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ESTABLISHED 1821.
®lxe CChrifttian 3-iulrx
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The day of Pentecost was marked,
among the Jews, by the gift of the law
written on tables of stone; but among
Christians, by the gift of the Spirit who
writes the law on fleshly tables of the
heart. How uiuch higher our privilege
than theirs! Is our service also higher
in like proportion ?
When “atonement money’’ was re
quired of every person included in the
military census of Israel, God testified
to the equality of all men in his sight by
the enactment: “the rich shall not give
more, and the poor shall not give less,”
(Ex. 30: 15.) How slight the earthly dif
ferences that part us, though one sits on
the throne and one lies under the foot
stool !
Moses never appears to better advan
tage than in the last year of his life. It
was then that he conquered Sihon. king
of the Amorires, and Og, king of Ba
skan, and the five kings of Midian—giv
ing two and a half tribes an inheritance
east of the Jordan. Perhaps, he leaned
too much on Aaron while he lived; but
now Aaron was dead, and he leaned only
on God. Was it this exclusive divine
trust that made him most a hero? Or
was God graciously taking thought for
his servant, to shorten his pilgrimage
and end his warfare?
f Rev. Dr. Thos. H, Pritchard, in the
(Charlotte, X. C. “Observer,” quoting the
(opinion of Dr. John A. Broadus, that
the moral character of the child is formed
’.before it is four years of age, pronounces
)she Dy. “the wisest man” he has ever
'known. There are many others who
Iwill concur with him in the estimate of
tour honored Louisville professor. Dr. B.
belongs, to the rare class (if there be en
/ough of Hi era to form .a class at any one
(time) of whom ( Is true that the giving
lof a man to the people is largely also the
(giving of the people to the man.
Rev, Samuel Eliot, a speaker at the re
cent Unitarian Anniversaries in Massa
chusetts, said: “Unitarian extension
finds its best field within a radius of fif
teen miles from the Boston State house.”
It grows no where else In our country
so well as there; and the richest Unitar
ian soil in that vicinity is supposed to be
Cambridge. Now, seventy-five years ago
Cambridge had two Unitarian churches,
and it has only two to-day, while within
this time there has been planted in Cam
bridge eight Baptist churches. So,
where Unitarian churches grow their
best, Baptist churches are the better
growers. They root themselves more in
the soil of Scripture and derive the am
pler nourishment from its fertility.
David, in pious recognition of divine
help, laid up spears, bucklers, shields
and other weapons of his conquered foes,
in the sacred armory, as tokens of God
given victory. He little thought that, a
century and a half later, they should be
brought forth to avenge the murder of
his seed by the vile usurper Athaliali,
and for her slaughterthat his seed might
return to the throne (2 Cor. 23:0.) God
pays us back, in ourselves or in our off
spring. for whatever we do to honor him.
An unrequitted work for him never was
and never can be, no matter how much
things seem to look that way.
The Philadelphia letter of the Chicago
“Standard” reports the ordination to the
work of the ministry of tho Baptist de
nomination of Rev. Robert Harkiuson,
formerly a Methodist preacher, and bap
tized a year ago at Mantua, by Dr. J. G.
Walker. Just why the interval of a year
should have been put between the demis
sion of the one ministry and the assump
tion of the ether we have no hint: per
haps, the apostolic warning against the
sudden laying on of hands are regarded
as calling for something of tho kind.
May it not be all incases, a fit and proper
thing that some lapse of tim eshould en
sue after stepping out of the pulpit of
one denomination before stepping into
the pulpit of another,
Lieut. Winchell of the Salvation Army
states that the “War Cry the organ of
that body, has a weekly circulation over
the world of 1,150,000. A remarkable
fact, and made more remarkable by the
further fact that it is a rule never to give
a copy of the paper away, on the ground
that people are most apt to read what
has, with their own consent, cost them
something. We admire the intelligent
zeal of the Army on the question of the
religious press. Theirs so far ns we know
is the most widely circulated Christian
paper on the face of the earth ;and this, too
though they themselves “are but of yes
terday.” All the denominational jour
nals of the Baptists in every country
put together fall very far short of the
"War Cry” In the matter of weekly cir
culation; and we are ashamed that this
is true, Shall every body get ahead of
us? Shall any body keep ahead’ of us?
