Books: To Infidelity and Back
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Henry F. Lutz >> To Infidelity and Back
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WARNING.--"Whosoever shall deny me, him will I also deny" (Matt.
10:33).
"_Be baptized_ (confessor) and wash away thy sins" (Acts 22:16). (See
also Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16; Gal. 3:26, 27; 1 Pet. 3:21.)
WARNING.--"Rejected the counsel of God, being not baptized" (Luke
7:30).
_"Walk in newness of life"_ (those buried with Christ in baptism)
(Rom. 6:4).
WARNING.--"Walk not after the flesh," "For to be carnally minded is
death" (Rom. 8:1, 6).
"Then they that _gladly received_ his _word were baptized;_ and the
_same day_ there were _added unto them_ (joined church) about three
thousand souls. And they
CONTINUED STEADFASTLY
in the _apostles' doctrine_ (no human creed) and _fellowship _(weekly
collections, 1 Cor. 16:1, 2), and in _breaking of bread_ (weekly
communion, Acts 20:7), and in _prayers"_ (attending prayer-meetings,
Acts 2:41, 42).
"The disciples were
CALLED CHRISTIANS" (Acts 11:26).
"For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos;
_are ye not carnal?"_ (1 Cor. 3:4). "If ye are reproached for the
_name_ of Christ, blessed are ye... if a man suffer as _a Christian_,
let him glorify God in _this name"_ (1 Pet. 4:14-16, R.V.).
"Now I beseech you, brethren, by the _name_ of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that ye all _speak the same thing,_ and that there be
NO DIVISIONS
among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the _same
mind_ and in the _same judgment._ Now this I say, that every one of
you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of
Christ: _is Christ divided_ (I Cor. 12: 12)? _Was Paul crucified for
you?_ or were ye baptized in (into) the name of Paul?" (I Cor. i: 10-
13). "Therefore,
GO ON UNTO PERFECTION" (Heb. 6:1).
"_Grace_ and _peace_ be _multiplied_ unto you through the _knowledge_
of God and of Jesus our Lord. According as his divine power _hath
given unto us all things_ (in Bible) that pertain unto _life_ and
_godliness,_ through the knowledge of him that hath called us to
glory and virtue. Whereby are given unto us _exceeding great and
precious promises;_ that by these ye might be partakers of the
_divine nature_, having escaped the corruption that is in the world
through lust. And beside this giving all diligence,
ADD TO YOUR FAITH
_virtue_ (courage); and to virtue, _knowledge;_ and to knowledge,
_temperance_ (self-control); and to temperance, _patience;_ and to
patience, _godliness;_ and to godliness, _brotherly kindness_ (love
of brethren); and to brotherly kindness, _charity_ (love of
_everybody_). For if _these things_ be in you, and _abound,_ they
make you that ye shall _neither_ be _barren nor unfruitful_ in the
_knowledge_ of our Lord Jesus Christ. But _he that lacketh these
things_ is _blind,_ and cannot see afar off, and hath _forgotten_
that he was purged from his old sins. _Wherefore,_ the rather,
brethren, _give diligence_ to _make_ your calling and _election
sure,_ for if ye do these things, ye shall never fail: For so an
entrance shall be ministered unto you _abundantly_ into the
everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (2 Pet.
2:2-11).
"GOOD WORKS."
"For the _grace of God_ that bringeth _salvation_ hath appeared _to
all men, teaching us_ that _denying ungodliness_ and _worldly lusts,_
we should _live soberly, righteous_ and _godly_ in this present
world; _looking for that blessed hope_ and the glorious appearing of
the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, who _gave himself for
us,_ that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto
himself a _peculiar people, zealous of good works_" (Tit. 2: 11-14).
"WORKS OF THE FLESH
are manifest, which are these: _Adultery, fornication, uncleanness,
lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations,
wrath, strife, seditions (parties), heresies (sects--R. V.), envying,
murders, drunkenness, revellings,_ and _such like;_ of the which I
tell you before, as I have told you in the past, that _they which do
such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God._ But
THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
is _love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance,_ against such there is _no law"_ (Gal. 5:19-
22).
