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A Winner of Souls. Cfjrljhk, » 18,by Herbert©. Torey -Bible Institut« of Loe Anreles.
H. 0. T.
Herbert O. Tovey.
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= j ^ . - - r winner of souls; V n - l 'j s i r - - « — ß — S' ^ ^ a _ T r r i — 1-----------------------Lk--------------1------- r r ü r i T T - f i - m i/ V Yon are saved to be a win-ner of souls For the Saviour who loves you bo . -f — --- V-*- m --- <2i ^ t 'f -F— '■4 - - - c Soul Winner’s Number June, 1921 ilfttJkftiTffWHS R u s s ia Other Slavs and Jews Please consider these serious (acts: Russia and o th er Slavonic countries are in darkness pleading for the Gospel. 250,000,000 people a re in these countries w ith 9,000,000 Jews among them. Fewer evangelical workers are there than in New York. In past 120 years only about 350 ,000 Bibles could be obtained in the Russian language for 300 ,000 ,000 people in Russia. T he p reach ers and evangelists of Russian Bible and Evangelization Society are w inning souls to Christ. They a re working successfully under h ard circum stances to bring th e gospel to two hundred and fifty million people. They a re preaching, spreading Scriptures and tracts, b u t a t this mom ent thousands of preachers and millions of S criptures a re needed. We Are in Need of Over $300,000 T his will be used to provide help fo r over 100 experienced preachers in Russia now in w ant and distress; to m aintain the w orkers we now su ppo rt; to found Bible Schools fo r th e train ing of native p reach ers; to establish places fo r w orship; and to provide Scriptures fo r these millions w ithout the Gospel. A BIBLE PRINTING PLANT is Much Needed This would cost about $50,000, and would enable us to produce adequate supplies of S criptures a t a p rice m uch low er than they can be purchased. Demands from the field grow m ore urg en t every day. Do You Want These Millions to Have the Gospel? Invest y o u r funds for th e salvation of precious souls. O u r w ork depends on y o u r co-operation— your p ray ers and gifts. O u r monthly magazine, THE RUSSIAN HARVEST FIELD gives stirring news directly from th e field. Fifty cents a year. Send us you r nam e and you will receive th e magazine. C ontributions should b e sen t to th e T reasurer, Col. E. N. Sanctuary, 156 Fifth Avenue, New York City. A ddress all communications to th e G eneral Secretary-D irector, G. P. Raud, 156 Fifth Avenue, New York City. RUSSIAN BIBLE AND EVANGELIZATION SOCIETY Non-Sectarian 156 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK David J. Burrell, LL.D. Why has Russia been so long neglected? W hat a re you doing for Russia's millions? WINNING SOULS G. P. Raud, General Secretary-D irector Geo. C. Howes Howard A. Kelly, M.D. John Willis Baer, LL.D., LITT.D. Mark A. Matthews, D.D., LL.D. Hon. S. P. Spencer, U. S. Senator Dr. A. C. Gaebelein Sidney T. Sm ith George W. C arter Paul Rader Col. £ . N. Sanctuary, T reasurer W. Leon Tucker E dgar W. Work, D.D. T h e Lord Jesus C hrist and H is Blood and th e Bible is th e foundation of this society. T H E K IN G ’S BUS INESS MOTTO: “I, the Lord, do keep it,J will waterjit every moment, lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day/* — — >' '■ = Isa, 27:3 ~ '"■ ^Tzr-srri' ¿r:.H:^rr.-.rrr.i PUBLISHED M O N T H L Y BY TH E BIBLE IN S T IT U T E O F LOS ANGELES 536-558 SO U TH H O PE STREET, LOS ANGELES, CAL. Entered as Second-Class Matter November 17, 1910, at the Post Office at Los Angeles, California .A . under the Act of March 3, 1879 j k Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917 Jjnff authorized October 1, 1918. ' Volume XII June, 1921 . Number 6 CONTENTS E d ito rials: Get Busy (533 ), P rayer for Revival (533 ), Wake Up (534 ), The Cults Have Us On th e Run (536 ), The Quiet Hour or The Restless Hour (538 ), How Hot to Do I t (538 ), Religious Ostriches (540)» , Sentence Sermons (541) The G reatest Need of th e H our—By Dr. A. C. Dixon (542 ) , The Divine Evangelist^—By Dr. A. D. Bolden (545) R ap tu re and Soul W inning—-By D. M. Panton (549) P ro testan tism—B reakers Ahead!— By Rev. W. Arnold B ennett (552) P ersonal Soul W inning— By P. L. Smith (557) Marvelous W orkings in China (560) Evangelistic S tories (562) B ible' In stitu te Happenings (569) Hom iletical Helps (571.); j Notes on th e Jews (575) In tern atio n al Sunday Bessons (576) Daily Devotional Headings— By Dr. F. W. F a rr (597) E d ito rial A fterthough ts (604) Good Books (606) The Bible and Modem Cults— Seventh Day Adventism— By Mrs. Jessie Sage Robertson (608) Thoughts fo r Unsaved People (613) PLEASE W h en se n d in g s u b s c rip tio n s , a d d re ss co rre sp o n d e n c e to Office of T h e K in g ’s B u sin ess, B ib le I n s titu te of L o s A n g eles, 536- 558 S o u th H o p e S tre e t. C h eck s m a y be m ad e p a y a b le to B ib le I n s titu te o f L o s A n g eles. Do n o t m a k e ch e c k s o r m o n ey o rd e rs to in d iv id u a ls c o n n ected w ith th e B ib le In s titu te . Y E A R FOREIGN COUNTRIES, INCLUDING CANADA $1.24 . SINGLE COPIES 15 CENTS O N L Y O N E D O L L A R A Rev. T . C . H O R T O N , Editor in Chief Rev. KEITH L. BROOKS, M anning Editor A LA N S. PEARCE, Adi). Manager : - Contributing Editors DR. F. W . FARR DR. FR ENCH E. OLIVER REV. WM . H . PIKE DR. A . C . D IXON Invest Your Influence! (Money Is Not the Only Thing to Invest) YOU ARE A SUBSCRIBER or reader of The King’s Business. YOU HAVE BEEN HELPED by its message. HUNDRED S o f p eo p le w rite u s of th e h elp received. O FTEN ONE CO PY has revo lu tion ized a life. W H Y NOT h elp some- one else? USE YOUR INFLUENCE to g e t SUBSCRIBERS M ake it a la b o r of love fo r th e M aster. You will n ev e r know p e rh a p s w h a t will ev en tu a te from SECURING ONE SUBSCRIBER It’s Not Your Money—It’s YOU We Want YOUR TEST IMONY w ill secure others. It costs subscribers STOP RIGHT HERE AND PRAY ABOUT IT! Y ou c an b e a blessing to o th ers b y using yo u r influence. THE KING’S BUSINESS is pub lished a t a loss in cash b u t it is a g re a t inv e stm en t fo r G od . If you a re w illing to help o th ers w ith yo u r influence sign th e slip a tta c h e d an d m ail to us an d w e will send you som e helpful suggestions on H ow to Use Y ou r ( Not M o n ey ) _ INFLUENCE. 2 CENTS A WEEK LESS THAN M anager The King’s Business, 536 So. H ope Street, Los Angeles, Cal. I would like to use my influence for T he King’s Business. Name ......................... .................. —........