King's Business - 1914-02

No. 2

FEBRUARY, 1914

Vol. V

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THE KING ’S BUSINESS R. A. TORREY, Editor

J. H. SAMMIS, Associate Editors Entered as Second-Class matter November 17, 1910, at the postoffice at Los Angeles, California, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Organ of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Inc. Auditorium Building, Cor. Fifth and Olive, Los Angeles, California. T. C. HORTON, J. H. HUNTER,

DIRECTORS

Lyman Stewart, President. T. C. Horton, Superintendent.

Eev. A. B. Prichard, Vice-President.

J. M. Irvine, Secretary-Treasurer.

R. A. Torrey, Dean. Giles Kellogg. Robert Watchorn. William Thorn.

H. A. Getz. E. A. K. Haekett. S. L Merrill.

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 Deity of the Christ. The Maintenance of Good Works. The Second Coming of Christ. The Immortality of the Soul. The Resurrection of the Body.

The Personality of the Holy Ghost. The Supernatural and Plenary au­ thority of the Holy Scriptures. The Unity in Diversity of the Church, which is the Body and Bride of Christ. The Substitutionary Atonement. The Necessity of the New Birth. . The Institute trains, free of UI p0 S B eosfc; accredited men and women, in' the knowledge and use of the Bible. . , , „ , , „ , , 1 (1) The I n s t i t u t e Depart men tciasses held ¿any ex­ cept Saturdays and Sundays. (2) Extension work. Classes and con­ ferences held in neighboring cities and towns. (3) Evangelistic. Meetings conducted by our evangelists. P .

The Life Everlasting of Believers. The Endless Punishment of the Im­ penitent. The Reality and Personality of Satan.

OUR WORK

(4) Spanish Mission. Meetings every night. (5) Shop Work. Regular services in shops and factories. (6) Tewish Evangelism. Personal work among the Hebrews. (7) Bible Women. House-to-house visitation and neighborhood classes. (8) Oil Fields. A mission to men on the oil fields. (9) Books and Tracts. Sale and dis­ tribution of selected books and tracts.

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DR. TORREY’S NEW BOOK THE RETURN of the LORD JESUS

The Key to the Scripture, and the Solution of All Our Political and Social Problems or The Gdhlen Age that is Soon Coming to the Earth

By R. A . TORREY, D. D . Dean of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles

The Second Coming of the Lord is most ably presented by Dr. Torrey as the most precious truth the Bible contains— the safeguard against all current heresies, errors and false­ hoods—:the believer’s hope and joy. The following excerpts from press notices indicate how the book is being re eeived :

“Like all of Dr. Torrey’s books this book is written with absolute clarity and is free - from passion.”—The Pacific Presbyterian. “The book is no exception to the author’s other writings in its clear, clean-cut state­ ments of God’s truth.”—Christian Herald of London. “ Dr. Torrey offers this as ‘the key to the Scriptures.’ He finds the second coming of Christ mentioned 318 times in the 260 chap­ ters of the New Testament, and he considers it ‘the most precious truth the Bible con­ tains.* ” * “Dr. Torrey is vigorous in his style, and his appeal is wholly to the 'Scriptures. This book gives a concise and reliable statement of the pre-millennarian view by one who holds it firmly and Intelligently.”—The Pres­ byterian, Philadelphia. “For a comparatively small book it is ex­ ceedingly exhaustive on the glorious theme all Christians should have so much at heart. It could not be simpler, and, for clear Scrip­ ture teaching, it is a book after our own heart.”—The Morning Star, London. “Dr. Torrey writes In the earnestness and simplicity of a profound Christian faith. He believes the Scriptures and takes God at His word. Jesus Is to come again. This is his assurance, and the theme of this volume, which is full of the Scriptures." “ The able treatment of this important sub­ ject which is given in these pages will, we are sure, be appreciated by many who love to think of Christ’s reappearing, and who regard it as the only remedy for the present “If our readers desire a concise and yet

condition of the world. Dr. Torrey’s book is Sure to be widely read, as It deserves to be.” —The Life of Faith, London, complehensive treatise to put into the hands of an inquirer, this is the one by all means. It treats of the importance of our Lord’s coming again, its certainty, the manner of it, the results, thè time, and our attitude with reference to it. It also gives a collation, of Scripture passages oh the second coming of Christ for individual study. We urge the study of this subject upon all our Christian brethren, both ministers and laymen, sug­ gesting that they could not get a better text­ book with which to begin the study -than this of Dr. Torrey.”—Christian Workers’ Maga-' zine, Chicago. “ This great evangelist, Bible teacher, scholar and author has put his whole heart into this little work. He mentions as one of the four great religious experiences of his life his realization of the. Bible doctrine of Christ’s Second Coming. He says: 'It trans­ formed my whole idea of life, it broke the power of the world and its ambition over me, and filled my life with the most radiant op­ timism even under thè most discouraging cir­ cumstances. He is absolutely true to the Scriptures and quotes both the Old Testa­ ment and the New Testament very freely. It is a most heartening little volume, published in good type and on splendid paper, and at the small price should have a large circula­ tion. It is true to the Scriptures and loyal to the Lord and will strengthen the faith, brighte nthe hope, quicken the zeal and purify the life qf any true child, of God who reads it.' ”—The Western Recorder, Louis­ ville.

THE BEST BOOKS ON THE LORD’S SECOND COMING

Dispensations and Kindred Truths.

