MAT ANY HAV kd ; tia wey ‘cee ay My yt Li ‘ — eet ar ea - cana a ep Res Urea gees © pee wiles Fas aes sue pay | ad Nin ; ba hs ee Beare i iy ty Van WN) ae Wy v Lape , ah 1 ca et UNE Gy rio he Pree iva eee oo \ lhe Th, % hs, RNR Calagitas As i i Those hai f at , ms ey! Grae Raa oats i hee CAN WE BELIEVE? Popular Discussions of Fundamental Christian Truths | QA OF PRIVEE, ND iB 9 bp “B vs aac von’ ug Ar phen fA fit aa a ag hg ih : an. 1 hd dae / By FRANK M. ‘GOODCHILD, D.D. NEw YORK CHICAGO Fleming H. Revell Company LONDON AND EDINBURGH Copyright, MCMXXVI, by FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY New York: 158 Fifth Avenue Chicago: 17 North Wabash Ave. London: 21 Paternoster Square Edinburgh: 99 George Street To My Son FRANKLIN MYERS GOODCHILD, M. D. who throughout his scientific training and m the practice of a learned profession has retained his simple faith in the religion taught in the Bible Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2022 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library https://archive.org/details/canwebelievepopu00good_0 FOREWORD dhe chapters of this book were in substance first delivered as sermons in the Central Baptist Church of New York City, where the author was pastor for nearly thirty years, and they have been given as addresses at Winona and other Bible Confer- ences. They still retain the style of spoken words. Whenever they have been delivered, they have proved so helpful to faith, that many people have asked for their publication. In response to these requests the book ap- pears. By deliberate intention the treatment of the subjects is popular, and the appeal is made to the average thoughtful reader, but it is hoped that the arguments will bear the scrutiny of the most exacting. New York. CONTENTS I THE IMPORTANCE OF BELIEF The New Testament emphasizes belief—Important in busi- ness, in national life, in the home, and in religion—Loss of faith most serious of all losses—Always some who sneer at faith, but everybody has a creed—LEHarly Church required statement of faith—Definite creed essential to right life— Decline of strong convictions to-day—Convictionless people not agreeable companions—Definite convictions of truth essential to church fellowship—The contention that definite faith is unimportant and good works all important denied— Social service cannot take the place of faith—New Testa- ment insists that belief is of primary importance—Martin Luther and Ernst Renan contrasted—Positive faith essential to a preacher—Intense faith made the great missionaries— Paul a man of faith—No other sort could do his work...... IT CAN WE BELIEVE IN GOD? To think of God does not make one talkative—Reverence of Mohammedans for the name of God—Sir Isaac Newton— Robert Boyle—Greatness of the subject makes preachers hesitate to preach upon it—But men of the world are dis- cussing it—Bible assumes that men believe in God—lIt gives men right views of God and tells men how they may come into right relations with God—Bible intimates that belief in God is not so much a matter of piety as of common sense, and urges men to use their reason to discern Him—Incident of Napoleon—The Arab-—All nature reveals God—Folly of atheism—AUsthetic sensibilities, moral convictions, and ideals of beauty and goodness argue His existence—What we think of God shapes all our other thinking—The value of a religion is tested by the view it takes of God—Folly of professing to know all about God—Every man paints his own picture of God—Child’s view of God—In Jesus Christ God has given us a picture of Himself—God transcends all our thought of Him—To be certain of God is the only source of peace of mind—God still is sovereign—He rules in righteousness—Deals out justice—Hates sin—It is a real gospel that God is for the good man and will lift him up, and He is against the bad man and will throw him down... 3 . 11 26 A CONTENTS Tit CAN WE BELIEVE IN THE BIBLE? Accept the Bible unmutilated—Any subtraction from thé Bible would be a mutilation of it—No fear of criticism— Conviction unshakeable that it is God’s book and He can take care of it—Bible invites criticism—The higher the claim a book makes for itself the more searching our scrutiny of it should be—There is another way of knowing the Bible than by a critical study of the text, or a study of its sources—By illumination of the Holy Spirit—Very plain men may know the mysteries of the kingdom—The unity of the Bible a proof of its divine origin—It is one in its effects, its struc- ture, and in the personality it presents—Different from other books—Every part of it has been the means of turning men from sin—Adapted to all races, every age, and class— Singularly uniform character of its books—Great diversity of authorship, yet intensely harmonious in character—Fifteen hundred years in writing, yet principles unchanged—A unity unparalleled—Tllustration of symphony orchestra—Of construction of a church—Unity of Bible more remarkable in that it contradicts the notions of lands where it was written—Pentateuch and the Egyptians—Our Lord’s testi- mony to the unity of the Old Testament—The purpose of the New Testament we do not need to demonstrate—Unity of the Bible mysterious—Cannot add to it or take from it without harm—A unit in its purpose, its structure, and in its saving effect on those who read it—Because back of its many writers ‘is the ons living: God... is vise sss 6 ses wel clei IV CAN WE BELIEVE IN THE VIRGIN BIRTH? Wonders attending Christ’s birth—Only as you lower your conception of the character of Jesus Christ can you feel that the story should in any way be modified—Some men in every age have considered Christ only a man—When evidence overwhelmingly favours His deity they reject it—Even seek to destroy the evidence—For many centuries the Church has recited its faith in the Virgin Birth—But no doctrine has been more virulently and persistently attacked—Though its historic foundations are secure, the doctrine is attacked to-day by Christian teachers and preachers—Schrempf in Germany—The Virgin Birth cannot be separated from the other wonders of Christ’s life—Stand or fall tozether—Many unscholarly judgments—The true method of science is to find the facts and then construct a theory—Dr. Charles E. Jefferson on the use of the scissors in critical study of 42 CONTENTS Bible—What facts support belief in the Virgin Birth—Testi- mony of Mary given by Luke—That of Joseph given by Matthew—Credibility of those Gospels—Alleged silence of Mark, John, and Paul—Unanimity of manuscripts—Alleged parallel between Christ’s birth, and that of Greek and Roman heroes—Argument from prophecy in Isaiah and in Genesis—Best proof of credibility of story of Virgin Birth of Christ is the wonderful life He lived—Is acceptance of doc- trine important?