EVERY individual who has experienced a change of heart, or has been truly converted to God, has become a new creature. Says Paul, "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Cor. 5:17. The character has exchanged its old garments stained with sin for the robes of purity made white in the blood of the Lamb.
No greater attainment can be made by mortals than to obtain an interest in Christ. To be in Christ is to be separate from the world. No person can be in friendship with the world and in fellowship with Christ at the same time. "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." James 4:4. Our Lord bears testimony to the same point as follows: "If ye were of the world, the world would love its own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you of the world, therefore the world hateth you." John 15:19.
He that takes the steps necessary to unite himself to Christ will meet with a small loss, but, at the same time, acquire great gain. He will lose the love of the world, but gain in its place the love of God shed abroad in the heart. He will lose what the world calls pleasure, but gain the joy that is unspeakable and full of glory. He may lose his earthly treasure, but he will gain a treasure in the Heavens that will not wax old. He may lose his life even, as did many martyrs of olden time, but finally gain eternal life in the kingdom of glory. Happy exchange! The effort put forth in making it will never be regretted.
"Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ," are required of every one that obtains this change of character. The first step in repentance is conviction of sin, and this cannot be intelligently taken without a knowledge of the moral law. This is the law of God which every sinner has violated, and therefore it is by this same law that he is convicted of his error. Says Paul of himself, "I had not known sin, but by the law, for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet." Rom. 7:7.
The part the law acts in the change of an individual from nature to grace is to convince of sin; for, says the apostle, "By the law is the knowledge of sin." Rom. 3:20. Let this law be applied to the sinner's mind, and it will expose the defects in his character at once. He will see that he is under condemnation, and must suffer the penalty for transgression, which is death, unless he can find a way of escape.
There is a way open, but it is down through the valley of sorrow and humiliation. This is another step in the sinner's experience. His sorrow for past transgression must deepen into "godly sorrow" in order to bring about true repentance. Paul says, "Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of." 2 Cor. 7:10. Godly sorrow will set a person to work. He will feel that a strong effort must be made to break loose from the power of Satan, and get free in the Lord.
But even this is not all there is to true repentance. Let us illustrate: A stranger traveling takes a wrong road and loses his way. On being convinced of his mistake, he feels very sorry. Now if he continues in the wrong road, will his conviction or sorrow help him out of his difficulty? No; he has something to do; he must turn about and find the right road.
So with the sinner. He is in the wrong road, the broad road that leads to destruction. He might become convinced of this, and feel very sorry, yet if he continued in the same downward road, would he not go to destruction? His only hope is to turn about and find the narrow way that leads to life. Christ is the door at the entrance of this narrow way, and no individual can go through that door with his sins upon him; so he must lay them off and receive pardon first.
Here a third step is taken, which is turning from sin. It is ceasing to transgress the law, and commencing to obey it. This is the all-important point in true repentance. The Lord, by the prophet Ezekiel, has made this very plain. "Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" Chap. 18:30, 31. Here lies the true secret of success in finding the favor of God. If there is no turning from sin to obedience, there is no evidence that repentance has taken place.
Said John the Baptist to the Pharisees and Sadducees that came to his baptism, "O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruit meet for repentance;" or as the margin reads, "answerable to amendment of life." Matt. 3:7, 8. John saw no fruit of a change of life and character in these proud Pharisees, which must accompany true repentance, hence, his severe rebuke was in place.
Fruit is the result of action. Good fruit is the result of good works, and bad fruit, of evil works. A man given to swearing, Sabbath-breaking, thieving, lying, and covetousness, could give no better evidence to the world of true repentance than to forsake his evil ways, turn about, and obey the very commandments he had been violating. All that knew him would be ready to say, Truly, he has experienced a great change, and become a new man.
It will be seen by the above reasoning, that repentance relates directly to the law of God; for it is the transgression of that law that makes repentance necessary. The sinner's great difficulty is rebellion against the government of God, which is based upon the principles of his holy law; and true repentance brings him back into full obedience to that law.
But this is not all there is to conversion. All the sins of the past life must be forgiven and disposed of, and this can only be done through Christ the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world. Faith in the merits of the blood of Christ secures the pardon of sin, and the heart is made clean. The Holy Spirit bears witness to this work, and evidence is given of acceptance with God. At this point it can be said, "Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
What are the old things that have passed away? We would naturally conclude that it was the "old man of sin," with all the corruptions of the natural heart. The apostle Paul bears witness to this as follows: "But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing ye have put off the old man with his deeds." Col. 3:8, 9. The fact is, the deeds of the "old man" are all transgressions of the moral law.
