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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
lx Good Reasons For Attending a Bible Institute By REV. R. A . TO R R EY , D.D. 1. The student gains that knowl edge of the Bible as a whole which every Christian needs as a basis for his studies of particular doctrines and individual passages of the Word of God. In those training schools and Bible Institutes which are well organ ized, every student is required to cover the entire Bible during his course. He is compelled to read every book in the Bible according to the so-called syn thetic method of study, and has class training in this mode of study; and he is also required to give a synopsis of every chapter in the Bible, answering five questions on every chapter, these five questions giving him a grip on the chapter as a whole, in its setting. ¡ 2. He gains a ¡systematic knowledge of all the great doctrines of the Bible. He is required to study every great Bible truth as it is presented in the Bible, finding every passage in the Bible that bears upon that doctrine, and interpreting the passage as it is found in its setting in the Bible. He comes out of the training school, knowing what he believes and why he believes it, and having his views of truth in a systematic and usable shape so that he is always able to tell people just what the Bible teaches. 3. He is taught how to do personal work. This is taught in a systematic way in the classroom, and he is re quired to put the knowledge gained in the classroom into practical use in living contact' with others. He comes out of the training school an accomplished soul-winner. He knows how to diagnose the cases of the var ious men and women he meets, and how to give them from God’s own Word just the medicine they need. 4. He is taught the most modern and most aggressive methods of reach ing men. He is taught how to acquire material for addresses, and how to put the material into good shape, how to prepare addresses that produce re sults, and how to deliver the addresses so that the desired results are brought about. He learns homiletics in the most practical way, in a way that he can follow in his work all the re mainder of his life. He is never at a loss for a subject to preach about, and he always knows how to preach about it. 5. He gets a great spiritual uplift. He finds out whether he is really a regenerate man or not; and, if he is a regenerate man, he is taught how to develop a Christian character sym- ( Continued on Page 392)
itual lives. Altogether too many of the so-called “pillars of the church” who would try to impress the young people with their spirituality may be observed sitting very quietly in church; but it is not because they are exhibiting so much reverence; it is because they are sound asleep. It is no wonder that our youth enter the house of God laughing, engaged in untimely enthusiasm, and manifest ing unbounded exuberance which we oldsters have forgotten we once pos sessed. No, young people today are not the primary problem. They are only re flecting the problem as it exists in the lives, actions, and attitudes of the members of the older generation. The remedy is rather simple, but alas, it is very humiliating to us. In that sense, it is very difficult. We must first of all “set our own house in order.” We must practice what we preach. We must live what we pro fess. We must reveal the love of the Lord as it is shed abroad in our hearts. We must show a spirit of lov ing co-operation and sympathetic un derstanding, instead of a spirit of jealousy, bitterness, and bickering. It is true that young people of the world are going their merry way to hell at breakneck speed, but we must remem ber that they are merely following in the footsteps of the older people who are leading the way. Young peo ple today are to be challenged, not condemned; they are to be sympa thized with, not criticized; they are to be led, not driven. There is nothing unusually wrong \yith them that can not be directly attributed to the lead ing of the older people. As a matter of fact, the only evi dence of real revival in our country today is on the part of young people and children. They are the ones who are turning to the Lord Jesus Christ, not the older folks. The great Chris tian youth movements throughout the land, conducted by youth, led by youth, with the results primarily ben efiting youth, are an evidence of a spiritual awakening—not on the part of older people, but on the part of young people themselves. Here lies the hope for tomorrow. Criticism has been directed toward these youth movements, but that criti cism has come in the main from older people who themselves have never turned a hand toward solving the problems which exist. It is easy to criticize; it does not require much intelligence to condemn. And yet, we hear all too often words of condem nation from the lips of those who ought to be extending a helping hand, who ought to be backing every youth work that honors the Lord Jesus Christ. It is readily admitted that young people today are far from what they ought to be, but so are we. The chasm
that exists between them and the older generation must be bridged. They cannot. Understand how we feel because they have never passed through our experiences. It is up to us, therefore, to remember how we ourselves felt when we were their .age; when we thought as they are thinking, when our lives were before us as their lives are before them. And, as those years of long ago are re called, it will help us to understand and appreciate a little more their problems today. It ought to make us a bit more patient with them. It ought to challenge us to-do something in their behalf and to let them know that we and they together, in /the strength of the Lord Jesus Christ and directed by the Holy Spirit, can meet the challenge of today and do the work which is set before us to ac complish. It will do us good to recall the moving words of the poem: The Bridge Builder An old man going a lone highway Came at the evening cold and gray To a chasm vast and deep and wide. The old man crossed in the twilight dim, The sudden stream had no fears for him; But he turned when safe on the other side, And built a bridge to span the tide. “Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near, “You are wasting your time with building here. You never again will pass this way. Your journey w ill end with the closing day. You have crossed the chasm deep and wide, Why build you this bridge at evening tide?” The builder lifted his old gray head. “Good friend, in the way that I’ve come,” he said, “There followed after me today A youth whose feet must pass this way. This stream that has been as naught to me To the fair-haired youth might a pit- fall be. He, too, must cross in the twilight dim, Good friend, I am building the bridge for him.” —Silent Partner.
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