The Fundamentals
A Testimony to the Truth
Volume XII
Compliments of Two Christian Laymen
T e s t im o n y P u b l is h in g C om pan y (Not Inc.) 808 North La Salle Street Chicago, 111., U. S. A.
(See change of address in Publishers’ Notice, page 6.)
“To the L a w a n d to the Testimony”
A STATEMENT BY THE TWO LAYMEN
Rev. A. C. Dixon, D. D., in the fall of 1909, while pastor of the Moody Church in Chicago, organized the Testimony Publishing Company. He also edited the first five volumes of “T he F undamentals / ’ but upon being called to London early in the summer of 1911 to become pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, founded by the late Charles H. Spurgeon, he found it necessary to give up the editorial work on the books. The next five books were taken in hand by the late Louis Meyer, a Christian Jew, who worked so strenuously in the securing and editing of matter for “T he F undamentals ” that his health failed. He departed to be with Christ July 11, 1913, in Monrovia, California. His widow and children are now residing in Pa'sadena, California. Rev. R. A. Torrey, D. D., Dean of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, edited Volumes XI and XII, two articles, how ever, in Volume XI having been approved by Dr. Meyer and passed on to Dr. Torrey when he took up the work. The following are the names of the original Committee to whom was committed full supervision of the movement: Rev. A. C. Dixon, D. D., Rev. R. A. Torrey, D. D., Rev. Louis Meyer, D. D. (deceased 1913), Mr. Henry P. Crowell, Mr. Thomas S. Smith, Mr. D. W. Potter, Rev. Elmore Harris, D. D. (deceased 1911). The following names were added later to the foregoing: Prof. Joseph Kyle, D. D., LL. D., Prof. Charles R. Erdman, D. D., Mr. Delavan L. Pierson, Rev. L. W. Munhall, D. D., Rev. T. C. Horton, Rev. H. C. Mabie, D. D., Rev. John Bal- com Shaw, D. D. To these men for their always efficient and painstaking service, rendered practically without any material remunera tion whatever, are due the heartfelt thanks, not only of the 3
Two Laymen, but of the thousands who have received the books. Every member of the Committee without exception has been faithful to his trust. Mr. Giles Kellogg has been the Los Angeles trustee of the Testimony funds, and Mr. J. S. McGlashan the Chicago trustee. The Walton and Spencer Company of Chicago have been the printers. The faithful services rendered by all of these thoroughly merit this word of appreciation. Mr. Thomas E. Stephens, editor of the “Moody Church Herald,” has been the Business Manager from the beginning, and the Moody Church and Moody Bible Institute have con tributed in many ways to the success of the work. The original plan was for twelve volumes to be issued one every two or three months, but owing to the difficulty of realizing on securities that had been put up for this work, the intervals between the later volumes have been greatly prolonged, but with the present volume the original plan is complete. I t may be of interest to state that over 2,500,000 copies of the twelve volumes have been published and circulated, and that the call for back volumes has been so insistent as to make necessary the reprinting of over a quarter of a million additional copies of the earlier issues, thus bringing the total output up to nearly 3,000,000 copies. Approximately one-third of these 3,000,000 copies have gone to countries outside of the United States. About one- half of the latter have been sent to various parts of Great Britain, and the rest to other foreign countries. The great majority of Protestant missionary workers of the world have received them. The present mailing list comprises about 100,- 000 addresses of Christian workers, all of whom have asked for “T he F undamentals .” Since the movement began, some 200,000 letters have been received, including many requests for the continuance of this testimony in some form. In compliance with these requests it 4
is planned to undertake its continuance through “The King’s Business,” which is published by the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, and of which Dr. Torrey will be the editor-in-chief. Dr. Torrey was for many years the Superintendent of the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, until he left that work to undertake his world-wide work as an evangelist. He is now Dean of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. The Testimony Publishing Company, from the very incep tion of its work of publishing “T he F undamentals ,” has been absolutely free from commercialism, and the continuance of this testimony through “The King’s Business” is also to be kept absolutely free from commercialism. Any profits arising from subscriptions to the magazine are to be used for free Scripture and tract distribution and missionary work. I t is purposed for “The King’s Business” not merely to give the best articles that can be secured along the line of testimony of the twelve volumes of “T he F undamentals ,” but also to make helps on the International Sunday School lessons a special feature of the magazine. We assume that in doing this a need will be supplied which will greatly increase the effectiveness of Sunday School teaching. In conclusion we would state that arrangements have been made to send the April number of “The King’s Business” to all the readers of “T he F undamentals .”
