Review and Herald, Vol. 79, No. 27.
THE ONLY PERFECTED BIBLE KINDERGARTEN METHOD FOR THE HOME AND SCHOOLPage 2
THE ONLY PERFECTED BIBLE KINDERGARTEN METHOD FOR THE HOME AND SCHOOL
“Bible Object Lessons and Songs for Little Ones,”
By LILLIE E. AFFOLTER and F. E. BELDEN. Specially Prepared for Mothers and Teachers. One for each Sabbath in the year, each lesson accompanied by suggestions to mothers and teachers. And Hymns, written specially for the Lessons. Superb 6 x 8 half-tones, with colored plate. Showing how to use the kindergarten material when teaching the lessons. I have examined with great interest the beautiful volume of “Bible Object Lessons and Songs.” I am sure it cannot fail of being helpful in the extreme, not only to primary teachers, but to mothers of little children. I have already gotten some very suggestive hints from it, to use in my work as a teacher of teachers. It will give me pleasure to introduce it to the members of our Primary Teacher’s Union, of which I am president, and also to the Presbyterian teachers at large, through the columns of the Westminster Teacher. Our teachers meet each Wednesday afternoon to discuss primary methods, and depend upon me, as their president, to introduce new things. I shall be glad to show the blocks and material and ways of using them. ISABELLA MACDONALD ALDEN (PANSY), 625 Maryland Ave., N. E., Washington, D. C. Author of “The King’s Daughter,” “Esther Reid,” “Grandpa’s Darlings,” etc., etc., and editor of “The Pansy.” I am exceedingly pleased with the “Bible Object Lessons and Songs.” Enclosed is my notice of it in the Baptist Superintendent for Dec. (1892). I have also noticed it in the Teacher for Dec. “Bible Object Lessons and Songs for Little Ones,” is the attractive title of a handsome quarto volume by Lillie E. Affolter and F. E. Belden. It is the first of a series, and covers the life and words of Christ in fifty-two illustrated lessons, accompanied by thirty original hymns and songs, and thirty-one large engravings from the famous ‘Hoffman series.’ We have given this work very careful examination, closely scrutinizing the text and the teaching, and singing each of the pieces of music. The steps in the teaching are natural and progressive; the music is good and pleasing, and adapted to little children, and the illustrations are beautiful. Followed with the aid of the Kindergarten material recommended, and taught in the evidently devotional and reverent spirit of the authors, there cannot fail to be advancement in knowledge and a true instilling of precious truth. We most heartily commend the work.” Office Editor, Official Periodicals American Baptist Publication Society, 1420 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Pa. I have given careful thought to “Bible Object Lessons and Songs,” and write to express my hearty appreciation of the book and of the work that it marks out. It is a beautiful volume. The illustrations are superb. The plan of teaching by objects seems here to be brought to perfection. The suggestions concerning the use of objects are such as can readily be followed by intelligent mothers and teachers, and if followed, the task of teaching will become a pleasure to teacher as well as to children. The substance of the teaching, so far as I have been able to examine the lessons, is not only of excellent quality, but in its presentation it is made attractive and interesting. I hope the book may have a large circulation. Editor “Westminster (Presbyterian) Teacher,” 1332 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Pa. I am very pleasantly impressed with its plan, its illustrations, and its arrangement, stating truths, following them by judicious questions, and furnishing plain suggestions for use of objects. I am sure primary teachers (including mothers) will be delighted with it, and find it very helpful. REV. A. E. DUNNING, D. D., Editor “Congregationalist,” Boston, Mass. I have carefully looked over your beautiful “Bible Object Lessons and Songs.” I am a great believer in all good object teaching, and when it is applied as it is in this book to the truths of the blessed Word, it cannot fail to do much good. For mothers who want the best way of interesting their little ones, I can think of no better method, and for all teachers who teach the life of our blessed Lord, this book will prove a real godsend. The work is well done, and the general make-up of the book all that could be wished for. Vice Pres. and Supt. New York City Missions, founded 1827. I have gladly and thoroughly examined “Bible Object Lessons and Songs.” The whole book is a practical and beautiful blending of Kindergarten methods and real Scripture teaching. Happy the child who may receive it as a birthday gift or a Christmas treasure; happy the mother and the home whose Sabbath day is made a delight by its use. For primary teachers it is inspiring and helpful, and when complete, the series will be a valuable addition to the few books wholly devoted to primary work. The correct and exquisite engravings, the songs well adapted to the range of children’s voices, are an added charm. MRS. JOHN A. MILLER (“FAITH LATIMER”), 1209 First