Chapter 3

The great inequality to-day, however, upon which men place an acute emphasis is that of wealth or the lack of it. A man once came to Jesus and said, "Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me" (Luke 12:13); there is the same demand to-day. Men are not seeking to share the responsibility of a self-denying service to their fellow-men, such as Jesus gave; neither are they greatly desirous of advancing the cause of righteousness in the world, but they are too largely looking to the betterment of their material condition. It is this state of affairs which often spurs men on to accumulate wealth by the oppression of their fellow men. Many men work and plan for certain great results in financial matters (as though these were the supreme things), only to be disappointed and in consequence lose their interest in life. It is the making of the struggle for material betterment the chief thing in life which causes strikes, lockouts and most of our modern industrial troubles. Here we find also the cause of heart-burnings and jealousies and deep-seated hatreds.

It is said that out of these struggles between competitors, and employer and employee, there is coming a better understanding between the contending parties and also new adjustments which will do away with these destructive strifes. This may all be true, but so long as men seek simply and only for material betterment, ignoring the spiritual and moral in their lives, any readjustment of hours of labour or scale of wages or agreements will only be of a temporary character, for the real cause of the whole trouble is left untouched. One of the ablest writers upon "The Social Unrest" says, "At the heart of the larger labour movement is the race longing for a society in which at least the spirit of equality shall be realized. Most radical remedies are only means to this end. Beyond, and deeper than all the machinery of social reconstruction, is this master passion of democracy." But this same writer also, after a survey of the whole question, declares that before this equality can be realized there must come a character founded on love.

Cause and Remedy.--Selfishness is often the real cause of the sting of inequality and of the keeping of men apart; until this is eradicated and replaced by the master passion of love--employer for employee and employee for employer--no agreements and no legislation, between the contending forces will serve the purpose. It was the master passion of a supreme love which produced the first social equality society (Acts 4:32-37); it was selfishness which broke it up (Acts 5:1-13). This selfishness is also at the root of the arrogance which causes men to despise men of an inferior race, culture or social position and seeks to use them for purposes of gain.

Perfect equality amongst men, however, outside of equality before the law and God, hardly seems a realizable thing; certainly all men cannot be of the same age and of the same stature at the same time; there are gifts of talent; there are different races, but where supreme love is it takes out the sting of a sense of an inferiority and the jealousy and hatred of superior gifts; under its benign influence the rich and the poor, the talented and the untalented, work together as brethren. The brotherhood of love is the only true brotherhood and the only solution of this vexed question.

THE TRUE RELATION OF MAN TO MAN

Who is My Neighbour?--The answer which Jesus gave to this question (Luke 10:29), which a certain lawyer asked of Him in order to justify himself, shows the true relation of man to man.

The lawyer doubtless supposed when he put this question to Jesus that he would silence Him. The Jews in their proud isolation considered themselves the chosen people of God and despised other races, even looking with a certain contempt upon their Roman conquerors. How would the Jewish Messiah, if not put to silence, answer a question like this? Doubtless the reply would be that only a Jew could be neighbour to a Jew. The race spirit is a strong one and men born to a certain nationality have many stout binding ties of speech and customs, which are not easily broken.

Mark, however, the large mindedness of Jesus. He breaks at once through race ties and without so much as mentioning the Jew, he takes the Samaritan as the example of a good neighbour. Now the Jews and the Samaritans had no dealings with each other, their animosity was well known; at this distance of time we can hardly realize how startling a thing it was to take a Samaritan as an example of a good neighbour. But it is right here that Jesus begins to show us the true relation of man to man and that this relation is superior to race, caste, language, social distinctions, customs and organizations.

My neighbour, then, is not only the man who lives next door, or is in the same business, or belongs to the same church or labour organization, or political party, but all men are my neighbours and I am to seek to do them good (Luke 10:30-37). This definition of neighbour does away with all clannishness and exclusiveness, and man comes face to face with his fellow man as a man.

How Shall I Treat My Neighbour?--A number of answers may be given:

1. Investigate the claims of my neighbour when I see him in a sad condition. The good Samaritan did this at considerable personal risk, for he could be by no means sure that the robbers would not return and rob him. Too many men, when they see their neighbours in want, pass by on the other side, as the priest and Levite did. Adversity has been described as "a deep pit, into which a man has fallen, which is surrounded by his near-sighted friends."

2. Sympathize and succour my neighbour in trouble and do what is needed to help him get upon his feet.

3. Interest myself in the well being of my neighbour after the immediate and acute necessity for aid is past. There are many who are willing to aid when a pressing call comes, but who are unwilling to keep up that aid through the convalescing stage; here is where the summons comes to be not weary in well doing to one's neighbour.

