Cincinnati Bible Seminary - Nautilus Yearbook (Cincinnati, OH)

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LIVIA VIIA Personal Liberty in Christ PIII SSS hosed tt You are now ready to step forth and serve in the most dangerous and opportune of all ages in which men have lived. Another generation or two will likely record the survival or sacrifice of the personal liberty of mankind. Today, in an effort to save the masses, the individual man is being subjected to severe and dangerous experiments. This is being done in a world laboratory with personal liberty in a test tube under the microscope of men who scrutinize through eyes of materialism, rationalism, modern- ee ism, atheism, and socialism — men “. . . having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12). They forget that the very soul of character, of cul- ture, of survival at all lies in the personal liberty of the individual. They gamble, trifle, and traffic with the most precious possession man has in this world — personal liberty, the gateway to heaven. Its roots reach to God Himself when “. .. in the likeness of God). 2. He made us. Surely this “likeness” does not include salvation by regimentation nor a sacrifice of the lost lamb in deference to the protected flock. The whole story of creation, revelation, and salvation is given in the interest of the individual and concern for his personal liberty as a being with an eternal soul. As men drift and depart from God they rely more and more upon things of this world and the power of men, and just in this proportion do they sacrifice the individual and his personal liberty. ce Yours, however, is a personal liberty “in Christ.” ‘The greatest liberty on earth is found among the devout followers of Christ. As Christi- anity becomes shackled by denominational organi- zation and hierarchical regimentation, liberty in Christ disappears. Today these powers of men are thrusting tentacles to the ends of the earth in an effort to enslave mankind and to place him in a machine where there is neither personality, power, life, nor salvation. On the other hand, as Christ lives and works in the lives of his true followers as individuals there is liberty. ‘Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (II Cor. 3:17). “For freedom did Christ set us free: stand fast therefore, and be not entangled again in a yoke of bondage” (Gal. 5:1). You, as free men in Christ, stand as the hub and heart of all the hopes of humanity. Upon you rests the responsibility of clearly presenting the liberty of the true New Testament church. You face a hostile world — foes within and without: a world thinking in terms of powers of men rather than the power of God; a world trying to join hands and circumscribe the hub of civilization rather than cleanse the heart of the individual; a world confused, weak, and weary with the sins of men; a world willing to grasp for straws blown by every wind of doctrine; a world leadership of men who deny God and largely despise spiritual and eternal things. You stand at the cross-roads of civilizations. ‘The potentialities reach to heaven; the perils point to hell. If you go forth with a clear understanding of the Restoration Plea, if you have zeal with knowledge of the Word, if you have faith to die for freedom in Christ, then go forth and battle for the faith of our fathers! God give us men. The time demands Strong minds, great hearts, true faith And willing hands; Men who possess opinions and a will; Men who have honor; men who will not lie; Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog In public duty and in private thinking! For while the rabble with their thumb-worn creeds, Their large professions and their little deeds Mingle in selfish strife; lo! Freedom weeps! Wrong rules the land, and waiting justice sleeps! —J. G. Holland

