This is the third and final address in this series on Paul's doctrine. In the first address we traced Paul's doctrine historically. We found he was a special witness for the unfolding of those wonderful revelations. We outlined the main points of it in our second address. We spoke of some of the things that corrupt that doctrine-the influence of ritualism and the influence of rationalism-either of which, or both of which, can rob us of what Paul by the Spirit gave us.
Tonight one desires to speak of the problems that face the Church of God and render the observance of Paul's doctrine a far more difficult path than in Paul's days. Confessedly we are living in the last days.
When man launches a new enterprise of any kind, perhaps a stock company, he gets out a prospectus, perhaps a very lovely brochure, and tells the investors what a wonderful success it is going to be, how they can buy this stock at $10 a share, and perhaps in a short time it will jump to $100 a share. They demonstrate by figures and arguments and statistics that it cannot possibly fail. It is going to be what they call a success. When we come to the introduction of Christianity into the world, we have the promise of the Church, the promise of the reception it was to have in this world, the promise of the progress that the truth was to make, and then the final consummation of all at the end of the age. We find that exactly the opposite kind of prophecy is made. As we trace the history of the Church—as we follow it in the seven churches of Revelation 2 and 3—we find the downgrade, with rare exceptions, the thing ending in that which is so nauseous to Christ that it has to be spewed out of the mouth as a thing hateful to Him The
Apostle's writings abound with warnings that in the last days things are going to be bad, that it is going to be a difficult time. We learn that toward the end it is going to be hard to find real, genuine faith on the earth. We find that the love of many is going to wax cold, truth is going to be surrendered, people are going to refuse to have ears to hear the Word of God-especially those lines of truth peculiar to Paul. How different from what man desires!
We find ourselves in the end of the Christian dispensation, if we can call it dispensation. We are faced with the problem of finding a clean path through the confusion Satan has brought in. Who can look out over Christendom today and not recognize what a Babel it is? We cannot wonder that people stumble about hopelessly, something like in the days when Israel was without a king, and every man did what was right in his own eyes. Men have come to the cynical conclusion that all that is left to do is to do the best they can and go with the confusion. In the case of Israel, there was no king; and everyone did that which was right in his own eyes. You and I cannot say that in reference to the Church of God. No! We cannot rob Him of His headship of the Church. He did not jeopardize that headship by making it dependent upon the faithfulness of man. He did not put the keeping of the body of Christ in the hands of man and make it man's responsibility. No, it is in His keeping: "I will build My church; and the gates of hell [Hades] shall not prevail against it." Matt. 16:1818And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18).
When the day comes for Christ to claim His Church, He is going to present it to Himself perfect, without spot, without blemish. It is going to answer perfectly to all that He has planned and purposed-not a blemish. Glorious! It is going to be in company with Himself-His work. That is His responsibility. That is going to be His glory. That is His workmanship.
Now, we are not going to talk much about that side of it tonight. Our problem is to find our way through the difficulties besetting us as to human responsibility in connection with the truth entrusted to us, and that especially in connection with the Church of God. When our Lord Jesus gave His farewell address to His disciples, He held out a very dark picture as to how their testimony was to be received in this world. Perhaps we might trace a verse or two in John 15:18, 1918If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. (John 15:18‑19): "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." Next chapter and the last verse: "These things have I spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." The next chapter, 14th verse: "I have given them Thy word; and the world bath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world."
One ventures to say that it is a safe conclusion from the sentiments expressed there that it was never our Lord's intention that the Church was to be an accepted institution in the world. Or, in other words, the program that is outlined by the Lord as He takes His departure from His disciples—as He takes them, so to speak, into the holy of holies in the 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th chapters of John's Gospel-the burden of what He has to say is this: "I am leaving you in a hostile world, and the testimony that you have to bear in that world will never be accepted." Christianity was never intended to be a popular affair in the world. And I would say I believe and speak the truth that Bible Christianity has never been popular in the world. Oh, I know we have a situation today where the Church boasts of the power it has succeeded in grasping in worldly affairs, and the world boasts of the presence of the Church. The world feels that it needs the Church, and the Church has certainly aligned itself with the world in many ways. It has become increasingly so, but the path we find marked out in the Word of God is the Church passing through this scene and finding everything hostile to it. Paul took up this testimony in his writings, and he bore it out personally in his own life and doctrine; and he pressed it upon the disciples.