Coming of Christ, The. By I. M . Hal- deman. 325 pp., 12mo., cloth..........1 .0 0 The literature on this inspiring theme has been greatly enriched by this new book. ■ Coming of the Day of God, The. By Rev. J. Hubert Brooke, M . A . Cloth boards ...’.................- ....... — »........ 1. .40 Four excellent addresses bearing upon the fact of the Second Coming, the signs of our Lord's return, the effects of His coming, and hastening the coming. Coming of the Lord, The. By Arthur T. Pierson, D.D. Paper.....------------ - .40 Two argumentative papers showing the coming of.the. Lord to be both the doctrinal and the practical center of the Bible. Coming Glories, or Plain Answers to Seventy-six Prophetic and Other Questions. By W . Scott. Cloth boards — ;------:— .t— ----------------, .30 A large amount of practical and defi­ nite information is contained within the eovèrs of this little volume. Coming One, The. By Rev. A . B. ' Simpson. Cloth ............I..................... 1.00 The author writes convincingly and positively. Coming of the Lord, The. By Capt. W . H . Dawson. Cloth......................-e .40 Coming Prince, The; or, The Seventy Weeks of Daniel (7th edition). By Sir Robert Anderson, K . C. B. 304 pp., cloth . a ..—........:.....:------------- 1.50 A complete explanation of Daniel’s great prophecy. . Deepening Shadows and Coming Glo­ ries. By A . Sims. Cloth................... 1.00 An outline of the wonderful events to -transpire in the church and the world from the appearing of Christ to the close of the millennial age. Ecce Venit. (Behold He Cometh!) By A. J. Gordon, D.D. Cloth.— : 1.25 Another excellent work covering the prophecy, the delay, and the fulfill­ ment, including the events of the latter days. Elocile, or the K ing’s Return. By Mildred Edwards. Cloth.........................50 This is a thrilling love story told in blank verse. -It shows the glory of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the terrors of the tribulation. James M. Gray says: “The work re­ veals a mervelous breadth of vision and depth of insight touching the dispensational teaching of the Bible, to say nothing of thé exquisite lit1 erary form of its expression.” Epistles of the Advent. By Rev. A . B. Simpson. Paper ................ 1....... .25

Addresses on Prophecy. Br. Dr. C. I. Scofield. Paper ............ ....................... .35 God’s purpose in this age. the Church of God, Israel: past, present, and future; the great tribulation; the Millennium, the future state, etc. After This I W ill Return. By Rev. J. H. Townsend, D. D. Cloth Boards .40 A helpful little volume on the Second Coming of Christ. Apocalypse of Jesus Christ, The. By W illis W . Mead. Cloth...................... . 1.00 This work has been received with great cordiality, and has been given strong and hearty testimonials. Apocalypse o f Jesus Christ. The. By J. A . Seiss, D.D. 3 vols., 1400 pages. Cloth, only ___ ___...1.— ....... 1.80 Written in an easy, instructive stylé. Behold, He Cometh! By Rev. Luther Rees. Paper, 15c; limp cloth........25 One of the very best short, concise presentations of the Second Coming. Blessed Hope, The. By Edward Den­ nett. Cloth •...„............. ......— .35 Papers on the Lord’s coming and connected events. Bible Outline on the Second Coming. By C. C. Cook . ................................ .05 Contains all the Scripture references in both the Old and New Testaments. Brightening East, The. By Rev. J. H. Townsend, D.D. Cloth.....................40 A brief and clear treatise on the ful­ fillment of prophecy, especially in re­ lation to the Jews and the events preceding the coming of our Lord. Bright Tomorrow, A . By Rev. J. H. Townsend, D.D. Cloth ......... .............. .40 Chapters dealing With prophecy in its bearing upon Eastern affairs, in its relation to our social and religious life, and in its relation to Israel; also a chapter upon the Advent viewed from a missionary standpoint. Christ and Israel. By Dr. Adolph Saphir. Cloth __:....— ......... 1.25 The author, though converted to Christ when only a lad, and well ac­ quainted . with all modern philoso­ phies and learned in all the wisdom of the. Gentiles and especially called ■to minister to them, did not cease to be a Hebrew of the Hebrews nor to yearn in pity over his own nation. Christ Is Coming: How? and When? By T. H. Salmon. Cloth.......:..................65 An explanation of the Scripture pas­ sages dealing with the second com­ ing of Christ. Christ’s Coming Again. By William Kelly. Cloth ..............................1.20 A reliable treatise on the future trib­ ulation, the rapture of the saints, and the “Heavenly hope.”

BEST BOOKS ON THE LORD’S SECOND COMING (CONTINUED) Missing Ones, The. By J. W . Paper.. A short tract on the rapture of the saints which is especially helpful in presenting this truth to the thought­ ful attention of the open-minded. “ Morning Cometh, The.’ * By Bev, David James Burrell, D. D. Cloth.. .75 student, and a convincing argument ‘ for the uninformed. To the text itself is appended a collation of Scripture passages for individual study, classified and arranged in the most convenient manner for ready reference. A supplement to the book contains “Pre-Millennarianism or Post-Millennarianism—Which?” by

