March, 1941
TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
S5
the wrong word to use when we think of God’s interest in the world. He is not a spectator, watching nations bat ter each other to death, and One whom distressed souls are to call upon to in tervene and save the warring peoples from annihilation. God has the reins in, His hands. He has not abdicated His throne. He declares: “I will shake all nations” (Hag. 2:7). In some unknown way, “the powers that be are ordained of God” (Rom. 13:i). Enumerating the present and future sorrows of earth, Jesus said that “these things must come to pass” (Matt. 24:6). If we are eager for God to show His hand in judgment upon wrong and in the vindication of right, where would we choose to have Him begin ? There is not a nation that has not, by its prostitution of moral and spiritual val ues, provoked God’s judgment rather than His good will. Partial intervention in this total war would be unjust and useless. We may want the lightning of divine justice to destroy Nazi Ger many for cruel and hellish treatment of the Jews and of peace-loving na tions. We may call upon God to turn the battle against Rome, and to cir cumvent the crafty schemes of Russia. Insistently, we may urge God to deal with Japan for her barbarian and un provoked attack upon China. And, let it not be forgotten, God will yet pun ish all unrighteousness. Even now Italy is being punished for her shameful slaughter in Abyssinia. But are there not also crimes in Britain and in Amer ica calling out for justice? While the determination of these democracies is to free the enslaved peoples of Europe, do not they themselves have national sms calling out for divine punishment? If the English-speaking nations would repent and turn to God, we believe they Would immediately prove His willing ness to use them to bring the other nations of the earth into the orbit of His will. James reminds us that wars and fightings come as the result of per sonal lusts. War is covering the earth because of a multiplied individual antag onism against God and divine things. A sweeping revival, then, of personal evangelism quickly would solve many of our international problems and con flicts.
“ Hell Myth” A writer who signed herself “Con fused,” addressed a query to a popular newspaper columnist and sought light concerning spiritual matters. Following is a part of the printed reply: “Here is something that may help ‘Confused’ discard a belief that dis tresses her, but- which she fears to discard, the belief in the fantastic fable above referred to, hell. If the lady will study geology, and then read the Adamic account of creation, the chances are that she will realize that the Biblical account was a rather pathetic effort to ex plain happenings that puzzled and distressed people.” It is true that many persons are con fused in their eschatology—the doctrine of last t h i n g s , including life after death. The pathway of reason leads to perplexity and unutterable despair. It leads to the overthrow of the clear teachings of Scripture, but does not give the heart the satisfying feeling which comes to one who accepts the ipse dixit of the Word of God. The same Bible that portrays the wicked as being separated forever from the presence of God—the place of which separation is designated .“hell”—also tells of God’s grace extended to sinful men through His Son Jesus Christ. It contains a John 3:16. Hell is depicted as a place to shun, and heaven is shown as a place to gain. The syndicate writer mentioned ear lier is one who further indicates her ignorance of the hell idea. She be lieves it to be of human origin, whereas Scripture indicates that the existence of hell is a fact which God has graciously revealed. Her words are most mislead ing: “All of our ancestors were igno rant, and their ignorance filled the world with horrors and falsehoods. I know, because my own childhood and youth curdled under them until, by study and logic, I found the rea sons for which they were created, and discarded them forever.” As for us, we prefer gladly to accept the words of Scripture: “Ityis appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” and “there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.” Scripture further teaches that all the “unjust” will have an experience com mon with that of “a certain rich man” (Lk. 16): “And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, . . . And he cried and said, . . have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.” No amount of human “study and logic” can nullify these facts. —Kenneth M. Monroe.
“ Science says man can. live forever. Philoiophy says man wants to live forever. Ethics says man ought to live forever. Christ says man will live forever."
by means of his life and his pen there went forth continually a call to God’s people to enter into the riches of the grace of God as revealed in His Word. An important phase of Dr. Trumbull’s ministry was his leadership of Victo rious Life Bible Conferences in churches across the continent. In the files of THE KING’S BUS INESS are a number of letters from Dr. Trumbull, all of them closing with such words as “Yours in His faithful ness” or “Faithfully yours.” Those who knew the writer were aware that his was a reliance upon the faithfulness of the altogether Faithful One, not any dependence upon his own faith which might at times waver. It seems signi ficant, too, that the last correspondence that this office had with Dr. Trumbull —which occurred as recently as the early fall of 1940—had to dQ with faith and faithfulness, for Dr. Trumbull had been requested to write an article for the December issue of this magazine, and he had chosen for his theme “The Faith of the Bethlehem Shepherds.” He went on to explain: “I shall prayerfully hope to make this article a challenge and a com fort to Christian people in these dark days, by showing that the shepherds to whom our Lord’s birth was announced that first Christmas night exercised a faith in spite of slight knowledge of God and His Son as compared with our knowledge today, which many Christian people today are falling to exercise—yet could exercise if they would.” Those few words sum up, in large measure, the aims olf this great Chris tian journalist: to challenge—and com fort—Christian people in these dark days, to show them, in the light of God’s Word, where they were failing, and to help them into the victory that there is in Christ. Many will thank God for His servant’s simplicity, clarity, and persuasiveness. To the efld of his life, Charles G. Trumbull’s relationship to men and women was dependent upon his own relationship to Christ—“Yours in His faithfulness.” May the Lord find others of whom this may be said.'
“ Yours Faithfully— Charles G. Trumbull”
When, on January 13, during a visit in Pasadena, California, Charles G. Trumbull was ushered suddenly into the presence- of Christ, for him a long and blessed walk “by faith” was crowned with the glimpse of his risen Lord. As Editor of the Sunday School Times from 1903 to 1941, Dr. Trumbull e x e r t e d an i n f l u e n c e which reached to the ends of the earth, and
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