King's Business - 1920-10

King's Business - 1920-10

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Thus Saith the Lord of Hosts

CONSIDER TOUR W A T S

Y e have sown much and bring in little; ye eat but j)e ha'Oe not enough; j)e drink but ye are not filled with drink; j)e clothe j)ou but there is none vJarm; and he that eameth wages earneth wages to put into a bag with holes.” (Has. 1:5-6

OCTOBER 1920

Bible Institute of Los Angeles Evangelical Evangelistic R. A. TORREY, Dean Where Men and Women are Trained Without Charge, to Know and Use the Word of God A wonderful plant, in the heart o f beautiful Los Angeles. Board and Room at very reasonable rates. The whole atmosphere o f the Institute is calculated to promote a high degree o f Christian character and experience COURSE OF INSTRUCTION: C overs tw o years, embracing the fo llow in g sub jects: Biblical Introduction— Analysis— D octrine— Synthesis— Chapter Summary — Christian Evidences— Church H istory— M eth od s o f S. S. W o rk— Missions. F o r those "who cannot take the regular day classes, an EVEN ­ ING SCH O O L COUR SE is offered , and fo r those w h o are unable to avail themselves o f either the day or evening classes, w e have FO U R SPLEND ID CORRESPONDENCE COURSES , as fo llow s : Fundamental Doctrines, b y Dr. R. A . T o rre y ; L ife and Teachings o f our L ord , Dr. R . A . T o rre y ; Through the O ld Testament b y B ook s and Chapters, R ev. John H. Hunter; Personal Evangelism and Practical W o rk , b y Superintendent T. C. H o r ton ; B o o k Study b y R ev. W . H. Pike. YOU CAN HELP: Send us the names o f w orthy young p e op le w h o should b e in­ terested in Christian training also— W e need a great deal o f m on ey with which to carry on this intensive and extensive work , at h om e and abroad . W e need your prayers. W e need you r help. W e need YOU , and you need US. Every departm ent o f our w o rk is bringing defin-' ite results fo r our L ord . V^e shall b e glad to give y ou further in for­ mation regarding any part o f the w ork in which y ou may b e specially interested. A dd re ss T . C. H O R TO N , Superintendent.

T H E K IN G ’S B U S IN E S S MOTTO: “ 1,the Lord; do keep it, l will water It every moment, lest any hurt It, l will keep it night and day = = " 1 ■■ i ........ ■— Isa. 27:3 ■ ' ' " i:-. ' " 1. " . '■ = PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES 536-558 SOU TH HOPE STREET. LOS ANGELES. CAL. Entered as Second-Class Matter November 17, 1910, at the PostOffice at Los Angeles, California under the Act of March 3, 1879 Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917 authorized October 1, 1918.

Volume XI

October, 1920 .

Number 10

Rev. T . C . H O R T O N , Editor in Chief

Rev. KEITH L. BROOKS, Managing Editor

Contributing Editors

DR. F. W . FARR

DR. FRENCH E. OLIVER

REV. W M . H. PIKE

DR. A . C . DIXON

CONTENTS Editorials: Persecuting Premillennialists (917), Only Onlookers (918), Please Don’t (920), Put Pear Into Their Hearts (921), Seven Thousand and More (922), Is This the Time? (924). Sentence Sermons (925) The League of Nations—Dr. French E. Oliver (926) Message to Unbelievers—Dr. A. C. Dixon (929) The Deity of Christ—Rev. N. W. Jennings (931) How to Build a Bible Class—T. 0- Horton (935) Work of the Spirit In Hunan—Dr. Prank A. Keller (937) Evangelistic Stories (939) Homiletical Helps (945) Notes on Jews and Palestine (947) The Old Paganism Restored—Dr. G. H. Pember (948) Cieansing Prom Sin—Rev. O. R. Palmer (951) Sunday School Lessons (956). Daily Devotional Readings—Dr. F. W. Farr (991) Editorial Afterthoughts—Keith L. Brooks (1000) - Beginners’ Studies—T. C. Horton (1003) Give us names and addresses of missionaries or worthy pastors who would appreciate The King’s Business. Remember we accept gifts to our Missionary Fund for sending out The King’s Business. PLEASE Whem sending subscriptions, addréss correspondence to Office of The King's Business, Bible Institute of Los Angeles, 536-558 South Hope Street. Checks may be made payable to Bible Institute of .Los Angeles. Do not make checks or money orders to individuals connected with the Bible Institute. Y E A R FOREIGN COUNTRIES. INCLUDING CANADA $1.24 - SINGLE COPIES 15 CENTS O N L Y O N E D O L L A R A

