SATAN does not care how he accomplishes our ruin, just so he does it. He is perfectly willing we should make a profession of religion if he can insure that our profession shall exceed our possession.
Our Saviour warns us that there is great danger of our thinking we are doing his work and are accepted of him, when in reality we are out of harmony with his character and his purpose and have no place awaiting us in the mansions of the blest. Such a warning is found in this scripture:—
“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works? And then will I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matt. 7: 22, 23.
Practically the same warning is contained in the following:—
“If any man thinketh himself to be religious, while he bridleth not his tongue but deceiveth his heart, this man’s religion is vain.” James 1: 26.
There is no question that every soul that passes from mortality to immortality at the second coming of Jesus Christ will have religion. It will be a possession and a characteristic of every redeemed soul. But a religion that is vain will never serve as a passport into the eternal kingdom.
It is man’s duty to be religious; and a man has a right to think himself religious if he is. But the Bible gives us a test by which we may know whether or not we are truly religious, and whether or not we have a religion that is vain. It lies in the control of our tongues. The man with a vain religion is doomed. If he has an unbridled tongue, his religion is vain; and it matters not how great a profession he has made, how great undertakings he has performed, how much time he has given to missionary endeavor. An uncontrolled tongue will shut souls out of heaven as surely as will the persistent breaking of the fourth commandment or any other.
The reason for this is very obvious. God has determined that one experience with sin is all this universe shall ever have. “Affliction shall not rise up the second time.” Nahum 1:9. Affliction came into the universe because of the conduct of one who would not control his tongue. He went through the universe speaking “evil of dignities,” criticizing the Most High and the Son of the Most High. Others followed his example till a third of the angels were in open revolt against God and his government. For God to permit persons who have not learned to control the tongue, who criticize this one and that one, to be numbered among the redeemed, would be to invite another rebellion instead of to prevent it.
In the second chapter of Second Peter there is a list given of those things that are out of harmony with God’s character and plan. In verses 9-11 we find some of the characteristics of those who will be punished in the day of judgment. Among other things they are declared to be “daring, self-willed,” and “tremble not to rail at dignities: whereas angels, though greater in might and power, bring not a railing judgment against them before the Lord.”
What a difference between the conduct of God’s angels and the conduct of such individuals! God’s angels do not condemn even those who are doing wrong, and who are of a lower order than themselves;7but these persons “rail at dignities.” Many have a wrong conception of the meaning of the word dignities, or dignitaries, which means the same. A dignitary is quite generally looked upon as one who has an inflated idea of his own importance; who refuses to mingle with common people; who holds his head high and looks down upon those around him. Such a person is not a dignitary; he is a counterfeit. A dignitary is one who holds an important official position. Then the ones whom that scripture condemns are the ones who rail at, or condemn, those holding important positions.
We are warned again by Jude in reference to the same matter. He writes of fallen angels and of fallen men who “set at naught dominion, and rail at dignities” (Jude 8), and compares their course with that of “Michael the archangel,” who, “when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing judgment, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.” Verse 9.
We see from these texts that the characteristic of God’s angels and of Michael the archangel (who is Christ) is that they do not make railing accusations, do not condemn, do not judge. On the other hand, the characteristic of Satan, of his angels, of individuals who will be ruled out of the ranks of the redeemed, is that they “rail at dignities,” condemn, judge. In fact, Satan is called “the accuser of our brethren.”
It should not be difficult, therefore, for us to decide among which class God will place us. If we “rail at dignitaries,” accuse, judge, and condemn those holding responsible positions in God’s cause, and have an unbridled tongue, he will class us among those who have been doing Satan’s work, and the reward of Satan’s followers will be our reward. It can readily be seen, therefore, that there is no phase of our conduct more important for us to consider than our attitude toward others in this particular. The man or the woman who will rail at dignitaries, who will bring accusations and condemnations against persons holding official positions, would, if taken into the kingdom of God, do a similar work there at sometime during the ages to come, and the universe would be torn and racked again with the fearful fruits of such a course.
In Rev. 14:5 are given the characteristics of those who shall be numbered among the one hundred and forty-four thousand: “And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.” It will be a wonderful and blessed thing to be among that number. But they are to be a faultless company, and their mouth, or speech, has much to do with that faultlessness.
