226
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
April' 1927
service as evangelists and that two other men are now in their places in the Band. The two new student evangelists are Hsiao Yuan Shou and Chen Chin Chiu. I ncident ? F rom B and N o . 10 Some incidents from the last report of Band No. 10 will help to make plain the kind of training these men have had and the precious fruitfulness of their service. A Mr. Liu, twenty-two years of age, a student of some abil ity, met the callers at the door of his house and at first treated them very rudely. They, on the other hand, by humility and gentle courtesy won him over and finally he condescended to •enter into conversation with them. He said:—“Well, after all what is it that you really teach ? || They told him that they taught a doctrine of salvation for all men through faith in Jesus Christ. Mr. Liu replied:—“If this is really a great doctrine of salvation why was the Jewish nation overthrown? And as for Jesus, He was only a foreign teacher, why should we believe in Him? Have we not Confucius, and is he not greater than Jesus?” The evangelists then took the time to fully outline the doctrine of the Cross, and to explain the infinite difference between Jesus the Son of God and the very ‘best of men. The message touched the young students heart. All His pride and haughtiness disappeared, and he said:—“Sirs, you have convinced me and I now believe.” From that time he became a regular attendant at the evening services. The Bap tism a l Formula A NEW sect is denying the Trinitarian formula of baptism and is teaching bap- -*-tism “in the name of Jesus only,” since bap tism “in the name of Jesus” is four times spoken of in the book of Acts-. This is taken to mean either that the formula in Mt. 28:19-20 is spurious or that it did not have reference to the church of this age. • In the first place, baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, can be traced back to the very days of the apostles. It is referred to in the writings of the early fathers and is found in the earliest apostles’ creed (A. D. 100). It has been the formula used throughout all the centuries. It is doubtful if God would have per mitted His church to be utterly misled in so important a testimony. Furthermore, is there a discrepancy in the book of Acts? The writer of the history might not con sider it necessary to repeat the entire baptismal formula whenever he referred to baptisms. The Didache (100 A.D.) speaks of baptism in the name of Jesus but when it refers to the rite in detail, it tells of the Trinitarian formula that was pronounced. To do anything in the name of Jesús is to recognize His authority as a Teacher and it was He who said the words of Mt. 28:19. Is it likely that His disciples utterly disregarded His direc tions? Some are saying that they never carried them out. Even if, in the four special cases referred to in Acts, it could be shown that the full formula was not pro nounced, would it prove that Christ’s words in Mt. 28:19 were never carried out ? Christ’s commission had to do with the message of evangelism to the Gentile nations. The Gentiles knew not the Father nor the Son nor the Spirit. The Jews knew the Father and the Spirit, but not
In the home of a Mr. Hu there were ten people including the children. They all seemed so delighted to have the evangelists talk to them that they talked on for an hour. They also taught the children our “Salvation Chorus” and the children learned to sing it quite nicely. The Hu family urged the evangelists to come again and they promised to do so two days later. When they reached the house Jdn the occasion of their second visit Mr. Hu greeted them with the utmost cordiality and enthusiasm and said to them:—“We truly believe in Jesus, we are sure that He is the true God and our Saviour, we are determined to follow Him and to have nothing more to do with the devil. Tomorrow we will come to the chapel and join you there in the worship of the true God.” Years ago a book was written with the title, “Days of Blessing in Inland China.” Each volume of the Biola Evangelistic Reports might well bear that same title, for surely they describe days'of blessing. Do keep on praying with us and for us, for the men and the women out in the Bands, and for.the four hun dred millions of China’s people that all the days may become more and more “Days of Blessing,” and that the work of evan gelization may go on apace until “The knowledge of the glory of God covers (China) as the waters cover the sea.” Most truly yours in Him, Frank A. Keller. Changsha, Hunan, China. Christ. Acts deals primarily with converts from. Judaism. It would be fitting that there should be a distinctive pro fession of their faith in Jesus added to their previous belief. To acknowledge Christ would imply their acceptance of Father and Spirit to whom He ever pointed. The main work of the church, however, lay among|Jhe nations, and the formula as given by Christ would be most appropriate. However, we do not regard even this interpretation as essential for we see no discrep ancy. The church has always practiced Mt. 28:19 and Christ Himself appointed them “even unto the end of the age” (v. 20). The case of Acts 19 may be pointed out by some as a contradiction to this view since the record states that the men told Paul they had “not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost,” so baptism in Jesus’ name only, would not be sufficient in this case. Get the correct rend ering in the margin and the difficulty disappears. • “We have not heard whether the Holy Ghost was given.” They were not ignorant of the existence of the Spirit, but as dis ciples of the Baptist had only heard that the Spirit was about to be given. They did not know that both Christ and the Holy Spirit had actually come. Christ’s blood was shed that we might be purified. The Holy- Ghost dwells in men that they may be sanctified. The Scriptures are given that we may cleanse our way by taking heed to it ac cording to God’s Word. The ordinances of the Supper and Baptism, and the rest of the holy Sabbath, are appointed to promote our purity; angels minister to us that we may be holy; and we are cast into the furnace of affliction that we may be re fined; we are chastened that we may be partakers of God’s holiness—that indispensable qualification for heaven.
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