In the City of Mexico, strawberries
may be had every day in the year; and
yet its death-rate exceeds that of auy
city in the world except Constantinople.
So strangely lights and shadows mingle
iu the sphere of earthly things, Bo
wonderfully what allures may shine
where, if wo seek it, what repels may
wrap its mists about us. Promises and
threat* join hand in hand; and hopes
and fears; and pleasures ami pains:—it
is a chief part of our wisdom to see how
they come to us together; how in grasp
ing the one we may grasp the other;
how often we must have both or nei
ther; nay, how it may even be that only
what chills and darkens and was at
first unnoted enters into an experience
which proffered sunrise but brought
•
THE OHRISTLVN INDEX.
storm instead. Let us
trust the promise of delights wlifcirrmiy ■
disappoint, and not to disregard the
threat of sorrows which may overtake
and overwhelm us.
AN EXPOSIfION _ OF _ THE WORDS,
EPHESIANS VI; 2, “WHICH IS THE
EIRBT COMMANDMENT WITH
PROMISE-”
BY F. C. JOHNSON.
Tha meaning of the promise, “that
thy days may be long and that it may
be well with thee in the land which
the Lord thy God giveth thee,” will
be understood when you consider
that this promise is not addressed to
an individual, but to a nation. It is
the days of the nation that are to be
prolonged in possession of the God
given land. It is the National pros
perity, not the prosperity of auy sin
gle person that is promised. The
meaning is, that the nation of Israel
shall possess the land in perpetuity
and prosper in it, so long as they
keep this precept. We are led into
error by rendering in 3d verse of
this 6th chapter, “on the earth,” in
stead of “in the land.” The Greek
‘ge’ (pronounce gay,) means either
earth, the whole planet, or some par
ticular part of it, as the land of
Canaan—the land which Jehovah
gave the sons of Israel. This is cer
tain by looking at the original in
Deut. o:16. “Honor thy father and
thy mother, as Jehovah thy God hath
commanded thee; that thy days may
be prolonged, and that it may go
well with thee, in the land which
Jehovah thy God giveth thee.” The
promise is not that any individ
ual, whether Jew or Gentile, shall
live long, if he honor his father and
mother; but the promise is that the
Jewish nation shall possess that land,
and occupy it as their national home
in prosperity, free from subjection to
any foreign people, shall prolong this
occupancy and this prosperity for
ever, if they keep this precept. And
this is the way in which Hebrew
Rabbis of note understand it. Ibn
Ezra, says “So long as Israel keeps
this precept, they shall never be ban
ished from the land which God gave
them.”
St Paul, in Ephs. 6: 2, quoting
this commandment, adds, “which is
the first commandment with prom
ise”—as we very erroneously render.
His words properly rendered are,
“which commandment is first or
preeminent in respect of the prom
ise?” (annexed,) ,Now what is the
anrl'Tnfl promi«« tb»t gives snob, pre
eminence to this commandment?
“That thy days be prolonged and
that it be well with thee in the land
which Jehovah thy God giveth
thee.”
That which gives the sth com
mandment its preeminence, that the
prolonged prosperous occupancy of
the promised land is conditioned up
on obedience to this precept. Let
us examine this promise and see how
obedience to this precept is its true
condition. In Genesis 15th chapter,
is the record of the covenant which
Jehovah made with Abram. No
where else is there any account of a
covenant duly ratified between Je
hovah and Abram. The very words
are, “On that day Jehovah made
(Hebrew cut) a covenant with
Abram, etc.” To make a covenant
is literally in Hebrew, to cut a cut
ting into pieces. Because in making
a solemn covenant, certain animals
were cut in parts and these parts
placed in rows over against each
other, leaving an open space between
them, —through this space the con
tracting parties walked, imprecating
upon themselves the fate of these
animals if they were not faithful to
their covenanted engagements.
