p. 2 | THE DUTY OF THE CHURCH by C. F. Hammond

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Oct 20, 1898

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 24, No. 42.

THE DUTY OF THE CHURCH.

By C. F. Hammond

A Voice from a Prison Cell.

“EXCEPT ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Luke 13:3.

In this article the word “repent” is not intended to apply to people outside the churches for sins of commission, but to you, my friends, for sins of omission in not doing your whole Christian duty toward your fellow-men. The Lord has said through His prophet: “If the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand. — . . . Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.” Eze. 33:6–9. When I read these words, I tremble to think of the great responsibility God has placed upon us as His watchmen.

Any man with ordinary perception can see that there is a tendency in society to follow after pleasures that lead to vice, instead of following after Christ, altho the service of Christ is a guarantee of happiness in this life, and leads to everlasting life in the world to come. The effects of the transgression and fall of Adam can be seen on every hand. They are proclaimed on every street corner and in every public gathering; in political conventions, theaters, operas, saloons, and dens of infamy. Wherever men are to be found, there the effects of the fall are apparent. This tendency of the human heart to evil seems incomprehensible when we realize that millions of copies of God’s Word are scattered broadcast throughout the land, and that churches dedicated to setting forth the principles of that Word are to be found in every city, village, and hamlet.

To my mind a large percentage of the blame for all this evil rests upon the churches. They are more interested in setting forth their creeds than in proclaiming the fundamental principle of Christianity, which is justification through faith in Christ. If all who claim to be Christians, and to be interested in the uplifting of

their fellow-men, would give the Bible a more prominent place in their study; if they would fill their hearts and lives with the glorious principles and truths it contains; if they would give more literal interpretation of the Word, proving scripture by scripture instead of by the fathers, the people would understand and appreciate their efforts, and their influence would be far-reaching, penetrating even to the very dens of vice and infamy.

No man can truly be brought to God through fear of everlasting punishment. Nothing but the unbounded love of God shed abroad in the heart through faith in the atoning blood of Christ is a sure cure for the sin-sick soul. And how is that love to be obtained?—Surely not through many of the teachings of the churches, for usually such teachings are at variance with the Word of God. But to obtain that love “that passeth all understanding,” we are to take Christ as our pattern, and His teachings as our guide. We are to keep the Ten Commandments as laid down in the Decalogue; for each one of them is as binding on all mankind to-day as when given to Moses on Mount Sinai. For Jesus said: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Matt. 5:17, 18.

What we want is a pure, common, every-day religion, not a religion to be taken to church on the Sabbath and laid aside the other six days of the week, but one that we can live in the family circle, and carry with us to our places of labor and business. We want a faith that grows brighter and brighter as it comes in contact with this world of sin,—a faith that shines forth as a living example of the “power of God unto salvation,” that will show the world that we believe all mankind are brethren, and that we love our neighbor as ourselves.

Some people seem to think that if they have a Bible, and look into it a few moments on Sunday, and attend church regularly, they have performed their whole Christian duty to God and man. But to all such I wish to say, It is high time to arouse and shake off this delusion. Prepare for the reception of our Lord, lest at His coming you find the word “Tekel: Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting,” written above your name. If you have only a Bible that you are afraid to use for fear of getting it soiled, then by all means get a good, common, every-day Bible, and search out the God-given truths contained therein. Shape your daily life in accordance with its teachings, and you will have an influence for good that will be a blessing to others, and an abiding faith in God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, that will not only be safe to live by, but will be equally safe to die by.

Brethren, “now is the accepted time; . . . now is the day of salvation.” And if we would improve the opportunities that God has granted; if each one who claims to be a worker in the Master’s vineyard would go into the slums of society and dens of iniquity where sin abounds, and grapple with the monster in his stronghold, taking some fallen brother or sister by the hand, and leading him to God, we should cause such a consternation in the ranks of Satan, and such an uplifting of fallen humanity, as this old world has never known.

There is not a church-member but what could have an influence for good. But how many are there who can raise their hand toward heaven and say that they have buckled on the armor of righteousness, grasped the sword of the Spirit (which is the Word of God), and carried the warfare against sin into the enemy’s camp? Search the innermost recesses of your heart with the microscope of conscience, and then answer.

Let us unite in an earnest effort to make Christianity a blessing in fact as well as in name. Let us rouse the dormant energies within us, and, filling our hearts with God’s inspiring love, send forth into the lowest strata of society, where sin abounds and where our work is most needed, the influence of a pure and undefiled religion. Let us not cease until these neglected, fallen ones can say with the prophet Isaiah, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness.” These rescued ones will be jewels in the Master’s crown; and we shall hear the voice of our blessed Redeemer, saying, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant; . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”

C. F. HAMMOND.