New Testament theology...

Front matter

INUEFJflNDKNT Oh\ AND UNFETTERED BY

THE TRADITIONS OF MEN,

COPYRIGHT, 1883.

Preface

V the God in whom we have believed. Thus the reader may readily see the importance of truly representing God as He is , or, in other words, representing God's nature as it is. This, according to the ability given him, the author has endeavored to do.

Again, if, like Abraham, we are the friends of God, which every true Christian is, we are jealous of God's reputation, and will not quietly see that reputation defamed before men by a misrepresentation of His nature. Please notice the last phrase, for it is by a false representation of God's nature that his character is defamed before men. For every one's true character is dependent, or based upon, his OAvn intrinsic merits or qualities.

It may be said, that it is every person's privilege to either read, or not read a book. But when one decides to read a book in which points are taken, or propositions made, the reader, as he peruses the work, should decide whether each point is well made, and each proposition is well established, as the subsequent point, or proposition, may turn upon that next preceding it. This, the reader is respectfully requested to do as he peruses this volume ; for he will certainly find points in it. And the reader is especially requested to impartially decide, whether such points and propositions are, or are not, clearly sustained by the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ and those of his apostles. In fact, this volume cannot be read profitably, and with interest, it any other manner.

Let the reader be assured, that he will not find vi

PREFACE.

this volume a rehash of sectarian religious teachings, with which the religious productions of this day so fully abound, and which present no new thoughts, ideas, or principles to the lover and seeker of religious truth. But he will here find positions fearlessly taken, and fully sustained by the word of God ; and, as expressed in the Title, independent of, and unfettered by the traditions of men.

It is folly to deny that the whole Christian church, with but here and there an exception, is wrapped up in sectarianism, and consequently, led by sectarian influence and teachings; and especially is this the case with the religious teachers of the sects. Thus it follows, that when a believer, who is really free in Christ, commences reading some late religious work, he soon discovers that the author is bound by, or to something which deprives him of freedom ; and reading on, he perceives that the author is fast tethered to some religious dogma, or creed outside of the Bible, and that he is continually travelling within a circle, which is measured by the diameter of his creed, and that the semi-diameter of the circle is the cord that binds him. The reader will please pardon the expression, that the condition of such a religious writer, or teacher, may be very properly illustrated by a calf tethered in a field where luxuriant feed abounds, yet the poor animal can only reach the soiled and closely clipped grass within the sweep of his tethering rope. But it is cheerfully admitted that he excels in two respects : first, he knows that he is bound ; second, he perceives that there is far better feed outside of his circle, than within it.

PEEFACE.

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Jesus says, " I am the door ; by me if any man enter, he shall be saved ; and he shall go in, and go out, and find pasture " — that is, an abundance of food. Does not the reader perceive that the words, " shall go in and out," show freedom of both thought and action? And this freedom all those who are truly free in Christ, may rightly claim and exercise, and will not be tethered; but such have the entire range of the "green pastures" of the Scripture. Psa. 23 : 2. Therefore, with Paul we say, that we will not submit, " no, not for an hour," to any who would "bring us into bondage;" but we will affectionately and boldly exercise our liberty in Christ Jesus our Lord, that the truth of the gospel may prevail, and God be glorified. See Gal. 2 : 4, 5. Such the reader will find the spirit of this volume to be — a determined contest for " the faith once delivered to the saints." In it, and everywhere, and always, the author takes the teachings of Jesus and of the apostles as the groundwork of his faith, and the Holy Spirit as his guide "into all truth;" and furthermore, claims that privilege for all believers, and also sets forth the conditions upon which we may have Jesus as our Teacher, through the operations of the Holy Spirit.

And various erroneous renderings of Greek words and phrases in both Versions of the Testament, and especially in the old Version, are corrected; and also some rendered differently in the two Versions, are compared with each other to aid the reader in acquiring the truth, as no person can truly under-

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PREFACE.

stand what the authors intended to teach, without the true meaning of the language used by them.

