130 Gerrard St.· E., TORONTO, MAY 31, 1962 Whole N~ber m ...

16
International Baptist Fellowship, International Council of Christian ChurChes--p. 6 Will Ye Also Go 8 Christian Unity· On Rome's· 12 VoL 41, No.4 130 Gerrard St.· E., TORONTO, MAY 31, 1962 Whole 2071 .Juruts t)ulpft- ·ENTERING INT·O THE KING'S PALACE -, ." WITH GLADNESS. AND .REJOICING By REV. J. LANSING BURROWS, D.D., tomsVILLE,: KY . As stated in our last issue, in the report of the 134th Annual Business Meet- ing of Jarvis Street Baptist Church, we.are happy to reprint the sermon preached by Rev. J. Lansing Burrows, on the occasion: of the opening of the new Jarvis Street Building, as reported in "The Canadian Baptist" of December 9th, 1875. May God be p.leased to remind us all of His .glorious program for the Church He purchased with His o'U!n blood. "With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought; they shall enter into the King's 45 :15. T HIS TEXT is taken from one· of those Psalms . that exultingly foretell the triumphs and glories of the Messiah's kingdom. In David's day it was a promise, in ours a partial experience, in a few generations it"will be a 'joy to the whole eartl)" and beyond earth it will be rapture. forever. Do not these words sweetly· express the grateful emotions . with which you gather in this beautiful sanctuary today? I am sure your hearts are throbbing with gladness and rejoicing as you assemble in· this chapel of the. King's palace-the gladness of grati- tude for the past, the rejoicing. of success for the present, and of hope for the· future. "The desire accomplished 1s sweet to . the soul." . It is always cheering to look upon the successful outcome of honest labor and investment. When any worthy object for which we have toiled is gained, a satisfaction is felt joyous in proportion to the painf,ulness .and. protraction of the labor and cost and the estimated value of the result. I know, my brethren, that there is "gladness and rejo.icing" in your hearts today as memory glances back over the anxieties and ;sacrifices, through which you have passed; and as you -tread the floor of this completed edifice, at last opened for the worship· of Almighty God'. The prophecy finds one fulfilment in your own happy experiences tOday, "With gladness and re- . joicing shall they' be brought; they shall enter into the King's palace." The following simple enquiries suggested by the text and by the occasion will bl- dicate the method of this discourse :-Whence? how.? whither? why? are God's chosen brought to- gether into His house. I. WHENCE HAVE YOU BEEN BROUGHT HITHER? From the 'world. A few years ago· you were all wandering. withqut any worthy aim or end of life in the wilderness of· impenitence. Begotten in the likeness. of parent&, the sickly blood of their hearts was transfused through your veins. Their "wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores" you inherited. In the delirium of this awful disease you fought against God, rejected the Redeemer, and resisted the Holy Ghost. Uncontrolled by God's ·law and unwon by His grace, your own depraved im- pulses and affections gave the only rules of life by , which you chose to be governed. You saw no excel- lence iiI piety, and little hatefulness of sin, and in yOl,lr regard the Word of God was dreary

Transcript of 130 Gerrard St.· E., TORONTO, MAY 31, 1962 Whole N~ber m ...

Page 1: 130 Gerrard St.· E., TORONTO, MAY 31, 1962 Whole N~ber m ...

International Baptist Fellowship, International Council of Christian ChurChes--p. 6 Will Ye Also Go Away?--p~ 8 Christian Unity· On Rome's· Terms?~p. 12

VoL 41, No.4 130 Gerrard St.· E., TORONTO, MAY 31, 1962 Whole N~ber 2071

m~,t .Juruts ~.trttt. t)ulpft-

·ENTERING INT·O THE KING'S PALACE -, ."

WITH GLADNESS. AND .REJOICING By REV. J. LANSING BURROWS, D.D.,

tomsVILLE,: KY •

. As stated in our last issue, in the report of the 134th Annual Business Meet­ing of Jarvis Street Baptist Church, we.are happy to reprint the sermon preached by Rev. J. Lansing Burrows, on the occasion: of the opening of the new Jarvis Street Building, as reported in "The Canadian Baptist" of December 9th, 1875. May God be p.leased to remind us all of His .glorious program for the Church He purchased with His o'U!n blood.

"With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought; they shall enter into the King's pa~ce."-Psalm 45 :15.

THIS TEXT is taken from one· of those Psalms . that exultingly foretell the triumphs and glories

of the Messiah's kingdom. In David's day it was a promise, in ours a partial experience, in a few generations it"will be a 'joy to the whole eartl)" and beyond earth it will be rapture. forever. Do not these words sweetly· express the grateful emotions

. with which you gather in this beautiful sanctuary today? I am sure your hearts are throbbing with gladness and rejoicing as you assemble in· this chapel of the. King's palace-the gladness of grati­tude for the past, the rejoicing. of success for the present, and of hope for the· future. "The desire accomplished 1s sweet to . the soul." . It is always cheering to look upon the successful outcome of honest labor and investment. When any worthy object for which we have toiled is gained, a satisfaction is felt joyous in proportion to the painf,ulness . and. protraction of the labor and cost and the estimated value of the result. I know, my brethren, that there is "gladness and rejo.icing" in your hearts today as memory glances back over the anxieties and ;sacrifices, through which you have passed; and as you -tread the floor of this completed edifice, at last opened for the worship· of Almighty

God'. The prophecy finds one fulfilment in your own happy experiences tOday, "With gladness and re-

. joicing shall they' be brought; they shall enter into the King's palace." The following simple enquiries suggested by the text and by the occasion will bl­dicate the method of this discourse :-Whence? how.? whither? why? are God's chosen brought to­gether into His house.

I. WHENCE HAVE YOU BEEN BROUGHT

HITHER? From the 'world. A few years ago· you were all wandering. withqut any worthy aim or end of life in the wilderness of· impenitence. Begotten in the likeness. of ~inful parent&, the sickly blood of their hearts was transfused through your veins. Their "wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores" you inherited. In the delirium of this awful disease you fought against God, rejected the Redeemer, and resisted the Holy Ghost. Uncontrolled by God's ·law and unwon by His grace, your own depraved im­pulses and affections gave the only rules of life by

, which you chose to be governed. You saw no excel­lence iiI piety, and little hatefulness of sin, and in yOl,lr regard the Word of God was dreary reading~

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1 (SO) THE GOSPEL WITNESS . .May 31, 1962

FOUNDER AND FIRST EDITOR-Dr. T. T. Shield. IEdltor 1922 - 19551 .

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prayer 'seemed. like penance, the Sabbath was ~ sombre day, the Church 'a wearisome place, an,d all devotion' drudgery. In all the spiritual service of the Lord there was nothing that was attractive or beautiful for you. If you were reminded of the necessity of piety, ·you tlwught of it as a bitter physic to be swallowed 10athinglY,by-and-by as an ultimate remedy against a terrible eternal death. From such a condition of soul as this, in a larger O~ lesser degree,. has everyone of you, who are now regenerate disciples of the Lord, been brought. The basic article in the- creed of your experience, upon which you n.ow all agree, is. depravity. From very diverse 'surroundings and influences have you been brought into· this sanctuary: some from pious 'fam­ilies where wholesome parental teachings· and_ re­straints checked outbreaking vices, and soyne from godless households . where no religious cultijre trained the wayward he.art. You have been brought from the huts of ·the- poor, from the cottages of .the to1ling, from. the mansions of the prosperous--; from dens of dissipation, from saloons of fashion­able revelry, from the circles of self-righteous morality, - from the'-superstitious and priestly as­sumpti_ons and meretricious trappi_ngs of Romanis!D, from sin-fostering systems of heresy where ,ChrIst is rejected and' ·His atoning ~acrifice scoffed, you have been brought into this soul-satisfying, com­munion. From Sunday Schools and street corners, from all trades and professions, from the sea and from foreign lands, you have been gathered to find together a home in this House of God. Age is brought with its wisdom and gathered from long experience, middle manhood. with its sobered pr~:p.-ciples and steady purposes, woman with her health- . h h· d f f I f ful' and moulding influences, youth with ·its impul- .you ave tested t e precIousness an aith u ness 0 sive ardors and fervid affections-and all united divine grace fo.r years past. From the churches of into one' affiliated spiritua. I family, into one sym-. your early love, where you first tasted that.the Lord

was gracious, and. where you were devoutly and . pathizing and loving brotherhood. joyfully buried in the likeness of your Lord's death,

How interesting and instructive is this vIew -of and where you first laid trembling fingers and lov­the influence of a Christian ·Church, especially in ing lips .upon. the bread and wine .of 'Christ's com-

I view of the rapid migrations and restless .changes. munion you have been beckoned. hither by the un­of this new country. It gathers into its bosom these seen finger of God. So~e have caught new reveaJ:' wandering children of earth, however differing in ings of divine truth and duty, and from other Chris­rank or age,' in clime' or character, in culture or tian - communions, perhaps, sadly entangled by habits, and by a holy affinity motilds them 'all com- -social and religious ties which you were reluctant pactly; harmoniously, in the accordant members of and sorrowfJlI to break, yet' conscience drawn and one' body, the homogeneous' branches of one vine, loyal to Christ you made the sacrifice, and are num­with like foliage and fruit. So does our Lord collect. bered with . these disciples' today. Most of you prob­the lively stones to be buHd'ed into His Spiritual . ably heard here for the· first time t~e call of a House from rough quarries of ignorance and from Saviour's love, owned the sweet power of His grace, hoarded cabinets of science, from dark mines of were baptized iJ1.to the direct fellowship of this dear guilt, and from purling brooks of childish innocency, Chur~h, and have l)ever known, or desired to know,

-'from the smoking kilns· of heresy and from. the any other spiritual home. - _ crumbling walls of effete superstitions, and cement- From different lands too,- it may. be, you have ing them all together, rocks and gems, pebbles ·and been brought into this palace of ,the King. I have bOUlders, makes them to grow into a spiritual. seen associated together in one House of the Lord, temple in which He dwells with men. Thus,_ dear the representatives of England's, stable piety, of brethren, according to the working of His mighty Scotland's steady principle, of Ireland's fervid de­power-transforming' stone ~into fl"esh-have you· votion, of Wales' sturdy firmness, of France's viva­been bro:ught with gladness and rejoicirig intO the cious zeal, of Germany's·plodding labour; and of far construction of a beautiful chamber of the King's India's converted ardour. Some twenty-five years palace. ' From depr~vity to regeneration, from dif- ago, I welcomed into the fellowship· of the. Church ferent and' distant ~hurches too, have you been of which·I was pastor a schoolboy; a modest, diffi­brought into this household of faith. Some of you dent, studious lad, mild and quiet in manner, frank claim a; spiritual birth _place elsewhere. Many of and courteous always in 'bearing, equable in temper,

