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Regeneration, Or the Doctrine of the Quickening
AUTHOR: | Oliphant, James H. |
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CHAPTER VI - THE BIBLE, A MORAL FORCE ONLY
Mr. Campbell's fifth and seventh arguments are, substantially, a repetition of his first. He says, "A fifth argument shall be deduced from the Holy Spirit's own method of addressing unconverted men, by signs addressed to the sense, and words to the understanding and affections. * * Now in seeking to regenerate and save the human family, they, divinely guided, uttered human words, and accompanied them with certain miracles. These were the means supernaturally chosen and used." In this whole argument he labors to show that regeneration is the result of teaching, which has already been shown to be false, and answered in my reply to his first argument. He says, on page 299, "The grand proposition is, that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. * * He that believes this proposition is begotten of God." I wish the reader to note his words, "is begotten of God." In this sentence he gives away his whole ground. "He that believes this proposition is begotten of God." The act of believing does not beget him, but proves him to be begotten; every point in this and the seventh argument have already been considered, as they both rest upon the ground that the Bible is a moral force, employing words, ideas, etc, addressed to mind through the ear, eye, etc. These two arguments are against his twelfth argument, in which he labors to prove that the same force that made all the worlds out of nothing, is that which is employed in regeneration, and has been considered in a previous chapter of this book. On page 62 he tells who can hear to profit, and who can not. "Coming within that circle, the circumference of which is unfeigned humility, and the center of which is God himself, the voice of God is distinctly heard and clearly understood. All within this circle are taught of God-all without it are under the influence of the wicked one." The system of salvation he presents in these two arguments is utterly powerless to save any one except those within the circle above described, and all within that circle are humble as "humility is the circumference." Mr. Campbell only gives us a method for regenerating humble people, but gives no method by which men are made humble. He tells us that all persons without this circle "are so deaf that they can not hear the still, small voice of God's philanthropy;" that, "They are under the influence of the wicked one." Therefore his plan is utterly incapable of regenerating them. I feel sure that all who are within his circle are regenerated. There are but two states with reference to regeneration; we are either dead in sins or we are alive to God. To which of these two classes does the humble man belong? I think the reader can easily assign him a place. The Savior says, "Blessed are the meek." Mr. Campbell has discovered that God has no power to regenerate any of our race who are not humble. All the power of regeneration God has is in his word, and all outside of the circle of humility are so deaf they can not hear that. Therefore God has no power to make men humble upon his plan. The fact is, that all who are within this circle are born again. It is regeneration that brings men within this circle and thus enables them to hear the "still, small voice of God's philanthropy." "Except a man he born again he can not discern the kingdom of God."
On page 299 he says, "A sixth argument is derived from the name chosen by the Messiah as the official designation of the Holy Spirit." He calls him the Paracletus, and that, too, with a special reference to his new mission. This term, occurring some five times in the apostolic writings, is, in the common version, translated both Comforter and Advocate, and by Mr. Campbell, Moniter. He rests this whole argument on the Greek word. Paracletus, as it occurs in the five places referred to. I wish to call the reader's attention to this word and to the five places to which he refers, and see whether it proves that God intended to regenerate men by the written word. The word Paracletus, as defined by Liddle and Scott, is, first "Called to one's aid, especially in court of justice.'' The Latin word is advocatus, from which we get the words, advocate and attorney. Mr. Campbell seems to think this Advocate is engaged to plead with the sinner. This view is as ridiculous, as for an attorney in court to address his client. An advocate in court addresses the court, speaks for his client, defends him, supports him. Their second meaning of the word is helper; hence, in the New Testament, Paracletus, Helper, Comforter. These Greek lexicographers understood the true Bible meaning of the word to be helper, comforter. This word, Mr. Campbell says, "occurs five times in the apostolic writings." In this he is mistaken; it occurs once in the apostolic writings. I Jno., ii, 1; "And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." This text was intended to encourage God's children, who are conscious that they sin more or less." They have an Advocate, who is Christ, who is engaged for their defense and final salvation. How Mr. Campbell could think this text proves that men are regenerated by the word I can not see. The language of this letter was addressed to believers. See verse, 13, of this letter. The text asserts that believers addressed, and the writer, John, have an advocate. He does not say that unregenerated persons have an advocate, but that himself and the persons addressed have an advocate. So that when they sin they take courage at this thought: Jesus is the Saviour of sinners, and he is their Advocate; not to advocate their cause with persons dead in sin, or any thing of this sort; but he is "an Advocate with the Father." God is the great Judge, Christ is the Attorney, and we the clients.