Now Jehovah’s promise, or cove
nant engagement on this occasion is
given in these words: “Unto thy
seed have I given this land from the
river of Egypt unto the great river
the river Euphrates, the Kenites, the
Kenizites and the Kadmonites, the
Hittites, the Perizites and the lieph
aim, and the Amorites and the Ca
naanites, and the Girgashites and the
Jebasites.” This is the covenant
promise, to give this land bounded
on the extreme west by what is
called the Torrent of Egypt, and on
the east by the Euphrates —still fur
ther and more definitely declared by
naming the peoples then inhabiting
the land, by this covenant deeded to
Abram’s seed.
Now at the time of this covenant
Abram was a wanderer on the earth,
landless and homeless. He did not
own one square inch on the surface
of this planet. He never had a
piece of real estate on this earth
which he could have mortgaged to
secure the loan ot five dollars; until
the death of his wife Sarah, when
within the limits of the land, which
Jehovah had covenanted to give to
his seed, he bought of Ephron, a
Heathen and Hittite, a field wherein
was a natural cave, which he wanted
as a burial place, to bury Sarah in.
A graveyard was the only landed
property ever owned by Abraham
on this earth, and this is all the
landed estate ho loft to Isaac, and
which Isaac transmitted to Jacob.
Jacob increased this by a purchase
later on of a small tract near Sama
ria, as a place to herd cattle on.
Now I say this promise to Abra
ham and hi* seed after him of a home
a settled home, was made to him
ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY. JULY 6,1893.
-owes was ft homeless wanderer on
tmw cm Ji. Os all earthly blessings
the greatest is a homo. Os all con
ditions the most wretched is that of
the tramp—ever changing from place
to place, homeless, unresting, the
tramp will never improve.
So now in a temporal point ot view,
the promise, that the migratory life
should one day cease, and his de
eendants have a home, a fixed resi
dence on this earth, was the promise
of the greatest blessing. A nomadic
people is in a great measure, a law
less people, uncivilized, incapable of
any high moral and intellectual im
provement. Was the great nation
that Jehovah promised to make of
Abraham’s seed, ever to be so blessed
that all nations in wishing for their
own prosperity, should say: “May
we be prosperous like Abraham’s
seed ? ” Was a succession of kings
like David and Solomon, prophets
like Moses and Samuel, men who
could promote the highest interests
of humanity, ever to spring from
Abraham, than the first requsite was
that these descendants should cease
the migratory life of shepherds and
become settled as land owners, land
tillers, producers of wealth by well
directed labors. They must become
builders, masons, miners, artificers,
merchants, students, etc., accustomed
to submit to law. There must be
settled homes, division of labor, dis
tinction of ranks, law’s, schools, so
cial rules and in a word, all that
makes the difference between civi
lized society and savage tribes. To
tho family the greatest blessing is to
have a home, peaceful and prosper
ous. This sentiment has given birth
to a song world-famous, “Home,
Sweet Home.”
Now in this earthly point of view,
how is it that the prolonged and
prosperous possession of a National
home comes to be conditioned upon
this command rather than upon any
other. To the continued well-being
of civil society virtue is the only
sure ground.
This sure foundation of National
prosperity, can be laid only in the
season of youth. The one school of
virtue, the sole basis of the lasting
prosperity of any nation—is home,
not tho Sunday-school, nor the week
day school. Home is the place,
where the child is to learn the habit
of obedience to just authority, the
habit of preferring the public good
to one’s private interest, the habit
of respecting the rights, and consult
ing the feelings of others—the habit
of f>olf-ros‘rtMnty oourtcsj jaiticc,
economy and industry. The great
fountain of National long-life, and
national prosperity, life in fact which
will last as long as the frame of
earth lasts, and prosperity advanced
to the highest degree, that God can
confer and man enjoy, is the habit
of loving thy neighbor as thyself
and the training school for the form
ing of this habit is tho home, where
dwells the family, consisting of
father and mother, brothers and
sisters.
