Alone with God and Me

These utterances were originally printed on the first pages of the successive numbers of a little magazine called SrisHo-No-KENKYU (The Bible-Studies) edited by tha author for more than twenty years. ‘The writer’s standpoint is pronouncedly antagonistic to all man-made systems and institutions, so much so that he was characterized as a “spiritual Bolshevick ” by more than one ecclesiastical authcrity. Be it so; the utterances will stand or fall, as they accord with facts or not. The Lorp God reigneth, and not men; and we may be free, brave and independent in all our utterances, “for the Lorp seeth not as man seeth: for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lorp looketh on the heart.” I Samuel, xvi, 7.

Not influences, but the Spirit of God. Influences are circumstances, outside influences, atmospheres both material and moral, social surroundings, church-connections, and are.of earth, “earthy. But the Spirit is an essence, a, will-power that works from within, revelational, individualistic, and is of heaven, heavenly. Men are not converted by influences, be these American or British, French or Russian, social or ecclesiastical; but they are converted by the all-powerful Spirit of God. Paul was・ an apostle, not by Jerusalemie or Antiochan influences, but by the will of God, according to his own confession. Let us cease to speak of influences, as do pagans and materialists, but of the Spirit of God, as all true Christians ought. to do.

I am a Christian only in the sense that I am a chief of sinners, and am what I am by the grace of God. In any other sense, I am not a Christian. I am not a member of any church. I am not a Catholic; neither am I a Protestant. I have not set my name to any set of dogmas -formulated by theologians. I am not supported by any one of innumerable Christian institutions. If I am a Christian at all, I am a Christian only in my inmost soul. Outwardly, T am as unrelated and unprivileged as any heathe:. LEcclesiastically, I pass for “the Gentile and the publican.”

God is Life and He is Light; and because He is Life and Light at the same time, He is Love. Life is vitality, and Light is that which freely gives itself; and Loveis that vitality which freely gives itself for and to others. The Love of Christ is such a love,—lght and life at the same time;—the life that rots not because it is light, and the light that consumes not because it is life. When the Angel of the Lord appeared unto Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush, and the bush - burned with fire, but the bush was not consumed, he saw Christ in love in front of him. The fire burned, but it consumed not the bush, because the fire (light) in that case was life.

_-They call us mystics because we do not walk with them, and work like them; because we trust in the invisible Spirit, and not in visible institutions, organizations, ‘‘ Christian movements,” and those things. Mystics? Yes, we rather like the name. Was not Luther a mystic, and Paul the greatest of all mystics? ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days,.saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;” 1e. they shall all be mystics. Why then should we not attempt to be mystics ourselves, and be unlike unmystical, practical, political, worldserving modern Christians?

Occidentals emphasize differences; Orientals, agreements. Occidentals are analysts; Orientals, synthesists. Occidentals are eager to ask the question: Why do you not believe just as we do? Orientals refrain from asking such a question, knowing that all true men fundamentally believe the same thing. So, naturally, Occidentals appear to be very rude to Orientals, seeing that the former treat the delicate questions of souls as they treat all other questions. That is the main reason, I think, why it is so very difficult for Occidental missionaries to reach Oriental souls. Psychologicaly, as far as the East is from the West, so far are Orientals removed from Occidentals.

They speak of a ‘‘ story of resurrection”; but we believe in a fact of resurrection. We cannot commit ourselves to stories; we commit ourselves to facts. We believe, Christianiiy that is based. upon a “story” is no Christianity. © We believe with Paul the Apostle that if Christ hath not been raised as a fact, our faith is vain: we are yet in oursins. Our salvation rests upon a solid, veritable fact of resurrection. Deny that, and we must deny Christianity itself. So we learned, and so we still believe, even though modern Christianity is not explicit upon this point, and even its Orthodox wing seems to be satisfied with a “ story.”

I know not whether I am a good man or a bad man; I simply trust in Jesus. -

I know not whether I am doing good or evil; I simply trust in Jesus.

I know not whether I can enter heaven or am to fall into hell; I simply trust in Jesus.

I trust in Jesus, yes, 1 trust in Jesus. Whether I shall be lifted up to the height of heaven, or be cast down to the depth of heil, I shall ever trust in Jesus.

The end of the world is coming; or rather it is approaching. The words of the prophecy are being fulfilled: “Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be great quakings, and in divers places famines and pestilences; and there shall be terrors and great signs from heaven.” It is fearful. But to the believer, these wars and rumours of wars are signs of hope. They are the sound of trumpets heralding the coming of the King. So, he is not afraid. Like Luther he finds his strength “in quietness and confidence; ” and with the Psalmist, he sings:

Therefore will we rot fear, though tke earth be removed; and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; -

‘J hough the waters thereof roar and troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Ps. xlvi 2, 3.

My peace and joy are not in the success of my works; are not in the ever new attainment of knowledge; are not in the satisfaction of my conscience. My pence and joy are in Christ and His Cross. By looking at the Cross and waiting upon Him, there are in me peace and joy that pass all understanding. They who think I am:a man of works, they who think I am a min of thought, and they who treat me as a Moralist,—they are they who know not the Redeemer wi'o is at the foundation of my very being.

