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The King's Business
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VOL. 1
JULY. 1910
NO. 7 Ȥ>
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" I charge thee, therefore, before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead
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and by His appearing and kingdom;
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"Preach the word; be instant in season, out of sea- son; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long suffering
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and doctrine.
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" F or the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; "And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."—II Timothy
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3:15-17, 4-14.
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Published Monthly by the BIBLE INSTITUTE
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.
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Forever, O Lord, Thy Word is settled in Heaven.—Psalm 119:89 Ithle Snaiiitttf (Incorporated ) 260*264 South Main Street (Second Floor) L o s An g e l e s , Ca l i f orn ia DIRECTORS: Lyman Stewart, President Re*. A. B. Prichard, Vice Pre«. T. C. Horton. Superintendent B. C. Atterbury, M.D. Secretary-Treat. R. A. Hadden, Supt. Extension Work E. A. K. Hackett W. E. Blackstone S. I. Merrill W. L. Green DOCTRINAL STATEMENT We hold to the Historic Faith of the Church as expressed in the Common Creed of Evangelical Christendom and including: The Trinity of the Godhead. The Maintainance of Good Works ! The Deity of the Christ. The Second Coming of Christ The Personality of the Holy Spirit. The Immortality of the Soul The Supernatural and Plenary au- The Resurrection of the Body thority of the Holy Scriptures. The Life everlasting of Believers The Fellowship of the Church. The Endless Punishment of the Im- The Substitutionary Atonement. penitent. The Necessity of the New Birth. The Reality and Personality of Satan. Purnose „ T h e I n s t i t n t e trains accredited men and women, free K of cost, in the knowledge and Use of the Bible. Departments day^and'Sunday ^ C l a s s e s h e l d d a i l y e x c e P t S a t u r - (2) Extension Work. Classes and conferences held in neighboring cities and towns. (3) Evangelistic. Meetings conducted by conipe tent evangelists under our direction. (4) Spanish Mission. Meetings every night for Spanish-speaking people and house visitation. (5) Shop Work. Regular services in shops and factories all the year. (0) Jewish Evangelism. Personal work in homes for the Hebrew people. (7) Bible Women. House-to-house work and neigh- borhood classes. (8) Aqueduct. Work among the 4000 men on the new aqueduct. (9) Oil Fields. A mission to the men on the oil fields. (10) Books and Tracts. Sale and distribution of selected books and tracts. PRAY FOR THE WORK AND WORKERS OF THE INSTITUTE, If ye abide in me and My Words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you.—John 15:7.
Thinking Above What is Written. I. M. Haldeman, D. D. Pastor First Baptist Church, New York City.
a deep and earnest study of the written Word. The Christian who reads and studies everything under heaven but his Bible is like the soldier who exercises with everything else but his gun or his sword. When the enemy comes he is of no avail. The Christian who can not give a rea- sonable answer for the hope that is within him—and he can not if he does not study faithfully the written Word —the Christian who can not give that answer by a " t h us it is written," is defeated before he begins. Let a Christian study the written Word and it will be a test to his own heart, it will tell him how much spir- itual life he has in him by the response he makes to that Word. Study that Word, if it reveals you to yourself, as when you look within a glass, at the same time it will set forth the provisions of infinite grace and become to you the nourishment b / the way, giving you through the eter- nal Spirit the vigor required to live the spiritual life and make manifest your sonship with God, your partner- ship with the coming Christ. And, friend out of Christ. Out of Christ! what a phrase that is—it is time that you should arouse. Refuse, X pray you, to listen to these men who put a bar sinister on the Christ of God; who keep his grave filled with a dead man's dust; who smile and mock and while they smile, deny the only Word that can give you hope. What can science do for you? It can not minister to a mind dis- eased. It has no formula by which it can dissolve the sorrow, in a tear, no power by which it can lift the burden of the heart. When you stand by the grave of the dead it has no voice with which to speak the words of comfort to the listening soul. It has no light that will penetrate the gloom of death. It has no vision of the gates of life, it dare not bid you hope. It stands with its theorems and postulates and sees all its wisdom turned to folly in the presence of the great silence and the endless reach whieh, for want of a better name, we call eternity. No, science can do nothing for you. There is no light or hope in anything but the written Word of God. This
The Son of God has declared that as this dispensation draws to its end the assaults against the faith once deliv- ered to the saints will be made in his name and in the name of truth; that the perilous times of the church will not be because of the multiplication of iniquity and sin, but because of the claims of a Christianity not inspired of the Spirit; a Christianity that in the name of Christ shall do many wonder- ful works, wonderful enough to de- ceive, if it were possible, the very elect, -but against whose deception the Lord lias warned in earnest and unmeasured terms. He announces that at the close of this hour of grace and just before he descends to earth once more, the faith which he himself inspired will have waned and fallen away. This preaching then whieh seeks to exalt human wisdom at the expense of the written Word and makes use of the glamour of modern scholarship to de- ceive even earnest men, is a sign that the Coming of the Lord draweth nigh; that he is coming to repudiate the pro- fessing church as his witness in the world, take the true church to himself and then go forth in judgment on a materialistic and godless world. It is time, therefore, that the church should arouse. It is time that Christians should ex- alt the written Word as never before. Let every church write over its doors and over its pulpit, "Learn not to think above what is written." Let the ehurch make this written Word the test of membership and fel- lowship, refusing to admit to full asso- ciation any individual who repudiates its integrity, who does not accept its testimony. . Lot the church make submission to the written Word a test of the pulpit, allowing no man to enter it who does not base his speech unqualifiedly upon an unabridged " t h us saith the Lord." Let Christians study that Word as they never studied it before. Here only can the Christian meet the Devil and overcome him. This was the method of the Son of God. To every assault of _ Satan He answered, " I t is written." And this must be the method now. To achieve this method there must be