A masterly comparison of the earli­ est history with modern times, show­ ing “the § fruition of God’s plans. - While the one general thought runs through thfev book, each chapter is complete in itself, and- furnishes food for profitable meditation and practical Christian living. Notes on Daniel. By William Kelly. Paper, 40c; cloth ...........__.75 A most valuable and lucid -exposition of the prophecies of this book with practical applications of its moral lessons. Papers on the Lord’s Coming. By C. H. Mackintosh. Paper, 15c; cloth.. .30 The two resurrections; the two judgments; the coming, and “ The Day of the Lord." Plain Papers on Prophetic Subjects. By W . Trotter. 600 pages, cloth.... 1.25 Contents: The heavenly hope; or What is the hope of the church? Approaching judgments. The com­ ing crisis and its results. The doom of Christendom. Israel’s restoration. Is the Millennium or Christ’s Second Advent to be expe'cted first? Number o f Man, The; or, the Climax of Civilization. By Philip Mauro. New popular edition, 12mo., doth.. .75 A startling arraignment, of the man­ made conditions which are combin­ ing their influence to destroy Chris- tianity. ........ Present State of the Crops, The. By Philip Mauro. 30 pp., paper, 5c; per dozen ,__________ _____ ______;___ .50 Limitations of man’s abilities. The nature of the tares. The length of man’s day. Harvest time. Gather­ ing tares into bundles, etc. A strik­ ing characteristic of this age. Prophecy of Daniel, The. By A . C. Gaebelein. Cloth .....;_________ ........ .50 A key to his visions and prophecies. A book that ranks high as a sane and scriptural exposition of Scripture. Meat in Due Season. Paper ' .10 Addresses on the Lord’s Coming and kindred themes. Prophetic Chart on the Course of Time, A . By B. Booth. Litho­ graphed in seven colors, 13x33 with a key ' , • •'• ' '' .40 A pamphlet of 36 pages. Return of the Lord Jesus, The. By R. A . Torrey, D.D. Paper.........___ ... .25 This new book by Dr. Torrey is a masterly treatment of all phases of the second bodily coming of our Tord Jesus! The subject is handled in a positive, authoritative manner, and the author leaves no loophole for a doubter’s doubts. It is at once a systematic, concise text-book for the

Rev. J. H. Sammis, and “How I Be­ came a Pre-M illennialiyt,” by Rev. . James H. Brooks, D. D. Rev. Sam­ mis has put into eight pages a sur­ prising quantity of. reliable informa-, tion .clothed .in the terse language of his literary style, and Doctor Brooks adds his personal experience and conviction on the general sub­ ject under discussion. Revelation of Christ to His Servants. By F. W . Grant _____ _____ ._.......... . l.on Suggestive and valuable to the stu- dent of Revelation, Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth. By Dr. C. I. Scofield. Paper................15 Contents: The Jew, the Gentile, and the Church of God. The Seven Dis­ pensations. The Two. Advents. The Two Resurrections. Law and Grace. Thè Believer’s Two Natures, etc. Second Coming o f Christ, The. By lien Broughton. Cloth ...__ _______.50 Full of rich truth. Second Coming of Christ, The. By Robert E. Speer. Cloth..____ t______ .30 Thinking people trust Mr. Speer for his loyalty to the Lord Jesus and his knowledge of the Word of God. .Satan and the Saint; or, The Present Darkness an dthe Coming Light. By Dr. James M . Gray. Paper, 15c; cloth. “It is well calculated to be emi­ nently useful in these apostate days.” Revelation of Christ to His Servants, The. By F. W . Grant. Cloth.......... 1.00 “Things that are,” and “Things that shall be.” Signs of the Times, The. By Dr. I. M . Haldeman. Cloth ________ .....___ .75 A new and large edition at this re­ markably low price. Vivid and startling portrayals of present-day conditions. Someone is Coming. By Rev. John MacNeil, B. A . Cloth............. .......L .50 A straightforward, brief study, in­ cluding the first resurrection, the rapture, the great tribulation the millennial reign, and the judgment of the Great White Throne. A valuable chart showing past and coming events is appended. Shepherd o f Israel and His Scattered Flock. By David Baron. Cloth...... 1.00 An exposition of the Eightieth Psalm in the light of Jewish history: Sunrise: “ Behold He Cometh!” By G. Campbell Morgan, D.D. Cloth.... .50 A well-reasoned contribution to a subject which all who believe in Christ’s "birth and resurrection will consider thoughtfully. __..........__________ ;___ ,50

THE KING’S BUSINESS Voi. 5 FEBRUARY, 1914 No. 2 Table of Contents Editorials: Victor Gelesnoff’s Shocking Blasphemy—Starving and Poisoning of the Scholars in Our Sunday S ch oo ls.. . . . . 65 The Christian Life: Its Proof and Pattern. By W. H. Griffith-Thomas, D. D ......................................... 70 ‘ ‘We Thank Thee” tpoem). By Ricard-M iner............................. 75 The Transfiguration: The Unveiling o f the Incarnation. By A . C. Dixon, D. D .. . . . . . .................................................. 76 The Work of F. N. Charrington. By W. Robertson Nicoli, M. A ., LL . D............................ 83 Studies in the Gospel According to John. By R. A. Torrey"................. ............................... ........... ■■•• 87 International Sunday School Lessons. By J. H. S .................. 93 “ A Sinner’s Prayer” (poem ). By Ian M ichie....................... 100 The Heart of the Lesson. By T . C. Horton................................... 101 Junior Endeavor Topics. By J. K . H. S .. . . — .................. ....... .. • 104 A t Home and Abroad..................,.* .... — ................................ .. ••■ 106 Hints and Helps.......... ...................................... ..................................... 110 Questions and Answers. By R. A . T orrey ........................................ 114 Word from Reuben A. Torrey, Jr................................ .................... US Bible Institute o f Los Angeles..................................................... ......... 116 Book Reviews...................... ....................................................................... 1^4