"FINALLY,
brethren, whatsoever things are _true,_ whatsoever things are
_honest,_ whatsoever things are _just,_ whatsoever things are _pure,_
whatsoever things are _lovely,_ whatsoever things are _of good
report;_ if there be any _virtue,_ and if there be any _praise, think
on these things"_ (Phil. 4:8).
"Now
unto him that is able to do _exceeding abundantly above all that we
ask or think,_ according to _the power that worketh in us,_ unto him
be glory _in the church by Jesus Christ_ throughout all ages, world
without end. Amen" (Eph. 3:20, 21).
CHAPTER IV.
OUR NEGLECTED FIELDS.
NOTE.--This chapter is an address that was delivered at the
Centennial Convention of the movement for the restoration of
primitive Christianity, held at Pittsburg, Pa., during October, 1909.
It is here given because it deals with the same general subject as
the rest of the book and shows why and how the reunion of the
followers of Christ on the primitive gospel is the greatest issue
before the Christian world to-day.
Ask the brotherhood what "Our Neglected Fields" are, and the answer
will come in a multitude of voices speaking from diverse viewpoints
according to each speaker's knowledge, experience and field of
operation. This is natural and proper. If your wife is not the best
woman in the world, you are not much of a husband. If your country is
not the best country on earth, you are not much of a patriot. Love
for everybody and everything in general is a good thing in its way,
but the specialized affections are of still greater importance in the
world's progress heavenward. But while this babel of appeals in
behalf of different places, classes and kinds of work is natural and
proper, it does not solve the problem as to what are really our
neglected fields and as to the relative amount of work and money we
should give to the various calls.
Standing on the banks of the Mississippi, it is impossible to
determine the origin of the various color elements in the water; but
if we go to the source, it is easy to discover that the red mud comes
from the Arkansas, the black mud from the Missouri and the coal dust
from the Ohio. So if we wish to discover the principles that will
guide us in selecting fields of operation, we must go back to the
fountain-head of the New Testament. If we are in the streets of a
strange city, all is confusion as to the lay of the land; but if we
climb to the hilltop in the rear of the city, we can readily get our
bearings. So we must climb to the hilltop with Christ and the
Apostles and from there get our bearings in our missionary
operations. Let us then turn to the New Testament and see if we can
discover where we should go first and the relative importance of the
individual and society, the earthly and the heavenly, the temporal
and eternal, the material and spiritual, and their relationship to
each other.
In looking for the scope of gospel work, we discover that the
salvation of the individual and his attainment unto eternal life is
the supreme aim in view. From the multitude of Scriptures that teach
this we select the following: "For God so loved the world, that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should
not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16). "Go ye into all the
world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:15,16). "Who will render to
every man according to his works: to them that by patience in well-
doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life" (Rom.
2:7). The Scriptures are just as clear in placing the spiritual,
eternal and heavenly infinitely above the material, temporal and
earthly: "We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things
which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but
the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Cor. 4:18). "Set your
mind on the things which are above, not on the things which are upon
the earth" (Col. 3:2). "Took joyfully the spoiling of your
possessions, knowing that ye have for yourselves a better possession
and an abiding one" (Heb. 10:34). "Lay not up for yourselves
treasures upon the earth... but lay up for yourselves treasures in
heaven... for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also"
(Matt. 6:19-21). "For our citizenship is in heaven; whence also we
wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall fashion anew the
body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of his
glory" (Phil. 3:20, 21). At best a very small per cent of Christians
can ever hope to attain unto wealth and worldly success; and to
present these things as an incentive to godliness is but mockery, for
"if we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most
pitiable" (1 Cor. 15:19). We are constantly tempted to be deceived by
the delusion that wealth, health and worldly success necessarily
bring happiness, while the opposite is as often true, as these things
are not an end in themselves.