Word that has outlived the men who denied it. This Word that flings the sunlight of hope through the tear of despair and turns the night of weep- ing into the morning of joy. This Word that has sung its glad songs when all the world was out of tune, this is the Word you must hear. Hear that word! It is calling unto you in the rarest and clearest speech that ever was heard. It is bidding you turn to Him who is saying to you, ' ' Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." Hear it, I pray you, before it is too Scripture contains nothing more sol- emn than the words of the Lord Jesus Christ: "Ma ny will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Thy name, and by Thy name cast out devils, and by Thy name do many mighty works? And then will I pro- fess unto them, I never knew you: de- part from Me, ye that work iniquity." —Matt, vii: 22, 23. These outcasts were evidently characterized by sin- cerity, zeal and spiritual power, but it is the power of a spirit that is not the Holy Spirit of God. But, we may be asked, do you really mean that Satan and demons will lend their aid to preaching " J e s u s ," re- forming drunkards and debauchees, and working beneficent miracles of heal- ing? With the utmost emphasis, we answer, " Y e s . " And the facts of the present hour, read in the light of the Scriptures I have quoted, allow of no other answer. And the Evangelical Alliance has rendered no greater serv- ice to Christians and the truth of Christ than it has now in its power to render, if in our own and in other Says a novelist whose works sell by the hundred thousand, in many lan- guages: "A ll things that Christ pro- phesied are coming to pass so quickly that I wonder more people do not real- ize it; and I especially wonder at the laxity and apathy of the churches, ex- cept for the fact that this also was prophesied. Some of us will live to see a time of terror, and that before
late, before the door is closed and your priceless opportunity gone forever. Let me solemnly assure you that if you reject this written Word and the graee which it reveals, when you stand at the great tribunal, not of a Saviour but of a judge, it will be this writetn Word that will judge you, and the voice of the Great King will be heard in your ears, saying, "You were ex- horted not to think above that which is written." (The above is an extract from a re- cent booklet by Dr. Haldeman.) lands it raises a warning voice against the perils of this apostasy, so plainly foretold in Scripture. For the move- ments I have indicated, and especially the New Theology, Spiritualism, and Christian Scienee, are but divisions of the great army which is even now be- ing marshalled and trained for the ter- rible struggle of the latter days. What is the distinctive peril of these awfully solemn times? Atheism has been killed by the growth of an enlightened radi- calism, as has also the blind and stupid infidelity of Hume. And drunkenness, dishonesty and vice are denounced as earnestly by men of the world as by the Christian. Our distinctive peril is in none of these, but in a subtle kind of spurious Christianity—a cult that teaches the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of men, that inculcates a high philanthropy and a pure and charming code of ethics, and that adopts every Christian truth, excepting only what is vital—everything except the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ and redemption by the blood of His cross.— Sir Bobert Anderson, in "Things to Come," February, 1910. very long. The blasphemous things whieh are being done in the world to- day can not go on much longer with- out punishment. We know by history that deliberate scorn of God and Divine things has always been met by retri- bution of a sudden and terrible nature —and it will be so again." Prophesy is the profoundest pes- simism and the profoundest optimism;
Perilous Times.
Watchman, what of the Night ?
surprise. " I thought you had done with all that in America. Besides, your emperor would need to be a won- derful man, incapable of mistakes, and extraordinarily competent for leader- ship." "Precisely," was the quiet an- swer; " a nd we know the Man; we are waiting for Him, and His name is— Jesus." " The thrill of that reply," says Dr. Kelman, ' ' will never leave me.".—From " The Life of F a i t h ." That Saves. termined and I had to dress and go. I found the place was a house of ill-fame. In the lower rooms they were drinking and telling lewd stories, and upstairs I found the poor woman dying. I sat down and talked about Jesus as the beautiful example, and extolled him as a leader and teacher, and she looked at me out of her eyes of death and said: 'Mister, that's no good for the likes o' me. I don't want an example —I'm a sinner.' "Jowett, there I was face to face with a poor soul dying, and had noth- ing to tell her. I had no Gospel, and I thought of what my mother had taught me, and I told her the old story of God's love in Christ's dying for sinful men, whether I believed it or not. 'Now you are getting at it,' said the woman. 'That's what I want. That's the story for me.' And so I got her in and got in myself. From that night,'' added Dr. Berry, " I have always had a full Gospel of salvation for lost sin- ners." Can the new religion give us any- thing to take its place?—Misionary Review of the World. nent and sincere worker in China says that present missionary methods re- mind him of the old sexton who went about a chureh and lighted each lamp separately, and that we ought to adopt the method of the modern sexton, who simoly touches a bntton. "Convert a dozen of China's leaders," he cries, " a n d you will convert China." I do not believe in that kind of conversion. I sympathize rather with James Gil- mour, who in a letter shortly before his death, wrote: " I am becoming more and more impressed with the idea that
