We are now called to consider the deeply important subject of the authority on which the great commission proceeds. This we have presented to us in that one commanding and most comprehensive sentence, “ It is written”—a sentence which ought to be engraved, in characters deep and broad, on the tablet of every Christian’s heart.
Nothing can possibly be more interesting or edifying than to note the way in which our blessed Lord, on all occasions and under all circumstances, exalts the holy scriptures. He, though God over all blessed forever, and as such the Author of all scripture, yet, having taken His place as man on the earth, He plainly sets forth what is the bounden duty of every man, and that is to be absolutely, completely, and abidingly governed by the authority of scripture. See Him in conflict with Satan. How does He meet him? Simply as each one of us should meet him, by the written word. It could be no example to us had our Lord vanquished him by the putting forth of divine power. Of course He could, there and then, have consigned him to the bottomless pit or the lake of fire, but that would have been no example for us, inasmuch as we could not so overcome. But, on the other hand, when we find the blessed One referring to holy scripture—when we find Him appealing, again and again, to that divine authority—when we find Him putting the adversary to flight simply by the written word, we learn in the most impressive manner the place, the value, and the authority of the holy scriptures.
And is it not of the very last possible importance to have this great lesson impressed upon us at the present moment? Unquestionably it is. If ever there was a, moment in the history of the church of God when it behooved Christians to bow down their whole moral being to this very lesson, it is the moment through which we are just now passing. On all hands the divine authority, integrity, plenary inspiration, and all-sufficiency of holy scripture are called in question. The word of God is openly insulted and flung aside. Its integrity is called in question, and that, too, in quarters where we should least expect it. At our colleges and universities our young men are continually assailed by infidel attacks upon the blessed word of God. Men who are in total spiritual blindness, and who therefore cannot possibly know anything whatever about divine things, and are utterly incompetent to give an opinion on the subject of holy scripture, have the cool audacity to insult the sacred volume, to pronounce the five books of Moses an imposture, to assert that Moses never wrote them at all.
What is the opinion of such men worth? Not worth the weight of a feather. Who would think of going to a man who was born in a coal-mine, and had never seen the sun, to get his judgment as to the properties of light, or the effect of the sun’s beams upon the human constitution? Who would think of going to one who was born blind to get his opinion upon colors, or the effect of light and shade? Surely no one in his senses. Well, then, with how much more moral force may we not ask, who would think of going to an unconverted man—a man dead in trespasses and sins—a man spiritually blind, wholly ignorant of things divine, spiritual, and heavenly—who would think for a moment of going to such an one for a judgment on the weighty question of holy scripture? And if such an one were audacious enough, in ignorant self-confidence, to offer an opinion on such a subject, what man in his sober senses would think of giving the slightest heed?
It will, perhaps, be said, “the illustration does not apply.” Why not? We admit it fails in force, but most certainly not in its moral application. Is it not a commonly received axiom amongst us, that no man has any right to give an opinion on a subject of which he is totally ignorant? No doubt. Well, what does the blessed apostle say as to the unconverted man? We must quote the whole context for the reader. It is morally grand, and its interest and value just now are unspeakable.
“ And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. That your faith”—mark these words, beloved reader—” should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect; yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to naught. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory. Which none of the princes of this world knew; for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them to us by his Spirit”—otherwise they could not possibly be known—” for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we”—all true believers, all God’s children—”have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual”—or communicating spiritual things through a spiritual medium. “ But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; neither can he know them”—be he ever so wise and learned—”because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Cor. 2:1-161And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. 2For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. 4And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. 6Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: 7But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 8Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 10But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 16For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:1‑16).
We dare not offer an apology for giving so lengthened an extract from the word of God. We deem it invaluable, not only because it proves that it is only by divine teaching that divine things can be understood, but also because it completely withers up all man’s pretensions to give judgment as to scripture. If the natural man cannot know the things of the Spirit of God, then it is perfectly plain that all infidel attacks upon the word of God are absolutely unworthy of the very smallest attention. In fact all infidel writers, be they ever so clever, ever so wise, ever so learned, are put out of court; they are not to be listened to for a moment. The judgment of an unconverted man in reference to the holy scriptures is more worthless by far than the judgment of an uneducated plowman, as to the use of the differential calculus, or the truth of the Copernican system. As to each, we have only to say, he knows nothing whatever about the matter. His thoughts are absolutely good for nothing.
