Earlier text: DEATH OR LIFE? WHICH?The Curse of Drunkenness.
By Ellen G. White
WOE unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink; which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust; because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.” Notwithstanding thousands of years of experience and progress, the same dark blot that stained the first pages of history remains to disfigure our modern civilization. Drunkenness, with all its woe, is found wherever we go. The resolve to turn God’s blessings into a curse was formed in the councils of the enemy, and by him insinuated into the minds of human beings under his control. He has laid his plans with subtlety and craft. Close by our doors are his death-traps. On the corner of almost every street in our large cities is a saloon, made as attractive as possible, to tempt the weak and unwary. The command, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,” places on man the responsibility of being his brother’s keeper, not his destroyer; of leading him to God, not away from God. But men who occupy high positions of trust in the world, who have pledged themselves to work for the good of the people, violate the principles of right by licensing the sale of that which they know to be a deadly evil. Under the bewitching power of temptation, man indulges an appetite that knows no restraint, is subject to no control. With trembling eagerness, he seizes the glass held out to him by the liquor-seller, and one taste sweeps away every good resolution. He sells his reason for a glass of rum; he is unable to distinguish between right and wrong; cruelty and murder take possession of his soul; utterly unconscious of his actions, he lifts his hand to do a deed from which, in his sober moments, he would shrink with horror. He is arrested, and those who legalized the sale of that which changed him from a sane man into a madman, are now called upon to pass sentence upon him. He is sent to prison, leaving behind him, very likely, a wife and children to wrestle with poverty and hardship. Let men think seriously of these things; let them beware lest they have the blood of their fellow-men on their hands. There is a higher tribunal than the tribunals of earth—a tribunal before which every man must stand to answer for the deeds done in the body. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land; but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall5be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers. Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water; thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves; every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards; they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.” “The destruction of the transgressors and the sinners shall be together; and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed. For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.” In some cities there are grounds, made attractive by flowers and music, in which all kinds of intoxicating liquors are sold. The time will come when the prophecy shall be fulfilled, “Ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water. And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.” The Lord says to liquor-dealers, “Your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.” On the books of heaven, the liquor-dealer is charged with the sins that those to whom he sold liquor were led to commit while under its influence. Look at the drunkard, you who place the bottle to your neighbor’s lips. Look well at your work. That man gave you money, and in return you gave him that which placed him lower than the beasts. The luster has gone from his eye; his brain is paralyzed; and his muscles left without control. Reeling from side to side, he staggers along the street, a specimen of your handiwork. If drunkenness were not so common, the indignation of the bystanders would be excited, and steps would be taken to stop the sale of liquor. A demon-power is at work in our world, sowing seeds which spring up and yield an abundant harvest. At a railway station a wrong signal is given, there is a collision, and many lives are lost. And when investigation is made, it is found that the one whose work it was to give the signal, had been drinking. A vessel, freighted with precious souls, goes down at sea; and from the survivors it is learned that at the time of the accident those in charge of the vessel were intoxicated. The terrible results of drunkenness,—the accidents, the suffering of women and children, the revolting crimes committed, the transmission of evil from generation to generation,—are traced by God to the men in positions of power, who could do much to remedy the evil. It is their duty to employ every legitimate means for putting an end to the liquor traffic. The drunkard is a slave to habit; but instead of coming to his relief, instead of breaking the chains that bind him, his fellow-men continue to legalize the sale of that which makes him what he is. Only Satan could so harden the heart. Men see their fellow-men sinking deeper and deeper in degradation, yet they make no effort to help them, no effort to place temptation out of their reach. Under the sanction of the law, the infamous traffic goes on, and men fall lower and lower. What would we think of men who could watch a shipwreck without making any effort to save those on board? But even more hardhearted are those who uphold the traffic that makes men drunkards. A LIGHT-FILLED RELIGION.