it is profoundly pessimistic of all that a Christ-rejecting generation is about to do; it is profoundly optimistic of all that an almighty and an all-gracious God will effect in the imminent estab- lishment of His Kingdom. Dr. Kelman recently asked an eminent man of sci- ence his solution of the problems of modern city life. " An emperor!" came the answer, swift and decisive. " An emperor?" asked Dr. Kelman in The Gospel By way of illustrating the defects of false systems, and the power of the cross, we venture to reprint an oft-told story of the lamented Rev. Charles A. Berry's experience (of Wolverhamp- ton) as he toltj. it to his friend, Bev. J. A. Jowett, o r Birmingham, England: "One night there came to me a Lan- cashire girl, with her shawl over her head and with clogs on her feet. 'Are you the minister?' she said. 'Yes.' 'Then I want you to come and get my mother in.' Thinking it was some drunken brawl, I said: 'Y No Change Needed in Methods. what is wanted in China is not new lightning methods, so much as good, honest, quiet, earnest, persistent work in old lines and ways.'' Some changes in methods are required, but not those that involve the abandonment of Christ's methods of dealing with men. Grant that there are some difficulties, some tragedies, some failures of our cherished plans. Our failure is not necessarily God's failure. More than once we have made this mistake. But God is not tied up to our methods. They may be defective. Let us not be ashamed to confess that we have made some mistakes, and let us be ready to readjust our methods from time to time as God in His Providence may direct. —Extract from an address by Rev. Arthur Judson Brown, D. D. Notes by the Way. J. H. i FALLIBLE SCIENCE. We hear of " exact sciences,'' and, indeed, the accuracy of scientific ob- servation is worthy of admiration. Many astronomers have followed with telescope and pencil the mazy march of Halley's comet through billions of miles of space. They predicted its ar- rival within Earth's orbit to the sec- ond. |'May 18th at 7:39:10," was the auspicious moment. But science erred! The L. A. Express, commenting on the faet, after paying a just tribute to the marvelous achievements of men of sci- ence, remarked: " I f the event proves the predictions erroneous they were, nevertheless, right at the time they were made and would have been ful- filled had the conditions under which they were formed been maintained un- changed." This is just where science fails and demonstrates its untrust- worthiness as a critic of the Scripture records. If present "conditions maintained" science would be more competent to tell what has and has not taken place, and to predict future material effects. But " a ll things (do not) continue as they were from the beginning," 2 Pet. 3-4, and we do well to cleave to the "Word of Prorthecy." as " t o a light shining in a dark place," 2 Pet. 1-19. "HERESY HUNTERS." We have heard of ' ' heresy hunters'' but have never seen one. We have heard heresies. We have seen heretics. But why should they be hunted? They abound. They always have abounded. The trouble has been not to find them, but to keep them out of the fold. Even this has proved impossible. They swarm through the very doors. But all honor to the men who have kept the watch, sounded the warning, and done what they could to eject the destroyers of the sheep. If to do this is to be a heresy hunter, i t is a glori- ous title. Which of the prophets, or of the apostles, or of the reformers, was not a "heresy hunter"? The epistles to the Corinthians, to the Gal- atians, the Colossians, 2 Thessalonians, the epistles of Peter and John (some save his gospel also), were against her- esies, and so was that of James. Paul said, "Of your own selves shall wolves arise not sparing the flock." Is it evil to resist them and save the flock? "He r e t i c s" are and always have been the aggressors, the hunters of the sheep. THIRTY-FIVE YEARS AGO. The Presbytery of Chicago con- demned Rev. David Swing for being unsound in the faith. About the same time Bev. Newman Smythe withdrew of his own will to avoid a similar fate. Much was said about heresy hunting and the bigotry of dogmatism. But time has shown whither those gentle- men were drifting and how just was the condemnation of their departure. The church of which Newman Smythe is now pastor, at Hartford, Conn., it is reported, has limited its condition of membership to " a belief in higher life, and moral purpose." It has discarded the "Apostles' Creed," and the asser- toin of the deity of the Lord, and spread their old orthodox confession on the records where it will prove " a n interesting literary curiosity." May the Lord raise up more, braver, and abler "heresy hunters," or the whole church will soon come to regard the faith once for all delivered to the saints " a literary curiosity." Brief Thoughts For Busy Teachers International Sunday School Lesson As Taugkt by T. C. Horton at the Bible Institute, Los Angeles, Cal. LESSON I. July 3, 1910. her branches the agents of the evil one (Matt. 13:4; 19-32). In Matt. 12:43-45, Jesus gave them a Parable which foreshadowed this state —the man out of whom was cast the unclean spirit represents not the indi- vidual of our present dispensation, but Israel. As Jesus said, " s o shall it be with this generation." Israel had been cleansed from her besetting sin, idolatry, by her Babylonian captivity; but now her Messiah King, who had come in the name of His Eather, was rejected, and her house was left deso- late (Matt. 23:38), therefore open to the anti-Christ, who will come in his own name and be received; hence her last state will be worse than her first. The Parable of the Leaven describes how corruption will ultimately per- meate the rebel nation. Eev. 17 and 18. gives us a glimpse of this awful con- dition, which can only be stopped by the tribulation fires. (Mai. 3:1-6, 4:1, Eev. 4th to 19th chapters).) Now, two questions naturally arise in our minds: 1. What will become of Israel, who has rejected her King, and of the prom- ised Kingdom? 