Jul 1951 - Editorial

by N/A | Category: Editorial | Jul 1951

Many men to-day are gravely concerned about the lack of spiritual life in the world in general, and among professing Christians in particular, and this theme has been prominent at many conferences of religious bodies in recent months. The fault is not altogether with the general mass of the people, but there is a very grave responsibility upon those who should have been the teachers of the multitude. They have not given heed to sound teaching themselves, and so they are unqualified to teach others. It is a most remarkable thing to notice in the public pronouncements of clerics and others the lack of reference to the Lord Jesus, to His work on the Cross, and to His claims upon believers. Columns of the newspapers are filled with discussions on all kinds of things, political and non-political, at the conferences which might well be expected to bring to bear the direct teaching of the Scriptures, but this is not to be found in the published reports. If the leaders are ashamed of Christ and His Word, let them look first to their own spiritual life.

The whole outlook is wrong when the teaching is set aside. "Doctrine" is a word which is not popular to-day and even those who should know better deprecate the setting forth of doctrine and would rather emphasize the condition of heart and soul. Doctrine is supposed to be unwelcome to the multitude and to young believers; it is regarded as something which tends to make people uncomfortable, to be dry as dust, and antagonistic to the development of spirituality. Such an attitude of mind comes from a wrong apprehension of the source of all spirituality-the teaching of the Scriptures. The word "doctrine" means nothing more than "teaching" and it is a, good scriptural word, frequently used. If one were to say, "Let us think more of Christ and less of doctrine," there are many who would esteem his spirituality. But what would we know of Christ without the doctrine of the Scriptures to tell us about Him? Absolutely nothing! The teaching is bound up with the Teacher Himself, the word of God emanates from Himself the Word. We cannot separate the teaching into parts which we may take or reject any more than we can separate Christ. Christ cannot be divided, neither can the word of God.

The epistles to Timothy and Titus refer often to this matter of "sound doctrine," or "healthful teaching." Let young people note how often Paul pleaded with Timothy and Titus that they themselves and all who came under their influence should be careful in this matter. We are indebted this month to an esteemed contributor for a wise and thoughtful article regarding the maintenance of spiritual life which finds its beginnings in the new-born babe in Christ and which can never be separated from Him. Apart from Christ there can be no manifestation of life, and spiritual declension always follows when the believer attempts to live a life wherein the claims of Christ have little or no part. Neglect of Christ in the heart is made evident by neglect of the Scriptures, neglect of the Remembrance, and neglect of the prayer-meetings of the assembly. It is made even more evident in those who have not found themselves in a church of God, for the setting aside of the commandments regarding Christian discipleship is setting aside the influence of Christ. There is need for another look at the Man of Sorrows bent under the load of sin, despised, and rejected of men, but precious to those believers who are intent on pleasing Him who bore so much for them.

"The time will come," said Paul to Timothy, "when they will not endure the sound doctrine." That time has long been with us. Popular religion will only remain so when it is reduced to the very elementary things of Christian life common to all Christians, as a committee of the B.B.C. recently made clear by their decisions upon religious broadcasts: not that we uphold for a moment the desirability of the radio as a means of religious instruction and exercise, but we discern the signs of the time and we see that an extremely abbreviated edition of the Bible would serve to meet the needs of those who partake of such broadcasts. Let us beware lest a similar spirit should in any way grow up among the rising generation. Spiritual growth needs the strong meat of the Scriptures, something more than a superficial knowledge but rather a delight in the law of the LORD. Young people should 'search the Scriptures and partake in all the opportunities of Bible study. We live in an age of "Digests," but no digest of the Scriptures can ever reveal the value of the whole word of God.

N/A | Jul 1951
Editorial