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PERSECUTING tké Premillennialists Our Postmillennial brethren are on, the warpath. For forty years or more they have held their peace. They had but one text book on the subject and that was done “ Brown.” Now they are everywhere on the alert, writ­ ing books, declaiming from the rostrum, sounding the alarm from pulpit and press. “ Beware of the Premillennialists!” What’s the matter, brethren? Why the sudden arousement? They charge.the “ Pre’s ” with being literal- ists, with believing that the Bible means what it says,—verbally inspired. We'have to confess that we do thus believe. Of course we know that this confession implies lack of scholarship upon our p ; ; Newspaper reports stated that there was hissing and jeering on both sides of the house, but a pastor who attended all sessions writes us: “ The debates were warm, but contrary to published reports, there was not hissing on BOTH sides. Those who professed to cleave to the Word certainly lived up to it in this matter. The higher critics got most courteous attention, but when the conservatives took the floor, the destructionist crowd liberally hooted, jeered and hissed in an endeavor to drown them out. They calmly waited until it was over and then proceeded. This was especially true of Dr. Cortland Meyers and Dr. John R. Stratton both of whom took a very firm stand for the revealed Word.’'’ ■ - Equally encouraging results were reported at the Methodist- General Conference held at Des Moines. Regarding the “ course of study for min­ isters’ ’ which has long been condemned by ministers true to the Bible be­ cause of the infidel books included in it, it was voted that “ only such books shall be prescribed as are in full and hearty accord with the outline of faith established in the constitution of the church.” The element that sought to have the rule against dancing and sinful amusements repealed was de­ feated by a vote of 496 to 212. What will the Methodist colleges do that have'been holding four dances a week and eagerly waiting for the long fought for decision removing the ban? As a result of the decision, the Actors’

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THE K I N G ' S BUS I NE S S Association and the National Association of Dancing Masters, who had petitioned the Conference to let down the bars on sinful amusements, an­ nounced in the papers that they were through with the.'Methodist Church. It will probably be a great blow to the church, but, anyway, PRAISE TEÎE LORD ! —K. L. B. v c'- - splrs SÉ ÉÈ MÊ IS THIS the Time? Sir Isaac Newton made the following prediction: “ About the time of the end in all probability a body of men will be raised up who will turn their attention to the prophecies and insist upon their literal interpretation amid much clamor and opposition.” Let us see if the present time, the time in which we are now living, in any way fulfills this prediction. A large body of men have been raised up during the last twenty-five years, ihereasing in number since the breaking out of the war, who have been giving special attention to prophetic truth and insisting upon the literal fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old and Nèw Testament. Among these men have been many of the leading exegetes in this land and Great Britain. These men have been devoted Bible students who have been reinforced by the teaching of the Fathers of the Church. There is nothing remarkable in the fact that they have believed the Scriptures to be the Word of God, every jot and tittle, being Bible students; but it is remarkable that they have given themselves to Bible study, in an age when the whole trend has been in opposition to Bible study, and when the schools and universities have discounted Bible study, and especially the prophetic truths of the Bible. This body of men have been able to arouse such an interest in the prophetic portion of the Word of God that the deniers of that Word have been alarmed and wherever these men have gone through­ out the land, great audiences have gathered and listened with rapt interest to their expositions and thousands of the people have awakened to a new interest in the matchless Word of God. There has never been, in the history of the evangelical church, such interest in prophecy as at this time. Great conferences have been and are being held in every section of our land and Sir Isaac’s prediction concerning its effect has also come to pass, “ Clamor and opposition.” Professors, preachers and church politicians are excited over it. Religious newspapers are sounding the alarm ; fear-possessed, they are calling upon the people to beware of these upstarts who dare to question the teaching of the schools and dare to predict the fulfillment of the Word of God. The very idea, just when the dear people were being trained to be­ lieve what the leaders taught them and were becoming willing tools of their schemes for eliminating all faith in the inerrancy of the Word; to think that any set of men should have the audacity to create a dissension in the'ranks and rally thousands of God’s dear children around the dear old Bible. .But it has come to pass and for that we thank God and predict that Sir Isaac Newton’s prophecy will have a larger realization as the days go by, should our Lord- tarry. The clamor and opposition, will intensify as the ranks are broken and a great multitude of men and women with Bible in hand will march in solid phalanx before the Lord and to the confusion of the false preachers and teachers and prophets, and let all of the saints say, “ Amen!” —T. C. H.

