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I Christmas Gifts at Big Savings m ►Missionaries in foreign service should select their X I Christmas gifts now from our catalogue, and take A l advantage of the unequalled values and big sav- B L ings made possible by 10% cash discounts on orders £ \ of $50.00 or more selected from our general cata- $ L logue, except flour and sugar. Write for free copy. £ i Church orders for Christmas donations to mission- C L aries abroad receive our special attention, inelud- 5 • ing guaranteed safe delivery. Special wholesale 3) i discounts on orders from Churches, Mission Boards, £ J and other institutions. > P Foreign field secretaries can save money and worry S • by anticipating the holiday needs of their stations, i t and ordering now direct from our Wholesale De- k I partment. e C The above discounts are granted only on orders to ? missionary stations and institutions abroad and to ^ t missionaries in foreign service. All communica- \ tions and orders must be sent to our I > Missionary Bureau § i Montgomery Ward & Co. s \ Chicago, U.S.A. |
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I N RESPONSE to our Lord’s command, hundreds o f consecrated missionaries have given their lives for service in the regions beyond. They have glady left “ fa ther, mother, houses, and lands” for Christ’s sake and the Gospel’s. Today they are fopnd faithfully ministering the Word in the midst of heathen darkness, counting not the cost. At home, missionary societies this year are reporting declining receipts. Unemploy ment, business depression, but most of all, spiritual apathy and apostasy, are contrib uting to this result. They, over there, can only proceed as we stand fast. A MISSIONARY POLL 1. Are you in favor of retrenching in giv ing the Gospel to unreached peoples of earth? Give less to missions. 2. Are you in favor of simply holding the ground gained in heathen lands? Give the same to missions. 3. Are you in favor of advance, until the whole world is evangelized, and Christ returns? Give more to missions. Keep faith with God in missionary giving. WORLD EVANGELISM SPIRITUAL REVIVAL NEW TESTAMENT METHODS Christian and MissionaryAlliance 260 W est 4 4th St., N e w Y o rk , N . Y . FOR YOUR N E X T C OM M U N IO N Individual Cups Docs YOUR Church use this cleanly method? Send for SPECIAL OFFER at low prices. Tray and 36 best glasses and Cover $9.00. Glasses $1.00 dozen. Collection and Bread Plates. THOMAS COMMUNION SERVICE CO.. Box542Llma. O.
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•AFRICA INLAND MISSION Headquarters 373 Carlton Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y.
Long centuries have elapsed s i n c e i Calvary but Africa still lies under a pall i of midnight blackness, and cruel crimes * attend its devil worship. Thank God for the changes which the | Gospel of grace, preached by mission- t aries, has made in places where groups , of devoted Christians are witnessing to , the power of the blood. But the other , ninety per cent of its one hundred and ^ fifty million souls— “ How shall they hear | without a preacher?” Inland Africa and other literature sent free on request. •PRAY FOR DARK AFRICA*
earned $ 13,906 V _____- _ Chicago, earn- lastyearw ith | j G l O r 6 ^ v f f l d S ed $863 on one Process. w w w order. FOR YOUR CHURCH OR YOURSELF Make a year’s income in the next four months—without sales experience or soliciting strangersI Amazing “ Snow- Ball Plan” earns you money at once—taking orders for Individualized Process Christmas Greeting Cards. America’s fastest selling line paying biggest volume of commissions—liberal bonuses, prizes. WE FURNISH EVERYTHING FREE! We teach you what to sayand do. If you want to turn your minutes into dollars—to prepare for permanent full or part time position—write us at once. Millions of old customers waitingI T H E PROCESS CORPORATION Dept. 955-A Tr°y at 2 1st St., Chicago
YOU WILL WANT IT A beautiful book of pictures produced by rotogravure, portraying the life and work of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, is being prepared. The size is 9 by 12 inches. Among the most interesting photographs is an air view of the city of Los Angeles, showing the splendid central loca tion of the Institute. The book is not for sale. It may be obtained simply by furnishing the names and addresses of two or more friends who are at the present time strangers to the Institute but who are likely to be interested in its program of Christian education and evangelism. Use the coupon and mail it at once. The King’s Business, 536-558 S. Hope St., Los Angeles, California. Please send the Biola Pictorial to the following: Name Street Address City and State
Immanuel Hymnal T HE name of the hymnal expresses its purpose, namely, to glorify the person and work of the Redeemer of mankind. Evangelical churches will find it exactly suited to their need. I T contains nearly 600 hymns—as many o f the old favorites as are found in other hymnals. In addition, many really great hymns which have fallen out of use have been recovered. Also, a larger body of new music of first-class quality than has appeared in Amer ican hymnology since the day of Lowell Mason, a cen tury ago. Dr. John Herman Loud, Dean o f the Guild of New England Organist says:
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T 3 he K in g ’s (¡Business W illiam P. W hite , D.D., E ditor J. E. J aderquist , P h .D., M anaging E ditor Motto: “I, the Lord, do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hart it, I will keep it night and day." Isaiah 27:3. PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY AND REPRESENTING THE BIBLE INSTITUTE'OF LOS ANGELES Volume XX I August, 1930 Number 8 Table of Contents Crumbs from the King’s Table—The Editor....................................371 Editorial Comment ............................................................................... 373 Paul, a Chosen Vessel—P. W . Philpott........................-................... 375 India’s NeedS-J. Russell Howden..................................... -................377 The Holy Spirit and the Bible—Leander S. Keyser......... ..............378 The “ Red” Banners in China—Frank A. Keller..............................381 Seed Thoughts from St. Mark—Wilfred M. Hopkins....................383 Heart to Heart with Our Young Readers —Florence Nye Whitwell...... :..........-..................................... 385 Installation of New Radio Equipment.............................................. 387 Junior King’s Business— Sophie Shaw Meader................................ 389 Alumni Notes—Cutler B. Whitwell......................-................... ....-.-391 Homiletical Helps for Preachers and Teachers..............................392 International Lesson Commentary.............. 393 Our Literature Table ..... ..................................................................... 401 Notes on Christian Endeavor—Alan S. Pearce................................402 Devotional Readings :................. ..........——......——-..........................404
A Worthy, Doubly Profitable Use for Your Funds— giving you a satisfying, regularly paid life income protected against unwise investments and interest losses—-assur ing you the joy of investing in the work of training young men and women for Christian service here and abroad, the definite work to which the Bible Institute of Los Angeles has long been pledged. A Safeguarded, Enduring Investment— A BIOLA Life Annuity Agreement se cures for the purchaser of $100 or more a positive, promptly paid life interest of 4% to 10% yearly— the highest inter est rates consistent with sound annuity investment practice— every dollar pro tected against loss by time-tested safe guards. An enduring investment, every dollar working for the annuitant for the ad vancement of God’s cause without dis turbing one’s needed income. Payments Made As Wanted— These Agreements may be taken out for husband, wife, brother, sister or friend— permanently safeguarding an nuitant’s income from unwise invest ments and expenditures. Post Coupon Today for Facts and Figures that Count! Bible Institute of Los Angeles 536-558 S. Hope St., Los Angeles, Calif. W ithout obligation, please send: □ Booklet AA— “ Annuity Agreements.” □ Catalog— Biola W orth-While Books for Profitable S u m m e r Reading. Name:
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POLICY AS DEFINED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE BIBLE INSTI TUTE OF LOS ANGELES (a) T o stand fo r the in fallible W ord o f God and its great fundamental truths, (b) T o strengthen the faith of all believers, (c) T o stir young men and women to fit themselves fo r and engage in definite Christian work, (d) To make the Bible Institute o f Los Angeles known, (e) T o m a gn ify God our Father and the person, w ork and com ing o f our Lord Jesus Christ; and to teach the transform ing pow er o f the H oly Spirit in our present practical life, ( f ) To em phasize in strong, constructive m essages the great foundations o f Christian faith. 536-558 S. Hope St., BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES, Lo. Angeles, Calif.
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This Hymnal is the work of à small group o f theologians and musicians who have felt that hymn-book mak ing has fallen into stereotyped ruts and that there is need of fresh and interesting material, both text and music. In order to obtain such ma terial, extensive research was made. As a result a large body o f new music of first-class quality has been incorporated into this book. Every fifth hymn-tune is new. Yet prac tically everything of value of the older and familiar hymn-tunes has been retained. One Year’s Subscription [new or re newal] and the Hymnal— both offered $ 2‘50 The Hymnal alone sells for $1.75, while T he K ing ’ s B usiness yearly subscription is $1.25. An Outright Saving of 50c From. Akron, Ohio: “ Enclosed find twenty new subscrip tions: This makes 40 subscribers 1 have secured for your valuable paper thus far — and am working on my last ten to make it fifty new subscriptions.” From Oregon: “ The King’s Business is indispensable to me and I wish .it could be placed in every home.” A university graduate and an elder in a Presbyterian Church said: “ I get more help in the preparation of my Sunday School Lessons from The King’s Business than from all other mag azines and helps combined.” F o r
