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"Watchman, What of the Night?"

by A. Hugh Clark

The question is not whether we will survive in the sense of continued existence; the New Testament, as well as the Old Testament, teaches that the kingdom of Christ which is his church, is indestructible. "And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed," said Daniel. And Jesus said, "The gates of hell shall not prevail against it.' But that question is whether we are headed for another period of apostasy and near destruction from which we will have to begin all over again and fight our weary way back to where we are now after the storm is over.

Let no one say that this is impossible; that such is only the cry of the alarmist. There are many arrows pointing in that very direction. And one of the moss piercing and colorful of them all is the large majority in the church who "Put far away the evil day," refusing to be alarmed, while they pursue a course of luxury, and ease, and complacency, and are "Not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.' Such in the church today, as in Israel of old, only "cause the seat of violence to come near.'

Let no one deceive you. There is a large element among us these days whose conception of the church is that it is just another sect, party, or denomination, among all the rest of the churches, and that people can and will be 'saved in all the churches; that Christianity consists of formally joining one of the churches, whichever one pleases you most, or where your family or friends go, and then to go on living and doing as you always have, and as others are living, doing about anything the flesh may dictate.

What is our hope? There is only one hope for the survival of the church. And that hope is a plain, pointed, and constant restatement of the truths of the gospel of Christ, stated in such a way that people will understand. And further, stated in a way which they cannot ignore. They will either accept and "commit their souls in well doing," or absent themselves from us, seeking a more congenial society.  —- Gospel Guardian, June 7, 1951 

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