Earlier text: The Indwelling ChristGRACE WILL RESULT IN LIBERALITY.
By Ellen G. White
THESE who love and serve God will manifest the fact by loving and serving their fellow-men. Paul presents before us the example of liberal-minded converts, who in their deeds of charity exceeded his most sanguine expectations. Their love to their fellow-men was the result of giving themselves to the Lord. They surrendered themselves to the working of the divine Spirit, and their hearts were drawn out in tender, Christ-like compassion for the relief of those who were needy and suffering. They recognized the obligation that rested upon them, and worked in harmony with the will of God, and thus glorified their heavenly Father. Those who have the mind of Christ can not look with indifference upon human suffering. They can not be heartless, cold, and selfish. Those who are naturally inclined to tenderness and sympathy when unreservedly surrendered to God will coöperate with him in doing deeds of mercy, in relieving the distressed, tho it may call for the practice of self-denial. But those who do not cultivate gratitude to God for his mercy and love to them, who do not appreciate the great gift of Christ to our world, will not manifest sympathy for the suffering and needy, will not seek to comfort the bereaved, to minister to the fatherless and the widow. They may, like the Pharisees, make long prayers, and yet rob the widow and the fatherless, forgetting in their hardness of heart that the Lord will judge those who neglect the needy and the suffering as though they had neglected him in the person of his saints. “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful giver.” The Lord has intrusted his goods to his human agents, and when the individual members of the church become doers of the words of Christ, they do not live to please and glorify self; but they live to do the highest service possible for Jesus Christ in serving their fellow-men. In so doing they gain an experience that is of more value than great riches. Tho the work calls for self-denial, tho their means may be limited, they seek for the relief of suffering humanity. They cherish the faith that works by love and purifies the soul from selfishness, and which brings them into close relation with God. When the truth first finds men, it finds them possessed of the spirit of the world; but it does not leave them with this spirit. When the truth is received, it begins to work the work of sanctification upon heart, and mind, and character. The truth purifies, elevates, and transforms the soul until men reveal a likeness to the character of Him who gave Himself to save a perishing world. Selfishness, self-serving, pride, extravagance, and display are the natural results of rebellion against God; but it is the work of Christ to subdue our evil practices, to detach our tendrils from earthly things, and to entwine them about God. He who receives the love of truth will be transformed in character; but if the truth is not welcomed into the heart, if the door is closed against the entrance of the word of God, the heart and character remain unchanged. Those who resist truth, still cherish the love of the world. It was the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia that resulted in liberality and unselfishness. Paul writes of their benevolence, saying, “How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.” He says: “For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.” The people of whom Paul writes were under the oppressive hand of poverty, but even “their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.” The Holy Spirit wrought great changes in the character of those who sought after truth as for hidden treasure. The church of Macedonia became representative of what a church may be when enlightened by the word of God. They had tasted of the heavenly manna, and had been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and were transformed into the likeness of Christ. But the grace of God is able to do the same transforming work for the human character to-day. Paul says: “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work (as it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor; his righteousness remaineth forever. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness); being enriched in everything to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God.” WIN! WIN!!
