No. 6
VOL. V.
JUNE, 1914
FIFTY CENTS A YEAR
MOTTO : “ I the Lord do keep it. I will water it every moment lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.”—Isa. 27:3. THE KING’S BUSINESS R. A. TORREY, Editor J. H. SAMMIS, T. C. HORTON, J. H. HUNTER, Associate Editors Entered as Second-Class matter November 17, 1910, at the postoffice at . Los Angeles, California, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Organ of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Inc. Auditorium Building, Cor. Fifth and Olive, Los Angeles, California.
DIRECTORS
Lyman Stewart, President. William Thorn, Secretary. T. C. Horton, Superintendent. E. A. K. Hackett. S, I. Merrill.
Rev. A. B. Prichard, Vice-President. J. M. Irvine, Treasurer. R. A. Torrey, Dean. Giles Kellogg. H. A. Getz.
DOCTRINAL STATEMENT We hold to the Historic Faith of the Church as expressed in the Common Creed of Evangelical Christendom and including: The Trinity of the Godhead. The Deity of the Christ.
The Maintenance of Good Works. The Second Coming of Christ. The Immortality of the Spirit. The Resurrection of the Body. The Life Everlasting of Believers. The Endless Punishment of the Im penitent. The Reality and Personality of Satan. (5) Shop Work. Regular services in shops and factories. (6) Jewish Evangelism. Personal work among the Hebrews. (7). Bible Women. House-to-house visitation and neighborhood classes. (8) Oil Fields. A mission to men on the oil fields. (9) Books and Tracts. Sale and. dis tribution .of selected books and tracts. (10) Harbor Work. For seamen in Los Angeles harbor.
The Personality of the Holy Ghost. The Supernatural and Plenary au thority of the Holy Scriptures. The Unity in Diversity of the Church, which is the Body and Bride of Christ. The Substitutionary Atonement. The Necessity of the New Birth. p . . . » « « . The Institute trains, free of r UTp 0 5 Beost; accredited men and women, in. the knowledge and use of the Bible. n p n i r t m p n t T h e l n s t i t u t e U c p a I l III c II I Classes held daily ex cept Saturdays and Sundays. (2) Extension work. Classes and con ferences held in neighboring cities and towns. (3) Evangelistic. Meetings conducted by our evangelists. (4) Spanish Mission. Meetings every night.
OUR WORK
THE KINO’S BUSINESS
Table of Contents
Editorials: Pre-Millennialism In History—A Reply Which is Simply an Evasion—’’ Lift Up Your Eyes“ (P o em ).................. 309 The Christian Life; Our Possessions, Prospects and Possibilities. By W. H. Griffith-Thomas................ .. 312 The Fundamental Principles of Christianity in the Light of Modern Thinking. By John M. Maclnnis, B. D.................... 318 What About This Man Sunday? From the North Am erican ... 321 The Prophetic Bible Conference at Chicago. By Cassius E. Wakefield.......................... 324 “ What Went Ye Out for to See?” ( P o e m ) ........................................ 325 Studies in the Gospel According to John. By R. A . T orrey . . . 326 The International Sunday School Lessons. By J. H. S .............. 332 The Heart of the Lesson. By T . C. Horton .................................... 340 Junior Endeavor Topics. By J. K . H. S............................................ 342 A t Home and Abroad .............................................................................. 345 Hints and Helps............................................................................. ... 349 Questions and Answers. By R. A . T orrey ........................................ 353 Our Bible Women (group p icture)................................ ......... ............354 Bible Institute of Los Angeles..................................... ........................ 355 FIFTY CENTS A YEAR Published by the Bible Institute of Los Angeles Auditorium Building, Corner Fifth and Olive Streets. SUBSCRIPTION RATES =
Andrew J. Johnson, Printing, 719 W. Seventh St.
DR. TORREY'S NEW BOOK THE RETURN o f the LORD JESUS
The Key to the Scriptures, and the Solution of All Our Political and Social Problems or The Golden Age that is Soon Coming to the Earth
By R. A. TORREY, D. D. Dean of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles
The Second Coming of the Lord is most ably presented by Dr. Torrey as the most precious truth the Bible contains— the safeguard against all current heresies, errors and false hoods—the believer’s hope and joy.
