April-May, 1933
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
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This, likewise, is a truth which evangelicals have believed and emphasized. The doctrine of accountability is clearly taught in the Word of God, and it needs to be emphasized by the modern church, for there has been a great drifting away from it in recent years. In the eyes of multitudes of people, even in this so-called Christian land, there is no fear of God at all. T he A tonement
five hundred or so, drawn from all churches and no churches, do not stand for a point of view as the price of a safe seat in Paradise, but for a quality of life.” Doubtless there are men connected with the Movement who do believe in the atoning work of Christ; but a system cannot be judged by the beliefs held by individual members, but rather by the public utterances of its leaders. While some of the Oxford Group doubtless trust in the atoning work of Christ as their only hope of salvation, there are others that do not have the remotest idea of God’s redemptive plan.
When all this has been said, there still remain some serious criticisms to be made in regard to the Oxford Movement—criticisms that have been reechoed in this and other lands where the Group has worked. First
If any one should accuse me of not be lieving in the atoning work of Christ, I would not allow a day to go by without
among these is the fact that in the pub lic u tte r a n c e s of t h e i r leaders, no place is given to the atoning w o r k of Christ a n d other vital doctrines of the Chris tian faith. ! - The great and central theme of the Bible is the re demptive work of Christ ac complished t h r o u g h the “blood of his cross” (Col. 1:20). It is the theme of every book in the Bible and the subject of the song of the ransomed in G l o r y (Rev. 1:5). All the great mpvements of this age, beginning at Pen- tecdst, wliich have brought lasting blessing to men and glory to God .have' had this as their central’theme. For instance, Peter on the day of Pentecost stood up and preached the gospel of a cru cified, risen Christ, proving that Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection ful filled the Old Testament prophecies; and the Holy Ghost swept through that audience a n d gathered a - multitude i n t o heaven’s garner. From the time that Saul
making myself very clear on the subject, and I would do this publicly as well as p r i v a t e l y . The Group leaders have had opportunity to this, but they have not Should the Movement be sound in regard to the atoning work of Christ, it is strange that one of its mem bers should defend the theo- l o g i c a l position of Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick of New York City. If the the ological position of the Ox ford Movement regarding the atoning work of Christ is the same as that held by Dr. Fosdick, then the crit ics of the Movement are jus tified in their contention that the Movement conceives of a salvation without blood. The founder of a well- known faith mission says that he read the book, For Sinners Only, through twice and did not find one ref erence to Jesus Christ as a Redeemer. ( I verified this when I, too, read, the book. How do you account for the omission ? T he N ature of S in We also take issue with availed themselves of it.
.Christ’s Resurrection Life . “l am he that liveth” (Rev. 1:18.)-........... We join the group who saw Thee on the cross; With Mary and with John we watch Thy grief: When they are gone our spirits linger there, And thrill with joy at the last conquering shout, The "It is finished!” which closed all the scene. In thought we join the little group o f friends Who lay Thy body in the garden tomb. But that is past! All—all is different now! Thou speakest from the glory. For the last Time Thy heard voice falls on the ears of man Thus, "I am he that liveth!” as if Thou Wouldst tenderly rebuke the loving thought Which lingers too long space at Calvary. Because Thou livest, we in Thee may live, Strong, holy, full o f confidence and hope; Successful in our work, because Thy life Permeates, saturates, directs our own. Therefore, O Christ, send me to my life’s task Ffiled with Thy life, for more I cannot ask. —W illiam O lney .
of Tarsus met the Lord on the way to Damascus until the hour of his death, his theme was “Christ and him crucified.” The same is true of the reformers, Luther, John Huss, Wyckliffe, and of the great soul-winners since their day, Wesley, Whitefield, Moody, Torrey, Chapman. All these men made the Word of God fundamental in their preach ing and gave.no uncertain note as to where they stood in regard to the atoning nature of the death of Christ. As for the Oxford Movement, we have listened in vain for, any of the fundamental themes to be emphasized. Not once did we hear stated in any of the public utterances of the leaders of the Movement that a man’s relationship to God depends upon his acceptance of Christ who died a vicarious death in the sinner’s place. This is one criticism that has come from all parts of the world where the Group has been. Some of the language used in their book, For Sinners Only, has a modernistic and Unitarian flavor. Take, for instance, the statement on page 117 which reads, “These
the Oxford Group on the doctrine of sin as taught in For Sinners Only. Only the fringe of the doctrine of sin as taught in the Bible is touched. After reading the chapter, “What is Sin?” I readily understood why Christ is not mentioned in the book as a Redeemer. The sin referred to in this chapter does not need blood to wash it away or a vicarious death to expiate it. Sin, as here shown, is just a misfortune that can be corrected, the correction to be made on the sinner’s part. On page 269, sin is defined as being whatever keeps a man from God and from other people. On pages 269 to 275, sin is further defined as being whatever is contrary to absolute honesty, absolute truth, absolute purity, absolute unselfishness. True, this is sin, but sin is a thousand tiroes more than these things. The full record of sin is found in the Bible—the record of what it is, and what it does, and what the eternal con sequences are. The chapter, “What is sin?” does not deal with these things. There is not a suggestion there that sin [Continued on page 142]
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