j SENTENCE

SERMONS :

i

REMARKABLE REMARKS GATHERED FOR BUSY READERS

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The fool wishes for all he sees, be­ lieves all he hears, tells all he knows, spends all he has. Men are seldom as wise as they look, but they are often as foolish as they look. Animals, when once they have gained our affections never lose them— they cannot talk. ^ The penalty of walking among apes is an occasional cocoa-nut shot at your head. Physical strength is measured by what one dkn carry; spiritual, by what one can bear. Temporal blessings make us joy in life; spiritual blessings make us joy also in death. The ambition of all wordlings is summed up in one word; to have a large tomb in exchange for a small life. The devil is always ready to prescribe the cut of your coat, but he is always ready, to leave you to pay the tailor’s bill. The pleasures of the world are like the leaves of the tree; shelter only in summer and even then only in fair weather. yufiimiiii!iiHiiiniiiiiniitiiHiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiHiiiimniHiiiifiiiiiiiiiuiiiHiuniinnHuiiiiniliuiuMiiuiiliinD!g HOW SHALL I KNOW WHAT IS RIGHT? | T OHN Wesley’s mother once wrote 1 § I to him when he was in college. | [ J “Would you judge of the lawful- | | ness of a pleasure, take this rule: 1 I Whatever weakens your reason, im- j i pairs the tenderness of your con- | 1 science, obscures your sense of God, | I or takes away the relish of spiritual | | things; whatever increases the au- i | thority of your body over your - § mind, that thing is sin.’’ 1

The healing herbs are generally the bitter herbs. The great blessing of real ills is their speedily curing us of imaginary ills. In misery the weak seek relief in la­ mentation, the strong in action, the wise in hopeful resignation, the saintly in adoring submission. People are never too poor but often too rich to be happy. The poor are accountable only for themselves. The rich are accountable also for the poor. Even the small soul can love in re­ turn, but only the great soul hates not in return, Love is the one talent within reach of all. Love sees what is good in a friend; charity sees it also in the enemy. Half of what we hear is seldom so; the other half is not exactly so. He who dwells with pleasure on the faults of others only shows forth his own. There is a lesson in the sun. Its light and heat are to be enjoyed by all. Its spots are to be looked at by the few. The weaknesses of others, if dwelt upon, become ours. Two things we are safe in not believ­ ing: half the good said of us and nearly all the ill spoken of others. By nature men are sinners; by grace saints; by inclination, they are both. Saints abstain from sin for lack of de­ sire; the sinner only from lack of oc­ casion. That they are sinners, few are willing to deny; that they are sinning few are willing to admit. Into sin man is born; into righteous­ ness he must be brought.

Tke League of Nations

A n a Propkecy’s Program Its Place in Scripture, Its Necessity in tke • World, and Its Outcome By DR. FRENCH E. OLIVER

3E rulers o f,the Kingdoms and Republics, the friends and ene­ mies of the League of Nations, fail to realize that the program of Almighty God must be car­ ried out; and the present unrest

Theocracy, that is. the world ruled by the Creator, and every man a loyal loving obedient subject! Man’s failure to obey the laws of God, brought upon the race swift judgments, and every dispensation from the first one of innocence in the Gar­ den of Eden has ended in judgment, and the present dispensation of the Grace of God will end in “Judgment and fiery in­ dignation,” according to the Scriptures. The stages of human government are degenerative according to history, instead of evolutionary and progressive, as athe­ ists and apostates affirm. The image de­ scribed by Daniel had a head of gold, his breast and arms o f ‘silver, his belly and thighs of brass, his legs of Iron, his ieet, part of iron and part of brittle clay. This as you can see is a process of de­ cay, and if you know anything about his­ tory you are aware of the fact that the history of nations from the great Babylon­ ian Empire to the present moment has been a blood-red blot on the pages of man’s endeavor to govern himself, and reject the rulership of God in his affairs of state and home and personal life. History runs as follows: The head of gold—the Babylonian Em­ pire, ruling the world for a period of sixty-six years. The breast, and arms of silver—the Medo-Persian Empire, ruling the world for a period of two hundred and seven years. The belly and thighs of brass—the Grecian Empire, ruling the world for a period of three hundred years. It is sig­ nificant to notice that what the literati