—Bearing on credibility of New Testament —Rejection of doctrine associated with low conception of the character of Christ—Value of doctrine in daily Lite hei ebs V CAN WE BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD? What we think of Jesus Christ is fundamental to all our life—Never such deep interest in the person of Christ as to-day—Hall Caine, Prof. Benjamin Jowett, Prof. Adolf Harnack—Man who feels no interest in Jesus Christ has lagged behind thinking men—In New Testament times only two opinions about Jesus—So all through history—Great difference between men—When Christ appears all others are on the same level—What Jesus Christ said of Himself— Set Himself above Bible, above the Sabbath—Claimed the prerogatives of God—Jews rightly charged Him with mak- ing Himself equal with God—If His claims were not true, He was a liar and an impostor—Cannot stop with simple admiration of Christ as purest, wisest and best of men— Hither more than that or less—Richard Fuller’s state- ment—Richard Watson Gilder’s tribute—Testimony of those who stood nearest to Him—Whole course of history has proved His claims—Sects that reject the deity of Christ do not grow—Schism in Congregationalist churches a hundred years ago—Many who have rejected Christ’s claims have later acknowledged them—David Friedrich Strauss, William Lecky, Ernst Renan—Whole world is recognizing that Jesus is without a peer—Validity of His claims is still being demonstrated—Most conclusive evidence of Christ’s deity is in the renewal of one’s own heart—Unanimous testimony of creatures that came under His power...... Gis oo oie ele erat atuvg aie vi CAN WE BELIEVE IN THE MIRACLES? Century ago miracles held a different place in Christian thought from what they hold to-day—Paley’s testimony— To-day men depreciate the miracles—But they are given to us on same testimony as other parts of Christ’s life—Cut them out of the Gospels and there is little left—-The New 61 79 6 CONTENTS Testament writers evidently felt that Christ’s miracles made an impression in His favour—What Nicodemus said—Peter’s appeal at Pentecost—Jesus Christ felt that His miracles were convincing—Must take New Testament as we find it—Not until third century any serious denial of Christ’s miracu- lous power—Cannot assume attitude of indifference towards miracles—Reasons why miracles have fallen into disrepute —Many spurious miracles—But these are very different from Christ’s miracles—Felt to-day that miracles are an interruption of the orderly processes of nature—Fichte’s statement of the problem—Henry Mansel’s answer—Man’s will and its control of natural forces—Seen in the garden— Auberlen, Huxley, Rousseau quoted—New Testament and science not in conflict as to miracles—True science is modest to-day—The mistakes of Comte and Laplace—Won- ders of the X-ray—Nobedy will venture to say what is possible or impossible—Hume on miracles—Mill’s answer to him—Huxley—Flammarion—Jesus was so great in character that great things were natural to Him—Zerah Colburn mathematical genius—Blind Tom musical genius— Culmination of miracles in resurrection of Christ—Admit it and it carries all the rest—Some things cannot be explained except by miracle—Origin of life in the world, conscience, conversion—Instance of Rowdy Brown............ccseeseees VII CAN WE BELIEVE IN THE ATONEMENT? Paul on the heart of the Gospel—His teaching is uni- form—Only one gospel in the New Testament—Example of apostles is good one to follow—Nothing else worth preach- ing—Some fell away from preaching the cross even in Paul’s day—Another falling away in days of Moderatism in Scotland—In New England Unitarianism—Same trial is on us again—PEvidence in recent hymnals—Other ways of sal- vation suggested—That Jesus Christ saves us by teaching us the truth—In that case He is not the only Saviour—Men Were not dying for teachers when Christ came—Even His special message is well taught in the Old Testament—Others pointed out the way of life—Moses—Prophets and apostles— Paul outdid Him in extent of work of teaching—None of them is presented on that account as a saviour—Suggested that Christ saves us by showing us how to live the truth— He is our example—Such an one is in a sense a saviour— Is that the gospel men need?—We are not simply in danger of falling, but already fallen—Need some one to lift us out of the pit into which we have fallen—Follow His example to be sure, but when we have done our best see more clearly that only hope is in mercy of God the Father, and 94 CONTENTS the sacrifice of God the Son—New Testament way of salva- tion is by atoning blood—God’s way of salvation must ex- elude none—To every creature—How Dr. Charles Berry learned what sort of a salvation men need—New Gospels Breen COMDETADIE With LUOPOIGL a cil: woe ee eins svete wis wie Dakelels Vill CAN WE BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST? Willing to rest all Christian faith on the single fact of Christ’s resurrection—Huxley warned Christian people against that—But New Testament does it—In every age some have found the resurrection incredible—W hy ?—Resur- rection means not simply that life continues after death, but that dead body became alive again—A Christ who died and never came out of the grave is not the Christ of the New Testament—Not the Christ whom the Church has believed in for nineteen hundred years—Men contend that no amount of evidence is sufficient to prove the resurrection of Christ— But the question is not a complex one—Two questions re- quire answer—Did Jesus Christ die? Was Jesus Christ afterwards alive?—We often have to prove death—Proof of the death of Christ is complete—No deception possible— Died in public—By violence—At hands of professional ex- ecutioners—Attested by spear thrust—Proof that Jesus Christ came back to life equally conclusive—Testimony of friends, enemies, and doubters—What made sudden change in apostles’ demeanour?—Christianity could not come out of the grave in which Jesus remained dead—If Jesus Christ remained dead, His cause was dead—Can explain human his- tory only by believing in resurrection of Christ—No fact better established—Can get rid of it only by throwing laws of evidence to the winds—Only one other question—Was the person seen alive assuredly the one who had died?—Identi- fication of persons not a difficult matter—Personal experi- ences—If identification was a difficult matter transaction of business might be impossible, and procedure of courts difficult—Objection to use of New Testament testimony considered—There is none better—Resurrection of Christ is better attested than poisoning of Socrates or the assassi- nation of Julius Cesar—Happy consequences of resurrec- TION OTA CNTIRE 2 ute oe teeta 5 sate lstele a: Wihelede wl atdlastihe She ieeaen attra euarede IX CAN WE BELIEVE IN A FUTURE LIFE? When Lazarus was raised from the dead his sisters’ chief thought was one of joy that they had him back—But on such a resurrection one might construct a whole philosophy of life—If one could witness a resurrection he would have 123 8 CONTENTS no fear of death any more—Would see that the horrors of deeth had no more reality than stories of bogies—So dis- ciples felt after Christ arose—Most people feel no interest in future life—May be so with people who have suffered no bereavement—Lack of interest in foreign lands when we have no friend there—Woman