Not the Higher Criticism; not the gospel of arts and sciences; not the gospel of pure morality: but the old, simple gospel of Christ and His Cross,—that is the gospei that saves the world. And this gospel is still as of old foolishness to the intellectual Greeks, and a stumblingblock to the papistical, Pharisaical, ethical, ecclesiastical Jews; but unto thein that believe, the veritable power of God unto salvation. And when, as at present, the civilized world is steeped in blood, because of its vaunted civilization, shall we not with increased zeal, preach the old, simple gospel of Christ and His Cross, and so save the world through its (the gospel’s) “ foolishness ”?

This one fact is certain, that no man,- not even the Archbishop of Canterbury, can know who Christ was and what Christianity is, without experiencing in his body, persecution for His name’s sake. Persecution is tke key to Christianity... Without it, not even the Archbishop of Canterbury, with all his erudition in theology and wisdom in church-government, can know and understand who Christ was and what Christianity is. We might almost say, 9hat a man who was never persecuted for his Christian faith, whatever be his titles, and ecclesiastical and academic and political honours, is no Christian at all.

7 Work, work,” says the modern Christianity, especially the modern American Christianity. ‘“ Bevieve,’ says Jesus; “from faith unto faith,’ savs Paul. And we believe in the peace-bestowing, power-producing Christianity of the New Testament, and not in the peace-disturbing, power-robbing Christianity of the “modern

7 Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel,” said the Apostle Paul. Yes, woe is unto us if we preach instead, international relations, social reforms, and the Western Civilization. Yet, alas to see so many preachers who would preach the latter, and not the former,—the unpopular yet indispensable gospel of “ Christ and Him ciucified”’!

God is Love. But He does not appear to be Love. Yet we believe Him to be Love. And when Christ shall appear, it will be made manifest that He is Love. Now is the time of believing. Now is the time of patience and waiting. Now is the time of believing Him to be_Love, when He does not appear to be Love, and of waiting for the realisation of that belief. O Lord Jesus, come quickly!

Christianity, we understand, isa very simple thing. We might almost say, it is simplicity itself. Negatively, it is not morality. Itis nof social reforms; neither is it “ ethical evangelism,” nor ‘international ethicism,”’ nor any other of those high-sounding modern isms. Christianity is God's grace to be appropriated by man’s faith. Grace AND FAITH almost exhaust Christianity. Itis simple enough to be understood even by a child. Indeed, only children can~ understand it. Certainly that English missionary was greatly mistaken who stated that no present-day Japanese could possibly understand Christianity, seeing that Japan had had this religion for only fifty years! A year, a month, a day, an hour, yea a moment is enough to understand Grace AND FAITH.

A friend of ours was recently in Chicago. One Sunday morning, he attended a Christian church there, and the sermon he heard from its pulpit on that day was on thistopic: “ How to Make Success in Business!” Remarkable! But it is essentially a modern American Christianity! We on our part would rather be Buddhists of Honen and Shinran type, than be Christians who make so much of this world and so little of the other world. We confess, we are entirely disgusted with the “ social’, “ethical”, this-worldly, business-like Christianity of modern American Christians.

Ring out the old year and ring in the new.

Ring out the old Germany and ring in the new.

Ring out the old England and ring in the new.

Ring out the old Austria and ring in the new.

Ring out the old Russia and ring in the new.

Ring out the old Europe and ring in the new.

Ring out the old Christendom and ring in the new. And the war,—this cruel, terrible, unchristian, devilish war, waged by the socalled Christian nations of Europe against one another,—this war with its howitzers, torpedoes, bombs, poison-gas, and liquid-fire is forcibly ringing out the old and ringing in the new. That the King of Glory may come and rule! Maran atha.

Bushido is the finest product of Japan. But Bushido by itself cannot save Japan. Christianity grafted upon Bushido will be the finest product of the world. 7 will save, not only Japan, but the whole world. Now that Christianity is dying in Europe, and America by its materialism cannot revive it, God is calling upon Japan to contribute its best to His service. There was a meaning in the history of Japan. For twenty centuries God has been perfecting Bushido with this very moment in view. Ohristianity grafted upon Bushido will yet save the world.

Some say we are narrow. Yes, we believe “there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” We do not say, we cannot say, that Buddhism, Confucianism, Shintoism, “ Ethical’ Evangelism ba and “Spiritual Internationalism”’ are just as good as the old Gospel. Others say, we are old. Yes, the gospel we believe in were witnessed to by the apostles and _ prophets. The Lamb our Saviour was slain from the foundation of the world. We do not commit our souls to anything newer than the old, primitive, pristine Rock of Ages. And just becanse we are narrow and old, can we have peace.

Those Western Christians, trying to prove faith to themselves and others, are not wise. Faith in its very nature is unprovable. Proven faith is not faith, but sight. “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.’ Because it believes in thines not seen (not proved), therefore it is faith. Much of so-called evidences of Christianity are no evidences at all. Faith is its own proof, and is self-evidencing. It believes Decause it believes, or “has witness borne to it.” | To prove faith is as difficult as to prove mathematical axioms. Nothing is so certain as faith; and to those who have it not, all the arguments in the world cannot give it.. Therefore it-was said: ‘Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.’—John xx. 29.