The Call and Its Responsibilities

Very Christian is called and expected to be a witness

(Acts. 1: 8), but not every one is called to the ministry.

Part loo Dur) Divine CAuL

I. Jts Necessity.

What are we to understand by a Divine call to the ministry? A friend of mine who has to interview candidates for the ministry once told me that many of the men who came before him were quite unable to adduce any definite proofs of a call from above. Indeed, they are without an idea on the subject, hopelessly confused about any such thing. And yet all true ministry must commence here. The call must come from God and not from man. It must be in some way the immediate appeal of God to the soul; ‘Son, go work to-day in My vineyard.’ This call will not be primarily through the Church or a particular denomination, but is the internal work of the Holy Spirit. And as such it will be an ‘effectual call’; such a man will inevitably reach the ministry.

Why do we insist on this necessity of a Divine call? Scripture is full of it. Old Testament prophets were all called of God, as we see from the stories of Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, and others. The New Testament Apostles were similarly called of God; the Twelve, St. Paul (Gal. 1:1), and Timothy. Of the ministry we may say what is recorded of the Aaronic priesthood. ‘And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but He that is called of God’ (Heb. 5:14). The very nature of the case suggests the same thing. The minister is called an ‘ambassador.’ He is said to have ‘received’ his ministry, and to have it ‘committed’ to him. Human governments illustrate this principle. A man must

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be called to his office. And if it should be argued that the Bible illustrations are special cases, it may be replied that Church History bears testimony to the same profound principle. If we think of men like Ambrose, Augustine, Luther, Latimer, Knox, Wesley, Whitefield, and many others, we cannot help being conscious of the working of Divine grace. God never calls without equipping, and the very fact of equipment proves the call. The Lord ascended to give gifts, and he still bestows the varied gifts of ministry. (Eph. 4:11).

Thi) Its: Proofs.

How may a man tell whether he has received a call from above? ‘The call may be proved in various ways; there is no precise law of detail or method, but a few marks may be confidently stated.

1, An intense desire. This may come early in life, or after conversion, or at some still later time. But it will come. It will not be an unreasoning desire, but full of serious and earnest thought. It will be a disinterested desire, and motives will be pure and true. And it will be a persistent desire. It will come again and again. The man will say, ‘I ought, I want; and please God, I will.’

2. Converging circumstances. ‘These are different in different cases. Sometimes they may be expressed in the desire and prayer of our parents. At other times we may see the hand of God in the provision of means and the opportunity for training. But whatever they may be, and however they may reveal themselves, circumstances will converge and indicate the will of God

3. Some indications of qualifications. ‘There ought to be physical qualifications. A minister must be prepared to ‘endure hardness.? A serious defect in the voice, or some pronounced bodily infirmity, may well make a man question seriously whether God ‘is calling him to the ministry. It may be going too far to insist on the old Aaronic requirement of absence of physical blemish, as is done, we believe, in the Church of Rome to-day, but the underlying general principle is sound, whatever may be the precise personal applica-THE CALL AnpD Its RESPONSIBILITIES 95

tion. Intellectual qualifications will necessarily be included. A man ought to have drains for the ministry, some mental aptitude, and no looseness of intellectual machinery. Greatest of all are the moral qualifications; steadfastness of character, stability, self-control, and some concentration of purpose. These are the qualifications essential to ministerial life, and the man who is really called of God must not be known to have failed in every other calling.

4. Approval of those who know us. ‘The opinion of wise friends will be valuable on this point. Not merely the opinion of mother and sisters, nor necessarily of the opposite sex at all, but the judgment of men friends and acquaintances who really understand us, fellows of our school days, men of our University and College. And not least of all, the opinion of the best men of the Church which we attend and where we are known. ‘A good report of them that are without’ will be a further qualification to support the idea of a Divine call.

5. A measure of blessing on our work. If we have not already done something for our Master it is hardly likely that we are being called to the ministry. We ought to have endeavoured to win someone for Christ, or to have tried to help some weak young Christian to a firmer footing in discipleship.

When these five characteristics exist; desire to enter the ministry, providential circumstances pointing in that direction, some evidence of qualifications, the approving judgment of those we can trust, and some experience of Christian work, we may ‘assuredly gather’ that God is calling us to preach the Gospel.

Ill. Jts Assurance.

Of the inward movement of the Holy Spirit there should be no doubt in the man’s mind. He has faced the situation and he can confidently go forward.

But there should also be humility. His confidence is not baseless, but founded on a genuine Christian hopefulness and humility. While he does not venture to say, “I know I am called”? because he might possibly be mistaking the Divine Voice and Providence, yet in the true spirit of Christian trust

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and self-distrust, he will be ready to say, “I trust I am called,” and will wait to obtain further verification in actual experience.

This is the Divine call, and it is the foundation of all else. Let us face it before we enter the ministry lest we find out our mistake afterwards. Who shall dare to say he is called unless he has such definite personal dealings with God the Holy Ghost as will enable him to feel sure that he is in the pathway of God’s will? The personal experience of the Holy Spirit in this call is at once the most solemn and the most blessed reality of the Christian life.

