The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1918-07-26

QuceS the KIM OF WOrKS JdmcS ic
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 ye believe on
him whom he hath sent" John 6:29).
How Is a Soldier or Sailor Saved?
There is great need of insisting on
the necessity Of faith in Christ to the
beginning of the Christian life. Men
have always been prone to put their
own efforts in the place Of Christ ana
faith in him. This temptation arises
today in new form in the case Of our
brave soldiers and sailors. It Is easy
to believe the lie Of Satan, that If they
die for their country 1t assures them
safe entrance into heaven. We
would not say one word which would
suggest lack of appreciation for the
heroic deeds of our fighting men. But
1t is no kindness to delude them with
false hope, especially when soId
hope in Christ Is offered so freely Dy
God. 1t requires more than physical
death to atone for sin. Even In the
case of our Lord, his physical suffer
ings on the cross, dreadful as tney
were, were not the chief element Id
his atoning work. His cry, ''My God,
my God, why hast thou forsaken met"
suggests an anguish Of soul which we
cannot fathom. Indeed, he seems TO
have experienced something Of that
sense of desertion by God which en-
ters into the final doom OF the lost.
But now,, having spoken OF tnae
faith in Christ which begins the Chris
tian life, Paul goes on to speak Of the
'1abor 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 II It's
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
Greek Testament with the article (aS
1t is here) it refers to "that blessed
hope" of Christ's 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: 'sYe turned to GOD
from idols;" to turn to an unseen God
from idols, which they could see, was
"work of faith" Then the Thessa-
lonians began ito serve the living and
true Cod" 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 ITO
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 great
New Testament scholar, Prof. James
Oenney Of Scotland. He says: ut
(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.
"It 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-
MED 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 'that blessed hope" True.
Christs 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 8 20 puts it, we
3looS for the Savior" rather than the
Judge, and certainly we should be
among those who 'love his appearing