PUBLISHERS’ NOTICE Particular attention is hereby called to the following points: 1. All English-speaking Protestant pastors, evangelists, missionaries, theological professors, theological students, Y. M. C. A. secretaries, Y. W. ,C. A. secretaries, Sunday School superintendents, religious lay workers, and editors of religious publications throughout the earth, who so desire, are entitled to a free copy of each volume of “T he F undamentals ." Any person, belonging to one of these classes, who has not received the earlier volumes, may obtain such as may not be out of print upon application to the undersigned. State plainly which volumes are wanted, and state also the line of Christian work engaged in and the denominational affiliation. After an order is sent in, allow at least two weeks (and more if from a distance) for filling i t 2. Changes of address should be promptly reported. Write plainly both the old and the new addresses in full. 3. In case any person receives two or more copies of any one vol ume, kindly notify us. These books are too valuable and the demand for them too great to permit waste through duplication. However, where extra copies have been received, they need not be returned, but may be loaned or otherwise placed in circulation. 4. To meet the demand on the part of the laity each volume is being furnished postpaid at a cost of fifteen cents per copy, eight copies for one dollar, or one hundred copies for ten dollars. (In Great Britain, 8d; 4s 2d; and £2 Is Id, respectively.) 5. Do not send currency or personal checks. Remit by post office money order, or by bank draft on Chicago, New York, or London, making the same payable to the Testimony Publishing Company. 6. Foreign correspondents should be careful to prepay card and letter postage'in full. Otherwise we are compelled to pay double the amount of the deficiency. 7. Pay no attention to the post card request in the “Foreword” of Volume IX. The blank card referred to therein no longer accom panies that volume. In conclusion, we would emphasize once more the great importance of writing plainly and briefly, and always giving full address —street (or rural route) number, post office, state, and (if outside of the United States) country. Much time and delay will be saved by carefully reading and comply ing with the foregoing directions. TESTIMONY PUBLISHING COMPANY, 808 North La Salle Street Chicago, 111, U. S. A. A fter May i, 1915 , the address o f the Testimony Publishing Company will be 536-558 South Hope Street, Los Angeles, California. 6
FOREWORD TO VOLUME XII I t was the original plan of the Two Laymen who gave the money for the work that there should be twelve volumes of “T he F undamentals .” The present volume, therefore, com pletes the plan as originally mapped out. Such a wide desire has been manifested that this testimony be continued in some way after the issue of the present volume that the Two Laymen, yielding to these pleas, have decided upon a plan for the continuance of the testimony, which they themselves have stated on the preceding pages of the present book. We have been greatly cheered by the letters that have poured in upon us from ministers, missionaries, editors, Sun day School Superintendents and others since the publication of Volume XI. Of course, there has been some criticism, but in very few instances has this criticism been of an unkindly character. The present volume will be sent to about one hundred thousand English-speaking Protestant pastors, evangelists, mis sionaries, theological professors, theological students, Y. M. C. A. secretaries, Y. W. C. A. secretaries, Sunday School super intendents, religious editors and lay workers throughout the earth. May we ask the prayers of every reader that it may be as abundantly blessed as its predecessors have been unto the strengthening of the faith of Christians, unto the defence of the truth against the various forms of error' so prevalent at the present day, and, above all, in stirring up Christians everywhere to more active effort and more earnest prayer for the conversion of a great number of the unsaved. By a vote of the Committee having the publication in charge, it was decided that this closing volume should be 7
largely devoted to evangelism at home and abroad. Every one invited to write on some phase of this work has accepted our invitation with the exception of Dr. Andrew Murray. He seemed to be the logical person to write the article on “The Place of Prayer in Evangelism.” He wrote us expressing his earnest desire to do this work, but declining to do it because of his increasing age and the multiplicity of duties that were pressing upon him. There is a large circle of prayer of men and women in all parts of the earth who know God, who are upholding before Him the work of “T he F undamentals .” We earnestly request other men and women who believe in prayer and who know how to pray to join this circle of prayer, that in answer to believing and united prayer the truth may have new power and that a world-wide revival of religion may result. All editorial correspondence in connection with “The Fundamentals” should be addressed to the Executive Secretary of The Fundamentals, 1945 La France Avenue, South Pasa dena, California. As this is the closing volume of the series, of course no other manuscripts should be submitted by anybody. I f any one has submitted a manuscript which has not been re turned, we shall be glad to return it, i f stamps are sent for that purpose and i f it is in our hands. All business correspondence should be addressed to The Testimony Publishing Company, 808 North La Salle Street, Chicago, III., U. S. A. (A fter May 1, 1915, to 536-558 South Hope Street, Los Angeles, Calif.)
