International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, Cal. · Jan 28, 1886
General Articles.
By Ellen G. White
“Preach the Word.”
BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
“SANCTIFY them through thy truth; thy word is truth,” was the prayer of Christ for his disciples. In every age God has committed to his people some special truth which is directly opposed to the desires and purposes of the human heart, and which tends to separate his church from the world; and it has been the duty of his ministers to proclaim this truth, whether men would hear or forbear.
When Christ came as the teacher and guide of mankind, he brought to them truths glowing with the light of Heaven, showing in contrast the darkness of error, and revealing the superstition, self-righteousness, and bigotry of that age. His heart overflowed with love for the poor, the ignorant, the afflicted, and the fallen. He healed the sick, comforted the desponding, cast out devils, raised the dead, and preached to all the words of eternal life. But many who listened to the divine Teacher received his words with little favor. The priests and elders, the professed expositors of divine truth, were sending forth no rays of light. In their self-righteousness they held themselves aloof from the benighted people, who needed instruction and guidance. When Jesus took up the work which they had left undone, they felt that his life was a constant rebuke to them, and they feared that he would turn the hearts of the people from them, and destroy their influence. They were filled with pride, love of ostentation, and desire for praise; and they despised the humility and self-denial of Jesus. They hated the purity while they feared the power of his teachings. They refused to accept him themselves, and bent all their energies to hinder others from believing in him. No wonder he brought against them the terrible accusation: “Ye have taken away the key of knowledge. Ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.”
It is no argument against the truth that there are few who are willing to accept it. Few accepted the world’s Redeemer. Though the multitude flocked around him, eager to receive temporal blessings, yet he sadly declared: “Ye will not come to me that ye might have life.” Men are now no more favorable to practical godliness; they are just as intently seeking earthly good, to the neglect of eternal riches. And reformers of the present day will meet with the same discouragements as did their Master.
Of the people in his day Christ said: “For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.” The Jews willfully closed their eyes and their ears, and barred their hearts with prejudice, lest they should see a better way, and be aroused from their dream of security. The people of the present generation are pursuing a similar course. New truths are constantly unfolding; new and clearer light is shining upon the pathway of God’s people. But the great mass of mankind are satisfied with their present condition, and are unwilling to exchange error for truth. But we are to be sanctified through obedience to the truth. For want of this Bible sanctification, the soul of many a professed Christian has become a desecrated shrine, the haunt of hollow formalism, of selfishness and hypocrisy, pride and passion.
It is harder to reach the hearts of men today than it was twenty years ago. The most convincing arguments may be presented, and yet sinners seem as far from repentance as ever. The work of the faithful minister is no child’s play. Earnest, untiring effort is required to wrench the prey of Satan from his grasp. But God will sustain his servants in the work which he himself has committed to their hands. Said Christ to his disciples, as they toiled upon the Sea of Galilee, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” When the gospel net is cast, there should be a watching by the net, with tears and earnest prayers. Let the workers determine not to let the net go till it is drawn ashore, with the fruit of their labor. Sometimes, indeed, we may say with Peter, “We have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing;” but still it is the Master’s command, as of old, “Let down the net on the right side of the ship,”—work on in faith, and God will give success.
Whatever the trials and difficulties that the ambassador of Christ may have to meet, he can carry them all to God in prayer. He can weep between the porch and the altar, pleading, “Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach.” And by study of the Scriptures and earnest, wrestling prayer, he may become “a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Labor on, then, while the day lasts, you who have been called to preach the good news of salvation through Christ; for the night cometh, wherein no man can work. God has called us to labor in his vineyard, and if we neglect our duty, souls will be lost through our unfaithfulness.
Though the servants of Christ may, at times, feel almost disheartened as they see how many obstacles there are in the way of Christian living, and how slowly the work of God seems to advance, their duty remains the same. They are to sow the seed of truth beside all waters. A constant effort to promote personal piety should be seen in all their public labors. They should not preach sermon after sermon on doctrinal subjects alone. Practical godliness should find a place in every discourse, and the discourses should be short and to the point.
