| The Christian Life | January 1940 |
Sound Doctrine
“The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine.”—II Timothy 4:3
IN this day of confusing and conflicting theories, imaginings, opinions, it is well that we have in mind what constitutes “sound doctrine.” The literal meaning of this expression is, “healthy, wholesome, teaching or instruction.” While these words of Paul were originally addressed to Timothy to forewarn and prepare him for the days to come when the apostle, would be no longer among them, nevertheless, we can take ready counsel from the application of this message to us today, living as we are, in the very end of the age, the closing days of the Gospel dispensation. In fact, from the statement of the apostle in the third chapter of this epistle, we can readily discern their appropriateness to our times since he directs Timothy’s and our attention to “the last days” in which he forewarns of the “perilous times” that “shall come.”
Yes, the “last days” were to be perilous in more ways than the one, and basically intended for the trying of our faith, “so as by fire.” (I Cor. 3:13; I Pet. 1:7) We can readily comprehend, too, that, with the great advance of light on all subjects and principally in connection with the divine message, it would be a time of responsibility for the saints living during these times, since increased light brings additional responsibility. And this is what we have come to realize and appreciate in these closing hours of “a time accepted, … the day of salvation” for the church of Christ, and all that this means for a troubled, sin-sick and weary world. (Isa. 49:8; II Cor. 6:2) Yes, specially applicable now, too, because the one who was so greatly used of the Lord during these times to open unto us the Scriptures disclosing that wonderful Divine Plan of the Ages was, in the divine providence, taken from our midst, leaving to us, as a test of faithfulness, a legacy of the Message of God to His people, and His witnesses to the world of the future days of reclamation and blessing.
HOW HAST THOU HEARD?
What a stimulus to our faith, zeal and love the hope of this inspiring message from the divine Word was to us! Who, of those who have been enlightened with this Holy Spirit of promise for all men of a future day of probation, of the terms and conditions of discipleship and its glorious reward for faithfulness, cannot but attribute it to the very presence of the “Messenger of the Covenant,” Himself, through that staunch, resolute human agent we have known as Pastor and Brother Russell. This is not a eulogy of a person, but the acknowledgement of the great Spirit of the Truth, of a momentous movement that not only carried conviction to all ready and willing listeners, but was the greatest herald of, Light ever given in the midst of a crooked, perverse and paganized Christian world.
It is a divine principle that those who honor the Lord and His Message will be honored, also, by Him. (I Sam. 2:30) Therefore, in thus paying tribute to the one whom God so highly honored, we are but carrying out this principle. Not man worship, not hero worship, but rendering unto God, the Giver of every good and perfect gift, the thanksgiving and praise justly due for having made clear to us the riches of His grace and the glory of His “unspeakable gift” to us—the gift of His Only Begotten Son. What a grand and glorious realization of this fact was brought home to us by His messenger for these times! (II Cor. 9:15; I Pet. 1:7-9) It is, indeed, a sad commentary of our times that any of those who once held as sacred these fundamental principles of divine acceptance, now, that the days seem to tarry—although they are not tarrying, but progressing with unmistakable clearness—should seemingly have forgotten them and are now engrossed with their own fantasies and fallacies. Is it not apparent to all close observers of these times that these, like all the counterfeit churches, have superseded the only true, logical basis for our enlightenment with Biblical Truth; namely, the message of God to His people through and by means of the only real, true Channel—Our Lord and His apostles? These modern light-bringers (?) have displaced the authority of these for that of their own; by their false claims of possessing a light transcending that emanating from the words of these, the Lord and His apostles, our true Guides.
RELIABLE GUIDES
Isaiah, as a faithful prophet of Jehovah, was instructed not to walk in the way of Israel, who sought refuge from the impending avalanche of the Assyrian host by a confederacy with the forces of evil. His message to the people of Israel then, was: “And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the Law and to the Testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Isa. 8:19,20) The law and the testimony of the prophets regarding that law were the touchstones, the criteria by which Israel of old was to be governed and guided in the right way—the way marked out for them by God.
When our Lord came to redeem His people, He told them that the Law and the Prophets were until John, but that then the Kingdom of Heaven was declared unto them. (Matt. 11:12,13; Luke 16:16) He magnified the law and made it honorable. (Isa. 42:21) And His faithful apostles did likewise. They—the Lord and His Apostles—are the ones to whom we are to look for our guidance into all Truth, and this includes the truth of the Old Testament. But today, we have those with us who claim to supersede these our only truly reliable guides to the Kingdom glories. Apparently they have progressed beyond the light furnished by these safe and sound guides of our faith—“the faith once delivered to the saints.” (Jude 3.) Now that we have established the basis for and the means by which we should be guided into all Truth, let us proceed to determine what is meant by “sound doctrine”—wholesome teaching, instruction.
“THE FAITH WHICH WAS ONCE DELIVERED UNTO THE SAINTS”
It is quite remarkable when we think of it that we today have the same faith that was enjoyed by the ancients of God. This one faith has run clear through from the very first of God’s holy ones (saints) to the very last—faith in the promises and purposes of God as disclosed through His Divine Plan of the Ages. It is quite true, also, that the saints of today have more upon which to found and build their faith than did the ancients; but, nevertheless, it is the same faith, “the faith which was once delivered unto the saints,” and for which St. Jude exhorts that we earnestly contend.