and the unprecedented tidal wave of law­ lessness and near-nihilism will continue so long as the present contempt is shown by the nations for the laws of God. You cannot legislate honor, integrity, purity or world-wide peace into the human race. So long as men count their vows to God as “scraps of paper” just so long will nations continue to break their treaties and resort to war to settle their differ­ ences of opinion and territorial bound­ aries. The dream of Nebuchadnezzar which he could not recall, but which the Prophet Daniel had revealed to him, in answer to prayer, contains the exact schedule of the governmental affairs of this world from that time until the present moment, and history proves that every line of the vision has become current fact in the rise and fall of nations, dynasties and king­ doms. The second chapter of Daniel gives a detailed account of the Gentile world system, beginning with the thirty- first verse and continuing to the forty- sixth verse. Babylon was the first world empire, and Nebuchadnezzar was, from the hu­ man standpoint, the ideal ruler.. That is: he. had unlimited power, and.that is the burning passion in the heart of the average-ruler. The ideal form of govern­ ment from the Bible standpoint is the

THE K I N G ' S BUS I NE S S of nations call “ the golden age of Greece,” God Almighty calls “ Brass” ! The legs of iron—the fourth world-em­ pire, you recognize as the great mil­ itary Roman Empire which conquered Greece thirty-one years before Christ, and the iron or military spirit of the Roman Empire has projected itself down the cen­ turies for nineteen hundred and' fifty-one years, and the. last thing seen in the image is the insane effort of humanity to mix iron and clay, as the picture closes with the words: “His feet part of iron and part of clay.” The toes of the feet indicate the' federation of ten kingdoms or nations which now occupy the terri­ tory which composed the ancient Roman Empire. These nations are in certain in­ stances in the process of formation, but let it be clearly understood: so far as human government is concerned, we have reached the stage of the mixture of iron and brittle clay. You may form a beau­ tiful looking structure put of clay and iron, and have the artists decorate it with the verbiage of dreamers and poets, but when an internal convulsion begins the iron and brittle clay cannot cleave together! The League of Nations is com­ posed of iron and clay, and the man who thinks it can do away with war is to be. pitied, and must not be taken seriously. God’s challenge to the League of Nations is found in the forty-third verse of the second chapter of Daniel: “And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with brittle clay, they shall mingle them­ selves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.” A League of Nations is a grim necessity for Europe! The convulsion which was experienced by the great world war, superinduced by the aspirations of world dominion, on the part of the criminal German military machine,, aided and abetted by Mr. Bill Hohenzollern, now of Holland, former “ All Lord, and Kaiser,” also of the firm—(self-organized, to be sure) : ' “Me und Gott,” has so

927

frightfully weakened the nations of Eu­ rope, that they must “hang together, or hang separately” ; but this nation has no more business in European politics than you have in my hen-house! Internatipnal- ism, of which we have heard much in certain labor circles, and certain socialis­ tic, communistic, Bolshevistic and nihilis­ tic circles, demands an International Ruler! He must be a Superman. The Kaiser thought he was that man, and since the Kaiser’s bubble blew up, I am greatly afraid that the man from Amer­ ica who took an international joy-ride, thought he was that man. The man who Will finally dominate the World League of Nations will be the Politico-Beast de­ scribed in Daniel, and in the Book of Revelation. He is the Anti-Christ ¡'With a few more, convulsions, the iron and clay governments will have to be dominated by a ruler elected by the seed of men, or the vote of the people; We are nearer the collapse of the present governmental system than the people are aware of. May God awaken you today! The unrest will continue until the Jews are back at home in Palestine. Every pogrom in Poland or Russia or any other part of the world only sharpens the desire on the part of the Jews for a swift return to their homeland. They are going! The Zionist movement is no idle dream, and it is no real estate boom in- Palestine. God promised centuries be­ fore Christ that He would cause the cap­ tivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them as at the first. ( Jer. 33:7) .■Gentile dominion over Palestine is practically over. The fiend­ ish Turk was chased out and Jerusalem was taken without a gun having , been fired upon or in the city! This was the work of God! The Turks during the days of the Crusaders coined assaying: “The Christians will take Jerusalem when the river Nile flows into Palestine.” That meant that they would never take Jeru­ salem. God heard the challenge of the Turks, and the only good thing I have