The following excerpts from press notices indicate how the book is being re ceived:
sure to be widely read, as it deserves to be.” —The Life of Faith, London. “If our readers desire a concise find yet comprehensive treatise to put into the hands of an inquirer, this is the one by all means. It treats of the importance of our Lord’s coming again, its certainty, the manner of it, the results, the time, and our attitude with reference to it. It also gives a collation of Scripture passages on the second coming of Christ for individual study. We urge the study of this subject upon all our Christian brethren, both ministers and laymen, sug gesting that they could not get a better text book with which to begin the study than this of Dr. Torrey.”—Christian Workers' Maga zine, Chicago. “ This . great, evangelist, Bible teacher, scholar and author has put his whole heart into this little work. He mentions as one of the four great religious experiences of his life his realization of the Bible doctrine of Christ’s Second Coming. He says: Tt trans formed my whole idea of life, it broke the power of the world and its ambition over me, and filled my life with the most radiant op timism even under the most discouraging cir cumstances. He is absolutely true to the Scriptures and quotes both the Old Testa ment and the New Testament very freely. It is a most heartening little volume, published in good type and on splendid paper, and at the small price should have a large circula tion. It is true to the Scriptures and loyal to the Lord and will strengthen the faith, brighte nthe hope, quicken the zeal and purify the life of any true child of God wh
“Like all of Dr. Torrey's books this book is written with absolute clarity and is free from passion.”—The Pacific Presbyterian. “ The book is no exception to the author's other writings in its clear, clean-cut state ments of God's truth.”—Christian Herald of London. “Dr. Torrey offers this as ‘the key to the Scriptures.’ He finds the second coming of Christ mentioned -318 times in the 260 chap ters of the New Testament, and he considers it ‘the most precious truth the Bible con tains.’ ” “ Dr. Torrey is vigorous in his style, and his appeal is wholly to the Scriptures. This book gives a concise and reliable statement of the pre-millennarian view . by one who holds it firmly and intelligently.”—The Pres byterian, Philadelphia. “For a comparatively small book it is ex ceedingly exhaustive on the glorious theme all Christians should have so much at heart. Tt could not be simpler, and, for clear Scrip ture teaching, it is a book after our own heart.”—The Morning Star, London. “Dr. Torrey writes in the earnestness and simplicity of a profound Christian faith. He believes the Scriptures and takes God at His word. Jesus is to come again. This is his assurance, and the theme of this volume, which is full of the Scriptures.” “ The able treatment of this important sub ject which is given in these pages will, we are sure, be appreciated by many who love to think of Christ’s reappearing, and who regard it as the only remedy for the present condition of the world. Dr. Torrey's book is
Can be had in two Bindings—Cloth 50c. Paper 25c.
BIBLE INSTITUTE BOOK ROOM
LOS ANGELES
The King’s Business
Vol 5
JUNE, 1914
No. 6
Pre-Millennialism in History T HE California Christian Advocate” has recently published a series of attacks upon Premillenialism. One of these (April 16, 1914) is entitled “ Premillenialism in History.” In this it says, “ No doubt there are numbers o f people who believe naively in the teaching that Christ is soon to come to reign on earth. While if these same ones realized what fearful and revolting doctrines almost of necessity go with that teaching they would hastily abandon the belief and adopt one more in keeping with the teachings of Christ. The article then goes on to mention various more or less erratic sects who held Premillenial views, and this is given as “ Premillenialism in History.” Now that many erratic sects have held Premillenial views we are all perfectly willing to admit, but we also know that many very erratic sects have believed in the Virgin Birth of our Lord and in His Deity. What would we say of any man who attempted to write an article on “ the Doctrine of the Virgin Birth of our Lord in History,” or “ The Doctrine of the Deity of Christ in History/! who only mentioned the erratic sects that held those doctrines and drew the conclusion that “ fearful and revolting doctrines almost of necessity go with that teaching.” Such a method is thoroughly dishonest and dishonorable. We do not wonder that the writer does not sign his name. He simply says “ By a Methodist.” He might well be ashamed to give his name, but we question whether he has a right to dishonor the honored name of the denomination to which he belongs by using it in this way. The truth is that the history of Premillenialism is a most glori ous history. One even of the sects to which the article in “ The California Christian Advocate” refers in passing, viz., “ The Montanists,” was characterized by such holy living that John Wesley says, “ The Montanists in the second and third century were really Scriptural Christians.” (Moore’s Life of: Wesley, Vol. 2, Page 127). Wesley says in another place, “ Montanus was not only a_truly -good man, but one of the best men then upon earth” (Works London edition 5, Vol. II, Pages 485 and 486). Harnack, according to Bishop Hurst, “ Shows how Montanus stood by the old paths as against the Catholic hierarchical tendency” (Hurst Church History, Volume I, Page 239, Note). It has even been asserted that John Wesley was himself a Premillenarian. An attempt has been made to prove that he was not. We have no room here to go into the argument pro and con but it is given in a book to which we will refer later, which seems to establish the fact that John Wesley was a Premillenarian. However, it is not our purpose to go at length into the history of Premillenial ism at this time, as that has been done very satisfactorily in the May number of the KING’ S BUSINESS in Dr. Riley’s article on “ The Historical Ministry o f Premillenialism.” Dr. Riley’s article will show any unprejudiced and fair- minded person how absolutely unjust and contemptible is the statement made in the article in The California Christian Advocate that “ fearful and revolting doctrines almost of necessity go with that teaching,” i. e. premillenial teaching. There is, however, a book that every one should read who really wishes to know what Premillenialism has been and done in history. That book is “ The