'1 . , I

j

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May 31, 196% THE GOSPEL WITNESS (51) 3

firm in principle, yielding in all else, and devout in piety. He attracted my notice at once, and soon won my. heart and confidence. And when the call of the Lord sounded down into his soul, demanding the consecration- of his_ life to Gospel work, he was not disobedient. I counseled and encouraged him as best I could. The hands that buried him in' baptism were laid upon his· head in solemn ordination and again in nuptial blessing upon the heads of himself and his young bride. That lad, now a mature and white-haired man (Dr: J. H. Castle), is associlJ,ted with you in the fellowship of this Church, your chosen leader, as with gladness and rejoicing you enter the King's palace. But so far as the Gospel moulds each it makes all one in -Christ Jesus. Born in diverse climes, all meet in the King's palace as one family. Early prepossessiqns, national prejudices, clashing customs and habits, are all or should be, courteously yielded or borne for the sake of the har­mony, -p~ace, and efficiency of the one spiritual household. Here all profess supreme allegiance to Christ, to be governed by the .one code of laws of His kingdom, and to be by spiritual birth the brothers and sisters of one family, "the sons ·and daughters of the Lord Almighty." ,

II. - , From considering whence, let us second,ly enquire,

HOW HAVE YOU BEEN BROUGHT INTO THE KING'S PALACE? Not by your own forethought or wisdom. "It is not in man that walketh to direct­his steps." You had no choice of time or place of birth; not much in fixing your domicile or position in society. Many -1it~le circumstances which you neither foresaw nor controlled combined to give you a home here and to draw you into brotherhood with this Church. Why are you living in this city rather thainn some other part of the world? Why in -this Church, and not in some other sect, or in none? Back in the past yea~s there was· some scarcely observed occurrence that gave direction to your whole life, some little eddy in the current of being gave a slight whirl to your course, and almost im­perceptibly floated you off to _ an unsought shore. You are not. what nor where you purposed to be ·in earlier life. As drops attracted from diverse sources -spray-atoms driven by fierce eastern winds, swept by western gales, fanned by southern breezes, converge upon some hill-top, pour out showers there,

• and form a spring at .its base, so have you been· drawn or driven .to find a centre in this House of qod. May it be to create here a spring--::-an unfail­ing spring-of living waters, whose perennial out­flow shall vivify and purify and beautify this local­ity and make -it as the garden of the 'Lord. The unseen cords of a . guiding Providence have always been around us my brethren, le~ding us "by a way we knew not," drawing some on beyond the place where they wished to stay, checking -some short of the goal they aimed for, turning others out of the paths they had entered, and containing you all here within this single circle of mutual fellowship. How

. inscrutabl_e the ~esigns! how incomprehensible- the methods! _ how - complicated the machinery of the omniscient Providence! ..

-And 'not only has God's -Providence led you, -but God's Spirit has fitted you for a place in this_

Church, if you are rightly here. Only the Holy Ghost can. mould the material for the spiritual building. Ignorance He instructs, and depravity He masters. He arrests the steps of the wandering, and guides the lost to a refuge. The hard heart He smites, and the tears of penitence gush out. Pride He rebukes, and the soul is prostrate in humble submission. Unbelief He convinces, and -the spirit looks up with- unquestioning Jaith. Are we in despair under the condemning sentence of a broken law? The Holy Spirit shows us the heart of Jesus and the- smile of God. Do our consciences reproach us for the evils which oUr sins have wrought? The Spirit teaches how Christ's atonement repairs the· wrongs, and our "consciences are purged from dead works." Are we saddened and humbled by a sense of _ inherent unworthiness and pollutions? The Spirit points to the cross, the streaming blood from which "cleanses from all sin." The Holy Spirit thus takes the· work of Ghrist and shows it to us as furnishing strength for our weakness, joy for our despair, purity_ for our pollution, a warrant for

_ hope, a firm basi's of· faith .. To give an exhaustive answer to the question, How are men fitted for entrance and abode in the palace of the, King and brought thither? would require .me to speak of God's eternal purpose of grace toward our fallen race; of the everlasting: covenant .that fixed the price and terms of redemption; of the incarnation, sufferings, and sacrifice of the Son of .God; as well as of th~ more direct wQrk :of the Holy Spirit. Dear brethren, it cost an infinite sum to build and furnish for us, and then to fit us for, a,nd lead us into, the palace of the King. .

Does the question, "How?" refer to the human agencies that have_ led ~s_ into the King's palace? Then we should have to tell of pious parents' faith­ful teachings.and prayers; of warnings and expostu­lations of godly friends; of impressive lessons from God's_ Word; of effective utterances and appeals from the pulpit; of the whole system of means of gtsce by. which attention is arrested and truth learned. If the question "How?" relates to our own agency and experiences in gaining the King's palace, then we should have to relate the· story of· our re-pentance for sin; of faith in Jesus; of dedication to Him; of yearning love for His disciples; of the whole class of gr~cious affections, moved and guided by the Word and the Spirit in the processes, and as the results of regeneration. Ah! my brethren, you have rich stores of precious experiences if you would only recall them, collate_ them, classify them, meditate upon them, and talk about them. Can you say like David, I have hid thy truth in my heart? Oh, yes, my brethren, you have reason for gladness and rejoicing as you ent~r the King's palace today. Are you not glad that -your feet_ were ever planted on the-floor of the sanctuary; glad that you ever he.ard . the lessons there taught; that you were sweetly -constrained to lOve and obey tI:tem; that you do in some degree appreciate the value of God's House? Are you not glad that you have built this palace for your King, where such in­fluences and results may -be perpetuated and multi­plied down to remote -future generations? Toils_ and sacrifices are not worth remembering amid the rejoi~ings of today.

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THE ,GOSPEL. '!fI'NESS l\fay 31, 1962

DI. 'instJ,'uctions" and commissions them, to 'speak a~d In the third place, let us enquire a little more ,act for Him .. Her~ H~ plaps and directs the warfare

definitely, WHITHER ARE WE-BROUGHT? "Into, for. the .subJug8;tlOn of our revol~d race; for the the 'King's palace." And 'is not the house of the extirpation. of, sm anq th~ destt:u~tlO1'.l.. of the works Lord the palace of a king? Here Jehovah's sover- o! the,De~ll. In the Churcl'! orlgmate all the effec­eigntY'is acknowledged. Everywhere else, on earth t1ve a~enc~es that oper~te for the moral welfare of and in hell, His reign is disputed, His laws are ~ankmd.,. As the kmg spalace, the House of God repUdiated. But in His palace the King collects only IS the capItal of the world, the seat of moral ,govern-such as fully recognize His authority, and take the ment for the whole race.' , , oath of personal allegi~nce. "In Zion Jehovah is Are you br(;mght, into' the' King's palace? Then king." Over, His own household He exer~ises sole you are near to the King. He brings none there' supreme authority. "Other lords have had dominion whom He does not love, none with whom He refuses over u~, but they are dead, they shall not live, they intercourse. Unspeakable grace! He communes 'are deceased, they shall not rise." Delivered ,from with us from the Throne! He admits us to intimate the tyranny, we have "another king, one Jesus." audience, hears our complaints, pities our sorrows, His right we, own, His r,ule we love. In Qod's'house comforts our souls: Oh!,can you dwell,in the palace no pope or prelate, no priest nor presbytery, no and be estranged from your Sovereign ?---cold in conference nor council has a right to legislate. The affection, distrustful, neglectful of opportunities for King Himself 'will rule Hi,S own family. He has speaking to Him, of responding to ;His loving smile. issued His own code, and req'tiires of us only that we How unnatural is indifrerence to such glorious

~ study, understand, and practice it. Each Church privileges! If you are in the palace of the King, is a chosen company called out from the world and then you have influence 'with the King-influence separated from it, for His service and glory, in by which'to secure large favours for yourself; by < absolute submission to His authority and in unques- which to gain riches for earth' and treasures for tioning 'obedience to His laws. In His palace the heaven; by which to obtain favours for others, too; King displays the brightest,splendours of His glory. for "the fervent 'effectual prayer of the righteous There are no such revealings of the divine glory in ~vaileth much." Dear brothers, use a little of your the wide earth as are exhibited in the Church of influence for me. Let us all sincerely petition the Ch,rist.' True, the heavens declare His glory, and the King for favou:r;s,to one another. He loves to give-creation utters' His praise. But all thi!!J is but' the "giving does not impoverish Him." Are you brought unconscious praise which mindless mechanism or into the King's palace?' Then you have attained soulless creatures,.. involuntarily' render to the the highest honours that mortals can reach. If the Creator. Nothing in 'earth can intelligently praise minister of a king, invested with the dignities of God but man. The sun never thanked God for its office, sent to represent his sovereign to foreign light, nor the trees for their foliage, and flowers, courts, is honoured among men, how much more ,are and fruits, nor the birds for their' plumage, nor the we honoured a,mong mep., how much are we beasts for their food. In all I can find illustrations honoured by an introduction into the palace of the and p~oofs of the power, and wi$dom, and goodness King of Kings, the blessed and only potentate in-of Jehovah; but there is higher power displayed in vested with high office there, 'made ourselves am-

, subduing rebellious ~ills than in creating and oon- bassadors, kings, and' priests unto' God? My , trOlling things or creatures that have no intelligence brethren, does this sound a little extravagant to

to resist; there is profounder wisdom in the 'laws your ears? But is it beyond what the word war-\ that govern active mind than in those that govern rants? I have no doubt that the honours we are

passive matter; there is ,purer goodness, deepening now receiving, considering' who the Lord is and into tenderest love in the system by which immortal what we are, and what He is now doing and pur­souls are redeemed and beautified, all the' care posing for us, if we are truly the ransomed and which upholds and adorns perishing nature. I will adopted ~ons and daughters' of the Lord Almighty, look fQr and find brilliant displays of Jehovah's infinitely tral1scend all the capabilities of our con­glory in everything His hand has formed, but when . ceptions or imaginings: Try to rise to something I seek brightest splendours I will enter the King's like.an apprehension of the dignity, honour, and ,_ palace.' ' _ blessedriess of your calling, as "an heir of God, and

From the palace issue the edicts and agencies that a joint ~eir with Jesus Christ, to an inheritance in­control the dominion of the King. Here His will is' corruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not 'away." revealed: His commands are announced. Here origi- ' na~ tile measures that affect the remotest provinces. IV. Hence are sent ,out His messengers. From the It only remains for us to enquire, WHY' HAVE Church He governs the world. Brethren, "God is in YOU BEEN BROUGHT INTO THE PALACE OF His holy temple" by a special presence as nowhere ',THE KING? Not merely for your own enjoyment. else. He does "indeed dwell in houses made with It is true that there are springs of personal enjoy­hands." F~om His Church, as from a palace He ment opened in the House' of God, to which there issues His decrees to the world, "for the law ;hall is access from no other place-there is comfort in go forth out of, Zion." What He purposes for the its worship and ordinances, bliss in the intercourse renovation of man H~ carries out, through the of Christian fellowship, joy in the communings of Church, for He makes it "the salt of the earth and the Holy. Spirit. :aere God's saints are consoled and the, light of the world." It is His cabinet where, He strengthened and edified, and fitted to endure the gathers His faithful servants, ,jmparts to them :ais trials and meet the duties o~ life. But if this 'be