——................................... -...... Address See Opposite Page—Also Page 609 “ Do business till I come.” “ He that winheth souls is wise.” “ Philip findeth Nathanael.” GET BUSY As soon as one is converted—has confessed Christ as Saviour and Lord ||-th.e Holy Spirit comes to take possession of the body and makes it His temple. The Spirit of God sets the convert up in business. He is a repre sentative of the Triune God in a lost world. His business is to interpret the love and grace of God to lost men. Representing the King of kings and Lord of lords, he is never to be ashamed of his calling, and he must never forget Whom and what he represents. He is responsible for faithfulness, not for results. The consciousness of the honor conferred upon him, and the eternal results dependent upon his service, must possess him every day. . He should go forth every morning, aftdr a consultation with his Employer, do his best with the goods given him, and report to his Employer before retiring every night. _ He will be assured of a sympathetic hearing and if he has been faithful, a benediction upon his head. Those who make light of him and of his wares will be eternally sorry. Those who take his goods will rejoice eternally. He will be able to “ eat, drink and be merry” for his service will give joy to his Employer, and help to fill the vacant rooms in His home. . Do you get the message? Then— GET BUSY! T. C. H. PRAYER FOR REVIVAL We quote from a circular letter sent us by “ The Great Commission Prayer League ’’ a request which we trust all of our readers will heed. “Would th a t every evangelical editor in America would PERSISTENTLY call hig readers to prayer— F o r revival in th e Church and for evangelization outside. F o r messages like— ‘No Reduction in Wages. ‘The wages of sin is death, h u t th e gift of God is etern al life through Jesus Christ our Lord’ (The Bible. Rom. 8 : 2 3 ) '— to go into every stre e t car and on thousands of bill-boards through out America. , His needs will he supplied by his Employer. His orders will he found in the Word of God. s i t m 534 T H È K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S , praye^everywhSe-in th e ^ home^ifTh SÌOnT that ?°d’S pooplè & ^lled to St0reThe t e S and °ther a?sem¿li^ iMmmm *m e m m E e s i É M M H U N ■ - I I V* . T. C. H. s é s é WAKE UP! WAKE UP! a WmmZm UgBKB!sfaeinSadanger more appalling than so h S bSaW fraught with consequences so pitiful, so merciless, a sigh or a sob? &^ * we cannot look upon babes or young people without S a t^Vh! L Í 7 Gmea" ? . B H I mean that the old subtle foe of God— fh í ~ di?ithed m ecclesiastical robes, is pussy-footing around with plaus- argUments> t^ in g us what we can do and w ha t™ canno t do, and assuming powers never bestowed by the Word of God Are you a Protestant? Do you know what the word means? m m ■ h M Christian ? •Do you know what the word means? I i M know that the evangelical church faces a problem so startling’ a condition so appalling, as to almost stagger belief?; j§ S’ better H V imi ' K ¡S S « ! alo.n?’ dreaming that the world is getting better and that the church is solving all the problems, not :conscious that n America today we are heading rapidly towards the rocks facing what has come to all .other nations—ruin . :■ ’ ng what a l t h o l i f tW a mattiir - W-e11’ 1ÌSten- We áre 5 ® hands of men who although they are well-meaning, are playing the devil’s game This countrv has been greatiy favored, founded largely by men of red blood with faith m the Bible and in the God of the Bible,- We have been t e d above every nation, but the foundations laid by our fathers are being sweDt Z f , J m R ® “ b9in* that the great need is for educated men in the m in istrv thenGhoaspehiad Thafthe traitdng ke 1 not d e f i e d to preach ™!tured and esthetic now h 7 demand a more highly edueated ministry .r oTkeos®statements aroused us, and we determined to find out whether these leaders were right and God wrong, or whether God was right and tte leaders wrong As a result of our investigation, we waL to place before you some indisputable facts. x t0 p- ce . . Dr- Carroll, who has been for years the recognized religious stati s Herawf1VeS 6 f°lloWmg fi2uresfor 1920 as published in The Christian Number of evangelical churches in the ti. S,. ;:........230 5^4 J Number of evangelical churches without ministers..l95,’926 » „ Churches without pastors....... . 34 ccq tssKm ' many pastore m rural d,striate are filling two pulpits, m 4 c h 4 L hare than in the past Our leaders a r e t e T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S 535 been abandoned, and in some places community or union churches have been established. We have not before us complete statistics, but in 1919 the Northern and Southern Baptist reports showed nearly 7730 vacant churches, and the Congregational reports, 3284. The Presbyterians had an excess of over a thousand ministers, but still over a thousand vacant churches. In order to give a fair, conservative view, we will say that there are at least 20,000 vacant churches in this country, though we believe that 25,000 would be nearer the mark. This gives us 20,000 vacant churches, and seventy millions of unevangelized people in our country. Now when and how shall we meet this growing need? The increasing population demands an increased number of churches. Can we depend upon the theo logical seminaries to meet this demand? If the position taken by many of our leaders is correct (that only college and seminary men are competent and wanted for these vacant churches) and estimating that a thousand men are graduated from our theological seminaries each year (probably five hundred would be a large estimate)—the seminaries would certainly fall far short of meeting the need of these twenty thousand vacant churches and the additional churches demanded by the increasing population, to say nothing of the needs of the foreign field. Then, remember that many of the seminaries are doping out poison m their teaching, denying the great fundamentals of the Scriptures, and sending out men with, a text book (the Bible) of the contents of which they know very little,, having been taught that it is not inspired, is full of myths and fables, and is to be interpreted to please themselves. Now, will you please get the picture of our country, faced by the perils of today : Many preachers—false brethren—filling pulpits and filling the minds of people with questions as to the authenticity of the Bible ; many of our Sunday School teachers injecting the same quality of unbelief in the Word of God ; our grade schools, high schools, colleges, universities and seminaries with few, if any, real Bible teachers but with very many teachers who delight in ridiculing the Bible; many of our churches given up to what is termed social service,” using all