Columbia Theological Seminary Bulletin, 44, number 4, February 1952

Bulletin of

COLUMBIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
DECATUR, GEORGIA

Vol. XLIV

February, 1952

No. 4

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Entered as second-class matter at the post office at Decatur, Ga., under Act of August 24, 1912

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY AT DECATUR, GEORGIA

AN APPEAL TO THE SUPPORTING SYNODS

PREACH THE WORD

A Commencement Address by Rev. E. G. Lilly, D. D.
First Presbyterian Church, Charleston, S. C.

THE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
AN APPEAL TO THE SUPPORTING SYNODS

As of January 1, 1952, Columbia Seminary had raised
approximately $25,000 in the second phase of its De-
velopment Program. This means that $100,000 more
must be secured during the twelve months of the present
year in order that the institution may claim an anony-
mous gift of $100,000 which has been promised if the
total of $125,000 is in hand by January 1, 1953. The
task of raising this will not be easy at best, but real
encouragement is found in the fact that every dollar
which is contributed now will be worth two dollars to
the seminary and to our Church.

The Campaign Committee takes this opportunity to
address an urgent appeal to the pastors and churches
of the five supporting synods. The season for the Every
Member Canvass is at hand. We believe that in most of
our churches it should be possible for a special contri-
bution to this campaign to be written into the benevolent
budget and subscribed during the canvass without hard-
ship to the local congregation or injury to any other
cause. We earnestly request that this be done wherever
it is practicable. We also hope that in some cases it may
be possible for gifts to be made out of undesignated
funds which will be on hand at the end of the present
church year. It will help the campaign committee greatly
if churches which include this cause in their budgets for
a contribution will notify the seminary of that fact either
by a letter, or by use of the commitment form which the
institution will provide upon request.

It is of utmost importance that we attain full success
in this campaign, so that the new library and the addition
to the seminary's administration building may be com-
pleted, free of debt. We believe that few gifts made either
by churches or by individuals at this time could consti-
tute so fine an investment for the total program of our
Church, both at home and abroad.

PREACH THE WORD

(This address was delivered at the Commencement Exercises
of Columbia Theological Seminary on May 28, 1951. Its author
is Dr. Edward G. Lilly, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church,
Charleston, S. C, and a member of the Board of Directors of the
Seminary. Although it is especially appropriate as advice for min-
isters, we believe that it will be of interest and value to laymen
also.)

There are three words that I wish I had learned to
practice very early in my ministry.

Interpretation

The first word is to preach the Word by true Interpre-
tation. You have already learned something of the diffi-
culty of correct interpretation. You have learned that
the historical background must be investigated, the lan-
guage must be known, the customs of that day must be
studied, and the context must be carefully observed if
the full understanding is to be obtained.

The necessity of correct interpretation rests upon you
for you are a leader. You will either be speaking the
truth of God or else falsehood.

You will be guided in your interpretation by the
Scriptures as you compare Scripture with Scripture. The
Holy Spirit who is the Author is also the great Interpre-
ter. Let us remember to be guided by our Westminster
standards and by the work of consecrated scholars.

As you interpret the Word you will be increasingly
impressed by the uniqueness of the Christian Gospel,
There is no other message that can be compared with it.

There will come times when you will feel that the
Holy Spirit is saying "Fear not" when you contemplate
the greatness of the Gospel. We are challenged to a full
faith and to an open hearted acceptance of the truth.
God says to us that we must not be afraid to stretch our
faith. When the angels spoke to the shepherds bringing
the message of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Saviour, they
said "Fear not." When the angel spoke of the glorious
resurrection of our Lord it was the same challenge to
stretch the faith as he said "Fear not."

A word of caution here may not be amiss. Let us seek
a balance in interpretation which will help us to avoid
fanaticism, or false doctrines, and will prevent the taking
up of isms and the riding of special hobbies.

Thorough interpretation of the Word will give a posi-
tive presentation of the full truth. William Jennings
Bryan used to call attention to the fact that in the Great
Commission, Christ commanded His disciples to teach all
things whatsoever He had commanded them.

'&^

Thorough interpretation will give a definite content
of truth to your message and a greater reserve power.
It will give a great abundance of preaching material and
topics. We will not be drawing water from man-made
cisterns but from the wells that never fail. Dr. W. R.
Dobyns said that his greatest difficulty was to know which
sermon to preach for his study of the Bible would furnish
him with so much material that he would have three or
more messages for each time he could preach.

Thorough interpretation will strengthen your own faith
and it will increase the authority of your message as you
say "Thus saith the Lord." Also there will come a lasting
benefit to your people when they turn back to the pas-

sages you have explained to them. When you have ex-
plained to them the great theme of "faithfulness to God
in the midst of ail circumstances" which runs through
the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth chapters of Matthew,
these chapters will take on new significance and meaning
for them as they reread them under various conditions
later on.