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made the end' of youI;' union with God's people; if and truth. God has promised to be to His Church, you enter the' King's Palace only to find a place of not only' "as a wall of fire round about," but "as a' pleasant repose, to loiter indolently in quiet and glory hi the midst of her." St. Paul assures us that comfort, to secure your own personal safety or its ministrations are to reflect the glory of the ,Lord interests, there is more of selfishness than of benevo- . upon the Gentile world, "that they may become lence in the motives that actuate you. fE;!llow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers

A primary essential motive whylyou are together of his promise in Christ by the Gospel." He ascends , brought hither is, that you may exert a combined, still higher; and reveals the' astounding truth that positive, aggressive ilJ,fluence for good upon :the it was Jehova,h's eternal purpose, through the world. It is the purpose of the, Lord, through' the Church, to reveal His own glory, not alone to the Church,' to ren~vateand purify the earth. -rou are dwellers upon earth, but to the higher and holier brought together not merely to gain good, but to intelligences: in other sph~re,s. "To the intent that do good, to combine all energies and influences for to the principalities and powers in Heavenly places diffusing good. The earth's own radiations cover 'might be made known,. by the Church, the manifold its own surface with Q.ewdrops. What it gives out wi~dom of God, acc?rding. to the, eternal pu~pose is what falls back upon its own bosom to refresh, which He purposed In ChrIst Jesus our Lord. If and beautify itself. Not the light they absorb but', you do then duly appreciate the honors and duties the lig~t they re.flect, creates the splendour of 'suns of your position. in t~e palace ?f th~ King, your first and 'stars. Not the rays they receive, but the rays constant, sole 'aim Will be to Irradiate ,the glory' of they, part with, give the glorious colors to foliage, the, Lord. This is the final cause cif your being flowers, to plumage and rainbow. And it is not brought into the King's palace. Without this, your so much fo~ what you are to get as it is for what beautiful house is useless and waste as an Egyptian you are to give that you are called together as a Pyramid built in the desert. With, this, it is as Church of the living God. The broadest benevolence superior to every other structure as the interests of is the highest enjoyment, prosperity and spiritual- eternity are superior to those of time; as the infi­ity. Has not the Lord founded this Church that it nite is superior to the finite: "Unto God be glory may be a perennial fountain ,of blessings to this in the Church of Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, community, country, world? Is not this vine world without end. Amen." planted 'that successive harvests of ripe fruits may ~y ,dear brethren, in building this house you have refresh thirsty souls? Are you not 'here kindling given labor and, money, you have made sacrifices a light to pe fed with oil perpetually and kept blaz- and experience,d anxieties. Are you not repaid for ing, throwing illuminationsup~n the character and ' all as, you assemble for solemn and grateful worship attributes and truth 'of God, upon the doctrines and today in this completed edifice, and cast a hopeful

, ordinances of our holy religion, lighting up all dark glance toward the future? And now' you are places and warming up all cold places into which gathered within its walls, acknowle.dging Jehovah well adjusted headlight refl~ctors can flash its rays? ,as 'your God-Jesus Christ as your Saviour-the

My brethren; have you reached the' end for whiCh Holy Spirit as 'your re!lewer, guide, and c?mforte~, you have been toiling and 'sacrificing in the erectioN to .fo~l1)allY and heartI}y devote and dedicate ,.thiS and completion of this ,edifice? Do you breathe buIldmg to. t~e worship .and glory of the triune easier today, and say, "Well, we have done at last. God. ~f thiS I.S rou.r deslr~ and purpose, the~ let Now we have the place finished where we may the congregatIon ~Ise,. whIle ,we reverently a!,-d

,peacefully and quietly sit down and worship our, solemnly d~clare thiS edifice set apart to the service God." God forbid' that such an impression should and worship of the Lord Jehovah. rest on any heart. All you have done is but a means To God, the Almighty and ever blessed Father, to' ends yet to be accomplished. The plant has been that He may here rule' as Sovereign, publish His erected and the machinery is in. Has the company laws, call out a peopJe for His own praise, m~gnify completed the purpose for which it was organized? His name, bless Hi~ truth" fulfil His promises, hear Why, no! It is just ready to begirt its proper work. and answer prayer, ,forgive sins, and display His Let in the hands and tU,rn' on the steam; let the glory. To God, the eternal and incarnate Son, that spindles whirl, and the looms work, and the products here He may by His love subdue His foes, prove the be turn~d out for the' markets. You' have 'now efficacy of His atoning sacrifice, reveal the'wondrous' reached a position in your progress as a ehurch mysteries of His cross, give re,st to the we,ary and

, when yo~ c~n begin with fairer promise than ever heavy laden, peace to the penitent, justification to befo:re, with better agencies and facilities, to work the' believing, commune with His saints, "see 'of the for God and for man. All yo~ have done is only as travail of His soul and be satisfied." To God, the pr,eparation for more effective and wider usefulness. co-equal Holy Spirit, that He may here "convince The end of the old is the beginning of the new. The of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment," whisp~r ~upreme end for which you have been gathe:r:ed "as pardon to the penit!!nt, speak peace to the troubled, a Church, for which you have erected this edifit:e, impart comfort to the distressed, light to the per­is the display of the glory of the Lord. The light plexed, strength to the weak, incite the prayers, of Hi~ co~ntenance shining upon this place is, to be confirm the faith~ elevate the;! hopes, in~pire the zeal, from' It reflected upon ~he ~orld. 'The doctrines of nourish the love of His saints, and, "sanctify to the Ch';1rch express. HIS Wisdom and love; its in- Himself a peculia,r people zealous of good works."

\ cr~ase I}lustra~s H~s. p,pwer ~nd grace; its purity To the one 'living, and true God, Father, 'Son and HIS hoh.ness, ItS ~rIvlleges HI~ g60~ness, its com- Holy Ghost, do we now devoutly, heartily, joyfully forts HIS mercy, ItS perpetuatIon HIS faithfulness consecrate this building-this pulpit, that here all

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(; (54) ,THE GOSPEL, WI~ESS M8y 31, 196%

the counsel of God may be declared faithfully and , Redeemer; this whole building we declare ,~t apart lovingly; these pews, to those who shall worship, and devoted to the- service and worship of God Him in spirit and in truth; this choir, to those who and to the spiritual culture and guidance of men, shall lead the praises of His people making melody, Holy Father' Blessed Redeemer" Gracious, Spirit' in their hearts unto the Lord; this baptistry, that A~cept the offering 'we now freely make, and here ,here converts may be buried in the likeness of' display Thy glory, exert Thy power, manifest Thy Christ and rise to newness of life; the adjoining 'love, convert sinners, edify Thy saints, discipline Thy rooms to those who shall meet for prayer! and for Church for usefulness on earth and for rest in mutual edification, for teaching children the lessons heaven, and Thine "shall be the praise, through of, His holy Word and leading them to Jesus the Jesus Chrili!t our Lord, for ever and ever. Amen.

Internat'ional Baptist Fellowship Loftdon, England, August 8; 10, 1962

International, Council of 'Christian Churches . - -'. " -,

A.msterdam, Holland, A.ugust 14" 20;,1962

~IS COMING August"there are "to be 'some very ernment had persecuted an,d put to death so many '. important meetings held by Christian' leaders in Korea.' Such separated groups need fellowship vitally interested in the ~stimony of Jesus Christ. and encouragement. Others still in fellowship with Fundamental Baptists are to meet-in London, Eng- the present-day apostasy represented in the Baptist land, 'to discuss the proposed formation of an Inter- World Alliance and the World Council of Churches national Baptist, Fellowship. We understand that will, no doubt, be encouraged 'to separate and take

, Evangelical Methodjsts and Presbyterians are also a public stand with those who still, believe the: planning denominational meetings ,preceding the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faitll. ' Fifth 'Plenary Congress in Amsterdam. rhen there' Hundreds of letters have been' written to key is to be the Fifth Plenary Congress, of the Interna- Baptist leaders;--informing them of the London tiona 1 Council of Christian Churches in Amsterdam, meetings and urging them to send representatives. Holland. There has been an e;nthusiastic response. Many are

'BAPTIST, MEET aware of the apostasy of the .day and the need for 'During the Fourth Plenary Congress of the I;n- a separated Baptist testimony in the world.

ternational Council of Christian Churches held in The Baptist Meet is to be held in Bridewell Hall, Petropolis~ Brazii, in, 1958, ,Baptist, leaders found 'London, ,England, situated near the Parliament themselves gathered together' discussing the' pos- Buildings and Westminster Abbey, August" 8-10,

, sibility, of 'an International Baptist F~llowship. 1962. There are to be' morning, afternoon and These informal discussions led to two meetings at evening sessions. . ' . which" a Committee was appointed to give leader- 'Among the special, speakers will be Baptist sj1ip in making arrangem~nts for a larger and more, leaders from America, The 'Philippines, Korea and ,representative Conference to' be held in London, Europe. A full detailed programme will be published England, in 1962. For the sake of convenience to in the next issue of 'THE GO&PEL WITNESS. handle all matters in preparation f.9r such a; meet..; ing, the members for the Committee were chosen I.C.C.C. FIFTH PLENARY CONGRESS from the American continent. ,Dr. H. C. Slade was . ,The Fifth· Plenary Con&-ress of the International appointed Chairman of the Committee. During the Council of Christian Churches will be held August past four years much has been accomplished., The 14 to 20, 1962,'in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, the Committee' has met, dI.'afted a proposed' Constitu- city in which the Cou'ncil was organized 14 years tion, and drawn up a programme for th~ London ago in 1948. ,',' ','

,'meetings.' Dr. Slade, has travelled thousands, of "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and miles, meeting with ,.different Baptist leaders.in for ever" (Heb. 13 :8) is -the theme of the Congress. their Conferences and Conventions, presenting the The addresses at- all the sessions will dwell on this need' for· such, an Interll:ational Baptist Fellowship theme. The key-note address will be delivered by among Evangelical separated Baptists who can have Prof; J. J. van der Schuit of the' Netherlands, "Jesus no fellowship with the -Baptist World "Alliance. On .Christ, the Word of God". Other subjects to be his return from New Delhi, Dr. Slade was able to dealt with are: "The Christ of the Scriptures vs. visit groups of Baptists. in Korea and the Philip- Ecumenical Theolpgy"; "Jesus Christ, the Same pines who, ~t great sacrifice, were 'willing to go yesterday, and today, and for ,ever"; "Darkness without the camp for the sake of Jesus' Christ._ ,after' Light"; -·"Jesus Christ vs. Communism"; Under the 'leadership of Rev. David Ahn, Baptists "Jesus Christ, Yesterday, the Infallible Scriptures"; . of South Korea separated from the Baptist World- "The Communist Subversion in the Christian Alliance, 'because of th,eir fellowship and co-oper- Churches"; "Present Day Syncretism"; "Christ vs.' ation with, Russian Baptists wh<?§e Communist Gov- the One-world Church"; "For the, Word of God,

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May 31; 1962 THE GOSPEL WITNESS (55) 7

and for the'Testimony of Jesus ,Christ"; "Biblical Separation"; "Jesus Christ Today and His Faith~ul Churches'" "The Need for a Second Reformation in this T~entieth Century"; "Jesus Christ F~r­ever". A detailed programme and the speaker,s will be listed in our next issue. '_

A special feature" of the Fifth Congress will be a large chorus choir with ,special choirs featured every evening, among which is the Waddinxveen Choir with the famous organist Feike Asma and, the Moluccan Choir. All'sessions are .to be held in the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam.