manner of worldly amusements and worldly methods, seeking to entertain rather than to instruct the people ; the Roman Catholic church making great inroads with its denial of thé Bible to its people, and its increasing political power; with the devil’s cults multiplying—Unitarianism, Mormonism, Russellism, Christian Science (so- called), Theosophy, Spiritism, New Thought and Agnosticism; with vacant churches and vacant pews in churches that are open ; with but few of the unconverted ever darkening the doors of the churches; with most of the accessions to the churches on confession of faith coming from the Sunday School; with a one-time holy Sabbath Day given over to a now-time “ holiday !” This is but a meagre picture. The jails and penitentiaries are filled to overflowing; criminals. of the grossest character are found among the young men and young women from our schools and colleges. Now, face the facts ! Ninertenths of the membership of our evangelical churches are from the ranks of the common people, as are also nine-tenths of our business men. These people have never ' entered a college. Many 536 T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S of them have never been beyond the grade schools. Most of the officers of our churches and teachers in our Sunday Schools 'have never been college trained. Yet some of these self-important leaders assume the prerogative of demanding that young men applying for ministerial service must have college and seminary training before they can be ordained. They say that men who have had two years of definite Bible training, such as is not given in any seminary, will not qualify thesa- men for the ministry; that the people are so highly cultured that they demand highly cultured preachers. Well, some of them are so highly cultured that they are “ up in the a ir” most of the time! '. Can you see the devil’s purpose to wreck our land? Is it not the same old game, which the devil played in Israel with the false shepherds, and which he played in Christ’s day when they said, “ Have any of the rulers of the Pharisees believed on Him?” ^ Moses was “ learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians” and yet God had to send him to keep sheep for forty years and help him to forget some of the things he had learned, before he was ready for His service. Paul was taught at the feet of Gamaliel. That would have satisfied the Pharisees, but God had to send him into the desert for three and a half years and there teach him that it was not the wisdom of men but the wisdom of God that would fit him to preach the Gospel “ in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.’” (1 Cor. 2:1-16). , And what is true of Moses and of Paul, is no less true ot Spurgeon, of Moody, and of hundreds of other men of lesser note who have known but little of the wisdom to be/found in schools and colleges and seminaries but who have been mightily used of God in the saying of souls. Are we, to whom has been committed a heritage purchased by our fathers and founded upon the open Bible for all the people, to be traitors to such a holy trust? Or are we to be Protestants and enter our protest, demanding that vacant churches shall be filled with godly men, Bible in hand, who will carry out the orders from our Captain, “ Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel;” “ Ye shall be witnesses unto me—unto the uttermost parts of the earth” ? Wake u p ! If you love your children; if you love your country; it you love yQur Lord! ■ . Who are these leaders who assume to lord it over God s* heritage? Pray for them. Plead with them. Put the facts squarely before them. Quit you like men! Be strong! . : ; T. C. H. I I H e THE CULTS HAVE US ON THE RUN It seems fitting that in our soul winners’ number we should stress the importance of tract distribution as a means of evangelism. A comparatively small number of Christian people realize the opportunity for effective service in the judicious use of well prepared tracts. The efficiency of the printed page in these times as a means of converting people is beyond question. The principal explanation of the rapid spread of heresy in the past few years has been their wise use of attractively printed,:; right to the point literature. It is strange that some Christian people have not awak ened to the value of this method. T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S 537 BY COURTESY OF COLLIER'S WEEKLY There are many who have set themselves to resist all personal efforts sub^ept° ^ L them t \ aCCept E B i They do not like to converse on the IM l l dhey resent any urgmg. There is a great advantage in such cases in the impersonal character of a tract. The reader knows it is not aimed at him individually. If it is a well worded tract, curiosity compels v ad. ltl, T„he fac*s are there. He cannot argue back. They kLp taring him in the face. Some sentences stick. Incidents in his daily affairs bring them back to his mmd. Finally it becomes a recurring inward voice just this way?1S10I1‘ H°W Pe°ple haVe been brou=ht to the Lord in , Yas receQtly related that a tract which accidentally fell into the O b r f t i a y?un^ physician nearly a century ago, led to his acceptance of Christ and his going to the foreign field with his wife. After their lives mem£r 7 nfk+ rer/ th l r children Allowed in their steps until thirty members of the family have become Christian missionaries and have given coUeetively over five hundred years to the cause of spreading the G T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S 538 traced to the work and a K. L. B. now being added. Several conversions were spiritual uplift came to many others. THE QUIET HOUR OR THE RESTLESS HOUR? A good brother in a certain large city writes us regarding his efforts to interest the laymen and ministers of the town in the observance of The Quiet Hour,” and tells of some of the replies, received, which he has tabu lated as follows: Replies from some laymen: “ Get six or seven men togeth er and go to it.” “ It has been done in New York.” . “ I can pray where I am .” “ Count me in on it.” “ I don’t have tim e.” “ Call on_me again about th is.” “ I ’m too 'bu sy ju st now.” “You are in earnest, I see.” From some ministers: “ It is a good th in g ” (coldly). “Yes, th a t is a good th ing to do” (Icicles) “You bet we need it” (in terested ). “ I ’ll do all I can to help” (earn est). “We’ll w ait on God” (a live one). “ I ’ll pray for th is th ing ” (much in te rest). , „ , “Appoint one man from each congregation of th e city to look after th is (a quick dism issal of all in te rest). “ I ’ve been th ink ing of th is for a y ear.” , “ I tried to sta rt th is once myself.” But