TEACHING-THE NEED
A. As TO THE NATION B. As TO THE CHURCH C. THE INTERRELATION
I. Conceptions: I. Revelation: I. Vindication
The Supremacy of the Spiritual The Doctrines of the Faith by Realization.
II. Conduct: II. Interpretation: II. Illustration
The Splendor of the Moral The Laws of Life by Manifestation
III. Character: III. Inspiration: III. Initiation:
The Strength of the Unselfish The Charter of Service by Communication
In approaching the subject of the teaching of the English Bible, I do not propose to deal with the science, history, or importance of teaching itself. These must be taken for granted.
It is, nevertheless, important that we should recognize that our subject is that of teaching. Of course, I do not undervalue the work of preaching; but for the moment we must draw a distinction between the two. Preaching is in many senses the greater word, because it includes teaching, while it emphasizes proclamation, interpretation, and application. Our immediate subject is that preliminary teaching which is the making known of the content of the Bible, and which prepares the way for its interpretation and application.
In dealing with the need for teaching, I propose to do so from the standpoint of one who is a student of the Bible, having accepted the preliminary considerations as laid down in the first article, and followed those fundamental processes indicated in the second.
It is important that I should at once say that the result of my acceptation of these considerations, and my following of these processes, is that I believe the Bible to be the Word of God, and it is from the standpoint of that conviction that I speak when dealing with the need of teaching the English Bible.
It may therefore be important to deal a little more fully with the declaration that I believe the Bible to be the Word of God. It is not enough to say that in this literature there are embodied truths which are found nowhere else except as they have reached other writings from the Bible; that there are quantities here which constitute the message of God, but which we are left to discover from the midst of much which lacks that utmost quantity.
I believe that the Bible is the Word of God. Yet carefully notice what that statement really means. I do not believe that the Old Testament is the Word of God. I do not believe that the New Testament is the Word of God. I do believe that the whole Library constitutes the Word of God to man. As the result of my own study of the different parts of the Library, and the resulting sense of the unity of the whole, I am convinced that presiding over all the human thinking and writing was a Divine mind, safeguarding the expression of thought, so that no words contrary to truth were employed.
The unity of the message is the demonstration of its Divinity. Genesis is not the Word of God. It is a part of it. Genesis interpreted by Revelation—and for such interpretation all that lies between is necessary—is the Word of God. Exodus is not the Word of God; but Exodus and Leviticus interpreted by Hebrews is the Word of God. The Law of Moses is not the Word of God; but the law of Moses fulfilled by the grace and truth which came by Jesus Christ is the Word of God.
With such distinction in mind it is impossible to go back to Old Testament history and its morality for New Testament times. Passing through the processes of the Old we find our way to the central Figure, and from there study the interpretation of the New, and thus we are in possession of the Word of God to man.
The question of the Canon is not now before us; but in passing I may say that I believe the Spirit of God, Who presided over the thought of the men who wrote, presided also over the choice of the Christian Church until in due time the completed revelation resulted.
From these briefly stated views it will at once be seen how strong my conviction must be as to the necessity for the teaching of this Bible. I propose to speak of that necessity in three ways: First, from the national standpoint; secondly, from the Church standpoint; and finally, from the standpoint of the inter-relation between the two.
A. As TO THE NATION.
The matters of utmost importance to the life of a nation are three; its conceptions, its conduct, its character. That is the true order of statement, because it is the order of experience. The final matter in the life of a nation is its character. This is the result of its conduct, and its conduct issues from its underlying conceptions.
I. Conceptions: The Supremacy of the spiritual.
The inspirational centers of thought are those which are of utmost importance as much in the life of a nation as in the life of a man. What the nation thinks, the nation will do, and eventually the nation will be. Ideas are the mightiest factors in national life.
The central, vital conception which the Bible supplies to the nation is that of the utmost of the spiritual over the material. The Bible assumes the existence of God, and declares His government in all the affairs of this life; it also teaches the eternal duration of man's existence. These being the fundamental propositions of the Biblical revelation, the Bible messages enforce the resulting deductions.
