124 A Personal Testimony. nor archaeology well, and to me, as to many, to pull out one great prop was to make the whole foundation uncertain. So I floundered on for some years trying, as some of my higher critical friends are trying today, to continue to use the Bible as the Word of God and at the same time holding it of composite authorship, a curious and disastrous piece of mental gymnastics—a bridge over the chasm separating an older Bible-loving generation from a newer Bible-emanci pated race. I saw in the book a great light and glow of heat, yet shivered out in the cold. One day it occurred to me to see what the book had to say about itself. As a short, but perhaps not the best method, I took a concordance and looked out “Word,” when I found that the Bible claimed from one end to the other to be the authori tative Word ct God to man. I then tried the natural plan of taking it as my text-book of religion, as I would use a text book in any science, testing it by submitting to its conditions. I found that Christ Himself invites men (John 7 :17) to do this. I now believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, inspired in a sense utterly different from that of any merely human book. I believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God, without human father, conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary. That all men without exception are by nature sinners, alienated from God, and when thus utterly lost in sin the Son of God Himself came down to earth, and by shedding His blood upon the cross paid the infinite penalty of the guilt of the whole world. I believe he who thus receives Jesus Christ as his Saviour is born again spiritually as definitely as in his first birth, and, so born spiritually, has new privileges, appe tites and affections; that he is one body with Christ the Head and will live with Him forever. I believe no man can save himself by good works, or what is commonly known as a
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog