Earlier text: The Influx of Foreign ImmigrantsTHE GOSPEL IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.
By James White
WHEN all was lost in Adam, redemption through Jesus Christ was immediately offered; hence he is represented as the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." Rev. 13:8. In the patriarchal and Jewish ages, Christ was slain in figure. In the Christian age he is slain in fact. Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of sinners in all the ages of human probation. "Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:12. We protest, in the name of reason and revelation, against the vague heresy that the law of the Father and the gospel of the Son are opposed to each other, the one designed to take the place of the other; as if people of former dispensations were saved by the law, without the gospel, and those of the present dispensation are saved by the gospel while disregarding the moral law. It was not possible for sinful man in the ages past to secure a fitness for the inheritance of the saints in light by the divine law alone. There is no ability in law to redeem the transgressor. It is not the province of law, human or divine, to pardon the transgressor of law. The moral law is a perfect rule of action, condemning the transgressor, and holding him as such until he shall suffer the penalty. The divine law can do no more for the sinner. It is the gospel alone that offers pardon and salvation. And without the gospel of the Son of God none of the men of the patriarchal and Jewish ages could be saved. When the first sons of Adam brought their offerings to the Lord, Cain in unbelief brought of the first-fruits of the ground. But Abel, in faith of the great Sacrifice for sin to be manifested in the distant future, brought of the firstlings of his flock. Through that lamb, Abel saw the Lamb of God, the Redeemer of the world, and set his hope upon him. In the blood of that firstling, Abel saw the blood of Jesus Christ as truly as we see the dying Saviour in the broken bread and the fruit of the vine at the Lord's Supper. In these emblems we see Christ shedding his blood on the cross for our sins. Abel saw the same in the bleeding, dying firstling which he offered. "And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering; but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect." Gen. 4:4, 5. The sacred narrative states that while Abel's act of faith in the Redeemer to come, sealed his righteous character, cost him his life, and placed him at the head of the holy martyrs of Jesus, Cain's infidelity was regarded as sinful, and was the stepping-stone to the high crime of the murder of his brother, which sealed his character as a vagabond in the earth. The eleventh chapter of Hebrews places Abel at the head of the faithful worthies. Paul speaks, in these emphatic words, of his righteous act of faith in offering to the Lord in sacrifice the type of the Redeemer to come: "By faith, Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts, and by it he being dead yet speaketh." Abel laid hold of the hope that was set before him of the Redeemer to come, and in type embraced Christ. And,309 as he set the seal to his faith, in presenting before the Lord the most fitting emblem of the dying Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world, high Heaven bestowed the signal witness that he was righteous. And for six thousand years this eminent preacher of the gospel, though dead, has been speaking of his faith in Christ. We pass down the sacred record of the fallen race to Abraham, and there we find the joyful news of redemption through Jesus Christ, to be extended to the nations of the earth, proclaimed to the trusting, obedient patriarch. Paul speaks of it thus: "And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed." Gal. 3:8. The apostle here quotes from Gen. 12:3. See verse 7, chap. 13:14, 15; 17:7, 8; 26:3; 28:13, where this promise is extended to Abraham's seed. The gospel of the Son of God was proclaimed to Abraham in this promise, in that it was really a promise of Christ, as argued by the apostle in Gal. 3:16: "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ." The gospel was preached to the children of Israel in the days of Moses. In his epistle to the Hebrews, Paul states: "Unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them; but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it." Heb. 4:2. That the gospel was preached to their fathers in a former dispensation, the apostle treats as a well-known fact, and states that it was preached in his day as well as then, making it appear that the gospel of the Son of God was alike common in both the Jewish and the Christian age. He also testifies of the Hebrews in the wilderness, that they "were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and did all eat the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ." 