Earlier text: Temperance AnnualHolding Our Ground
By F. M. W.
THE last few weeks have brought great blessings to this people. A general spiritual revival appears to be in progress. From every quarter reports come of blessings received during the week of prayer just passed. What will be the effect of these blessings upon this year's experience? Will the ground gained be held, or shall we be driven from the field in defeat by the great adversary, as we have been many times in the past? In too many instances this has been the aftermath of revival efforts. The Lord has come near to his people. His tender, melting Spirit has been felt in their hearts. Peace and joy have come into their lives. But, content with this measure of blessing and reaching out for nothing beyond, the believers have settled down satisfied, and largely ceased their efforts for a deeper and growing experience. The result has been a reaction. Often the reaction has left them in worse condition than they were before. Of all times in the world when the children of God need to be on their guard is the period immediately following some great victory in the Lord. It was in such a time that Elijah lost his courage and fled before the threat of Jezebel. But this reaction is not necessary. How may it be prevented? What safeguards may the Christian employ to prevent this relapse? The apostle Paul answers this inquiry. To the believers at Colosse he writes: "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him; rooted and built up in him, stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving." As we obtained the heavenly blessing during the week of prayer, in the same manner we are to retain that blessing. It came to us as the result of earnest prayer, of confession of sin, of consecration of heart and life, of receiving as the personal messages of God to our souls the promises of his Word. In this manner we are to walk in him. In other words, we are to carry with us throughout the year the spirit of the week of prayer. Every day is to be a day of prayer, the whole year a year of prayer. This experience will result in rooting us and building us in him, and establishing us in the faith. In his epistle to the church at Rome the apostle points out in other words the way this experience may be obtained:— "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God." In the week of prayer services we made God a consecration for the forgiveness of sin and for the Spirit's infilling. The Spirit was not bestowed merely for the purpose of filling our hearts with joy. To rest in this measure of blessing is to rest in an experience based largely upon feeling and emotion. Work is the true complement of faith. The true complement of consecration for forgiveness and the Spirit's infilling is consecration for service. Indeed, this is the great purpose for which the Lord bestows his blessing upon his people. It is that they may carry to other hearts the joy and peace which they have found, and it is only as our brethren and sisters find in this consecrated service the exercise of their faith that they will be enabled to retain the blessing which has come to them. What an opportunity for consecrated service does the world afford! On every hand are souls hungering for God. They may not know it. Unrest and disquietute fill their minds; they are dissatisfied with their environment, with their fellows, with themselves. They long for something, they know not what. To these needy ones we may become ministers of heavenly light and joy. We may become during 1914 God's helping hand. We may become his messengers. We may become his voice in the world, speaking the words of life which he desires to impart. God today is looking for consecrated ears and tongues and feet and hands,—ears to hear his bidding; tongues to proclaim his messages of mercy; feet to run errands for him; hands to minister his grace. He gives to us the privilege of yielding our "members as instruments of righteousness unto God." At least one soul for Christ during the year to come should be the burden of every heart. Form a praying list of those who need your help. Carry a burden of soul for particular individuals. Daily present their cases before God; and as you pray, work for their salvation, persistently but tactfully, seeking such approaches to their souls as opportunity affords. Jacob's great victory at the brook Jabbok gave him power to prevail with God and with men. In consequence he was given the name Israel. This victory should be ours. Consecrating ourselves unreservedly to God for his Spirit's infilling for service, we may gain in prevailing prayer the victory over the power of the evil one in our own lives. And this prevailing power with God, this fresh daily touch with the Infinite, will give us power with our fellows as we labor to bring them to the Lord Jesus. It is this experience which will enable us to hold the ground we have already gained, and to follow up our advantage with even greater victories. Asking and believing, appropriating heaven's blessings to our own needs and then passing them on to others, will make this growing experience possible. F. M. W. Review of Our Unentered Countries—No. 1
By William A. Spicer
Independent and Semi-independent Nations