By Edison Driver
Like a lighthouse on a dangerous shore, religion, to be of value, must shine out clear and bold, declaring itself for what it professes to be. Christ said: “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill can not be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.” Matt. 5:14-16. That was His standard for religion. It must be a light, burning in vivid contrast to the darkness around it. When I come out of darkness into a room where a candle is burning, the very first thing that attracts my eyes is the light. My eyes see it, my brain recognizes it, and I need no logic or deep reasoning to persuade myself that it is light. Christ has seen fit to compare His Gospel to just such a light as that. By Isaiah He calls to His people, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. … His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.” Isa. 60:1-3. Moreover, His own life was a living light; for “in Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” There was only one thing that could make Christ a light, and that was life. The shadow of death hung heavy, and in that shadow only life could shine, for life was opposed to death, as light is opposed to darkness. Therefore Jesus “came that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” And it was in that more abundant life—in the life He gave the sorrowful, the sick, the maimed, the weak, the blind, and the dead—that men saw the light of God’s love; “for God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Thus the very essence and center of the Gospel is restoration to life, and life more abundant! That is the only kind of light that has power in it to shine! Such was the light that shone forth from Christ. Yet it was not His life; for He declared: “Of Mine own self I can do nothing.” “The Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works.” It was actually God who thought and spoke and acted, and it was actually God’s thoughts and words and actions that men saw in Christ, and Christ could say, “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father!” But without that Father living and working in Him, He could have done nothing. No more can we, except He live in us, and manifest Himself. That is just what Christ made possible by His great at-one-ment. He said, “I and My Father are one,” and for His disciples He prayed, “That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one; I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them as Thou hast loved Me.” John 17:21-23. Thus has He opened the way for us to have Him living in us as the Father lived in Him, so that it is possible for us to say with Paul, “I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God.” Through Christ’s life and presence in us, we are to give to the world the same light that He gave, and in the same way. Our mission to our fellows is not to show them what poor weak flesh can do when filled with a theory of religion; but rather to show them that Christ’s life working in us will conquer death and sin, and all their evil fruits, as light dispels darkness. Such a religion will have the same effect that it had when it was preached by the apostles. It is just because we are so far from this true center of the Gospel that so little real light is seen among religions. God’s message of love is the gift of Christ’s life—nothing less, and “the just shall live by faith” is but another statement of the same great truth. Looking backward for a moment, we see that God’s purpose for Israel was a missionary purpose. He set that nation in Palestine, in the very arms of three great continents, and He said, “I will not rest until her righteousness go forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burneth. And the nations shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory.” Isa. 62:1, 2. “For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.” Zech. 2:5.6 Thus the light of God’s life would shine out from His very presence in His people. But, after many backslidings, troubles, and defeats, brought about by their unbelief, Israel added to their evil another evil. They said, “We will have a king over us; that we also may be like all the nations.” 1 Sam. 8:19, 20. They lost sight of the great central truth of their religion, that they were to live by a faith that would bring God’s life right into them, and make them different from the other nations. O, how sadly we read of their defeats and distresses as they put their trust in princes and in the sons of men, in whom there is no help. How far short they fell of the standard God had set! The light of the world grew dim, and only a few stars (Hebrews 11) shone through the gloom, to light earth’s weary pilgrims on their way. Still the land was filled with scribes and Pharisees, whose “deep religious piety” has been a by-word for powerless religion ever since. Then came “this dark world’s Light,” and He brought us back to the central idea again, showing us, both in His own life and in His teachings, that “the just shall live by faith.” Following Him were the disciples and apostles, who could all say with Paul, “Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” Gal. 2:20. Thus their lives were manifestations of God’s life in its fullest sense, and while they held to this principle, “living by faith,” the Gospel was a drawing and growing power. But deceivers came in, who taught “not that Christ is come in the flesh” (2 John 7), and men drifted away from the truth “Christ liveth in me.” That was light; and when it was gone, there came on that dark night of error that history calls the Dark Ages. With the sixteenth century came the Reformation, and lo, God gave Luther the old message again. “As he was in his cell, reading over the epistle to the Romans, he came to the word, ‘The just shall live by faith.’ He stopped, and from that time that simple text, says the historian, became the inspiration and the power of the Reformation.” But sad to say, men came in again who misunderstood the truth, feared to take it for its wonderful worth, “interpreted it and explained it” each as he himself saw it—anything to leave the actual power of Christ’s life out of it—till weakness, confusion, and uncertainty filled the world, and that is where we are to-day. We are weak when we ought to be strong, dark when we ought to be light, lukewarm when we ought to be burning with the sin-consuming fire of our God. But our Father is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. His love for men has not grown cold with the march of the centuries. His Gospel has not yet done its work in the earth. The message of infinite love is still life—Christ’s complete and perfect life. O, may God give us grace to receive that divine message in His fulness, through His Spirit, that His own life, which is the only light, may be seen in the earth now as it was seen nineteen hundred years ago. EDISON DRIVER. MORE THAN A MOTHER'S LOVE.
