Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Feb 1, 1906
Our Publishing Work
The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it. Psalm 68:11.
Any publication mentioned on this page may be ordered through your conference tract society or from any of our publishing houses or their branch offices. See last paragraph on this page for addresses of our publishing houses.
A CONCORDANCE of the Bible is a very necessary book for every Bible student. “Cruden’s Concordance” is an excellent one, and is furnished in cloth binding for $1 a copy.
IMPORTANT instruction in regard to sending our young people to Battle Creek to secure their education is contained in a little pamphlet entitled “Testimonies to the Church, Series B, No. 6.” It contains sixty-four pages, and the price is 5 cents. Every parent should have a copy. Order as usual.
ARE your little folks learning to make the pretty things Mrs. Long describes and illustrates in the Youth’s Instructor? These lessons will train their hands and eyes, and teach them to do their work accurately and neatly. If you do not have the Instructor’s weekly visits, order it now. Seventy-five cents a year, 40 cents for six months. Address Youth’s Instructor, Washington, D. C.
IN a conversation with a lady recently, reference was made to the near coming of Christ, and the speaker said he expected to live to see him coming. The lady exclaimed, “O! I should be scared to death if I believed that.” Reader, what are you doing to carry God’s message of love to those who know it not, so that they may not flee from him at his coming, but knowing and loving him here, may say then, “Lo, this is our God”?
MANY of your neighbors who attend Sunday-school are studying lessons on the life of Christ. Have you tried to interest them in “Desire of Ages”? It is the best book published as a “help” on these lessons. A little booklet has been prepared which refers to the passages in “The Desire of Ages” treating on the lesson topics. This booklet is furnished free with each copy of “The Desire of Ages” when so requested. Single copy will be sent to any one for 5 cents.
HAVE you a good supply of “Signs Leaflets” on hand? They should be scattered now as never before. Sixteen different two-page leaflets on the various points of faith are in this series, as follows: The Sure Word of Prophecy, Prophetic History of the World, Second Coming of Christ, Signs of Our Times, The Sanctuary, The 2300 Days, The Law of God, The Sabbath of the Bible, The First Day in the Bible, Who Changed the Sabbath? The Great Threefold Message, The Seal of God and Mark of the Beast, Church and State, Life and Immortality, The Great Judgment Day, The Home of the Saved. You can get a pound (18 of each leaflet) for 50 cents, or 100 of any single leaflet for 15 cents. No less than 100 of any single tract will be sold.
“MINISTRY OF HEALING,” Sister White’s latest book, is most helpful and encouraging. The example of Christ in relieving suffering and pointing the way to a better life is made so practical and helpful that the reader is led to understand more fully the divine love for fallen humanity, and to trust in the mighty Healer for physical and spiritual relief. Price, post-paid, $1.65.
IN a paper read at the bookmen’s convention recently held in Kansas City, Mo., a successful canvasser said, “We take orders or excuses.” This states a truth very plainly. Most people can afford to buy books if they really desire them, but many canvassers are willing to take “excuses” instead of “orders.” This they need not do if they will thoroughly master their book, and thus be able truthfully and attractively to present its real merits to their customer. This work is worthy of our highest endeavor, and no one should be satisfied to take a large proportion of “excuses” instead of “orders.”
FOUR canvassers in the Pacific Union Conference took orders for our large subscription books to the value of $5,223.75 during 1905. The total number of hours devoted to this work was 1,943, and the number of orders taken was 1,656. The brother who put in the greatest number of hours worked a total of 755 hours, from March to October inclusive. None of them used any so-called “helps,” but depended entirely on one book for their orders. This shows that those who are competent to handle our larger and more important publications can succeed with them alone, and do not need any crutches, or “helps,” in order to get along.
OF Life and Health it was recently said by one who had been greatly benefited through its teaching: “Any one who wants to live and be happy should not be without Life and Health. The January number was like life to me.” Our readers will find much practical matter in the February number. Over 300 names have been added to the list of agents since last October, and the great majority of these have met with excellent success in their work with the journal. The average sales for adult agents have been twenty copies an hour; children, ten copies an hour. As agents make two cents and a half profit on each copy sold, the average sales reported represent a good wage for the workers. Who else would like to try this line of work? Write to the publishers for suggestions on methods of work, suggestive canvass for current issues, prices, etc.
Orders for any publication mentioned on this page may be sent to any conference tract society or to any of the following: Review and Herald Publishing Association, Washington, D. C., and Battle Creek, Mich.; Pacific Press Publishing Company, Mountain View, Cal., also Portland, Ore., and Kansas City, Mo.; Southern Publishing Association, Nashville, Tenn., and Fort Worth, Tex.
