The Bible is the most precious book in the world. It is the only guide to direct the soul to the paradise of God. The apostle says: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” The Bible is a precious treasure. It should be in every home, not to be laid away or put upon a shelf, but to be diligently studied. The Bible is the hope of both the white and the colored race. The idea is disseminated that common people should not study the Bible for themselves, but that the minister or teacher should decide all matters of doctrine for them. This is the doctrine that is taught to the colored people; but the Bible is the poor man’s book, and all classes of people are to search the Scriptures for themselves. God has given reasoning powers to men, and by bringing our mental faculties into connection with the Word of God, the spiritual powers are awakened, and common people, as well as teachers and clergymen, may understand the will of God.
Christ said to the people, “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of Me.” Many of the colored people are unable to read, and as it is necessary to understand the Word of God, it is necessary to teach these people to read. During the days of slavery, the colored people were not generally taught to read, because through this accomplishment they became more fully awake to the degradation of their condition. In attaining knowledge, their desire was increased to have liberty, that they might still further pursue their search for knowledge. They saw that it was their right to be subject to no man, but to obey God only. The proclamation that freed the slaves in the Southern States, opened a field into which Christlike workers should have entered to teach those who were hungering and thirsting for knowledge, that they might know God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. There were precious jewels of truth that should have been searched for as a man would search for hidden treasure.
The Lord has given the Bible to us, and it is our privilege to read it for ourselves. It is our duty to search it diligently, that we may receive more and more light from its sacred pages. As we search the Bible to comprehend the truths of61salvation, angels of God are present to strengthen the mind, and to aid us in understanding that which will be a benefit to us and to others. We are to explore the sacred volume as a miner explores the veins of ore in the earth, and finds the precious seams of gold. While time shall last, we shall desire to know what the Bible has to say in regard to our relation to Jesus Christ, our responsibility to God as free moral agents. We must search the Scriptures, so that we may know how to accept our responsibilities, and how to impart the knowledge we have gained to others who are in need of comfort and hope. We must know by experience what it is to have Christ for our sin-bearer, in order that we may intelligently say to others, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!”
The opinions we have received through listening to the traditions of men must not be permitted to bar the way so that we shall not receive the light that requires reformation and transformation. Enter your closets with the Bible in your hand, and there commune with God, having an ear to hear what the Spirit saith unto you. Let your heart be humbled and teachable, softened and subdued by the Holy Spirit. If you find that your former views are not sustained by the Bible, it is for your eternal interest to learn62this as soon as possible; for when God speaks in his word, our preconceived opinions must be yielded up, and our ideas brought into harmony with a “thus saith the Lord.” Christ said, “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.” With submissive spirit you are to obey the truth at any cost, knowing that the precepts of the Bible are the word of the eternal God.
An experience that brings us into harmony with the Word of God will cost the sacrifice of self. It will require humility of mind and a realization of utter dependence upon God. But those who gain this experience will realize the need of working for others, that they also may believe and rejoice in the truth. Very much depends upon the manner in which the truth is presented. The human heart is a hard field to work. Let the missionary ever keep the Word of God upon his lips. Those who talk the truth will have light upon the Word of God. Contemplating the Word of Christ is beholding Christ by the eye of faith. The Word of God is quick and powerful, and coming in contact with the faculties of men, the human mind becomes strong and vigorous, and able to exercise its powers in learning the lesson of sinking self into Christ.
The Bible contains the living bread for the63soul. Shall this book, with its treasures of wisdom, be opened to those who are unlearned, and especially to the vast numbers of the colored people who are scattered through the United States? Shall we be justified in withholding this precious Word from the ignorant and depraved, when by partaking of it by faith is eternal life? Shall we expend labor most largely for those who know the truth? Shall weeks be occupied in seeking to work up a greater interest among those who have heard the truth of salvation over and over again, and leave those who have never heard it with no effort for their enlightenment? How much more appropriate would it be for those who have been thus privileged, to expend their time, talent, and money in imparting that which they understand to those who do not know God, and have never had the Scriptures opened up before them,—in presenting the special message that is to be given to the world in these last days! Gather up the precious fragments of truth, and go to work to present them to those who are starving for the Word of life.
