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THE CHRISTIAN ON THE DEFENSIVE.
Paul is fond of militant figures. Again and
again ho uses them to picture the Christian
life.
We are hearing much of the aggressive na
1ure of Christianity. It is ambitious, according
to the modern apostles, of attacking directly
and openly all manner of evils. It has he gun to
spend most of its energy in reform schemes.
It has gathered a Council of Churches of Ame
rica, and established an otliee and ambassado
rial corps in our Capital City for the purpose
of assaulting every phase of sin, as it appears
on the horizon of our political and soeial life.
It is worth while to notice that neither
Christ, nor His Apostles, attacked Ihe hor
rible corruption of the social scheme of the
Roman Empire. Th??y aimed at the single
heart, realizing that 4 'out of the heart are the
issues of life." And when we get life, we get
all. We are not surprised then, that in the
closing verses of his wonderful Epistle to the
Ephesian Church, Paul nominates tiie Christian
warfare as a defensive one.
If there was any city in which evil was more
rampant, than Ephesus, history does not un
fold its story. It was only by bringing men
into living relationship with Jesus Christ that
they saw the horror of witchery and burned
their books of divination by the thousand.
We might well learn a lesson. Clot men to
Christ, help them to realize the glorv of the
Christ life, till them with the thought, of a de
fensive warfare, and you will win the tight.
Regeneration must always precede reforma
1 ion.
Lot. us notice then the fact that the Chris
tian must war a warfare, hut it. is not an
aggressive one, but defensive. The Apostle
would convince us of the attack. Satan is not
satisfied to let us alone. The only ones he lets
alone are those he is sure of. The hunter
docs not think of the bird in his bag, but the
bird ho can wing in ils living flight.
This warfare, this attack is a real one. There
is no play-ground affair. Nothing sportsman
like in Satan's attack. It is through the spir
itual sphere that he reaches us. Our sins are
from that department of life. Tt is a persist
ent attack, often coming when we least expect
it.
What is to be the attitude of the Christian
toward this condition of things? Surely he
should be on the watch. Not, for an answer to
his prayer, but walking circumspectly. The
last serious warning of our Master was to
"watch." His is to be a praying attitude.
This is to be "without ceasing." Living in the
atmosphere of prayer, anil keeping the ave
nues of communication with heaven open all
the time.
The Christian is to stand fast. Again and
again does he exhort us to stand above all, or
over against all. We are 1o grow in the graces
of God. We are to walk in the Spirit, but we
arc to stand fast against the stratagems of the
devil.
Our Antagonists are no mean ones. They
are not mere fellow-men, though often the
bitterest foes of our own household, but or
ganised evil. Tt is marvellous, the capacity of
organism that Satan has. These are "the prin
cipalities." Then there are "powers," cruel
forces against which it seems impossible to
Hand. " Rulers of this age of darkness.1' Wo
are not fighting in broad daylight, but in the
fog of doubt too often.
Then they are "the spirit-forces of the air,"
this world of spiritual life about us. The
Christian would fail uteri y and his lines would
be irretrivably broken, if he did not have the
finest armor and equipment.
The commands whip out like military orders
from the Apostle. "Hold your ground, tighten
the belt of serious sincerity, clothe yourself
with integrity, stand on the pedestal of peace
that t lie Gospel puts under your feet, protect
yourself with the assurance of salvation, seize
and use the sword of the Spirit, litter the
word of God." So shall you stand.
Is anything finer for us? Is anything more
needed ?
IIow sad it is that so many are running after
weapons of human devising, and neglecting
the old tried weapons which God provides for
us.
Let ns war a good warfare, but in God's
way and under the Spirit's command.
A. A. L.
Contributed
THE BATTLE FOR BENEVOLENCES.
Tt is a battle, aiul for a great cause. These
are eritical times for all the missionary activi
1ies of our Church, both at home and abroad.
It is true that the country has been passing
through very difficult and stringent financial
conditions. It is not the purpose of this ar
ticle to censure our people or to charge them
with indifference to Christ's cause. Doubtless,
when all things arc considered, they have done
very well.
Yet it is a painful and. disturbing fact that
our receipts for Benevolences have not been
adequate. Advance work has been halted for
lack of money. There have not been sufficient
receipts for the support of the activities which
have been conducted, and our administration
of t lie progress of the Gospel is embarrassed
with debt.