By Emma H. Adams
Every close student of Paul's epistles must have noticed the apostle's anxiety lest those who had received the Gospel by him, and had honestly entered the race for immortality, should fail of success. The intensity of his feeling on the subject suggests both the blessedness of victory and the sad consequences of failure. “Win at all hazards,” is the meaning of the many inspiring charges he sent out from his prison in Rome to the believers in Greece and Asia Minor. He was concerned far less for Paul in chains, for “Paul the aged,” than for his sons and daughters in the Gospel, around whom Satan forged ceaselessly fetters of strong temptation. He seems to have known just how each little community was situated, and at what point it was weakest, and to have despatched to each the advice, the admonition, the portion of truth most needful to them in their danger. There are individual churches and individual Christians in just such need to-day, for the alert enemy discovers a vulnerable point now not less quickly than then. Hear the faithful apostle, as he calls to mind the imperiled brethren at Colosse, for whom he had “great conflict” (fear, concern) “lest any man should beguile them with enticing words,” and also for them at Laodicea, who were “neither hot nor cold,” but were in danger of forgetting that they were running. To them all he cried: “Beware lest any man spoil [rob] you through philosophy and vain deceit.” “Let no man beguile you of your reward.” And what was their reward? Paul styles them “the elect of God, holy and beloved,” tells them that they have put off the old man (old nature), and have put on the new man, renewed after the image of their Creator. Then, if overcomers, if runners to the end, their reward would be the exalted privilege of being made partakers of the divine nature, being made like their Redeemer—with possibility of death banished forever—to whom the heroic prisoner points them with words of triumph: “Ye are complete in him.” “Set your affections on things above, and not on things on the earth.” From the imperial city, during his first incarceration, the thoughts of the ambassador for Christ sped often to Philippi, whither once an urgent prayer for help from a man of Macedonia had called him. He recalls, indeed, that in this same city “many stripes were laid upon” him and his fellow missionary, Silas, and they were cast into prison. Paul must have felt keenly the severity of that unmerited punishment, yet these memories did not quench his desire that the Philippian brethren—to whom it was given to suffer for Christ’s sake, yet in whose ranks there must have existed tokens of division—should be “without offense till the day of Christ.” Listen to his ringing message to6 them, as appropriate to-day as when Paul penned its sentences:— “Stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the Gospel.” “Beware of dogs [men rabid against the truth, against the religion of Christ, men who bark and snarl—with voice and pen—against his followers], beware of evil workers.” “Stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.” So standing, what would be the result?—The peace of God which passeth understanding would keep their hearts and minds, through Christ, and God would supply all their need, in accordance with his riches in glory. There were other flocks also over which the vigilant under shepherd kept watch. On the eastern shore of the Ægean Sea stood Ephesus, chief seaport of Lesser Asia, and once Paul’s abiding place for over three years. During this time “all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus.” Ephesus was the center of the demoralizing worship of the “great goddess Diana,” and the theater of a luxurious and wicked life. But in the midst of it, to the glory of his grace, God had quickened a company of men and women once dead in trespasses and sins, making them members of his kingly household. There must have been something in the character of these Ephesian Christians peculiarly pleasing, not only to Paul, in bonds, but also to the glorified Master who had called him to suffering. They must have been neither inattentive nor superficial students of the word of God during the apostle’s ministry among them. This is evident from the profound themes discussed in his epistle to them. It is filled with the “strong meat” of the truth, meat which, “by reason of use,” their minds had been “exercised to discern.” Yet to them Paul wrote: “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation [high calling] wherewith ye are called.” They had been called to things too high for the heart of man to conceive fully—to membership in the true church, which is Christ’s body, to membership in the “little flock,” which the Spirit and the word are now taking out from among the gentiles, to membership in the order of kings and priests unto God during the ages to come. All this was, and, indeed, now is, high calling. In order that they might attain it, Paul urges: “Put off . . . the old man, which is corrupt. . . . Put on the new man [new mind, new purpose], which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.” “Put on the whole armor of God.” All this potent advice shows how great is the danger of failure. Paul said to the Corinthians, skilled in the Isthmian games: “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may” win. SALVATION'S MESSAGE.
By T. A. Zoller
O WONDERFUL message sent down from above
By our heavenly Father in tenderest love,
Which tells of a Saviour who suffered and died
To redeem man from death, tho by man crucified!
Such love and compassion was ne'er before shown;
For all our transgressions, he came to atone.
This wond'rous salvation he offers to all;
He's earnestly pleading, O, now hear his call! Accept the salvation he offers so free.
The Saviour in mercy says: “Come unto me
All ye who are weary and laden with sin,
I'll carry your burdens, sweet rest you shall win;
Come learn of my ways and my yoke meekly wear,
I'll guide and protect you with tenderest care.
Now give me your heart and your hand let me take,
I never will leave you, no, never forsake.” O, how can you slight such compassionate love!
He bids you to come and his promises prove.
How can you turn from him so coldly away,
Still linger in sin and rebellion to-day!
