The Fundamentals - 1910: Vol.12

60

The Fundamentals life of victory-by-freedom in Christ which this Epistle so gloriously brings out. Many would have been glad to see somewhere in these lessons, among the many statements of aim and purpose of the courses for the different years, a declaration of aim that the pupil shall come to recognize man’s lost condition as consti­ tuting our need of a Saviour. This is nowhere stated. I t is stated that the lessons have the aim of bringing the pupil to the personal acceptance of Jesus as Saviour and Lord; and that is good. But a clear declaration of the universal need of the new birth would have given increased doctrinal strength to the series. This lack is accentuated by such ex­ pressions as the following: ‘The average age of thirteen calls for a new type of lessons which shall make their appeal to the new sense of selfhood and the new hunger for a satisfying personal ideal/ The emphasis seems to be chiefly ‘to deepen the impulse to do right,’ rather than to show (not necessarily to the youngest children, but certainly somewhere during the series) the hopelessness of any one’s doing right except through the regenerating presence of the Holy Spirit made possible by the acceptance of Christ as Saviour.”* Against all such encroachments upon the Word of God, upon the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and upon a clear vision of men’s eternal need of that Gospel, the Sunday School of true evangelism must stand with the firmness of the Rock of Ages. Only the power of Christ can enable us to stand thus firmly in the strength of Christ. He is doing just this, with blessed results, for Sunday Schools that ask Him to do so upon His own terms. .. ^Representatives of two denominational Sunday School Pub­ lishing Boards have stated tha t the helps published by them are free from the objections noted. L J - V a n Ness, Editorial Secretary of the Southern Baptist Sunday School Board (Nashville, Tennessee), writes: “Many de­ nominations have made radical modifications for themselves. The Southern Baptists have issued a complete series of periodicals for these lessons, using only Biblical material, and making material

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