Signs of the Times, Vol. 23, No. 48. (12/9/1897)

Signs of the Times

Dec 9, 1897

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Dec 9, 1897

Editorial

A Prayer to Be Answered.—"Show me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths." Ps. 25:4.

An Inspired Prayer.

—The Psalms are a part of the "all Scripture," which is "God-breathed," and "is profitable." 2 Tim. 3:16, 17. We read of those wondrous songs "which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake" (Acts 1:16), and, "as the Holy Ghost saith" (Heb. 3:7). It is a prayer inspired by the Spirit of God to meet the needs of men. It is therefore a prayer to be answered to every soul who will pray it with a true heart.

The Multitude Astray.

—There are many longing for the right way. There are many more who are astray, and willingly astray. They are lost in the great, dark forest of the world’s pleasures, pursuits, madness, sin, and crime, plucking its poisoned flowers, quaffing its intoxicating draughts, despairing over its delusive phantoms, which lure but to deceive, forgetful of God and good. Yet God does not leave them. He even permits them to reap the disappointing fruit of sin that they may turn from it. His messengers call, so often unheeded, to deaf and dulled ears, “This is the way, walk ye in it.” And God, by the very troubles and pains and woes of earth, calls its children to come to him and find rest.

Would You Come?—Would you turn from pleasure’s paths, sinner? Would you know the ways of the Lord, wretched one? Pray, then, the inspired prayer, “Show me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths.”

Not in Mockery.—Ask with a true heart. God does not mock his children. His promises are Yea and Amen in Christ Jesus. He that holds out no phantom hopes. He cheats us not by illusion or counterfeit. He brings us the real. He presents us the goal of our hopes, “a better and an enduring substance.” He asks us not to follow “cunningly devised fables.” No, God does not mock us; let us not attempt to mock God. If we come with a prayer-lie upon our lips, we shall be deceived; for we can not deceive God. And so the Lord does not bid us not to deceive him, but, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Gal. 6:7. It is as absolutely impossible for us to find the true way or to get true returns from the sowing of a prayer-lie, as it is to get wheat from the sowing of cockle. Let the prayer be prayed in truth, with all the heart.

In Humility.

—If we ask with all our heart for God to show us his ways, it shows that we give up our own ways. No true heart asks to see God’s ways and to learn God’s paths that he may compare them with his own, like a piece of machinery he takes on trial. He can not see them in that way. We can only know God’s paths by walking in them, even as we can only know food by eating it. Therefore he who truly asks to be shown and taught the ways and paths of God, asks that he may walk in God’s ways. He chooses God’s ways in preference to his own. He prefers the Lord’s paths to all other paths. “Show me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me; for thou art the God of my salvation.” Ps. 25:4, 5.

He Will Answer.

—Such a prayer, by whomever offered with all the heart, will be heard and answered of God. He who offers it may be in the jungles of Asia, the deserts of Africa, the prisons of Siberia, the slums and dives of our great cities, the streets or marts of sin, anywhere or anywhere; God will hear. Let him or her plead God’s mercy; for his ways are merciful. Let him say, as God has taught us by his Spirit: *“Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy loving-kindnesses; for they have been ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor

my transgressions; according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O Lord.” Verses 6, 7. And he will answer; for he taught us the prayer. More than that, he says he will. Thus the psalm continues: “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore will he teach sinners in the way*. The meek will he guide in judgment; and the meek will he teach his way.” Verses 8, 9. And all can be meek; all can yield their own selfish disappointing ways. All God asks is humility, meekness, teachableness, sincerity. And he who comes in such a spirit will find that “all the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.” Verse 10.

Enabling Acts.—But you say, “I can not keep his covenant, I can not keep his testimonies, his law.” Yes, you can if you desire so to do above all things else, and will yield yourself wholly to do it. Every precept of God is an enabling act to him who yields to it. There is power in the Word to accomplish its command. Only let the living Word into the heart. Let Jesus Christ come in through his Word with his own life, and you will find that all God’s ways are “ways of pleasantness” and all his paths are “paths of peace.”

No Text Provided

“GREATER WORKS THAN THESE.”

By Ellet Joseph Waggoner

Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” John 14:12. The first question that almost invariably arises whenever this is read, is, “What greater works can anybody possibly do than the Lord did?” or, “How can anybody do greater works than he did?” To this the hearer is obliged to answer, “I don’t know.” But the fact that we do not know, and can not form any conception of the thing, has no effect upon it. Jesus has said it in the most positive manner, and that is sufficient.

