A New Series of Expository Studies

By the REV. FLOYD E. HAMILTONA Minister of The Orthodox Presbyterian Church and Author of "Tile Basis of Christian Faith"

and "The Basis of Evolutionary Faith"

Thomas R. BirchManaging Editor

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VOLUME II, NO.5

and as a consequence reject the Christian standards ofmorality taught in the Bible, we need to get back tothe Word of God whose teachings alone offer any hopefor mankind. We need to regain that tenacity of pur­pose and unwavering faith which the Apostle Paul hadthrough the contemplation of such high themes ascharacterize this epistle. It is with the hope that ourminds may be enlightened and our faith strengthenedto stand the terrible tests which we must all undergoin these trying times, that we take up the study of this,in many respects, the most marvelous of Paul's epistles.This is not milk for babes: this is strong meat for full­grown men! It deals with the deepest themes in theChristian religion. It takes us into the Holy of Holies,into the very presence of the Father Himself, and givesusa partial revelation of God's eternal purpose regard­ing us, His adopted children, especially in the church­not of course in the visible church, but in that invisiblechurch, which consists of all true believers in everydenomination, or in no denomination, who in verytruth trust their crucified and risen Saviour and Lordas the only way of salvation in this world or the worldto come.

The epistle was written by the Apostle Paul duringHis first imprisonment in Rome, mentioned in Acts28:30, probably toward the end of that imprisonment,about 61 or 62 A. D. During those two years in hisown hired dwelling in Rome, he had ample time and

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Edwin H; Rlan Leslie W. Sloat

The Epistle to the Ephesians

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IntroductionWE ARE now commencing one of the richest of

the epistles-one in which the Holy Spirit unfoldsmuch of the purpose and love of God to the childrenof men", said William Graham, in his Lectures on theEpistle to the Ephesians. "We are here permitted todrink from the fountain-head and refresh our souls fromthe waters of life. The author is God; the writer is aservant and an apostle of God; the subject is salvation;the persons interested are the whole human race; and,as to utterance and lofty eloquence, there is no com­position known to man, in the Bible or out of it, con­taining more ennobling doctrines and moralities, moreearnestness, variety and sublimity, than the Epistle tothe Ephesians". These words by a great Irish missionaryto Germany, at a time when Higher Criticism in itsmost destructive form had reduced the church in Ger­many to a deadly formalism, give us a fitting tributeto this great letter of Paul to the Ephesians. Whenmen and women depart from the belief in the. greattruths of the Word of God embodied in this epistle,the step downward to the Hitler of today is one of themyriad paths to error into which the unbridled mind ofman can lead him.

Today, when the foundations of our country areattacked both by the enemies across the sea and by thefar more dangerous, because generally unrecognized,foes within who reject the Bible as the Word of God,

March 10

as he had to do in some of his otherepistles (e.g., Galatians), nor was heforced to explain in detail the wholeplan of salvation,ashe did to churchesless well grounded in the faith (e.g.,Romans), He is 'therefore able totreat them to a post-graduate .coursein Christian mysteries! In this-epistle,then, as in noother, do we seem tobe introduced into the deepest doc­trines of the Christian faith.

The fundamental theme of theepistle is the Unity of the Church inChrist. This was the great mysteryhid' through the ages, and revealed toPaul and to the other apostles andprophets, namely, that the "Gentilesare fellow-heirs, fellow-members ofthe body, and fellow-partakers of thepromise in Christ Jesus through thegospel" (Eph. 3:6). The church ofGod is in reality one, through .allages and among all nations. Howevermuch we may seem to be divided indifferent denominations, this funda­mental unity extends among all truechildren of God. There are othergreat themes discussed in this epistle,but only as they center around thisone monumental thought of Christianunity in Christ.

THE ·PRESBYT·ERIAN GUARDIAN66

leisure for the contemplation of the The church in Ephesus occupieddeep things of the Spirit of God. It is a peculiar place in Paul's affections.,out of that rich experience that this For two years (Acts 19:10) he hadEpistle to the Ephesians was written. made Ephesus his headquarters forAs Hodge says, "In no portion of the missionary work. There he had greater

, Sacred Scripture are the self-evidenc- success than in any other place. Evening light and power of divine truth the magicians and their followers be-more concentrated than they are lieved and destroyed books on magichere". The apostle has been given a valued at fifty thousand pieces ofgreat blinding revelation of the mys- silver. Indeed, "so mightily grew theteries hidden, from the foundation of word of the Lord and prevailed"the world, and as a result gives us a (Acts 19:20). The Ephesian Chris-glimpse of the marvelous plan of God tians seem,never to have caused Paulfor, the salvation of men-a plan that any serious anxiety or .problems,has done away with the barrier be- though he anticipated such troubletween Jews and Gentiles, once and for after he had left them (Acts 20:29,all, and united them in the one true 30) • His affection for them wasand indivisible body of Christ, the wholeheartedly returned by the Ephe-church of the living God. sian Christians (Acts 20:37, 38), and

There has never been any real rea- this bond between them was neverson to doubt the fact that Paul was broken so far as we know.the human author, or that the saints There is just a hint in Eph. 4: 2 , 3,in Ephesus were the readers' for and in Eph. 4:31, that perhaps somewhom the epistle was primarily in- disunity and quarreling had crept intotended. These points have been all the Ephesian church, but certainly itbut :universally admitted, and there could not have been very serious oris no real reason to enter into any Paul would .have dwelt upon it atdetailed discussion of them. The fact more length, as he did in his letterthat in Colossians 4:16 the church to the church at Corinth (I Cor.there is exhorted to read the letter 1:12 ). Nor is there any evidence thatfrom Laodicea has led a few scholars false doctrines had entered the Ephe-to think that the letter to the 'Ephe- sian church. Perhaps the fact thatsians is really the letter to Laodicea Paul had declared unto them "the The Salutation (l:1. 2)there mentioned. But there is no in- whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27) "Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus".temal evidence in Ephesians to sup- explains why they were as a church Paul never hesitates to set forth, atport such a claim, nor is there any too well grounded in the faith to be the very beginning of his epistles, histrustworthy external evidence in its shaken by "every wind of doctrine" claim to apostolic authority. Insupport. The universal character of (Eph. 4: 14). As a result, in this Galatians he declared that he did notthe Epistle to the, Ephesians and the epistle Paul is not compelled to go derive his apostolic office "from menabsence of any personal messages to back over the rudiments of doctrine, nor through man, but through JesusPaul's Ephesian friends has led some Christ". It is most important thatscholars to think that the epistle was we should recognize this fact at thereally intended as acircular letter; but TABLE OF CONTENTS outset. Paul, though a man, was notthe fact that it was sent by the hand an ordinary man. His writings, thoughof Tychicus (6:21), with oral greet- March 10, 1942 written in his own style, with his ownings and news of Paul himself, is vocabulary, literary training and edu-sufficient explanation of the absence The Epistle to the Ephesians .•........ 65 cational background, differ from all

Floyd E. Hamiltonof such messages in the epistle, while other books in the world outside thethe absence of any specific instruc- The Day of the Lord Jesus Christ ..... 67 Bible in the fact that they were writ-

Robert Strong t d th id, f th H Itions to use it as a circular letter, such en un er e gm ance 0 e a yas he gave in I Cor. 1 :2, II Cor. 1 :1, With the New Books 69 Spirit in such away that they wereand Gal. 1:1, is directly against any Henry Martyn 70 freehfrth0m Gall aerror, adndH~ecamel thesuch claim that the letter was pri- Robert S. Marsden trut at 0 wante IS peop e tomalrill'y writtethn to other churches as Editorial , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 73 have. l!hey thwen: writtedn ~m~er ?iswe as to e church at Ephesus. aposto 1C au onty, an It IS im-Doubtless it was actually read at an Christian Liberty and Man's Chief End.. 74 portant that we should recognizeearly date by the Christians in other Eugene Bradford what that apostolic authority in-churches, but it seems to have been Insincere Promises 75 eluded. An apostle, first of all, was ana personal letter to his beloved friends Burton1. Goddard official witness of the resurrection ofin Ephesus in particular, as it came Tod' th R I" W Id n Jesus Christ (Acts 1:22). Second, he.ay In e e Iglous or .from his hand. Thomas R. Birch (Continued on Page 79)The Presbyterian Guanllan Is published on the lOtI! and 25th ef eac.h month bf The Pres~erl.. Guardian Publishing Corporation. 514 Sohali' Building, 1505 Race Strut,Philadelphia, PL. at tho foil'!'"". rates. pa.vable 111 advance, for either old .r new subocrlbors In any part of the world. postage prepaid: $1.50 per year; $1.00 for eichtmo~tha; five or D.10re copies either to separate addresses or in·a p&ekage to ($a address. $1.00 each per year: introductory rate for new subscribers only. three moo.tbIfor ~"C; lOb per Slllilo copy. Entered as lI800Ild c1ass matter Marob 4. 19j17, at We Poet otlIce at Philadolpbi~, Pa.. under the Act or March 3. 1819.

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shall hear his voice [the voice of theSon of God], and shall come forth:they that have done good, unto theresurrection of life; and they thathave done evil, unto the resurrectionof damnation". Here "the hour" isevidently used as the 'equivalent of"the last day". According to the pre­millennial scheme, "the hour" and"the last day" of which Jesus speaksrefer to a period of at least a thousandyears' duration, for that length oftime is supposed to intervene betweenthe resurrection of the righteous andthe resurrection of the wicked. It isdifficult to accept this interpretationin view of the way our Lord placesthe two resurrections in closest con­nection with no slightest hint of anyseparation in time between them. Itwould rather seem that the terms"the hour" and "the last day" carrywith them the same absolute finalityfound to be associated with the moreusual designations of the coming ofthe Lord.

