—Lk. 10:21. There are twenty-one recorded in stances in which Jesus engaged in prayer. Thirty-eight times in th e Gospels it ifc said th a t Jesus was in th e temple. : The joy of God— Lk. 15:10. ... In term ed iate sta te ,of the believer. £ Conscious existejm® (Lk;v 1 6 :2 5 )— ‘¡He is comforted.!’^, 2,. , pleasing ( P h il., l:2 3 ) - lf “F a r b etter." 3. Companion- ship (2 , Cor- -..5¡81.—-‘.‘. ^ i t h ‘Christ.’’i> .. • ; H ades Is located-H-it is noL'''merely; a state. See Lk. 16:28— “th is place.” _ Conversation takes place theffe. Ezek'. 32:21; Isa. 14:9-20; Lk. 16:19, 31. The one satisfaction gained in 'H ades’ —when sinners on earth are “ born again.” See Lk. 16:27-28. The only one we are told to remem ber—L o t’s wife— as a monument of w rath. Lk. 17:32. The Old Covenant was sealed w ith blood. Ex. ,24:7-8. lik ew ise th e New Covenant. Lk. 22:20. - The surest way to w h ip ,th e devil— , Luke 22:41. W hat Jesus enjoyed in His last hour: 1. The testimony of a robber (Lk. 2 3 :41 ). 2. The testimony of» a cen-
A Literal Resurrection | | From New Book of Sermons^—“Life’s Greatest Forces” By a Well Known Conference Speaker REV. WILLIAM KIRK BRYCE
of a week , we find Jesus again in the same Upper Room in the city of Je ru salem, where He has th a t neyer-to-be- forgotten interview w ith Thomas. I only need to recall th e scene to bring home to your mind the bodily reality . of the risen Christ, Thomas a t first could not believe He was the same Christ as had been put to death a few weeks previous; when Jesus therefore per'ceived- th e state of the m ind ;of Thomas, He said to him, “Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach h ith e r'th y hand, and th ru st it into my s id e b a n d be not faithless, bu t be liev ing ;” 'to which Thomas exclaimed, “My Lord and my Qod.” - Christ here represents H imself with" a body, and a body bearing the m arks made th rough suffering on' th e Cross of Calvary.“ ' A little later th an this second incident- in th e Upper Room, He . appeared on 'the shore of th e Soa of Gaditee Hb th e dis ciples a s . they came in from*'a n igh t’s fishing. You-remembeV th e Scene; as they drew n ea r-la n d He wasilstanding close ‘to the--Crater’s edge ready to give them a gldd,! welcome, having immedi ately before th is kindled a fir'b and cooked some fish, which ultim ately sa t isfied ith e wants of these hungry^fisher- men. We are quite safe in saying th a t Chr-iSt- sat down w ith them , and joined in the pleasure of an early morning breakfast, and ate It w ith as much zest as "any meal they had ever seen Him take, adding emphasis to th e words John spoke' when first; am id th e dim light of the morning, h’o^Said, “It is the Lord,”— the samiS” loving, sympa thetic, thoughtful F'rie’n d :4 I am quite aware Christ .was not so easily recog-”"
“W h y s h o u ld i t b e th o u g h t a th in g in c re d ib le w ith you» t h a t G od s h o u ld r a is e th e d e a d ? ”— A c ts 26:8. jE have many times stood bj
the graveside in th e cemetery and wondered, as we laid loved ones to rest ih th e cold
earth, w ith what body will they rise again; or will the same body which is laid in the grave ever rise at all? The teachings and ; experience of th e Lord Jesus Christ, so far as I study my New Testament, lead me to believe th a t there shall be a bodily and literal resu r rection from th e dead, and in order to ju stify th is dssertibn— .1 begin by saying th a t; C h rist's Resur rection was a literal fact. • When Jesus left the-grave on th e th ird :day, He did -so w ith a-real body. 'iiThis can be proved by many references ftom the New Testa ment. Let me ta k e somé of His mem orable appearances afte r He rose from the d ead . -In Luke’s Gospel, chapter 24ÿiJwe find-'H im mysteriously mani festing H imself to th e disciples as they werer gathered together ih the Upper Rodm-;; and shedding’Mrroàd I n 'all th eir hearts- the influence' of fear-. They thought He was a spirit, bù i th e King of L o ie soon drove’’pùt a ir sénse of te rro r; by telling His disciples t<5 ex am ine His hafids and fee t.' “And He said unto them , Why a re ’ ye troubled? .and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet; it is ti myself: handle me', and see; for a sp irit h ath not flesh and bones, as ye éèe me have.” I call your atten tion to -these words, “ it is I myself?* - I have been in th e gravé, says Christ, but I am here the same a s I was before I died— ‘-‘it is I myself.’* A fter th e lai®Ç
sffii
is
T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
348
