It must be evident to all who pay close attention
to the spiritual conditions of our day that there is being made at this time a
very determined and widespread effort to set aside entirely the authority of
the Bible. Let us note that one of the unique characteristics of that Book is
that it claims the right to control the actions of men. It speaks "as one
having authority.” It assumes, and in the most peremptory and uncompromising
way, to rebuke men for misconduct, and to tell them what they shall do and what
they shall not do. It speaks to men, not as from the human plane, or even from
the standpoint of superior human wisdom and morality; but as from a plane far
above the highest human level, and as with a wisdom which admits of no question
or dispute from men. It demands throughout unqualified submission.
But this assumption of control over men is a direct
obstacle to the democratic spirit of the times, which brooks no authority
higher than that of "the people,” that is to say, of Man himself. To establish
and to make universal the principles of pure democracy is the object, whether
consciously or unconsciously, of the great thought-movements of our era; and
the essence and marrow of democracy is the supreme authority of Man. Hence the conflict
with the Bible.
Not only is the Bible, with its peremptory
assertion of supremacy and control over mankind, directly counter to the
democratic movement, but it is now the only real obstacle to the complete
independence of humanity (Copyrighted by the Fleming H. Revell Company, and published
herewith by permission). If only the authority of the Scriptures is gotten rid
of, mankind will have attained the long-coveted state of absolute independence,
which is equivalent to utter lawlessness.
The state of ideal democracy would be accurately
described as "lawlessness,” since it is manifest that an individual or a
society which is under no restraint except such as is self-imposed, is really
under no restraint at all. To attain this ideal state is the end and purpose of
present day movements; and, in order to promote these movements, that mighty
spiritual intelligence who is designated "the spirit that now works in the
children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2) very wisely, and with consummate
subtlety, directs the attack, from many different quarters, against the
authority of the Bible.
The great mass of men, including the majority of
the leaders of the age, are already completely absorbed in the activities of
the world and utterly indifferent to the claims of the Bible. As to these, it
is only necessary to take care that they are not aroused from their
indifference. But the Bible nevertheless, by reason of its hold upon the
consciences of the few, exerts, upon society as a whole, a mighty restraining
influence, against which the assaults of the enemies of truth are now being
directed.
In some quarters the authority of the Bible is
directly assailed and its Divine origin disputed in the name of "Science” and
of "Scholarship.” Much of the learning and theological activity of the day are
concentrated upon the attempt to discredit the Bible, and to disseminate views
and theories directly at variance with its claims of divine inspiration and
authority.
In other quarters the attack takes the form of a
pretense of conceding the inspiration of the Bible, coupled with the claim that
other writers and other great literary works were equally inspired. "God is not
limited,” we are told, "and can speak to man, and does speak to man, in our
day, in like manner as in the days of Moses, Isaiah, or Paul.” Manifestly it
makes practically no difference whether the Bible be dragged down to the level
of other books, or other books be exalted to the level of the Bible. The result
is the Same in both cases; namely, that the unique authority of the Bible is
set aside. But even in quarters where the Divine origin of the Bible is fully
recognized, the enemy is actively at work with a view to weakening its
influence. There is much teaching abroad (heard usually in connection with
certain spiritual manifestations which have become quite common of late) to the
effect that those who have the Spirit dwelling in them, and speaking directly
to and through them, are independent of the Word of God. This is the form which
the idea of a continuing revelation takes in quarters where a direct attack on
the authority of Scripture would fail. But the result is the same.
In such a state of things it is manifestly of the
very highest importance to insist unceasingly upon the sufficiency, finality
and completeness of the Revelation given by God in His Word. With the desire to
serve this purpose, even though it be in a very small degree, these pages are
written. It would be, however, a task far beyond the capacity of the writer to
present all the unique characteristics of the Bible, whereby it is so
distinguished from other books that it occupies a class by itself. The writer
has, therefore, singled out for consideration one special attribute or
characteristic of the Holy Scriptures; namely, that signified by the word
"living." If one is able to apprehend, however feebly, the tremendous fact
that the Word of God is a LIVING Word, such knowledge will go far towards
affording him protection from what is perhaps the greatest danger of these
"perilous times.”