CONTENT S
CHAPTER PAGE D octrines T hat M ust B e E mphasized in S uc cessful E vangelism .......... . . , .............................. 11 By Evangelist L. W. Munhall, M. A., D. D., Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. c % i . P astoral and P ersonal E vangelism , or W in ning M en to C hrist O ne by O ne ...................... 24 By Rev. John Timothy Stone, D. D., Ex-Moderator General Assembly Presbyterian Church, U. S. A., Chicago, Illinois. ..Iff, T he S unday S chool ' s T rue E vangelism .......... 45 By Charles Gallaudet Trumbull, Editor “The Sunday School Times,” Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. y i V . F oreign M issions or W orld -W ide E vangelism . 64 By Robert E. Speer, Secretary Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church, U. S. A., New York City. ■ A f . W hat M issionary M otives S hould P revail ? . . 85 By Rev. Henry W. Frost, Director for North America of the China Inland Mission, Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. J > f l . T he P lace of P rayer in E vangelism .................. 97 By Rev. R. A. Torrey, D. D., Dean of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. f^T I . T he C hurch and S ocialism ................................... 108 By Professor Charles R. Erdman, D. D., Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, New Jersey. T he “F ifteen B ooks M ost I ndispensable for the M inister or C hristian W orker ” .............. 120 I ndex of A rticles in the T welve V olumes of “T he F undamentals ” ......................................... 124 9
THE FUNDAMENTALS VOLUME XII
CHAPTER I THE DOCTRINES THAT MUST BE EMPHASIZED IN SUCCESSFUL EVANGELISM ''
BY EVANGELIST L. W. MUNHALL, M. A., D. D., GERMANTOWN, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
First of all, What constitutes Successful Evangelism? Some will answer, “Great audiences, eloquent preaching and soul-stirring music.” But I reply, “We may have all these and not have real evangelism; as we may have successful evangelism without them.” Others will answer, “Any movement that will add large numbers to the membership of the churches^” I reply, “We may have successful evangelism and not many be added to the churches; and, we may have large numbers added to the churches’ membership without successful evangelism.” Yet others will answer, “A work or effort that will bring into the church people who will be steadfast.” I reply, “We may have members added to the church who will hold out, and the work, evangelistically, be unsuccessful; and we may have a highly successful evangelistic work and the accessions to the churches from it not hold out for any great length of time.” Let us briefly consider three points: First, No matter how great the multitude, eloquent the preaching and soul-stirring the singing, if the God-ordained conditions are not fully met, failure is inevitable. While these things are of value they are dispensable. Great successes have been achieved without them. 11
12
The Fundamentals Second, I have known not a few evangelistic campaigns to be successful, as such, in a marked degree, and one or more churches identified with it, professedly, received but a few members, or none, from the movement. They united in the movement from wrong motives. They were not prepared for the work; were formal, worldly and unspiritual; were without faith. Putting nothing of value into the work, they got noth ing out of it. Or the work was not properly followed up. Also, I have known not a few widely advertised and thor oughly organized evangelistic campaigns, in which mere senti ment was far more conspicuous than the Holy Spirit, and the lachrymals more frequently appealed to than the intellect and conscience; and large numbers were added to the membership of the co-operating churches, who knew nothing whatever of the regenerating work of the Holy Ghost. Third, I have known not a few persons who have been faithful members of the church for many years and never been born again—“had a name to live and were dead.” There are many churches full of life, and apparently great successes, because of humanitarian, educational and socialistic matters in which they are engaged, and entertainments that they give from time to time; and some of the members who give most time and money to these things, and take most pride in them, are spiritually dead. Also, I have known persons, who were, without doubt, saved and sincere, to unite with the church as a result of an evangelistic campaign, to run well for a season and then fall away; and the falling away was unjustly charged to the cam paign. The real cause of it may have been one or more of the following reasons: First, The atmosphere of the church was not congenial, being unspiritual and cold. This is of vital im portance to “babes in Christ.” Second, In not a few instances the pastors, instead of “feeding the church of God,” with “the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby,” were like those mentioned in the twenty-third chapter of Jeremiah;
Doctrines to Be Emphasized in Evangelism 13 or have turned their pulpits into lecture platforms, and the members going for bread received a stone; and in many cases were off after false teachers who promised them what they needed, and what they should have received at home. Third, The positively bad example set by a large majority of the mem bers of most churches, in that they conspicuously fail to meet their solemn obligations to God and the church. And there are yet other reasons for the falling away of the weak and inexperienced. But again it is asked, “What constitutes successful evan gelism?” I answer, “Preaching the Gospel according to Divine Conditions and directions.” In the great commission, as given by Matthew, Jesus said, “Teach all nations.” Make disciples, is what the word “teach” here means. Mark puts it in these words, “Preach the Gospel to every creature.” Luke states it thus, “Repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations.” And in Acts 1:8, Jesus said, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jeru salem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the utter most part of the earth.” THE CONDITIONS What are the conditions? First, Discipleship. Jesus com missioned only such. One must know, experimentally, the power and joy of the Gospel before he is competent to tell it out. Second, Power. The disciples were told to “Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high.” Since the apostles and disciples of our Lord, who waited personally upon His wonderful ministry and witnessed His marvelous doings, were not qualified for testimony and service without power from on high, we, most surely, must have Divine help. “Without Me ye can do nothing.” Third, Faith, —since the Almighty One has said, “For as
