(Continued from page 3.)
IT is quite evident that, when the Apostle Paul exhorts Timothy to “hold fast the form of sound words,” he desires him to hold fast the doctrines embodied in that form. He does not lay stress upon the words without the doctrines, or the doctrines without the words, but he urges the duty of firmly adhering to both. Thus he expected that the whole counsel of God would be properly and securely maintained by Timothy and by the Church in general. To cleave to the words of Scripture without any enquiry into the truths they convey would be childish folly; it would be of no benefit to those who held them. On the other hand, to receive the doctrines only, which they were supposed to express, without a faithful regard to the words themselves, would imply an intellectual contradiction, and would land those who professed to accept the truth in the maze of vague uncertainties. The first kind of adherence to the form of sound words is the germ of superstition and Popery; while the second is the parent of infidelity and Rationalism. It is our duty and privilege, therefore, in the interests of sound Christianity, to hold fast both the words and doctrines of the Holy Scriptures.
The Scriptures teach us, among other things, the true doctrine concerning themselves as infallibly inspired of God, concerning the creation of the world, concerning man in his original estate of innocence and the covenant of works, concerning the Fall, concerning the ever-blessed Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, concerning the covenant of grace, concerning the adorable Person of Christ and the work of redemption, concerning the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration and sanctification, concerning the Church, its worship and discipline, concerning the State, its laws and duties, concerning eternal judgment and the future states of the righteous and the wicked. It is ours to hearken to what God the Lord speaks to us on these and other great subjects through the lively oracles of His Word, and to cherish and maintain the vital doctrines He thus teaches us. He has led His real Church into the knowledge of the truth in all ages, and has commissioned His servants to preach the gospel and expound the Scriptures to every creature. It has been found necessary for the edification of the Church and for the preservation of the truth in its purity, that creeds, confessions and testimonies should be drawn up, as subordinate standards of faith and practice. Where these are founded upon and agreeable to the Word of God, they impose on us an obligation to hold them fast. Such we believe to be true of the Confession of Faith and other standards of our Church, and it is therefore our bounden duty and highest privilege to maintain and proclaim the doctrines set forth therein, not because they are the beliefs of men but because they are the teachings of God’s unerring Word.
“Hold fast,” says the apostle, “the form of sound words.” This exhortation implies that there was a danger of letting go the sound words of the faith. False teachers had arisen even in apostolic times, and these had very probably plausible and insinuating ways of casting discredit on one or other of the accepted doctrines of the Church. Paul urges Timothy to resist the erroneous ideas of these men who had departed from the faith, and to use every Christian argument and persuasion to bring them to renounce their errors and to acknowledge the truth. There are many nowadays who hold that ministers of the gospel should introduce no controversial matter into the pulpits, and should simply preach the doctrines of salvation without exposing or condemning heresies. Let such persons examine the inspired epistles to Timothy, which are full of instructions as to how a minister of the gospel should deliver himself to his hearers, and they will see that such was not the mind of the Apostle Paul, who had the mind of Christ. No man was ever more devoted to preaching the glorious gospel of salvation to perishing sinners than he, or was more on fire with the love of Christ, and yet he was faithful in denouncing error as well as preaching the truth. He also counsels Timothy to the same work. Not that we think he recommends controversial discussions as the staple theme of pulpit discourse. Far from it; but he sees the great dangers to which the souls of men are exposed from erroneous conceptions of divine things, and so he will have the loving and faithful minister of Christ to warn sinners away from the rocks of error and unbelief upon which they are liable to make shipwreck for eternity. The apostle says in effect to Timothy, “No matter who may try to entice you to give up the form of sound words, or what temptations you may be assailed with towards this end, hold it fast with your whole heart and soul; it is more precious than any earthly treasure; by these sound words your own soul and the souls of others will be edified and saved; they are the words of eternal life.” And there is no doubt that by the exhortation the Apostle also recommends Timothy to seek an ever-deepening acquaintance with and attachment to the truths of revelation. Where there is spiritual life, there ought to be spiritual growth, and so the Christian ought to grow in his knowledge of the truths of God’s word, in the solidity and strength of his attachment to them; and in his willingness to suffer for their sake and Christ’s sake, who is “the way, the truth, and the life.”
The Manner in Which “The Form of Sound Words” is to be Held Fast
Notice, lastly, the manner in which “the form of sound words” is to be held fast, “in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.” The apostle is writing not to a mere intellectual believer in the truth, but to a living Christian and true minister of Christ, and so he exhorts him to hold fast the system of sound doctrine he had heard of him as his teacher in the exercise of the graces of faith and love.
