VOL. VI
OCTOBER, 1915
No. 10
O NE D O L L A R A Y E A R
Eh? Kttufjsi I t ts toB S MOTTO : *I the Lord do keep it , I will water it every moment lest any hurt it ; / will keep it night and day.**—Isa. 27:3. R. A. TORREY, Editor T. C. HORTON, J. H. H unter and J. H. S ammis , Associate Editors A. M. ROW, Manager Organ of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Inc. Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. Entered as Second-Class Matter November 17, 1910, at the postoffice at Los Angeles, . California, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Copyright by R. A. Torrey, D.D., and Bible Institute of Los Angeles, 1915
DIRECTORS
Rev. A. B. Prichard, Vice-President. Leon Y. Shaw, Treasurer. R. A. Torrey. Giles Kellogg. H. A. Getz.
Lyman Stewart, President. William Thorn, Secretary. T. C. Horton, Superintendent. E. A. K. Hackett. J. M. Irvine.
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 Spirit. The Resurrection of the Body. The Life Everlasting of Believers. The Endless Punishment of the Im penitent. The Reality and Personality of Satan, 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. (10) Harbor Work. For seamen in Los Angeles harbor. (11) Yoke Fellows Hall. Thoroughly manned. Our Mission for men with Boot Black and Newsboys Class and Street Meetings. (12) Print Shop. For printing Testa ments, books, tracts, etc. A complete establishment, profits going to free dis tribution of tracts. (7) Bible Women.
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. P u r p o s e The Institute trains, free of ^ cost, accredited men and women, in the knowledge and use of the Bible. Departments: The institute Classes held daily exceptSaturdays and Sundays. (2) Extension work. Classes and con ferences held in neighboring cities and towns. (3) Evangelistic. Meetings conducted by our evangelists. (4) Spanish Mission. Meetings every night. (5) Shop Work. Regular services in shops and factories. (6) Jewish Evangelism. Personal work among the Hebrews.
OUR WORK
ES
THE KING’S BUSINESS
TABLE OF CONTENTS Editorial: Strong for the Whole Bible—Enlarging Work of Bible Institute of Los Angeles — One Comforting Thought— Is the King’s Business Prejudiced?—Fall and Winter Work of Our Churches—A Pastoral Let te r— Summer Bible Conferences — The Revival We Need—Topics for Week of Prayer.__—.................. .. 845 The Bible as a Revelation. By W. H. Griffith Thomas, D.D. 85 1 True Order of the Star in the East. Poem. By M. Carrie Moore ..................... ...____ _ ...J. -----—........ ..................— ... 859 A Dissertation on Evangelists. By French E. Oliver, D.D,... 860 The Ulster Revival of ’59 (Concluded). By, John H. Hunter ..... .....C.--- ------ ---------- :—— ............. ...... —.....—... 863 The Three Comings. By W. B. Hinson, D.D................... — 867 Light on Puzzling Passages and Problems............................... 872 Ascends Pulpit from Barber’s Chair. By Rev. Wm. Hague... 874 At Home and Abroad.....,— ........ —------- ------- .----— 879 Wresting the the Scriptures. By Arthur T. Pierson, D.D..... 883 Hints and Helps........... ... ..................... ---------- ----- -----.1------ 88 7 Bible Institute Activities. By the Superintendents.......... 89 1 International Sunday School Lessons. By R. A. Torrey and T. C. Horton........ ............... .—............—r~... 89 7 Daily Devotional Studies in the New Testament for Individ ual Meditation and Family Worship. By R. A. Torrey 9 15
In the United States and its Possessions, Mexico, Canada and points in the Central American Postal Union, $1 per year. In all other foreign SUBSCRIPTION PRICE ; l countries, $1.12 (4s. 8d.). Single copies, 10 cents.
PUBLISHED BY THE BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES 536-558 SOUTH HOPE STREET LOS ANGELES, CAL.
æ
E3
WeNeedYourHelp in extending the circulation of T he K ing ’ s B usiness in its mission in support of THE GREAT FUNDAMENTALS OF SCRIPTURE
A P PEA L to every re ad e r in terested in the cause of C hrist, to e x ert y ourself to extend You m ay have done so alread y , a n d fo r such service you have o u r sincere g ra titu d e a n d h e artfelt th an k s, b u t w e u rg e y o u to fu rth e r efforts. th e circu latio n of T H E KING’S BUSINESS.
Instead of m aking a pro fit on th e m agazine a t $ I p e r y e ar, it costs m ore th a n w e receive fo r it, a n d o u r only hope of a re tu rn from th e o u tlay is to in crease th e subscription list to su ch p ro p o rtio n s th a t ad v ertisin g can be secu red a t rem u n erativ e rates. Nobody w ill profit by a n y surpJus funds, as all such go to th e fu rth e r free d istrib u tio n of religious lite ratu re, a n d th u s YOU m ay becom e a m issionary in sp re ad ing th e Gospel of o u r Blessed L ord a n d M aster, an d in w idening th e influence of th e Bible In stitu te of Los A ngeles a n d its FREE train in g school. A lso kindly send us th e nam es of p erso n s w ho
m ay possibly becom e subscribers if a sam ple copy is sent them , a n d we w ill p rom p tly com ply w ith y o u r req u est. M ake all d ra fts a n d m oney o rd e rs p a y able to TH E KING’S BUSINESS, a n d NO T to a n y individual. Address all communications to THE KING’S BUSINESS Bible Institute of Los Angeles
5 3 6 -5 5 8 SOUTH HO PE STREET
LOS ANGELES, CAL., IL S. A.