St., Louisville, Ky., author of Primary Lessons in “Sunday School Times.” Quarto size, beautifully printed on enameled and super-calendered paper. Of BINDING, models of modesty and beauty, from plain board covers to elegant panel sides, gilt edges. Of Kindergarten Material, prepared so that any mother or teacher can illustrate the lessons. the delight of children, and the most convenient for teachers. PREPAID, BY MAIL OR EXPRESS. Olive Board Covers, White Edges, 7½ x 10, $1.50 Blue Cloth, Ink Titles, “ ” “ ”, 2.00 Aluminum and Brown, Colored Plate, Super-Calendered Paper, Lemon Edges, 9 x 11½, 2.75 Green and Gold, Extra Cloth, Panel Sides, Colored Plate, Enameled Paper, Gilt Edges, 9 x 11½, 3.75 Kindergarten Material (3 boxes) to Illustrate Lessons, 1.75 NOT PREPAID, BY EXPRESS OR FREIGHT. Round Hard-top Table with Folding Legs and Inside Cabinet for Material; Seats Eight and Teacher, $3.75 8 Red 12-inch Chairs for Children, each, .50 1 Blue 14-inch Chair for Teacher, .60 When the three boxes of Kindergarten Material are ordered with the book in any style of binding, purchaser will receive a beautiful premium, “PORTFOLIO OF BLACKBOARD SKETCHES ON THE LIFE OF CHRIST,” to aid mothers, teachers, and children in drawing. ONE competent mother or leading primary worker wanted in EVERY CHURCH to act as our representative, until every school and home is supplied. Send for Circulars and LIBERAL TERMS to Canvassers, Primary Teachers, and Sabbath-schools ordering in quantities. A Beautiful Prospectus, with full instructions to agents, only 75 cents, postpaid, to be credited on first order for ten books. No previous experience in agency business necessary. Order of your State Tract Society, or REVIEW & HERALD, Battle Creek, Mich. The Lord is coming. Get ready. He is coming soon. Get ready. He is coming in this generation. Get ready. No one can meet him in peace whose sins are unconfessed and unforgiven. Get ready. The message of the Lord’s soon coming is to be given in all the earth. Get ready. The best way to get ready is to help others to get ready. It is self-evident that each one who lives must himself exercise all the functions of life. No one can take nourishment or exercise for another. The circulation of the blood in one man does not build up the body of another man. He who depends upon another to do his breathing for him refuses the gift of life. These principles apply just as forcibly to Christian experience. No one can confess sin for another. No one can accept forgiveness for another. No one can believe for another. The Christian life cannot be lived by proxy. The time of peril and test upon which we have entered will soon reveal the difference between those who are really having a Christian experience and those who are depending upon some one else’s experience. Some of those who have no root in themselves are already falling out by the way, and others are showing signs of weakness. We must learn to stand alone with God and for his truth. We must individually know whom we have believed, and be persuaded that he is able to keep that which we have committed unto him against that day. We must each have an individual experience in the things of God. We do not buy our salvation with the money which we pay toward the expense of spreading the gospel of the kingdom. Homes in the New Jerusalem are not sold by auction to the highest bidder. We do not secure a right to the tree of life by allowing the Lord to have a part of that which belongs wholly to him. It is no test of our faith in God and his truth when we divide our surplus with the Lord, and place in his treasury that which we can spare “just as well as not, and never miss it.” The rich cast in of their abundance, but the poor widow “cast in all that she had, even all her living.” In doing this she cast in more than all the rest, although she only “threw in two mites, which make a farthing.” The test of faith is not in giving what we do not miss, that which costs us no sacrifice, after we have fully provided for our own present needs, and laid up something “for a rainy day.” The test of faith in God’s work is found when we place the needs of his work ahead of our own needs, and act upon this basis. This spirit of self-sacrifice, which is in itself the gift of God, brings us into that relationship with God that he can supply all our need “according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” He that ministereth seed to the sower will both minister bread for our food, and multiply our seed sown, and increase the fruits of our righteousness. The Charter of Our Liberties
To those who have known the bondage of sin there can be no declaration of independence more highly prized than this one: “Sin shall not have dominion over you.” The proclamation of liberty has been made. A blessed release has been provided, and there is a royal mandate which says “to the prisoners, Go forth.” This command has the power to compel him “that opened not the house of his prisoners” to loose them and let them go. Thus are we delivered from the power of darkness, and translated into Christ’s kingdom. What a deliverance! What a change! Light in the place of darkness; sight in the place of blindness; freedom in the place of bondage; hope in the place of despair; joy in the place of sorrow; in short, it is life in place of death. “Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling . . . What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. . . . O Lord, truly I am thy servant: I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.” “Christ hath for sin atonement made;