Through the study of the Word of God, a great work may be done for the Southern people. The colored people, though emancipated from physical slavery, are still in the slavery of64ignorance. They are led to believe that they should do just what their ministers tell them to do. Unless their minds are enlightened so that they may understand the Scripture for themselves, and know that God has spoken to their souls, they will not be benefited by the preaching of the truth; for they are in a condition to be deceived easily by false teachers. In reaching the colored people, it is best to seek to educate them before presenting the pointed truths of the third angel’s message. Let missionaries work quietly for both white and colored people in the South. Let them work in a way to help those who most need help, who are surrounded with influences that are misleading. Many of them are under the control of those who will stir up the worst passions of the human heart. The priests and rulers in Christ’s day worked most successfully in stirring up the passions of the mob, because they were ignorant, and had placed their trust in man. Thus they were led to denounce and reject Christ, and to choose a robber and murderer in his place. The work in the South should be done without noise or parade. Let missionaries who are truly converted, and who feel the burden of the work, seek wisdom from God, and with all the tact they can command, let them go65into this field. Medical missionaries can find a field in which to relieve the distress of those who are failing under bodily ailments. They should have means so that they may clothe the naked and feed the hungry. Christian Help work will do more than the preaching of sermons. There is a great need that a class of workers should go to this field who will do this kind of work. Let them meet together and relate their experiences, pray together, and hold their services, not in a way to attract attention to themselves, but in quietness, in meekness, and lowliness. But while they pursue this humble course, let them not sink down into cheapness in conversation, cheapness in manners and ways. Let the workers be Christlike, that they may by precept and example exert an elevating influence. Let them furnish themselves with the most appropriate, simple lessons from the life of Christ to present to the people. Let them not dwell too much upon doctrinal points, or upon features of our faith that will seem strange and new; but let them present the sufferings and the sacrifice of Christ; let them hold up his righteousness and reveal his grace; let them manifest his purity and holiness of character. Workers in the Southern field will66need to teach the people line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little.
As men and women embrace the truth in this field, there will be abundant opportunity for relieving their pressing necessities. Unless this can be done, the work will largely prove a failure. To say, Be ye warmed, and be ye clothed, and be ye fed, and take no steps to bring these things to pass, will have a bad influence upon our work. Object-lessons will be of far more value than mere precepts. Deeds of sympathy will be needed as well as words that will touch the heart, and leave an ineffaceable impression upon the mind. Small schools should be established in many localities, and teachers who are tender and sympathetic, who can, like the Master, be touched by suffering, should be engaged to educate old and young. Let the Word of God be taught in the simplest manner. Let the pupils be led to study the lessons of Christ; for the study of the Bible will do more to enlarge the mind and strengthen the intellect, than will any other study. Nothing will so awaken the dormant energies, and give vigor to the faculties, as coming in contact with the Word of God.
There is much talent among the colored people. Their minds must be aroused, their intellects quickened into activity, that they may grasp the67precious truths of the plan of salvation. Their minds have become dwarfed and enfeebled, because they have been called out and exercised upon commonplace matters, and have been occupied with low, cheap ideas. But as elevating truths are repeated, their minds will expand, and their ability increase to take in and comprehend the subjects with which they become more familiar. A field left uncultivated will soon be filled with unsightly weeds and thistles. The mind left uncultivated will be filled with that which is unsightly, and where seeds of truth are not sown, there will be no fruit of a heavenly order. The colored people have been left in ignorance, and the minds of many have lost the ability to expand. But many are not satisfied. They hunger for something they have not. Were they educated so that they could read the Bible, they would draw comfort from the plan of salvation as it is revealed in Jesus Christ. The influence of truth would work for the enlargement of their minds and the strengthening of their faculties. Thus they would be enabled to grasp other branches of knowledge, and prepared to receive information of a general character.
MRS. E. G. WHITE.
From Review and Herald, Dec. 24, 1895.
Spirit and Life for the Colored People.
The psalmist says, “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” Heavenly intelligences are close by the side of every one who is seeking to open the Word of God to the understanding of the simple, or to those who are really desirous of becoming acquainted with the will of God. Those who open the Scripture to others should teach them the Word of life, realizing the solemn, sacred work that they are doing; for they are bringing souls in contact with God, and with Jesus Christ whom He has sent. Any trifling, jesting, or joking over the Word of God is dishonoring to Him, and leaves an influence that is anything but good upon the mind. But if we desire to enlarge a man’s mind, let us turn his attention to the Scriptures. In the Bible, we behold Him who is the way, the truth, and the life. Through understanding the Word of God, efficiency is obtained for both the practical and the religious life.
