Earlier text: Publishers’ PageReforming Power in God's Word
By L. A. S.
A DESCRIPTION of slum mission work in New York City which forcibly depicts the failure of sensational methods of reform so much employed in these days, and emphasizes the great truth that the Word of God alone has power to convert the soul, and that the simple Word succeeds where all else fails, is contributed to the January number of Success by Owen Kildare, author of “My Rise from the Slums to Manhood.” Mr. Kildare speaks from experience, and tells only that whereof he fully knows. Many zealous men of these times who are trying to accomplish reforms by other agencies than the inspired Word—in some instances “reforms” which that Word does not warrant, the reason for employing other agencies being therefore obvious—might be greatly enlightened by a perusal of this article, if their minds were open to conviction. We quote a few of the most pointed of Mr. Kildare’s statements:— “Scattered throughout the city of Greater New York are many so-called rescue missions,” he says. On the Bowery, however, which “from time immemorial . . . has been and still is known as the seat of all wickedness,” there is but one mission. There have been others, “but they were all short lived.” “The old Bowery Mission is the only one which has lasted for years. The reason for this is not hard to find. The Bowery Mission, from its very start, offered nothing else to the men flocking there but the Word of God, and opportunity to hear it intelligently interpreted.” In most of the other missions, this authority says, a system of bribing men to be saved, or to profess conversion, may be found in operation. “As far as I know, the Bowery Mission is the only one of the down-town missions that does not make it a practise to distribute free bed tickets at the close of every meeting. In the other missions that part of the meeting in which the tickets are given out is the most interesting to the congregation.” “I have seen some terrible instances of degradation,” Mr. Kildare says, “but it remained for a rescue mission to afford me an opportunity of observing to what depths some men can sink.” And it was the system upon which the mission was conducted that offered the opportunity and the temptation to those derelicts of the slums to sink lower in degradation than they had been before. The statement last quoted is illustrated by the case of a man who made a practise of professing conversion at the mission meetings for the sake of temporal benefits, glibly telling the worst lies without compunction, his days being spent in begging, loafing, drinking, and smoking. Mr. Kildare further says:— After the testimonies came the “invitation,” extended by the organist. Its leading strain was, “Stop drinking, become one of us, and you will eat oftener than you do now, will wear cleaner linen, and, perhaps, get a job.” The superintendent, who had occupied a seat in the rear of the room, went out into the street before the invitation closed with, “Who’ll be the first to come forward?” It was always hard to decide who was the first to go forward. They fairly rushed to the seats reserved for the unconverted. . . . Men were changed in a twinkling from lethargic, sleepy drowsers, to fervid seekers after righteousness. Such was the first impression, but further observation quickly revealed the secret of the apparent transformation. While the sinners were arranging themselves in kneeling positions along the front row of chairs, the organist stepped from the platform, and began to turn out the lights and open the windows. . . . To do this he had to pass through the aisles, and was button-holed by the men who had testified. He knew most of them by name, and handed each a small card entitling the bearer to the use of a bed for one night at the Home. A few who had not testified also pressed forward and begged for tickets, but were invited to get out as quickly as possible. . . . When the organist got to the front row, he stepped from one to another; and after touching them on the shoulder, scrutinized their features. How he formed his judgment I do not know, as his only inquiry was, “Do you want to be a Christian?” The man questioned would see before him the ticket, saving him from a night in the streets, and—can you not guess his answer? As soon as the last ticket had been given out, the organist spoke again. “That’s all for to-night. The rest of you’ve got to go home.” It was merely a figure of speech, for he did not mean to be ironical; but their homes—why, they were forfeited long ago—and their brethren who had obtained shelter for the night had done so by the most fearful of lies,—by telling their souls for a night’s rest. . . . The statistics of Christian work are very satisfactory in their numerical strength, at first glance. A record of the conversions is kept by every mission and other organization given to the rescuing of men. Foot up the grand totals of these records, and you will be in duty bound to conclude that New York City is absolutely free from sinners, and on the very border-land of heaven. Yet the statistics are technically correct. After citing a very sensational effort made not long ago in that city by the Salvation Army, one feature of which was a procession through the Bowery, headed by twelve men carrying a coffin in which was a living man, this to serve as the basis of a discourse by Commander Booth-Tucker on the subject “Buried Alive,” Mr. Kildare adds:— My personal opinion concerning Salvation Army methods may not be of great importance, but I can recollect other promises and pledges of like nature [of sensational performances, noted singers and speakers, etc.], and