14 The Fundamentals the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and re- turneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater: so shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it,” the proclaimer need have no mis giving as to the result, knowing full well that “He is faithful that promised.” THE DIRECTIONS What are the directions? First, “Go into all the world” and tell it “to every creature.” The field is the wide world; and the good news is for every soul of man. Second, I t is to be “preached.” The God-sent preacher is a kerux —a herald. He has no message of his own. It is the King’s message he is to proclaim. According to the heraldic law, if the herald substituted so much as a word of his own for the king’s, he was beheaded. If this law was enforced in these days a lot of preachers would lose their heads, indeed many have lost their heads, judging by the kind of messages they are delivering. Third, The preacher is to be brave, a witness— martus — martyr. All the apostles, like our Lord, went to martyrdom for faithfully proclaiming the. Word of God. The Master said, “If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.” And, “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” Paul said, “If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” The mind of the natural man is enmity against God; there fore the unsaved demand of the preacher, “Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy de ceits ;” and a premium is placed upon finesse by many in au thority in the church. Because of this, it requires as sublime courage in these days to speak faithfully the Word of God as
Doctrines to Be Emphasized in Evangelism 15 was shown by Micaiah, when he stood before Ahab, Jehosaphat and the four hundred lying prophets; or Simon Peter when he said to the threatening, wrathful rulers of Israel, “We can not but speak the things which we have seen and heard/’ There never was so much need of fearlessness on the part of the servant of God as in these days; brave true men, who will not receive honors of men, or seek their own, are absolutely necessary to successful evangelism. 1 THE MESSAGE Now then, as to the message itself: Timothy was com manded to “Do the work of an evangelist;” and, in doing it, to “Preach the Word * * * with all long-suffering and doc trine.” Doctrinal preaching is therefore necessary to evan gelistic success. But what doctrines ? I answer, First, Sin — its universality, nature and consequences. !| 1 (a) Universality. “As by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned, * * * by one man’s offence death reigned by one, * * * by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation, * * * by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners,” etc. (Romans 5: 12- 21. See also Psa. 51 :5 ; 58 :3 ; Ecc. 7 :20 ; Rom. 3 :10 ; 1 John 1:8, 10, etc.) • (h) Nature. There are numerous words in the Bible ren dered sin; and these words mean iniquity, offence, trespass, failure, error, go astray, to cause to sin, and miss the mark. In 1 John 3 :4 we are told that “Sin is the transgression of the law.” The word rendered transgression is anomia, and means lawlessness. Failure to conform to the law is as cer tainly sin as to violate the commandments of God. Unbelief is sin. (John 16:9; 3:18.) j , In Genesis 6 :5 we are told, “God saw that the wicked ness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagina tion of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually,”
16 The Fundamentals and in Gen. 8:21, “The imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth.” The word rendered imagination in these passages signifies also the desires and purposes of the indi vidual. Therefore guilt lies in the desires and purposes as certainly as in the act. The common law requires that one shall have committed an overt act of violation before he can be adjudged guilty. But according to the Divine law one is guilty even though he never committed an overt act, since guilt lies in the desires and purposes of the heart. “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer” (1 John 3 :15 ). “Whoso ever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matt. 5:28). “The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart” (1 Sam. 16: 7). Because of the “lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,” every mouth is stopped and the whole world is guilty before God. (Rom. 3:19.) The Almighty and Sovereign Creator is infinite in holi ness. Therefore His “law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” Sin is ruinous, heinous and damn ing: the most awful thing in the universe. (c) Consequences. Sin separates and estranges the sin ner from God; and he becomes an enemy of God by wicked works (Rom. 8 :7 ) , has no peace (Isa. 57:21), no rest (Isa. 57:20), is polluted (Eph. 4:17-19), condemned (John 3 :18 ), and without hope (Eph. 2 :12 ). Oh, the curse and ruin of sin! If unrepenting and unbelieving, the future has for him, first, inexorable and awful judgment. (See Matt. 25:30-46; Heb. 9 :27 ; Jude 14, 15; Rev. 20:11-13; 22:11-15.) Second, the wrath of God. (See Ezra 8 :22 ; Psa. 21 :9 ; John 3 :36 ; Rom. 1:18; 2: 5, 4 :15 ; 5 :9 ; 12:19; 13:4; Eph. 2 :3 ; 5 :6 ; Col. 3 :6 ; 1 Thess. 1:10; Rev. 6:16, 17; 14:10; 16:19; 19:15, etc.) And third, eternal torments. (See Psa. 11:6; Isa. 33:14; Dan. 12: 2; Matt. 3 :12 ; 22: 11-13; 23: 33; 25:41,
Doctrines to Be Emphasized in Evangelism 17 46; Mark 9:43, 48; Luke 12:5; 16:22-31; John 5:28, 29; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Heb. 10:28, 29; 2 Peter 3:5-12; Rev. 19:20; 20:14, 15; 21:8, etc.) The preacher who ignores these three awful and inexorable truths preaches an emasculated gospel, be he never so faith ful in proclaiming other truth. He who preaches the love of God to the exclusion of God’s justice and wrath proclaims but idle- sentiment. No one will ever truly desire salvation unless he first realizes that there is something to be saved from. “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house” (Heb. 11 :7 ) ; all of which symbolizes the sin ner’s condition, need, motive and hope. In no way can the love of God be so clearly, beautifully and convincingly set forth as in the fact that God makes plain to the sinner his condition and peril, and then shows him the way of escape, having, in His great mercy, Himself provided it at infinite cost. Now, at this point the Gospel comes in as indeed good news, showing God’s love for the sinner. The supreme motive for the atoning work of our Lord was His infinite love for us. The supreme object had in view was to save us from eternal ruin. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3 :16). Our Lord, while among men, had far more to say about the doom of the finally impenitent than about love and heaven. Is it not wise and safe to follow His ex ample who said, “The word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father’s which sent Me.” How can any minister rea sonably expect to have evangelistic success if he fails to imi tate the Master in this particular? “When T say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand” (Ezek. 33:8).