What a wonderful Saviour!
We are redeemed!—the price is paid;
What a wonderful Saviour!
“He gives me overcoming power;
What a wonderful Saviour!
And triumph in each trying hour;
What a wonderful Saviour!” The Heart of Christianity
There are many so-called religions in the world. What is the cardinal difference between Christianity and these so-called religions? It is just in this: they are after the power of a carnal commandment, but Christianity is after the power of an endless life. On the one hand, we have merely a system of morals, a dead description of an ideal course of conduct, a kind of shadow of the law once written in the heart; on the other hand, we have the perfect living law, incarnated in the flesh, the union of divinity with humanity. Any professed Christianity in which this is not found as the fundamental fact of the teaching and the experience is simply a variation of paganism masquerading under the name of Christianity. A Christianity which was once genuine and founded upon this principle, but out of which it has been lost, is like a human body from which the heart has been removed. Such a pretended Christianity is a mere sham. It may exhibit all the forms and paraphernalia of salvation, but it never saves a single soul. The divine principle of Christianity is revealed in the great fact that Jesus, the man of Nazareth, was the Son of God. Jesus himself declared that this was the rock foundation upon which he would build his church, and death would not overthrow it. The question was, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” The testimony of Peter was, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”4Then came the statement, “Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” The gates of hell are the gates of the grave. The power of the endless life in Jesus, Son of man and Son of God, in whom the divine principle of the union of divinity with humanity was a personality, would conquer death and the grave, not for himself alone, but for his church, his body, all who are found in him. Death and the grave are not conquered as mere abstractions. They are conquered by destroying “him that had the power of death, that is, the devil,” and by saving from sin, which, “when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” This victory is gained by the divine life working in us. “We shall be saved by his life.” This is the power of the working of the endless life. It is here that we see what Christianity really is, and how it differs from other so-called religions. The Founder of Christianity gave himself to be the foundation. “Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” He is “the rock of my salvation.” It is the work of the gospel to build upon this rock foundation “the house of God, which is the church of the living God.” We know that “except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it,” but because of their co-operation with God in this work men are also spoken of as the builders of the house. Because of their rejection of Christ, Peter said to the “rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,” after the healing of the lame man “in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,” “This is the stone which was set at naught of you builders.” The apostle Paul writes thus of the gospel work: “I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.” At the close of his sermon on the mount, in which he had applied to daily life the principles which he had spoken in the ten commandments at Sinai, Jesus said, “Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.” The words of Jesus are life. “The words that I speak unto you, they . . . are life.” When we hear his words and do them, we receive his life, and manifest his life in this mortal body. In this way we come unto him “as unto a living stone,” and “are built up a spiritual house.” This makes clear what is meant by “building up yourselves on your most holy faith.” When we build on the rock by hearing and doing the words of Jesus, we so completely identify ourselves with his life in receiving it that in this we build up ourselves in him, and thus build up the body of Christ, the church, the house of God. It thus appears that the likeness between the one who hears and does the sayings of Christ and the one who builds his house upon a rock is very real. Both build a house upon a rock. The one builds a dead house out of dead material upon a dead rock. The other builds a living house out of living material upon a living Rock. In receiving the words of Jesus we receive his divine life, his divinity, and become “partakers of the divine nature.” In doing his words this divine nature is wrought into our very being, and manifested in our experience. By this process the union of divinity and humanity becomes a fact in us. Thus is fulfilled the declaration of Christ, “Upon this Rock I will build my church.” The storm is now gathering which will beat upon every house, and only those which are built upon the rock Christ Jesus will stand in that day. Be sure of your foundation. Be sure that you are using only good material in your building. Be sure that you are “rooted and built up in him.” “We’ll build on the Rock, the living Rock,
