Brother F. C. Gilbert, a Jewish Christian brother, has just attended a meeting in Boston, Mass., designed to promote the evangelization of the Jewish people. He sends the following account of it to Elder A. T. Jones, which we have the liberty to publish:—
I have sent you a paper which I read a short time ago in Boston. We had a very unique and interesting meeting at Park Street church, Boston, Mass., May 21-24. It was a Hebrew-Christian Convention, having many Jewish Christian workers from different parts of the country. It was indeed an interesting meeting. I wish you had been there; for I believe you would have thoroughly enjoyed it. It was encouraging to see these men, some of whom had been rabbis, and others had had remarkable experiences. All of them were bent on one object,—the preaching of the cross and of Christ the risen Saviour. There were about twelve denominations represented.
Two questions were particularly considered at this Conference: the evangelization of the Jews, and the privilege of the Jewish Christian to observe the ceremonial law, if he so chooses. That is to say, while it is not regarded a matter of salvation that he should observe it after he has found Christ, yet should he desire to do so, he should not be excluded from church fellowship. We had a warm and interesting time, I assure you; but thank the Lord, the truth makes a man free, and in that freedom he will stand every time. Dr. Arthur Pierson445was chairman of the meeting part of the time; Dr. McKenzie, the Harvard scholar and eminent Cambridge divine, was present, and spoke; J. M. Foster, the Calvinistic Presbyterian, famous as a Sunday-law advocate, and other great men, so called, were present, spoke, and manifested a great deal of interest. I was invited to write a paper, and read it. This paper I send you is the one I read. Bless the Lord, the Holy Spirit was present; and it was a remarkable victory God gave us for the truth. The Spirit of the Lord was with us in the presentation of the word.
After I was through reading, Dr. Pierson came to me, shook my hand, and expressed deep thankfulness for the reading of the paper. He expressed himself as desirous of having it in print, for circulation. Dr. McKenzie spoke just before I did, and he drove hard at the Sabbath. He said that while the Lord did away with the ceremonial law, he exalted the law of God by His life, with the exception of the Fourth Commandment; this He changed to the first day. You can readily imagine the situation when I took the floor. However, the Lord gave us the victory; and the truth was well received. It was certainly a remarkable opportunity to present the truth on the law and the gospel. J. M. Foster came to see me a day or so after I read the paper. He was glad of what I said concerning the law of God.
The next day after I read the paper, there was a discussion on the ceremonial law, whether the feasts should not be perpetuated. Some things were said that stirred my soul; and I felt that to allow those things to be said with no remonstrance, would make me ever after feel guilty for not holding up the truth as it is in Jesus. The Spirit of the Lord impressed me to speak; and as a result many saw light in the fact that all that the Jew needs is Christ, and Him crucified. And while the feasts and festivals were designed of the Lord to teach Israel many precious lessons of truth, when the soul sees Jesus Christ and the fulfillment of those things, there is no further need of them. Dr. Niles, the man who was with me at the Conference six years ago at Battle Creek, who was acting chairman at the time I was speaking, shut me off in the middle of my speech, and would not allow me to continue. You may be sure I had the sympathy of the people more than ever; and many of them said that the course he pursued showed that his cause was a weak one. He was one of the leaders in advocating the continuance of these festivals.
Well, bless the Lord, we had a good time; everybody was pleasant; and all agreed to disagree, when they could do no better. But oh! how my heart did rejoice, as I listened to these men express their uncertainty of many things, to know that God has given me the light of the Third Angel's Message.
I hope, now you are out again in the field, that the Lord will abundantly bless and prosper you; and that the message will be full of the Holy Ghost and of power.