928 ever. known the great oil company of America to do was done in this connec­ tion. They placed. a great quantity of pipe for a pipe line near the Suez Canal. When the British forces started for Pales­ tine they commandeered the pipe, and began to pump the water from the Nile up to their troops. On and on they went, and finally they were pumping the river Nile into Palestine, and the Turks lost the land. There are some people who have so little sense as to deny the Divine inspiration of the Bible. The Jews are composed of three groups now. The Orthodox, those who believe the Old Testament, and look for their Messiah; the Modernists, who are about like the destructive critics of our own theological circles, and the Assimilants, those who are mingling with the other nations, marrying Gentile women, and even taking non-Jewish names. The Ortho­ dox Jews will largely return to Pales­ tine, some of the Modernists will change their views and go home also, but the Assimilants will not be permitted to en­ ter into the land. God has pronounced a terrific judgment upon them. “ Ye shall fall by the sword: I will judge you in the border of Israel” . Ezek. 11:8-12. - We are informed that the League of Nations will have much to do with “Mak­ ing the world safe for Democracy” . If democracy cannot make the world safe for itself it is either a weakling or an imbecile! What the world needs Is to be made safe for the Lord Jesus Christ! When He came the first time they cruci­ fied Him, and there are any amount of men in high places everywhere who would nail Him to a cross if they could do so today. He is still despised and rejected of men, but the day is coming when in the days of the kings or rulers of the great world legaue, the God of Heav­ en shall set up a Kingdom which shall never be destroyed: and the King­ dom shall not be left to other people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it shall stand for-

THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NE S S ever! That Kingdom is the Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. You cannot join it or federate with it, but thank God you can be born into it. 'The ultimatum of Jesus Christ the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is this: “ Except a man be born again he can­ not see the Kingdom of God.” T H E G I V E R ’ S S U R P R I S E S “ The man who begins to tithe will have at least six genuine surprises. He will be surprised: x. At the amount of money he has for the Lord’s work. “ 2. At the deepening of his spiritual life in paying the tithe. “ 3. At his ease in meeting his own obligations with the nine-tenths. “ 4. At the ease in going oh from one-tenth to larger giving. : “ 5. At the preparation this gives to be a faithful, wise steward over the nihe-tenths that remain . “ 6. At himself in not adopting the plan sooner.” — Tokyo Christian.

T k e Bible Institutes

Kinds of Unbelievers

The Atheist, The Theist, The Rationalist The Agnostic, The Scientist , By DR. A, C. DIXON

"Come now and let us reason together, saith Jehovah.”— Is. 1:18.

environment that I could not help in­ ferring a design which compelled me to believe in a Designer, which is equal to saying, I was compelled to believe in God. Any atheist who believes in his own. personality must believe in a personal God or stultify himself; and hence the Bible says “ The fool hath said in his heart there is no God.” He must refuse to let his intellectual ma­ chinery work, if he denies the existence of God. Cafi the Theist and the Christian find any common ground? Yes; both be­ lieve in God. And any one who be­ lieves in God, if he will study the proofs in favor of the deity of Christ, must be convinced that He is God. The Bible which reveals Christ’s deity car­ ries such credentials to its inspiration that, if the theist will think, he must be convinced that it is an inspired Book. Either good men or bad men Wrote it. If good men wrote it, it is, of course, true, for we cannot imagine good men deceiving the world with falsehoods. If bad men wrote it, we have the spectacle of the best book ever written, which has produced the highest civilization the world has ever seen, written by a set of liars, who write their own death sentence, for nothing in the book is more severely denounced than deception. Good men must have written it, and, as it claims to be the word of God, its claim is established. Can we find a commmon ground with the Rationalist? Yes; for Christians be­ lieve in following reason so far as it can lead us. God invites us to use

HERE are five classes of un­ believers. (1) The Atheist, who says there is no God. (2) The Theist, who says that he believes in God, hut not in the deity of