The minister should not merely present the truth from the desk, but as the shepherd of the flock he should care for the sheep and the lambs, searching out the lost and straying, and bringing them back to the fold. He should visit every family, not merely as a guest to enjoy their hospitality, but to inquire into the spiritual condition of every member of the household. His own soul must be imbued with the love of God; then by kindly courtesy he may win his way to the hearts of all, and labor successfully for parents and children, entreating, warning, encouraging, as the case demands. Let him seek to keep the church alive, and laboring with him for the conversion of sinners. This is good generalship; and the results will be found far better than if the minister performed all the work alone.
Jesus bids his people, “Go forward.” The minister may labor for the people, but he cannot take the responsibility that God has placed upon them. There are higher attainments for us, there is a purer love, a deeper experience, if we will consecrate ourselves to God, and humbly take him at his word. The reason why we have no greater confidence and joy, is that we are not sanctified through obedience to the truth. There is in us an evil heart of unbelief. Our heavenly Father is more willing to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him than are earthly parents to give good gifts to their children. Then let us shake off the spiritual sloth that dishoners him and imperils our own souls. If we draw near to God, he will draw near to us. We must not wait for better opportunities, for strong persuasions, or for holier tempers. We can do nothing for ourselves. We must trust to the power of Jesus to save us. He is holding out to us the crown of life, and shall we not accept it? Let us come to him just as we are, and we shall find him a present help in our time of need.
The sweet sense of sins forgiven, the light and love which Christ alone can give, fill the soul with peace and joy. The assurance that we are under the protection of Omnipotence imparts courage and confidence, inspires a hope that is “as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the vail.” This assurance is a source of strength unknown to the worldling or to the half-hearted professor. So long as we have the presence of our Saviour, difficulties cannot dismay nor dangers50appall us; and we are ready cheerfully to perform whatever duty God requires of us. If we were only as free to speak of the blessings we receive from God as we are to talk of our doubts and discouragements, we should enjoy far more of his presence. Our kind heavenly Father declares: “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me.” Let us praise him more, and complain less; let us talk more of the love and wondrous power of our Redeemer, and we shall be brought nearer and nearer to him, into closer and still closer relations with him in whom our hope centers.
Shall we not consecrate ourselves to God without reserve? Christ, the King of glory, gave himself a ransom for us. Can we withhold anything from him? Shall we think our poor, unworthy selves too precious, our time or property too valuable, to give to Jesus? No, no; the deepest homage of our hearts, the most skillful service of our hands, our talents of ability and of means,—all are but too poor an offering to bring to Him who was slain, and has redeemed us to God by his blood “out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.”
Two beautiful leaves hung side by side;
One proudly thought 'twas two strongly tied
To the tree that its very life supplied.
It twisted and twirled and was never still;
It murmured, complained, and sighed, until
It was free to follow its own sweet will.
Awhile it floated in balmy air;
The butterflies said it was very fair,
The soft winds tossed it here and there;
Then it fluttered down from sunny skies,
A faded, forgotten thing, to lie
Alone on the cold, damp earth, and—die.
The other leaf was content to be
Where it was placed on the parent tree,
Knowing, though bound, 'twas most surely free.
So it lived and grew, in sweet content
Doing each day's work, 'till, the summer spent,
With autumn fruitage the boughs were bent.
The fruit was golden and fair to see,
And the leaf rejoiced exceedingly,
For was not the leaf a part of the tree?
Shall I read the moral, O soul, to thee?
Christ says, " Ye cannot fruitful be,
Except, by faith, ye abide in me."
—Grass Valley Methodist.
Jesus Only.
By T. L. Cuyler
It is very probable that Christ's transfiguration took place upon Mount Hermon. The outlook from that summit carried the eye from Lebanon, with its diadem of glittering ice, southward to the silvery mirror of Gennesaret; but it was not that vision of natural beauty that the disciples looked at chiefly; they saw "Jesus only." Two illustrious prophets, Moses and Elijah, had just made their miraculous appearance on the top of the mount; but neither of these mighty men appeared any longer to the disciples' view; they "saw no man save Jesus only."