1. THE INCARNATE WORD, AND THE WRITTEN WORD:
BOTH ARE "LIVING”
Of the many statements which the Bible makes
concerning the Word of God, none is more significant, and surely none is of
greater importance to dying men, than the statement that the Word of God is a
LIVING Word. In Philippians 2:16 we have the expression, "The Word of Life.”
The same expression occurs in 1 John 1:1. It is here used of Jesus Christ, the
Incarnate Word, whereas in Philippians it is apparently the Written Word that
is spoken of. The Written Word and the Incarnate Word are so identified in
Scripture that it is not always clear which is referred to. The same things are
said of each, and the same characters attributed to each.
The fundamental resemblance lies in the fact that
each is the revealer or tangible expression of the Invisible God. As the
written or spoken word expresses, for the purpose of communicating to another,
the invisible and inaccessible thought, so Jesus Christ as the Incarnate Word,
and the Holy Scriptures as the Written Word, express and communicate knowledge
of the invisible and inaccessible God. "He that hath seen Me hath seen the
Father.” "Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me” (John
14:9,11).
In Hebrews 4:12 we find the statement that "The
Word of God is LIVING and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword”
(R.V.). Clearly this refers to the Written Word. But the very next verse,
without any change of subject, directs our attention to the Searcher of hearts
(Revelation 2:23), saying, "Neither is there any creature that is not manifest
in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with
whom we have to do.” Again in 1 Peter 1:23 we read of "the Word of God which
liveth,” or more literally, "the Word of God living.” Here again there might be
uncertainty as to whether the Incarnate Word or the Written Word be meant; but
it is generally understood that the latter is in view, and the quotation from
Isaiah 40:6-8 would confirm this idea. From these passages we learn that the
Word of God is spoken of as a "living” Word. This is a very remarkable
statement, and is worthy of our closest examination and most earnest
consideration. Why is the Word of God thus spoken of? Why is the extraordinary
property of LIFE, or vitality, attributed to it? In what respects can it be
said to be a living Word?
But the expression "living,” as applied to the Word
of God, manifestly means something more than partaking of the kind of life with
which we are acquainted from observation. God speaks of Himself as the "Living
God.” The Lord Jesus is the "Prince of Life.” (Acts 3:15). He announced Himself
to John in the vision of Patmos as "He that
liveth.” Eternal life is in Him. (1 John 5:11).
It is clear, then, that when we read, "The Word of
God is living,” we are to understand thereby that it lives with a spiritual, an
inexhaustible, an inextinguishable, in a word a divine, life. If the Word of
God be indeed living in this sense, then we have here a fact of the most
tremendous significance. In the world around us the beings and things which we
call "living” may just as appropriately be spoken of as "dying.” What we call
"the land of the living” might better be described as the land of the dying.
Wherever we look we see that death is in possession, and is working according
to its invariable method of corruption and decay. Death is the real monarch of
this world, and we meet at every turn the gruesome evidence and results of the
universal sway of him who has "the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews
2:14). "Death reigned” (Romans 5:17), and still reigns over everything. The
mighty and awful power of death has made this earth of ours a great burying
ground a gigantic cemetery.
Can it be that there is an exception to this
apparently universal rule? Is there, indeed, in this world of dying beings,
where the forces of corruption fasten immediately upon everything into which
life has entered, and upon all the works of so-called living creatures, one
object which is really LIVING, an object upon which corruption cannot fasten
itself, and which resists and defies all the power of death? Such is the
assertion of the passages of Scripture which we have quoted. Surely, then, if
these statements be true, we have here the most astounding phenomenon in all
the accessible universe; and it will be well worth while to investigate an
object of which so startling an assertion is seriously, if very unobtrusively,
made.
Before we proceed with our inquiry let us note one
of many points of resemblance between the Incarnate Word and the Written Word.
When "the Word was made flesh and dwelt [tabernacled] among us” (John 1:14),
there was nothing in His appearance to manifest His Deity, or to show that "in
Him was life” (John 1:4). That fact was demonstrated, not by His blameless and
unselfish behavior, nor by His incomparable teachings and discourses, but by
His resurrection from the dead. The only power which is greater than that of
death is the power of life. He had, and exercised, that power, and holds now
the keys of death and of hades. (Revelation 1:18, R. V.)