2. What reward awaits the faithful remnant that has forsaken all to fol- low Him? The Parable of the Tares answers the first. The following analysis will help to the understanding of .it: The treasure was found by someone (God). The treasure was hidden in a field (the world). The treasure was found by another (Christ). Christ sold all He had to purchase the field (died on the cross). He left the treasure hidden in the field until some future time, when He would come again. The Kingdom can come now only through the cross work of their re- jected King, who has given all He had to purchase them. But, as a nation, their eyes and ears are closed to all this, and will be closed until He comes again; then they will see Him and recognize Him as the one whom they have pierced. PICTURES OF THE KINGDOM. Matt. 13: 31-33, 1^52. J. E. Pratt. I. Explanation. II. Interpretation. III. Application. I. Explanation. The five parables of today's lesson must be considered in connection with the two (the Sower and the Tares) al- ready studied, in order to get one com- plete picture of the ' ' Kingdom in Mys- t e r y ." Seven suggests perfection. In order to get the correct interpre- tation of all these parables, we must admit: 1. That Jesus, who spoke them, knew what He was talking about. 2. That He would be consistent with Himself. 3. That any interpretation of the five which He did not explain, that would conflict with or contradict the interpretation which He put upon the first two, could not possibly be correct. In other words, we must find an inter- pretation of the five that will har- monize with that which Jesus gave of the first two. It is important, also, to note that in the parables aJready explained, only two seasons of the year were mentioned —seed time and harvest—the interim being left for a future revelation, to be brought out through Paul and re- vealed to us in the Epistles. II. Interpretation. Using the parable of the Sower, which was given for a key (Mark 4:13), we have no trouble in unlocking the others. "We saw that there were three forces operating in the rebellious multitude which caused them to reject their Messiah: 1. Satan, as seen in the Parable of the Tares. 2. The weakness of the flesh, now seen in the Parable of the Mustard Seed. This weakness will yet lead Israel, when she has attained to pinacles of earthly grandeur, to form an alliance with the anti-Christ, and to secrete in The Parable of the Pearl answers the second question. We find its interpre- tation in the faithful remnant that has forsaken all to follow Him. By His death on the cross He sold all that He had to purchase them, and they will become His special treasure. (Mai. 3:16-17, margin.) In Bev. 18 they are caught up to Him; in Bev. 21 they are seen coming with Him. Note the description of the New Jerusalem, " T h e Lamb's Wi f e ," as given in Bev. 21:9-14. Just as Eve was taken from the first Adam during a deep sleep, so the Lamb's Bride was taken from the last Adam by His death upon the cross. The Parable of the Drag-Net deals with the closing scene of the age. When the King returns in power and glory, He will send His angels to sort the bad from the good, as they do the fishes in the net, or the tares from the wheat. Bead the description given in Ezek. 20:33-44. " H a v e ye understood all these t h i n g s ?" " A n d they said unto Him 'Yea, L o r d . ' " (Verse 51.) "Th e se things"—that is, the mysteries which have been hid in the past, but now re- vealed, in these parables, unto you who have eyes to see. " T h en said He unto them, therefore every Scribe which is instructed into the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a man that is an house- holder which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old." The old things had been revealed in the Old Testament; now God was going to es- tablish, through the seed of Abraham and David, a Kingdom in power and glory. The King had come and had •been rejected. He now reveals, to the faithful remnant, the new things by these parables—that the Kingdom must now come through a rejected and cru- cified King, and that they would be the channel and expounders of these things. And so it proved to be. After the crucifixion and resurrection, the Holy Spirit came upon these men, giv- ing them the boldness to make known these facts to the rest of Israel. Note Acts 2:29-36; Acts 3:12-26. III. Application. A spiritual application of all these parables is easily found in the his- torical church. And how truly they fit into the conditions that exist today! 1. The leaven of the Pharisees (rit- ualism, outward show, externalism of religion). (Matt. 23:14-16, 23-28.) 2. The leaven of the Sadducees (skepticism as to the supernatural, im- pure and false doetrine). (Matt. 22: 23-29.)' 3. The leaven of the Herodians (political power, worldliness). (Matt. 22:16-21.) Against all these, we have Christ's warning (Matt. 16:6; Mark 8:15). It is very obvious to anyone having spir- itual vision that these leavens are working in the Church today. As the growth is manifested outwardly (mus- tard seed), the corruption is develop- ing inwardly (leaven). The simple pure seed of the Kingdom which was sown by the Master has grown into a great tree. (Ecclesiastical systems) Satan's agents, higher critics like the birds of the air, have taken refuge in its branches, endeavoring to catch away the seed, the Word, lest it bring forth fruit. The leaven, which invari- ably refers to evil in the Scriptures, hidden in three measures of meal, has its significance. 1. Note what woman typifies in the Bible. (Zech. 5:7-11. Bev. 17:3-6.) 2. It is a historical fact that three of the greatest evils of the day origi- nated with women—theosophy, spiritu- alism and Eddyism. 3. The church should heed the warnings. (I Cor. 14:34. Gen. 3-16. I Cor. 11:3. I Tim. 2:11-14. Tit. .2:5.) REVIEW. LESSON I. The Power of Faith. The lesson crystallizes in a sentence given in Yerse 29, "According to your Faith be it unto you." The woman be- lieved and touched His garment. She was made whole by faith. The father believed and his daughter was raised from the dead. The blind men believed and their sight was restored. Friends believed and brought a demon possessed man and the demon was cast out. 1. Believing is faith. Acts 16:31. 2. Trusting is faith. John 1:12. 3. Looking is faith. Isa. 45:22. 4. Coming is faith. John 6:37. 5. Taking is faith. Bev. 22:17. There was no attempt on the part of any of these people to analyze their faith; it was simple, natural, definite. They acted upon the evidence furnished them by the words and works of Jesus, and they were rewarded. Let us ' ' Go and do likewise." LESSON II. Mission of the Twelve, We find the Golden Te x t. furnished LESSON VII. Growing Hatred to Jesus. the key to this lesson. "Freely ye have received, freely give." When disciples are called they are also com- missioned. The purpose of our salvation is that we may be saviours. He gives graciously, that we may bestow bounti- fully. He fills the vessel in order that the overflow may minister to others. "Give and it shall be given unto you," is God's order. The church has received freely but has given sparingly. The mission of the church is to minister to the masses. The gifts to the church are generous, and include all that is es- sential for the evangelization of the world. 