The Christian life and how to live it

Front matter

Class

Book csiEoaam dsposox and

How to Live It

Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

I. What Is Christianity? ----- 7

II. What We Believe 21

CHAPTER I What Is Christianity?

*'Thou art permitted to speak for thyself I

beseech thee to hear me patiently." — -Acts xxvi. 1, 3.

THE question^ "What is Christianity?'' has been very prominent of late years in the minds of men. Scholars in several lands have been writing on "The Essence of Christianity/* The question is a natural and necessary one, and certainly most important. What is Christianity? Not what is its irreducible minimum, not how little a man may accept, and yet be a Christian, but what are the characteristic and distinctive elements of Christianity, what must he accept if he would really profess and call himself a Christian? One of the best ways to answer this question is to take the life, or some point in the life, of one of the finest men and truest Christians that ever lived, the Apostle Paul, and try to discover what Christianity meant to him. We may do this in a variety of ways^ but for the present we confine ourselves almost entirely to one episode in the Apostle's life^ his appearance before Agrippa and Festus^ as recorded in Acts xxvi. In this remarkable story we have a striking picture of St. Paul. As a man he is seen at his best. There is no constraint in his utterances ; he is in his element; the subject suits him^ and he yields himself to it, and the result is this magnificent apologia. As we listen to him, we can see something of the reality of his splendid manhood, and are reminded of the well-known words:

*'The elements So mixed in him that Nature might stand up And say to all the world, 'This was a man.' "

This is all the more noteworthy when we remember that the man before whom he stood was one of earth's meanest creatures. And it would almost seem as if St. Paul realised this, for, as we listen to him, we forget the first picture of Paul the man, and become wholly absorbed in the second and larger view of Paul the Apostle. He goes far beyond a mere defence of himself, and pleads for the Master Whom he loved and served. As though realising the characters and lives of Agrippa and Bernice, he proclaims the everlasting Gospel, and thus we have not simply a picture of Paul the prisoner, defending and justify-

What Is Chrkticmity? 9

ing himself; but chiefiy a picture of Paul the advocate, proclaiming and defending his Master. Paul at the bar of Agrippa becomes merged into the far nobler scene of Christianity at the bar of the world. Christianity speaks here in the person of Paul, and in the opening words of the chapter we have the salient features of its message.

CHRISTIANITY HAS SOMETHING TO SAY

"Thou art permitted to speak/' said Agrippa: and if only the world allows this to Christianity, it mil speak, for it has something to say. It has a threefold Gospel.

The Gospel of the Resurrection. This was the basis and burden of the Apostolic message, "Jesus and the Resurrection.'' "Why," said Paul to Agrippa, "should it be thought a thing incredible with you that God should raise the dead.'*" On the fact of the Resurrection the Apostles took their stand, and preached it everywhere. This message of the Resurrection was the cause of all the opposition they encountered, especially from the Jewish rulers, who were angered by the proclamation of the Risen One of Nazareth. Now wc naturally enquire why the Resurrection should have caused such enmity and persecution. Because of that which it implied, the Godhead of Jesus Christ. The opposers knew very well that to accept the Resurrection was to accept Christ as God^ for by the Resurrection all His claims were irrefragably established. And this^ too, was the reason of the prominence of the Resurrection in the Apostolic preaching, the witness it bore to the Godhead of Christ. It proclaimed Him to be God, and as God Whom the world needs ; not some distant Being, Who, having created the world, is no longer intimately concerned with it; but God Who is near, approachable, available for our everyday life. Three times in one epistle St. Paul calls the Gospel "the Gospel of God," and this not only because it comes from God, but because it declares Him. God, as the Source of life and power, was proclaimed in the Resurrection of Christ, and this is the first part of that "something" which Christianity has to say.

The Gospel of the Kingdom, The words of St. Paul (in verse 15,) clearly show that acceptance of Christ as God carried with it the acceptance of Him as Lord and Master, and implied the acknowledgment of our position as subjects and servants. Since Christ is God, He is supreme, He is King and Ruler, and we are His subjects, and consequently, through the Acts of the Apostles, we find clear and significant reference to the Kingdom of God. This Kingdom is at once present and future. Our Lord's conversations before His Ascension were concerned with it. Philip preached

What Is Christiamty? 11

it in Samaria^ St. Paul at Ephesus did likewise, and the last words of the book show St. Paul at Rome '^preaching the kingdom of God." These men were not afraid of the logic of their belief, the outcome of their fundamental doctrines. "Is Christ God.f* Then I am His subject." They realised and preached Christ, Who because He is God claims men as His own, claims to rule over their lives, not only bestowing upon them the privileges, but calling for the performance of the duties of their heavenly citizenship. The Gospel of the Kingdom is the second part of that "something" which Christianity has to say.