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The King’s Business

No. 2

FEBRUARY, 1914

Vol. 5

Victor Gelesnoff^Shocking Blasphemy S ome months ago we had occasion to call attention to the blasphemy that . ■ was implied in an utterance of Vietor Gelesnoff in his magazine, but in the December number of the same periodical there is not merely an implied blasphemy, but an explicitly stated blasphemy of the most shocking character. He says, “ It is self-evident that an absolutely supreme Deity must be a universally responsible Deity. God must be responsible for whatever state of things obtains, or, what is tantamount to it, responsible for that chain o f causes that lead to this state of things.” Then he goes^on to show that God is the Author of and responsible for sin. He says, To this universal responsibility, evil is no exception, but rather the. special designated feature, inasmuch as God declares Himself to be.its creator (Isa. 45:7,). By evil here, as he makes clear from what follows, he means moral evil, sin. He says further on, “When we know that evil and good are both of God, then we can be resigned to both.” By evil in this passage he means, as is as clear as day from the context, sin. He says still further on, “ Evil [and by evil he means sin as the context clearly shows] is God’s prerogative; in His ways with the creature, He acts on the principle enshrined in the adage, The end justifies the means.” ’ Still further on he says, “ The Scriptures teach that light and darkness, good and evil [by evil he means sin as the context clearly shows], are really parts of- the same Divine economy. Good and evil proceed from the same Author.” By the Author [as the capital used in beginning it and the context also proves] Mr. Gelesnoff means, God, and he plainly declares that God is the Author of sin. Blasphemy cannot go beyond this. Of course, he seeks to defend his blasphemy by the use of Isaiah 45: 7, I form the light and create darkness: I make peace and create evil. But the parallelism and the context clearly show that evil in this passage does not mean moral evil or sin The passage simply teaches that God sends men peace in heart and that God sends men disquiet of heart; or at the most, it means that God sends them sorrow or affliction. The Hebrew word which is translated evil in this passage is the general word for evil covering both moral evil, the evil which one does, and natural evil, the evil which one suffers, and m its primary use, it does not refer to moral evil but to natural evil. It is of very frequent use in the Old Testament in this sense. To interpret it in this passage as meaning moral evil shows ignorance both of the real meaning of the word used and neglect of the eontext in which it is found in this passage. Some of the meanings given to the word in one of the most modern and exact of Hebrew lexicons is “ adversity, affliction, bad, calamity.” These are the first meanings given This lexicon among all the meanings given does not give sin at all as among its meanings. The nearest it comes to it is m its last definition, “Wrong.” Mr. Gelesnoff in his article says, “ It is claimed that the Hebrew word means ' indicted evil,’ so that no moral evil is meant, but evil in the shape of calamities which overtake the peoples. A glance at a concordance shows

66

THE KING’S BUSINESS this explanation to be a makeshift of theorists.” Now a glance at a concord­ ance shows absolutely nothing o f the kind, and a thorough examination of the concordance shows that Mr. Gelesnoff’s statement is utterly false. The best concordance that there is is Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. All other concordances are child’s play compared with this. Let any one look at this book and see the definitions of the Hebrew word given in the back of the book, these definitions being the usages of the words as found in the Old Testament, and let him also look up the passages cited in which the Hebrew word is used, and he will soon see how Mr. Gelesnoff has absolutely no stand­ in g ground for his statements. But we are not concerned so much with Mr. Gelesnoff’s reasoning as we are with his teaching. Any one who really knows God and is walking in fellowship with Him does not have to hunt through his concordance to know that the statements given above are the rankest blasphemy. Any one who has spiritual discernment will be shocked beyond measure by these wicked utter­ ances of this man. O f course, many others have given utterance to substan­ tially the same views. Gelesnoff’s position is the position held generally by Pantheists, Christian Scientists, R. J. Campbell, and others who are recog­ nized as gross^ errorists. The startling thing is that it should be advocated by one- who hitherto has posed as an orthodox teacher of the Bible. Our hearts are^sad. ^Mr. Gelesnoff was formerly a student o f our own at the Bible Institute in Chicago. He seemed at that time to be a humble seeker after truth., He came to us, if we remember correctly, from Rochester, from his tailor’s bench. We believe he had been led to an apparently sincere accept­ ance of Christ through the ministry of Mr. Gaebelein. Some years after he appeared as a teacher and seemed to have some peculiar gifts in that direction, but his head seems to have been turned by the appreciation that he received in certain quarters. There is a sad warning in it for us all. When we learned that he had been led to an acceptance of the position that the Church was not the bride of Christ, and that a new dispensation began in the closing verses o f the 28th chapter of Acts, we began to tremble for him;.for.we knew that a little leaven of false doctrine soon leaveneth the whole lump. When he came out with his gross errors of restitution we trembled for him still more, and he has now landed where might be expected. We wonder whether those teachers who were willing to follow him into his restitutionist’s error will follow him into the rank blasphemy to which he now gives utterance. We can scarce believe that some of them will, for while they have not been known as well-balanced teachers, we still have believed that they were true children of God. It is painful to be obliged to write these words concerning one we once knew and loved, but we live in perilous times and part of the duty of a faithful minister of Christ is to warn God’s children against false teachers. These blasphemies, as shocking as they are, may indirectly do good by opening the eyes o f those who are being misled to the real character of their leader.

