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May, 1940
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Come to Southern California this Summer
Combine Bible Study with Your Vacation
BIOLA SUMMER BIBLE SCHOOL for STUDENT o TEACHER PASTOR o MISSIONARY CHRISTIAN WORKER
The .Bible Institute of Los Angeles
Kenneth M. Monroe, Th. D., Dean
June 17 to July 26,1940 SIX WEEKS' COURSE
Spend your summer vacation with us, experience real Christian fellowship, and be refreshed spiritually and mentally. Explore the wonders of God’s W ord and see the beauties of His handiwork, dur ing the afternoons, evenings, and Saturdays, which are left frfce for study and recreation. COURSES OFFERED BIBLE Bible Doctrine (Doctrine of G od )— Kenneth M . Monroe, Th.D . Bible Exposition. (Revelation)— Samuel H. Sutherland, Th.B. Biblical Introduction— Nadine K. Warner, B.A. Homiletics—Wm . Harllee Bordeaux, Th .D . MUSIC Conducting— Herbert G. Tovey, D.Mus., D .D . History of Music— A lf LeRoy Urseth, B.A., B.Mus............... CLASSES AND CREDIT
S. H. Sutherland
Classes each morning, Monday through Friday. FiVe hours of instruction in each subject per week. Full day school credit— day school teachers. Enrollment ages, 18 years and .older.
Alf LeRoy Urseth ADVANTAGES— Biola offers you a vacation and Bible Study program pleasingly combined. This Summer School is for you who cannot be with us in the winter, but who long for an opportunity to study God’s W ord at Biola. Spend your summer vacation with us and enjoy an overflowing fountain of Christian fellowship. NO TUITION CHARGE— -Registration fee for credit will be $10.00; for auditors $2.00 per week for three weeks, thus making the maximum fee for auditors to be $6.00. EXPENSES FOR ROOM— Rooms available in our thirteen-story building at the following rates: Single Room $4.00 per week; Double Room $5.00 ($2.50 each); with bath ^$5 .50 ($2.75 each).. For further information please address: Office of the Registrar THE BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES, Inc 558 S. Hope St. • Los Angeles, Calif.
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May, 1940
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Volume XXXI
M a y , 1940
Number 5
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Ransom D . Marvin, Staff Artist
Around the King’s Table— Editorial ....................................................„.-....164 Views and Reviews of Current News— Dan Gilbert..... .............. ...........165 Tomorrow Begins Today— Bertha B. M oore .............................:...............166 Europe and the Bible— John Hess McComb..... .......... .................... ........167 When a Boy Learned Faith— Mildred M . Cook ...................................... 169 What Habits Should the Preacher Cultivate?— Herbert Lockyer..j....A70 Bible Institute Family Circle....................... ......... .........................................172 Junior King’s Business— Martha S. Hooker .............................................. 175v International Lesson Commentary................................................................177 Notes on Christian Endeavor— Lyman A . Wendt ........... ...................... 191 Daily Devotional Readings..............................................................................196 I N F O R M A T I O N F O R S U B S C R I B E R S THE KING’S BUSINESS is pub lished monthly at the rates below, payable in advance, for either old or new subscribers, in the United States or its possessions. These rates include postage. REMITTANCE: Should be made by Bank Draft, Express or P. £Q. Money Order pay able to “ The King’s Business.” Receipts will not be sent for regular subscriptions, but date of expiration will show plainly each month,
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Around the King s Table E D I T O R I A L
disobey their children is fast becoming one for serious consideration. In hun dreds of homes, the children are in command. The functions of parenthood are almost totally broken down. Some time'ago, a “Parents’ Advisory Bureau” was established in England to assist in the control of children. This organization attempts to meet a situa tion that is said to have become serious as the outgrowth of the World War. In our own country it is no secret that child delinquents are greatly on the increase, and police records show the average age of hold-up men as between eighteen and twenty-five. Various conferences of school author ities have appealed to parents to realize the inability of teachers to control chil dren who are not controlled at home. Teachers a r e “spotting” tomorrow’s criminals in the schoolrooms •and are shifting responsibility to the parents where it belongs. But this action does not go far enough. Child evangelism is imperative. It is the only hope. And with it must come a return of parents to the teachings of the Bible and the establishment of the family altar in every Christian home. The modem theory that if a child is unmanageable, the adult needs merely to switch his attention,” is badly frayed out.—Keith L. Brooks.
