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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
November, 1934
goats and calves, but by his own blood . . . entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemp tion for us” (Heb. 9:11, 12). Others like Menelaus, garbed as high priests, still guide in the spoliation o f the inspired W ord and the desecration o f the altar o f sacrifice. E armark : A D enial T hat J esus W as G od I ncarnate Especially offensive to a wolf beneath a fleece is faith in the God who was “made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1 :14 ). Ernest Renan, a wolf who was not ashamed o f his undisguised skin, wrote o f Jesus Christ: Whatever may be the unexpected phenomena o f the future, Jesus will not be surpassed. His worship will constantly renew its youth, the tale o f his life will cause ceaseless tears, his sufferings will soften the best hearts; all the ages will proclaim that, among the sons of men, there is none born who is greater than Jesus.* It was left for one clothed with the wool, Theodore Parker, to say: “ It is folly, even impiety, to say that God cannot create a greater soul than that o f Jesus o f Nazareth.” This same “ false prophet” once wrote: The Lord’s Supper is a heathenish rite and means very little. Cast away the elements. Let all who will come into a parlor and have a social religious meeting, eat bread and wine, if you like, or curds and cream and baked apples and have a conversation free and cheerful, on moral questions. Such a voice emanates from a den and not from a fold! E armark : D enial of the R esurrection of the B ody of C hrist Christ gave the resurrection o f His body as the sure sign o f His Messiahship. When the unbelieving Jews went to Christ and asked: “ What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. . . . [and] he spake o f the temple of his body" (John 2 :18 -21 ). The resurrection was the central theme o f all apostolic preaching. “ And with great power gave the apostles witness o f the resurrection" (Acts 4 :3 3 ). “ And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain o f the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead” (Acts 4:1, 2 ). The fleece-covered wolves o f apostolic times literally howled themselves hoarse when they heard the resurrection preached. “ O f the hope and resurrection o f the dead I am called in question” (Acts 2 3 :6 ), cried Paul as he stood before them in his day. The resurrection o f the body o f Jesus Christ remains to this day the Gibral tar o f the Christian faith. He that preaches the W ord o f God, preaches the resurrection. False prophets scoff at it. Recently, while the writer was lecturing in a Colorado city, reliable parties'informed him that the pastor o f an evangelical church in. that city stood in his pulpit on last Easter morning and read the record o f the resurrection. Then he closed the Book with the remark: “ I have read to you the Biblical account o f the resurrection o f Jesus Christ. You can believe it or not. But I want to say to you that I believe that the body o f Jesus Christ is still rotting in the grave like the body o f any other man.” A man is an swerable to God alone for his belief or unbelief. But we deny him the right to use the sanctuary o f God for the proc lamation o f his unbelief. W e deny any wolf the right to array himself in wool and go forth to devour the flock in stead o f feeding it. W e likewise deny the right o f any true flock o f God to continue feeding the w o lf!
E armark : S coffing at the S econd C oming of C hrist The Apostle Peter makes it very clear that “ the promise o f his coming” will be especially offensive to the false prophets o f the end time (2 Pet. 3 :3, 4 ). Now, the very mention o f the personal, visible, premil- lennial coming o f the “ King of the Jews” back to this earth to reign, instantly arouses the devil’s whole pack o f fleece- clothed Carnivora. Mention it, and instantly they make the night weird with their dismal howling! It arouses them to a fury verging upon hysteria. Probably they have some misgivings as to what His return will mean. So rabid is their hatred o f this truth, that we find them denying His ascension. One o f their magazines, the Christian ( ? ) Register, declares that the second coming of Christ is “ a doctrine more heinous and rotting to the soul than polygamy, witch-burning, and slavery combined.” Nearly a century ago, Strauss, the arch-rationalist o f Christendom, who died without a vestige o f faith in any thing supernatural, w rote: “ On ascension day it becomes difficult to refrain from satire. T o speak o f this event as one o f actual occurrence is simply to affront educated people at this time o f day.” Strauss, however, made no pretense at wearing “ sheep’s clothing.” But now listen to a voicef emanating from the inside o f a sheepskin: “ The marvel is not that such a picture o f the Master’s going and return should arise, [but] that, after that old wOrld had been so long outgrown, many folk still retain the old picture o f our Lord’s ascent.” By what consistency do we dub Strauss an infidel and Fosdick a saint? I f Bar-jesus, the Jew, withstanding Barnabas and Saul, and seeking to turn away the deputy, -Sergius Paulus, from the faith, is to be proclaimed a “ false prophet” and fall under the anathema o f God’s spokesman, by what law o f justice can we proclaim Harry Emerson Fosdick a “ Doctor o f Divinity” ? The appalling fact is this: The visible church is on the verge o f being torn to shreds by “ ravening wolves” that have sneaked into her folds. T he O ld A theism versus the N ew The old atheist, brazen, blatant, and blasphemous, was withal undisguised and forthright. He would annihilate the Son o f God with one fell blow, disdaining to do it by degrees, progressively stripping Him o f every attribute that makes Him God. It is the modern [new] atheist who comes to us, palavering sweetly about “ God, the infinite and eternal energy struggling within the breast o f man toward the manifestation o f perfect love” ; or, “ God, the totality o f the higher social and moral impulses” ; or, “ God, the principle o f purposiveness inherent in matter” ; or any other o f the Satanically perfumed phrases which in sistently rob Omnipotence o f all personality, and make Him a Being that man, out o f the heart o f him, can never truly worship. Imagine, if you can, praying to “ the prin ciple of purposiveness inherent in matter"! I f we must have atheists, we prefer the sort that scorn the hypocrisy o f a parade in sheep’s clothing— that stand forth utterly naked in their atheism before the eyes o f all men. However, let us never forget that it is the wool- covered atheist who is set forth in the “ sure word o f prophecy” as an outstanding portent o f the coming o f a day o f wrath—a day known to the prophets as “ the indigna tion” (Isa. 26:20, 21; Dan. 11:36; Zeph. 3 :8 ), when all “ wolves,” inside or outside “ sheep’s clothing,” shall rush vainly “ into the holes o f the rocks, and into the caves o f the earth, for fear o f the Lord, and for the glory o f his majesty” (Isa. 2 :19 ; cf. Rev. 6 :12 -17 ). 4
f Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick.
*Closing words o f Life o f Jesus, by Renan.
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