T h e
October 1928
K i n g ' s
B u s i n e s s
586
The Age of Drift B y R ev . D. B eaton ‘ Editor “ Free Presbyterian Magazine ”
that His knowledge was o f a kind that allowed Him to be mistaken like other men on matters of .vital importance. This Satanic device to undermine the faith o f the Church has, unfortunately, too many advocates in the world ofpreligious scholarship today. Another tendency which ultimately brings us to the same goal is emphasizing His humanity at the expense o f His divinity. Far be it from us to say that too much endeavor can be made of directing the thoughts of men to the spotless humanity and sinless character of the Man Christ Jesus, "but we must be care ful not to disturb the balance o f Scripture truth in neglect ing to give its; due place to His deity while speaking of His humanity. The true doctrine of the God-man is o f priceless value to the Church o f Christ. Any lowering of the truth here vitally affects the whole plan o f redemp tion. The whole conception of man’s ruin, as set before us in Scripture, requires a Saviour;who is not only per fect Man, but infinite God as well. With the low views entertained of the person o f our Lord, there is associated an exceedingly superficial view of sin. 2. T he E norm ity of S in Men have lost a sense o f the exceeding sinfulness of sin. They do not feel, as they ought to feel, what an evil and bitter thing it is in its power to bind men and women hand and fdot in an everlasting bondage. It is treated lightly, and the shortcomings and delinquencies of men in relation to God are considered too often merely as trifles in comparison with breaches o f the recognized conventions and the standards acknowledged by sinful men. But whatever men may .say, the whole plan of redemption, with its infinite sacrifice and those strong crying and tears of the Son of God, proclaim to all that would give heed that sin is an exceedingly bitter and awful evil—-an evil which required nothing short of the sacri fice of God’s dear Son to remove it out of the way for those who were given to Him. 3. E ndless S in and E ndless P un ishm en t Closely connected with the enormity o f sin is its eter nity. It is awful to think that in each o f us there is a power that will never cease working and taking us further and further away from God, unless we are delivered by God’s great power. Scripture makes it very plain that there is such a thing as endless sinning, and as misery and sin are joined together, this means endless misery.’ To the Apostle Paul the wonder of wonders was that God could be; just and justify a sinner. But to ‘thc'-modern mind the disturbing question is, How can God be just and pun ish a sinner for eternity ? The whole question turns on the view of sin. The doctrine of endless punishment, however awful it may apjpear, will never be flouted by those who have seen a little of what sin is in themselves and’’what it is capable of doing. Neither will they try to rob the unspeakably solemn words o f Christ on this subject of their dreadful import, still less will they feel inclined to joke about hell or thoughtlessly consign their fellows to that dread place in cursing.
HE age in which we live has one outstanding characteristic as far as religion is concerned-S 'MfcS? it- is an age o f drift. W e have let the moorings . slip, and we have been carried down stream, IpLlr and are now out on an uncharted ocean. The -I men who manned the ship threw the chart over board, and neither they nor others can very well tell where their exact location is. All they can say is that they are out on a trackless océan with no sight of any harbor. The enormity o f the insensate folly, of which Satan was the instigator, in getting rid o f the Word of God as a sure and certain guide, only eternity will reveal, but in this world some of its evil is being more a n d ‘more manifested. We cannot ignore the guidance of God’s sure Word, without paying the penalty which Such conduct involves. One has only to read the speeches of men recog nized as leaders in the religious A-orldV’or the works of the idolized writers o f popular religious literature, to realize how much at sea so many of these men are. A t first sight it seems almost incredible that they would give vent to such opinions as they do on momentous doctrines of the Christian faith with the Bible before them. The explana tion at first seemingly inexplicable is simpîè enough— “ they have rejected the Word of the L ord ; and what wis dom is in them.” These are not men lacking in gifts, for some of them possess ■> these in a very high degree, but no gifts will ever make up for the wisdom that comes- down from heaven. Many years ago, Sir George Adam Smith made the statement that the Higher Criticism had won the battle, and that it only remained that the indemnity should be paid. The indemnity is there for the apostles of the new theology- to collect in the religious bewilderment o f thou sands, the hopeless outlook for the great future of many thousands more, and the dead silence of the grave that has fallen upon so many spiritually. As the fig tree cannot bear olive berries, or the vine figs, neither can such a tree as that planted by the Higher Criticism, bear any kind o f fruit but what belongs to the tree which was planted. But, in order to view the present religious out look, and to get some idea of the .seriousness, of the drift, it will be necessary to fix our attention on certain doc trines which are of vital importance to the7Christian faith. 1. T rue D eity of the S on of G od . The New Testament leaves us in no doubt as to the supreme Deity of our Lord andi ¡Saviour- Jesus Christ-j-jt He is ■the great God and our Saviour— God ,over all, blessed for ever— in Him there dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. It is not simply by a collection o f texts from the Apostolic writings that this great truth is confirmed, but it forms the very warp and woof of the writings of those who were His commissioned witnesses. Take .it out of these writings and something vital is gone. It is one of the most manifest signs of the theological drift o f the age, the manner in which our Lord is referred to by men holding high position in the religious world. In the name of so-called sacred scholarship it is asserted
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