In the synoptic teaching of Jesusthe expression "that day" is oftenused: Matthew 7=22, "that day"when Jesus judges and casts out theworkers of iniquity who falsely claimto have served Him; 24:36, "thatday" of His coming, of which noman knows, but only the Father;26:29, "that day" of His kingdomwhen the Lord will: again drink ofthe fruit of the vine with His dis­ciples; Luke 21: 34, 35, "that day"for which Jesus' disciples are to watchlest it come on them unawares, "foras a snare shall it come on all themthat dwell on the face of the wholeearth"; Luke 17:24-37, "that day"when the Lord's people are taken tobe with Him and judgment fire fallson the rest of the world.

In Paul's teaching also "that day"has. 'an aspect of reference to thewicked. Some attention has alreadybeen given to the eschatological sec­tion.in II Thessalonians 1, so thatnow it is necessary but to mentionthat it is there taught that when theLord comes to comfort and deliverHis afllicted people, it will also be His

Amillennialism in the New Testament: Part V

By the REV. ROBERT STRONG. S.T.D•P,astor of Calvary Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Willow Grove. Pa.

of 'judgment" when it will be "moretolerable" for Sodom and Gomorrhathan for the cities that have rejectedthe ministry of Christ, and when menshall give an account even for theidle words that they have 'spoken.II Peter 2:9 says that the ungodlywill be reserved for punishment until"the day of judgment". In the nextchapter Peter indicates (3:7) that"the day'of judgment and perditionof ungodly men" will be a day offiery destruction for the earth and theheavens. ;This day he also calls the"day of fie Lord", which, he goes onto say, will come as unexpectedly as athief in the night. This is the sameway in l which, in other places inScripture, it is said that the comingof Christ will occur. And indeed thesubject under discussion in the thirdchapter of II Peter is the parousia.The inference, seems an entirely legit­imateand even inescapable one thatthe day of judgment is at the comingof the Lord.

Romans 2:5, Jude 6, and I John4: 17 are general references to the dayof judgment.

It is ih the Gospel of John that theexpression "the last day" appears.John 6:39-54 has four instances ofits occurrence. 'In each case Jesus isteaching that He will at the last dayraise up those who believe on Him.Martha shows that she has graspedthis truth when, in John 11:24, shesays that' she knows her dead brotherLazarus, will rise at the resurrectionin the last day. Very significant isJohn 12:48, for it shows that notonly will the righteous be raised atthe last day, but the wicked will thenbe judged: "He that rejecteth me,and receiveth not my words, hath

, one that judgeth him: the word thatI have spoken, the same shall judgehim- in ,the last day".

Related to these passages dealingwith the last day is the section, John

r 5:22-29> in which Jesus expounds Hisauthority as judge and life-giver. TheSaviour thus concludes: "Marvel notat this] for the hour is coming, inthe which all that are in the graves

THE PRE S B;Y T ER I A N GU A RD I AN1942

The D'Gy of the Lord Jesus Christ

•O UR study of the terms used in

the New Testament to refer tothe second coming of Christ has in- 'troduced to us these expressions:parousia or coming, Iapokalupsis orrevelation, epiphaneia or appearing,to telos or the end. Now let us con­sider the phrase sunte1eia tou aionosor consummation of the age, and theword hemera (day) 'in the variouscombinations in which it bears aneschatological significance.

Jesus uses the expression sunte1eiatou aionos twice in the parable of thewheat and the tares (Matt. 13: 36-43)and once in the related parable ofthe drag-net (Matt. 1 3:49) . Eachtime it is translated "the end of theworld [the age]". The term clearlydenotes the final harvesting of theworld, when the wicked are to beseparated from the good and de­stroyed. The phrase comes again fromthe lips of Jesus in Matthew 28:20,where the Saviour gives that greatpromise to His disciples: "Lo, I amwith you alway, even unto the end ofthe world". Here the suggestion isplain that the Lord will maintain fel­lowship with His followers so long'as time runs on, that is, until thevery end of time-"the end of theworld". All agree that the end of theperiod to which Jesus was referring inthe promise that accompanied· theGreat Commission is. marked by thepersonal return of the Son of God.The conclusion that is thereforereached for the significance of theexpression sunte1eia tou aionos is thesame as that for the terms alreadystudied. The consummation of theage has associated with it the returnof Christ, the blessing of the right­eous, and the judgment of the wicked.

The word hemera appears 'in a. variety of combinations. Sometimesstanding alone as "the day" or "thatday", it more often is joined with

, modifying phrases, as "day of judg­ment",; "the last day", "the day ofChrist", "the day of the Lord", "theday of God".

Matthew 10:15; 11:22,24; 12:36;and Luke 10:12 speak of "the day

March 10

ceive you by any means: for that dayshall not come, except there come afalling away first, and that man of sin berevealed, the son of perdition.

This passage seems to say plainly thatPaul views the day of the Lord as thetime when Christ shall come for Hispeople. Here he seeks to enlarge onthe thought given in I Thessalonians5 that the day of the Lord will notovertake Christians "as a thief". Theyare to understand that certain eventsmust occur before Christ appears.There will be a falling away, or anapostasy; and the man of sin, or Anti­christ, will come forth to oppose Godand His truth.

The force of this is evaded byC. I. Scofield, who advances the in­terpretation that verse 7 of II Thessa­lonians 2 indicates that the raptureof the church occurs before the ap­pearance of Antichrist. The verse is asfollows: "For the mystery of iniquitydoth already work: only he who nowletteth will let, until he be taken outof the way [more accurately: onlyuntil he who now hindereth be re­moved]. And then shall that wickedbe revealed." Scofield says about thisthat the restrainer is a person-"he",and since a "mystery" always implies asupernatural element, this Person canbe no other than the Holy Spirit inthe church, to be "taken out of theway". In my judgment this is curiousreasoning and may even be called aforced interpretation. The related pas­sage, I Thessalonians 5, and the obvi­ous connection of the day of the Lordas spoken of in II Thessalonians 2:2

with the earthly life of believers makeit impossible to understand the phrase"the day of the Lord" as in any waydifferent in meaning from the day ofChrist's return for His people.

There remains to be considered theuse of "day" in II Peter 3. The wordappears here in two combinations:"the day of the Lord" and "the dayof God". Peter says: .

But the day of the Lord will come as athief in the night; in the which the heav­ens shall pass away with a great noise,and the elements shall melt with ferventheat, the earth also and the works thatare therein shall be burned up . . . [Yeought to be] looking for and hastingunto the coming of the day of God,wherein the heavens being on fire shallbe dissolved, and the elements shall meltwith fervent heat.

"The day of the Lord" is at onceseen to be the same in meaning as

ians 2:2 (where the translation inthe King James Version is "day ofChrist" but should be, according tothe best manuscripts, "day of theLord"); II Peter 3:10. In Acts 2:20Peter quotes from Joel concerning thecoming of the "great and notable dayof the Lord". With this we are notso much concerned, for in Old Testa­-pIent prophecy the day of the Lorddoes not have a fixed reference. (Cf.lsa. 10:3; 13:6; Amos 5:18; Hos.1:11; Joel 2:31; 3: 14; Mal. 4:5.) Itis, however, true that the most char­acteristic features of the Old Testa­ment "day' of Jehovah" have theirconsummate fulfilment in the NewTestament "day of the Lord".

The expression "the day of theLord" first appears in the New Testa­ment (elsewhere than in a quotation)in I Thessalonians 5. Paul has dealt inthe preceding chapter with the com­forting hope of the coming of Christto gather His people. unto Himself.Paul goes on then to say:

But of the times and the seasons,brethren,ye have no need that I write unto you.For yourselves know perfectly that theday of the Lord so cometh as a thief inthe night. For when they shall say, Peaceand safety; then sudden destructioncometh upon them, as travail upon awoman with child; and they shall notescape. But ye, brethren, are not in dark­ness, that that day should overtake youas a thief.

It is difficult to see how in the faceof this passage any distinction be­tween the "day of Christ" and the"day of the Lord" can be maintained.It seems to be clearly taught herethat the .day of the Lord is to belooked for by Christians. It is thetime when the righteous dead shall beraised and living believers transformed.and translated with them. It is alsothe time when the wicked shall beoverwhelmed; the day of the Lordwill come unexpectedly upon themand they shall not escape from itsvengeance.

Almost as great an obstacle in theway of the distinction some wouldmake between the rapture and therevelation is imposed by II Thessa­lonians 2. Here Paul says in part:

Now we beseech you, brethren, by thecoming of our Lord Jesus Christ, andby our gathering together unto him, thatye be not soon shaken in mind, or betroubled, neither by spirit, nor by word,nor by letter as from us, as that the dayof the Lord is at hand. Let no man de-

THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN

purpose to judge and punish thewicked "in that day". In II Timothy4:8 Paul again uses "that day" inconnection with the second comingof Christ.

We come finally to the considera­tion of the use of the word hemerain such phrases as "the day of theLord", "the day of Christ", "the dayof God". It is at this point thatpremillennialists who hold to the ideaof a secret rapture assert that the dis­tinction they make between "therapture" and "the revelation" ismarked out. In the Scofield ReferenceBible, for example, is a footnote onpage 1212 which says that the "day ofChrist" relates wholly to the rewardand blessing of saints at His coming,as "day of the Lord" is connectedwith judgment. In the course of theexamination of the passages usingthese terms, it will be seen whetherthe distinction claimed by C. I. Sco­field, Dr. Feinberg, and others is avalid one.

The Scofield Reference Bible listsonly six occurrences of the phrase"the day of Christ". Properly to beincluded in such a list, however, arethe verses in Luke 17 that speak of"the day of the Son of man"; a phrasethat is exactly equivalent to "the dayof Christ". Luke 1T 24, for example,in comparing the second advent tothe flash of lightning across the sky,says, "So shall also the Son of manbe in his day". Verses 29 and 30 add:"But the same day that Lot went outof Sodom it rained fire and brimstonefrom heaven, and destroyed them all.Even thus shall it be in the day whenthe Son of man is revealed". Thesetexts would seem to make it very clearthat the "day of Christ [or the dayof the Son of man]" has by no meansreference exclusively to the righteous.The passage referred to makes it un­mistakable that in the day when Jesuscomes again for His people, destruc­tion is meted out to the wicked.

