The commission executed; or, A study of the New Testament conversions and other evangelistic topics

Front matter

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Preface

THE teachings, commonly known as "first principles," among the disciples of Christ have been familiar to me as far back as I can remember. I am a disciple almost by birthright, if I may use such an expression without being misunderstood. When I was a little boy, probably not more than five years old, my father and mother made the "good confession" in their own house, for the old log house was open to the preaching of the early pioneers from their first visits to southern Ohio, early in the fifties. A deep impression was made on me when my father and mother were buried with their Lord in Christian baptism. The plain, simple conditions of admission into the Church of Christ were deeply impressed upon my mind by the forceful, shall I not say powerful, sermons of a class of preachers, than whom no stronger men in natural gift: have arisen among us even unto the present day. Before I was ten years old, I had listened frequently to such men as J. J. M. Dickey, Father Jarvis, John Frame, Joseph Dunn, Benjamin Franklin, and a number of others of like or less fame. In addition to these early advantages, for I certainly feel they were great advantages, I have read the literature of my brethren along the line of first principles until the doctrines have been so deeply fastened in my mind that it seems strange viii PREFACE

to me that any mistake in this matter could ever have been made by good people who were seeking and teaching the way of salvation.

In preparing this volume, I know that I am indebted very deeply to what I have read and what I have heard, yet how to give the credit due I know not further than to say I claim no merit for originality. If the thoughts are familiar for the most part to many of the readers of this little volume, it is because they have enjoyed privileges similar to my own. If even the phraseology in many cases is strikingly familiar, do not blame me, for how can I help it, since I have become thoroughly saturated with the teaching, both verbal and written? Certainly, if I say many things in much the same way that others have said them, it will not be wondered at under the circumstances.

I have prepared this volume largely for classroom work, because I believe that every young man preparing for the ministry should be thoroughly enlightened on what we commonly call "First Principles of the Gospel." I hold that every one should be so intimately acquainted with the conversions of the New Testament that if he should be suddenly called on to preach on any one of them, he could do so without previous notice.

I fear that some are drifting away from the old landmarks that so clearly characterized the restoration movement in its earlier days. Some of the old themes that used to be handled with telling effect by the pioneers, are now seldom preached from some pulpits. It is, however, a noticeable fact that when "first principles ,, are shunned, evangelistic results are correspondingly meager. The men who are emi-

PREFACE ix

nently successful in bringing souls to Christ are the men who preach a full gospel; its facts, commands and promises are all declared. Show me the man who eliminates "first principles" from his preaching and I will show you one who has eliminated the baptistry from his church, so far as it is of any practical service; nay, I will show you a man who is in doubt as to whether the disciples, as a people, have any distinctive message for the world. Let us never forget that the union of the people of God, by a return to New Testament Christianity, will be a peculiar and distinctive message, so long as Christians are divided into hostile or semi-hostile sects through departures from the Christianity of the apostolic day.

If this volume shall be of service to some who are laboring for the restoration of the apostolic Church in its doctrines, practices and fruits, the hope of its author will be realized.

XXVI. Page

The Mystery of Godliness i

The Resurrection of Christ 18

The Great Commission 29

Conversion 52

The Conversion of the Three Thousand 63

The Conversions at the Temple 75

The Conversion of the Samaritans... 89

The Conversion of the Eunuch 98

The Conversion of Saul 108

The Conversion of Cornelius 119

The Conversion of Lydia 128

The Conversion of the Jailer 141

The Great Invitation 150

The Great Salvation 173

The Speech of the First Christian

Martyr 185

The Prodigal Son : Going Away 195

The Prodigal Son: Coming Home 202

The Appeal of the Bible to the Young 209

The Faith that Saves 221

Life the Price of Life 228

Leaving the First Love 2^7

The Intermediate State 247

Shall We Know Each Other There?. 261 True Liberty : Its Nature, Necessary

Conditions, Etc 271

The Emancipation Proclamation 281

Grounds of Confidence for the Triumph of Truth 288

XI

CHAPTER I. The Mystery of Godliness

Text. — I. Tim. 3: 16: "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness; He who was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen of angels, Preached among the nations, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory."

The old version reads, "God was manifest in the flesh," instead of "He who was manifested in the flesh," and a marginal note in the Revised Version says that the clause "He who" is supplanted by the word "which" in some ancient authorities.