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THE KING’S BUSINESS Lord’s Return Seen in History and in Scripture as Premillenial and Imminent.” It is written by Jesse Forest Silver, a Free Methodist minister, the introduction being written by Bishop Wilson; T- Hogue. The. book goes at length into the history of the doctrine and of the various bodies of believers that have held the doctrine. It proves Premillenialism to have been the almost universal faith of the church until^ the rise of Roman Catholicism. It shows the mightiest me? ln, ehurch in evangelism, foreign missionary enterprise, philanthropy and other lines of Christian activity to have been Premillenarians. We are sorry for the man who could use such methods in controversy as those employed by the writer of the article in The California Christian Advocate, but we are giad that the article was written because it will awaken a good many Methodists and others to examine for themselves and find out what the history of Premil-' lenahsm has really been and they will discover that it is a glorious history. A Reply Which is Simply an Evasion M R. GELESNOFF has attempted to reply to our editorial in the February number on his shocking blasphemy. In this reply he says, “He (i. e. . Dr. Torrey) represents us as saying that ‘God is the author of sin.’ yve have said nothing of the kind.” If any oner will read the editorial in ques tion they will find that we did not represent Mr. Gelesnoff “as saying that ‘God is the author of sm’,” i. e. as using those words. We gave the exact words that Mr. Gelesnoff did use and the context and showed conclusively from the con text that this was Mr. Gelesnoff’s meaning. Mr. Gelesnoff misrepresents us by his use of quotation marks as saying that he had used these very words, which we did not. But we did show by quoting exactly what he did say, and by comparing what he said in different parts of his article, that his words involved a plain declaration that God is the author of sin. O f course we avoided entirely quotation marks in thus putting in other words what Mr. Gelesnoff taught We only used quotation marks when we quoted him exactly' but Mr. Gelesnoff has put in the quotation marks in this other statement where we did not, in order that he might find a loophole to creep out of. Even in his attempted reply to our editorial, he does not come out frankly and say that he does not believe that God -is the author of sin, but goes on to argue in a way that involves the same teaching again. Mr. Gelesnoff’s statements were per fectly plain; we gave them verbatim. They taught rank and appalling blas phemy. _ We do not need to go over the matter again, for it is sufficiently treated in the February number. J ■Mr. Gelesnoff, in his reply, takes umbrage at the implication in our former editorial that he came to Chicago irom Rochester and from the tailor’s bench We did not say that he did, but in speaking o f our early acquaintance with him and how he appeared to us as a humble seeker after truth, we used these words He came to us, if we remember correctly, from Rochester and from his tailor s bench. As the connection showed, this was not intended as anv reflection ^whatever upon Mr. Gelesnoff but was spoken In praise of him as he was when he came to us. Mr-. Gelesnoff,; in his attempted reply, seems to suggest that we had some sinister motive in mentioning these supposed facts. P f y S ’ I went to Chicago neither from Rochester nor from the tailor’s ¡ ¡ B E I thWA ha^ IO° k. ed UP Mr- Gelesnoff’s papers and find that his statement is true, that he did not come to Chi ago from Rochester but from New York
THE KING’S BUSINESS 311 and we find he did not come from his tailor’s bench, but that he came from a position as waiter in a restaurant in New York. It would have been nothing against him if he had come from the tailor’s bench and was nothing against him that he came from a restaurant. He was trying to make an honest living. He was capable, of doing a higher class of work than waiting on a table in a restaurant but evidently no better work opened to him and like an honest man, he took what did open to him, and we wish to testify that when he came to Chicago, he seemed to be a very humble, teachable man and a very lovable man in many ways. There was scarcely any student in the Institute at the time toward whom we were more drawn. This is the sad part of it, and that was the point we were making in our previous editorial. The words that im- ijiediately precede the words to which Mr. Gelesnoff makes objection are> “ Our hearts are sad. Mr. Gelesnoff was formerly a student of our own at the Bible Institute in Chicago. He seemed at that time to be a humble seeker after truth. He came to us, if we remember correctly, from Rochester from the tailor’s bench.” But all this has nothing to do with the question at issue,; Mr. Gelesnoff taught and still teaches in his defense most shocking and appalling blasphemy, clearly making God to be the author of sin, though he does not use those words. We have no intention of continually attacking Mr. Gelesnoff, and very likely would not even have referred to his reply and exposed the sophistry of it if it had not have been that in our May number a reference to Mr. Gelesnoff's reply crept in without warrant. It was not even submitted to the editor in chief before printing and yet is written as if it were an editorial utterance. It was not a satisfactory dealing with Mr. Gelesnoff’s attempted reply and we are unwilling to be beld responsible for it. “Lift Up Your Eyes” L IFT up your eyes! already white The harvest calls; the fields invite. Go, gather fruit,—no common grain
Shall we who feast on Gospel fare, Christ’s purple and fine linen wear, Like Dives, blest with boundless store, Neglect the beggar at our door? Shall we who pray, “Thy kingdom come,’ Stand idly by, all. cold and dumb, While from His own the King is thrust? While trails His banner in the dust?
But souls of never-dying men. Where Satan’s hand unstayed controls A thousand million precious souls Still grope in darkness, sin and woe; No Christ, no hope, no God they know.
Lay hold on God, O ye who pray. Stand forth, ye heralds, lead the way, And let the silver trumpet sound Anear, afar, the world around.