The Bible assumes the existence of God, and insists upon the government of God, Who is without beginning or end of days, Who is from everlasting to everlasting, in a mystery of being which our minds have never been able to compass, and yet in the consciousness of which we find the only resting-place for the otherwise restless spirit of human questions. The opening sentence of the Bible is full of suggestive sublimity, "In the beginning God created," and from that first word to the last the burden of its teaching is that of insistence upon the existence of God. It never explains, nor does it attempt a philosophy which will finally express in the formula of human wisdom the fact of that existence; but it affirms it, and insists upon the resulting fact of the government of God.
The Bible teaches the eternal duration of man's existence, and necessarily, therefore, gives to man those spiritual conceptions which compel him to put all the things of the present and passing moment in relation to the abiding ages.
Such conceptions call the nation back from the vain imagination that the dust of today is everything, or that the hurried passing hour has in it anything of finality. Such conceptions fling the horizon further back, expand the outlook, and give august spaciousness to ideas concerning everything near, because it is seen as intimately related to that which is infinite and distant.
II. Conduct: The splendor of the moral.
Such conceptions issue in conduct conformed to a splendid standard of morality, that of conformity to the will of that God who is the Creator and utmost Governor of the Universe. The expression of that conformity to the will of God, according to Bible teaching, is that of doing good to other men.
While these matters are condensed into brief sentences they ought to be treated as of utmost importance. To speak of doing good to other men does not mean, according to Bible teaching, that men should refrain from doing to others what they do not desire others should do to them. That is a merely negative and selfish morality which is pagan. The ultimate expression of responsibility in the Bible is contained in the words of our Lord, which we now describe as the golden rule, "Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them." That is positive and self-sacrificing. It is often asserted that this golden rule had already been given to men by other teachers; but any comparison of the sayings which are quoted in proof of this assertion will show that they are all infinitely removed from the ethic of Jesus in the way we have indicated. Morality, then, according to the Bible, is, as to its standard, the will of God, and as to its expression, truth and love toward our neighbor. Such morality influences conduct in business, in pleasure, and in friendships. The morality of the Bible is always linked to a spiritual conception. There is a great deal of morality which leaves the spiritual element out of count; but it is weak, anemic, and useless for the making of a mighty nation. “Happy (born again) is the nation whose God is the Lord," because wherever spiritual conceptions constitute the inspiration of conduct the conduct resulting is characterized by a splendid morality.
III. Character: The strength of the unselfish.
The character of a nation whose conduct is that of a morality based upon spiritual conceptions is always that of unselfishness. Unselfishness is that submissiveness of tone and temper, resulting from subjection to the throne of God, and His sovereignty, which expresses itself in the service of other men. All the graces and virtues which we admire in our own nation and in the individuals which compose it, whether they be kings, princes, lords, or common folk, the graces and virtues which even what we call the secular press speaks of with admiration, are graces which result from the fact that this nation has an open Bible, and in its deepest heart believes in God. As surely as we lose that open Bible, we shall lose this spiritual conception, this conduct of high and true morality, and this character which is great and strong by reason of its unselfishness.
All of which explains my conviction of the utmost importance in the life of a nation of the maintenance of the teaching of the Word of God.
B. As TO THE CHURCH.
The Divine Library is mostly the literature of the Church, and supplies revelation, the doctrines of the faith; interpretation, the laws of life; and inspiration, the charter of service. The matters of utmost importance to the life of the Church are those of its faith, its life, and its service; and this constitutes the true order of statement because it is the order of experience.
I. Revelation: The doctrines of the faith.
These are found in the Bible and are of fundamental importance. Dr. Lyman Abbott declare to a company of theological students that it was important to distinguish between theology and religion; that religion is the life of God in the soul of a man, and that theology is what a man thinks about God. He went on to declare that the utmost matter is religion, and that what a man thinks about God is not of any great importance. While I am prepared to accept his distinctions, and agree as to the importance of making them, I do not accept the deduction. I believe that religion is the outcome of theology. In this application it is true that as a man "reckoneth within himself, so is he."
