SOME IMPLICATIONS OF OUR CHRISTIANITY

Evening Star, Issue 20996, 9 January 1932, Page 18

SOME IMPLICATIONS OF OUR CHRISTIANITY

An address given by Rev. D. C. Herron, of Knox College, to Presbyterian Bible Class Summer Conference at Invercargill. In Paul’s letter to the Philippians he says; “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God that is working in you.” Ho indicates that it is a positively dangerous thing—a thing to tremble over, if we do not cause to issue in action those intuitions and convictions which come to us from God. You get exactly the same emphasis in much of the teaching of Jesus Himself. He was astonishingly severe on the purely negative typo of goodness. Go through his parables and you will be surprised to find how often they are aimed not at men living wicked, vicious lives, but at men whose conception of right living was merely the absence of wrong doing. In the parable of the Good Samaritan the priest and the Levite did not stop and kick or curse the unfortunate robbed traveller. They were condemned for simply leaving him alone. In the parable of Dives and Lazarus, Dives did not send for the police to remove this loathsome beggar from his gate. We are not told that he made things unpleasant for him because ho sat at his front entrance. All that we know is that he passed by there a man needing his help. Because he did not respond to. the appeal of his neighbour’s need, he went to hell. The implications of that parable merit pondering. In the parable of the Great Judgment, the thing which determined whether men should enter the Kingdom or go into everlasting punishment was » their response, or failure to respond, to 1 the call which the need of others made to them.

In the parable of the talents, there is no indication that the man with the one talent was not an exemplary citizen.- He did not spend his talent on drink or gambling or lust. But he came under the blazing indignation of his lord simply because he did not use i

Men and women, isn’t this rather startling teaching? But you look round about you in life, and you will see this principle working out. You will see the condemnation of negative goodness actually going on. You can think of certain young men and women who were once in the Bible Class movement but who are not even in the church, or if they have some church connection still, It doesn’t count for anything • and you would not be surprised if, on changing to- another centre, they dropped out altogether. By no stretch of imagination could you class them with the fighting force of the Kingdom of Christ. Yet at one time they seemed rather likely class members. What happened? ‘Christ summoned them to undertake some task. He said: “ That is what 1 want you to do. Work that out with fear and trembling.” But they held back. They said in_ effect: “We are quite prepared to discuss Christianity in the Bible Class or the discussion circle, but we are not ready yet to work it out in difficult service.” However, Jesus said: “ I am not needing spectators to watch or to discuss the deadly battle between, good and evil. I am needing soldiers to fight and bleed for the cause, for which I gave my life.” And He moved on. And they? They lost interest in Christianity. I remember once watching a tragedy of that kind taking place. • (It is a tragedy—the Great Judgment will show that.) He was a young man in a Bible Class—quite a good member. There was an appeal for teachers in the Sunday School and he felt.that he ought to respond. He taught for one or two Sundays, but some other foolish fellows poked fun at him for doing so. He was rather sensitive and gave up the work. He dropped out of class, too. • The last 1 heard of him he' used to go playing golf on Sunday, and only very occasionally, when something special was dn, was he found in church. That is it! The point] which I wish to make quite clear is that I all the evidence goes towards showing I that sooner or later the people who do not work out in life the truths they have.discovered about Christianity, will find religion becoming unreal and will gradually lose their grip on the most important things. As I see it, one of the greatest dangers of the Bible class movement is the danger that members should regard the Sunday discussion as an end in itself and should fail to incorporate new knowledge in immediate action. If you discuss Christian duty at class and do not act on the convictions that have formed themselves in your mind as the result of the discussion, you are not a better, but a worse man or woman than you were. Now, let me say something about the spheres of activity. If we are Christian, the very first sphere of Christian witness and service is in our home or the place .where we live. If we are not Christians there, we are

Christian nowhere. In most of our I lives there is a .stage when home relationships tend to he difficult, and require a good deal of patience. It is the time when a change has to be made from parental control to family co-operation. It is difficult for parents to recognise when the timo has come for the withdrawal of outer compulsions. They are naturally nervous lest their children, left largely to their own guidance, should miss the way. On the other hand, just at that ago practically all of us have a greatly exaggerated idea of our own wisdom. Most young men from about 17 to 22 'know far, far more than their fathers ever did! I suppose the same is true of girls and their mothers. They are regarded as Victorian and very much out-of-date in their views. It is during those difficult years that you can show the reality of your Christianity by your home relationships. Practise going the second mile in the matter of falling in with the wishes of those who have made a good many sacrifices on your behalf. You will not regret it in years to come. The second sphere of Christian service is your daily occupation. Dr Denney, our great teacher in Glasgow, used to say that a man’s Christianity ought to make him hold his knife and fork differently, i.e., Christianity should give a dignity and culture to all life. In the same way, a man’s Christianity should influence the way he holds his chisel or his pen. If you are not putting your very best into your work, you will soon destroy the fine edge of your Christianity. No slacker shall enter into the kingdom of God. There would be no shoddy, scamped work put out of the Nazareth carpenter’s shop, I and there should be none put out of the I hands of those of us who carry the name of the Galilean Carpenter. Now, this question of the quality of our work opens up one of the most difficult problems facing Christianity today—the question of the relationship .between capital and labour. I don’t know how the present gulf between the 'two sides of the industrial world is to 'be bridged, so that co-operation . and i goodwill may take the place of the present spirit of antagonism. But it is one of the biggest tasks before the generation to which you belong. It is quite clear that the kingdom of God cannot come so long as the world is divided

into hostile camps, labelled capital and labour, each with its organisation suspiciously watching for indications of an ' attempt on the part of the other to steal a march upon its territory. A man is destroying something in his own character if he is not doing his very best at his work. But the present position is that numbers of men are afraid to do their best. Not long ago, I heard of a young feli low who had a natural bent towards engineering. To his delight he got a position as an apprentice in a large firm and was very happy and interested in his work. One night, when the whistle blew, he had not quite finished the job he was on, so he just carried on and finished it. However, when he went out through the gate, two or three of the others were waiting for him. They indicated in no doubtful terms that if they caught him doing that kind of thing again, he would not forget in a hurry. The boy went home broken-hearted. Someone has got to I discover a way of re-creating trust and goodwill between the two sides of the industrial world. Isn’t this one of the big things that young Christian .men and women should definitely face? A third sphere of service to which you are being called is in the church itself. I was greatly interested when I read in the ‘ Outlook ’ of the awakening sense of loyalty which caused the young people of Knox Church, Christchurch, to bind themselves by a covenant that they would be present at church twice every Sunday. It_ seemed to mo that that indicated a rising tide of spiritual enthusiasm. A great deal of balderdash is talked about wor&ing God in Nature, and all that of thing. The people who can be depended, upon to do the difficult and unspectacular work of the church are the people who show a real loyalty to the services of the sanctuary. They draw strength for service from the fellowship with Christ that comes to them in public worship. The crucial test of a living faith is the extent to which it is built upon a genuine friendship with Jesus Christ. That friendship is cultivated on your knees in your own room, and in the quiet of the house of God. Wherever the devotional life of a Bible class is strong and the spirit of loyalty to the sanctuary is evident, you will get a response to the call for workers. _ Not long ago I listened to some ministers discussing the general tendency of church life today. One man whose judgment I respect said he felt that there were a good many people connected with our churches who do not make a regular practice of praying at all. I am satisfied that that section are going to carry no new trenches for Christianity. They will not be found in the front line of any moral battle. Their goodness is of that purely negative type which Jesus so severely condemned, Cultivate the friendship of Jesus Christ and a sense of absolute loyalty to the house of God wherever you are, and you will find yourself looking for work to do. Later, I shall suggest some of the things that your generation can do for New Zealand.

1 I want to go on now to say something about your life work. Dai o believe that God sent you into the world to undertake some particular task. Don’t think that thc_ lives, say, of ministers and others in important positions, are Divinely planned, and that the rank and file of people drift blindly into whatever chances along. The farmer nr the merchant or the labourer, if he brings the right motive to living, is just_ as much " called ” of God as the minister or the teacher. Perhaps there are some here who have thoughts of the ministry, Before you set out to it be sure that this is the thing that God has sent you to do. No man can be more miserable or a more tragic failure than the man who goes into the ministry and then discovers that he is at his wrong job. But on the other hand, no man who has felt called to the ministry will ever be completely happy if he allows the ambitions of his family or any other cause to turn him aside. I once stayed for a night in the home of a very successful London merchant. It was a beautiful home, as it might well be. His income was just touching £IO,OOO a year, and he had done it himself. But he told mo that he had once thought of the ministry, and I detected a certain wistful tone in his voice as he spoke. Every man and woman here should aim at investing life along the line of his or her particular gifts and in the sphere where it will exercise most Christian influence. Notwithstanding all the talk about economy in education, one of the poorestpaid professions to-day is that of the school teachers. Yet, unless the ministry, there is no sphere where a life can count for more. Many of us know j teachers the influence of whose Christian character has changed the whole tone of the district in which they have taught. Bible in schools or no Bible in schools, a Christian teacher is radiating Christianity every hour of the day. I can think of no finer investment of life. I once heard a great missionary, A. G. Fraser, tell that in Ferguson College, Poona, India, the staff are all high-caste Indian of brilliant scholarship. The principal is a Cambridge Senior Wrangler. For sake of their religion, Hinduism, and their countrymen, these men are teaching for onetenth what they could command in the Government service. I have often thought that all our church schools should bo staffed by men and women of that spirit.