THE KING’S BUSINESS s Vol 6 OCTOBER, 1915 No. 10
E D I T O R I A L A friend of TnE K ing ' s B u sin ess , in renewing his subscription, tells us of what he terms “the strongest recommendation that could be given of the Bible Insti tute of Los Angeles;” A young man remarked to him
Strong for the Whole Bible
that he was about to become a student at this institution, when a bystander interposed, saying: “Don’t go there! They don’t teach anything but the Bible!” Comment would seem to be entirely unnecessary.
With the completion of the buildings of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles the work of the Institute is enlarging along other lines than the material. With the beginning of the Fall term, William Evans, Ph. D., D.D., formerly Director of the Biblical
Enlarging Work of Bible Institute of Los Angeles
Course of the Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, and more recently conducting Conferences for Bible Study from the Atlantic to the Pacific, in both the United States and Canada, becomes Associate Dean of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. He will add greatly to the strength of the teaching force. He probably has no equal as a teacher of what has been somewhat ineptly, called “the Synthetic Method” of Bible Study. Being a strong and' eloquent preacher and platform speaker himself, and an experienced writer and teacher along Homiletical lines, he will also add greatly to the strength of the Homi- letical Course. The faculty has also been strengthened by the addition of H. J. Baldwin of Philadelphia, as superintendent of men. Mr. Baldwin has been associated with the Sunday School, and is well equipped for^ the work upon which he enters. Mrs. Baldwin will also be a great accession to the social and spiritual home-life of the Institute. She is best known publicly by her articles in the “Sunday School Times” on “My Class of Girls.
These are days of multiplying national and personal tragedies and ever-increasing agony and apprehen- sion. What is coming next ? Who knows ? GOD. And out of the increasing darkness we hear a won
One Comforting
Thought
drous voice crying clearer and clearer, “I am coming. Behold I come quickly.” Even so come Lord Jesus ! Thy coming, and that alone, will solve all our problems, calm all our fears, heal all our wounds, banish all our sorrows and satisfy all our longings. Thy coming is what America needs, England needs, Germany needs, Russia needs, Japan needs, China needs, the whole earth needs. Come, Oh, come quickly!
846
THE KING’S BUSINESS We have been almost overwhelmed by a flood of
Is^ the King’s ^ letters from England and Germany and from Ger- Business Prejudiced ? mans in America accusing us of blind and bitter pre judice in the present World War. Most of these letters come from clergymen—English or German as the case might be. Some of the letters were kind and reasonable, others were extremely violent and minatory. The English letters.say that it is very evident that we are blindly prejudiced in favor of the Germans and dare not tell the truth about them because of “the large German element in the popula tion of the United -States.” One writer informs us that the Germans form more than half the population of the United States. The letters from Ger man pastors say that we are dominated by the English, and even lay at the door of T h e K in g s B u sin ess the sending to England and France of muni tions of war, and would hold us responsible for the consequent slaughter of German fathers, brothers and sons. Of course, those who accuse us of pro-British and pro-German prejudice cannot both be right. As the charge comes from both sides it inclines us to think that we have been just to both sides, and that those who consider any one save a blind and bitter fellow-partisan, an enemy, attribute to us an enmity which in fact does not exist. We admit that our heart is well-nigh broken over the present war, in which we have lost dear friends; some of them sons of the dearest friends we know; young men whom we have inti mately known and loved. And; our hearts are full of sorrow for the awful aftermath of the war that is sure to come to all nations, no matter which side is victorious. We admit too that our hearts go out in sympathy toward the Germans as well as towards the English. Both peoples are dear to u s ; we have friends on both sides. We believe the war is a great masterpiece of Satan. We do not doubt that God will use it in the final outcome to His own glory, and to show men that it is true of nations as well as of individ uals that “whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap,” and will thus and in other ways “make the wrath of men to praise Him” (Ps. 76:10). Nevertheless, the war is devilish in its origin, its methods and its results, and a demonstration of what a failure man is (except through grace) in his character, his wisdom, his science, his philosophy, his culture, his civilization, and even "in his religion.
Now is the time to begin planning for our work during the Autumn and Winter. Many of us fail in a measure in getting the best results because we wait until the full rush of the season is upon us. There is no kind of work in which intelligent planning and
Fall and Winter Work of Our
Churches
system count more than the work of the church. What are you going to do this Autumn and Winter? Are you going to have an Evangelistic cam- paign (either with or without an evangelist from abroad) ? Begin to pray and plan and work for it now. Are you going to have training classes to train your members for definite, intelligent soul-winning work ? Begin to pray and plan -at once. Are you going to have “ Popular Bible Classes” ? Begin to pray and plan at once. Let us get down to business immediately.