Let it be remembered that it is only those who believe that can do these great works; and certainly no one who is not able to do the works, can be expected to know anything about the matter. But the very asking of the questions, “What?” and “How?” implies more or less unbelief. The person may not realize it, but there is at least a shade of doubt underlying those questions; there is a trace of the notion that we will not believe what we can not understand. Now if there is unbelief even in the slightest degree, then it is certain that no works at all will be done; for “this is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom he hath sent.” John 6:29. But if there is unbelief, there can not possibly be belief. Therefore the one who questions this matter need not expect ever to know anything about it.

“But it is not unbelief that prompts my questioning,” some will say; “it is only a real desire to know what the works are, and how they are to be done.” In other words, it is curiosity. Well, of one thing we may be sure, and that is that whatever good works one has, come from God; for that which was true of Christ must most certainly be true of us, “I can of mine own self do nothing.” John 5:30. “The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” John 14:10. Since “it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good-pleasure” (Phil. 2:13), it is not necessary for us to know how. Our part is simply to yield ourselves as instruments of righteousness. The instrument does not need to know what the one who handles it is doing, nor how he is able to do it. Nay, the instrument can not know how, else he would no longer be the instrument. “Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord?” Ps. 106:2.

Finally, it is useless to ask how we can do greater works than those which Christ did, for those who do them will be unconscious of them. When at the last day the Lord says to the faithful ones, “Come, ye blessed of my Father,” and enumerates the good works that they have done, they will wonderingly ask, “Lord, when did we ever do these things?” They will have been so yielded to the Lord that his mighty power will have wrought them in the most natural and unobtrusive way, just as it does through the growing plant. It is well that we are thus ignorant. If it were possible that the mighty works of God could be wrought through self-conscious folks, it would be most uncomfortable for those who were obliged to live with them. If we thought that we were doing greater works than Christ did, we would become so conceited and overbearing that nobody could live with us. Let us be content, yea, we may even rejoice, that we are weak and ignorant, since our Father is almighty and all-wise, and he is ours. E. J. W.

“REDEMPTION VERSUS CREATION.”

It is often said in defense of Sunday holiness that redemption is greater than creation, and the old hymn is quoted as truth,

“’Twas great to speak a world from naught, ’Twas greater to redeem.”

In the first place, it is a fact that both creation and redemption are infinite works, which only an infinite God could effect, and therefore man knows nothing about this relative greatness unless God reveals it. This he has nowhere done.

In the second place, if redemption were greater than creation, this would in no way affect Sunday holiness; for Sunday as a day of the week, according to divine revelation, has no part in the scheme. In fact, “the first day of the week” of the Bible is not synchronous with the Sunday as kept by so many to-day. The Bible “first day of the week” begins and ends at sunset, while the Sunday begins and ends at midnight.

In the third place, we are not redeemed by Christ’s resurrection, but by his life, his blood (Eph. 1:7; Rev. 5:9); but his blood was shed on the sixth day, and on that day he declared, “It is finished” (John 19:30); that is, the acme of the great Sacrifice was reached.

In the fourth place, the work of redemption is not complete, and will not be till Christ shall come. Luke 21:28.

In the fifth place, the redemption, the salvation, the regeneration, the sanctification, of sinful man is simply creation again, wrought by the mighty creative power of God in Christ,—“created in Christ Jesus unto good works.” Eph. 2:10. See also 2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10.

In the sixth place, the Sabbath is the sign of this very work, “I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.” Eze. 20:12. The Sabbath is therefore not only a memorial of the creation, but it is the sign between us and God of his redeeming and sanctifying power in the soul.

In the seventh place, the proper expression is not “Redemption versus Creation,” nor “Redemption and Creation,” but “Redemption is Creation.”

A NOTABLE MOVEMENT.

ONE of the most notable religious movements of to-day is the formation in the Roman Catholic Church of “Catholic Truth Societies,” which had their inception, we believe, with the Paulist Fathers. A recent utterance of Archbishop Riordan thus states the purpose of this movement:—

Its work will be to make known the doctrines of the Catholic religion, such as they are taught by the church; to give the reasons upon which the doctrines of the church rest; to refute the errors and misrepresentations that are not uncommon in the minds of so many outside the pale of its organization. In a word, the object of this society will be to present Catholic truth as it is in reality taught by the Catholic Church. To this end, as I understand it, the society will publish tracts and pamphlets, scatter leaflets, give courses of lectures in public halls, and, by means independent of those that are connected with strictly parochial organizations, or parish methods, endeavor to give to the world a reason for the faith that is in it. . . .