By J. O. Beard
O, TENDER the throb of a mother's warm breast
As she softly caresses the babe in her arms;
And how earnestly she, in this world of unrest,
In its helplessness shields it and calms its alarms. With what rapturous joy does that fond mother's heart
Watch that bud of her life, in its sweetness, unfold;
Its innocent prattle and each childish art
Are priceless to her, yea, more precious than gold. How enduring a true mother's love, and how strong,
There is none in this world but a mother may know;
Tho her child wander far, into paths that are wrong,
Yet her prayers ever follow where'er he may go Tho the world may despise him and cast out his name,
Tho his hands may drip red from the deeds he has done,
Yet the love of her sad, broken heart is the same;
Every throb of that heart softly says, “He's my son.” Be thou glad, sinful soul, at the message I bring
Of a love that exceeds e'en a mother's fond love;
'Tis the message, to thee, that on swift angel wing
Was sent down to this earth, from our Father above. “I have loved with a love everlasting,” says He,
“On the palms of My hands have I graven thy name;”
“Tho the love of a mother may fail her, ‘Yet thee I will never forsake,’ I am ever the same.” “With such love have I loved that My Son I have sent—
Mine only begotten, the Son of My love—
And with Him all the riches of heaven I’ve spent
That the depths of My love unto thee I might prove.” And the light from God's throne flooded Bethlehem's plain,
While the shepherds with rapture the glad tidings heard;
And the angels' grand anthem, with sweetest refrain,
Rolled upward to heaven in praise of their Lord. Trust that love, sinful soul, cast thyself on His care;
He to thee will give cleansing and pardon and peace;
He will make thee than gold from old Ophir more fair,
And will take thee where sin shall forevermore cease. Trust that love, and thy soul shall be flooded with light
Like the shepherds that watched on far Bethlehem's slope;
And the song of God's love that entranced them that night
Shall entrance thee, and thrill thee, and fill thee with hope. Fort Dodge, Iowa. J. O. BEARD. THE LAW NOT THE OLD COVENANT.
By G.
MEN who contend that the law of God is the “old covenant” always do so with a purpose to set aside the law and make it of no effect. It is a last-resort argument that the law is done away, a position essential to the evasion of the Sabbath enjoined in the law. But like all other arguments to that end, it over-reaches itself. If the law of God is the old covenant, it is also the new covenant; for under the new covenant (Jer. 31:31-33) the law is written in the hearts of His people. But the old covenant was not the law itself; it was, on Israel’s part, an agreement to obey the law, and on God’s part, to make them a peculiar treasure. Ex. 19:5-8. But Israel broke their part of the agreement, or covenant, by breaking the law, and the literal seed eventually lost the blessing as a result of their failure. This old covenant was based on their promise, as the strength of a chain is tested by its weakest link. But the new covenant is based on the promises of God, there being no human promise in it. Therefore it is established on “better promises,” and is a “better covenant.” Heb. 8:6. But the new covenant pertains to the same unchangeable law. The only feature of the old covenant not incorporated in215the new is the fallible promise of the people. That made it a national promise—a kind of “Christian nation” attempt at keeping the law of God. It was a national covenant, and the nation utterly failed. But the new, or spiritual, covenant is an individual matter. The believer does not depend upon his own strength; his obedience is the obedience of faith in the power of Christ, who kept the law Himself, and imparts His Spirit to all who accept His help by faith. But there is no change in the law: the law of ten commandments is called God’s covenant; but it is a covenant which He has commanded in all ages, and man has no alternative; else Christ would not have needed to satisfy it by His own death in order that transgressors might be pardoned and saved. There is a scientific way of finding out the character of a fruit tree. One may examine every feature of every leaf according to the directions given in a book of botany. Every part of the tree may be subjected to examination. The bark, the fiber, the sap, the roots are all noted, and the results tabulated. The tree may then be named and classed according to the book. Another way is to taste the fruit. One who knows nothing about botany can tell the difference between a crab tree and a tree of fine, delicious fruit. There is no argument against experience. So the Gospel puts the proof of itself within reach of every one. The Greek and Hebrew lexicon and grammar are good for those who know how to use them. But they will not give much help in the effort to find out God. They will not open the spiritual element in the Word of God. This Gospel is a great fruit-bearing tree. Taste the fruit, and see whether it is good. Many have tried it in this way, and they come up from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south, and without one dissenting voice they bear witness that it is the power of God unto salvation. No man can walk with God and walk in darkness. He does not merely wish or hope that he may enjoy fellowship with God. He speaks with humility and boldness, saying:— “I heard the glad Gospel of good will to men;
I read, ‘Whosoever,’ again and again;
I said to my soul, ‘Can that promise be thine?’