The spiritual element in a Divine call is further emphasized by a considering of the revealed will of God.

1. The will of God may be deduced from Holy Scripture. In the various elements of the ministry and its purpose of serving God for the promoting of His glory and the edifying of His people we learn ‘what the will of the Lord is.”

2. ‘The will of God may be learned from personal providences in life. As we review our pathway we should be able to see ‘all things working together for good’ in relation to our entrance upon the ministry.

3. The will of God may be gathered from the marks of personal fitness we possess. Body, mind, and soul should combine to prove that we are ready for this ‘office and ministration.’

4, The will of God may be deduced from a consideration of our spiritual experience. “The witness of the Spirit within, and our knowledge of and fellowship in things spiritual, ought to bear their culminating testimony to the other lines of evidence of a Divine call.

Let us therefore face this afresh and make sure of our call to the ministry of the Church.

A true call to the ministry will always be accompanied by the following characteristics:

1. Definite Convictions. The mind must be made up on certain matters, and our position held with tenacity. Such subjects as the Deity of Christ, the Personality and Divinity of the Holy Spirit, the Redemptive Work of Christ, should be settled, never to be re-opened. It is only by definite convictions that any minister. worthy of the name can live and work.

2. Wide Sympathies. While definite we must not be narrow; although possessing preferences we must make room for other outlooks. While our convictions are part of ourselves and are founded firmly on the Rock of Ages, our sympathies should be as wide as they can be. It is the ‘intensive’ man who can safely be ‘extensive,’ it is only the shallow man who is in danger of losing everything definite by extending his sympathies.

3. Genuine Spirituality. This will give warmth to our convictions and strength to our sympathies. “The men to be feared and avoided are (1) the man of convictions only, who is narrow, cold, hard and perhaps bitter, without the warmth of spiritual experience: and (2) the man of genial indifference to settled doctrine, and of easy-going acceptance of all types of thought and effort, without the safeguard that comes from a true spiritual life. But when convictions, sympathies, and spirituality meet and blend in reality and proportions, we have the true minister as contemplated by Holy Scripture.

Part Il. THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DivInE CALL
SECTION 1. THE BELIEF OF THE SCRIPTURES.

There are two important considerations as to the Bible: (a) Its place in the minister’s life; (b) His use of it in his work. It is of the utmost importance that attention be directed to the relation of the ministry to the Holy Scriptures, for it is vital to all else.

The Authority and Sufficiency of Scripture were based on the conviction of its possession of a Divine Revelation guarded by Inspiration. This Revelation meant that God had spoken, and that His will had been made known and could be understood and followed in Holy Scripture. Inspiration was never defined or described, but was assumed, taken for granted. The Church in the sixteenth century was not engaged on the proof of Divine Inspiration. Inspiration was pre-supposed. It was assumed and taken for granted. The use of Scripture, and the reference to it as authoritative, showed that the Church believed the Scriptures revealed the presence of the Spirit of God as the Spirit of Truth (“Thy Word is truth,’ John 17:17), and the Spirit of Holiness (“Thy Word is very pure, Psa. 119: 140). Revelation and Inspiration are best proved by the Gospel contained in Scripture, as it affects in transforming power our lives and the lives of others. It is the uniqueness of Scripture which is the great thing, its authoritativeness or life as a revelation from God. And whatever may be our precise theory of Inspiration, we shall be well advised if we adopt none that tends to diminish our reverence for the Bible as the work and instrument of the Holy Spirit. “The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.’ We are on a sure foundation when we accept, without attempting to explain, the two statements of God’s Word: ‘All Scripture is God-breathed’ (or, ‘Every Scripture is God-breathed,’ 2 Tim. 3: 16), and ‘Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost’ (2 Pet. 1: 21).

Are we prepared to accept its truth and acknowledge its authority? It should never be forgotten, amid all the critical controversies of today, that the fundamental question is as to the historical trustworthiness of Holy Scripture. It is not a question of any precise theory of Inspiration, but whether the account given in the Old and New Testament of God’s revelation of Himself can be relied upon for its historical trustworthiness. Some words of a modern scholar are worth quoting on this:- —

‘What is of vital concern to the Christian Church is not questions of literary analysis or minor points of literary history and criticism, but whether the story of Israel’s history from the call of Abraham down to the preaching and writing of the last Apostle is, as to all its essential and characteristic features, correct; whether, in particular, what it tells us of the part God took in it, is as objectively true as what it tells us of the part men took in it. We need not be troubled if an inaccuracy be found here and another there, whether of thought, or sentiment, or date, or name, or number, or any other subject; for neither a nation’s nor an individual’s whole history can be discredited because mistakes may have crept into the literature by means of which its life has found expression, and through which later generations have to learn what it was. What the Christian Church needs to be on its guard against, is the acceptance of a reconstruction of the history of Israel which eliminates the special Divine acts, revelations, and inspiration, whose purpose was the reconciliation of God and man; in a word, all that has constituted, and still constitutes, its distinctive value. 4

The minister must be clear here, or else he had better not think of the ministry. Error on this point is fatal to usefulness and power. ‘How canst thou go, seeing thou hast no tidings ready?’