JESUS’ HABITS OF PRAYER, by S. D. Gordon. Another one of Mr. Gordon’s books on the vital sub ject of prayer—and Jesus’ depend ence upon it. Written with the clar ity and simplicity that marks all of the author’s heart-stirring writings. THE BIBLE AND SCIENCE, by I. R. Dean, M.A. A convincing book in which this pastor and Bible teacher shows how the inspiration of the Bible is proved by its wonderful harmony with the established ' facts o f science of the present day. All for $1 .00 The books alone sell for 25 cents each, while single copies of T he K ing ’ s B usiness are 25 cents each. A Value Tha t Speaks for Itself A Pastor in Pennsylvania sends this word of encouragement: “ I am enclosing money order for fifty- one subscriptions to The King’s Business. I am very glad to do this for The King’s Business as I think it is a very safe and helpful magazine. I feel tha£ by get ting the magazine into so many homes much good should result in the people who read, and also the Institute may be encouraged to get such a large list of new subscribers as practically all are new subscriptions. “ We wish for you the greatest success in the work of the Institute. In these days of modernistic tendencies we need
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The Right Estimate of Values f N the rush and hurry of life, with its pressure of daily wants and imperious appetites, our eyes be come dazzled with the glamour of the things im mediately around us. We are in danger of losing sight of the only perfect standard, and of adopting some petty, pocket measure of our own. We fill we do not know a good thing when we see it. Men fail to see things as they are. There is a sad lack of what God’s Word calls “ spiritual discernment.” We expend our enthusiasm with the ball game and the prize fight, and grow drowsy over Bible study and missions. Children have no idea of
for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures o f Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense o f the reward . . . for he. endured, as seeing him who is invisible.” To all thoughtful men, the centuries have vindicated the wisdom of Moses’ choice. He had a divine, intuitive perception of values which dominated his life. The eyes of Daniel were open to the whole immense and decisive range o f values. To him the vision came in youth, and shut him up to a course of splendid heroism. He boldly said, even in the face of death, “ My allegiance
our baskets with inferior fruits, our libraries with inferior books, our houses with inferior pictures, our minds with inferior knowledge, our hands with inferior service, and leave posterity with an inferior inheritance, simply because
to Jehovah I will not exchange for all the honor and riches of court and palace with which they over-awe me and seek to bribe my will ,1 silence my con science and force me to worship other gods.” Magnificent young man! Then look at Paul. Why did not Paul seek a career in poli tics or law or literature or busi ness, availing himself of his proud birth and aristocratic lin eage? Why did he not retire to a lonely wild on the sunny slopes of Judea and enjoy his leisure ? Because h i s human spirit was keenly alive to the supreme idea of values. His was a life dominated or swayed through and through by thé life of Him who hung upon the Cross. With what intuitive dis tinctness he put the truth when he Said, “ The things seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” Mea sure things on the broad scale
Jesus Calls Us Jesus calls us; o’er the tumult ■ O f our life’s wild, restless sea, Day by day His sweet voice soundeth, Saying, “ Christian, follow Me.” Jesus calls us from the worship O f the vain world’s golden store, From each idol that would keep us, Saying, “ Christian, love M e more.” In our joys and in our sorrows, Days o f toil and Fours o f ease, Still H e calls, in cares and pleasures, “ Christian, love Me more than these.” Jesus calls us: by Thy mercies, Saviour, may we hear Thy call, Give our hearts to Thy obedience, Serve and love Thee best o f all.
values-—a bit of glass pleases them just as much as a dia mond. The, Lord Jesus came in to the world which had lost all sense of value, and it was a part of His mission to recover and restore. Esau, who for one morsel of bread sold his birthright, and, too late for recovery, came in bitterness and tears to real ize its value, was too sorely pressed with hunger to estimate values correctly. We ought to find it much more easy to for give the semi-barbarous hunter for his folly than to forgive ourselves who live in this en
— Mrs. C. F. Alexander.