whose son goes to China has interest in that land aroused—Life here very monotonous unless one has an outlook beyond the grave—Contest of nations for outlet to the sea—Christianity gives an outlook that makes life here larger and better—Life here and here- after are one—God means us to cherish a hope of a future life and intends to satisfy it—John Fiske on ‘‘ The Destiny of Man’’—Scientific men are more ready than ever before to admit that there may be another life—John Stuart Mill— Huxley—Sir Oliver Lodge—F. W. H. Myers—But we need the assurance of a revelation—Jesus Christ brought life and immortality to light—Hope of future life transforms life here—From time to time God has given His people a glimpse into the world beyond—Ezekiel—Apostle John—Bunyan— Human life hopeless without that vision of the future...... x CAN WE BELIEVE IN FUTURE PUNISHMENT? The character of the life after death is of prime im- portance—If iife here affects the hereafter we should order our lives accordingly—Think more about future penalties than rewards—No other part of Christian teaching more misunderstood than that about future punishment—Time was when future punishment was over-emphasized in preaching—Jonathan Edwards—To-day it is almost ignored —Dr. R. W. Dale’s lament that nobody is afraid of God now —No need to be ashamed of doctrine of future punishment —Bible teaches it clearly—Facts of life demand it—Incident given by Dr. A. H. Strong—Other incidents show sense of justice in criminals demands punishment—wNo part of Chris- tian teaching has had such reinforcement from science as fu- ture punishment—Clearest teaching about it is in words of Jesus Christ—Teaching of the Old Testament—The most ter- rible things about future punishment of the wicked were said by Christ—Question of literal fire—Christ teaches that punishment for unforgiven sin is certain; just; not arbitrary —Death does not change one’s character—Whatever charac- ter we have here we have hereafter—Hell not so much a place as a condition—Is sin punished in this world?—Wrong conditions here will be righted hereafter—What is the pro- portion of the saved and the lost?—What about the heathen and those who never have heard of Christ?—How long will 135 CONTENTS XI CAN WE BELIEVE IN OUR LORD’S RETURN TO THE EARTH? Greatest day in past history was the day of Christ’s first advent; greatest day of future will be the day of His second advent—Frequent mention of the second coming in the New Testament demonstrates its importance—Prevalent dislike of the doctrine—Attitude of Christian people of New Testament times—Dominant thought then—What was so cherished by New Testament Christians ought not be ig- nored to-day—Thought of His return was very dear to Jesus Christ—Some have tried to explain it away—Some have declared that it already has come to pass—Dr. W. N. Clarke —Mrs. Eddy—Pastor Russell—Some have said that the Lord’s return means death—Peter foretold these days of un- belief—Christ sought to keep His people in mind of His return—Associated it with the Lord’s Supper—New Testa- ment says clearly that Christ will return in person—Visibly, —Suddenly—Must world first be converted?—He will come gloriously—Time of coming not revealed—Fact of return put beyond all dispute—The promise that Christ will return is very satisfying to all our instincts—Career of our Lord in this world is not yet complete—What is the use of this doctrine?—Impels to activity—Sometimes has. opposite effect—Meant to comfort and inspire—Great leaders of the Church have cherished the doctrine of Christ’s return—Mar- tin Luther—John Calvin—John Knox—The Wesleys—Rich- ard Baxter—Exhortation to watch—Christian people eager for Christ’s return—Why He delays... ccucccidedecccccssesee XIT THE ALMIGHTINESS OF FAITH Jesus Christ attributes to faith almost incredible power— His frequent assurances of it are impressive—Often find the meaning of a proposition by putting it to a practical test—Afraid to so test the text about mountain-moving faith—Wish people would use Bible naturally—Faith as a grain of mustard seed—dAllusion is to size of seed—Meant to imply almightiness of even a little faith—Can do im- possibilities—Mountains always used in a figurative sense— Jews spoke of mighty men as mountain movers—Would have spoken so of Roosevelt, of Marshall Foch, of Napoleon —Some things impossible even to God—Dr. H. G. Weston’s statement—Common sense needed in interpreting Scripture —Mirabeau and Pitt on impossibilities—Primitive Chris- tianity a religion of power—Early Christians sensationalists —Ought not be satisfied unless the Church is now impress- 160 10 CONTENTS ing the world—Did so at Pentecost—In Protestant Refor- mation—Great Awakening—In Finney’s and Moody’s re- vival—Demonstrations of power by Church ought not to be unusual—Church cannot live on past history—If Church lacks power the world rightly ignores her—Church like her Lord is supernatural—EHach Christian should have ideal of mighty faith and fervent devotion for his own church—Is Church’s power declining?—The might of faith demonstrated in Wesleyan revival and in the rise of the modern mission- ary movement at the haystack in Williamstown............ 176 { THE IMPORTANCE OF BELIEF “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”—JouHn 6: 29. N every page of the New Testament tremendous () emphasis is laid upon the importanee of belief. It is the only way by which we come into vital relation with Jesus Christ. John says that Christ ‘‘gave power to become sons of God to them that believed on his name.’’ Belief is the invariable condition of receiv- ing forgiveness of one’s sins. The Lord Jesus always asked for belief as a prerequisite for bestowing the benefits that came through His power to work miracles. Without belief in Him one is impotent; with belief one is omnipotent. ‘‘ All things are possible to him that be- lieveth.’’ Everywhere the Bible indicates that not only all power is dependent on our believing but all peace of mind as well. Near the end of the epistle to the Romans Paul says: ‘‘Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing.’’ Without confident belief there is no such thing as buoyancy of spirit or serenity of mind. It is so even in the ordinary concerns of life. Some things a man must be absolutely sure of if he is to have any peace or happiness. In business a man must feel sure of the integrity of the people to whom he sells goods if he is to rest at night. ‘To promote that necessary feel- ing of confidence all sorts of devices are made—from the companies that make it their business to know the 11 12 CAN WE BELIEVE? reliability of all tradesmen and furnish you information about them, to the companies that insure you against loss through unecollectable bills. Just as soon as con- fidence fails in the business world, panic comes, and in- deseribable disaster, and the only cure for such a con- dition is a restoration of confidence. If you are not sure of the strength of the government that guarantees the banknotes you have in your purse your money becomes almost worthless, and you can buy a bushel of its notes for a few cents. During the World War, German marks which normally would be worth about twenty-five cents apiece, were worth so little that you had to use a microscope to discover any value at all in them. Only as men are confident of the stability and strength of a government, will the notes which that government issues be of sufficient value to be used in legitimate business. You know how essential a thing confidence is in the home. Husband and wife must feel no uncertainty about each other’s faithfulness and devotion. Cesar’s wife must even be above suspicion. As soon as the slightest degree of uncertainty about each other creeps in, the home is in turmoil, and there is unhappiness and coldness and estrangement, with all the tragedy which that means for many hearts. The couple may be true to each other in every respect. Each may be conscious of purity and rectitude unimpaired. Each may mourn over the loss of the other’s affection. Everything in the world may be exactly right in their relations with each other. But if any suspicion that things are not right thrusts itself into their minds, the home is ruined. You must not only have things right but you must feel sure that they are right or else you are distracted in mind, and distressed in heart. THE IMPORTANCE OF BELIEF 13 Of course a man must have some assurance of the truth of things on which he rests the hopes of his soul or he will know nothing of the peace that is promised to Chris- tian people. Yet it must be admitted that it is the very things on which we have been resting our souls that are called in question to-day. The attacks on Christian truth that have been made from Christian pulpits re- cently and in our theological seminaries, and which have aroused such profound public interest are not attacks on non-essentials. They are attacks on the very founda- tions of our faith. And though the men who have made these attacks declare they still hold their Christian faith, what they have said has without doubt resulted in the loss of faith to many another. And a great loss that is, the loss of faith. There is no other loss that one can suffer half so bad as that. Loss of fortune, that is a dreadful thing. Loss of health, that is very sad. Loss of reputation, that is calamitous. Loss of friends, that is sometimes heart- breaking. But to lose one’s faith is worse than all these other losses put together. Better have all your money slip away from you so that you have not a dollar to your name than to lose your faith. Better lose your place in the business world so that you have to grub along in hardship from day to day, than to lose your faith. Bet- ter have your last friend turn his back on you and feel yourself alone in an unfriendly world, than to lose your faith. Better have your health utterly break down so that you linger along from day to day in a sort of liv- ing death, than to lose your faith. There is no other loss that for a moment compares with this. Loss of faith is a loss unspeakable. In every age and in every land there have been some unhappy souls who have sneered at faith. Some people 14 CAN WE BELIEVE? have an insane hatred of ereeds. Such people we have in plenty to-day. They act as though it is a crime to have a creed. But we make a tremendous mistake if we underestimate the value of creeds. Every one but a fool has a creed. We have creeds about everything. We have a business creed. You could not manage your office if you had not. You have a medical creed, and so when you are sick you send for a physician of your own school, allopathic, homeopathic, hydropathic, or what not. There are creeds of art and science. And there are also very rightly religious creeds. What folly it is to say that religion, the most important concern of life, is the only thing on which one should not have a definite belief, or if he has such a belief, should not say what it is. The early Church required each applicant for member- ship to make some statement of his faith. Baptism was administered only on profession of faith. The eunuch, whom Philip met seemingly by chance in the wilderness, asked for baptism and Philip said at once, ‘‘If thou be- lievest.’? And the eunuch responded at once, ‘‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’’ The Church it- self had clear convictions that bound the members to- gether, and naturally enough in admitting new members they wished them to believe the same things and to be devoted to the same ends. If you join a masonic lodge you are expected to assent to its principles. That is fair. You are expected to give assurances of your loyalty. That is right. You do not go into a masonic lodge with the intention of changing everything. Masons value the ancient landmarks, and seek to preserve them. That is ‘true of every organization that I know anything about. You cannot be admitted to membership in any of them unless you come prepared to agree to its principles and abide by its rules. The Church is the only institution I THE IMPORTANCE OF BELIEF 15 know of in which men claim the right to membership while they repudiate its foundation principles and seek to bring about its overthrow. Christian schools are the only ones of which I have any knowledge in which men claim the right to teach things that are subversive of the school’s existence. It is not according to reason that it should be so. The early Church was entirely right when it required a clear profession of one’s faith of every person who wished to enter its fellowship. I confess that I have little use for those people who are always saying that it makes no difference what a man believes if he only lives aright. Such a statement could be made only by one who is slovenly in his thinking or careless in his speech, or else by a man who is bewildered. For a man eannot possibly live aright unless in certain essential things he believes aright. A man’s creed is to him what a tail is to a bird. and hell. The destinies to which they go must be as widely separated. We are sure to ask ourselves as we think on this sub- ject, how great a proportion of people are to be saved, and how many lost. We have no means of knowing. A man in Christ’s congregation once asked Him, ‘‘ Are there few that be saved? ’’ Christ answered, ‘‘Strive to enter in at the strait gate; for many, I say unto you, will strive to enter in and shall not be able.”