One of the meanings of faith, as given by Dr. Strong, is, “the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself.” Along with the Diaglott translation of Ephesians 3:11, we can confidently assert that the Divine Plan of the Ages is our system of Gospel Truth. St. Paul says, “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” In order, then, to have the proper kind of faith, we must have heard the Word of God and heeded it. In other words, we must have the right system of Gospel Truth in order to have conviction, confidence, assurance—faith. It cannot be said to be “the faith which was once delivered unto the saints,” unless it has Divine Truth as its basis. Everything else of a religious character is merely credulity and not the real thing at all. Our imaginings, our fancies, cannot produce real faith, the faith that is so necessary to our complete victory over the three-fold enemy of the new creation—the world, the flesh and the Adversary.
GOD’S MESSAGE TO US IN THESE LAST DAYS
Surely God has spoken to us through His faithful servants of old in these last days! And what a glorious message it has been! The redemption and reclamation of a lost world of humanity. The terms and conditions of discipleship—how clear that has been made! And the glorious resurrection change to a new nature—the highest nature of all creation, the Divine, with all its transcendent glories, capacities, accomplishments—if faithful. The enlightenment of the call, justification, consecration, sanctification and ultimate glorification—deliverance—how clear these things have been made to us! And restitution of all that was lost to the willing and obedient of humanity! And the ages of glory to follow! Surely all of this was wholesome sound teaching, instruction!
And then, too, as a stimulus to these basic truths were added the dispensational features of Present Truth. The harvest message of Christ’s spiritual presence—no longer the man Christ Jesus, who gave His flesh for the life of the world, as He, Himself, declared. The permission of evil; natures distinct; ransom and restitution; the three ways; the mystery of God clarified; the day of vengeance; the “man of sin” disclosed; and then, the great time-clock of the Bible, the chronology, showing the times and seasons of God and indicating where we are on the stream of time. The times of the Gentiles ending in 1914 and since then, the slow but steady change, decline and decay of the present governments of men. True Bible chronology ends with 1914, and need we any further dates in order to establish our confidence, our faith in the rapidly—from God’s standpoint, if not from ours—progressing processes of disintegration all about us?
What if the forces of destruction are held somewhat in restraint? Should our faith, our confidence in the ultimate end be any the less strong and virile on account of this? Surely not! We should be encouraged thereby that there still is time for the making of our calling and election sure. When all the destructive influences are at work, like the concurrently running and accumulating plagues of the Book of Revelation, there will be little or no opportunity for the light of truth to be disseminated and we, who have the hope of God in our hearts, will need all the fortitude and cheerful endurance possible to stand the tests of faith and fidelity then applied.
SPECULATIONS VERSUS SOUND DOCTRINE
It may be interesting to endeavor to figure out just when the last member of the body of Christ, the church, is to pass beyond the veil and when the last birth-throes of the old order will come; but like the natural birth, it isn’t altogether an easy matter to figure it out accurately—to the very day, hour or minute. And just so God has furnished us with sufficient chronological data to enable us to know where we are on the stream of time without knowing definitely the exact year, month and day for the final paroxysm; nor yet the final and complete deliverance of the church. And, no doubt, with good reason—for the exercise and development of our faith structure of character. Let others spend time and attention, if they must, on such non-essentials, but if we are established in the faith, there will be no need for any false stimulation of this kind. We have received much of Gospel Truth to afford reasonable and necessary stimuli and encouragement for the growth of our faith and trust in the outworking of God’s Plan of the Ages.
From time to time, there have been presented by different brethren various dates for the consummation of all things and they appear to be so confident of their own personal findings, that sometimes it is made a test of brotherhood, with resulting separations. It is claimed by these that it is necessary to separate into various groups on account of the so-called advanced light which they have received. All separations of the brethren because of these ephemeral guesses and speculations regarding the future are nothing short of the carnality forbidden by the apostles of the Lord. From past experience if we have learned anything at all in this respect—can we reasonably, logically conclude that these speculative theories constitute sound doctrine?
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
Dear friends, let us hew to the line. Let us stick to the Gospel Truth we have learned and been assured of and then none of these false hopes and allures will ensnare us or wean us away from our great objective—the making of our calling and election sure. Let us always remember the example of our Great Teacher and Master, Jesus, when tried or tempted to renounce the Truth by some plausible explanation not fully in accord with the spirit of the truth. Let us always have a “thus saith the Lord” as the basis for our faith and hope in the realization of all God’s promises to us which are yea and amen. Remember, also, the wise counsel of St. Peter: “We have a more sure word of prophecy,” etc.
Some of our number passed on before 1914, many more, including our beloved pastor, have passed on since then, and, no doubt, many more of us will be gone before the various and sundry dates given for the full end of this present evil world. Why then, as individuals, should we become over-wrought about matters of this kind? Why permit our normal, Christian equanimity and equilibrium to become upset by any such uncertain philosophy? O that those busy days before 1914 could be recalled when we all appreciated the Harvest Truths due in these times and, as back there, all work together in their dissemination, and for their ultimate fulfillment and accomplishment!
Is the position of those who hold that all the Harvest Work has ended and there is no further need for witnessing to a sin-sick and distressed world, tenable, do you think? Let the united testimony of our Lord and His apostles be the final court of appeal and if so, we shall find no justification for such a position; but to the contrary we shall find them exhorting, admonishing, encouraging us to continue our efforts in these directions until all such opportunity will be denied us, until the dark night sets in wherein none can work. There is ample evidence that that time has not yet arrived and until it does, it is for us—all of us, not merely some of us—to manifest our real character development by the untiring and faithful testimony of His Word, especially as it applies and relates to these closing days of the Gospel Dispensation.