lightened day for the too frequent imitation of his im pulsive conduct. Our sensibilities are dreadfully shocked, as we recall the real nobility of Solomon in his early man hood with his rich endowment of wisdom, to see how in later years he succumbed to the pomp, pageantry and prof ligacy of court life, exchanging virtue for vice, spiritual aims for Sensual pleasures, and heaven for a harem—a pitiful example of one whose sense of values became obliterated by. sin. ■Contrast these with Abraham. At the call of God, but dimly understood, the father of the faithful went, leav ing his possessions behind, toward the place which he should afterwards receive for an inheritance. Walking in the obedience of faith it turned out to be a journey toward that “ city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Moses was the man who “ refused to be called the son o f Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people o f God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin
of eternity for the fashion of this world passes away. Find out what it means to have nothing and yet possess all things. For dll things are yours,” if you only know how to appreciate and use them. There is but one trustworthy standard of measure ment—the Word of God. One safe example—the Lord Jesus Christ. One supreme value—that is spiritual life, fashioned, inspired and perfected by this holy Word and perfect life. Other things have worth only as they con tribute to the realization of this high end, the enrichment of spiritual life. There is an immense danger of an overestimation' of money, honor, learning, .pleasure and power, as objects of pursuit or avenues o f real happiness. It is impossible to ex- aggerate the value of those qualities that enrich a noble soul, an immortal spirit—goodness, courage, devotion, con science, self-sacrifice, love, voluntary poverty, exile, suf fering, dying for others—these are the virtues that never die, but only grow brighter with the sweep of the eternal
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Biola Challenge R EPEATED statements concerning the Biola Chal lenge are justified because only so can the prayerful sympathy and practical help of the many friends of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles be enlisted. The responsi bility for the continuance and the enlargement of the min istry of the Institute rests, after all, not upon a few mem bers of the official family located at Los Angeles, but upon the world-wide circle of brethren in the Lord who believe that Biola has had a worth while record and that it can have much larger usefulness in the future. Names of many new friends are coming every day from far and near. No appeals for money have been made; but some have anticipated the needs with their offer ings. For this we are grateful. A National Advisory Committee is being formed. Well-known Christian laymen, residing in all sections of America, form this group. Further, special effort is being made in California, with good success, to obtain expressions of appreciation from, outstanding Christian men which show how highly the Institute is esteemed at home. In the early fall the climax of all these preparations and plans will come in a convocation at Los Angeles at which time, without improper publicity or unworthy meth ods, the good will of the community can be crystallized. The readers of The King’s Business will recognize from the various statements that have been made that the main purpose of all the effort is to obtain the support o f many thousands of God’s children who will pray us through to larger and better things. A rich endowment of such friends Bible Institute. Prospective Student Enrollment M OST cheering news comes from the Institute staff concerning the outlook for next year. In former years the rush of applications from intending students has generally come during the month of August. This summer as many new students had been accepted before May 15th as have usually been received by August 15th. Early in July there had already been as many reservations of rooms in the Women’s Building for next year as were in use at any time by students last winter. This goes to show that Biola is in favor with young people who desire training for Christian service. They are coming for the next school opening, September 17, 1930, in larger numbers than have appeared any opening day during the past six or seven years. It is quite within the range of possibility that the attendance during the new year will nearly approach if not equal the highest record of the Institute’s history. The announcement of the new Bible Collegiate Course has been most heartily received. Christian parents and young people are impressed with the possibility of obtain ing the cultural value of a college course with a Biblical background: The subjects of the first three years will be offered next year. • Friends and supporters of the Institute will thank God for this manifest evidence of ‘the Lord’s blessing. If He sends the students for training, as He is surely doing, He can be trusted to meet every need, ’temporal and spiritual.
years. Earthly possessions and acquisitions, however choice, have worth only as they are transmuted to these immortal traits of character. Nothing has permanent value that will not bear transportation when we leave this world. . T he N atural M an and the T hings of G od “ The natural man receiveth not the things o f the Spirit of God : for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” Sup pose that a physicist comes to lecture before a highly edu cated blind man upon the properties of light and color. The blind man is charmed with his excellency of speech, but when the lecturer leaves, a chimney sweep comes along and says, “ You know a great deal, but you do not know the first thing about color. You are blind. Come with me to a man who will give you sight.” At first the blind man is indignant, but at last he is convinced, and he goes. His sight is restored, and when the light bursts in upon him he thanks God that the chimney sweep lifted him to the level of the light instead of trying to bring the light down to the level of his blindness. Has wisdom then no place in the matter of salvation? No and yes. No, because the world through its wisdom knew not God. Yes, because we get a superior wisdom from our Lord Jesus. The apostle Paul explains it in 1 Corinthians 2 :6: “Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom o f this world, nor of the princes o f this world, that come to naught : but we speak the wisdom o f God in a mystery, irven the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory, which none o f the princes o f tins world knew : -for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord o f glory.” Surely that chimney sweep was wiser than the physicist. The physicist could not give light, but the chimney sweep could lead to the sight giver, and one hour of direct vision is worth an hundred years o f groping in darkness. A philosopher was crossing a stream. As he entered the ferryboat he picked up a pebble and said to the ferry man, “ Do you know geology?” The ferryman replied, “ No.” The learned man said, “ One quarter of your life is lost.” As they went on thè philosopher picked up a leaf that was floating in the stream and said, “ Do you know . botany?” • 1 The ferryman replied, “ No.” “ Then one half of your life is lost.” By and by they reached midstream and the philosopher, looking up to the starry heavens, said, “ Do you know astronomy ? “ No, sir.” “ Then,” said the philosopher, “ three quarters of your life is lost.” Just then the ferryman looked up the stream and saw a wall of water coming down upon them. The dam had burst. Turning to the philosopher he said, “ Sir, do you know how to swim?” “ No.” “ Thdn,” said the ferryman, “ the whole of your life is lost.” There are crises, when knowledge of botany, geology and astronomy are of no avail and the only thing that will suffice is the wisdom that cometh from above. God only is our sufficiency.