Similarly, there is nothing in the appearance and
behavior (so to speak) of the Bible to show that it has a characteristic, even
divine life, which other books have not. It bears the same resemblance to other
writings that Jesus, the son of Mary, bore to other men. It is given in human
language just as He came in human flesh. Yet there is between it and all other
books the same difference as between Him and all other men, namely, the
difference between the living and the dying. "The word of God is living.” It
will require, therefore, something more than a hasty glance or a casual
inspection to discern this wonderful difference; but the difference is there,
and with diligence and attention we may discover some clear indications of it.
2. NO DEFINITIONS OF LIFE
Man’s wisdom and learning are incapable of
furnishing a definition of life. The attempts of the wisest and most learned to
furnish such a definition only serve to exhibit the futility of the attempt.
Herbert Spencer, who has made the most ambitious attempt of modern times to
explain the visible universe, gives this as the result of his best efforts to
define life: "Life is the continuous adjustment of internal relations to
external relations.”
This definition manifestly stands as much in need
of explanation as that which it purports to explain. But it will Serve at least
to remind us that the wisdom of men is foolishness with God. Another eminent
man of science defined life as "the twofold internal movement of composition
and decomposition, at once general and continuous.” These modern definitions
are scarcely an improvement upon that of Aristotle, who defined life as "the
assemblage of the operations of nutrition, growth, and destruction.”
What a marvelous thing is life, and how far it
transcends the comprehension of man, since his best efforts to define it give
results so ridiculously inadequate! The ignorance of scientific men on this
subject is frankly confessed by Alfred Russell Wallace, who in one of his
latest books, "Man’s Place in the Universe,” says, "Most people give scientific
men credit for much greater knowledge than they possess in these matters.” And
again: "As to the deeper problems of life, and growth, and reproduction, though
our physiologists have learned an infinite amount of curious and instructive
facts, they can give us no intelligible explanation of them.”
But, if none of us can say what life is, we can all
distinguish between that which is living (even in the ordinary sense of the
word) and that which is not living; and our best idea of the meaning of life is
obtained by comparing that which has life (whether animal or vegetable) with
that which has not life, as minerals, or any non-living matter. We know that
between the two there is a great gulf, which only divine power can span; for it
is only the living God who can impart life to that which is lifeless.
We look then at the Written Word of God to see if
it manifests characteristics which are found only in living things, and to see
if it exhibits, not merely the possession of life of the perishable and
corruptible sort with which we are so familiar by observation, and which is in
each of us, but life of a different order, imperishable and incorruptible.
3. PERENNIAL FRESHNESS
The Bible differs radically from all other books in
its perpetual freshness. This characteristic will be recognized only by those
who know the Book in that intimate way which comes from living with it, as with
a member of one’s family. I mention it first because it was one of the first
unique properties of the Bible which impressed me after I began to read it as a
believer in Christ. It is a very remarkable fact that the Bible never becomes
exhausted, never acquires sameness, never diminishes in its power of
responsiveness to the quickened soul who comes to it. The most familiar
passages yield as much (if not more) refreshment at the thousandth perusal, as
at the first. It is indeed as a fountain of living water. The fountain is the
same, but the water is always fresh, and always refreshing. We can compare this
to nothing but what we find in a living companion, whom we love and to whom we
go for help and fellowship. The person is always the same, and yet without
sameness. New conditions evoke new responses; and so it is with the Bible. As a
living Book it adapts itself to the new phases of our experience and the new
conditions in which we find ourselves. From the most familiar passage there
comes again and again a new message; just as our most familiar friend or
companion will have something new to say, as changed conditions and new
situations require it from time to time.
This is true of no other book. What man’s book has
to say we can get the first time; and the exceptions arise merely from lack of
clearness on the writer’s part, or lack of apprehension on the part of the
reader. Man can touch only the surface of things, and he cares only about
surface appearances. So, in all his writings, whatever substance they contain
lies on the surface, and can be gathered by a capable reader at once. If the
Word of God may be compared in this particular to a living person, the books of
men may be compared to pictures or statues of living persons. However
beautifully or artistically executed, a single view may readily exhaust the
latter, and a second and third look will be mere repetitions. The difference is
that which exists between the living and the dead. The Word of God is LIVING.