While the Scriptures thus clearly teach that the supreme effort of
Christianity is to prepare people for a glorious hereafter, good
works in this life are demanded and are of vital importance. It is
the nature of godliness to seek the well-being of others, in this
life and the life to come, and no soul can remain saved without doing
all in its power to minister unto others. "Ye tithe mint and anise
and cummin and have left undone the weightier matters of the law,
justice and mercy and faith: but these ye ought to have done, and not
to have left the other undone" (Matt. 23:23). "Created in Christ
Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in
them" (Eph. 2:10). The promise of eternal life is to them who
continue patiently in well-doing (Rom. 2:7). "Every branch in me that
beareth not fruit, he taketh it away" (John 15:2). In all his works
and words God seeks to reveal his love to men with the purpose of
wooing them back to himself, and good works of love have an important
place in winning souls to Christ. Thus Jesus did many works of mercy
through which he made manifest his and the Father's love for sinners.
"Even so let your light shine before men that they may see your good
works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 5:16).
"Having your behavior seemly among the Gentiles, that wherein they
speak against you as evil-doers, they may by your good works, which
they behold, glorify God" (I Pet. 2:12). "That even if any obey not
the word, they may without the word be gained by the behavior of
their wives" (I Pet. 3:1). Emerson says, "What you are speaks so
loud, I cannot hear what you say." This is, alas! too true of our
Christianity. Unless our love for people is incarnated in the good
works of our lives, sinners will lose faith in us and in our
religion. This does not mean that the church is to forsake prayer and
the Word of God to serve tables, or forsake its spiritual ministries
and mainly turn its energies to ministering to the physical, social
and intellectual man. Chiefly, the church, through its spiritual
ministries, is to inspire its members and others to good works of
love in their daily walk and conversation. As the anchor of the buoy
or the ballast of the ship holds it upright, so the good works of
Christians hold the spiritual salvation aloft to be seen of men, and
commend it to a dying world.
Having considered the scope of gospel work as revealed in the New
Testament, let us next inquire where we shall go first. As we cannot
go everywhere at once, where shall we begin, and where shall we go
next? Is this left to chance, or is an order of procedure revealed in
the New Testament? We believe that there is, and that it is of the
greatest importance that this order should be followed. Christ gave
the order of march in Acts 1:8, "Ye shall be my witnesses both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part
of the earth." If we have any doubt as to the interpretation, the
Apostles interpret it for us in their work under the guidance of the
Holy Spirit. Other things being equal, they went to the nearest
territory first. Again, we notice that the Apostles were especially
led to the cities, the great centers of population. This enabled them
to reach most people in a given time. Beginning at Jerusalem, their
missionary journeys were determined by the location of the leading
cities. Furthermore, we learn from the teaching and practice of
Christ and the Apostles, that they went to the ripest fields first.
Christ came to the Jews, the best prepared people on earth, to gather
a nucleus for his coming kingdom and to scatter preparatory light for
the gospel message. The Apostles commenced their gospel work at
Jerusalem on Pentecost because the most devout and enlightened saints
on earth were gathered there. For this reason the order was first the
Jews and then the Gentiles (Acts 13:46, 47). Paul passed through
Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica because a synagogue
of the Jews was there (Acts 17:1). The Spirit forbade him to go to
Asia and Bithynia and led him by Mysia into Macedonia because there
were hearts there ready to receive the message (Acts 16:6-10). Christ
commanded Paul to depart from Jerusalem because they would not
receive his testimony there (Acts 22:17-21). Open doors were
considered as guides by Paul in his missionary operations (I Cor.
16:8; 2 Cor. 2:12, 13; Acts 14:27; Col. 4:3).
Summing up, we find that the Apostles, in their effort to preach the
gospel to every creature, were guided by nearness of territory,
density of population and ripeness of field. That is, all things
considered, they went along the line of least resistance. This is the
way of mercy and common sense as well as of Scripture, as it is the
quickest way to reach every creature. It enlarges the army of
conquest as fast as possible and always meets the enemy at the point
of least resistance.
It will help us to understand the matter if we keep in mind that it
was not only the purpose of Christ to save individuals here and
there, but also to organize a salvation society or church through
which to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth, provide a home
for the new-born spiritual babes and to extend his reign on earth as
far and as fast as possible.