What, then, are the doctrines of the faith which the Bible presents? As I am now dealing with what I hold to be the need of the teaching of the English Bible within the Church, I may summarize the doctrines of the New Testament as being those which present the Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of man, first as Revealer, secondly as Redeemer, and finally as Ruler. These are the central doctrines of the Bible; the hopes, aspirations, and expectations of the Old Testament; the certainties, realizations, and dynamic of the New.
Christ is the Revealer, and it is important that we do not treat that as a narrow conception. He is directly the Revealer of God and of man, and indirectly, but none the less certainly, the Revealer of the devil. He reveals God, so that the conception of God within the Christian Church is the result of what Christ was in Himself. He reveals man, so that our ideal of the possibility of humanity we owe entirely to what He was in His humanity. He reveals the devil by bringing him into the clear light of His own triumph over him, so that with the apostle we are able to say "we are not ignorant of his devices."
Christ is the Redeemer. He not only reveals God to man, He makes it possible for man to return to Him. He not only reveals to man the possibility of his manhood, He makes it possible for him to be what he ought to be, what it was meant he should be in the economy of God. He not only reveals the devil to man, He leads man in the conflict against the devil, wherein he becomes more than conqueror through Him who loved him.
Christ is the Ruler. Having revealed and redeemed, He becomes the one Lord and Master of those who accept the grace of His redemption, and return to the government of God.
Of course it is at once recognized how condensed a statement this is, no reference being made to what the Bible teaches as to the nature of the revelation, as to the method of the redemption, or as to the program of the Ruler. I have simply attempted to gather into three of the briefest words the essential facts of the faith—that, namely, that Christ is Revealer, Redeemer, and Ruler. If these doctrines are not named, they are all implied. The implication of Christ as Revealer is the fact of the Incarnation. The implication of Christ as Redeemer is the fact of His Atonement. The implication of Christ as Ruler is the fact of His Resurrection. In every case these implications must be taken into account when we ponder the revelation of the Bible which constitutes the faith of the Church.
II. Interpretation: The laws of life.
Having thus enunciated the doctrines of the faith, the Divine Library interprets the value of that faith as the inspiration of works. We cannot do better in attempting to summarize these laws of life than make use of the inclusive, exhaustive words of Paul in his letter to Titus, when he declared that the grace of God having brought salvation to all men, we should live righteously, soberly, and godly (Titus 2:11-12). In these three words every relationship of life is included. "Soberly" has to do with the world within, all the hidden fact of individuality under control, balanced, poised, strong; no longer swept by passion, but mastered by principle. "Righteously" has to do with the world around, the attitude of the Christian toward all other human beings; and the context is illuminative as it deals with the old men, young men, old women, young women, and servants, while other writings deal with other relationships such as those of husband and wife, parent and child, and masters; the whole of which are summarized by suggestion in the word "righteously." "Godly" has to do with the world above and beyond, the facts and forces of the spiritual universe. Thus the laws of life are those which demand, as to my own life, that I live soberly; as to the world of men with whom I come in contact, that I live righteously; as to the world of spiritual forces, that I live godly.
III. Inspiration : The charter of service.
The final value of the Scriptures to the Church is that they provide her charter of service. With regard to this I need only briefly summarize by saying that the Bible teaches that the purpose of her service is the establishment of the Kingdom of God; the program of her service is obedience to the commissions of the Son; and the power of her service is the indwelling of the Spirit.
The importance of the Bible to the Christian Church if these things be true cannot be over-stated. If there we have a literature containing the doctrines of the faith, the interpretation of that faith in the terms of the laws of life, and the charter of service which results from acceptation of the faith, and obedience to the laws, can there be anything of greater importance than that we should study this literature in order to understand our faith, to know the laws of our life, and yield ourselves to service?
C. THE INTER-RELATION.
The inter-relation between the need for the Bible as to the nation and as to the Church is of utmost importance. The final value of Bible teaching within the Church is that it is only as the Church knows this Word of God and proclaims it to the nation in life and service that the influence of the Bible can be exerted in the life of that nation. It is not merely by teaching the contents of the Bible to the nation as such that we can supply its conception, inspire its conduct, or create its character. It is only as the Bible is supplied to the nation through the witness-bearing of the Church, incarnating its teaching that the nation profits thereby. The fact of this inter-relation therefore creates the responsibility of the Church, and that may be indicated by three words, namely, Vindication, Illustration, and Initiation.