the great thing is that one of the twenty-five laymen approached (a live wire too) called seven men of known faithfulness into his office and enlisted them in the work, and fire is expected to fall when these men come together for intercession in the upper room. We have no comment to make, but simply state the facts, from which you can draw your own conclusion. When the “ Quiet Hour” goes out of a life, the “ Restless Hour”, will come in. This poor old world has no quiet hour. It-has no rest. The observance of the “ Quiet Hour” on the part of believers will result ,in quickened zeal on behalf of those for whom Jesus died, and to whom He says: “ Come unto Me and I will give you rest. • ’ . T. C. H. HOW NOT TO DO IT The Presbytery of New York, in seeking to solve the problem of how to reach the unchurched foreign masses in New York City, in 1910 leased a building, calling it “ The Labor Temple,” the work there being carried on under the direction of a committee appointed by the Presbytery. Later, a church was organized at this place, known as the “ American International Church” and six full time and nineteen half-time paid -workers were employed. The church has_ a membership of something oyer three hundred, and during 1920 was without a pastor. Looking oyer the list of speakers who occupied the pulpit during that time we notice one, Dr. Will C. Durant, who spoke sixty-eight times, in spite of the fact that he was and still is excluded from speaking in the public schools of 539 T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S New York City, for the following reasons which appear in the records of the New York Board of Education: . .J-j*' D u ran t is an apostle of a philosophy and a propaganda wholly a t variance w ith o u r in stitu tion s.” f Not one of the themes upon which Dr. Durant spoke was of a religious character, and the wisdom of the Committee in selecting him to occupy the pulpit of this"American International Church might well be questioned m view of his sentiments as expressed in a lecture, a record of which appears in the files of the Board of Education: He referre d to Christ as a myth. He said th e Romans killed H im because l l 6 l v’as * and tlle Jew s were always g e ttin g .th e w orst of it. H e said th e Christ cult was elaborated into a religion and Christ was worshipped as a God.- We could conceive of th e same th ing happening to Lenine and Trotzky and th e ir doctrines.” J Among the organizations allowed free access to this building are the Industrial Workers of the World, so well known in all the large cities of this country. The object of this organization is stated on Page 10 of a pamphlet entitled “ Revolutionary I. W. W.,” by Grover W. Perry pub lished by the I. W. W. Pub. Bureau, the official propaganda agency of the organization: “Organizing a New Social System : The I. W. W. is fast approaching th e stage where can accomplish its mission. This m ission is revo lu tio n ary 'in char- PreamWe of th e I. W. W. Constitution says in p a rt: ‘By organizing indu strially we are form ing th e stru ctu re of th e new society w ithin th e shell of th e old.’ This is th e crux of th e I. W. W. position. We are n o t satisfied w ith a fair day s wages fo r a fa ir day’s work. Such a th ing is impossible. L abor pro duces all wealth. Labor is therefo re en titled to all wealth. We are going to do away w ith capitalism by tak in g possession of th e land and th e machinery of pro duction. We don t intend to buy them either. * * * These things are to be. No force can stop them . Arm ies will be of no avail. Capitalist governments may issue th e ir m andates in vain. The power of th e w orkers— indu strially organ ized is th e only power on e a rth w orth considering— once th ey realize th a t power. Classes will disappear and in th e ir place will be only useful members of society— th e w orkers.” Here we have an illustration of “ how not to do it.” The Church is under obligation to do its utmost to reach every man, woman and child m ÉF wor^ . 1 bn Gospel, and there are legitimate and practical methods appropriate to accompany its effort to bring people in touch with it, and this without lowering its standards and opening the door to all kinds of antagonistic and anarchistic propaganda. What is the matter with the Gospel, anyway? Has it ever failed where there has been real loyal dependence.upon the Word of God? When will our good brethren learn the lesson, so splendidly taught in the Scrip tures, and so splendidly illustrated in this and other lands, that the Gospel is the power of God— effective always and everywhere to break down barriers and break the hearts of people and bring into submission to Him self people of all nations?' Would it not be a good plan for the Presbytery of New York to have real Gospel services every night and every Sunday, “ in season and out oi season and try this program for ten years? If' thé Gospel cannot solve these problems, woe be unto us ! But it can ! It does ! Try it, brethren. * T. C. H k I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S 540 T H E RELIGIOUS OSTRICHES Mr. Spurgeon, in one of his sermons, goes after the professing Chris tians who swallow any kind of a doctrine simply because its teacher is “ a clever man. ’’ They never make any careful searching of the Scriptures on their own account. They take their spiritual food in ready prepared capsules and gulp it down, asking .no questions. He compares them to ostriches, which have a marvelous power of swallowing anything that is tossed at them, regardless of shape, size or color. That there is a great flock of these religious ostriches is seen from the multitude who daily gulp down Bddyism, Russellism, Spiritism and dozens of other ‘‘isms ’—all in the name of the Bible. But let us come nearer home. Are there not many of these ostriches in orthodox churches? Some ministers and teachers have fallen into the bad habit of making the most radical statements in the most positive way, with never a word of evidence from the Scriptures in their support. Should Christians swallow all thé teaching they hear merely because it is given by a prominent min ister in logical form and with eloquent delivery? Should not even orthodox ministers in these times be exceedingly careful to substantiate their views by ample proof from the Word of God? In view of the peculiar religious perils of the day, one writer has sounded the following warning which we believe every Christian may well considér. “I t is an exceedingly perilous sta te of th ing s when men, be th ey ever so gifted and learned, come to reg a rd them selves and to be regard ed by o thers as ‘au tho rities’ who need n o t