But the "new man" is put on, and in this we shall see a great change. Paul testifies concerning this also: "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness." Col. 3:12-14. Such a character as this is in perfect harmony with the divine law. Charity, the bond of perfectness, is supreme love to God, and equal love to your neighbor. "Love is the fulfilling of the law."
"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature." No one should go along doubting his Christian experience, or hoping to be saved when there is no evidence of a change. It is possible for every one to have clear evidence of acceptance with God. True heart work will effect a change that God will acknowledge, and he will give his blessing in return.
BORROWING OF THE EGYPTIANS.
By W. H. Poole
W. H. POOLE, in Guide to Holiness, gives the following as an illustration of Exodus 3:21, 22; 12:35, 36.
1. The word "borrow," which is shaal in Hebrew, means "to ask," "request," "demand," "require," and is not used to signify the act of loaning a thing. In the Greek text it reads, "She shall ask," and in the Latin it reads, "She shall demand."
The same word, shaal, is used in Deut. 10:12, in regard to the requirements of God: "What doth the Lord thy God require [shaal] of thee." Also in Joshua 15:18, where Caleb's daughter was moved to ask (shaal) of her father a field. It is also found in Judges 25:23, where Sisera asked a drink of water. It also occurs in 1 Sam. 30:22, when speaking of property that David recovered from those who had violently removed it. In none of these passages could that word be understood to mean "borrow," as we understand that word.
2. The Egyptians had been enriched by the labor of the Israelites, and God, who judges rightly, now constrains them to refund a part of that which was justly due to them as wages.
3. The Lord inclined the Egyptians to remunerate them willingly. "The Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians."
4. The Egyptians felt it to be a forlorn hope, and esteemed it a good bargain to repay them; to settle up with them in full, in order to secure their departure.
It is recorded that an Egyptian prince came to Alexander the Great, soon after the conquest of Syria, and said to the conqueror, "Our nation has heard that you are so benevolent that you pay all the just debts of your poor subjects, and of those whom you have conquered. I am sent to inquire." Alexander replied that he did pay all lawful claims. Then said the prince, "The Jews, a long time ago, borrowed jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and costly plate, and never returned them. I demand, in behalf of my nation, both principal and interest." Alexander inquired as to the evidence supporting his claim. The prince referred him to the Jewish Scriptures, and to Egyptian records. Alexander asked three days to examine the evidence, and called in his secretary and treasurer, a learned Jew, named Mordecai. The secretary assured the parties that he was quite willing to entertain the case, but that the Egyptian prince must promise three things:—
1. To take the Jewish Scriptures and the Egyptian records as the only evidence for or against his claim.
2. To answer whether Egyptian law allowed servants a just and equitable compensation for services rendered, and how much?
3. To pay the balance, if due on the other side.
To this the prince agreed. Mordecai then produced Gen. 46:6, where Jacob took their cattle and their goods, with their wealth, and their families. They were there 215 years, and gave their labor and their service, and received no return of lands or cities, save only their bread. Egypt owed its existence, its laws, its policy, and its opulence, to Joseph, and yet they did not so much as furnish him with a grave. He then requested the prince to value the property taken down to Egypt; the flocks and the herds; to count up the wages; to calculate the interest; to double the sum for the time they did double work; to value the materials for the time that Pharaoh refused to furnish them; to find the total amount due the Jews, and from that sum deduct the small amount they received on their departure; then tell the balance. In this way, at very low wages, he brought the young prince immensely in debt. He also reminded Alexander that the prince did not understand the language of the Jews; that they did not borrow the gold and silver plate and jewels, but that they demanded it as a small installment of the amount long since due as wages.
The prince made his best bow, and retired.
CHURCH-MEMBERSHIP.
By Editor
THOSE who are invited to become members of the Christian church, are required to make a confession of Christ, rather than a profession about themselves. But it is not to be disguised that many who might otherwise make that confession are prevented from doing so, because, so far as they can see, church-membership does very little good to those who enter into it. Now, in reply to such an allegation, it might be fair to say that even if it did not tend to promote the development of Christian character in those who enter into its ranks, the church, as a visible organization, is necessary for the maintenance of all aggressive evangelistic work at home, and for the diffusion of the gospel abroad. Those who make this objection forget that they are themselves indebted to the church-membership of others for the Christian privileges which they enjoy, and for all the knowledge which they have of the gospel of Christ, and it is only fair that they should take their part in securing for others the benefactions which others have conferred upon them. If all who "believe with the heart" were to act as they do, the church would die out in a generation or two, and thus the world would be deprived of all those beneficent agencies which are sustained and carried on under its influence. Thus for the sake of others, if not for their own, it would still be their duty to enroll themselves among those who confess that Christ is Lord.—Christian at Work.