It will be seen that we have an inspired comment on the word "Godliness" in the text itself. The Godliness referred to is not the Godliness of man, which is not a mystery and is never so represented. The Godliness of men is godly living, or a reproduction, according to plain instructions, of the Godliness or Godlikeness as seen in Jesus. That the Godliness of men is accomplished through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is clearly taught, and this indwelling may involve that which is mysterious, but the Godliness or Godlikeness accomplished through the indwelling "is not a mystery. The Godliness as set forth in this passage is, however, declared to be a mystery. This is the Godliness or Godlikeness of Christ. In other words, it is the incarnation of God that constitutes the mystery, as the language in explanation clearly shows. That which is represented as a mystery is set forth in the first clause and further qualified in the succeeding clauses of the text. We will take these clauses up and consider them in succession:

I. "He who was manifested in the flesh." Here the mystery is stated.

Men reject this mystery, because they can not understand it, but a little reflection shows the underlying vital necessity.

1. A vision of God is the starting-point in the upward progress of man. There is no true development that does not take God into the account. There is a religious factor entering into the complex being we call man. This must be developed co-ordinately with his other constitutional factors, and there is no such thing as true religious development without a vision of the one true and living God. To see God is, therefore, the fundamental necessity. This does not, of course, mean that the spiritual God must appear, or can appear, to the eye of flesh, but it means that there must be an intellectual and spiritual vision, a vision of faith, as the starting-point of all symmetrical growth; and the subject of this vision must come in concrete form. I have no confidence in any system or agency for the development of man that eliminates or disregards the idea of God as presented in Jesus Christ.

2. The reason why man needs this concrete vision of God is not hard to discover:

CONCRETE VISION OF GOD 3

(1) It is required for a proper understanding of him. Man is so constituted that he approaches the abstract through the concrete. God must, therefore, be represented to man in terms and forms of a concrete being, in order that man may lay hold upon him and thus mount up to the spiritual conception of Deity. This constitutional requirement serves to explain the multitudinous forms of idolatry that have cursed mankind. It is the effort of man to bring the God idea within his own comprehension by making an image of Him. God has met this demand of the human soul by clothing himself in human flesh and walking before us in the form of a man. Therefore said Jesus, "He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father/' He who ridicules the incarnation shows himself to be ingorant of a great fundamental, constitutional need of the human soul. That this incarnation is a mystery, no one can deny, but that it is necessary to true human development, is both a psychological and theological doctrine.

(2) It is also true that human growth or development is accomplished through the operation of the principle of imitation. We are not transformed or developed through the apprehension of mere ethical doctrines, but by the incarnation of right principles and ideas, which we are thus enabled to imitate. These are seen in all their fullness when the attributes of God are presented in the form of man, thus giving us a model for our imitation. We can not imitate the abstract. Imitation demands a concrete model, therefore said the apostle Paul, "Be ye followers of me, even as I am of Christ. " It will be

seen, therefore, that there is a deep and far-reaching significance in the incarnation of God in the person of Jesus Christ.

3. Man also desires a vision of God. It is not something that is forced upon him. (1) This desire seems to be universal. Otherwise, why is it that no race or tribe, however small or insignificant, has been found that was destitute of religion? This is now a generally conceded truth. Religion is a universal fact. It is found wherever man exists. Could this be true if man did not instinctively reach out after God? Paul spoke of men feeling after God, and Philip said to the Master, "Lord, show us the Father and it sufficeth us." The goodness of God is nowhere more conspicuous than in the manifesting of himself in flesh, which the apostle here declared to be the great mystery of Godliness. (2) If this desire is universal, it is doubtless constitutional or results from a constitutional need, and this points to gratification. All constitutional needs are provided for through the divine wisdom and goodness, therefore "God manifest in the flesh" is the answer of the loving Father to the want he has implanted in the creatures that he has made. Just as he has provided light for the eye, and sound for the ear, and food for the hunger of man, so he has provided a manifestation of himself that meets man's cry for God.