Outside of money help and aid in times of disaster and sickness there are many who are lonesome for words of cheer and acts of kindness on the part of those with whom they daily come in contact. There is a deeper meaning in the parable than that which relates to physical pain. There is a suffering of the soul and a mental trouble which beseech the kindness of the Christlike neighbourly touch.

4. There is also the larger work, which is fundamental, of bringing one's fellow man into the fellowship and communion of Jesus Christ; this is the greatest benefit which any Christian man can confer upon his brother-man (John 1:40-42,45).

CHRIST'S LAW OF LOVE

Statement of the Law.--"Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Matthew 22:39). A certain lawyer asked Jesus, "Master, which is the great commandment of the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." The kingdom of God will come when this commandment is fully obeyed by men.

Exposition of the Law.--It would seem as if a law so plainly stated would need no explanation or exposition. But before men can rightly love each other they must have certain principles and a certain character. It is not desirable that evil men with depraved thoughts and bad lives love us as they love themselves; for they love that which, if accepted by men, would lead to deep corruption of character.

Jesus Christ well put it that God must first be loved, with all the heart, soul and mind, before a man is ready to love his neighbour as himself. This loving of God, first, implies an acceptance of the standpoint of God in regard to man and the looking upon one's fellow man as God looks upon him. This standpoint of God is best seen in the words and acts of Jesus Christ. A man in order, then, to love his fellow man aright must be thoroughly imbued with the principles of the Master. A man must look upon other men as having souls of eternal value. A man who would do as Jesus would have him do must first have His spirit of self-sacrificing love (Matthew 23:8-12; John 17:19; Philippians 2:5-7; Isaiah 53:3; John 13:12-15).

Application of the Law.--The beauty of this law of love is that it may be universally applied. There is no condition of man that it cannot meet and satisfy. The crying wrongs of the home, society, the industrial world, the state, arise out of its neglect and condemnation. Men seek to make good their claims for things which they think belong to them, they fight for them, gain them or lose them, fight again or are fought, and in consequence race hatred, class and industrial hatred embitter the hearts of men.

This law applied to the life of the individual, sweetens it in its lowest depths and makes the strongest kind of a character. Paul is an example of an able yet impetuous man, who let the gospel of the love of Christ have its supreme way with him. We find in him no shrinking from difficulties or death itself (2 Timothy 4:6-8). In the midst of sore trials he wrote that remarkable classic (1 Corinthians 13) upon love which has been the help and stay of many a burdened soul.

This law applied in society is its only saving power. It is this Christ love which sends men into the slums of the cities to work for their fellow men. It is this love that is the moving power of the missionary of the cross, when he goes into the heart of heathendom. It is this love that has brought into the world all the reforms that are worth having and caused it to care for its sick and its poor.

It is to be deplored that in some quarters we should hear voices talking about the inability of the Church to cope with the modern conditions of life and that these voices should be calling for new institutions to take its place. So long as the Church recognizes its duty to preach and practice the love of God to man, man to God, and man to his fellow man, no institution can take its place; for it has in this preaching, and the application of it, the supreme remedy for the ills of mankind. Where there is no love or regard of man for his God or fellow men all agreements and all laws however stoutly made, with and for contending parties, have in them a fatal weakness.

It is love that sent Jesus Christ into the world (John 3:16,17) and it is its proclamation, and acceptance as the ruling power of life, that has caused all the real advancement in civilization since His advent.

QUESTIONS

What can be said of the question of the relationship of man to other men? What can be said of the inequalities in the lives of men and the great inequality? What is the cause and remedy of the sting of inequality? Who is my neighbour? How shall I treat my neighbour? What is Christ's law of love? Give the statement, exposition and application of the law.

STUDY V

THE CHRISTIAN FAITH

Scripture references: Hebrews 11; Matthew 9:29; 17:20; Mark 10:52; 11:22; Acts 2:38; 3:16; 10:43; 16:30,31; Romans 1:17; 5:1; 10:17; Galatians 2:20.

FAITH AND PRACTICE

Belief Controls Action.--"As the man is, so is his strength" (Judges 8:21), "For as he thinketh in his heart so is he" (Proverbs 23:7). "According to your faith be it unto you" (Matthew 9:28,29). "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23).

The Scriptures place stress upon the fact that a man's actions are largely dependent upon what he believes or disbelieves rather than upon his environment (Proverbs 4:23; Romans 10:10; Acts 8:21; Matthew 9:4; 12:34; 15:11,18-20; 23:25).

