The Condition of the World and the Church by Francis McLellan Wilcox

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · Aug 21, 1907

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 33, No. 34.

The Condition of the World and the Church

By Francis McLellan Wilcox

THIS is the solemn hour, even the hour of God's judgment. It is court week in heaven. Before this heavenly tribunal is passing in grand review the history of the human race. The destinies of men hang upon the decisions to be rendered. We may look back with interest upon past ages of the world's history and wonder what will be the result of this martialing of records before this august assembly; but by far the most practical and pertinent query for us to consider is the condition of the world to-day, and our relationship to the judgment hour. What is the situation presented in view of this solemn investigation now taking place? Is the world prepared to stand in the great day of the Lord? Will the nations of men pass muster in the eyes of the great Reviewer? Will the professed church of God stand the scrutiny of the great Judge? Let us glance briefly at the existing conditions.

Heathendom.

Two-thirds of the world's population are still in the darkness of heathenism. They know no God of love, they have no faith in the blood of an atoning Saviour. Their gods are but the works of their own creation, the deification of their own sinful passions and propensities. As expressed by the apostle Paul, they are "without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world." Such is the condition of those who sit in the darkness of heathenism in our own day as truly as in the days of the apostles.

So-called Christian Nations.

In turning to so-called Christian nations of the earth, to those countries which for long years have shared the blessings of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus, we might naturally expect to find a better condition of affairs. Unfortunately such is not the case. Crime has reached a higher degree of enlightenment, and carries on its work with a certain delicacy and refinement, but it is still as rampant, as insidious in its workings, as baneful and destructive in its results. In fact, among the Western nations of the Old World and the nations of the Western Hemisphere crime has reached its highest scientific development at the present time. Consider this more specifically:

Conditions in National Life.

Intensity has taken possession of the nations of men to-day: wild dreams of conquest; the creation of large standing armies; the great increase of naval armament; the vying with each other to create or secure the most effective death-dealing instruments; the diplomatic play in formation of alliances and counter-alliances, only indicate the attitude of every nation of the world toward all of its fellows. Outwardly there is a portentous calm, inwardly a smoldering fire, which, Vesuvius-like, may break forth at any time, carrying carnage, bloodshed, universal war, and destruction among the nations of men. We sleep to-day in the crater of a volcano.

Closely akin to this national conflict is the controversy now existing between the social classes. There is an arraying of class against class, organized capital on the one side and organized labor on the other. These confront each other in what promises to be the mightiest class struggle that the world has ever witnessed, compared with which the conflict between patrician and plebian in ancient Rome sinks into insignificance. The growing conditions make this conflict more and more imminent. One prominent use made of the militia to-day in many States is to suppress labor riots. Every thoughtful observer, whether he may belong to either of these classes or not, must look with grave concern upon the outcome of this industrial conflict. We know not what a day may bring forth.

Another marked feature of national life is the corruption which exists in the national, state, and municipal affairs of the several countries of the world. Even in our own country of vaunted liberty and honesty, some of the highest offices are bought and sold. The votes of state legislatures are determined by party gold. Franchises which rob the people of thousands of dollars are gained or extended as their owners are able to control the votes of those in official positions. The officers of justice close their eyes to crime, and too often connive with the law-breaker. True, there are exceptions to these conditions. God has many a noble man in high office who is using his influence against the great incoming tide of evil, and is trying to uprear the standard of truth in the midst of the gathering darkness. The situation in national life presents indeed a sad picture.

Social Conditions.

The condition of society to-day is aptly pictured by our Saviour when He likens it to the situations existing in the days of Noah and the days of Lot. In pleasure, in self-seeking, in vain, pretentious display, in eating and drinking, in wanton sin and licentiousness, in the mad, wild rush for gold and glory, the world is choosing its own way, and forgetting God. Note the great increase in intemperance, and the growth of its twin evil, licentiousness. The grog-shop and brothel travel hand in hand. Insidious and insinuating, hydra-headed and adaptable, these twin evils are making their influence felt in all grades of society at the present time. The fairest of our maidens and the flower of our young men become the prey. The satisfying of wanton pleasure in ministry to the appetite, the pride, and the passions is the spirit possessing the idle multitude at the present time.

The Home and Personal Life.

The home is the bulwark of society even as society is the bulwark of the nation. With the nation corrupt, with society far departed from God, there may yet be hope if the home life be pure, if such a condition were possible. But in tracing the effect back to the cause, we find that the departure from the simplicity of home life in the world to-day has produced the evils enumerated above. There can be no truly Christian organization without Christian experience in the lives of those who compose the organization. Society can be purged of moral corruption only as the homes and the individuals which form the foundation of society are pure and undefiled. Chief among the dangers threatening the home to-day, is that of alienation. How many homes are made desolate, how many children left without the care and protection of parents, because alienation has done its deadly work! Divorce and separation result. This is a time when natural affection is fast waning. In many of our com

munities noted for their morality and home life, there is one divorce to every four marriages. The old-time simplicity of family life is fast departing.