THERE need be no apology for lifting a voice, however feeble, at the present moment, in warning to Christians, old and young, as to the almost universal departure from faith in the Scriptures as the Word of God. Recent utterances from leading men in the great denominations, once regarded as sound in the faith, are sufficiently plain and distinct to show definitely where they are as to this all-important question, which is not now one of doctrine or interpretation, but simply and solely whether the Bible be inspired or not.
The chairman of the Congregational Union, in his recent. address on “Christ and Criticism,” says: “The contention is no longer tenable that ‘Thus saith the Lord’ means that every message with this imprimatur upon it, came directly from the Most High.... No longer is it maintained that inspiration guaranteed the subject of it against all inaccuracies of thought and conception, and secured for his words absolute truth, historical and scientific, as well as moral and spiritual.” He says again: “That Rabbinical subtleties may have crept into the argument of even the chief of the apostles; that every statement attributed to each New Testament writer, may possibly not be absolutely exact: that the truths they taught may be colored by their prepossessions and personal idiosyncrasies; that there may be divergence of opinion about such truths, arising from difference of standpoint, of emphasis, and other causes—all this is now conceded.”
Alas! is it so, dear Christian reader? But there is one strong contention in the said address to which we would particularly refer. The writer says, speaking of a certain given time, “the atmosphere of reverent earnest inquiry, which, during the years which have elapsed since then, has gathered round the person of our Lord, has brought closer than ever to the heart of His followers Him who ‘though He was rich, yet for our sakes became poor.’ That life, no question of books and their authors, of manuscripts and texts, can injure.”
Again we ask, is this so? Can the Old Testament or the New Testament be attacked as to their divine origin, their inspiration, their truthfulness, and the words of Christ Himself be left un-assailed? Can it be conceded, as this author says, that the writers may not be whom they are stated to be, and that their communications may be affected by traditionary legends, personal idiosyncrasies, and such like—may not be absolutely exact even, and yet that the person and word of Christ stand un-assailed? Impossible! Not only do the Old Testament and the New stand or fall together, but Christ and the Scriptures stand or fall together, and if we mistake not, this is more than the thin edge of the wedge, that shall eventually bring down the tree, as far as faith in the written Word of God as such is concerned.
In another of the great denominations, it is proposed to supersede a certain professor in the headship of a college, because of his heterodox opinions and writings, and this may be thought to speak well for that denomination, but it is a matter of common knowledge, that those upon whom the unpleasant task fell of counseling his resignation, have been denounced as narrow-minded heresy hunters, and it is openly stated that over one hundred ministers of the denomination have written to the said professor, sympathizing with his position, and declaring that they hold the views expressed in his papers.
It may be asked, Why comment on these things? and our reply is, that they are matters of vital interest to every Christian, far above any question of individuals or denominations. They are commented upon in the daily newspapers, freely discussed at various meetings, and cannot but be regarded as indicating the trend of opinion in Christendom. They are indeed a sign of the times, serious and appalling. We would ask the serious attention of the Christian reader to a few only of the many places in which the Lord Jesus Christ has unmistakably set His own Divine approval on the books and writers of the Old Testament, quoting again and again from some of the very books most frequently assailed by critics. It is the Lord Himself who says in John 5:45-4745Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. 46For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. 47But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words? (John 5:45‑47): “There is one that accuseth you, even Moses in whom ye trust; for had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed Me; for he wrote of Me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe My words?” Again in Luke 16:29-51: “Abraham said unto him, They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. And he said, Nay, Father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead.” But not only on the books of Moses as such, but on the Scriptures, the sacred writings as we have them, and as the Jews owned them, and in the three great divisions so well known to us all, does the Lord set His seal in the most emphatic way. “And He said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning Me” (Luke 24:4444And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. (Luke 24:44)).