The remaining passages where theterm "the day of Christ [day of JesusChrist, day of the Lord Jesus]" ap­pears are I Corinthians 1:8,5:5; IICorinthians 1 :14; Philippians 1:6, 10;2:16. In these the reference is ex­clusively to Christians; Paul's purposeis to impress on them the need ofholiness and to comfort them withthe promise of Christ's return.

The expression "the day of theLord" appears in three passages:I Thessalonians 5:2-5; II Thessalon-

68

·-....·.·....:..1..·.,·.. ·.•.•~~'~

"

69

the second coming of Christ has raisedserious objections to the validity of thepremillennial system. It may be askedwhether any implications may be takenconcerning the relative merits of post­millennialism and amillennialism. Theanswer would seem to be that arnil­lennialism has received support. Theworld to which Christ comes is not,in the Scriptures passages considered,a world that has been converted. It isa world which has been hostile to thegospel of Christ and which has heapedtribulation upon His people. Thepostmillennialism with which we aremost familiar has not been in thehabit of so picturing the course ofworld history as it approaches thesecond advent. The picture is afterthe amillennial view of things ratherthan the postmillennial. Although averdict can by no means yet be en­tered, those preliminary steps havenow been taken which were necessaryto prepare for the exegesis of the con­clusive passages of Scripture which areto be studied in detail in the articleswhich shall follow in the course of thecoming weeks.

Romig, president of the 1940 Gen­eral Synod of the Reformed Churchin America, in an address delivered atthe 1941 General Synod of the samedenomination. Dr. Romig explainedhis position more fully in several is­sues of the denominational weekly,The Intelligencer-Leader, in which hedenied that infants are guilty eitherby the imputation of the guilt ofAdam's first sin or because of theirown sinfulness. Dr. Winfield Burg­graaff, .a minister of the ReformedChurch in America, came to thesupport of Dr. Romig's position inarticles contributed later to The In­telIigencer-Leader. Professor Kuiperdevotes the greater part of his bookletto a refutation of positions taken byDr. Burggraaff in these articles. Pro­fessor Kuiper shows, first, that Scrip­ture teaches the guilt of infants and,second, that this doctrine is embodiedin the Reformed confessions andtaught by representative Reformedtheologians. He also shows. howserious for so- cardinal a doctrine asvicarious atonement through Christ isthe denial of the imputation of the

With the New Books

hold that the events Peter describesare to occur at the coming of theLord. Another argument is thereforeforged against the distinction somewould make between the "day ofChrist" and the "day of the Lord".

The study of the terms used todenote the second coming of Christhas served to disclose that they maybe fairly held to be interchangeable.Parousia, apokalupsis, epiphaeneia, totelos, sunteleia tou aionos, and hemerain its various combinations, all havereference to the coming of Christ inglory, to the resurrection and blessed­ness of the saints at His coming, tothe judgment that will befall thewicked, to cosmical changes that willoccur at Christ's return. No distinc­tion may be' made on the basis of theuse of these terms between "the rap­ture" and "the revelation". The re­turn of Christ, insofar as these NewTestament designations permit us todescribe it, is one unified event hav­ing final reference to all men and tocreation itself.

It is evident, I think, that the studyof the New Testament expressions for

Original SinARE INFANTS GUILTY BEFORE GOD?,

by R. B. Kuiper. Zondervan .PublishingHouse, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1942.25C per copy, five for $1.

A BRITISH theologian of notehas recently written, "It cannot

be stated too emphatically that 'Orig­inal Sin' neither implies nor means'Original Guilt'. The latter expressioncarries with it forensic and penal im­plications which outrage the moralsense. No man may be judged guiltybecause of the misdeeds of his an­cestor. Such a judgment would destroythe very meaning of morality". Hereis an open disavowal. This is surelya question that concerns all of usmost vitally'. It is precisely with thisquestion that Professor Kuiper dealsin the booklet, Are Infants Guilty Be­fore God? He answers the questionemphatically in the affirmative and hesupports his answer with the necessaryevidence.

The particular occasion for ProfessorKuiper's booklet is the express denialof the guilt of infants by Dr. E. F.

THE .p RES BYT ER I A N G UA RDI A N1942

"the day of God". But it is also thesame in meaning as parousia. As wasearlier pointed out, Peter's' purpose inthis chapter of his epistle is to assurebelievers that in spite of the skepticismof the scoffers the Lord will surelycome again. For the scoffers His com­ing (parousia) will mean overwhelm­ing destruction, like that of the earth.It is a dread day indeed for the unbe­liever. But for the Christian it is aday for which he is to prepare by aholy manner of life, by true godliness;it is a day for which he is to look andtoward which he is to hasten witheagerness, because for him it willmean the ushering in of eternal gloryin a new heaven and a new earth.

I have often wondered why theScofield Bible offers no explanation ofthis passage. Dr. Feinberg, who in somany ways follows the Scofield sys­tem and thus is also a representativeof dispensational premillennialism;"speaks passingly of II Peter 3, asfollows:

It is objected further [to premillennialism]that a great conflagration takes place atthe coming of Christ, according to theprophecy of Peter. The apostle speaks inhis Second Epistle of the burning of theheavens and the earth and their displace­ment by the new heavens and new earthwherein dwelleth righteousness. It is im­possible, so goes the objection, for allthis to happen before the alleged' mil­lennium. Premillennialistsdo not placethis before the millennium, but after it.

Now it is all very well for premil­lennialists to say that they place IIPeter 3 after the millennium; thereis of course nothing else to do andmaintain any semblance of the chilias­tic scheme. It is another matter en­tirely for them to show that they havethe right so to treat II Peter 3. Care­ful Bible study does not permit thearbitrary assignment of passages ofScripture to a place that will accom­modatethem to a particular systemof interpretation. The only soundmethod is that of accurate exegesis;our system of belief must be drawnout of the Scripture, not imposedupon it. I do feel that the almostoffhand manner in which II Peter 3has been dealt with by some prernil­lennialists has had an unfortunateeffect upon the credit of the pre­millennial position. A more detailedexamination of this passage will beundertaken later on' in these studies.Enough has been said, however, toshow that there is strong reason to

THE PRESBYTERIAN· GUARDIAN March 10

ever, the total impact of the work iswholesome. The author is to be com­mended for his desire to be faithfulto what he conceives to be the teach­ing of Scripture. We particularly likethe following sentence, "Scripture de­mands assent to all her teachings, notonly to the so-called fundamentals"(p. 129).

We wish this' book success, If itcan be used to win even one personfrom the many vagaries which arebeing proclaimed today under theheading of "prophecy", it will haveproven to be well worthwhile.

~EDwARD J. YOUNG

marked by scholarly achievement, andin 1805 he was ready to sail for Indiaas a chaplain appointed by the EastIndia Company. Anyone knowingMartyn would have known that hewould not confine himself to minis-

. tering to the nominally Christiansoldiers in his care, and the great Wil­liam Carey is said to have remarkedthat where Martyn was there was noneed for a missionary.

His sailing to India was during theNapoleonic wars, and he was eightand a half months en route; the con­voy consisted of sixty-three vesselswhich first visited Brazil, then con­quered the Cape of Good Hope forthe British, before arriving at Calcutta.During the military engagement atthe Cape, Martyn was under fire withthe men to whom he ministered.

The situation which Martyn foundamong the British inhabitants of Indiawas appalling. There were at thattime over 600,000 Europeans inBritish India and but a handful gaveany heed to the gospel. Martyn, ar­riving at Calcutta, immediately calledupon Carey who was even then work­ing at Serampore, near Calcutta. Heassociated himself with Carey and hisparty in the translation work in whichthey were engaged, and he formed anattachment with Joshua Marshman, agreat missionary to whom too littlerecognition has been given.

"Now let me bum out for God",was Martyn's expression on arriving inIndia,and for the remaining six yearsof his life, during all of which he was

,Missionary Heroes of the Past: V

By the REV. ROBERT S. MARSDEN

Henry Martyn

assertions that were made during theperiod of the first W orld War withthose which are being made today,we are amazed that such things canbe. This book also discusses, in an'interesting and competent manner,such themes as Gog and Magog. theVisions of Daniel, How to ReadProphecy?

Graebner writes as a devout Lu­theran and, although we are Presby­terian, we admire him for his devo­tion to Lutheranism. Because he isa Lutheran, however, there are somestatements and attitudes in the bookwith which we cannot agree. How-

THERE are a few great Christiansaints whose greatness depends not

so much upon what they did as uponwhat they were. Such was DavidBrainerd, .missionary to the AmericanIndians; such was Robert Murray Me­Cheyne, Scottish divine and mission­ary; and such was Henry Martyn, EastIndia Company chaplain and mis­sionary. His Journal and Letters isone of the greatest spiritual biographiesof catholic literature, and comparesnot unfavorably with McCheyne's Lifeand Letters. He was deeply influencedby Brainerd who lived in the preced­ing century. All three of these greatsaints died very young-Martyn livedthe longest, dying in his thirty-secondyear. All manifested a rather unhealthyintrospection and an unbiblical pietism,but all were great "saints" in thehighest sense of the word. AlI threehave had a tremendous influence onsuccessive generations of ministers andmissionaries, and he who reads thelives and work of these young menwill be well repaid.

Henry Martyn was born on Febru­ary 18, 1781, in Truro in Cornwall,in the extreme southwest of England,a region which was semi-barbarousuntil the coming of John Wesley andGeorge Whitefield during the eigh­teenth century. His mother died.whilehe was an infant, of tuberculosiswhich Henry inherited and whichinvalided him most of his brief life.Henry was a fine student, serious andintrospective, but riot lacking inhumor. His career at Cambridge was

70

WAll IN THE LIGHT OF PROPHECY,

Was It Foretold? A Reply to ModemChiliasm, by Theodore Graebner. Con­cordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo.,1941. $1.00.

WHAT does the Bible say about.the present war? Is there to be

found .in the Bible some indicationof the outcome of the conflict? Canwe keep one step ahead of events byreading our Bibles instead of ournewspapers? These are questionswhich are being asked by manythoughtful people who are perplexedby the chaos which appears upon allsides. Anyone who can discuss theseand many similar questions in a saneand Scriptural manner is performinga genuine service.