to w it, th e redemption of the body.” God loves th e body; He made it, and m eant it to serve a noble purpose.. God cares for all His creatures, even th e sparrows on th e housetops, and they as well as we are fearfully and wonder fully made. W hat a beau tifu l con stru ction is the body! it is th e fairest visible temple on earth , and in th e Christian is th e abode of God in th is world. How holy, then, th e body is! "Know ye not th a t ye are the temple of God, and th a t th e Spirit of God dwell- eth in you?” "Know ye not th a t your bodies are th e members of C h rist?” . If you trace P au l’s - teachings about th e body, he shows th a t God loves it as much as the soul; and why should He not? You love your body. No man ever tru ly h ated his own flesh, unless he had made it a wreck w ith sin. A body is only vile when we have in some way .or o th er m arred its beauty by sin. My argum ent, then, is because God has re deemed th e body and we love our bod ies, they will rise again. If th ey do not, th en th e sufferings Christ bore to redeem th e body have been in vain. Of, again, if you say th ere is no bodily resurrection, you make th e fu tu re life altogether one of sp irit; and if th a t were so, th e re would be no need' of a fu tu re resurrection a t all, because the moment a sp irit dies it goes straig h t to God: “Absent from th e body, pres ent w ith th e Lord.” We never lay a sp irit in th e grave; you cannot pu t a sp irit in a coffin. A complete man is body and spirit, a half man is spirit. Bo you see if you say th ere is no literal resurrection then we would be only p art of ourselves in th e next world, and th a t altogether independent of resurrection. The teachings of Christ ought to con vince any one of us of tile g reat tru th for which I am now contending. In John 5:28, He says. “Marvel not at this: for th e hour is coming, in th e SO RUN THAT YE MAY
nized by some, and it is possible there may have been a slight difference in His appearance. As, for instance, to Mary Magdalene, who, when she first saw Him, t h o u g h t H e was a gardener. I suppose th a t would be a man who cut th e grass, pruned th e trees, and looked afte r th e flowers in th e garden. Jesus, however, soon pu t Mary’s fears to rest by calling her by name, and a t once she recognized the Master. ■You see now where we are in our plea for a literal body. Christ when He arose from the dead was in every way like th e man who kep t th e garden in which He was buried. The same though t can be de duced from th e incident in th e walk to Emmaus. Two men were walking, and they were joined by a th ird , who looked much the same as themselves. He walked on His feet, He ta lk e d freely of Moses and th e prophets, w ith real lips and a genuine hum an voice, and when - they arrived at a certain house He went in w ith them and in a memorable mo ment a t supper they discovered th a t the eloquent strang er who had walked by th eir side Was th e risen Christ. He walked and talked ,w ith them in cor poreal, tangible form : a Christ w ith flesh and bone th e same as H e had been during all His life among men. If th a t were not so, you impair, vitiate, and destroy th e importance and the ac tu a l fact of th e resurrection. P rom what I have said, and I th ink the proof is convincing enough, He rose w ith a lit eral body. Our resurrection shall be literal. In support of thfs statem en t I m ight plead what I have already said, as a proof th a t we shall literally rise again, but I begin by arguing from th e g reat faet Of redemption: When Christ saves a man, He does so body and soul— not soul alone. The body is as valuable to God as th e soul; hence we read in Rom. 8:23. “W aiting for the adoption,
T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S which all th a t are in th e graves shall h ear His voice, and shall come fo rth ." Now what does th a t verse mean but this: in the same way Lazarus heard th e voice of Qjirist and rose from the dead, in the same way shall every man, woman, and child come fo rth when He calls them from the dead. The Apostle Paul expounds th is idea in Rom. 8:11, when he says: “He th a t raised up Jesus from th e dead shall also quicken your m o rtal bodies by His Spirit th a t dwell- eth in you." There is no doubt bu t we shall rise again w ith a body. The soul is th e sword, and it is to have a sheath. The soul will not be naked and home less; it will have an abode— the temple of a glorified body suitable for the after-life, and the whole man shall in habit eternity. . If th e re is no literal resurrection, tru th becomes confused. I am con scious of many difficulties which sur-i round my contention for a literal resu t- rection. F o r instance, some one m ight say. Suppose a man loses a limb in A ustralia and finally dies in England, Will th a t man’s limb travel across th e ocean and seek out h is body? Or again, one m ight say th e body becomes dissolved and passes into o ther forms of lif e .. Yes, quite so. I am aware of al most every difficulty you <^an propound and bring forward, and all 1 can say is, W ith God all things are possible. Be cause if you say the body does not rise, then you land yourself in th e awful posi tion of denying the resurrection alto gether, and Christ is not risen. When Christ died, His body was laid in the grave by loving hands, but if bodies rise not He is th ere still. “But if th ere be no resurrection of the dead, th en is Christ not risen” (1 Cor. 15 : 13 ). You can see the confusion and dis order th a t would arise if you say the fu tu re life is only spirit. All the gifts consequent on th e resur-