I. Vindication by realization.
The conception of the supremacy of spiritual things is vindicated in the life of the nation in the measure in which the Church realizes the doctrines of faith. Of course, I use the word "realize" at this point in the sense of making real, not in the sense of comprehension merely. A Church composed of those who know God, are made nigh to Him by redemption, and under the rule of their Lord and Master live in constant obedience to His Kingship, and is the Church which compels conviction in the life of the nation of the reality of spiritual forces.
II. Illustration by manifestation.
This word touches the realm of conduct, and of course the conduct is that which results from the spiritual conception, and is true to those standards of morality which the Head of the Church enunciated and illustrated in His own teaching and life; the supremacy of the will of God, and the necessity for love and truth in all human inter-relationships. The splendor of the moral ideal can only be illustrated in the life of the nation by the Church, as she manifests the life governed by these standards.
III. Initiation by communication.
If the word "communication" in this connection is a somewhat startling one, I nevertheless use it of set purpose and most carefully. The unselfish character must be communicated to the nation by the Church, as she is obedient to her charter of service, making the Kingdom of God her perpetual passion, the commissions of the Son her sufficient program, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit her perpetual power; she thus initiates in national life the movements which tend to the creation of the unselfish character; and she communicates a virtue which compels national conformity to that character of unselfishness which is the character of abiding strength.
On the chart giving the outline of the scheme of this lecture I have attempted to indicate the connection between the different parts of this revelation of the need for the teaching of the English Bible. The spiritual conception in the nation is related to the faith of the Church by the Church's vindication of the faith by realization. The conduct of the nation is related to the laws
of life within the Church by the Church's interpretation of those laws by manifestation. The unselfish character of the nation is related to the charter of the Church's service by the initiation through communication. The Bible must be taught in the Church, in order that it may be taught in the nation; and the inter-relation between these two things I have tried to illustrate by this simple diagram.
The Bible is the Word of God, that is, it is the truth for men. Take the Bible from the Church and what happens? The Church is the pillar and ground of the truth, and if it lose the Bible it becomes a lamp without a light, a pedestal without a figure. By such loss the Church is of no use to the nation.
On the other hand, give the Bible to the Church, let the Church know the Bible and love the Bible, then it will be a light and a revelation, and so will be able to fulfill its true function in the national life, and by such fulfillment the nation will be constrained towards spiritual conceptions, moral conduct, and unselfish character.
I have deliberately chosen not to speak in this chapter of the immediate evidences of the need. In conclusion, I may touch in a few brief words thereupon. There is an immediate need for the teaching of the Bible within the Church, first because of its long-continued neglect, and secondly, because of the present urgent question with wars about. Of course, there is a sense in which it is true that the Bible has not been neglected. It is found in all the churches of the Christian faith, and in all the homes of Christian people; and it has been read both in the Church and at home in certain ways; but if we submit any ordinary congregation of professing Christian people to a single examination as to the content of the Bible we are almost appalled at the ignorance manifested. On the other hand, the hour is mostly characterized by a spirit of questioning, and of earnest desire to know what the Bible teaches. It is my profound conviction that wherever men and women are raised up to teach the Bible they will find the people of God eager to hear and to learn. This blog validates that truth.
It is a question whether there was ever graver need than now in the international life for the teaching of the Word of God. The conceptions that underlie our policies are on the whole far from noble. There is much of animalism and of mammon contaminating our thinking; and the moralities in which we are very much inclined to make our boast are after all lowered moralities; and there is in large measure forgetfulness, if not denial, of spiritual inspirations which alone create great morality. As a nation among nations we are not governed by unselfishness of character, but by an appalling and narrow selfishness. It is my personal conviction that the only cure for the things which threaten us as a nation is a new crusade of teaching and preaching the Word of God. That the Church may return to a study of that Word which shall issue in the incarnation of its teaching in order to the salvation of the nation is the one dominant need of the hour. America as well as other countries has lost sight of the true God that Jesus revealed to the whole world and even the angels above.
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