The Christian Life: Our Possessions, Prospects and Possibilities* By W. H. GRIFFITH-THOMAS, D. D. H ITHERTO we have b6en look ing at the spiritual life, mainly from the side o f our opportuni
will read in the Revised Version, and still better in the Greek, that on your believing you were sealed with the .Holy Spirit of promise. It is well worth one’s while just sitting down quietly and saying to yourself the words, “ God has given me the Holy Spirit. It is a fact at this moment, whether I realize it or not.” 3. Thirdly, God’s love (3:1‘ ) : “ Be hold, what manner of love the Father hath given us” —what soft of love.” All through this epistle you will note that God is love, God has given us His love, and (4:16 R. V .) : “We know and have believed the love that God has in us:” not to us, but in us. God is love, and God has given His love, therefore Himself; and we know and have believed the love. Here again we are in the region o f fact, and al though the incident I am now going to refer to is familiar to a great many, I feel it is well worth while repeating in this connection. On one occasion Spurgeon was driving with a friend, and seeing a weather-vane with the words, “ God is love,” he said to his friend that that was inappropriate for God’s love was not changeable as is a weathervane. “ No,” remarked his friend, “ that is not the point; it means that God is love whatever way the wind blows!” God’s love is a fact, and is absolutely independent of our life, or emotion, or experience. 4. Fourthly, the Advocate. We have seen three texts on giving: now we shall have two texts on having. “ We have an Advocate (2 :1 ). I only ask you to notice Who is the advo cate above. The word “ advocate” comes from the Latin ad, to, and voco, to call, to call to, or to call in. Jesus Christ is the Advocate called in above, just as the Holy Spirit is the Advo-
ties and duties. But we now look at it from the Divine standpoint, both in regard to the present and the future. I. Our Possessions. I want to call your attention briefly to the words, “ Give,” “ Have,” and “Are.” God gives, we have and we are. They are all concerned with our present possessions. I have dealt a little with some of these each morning, and so I need only mention them in this connection as associated with what we possess. 1. The first of these is eternal life. In verse 11 “ God hath given to us eter nal life, and this life is in His Son.” Of course, you know that the word eternal in the New Testament when used in connection with life never re fers to duration merely but to quality as well. St. John 17 :3 contains Christ’s definition of eternal life. “ This is life eternal, that they might know Thee” by experience, “ the only true God;” and the quality is God’s own life, and our fellowship in that life, which He has given us in His Son. 2. The second is the Holy Spirit (3 :24). God has given us His Spirit. Let us just dwell upon this for a mo ment. This is a fact. When we were led to Christ how many things took place? Two: The gift of forgiveness concerning the past, and the gift of the Holy Spirit for the present and the future. Some people think that only one thing took place. The Bible says there were two, and if you will study carefully Ephesians 1 :13, you •An address delivered at the Montrose Bible Conference, 11 a. m., August, 1913.
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cate or Paraclete, the one called in below. The Lord links us to the Fa ther, and the Spirit links us to the Lord, and thus our life is absolutely Assured. We have an advocate, a Paraclete with the Father, and it is the duty of that Paraclete to deal with our sins, if we should sin. And re member, He is Jesus Christ the righteous—no partiality, no permis sion, no allowance. Jesus Christ the righteous is one who deals with the believer’s sins. Bishop Westcott some where points out that the Greek word for “ have” involves not only obtaining, but retaining—to have and to hold, to get and to keep. And if you read it thus, both in the Gospel and the Epistles o f St. John, I think you will have a very helpful suggestion. We have, we possess, we have obtained, and we retain an advocate with the Father. It is one of those permanent facts altogether independent of our life. Some years ago a man was preach ing in London from St. John 5:24, “ He that believeth hath everlasting life.” In order to point the present tense he indulged in a little phrase that was not quite grammatical, but was true theologically. “H-a-t-h spells got it.” One would not follow his English expression, but one would be thankful if every one followed the real ity of his testimony.. “ He that believ- eth hath” ; “We have an advocate.” 5. Fifthly, we have an anointing (2:20, 27). I referred to this yester day in connection with the Holy Spirit, and I only now call your attention to it in connection with the words, “ Ye have,” and “ ye know.” I wonder whether we have studied these two verses, 20, and 27, with their marvel ous revelation of the independence, in the, true sense of the word, of the be liever of human teaching, because of his being possessed of the anointing of the Holy Ghost. How often when we are reading a book like “ Butler’s An
alogy,” we wish that the author could be at our side to tell us what is meant by some of those difficult sentences. But when we open the Bible we have the Interpreter with us and in us. We have the anointing, and “ Ye know.” The Holy Ghost never gives brains where they do not exist, but He gives wonderful spiritual perception and in sight. “ God cleanses hearts in this life; He cleanses brains in the life to come.” But even now there is a great deal of spiritual insight given to an ointed ones, to those who yield them selves to God. 6. Sixthly, we are children of God (3 :2 ): “ Now are we the sons of God.” Here again you will notice it is not was, or will be, but are, and it is just as real from God’s point of view as the “ have” from ours. That is only one o f seven titles of God’s people found in .this Epistle, and I feel in clined, with Bishop Westcott, to think that whenever a title occurs, the con text is in harmony with it. Do you know the seven? Believers are called “ children,” they are called “ little chil dren,” they are called “my little boys,” they are called “ young men,” they are called “ fathers,” they are called “ brethren” ; and lastly they are called “ beloved.” Westcott suggests—and you will see it as you look at each of these passages—that the apostle has something specific to say to Christian people from those seven different points of view or aspects. 7. The seventh and last of our pos sessions is that “we are of Go d” (4 :6 ). Nothing could be more astounding, nothing could be more presumptuous if the apostle was not resting on revel ation, than for any man to say, “We are of God.” Now these are God’s facts, and as I have mentioned briefly seven, I beg o f you to ponder them, and realize that they are altogether independent of our feelings. Also never forget this—may we always have it in mind—that every fact of
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God is intended to be a factor in the life of His people. II. Our Prospects. We must now look to the future. Our possessions deal with the present, our prospects with the future. I will ask you to notice carefully what is said here of the future, because the Chris tian life must look on as well as look up. Will you bear with me if I men tion seven here, too? 1. The first is the close of the pres ent order ( 2 :17) : “ The world is pass ing away.” Just like a procession passing down the street, this old world is passing away. What a mercy this is, that the present order of things is not permanent; and that those who say, “ Where is the promise of the fu ture ?” are in the wrong, because God’s Word says that this world is not to be permanent. The world is passing away, and its lusts. Sin is not going to be forever in this universe. It had a beginning, and it will have an end ing in God’s own time and way, that God may be “ all in all.” 2. Secondly, the imminence of the coming ( 2 :18) : “ Little children, it is a last hour: and as ye heard that anti christ cometh, even now have there arisen many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last hour,” or a last hour. If St. John could say that concerning his time, we, can say it still more definitely to-day—the immi nence of the passing of the present or der and the entrance and introduction of a new order. We look abroad and see perplexities on every hand, na tional, ecclesiastical, social. We won der how these things are going to be solved. Only in one way—by the coming of that hour which will strike after this last hour has run its course. 3. Thirdly, the fact of Christ’s coming (2 :2 8 ): “ He shall appear;” the personal coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. He shall be manifested.
