p. 3 | Spiritual Declension by F. M. W.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jul 13, 1916

Spiritual Declension

By F. M. W.

THE Scriptures of truth plainly teach that the last days of earth’s history will be days of spiritual declension in the great Christian church. This is strikingly portrayed in the prophecies of Revelation 13, 14, 17, and 18. Here the pen of inspiration traces the work of apostasy, and the opposition to the truth of God which will be carried on by the great worldly, formal church united with the powers of state. In plain, unmistakable language the apostle Paul speaks of these same conditions, in the words which he addresses to Timothy. He declares:—

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” 2 Tim. 3: 1-5.

That such sins as these would be found in the world at large we might naturally expect, but the apostle states that these sins would be found among those who possessed the form of godliness but who by their ungodly deeds deny its power in their lives. The same apostle also tells us that the time will come when men “will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” 2 Tim. 4: 3, 4.

We have only to recognize the rapidly developing conditions in the great religious world to realize that we have reached the days foretold. We hear much about civic righteousness, about the departmental church, about social service, about missionary propaganda in foreign fields, about great moral reforms which the church is pushing forward; but these can never take the place of personal piety or individual godliness, and it is possible for the professed church of Christ to engage in these things and at the same time be losing its vital hold upon God. This was done by the Jews of old. See Matthew 23. They were a great missionary people. They compassed sea and land to make one proselyte. They garnished the tombs of the

prophets and erected lofty edifices for the worship of God. They made long prayers. They possessed the truth of God in form. Indeed, among the heathen nations of old they stood alone as the conservators of a knowledge of the true God, but vital Christianity was at a low ebb. Their church activities, the denominational religion which they possessed, did not save them from individual spiritual declension.

And this is the great danger which confronts the professed church of Christ in the last days. We must admit that the church as a whole is pushing forward in greatly needed moral reforms. The church stands as the great power behind the prohibition movement, against the opium traffic, against the white slaver’s nefarious work. It is doing much to improve the conditions of the poor. It is engaged in great missionary enterprises, but it is to be feared that notwithstanding this denominational activity, the spiritual standard is being lowered in individual lives, and the rank and file of Christianity is being permeated with spiritual indifference, worldliness, and infidelity. And this is not alone our view of the situation. It is the opinion expressed by leaders of Christian thought in some of the great churches of the world. From our current exchanges we quote the following observations which have been made regarding this situation.

A writer in the Reformed Church Review, signing himself “A Layman,” brings this charge against present-day Christianity:—

“The sacred edifice heretofore dedicated to the worship of Almighty God has now, with its parish house, its club and other auxiliaries, become the center of secular functions. We now go to church to hear sermons on the minimum wage, adequate housing of the poor, the regulation of moving pictures and the dance halls, how to vote, and the latest vice-investigation report. From this center agents and detectives of law and order societies make report of nightly investigations, and it is said even ministers of the gospel keep silent watch during the hours of the night and assist in rounding up inmates from disreputable houses. They appear as prosecutors and witnesses before grand and petit juries in the quarter sessions court. Billiard and pool tables are being installed, dancing classes are organized, and all sorts of amusements offered to entice the youth within its sacred precincts. A child returning home from Sunday school recently was asked by its mother the subject of the lesson. It was how to keep the streets clean. Another Sunday, kindness to dumb animals furnished the subject of the lesson; and this was in a graded up-to-date Sunday school. A good woman who had suffered greatly with a recent sorrow brought herself to church longing for some comforting words. She heard a sermon on ‘The Charity Organization Society and the Visiting Nurse.’”

The following serious indictment is made by this same writer against much of the present-day preaching by ministers of the gospel:—

“Ministers of the gospel are willing to preach on every subject under the sun except the gospel; and when they begrudgingly hand it down, they almost tell us it is not divine, but a man-made thing. They have relegated to the brush heap most of the sacred beliefs, such as the miracles, original sin, the vicarious atonement of Jesus Christ, the efficacy of baptism, and the holy communion; and many of them even deny the validity of their own divine office as ministers of God. All comes from man, nothing from God. Perhaps this is the reason so many ministers look down on empty pews and complain bitterly that their members do not come to hear the sermons prepared with so much labor.”

Quoting these statements and commenting thereon, the editor of the Christian Standard (Christian Church) for June 3, 1916, truly says:—

“The mission of the church is preeminently a spiritual one, and to the extent that she relegates this to the rear in her ministries, she must suffer loss of power and influence among men. The supreme purpose of the gospel is to save men and women from sin, and induct them into the kingdom of God, and make them sons and daughters of Jehovah, and teach them how to live the Christian life; and when these ends are achieved, other things will take care of themselves. To abandon or slight these high and holy purposes, and give chief attention to such matters as are mentioned in the foregoing quotation, is like exchanging the bread of heaven for straw and chaff. . . .”

