BIBLE STUDY 1 OF 2

SOME PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS

A. As TO THE BIBLE.                                      B. As TO THE STUDY.

It is: —                                                                                    It requires:—

I. Religious.                                                                             I. Honesty.

II. Dual.                                                                                  II. Reverence.

III. Triple.                                                                               III. Diligence.

IV. Multiple.                                                                           IV. System.

V. Unified.                                                                              V. Response.

First let me speak of some purely elemen­tary matters which are necessarily pre­liminary to Bible study. There are certain matters we must understand before we open the Book, and these are set out in brief form in the accompanying diagram. It will be seen that there are two main divisions, the first dealing with preliminary consider­ations as to the Bible; and the second with the preliminary considerations as to the study thereof.

A. As TO THE BIBLE.

I. It is religious.

It will at once be conceded that it is necessary to recognize that this is essen­tially a Library of religious literature. It may incidentally contain scientific facts, or philosophic principles; but it is neither a scientific text-book, nor a philosophic trea­tise. The nature of its declarations is all primarily religious. They are declarations concerning God and man, and the inter­relationships between them.

For the moment I am not concerned as to whether the teaching is true, for that is not at all the question at this point. We do not start with that assumption. For the moment I am simply insisting upon the fact that, whether true or false, it is a litera­ture of religion; it claims to declare the truth about God, the truth about man, and the truth about the relationship between God and man.

That it is religious literature is also clearly evident when we consider not merely the nature of its declarations, but also the nature of its appeal. That appeal is twofold, consisting of a call to faith in God, and of a demand that such faith shall be demon­strated by works. That is the double mes­sage of the Bible from first to last. If at the moment this may appear to be a narrow conception of the Biblical message, it may be important to say that any decision as to the narrowness or breadth thereof must be post­poned until the teaching has been examined.

And yet it must at once be conceded that the effect which this Book has pro­duced, and still does produce, compels the recognition of the fact that it is religious literature. This effect is twofold—spiritual and moral.

It is spiritual in that it produces a belief in the life which lies beyond the present. Wherever men have come to this Bible, have been diligent students of it, and have obeyed its first and simplest calls, following in the path of obedience, as its teaching has been more completely understood, they have invariably become spiritually-minded, that is, conscious of the reality and vast­ness of those facts and forces which are not discernible by the natural senses.

If there may be objection to the fact or value of this position, the moral effect produced by the Bible is beyond question. It is true that there have been those who have declared that they discovered immoralities and indecencies in the Bible; but the answer to such a statement is that no man, woman, or child has ever come to the honest study of this Book, pure in thought and intention, and been made immoral thereby.

Therefore, we must admit that the Bible is religious in the best sense of the word, because of the effect it produces; and it is important that we at least calmly ask whether it is conceivable that an untrue book can produce the result of truth; or a base book produce results so full of nobility of con­duct and of character.

II. It is dual.

Turning to the more technical matters, it is necessary to recognize that the Bible consists of two parts which we describe as the Old and the New Testaments, or Covenants. The former consists of a collec­tion of the sacred writings of the Hebrew people, and the latter a collection of the sacred writings of the Christian Church. At the moment we are not concerned with the subject of the fixing of the Canon of either of these parts. That is a question outside the scope of the present studies. I a in simply dealing with the Book as it stands.

In the Old Testament we have the com­plete sacred writings of the Hebrew people, 3Is they existed in the time of Christ, although not arranged in exactly the same order. It is the same collection of books as were gathered together in the Greek version which we describe as the Septua­gint, and which was certainly in existence two or three centuries before Christ; and which moreover is of great interest and value to us because nearly all the New Testament quotations were made there­from.

In the second part we have the sacred writings of the Christian Church, that is, the writings which the Church has accounted sacred, and has separated from other books because they have peculiar value in that they set forth the fundamental principles of the Christian religion.

III. It is triple.

Each of these two parts has three prin­cipal qualities: historic, or statements concerning the past; didactic, or teaching for the government of the present; predictive, or foretelling of the future.

In the Old Testament we have the his­tory of the Hebrew people; an account of their origin, their destiny, their failure; and all this principally on the side of the Divine method of dealing with them. This Hebrew history is prefaced by a brief statement concerning the first things in the history of the human race.