still the Bowery is as it was, and the slums are weltering in their sin. I was born in the slums, . . . and I know that only systematic efforts bear fruit, and not the cymbal and bass drum of an emotional wave. There is work to be done in the slums, but it must be quiet, hard work, without hurrahs. I know a man who was saved in the Bowery Mission, and who “carried the banner”—walked the streets at night—without a murmur, for ten days after his salvation. “I wanted Christ, not a bed ticket,” was his answer when I asked him about it. All these statements are made on authority that is indisputable, and the lesson in them is that the one true reforming power in the world is the simple Word of God; that all other agencies will fail, but that this one agency is grandly sufficient. The Word is not sensational, but it is more powerful than all the sensational means which have been devised in these latter times under the mistaken idea of thereby increasing the force of the gospel message. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord.” L. A. S. It Is Not too Late
By Arthur G. Daniells
We are receiving many letters at the General Conference office enclosing offerings for missions, and expressing the hope that the gift will not reach us too late to be placed in the annual offering taken in the churches during the last week of prayer. To all who have sent offerings to our office since the week of prayer, I will say that the gifts are not too late to be placed in the last annual offering. And to all others I will say that it will be several weeks yet before the final returns are in from the week-of-prayer offering. There is still opportunity to help swell the annual offering to $50,000. But that which prompted me to write this article was to tell of the impression made on my mind by the oft-repeated and anxious expressions of the givers—“I hope this is in time,” “I hope this is not too late,” “Am I too late for the annual offering?” These statements have awakened me to a realization I have never before experienced of what it will mean to our people when it will indeed be too late—not to place their gifts in the regular annual offering, but to place their money anywhere in the cause of God. In the letters referred to, some of the donors have said, “If this donation is too late for the annual offering, apply it to China, or to India, or where needed most.” The privilege of having the money used in the cause somewhere, makes the matter of being too late for the annual offering not so serious after all. But the time is coming when the work of God in the earth will be finished. It will be said, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous8 let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Rev. 22: 11, 12. Then it will be too late to use our means in the cause of God for the salvation of men. No one will be able to say, “If this is too late for the regular offering, apply it to Africa, or to Japan.” The work for these countries will have been finished. There will not be left a single place in this world where money can be used for gospel work. Gospel work will have closed. There will not be a single gospel enterprise to which our money can be devoted. There will be absolutely no use for money in gospel service. Then it will be too late. Thank God, that day is drawing near. The last generation has come. Matt. 24: 34. We are now in the hour of God’s judgment. Rev. 14: 6, 7. This is the day of God’s preparation. Nahum 2: 3. It is the eleventh hour. Matt. 20: 6. Now every one can devote his time, energies, and means to the cause of God for the salvation of the world. This is our opportunity. My heart is deeply moved as I think of the possibilities of this hour. May the Spirit of the living God awaken and arouse his people. When this hour of opportunity for gospel service closes, it will close all opportunity to use our means for any purpose whatsoever. Every dollar unused then will be utterly worthless. In deep remorse and unutterable anguish the silver and gold will be thrown to the moles and the bats. The great purpose of all heaven at this time is to finish the gospel work, and this should be the great all-consuming purpose of the church on earth. No talents, no treasure, should be esteemed too precious for this work. No toil, no sacrifice, should be considered too great for this work. It is high time for every person connected with the movement of the third angel’s message to settle the question fully in his own mind whether this movement is from heaven or not. If this movement is genuine, if it is all that it claims to be, all that we have claimed for it, we are certainly justified in pronouncing it to be the most important and serious movement in the world. If it is, it should be treated as such by those identified with it. The brother in one of our Western churches who has a large farm, well stocked with horses and cattle, did not treat this cause as the greatest thing in the world, when he made a contribution of twenty-five cents to the annual offering at the close of the week of prayer. That brother in one of our Eastern churches who has not paid tithe for two years is not treating this movement as though he believes it to be the last solemn call of God to a perishing world. We rejoice to be permitted to say that it is not too late to devote the means God has given us to the promotion of this glorious work. Mexico and Rome Relations