1 Cor. 10:2-4. Christ was the leader of the children of Israel, for it was not a common angel of which the Lord said (Ex. 23:20, 21): "Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions; for my name is in him." Such language can be applied to no other than the Son of God. Christ was also with Moses in the Mount Sinai. In that last address of the holy martyr, Stephen, he bears this important testimony. The words in brackets express our convictions relative to the persons meant in Acts 7:38: "This [Moses] is he that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel [Christ] which spake to him [Moses] in the Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, who received the lively oracles to give unto us." The conclusion seems irresistible that the Son of God spoke the ten commandments from Sinai. The children of Israel were called from Egyptian servitude to a land where they would be free to serve the living God. And before they should enter that good land, it was necessary that they should be impressed with the precepts of the moral code, and also with the typical service, which was the gospel of the Son of God in figure. These were represented by the Father and the Son on Mount Sinai. But it was the Son, as mediator between God and man, who spoke the ten commandments from Mount Sinai in the hearing of Moses and the Hebrew fathers. As it is written: "There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." The eternal Father is never called an angel in the Scriptures, while what angels have done is frequently ascribed to the Lord, as they are his messengers and agents to accomplish his work. It is said of him who went before the Hebrews to deliver them, "My name is in him." In all the stupendous events of that deliverance, the mind of the Father was represented in the Son. The typical system was given to Moses by the Son of God in the Mount Sinai. Jesus Christ, the minister of the "true tabernacle," showed Moses patterns of it, and of the vessels of the heavenly sanctuary, that he might know how to form the typical. And as Moses is instructed relative to the tabernacle, even the several parts of the golden candlestick (Ex. 25:31-40), the boards and bars (chap. 26:15-30), and the altar, with its staves, pans, shovels, and other particulars (chap. 27:1-8), he is charged, as quoted by Paul (Heb. 8:5), "See that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount." The church of all the ages is the church of Jesus Christ. He is the world's only Redeemer. Those who shut themselves up to the New Testament, and have the foundation of the church laid at the resurrection, or at Pentecost, are building too narrow a structure. The apostle states the foundation of the true church in these words: "Now, therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone." Eph. 2:19, 20. When the angel said to John in Patmos, "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy," he meant more than expositors generally suppose. His words reach far back to the days of fallen Adam, when the plan of redemption was instituted, and embrace the entire prophetic word of both Testaments.—James White. A RELIGIOUS character is the greatest of all human attainments. This it is to have Christ formed within us, the hope of glory. Jesus, the blessed Master, lived the perfect life. In him each good affection of humanity had its fullness, its permanence, its perfection. How reverend, how holy, how dear, how soul-entrancing, is that incarnate loveliness! God in him, God with us; the brightness of the Father's glory, and the express image of his person!—Dewey. PROFESSOR PREYER, in his book on "The Development of the Intellect," which is based on careful observations of the mental growth of his son and of other children, shows how a child's persistent inquisitiveness may be put to good use. He says:— The child's questioning as a means of his culture is almost universally underrated. The interest in causality that unfolds itself more and more vigorously with the learning of speech, the asking why, which is often almost unendurable to parents and educators, is fully justified, and ought not, as, unfortunately, is too often the case, to be unheeded, purposely left unanswered, purposely answered falsely. I have, from the beginning, given to my boy, to the best of my knowledge, invariably an answer to his questions, intelligible to him, and not contrary to truth, and have noticed that in consequence, at a later period, in the fifth and the sixth, and especially in the seventh year, the questions prove to be more and more intelligent, because the previous answers are retained. If, on the contrary, we do not answer at all, or if we answer with jests and false tales, it is not to be wondered at that a child, even of superior endowments, puts foolish and absurd questions, and thinks illogically—a thing that rarely occurs where questions are rightly answered, and fitting instruction is given, to say nothing of rearing the child to superstition. "WE need to watch our tendencies. They may be leading us in right directions, but also in wrong ones, and we should therefore be careful to know whither we are moving. Are we drawing nearer God and dwelling in the love with which he surrounds us?" JESUS CHRIST is the Christian's only complete and perfect model. Other men may be, humanly speaking, perfect; they may be, locally, models of benevolence, piety, and humility; but, compared to Christ, they are as the shadow to the substance, darkness to light. Christ belongs to all people, and to every age. They belong to particular time and places. David never rose above the Jewish type of character. Luther was a German in all of his modes of writing and thinking, and can best be understood as a German, and Washington can never mean to other people and lands what he means to us and to our country. But Christ stands above all limitation of age, nation, or people. He was not affected by the bigotries and superstitions of his time, but towers above all local and national significance, as the pyramids above the plains of Egypt. All his words and all his actions, while they were fully adapted to the occasion which called them forth, retain their force and application undiminished to our own time. His command, "Follow me," means just as complete consecration on the part of all his professed followers to-day, as it did to his disciples when he walked and talked with them over the hills of Palestine, or through the streets of Jerusalem.—Christian Inquirer. PRINCIPLES AND PRECEPTS.