The Gospel of Pardon. This, as verse 18 shows, was also an integral part of the Apostolic preaching. Men are rebels against God by reason of sin; and rebels cannot possibly become subjects of His Kingdom until they are pardoned — until they have submitted and surrendered their lives to Him. Unless the rebellion of sin is quelled in man, there can be no entrance into God's Kingdom, no acceptance of Christ as God. And so the Apostle Paul preached everywhere the forgiveness of sins. The burden of his message was, "Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins." "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." He preached a full, free, present, assured, everlasting pardon: and this is the third part of that "something" which Christianity has to say.

CHRISTIANITY HAS SOMETHING TO SAY FOR ITSELF

"Thou art permitted to speak for thyself/' This is what the Gospel desires, and for three reasons:

Hearsay Evidence is often erroneous. In this very book of the Acts we find glaring instances of the danger of hearsay. The Church was regarded as an obscure Jewish sect, with some peculiar ideas of "one Jesus." There was a smattering, a second-hand smattering of knowledge; and, unfortunately, we find the same only too prevalent to-day. There is sadly too much second-hand religion, religion gathered only from common report, ordinary conversation, and literary tradition. Very frequently the Bible is condemned without having been read, very often St. Paul's Epistles are criticised without having been studied. It is simply astounding to find error about the Gospel, and even about simple Bible facts, in many whose position and education warrant something vastly different. There is error, because there is no real knowledge; error, because hearsay evidence is so often erroneous. But we may go further and say that

Christian Testimony is only partial. Paul here gives his own testimony, and there can be no pos-

What Is CUristiamty? lb

sible doubt that the well-known change in his life had a great effect on his hearers^ and was a fact they could not get over. His conversion and subsequent life counted for something, and it was as though he said, "I experienced this; deny it, and you say that I lie." St. Paul's character was questioned by any who dared to deny the change. Yet when we have said all that we can for the power of this, it remains true that Christian testimony is only partial and incomplete. While Christians are what they are, with the old Adam still within them, there will always be slips and failures and sins, and I pity the man who takes his Christianity from Christians only. There is no doubt that we Christians ought to show much more of the Christ-life than we do, and may God pardon us for so often being stumbling-blocks instead of stepping-stones. Yet such testimony, however real, can only be partial, and this leads us to say that

Personal Experience is always sure. This was the goal of the Apostle; to this he was trying to lead his hearers; for this purpose he gave his own testimony. He desired Agrippa to test Christianity for himself; not only to hear of Paul's Christ, but to have his own Christ, confident that Agrippa would find Christ what he himself had found Him. The primal necessity is to get our religion direct from Christ, not to ask this man or that man, not to follow this book or that book, but to go direct to the Book of books and find Christ for ourselves. When Nathanael questioned whether any good thing could come out of Nazareth, Philip did not preach, or argue, or denounce; he simply said, "Come and see." This is the only safe test — the test of personal experience. Read His Word for yourselves: see who He is, and what He asks, comply with His demands, surrender the life, and the result will soon be similar to that of the Samaritans: **Now we believe, not because of thy saying, for we have heard Him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world."

CHRISTIANITY HAS SOMETHING TO SAY FOR ITSELF WORTH HEARING

"I beseech thee to hear me." This, too, is what the Gospel asks.

The Gospel of the Resurrection explains the enigmas of life. What the world needs is God; without Him all is confusion. Without God there is no real life, no true happiness, no permanent satisfaction. Without God the past has no assurance, the present no confidence, and the future no hope. Without God man is a creature in the darkness and filth of sin, with nothing but gloom and despair at the end of his days. But bring in

What Is Christianity? 15

the Resurrection of Christ, and all is changed. It reveals God as Saviour, Guide, Strength, All — it enables us to live the present, and to hope steadfastly as to the future. There is light through the Resurrection for the whole life, the light of God's presence, the joy, the peace, the power and preciousness of His presence, and the enigmas of life are solved by the Gospel of the Resurrection.

The Gospel of the Kingdom meets all the difficulties of life. What is the root of all man s troubles.'* Turn to the Garden of Eden for the answer. It was man's desire to be independent. The setting-up of self against God and instead of God — this is the essence of all sin. It means that man will not have God to rule over him, will not acknowledge and obey the law of God; but will have a law of his own as the guide of his life. And so man attempts self-government, 'local self-government" in a very literal sense, and the result is abject, absolute failure. Man has had his opportunity of guiding his own life, and we know full well what has happened in the history of the world.