Graebner does just this. In 1918he wrote a treatise entitled Prophecyand the War, in which he discussedthe efforts of the time to "connectWorld War I with Old and NewTestament prophecy". His presentbook is a new and revised edition ofthis earlier work, and in it he en­deavors to show (successfully, wethink) "that W orId War II as little

\ as its predecessor of twenty-five yearsago has any specific relation to theprophecies whose fulfilment is so con­fidently asserted by most Funda­mentalists of today".

The book makes refreshing read­ing. When the author compares the

Prophecy and the War

-JOHN MURRAY

guilt of Adam's first sin. With simpleand pointed cogency he does all thisadmirably.

Professor Kuiper has done greatservice to the cause of truth; he hasdone service to all churches; he hasdone particular service to the Re-

. formed Church in America withinwhich this truth has been so openlydenied. We may well reiterate Pro­fessor Kuiper's closing words, "Maythe Reformed Church in Americahew straight to the line of its doc­trinal standards, and, above all else, ofGod's own Word. And if the brethren

.concerned should retrace their stepsand return all the way to the historicReformed faith, that would be causefor great rejoicing among all who lovethat faith, not only within the Re­formed Church in America, but farbeyond".

71

danism in tracts and pamphlets, all ofwhich he patiently answered. .Histracts were eagerly read by the leadingmen of the community, and the argu­ments in them were found to beirrefutable. More than one of the im­portant men of the city was converted,and for years afterward there .wouldcome to light those whom Martynhad influenced by his personal workand by his writings.

In the midst of this busy life, whichtook so much of his failing strength,he continued his translation work,completing the New Testament andPsalms in Persian and having a num­ber of copies made by hand for theleading men of the country. His Hin­dustani, Arabic and Persian Testa­ments were not published until afterhis death, and it is interesting tonotice that there W;1S no Persian' OldTestament published until more thanhalf a century later. .

When his Persian New Testamentwas completed he set out to presentan embossed copy to the Shah. Thejourney, again in summer, was veryhard on him, and he reached thecapital almost completely exhausted.He remained there for several months,and then, two months before hisdeath, set out on a journey of thir­teen hundred miles across the desert,on horseback. His plan was to returnto England by way of Constantinopleand Syria. He was accompanied onlyby two servants and a heartless guidewho insisted upon journeying some­times forty-eight hours at a time inorder to reach the destination. Thelast ten days of his life, during whichthere are no entries in his journal,must have been agonizing, for hecontinued to travel; he breathed hislast on October 16, 1812. Death camein a small village in Armenia.

Martyn was the first of an all-tao­small company of missionaries whohave undertaken to convert the fanati­cal Mohammedans. This most. un­fruitful of mission fields has long beenneglected; yet in Martyn's very briefministry there were some ngtable con­versions.

Martyn remained unmarried, al­though the story of his love for LydiaGrenfell has become a classic. Heconstantly felt that he could not per-'mit marriage to interfere with his de­votion to his labors for the Lord, forwith him Christ was a consumingpassion, Edr whose service every earthlydesire must be subordinatedI

Maroh-April Book List

MEMl1ERSH IP in the Christian. Book-of-the-Month Club in­

volves only your promise to do one oftwo things: Either purchase four ofthe club books during one year, or, iffewer th311 four are. purchased, remitthe diller~ce between the. club priceand the rftail list price upon receiptof our bilI; at the end of the year. Youcan join merely by sending in yourfirst order .and stating that you wish tobecome a member. Here are the fivebooks offered during March and April:

THE e:JRISTIAN FAITH IN THE MOD­

ERN W<»,lLD, by Dr. J. GreshamMachen. . A book that should beowned by, every Bible-belieVing Chris­tian. Offered at an amazingly low cost.Price to imembers, $1.40 (retail listptice, $2;:members save 30%).

HIS DECEASE AT JERUSALEM, byAbraham !Kuyper. A collection -oi fiftymeditations by one of the greatesttheologians of the past century. Par­ticularly suited to study during theEaster season. Price to members, $1.20(retail lis~ price, $1.50; members save20%).

WAR *' THE LIGHT OF PROPHECY,by Theo4iore Graebner. One of thebest books we have read on the sub­ject of BJble prophecies and the pres­ent war. Sane and Scriptural, and ex­ceedingly: well written. Price to mem­bers, 80c((retai1list price, $1; memberssave 20%).

THE !\.AN OF SALVATION, by B. B.Warfield, Comprehensive and luciddiscussioas of the varying views ofsalvation, from the ,pen of a mastertheologiap. These famous lectures by.Dr. Watpe1d are a permanent contri­bution t(l the field of systematic the-'ology. Price to members, 80c (retaillist price, $1; members, save 20%).

THE 4IFE AND TIMES OF JESUS THE

MESSlAHr by Alfred Ede:sheirn. T~sstandard' work on the life of Christhas now been reprinted, more thanhalf a century after its first .publication.Two vo~mes, over 1500 pages, com­plete references and [ndex, Price tomembers, per set $2.80 (retail listprice, $1.50; members save 20%).

THE ,p RES B'Y T ERI A N G UA RD I AN1942

in most feeble health, he was literallyon fire for the Lord. He was trans­ferred by the company up the Oangesto Dinapore, where he received a coolreception from the troops. He becameattracted not so much to the Hindusas to the large Mohammedan popula­tion, and he determined to ministerprimarily to them. To this end hebegan preparation of the New Testa­ment in Hindustani, completing it inbut a few months. He read diction­aries and grammars of Eastern lan­guages the way most men read a novel,and more than once he completedthe reading of a difficult grammar inless than a week. In India he learnedto read, write and speak Arabic,

. 'Persian and Hindustani, as well as theLatin, Greek and Hebrew in whichhe had become proficient at home.His knowledge of Arabic was superiorto that of any Englishman in allIndia.

His health gradually became worsein the difficult climate of the Gangesvalley, and he determined to go toPersia and Arabia, the better to minis­ter to the Mohammedans. His journeyinto Persia is one of the most heart­rending of stories. Journeying by night,wracked by alternate chills and fever,many times fainting, he traveled forweeks on horseback into Persia, withthe thermometer standing 126° inthe shade. All day long he lay withwet towels about him to combat thefever within and the heat without,and at night, after a sleepless day, hewas again on his journey.

Arriving at the provisional capitalhe began the most fruitful two yearsof his labor. The dry climate aidedhis condition, and he worked inces­santly on his Persian New Testament.He began it in June of 1811 and com­pleted it in February 1812! He spenthours disputing with the. PersianMohammedans who were much lessbigoted than the Arabians. All daylong. they came to visit him, and atnight often into the morning hourshe disputed with them. He writes- .and this occasion is typical-"Wetalked incessantly for four hours uponthe evidence of the two religions[Christianity and Mohammedanism],the Trinity, Incarnation, etc., untilI was quite exhausted,. and felt thepain in my breast which I used tohave in India".

His disputations caused such a stirin the city that all kinds of championswent to the defense of Mohamme-

March 10

accurately informed Covenanter wouldinstantly repudiate all of them. Thereal Covenanter position on thesematters may be summarized as follows:'

1. The Scottish Covenants were thenation's response to God's command,which command is derived by in­ference from the character of the stateas a moral agent under the mediatorialgovernment of Christ.

2. Civil government as a functionbelongs to the sphere of commongrace, but the state as an institution isa moral agent under the mediatorialrule of Christ and therefore owesallegiance to Him as the Ruler ofnations.

3. The church must proclaim thewhole counsel of God, including whatScripture teaches about the qualifica­tions for civil office, but the churchmay not invade the sphere of the stateto see that this teaching is acceptedand practiced, nor may the churchpresume to decide what persons possessScriptural qualifications for civil office.

4. Just as every individual is boundto search the Scriptures and exerciseprivate judgment in interpreting theircontents, so the state as a moral agentmust decide for itself what Scriptureteaches about civil government, andis responsible to God for the practicalexecution of this teaching.

In his book, Popular Lectures onTheological Themes, Dr. A. A. Hodgewrote: "It is our duty, as far as liesin our power, immediately to organizehuman society and all its institutionsand organs upon a distinctively Chris­tian basis" (page 327)' This is pre­cisely what Covenanters are contend­ing for. The difference between theirposition and that of Dr. Hodge con­sists in the fact that Covenanters claimthe right to occupy the position ofpassive dissent and remain aloof fromparticipation in a government whichin their judgment is not organized"upon a distinctively Christian basis".The notion that the church shouldrule the state is utterly abhorrent tothe Covenanter position, which recog­nizes that the state is an independentsovereignty directly responsible toGod.

In closing I wish to express myhearty thanks for your courtesy inproviding space so that the Covenanterposition could be clarified for yourreaders. .

Very sincerely yours,JOHANNES G. VOS

January 19, 1942

~l subscriptions for menin the armed forces of

the United States may beentered at the rate of onedollar a year. The PresbyterianGuardian hopes that thosewho have friends now servingin the defense of the nationwill order gift subscriptions intheir names.

.The Armed Forces

To the Editors ofTHE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN

Gentlemen:Dr. Reid holds that the Covenan­

ters' doctrine of civil government in­volves something which "is the veryheart of the popish doctrine of theauthority of the Church". I do notquestion the validity of Dr. Reid'slogic nor do I deny his right to use it,but I do challenge the accuracy ofsome of the premises from which hisreasoning starts. There is a wide di­vergence between Dr. Reid's infer­ences and the principles actually pro­fessed by the Covenanters. In orderthat your readers may realize this, andnot imputefn the Covenanters posi­tions which they do not maintain, Ishall set forth the principles actuallyheld by the Covenanters in contrastto Dr. Reid's inferences, with respectto four of his criticisms.

Dr. Reid maintains that the doc­trines of the Covenanters necessarilylead to the following propositions:1. That the Scottish Covenants re­sulted from the nation's offer, notfrom God's command. 2. That civilgovernment belongs to the sphere ofspecial grace, not to that of commongrace. 3. That the church must rulethe state by deciding what persons arequalified to hold civil office. 4. Thatthe decision of the church, enforceablein civil courts, is necessary for knowl­edge of the will of God concerningthe state.