A False Challenge It is reported that some time ago an eastern pastor faced t his congregation with this proposition: “I challenge you to live a Christian life for six months and thereby discover its merits. If you earnestly accept this challenge, you will never live any other life.” This appeal might seem stirring and even attractive, but it is based on an utterly false foundation. The Word of God sets forth three fundamental prin ciples of the doctrine of salvation which have a bearing upon this pastor’s un fortunate presentation: First, the Bible teaches that one can not live a Christian life without being a Christian. There must be the re pentance w h i c h accompanies saving faith and which can only come from God (Acts 11:18). This repentance is intellectual, involving a knowledge of sin (Matt. 21:29); it is emotional, con taining a sorrow for sin (2 Cor. 7:9 ); it is also volitional, implying a forsak ing of sin (Lk. 15:18, 20). Second, Scripture teaches that one cannot be a Christian without becoming a Christian. Man is bom in sin and is guilty before God (Rom. 3:23). He is totally unable to deliver himself from the death which is the wages of sin (Rom. 6:23). In such a state he can not live a Christian life, because he is not a Christian. Third, revelation informs us that one cannot become a Christian without be ing bom spiritually as well as physical ly. The Lord Jesus Christ said to a ruler of the Jews, Nicodemus by name, “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be bom again” (John 3:7). A Christian is one who has .exercised saving faith In the finished work of Jesus Christ upon the cross, one who has been regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit through the agency of the Word of God, one who has expe rienced a spiritual rebirth into the kingdom of God, one who has become a member of the invisible church which is the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:32). According to the teaching of the Word of God, only such a one can live a Christian life. Others may imitate or counterfeit, but they have not the life that is of God and that is eternal. A man can no more live the spiritual life without the indwelling Spirit of God than can a dead man, void of life, live physically.-—Kenneth M. Monroe.
“ Protoplasmic Stimulation” In that catalogue of human char acteristics which will be tremendously emphasized in the “perilous times” with which the Apostle Paul says our age shall come to it s . consummation (2 Tim. 3:1-5), we notice especially “dis obedient to parents,” a word stressing an "unfilial attitude to parents.” This is just what is to be expected in a period when apostasy from the Faith.is everywhere being manifested, when the restraints of the authoritative Word of God are removed, and when evangelism is practically paralyzed. It is at least gratifying to see that some of our prominent educators are beginning to sense the seriousness of the situatibn and are recognizing the fact that an education that gives no place to religious training is miserably impotent. A few months ago, Professor Edwin Twltmyer of the University of Pennsyl vania came out with an approval of the educational v a l u e o f a n occasional spanking, or as he quaintly phrased it, "well-executed, unpleasant, protoplasmic stimulation." This is getting back to old-fashioned Biblical methods which long have been taboo with our modern psychologists. And now our eminent California sci entist, Robert A. Millikan, member of abundant learned societies, holder of multitudinous foreign decorations, and author of numerousNmonographs on ed ucation, psychology, and criminology, has come to the point where he does not view spanking as a matter of fam ily management alone, but as one for our whole society’s management. Says Dr. Millikan: “The present is the o n l y un spanked generation in history, hence a generation headed for plenty of trouble, when we had been count ing on it to get the world out of its existing mess.” So it would seem that our misguided and chicken-hearted parents of today have not only spoiled their children but have spoiled the future as well. This is exactly in accord with the prophecy before us, and those who know the Word of God know that the present breakdown of parental authority, to gether with the running wild of chil dren, is definitely related to the cur rent disregard of Biblical teaching and the failure to evangelize youth. It has been said that the problem of what is to be done with parents who
By VELMA GRAY SUNDERMAN You are so young, And I, who love you so, Am held responsible That you may know God’s love. You are so small, And I, myself so weak, Must lead you to my Christ Before you seek The way. Your little life Is In my keeping here. God grant me wisdom, grace, And godly fear, I pray.