Is this condition inevitable? If so, why! Is
the scope of the Church's work as we have pro
jected it unreasonable, and such as to impose
upon our people a task which is too heavy for
them? Or if the task is reasonable, is there a
lack of loyalty in the hearts of our people? Or
if the task is reasonable, and the loyalty of
our people is at par, is there some defect in our
method?
The Eattle Plan Is Wise.
Our program for progres has two elements.
First, a very careful and conservative budget
is prepared annually for all the departments
of the Church's work. Secondly, there is an
every member canvass to get our people to
underwrite this budget and make weekly pay
ments upon it through the year. The plan is
simple and wise and the best that has yet been
devised. The goal which the plan seeks is two
fold. Its first purpose is to secure the funds
necessary for the support of the work, its
second purpose (and this is too often over
looked), is to have the receipt of these funds
distributed evenly through the year so as to
meet the liabilities of the work as they mature.
Both of these are essential to the full success
of the plan, and indispensable to the comfort
and proper progress of the Church's work.
Results Are Disappointing.
In the operation of our plan for Benevo
lences two facts stand out very clearly:
From the point of view of the people, the
annual collections arc not equal to the budget;
and the collections are not evenly distributed
through the year.
From this point of view of the executive
agencies which manage the Church's business,
the lack of an even distribution of receipts
through the year requires the use of much bor
rowed money and the loss of large sums which
must be paid for interest; while the shortage
of collections below the amount of the budget,
at the end of the year, means debt.
In such state of things, it is evident that we
are not quite winning our batle for benevo
lences.
What Is Wrong?
Is our plan of campaign unsound in prin
ciple? We think not. The difficulty lies in
our method of operating it. In the mind of
the Church the critical date of all the year is
March. With great enthusiasm and fervor and
careful organization and much labor the cam
paign is then waged to get the people to sub
scribe their quotas. In this preliminary March
skirmish we get fair success. But the sub
scribing of the quota is not the winning of the
battle. The critical date in the whole scheme
is the end of the first quarter. If we gain that
objective there is good hope that we shall win
the annual battle. If we fail in that first, ob
jective, it puts the campaign for the whole
year in serious jeopardy. Incomparably the
most significant date in the calendar of our
Church work is June 30th. By every law of
probability we can read on that day the story
of our victory or defeat for the year.
The reason for this is plain. Jf, in the reac
tion from the high fervor of the March cam
paign, the collections for the first quarter are
neglected, permitted to drag, and are not
brought up to par for the first quarter by the
end of June, what then? The second quarter
of our Church is the summer season, a time of
slackness, when many of our people are away
from home, a period in which in many ways
we hardly do more than mark time. Thus wc
come to the end of the second quarter with
only an indifferent collection for the first half
of the year. The result is that the missionary
obligation of the Church for the .entire year
must be gathered in a half year. If not im
possible, it is highly improbable that it will
be done. In the last month or two of the year
there may be a feverish energy and a desper
ate effort to bring up the year's shortage in its
budget for benevolences, but such effort is
likely to be only partly succcssful.
The Strategic Point.
Not the last quarter of the year but the first
quarter is the most significant and critical
point in our whole scheme of Benevolences.
Let us make June 30th stand out in the mind
of the Church as the date on which we win or
lose. On that day let the individual member
balance his missionary subscription ; let the
church treasurers everywhere send to the va
rious Assembly treasuries payment in fidl of
the quota due for the first quarter. Let this
be done on .Tune 30th and it will be a sure
and happy harbinger of victory for the year.
The churches must be trained to see that their
obligation to Benevolences does not mature
annually but that it matures quarterly, an<l
that at the end of each quarter payments must
be brmight to date and the accounts balanced.
Let this be certainly done at the end of the
first quarter, and the others will naturally fol
low.
This will get the results which we all desire
and which are indispensable to the safe and
proper progress of the work of our Church. It
will distribute the receipts evenly through the
year. It will save the loss of large sums paid
for interest upon borrowed money. It will as
sure the success of the total annual receipts.
Will not the managers of our Progressive
Program, ^he pastors, the church officers, the
Woman's Auxiliary, duplicate in June the ear
nest and organized efforts of March and bid*
ance the collections for the first quarter hy
.Tune 30th? Shall we not make the experiment,
all of usf It will mean success for the year. It
will win the Battle for Benevolences.