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Methods, or a Message—Which? J CCORDING to the. Presbyterian, one of the recommendations of the Council to the recent General Assembly was that in the curricula of i Seminaries there should be more practical teach- & ing. Concerning this the Editor remarks: That is the cry today in all departments o f education— more practical teaching. We recall a remark o f a very able seminary professor, some years ago, that if one could be trained in the deeper things, the practical could be learned in six months’ active service. The day has been when scholarship was emphasized in.seminaries. We greatly fear that lessening the “theoretical and technical teaching,” and emphasizing the practical, we may have good engineers, but not good preachers o f the Gospel. Let three years be spent in profound study under competent scholars, and we are not afraid but that any one who has gumption to suc ceed at all will use his learning more effectively than one trained principally to “do things.” Chance for debate on this matter. To our mind, seminaries have declined in scholarship, and the result is not so good. In support of the Editor’s opinion it would be possible to mention theological seminaries, not a few, where Greek and Hebrew are elective and very few students ever study, them; where little attention is paid to the study of theol ogy; where, in fact, all of the subjects which were the backbone of the seminary curricula of former days are slighted; whereas great emphasis is put upon “methods.” Graduates go forth with skill in methods, but without a message. — Is a Child “ Bom Criminal” ? S OME months ago Dean Shailer Mathews, o f Chi cago University, announced the opening o f a course of lectures to be delivered by noted exponents of the theory o f psychiatry in religion. The minister of the future, he said, must not-attempt to frighten people into being good by threats of hell fire, or discourage them by telling them that they are incurably wicked, but must have expert knowledge of what is psychologically or pathologically wrong with his parishioners. In other words, their “ sin fulness” might be something that could be easily cured by the psychoanalyst or the family physician. This pronouncement of Doctor Mathews is in line with much of the popular psychology and theology of the past ten or fifteen years. But it is to be noted with thanks giving that there is a very decided reaction against such opinions. And now comes a Berlin psychoanalyst, Dr. Frans Alexander, who told the First International Con gress on Mental Hygiene, at Washington, D.C., that men tal science has shown that children are born criminals and if they are allowed to follow their natural impulses they will pursue a criminal course in life. Thus it is that the Bible is again vindicated. Some people have preferred to go to the scientist and the psy chologist for their wisdom. They have sought to ignore unwelcome facts. But when science has had time to
think it over and face reality, the Biblical position is up held. There is this difference, however, that science knows no redemption, no deliverance from the penalty or power of sin. Christianity gives the only comfort that can be found, for it teaches that though men are “ born criminal” they may be born again. — 0 — The Peril of Mammonism O NE of the most significant addresses delivered before the Northern Baptist Convention was given by Dr. Frank G. Sayers, Pastor of the Baptist Temple, Youngs town, Ohio. His theme was, “ Mammonism—Chief World Rival of Jesus Christ.” He traced the dangers of Mam monism with relation to the individual, to the churches, and to the nation. Some of his most striking paragraphs are worthy of repetition and wide circulation. When this competitor o f the Lord1Jesus Christ gets into a man’s heart it completely blinds him to the things of the Spirit. When the Mammonist is ascending the altar steps of his new god, when the mind, heart and hand are all dedicated to this alluring monster, then all the love o f spiritual values will have vanished. The taste for the things o f our God will have passed away. There is also a national peril in Mammonism . . . A na tion that counts its glory by the number o f its motor cars, the amount o f its savings accounts, the average income of its citizens and its domination of the world markets, can hardly be filled with idealism. Its vision of spiritual values fades and it is endangered by becoming dreadfully cal loused. This same peril threatens Christian churches. Mam monism will rob the church o f a single eye to the glory o f her Christ. . . . The revelator, John, predicted that the latter church would be bossed by the spirit o f Mam monism. “We are rich and have need o f nothing,” said the Laodiceans. Yet the very Christ she professed to love stood outside her door, knocking, saying, “If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him.” Truly America’s material prosperity has not been an unmixed blessing. When Christians begin to be controlled by the spirit that says, “ Let us buy, accumulate and enjoy to the full the fruits of our toil in this life,” they are in danger of losing the vision the Master gave them when they were born again. The Lord Jesus Christ says to His disciples, “Sell that ye have and, give alms; make for your selves purses which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that fadeth not, where no thief draweth near, neither moth destroyeth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Must the Church “ Rise to the Occasion” ? ACCORDING to press reports, Dr. Fred B. Smith, jfi.M oderator of the National Council of Congregational Churches of the United States, painted a very gloomy pic ture of the world situation of the Church in a recent ad dress to the International Congregational Council which gathered at Bournemouth, England. He looked at the political situation and found it to be “ one of turmoil.” The economic situation, he said, was “ even jnore chaotic.” The