I then began hoping that Jesus was mine.
“O mercy surprising, He saves even me;
‘Thy portion forever,’ He says, ‘I will be;’
On His word I am resting—assurance, divine—
I’m hoping no longer; I know He is mine.” If there is one grace above another that commends the true Christian it is that of humility. By this we do not mean servility, which is often mistaken for humility. True humility is lowliness, including meekness and modesty. It is opposed to pride, haughtiness, arrogance, assumption. The truly humble man has seen God; therefore he possesses a low opinion of his own merit, and a deep sense of his unworthiness in God’s sight. He will never be boasting of his accomplishments, his possessions, his deeds, or his opinions. Humility lies at the very foundation of Christian character. “Lowliness is the base of every virtue, and he who goes the lowest, builds the safest.” Its root, its substratum, is the fear of the Lord, and “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” It will therefore learn of God and earnestly seek his instruction and holiness, but ever humbly; for God is infinite, and man is finite. Christian humility is not servile. It does not submit to men’s opinions. It may not combat them; it may not oppose them except in modesty; it will not proudly boast that it knows a better way; but it will stand in its loyalty to God, and give to Him all the glory. Knowing the fallibility of the human, the humble man depends on God. Knowing the falsity of an uninstructed conscience, he depends on God’s unfailing Word. Knowing his own sin, he depends on the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. Knowing his own weakness, he earnestly and constantly seeks God for strength. If there is one grace more than another to be admired in a young man or young woman, it is humility, true modesty. Its adorning is more beautiful than that of gold or gems or costly array. It will commend one to every honorable man of business, when the “Smart Aleck,” the “Know-it-all,” is passed by. “Before honor is humility;” “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up;” “He that humbleth himself shall be exalted,” and “every one that exalteth himself shall be abased,” are all expressions of Holy Writ. “God hath sworn to lift on high,
Who sinks himself by true humility.” Humility is not natural to the carnal heart. But it is easy to acquire it and easy to keep it if we will do but one thing, and that is keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus Christ. Spurgeon has well said, “The higher a man is in grace, the lower he will be in his own esteem.” “Nearest the throne itself must be
The footstool of humility.” IDLE WORDS.
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
God’s word is constructive; it creates. “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.” “For He spake, and it was.” Ps. 33:6, 9. Here, again, we see that right language is not the mere naming of things, but the utterance—the bringing forth—of that which is within. A real word is a thing, as indicated by the Hebrew, which has but one term for both words. The real word has substance, for Christ upholds all things “by the word of His power.” Heb. 1:3. The word of God works in all who receive it (1 Thess. 2:13), and it works to build up. Acts 20:32. This, taken with the truth that God has given us His word (for “the word is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart”), makes plain to us the justice of this statement: “I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Matt. 12:36, 37. The word “idle” in this passage is the same as that in Matt. 20:6, addressed to the laborers standing in the market-place, “Why stand ye here all the day idle?” They were not doing anything. So for every word that we speak, which does not do something, we shall be called to account in the Judgment. The Word of God is the capital that is entrusted to us. If allowed free course it will accomplish much; but if we pervert it,—if we hinder it in its appointed mission, or use it to express our own empty ideas,—we are justly chargeable with misappropriating funds. Can we not from this brief study see what a responsibility rests upon us in being able to talk? What a terrible thing to abuse the precious gift! Our part is to “study to be quiet,” for that is an art, and to speak only as the Spirit within gives utterance. “Turn you at My reproof,” says the Lord; “behold, I will pour out My Spirit unto you, I will make known My words unto you.” Prov. 1:23. Thus only can we be true witnesses for Christ (Acts 1:8); for “He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God; for God giveth not the Spirit by measure.” John 3:34. ETERNAL LIFE A GIFT OF GOD.