We come next to the qualifying or explanatory clauses:

II. Justified in the Spirit.

1. The nature of a proposition determines the character of evidence needed for its establishment. This is a statement that appeals to reason and common sense. Extraordinary claims demand extra-

EXTRAORDINARY PROOF DEMANDED 5

ordinary proof, ordinary claims can be established by ordinary proofs. (1) Jesus Christ puts forth extraordinary claims. They were in fact superhuman. He claimed to have come forth from God, and that he had an existence with the Father before the world was. He consequently assumed to speak with a dogmatism and an authority such as only God might exercise. He did not reason from the known to the unknown, but stated the ultimate facts with perfect assurance. He exercised prerogatives that only God may exercise ; he assumed to forgive sins ; in short, in his claims and in his attitude toward men he represented himself as God. Consequently John says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." (2) These claims demanded superhuman testimony in their support. Those who try to eliminate the superhuman evidences are logically compelled to deny the claims. To admit the claims and deny the superhuman testimonies involve a logical inconsistency. Rest assured whenever the superhuman evidences of Christ's claim are overthrown the claims themselves will have to go.

2. The extraordinary evidence demanded was given through the agency of the Spirit. Christ's coming was predicted through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and His life was lived under his power and dominion. (1) The prophet Isaiah pointed forward to Christ centuries before his advent. His life was foretold in many of its minute particulars, and the character and peculiarities of his kingdom were set forth. The multitude of predictions concerning

Christ and his kingdom constitute one of the most striking features of the Old Testament. (2) At his baptism the Spirit of God appeared in the form of a dove and abode upon Christ, and a voice from heaven came, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased/ 1 This striking manifestation of the Spirit at this particular time is very suggestive, owing to the fact that Christ was, at that time, just entering upon his public ministry. (3) He w r as led by the Spirit into the wilderness to undergo the temptation, and through the power of the Spirit he triumphed and came forth and entered upon his public work. (4) His wisdom and miracle-working powers were attributed to the Spirit. Luke says that Jesus quoted the following words from the prophet Isaiah and applied them to himself: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor ; he sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind; to set at liberty them that are bruised; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." (5) The writer of Hebrews says Jesus offered himself through the Spirit; that is, he made the great sin-offering through and by the power of the Spirit. The language is as follows : Hcb. 9 : 14, "How much more" (than the blood of bulls and goats) "shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish unto God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (6) In Rom. 1 : 14, Paul teaches that Jesus was raised from the dead through the Spirit of holiness, and thus declared to be the Son of God with power, and Peter declares that he was quickened (that is, raised from the dead) by the Spirit. (7) John gives

THE INTEREST OF ANGELS 7

a comprehensive statement of the spiritual endowment of Christ by declaring that God gave not the Spirit by measure unto him. This, of course, means that there was no restriction in his spiritual qualifications. He did not receive the Spirit by measure, but without measure, in unlimited degree. All this may serve to give us some idea of the meaning of the phrase, "Justified in the Spirit."

III. "Seen of angels" is the next specification.

1. This great mystery of the Godlikeness was a matter of deep interest to the angels of God. The Cherubim, gazing down on the mercy-seat, symbolically represented the interest of angels, the Shekina, symbolizing the divine presence. But this divine presence was presented in its most effulgent form when God was manifest in the flesh.

Angels have played no inconspicuous part in carrying out the divine purposes and plans. They seem to have been, not only interested spectators, but conspicuous actors in the great drama of human redemption.

2. This interest was shown on numerous occasions as recorded in the New Testament history. (1) At the time of His birth an angel choir sang in the upper air, saying: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good will to men." They sang the first cradle song of the infant Redeemer, forecasting peace to men through the agency of him who was then sleeping as a babe in the arms of his virgin mother. We delight to think of the angels thus honoring the babe of Bethlehem, but it was not possible for them to reflect honor upon him, but rather they were honored by him whose advent they celebrated. (2) After Jesus had passed through the temptations in the wilderness, and had been victorious over Satan at every point of his attack, angels came and ministered unto him, supplying his pressing necessities after the fast of forty days and forty nights. No more fitting time can be imagined for such angelic ministry. Jesus had triumphed over the blandishments of Satan presented in three of the most potent forms of temptation. He was exhausted in body by reason of the long fast, and through the mental strain superinduced by his wonderful experiences. He perhaps had come, for the first time, into conscious realization of the possession of miraculous power, for we have no account of his having exercised such powers up to that time. He was facing the mighty work that he came down from heaven to do, and it is at such a juncture that the angelic ministry is introduced. (3) At his transfiguration, Moses and Elijah, the giver and the restorer of the law, appeared from the other world and talked with him concerning his decease which was soon to be accomplished at Jerusalem. True, these were not angels in the sense of being unfallen spirits, but they were angels in an equally important sense, having been the great messengers of God to his people and agents in accomplishing the preparatory steps in the development of the great plan of redemption. (4) Angels announced his resurrection. They were the first preachers of one great fact of the gospel. The disciples of our Lord, when preaching his gospel, should feel themselves greatly honored in being permitted to stand in such a wonderful succession. The gospel messengers constitute a great line of heroes, beginning with the angel preachers at the open tomb of Joseph of Arimathea and ex-