Regional reports from various sections of the world will be given -in the afternoons. Prayer periods will be" conducted ea,.ch day, divided, in~~ three different sections, with' prayer by "each m his own tongue". ' -. The International Christian Youth (ICY) will

- ,hold 'special study groups during the 'Congress, and Saturday, August 18th, will ,be special YoutlJ Wit­ness Day. This, will be the first assembly of the ICY, Youth Movement of the I.C.C.C., since its organization in 1961. ' , THE GOSPEL WITNESS deems it a privilege to share the news concerning these movements raised up of ,God for the defence of the faith,once delivered unto the saints. Jude, when writing his Epistle, was moved with jealousy for tne Lord God, even as Elijah was in his day. "It was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faitli wh,ich wa~ _ once delivered unto'the saints. For there are 'certam men crept in unawares, who were before ~f old~o:dained to this conoemnation, ungodly men, turnmg the grace ,of our God intO lasciviousness, and denying, the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ." The name 'is legion of those who have turned the grace of God into lasciviousness and are denying the on'ly Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. We

'thimk God for the leaders 'whom God hath raised up, to lead, these separated Movements. Let. us earnestly pray during these, days of preparation that God may grant grace and special wisdom to,

,Dr. Carl McIntire, President of the International Council of Christian Churches, and Dr. H. C. Slade, the' Chairman of the Baptist Committee. May God be plEiased to make these 'comiI:1g days in London: and Amsterdam historic days for the advancement of His glorious kingdom.

, ---',,----We, _too, ask, "W,hat Next?"

Under the caption, "What Next?", the Globe and Mail reported in a three-column headline "CWL Par.ty To Use Orange Hall"., ~he article suggested, "It would never have happened 75 years ago, but tomorrow night the Catholic Women's League of the Sacred Heart' Roman Catholic Church is going_ to hold a party in the W:arminister Orange Hall". The church's Parish Hall was ,destroyed by fire and offi­cials of the loyal. Orange 'Lodge No. 837 offered the hall to. the CWL: The article continued, "Warmin­ister is a village about .. eight miles west of here, on No. 12 Highway. 'Its population is about half Roman Gatholic and half Protestant with well-defined boundary lines." ,

Are the boundary lines being effaced?

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PRINCIPAL ADAMS TO VISIT U.K. TORONTO BAPTIST SEMINARY was founded

by the late Dr. T. T. Shields in 1927. Since that time it has continued to prepare men and women for Christian service, both at home and abroad. Each trustee and member of the faculty, annually, must sign' a statement of faith, committing himsel,f to the evangelical Baptist 'position. The ,Seminary

, is integrally related with the thriving Jarvis Str~et _ Baptist Church;

, This summer the Principal of the Seminary, Rev. G. A. Adams, M.A., B.D., will- be doing extensive' promotion work in the, interests of the Seminary in the United Kingdom. He will be glad to contact interested friends' and churches. We hope that some of our GOSPEL, WITNESS family will manage to attend some of the meetings listed. PIE~ase pray for the Lord's 'blessing on this labour.

IRELAND: June 17: Sunday, 3.30 p.m. Mountpottinger

Y.M.C.A. Hall " !-8: Monday, a.m. Ministerial fellowship.

8 p.m. City Y.M.C.A. 24: ,Sunday, 11.30 a.m. Banbridge Baptist

Church ' " 6.30 p.m. Banbridge 'Baptist Church

ENGLAND:" - " , "" June 26: Tij.esday, 8 p.m. Belvedere Baptist Church,

Liverpool ' 27: Wednesday, 8 p.m. Bethel Independent'

Church, Liverpool 28: "Thursday, 8 p.m. Croxteth Baptist

Church, Liverpool 30: 'Saturday, 8 p.m. Kirby Baptist Church,'

Liv~rpool

Ju~y 1: Sunday, 11 a.m. Calvary Baptist Church, "'Liverpool , ,

6.30 p.m. Stanley P~rk Church, Liverpool 6:' Friday, Treaty" Road Church, ,Hounslow 8: . Sunday, 11 a.in. East London, Tabernacle,

London 6.30 p.m. East London Tabernacle

FRANCE: :--July 9-16": Lyons, France; Geneva, Switzerland j

, Mulh<?u,se, Fra",ce ENGLAND: July 17: Tuesday, Zoar Strict Baptist, "Hounslow

18: Wednesday, The Evangelical 'Church, Welwyn

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22': Sun,day, 11 'a.m. ,West Croydon Baptist , ' . Church, Croydon "

6.30 p.m: ,West Croydon Baptist ',Church, 25: 'Wednesday, 7.30" p.m. Zion Baptist

Church, New Cross '" 29: Sunday, 11 a.m. Trinity Road, Baptis,t,

Tooting " " 6.30 p.m. Tr~nity Road Baptist

"S"ubscribe to

THE GOSPEL, WITNESS' , \

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.. . 8 (56) TIlE GOSPEL ~ . May 31, 1962

m~t ~trmnt1S 'it! IIr.·{J~ m. &bttlba , WILL· YE ALS·O GO . AWAY?

, (Stenographically Reported)

"Then said Jesus unto 'the twelve, Will ye also go away? .. . ~'Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to who~ shall we go? thou liast the

words of eternal life.' '. . . '''And we believ.e and are sur~ that thou art that C~rist, the Son of the liVing God."

-John 6:67-~9.

OUR LORD is described by Isaiah as One Who Still people depart from the way. Still there are was "de!!lpised and rejected of men". That, of . thosE;! who will 1).ot receive the Gospel, with all its

course, was true of· Him during the days 'of His. spiritual implications. Still there are those who, flesh.' But there was a time during His earthly having professe9· faith in Christ, grow weary of the

. ministry in which the Lord Jesus was personally walk of faith and turn aside to ·follow after the .exceedingly popular, when the m~ltitudes thronged giddy multitude. And' still His question comes to Him, when they hailed Him as a 'great Deliverer. . those of us who profess, "Will ye also go away?" .

. If you will read this chapter at your leisure you How far:are we "rooted and grounded in Christ"? will find that it refers to one of. those occasions. Is it pOl!!sible that anyone of us should be numbered Jesus Christ. had multiplied the loaves and fishes, with those who turned their back upon' the Saviour· and by the power of His word had fed a great com- of the world? Let us ask our heart and conscience pany of 'people with the bread that perishes. The this morni.ng. Let. us reassure ourselves before God people were'much .impressed by the fact, and ~when that we belong to that company whom nothing can He left them, followed Him, and came'to the number turn aside from the path of righteousness wherein of many thousands, determined to make Him king; He graciously leads us as the Good' Shepherd,. for

Had there been a democratic form-of government His name'l!! sake. . . ' at that time, Christ could have been elected to the It. may forewarn us, put us on our guard and highest office in the land. They looked upon Him as help to establish us in the ways of the Lord, if we One Who had in His hand the solution. of all the con.sider for a moment why sO many did go away most pressing problems of life, and felt that if He from Jesus, and why so many still turn their backs could be exalted to a governing position, Jf the upon IJim .. _ Why was it? government could be put in His· .hand, all would be well. But .our Lord declined the honour. He dis- I. cerned the motive behind 'their'movement and said, In the begin,ning of the chapter you find the Lord "Ye seek me, not because yE;! saw the miracles, but Jesus thronged with a great multitude: at the end because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled." of the chapter you find Him with only twelve He thenceforward began to exhort them to "labour disciples gathered about Hiin'. Why· the difference? not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat . ·THE PEOPLE LEFT HIM BECAUSE THEY which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son DESIRED A RELIGION OF CARNAL SATIS­of man shall give unto you." He expounded the FACTION. "They wanted a religion that would . spiritual character of His mission, saying that in minister to the senses, that would feed their bodies Him was fulfilled the symbolic prophecy of the and satisfy all their temporal requirements. They manna which came down from·heaven. He declared had eaten of the loaves-not sparsely; they had not Himself to be the Brea'" of Life and insisted, "Ex-' had an unsatisfactory bite. I notice they have what cept ye eat the flesh ·of the Son of man, and drink .they call "snack counters" where, if one lacks time, his blood, ye have 'no life in you.". . or means, or appetite, he may step up to a counter

When they were. made, in some measure, to and get what they call a "snack", something to allay understand the/spiritual characteI:-let me use the the pangs of hunger without really eating a satis-stronger word~the spiritual nature.of His mission, factory and filll·meal. : . they· said among themselves, "This is an hard say- It was not a "snack" that these people had re­ing; who can .hear it?" The' multitude began to ceived. They had eaten of the loaves, "and were dwindle away, and the ~isaffection reached even His filled", u.ntil they wanted no more; for they had professed disciples. They murmured at His teach- gathered up of the fragments that remained twelve ing, . arid they also turl1ed away from Him, until at baskets· full. . . last it would appear there were left only twelve; IT IS STILL' TRUE THAT MEN CONCEIVE­and He said to them, "Why do you not go with the, OF THE RELIGION OF CHRIS'r IN TERMS OF crowd? See them yonder by' hundreds and thou- THEIR' TEMPORAL REQUIREMENTS. If you sands, wending their- way homeward-Will ye ·also made any .study-or if you cursorily .read-the 'go a,way?" Peter, the sP9kesman for the twelve, recent r~ports of the 'annual 'meetings .of various said', "To.whom shall we go? thou hast the words of denon,tinatic;ms, you found that, gen!!rally speaking, eternal life. And. we believe and are sure that thou the diSCUSSions gathered around questions of tem-art that Christ, the Son 01 the living God." poral ~nterests-economi~ considerations; the matter'

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May 31~ 1962 'DIE GOSPEL WlTNFSS (57) ,

" of unemployment, plans for making this world' a little more comfortable, a little more satisfying to the bodies 'of men.