There is the will to believe and there is the will not to believe (Matthew 15:28; 16:24; Luke 9:23; John 5:40). Man grows from the inside out. What he believes in his heart will sooner or later manifest itself in his acts. If a man thinks evil in his heart and cherishes that evil, while outwardly his life is moral and upright, it is only a question of time when the inner badness will break through the thin crust of outer goodness. The real battle of life is in a man's soul and if a man sets himself to win this battle he need have no fear of outward evil circumstances; he will have to set no guard upon his words or acts for he will speak and act from a pure and upright heart. It is not what he disbelieves, but what he believes, his conviction of truth, that makes him strong.

Hence the necessity for the vigorous and living faith which Christ urged upon His followers (Mark 11:22-24; Matthew 17:19,20; Luke 8: 24,25), a faith that could not be daunted by mountains of difficulty or great storms of afflictions.

Jesus came into the world with a positive program. He had a constructive gospel to preach to men. His disciples after His death followed in the footsteps of their Master and carried out His commands. The result was that faith was translated into action; the old world was changed and myriads of men gave in their allegiance to the Christ. The positive setting forth of the Christian faith always brings definite results.

BASIS OF CHRISTIAN FAITH

The Christian Faith is Founded Upon the Fact and Experience of Jesus Christ.--Without Him there would have been no such faith.

1. The fact of Christ. This faith bases itself primarily not upon reason or feeling, but upon Jesus Christ, a historical person, and what He said and did while upon this earth in bodily form. The early disciples and preachers declared themselves to be witnesses. They were sent forth as witnesses (Matthew 28:18-20; John 15:27; Acts 1:8; 2: 32). The speeches of Peter (Acts 2:14-40; 3:12-26; 4:8-12), Stephen (Acts 7:1-56) and of Paul (Acts 13:16-41; 22:1-21) are recitals, of certain well attested occurrences, which have for their chief point the setting forth of the fact of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as the Saviour of men and hope of the world (Acts 2:38,39).

2. The experience of Christ. By this is meant the experience which men have who receive Christ as their Saviour and Lord. There is a historical Christ; and there is a spiritual Christ who enters into a communion of happiness and joy, with believers in Him. Jesus Christ, when on earth in bodily form, promised the coming of the Holy Spirit who should glorify Him (John 16:13,14); He also declared to His disciples, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20). Wherever this gospel of Jesus Christ is preached and men under its power truly repent of their sins and accept Him as their Saviour, as in the past so now, men may enter into personal relations with their risen and glorified Lord (Acts 2:40-42; John 7:17; Acts 8: 5-7; Romans 8:1-10; Colossians 1:27; Acts 26:15-19).

Essential Elements.--In the Christian faith there are six component elements.

1. Belief in God as The Spirit, "infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom and power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth" (John 4:24; Exodus 20:2-7; Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 44:6; John 17:3; 1 Corinthians 8:4,6; Psalm 19; 104:24).

2. Belief in man, as a child of God, whose spirit is destined to live forever (Genesis 2:7; 2 Corinthians 5:1; Ecclesiastes 12:7; Matthew 6:25; 5:29,30).

3. Belief in sin which taints and corrupts the heart of man, making it finally, if unchecked, the dwelling place of all evil. The effects of sin are everywhere plainly manifest. Men not only sin through ignorance and carelessly but willfully. The worst sins are those which are of the spirit, anger, pride, malice and envy (Isaiah 53:6; 64:6; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8; Romans 1:18-3:23; 8:7).

4. Belief in Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Saviour of men, who can cleanse the heart of man and save him from his sins. Jesus Christ came not only to reveal God, the Father, to man but also to purge his heart from evil. "He is the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 2:1,2; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:24,25; Matthew 20:28; Romans 3:24,25; 5:8; 8:3; Galatians 3:13; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Matthew 9:2-6).

5. Belief in the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:11; Ephesians 3:16; Galatians 5:22) who "testifies of Christ, as the Saviour of sinners, unites us to Him by faith, and makes us partakers of all His benefits." Jesus said, "When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me" (John 15:26). "The Spirit of truth ... will guide you into all truth.... He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine and shall show it unto you" (John 16:13,14; 14:26; 1 Corinthians 12:3; Titus 3:5,6; Matthew 28: 19; John 3:5,6).

6. Belief in the resurrection and the life to come, the issues of which are declared to be eternal. "The hour is coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation" (John 5:28,29; Matthew 25:31-46; 25:1-13). The great rainbow of promise that spans the future, for those who trust in Christ, is in the fact that He said, "I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die" (John 11:25,26; I Thessalonians 5:23; John 6:47; 14:2,19). The resurrection body "will be spiritual, immortal, incorruptible, and like unto the glorious body of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:20,21; 1 Corinthians 15:20-23,35-57).