67

THE KING’S BUSINESS

Starving and Poisoning of the Scholars in Our Sunday Schools A lawyer , who is a Bible class teacher, has recently sent to us Part I of the Second Year Senior Studies of the Keystone International Graded Sunday School Lessons, published by the American Baptist Publication Society, and asks our opinion of them. In the Foreword the writer of these lessons says, “ For more than a generation the OLD TESTAMENT has been studied in Sunday Schools with the chief emphasis, on the biographical and historical narratives. Facts, names, dates, outlines, and verses and passages have been committed to memory. Critical notes, analyses, archaeological re­ searches, Oriental sidelights, anecdotes, practical applications, and the whole paraphernalia o f pedagogical inventions have been marshalled for the purpose of making Old Testament study profitable and interesting. And yet no one seemed to suspect that all this work was expended on the casket while the priceless jewel which it contained only received scant attention.” This, char- * acterization of the work done in the Sunday School for the past generation is a gross slander upon it. It is perfectly safe to say that more of the priceless jewels to be found in the Word of God have been brought to light by the Sunday School work that has been done in the last generation than are brought to light in this series of “ Senior Studies.” In fact, we have not met anything in Sunday School literature that squanders so many pages without bringing anything really vitally important to light as these very studies. They are utterly jejune and unprofitable. Further on in the Foreword the writer says, “ The purpose of this course is to trace rapidly the growth of religious ideas from their first and' crude manifestations in the persons and in the life of the patriarchal age down to the close of the Old Testament period.” This then is “ the priceless jewel which is contained” in the Old Testament. The man who says that this and this alone is the priceless jewel contained in the Old Testament is indeed a blind reader of the Book. Pretty much the whole series of studies is devoted to this one thing, tracing the growth of religious ideas. That there is a growth, no one will deny; Bible students have known that and taught that for years. But the growth is not as stated in this series of lessons. The studies are full of historical inaccuracies. For exam­ ple, we read on Page 4, “ There was a time when Milton’s ‘ PARADISE LOST ’ Was read almost as generally as the Bible and when it exercised a great influence in shaping religious thought.” Anybody who knows anything about the history of English literature knows that this is not true, that the statement is utterly wild and unscientific. Milton’s “ Paradise Lost” doubtless was read more a generation ago than it is today, but it was never read anything like as generally as the Bible, and it never exorcised the influence in shaping re­ ligious thought that a certain school of modern thinkers would have us imagine that it did. The writer goes- on to tell us that it was due to Milton that “ naturally the religious degradation of the human race was regarded as the direct result of Adam’s fall.” Undoubtedly the degradation of the human race was regarded as the direct result of Adam’s fall, but this was not in any way due to Milton, but was due to the plain teaching of the Bible as recorded for example in Genesis 5; Romans 5. We read further, “ All the higher conceptions held by the Hebrews were supposed to have been transmitted to them in a direct line .from Adam and to have been only reminiscences; of the primitive

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THE KING’S BUSINESS revelation in paradise/’ Evidently, the writer is as ignorant of the history of doctrine as he is of the history of English literature. It has never been generally supposed by orthodox teachers that the higher conceptions held by the Hebrews were transmitted to them in a direct line from Adam, It has been held that they were a revelation made to Moses and the prophets, just as the Bible teaches that they were. The writer gos on to tell, us what is meant by man being created in the image and likeness of God. We cannot go into it, but it would be amusing if it were not about so serious a matter. The writer says further on, “ The name of Jehovah (or more properly Jahweh), under which Israel’s God revealed Himself ,to Moses, was not known to the patriarchs.” He does not say here, though he does further on, that this state­ ment is founded upon Exodus 6 :3, but it is founded upon a misinterpretation of that statement,and this passage does not say that Abraham and Isaac and Jacob did not know the name Jehovah. It does say that He was not known to them by that name, i. e., that is not the name by which He was commonly revealed to them. The name stands for the Person as revealed and this was not the prominent thought in the revelation made of God before Moses, But that the name Jehovah was known to the patriarchs is evident over and over again from Genesis 15; 24:12, and other passages. For example, in verse 8 of this chapter, Abraham addresses. God as “ Ford Jehovah” (see the Hebrew and the American Standard version). Of course, the writer would probably say that this is the work o f the redactor, or a later account of the Jehovist, and not an accurate account of what Abraham really said to Jehovah, but that will not bear examination for a moment. On page 11 the deep significance of the call o f Abraham in Genesis 12 is diluted until all we have left is that Abraham’s call was “ the challenge of the ideal.” “ The challenge of the ideal” sounds well. It is a kind of high sound­ ing, etherial and vague phraseology that is much liked by a certain school of thought and expression in our day, but to any one who has deeply studied Genesis 12 it is simply sickening. Further on the same page the writer says, “ The true hero is he who hearing the challenge o f the ideal, hears also in the voice of conscience the sovereign call of God, and who in obedience to that call counts not his life dear unto himsglf nor ever stops to calculate rewards.” This needs no comment. On page 13 we read “ From Abraham sprang three of the great religions of the world—Judaism and Christianity-through Isaac and Mohammedanism through Ishmael.” This statement is of course, historically untrue and absurd. Mohammedanism did not spring from. Abraham. It did come from a descend­ ant of Abraham through Ishmael, and Abraham is honored in Mohammedan­ ism, but Mohammedanism did not in any sense spring from Abraham. It came from Mohammed. We are told oti page 15 that the early Hebrews and Moses did not regard their God as the only Deity in the universe. In support of this statement we are referred to Exodus 15:11, where Moses cries “ Who is like unto thee, O, Jehovah, among the gods!” This is a pretty slight foundation for such a large superstructure. The strictest Christian monothe­ ist o f today might say the same thing; for the strictest monotheist knows perfectly well that there are others who are worshiped as God, but that they are not in reality like unto the Only One, Jehovah, who really is God. Mbses would doubtless have been willing to admit that those worshiped by other nations were real beings, supernatural beings, but a thoroughly intelligent Christian would be willing to admit the same thing, viz., that there are

