THE KING’S BUSINESS The Word of God B y A . T . P IER SON
54
V AR IOUS a ttem p ts a re m aking, in th ese days, to im p a ir confi den c e in th e claim o f th e B ible to b e th e In sp ired a n d Infallible W o rd o f G od , a n d th e sup rem e gu ide in faith a n d du ty . W e a re in th e m id st o f th e w a r o f th e ages, an d th e en em y is assaulting th e c en te r a n d stro n g h o ld o f th e C h ristian re ligion ; fo r w ith its S acred B ook is in sep a rab ly b o u n d u p its S a c red P e r son. Som e o f th e friend s o f th e B ible seek to a c com m o d a te them selves to th e po sitions o f its foes, b y giving up th e infallibility a n d in e rran cy of th e Scriptures, a n d conced ing th a t th e re a re “m istakes” an d ev en “ im m oralities” in th e Bible, b u t such d e fen d e rs o f th e W o rd of G o d claim th a t its in sp iration is to b e found, no t in th e “w o rd s,” b u t th e “ co n c e p t.” W e reg a rd this po sition as w ho lly u n ten ab le, a n d as a v irtu a l su rren d e r o f th e B ible as a D ivine Book. A n d w e lift up a w a rn ing again st such views, b y w hom so ev e r p rom u lg a ted . T h e co n ten ts o f this B ook o f Books a re especially m ad e em phatic in its v e ry title, “T h e W o rd of G o d .” R e p e a te d ly do e s th e exp re s sion occur, “Words which I com m an d th e e ,” etc. Pau l echoes th e O ld T e stam en t in th e N ew : “W hich th ing s also w e speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teachetlu” A n d h e ad d s, “ com p a rin g spiritual things w ith spiritual, which, b y no t a few, is re g a rd e d as a sim ple e x p an sion o f th e m ean ing ,” i. e., ex pressing spiritual tru th s in spiritual forms. W o rd sw o rth say s: “L anguage is th e in c a rn a tion o f th o u g h t.” Burke
re g a rd e d ev e ry w o rd in a sen tence as one o f th e feet on w hich th e sen tence w a lk s; a n d said th a t, to a lte r a w o rd , ch ang e it fo r a lo n g e r or sh o rte r one, o r give it a d ifferen t position, m igh t ch ang e th e w ho le course o f th e sentence. T h e re a re in th e B ible th o u san d s o f cases in which th e accu racy o f th e “ c o n c ep t” d e p e n d s on th e exactness o f th e “w o rd ,” an d ev en o f th e sh ad e of m e an ing which it convey s a n d b y which it is se p a ra te d from o th ers of its class. W h en G o d sough t to co n v e y to m an an a d e q u a te “ c o n c ep t” o f sp iritual tru th , th e ta sk w as th e m o re difficult from th e fa c t th a t h e av en ly th ing s w e re to b e co n v ey ed to e a rth ly m ind s a n d th ro u g h e a rth ly channels. H ow cou ld even G o d im p a rt a know ledg e o f such m a tte rs w ithou t leav ing th e d o o r o p en to serious, if n o t fatal, erro r, unless H e gu ided , a t le a st b y su p e r vision a n d con tro l, th e v e ry w o rd s in which D ivine con c ep tion s w ere c lo th ed ? No re a d e r o f th e New T e stam en t G re ek n eed s to b e to ld th a t th e w hole Epistle to th e R om an s tu rn s on a single w o rd , a n d so im p o rta n t is it th a t th e re a d e r shall n o t m isu n d e r sta n d th a t w o rd , an d th e exact sense in which it is em p loyed , th a t in R o m ans 3 :2 5 , 26, th e m e an ing is e x actly a n d re p e a te d ly defined, “T o declare, I say, a t th is tim e his rig h t eousness: th a t H e m igh t b e ju st an d th e justifier of him th a t b e liev e th in Jesu s.” T h a t is righteousness, in th e sense o f th is Epistle. A re w e to b e to ld th a t th e co n c ep t is th e in sp ired thing, n o t th e w o rd ? H ow a re w e to g et th e tru e c o n c ep t a p a rt from th e righ t w o rd ? T o fo rm a w rong con c ep tion o f justification, as h ere
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs