Earlier text: General ArticlesSermon on the Second Advent.
“Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.”—Acts 1 : 11. THESE men of Galilee were the disciples of our Lord. They were standing upon the Mount of Olives. Their eyes were turned heavenward to catch the last glimpse of their ascending Master. These words of our text were addressed to them by the two angels who stood beside them at the moment. Angels had heralded the first advent and had sung the song of redemption over the cradle of the infant Saviour. Angels came and ministered to him in the wilderness, after Satan had exhausted upon him all the resources of his craft in tempting him. An angel from heaven strengthened him in the garden, when he wrestled alone in bloody agony. And now as he ascends into heaven, angels are present to comfort his disciples. The disciples naturally gazed up after their departing Master. But their attention was speedily called back to earth. Two men stood by them, clad in white garments, and addressed to them the words of our text. I. The first thing you will notice is that these words contain a promise. It is that the Lord Jesus Christ shall appear again upon this earth. We are told that when he left his disciples on the Mount of Olives, he did not bid a final adieu to this world. He, who once became the babe of Bethlehem, lived a life of humiliation, died in shame upon the cross, and has now ascended to his Father—“this same Jesus” shall once more re-visit this earthly scene of his sufferings and triumph. But we have not only the word of the angels that he will come again; the Lord Jesus himself explicitly declares the same thing. Turn to the 24th and 25th chapters of Matthew. There you find, in his own words, an account of how this present gospel age is to close. It is to be brought to a close by the return of the Lord in power and glory. He tells us that when the time of the end shall have come, “then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn; and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matt. 24 : 30). In continuation of the same discourse, he says that “when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory, and before him shall be gathered all nations” (chap. 25 : 31). In the same connection, also he tells us that his second coming shall be sudden and unexpected: “As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and given in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not till the flood came and took them all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. . . . Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come” (chap. 24 : 36–39, 42). And we find this warning repeated in Luke: “Be ye therefore also ready; for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.” Luke 12 : 40. This prophecy was NOT FULFILLED AT THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. The Son of man did not then appear visibly, with his angels, in power and glory. All nations were not gathered before his Judgment throne. He has not yet separated the righteous from the wicked, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. These events are still future. They relate to the same time spoken of in the parable of the tares. “The good seed are the children of the kingdom; the tares, the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them the devil; the harvest, the end of the world; the reapers the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Matt. 13 : 37–42. I would also like to call your attention to another passage—the passage where Christ speaks of being ashamed of those who are ashamed of him: “Whosoever therefore, shall be ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8 : 38). You see that it is not here and now that he will be ashamed of such a one; it is not at death; it is not immediately after death; but it is “when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Now these teachings of Christ by themselves are sufficiently clear and positive. But it may help us to know how the apostles, who were under his immediate instruction, understood them. Paul tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ “shall be revealed from heaven, with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 1 : 7, 8). Speaking of the resurrection of the dead and the change of the living, he says that “we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.” 1 Thess. 4 : 15–17. And again, he says that “we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Cor. 15 : 51, 52). To all this we may add the express statement of the apostle that, “To them that look for him, he shall appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (Heb. 9 : 28); that is, he shall not appear to become a sacrifice for the sins of men; and he shall appear unto salvation,—to bring to his people their final and eternal redemption. This is the testimony of Paul. Now let us turn to Peter. We hear him exhorting the Jews after this manner: “Repent, be converted, that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord, and shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you, whom the heavens must receive until the times of restitution of all things” (Acts 3 : 19–21); and he exhorts all Christian people: “Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Pet. 1 : 13. The testimony of the apostle James is equally positive. Listen to his admonition: “Be patient, brethren, to the coming of the Lord. Behold the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it till it receive the early and the latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” James 5 : 7, 8. To the same effect the apostle John exhorts us: “And now little children, abide in him, that when he shall appear we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming.”—1 John 2 : 28. And in the opening of the Revelation we hear him making the announcement to the world, on the direct authority of Christ himself: “Behold he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and all the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.” But, my friends, there is no need to multiply quotations to prove that the New Testament contains the promise of the return of Jesus Christ to this earth. You will find this truth stated over and over, from the opening of the gospel to the end of Revelation. It is the great focal point of this dispensation. It is the gleam of its coming glory, which lights up the gospel with the glow of a heavenly splendor. It is the great event to which the minds of the apostles and disciples constantly turned when they thought of their heavenly inheritance. And if you will turn to your Testaments simply with a desire to know the truth, you too will come to know that the greatest fact which is taught in that precious word, after the forgiveness of sins, is the return of Jesus Christ to earth from Heaven. II. The next thing I wish you to notice about the second coming of Christ is, that it will be LITERAL AND PERSONAL.
As it is foretold in the New Testament, it is not a figurative or spiritual coming. It is something very different from a mere flourish of rhetoric to express the spiritual presence of Christ at the hour of death. “This same Jesus which is taken up from you into Heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into Heaven.” When Jesus left his disciples on Olivet gazing up after him, it was the literal, personal, corporeal Jesus who went into Heaven. The Jesus who rose from the grave, was the same Jesus that hung on the cross and was buried by Joseph and Nicodemus in the sepulcher. He convinced his disciples of this fact by challenging their bodily senses. He showed his person to them, and they looked upon him with their eyes. He spoke to them, and they heard his voice. He presented to them his wounded hands, and side, and feet, and appealed to their sense of touch: “Handle me and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have.” For forty days, between his resurrection and ascension, this same literal and corporeal Jesus mingled with the disciples. In that same body which rose from the grave he ascended into Heaven, where he is now enthroned, a personal Saviour. And in that same glorified personality, divine and human, literal, corporeal, visible, he “shall so come, in like manner” as he went into Heaven. Would you like to catch a glimpse of his glorious person? Then with Peter, James, and John, go up with him into the mount where he is transfigured. See his divine glory as it shines out for a few moments from his person. Stand in the light of that heavenly splendor. It is so overpowering that you too would fain fall to the ground upon your face. That glory which dazzles your sight and over-masters your human strength, is the divine glory of the Son of God. In that glory you will behold him when he shall come in the clouds of heaven, in the power of his Father at the last great day. You remember the parable of the talents. The Lord has now committed to his servants their talents, five, two, one, according to their several ability. He has taken his journey into a far country where he is gone to receive a kingdom. Some of these servants are now slothful, and have buried their talents. Some have sent after him the message, “We will not have this man to reign over us.” But at the hour appointed of his Father, he will return to reckon with his servants, and to render to every man according to his deeds. While there are some passages which speak of the presence of Christ by his Spirit, there is not one in the whole New Testament which speaks of the second coming of Christ at the close of the gospel dispensation as anything else than as a real, actual and literal event. There is not one solitary passage which teaches that it is to be nothing but an impersonal and spiritual coming. On the contrary they all look to a real and personal appearing; to a certain and definite point of time,—when he shall be revealed from Heaven with his angels, and every son of Adam shall behold him and stand before him. III. We further learn from the New Testament that the second coming of Christ is intimately related to the state in which men are finally to exist in eternity.
Which the gospel sets before the people of God is the return of the Lord. The hope of the gospel is not a hope for death. We are not taught to look to the grave to bring us to everlasting bliss. And we are not taught to look forward to some ethereal, intangible, spiritual, and disembodied state immediately after death as the consummation of our Christian anticipations. This is not the fruition of the saints which the gospel promises. No; the hope of the gospel is “the coming of the Lord.” We are taught to be “looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” Tit. 2 : 13. Do you remember what was Paul’s hope as he was about to go out to his bloody death?—“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day”—not at death, but at that day—“and not to me only, but also unto all them that love his appearing.” 2 Tim. 4 : 8. The hopes and promises of the gospel take a definite and tangible shape when Peter tells us that “when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory which fadeth not away.” 1 Pet. 5 : 4. There is something certain and real when he assures us that there is, “an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in Heaven for you who are kept by the power of God, through faith, unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Pet. 1 : 3, 4. And the apostle comforts us, that though we may be in affliction now, yet our faith, being tried and found much more precious than gold that perisheth, “might be found unto praise, and honor, and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” 1 Pet. 1 : 5. Listen to the exhortation of the apostle Paul: “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” Col. 3 : 1–4. And also the apostle John: “Beloved, it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3 : 2. We take our stand in the light of God’s revelation, and prolong our vision across the boundary of time to the day of final consummation; and there we see before us a life as real, tangible, and personal as the life we are now living. If we are one with Christ here, we shall be one with him in glory. When he comes in glorious majesty to assume his kingdom, to take his scepter, and to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords, we then shall enter into all his joys. “For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him; if we suffer, we shall also reign with him; if we deny him he also will deny us.” 2 Tim. 2 : 11–12. But again, the second advent of Christ is THE TIME OF FINAL RETRIBUTION
To an ungodly world. When the curtain of death falls upon this earthly scene of our lives, the boundary line is then crossed which marks the limits of the pardoning love of God. Beyond that it will not go. But our effect upon the world and our influence upon others does not stop when we leave this earth. Though dead, we live on still. If our lives have been wicked and sinful, we live on for evil till the end of time. The final summing up will take place when all the actual deeds of this life with all their consequences, can be reckoned up together. But when the Son of man shall come in his glory with his angels, and shall sit upon his throne of judgment, and all nations shall be gathered before him, then every man shall receive according to his deeds. “The Lord Jesus shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom.” 2 Tim. 4 : 1. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” Rom. 14 : 10; 2 Cor. 5 : 10. And then, the apostle declares, “when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty angels,” he shall take “vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” 2 Thess. 1 : 7–9. My friends, we shall all stand in that awful presence in our own proper persons. Our own eyes shall see the King, and our ears shall hear his voice. If we have believed on him here we shall then enter into life; if we have not obeyed his gospel we shall depart from his presence into darkness and death. There is to be “a day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” Rom. 2 : 5, etc. The great question with every one should be: What am I treasuring up against that day of retribution? Is it “indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish?” Or am I now seeking “for glory, honor, and immortality,” the reward of which is “eternal life?” You remember what Jude says about the angels that kept not their first estate,—that they are “reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness, unto the Judgment of the great day.” And when we too come down to the hour of death, we shall look forward to that great and terrible day of the Lord either with unspeakable terror and dread, or else we shall fall peacefully to sleep in Jesus, in the full assurance of a blessed resurrection and “the life eternal through Jesus Christ our Lord.” IV. It is natural that men should ask WHEN THIS GREAT EVENT IS TO TAKE PLACE.
But that is a matter which is still among the secret purposes of God, and which he has seen fit nowhere to reveal in his word. He has reserved this knowledge expressly to himself, so that the precise hour of our Lord’s return no man knoweth. But the warning words of Jesus Christ come ringing in our ears, “Behold, I come quickly.” He is not waiting to give time for some fancied triumph of human progress. He does not delay his coming to enable the race to develop some ideal civilization, and reach some golden era of earthly blessedness. He is now waiting to give the nations time to repent. This is the day of grace. He is now consummating his purposes of mercy. He would have his gospel preached in all the world, to every creature. He would have his people publish the glad tidings of salvation in all the earth. He is now gathering to himself an innumerable company “out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.” When all these things shall have been accomplished, then Christ will come to end this reign of sin and bring in the everlasting glory. Shall we ask, then, “Watchmen, what of the night?” Are there signs of the coming morning? Yes, there are signs that the world is moving forward towards the day. The fig-tree is even now almost budding as the token of the fast-approaching spring. And now, in respect to the second advent of Christ, let me ask you: Do you love his appearing? Does it send a thrill of satisfaction to your heart to think that you shall see the Lord Jesus revealed in glory? Does it comfort and cheer you to remember that Jesus is to come again to take you to himself? If Christ is to become your Saviour, then your heart should kindle into a flame of love and longing, when you think that he will soon return,—that he shall then fully redeem you from all the consequences of sin—that he will deliver you from the power of death—that he will bring you into full and everlasting salvation. Again, suppose Jesus Christ were to be revealed from Heaven this very day: Would you be prepared to meet him? Could you abide his presence? Would the sight of him gladden your heart? And are you certain that you would receive from him a welcome and a crown of life? If any of you are in doubt in this matter, then you had better make your calling sure without delay. You may die before he comes; but at the end you shall stand before him. You will meet him then in just that moral state in which you left this life. Your life may end at any moment. You cannot tell what instant your heart may cease to throb. Your only safety is to lay hold at once of eternal life through Jesus Christ. In him you are safe; out of him you are in peril every hour. “May the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God that your whole spirit, and soul, and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thess. 5 : 23.—Rev. W. H. Congdon (Presbyterian). The Vagaries of Theology.
REV. THOMAS GUARD, an eloquent Methodist clergyman of Baltimore, recently died. Whereupon Dr. Talmage, of Brooklyn, delivered a funeral discourse, in which he said:— "He passed out of a room where the air was heavy with opiates into an atmosphere exhilarant, and from a body painstruck into conditions rubicund with health immortal. He has become one of the athletes of Heaven—deathless as God is deathless, never to know pain or sickness or suffering or sorrow except as a vivid reminiscence. His mission is widened out. He has come to higher appointment, not to this church or to that church, or this denomination or that denomination, or this city or that city, or this world or that world. He has the universe to range in. What velocities! What circuits! What momentum! What orbits, in which the stars shall be as silvery as before the occultation, and the sun shall be as radiant as before the eclipse!" And we are constrained to add, What eloquent nonsense! And yet the imagination, which is so largely drawn upon in this passage, is the source of most of the popular teaching concerning the dead. With Mr. Guard's mangled body lying in the grave, "he has become one of the athletes of Heaven!" "He has the universe to range in!" If this is true, certainly the canon of Scripture was not complete when John finished the Revelation, and we must believe that Talmage and others of the nineteenth century are completing the work by special inspiration! For there is not a word about dead men becoming "athletes of Heaven," or having "the universe to range in," in the old-fashioned Bible. That declares that the "dead praise not the Lord," but are "silent" and "know not anything;" that they "sleep;" and that without a resurrection they "are perished." How different! Paul waxes eloquent over the resurrection, and tells of the spiritual and powerful bodies which the saints will have; but he omits to mention dead athletes in Heaven, or to describe them ranging among the stars and suns. "You could not understand fully Thomas Guard here, you cannot understand Thomas Guard there. More difference than between an eagle in an iron cage and an eagle pitching from Chimborazo toward the sun. His work on earth is not done, it is not half done, it is not a fourth done, it is not a thousandth part done. He resumes it now under better auspices. How do I know? 'Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to them that shall be heirs of salvation?' The lines of telegraphy and of rail track connect no two earthly cities so well as earth is connected with Heaven. . . . Flocks of immortals sweeping this way and that. Earth no more an orphaned world, but a suburb of Heaven. Blessed is that earthly home where Christian parents preside, but more mightily defended is that home which a glorified ancestry canopy with their benediction. Elisha saw the mountains full of horses and chariots of supernatural aid, and so they are yet. Which way are they driving? The horses head this way. How the chariots rumble down the sky steeps. Sent forth to minister. Is yonder a soul in great excruciation of pain, and shall Thomas Guard refuse the ministry when he knows about suffering? Is yonder a soul awfully bereft? Surely Thomas Guard cannot refuse his ministry, for he knows what it is to be bereft? Shall we have revivals of religion in our churches, and Thomas Guard not join in the hallelujah?" This is Spiritualism—one of the legitimate results of the doctrine of disembodied spiritual existence. If Thomas Guard can return and minister to the suffering and bereaved, and rejoice in revivals, that very thought of ministry involves some kind of communion; it matters not whether it be by speech, raps, or table-tipping. And yet Mr. Talmage would disown Spiritualism! Surely theology is not an "exact science!" Surely nobody but a "theologian" could be tolerated in such contradictions and absurdities! There is, however, in this last quotation a reference to Scripture, for the ostensible purpose of supporting the views presented. But what is it? What proof is there of Thomas Guard's posthumous labors? It is this: "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to them that shall be heirs of salvation?" Now, Mr. T. must know that this passage refers to angels, and not to dead men. But what has the ministry of angels to do with dead men? Nothing, in the Scriptures. There the angels of whom Paul is writing are as distinct from men as Mr. Talmage's theology is from truth. It is true that Elisha saw a vision "of horses and chariots of fire" round about him; but these are not disembodied ghosts of men. Does Mr. T. think there are horses in Heaven? Certainly spiritual "athletes" would not need them, even to "range through the universe;" for they would be able to run, or fly, or, perhaps, like one in the Arabian Nights stories, sit down upon a piece of carpet (if there is any carpet there), and wish himself to any place! What must sober, sensible men who are not theologians, think when they hear Mr. Talmage talk so eloquently about that of which he knows nothing, because he has no revelation or information concerning it? Must they not also relegate to the realms of imagination much that he says on other subjects and occasions? Must it not tend to weaken his hold on the consciences and reason of his hearers? We think so. The word of God must be the arbiter. What we do not find therein must be rejected, even if it comes from Mr. Talmage. Let us hold fast the form of sound words.—Herald of Life. RELIGION is the tie that connects man with his Creator, and holds him to his throne. If that tie is sundered or broken, he floats away a hopeless atom in the universe, its proper attractions all gone, its destiny thwarted, and its whole future nothing but darkness, desolation, and death. “Almost a Lost Art?”