On Jesus, the Rock of Ages;
So shall we abide the fearful shock,
When loud the tempest rages.” The Door Open — A Free Invitation to Enter
By Uriah Smith
“LET US therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Heb. 4:16. The passage here quoted is a gracious invitation. What are we invited to do?—Not to go, nor to run, but to “come.” In what manner?—Boldly! To what place?—To the throne. What to do there?—To sit upon the throne. This is what Christ said: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” Rev. 3:21. What imagination but can compass or language give a least shadow of expression of the majesty and exaltation to which the way is here opened, and to which we are invited? Who is on this throne now?—The Ruler of the universe. But this fact does not, of itself, necessarily imply great liberality or beneficence. The passage, however, does; for the throne is called a “throne of grace;” and all graces and blessings flow from a throne of grace. What is the import of the word “therefore” with which the apostle introduces his exhortation? In other words, for what purpose are we now invited to come to this throne of grace? Paul answers: “That we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Our wants and necessities are here all included. We are sinners, and thus so stand in need of mercy; condemned to death, and so need grace for pardon of our sins; undone, and in need of “help.” All these blessings and favors we find at “the throne of grace.” Therefore let us come. What is the force of the reason assigned as an encouragement and inducement to us to come? The word “therefore” includes the great and wonderful facts stated in the two preceding verses; namely, the fact that we have a “great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God,” who can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. For this reason we may approach this throne, not thoughtlessly, nor presumptuously, but “boldly,” that we may obtain mercy. We may come with supreme confidence and trust. In the act of hearing prayer, God acts as a Sovereign; but his sovereignty is all of grace. His throne is “a throne of grace.” The hymn expresses it:— “Thou art coming to a King;
Large petitions with thee bring;
For his grace and power are such
None can ever ask too much.” No language, human or divine, can ever state in too strong terms the sympathy of our loving Saviour; and no words can set before us in stronger light the courage we ought to feel in coming to Christ than the ones by which he has set forth his gracious designs in our behalf, to lead us to “hold fast our profession.” On the words “grace to help,” Bunyan has the following thoughts: It is “grace that chooses; it is grace that calleth. It is grace that preserveth, and it is grace that brings to glory, even the grace that, like a river of water of life, proceeds from this ‘throne of grace.’ O, when a God of grace is upon a throne of grace, and a poor trembling sinner stands by and begs for grace, and that in the name of Christ, in and by the help of the ‘Spirit of grace,’ can it be otherwise but such a sinner must ‘obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need’?” And the one who is thus seated upon the throne of grace is the one who, John says, has “loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.” Rev. 1:5. He has purchased our possession, and taken possession of it for us. He has passed into the heavens as our surety and head. So the saints may consider themselves as possessed of their rights, since he is there. Augustine said, “Where he reigns, there I believe myself to reign.” And let us consider that all our straits and troubles are not hidden from him; he knows and feels them, as our compassionate High Priest. He has a gracious sense of all our frailties, griefs, trials, temptations, and fears. He presents our cases continually to his Father. If we cleave unto him, his resurrection5power and glory are secured unto us. His life and ours are not two, but one. “The life which I now live in the flesh,” says Paul, “I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Gal. 2:20. And if Christ could not be overcome by the world,—he says, “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world,”—and if he could not be overcome of death,—he says, “Behold, I am alive for evermore,”—neither can we overcome by anything that he has passed through and conquered for us. His words are, “Because I live, ye shall live also.” John 14:19. And as the words are as plain as language can make them, so the providence and works of God back up the invitation in terms equally plain; for “the Spirit and the bride say, Come.” Rev. 22:17. Our Responsibility for Lost Opportunities
By W. A. S.