In this expression we find the clue to the power of apostolic preaching. That solitary figure on the mount became the central figure to the eyes and hearts of the apostles. One person occupied their thoughts; one person filled all their most effective discourses. It was no such benevolent charlatan as poor Renan has lately attempted to portray; it was the omnipotent and holy Son of God. They saw in him "God manifest in the flesh;" they saw in him an infinite Redeemer, a divine model, an ever-living intercessor and friend. And they saw no one save Jesus only. Paul gave utterance to the heart of the whole apostolic brotherhood when he said, "I determined to know nothing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." Has not this been the key-note to the best sermons of the best ministers ever since? Is not that the most powerful sermon that is the most luminous with Christ? Depend upon it that the pulpit, the Sabbath-school, and the volume which God honors with the richest success, are those which present "no man save Jesus only."
Here, too, is a clue to the best method of dealing with awakened and inquiring hearts. We are too prone to send the unconverted to a prayer-meeting, or to reading good books, or to listening to some popular Boanerges. The experiences of many a troubled inquirer have been somewhat like those of the woman to whom a faithful minister once said,—
"Have you been in the habit of attending church?"
"Yes, I have been to every church in town; but the little comfort I get soon goes away again, and leaves me as bad as before."
"Do you read the Bible at home?"
"Sir, I am always reading the Bible; sometimes I get a little comfort; but it soon leaves me as wretched as ever."
"Have you prayed for peace?"
"Oh! sir, I am praying all the day long; sometimes I get a little peace after praying; but I soon lose it. I am a miserable woman."
"Now, madam, when you went to church, or prayed, or read your Bible, did you rely on these means to give you comfort?"
"I think I did."
"To whom did you pray?"
"To God, sir; to whom else should I pray?"
"Now read this verse, 'Come unto me, and I will give you rest.' Jesus said this. Have you gone to Jesus for rest?"
The lady looked amazed, and tears welled up into her eyes. Light burst in upon her heart, like unto the light that flooded Mount Hermon on the transfiguration morn. Everything else that she had been looking at—church, Bible, mercy seat, and minister—all disappeared, and to her wondering, believing eyes there remained no man save Jesus only. She was liberated from years of bondage on the spot. The scales fell from her eyes, and the spiritual fetters from her soul. Jesus only could do that work of deliverance; but he did not do it until she looked to him alone.
This incident, which has been given at length in one of the American Tract Society's narratives, reached us during the first years of our ministry. With this "open secret" in our hand, we approached the first Roman Catholic that ever attended upon our preaching. He had turned his troubled eye for a long time to the holy virgin, and to sainted martyrs in the calendar. He had often been to a priest, never to a Saviour. We set before him Jesus only. He looked up and saw the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. "My Romish mother," said he to us, "would burn up my Bible if she knew I had one in my house." But she could not burn out the blessed Jesus from his emancipated and happy heart.
Next we took this simple revelation to a poor invalid of threescore and ten. His sight was failing, and the vision of his mind was as blurred and dim as the vision of his body. We set before him, in our poor way, Jesus only. The old man could hardly see the little grandchild who read aloud to him. But he could see Jesus with the eye of faith. The patriarch who had hardened under seventy years of sin, became a little child. The skepticism of a lifetime vanished when the Holy Spirit revealed to his searching, yearning look the divine form of a Saviour crucified.
We never forgot these lessons learned in our ministerial boyhood. From that time to this, we have found that the only sure way of bringing light and peace to anxious inquirers is to direct them away from themselves, away from ritualities and stereotyped forms, away from agencies of every kind, away from everything save Jesus only. John the Baptist held the essence of the gospel on his tongue when he cried out, "Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world." My anxious friend, be assured that you never will find pardon for the past, and hope for the future; you never will know how to live, or be prepared to die, until you look to Jesus only.