The matter will become still plainer if we consider another principle
taught and practised by Christ and the Apostles; viz., the necessity
an absolute union of the forces of God under Christ for the
accomplishment of his work. Christ said, "Every kingdom divided
against itself is brought to desolation: and every city or house
divided against itself shall not stand," and he prayed for a perfect
union among his followers in order that the world might believe in
him (Matt. 12:25; John 17:20, 21). Paul says, "Whereas there is among
you jealousy and strife, are ye not carnal? For when one saith, I am
of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?" (I Cor.
3:3, 4). Again he says, "If ye bite and devour one another, take heed
that ye be not consumed one of another" (Gal. 5:15). Divisions
inevitably lead to weakness, waste and defeat. A small army united in
the authority of a wise commander can defeat the largest army on
earth if it be divided through every officer doing as he pleases or
as he thinks best. Therefore Christ demanded absolute union in his
authority, and the Apostles first of all worked for a union of Jews
and Gentiles in one body or working force. If the purpose had only
been to save individuals, the Jews might have been saved as Jews, but
the object was to enlist the Jews with the Gentiles in God's new army
of conquest. This new union under Christ, or re-alignment of
religious forces, was so important that the salvation of both Jews
and Gentiles was conditioned on their entering it, and, if necessary,
all other unions and alliances had to be broken to maintain this. All
race and class distinctions must succumb. "There can be neither Jew
nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male
nor female; for ye are all one man in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:28). Not
even family ties were permitted to interfere with this union in the
authority of Christ. "He that loveth father or mother more than me,
is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me,
is not worthy of me. For I came to set a man at variance with his
father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law: and a man's foes shall be they of his own
household" (Matt. 10:35-37). The subjection of wives to their
husbands and of children to their parents is limited "in the Lord"
(Col. 3: 18, 20).
Summing up the New Testament principles that are to guide us in our
gospel work, we may say that we are to go as a united force along the
line of least resistance, making the eternal salvation of the
individual our supreme aim.
The Restoration movement became necessary because one of the
fundamental principles of the gospel had been violated; viz.: that of
Christian union. The success of this movement for Christian union on
the primitive gospel has been phenomenal. In eighty years its
adherents have increased from ten thousand to one and a third
millions. But what are these among so many? The work has but fairly
begun, and the field is just beginning to ripen for the larger
harvest. Sectarianism is still present in all of its hideousness, but
the people are beginning to see the desolation and sinfulness of
divisions and are groping in the dark in various efforts at solution.
However, a careful investigation will reveal the fact that the great
drift towards denominational union is more due to a dying faith in
sectarian doctrines than to a growing faith in the doctrines "once
for all delivered to the saints." About a year ago it was declared in
a large meeting of clergymen that "Protestantism is decaying and will
be displaced by some sort of a new Catholicism." The statement was
vigorously applauded. This simply means that sectarian Protestantism
is decaying. It should be remembered that every large religious body
in America, except that represented here to-day, originated in Europe
under the shadow of Roman Catholicism and under political, social and
religious conditions entirely different from those that now prevail
in America. These sectarian systems brought to America have been
thawed out by our free American religious atmosphere so that there is
not a large sectarian body that would dare to promulgate seriously
and persistently the basic principles that gave birth to it in
Europe. The consequence is that sects are hastening to revise their
creeds so as to get rid of their out-of-date features as gracefully
as possible. One of the leading arguments for union with other
denominations used at the recent Canadian General Assembly was that
"it would give the church an opportunity to revise its creeds, and to
remove the barnacles and cobwebs that had gathered around them." The
leading speaker declared that "not a single minister present would
dare to enforce his own interpretation of the Confession of Faith."
The ministers hesitate to enforce these hereditary traditions, and
the members neither know nor care what the creeds teach, and,
therefore, we hear on every hand, "One church is just as good as
another."
We thank God for this relaxing of sectarianism and for the trend
toward Christian union. But the movement involves a grave danger.