Is it not true that many are excusing themselves from engaging in this or that line of work on the ground of incapacity, who put forth little effort to remedy their lack? It is a comforting fact that the Lord does not require of us what we cannot do. But one who is not fully awake to his responsibilities can very easily allow this thought to quiet his conscience, and lull him into inactivity wholly inexcusable. As a warning against this mistake, a quotation from “Testimonies for the Church,” No. 32, is to the point:— “Remember that your responsibility is measured, not by your present resources and capabilities, but by the powers originally bestowed and the possibilities for improvement. The question which each one should ask himself is not whether he is now inexperienced and unfitted to labor in God’s cause, but how and why is he in this condition, and how can it be remedied.” How the thoughts of wasted opportunities and privileges unimproved, come rushing in upon us as we think of our real responsibility before God, and see the pressing need of workmen in the cause. But there is a blessed message which comes to us from the Lord in the words of the prophet, “I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten.” Joel 2:25. Time and privileges lost are gone forever, but as in ancient days the Lord’s blessing was pledged to restore the years to Israel by multiplying the harvest of future seasons, so now he does not leave us in despair with the weight of years of neglect and sin crushing upon us; for in the wondrous workings of his grace, the time lost may be redeemed. The sentence following the quotation already given from the Testimony says:— “God will not supernaturally endow us with the qualifications which we lack; but while we exert the ability we have, he will work with us to increase and strengthen every faculty; our dormant energies will be aroused, and powers which have long been palsied will receive new life.” We have no right to be weak or to live for ourselves, with souls perishing about us, and a world unwarned stretching its vast proportions beyond our farthest efforts. Every soul of us in this decisive hour must be a soul winner by the grace of God, ready, as God’s minuteman, to serve anywhere at his call. Time has been lost by this whole people. We know that we might have filled every continent with the sound of this message ere this. Now there is no further time to lose if we would not lose our own souls; for the call is to instant and world-wide service. Now indeed “it is the last hour.” 1 John 2:18, R. V. “The sunset burns across the sky;
Upon the air its warning cry
The curfew tolls, from tower to tower;
O children, ’tis the last, last hour!” “The work that centuries might have done
Must crowd the hour of setting sun,
And through all lands the saving name
Ye must in fervent haste proclaim. “The fields are white to harvest. Weep,
O tardy workers, as ye reap,
For wasted hours that might have won
Rich harvests ere the set of sun. “We hear his footsteps on the way!
