Life and Labors of Elder John Kline, the Martyr Missionary / Collated from his Diary by Benjamin Funk

by John Kline

Text.—"Enter ye in by the narrow gate."

Our Lord Jesus Christ came into the world with but one end in view. That end is the raising of man to himself. This end is the burden of his mediatorial work, the center of his mediatorial prayer. From his heart on the eternal throne, wafted down to his people on the divine breath, hourly comes and is felt the power of his prayer: "Father, I will that they whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me." This brief prayer comprehends the divine end of all things—man's salvation and God's glory. The miracles wrought by our Lord, the parables spoken, the truths uttered, the victories gained in temptation, the rich tokens of his love given, all, all had as their great end man's salvation and God's glory—"that they might be with him where he is."

The only answer to the great question why the Lord did all this for man's salvation is found in his own words: "God so loved the world." And he loves it no less to-day than when the Son was born and the angels of glory were chanting their love song of "good will toward men" in the ears of the shepherds and above the manger in Bethlehem. But with all of God's good will to seek and save that which was lost he is able to save only such, and no others, as desire to be saved by him. If it were possible for him to save man and elevate him to heaven independently of any coöperation on man's part, then all would alike be saved, for God is no respecter of persons. But it would be quite as possible to compel or force any one to understand and love what he naturally hates, or to follow with enjoyment and delight a way of life he does not love, as it would be to save a human being without the consent and coöperation of his mind and heart.

The scribes and Pharisees gave evident proof of the truth of the old maxim: "Convince a man against his will, he is of the same opinion still." The Lord proved before their eyes his heavenly mission and divine character; their minds must have been convinced. But their wills did not favor the convictions of their minds; that is, they did not love the truth that was forced upon their minds, and so they rejected him. It is from this element in the constitution of man's soul or spirit that he must become as a little child, or he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Becoming as a little child is what is meant by being born again, without which no man shall see the kingdom of heaven. We all know a little child is innocent, teachable; because it is not lifted up in the pride of its own intelligence, nor confirmed in a belief of what is not true from a love of what is not good. Every one who enters through the narrow gate, and pursues the narrow way that leads to life, is willing to be led by the Lord. It may not be clear to the mind of every one what is symbolized by the narrow gate and the narrow way. I will try to tell you.

The divine truth of God's Word is the narrow gate. It admits of no increase, and it allows no diminution. He that addeth to or taketh from the words of the prophecy of this book (the Bible), God shall take away his part out of the book of life. This is a fearful warning to all who would seek to make the gate and the way of eternal life any broader than it is laid and settled by the Word of Life; and a similar warning to any who would desire to make the gate and the way appear so narrow as to discourage and dissuade others from entering. I said the narrow gate is the truth of God's Word. But what is the narrow way? The narrow way is the daily life of every one who lives according to that truth. This leads to life eternal, because it leads to God. But the gate and the way will do no one any good unless it be entered and the way followed. And God compels no one to enter in opposition to one's own will. Entrance is not of compulsion, but of choice. Life and death are set before the sinner's eyes. The Bread of Life and the Water of Life are placed within his reach. The Lord calls, saying: "Why do ye spend your money for that which is not bread; and your labor for that which satisfieth not? Come ye to the waters: and whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely."

But some may ask: "What is it to enter in at the narrow gate, and how is the sinner to know when he is entering?" I answer that when the sinner obeys God's holy truth from the heart he is then entering in by the narrow gate. His obedience must be to God's Word, not to man's word. Obedience to man's word takes man through the wide gate into the broad road that leads to destruction. Repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are the two steps that take us in spirit through the narrow gate. But these two acts and exercises of the mind and heart mean immensely more than is generally imagined. Many seem to think that repentance means no more than simply to confess that one is a sinner in a sort of general way, and that faith is simply a confessed belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. But God's Word teaches far otherwise. I will here quote some of our Lord's sayings which apply to repentance: "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." This points to repentance. Again: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." Self-denial is repentance; and every true penitent goes through the narrow gate with the cross on his shoulder, because the cross symbolizes the divine truth upon which the love of self and the love of the world is crucified. I am not afraid to repeat in your ears the words of Jesus. He has left them on record, that all who will heed them in the meek and teachable spirit of a little child may be lifted out of the mire and filth and darkness of a sinful life into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

If salvation is anything it is everything. This world, with all its fleeting show and short-lived pleasures, is nothing in the comparison. Salvation, or the life to which the narrow way conducts us, is so glorious, so ineffably exalted above the loftiest conceptions of the human mind, that the prophet Isaiah could justly say: "Since the beginning of the world none have heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, besides thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him." Brethren, friends, we know not fully what is prepared for all who wait upon the Lord, that is, who do his will. But Jesus tells us that he is gone to prepare a place for us, and that he will come again and receive us to himself, that where he is there we may be also. We shall enter into his joy, the joy of the Lord. He will come to every one of us at death. He will then raise our redeemed souls into the life of heavenly bliss; for he is the resurrection and the life of every one that loves him. It is the privilege of every one to enter into life through the narrow gate. But I cannot enter for you, nor tread the narrow way, nor obtain a crown of glory for you. This is your own individual choice, your own individual work—nay, it is the Lord's merciful, loving, gracious work in you, for without him you can do nothing. But when you believe in him and love him with all your heart, he finds a resting place in your soul, and he then comes to be to you individually "the way, the truth, and the life."

The next eight days were almost entirely occupied in filling appointments previously made through letters from Brother Kline. We have to wonder a little when he found time to write them. But he was his own secretary on gratuitous service, and he never even so much as presented a bill for stationery or postal expenditures.

Friday, September 21. This day finds the two brethren at Union meetinghouse, in the Barker settlement, in Barbour County, Virginia. Brother Miller spoke at this meeting from John 3:7. Space alone forbids the insertion of his plain, practical sermon to-day. They found, as usual, a hearty welcome here; and in truth the same may be said of every place they visited. And why not? Even these primitive people were quick to perceive and appreciate the good will with which they had come. Besides, they made themselves sociable and entertaining in the families under whose roofs they found shelter. Brother Kline had an inexhaustible fund of information gained by reading and traveling, and he was not reserved in the way of keeping it all to himself. Brother Kline was what may be called a good conversationalist. He did not flood your attention with words, nor bore you with tiresome narratives of great exploits in which he was the hero. He would tell you of sights he had seen, and experiences he had had in traveling and otherwise, in a way that would so absorb you in the narrative that you lost sight of the man. He always aimed to exalt his subject and not the speaker. This was true in his preaching as well as in his conversations.

Saturday, September 22. They came to Brother Elias Ovel's for dinner. In the afternoon preaching in the meetinghouse and love feast at night. Brother Miller served.