SABBATH-SCHOOL INSTRUCTION.
A TEACHER, writing in the Christian at Work, speaks of an error sometimes found in teachers; an error which we have often noticed in Sabbath-schools. We commend these remarks to all Sabbath-school workers. The following is an extract:—
“Let me mention another drawback in Sabbath-school teaching, and that is the tendency on the part of the teacher to spend too much time in mere talk to his scholars. I would almost call it “preaching.” In nearly every class there are two or three scholars who always give apparent attention, whether their minds are interested or not. On these the teacher’s attention is apt to get fastened, and he lets out upon them the floods of his eloquence, while the youngsters at either end of the class are having a good time among themselves, perfectly oblivious to what is being said.
The attention of scholars, particularly young scholars, cannot be long sustained by merely talking to them, however good such talk may be. The only plan I have found successful is by rounds of questioning, not addressed to the class generally, but to each pupil in succession, care being taken that an answer is elicited from each, the question being varied to suit the varied capacity of each. Such drill will be found more profitable and interesting both to teacher and scholar than time spent too often, perhaps, in retailing some “goody-goody” stories, designed more for their entertainment than instruction. Sabbath-school teaching is a serious matter, and not to be lightly engaged in.
THE COMING ONE.
WE are not now, neither were we ever, in sympathy with those who would set the day and hour of our Lord's appearing. But for about thirty years we have unwaveringly believed that, in the most emphatic sense, "the end of all things is at hand."
This belief has not been founded on the opinions of men, but by much prayerful searching of the Scriptures, comparing scripture with scripture. Believing that all Scripture is given by inspiration, and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness, and that the same Spirit that indited the Holy Scripture is given to open its sacred meaning to the humble believer.
To expect to know the day and hour, or even the year, of the coming of Jesus in the clouds of heaven, we have never thought to be within the province of other than the great Eternal. But that the humble Bible student may, by a careful reliance on the teachings of the word, and observance of the signs of the times, know when the coming of the Lord draweth nigh, and is even at the very doors, is a truth too palpable to require comment. (See Matt. 24:29-33.)
Dear reader, are you in search after truth in regard to the second advent of our Lord? That He will come again you know, because there is not a more explicit, incontrovertible declaration within the lids of the Bible than this.
Why should not Christians of the present day be like the Christians of nearly two thousand years since? So greatly did the Christians of Thessalonica long for the speedy coming of their Lord that, instead of putting it off "thousands on thousands of ages hence" (as did a teacher in Israel with whom we were conversing), their almost impatient desires inclined them to think that it must be immediate. Paul corrects their mistake, telling them that that day shall not come until certain things (of which we shall hereafter speak) occur. James also exhorts his suffering brethren to patience, not by telling them that the coming of their Lord was to be protracted "thousands on thousands of ages," but by the most welcome truth—"for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh."
If the joyous anticipations of the return of the Son of man should so fill the minds' vision of the early church about two thousand years ago, how should the vision of believers of the present day be occupied with the subject. Christians of the present day have the Old and New Testament Scriptures. The Book of books is in the hand of every believer. Not only does it testify of Christ as a redeemer from sin, but of Christ as a coming one. Oh! yes; with what certainty do the Scriptures tell us of Jesus' coming again, not as an offering for sin!
That has been done. How emphatically does Paul speak of Him who was "once offered to bear the sins of many;" and then adds, "Unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation."
And Titus, also, pointing the eye of his brethren upward, says, "Looking for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ."
—Mrs. Palmer, in Guide to Holiness.
NATURE OF THE CATHOLIC PROGRESS.
CARDINAL NEWMAN presided at a meeting of Roman Catholics at Birmingham a few days since, and addressed them on the past and present position of Roman Catholicism in England, congratulating them on the great progress which he declares the Church has made in England during the last quarter of a century. It can scarcely be denied that in externals the Roman Church has made progress there, but this is scarcely to be wondered at, seeing that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of recruiting agents, wearing the livery and taking the money of the English Protestant Church. He also congratulated his fellow Catholics that their faith has lasted eighteen hundred years, while Protestantism has only existed three hundred years. Assuming the statement to be accurate, which, in the sense he makes it, is directly the reverse of true, Rome has this humiliating fact staring her in the face, that the three centuries of Protestantism has done more for civilization and Christianity than the previous fifteen hundred years. Better a century of Protestant light than a millennium of Romish darkness and superstition.—Christian at Work.