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
THE word "law" is derived from the same root as the words "lie" and "lay," and primarily has the same meaning. "A law is that which is laid, set, or fixed, like statute, constitution, from Lat. statuere."—Webster. And in harmony with this, the same authority gives as the first definition of the word "law," "A rule of order or conduct established by authority." It is a favorite saying with those who would make void the law of God while professing allegiance to his word, that the ten commandments are good, but that they are adapted only to fallen beings, and hence cannot bind angels nor redeemed saints, nor even people in this world who have been converted. Let us see how such a theory agrees with the definition of law. We will suppose that the angels are free from law, and that redeemed saints are to have a like freedom. In that case there would be nothing "laid down" for their guidance—no rule or order of conduct established by authority. In fact, there would be no authority, and each one would act independently of all the others. There would then exist in Heaven the same thing that would exist on earth if there were no law, namely, anarchy; for that means "without rule." But "God is not the author of confusion," and therefore such a state of things cannot exist in Heaven, and if not in Heaven, then of course not among the saints still on earth. The case may be stated thus: 1. When there is no law there is anarchy and confusion; there can be nothing else. 2. Confusion cannot exist among God's people, whether in Heaven or on earth. 3. Therefore, the people of God are always and everywhere subject to his law. Seeing that it will not do to claim that any beings are absolutely free from law, the enemies of the truth have invented a specious theory, with which, unfortunately, many firm believers in the law of God have been captivated. It is this: "The law," they say, "as it exists in the ten commandments, is adapted only to fallen beings. These commandments hang on the two great principles of love to God and love to man, and it was these principles alone that existed before the fall, and these alone will be the law for the redeemed." And some there are who claim that these principles are all the law there is now for Christians. We regard this theory as more dangerous than the one which claims that all law is abolished; for it is the same thing in reality, while it has the appearance of great deference to the truth of God. Let us examine it. It is utterly impossible for anyone to be guided by an abstract principle. Certain principles may have a controlling influence on our lives, but they must be embodied in definite precepts. As an illustration, we will relate a portion of a conversation which we once had with a gentleman who claimed that Christians have nothing to do with the ten commandments. The question was asked him, Is there, then, nothing for Christians to do? Answer—"Yes, they must love the Lord." Very good, but how are they to show that they love the Lord? Answer—"By doing what he tells them to do." Well, what is it that contains specific statements of what the Lord requires us to do to show our love for him? Answer—"Young man, I am older than you are." The reader will wonder, as we did, what bearing this had on the subject. It showed that the man saw that the only possible answer was, "The law of God," an answer which would not agree with his theory, hence he chose to give none. But the illustration serves to show that principles, to be obeyed, must be embodied in precepts. Says the beloved disciple: "This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments." 1 John 5:3. So when we read that the first great commandment is, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind" (Matt. 22:37), we know that it means nothing more nor less than that it is our first and highest duty to keep, both in letter and in spirit, all those commandments which define our duty to God. In no other way can we show that we love him. Suppose for a moment that a man were placed here on earth with nothing to serve as a rule of life except the statement that he must love God supremely and his neighbor as himself. He sets out with a firm determination to do his whole duty. But erelong he is found doing something which God abhors. We will suppose that he is adoring the sun and moon. When reproved for this, he might well reply, "I did not know that I was doing anything wrong; nothing was said to me about this matter. I had a feeling of love and gratitude to God, and did not know how to manifest it in any better way than by paying homage to the most glorious of his created works." By what law could the man be condemned? He could not justly be condemned, because the will of the Creator on that point had not been made known to him, and he could not reasonably be expected to know the will of God if it had not been revealed. It will be seen by a very little consideration, that to put a man on the earth with nothing but a general command to love God, and at the same time to expect him to do nothing displeasing to God, would be to assume that the man had infinite wisdom. For God is infinite; and if a man, without being told, finds out what God requires, it can only be because he can comprehend infinity. But this is an impossibility. "Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty to perfection?" No indeed; the creature that could know the mind of God any further than it was directly revealed by him, has never existed. Then since, as we have conclusively proved, there must be a law for all creatures, and since this law must be definitely expressed, and since, moreover, the whole duty of man is to love God above all things, and his neighbor as himself, we are shut up to the conclusion that the ten commandments always have been and always will be the rule of life for all created intelligences. In direct support of this, Solomon says: "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man." Eccl. 12:13. This settles the matter, at least for the present time. John also says that the love of God is to keep his commandments; but it will be our duty to love God to all eternity; therefore it will always be our duty to keep the commandments of God. And it makes it no less a duty because it becomes our highest pleasure. To the natural man, duty is irksome; the object of making him a new creature in Christ, is that it may be a pleasure for him to do his duty. Paul says that God sent his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, thus condemning sin in the flesh, in order that the "righteousness [requirements] of the law might be fulfilled in us." Rom. 8:3, 4. The object of the gospel is to make us like unto Christ, who said, "I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart." Ps. 40:8. In addition to