? He meant to say that those who ask such a question as that are busying themselves with things that do not concern them. Their proper business is to struggle for their own salvation. Many things which we should like to know we are not told. Nothing is said about the good men in other lands who had little opportunity to know the full truth about Jesus Christ, such as Mareus Aurelius. We are not told just how the great Judge will deal with those who die in distant lands before they have had any chance to hear of the Saviour. Christ is extremely prac- tical. He discourages speculation. He bids us look well to ourselves, and not to indulge our curiosity about other people. And then there is that other great question about how long the penalty will last. A big volume might be writ- ten about that. Good men have differed about it. Some have felt encouraged to hope that by and by all would be restored to the Father’s house. Theodore Parker be- lieved that the time would come when the last prodigal FUTURE PUNISHMENT 159 would return and be welcomed home. That, however, is mere speculation. I should not like to encourage any one to build his hope of everlasting life on a human guess. Some have said that by and by the soul would utterly die; that when the penalty has been fully paid the spirit would become extinct. That is another guess. The Saviour gives us no way to answer such a question. Unless we give an unwarranted twist to the words of the Lord Jesus we are compelled to say that the im- penitent sinner is left there in the outer darkness. There is no end to the penalty that we ean discern. It may wring our hearts to say it, but we may not be wise above what is written. This much is certain, that if there is any way to save those who are in perdition, God will save them. He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. He would that all should repent and be saved. But He cannot save a man who refuses to be saved, and it may be that the soul that can resist all the pleadings of the Saviour in this world so hardens itself that there is no possible recovery for it. At any rate no one can resist the conviction that the New Testa- ment teaches that our state is fixed when we pass out of this world. No one can pass either way. The tares are burned, and we have no word about their being gathered together again and transformed into wheat. The worthless fish are thrown away, and we have no hint that they are gathered up again. The tree is cut down, and so it remains. What is right God will do, and we can safely leave all our unanswered questions to Him. XI CAN WE BELIEVE IN OUR LORD’S RETURN TO THE BARTH? “This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shail so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven,” —Acts I: II, HE greatest day in past history was the day when the Lord Jesus came into the world the first time. The greatest day in future history will be the day when the Lord Jesus will come into the world the second time. If we may judge of the im- portance of the day by the number of times it is men- tioned in the Bible, the day of our Lord’s return is the supremely important day of all history. In the 260 chapters of the New Testament there are said to be 318 clear allusions to our Lord’s return. If you divide the New Testament into blocks one verse in twenty-five has to do with the ‘‘second coming.’’ If you take the two epistles to the Thessalonians, the part of the New Testa- ment that deals especially with this great subject, you will find that one verse in every four refers directly to the Master’s return. Whenever the second coming of our Lord is spoken of, some people look askance, and display nervousness, and shrug their shoulders as though they disbelieve the whole thing, or if they believe it, feel that we know very little about it, and that it is of small importance anyhow. There are some who smile as though it were a bit of hare-brained folly. And a few are a bit spite- 160 OUR LORD’S RETURN TO THE EARTH 161 ful about it. I have heard of a Christian minister who said in a sermon of his, ‘‘I hate that doctrine that Christ will come back to the earth.’’ When John the apostle thought of it he said: ‘‘Even so come, Lord Jesus.’’ But this man mentioned it only to say: ‘‘I hate it.’’ When Paul spoke of the crown that awaited him he said that Christ would give such a erown to all who love His appearing. Do you look forward with eager fondness to His appearing, or have you said as this un- worthy servant of Christ did: ‘‘Il hate the thought of it’’? Surely it ill becomes us to disparage what God emphasizes, and what God has taken pains to make known to us deserves our most earnest efforts to under- stand, and it will be for our spiritual profit to contem- plate. There is no possibility of mistaking the attitude of Christian people in New Testament times. All of them were looking forward with eager expectancy. No mat- ter whether they were in Jerusalem or in Rome; whether they were old disciples or young; had long experience or were new converts, they had this characteristic in common, they were earnestly looking for the return of their Lord. That is so marked that any one who should read the New Testament for the first time would get the impression that the very next event to happen would be the coming of Christ. It was the dominant thought in their minds always. No one can read the epistles even superficially without discerning this. Open to the Thessalonians and you find their conversion described as ‘‘a turning to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven.’’ Open to Corinthians and you find Paul telling them that they come behind in no gift ‘‘waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.’?’ Look in Galatians and you 162 CAN WE BELIEVE? find Paul saying, ‘‘We through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness.’’ In Philippians we hear him saying, ‘‘Our conversation is in heaven whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.’’? In the Epistle to the Hebrews we have it said, ‘‘Christ also, having been offered for our sins, shall appear the second time, apart from sin to them that wait for him.’’ The personal purity and devotion of the believer were looked upon as a preparation for the coming of the Lord. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, ‘‘The very God of peace sanctify you wholly, and I pray God your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.’? John puts the same thing in his peculiarly tender way. He says, ‘‘ And now, little children, abide in him, that when he shall appear, we may have confidence and not shame at his coming.’’ Paul exhorts Timothy to fidelity in view of that day. He says, ‘‘Keep this commandment without spot, unre- bukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.’’ Peter, in the same way, writes to his fellow-elders, ‘“Feed the flock of God which is among you, and when - the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.’’ | A hope that was so cherished by the early Christians surely ought not to be banished from the life of the Church to-day. It is unfair to the world to do it, for the world has a right to the full proclamation of the Gospel. It is unfair to the Church, for Christian people have a right to the inspiration and comfort that come from this great hope. This is certainly true, that the thought of coming back to the earth was very dear to Jesus Christ. He often spoke of it. I think we may fairly say that the an- nounecement of His second coming brought about His OUR LORD’S RETURN TO THE EARTH 163 condemnation. When the high priest asked Him whether He was the Christ, the Son of God, He replied, ‘‘ Yes. And hereafter ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.’’