THE . KING’S BUSINESS 847 The Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the recog- nized earthly heads of the Church of England, sent
A Pastoral
Letter out a letter at Whitsuntide, which is worthy to be deeply pondered by all Christians, whether they be long to that communion or some other, and whether they belong tp that land or some other. The following excerpts are made from the letter. It is the office of the Church of Christ, to'quicken and to guide the spir itual forces on which 'the strength, the steadfastness and the nobility :of the national spirit depend. , , We are girding ourselves afresh for the material conflict, and tor pro- • viding whatever is needed to insure its full and final success, but we lack de termination and persistence in the output of our spiritual force. Foremost therein we place unhesitatingly the power of prayer. . . . What we chiefly need at present is not a new appointment of special days or a new set ot pub lished Forms. Rather we want a more literal fulfillment of the plain duty of “continuing instant in prayer.” The duty lies imperatively upon all who profess and call themselves Christians, but it grows incalculably in weight by the solemnity of these tremendous weeks of tense conflict, of crushing bereave ment, and of continuous suspense and strain. Are tjie Christian people of our land putting into the high service of prayer anything like the energy and reso lution, or the sacrifice of time and thought, which in many quarters are forth coming with a ready will for other branches of national service? . Remember alwavs that prayer means something even larger and deeper than asking wisdom 'for our King and his Ministers, protection for our sailors and soldiers, comfort for the anxious and the bereaved, victory for the cause of our Nation and its Allies. Prayer implies a reverent sense of the Sov ereignty of GOD. a hold even when we are bewildered m the darkness and confusion upon the certainty that HE is set in the Thrdne judging right. And prayer means—for without this we dare not come into His presence—the humble deliberate, heart-felt confession of our sins: sms of selfishness and self-indulgence, sins of hardness and complacency, sms of sheer laziness and lack of thought. We have in days of quiet made too little of the claim of God ’ upon our lives. Can we wonder that in stern hours like this it is hard to kindle afresh the deep and simple thoughts which we have allowed to grow laiio-uid and uncertain? But such re-kindling there must be. Give earnest heed to this most sacred of all duties. Set yourselves, even m the midst of exigencies and passions of war, to be loyal to the spirit of Jesus Christ. greatlv blessed. Among these conferences is that at Montrose, Pa., where great emphasis is put upon the prayer life. There are other conferences as large, or even larger, but there is probably none at which there is so large an array of great Bible teachers from both sides of the oceans, who are selected not so much because they are great platform speakers^ as because^ of their ability to make systematic and harmonious Bible teaching interesting and profitable to the average minister and believer. Among the speakers of this year were: Rev. Dr. W. H. Griffith Thomas, formerly of Oxford Uni versity, now of Wycliffe College, Toronto; Dr. A. C. Dixon, of- London; Dr. W. B. Riley, of Minneapolis;' Dr. William Evans, of the Bible Institute, LoS Angeles; Rev. John Mclnnis, Syracuse, and many others. Some of the strongest addresses will appear from time to time in T he K ing ’ s B u sin e ss . We give in this number as our Fundamentals article, the opening address in the course given by Dr. W. H. Griffith Thomas. Summer Conferences for Bible Study and Prayer have become a very prominent feature of and factor in our modern Christian life. They have been more numerous than ever this year, and apparently more Summer Bible Conferences
848
THE KING’S BUSINESS I have just been reading anew some of the revivals God has sent to His praying people in by-gone days, notably the revivals at Shotts, in June, 1630; in Ulster in 1628; at Kilsyth, July 23, 1839; at Ant
The Revival We Need
werp, N. Y., and through the neighborhood in Chas. G. Kinney’s early days ; at Gartly, Scotland, in the days of Reginald Radcliffe ; at Broughshare, Ulster, in 1850. My heart has been deeply stirred, and I have been thinking and praying about it. A deep conviction has taken possession of me that we need in America and Europe another revical after the same general pat- tern. I rejoice in and thank God for the great work He is doing through Billy Sunday” and other of our present-day evangelists. I have had very recent and conclusive evidence of the depth and genuineness and permanence of the work done through Mr. Sunday in Scranton, Wilkesbarre, Philadel phia and other places. Many, of the converts were at the Montrose Confer ence and were very eager for the Word of God and were all aglow with passion for the salvation of the lost. Yet I am sure we sorely need a revival of another sort. There is too much of man and too little of God in these meetings ; too much that is of the flesh, too little that is unquestionably of the Holy Spirit; too much of meaningless but appealing songs and hurrah boys, and the world; too little of prayer and soul agony and deep work of the Spirit; too much of the spirit of the age and too little of the Spirit of God ; too much of machinery and commercialism, and buying and selling and worldly advertising ; too little of looking to God to work and trusting God to work. I am the last one who has a right to criticise unkindly all this ma chinery and advertising and book-selling, for I fear that the responsibility for introducing it into America lies more nearly at my door than that of any one else. When Mr. Alexander and I started out on our world-wide, tour we had no other helpers, and planned a campaign along old-fashioned lines, with no hymn books of our own to sell ; no troupe of workers, etc. But the workers increased in number, other things came in, and so it has gone on in ever-increasing measure. These great evangelistic machines are doing good, incalculable good, and will go on doing good, but we need, sorely need some thing else. We need movements in cities and villages and country neighbor hoods,^ where God’s people will get together to pray, and pray, and pray, till they “pray through” ; and then through their own pastor, or a pastor from abroad, or an evangelist, have the gospel preached in the power of the Holy Ghost, and Spirit-guided personal work done, with no jolly singer' from the outside to whoop it up ; no hymn books or other books to sell in the church or other places of meeting; mo business agent to get calls for the man who hires them, and to raise enormous sums of money by all manner of more or less questionable means ; no free-will offerings except such as people feel quietly led without solicitation, to give ; with dependence upon the Holy Spirit ; a work that from start to finish is carried on in an atmosphere of prayer “in the Holy Ghost.” Will such a movement, so opposed to the hustling, self-advertising spirit of the twentieth centur/ succeed in the twentieth century ? Is the Holy Ghost dead? Must we now resort to weapons that are carnal? Have we lost faith that weapons that “are not carnal” “are mighty through God to pulling down strongholds ?” Finney did not even have a Sankey with him. The music, on one occasion at least, was so dreadful that Finney (who had a
