BY ALONZO TREVIER JONES
AUTHOR OF "TWO REPUBLICS," "EMPIRES OF THE BIBLE," "GREAT EMPIRES OF PROPHECY," ECCLESIASTICAL EMPIRE," ETC.
DEPARTURE FROM TRUE PRINCIPLE.
WHEN Rome had perished, every form of government had been tried but one —the Papacy; for the Roman Government was diverse from all that were before it. Dan. 7 : 19, 23. When the middle ages were past, every form, even that one, had been tried; for the papal government was diverse from all. Dan. 7 : 24. And that one not only failed, as had all before it, but proved itself a greater curse than had all before it.
Except in Britain alone, the new nations that planted themselves upon the ruin of the Roman Empire, being burdened with the incubus of the Papacy, never had fair chance to develop government upon the basis of their own native, free principles; but were borne down, perverted, and corrupted by the influence and power of the Papacy. The feudal system, the worst form of things ever established in civil affairs, was nothing else than the system of the Papal Church, adapted and applied apart from the actual machinery of the church.
In Britain every Roman influence was swept away before the Anglo-Saxons, who made Britain England. A hundred and fifty years after the Anglo-Saxons entered Britain, the Catholic Church was also planted there by the invasion of Augustine and his accompanying monks; but the papal system never gained a foothold in England, and was never recognized there except for the little moment when King John surrendered himself and the kingdom to the pope as supreme. And even this act of recognition of the papal system complete in England, only the more swiftly and the more certainly excluded it forever. For that surrender by John of England to the Papacy immediately drew forth Magna Charta and its long train of resultant free institutions, of which the Constitution of the United States was not by any means the least important development.
"A New Order of Things."
Through all these changes of all of these nations after the fall of Rome, kingdoms were invariably the form of government, and kingdoms expanded into empires, tho every kingdom or empire was in subjection to the Papacy. But when the American nation arose, kings and all principles of kingship were utterly repudiated; the freedom, the right, and the capability of the people to govern themselves was again asserted.
And when government of the people was formally established in the adoption of the Constitution of the United States, it was in repudiation not only of kings and all principles of kingship, but also of popes and all principles of Papacy. The State was established as a government of self-governing people; a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. It was such a government separated and held by the Constitution entirely apart from the church, or from any connection with the church, or any recognition of the church, or even of religion in the abstract.
The churches were left perfectly free to go their own way; to organize and govern themselves, and conduct their own affairs as they might choose. The State held to itself the principle of utter separation from any Church or religion, and upon that principle would conduct all the affairs of the State. These two bodies, the Church and the State, abiding by natural and essential principle in totally distinct realms, occupied each its distinctive realm. And so in this new and final nation, the system of the church was a church without a pope, and the system of State was the State without a king; the Church and the State each absolutely independent of the other, and each entirely separated from the other.
This was indeed "a new order of things," and it was equally the correct and the divine order of things. And those who established it thus did so entirely out of respect to the divine order of things, as to the government of the church on earth. They did it out of respect entirely to the principles of "the Holy Author of our religion," and "upon the principles upon which the Gospel was first propagated, and the reformation from popery carried on." And so they established this new nation upon right principles for the State, that it should be a light and a guide to all the nations in the way of individual liberty and of free and happy government; and also upon the right principles for the Church, leaving her free in her own realm to be joined only to her own true Lord, to Him alone as her true head and guide, that she should be indeed the light of the world.
Thus, at last, was attained the form of perfect earthly government. And all that was needed in order that this nation should forever lead the world was that the people composing the nation should hold themselves in practise, in strict allegiance to the principles upon which the nation was founded. And while this was done, this nation was distinctly the leading nation of the world; that is, the nation was truly leading the world toward right principles, away from the corrupt and the corrupting influence of the Papacy. But in the latest years these principles have not been adhered to either by the Church or by the State in this nation. The churches, combining their strength and influence, have sought to unite themselves to the State; and in direct violation of the fundamental principles of the Reformation and of Christianity, it has sought "by force to enter into the office of another," to transfer worldly government, and "to prescribe laws to the magistrate touching the form of the State."