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May, 1940
Views and Reviews of Current News By DAN GILBERT Washington, D. C , and San Diego, California
“ Extraordinary” Chapel Talk Dan Gilbert spoke at the chapel period at a great Eastern univer sity about a year ago. Attendance there was compulsory. When he told the university President his subject—which was “ God in Our Generation”—the educator ex pressed amazement. He said, “Why, I presumed you would be speaking on some outstanding po litical or social issue of the day.” Later he added, “While it was interesting, your address was quite out of the or dinary; in fact, rather irregular. To my knowledge, it has been at least two years since any one dealt with the idea of God in such a way as to convey the impression that our thinking regarding Deity should be dictated by Biblical teachings. Generally, we regard religion as a private matter, and one man’s concept of God is as good as another’s. We do not think the students should be in doctrinated with * ‘authoritarian’ principles of religion.” attitude toward the various denomina tions. In the first place, it was not recognized that neutrality c o u l d be based on a fair presentation of religious truth in a manner compatible with all creeds. It simply was assumed that the only basis for. neutrality was equal an tagonism to all faiths.x By ruling out religion completely, all faiths are of fended against in equal measure! In the second place, while the Bible teaching on a l l major subjects was banned in many states, often no bar rier was raised against atheist indoc trination. Agnostics and atheists soon found that they were relatively free to use the public schools as “recruit ing stations.” Evolution, the corner stone of all materialistic philosophy, was taught in leading textbooks. The situation today is that many ed ucational circles are dominated by an anti-Bible philosophy, an anti-Bible mor ality, an anti-Bible view of man, of life, and of government. Merely to tack a certain number of minutes of religious instruction on to the school program will not alter this situation. Like an individual, a school system cannot be truly neutral. It must be against Christ—if it is not for Him. So it is with a democracy or a nation; it must be positively committed to God, or it will operate against Him qnd His purposes. No democracy can en dure under an attitude of indifferentism to Deity.
“So deeply have certain religious groups felt the need of bringing up their children under the influence of religion that they have attempt ed to carry the entire responsibility of education in parochial schools at their own expense, in addition to the public taxation for educa tion. . . . “In some instances, religions in struction is given in the public schools as a regular part of their programs. Despite t h e s e various types of church and school response, the religious needs of the children are very imperfectly met in the case of many . . . The Committee can envision no ade quate solution. They, seem to overlook the lesson of experience. In early Amer ican history, the religious needs of the children were fairly and fully met. Re ligious instruction was not something tacked on to the regular curriculum. Religion w a s n o t isolated from life. Rather, religious training was made an Integral part of all phases of education. The Bible was central in the curriculum. It was not taught separately. The Bib lical view was brought to bear on all subjects. It is folly to argue that the Bible cannot be taught in the schools be cause of “sectarianism.” This would be equivalent to saying t h a t economics could not be taught because one school of thought favors a high tariff and an other school believes in free trade! Or, that political science could not be taught because some teachers might favor one political system and some another! All teaching presupposes t h a t the teachers will fairly present the subject matter under consideration, and will not color it with their own private opinions or interpretations. Of course, there will be abuses. But one assumes the ethical bankruptcy of the teaching profession if he presumes that teachers would necessarily abuse their academic free dom to support sectarian positions. UN-NEUTRAL NEUTRALITY: When religion was generally banned from pub lic school education, it was under the pretext of “neutrality.” We were told that the school must be neutral in its
CHRISTIANITY AND CITIZENSHIP: One of the signs of a national awaken ing is found in the fact that social sci entists are recognizing increasingly that social problems cannot be solved with out reliance upon the resources of re ligion. A striking evidence along this line was supplied at the White House Con ference on Children in a Democracy, re cently held in the Nation’s capital. The importance of religious instruction was stressed heavily by a special committee which brought in a report on “Religion and Children in a Democracy.” Said the Committee: “The child needs to havé a con viction of his own intrinsic worth as a person and also a conviction that he has a significant and se cure place in a rational and moral universe. Whatever ^else we may help the child to achieve in the ful fillment of his needs, we have not met his greatest need until we have helped liim to build a practical phil osophy of life . . . Historically, man has achieved this end chiefly * through religion . . . " The Committee pointed out that re ligious instruction has lagged and has been neglected “while scientific discov ery, technology, and. material achieve ments h a v e shown phenomenal pro gress.” Teaching religion to children is one of our “great unsolved problems,” according to the Committee, which esti mates that no form of religious instruc tion is being received by 16,000,000 of the 30,000,000 children b e t w e e n the ages of five and seventeen.- The Committee emphasizes, “Histor ically, it was never intended that the separation of Church and State should deprive children of the resources of religion.” Yet the problem is “how to utilize the resources of religion in meet ing the needs of children without in any way violating f r e e d o m of con science.” The Committee feels that pri mary responsibility must rest upon the individual home and the Sunday-school, but there must be some form of co operation afforded by the public school. It reviews the various methods being employed to care for the religious needs of the child:
This issue emphasizes Youth Evangelism
16«
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S Tomorrow Bogins By BERTHA B. MOORE Bostic, N. C.
