King's Business - 1915-10

THE KING’S BUSINESS

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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

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