We have nothing to say against'these efforts if they ~e kept in their prop~r place and proportion. Certamly we ought to deal honestly by other people . But you must have· remarked, not only the absence of emphasis, .but the almost, entire absence--of the requirements of a 'future life, or even the require­ments of our spiritual natures here and now ~ The religion of Christ was reduced to terms of. bread­and-butter, a roof over your head, and clothes on your back; a purely crass materialism is the con­ception. of religion. The requirements of the soul, llien's deeper needs, are almost entirely "ignored.

That is the religion most people want. i receive' letters by the score from all sorts of people who have innumerable griev~nces; trouble with their employers, trouble with' their neighbours, trouble with their families, trouble·with their lawyers. I do not know how many people I have had come to me to try to get· adjustment of their lawyer's bill. Every conceiv~ble difficulty is brought to the min­ister for solution, and unless· he has a solvent for their troubles, they say, "What is the use of your religion ?" They consider that if you cannot give people a ne~ coat" something to eat, ~nd sometimes a motor-cl!-r thrown in, your religion is not much good .. People turn away from the church, and from Christianity generally, unless it clothes and' feeds them. . .

You will observe that. these people's desire for physical satisfaction .blinded them even to' the mir­aculous element in the service which the Lord Jesus

. had t;endered to them. He had fed them in no ordinary way .. He had wrought a miracle and had accelerated the processes of nature and had multi­plied the five loaves and the fishes so as to make them· adequate to meet the requ~rements of five thousand men beside women and children. It was a m!racle, bu~ Jesus Christ. said, '''You did not ~e the mIracle. You did not even think of it. You had no intere~t in tpe supernatural, save only as it might be . usefl!l to gIve' you plenty to eat and satisfy your phYSIcal natures on the material and temporal plane." ,

That is true to-day. Men seem to be almost en­tirely blind to the realities of that spiritual realm w~i~~ lies. beyond. When -you speak . to them of spIrItual matters,. of the Bread that does not perish l:j.nd th~ Water that springs up unto everlasting life, they look at you without understanding. ,They have no conception of the realities of these things.

The fact· is, these people were enamoured only of a· person' who was able to give them plenty to eat b!lt they had 'rea~ly not seen the Lord Jesus. They dId not know who He was; they did not know the purpose of His coming into the world. They were unconscious of that other-worldly atmosphere with which He su~rounded. Himself. They did not know that that WhICh they saw of Him was a segment of the eternal cycle. They did not know He was "God

. manifest in the flesh"; and therefore did not fall in love. with His Person. They' did not love Jesus Christ. They were interested in Him only so long

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as they could get something from Him. They were concerned with the gift, not with the Giver.

That is modern religion, even' a religion that professes very often a spiritual ministry, a religion of forms and ceremonies, that lies in the church,

. ,in its. ministry, in its ordinances, in its ritualism. All these things may interest them-if they have any interest in. a "future life-only as "the means by .

. which. ,they may be assut:ed of a happy entrance ~nto another life. When this is done, as for the great, central Fi~ure of the Christian religion, the Source, the InspIration, the Power of it, the real Substance of it, they have no eyes for Him.

.What is Christianity? Christianity is .Christ, . the living Saviour;. an«J until men have ,such a religion as tha~ ~hich consists ;n. a personal relationship to the hvmg Son of God, sooner or later they will go away. They will leave the religious assembly; they will leave the church. They will answer any. vQice that" calls unless they are, indissolubly united to Him. '

Let me ask you,' What is Jesus Christ to you? . Does your religion consist in a personal, vital rela­tionship. to a living Saviour? Do you know Him as

. your own? Or, are you jUliJt a church member, som~­one who has been baptized, someone who is trying to live a' good life, someone who is trying to make the best of this life with a view to making the best of the' life to come? Is that all your religion ,is? Or have you been led by the graoious. Spirit of God past all. these intermediate things to come into per­sonal" relation to· Jesus Christ? Unless you have, and until you have, you are never· saved.

I have been disposed to be discouraged sometimes because I cannot hold ev~rybody. I find some people who come· and say., "That is the sort of ·religion that is too searching fol' me. It is too exacting for me." They 'see only the outward form of it, the form of godliness, without appreciating the power thereof and the joy of ·its possession. They murmur, and go away. I have often found satisfaction in reading this chapter,' saying to myself, If'the Word made flesh, the One to Whom God gave the' tongue of the learned, that He "should know how to speak a word in season tQ hilll that is weary," if even He did not" so preach that everyone enjoyed it, but so pI:eached that the 'majo~ity murmured and said, "We are not going to that church any mor:e, we will not hear that preacher aga.in," why should I be 'surprised ·if they will not hear me? Talk. about eating His flesh and drinking His blood, and they do not know what you mean. 'But speak to them .about·- the church tennis club, and a few resolutions you are going to forward to. the government, so that we may have a better house to live in, better food to eat, they will listen. But when you' talk about the Bread of life the Word that has the quickening power of God i~ it, they say, "We do not want to·go to a church like that." . . '"

Sometimes the turning away of a multitude from a church or a 'preacher, is' a high testimony to the min.ister. I heard of a modernistic preacher in this city who has the inspiring congregation 'of seven of a Sunday evening-and that- is seven too many to .wait on such a ministry. But we must not be sur­prised if people in the flesh, untouched by the

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10 (58) THE GOSPEL WITNESS May 31, 1962

Spirit- of God, do not accept the principles and pre- ciples, you will h~ve the majority against you. Boys -cepts of the Gospel of our salvation. They will go and girls in daY-E$chool. ~nd in high school, young aWI!1Y.- My only concern is that you do not go away. men' and young women in college and university

n. - have a hard time.- I am· s9rry for children, for boys

and girls, for young men and women who endeavour to translate their Christian principles into char­acter and conduct. A young. girl came to me not

LET ME SHOW YOU HOW EASILY WE MAY -BE TEMPTED .TO GO AWAY. The religion of Ghrist is for the whole man. It is for the mind as well as for the soul; -it is for the body as well as for

. the mind and thesou,I. We are to think religiously. God has given us minds endowed with the P9wer of thought, and we ought to,think. We ought to'think our way .through, and "p~ove all things; hold fast that which is good." Bijt the very power to weigh matters' sometimes may be used by the prince of 'darkness to trip us up; for he has a way of using even the holiest truths' of the Gospel -for men's undoing. . .

How must these disciples have felt. when first. of all they saw the assembled thousands desiring to put a crown lipon the brow of their Master, to acclaim Him as king? I dare say they. were very happy about it. They may have said, "At last the

. great company of· people are coming to know Him as we know Him, and are going to honour Him as we honour Him. At last this Prophet of Nazareth is coming intO His own." But, when, as the result of one discourse, -He reduceq the vast crowd. to a company of twelve, they must have said, "The majority evidently are against us. By the logic of majorities we are on' the wrong side. There are only twelve of us left, while thousands have for­saken us." .

That is the argument that is used by' every infidel professor to ,his students to-day. "You must accept evolution because' everybody believes it. You must discard the Bible-because nobody believes it. You must cease from talking about conversion-because that is an antiquated word. You must not be foolish enough to believe in the new birth-that is seldom spoken of nowadays. You must. not listen to a man who preaches the blood of Christ--for nobody of intelligence ever believed that, and certainly nobody' believes it now. The majority are aga_inst you."

What if they are? The majorities have never been right religiously. Our Lord admonished us, "Enter ye in at the strait gate:. for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruc­tion, and many there be which go in thereat: be­cause strait is the gate, and 'narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Most inen who have brought anything to pass have been in the majority to begin with. We read of the great characters of history like Lutl).er and others. But'ma,ny of them were mo~e berated than we are. They were c1:l.rsed by the majority of people in their day. No man is worth his salt until he is willing to be in the minority, until he is so sure of the principles of righteousness that he will stand for. them against the whole world if need be. IF YOU ARE' GOING TO BE LED BY THE MA­JORITY, THEN YOU WILL TURN AWAY FROM CHRIST, FOR THE MAJORITY ARE AGAINST HIM IN OUR DAY. .

If you cease to live for the things Which are seen and are temporal, if you talk about' spiritual prin-

long ago and' said, "Pastor, what shall I do about· the school I attend?" "What is the matter?" I en­quired: "We have our dances and all sorts of things . I do not feel that .1 can gO into them, but what . ought I to do: stay away and say nothing?", "No. Tell them why you stay away. Tell them you are a'" Christian, and know enough about those things- to know ...they lead' to evil, and because I am a Chris­tian I will not hav~ anything to do. with them. That will make' you strong. As a· matter of fact, all the rest of the students, in their heart of hearts, will respect you/' . '

I know that is true .. If I may· 'dare to say it without seeming to be Pharisaical, some ministers .-­in this city would be shocked, if they knew how many of their members come -to me for advice. I ask the~,. "Where do you go to church?" "So-and-

,So." "Why do you not go·to see your own minister?" One man said to me last -week, "It would. be no use to go to see my minister-: He would not under­stand." - Men. may denounce you, butstabd for

. Christ and the world will respect yeu, if they do not love you. : .

That is our aim, to develop young men and women -and older men and women--":who 'have some moral stamina· in ,them; who know what' is right, and would rather die than recede from their position.

. Only as we recognize these temptations, and steel ourselves against them shall we be proof against the temptation to turn away from Christ.

You young men, do· ri'ot let these supposedly in­tellectuals laugh you out of your faith. I am weary of it! They prate· their- academic nonsense-and . they all .sail in canoes with no depth of water. Stand up and be a man, and do not let your teacher' say, "Everybody believes this or that."

An old minister came to a ministerial meeting I attended when a young man-I do not attend them -now'. I stay away for my own health's sake: On this particular morning one brother got up and delivered himself of an essay on current thought. His argu­ment was that the great majority of people, the "conse'nsus of scholarship" was to a certain effect. Thi's old gentleman, a retired Methodist. minister of the old-fashioned sort with a white beard and a radiant face as though he knew the Lord, waited until all the 'compliments had been paid the speaker on his essay, and the dear brethren were about to pass a resolution of appreciation. Before the motion was put he rose-I was only a young- man at the -time, and feared ·to voice' my opinion-and' said,

, "Mr. President, I should like to be permitted to say 'a word before you put this question. Our friend' has -told us lhat everybody worth counting' on be­.lieves as he believes. I dare say that is good adver­tising. As I came to this meeting this morning, I saw.a sign, 'Everybody'smokes Old Chum Tobacco'. As I .. looked a,t ·it I said to myself, That is one lie; -because this man does got. And I want to tell our

/-

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May 31, 1962- 'rift; GOSPEL WITNESS (59) 11

friend that I am not much, but I am at least some­body, and I do not believe a word of what he said this morning." That is the way, to bear your testimony.

