THE KING’S BUSINESS
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an illustration of the truth of the very thing I said. You do not believe in the Atonement through the shed blood of Jesus Christ." The Christian Scientist uses the word atonement, but he means some thing entirely different from what the Bible teaches regarding the atoning death of Jesus Christ. So does the Unitarian. So do many of the ministers supposedly of orthodox denominations. The pastor of a Congregational church in this city said two weeks ago today: “I have my own kind of religion; it answers for me, but I hope I have sense enough to see that it would not answer for everybody. I imagine the Salvation Army captain preaching my kind of religious doctrine, without a devil, without a hell, without an atonement of blood and recompense, with out an infallible Bible—and I see his audience melting away like snow in the rain. Is his doctrine truer than mine, or is mine truer than his? Why, neither, his is true for him and mine for me—that is all—each after his own kind.” Now this may sound tolerant and lovely, but it is utter nonsense. Any doctrine which is not true for everybody is not true for any body, and any doctrine which is true is true for everybody. If a doctrine that leaves out "an atonement of blood” is not true for the Salvation Army,- and it certainly is not, it is not true for anybody else. Truth is not relative, it is absolute. What is true is true, and what is false is false. So we come face to face with the question, what does the Bible teach on this great fundamental doctrine? I. T h e N ecessity a n d Im p o rta n ce of H is D eath. The first thing that the Bible plainly teaches on this question is the absolute necessity and fundamental importance of the death of Jesus Christ, the absolute necessity and fundamental importcmce of the shedding of His blood. The tendency of our, day in Unitarian circles, and in orthodox circles that have been leavened by the corrupting leaven of Unitarianism, is to minimize the importance of the death
teaches. Paul tells us that the De.vil mas querades as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14), but never has he done it more successfully and dangerously than in the teaching regarding the Atonement which he has inspired in Mrs. Eddy and in Uni tarian teachers, and also in the teachers in many supposedly, orthodox pulpits, in many Congregational ' pulpits, in some Methodist pulpits, in many Baptist pulpits, and even in some Presbyterian pulpits. 'Some years ago in teaching a Bible class in Minneapolis, attended by people from all the churches, I remarked incidentally that Christian Science denied the doctrine of the Atonement through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. A very intelligent lady, a lady perfect in her manners, came to me at the close of the class and said: “Mr. Torrey, you ought not to have said what you said today about'Christian Science; for you do not understand its teachings. They do teach the atonement.’* I replied: “I said that Christian Science denies the doc trine of the atonement through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Do you believe that Jesus Christ bore your sins in His own body on the cross?” She answered: “I think Christian Science is a beautiful system of teaching.” I said: That is not what I asked you. Do you believe that Jesus Christ bore your sins in His own body on the cross ?” She replied. “Christian Science, has done me a great deal of good.” “That is not what I asked you. Dio you believe that Jesus Christ bore your sins in His own body on the cross?” “I think that Jesus Christ’s life' was the most beautiful life ever lived here , on earth.” “That is not what I asked you. Do you believe Jesus Christ bore your sins in His own body on the cross?” “The Christian Scientists are lovely people.” “That is not what I asked you. Do you believe that Jesus Christ bore your sins in His own body on the cross?” “I believe in following the Lord Jesus Christ. “Do you believe that Jesus Christ bore your sins in ilis own body on the cross? “Oh,” she said, “that is a doctrinal ques tion.”- “Now,” I said, “you are yourself
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