May, 1940
Today
B HE CHILDREN of today will be the men of tomorrow. The children of today will be the nation’s citizens tomorrow. The children of today will be the world’s missionaries tomorrow. Will' they be Christian men? ‘ Will they be desirable citizens? Will they be missionaries of the cross ? TOMORROW BEGINS TODAY! At the beginning, let us understand just what is meant by the term “ child.” For simplicity, the term will be used in its legal sense, that is, from the age of accountability to the* age of matur ity, or from approximately seven or eight years of age^to eighteen and twen ty-one. , " There are about 34,000,000 children in America between the ages of sixteen and eighteen. There must be many times that number between the ages of eight and sixteen. These, then, are tomorrow’s men and women.' The spiritual condition of America’s children is appalling. Statisticians tell us that there are 27,000,000 between the ages of sixteen and eighteen in “Chris tian” America who have no personal knowledge of the Bible as God’s holy Word.* What can be said of the greater army of younger children? j Are Children Lost? It is very old-fashioned and not at all modem to consider children as being lost. Children in hell? Poor little chil dren? One critic wrote, “I cannot think of hell for little children.” Hell was never meant as a place for the child, whether he is eight years old or eighteen. Hell is for the wicked and for the nations that forget God (Psa. 9:17), for the angels that sinned (2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6), for "the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sor cerers, and idolaters, and all liars” who “shall have their part in the lake which bumeth with fire and brimstone” (Rev. 20:15), “and the devil that deceived them” who “was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are” where they “shall be tormented^ day and night for ever and ever” (Rev. 20:10). Could a child be included in this list? Yes! *An estimate based on survey made by Chicago authorities.
Oh, not a little child! Little children need to be growing happily, without having their young minds troubled about their spiritual condition. They need to be thinking about athletics, dolls, school, play, fun. Later is time enough for -spiritual development. That is what you may think,. But thinking never changes facts. The Saviour’s Love for Little Children The Cord Jesus Christ, loved the little children. He said, “Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of . such is the kindgom of 'God” (Lk, 18:16). Then He took them hi His arms .and blessed them. Had they been grown children, in their teens, it is not likely that He would have gathered them into His arms and held them so lovingly. He might have placed His hands upon their heads and blessed them, but the Bible tells us He took them in His arms. Some may Say that it .is not right to frighten a child into the kingdom of God, that the fright might wear out. The child might actually have never understood enough to have been saved. It is not the child who needs fright ening: It is the adult Christian who is Standing in rthe way of the child’s sal vation who needs a vision of hell, a hell where it is possible for a child to be admitted because he is an unbe liever and has rejected the Lord Jesus as surely as an adult might have re jected Him. , Jesus loved the children. He is the same Jesus yesterday, today, and for ever.- He still loves- the children. It is through loving Jesus that the child should be won. I am speaking of little children, and you may ask, “How young?” The age of accountability varies with the child. Some children can discriminate right from wrong when they are very young. The child’s nature, his environment, his training, his moral capacity—a ll. have an influence upon the age at which he becomes accountable.
Although the truth may be unpleas ant to us, it is a fact nevertheless that children who have reached the age of responsibility are lost unless they have Christ in their hearts. Satan would make us,adults believe that our darlings are -too sweet and tender to be lost, that the Lord Jesus is too loving and kind to punish innocent little ones. Jesus is loving and kind. In infancy, He covers the baby’s inherited sinful nature with His shed blood. The baby makes no resistance. But the child grows in wisdom and stature and in the will to resist. When the child reaches an age when he can recognize right from wrong, when he is old enough to be reasoned with, he is old enough to be saved. He is old enough to be lost! It is for him that the Lord Jesus died on the cross—for him as much as for the most hardened adult sinner. The child may not be steeped in sin, but he sins. Isn’t lying din? Isn’t stealing sin?- One may say that this behavior is' only natural with the child. Just because it is natural, there is need for Jesus to overcome that natural, sinful nature. As adult Christians, let us open our eyes and look upon this great army of unsaved children |in America and claim them for the Lord Jesus. America has one challenge after another flung at her today, 'but the most important challenge that she has is the winning of her lost youth, her lost children, for Christ. If the young men and women of to morrow must face the grave situations that the adults of today are facing, if they are still farther away from the Lord than is this generation that is making such tremendous efforts to make wrong right, what will be the end of it all?. Shall we take Russia or Germany or Italy as an example? We need to wake up and behold the downward march of America’s vast army of unsaved children. - Don’t tell them of hell. Tell it to yourself. Teach the child to love the Lord Jesus, to hate sin, to receive Christ, to desire to please Him because He gave His life for him. Winning the Child in the Home The very best place in the entire na tion for the child to be won for the Lord Jesus is in his own home! It is strange, but true, nevertheless,. that it .4, T Continued on Page .1951
“ Believe on the L o r d J e s u s Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy «house” (Acts 1 6 :3 1 ).