The question is searching. ‘This is a call for sincerity, and if a man lacks that, he lacks the essential of all ministry. Sincerity leads inevitably to reverence, and no one will ever use the Bible aright unless he is reverent to it. All Bible problems should be approached from the point of view of spiritual religion. Literary study alone is useless. And reverence in turn will lead to spiritual power.

This confession of personal experience should be uttered without any hesitation or qualification. “There should be a personal conviction, showing that the man knows by experience what the Scriptures are. His confidence, conviction and courage will thus be abundantly manifest.

From all this we see that the ministerial attitude to Scripture determines all else. It comes in at every point. The Bible must be our Fount of Doctrine. Its Authority must be our deciding factor. ‘The Life of the Bible must be our ideal, and the Grace of the Bible our dynamic. Indeed, the first and most natural view of everything in the ministry ought to, have a close relation to the Bible.

And this will of course mean a first-hand experience of the Bible as the Word of God. ‘The mind must be saturated with its truth, the heart inspired by its love, the conscience made sensitive to its law, and the will submissive to its grace. “Then, then only, then always, will our life be fragrant and our ministry fruitful to the glory of God.

1 Principal Simon, Some Bible Problems, p. 284.

SECTION 2. THE USE OF THE SCRIPTURES.

From the minister’s own personal attitude to Holy Scripture we naturally pass to the consideration of his use of it in ministerial life and work.

1. Reading. ‘The value of this part of Divine Worship cannot well be over-estimated. Let us make the most of it, so that the hearing of God’s Word may be a blessed means of grace.

2. Preaching. As the Bible is necessarily the source of our sermons, so it should be their substance and their inspiration. We are to ‘preach the word’; we are to be ‘faithful dispensers of the Word’; our work is primarily a ‘ministry of the Word.’ If our sermons are not Biblical they cannot properly be Christian; the Bible must enter into every part of our preaching work.

3. Teaching. In the various methods of instruction employed by all Churches; Bible Classes, Sunday schools, church services, the teaching must be above all things Biblical. Our people need to be ‘built up in their most holy faith,’ and this faith is drawn primarily and pre-eminently from the Word of God. No Church that is worthy of the name dare neglect the teaching of the Bible, nor fail to give it a prominent place.

4. Pastoral. The clergyman is pastor as well as preacher, shepherd as well as teacher, and the Bible must be as prominent in this as in other spheres of his work. It is only by the ministry of God’s Word that he will be able to heal the spiritual diseases of his people. For the weary, the sorrowing, the despondent, the hardened, the fearing, the despairing, the Bible will naturally and necessarily be the minister’s wade mecum, his indispensable help. And the more he studies it with this practical pastoral end in view, the more effective and the more blessed will be his ministry. Our minds and hearts should be so stored and saturated with the Bible that the Scripture view of things should instinctively be the first that occurs to us. No time is too long, no trouble too great, that is spent with the Bible in relation to pastoral preaching, teaching, and service.

The minister must know his Bible, and his knowledge will be threefold: Intellectual, Devotional, Homiletical.

1. He must first master its contents. Whatever may be his methods of study he must know the contents of his Bible. To this end a few suggestions may perhaps be given.

(a) Let us study the Bible itself first and chiefly, instead of what is said about it. Dr. Campbell Morgan has said that the weakness of preaching to-day is its uncertainty, the absence of any clear note, and he attributes this to the lack of Bible study on the part of the clergy.

‘I feel very strongly that a great deal of this is due to their almost total neglect of study, prayerful study, of the Bible. Many have been so busy dealing with it as literature that they have entirely neglected its spiritual note. They can read it in Greek and Hebrew, but scores of them leave their theological college utterly unable to pass the simplest examination in the Bible. Many a humble old woman in their Church knows her Bible far better.’:

Are there not many who could give the arguments, gro and con, as to the criticism of Deuteronomy, the unity of Isaiah, and the Apostolicity of the Fourth Gospel, who would find it difficult to pass an examination on the actual contents of Deuteronomy, Isaiah, and St. John? While we do not fail to make ourselves acquainted with all the modern scholarship within our reach, we must first of all make ourselves acquainted with the actual contents of the Bible. And another thing follows.

(b) Let us study the books as they are, before we concern ourselves with their real or supposed sources. ‘To resolve a book into its sources is perfectly legitimate, but it is not everything and it is not the primary thing.

2. He must then consider how to apply the Bible to his own life. The Bible is not only to be mastered, it is to be assimilated. Meditation has been defined as ‘attention with intention,’ and the Word of God is to be a mirror in which we view ourselves (Jas. 1:23-25); the water which cleanses (Eph. 5: 26); and the food which strengthens our spiritual Mero ierete 2: 25 THeb.e 52 12-149 Psa 9:10). «Che message of the Bible must come home first of all to our own hearts if it is to be of use to others. ‘What saith my Lord to His servant?’ (Josh. 5: 15); ‘What wilt thou have me to do?’ (Acts 9: 6), must be our constant, personal, definite inquiries.