to re fe r to proof from Scripture in support of th e ir statem ents. Few of th e Lord’s people are aw are of th e extent to which they are exposed to th is peculiar danger. A w rite r who assumes to in stru c t th e people of God in reg a rd to th e th ing s of God, should always give th e word of th e Lord upon which his statem en ts are based. A rea d er should accept no statem en t of any hum an au tho rity , however em inent, w ithou t clear and ample supporting proof and w ithout seeing fo r him self th a t th e proof adduced fully establishes th e th ing asserted.” By this it is not meant that Christians should become hyper-critical, seeking to catch up a speaker or writer on non-essential points, which would simply result in useless hair splitting. However, from the many letters containing Bible questions which come to our office, we have seen more and more a tendency on the part of some to express ideas purely on their own assumption, and often, in replying to our correspondents, we are forced to acknowledge that we know of nb Scripture proof in support of the teachings. Oftentimes the words of the Lord Jesus Himself have been totally set aside, and of this peril we are clearly warned in the Scripture (1 Tim. 6 : 3 - 4 ^ : : , ;AK' ■ .:-C- —y y" j It would be a great blessing to the church if there were more of the old fashioned Christians who “ searched the Seriptkres daily whether those things were so.” It is this class that comprise the “ nobility” according to Acts 17:11. K. L. B. WE ARE A N X IO U S that every subscriber should carefully) read the page opposite the first editorial. Have you done so? SENTENCE S E R M O N S REMARKABLE REMARKS GATHERED FOR BUSY READERS A man is hardly ever as good as his own praise of himself; he is nearly al ways as bad as his own condemnation of himself. By two things a man is known; by his manner of bestowing praise, by his man ner of receiving blame. A man is seldom his own best friend; often his own worst enemy. A miscalculation: th a t because two heads are better than one, half a head is better than none. Teach men only what to think and they never learn HOW to think. Teach men HOW to think and they will soon learn what to think. Remember th a t the ill in folk is dis liked more intensely than the good in them is liked. The finest glass can be' broken by a pebble, and the fin est, Christian can be marred for life by the smallest sin. On two occasions put your hands to your ears: when the voices are too high and when the temperature is too low. To be of true service you must know two things: your need, your capacity. What is bad in us is ou rs;, what is good in us is only a loan from above-to become ours with interest by good use of the principal. Easy as it is to attract the attention of the world, it is still easier to be forgotten by it. He who is all honey attracts nothing but flies. He who never expects to rise never will rise. He who never expects to fall surely will fall. He who regretfully lives in the t past wastes himself away; who fearfully wor ries over th e future wears himself away; who thoughtlessly lives only in the pres en t fritters himself away. You who are so ready to inform God of the remedy best for your ailment—tell me, are you the physician? It is the laden bough th a t hangs low, and the most fruitful Christian who is the most humble. It is the little sticks th a t set the great log on fire. Remember th at it is the loaded' tree th a t gets stoned. It is not enough to carry a compass ; we must also keep the magnet away. Two things are equally hard: to speak of a man’s merits in his presence with discretion and to speak of a man’s faults in his absence with love. The lover of goodness cannot but be a good man; the lover of beauty can still be a bad man. He who does right without being able to help it, has risen to the height of a man. He who does wrong without being able to know it, has sunk to the level of the beast. Welcome the day, prize the hours, re spect th e minutes, mind th e seconds— and the eternal years may yet be thine. If heaven were to rain only gold pieces, we should soon notice only the rattle on the roof. What counts against a man is not so much what he is not as what he does not try to be. Men learn to like even the bitter tonic. Shall we not thep learn to like the dis agreeable duties, which are, after all, so many b itter tonics? Our eyes are set in front rath e r than in the back for several,reasons; but the ob vious one is th a t we be looking forward rath er than backward. Only he is fit to go to the top who can, if need be, go to the bottom. Tke Greatest Need of the Hour A Great Ethical Revival is Ou r Sorest Need. How It May be Brought About. BY DR. A. C. DIXON ceive th e enemy in any way th a t may lead to his defeat. “ Camouflage," the a rt of deceiving th e eye, is a m ilitary virtue. One of the g reatest perils of peace is th e afterm ath of war which has in it these perverted ethical standards. Life is ap t to be cheap, if killing does not still carry w ith it some glamour of glory. When need prompts, robbery may still appear to be only “ taking. It is easy to carry th e lying strategy of war into business competition, and “ camouflage” in society and religion may still be a very useful art, to be cultivated w ith skill. W hatever be th e causes, those on the watch towers of observation are agreed th a t the crim inal and "divorce courts, the indelicacy, immodesty and some times indecency of woman’s dress, the spectacular obscenity of th e atre and movie, and the h u rtfu l realism of pop u lar novels, all indicate a very low moral tone. The need of th e hour from a reli gious, social, political, and economic point of view is a g reat ethical revival. P resen t conditions are a menace to the home, th e church and th e nation. If we study the th ree preceding verses, we will find the kind of revival which brings good eth ica l'co n d itio n s. P reaching ethics does no t make people moral. A study of Church history shows th a t ethical preaching has never made th e people bettor, b u t ra th e r worse. In ordeY to improve ethical con ditions, we need a g reat sp iritu al re vival. God is th e au tho r of such a revival, as th e P salm ist intim ates in th e words “W ilt THOU not revive us T ex t- “W ilt T h o u n o t re v iv e u s a g a in : t h a t th e p eo p le m a y re jo ie e in T h ee - Shew lie T h v m ercy , O L o rd , a n d g r a n t u s i n y S a lv a tio n . I w ill h e a r w h a t G od th e L o rd w ill sp e a k ; fo r H e w ill sp e a k p e ace u n to H is p eo p le b u t le t th e m n o t tu r n a g a in to fo lly . S u re ly S a lv a tio n is n ig h th em th a t fe a r H im ; t h a t g lo ry m ay d w ell in o u r lan d . M ercy a n d tr u th a re m e t to g e th e r - r ig h te o u s n e s s a n d p eace h av e k iss e d ea c h o th e r. T ru th sh a ll s p rin g o u t of th e e a r th a n d rig h te o u s n e s s sh a ll lo o k d ow n fro m h e a v e n .” P sa lm 85:6-1.1. HE h e a rt of the text is in the words “ th a t glory may dwell in our land.