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The outlook, to Doctor Gilkey, seems very dark and discouraging, for he said: Your generation will see a terrific mortality among churches, and the tendency will continue for the next fifty years. IThe' churches that áre able to understand will re main by adjusting themselves to the new situation, thus guaranteeing their own future. It is difficult to see how Doctor Gilkey can properly draw a parallel between the history of the theater and the history of Christianity, unless indeed he believes that the Church of Jesus Christ is a purely human institution against which the gates of Hades can easily prevail. Nor can one readily see that the causes for the anticipated col lapse of the churches which he names are so very dif ferent from what Christianity has always faced. There have always been perplexities. Youth has always been rest less. Christianity has constantly had competition. The clue to his main point is discoverable in the remark about the mistakes o f the clergy of a former generation, which is evidently a fling at the old orthodoxy. Doctor Gilkey believes in the survival of a remnant because “ many people, who have given up all religion, are not satisfied with the result, and this is a guarantee of permanency of some kind of religion, different, of course, from that o f the 1890’s.” So, then, two things are clear, according to this prophet: First, there will be a period of “ terrific mortality among the churches” ; and second, there will be permanency for the few only by “ adjusting them selves to the new situation.” This is not a new philosophy. According to Scripture, it may be traced back to the Garden of Eden where the serpent induced Adam and Eve to “adjust” themselves to the wisdom which he offered. To the fallen race thereafter God’s plea has always been for readjustment to Himself, while the tempter still maintains that the solution of the problem of life is adjustment to the course of the age. Noah and Enoch preached the necessity o f readjustment. Elijah found that many of Israel’s leaders had weakly adjusted themselves to Jezebel’s infamous program while the masses were “ limping between the two sides.” The prophet insisted upon readjustment by the destruction of the prophets and altars o f Baal and the reconstruction of the altar of Jehovah. John the Baptist proclaimed to ossified Judaism that the axe was laid at the root of the tree and called for repentance and readjustment to God. Why go farther? Church history tells the same story. John Wesley, for instance, at a time when many who were leaders of the church were demanding adjustment of Christian doctrine to prevailing scientific thought, saved the churches from a “ terrific mortality” by an appeal to heart and conscience that brought about a great revival. When Jesus stood in Pilate’s hall there had been “ adjustment” of differences between warring factions of the Jews. Pilate, too, “ adjusted” himself to the popular trend. There was one common purpose, the rejection and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Present day “ adjustments,” such as Doctor Gilkey insists upon, would of necessity be of the same sort. Indeed, appealing again to Scripture, such is the outlook before us. God speaks from heaven, not asking the Church of Jesus Christ to compromise in its attitude toward the Son of God, but advising those who "set themselves against the Lord, and against His anointed ” that they “ kiss'the Son, lest he be angry,” It is better, Then, to stick to the old paths and the old faith.
most serious fact, he observed, was that “ the very philoso phy whereby the world was organized into nations is tienaced.” He feared the supreme nationalism which is in evidence in some countries (perhaps he had in view such nations as Italy and France), and which,’ unless checked, will ultimately mean war. For the solution of the problem Dr. Smith’s only hope, it would seem, is in the Christian churches. Yet he con fessed he had almost lost courage when he realized how in effectually the churches were meeting their responsibili ties in this apparent crisis of history. He would have them show to the world that they really meant business in their refusal to approve of war, believing that if they would do so there would be a great and world-wide rally to this in sistence upon world peace. Confessing that he saw no im mediate solution of the problem, he added that he “wished the picture was more encouraging, but if the churches do not face the seriousness of the situation, they will never be able to rise to the occasion.” Dr. Smith has not, in the past, been so gloomy. He was associated with the church leaders who expected great things from the Inter-Church World Movement which promised so much and ended in great confusion a few years ago. He was also prominent in the Men and Reli gion Movement which had a brief history and left little of permanent value. He has been at least sympathetic with if not actively a part of the inner, circle of the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America. Surely these organizations, assuming to represent the Christian churches, have attempted much in the direction of a change in the social order which would work for world peace. There has been no lack of financial support. There has been an abundance of direct and indirect propaganda. As never before these who have called themselves repre sentatives of millions of Protestant church members, have attempted to sway public opinion and to change laws. What more would Dr. Smith suggest that the churches can or ought to do? The question arises, Does the Lord Jesus Christ com mit this problem to the Christian churches? Has He ever demanded and does He now demand that they shall “ rise to the occasion” and by social uplift or attempts at political action bring in millennial peace ? In other words, must the churches “ rise to the occasion,” or will He, personally, descend do the occasion at His coming again? The latter is the Scriptural view. It may not remove the immediate occasion for distress of mind, but there is no gloomy pes simism for the man whose hope is not in the churches but in the Christ of glory. Adjustment or Readjustment D R. CHARLES GORDON GILKEY, of Springfield, Mass., in a recent address to the students of Brown University, gave expression to some very pessimistic ideas about the religious situation of today. It was his opinion, he said, that Christianity is confronted by conditions as dangerous as those which have caused the complete col lapse of the theater during the last ten years. Among eauses for the threatened collapse of the churches he mentioned the mistakes of the clerp- of a former genera tion, the many perplexities in the civilization of today, the restlessness of youth, and the competition which religion faces from many directions.
