Editorial by Editor

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 22, 1902

Editorial

By Editor

Sound an Alarm

“BLOW ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand.” “The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord.”

Fruit Bearing

“FRUIT BEARING is the proof of discipleship. “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.” Abiding in the vine is the condition of fruit bearing. “He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit.” It is expected of every branch that it shall bear fruit. “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” The tree is known by its fruit. “Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.” Every true believer is to be “filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.”

New Territory

“OUR Commander directs that we should occupy new territory. The gospel message should be carried into new fields. The truth should be established in new places. In order to do this work and at the same time to hold the ground already gained, there is need of a constant supply of recruits. And with the men must come the means for their support, until friends of the truth are raised up in these new fields, and then the front the line must be again carried forward. Consecrated workers are needed. Trained workers are needed. A steady inflow of means is needed. But above all and more than all, the Spirit in its fullness is needed, that every effort may be effective in reaching and converting the hearts of men and women. “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest.”

Practical Religion

“PEOPLE sometimes talk of “practical religion” with emphasis upon “practical,” as though there might be some other kind of religion which is not practical. This shows how the minds of some have become confused as to the real nature of religion. There has been so much controversy about religion that some have come to regard controversy as one form of religion, and by “practical religion” they seem to mean a religious experience which is manifested in an upright life and a ministry of love as opposed to argument and disputes about a creed. It is time to emphasize the fact that there may be much controversy, much argument and dispute, with no religion at all. An infidel can argue. A backslider can lead in a controversy. An apostate can dispute about the creed. Only a Christian can minister the genuine truth of Christianity. The difference between “practical religion” and mere zeal for a creed or a denomination is well shown in the experience of Paul “in the Jews’ religion.” “For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: and profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.” He has given us another picture of this experience in these words: “As touching the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.” A self-righteous Pharisee, a zealous persecutor, and yet profiting in the Jews’ religion! After his conversion on the journey to Damascus, the apostle Paul had an experience in “practical religion.” “We are fools for Christ’s sake. . . . Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: being defamed, we entreat.” What a change from mere zeal for the prosperity of a sect! We need to see Jesus, as Paul did, that we may have the same experience in “practical religion” as he had.

A Present Danger

“THERE is danger that we should substitute a busy activity in the Lord’s work for a personal communion with the Lord, and that we should have all the forms of the truth while experiencing little of its power. How is it in your church? Is the prayer meeting well attended? and is it a place of power? Is there a good attendance at the missionary meeting? and are the hearts of the members stirred with the genuine missionary spirit? What is the influence of the church in the community? Would it be missed if its membership should be wholly scattered? Are we Christians? or are we mere formalists? “Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? . . . Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonorest thou God?” Many are being deceived. They rest quietly because their names are on the church book, while they are not written in heaven. Their lives do not testify that self has been conquered, and that they are seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Their time and strength are spent in advancing their own interests. And yet they are constantly saying, “The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these.” What will arouse every self-deceived one to a sense of the true situation? The crisis is fast hastening on. Soon it will be too late. Awake! Arise! Be filled with the Spirit.

On the Front Line

“WE often think of those who are pushing the battle at the front, and we wish them to know that they have our hearty co-operation in prayer and effort to make their work a success. We had almost said that they have our sympathy, but on second thought we incline to the feeling that we need their sympathy. There is no more inspiring position on the battlefield than in the front line, and this is especially true when victory is assured. As we read the weekly reports of progress, and note the many providential openings and the extension of the work in many countries, we often feel that the greatest blessings are being enjoyed by those at the front. Africa and Australia do not seem so far away as

before we visited those countries. The workers in England and on the Continent seem like near neighbors to us. All the laborers are under the same Captain, and are fighting a common foe. The warning message must be proclaimed in every one of these lands before the Master can come. To every worker nigh and afar off, but especially to those in large degree separated from their fellow workers, we wish to send a powerful message of encouragement. We think of you. We pray for you. We plead for success in your behalf. Our heart’s desire is that you may be greatly blessed and prospered in preparing the way of the Lord in the hearts of the people. “Be strong and of a good courage.” Many who cannot join you at the front are giving the results of their daily toil, consecrating it with prayer, that others younger, stronger, and better fitted for the active campaign may go forward to extend the lines. Your conflicts and victories are often the subject of the conversation in the home, the shop, and the field. “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. . . . And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.”