He recommends Timothy to hold fast the truth in faith “which is in Christ Jesus.” Not in the mere grasp of intellect, or even conscience, but in the grasp of faith, a living faith which abides in Christ as its object, author, and sustenance. It is good for men to have an intellectual or conscientious conviction of the truth when they have nothing more, though such cannot save their souls for eternity. They may yet obtain saving faith. At the same time let none rest satisfied without the latter, or they are undone for ever. It is saving faith that the apostle wrote of to Timothy, and it does not rest short of Christ as its object. The true believer receives “the form of sound words” at Christ’s mouth, and sealed with His authority as the Mediator between God and man. Thus he is here exhorted to continue, as he began, to hold the system of sound truth with a constant regard to Him who is the giver of it, and whose sanction it bears. It is in and through the Lord Jesus Christ, the gracious soul has become the possessor of the truth as a precious treasure committed to his care, and he must firmly adhere to it in the face of all gainsayers under the abiding impression of this great reality. Again, it is Christ who is the author of His people’s faith. “The Son quickeneth whom He will.” Every spiritual gift, faith, repentance, love, etc., all come through Him, by the power of the Holy Ghost, to the souls of sinners. He is also the life or sustenance of faith, and it may be said that saving faith has its dwelling place in the bosom of Christ. “It pleased the Father that in him all fulness should dwell;” and the fulness of spiritual life that supplies all the graces of the soul is to be found only in Christ. The Apostle therefore shows Timothy that it is not with a strength derived from intellectual conviction merely that he must or can hold fast the truths of the gospel, but with a strength that is drawn by living faith out of the divine and unsearchable fulness that is in Jesus Christ. In dependence upon Christ and Christ alone must he maintain his integrity in the life of godliness, resist all erroneous doctrines, and worthily acquit himself as a defender of that “form of sound words” that the Lord has committed to his trust.
In Love Which is in Christ Jesus
“In love which is in Christ Jesus.” The Apostle exhorts Timothy also to the exercise of love. “Hold fast the truth in love as well as faith,” he says. In love to the truth itself, as one who discerns its inherent beauty and its admirable suitableness for the ends it subserves; in love to the souls of men, seeking that spiritual and eternal good of sinners which the words of truth are fitted to secure: in love to Christ Himself who is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, and whose grace and glory are so richly unfolded in it. This love is “in Christ Jesus.” Christ is its chief object as the mediator of the new covenant. Christ is also the fountain from which it springs. “We love him, because he first loved us,” says the Apostle John. Christ is the sustenance of it. It is by meditation upon Him, and by spiritual views of the excellency of His character and the marvels of His work and sufferings unto death on behalf of sinners that love is begotten and nourished in the souls of believers to Him. The Apostle exhorted Timothy then to hold fast “the form of sound words” in the exercise of these graces of faith and love in Christ Jesus, whereby he would truly glorify God, benefit men, and secure an eternal victory over sin and error, Satan and the world.
What the Apostle Paul said, by the Holy Ghost, to Timothy, his own “son in the faith,” he says still to all who have, by grace, embraced the whole counsel of God, unfolded in His word, as their chart for time and eternity, “Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.”
The Free Church Law Case.—This case, which has been sub judice for more than a year, and was argued before the Bench of the House of Lords some months ago, is not yet settled. The Lord Chancellor has ordered a fresh hearing to be made, and the date fixed is for the 9th June.
The Premier on Holiday.—The present Prime Minister is a very sad character; and we heartily wish he were relegated to private life. His latest outbreak is in the way of flagrant Sabbath-breaking. Having occasion to take a holiday, the papers report that he crossed to Calais on the Sabbath, and thence to Paris per his motor car. His Sabbath golfing procedure is notorious. Our verdict on him is, that he is a dangerous man to rule the nation.
The Late James Murray, Rogart.—It is with deep sorrow that we briefly notice this month the death of a beloved and eminent father in the Church, Mr. James Murray, catechist, Rogart. Mr Murray, who had reached the advanced age of over 90 years, was a man greatly beloved; and though he had been long confined to the house in failing health, yet his removal leaves a great blank in the district in which he lived, and in the Church at large. A man of much understanding in the truth, he also combined in rare proportions the Christian graces of courage and humility. He died on Sabbath, the 8th May. We hope to have a much fuller notice in a future issue.
J. S. S.