Read Ebook: Around Old Bethany: A Story of the Adventures of Robert and Mary Davis by Berry R L Robert Lee

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Chapter

BEGINNING THE SEARCH

It was in the year of 1885 that the railroad was put through the particular corner of Missouri that marks the scene where the events of this narrative took place. With the coming of the railroad, there came an influx of new settlers, who were of various nationalities and conditions in life. There were Swedes from Malmo, Germans from Dresden, and Irishmen from Tyrone, all bent on founding a new home in the new country. Besides these, there were Americans of many kinds and inclinations. All of these settlers brought with them the particular brands of religion in which they had been brought up. The Swedes and Germans were Lutherans, but each nationality was of a different synod and had little agreement or fellowship. The Irishmen were Roman Catholics, while the Americans were divided up among the different denominations. No sooner had these settlers built themselves homes than they started to build chapels and churches; it was a chapel if its builders rebelled at calling a building a church, and it was a church if its builders had no such scruples. No survey was made as an effort to find out how many churches were needed; indeed, each denomination erected a place of worship even if there was only a handful represented in its membership. Those were the days of unleavened bread and bitter herbs, when every denomination was full of sectarian rivalry, and each of them claimed more or less of a monopoly upon the love and power of God. Revival-meetings were held frequently, sometimes contemporaneously, and the "doors of the church" were swung open every Sunday for the admission of new members.

The center of this settlement was Bethany, consisting of a few straggling huts on the north side of the railroad, and the business section and the more pretentious homes of the well-to-do on the south side. There was the usual run of stores. Most of them, however, were what were called "general stores," which meant that they sold everything from toothpicks to farm wagons and from handkerchiefs to cloaks and suits, besides groceries, shoes, and tinware. And it must be said also, for the sake of telling the truth, that they erected more church-buildings than they needed, because the same sectarian rivalry obtained there as in the country round about. It was common for members of one denomination to tell members of another that the others' church was a thousand miles farther away from God than was theirs.

Into this corner of Missouri, and into this atmosphere of denominational rivalry came Robert Davis and his wife, Mary. As it was, fortunately, both came of religious parents, and had had some religious teaching at home and in Sunday-school. One of the first things that they did after they were married was to solemnly dedicate their home to God, promising Him that they would follow Christ to the best of their knowledge and understanding. They began to attend church, now here, now there, and as a consequence, began to compare one denomination with another, with the result that they were thrown into confusion about which church to join; for they supposed it was their bounden duty to join one or the other of the denominations represented there.

"Which church do you like best, Robert?" Mary Davis asked one Sunday afternoon after they had come home from a Sunday-school session and service at one of the churches.

"I had not thought of it in that way," he replied, "but I had been comparing one with another, with the idea of finding which one is right."

"You are right in that, I feel sure," said Mary, "for really, what we should strive for is to please God. But which one, then, do you think is right?"

"Really, I do not know," he replied. "I am puzzled. I feel that we should be identified with some church, and work to extend it, but it seems to me that one church has one Bible truth and emphasizes it, and another has another Bible truth which it emphasizes, and so on, all around. How does it seem to you?"

"That is the way I feel," said Mary.

"Suppose that we ask each church to give us a summary of its beliefs, and we shall then compare each one with the Bible," suggested Robert.

"Why, let's do that," replied Mary. "I do want the truth."

"So do I," Robert said fervently.

That night in prayer, special request was made to God for guidance into truth. "Oh, we must have Thy truth, O God," they cried, "we will follow it at any cost, if Thou wilt only make it clear. Help us in studying Thy Word. Make it plain to our minds. O Lord, guide us into Thy way."

The next Sunday they began their investigation by asking the minister of the church that they visited for a brief outline of its doctrinal belief. They then bought a concordance and the search for truth was begun, which was to lead them into paths that they little dreamed of then, and into experiences that they could not at that time foresee.

