King's Business - 1923-10

T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S

13

Still More About tke Bible Union of China (T he third and last of a series of articles by T. L. Blalock, for many years a missionary in China)

N China most, if no t all, th e high g rad e m ission schools are union schools, and th e staff of profes­ sors and teachers in these schools are divided be­ tween those of “Modernistic” views, and th e Con­ servative, or those who believe th e Bible in its en tirety , as th e Word of God. The problem of th e Bible Union is, shall we draw ou t all those teachers who are loyal to th e Bible, and tu rn students, w ith th e school as a whole, over to these “ down-grade Mod­ ern ists?” Or, shall we keep our loyal men in these schools to meet and counteract, as fa r as possible, th e ruinous teaching of th ese Liberals?- I t certainly does look as if it would be a sin against th e stud en ts to tu rn them whole­ sale, body and soul, over to th is destructive element. More­ over, th e property, buildings, etc., were paid fo r in a large p a rt by those who believe th e Bible. It is th e property of th e Conservative, as well as th e L iberal. I t would be no small problem to divide th is property, and it would be no small und ertak ing for th e (Union to rebuild. These are some of th e questions th a t even th e Bible Union of China itself is not able to decide now. As to th e Home Boards and contributors, th e re seems nothing to be done b u t to have th e m issionaries “ tagged.” T hat is, they m ust be “ labeled” as sound and absolutely free from modern tendencies, evolutionary theories abou t th e Bible, etc. This is to be insisted on by th e “Union,” fo r th e safety of th e cause in China. Moreover, th e con tribu to rs m u s t'“ ta g ” th e ir contributions. If it is fo r evolutionistic teachers, higher critics, liberals and modernists, le t it be so stated. And if it is for Bible-loving and Bible-believing Conservatives, le t it so be stated. This will requ ire a g reat deal of care in all mission work, and may lead to hard and fast lines of division in all de- nom inations— at- least- in some churches and in some sec­ tions of the home land. But b etter th is a thousand times, th a n a compromise w ith these “Modernists” a t th e expense of God’s Word, and all th a t Christ and Christianity stand s fo r to a lost and ruined world. I have w ritten a t leng th about th e situ ation in China,

th a t tru e Bible-loving churches and Christians a t home may see th e real conditions in China in mission work, and th e problem th e F undam entalists in China and everywhere have to grapple w ith. In China th e problem is magnified when we remember th a t th e elder b ro th er of “Modernism” (th a t is, Darw inian evolution) is already strongly fortified in all government schools, so th a t all th e schools of China are hot-beds of Atheism and Bible-denying theories. A splendid soil, th is, fo r those “Modernists” 'w i th th e ir theories of Theistic Evolution! Add to th is, th e fact th a t a conserva­ tive estim ate is th a t about half of th e m issionary body of China is tain ted w ith, or more or less under th e spell of th is “Modern D iana of Ephesus,” and we get some estim ate of w hether th e opposition is simply a man of straw or not. Some one may ask, w hat business is th is of m ine? I t is mine, as it is th a t of every loyal believer in th e whole tru th , a whole Bible. To be silent and not te ll where we stand, and to fail to defend th e tru th , as once delivered to the saints, against these inroads of destructive criticism , is to become guilty ourselves. It is tru e, our own little Mis­ sion, and all who support us, so fa r as I know, are perfectly loyal to the tru th , b u t we are not free from th e pernicious effects of th is evil even in our own little churches; fo r it stalk s abroad in the land in th e form of school and re ­ ligious literatu re , as well as in th e form of m issionaries and converts. To my own u tte r surprise, it was ’found a couple of years ago in our little church a t--------------------- in th e guise of a Sunday school teacher, doing its dire work among studen ts and teachers of th e church and Sun­ day school. This Sunday school teacher was n o t to blame so much, for he had b e e n ' woefully sinned ag a in st in one of these evolutionistic Christian (?) colleges in China. So you may le t it alone if you will, b u t be su re it will not let you alone: The tim e has come, th e w orld-over, when th e re is no n eu tra l ground on th is question. We are either for or against, loyal or disloyal, constructive or destruc­ tive, ^’F undam en talists” or “Modernists,” Bible-preservers, or Bible-destroyers. I t is no t a question of choice, b u t a question of w hat we are, and w hat we believe.

The Manifestations of the Divine or a Complete Summary) of the Doctrines of the Book Pastor F. E. Marsh, East London Tabernacle, England

Spirit of God travels along many lines to b ring to the term inu s of God’s revelation abou t His 1 , and one such line is found in w hat He says arding th e purpose of Christ’s m anifestation.

th e apostle said: “ the life of Jesus was made m an ifest in our m ortal flesh (2 Cor. 4 :1 0 ), and to appear before another, as when Christ “ appeared” unto th e eleven dis­ ciples in th e upper room (Mark 16 :14 ). (1) GOD,— or “Christ, th e M anifestation of God’s P er­ son.” “God m an ifest in th e flesh” (1 Tim. 3 :1 6 ). Christ is God expressed in living characters. God is no t known ap a rt from Christ, b u t He is well known if we know Him. (2 ) SIN,— or “ Christ, th e Revealer of sin ’s in iqu ity .” "The ligh t sh in eth in darkness and th e darkness compre­ hended it n o t” (John 1 :5 ). The L ight revealed th e sight-

The Greek words rendered “m an ifest” signify “ to show ,” “ to lighten,” “ to shine upon,” “ to disclose,” “ to exhibit,” and “ to reveal.” The words are used to describe “ a ligh t th a t shineth ,” (2 P ete r 1 :1 9 ), to give a rew ard “ openly” for w hat has been done “ in secret,” (Matt. 6 :4 ), to make a person “known” by announcing his presence (Mark 3 :1 2 ), to exhibit anything to ano th er so th a t it can be said it has been “ shewed” unto him (Rom. 1 :1 9 ), to reveal, as when

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