Father and mother, these are the
rulers, the magistrates, the teachers
brothers and sisters, are the citizens,
subjects, pupils. The parents, the
magistrates, legislative, judicial and
executive, are not elected by the
children, but appointed by God.
They are qualified for their official
station, by love, wisdom and power.
Love sets the end aimed at in this
divinely constituted government—
that end is the highest good of the
children, moral, intellectual, physical
virtue, wisdom and health of the
children. Parental wi«dom devises
the means, and parental power em
ploys these means to secure the
virtue, wisdom and health of the
children.
The children are the subjects and
pupils. Obedience is the one word
that sums up the whole of child
duty, “Children obey your parents
in the Lord, for thi* is just.” For
rendering this obedience God has
qualified the subject children, by
making them dependent upon their
parents. The child is weak, the
parent is strong. The child is ig
norant, the parent has knowledge.
The child ha* a constitutional ten
dency to love the parent who is nt
once author, guide and support of
his life. Ho while the rule of the
parent is the rule of love, the obedi
ence of the child, is the obedience
of love—children do naturally rec
ognize tho authority of parents, be
lieve without doubting their word,
and trust to the guidance of parental
wisdom and the protection of pa
rental power. The child does not
at first come in contact with the
state, but with it* parent*. In this
contact it acquires the habit ot chee
ful obedience to just authority—this
is the first requisite of National
well being. It is at home under the
government of father and mother,
that this supreme civic virtue is ac
quired, becomes habit, i. e. second
nature. The rightly educated child
easily and naturally transfers this
obedience to the State.
The brothers and sisters are the
subjects of this domestic government
equally loved and cared for
by the sovereign power in
thi* homely state. They learn
from their earliest years to love one
another, so as to prefer one another’s
gratification to self-indulgence —to
■hare what ever they have with one
another, to respect one ahothar’"
rights, consultone another’s feelings
and love one another as they love,
themselves.
The good of the family requires
industry, economy, thrift, self-re
straint, personal sacrifice—mutual
love makes all these possible, and
more than possible, easy and more
than easy—it makes it impossible,
not to acquire all these virtues—
necessary to two things, Ist. abun
dance of accumulated wealth, and
2nd—equally indispensable to Na
tional well being, equitable distri
bution of this wealth Human be
ings thus educated, i. e. having form
ed these habits, and life is nothing
but habits—l say children so edu
cated, ex necessitate rei, become
law-abiding and patriotic citizens,
obliging neighbors, courteous com
panions, faithful friends, in a word
good citizens, and useful members of
society. Now all these virtues
grow out of obedience to this com
mand “Honor thy father and thy
mother,” and these virtues are the
infallible securities of personal lib
erty, and National prosperity and
social happiness.
I say a nation composed of suah
citizens, will never suffer subjugation,
expatriation, slavery, destitution,
while Jehovah continues “to occupy
his throne in the heavens and while
his reign continues over this Earth,
which his hands made, his goodness
enriches, and his power preserves.
There remains yet to show another
side to this promise. If a home on
earth be indispensable to earthly
well-being, it is no less necessary,
that when we leave our bodies to
return to that dust from which they
originally were raised, and our true
selves have gone away, that then we
be not wanderers in the boundless
universe of God. I say it is as im
portant that we hereafter have a
home, as that we have one here.
