92 



THE KEY. JOHN SHARP, M.A._, ON THE LAST 



the Old Testament, but in my judgment it stamps and condemns 

 every form of immorality, only referring to it for that purpose. 

 Further, these very books were admired and quoted by Our Lord. 

 On the question of the lack of unity among Christians, where this 

 is the case it is in spite of the Book, not because of it. If the 

 Bible principles were followed there would, indeed, be "peace on 

 earth," labour troubles and every ill would be removed ; it is our 

 fault, not that of the Author of the Book. Sir William Ramsay says 

 that the more he knows of the Bible lands and times by minute 

 study, the more confident he is that it is the Book of Books and is 

 God's message to men. 



The Rev. H. V. Hebert said : A visitor at the meeting remarked 

 upon the term J'Ford of God, which Members speaking from opposite 

 standpoints had alike employed as a synonym for the Bible. 

 I urge in the interests of avoiding misconceptions and misrepre- 

 sentations on an occasion like the present, which, from the 

 nature of the Institute's primary objects demands accuracy and 

 definiteness of thought and language, that due recognition be given 

 to the following point, as an assertion which I contend cannot be 

 gainsaid, that the expression noticed is nowhere used throughout 

 inspired Scripture to designate the Scriptures collectively, but is a 

 merely human and ecclesiastical phrase for the purpose, fit enough 

 for every day use among persons entertaining in common an attitude 

 of reverence toward Holy Writ, but no sound or legitimate basis 

 for holding or imputing a certain range of high claims, such as 

 would be attributable and warranted only if it occurred at all in 

 course of the volume as its own designation of itself. Just to meet 

 in advance any challenge of my main assertion, and supply an antici- 

 pated demand for my alternative to the denied equivalent of the 

 form of speech in question, a single sample may be instanced, 

 namely, that Apostolic pronouncement, " the sword of the Spirit, 

 which is the word of God " ; where I suggest the true sense and 

 intention of the passage is, not the Bible, but the Gospel* 



^ Further, and on the same grounds, I urge proper lieed to these 

 kindred expressions : The ivordof the Lord, The ivord, His word, My word, 

 Thy vjord, and insist that they are not used anywhere in the Bible as 

 terms synonymous with it, or for designation of so much of its constituent 

 books as was extant at the time, but mean invariably the Gospel, God's 

 great and standing and general message to mankind, whenever they do 

 not allude to some particular Divine utterance. 



