The Kingdom of Light versus the Kingdom of Darkness

" It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Heb. 9; 27).

In these days of wide-spread apostasy in the so-called Christian lands, and many pulpits, it is not rare to hear, as the reason given for the decline of faith and general indifference to religion, what some are pleased to call "the antiquated dogmatics " and "worn-out theology " of Christianity. If by this they meant the superstitious views and notions sometimes held as articles of faith, but not the teaching and spirit of Scripture, that were quite another matter; but when directed against the Bible and its teaching, implying that we have outlived the Scriptures, and need something more "up-to-date " in our day, it is time to face these roving Philistines which infest the land, and expose their views as not only morally destructive but absolutely misleading and false.

This, we conceive, cannot be done more effectually than by letting the truth as it is in Jesus speak for itself; for no amount of persuasive speech will compare in convincing force with the fact of having one's eyes opened to the truth. It was thus the erstwhile blind beggar of the ninth chapter of John's Gospel put to silence the skeptical doctors of the law who endeavored to malign Jesus:his pathetic words to them were, "Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not :one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see." And such testimony is worth more than a thousand eloquent sermons and rhetorical speech devoid of this personal experience with Jesus. Indeed, for all the intellectual forms of unbelief so rampant now-a-days (which tend to animalize human nature, causing it to sacrifice its lofty aspirations for immortality to the debasing satisfaction of sinful pleasures in various forms), there is but one sure deliverance -that which is found in the experimental knowledge of the truth.

The scripture at the head of this paper stands as a beacon-light for travelers from time to eternity. It is a solemn warning to all mankind, which no philosophy can dispose of or screen from view. Are not the facts of sin and death, and the blight and sorrow they occasion, sufficient to convince any thoughtful mind that they involve a moral question which must be settled between the Creator and the creature ?

If any would know how the sin-question can be settled in this life, with full assurance of immunity from judgment hereafter, let him hear this declaration by the Lord Himself:"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath eternal life, and shall not come into judgment, but is passed from death unto life " (John 5:24). And again, " For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life "(John 3 :16), Spoken nineteen centuries ago, these declarations have not suffered the slightest change :their truth can no more change than the character of Him that uttered them, or of God who sent Him for the redemption of mankind. Indeed, if God's attitude toward this world should change, the only alternative would be "a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which should devour the adversaries." But God is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hence the continued preaching of the gospel of God's grace to this day. It is only God's grace that holds Him in this attitude; and the ungodly, instead of repenting, criticize Him! All this unblushing talk, about "antiquated dogmatics and worn-out theology," is but gross impiety, which marks the rising tide pf the predicted apostasy and the reign of lawlessness, instead of the peace so much talked about.

If, after so many years of bitter experience, the world is still bent on making choice of Barabbas, the outlaw, the robber and murderer, in preference to Christ the Son of God, the Saviour and Prince of Peace, God, no doubt, will let it have its choice, with increasing robbers, outlaw? and murderers–as the signs of the times seem sufficiently to indicate already.

Another charge which these " blind guides of the blind " make against Christianity is, that its theology has not kept pace with science. It is truly pitiable to see what skepticism is willing to clutch at to make out a case. Theology, if the term be allowed to stand for Bible truth (which it is not always), is not in competition with, nor in opposition to, any branch of real science. On the contrary, it will often press them into its service,:for science, after all is but the discovery of nature's laws, created and governed by the same God who inspired the Holy Scriptures; it may indeed be a handmaid to the faith, but never a competitor nor a rival.

The truth of Scripture is divinely complete. As with the sun, nothing can be added to nor subtracted from it, shining undisturbedly and equally for all who will avail themselves of its beneficent rays:so the Bible, as the Word of God, reveals the truth to man in saving power, wherever it is allowed to penetrate his soul. Its theology is not given for professionals to debate upon, nor merely to fill a niche in the world's forum, but it distinctly has to do with our relation with and responsibility to God. We cannot ignore it with impunity, as we may astronomy or geology. We cannot plead ignorance as to our attitude toward God, for He has fully revealed Himself to us in His Son Jesus Christ, and the record of it is contained within the covers of the New Testament. It tells us that, as sinners, we are not on probation, but under condemnation, from which we must be saved before we can either serve or worship God in truth. It tells us that " the wages of sin is death," but that "the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord; " so that the moment we believe Him, believe the record He has given us of Him, we truly pass from death into life. It tells us that Christ assumed the responsibility of our sinful state; that He received the wages of sin which we deserved-by His sufferings and death upon the cross. Having accomplished "redemption for us, He is now become the risen head of a new and glorified humanity, to give eternal life to all those that turn to Him:in other words, that as He was lifted up as our Substitute on the cross, to purge away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, He is now lifted up on the throne, to bring us to God in the merits of that sacrifice.

If, for the schools of modern unbelief, this is " antiquated and worn-out theology," let them take the magnificent comfort of their parentage from apes, with the grand prospect (after having so gloriously surpassed their progenitors) of having to die like them, with no other hope but extinction, and no other immortality but oblivion ! These brutish ideals are what unbelief has to give to its disciples ?

This, however, is not what Scripture says will be their end. As God has placed every creature in this world in the element suited to its nature-not for its destruction but for its preservation-it is reasonable, as well as scriptural, to believe that God acts in the same manner toward His creatures in the spiritual world. Two spheres are spoken of in this connection in Scripture, corresponding to the nature and moral fitness of the two kinds of people on the other side of death-the one is heaven and the other is hell. More than this is not revealed, nor is more needed to secure a glorious immortality for those whose faith links them with the Man in glory.

For those whose heart is impervious to the light and the glorious gospel of Christ, which beseeches men to be reconciled to God and to take freely the waters of life, it seems like waste to say more. Yet, as God said to Israel of old, "Come now, and let us reason together" (and reason is God's gift to man), it is but logical to appeal to it, especially when God's glory and man's salvation are at stake. Is it reasonable, then, to think that because a man does not believe the Scriptures, therefore he is clear of all responsibility to God ? Or that because he does not believe in God, therefore there is no God ? That because he does not believe in a judgment, therefore there is no judgment ? That because he does not believe in a hereafter, therefore there is no hereafter ? If any man were to act on this principle in things of this life, would he not soon find himself under an escort to jail or the insane asylum ? It is therefore very important that this unbelief be looked squarely in the face.

And what is unbelief? Is it more trustworthy than the Word of God ? Is it a knowledge superior to that given by revelation of the Almighty ? Faith is defined in Scripture as "the confidence of things hoped for, the conviction of things unseen," It is in touch with something positive, tangible, and can give a reason for itself. It has a link with God, and is capable of holding spiritual intercourse with Him. But what link has unbelief, and with whom? It is an incontrovertible fact that every thing in the world that is positively wicked, vile, unclean, and abominable, is on the side of unbelief. Is such a thing to be cherished and carried in one's bosom? , When a wicked man repents and ceases from his wickedness, he ceases from his unbelief. Faith imparts to him a new nature and changes his character; he escapes from Satan's power, and of a sinner is made a saint. The knowledge of this, which is undeniable, ought certainly to be enough to show the nature and origin of unbelief, namely, that it is a Satanic hypnotism to hold souls in his power and rob them of glory. This is confirmed in the commission given to Paul by the risen Lord when He appeared to him on the way to Damascus, and transformed him from a persecutor to an apostle, He said to him:"Arise, and stand upon thy feet; for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness to the Gentiles … to open their eyes, and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me" (Acts 26:16-18).

As the Bible is the only reliable witness to be appealed to for the truth of God, it was necessary for Satan's warfare against the truth to discredit the Bible, if possible, as an unimpeachable authority. This gave rise to the so-called " Higher Criticism," for which intellectual skepticism, seated in places of learning, was enlisted to undermine the faith. But though the ark of the Lord be for a time in the hands of the Philistines, God nevertheless sits upon the throne, and His word is established in heaven:"He that believeth shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be condemned." It stands written for all time and for all men. A. T. E.