3. He must then use the Bible, thus mastered and assimilated, in his ministerial work. For preaching, teaching and pastoral needs the Word of God is all important. All Scripture ‘is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness’ (2 Tim. 3: 16). And it is just at this point that we see the force of studying and using the Book with a belief and confidence in the great truth of its contents. To be able to prove that three sources exist in Genesis, or two in St. Mark, is one thing, but to argue that these sources when analysed are contradictory is quite another. We ought to be able to assume in our ministerial use of the Bible that the history as a whole is correct, and that the Scripture account is a trustworthy record of Divine revelation. It is difficult to imagine ordinary men believing the truth of the Bible if it is proved inaccurate on matters of fact. ‘The question at once arises whether inspiration is compatible with frequent inaccuracy or frequent incompetency. In all this we must be genuine, open-eyed students, determined to discover and possess the truth, not followers of any fashion in scholarship, whether ancient or modern. We must call no man master, but determine to go our way and settle these things for ourselves. We may depend upon one thing, that any view of the Bible which cannot be proved and taught, is pretty certain to be wrong, or at any rate so doubtful as to be practically useless for pastoral work. Sir William Robertson Nicoll once remarked of Old Testament questions that ordinary hearers cannot be expected to follow the intricate process of historical criticism, and that therefore in our preaching we must take the Old Testament as it is, or leave it alone.*

4, This threefold attitude of Scripture, intellectual knowledge, devotional experience, and ministerial use, will be at once the cause and the effect of a convinced and ever-deepening belief in the Scriptures as the Word of God. We

1 Index to Expositor’s Bible, Introductory Essay.

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shall believe in its power over men as we experience its power over ourselves, and we shall be convinced of its sufficiency for all ministerial needs without resorting to any methods of service in which the Bible finds little or no place. And so the minister will be ‘mighty in the Scriptures,’ and will find in them the supreme secret of ministerial joy and power.

Each day he must do something in regard to the intellectual knowledge, the devotional application, and the pastoral use of Scripture. Each day he must unite with these three methods the exercise of prayer for light, guidance, and blessing. ‘We will give ourselves to the ministry of the word and prayer,’ said the Apostle (Acts 6: 5), and it is only in this firm and constant waiting on God in His Word and prayer that we shall wax riper in our service and be ‘throughly furnished unto all good works,’

SECTION 3. THE WORK

After the consideration of the Minister’s relation to God, to the Church, to the Holy Scriptures, the thought of his work naturally follows.

I. Strenuous Service.

This service will not be light and easy. ‘There will be plenty of work, and work, too, which will put a heavy strain on mind and body. If a man imagines that he will have ‘an easy time’ by entering the ministry he will find himself very much mistaken. He will soon experience calls upon his time, a pressure upon his strength, a demand upon his intellect, and, not least of all, a drain upon his sympathies.

And yet the service of the ministry is one of the most searching tests of character, because our time is our own in the sense that unlike men in professional or business life we are not subject to particular hours of duty which must be observed. A clergyman can easily fritter away his time between breakfast and lunch, and find by one o’clock very little done. It is essential for a man to make some definite rules for the use of his time, and keep to them. Thus, the avoidance of the newspapers and the easy chair until after lunch would often prove a help to genuine work between nine and one. But whether morning, afternoon or evening, it still remains true that the very fact of the clergyman having the control of so much of his own time offers a real temptation to waste it, and thereby to do himself and his ministry great and lasting harm. From the earliest days of our ministry, and indeed, before we enter it, we shall do well to form the habit of regularity and method in the employment of our time, or else our freedom may prove a spiritual snare to us.

Another difficulty and temptation will be found in the multifariousness of ministerial duties. So many things will arise that seem to clamour to be done that a man may utilize all his time and find nothing at the end to show for his efforts. A man can easily be busy and yet not industrious. “The minister must soon learn to says ‘no’ to requests for his services and to demands on his time. He will have to limit his work and determine to do only those things that are nearest to and most directly in line with his sphere. Our Churches to-day are suffering from over-organization, and if they would do less they would accomplish more, less of the indirect and more of the direct, less of the secular and more of the spiritual. “There is no problem to-day more pressing on the ministry than the best disposal of our time in order to accomplish the greatest possible work of the right kind, that which will be spiritually productive,

II. Spiritual Service.

The ministry is primarily and fundamentally spiritual. The clergyman is to conduct a Divine Service, to administer the Holy Communion, to read the Scriptures in Church, to instruct the youth in the faith, to baptize, and to preach. His paramount duties are therefore spiritual, and this element must ever predominate. ‘The salvation of the sinner and the edification of the believer must always be in view. First things should be put first, and since this is so, no pressure of modern life ought to crowd out these primary spiritual realities for which the clergyman is ordained. The ministry of the New

Testament is a spiritual ministry, and nothing must ever be allowed to set this aside.

Ill. Social Service.

It is not to be supposed that what has been said about spiritual work excludes the true idea of social service. On the contrary, the spiritual may, and must, be expressed in the social. Christianity appeals to the whole man, and from the very first the care of the poor, the sick, and the aged has been part of Christian work. In the Incarnation the human body has been raised to its proper position and we are now enabled ° to understand what it means to ‘glorify God in our body’ (1 Cor. 6:20). And yet even this work is not merely social, but in strict subordination to the spiritual. Whatever social efforts are attached to a Church must be the outcome of the spiritual efforts.

IV. Satisfying Service.

1. ‘The Ministry will be a glad service. ‘This is a simple but searching test of the quality of our ministry. Are we enjoying it? Are we glad in it? We may be tired im it, but we ought not to be tired of it. “There is no service on earth in which there is so much deep gladness.

2. The ministry will be a welling service. Not forced labour, but spontaneous service out of a ready mind and willing heart. The moment the foot begins to drag and the service becomes a burden, it is a call to inquire as to our spiritual, or our mental, or, most likely of all, our bodily health.

3. And the ministry will be a trustful service. Herein lies the supreme secret; ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts.’ And hence, too is the fearless response; I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.’ In the face of all the problems, the demands, the temptations, the disappointments, the weariness, the failures, the word rings out beyond all question, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee.’ And the heart responds as it rests on the Word of our Heavenly Father; ‘With God all things are possible.’ ‘AI things are possible to him that believeth.’

SECTION 4. THE PERSONAL LIFE

After the official duties comes the consideration of personal life. Character is the true source of service, and duties can only be efficiently performed by one whose life is true. “They made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.’

Da he sCall,

The call of the ministry is to holy living and example.

1. Personal life. On the publication of a volume of sermons, someone said to the writer, “They will stir people strongly.” “No,” said he, “‘written sermons seldom do. It is the man behind the sermon that stirs.” This is the case in every department of ministerial life and activity. It is “the man behind” that tells. What, then, is the life of the true minister of Christ?

(a) It should be marked by Sincerity. In everything said and done he should be straight and true. In the matter and manner of his sermons, in the substance and form of his teaching, in the conduct and guidance of parochial affairs, his life should be consistent. Not ability, but reality is what people earnestly desire and rightly demand.

(4) It should be marked by Seriousness. As we have seen, one of the key words of the Pastoral Epistles is “grave” (ceyvoc), and it is the more striking in that it is pressed upon young men. But can we expect gravity from young men? Yes, if we remember that gravity is not gloom, and that brightness is not lightness. “The minister is rightly expected to take a serious view of life and not to allow himself to degenerate into a reputation for lightness, still less for flippancy.

2. Home life. A bachelor minister has a special opportunity for making or marring his reputation. In his use of time, in the books he reads, he can do much to glorify God and recommend his Master’s service. It is a true test of a man to find out how he lives in the privacy of his home. These questions may seem small in themselves, but “‘straws show which way the wind blows.”

When the minister is married and a family is growing up around him, the call to be a wholesome example is ever more pressing. People will become aware whether the children are well disciplined, whether the minister’s wife is concerned for the welfare of the congregation, and above all, whether the man who preaches such eloquent sermons is able to “show piety at home.” It is one of the saddest and most deplorable things when a clergyman’s house gets a reputation for the very opposite of these things. It is all the more terrible when the clergyman happens to preach the highest spiritual doctrine and yet fails in his own living. Who can wonder if spiritual religion is repellent in that parish by reason of the unwholesome example of its minister. His teaching will fall on deaf ears. And this is no fancy picture. Men soon take the measure of their clergy. ‘Truth will out, and the average judgment of a congregation respecting the clergyman can usually be trusted with unerring certainty. A layman once judged a clergyman by a single test only; whether he would be the sort of man to send for when one is on a deathbed. A very fair, a very true, and a very searching test. ‘Wholesome examples of the flock of Christ.’ This, and this above all, is the secret of ministerial blessing and power over men. There is a way to Hell, says Bunyan, even from the gate of Heaven. ‘He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.’ ‘Hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.’

II. The Standard.

We must live our life in constant view of Holy Scripture. The Word of God is to be the ‘discerner,’ the ‘critic,’ the criterion of our inner life (Heb. 4: 12). We must submit ourselves to it as to a search-light, as to a probing instrument, as to a plumbline. If our life does not ring true to Scripture it means that there is a flaw in the metal. No lower test will suffice. Our own view may easily be partial. ‘I know nothing against myself, yet am I not hereby justified.’ And the view of others will not always and necessarily be correct and complete. ‘In Thy light shall we see light,’ and it may be said without hesitation and without qualification that the man who allows himself to be tested and searched and guided day by day by the unerring Word of God will never backslide in any degree whatever. On the other hand, if our lives are not lived ever in the light of Holy Scripture, ‘according to the doctrine of Christ,’ and in face of the mirror of truth (Jas. 1: 23-25), it is impossible to say how far a man may not go from the path of rectitude and holiness.