One of the faults that is frequently pointed out in the Bible is the fault of unbridled speech, hasty accusation, hasty criticism, hasty condemnation, or any condemnation at all by one person against another. The apostle James says: “Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.” James 1:19. Again: “If any stumbleth not in word, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also.” James 3:2. The perfect man is the faultless man. Therefore the faultless man is the man who does not stumble in word. The one hundred and forty-four thousand, then, are men who do not stumble in word. If we expect to be among that number, we must give diligent heed to the fruit of our lips. But the fruit of the lips depends upon what is in the heart. “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”
This brings us right back to the question of true heart conversion. The heart that is truly converted will inspire the lips to speak only the good, and will be so filled with charity and a sense of its own need that it will feel more like weeping over its own failures than like parading the faults and failures of others before the public.
What, then, is essential to our salvation? — Such a genuine heart conversion that we shall be enabled by the help of our Saviour to bridle our tongues.
C. M. S.
A Model Social Gathering
By F. M. W.
Many gatherings are held among Christian people which minister to selfish enjoyment and to the pleasure of the passing hour. Far too little time is devoted to helpful Christian association. When the purpose of the gathering is for a good time in the popular meaning of this term, and the evening is spent in the playing of silly games, in joking and laughter, and in the singing of worldly songs, but little if any good is accomplished. Rather, as a rule, those who are present find that the exercises have ministered to leanness of soul and to a lessening of spiritual life.
But gatherings of this character are not necessary in order to give those participating in them a truly good time. When social gatherings have before them a definite purpose, when those who attend them meet to do good and to obtain good, when there is brought to the conduct of such occasions thought and study and prayer, they may be made in the highest degree profitable. Mrs. E. G. White, in speaking of such gatherings, says:—
“Gathering for social intercourse may be made in the highest degree profitable and instructive, when those who meet together have the love of God glowing in their hearts, when they meet to exchange thoughts in regard to the Word of God, or to consider methods for advancing his work, and doing good to their fellow men.”
It has been the privilege of the writer to attend gatherings of this character many times in his experience. The last occasion of this sort was one held last week at the Foreign Mission Seminary. A reception was given by the faculty of the school, under the direction of Prof. M. E. Kern, to the students and friends of the institution. A spirit of good cheer and Christian fellowship pervaded the assembly of about two hundred persons who were present.
A short hour was spent in kindly greeting and in becoming acquainted. Following, a short formal program was rendered. One of the students read a paper on the origin of the Bible work among Seventh-day Adventists. A teacher gave an interesting account of the work being done by the Bible workers’ class of the Seminary in the city of Washington. A short talk was given on the value of Bible work as connected with this movement. A beautiful poem expressing the call of the Master to Christian work, was recited. Several inspiring songs and instrumental solos, in harmony with the spirit of the occasion, were rendered, the exercises closing with an earnest invocation for the blessing of Heaven upon those assembled and upon the work of God in the earth.
The refreshments so customary on such occasions were wisely omitted, so that none were sent home to disturbed sleep and unpleasant dreams. The entire reception lasted about two hours.
It is such occasions as this which we believe “may be made in the highest degree profitable and instructive.” We need more gatherings of this character in our churches. We need to come in closer touch with one another, to mingle freely in Christian fellowship, making the humblest member of the church feel that he is one of a band of Christian men and women whose hearts beat in unison. Such gatherings will promote the unity which should exist in the church of Christ, and answer the demand implanted in every nature for social fellowship.
F. M. W.
Good Words From Peru
By W. A. S.
We must pass on a few words from a letter received from Lima, Peru, in which Elder W. R. Pohle reports tokens of the good for the progress of the message in that field.
The constitution of Peru gives liberty of public religious propaganda only to the Roman Catholic Church. Though public sentiment has forbidden the enforcement of this clause in the constitution, its presence there has given a powerful weapon to the prosecuting ecclesiastics,1120as when a bishop with a troop of horsemen raided our Indian mission near Puno, by Lake Titicaca, throwing a number of the Indian brethren into prison.
Elder Pohle says:—
Last week a bill was presented in the senate providing that the last part of Article IV of the constitution be changed or eliminated so as to give us religious liberty. The bill was presented by a senator from Puno, where our Indian mission is located. We knew nothing of it until our attention was drawn to it by a note in the paper. We are preparing to help along the good work of this senator in any way we can. We have called on the different senators of Lima, and have sent out petitions to the towns near by, so as to get signatures back before the bill is up for discussion. Before it can become a law it is necessary for it to pass both houses this year, and also again at the next session of the congress.
This bill has now passed both houses of the Peruvian congress. If it passes again next year, as it doubtless will, it will then become a law. Let us pray that it may be in the good providence of God that the time has come for the breaking down of the barriers in Peru.