349 rection are false. F o r instance, th e Spirit was tc come a fte r His ascension, but if th e dead rise not,Pentecost has been the w ildest dream ever conceived by fraudu len t minds, th e preaching of the Gospel has been a' gross deception, and m iracles are. altogether untfub, be cause th e resurrection is said to be the crowning m iracle of the New T esta ment, and forms onp of the g reat foun dation tru th s of Christianity. “Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification." You see, then, th a t th e resurrection of the body of Christ is th e pledge of our ju sti fication; but if th e dead rise not, we are s till in our sins. If you do not ad m it th e fact of a literal resurrection, th e n your unbelief is th e hammer by which you b reak in pieces and u tterly destroy the most precious tru th s in th e Word of God. But when you say Christ rose in bodily form, and so shall we, then you perceive the symmetry of th e New Testament, and th a t is a ju st arrangem ent of the several p arts in the body of tru th to one ano th er and to the whole, which makes a convincing appeal to an unprejudiced mind. W hat the fu tu re body may be is a profound mystery, bu t I th ink th ere are glimpses of it to be seen on the T ransfiguration Mount. Peter, Jam es and John saw Jesu s’ form glowing w ith a brilliance above th e beauty of th e sun; the Apos tle John some years later one day looked into heaven and saw in form a glorious man and knew Him to be the Christ of God, as He walked am id the golden candlesticks clothed in purest white. Both these visions, the one on earth and the other in heaven, suggest a transform ation of th e present body, but th is is difficult to determ ine. Paul uses th e figure of a corn of w heat: “It is sown a n atu ra l body, it is raised a sp iritu al body.” When a grain of
OBTAIN (See Page 439)
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
350
rock and kill Him; but a i'H is h o u r was not yet come, He evaded His persecutors in’ a mysterious manner: “But He, p issing through the m idst of them, went His way.” In some way, unknown to us, He had a peculiar power of dis appearance and reappearance both be fore and afte r death; and we know for certain th a t the body He had before death was real flesh and bones and blood, for it was offered as a sacrifice upon the Cro&s. In th e words of the Apostle, who knew Jbsus as well as any5 man ever ‘.did, our g reat hope is: “We shall be like H im .” As He Went home to God from Mount Olivet in a body, in d John was a witness, so finally shall we be clothed upon' in the same man- ■ner, and shall be' for ever w ith .the Lord. “ For I know th a t my Redeemer liveth, and th a t Ijg shall stand :, a t the lattey day upon th e earth : and tfiough after my skin worms destroy th is body, yet in my flesh shall I see Clod.”,.:;:- ,;
wheat begins to grow it sends np a stalk, by and by th ere comes th e full corn in th e ear, bu t th e seed grain dies. The ,stalk and the Wheat are a manifold increase of the single corn th a t was cast into th e ' ground. The whole, however, is the sâme in identity, only th e re is a larger, fu ller1life, th e symbol of the glorified body of -the believer, as he rises again from the dead. “There is a natural, body, and th ere is a spiritual body” (1 Cor. 15:*44). But some one - m ight say tonight, and very likely th is thought is passing through the minds of many before me, How could Christ w ith a real body appear in the Upper Room, passing oiit and in, w ithout ever open ing th é door? This was not a new th ing for Christ to do. ' Before death, when He was in th e flesh, you remem ber, early in’His m inistry, when 'prekcksf* ing a t Nazareth, th e people w ere so en raged w ith His teaching, that, they wanted tò fling Him over a g reat high
a b ’.afe l b Rationalism and Resurrection
■ I
By Rev. G, W. McPherson, N. Y. City Tent Evangel RDING to Modernism tke ning of Christ is 'a contjn- is event which', culm inates death. Wé' shall examine pages, we shall n atu rally th ink th a t each human being’s resu rre ctio n . takes placé a t d eath” (Christian .Theology, page 410). Again, he states: S it . is most probable th a t the human .spirit will arise from death to the life beyond with an organism adapted, to its uses in f b a t life” (p. 409). And again: .“ It is not tau g h t that, Christ’s resurrec tion added a nèw element to human ' destiny” (p. 407):, These references'*