Ill. The Secret.

But this reference to Holy Scripture inevitably suggests something more.

Scripture finds its fullest power over the life only when we are in fellowship with Christ. The Persian parable tells of the clay being asked how it was that it was the possessor of such fragrance, and replying, ‘I have been living near a rose. Henry Drummond tells of a young girl of exquisite beauty of character, and when after her death they opened a locket, expecting to find the portrait of some loved one, they saw nothing but the words, ‘Whom having not seen, ye love.’ This was the secret of her loveliness of spirit. It is there and thus that we shall assimilate such a spirit that we shall never fail to be ‘wholesome examples of the flock of Christ.’

This fellowship comes in a simple way, by the twofold method of prayer and meditation. In prayer we speak to God; in the Bible God speaks to us. And prayer is the response of the soul to the Bible as the Word of God. Private prayer, regular private prayer, definite regular private prayer, is the one prime secret of holy living. ‘There is a profound truth in these words:

‘If you go into a minister’s study and find that there is a bare place on the carpet in front of his chair, get him to pray for you; but if you find the bare place in front of his looking-glass you pray for him,’

The story is familiar, but well worth recalling, of Dean Hook of Chichester, that when a workman was going up a ladder early one morning at the Deanery, he saw through the window the Dean even then in his study and at prayer,

Tue CALL AND Its RESPONSIBILITIES 109

and this made a deep and lasting impression on the man. Be it ours to ‘pray, always pray,’ and then will assuredly come holiness of heart, acuteness of mind, insight of soul, resoluteness of will, and winsomeness of life.

SECTION 5. CONTROVERSY

I. The Necessity for Controversy.

We are not to seek it, and yet it will often be found to be a duty. We shall doubtless shrink from it as trying to the flesh, and yet we must not be afraid of it. St. Paul doubtless felt it to be one of the most testing times of his life to stand up against St. Peter at Antioch, and yet he did it. But we have to take care that we are not mere controversialists, for this type of man is one of the most unlovely, unspiritual, and objectionable of beings. We must not wage war for the love of it, but if we find it necessary to wage it, we must do so in love.

II. The Aspects of Controversy.

Erroneous and strange doctrines are of several sorts, and we must be ready to meet them all to the best of our ability.

1. One controversy will be on the Deity of Christ. Whether we have to deal with Unitarianism or Scepticism, the Godhead of our Blessed Lord and His Virgin Birth will call for a defence and an advocacy which cannot be other than controversial. And in this endeavour we are fighting for the very existence of our Christianity.

2. The Atonement of Christ will also be to the forefront. And this especially, because of the controversies about Sin. Sin and Redemption go together, and a denial of one will often mean a denial of the other. ‘The facts of Sin and Atonement will need emphasis, and the views of modern thinkers will have to be faced, and since Christianity is pre-eminently the religion of Redemption, it will not be long before we are engaged on these vital and fundamental questions of our faith.

110 MiInIsTrERIAL Lirk AND WorkK

3. The Divine Authority of Scripture will inevitably occupy our attention. Rationalism of various kinds makes this the center of attack, and we shall be compelled to take up an attitude against the foe of truth. Since we believe (on any theory) in a unique element in Scripture which gives it its authority, we must of necessity be prepared for warfare against those who, if allowed freedom to spread their views unchecked, would certainly injure the faith and life of uninstructed believers.

4. The Supreme Authority of Scripture will also engage our efforts. Roman Catholicism meets us here. Indeed, it may be truly said that practically all differences are somehow concerned with the position and character of Scripture. From the days of Celsus downwards the strongest opposition has been directed against Holy Scripture, as containing the substance of Christian belief, and whether we like it or not we shall have to ‘contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints’ (Jude 3).

5. And we shall pretty certainly have to face the practical question of the soul’s direct relation to God. From two quite different quarters this truth is being assailed. Rome interposes the priest and the Church, and says that it is through the Church to Christ. We, maintaining the same position as our Reformers, urge that it is through Christ to the Church, and that no human intermediary can ever be allowed to come between the direct approach of the spirit to God. Justified by faith the soul enters into the Holiest, abides there, rejoices in the presence of God, and receives the grace of God for daily living.

But in the present day a very serious attack is made on this position by a form of intellectual scepticism which tells us that knowledge of, and fellowship with Christ is impossible because we know little or nothing of Him as an Historic Figure. And thus by destroying the supernatural element in Christianity, by removing from us the unique Personality of Christ, the souls of men are bereft of all that peace, and grace, and love which Christian experience through the ages has known and valued and spread. Such a view robs the soul of rest and hope, cutting at the very vitals of faith and godliness.