? That was enough. The moment they heard that they accused Him of blasphemy and condemned Him to death, just because He said that He was the Christ and they would have the proof of it in His com- ing to earth again in glory. Some who have not liked the Bible’s teaching about our Lord’s return have tried to explain it away. Dr. William N. Clarke in his Outline of Theology, which was lauded by some as the sanest systematic theology that had appeared for a generation, said that the Lord had already come back to the world in the gift of the Holy Spirit. But may God pity us if all the gorgeous promises about our Lord’s return are already accom- plished and we did not know it! Any one who reads the last talk of the Lord Jesus with His apostles can see that He there promises two distinct things. He promises to send the Holy Spirit, and He promises that He Himself will return. He says, ‘‘I will return to you,’’ and then as a distinct promise He says, ‘‘I will send him (the Holy Spirit) unto you.’’?’ And what folly it is to say that the Lord fulfilled the promise of His second coming and the apostles should not have known it, and Peter and John and Paul should have gone on hoping for the Lord’s return and exhorting the people to watch for it when it was all over. To believe such a thing as that is of the same nature as Mrs. Eddy’s declaration that Christ returned in 1866 and nobody knew it bui her- self; or of the so-called Pastor Russell that Christ re- turned in 1874 and nobody but Pastor Russell knew it. What nonsense this is surely! | 164 CAN WE BELIEVE? Some have said that the Lord’s coming means simply our death. The New Testament teaches no such thing as that. When a Christian dies it is spoken of as his going to the Lord, not as the Lord’s coming to him. There certainly is a difference between these things. Can you apply to death all the sweet words which the New Testament uses when it speaks of the coming of our Lord? The apostles never dreamed of confusing these things. Jesus said to Peter about John by the Sea of Galilee, ‘‘If I will that he tarry till I come what is that to thee? ’’ The apostles took Him to mean that John would not die. Paul says that those who have died before Christ’s return shall rise from the dead that they and the living disciples may meet and greet Him to- gether. And then too, death comes to one person at a time. But when the Lord returns it is to be for all the world at once. His coming is to be like the light, shin- ing from the east to the west. Peter clearly foretold the coming of these days of unbelief. He says, ‘‘There shall come in these last days seoffers walking after their own lusts and saying, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as from the be- ginning of creation.’ ’’ That is the ery of unbelief which we hear to-day. Christ, however, did His best to keep alive our faith in His coming. He so arranged it that we cannot cele- brate His dying love without at the same time profess- ing our faith that He is coming back to us. The Lord’s Supper is a blessed ordinance, but it is a temporary one, and not intended to be perpetual. It will cease to be celebrated when our absent Lord is with us once more. The Saviour’s words are, ‘‘ As often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup ye do show forth his death till he OUR LORD’S RETURN TO THE EARTH 165 come.’’ Dr. B. H. Carroll has well said that men who have ceased to believe in our Lord’s-personal, audible, and visible return ought to stop coming to the Lord’s Supper. Any one who takes his New Testament and studies it will find that we have it clearly promised there that the Lord Jesus is to return in person. ‘‘If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again,’’ He says. The ‘‘I”’ that went is the ‘‘I’’ that will return. ‘‘This same Jesus which is taken into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.’’ That seems clear enough. He ascended personally, and He must descend in the same fashion if words have any meaning. Thank God we have so clear a word as this of the text, ‘‘This same Jesus shall come.’’ It is worth our while to give emphasis to these words by pausing and reflecting upon them. ‘‘This same Jesus.’’ We may have had a creeping fear that when we see Him He would be so transformed that we might not know Him, that He would have no marks about Him by which we could identify Him as the Saviour who died for us. I confess that I long to see the same Jesus who was here on earth. My eyes are hungry for a sight of the Jesus Christ who was born as a babe in Bethlehem, who obeyed as a child in Nazareth, who as a man trudged about Judea and Galilee, who was set at nought in Jerusalem, who suffered in Gethsemane, who died on Calvary’s cross, who lay in the tomb and came out of it alive, and ascended from Olivet. None of us wishes to see the glorified Christ alone, so transfigured that even His own original disciples would not know Him. We wish Him to be so identical with the Christ who was full of grace and truth on earth that as soon as our glance falls on Him we shall say with hearts full of 166 CAN WE BELIEVE? emotion, and with every demand of our minds fully satisfied, ‘‘ That is He and none other! ‘In His hands and feet are wound prints And His side.’ ”’ ‘““This same Jesus shall return,’’ the angels said. And again the apostle John says that He will return visibly. ‘‘Every eye shall see him.’’ The word ‘‘see,”’ when it is used alone, sometimes means simply to per- eeive. The mind may see things that are invisible to the eye of the body. But I do not recall any place where the word ‘‘see’’ can have a figurative meaning where it is used with the word ‘‘eye.’’ And when we are told that ‘‘every eye shall see him,’’ it means that when He returns His presence shall be a visible pres- ence. We have a threefold assurance from His own lips. He told His disciples that they should see Him. He told His enemies that they should see Him. He told the high priest that he should see Him coming in the clouds of heaven. He is to return suddenly. Once when Newman Hall was preaching he said that he knew of no reason why Christ should not come before he finished his sermon. That is the sort of suddenness that Christ says will mark His return. He says, ‘‘As the days of Noah were, so shall the day of the Son of Man be; they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, and the flood came and took them all away.’’ ‘‘ Watch, therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord shall come.’’ ‘‘As the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even unto the west so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.’?’ When He came at first, He came quietly and unobtrusively. No one knew of His com- ing except a few poor shepherds. All the rest of the OUR LORD’S RETURN TO THE EARTH 167 world went on its careless way without a notion that its Redeemer had been born. Even at the time of His death He was not known outside of His own little country. The kingdom He founded has come into prom- inence as quietly and as slowly as an oak grows to maturity. But it will not be so in His second coming. That will be as conspicuous as His first advent was obscure. He will burst upon an unbelieving world with a brightness that makes the sun pale, and with a foot- fall ‘‘louder than a thousand thunders.’’ His first com- ing was like the breaking of day, gradual and silent. His second coming will be like the breaking of a thunder- storm, sudden and startling as the lightning flashes from the sky. There are people who tell us that the whole world must be converted before the Lord comes. When will that be? There are more heathen born every year than we have converts. We are not catching up very fast. We have not converted any whole town in America yet. Christ did not say that every soul must be converted before He comes back. That would not be coming sud- denly. On the contrary Christ says that the tares and the wheat shall grow together until He comes in judg- ment. And once He asked, ‘‘When the Son of Man cometh shall he find faith on the earth? ”’ He is to come gloriously, too. The first time He came He was poor, and in the eyes of men inglorious. He was the child of a young peasant woman. His first erib was a rude manger. His first robes were the swaddling clothes of poverty. Instead of the ringing of bells and the shouting of heralds by which royal births are an- nounced, there were the lowing of cattle and the bleat- ing of sheep whose stable the lowly parents had in- vaded. But it will not be so in His second coming. He 168 CAN WE BELIEVE?’ will then be accompanied by ten thousand of His saints. He will be clothed with omnipotence. He will ride in chariots of glory. He will be heralded by trumpet blasts that will wake the dead. And in the very places where He once was derided and shamed and dishonoured and counted unworthy to live, His beauty will be seen, His worth shall be sung, and His name shall be exalted above every name. The time of His coming is not revealed to us. Robert McCheyne once asked his friends, ‘‘Do you think Christ will come before night?’’ One after another said, ‘‘I think not.’? Then he solemnly repeated the text, ‘‘In such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh.’’ Christ Himself said, ‘‘It is not for you to know the times and seasons.’’ When you see those words, ‘‘It is not for you to know’’ attached to anything by the Mas- ter Himself it is wise to let it alone. Who are we that we should undertake to ferret out what God has deter- mined to hide? And why should any one be so foolish as to insist on knowing what God does not wish to tell us? Just as soon as we begin to apply our small rules of arithmetic so as to fix the date of our Lord’s re- turn we lose our way. We are distinctly told that the time is not to be given to us, and the reason for it is just as clearly intimated, that we may be in a constant attitude of watching. ‘‘Watch ye, therefore’’ are the significant words used. Some one has deseribed our Lord’s return as ‘‘imminent,’’ and then has defined ‘“*Imminent’’ as meaning ‘‘Liable to come at any time, and certain to come at some time.’’? ‘There could not possibly be a better presentation of New Testament teaching. The Saviour may keep us waiting for His second advent as He kept His ancient people waiting for His first advent. They waited for Him four thou- OUR LORD’S RETURN TO THE EARTH 169 sand years, and when He came they were not ready for Him. His Church has been waiting for His second com- ing for nearly two thousand years, and there is great danger that when He comes we shall be taken by sur- prise once more. The fact of His coming is put beyond dispute for all who will accept God’s Word. There is no hesitation in the announcement. It is not given as a probability. The promise is not made as a possible thing depending for its fulfillment on certain other things being done. It is not ‘‘perhaps He will come.’’ It is ‘‘Behold He eometh.’’ There is no other event that is so frequently and emphatically proclaimed. From Enoch down to the last apostle the uniform declaration is, ‘‘The Lord shall come with ten thousand of his saints.’’ The Bible is full of it. It is not simply hinted at in an occasional text; it is dogmatically declared hundreds of times. We need no other assurance than His word, for when our Lord says He will do a thing we may be confident that He will do it. This promise that the Saviour will return in glory to this world is very satisfying to all our instincts as to what is right and appropriate. We like to see things come to completeness. Flowers that wither before they bloom, wheat that never heads, orchards that never get beyond the blossom, fruit that rots before it ripens, men of genius who never achieve, institutions that never get beyond the program of their initiation, we turn from all these things with a sense of bitter disappointment. We would rather have a small promise redeemed than a great one unredeemed. Every thoughtful man feels that the career of our Lord in this world is not complete. Our hearts and. minds demand something more’ of a climax than the 170 CAN WE BELIEVE? resurrection, after which He appeared only to His own, followed by a quiet ascension. As far as they go they are well enough, but they fall short of what we feel is an appropriate consummation of the Saviour’s work. And it does not meet the case to say that Christianity is a plant whose roots are in this world but its full fruition is in heaven; that it is a building whose founda- tions are here, but the capstone in the other world; that its beginnings we have with us, and its consummation is somewhere else. We somehow feel that what is begun here should have its completion here. We feel that since the Lord achieved His salvation in this world, the full results and glory of it should be witnessed in the very place where they were so laboriously wrought out. And the Bible approves this way of thinking. It tells of the time when the Lord Jesus shall return to this world and crown with glory the work of the redemption that He began in tears and blood; when He shall restore the har- mony that sin turned into discord; when the works of the devil shall be destroyed and the work of salvation shall issue in glory everlasting. It is very satisfying to our hearts to think that there is coming a time when the Lord Jesus will be vindicated in the very world where He suffered, and that where His cross stood His throne will be set up. What is the use of this doctrine? It ought to impel us to activity. If our Lord is to return we naturally would strive to be diligent during His absence. If He is likely to return at any time we are apt to be per- petually diligent so that whenever He comes He will find us ready for Him. And yet we must admit that sometimes the reverse of this is the effect. Like the apostles to whom the angels spoke in the text we are sometimes so taken up with gazing into heaven that OUR LORD’S RETURN TO THE EARTH 171 we forget our duties on earth. We are more prone to dreaming than to doing. We delight in visions rather than tasks. We imagine that the Christian life is made up of sanctified leisure