the above, we offer the words of the prayer which Christ has commanded us to pray to God: "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven." Matt. 6:10. Now the will of God is his law. See Rom. 2:17, 18; Ps. 40:8. We are taught by this prayer, then, that when the kingdom of God is established on this earth, God's law will be kept here even as it is now kept in Heaven. And David says by inspiration, that the angels that excel in strength "do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word." Ps. 103:20. That is, they are anxious and delight to keep God's commandments. Duty is with them a pleasure. And when God's kingdom comes, we also, if permitted to become subjects of it, will delight to do God's will, and will keep all his commandments, of which "every one" "endureth forever." We shall then do perfectly what we now are (or should be) striving to do in spite of the weakness of the flesh. This subject will be continued in another article, in which we shall consider the objection that there are certain commandments of the decalogue which angels or glorified saints could not violate if they wished to, and that therefore it is absurd to suppose that obedience to those commandments is required of them. E. J. W. THE PROPER FOUNDATION OF SABBATH OBSERVANCE.
By C. P. B.
THE question of the proper basis for Sabbath observance is one about which a great deal is said nowadays; and yet it is a subject that should be free from all difficulty. In fact, there is but one reason for Sabbath observance, and that is because God requires it. It may indeed be true that man needs a weekly day of rest to meet his physical wants; but the proof is far from conclusive; and even granting all that is ever claimed in that direction, it must be admitted that one day will meet the physical wants quite as well as another. But no believer in revealed religion will admit that Sabbath-keeping consists alone in physical rest; all will insist that there are certain moral elements which are essential to true Sabbath observance. That the Sabbath was instituted before the fall, and consequently before man was subject to wearing toil as he now is, is so evident from the Scriptures that none can deny it; and it is equally plain from Isa. 66:22, 23, that it will be observed in the new earth, not for physical rest but for worship. The Sabbath commandment itself, while forbidding all work, gives no intimation that the object of the institution is for rest, but rather that it is a memorial of God's creative work. It reads: "Remember the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day, and hallowed it." Here, then, is, as all must admit, the only proper and sufficient basis or foundation for Sabbath observance; and were this commandment generally obeyed just as it reads, there would be no trouble about the reason for its observance; all the difficulty arises from the fact that another day is substituted for the one enjoined in the commandment, and of course another reason must be given for its observance. One who keeps the seventh day can, when asked to give a reason for his practice, say that he keeps it because God has so commanded; but he who keeps another day must give another reason. That is, the seventh-day311 keeper can and does quote the fourth commandment in support of his practice, but the first-day keeper cannot justly use the commandment; for there is not a single fact stated in it that is true of the first day except that it was one of the six days upon which God worked. And no one will so stultify himself as to say, "'In six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day;' and because of that fact I rest on the first day." Therefore the conclusion is unavoidable that to change the day of the Sabbath is to change the reason for keeping the day. But to change the day, and to change the reason for keeping the day, is to change the nature of the institution. Yea, more; it is to destroy the original institution and to set up another in its stead; therefore Sunday-keeping is destructive of the original Sabbath institution. But again; the fourth commandment contains no reason whatever for first-day observance; and not only so, but each fact stated therein is an argument against the practice; therefore the fourth commandment cannot be made to support the Sunday institution, and the conclusion is again inevitable, that to change the day necessarily changes the reason for keeping the day; therefore the first day of the week cannot be observed as the Sabbath in obedience to the fourth commandment. The Sabbath, we say, rests entirely upon the will of the Creator, because it is based upon facts relative to the acts of the Creator only, and is in nowise contingent upon the will or act of any creature or creatures whatever. But to base the Sabbath solely upon the will of the Creator is to clothe it with the highest morality, for obedience to the will of God is the essence of all morality; indeed, without obedience, there can be no morality. And as God does not require the observance of Sunday, and as it cannot be kept in obedience to any divine law, therefore Sunday keeping is devoid of all morality. That the observance of Sunday does not rest upon the fourth commandment, or indeed upon any divine law whatever, is freely admitted by many, even among the most zealous first-day people; for instance, the Christian at Work of January 8, 1885, said:— "The selection of Sunday, thus changing the particular day designated in the fourth commandment, was brought about by the gradual concurrence of the early Christian church, and on this basis, and on none other, does the Christian Sabbath, the first day of the week, rightly rest." But while this is a confession that the Sunday-sabbath does not rest upon the fourth commandment, but solely on the "gradual concurrence of the early Christian church," it is somewhat ambiguous as to the time of this change; but this lack of definiteness is supplied by the following from the same paper under date of February 18, 1886:— "We hear less than we used to about the apostolic origin of the present Sunday observance, and for the reason that while the Sabbath and Sabbath rest are woven into the warp and woof of Scripture, it is now seen, as it is admitted, that we must go to later than apostolic times for the establishment of Sunday observance." That is to say (and it is the truth) that not only does the Sunday institution lack the authority of the law of God, but it lacks even the example of the apostolic church; and is not only not based upon the will of God as expressed in the fourth commandment, but it is based solely upon the will and action of the church this side the days of the apostles; therefore, being found to lack the essential element of divine authority, the first day of the week is not and cannot be the Sabbath. THE WHOLE HEART.