As a matter of fact, neither in Scot­land nor anywhere else does the Re­formed Presbyterian Church counte­nance such teachings as these. Any

THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN72

TheScottisll Covenanters(EDITOR'S NOTE: In THE PRESBY­

TERIAN GUARDIAN for December 25,1940, there was published a reviewby W. Stanford Reid of the book,The Scottish Covenanters, by theRev. Johannes G. Vos. Mr. Vos feltthat the review did not at certainpoints fairly represent his position,and wrote the editors of THE PRESBY­TERIAN GUARDIAN a letter explainingin detail the points to which he ob­;ected. Much as the editors wouldhave liked to publish it, the length ofthe letter precluded any possibility ofso doing. Accordingly, it was referredto Dr. Reid with the request that, itpossible, he clear up any misconstruc­tions which may have been placedupon his review. Dr. Reid's letterand Mr. Vos' supplement are pub­lished in the hope that accuracy and

. fairness will thereby be served.)

To the Editors ofTHE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN

Dear Sirs:Some time ago I received a letter

from Mr. Vos in regard to my re­view of his book entitled The ScottishCovenanters in the December 25thissue of your paper. He took' objectionto a number of my statements butowing to lack of space I do not wishto take them up in detail.

I would like to point out, however,that I cannot understand why Mr. Vosshould think that I was referring toAmerican Covenanters when I was re­viewing a book on Scottish Covenan­ters. Such a thought never enteredmy mind. .

Then too I would like to point outthat it does not seem exactly fair forMr. Vos to quote what I said weremy views of the ultimate conclusionsto which Covenanters should come, asthough I said that they were actuallyviews held by the Covenanters. Hecan deny the validity of my logic, butnot my right to use it. I do not be­lieve that I have misrepresented theCovenanters of Scotland in any way,although I did venture to criticizethem and point out what I believe tobe the essential weaknesses of theirposition.

Hoping that this will settle theaccusations of misrepresentations, andthanking you for your valuable space,

I remain,Sincerely yours.

W. STANFORD REIDNovember 5, 1941

73

time stress that God alone is Lord ofthe conscience. To Caesar his dues,but never at the expense of that whichwe owe to God. Even,if the state wereto suppress only false religions wecould not give such suppression oursupport, for the only sword we maylawfully use in the propagation of thegospel is the Sword of the Spiritwhich is the Word of God. We arepeculiarly blessed in living in a coun­try where we are free to worship Godaccording to His Word. God grantthat the exigencies of war may notimpair that freedom!

Expositions in Ephesians

WE invite your attention to a newseries of expositions in the book

of Ephesians beginning in this issue.The author is the Rev. Floyd E.Hamilton, missionary to Korea whois now residing in' California. THE

PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN believes thatthe Bible is the very Word of God,that the living God speaks to usthrough its pages. Nothing, there­fore, is more important for man thanthat he learn more of what God saysto us in His Book. It is for this highpurpose that we have undertakenthese expositions. Perhaps no book inthe Bible contains greater riches forthe student than the 'book of Ephe­sians with its wondrous exaltation of

-J. P. C.

The Seven Day Week

REMEMBER the sabbath day, tokeep it holy". This command of

the Decalogue has not been abro­gated by the war. We know that Jesustaught the validity of works of neces­sity on the Sabbath and we would notdeny that war increases the number ofthese works. MacArthur's men cannotcease to fight upon the Lord's Day,and it may be that it is just as im­portant that munitions plants operateon the holy day. But a Sabbath-dese­crating America is using the war asan excuse to break down what littleremains of the sanctity of the day.Let each Christian make sure that hisSunday work is a work of necessity,and let him, though weary from toil,refresh his spirit in the morning andevening worship of God's people inGod's house.

-J. P. C.

ment. In this sense we are intolerant.But the judgment is God's-notman's! The Lord has not given to thestate nor to the church nor to the in­dividual the right to coerce heretics toembrace the truth.

Our Bill of Rights expressly pro­vides for religious freedom. TheUnited States government has l}eversought to repress religious groups onthe ground that they teach error. But,someone may say, what if religiousgroups under the guise of religiousfreedom attack the government or ob­struct its conduct of the war? Has thegovernment no right to restrict them?We answer that the government, asan ordinance of God, has the right torepress those who would undermineor destroy its power provided that thegovernment does not claim preroga­tives that belong to God alone. Hitlerhas no right to imprison Niemoellerbecause he opposes the Nazi deifica­tion of the state. The United Statesgovernment would have no right toorder ministers to preach a holy cru­sade against Japan and imprison thosewho refused to do so. Any state whichsets itself. above God is an unlawfulstate. But, if the state does not as­sume unlawful power, it has the rightto put down rebellion against it,though that rebellion be disguised ina cloak of. religion.

However, the state, so far as is con­sistent with its own safety, shouldtolerate dissent. For example, we re­joice that the United States govern­ment deals gently with conscientiousobjectors. Most of us believe that theobjectors are in error,' but in a warfor freedom it is better to allow thisfreedom than ruthlessly to suppress it.Jehovah's' Witnesses consider it anact of idolatry to salute the flag andrefuse to do so. Such an act is foolishand unscriptural, but it is not as suchtraitorous. The government has noright to force children to salute flagsin schoolrooms. Loyalty to one's coun­try does not depend upon such out­ward acts, and to expel children forrefusal to obey is to deny religiousliberty. If Jehovah's Witnesses canbe proven to be traitors; let' them beprosecuted-but not upon the basisof such an arbitrary command.

Modem war greatly increases thepower and authority of the state.Under such conditions there is anever-present peril that the state willseek to be lord of the conscience. Forthat reason, we must especially at this

THE ,PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN

EDITORIAL

1942

War Hysteria andReligious Liberty

W E are happy to note that therehas been little persecution of

foreign or minority groups in Americaunder the impulse of war hysteria. Weare also thankful that thus far thechurches have not given themselvesto the hymns of hate to which theysuccumbed so lamentably in WOrldWar I. It would appear that as apeople we are more cognizant of thedeep-seated causes of war and of theneed for balanced judgment than wewere a quarter of a century ago. Yetthe stress and strain of war threatensto arouse intolerant passions towardsthose individuals or groups which areconceived to be unpatriotic. Hencethe peril to religious liberty is alwaysmore acute in wartime.

That this peril is not merely the­oretical is seen in renewed reports ofpersecution of the sect known asJehovah's Witnesses. School childrenbelonging to this group have been ex­pelled recently from schools in NewHampshire, New York and Oklahomafor refusal to salute the flag. Now wehold no brief for Jehovah's Witnesses.We consider them to be religious

, "crackpots" propagating a false re­ligion. We recognize that they areintolerant, unreasonable and usuallytruculent. It is not the Witnesses inwhom we are interested; it is theprinciple of religious liberty so dearand important to us. Let us then seekto define that principle, which wehold to be both American and Chris­tian.

In the first place, our plea fortoleration is not based, as are so manypleas, upon indifference to truth. Wedo not grant that all religions areequally true and are therefore to beequally tolerated. The historic Chris­tian faith is the true faith and allothers, including Jehovah's Witnesses,are false. We do not grant that menhave the right to reject God and Histruth. They shall answer to Him fortheir rejection on the day of judg-

Christ,ian Liberty and Manis Chief End

T HE .pRES B Y T ERI AN' G U A RD I A N March 10

,-J. P. C.

"to the praise of the glory of hisgrace."

God's purpose in creation, how­ever, is inseparable from His purposein redemption. Not only did He pur­pose to create man who should glorify

.Him but also, in view of man's apos-tasy, He predestinated a portion ofhumanity "unto the adoption ofchildren by Christ Jesus to himself,according to the good pleasure of hiswill, to the praise of the glory of hisgrace" (Eph. 1:5, 6). Thus the pur­pose of God in creation is accom­plished through His purpose in re­demption. Redemption is Cod'smaster-strategy to thwart the effortsof Satan. Now again, through theredemption purchased by Christ,man is able to glorify God' and toenjoy Him forever. Again he can say:"Thou hast made us for Thyself, 0Lord: and our heart is restless till itfinds its rest in Thee" (Confessi~nsof St. Augustine). As in creation manwas meant to reflect the glory of hisMaker, so in redemption he is enabledto attain this great end. Every aimmust be subordinatedto this, because"God hath made all things for him­self".

Focusing attention on the ex-.perience of the individual, the ques­tion arises, When and how does manexperience the change from the glori­fying of self to the glorifying of God?The question may well be answeredin terms of liberty. The corruption offallen man is deep-seated and compre­hensive. It is rooted in his heart ofhearts, and pervades every thought,desire, and act. He thinks selfishlyand knows, only the evil god of thisworld; he revels in the vainglory ofself-love; he wallows in the mire ofworldly stagnation and disobedienceto the divine will. He may think heis a free creature and talk boastinglyof his strength of character, but thefact remains that he has changed thetruth of God into a lie, and worshipsand serves the creature rather thanthe Creator. Living the malignant lie

GUARDIAN may learn more of their"spiritual blessings in heavenly placesin Christ" and may live more fully

Young People·s Topics

THE article on this page will be anaid in studying the young people's

lessons published by the Committeeon Christian Edl.Jcation of The Ortho­dox Presbyterian Church, which maybe secured from the Rev. Richard W.Gray, 7 Franklin Avenue, Montclair,N. T. "Applied Christianity" is thesubject being studied during Marchand April.

man's eternal ability to iive. to theglory of God as His prophet, priest,and king, without sin. His enjoymentof God would have been unceasing.,But our first parents, acting for alltheir natural descendants, forfeitedthis blessed privilege "because that,when they knew God,they glorifiedhim not as God, neither were thank­ful; but became vain in their imagina­tions, and their foolish heart wasdarkened, Professing themselves to bewise, they became fools, and changedthe glory of an incorruptible God intoan image made like to corruptibleman, and to birds, and fourfootedbeasts, and creeping things (Rom.1:21-23). At the behest of Satanman chose to become as God, know­ing good and evil. At the moment hesubmitted to this temptation of thedevil, he ceased glorifying God andbegan to glorify himself. Likewise atthat moment the true liberty whichhe possessed as the image-bearer ofGod vanished. He exchanged it forSatan's slave-chains. Setting himselfup against God, he could enjoy onlythe fruit of his own evil works, andwe are told that the wages of sin isdeath (Rom. 6:23). Having forsakenthe glory of God, his enjoyment ofGod must be at an end. Thecumula­tive force of the sinful purposeswhich now controlled his heart wassoon so great that "every imaginationof the thoughts of his heart was onlyevil continually" (Gen. 6:5) .