But how truly delightful and refreshing to turn from man’s worthless notions, and see the way in which our blessed Lord Jesus Christ prized and used the holy scriptures! In His conflict with Satan, He appeals, three times over, to the book of Deuteronomy. “ It is written” is His one simple and unanswerable reply to the suggestions of the enemy. He does not reason. He does not argue or explain. He does not refer to His own personal feelings, evidences, or experiences. He does not argue from the great facts of the opened heavens, the descending Spirit, the voice of the Father, precious and real as all these things were. He simply takes His stand upon the divine and eternal authority of the holy scriptures, and of that portion of the scriptures in particular which modern infidels have audaciously attacked. He uses as His authority that which they are not afraid to pronounce an imposture! How dreadful for them! What will be their end, unless they repent?
But not only did the Son of God—Himself, as God, the Author of every line of holy scripture—use the word of God as His only weapon against the enemy, but He made it also the basis and the material of His public ministry. When His conflict in the wilderness was over, “ He returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath-day, and stood up for to read”—His custom was to read the scriptures publicly. “And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias.”—Here He puts His seal upon the prophet Isaiah, as before upon the law of Moses.—” And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Luke 4
Let us turn now to that most solemn parable of the rich man and Lazarus, at the close of Luke 16, in which we have a most splendid testimony, from the Master’s own lips, to the integrity, value, and surpassing importance of “ Moses and the prophets”—the very portions of the divine word which infidels impiously assail. The rich man in the midst of the flames of hell—alas! no longer rich, but miserably and eternally poor—entreats Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his five brethren, lest they also should come into that place of ineffable torment. Mark the reply! Mark it, all ye infidels, rationalists, and skeptics! Mark it, all ye who are in danger of being deluded and turned aside by the impudent and blasphemous suggestions of infidelity! “ Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them” Yes; “Hear them”—hear those very writings which infidels tell us are not divinely inspired at all, but documents palmed upon us by impostors pretending to inspiration. Assuredly the rich man knew better; indeed the devil himself knows better. There is no thought of calling in question the genuineness of “ Moses and the prophets;” but perhaps “if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.” Hear the weighty rejoinder! “And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”
Now, we must confess we rejoice exceedingly in the grandeur of this testimony. Nothing can be clearer, nothing higher, nothing more thoroughly confirmatory, as to the supreme authority and divine integrity of “ Moses and the prophets.” We have the blessed Lord Himself setting His seal to the two grand divisions of Old Testament scripture; and hence we may, with all possible confidence, commit our souls to the authority of these holy writings; and not only to Moses and the prophets, but to the whole canon of inspiration, inasmuch as Moses and the prophets are so largely and so constantly quoted everywhere, are so intimately, yea, indissolubly, bound up with every part of the New Testament, that all must stand or fall together.
But we must pass on, and turn for a moment to the last chapter of Luke—that precious section which contains “ the great commission” whereof we speak. We might refer, with profit and blessing, to those occasions in which our blessed Lord, in His interviews with Pharisees, Sadducees, and lawyers, ever and only appeals to the holy scriptures. In short, whether in conflict with men or devils, whether speaking in private or in public, whether for His public ministry, or for His private walk, we find the perfect Man, the Lord from heaven, always putting the very highest honor upon the writings of Moses and the prophets, thus commending them to us in all their divine integrity, and giving us the very fullest and most blessed encouragement to commit our souls, for time and eternity, with absolute confidence, to those peerless writings.