“ W hat follows is a description of th e glory th a t the Psalm ist would like to have dwell in his land; and it is for th e most p art, an ethi cal glory. Mercy does not weakly condone sin, while tru th does not cruelly punish. Indeed, mercy and tru th have become so reconciled th a t they can dwell to gether in loving fellowship. R ighteous ness has not been sacrificed for th e sake of peace. There is peace w ith righteousness, th e only kind th a t is worth while. Such conditions make good soil in which to p lan t seeds of tru th , the fru itage of which will be abundant. ■ -The words, “He will speak peace to H is people, b u t le t them not tu rn again to folly,” in tim ate th a t peace has its perils. The World W ar has left an af te rm ath of evil in all countries. There is a carnival of crime, and along several lines th e re has been a lowerng of eth i cal standards. The ethics of war has projected itself into th e tim e of peace. K illing in w ar is no t considered murder, b u t around it is a halo of glory. Sol diers do no t steal, they simply “ ta k e” w hat they w ant in tim es of need. S trategy is th e a rt of lying, so as to de 543 inates them . When they begin to re joice in God, eager only for His sm ile of approval, and always happy in th e con sciousness of His “well done,” th eir sp iritual life is a t flood tide. Such a revival will make them do rig h t in th e d ark or in a strange city, w here they are not known, and in th e fam ily where they know th e ir sins will not be pub lished. “T ru th th en springs out of the earth , and righteousness looks down from heaven.” There is harmony be tween earth and heaven. “Thy will be done on ea rth ,” is being realized. If everybody on earth had th is a ttitu d e of m ind and h eart, th e re would be no need of going to heaven. Heaven would be here. God’s throne of righteousness and peace would be established among men. How Can I t Be P rocu red? , Now the burning question of the hour is, How can such a sp iritu al re vival w ith - such resu lts be brought about? By doing two things. 1.— By P rayer. Only God is equal to th e task, and God works in answer to prayer. Andrew Murray says th a t God, in His relation to His people, works only in answer to prayer. If we tru st sermon, song,"' money, education, and organization, we will get w hat these things can do, and th a t may be some thing. But if we tru st God and express th a t tru s t in prayer, we will get w hat God can do, and th a t in present condi tion s is th e one th ing worth while. “When they had prayed, th e place was shaken, where they were assembled.” Only God can shake a place. While P au l and Silas prayed, th e ja il doors were shaken open. When E lijah prayed for drought, th e rain ceased; and when he prayed again for rain, it came. While Jo n ath an Edwards preached one Sun day morning in Northampton, th e peo ple trem bled and a revival began, which shook th is continent, because a com pany of men and women had spent the previous n igh t in prayer and sat before T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S ag ain?” God is th e au tho r of life and gives life abundantly. The need of a revival implies life a t a low ebb. More life is needed. "W ith Thee, O God, is th e fountain of life.” Let us bring th e empty vessel of our need under th e overflowing fountain of God’s life, and we are revived. Is faith decadent or dorm ant? Bring it into touch w ith God, and it will be strengthened by th e in fusion of new life. Is love cold and life less? B ring it into touch w ith God. Is hope feeble and futile? B ring it into touch w ith God. Is moral courage fail ing? Let th e life of God touch it. The need of today is a realizing sense of God. “T hat th e people may rejoice in Thee.” In many th e God-conscious ness is gone. “He th a t cometh to God must believe that-H e is and th a t He is a rew arder of them th a t diligently seek H im”— no t His. We need an apprecia tion of th e Giver above th e gift, th e Lover above th e love, th e Saviour above th e salvation, th e Sanctifier above th e sanctification, th e Glorifier above th e glory. To do th is we must believe th a t God is. It is ra th e r easy to believe th a t He was: th a t in th e d istan t past He created all things and He has mani fested H imself to ancient peoples. But is He today “ Immanuel, God w ith u s?” It is easy also to believe th a t God will be. Things are out of joint, and He will sometime come on the scene and set them to rights. But our need is th a t we realize a God-consciousness in th e present tense and w ith all our h earts believe th a t th e God who was and will be is now, and th a t “He is a re w arder of them th a t diligently seek H im .” This is th e -index to a tru e sp iritu al revival, which will produce th e best ethical results. Such a revival is de fined in the words, “T h at th y people may rejoice in Thee.” While God’s peo ple rejoice in His blessing more th an in Himself, the Blesser, th e ir sp iritu al life is at a low ebb. A pious selfishness dom- T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S 544 retain His th rone of righteousness while He forgives and even justifies a guilty sipner. The need of the hour is deep con viction of sin; and then comes the prayer for salvation. G rant us Thy salvation: You will notice th a t it is not a prayer for re formation though th a t is important. But Christianity is neither form nor reform , b u t a life deeper th an both. It is not a prayer for education though education is good; b u t education is not salvation. Nor is it a prayer for civil ization which we once though t was good till it plunged th e world in a hell of war. But civilization a t its highest is not salvation. The fact is, reform ation, education 'and civilization w ithout sal vation mean in th e long run damnation for th e individual, the nation and the world. 2.