By the REV. EUGENE BRADFORDPastor of FalHt Independent Church. Fawn Grove, Pa.

74

the grace of God in Jesus Christ. It isour prayer that through Mr. Hamil­ton's articles the readers of the

•,THE most evident thing in all the

Scriptures is that God is infinitein His being and perfections. Sincethis is so, He added nothing to Hisessential glory either in creation or inredemption; He is no greater forhaving performed these 'deeds. Butthe Bible speaks of God's glory asalso declarative, for the Psalmist singsthat the heavens declare the glory ofGod, and the firmament showeth Hishandiwork (Psalm 19:1), and theApostle Paul predicts that the Lordshall come to be glorified in Hissaints, and to be admired in themthat believe in that day (II Thess.1:10). So, although nothing can beadded to God's glory, we may under­stand that He created the heavensand the earth to manifest His glory,and that He redeemed fallen man for'the same purpose. Especially does.man, the highest earthly. creature ofGod, manifest the perfections of thedivine Being. He is the only creaturemade in the image of God, the onlyone which possessed knowledge,righteousness, and holiness. Greaterprivilege carries greater obligation, soman should actively seek to reflectGod's purpose in creation and re­demption. "Man's chief end is toglorify God, and to enjoy him forever" (Shorter Catechism, 1 ). Hewas created to be God's prophet,priest, and king. As prophet, manwas to think God's thoughts afterHim; as priest, he was to dedicatehimself and all creation to God; asking, he was' to have dominion overthe world as God's vicegerent. Thisis man in the image of God; this isman living to the glory of God.

When God put Adam and Eve onprobation in the Garden of Eden itwas a just probation. Man was notsubject to any outward coercionstronger than his own will which wasinherently bent to glorify God. If hehad endured the probation success­fully, the result would have been

THE .pIE 58 YT EI I A N GU A I D I A N

Insincere PromisesA Meditation on Jeremiah 42:1-43:7

By the REY. BURTON L ~ODDARD

.75

by the history of the Jews afterNebuchadnezzar of Babylon had putan end to the rule of the line ofDavid and left Gedaliah as governorin Jerusalem.

It was a time of confusion, conflictand bloodshed. Gedaliah was mur­dered. The assassin found his ownposition insecure and fled in the faceof popular opposition. New leaderswere recognized by the people, Olenproud in their own conceit.

For some reason-perhaps becausethey hoped for some favo~1>le

word from the prophet which wouldstrengthen' their hold over the people-they sought out Jeremiah, urgedhim to pray for them unto the Lord,and stoutly affirmed that they wouldwalk in whatever way God shoulddirect.".

Admitting the folly.of their nation

is "fulness of joy", and at His righthand there. are "pleasures for ever­more" (Psalm 16:11). Though thebeliever's joy is only partial in this life,he must realize that his present happi­ness is a pledge and foretaste of theimmediate and immeasurable blissthat will be his through all eternity.

Release' from the sinful motivesthat once characterized the believerenables him again to be God's repre­sentative on the earth. The Christianis God's prophet. He realizes thatGod's thoughts must be his thoughts,so he thinks God's thoughts afterHim, seeking to bring into captivity"every thought to the obedience ofChrist" (II Cor. 5:10). The Chris­tian is God's priest. He knows he isbought with a price, therefore hewould glorify God and dedicate him­self and all the world to God. TheChristian is God's king over theearth. All things are his, and he isChrist's, and Christ is God's, so hewould seek to win the world forChrist (I Cor. 3:21, 23). Whetherhe eats, or whether he drinks, orwhatsoever he does, he would do allto the glory of God (I Cor. 10:31),"for of him, and through him, andunto him, are all things, to whom beglory for ever" (Rom. 11: 36). This,and this alone, is "man's chief end".

Stolltly AtlirmedThat Adtlf Hitler was not the first

giver of insincere promises is attested

eminent place to the glory of God, itdoes not lose sight of man's eternalwelfare. Man's chief end is not onlyto glorify Gop; but also to enjoy Himfor ever. How beautifully it preservesthe balance :between man's duty togive undisputed glory to God andman's own, everlasting happiness!Man cannot possibly enjoy Godunless he glorifies Him; but if hedoes, glorify· God, there can be noquestion that he will be eternallyblessed. Th~ glorifying and enjoyingof God "are connected by rich andsovereign grace, persuading and en­abling the sinner to embrace JesusChrist as the only way to \God andglory" (Fisher's Catechism, p. 9)'

Man's eriioyment of God restsupon the liberty which Christ haspurchased for all believers. Thisliberty consists not only in freedomfrom sin, guilt, condemnation, andeverlasting death, but also in the be­liever's free access to God, his abilityto obey the divine will out of a child­like love and. a ready mind, boldnessto approach. the throne of grace, andthe free gift of the Holy Spirit(Westminster Confession, XX: 1) .Does not U1is freedom, with all itsaccompanying blessings, enable theChristian to find his entire enjoymentin God? Yes, in God's presence there

,

IF THERE is one man living whosevery name is to millions a symbol

of contempt, that man is Germany'sdictator, Adolf Hitler. He is littledeserving of respect. His pledged wordcannot be trusted. He promises onething and does another. Months agohe assured the world that a certainmovement of territorial expansion.wasthe last his country would seek. Notlong afterward, the nations of theworld awoke to the realization that hispromise h~ been entirely void of _sincerity, and had been given only toaid him in; achieving certain desiredends. Since; that time he has shownhimself to merit the title, Prince ofLiars.

1942

of Satan, and being ravaged by hisown evil deeds and selfish desires, hecannot change his selfish purpose inlife. The change cannot come fromwithin, nor can it come from anypower in the world. He must be bornagain. Only the supernatural power ofthe Holy Spirit can deliver the sinnerfrom the power of darkness and trans­late him into the kingdom of God'sClear Son. And not until a man hasexperienced this new birth is he setfree from his well-formed habit ofself-glorification. Then, and onlythen, can he begin to pursue thechief end for which he was created-a­the glory of God.

The first exercises of the regen­erated man are repentance and faith.Consequently, we may say that theChristian first glorifies God when,with grief and hatred for his sin, heturns from it, and flees to Christ forrefuge and deliverance. This is thepoint where Biblical ethics differsmost radically from its arch-foe,Modernism. Bible-denying Modern­ists do not believe sin to be an offenseagainst God; neither do they acceptthe necessity of the atoning work ofChrist, since man, .they say, is notreally lost. In other words, the onlyessentials to so-called Christian livingare good works designed for the goodof man. The glory of God is lostsight of entirely. Against this soul­destroying philosophy we must holdto the distinctiveness of the Biblicalteaching that "without faith it isimpossible to please God" (Heb.11:6). In no greater way can manpraise God than by believing Hisword of grace, and trusting Christ forhis eternal welfare. This is necessarybefore God can be pleased by othergood works.

The desire to glorify God must not. stop, however, with initial faith."Herein is my Father glorified," saidJesus, "that ye bear much fruit"(John 15:8). The Christian mustseek at all times and in ever-increasinglove to manifest the holiness and loveof God by righteous living and merci­ful deeds. All other ends, no matterhow worthy they may appear to be,must give way to magnifying Hisname. Personal prestige, the good ofthe community, and even the salva­tion of souls must never supplant ourchief end.

The answer to the first question ofthe Westminster Shorter Catechismis not one-sided. Though it gives pre-

March 10

THE Committee on Foreign Mis­sions of The Orthodox Presby­

terian Church met in regular sessionon February 13th, and was pleasedto receive the reports of the treasurerindicating that again there has beenan increase in the contributions forits work. The increase is attributableto the fact that almost every churchin the denomination is making astrenuous effort to have each membercontribute at least a little somethingregularly to the cause of missions.

The committee granted a leave ofabsence for one year to the Rev. R.Heber McIlwaine, who has been un­able to return to his field in Japanbecause of the war.

The committee heard the reportsof the Rev. Robert S.. Marsden, gen­eral secretary, concerning the situa­tion of the missionaries who are nowin 'the Far East. He reported thatnothing had been heard from theRev. and Mrs. Bruce F. Hunt andtheir five children, the Rev. EgbertW. Andrews, and the Rev. and Mrs.Malcolm C. Frehn and their'daugh­ter, since before the outbreak of hos-

if you were healed. Were you utteringmere words, words which you havemade no seriousattempt to fulfill?

God hates all insincerity, all deceit.His moral law reads, "Thou shalt notbear false witness". That concernswhat you have to say about yourneighbor; it also condemns any falsepronouncement which you frame inyour heart or let fall from your lips.You may deceive others by pretensesof piety and earnestness, but not Godl

It is good to repent of sin andpledge yourself, with Christ's help, toa new life of obedience to Him whois Lord of heaven and earth. It is anabominable thing, a thing severelycondemned by God, to make falsevows of any kind in the hope ofachieving some kind of gain. It werefar better for you if such insincerepromises had never been made!

Fear God! He is a God of honestyand truth. Let your speech be straight­forward and devoid of even the sug­gestion of deceit. You cannot deceiveGod, but you can reap His wrathl

MISSION COMMITTEE UNABLETO REACH FOREIGN WORKERS

this test would tell.God has a way of searching our

motives and sincerity by ,testing us inlike manner. The storekeeper is testedin regard to his particular sin, theunfaithful husband in regard to his,the once-indifferent aspirant to churchmembership in regard to his. God isnot satisfied with a general outwardappearance of reformation. He con­fronts us directly with our past be­setting sin and bids us choose be­tween it and Himself. Only such atesting will definitely establish oursincerity.