How many countries now remain in which we have no representatives of the definite message of Revelation 14? This is a question often asked by those whose hopes are bound up in the sounding of the last message as a witness to every nation. It is not easy to answer in a precise way just how many fields are as yet untouched by our work; so much depends upon how the matter is understood. We are in China, for instance; that is one of the entered fields. But of the eighteen provinces, we are in less than half. And while India is fairly listed as "entered," there are great provinces and native states and many tongues still lying in the regions beyond our working boundaries. One significant change has come about, however, with the continual progress of the advent movement: whereas formerly the shorter task was to list the fields entered, now it is easier to name the unentered lands. Of distinct and independent countries as yet unentered by our work, there are now really very few. We would list them as follows, with their populations:— Afghanistan (Asia) ........ 5,900,000
Abyssinia (Africa)......... 8,000,000
Siam (Asia) ........ 8,117,000
Colombia (South America).. 5,475,000
Salvador (Central America).. 1,006,848
Montenegro (Balkan State).. 500,000
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Total population ..........28,998,848 It is not a long list, nor a heavy population; and the lines of our work are being pushed very close to some of these countries.80 With a work already started amid great difficulties in Servia, but nevertheless winning a foothold, we shall hear one of these days that our European brethren have crossed into Montenegro. The language is generally the same; the religion that of the Greek Catholic faith, the same as throughout the Balkans. Elder A. J. Haysmer, of the West Indian Union, has recently reported a plan for the opening of work in Colombia in the near future. Elder B. E. Connerly, of Panama City, volunteers to make the pioneer effort with our Spanish books and papers; and Colombia may be taken off the unentered list by the time this is read. The state religion is Roman Catholic, but by the constitution other forms are permitted so far as considered to be "not contrary to Christian morals nor to the law." Our Abyssinian mission is at Asmara, capital of the Italian Red Sea colony of Eritrea. Close to the Abyssinian border and working among the Abyssinians, this mission must some day find a way into that long-closed land of Ethiopia. The Asiatic Division has its eyes upon Siam, the little kingdom south of China, and but for the urgent need of strengthening the forces in China and other parts to care for interests already raised up, workers would have been appointed to Siam this year. Transient colporteur effort has placed some of our books in Bangkok. The people are Buddhists. The one country in this list of independent nations that seems very far beyond us is Afghanistan, northwest of India. It is the buffer state between Russia, Turkestan, and India, and is peopled by fanatically Mohammedan tribesmen. It supplies a part of the great problem of the evangelization of the Moslem peoples. Semi-independent countries, still unentered by us, may be listed as follows:— Tibet (Central Asia) ........ 5,000,000
Nepal (north of India) ...... 5,000,000
Arabia and Yemen ........ 1,150,000
Mongolia (Central Asia) .... 4,000,000
Morocco (North Africa) .... 5,000,000
Liberia ................... 1,500,000
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Total population ........21,650,000 Tibet and Mongolia are part of our Asiatic Division territory, nominally a part of the Chinese field, though recently Mongolia has declared its independence, under supposed Russian protection. Tibet is still "the great closed land" to missionary enterprise. Aside from work by Bible society colporteurs, very little has been done by missions in Mongolia, only one or two stations being reported. Nepal, a kingdom in the Himalayas, is within the boundaries of the India Mission territory. Its people, Gurkhas, are closely related to the Tibetans, and like that people, they have shut out missions. The seed sowing by Bible translation is going on, however, and there are signs of a breaking down of barriers. Arabia is solidly Mohammedan, and our nearest approach to it is in Syria and Mesopotamia. The British colony of Aden, on its southwestern coast, under the government of Bombay, India, may yet be an open door. Morocco, in north Africa, likewise a Mohammedan state, came under the French protectorate by the treaty of 1912. Our nearest approach to it is the work at Oran, Algeria, not far from the Morocco border. Far round the African coast, to the southward, is the republic of Liberia, which is not developing, apparently, as vigorously as the colonies under the European powers. The largest number of well-defined regions on our unentered list is found in the colonial possessions or protectorates of the European powers. The outline of these must be deferred to another article. One thing is apparent in this list of independent and semi-independent countries, with their fifty millions of people, untouched by our work: they are nearly all lands in which little or nothing has been done by any missionary societies. The Bible societies, the vanguard of the missionary advance, are sowing the seed of the Word more or less through these regions; and while we are getting a foothold in more accessible regions, the providence of God, we may be sure, is preparing the way for the sound of the gospel message to pass through these lands swiftly in the times before us. Preparing for a Quick Work
By C. M. S.