18 The Fundamentals Second , Redemption through Jesus’ blood. “The Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53 :6 ) . “The Son of Man came * * * to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit” (1 Peter 3 :1 8 ) . “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5 :21 ) . “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Rom. 10 :4 ). “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree” (Gal. 3 :1 3 ) . ‘And ye are not your own. For ye are bought with a price” (1 Cor. 6 :20 . See also Lev. 17 :11 ; Heb. 9 :2 2 ; Matt. 20 :28 ; 26 :28 ; John 3 :14 , 16; Rom. 3:24-26; 5 :9 ; 1 Cor. 1 :30 ; 10:16; 2 .Cor. 5:14-21; Eph. 1 :7 ; 2:13-17; Col. 1:14, 19-22; 1 Tim. 2 : 6 ; Heb. 9:12-14, 24-26; 10 :19 ; 13 :12 ; 1 Peter 1 :2 , 18, 19 ; 2 :2 4 ; 1 John 1 :7 ; Rev. 1 :5 ; 5 :9 ; 12:11): On no other ground than the cross can the sinner be justified and recon ciled to God. If the atoning work of our Lord was not vicarious, then the sacrifices, ordinances, types and symbols of the old economy are meaningless and of no value. The moral influence theory of Bushnell is all right for the saint; but the atonement is of no value to the sinner if it is not substitutional. More than thirty years ago, in Denver, Colorado, I met an aged Congregational minister, who was a pastor in Hart ford, Connecticut, during Dr. Horace Bushnell’s pastorate in the same city. He told me this: “I spent an hour with Dr. Bushnell the day before he died. He then said to me, ‘Doctor, I greatly fear some things I have said and written about the atonement may prove to be misleading and do irreparable harm.’ He was lying upon his back with his hands clasped over his breast. He lay there with closed eyes, in silence, for some moments, his face indicating great anxiety. Directly, opening his eyes and raising his hands he said, ‘O Lord Jesus,
Doctrines to Be Emphasised in Evangelism 19 Thou knowest that I hope for mercy alone through Thy shed blood.’ ” Third, Resurrection. “If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain and your faith is also vain. * * * Ye are yet in your sins;” and “they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that are sleeping” (1 Cor. 15; 14-20). Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God with power * * * by the resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1 :4 ) . Therefore the apostles and disciples went everywhere preaching “Jesus and the resur rection.” ( See Acts 2 : 24-32 ; 3 : 15 ; 4 :2, 10, 33 ; 5 : 30 ; 17 : 18, 32; 2 3 :6 ; 24:15, 21; 1 Cor. 15:3-8; 1 Peter 1:3-5.) “He was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification” (Rom. 4 :2 5 ) . “By the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities, and powers being made subject unto Him” (1 Peter 3 :22 ) . “Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, see ing He ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7 :2 5 ) . Fourth, Justification. “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Rom. 3:24, 25, 26). “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblame- able and unreproveable in His sight” (Col. 1:21, 22). “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect ? It is God that justifieth” (Rom. 8: 33), for “There is therefore now no con-
20 The Fundamentals demnation to them which are in Christ Jesus; for the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8 :1 , 2). Believers are “not under the law, but under grace” (Rom. 6 :14) and can re joicingly say, judicially, of course, “As He is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4 :17). Fifth, Regeneration. The unchristian man is spiritually dead (Rom. 5 :12), and must be “born again,” or “he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3 :3 ) . Richard Watson defined regeneration as “That mighty change in man wrought by the Holy Spirit, by which the do minion which sin has over him in his natural state, and which he deplores and struggles against in his present state, is broken and abolished; so that with full choice of will and the energy of right affections, he serves God freely, and runs in the way of His commandments.” He who receives Jesus as Saviour and Lord, is made a “partaker of the Divine nature” (John 1:12, 13; 2 Peter 1 :4 ) : “He is a new creature [creation]: old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17). THE METHOD The following is the method: The words of the Gospel “are spirit, and they are life” (John 6 :63 ). If the repent ing sinner receives them into his heart and life to believe and obey them (James 1:21) ; the Holy Spirit operating through them accomplishes the new birth (James 1 :18), and he will be “born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever” (1 Peter 1:23). Saved, “By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:4-7. See also John 1:12, 13; Gal. 6 :15 ; Eph. 2:1-3; Col. 2:13, etc.)
