WITHOUT GUILE by L. A. S.

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Feb 18, 1902

WITHOUT GUILE.

By L. A. S.

“And in their mouth was found no guile.” These words are spoken, by inspiration, of that company which shall be redeemed from the earth, after having obtained the victory over the “Beast” and his “Image,” and shall stand on the “sea of glass,” “without fault” before the throne of God.

No stronger words of commendation could be spoken of human beings. No class of men are more scarce in this fallen world than men in whose mouth there is no guile. Nothing, alas, is more common in this world than guile. Church-membership constitutes no bar to its extension. The Church is full of men who profess piety, but practice politics,—men who pray and exhort, but whose lives do not rise above the level of suspicion. On every hand we see the name of Christ associated with things that will not bear the test of honesty.

But Christianity, now as ever, is strictly honest and uprightness. He has a reputation which stamps him as a man different from the great majority of his fellows,—a man who says what he means, and means what he says, and who promises nothing which he does not honestly purpose to perform. He is known as a man who will not take advantage of the one who trusts him.

Through the deceitfulness of sin, people are led to make a distinction between religion and business, and to separate the one from the other. Their religion is reserved for the Sabbath and the religious assembly, and in their business relations they employ principles of another sort than those set forth in the text-book of Christianity. They seem to think that business—even the business of the Lord—cannot be successfully done in any other way. And thus it frequently happens that even the work of God is conducted in a manner that is far removed from the guileless simplicity of the Master in whose name it is done, and a Christian conference is made to show many points of similarity to a political convention. But Christianity and politics are distinct, and separate spheres of activity. The one is of God, the other is of this world. And so far from doing the work of God in the guileful manner of the politician, the true Christian will do all his business in a Christian way, recognizing that always, in all things, it is his foremost business to be a Christian.

Thank the Lord that His work is developing in the world a company of people in whose mouth will be found no guile. These are they who will get the victory over the “Beast” and over his “Image.” And it is in getting this victory over the Beast that the people of God learn to free their lips from guile. For the Beast—the papacy—is the personification of guile, and is well called by inspiration the “mystery of iniquity.” The policy of the papacy has ever been such as to “cause craft to prosper in his hand.” Dan. 8:25. The papacy began by the creeping in of politics into the Church. There was a contest among the apostles for the supremacy, and the position of supremacy was sought to be attained by intrigue and deception. James and John, in league with their mother, inaugurated a miniature political campaign which was to end in the seating of these two in the chief positions in the future kingdom. Matt. 20:20–24. It did not proceed far, for it was promptly rebuked by Jesus; and the strife as to which should be the greatest came to an end in the tragic events which soon followed, and which left all the apostles and disciples thoroughly converted. But the strife was renewed by the Christian Church at a later date, and there was scheming and intrigue and dishonesty, rings and alliances, fraud and guile in every form, which grew worse and worse, until from it all there finally emerged the “horn” with “eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things,”—the papacy full-fledged. And all this was done ostensibly to advance the kingdom of God. It was the Lord’s work, done in a political way. And when the Lord’s work is done now in a political way, with scheming and wire-pulling and misrepresentation and the various forms of guile, it is done after the pattern of the papacy. And those who get the victory over the “Beast”—the papacy—will get the victory over him in their own hearts—over the desire for supremacy, and the guile which such a desire naturally calls to its service—as well as the victory over the visible “Beast” whose seat is Rome.

The Christian principle of action is that of serving others; the papal, or “Beast,” principle, that of being served by others. The Christian principle has no use for guile; guile and unselfishness have nothing in common. As long as we resort to guile, we are not made perfect in Christ.

Thank the Lord that heaven will be a place without guile. There no one will ever have occasion to be suspicious of his neighbor, and the tongue of deceit will never be heard. The new earth will be filled with the meek, who shall “delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”

There is no place for guile in the affairs of the Third Angel’s Message. Let it be left far behind in the forward movement. L. A. S.