The Mighty Motive

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Oct 16, 1866

The Mighty Motive.

SALVATION is of the Lord. Our great dependence for it, both in this life and in that which is to come, must be the power of God within; that unseen, eternal energy, which impels the soul through storms and calms, through adverse tides and counter currents; but yet there are also favoring gales of blessing, and steady “trade winds” of hope and faith, which fill the Christian mariner’s expanded sails, and waft him swiftly on his homeward course.

And all these God-given helps are most welcome to him who feels his weakness and infirmity, and knows the need and value of eternal strength. The love of God shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Ghost; the memories of mercy that reach from Eden’s garden to the present hour; the sacred recollections of Bethlehem and Olivet, of Gethsemane and Calvary; the fragrant remembrances of God’s gracious providence and his guiding hand; the earnest warnings of his living word, which bid us to take heed lest we fall, and exhort us to fear lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any should seem to come short of it; the shortness of time, the uncertainty of life, the solemnity of the coming judgment, and the mighty grandeur of eternity, combine to stay our hearts, to strengthen our souls, and to save us amid the thickening perils that crowd our path as pilgrims in this world.

And if there are dangers to be escaped, there are also glories to be won, joys to be gained, honors to be inherited, crowns to be given, white robes to be put on, palms for the overcoming hosts, hopes set before us, which make earthly splendors seem like dross, and joys set before us, which may well cause us to endure the cross and despise the shame, until called to sit down with Christ upon the throne.

But among all the mighty motives that God has placed before the minds of Christian men, whether to impress their own hearts, or to be used by them to influence those around them, there is one that stands pre-eminent in the potency of its influence, and in the universality of its application;—a motive which is addressed to every single soul of man, which affects the destinies of the living and the dead, and which has had weight throughout all generations, and in every clime and land. Next to the inward working of the Spirit of the Lord, this may be regarded as a controlling element in the saving system of divine revelation. Not even the thought of the shortness of life, or the solemnities of death; the fear of hell, or the hope of glory; the joy of the saved, or the ruin of the lost, can vie in awful weight, and solemn majesty, and impressive influence, and awakening power, with the great fact that Jesus Christ, the crucified and glorified Redeemer, the humbled and exalted Saviour, the Son of Mary and the Son of God, shall come again in all the glory of his Father, to judge the world in righteousness at the last day.

I know very well that this great motive may be abused. No outward motive can be a guarantee against false profession, shallow penitence, ignorant zeal, ill-considered effort, and misdirected labor. And the influence of this important motive may be abused and perverted until it degenerates and begets slavish fear, senseless panic, or dishonest eye-service. No motive can act properly upon a profane, corrupt, and unregenerate heart. Abuses and perversions are the legitimate result of human frailty and Satanic spite. Ungodly men will turn the very grace of God into lasciviousness, will reject the counsel of God against themselves, and will wrest the Holy Scriptures to their own destruction. Not till the heart is renewed by the Holy Spirit and established in the grace of God, can we be assured that any truth will not be held in unrighteousness, and perverted to an evil use. The Divine order was not truth and grace, but rather, “Grace and truth,” that came by Jesus Christ. Grace is the teacher, the saved ones are the pupils, and the truth is the lesson to be taught. And when grace teaches, this is the very lesson that it inculcates, this the impressive motive that it brings to mind:—

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men. TEACHING us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that BLESSED HOPE, and the GLORIOUS APPEARING of the great GOD, and OUR SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Titus ii, 11–14.

No external motive can be stronger in its influence upon both saint and sinner, than the consideration of that great event which marks the meeting-place of two eternities, the crisis in the history of the planet and the race, the hour which bears the burden of immortal destinies, which closes up this present dispensation of mercy to the world, and opens to our view that scene of glory which shall reach throughout all the ages, world without end.

The importance of this majestic fact, and its impressiveness as a motive to human action, are fully recognized by Christ himself in his teachings; and the Holy Spirit, through both prophets and apostles, in many different ways, states, and repeats and emphasizes it as a motive of the first importance, and as bearing upon the whole course of human life, and human duty, and human responsibility.