The first object of a Catholic Truth Society will be to make known, through tracts and pamphlets and public literature, the truths in which we Catholics believe.

Altho just organized in the West, they have existed for some time in the East. The Catholic Mirror runs a department called “Catholic Truth.” The movement is an active propaganda of Catholic teaching among those outside of that church. And this is commendable. If a doctrine is worth holding, it is worth teaching to others. No charge in reason or logic can hold against the winning of others to what men hold as truth. Such work may with a sneer be called “proselyting,” but that will not crush it. We do not condemn the zeal, altho it be for an unworthy cause.

This movement comes at an opportune time for the Catholic Church. It may be expected that they will make many converts from many so-called Protestant churches, which are Protestant no longer. In many Protestant churches (thank God, not all) the Bible is but a tradition and the story of man's fall and redemption a myth. The foundations have been torn from under thousands of human souls by the ruthless hands of Higher Criticism and infidelity in the pulpit, and men and women are drifting, yet longing for a church which has a foundation.

To these bewildered souls the Roman Catholic Church comes with an assurance and confidence which bear the impress of truth and candor. She tells them that the Inquisition was justifiable, but the stories of its cruelties were lies; that the persecutions of the Dark Ages were but the execution of civil laws for which “the church” was not responsible, and that the Bible alone is not sufficient, as is shown by many Protestants themselves, who have to fall back upon the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church for some of their practises, as, for instance, Sunday observance, the practise of pedo-baptism, and the observance of Easter, Lent, Christmas, etc. To the uninstructed

Protestant such arguments seem cogent, and, to many, all-sufficient.

“Well, what have you to offer?” we are asked. We have to offer the Word of God, unperverted and undimmed by tradition or human gloss, as the all-sufficient guide of every soul, the only norm of faith, and Jesus Christ as the one only example, the complete personal Saviour of every soul who will come to him. And all may come, even to him, debarred not by a cordon of priests, or saints, or creeds. And it is the Word, the Word of God alone, preached and lived in the love of Christ, which will save souls from the State-destroying and soul-destroying errors of “Catholic Truth.”

IN GETHSEMANE.

By Ellen G. White

(Concluded.)*

The heavenly universe had watched with intense interest the entire life of Christ,—every step from the manger to the present awful scene. And what a scene was this for ten thousand times ten thousands of angels, of cherubim and seraphim, to look upon. They beheld the Son of God, their loved Commander, in his superhuman agony apparently dying on the field of battle to save a lost and perishing world. All heaven had listened to that prayer of Christ. His soul agony, which three times forced from his pale and quivering lips the cry, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt,” convulsed all heaven. They saw their Lord inclosed by legions of Satanic forces, his human nature weighed down with a shuddering, mysterious dread. Everywhere he may look is a horror of great darkness beyond the measurement of human minds. And there was silence in heaven; no harp was touched. Could mortals have viewed the amazement of the angelic host as they watched in silent grief the Father separating his beams of light, love, and glory, from the beloved Son, they would better understand how offensive sin is in his sight.

In the supreme crisis, when heart and soul are breaking under the load of sin, Gabriel is sent to strengthen the divine Sufferer, and brace him to tread his blood-stained path. And while the angel supports his fainting form, Christ takes the bitter cup, and consents to drink its contents. Before the suffering One comes up the wail of a lost and perishing world, and the words come from the blood-stained lips, “Nevertheless, if man must perish unless I drink this bitter cup, thy will, not mine, be done.”

Prophecy had declared that the “mighty One,” the holy One from Mount Paran, was to tread the winepress alone; “of the people there was none” with him. His own arm brought salvation; he was ready for the sacrifice. The fearful crisis was past. That agony which none but God could endure, Christ had borne.

The human nature of Christ was like unto ours, and suffering was more keenly felt by him; for his spiritual nature was free from every taint of sin. Therefore his desire for the removal of suffering was stronger than human beings can experience. How intense was the desire of the humanity of Christ to escape the displeasure of an offended God, how his soul longed for relief, is revealed in the words, “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.”

Yet Christ had not been forced to take this step. He had contemplated this struggle. To his disciples he had said, “I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened till it be accomplished.” “Now is your hour, and the power of darkness.” He had volunteered to lay down his life to save the world. The claims of God’s government had been misapprehended through the deceptive words and works of Satan, and the necessity of a mediator was seen and felt by the Father and the Son. And now the great antitype of all the sacrificial offerings had come. In Christ type had met antitype. In the sacrifice of himself was the substance which all the sacrifices symbolized. In surrendering his spotless soul a living sacrifice, Jesus was bearing the sin of the world; he was enduring the curse of the law; he was vindicating the justice of God. Separation from his Father, the punishment for transgression, was to fall upon him, in order to magnify God’s law and testify to its immutability. And this was forever to settle the controversy between Satan and the Prince of heaven in regard to the changeless character of that law.

The Son of God endured the wrath of God against sin. All the accumulated sin of the world was laid upon the Sin-bearer, the One who was innocent, the One who alone could be the propitiation for sin, because he himself was obedient. He was one with God. Not a taint of corruption was upon him. Yet “being in the form of God,” he “thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” “For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. . . . For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.”

And was all this suffering undergone to give men the liberty to transgress the law of God?—No, no. This scene of suffering was because of the law transgressed. In order to save the sinner, and yet meet the demands of the law, it was necessary for Christ to suffer the sinner’s penalty. Satan’s falsehood that has placed the Christian world as transgressors of God’s law would not have been found in such company if his temptations had not taken with them as they did with Adam, if by their tradition man had not made void the law of God in the place of leading men to obedience to all its commands.

Strengthened by the angel sent from heaven, Jesus for the third time returned to his disciples.

And again he found them sleeping. The disciples looked with terror and amazement upon his face, which was marked with blood, and marred more than the sons of men. Only a short distance had separated them from their Lord, and they had heard the exclamations from his divine lips. And they had prayed as they had heard the strong cries of the Sufferer. They did not intend to forsake their Lord, but they seemed paralyzed by a stupor which they might have shaken off if they had continued pleading with God. Had the disciples heeded the words of their suffering Master, “Pray ye, that ye enter not into temptation,” they would never have allowed sleep to stupefy their senses. They would have been partakers with him in his suffering.

And in thus sleeping they sustained a great loss. Christ designed to fortify them for the severe test of their faith to which they would soon be subjected. If they had spent that mournful period in watching with the Saviour, Peter would not have been left to his own feeble strength to deny his Lord in the time of trial. The disciples might have stood on vantage-ground through the terrible scenes that were before them. They might have stood secure, defended by the heavenly angels. In God they might have overcome the wicked one. If they had remained watching, they would not have lost faith as they beheld the Son of God dying upon the cross.

And now they hear the heavy tramp of soldiers in the garden. “Behold,” said Christ, “the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise up; let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand. And immediately, while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely.” Judas believed that Christ would not permit himself to be taken. “And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and saith, Master, Master; and kisseth him.” “But Jesus saith unto Judas, Betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?”

“And, behold, one of them which was with Jesus, stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck the servant of the high priest, and smote off his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place; for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I can not now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels!”

To the multitude Christ turned and said: “Are ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and with staves to take me? I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye took me not; but the Scripture must be fulfilled.” The disciples were now all together again, surrounding their Lord, but with these words terror seized them, and at the suggestion of Peter, they “all forsook him and fled.”

MRS. E. G. WHITE.

PROPER SUBJECTS OF BAPTISM.

By Wm. A. Wood.

An Incident Which Points a Moral.

THE Word of God makes religion a personal matter. "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;" "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost;" "See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest." Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 8:36, 37. The curse of Christendom has been the baptism of the unbelieving and unregenerate. A correspondent sends us the following, the names of which we omit; it will perhaps help to show the unreasonableness of an unscriptural mode and administration:—

I attended, recently, a camp-meeting. After the sermon the minister in charge said they would now administer the ordinance of baptism, to the children first, and then to the adults.

One little girl, bright, pretty, and well dressed, was being led forward by her mother, when she began to protest and hung back, and finally began to cry and say, "I don' wan' to be baptized."

Another dear little soul too small to talk reached up and pushed away the hand of the preacher, and, turning to its mother, began to cry.

I could not help thinking that this was a good ways from the words and teaching of inspiration. "Repent and be baptized;" and, altho the scripture, "Suffer little children to come unto me," was quoted, I could not see how there was any "coming" in it when they had to be dragged protestingly to it.

When these things occurred and the little baby feelings were wrought up, the people would laugh, and seem to think it was highly amusing.

