The Nearness of Christ’s Coming as a Practical Doctrine
By Geo. I. Butler
By the term “a practical doctrine” we mean one which affects the life and character of the person favorably, increasing his chances for salvation. No doubt all truth is in a measure practical in its effects; but some truths are far more so than others. There are multitudes who profess to be Christians who give no evidence of really being such. They bear not the fruits of the Spirit,—love, joy, peace, long-suffering, goodness, gentleness, faith, meekness, and temperance. But they do bear fruits of an opposite nature,—covetousness, selfishness, hatred, envy, wrath, evil-speaking, et al. “Without the Spirit of Christ, we are none of his.” That which will lead us to repentance of sin, humiliation of soul, restitution where we have wronged others, earnest prayer, devotion to the calls of duty,10meekness, kindness, a spirit of sacrifice for the good of others, a giving up of the world and its frivolous pleasures, and finally taking Christ for our all in all in life, is a practical truth of vast importance. We claim that a firm belief in the special nearness of Christ’s coming back to this earth is one of the most intensely practical truths to be possibly found in this world. It must be self-evident that in order to be a practical truth, to inspire a practical godliness, it must be a truth, and not a falsehood. If it were found to be the latter, of course God’s Spirit could not indorse it, and again it would end in a disappointment that would be deleterious in its effects. Its victim would be liable to lose all faith in the event ever coming. The writer, after a long experience, could present a multitude of practical evidences from the experience of many of the truthfulness of this claim. In the nature of things it must be that a person will be most forcibly impressed to serve God faithfully when he firmly believes his probation is rapidly hastening to its close. Putting off the day of making strenuous efforts to please God and prepare for eternity, is the prevailing sin of the age. Multitudes to-day are like wicked Felix of old, who said to the apostle, “Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.” There is not the slightest reason to suppose he ever called for Paul again. It was doubtless his last chance for salvation. Hosts of men and women are, by the same procrastination, putting off their day for seeking God, and will at last have to say, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and my soul is not saved.” O, sad and awful thought! But when the signs are fulfilled, and the evidences are overwhelming that Christ’s coming is near, even at the door, and the soul accepts this great truth, it serves as a spur of great force and power to make that person earnest and energetic in saving his soul from death. No one in his senses can dispute this fact. We know this by any amount of valuable experience. If ever there was a people in all the history of the world who were careful in their preparation to meet Christ in peace, it was the Adventist body in the fall of 1844. They were fully given up to God and consecrated to his service. O, that we as a people would study the history of that work, and get hold of the same spirit! Such power and earnestness are needed to-day above everything else. There must be a revival of that old-time advent spirit. The coldness and apathy of our people are truly appalling. But great encouragement has been the result of some recent experiences in impressing upon them the importance of a revival of the old-time spirit. “The Lord is coming: let this be
The herald note of jubilee,
And when we meet, and when we part,
The salutation from each heart.”
How that thought will thrill every true believer’s heart. How little will this poor world charm away from God the earnest believer in Christ’s soon coming. That glad and joyful thought is too precious to the firm believer to allow him to be drawn away to the weak and beggarly things of this poor world of sin and sorrow. A better world opens to our view, where death will never come, pain will never be felt, tears will never be shed, evil in any form can never enter. Jesus, our love, will be there, leading his people beside the still waters, in endless joy and blessed reality. O Lord, speed that glad day. We long for thine appearing. Broken families will then unite, never to be separated. All the blest will come “from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another,” to worship God, partake of life’s fair tree, and see Jesus’ blessed face. Not one joy will be lacking. This old earth, with its sin and the curse, will never, for all eternity, come to any saved heart with the slightest desire.—Geo. I. Butler, in The Southern Watchman.