Is repentance preached to sinners?—it is urged in words like these: “God commandeth all men everywhere to repent; because he hath appointed A DAY, in which he will JUDGE THE WORLD IN RIGHTEOUSNESS by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” Acts xix. “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall SEND JESUS CHRIST, which before was preached unto you; whom the heaven must receive until the times of RESTITUTION of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” Acts iii, 17–21.

Are mockers and scoffers to be warned of their danger and of their doom? “Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, THE LORD COMETH with ten thousand of his saints, to EXECUTE JUDGMENT UPON ALL, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” Jude, 14, 15.

Would Jesus console his disciples when about to depart and leave them in a world that hated them? He says, “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I WILL COME AGAIN, and receive you unto myself; that where I am there ye may be also. I will not leave you comfortless; I WILL COME TO YOU.” John xiv, 1–3, 18.

Would the prophet give comfort to the trembling and desponding souls? He says, “Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not; behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you.”

Are the persecuted and abused children of God, who are despised by those who profess his name, to be encouraged in their separation from their friends? To them it is said, “Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name’s sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified; but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.”

Are the servants of the Most High to be strengthened in the persecutions which come upon them from a

wicked world? The apostle tells them that their troublers shall have tribulation, and they themselves shall have REST, “when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels; in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.”

Are the people of God beset by sore and bitter trials? To them it is said, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you; but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” And they are also addressed as those “who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time; wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season (if need be) ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations; that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise, and honor, and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ; whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory.”

Are the rich, and haughty, and oppressive to be rebuked and warned? To them it is said, “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.”

Are the poor and down-trodden encouraged to hope on amid their poverty and depression? It is in words like these: “Be patient, therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; establish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.”

Are men to be warned against worldly encumbrances, and absorption in earthly interests and occupations? The apostle says: “But this I say, brethren, The time is short. It remaineth, that both they that have wives, be as though they had none; and they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as not abusing it. For the fashion of this world passeth away.” And again the Saviour exhorts them, saying, “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye, therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”

Are differences and strifes and grudgings to be done away? It is written: “Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned; behold the Judge standeth before the door.” James v, 9.

Is brotherly love to be fostered and encouraged? The apostle prays, “And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you; to the end he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.” I Thess. iii, 12, 13.

Is holiness of heart and life to be urged upon the saints who have been buried with Christ and risen again in the likeness of his resurrection? It is said: “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry; for which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.” Col. iii, 1–6.

And again the beloved disciple says: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” I John iii, 2, 3.

Is the perfect sanctification of the church of God desired? That desire is expressed in these words of the apostle to the Gentiles: “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” I Thess. v, 23.

Are broken-hearted and bereft ones seeking consolation? What words can be more fitly chosen than these words of the great apostle? “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” I Thess. iv, 13–18.

Would an apostle, steadfast unto death, give us his last dying testimony? He says, “I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” I Tim. iv, 7, 8.

Are brethren exhorted to fidelity and diligence in the work and worship of God? It is said: “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised; and let us consider one another, to provoke unto love, and to good works; not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Heb. x, 25.

Are elders in the church admonished to discharge their solemn responsibilities? This is the exhortation: “The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed; feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” I Pet. v, 1.

And finally, to all classes and conditions of Christian men throughout all ages and throughout all lands, the Saviour speaks these solemn words, “Take ye heed, watch and pray, for ye know not when the time is. For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in the morning: lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.”

Thus with perpetual iteration does the Holy Ghost not only call our attention to the fact of the coming of the Lord, but also urge us by it to the performance of every duty, the endurance of every trial, and the forsaking of every sin. Thus does it set this motive continually before the church and the world. This is the warning to be uttered; this is the exhortation to be spoken; this is the comfort to be administered; this is the gospel to be preached. Death, that is constantly presented by men as the great motive to action, is constantly overlooked in the word of God. Nowhere in the Bible are we bidden to prepare to die. The gospel recognizes death as a universal fact, “but after this, the judgment,” the resurrection, the coming of the Lord, the everlasting glory, and the eternal doom, are the objects to which it directs our gaze.

