The Grace of God in Holy Scripture, 654; Scripture contains the Gospel of Sal- vation, 655; contains the redemption offered and applied in Christ, 656; grace of regeneration, 657; of sanctification, 658. The efficacy of Holy Scripture, 659; not ex opere operato, 660; dynamic in the The appropriation of the Grace of Holy Scripture, 660; attention, 661; faith, CHAPTER I THE ADVANTAGES OF THE STUDY OF HOLY SCRIPTURE 1. BIBLICAL Study is the most important of all studies, for it is the study of the Word of God, which contains a divine revelation of redemption to the world. Nowhere else can such a redemption be found save where it has been derived from this fountain source or from those sacred persons, institutions, and events presented to us in the Bible. The Bible is the chief source of the Christian religion, Christian theology, and Christian life. While other secondary and subsidiary sources may be used to advantage in connection with this principal source, they cannot dispense with it. For the Bible contains the revelation of redemption; the Messiah and His kingdom are the central theme; its varying contents lead by myriads of paths in converging lines to the throne of the God of grace. Bible is the sure way of life, wisdom, and blessedness. The 2. Biblical Study is the most extensive of all studies, for its themes are the central themes which are inextricably entwined in all knowledge. Into its channels every other study pours its supply as all the brooks and rivers flow into the ocean. The study of the Bible is a study for men of every class and every occupation in life, for all the world. No profound scholar in any department of investigation can avoid the Bible. Sooner or later his special studies will lead him thither. The Bible is an ocean of heavenly wisdom. The little child may sport upon its shores and derive instruction and delight. The most accomplished scholar finds its vast extent and mysterious depths beyond his grasp. We open the Bible and on its earliest pages are confronted with the story of the origin of the world, the creation of man, and the problem of evil. The biblical histories present, in brief yet impressive outlines, the struggle of good and evil, the strife of tribes and nations, and, above all, the interplay of divine and human forces, showing that a divine plan of the world is unfolding. The springs of human action, the secrets of human experience and motive, are disclosed in the measures of psalm and proverb. The character, attributes, and purposes of God are unveiled in the strains of holy prophets. The union of God and man in redemption is displayed in the progress of its literature. Two great covenants divide the plan of redemption into the old covenant and the new. The former presents us instructions which are a marvel of righteousness, sacredness, and love; institutions that are symmetrical and grand, combining, as nowhere else, the real and the ideal,the light and guide to Israel bearing on to the new covenant. In the latter the Messiah presents His achievements of redemption in which are stored up the forces which have shaped the Christian centuries, and the secrets of the everlasting future. All the sciences and arts, all the literatures and histories, all the philosophies and religions of the world, gather about the Bible to make contribution to its study and derive help from its instruction. A student of the Bible needs encyclopædic knowledge. The Bible will never be mastered in all its parts until it is set in the midst of universal knowledge. It comes from the Supreme Wisdom, and it can be comprehended only by those who have attained the heights of wisdom. 3. Biblical Study is the most profound of all studies, for it has to do with the secrets of life and death, of God and man, of this world and other worlds. Its central contents are divine revelations. These came from God to man because man could not attain them otherwise. Even those contents of the Bible that are not revealed, are colored and shaped by the revelations with which they are connected. All study which goes beyond the surface soon reaches the mysterious. There are many mysteries that patient and persistent investigation has solved; others are in process of solution; still others future study may |