On the other hand, the people of the State have not been loyal to the principles of the State in the United States. The fundamental principle of State in this government is government of the people—self-government: the government deriving its just powers from the consent of the governed. The people have not continued to govern themselves, and are not to-day governing themselves; and the government has repudiated government by the consent of the governed, and has espoused government by the consent of "some of the governed," which, in principle, is merely government of a few, and in logic and in practise, presently, government by one, or a one-man power.
And with fundamental principles and original practise of this nation abandoned on the part of both the Church and the State, it is literally impossible that there can be any other result than that there shall be here repeated the history of that other degenerate government of the people which developed the one-man power in the Roman State; and that other apostate church, which developed the one-man power in the church, dominating the world. And to-day this nation has gone so far in this direction, and the inevitable course further is so clearly defined, that all that any one needs to do to understand the subject even in detail, is merely to be acquainted with the history as it actually occurred in that degenerate Roman Government of the people, and of that apostate church, which drew life and supremacy from the destruction and ruin of that degenerate government of the people.
Not Self-Governing.
To-day, in the United States, the people are not a self-governing people. They do not govern themselves either in private or public life. Intemperance, absence of self-government in individual life, possesses and absolutely controls the individual life of the vast majority of the people of the United States, and is constantly increasing at a fearful rate. In the business or commercial life of the people of the United States the people do not govern themselves. They are absolutely governed either by the trusts or by the unions, or by both. In the field of labor and employment, the people of the United States of all people, do not govern themselves. Almost wholly, they are governed as to their employment, their wages, and almost in their very buying and selling, by the trades-union. In political life the people of the United States do not govern themselves, and the government is not of the people. The people are governed by "the party" and "the machine," and these, in turn, are controlled by the political "bosses."5
History Repeats Itself.
Here is the same old desperate struggle between capital and labor; here also is the same old longing and grasping for governmental support, which, under whatever pretense it may be urged, is merely socialism. And, indeed, here it is advocated as socialism direct and by name. And just as the advocacy of governmental support means only socialism, so also the advocacy of socialism means only anarchy. In some instances here it is advocated under the would-be-saving title of "Christian socialism." And in the advocacy of it in all its phases, the words of Christ are readily grasped and enthusiastically rung in as an expression of the principles of socialism.
There are, however, a number of serious considerations which absolutely preclude this socialism from ever being in any sense Christian. One is, that the words and principles of Christ are absolutely meaningless in the mouths, the plans, or the devices, of those who do not believe at all in Jesus; and even tho there be some believers in Jesus who are mistakenly advocating socialism, yet, the overwhelming mass of those who advocate socialism are those who have no regard for the truth, or the faith, or the principles of Christ. And this fact alone absolutely vitiates all possibility of any virtue ever accruing to socialism from the words or principles of Jesus, tho they be quoted and advocated in every speech and on every page. The defect is not in the words or the principles of Jesus; the defect is in the people who quote these words and principles and urge them for a wrong purpose.
It is the same old story of Sinai: there God gave His own divine truths in words spoken direct from heaven. The people adopted them and declared that, "All that the Lord hath spoken will we do, and be obedient." But the people adopted them in the wrong way, and for wrong purposes: "Wherefore, finding fault with them, He saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when 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 when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, which My covenant they break." Heb. 8: 8, 9; Jer. 31: 31, 32. The fault was not on the part of the Lord, nor was it in the words or the principles announced in the covenant on His part; the fault was in the people. They went about it to do some great thing themselves and make a great change and reform in the world. They failed, as all others must fail, who attempt to use the divine principles without supreme guidance and control of the divine Spirit through the divine and abiding faith of Christ Jesus, the Saviour and Sanctifier of the soul. They failed, as all others must fail, who attempt to use the divine principles for worldly or selfish purposes, for any other than divine purposes, according to the divine will, under the supreme guidance and control of the divine spirit.
(To be continued.)
IT IS SO DARK.