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May, 1940
. . . and the Bible
convinced is absolutely without excuse at any time, and it is particularly so today. This unbelief is easily apparent even to the American tourist in Europe. We were in Belgium shortly after the out break of the European war last sum mer, having gone there to visit the Belgian Gospel Mission, with headquar ters in Brussels. The gathering war clouds had made us hesitant to under take the trip, but as the Low Countries seemed likely to remain neutral, we sailed, landing at Antwerp after being held up two weeks in the Downs by the British Contraband Control, though we were on a neutral vessel. The statements which we make re garding the spiritual condition of the Continental nations are drawn from what was told to us by earnest Chris tians to whom we talked, and are con firmed by our own observation in Bel gium. Our conversations and observa tions have led us to the inescapable conclusion that the present troubles of Europe are all due to unbelief, and that this unbelief is in itself a direct ful fillment of prophecy relative to the last days. Consider the prophetic word: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall de part from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of dev ils” (1 Tim. 4:1). Moreover, our Lord
Germany might launch a combined in vasion of Palestine. The Holy Land is the natural center of the commercial life of the world. The rabbis used to call it the navel of the world (cf. Ezek. 38:12). Whoever holds Palestine controls also the Suez Canal, and the great overland trade routes to the East, and the new and ever more important air routes to the Orient. From a mili tary standpoint, Palestine is equally im portant. No wonder British and French troops are being massed in Iraq and the Turks are preparing for invasion from Russia! The attack is all too prob able to be ignored any longer as a possibility. Likewise, the contemptuous attitude of the so-called higher critics toward Bible prophecy, and the Bible in general, is certainly not justifiable in the light of present-day events which clearly foreshadow the complete fulfill ment of every prophecy of Scripture. The devout Christian has never believed the statements of the enemies of God’s Word; and it ought to be easier today to be a devout, Bible-believing Christian than ever before! Widespread Unbelief Among the startling fulfillments of Bible prophecy, there is also the present unbelief that is observable throughout Europe, and, alas, throughout America also. It is an unbelief which we are
PRESENT events In Europe should be of the utmost signifi- ^ c a n c e to every Bible-believing Christian. Changing with the rapidity o f a kaleidoscope, the alignment of the nations is rapidly approaching t h a t which the Bible clearly announces will be the final grouping when the Lord Jesus Christ returns. Probable Invasion of Palestine The m o s t startling fulfillment of prophecy in connection with the present crisis was the history-making treaty be tween Russia and Germany, for Ezekiel 38 announces that some day “Gog” (Russia) and “Gomer” (Germany) are to form, with their other allies, a great confederacy which will invade Palestine, when the Jews have been restored to their own land. The result of this great invasion will be the utter defeat of the invaders, for in Ezekiel 39:4, God says to Gog and Gomer, and their allies: “Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is Tyith thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field, to be devoured.” In the light of present-day events, it no longer seems improbable, even from a human standpoint, that Russia and
*Pastor, Broadway Presbyterian Church.
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
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ried, and from which to be buried. These individuals have no living faith. Many European Catholics have never seen a Bible, and have no knowledge of the plan of salvation revealed therein. We are not making these statements in order to condemn Roman Catholicism as such, but simply to show that it is by no means exempt from that which curses all professing Christianity on the Continent. We did not visit England on this trip (in fact, we had little desire to visit it, after having been virtual prisoners an chored off its coast for a fortnight), but the ever-increasing drift of the An glican Church toward Rome, and the outspoken modernism of certain dissent ing leaders and even of Presbyterians from Scotland, left one in little doubt as to conditions there. The Christian’s Responsibility We have come away from Europe with certain well-defined convictions: The first is that true believers should be ready constantly for their Lord’s return. Imminent it has been from the beginning, but the signs of the times seem to indicate, now as never before, that the time is “at hand.” Our second conviction is that the work which the Lord desires us believers to do today is to preach Christ and Him crucified in all parts of the world that are still open to the message, for “the night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9:14), and already the “night” has set tled on lands where once the gospel was known and believed. Moreover, we are convinced that battling for democracy will not save the situation; our duty, as Christians, is clear:- We áre to snatch from the wreck o f this age those for whom Christ died. ducting Daily Vacation Bible Schools, leading in young people’s work, offer ing their services in personal work and other practical ways. Our desire is to put a well-qualified student in each of the thirteen Federal camps which are at present function ing in California. Each of these camps contains between one and two thousand people. Many of them have no religious services whatever. Only $150 is needed to place a man in one of these camps for three months, and at the end of the summer he will be able to enroll at Biola for further study. Will you pray and will you give that migrants who are in sin and without hope might know the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord of their lives? Address all communications to: THE MIGRANT MISSION FUND, Bible Instftute of Los Angeles, Inc., 558 South Hone St. Los Angeles, Calif.