The Bible class movement in New Zealand has supplied its quota of ministers, missionaries, and teachers, but it has not jet made its contribution of leaders for public life. Our country today is calling for men of character and of clear insight into the things that stand for national greatness, who will be prepared to sacrifice their own personal material ambitions and live comparatively simple and humble lives in order to accept the responsibility of statesmanship. .As people grow older they tend to become more cautious and to avoid attempting to blaze new trails. We need in public life those who, seeing where we as a country have failed and are failing, with the abandon of youth , will dare like a footballer stopping a rush to throw their whole strength against tendencies which must be checked if the country is to be lifted 'on to a higher level. These are some of the spheres where young people can work out their Christianity in an influential way. But whether it is as recognised statesmen having places in Parliament, or whether it is down among the rank and file of those who create the public opinion in which good leaders can work—because no statesman can advance far beyond public opinion—those who are young and have been caught by the spirit of Jesus Christ have a definite and a difficult task ahead. It is the task of establishing in our country a new scale of values. We need a group who will stop the landslide towards pleasure as being the supreme end of living. Far too much of the time and strength of the young life of to-day is being wasted in games and pleasure; while at the same time in the moral struggles we are losing practically by default. There is nothing wrong _ with innocent amusement so long as it takes a subordinate place and is a relaxation that enables us to come back with greater verve to the real tasks of life. But for years pleasure has not been kept in a subordinate place. Often is has usurped a principal place. Lord Hugh Cecil says: “People wrote to the papers as if it were a national calamity if the English eleven were defeated by Australia, or an American athlete ran faster than an English.” The editor of a Dutch paper was asked by the ‘ Spectator ’ to discuss in an article of 800 words ‘ What is Wrong With England ? ’ He said he could do it in eight words: “England has idled and played away her position.” Then he went on: “ Your long era of conquest, expansion, exploration, and exploitation begat a period of leisure and laziness . . . you grew exceedingly rich . . . you could afford to take it easy; you did take it easy. . . . You gave the world horse racing, cricket, football, tennis. Many of you became globe trotters. . . . You invented the weekend. Your leaders went late to their office, took long for luncheon, left the counting house early for their clubs. Your workmen demanded less hours and vented ca’ canny. , . . They spent much, time and money at the pub. and

on betting, football, pictures, etc. . v Without your being aware of it others rose up and got busy whilst you were resting on your laurels.” Now, while we may not agree with the whole of this criticism, there is enough truth in it to’cause us seriously to think. I. am challenging you to alter the emphasis and to put it in its proper place. While wo spend so much of our time on sport and consider that life would scarcely bo worth living without it, Mr Davies will tell you of young men and women in China who are putting every ounce _ of their strength into building up their national life. I am waiting for and I hope to see the day when the Christian youth movements in New Zealand wifi almost forget about sport and pleasure in their enthusiasm to raise the standard and start out a crusade against some of the evils that flaunt themselves defiantly before our eyes. Do you realise that what New Zealand spends on drink and gambling would give regular employment to every unemployed man and woman in our country? I would like to see you fling the gauntlet into the face of "gambling and challenge it to open warfare. For years and year's this thing has gradually been tightening its strangle-hold grip upon us. The Christian forces at best have been only holding the trenches—which is the most demoralising kind of warfare—and they have been gradually driven back from stronghold to stronghold. It is so long since there have been any moral triumphs in our public life in New Zealand that even' the Christians are beginning to feel that the forces against ns are greater than those that fight for us. That is not Christianity; that is unbelief. If you who are at the age when nothing is impossible, at this stage would attack this the greatest blight on our country and our national character, and beat it to its knees, it would give the whole Christian church new courage and new hope. It can be done, and you can do it. So nigh is grandeur to the dust, So near is God to man; When duty whispers low “ Thou must ” The youth replies “I can.”-

But it can only be done in the strength of Jesus Christ. A distinguished explorer working on the Upper Amazon was suddenly urgently called to go out to civilisation. With the help of the nearest chief and a train of attendants, he attempted a forced march of three days through the jungle to the nearest settlement. Without grumbling, the party made extraordinary speed for the first day and the second. However, on the third day, when it was time to start, he found all the natives sitting on their haunches looking very solemn and making no preparation to leave. On asking the chief what the difficulty was he received the reply; “They are waiting. They cannot move further on until their souls have caught up with their bodies.” That 1 seems to me to be largely the position with the Christian church just now. It has become thoroughly organised and has advanced a certain distance out through the jungle of life, but seems to lack strength to cut its way through the thickly overgrown, fever-infested area that must be _ traversed in the next stage. It is waiting for its soul to -catch up. Dr George Adam Smith says: “ Jesus made prayer the real battle of life. I do not mean,” he goes on, “the preparation or the discipline for the battle, but the battlefield and the battle itself.” If I saw your generation on its knees facing the moral evils that are getting such a death grip upon us,_ I would know that tho soul of Christianity had caught up on its body, that this was a day when it was a joy to be alive. I would know that in the presence of unbelievable, trumphs men once again would be turning one to another with awe and saying “Lo, what hath God wrought!” , These are some of the things _ you must do if the spirit of Christ is to conquer our land in this generation.