Jesus said: “Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you; for Him hath God the Father69sealed. Then said they unto Him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent. They said therefore unto Him, What sign showest Thou then, that we may see, and believe Thee? what dost Thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto Him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life; he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst. . . . I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. . . . Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat70the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me.” Jesus explained what He meant by eating his flesh and drinking his blood. He meant that his disciples were to partake of his word. He said, “It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
The Word of Christ is the bread of life that is furnished for every soul that liveth. To refuse to eat this bread is death. He that neglects to partake of the Word of God shall not see life. Receiving the Word is believing the Word, and this is eating Christ’s flesh, drinking his blood. To dwell and abide in Christ, is to dwell and abide in his Word; it is to bring heart and character into conformity to his commands. In the parable of the vine and the branches, Jesus shows the vital connection that must exist between Himself and his followers. He says; “I71am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without Me ye can do nothing.”
The branches represent the believers in Jesus Christ. Those who truly believe, will do the same works that He did. They are united to Christ by the faith that works by love and purifies the soul. As the branch is nourished by the sap which flows from the parent stock, so the believer in Christ is sustained by the life of Christ. The branches represent the very youngest of the followers of Christ, as the branch includes all the tiny tendrils that belong to it. Jesus is our center. He is the parent stock that bears the branches. In Him our eternal life is centered. The words that He has spoken unto us are spirit and life, and those who feed upon his Word, and are doers of his Word, represent Him in character. His patience, meekness,72humility, and love pervade their hearts. Jesus said, “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.” If we are indeed grafted into the True Vine, we shall bear fruit similar to that of the parent stock.
Those who love Christ will do the works of Christ. They will go forth to seek and to save that which was lost. They will not shun those who are despised, and turn aside from the colored race. They will teach them how to read and how to perform manual labor, educating them to till the soil and to follow trades of various kinds. They will put forth painstaking efforts to develop the capabilities of the people. The cotton field will not be the only resource for a livelihood to the colored people. There will be awakened in them the thought that they are of value with God, and that they are esteemed as his property. The work pointed out is a most needful missionary enterprise. It is the best restitution that can be made to those who have been robbed of their time and deprived of their education. The fact that this is the case leaves a heavy debt upon the American nation. As a nation, we have been made the depositary of sacred truth, and we are to impart the precious knowledge of the Word of God to others.73Every earthly blessing has come to us because of the infinite price that has been paid in our behalf. If it has cost so great a price to redeem man, so that he should not perish, but have everlasting life, how we should rejoice that we are privileged to become co-workers with Christ in saving those for whom He has given his precious life! The Lord Jesus loves those for whom He has made the greatest sacrifice. He gave his own most precious life to bring life and immortality to light to all those who should believe. “This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” Those who receive Christ are in co-partnership with Him, and will not mistake their life work. They will heed the words spoken by Christ. They will be guided by the Holy Spirit, and become more and more intelligent in regard to the requirements of God, and will reveal the love and grace that were revealed in the life of Christ toward those with whom He came in contact.
MRS. E. G. WHITE.
From Review and Herald, Jan. 14, 1896.
“Am I My Brother’s Keeper?”
The law of God contained in the ten commandments reveals to man his duty to love God supremely and his neighbor as himself. The American nation owes a debt of love to the colored race, and God has ordained that they should make restitution for the wrong they have done them in the past. Those who have taken no active part in enforcing slavery upon the colored people are not relieved from the responsibility of making special efforts to remove, as far as possible, the sure result of their enslavement.
When the duty of bringing the gospel to the colored race is presented, many make the plea that association with the colored people will contaminate society. But this very plea is evidence that means should be instituted to remove from this race the degradation that has been brought upon them. As a people, we should no longer say by our attitude, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” We should arouse ourselves to do justly, to love mercy. We should make manifest by our actions that we have the faith for which the saints are to contend. We should go forth to seek the oppressed, to lift up the fallen, and to bring help to those who need75our assistance. We should remember that many among the colored people who have been entrusted with God-given ability, who had intellectual capabilities far superior to those of the masters who claimed them as their property, were forced to endure every indignity, and their souls groaned under the most cruel and unjust oppression. They were ambitious to obtain their freedom, and sought in every possible way to obtain it. At times their deferred hope caused them to flash out with indignation, and they were forced to suffer such fearful punishments that their courage was broken, and to all outward appearances their spirits were subdued. But others planned for years, and finally were successful in gaining their freedom. Many of these have filled positions of trust, and have demonstrated the fact that the colored race is capable of cultivation and improvement. As a people claiming to be proclaiming the last message of mercy to the world, we cannot consistently neglect the Southern field; for it is a portion of God’s moral vineyard. It is not our place to study consequences; but we are to go to the field and labor for the colored people as earnestly as for the white people, and leave results with God. It is our part to work with all our God-given capabilities to redeem the time that we have76wasted in planning how to avoid unhappy results in working the Southern fields.