It was no more necessary that
Abraham’s migratory-nomadic des
cendants have the land of Canaam
than that man’s immortal soul have
in the world to come, a land of prom
ise.—a God-given land, which realizes
all that Hebrew prophets fondly
dreamed of Canaan, calling it “that
good land,” “the pleasant land,” “the
glory of all lands,” “the land over
which Jehovah’s eyes kept ceaseless
watch." Now, “the land of Prom
ise,” Canaan, woe a type of a heav
enly lapd, and *o understood by the
Promisees Abraham, Isaac, and Ja
cob. Thi* it mo»t plain lij Li ugh tin the
Fnj»Ue to. th?. IW"» ' ! >
There the writer, calling to our re
membrance, the fact, that Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob, used to speak of
themselves as strangers, and travel
ers stopping temporarily in this very
Canaan, did by this mode of speech,
declare that they were not at home
in this Canaan, but were on their
way to their father-land. Now it is
plain, they did not consider Ur of
the Chaldees, that father-land, for
though able to return there, they
never thought of such a thing. Hence
they showed by their conduct, that
the father-land, they were in quest
of, is nothing less than a heavenly
land—-which they expected to reach
under the guidance of God, “by pa
tient continuance in well-doing.”
Now in this point of view, how is
the promise of heavenly bliss condi
tioned upon this command.
The child does not come at once
Into conscious contact with God—lt
knows nothing of God, -nothing of its
relations to God, and the duties con
sequent upon those relations. But
the child does know mother and fa
ther, loves and obeys them. Now
this Commandment lie* as it were
midway between tho two tables of
the law, and is equally the sure
foundation of earthly and heavenly
life. Now Father and Mother are
the divine revelation to the infant,
of God’s love, wisdom and power.
The child gets insensibly the habit
of loving Father and Mother, of be
lieving their word, of obeying their
commands.
By and by this child’s soul, obeying
the law of its creation progressing
without end, and expansion without
limit, comes to learn of a love and
wisdom and power, beyond the love,
wisdom, and power of father and
mother, of a word greater, of author
ity higher. Then just as a vine
trained to grow upon a stake, when
it has outtopped that stake must have
something higher to cling to, or else
trail on the ground, so the child, with
tho proper home training, having
come to that stage of progress, when
it needs something higher than the
earthly parent to cling to, is easily
and naturally trained to fix its eternal
faith in God—the everlasting God,
to root its love in tho Father, its faith
in the Word, and its hope iu the
Spirit.
The state and what we call the
church, is nothing but the extension
of tho family, and tho Family i* the
nursery of both State and church,
Tho church is called the family
Ephesian* iii. 14,15. “For this cause
I bow my knees unto the father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom tho
whole Family in heaven and earth is
named."
The German Baptists of the
United State* are credited with
giving 12,000,000 for mission pur
pose* during the past your.
JESUS AND MONEY,
KEV. O. P. EACHES.
When we think of Jesus we in
stinctively think of purity, heavenly
mindedness, forgivness, salvation,
heaven. We do not naturally asso
ciate him with eating, sleeping, the
daily care of life, the purchase of
daily food. But Jesus did have a
use for money, he was dependent
upon it for support, he knew how to
care for money, he knew how to save
it. In his carpenter days at Naza
reth he worked for money. He re
ceived his pay for services rendered.
He bought clothing, perhaps paid
house rent, cared doubtless for bis
mother and the household. He
knew how to live economically. In
the days of his Messianship, when he
had fed the five thousand, he gather
ed up the fragments. There was
no waste in the life of Jesus.
In the days of his public ministry
there was a constant need of money.
This was supplied, largely, by the
gift of friends. We have the names
of some of these large hearted con
tributors. Luke viii; 3. There was
a treasurer for the enmmon fund.
When provisions were needed, they
were purchased out of this common
fund. John iv; 8. There was noth
ing of the beggar spirit about the
Apostolic group. All through his
ministry we find Jesus coming in
contact with money, its use, its dan
gers to the soul, the means of trans
forming money into a blessing for
the life that now is and the life that
is to be. Jesus walked through a
life on the earth with his eyes open.