But while the Bible resembles in this important
respect a living person, who is our familiar, sympathetic, and responsive
companion, it differs from such a human companion in that the counsel, comfort,
and support it furnishes are far above and beyond what any human being can
supply; and the only explanation of this is that the source of its life and
powers is not human, but Divine.
4. THE BIBLE DOES NOT BECOME OBSOLETE
One of the most prominent characteristics of books
written by men for the purpose of imparting information and instruction is that
they very quickly become obsolete, and must be cast aside and replaced by
others. This is particularly true of books on science, text-books, school-books
and the like. Indeed it is a matter of boasting (though it would be hard to
explain why) that "progress” is so rapid in all departments of learning as to
render the scientific books of one generation almost worthless to the next.
Changes in human knowledge, thought and opinion
occur so swiftly, that books, which were the standards yesterday, are set aside
today for others, which in turn will be discarded for yet other "authorities”
tomorrow. In fact, every book which is written for a serious purpose begins to
become obsolete before the ink is dry on the page. This may be made the
occasion of boasting of the great progress of humanity, and of the wonderful
advances of "science;” but the true significance of the fact is that man’s
books are all, like himself, dying creatures.
The Bible, on the other hand, although it treats of
the greatest and most serious of all subjects, such as God, Christ, eternity,
life, death, sin, righteousness, judgment, redemption is always the latest,
best, and only authority on all these and other weighty matters whereof it
treats. Centuries of "progress” and "advancement” have added absolutely nothing
to the sum of knowledge on any of these subjects. The Bible is always fresh and
thoroughly "up to date.” Indeed it is far, far ahead of human science. Progress
cannot overtake it, or get beyond it. Generation succeeds generation, but each
finds the Bible waiting for it with its ever fresh and never failing stores of
information touching matters of the highest concern, touching everything that
affects the welfare of human beings.
5. SCIENCE AND THE BIBLE
Human teachers and teachings have, indeed,
frequently set themselves in opposition to some of the statements of the Bible;
and it has often been announced, upon human authority, that errors in history
and in matters of science have been detected in the Bible. Some, indeed, have
endeavored to save the reputation and authority of the Bible by saying that it
was not written to teach men "science.” In a sense this is true. The Bible was
not written to impart that kind of knowledge which "puffeth up,” but just the
contrary. It was written to impart that kind of information which takes man
down by showing him his true position as a ruined, perishing creature, under
the condemnation and power of death, and utterly "without strength,” that is to
say, incapable of doing anything to deliver himself out of this deplorable
condition, It declares that, "if any man think that he knoweth anything, he
knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know” (1 Corinthians 8:2).
Such is the plain declaration of Scripture as to
the limitations of all human knowledge; and he who knows the most is most
conscious of these limitations. But if, by the statement that the Bible was not
written to teach "science,” it be meant that the Bible is unscientific, that
statement is not true. On the contrary, the Bible is the only book in the world
that is truly "scientific;” for it is the only book which gives precise, accurate
and absolutely reliable information upon every subject whereof it treats. It is
the only book in the world upon every statement of which one may safely put
implicit confidence. Countless millions have believed the statements of the
Word of God, every one of them to his unspeakable advantage, not one of them to
his hurt.
We used to hear a great deal, some thirty years
ago, about the many "mistakes of Moses,” and the errors which "science,” with
her keen eye, had detected in the Scriptures. But we hear very little today
from scientists themselves about the "conflicts between science and religion.”
These conflicts have, one by one, ceased, as "science” has revised her hasty
conclusions and corrected her blunders. The writer has been a diligent student
of the physical sciences and of the philosophies based on them, for upwards of
twenty-five years, and a practicing lawyer for a still longer period, and
having now acquired a fair knowledge of the text of Scripture, he can say that
he is aware of no demonstrated fact of science which is in conflict with a
single statement of the Bible. Among all the "assured results of science” there
exists not, to his knowledge, evidence sufficient in character and amount to
convict the Bible of a single error or misstatement. Of course, such evidence
could not exist. The Lord Jesus said of the Word of God, "Thy Word is truth”
(John 17:17); and of course, true knowledge of God’s creation cannot conflict
with His Word.