CONTRARY to previous reports it seems that diplomatic relations between Mexico and Rome are not to be resumed at present. A recent dispatch from Rome states that “the Vatican authorities have been informed that the appointment of Mgr. Serafini, Archbishop of Spoleto, as apostolic delegate to Mexico can not lead to the resumption of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Mexico, where, since the death of Maximilian, there has existed a complete separation of church and state. Pope Leo made several attempts to obtain for the Catholic religion official recognition in Mexico, but President Díaz constantly and consistently refused to comply with his wishes, although not opposed to Catholicism, which prospers in Mexico more than it does in any of the other Latin-American republics where it is the state religion. The new apostolic delegation to Mexico will have exactly the same powers and limitations as that of the apostolic delegation at Washington.” We can not depend upon argument to convert souls to the truth. We can argue in support of the truth, it is true; but Christianity is much more than a set of reasons. We may give the arguments to men, but when we have done that, in the great majority of cases they remain unmoved. We must not merely teach the truth; we must impart it; and to impart it we must possess it ourselves. Railroad Wrecks and Public Safety
“THE LOSS OF A HUNDRED LIVES IN THREE railroad wrecks in one week has aroused a renewed demand that American railroads be run with more regard for the lives of the passengers,” says the Literary Digest. “Nor do these disasters stand alone,” it adds. “The report of the Interstate Commerce Commission, made public the week before, shows that in the year ending June 30 last, there were 5,219 railway collisions of all kinds (about fourteen a day) in the United States, in which 321 passengers and 3,233 employees were killed, and nearly 46,000 (mostly employees) injured. The Commission remarks that this record is a disgrace to the American people.” It is the same as if there should be a great battle fought every year in this country in which fifty thousand of the people should be either killed or wounded; and this terrible yearly sacrifice is declared to be due to the lack of appropriate legislation by Congress, the enactment of which is defeated by the attorneys and agents of the railway corporations at Washington. If this be so, the situation will be remedied only when it appears that there is some force more potent than money controlling public affairs in this republic. A New York clergyman, Rev. R. P. Johnson, pastor of the Fifth Avenue Baptist church, is delivering a series of Sunday night addresses on “Ominous Signs of the Times.” In the second of these addresses, which was on “Moral Laxness,” he drew the following picture of the times in this respect, which any one who has followed the newspaper records of current events knows is not overdrawn:— The apostle says the love of money is the root of all evil, and the madness for money, which is characteristic of our times, has put a tremendous strain upon the moral fiber of the age. There are get-rich-quick concerns, gold-brick enterprises, gambling devices, adulterated articles put on the market as genuine. Then come the dishonest organizations, which, on the influence of some great name in the business world, and by means of flowery and romantic prospectuses, and by the votes of dummy directors, launch an enterprise which has enough water in the stock to drown the whole concern. The revelations which have recently been made in this city have been sickening in their disclosures of greed, stupidity, and lack of integrity. There has beyond question been a decay of the religious life of the home. Luxury, social ambition, ostentation, breed scandals and multiply divorce suits. But possibly the worst of all conditions is revealed today in the sphere of civic and political life. The far-reaching corruption being uncovered in the Post-office Department, the ugly rumors, and seemingly more than rumors, in connection with the Indian lands, the serious charges being made, apparently not without foundation, in other land transactions,—these and other evidences of corruption make us pause. The same evil disease has attacked the State administrations. But when we come to the cities, the case is saddest of all. Call the roll: New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Grand Rapids, and many others, from East to West, from North to South—civic corruption is no respecter of sections. The signs of moral laxness are becoming so numerous and so conspicuous that many besides Seventh-day Adventists are also calling attention to them. But we can also point out their true significance as not only omens of warning to all who would maintain Christian integrity of character, but heralds of the approaching day when earth’s rightful Sovereign shall come in glory to cleanse his domain of sin and sinners, and set up his everlasting kingdom of righteousness and peace. These “ominous signs of the times” bid Christians look up and lift up their heads; for their redemption draweth nigh. Luke 21 : 28. L. A. S. O FOR the peace of a perfect trust,
My loving God, in thee,
Unwavering faith that never doubts
Thou choosest best for me,—
Best, though my plans be all upset,—
Best, though my way be rough,—
Best, though my earthly store be scant;
In thee I have enough,— Best, though my health and strength be gone,
Though weary days be mine,
Shut out from much which others have;
Not my will, Lord, but thine. And e'en though disappointments come,
They, too, are best for me,
To wean me from this changing world,
And lead me nearer thee. O for the peace of perfect trust
That looks away from all,
And sees thy hand in everything,
In great events and small;
That hears thy voice—a Father's voice—
Directing for the best,
O for the peace of a perfect trust,
A heart with thee at rest.
— Selected. Beware of Fanciful Doctrines
By Ellen G. White
I HAVE been instructed to say that it is not new and fanciful doctrines which the people of God need. They do not need suppositions, which can not be sustained by the Word of God. They need the testimony of men who know the truth, men who understand and obey the charge given to Timothy: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.” 2 Tim. 4:2-5. In some instances men have been turned away from the truth to listen to fables. Efforts were made to set right those thus deceived, but some had drunk so deeply from the polluted fountain, and had become so impregnated with false impressions, that it was impossible to undeceive them. They had come to believe that it was more profitable to eat of the food offered in the strange doctrines presented, than to eat of the food contained in the Word of God. Brethren, look well to the character of your religion. Do not forget that Christ is to be your pattern in all things. You may be sure that his religion is not a sensational religion. A religion of this kind I learned to dread in my very earliest experience in the cause of present truth. I was at that time, before I was seventeen years old, bidden to warn those who were cherishing fanciful ideas, and who declared that their strange movements were inspired of God. In New Hampshire there were those who were active in disseminating false ideas in regard to God. Light was given me that these men were making the truth of no effect by their ideas, some of which led to free-lovism. I was shown that these men were seducing souls by presenting speculative theories regarding God. I went to the place where they were working, and opened before them what they were doing. The Lord gave me strength to lay plainly before them the danger of their course. Among other views, they held that those once sanctified could not sin, and this they were presenting as gospel food. Their false theories, with their burden of deceptive influence, were working great harm to themselves and to others. They were gaining a spiritualistic power over those who could not see the evil of these beautifully clothed theories. Great evils had already resulted. The doctrine that all were holy had led to the belief that the affections of the sanctified were never in danger of leading astray. The result of this belief was the fulfilment of the evil desires of hearts which, though professedly sanctified, were far from purity of thought and practise. This is only one of the instances in which I was called upon to rebuke those who were presenting the doctrine of an impersonal god diffused through nature, and the doctrine of holy flesh. In the future, truth will be counterfeited by the precepts of men. Deceptive theories will be presented as safe doctrines. False science is one of the agencies that Satan used in the heavenly courts, and it is used by him to-day. The false assertions that he made to the angels, his subtle scientific theories, led many of them from loyalty. And, having lost their place in heaven, they prepared temptations for our first parents. Adam and Eve yielded to the enemy, and by their disobedience, humanity was estranged from God, and the earth was separated from heaven. Christ pledged himself to bridge the gulf that sin had made. Thus he became the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He shows us the path that leads to heaven, and promises to impart his efficiency to every one who believes on him. He came to our world to reveal, not a mixture of truth and error, but the pure truth of God. All error is misleading, even though clothed with garments of heavenly beauty. The character and power of God are revealed by the work of his hands. In the natural world are to be seen evidences of the love and goodness of God. These tokens are given to call attention from nature to nature’s God, that his “eternal power and Godhead” may be understood. Pantheistic theories are not sustained by the Word of God. The light of his truth shows that these theories are soul-destroying agencies. Darkness is their element, sensuality their sphere. They gratify the natural heart, and give leeway to inclination. Separation from God is the result of accepting them. Christ calls upon his people to believe and practise his Word. Those who receive and assimilate this Word, making it a part of every action, of every attribute of character, will grow strong in the strength of God. It will be seen that their faith is of heavenly origin. Before angels and before men, they will stand as those who have strong, consistent Christian characters. They will not wander into strange paths. Their minds will not turn to a religion of sentimentalism and excitement. I beseech those who are laboring for God not to accept the spurious for the genuine. We have a whole Bible full of the most precious truth. We have no need for supposition or false excitement. In the golden center of truth, as presented in Christ’s teachings, we have that which will convict and convert souls. Present in the simplicity of Christ the truths that he came to this world to proclaim, and the power of your message will make itself felt. Do not present theories or tests that have no foundation in the Bible. We have grand, solemn tests to present. “It is written” is the test that must be brought home to every one. Walk firmly, decidedly, your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. God has not laid upon any one the burden of encouraging an appetite for strange, odd doctrines and theories. My brethren, keep these things out of your teaching. Do not allow them to enter into your experience. Do not let your life-work be marred by them. The minds of the Jewish teachers were filled with maxims and suppositions. They interpreted the Word to mean that which God never designed it to mean, enforcing their oddities on the common people. A warning against such teaching