“A sickly sentimentalism in regard to sin has largely taken the place of the severe denunciations of it that the Holy Scriptures contain. The exceeding sinfulness of sin is largely obscured by the claim that it is a disease, and that the sinner is much more to be pitied than blamed. The importance and necessity of believing the gospel are partially lost sight of through the philosophy that it does not matter much what you believe, if only you are honest in your belief. Miracles are held to be of little worth in inducing and maintaining faith in Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God, although the Scriptures declare that they were recorded for that very purpose.”

Through its Standing Committee on the Narrative the recent Presbyterian assembly at Orlando, Fla., reviewed carefully the religious conditions existing in that church. Eighty-five presbyteries rendered reports to the General Assembly of the vital, personal godliness existing in the church, and, particularly in family and individual life. This narrative says:—

“Notwithstanding the general tone of optimism, your committee finds a sad situation at the very heart of the church, that must be changed, if permanent and powerful progress is to continue. The bedrock of the church is the family. ‘Believers and their children,’ is the Presbyterian burden. In the family, so every report says, religion is woefully neglected. Only the smallest per cent of the families connected with the church have family worship or train the children in the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ as revealed in the Word of God, and stated in the catechisms of the church.”

Similarly the Word and Way, speaking particularly of the conditions to be found in the Methodist Church, and finally of the state of the church at large, says:—

“Methodism is not what it once was in its attitude toward the conduct of its members. The line of separation between the church and the world has been growing dimmer and dimmer with the passing years. Methodists, however, are not alone in this changed attitude toward the world and worldliness. Other denominations have been suffering a like spiritual degeneration. For many, many years there has been in the Methodist Church a ban on dancing, card playing, and theatergoing. Members engaging in these worldly pleasures have done so under penalty of discipline, but in late years discipline for these things has not been administered, and the law has been a dead letter. . . .”

“Why any church should wish to receive or retain in its membership persons given to dancing, card playing, and theatergoing is past our understanding, and it is equally past our understanding why any one with the love and habit of these things should want to hold membership in a church. We should be glad to see our Methodist friends keep their standard up and require their people to come up to the standard, rather than yield to the demand to lower the standard to the level of the worldly minded.

“The bane of the average church is the worldliness of its members. The churches of all denominations ought to set a higher standard, and require the members to conform to this standard or separate themselves from their fellowship.”

Similar testimonies representing other denominations might be added to these already given, but we need no compilation of statistics to show us the real state of Christianity around us. We can read in these conditions signs of the times. They indicate that we are living in the last days of earth’s history. At a time when sin is waging its hardest battle against truth and righteousness, when combinations of evil on every side are uniting their forces, then the church of God should be the strongest to resist the evil and to hold up the banner of truth against the onrushing tide of iniquity.

The reasons for this spiritual declension are many and varied. Prominent among them is the lack of spiritual power attending the ministry of the word; the failure of those who minister in sacred things to give the church meat in due season—the truths for this special period in the history of the world. There is significance in the great events which are taking place on the earth. We are living in the days of fast-fulfilling prophecy. This world is soon to pass away, and the Lord Jesus Christ is soon to appear. A knowledge of the meaning of these fulfilling conditions is the need

of the church of God at the present time.

In too many instances the professed church has become a great social, fashionable organization. Membership in it affords an opportunity for the display of dress and wealth, and brings social prestige and opportunity. It is popular today to belong to some church. Many find it even advantageous in a business or professional way. These considerations have brought into the church many unregenerate in heart. Thousands of church members today are saved from a just and righteous discipline by wealth, social prestige, or political standing.

But in every church are still to be found honest and godly men and women. They with us deplore the conditions which exist, and are longing for a refreshing from the Lord. It is for us who recognize the times in which we live to herald abroad the everlasting gospel for this day and generation. And let us, as members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, be admonished by the conditions which we see around us. There is danger that the disintegrating elements which have found entrance into the great churches of Christendom will find entrance into our church, and that the sins of which the apostle Paul gave definite warning will exist in our lives.

In no spirit of self-righteousness should we draw comparison. If we ourselves have been saved, it is only by God’s grace and in order that we may seek to save others around us. We have nothing that we have not received from God, and to us there belongs no credit for any experience which God may have given us, or given the church of which we are members. In humiliation and with no confidence in the flesh, but with firm confidence in God, let us maintain our integrity and simplicity of faith and practice, and seek by God’s grace to be the saviors of those who are drifting away from him into the vortex of darkness and destruction. F. M. W.