-^By Preaching. “ I will hear w hat God the Lord will speak. A re fusal to h ear God’s Word plunges the people into all sorts of sin. D iscredit ing the au tho rity of th e Bible is, more th an anything else, responsible for the flood-tide of sin and crime now sweep ing over th e world. Give the Bible .its righ tfu l place as the au tho ritativ e Word of God,.and the tide will turn. If God’s people will pray for salvation and preach God’s Word in th e power of the Holy Spirit, th e revival for which we long will come. 3te m. A CORRECTION Ju st as we go to press an erro r is noticed in connection w ith the drawing of the proposed buildings a t Changsha. The funds for th e Adm inistration Building were furnished by Mr. Milton Stewart, and it is proposed to call this building the “Milton Stew art H all,” not the Lyman Stew art Hall, >as appears on the engraving. The mind may be changed as oft as needful; the h eart must be changed only once. him w ithout th eir breakfasts, still in prayer. While Abel Clary prayed in his room, God shook Rochester, New York, through the preaching of Charles G. Finney, and the most em inent men in th e city were converted-. While an invalid woman in London prayed, a con gregation in London was shaken by the preaching of D. L. Moody and four hun dred conversions was the resu lt w ith a, revival following which spread over G reat B ritain. While George Muller prayed, God sent five m illion dollars for th e care of orphan children w ithout asking a hum an being for a cent. While Hudson Taylor and his co-workers prayed, -God sent m issionaries and money to support them till Inland China was covered w ith hundreds of w itnesses for Christ, though not a col lection has ever been taken for th a t work’. Look a moment a t th e prayer of the P salm ist which pu t in operation forces which filled the land w ith glory, and you will see the secret of real revival. “ Show us Thy mercy O Lord, and g ran t us Thy" Salvation.” It was a prayer, first of all, for mercy, and a prayer for mercy carries w ith it confession of sin. Only guilty sinners plead for mercy. And th e one place in th is universe where God deals w ith sinners is under neath th a t m iddle cross on th e hill-top outside the city gate. He shows kind ness, love and favor in a thousand ways and places, bu t th ere is only one place where He can deal w ith the guilty, for th ere He bore th e ir gu ilt and can now be merciful w ithout being unjust. Mercy in its n atu re Rejoices against judgment, th a t is, it excludes justice. The mo m ent one begins to be ju st he ceases to be merciful, and when he begins to be merciful, he ceases to be just. If God should cease to be ju st He would be unrighteous,, and would cease to be God. But through Jesus Christ on the cross He can now be ju st and th e Justifier of him th a t bfelieveth in Jesus. He can The Divine Evangelist A Plea for a Nev? Evangelism That Reaches the Masses by the One by One Method By REV. A. D. BELDEM, B. D. HERB is no more sad or seri ous aspect of modern religious life th a n the divorce between th e g reat mass of the people and th e Churches of Christ. The problem as to “how to reach the masses” has been reached out to the hum anity nearest Him, whether individual or group or crowd— bu t always He was a t His work of w inning souls to His F ath e r. Here is a test of likeness to C h rist'n e ed e d for our modern Church-membership. It is a fair thing to claim th a t if one could form a reg ister of all th e relatives, business colleagues, friends and ac quaintances of all our Church-members of every denom ination, one would have a very fair directory of the whole coun try. But if th a t is so then th e Ohurch is reaching th e masses; only by th e tim e the Church is in touch w ith them it has evidently lo st its power of Evangelism . It is in touch only on the low level of worldly life and thought. These myriad points of contact over which should'leap the burning th rill of the Divine m agnet ism are not alive. In the day when the disciples of Christ share His evangelic passion th e Church will have reached the masses indeed and the masses will not then be long in reaching the churches. » It is possible to m ark certain out standing featu res of th e Evangelism of our Lord. The Infinite Value of th e Soul. The most im portant characteristic is central to His Gospel. Jesu s saw in each sep arate soul an absolute value. He knew the infinite worth in His F a th e r’s sight of .every one of His human children. This was the reason He pu t forward again and again His own in terest in men. “There is joy in the presence of th e angels of God over one sinner th a t rep en teth ;” before us now for a generation and does not seem much n earer solution. Doubt less, however, we m ight learn much to help us in th is direction if we would re tu rn to a study of Jesus and His methods. The very first thing such a re tu rn would do for us would be to place upon every Christian disciple the grave responsibility of Evangelism. It would be impossible to escape th e con viction th a t Jesus expects His disciples to concern themselves in life chiefly w ith th e making of other disciples. His own passion for “ individuals” is p aten t to every reader of the Gospel. Is He sitting weary by the wayside well? He nevertheless has leisure and energy to devote' His atten tion to the soul of the Sam aritan woman! In do ing so He declares He has “m eat to eat ye know not of.” Does Nicodemus seek Him by night? Jesus has leisure and to spare to argue w ith a solitary soul. On the Jericho road, though sur rounded by the crowd, He h as eyes and though t mainly for Zacchaeus! So one m ight go on instancing His in terest in individuals— His first disciples, the woman w ith the issue of blood, th e little group a t Bethany, each one of which Jesus has evidently carefully studied, th e Syrophenician woman— and who can tell how many more beside? Jesus did not rely upon g reat preaching, upon public dem onstrations; He simply T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S 546 Yet w ith w hat perfect confidence in the b etter Zacchaeus did Jesus approach him. Jesus knew th a t th is man, like every other unsaved soul, was morally “ up a tree .” Zacchaeus’ inner life, to- use our modern term s, was a cruel dichotomy. A false and hated self posed before men as the extortioner and the grinder of th e faces of th e poor. In the deepest dungeon of th e soul th ere lay an imprisoned and to rtu red Zac chaeus whose protests ever and anon reverberated most u n c o m f o r t a b 1y through his “ house of life.” T h at bet te r self is every soul’s possession. There is a “ligh t th a t ligh teth every man com ing into th e world.” Do we believe th a t of one another? Do we believe it of the persons we meet in business or in social life? Do we realize it of our office-companion, our fellow clerk or shopman, or of those in our own home? Could we b u t see beneath all th e ir sur face objections to religion, beneath th eir indifference or antagonism , we should undoubtedly find each soul “ up a