Also the literal truths of the Bible are treated as such, and so are the spiritual ones, and the tendency of the times to spiritualize away, or to invalidate the truth by figures and metaphors, has been avoided.

And to the Church of our glorified Redeemer is this volume dedicated. And the question, whether a second volume shall follow this, is cheerfully left to our Heavenly Father's good pleasure.

Boston, Mass., A. D. 1883.

PAGE

Adam — his nature, .... 75-85 His penalty, natural, not spiritual

death, . . . . 85 Aco)v, age, a man's life-time, etc.,

Abuse of, in its translation, . 255 Koofio^ substituted in its place, . 256 The cause of it, . . . 260

Used in the plural, ... 258 Two eternities the result of false rendering, .... 259 Shown by Jesus' teachings to express limited time, . . 257-8 Distinction between end of the age

and end of the world, . . 294 Accdvcoq— its true meaning, . 255-263, 283-285 Absurd result of its false rendering, 259 Cause of it, .... 260 Annihilation, .... 392

Apostles, their election, . . . 121

Their creed, .... 98 Baptism of Fire, .... 191-211 Bastards, and not Sons, . . . 205

Begotten — distinction between begotten,

and born of the Spirit, . 195-205

X

Table Of Contents

Bride of Christ — her relation to the rest of

Shall judge the world, 206, 321-6, 264 Not judged with the world, 263-6, 321-8 Glorified and revealed, . . 141 For what purpose, . 142-145, 347-370 Calvinism — See Westminster Confession. Children the heritage of the Lord. Psa.

127 : 3, . . . 374

Chapter II

THE VALUE OF THE TRUTH, AND THE TERMS UPON WHICH WE MAY HAVE IT.

•SjtT would really seem that the mass of Christians jl care but little to understand any more of God's Jg word, than what is needed in order to be saved ; or, in ordinary language, " get to heaven," and especially to keep out of hell — and the latter is a very important consideration. But Christians don't seem to realize, that the more they love the truth as it is in Christ, and consequently seek for it, and obey it, the better they will be fitted for heaven and unfitted for hell ; for it is a fact, that in the great and last day we will all go to our own, or our like — Indeed, that is the case here on earth — the good with the good — drunkards with drunkards — thieves with thieves — gamblers with gamblers, etc. Jesus prays, in his prayer for his followers, John 17 : 17, that we may all be sanctified by, or through the truth ; and we are told by one of his apostles, that we are sanctified by obeying the truth — And we are also told, Heb. 6 : 1, 2, to leave the first principles of the doctrines of Christ, such as those of baptism, laying on

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of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment, and go on to perfection — and the apostle adds, " And this will we do, if God permit." Now the doctrine of Christ is the gospel, and the gospel is the truth, which is composed of principles, and those truth-principles are full of sanctifying power, which is perfecting power ; and consequently, none of those principles are valueless, but of great value, each in its proper order and place ; and thus each should be desired and sought for by all believers. Each gospel truth has its office to fill in perfecting and preparing a man for the position which God would have him fill in His church and kingdom — yet the mass of professing Christians only desire the first principles of the gospel of Christ, and seek not the higher principles, which are really the pearls of the gospel, and thus are distinguished from the first principles, which Paul tells us to leave, not forget, such as baptism, laying on of hands, etc., and constitute the real pearls which J esus meant, when he said to his disciples, — " Cast not your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you." For there are indeed some swinish professors, I fear ; and as the apostles spoke of such in their day, we have no reason to question their existence at the present time.

Jesus says of the true spiritual church, — " Ye are the light of the world, and the salt of the earth." But he adds, " But if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it," (the earth, or rather the people of the earth), "be salted? it is thenceforth good for

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nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot by men." Now this is always the case when the church loses her spiritual life and power ; and she always loses that life and power when she loses the truth. And she loses the truth, when she loses her love for it ; for when we cease to love the truth, then we cease to seek for it ; as a man seeks what he loves or desires most. If I should say to some of you who profess to desire heaven more than all else, that it is not so, you might consider me impudent, or at least, very much mistaken ; but if you are really sincere, then why do you not seek heaven by the way of the cross, which is the way, and the only way taught by the Lord Jesus ?