1 Cor. 12:4-11. GO and GIVE. LESSON III. The Question of John the Baptist. The sum of all questions of the hu- man heart is this: " A r t Thou He that cometh ? " All prophecy centers in the COMING ONE. The best answer to the question as to whether Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the promised Deliverer is to be found in His Words and Works. The marks of His Messiahship are as evident as the prints of the nails. His words were wisdom and His works won- derful, and He that went about doing good was GOD. All doubts are dissi- pated when we do His will. Jno. 7:17. Are you satisfied? LESSON IV. Warning and Invitation. Like the sun bursting through the storm clouds is the sentence in the 28th verse, "Come unto Me ." This is the simplest, sweetest, strongest, most sol- emn invitation ever issued in all the world; so plain that anybody can under-, stand it, and yet so profound -that no one can measure its full meaning. It is the Call of Christ to the Children of Men; the Call from the Cross. Go to Him for cleansing and comfort; go to Him for rest and refreshment. GO NOW. LESSON V. Two Sabbath Incidents. The answer of the Lord Jesus to all quibbling questions concerning the Sab- bath, is found in these words: " I t is lawful to do good." Perfunctory per- lormances are of little value to God. Get the habit of going about and do- ing good, and you can keep it up seven days in the week to the glory of God. It is lawful to love your neighbor as yourself; to learn his needs and lend a hand; to leave God's Word with him and to lead him to Christ. It is not only lawful but delightful. Try it. You will find the heart of this lesson in the last sentence, "Behold a greater than Solomon is here." The Pharisees were possessed with hellish hatred for the Lord. They sought a sign and the Son Himself was the Sign. Had they but been honest they would have seen in Himself, Solomon's son and their Saviour. Cold, calculating, cynical, they closed their eyes to the revelation given them, while the Publicans pressed into His presence and beheld in Him " The Beauty of the Lord." Truly He is "Altogether lovely." LESSON VIII. The Death of John the Baptist. For the murderous Herodias there is a short-lived victory, but a fearful look- ing forward to judgment from which there is no escape. Our lesson is to be found in the words, "They went and told Jesus.'' In times of deepest need the heart of the believer turns intui- tively to the sympathizing Saviour. His heart responds to the cry of the sorrowful. " H e carried our sorrows." Go and tell Jesus; He knows; He un- derstands; He sympathizes; He com- forts. "Casting all your care upon Him for He is concerned for you." LESSON IX. The Multitude Fed. The Golden Text has the heart of this Lesson. " I am the Bread of L i f e ." The source of supply for every human need is in Jesus Christ. How little is made of Him, who came down from heaven to give life to the world. The world is full of hunger, yet the fullness of satisfaction is in Him. When will we cease ministering that which satisfieth not to hungry men? The command of the Lord is: "Give ye them to e a t ." The supply is abund- ant ;the need is great; the command is simple. Why not obey? LESSON X. Jesus Walks on the Sea. From the midst of stormy winds and boisterous waves, comes the voice of the Master, " Be of good cheer." We are like little children in the dark, cry- ing out in fear, and the welcome words come to us none too soon. How strong He is; how mighty. He presses all be- neath His feet; His eyes are upon us. He has the ' ' All power.'' Waves crouch at His feet; winds obey His command. He comes in the midst of the storm. Look out. Look up! He draws near. "This same Jesus shall so come in like manner." Be of good cheer. LESSON XI. The Canaanitish Woman. One thing distinguishes this woman and puts her into a unique family, ' ' O Woman, great is thy f a i t h ." "With- out faith it is impossible to please H im ." He had but little pleasure in this respect while here; He found the little faith family large, and the great faith family small. Faith can do all things. To which family do you be- long? And why? If you have faith you can make mountains move like mole hills. LESSON XII. Parable of the Sower. There are three things in this lesson •—Seed, Sower and Soil. Emphasis is laid upon the kind of soil, so that the central thought is good ground. The purpose of seed sowing is the harvest. How important to see this truth, and to have the soil ready to "Beceive with meekness the engrafted Word." We should obey its mandates; we should be submissive to all of its dictates; that the Husbandman may reap a good har- vest from our lives. Having ears, let us hear. LESSON XIII. Parable of the Tares. This lesson differs from the last in that the Seed are the Sons of the king- dom. The field is the world. Sowing goes on through the ages; Good Seed and Tares. When the harvest comes there will be both good and «bad grain. You can not change the order. Wheat and tares grow together in the world field. The Lord and Satan each have their followers. The harvest will mani- fest the righteous, and "They shall stand forth that day as the sun." What grace if we be among them! LESSON III. Sunday, July 17, 1910. Theme: " P e t e r 's Confession." Matt. 16:13-28. Golden Text: Matt. 16:10. B. A. Hadden. 