A recent book by Alfred Russel Wallace entitled,
"Man’s Place in the Universe” (1904), furnishes a striking illustration, on a
large scale, of the way in which "science,” after leading the thought of
cultured and highly educated minds away from the truth revealed by Scripture,
sometimes leads it back again. The reading of Scripture undoubtedly gives, and
was clearly intended to give, the impression that the earth is the center of
interest in the universe, and the object of the Creator’s special care; that it
was fitted with elaborate pains to be the habitation of living creatures, and
especially of man; and that the sun, moon and stars were created with special
reference to their service to the earth. Hence, for many centuries, man
believed that the earth was the center of the universe, and (though the Bible
does not say so) that the Sun and stars were relatively small bodies which
moved around and waited upon it.
But these ideas have been completely upset by the
discoveries of modern astronomers, who ascertained, at least to their entire
satisfaction, that not only is the sun enormously larger than the earth, but
that it is attended by other planets, the largest of which is twelve hundred
times larger than the earth. Moreover, it has also been learned, so we are
told, that our sun itself is but one of an almost infinite number of stars,
many of which are immensely greater in size, and which, it may be assumed, are
themselves the centers of planetary systems on a much grander scale than our
little solar system.
In such a universe as modern astronomy has brought
into the view of man our little earth, once thought to be its center of
interest and importance, shrinks into utter insignificance. In proportion to
the vast universe of which it is a member its size is relatively less than that
of a tiny particle of dust in proportion to the mass of the earth itself. How,
therefore, can it be supposed that the Creator of so inconceivably great and
complex a universe would have a special regard for this insignificant attendant
of a fourth-rate sun, and for the still more insignificant creatures who dwell
upon it? The earth with all its occupants could drop out of the universe and be
no more missed than a single grain of sand from the seashore or a single drop
of water from the ocean.
It is inevitable that these teachings of astronomy
concerning the universe should have produced impressions directly opposite to
those produced by Scripture, and should have placed obstacles in the way of
believing the doctrine of redemption by the incarnation and sacrificial death
of the Son of God.
But now comes Mr. Wallace, the contemporary of
Charles Darwin, and probably at the present day one of the most prominent men
of science, and reverses the ideas which have been so widely disseminated in
the name of science. Mr. Wallace masses a great body of evidence, derived both
from astronomy and physics, to support the propositions, First, that the solar
system occupies (and always has occupied) approximately the central portion of
this vast universe, getting all the advantages due to such favorable position;
Second, that the earth is certainly the only habitable planet in the solar
system, and presumably the only habitable spot in the whole universe. Mr.
Wallace, by a vast accumulation of facts and inferences, shows that the
physical conditions necessary for the maintenance of life depend upon a great
variety of complex and delicate adjustments, such as distance from the sun, the
mass of the planet, its obliquity to its orbit, the amount of water as compared
with land, the surface distribution of land and water, the permanence of this
distribution, the density of the earth, the volume and density of the
atmosphere, the amount of carbon-dioxide therein, etc. These, and other
essential conditions, are met (says Mr. Wallace) only in a planet such as this
earth, situated and constructed as it is. From Mr. Wallace’s premises, if the
universe is assumed to be the work of an intelligent Creator, it would follow
that everything in this inconceivably vast and complex universe has been
planned and arranged with special reference to making this little earth of ours
a place suitable for the habitation of living beings, and especially of
mankind.
We give Mr. Wallace’s conclusions in his own words.
He says: "This completes my work as a connected argument, founded wholly upon
the facts and principles accumulated by modern science; and it leads, if my
facts are substantially correct and my reasoning sound, to one great and
definite conclusion, — that man, the culmination of conscious organic life, has
been developed HERE ONLY in the whole vast material universe we see around us.”