Always Right to Do Right

“THIS may seem like a self-evident truism. But so long as an opposite course is universally practiced, it may be proper to reaffirm it continually. Men will frequently admit that a certain course of conduct is, in the abstract, correct, yet they will persuade themselves that under their circumstances they cannot help themselves. But no circumstances can make that right which is, in itself, intrinsically wrong; that is, it can never be right to sin. No doubt we may sometimes feel that if we refuse to sin, under a certain degree of pressure, death will be the result; but that will not alter the case at all; for it is better to die than to sin; and if there be no other way out of it, we ought to be willing to yield up our life rather than to consent, knowing our offense, to sin against God.”

“The three Hebrew captives, when brought into a crisis with Nebuchadnezzar, and commanded, under the threat of the fiery furnace, to bow down and worship the image he had set up, did not need to hesitate a moment to decide the question before them. They promptly answered him, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter;’ that is, ‘we have no thought or deliberation to bestow upon this question, or give thee any alternative in this thing. No hesitation or question remains to us. We indulge no evasion or delay. Our decision is made. We will not serve thy gods nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up; for our duty is plain.’ They were led by the Spirit of God, and their decision was unanimous and prompt. They did not need even to confer one with another. If any question had remained to be decided by them, it would have shown that they were not in the right place. They were brought face to face to brave the authority and power of the highest potentate on earth, and the scorn of all the highest dignitaries in the realm, and finally the wrath of devouring fire. ‘If it be so,’ they said, ‘our God whom we serve is able to deliver us.’ This was the first, last, and ruling thought in the minds of these youthful heroes. Scattered all through the Sacred Volume are like examples to indicate to us the path of duty.

The history of the prophet Daniel furnishes us an illustration of the value of the principles of temperance and abstinence. Daniel purposed not to defile himself with the king’s meat nor with his wine. It was frequently the case that the meat used by the kings and princes of heathen nations, who were often the high priests of their religion, was first offered in sacrifice to idols, and the wine they used poured out as a libation before them; and again, some of the meat of which they made use was pronounced unclean by the Mosaic law; and on either of these grounds, Daniel could not, consistently with his religion, partake of these articles. Hence his request, as recorded in Dan. 1:8–16.

“But ‘there are times when for the sake of others, if not for our own, it may be our duty to abstain from things otherwise, or in other circumstances, permissible. The same apostle who counseled Timothy to use a little wine for his stomach’s sake and his frequent infirmities, said also, ‘It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak;’ and he declares for himself, ‘If meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.’ Rom. 14:21; 1 Cor. 8:13.

“The character of the wines and other intoxicating drinks used in this country, the prevalence of drinking customs, the continued evidence before our eyes of the terrible effects of the use of these drinks, physically, socially, and morally, slaying, as they do, their tens of thousands, and drawing in their train misery, poverty, disease, and crime,—these facts are believed by many to make it the duty of Christian men and women, in general, in the exercise of that charity that pleaseth not itself and ‘seeketh not her own,’ to abstain entirely from the use of these beverages, for at least the sake of those who must one way or other be affected by their example.

“Grace is needed most in times of difficulty and trial. That grace was then afforded to Daniel and his friends in their perplexity. To Paul’s thrice repeated prayer, that the thorn in the flesh might depart from him, the only answer vouchsafed was, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Believing this, Paul gloried in his infirmities and necessities. ‘Neither tribulation, nor persecution, nor famine, nor nakedness, nor peril, nor sword, are able to separate the genuine believer from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’” — Homiletic Commentary.

“Daniel’s resolution in regard to his diet was the means of strengthening his character, and fitting him for future greatness. Each resolution carried out in spite of difficulty or natural reluctance makes a man stronger. An irresolute man is a weak man. The part of weakness is either to make no resolution or to make it and fail to keep it. Broken resolutions make a man weaker. ‘One resolution kept prepares one for keeping the next. A resolution manfully carried out is often the turning point in a man’s life, and the determination of a man’s character.’” — Id. U. S.