How different it seemed to me from the solemn rite where one who, repenting of his sins, follows his Lord and Saviour in being buried in the watery grave to show to the world that he no longer lives to sin but rises to live anew in Christ Jesus.

Wm. A. Wood. Darlington, Wis.

NOT LIKE A LIGHTHOUSE.

By J. R. Miller, D.D.

Did you ever stand at the foot of a great lighthouse at night? Through brilliant lenses splendid floods of light were poured out to sea, but not one tiny little gleam of radiance did that great lamp pour on the bit of sand close around the base of its tower. Do not be like lighthouses in this regard. Wherever else, far away or near, you pour the beams of your Christian life, be sure you brighten the space close about you in your own home. Let the light of gentleness, forbearance, kindness, unselfishness, and thoughtful ministry, fall on the life next to yours, on your weary mother, your burdened father, your tempted brother, upon the children in your family, on the guests who drop in, on servants who help in domestic duties. Carry Christ home and serve him best there.—J. R. Miller, D.D.

PER PACEM AD LUCEM.

I do not ask, O Lord, that life may be A pleasant road; I do not ask that Thou wouldst take from me Aught of its load; I do not ask that flowers should always spring Beneath my feet; I know too well the poison and the sting Of things too sweet.

For one thing only, Lord, dear Lord, I plead: Lead me aright— Tho strength should falter and tho heart should bleed— Through peace to light.

I do not ask, O Lord, that Thou shouldst shed Full radiance here; Give but a ray of peace, that I may tread Without a fear.

I do not ask my cross to understand, My way to see; Better in darkness just to feel Thy hand, And follow Thee.

Joy is like restless day, but peace divine Like quiet night; Lead me, O Lord, till perfect day shall shine, Through peace to light. —Holy Family.

INTELLIGENT SERVICE FOR GOD.

By Ellen G. White

IGNORANCE will not increase the humility or spirituality of any professed follower of Christ. The truths of the divine Word can be best appreciated by an intellectual Christian. Christ can be best glorified by those who serve him intelligently. The great object of education is to enable us to use the powers which God has given us in such a manner as will best represent the religion of the Bible and promote the glory of God. We are indebted to him who gave us existence, for all the talents which have been intrusted to us; and it is a duty we owe to our Creator to cultivate and improve upon the talents he has committed to our trust. Education will discipline the mind, develop its powers, and understandingly direct them, that we may be useful in advancing the glory of God.—Mrs. E. G. White.

THE COVENANTS AND THE SABBATH.

By W. L. Iles

It is claimed by many that the Ten Commandments, embracing the Sabbath command, have passed away, because the “first,” or “old” covenant has ceased. The object in considering the covenants is to determine what relation the Sabbath and the law sustain to them. We are now living during the existence of the “new covenant,” and the main question, and the one of greatest importance, is, What is the relation of the law to this covenant? In order to determine their relation, we must know what the “new covenant” is.

The New Covenant.

“In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.” Heb. 8:13.

There are two covenants referred to in the above text. One is called “first,” and is said to be “old.” The other is called the “new covenant,” and is properly called the “second.”

First Proposition.—The new covenant is an arrangement that brings sinners into harmony with God.

“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord; but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jer. 31:31–34.

Those who fully enjoy the blessings of the new covenant must have: (1) Jehovah as their God; (2) the law in their inward parts, and in their hearts; (3) they are his people; (4) they know the Lord; (5) their iniquity is forgiven; (6) God will remember their sins no more. Such persons are certainly in harmony with God.

The new covenant provides for man’s full salvation, bringing him into perfect harmony with the divine will. As Christ is perfect, the “fullness of God,” when we have Christ dwelling within, we are in harmony with God, for we are “complete in him.” Col. 2:10, 11. All the provisions of the new covenant are fulfilled to us in Christ. God puts his law in our hearts by putting Christ there. We become the sons of God by accepting of Christ, and he is our God, and we are his people. We “know” God, when we know Christ, and dwell in him. Our iniquities are forgiven through Christ, and our sins remembered against us no more.

“It [the new covenant] had existed by the promise of God since the first intimation of redemption had been given; it had been accepted by faith; yet when ratified by Christ, it is called a new covenant. The law of God was the basis of this covenant, which [the new covenant] was simply an arrangement for bringing men again into harmony with the divine will, placing them where they could obey God’s law.” What is it that brings men in harmony with the divine will?—It is the “Gospel,” or “plan of redemption.” The “new covenant” is the Gospel of salvation, or plan of redemption.

