The Church by C. S. Longacre

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Jul 28, 1909

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 36, No. 29.

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The Church

By C. S. Longacre

IV. The Apostasy and Witness of the Truth

By C. S. Longacre

Parable of Salt

CHRIST, in speaking of His church, said: “Ye are My witnesses.” “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” Matt. 5:13.

The purpose of salt is to purify and to preserve in purity things that otherwise would spoil. But when the salt itself becomes contaminated, it only hastens corruption, and adds tenfold to its putrefying elements. Just so a righteous church that witnesses to the eternal truth of righteousness in a wicked and corrupt generation, purifies and preserves it. For did not the Lord promise Abraham that if he found even ten righteous persons in Sodom He would not destroy it “for the ten’s sake”? But when the church apostatizes and becomes contaminated with the wickedness in the world, and refuses to be healed herself, then she, too, becomes good for nothing, and needs to be cast out. Yea, she becomes worse than good for nothing. She becomes “the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth,” “the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” Rev. 17:5; 18:2.

The Light of the World

While Christ was here on earth in person—Himself being the effulgence of the Truth, the Way, the Life—He said, “I am the Light of the world;” but when He left His disciples as His only representative, visible witnesses of the truth, He said to them, “Ye are the light of the world.” He admonishes His people, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” “Do all things without murmurings and disputings: that ye may be blameless, and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the word of life.” Phil. 2:14-16.

Again the divine commission to the church is: “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For behold darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.” Isa. 60:1-3.

This preeminently sets before us the true mission of the church, and of each individual in the church. To turn aside from this is to pervert the mission of the church. Each individual member in the church is to keep himself unspotted from the world.” James 1:27.

The church as the light of the world sustains the same relation to Christ, the Light of the world, as the mammoth reflector in a light-house does to its light. The light emanates from Christ, and is reflected by the church in millions of rays in every direction into the dark world of sin. If there is a spot on the reflector it will cast great shadows on yonder rocks and shoals and imperil many lives which perchance may sail into the dark shadow. Hence the necessity to keep ourselves “unspotted from the world.” To us is given the keeping of the lower lights along the shore of the rough sea of time. Ours is a solemn responsibility.

The Foundation of Truth

The church is to be “the pillar and ground of the truth.” 1 Tim. 3:15. The great teacher said: “If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed; and we shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31, 32. “And why call ye Me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to Me, and heareth My sayings, and doeth them . . . is like a man which built an house and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock,” and the gates of hell could not prevail against it, “for it was founded upon a rock”—“the Lord our Rock.” “But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth,” and when assailed by the prince of hell “it fell,” and “the ruin of that house was great.” Luke 6:46-49. Christ never decreed that a certain individual, because he was an individual once favored by divine grace, should always be favored, irrespective of conditions. Since the church is composed of individuals, He could never rule arbitrarily concerning any particular church, without regard to her spiritual condition. If a church as a body apostatizes from the truth, God casts her off just as readily as He does a single individual .

If a church abide not in the teachings of Christ, she has no rock for her foundation but shifting sand, and she can not withstand the assaults of the enemy. Building upon the teachings of Christ and not upon man, is the eternal foundation of the church. “Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men; for laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men.” Mark 7:7, 8.

The church is to be the witness and receptacle of the truth, in place of “the tabernacle of witness,” which was the receptacle of the eternal and unchangeable law of God. “Thy law is the truth . . . and all Thy commandments are truth.” Ps. 119: 142, 151. “Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth.” John 17:17. “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isa. 8:20. “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination.” Prov. 28:9.

Falsehood or Truth

An individual or church that forsakes the law of God is a false witness “to the truth.” “A false witness” and “lying lips are an abomination to the Lord.” Truth is assailed by error. Error perverts the truth, and propagates lies. Satan is the author and propagator of error. Christ declared, “He is a liar and the father of it” and “he is a murderer from the beginning.” Error persecutes and appeals to force. It flings insult and abuse. Truth does neither. It produces the gentle graces of the Spirit of truth who guides into all truth.

He who slays the truth in man because he has the power, aims his murderous blow at the Supreme Being. He assails the throne of the Infinite because “righteousness and judgment are the habitation of His throne.” Satan murdered the Son of God because He was the truth manifest in the flesh. Falsehood, then, is a murderer from its very inception, in whomsoever it bears sway, and if it ever should gain dominion over the whole race,—which, thank God, it never will,—it would have a tomb for a throne, anarchy for government, hell for a kingdom, and corpses for subjects.

But let each of us say with our divine Master: “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth.” John 18:37.