1. Jesus sat by the treasury in the
Temple. He saw people casting
their money into the treasury. A
poor widow attracted his attention.
Perhaps he knew her. Her clothing
may have been one of poverty. He
noticed how much she cast in and
the spirit with which she hallowed
her offering. Many rich men cast
in of their abundance. The by
standers praised them for their liber
ality. Jesus sat on his throne of
judgment, giving praise to the widow
for her liberality, giving condemna
tion to the wealthy for their narrow
ness of heart. Jesus still sits by the
treasury. He knows how much
each professing Christian gives, he
knows the attitude of the heart,
knows whether it is a gift in propor
tion to one’s means. It may be that
large Cenntenialo fferings will shrivel
into nothingness under the ease of
4,is holy Cyes ain’t Ills starcEihg jud
ment. Jesus knew what ought to
he done with money, how much each
one ought to give. Luke xxi; 1-4.
2. Jesus heard the disciples heap
ing words of reproach upon the
tender heart of Mary. They blamed
her for throwing her money away.
They said she ought to have been
more prudent. All that was left of
her thirty or fifty dollars was the
perfume that filled the room. But
Jesus had a wider outlook than they.
There was a delightful feeling in his
heart. There was a satisfied feeling
in the heart of Mary. There was a
something in the devoted act, so tin
selfish, that it would move thousand
of hearts in the after ages. Jesus
taught that nothing can be really
wasted that is done out of sincere
love for him. It seemed like a
sentimental thing, there was nothing
tangible that could be seen a few
hours afterwards, but its prompting
spirit was so beautiful, that it won
from Jesus words of the highest
praise. She hath done what she
could. Mary was prudent and far
sighted in her seeming waste of
money. Mark xiv 1-10.
3. Jesus taught that money may
be used for enlarging our heayen.
Money connot save, that is reserved
for Jesus Christ alone. But money
and property and the substance of
this life may be so used that they
will make heaven richer and larger.
Jesus exhorts mon to make friends
out of their money and possessions.
Riches wrongfully pursued will
drown the soul in perdition. Money
rightly used may, under the guiding
hand of God, be changed into a
friend that will grant a welcome
into the upper life. Money is a
blessing if rightly used. Money is
to be used in all faithfulness. It is
as much a trust as are large mental
endowments and largo opportunities
in life. Whether a man has a hun
dred dollars or a million, he must
listen to tho words of Jesus in Luke
xvi; 9.
4. Jesus said that it is more bless
ed to give than receive. This is
the only recorded saying of Jesus
found outside of the four gospels.
Paul is making an appeal for help
to the faint-hearted and weak and
struggling. He enforce* the joy and
duty of this spirit of helpfulness by
appealling to the life of Jesus. It
is natural to enjoy the getting and
keeping of money and the things of
this life. It is C'hristlike to enjoy
giving them away. The man who
really enjoys giving hi* money away
to the cause of righteousness, moved
by a spirit of helpfulness, is living in
the land of Beulah. He Is rapidly
ripening for heaven. The very
essence of Jesus was his delight in
giving, giving himself, hi* counsel,
hi* love, hi* life. The Christian
life need* three things rightly mixed
up into life, the duty of getting, the
duty of keeping, the duty and luxury
of giving. Industry the Savings |
Bank, the hand of help, all are Chris
tian privileges. If Acts xx; 35 were
written on the hearts of the millions
of baptized believers tho treasuries
of our Societies would bo full to
overflowing. Jesus loved to give
money more than to get money.
Are you a relation to Jesus?
’5. Jesus was never a rich man.
He never was so onesidedly spiritual
fn his ministry as to look upon mon
ey as worthless or wicked. He was
a poor man, but there were those
who were poorer than he was. It is
pleasant and instructive to know that
Jesus was a benevolent man. He
not only preached the duty of help
fulness, his life was a constant prac
tice of benevolence. The little inci
dent in John xiii: 29; shows that it
was the practice of Jesus and the
Twelve to give to the poor. No
worthy man or cause ever appealed
to Jesus in vain. We may know
that in the days of his life in Naza
reth and in the days of his ministry
he never shut his eyes or ears or
heart or hand to any cause that
would help men or glorify the Father.