THE CALL AnD Its RESPONSIBILITIES lil

It is due, no doubt, to the overwhelming, and, it must be added, over-weening influence of critical studies which tend to dissolve everything that cannot be vindicated at the bar of reason and physical science. But there are deeper things in life than reason and science, and the heart will soon know its own bitterness if they take away the Lord,

III. The Standard of Controversy.

God’s Word is our perfect and constant standard of truth. The Pastoral Epistles frequently remind us of teaching which is ‘contrary to healthful doctrine.’ Isaiah appeals to the law and to the testimony (8: 20). St. Paul speaks of doctrine which is ‘according to godliness.’ And the prophets were always asking, ‘What saith the Lord?’

1. This means that the Scriptures must be known by us. Ignorance of Scripture will do more than anything else to play into the hands of opponents, and knowledge of Scripture will be our most powerful weapon against every form of error.

2. ‘This means, too, that the Scriptures must be preached. Teaching and preaching the truth of Holy Scripture is our paramount duty. Like Philip with the Eunuch, we should be ready to take up Scripture at any point and preach Jesus as the Saviour and Friend of man.

3. But most of all, this means that Scriptures must be lived. Our lives must ‘express the Holy Gospel we profess.’ The man who preaches by his life will perhaps do more in that way than in any other to safeguard his people against error. And our teaching and preaching must be positive as well as negative. As Spurgeon once said, laying down the straight stick of truth is the best way of showing the crookedness of error. No knowledge of Scripture can be too great, too minute, too thorough, for use in our necessary but difficult work of ‘banishing and driving away all erroneous and strange doctrines.’

A thoughtful writer has called attention to the solemn fact that the people of God are being attacked along three lines: sceptical, heretical, and fanatical. The sceptic endeavours tory MINISTERIAL LIFE AND WorK

make us disbelieve the Divine authority of the Bible, to question God’s love, and even His very existence. “Then comes the heretic with his new doctrines, apparently supported with scattered passages from the Bible. He will tell us how we have been mistaken, and how God is revealing Himself to progressive minds in other ways. Last of all comes the fanatic, who does not doubt God’s Word as the sceptic does, or attempt to elicit from it any new Gospel as the heretic does, but who pushes everything beyond the bounds of Scriptural authority and the limits of sober reason. Many good people are thus on the verge of a dangerous fanaticism, who are not in any way tempted to scepticism and heresy. How, then, are God’s people to meet these errors? Against the sceptic, we ministers must teach them to hold fast to the absolute authority and Divine inspiration of Scripture. Against the heretic, we must insist upon the whole of Scripture in its various parts and progressive teaching. And against the fanatic, we must walk with God in the Spirit, and thus be able to discern between the true and the false. The closer we keep to the Word of God in spiritual study and practical, earnest meditation, the more thoroughly we shall be kept alive to these various errors, and have the spiritual perception to detect them, and the spiritual power to defeat them. Every error comes in some way or other from a neglect of God’s Word, and every safeguard against error comes from the closest adherence thereto,

IV. The Spirit of Controversy.

It is a necessary work, a hard work, and therefore one that requires the best of our powers. Such work is not to be done without very definite and sustained effort.

Pastoral anxiety for the well-being of the sheep must be the motive for the participation in controversy. ‘This is the. paramount consideration and must ever be the object of the shepherd. He does not wish to win any mere gladiatorial victory, but he desires so to fight and strive that his sheep may be protected and guarded. Or to change the figure, he must be careful that his flock enter no poisonous pastures, and to do this he must lead them in green pastures of Divine truth. If this positive spiritual view and purpose of controversy is ever kept in mind, the work of the shepherd will go forward with ever-increasing blessing.

And this will mean ‘speaking (or living) the truth in love’ (Eph. 4: 15). We shall endeavour to see the truth for which our opponents think they are contending, and we shall conduct our controversies in faith and love. Not victory, but edification will be our.aim, and in meekness we shall endeavour to instruct those who ‘oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his meer him: 2: 255126);

And so we shall ever keep in mind the great truth of ‘Principles, not Party.’ Whatever be our party we must never be partizan. No man worthy of the name of man can ever submit himself wholly to his party, however much he may be in general sympathy with its principles. ‘My party right or wrong’ is as vicious in religion as it is in politics. We must carefully distinguish between a partizan, an advocate, and a judge.

And it follows that in our work we shall emphasize principles and not attack men. Our opponents may be charming and our own side may repel, but in either case, in both cases, we are concerned for truth, and truth at all costs, under all circumstances.

And so the supreme need is for Consecrated Controversy. ‘The one great object is to know the truth, and to get it known, loved, and lived. And if our lift is lived in the atmosphere and under the control of the Spirit of Christ we shall be at once fearless, loving, and righteous in our necessary warfare for Christ, His cause, and His Church. And then, neither we nor our people will be carried away by error, but rather established and settled in the truths of the Gospel.

SECTION 6. MAINTAINING PEACE

The minister is to be ready to wage war, and yet to maintain peace. It is something like the twofold statement of the

Gospel concerning our Lord’s mission: ‘Peace on earth’; ‘Not peace but a sword.’