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MII IIA AAA AAV III IVI VV VINNIE IAIN VILLI aededeeae ieee ected echoed : : One of the most important and burning ques- tions before religious leaders today is the question of a free ministry. On the solution of this problem hangs the future well-being of the movement which set out to restore the original pattern of free and powerful New Testament Christianity, This our people must clearly comprehend now, or else, be prepared to witness the spectacle of a dying church, already being choked by an ugly ecclesiasticism. Since the phrase “An Independent Ministry”’ is pretty well fixed in most minds we shall simply assume that no further definition is needed. ‘There- fore, we shall devote the remainder of our space to (1) conditions making for ecclesiasticism: (2) its cure. To clearly indicate the source of ecclesiasticism is not an easy matter. However, it seems to me, that underlying all differences, as to casual agencies, is something which has been over-looked. After all we! may find ecclesiasticism to stem from a single root. If so, that which is above ground, is of the nature of part causes. Let us look first of all at ignorance as a possible source of ecclesiasticism. No doubt many believe this to be the correct answer. And, believing such, further believe that knowledge is the only force, which can stop ecclesiasticism in its forward march. To me such a view is untenable. I cannot believe that the loss of freedom is due, essentially, to a condition of ignorance, nor that freedom can be regained by a purely intellectual conditioning of the mind. In short, I doubt that the mere fact of knowing better will cause us to do better. To be sure, knowledge is a prime requisite, but we shall not win the victory by knowledge alone. ‘To think thus is to lean on a broken reed. While admitting that present conditions, may result in part from a lack of comprehension, I, nevertheless, still believe, that there is something more fundamental, something deeper, something — ppttaa he se which constitutes the main root of ecclesiasticism. Not finding it in the intellect, as such, we turn to the will. And here, brethren, in my opinion is the trouble. Could we change the quality of the will we would change the quantity of ecclesiasticism. Could we but alter the element of will the flood waters of ecclesiasticism would become no more than a mere stream. Could we remove the ecclesias- ticism inhering in the will, then the rest (in the intellect) we could control. What remained after this could be gotten rid of, to a considerable ex- tent, by increasing, or causing to increase, a know- ledge of God’s Word. Having located the tap-root of ecclesiasticism in the will what then can be done to correct the situation? Is there a cure? To the latter the answer is yes, provided we can do something to the will, but otherwise, no. Of one thing we may rest assured, namely that a greater emphasis on scientific fact-finding will not materially change the state or disposition of the will. The will will not be swayed by such, thus causing it to cast off the satanic forces which are crippling the church, through having robbed it of its freedom. Further, I doubt that reason as such, can change the picture. This, of course, is not to deny that reason has its proper place, and that its place, is a most important one. But can reason break a stubborn and rebellious will? The answer is un- mistakingly no. Something more is needed. ‘To what then must we turn? The answer is very simple. Namely, to, a fuller realization and appre- ciation of Divine love as portrayed through the Son of God. Love for Christ will produce a willingness to follow Christ. The right kind of love toward Him will melt the most hardened and stubborn will. And thus will it be that the human will, will refuse to give its consent to any plan or program which stifles a free ministry,

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LIVIN, | An Open Field forthe Word S44 cededededededeaeaedeaeaeeedeeck deed eecteteecteteeecfeds eae oe a oF i ELLA AAAS AAAS SISSI IIS IIIS E LEE YS Dy — X % 4 ‘ prs ) i te 44. ys + 4h 4y Jr, % “The field is the world.” Matt. 13:38. “The seed is the word.” Lk. 8:11. “T have set before thee an open can shut it.” Rev. 3:8. The age-old conflict between the powers of light and darkness is seen in one of its most interest- ing aspects as our attention is focused upon the effort of men to close doors that God has opened. As usual, man’s efforts are futile when he seeks to close a door that God has ordained shall remain open. Yet man’s ability to temporarily close local doors has occasioned the most bitter strife. “And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15. The Word of God is not, and can never be, circumscribed by any worldly limitation, as to geographical boundaries or as to its power. “The Word of God is quick and powerful and at A eb aaed 2 I Times 2:9 sharper than a two-edged sword . “.. the Word of God is not bound.” This open door into the world-wide field can never be closed by human authority. No comity agreement (by which missionary boards would divide cities and communities, assigning the vari- ous sections to the different denominational bodies as their exclusive fields of operation) can ever be harmonized with the spirit of Him who, by God’s authority, opened that door to the world-wide field. When the apostle Paul found doors closed to him by the opposition he urged the Colossian brethren to pray “.., that God would open unto us a door of utterance, Christ’ .2 to speak the mystery of . that I may make it manifest as I ought Col. 4:3, 4. ‘To the Church at Corinth he wrote, ‘For a great door and effectual is opened to speak.” door, and no man unto me, and there are many adversaries.” I Cor. 16:9. The door of the inn was closed. “‘No room!” they said, One after another the doors have closed. The doors to the hearts of men, philosophies, edu- cational institutions, nations, and the islands of the sea. “Lift up your heads, O ye gates: And be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors: And the King of glory will come in.” The one who would limit this open field for the Word reminds me of the man who would try to build a fence around a cyclone. The great powers of God defy the feeble control efforts of When man thinks he has harnessed the lightning and brought it under his control, he is killed by the sudden bolt. During the early ministry of Jesus He had men. many times forbade those who would have pre- maturely proclaimed His Messiahship. But at the triumphal entry into Jerusalem He answered those who criticized the people for proclaiming Him ee King, by saying: . 1f these should hold their peace the stones would immediately cry out.” Lk. 19:40. ‘This is no time for indifference. ‘The days of inaction are past. ‘Today all nature joins Heaven in crying out for the unfettered, world-wide proc- lamation of the Gospel. Though ambitious men may seek to thwart God’s purpose, the field will remain open; because the Word is eternal. “Heaven and earth shall pass Our land of promise awaits men of victorious faith away, but my words shall not pass away.” who are willing to pay the price of conquest.