But we turn to Luke 24, and listen to the glowing words uttered in the ears of the two bewildered travelers to Emmaus—words which are the sure and blessed remedy for all bewilderment—the perfect solution of every honest difficulty—the divine and all-satisfying answer to every upright inquiry. We do not quote the words of the perplexed disciples; but here is he Master’s reply. “ Then said he unto them, Ο fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!” Alas! now-a-days a man is counted a fool if he does believe all that the prophets have spoken. In many learned circles, yea, and in not a few religious circles likewise, the man who avows—as every true man ought—his hearty belief in every line of holy scripture, is almost sure to be met with a sneer of contempt. It is deemed clever to doubt the genuineness of scripture—fatal, detestable cleverness! from which may the good Lord deliver us!—cleverness which is sure to lead the soul that is ensnared by it down into the dark and dreary abyss of atheism, and the darker and more dreary abyss of hell. From all such cleverness, we again say, and say it from the profoundest depths of our moral being, may God, in His mercy, deliver us and all our young people!
Beloved reader, have we not much cause to bless the Lord for these words of His addressed to His poor perplexed ones on their way to Emmaus? They may seem severe; but it is the necessary severity of a pure, a perfect, and a divinely wise love. “0 fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory? And”—mark these words!—” beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” He Himself—all homage to His glorious Person!—is the divine center of all the things contained in the scriptures from cover to cover. He is the golden chain that binds into one marvelous and magnificent whole every part of the inspired volume, from Genesis to Revelation. Hence the man that touches a single section of the sacred canon is guilty of the heinous sin of seeking to overthrow the word of God; and of such a man, even charity itself must say, he knows neither the Christ of God, nor God Himself.
The man who dares to tamper in any way with the word of God has taken the first step on that inclined plane that leads inevitably down to eternal perdition. Let men beware, then, how they speak against the scriptures; and if some will speak, let others beware how they listen. If there were no infidel listeners, there would be few infidel lecturers. How awful to think that there should be either the one or the other in this our highly-favored land! May God have mercy upon them, and open their eyes, ere it be too late. Five minutes in hell will quash forever all the infidel theories that ever were propounded in this world. Oh! the egregious folly of infidelity!
We return to our chapter, which furnishes one more proof of the place assigned by our risen Lord to the holy scriptures. After having manifested Himself, in infinite grace and tranquillizing power, to His troubled disciples; having shown them His hands and His feet, and assured them of His personal identity by eating in their presence, “ He said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you, that all things mast be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written”
Here again we have the divine seal put upon all the grand divisions of the Old Testament. This is most comforting and strengthening for all pious lovers of scripture. To find our Lord Himself, on all occasions, and under all circumstances, referring to scripture, using it at all times, and for all purposes, feeding upon it Himself, and commending it to others, wielding it as the sword of the Spirit, bowing to its holy authority in all things, appealing to it as the only perfect standard, test, and touchstone, the only infallible guide for man in this world, the only unfailing light amid all the surrounding moral gloom—all this is comforting and encouraging in the very highest degree, and it fills our hearts with deepest praise to the Father of mercies who has so provided for us in all our weakness and need.
Here we might close this branch of our subject, but we feel bound to furnish our readers with two more uncommonly fine illustrations of our thesis: one from the Acts, and one from the epistles. In Acts 24 the apostle Paul, in his address to Felix, thus expresses himself as to the ground of his faith. “ But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets” Will anyone dare to say that Paul was an ignorant fool, or a clever knave? Alas! for the man who could either say it or think it. Well, then, he reverently believed in Moses and the prophets. He fully accepted the Old Testament scriptures as the solid foundation of his faith, and as the divine authority for his entire course. Now how did Paul know that the scriptures were given of God? He knew it in the only way in which any one can know it, namely, by divine teaching. God alone can give the knowledge that the holy scriptures are His own very revelation to man. If He does not give it, no one can; if He does, no one need. If I want human evidence to accredit the word of God, it is not the word of God to me. The authority on which I receive it is higher than the word itself. Supposing I could, by reason or human learning, work my way to the rational conclusion that the Bible is the word of God, then my faith would merely stand in the wisdom of man, and not “in the power of God. Such a faith is worthless; it does not link me with God, and therefore leaves me unsaved, unblessed, uncertain. It leaves me without God, without Christ, without hope. Saving faith is believing what God says, because He says it, and this faith is wrought in the soul by the Holy Spirit. Intellectual faith is a cold, lifeless, worthless faith, which only deceives and puffs up; it can never save, sanctify, or satisfy.