In the New Testament the history deals with one Person, Jesus of Nazareth, and with about sixty or seventy years of the move­ment resulting from His presence in the world. The didactic portions of these two divi­sions consist of teachings which appealed to the times in which they were given. In the Old Testament we have, side by side with history, a body of prophetic messages delivered to the people. These teachings, however, have a wider application than that to the age in which they were delivered, for they contain fundamental principles which have abiding values. It is necessary, however, to remember that in the study of these writings it is only such principles which are of abiding value. We are not to-day to go back under the Mosaic or prophetic economy, and if we limit our morality by the narrow and imperfect outlook even of the finest Hebrew thought, we shall sadly fail.

When we come to the New Testament we find teachings which are applicable to the whole period which commenced with the advent of grace, and will end with the advent of glory. Everything which those who have believed in the one Lord and Master need for the government of indi­vidual life, the organization of the cor­porate Church, and the work of the procla­mation of the evangel to the world, is found in these writings.

The predictive element in the Old Testa­ment is very remarkable, consisting of prophecies foretelling events, some of which have already been fulfilled, and some of which are not yet fulfilled. In the New also we have definite predictions, some of them from the lips of the one central Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, and some from the pens of those who were His fol­lowers. Many of these predictive writings are full of mystery; some of them have been fulfilled, while others await fulfillment.

These three elements are found, I repeat, in each part of the Divine Library, and we must recognize them, or we shall find our­selves in endless difficulty in our study. If we treat history as prophecy, or prophecy as history, confusion is inevitable. Before reading any book we need to re cognize whether its character is historic, didactic, or predictive.

IV. It is multiple.

Each part of the Divine Library consists of a collection of writings. In the Hebrew Scriptures we have thirty-nine books (there were not quite so many in the form in which the Hebrews had their Bible, because cer­tain which are now counted as two appeared therein as one), and these were written by about twenty one authors. I purposely leave the number indefinite, because it is not established, for instance, who wrote the Book of Jonah, or Kings, or Chronicles; and in our present study our appeal can only be made to internal evidence.

In the New Testament we have twenty-seven books, written by ten writers, that is, if we admit that Hebrews was not written by Paul. If it be admitted that he wrote it, then we have only nine authors.

Thus we have sixty-six books from the pens of some thirty different men, and their writing extended over a period of at least fifteen centuries. Between many of these there could have been no possible collusion, and it is of great importance that in the commencement of our study we remember this multiple character of the Library.

V. It is unified.

Finally, it is necessary from the com­mencement to recognize that the whole Library is unified in a Person. A man taking up these books and reading them might not immediately discover this fact; but it would be hardly possible for an honest and careful student to fail to do so ultimately. At this point, however, I think it well that those who are beginning to study should accept the practically unanimous testimony of those who are well qualified to give such testimony as the result of long and earnest attention to the Library, that the books are unified in the central Person presented.

In the first division, that of the sacred writings of the Hebrew people, there is a constant movement toward, and expecta­tion of, the coming of One Who is to be a Deliverer. It is true that the vision is not always equally clear. Sometimes the thought seems to center upon a nation as fulfilling the idea, then upon a remnant out of a nation, and again a Person is definitely and distinctly expected. Sometimes, perhaps almost unconsciously to the men who wrote or sang, the nation idea is lost sight of, and that of a remnant passes out of sight, and there comes into clear relief the figure of one superlative Person. Everything in the sacred writings of the Hebrew people leads toward this One, sighs for Him, and is conscious of imperfection apart from Him.

In the first five books there is a record of the search after a priest; in the historic writings we have the quest for a king; while in the didactic portions we hear the sigh for a prophet. Nevertheless in the whole of these books we fail to find perfect priest, or king, or prophet; in spite of the fact that the idea of each has been kept in mind, and the necessity for such is evidently the supreme conviction of the unified teaching. In brief, the sacred writings of the first division consist of a literature revealing a people who in their religion, their history, and their ideals are making a pilgrimage, in the light of a hope which remains unfulfilled.

When we turn to the New Testament, the sacred writings of the Christian Church, we find what Carnegie Simpson has so happily described as the Fact of Christ. The historic section consists of five books, the first four of which tell the story of His presence in the world; while the fifth describes the first movements in human history resulting from that presence. The didactic portion consists of the writings of those who were His followers, and explains more fully the mystery of His Person, and the resources and responsi­bilities of His people. The predictive element throughout has to do with His final triumph.

Thus, while in the Old we have a progress towards a Person, inspired by a hope, in the New we have a process from a Person, inspired by a fact. Thus, the whole Library is unified in this one Person.