Doctrines to Be Emphasized in Evangelism 21 Sixth, Repentance. Repentance means a change of mind; and this change of mind is brought about by the Holy Spirit, through the knowledge of the sinner’s condition, needs and peril, by which the sinner is convicted “of sin, and of right eousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8), and is induced to yield himself wholly, immediately and irrevocably to God. (See Matt. 9 :13 ; Mark 6 r l2 ; Luke 13:2-5; 24:47; Acts 2 :38 ; 3 :19 ; 17:30; 26:20; Rom. 2 :4 ; 2 Cor. 7 :9 , 10; 2 Tim. 2 :25 ; 2 Peter 3 :9 .) Seventh, Conversion. Conversion means to turn about or upon. When the unsaved sinner is convinced of sin and re solves to turn from his transgressions and commit his ways unto the Lord, he has repented; and when he acts upon that resolve, and yields himself to God in absolute self-surrender, he is converted. (See Psa. 19:7; 51:13; Matt. 18:3; Acts 3 :19 ; James 5:19, 20.) Eighth, Faith. Until the sinner changes his mind with re gard to his relation to God, and resolves with all his heart to do it, his faith is a vain thing, he is yet in his sins; but, when he sincerely repents and turns to God, and believes the record God has given of His Son, his faith is of the heart and unto righteousness. (Rom. 10:9, 10. See also Heb. 11:6; Rom. 10:17; Gal. 5 :22 ; Eph. 2 :8 ; Gal. 3:6-12; 2:16-20; Rom. 4:13-16; 3:21-28; Acts 16:30, 31; John 6:47.) Ninth, Obedience. Faith is a vital principle. “If it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (James 2:17, 18). Two things are required of the believer, immediately upon his pro fession of faith in Jesus as Saviour and Lord, namely, verbal confession and water baptism. “With the heart man be- lieveth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom. 10:10. See also Psa. 107:2; Matt. 10:32, 33; Rom. 10:9; 1 John 4:15, etc.) “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). The believer is not saved because he is baptized; but, baptized be-
22 The Fundamentals cause he is saved. We are saved through faith alone, but not the faith that is alone, because “Faith without works is dead, being alone.” Water baptism is a divinely ordained ordinance whereby the believer witnesses to the world that he died with Christ, and is risen together with Him,” an habitation of God through the Spirit. (See Matt. 28:19, 20; Acts 2:38, 41; 8:12, 13, 16, 36, 38; 9 :18 ; 10:47, 48; 16:15, 33; 19:5; 22:15, 16; Rom. 6 :3 , 4; Col. 2 :12 ; 1 Peter 3 :21 ; 1 John 2 :3 ; 3:22.) Tenth, Assurance. Salvation from spiritual death by the new birth, and from the guilt of sin in justification, imme diately follows “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” “For by grace have ye been saved through faith” (Eph. 2 :8 ) . “These things have I written unto you, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, even unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God” (1 John 5:13). I t is here stated that certain things are in God’s Word by which the believer is to know he has eternal life. Here are some of them: “He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of death into life” (John 5 :24). “He that hath the Son hath the life.” “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is begotten of God” (1 John 5:12, 13. For confirmation see 1 John 2 :3 ; 3:14, 24; 4:20, 21; etc.). “And by Him every one that believeth is justified” (Acts 13: 39)—an accomplished work. So the Bible uniformly teaches. Believing these words of assurance, one finds peace and joy. I t is the business of the preacher to make this mat ter plain to converts, that they may be surely and safely anchored; and “that their hearts may be comforted, they being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, that they may know the mystery of God, even Christ, in whom are all the treasures of knowledge hid den” (Col. 2: 2, 3).
Doctrines to Be Emphasized in Evangelism 23 There are some other doctrines, of a persuading character, such as Love, Heaven, Hope, Rewards, that may be empha sized to advantage in an evangelistic campaign; but, those I have enumerated will most surely be owned of God in the sal vation of souls, if proclaimed as they should be. In going about among the churches as I do, I find three things increasingly true. First, Ministers and people in large numbers are awakening to the fact that the so-called “new theology” and up-to-date methods are utterly barren of spir itual results. Prof. A. H. Sayce once said, “Higher criticism saves no souls.” Second, Because of this indisputable fact, very many are turning again to the doctrines of the historic faith, for it is seen that they are still workable and produce results as in former times. Third, Great numbers of ministers are seeing that their ministry is a failure unless it results in the salvation of souls. They really feel as did the late Henry Ward Beecher. While conducting an evangelistic campaign in Brooklyn Tabernacle I one day met Mr. Beecher. As he held my right hand in both of his, he said: “I hear you are having a great blessing in your meetings with Dr. Talmage. I very much wish we could have you for a campaign in Ply mouth Church.” He trembled as he held my hand. He then said, “But I fear my people would not stand for it.” Then, after hesitating for a few minutes he added, “I would like to see an old-time Holy Ghost revival in Plymouth Church before I go hence.” He then broke down and, cried as if his heart would break. Three weeks later, to a day, his body was laid in the grave. Life and opportunity are ours. Men are dying, and the whole world lieth in the wicked one, lost in the ruin of sin. Redemption is an accomplished fact, and salvation is possible for all. We have been chosen to tell out the message of life and hope; and are assured of glorious success if faithful; if unfaithful we had better never been born.