In pity he lingers, still anxious to save,
O, think of the cross—of the life that he gave,
The shame and the anguish he suffered for you—
O think, will you crucify Jesus anew? To-day is the time for you to accept
The life that he offers. If you would be kept
From the storm that will sweep o'er the guilty ere long,
While mercy still lingers, come, join the glad throng
Whose captain is Jesus, he leads them along;
His love is their theme, and his praise is their song;
And soon to those mansions he's gone to prepare
He'll take them, to dwell forevermore there. Love to God must show itself by love to our neighbor. If we try to live on one table of the Decalogue, or on one part of the Lord’s prayer, we become like a boat with one oar or a bird with one wing. If the hand be outstretched in supplication toward God, it must also be opened in benefaction toward men. There is great danger of partiality in our choice of God’s commandments. Many a man practically says: “This commandment harmonizes with my taste; therefore I shall perform it. That one does not; therefore I shall neglect it. This one is in line with my social relations; that one is not. I shall obey the one and neglect the other. This one is essential to salvation; I shall perform it. That one is not; therefore I shall neglect it.” Such an attitude as this is unworthy of a true Christian man. He never asks, “How little can I do and be saved?” He simply inquires, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”—Sel. THOUGHTS FROM THE SEPTUAGINT.
By F. D. Starr
Sinning Ignorantly.—In the fourth and fifth chapters of Leviticus directions are given concerning offerings that should be made for sins of ignorance. In chapter 4, verse 2, we read, “If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the Lord,” etc.; also in the twenty-second verse, “When a ruler hath sinned, and done somewhat through ignorance against any of the commandments of the Lord his God;” also in the twenty-seventh verse and in chap. 5:14 like expressions occur. The word used in these instances in the Septuagint has the signification of “unwillingly,” and is so rendered by the translators of the Septuagint into English. This would modify the case considerable. We read in Heb. 10:26, “For if we sin willfully after that we receive the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.” The word “willfully” in this text is the same as the word “willingly” in 1 Peter 5:2, “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly.” Other references might be given. The Greek word used in the passages given in Leviticus is from the same root, only of opposite meaning, signifying unwillingly in opposition to willingly. The transgressor commits a wrong unwillingly, although he has some knowledge that the act itself is wrong. This must have been the case with David. He certainly knew that the act he did was wrong, and therefore could not, strictly speaking, have committed a sin of ignorance; but his was not what the Bible would call a willful sin, else there could not have been any forgiveness for him, according to the statement in Hebrews. This idea seems to be in harmony with the description given in Romans 7, where the mind is represented as wrestling with the flesh, and while the individual would do good, yet does evil, and does, as stated in verse 15, that which he hates; in other words, it is the same fact as stated by our Saviour to his disciples in the garden, “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matt. 26:41. The individual is made the unwilling captive of Satan—he is brought into bondage, and is performing the service, on account of his captivity to the flesh, that he is really unwilling to perform. A like expression is used in Rom. 8:20, “For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope.” The “not willingly” of Rom. 8:20 and Lev. 4:2, etc., are similar in meaning. If it were, strictly speaking, only sins of pure ignorance for which there was atonement, there would be many more cases of unpardonable sin than there are now; but where the mind is still desirous of doing the will of the Lord, but the individual is led astray by base motives that contend for the mastery, the Lord looks with pity upon that individual, and has made ample provision for his forgiveness, in case he repents, and, moreover, has provided a means of strength by which he may be enabled to be kept from committing these unwilling transgressions. When the mind is wholly given up to that which is evil, and has become as depraved as is the sinful flesh, the individual has then become satanic in his nature, and there remains, as stated in Heb. 10:26, “no more sacrifice for sins.” Called Unclean.—In Lev. 13:45, 46 it is stated that the leper “shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.” The Septuagint renders this verse thus: “And the leper in whom the plague is, let his garments be ungirt and his head uncovered, and let him have a covering upon his mouth, and he shall be called unclean all the days in which the plague shall be upon him, being unclean he shall be esteemed unclean; he shall dwell apart, his place of sojourn shall be without the camp.” The idea of this rendering would be that instead of the leper himself having to proclaim his uncleanness, he is simply esteemed or called unclean by others. Living Water.