There are unmistakable indications in all the nations of earth that the chief Reaper in the soul harvest of the world is preparing to do a quick work; we might even say, to apply the finishing strokes to the quick work which he is now doing. A spirit of awakening is manifest in all parts of the world. Lands that have been held in mental and spiritual darkness for centuries, to whose people the Word of God has been forbidden and has been maligned as a most deadly poison, are bursting the shackles that have held them, and are opening the way for the spread of evangelical truth and the circulation of the Bible among the people. In lands that for centuries have been cursed by devil worship and by ancestor worship, the Word of God is hunting out jewels of whose worth there is no possible computation. At the same time, at home as well as abroad, we are seeing indisputable evidence of the mighty workings of our God. While he searches the heights and depths of this world to find honest souls who have never heard his message, he does not leave uncared for those who have long owned their fealty to him and have sought to extend the borders of his kingdom. Real victories of faith are being won in the homeland, and this is putting new courage into the hearts of the workers abroad, and stimulating them to greater endeavors. Within the last few months there have come to our attention most striking evidences of this awakening in other lands, which can be accounted for only upon the basis that God is in very deed putting his hand into the affairs of this world to ripen them off for the last great harvest. Japanese educators and officials, dissatisfied with what their system of education is doing for the youth of that country in the way of producing the highest elements of character, have been earnestly investigating Christian Sunday schools. It is even proposed to take action against those who have been actively opposing such schools in Japan, so that the Sunday school may have a fair chance. An official invitation has been extended to the World's Sunday School Association to hold its next meeting in Tokio. There is also a growing interest manifested in Bible study on the part of public officials and students in the higher schools. Mr. Frank L. Brown says:— Christianity is being tested and weighed and watched by a large number who are dissatisfied with the old religions and are feeling the need for a spiritual tonic to the nation. Rev. James H. Franklin, secretary of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society, who has recently made a tour of Asia, has an interesting article in the January number of the Missionary Review of the World concerning conditions in the nations of that continent. He finds that ninety-five per cent of the children of Japan of school age are in school. High schools, colleges, and real universities are being developed. One of the latter has 5,000 students, another in the same city has 8,000, and still another 9,000. And these students and their professors are earnestly looking into the Christian religion to ascertain if it is what Japan has been looking for. An educated Japanese made the declaration to Dr. Franklin:— Japan may not accept Western ecclesiastical forms; we may not accept the theological systems of the West; but the principles of Christianity are sure to triumph, they are sure of ultimate acceptance in Japan. Another declared to him that "the leaven of Christianity has already accomplished much in the empire." Dr. Franklin declares that "every missionary might be recalled from Japan, and leading men and numerous students would go on studying Christianity," because, "as surely as we are here, Christianity has been planted there." Speaking of China, the same writer says: "China can never get back to the old ways." Lord William Gascoyne-Cecil, of England, writing of China, says:—81 Now they are breaking up the old idol temples, the old heathen festivals of the seasons are dying quickly, and China will soon be without a religion, unless she becomes Christian. She is becoming Christian, but she still needs our help. . . . Nine tenths of the men who are leading this revolution have had their inspiration from American mission schools, with the result that America has a great moral position in China. . . . All the leading young men went to the American missions and not to the English. Now we are doing a little, but still we are far behind America, and the real future of China depends on the American-trained Chinese. At the conclusion of a series of meetings conducted by Dr. John R. Mott in the city of Canton, "800 students of the Canton schools became inquirers, and signed cards on which they promised to read the New Testament and to pray every day and to follow the teachings of Christ as far as reason and conscience commended his teachings as true." Dr. Franklin remarks: "The mission school occupies a large place in the present day in China. Every mission academy or college that I visited is turning away students." They have not room for all who apply. An important development in both China and Japan is that native Christians, educated in the mission schools, are now occupying responsible positions as leaders in the evangelization of their own countrymen. The writer above quoted, in speaking of the