By M. C. Wilcox
THE Lord asks of his people the whole heart. Nothing less will suffice. He freely gave his only begotten Son a ransom to save them from eternal death. He did all that he could do; and in return he asks those who have been purchased by the precious blood of Christ to give him the whole heart. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might," is the teaching of the Levitical dispensation. Deut. 6:5. No less is asked in the Christian dispensation. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment," is the teaching of our Saviour. Matt. 22:37, 38. God's plan for saving men has always been the same. Love to God is not an emotion or feeling; it is a controlling, moulding principle, born of the Spirit of God, and acting as the mainspring of all true motives. Feelings of joy and peace are realized by those who have this love; but they are the results of the exercise of that love rather than constituent and ever-present elements. Sometimes feeling departs, joy is dead, hope is well-nigh gone; but love shines still, believes God still, trusts him still. It hates sin, but loves the sinner, and would save him, not in sin, in man's way, but from sin, in God's way. True and whole-hearted love to God does not rest in word alone, but in deed as well. It does not depend upon a misguided conscience; it is in accordance with truth. 1 John 3:18. If it is a whole-hearted love, there will result from it a whole-hearted service. It will count God's honor and the integrity of his righteous law above all things else. All affections and desires will be brought into submission to the one great principle, love to God. It will not question the wisdom of his plans, nor will any of his commands be grievous; but it will co-operate with him in the salvation of souls, and render cheerful obedience to all his requirements. It will not seek excuses from duty in dishonest interpretations of Scripture, nor seek justification of unlawful conduct from unwarrantable inferences drawn from the word of God. It will not plead, "I pray thee have me excused" from any duty, however irksome or humbling it may be to the proud heart; but it will ask the question, with full purpose to obey, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" It will not only lead to obedience to God, but it will lead to a willing obedience. If we possess this love, we will not be content with doing for God just the duties that are brought before us; but we will seek to know his whole will. In short, it will lead to the devoting of all our powers to God. Our words, our acts, our deeds, our means, our talents, will be used to glorify him and advance his cause. Obedience to God and his holy will will be the first object in life to a heart which truly trusts God. Bonds and affliction will not move it; life itself will not be counted dear. Instead of shirking the cross to avoid suffering, it will rejoice that it is "accounted worthy to suffer shame for his name." Such is the love which the Lord asks of those whom the blood of his Son has purchased—a love that "beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." This love was perfectly exemplified in the life of our Saviour. He could say at the close of his earth-life, with all confidence, "I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do." John 17:4. The examples of faithful men of God in the past manifest the same principles. Love to God manifested itself in obedience to all God's commandments. Says the psalmist: "O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day." Ps. 119:97. And this love led him to obey God. He says, "I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies. I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments." Verses 59, 60. The apostle Paul, in harmony with the psalmist, exclaims, "I delight in the law of God after the inward man." Rom. 7:22. In the next chapter he states that those who walk in the Spirit are fulfilling the righteousness of the law. Rom. 8:4. Those who do not delight in the law, or walk in obedience to its just and holy claims, have not been transformed by the grace of Christ, but are carnally minded. Verse 7. Says the beloved apostle, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not grievous." Here are tests, dear reader, which point out infallibly the true condition of the heart. Are God's commandments grievous, burdensome, irksome? Does the cross cause you to murmur? Is the way too straight? Then the heart is carnal; the love and sacrifice of Christ are but little appreciated. But if, with a heart cleansed by divine grace, you delight to do his will, and are willing to forsake all for him, if you follow not in your own ways, but willingly in his ways, then you can, with confidence in him and faith in his Son, "have boldness in the day of Judgment." May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ develop such love in the hearts of those who shall peruse these lines.