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Rom. 6:23. So the apostle concludes one of his wonderful arguments. Therefore it follows that man has not eternal life by nature, neither can he earn it or buy it with effort or money. And yet in one or both of these ways Satan has deceived the mass of mankind. He has made one class believe that they were not alone in possession of eternal life, but of immortality; that they could not die, whatever their conduct, condition, or character. To those who thus teach, the prophet truly said: “With lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising them life.” Eze. 13:22. “Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” James 1:15. Many of those deceived into believing themselves immortal, also believe in the merit of good works, and hope to earn eternal life by well doing. This class is well represented by the young ruler—sincere and noble, doubtless—who came to Jesus with the question: “Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” Matt. 19:16. He thought that the greatly-desired thing must be purchased, earned. He had been a moral young man all his life. He had outwardly observed the commands of the law; he had performed the traditions of the rabbis, but he was not satisfied. If a penance had been imposed, or a pilgrimage suggested, he might have performed either, as have many deceived souls since. To his mind he must do something. Not so did Jesus answer him. Thus He replied: “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” He did not say, as some would understand, “If you keep the commandments, you will obtain life; life will be given you as the reward of your obedience.” The Master does not put it that way. “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” With Him [God] “is the fountain of life.” Ps. 36:9. From that Fountain, pulsing to all parts of the universe of God by the heart-beats of Infinite Love, flow the streams of life. Like the river of primeval Eden, like the river of life in the new earth, God’s life flows from the great center, ever dividing, ever distributing, to all parts of His domain. These streams of life flow from the great fountain in harmony with God’s eternally unchangeable law of righteousness and truth; for “the Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works.” Ps. 145:17. “Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Thy law is the truth.” “All Thy commandments are righteousness.” Ps. 119:142, 172. Therefore His life flows only in holy channels. He who is not in harmony with the righteousness of God, is “alienated from the life of God.” Eph. 4:18. He who is in the way of God’s commandments—God’s righteousness—is where he may have, will have, the eternal life of God. For “in the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death.” Prov. 12:28. So Jesus did not say, “Keep the commandments and earn eternal life,” but, “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments,” “be keeping the commandments” (Rotherham); abide in the righteousness and abide in the life. Only in the channel of His righteousness flows His life; only by entering that channel may life be obtained. To put it another way: God’s righteousness is His holy will. Neither to argue nor prove it; we could conceive of nothing else. See Ps. 40:7, 8. So Christ declares: “If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it be of God, or whether I speak from Myself.” John 7:17, R.V. But truly to know the teaching of Christ is to know its life power; for “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” John 6:63. And this is knowing God and Jesus Christ His Son. And “This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” John 17:3. Only those know God who are in harmony with Him. Others may know of Him; but they do not know Him. Be not deceived. Eternal life is ours only in harmony with God. That means, it must mean, absolute submission to God, absolute yielding to His whole will; the simple obedient faith of Jesus Christ. The man who sets his purpose across God’s purposes, who perverts, transgresses, God’s law by the carnal mind, makes ever God his adversary, and finds ever by his own sin God’s law a law of death. But he who in Christ Jesus yields all to do God’s will, finds the very opposite experience. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death; . . . that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.” And then “the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” Rom. 8:1–10. Here is life, abundant life, to the child of faith, not by nature, not earned, but given of God freely to all who yield to Him. O soul, leave the dark valley of death, leave it forever, and “enter into life.” CHALLENGING THE WORD.
By S.