4. Fourthly, the sight of the Lord at that time (3 :2 ): “ We shall see Him.” How wonderful, how inex pressible that sight will b e ! Some of you perhaps remember, twenty-five or thirty years ago reading a poem, “ Yes terday, to-day, and for ever,” by the late Bishop Bickersteth, with a de scription of thfe moment when the soul was released from the body, and was taken by an angel into the presence of the Lord. And, as Miss Havergal said, you turned over the page with fear and trembling as you came to that part where the soul was to see Christ for the first time and be introduced to Him. But with unerring spiritual and poetic insight' the Bishop described that interview in the most exquisite and helpful language. Let us just think what must it be, what will it mean when we see the Lord Jesus Christ for the first time! 5. Fifthly, likeness to Christ (3 :2) : “We. shall be like Him.” We shall see, and we shall be. The sight o f Christ will transform us; we shall see Him as Fie is, and that will be the effect of the transfiguration, like His own. 6. Sixthly, “ the day of judgment” (4 :17 ).' Yes, we are looking forward to that. There is one day of judg ment past; there are three yet to come. The day of judgment past was when the Lord Jesus Christ died on the Cross, when sin was judged. The next day of judgment will be when the believers stand before the judgment seat of Christ to receive their rewards, according to their works since their conversion. There will be two more days o f judgment—the day of judg ment for the living nations when the Lord ushers in the Millennium ,Matt. 25), and of course the judgment of the Great White Throne (Rev. 20). If you and I in our Christian life do not keep “ the judgment” in mind even as believers, we shall fail at one of the most vital points of our Christian life.
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7. Seventhly, hope (3 :3 ): “ Every one that hath this hope in him.” A h ! but the “ him” is Christ, not ourselves; the hope is centered on Christ. You never look within for hope. Just as the mariner does not throw the anchor into the hold of the vessel, but out side, so our hope is to be in Him ex perimentally, personally; it is to be to wards Him, centered on! Christ. Faith looks up, hope looks on; faith accepts, hope expects; faith is concerned with the promiser, hope with the things promised; faith is past and present, hope is always future. Faith is appro priation, hope is anticipation. That is the prospect of prospects—that blessed hope, whether as an exercise of the soul, or as the object of our expecta tion. Let us live in the reality o f this sevenfold prospect. The Christian life that is not somehow or other occupied' with the future is failing at a vital point, and losing a multitude of bless ings. III. Our Possibilities. I should want at least two hours on this, my last point, but I see I have only a little while. I mean by possi bilities our attitude to all those reali ties I have tried to bring before you this week. Here again allow me to give you seven. Some of them will only need to be mentioned. 1. The first is trust. Especially in chapter 5, though mentioned once or twice before, we have the teaching of the apostle, on belief. The apostle never in any of his writings uses the noun faith, but always the verb—to have faith, to believe, to trust. In 5 :1, we are begotten by faith; in 5 :4, there is the victory Of faith; in 5:9-12, the witness of faith. That is faith receiv ing, resting, recognizing. This is our attitude of trust. 2. Secondly, the attitude of bold ness. I want to dwell on this a little more. There is one Greek word ren
dered in our Old Version, “ confi dence,” and “ boldness,” it is just the same word. It is used four times in this epistle. It is the Greek, word “ parresia,” and means freedom of speech. Twice it is found in reference to the future, and twice in reference to the present. In 2 :28: , “ And, now lit tle children, abide in Him; that when He shall appear we may have freedom of speech,” the absolute lack of re serve that marks every true friendship. I have sometimes wondered whether we might not paraphrase it thus: “ Now, little children, abide in Him; that when He shall appear we may tell Him everything.” , Then in 4:17: “ That we may have freedom of speech in the day of judg ment.” Those are the two concerning the future. And I want to speak to everybody now when I say that the Lord’s coming is not necessarily going to be a time of joy even to the believer. It is taught us clearly in the New Tes tament that there is going to be grief at the Second Advent. “ That we may have boldness, and not be ashamed be fore Him at His coming.” So that it is possible, somehow or other, for the believer to be ashamed in that day, be cause he has not been faithful to the grace given to him of Christ. But if we bear in mind the two references to confidence, or boldness, which refer to the present, we shall be able to meet Him. In 3:21 we read, “ Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then we have confidence, boldness,” toward God. Then, again in 5 :14: “ This is the boldness that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us.” Confidence with in and courage without are included in this word “ parresia.” “ O may no earth-born clouds arise To hide Thee from Thy servant’s eyes.” If there is any cloud now there will be a cloud then; if there is no cloud
316 THE KING’S now, if the bright light is shining, there will be absolute frankness' and unreserve in that day, and we shall lift up our faces without spot. 3. Thirdly, abiding. This,..., pf. course, is the apostle’s version o f the great chapter in the Gospel (1 5 ): “ Abide in Me, and I in you.” ,“ Abide in Me is the fourth of our Lord’s les sons, “ Come unto Me,” “ Learn o f Me,” “ Follow Me,’’ .“ Abide in Me.” . If you look carefully at this list in this epistle, you will find it is tworfold. We abide in Him and He abides in us. And if you study it still more carefully you will find it is associated with abid ing in Christ, and Christ in u s; abid ing in the word, and the word in us; abiding in God and God in us. And everything is summed up in 2 :17 : “ He that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” The life that lasts after the Montrose Conference is over. 4. Fourthly, confession. “Whso- ever confesseth” (4:15). This is the outward, as abiding is the inward, at titude of the soul. Confession is in tended to be a proof of the reality of those things which we possess, and you will notice them in a person’s ac tions. But I am concerned now clear ly with the believer’s confession of Christ as opposed to denial. Yester day morning we were concerned with the subject o f perils. There is a peril connected with Spiritualism, which has a bearing and must have a mention here. For in 4:2 is given the test of every spirit, “ Every spirit that con* fesseth that Tesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God.” I am told by those who have been at spiritualistic seances that the spirit never confesses that Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh; that that test has been put again and again, and the spirit has never borne witness to a belief that Jesus Christ is God Incarnate. Now, in the believer’s life, there must be this con fession, and if we do not confess we shall probably soon cease to posses:;.