THE KING’S BUSINESS 849 musical ear) felt that he must hold his hands over his ears to shut out the discordant din, but the Holy Spirit fell that very day in such power that the Power from on high came down upon them in such a torrent that they fell from their seats in every direction. In less than a minute nearly all persons in the. congregation were either, down on their knees, or on their faces, or in some position before God. Every one was crying or groaning for mercy upon his own soul,” The whole community was revolutionized. The same God and the same Holy Spirit live today. It is true, .-“thè Spirit bloweth when He willeth,” but He willeth to blow when professed Christians get right with God and pray through (Luke 11 :13; Acts 4:31-35). Finney took men mighty in prayer along' with him to pray, but no men rnighty in song to sing, or mighty as press agents to \vork the papers and-the community. by the World’s Evangelical Alliance. The week set apart will be Sunday, January 2, to Saturday; January 8, 1916. For seventy, years the Alliance has been calling believers together to exercise this highest privilege of Chris tians, the privilege of intercessory prayer. This year the call is worded as follows : “To all who, everywhere, are in,:fellowship with the Father and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, through the Eternal Spirit. Beloved'Brethren : " < We greet you in days of mourning. Never in the history of the Evangeli cal Alliance have we sent forth our usual invitation for United Prayer in cir cumstances, so sad and so solemn as those which have involved many Nations in mortal strife, and grieved and shocked others not directfy implicated. Silence on such a matter would be affectation, and worse would be any word that might wound. "; ■■ " ' ■ Whatever may be deemed to be the causes of the conflict, every servant of | Him who “maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth” will be drawn to united and earnest intercession for thè healing of breaches, for restored brother- liness of the peoples, and for the blessings of a just and lasting peace. Once in the World’s darkest days saints of God, remembering the last promise of their sacred Scriptures that a “Sun of Righteousness” Should “arise with healing in His wings;” were waiting for “the consolation ;of Israel.” So, in these latter times, may His servants, who are calling upon and wit nessing unto their coming Lord, experience the fulfillment of a like promise which closes a later revelation. May every Christian ear be waiting to hear the Bridegroom’s voice, “Behpld, I come quickly;” and may every Christian conscience, cleansed from all Sin, be ready to reply, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” Will not the ministers and Christian leaders who read this article write at once for the list of topics, to the World’s Evangelical Alliance, 19 Russell Sq., London, W. C., arid begin to make arrangement for the observance of the Week of Prayer in their churches. Again and again where this week has been faithfully observed as a Week of Prayer, it has been the beginning of an outpouring of the Spirit of God upon the church which has led tò the holding of :special evangelistic services in which hundreds of mèri and women have been won to Christ. Why should that not be triie this year? y . LG» Surely if there ever was a time when believers the world over should unite in prayer it is now. We desire thus early to call the attention of our readers, especially our ministerial friends, to the ‘Week of Prayer call, sent out Topics for Week of Prayer
The Bible as
a Revelation
By W.H. Griffith Thomas, D. D. Famous Bible Scholar of Wycliffe College, Toronto, Canada
N°TE*T.he following address was delivered at the Montrose Bible Con ference, Montrose, Pa., on Saturday, July 31, 1915, by Dr. Thomas of Wycliffe College, Toronto, Canada.— E ditor .
goers, but some had actually worked against the Christian religion. Nevertheless, as they thought of the possibility of three years’ solitary confinement, the Bible in that large number of instances was put first of the three books that they desired to have with them. - It is a fine testi mony to that Book which enters into everything in Christianity. The Bible touches the" Christian life at all points, and for this reason it is essential for us to be clear as to what the Bible is, and in what respects it affects our thought and action. This is a day of communication, from the crudest form up to wireless telegraphy arid aeroplanes; but the suprente question is whether it is
EVERAL years ago an ■ O p R i enterprising p r e s s m a n wrote to a hundred men Jj representing various po- ^s^ ci ¿ l )\ sitions and classes in Eng land—peers of the realm, members of the House of Commons, .profes sional men, merchants, and others;— with this inquiry: “Suppose you were condemned to three years’ solitary imprisonment, and could take with you only three books, which three would you select? Please state them in the order of your preference.” Ninety-eight out of the hundred put the Bible first of the three; and this is all the more remarkable because quite a number of these men were not only not Christians or even church
THE KING’S BUSINESS
852
