813
THE
KING'S BUSINESS
wounding Innocent and Ill-formed ad– mirers, not to speak of un-Christian bitterness engendered by such neces– sary debates, and injury to the cause of Christ attends upon the procedure or exclusion. But let it be noted that there Is noth– ing in the parable that opposes the stopping of the sower if he be caught in the act! When we have found one field infested and its fruitfulness ruin– ed, it Is a suggestion, at least, that we had better set a watch against the stealthy sower. That is the exact method of this hour. There are hundreds of teachers whose hands ought to be stayed from this broad-casting, and hundreds of text-books that ought to be excluded before their teachings take root in the garden of the Lord, the home, or in the greater fields, the church and the world. If men object to this on the ground that we are hindering the progress of truth, our answer is, "Prove the scien– tific accuracy of your philosophy and our protest ends." If they object to it on the ground that this is a country of free thought and free speech, let the parent and tax-payer, whose most vital interests-children-are being injured, remind such sowers that where our fence ls built and our fields begin, in– fidel liberties end! Finally, the text assures us that the season of harvest will separate the tares from the wheat. Preserve the latter; burn the former! Here again Modern– ism revolts. The very word "burn" Is an offense to it. It will not have a God who will "burn" anything and yet what else can you do with tares? They must either be burned out of the world, or the world will be ruined by them. Fire is God's figure of cleansing and is justly chosen. If thistles be burned, their seeds will not sprout again. It the dirty Iron ore, or the rocks specked with silver, be put over the flame, or
From ·whence then hath ft tares? He snld unto them, An enemy hnth done this. The •ervnuts l!mld unto him, 'Vilt thou then that we go und gnther thent up? But he l!mld, Nny, lest while ye gather UJ> the tares, ye root u1• also the whent with them. Let hoth grow together untll the harvest; and ht the time of harvest, I will say to the ren1>ers. Gather ye to– gether flrst the ture.10 and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the 'vheut into nty barn.'' (Mntt. 13:27-30,) Every true servant would like to up– root the tares. I confess to you very frankly, if it were in my power, I would take every false teacher out of every pulpit and professorship In the land. When James and John saw the Samari– tans reject Jesus, they wanted to com– mand fire to come down from heaven and consume them as Elias did. Was that to their discredit? Of their judg– ment, yes; Of their spirit, no! Judas Iscariot would never have so spoken. His religion was too Intellectually cold for any such hot indignation to burn In his breast. But listen to the rebuke of Jesus, "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of, for the Son of man is not con:ie to destroy men's lives, but to save them." That is the explanation of what follows In the text, "Nay, lest while ye · gather up the tares, ye root up the wheat with them." The Interest of the \Vheat Must be Conside1·ed. If once false teachers have taken root In the field of truth, it is hard to drive them forth without destroying the value of the field itself. It is on that account we have so few heresy trials. The falsest teacher that ever found place In pulpit or professorship can– not be tried and convicted without ex– citing the sympathy of soft-souled but otherwise godly men, and he cannot be torn from his position without un– settling scores of fawning friends. It is also a question whether any heretic can be tried, convicted and con– demned without making him appear a martyr in the eyes of many, and his just punishment works the injustice or
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