Take political life as an illustration. There have been several forms of government seen through the ages, but all incomplete and, in themselves alone, really useless. Once autocracy was tried, but found pernicious through tyranny. Then came aristocracy, but this alone was also found

I unsatisfactory. Now some who ridicule aristocracy are trying plutocracy, government by money, but this is proving itself infinitely more dangerous. And others are trying democracy, and we shall see how this fares. It matters not what may be the form, man was never intended to be independent. Democracy alone has in itself the elements of a terrible tyranny, and it is not preaching the politics of earth, but the politics of Heaven, to say that, though there are elements of good in autocracy, aristocracy, plutocracy, and democracy, each and all of these must be guided, held, and controlled by Theocracy, government by God. De Tocqueville well says that **men never so much need to be theocratic as when they are most democratic." What the world needs, what each man needs, is the Absolute Monarchy of the Lord Jesus Christ. Man needs the laws, rules and sanctions of Christ's Kingdom, for these would permanently settle all the difficult problems of individual and social life. Just as the demonstrations in Trafalgar Square, London, England, years ago were settled by an appeal to Crown rights, to the claim of the Crown over that area, so in like manner any difficulties through sin, the "demonstrations'* of sin, individual or corporate, can be quickly settled by claiming and acknowledging the Crovni rights of the Lord Jesus. Only let Christ reign supreme

What Is Christianity? 17

in heart and life, and the difficulties of life are met by the Gospel of the Kingdom.

The Gospel of Pardon satisfies the needs of life. The chief need of man is pardon, freedom from a troubled conscience. The old question, "Canst thou not minister to the mind diseased.'^*' again and again recurs. We have a sense of guilt and unrest, a sense of bondage and weakness, a sense of defilement and separation from God, which nothing can touch. And it is only in the Gospel of pardon that these needs can be satisfied. It is only when Christ says : "Peace, be still," "Come out," that the spirit of evil loses its power; it is only when He reveals Himself that the schism in our nature is healed, and the needs of life satisfied by the Gospel of pardon. These are the reasons why Christianity is worth hearing.

CHRISTIANITY HAS SOMETHING TO SAY FOR ITSELF WORTH HEARING PATIENTLY

"I beseech thee to hear me patiently," said Paul. So says the Gospel. Why.^

It concerns our Highest Interests, It has to do with life here and life hereafter. It claims to touch life at every part, to solve all its problems, to minister to its most important needs. It therefore deserves and demands our most careful at-

18 The Christicm Life

tention^ for if it is all true^ it is terribly true, and no one can reject it without peril.

It speaks to our Whole Nature, Not to the mind only to interest it with mere speculation; not to the heart only to indulge it with mere sentiment; not to the conscience only to frighten and terrify it; not to the imagination only to entrance it with ephemeral visions ; not to the will only to make it headstrong and self-centred; but to the whole nature in every part^ to guarantee a real, complete, and balanced nature and character. And may God help that man who is closing any part of his nature to the Gospel of Christ, who, like Felix, is allowing sin to keep him back, or who, like Festus or Agrippa, is cynically indifferent to it. No one can close mind and heart against Christ with impunity. It is a sad confession of Darwin that, through long usage of his faculties in the direction of physical science, he had lost all taste for music and the fine arts, and had become so far mentally atrophied. And it is terribly true that a man may suffer moral atrophy and spiritual deadness by misuse or disuse of any faculty in relation to the Gospel.

It calls for the use of All our Powers. It asks openness of mind, truthfulness of heart, and loyalty of life. It appeals to us to put away prejudice and preconception, and to listen carefully to what it has to say. It has an A B C first, and then,

What Is Christianity? 19

arising out of that^ higher and fuller knowledge. It asks that the truth may be received with that openness of mind and that willingness to learn which form the basis of all wisdom. Then it asks that the truths accepted by the mind should be yielded to in loving confidence by the hearty and lived out day by day in the conduct.

This Gospel message comes to us now as it came to Agrippa^ asking only a personal test. With courtesy it asks for candor^ patience^ and thoroughness^ and given these^ all the demands of our complex life will be satisfied.

"O, make but trial of His love.

Experience will decide, How blest are they, and only they. Who in His truth confide."