THERE come seasons of darkness in all our lives—times when there is neither sun, nor moon, nor stars in the sky, and we stand still in fear, or grope, trembling.
A few years ago there fell upon my life one of these seasons, in which I could see neither to the right nor to the left. A terror of darkness was upon me.
One night I lay awake thinking, thinking, until my brain grew wild with uncertainty. I could not see a step in advance, and feared to move onward, lest, with the next footfall, I should plunge into hopeless ruin. Very strongly was I tempted to turn aside from the way in which I was going—a way reason and conscience approved as right—but something held me back. Again and again I took up and considered the difficulties of my situation, looking to the right hand and the left for ways of extrication; inclining now to go in this direction, and now in that; yet always held away from resolve by inner convictions of right and duty, that grew clear at the moment when I was ready to give up my hold on integrity. So the hours went, heavy-footed, until past midnight. My little daughter was sleeping in the crib beside the bed. But now she began to move uneasily, and presently her timid voice broke faintly:—
“Papa!” she called.
“What is it, darling?” I asked.
“O papa, it is dark! Take Nellie’s hand!” I reached out and took her tiny one in my own, clasping it firmly. A sigh of relief came up from her little heart. All her loneliness and fear were gone, and in a few moments she was sound asleep again.
“O my Father in heaven!” I cried, in a sudden, almost wild, outburst of feeling. “It is dark, very dark. Take my hand!”
A great peace fell upon me. The terror of darkness was gone. “Keep hold of my hand, O my Father!” I prayed fervently; “and tho I should be called to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Let not my feet wander to the right nor to the left.”—Wesleyan Herald.
CXXXV
How They Became Convinced
[Believing it would be of interest to our readers, the editor of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES has asked Sabbath-keeping ministers and evangelical workers to tell in a few words the scripture or scriptures, the truths and principles, which constrained them to accept the unpopular truth of the seventh-day Sabbath. These testimonies must not exceed 300 words. Let us hear from all.]
CXXXV.
ABOUT the year 1862, when the Civil War was at its height, Brethren J. N. Loughborough and Moses Hull pitched a tent and began a series of meetings in Charlotte, Mich. I was publishing a newspaper there, and, as is customary in such cases, the preachers called to have a notice of their meetings inserted in the next issue, which was willingly done as an item of news.
I attended most of the meetings, partly from curiosity and partly to enable me to give an account of the services. I was from the first very much interested by the clear, convincing manner in which the preachers handled their different subjects, especially the Sabbath question. The subject was not entirely new to me, for, as foreman of a newspaper in Battle Creek, I had previously employed two Adventist printers, who always quit work Friday evening, and did not return until Monday morning.
The meetings made such a stir in Charlotte and vicinity, particularly among the ministers, that one of them challenged the Adventists to a discussion of the Sabbath question, based on the Fourth Commandment of the Decalogue. The challenge was promptly accepted, Mr. Hull taking the affirmative side and Mr. Jones (a Methodist) the negative. It scarcely need be said that the argument and abundant scriptural proof presented by Mr. Hull in favor of the seventh-day Sabbath completely overwhelmed his opponent's flimsy argument; so almost the entire audience decided, and it seemed very clear to me.
The next year I sold out my business in Charlotte and with my family returned to California (where I had lived in '50 and '51), and eventually settled in Woodland, and again became publisher of a newspaper. In the early '70s notices appeared in the Petaluma and other exchanges of "tent-meetings, conducted by Elder Loughborough, a Seventh-day Adventist."
In 1872—ten years from the time I had heard him in Charlotte, Mich., and 3,000 miles away—the same Elder Loughborough pitched his tent in Woodland, and commenced preaching his "peculiar doctrines," assisted at different times by Dr. M. G. Kellogg, and later on by Elders M. E. Cornell, W. N. Healey, Mrs. E. G. White, and Elder James White. We entertained the ministers, attended the meetings, bought and read the books explaining the doctrines preached, and thus became fully convinced that it was duty to obey. WM. SAUNDERS.
XXXVI.