THE KING’S BUSINESS 69 demons who are worshiped as gods. The fact is that Moses seems to have had a truer conception of the beings whom the heathen worship than the writer of these lessons. That Moses did not regard the other “ gods” as God in the sense in which Jehovah was God is evident from Deuteronomy 6 :4 , 5, where he says, “Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah: And thou shalt love Jehovah, thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” The writer on page 15 makes the patriarchs out to have been nature worshipers. He finds proof of this in the oak of Moreh (Gen. 12 :6 ) and the oaks or terribinths o f Mamre (Gen. 13:18; 14: 13; 18 :1 ) and also in the account of Beersheba (Gen. 26 :25 ) and the stone which Jacob set up for a pillar (Gen. 28:11-22). It is hardly necessary to go into this. If anybody will study the passages in question he will see it is the sheerest imagination and nonsense. About Beersheba he says, “ Beersheba, the well or spring of the seven (spirits) or of the oath, either translation being permsisible.” Now either translation is not permissible. There would be no sense in “ the well of the seven” unless were meant spirits as the writer puts in brackets, but there is no “ spirits” in the Hebrew either stated or implied. The writer supplies it out of his own head. It was “ the well of the oath/’ : and why so called is evi­ dent from various passages of Scripture (Gen. 21 :30, 31). The calling it “ the ■well of the seven spirits” is simply the substituting (in order to prove a theory) of the fantastic imagination of the writer for the Scripture record. The writer seems to favor, though he does it with some caution, the theory that “ Jehovah was the God of the Kenite clan into which Moses married. His marriage into the clan involved the acceptance of its God as his own” (page 22, note context). This is pure nonsense and dangerous nonsense at that. On page 34 the writer says, “ Later Jewish theory regarded ,the entire He­ brew legal system as having been communicated to Moses on Mt. Sinai, by him to Joshua and the elders and so on. . . , and secondly, we have the strange phenomenon of a nation apparently having had not a single addition to or change in her laws for more than a thousand years.” Evidently, the writer does not accept this later Jewish theory that the entire Hebrew legal system came through Moses. He does not say it right out, but he is insid­ iously trying to introduce the composite theory o f the Pentateuch, a theory that has been tried and found utterly wanting. It was not merely “ the later Jewish theory” that attributed the entire Hebrew legal system to Moses, it was our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He says explicitly in John 7:19, “Did not Moses give you the law?” Over and over again our Lord Jesus attributed the law to Moses. Probably the writer of these lessons thinks our Lord was mis­ taken. The real Christian, however, will have more confidence in the teach­ ing of Jesus than of any German school of criticism. The man who accepts the Graf-Wellhausen theory about the Pentateuch wholly or substantially is not up to date, and these lessons with their great parade of pretended scholarship are really not up to date. Furthermore, they are not only devoid of any real value, they are positively pernicious. With all the criticism that could be justly made upon details of the International Lessons, they are immeasurably better than such graded systems as this. We cannot but believe that the great majority of ministers and teachers in the Baptist denomination are thor­ oughly sound still, but why they submit to this sort of things that is being foisted upon their Sunday Schools by the American Baptist Publication So­ ciety is more than we can understand. The same thing might be said of some other “ graded systems” of lessons.

The Christian Life: Its Proof and Pattern* By REV. PROF. W. H. GRIFFITH-THOMAS. D. D. W ï noticed Saturday that the purpose of- this Epistle, and therefore, of the Christian life,

merciful thing that the hymn does not appear in most of our modern hymn- books ; but, if it does, it will be more merciful if we never sing it! Intro­ spection has never solved -a single problem in the spiritual life. We are not to look to self, but to look off to Jesus for the solution of our Spiritual problems. But now, further, this assurance will never come by prayer or by wait­ ing on God. Such a basis is far too variable for assurance. The grounds of assurance are ethical, not emotion­ al; objective, not subjective. They are plain, definite, and tangible. St. John gives us three plain and definite statements in answer to the question, “How may I know?” These three are brought before us, first neg­ atively, and then positively. When all three are put together, they cover the entire Epistle; and I hope I may be able to show this morning that this Epistle, after all, is capable of analy­ sis. Some say that this Epistle cannot be analyzed. I am not so sure of that, or, rather, I am pretty sure of the op­ posite! I think if we look at these three methods of assurance, we shall get, not only these, but an outline of the Epistle for further study. 1. The first answer to that ques­ tion, the first proof of assurance, is — mark this— obedience. Will you look at chap. 2 :3, “Hereby we. do know that we love Him, ¿f we keep His commandments.” Then you will no­ tice the same in verse 5, with a slight addition: “ Hereby we know that we are in Him.” How? “ Whoso keep- eth His Word.” We are to keep His commandments in detail; we are to keep His Word in its completeness. The first result will be that we shall

is threefold : in chapter 1 :4 , a life of perfect joy ; in 2 :1 , a life of continual safety; in v. 13, a life of absolute cer­ tainty; or, to put it in familiar words,' “ Safety, Certainty, and Enjoyment.” But now we must notice carefully the connection between thèse three aspects o f the purpose, as they are found here. The first depends upon the second, and the second upon the third: the joy depends upon the safe­ ty, and the safety is based upon the certainty. This morning we aré face to face at once with this great fact— ' that assurance, certainty, is the secret of secrets in the Christian life. If St. John wrote this Epistle that we might know, then it is fundamentally impor­ tant that we should know, and also endeavor to discover_the grounds of that knowledge. So here is the ques­ tion for us this morning, and it will occupy almost the whole o f our time : I T he P roof of the .C hristian B ife -—How M ay W e K now ? How may we have this absolute cer­ tainty o f which the Apostle speaks? That brings me to my first point : The Proof o f the Christian Life. It is of the first importance that we should face this question. This assur­ ance will never come by introspection. Many sing :

“ 'Tig a point I long to know, Oft causes anxious thought, Do I love the Lord or no? Am I His, or am I not?”

It is, indeed, a practical, definite question, but it will never be answered" along the line of that hymn. It is a *An address délivered Monday, August 4, 1913, 11 a. m., at Montrose Bible Conference, Montrose, Pa.