Our defilement will be cleansed by the salvation of the Gospel; our weakness made strong by its grace; our roughness made smooth by its power; our anxiety assured by its reality; our doubt removed by its truth; our tempest calmed by its peace ; our darkness illuminated by its light ; our sorrow alleviated by its comfort; our misery relieved by its joy; our defencelessness surrounded by its protection; our coldness warmed by its love; and our emptiness filled by its fulness. The whole circumference of our need will be forever met and perfectly satisfied in the treasures of the Gospel of the living, present. Divine. glorious Christ. And, therefore, comes now to each one of us the simple message, the old familiar invitation, *'0 taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him."

Chapter II

"But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according- to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." — Titus lii. 4-7.

A PROLONGED correspondence in a daily new'spaper some time ago on **Do We Believe?" was a significant and remarkable sign of the times. The widespread interest as shown by the thousands of letters received by the editor testified to the unrest of the age and its longing for certitude.

"Do we believe?" The answer is^ "Yes, of course we do, for everyone does." It is simple truth to say that there is not a single person in the world who does not believe. Belief is fundamental and essential to human life. The child could not do other than believe its parents; the scholar cannot but believe what his schoolmaster tells him; business life would be impossible without belief, and international affairs are necessarily based on this element of trust. Everywhere, at all times, and by all faith is being exercised. The real question is not, "Do we believe?" but 21

"What do you believe?'* or still better^ ''Whom do we believe?'' Everything depends upon the substance of our faith and the Object of our trust. It is when these questions are asked that differences of opinion and differences of faith emerge. ^

To this way of looking at the subject we must now turn our attention. What do we believe as Christians^ as those who profess and confess the name of Jesus Christ? What is the substance of our faith? What is the meaning of that which we acknowledge as followers of Christ? The answers to these inquiries can be given in many forms. We will however take the above passage, and that a very noteworthy one, from the epistles of the great Apostle Paul in order to answer that question, *'What do we believe?"

The keynote of this passage is evidently the idea of Salvation, for it is mentioned or implied at least four times, and to speak quite briefly it may be said that we Christians believe in Salvation, Salvation, properly understood, is the most glorious fact and reality in the world, and it is the characteristic feature of the Christian religion. It y means, to put it in another way. Safety, and a Safety that concerns man's spiritual life from time to eternity. Let us look more carefully at some aspects of this wonderful revelation of Safetv for mankind. Christians believe in

THE AUTHOR OF SALVATION

He is described in this passage as "God our Saviour^** and we are told very distinctly of four aspects of His Divine character. ,

His Divine Goodness (ver. 4). This is the meaning of the term translated "kindness" in the English version^ and it depicts for us God's character^ that which He is in Himself. The very meaning of the word **God/' according to some authorities^ is "good/* the One Who is perfectly good; faith rests on this as on a sure foundation. We trust in One Who is essential goodness, and herein our minds and hearts are at peace.

His Divine Philanthropy (ver. 4). The word "love" in this passage is quite literally "philanthropy/* or the love of man as man. It is only found in this one passage as descriptive of God, and gives us a beautiful picture of the Divine heart in its attitude towards mankind. Philanthropy is generally associated with man's love to man, but here we find the source and spring of it in God'g love to man simply because he is man.

His Divine Mercy (ver. 5). Mercy is pity to the needy, and here again we have a revelation of God's attitude to man. He knows our need, and in mercy pities us with a Divine compassion and stoops to our aid.

His Divine Grace (ver. 7). Grace is even more than mercy. We may show pity to the needy who are needy through no fault of their own^ but Divine grace means favour to the undeserving^ to those who are brought into misery and wretchedness through their own sin and wickedness.

This fourfold picture of God as the Author of Salvation is the foundation of our faith and the assurance of our trust. Could anything be more solid and substantial^ more real and satisfying than the Christian's trust in such a wonderful God.?*

But this is not all; we must go into particulars and notice our belief in

THE REALITY OF SALVATION

Salvation is Entirely Unmerited, *'Not hy works of righteousness which we have done'* (ver. 5). All through the ages mankind has shown in various ways its need of and longing for salvation and its earnest desire to be right with God^ and yet it is a curious and striking fact that side by side with these intense desires^ man has ever sought to accomplish this end by his own unaided efforts. It was through a desire to be independent of God that man fell, and almost ever since that day man has evinced the same independence of God in trying to get back to the Divine presence. The result has been seen in the various religious systems with their sacrifices, altars, cleansings, gifts, penances, and other human works, but all with no effect, for if man is to win salvation by his works those works must be perfect, and he must keep God's law wholly and absolutely in thought, word, and deed. The impossibility of this is evident when we remember what sin has done for man in affecting every part of his moral being, and preventing him from doing that which is right in the sight of God. If, then, man is to be saved, it must be entirely outside his own merits or deservings and quite apart from any works of his own. It is often pointed out that mankind is divided into two great classes in relation to religion. One class endeavoring to win God's favour by merit or work is really saying, "Something in my hand I bring/' The other class, utterly distrustful of self and human merit, says in penitent trust,

"Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to Thy Cross I cling."