BUSINESS ' There is a curious truth in that old idea of whistling to keep up your cour age. Confess and you will keep up your position. St. Paul says: “ Hold fast the confession of your hope with out wavering.” ’ ' 5. Fifthly, prayer.. In 3:22 and 5:14, we have two references to prayer. And I will only ask you to notice the simplicity and reality of prayer in this epistle. We receive be cause we obey. We receive because we ask those things and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. There you have the reality ,and the simplicity. If you want answers to' prayer, obey, and according to your obedience blessing will come. 6, Sixthly, obedience. In obe dience I include the two terms in this epistle, “ walking,” which is not very frequent, and “ keeping His. command ments.” Obedience. Why is there so much in the New Testament about walking? Perhaps it is because walk ing is one of the three perfect forms of exercise. Cycling is not bad for those who cannot walk; but walking, run ning, and swimming are three perfect forms of exercise, because they bring into play every part of our physical being. That is why I suppose golfing is so useful to those who need it; it gives them full exercise. Now let us think of this: The walk of the Chris tian is intended to express everything that the Christian can be and do. “ That all my powers with all their might, In Thy sole glory may unite.” . That is the meaning of consistency. A consistent Christian is a Christian that stands well all round, held to gether in every part (Latin consisto, to stand together in every point ) bal anced, and strong, and beautiful. And, of course, inconsistency means weak ness somewhere, weakness in some part of the being, in some part which does not stand well with the other
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istence. Then love fulfilled in word and deed will give us assurance. As I said yesterday, we must never forget that love is not a sentiment, but a fact. It is not the sentiment of love that casts out the sentiment of fear; it is the fact of love that casts' out the fact of fear. Love in word and deed will give us an assurance of our fellowship with God in daily walk, and an assur ance hereafter that will cast out every fear. And so we close. But once again let me say that we must ponder the facts and forces of life as here depict ed. Nothing short o f this is God’s purpose, nothing short o f this is our privilege, nothing short of this is our possibility, nothing short of this is God’s command, nothing short of this is. our capability. God’s order is al ways this: Fact, faith, feeling, force, —those four; and they must never be altered. We have the facts on which we rest true faith, and they produce the feeling, the emotion, the experi ence, and then they are translated into force and become factors of blessing to others. Thus God’s grace will flow through us in blessing to others. O friends, and especially brethren in the ministry, I would beg of you to look at this epistle again and again for yourself and for your flocks. Chris tian workers, ponder it as giving to us, in some respects, the highest, tru est conception o f the Christian life; and then, as we realize it for ourselves, putting ourselves at God’s disposal, we shall become channels of blessing, and out of us shall flow rivers of living water. Here is a description o f the Christian worker:— (Concluded on Page .362)
parts. That is the trouble; so' many lives are inconsistent in one point, and that spoils almost everything else which is consistent. Let us pray with all our hearts for consistent lives ex pressed in every faculty of our being. 7. I come to my last possibility, which I think is the highest in the New Testament. I speak under correction. I am very chary o f superlatives, be cause I have heard it said that one or another text was the most important in the New Testament, and as I have compared it with others, I have some times begun to wonder which is really the superlative. But here is the phrase, you can look at it for your selves: “ Love made perfect .” It oc curs four times in this epistle, and I believe it is the highest possibility of our life here and now. Look at 2 :5, “ He that keepeth God’s Word, in him is God’s love made perfect.” In 4:12, you have the love of the brethren, and in that love of the brethren God’s love' will be made perfect. So that loving our brother is a test and sign of this oneness with God. In 4:17 boldness in the day of judgment is associated with love made perfect. In 4:18 you have fearlessness. Fear is incompat ible with love made perfect. Fearless ness will always be the outcome of love that is thus realizing its com pleteness. Of course, there is no question here of sinlessness, because the word “ perfect,” in the New Testa ment, never refers to the absence of sin—it always points to the face of ripeness, maturity, realizing the end, step by step, o f our existence. And love made perfect emphasizes the ma- . turity of the Christian life at its high est point, as contrasted with the ele mentary principles of the believer’s ex
The Fundamental Principles of Christianity in the Light of Modern Thinking* By REV. JOHN M. MACINNIS, B.D. V. HE MADE IT AGAIN.