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love. See chapter 3 :14. “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.” Again, verses 18, 19: “ My little chil­ dren, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed, and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.” Love. But you notice that these are only two passages and this subject of love is found from chapter 2:7 to 3 :24. That is the second main division of the Epistle. Negatively, it is, “ Love not the world” ; positively, “ Love the brother1 hood.” We will look at something- about the world to-morrow. Now we are concerned with this thought,of positive love. * May I ask you to notice that it is not “ brotherly love,” but “ brother- love-” ? “ Brotherly love,” as the word suggests, is brother-like love;.but the New Testament teaches us more than that. We are not to love as though we were brethren; we are to love be­ cause we are brethren. That is why I distinguish between “ brotherly love,” which is a little unfortunate in- the translation in our English version, and “ brother-love.” Now for a moment or two on this. Our Lord, on the eve of His crucifix­ ion, said, ‘A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one an­ other, as I have loved you.” . Wherein lay the newness? Some say in the standard, “ As I have loved you.” Well, they had had the highest stand­ ard long before then. “ Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart.” That is as high as we can go. “ Oh,” some say, “ it was the love of the. stranger,” But they had love of the stranger; they had universal, patri­ otic, family love, and with one ex­ ception, every kind of love, before our Lord said, “ A new commandment I give unto you.” If you will look at the two verses where Christ refers to the new. commandment, you will

know that we know Him, and the second that we shall know that we are in Him. This is what I mean by a definite, tangible, objective proof of assurance . M-obedience. Negatively, as you will notice, sin is to be avoided; positively, righteousness is to be followed. This section dealing with obedience covers chapter 1 :5 to chapter 2 :6. That is the first main division of the Epistle. As you study it you will see, that its primary thought is obedience, first negatively, and then positively. Let us dwell upon this for a mo­ ment, Faithfulness gives us the wit­ ness; and obedience is, therefore, the organ, the proof of knowledge. A creed is not enough for assurance, be­ cause a creed might conceivably be false. Nor are feelings enough, be­ cause feelings are very variable, But faithfulness, if it be constant, will al­ ways be a ground and proof of assur­ ance. Some obedience, some assur­ ance ; full obedience, full assurance. Here you see that, quite apart from any ideas, or ideals, or feeling or emo­ tions, or anything subjective, the plain, definite requirement of obedi­ ence is set before us as one of the proofs of knowledge. “Hereby we do know that we know ,Him.” “Hereby know we that we are in Him.” When you think of it. this is ex­ actly true to life. Is it not the case that when you and I do something that we know is our duty, there springs up instinctively in our hearts the satisfaction, the consciousness, that all is right—the child with the father, the servant with the master, the friend with the friend? Obedi­ ence is invariably, by that psychologi­ cal law, the organ and the proof of knowledge, So do not let us worry ourselves about our emotions, or our feelings, or even our beliefs. O bey , and in the obedience will come the assurance. 2. The second of these proofs is

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find in a remarkable way, three times over, an emphasis on ‘‘one another.” There is the, newness, the object of the love, “ one another.” That was the new thing, not the love of men because they are united to us by patri­ otism, by family, or even by philan­ thropy, but because they are united to us in Christ, in brother-love.” Observe how this new command­ ment of “ brother-love” is found pretty prominently in the New ‘TeStatment. It is just the word “ Philadelphia,” “ Brother-love.” You remember how the Apostie ..says in Hebrews 13:1, ■“ Let brother-love continue.” You re­ member how Peter says in 1 Peter 2: 17, “ Love the brotherhood.” And in that long list of graces in 2 Peter 1 :5-7, we are to add to our faith one point after ' another, until we come to brother-love, the specific love that Christians ought to have for one another, and last of all to love. When this is exercised, it will, as our text, 1 John 3:19, shows, give us assurance. The more it is ex­ ercised, the deeper and fuller will be our assurance. We are to love not in word and in tongue, but- in deed and in truth, “ and hereby we . . . . . . . . shall assure our hearts before Him.” Perhaps it is the absence of this “ brother-love” in our churches that is one of the main causes o f our lack of assurance. If in our congregations we had more of it, what a difference it would make. Still more among the various churches, what a difference it would make if we had more and more of this “ brother-love.” The wider, the deeper, the stronger our love to our fellow-Christians, the stronger and deeper and profounder will be our assurance. I suppose it must be about fifty or sixty years ago that two men of dif­ ferent churches used to meet as they Went each to his own church on Sun­ day mornings. One church was St.

George’s, Bloomsbury; the other across the road was the Baptist Chap­ el, or Church, Blodmsbury. The Rec­ tor of St. George’s was the Hon. and Rev. ;Montague Villiers, afterwards Bishop o f Durham. The minister of the Baptist Church was the Rev. Wil­ liam Brock. They met every Sunday morning, and Villiers would say to Brock,' “ The Lord be with you,” and Brock would reply, “ And with thy spirit.” • That was their greeting, I believe, week after week, for years and years. “ But then,” some one says, “ it is im­ possible for us to love everybody!” Is that so? We do not love things; we like them. I know we say we “ love” flowers. No, we do not ; we like them! And “ like” is a much stronger word than love, if we will only realize it. Now, it is impossible, to like everybody, but it is not impos­ sible to.love everybody. We are never called upon to like everybody, because in some people there is nothing “ alike” to us, nothing of affinity which we can like. But we are to love, as Christ loved. You remember He loved the world with compassion, but He loved His obedient disciples with complac­ ency! If we cannot love and also like, we must love only. The love of this Epistle and the love of Christianity is the opposite of hate. ■ If you look at chapter 3:16-18 and 4 :10, you will see, “Herein is love” and “Hereby we perceive love.” It was because of what Christ did for those who were His enemies that He ministered His love; and the love here, whether it is associated with liking or not, is the bounden duty of every one of us. So I come back again to this, that if you and I will only put into practice this “ brother-love,” it will act and re-act upon our assurance in Christ. Here let me mention in passing that Bishop Westcott calls attention to the fact that the word translated “ broth-