years ago how he accounted for the spread of Islam. He said that peo ple make a great mistake in thinking that Islam is a natural religion. He said it is a supernatural religion, but supernatural from below. So that the two tests in the Old Testament were these : Is it accurate ? Is it true? ' DIVINE REVELATION. In accordance with this, God is spoken of as the God of truth. The Lord Jesus Christ is described as “the Truth.” The Holy Spirit has as one of His titles—“the Spirit of Truth.” And we are told that every one that is of the truth heareth Christ’s voice (John 18:37). Now let us proceed step by step in regard to this question of Divine revelation. I. I think I.shall carry.you all with me when I say that Revelation is pos sible. If we believe that God exists and is Almighty, then of course He can. communicate Himself to us. No one will deny the possibility of a rev elation, unless he is prepared to deny the existence of God. The Bible pre supposes, takes for granted, the exist ence of God, and never attempts to prove it. “In the beginning •God !” We must learn to do the same. Rev elation is possible, because God is, and is Almighty. II .Revelation is probable .—We ought to agree with this, for the rea son that self-revelation is natural to us. We cannot help communicating ourselves to others. Interest and love prompt the communication of self. Since, then, God is .love, the fact that He is love implies that He will —-I was going to say that He must ■—-communicate Himself, because it is the essence of love to reveal itself. Love would not be love unless it com municated itself to others. Therefore the fact that God is love suggests
possible to have communication with and from God. No one can read the Old Testament or the New without seeing indications that' the writers at any rate believed that they could and did receive communications from God. In Gen. 15:1, we first have the statement which is frequently found afterwards: “The word of the Lord came.” In the prophets again and again we find what is found in Ezek. 6 :1: “The word of the Lord came unto me.” In the Book of Leviticus, something like thirty times we read: “The . Lord spake unto Moses.” In the New Testament, John the Baptist, the last and greatest of the prophets, has the same prophetic experience— Luke 3 :2: “The word of God came unto John.” When we turn to the Epistles we find this in 1 Cor. 14:37: “Let a man acknowledge that the things which I write are the com mandments of the Lord” ; and in 1 Thess. 4:15: “This we say unto you by the word of the Lord.” A mod ern writer has well said that the prophets were absolutely convinced of receiving communications from God. Now there are two tests given in the Old Testament in regard to this matter. There were two ways in which the Israelites were to examine the credentials of every man who claimed to be a prophet of the Lord. In Deut. 18:21, 22, they were to know by the fulfillment; and with this can be compared Jer. 28:9— if the thing came to pass it was re garded as accredited. But then there was another and complementary test. They were to know by the genuine ness of the thing whether it came from the Lord (Deut. 13:1-5). It might come to pass and yet not be genuine. Just as there are spiritual istic media today, sometimes genuine communications I doubt not, but not, therefore, necessarily from God. 1 remember asking Dr. Zwemer some
THE KING’S BUSINESS
853
at least the probability of revelation. III. Revelation is necessary. —There are two things essential for life— Knowledge and Power: what Mat* thew Arnold once called “light and leading.” And surely no one can say these things are unnecessary, for we are faced with that which the Bible calls sin. Sin ' has brought uncer tainty, and this demands knowledge. Sin has brought weakness, and this necessitates power. I heed not spend any more time in proving that reve lation is necessary. In Dr. Orr’s little book, Revelation and Inspiration, it is said that there is probably no proposition on which the higher religious philosophy of the past century is more agreed than this, that all religion originates in revela tion. The only questions are, What is this revelation ? and how does it come? IV. Revelation is available. —Let us. notice how far we have traveled— Revelation is possible, and necessary. And now we must see that it is avail able. Heb. 1 :l-2 : “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son.” We believe that revelation is available in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. A person communicates him self either by acts or by words, or by both. For the first disciples, for the earliest Christian Church before our Lord’s resurrection—that is to say, for the community of His immediate followers—His Presence was a reve lation, His Person was sufficient; but we today have His words, since we have not His Presence in the sense in which they had. So we find in St. John 20:30-31 this: “Many other signs truly did Jesus . . . which are not written in this book, but these are written, that ye might believe . . . and that ■, believing ye might have
life.” For us today, the words of the Lord Jesus Christ take the place of His personal presence, and are the media of His revelation. St. Paul has the same idea in 2 Tim. 3:16-17. And so our position is just this—God has revealed Himself in nature; He has revealed Himself in providence and history; but pre-eminently He has revealed Himself in Christ for spiritual realities. A BAD MIRROR. Natural religion has never been found sufficient for human life, be cause of sin. Man’s nature has never been an adequate mirror of Divine revelation. If we would know the highest and best, as well as the deep est and worst, of which human na ture is capable, we should read Rom ans, Chap. 1, where we shall find, as Sir William Ramsay says, “St. Paul’s philosophy of history.” When we look there, and see what men had; and yet did not retain .God in their knowledge, we see the futility and the fatality of a merely natural re ligion. Of this revelation in Christ, we be lieve that the New Testament is the purest, fullest, and clearest expres sion. We are hot concerned for the moment whether the revelation came in this way or in that way. All that is essential is that this—whatever it is and however it has come—is a rev elation of God in Christ. It is at least significant to note that all the great religions have their sacred books. It would seem as though the litera scripta (written words) were a foundation, a necessary condition of all Divine revelation. We take it that the New Testament is the, clear est, fullest, and most reliable embodi ment of the Divine revelation in Christ. V. Revelation is assured. —This brings us to the heart of our present subject: Why do we believe the
THE KING’S BUSINESS
854