Now it is conceivable that these Hebrew people may have been deceived, and that this Christian movement may have resulted from imagination. I am not at the moment concerned with these matters, but rather with the attempt to recognize the nature of the literature. Whether rightly, or wrongly, at the center of the Bible is a Person, and its first division sets forth the history of a people searching, seeking, and sighing after Him; and the second presents Him, and the things resulting from His presence in the world. Therefore we cannot demolish any part of the Library without the whole suffering. That whole stands or falls together around the unifying fact of the central Person.

B. As TO THE STUDY.

I. It requires honesty.

It is pre-eminently necessary that we come to the study of this Bible without prejudice either for or against it. I do not desire to under-value the prejudice in its favor in the case of many, which results from early training. My own first acquaint­ance with the Bible was distinctly, and I am constrained to add, graciously, influ­enced by this prejudice. My earliest reading of the Book was a reading in a frame of mind prejudiced in its favor because of what it was to my own father and mother. But while I thank God for these things, yet the Book never became truly my own until I dared to face it apart from that prejudice, and allowed it to deliver its own message to mind and heart and will.

It is a grave mistake to demand this prejudice in favor of the Bible from a class, or an individual student, when its very existence may prevent the honest and profitable study of it.

At the same time, it is absolutely unfair to come to the Bible with a prejudice against it. It must be treated honestly by being approached with an open mind, and for this purpose it is not required that any special view of inspiration be held. We ought to come to the study, determined to set aside our prejudice in its favor, and our prejudice against it, and our prejudice against the prejudice of those who believe or do not believe in its Divinity. I earnestly plead for this open mind, believing that wherever the Book is given its opportunity of producing its own impression, it will win a singular victory.

II. It requires reverence.

Since we must admit our limitation of knowledge concerning the subjects with which the Bible professes to deal, we ought most reverently to listen to what it has to say. To take the superlative instance of the existence of God, there are necessarily so many things which we do not know about God, that we ought to listen rever­ently to anything which claims to be a declaration concerning Him. Our very ignorance demands that as we listen to what the Bible has to say about Him, we should do so with reverence. This is true of all the themes with which it deals. They are high and outstanding themes, and there­fore, whether the statements be true or false, we ought at least to give reverent attention.

This need for reverence is further emphasized by the convictions which the very best men of the centuries have held con­cerning it. No man of a few brief years of life has any right ruthlessly to trample underfoot the convictions of centuries, and imagine he can deal flippantly with a litera­ture which has produced such convictions.

It seems to me that whatever conclusion I might ultimately arrive at concerning this Book, I could never consent to deal irrever­ently with pages made sacred by the fact that my own spiritual father pored over them in life, and at last pillowed his head in death upon their statements, and passed out of sight in perfect peace because he believed them to be true.

III. It requires diligence.

Two words will suffice to convey what is in my mind as to the diligence which is demanded of those who desire to be students of the Bible: intensity, and continuity. Any person desiring to study such literature ought to give the best he can of time and attention to the work. The Bible should be studied when the mind is freshest and most acute. Continuous study is also necessary; the patient persistence which avoids hasty decision, and is content to work and watch and wait. I do not hesitate to affirm that the Bible demands more diligence than any other literature.

IV. It requires system.

No man is in any sense a Bible student who takes up the Bible and reads it by a method which can only be described as haphazard. To open it at a page and read, to take a certain portion allotted for each day by others, may be perfectly justifiable methods for pleasure, and may result in profit; but they do not constitute study, in the true sense of the word. The system should be from general to particular, from extensive to intensive. Personally, I should advise any one commencing the study of the Bible to begin at the center, and work to the circumference, to commence with the Gospel narratives rather than with Genesis. All that will be considered more particularly in subsequent lectures; but the general principles of a true system is that of first gaining knowledge of broad outlines, and then concentrating upon details.

V. It requires response.

Religion is primarily volitional, and I now affirm that it is impossible to read this Book without being conscious that it makes appeal to conscience and to will. When­ever it does that, when it captures the con­viction, the student must respond by obed­ience, or it inevitably becomes a sealed book. Such a statement may seem to con­tradict much that I have said as to the open mind; but I am compelled to make it, because it is demonstrated true by the constant and unvarying experience of those who give themselves to this study. I personally believe that the reason why many people have lost their love for the Bible is that they have failed to recognize the necessity for obedience to its moral claims. The first conviction, that possesses the soul of the truth of some Bible teaching, clamors within the conscience for the yielding of obedience thereto, and if we fail to obey, the light will fail. Knowledge unmixed with obedient faith is not only profitless, it is harmful. The student must approach the study of this Book in that attitude of mind which says, “If it speaks to me, I will obey."