THE WORK OF ANGELS 9

tending down to the present time. (5) Angels accompanied the risen Saviour back to the courts of heaven, and as he ascended angels appeared and announced to the waiting disciples that the same Jesus that they had seen ascending would in like manner come again. It was an angel voice that commanded the gates of heaven to be lifted up and let the King of glory in. Angels responded to the challenge, and swung open the doors for the triumphal entry. Jesus was accompanied, doubtless* by those he had liberated from the unseen world. The inhabitants of heaven are represented as worshiping him, saying: "Worthy is the Lamb that hath been slain to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honor, and glory, and blessing." We are also told that angels are not only interested in Christ, but in his disciples, and that they are sent forth to minister to them who are the heirs of salvation. These wonderful facts give a peculiar significance to the clause, "Seen of angels," and invest it with a deep, far-reaching significance.

IV. "Preached among the nations" constitutes the next item in the category.

1. The saving of men through the preaching of the gospel was not a human conception. It did not originate in the human mind. It was not a plan developed by the aid of human reason. "The world by wisdom knew not God." The preaching of the cross is a divine, not a human, philosophy. Paul said that this preaching of Christ was "to the Jew a stumbling-block, and to the Greek foolishness." That is to say, it not only did not originate with men, but was contrary to the wisdom and judgment of men. True, we may dimly comprehend the philosophy of the divine plan of saving men through the preaching of the cross after this plan has once been put into operation, but man did not originate it and could not in the beginning comprehend it, and even now perhaps our conception falls short of its deep, divine meaning.

2. To the Jew this system was incomprehensible, because it set aside the Mosaic institution as a medium of approach to God. It declared that the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin, that the law of Moses had been taken out of the way, and that the Jewish people no longer enjoyed exclusive prerogatives. This latter fact was a stumbling-block, even to Christ's apostles, and prevented them from carrying the gospel to the Gentiles in obedience to the commission, until Peter and Saul had been miraculously convinced of the universal character of the religion of Christ.

3. To the Gentiles the preaching of the cross was foolishness, because it fell entirely outside of the scope of human philosophy. The idea of saving men through a personal trust in a person, and that to one who had died an ignominious death, and was declared to have risen from the dead, seemed to be nothing short of silly nonsense, and yet Paul says, "It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe/'

4. Its efficacy, as a transforming and elevating agency, is shown in its practical results. True, many of our philosophers to-day cast it aside as unworthy of consideration, as did the Athenians in Paul's day, but the results achieved through nineteen hundred years of history demonstrate its power. No human system is comparable to it as measured by results.

FAITH FUNDAMENTAL AND PERSONAL 11

No scheme of man's invention has ever approached it either in purpose or achievement. All that is blessed in our civilization to-day is the fruit directly or indirectly of the preaching of the cross of Christ. The best in literature, the best in ethics, the best in government, the best in art, the best in music are the results of Christian influence and sentiment. ""Preached unto the Gentiles" means the setting in operation of the most salutary influence that has ever blessed mankind.

V. "Believed on in the world" constitutes the next item in the enumeration.

1. Faith is the fundamental necessity. It is the starting-point in every worthy undertaking. The farmer ploughs his field and sows his seed through faith. The merchant engages in his varied activities through faith. The mechanic plies his trade through faith. The professional man pursues his calling by faith. The traveler starts on his joui-ney through faith; in fact, all the activities of the world are based on faith. Without faith, therefore, no man can please himself or please his fellowman.

2. Christian faith is a personal matter and that, too, in a double sense of the term. (1) It can not be performed by proxy ; no one can believe for another. One man's faith may influence another to believe, but the faith itself is personal. No matter how earnestly one may desire to see another believe, he can do no more than to present the evidence upon which an intellectual faith can rest. Therefore, infant church membership, necessarily implying salvation without faith, is indefensible. (2) It is personal in its object. "Believed on" is the phrase, not "Believed about." We do not become Christians by believing something about Jesus, and this is a matter that is often overlooked, even by the preachers of the gospel. Often we hear it said, the Christian faith is the belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, but this is a mistake. The Christian faith is a personal trust in Jesus Christ, because he is the Son of God. He that believeth on the Son hath life, not he that believeth something about the Son. He may believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and not believe on him, and consequently not have eternal life. . When we believe on the Son, we put ourselves entirely in his hands ; we are under his authority and consequently must yield obedience to his commands, both in becoming Christians and in leading a Christian life.

