December, 1934
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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
they were called upon to testify, that education has acted as a poison to their faith.” He further says, “In so far as the colleges destroy religious faith without substituting a vital philosophy to take its place, they are turning loose upon the world young barbarians freed from the discipline of the churches before they have learned how to discipline fhemselves.” This peril was seen centuries ago by Martin Luther, who said, “I am afraid that the universities and schpols will prove to be the gates of hell, unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures and engraving them in the hearts of youth. I advise no one to place his child where the Scriptures do not reign para mount.” Archibald Rutledge tells the following pointed story, which has fitting application in our day of growing atheism: “One day I went to a little church in the mountains of
tortures and other religious stoicisms in order that man may perfect sanctification and attain holiness. The cry of the Colossian gnostic was “Abstain! Punish your body, and you will sanctify your soul.” This heresy, we are told, will reappear as one of the marks of the last days, as is indicated in 1 Timothy 4 :l-3. You cannot hasten your sanctification nor assist your holiness by what you do not eat, or do not wear, or do not do. Sanctification is never a negative quality. It does not consist in what you are not, or what you do not, or what you say not, or what you think not, or where you go not. It consists in what you are— not in what you are in yourself, but what you are in Christ. This leads us to see the other side of the epistle. T he V erities The verities of the Christian are those things which
North Carolina. As my father had once commanded a regiment drawn from that wild region, I was wel comed among the stalwart, proud, humbled, God-fearing men. As I stood amid a group of these, a man drove by the church. Thinking it strange that he did not stop, I said something to that effect. “ ‘That fellow,’ said one of the tall woodsmen, ‘he says he don’t believe in God.’ “ ‘Well,’ drawled a towering mountaineer, ‘that fellow is a big ger man than I am in two ways: a bigger liar and a bigger fool.’ “This has always remained with me as a just and humble appraisal. Whenever I see any one so shallow and colorless as to deny the exist ence of the Creator, I find myself thinking, ‘He’s a bigger man than I am in two ways.’ ” 2. The Heresy of Ceremonial ism (2:16). This ancient heresy has given
are neither in him, nor in his cir cumstances, nor in his friends, nor in anything in this world. They are the things “in Christ.” When these Christians are ad dressed at the opening of the letter, they are called “saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse.” As a Christian, every believer is : 1. T r a n s p la n te d in C h r is t (1:13). The sphere of life is changed from darkness to light. It is no longer the dominance of the powers of darkness, but the associations of the Son of God. 2. Complete in Christ (2:10). This completeness assumes the.
4 0 0 tha n n j v e r s a r y oj'ihe co m p letio n o j P » Martin Luther’s Translation oftheBible
completeness of Christ, who is made available to us—not that we partake of His divine attributes, but that we share in the completeness of His personal qualities. He is complete in wisdom ( 1 :9, 10). He is complete in power ( 1 :11). He is complete in glory ( 1 :15). 3. Risen in Christ (3:1). As believers, we have a leadership, not of creeds or; rituals or traditions, but of a living Redeemer, with whom also we are risen in a newness of life. 4. Hid with Christ ( 3 :3). Since the believer’s life is a life “hid with Christ,” it should be a life expressed by those Christlikenesses which will mark it as such. There immediately follows a pastoral injunction, beginning with the “Mortify therefore” of verse 5, and continuing through the entire third and fourth chapters. Christlike characteristics will be the visible ef fects of a practical sanctification and a sane holiness. T he G ist of F our G ists There have been presented in the course of this series the gists of four great epistles. There is also a gist of the four gists. Each one of the four gists has concerned Christ:! The Cross of Christ—.Galatians. The Perfection in Christ-—Ephesians. And the gist of the four gists is very plainly the noble spiritual declaration of Paul in Galatians 2:20: “Not I, but Christ”-^which means, in practical Christian experi ence, the minimized “I ” and the magnified “Christ.” 8 i The Mind of Christ—Philippians. The Man in Christ—Colossians.
UNIVERSAL BIBLE SUNDAY DecemberÎ, 1934 A M E R IC A N B IB L E S O C IE T Y '
rise to all sorts of sects and cults which advocate special days and special diets. Some gnostic had been in Colosse teaching that unless the Colossian Christians observed the Jewish calendar of feasts, festivals, days, and special diet restrictions, they could not enter into the fullest bless ings of the gospel. It was a revival of Judaism. It was a return to the “beggarly elements” of the world. It was a repudiation of the cross of Christ, which had both fulfilled and completed the law. 3. The Heresy of Occultism ( 2 :18). This heresy has given rise to the vagaries of theosophy and spiritism, with their futile and fallacious inquiries into the mysteries of the spirit world, and also to the saint worship of Romanism. Angels hold a lofty place in God’s economy of grace. They are as “ministering spirits” to aid and abet the lives and service of believers. But to recognize these angels and to worship them are two different things. These Colossians were worship ing them. To them, angels were God’s mediators in stead of God’s messengers. Angels were made the patrons and protectors of cities and nations. 4. The Heresy o f Asceticism ( 2 :20-23). This heresy has given rise to all those religious prac tices which aim blows at the body through fastings and
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