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Paul, a Chosen Vessel* “H e is a chosen vessel unto me” (Acts 9:15) B y P. W . P hilpott
EASURED by consequences, next to the resur rection of Jesus Christ, the conversion of Saul of Tarsus is the greatest event of all history. When we read the story of his char acter and ministry we feel ashamed of our own Christian service. His sublime faith, his great courage, his consuming passion for the souls of the lost, his willingness to be anything or nothing in the eyes
privation, yet always sounding this lofty note of triumph: “ This one thing I do.” This man of gigantic intellect and ripest culture found no employment for his imperial ability so congenial as the preaching of the Gospel of the grace of God. And it should not be forgotten that his, the greatest of all min istries of the Christian centuries, including both the preaching of the Gospel and the writing of the inspired
of men, his joy in suffer ing for Christ’s sake, place him in a category by him self. In speaking of his con version, I would have you think of the results that followed, rather than the signs that accompanied it, such as the light which was brighter than the noonday sun or the voice from heaven heard only by Saul. These things were thrilling and it is natural to desire to enlarge upon them, but they are not the important fea tures of that great event. The change in the man him self and the results of that change extending to all sub sequent generations are the things that warrant the statement that his conver sion to Christianity is the greatest event in history since the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The transfor mation was instantaneous and complete. One moment he was breathing out threat ening and slaughter; the next, he was prone on his face crying, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to da?” From that hour, his whole life throbbed with a passion like that of his precious Lord. It ;swayed his pur pose, it commanded his ac tion, it dominated his sac
Epistles, resulted in the con version of hundreds of thousands to Jesus Christ. It was a great day for Asia, for Europe, indeed for all men during the whole Christian era, when Saul of Tarsus fell at the feet of Jesus Christ saying,, “L,ord, what wilt thou have me to do?” And it was a great day for Saul himself, for the world would never have heard of him if he had not thus surrendered himself to the Lord. A T wofold D iscovery First of all, Saul learned that J e s u s of Nazareth, whom he had hated and persecuted, was none other than “ the holy one o f Is rael,” the M e s s i a h , for whom the Hebrew people had been waiting, and that day he accepted Him as his personal Saviour. All Christian experience begins with a definite, per sonal relation to J e s u s Christ. Some time ago a minister who might be classed as a “ liberal,” said to me that one of the objec tions that he had to the brethren who are so strong for the Bible is that we make a “man’s salvation depend upon the acceptance of certain dogma.” I was
God’s Way is Best B y A ustin W . C onklin
I know not where my Lord may lead — O’er barren plain, or grassy mead; Through valley, or on mountain crest; But where He leads, I know ’ tis best. I know not what a day may bring O f perfect health, or suffering; O f rich delights or deep distress ,— Keen disappointment or success. Nor do I khcnv at morning sun I f life shall last till day is done. But this I know—come toil or rest, God always sends me what is best.
God often sends me joy through pain; Through bitter loss, divinest gain. Yet through it all—dark days or bright- I know my Father leads aright.
And when life’s evening shadows fall, And I shall hear the final call, I ’ll lean my head upon His breast, And say, “Dear Lord, Thy way is best!” —Methodist Protestant Recorder.
rifice. He counted not his life dear unto himself that he might prove faithful in his ministry. He made himself, by a remarkable adjustment, “ all things to all men” that he might win some. He warned men night and day. In a mihistry not only in the church but from house to house, he was ever enduring hardship, suffering persecution and ♦Baccalaureate Sermon, Bible Institute o f Los Angeles, delivered in'the Church o f the Open Door, Los Angeles, Calif., June IS, 1930.
