Questions and Answers by Editor

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jun 25, 1914

Questions and Answers

By Editor

In this department there will be considered from time to time helpful and practical questions relating to the various phases of this message, church government, Christian doctrine, duty, experience, etc. The editors reserve the right to consider only those questions which in their judgment will prove of benefit to the readers of the Review. All questions should be addressed to the editor.

1. What is the evidence that we are children of God?

The evidences of divine acceptance are several fold: (1) The gift of Jesus Christ as our Saviour from sin, and the promise of God to receive all who come in his name (John 3:16); (2) the acceptance on our part of this divine provision, by confessing and forsaking sin and conforming our lives to the divine standard (1 John 5:9-11; 3:19-22); (3) faith, which takes God at his word, and says, on the strength of that word, that our sins are forgiven, and that we are accepted in the Beloved (1 John 5:13; Gal. 3:26); (4) the witness of God's Spirit with our spirit that we are the children of God (Gal. 4:6; Rom. 8:16).

2. In what way should we seek to correct sin in our brother?

The Word of God lays down specific directions as to how we should proceed. Read Matt. 18:15-17. Note specifically: 1. We are to go to our brother and tell him his fault, between us and him alone; and we are to go in the spirit of love and reconciliation, recognizing our own weakness. Gal. 6:1. 2. If this visit is ineffectual, we are then to take with us two or three other brethren, endeavoring by our united intercession and prayers to win the offender from the error of his ways. 3. Failing in this second effort, it is proper then to seek the intercession of the church—not for his condemnation, but for his reclamation. The true object of missionary labor with an erring brother is not for discipline, but to reclaim him. If this could ever be borne in mind, it would often save the employment of sterner disciplinary measures. When, however, every effort has been made to reclaim the one who has apostatized, the church should declare its disapproval of the course he is pursuing. Withdrawing church fellowship from one who has departed from Christ is not, as some have contended, casting him out. He has withdrawn himself. The church only declares the fact of that separation. But after this separation has been effected, the members of the church still, with earnest prayers and kindly and appropriate ministry, should seek to win the erring one back to the fold. This ministry should be of a nature that will not strengthen the brother in his error, but will lead him to see that while his brethren have no fellowship with his sin, they still love him and desire the salvation of his soul.

3. Is vegetarianism taught in the Scriptures?

In principle, and as related to God's original and eternal plan, yes. Specifically, and as related to local conditions, no. Before man sinned, animal food formed no part of his dietary. “Every herb bearing seed, . . . and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” Later, after the entrance of sin, God permitted the use of flesh foods. Gen. 9:1-4. But his original purpose remained unchanged, for in his provision for the children of Israel in leading them out of Egypt into the land of Canaan he rained bread from heaven. Exodus 16. Animal food was permitted the Israelites in the desert only as a result of their repining and murmuring. Numbers 11. Later in their history, as a part of the law designed to safeguard their health, the Lord made a distinction between clean and unclean beasts, giving them permission to partake of those that were denominated clean. Leviticus 11. We must conclude that this distinction between clean and unclean beasts was not an arbitrary one, but was based on physiological reasons. And we believe that those same physiological reasons which led the Lord to prohibit the use of many animals in the old dispensation, would in this age of the world's history, when the effects of the curse are resting heavily upon man and beast, preclude the use of flesh foods altogether. And this is recommended today by many eminent physicians. That man can live generously and well, maintaining vigor of mind and body, upon a vegetable dietary, is being demonstrated in hundreds of cases at the present time. Danger from the use of flesh foods is greatly on the increase. There is no question but that many maladies which afflict the human family are directly attributable to the excessive use of animal products. We believe that as God is preparing a people for entrance into the heavenly Canaan, it would be better for them to conform their dietary to his original plan. To Seventh-day Adventists, special instruction has been given relative to the subject of diet and correlated health questions. This instruction should be studied and applied to individual conditions and necessities.

4. A good sister writes us deploring the coldness and indifference which exist in the church, and questioning if, after all, this movement is in God's order.

We should never shut our eyes to unfortunate conditions which may exist in the church. It is only by recognizing them that, through God's grace, we can exert an influence to correct them. We must remember, however, that the church of God in the earth has never been without sin. In the history of Israel of old, when God was leading by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, there were grievous sinners in Israel. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram—mighty men—and two hundred and fifty princes of renown arose in rebellion against God and his work. Aaron was drawn off into apostasy; and even Moses, God's special representative, fell into sin and failed of meeting the perfect standard. But God was leading his people just the same; and in the midst of the turmoil and strife, he was developing character which will stand through all eternity. The children of God today have many errors and make mistakes; yet if we will but open our eyes, we can see as manifest leadings of God as were seen in the midst of Israel of old. God has been drawing very near to his people during the last few months. Scores have received a new baptism of his Holy Spirit. The blessing is for all. We do not hear much in the Word about a Spirit-filled church, but we do hear much about Spirit-filled individuals. It is to our own individual relationship rather than to the church relationship that we should look. We must consider the individual factors rather than the collective units. The work of salvation is a personal work; and as the people of God individually seek to draw near to him, he will respond to their desires and bestow his blessings upon them individually in proportion to their faith. As a rule, in God's work we find largely what we look for. We can find in this movement, as in every movement, coldness, indifference, insincerity, in the lives of many, but in the lives of others we can find loyalty, faithfulness, and consecration to God. It is for us to gather strength from others' weakness, warmth from their coldness, zeal from their indifference, loyalty from their treason, and to make sure that God is leading us as individuals, and thus preparing us to become life savers to those around us less fortunate than ourselves.

5. How can you harmonize the promise of Christ to the thief on the cross to be with him in paradise, with your view of the unconscious state of the dead?

The request of the thief was that he might be remembered when Christ should come into his kingdom. Christ had repeatedly declared that he would not enter upon his kingdom until his second advent, or the end of the world (Matt. 25:31), and that at that time his children should receive their reward (Matt. 25:34, and other scriptures). The thief evidently had understood something of the nature of the kingdom, and requested the Lord to remember him at this time. The request was a strange one under the circumstances. Christ had apparently been rejected of all men. His disciples had forsaken him and fled, and he hung upon the cross as a common criminal. But the childlike faith of the penitent pierced the gloom and recognized the Saviour even in his humiliation. And from a human standpoint, the declaration of the Master was unusual.

Under the circumstances his promise appeared of but little worth. But in that day of apparent defeat, he still claimed relationship with Deity, and his promise to the thief is: Thy request shall be granted, thou shalt be with me in paradise. The transposition of the comma after the word day makes clear the meaning of the Saviour. And in this change no violence is done the sacred record, for punctuation is of comparatively recent origin, and was used to express the sense of the text in harmony with the original, and, sometimes it is to be feared, the theological, views of the translators. It is quite probable that the thief did not die on the day of the crucifixion. Frequently Roman criminals hung on the cross for days before death relieved their sufferings, and evidently it was to prevent the escape of these strong, hearty men that their legs were broken when they were taken down from the cross. How long they continued to live we

cannot say. It is also clearly evident that Christ did not ascend to paradise, the dwelling place of the Father, on the day of the crucifixion. When he arose from the dead two days afterward, he said to

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Questions and Answers

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Mary, who was about to worship him: "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father." John 20: 17. Christ evidently refused the worship of his followers until he had ascended to the Father and received from his own lips the assurance that his sacrifice had been acceptable. That he made such an ascent and returned again to the earth is evident, for later in his earthly ministry we find that he permitted the worship on the part of his followers which he refused to Mary. Matt. 28: 16, 17.