Contemptuously BrokenThe dissembling of the Jews was

immediately apparent. They had nointention whatever of altering theirplans so that they would coincide withthe revealed will of God. If God'sdirections had not crossed their own

.purposes, they undoubtedly wouldhave advertised widely that they werenobly carrying out His desire. Butwhen the prophetic word proved con­trary to their design, they built higherthe bars of deceit and claimed thatJeremiah was falsely representingGod's word. Thus they revealed theircontempt for promises made beforeGod.

Their actions offered swift and con­vincing proof of their insincerity. Tak­ing Jeremiah and others with them,they hastened down into Egypt indirect disobedience to God's com­mand. Promises to the contrary? Whocould be simple enough to believe thatthey really meant them?

The storekeeper doubtless had asimilar thought when he drifted backinto a dishonest life, though I amsure he was not quite so insincerewhen he made his vows. The incon­stant husband probably smiled to him­self at the naivete of the minister ashe continued his life of infidelity. Thenew church member soon lost hiscloak of piety, but was ever arrogantand' unashamed. Their promises wereinsincere. They were contemptuouslybroken!

Did you ever, before God, take avow concerning spiritual things? Howhave you kept that vow? Has it with­stood severe testing and remained un­broken? Or did it amount only to somany words and nothing more?

It need not have been a promisemade before men. Perhaps it was upona sickbed, and you told God youwould serve Him and live to His glory

THE ,PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN76.

in disregarding God's prophetic warn­ings, they were emphatic in assertingthat they had learned their lesson andwould henceforth obey God in allthings. It sounded as though theymeant it. Jeremiah evidently thoughtso. Although it seemed too good to betrue, it actually appeared as thoughthey were sincere in their vows andhad a heart-desire to follow the waysof their covenant God.

How Jeremiah must have rejoiced!How many a pastor rejoices whensome wayward soul unexpectedly con­fesses his wrong and declares. thathenceforth he is going to do the willof Godl Such instances are of com­mon occurrence. A storekeeper witha guilty conscience rises in church,makes a confession of sin, and prom­ises to live a new life. A man whohas been untrue to his wife assuresthe minister that he will mend hisways. Someone known for spiritualindifference wants to join the church,puts on a garb of piety, makes a boldChristian profession, and is receivedinto the church. Surely, we feel, theremust be rejoicing in heaven!

Severely TestedWhether or not the people of

Judah and their new leaders were inearnest in making a vow of obedienceto God was shortly to be determined.The Babylonians had despoiled boththe nation and its substance. Egyptwas friendly, since it, too, was anobject of conquest for Nebuchad­nezzar. If there was a haven of rest forthe harassed -Jews, it seemed to beEgypt. In Egypt one might hope forsafety, comfort and material abun­dance. Moreover, the band of Jewswhich had so staunchly affirmed theirintention to follow out God's instruc­tions had their minds made up to fleedown into this land of refuge.

But God had constantly warnedJudah against courting the friendshipand help of. the pagan people whodwelt in the land of the Nile. Norhad He changed one iota in that re­spect. Egypt was still as idolatrous asever. Would the Jews obey God?Then let them stay out of this godlessland! That was the word God had forJeremiah to give the people.

Like the words of God's Son inlater times, it seemed like a "hardsaying". It ran directly contrary toany hope they may have had. Thetesting came at the sorest spot pos­sible. If they really meant business,

THE ,PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN 77

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must insist that devotion to Christ willonly increase loyal support of the govern­ment and willing submission to its de­mands.

Above all, he must enable his hearersto retain their vision of the universal mis­sion of the church. He must foster a spiritof brotherhood which transcends all bar­riers of race and blood. He must furthera world-wide proclamation of the Gospelof redeeming grace, and encourage thehope that men who are transformed bythe Spirit of Christ will hasten the comingof the Kingdom of God.

DR. SPEER: What is the duty of theChurch in the present crisis?

1. To proclaim the law of righteous­ness and justice as binding on nations aswell as individuals.

2. To discountenance all compromisewith evil and all appeasement of wrongdoers.

3~ To discourage all vain boasting andfoolish predictions.

4. To continue to proclaim humanunity and to denounce all denial of it, byfalse nationalism and racialism.

5. To bind our own people together inunity and concord, to condemn all selfishexploitation in the interest of any class orgroup, to continue to call for the substi-

comes possible.Reports of the progress of an at­

tempt to open a new field of servicein Latin America were heard. Thecommittee has been in communica­tion with two possible fields, and itdetermined also' to investigate a thirdwhich was brought to its attention.The committee requests the prayersof the GUARDIAN readers, that it maybe led to a field where there will bea minimum.' of the governmental re­strictions which surround missionaryendeavor inmost parts of the world,and where the Lord has many peoplewho should be called out of heathendarkness into His marvelous light.

Robert E. Speer, who as ecclesiasticalQuislings have so repeatedly posed asthe champions of orthodoxy whilegiving aid and comfort to the enemiesof the gospel, had something to sayabout "the duty of the church in thepresent crisis". At the risk of clutter­ing up this column with trivia,wequote their declarations in full andchallenge any reader to discover ineither of them the true essence ofBiblical Christianity:

DR. ERDMAN: At this time of worldtragedy the task of the Christian ministeris one of increased difficulty but one ofenlarged opportunity. He must not affectsuch a detachment from current catas­trophe as to appear lacking in sympathyand intelligence; on the other hand, heis not to rehearse the reports of militaryand political movements which are fillingthe minds of his hearers.

First of all he is to be a minister ofconsolation. He is to inspire calm andconfidence in hours of panic and fear; togive courage and cheer to those who arefainting and distressed; to comfort thosewho mourn and are crushed and are indespair. It must be done by no expressionsof mere superficial optimism nor by piousplatitudes, but by assurances which springfrom a deep conviction of the power andpurposes of God, who for those that trustin him can, bring good out of evil andlight out of darkness and life out of death.

Furthermore, the minister must instructhis people in the Scriptural principles ofChristian citizenship. He must distinguishbetween the provinces of the church andof the state, between individual action andnational defense, between the- dictates .ofconscience and the decrees of rulers. He

1942

Today in the Religious WorldBy THOMAS R. BIRCH

The Duty of the Church

TW ENTY ecclesiastical big-wigs ofthe Presbyterian Church in the

U.S.A., among them twelve ex-mod­erators and assorted board secretariesand college presidents, have attemptedto tell their denomination "The Dutyof the Church in the Present Crisis",in the January issue of The Presby­terian Tribune. Only one of thetwenty, Dr. Clarence Edward Macart­ney, sounds a truly Christian note.SaysDr. Macartney: "The duty of thePresbyterian Church ... is to do whatour Lord commanded her to do--topreach the Everlasting Gospel of Re­demption through a crucified Son ofGod, and to call men to repentancetoward God and faith in the LordJesus Christ. The Church that doesthat does its highest duty".

The other nineteen spokesmen, rep­resenting the highest offices in thePresbyterian Church in the U.S.A.,spoke piously of patriotism, of thebrotherhood of man and the father­hood of God, of the unity of mankinddespite seeming disunity, of the needfor Red Cross work, of the Chris­tianity of America, and of the minis­try of consolation. Among thosewhose trumpets gave forth this uncer­tain sound were two whose words we..ead with a great deal of interest, forone of them had led the oppositionagainst Dr. Machen at Princeton Sem­inary and the other had fought himvigorously when he exposed the unbe­lief in the Board of Foreign Missions.Dr. Charles R. Erdman and Dr.

Ii ~~eili~~ ~;~e;r~J~ ~~:fu~n~~~~~ mittee considered making a new at-

'\ tempt through the Swiss government\which is handling diplomatic affairs

'in Japan and Manchukuo for theUnited States. The treasurer's state­ments showed that the amounts owingto these missionaries with whom thecommittee has been out of contactare being held in a carefullysegregatedfund, for payment to them whenthey are again able to receive theirsalaries and allowances..The commit­tee is also trying to build up a smallreserve fund to be used for the open­ing of a new field as soon as that be-

"We Should 'Consider •• :.By the REY. SAMUEL J. ALLEN

Opinions expreued In this column erethose of the writer, end ere not necessarilythose of the editors nor representetlve ofthe edltorlel policy of "The PresbyterianGuardlen." COrrespondence on the sub­iects discussed Is Invited.

More About the Pos....War World

THE Federal Council of theChurches of Christ in America,

controlled by pacifists, is not the onlygroup which is asserting or implyingthat the post-war world must be col­lectivistic in character. There aremany, like Ralph W. Page of thePhiladelphia Evening Bulletin staff,who are \vholeheartedly opposed toAxis gangsterism, but who say thatsome kind of socialism is inevitable.'

Mr. Page urges conservatives toforget the myth of the red menace,and denounces the Dies Committeefor including Communists and Com-

are printed might 'better be used assalvage in the nation's waste papercampaign.

The National Conference of Chris-.tians and Jews, in connection with tIleIobservance of so-called Brotherhood I

Week, has released a pronouncementwhich in itself is no more significantthan any other. But the list of itssigners reads like a Social Register ofblue-ribbon Modernists, and includesStated Clerk William Barrow Pughand Auburn Affirmationists GeorgeA. Buttrick and Henry Sloane Coffinof the Presbyterian Church in theU.S.A.

"We hold that He [God] alsomanifests His being, power, wisdomand love through His works and es­pecially in the mind, will and per­sonality of man", says the pronounce­ment, in part. "We believe that themind of man reflects, though imper­fectly, the mind of God, and we re­ject, as a. betrayal of human dignity,all attempts to explain man in merelymaterial terms...."