O work while it is called to-day,
Constrained by love, endued with power,
O children, in this last, last hour.” Shall we not, as workers together with God in the gospel, claim his promise of lost years, and let his word bring the promised life to enfeebled powers? Earth’s last hour is the most glorious time for service that has ever come to men. Studies in the Gospel Message
THE subject of the Sabbath-school lesson for Sabbath, July 19, is The Curse of Formalism. The curse of formalism is a worse thing than “the curse of the law.” In reality it is the curse of the law concealed under the cloak of pharisaism. Here is what the Saviour said of formalism as he found it revealed in his time, and it is just as applicable to our time: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. . . . Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” Formalists profess to be righteous. They “outwardly appear righteous unto men,” but they appear very differently in the Lord’s sight; “for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” In profession, formalists are servants of the Lord whose lives are devoted to the doing of his will; in practice, they serve themselves, following the dictates of their own will; and in order to hide this mockery from men (themselves included) they weave a thick garment of self-righteousness, which they cast about them with the utmost self-complacency. Prayer, which was intended to be the voluntary opening of the heart to God, they use as a cloak with which to cover the heart from men, and they lengthen it out unduly in order that the real purposes of the heart may be concealed in a multitude of words. Putting on the outward signs of life and purity, they “are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.” They “receive the greater damnation” than those who do not add hypocrisy to their other sins. It is more difficult to reach formalists with the simple gospel of repentance and salvation than to reach other ordinary sinners. They have substituted mental assent to a creed for a personal faith in Christ as a Saviour from sin; they have substituted orthodoxy for a righteous character; they have sought to cleanse and mend their own garments that they may “outwardly appear righteous unto men,” instead of acknowledging that their righteousnesses are as filthy rags, and accepting “the garments of salvation” and “the robe of righteousness.” To the deceitfulness of sin they have added the deceitfulness of self-righteousness, and only some mighty convulsion in their lives can break the spell. Centuries of experience testify to the blighting effects of formalism and the difficulty of saving those who have once come under its curse. It was formalism which brought the downfall of Jerusalem and the captivity in Babylon. For many years before that experience the Lord warned and instructed his people, seeking to renew the spirit of their minds. Listen to his words: “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord. . . . Bring no more vain oblations. . . . When ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red6like crimson, they shall be as wool.” These were the Pharisees of old. Though they made “many prayers,” yet their sins were “as scarlet.” Again the Lord said through the same prophet, “Forasmuch as this people draw nigh unto me, and with their mouth and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men which hath been learned by rote: therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder: and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.” Here is the very essence of formalism: mouth service, lip service, the heart far from God, the substitution of the commandments of men for the commandments of God, and the whole thing performed by rote. What a contrast between this and the genuine manifestation of the life of Jesus in this mortal body. When the overthrow of Jerusalem was so near that it would be accomplished during the time of the generation then living, the Lord plainly declared what his dealing with his people would be in view of their long-continued formalism and their refusal to listen to his repeated warnings: “Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvelously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you. For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs. . . . They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.” The prophet Daniel summed up the whole matter when he confessed in behalf of the people: “Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. . . . For under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.” The curse of formalism brought upon that people not simply the usual result of transgression, but the usual result multiplied many times over. Nations and cities had been overthrown for their iniquities, but there had been nothing like the punishment which had come upon God’s professed people. “For under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.” It would seem as though this lesson might have forever saved people from the curse of formalism, but “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” The same spirit of formalism which brought destruction upon Jerusalem in Daniel’s time, led to the rejection of the Messiah, and the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. Jesus applied the same prophecy of Isaiah to the Pharisees of his time. “Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” The Pharisees said, “If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.” And so they put him to death to prevent any more men from believing on him, and to save their place and nation; and in this very act they furnished the basis of belief on him to all men, and lost their place and nation. And yet these same people paid “tithe of mint and anise and cummin.” Such is the curse of formalism. The same danger threatens us to-day. This warning has been given to us: “For years a degree of pharisaism has been springing up among us, which has separated some from the Bible standard. If the preconceived ideas of those actuated by this spirit are crossed, they immediately assume a controversial, combative attitude, as a man