Christ and other fundamentals of Christianity. (3) The Rationalist, who says that he follows reason rather than revelation. (4) The Agnostic, who says that he' cannot find God in na­ ture and, therefore, neither affirms nor denies His existence. (5 ) The Scientist, who says that the teachings of modern science have made it im­ possible for him to believe. I want to have a heart-to-heart talk with each one of these classes. The man who says that he does not believe in the existence of God is mis­ taken. Robert Hal] In a great sermon, proves that atheism is an intellectual impossibility, that every man of sbund mind believes in God in spite of him­ self. Can we find a common ground with the Atheist? I think we can, for Christian and atheist' both believe in personality. They believe in them­ selves. The atheist believes in him­ self. Then he must believe in God, for, as he studies his own hand or eye, or foot, he sees proofs of design. There is beautiful adaptation. And intelligent design compels us to believe in a de­ signer. He sees design all about him. As I studied the growth o f an Arizona desert, I saw such proofs of design in the adaptation of vegetation to desert

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THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NE S S that good men wrote it, and it is there­ fore true. And we have the fact of Christian experience which can be ex­ plained only by admitting a Divine "Christ and an inspired Bible. àk m BIBLE IN ,528 LANGUAGES Lord Finlay, speaking at the annual meeting of the British and Foreign Bible Society, held in London, said as evidence of the progress made, while in 1903, the centenary o f the Society, the Bible was printed in 400 different languages, the number had now risen to 528. Perhaps the most striking fact of all was that during the stress and strain of the war 35 new languages had been added in the circulation. We heard a great deal about social unrest and trouble at home. He could not help thinking that the remedy for much of that unrest might lie, and did lie, in such work âs the So­ ciety was carrying on in Great Britain. OUR 73 YEAR OLD STUDENT One of our correspondence school students writes that she has completed her fourth Bible course. She closes by saying that she is 73 years old. She has received excellent marks and writes that the studies have been a great uplift to her. If a person at this age can take advantage of a Bible course with so great profit, what might many do who are much younger and more active? Why not spend some of your spare time in Bible Study?

our reason. “ Come, now, let us reason, salth the Lord.’’- And if we will per­ mit God t o ; enlighten our reason, it will guide us aright. But unenlight­ ened reason is a very fallible guide. It is easily influenced by prejudice, pas­ sion, ignorance and sin. It is some­ times like a prisoner in chains. Before his conversion Saul of Tarsus reasoned before the Sanhedrin that Christians should be killed, but after Ms conver­ sion Paul the Apostle, reasoned of righteousness, temperance and judg­ ment to come, till Felix trembled. The same reason, under different masters. If we will receive the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit through the revela­ tion of God in the Bible, our reason will lead us aright; but, if we refuse that enlightenment, it will lead us into the ditch of destruction. Can we find a common ground with the Agnostic? Yes, because the Ag­ nostic is right when he says that he cannot find God by looking through his telescope or his microscope. He sees design and he must infer a designer, but he cannot see God. If, then, we are ever to know God in His fullness, we must have a revelation of Him, and this we have in Jesus Christ. So that our agnosticism ought to turn us to Christ for a vision of the God we seek. Let the atheist be led by a study of his own personality to the God who made him; let the theist be led to God in Christ by the overwhelm­ ing proofs of His deity; let the ration­ alist be led by the need of reason’s enlightenment to the revelation of God in Christ. Now, can we find a common ground with the' Scientist? Yfes, verily, for the scientific spirit admits facts and we have the fact of Christ which can­ not be explained on any other ground than that He was what He claimed to be— Son of man and Son of God. We have the fact of the Bible which; can be accounted for only on the ground

Its a Dangerous Position

Tke Deity of Our

Lord Jesus Christ

Some Reasons Wkj) we Are Compelled to Accept it or Drop tke Name Ckristian Bi> REV. N. W. JENNINGS

Let us listen to another one of Jesus’ claims, “I am the door.” This is a great claim, it is an eternal claim, it was made for time and for eternity. He is the way here into the militant kingdom and He is the way into the eternal kingdom, on high. We go in here by Him, we will go in yonder by Him. We cannot go in by the door of the pope, priest or bishop; Jesus is the only door; the door. Good old Noah must go in through the door into the ark. God shut Noah and his family in with Himself and they were safe. The storms may rage and pound against the sides of the ship and lift it toward the skies and threaten to hurl it beneath the swirl and whirl, but God was with him, so will He be with us. The waters can­ not break down the tree of life, the fires cannot destroy one twig or leaf, the long winter’s frost cannot get at the tender bud, in Him we are safe. Jesus stands in the heart of the Bible and in the center of the highway and cries, “ I am the way, come this way for life, for I am the source of all life. Come this way for truth, for I am the founda­ tion of all truth. Come this way, I- will give you eternal life, I will put eternity into your soul.” “ I am the light of the world.” What a claim. I wish I might be able to erect a monument here as high as heaven and chain up and down the four sides of that monument the elec­ trical light of heaven in these words, “ I am the light of the world,” and stand that monument in the heart of the world, that all who pass by might see and read, “I am the light of the world.”