The heartfelt declaration of the one who has learned to know God is: “Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee;” “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Ps. 119: 11, 105. The only question of such a heart is, “What does the Word say?” God’s Word was designed by Him to be the “man of our counsel.” As He is not here in person to speak for Himself, He has given this ever-living, ever-speaking Word, fully fitted to meet every need, and answer every essential query, of the heart whose desire is to know and serve the Lord. If we secure a guide to pilot us through a dangerous forest, we do not require that guide at every step to prove that he is truly guiding us to our goal. We can not require him at each step of the way to stop and prove to our satisfaction that he is a guide and not an impostor. With such a policy adopted, no traveler would ever get anywhere. To make him stop and “prove up” at each step would make it impossible for him to do anything at all for us. If Christ Himself were here in person now, He could do nothing whatever for that soul that continually refused to believe His spoken word; continually demanded that every statement which He made be submitted to a searching investigation; and in the face of continual proof, continued to demand that each new statement of divine truth from the lips of divinity must be tried in the crucible of human knowledge. If Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, then His words are truth, carrying the truth only. We could not discount His Word without discounting Him. If we declare that the Bible is not the truth, we bring a terrible charge against Him by whose inspiration holy men of God penned its sacred teachings. The whole is equal to the sum of all its parts. If Christ is the truth, then every word He uttered is the truth. If His words are part true and part false, He can not be the truth. The spring of life does not send forth both sweet water and bitter. He who would come to God must “believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” To believe that only in part, or only a part of the time, would make the coming to Him of no effect. We can not truly come to God in any such way. As we could not be continually questioning Christ’s truthfulness and be an accepted member of the household of God, neither can we be continually challenging the truth of His Word, the Bible, and be worthy, accredited, and accepted members of this household. The inhabitants of heaven could no longer question God’s truth and goodness, and could no longer consider even the possibility of Satan’s truth and goodness, when the Son of God expired on the cross. It is time now for men to take their stand with the angels of God on the side of eternal truth, and cease promulgating the possibility that God and His Word are compositions of truth and error. As long as Satan lives, he will continue to challenge God’s truth and righteousness. We are his assistants, espousers of his cause, when we do the same thing. But it is fashionable now to do it. It is fashionable to be a “higher critic;” it is the fashionable church whose vestrymen employ the expounders of the “higher criticism” to teach from under the roaring pipes of their great organ the dogmas of doubt that are filling the pews with polished forms of religion lacking the power to move a mote by prayer, to say nothing of a mountain. It is bound to be so. When we destroy faith in God’s Word, we destroy faith in Him; and without faith in Him, our religious forms are as dead as the skull of Golgotha. What does this doctrine of disbelief inculcate in reference to the Bible and its teachings? Let us answer in excerpts from an article in The Outlook of March 15:— It [the Bible] does not all stand on the same level. It is not, nor does it contain, a code of laws or doctrines to be accepted without question. . . . By taking from the Bible its absolute authority, we not only modify our belief in the historical character of certain occurrences, but we overthrow the foundation for every one of our religious beliefs. [The writer is frank, and there is no doubt whatever that that is how it would work.] . . . Nor does it follow that the Bible is no longer to be used as a source of religious teaching. It simply can no longer speak with unquestioned authority. Other nations and religions have their sacred books, which are not to be regarded as without value in broadening, deepening, confirming, or correcting that which we have learned. . . . Poor old Adam disappears, of course, but the fundamental fact remains that we come into the world with a brute and savage inheritance which must be subdued [But that “fundamental fact” does not remain; for it does not exist, if the Bible is true.] . . . The atonement likewise is seen not to be an isolated, artificial arrangement by which God agrees to a bargain fundamentally immoral, accepting the punishment of the innocent instead of that of the guilty. . . . The Bible is found to be a product of that great process of evolution which has been found to be working throughout the universe.
That is how the “higher criticism,” arm in arm with evolution, looks upon the Bible, as told by a “higher critic.” Here is his admission of what this does for those who believe it:— In all these ways God is made to seem further off from us, less personal, and less directly interested in us. We lose our familiarity of acquaintance with Him. . . . There is no longer the feeling of frantic haste to save a few souls out of countless millions from going down to endless torment; nor is there any burning desire to let every soul know of the name of Jesus in order to hasten the time of the second coming. It is not to be denied that there has been in consequence a certain cooling of the interest in foreign missions. . . . It is when we come to the question of the future life that the negative results of the higher criticism make themselves most deeply felt. Here we are of necessity beyond the realm of experience, and where once we seemed to have definite and reliable information we find ourselves left very much in the dark. . . . Science may yet tell us more, and we look to it eagerly for what it has to offer; but its results, and even its promises, are of but small extent as yet.
That is the condition in which mortal man is left when he refuses to be guided by the Guide, and begins to work out a plan of his own, through evolution and the dogmas of doubt, for his own salvation in his own way. It turns out to be, however, the scheme of the great deceiver for man’s overthrow. He has led man to think that the human brain devised it; but it is simply his same old policy in a little different setting, and with it he is sifting the world for the last time. Of course it puts God “further off from us,” and destroys our “familiarity of acquaintance with Him.” That is its design. Of course it cools our interest in foreign missions. That is its design. Of course it clouds our knowledge of the future life. That is its design. And it leads man away from Christ and into self-salvation, and consequently to eternal ruin; and that is its design. There is safer and bigger business for humanity than challenging the Word of its Maker. S. The Gospel’s Transforming Power
“The story of the triumphing power of the Gospel may be read in the life of every converted sinner. For it is plain that the truth which is making new men must inevitably make a new world.”