done more deadly work tnan is gener ally realized, undermining the faith of many. As a result, multitudes who call themselves Christians welcome Hitler as the fulfillment of their hopes. The Lord Jesus said that though the Jews rejected Him, some day they would ac cept an impostor who would come in his own name. Certainly many Christ-re- jectors in Germany and Russia are do ing just that. Having refused to believe in the Christ of the Bible, they are accepting, and virtually worshiping, one who cannot be an atoning Saviour. There are devout, Bible-believing Christians in Germany and Russia, but they are far from being a majority, even among professing Christians. The fact that many pf them are suffering in concentration camps, and that some have been put to death, especially in Russia, is well known. But the exis tence of Bible-believing individuals and companies by no means disproves our statement that unbelief has permeated every denomination on the Continent. This unbelief is not centered in any one group, but is inclusive in its scope. The woman in the parable of tne cnree measures of meal (Matt. 13:33), leav ened all three measures, and we believe that this Scripture refers to the per meation of false teaching in all three great divisions of the professing church —the Protestant, the Greek Orthodox, and the Roman Catholic. Through pri vate interviews and public lectures given at Brussels and elsewhere, we were impressed with the sad truth that the unbelief of priests and higher clergy was all too clearly revealed. Among the people, the same condition exists. Mul titudes of nominal Catholics in Europe look upon the church merely as a place in which to be baptized and to be mar- The desperate spiritual need of the migrants is one of the most important problems confronting Christians of the United States at the present moment. Hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children have come into Califor nia within the past few years from various sections of the United States. They constitute the neglected, under privileged, and unfortunate people who have come face to face with starva tion, sickness, and all of the evils that accompany these trying conditions. The Federal government is making an effort to provide for the physical needs of a large proportion of this group, but it remains for the church of Jesus Christ to care for the spiritual needs. Biola is endeavoring to meet the chal lenge of this great company of people by supplying students who will go into the camps to act as pastors during the summer, calling upon the people, con-
Himself said, in speaking of the last times: “And because iniquity s h a l l abound, the love of many shall wax cold” (Matt. 24:12)—and who can de ny the fulfillment of these words to day? The love of many in Europe—their love for the truth of God—is waxing cold. Protestantism on the Continent is honeycombed with modernism. There are not many Protestants in Belgium, where we visited, and comparatively few of those who call themselves "Re formed,” even pretend to believe the Word of God. A typical case in point was presented to us in a historic church in Ghent. The congregation had been organized in 1544. A tablet behind the pülpit bore the names of seventy-six pastors. Many of these men had suf fered imprisonment and torture for their faith in the days of the Inquisition. There were gaps in the list, indicating periods of persecution • 'when the con gregation had met in secret and had kept no written records, for fear of persecutors. In spite of all its glorious history, that church is today poisoned with un belief. Though great Bibles, printed in the eighteenth century, lie before each worshiper on desks that are constructed like old-fashioned school desks, the min ister no longer preaches the Word, I am told, but discourses on “The Power of Personality” and on the “Surviving Values of the New Testament,” and offers doubts for doctrines, and truisms for “ the truth.” It is small wonder that one of the greatest hindrances to evangelical work in Europe today is the attitude shown by the older Protestant churches in many sections of the Continent. Those of us who believe the Book and who seek to preach it here in America know something of the opposition of which American modernists are capable, and that opposition to the preaching of the true gospel is all the more sinister in lands where Bible-believing Protestants are even fewer, in proportion, than they are in the United States. Personally, I do not believe that Hit lerism or Stalinism could have gained any headway in their respective lands if the majority of those who professed to believe the Bible had actually believed it. Perhaps that is too strong a state ment, but we think not, judging from what we heard and saw, for we talked with refugees from Germany, and with those who understood conditions in Rus sia, and had lived either within her borders or close by. From what these observers told us, we learned that the Russian church, before the revolution, was permeated with unbelief; the clergy performed elaborate ritual, but vital faith in Jesus Christ for the most part was lacking. In Germany, from what we could learn, the theories of Well- hausen and Ritschl and Schleiermacher and those who have followed them have
The Migrant Problem
i«e
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
May, 1940
When a Boy Learned Faith By MILDRED'M. COOK