If we turn to 2 Timothy 3, we find him saying this: "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." Now, I call attention to the fact that he does not say, "They that do," but, "They that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." If you and I dress up our Christian testimony so as to make it acceptable to the world, we can escape that persecution; but if we are seeking to live godly in Christ Jesus-if that is the purpose and desire of our lives- the Word of God says that we will be rejected, we will suffer persecution. What had been Paul's personal experience? As we noted in our previous address, the Apostle Paul had been treated as the "filth of the world... the off-scouring of all things" (1 Cor. 4:1313Being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day. (1 Corinthians 4:13)). That is about as vivid language as it would be possible to use-to be counted as refuse-the filth and off-scouring of all things.
In the 6th chapter of 2 Corinthians, Paul speaks of his ministry. The 4th verse: "But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings; by pureness, by knowledge, by long-suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things." Oh, what a ministry! What a ministry! That is the man that God raised up to give us the truth of the Church, and he says, "I am going to fill up that which is behind of the sufferings of Christ for His body's sake, which is the church." Yes, the Church was to be an institution in this world that would call forth the hatred and opposition of the unsaved around. Paul's testimony was never popular. When he stood there on Mars hill in Athens and preached to that critical Greek group, they termed him, "this babbler." That was not the only time he was termed the equivalent of a babbler. If we follow him through his ministry, what a life we witness! He was a man who was not afraid to work with his hands. He worked that he might not be a burden to the saints. He earned his own way so that none might say that he was in the Lord's work for money. He was willing to make tents if thereby he could make the gospel without charge.
In the early part of 1 Corinthians the Apostle rules out all natural wisdom. Chapter 3, verse 19: "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God: for it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. Therefore let no man glory in men: for all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's."
"Let no man glory in men"! Is it not a sad thing that the Christian Church has become like a vast arena where men strive for honors? They have their gradations of achievement, they have their titles, and at times contend for them with bitter jealousies. Men deck themselves with various degrees and titles, and disport themselves in the Church of God as though it were a place for someone else than Christ to be seen. Is that not sad? How Satan must delight in that kind of display.
In 2 Timothy 4, the Apostle says. "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom; preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts they shall heap to themselves teachers. having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry." Do you want to serve the Lord? I trust you do. If I may use a figure of speech, there are no drones in God's hive. Every one of us has the privilege of Christian testimony, brothers and sisters everywhere. Do you want to do some little bit in connection with the ministry of the gospel? You have your opportunity. "Make full proof of thy ministry." How are you going to do it? By seeking constantly—every day, every hour-to prove all by the Word of God. For we can become so inured to departures from God's way that finally we accept them as a matter of fact and raise no question. Yes, that is the way it comes about; first, small departures, which afterward wear calluses on our Christian consciences so that we fall in line and accept them as part of what was intended to be. Dear young Christians, you and I are called upon as long as we are down here to check all by the Word of God. You have a little meeting here in L.A., or you have one up there in S.M.; what is the excuse for such little assemblies? If we, in a divided and separated Christendom that has broken itself into 1,500 different kinds of sects and parties, have no God-given scriptural testimony to render, then why should we not lock the door here, forget about this place, and dissipate ourselves among the sects about us? Is there anything worthwhile to contend for, anything vital at stake, or have we followed a course of self-will? followed a mistaken leadership? If we have, it is a tragedy! I remember reading William Kelly's remark: "I believe some of us have suffered a deal for a delusion, if that is what it is." Is it worthwhile to stand for the owning of no other Name than that of the Lord Jesus and refusing to compromise that Name by any human arrangements outside of what we find in the Word of God? I verily believe it is, else I would not be speaking to you tonight.
I recall that in one of the gospels, the disciples came to the Lord quite agitated, saying, "We saw one casting out devils in Thy name... and we forbade him." The Lord's answer was something like this: "Do not forbid him. No man can work a miracle in My name and speak lightly of Me." I hope I have learned that lesson. I hope I rejoice in every voice that is lifted up in this poor, mad world today to magnify Christ. I was in a home only this week where I heard someone down here at A- T- speaking on the radio; and I heard him exalting Christ, and my heart rejoiced. I trust I have not dried up in my affections so that I do not rejoice when Christ is well spoken of. So Paul did in Philippians 1; he rejoiced when Christ was preached. He was not disposed to forbid Christ being preached. even though it was a Christ of contention. So would I stop nobody's mouth, but I would seek to be faithful to the testimony as I find it in the Word of God, if there is any such in this present-day Babylon. I would seek to continue in the path which God plainly marks out in His Word.