BELIEVE in the deity of our Lord because of His own eternal claims concerning Himself. Listen to Him speak, “ Before Abraham was, I am.” There never

was a time when Jesus Christ did not exist. He was a slain lamb before thè foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8). Long before God built His throne and stretched the golden curtains over its jasper beauty and trimmed its borders with silver ciouds, Jesus was. Before an anf?el ever harped on his golden harp, yes, long before God tossed the worlds out into space, way back in the dim night of eternity before the dawn of the first day, Jesus was. The deity of our Lord is the center wheel, the master wheel which contains the.fullness of all truth. Jesus is the revelation and the representative of the Godhead, even God. He is God manifest in the flesh. The Holy Ghost, the third person of the Trinity, wrought in the chosen virgin, thè body of the Son of God. The Holy Ghost prepared the body of pur Lord, that He might be the Godman, the sinless man. Jesus was bom not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God. It is impossible to conceive of an ab­ solutely holy human being in the midst of a sinful humanity on a purely natural basis. The virgin birth is the greatest miracle that ever took place in the phy­ sical world. By the virgin birth our Lord is marked off as a unique and divine product, the only begotten Son of God.

THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NE S S we are asked by many, and when we tell them they will not believe. I was asked not long ago, in one of our west­ ern cities, by a man in whose home I was visiting, “Who is this man,. Jesus, whom you are talking about?5' 'And where did He come from? And how long has He been here?” he continued. We told him, but he would not believe. I believe in the deity of our Lord be­ cause the prophets and holy apostles de­ clared it. Listen to the prophet Isaiah, “For unto us a child is bom, unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulders and His. name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace” , (Isa. 9 :6 ). (Other proofs, Isa. 8:13-14, Isa. 6:14, Gen. 3:15, Exod. 3:14. Heb. 1:8). “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteous- ness is the sceptre qf thy kingdom.” Unto the Son he saith, “Thou Lord in the be­ ginning hast laid the foundation of ihe earth, and the heavens are the works of thy hands. They shall perish but thou shalt endure, yea all of them shall wax old like a garment, as a vesture thou shalt change them and they shall be changed, but thou art the same and thy years shall have no end” . (Rev. 4:10). “ The four and twenty elders fell down before Him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever. And cast their crowns before the throne saying, Thou are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” Another proof of His deity, is that He saved while dying. He saved in life; He saved in death. “ Today thou shalt be with me in paradise.” He was the Saviour from .the manger to the throne, and thank God, He is still a Saviour. I believe in His deity, because of the angel’s testi­ mony. “And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a Son and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be

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“ I am the bread of life.” Would to God that the world would get tired of living on husks and see on the platter bigger than the world, the strong, sweet food of life and lay hold on the life. (John 6:48) "Come unto me all ye that are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” What a challenge! what a promise! What man is this that offers rest to the world filled with sighs, groans, tears and heart aches, to a restless world? The Son of Man, the Godman (Matt. 11:28). “ I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). “ He that hath seen me hath seen the Father,r (John 14:9). “ All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matt. 28:18). In this claim are infinite thought, infinite intelligence, unlimited wisdom, worlds of undiscovered power and even eternity: these are couched in this claim of His deity. “I lay down my life that I might take it again; no man taketh it from me but T lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again.” No other man ever raised him­ self from the dead. Yes, God conquered death and the grave. “I am the resurrec­ tion and the life.” Jesus the incarnate God will open all graves, will raise all the dead (John 5:25, 28). I believe in the deity of Christ because of what His Father said about Him. God most emphatically states, “ This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” “ This is my beloved Son, hear ye him.” If God was pleased with the incarnation of the Son, who am I that I should not be pleased with our glorious King Jesus? Faith in the deity of the Son of God is that which joins man to the throne of God and makes him feel that he is a son of God, an heir of immortality. The hope of civilization, of evangelization, of regeneration and of salvation lies in the •deity of God’s dear Son Jesus. With faith in the deity of the Son of God, we live; without we perish. “Who is this Christ?”