The Sabbath School.
By W. C. White.
OUR PRESENT WORK.
As we near the commencement of another quarter, it may be profitable for us to review the successes or failures of the one which is now drawing to a close. It will pay each teacher and officer to examine his work, and notice carefully what progress has been made during the last three months by himself, by his class, and by the whole school. If there has been a marked improvement in studying the lesson, or in the regularity of attendance, and an increase of interest in the school and the services of the Lord's house, we should study carefully the means employed and the influences used to accomplish these results, that by more earnest efforts and improved methods, still more may be gained the coming quarter. Nothing short of constant, steady, and permanent progress should satisfy the ambition.
Besides a steady improvement in the methods of the school, we should aim at a large increase of membership, and the establishment of many new schools during the spring quarter. Now that the winter is past all of the old members who have been kept away by bad roads and their distance from the school, should join the school for summer work. A committee may be appointed by each school to look up all the Sabbath-keepers in reach of the schools, and encourage them to attend. The whole school should be active and earnest in the work of bringing in new scholars. Visit your neighbors, tell them about your school, give the Instructor to their children, and invite them to visit your school. Whenever visitors come make them at home, meet them cordially, give them a place in your best class, and then furnish them with the lesson for next Sabbath, and urge them to come again.
Gather in the little children, many who were too young to attend last year may be brought in and formed into infant classes. W. C. WHITE.
TO THE CHILDREN.
By J. W. Gardner
"REMEMBER now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say I have no pleasure in them."
Children, what are we here for? to grow up to manhood and womanhood, have lots of care and trouble, make a little money, perhaps, and then die? Is that it? No, indeed. The Lord has placed us here on probation, and if we pass the final test he will give us positions in his kingdom, but not otherwise.
Suppose I want to become a doctor. I must first go through a long course of study, practice and attend lectures, and then, at the end of the allotted time, pass an examination to show that I am fit for the position, or I cannot get a certificate.
But suppose I should go all through the time required at a medical college, doing everything except studying my medical books, attending lectures, etc., and then when examination comes at last say, "Well, I truly want to become a physician, and thought that if I only lived aright, and attended to other duties, even if I did not study and prepare for examination, it would be all that would be required of me." Do you suppose the Board of Examiners would pass me? What would you think of them if they did?
Children, if you want a place in the Lord's kingdom, you must study the books he has given you. They will teach you how to pass the final examination, and get a certificate which will entitle you to eternal life with him in his beautiful city,—Jerusalem, the golden. Attend the Sabbath-school, and there you will soon learn to love the study of these books.
J. W. GARDNER.
SPASMODIC TEACHERS.
SPASMODIC teaching in the Sabbath-school amounts to very little. Five teachers, who are regular in attendance, are worth more than twenty teachers of the same grade of intelligence, who come irregularly. It is not to be wondered at, therefore, that a Minnesota superintendent is exercised on this point, and writes as follows:—
"Can you tell me of some new and practical method to make my teachers realize the importance of being in their places every Sunday? About two-thirds of them seem to think they are to come when it is perfectly convenient, and stay away the rest of the time. I sometimes think that such teachers would do just about as much good to stay away as to come. Still, I can't well do without them."
In the first place, the superintendent's views on the point should be made known to the teachers. He is not to scold about it, nor, indeed, should he speak of it in public; but in the teachers' meeting it should be talked over plainly, and in the kindest manner. If he has no teachers' meeting, here is a trouble to be remedied at once. A Sabbath-school has no special character, no public sentiment, no atmosphere, unless it has a teachers' meeting. But even where there is this lack, the teachers can be approached on the subject of regularity in personal interviews, or by a circular letter, or a private note. It should be understood by all that the superintendent deems regular attendance an indispensable requisite to a teacher's work. Then the teachers are to be trained singly to the right practice in this line. This will take time. All good work does. But a superintendent must find the time for his work, or that work will never be done. He cannot find any way of bringing all his teachers up to a correct standard, except by bringing them up to it one by one. He must set his mind on improving one of those irregular teachers. If she is absent next Sabbath, he must call and see her, or drop her a note, the next day, expressing his regret at her absence, and asking if she can be there the Sabbath following. If that does not meet the case, he must find out on the preceding day, or on Sabbath morning, if she is intending to be at the school. Her class meantime may be put in charge of a substitute teacher, or consolidated with another class. She should be notified of this act, and asked when she is likely to resume her place, or whether she would prefer to leave her class in these other hands. By a firm, steady, judicious, kindly pressure, an irregular teacher can be improved or got rid of, sooner or later. Either alternative is better than overlooked irregularity. The ways of training teachers are varied; but it is important for the superintendent to feel that he is just as responsible for the training of his teachers, as his teachers are for the training of their scholars. If his teachers continue irregular, or inefficient, the person most deserving of blame is—himself. A farmer's efficiency is shown by his workmen; a mill overseer's by his factory hands; a Sabbath-school superintendent's by his teachers.