this theology as to its teachings con cerning th e R esurrection I | leads to a denial of thp resurrection of the body. The new theology teaches th a t God will never raise up man’s body from thé dust, in the Day called in Scripture, thè R esurrection Day, or the Bast Day, and give fé man a glorified, and imm ortal body. The nëw theology teaches th a t thè resurrection occurs at death, for both the righteous and th e wicked. The late Dr. C làrke says: “ If we accept th e view th a t has been expressed on previous
furnish us w ith a clear-v iew of the position of Modernism, as tp. th e r é s u r - ‘ reetion. Let us examine these teach ings in the light of Scripture and see if they have anything on which to stand. There is not a -h in t in Scripture th a t
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
351
th e resurrection takes place at death. F u rth e r, we have not th e slightest reason to suppose th a t th e New Testa m ent w riters attached any other mean ing to th e resurrection than the re viving of dead bodies. T h e ; term “R esurrection” cannot be Scripturally used if app lied -on ly to the' sp irit of man, yet th is is the only sense in which the new theology uses it. They say th a t it is the sp irit of man and hot his body th a t is raised up a t death, not th a t th e spirit dies, bu t th a t it passes on or is raised up, having been clothed w ith th e new body or organism a t the moment of its departu re from th e hu man body. But the New Testament w riters never speak of th e resurrec tion of a living sp irit at death; w ith them it is always th e “resurrection of th e dead,” som ething’jthat is dead, and not something th a t nevdr dies. More over, it is' always presented as an event th a t occurs, not a t death, but th a t shall tak e place a t some fu tu re time; If th e resurrection takes place at death; as' the new theology affirms, then it is an ever-recurring event, a past, present, and fu tu re event of per petual occurrence, tak ing place as often as a human' 'sp irit' passes out d eath .” The only possible conclusion from th e Apostle’s words is, th a t the resurrection had not taken place up to th a t time, th a t it is an event of the future. It m ight be added here, if God .decreed th e resurrection to tak e place at death, why did He make an excep tion to His universal plan as seen by the tim e of the Resurrection of C h rist’ R esurrection and Second Coming Simultaneous Note fu rth er, th a t th e Resurrection and the Second Coming of Christ aro. simultaneous occurrences in New Tes tam en t teaching. The new theology so views them in assigning these events to th e hour of death. But we have seen th a t these events do not occur at death, hence we must look tó the fu tu re for both the R esurrection and th e Sec ond Coining of Christ. And here the Scriptures b la z e 'th e way. The Apostle P aul associates them together in his first le tte r to the Church a t Corinth. He says: “But every man in his own order; Christ the first.fru its (from the d e a d ); afterw ard s they th a t a re Christ’s at His Coming. Then conusth th e end.” (1 Cor. 15:23,. 24). Here are th re e events occurring simultaneoiisl}., Jr, The Second Coming of Christ; T h e Resurrection of the Saihts; The. End of the Gospel Age.. And this is in keeping w ith the Scrip tu res throughout. New Testam ent Position What does th e New T estam ent teach as to th e5 resurrection Of,, the body? Have we ámplé reason for believing .that God will raise th e dead? Well, God h as' already raised soriie from among th e dead,. , He raised up Jesus Christ arid others. But do the Scrip tu r e s teach th a t th ere is a, resurrection ■for all men? To th is our Bord, replies. He: was affirming a general» resurrec tion , - and; th e men of His day . mar- : veiled;: -they • shook : th eir w is e ... heads T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S 352 imm ortal body. They are not glorified. Even th e state of th e ir existence is called in Scripture "everlasting punish m ent,” “ the second death ,” “ everlas ting destruction,” etc. F u rth e r, we should no t overlook the fact th a t dead bodies were raised up in our Lord’s day on earth . When He raised Lazarus He designated to H im self a new name. To assure Mary and M artha of His m ission He said: “ I am th e Resurrection and th e L ife,” th a t is as if He said: “ I have power in Myself to raise th e dead and im part th e Glori fied Life, th e Imm ortal L ife.” At the Savior’s death God gave w itness to its acceptance as an atonem ent for sin, b y ' raising up some of th e saints. “And th e graves were opened; and many bod ies of th e sain ts which slept arose, and came out of th e graves afte r His resu r rection, and went into th e holy city, and appeared unto many” (Mt. 27 :52 ). Here then is a summary of w hat we have already learned about th e Resur rection: 1. The resurrection does not occur a t death, b u t is an event of th e future. 