The Thessalonians “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from Heaven, even Jesus which delivered us from the wrath to come.” The grace of God taught primitive Christians to “live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, and to look for ‘that blessed hope, even the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.’” The Hebrew Christians were taught that to “them that look for him he shall appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” And the apostle Paul declared that there was a crown laid up for him which the Lord the righteous Judge should give him in that day, and not to him only, “but to all them also that love his appearing.” And to the succeeding church in every age and every land, the appearing of the Lord has been the day-star of their souls in hours of darkness, and the morning of their joy beyond this night of tears. It has roused the slumbering, quickened the tardy, cheered the disconsolate, strengthened the weak, comforted the mourners, sobered the gay, busied the triflers, and cast the sunshine of eternal glory upon the sorrows of the church, and the shadows of eternal doom upon the mirthful madness of a sinful world.

And what other motive can take the place of this? Much as men pride themselves of the improvements of these latter days, I fear that every alteration of the gospel of God will prove a dire mistake. Three things form the burden of the Spirit’s work in convincing the world: Sin, Righteousness, and Judgment. Three topics formed the burden of that testimony which made the haughty Felix tremble, as Paul “reasoned of Righteousness, Temperance, and a Judgment to come.” And no preaching can be apostolic in its character, or profitable in its results, unless, with all the other facts and doctrines of divine revelation, it prominently presents to view the solemn verities of a coming judgment and a coming Lord.

I know the excuses that men frame for neglecting these momentous themes. But their excuses will not save sinners here, nor justify their own unfaithfulness in the day of doom. Men may shrink from opposition, but when was God’s word known to be palatable to a wicked world? Said the sainted Fletcher, of Madely, “I know many have been grossly mistaken as to the years; but because they were rash, shall we be stupid? Because they said ‘to-day,’ shall we say ‘never?’ and cry ‘peace, peace,’ when we should look around us with eyes full of expectation? Let us not judge rashly, nor utter vain predictions in the name of the Lord; but yet let us look about us with watchful eyes, lest the enemy take advantage of us, and we lose the opportunity of rousing people out of their sleep, of confirming the weak, and of building up in our most holy faith, those who know him in whom they have believed.”

The old path is the good way, and I am persuaded that good and not evil, would be the result of learning like the Thessalonian Christians, to serve the living God, and to wait for his Son from Heaven. No doubt such a faith and hope might interfere with some of the worldly schemes and plans of worldly men in church and in state. No doubt it would draw the line between a world doomed to destruction, and a church waiting for redemption. No doubt it would disquiet formalists and disturb hypocrites, to be warned that “the coming of the Lord draweth nigh” and “the Judge standeth before the door.” No doubt the votaries of the world, the flesh, and the Devil, besotted amid the lusts of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, would be displeased to hear that the world is to pass away, and the lust thereof. No doubt the servant who says in his heart “my Lord delayeth his coming,” and smites his fellow-servants, and eats and drinks with the drunken, would be angry

to know that his doom was impending, and his Lord was near. No doubt pride, and ambition, and honors, and titles, and fame, for which men seek, would shrivel in the light that flashes from the great white throne, or crumble into dust at the mention of impending wrath; but though wood, and hay, and stubble perished, gold, silver, and precious stones, would remain. Faith, hope, and charity, would still abide. Men would not grudge one against another while the Judge was at the door; they would be patient unto the coming of the Lord. They would exhort one another as they saw the day approaching; they would be full of mercy and good fruits as they realized the solemn certainty and nearness of that day when the Judge shall say, “I was hungry and ye fed me, I was thirsty and ye gave me drink.” They would warn sinners to “flee from the wrath to come,” and would labor with a zeal too little known, to save men with fear, “pulling them out of the fire,” hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

Such in our judgment would be the results of a faithful proclamation of this grand and mighty truth. Our limited space prevents pursuing the subject now as we hope to hereafter; but in closing, we would say to the ministry, in the language of Dr. Hugh Mc Neile, of Liverpool: “My Reverend brethren, watch, preach the coming of Jesus—I charge you, in the name of our common Master, preach the coming of Jesus—solemnly and affectionately in the name of God, I charge you, preach the coming of Jesus, ‘Watch ye, therefore, (for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at cock-crowing, or in the morning,) lest, coming suddenly, he find the porter asleep.’ Take care—‘what I say unto you, I say unto all—watch.’”—The Christian.