puts on armor when preparing for battle. Much pride and loftiness, and a spirit which desires to rule, has been manifested; but very little of the spirit which leads men to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn of him, has been shown.” The form of godliness without its power is one of the perils of the last days. It is not sufficient to have “the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.” We must possess “the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ.” This is the righteousness which is revealed in the gospel as its power. This is the power of the endless life. And this is the only salvation from the curse of formalism. Will God’s people, who are being called out of Babylon to-day, learn this lesson in time, or will they follow in the track of the other denominations from which they have outwardly separated themselves? The Lord’s call at the last General Conference, repeated so many times since, is his invitation to them to get wholly free from this curse of formalism, and to receive the Spirit’s power for the work before them. Then the message of Christ’s righteousness can be quickly given in every land, and thus the way of the Lord can be prepared. “Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock. . . . Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbors, but mischief is in their hearts. . . . Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up forever.” At the Parting of the Ways
By Edward Alexander Sutherland
A GLANCE at the advancement made in educational thought by Seventh-day Adventists as a denomination during the past year is reassuring. It is well to ascertain our bearings. Are we traveling the straight road? Only a little over one year ago the Educational Department of the General Conference was brought into existence. The creation of that department set the pace for the union conferences, and they in turn were followed by the separate conferences, until to-day practically all the States have some form of organization for carrying on their educational interests. Nominally, the denomination has committed itself to the truth of Christian education. Has it done so in reality? or must we deem that what has been done is mere form devoid of life? Passive assent to a principle will not bring a rich reward. To say that seed will grow, never brings a harvest. We must sow if we would reap. So in the educational work; to see the full glory of this truth there must be intense activity. It will enlist the full energy of every individual, from the presidents of conferences to the lowliest church member in the most obscure company of believers. When such activity is seen, when such co-operation exists, there will be a mighty uprising throughout the denomination. It will mean a school for every child in every church, and hundreds of schools for foreign lands. In the early days of the message, the first steps were taken toward the establishment of church schools. After a time Seventh-day Adventists returned their children to the public schools on the plea that they could not afford to support an independent system of schools. Seventh-day Adventist parents used the same argument as did other Protestants. Evil results were not seen at once, but we are to-day reaping the inevitable results of the seed sown. An article in the Outlook (March 15), by Theodore D. Bacon, entitled “The Outcome of Higher Criticism,” gives the results of the education of the past forty years. I quote but one result. He says:— This attitude [the doctrine of higher criticism] modifies the feeling toward missions. There is no longer the feeling of frantic haste to save a few souls out of countless millions from going down to endless torment; nor is there any burning desire to let every heathen know of the name of Jesus in order to hasten the time of the second coming. . . . It is not to be denied that there has been a certain cooling of the interest in foreign missions, especially since our eyes have been opened. Seventh-day Adventists must admit that their zeal for foreign fields has not been overgreat. A man of the world attributes this to the popular teaching, such as that under which the present generation7grew up, and such as our children to-day are absorbing so long as they are left in the state schools. In other words, we not only lose our own children by failing to establish Christian schools, but we ourselves, because of this neglect, lose all ambition to preach Christ to the heathen or proclaim his soon coming to the world. Of what use is it, then, to say that we believe the world should be evangelized in this generation while we so reluctantly grasp the truths of Christian education? The Protestant denominations which nearly a century ago turned their children over to the state for an education had two messages preached to them. The first message was given by William Miller. It was the judgment message,—the truth of Christ’s near coming,—the same that men are repeating to-day. They heeded it not, because they were deaf. Their deafness came as the result of disobedience to a divine law—the law that spiritual life comes as a result of proper education. God sent the message, but having ears, they heard not. Then came that second message, “Babylon is fallen,”—the most terrible thing which heaven has ever said of any organization. To-day we have the judgment message,—the evangelization of the world in the present generation. Has it life? or is it as sounding brass? We can prove that we mean what we say in but one way; that is, educate the children to fulfill the message by carrying the glad tidings to the world. That means schools, Christian schools, and enough of them for every child to have Christian training. If this principle is not heeded, then to this church in this generation will be given that second message, “Babylon is fallen,” as truly as it was given to the Protestant churches in 1844. We stand at the parting of the roads. One way leads Seventh-day Adventists over the road which the majority of Protestant denominations have trodden; the other leads heavenward. Which way shall we take? “How long halt ye?” E. A. SUTHERLAND.