—S. S. Times.
Preparing for Teachers’ Meetings
Rev. H. Clay Trumbull says, "Teachers ought not to come unprepared to teachers' meetings. That is not the place to begin work on the lesson. It is where the results of thought, and study, and prayer are to be compared, the place where each may secure the benefit of the labor, experience, wisdom, and faith of all the teachers."
WHO CAN OBEY THEM?
By James White
TWICE the Lord solemnly enjoined upon Israel, the following requirement: “Ye shall keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary; I am the Lord.” Lev. 19:30; 26:2. This was spoken to Israel at a time when the world was given up to idolatry, and the Lord had separated them from the rest of mankind as his people, and made them the depositaries of his truth. Under these circumstances, it must be evident that whatever instructions the Lord gave them, as his people, independent of their particular situation, and the typical nature of their dispensation, are equally applicable to his people everywhere, and in all time. But these directions did not grow out of the fact that the children of Israel were for a time sojourners in the wilderness, nor out of the typical nature of their religious services. They were given to them simply as his people, and the reason upon which they are based is declared to be, because he was their Lord. None, therefore, who profess to be the people of the Lord, can claim exemption from this injunction, on the ground of a change of dispensation, or a variation of circumstances; for it is not dependent upon any of these things. The Lord once enjoined upon his people certain things, on conditions independent of all local circumstances, or the variations of time and place; and this injunction must still rest upon those who claim to be the people of the Lord, or who claim him as their God. He is not so fickle as to enjoin upon one age the observance and reverence of certain things, on the ground of his own glory, and then permit another age to dishonor and trample them under foot. Hence the injunction, “Ye shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary,” is still binding upon the people of God.
We may argue the perpetuity of this requirement on other ground: thus, so long as an institution exists, all laws and instructions relating thereto, which are not local and temporary in their nature, exist also; but we need enter into no argument with the readers of this paper, to show that the Sabbath still exists, demanding our strict and sincere observance, and that this dispensation has a sanctuary, the glorious anti-type above, which should be reverenced by all the people.
Here, then, are two objects which the Lord sets before us as peculiarly dear and precious to him. They are his own, “my Sabbaths, my sanctuary.” He would have us, for his sake, respect and love them.
But who can do this? Pass your eye over christendom and see how the enemy has worked to mar the divine plans and harmony in this respect. What class of people with the present system of belief, can keep the Sabbath and reverence the sanctuary?
The greater portion of the people we behold keeping Sunday, an institution which is not the Sabbath of the Lord, and cannot be observed in obedience to the fourth commandment. These certainly cannot, without changing the day of their observance, heed the injunction which says, Ye shall keep my Sabbaths.
We behold another class, who do not believe there is any Sabbath; the Sabbath has been done away, abolished, nailed to the cross. They certainly cannot be fulfilling the requirement to keep the Lord’s Sabbath.
Still worse, if possible, is it in regard to the sanctuary. That holy dwelling-place of God has for ages been lost from sight entirely. People generally have no idea of any such object. And when brought before the mind, enforced with all the plain declarations of the apostle Paul on the subject in the book of Hebrews, they can with difficulty be made to see it, while the majority utterly refuse to believe in the existence of any such place. Can they reverence the sanctuary who do not believe in its existence?
Nevertheless, there is a class who can heed this plain requirement of the Lord—a class who can keep the Sabbath, and reverence the sanctuary—a class who believe in the Sabbath in all its immutability and holiness, and in the sanctuary in all its glory—and that class is Seventh-day Adventists.
The present truth produces harmony in every part of the word of God. None who believe in that find any commands to which they are prevented by their theory from yielding obedience. We can keep them just as we find them. Do we sufficiently value such a truth? Do we regard with sufficient interest the two great objects that shine like stars of the first magnitude in this glorious constellation? The Sabbath and the sanctuary! Let us keep the one and reverence the other.