The Clinton chronicle. (Clinton, S.C.) 1901-current, December 21, 1939, Image 9
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VOLUME XXXIX
CLINTO^j, S. C., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1939
NUMBER 51
THE STORY BACK OF THE
CHRISTMAS STORY
By Rev. Walter L. UnRle, D.D., President of Davidson College.
In The Christian Observer, Dec. 6, 1939
W« usually think of the Christmas
iStory as beffinninc with the birth of
the Christ Child in Bethlehem a'lit
tle more than nineteen hundred years
ago. It beeran long before that. The
Apostle Peter, "in writing about the
Christ,, says: “Who wrily was fore
ordained before the foundation of the
world, but was manifest in these last
thnes for you.” So, according to
the Apostle Peter, the story really
began before the foundation of the
world. The Apostle John takes us
further back than that when he says:
“In the beginning was the Word.”
According to John the story began
somewhere back in the counsels of
eternity.
Tlie biith of Jesus was unhke the
birth of any other child who ever
came into the world. His life did
not begin with his birth. John says
that "in the beginning the Word was
with God and the Word was God.”
Jesus on the night before His Cnici-
iixTtm prayed: “0 Fathm*, f^rify
Thou Me with Thine own self with
the glory which I had with Thee be
fore the world was.” His^ birth was
His Advent from another world into
this world. It was the Incarnation
of the only begotten and eternal
of Gotl. . -
fessor of English to give her the'
name of the best book of short stories
that he kn<ew' anything about. He
promptly replied: “The Old Testa
ment.” The Hebrew language was
admirably adapted to what we'-may
call the kindergarten period of the
world’s history, but ft was not well
suited for the messages which the
New Testament writers had to bring.
Alexander Ote Great founded the
City of Alexandria in Egypt in 333
B. C. In dtie time there were more
Jews in Alexandria than there w-ere
in Jerusalem. The children of these
Alexandrian Jews learned to speak
Greek, and it was not long b^ore
there was a demand for a transla
tion of the Old Testament from He
brew into Greek. This translation
was begun about 250 B. C. and com
pleted long before Jesus was bom.
Thus the OW Testament Scriptures
were made available for the w^hole
Greek-speaking’world. In these Scrip
tures they could read not only the
history of the religion of the Jew's
but they could al.so read the prophets
and their prophecies concerning the
coming of the Mes.'^iah. This same
Greek language, with its many fine
shades of meaning, w'a.s ready at ham!
for the New Tt-stament y riters when
they w’ent to wriU* tin- (Josinds and
the Kpi.'vtles.
Of course, we cannot l^in U> trace’ winm Paul and Silas wantt*<l to go
the story from all eternity up U>^ the missionaries to .Ysiii Minor, (lit-ece,
night of the birth of the Christ Child Rome llH‘y did not have to sjH'tid
in Bethlehem. We do-not have suf- y,.jirs K-arning k new language, .\lex-
ficient infomiation. So we will have bwd made Greek the language
to betnn with time. We find a vcr>' „,ost of th<*se aivus.j It was spoken
significant passage from the pen of,^,y^.|| Palestine, espt*cially aroumi
the Apostle Paul in Galatians Galilee. Greek culture
But w'hen the fulness of time wras||^,^ philosophy also did their part,
come, God sent forth His Son, madet’pjj^y people to think,
of a w-oman, made under the law, to ^vhen Paul-wrote his P^pLstles he was
ledeem them that were under the e\T<Jently under the impression that
law’, that we^ might receive the adop- ,^.^5 wriGng to people w'ho had
tion of sons.’ learned to think. If you do not un-
il have just said that as wre could derstand w'hat I mean by that state-
not begin with eternity we would try to read through the Epistle
have to liegin with time. In the pas- F^phesians at a sitting. Or you
►•gv juS't quoted Paul speaks of the try his F>pistle to the Romans,
“fulness of time.” According to the gt^ry of the way God used the*
}>assage quoted above from the first Alexander the Great in
EpaM.le of Peter the plans for the g^etting the world ready for the corn-
coming of the Christ were made be- 5,,^ of Christ is a wonderful stoiy in
fore the foundation of the world. The Rsolf.
time w’a.s fixe<i. When that time ar- i *• 1 11
The latin language was sjxiken by
the Romans. Their power continued
of His Son (is still another marvelous!
story in itself. I
The phrase “the fulness of thne”|
means a great deal more than I have
yet been able to put into words. In
the first chapter of First Corinthians
we find this statement: “For after
that in the wisdom of God the world
by (its own) wrisdom knew not God,
it pleased God by foolishness of
preaching to save them that believe.”
The world was not ready for a Sav
iour until men had learned that their
ow’n wisdom was not adequate and
that the gods which t(hey had crMted
could not save. Someone has said
that “men had climbed up into Olym
pus and found no gods there.”
From a moral and spiritual point
of view, the fulness of time had come.