3. We are not surprised, therefore, that the Scriptures make faith the starting-point. It is the first requirement. The commission of Christ sends men to preach the gospel for the sake of making people believers. Just as all worldly activities must begin in faith, so Christian life begins at that point. Neither is it a race or class matter. The obligation and necessity is just as wide as humanity, hence we are told, "Without faith it is impossible to please God." This does not mean that we are saved by faith alone. Salvation from sin, and the eternal salvation in the future world, depend on something more than faith alone. There are commands to be obeyed before there can be promises enjoyed, hence Christian faith is only the starting-point; it is not the end of Christian life.

4. It is something more than intellectual action. A person may believe a proposition intellectually, but to believe on a person calls for the exercise of

REASON FOR CHRISTIAN FAITH 13

the affections. We can believe something about Christ intellectually, but we can not believe on him except through the heart. This phrase, "Believed on," is, therefore, very significant, and it explains the reason why so many believe something about Christ who never become Christians. Their faith has never reached the affections and desires which is always necessary to produce action.

5. This faith results from the intrinsic qualities of the person believed on. Jesus had none of the things that men rely on to impress their fellowman. (1) He was born into a humble family and grew up amidst lowly surroundings. (2) He did not come to his work, at the age of thirty, from the schools. It had not been his privilege to sit at the feet of philosophers. He came from the despised city of Nazareth. (3) The men whom he selected as his apostles were all humble men. He did not call the wealthy and the powerful around him, but those whose opportunities for education had been limited, and whose worldly possessions were very small. Napoleon said, "God fights on the side of the heavy artillery/' Jesus Christ, in the establishment of his kingdom, did not rely on the heavy artillery. If he is believed on in the world, it has not been on account of any of the accessories that the worldly great have relied upon.

VI. "Received up into glory" is the climax of statement in this wonderful enumeration.

1. As we have seen, Christianity is linked closely with the miraculous. Miracle was present at every stage of its development, until the kingdom had been established through the agency of the apostles. Those who are trying to eliminate miracles from the Christian system, will, if they succeed, eliminate Christianity itself, but this will never happen.

The ascension of Christ was another instance in the long chain of miracles wrought in the development and establishment of his kingdom, and it was a necessary part of the divine plan. Alan's three intellectual and spiritual needs are that of prophet, priest and king. Christ ascended to take his throne as king or moral ruler of the universe. When he took his seat God declared that he should reign until all enemies had been put under his feet. As Ruler of the moral and spiritual universe, he has not delegated his power to any one else. Nobody has any right or authority to legislate for him. He is supreme. Notwithstanding this, there is one, as Paul foretold, who "opposeth and exalteth himself against all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God;" in short, claiming divine honors and prerogatives. This wickedness and apostasy designated by the apostle as "the mystery of lawlessness, " had even in his day begun to work, and its later development has been fraught with great mischief to the kingdom of God, but the day is coming when all opposing authority will be put down and Christ will be "All in all."

2. The ascension of Christ is an abundantly attested fact. It shows that it is an item of great importance in the divine scheme of redemption. It was typified in the Tabernacle worship. The high priest was a type of Christ, and when he went into the most holy place, once a year, with the blood of the victim to sprinkle it upon the mercy-seat, he typified Christ's ascension into heaven to present his

THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST 15

own blood as a ransom for sin. The writer of Hebrews, referring to the Christian hope, says: "Which we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and entering into that which is within the veil ; whither as a forerunner Jesus entered for us, having become a high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. ,, All this points unmistakably to the ascension and entrance of Christ into the most holy place, even heaven itself. Luke gives a description of his ascension in these words: "And it came to pass while he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. " The same writer, in the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, said : "And when Le had said these things, as they were looking, he was taken up ; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they were looking steadfastly into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel ; who also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye beheld him going into heaven." The description is minute, circumstantial and particular. All this was in perfect harmony with what Christ had told his disciples before he left the earth. He said : "Neverthless I tell you the truth. It is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I go I will send him unto you." Also: "In my Father's house are many mansions ; if it were not so, I would have told you ; for I go to prepare a place for you.