Editorial by Editor

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Sep 11, 1893

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 19, No. 44.

Editorial.

By Editor

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable."—2 Tim. 3:16.

"WHY stand ye here all the day idle?"

THIS is God's question to his people now. It is a question to every soul. We are in the closing work of God—the eleventh hour. The harvest is great, the laborers are few; why stand ye here all the day idle?

THOSE who are Christ's cannot say, as did the laborers in the parable, "No man hath hired us;" for Christ has bought us with his own precious blood; he has bought us, body, soul, and spirit. We are not therefore our own; we belong to Christ. Our time, our money, our physical, mental, and moral powers, are all Christ's. He bought us when we were "sold under sin." It is our duty, therefore, to yield to Christ what he has purchased.

NOW as Christ bought us, we belong to him, and as he also died for all the world, we become by virtue of that very purchase a debtor to those for whom Christ died. It was for this reason that Paul, over and over, called himself "a bond servant [servant or slave] of Jesus Christ." It was also for this reason that he declares: "I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also." Rom. 1:14, 15. Christ died for all; all therefore belong to Christ, and every soul who truly acknowledges this purchase, will yield himself and his all to Christ. He by that yielding identifies himself with Christ and Christ's work. He feels a burden for all men. If God calls him to go to the savage barbarians, to a people of strange tongue, he is ready. He acknowledges duty, he claims the privilege of being co-worker with Christ.

SUCH a work for Christ will not partake of selfishness, for self dies when that great fact is admitted into the heart that we are nothing without Christ, but that he is our Redeemer in all things. Self is exchanged for Christ. Self is crucified, and buried; Christ is risen and lives within by faith. That which is dead does not work. That which lives and grows bears fruit; and as faith has brought Christ within the heart, voluntarily, willingly, gladly, so God through Christ works within us "to will and to do of his own good pleasure." It is therefore not humanity working, but God working. It will not be by human might nor power that the work is wrought, but by God's power, the power of his Spirit in us. We can in that way be witnesses of Christ, because we know him. We can proclaim the glad tidings, because we know them to be glad tidings. Paul could not preach the gospel till Christ was revealed in him. Gal. 1:16. Neither can we bear his message to the world till we know the power of the message in our own hearts and lives. Then we cannot do otherwise than witness for Christ. Every act will show forth the life within.

LET no one who professes to be Christ's say: "God has no work for me to do. I am not capable of working in the Lord's vineyard." If you are Christ's servant, if you have yielded to him who has bought you, you have one talent, at least, to use in the Master's service; for it is revealed in the Scriptures that the Master "called his own servants and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability." Not one of his servants was omitted. Every one of Christ's servants is given all that he has ability to use for his Lord. They were not given of their own goods, but of his, the Lord's, goods. So Christ gives of his goods. But he is spiritual, and his goods are spiritual. They are the precious spiritual gifts which God gives to every man who will yield to him. It may be the gift of apostleship; it may be the gift of prophecy; it may be the gift of pastorship, or evangelist, or teacher, but it is more likely to not be any one of these; but to everyone comes the blessed gift of ministry,—ministry in kind words, helpful deeds, kindly acts, loving, patient forbearance. And he who uses well the talent will have more given him. He who thus works in his now limited field in the Spirit of Christ, will be given a larger field. God will supply all; will you accept it? "Why stand ye here all the day idle?"

JESUS said, "Every plant, which my Heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up." Matt. 15:13. Is Sunday of God's planting? Is the seventh-day Sabbath not of his planting?