The great message of faith in God even in the most
difficult times was set forth by our Saviour in John four-
teen. Yet on one occasion as I read these words, I sensed
that those who were listening as I read them in a home
which had been touched by sorrow did not know them.
To them they were strange words with little meaning.
What a difference there was not long after that as I
attended a funeral which was conducted by another
minister. As I stood there in the home, I saw the lips of
a woman moving as the minister read the twenty-third
Psalm. It had become a source of comfort and peace to
her long ago.

Thorough interpretation will do something else. It will
show your people some of the great treasures which they
possess in the Bible. For hundreds of years, the Indians
lived in the vicinity of what is now Birmingham, Ala.
But they did not realize the presence of, nor develop the
great natural resources of iron ore, coal and limestone
which are now being mined there and have made it a
great industrial center.

We need to spend much time in the "House of the In-
terpreter." We must not forget the convincing, convicting
and converting power of the truth in Christ as the Holy
Spirit applies it to human hearts.

A fearless clear presentation of the truth will stir up
opposition and strong resistance at times. Christ was
opposed by the chief priests, the scribes, the Pharisees,
the Sadducees and others, yet he never modified or
changed His message. He condemned them for their
literalism, their formalism, their covetousness, and their
slavish acceptance of tradition. Every true minister
should strive to be a correct and faithful interpreter of
the Word of God.

Illustration

The second word is the word "Illustration." The Scot-
tish minister who was described by one of the members
of his church as being invisible during the week and in-
comprehensible on Sunday may not have realized how
closely these two characteristics are linked together.

The first place you think of illustrating is in the ser-
mon. It is very desirable there to let the light in and
show clearly the full truth. Dr. Robert E. Speer used to
tell of how his father, who was a lawyer, while mentally
preparing his presentation of a case for the jury, would

walk up and down the room, going over various phases
of the case. When his wife asked him if he had not seen
it clearly, he would reply in effect: "0 yes, I see it very
clearly, but I want the jury to see it just as clearly
as I do."

It is very desirable to illustrate the sermon, it is very
essential to illustrate the truth by your life. I speak about
your individual life, your life in the home, in the com-
munity, in the church and in the church courts.

You will meet criticism, indifference, doubt, difficulties,
and disagreements. Will you have the wisdom, the pa-
tience and the grace to make pearls out of these? Will
you be able to show by your life how to out-live, out-love
and out-die those who do not possess the truth?

You will be getting on-the-job training as you work
in the midst of your people. Will you be willing for
them to copy you? Paul wrote to Timothy "Let no man
despise thy youth, but be thou an example of the be-
lievers in word, in conversation, in charity, in faith, in
purity. . . . Take heed unto thyself and unto the doc-
trine." Paul wrote to the Philippians: "Those things
which ye have both learned, and received, and heard,
and seen in me do: and the God of peace shall be with
you.

One of the great condemnations of the Pharisees by
Christ was "for they say, and do not." Christ is the
incarnate Truth. As you walk with Christ you will find
that you are walking between Christ and your people
largely. They will learn to see Him through you.

In one of the Charleston homes there hangs a Currier
and Ives picture which has three pictures in one. If you
look at it from one side you see a picture of Gen. Joseph
E. Johnston; if you look at it from the other side you
see Jefferson Davis; if you look straight at the picture
from the front you see that great leader, Gen. Robert E.
Lee. May you lead your people until with increasing
clearness they learn to see the face of their Master and
Saviour.

Application

The first word was Interpretation ; the second word was
Illustration; the third word is Application. How neces-
sary it is to have the accurate application of the truth
to all phases of life. The Word of God came out of life's
experiences. God, the Creator; God, the Preserver; God,
the Redeemer; God, the Leader, these are not just fine-
spun theories, they are facts which the experience of God
in life has revealed and certified. Truly, the twenty-third
Psalm is the expression of experience, and the faith
emerging from it.

The Bible fits all of life. The Will of God should be
applied to every phase of life. You will need to do clear

thinking, and clear speaking, and you will need a strong
faith in the ultimate victory of the truth. Your spirit
must be one of patience and understanding, of assurance
and firmness, of faith, of hope and of love.

Others will be asking you, and you will be constantly
asking yourself, "What is God's message of the gospel
as applied to life today?" Do not minimize the challenge
to apply the great facts and doctrines of the Christian
faith to all the phases and questions of life today. This
is not easy, but to fail to do so will be a failure to
preach and teach the truth of God in all its strength and
glory.

The skipper of a yacht must remember that his boat
is influenced and carried about by the current or the
tide, and by the wind, as well as by the power of its
engine. He must know where the hidden rocks or the
sand banks are, and where the main channel is. He must
watch out for other ships. No wonder he must always
keep his hand on the wheel and be constantly alert.

What a challenge comes to us today to be faithful in
this great work of applying the gospel to all of life!
May each one of us be able some day to hear the Saviour
say: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou
hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee
ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy
Lord."