Into the general question of inspiration we do not pretend to enter, as it has been so well and ably done by the Lord’s servants, past and present, but would direct attention to the phase of the matter suggested in the before-mentioned address, as to the possibility of retaining the great central figure of Christianity, and our faith in Christ, as these men say, while we yield to critics our contention for the verbal inspiration of the Scriptures, and we emphatically say that this is impossible. Both during His lifetime, and after His resurrection, Christ affirmed in the most solemn and absolute way, over and over again, that the Scriptures as a whole, and in all their parts, are of God Himself, given through Moses and the prophets, as they themselves affirmed; and He owned and insisted on their divine authority in a way that leaves us no other resource but to accept them in all their entirety, or to receive the blasphemous suggestion that the blessed Lord has set His seal in such a way upon a “spurious compilation.” A pious fraud (as people say), unworthy even of an honest man, and a suggestion against which the soul of a lover of Christ revolts, and yet this and much more of the same kind, too bad for repetition, has been freely asserted by professing Christians.
If proofs were wanted of the effect of this kind of reasoning, we have it in a letter recently published in a religious magazine, in which the writer (apparently a Christian minister) asks for something more definite as to what is really meant by criticism, and if the contention as to Christ is—that He was misinformed or uninformed. Think, of this dear reader, of our Lord and Saviour, and the holy, spotless, undefiled Son of God.
Think of such a question being asked even, and then assert, if you dare, that the Christ has been un-assailed and un-attacked. We are thankful indeed for such as the late C. H. Spurgeon, who wrote in righteous indignation when the march of criticism had not reached its present stage:
“The Church of England seems to be eaten through and through with Sacramentalism, but Nonconformity appears to me to be almost riddled with philosophic infidelity. Those of whom we thought better things are turned aside from the fundamentals of the faith. At first it was the doctrine of the eternity of punishment that had to be given up; now it must be the very doctrine of the Fall—first one and then another, the whole must go. They treat our doctrines as though they were all to be knocked down at their good pleasure when they choose to amend our theology. Through and through I believe the very heart of England is honeycombed with a damnable infidelity which dares still to go into the pulpit and call itself Christian.”
Let us then take heed, and if the reader be a young Christian, we would affectionately warn against the insidious workings of unbelief, and the specious arguments of pretentious learning. These sad departures are not confined to one section of the professing Church only, everywhere the leaven is spreading, and bodies of Christians once regarded as “undoubtedly orthodox,” have forsaken what was contemptuously styled “the flowery paths of orthodoxy,” to wander in the seductive byways of human reasoning and philosophy.
The good old rule of “chapter and verse for everything” is despised, and well-known generally accepted expressions of the orthodox faith are dropped for newer and more modern terms. We do not plead for “party shibboleths,” but desire to “hold fast the form of sound words” ― “to continue in the things that we have learned, knowing of whom we have learned them,” and “that we have not followed cunningly devised fables” as these men would have us believe. “The words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times” (Psa. 12:66The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. (Psalm 12:6)). “Thy word is true from the beginning,” or as also rendered, “true from the first word” (Psa. 119:160160Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever. (Psalm 119:160)). The case of the professor of theology before referred to has been concluded with the unsatisfactory compromise by which he retains the theological chair at Richmond College and his heterodox opinions, on condition that he keeps the latter strictly to himself. But may we ask where is the truth in this? Is it any wonder that those who look for guidance to such men are found wandering in the mazes of unbelief, and “concerning faith have made shipwreck” (1 Tim. 1:1919Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: (1 Timothy 1:19))?
So anxious are many of these men to keep abreast of the times, and not to be thought behind the advancement of science, that they have forgotten the difference between the facts of science and the deductions and reasonings of scientific men. With the facts of science Scripture does not conflict. “A man was famous according as he lifted up axes upon the thick trees” of the growth of evil. “But now they break down the carved work thereof” —the precious doctrines of grace— “with axes and hammers” (Psa. 74:5, 65A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees. 6But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers. (Psalm 74:5‑6)).
Dear Christian reader, let us remember, then, that in giving up the verbal inspiration of the Scriptures we lose Christ, and that if it be a question of His word, in distinction from those of the writers of Holy Writ, He said more as to the eternal duration and the nature of the punishment of the wicked than any of the sacred writers. “If a man love ME, he will keep MY WORD” (John 14:2323Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. (John 14:23)).
T. R.