Here is a hint for desponding Christians. You are harassed with doubts. Without are fightings, and within are fears. Why? Because you have tried to live on frames and feelings, and they ebb and flow like the sea-tide. You have rested on past experiences, and not on a present Saviour. You have looked at yourself too much, and not to him who is made to you righteousness and full redemption. Do you long for light, peace, strength, assurance, joy? Then do your duty, and look to Jesus only.
When the godly minded Oliphant was on his dying bed, they read to him that beautiful passage in the seventh chapter of Revelation, "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." (It is the passage which poor Burns could never read with a dry eye.) The old man exclaimed, "Perhaps that is so. The Bible tells me that there is no weeping in Heaven; but I know I shall cry the first time I see my Saviour!" He was right. The first object that would enchain his view on entering the gates of glory, would not be the jeweled walls, or the shining ranks of the seraphim. It would not be the parent who bore him, or the pastor who taught him the way of life. But amid the myriad glories, the thousand wonders, of that wonderful world of light and joy, the believer's eye, in its first enrapturing vision, shall "see no man save Jesus only."
What Is Love?
By Epsilon
THIS is a most important question to every Bible student; for without love, faith and hope must end in destruction. But what is love? Says one, "Love is an affectionate feeling." But affectionate feeling is only a part of love.
Suppose a young man shows signs of affectionate feeling for his father. He cannot bear to hear the least intimation against his father, and he often talks in highest praise of him. But he has little regard for his father's wishes. He does not exert himself to help his father, and is unwilling to forsake bad company and break off bad habits. Suppose a young lady weeps over the sick-bed of that mother who recovers to again do all the heavy drudgery, while the tender-hearted, affectionate young lady seeks her own pleasure, or chooses light and pleasant work. What is such affection worth? Is it love, or only a part of love?
The apostle exhorts us thus: "My little children, let us not love in word [only], nor in tongue; but in deed [doing] and in truth." 1 John 3:18. But the Bible in various ways defines love. In Rom. 13:10, we have a good definition: "Love is the fulfilling [keeping] of the law." The Bible will bear me out in the idea that the keeping of the law is the proof of perfected love.
If antinomians think that Paul meant to teach that love exempts them from keeping the law, they have only to read other scriptures to find themselves mistaken. Why were the Jews required to abide by the decalogue? Answer: Deut. 6:5: "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." Lev. 19:18: "But thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. I am the Lord." Then it was with the Jews as it is with us. They were to love, and to prove their love by endeavoring to keep the law of God.
No one can maintain that the commandments of God do not include the decalogue. "And hereby [by this] we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word [or law], in him verily is the love of God perfected." 1 John 2:3-5. "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him." 1 John 3:15. John here alludes to the sixth commandment, and to hate is the opposite of to love. "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not grievous." 1 John 5:2, 3. "His commandments are not grievous" to those who truly love God.
Dear reader, are you willing to prove your love by being numbered with the last remnant of the church, "which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" (Rev. 12:17); also "that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus"? Rev. 14:12. EPSILON.
Depending on Proofs of Hell
THERE is something to think of in this story. Sam Jones tells of a hard-looking old drunkard who replied to Bob Ingersoll, when he said there was no hell, "Be mighty sure with proofs, Bob; for there are a great many of us who are depending on ye."
Whither are They Tending?
By A. O. Tait
EVENTS, as they are passing, are viewed by the student of prophecy with an anxious eye. He sees in them the fulfillment of God's ancient predictions; and it not only inspires him with confidence in the word of God, but shows him where we are in the world's history. God has seen fit to reveal in his word events which follow in consecutive order till we behold the Lord of glory as he descends to earth for his people.
The four great monarchies predicted in Daniel, chapters 2 and 7, have fulfilled the work assigned them by the prophecy. We have reached the end of the 2300 days of Daniel 8, and the momentous work of cleansing the heavenly sanctuary, which we understand to be the work of judging the righteous, is now in progress.
The visions of John, recorded in the book of Revelation, we look upon as being nearly fulfilled; the only portion yet unfulfilled being the closing part of the message of chapter 14: 9-12, and the work of the two-horned beast of chapter 13: 11-17. The first we consider is already in such a condition that the work can be pushed to completion in a very short time. The second, which is the last link in that particular chain of symbols, and reaches to the second coming of Christ, we desire to notice more particularly, and determine, if possible, its condition.