Having lost faith in their distinctive sectarian doctrines, which
they considered synonymous with New Testament teaching, many
sectarian people are rapidly drifting into indifference, worldliness
and unbelief. Forsaking human leaders and their doctrines, they are
in danger of also forsaking the Apostles as religious leaders and
their doctrines once for all delivered to the saints. Sectarianism is
bad, but sectarian life and strife is better than a lifeless,
conviction-less, graveyard, sentimental union that is the result of a
dying faith. In a union revival in an Eastern city practically all
the Protestant churches worked together for a month, and we could not
count five definite committals to Christ. Any small sectarian church
alone could have accomplished greater definite results. After
reducing their doctrines so as to avoid all that would give offense
to any, they become so thin that there is but little to contend for.
The indifference to the doctrines of the creeds and the New Testament
which is hastening the disintegration of sectarianism, is partly due
to infidelity in the churches. Discerning critics cannot fail to see
that much of the drift toward denominational union is due to the
leadership of preachers who, through rationalism, have lost faith in
the inspiration of the Bible and consequently in evangelical
Christianity. As I was a student for three years at a Unitarian
theological school and have gone through the process myself, I am
able to speak on this subject as perhaps few of our brethren can.
Misguided by rationalism, I thought it my conscientious duty to
accept, step by step, the dictates of destructive criticism until the
Bible was only inspired to me in religion as Kant in philosophy,
Milton in poetry and Beethoven in music. But when I came to the end
of the business I discovered that my conscience, that had urged me
along, was gone also. For I was gravely taught that conscience is
simply a creation of experience and education and that it is right to
lie or do anything else so long as you do it out of love. Doubtless
you have all heard of the farmer and his wife at the World's Fair,
who went to see the "Exit." There was nothing in it and of course
they had to pay to get in again. This was my bitter experience with
rationalism. I thought I was following a great light, but I
discovered there was nothing in it, that I was following an _ignis
fatuus_. Rationalism has indeed proven the "Exit" to multitudes, from
the peace, joy and moral security that accompany faith in evangelical
Christianity into the desert of doubt, darkness and despair. To those
preachers who, through rationalism, have lost faith in the
inspiration of the Bible, doctrines are no longer a hindrance to
union, for they have lost faith in all evangelical doctrines and
therefore selfishness and utility draw them toward union.
If this is the religious condition to-day, you can see that we are in
danger of religious anarchy and spiritual death. We are told that the
splendid civilizations of Greece and Rome were made possible through
the moral integrity and manhood inspired by their heathen religious
systems. When unbelief in these systems originated among the
philosophers and through them permeated the mass of the people,
morality and sincerity were displaced by policy, distrust and
deception, which brought utter ruin to the social and civil fabric.
How much greater must the calamity be if the faith, integrity and
morality underlying our splendid Christian civilization should be
destroyed by the antichristian doctrines already taught in the
classroom at some of the leading schools. The only hope lies in a
return to "the faith once for all delivered to the saints." I believe
we have been raised up for this hour. Our past work and opportunities
are but a drop in the bucket compared with our present opportunities
for work. As never before, it behooves us to raise the banner of New
Testament Christianity as a standard to rally and reorganize the
divided, confused and retreating hosts of Christ. It is not a
question of staying at Jerusalem until each individual is converted,
but the question is whether we will ever go to the Jerusalem of
teeming millions in our land who have never even heard the plea for
Christian union on the primitive gospel. Just as the Apostles went to
saints (pious Jews) and sinners and demanded upon pain of their
eternal condemnation that they unite under King Jesus, so we must go
to the saints of the sects and sinners of the world and insist that
they unite under the non-sectarian banner of Christ, in order that
the whole world may believe in him as God's Son. As in the days of
the Apostles, so now we need a re-alignment of religious forces in
order to conquer the world for Christ.
Having learned the New Testament principles that should guide us in
our missionary operations, and through these discovered our chief
sphere of work in view of the present situation, let us turn to
special missionary problems that constantly suggest themselves to us
and consider our duty towards them and their relationship to the
great mission that rests upon us as a distinctive people. I refer to
the Indians, Mormons, Jews, immigrants, the lower and slum districts
of our cities, the mountaineers of the Appalachian system, the
millions of unevangelized negroes in the South, etc.
Concerning these problems I wish to call your attention to the
following considerations:
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