I WAS brought up a member of the Church of England, and observed Sunday until about five years ago, when I became acquainted with Brother H. A. Davis, who convinced me of my error. Then we were instrumental in convincing my sister, with whom I then lived. While she was alive we had many happy meetings in her house. She died two years ago, but I still hold to the truth, and bless God that I met Brother Davis. J. B. PRATT.
[Brother H. A. Davis, who is a medical missionary in India, tells us that this brother is very poor, is totally blind in one eye, and able to see but little with the other.]
God Is Now Here
THERE is a story of an atheist's child who had learned something about God. The father wished to expunge the thought from her mind, and he wrote on a piece of paper, "God is nowhere." He asked the child to read the words, and she spelled out, "God is now here." The child's unconscious misreading of the atheist's creed startled him and brought him to the feet of God, whose very existence he had sought to deny. Wherever we are we are in the presence of God.—Rev. J. R. Miller.
THE BLOTTING OUT OF SIN.
By G. Campbell Morgan
WHAT is the blessing of the blotting out of sin?
Recall the story of the boy who ran in one day to his mother, after he had read that promise, "I will blot out as a thick cloud thy transgressions," and he said:—
"Mother, what does God mean when He says He will blot out my sins? What is He going to do with them? I can't see how God can really blot them out and put them away. What does it mean—blot out?"
The mother, who is always the best theologian for a child, said to the boy: "Didn't I see you yesterday writing on your slate?"
"Yes," he said.
"Well, fetch it to me."
He fetched the slate. Holding it in front of him, the mother said:—
"Where is what you wrote?"
"O," he said, "I rubbed it out."
"Well, where is it?"
"Why, mother, I don't know."
"But how could you put it away if it was really there?"
"O, mother, I don't know. I know it was there, and is gone."
"Well," she said, "that is what God means when He said, 'I will blot out thy transgressions.'"—G. Campbell Morgan.
Small Helps in Critical Times
WHAT little things are capable of giving help at critical times! A mere twig may help a mountain climber up the last difficult step of his way, when without it he might have lost his footing and fallen. The smallest good thing that anyone can do or say may be someone else's salvation in a moral or spiritual crisis.
JUDE'S EXHORTATION AND WARNING.
THE epistle of Jude is especially a prophecy of last-day conditions, and a warning to the saints against the false teachers of the last days. Incidentally it was addressed to the church of his time, just as the things that happened to the children of Israel were "written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come" (1 Cor. 10: 11), while the statement was first made to the church in the days of the apostles. The class against whom Jude warns us "have crept in unawares" to the church. The people did not know their true character when they were allowed to come in. Notwithstanding their gilded exterior, and their show of learning, they are "ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ." Because of this class of teachers, the Spirit foresaw the necessity of writing to the church of these times, and of exhorting them that they should "earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." Therefore this duty devolves upon all who hold the Word of God alone as the basis of faith and doctrine.
Jude says of these people that they are "spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear." This shows the intimate relationship which they are allowed to gain with the church through their insidious devices. They are "clouds," appearing to bear refreshing showers for the pastures of the flock, but they are clouds "without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots," etc. "Their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage."
When this class is referred to as "ungodly," as "mockers," as "giving themselves over to fornication," etc., the casual reader is apt to regard them as out-spoken infidels and open railers against the truth; but a careful study of the brief epistle shows that they are prominent in the church. Otherwise the brethren would not be deceived by them; their real character would be known to all, if they were openly such as the Spirit portrays them. It is because their true character is hidden under a cloak of great profession and popular esteem that they are able to lead well-meaning brethren astray; hence the warning.7
The same class is mentioned in Peter's second epistle (chapter 2), and he calls them "false prophets" and "false teachers," who "privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them." And the worst of it is that "many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of." Peter describes them just as Jude does: "Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; having eyes full of adultery, and that can not cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls; an heart they have exercised with covetous practises; cursed children ["children of cursing," R. V.]; which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray. . . . These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved forever."