Our people took the position, more than thirty-five years ago, that this two-horned beast symbolized the United States; that the dragon voice of verse 11 would yet be heard in free America in the way of religious persecutions; and that these persecutions would result from trying to enforce the mark of the papal beast of verses 16, 17, which we have shown again and again, from both the pulpit and the press, to be the observance of Sunday, after it has been clearly brought to our minds that the seventh day, or Saturday, and not Sunday, is the Lord's Sabbath, and the issue has been fully joined between the law of the two-horned beast and the law of God. We have believed and often taught that those who take their stand upon the Bible Sabbath, knowing that the precept enjoins the seventh and not the first day of the week, will be the special objects of the wrath of those who are enforcing the rigid Sunday laws which are to be enacted by this Government.
When we began to present these views to the public, we met with ridicule on every hand at the idea of persecution arising here in America. "The freedom of our laws and institutions," said many, "will never permit a loyal citizen to be misused on account of conscientiously adopting a religion whose moral tendency is good, even though it should be at variance with the religion of his neighbor." Yet, notwithstanding the assurances of our national Constitution, and the jeers of those who opposed our teachings, we considered the prophecy clear, and fearlessly taught it wherever we went.
It has now been more than a score of years since a party has arisen in our midst with the avowed object of so amending the Constitution of the United States as to acknowledge Christ as the king of nations, and the law of God as the fundamental principle in the supreme law of the land. Of course we could not object to this if Christ himself were to interpret the Father's law. He says not one jot or tittle of the law shall pass away. Matt. 5: 18. And according to this interpretation, the seventh-day Sabbath is still the proper one for us to observe, because it, and no other, is taught in the law of which every jot and tittle is to remain in force. But, says the "National Reform Association" (the name assumed by those working for the above change in the national Constitution), the law of God now requires the observance of Sunday, and we must have stringent Sunday laws and require all to observe them, no matter whether Christian or infidel, Sunday observer or Sabbatarian. The end to which this association is working is just what we have seen in the prophecy, and taught as widely as our facilities would allow. Now, those opposing us, seeing this movement at work, cannot laugh so heartily at us. Many of them say, "Although this association is assiduously working in the direction which the prophecy indicates, yet it cannot be brought about in our day. Public sentiment cannot be made ripe for it so soon." We think, however, that all the prophetic word conspires to show that the last generation is reached, and that those now living will see the complete fulfillment of this prophecy. Our convictions in this are strengthened when we see other agents aside from the "National Reform Party" entering the field to assist in this work.
We have always stood firmly for the cause of temperance, and lent a hand whenever we could to uproot the evils of strong drink. We have even gone farther, and taught that the truly temperate man would abstain from the use of tobacco and other hurtful indulgences. We have been rejoiced at the good work done by the Prohibitionists and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. But we are sorry indeed to see the solid alliance forming between the above organizations and the "National Reform Association." According to the Christian Statesman of Sept. 24, 1885, the organ of the "Reform Association," the platform of the Ohio Prohibitionists declares "for a Christian and civil Sabbath." And the Statesman in the same issue calls the Woman's Christian Temperance Union its "noble ally and helper." In its issue of July 9, 1885, it records with much enthusiasm the nomination by the Prohibitionists of Rev. A. B. Leonard, D. D., for Governor of Ohio. After stating that he is a zealous worker for the cause of National Reform (the main reform they seem to be working for is the enforcement of Sunday observance by law), they add: "This is the class of men whom the Prohibition party is bringing to the front. It will be a glorious day for the cause of National Reform when such a party triumphs." A recent utterance of the National Woman's Christian Temperance Union is that "Politics shall also be redeemed and taken from the hands of the prince of this world and given into the hands of our Lord and his Christ."