idea of denominational federation in these mission fields, says:— There is no widespread demand for a union which means a surrender of conviction. It is understood that each denomination must sound forth what it believes to be its God-given message. Many of these people who have accepted Christ have had their baptism of fire, and have proved themselves as truly martyrs to the cause of Christ as any who went to the stake in the days of the Inquisition. Thirteen years ago one native who is now a pastor lost wife and children, father and mother, brothers and sisters, these all choosing death rather than denial of the Lord who bought them. Two hundred members of that native Christian congregation sealed their faith with their blood, and now sleep, martyrs to the cause of Christ. Thirty thousand such martyrs closed their life history during that antiforeign upheaval in China thirteen years ago, because Christ was dearer to them than life. And now what do we see?—The most wonderful national transformation in the history of the world; and China is open as never before to the gospel of the kingdom. In Korea also the wonderful leaven of the gospel is at work leavening the lump; and Korea, in her turn, has begun to take part in the work of sending abroad the gospel. She is now supporting a missionary in a neglected portion of China. In South America one striking development follows close upon the heels of another. During the past year there have been formidable strikes of student bodies in Santiago and Valparaiso, Chile, as a protest against the presence in Chile of the papal nuncio. They hoped by this action to induce the government to send the Pope's special representative out of the country. In addition to this, a vast body of the populace, estimated at 50,000, met in the capital and petitioned the president of Chile to expel the nuncio. There seems to be an increasing feeling of revolt against the ecclesiastical system that has held them in mental and spiritual slavery for so many generations. But as it was in France, so it is becoming now in Chile; when they turn away from Romanism, they are quite likely to turn away from religion, because of what they have seen in the only religion they have known. A missionary from Chile writes:— The students are in revolt again, and they are having nightly celebrations and meetings of protest against the government, which has bowed submissively to Rome and exculpated the internuncio. This time their slogan is "La separación de la iglesia del estado" [The separation of the church from the state]. . . . The young men and young women of tomorrow have begun a crusade in favor of liberty. With that separation will come greater liberty for the promulgation of the gospel and the circulation and study of the Bible. The legislature of Peru has struck a blow against the Roman Church, and therefore in favor of liberty, in voting to amend the constitution so that evangelical Christianity shall not be debarred from that country. In other countries of South America steps have been taken debarring the Roman Church from some of the exclusive privileges she has held so long to the disadvantage of the gospel and the detriment of the people. These developments all look one way: they indicate greater liberty in the promulgation of the gospel in those countries so long held in the chains of spiritual darkness. The Missionary Review of the World, in an editorial item concerning Portugal, says that missionaries report an unusual willingness to hear the gospel on the part of the people. Evangelistic meetings conducted in the theaters are drawing large and attentive audiences. Theater managers refuse remuneration for the use of the buildings, and at the close of the meetings Bibles and New Testaments are eagerly bought, and religious tracts gratefully received. We might continue this, but space forbids. But what does this world-wide awakening mean? It is the hand of God at work. The power from above is stirring up the world to set its house in order to receive the messengers of the gospel. God himself is opening the way, and it is time for his people to be pressing in. We must not call a halt now. The devil would like to see us so weighted down and burdened with debts that we could not enter the doors that God has fairly wrenched off their hinges for us. Let us to the work now,—every member a soul winner,—every member pledged to win at least one soul before the year goes out. C. M. S. Southern Union Conference
By G. B. Thompson
The regular biennial session of the Southern Union Conference was held in the Fatherland Street church, Nashville, Jan. 2-11, 1914. Practically all the laborers in the union were in attendance at the meeting. The brethren and sisters residing in the city did all they could to entertain us, and made us all feel welcome while we were in Nashville. With the exception of a meeting of the Southern Publishing Association, held the first day, the first six days of the meeting were devoted exclusively to a ministerial institute. Elders I. H. Evans and W. W. Eastman, Prof. C. L. Benson, and the writer carried the burden of this work. All deeply regretted that Elder A. G. Daniells was hindered by illness from being with us. The same blessed Spirit which was breathed upon us at previous institutes was