The world had continued to sink deep
er and deeper into sin and moral
degradation. Read Paul’s description
of the moral corruption of the world
as he described it in the latter part
of the first chapter of Romans. Look
at this description given by a histo
rian: “Family life was unspeakable.
'Tyranny and cruelty were rampant.
The people were degrated and brutal
ized. Their favorite amusements
were the hideous slaughters in the
arena. Slavery was the curse of the
empire. Two men out of three who
walked the streets of Rome were
slaves, and two women out of every
three, and two girls out of every
three subject to evei'y whim of their
mastei-s, to every sugs^tion of pas
sion or lust. The slaves were wretch
ed. The best of them crowded to
Christianity when came. The worst
of th<*m (lebauched Rome. They
brought in new nnnatural vices. They
cornijited their ma.Nters. They cor-
ruptetl the children. Every pa.s.«ion
of the golden youth of Rome was
ministereil to by them. The R<yman
toys grew obi and ja<led and i-otten
with vice before they were out of
their t*H*ns.” Surely the fulnt-ss of
time ha<l conn*. Thoughtful men b<*-
gan to i-ealize that the worbl nwile^l
a Savious.
It was into such a w’tu'ld that (bnl
sent .His Son. In that pa.s5tag«' quot-
e<l from the fourth cheivtcr of Ga
latians Paul ttdls us why He sent
Him. It was “to redeem^ them that
are under the law, that’ we might
receive the adoption of sons.” He
sent Him upon a mission of redemp
tion by the way of the Cros.s. He
.sent His only beg(ttten and eternal
.Son into the world that we all
through His redeeming love might
l>ecome the sons of ^ni. No, the
Chriirtmas story dj<i not begin on that
night in Bethlehem ninete<*n^ hundred
years ago. It begun in the heart of
God before the* foundation of the
world.
George Holtzclaw
Taken By Death
chruch in flpartanburg county with |Janie Gathcart Holtzclaw, three ,
Rev. Ralph D. Hughes in charge, as-jJ. G. Holtzclaw of dinton, T. L,
sisted by Rev. CuUen Cttxxdt. Inter- Hohzclaw of diirton land T. P. HoitB-
Iment followed in the church ceme-
■tery. '
claw of Arcadia; two daughters, lira.
George R. Holtzclaw, 80, died lasdi**®^. ' N. F. littlefield of Roebuck and
Friday at the home of his son, J. G.! He is eurvived by his wife, Mrs.{Mrs. H. W. Aiken of Spaitanbuig.
Holtzclaw near here, after a linger-
ing illness.
A native of Spartard)ui'g county,
w-here he had spent the mort of his
life, Mr. Holtzclaw was the son of
the late George W. and Elizabeth
Dillings Holtzclaw. He was a mem
ber of Mt. Lebanon Baptist church
in Spartanburg county.
Funeral services were held Sunday
afternoon at FViendahip Baptist
was ignominous. Y’ou committed sui
cide.”
The I>aily Mail said it “acknowl-
deges the ineviaitble superiorty of
the Briti.sih sea power ... for the
F'ue'hrer the moment of this decision
must have been the bitterest expe-*
rence of his life.”
(DNB, official Gennan news agen
cy, announced Adolf Hitler, a.s su
preme comtnandieFor’Germany’s arm
ed forces, gave the order to blow up
the armed raider.)
The Admiralty said a tempoirary
hospital ship had been dspatched from
Buenos Aires to take care of the <k>ad
and W'oundt*d on the Exeter, which
was 'h<‘ade<i for the Briti.sh naval
base in the F'alklund Islands.
rived it was “the fulness of time.
It was God’s appointed time. Per-
u long after the power of tlH' Greeks
haps we have sometimes wondered l_ ” , l_ ^ j
had l>een broken. God also use<l
why the Redeemer did not come into .. -
' , , . , . , .i. ^ II them in getting the world rea<lv for
the world immediately after the fall .. . ^ / .u
, • .1. . the coming (>f His .Son and for the
in F>den. The simple answer is that t r n i i -nu
,, . , ^ ti spread of Hi.s bleswu Gospel. The
the world was not ready for Him. iT . . ^ u. .u
« I r .• L 1 . . I Romans by sheer force brought-the
The fulness of time had not yet come. . # ..u 11 1
,, .u j ^ .1. r M • t-j .1 greater jiart of the w’orld under one
r rum the day of the fall in F<den until ” . u -i. j 1
^ » goi’omment. They built g<KKl r<iads
the night of the birth of the Chn.st ... v Vu .■ r
o *1.1 u i- J L ... **1 over their empire. At the time of
in Bethlehem God was busy getting .. . ^ • * ..u v i u w.
,J 1 ^ IT- • Tj t.he birth of Christ they had brought
the world ready for His coming. He .. u . . . ^
, the world into a state of peace. Of
used many men and nations in getting .