—In Lev. 4:5 we read, “And the priest shall command that one of the birds shall be killed in an earthen vessel over running water.” The Septuagint has “living water.” In the Scriptures running water is quite frequently mentioned as living water—water that is continually in motion, thus manifesting life. See Gen. 26:19; Num. 19:17, marginal reading, also Cant. 4:15. Not to Eat the Soul.—In Lev. 17:14 a prohibition is found against eating blood. It is stated, “For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof; therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh,” etc. In the Greek rendering we have soul (ψυχή psukē) instead of life. The verse would then read, “For the soul of all flesh is the life thereof.” The same expression is found in Deut. 12:23, which is rendered in the Septuagint, “Take diligent heed that thou eat no blood, for the blood is the soul of it; the soul shall not be eaten with the flesh.” This use of the word7 shows the soul to be a material object that could be eaten as well as the flesh. The idea of an immaterial, conscious entity, capable of existing separate from the body, would certainly be in direct conflict with these Scripture statements. For Personal Use.—Directions are given in Leviticus 22 concerning sacrifices that should be brought unto the Lord. In the twenty-third verse it is stated that animals that had anything superfluous or lacking might be offered for a free-will offering, but for a vow they should not be accepted. The reading of the Septuagint in this instance is this, “Thou shalt slay them for thyself, but they shall not be accepted for thy vow.” Instead of saying that such animals would be proper to offer for free-will offerings, the instruction would show that they were not proper to be presented as sacrifices in any way, but simply might be used for individual purposes. This would seem to be more in harmony with other Scripture statements which show that an offering that was brought to the Lord should be without blemish. Seven Plagues.—In the book of Revelation we read of the seven last plagues. The idea seems to be somewhat parallel with an expression found in Lev. 26:21. We there read, “And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.” The rendering of the Septuagint is, “I will further bring upon you seven plagues according to your sin.” Seven is in the Scriptures a complete number, and while God’s people, as this verse shows, had been threatened with seven plagues in their national capacity, we find all the nations of the earth threatened with the last list of seven plagues that are to be sent upon the earth. The Cholera.—It may seem surprising to the reader to learn that the Holy Scriptures have anything to say concerning this dread disease; but whether or not we have the origin of the malady mentioned in the text to which our attention will be called, we have, according to the Greek translation, an instance of it. All will remember the loathsome experience of the Israelites after they had prayed so earnestly for flesh. The event is described in Numbers 11. In verses 19 and 20 we read: “Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; but even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you; because that ye have despised the Lord which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?” The reading in the Septuagint is, “Ye shall eat for a full month until the flesh shall come out at your nostrils, and it shall be cholera unto you.” From the fearful mortality that followed their continued indulgence in flesh eating we get the idea that it must have been some terrible disease that swept them thus away and filled up the cemetery that bore the name of “the graves of lust.” Num. 11:33, 34. While cholera is now traced to many other sources, it seems that in this instance it had its origin in the self-indulgent practice of flesh eating. “This Light Bread.”—This is the expression that the people used concerning the food that God had miraculously provided for them to eat, as stated in Num. 21:5. The people said, “Our soul loatheth this light bread.” The Greek word has the signification of good for nothing, amounting to nothing. The term is derived from a word signifying empty, vain, nothing. So the expression of the people , according to this, would be, “Our soul loathes this good-for-nothing bread.” This historical incident will do very well to go with one previously mentioned. The same people that delighted in the cholera-breeding flesh, loathed the bread of heaven, “angels’ food,” that would give them strong, healthy, vigorous bodies and minds, and called it simply “this good-for-nothing bread.” But as it was then so it is now. The flesh wars against the spirit and against the better judgment, and people follow perverse inclination rather than reason. There are many practical lessons for us to learn from the history of Israel as it is given concerning those days. GOD AND THE RIGHT.