By Editor
UNDER the above heading, the Rev. Geo. F. Pentecost, of Brooklyn, N. Y., writes in the Independent, concerning the work of converting sinners. We believe that the case is even worse than it is represented by him, for the figures that he gives indicate simply the accessions to the church, and it would be too much to claim that all who join the church are really converted. While we do not look for any general improvement in the state of things, we are glad that there are some who realize the necessity of improvement. We regard the indifference of the churches as a sign of the last days. Christ said, “Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” And this was spoken of a time just preceding the coming of our Lord. But we quote a portion of the article referred to:— “I do not wish to be understood as affirming that the art of converting men is entirely lost, nor that all ministers are among those who seem in a great measure to have lost this gracious gift and power. I know that any one who persists in calling attention to the unsatisfactory ‘state of religion’ in the churches, is set down at once as a gloomy dyspeptic, who needs a blue pill more than anything else. Nevertheless, an examination of the year-books of the denominations for the last five years show anything but a satisfactory state of things in this regard. When it is seen that the increase in our membership by conversion is less than one and a half per cent. on the present membership, I think the inference is a fair one that conversion may be set down as being, if not altogether, at least almost, among the lost arts. Miracles have long ago been surrendered, as not belonging to this age, and now one trembles to think that perhaps it will be soon advanced as a theory, that, in the advanced period of civilization, we are no more to expect conversions, except in rare individual and exceptional cases; but we are to look for the general improvement and culture of the whole community as the proper equivalent for revival and converting grace.” He then presents figures taken from the records of some of the leading churches in the Eastern States. The seven leading churches of Boston, with an aggregate membership of 3,441, report only fifty-three conversions for the whole year. In two of these no conversions were reported. In Andover, five churches report eighteen conversions as the result of all their labors; and the seminary church, presided over by the theological professors, reports none. In other places about the same showing is made. In the six largest churches in New York and Brooklyn, whose pastors have a national reputation, and whose aggregate membership is 7,224, only one hundred and sixty-one conversions are reported. Of this Mr. Pentecost says: “This is the worst showing of all; and, if facts and figures prove anything, it proves that in proportion as churches have numbers, wealth, and a brilliant ministry, they seem to lose the art of converting sinners.” After giving these figures, he proceeds as follows:— “If any Christian minister can look over these facts and figures without a heartache, I should say that he needs to be prayed for. And yet all the pastors in this sad list have won scholarship; all have won leading pulpits; all have won reputation; all of them have won personal popularity, and deservedly so; almost all of them have won their doctorates. The only thing they seem to have failed conspicuously in, is in winning souls. I speak not in the tone (far less with any spirit) of uncharitable criticism. Why should I? Must we not all take shame to ourselves in this matter? Ought not the whole church to be on its face and low in the dust before God, beseeching him to take away the reproach of weakness from us, restore unto us the joy and power of salvation, that we might teach transgressors his ways, and convert sinners to him? “I know that there are those who, in the face of such facts as these, still take a rosy and cheerful view of ‘the state of religion,’ and declare in elaborate sermons that we are no worse than our fathers, if, indeed, we are not a great deal better. But, in the face of an open Bible, I think it is to be affirmed that no advance in civilization, no progress in the arts and sciences, no general culture of the age, no increase in the wealth of the church and its liberality and organized benevolences and charities can compensate for the loss of converting power. The word of God tells us that ‘he that winneth souls is wise,’ that ‘they who turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars forever.’ “Jesus, when he looked over the neglected, unconverted, and unsaved masses of the people, had compassion on them, and bade his disciples to pray ‘for more laborers.’ Not to educate them and advance them in the arts and sciences and general culture of a Christian civilization; but that they might put in the sickle of divine truth and gather them as a harvest into the garner of the Lord; and that means, convert them to God with the word of truth and by the power of the Holy Ghost. “‘He that winneth souls is wise.’ I believe that soul-winning is the great business of the church. There is no fear, if the power to win souls is restored in plentitude to us, that the culture and growth of men in the knowledge of Christ and eternal things will lag behind; but if we lack the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, all our efforts in the direction of soul-culture will go for naught. I believe thoroughly in soul-culture; but we must be soul-winners before we can be soul-culturers. The harvest must be gathered before it can be threshed and sent to the mill; and does not this very scarcity of harvest show that we have failed in the proper education and training of the church? Can a church of a thousand members be in any kind of spiritual health and year after year report less than fifty souls won to Christ? If the ministry have lost apostolic power, have not the disciples lost power too? for in the days of the Spirit’s power, they also went everywhere preaching the word. Again I say that soul-winning is the chief business of the church, and in our success in this work God is to have his highest glory.” The writer is certainly correct in his statement that soul-winning is the chief business of the church; indeed, it is the only business of the church. And the reason why conversions are so rare is because the church has made this subordinate to other things. The “friendship of the world” has been courted by the church, and James informs us that this is “enmity with God.” How can a church expect to win souls to Christ when it is at enmity with God? A study of the history of the church will show that it has invariably been the case that “in proportion as churches have numbers, wealth, and a brilliant ministry, they seem to lose the art of converting sinners.” We are not decrying wealth nor education; we believe both are important factors in the spread of the gospel, but they are by no means the chief. Wealth always has a tendency to draw the mind away from God. It creates wants and tastes, the gratification of which deadens spiritual power. It is rare that the spirit of liberality in any person increases in proportion as his wealth increases. But a selfish spirit is incompatible with the Spirit of God, which alone can convert sinners. As riches increase, the heart is set upon them, and since the treasure is laid up on earth, the heart is drawn away from Heaven and heavenly things. The Saviour said, in view of this fact, “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!” Observe that Mr. Pentecost does not say conversion becomes a lost art with simply an educated ministry, but with a “brilliant ministry.” Sensationalism is the curse of the modern pulpit. The desire to “draw” a full house has placed the minister too often on a level with the actor, who does the same thing, and for the same reason. It is not alone the ministers who are to blame for this. The people demand it. The time has come of which Paul prophesied, when “they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and shall turn away their ears from the truth, and be turned unto fables.” 2 Tim. 4:3, 4. The ministers, instead of speaking those things that the people need, cater to a depraved taste, and regulate their preaching by the belief and practice of their congregations, speaking only what will please the people. Should any ministers refuse to thus prostitute their talents, they will be unpopular, and, failing to “draw,” will be removed to make room for those who will meet the demand to speak “smooth things” and “to prophesy deceits.” Isa. 30:9, 10. See also Jer. 5:30, 31. Another great cause of the lack of conversions is the “liberality” which is now so prevalent. This is, indeed, the primary cause. The early church was a power, because all of its members were “of one heart and of one soul,” and the truth was preached in its purity. No concessions were made to suit the people, but the people had to bring themselves to accept the plain truth. Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” But the church nowadays is getting ashamed of the gospel of Christ. The foundation of the gospel is the law of God; but this does not suit the wants of this “enlightened age,” and in ignoring its claims, the church virtually denies the gospel. The preaching of the gospel under such conditions must necessarily be like raking with the teeth upward, or at-tempting to work with a saw, the teeth of which have been filed off. When Ingersoll fulminates his blasphemies, and prates about the “Mistakes of Moses,” what do the ministers do? They meet his assertions with apologies. They yield every point, and seem to try to convey the impression that there is not much difference between him and them after all. They are ashamed of the plainness of the Bible, and repudiate a large portion of it. All that cannot be forced into harmony with the changing moods of modern science, must go by the board. The doctrines of the Bible are rarely preached, except for criticism. The church has practically rejected the purifying doctrine, of the return of Christ, and consequently the truths necessary to a preparation for that event are rejected. “The form of sound words” is no longer held fast, and persons are taken into the church with any belief, or with no belief at all. To be tried for heresy is the surest way for a minister to become popular. How can conversions be expected with such a state of affairs? To what would people be converted? “Liberal thought” is a very uncertain thing to tie to. It is very vague, and contains nothing which could effect a change of heart. “Sanctify them through thy truth,” was the Saviour’s prayer; and Peter speaks of those who have “purified their souls by obeying the truth.” And by this means alone can it be done. “The word of God is quick and powerful,” and through it the Spirit of God can work, but it has become too old-fashioned for modern use. The oft-repeated assertion that what a person believes is of little importance, is bearing fruit. People accept this saying, and refuse to believe the Bible. We say, without any fear of successful contradiction, that the professed church of Christ is responsible for a large share of the infidelity that prevails. It is not pleasant to contemplate the existence of these things; and still less so to think that the evil is on the increase. Can there be any question as to the position the people of God should occupy at such a time? The command is, “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” This command may not be disregarded with impunity. The cause of God demands earnest laborers who will give force to the preaching of Bible truth, by consistent, godly lives. Who will respond to the call? “Oh, who will help us to garner in
The sheaves of good from the fields of sin?”
THE EDITOR.