Elder Pohle reports also that following the closing of our Indian school by ecclesiastical intolerance (during the time when Elder F. A. Stahl has been obliged to make a change to a lower altitude for his health) our Brother Camacho, the Indian teacher, made a journey to Lima and was received by the president of the republic. He has returned, with assurances from the president that steps will be taken to protect the Indians from these attacks by the church authorities. The government is sending a commissioner to investigate matters, and our brethren hope that these attacks are being overruled for the furtherance of the work.
It is indeed a good word from Peru, for it seemed for a time as if the priests were bound to close up the school work. But truly the Lord is watching over his own.
W. A. S.
Our European Division Meetings — No. 5
By Arthur G. Daniells
The locality in which the French camp-meeting was held was the center of the activities and terrible persecutions of the French Protestants, called the Huguenots, during the seventeenth century. It was known as “the desert,” or “wilderness,” of the Protestant church in France for two centuries. Those who have traveled in both countries say that this part of France bears a striking resemblance to the land of Palestine. The hills and valleys, the olive-trees and vineyards, the mountain fastnesses and caverns, make one feel that he is in the land of God’s ancient people. It was in these mountain fastnesses and caverns that the Huguenots lived, and secretly worshiped God while the worst storms of persecution were rolling over southern France.
TOWER OF CONSTANCE
Not far from our camp were located some of the great caverns used for homes, churches, hospitals, and cemeteries of these devoted Christian reformers. A short distance away were the towns of Nimes, Montpellier, and Aigues-Mortes, where tens of thousands were imprisoned and executed. After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV, the French army was used to exterminate these pious Christians. Detachments of soldiers were sent to the mountains and valleys to break up the meetings and waste the inhabitants. The preachers and the most influential men were hanged on the trees in the forests, the men of common rank were sent to the galley ships, the women were sent to the prisons, and the children were taken to institutions of the Catholic Church to be taught its doctrines.
FORTRESS OF AIGUES-MORTES (DEAD WATERS)
A week’s sojourn in this locality, mingling with the descendants of those brave martyrs, and seeing some of the places of their struggles, gave a new meaning to the history of the Albigenses and Huguenots.
We visited the town of Aigues-Mortes to inspect the great Tour de Constance, in which so many pious Huguenot women were imprisoned. This town is located on a shallow bay or salt marsh about three miles from the Mediterranean. It was built seven or eight hundred years ago as a feudal fortress. The great massive stone walls still stand and are as perfect as when built. At one corner of this fortress stands the great Tour de Constance. It is round, and is sixty-six feet in diameter and ninety-two feet high. The wall of this tower is eighteen feet thick. The interior has two apartments, one being above the other. They are dimly lighted by long and very narrow openings in the wall. The lower apartment is the dungeon. Here the wives and daughters of Huguenot preachers and merchants and other men of prominence were imprisoned for life. The records show that Marie Durand was placed in this dungeon in 1730, when fifteen years old, and kept there until 1767, a period of thirty-seven years. The crime for which she was thus cruelly treated was that she accompanied her parents to a religious service that the government had forbidden. The names of many of these noble women were engraved on the interior of these stone walls, which held them from their friends and the privileges of life so many weary years. One who visited this dungeon near the close of these Huguenot persecutions has left this statement of what he saw:—
Words fail me to describe the horror with which we regarded a scene to which we were so unaccustomed—a frightful and affecting picture, in which the interest was heightened by disgust. We beheld a large circular apartment, deprived of air and of light, in which fourteen females still languished in misery. It was with difficulty that the prince smothered his emotion; and doubtless it was the first time that these unfortunate creatures had there witnessed compassion depicted upon a human countenance; I still seem to behold the affecting apparition. They fell at9our feet, bathed in tears, and speechless, until, emboldened by our expressions of sympathy, they recounted to us their sufferings.
It was on the ground where these loyal Huguenots suffered, bled, and died for the cause of Christ, that we held our camp-meeting, and it is here that the third angel’s message is finding a response in the hearts of sincere French men and women. At this place, where the “church in the desert” had so nobly witnessed for the Saviour, it was a peculiar pleasure to meet our French brethren and sisters, and reconsecrate our lives to the great work he is carrying forward in this last generation.
Our next meeting was at Barcelona, Spain. This was new territory to me, as I had never before been in Spain. Our meeting was not a large one, but it was one of deep interest. Nearly all our members in Spain were present. As we could remain together only five days, and as all seemed anxious to get as much as possible while together, the meetings continued with but short intermissions from morning until late at night.