Definiteness.--There is a marvellous directness and definiteness in the statements of the New Testament writers, in proclaiming the Christian faith, because they believe that they are dealing with the tremendous facts of life and destiny. God has manifested Himself and spoken in Jesus Christ as He has never manifested Himself before. "God who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things" (Hebrews 1:1,2). The eternal things of God, kept secret from the foundation of the world, are now made known to man; why should he not, in spite of any punishment or threatened ignominious death, proclaim these truths definitely and plainly to his fellow man (Acts 4:13-20)?

The keynote of all of Paul's work is sounded in a very definite and direct way in his first Epistle to the Corinthians (2:2,5) where he says, "For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.... That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." Paul consistently maintains throughout his Epistles that the sole basis of salvation is the grace of God through Jesus Christ, to be appropriated by faith on the part of man.

TESTS OF CHRISTIAN FAITH

Effects Upon Men and Institutions.--Jesus Christ was ever urging His disciples to test His words and principles. He declared the difference between true and false prophets could be known by their fruits. He said, "Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit ... wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them" (Matthew 7:15-20). When Thomas expressed doubt of His resurrection, Christ gave him ample opportunity to test its reality (John 20:24-29). Christ's challenge to the world is, "Try Me!" "Come and see what I can do!"

What kind of men has the Christian faith made? What kind of communities has it produced? Two pertinent questions are asked in a recent book of sermons, What would be the effect upon this world if everybody was a consistent Christian? What would be the effect upon this world if everybody was a consistent infidel? "The argument is a crushing one, for of a truth Christianity can stand such a test with a glory that would astonish even the most ardent enthusiasts. And it is the one test, let it be admitted with sorrow, that a reviling world is not willing to have it judged by."

A Saving Faith which meets men at their extremity of need and gives them a new heart. It is not only a faith that did save men when Christ walked the earth and healed the sick, giving sight to the blind and raising the dead, but it is a faith which saves men now. Christ is still performing His miracle of cleansing the hearts of men of evil. He is saying, "Come unto Me," and men are coming as of old. The question whether He can save now is being put to the test every day and every day it is being answered in the regeneration of men. Wherever this gospel is preached amongst the wealthy and learned or the poor and ignorant, it shows its splendid fruitage as it did of old.

USES OF CHRISTIAN FAITH

To Make Plain the Great Cause of All as Father.--We live in an immense universe, in the midst of giant forces of which, after science has made its most searching investigation and said its last word, we know comparatively little and that little imperfectly. No set of men is more ready to admit this state of affairs than that which has made the closest scrutiny of the phenomena of nature. There is a host of questions to which the most painstaking investigation on the part of the philosophers can afford us no answer.

Without this Christian faith which tells us of a revelation from God and His plan and purpose for man we should be helpless, ever seeking for light in this universe which we could not find. Then again we might believe in a first great cause of all things, but without a revelation we could not know God as the Creator of all things and as our Father who cares supremely for us--made known in the manifestation of Jesus Christ.

By faith in Christ we are brought into communion with God the Father.

To Show the Importance and Value of Human Life.--How could man know that he was more than an atom in a whirlpool of atoms, his life of sense but a transitory thing, if it had not been for the Scriptures which seek to impress upon him the value of his life in the sight of God (John 3:16,17; Matthew 16:26)? Without the pale of the Christian faith men hold life but cheaply, they squander it and waste it in sin; they too often say, "Let us eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die"--forever passing out of existence. The Christian faith holds human life as a very precious thing, something to be cherished with infinite and loving care, for the spirit in man is to live forever. Here is a new significance given to life which, when the individual accepts it, gives him new and great ideals, which lift him to a higher level of living.

By faith in Christ we are brought into proper fellowship with our fellow men, and their lives are made precious in our sight.

To Show the Way to Happiness and Joy Through Jesus Christ.--If there is one thing more than another which man is seeking it is happiness, but it is the kind of happiness which frequently destroys the body and soul--still he seeks it. Many men seek happiness through relaxation of their moral nature.

Christ came preaching the happiness of a conqueror, the victor who sings the song of rejoicing over some victory won; He set forth a joy which celebrated a conquest over evil desires and made a man noble and pure in his thoughts and aspirations. Jesus did His work for the joy that was set before Him (Hebrews 12:2). The Christian faith was never intended to make a man gloomy or downcast, but to put joy in his heart and a song upon his lips. No one has more right to a cheerful countenance than the sincere Christian, for he can be sure that he knows the way of happiness here and nothing can come to him hereafter save peace and glory in the redeemed life.

QUESTIONS