Thus we have the surprising fact that one of the
foremost living exponents of the teachings of science, a man who certainly
attaches no importance to the teachings of Scripture, has been at great pains
to show that the earth is, after all, the center of, and most important place
in, the whole universe; and that, so far as any purpose can be detected in it,
the universe may well be supposed to exist for the sole benefit of the earth,
and for the sake of producing therein those peculiar conditions necessary for
the existence and maintenance of life.
We may say then that, considered merely as a book
of instruction, the Bible is, as to every subject whereof it treats, not merely
abreast of, but far ahead of, the learning of these and all other times,
whether past or future. The impressions it makes upon believing minds are the
impressions of truth, even though (as in the instance we have just been
considering) contemporary science may give, as its settled conclusions,
impressions directly to the contrary.
Unlike other books of instruction THE BIBLE DOES NOT BECOME OBSOLETE.
This is a fact of immense significance; and its only explanation is that the
Bible is a LIVING book, the Word
of the living God. All other books partake of the infirmity of their authors,
and are either dying or dead. On the other hand, "The Word of God is living.”
6. THE BIBLE IS INDESTRUCTIBLE
The Bible manifests the possession of inherent and
imperishable life in that it survives all the attempts that have been made to
destroy it. The Bible is the only book in the world that is truly hated. The
hatred it arouses is bitter, persistent, murderous. From generation to
generation this hatred has been kept alive. There is doubtless a supernatural
explanation for this continuous display of hostility towards the Word of God,
for that Word has a supernatural enemy who has personally experienced its
power. (Matthew 4:1-10).
But the natural explanation of this hatred is that
the Bible differs notably from other books in that it gives no flattering
picture of man and his world, but just the reverse. The Bible does not say that
man is a noble being, ever aspiring towards the attainment of exalted ideals.
It does not describe the career of humanity as "progress,” as the brave and
successful struggle of man against the evils of his environment; but quite the
contrary, declares it to be a career of disobedience and departure from God, a
preference for darkness rather than for light, "because their deeds are evil.”
The Bible does not represent man as having come, without any fault of his own,
into adverse circumstances, and as being engaged in gradually overcoming these
by the development and exercise of his inherent powers. It does not applaud his
achievements, and extol his wonderful civilization. Quite the contrary. It
records how God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that
every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
(Genesis 6:5). It speaks of man as "being filled with all unrighteousness,
fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder,
strife, guile, evil dispositions; whisperers, slanderers, hateful to God,
insolent, proud, vaunting, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
without understanding, perfidious, without natural affection, implacable,
unmerciful” (Romans 1:29-31 Gr.).
It says that "They are all under sin,” that "There
is none righteous, no not one. There is none that understandeth, there is none
that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together
become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no not one” (Romans
3:10-12). Man’s condition by nature is described as "dead in trespasses and
sins,” "children of disobedience; among whom also we all had our conduct in
times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and
of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:1-3).
The Bible has nothing to say in praise of man or of
his natural endowments. On the contrary, it derides his wisdom as "foolishness
with God.” It declares that God has made foolish the wisdom of this age (1
Corinthians 1:20); that the natural man is incapable of receiving the things of
the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 2:14); and that if any man thinks that he
knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. (1 Corinthians 8:2).
Nor does the Bible predict the ultimate triumph of
"civilization.” It does not say that the progress of humanity shall bring it
eventually to a vastly better state of things. It does not say that human
nature shall improve under the influences of education and self-culture, even
with that of Christianity added. On the contrary, it declares that evil men
"shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:13).
Even of "this present evil age” (Galatians 1:4),
during which the professing church is the most conspicuous object on earth, and
during which the world has the enormous benefit resulting from the light of revelation
and an open Bible, it is not predicted that man and his world would undergo any
improvement, or that the developments of the age would be in the direction of
better conditions on earth. On the contrary, the Bible declares that "in the
last days perilous (or difficult) times shall come. For men shall be lovers of
their own selves, lovers of money, vaunting, proud, evil speakers, disobedient
to parents, untruthful, unholy, without natural affection, implacable,
slanderers, inconsistent, savage, not lovers of good, betrayers, headstrong,
puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; having a form of
piety, but denying the power of it” (2 Timothy 3:1-5 Gr.).