is found in Paul’s letter to the Colossians. The apostle declares that the hearts of the believers were to be “knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And this I say,” he continues, “lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. . . . As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him, rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.” Col. 2:2-10. I am instructed to say to our people, Let us follow Christ. We may safely discard all ideas that are not included in10 his teaching. I appeal to our ministers to be sure that their feet are placed on the platform of eternal truth. Beware how you follow impulse, calling it the Holy Spirit. Some are in danger in this respect. I call upon them to be sound in the faith, able to give every one who asks a reason of the hope that is in them. Into the hearts of many who have been long in the truth there has entered a hard, judicial spirit. They are sharp, critical, fault-finding. They have climbed into the judgment seat to pronounce sentence on those who do not meet their ideas. God calls upon them to come down, and bow before him in repentance, confessing their sins. He says to them, ‘I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.’ Rev. 2: 4, 5. They are striving for the first place, and by their words and acts they make many hearts sore. Against this spirit, and against the false religion of sentimentalism, which is equally dangerous, I bear my warning. Take heed, brethren and sisters. Who is your leader — Christ, or the angel who fell from heaven? Are you sound in the faith? My prayer for you all is that God would grant you ‘according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.’ Eph. 3: 16-19. F. D. STARR
By F. D. Starr
Perhaps a little of my experience in the matter of the transferring of stock in the Review and Herald Office from the old organization to the new, may be of interest to some who are also concerned in this business. When asked, last summer, to transfer my stock, it seemed to me that it was out of proportion for me to hold as many shares as I did, while many others held so few, that it would be proper for me to withdraw a part of my threescore and ten shares, and invest the money elsewhere. A scripture found in 2 Cor. 8: 14—“By an equality”—helped my mind very much in this matter; and I decided that to equalize the thing, I would draw out a large share of what I had actually paid in from twenty to thirty and more years ago. I had no thought of touching the increase that had accrued, however, as that had cost me nothing. I thought I could make a good use of it for myself. I felt quite happy over my decision, but it was a suspicious sort of happiness that seemed to be something new to me, and I was a little afraid of it; then, too, I did not exactly like the idea of withdrawing the money when I remembered how much pleasure and the blessing of God I had received in pledging and paying the same. But I decided that I would take it out of the Review and Herald, and invest it in some of our other institutions. But matters began to assume what seemed to me a threatening aspect, reminding me of the experience of Moses when death was about to befall him on account of neglected duty, as recorded in Ex. 4: 24. This text was forcibly impressed upon my mind from day to day: “Ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad” (Eze. 13: 22), and I thought of our brethren in responsible positions at Washington and elsewhere who were saddened by the delay manifested by such as I, who were tardy about sending in their transfer of stock in God’s great instrumentality for carrying on his work in the earth. I forthwith signed the document for the transfer of my entire stock, and sent it in, thereby bringing my mind rest and peace, and happiness that was not of the suspicious kind. It is gratifying to know that so many have been prompt in transferring their stock, but if there are any who are still delaying, and thinking to draw out their money to use for themselves, may they stop and think twice before they do it; and if thinking about taking it out to put into some other branch of the cause, think at least once, and think seriously, too. Let us help other branches of the cause, but let us not draw from this one in order to do so. Shall not the mother institution that has assisted so many other enterprises in this work be sustained in this critical time, especially after the great misfortune of one year ago? This is not intended as a plea for the mother association, as though, like an aged pauper, she had been sent “over the hill to the poorhouse.” By no means. Neither, on the other hand, has she entered the capital of the nation to share, like the ambitious church of former times, the throne of civil power. No, but the God who located Moses by the side of the throne of Egypt, who sent Joseph and Daniel to the inner circle of kingly courts, and brought John the Baptist into intimate association with King Herod, designs that his work shall have like advantage to make itself widely known to-day. Shall we not all show a deep and tangible interest in this matter? I still believe in, and plead for, Scriptural equality, but this equality is not to be brought about by our having less investment in the publishing work, but by scores and hundreds making new and larger investments. Do we not believe by this time that the hand that is so often stretched out to heal and save, is likewise betimes stretched out to punish? What Bible reader can doubt it? Pharaoh of old had to be reminded of this ten times over in a very severe manner, and then he was not permanently convinced. Let us learn more easily. I believe I have looked at this matter, in my experience, from both sides, and I feel concerned for any who may do what I felt so strongly inclined to do. Thank God for setting us right in this thing. G. B. THOMPSON
By G. B. Thompson