Second Proposition.—As the “Gospel,” or “plan of redemption,” is in Christ, he is called “the covenant.”

Christ commissioned his apostles to go and preach the Gospel, and in fulfilment of this commission, Philip preached Jesus. Acts 8:35. Paul determined to preach Christ and him crucified. 1 Cor. 2:2. The “Gospel is the power of God unto salvation” (Rom. 1:16), and Christ is the “power of God” (1 Cor. 1:24). Therefore Christ is the Gospel. If the “new covenant” is the Gospel of salvation, and Christ is the Gospel, then he is the “covenant,” it vests in him.

“I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee [Christ] for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles.” Isa. 42:6.

It is impossible for man to attain unto righteousness and holiness by his own efforts, and so God, in his love and mercy, gave Christ “for a covenant of the people.” When we have Christ we have all spiritual blessings, for he is all and in all.

“This is my blood of the new testament [covenant], which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” Matt. 26:28.

The “blood of Christ” is the “blood of the new covenant.” Therefore Christ himself must be the covenant.

“Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?” Heb. 10:29.

To tread “underfoot the Son of God” is to “count the blood of the covenant [blood of Christ] an unholy thing.” If the “blood of Christ” is the “blood of the covenant,” then Christ must be the covenant. To be a “minister of the new testament” is to be a minister of Christ.

Third Proposition.—The new covenant existed by the promise of God from the fall of man, and was presented to Adam for his acceptance by faith; confirmed to Abraham, both by the promise and oath of God; and ratified by the death of Christ.

There is no salvation out of Christ, for “there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” All who are saved, must be saved through Christ, or the new covenant. In the old dispensation they looked forward to Christ, and in the new, we look backward. The new covenant was presented to Adam and Eve in this word: “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Gen. 3:15. The “seed” of the woman was Christ. God said to Abraham, “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” Gen. 22:18. Paul tells us the seed is Christ. Gal. 3:16. “When God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself.” Heb. 6:13. “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, can not disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.” Gal. 3:16, 17.

Note in these texts the following facts:—

1. God made certain promises to Abraham concerning Christ.

2. The fulfilment of these promises rested upon the promise and oath of God.

3. This is called the confirmation of the covenant.

4. It was confirmed 430 years before Israel received the law at Sinai.

In harmony with these facts are the words of another writer upon this subject: “That the new covenant was valid in the days of Abraham is evident from the fact it was then confirmed both by the promise and oath of God, the two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lie.”

In the promise, “In thee shall all nations be blessed,” the Gospel was preached to Abraham. “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the Gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.” Gal. 3:8. The confirmation of the promise was in the promise and oath of God, that a “seed” should come, which is Christ. This is also said to be the preaching of the Gospel, therefore the covenant and the Gospel are the same.

“Brethren, I speak after the manner of men: Tho it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.” Gal. 3:15. This statement is made in view of the confirmation of the new covenant to Abraham, as will be clearly seen by a comparison of verses 15 and 17. Christ is a perfect Saviour. The new covenant was confirmed “in him.” Anything outside of Christ can be no part of the new covenant. The new covenant was therefore as full and complete in its provisions for man’s salvation in the days of Abraham as it is now. From these facts, presented above, Paul argues that we are saved as Abraham was, namely, by faith in Christ, and not by “works of the law.” Abraham did not keep the law in order to become righteous, but he became righteous by faith (Rom. 4:3), in order that he might be able to keep the law (Rom. 8:7; Gen. 26:5).

It is claimed by some that after the resurrection of Christ the Sunday institution became a part of the Gospel, or new covenant. This would be adding to the covenant after it was confirmed. The new covenant provides for man’s salvation by writing the law in the heart. Sunday-keeping can be no part of that law, for there is no law in the Bible for Sunday-keeping. It is no part of the law or the Gospel. It rests wholly upon human law and tradition. The law written on the heart under the new covenant must be coeval with the covenant. “For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead; otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.” Heb. 9:16, 17. As soon as Christ died upon the cross the new covenant was sealed and ratified. It had before existed by the promise and oath of God; now it is a reality. Had Christ failed, the promise and oath of God would not have been fulfilled.

The new covenant was ratified by the blood of Christ. It is now “made,” or completed. It is the “second” or “new” covenant, because the “first” was made, ratified, and had become “old” before the new was completed and ratified by the blood of Christ. W. L. ILES. Phoenix, Arizona.

Continue reading: JOTTINGS FROM RUSSIA. NO. 3.