1. The Pertinent Enquiry: v. 13. "Whom do men say," etc. (1) Particular Title Aplied: "The Son of Ma n ." The title is self-applied; it is, more- over, a peculiar and distinctive title. . The expression "Son of H a n " as ap- plied to the Lord occurs first in the O. T., Cf: Ps. 8:4, Dan. 7:13, and is applied to the Lord Jesus 84 times in the N. T. The title is found 80 times in the four Gospels, once in Acts (7:56), once as a quotation in Hebrews (2:6) and twice in Bevelation (1:13, 14:14). In every reference the title is associated with His right and title to universal domin- ion in the earth (Cf. Ps. 8:4-9). This right was denied Him as ' ' The Son of Ma n " in His first advent (Cf. Matt. 8:20). At His second advent, however, He will assume without hindrance by man His rightful place; and earthly power and dominion will be manifested by Him. (Cf. Isa. 32:1-2, Ezk. 21:7, Eev. 14:14-16.) (2)—Purpose of the Enquiry: Why should He ask the question? Surely He knew what men thought and said con- cerning Himself (Cf. Luke 5:22, Mk. 2:8, Jno. 2:24-25.) The question was asked in all probability to prepare the way for the greater and more personal question that followed. (3)—Pertinency of the Enquiry: "Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, Am ? " Men are saying strange things in these days, relative to the Lord Jesus. Some look upon Him merely as " A good ma n ; " " A beautiful character." Oth- ers find in him " A great reformer," ' ' The ideal examplar," " A true So- cialist." Not a few see in him " T he first one who exemplified my peculiar f a d . " Would you know who and what Jesus really is? Study the Scriptures; here the Father, Angels, and holy men apply 365 Divine names and titles to the Lord Jesus. 2. The Popular Views: v. 14. (1)—A Prophet. The populace rec- ognized and agreed upon one fact: this man was a prophet, the mouth-piece of God, but none could speak with any de- gree of certainty as to his identity. Some set forth one opinion and some another, but the verdict of the wisest among them missed the real facts. Jesus was not "one of the prophets," but He was " A Prophet." Note Deut. 18:15-19, Cf. Jno. 6:J4, Acts 3:22, 7:37. He was the fulfillment of Moses' proph- ecy and beyond this; He was Messiah; the Christ; the Son of God. 3. The Personal Question, v. 15. (1)—Pointed:, "Whom do Ye say that I am?" It is not enough to know that others think and speak well of Christ; ihe question comes to the in- dividual "Wh at think ye of Christ?" ' ' Whom do ye say that I am ? " is to be found in the Word of God. (Jno. 5:39, 7:17, 20:31; 1 Jno. 5:9-13, 20; 2 Tim. 3:16-17.) 7. The Promise Concerning the Church, v. 18. (1)—Pronouncement. " S imo n ," re- ceives a new name. "Thou art Peter." Greek " P e t r o s ," literally, " A little rock," or " a stone." (Cf. Jno. 1:42.) God changes the characters of men and many times has He also changed the names of men. Abram received the name, Abraham. Jacob became Israel. Simon became Peter. In each ease the change is significant. When God changes the name there is also a change of character. Name ar.d character be- come synonymous. (2)—Promise. a. Plan. " I will build my Church." Where? "Upon this Bock." What Eock? Will the Lord build His Church upon Peter, the "pieee of rock?" What is the meaning of this verse? In the preceding sentence Jesus had said to Peter "Thou art Peter (Greek " P e- tros," " a piece of W>ck,'') and upon this Rock (Greek " P e t r a ," " R o c k ") I will build my Church.'' Christ will build His Church not on " P e t r o s ," a piece of rock, like Peter; but upon " P e- t r a , " the rock. The Church, Spiritual, Indestructible, Eternal, Impeccable, Glorious, was not to be built upon a weak, imperfect, falliDle man like Pe- ter, but upon the Rock to whieh Peter bears witness. Paul testifies: "And that Rock was Christ." (Cf. 1 Cor. 10:14, Isa. 28:16, 1 Cor. 3:11.) Peter never claimed such office and honor for himself and certainly none of the apos- tles ascribed this unique position to Peter. Peter did claim to be, like other believers, one of the " s t o n e s" that make up the spiritual building. (Cf. 1 Pet. 2:4-9, R. Y.) b. Program—"I will build my Church." Without contradiction Christ was speaking of something still future; it was in the future tense, a work still to be begun and accomplished. (3)—Power. "And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against i t . '' The gates of Hades were powerless to hold the Lord Jesus when the moment for resurrection came. Satan, Death and Corruption were there to oppose, but they could not prevent it (Cf. Acts 3:23-24., 27-31), and so He arose from the dead, it shall be as true of those who form the living stones of His Church, Satan, Death and the Grave shall not prevail; they shall rise from (2)—Practical. What is Jesus Christ to you personally? Can you respond with those of old time? Job. 19:25-27, Ps. 23:1, S. of 8. 2:16, 2 Tim. 1:12, Matt. 16:16. 4. The Pronounced Reply. v. 16. (1)—Personal: "Thou art the Christ." No doubt the other disciples believed this fact, but Peter was the first to affirm his faith; later he reiter- ates the testimony (Cf. Jno. 6:67-69). Mary voiced this testimony in the hour of her sorrow. (Cf. Jno. 11:25-27.) The Ethiopan eunueh thus made his con- fession of faith. ( Ct Acts 8:37.) Saul of Tarsus immediately after conversion made this fact known in the syna- gogues. (Cf. Acts 9:20.) (2)—Prompt. Mo hesitancy in the answer. Peter did not wait to frame a testimony certain to be pleasing to ears listening for the correct grammatical construction of the sentence, the warm gratitude of his heart did not grow cold ere it left the lips. A prompt testi- mony, hot from the heart is worth a thousand weighed as to correctness of grammar, pronunciation and logic, but as cold as so many icicles. (3)—Positive. "Thou are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." How re- freshing to read such a testimony to the Deity of the Lord Jesus. In these days whefl we are repeatedly warned by the- ologians not to be too "dogmatic" in our statements of belief, it would be well for us to ponder the positive, dog- matic, unconditional, unequivocal state- ments of believers like Peter, Paul and John the apostles of Jesus Christ. Are you consciously certain of the fact that Jesus Christ Is the Son of God and as certain that He is your own Saviour and Lord? Settle this matter positively and begin with this lesson a new era in your teaching, testifying with no un- certain note as to the Deity of our Lord •Tesus Christ. 5. The Praiseful Commendation, v. 17. "Blessed art thou." There is no doubt whatever that who- ever confesses the Deity of Jesus Christ, pleases the Lord Jesus and is blessed as a result. Cf. Matt. 10:32-33. 6. The Place of Revelation, v. 17. "Flesh and blood hath not revealed it, but my Father." ' ' Flesh and blood' too often interfere with one's vision of the Lord Jesus and the Scriptures. (Cf. Isa. 55:8-9; 1 Cor. 2:14; Jno, 1:12-13; Gal. 1:11-16.) Men need and God offers today what Peter obtained, a revelation of the truth con- cerning Jesus Christ. That revelation the dead, victors through Him. (Cf. 1 Peter 1:3-5.) 