DID you ever feel in an hour of trial as though you were forsaken of God? When darkness has shut in your soul, and, as in Paul’s experience when tossed on the raging billows of the Mediterranean Sea, “neither sun nor stars in many days appeared,” did you ever feel as though God was a long distance away? When disappointment or sorrow has cast a gloomy shadow over your soul, has the enemy suggested that the Saviour had left you, forsaken you, abandoned you to his power. Well, weary soul, remember that Jesus has felt the same, and knows how to help you. When on the cross, crushed beneath the sins of the world, bearing the grief and sorrow of ruined souls, mocked by those whom he came to save, forsaken by his own disciples, he felt as you and I have felt. It seemed to him as if his Father had left him, and from his distressed and anguished soul was wrung the agonizing cry, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” His pitying, suffering soul felt as we have felt. He had taken our place, and was suffering in our stead. But was he forsaken?—No, indeed. “In that thick darkness God’s presence was hidden. He makes darkness his pavilion, and conceals his glory from human eyes. God and his holy angels were beside the cross. The Father was with his Son. Yet his presence was not revealed. Had his glory flashed forth from the cloud, every human beholder would have been destroyed. And in that dreadful hour Christ was not to be comforted with the Father’s presence. He trod the wine-press alone, and of the people there was none with him.”—“Desire of Ages,” page 753. There is encouragement for us in this. When almost in despair, hanging helpless on the cross, feeling forsaken of all, he is even then near us. As the Father and angels stood by the side of the cross while Jesus was hanging upon it, feeling forsaken even of his Father, so Jesus and holy angels are by our side to help and cheer us. Let us take courage then. But you say, It seems so dark at times. Yes, I know. Yet the rainbow of promise is in the cloud. In “Testimonies for the Church,” No. 31, page 211, we read: “The darkness which will then [if we have faith] rest upon our pathway must not discourage or drive us to despair. It is the veil with which God covers his glory when he comes to impart rich blessings.” How many, many times when the way seemed dark, and circumstances beyond our control have cast a gloom over the soul, we have murmured and complained, tempted to think that we were forsaken even by our Lord, little realizing that, wrapped in the thick darkness, he had come especially near to us to impart a rich blessing. Jesus has promised never to leave us. Heb. 13: 5. A. E. LEMON, M. D
By A. E. Lemon, M. D.
The temple of God is the body of Christ. John 2:21. And we become the temple of God only as we partake of Christ, and become “members of his body.” Eph. 5:30. Now, does the term “temple,” as applied to the Christian, mean the physical body, or the soul, or the whole individual? “Your body is the temple.” 1 Cor. 6:19. And so some might think that the physical, fleshly body, of which the stomach is a most important member, constitutes the temple. But let us turn on the search-light of Scripture. The temple is God’s dwelling-place. 2 Cor. 6:16. But where does Christ dwell? “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.” Eph. 3:17. The heart is the mind, the intellect. “With the heart man believeth unto righteousness.” Rom. 10:10; Heb. 10:16. But since the “body is the temple,” and since God dwells in the mind, it follows that the whole individual is the temple of God. “Ye are the temple.” We have ceased to believe that the soul is immortal, but it is hard for us to get away from the rest of Plato’s heathen doctrine that the soul is an entity in itself apart from the body. In the beginning of the Bible God gives an illustrated definition of the soul. He “formed man out of the dust.” He made his bones, the framework; his muscles, the working part; his nerves, the feeling part; and his brain, the thinking part. All these parts he put together into one complete, harmonious, indivisible whole. Into this completely formed masterpiece of his handiwork he breathed the breath of life. It does not say that he put his spirit into him, or that he put a soul into him; but that he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Thus man stood before his Maker, a living, thinking, working being. And what did God call this complete being? A body and a soul?—No. He called him a soul, a living soul. Gen. 2:7. So let us learn to put away the old heathen notion, and look upon the whole individual, the whole being, as the soul. And so the whole man, not a body alone nor a soul as separate from the body, but the complete being, is the temple of God. While we as individuals may become righteous by faith in Christ, and may become holy by the presence in us of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:11), our flesh, the matter of which we are composed, and which is constantly changing, is not holy, and nothing that we can ever do will make it holy. And while the care of the body is a work by no means to be neglected, yet we must remember that “flesh and blood can not inherit the kingdom of God.” 1 Cor. 15:50. If we expect to prepare ourselves, our body temples, for translation, by our own works in eating or drinking or dressing, are we not making the mistake the Galatians did? “Having begun in the Spirit, are we now made perfect by the flesh?” It is our human tendency to try to do for ourselves what only Christ can do for us. But we must learn the lesson that Christ is all in all. He, and not we ourselves, is the builder of the temple. We must yield our hearts fully to him, so that he can “dwell in our hearts by faith.” And so long as we are fully submissive to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, just so long we shall be kept by that power, as holy temples unto the Lord.