CHAPTER I I PASTORAL AND PERSONAL EVANGELISM, OR WINNING MEN TO CHRIST ONE BY ONE BY REV. JOHN TIMOTHY STONE, D. D., CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, EX-MODERATOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, U. S. A. The story of evangelism is the specific history of the Cross of Christ. Great movements and revivals have made up much of its general history, but slowly and quietly through the years and centuries the Evangel has won, as men and women have led their fellow human beings to repentance and have by pre cept and example followed in the footsteps of their Lord. Jesus Christ won most of His followers and chose His Apostles one by one. He called men to Himself, and they heard and heeded His call. The multitudes sought Him and heard Him gladly, but He sought individuals, and those indi viduals sought others and brought them to Him. John the Baptist said: “Behold the Lamb of God,” and Andrew his disciple heard and followed. Andrew found his own brother Simon and brought him to Jesus. Jesus the next day found Philip and bade him follow Him; Philip found Nathaniel and answered his questionings by the Saviour’s previous reply, “Come and see.” The Master called Matthew from his un worthy work, and so the other Apostles. Saul of Tarsus was arrested by the Divine individual call as he pursued his intense and terrorizing campaign against the early Christians. His “Who art Thou, Lord?” was followed by his complete sur render as he asked, “What wilt Thou have me to do?” All through those first decades of the early Church, and on through the ages, individual work for individuals has pro- 24
Pastoral and Personal Evangelism 25 gressed and accomplished results. How largely the Gospels, the Acts and the Epistles verify this fact! Even the marvel ous work of Philip in Samaria was not the immediate plan of God, but the Spirit sent him past Jerusalem, down into the desert at Gaza, that he might win the Ethiopian eunuch to Christ, and through him no doubt countless hosts of Africa. The missionary journeys and efforts of Paul were filled with personal service. His letters are filled with personal mes sages. Some of his most important letters, such as Philemon, the Timothys and Titus, are addressed and written to indi viduals. His winning of Onesimus in Rome, and the letter to Philemon which resulted, is one of the most effective and beautiful experiences recorded in all the Word of God. God has used men mightily in reaching vast multitudes of people, even from the days of His own ministry and the days of Peter and his associates at Pentecost. Even at this time, two hundred years after his unparalleled ministry, we are reminded of George Whitefield, who preached at times to fully thirty thousand people in the open air, and won his thousands and tens of thousands. We recall the vast multitudes who were reached by our own Moody and Sankey; we note the vast audiences who flocked to hear Mr. Spurgeon, week after week, year after year. The strong evangelists of our own gen eration verify before our very eyes God’s honor placed on fhose to whom He gives such signal power. But our thought goes back to the great universal method our Lord Himself instituted, of reaching the individual by his fellow man. The Almighty could have so arranged His Divine plan that He Himself, without human help, might arrest and enlist fol lowers as He did with Saul of Tarsus, but this was not His plan. By man He would reach men. Human mediums of power must do His wondrous work. Man must go, in the power of His Spirit “into all the world, to preach the Gospel to every creature.” And His promise was sure and perma nent: “Lo, I am with you alway.”
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The Fundamentals god ' s holy spirit
The first requisite in winning men to Christ must be the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. “It is expedient that I go away from you, for if I go not away, the Holy Spirit will not come.” With His presence “greater works” than the works of Christ “shall ye do.” “Ye shall receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses.” To live in the power of God’s Holy Spirit, and to know that He is present and will lead, is in itself an assurance of a joyful and successful service. The Spirit will constantly “call to our remembrance the things of Christ,” and hence we may not be anxious as to the words we are to speak, for He will direct us and speak for and through us. So many times we are fearful and embarrassed, but this will not be the case if we are under the influence momentarily of God’s Spirit. “He will guide us into all truth.” “He will not speak of Himself,” but will glorify Christ. That which we say in weakness He will use with power, and “His word will not return unto Him void, but will accomplish that where- unto it was sent.” We may always take for granted His prep aration, for He does not send but calls us. His word is not “Go,” but “Come.” Thus we will always be on the alert for opportunities to speak the things He would have us, and our words and thoughts will be those which He suggests and honors. We will be nourished constantly by His Word within, and equipped with His sword for sustained protection and ag gressive attack. If His Word abides in us, we will never be weak in body, nor unprepared and weaponless. His Spirit will also give us courage and endurance, and the fearless one who has stability and patience need not fear the unexpected nor the aggressive opponent. The Spirit of God also pre pares the one whom we must approach, and is working in his heart as well as with our words. Prayer is also a real factor in our lives, and we live in His presence by the true conversational method of association.