Salvation is Divinely Merciful. "According to His mercy He saved us" (ver. 5). Salvation, if it is to be effectual, must of necessity be Divine. It must be the work of God and no one else. This is the burden of the Christian religion: ''Salvation is of the Lord." "Gbd our Saviour'* is one of the most remarkable titles of the Divine Being, and it is of His mercy alone that salvation has been brought to man. There was nothing in man to merit it or deserve it^ but God of His own mercy came to our rescue and saved us in Christ with an everlasting salvation.

Salvation is Absolutely Complete. **He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost'' (ver. 5). In these words we are told very plainly of the perfection of God's salvation. It starts with regeneration^ the gift of God's new life which accompanies the washing and cleansing of forgiveness^ and then this life issues in daily renovation and renewal. Thus from first to last there is perfect provision for every conceivable circumstance in the gift of Divine life with which our salvation commences^ and in the constant, daily, even momentary renewal of that life by the presence and power of the Holy Ghost.

Salvation is Gloriously Abundant, **Which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour" (ver. 6). God's gifts are always in profusion; as in nature so in grace, there is abundant and overflowing provision. In the Father's house there is ''bread enough and to spare/' and God's salvation is poured out upon us in wealth and abundance, meeting every conceivable need and all possible circumstances in every part of the world. There is salvation from the ignorance of sin through the Divine knowledge, salvation from the guilt of sin through che Divine righteousness^ salvation from the bandage of sin through the Divine redemption, salvation from the defilement of sin through the Divine holiness, salvation from the weakness of sin through the Divine power, salvation from the degradation of sin through the Divine glory, salvation from the enmity of sin through the Divine fellowship, and in the life to come salvation from the very presence of sin as the crown and culmination of God's marvellous provision. Thus we have in this passage the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, the blessed and glorious Trinity, revealed as our Saviour, and offering to everyone the guarantee of a perfect salvation.

Even all this, however, is not sufficient. We have hitherto been considering the facts and glories of Divine revelation in the salvation of man, but it is possible for these facts to remain outside ourselves without coming into contact with our daily life. Hence the need of looking again at the passage of Scripture before us as we express our belief in

THE EXPERIENCE OF SALVATION

How does this Divine salvation come into human life.^ What does it do for us in our personal experience }

28 The Christicm Life

It gives us a New Position, "Being justified by His grace" (ver. 7). Justification means the restoration of that position which man lost through sin. It is the reinstatement, and even more than the reinstatement, in what man possessed before the Fall. It implies the removal of the guilt of sin, the removal of the condemnation of sin, the removal of the separation caused by sin. It is the Divine righteousness covering the sinner, and Divine grace regarding that sinner as righteous in the eyes of God's holy law. Truly this is a new position, the gift of righteousness by grace through faith.

It gives us a New Privilege. '*That being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs" (ver. 7). In our phraseology an "heir" means one who will succeed to an estate after the present owner's death^ but in the New Testament, in connection with spiritual realities, the terms "heir" and "inheritance" include a present experience in part of our glorious heritage. The Apostle Paul could not think of anything higher than this. "If children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ" (Rom. viii. 17). What a glorious privilege is this, to be heirs already enjoying in part the wealth of God's grace and the heritage of His mercy and favour !

It gives us a New Possession. "Eternal life" (ver. 7). Eternal life in connection with the

Christian religion means the personal experience of God (John xvii. 3), and the present possession of His Divine life (John v. 24). Life is not measured by duration but by quality, and this eternal life is even now the possession of all the children of God.

It gives us a New Prospect, "Heirs according to the hope of eternal life" (ver. 7). Hope, in the New Testament, is always associated with the great future connected with the Lord's Coming. Again and again, indeed no less than three hundred times, is the "blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour," brought before us as the expectation of the Christian, and the crown of all his aspirations and endeavours. This, and this only is the prospect set out by the Christian religion. We look forward with joy and satisfaction to the time when we shall see Him as He is, and be made like unto Him in His eternal and glorious kingdom.

This, then, is what Christians believe, and, even more, this is the substance of our faith in Him whom we believe. There is a world of difference between believing facts and trusting a person. Facts are, of course, necessary, but it is possible to believe in facts about God without believing in God Himself. These facts of the Christian religion, the facts concerning salvation, only become vital and real as our faith is exercised in the Person of God Himself^ personal trust in a personal Saviour.