A THREATENING QUARREL

Among the old settlers in the vicinity to which Robert Davis and his wife moved was Peter Newby and his family. They were of the old pioneer type--rugged, honest, frugal, but they also were headstrong, stubborn, with very little give and take in their make-up. Peter claimed to know the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. He could tell the names of the cities and creeks of the Holy Land from Dan to Beersheba, and name the kings of Israel either backward or forward. He had the books of the Bible at the tip of his tongue, and could name the apostles and prophets without hesitation. He was a noted debater or arguer, and met all opponents, large or small, with equal confidence. When reason and logical argument failed him, he relied on a stentorian voice and his power to bewilder. Few were able to hold their own with him in religious discussion. Most men feared his biting sarcasm and insinuating irony. In fact, Mr. Newby had silenced nearly every opponent, and he stood out as the champion religious debater of the community, at the time of our narrative. He had vanquished all his foes, and now gloried in his supremacy.

But, Robert Davis did not know all of this. He regarded Peter Newby as a good citizen, and probably a good Christian. The next few months, however, put an entirely different face on the matter, especially on the latter point.

Besides Peter Newby and his wife, there were three grown sons of theirs, of whom Jake, and also his wife, figure in this narrative.

Jake Newby was a typical money-grubber, turning everything in the way of financial deals to his own favor. He owned a piece of property which Robert Davis finally decided he would buy. After considerable negotiation, a deal was made, Jake reserving the right to move certain small buildings off the property. Jake began, at once, to move these structures, and more too. There was a specially built chicken-house that had not been reserved by Jake, but which he proceeded to move just as if it had been. Robert and Mary Davis were there.

"The chicken-house was not reserved by you, Jake, and you should not move it," said Robert.

"Well, I intend to move it just the same. I need it," said Jake.

"But the contract does not provide for its removal," replied Robert.

"Shut up," snarled Jake, "I guess I know what I'm doing, don't I? I tell you I'm going to move this house off."

"You will not move it off," said Robert, as he started toward Jake.

At this Jake desisted, muttered a few words about getting even, and walked off, while, later on, Robert and Mary went home, rather distressed over the turn of affairs.

THE SCHOOLHOUSE DEBATES

An apparently insignificant event happened about this time, that set in motion influences of great moment, the effects of which are still to be felt and seen. Robert Davis' sister in Michigan was a regular subscriber to a religious journal. At this time she felt led to send this paper to him.

"Robert, here is a new kind of religious paper," said Mary, who was reading the first copy. "It has articles in it entitled, 'Full Salvation,' 'Unity and Truth.' How does that sound?" Turning a page over, she read again:

"'A definite, heart-searching, non-sectarian religious weekly, published in the interests of the church of God. For the salvation of sinners, entire sanctification of believers, divine healing of the body, and the unity of all true Christians in the faith once delivered to the saints.'"

"My, that sounds interesting," said Robert, "'Church of God'--I wonder what church that is. 'Entire sanctification'--what does that mean? I heard Brother Jones say on last Sunday that sanctified people were the biggest cranks on earth, and he warned the congregation to lock their chicken and smoke houses whenever they came around. But, just see here, 'divine healing.' I wonder if that is Christian Science. Let me read that paper," and he reached for it.

Robert dropped down into the nearest chair and was soon absorbed in reading. He was gripped by a power he had never known before. He noticed at once a directness, a simplicity, a spiritual flavor, coupled with much quoting of proof-texts, that attracted his deepest attention. He read an article on Repentance, one on Sanctification, and two testimonies of divine healing.

"Upon my word! If that isn't the plainest-spoken and easiest-understood religious matter I have read in many a day," said Robert. "I wonder who sent it, and if any more will come."

Next week another copy of the new paper came, and Robert read an article on "The Church of God, What It Is and What It Is Not."

