The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1918-07-20

kind of faith Paul insisted upon pro-
duces the kind of works James re-
quired. However, we believe Paul re-
fers in the text to the very beginning
Of faith, as when Jesus says: '"This
is the work of God, that We believe on
him whom he hath sent" John :29).
But now, having spoken Of that
faith in Christ which begins the Chris
tian life, Paul goes on to speak Of the
'labor of love-" Love tolls on when
faith might pause.
The New Testament Hope.
Finally, he refers to the patience Of
hope;' that is, its endurance under
trial. Even love ceases to labor if its
task seems endless, and here is where
the value Of hope is seen. Especially
does the hope Of Christ's personal
coming inspire patience, and doubtless
1t is this hope which is here referred
to. Indeed, Bishop Moule maintains
that wherever ''hope" is used in the
it is here) it refers to shat blessed
hope" of Christs appearing.
The apostle speaks of the same ele-
ments of the Christian life in the re-
naming verses Of the text. For ex-
ample, he says: "Ye turned to God
from idols :" to turn to an unseen God
from idols, which they could see, was
a ''work of faith" Then the Thessa-
lonians began "to serve the living and
true God" which corresponds to the
''labor of love- Finally, they learned
''to wait for his Son from heaven"
corresponding to "the patience of
hope"
A Lack in Christians of Today
Converts in the present day exhibit
the first two elements, "the work Of
faith" and ''the labor Of love-" but
seem deficient usually in the last ele-
ment ''the patience of hope" We do
not deny they have hope Of future
life, but they do not usually learn "to
wait for his Son from heaven" which
was the distinctive hope Of the early
church.
Our conviction in this matter is
borne out by the testimony of a great
New Testament scholar, Prof. James
Denney of Scotland. He says: eft
(the second coming) was the great OBJ
ject of Christian hope. Christians not
only believed Christ would come
again; they not only expected him to
come: they were eager for his coming.
How long. O Lord?' they cried In their
distress. Come, Lord Jesus, come
quickly was their prayer" He adds,
at is matter of notoriety that hope
In this sense does not hold Its ancient
place in the heart Of the church"
Discovery of Some Chinese Christians.
But it does not require the learning
Of the scholar to see the place occu-
pied by Christ's coming in the hope of
the early Christians. The simplest
reader Of the New Testament must
perceive this. A missionary from
China reported that all the native
Christians in her district were wait
ing for Gods Son from heaven. Some
one inquired who had taught them this
doctrine. "No one" she replied, "they
have the New Testament in their hands
and have seen it for themselves"
Why has this hope been so largely
lost in the church? Several answers
might be given, but one is that there
has been a misapprehension in the
whole matter. The coming of Christ
is associated in most minds with judg-
ment and wrath, and we naturally do
not dwell upon 1t as so conceived. But
there is certainly something wrong
with this conception, for the New Tes-
lament speaks Of the appearing of the
Savior as shat blessed hope" True,
Ch1st's coming will bring judgment
and wrath to his foes, but our text
tells us that Gods Son will deliver his
people from "the wrath to come"
Hence, as Philippians 3 20 puts 1t, we
'1ook for the Savior" rather than the
Judge, and certainly we should be
among those who '1ove his appearing"
AS we hear his voice saying, Surely
come quickly" may our hearts reply
with apostles and prophets: "Even
SO, come, Lord Jesus"