A Separate People-No. 3 by F. M. W.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Apr 29, 1915

A Separate People—No. 3

By F. M. W.

There are organizations that are proclaiming the coming of the Lord. Associated with these are many excellent persons; but they are not giving the threefold message of Revelation 14; they are not preaching the coming of the Lord in its proper relation to the other great truths which, together with this, constitute the message for this generation. For us to identify ourselves with them and sound the message of the Lord’s coming from their standpoint would be to ignore the distinctive character of that message in its relation to the other important truths with which it is allied. Giving the message from their standpoint, we could not give it as the third angel’s message. Uniting our efforts with theirs in the proclamation of the coming of the Lord would give us the appearance of sanctioning other doctrines held by them, some of which are diametrically opposed to the Scriptures of Truth. Such affiliation would serve only to weaken our efforts and to compromise our position.

There are organizations and journals which have as their ostensible object the conservation of American liberty. They stand opposed to the efforts on the part of Rome to make America dominantly Catholic. From a patriotic or political standpoint their principles may be sound and their reasoning logical. In their membership are found many noble men. Many connected with these orders are honest in their convictions, and are standing for right principles as they understand them. It is quite possible that their efforts have served to stay temporarily the hand of oppression. It is not for us to condemn them, nor to seek in any way to discourage their efforts. Mark 9:38, 39.

But these organizations and publications are not giving the threefold message of Revelation 14. They are not sounding the warning against the beast and his image from the standpoint of this message, or for that matter, in the majority of cases, from even a religious standpoint. The propaganda which nearly all these organizations and journals are conducting is inspired by the spirit of patriotism or politics. The warning they are sounding against Roman intrigue and aggression is not for the purpose of saving the souls of those to whom they stand opposed. There are some notable exceptions to this rule. There are several societies which have done excellent work in a missionary and Christian way for those in Roman darkness. But the majority of these anti-Romanist papers and parties are fighting Rome the same as the great political papers and parties are fighting one another, but often with far less dignity of speech and method. Some do not hesitate to advise the employment of Rome’s methods in the fight against the papal hierarchy.

Shall we as Seventh-day Adventists join these organizations in their work, and become members or officers in their societies, imbibing their spirit, and sanctioning, by our membership among them, their methods? Shall we circulate these bitter and sensational anti-Romanist publications? Shall we step down from the platform on which God has placed us in his providence and join with those who are opposing Rome solely from a political or patriotic standpoint? Shall we give our influence to arraying class against class and party against party? Shall we foster the spirit of religious and political hatred? Shall we seek such classification for our work? We cannot afford to do this. We cannot forget the solemn, sacred message of salvation which has been committed to us for our fellows. We cannot compromise our character before Heaven, or our position before the world, by the exercise of a partisan spirit or by the employment of political means. We have committed to us a more important work, which demands all our interest and energies.

It is our privilege as well as our duty to enlighten the members of these organizations regarding the real principles of the issues involved. But we may do this without organic union with the organizations of which these men are a part. The work of Seventh-day Adventists is distinctively and positively a soul-saving work; and they cannot consistently engage in any effort which has not this for its ultimate and supreme object.

We do not mean by this that as individuals we should never unite with any local organization for the object of civic improvement, or for the promotion of great moral reforms. Local conditions and circumstances and the issues involved must determine these questions in each particular instance. We should seek the good of the communities in which we are located (Jer. 29:7), and in every practical way show the spirit of true Christian helpfulness and neighborliness. It may be proper for our workers to present before these orders the message of truth which we have for all men, the same as they improve every consistent opportunity to preach the gospel. But this is quite different from uniting with patriotic or political organizations

to fight by patriotic or political means the very ones to whom Heaven has sent us with a message of salvation.

Seventh-day Adventists are not anti-Romanists in the common use of this term. They stand, we hope, through the grace of God, opposed to sin in every form. They believe in contending for the faith which was once delivered to the saints, for Bible truth in its purity; against evil doctrines, whether taught by Romanists or by so-called Protestants. Their mission to the world is not to condemn Romanists or Protestants or their fellows of any faith or creed. Their mission is to save men, whether Catholics or Protestants; and while they should not soften their message to meet popular favor, while they should seek to give it in its clearness, at the same time they should be careful that they do not give it with such a spirit or by the employment of such terms as would make it a message of condemnation rather than a message of salvation; by methods that would serve to turn men away from God instead of winning them to him.

The power of this message in the closing work of God in the earth will not consist in its being uttered in scathing criticism of error, but in its being given in such love and meekness, attested by the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit, that the hearts of men will feel its power, and thus they be led to accept Christ as their Saviour. We cannot give this message by the employment of anti-Catholic publications. These are not suited for missionary work on the part of our people. We have an excellent literature of our own, and need not to resort to worldly sources for publications to meet the special issues before us.

It is one thing to cry out against Rome, to reveal the terrible things which have occurred in her history, to show the subversion of Bible truth as found in her teachings, to hold up to ridicule her scandals and infamies; but it is quite another thing to preach the third angel’s message in a way to win Romanists from the error of their way, in the love and power of the Spirit. The first can be done by the intellectual worldling, by the man who knows not God, by the patriot, by the politician; but the second can be done only by him whose heart has been touched and sanctified by the message he bears, and who recognizes that he sits not as the judge of his fellows, not to bruise and to wound, not to grieve and to offend, not to condemn and to destroy, but as Christ’s ambassador to win men to him through the manifestation of his love and of his grace.

It is to this work God calls this people. They can do it only as they stand upon the high plane of gospel truth, only as they maintain that distinctive character to which he has called his church in all ages. Let us seek to prove true to the holy trust committed to us, and let us by no unwise associations, by no affiliation with worldly elements, compromise our position before the world or misrepresent the character which should actuate those who preach God’s saving message of truth to all mankind. It is as true today as when the prophet of God uttered the words concerning ancient Israel, ‘Lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.’ F. M. W.