01.,

BOOK REVIEW THE CHURCH UNIVERSAL, by Pastor John

ThornburY, 204 Walton Ave., Lexington, Ky., a mimeographed brochure, 125 pages single spaced, with'-indices of Scriptural references and authors,

"Will ye also go away?" Will you? TO WHOM published by author, price '$1.00 plus postage. WILL yqu GO? If salvation .lies in a churc~.r0u Landmarkism is a disease of the Baptist body have a Wide variety from, which to cho,?se: ere politic hitherto confin~d to the Southern parts of are some people who canno~ ~nd ~>ne. to SUIt them, the 'United States, but it is spreading. Those who and must form a whole,deno~lI~atIo~.m themselve~; "believe and love the Baptist message and spirit You can buy all the magaZines on new thought sho'uld be concerned with the refutition."of land­and aU the modern cults, and fo1l9W the1!1 o~e' markism wherever they live. -Landmarkism begins after anothe~. If rou expect to fin~ salvation m with church succession and ends up with these three them, there IS a w~de !a~lety of chOlc.e. But when, principles: (1) The denial of the church universal. you see t~at sal,:,atIo!;1ls In Je~us Christ, ~~u must. (2) Mistaken ideas of that wherein the yalidity o.f ask ,Peters question, to whom shall we go. There ordinances lies. (3) A concept of ~uthorlty ecclesl­is no on~ else. There IS no ?ne co~par~ble to Jesus aatical that is anything but Baptist in the purest of Nazareth. To whom wIll you go If you leave and best sense of that word. But the refutation of Jesus Christ? ' 'landmarkism should begin where John Thornbury

.It is a simple question. Turn it over and over in begins ~in his brochure, with the first of its princi­your minds, ,you young people: "To whom shall I pies. If this falls, landmarkism will fall. How can_' go?" In all, the, universe there is no one else, to a landmarker face such questions as thes!!? If the. whom you can go. "He has the words of eternal life. only church is a local church, how many bodies ,does He has a monopoly. You must go to His store, or Chdst have? If the only church is a local' chu~h, go without. . are non-J;Japtist Christians in the body of Christ?

When the famine was in all' lands all countries ' If the only church is a local church, how many brides came to Egypt to buy bread. It was joseph or star-' d0es Christ have? If. th:e o~l~ chu.rch is a. local vation: there was no other way. In our day it is chu~ch?, are non-Baptist '~)'lrlstIans In the J:m.de of Jesus, Christ or eternal loss. He has the words of qhrl~t. If the only chu~ch IS a local church, IS It not eternal life. Let us shut ourselves up to Him. pOSSIble for men ~y th:elr vo~~s !o keep a man out ~~ Cease to look for any other satisfaction than that the body and brlde _~~ Chrlst. Jo~n Thornbury 8

hich is found in the Person of the Lord Jesus book. does not contain these. ~uestIons, but these w . questions ~re taken from posltIve statements foun4 ChrIst. July 5, -1936. , in his book. These questions pressed home will bring_

londmarkism down, and it ought to be brought down. It is a disease in our Baptist faith which sorely darkens our Baptist spirit and, message. ' DR. SLADE AT BOB JONES UNIVERSITY

The following is an extract from a news report which appeared in THE PIEDMONT" , Greenville, ' S.C., May 28, 1962: '

Bob Jone8 Univel'8ity graduate8 hear 'Dr. Slade'8 Speech

Dr. H. C. Slade, P.{~tor of Jarvis St. Baptist Church, Toronto, 'Ontario, Canada;' preached the Baccalaureate Sermon at Bob J~nes University yesterday (Sunday). His text was Acts 26: 19. "Whereupon; 0 King Agrippa, \ was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision." He discussed Paul's conversion and call to the "ministry of God. "There is no more effective argument

'one can give for the Gospel than one's own conversion," he said. , , Dr. Slade charged that ,"our .pulpits are cursed with non­converted ministers."

Dr. Slade pOinted out that "the keynote, of Paul's life was obedience", and he ,said that it behooved every Christian to "seek God's will; find out what it may be for you, and then do it." ,

He added, "God's business is our business; we are to be witnesses-all of" us who call ourselves Christians."

THE BOOl{ OF GALATIANS SERIES, The' concluding chapters of Dr. Fletcher's series

on "The, Book of Galatians" will appear' in the for.thcoming issiie~. "

John Thornbury's 'book is valuable' not only as a stJ,ldy of Biblical references on the church question and as a study of historic pe'rsonalities relative to, this doctrine but also the book is of value as a stimu..: Ius to further study. The drive and energy of the book will do just that to any mind that will give it

,close study. There are some errata in the book which , will certainly be corrected if the brochure is later

published in printed form, but ,such errata should not cause anyone to fail to see the intrinsic worth of this' book and that it ,is a product of much study and thought.' -

Rev. E. W. Johnson Calvary Baptist Church'

Pine Bluff, Arkansas, U.S.A.

JARV~S STREET ON "CHURCH OF THE AIR" On Sunday, June 3rd, 4.30',p.m., '''Church of the

Air" on CJBC over the Dominion Network -of the CBC, will originate from Jarvis Street Baptist Church, Toronto. Our GOSPEL WITNESS readers across, the Dominion will, no doubt, look forward to this broadcast contact with Jarvis Street Church and its pastor, Dr. H. C. Slade. We ask our readers to make this known and to Join us in prayer that God may bless His Word as it fs faithfully'pro­claimed on this occasion.

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Christian U,nity on 'Rome~s' Terms?' OUR READERS will know that true Christian Thou art in the Father ~nd the' Father in Th~e,

unity is' spiritual oneness in Jesus Christ. The, look down in pity on the manifold division family of God is made one in Christ, "But now in 'among those who, profess' Thy faith and heal Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far... off are the many wounds which the pride of man and made night by· the blood of Christ." ' the craft of Satan have inflicted on Thy people.

Much has been written concerning the coming. Break down. the walls of separation which Vatican Council II 'in hopes of Christian unity. In divide one party and denomination of Chris-the Toronto Star of May 25, 1962, the weekly column tians. from another. Look with compassion on of Archbishop Pocock was headed, "Mary~s Role In .. the souls who have been born in one or other Church Key To Christian .. Unity." He writes, . of these communions which not Thou, but man,

" 'has made. ' Here there is space to bring up only one Teach all men that the See of Peter, the Holy

, , subject that has so much to do with Christian' Church of Rome, is the foundation, cente'r, and unity: that i~ the devotion to Mary, the , Mother . instrument of unity .. Open their hearts to the of Jesus. . . Some Catholic leaders have . even long-forgotten t'l"uth that'the Holy Father, the suggested that Mary's role in the Church be Pope, is ,!,hy Vicar and Representative; (Italics toned down a little so the path leading to <:>'urs) 'and that in obeying him in matters of, Christian'unity may be made more smooth. religion,·they are 'obeying Thee, so that as there

. On the other hand, the most useful attitude is but one company in heave~ above, so likewise in the long run might weB be a 'hope on both there may be one communion, confessing and sides that the Mother of·God would have a uni- glorifying Thy Holy. Name; here below. Amen. fying rather than a divisive part to play. . .

It is proba'bly in this hope. that the Pope has . -Car!iinal Newman. chosen Oct. 11 as the opening date of the Coun.: Is this the prayer the ten Protestant 'clergymen ciI. Oct. 11 was in fact set aside in 193,1 in will pray? , honor cif the Motherhood of Mary, which had Is· there any doubt wh,ere Rome stands on this been proclaimed 15 centuries previously by the question of unity? Why is it that Protestant leaders Council of Ephesus in answer to the Nestorian are so blind to the programme of Rome that unity

'heretics, who denied the divine maternity. must come on· Roman terms? Or is it that Protes-What :unity do we seek? Christian unity, of tant .leaders are ready to bow the knee to papal

C Ch " h infallibility? ' " necessitY, must be unity in' hrist. rist IS t e In the Un.ited Church Observer in '~The Question One Whom' God exalted to be a Prince. and a Saviour. The Bible knows nothing of the Roman Box" of May 1, 1962, we have this startling question Catholic "devotion of .Mary",. 'The apostolic preach- and ·answer. . , ing led men to cry; "Men and brethren, what must· Q. Why do some Protestants want to believe in we do?" "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ an.d tho~ I and practise. prayers for the ~ead, when there ~halt be" saved and thy house." Why,' even Mary , is no Biblical foundation for' any such herself rejoiced in God her Saviour! practice?

Are Protestant leaders, who have welcomed even A. From earliest days-even in the catacombs-the ·recent call of Cardinal Leger. to work for unity Christians prayed 'for their dead. In the in Christian Churches in the formation of an Ecu- . Church of Rom~ the practice was seriously menical Commission, prepared to 'go all the, way abused, and,' 'since the Reformation, Protes-with Rome 'and her worship of Mary, prayers for tants have feared it. The custom ha's authority

,the,dead, t.he See of Peter and Papal infallibility? of early tradition and the deep instincts of It· seems obvious that Rome will not change, and faithf~l people. . that Protestant leaders are prepared to welcome The fact 'th'at there is no Biblical, foundation for anything Rome says. any such practice stillstands! The eternal destiny

Cardinal Leger, in his Ecumenical Commis,sion, of human souls is determined this side of the veil. plans an inter-faith retreat at· which time 10 Pi'otes- Salvation is of Grace through faith and not through tant Churchmen and 10 Roman Catholic priests will human merit or meri~ accrued through prayers , spend two'days praying and studying problems of for the dead. Rome still makes the righteousness of ' unity. The Anglican Archbishop of Montreal said Christ of no e~ect by soliciting prayers for the ' . he'. agreed that this is a ,good idea. In a ·paxp.phlet dead a'nd, apparently, the editors of The United ent~tled, "Ec~menical Counc~ls" by Rev. W. D. RyalJ, Chu1'ch ·Obser.ve1' see no incoi1.Venience in this anti­whIch contams the ImprImatur of the Roman Biblical practice. The stand taken by Evangelicals Church, the follo~ing p.rayer i~ given: '- has always been upon the finality of the Bible. The

. PRAYER .FOR THE REUNION OF' following quotation from Joseph Parker states the CHRISTENDOM case strongly:. . , . '-

"0 Lord Jesus Christ, Who when Thou'wast . We' assume an immense responsibility in about to suffer didst pray for Thy disciples, to claiming that any book is a final and authorita-the end of time ,that they might' all be one, as tive standard in faith and morals. We place