instead of sanctified drudgery. We indulge wishes to fly away and be at rest, instead of bestirring ourselves and going out to do our work. We need to remember that the Christian life is no mere reverie about spiritual things. Only a very small part of our experience is made up of lying on Jesus’ bosom. That delight belongs to heaven. ‘Toil is our lot on earth. Christianity is not a sentimental trance, but incessant, intense labour. The Christian life is active rather than contemplative. We need to recall our hands from idle- ness and our minds from spiritual woolgathering, and busy them both with the work of a world’s redemption. The Christian’s business on earth is not to be idly peer- ing into the sky for a glimpse of his returning Lord but to follow that Lord’s example on earth as he goes about doing good. I suppose that the angels gave this promise to the apostles not so much by way of rebuke as by way of comfort. These bereaved men stood gazing at the place in the clouds where the Saviour had entered. They had an unspeakable sense of loss. Perhaps they were think- ing they had lost Him forever. We do not know how long they stood there. But so far as we ean see they were riveted to the place and God had to send His angels to arouse them from their reverie, and those angels brought them the comforting message, ‘‘He has gone, but he will return.’’ That hope was intended to lighten every trial, and to sweeten every duty. It did that for them. It has done that for us. The blessed assurance that the Lord will return to His own has stood God’s people in good stead in every age. In times of pros- 172 CAN WE BELIEVE? perity and worldly ease men may have lost their grip on this doctrine, but in times of distress and danger and persecution they have laid hold on it and gotten inspira- tion and strength from it to do better. Certainly the great leaders who created new epochs in Christian history did not hold this doctrine lightly, but cherished it as their one great hope. Martin Luther, in the midst of the turmoil attending the Reformation, wrote, ‘‘I ardently hope that amidst these internal dis- sensions on earth Jesus Christ will hasten the day of His coming.’’ The acute and learned John Calvin saw that this was the Church’s true hope and he said, ‘‘ We must hunger after Christ till the dawning of the great day when our Lord will fully manifest the glory of His kingdom. The wholé family of the faithful will keep in view that day.’’ Even the intrepid soul of John Knox was upheld by this hope. He wrote to a friend in Eng- land, ‘‘ Has not the Lord Jesus in spite of Satan’s malice carried up our flesh into heaven? And shall He not re- turn? We know He shall return, and that with ex- pedition.’”’? John Wesley declared that wickedness should prevail until Christ comes to reign on earth. Charles Wesley, hymnologist of the Methodist Church, who has cheered the whole world by his sacred melodies, wrote: “Trusting in the literal word, We look for Christ on earth again; Come, our everlasting Lord, With all Thy saints to reign.”’ It was the unceasing prayer of Richard Baxter who wrote The Saints’ Everlasting Rest. He wrote, ‘‘ Hasten, QO my Saviour, the time of Thy return. Send forth Thine angels, and let the dreadful, joyful trumpet sound. Thy desolate bride saith, ‘Come, even so, come, OUR LORD’S RETURN TO THE EARTH 173 Lord Jesus.’ ’’ These all died, not having received the promise. But if we would follow in the footsteps of these great men of the Church we must cherish the hope that sustained them in their trials and was the inspira- tion for all the work they did. You are familiar with the picture of the maiden stand- ing on the shore looking out over the sea and waving her handkerchief in welcome to her returning lover. He had been absent from her many a long day. She had watched for his coming until hope deferred made her heart utterly sick. Sometimes she saw a distant sail that she fancied was his. But it passed on and her hopes vanished with it. Many a time she arose in the morn- ing murmuring to herself, ‘‘Surely he will come to- day,’’ only to watch vainly during the long hours until night came, and she lay down worn out with her disap- pointment. But at last the day she had prayed for came. She saw the gleam of the sail as soon as it ap-. peared above the horizon. On it came, her hopes rising with its approach. Her faithfulness and patience were at last to have their appropriate reward. As the vessel drew near she thought she could descry her lover stand- ing in the forward part of it looking as anxiously for her as she was looking for him. She ran at once to a con- spicuous place on the promontory, and while her heart beat fast with love and her eyes were filled with tears of gladness, she waved to her lover the white symbol of her welcome home. So the Church watches for her ab- sent Lord, often with fainting heart because His com- ing is so long delayed. But some day our waiting will be rewarded, for our Lord will not disappoint His waiting bride. Perhaps before long a day will dawn that has no ending, for it will be the beginning of the eternal day. Or it may be that He will come in the long watches 174 CAN WE BELIEVE? of the night. We shall hear the ery, ‘‘ Behold, the Bride- groom cometh, go ye out to meet him.’’ Those who are His will arise and hasten away, and the tired old world, though it hears the excitement, will have no notion of the glad hopes that are at last finding their fulfillment. Or it may be that neither at midnight nor at high noon He will come. No man knoweth the hour. It may be in the morning when-the sunshine awakes us that we shall find ourselves enswathed by that light that never was on land or sea. Or it may be at the close of the day that He will come. We shall be meditating on our day’s work and on the mercy of our God, when lifting our eyes, lo! our Beloved will be standing before us. Whenever He comes may we be found watching! There is no denying that we are eager for our Lord’s return. We sigh because He delays. But when I am disposed to be impatient that the Lord does not hasten His coming, I ask myself whether there is not a good reason for the delay. There is a tremendous reason. Why did Christ not come yesterday? Why did He not come with the morning light to-day? He tells us why. He says, ‘‘The Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some men count slackness; but is long suffering to- ward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.’’ And yet in the face of that we chide our Lord that He has delayed His com- ing! If He had come yesterday some who will be saved to-day would have been lost. If He should come to- day, your friend or neighbour, or some one of your dear ones would be lost. He delays His coming and you thereby have a chance to be the messenger of grace to that unsaved one whom you love. The only thing that keeps our Lord from bursting at once on the world’s astonished gaze is His desire that more of the lost OUR LORD’S RETURN TO THE EARTH 175 should be saved. 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