present at this meeting. The very first service was characterized by a most earnest spirit on the part of all the laborers, and a deep searching of heart. The Spirit of God took control of every heart. The conviction deepened each day, and all were led to humble their hearts in the presence of the power and majesty of God, and to seek most earnestly for a cleansing of heart, and a fuller consecration to the work. The appeal to all to arise and finish the work given us to do, found a ready response in every heart. A burden for souls seized us, and all felt greatly reproved for their feeble efforts and barren results in bringing souls to Christ. All felt that as laborers in the vineyard of the Lord, ordained to preach the gospel, it was incumbent upon them to be soul winners. Some expressed themselves publicly as having decided either to be more fruitful in soul winning or to step aside and give place to those who could be. Others said they had, after prayerful con82sideration, set it as their goal to bring at least one hundred souls to Christ in 1914. Others said they had decided on fifty. The conviction seemed to take hold upon the workers that if all would surrender themselves wholly to God, and take hold of his promises, a thousand souls might be brought to Christ in the Southern Union during 1914. With this glorious purpose in view, all the workers went forth from the meeting to awaken every member in every church, and enlist all in the most vigorous and determined soul-winning campaign ever launched since the message entered the Southland. We are encouraged to believe that a new and glorious era has dawned in the work of God. The Master will never disappoint those who go forth to wage a relentless warfare against sin and to win lost souls to Christ. This is the only mission of the church. That time seems to have begun which the servant of the Lord saw, when doors were thrown open everywhere to the message, and thousands were seen going forth to proclaim the truth everywhere. Truly, as the prophet has said, "As soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children." Isa. 66:8. To finish the work in this generation, already hoary with age, is a work which only God can do. But he can, and he will finish the work through human instrumentalities. It is for us, as workers, not only to go forth and compel people to come in from the highways and byways of sin, but to arouse our churches to pray and work for souls, and thus quickly finish the work. The thought that the work of God will close in the Southland first of all, seemed an additional incentive to diligence and consecration in this field. We believe the Lord will not pass by the earnest prayers for the anointing of the Holy Spirit to preach the message, which ascended to his throne from this meeting, and that all will be encouraged by seeing more souls brought to Christ. The business part of the conference was characterized with the utmost unity, and occupied less than three days. The reports from the different conferences and departments were of an encouraging character. The work is growing. Some of the conferences have raised their full quota of the Twenty-cent-a-week Fund, and none is very far behind. There has been an increase in tithe in the union, as well as encouraging results in bringing people into the truth. Elder S. E. Wight was unanimously reelected president. Gaylord H. Curtis was elected secretary and treasurer. The other officers chosen were largely the same as for the previous term. During the time of the conference the colored laborers held evening services in their church. The Lord greatly blessed their efforts, and about twenty souls were brought into the church as a result. The closing meeting on Sabbath afternoon consisted of a social service. The testimonies borne told of victory, a new vision of the work of God, and renewed hope and courage. Following this meeting, Elder Evans and I left for College View, to be present at the opening of the institute and conference in the Central Union Conference. Note and Comment
By Editor
Tardiness in Church Attendance
THE editor of the Watchman-Examiner of Jan. 1, 1914, contrasts the promptness in attendance at religious services in the Old World with the habitual tardiness in church attendance in America. He says: — This tardiness in church attendance is one of the besetting sins of American Christians. In England and Scotland the churches are generally full when the preacher enters the pulpit. But throughout America half the congregation arrives after the service begins. When tardiness is the result of accident or of circumstances which cannot be controlled, it is excusable, and no one should absent himself from church simply because he cannot reach the church at the hour for the opening of the service. We are convinced, however, that for the universal habit of tardiness there is absolutely no excuse. It is due to indolence, shiftlessness, and poor management of family affairs. Habitually to interrupt the worship of God shows lack of reverence for the house of God, and, as an exhibition of bad manners, it should be considered an evidence of poor breeding. Alas, it is often the best bred and the most cultured of our people who are thus irreverent and ill mannered. In our hearts we realize that these good