First, I will ask, is it necessary, in order to inherit heaven, to become a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ? To this question, you will reply, yes; that is, if you even posssess but a small share of Christian intelligence. A disciple signifies a learner, or pupil, and consequently, if you are Jesus' disciple, then Jesus is your teacher. But Jesus prescribes certain terms, or conditions, upon which you may be admitted to his school, and upon which you may remain there ; for we must continue to comply with these conditions, as one can readily perceive from Christ's own words, if he will, or be expelled. Jesus gives the conditions of discipleship as follows : " Whoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me cannot be my disciple." And then after illustrating his declaration by the case of a man attempting to build a tower without first estimating the cost, &c, he

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acids : " So therefore, whosoever there be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple" — that is, he cannot be taught by me, or learn of me." Please read from Luke, verses 25 to 35, chapter 14. And in Luke 9 : 62, Jesus tells us, that " No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." And as he tells us in Luke 14 : 26, that we are to comparatively hate this present life, or every thing connected with, it which in any manner conflicts with our devotion to God, in order to have him as our teacher, and thus learn of him, it follows that we must turn our backs upon every thing in this life, however lovely or attractive ; and furthermore, that we must not afterwards be looking back to them. These are the terms of admission and of continuance in the school of Christ. And this agrees with the words of Jesus in John 12 : 24-26. " Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth by itself and alone ; but if it die, it beareth much fruit. He that loveth his life loseth it, and he that hateth his life in this world, shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me let him follow me ; and where I am there shall also my servant be. If any man serve me, him will my Father honor." Now we know that a grain of wheat never produces any thing until it dies ; neither do professors of religion till they are dead to the world. Until that time they are not taught by Jesus through the operations of the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, Jesus promised to send to

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guide us into all truth ; and it is by the presence and operations of the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus calls the Comforter, that Jesus is always, and will be always present with those who truly love him, teaching and guiding them even unto the end of the age, or present dispensation. Matt. 28 : 20. John 16 : 7, 12-15 ; 14 : 26.

For a number of years I have been accustomed to say, that if any one wished to progress in the knowledge of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, he must have an honest heart towards God. And that kind of a heart is one where the resolution is formed and established to seek, know, do and suffer the will of God. And if one is truly sincere in this resolution, and strives to keep it, although he may, through the weakness of the flesh, stumble and even fall at first, as does the natural infant when first trying to walk, God, our heavenly Father, will readily forgive him, if he truly repent, and confess his sins. — 1 John 1 : 9. Yes, God forgives with a love as much greater than a mother's love, as He is greater than we. In truth, God is the source of a mother's love, and of all other true affection. And here, I would say to the unconverted man and woman, please give the last idea its proper place in your mind, and it may tend to draw you towards the source of true love, as you are delighting in the love of your little child, or as your mind reverts back to the disinterested love of your mother, whom perhaps, you expect to see no more on the shores of time. For as Paul tells us, Acts 17 : 28, 29, we are God's offspring, and he loves

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us ; and don't let any one make you believe, (neither man, or devil), that God loves you less, because he gave his first born Son to redeem you from death ; but speedily avail yourself of so great a salvation.

But in order to have and retain an honest heart towards God, we must proceed in the manner pointed out by his Son and his apostles — First, we have to humble ourselves before God our Creator, as does a dutiful little child before its natural parent, and remain humble, according to the words of our Saviour to the adults about him : " Verily I say unto you, Except ye turn and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever, therefore, shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."— Matt. 18 : 2, 3, 4, 10. Again, in Mark 10 : 15, He says : " Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall in no wise enter therein." So the sooner we feel our utter dependence upon God for every good thing, both spiritual and temporal, as a little child feels its dependence upon an earthly parent, the better it is for us. But lest Satan should get an idea in here to the effect that in humbling yourself before God, you would also do so before men, suffer me to say that such is not the case. Behold Peter and the other apostles when arraigned before the council, governors and kings, — they treated such rulers with the respect due to their position, and nothing more. When asked, " By what power, or in what name have ye done this ? " Peter, filled