"Mary, this paper is providentially sent to us. We have just decided to search for truth. My soul longs to know God's real truth, and I notice this paper has much to say about the 'truth.' We shall continue our investigation of the doctrines of the denominations and probably this paper will help us," said Robert. Before he laid the second issue down, he read the following article on Truth:

"Unknowingly to himself, Pontius Pilate asked one of the greatest of questions when he asked Jesus Christ, 'What is truth?' Jesus was on trial before him, and He had just said, in reply to another question of Pilate's, 'Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice' . And then Pilate asked, 'What is truth?' but he did not stop to get an answer.

"The 'truth' to which Jesus often referred means righteousness, true religion, the genuine revelation of the true plan of salvation. This is what the apostle John referred to when he said, 'For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever' . The 'truth' in these texts is used in a broad sense to mean the whole range of revealed religion, the whole system of New Testament salvation.

"Vast importance is attached to this truth. Opposed to it are error, heresy, damnable doctrines of devils, human theories and philosophies, leading souls away from God and into perdition. The eternal destiny of men depends upon their finding and embracing the truth.

"There must be a starting-point. In the first place, 'What is truth?' as Pilate put it. 'Thy word is truth' said Jesus. This is basic. The Word of God is truth. 'All scripture is given by inspiration of God' . God, Jesus Christ, and the Bible are truth. If we confirm to the divine will, we are bound to be right, and elected to eternal glory in the heavens; if not, we are doomed to eternal damnation.

"But, there is no more striking fact than this, that spiritual truths require more than intellect in order to grasp and comprehend them. 'For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?' . A man knows the things of a man because he is a man. Common experiences join him to his fellows, and he understands them. 'Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the spirit of God.... But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned' . Man then, must get in contact with God, through the Holy Spirit, if he is to know spiritual truth.

"Jesus tells just how to know the truth. 'If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself . The way to know is to obey. 'Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth' .

"The secret then is out, it is as plain as day. It is this--Jesus brought the truth to the world, and the Holy Spirit is everywhere present to lead men into that truth. Wherever and whenever a person desires to know the truth that he may obey it, there the Spirit of God will be to enlighten and to lead. The Spirit will lead unerringly every soul who wants the truth and will submit to His leadership. He will lead the sinner to sincere and genuine repentance, the believer into true sanctification, and also into the deeper experiences of sanctification and love, and into a true Christian life.

"There is a remarkable instance on record, showing what an honest desire to know the truth will accomplish. Years ago a portion of the gospels was washed ashore in the East. The natives read and re-read that portion over and over. What could it mean? It told of Jesus, but who was Jesus? It spoke of His dying, but what for? And yet, so strong was the impression this scrap of the gospel made, that regular periods were set apart to worship the Being hinted at in that portion. An honest effort was made to do His will. After several years, God sent some missionaries to that country, and it was to their surprise to find a tribe open-hearted to receive the truth.

"'Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace' .

"'Seek and ye shall find.' May your search for truth be abundantly rewarded."

The next few months found Robert and Mary Davis searching the Bible for the truth. Every sermon they heard they compared with the Scriptures. Articles in their new paper helped them greatly. They bought a book of Bible Readings, and made as thorough an investigation of Bible doctrine as they were capable of making. They made rapid progress. They became believers in holiness and sanctification; for the salvation theme held their interest most profoundly, and they became well acquainted with the proof-texts which supported these doctrines. The study of these texts brought great conviction to their hearts, and both of them sought the Lord for forgiveness of their sins, and both entered into the grace of conversion. The joy of this experience made their Bible study still more delightful. They had not been strangers to grace, but they had become slack and lukewarm, and when the light of God began to shine more brightly they felt that they should make sure work of it, and so they began at the bottom round of the ladder. They were glad afterwards that they had done this, because it gave them a sure starting-point.

Along in the fall of the year, as Robert was breaking ground for wheat, he got an invitation to attend a neighborhood prayer meeting.

"Good evening, neighbor," said a voice, "don't you want to go to our prayer meeting next Wednesday night?"

Robert looked up from his work and saw it was old Peter Newby.

"Why, yes, I guess so. Sure," said Robert. "What kind of a prayer meeting is it?"

"We have a good one," said Peter, "come and see."

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