I N our last study we saw that the progress of reproducing the divine image in man was arrested by man’s sin. Sin, therefore, is an arrest, not a step forward, but something that impedes the development of the essen tial purpose of life. This, however, does not mean that this purpose is finally defeated. God being' what He is we would naturally expect Him to do something to remove this impediment and to make it possi ble for His purpose in life to be finally consummated. This would be the natural thing for a father to do, and this is the very thing that God has done. The vessel was marred in His hand, but “ He made it again another vessel.” . It is at this point that the great story o f redemption is intro duced into human history. Through sin man lost his touch with God, and as a consequence death reigned in his life. That was a natural sequence. When life is cut off from its environ ment or source of supply, it must in the nature of things wither and die. Redemption is the process by which God removes the impediment of sin and restores man to his natural ele ment. This process must deal with sin and its results. As death is the result of sin there must be an intro duction of new life into the life of humanity. In other words, if man is to be saved from sin and to the thing for which he was intended God must interfere and introduce a new force ♦An address delivered at the Montrose Bible Conference, 1913. Copyright, by Jchn M. Maclnnis, 1913.
into life—man cannot save himself. He is helpless as far as the great pur pose of his life is concerned. He can not reproduce the life of God apart from God, and he cannot possibly real ize his life apart from this, for this is the purpose of his life. Hence, when God interfered in man’s behalf he did so by giving a new manifestation of Himself through a new relation with the race. This is the story o f “ The sublime stoop of the Godhead,” as given by Luke. The story of Jesus is the record of a new manifestation of God through a new relation with hu manity. In the coming of Jesus God moved into a new relationship with the race. This is the story o f the In carnation and virgin birth, and is the heart of! the Gospel of redemption. It is the story of how God manifested Himself in flesh in order that He might win men to Himself and save them to the life of the world. How does this article o f the Christian faith stand the test o f modern thought? At first thought we may be inclined to think that this whole conception of incarnation is contrary to nature, and therefore cannot be true. However, we must not hasten to such a conclu sion. A closer study may discover to us that instead of this being contrary to nature it is in strict harmony with God’s methods in creation from the very beginning. It is not necessary for us to wait to argue that God is active in creation. Creation is still going on, and if “ Cre ative Evolution” means anything it means that there is. in the activities of the universe an active power that is
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constantly making new departures in life. It is interesting to note that in their new departures and develop ments the new is always introduced through the old. The animal life has a basis in the vegetable life, and hu man life has a basis in animal life. But in each case the advance means a new infusion of life. This was illus trated in the creation of man. The body was created and God breathed upon it and man became a living soul. That introduction of new life came through the body, but it was not of the body. The old life was there, but there was a new life introduced which made man different from all other creatures. That new life represented a new realm which meant a forward step in Creation. This same law is also seen in God’s activities in history. Every real forward movement in his tory means a new breathing of God upon the old creating a new epoch. Is not this the very thing that hap pened in the coming o f Christ? He came into human life through the gateway of the old humanity, but He was not a mere evolution of that hu manity. He was born of Mary. He was the child of a human parent, and in that relationship lifted up into His life the life of humanity. Hence He was the Son of Man. But, that is not all o f the story. God breathed upon the old humanity in the person of Mary and in that breathing moved into a new relationship with that hu manity. This meant the beginning of a new life in history which gave hu manity a new start. God came into the life of the race in strict compliance with an old method of movement, but in a wholly new and unique manifesta tion. That is the story of Luke and we know nothing at all that success fully contradicts it. When men speak of the advent of Christ as being con trary to God’s usual methods in life they wholly fail to appreciate the fun damental significance of that advent.