Victorian. And again, if I read about aeroplanes, I should know that the book was not of the 18th cen tury, but of the 20th. That is the test, like the watermark of a bank note. In that little point, as you will see, is an evidence of genuineness. HAIRS IN TJIE BILL. A gentleman once showed me an American dollar bill, and said: “This is one thing by which you can be sure of its genuineness” ; and he pointed out on the back of it some different colored hairs in the paper. He said: “That is a secret; no one knows how they are put in, and they are the evi dence of the genuineness of the bill.” Since then I almost always look for these hairs, for naturally I want to see whether a bill is genuine. The New Testament has similar evidence of genuineness. Its allus ions to Jewish, Roman and Greek his tory and customs prove its early date. Such allusions would in many cases have been impossible later. You can test this for yourselves, and, like Sir William Ramsay, you will be fully compensated for doing so. You re member he said he went out a few years ago to Asia Minor,' believing that the Acts of the Apostles was not a genuine, first-century work, but he returned convinced that it dates back to the first century, and that it was the work of St. Luke, the companion of St. Paul. (c) There is'the testirnony of ad versaries. Every opposition to Chris tianity from the first century has been directed towards the New Testament. Why did men like Celsus, Porphyry, Julian and Rousseau oppose it? If they did not think anything of this book, why did they trouble about it? Whv did they not leave it alone? And why do not men today leave it alone? Because the Bible 'does not leave them alone. What is still more important in the minds of a great
New Testament to be a Divine reve lation ? I do not refer to the Old Testament in detail, because if we can prove the New Testament, I think this carries the Old Testament with it. At any rate, we are on the ground that is most convenient for us, if we concentrate on the New Testament, and look upon that as the embodiment of a Divine revelation. There are just three steps in this argument. First, the New Testament is genuine; that is’ it is the word of those for whom it is claimed—the as sociates of Jesus Christ. This gen uineness of the New Testament may be proved in a variety of ways, and if this were merely an address oh Christian evidence it would be neces sary to elaborate. But I want to state as briefly as possible for the sake of those who are concerned with these subjects in their parishes and in their homes and colleges, some of the general reasons why we believe the New Testament to be genuine. ( a ) There is the testimony of the Church through the centuries. For this we can still refer to that familiar book, Paley’s Evidences of Christian ity. Although the second and third parts of Paley may be ignored, the first part is practically as valuable to day as it ever was. If we take Pa ley’s eleven points, written in that clear, pellucid English of which he was a master, we shall see what I mean by the testimony of the church through the centuries to the genuine ness of these books. ( b ) : There is the direct testimony of the books themselves: If we ex amine them we see clear evidence that they did come from the Apos tles’ time. If any one gave me a book purporting to be of the 18th century, and if I read in it the word “boycott,” I should say, of course, that it was not from that century. The word marks ft as modern and
THE KING’S BUSINESS
855
TRUTH UNEARTHED. Again, the explorations of Pales tine, Egypt, and Babylon go to con firm the truth of the Bible, Old and New Testaments. During the last sixty years there have been many archaeological researches, and not one has gone against the Bible, or proved it untrue. This has been shown by the work of men like Sir William Ramsay, to mention only one out of many. ? Now, if we have followed the ar gument so far in support of the gen uineness and credibility of the New Testament, we shall be prepared to take the third step. It is a leap, but I believe it is an inevitable leap. The New Testament is Divine, Supernat ural. What are the reasons for this? F irst: Supernatural creation. There is that in the Bible which is supernat ural in connection with creation. Neither in the ancient world nor in the modern do we ever get behind the truth of Gen. 1 :2. There is not one of the accounts of creation in the old world that goes further back than chaos. They start with chaos, but the Bible starts with God. The same thing is true of modern science. Science cannot reach further back than the nebular hypothesis. But that has to assume two things: the existence of nebulae, and the power to rotate; but who created the neb ulae, and who gave them the power to rotate ? The Bible goes further back, and starts from God. Second: Supernatural revelation. There is a revelation of religion in the Old Testament, whether of the Jewish ecclesiastical system or of the prophets. It is immaterial whether you take one or the other, or both, but no' one can doubt that there is a supernatural revelation, A speaker is said to have uttered Words; .and these words were declared to others and were put down; and whether we
many, is that the best scholarship of our time is bringing the New Testa ment books back to the first century. | Speaking generally, Harnack and quite a number of English and Ger man scholars are pushing back the books of the New Testament to that time at which they have always been held by the Church of Christ to have originated. Secondly, the New Testament is credible; that is, it is worthy to be believed. There are many things that are genuine, but not credible. Many works of fiction are genuine, but not credible. The Shepherd of Hernias, which is the work of the John Bun- yan of the second century, is perfect ly genuine, but not credible. So the New Testament is not only genuine, but is worthy of our belief. Why? First, because of the unblemished character of the witnesses. If we ex amine them, we shall find their char acters stand* all the tests we can ap ply. Next, because of the agreement of the facts of the New Testament with the facts of Christianity in the world. Here is Christianity today, with its ordinances of Baptism, the Lord’s Day, and the Lord’s Supper, all independent of the New Testa ment, and in existence at least thirty years before the New Testament was written ; and yet when the New Test ament and they are compared, there is an entire agreement between these facts of Christianity in the world and the truths recorded in this Book. Then, third, the contents of the New Testament do nothing but good. This is another proof of their credi bility, And I would say to those crit ics of the Bible who accuse it of mendacity, that they should drink of its springs, and they will find in its beneficent draughts of grace and truth that which will assure. them of its credibility.