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with the Holy Ghost, said to the Council : " Ye rulers of the people and elders of Israel, if we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole, be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at naught of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other ; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." — Acts 4 : 9-12. And when one is filled with the Holy Spirit as was Peter at that time, we see in him a safe example to follow, and a correct illustration of the influence of the Christian religion. But we cannot humble ourselves too deeply before God, as the following declarations of Jesus and his apostles plainly indicate. And we should particularly notice that Jesus himself has set us an example for our imitation.

First we hear Jesus saying, " Take my yoke upon you and learn of me ; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest to your souls. — Matt. 11 : 28, 29/ And in Matt. 23 : 8-12— « Be not ye called Rabbi ; for one is your master, even Christ ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth ; for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters ; for one is your master, even Christ. * But he that is greatest among you, shall be your servant. And whosoever

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shall exalt himself, shall be abased ; and he that shall humble himself, shall be exalted." Let all who have D.D. attached to their names observe what the Lord says in regard to being called, or calling others Rabbi ; for Doctor of Divinity is the same, or answers to Rabbi, — and let the Roman priesthood notice that Jesus forbids our being called father, and gives us the reason for observing this injunction, as he also does the other. Now hear Peter — 1 Pet. 5 : 5-7, — " Yea, all of you gird yourselves with humility to serve one another ; for God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time." — And James says, — " God resists the proud, but giveth grace to the humble." — James 4 : 6. — And the whole ten6r of the gospel of Christ is, that the road of exaltation is the path of humility before God, but not before man, as the adversary would have you believe ; for he always seeks to make the path to salvation and true glory as objectionable to man as possible. But resist Satan properly, and he will flee from you , but don't think he won't return, or you will be taken by surprise, and be roughly handled. Now it is nothing more than reasonable, that we, who are privileged, by the loving favor of God our Creator, to become the recipients of his glory, should tread the path that our Saviour trod, and lead the life that he led, and suffer as he suffered, and seek our happiness where, and as he sought his, to the extent of our ability, and according to the will of God, and consequently ac-

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cording to the teachings of the gospel of our Lord and Redeemer. And that you may have some conception of the Saviour's course and extreme humility, read the following — Phil. 2 : 5-8, — " Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus ; who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God : but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men : and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Think you that it was no cross for the Saviour to abandon the glory that he enjoyed with the Father before the world existed, and endure persecution and privation and death in place thereof ? For Jesus mentions the glory that he had with the Father, in the 17th chapter of John, verses 5 and 24, in his prayer for his disciples. Therefore Paul says to Christians, in the Phil. 1 : 29, — " Because to you it hath been granted, in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer in his behalf." Of course, this means when suffering comes in the path of duty. But we are to leave all that with God to order in harmony with his infinite love and wisdom ; and not shrink from duty by reason of fear. Now, reader, whether you are a professor of religion or not, do you now resolve to give up all, or do you now give yourselves, including the anticipated, and also the present pleasures and happiness of this life ? and the sources thereof, as you have viewed them, to God, trusting to him to measure out to you dur-

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ing this short life, such joy and happiness as he, in his infinite wisdom, love and power, thinks best to bestow ? Before pressing a reply to the question, I will first offer some suggestions to aid your faith.

1st. That whether we do, or do not consent, or yield to God's will, yet He has us entirely under his control, soul, mind, body and spirit ; and having made us, and thus perfectly comprehending our whole physical, mental and moral system, he can make us think and do, believe and disbelieve, to love and hate when and as He wills. Thus it follows, that operating upon, or in other words working our minds which he has made, as a man would run a machine which he has constructed, God can make us think that our performance of certain acts, would contribute very much to our success and happiness, while the same would produce an opposite result.

2nd. That God has not only this planet and all its sources of happiness to us wholly under his control and at his disposal, but also those of the entire universe, to be bestowed upon whom he will, and to be withheld from those whom he deems unworthy.