people are guilty only of thoughtlessness. Let them turn over a new leaf with the new year. If pastors are too timid about promoting this reform in their own churches, let them simply republish this paragraph in their church calendar. We commend this good counsel to some of the habitually tardy members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. A good resolution to form at the beginning of this new year would be to be on time at every service in the house of God. UNDER the heading "The Signs of Protestant Decay," a writer in the Lutheran of Dec. 18, 1913, speaks of the strong secularizing influences which are now in operation in the professed Christian church. Of the cause of the weakness of the church he says:— The cause of the impotency of the church is to be found within its ranks. The outside forces may retard its progress, but that which is destroying the church's influence and makes its efforts in part or altogether ineffective, is the present-day tendency to secularize it from within. This is often done to gain the patronage the commercial spirit of the age demands. He points out some of the ways in which this secular spirit is gripping the church. The church is catering to the world. It employs methods of advertising and admits into the church entertainments of a purely worldly character. The large majority of churches in each of seven different Protestant denominations in a representative city of 60,000 inhabitants in the State of New York is in most part supported by fairs, plays, suppers, and special sales, and with few exceptions the local church buildings are used as the salesroom or showroom. In one instance a very large church's main auditorium has been utilized as a forum, where, by well-advertised speakers, civic topics and others have been discussed to the fancy of the business and professional man who disclaims any wish to adhere more closely to the gospel of the Bible. Notwithstanding these efforts of the church to cater to the tastes of the general public, there is a continually lowering attendance at religious worship. Concluding, this writer declares that— the church has only herself to blame. She may condemn the principle, but she retains the practice, and just so long her work will be hindered, her influence ineffective, and her very life destroyed. Religious Liberty in Australia
ThE Victoria parliament (Australia) is struggling with the problem of compulsory religious instruction in the public schools. Australia has its National Reformers, in fact if not in name, and they are insisting that the state shall teach religion to the school children. These people had been demanding the referendum on this matter, but the parliament, by a majority of seven votes, refused to submit this question to the people in the form of a referendum. The minister of public instruction, Sir Alexander Peacock, in an able speech against the referendum, said, among other things:— There can be no coercion in religious matters. Absolute religious freedom must prevail. . . . It is the primary duty of the churches of the various denominations to teach the children of their adherents the tenets of their own faith. The state now offers proper facilities for doing so. And it is the duty of the parents to supplement the work of the churches and their Sunday schools by familiarizing the children with the faith in which they are born. The nondescript teaching of Scripture proposed can never take the place of the church and parents. You cannot compromise on matters of religion. Let me now briefly define what I consider to be the duty of a state in which public opinion is so strongly divided on a question of this kind. The state must be just to all, and to be just to all it must be neutral. If the83 government is to be really free and just to all, the state can have no religion, and recognize no conscience in religious matters. It must be purely secular, recognizing no religion, no sects. It must not even be tolerant. It must be absolutely neutral. The state is the people, and as the people have many beliefs, widely and vitally divergent, it must be creedless. Its duty begins and ends in the administration of civil affairs. . . . Religion of any kind is not a function with which the state can interfere. When it acts, it can only act for the whole. Religious liberty is paramount over all things. The consciences of the people are above human laws; and religious beliefs, being matters of conscience, are not to be assailed. If a majority of the people attempt to force its belief on the schools, the root of religious liberty is struck at. While these are true Protestant principles, and ought to be upheld by Protestants everywhere, the peculiar feature of the incident is that the organ of the Roman Catholic Church is found to be in harmony with them, while professed Protestants, members of the Scripture Instruction Campaign Council, are clamoring for the referendum in this matter, that, as the Australasian Signs of the Times remarks, they “may settle a religious controversy by majority vote.” They are now proposing to elect legislators who will give them what they desire in this matter. The glamour of civil power blinds the eyes of many professed Christians to the inconsistency and unchristlikeness of such demands and such a course.