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union has recently adopted a department in its work for bringing about the more strict observance of Sunday. And Mrs. M. E. Stephenson, Superintendent of the department of Sabbath observance for Pennsylvania, in reporting the progress of her work to the Statesman, says: "In this first report it will not be thought out of place to glance at the reasons for the establishment of this branch of Woman's Christian Temperance Union work, that the wisdom which suggested it may be justified in every mind. The maintenance of our Sabbath laws, and the right observance of the Lord's day, are not only worthy objects in themselves, but are vitally connected with the temperance reformation." In concluding her report, she adds: "Our cause, therefore, is linked inseparably with the cause of the Sabbath. We stand or fall with it. If America is to lose her Sabbath, she will not become a temperate nation. In working for the suppression of Sabbath desecration, we are doing that which must be done before the temperance reformation can prevail."
The above statements clearly show how these three bodies of active workers are rapidly making their cause one. And while we are made glad to see the cause of temperance advancing, it saddens us to see this Sunday movement brought into it. If Sunday sanctity were established by divine authority, it would be different. But since it is a usurper, and has only the authority of men for its establishment, we must raise our voice against it, and call the attention of all to the fact that God asks no one to do such a work as is proposed for Sunday. But rather, since we think the position of our people is clearly proved, that the enforcement of Sunday by law is nothing less than the enforcement of the mark of the beast (Rev. 13: 16, 17), it will ultimately bring upon its adherents the unmingled wrath of an offended God. Rev. 14: 9-11.
We are fully aware that there are hundreds who are now zealously working for this Sunday movement who have not had their minds called to the nature of the work they are doing as set forth in the prophecy, who will abandon their designs when they are properly informed. In the sight of God no one is responsible for wrong positions until he has had opportunity to know better. But opportunity to inform ourselves brings responsibility. John 9: 41; 15: 22.
Public sentiment is getting very strong in favor of this Sunday law; even men who make no profession of religion will say that we should have a law to compel men to keep Sunday. And when we consider that such a strong organization as the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, composed of the most zealous temperance women in the land, and the Prohibition party, are allied with the National Reformers in working for a strict Sunday law, we must see that it is highly probable that a sentiment will soon be formed strong enough to pass the law and inflict its penalties.
In a republic like ours, public sentiment soon becomes law. For example, take the late rebellion. As late as 1860, any one viewing things as they then appeared, would not expect the manumission of the slaves in five years from that time. Yet the sentiment was already formed, and in that brief space the rebellion arose and was suppressed, and every slave made free. So in this case; there is a large corps of workers moulding public sentiment in favor of this Sunday law. And as soon as they get the matter worked up a little more, they can have laws passed to suit them; and the dragon voice will be heard, the image to the beast set up, and the mark enforced with all the energy of blinded and corrupted religious zeal.
We hope that our readers will carefully consider this question, and see where they stand. The prophecy is clear when earnestly and prayerfully studied; and those who reject God's plain commandment, and labor to enforce a day which he has never commanded or made holy, will certainly be found at last fighting against him. And now, while it is our privilege to inform ourselves and choose the right, let us be wise and do it, and avoid the fearful consequences of rejecting the word of God.
A. O. TAIT.
The Long-Winded Public Speaker
SPEAKING of public assemblies, was there ever yet a great meeting in which some part of the exercises was not wearisome to the majority of the listeners? Where two or three are gathered together, there always appears some one who thinks the others will be edified by listening exclusively to him, and who cannot see that they want to hear that other man. The "Spectator" recently heard a somewhat prosy speaker consume sixty-five mortal minutes in torturing an audience who were waiting to hear another man; and, to make it worse, he seemed to think the storm of applause which greeted his retirement from the speaker's desk was an exhibition of approval and not of relief. Committees of arrangements may find it impossible or ungracious to restrain a fluent tongue; but, in justice to a long-suffering but patient public, they ought to place it at that point in the programme where it will work the least harm; viz., the end. —Christian Union.
Serving Jesus in Humble Stations
It is pleasant to remember that by doing our best in our station, however humble it may be, we can each serve Jesus just as acceptably as those who occupy the most responsible positions.