2. Jesu s Christ w as raised up from th e dead. 3. This was th e first resurrection of its kind th a t ever occurred in human history, because, in Christ we see th e first Imm ortal and Glorified Body of human appearance, a type of th e new bodies which His saints shall have in th e resurrection. 4. Christ’s Resurrection Was th e firfet-flNlits of those who are a t rest. In o th er th ird s lit shows tike saints what they are to be in th e resurrection body. 5. Being an Imm ortal Body it was th e first of a new race of redeemed men. as the body of Adam was the first of a new race of hum an bodies. 6. Likeness to Christ means iden tity w ith Him in th is new imm ortal body. THE SOUL^WINNER’S and said, “ Impossible,” or, as our Mod ern ists would say, “Unscientific, sheer est nonsense.” But to the R ational ists in our Lord’s day we hear Him re ply: “Marvel not a t th is; for the hour is coming, in which all th a t are in th eir graves will hear His voice, and they shall come fo rth ” (John 5 :2 8 ). The new theology speculators were a b it shocked a t th is startling announcement. We can fancy th a t they ridiculed th e Man of th e Open Grave, saying: “This fellow is ignorant, He never went to college, He is not fam iliar w ith the latest scientific works, He has not brushed up aga'ihst university men, and is out of touch w ith modern thought." But we hear Jesus say: “Do not wonder a t this, for th e time is coming when all th a t are in th eir graves will h ear His voice and will come ou t.” When He speaks, we sh all hear His voice and com® fo rth to Judgm ent and to Glory. F a th e r will come out. Mother will come out. Loved ones will come out. They will all come out. No one will 1be m issing there. And to p u t double emphasis on th is g rea t event Jesus adds: “And th is is th e F a th e r’s will th a t sen t Me, th a t h i a il which He h ath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up a t th e la st day” (John 6 :3 9 ). In verse 40 H e says: “And th is is th e will of Him th a t sent Me, th a t every one which seeth the Son and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up a t th e last day.” The following facts are clearly revealed: H i t will be a resurrection of dead bodies. 2. It will occur ofi th e L ast Day. 3. Imm ortality fö t th e en tire man, for body, soul, and spfctt is conditioned on th e resurrection of th e saints, and Is never spoken of as belonging to th e un saved. The unsaved in hell have ever lasting existence, bu t they have no t a n T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S 7. Christ being the Head of th e Body, the Church, it follows th a t the Body must be possessed w ith th e same imm ortal life as th e Head. 353 8. Likeness thu s.-to -Christ in the immortal body is .the u ltim ate of re^ demption, in so far as it has been re vealed to us in the Word of God. § » sà» aia Sleight and Craftiness of Skepticism Preached in 1883 by Dr A. X. Pierson |AUL warns the Ephesians, who had accomplished jugglers among them, to beware of men who carry th eir trickery into Sometimes mere stress of voice helps to carry the hearer as by storm . A certain great o rator was asked, “What do you do when thought fails you?” “Walk to and fro, and ro ar w ith all my m igh t!” Skillful platform speakers sometimes bewilder people by stunning th e ir senses, or by mere animal ex citement. Positiveness ‘is sometimes the cloak not only of fallacy but of falsehood. Unm istakable uncandor and unfairness and even deliberate lies may be detected, under th e plausible assertions and de nials w ith which skeptical w ritings abound. In Gibbon's “Decline and F all” he casts doubt on the supern atu ral d ark ness th a t prevailed a t the crucifixion, because th e elder Pliny who “ devoted a whole chapter to eclipses” does not mention this strange event. I looked into Pliny, and found th a t th is whole “ chapter” consists of eighteen words, as follows: “Eclipses are sometimes very long, like th a t after Caesar’s death, when the sun was pale almost a year.” How few must have been the grounds of real objection to Christianity if a man of th e , abilities of Gibbon was driven to reso rt to falsehood in order to cast doubt upon th e accuracy of Bible history. The disciples of Pythagoras are re sponsible for a phrase, associated w ith those a rb itra ry and au tho ritativ e state ments, which are supposed to overawe the multitude by the mere sanction of th e departm ent of m ind and morals— who do w ith th e reason, imagination and conscience w hat th e juggler does w ith the senses—makes fools of them. Sleight of hand may be innocent and amusing, because it only leads us to wonder how th e trick is done. But sleight of mind is