M. C. W. "THE earth, O Lord, is full of thy mercy; teach me thy statutes." Ps. 119: 64. TRUE CHRISTIAN UNITY.
By M. C. W.
TRUE Christian unity comes not by seeking for it. There is much that is called such, there are many preachers and religious optimists who become hoarse in its praise, as manifested in the tendency of the religious world at the present time. But to us it seems a surface work, largely dictated by policy and selfish ends. We are aware that this is a grave charge, but, seriously, fellow-Christians, is it not so? Union with God is the first step. Without this there can be no true union. Union with God must precede true Christian unity. This union comes only through repentance and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and continued obedience to the teachings of Holy Writ. So prays our Saviour, "Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth." This is primary. What follows is an inevitable sequence: "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." Conversion to God and his truth comes first; union with our brethren necessarily follows. Union of churches or professed Christians not based on union with God will always prove abortive. But if those who professed Christ possessed a living connection with him, if they had known the depths of thorough repentance for sins, if they had experienced the power of the grace of Christ in the forgiveness and cleansing of sin, if they possessed the willingly obedient heart which would inquire, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" instead of, "What duties and obligations may I shun and still be saved?"—if these were the characteristics and motives of the professed Christians of to-day, no power could prevent their union. The Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ would actuate and mould and refine and unite. There would be souls converted to the kingdom of God. The same love which moved Christ to die for man would constrain us to labor for those for whom he died. For this love and union, we long and labor. Seventh-day Baptist Education
The Seventh-day Baptists are proposing to enlarge their educational facilities by establishing new schools for higher education, and also increase the usefulness of colleges already established by raising the standard of instruction. The denomination has always had good schools. “WHY DO YOU NOT PREACH CHRIST?”
By M. C. W.
SUCH is the question which is often put to those who are endeavoring to preach the truth for these times. But are they not preaching Christ, if they are preaching his truth? Can anyone ignore the truth and yet preach Christ in his fullness? Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” The ignoring of the truth which God has revealed in his word for the sanctification of his people, is ignoring Christ. Those who aim to spread God’s truth in all its fullness, in all its simplicity, as that which must be obeyed, who preach the only way, the truth of the word, and life through the resurrection, are those who preach Christ Jesus our Lord above all others. Many of those who are said to preach Christ to-day, preach self. A few flattering adulations are offered to the Most High, a flowery tribute is paid to Christ, and the preacher is praised. Preach God’s truth, heralds of the cross, in all its simplicity and its plainness, and you will preach Christ; you cannot do otherwise; for Christ is the great center of all truth. Through him the truth has been revealed, and his life was what it was because of the manifestation of the truth. Christ and the truth—the word of God—are inseparable. M. C. W. DO YOU BELONG TO THEM?
By M. C. White
WE mean that class who have had such “hard times.” None have been so afflicted as they; none so ill; none have suffered so much from reverses of fortune; none have passed through so great difficulties, had so many ailments—endured so much in every way. This habit does not always leave them when they become Christians. They have sacrificed more for the truth of Christ, have suffered more tribulation, endured more privation and hardship, lost more friends, than almost anyone else. If told of someone who had unselfishly given all possible to give, except life, for Christ and his cause, they have done a little more. It is self-righteousness wherever found; and, my friend, if out of that company don’t join them; if you belong to them, turn away. Be willing to suffer for Christ, bear his cross, endure tribulation, reproaches, loss of earthly friends, yea, all things, if the world never knows it. God knows it all. But don’t boast of these things, nor think yourself superior to others, or more worthy than they, because of your sufferings. Do not mourn over your losses; rather rejoice that you are permitted to suffer for His sake. What if you do suffer?—You might have suffered worse had you never taken up the cross. And if you never accept of the truth of God and the Lord Jesus, what then? What hope in that direction? Oh, how little we can do to merit his favor, even by the help of his grace! It ill becomes poor mortals to boast as virtue that which we would gladly escape, or to consider as great sacrifice, meriting great reward, that which ought to be esteemed a privilege. Say, rather, “I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.” M. C. W.