By Norman Macleod
COURAGE, brother, do not stumble,
Though thy path is dark as night;
There's a star to guide the humble—
“Trust in God and do the right.” Let the road be long and dreary,
And its ending out of sight,
Foot it bravely, strong or weary;
“Trust in God and do the right.” Perish “policy” and cunning,
Perish all that fears the light—
Whether losing, whether winning,
“Trust in God and do the right.” Trust no forms of guilty passion—
Friends can look like angels bright—
Trust no custom, school, or fashion—
“Trust in God and do the right.” Some will hate thee, some will love thee;
Some will flatter, some will slight;
Cease from man and look above thee—
“Trust in God and do the right.” Simple rule and safest guiding,
Inward peace and inward light,
Star upon our path abiding—
“Trust in God and do the right.” Faith, Purgatory, etc
By I. E. Kimball
THE CREED OF CATHOLICISM. No. 4.
I WISH to notice in conclusion some minor things in the Catholic confession, concerning faith, purgatory, worship of the Virgin and the saints, images and indulgences. Faith in the Church of Rome is defined as mere orthodoxy—that is a consent of the mind to the creeds and constitutions of the church. Bible faith is not this, but “the substance of things hoped for.” Faith takes hold of things hoped for, and makes them realities, through the power of God. Faith is living, active, trustful, relying upon the sure word of promise. It asks and receives, seeks and finds, and works by love, and purifies the heart; it justifies, and is the open door of sanctification. Faith to the Protestant makes all things possible; to the Catholic it means to accept the creed and the traditions. Now, which kind of faith was manifested in Christ? Somehow he did not believe the creed, or the traditions; but he could walk the stormy waters and speak words full of meaning to the boisterous tempest. He struck out on a new path from the church because they were more zealous for traditions and human authority than for the naked word of God. Let honest members of the Catholic communion follow their “Master, Christ,” not the master, the pope. “Call no man master.” As to purgatory, it is believed that in the unknown regions is a land of fiery tempests, where poor souls, not incorrigible, but filled with venial sin, with unconfessed faults, are remanded to suffer till their sins are burned and purged away. If, forsooth, the priest may have given him the final unction and offered up prayers in his behalf, he may have escaped; or possibly some saint may have a stock of superabundant merit sufficient to advance himself and every soul in purgatory to heaven. So it has been, they say. If so, then he escapes to Paradise. This is what the Lord says: “Tho Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.” None will get to heaven by another’s merits. This is taught in the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25), where, “Give us of your oil,” is answered with, “Go to them that sell and buy for yourselves.” And Jesus said: “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which was our duty to do.” Luke 17:10. It would be a strange thing to see a person better than he need to be? Works of supererogation are the treasury from which indulgences are drawn—the doctrine against which Luther so inveighed. It commenced with the remittal of a part of the penance of poor penitents who had fallen and would recover themselves; and finally was stretched so far as to cover all punishment for time and eternity, as in the indulgences granted to the crusaders, and virtually was looked upon as a remittal of sin, without contrition or repentance. And it amounted to just that, although the skillful theorist of Rome would make the indulgence appear to be nothing but a remittal of punishment for sin which the penitent has confessed and forsaken but for which due satisfaction in the way of punishment is required of God. Thongings, scourgings, flagellations are meritorious, but sometimes it may happen that altho the sin be forgiven, yet punishment is yet treasured up of God for the offense; then an indulgence will remit this punishment. But indulgences are no part of Christ’s plan or work, simply because “he delighteth in mercy,” and because there is a passing over of sin completely through the blood of Christ, to such as repent and forsake. Christ took the chastisement wholly. The pious Catholic of to-day will say that he bows to and kisses the image as calling to memory the saint, etc., putting it on a level with relics, but it has been much more than this to them. In Chrysostom’s day they bowed not only to statues but to coffins and shrines, and verily worshiped the relics of the deceased in that they retained the heathen notion of the spiritual presence of the departed, working miracles and showing signs. The