It is as easy to think of the multipli
cation table going astray as to think
of Jesus being insensible to any need
that appealed for help. Many poor
men and homes were made blessed
by the personal ministry of Jesus
in the gift of money, of help, of sym
pathy and love.
6. Jesus gave money for the sup
port of the Temple worship. He
attended tfip worship, be also helped
to support it. He protested that,
rightly understood, he was under no
obligation to support the Temple
worship. Matt, xvii: 24-27, He paid
the annual dues for himself and
Peter. When at Nazareth he, with
out doubt, helped regularly in the
support of the worship. He gave
his regular attendance, his devout
worship, his helpfulness in all ways.
The Synagogue in Nazareth had no
more efficient helper than this pious
carpenter, Jesus the Son of Joseph.
The rulers could always depend on
him. If any church member feels
like shirking his duties in the church,
in attendance, in worship, in giving,
let him think of Jesus as a church
member. If a man goes to church
empty handed, it is because, as a rule
he is empty hearted. No member
can really love the church unless he
helps the church. It may be said, in
all truthfulness, that no duties came
upon any member of the Nazareth
Synagogue that were not cheerfully
; and abumlauviy uu-t by xJesurf the
carpenter.
When we think of Jesus we are to
think of him as one of our race
whose hand was accustomed to the
handling of money. H e earned
money, he spent money, he knew the
use of it, he knew how to give it for
holy uses, he knew how to help the
poor. He saw the perils of it. He
saw its power to crowd spiritual
things out of the soul. He saw the
peril of riches, how it makes the soul
poor by keeping it out of heaven.
We are to endeavor to get money, to
use money, in such away as we
think that Jesus would do if he were
living in the centre of our lives. Os
some things we are sure, no filthy
lucre would overcome into his hands,
it would all be holy money. .Mate
rial things would never outweigh
the spiritual, money would never
crowd out manhood. It is a difficult
problem that stands before each
Christian, but one that ought to be
solved, the getting and using of mon
ey in away that will commend itself
to the mind of Christ.
Hightstown, N. J.
ARE MODERN MISSIONS AS TAUGHT
AND PRACTICED BY BAPTISTS
SCRIPTURAL OR BIBLE MISSIONS?
BY B. Ci. TUTT D. D.
These scriptures seem to me to
reveal no definite plan of missionary
operations,
It is, I think, clearly the purpose
of our Lord to evangelize tho world
through the instrumentality of His
people—this is the meaning of the
great commission.
In plain and simple language it
lays upon them this exalted privi
lege—this world-wide duty of giv
ing the gospel to the entire human
race.
Tho details of this commission
and the minutia of its execution
seem to be left by our Lord, as were
many other matters pertaining to tho
establishment of His kingdom to the
judgment and common sense of His
people who were henceforth to bo
under the guidance of the Holy
spirit.
The one condition of the commis
sion seems to be indicated in the
words, “beginning at Jerusalem”
and was afterwards amplified in the
last interview which our Lord had
with Hi* disciples—when ho said,
“Ye shall be witnesses unto me in
Jerusalem and in all Judea and in
Samaria and unto the uttermost part*
of the earth.”
They began to discharge their
duties under thi* commission on the
day of Pentecost by declaring what
they had seen and heard by preach
ing the gospel, by witnessing for Je
sus as Ho had commanded them.
For some time Peter and John
seem to have been the most promi
nent leaders in tho now movement—
VOL. 70—NO. 27.
| the great body of the disciples con
firming their testimony and giving
them their moral and no doubt their
pecuniary support.
In a little while Stephen, like a
blazing star appears upon the scene
of missionary labors and his fiery
zeal leads him at onco through a
martyrs death to a martyrs crown.