It is certain that the first epistle of John was not written to unregenerate persons; and it is also certain that it was not John's design to regenerate any one by this letter, or give them eternal life; chapter i, 4; ''These things write we unto you that your joy may be full." ii, 1 "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not." He writes to persons whom he styles 'little children.' Verse 12: "I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven." See verse 11, 14, in which he takes pains to let us know that he confines his whole address to God's people. The above texts show to whom these letters were written. In chapter v, 13, he tells to whom he writes, and his object in writing; "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." This verse tells us plainly that he writes to believers and that he writes to them that ''they may know that they have eternal life; '' not to give them eternal life. All the five places to which Mr. Campbell refers are in John's writings, and he tells us that he writes, "That ye may know that ye have eternal life." Certainly Mr. Campbell's witness will not be of much service to him in his effort to prove that eternal life is given by the word. This same John wrote four books of the New Testament, and he tells us that he writes "that ye may know that ye have eternal life." He wrote the five texts to which Mr. Campbell refers. Four places where this word occurs are in his gospel. John xvi, 7; "It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." There is nothing in this about regenerating any one. The Comforter is promised to his disciples, and that he shall reprove the world of sin, etc. The Spirit of God in his children, inciting them to goodness of life is a constant reproof to the wicked world, convincing the world of sin. The church is the light of the world, and as such it is a living and constant reproof to the world. The Savior does not hint that the Spirit or Paracletus advocates the cause of Christ with the sinner, but that it shall be sent to the saints, and in this way it reproves the world of sin; not that it regenerates the world, or gives eternal life to any one in this way. Also Jno., xv, 26 ; "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me." Here the Paracletus is promised to the saints to testify to them of Christ. Matt., xxviii, 20; "And lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Though he left them, he was with them alway; not to enable them to regenerate others, but to comfort them, help them. Liddle and Scott says this word means "helper', and God's people need helping often. They do not need help to give others eternal life, but they need help in their afflictions, trials, and temptations. He was with the three Hebrews in the fiery furnace. They needed a "helper" then, and he was there. Dan., iii, 25; "Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." Daniel, in the lions' den, needed a helper; not to regenerate others, but to shut the lions' mouths. He needed a real helper, not a "moral force," but a power to close the lions' mouths. Dan., vi, 22; "My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me." We need God's help in all our devotions to make our hearts humble, and put our souls in frame for service. "Let us have grace where-by we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear," is a prayer that befits the Christian's lips. And unregenerated men need the same divine power to "open the eyes of their understanding," and to "open their hearts that they may attend to the things spoken." God's people need help, and the active presence of this helper in death's gloomy, silent path; and often the dear Helper is pleased to draw very near them, and fill their hearts with goodness, and their lips with praise. But Mr. Campbell seems to have no use for this helper, only to enable the saints to regenerate others. Another one of these five places is, Jno., xiv 16; "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever." The saints felt their need of a helper. The Savior had been with them to comfort them and he knew that when he left them, they would be comfortless and sad, and he here promised them a Comforter to remain with them. The other, and last place where the word Paracletus occurs, is Jno., xiv, 26; "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." In this place the Comforter is to teach the saints, "to take the things of mine and show them unto you." I have now examined all the texts to which Mr. Campbell referred in this argument to prove that men are regenerated by the word, and find that the meaning of Paracletus itself, as defined by Liddle and Scott, is against him; also that the places where this word occurs have no reference to the position for which he contends.
His eighth argument is drawn from I Peter, i, 23; ''Being born again, not of corruptible, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever." He here assumes that the "incorruptible seed" is the written word. He assumes and takes for granted the very thing that he should prove. He also, in this argument, uses the parable of the sower, Matt., xiii, which has been noticed in a previous chapter. He also quotes, James i, 18; "Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth." He finds the term word in this text, and assumes that it is the written word. If it could be proven that the term word in these two places means the written word, it would look very much like an argument. Word, in these two places, is from Logos. On page 308 and 309 he tells us that Word is one of the names of Jesus, and refers to John; "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." "All things were made by him.'' etc. In these places the term is from Logos, and Mr. Campbell tells us that this term is one of the names of Christ. In view of all this it seems to me that he rests his eighth argument on a flimsy foundation. To assume that in these places it must mean the written word, is to assume the very thing that his whole theory requires him to prove; and he virtually asks his reader to excuse him from the task. In Heb., i, 2, we learn that God made the worlds by Christ, and in these two places he informs us that men are born again by Christ, who is, as Mr. Campbell says, the "Incarnate Word of God." Until it be proven that the term word in these places means the written word, they can never be made to prove that eternal life is given by the written word. In Rev., xix, 13, we read "And he was clothed in a vesture dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God." Here the term word is written from Logos, and undoubtedly means none other than Christ. The same Greek term is employed by Peter and James in the texts quoted by Mr. Campbell to prove his view. I accept the sentiment that men are born again by Jesus Christ, as an incorruptible seed, and "whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him, and he can not sin, for he is born of God; "I Jno., iii, 9. This is the "incorruptible seed" of which God's people are born, and it as a seed, an entity, remains in them, and hence they never fail from grace.
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