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Pastoral and Personal Evangelism
As God speaks to us through His Word, so we talk with Him in prayer, and the place and surroundings are of little rela tive importance, as we are always with Him and He with us. The word we speak and the act we perform is the expression of Himself, and the impression is bound to be His as well, for our association with Him takes others into His presence as they communicate and associate with us. We may pray be fore and after and as we speak with others, and do it so nat urally and impulsively that we may actually live in the atmos phere of prayer without hypocrisy and without pretense. And prayer will become more and more a power in our work as we approach individuals from the very presence of the unseen but not unknown God. Assurance and confidence result, and we are agreeably surprised with ourselves to find that our happi ness does not depend so much upon the evidence of our suc cess as upon the consciousness of our faithfulness. We will also seek to win others to Christ that they too may be used by His Spirit and associated with Him, rather than simply to obtain salvation; not what we can do for them, but what God’s Spirit can and will do with them. The Spirit of God will also lead us to gain from others the experiences and methods through which they have gone to learn to do this work for Him; hence conferences and testi mony will take on new life and gain keener interest. We will overlook littleness, and the greatness of God is seen in His confidence placed in those who win others to Him. Criticism will give place to appreciation and suggestion to expressions of gratitude. We will see in others what God sees, and fail to see what we have seen before by way of fault and error. We will also learn to take the difficult things to God in prayer instead of taking them to men in controversy, and will be sur prised to find how many easily adjust themselves for us. God’s Spirit will also prompt us to spend longer seasons alone and seriously think upon life’s greatest issues and values. Prayer will be less general and more specific and individual.
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The Fundamentals Souls will mean more, and things less. Lives will become more attractive and fascinating, and books, papers and stories will only control interest when related to lives which can be in fluenced for and by Him. The last verse of “In the Secret of His Presence” asks the real question: “Would you like to know the secret of the sweetness of the Lord? Go and hide beneath His shadow; this shall then be your re ward. And whene’er you leave the silence of that happy resting place, You must feel and bear the image of the Master in your face.” This will be the result, and others will be won by you as they see in your very face the reflection of Christ, because His Spirit dwells within you. THE BIBLE A second most necessary element in winning men to the Master is a knowledge and appropriate use of God’s Word. We must be workmen who need not to be ashamed, who can rightly divide the Word of Truth. The use of the Bible is the greatest advancing weapon for Christ. The worker who knows his Bible will constantly read it for strength and apply it in dealing with the unconverted. He will not argue with men, nor talk about God’s Word, but he will explain with it, and repeatedly refer to it. An open Bible before and with an inquirer almost always means conversion and spiritual growth to follow. When dealing with your subject, ask if he has ever considered what the Bible says on the point under discussion. For instance, a man tells you he does not take much stock in what you have been saying about the necessity of the Cross; it seems somewhat foolish to him. Do not be angry, but reply pleasantly that you do not blame him a bit, in fact, Paul himself writes, in his first letter to the Corinthians,
Pastoral and Personal Evangelism 29 that men will feel exactly that way. Tell him you appreciate his frankness, and meanwhile pull your Testament from your pocket or take it from the table, and turn to the passage in First Corinthians, one, eighteen; or better still, hand him an other copy of the Bible open to the place, and read from your own copy: “For the preaching of the Cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” Then, before he is angered or troubled about that word “perish,” ask him to notice in the same connection the twenty-first verse, just below: “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.’’ These passages will at least arrest his attention, and uncon sciously interest him somewhat in reading the Bible himself. I well remember a somewhat like experience to this sug gested, which happened in my parish calling years ago. I was talking in the office of a man who was a confessed unbeliever, when he made some such criticism of a former sermon he had heard. I followed the course outlined, and after reading the verses, he remarked upon their application, and told me he would “look into the Pauline writings.” He became later a fairly regular attendant in church, and sometimes came to our Bible class. From such a chapter as that, I would take a man into the second chapter, which attracts one from the very first sen tence, “I came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God, for I-was deter mined not to know anything among you but Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” Then read the fifth verse: “That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” Then the ninth verse, with its wonderful vision: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.” This verse will prove a vista to many to scenes beyond.
30 The Fundamentals Ask a man who doubts God’s love for him if he has ever carefully considered that his salvation does not so much rest upon his confidence in his own belief as in God’s confidence in him. Tell him that faith grows by use and action. Ask him to pray, “Lord, I believe; help Thou my unbelief.” Turn to Hebrews, eleven one, and read it from the Revised Version, which is far stronger in this verse: “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Then go on with this great “Faith chapter.” Stop and dwell upon some of the references, if it will add to the interest. Remem ber to have an open Bible before your companion as you read. Reading to a man will not help a listener and reading with you will. Let the eye help the ear, and make it personal by letting him follow you as you read. Perhaps sometimes ask him to read an occasional verse that needs emphasis, and then you comment on it, asking him to read on. If a man does not understand how God can love him, do not discuss it, hut turn to First Corinthians, the thirteenth chapter, and read it slowly and thoughtfully. Always begin that chapter with the last verse of the twelfth: “And yet show I unto you a more excellent way.” Change the word “charity” to “love.” When you get to the fourth verse, inter sperse a remark such as this: “Have you ever read anything more wonderful than this: ‘Love suffereth long and is kind, love envieth not, love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil.’ ” Why, each verse of this wonderful chapter will grow more and more impressive as one reads on. Then read through the first verse of chapter fourteen, which gives us the admonition, “Follow after love and desire spiritual gifts.” Ask a man if such attainment as this isn’t worth while. Turn before he answers to John three, sixteen: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, hut have everlasting life.” “For God came not into
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