One summer I was crossing the Atlantic Ocean from Quebec to Liverpool. My cabin was on the upper deck, close to the place where the passengers were accustomed to play the various games which are usual on shipboard. Consequently, it became the rendezvous of many who were interested in the games, including, occasionally, officers of the ship's company.
One morning, when one of the officers and several passengers were chatting in my cabin, the officer said to me: "I say, Major, you will be glad to hear that on Sunday morning we shall have service in the saloon. It will be conducted by the Reverend Doctor—," naming an eminent minister on board who had a large church in Montreal.
"I hope he is a good, sound preacher," said I, "and that he may interest and help his hearers."
"Oh, yes," replied the officer. "You will be sure to like him; he is SO BROADMINDED."
"Is he really?" I responded; "but what do you mean by 'BROADMINDED'?"
"Well," replied the officer, "he takes a cheerful view of life; is always ready for a game at cards, if the stakes are not too high: and he does not condemn us all to hell if we don't happen to agree with his religious opinions, or if we don't see our way to accept all the ancient creeds."
When the officer had finished his flippant remarks, there was a brief pause in the conversation, after which I said: "Gentlemen, may I give you an illustration, which has just now occurred to me? It is this: suppose one of you had met me in Quebec a day or two before our sailing, and that the following conversation had taken place: 'Where are you going?' you ask me.
“‘I am about to sail for Liverpool,' is my reply.
“‘What ship are you going in?'
“‘I am going in the MAJESTIC.'
“‘Are you really? Would it be safe to do so?'
“‘Certainly. Why not? Is there anything wrong with the ship?'
“`No; the ship is all right; but what about the captain? I distrust him entirely.'
“‘Indeed! Why do you distrust him?'
“‘Well, I will tell you. I understand that, in the exercise of his profession as captain, he prides himself on being, as he says, a BROADMINDED MAN; that he has his own ideas and notions about navigation and that he refuses to be bound, or even influenced, by the opinions or experiences of any other captain. Sometimes he takes one route, and sometimes another, just as his fancy inclines him. He pays no attention to the compass, but sails by dead reckoning of his own devising. He seldom, if ever, steers by the government chart; and, indeed, he spends much of his time in declaiming against and ridiculing it, alleging that it is full of blunders and therefore is unreliable.'
"Now, sir," said I, turning to the officer, "What would have been your advice in such a case, and under such circumstances? Ought a captain of that kind to be trusted?"
"Well," he replied, "I think you are rather hard on me, Major."
"What," said I, "does the cap fit so tight that you can't get it off?"
At this point, there was a shout of laughter all round, which was followed by another pause.
"Gentlemen," I resumed, "I am waiting for some reply, which none of you seem anxious to give."
Immediately, however, an unmistakable Yankee who was sitting just opposite me, drawled out: "Well, Major, I guess I wouldn't go to sea in that yacht!"
Honest and sensible man! Who but a fool would entrust his life to the hands of such a captain who steers his vessel according to his whims and fancies, and not by the government chart?
There is another voyage which we all have to take—the voyage across the ocean of Time to the unknown land of Eternity!
On that voyage the Lord Jesus Christ is the Chief Captain; and He will guide safely all those who put their trust in Him.
He has provided an unerring chart— the holy Bible; and that chart will lead aright all those who follow its teachings.
Moreover, He has also supplied a dependable compass—the Holy Spirit; and that gracious Spirit is always available.
Furthermore, He has provided pilots and captains whom He calls "evangelists, pastors and teachers," whose duty it is to obey His directions, to study and follow the chart, and to explain and commend it to others.
But today, there are many pilots and captains who are disloyal to the Chief Captain. They make it their boast that they are not "traditionalists," but that on the contrary they are "BROADMINDED MEN." This, however, is scarcely to be wondered at; for, sad to say, in the universities and colleges they have been taught that the chart is "out of date," "behind the times," and "full of errors."
Sad it is that tens of thousands of men and women who would never think of risking their lives by going to sea with an ignorant or a reckless captain are nevertheless imperiling their eternal salvation by trusting to those ecclesiastical pilots and captains who disregard the divine chart and who substitute in its stead the misleading and dangerous teaching of Materialism, Spiritism, Christian Science, Theosophy, and so-called Higher Criticism!
These pretentious and fantastic speculations, which, metaphorically, may all be summed up in the one title, THE NEW NAVIGATION THEOLOGY, are just a modern rehash of the devil's lie, first spoken in the Garden of Eden: "YEA, HATH GOD SAID?" Our first parents, Adam and Eve, through believing this lie made shipwreck of their faith and happiness.
God has spoken; and has revealed Himself to mankind. The Bible is His infallible chart for our guidance across the treacherous ocean of life. It is complete, and final. By denying or questioning these facts the boasted "broadminded" NEW NAVIGATION THEOLOGY proves itself to be the ancient ship of infidelity with an alluring and a deceptive modern name.
I would therefore earnestly implore you, dear reader,
To STUDY THE DIVINE CHART—the Bible.
To TRUST the DIVINE CAPTAIN— the Lord Jesus.
To be GUIDED by the DIVINE COMPASS— the Holy Spirit.
Then through divine grace you will be safely guided and guarded throughout the voyage of life; and in due time, you will be landed triumphantly and blissfully upon the shores of the eternal city of God.