associated with the Midnight Mission in Yokohama, and one in the Punjab, In dia. And when these amounts had been disbursed, there still remained the sur prising sum of a hundred dollars for new investment. When this happy realization came to us, we were nearing the spring of the year. And my husband’s birthday is in the spring—in May. The children and I always undertook to make that day one of the happiest days of the year. There was reason that we should, for as a husband and father, Mr. Young was a continual reminder to us of the patient, faithful love of our heavenly Father. Miles of weary driving (with horse and buggy in those days), rain and cold and snow, often an uncomfort able bed in the poor home of strangers —he met these experiences gladly for the Lord’s sake and always with a song. Thinking of my husband’s loving de votion to his Lord, I was startled one day by this sudden realization: I might give that missionary fund to him on his birthday, toward the purchase of a car! Why not? He needed an auto mobile greatly to assist him in his work. And wasn’t he a missionary? Of course, a hundred dollars wouldn’t buy a car of any kind in those days. But it would help. You see, I thought then that I had to help God do His work— that He couldn’t quite accomplish His purpose without my planning. We would sell the horse and buggy, we reasoned. And the proceeds, added to the missionary hundred dollars, would be enough for an initial payment on a used car. I hurriedly dismissed from my mind the thought that such a plan would require our going into debt for the remainder of the payments—for didn’t we need the car, and didn’t God understand that this was an unusual circumstance ? As the family gathered about the table that day, .1 told them my secret. The boys beamed with joy. An auto mobile at our house! It seemed impos sible, too good to be true. We fell to
ing of the gospel in the part of the vineyard where He had placed us. But there came into my heart a great yearning to get the blessed Word to the uttermost parts of the earth. This de sire persisted that something should be done—something I could do—to get the gospel to those who had never heard it. About the time that these thoughts were crowding in upon my mind, we were honored at Missionary Cottage by a visit from a dear missionary to Japan. In the course of conversation, some thing was said about the practicability of importing linens and other handwork from the Orient and selling this mer chandise to the American trade.) My heart sent up a swift silent prayer: “Lord, may I do this—for Thee?” I shall never forget the sweetness of His answer to my longing heart. Before the first shipment of goods was received, I had a little private talk with my Master, and we two solemnly covenanted together that all the pro ceeds realized from this plan should be His—His for the spreading of the gos pel to the lost sheep of other lands. Little by little, the missionary bank account mounted. The Lord enabled us to send a year’s support for each of three missionaries—one in Zululand, one
For three winters, the Bible Institute o f Los Angeles has been honored in hav ing as its guests M r. and M rk Edwin B. Young, two of the Lord's choicest saints. Having the consecration and for titude required of missionary pioneers, they served for more than thirty years as missionaries of the American Sunday- School Union in northeastern Nebraska , with twelve counties as their parish. Then, when they had reached the time of life at which most people seek to relinquish Ifeavy responsibility, they were called of the Lord into a unique ministry— that of stimulating prayer and missionary interest among Chris tians throughout the nation. It is an evidence of the amazing grace of God, that these two have been enabled to sup port, through funds entrusted to them by the Lord’s people, more than one hundred missionaries in foreign lands! A number of these missionaries are for mer students of Biola. In private conversation and in public address, M r. and Mrs. Young have re lated innumerable accounts of the gra cious provision of God for His trusting children. The following is one of the touchingly beautiful instances of God’s working to which Mrs. Young alluded in a message at Biola. The story is here set forth by one who heard it as it was told. It is particularly appropriate for this issue of T he K ing ' s B usiness * which emphasizes the importance of the Saviour’s dealing in the lives of boys and girls. Furthermore, this issue is the first to be published since M r. Young, who, with his devoted wife, was in Los Angeles this spring, "changed his address to the Heavenly City," on March 18 .— E ditor . M rs . E dwin B. Y oung speaks : I ’D LIKE to tell -you one little story of how the Lord helped us, our whole family, to obey Him and to trust Him. Oh, ever so many lessons we learned In connection with this one incident of about thirty years ago! As you know, my, husband and I were home missionaries, and to our Mission ary .Cottage God sent two sons to share the joy of His leading. We were so happy in our service for the Lord—giving time and strength and means without restraint in the spread
planning w h a t further economies we might ef fect in order to hasten the car’s arrival. For days, the longed- for automobile was the chief subject of our meal time conversation. B u t during this time another series of questions and answers also was going [ Continued on Page 174J
May, 1940
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
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What Habits Should the Preacher Cultivate? By HERBERT LOCKYER Chicago, Illinois [A ll rights reserved ] P REACHING, if it is to be vital, must be delivered from all unreal ity and uncertainty. A preacher rides for a fall if he persists in getting prayer and therefore bore the Imprima tur of certitude.