th e devil’s own trickery— for it leads us to wrong con clusions. We embrace erro r instead of tru th , and evil instead of good. Skepticism m isleads by th e positive ness of its utterances. A positive man who makes bold assertions and em phatic denials, carries common men w ith him or before him, as th e flood of a river sweeps away ordinary ob stacles and floats light wood by the force of its volume and momentum ; or as a vessel draws smaller craft in its wake. We are all proud of our own independence; , and yet a very small portion of mankind do the thinking for all the rest. When a man, w ith an air of wisdom and sincerity, makes a posi tive assertion, though it may go against th e convictions of a life-time, we are almost insensibly drawn into concur rence, or,, a t the least, acquiesence. If, to all this, th ere be added the plausible appearance of probability, we are far more in danger of a hasty acceptance of what, afte r all, may be both unfounded and untrue. GOSPEL (See Page 437) T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S 354 some distinguished name. When en gaged iii disputes they settled them by saying: “ Ipse dixit! he himself, the m aster, has decided it.” Here we touch another of th e tricks of mental jugglery. We cannot all study everything, and must rely on others for tw o-thirds of all we know. We get accustomed to accept w ithout hesitation the statem ents of astrono mers, botanists, microscopists and sci entists generally in th eir various de partm ents, for we have no tim e nor facilities for examining into w hat they affirm to be true.- You can see how a designing man can m islead th e com mon mind. He has a name famous in his departm ent. He propounds a theory which is yet unproven, and tells you he believes it. It may be false, bu t be cause he holds it and is supposed to know far more th an you, you do not venture to dispute it. Beware of being driven into silence by th e loud voice of human authority. There is no au tho rity bu t th a t of tru th ; the sanction of th e g reatest of human names has been often given, carelessly or wilfully, to fallacy and falsehood, ju st as men who stand foremost in the commercial world sometimes endorse b ank rup t paper and give it temporary- currency. Skepticism often hides a moral state behind an intellectual statem ent. If you could get sin out of th e soul, most religious doubts and difficulties would immediately vanish. Get evil out of the h ea rt and you have already got infidelity out of th e head. If th e tru th never touched our moral n atu re, the world would present no schools of skep tical opinion. The “evil h e a rt” is the root of “ unbelief” . Men p refer to sin. God’s tru th will not suffer them to sin w ithout uneasiness. It declares the “wages of sin” to be “ d eath ” , and re veals the w rath of a holy God against all unrighteousness. It reasons of “ a judgm ent to come.” There is one easy way for a sinner to rid himself of misgiving, if he can only deny the tru th , persuade himself th e re is no death for th e sinning soul, no w rath in God or b etter still no God- a t all, no judgm ent to come, he may then sin w ithout mixing in his cup of pleasure th e b itter dregs of apprehen sion. But mere denial does no good. A man does not blot th e sun out of th e sky and tu rn day into n igh t by shutting his eyes and saying th ere is no sun! So a man cannot get rid of a God and a judgm ent by saying th ere is none. Here skepticism comes in to help him. It suggests a doubt, a difficulty, in the way of a personal God, and a fu tu re life. It builds up a philosophy; w ith specious sophistry it pretends to prove th a t in th e n atu re of things, th ere can be no inspired revelation, no incarna tion, no atonement, no regeneration. W ith th e strange credulity of th e evil h eart, men tak e refuge behind a skep tical philosophy and persuade them selves th a t they may now safely deny th e tru th because th e ir denial is propped up by philosophic doubts; like th e pagan who is satisfied w ith his theory of the universe because the world is held up by the elephants and the elephants by the tortoise; true, the tortoise rests on nothing, but th a t m atters not. Suppose you deny a God, and rest your denial on your doubt, and your doubt on philoso phy; what if your philosophy has no real foundation! W hat if in the very crisis of destiny you find th a t fallacy and falsehood were the only basis of your doubt and denial? Among those whom I address mky be persons in all stages of skeptical opin ion. I beg you to consider how far your intellectual doubts are th e mere refuges, behind which you hide an un willingness to subm it yourself to the tru th ! Skepticism is th e outgrow th of an evil heart. As Paul w rites to the Homans, wickedness leads men to “hold
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online