We turn now to one of the very finest statements within the covers of the divine volume, namely, 2 Timothy iii. 14-17. The aged apostle, at the close of his marvelous career, from his prison at Rome, looking back at the whole of his ministry, looking around at the failure and ruin so sadly apparent on every side, looking forward to the terrible consummation of the “ last days,” and looking beyond all to “ the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give in that day” thus addresses his beloved son, “But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned, and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned; and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect (αρτι09), thoroughly furnished unto all good works”
All this is unspeakably precious to every true lover of the word of God. The place here assigned, and the virtues here attributed, to the holy scriptures arc beyond all price. In short, it is utterly impossible to overstate the value and importance of the foregoing quotation. It is deeply touching to find the revered and beloved old veteran, in the full power of the Holy Ghost, recalling Timothy to the days of his childhood, when, at the knees of his pious mother, he drank at the pure fountain of inspiration. How did the dear child know that these holy writings were the word of God? He knew it just in the same way that the blessed apostle himself knew it, by their divine power and effect upon his heart and conscience, through the Holy Ghost. Did he want any human evidence? Did the holy scriptures need man’s credentials? How monstrous the thought! What an insult to the dignity of scripture to imagine that any human seal or guarantee is necessary to accredit it to the soul! Do we want a Butler or a Paley to assure us that God has spoken to us in His word? Do we want the authority of the church, the judgment of the Fathers, the decrees of councils, the consent of the doctors, the decision of the universities, to accredit the word of God? Far away be the thought! Who would think of bringing out a flashlight at noon to prove that the sun shines, or to bring home its beams, in their genial virtue, to the human frame? What son would think of taking his father’s letter to an ignorant crossing-sweeper to have it accredited and interpreted to his heart?
These figures are feebleness itself when used to illustrate the egregious folly of submitting the holy scriptures to the judgment of any human mind. No, reader, the word of God speaks for itself. It carries its own powerful credentials with it. Its own internal evidences are amply sufficient for every pious, right-minded, humble child of God. It needs no letter of commendation from men. No doubt external evidences have their value and their interest. Human testimony must go for what it is worth. We may rest assured that the more thoroughly all human evidence is sifted, and the nearer all human testimony approaches to the truth, the more fully and distinctly will all concur in demonstrating the genuineness and integrity of our precious Bible. And, further, we must declare our deep and settled conviction that no infidel theory can hold water for a moment; no infidel argument can pass muster with an honest mind. We invariably find that all infidel assaults upon the Bible recoil upon the heads of those who make them. Infidel writers make fools of themselves, and leave the divine volume just where it always was, and where it always will be, like an impregnable rock, against which the waves of infidel thought dash themselves in contemptible impotency.
There stands the word of God, in its divine majesty, in its heavenly power, in its beautiful simplicity, in its matchless glory, in its unfathomed, because unfathomable, depths, in its never-failing freshness and power of adaptation, in its marvelous comprehensiveness, in its vastness of scope, its perfect unity, its thorough uniqueness. The Bible stands alone. There is nothing like it in the wide world of literature; and if anything further were needed to prove that that book which we call “ The Bible” is, in very deed, the living and eternal word of God, it may be found in the ceaseless efforts of the devil to prove that it is not.
“Forever, Ο Lord, thy word is settled in heaven” What remains, beloved reader, for thee? Just this, “ Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I may not sin against thee.” Thus it stands, blessed be His holy name; and when we have His word hid in the depths of our hearts, the theories and the arguments, the reasonings or the ravings, the questionings and the conclusions, of skeptics, rationalists, and infidels, will be to us of less moment by far than the pattering of rain upon the window.
Thus much as to the weighty question of the “ authority” upon which the great commission proceeds. The immense importance of the subject, and the special character of the moment through which we are passing, must account for the unusual length of this article. We feel profoundly thankful for an opportunity of bearing our feeble testimony to the power, authority, all-sufficiency, and divine glory of “ the holy scriptures.” “ Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift!”
(To be concluded in our next, if the Lord will)