36—CARD-PLAYING, DANCING, LODGES, ETC
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36—CARD-PLAYING, DANCING, LODGES, ETC.
By Editor
A correspondent asks us whether it is right for Christians to play cards, dance, and belong to lodges, and wants to know what ought to be done about it. Of course it is impossible for us to lay down rules in any individual cases. If these things are connected with the church, the church itself ought to act, if possible, so as to save the one who is bringing reproach upon the church, if such is the case, but at any rate, to keep the church free from those things that will drag down to perdition. In and of itself, there might be no harm in card-playing. In and of itself, there might not be harm in dancing. But the real question of the Christian is not, "What can I do and still escape condemnation?" That was not the question that was asked by those who were condemned by sin in ancient times. It was not, "Lord, what can I get rid of doing and still be saved?" or, "What things may I indulge in and still be saved?" but, "What shall I do to be saved?" "What does God ask of me?" "What wilt Thou have me to do?" Any Christian life which does not place itself on the positive side is hopeless. It is not Christian; for Christianity is not a religion of negatives, but of positives. It is not a matter of putting away just as few things as we can; it is a matter of giving the whole life to the Lord Jesus Christ and His service. Card-playing, of course, leads to excess. The wicked things about it are its associations, and the taking of time that belongs to God and giving it to that which is of no use whatever. So it is with dancing. The strength might a great deal better be put forth in exercise in the open air and in doing useful work. As to lodges, what does he or she who belongs to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ want of a lodge of any sort? All the fulness of blessing is vouchsafed to the church of Christ. This has been promised by God. Not one single good thing does the Lord withhold from it. Why, then, should we turn from the blessings which He has given us, and try to manufacture benefits by uniting with lodges? Of course we have nothing to say regarding the world. Lodges are of the world. They are after the manner of the world, and the worldling will want them until the heart is converted. But Christians have no use for them. A little tract published by the Pacific Press sets forth principles that may be helpful in this matter. It is entitled, "Great Popular Evils—The Ethics of the Theater, the Card Table, and the Dance." Apples of Gold, No. 89. One cent each. 37—"THERE REMAINETH A REST"
Does the rest spoken of in Heb. 4:1-12 refer to the Sabbath rest? Does it mean in verse 8 that if Christ had appointed a Sabbath day different from the seventh day, or Saturday, He would have mentioned it in His teaching? Our Lord held to the seventh day. He spoke of no other of the six days being the Sabbath day. First of all, verse 8 of Hebrews 4 does not refer to Jesus our Lord. We know that it reads "Jesus" in our Common Version, but the margin is correct—"Joshua." "Jesus" in Greek is the same as "Joshua" in Hebrew. God wishes to give rest to His people, rest from all their enemies, rest from sin, rest from all that sin brings. When God created the heavens and the earth, He rested from all His works. Verse 4. The earth was completed. It was to be a home of rest for man. Labor would not wear upon him. Sin or any of the consequences of sin would not harass him. It was a home of sweet service of rest for God; but when sin came in, rest was taken from man, "for there is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." Isa. 57:21. When God called the children of Israel out of Egypt, He wanted to give them rest again. He tells us in Deuteronomy 11 that if they would but be obedient to Him, and allow His precepts to be written in their hearts, their days would be "as the days of heaven upon the earth." Deut. 11:21. When they entered into the promised land, it was that they might have rest from all their enemies. Joshua was the one who led them through the Jordan River into the promised land. They were bidden then to enter into their rest; but their carnal hearts would not permit it. Then the conclusion: If Joshua had given them rest, God would not afterward have spoken of another time of resting. That other time is specified in the quotation from Ps. 95:7, 8: "To-day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts." The thought comes right home to the individual himself; and the rest is found in believing in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation from sin. That other day is "to-day"; and from the time when the children of Israel refused to go into the promised land sinless, the day in which we can find rest has been to-day. "To-day if ye will hear His voice," "to-day" "harden not your hearts." It is duty to keep the Sabbath day still; for the very Sabbath day in which the Christian heart finds rest is also a promise of the glorious time when sin will be banished forever, the earth be restored to its Eden beauty, and the works of sin be forever obliterated. "There remaineth therefore a rest [or "keeping of a Sabbath," as the margin reads] to the people of God" (verse 9)—such a Sabbath as the Lord had when the earth was created, a rest which includes rest from sin. Then will God's children receive the kingdom given to them from the foundation of the world. God's word says, "Thou shalt not kill." As war involves the taking of human life, is it any more justifiable to do wholesale killing under federal or state orders than to kill an individual? In case one should refuse to fight, he presumably would be tried and shot. Now, should we walk up bravely and be shot rather than to go and shoot others? In ancient times, God directed His people to fight; but He Himself ruled. His people were His agents. Yet there are instances in His word which seem clearly to show that God would have interposed and preserved His people from war if they had but trusted in Him. An instance is the taking of Jericho, as recorded in the first chapters of Joshua. All that God called His children to do was to march around that city and blow trumpets. The army of heaven threw down the walls and conquered the people. When Jehoshaphat was besieged by the enemy—Moab and Ammon and others—he proclaimed a fast, and sought God; and word came from the prophet that they should not be afraid by reason of the great multitude that had come against them, "for the battle is not yours, but God's"—that they had no need to fight, but should simply stand still, and see the salvation of God. And thus they went forth, with singers in the forefront of the battle, praising God; and the Ammonites and the Moabites and the Edomites destroyed one another, and God's children were saved. See 2 Chronicles 20. That was in the olden times. The one example we have for these days is Christ Jesus our Lord. He did not resist. He reproved His ardent disciple when he drew the sword. He healed the wound that Peter made. He has told Christians that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, and yet they are mighty through God in pulling down strongholds that no earthly army can overthrow—the fortresses of sin within the heart. Christian nations surely ought not to be at war, and the fact that they are at war shows that Christianity is wanting. On the other hand, those who are carnal will fight; and all the nations of the earth are carnal. In these great struggles, God often overrules. He casts down one, and sets up another. He gives the kingdoms of the earth to whom He will. He makes the wrath of man to praise Him, and that which can not be used in that way He restrains to His own glory. As to what the duty of an individual would be, each individual must decide for himself. If one goes to the army under the command of his king, he is not obliged to kill any one. He can act as nurse in caring for the sick and the wounded. He may be able to do wonderful missionary work with the men around him, and yet He Himself cause no loss of life. The one motive which should animate the Christian should be the motive which actuated our Lord Jesus Christ,—"For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them."