p. 8 | THE WILL OF GOD by W. A. Sweany

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, Cal. · Jan 24, 1906

THE WILL OF GOD

By W. A. Sweany

Transgression the Cause of Trouble.

MUCH of the prevalent, widespread disregard of the will of God grows out of the fear, entertained by many, that obedience thereto will entail inconvenience, temporal loss, and misfortune. It is true, as shown throughout human experience, that these experiences do, often, visit those who conform their lives to God's law. But note that it is invariably the transgression of God's law by the wicked that subjects the righteous to these experiences.

"In transgressing and lying against the Lord, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity can not enter. Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey; and the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no judgment." Isa. 59:13-15. Obedience to Jehovah's requirements never causes trouble, strife, distress, misfortune, or loss. Those who disregard and oppose the will of God are responsible for these things.

His yoke is easy, and His burden is light. His "ways are ways of pleasantness," and all His "paths are peace." "His commandments are not grievous." "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned; and in keeping of them there is great reward." Ps. 19:7-11. Because of the wicked, "all who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution;" and it is "through much tribulation" that we must enter the kingdom.

The Source of Endurance.

But "His grace is sufficient" to cause us to endure, and even to rejoice in temptation, tribulation, persecution, and suffering. He "who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will" "maketh the wrath of man to praise Him," so that "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to His purpose." Seasoned and enriched by the grace of God, "a little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked;" for "riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven." "Riches profit not in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivereth from death." Therefore "what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Verily "godliness is profitable unto all things; having promise of the life that now is, and also that which is to come." "The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance; but the name of the wicked shall rot." It therefore behooves every one to enter into covenant relation with Him, so that His law may be written in our hearts, and wrought out in our lives, and we "may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Jer. 31:31-34; Ps. 40:5-11; 119:11; Eze. 36:25-27; Matt. 7:21-27; Rev. 22:14.

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to Me; seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children." Hosea 4:6. These words reveal the solemn and important truth that ignorance of that which may be known is equally fatal with wilful disobedience. The antediluvians, tho fully warned, knew not of the coming Flood until it came and destroyed them all. Matt. 24:36-39. Had the Jews known, they would have repented, prepared, and been saved. Like the antediluvians, they knew not because they believed not. Altho faithfully entreated, counseled, and warned by all the prophets from Moses to Christ, the inhabitants of Jerusalem perished, because they knew not the things that belonged to their peace, and "the time of their visitation." Luke 19:41-44. Had the princes of this world known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 1 Cor. 2:6-8. And they knew not, because they believed not. John 5:36-47.

Faith Precedes Understanding.

No man can ever understand that which he does not believe; for his unbelief prevents investigation, through which knowledge and understanding comes. The universal adoption of the principle that we must know all about a matter before we can believe it, which so many apply concerning the Scriptures, would stop all advancement in discovery, invention, and all scientific knowledge. Success in any enterprise or undertaking is impossible without belief and confidence therein. Every invention and discovery has been believed in by some one, in the face of popular scorn, ridicule, and opposition, long before it was fully understood even by the inventor or discoverer himself.

Knowledge is the result of faith; not faith the result of knowledge. It is the infidel and the skeptic who know least of the Bible. The man who refuses to believe a statement of Holy Writ until he can fully comprehend and understand it, thereby exalts his understanding as the supreme oracle of wisdom, without recourse to which nothing is to be accepted.

Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe His prophets, so shall ye prosper." 2 Chron. 20:20. "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Acts 16:31. "Without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." Heb. 11:6. "All things are possible to him that believeth." "Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief." Mark 9:23, 24.

BELIEF,—KNOWLEDGE, SALVATION; unbelief, —ignorance, destruction. "Lord, increase our faith." Luke 17:5.

Faith Admits of Reason.

However plainly Jehovah may declare His will concerning us, it must fail of its best effects unless we recognize and acknowledge His absolute right to command, and our unqualified duty to obey. Altho unquestioning obedience is required, yet the government of God is not, as Satan would make it appear, founded upon a blind submission, an unreasoning control. It appeals to the intellect and the conscience. "Come now, and let us reason together," is the Creator's invitation to the beings He has made.

(To be continued.)