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May 31, 1962 THE GOSPEL WITNESS (61) 13

the Book itself in an awful position. We sepa,. into battle against the- Almighty. When· we are rate it from all other books, we make sceptical saved that battle is over, and we are reconciled to criticism a profane offence, and devout obedi- God by the death of His Son. Now we are not at ence an essential element of spiritual character. war with the Lord; but for Him. We are to contend The mind has simply to receive, the will has earnestly for the faith,. for many ~ccept anything simply to obey, the heart has simply to trust. in preference to the Gospel and such doctrines ~s The Book is to us verily as God himself. Are the virgin birth of Christ, His Deity and vicarious we, in nineteenth century light, to stand by atonement. Tremendous interests are involved. such a position or to abandon'it'? Is-the Bible There can be no neutrality in this conflict, as far as still to stand alone, and to demand the obeisance we are concerned. Men are either for Christ or of all other books; is the dream-boo~ to stand -against Him. . in the harvest fields of literature and to receive Our enemy is spiritual. Satan has strong for-the homage of the bendi~g sheaves? tresses and hulwark~. Some people depend on tradi-·

"- W.P.B. tion for- their security. Sin is another stronghold, for who can break the power of sin in the human

. -soul? Others depend on self-righteousness. --The Lor-d"s Day -Servl·ces '. How can we defend -ourselves? With the armour

of God (Eph. 6 :10-18). We cannot depend upon · J · Str t the civil arm, human intellect or wealth. Our chief In arvls ee instrument in this warfare is the preaching of the

- cross, the message of the Gospel. The Gospel has . May 20th " accomplished much in the nation, in society; it is

"ChrIst's Concern .for Ne&:,lected ~ouls (~att. a mighty weapon. So also is prayer, which brings 9 :36-38) was the tOPIC of an Im~resslve ~ermon by down to us the mighty power of the Lord.-Rev. S. A. Tulloch at the mormng servIce. What did the Lord see and what dic;l the Lord say? _ May 27th

Christ saw the multitudes, the throngs of people. Sunday morning the. Jarvis Street family had In contrast, our view is often limited to ourselves, . fellowship with Mr. H. K. McLennan, General our own families; our own interests: we are prone Superintendent of The Shantymen's Christian Asso-

I to forget the throngs about. us with- all their needs .. ciation of North America. Mr. McLennan brought Christ saw them as a·helpless flock, harassed, scat- an earnest -message centred on "Jesus, the Bread­tere~, worried, troubled and faint. The Lord Jes~s of Life". Jesus is referred to as the Bread of .God, qhnst came as the Good Shepherd to lay down HIs· .come down from heaven,. and- the living Bread. -hfe for tre,sheep. When Jesus saw the inultitude He was moved with,

The Lord Jesus said, "The harvest is plenteous." compassion. Th~ 'disciples wanted to send the peo­It is much more pleasant to harvest a good -crop pIe away, but Jesus said, "Give ye them to eat". than a poor one. There -is great encouragement in They brought all they had to Jesus, just five loaves the Word of God for us to win souls .. Christ also -~nd two fishes. Have you brought all to Jesus in said, "The labourers are few." For example, the - complete surrender? The miracle cannot start until needs' of our neighbouring province of Quebec are you do. You cannot feed the multitude in the world treinendous, with only one Protestant worker for in need until you have -brought to Him your "little

-each sixty-two thousand souls. Montreal_ is the all". --second largest French-speaking city in the world, We see here a picture of salvation~ What contri-_ -Paris itself being the first. It may be that God is bution did people make to be satisfied? - Nothing.

calling some young people here to His harvest They held out their empty hands to receive wbat fields. God had provided. Salvation is all of grace.

What is the answer to this problem? "Pray ye." God used the disciples to feed the multitude. He -It is 'our responsibility, our duty, to pray to the said, Give_ ye them to eat. The Shantymen are - Lord for workers, for God-called men and women. being used of God to feed those in the back rows, . We need gifts, but -money is of _no' avail unless the . in isolated and neglected places. One project under

Lord of the harvest send forth _labo.urers.Our way is to mail a copy of The. Shantyman, _ the efforts are fruitless .unless the Holy Spirit is with official" pUblication of the organization, to every us, blessing and using His labourers. It is our duty home in the North West Territories and the Yukon. _ to pray individually, as families and as a churcJI There are many hardships to be endured in taking for labourers sent of God. . ./ the_ Gospel to -these far-off places, but what joy ·in

At the evening_ hour Dr. Slade delivered an in- gathering groups of neglected men to tell them the spirational message on the theme, "Spiritual' precious story of Jesus al).d His love! God is bless­Weapons" -(2 Cor. 10 :3-5). We are in a warfare, ing, as we endeavour to give them to eat. This' is whether we like it or not. There is an adversary the great responsibility of ~1l who trust_in Jesus. about, and if we escape one of 'his snares we may One girl from the primary department confessed

. fall into another .o~e. The fight is fierce. We are Christ in response to the Gospel invitation. . soldiers under the banner of Christ, the Captain of Sunday evening, in the absence of the Pastor our salvation, iIi,'this spiritual warfare. We do not (Dr. Slade), who 'Was mi~istering at Bob Jones overthrow governments, but sin and Satan; We do University, Greenville, South Carolina, the message not extend earthly territory, but purpose to expand ' was brought by Rev. G. A. Adams, Principal of the kingdom of God. . Toronto Baptist Seminary. We are planning to print _

There was war -in heaven, and man also entered this message in full in the Seminary issue of .rrHE

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14 (62) TIlE GOSPEL WITNESS , May 31, 1962'

GOSPEL WITNESS. A very appropriate message it was, on the eve of his departure for the United' Kingdom in the interests of Toronto Baptist Semin­ary. Mr. Adams' subject was, "A great Time To ,Serve" (Rom. 6 :20). He dealt with the times of abounding sin and the superabounding grace of God. Paul had a vision of the hour of great need­A Great Time to Serve. In these critical days we ,need workmen called of God to be evangelists and prophets.'

Bible School LeSSOB Outline Volume 26 Second Quarter Lesson 12 June 17, 1962

.,' OLIVE L. CLARK, Ph.D. (Tor.)

THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST Lesson Text: Revelation 19:11-21. -Golden Tat:-"And I saw heaven opened, and behold' a ,white

. horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and' in righteousness he doth judge and make war ... .:-Revelation 19:11. ,

The character~ of every man of Adam's race, save One, display certain inconsistencies and contradictions.' Not so the perfect nature of Christ, the Son of God, whose virtues were blended in one harmonious whole: He was at once the gentle Lamb of God and the stl"C)ng Lion of Judah (Rev. 5':5, 6), the God of love' and the God of justice. He fulfilled the prophecies w~ich said that the Messiah would come as the suffering Servant of Jehovah, who would not strive -or

. cry, (Isa. 42:1-3; Matt. 12:18-20), and also those which fore­told His coming ,as the glorious, mighty King, the Lord, of hosts (Isa. 9:6, 7). ' , 'This two-fold aspect of the Person of C~rist extends to His ministry also; As .the Lamb of God ·He died for those who would become His friends (John 1:29; Rev. 7:10), but as the Lion of the tribe of Judah He would one day bring vengeance ,upon all His foes (Hos. 13:7). Those who refuse willingly to meet Him 8s their Saviour must be prepared to face Him as their Judge (Acts 17:31). ,

This principle of unity in diVersity finds apt- illustration in the two symbolic pictures of Christ as seen in this chap­ter (verses 1-9 and 11-21). The Lamb who died to 'save His people from their sins will one day come again. There will be a joyful reunion of the Bridegroom and His Bride, the Church, and the consummation of their everlasting union is here, described as, the marriage feast of the Lamb, the scene depicting oue_ of everlasting bliss and unending fel­lowship (verses 1-9; Luke'14:15; Rev. 3:20; 21:2, 3). But to'His enemies He comes'as the powerful Conqueror, treading down all opposition and banishing them from His presence 'for ever (Rev. 21:27). . _ '

Again" when He came upon earth, Christ once rode into Jerusalem upon a lowly ass, the beast of burden and humil-

,ity (Matt. 21:1-11), but,in this vision J:ohn beheld th~ Saviour as mounted upon a white charger, fit bearer for the acknowledged majestic Ruler (Rev. 6:2). The plaudits of a fickle crowd have given place to the praises of a, faithful multitude of tried followers.

It would be a profitable study to recall the insulting mock homage paid to the Son -of God when sinners in' derision crowned Him (Matt. 27:27-31) .. Instead of the rude rabble and insolent soldiers, ,the Saviour is now attended by His loving, pure and faithful saints.,The tattered,red.fiag :flung upon His bleeding shoulders has disappeared, and He wears the crimson robe of royalty. A crown of: t;horns thrust painfully into ,the tender brow is transformed into, many diadems (Rev. 12:3; 13:3)., The" slender reed, in His right hand is replaced by a sceptre of iron (Rev. 2:27). , As in the former vision (Rev. 1:14), the eyes of Christ seemed to glow as :fire, signifying Hili dazzling purity, and also 'His searching, gaze which is one of full knowledge ,(Psa. 11:4; Isa. 11:2). There is a suggestion, also, of His righteous wrath agamst sin (Isa., 66:15, 16).

As' in Isaiah's vision of the One coming from Bozrah (Isa. 63:2, 3), the glorious Son of God is represented·as

wearing garments that have been dipped iii blood. -This reminds us of the fact that the Kingly Christ is also the Saviour who died for us (1 John 1:7). Possibly, howev~r, in this vision the crimson garments are to be, understood as being stained by the blood of our Saviour's foes, whom He has overcome.

Once more the Lord is called the Word of God (John 1:1, 14). As such He is the expression of the Father's thought, feeling and will, just as the, word of a man is the outward manifestation of his inner personality. Since names repre-

-sent the particular personality of the individual, the new name to be given to the-'Christ ,(Rev. 2:17; 3:12) is prob­ably to be taken as indicative of His new mission: He comes now in .the capacity of Judge and Warrior, accompanied by a vast throng of followers who are clad in robes of perfect righteousness (verse 8; Rev. 14:4; 17:14). .'

The"' word of power and author:\ty which comes from His lips is His only weapon, but it is a powerful 'weapon, able to consume His foes. (verse 21; Psa. 2:9; 'Mal. 4:6; Isa. 11:4; 2 Thess.' 2:8; Rev. 1:16). He comes as the representative of His Father; treadiJlg for' Him the winepress of wrath. Isaiah foresaw the Saviour treading the winepress alone, enduring the wrath 01; God which was due to sinners (Isa. '63:3). But the sight which John saw is probably meant, to convey the thought that Christ is now treading the wine­press to administer the wrath of God to ot~ers as punish­ment because the ,guilty sinners have rebelled against Him (Isa. 30:27-30; 2 Thess. 2:6-9; Rev. 14:19,20). ,

All authority is now in the Saviour's hands (John 5:27); He is the King of those who reign and the Lord of those who rule (1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 17:14; 19:16).