THE KING’S BUSINESS
856
have prophets in the later part or the earlier part, there is supernatural rev elation. Third: A supernatural nation, the Jews. There is the well-known story of Frederick the Great asking his chaplain for the evidence of Christ ianity in a word. The man said.: “Sire, the Jew!” Here is a little country not larger than Wales, in which a nation is found absolutely unique. A modern German writer (Wellhausen) has said that’he could not understand v^hy Chemosh, the god of the Moabites, never developed into the universal god of the Jews. Of course he cannot understand it, because he looks at it from the nat uralistic point of view; but if we believe that the God of the Jews was Jehovah, the Lord of heaven and earth, we can readily understand why this nation is supernatural. Fourth: Supernatural expectation. There is that in the Old Testament which is always pointing forward to the future, especially to the coming of the Messiah. Some will remem ber that in Canon Liddon’s Bampton Lectures he says there are 333 refer ences to the Messiah in the Old Testament, and Dr. Pierson argued that, based upon mathematical grounds, the concentration of all these 333 references on on individ ual, in face of the probabilities against it, is simply marvellous. Each time you add a reference, you reduce the probability of the allusions centring on one person; and when we get to 333, and all these concentrate on one Man. the Man from the nation of the Jews, from the tribe of Judah, from the family of David, from the place mentioned in Micah (Bethle hem), we see at once the force of this extraordinary expectation. And I do not believe that there is any scholarship worthy of the name, which will deny that in the Old Test
ament there is expectation, always looking forward to some one who is to come. A PERFECT CHARACTER. Fifth: Supernatural Incarnation. Here we come face to face with the New Testament and the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ. This by itself is more than sufficient for a whole course of studies, but I only ask you to notice the portrait of Jesus Christ, the combination and balance of quali ties in Him, and the perfection of His character. I wonder whether we are all aware that not a single great master in literature has ever tried to depict a perfect character. From Homer down to the present day, we cannot find one literary genius who has attempted to depict a perfect man or woman. Who is the most perfect character in Shakespeare ? Some people think Hamlet. But he is admittedly not very perfect. Yet here is a picture, drawn by four ordi nary men, who, nevertheless, depict a perfect Character which has been the admiration of the ages! How can we account for that? I entirely agree with the statement that if these men invented Jesus, then we are in the presence of a stupendous miracle, one that is more wonderful than any we find in the Gospels. . Rousseau well said that it takes a Jesus to in vent a Jesus. . To think that these ordinary men.should put into literary form a perfect character, is to intro duce us to the supernatural. Sixth: Supernatural Manifestation. Bv this I mean the existence of the Christian Church. We fail to realize how supernatural the Church is; and bv the Church it is to be understood what the New Testament teaches—i “the blessed company of j all faithful oeople,” those who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, That Church was supernatural in its beginning, and supernatural fin its course, and is su-
THE KING’S BUSINESS
857
pernatural in its persistence to the present day. No compulsion led to membership in this Church, for every worldly advantage was against it, and yet the Church commenced and con tinued, and lasts to the present day. No wonder Tertullian said that “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church;” no wonder that all the opposition to the Christian Church has never seriously touched it. It is here today stronger than ever. There was a man in Ireland who built a wall three feet high and four feet thick. When he was asked why he did so, he said: “If the wall falls over it will be higher than ever!” And so it is with the Church; men can per secute it and devastate it, but they cannot destroy it. This supernatural manifestation is one of the greatest evidences of Christianity. Without compulsion, with everything against it, here are those who are united to the Lord Jesus Christ, and belong to Him—that is, the Christian Church; the society of saved sinners. PAUL’S TESTIMONY. Seventh: Supernatural Attestation. (a) The attestation of Paul the Apos tle. He himself is one of the great est evidences of Christianity ; his con version and his life. If his life was real, his conversion was true; and if his conversion was true, Jesus Christ rose from the dead and you have the supernatural. Dr. Parker once com mented in his own inimitable way: “Paul’s conversion is said to be due to epilepsy. Yes, before his epilepsy Paul was a blasphemer, after his con version he became a saint, a mis sionary, a hero. Fly abroad, thou mighty epilepsy!” Baur fifty years ago, and men since his day, have ad mitted that the conversion of Paul is a psychological mystery. Of course it is; and it must always be a mys tery ±o those who deny its supernat ural cause.
(b) Bible morality is another attes tation. How simple yet how suffi cient is the morality of the Bible, because it deals with principles, not with rules. I remember seeing a book called Enquire Within upon Everything. The Bible is not a book of this sort, in the sense of giving rules for everything, but it gives prin ciples. It does not say whether you are to go to the theatre, or to dance, to drink, to smoke, and the rest of it, but “Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” That is a principle which men must apply for themselves, arid in the application is found our manhood and our Christianity. This morality is Jewish and yet universal. There are ten command ments, and the proper division 01 them is not one to four and five to ten, but one to five and six to ten. The first five have, the phrase “The Lord thy God” in them, linking them together. Parents are never our neighbors, never our equals,- but the representatives of God; there fore the fifth commandment should come with the first table. Now notice these facts, Commandments one and two refer to thoughts. Commandment three, to words. Commandments four and five, to actions. Commandments six, seven, eight, to actions. Com mandment nine, to words. Command ment ten, to thoughts. That is, thoughts, words, actions towards God, and acts, words, thoughts towards man. So that these Jewish com mandments given for a number ot slaves just come out of Egypt, are equally applicable to us today! Then there has been no new moral ity in the world since Jesus Christ came to this earth. Is not that a wonderful thing? Here are we nine teen hundred years since Jesus Christ came, and yet not a new ethical prin ciple has ever been discovered or ex pressed since His time. . We have had
THE KING’S BUSINESS
858
them comes from God. They are what Tennyson calls “broken lights.” They are lights, but they are broken. But there is one great difference be tween them and Christianity: in each of these, man is : seeking God; in. Christianity, God is seeking man. These religions are aspirations; Christianity is a revelation. And so, we conclude that God has spoken, and this message is in the Bible or nowhere else. It calls for a personal test from every one of us. In the present day a great deal is said, and rightly, about the argu ment from experience. In 2 Peter 1: 16-21, we see three things—(1) Christ, (2) prophecy, and (3) expe rience—Christ as revealed to the Apostles on the Mount of Transfigur ation; then the “word of prophecy; and then the word of prophecy made more sure by the light shining, until the day dawn and the day star arises in our hearts. These are the three things—Prophecy in the Old Testa ment. | Christ in the New, and both together verified by personal experi ence—“In your hearts.” If we will put them to the test, we shall have a verification in our own souls, and then will come the strongest possible proof that the Bible comes from God. There is no other Book in tne world that will so verify itself to human experience, because it con tains and embodies a Divine revela tion. And thus we have the matter entirely in our own hands. What ever may be said about history and philosophy and morality, the crown ing point is : What is the Bible to me? And when the Bible is really and truly in my own heart and life, I cannot oossibly doubt that it comes from God. “Father of mercies, in Thy word Whaf endless glory shines ; For ever by Thy Name adored For these celestial lines!”
