The Witnessing of God: The Basis of Our Confidence
By Editor
By the Editor
I. God’s Law of Witness
THESE are days of uncertainty in religious and philosophic thought. Souls are drifting, longing for chart and compass and star or sun to get their bearings.
In mechanical circles, problems are figured out to the nicety of an infinitesimal fraction. Men are certain of results before the theory is demonstrated.
But the religious world is in a ferment of uncertainty and insecurity.
God’s cause is on trial before the world. Men who bear His name are denying Him. They are denying His Book, denying the vicarious atonement, denying the resurrection, denying the second personal coming of Christ, denying Protestantism, as never before. Fearful of the charge of dogmatism, there is growing to be more and more a lack of definite statement of belief. Hypotheses are put forward instead of certainties. What has been held as truth for centuries is relegated to the rear, or put forward with an apology. Pulpit and press deal in vague generalities when such phases of once religious certainties as the law of God, the vicarious atonement, the second advent of Christ, are discussed. The masses are in doubt, and are drifting downward to doom.
Is there need of the uncertainty? of the doubting, the drifting? Is there a God who is the author of the Book? Is the Book uncertain? Have we then no basis of confidence? Or must we depend upon hypothesis and guesswork?
Or has God given us a sure and certain witness concerning the great and important and vital things of life and existence? We believe that He has given us witness—witness unimpeachable—upon which we may depend. And it shall be the purpose of these studies to present the simple evidence, in part, for the benefit of our readers. The studies will be neither elaborate nor exhaustive, but we sincerely pray that they may be, as far as they go, both simple and conclusive.
God’s Law of Witness
There are witnesses and witnesses in the courts of this world. Some innocent men on trial for crime are compelled to depend upon very unsatisfactory and uncertain witnesses of their innocence. Some guilty men secure immunity by the purchase of witnesses who secretly agree to testify falsely to the same thing. These are collusive witnesses. Their falsity must in many cases wait for time to demonstrate. But God’s witness is neither uncertain nor collusive, but concurring and certain.
In Heaven’s law of evidence there must at least be two or three agreeing witnesses. This is clearly stated in both Old and New Testament.
“Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be slain at the mouth of witnesses; but one witness shall not testify against any person that he die.” Num. 35:30.
“At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is to die be put to death; at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. The hand of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death.” Deut. 17:6, 7.
“One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established. . . . If the witness be a false witness, and have testified falsely against his brother; then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to do unto his brother.” Deut. 19:15-19. (See also in other transactions, Isa. 8:16; Jer. 32:10-14.)
“If he hear thee not, take with thee one or two more, that at the mouth of two witnesses or three every word may be established.” Matt. 18:16. See also 2 Cor. 13:1.
“Against an elder receive not an accusation, except at the mouth of two or three witnesses.” 1 Tim. 5:19.
Thus has God safely guarded not only the life of mankind, but their property and reputation. Surely He has not left the important questions which relate to character persistent and life eternal to depend upon uncertain witness.
True it is, and ever will be, that the God of the Bible requires faith; that true character can only be formed on a faith basis. But it is also true that the reasonable God gives to His reasonable children evidence upon which that faith can be reasonably based, and which will constantly invite to larger faith.
This evidence is always twofold, and always concurring. It is never collusive. If any part of it is such that it might be so charged, there is other evidence upon the same point that in the nature of the case could not be false, misleading, or collusive. God’s twofold evidence is irrefutable.
To illustrate: Two men, Brown and Jones, might testify under oath that they saw Smith commit a certain crime in San Francisco. That evidence might be sufficient to convict, and yet wholly false. Brown and Jones have agreed together so to testify. The testimony is collusive, and is not conclusive.
But if Brown knew Smith in New York, if Smith told Brown that he had planned a certain crime for a certain day6in San Francisco, and then Smith leaves New York, Brown remaining, goes to San Francisco, and commits the crime, Jones sees the deed, and testifies to its committal, having no knowledge of Brown, two such attestations at the trial of Smith would be concurring and conclusive. God’s twofold witness is equally so.
[The next article is on the Witness of Work and Word of God.]