Is it any wonder that these "false prophets" and "false teachers" are telling the people that the law of God is abolished? Of course they do not want the people to recognize any principle that so emphatically condemns their own wicked ways. They can talk glibly of the love of Christ, and the love of God, but their representation of love is an empty sentimentality, stripped of every vestige of obedience, which alone is Christ's test of love. "If ye love Me, keep My commandments." "This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not grievous." "If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love." This is "the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" by the Lord Himself, and for which His servant Jude exhorts us that we "should earnestly contend" in these last days. Let us heed the exhortation, and the warning against those who, "having not the Spirit," would teach otherwise.
UNITY VERSUS DIVISION.
ONE of the saddest pictures constantly present before the eyes of the devout Christian is the condition of disunion and confusion in Christendom, whose creeds are as countless as her lofty spires. We have not alone the division lines between and among different denominations, but among churches of the same denomination, and oftentimes between members of the same church.
"Liberalism" sometimes tells us that this is good, as it gives so many men of varied belief opportunity to find a "Christian" home; but the devoted child of God can not see this. He knows that division is weakness instead of strength. He knows that this division oftentimes stands not for conviction of mind or heart, but for infidelity and disloyalty to the Bible. He knows, further, that this is not a type of Biblical Christianity, but that it is confusion, and brings confusion to the earnest seekers without the churches and the honest doubters within.
The Scriptures call, and ever call, to unity. The longest prayer recorded of Jesus, the one preeminently the Lord's prayer, is one earnest, agonizing plea for unity. Listen: "Holy Father, keep them in Thy name which Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, even as we are. . . . Neither for these only do I pray, but for them also that believe on Me through their word [believers in all subsequent times]; that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me. And the glory which Thou hast given Me I have given unto them; that they may be one, even as We are one; I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that Thou didst send Me, and lovedest them, even as Thou lovedst Me." John 17: 11-23.
The very oneness for which Christ prayed would convince the world of the truth of Christ's mission and the wonderful love of God to His people. That this unity did not consist in mere sentiment is shown by other Scriptures, of which the following must suffice:—
"Now I beseech you, brethren, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions [schisms] among you; but that ye be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment." 1 Cor. 1:10.
Surely this includes not only union of heart, but union of belief and purpose, the Scriptures of truth the one creed, Jesus Christ the one Saviour, the one Example, the church the one army of God, the world the one great field. How grand, how broad, how illimitable the outlook!
And in the fulness of the blessing of the outpouring of the "early rain" of the Spirit, this condition was manifest, and continued for a time, until, failing to heed the warning, that which was predicted by the apostle came to pass:—
"Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made you bishops, to feed the church of the Lord which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departing grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them." Acts 20:28-30.
And the wolves came in, bringing worldliness and pagan philosophy, and poisoned the church; and ambitious men with vain theories divided the church and drew the disciples, not to Christ, but to themselves, till in a short time the united church became a babylon, and the mystery of God gave way to the mystery of iniquity. Then followed 2 Thess. 2:3, 4, 7, and the Dark Ages. The mystery of godliness gave way to the mystery of iniquity.
Out of the fallen Babylon of the Dark Ages the Reformation brought the church of Christ a little way; but in its later phases it stamped the trademark of the old mother upon them by the formation of creeds and State churches, thereby setting aside the Bible, raising human standards, and so perpetuating and sowing anew confusion and strife.
The Reformation churches were the best representatives of the church of Christ in the earth. His people were among them and in them. Some of these churches had made no union with the civil government. Very dear to His heart of love was this Babylon in which His people were, but her wounds were great and grievous. Yet He could not leave her, and in the language of the ancient prophet this longing is expressed, "We would have healed Babylon." Jer. 51:9.
That is what God has always desired to do—to heal His people. "I am Jehovah that healeth thee" was His message to Israel when they came from plague-stricken Egypt; and as truly would God heal His people from the diseases and divisions contracted in the confusions and errors of Babylon.
This healing message is thus set forth:—
"And I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven, having eternal good tidings to proclaim unto them that dwell on the earth, and unto every nation and tribe and tongue and people; and he saith with a great voice, Fear God, and give Him glory; for the hour of His judgment is come; and worship Him that made the heaven and the earth and sea and fountains of waters." Rev. 14:6, 7.