Such is the character of man, and such is to be the
result, as Scripture foretells it, of all his schemes of betterment, education,
development, self culture, civilization and character-building. And because of
this the Bible is heartily detested. Men have sought nothing more earnestly
than they have sought to destroy this appallingly accurate portrait of
themselves and their doings. How astonishing it is that any intelligent person
should suppose that man drew this picture of himself, and predicted this as the
outcome of all his own efforts! No wonder the Bible is hated, and for the simple
and sufficient reason that it declares the truth about man and his world. The
Lord Jesus set forth clearly both the fact and its explanation when He said to
His unbelieving brethren, "The world cannot hate you; but Me it hateth, because
I testify of it that the works thereof are evil” (John 7:7).
Again, the Bible is hated because it claims the
right to exercise, and assumes to exercise, authority over man. It speaks as
one having authority. It issues commands to all. It says, "Thou shalt” and
"Thou shalt not.” It does not simply advise or commend one course of action
rather than another, as one would address an equal, but it directs men
imperatively what they shall do, and what they shall not do. In this manner it
addresses all ranks and conditions of men — kings and governors, parents and
children, husbands and wives, masters and servants, rich and poor, high and
low, free and bond. In this, too, we have a characteristic of the Bible which
distinguishes it from all other books. It is no respecter of persons. But for
this cause also it is hated; for men are becoming more and more impatient of
all external authority. The principles of democracy, the essence of which is
the supremacy (virtually the divinity) of man, has thoroughly leavened all
society in the progressive nations of the earth.
There is a sentiment abroad, which finds frequent
expression and meets always with a sympathetic reception, to the effect that
man has been shackled through the ages by narrow theological ideas whereof the
Bible is the source, and that the time has arrived for him to throw off this
bondage, to arise in his true might and majesty, and to do great things for
himself.
It is a most impressive fact that, in all the
visible universe, there is nothing that assumes authority over man, or that
imposes laws upon him, except the Bible. Once thoroughly rid of that
troublesome book, and man will be finally rid of all authority, and will have
arrived at that state of lawlessness predicted in the New Testament prophecies;
wherein society will be ready to accept the leadership of that "lawless one,”
whose coming is to be after the working of Satan, with all power, and signs,
and wonders of falsehood, and with all deceit of unrighteousness in them that
perish, because they received not a love of the truth that they might be saved.
(2 Thessalonians 2:7-10).
This is perhaps the main purpose of the persistent
attempts in our day, mostly in the name of scholarship and liberal theology, to
break down the authority of Scripture; and we may see with our own eyes that
the measure of success of this great apostasy is just what the Bible has
foretold. Other books arouse no hatred. There may be books which men dislike,
and such they simply let alone But the Bible is, and always has been, hated to
the death. It is the one book that has been pursued from century to century, as
men pursue a mortal foe. At first its destruction has been sought by violence.
All human powers, political and ecclesiastical, have combined to put it out of
existence. Death has been the penalty for possessing or reading a copy; and
such copies as were found have been turned over to the public executioner to be
treated as was the Incarnate Word. No expedient that human ingenuity could
devise or human cruelty put into effect, has been omitted in the desperate
attempt to put this detested book out of existence. But the concentrated power
of man utterly failed in the attempt. Why? Here is one book among countless
millions which is singled out for relentless hatred, and that fact alone is
sufficient to provoke astonishment and invite the closest scrutiny to ascertain
the explanation of the unique phenomenon. What characteristic is it that
distinguishes this Book from all other books in so strange a fashion? Has its
influence upon men been corrupting or otherwise evil? Does it teach doctrines
dangerous to individuals or communities? Does it promote disorder, vice or
crime? On the contrary, it will not be questioned that its influence, wherever
it has gone, has been beneficial beyond that of all other books combined, and
that the most fruitful human lives are those which have been molded by its
teachings. One explanation alone will account for the astounding fact that such
a Book should be the only one now or ever in existence to provoke active and
persistent animosity among men who refuse to acknowledge it as from God;
namely, that it declares man to be a fallen creature, and his whole career to
be the mere outworking of his corrupt nature in the path of disobedience; and
that it predicts in plain language what the end of that path will be for all
who do not accept God’s method of deliverance out of it through Jesus Christ.