Quietness, peace and love are the ideals to be maintained among all Christian people, and especially among the minister’s own flock. ‘The value of these things lies in their being an illustration of Christ-likeness. Their glory consists in their being an exemplifcation of the ‘new’? commandment of our Lord, and the ‘brotherlove’ of the Epistles. ‘The ‘newness’ quite evidently lay in the new objects of affection consequent on the new relationship to ‘one another’ in Christ (John 13: 34, 35). And the prominence given in the New Testament to brotherlove, not brotherly love (love because, not as brethren), is another proof of the new Christian grace. “See how these Christians love one another!’ And the power of these things is seen in the blessing that inevitably attends Christian unity, wherever it is realized and manifested. “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!’ ‘For there the Lord commanded the blessing’ (Psa. 133: 1, 3). The opposite is always fatal to Christian life and work. ‘There is scarcely any part of a clergyman’s work which is so fruitful in spiritual results as this endeavour.

The clergyman’s first work will be among his own people, and he will do his utmost to prevent or remove friction, jealousy, and misunderstandings in the Church of which he is the minister. If any ‘root of bitterness’ should spring up between members of a congregation, and especially between Communicants, the results may easily prove heart-breaking to the minister. It is no wonder that St. Paul urges Christians to show zeal in keeping the ‘unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace’ (Eph. 4:3). If Satan can but drive in a wedge of discord between two members or two sections of a congregation, his work there can be left to produce its own dire results of spiritual barrenness. |:

In politics it is for the minister to proclaim principles and not the applications which those principles involve. Social feeling also tends to become acute as between rich and poor, a tendency that has become accentuated by that unfortunate phrase, ‘the classes and the masses.” To the clergyman these distinctions will have to be faced with the greatest possible care: that the rich have duties as well as privileges, and that the poor have their responsibilities as well as their disadvantages.

The relations of denominations will provide yet another opportunity for fulfilling this Divine requirement. ‘The minister should make friends as far as possible with believers of all denominations. It is one of the finest features of College life that men of different and differing views and Churches should meet and live together, and there is no reason why parochial life should be inferior in this respect to the College. ‘The minister has a unique opportunity of doing the work of a peacemaker, and he will lose much if he fails to respond to it. ‘The secret of maintaining and setting forward peace among Christians is the careful and constant distinction between principles and sympathies. Let the principles be firmly fixed on the unmistakable rock of Divine truth, but let the sympathies go out as widely as possible to all who are endeavouring to live and labour for Christ. Never shall I forget the words of the saintly and noble Bishop Whipple of Minnesota, the Apostle of the Indians, as I heard them in London on a memorable occasion: ‘For thirty years I have tried to see the face of Christ in those who have differed from me.’

What sort of man must he be who is to maintain peace and love?

1. He must be filled with the Spirit of Truth. Unity must be, based on Truth. Anything else will prove disastrous. First righteousness, then peace (Isa. 9: 7); first pure, then peaceable (Jas. 3:17). As it has been well put, we must not work for compromise at the expense of truth, but for comprehension within the truth. ‘In things essential unity, in things doubtful liberty, in all things charity.” Yes, but beneath all things fidelity.

2. He must be filled with the Spirit of Love. Love to Christ elicits and compels love to man. ‘He who loveth God must love his brother also’ (1 John 4:21). Love will express itself in sympathy, for we shall be keen-sighted enough to see things from his standpoint. And Love will show itself in tenderness. Nor will true Love ever mean weakness, for the stronger the convictions the greater the love. It is just because we are so convinced of our own position that we can love others with a pure heart fervently.

3. And he must be filled with the Spirit of Wisdom. Truth united with Love will lead to the threefold qualifications of Wisdom, Perception, and Tact. Love is not blind, but keen and far-sighted, and when love is guided by truth, and truth is inspired by love, the result is a spiritual wisdom which is from above, and will do God’s work in God’s way.

But we must go still deeper.

How can this threefold spirit become ours? It can only come from a deep, true, full, spiritual life. ‘There must be a rich experience of Christ and a real fellowship with Him. It is only as the soul draws ‘nearer still and nearer’ to Him Who is ‘the Lord of Peace’ that the work of ingeminating peace can be done. It is only as ‘the Spirit of Jesus’ possesses us that we bring forth fruit, the fruit which is ‘love, joy, and peace,’ and produce ‘the peaceable fruits of righteousness.’ And in the same way it will only be by a similar work of grace in the hearts of others that they will be drawn nearer together and help to bring that day in when the reign of everlasting peace will commence. It has often been pointed out that when the tide is out there are little pools of water here and there on the shore, separated from each other by vast stretches of sand, and it is only when the great tide rolls in and submerges them all in its vast embrace that they become one and are united. So must it be, so will it be with our severances of heart, ‘our unhappy divisions,’ the great tide of God’s love will flow deeper and fuller into each and all of our lives, and in the ocean of that love we realize the Divine ideal of love, joy, peace for evermore,