heathen claimed in their confession that senseless silver and gold was naught to them, but they worshiped the demons brought into these statues by sacred dedication. All that the images ever were to the heathen they were to the Catholic Church of early times. They no longer trusted in the demon of Socrates or other heathen heroes, but the demons of the martyrs, for demons were understood to be dead men. The church, however, understood the mistake of the heathen, but by a strange inadvertence, permitted these same wicked spirits to deceive them, palming themselves off as spirits of the martyrs. When once this delusion was fully fixed in the church, images and relics and shrines and sepulchers were to the Catholic Church just exactly what they had been to the heathen. The saints are confidently believed to be advanced to heaven, and prayers are offered to them as mediators with Christ. So saint worship is little more than the demon worship of former times. This continues in the Catholic Church. But I must mention the Mariolatry of the Papacy, as a marked feature of idolatry. The immaculate conception of Mary was formally decreed as a formula of faith, in 1854. Pius IX. invited expression with reference to this on the part of all the bishops. Said he in the encyclical:— You know full well, venerable brethren, that the whole ground of our confidence is placed in the most Holy Virgin. God has vested in her the plenitude of all good; so that henceforth if there be in us any help, if there be any grace, if there be any salvation, we must receive it solely from her, according to the will of the Lord, who would have us possess all through her. The dogma was solemnly proclaimed Dec. 8, 1854. It reads:— It is a definitely revealed fact and dogma, which must be firmly and constantly believed by all the faithful, that the most Holy Virgin Mary, from the first moment of her conception, by a special grace of Almighty God, in virtue of the merits of Christ, was preserved immaculate from all stain of original sin.8 Thus “a worthy dwelling for the Son,” was prepared. So the Virgin is freed from all hereditary or actual sin. She is above the need of redemption, repentance, forgiveness, regeneration; conversion and sanctification are inapplicable to her. The rosary counts off fifteen paternosters, or Lord’s prayers, in the large beads and 150 Ave Marias in the small beads. The Ave Maria is to the Catholic what the Lord’s prayer is to the Protestant. She is spoken of as “the fountain of all grace,” “the mighty mediatrix,” “the queen of heaven.” The psalter of the middle ages sang her praises thus: “The heavens declare thy glory, O Mary;” “Offer unto our lady, ye sons of God, praise and reverence.” She is “our life,” “hope of sinners,” “advocate mighty to save,” etc. Mary “crushed the head of the serpent with her immaculate foot,” according to Pius IX. “She shall crush thy head, thou shalt assail her heel;” thus they read Gen. 3:15. The woman of Revelation 12 is Mary. They boldly speak of Mary as “destroying the power of Satan, and saving the human race.” St. Bernard, Thomas Aquinas, and several popes opposed the above dogma, but it seems they were on the wrong side. In early times she was considered a perpetual virgin. Then Augustine and all finally released her from actual sin, and at the last she is freed from original sin and proclaimed immaculate. Leo I., Gregory I., Innocent III., and four more popes rejected this dogma. She is now the “bride of the Holy Ghost,” and “mother of God.” Having been definitely declared, whoever now rejects the dogma is sure of hell torments, although infallible popes declared against it. Finally, this Roman Catholic system sacrifices, if need be, all spirituality for a visible succession. The principle, “If ye forsake Him he will forsake you,” they may conceive of as being applicable to an individual, but not to a company of visible successors who have received the imprint of the apostolic hand. She can not conceive of unity according to the New Testament idea, that is, of being all taught of God through his word and the kindly offices of his Spirit, and thus being led onward and upward into a perfect harmony, all growing up fully into the mind and life of Christ. But union must come through the bishopric, which, in its accepted sense, has no place in the New Testament, but was instituted, as Jerome says, to “cut down the thickets of heresy.” Thus union is born of force not persuasion. God is love, but love is not manifest in the cannibal way of cutting down men of another opinion according to the teaching of Thomas Aquinas, who would have them “exterminated,” according to the way Waldenses and Albigenses were treated. Can we conclude that God is in that church? Of all combinations she is the most to be feared. “DANGER TO THE SABBATH.”