HUGUENOT WOMEN IMPRISONED IN THE TOWER OF CONSTANCE
Reports of the past year’s work were rendered by the laborers. There were not many to report, nor were the results reported large. And yet the meeting was a truly encouraging one. Spain is a very difficult field, and we are but beginning our work there. The Catholic Church has for centuries held the masses of the Spanish people in subjection, ignorance, and superstition. While there is at the present time a measure of religious liberty, yet the dominating power of the church is very great. Then, too, the present illiteracy of the common people is a great barrier to the work of reform that we are endeavoring to carry forward. In some provinces only one third of the people can read and write. In the most advanced provinces not more than two thirds can read.
These conditions, and the general poverty among the common people, make our work difficult and slow. Yet our workers in Spain all seem to be of excellent courage. At the annual meeting they all planned for advancement in their different lines of work. Brethren Walter and Frank Bond will press on with their ministry. Brother Brown and his Spanish canvassers will push the canvassing work.
Sister Lola Casals will continue the city Bible work, and the brethren and sisters will do all they can in home missionary work. They have set out to make the following year the best since entering Spain. The staff of workers has recently been strengthened by the coming of Brother and Sister E. F. Forga. They have located in the city of Barcelona.
Brother Forga will continue the editing and translating work he has been doing for some years, and render helpful service to the church in Barcelona. Other strong, fearless, and earnest workers are needed in that hard and difficult field.
I was glad to meet at this gathering Elder Paul Meyer, from Lisbon, Portugal, also Brother W. E. Hancock, who was on his way to Algiers, which he is to make his field of labor. Both Elder Tieche, who has general charge of the Latin field, and Brother Edward Borle, who has charge of the publishing work, were at this meeting. This visit to Spain has given me a better understanding of the field and a deeper interest in the work and workers there.
I earnestly request our brethren and sisters who read this report to remember Spain in prayer day by day. Pray the Lord to reach the hearts of those dear people and prepare them for his coming and kingdom.
A. G. DANIELLS.
The Finishing of the Work
By I. H. Evans
As a people, we talk about the “finishing of the work.” In our prayers, we oftentimes ask that the work may be speedily finished. “Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly,” is the repeated cry of contrite and sincere hearts. Our gifts to the cause of God, our labors in behalf of others, our desire to see our fellow beings accept Christ, are all that the end may come soon. This is right and proper, and cannot but be well-pleasing to the Lord.
But there enters into this question of finishing the work a personal interest which we must not neglect. It is not simply numbers the Lord is to receive unto himself when he comes, but it is those who have clean hands and pure hearts, whose characters are perfected, who are clothed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
The apostle John, describing the people who will stand on the sea of glass before the throne of God, says: “And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.” And the prophet Zephaniah, speaking of the character of the people called the “remnant of Israel,” says: “The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.” Such scriptures as these teach what must be the character of the people who are to be translated at the “finishing of the work.”
Judging the future experiences of the people of God by the past, we are warranted in concluding that the giving of the third angel’s message can speedily be finished. Already its truths have encircled the earth. One by one the kingdoms of this world have been entered with the living witness proclaiming the coming of our Lord. The light is shining in every large center on earth. The capital and metropolis of nearly every state and nation have become centers for disseminating the last message. Literature bearing on the truths for this time has entered millions of homes; the missionaries and missionary stations planted far and near among the peoples of earth form a circle embracing every important nation in the world. Thus it would appear that the way is prepared for the work to be speedily closed.
One thing more is needed,—a heart preparation on the part of God’s people. When his Holy Spirit fills these messengers, when every witness for Christ becomes a channel through which the Spirit of God may pass to other souls, the work can indeed be quickly finished.
Are we ready for this final baptism of power from on high? When it comes, the Spirit of God will possess his people,10and those who are ready to receive this experience and are consecrated to the service of God will become in their spheres of influence mighty factors in giving the warning message to the world.
This delaying of our Lord’s coming cannot but be short, for God has promised again and again to do a short work in the closing of human history. The all-important questions for each of us must be, Am I ready for the work to be finished? Is my character such as the prophet ascribes to those whom he saw standing on the sea of glass? Can the third angel’s message close soon, as far as I am concerned? If we are not now ready, when will we be ready for the finishing of the work? How much more time is required by us as individuals to get ready? Must God extend human probation five years? ten years? What remains unfinished in our characters that must be perfected before we are ready for the Lord’s return?
The work of God is rapidly closing; the message is finishing in the earth; the world is ripe in iniquity; it is time for God’s people to be in a state of readiness, waiting for their Lord’s return. Are we ready? What is there that is imperfect and unsanctified in our characters and lives? Individually, we must settle these questions. Then we must set ourselves to the preparing of our “house” for the coming of the Lord. For the Lord will finish his work, and cut it short in righteousness.