tree ." T h at qu ain t colloquialism in dicates th e deep em barassment and per plexity which besets every unsaved soul, however b la tan t may be its outward parade and swagger. Every soul estranged from God car ries deep w ithin itself a conscience which speaks in the evangelist’s behalf. I t is literally amazing what revela tions of inward sp iritual disturbance and pathetic moral w istfulness will b reak fo rth from a soul which is met in another by a strong belief in th is buried b etter self. Often it is no t necessary for the would-be evangelist to say a word or in any sense to force the situa tion. Simply to haVe th a t faith in others which Jesus so tenaciously held supplies magnetism enough to draw fo rth these deep confidences. If only all Christian people would set silent sp iritu al siege to th e souls about them w ith such a holy faith in th e ir redeem- ability! Would no t th e atmosphere of One grand resu lt of th is estim ate of th e soul was th a t Jesus never ap proached men and women w ith any o th er motive th a n His deep and pas sionate love and respect for them . His Evangelism w as entirely free of th e ta in ts of professionalism and u lterio r motive. We know too well th e evan gelism th a t collects and counts souls as th e Indian brave used to collect and count scalps. “So many conversions th is week, th is y e a r!” I t is th is ta in t of u lterio r purpose th a t has rightly caused a revulsion of feeling against Evangelism in both th e Church and th e World. The w riter rem embers a first in te r view w ith one who afterw ard s became a close friend who greeted him thu s: “I suppose you w ant to do me good? Well: I don’t w ant to be done good to !” One understands all th e fierce resentm ent behind those words of a soul th a t th ink s itself sought for some other reason th a n its own intrinsic worth and dignity. Any suggestion of patronage on th e p art of the saved is fatal to th e ir evangelism. It is not enough to seek souls in order to build up a Church or to in crease one’s own renown as a soul- winner, or to satisfy one’s own sense of Christian duty. Only to th e atmosphere of real genuine personal appreciation and love will souls respond. And they are righ t. Jesus loved the hum an soul in every individual well enough to die for it. His followers m ust learn the same pure passion before they can exert th e same attraction. “Up a T ree” The story of Zacchaeus illu strates powerfully a fu rth e r fundam ental char acteristic of Our Lord’s method, namely, His absolute fa ith in th e power of every soul to respond. No Subject for evan gelism could have been more unprom is ing th a n th is tax-gatherer. He Was ju st th e type we all agree in these days to be hopeless. He was a “ profiteer!” 547 T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S all th e ir intercourse he irresistibly- charged w ith th e Evangel of Jesus? Adventurous A ttack Notice also th e delightful and frank boldness of Jesus in H is attack upon Zacchaeus. .There is g reat humour to be found in th e story when closely studied. Driven by th e deep hidden w istfulness of his soul to seek Jesus, Zacchaeus fails in his attem p t to get through th e crowd because of his lack of statu re. It is hardly likely th e peo ple would make way for such as he. B u t he is a man of resource and he re members th e sycamore tree. He h u r ries on ahead of th e crowd till he tu rn s th e bend in th e road. I ’m sure th ere was a bend in th e road ju s t there, other wise Zacchaeus would never have found pluck enough to climb .th a t tree. It would indeed have been funny to see th is little rich man casting his E astern dignity to th e winds and climbing th a t tree. A t last;, snugly hidden among the leaves, he feels secure from obser vation and is ready to enjoy a full view of Jesus. Along th e road comes the Saviour w ith th e crowd and stops be n eath th e trees. Then, oh! consterna tion! Jesus looks up a t th e sycamore tree and calls, “Zacchaeus! come down!” Fancy giving th e whole show away like th at! Yes, it is very funny! Yet_ if Jesus had said and done nothing hut th a t it m ight have been tragic too, for Zacchaeus m ight have resented being made th e b u tt of th e crowd’s humour. Jesus, however, was never lacking in tact, and to His humorous exposure of Zacchaeus, He adds th e high compli ment from a Rabbi of inviting H imself to th e ex tortioner’s house. By th a t sim ple tu rn of the situation Jesus found H is way rig h t into th e h ea rt of Zac chaeus. T h at was all He cared for. Convention, th e opinion of the crowd, His own repu tation— these m attered nothing beside His concern for th is struggling soul. There was nothing of th a t kind of cheap self-preservation about th is Divine evangelist. Tact and boldness, an understanding of human n atu re and courageous frankness, a tru e psychology and a power of adventurous attack , th e re is th e ideal combination for the soul-winner. Cannot the mod ern disciple of Jesus learn of Him these things? “He th a t is wise w inneth souls.” The Church today is woefully' lacking in this power of attack and the reason is not far to seek. She is too sensitive-—which means th a t her mem bers are too sensitive—to the conven tions of mere respectability, to the tra ditions and opinions of public society. Where th ere is fear of men passion can hardly th rive and so th e modern Church is singularly lacking in passion for the one purpose for which h er Lord called her into being. The Son of Man came to seek and to save th e lost. His Church today seems to spend most of her streng th in coddling the saints. Values of Conversion Yet it would requ ire very few tri umphs of a real Christian evangelism for th e unique .joy of it to kindle a blaze of enthusiasm . If we dwelt w ith th e m ind of Jesus in th is m a tte r He would rem ind us of th e inestim able value of converting a soul genuinely to God, The Evangelism of Jesus in th e case of Zacchaeus. had far-reaching results. Think of its social value! Many a home sunk in unde served poverty received four-fold for its cruel loss. Think of its home value! I don’t know whether Zacchaeus was married or not, bu t if so I can imagine his wife singing perpetual hallelujahs to the Name of Jesus for restoring the soul of her husband. Ah! th e home value of th a t new life which comes to men in Christ. Think of the individual value! How much happier a companion Zacchaeus was henceforth fo r himself. If we could once tru ly envisage these values of conversion we should esteem it the supreme privilege of our life here on earth to he able to befriend other
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