His coming into the World was not the advent of an ordinary prophet, but the coming of a Saviour who was to lift the race into a new consciousness of life and realize a new thing in the uni verse. In this sublime stoop of the Godhead God followed the usual method followed in creative epochs. Now may I call attention fo the fact that if Christ came into the life o f hu manity according to the law of crea tive epochs it is wholly unreasonable to expect a life along the old lines of human experience. It would be un reasonable, I say, to expect it. When God moves forward in a creative epoch new things happen. Therefore it would be unscientific to expect the ordinary in the life of Christ. True to life and life’s law the simple straightforward story o f this Gospel of Luke does not give up the story of an ordinary life, but the story of one who was separated from man. In re cent years we have been laying special stress upon the fact that Christ is one with us. He took bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. That is a glori ous fact and must not be lost sight of for a single moment. We cannot get along without the gospel which de clares that He was tempted in all points like as we are. But that is only one side of the story. The other side is that He was “ undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.” We have been losing sight of this side altogether too much in these later days. The great fact of His life as it stands out in the midst of the years is not that He was like us, but that He was absolutely unique. We have been very fond of comparing Him to the great religious teachers and leaders of the world, but the fact is we cannot honestly compare Him with them. He stands in lovely con trast holding out at its best all that is true in all the rest, but separating them from Him by an immeasurable gulf through His achievements o f life and
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character in realms never touched by the rest. Take for example the matter of character. All that you can possibly say that is strictly ethical and good about the greatest of men can be said about Christ. He was kind and lov ing, tender and strong, giving Him self to the interests o f His fellows. But this is not the remarkable thing about His character. The startling thing about Christ is that He was never more conscious of having done or said anything that was wrong. He challenged men to convict Him of sin. Men have tried very hard in modern days to find a flaw in His ethics, but they have made a sorry failure of it. This fact of His sinlessness is quite as great a miracle as is the way He came into the history o f the race. Prof. G. A. Johnson Roys has writ ten a most interesting book on “ The Universality of Jesus.” This also is a unique feature of His life and speaks of a new order in the race. He is the most masculine and strongest of men, yet, He embodies in His life and char acter all the finest in woman’s life. He was born in a little land in Asia of one o f the most distinct and sepa rate people the world has ever known. There never was a people in all the history of the race that were more peculiarly themselves. They have mingled with practically all the na tions o f the earth, but no nation has ever been found equal to the task of wholly assimilating them. Notwith standing that He was born of that race ||-a Hebrew of the Hebrews— it is practically impossible for us to think of Him as a Hebrew. He responds to all that is highest and best in every race and cannot be limited to any na tion. Here again His: universality is challenging as it stands out in con trast to all the great men of history. Moses and Paul were Hebrews, Lu
ther was a German, and Knox was a Scot, Cromwell was an Englishman, and Lincoln an American, but Jesus of Nazareth belongs to the human race. As Napoleon well said, “ Jesus Christ has succeeded in making of every human soul an appendage of His own.” This fact has not only made Him unique in His life and char acter as lived in the first century, but also in His influence upon all the cen turies. This alone is enough to sepa rate Him from all men. It is also true that instead of our modern study in comparative religion and kindred stud ies obscuring His uniqueness they have brought it out in more striking lines than it has been seen since the day o f Paul. It is harder for men to-day t6 ex plain the life and influence of Jesus as the life and influence of a mere man than it was for our fathers to defend His deity—along the old apologetic lines. Prof. Loofs o f the University of Halle-Wittenberg, Germany, in his book, “What is the Truth About Jesus Christ ?” after examining the very lat est that scholars have to say about Christ and the problem He forces upon human thought, says: “ It would be attempting impossible things if we tried to understand the historical per son of Christ.” Why ? Because it is a mystery with depths beyond the grasp of the human mind. The mys tery lies in the fact that “ God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.” Prof. Loofs further says that “No Science can prevent us from saying: the historical Jesus is the same as the Christ of faith, i. e., the Christ who was a man, but also the beginner of a new mankind, and the Christ in whose face we behold the glory of God, our Saviour and our Lord.” “He that believeth on Him shall not be put to shame,” for to believe on Him is eternal life.
What About This Man Sunday?*
T r u s t w o r t h y statistics in form us that from Tuesday to Sunday, last week, inclusive, the Rev. Billy Sunday addressed twelve meetings in Scranton, with a total at tendance of 109.200, and brought 2057 persons down the “ sawdust trail” to repentance. Twelve times in six days he swayed a great audience, throwing his whole soul into those smashing denunciations of evil and those pas sionate appeals which so move his hearers. By Sunday night he was ready for his weekly day of rest, and he spent it after the following manner: Taking a night train to Philadelphia, he was ready at 10:30 Monday morn ing for an hour’s conference with leading clergymen and laymen. At noon he spoke before 3000 students; at 3 o’clock he preached to an audi ence of equal size; at night he ad dressed a crowd of 4000, and, by an impromptu appeal at the close, drew nearly 700 voting men to the front as converts. When he was through shak ing hands with this throng he was wet from exertion and tottering with ex haustion. That night he spent in a sleeping car again. On Tuesday he was back on the job in Scranton, preached twice to rapt thousands, and by the sheer force of his commanding appeal im pelled 235 to come forward and take his hand in token of their purpose to lead a new life. Such feats of energy and endurance alone would entitle this man to fame as a marvel of physical prowess; but they are overshadowed by his other accomplishments. While here he was a guest of the University of Pennsylvania. The au diences he faced were not, as they so often are, his partisans. Many were indifferent, many merely curious, many outwardly complaisant, but inwardly
antagonistic. There were those whose sensibilities had been shocked by ac counts o f his blunt vernacular; and there -were coldly intellectual critics, whose scrutiny was utterly without sympathy. Yet in this chill atmosphere and out of these unfavorable elements he es tablished command over each audience and, as a climax, without preparation, won to his cause the largest single group of converts, perhaps, in his .career. These, too, were o f the class most difficult to reach under such cir cumstances. They were young men, with all. of youth’s carelessness and fear of ridicule, and they were under the eyes of their college associates. Yet at his word their reserve went out like the ice in a spring freshet, and they crowded forward eagerly to de clare their faith with him. The estimate of Sunday held by those who witnessed the University meetings is quite different from that held generally before he had had the test. While he was addressing one of those audiences the Rev. Russell H. Conwell was damning him with faint praise to a gathering of clergymen. He deplored the fact that evangelist« should use slang, and “ they should,” he added, “ wear clean shirts and clean collars when possible.” The good doctor, of course, was in nocent of malice, but his remark shows what a distorted impression of Sunday is abroad. The truth is that he dresses with such careful taste that he might be accused of fastidiousness. His linen is invariably immaculate—until it wilts under his strenuous platform exertions —and it is his common practice to change his clothing completely three times a day. These personal details, however, are unimportant. Billy Sunday has been here; he has done what he has done; the question is, How does he achieve
•The North American, Philadelphia.
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