“Can it then be said that the nonreligious world is without wisdom? Has it no Aristotle, no Socrates, no Tacitus, no Goethe, no Gibbon? Let us understand what wisdom is. It is not any mere amount of knowledge that constitutes wisdom. Appropriate knowledge is essential to wisdom. A man who has not the knowledge appropriate to his position, who does not know himself in his relation to God and to his fellowmen, who is misinformed as to his duties, his dangers, his necessities, though he may have written innumerable works of a most exalted character, yet is he to be set down as a man without wisdom.
“What is it to you that your servant is acquainted with mathematics, if he is ignorant of your will, and of the way to do it? The genius of a Voltaire, a Spinoza, a Byron, only makes their folly the more striking.
“As though a man floating rapidly onwards to the falls of Niagara should occupy himself in drawing a very admirable picture of the scenery. Men who are exceedingly great in the world’s estimation have made the most signal blunders with regard to the most important things; and it is only because these things are not considered important by the world that the reputation of these men remains.
“If you have learned to estimate things in some measure as God estimates them, to desire what he offers, to relinquish what he forbids, and to recognize the duties that he has appointed you, you are in the path of wisdom, and the great men we have been speaking about are far behind you - far from the narrow gate that you have entered. He only is wise, who can call Christ the wisdom of God.”
Arthur W. Pink 1886-1952] came to similar conclusions: “Nowhere in the Epistles is there a single exhortation for the saints as such to engage in public evangelism, nor even to do ‘personal work’ and seek to be ‘soul winners’. Rather are they required to ‘witness for Christ’ by their daily conduct in business and in the home. They are to ‘show forth’ God’s praises, rather than tell them forth. They are to let their light shine. The testimony of the life is far more effectual than glib utterances of the lips. Actions speak louder than words.”
Bowen in his 40+ years of ministry in India was one of the most beloved missionaries in the nation. Even heathen idol-worshipers looked to Bowen as the example of what a Christian is.1
Pink affirmed William Kay’s theology of “unintermitted conflict” as he wrote: “It would indeed be strange if we apprehended how that on the one hand Canaan was a free gift unto Israel, which they entered by grace alone; and on the other that they had to fight for every inch of it!”
To take part in fulfilling Kay’s dictum of “unintermitted conflict,” three necessary commitments need to be made:
- Reestablishing prayer in America’s churches.
- Starting up a mass exodus from public education.
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Involvement in the public square by men and women of Issachar, with every church in the nation having a pastor, elder, deacon, or congregant running for local offices in 2024, 2026, 2028 and thereafter. “On my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.” [Acts 2:18]
With Gideons and Rahabs now entering the public square, praise be to God.
David Lane
American Renewal Project
1. Love Revealed: the Life & Labors of George Bowen; bombaybowen.worldpress.com.