A holy angel stands in a conspicuous place to herald the victory of the omnipotent Saviour. For a body to lie un­buried, and thus to be consumed by vultures, was co~sidered the essence of shame (Jer. 8:2; 16:6; 20:6; 22:19). Hence, the angel's symbolic summoning of the fowls of the air to the scene of confiict conveys the notion of most inglorious defeat (Ezek. 39:17-21). Great ones have now been over­thrown, hence the fiesh to be consumed, is described as' the flesh of kings, captains and mighty leaders. .

The Lord's great antagonist, who is depicted as a beast (Rev. 11:7), has now been overthrown., He, along with the false prophet, the deceiver (Rev. 16:13, .14), is pictured as being cast alive into the lake of fire (Rev. ,20:10, 14, 15).

The Lord ,whom we adore is a God of justice as. well as mercy, so that men must be warned against presuming. upon His patience, (Rom. 2:4). Let them behold His severity, (Rom. 11:22) and fear to bring upon themselves the wrath of the One of whom it is said, "Our God is a cons,uming fire" (Isa. 64:1, 2; Heb. 12:29).

Daily Bible Readings ' , June l1--':The Second Ccnning of Christ __ ~ _____ Act. 1:1-11

June 12-The Challenge of His Coming ______ 1 John 3:1-12 June IS-The Time of His Coming _.:: _______ ,Matt. 25:1-13 June 14-The Olivet Discourse ________ .,. ____ Matt. 24:1-24 June 15-The Triumph of His Coming _____________ Psa. 2 June 16-The Punishment of Unbelievers __ Matt. 25:31-46 June 17-The Rapture of the Saints ______ 1 Thess. 4:13-18

. Bible' School 'LessoB Outline Volume· 26 Second Quarter Lesson 13 Jane 24, 1962

THE NEW HEAVEN AND' THE NEW EARTH Lesson Text: Revelation 21:1-7. Golden Text: "And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold,

I make all things new."-Revelation 21:5. I. The Vision: verses 1-4.

. The visions which ,the Lord, gave to His servant John incl.ude~ some features pertaining to 'the past, some to the present and some to the future (Rev:' 1:19). "In these last visions the Lord vouchsafed to John glimpses of tlie eternal abode of the saints. ' ..

, John saw a new heaven and a new earth both of which we're of surpassing beauty and glory. The first heaven and the first earth, when created -by the ha~d of God, were per­fect (Gen. 1:31) but because of the sin of the inhabitants, the\whole earth became involved in the curse (Gen. 8:17, 18;

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I ~ '-

May 31, 1962 • TIlE GOSPEL WITN:ESS (63) 15

Rom. 8:20-22). There would come a day of judgment, where­in the first hea·ven' and ·earth would be 'dissolved and purged with fire (Heb. 12:26, 27: 2 Pet. 3:10-12), preparatory to the new heaven and new earth, when the universe would be redeemed (Rom. 8:19). The heaven which would be de­stroyed is of course not the eternal abode of the saints, but rather the atmosphere above the earth. The new heaven and the new earth may be the first ones restored and renewed, or they may be entirely new. .~.

The sea in Scriptural' imagery is the symbol' of turmoil and unrest (Psa. 46:3: Isa. 48:22: 57:20), of separation (Lam. 2:13),. of judgment and destruction (Gen. 6:17: 7-11: Rev. 20:13). In that land of quiet peace, there will be no more

. sea, in the sense that these disturbing elements will no longer trouble men or nations. .

The· New Jerusalem which .John saw was a spiritual city of heavenly origin (Isa. 52:1: Rev. 22:9), contrasted' in its character an(i source with earthly Jeru!lalem, symbolic of bondage and fleshly aims (Gal. 4:25, 26: Heb .. 11:10: 12:22:' 13:14: Rev. '1:17, 18). The inhabitants of New Jerusalem are those who are true members of the body of Christ, -His

- bride, His church (1 Cor. 3:9, 16: 12:13: Eph. 1:22, 23: 5:25-27: Col. 2:7: Rev. 3:12). How glorious shall the saipts appear, with all faults and blemishes removed, and adorned with the white robes of the righteousness of Christ, their Lord and heavenly Bridegroom, with whom they are united' for evermore (verse 9: Rev. 19:7: 22:11)! The heavenly city is now completed,- each living stone being in its proper place (Eph. 2:20-22: 1 Pet. 2:5: Rev. 21:14).-'

In .figure and symbol, but especially in the tabernacle in the wilderness, the presence of God was made manifest to the ancient Hebrews (Exod. 25:22: 29:45, 46; 40:34, 35: Lev. 20:26: 26:11, 12). But in the Eternal City the Lord Himself_. shall dwell forever among His people, now redeemed from all sin and iniquity (Zech. 2:10: 2 Cor. 6:16: Rev. 7:15).

What a comforting thought to know that in the Celestial City there will be no sin (verses 8, .27: Isa. 35:8: Joel 3:17), and that none of the fruits of sin will be present - tears, sorrow, suffering, pain or death (Isa. 25:8: 35:10: 51:11: Matt: 11:28: 1 Cor. -15:26: 2 Tim. 1:10: Rev. 7:17: 20:14)! All such woes belong to tlie first earth with its bondage of corruption. II. The Voice: verses 5-7.

The triumphant Saviour,. the One sitting upon the throne of power and glory (Rev. 4:2, 8), 'informed John that it was 'He who had made all things new. All things were in .reality new, as prefigured by the new creation in the heart of every redeemed soul (2 Cor. 5:17).

The Apostle John was commanded to write the visiQn, to record it, for it had been given to him by One who was called True and Faithful (Rev. 3:7, 14: 19:11: 22:6), the Beginning and the Ending, the Source and Purpose of all things (Col. 1:16: Reb .. 2:10: Rev. 1:8). Moreover, the promise was as sure and certain as though thes~ things had already taken place.-. -.

To encourage any who might despair of reaching such a holy and blessed abode, the Apostle John was exhorted to repeat the gracious invitation of the Gospel, that the Lord was ready to satisfy with the waters of eternal life those who expressed spiritual thirst (Isa. 55:1, John 4:10; 7:37: Rev. 22:17). Salvation would be given to them freely, with-out money' and without price. .

The promise of the Gospel was .repeated for the benefit of' the saints of God also. Those who would be victorious in the conflict against the' world, ·the flesh and Satan would inherit the blessings described .in the sacred vision (Rev. 2:7). As sons of God by the new tiirth they would have a right· to the heavenly inheritance (Rom. 8:16, 17). God would manifest Himself as their Father, and they would be manifested before all as His sons (Jer. 31:33: 2 Cor. 6:18). What a glorious inheri~nce a.waits those who by faith re­ceive .Chril!t·as their Saviour' and Lord (1 Pet. 1:3, 4)1 Let . us p.ress. on. to.ward the prize of our high calling in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:12-14) 1 - .

Daily Bible Readings June IS-Heaven,. Dwelling Place of God __________ Isa. 6 June 19-Angels' Exp~lled from Heaven ____________ Jude June 20-Heaven, Deriied 'to Unsaved ________ Rev. 20:1-15 June 21-Heaven, Promised to Believers ____ John 17:20-26. June 2~Heaven, Prepared by Christ ________ John 14:1-24 June. 23-Heaven, A Rest for the Christian _______ .:. Heb. " June 24-Heaven, Place of Untold Blessing __ Rev."21:8-22:6

..

ANGLICAN CHAPEL GIVEN TO DOMINICANS From Quebec we learn that" an Anglican Chapel

built some 58 years ago has been handed over to the Roman Catholic order of the' Dominicans. Offi­cials from both groups were present for the dedica­tion service, the Anglican' Bishop of Quebec, Very Rev. R. F. Brown, 'and the Roman Catholic Bishop, Monseignor Maurice Roy. - The French press re­ported, "Evidently' it is a unique gesture in' the religious history of America, and comes at a time when the relations have never been more harmon-ious between Catholics and Anglicans." . .' .

In 1907 King Edward VII gave to the Chapel a . magnificent Bible in memory of one of the Dukes of Kent who lived in the eighteenth century. This I"

Bible has been autographed by all the royal visitors· who have come to Quebec since that date. The chapel had been built on ·the estate known ,as Kent House near the Montmorency Falls which, in 1960, became the property of the Dominieans and· is now called "Maison ... Montmorency". According to the report, the Anglican Bishop decided recently that the chapel should also become the property _of the Dominicans.

This is but further 'evidence of the Romeward trend of the Protestantism of the Anglican Church. We can recall. that about ten years ago, in one of the communities or Northern Ontario, an Anglican Church remained closed most of the time, with no services, because there was no one to attend. A group . o~ Bible-believing Baptists endeavo~red to rent the use of' the Anglican Church building for a growing Sunday School and afternoon service and were refused .. Is it that the Anglicans have more in. common with Rome than with Baptists? How can an' Anglican take part in dedication of a 'chapel for the celebration of. the idolatrous Roman Mass?

AMONG OURSELVES We extend hearty congratulations to Mr. J. Loper,

graduate of this year's class of Toronto Baptist Seminary, and Miss Jean Evans of Jarvis Street Church, w_ho were united in holy matrimony Friday, May 4th, 1962. They are looking to the Lord to open up a door for missionarr work abroad.

CALENDAB OF THE BEFOBMATIOI During our Subscription Campaign we' offered the

CALENDAR OF THE REFORMATION as a premium to new subscribers. From 'week to week we have given excerpts . from the Calendar. of daily readings of Reformation History. and many have indicated interest to buy the book. We ·now have a new supply on hand. and offer it to a.~y reader of THE GOSPEL WITNESS for $1.50 postage palC:!. Send your order in. today. Use handy.order form i»elow:

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16 (64) THE GOSPEL WITNESS May 31, 1962

TORONTO BAPTIST SEMINARY (!//ItIAA jDA phDApRdiDII

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For the benefit of the friends of local churches, each year some of the regular Seminary subi!'cts are being offered by evening classes. By these, full credih may be earned to ,be applied to the regular courses, if the Lord leads later to Seminary.

Three years ago a good number enrolled in the LIFE OF CHRIST and two years ago in the BIBLICAL INTRODUCTION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT courses. This last school-year eighty-four registered for the combined course in SOUL WINNING and TEACHING METHODS. Many Sunday School teachers gained much information and practical experience to help improve their effectiveness. A course in BEGINNERS' GREEK was also offered.

This coming September a course in BIBLICAL THEOLOGY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT wi!1 be given by the Principal, Rev. G. A. Adams. Fuller information may be received by writing to the Registrar, Toronto Baptist Seminary, 337 Jarvis Street, Toronto 2, Canada.

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