greatly surprised to hear him make such a statement and I said to him, “ I do not know any minister of the Gospel who would make a soul’s salvation depend upon the acceptance o f religious dogma. W e believe that the salvation o f the sinner depends upon his relation to Jesus Christ. ‘He that hath the Son, hath life; and he that hath not the Son o f God, hath not life’ ” (1 John 5 :10-12). Secondly, Saul discovered that God had a. plan for his life. He did not know it before, and he never would have
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removed from his feet and his face covered, he drew near to God and heard His voice saying unto him: “ I am the God o f thy father . . . I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason o f their taskmasters; fo r I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them . . . Come now, therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people, the children o f Israel, out o f Egypt. And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children o f Israel out o f Egypt” (Ex. 3 :6 -ll) ? The Lord said practically this: “ I have waited all these years for you to get this opinion of yourself. Now you are usable. Certainly I will be with thee.” Is some one now asking, How may I know the plan of God for my life? There is just one way to find it out, the way that Saul took—by an absolute surrender to Christ— to go AS He leads, to go WHERE He leads, and to go WHEN He leads. It might be summed up in the words of this great apostle: “ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies o f God, that ye present your bodies; a liv ing sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service . . . That ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will o f God” (Rom. 12 : 1 , 2 ) . How G od U sed O ne Y ielded L ife A few years ago, a man whom God blessed as few men have been blessed since the days of the apostles, went Home to his reward. When D. L. Moody died, one of the leading daily papers of the city in which he lived came out in glaring headlines with the statement: “ Chicago’s Most Notable Citizen Has Passed Away.” Professor Hehry Drummond said of him, in McClure’s Magazine: “ America possesses no greater personality. No American has rendered greater service to his country than has this man.” Dr. John R. Mott, in an article in the American Magazine on “ The Seven Greatest Men that I Have Known,” gave D. L. Moody first place. Dr. Robert E. Speer spoke of him as a combination o f General Grant, John 6 . Gough, Abraham Lincoln, Charles H. Spurgeon, and a few others; but he says that he was none of them— “ He was just his great self, a torrent of love and power set to sweep men unto God.” When yoti seek for the secret o f Moody’s marvelous life and ministry, you find it is the same as that of Saul of Tarsus—he was absolutely surrendered to the will of his God. On one occasion a great evangelist said, “ The world has yet to see what God can do through a man wholly yielded to His will.” And Moody said in his heart, “ Lord, I would be that man!” Mr. Moody was a great evangelist, leading many thou sands to Jesus Christ, and one might say, moving whole continents toward the Cross of Christ. He was also a great educator, the founder of the first Bible Institute through which have passed many thousands .of students. Approximately fourteen hundred o f them have gone to the regions beyond, ministering to the heathen; and over fifteen hundred others have become pastors of churches in America and Canada. Besides, he founded schools for young men and women at Northfield, Massachusetts, His ministry is today being multiplied through the multi tudes that he inspired by his consecration and his example. Surrender your life to the Lord Jesus Christ. I do not say that He will make of you a Paul or a Spurgeon or a Moody, but when your all is yielded to Him, He will surely use you up to the limit of His grace and power.
found it out had he not yielded himself to the control of the Spirit o f the living God. “ Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” was his cry. “ And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.” Cecil Rhodes, of South African fame, once said: “ I f there is a God and He cares for men, then the most important thing for me is to find out what He wants me to do, and go and do it.” Surely there can be no more important thing for any one of us to do than to find out what the plan of God is for our lives. Some of us have lived long enough to know that His will is not only the holiest and safest thing for us, but it is the happiest. A R evised O pinion . As we study the story of the conversion of Saul we learn another very important lesson. He was not chosen because of his talents or brilliant gifts. W e are very apt to magnify the man rather than the grace of God. Paul never thought o f glorying in his native or acquired ability. He said, “By the grace o f God I am what I am.” But before he had a soul vision of Jesus Christ, he thought very highly of himself— “a Hebrew o f the Hebrews,” “a Pharisee o f the Pharisees,” and as touching the law, “ blameless.” He revised his opinion of himself when he saw his Lord. “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord : for whom I have suffered the loss o f all things . . . that I may . . . be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is o f the law, but that which is through the faith o f C h r i s t (Phil. 3:7-9). He now feels it an honor to be able to say, “ I am the chief of sinners” and “ less than the least o f all saints.” When we come face to face with our precious Lord, we are cured of self-righteousness.. A vision of Him kills human pride and conceit. Since my eyes have looked on Jesus, In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians he makes known the secret of God’s choice o f His servants. “ For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty ', not many noble, are called: but God hath chosen the foolish things o f the world, to con found- the wise; and Cod hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things o f the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are; that no flesh should glory in his presence” (1 Cor. 1 :27-29). When God would do a great work, He looks for a ser vant who is small enough in his own estimation to allow God to use him. Moses, the great lawgiver and leader of fsrafel, was the logical man to lead the people from the land of bondage to Canaan. W e are told that he was trained in all the wisdom and ways of the Egyptians. He was probably the commander-in-chief of all Pharaoh’s armies, and next to the king himself, the greatest man in the land. But how dismally he failed in his first attempt to free his people! The-fact is that Moses was then too strong for God. He had too much faith in his own right arm. The arm o f flesh will fail us,- . We dare not trust our own. During forty years of exile, Moses became as meek as the sheep that he shepherded. Then one day, with shoes I’ve lost sight o f all beside, So enchained my spirit’s vision Looking at the Crucified. Q ualifications F or L eadership
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