8. The Privilege Bestowed upon Peter, v. 19. A wonderful prerogative, a signal favor is bestowed upon Peter. He is entrusted with the "Ke ys of the King- dom of Heaven." Not the keys of Heaven itself, the dwelling place of God and angels and believers; nor yet the keys of the Church of'God, for men can not admit believing sinners to one or the other; but the expression is " t h e Kingdom of Heaven.'' The term is pe- culiar to the O. T. and the Synoptic Gospels and is Jewish in its primary application. It means " t h e Rule of Heaven set up on the earth." (Cf Matt. 6:10.) To Peter was given the keys, i. e., the truth pertaining to and admitting to the kingdom. Peter used these keys, first in Acts 2, where the door of the Kingdom opened wide to the repentant believing Jew, and again in Acts 10, where the door was again opened, this time to Cornelius, the en- ' quiring believing Gentile. 9. The Protest Against the Cross, v. 20-22. (1)—Prediction, v. 20-21. Christ pre- dicts the Cross, toward which His face has been steadfastly and longingly set. (2)—Protestation, v. 22. Such talk did not please Peter; he will adminis- ter rebuke to the Lord, and the lips that once spoke by inspiration of the Holy Spirit now seemd to be animated by the Spirit of Satan. Peter, so ready to acknowledge the " S e n t " of God, now protests against the plan, pur- pose and program of God. The " f l e s h" rises up in protest against the acknowl- edgement made by the " S p i r i t" by Peter. The " f l e s h" never has and never wnl commend the Cross, the sub- stitutionary death of Jesus Christ for sinners. (Cf. 1 Cor. 1:18, 23.) The Cross offends the flesh. The natural man dislikes the phrase " t h e blood of Jesus.'' 10. The Prompt Retort. v. 23. "Get thee behind me, Satan," etc. Peter was not really " S a t a n " in his personality, but in the protest Jesus saw Satan once again in his insidious temptation. Satan had sought through the ages since the prediction of Genesis 3:15 to prevent the manifestation of the Bedeemer and the death of Christ On the Cross. To this end he had brought dethronement, slavery, murder and temptation to pass but without avail; now he would speak through the lips of a choiee man of God. " P a r be it from thee," said Peter, ignorantly and unwittingly but fulfilling, never- theless, the insidious deceitful plan of Satan, but Jesus fails not, the Cross is reared, the sacrifice is made, substitu- tion takes place and a finished work is proclaimed. Satan still hates the Cross. He leads men to believe anything and everything about Jesus even, if only they will eliminate the Cross; but Gal. 6:14 for Eph. 2:13-18 and Col. 1:20-22. Hallelujah for the Cross! 11. The Price of Discipleship. v. 24-26. Salvation cost the Saviour a great price; it is offered, nevertheless, as a gift to the believing sinner (Cf. Eph. 2:8-10). Discipleship, however, costs— 1—Profession. Saying to self: " I do not know y o u ;" " I do not rec- ognize your claims and demands." 2—Pain... "Take up thy Cross," i. e., the suffering that lies in the path of devotion to Christ. 3—Path. "Follow me." 4—Profit and Loss. v. 25-26. A gen- eral application of these verses would teach that everything seemingly gained with Christ left out is but loss (Of. Phil. 3:7-9). To seek the gain of the world at the expense of the soul is poor business indeed. (Cf. Mk. 8:36, 1 Jno. 2:15-17.) . . 12. The Picture of the Future Kingdom, v. 27-28, Cf. Chap. 17:1-9. We have here a picture in miniature of the glory of the Son of Man when He shall come in the glory of the Fath- er and the Holy Angels. A glimpse of the glory is here seen, its fullness and effulgence will be manifest in His sec- ond advent. LESSON IV. Sunday, July 24, 1910. Mat. 17:1-8, 14-20. TRANSFIGURATION AND LIBERA- TION. By J. H. Sammis. OUTLINE. A. The Transfiguration. 1. Contrast. 2. Context. 3. Contradiction, 4. Counterpart. 5. Confirmation. 6. Coming Kingdom. 1. The Mockers. 2. The Multitude. 3. The Man. B. Liberation. splendor and their testimony. We do " n ot follow eunningly devised f a b l e s" when we take shelter under the shadow of the one, or walk in the light of the splendor of the others (II Pet. 1:16-18). No criticism can cancel these tremen- dous realities, unless it can show that Peter, James and John, and the whole college of apostles, were the most dam- nable liars that ever bore testimony. The Transfiguration shows "w i th what body we come in the Besurrection'' (I Cor. 15:35). It will be one fash- ioned like unto His glorious body (Phil. 3:21), and though we shall not all sleep, we shall all be changed (trans- figured, the same word) (I Cor. 15:21). Such is, evidently, the spiritual body (I Cor. 15:44). They are wrong, then, who think the tomb a sort of crucible, into which the body must be cast to pass through a sublimating process to a " s p i r i t u a l" condition. Jesus' flesh, and raiment, too, were shot through with glory, and upon the face of the record it seems apart from the assump- tion of celestial splendor, His body remained in form and tangible reality what it was before. Sueh a body is a spiritual body, and our tabernacle which is to come with Jesus' advent from the heavens (II Cor. 5:1-4). 5. Confirmation. The Transfigura- tion confirms the Scripture. By it Pe- ter says, We have the word of prophesy made more sure (I Pet. 1:19, A. B. V.) How did it eonfirm the prophetic word? First, by demonstrating to the senses of Peter, corroborated by those of his co-witnesses, and thus through their testimony to us. the recorded real- ities (1) of the glorious cloud, (2) the glorious Person, (3) the glorious voice, (4) the glorified saints (represented in Moses and Elijah) referred to in prophesy, and associated with the pre- dicted coming of the King and King- dom. What further confirmation of the Word could we ask beyond this? Second, by demonstrating that Word' as perfectly reliable in the reeord of past manifestations of the supernatural. Neither cloud nor Lord nor voice of glory was new and unheard-of. Their presence among the records of the past is a great stumbling block to them who are "slow to believe all that Moses and the prophets have said'' (Luke 4:25), even if they believe Peter of the New Testament times. Here in the New Testament is a stupendous the- ophany sufficient to vindicate the Old Testament account of similar events. 4. The Malady. 5. The Master. A. Transfiguration. 1. Contrasts. Two scenes, one on a mountain, the other in a valley; one in a cloud of glory, the other under a cloud of gloom; one manifesting the effect of the Divine Spirit in a human body, the other of a demoniac spirit in a human body; one a scene of victory, the other of defeat; one of heavenly harmony, the other of hellish contro- versy and confusion; one anticipative of Messianic exaltation, the other of final satanic humiliation and defeat; one demonstrative of the Kingdom of God, the other illustrative of the king- dom of the devil. 