We are God’s messengers, and He has sent us forth to work for both the white and the black race without partiality and without hypocrisy. We are to set forth the truth in warnings and entreaties. We are to point out the path of light in plain and simple language, easy to be understood by both white and black. We have no time to build up walls of distinction between the white and the black race. The white people who embrace the truth in the Southern field, if converted to God, will discern the fact that the plan of redemption embraces every soul that God has created. The walls of sectarianism and caste and race will fall down when the true missionary spirit enters the hearts of men. Prejudice is melted away by the love of God. All will realize that they are to become laborers together with God. Both the Ethiopian and the white race are God’s purchased possession, and our work is to improve every talent that has been lent to us of God, to save the souls of both white and black. If men and women of either race refuse the truth of God, they must answer to God for their rejection of Jesus Christ, who died for their salvation. With all our might we must do our work now.
God’s object in bringing us to Himself is to conform us to the image of Christ Jesus. All who believe in Christ will understand the personal relation that exists between them and their brethren. They are to be as branches grafted into the same parent stock, to draw sustenance from the root. Believers, whether white or black, are branches of the True Vine. There is to be no special heaven for the white man, and another heaven for the black man. We are all to be saved through the same grace, all to enter the same heaven at last. Then why not act like rational beings, and overcome our unlikeness to Christ? The same God that blesses us as his sons and daughters, blesses the colored race. Those who have the faith that works by love and purifies the soul, will look with compassion and love upon the colored people. Many of those who have had every advantage, who have regarded themselves as superior to the colored people because their skin was white, will find that many of the colored race will go into heaven before them.
Let every one who values the precious sacrifice made by Jesus Christ, lift up his voice in prayer to God, and exclaim: “Behold, O Lord, this poor, oppressed people that have been despised and maltreated by the white nation.78Breathe into their souls, the breath of spiritual life. If no effort is made on their behalf, they will perish in their sins, and their blood will be found upon our garments. Father of mercies, pity thine offspring. Breathe upon these beaten, bruised, ignorant souls, that they may live. Give thy Holy Spirit to those who shall go forth as messengers to this people. Take not thy Holy Spirit from us in our councils, and enable us to make plans and devise means for the spread of the truth among them.”
We need to awaken, and to understand the truth as it is in Jesus. We need to consult the Word of God, in order that we shall not seek to evade disagreeable work. When we realize that we are workers together with God, the promises will not be spoken with half indifference, but will burn in our hearts, and kindle on our lips. We shall present them to the throne of God with earnestness, and the Lord will pour out his Spirit upon the devoted, consecrated worker. Those who plead with God, as did Moses, will receive the same assurances that Moses received. When Moses pleaded: “I pray Thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know Thee, that I may find grace in thy sight; and consider that this nation is thy people. And He said, My presence shall go with thee,79and I will give thee rest.” Again the Lord said to Moses, “Certainly I will be with thee.” The same assurances given to Moses will be given to those who go forth to be co-laborers with Jesus Christ in the Southern field. We are not to wait for great men to undertake the work. We are to encourage those who have a burden to go to this field, who are willing to undertake the work. Let those in responsible positions give their sympathy to such workers, and furnish them with facilities whereby they may do the work required. Let not men in our institutions feel that it is their prerogative to tie the hands of workers at every step. Let those who have a mind to work do with their might whatsoever their hands find to do. Let those who take no part in the trying experience of teaching the colored people, unite their petitions with those of the workers, and plead that the Holy Spirit may move upon the hearts of the workers, and aid them in doing successful work for the Master. The Lord God of Sabaoth will hear earnest prayer. He will lead those who feel their dependence upon Him, and will so guide the workers that many souls shall come to a knowledge of the truth.
Truth as it is in Jesus exercises a transforming influence upon the minds of its receivers.80Let no one forget that God is always a majority, and that with Him success is bound to crown all missionary effort. Those who have a living connection with God know that divinity works through humanity. Every soul that co-operates with God will do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. The Lord is a God of mercy, and cares even for the dumb beasts He has created. When He healed on the Sabbath day, and was accused of breaking the law of God, He said to his accusers: “Doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day? And when He had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed; and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.” The Lord looks upon the creatures He has made with compassion, no matter to what race they may belong. God “hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from81every one of us; for in Him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.” Speaking to his disciples the Saviour said, “All ye are brethren.” God is our common Father, and each one of us is our brother’s keeper.
MRS. E. G. WHITE.