Then we catch a glimpse of Philip
—the lone missionary, as he goes
down between Jerusalem and Gaza
to plant the seeds of the gospel in
the heart of the Ethiopian Eunuch.
Now comes the dispersion of tho
disciples on account of the stoning
of Stephen and the gospel takes
wings and flies as far as Phoenice
and Cypress and Antioch embedding
itself jn heathen soil and establishing
for itself headquarters for future
missionary efforts.
Now we see for the first time
what seems to be organization in tho
work of missions—or perhaps I
should say a clearer revelation of the
fact that all of Gods people were to
bo inlisted in the work of giving
the gospel to the world.
The time bad now coma when the
churches were to become recognized
factors in the world’s evangeliza
tion.
The two greatest of missionary
preachers, Barnabas and Saul were
called by the spirit and set apart by
the church at Antioch, and from
henceforth the duty of the churches
seems to be plain and well defined—■
namely—to give to those whom the
spirit thus called—their prayerful
sympathy—their cordial co-opera
tion and their cheerful and hearty
financial support.
The subsequent epistles of Paul
are very clear in the enforcement of
this duty.
It is true wo have intimation that
his heroic spirit chafing under the
shameful neglect of some of the
churches voiced itself in an express
ed determination to be “chargablo
to none of them.”
He says to tho Corinthians, “I
robbed other churches, taking wages
of them to do your service, and
when I was present with you and
wanted I was chargablo to no man ;
for that which was lacking to me
the brethren which came from Mac
edonia supplied, and in all things I
have kept myself from being bur
densome to you, and so will I keep
myself” 2 Cor. 11 8-9.
.In the next chapter of this same
epistle he seems to repent of, his
■ hasty for he says
“for what is it wherein ye were in
ferior to other churches, except it
be that I myself was not burden
some to you? Forgive me this
wrong.”
That Antioch was tho headquar
ters of Apostolic missionary effort
and that the other churches when
organized became the helpers and
supporters of the great enterprise
seems clear to me from the Script
ures.
Paul especially commends the
churches of Macidonia for their zeal
and helpfulness in the great work.
That the organization was more
simple then than now is no doubt
true.
There was less machinery then,
but that may be due to the fact that
the churches were fewer, that they
covered a smaller territory, and that
their resources were more limited.
One thing seems to have been
true then as now—namely, that
special messengers or agents were
necessary to stir up the churches to
a sense of their duty in the matter
of benevolence.
Paul tells the Corinthians of the
noble liberality of the churches of
Macedonia ami says- “We desired
Titus that as he had begun, so ho
would finish in you the same grace
(or gift) also. For indeed he ac
cepted the exhortation and being
more forward, of his own accord he
went unto you.
And we have sent with him the
brother whose praise is in the gospel
throughout all the churches, and not
that only, but who was chosen of
the churches to travel with us with
this grace which is administered by
us to the glory of the same Lord and
declaration of your ready mind."
2 Cor. 17-19.
Under the active ministry of Bar
nabas and Saul the wod of God
ran and was glorified.
In the face of the persecutions of
their foes and the listlessness and in
differnce of their friends from the
market places and synagogues of
the cities—from private houses—
from the river side—-from prisons,
and from the palaces of kings they
preached the good news to all classes
and conditions of men.
Cyprus, Antioch in Pisidia, Icon
him, Lystra, Durbe Cilicia, Lycao
nia, Galatia, Troos, Philippi, Thes
salonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth,
Ephesus, Macedonia and Rome heard
the word of the Lord and to a greater
or less extent felt it* power.
The Scripture* do not show that
the whole church was engaged il>
personal missionary work—that is,
that every member was engaged in
tho work as were Barnabas and Saul
and others who were specially called
to active, personal participation in it,
but they do teach that every mem
ber of the churches was expected to
bear hi* part in the labor and re
sponsibility of propagating the truth