2. Context. In Mat. 16:21, Christ foretold the coming cross. The disci- ples could not comprehend. That rug- ged Calvary was the ascent to glory was impossible to them. They needed a preparation for the shock of the cross. The recollection of the demon- stration of glory in the Transfiguration was calculated to save them from de- spair when the shame of the Cruci- fixion almost drove them to abandon the hope that Jesus was the Messiah. (Luke 24:21.) That Transfiguration still stands historically as the compan- ion piece to the Resurrection in invin- cible vindication of the Messianic and divine claims of Jesus of Nazareth. 3. Contradiction. Peter contradict- ed and said: "This shall never be to t h e e" (16:22). Jesus rebuked him, and set forth a principle which the Transfiguration remarkably confirmed. He said he that would save his life should lose it, and he that would lose it should save it. Now there appeared with Him in glory two men whose re- nunciation of the world and self was as complete as it was conspicuous among the men of the past. Moses, who counted the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt (Heb. 11:26); and Elijah, who stood alone the champion of the truth, though its enemies sought his life (I Kings, 18:10). Their presence in the cloud shows how gloriously they had saved their lives, and that, like the Lord Himself, all who would save their lives pass through suffering into glory (Luke 24:26). 4. Counterpart. The Transfiguration is the counterpart of the Besurrection. These two events stand on either side of the Cross, and shed upon it their It occurred not in remote, possibly ciples in the valley illustrating "when mythieal ages, but in comparatively the Son of Man cometh shall He find modern times, and was witnessed by faith on the e a r t h ?" (Luke 18-8) and * men whose testimony is open to, and the unbelieving Jews representing the has been subjected to, the severest "scoffers" of the last days (II Pet * criticism and can be impeached only 33. Mk. 9:14), and Satan having great by abandoning all that commonly cer- rage because he knows his time is ^ tihes an event in past or present times, short. • Here we see (1) the cloud of glory that B Liberation M led Israel of old; that rested on Mount , _ „ , L l t e r a t i o n - U Sinai, descended from time to time r n e M o c k e r s - The Scribes were ^ and stood at the tent door of Moses taunting the disciples for their failure overshadowed and filled Tabernacle' t o e J e c t t h e demon. Great opportunity and Temple, and moved majestic over is S i v e n m e n t o blaspheme when pro- * the plains of Shinar in the sight of Ese- f essmg Christians fail, through lack of kiel. Here we see (2) the Lord of f a i t h > t o demonstrate the power of sal- Glory who looked out of the cloud v a t i o n - Nothing would shut the mouths and troubled the Egyptians (Ex of g a i n s a y e rs like a generation of be- t 14:24), who appeared in the cloud to l i e v e l ' s w h o h a d power with God, and * r 1 the great law-giver, and whom the o v e r d e v i l s ( M a r k 16:17). elders of Israel saw when, like these 2 • The Multitude. The multitude • disciples, they entered into the cloud stood looking on, ready to follow the and saw the God of Israel and He hurt Scribes, or the twelve, according to ^ I them not (Ex. 24:9-11). Here, again, which side won in the controversy. (3) we hear the voice of glory that The masses, so easily led astray by' ^ uttered the words of the covenant in skeptical leaders and "scholars," the ears of all the people, and they would soon be found among the be- said, " L e t not God speak to us any lievers did they see the Word pro- more" (Ex. 20:19), and which spake claimed and lived and ministered in face to face with Moses, and which demonstration and power or the Spirit. I t t came to the prophets when they said, 3 . The Man. Who is more pitiful • Thus saith the Lord." By all this than a father with a deaf and dumb. f we know that we hold to realities and epileptic child? Only he whose son is literal,ties when we read that the Lord j n complete captivity to the devil. No + of Glory appeared to our Father Abra- wonder this father plead so pathet- ham when he dwelt in Mesopotamia i c a ] ] y w i t h Jesus, being so grievously * (Ac 7:1); and to our Father Adam, for disappointed at the failure of the hope tnat matter, when he dwelt in Eden. he had set on the disciples. It is a By demonstrating (3) that the "higher p 0 0 r trust that is put in fallible Chris- critics are beating the air when they tians. Let skeptic, multitude and af- strive against Moses and the prophets, flieted m e n look straight away to Jesus. and the Lord has them in derision while And let them have no " i f s " and He fellowships with Moses in the " a n d s " (Mark 9:22-23). All things * "Holy Moun t" and discourses of H,s a r e p o s s i b ] e t o h i m t h a t b e i i e v e t h _ sacrifice to which they bore ancient „ m . , , , . Ti , , , , . witness, amidst scenes foreshadowing 4 ' J i"? e Malady. It was unspeakably the coming Kingdom of which they «eadfnl. The man, for he seems to prophesied. The cloud which is light 5 a v ! such, from a child had been to Israel and the believer is darkness d f a f , a n d i , u l u b ' a n d subject to perilous to the Egyptians and the higher critics a t t a c k s , of epileptic spasms, and these « (Ex. 14:20). d ne i 0 peculiar power of a demon. At times he fell into water, again into , 6. Coming. The Transfiguration was fire; his flesh was lacerated, and he referred to by our Lord when he said, wallowed, and foamed at the mouth, "There be some standing here who gnashed with his teeth, and pined * shall not taste of death till they see away! And all from childhood. (Mark the Son of Man coming in His King- 9:18. 20, 21. 25, 26.) It is all typical dom (Mat. 16:28). It was an earnest, of captivity to satan. From childhood or foretaste, of the Kingdom. There men are under his power; they are was the Son of Man in the cloud of thrown into paroxysms of lust and mad- glory, with Moses a risen saint, and ness, are - cast into fires of devouring Elijah a translated saint; Peter, James passions, are drowned in cares and and John representing Israel in the troubles, are torn with disease, and flesh on the earth, and the nine dis- bruised and mangled, they gnash their
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