May 1927 '
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
292
of that, we are of no use to God in His work of impressing the world. How pitiful are all our attempts to fight for the faith if, in our daily walk and touch with men, we do not reveal the Son of God in us ! How contradictory to all we pro fess to believe! What a deterring influence upon those who watch us and listen to our speech! We thank God for many stalwart defenders of the faith whose lives have ever .manifested those fruits of the Spirit which commend the Gospel to all men. We hon estly believe that such a heart-searching message as Dr. Holden is bearing in these days is sorely needed. To use his own words: “Many in this hour’ have lost the dom inant note.” . Dr. Holden was using the illustration of the piano tuner who first brings the strings of the dominant C into perfect relationship, and then tunes every other string on the piano to symphonize with this,, Christ is the dominant C of our Christianity. Only as we abide in Him, through prayer and meditation upon His Wordscan we hope to hâve thé dominant note in our lives. Paul, the great defender of the faith, said, “To me to live is Christ.1’ Is your testimony bearing fruit for Christ? Are you being trodden under foot by the unsaved whom you desire to reach for Christ? It is well that our hearts should be searched that we might discover whether or not thè real reason for their rejection of our testimony is that they are compelled to look upon a savourless life—the very thing which God’s Word says is fit for nothing but to be trodden under thé foot of men. I T was Wednesday night—the last Wednesday of 1926. ' More than 800 people* gathered for the midweek prayer and praise service of the Moody Church in Chicago, were singing that,stirring old hymn written by P. P. Bliss: I will sing of my Redeemer An usher stepped forward, spoke to Pastor Philpotf, who was conducting the meeting, and placed a newspaper clipping in his hand. The congregation had just concluded singing, the first stanza of the hymn when the Pastor spoke. “Friends,” he said thoughtfully, “this is a strange coin cidence. A gentleman in the audience has just called my attention to the fact that our morning Tribune contained an article concerning the author of this hymn, Mr. P. P. Bliss. Listen: “ ‘Fifty years ago tonight (Dec. 29, 1876), occurred the Ashtabula disaster, one of the most appalling wrecks in the history of American railroads. Among those killed were P .'P . Bliss, singing evangelist, and his wife, who were en route to Chicago to take part in a praise meeting to be held New Year’s Eve at the Moody Tabernacled “Think of it, friends,” Pastor Philpott said, “Mr. Bliss was on his way to this church, just fifty years ago tonight, when the Lord took him to be with Himself. Don’t you And His'; wondrous love to me; On the cruel cross He suffered From the curse to set me free, Sing, oh ! sing of my Redeemer, With His blood He purchasied me, On the cross He sealed my pardon, Paid the debt, and made me free.
The Defenders’ Column
Notes by
Managing Editor
“Above all, taking, the shield o f faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts o f the wicked. And take the helmet o f sal vation, and the sword o f the Spirit, which is the word of God”
Savorless Salt “If the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men” (Matt. 5:13).. T HE recent visit of Dr. Stuart Holden in Los Angeles brought to many savourless Christians a much needed message. Hundreds have been thanking the. Bible Insti tute of Los Angeles for bringing this man of God to the coast. Dr. Holden has shown that something vital has dropped out of the Christianity of many people, even some who make great professions of orthodoxy. There are far too many Christians whose testimonies are neither spontan eous nor convincing. They have become so busy defend ing religion as to become irreligious. “In the name of Christ,” said Dp. Holden, “they have, become unChristlike. Profound sublimities of -the faith have become to them mere men on axhess board that are to be played in a game with opponents?” Dr. Holden has emphasized what we are all supposed to know, but which we are prone to forget in the midst of our earnest defense of theological positions—that the greatest difficulty the man of the world has in the accept ance of Christ is not the question of evolution and how things came to be, is not our explanation of the inspiration of the Scriptures, or a dozen other much-discussed points, but his inability to explain the fact that there are so few Christians who are like Christ. It is tragically possible to be most precise as to every tenet of the orthodox faith, and at the same time be salt without savor. We must not neglect the supreme necessity while we busy ourselves in contending for doctrines. We may know all the arguments, and at the same time settle down to so low a level in the spiritual life that we wonder why people remain unconvinced when we say, “Thus saith the Lord.” Men will have little regard for our message unless they can see Christ in us. S aved to be L ike C hrist - For this we were saved in the purpose of God. He called us that we should “be conformed to the image of His Son.” (Rom. 8:29). It was not merely to escape a doom, or even to go out and talk in defense of Christian ity, but first of all we should impress men with likeness to the One who saved us. Christ took our likeness in order to bring us unto His. All the great doctrines of grace, for which we are to contend, are connected with godliness and Christ-likeness as their supreme aim. If we fall short
feel like singing that first verse again?” And how the congregation responded!
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