.u ij J t .u # -T tt was a peace that was
the world ready. In the forty-fifth 1 . . j • j l. r __
.. . achieved and maintained by the force
chapter of Isaiah the Lord aays to . , . 1
.. ... . , . (Of arms, but, nevertheless, rt was
tl>« W »“* '■■'Pr ’in mimi wh«> Vy mniof P«« on
So during the ages He has usd many,^ . , 'n * «r
^ w J ' 'earth and good wiU among men. To
men and nations who did not know or , ... . • -
, I J TT- -iM. . L L be sure, they were thinking of a very
acknowledge H»n. The story back . .. ^ i,- a t *1.
. • .J. _ different kind of peace, the peace
<rf Ohr.i«m.. <«ry « d.. ^
the «n wh^ Cod prep^ ^
cannot take aw'ay.
the world for the coming of hia Son,. ■'
We can only sketch the story. ; Think of -what it meant for a mis-
We are toW that when Jesus was hke I^ul to be able to go
crucified there was an in.scriptionRoman Emphv under
placed over His Head and that thej^^e proteetkm of the Roman govern-
inscription was written in Hebrew,;■*»ying: I am a Roman citi-
in Greek, and in Latin. These three 1*^"- Think also what the good
languages represented the three pre-j*"P**^* to him and other mis-
<kMTimant influences in the known I•* they carried the Gospel
world at that time. Each of theae, Joru.salem out to the uttermost
under the hand of God, contributed ^ known world. The way
a large part in getting the world. ^’hich God used the Romans to
ready for the Christ and His Gospel. coming
Let us look first at some of the spread of His
contributions which the Greeks made. another wonderful story in
The Greeks were noted for their lang-
uage, literature, philosophy, art, and But (5od u.sed the Hebrews more
culture. Greece reached the zenith than all the rest. Through them He
of her glory several centuries before revealed Hiuiseif to humanity. When
the birth of Jesus. Before her glory o*her nations apound were worship-
faded, Alexander the Oeat came ping many gods they were ^worship-
akmg. He was born in 25 B. C. We ping Che only true and living God.
are told that Aristotle was his teach-, Through their Scriptures as they were
er and that under his tuteiage Alex-1 read in the orginial Hebrew and the
ander learned ao to love the poetry,Greek translation they gave to the
of Homer that he always carried a.vrorid not only a iweiation of the
aopy of Homer with hhn. Well, we'character of but a revelation of
all learned as children that Alexander j Hit wHl concerning the kind of life
the Great conquered the world and that He expects us to live. At the
then sat down and wept for more amne time they maintained the wor-
provinces to conquer. He did all this ship of the true and. living God. In
British Power
On Sea Shown
Lotulon,—New pi-aiM* was hi-aixxi
on crews of the British warships
which drove the German pocket bat-
tb-ship Graf Spe<* -to cover today
while relief was expi'esse<l that the
!(b'ath list in Wednesday’s fourteen-
'hour battle was no .higher than 72
|dea<l and 31 wounded,
j F’inrt lord of the admiralty Win
ston Churchill and other high rank
ling naval officers remained at their
desks until late last night receiving
repcirts of the battleship’s de<«truction
but declined to issue a rtaement.
The I>aily Herald commented:
“Goo<l-by, Graf Spee! Your end
as a vxrjr young man, for be <tiad at
the age of tthiity-three.
the meantime, their prophets told of
the coming of the Messiah. When
Alexander never knew that he was .the Jews were carried into captivity
helping to get the worid read|y for the and dispersed throughout the world,
coming of the Prince of Peao^ but helthey carried their religion, their
was. Wherever he weiA he carried'Scriptures, and their hopes of the
the Gireek language, cuHure, Htera-looming of the Messiah with thMn
wherever they went. So as the ful
ness of time approached there wenre
many people, even in the Gentile
Old Testament was origioaBy Witten j world, in a riate of expectancy. The
in Hebrew. H is not a higMy ksfleet-'
tune, and phBosophy. Think foif a
moment of what the Greek language
alone has meant to dirtstaaiiity. The
ed language and is not capable of
expraasiiig fine Aadea of
IHaaaver, is is a
uage, the iatagmgo of the atoey drfkr.
1 once heard a lady aak a grant pro-
vrise men in the East were evidently
expecting Him and knew His star
wheB4i^ saw it. The etory of the
way the Bebeews were need in get
ting Ha irpfM >^ad7 for the coming
The good will of the Christ
mas season reminds us of your
good will throughout the year,
for which we give our heartfelt
thanks.
We wish to thank our friends
and cttstomera for their gener-
ouB patronage during 1939 and
hope that our service has
pleased you. Our desire is' to
serve you often and better in
1940.
CHRISTMAS CHEER
AND HAPPINESS
IN THE NEW YEAR
Is Oar Wish For Each
of You.
W. J. BENJAMIN
t
Standard Prodnets
floaty Broad Street
GIVE THE CHRONICLE
FOR A CHRIST.VIAS PRESENT
MERRY
CHRISTMAS
GREETINGS
CHRISTMAS—a day of Peace on Earth and Good
Will to Men. It is the day when we delight to ex-
pres.s our gratitude and friendship to those patrons
to whom we owe success, and sincerely thank you
for your patronage the past year.
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