great phrilosophers, great poets, and great writers of prose, and yet not one of them has given an ethical idea that we cannot find' in this Book. Then, too, we notice, as Professor Romanes has said, that the world out grows the teaching of other men, but it has not outgrown the teaching of Jesus Christ. One of the most strik ing things is that'we have not out grown the teaching of the Man who lived and died in one of the narrow est countries—that of the Jews. All this is an attestation. (c) Here is the third of these proofs or attestations, namely, the re sults of Christianity. Observe the effects of Christianity on life—the Father revealing, the Son saving, and the Spirit equipping. Life is the problem, and Christ is the solution; life is the question, and Christ is the answer. If you want to see the re sults of Christianity, test it by other religions. If we would know what Confucianism has done, let us look at China; if we would know what Budd hism has done, let us look at India; if we would know what Islam has done, let us look at Turkey and Per sia. Some years ago when I wasAn Damascus, looking oyer that magnifi cent mosque which used to be a Christian church, I noticed that the Turkey carpets on the ground were all fastened together roughly with thread, and I said to the dragoman: >“Why are all these carpets fastened like this?': He said:. “To keep those who come to pray from stealing them!” This is what Islam means in the matter of ethics—it has no idea of the connection between cause and effect, between principle and prac tice. BROKEN LIGHTS. Of course, we do not despise any of these religions to which ! have re ferred. Everything that is good in
T HE Order began when, the shepherds first heard The convoy of angels repeat the glad word, “The Messiah is here!” And ratified later when they who were wise Were watching a!nd waiting to see the Star rise, Whose leading the mighty Redeemer re vealed— The Teacher, who spake and Life’s foun tain unsealed, Bade hope vanquish fear.
TRUE ORDER of the STAR in the
By M. CARRIE MOORE
EAST
B UT do you belong, and do you be lieve ?” Asked the minister of me, and now I per ceive, And the counter-sign hold; I go where I will on land or on sea, A child of the Order, none challenges me; I journey from Bethlehem, far, far away, Past Calvary’s mountain and past where He lay
IA/TOTHER told me the story long, long p -*■ago, As I sat by her side in the mystical glow Of the prophesied Star; She said I milst ever be loyal and true To Star and to Order, and onward pursue The path the Commander has blazed on His chart, • So plain that though demons exhaust every art,
They conceal not, nor mar.
Whom the traitor once sold.
/""\H yes, I believe, and oh, yes, I be long, ' I’ll tell of the Order in story and song. It’s the same Moses knew; And Abrpham joined it, and Jacob was there; And long before these, good old Enoch did share The vision Faith wrought of the Life-giv ing One— The Star, and the Virgin; and God’s only Son, Our Redeemer, who drew and who draws and makes whole, Every penitent soul. T_TE is gone from our sight—we see Him no more— He dwells in each heart that opens the door; He is coming in glory, His WORD to main tain ; To be despised? No! He whom I sing, HE IS THE KING! Los Angeles, Cal.
on Evangelists
By Dr. French E. Oliver
It is a crime against God and man for pastors to follow an.unnatural, unspiritual, unsCriptural frenzy of the flesh, because sec ular, Godless newspapers popularize as an idol, any evangelist who throws sweetened '«ops- info the lap ofWarrant, bigoted, reeking Romanism for the sake of newspaper popu larity and prestige with local commercial and political combinations; who says, “I would die, if 'I could not be in the lime light.” I say it is a crime for pastors to follow such a leader and unite to shut out talented, clean, eonsecr.ated evangelists from their cities for great union campaigns, be cause the object of carnal clamor cannot get to every city in the nation in a season or so. Greater 6ospel campaigns can be held, more lasting results secured, a spiritual at mosphere created which will bless_ the churches, if pastors will give more loyal, prayerful supportftb courageous, high-class evangelists who really want to see ten thou sand souls saved infinitely more than they want to see a check for ten, twenty or thirty thousand dollars for their services. It is an insult to God-fearing men who have .spent .from fifteen to. forty years pre- paring their methods and messages for great meetings to see the ministerial and press combinations 'seek to resolve the great cause
•"VERY evangelist should ap- / peal to the mentality and the conscience of his hearers, 'and have brains enough to __present ideas and Scriptural
truth to the people instead of depending upon acrobatic performances on the plat form, and other vaudeville tactics, or street novelties to catch the superficial, bizarre or shallow non-thinking ‘people of a city. Every evangelist who thinks more of se curing dates than getting people regenerated is a curse to the'Yity ^securing his services. Every evangelist carrying unclean helpers, who get drunk or are divorced, or practice the “laying on -of hands” on pretty girls and women, is endangering the morals of the people who have ■not formed ironclad or steel-armoured convictions regarding the sacredness of the call to Christian work. Eli’s sons were slain because of their un cleanness. Uzziaji became a leper because he tried to usurp the work of the priest. Annannias and Sapphira were killed because they lied to the Holy Spirit. Would to God there might be a complete cleaning out of the low-grade, cowardly,, sensual, ly ing; compromised, skeptical, gallery-playijlg,, grand-standing pastors and evangelists,' who degrade the work of God into subtle somnipathy—for revenue only!
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online