101535 BY S. P. JACOBS Author of Christian Conversion," "Man's Revolt and Restoration," etc. S. P. JACOBS, Copyright, 1899, by S. P. Jacobs. TO THE READER. Begin here. This book is accumulative. Its worth will be seen by reading the chapters consecutively from the beginning. Otherwise it will not be under stood. This volume is not written in the usual way of treating the subject of Christian experience. If it were, it would not be needed. A marked feature is that of viewing Christianity as the outgrowth of Judaism; for "the New Testament can not be understood except as a growth out of the Old" ("Social Law of Service," p. 51). The attempt to know Christianity apart from the Mosaic dispensation leads to misinterpreting the Scriptures; and this leads to a fragmentary Christianity which lies at the basis of skepticism as truly as "fragmentary philosophy lies at the basis of materialism" (Joseph Cook). Fractional Christianity can not match, much less master, integral skepticism (Eph. 6:11). This fragmentariness has brought about the general conviction voiced by Professor Richard T. Ely, Ph. D., LL.D., that "No earnest man is to-day satisfied with the influence of the Christian Church. Its members are not leading the life which is expected of them" ("Social Law of Service," p. 97). The present volume is a contribution toward meeting the expectation of “earnest men." Accordingly it cites the Scriptures and personal experience in proof of its teaching. Scriptural terminology is most important. Since physical science requires exactness of meaning in the use of words, how much more does spiritual knowledge where eternal interests are involved? Notwithstanding this, the terms "sanctification," "perfection," "holiness," "purity, purity," "perfect love, "baptism of the Spirit," "fulness of the Spirit," fulness of God," "full salvation," "entire sanctification," "the higher life," etc., are used to express one and the same experience, regardless of the command to hold fast the form of sound words in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus" (II. Tim. 1: 13). 66 Amazing carelessness in the use of Scriptural terms has occurred under the proofless assumption. 'that the New Testament writers paid little regard to the rules of grammar" (Berthold). Wherefore Dr. Daniel Steele boldly declares: "Most of our standard commentaries were written by annotators trained to disregard the minutiae of the Greek language" ("Milestone Papers," p. 54). By conscquence the real Word of God has been greatly. obscured by human tradition. The greater accuracy of modern scholarship in such men as Dean Alford, Dr. August Meyer, Dr. F. Godet, Bishop Ellicott, and the eminent critics in Greek, Professors Winer and Buttman, inaugurates the rescue of the Scriptures from bonds in modern tradition. Says Winer (the highest authority in the grammar of the Greek Testament): "In regard to the tenses of the verb, Greek Testament grammarians and expositors have exhibited very great misapprehensions. In general, the tenses are employed in the New Testament with exactly the same accuracy as in Greek authors" ("Milestone Papers," p. 54). Let this same regard for accuracy of meaning be applied to the scope of nouns, and of other parts of speech. Fragmentary experience ever tends to trammel spiritual progress. The tendency is to interpret all Scripture in the light of one's own experience. Hereby words have been diminished in scope and degraded in rank, thus obscuring the very fact they were intended to make clear. Here is where accurate grammatical knowledge will preserve the inspired truth by conserving the original scope and contents of the inspired Word. Some readers may wish certain points more fully set forth; but the limits of the volume forbid this. The book is suggestive rather than exhaustive. It would incite investigation of the reasons and the remedy for Professor Max Mueller's statement that, "The Christianity of the nineteenth century is not the Christianity of Christ and His apostles" ("Chips from a German Workshop," preface). There are brilliant individual illustrations of real Christianity; but from the view-point of universal Christian history, "It is still dawn, not sunrise, much less day. Some on the hilltops see more than others. . There is power enough in the Gospel, |