speaks poinards, and every word stabs.” This mult also be true of the preacher. His aim must be direct; at the same time his weapon must bear no poison, but rather healing for the very wounds it makes. “Our young friend did well today,” said one friend to another. “Aye,” was the reply, “it was a nice little harmless sermon.” Sermons, however, causing men to re pent must be more than harmless; they must be sharp arrows directed to their goal. The physician commanding our confi dence, and doing us the most good, is the one who understands our case and knows just what our sickness requires. Diagnosis is nine-tenths of the treat ment. When the physician places his finger on the painful spot and has dis covered our ailment, the cure has be gun. In like manner, when the man in the pew feels that the one in the pulpit understands his case—and he is not long in detecting the true spiritual physi cian—he listens for the announcement of a cute. The certificate of efficiency which is gladdening to any preacher is the remark, “Your sermon was about me and to me.” Salesmen are urged to leave no stone unturned until they get names “on the dotted line.” Good business is not count ed by the number of calls made, but by the orders secured. It is thus with preachers. They must cast the net—distribute order blanks and press for signatures—win men for Christ by a direct appeal. Preaching with Simplicity Augustine’s dictum was, “Make the truth plain, make it pleasing, make it fnoving.” “I sink myself deep down,” said Lu ther, meaning that he preached so as to make himself, aye, and the most pro found of the Christian verities, intelli gible to the meanest mind. Clear preaching, of course, can come only from clear thinking.. Unless the- preacher clearly discerns the truth, he cannot expect to make others see it. “The foggy sermon often proves the
May you and I ever face seeking hearts with a “thus saith the Lord.” The great ages of Christianity have been those in which affirmation has been clear and definite and strong. The most powerful preachers have ever been positive preachers, men whose assur ance concerning their message was heard in every tone of their voices, who knew in whom they had believed. How positive was Wesley! How sure was Whitefield! How absolutely cer tain of things were the fathers of the church! They knew where they were. Of mental reservations they knew noth ing. No honest doubts characterized their utterances. They dealt in "wills” and “shalls,” not in “peradventures” or “maybes.” They did not go out in • search of a gospel for the needs of the * age. Their business was not to arrest the spirit of the age, but to correct it. Hence, as they proclaimed a positive message, men followed them, inquiring with weeping eyes, “What must we do to be saved?” And this age needs simi lar preaching, mighty in its very sure ness and carrying a splendid dogma tism. ■ May our ministry revolve around the infallible Christ and the infallible Scrip ture revealing Him! Preaching with Directness Benedick, speaking about Hero, in Much Ado about Nothing, says, “ She
up his sermons in cold blood. Bishop Hánnington’s biographer says of him that “He never dealt In the false coinage of a truth unfelt.” This is the only kind of preaching that tells. Unless a man has some inward compulsion that will not let him keep silence, he had better quit the pulpit. When a man believes his message, then, as Spurgeon once put it, it will leap at him like a lion from a thicket, com pelling him to echo it forth. Preaching with Certitude Certitude is an indispensable note in the sermon as £ whole. It should be a definite declaration made with convic tion. Nothing convicts like conviction, and he who undoubtingly delivers his message will be listened to and fol lowed. The pulpit is not the place for negations, nor for the airing of doubts. It is the man who is certain, who knows, who believes strongly, that im presses others. A. T. Pierson affirms: “Candor and a good conscience demand that we in the pulpit utter our deep experiences and deliberate convictions. And no marked ad vance in pulpit power will be at tained without more emphatic and exclusive preaching of Christ cru cified, enforced by experience.” Because the preacher is charged with God’s .message to men, he is concerned with truth. The demand of Goethe was: “Give me the benefit of your convic tions, if you have any; but keep your doubts to yourself, for I have enough of my own.” Remarked David Hume when he heard Ebenezer Erskine: “Thát’s the man for me; he speaks as if Jesus Christ was at his elbow.” No preacher can carry the consciousness of Christ’s presence with him into the pul pit if he doubts the veracity of the Word revealing Christ. Said a stranger to Alexander Whyte after he had ministered the Word, “You spoke as if you came straight from the presence of Christ.” “ Perhaps I did,” he answered shyly. Indeed that was Dr. Whyte’s settled home; all his work was soaked in
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