We have often wondered why theframers of such documents as this donot strip their declarations of allsubterfuge and ornamentation, andboil their doctrinal statements downto what they really amount to whenviewed under the microscope of logicalanalysis. Then the common denomi­nator of their religion could be statedin four succinct and honest words:"We believe in usl"

Rnsslan RevivalWar accomplishes strange things in

the midst of its tragedy, and nostranger story has yet been heardthan this. Dr. J.Frank Norris, melo­dramatic fighting Fundamentalistfrom Fort Worth, Texas, and one­time editor of the incendiary journal,The Searchlight, has conferred inWashington with Soviet AmbassadorMaxim Litvinoff about the chances ofbeing allowed to conduct _revival serv­ices next summer in Russia, home ofthe Militant Godless. Litvinoff, saidDr. Norris, assured him that the Rus­sian 'people would extend him ahearty welcome. The ambassador alsoexpressed personal interest in the re­vivalist's plans. Is this, we wonder, asign of approaching repentance orjust the magic of lend-lease?

distrust among religious groups. ATokyo broadcast announced that aresolution pledging cooperation withJapanese forces was adopted at thefirst general meeting of PhilippineProtestants held in Manila "throughthe good offices of Japanese authori­ties". More than fifty "leading figuresof Protestant churches" were declaredto be present. It was also said thatRoman Catholic missionaries in HongKong had approved the [apanese occu­pation of Manila, and that Manila'sArchbishop O'Daugherty had askedhis colleagues to cooperate with theJapanese "for the public good". Theofficial Rome radio announced thatthe landing of United States troopsin Ireland was proof that the Protes­tant "tyrant", Roosevelt, wanted toexterminate Roman Catholics in Ire­land. And a Tokyo broadcast to SouthAmerica reported that the Protestantsand Jews of North America werebanded together against the Romanistsin South America.

Rellglon's Common DenominatorTo record all of today's pronounce­

ments by modernist organizationswould require a book many times thesize of a GUARDIAN issue. Every mid­dle-of-the-road or definitely liberalchurch or association seems to feelthat its life depends upon issuingsome vague, ethereal resolution af­firming those beliefs which it holdsin common with every other religionexcept Shintoism. Not how much isbelieved, but how little, seems thegoal of organized religion. The paperon which most of these declarations

THE ·PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN78

Axis Propaganda and ReligionRecent short-wave broadcasts re­

corded by the monitoring system ofthe Federal Communications Com­mission give unmistakable evidencethat Axis propaganda departments areattempting to create ill-feeling and

AShort Walk to theChnrcholIonrChoice

ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY

tution of cooperation for conflict in indus­try and all of life.

6. To foster indomitable resolution inthe nation to find an end to the evilforces which are destroying peace andbrotherhood and to secure and guaranteea just and enduring settlement of thepresent issue for all mankind.

7. To keep the spirit of our peopleclean and true, free of all vindictivenessand hate except against falsehood andcruelty.

8. To lead the nation to put its trustin God, to seek to know and to do rightas His will, and to preach Christ faithfullyas first the King of Righteousness andafter that King of Peace.

If that is the entire message of"conservatives" in the PresbyterianChurch in the U .SA., to what depthsmust its Modernists have sunk?

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79

munist sympathizers as subversive ele­ments. In his column of February7th, he makes it very clear that thenew collectivism he envisages would

• be very impatient with minoritygroups. He states, "The public con­science is increasingly impatient withself-centered factions". -This state­ment actually gives the lie toa pre­ceding statement that the new collec­tivism "demands that those [that is,the convictions of the new interna­tional order] be evolved or created ondemocratic and not autocratic lines".

This is the position of all who be­lieve in the self-sufficiency of man.It is a position which dethrones theGod of Scripture. It is based on thedoctrine that "man is essentiallygood". .

If they are right, the Bible, whichsays that a man without Christ isdead in trespasses and sin, is wrong.If they are right, religion is a shallowsuperstition and atheistic communismis right. If they are right, the Ameri­can way, based on the equality ofman before God and the law, iswrong.

The Christian must see that allprophets of a new, socialistic, world­order are anti-Christian; that anybetterment in 'society must be basedon obedience to the gospel of Christ;that if the majority in the' post-warworld are true Christians, there willbe true peace and prosperity, but ifthe majority are not Christians,sooner or later there must be eitheranarchy or dictatorship.

The Epistle to theEph~sians

(Continued From Page (6)

had to be chosen by the Lord Himselffor his office (Matt. 10:1-4; Acts1:24-26; Gal. 1:1). Third, he wasgiven supernatural powers for the es­tablishing of the Christian church, sothat there could be no disputing hisdivine authority as an apostle (Acts5:9, 10; Acts 3:6, 7;8:14-17; 13:9­12). Fourth, he was supernaturallyguided by the Holy Spirit in writingthe books of the New Testament, sothat they were kept free from errorand became the truth God wantedHis people to have (John 14:26;15:26,27; 16:13; I Cor. 7:10; II Pet.1: 19-21; 3:15, 16). Certain apos­tolic men, who wrote their booksunder the supervision or direction of

apostles, hld their writings also soguided and controlled by the HolySpirit (e.g.~Luke, Mark, James. SeeI Tim. 5~18; II Tim. 4:11; Acts15:1 3ff ) .

"Christ" means "Messiah", or the"anointed one". Paul thus lays defi- ,nite claim to apostleship under theJewish Messiah who was Jesus. Theplacing of the title Christ first, Mes­siah Jesus, indicates the importance'which he placed on the fact thatJesus was definitely the promisedMessiah of the Old Testament.

"Through. the wiII of God". Paulsays that he was an apostle accordingto the win of God, or through thedeliberate choice of God Himself. Hedid not become an apostle byhis ownchoice, nor was he elected to theoffice by other men, but was forcedinto the office through the will ofGod who called him. '

"To the saints that are at Ephesus".A saint in the New Testament sensedoes not mean one who has beencanonized by decree of some churchauthority, .nor does it mean one whohas, attained to sainthood by longpractice o{holy living. It means thosewho have been called out or separatedunto Cod] to be His, and the term isapplied to:all true Christians, who aremembers 10f the church of Christ(see Phil. 4:22; Col. 1:4; I Thess,3:13; Rev. 20:9, etc.) "At" Ephesusis literally "in" Ephesus, paralleled inthe latter! part of the verse by thewords "ill Christ Jesus". Naturallyone who. was separated unto Godshould be holy, pure and righteous asto character, so that the word sooncame to mean just that. However, wemust remember that in the NewTestament there was no distinctionbetween 'Christians who were. saintsand other Christians who were not.All Christians were considered andcalled saints. Naturally they were ex­pected to be pure and holy by thevery fact that they were "called out"of the world and '. separated untoChrist. .

But ~ul then adds the strangewords translated, in the Revised Ver­sion, "ahd the faithful in ChristJesus". Does he mean that he iswriting to all who are faithful inChrist J~us unto the end? That is,persevering in their faith till death?Or does' he mean just "believers inChrist Jesus"? Then, too, does hemean this word to apply merely tothe Ephesian believers, or is it broad-

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March 10. 1942

News Notes ofThe Orthodox Presbyterian

Church,-oVENANT Church, Vineland,'-N. J.: The Rev. Everett C. DeVelde,formerly pastor of Trinity OrthodoxPresbyterian Church, Cincinnati, wasinstalled by the Presbytery of NewJersey as pastor of Covenant Churchon Thursday, February rath. TheRev. Leslie A. Dunn, moderator, pre­sided. The installation sermon waspreached by the Rev. William T.Strong of West Oollingswood, N. J.,the constitutional questions were pro­pounded by the moderator, the chargeto the pastor was delivered by theRev. Clifford S. Smith of Bridgeton,and the charge to the congregation bythe Rev. Edward B. Cooper of Pitts­grove, N. J. Mr. DeVelde succeedsthe Rev. Alexander K. Davison, whois now a chaplain with the UnitedStates Army.

Grace Church, Los Angeles, Cali­fornia: Grace Church was organizedonly recently by the Rev. Floyd E.Hamilton, former missionary to Koreaand author of the new seriesof studiesin Ephesians beginning in this issue ofTHE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN. Thirty­five attended Sunday school on Feb­ruary 8th and seventeen were presentat the morning service of worship.The church is situated in a new comemunity, with no other church near-byand plenty of children within a radiusof one mile. Mr. Hamilton expectsthe church to grow rapidly and asksfor the prayers of members of TheOrthodox Presbyterian Church.

Members of the denomination willbe sorry to hear that the Rev. DeanW. Adair has suffereda nervous break­down. Mr. Adair had only recentlybeen called to active duty as a chap­lain. Friends may write to him atStation Hospital, Ward 85, CampShelby, Mississippi. Prayers for hisswift recovery are requested.

THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN isstill eager to receive the names andaddresses of members who are nowserving with the armed forces of thenation.

jected Christ might perhaps er­roneously be considered by some assaints. Paul wants it perfectly clearthat there cannot be a saint who is

. not a believer in Christ Jesus.(To Be Continued)

GRAND RAPIDSMICHIGAN

the word merely means the equiva­lent of "believers", those who trustChrist Jesus as their only means ofsalvation. Faithful in the sense of"full of faith" in Christ Jesus. .

The second question is more dif­ficult. At first thought it would seemto apply merely to the local churchto which he was writing, but, if so,why add the words. at all, since theword "saints" implies that they werebelievers in Christ? There were no"saints"who were not believers inChrist. Nor were there two classes ofsaints presupposed: those who werefaithful in Christ and those who werenot. All saints were assumed to befaithful. On the other hand, if weassume that these words are meantto refer to the church universal ratherthan merely to the church atEphesus, why should he make a dis­tinction between saints at Ephesusand believers elsewhere? Why notcall both "saints", or both "be­lievers"? Certainly the believers inEphesus could hardly be consideredmore holy than believers elsewhere!Moreover, there is nothing elsewhereto indicate that Paul had primarilyin mind all believers in all Christianchurches. On the whole, we mustregretfully turn from the thoughtthat Paul was writing to the churchuniversal primarily, though of coursethe teachings of the epistle are ofuniversal validity. Probably his inten­tion is to emphasize the fundamentalcharacteristic of saints, namely, thatthey are true believers in Christ Jesus,since Jewish believers in God who re-

THE ·PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN

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