There are certain characteristics of this message which clearly indicate that it is for the last days. Let us note some of its prominent features:—
1. As at the first advent, angels, heavenly messengers, are connected with its proclamation. God's work in heaven corresponds with His work in the earth. When a message is to be given to the world, God's celestial messengers are called to co-operate with His church here. The angels therefore indicate the holiness of God's work and also are symbolical of man's work in connection with them. The message is from heaven, and the messengers, whether heavenly or earthly, are sent of God.
2. It proclaims the one only Gospel of Jesus Christ, the eternal, age-lasting Gospel to earth's remotest bounds, to the end of the age.
3. It calls from the fear of man, from the fear of consequences, the fear of loss of property or prestige or reputation,—from all carnal fear to the fear of the great God, the Creator of the heaven and the earth. How such a controlling element in the life would break the power of human creeds and vain theories and philosophies over the soul!
4. The message calls us from the exaltation of the creature to the glory and honor of the Creator; from the worship of man to the worship of God. Never was there a time when it was more needed. Never was there a time when men were honoring men, worshiping men, exalting men, as they are at the present, and God and His honor, His word, and His worship are forgotten.
5. That message calls to all those in view of a judgment, not that is "to come," as Paul preached, but of "the hour of God's judgment" that "is come." It is pending. The Gospel work is closing up with the great assize. Men will soon have to appear in His presence. God would have each one do it now, that sins may be put away, and the soul stand justified.
How a reception of this message would sweep away the webs of error, and sin, and human creed in which the church of Christ is ensnared and enmeshed! How it would bring the oneness for which the Master prayed!
We shall have more to say.
MORE OF THE LIFE OF GOD.
WE may not understand many things about Deity and His operations. It is extreme folly to ask how God came to be. If we could comprehend God, He would be God no longer, or we ourselves would be God. But neither of these, in the nature of things, is true, or can be true.
But while we may not comprehend or understand many things about God, we may know our duty to Him and the laws which are designed of Him to control us. We may not be able to define life; but we may know that it comes to us from the great Source of life, in harmony with the laws of our being. He wishes us to know these laws, both physical and spiritual. According to these laws His life is bestowed upon us. The man who lives the nearest to the laws of his physical being, will reap the beneficent crop of health, strength, efficiency, longevity. The man who, in addition to this, yields his heart to God by faith in Jesus Christ, will receive the eternal life of God, cleansing away iniquity and giving power over sin.
As he walks in these ways, he will learn more and more how to co-operate with the great Lawgiver in bringing himself into harmony with these laws. His health will improve and be maintained as he eats and drinks to God's glory. His spiritual perceptions improve as he learns more of God's great moral law in Christ Jesus. His conscience becomes clearer, and more in harmony with the great standard. He learns better how to assimilate and appropriate the word of life. And he finds that every part of his mortal body is quickened and made more effective for God by the inflow of spiritual life from the great Fountain.
Do not limit the reception of life by that which you now have. Jesus said, "I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly." Educate faith to grasp more. When one message was sent over a wire at one time, it was a wonderful feat, and most people were satisfied with it. But some were not, and so duplex telegraphy came, two messages over the same wire at the same time. Then followed quadruplex and octoplex telegraphy; and then multiplex. One, two, four, six, eight,—and where is the limit of the one little wire charged with lightning according to law? And so, dear reader, we can not conceive of the power of the life of God, which will be given to our poor narrow souls if we will but passively and implicitly submit to His will, and positively, persistently, faithfully, actively, co-operate with Him in learning more and more how to appropriate and use to His glory the power of His endless life.
WHAT IS CHRIST'S MISSION?
