Light Will Be Given by Dudley Marvin Canright

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 27, 1870

Light Will Be Given.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

We often meet with persons professing Christianity, and others who make no profession, who excuse themselves from obeying the truth by saying that they cannot tell what is right and what is wrong. They say that one preaches one thing, and another another thing. “Each one claims to be right,” say they, “and proves his doctrine from the Bible. If we only knew which was right we would receive it; but we cannot tell and it is no use to try.” Now I do not believe that this is correct reasoning. Says our Lord, “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God.” John 7: 17.

This was not an idle promise of our Saviour, but was made because it expressed the exact truth. It gives us the secret of this trouble which so many have. If any man will do God's will Christ says he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God. The trouble is they are not doing God's will, neither do they wish to; but they are doing their own will and wish to continue in it. If they were holy men, who were walking with God, and earnestly seeking his will, carefully searching the Scriptures, and earnestly pleading with God, they would soon have light, they would not walk in darkness.

Says Christ, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.” Matt. 5: 6. Is this language true? Do we believe his words? Hungering and thirsting after righteousness signifies a most earnest and longing desire for it. Not a dead apathy and indifference, a willingness to be in the dark as soon as in the light. The Psalmist says, “Light is sown for the righteous.” Ps. 97: 11. Again he says, “Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness.” Mark; it is to the upright man that light comes. He may be in the dark; but if he is an upright man, God will send him light, all the light he has for his people at that time. John says, “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.” 1 John 1: 6. This is plain and to the point.

The man who walks with God has fellowship with him. He does not walk in darkness.

When we walk with God we must walk in the light. If one of God's children is in the dark, and earnestly crying for light, and asks God to give him light, the Lord is pledged to give it. Take a few examples to illustrate it: Acts 8: 26-40. The Ethiopian eunuch was returning from Jerusalem where he had been to worship. He was reading the Scriptures showing that he was a devout man; but he did not understand what he read. He desired light. What did the Lord do? Leave him to go on in darkness? He sent an angel and told Philip to go and join himself to the chariot. He did so and gave the eunuch that very light that he so much needed. The eunuch embraced it and became a Christian.

Acts 10: 1, 2: “There was a certain man in Cæsarea, called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people and prayed to God always.” Here indeed was a holy man, a God-fearing man, a praying man, but he was a Gentile and had never heard the gospel. He knew nothing with regard to the great light which God had sent into the world. Now see how careful the Lord was to send him light. He sent an angel to Cornelius and told him to send to Joppa for Peter. At the same time he instructed Peter in a vision, to go to Cornelius. Thus the Lord gave Cornelius light.

This beautifully illustrates our text: “If any man do his will, he shall know of the doctrine.” This is just as true to-day as then. If we walk humbly with God we shall always know his will.

D. M. CANRIGHT.