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the third result of faith is the posses­ sion of the Holy Spirit. But now comes the question: How are we to know that we possess the Holy Spirit? I fancy some one is say­ ing to me, “ Have you not made a mistake in saying that there is noth­ ing subjective and experimental in these three grounds ? The first two are obviously objective, but what about the third? Well, I want to say that the third is as objective and fun­ damental and tangible as the others. It is often asked by earnest, good peo­ ple, “ How may I know that I have the Holy Spirit? How may I know that Thave the fulness of the Spirit?” I shall never forget receiving' in Lon­ don a letter from one who had been working with me when I was a curate in Oxford, years before. She was led to Christ through Mr. Moody’s meet­ ings. She joined our church and be­ came one of the keenest and most de­ voted Christians and workers I ever met. I naturally lost sight of her for a while when I was in.London. She wrote to me several sheets, in great spiritual distress, and the burden of her letter was, “ I have prayed, I have read my Bible, I have striven in every way to be right with God, and I can­ not be sure that I possess^ the'fulness of the Holy Spirit. Can you help me ?” I wrote back to her and I said, in so .many words, “ All that you tell me in your letter shows that you are looking within. Now here is the one test of the fulness of the Spirit at any given moment, Ask yourself this question: ‘What is- Jesus Christ to me?’ That will turn your thoughts out to Him. Is Jesus Christ only a very little to you ? Then you are not filled with the Holy Spirit. But if you say, ‘He is the Chief among ten thousand and the. Altogether Lovely,’ you may be perfectly certain that you are filled with the Holy Spirit.” I want to say that again this morn­ ing, My brothers, or sisters, do not

er” in the New Testament always re­ fers to some specific relationship to our fellow-Christians, never to that modern idea of what is called the “ Brotherhood of Humanity.” What­ ever we may have to say about that-4? and, of course, there is_ a great deal that is true to say-l|we must be care­ ful not to use the New Testament “ brother” for that modern idea. The “ brother” of the New Testament is one who is united to me in Jesus Christ. Because he is Christ’s, be­ cause he belongs to Christ, whether I like him or not, I must love him. 3. I proceed to the third of these proofs of assurance, the Holy Spirit. See chapter 3 :24, “Hereby we know that He abideth in us, by: the Spirit which He gave us” (R. V .). Also 4: 13-—there are ■ two texts with every one o f these— : “ Hereby we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, be­ cause He hath given us of His Spirit.” (R. V .) It is very rarely that St. John repeats himself without some significant additions; and you will no­ tice the two texts: Hereby we know that He abideth in us,” and then there comes: “ Hereby we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit.” This section goes from the latter part of chapter 3 :24 to 5 :12. I believe if you will study that section you will find that the dominant thought is that .of the Holy Spirit, again negatively and positively. Negativfely, false spirits denounced; positively, the true Spirit acknowledged (as in 5 :7 ). You notice therefore that we have these three marks. I shall come back to this last one presently, but I want to emphasize the inclusiveness of the three. Obedience—that is right with God; love—that is right with our brothers; and the Holy Spirit within, that is right with ourselves, and this is the order of Christian experience. The first result of faith is obedience; the second result of faith is love; and

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look within for a single moment. Get rid of that old idea, For one look at self take ten looks at Christ.” Take eleven at Christ, and none at self ! Be occupied with Him, and as the spiritual horizon is filled with the Lord, you may be sure that the Holy Spirit is doing His work Qf glorify­ ing Christ. I want you to notice that the Holy Spirit does not occupy the soul with Himself. '1'hc Holy Spirit occupies the soul with Christ. It is only indirectly that the Holy Spirit witnesses to our sonship; He witnesses to Christ, and in that is everything. Here let me remark that I think there must be a great mistake in the minds of many about Romans 8:16, “ The Spirit witnesseth with our spirit.” How many Christians read that as though it were, “ The Spirit wisnesses to our spirit.” That is not true. The Spirit witnesses on parallel lines, "together with,” our spirit. To whom? To God. The soul says, “ Abba, Father,” and the Holy Spirit says the same, “ He is Thy child.” - It is not that He wit­ nesses to yis ^ it is that He witnesses with us to God, as the parallel passage in Galatians 4 '6 clearly shows, for there it plainly is the Holy Spirit cry­ ing, “Abba, Father.” So I come to this once again: Christ glorified by the Holy Spirit is the sure and infallible mark o f the fulness of the Holy Ghost. Then in Ephesians 5 you have that phrase, “ Be filled with the Spirit.” It is often taken out of its context, and made a separate and independent com­ mand. Look ^t the text. Those of you who know your Greek Testament will remember that’ wherever the Spirit as the Gift is concerned, , the Genitive is always used: “ Be filled with (or o f) the Spirit,” '- But wher­ ever the ^Dative is used, the Spirit is the instrument: “ Be filled by the Spirit.” That text has the Dative, not the Genitive. In the last verse of Acts 13 it is “with the Spirit” (bu t here in Ephesians 5 it is “ Be filled by

the Spirit.” And if you want to know what the Spirit. fills you with, look at the next verses, with the four par­ ticiples: “ Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks al­ ways for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.” Along the lines of those four underscored participles the Holy Ghost does His work; and if you can say thosé four are true of you, you can be perfectly certain the Holy Ghost has been fill­ ing you by means of His own Divine grace. So I say again, it is not as we look within, but- as we look with­ out. Then some one says, “ How can this be? What do you mean by look­ ing without?” That brings me to my second and last point this morn­ ing: II. The Pattern of the Christian Life. I wonder whether you have noticed that the words “ as He,” or ‘even as He” occur eleven times in this Epistle, nine times one Greek word, and twice another Greek word. "Even as He,” here is our pattern. It is a divine standard, and you and I can test ourselves as to whether the Holy Ghost is filling us, if we are living according to the pattern. That is why I speak of the standard. I shall only have time to mention the texts. Indeed, there is no need to elaborate. Of the eleven times that “ even as lie ” occurs, there are six that refer to Christ and ourselves. You Will find them in three pairs ; one pair in relation to God; one pair in rela­ tion to self, one pair in relation to others. “ Even as He.” Let us look at them briefly. First, the pair in re­ lation to God. “ If we walk in the light as He is in thè light” ( 1 :7 ). We are to walk in the light. ’While we are walking in the light, as He is in

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