A CORRESPONDENT, T. F. N., in College City, Mass., who represents many others in the aggregate, writes us why he keeps Sunday. He tells us (1) that he found that Christ did not keep the seventh day as they [the Jews, we suppose] did, and that that brought Him into more trouble than anything else; (2) that Matt. 22: 37–40; Rom. 13: 9 cover the commandments; (3) that the references, Matt. 28: 1, 2, 9; Acts 20: 7; John 21: 1 are enough to prove that Christ honored the first day of the week; that He rose from the dead on that day and established His spiritual kingdom on earth; and that by repentance and faith we may know we are saved. He wants to know how the men of this age know more of the first day than those who were taught by Christ. It looks to him like going back and denying Christ's mission of a spiritual kingdom, to keep the seventh day. Now these are frank declarations, and we will answer them briefly from the Bible. 1. Christ did not keep the seventh day as the Jews did, it is true; but He kept it as one of God's commandments, spiritual, just, and good. They kept it after a form, boasting in their own righteousness. Rom. 10: 3. The law did not lead them to Christ, because they sought their own honor, not God's. John 5: 44. It was necessary that men's righteousness in respect to all the commands of God should exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, or they could not enter the kingdom. Matt. 5: 17–20. But they could not abate one jot or tittle of the law. Christ observed the day according to the law, doing that which was "lawful" (Matt. 12: 1–12), and hence committed no sin; for "sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3: 4; 1 Peter 2: 21, 22; John 15: 10). 2. The great principles of love to God and love to man (Matt. 22: 37–40) do indeed cover all the law, and always have. Jesus was not teaching something new, but a truth recognized by the Jews themselves. Luke 10: 25–28; Mark 12: 28–34. He simply quoted Deut. 6: 5 and Lev. 19: 18. But those principles of love to God and man have ever and will ever demand willing obedience to all the commands of God. 1 John 5: 3. Where is Rom. 13: 9, referred to above? 3. The other texts referred to simply show that Jesus rose or was risen on the first day of the week. But the day is never called a sacred day; never is referred to as a worship day; never are we told that it displaced the Sabbath of the Lord. On the contrary, the context of each of these texts clearly reveal that the day was a common working day, and that no meeting held upon it was held to observe or honor the day. Jesus met with His disciples at the earliest opportunity, and manifested Himself as the Risen One. Paul merely closed a meeting on the first of that day, and worked the rest of the day. 4. Christ's spiritual kingdom on earth is in the hearts of His people, entering into hearts open by faith, and held by faith. Repentance is sorrow for sin. "Sin is the transgression of the law." 1 John 3: 4. 5. Christ's mission was to save His people from their sins. Matt. 1: 21; Titus 2: 13. But our correspondent's logic would make Christ "the minister of sin;" he would make Christ save His people to break the Sabbath, steal, commit adultery, kill, profane God's name, worship idols, etc. If he repudiates this, we simply say that all commands are parts of the same law given by the Father and Son from Sinai, honored and glorified by the Son in His life and death and teachings. Christ's mission is to bring men back to obedience to that law. Why should we discriminate when He has not? Why erect another standard? Why pervert the great Example? Why make His mission void in us?
IMPOSSIBLE.
NOT only is the doctrine of eternal torment derogatory of the character of a God of love, but it maintains an impossible theory. The Lord himself says: "I will not contend forever, neither will I be always wroth; for the spirit should fail before Me, and the souls which I have made." Isa. 57 : 16. The keeping of impenitent souls in everlasting conscious punishment would certainly be contending with them forever. The psalmist says that God "hath indignation every day." Ps. 7 : 11, R. V. As His indignation can only be against the wicked (as stated in the A. V.), God would necessarily be wroth as long as wicked beings were in existence.
In the second psalm, verse 2, we read, "Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish in the way." So the questions of the prophet Nahum, "Who can stand before His indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of His anger?" imply the impossibility of everlasting endurance under the wrath of God.
"By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of His anger are they consumed." Job 4 : 9. So the Saviour says: "Be not afraid of them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Matt. 10 : 28.
If the wicked can not endure God's anger forever, they surely can not exist forever, for His indignation will continue as long as the adversaries of His kingdom will endure. Then there must come a time when the adversaries of His kingdom shall cease to exist. And so says the psalmist: "Yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be; yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be." Ps. 37 : 10. What will have become of them?—"The wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs; they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away." Verse 20.