By W. N. Glenn
The advocates of Sunday observance make much ado over the “danger” to their so-called Sabbath, both on account of the lax manner in which it is regarded by its friends and the disregard of those who view it in the light of a merely secular day. Being (as a Sabbath day) only a man-made institution, with only such safeguards as men may throw around it, its existence may be threatened when men fail to do it homage. As the support of men is only induced by deception, by tradition, by superstition, and by the hope of temporal advantage,—in other words, by purely selfish considerations,—there is little wonder that its votaries become alarmed when the props begin to weaken, and the truth concerning its standing as a religious pretension is shown up to the world. No wonder that, under the great search-light of the word of God, they begin to proclaim loudly of impending danger, and call upon the civil authorities to stay up the tottering structure with more stringent laws. No wonder they call for the squelching of all opponents by every available human means. No wonder we hear such vehement shouts in praise of the day, the observance of which is now being lauded as the very foundation of Christian life and work. The Scriptures furnish us a parallel. When Paul preached the Gospel in and around Ephesus, the honor and influence of the great goddess Diana was seriously threatened. The record says:— “And the same time there arose no small stir about that way. For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen; whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth. Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands; so that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at naught; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshipeth. And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.” Acts 19: 23-28.
In contrast, the institutions of God’s planting are in no way endangered tho all the world turn against them. The Sabbath of the Lord, the seventh day of the week, is imbedded in his unchangeable law. The combined power of all the adversaries the world has known can not affect one jot or little of this law. Then no danger can come to the Sabbath which it proclaims. On the other hand, the danger is to those who oppose and disregard the Sabbath. This is shown in the prophecy of Jeremiah concerning Jerusalem:— “And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the Lord, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work therein. Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall remain forever. But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.”
The sequel was that the Sabbath was profaned by the people of Jerusalem through their departing from the true God, and the city was destroyed and its inhabitants made captives to a heathen nation. But the Sabbath remained unscathed. It remained, and still remains, the sign between the Lord and his people. No danger can come to the Sabbath, or to any other institution, which God has established; and he has assured those who adhere to these by faith that, though temporarily persecuted by their enemies, in the day of his visitation no harm shall befall them. See Psalms 91. SENATORIAL ENDORSEMENT OF SUNDAY.
By W. N. G.
At a recent meeting in Washington, D. C., held in the interest of a stricter observance of Sunday, Senator Sherman, in attempting to advance the claims of the institution, incidentally emphasized its human origin and its dependence upon the human arm for support. This is what he is reported to have said:— “It is an inheritance from our forefathers, which should be cherished as a part of the institutions of our government.” Senator Sherman is a man of great influence in the Senate, and, apart from purely partisan issues, that influence extends to men of all parties in Congress. When such men as he, who are not otherwise recognized as zealous religionists, take hold of the Sunday institution with a view to cherishing it as “a part of the institutions of our government,” it is an indication that to fall in with the movement is deemed a sagacious political policy. And we may confidently expect that many of the lesser political lights in that great law-making body will take their cue from the experienced senator’s action. But this principle in political expediency will not end with Sunday legislation. Having committed themselves to the recognition of Sunday (the so-called Christian sabbath), as “a part of the institutions of our government,” these politicians are logically committed to the rest of the National Reform policy, which is “to secure such an amendment to the Constitution of the United States as will declare the nation’s allegiance to Jesus Christ, and its acceptance of the moral laws of the Christian religion, and so indicate that this is a Christian nation, and place all the Christian laws, institutions, and usages of our government on an undeniable legal basis in the fundamental law of the land.” If the men who endorse the Sunday institution as “a part of the institutions of our government”9 are consistent, they will of course carry out the rest of the program as fast as the demand is made by the forces that have demanded and secured the Sunday recognition. Baptism, the Lord’s supper, and the ordinance of feet washing are Christian laws. Sprinkling, auricular confession, the adoration of saints, the support of parochial schools (of all denominations), foreign and domestic mission work, the observance of Lent, of Easter, of Good Friday, and the entire calendar of church holidays, come under the category of so-called “Christian institutions” and “usages.” These are as much entitled to recognition as is the observance of Sunday. They are backed by the same authority, and rest upon the same basis, namely, the decrees of the Church of Rome indorsed by such other churches as choose to adopt them. So, when Congress commits the government to the legal recognition of Sunday observance, it has no logical excuse for refusing to recognize any or all other church institutions as “a part of the institutions of our government.” Having taken the first step, are we not justified in expecting further progress in the same line, especially as the pressure in that direction is constantly increasing? W. N. G.