Thus it follows that, at any time he wishes, our heavenly Father can seal up all the well-springs of onr happiness, or any number of them, and open them again at his pleasure. Therefore, it follows that we are utterly dependent upon the great Author of our existence, not only for that existence, but also for all the happiness accompanying it ; and that God is the infinite reservoir of all our happiness both in this transitory life and in the life to come. And it is

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of the greatest importance to us that we perceive with all possible clearness of vision, that every creature and thing which, by man, are generally considered sources of happiness, are only channels, by which happiness reaches us from the infinite author of every good. Now, if any man believes there is a God, and furthermore, believes that God is the creator of the universe, how can he deny the correctness of the foregoing propositions ? For it does not matter one jot whether God created the universe, or the world, in its present form, within any particular period of time, or not ; or whether he put it in the process of creation, and left evolution, so called, to effect the balance of the work. For Omniscience knew what the result would be, and also what it will hereafter be, far better than the most skillful chemist can anticipate what may be the result of any chemical combination of his own ; as such combination is frequently subject to some unexpected influence ; while the great Creator not only knows beforehand, but controls all influences. Therefore, with him there are no contingencies. The Bible tells us that God is love : and furthermore, " That as a father pitieth his child, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him." But God in a far greater degree loves those who love him. And if we love Jesus, his Son, then we love God, and God especially loves us. And Jesus gives us the test in regard to whether we love him as follows: " He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, lie it is that loveth me ; and he that loveth me, shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and

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manifest myself unto him." — John 14 : 21. In this one verse we are taught two things of the very greatest importance. First, that if we keep the commandments of Jesus, then we love him. Second, that if we love Jesus, then God especially loves us. And again Jesus says, John 16 : 27, " For the Father himself loveth you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I came forth from the Father." And in Rom. 8 : 28, we are told that " all things work together for good to them who love God." Mark, there is no such promise to them who don't. And that Jesus loves his followers is abundantly evidenced by his words to Paul, or Saul, when he struck him to the earth on his way to Damascus, — for Jesus says to him, " Saul Saul, why persecutest thou me ? " showing that the true followers of Jesus are one with himself ; and of this fact, there is an abundance of proof elsewhere. But remember that Jesus says, Matt. 11 : 37-39, " He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me ; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me. And he that doth not take his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me. He that flndeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake, shall find it." And in Luke 14 : 33, " So therefore, whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple." And in John 8 : 12, " I am the light of the world ; he that followeth me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life." Please notice the words, " light of life." That is what we need ; and we can only

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have it by complying with the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. And if we are without that light, we fall and perish. And Jesus tells us that if we seek to climb up to heaven by any other way than that which he points out, we shall be treated as thieves and robbers. In Matt. 6 : 24, he tells us that we cannot serve God and mammon ; and I really fear that a very large proportion of professing Christians, are endeavoring to do that very thing, and consequently they are full of darkness.

Having presented to you the foregoing truths and words of encouragement, I now, in substance, repeat the question, Do you now yield yourself and whatever you now have, and whatover you may have and be in this life, to God your Creator, to be ordered, directed and disposed of in harmony with his will ? And this question is for some believers as well as others. And may our heavenly Father enable you to decide in the affirmative.

Chapter III. The Nature And Character Of God

J SHALL now say a few words in regard to the nature and character of God, — and first, suffer me to say, in all kindness, that the nature and character of God, for centuries, have been misrepresented by very many religious teachers, who have viewed him according to their religious education, and have described him in accordance with that view. And although such teachers have read to their hearers from the Bible, that God is love, yet they have so explained that Bible, and especially the gospel of Jesus, that they have caused their hearers to feel and believe, that our heavenly Father was, in a very great degree, of an opposite character ; and as a very natural result, have greatly impaired man's confidence, or faith, in God, which faith and confidence Jesus ever labored to confirm, both by word and act ; such as healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and exhorting his disciples to trust our heavenly Father to supply even their temporal wants ; saying, " Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of these things." Telling them that even the