But, violence having failed to rid man of the
Bible, other means have been resorted to in the persistent effort to accomplish
that object. To this end the intellect and learning of man have been enlisted.
The Book has been assailed from every side by men of the highest intelligence,
culture and scholarship. Since the art of printing has been developed there has
been in progress a continuous war of books. Many books against THE Book — man’s
books against God’s Book. Its authority has been denied, and its veracity and
even its morality have been impugned, its claims upon the consciences of men
have been ridiculed; but all to no purpose, except to bring out more
conspicuously the fact that the "Word of God is LIVING,” and with an indestructible life. Should any other book
incur the hatred of man (which no other book ever has, seeing that all others
are man’s own productions) it would not be necessary to take measures for its
destruction. A book produced by dying men need only be let alone to die of its
own accord. The seeds of death are in it from the start. One Book alone has
incurred man’s hatred, because it is the one Book that is not his own. It is
the only thing in the whole world that is hostile to the whole world-system.
One Book only has man attempted to destroy; and yet, in this attempt, though in
it all his powers and resources have been employed, he has most conspicuously
and ignominiously failed. Why?
A little less than a century and a half ago a book
made its appearance which attracted wide attention, particularly in the upper
circles of intellect and culture. It was vauntingly entitled the "Age of
Reason,” and its author, Thomas Paine, was probably without superior in
intelligence among his contemporaries. So confident was the author of this book
that his reasoning’s proved the untrustworthiness of Scripture, and destroyed
its claim upon the consciences of men as the revelation of the living God, that
he predicted that in fifty years the Bible would be practically out of print.
But nearly thrice fifty years have passed since this boast was uttered. The
boaster and his book have passed away; and their very names are well-nigh
forgotten. But the Word of God has maintained its place, and not by human
power. They who believe and cherish it are a feeble folk. Not many wise, not
many mighty, not many high-born are among them. They have no might of their own
to stand against the enemies of the Bible. The situation resembles a scene
recorded in 1 Kings 20:27, where the Israelites went out against the Syrians,
and we read that "The children of Israel pitched before them like two
little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country.”
But notwithstanding such great odds, the victory is
certain. The enemies of the Bible have indeed filled the country. Yet, they
shall all pass away; but the Word of the Lord shall not pass away. Again, in
more recent times, a book of man was put forth, and was hailed as a work which
would quickly destroy the credibility of Scripture and put an end to its
authority and influence. This was Charles Darwin’s "Descent of Man,” a book
whose influence has been greater, doubtless, than any other that has made its
appearance during a century past. The main feature of this work was that it set
forth an explanation of the origin of living beings, including man, radically
different from that of Genesis, and propounded a theory of propagation of
living species directly contrary to the great and immutable law declared nine
times over in the first chapter of the Bible in the brief but significant
expression, "after his kind.”
The delight which Darwin’s book caused among the
enemies of the Bible, and the spirit in which its appearance was welcomed, are
well illustrated by the title bestowed upon it by the eminent naturalist
Haeckel, who called it the "Anti-Genesis,” declaring that by a single stroke
Darwin had annihilated the dogma of Creation. But it was not because of its
supposed contribution to truth that Darwin’s
book was so widely and cordially received, and his utterly unproved hypothesis
so readily accepted as an "assured result of science.” Its vogue was largely
due to the fact that it struck at the very foundation of Scripture. It is
useless to pretend that Darwin’s
theory might be true, and the Bible nevertheless entitled to respect. The Lord
Jesus said to a learned man of His day, "If I have told you earthly things, and
ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things?” (John
3:12).
If the Bible does not give us a truthful account of
the events of the six days recorded in its first chapter, it is not to be
trusted as to any of its statements. But we have now the record of about half a
century since the publication of Darwin’s book; and, though the great movements
of unbelief and apostasy are swiftly running their predicted course, there
never was a time when the absolute and divine accuracy of Scripture from
beginning to end, was more firmly grasped and tenaciously held by those who
know it best, and never a time since "science” began to be looked to as an
authority and instructor of men when there was less "scientific” basis for the
prevalent questioning of the statements of the Bible.