The Four Colossal Alls
By Editor
Editorial
“The Four Colossal Alls”
The great commission is still in force. Its commands and its promises are the same to-day as if they were uttered only yesterday. Its simple statements have been the marching orders and the unfailing strength of the church through centuries of conflict. In the words of Joseph Cook: “The sublimest and most effective words known to human history are those in which the Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed the four colossal alls as the foundation of the kingdom of the one God in the Christian church. Where in the whole range of recorded thought is there anything possessing such scope and sublimity? ‘All Power is given unto me. Go ye, therefore, and disciple all nations; teaching them to observe all things. And lo, I am with you all the days.’ So closes the first Gospel, reaching the seventh heaven in the height of the outlook. These four alls—all power, all nations, all commands, all times—from our Lord’s supreme commission to his disciples, are the four corner-stones of the historic church.” This commission comes with a new meaning to those who carry the closing message to this generation. Our absent but soon-coming Lord encourages us with the inspiration of the four colossal alls to address ourselves to the mighty undertaking of proclaiming the final warning in a single generation. “All power” is pledged for the success of this movement. “All nations” constitute the field of operations. “All commands” are the warp and woof of the message. “All times” cover every time of need and insure the continual presence of the great Leader with the bearers of this message. On the banner on which is inscribed our motto, “The Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus,” let us also write the four colossal alls, and press forward with renewed courage. Our Commander is a Conqueror.
Tokens of Good
THERE are indications of decidedly better days for the work of God as represented in the third angel’s message. Hindrances are now being removed. Conditions which forbade the outpouring of the Holy Spirit are being remedied by a separation from the evil thing. Loyal hearts are being quickened, and fresh courage is springing up. The recent experience has not been a pleasant one, but it is already yielding good fruit. From various parts of the field are coming responses from those who recognize the crisis through which we are passing, and who declare themselves unhesitatingly for the original platform of this message. There are also encouraging indications of an increasing spiritual power in the labors of the workers, to which special reference is made elsewhere in this department. For these tokens of good we are thankful, and urge all to hold fast, and to fight the good fight of faith without wavering.
Creation and Redemption
The essential element of the gospel of Christ is power. “It is the power of God unto salvation.” But it is not undefined and uncontrolled power. It is the power of manifested love directed to the accomplishment of a definite purpose, and that purpose is salvation from sin. This power of manifested love is otherwise called the righteousness of God. “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed.”
In the gospel, therefore, the power of God’s love is manifested in changing the nature of sinful beings so that they will again bear his image and show forth his praises. Only infinite love could devise such a plan, and only infinite power could execute it. It is altogether the work of an infinite God.
This transformation from sin to righteousness, from the old man to the new, is described as a work of creation. “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” It is specifically called the new creation. “If any man is in Christ, there is a new creation.”
This Biblical idea of a new creation is far removed from the modern philosophy of evolution. Creation is wrought by a power from without; evolution is wrought by a power from within. Creation demands a personal Creator; evolution demands only power under law. The gospel of creation is the gospel of a personal Saviour, who gave himself for us in order that he might accomplish a creative work in us. “Wherefore remember, that once ye, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called Circumcision, in the flesh, made by hands; that ye were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus ye that once were far off are made nigh in the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who made both one, and brake down the middle wall of partition, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; that he might create in himself of the two one new man, so making peace.” Thus it is plain that the work of restoring us to God is a creative work, the creating of a new man. Our salvation, therefore, requires the intervention of a Creator.
But this new creation is not a work which is in a class by itself, apart from and independent of the other activities of God. It is part of his general plan for the making and peopling of the earth. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. . . . And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. . . . And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” It was the purpose of God in creation that the earth should be inhabited by those who bore his image—righteous beings. “For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited.” But sin came in to mar the image of God in man and to thwart the divine purpose concerning the earth, for “sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth4death,” and death would prevent the earth from being populated. In order, therefore, to carry out the original purpose in the creation of the earth and man upon it, and that all might again be “very good,” it became necessary to recreate both the earth and man. This was not an after-thought, a work of a different order, a new attempt to patch up by another process the failure of creation, but it was all involved in the first creative purpose. Creating all things, including man, involved upholding all things, including man. This was an essential part of creation. The Creator was of necessity the Upholder. When man fell, his restoration grew out of the plan to create and to uphold, and the Restorer could be none other than the Creator. The Redeemer is the Creator, and redemption is creation. “But now thus saith Jehovah that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed thee; I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine.”
The power for the original creation is the power for the new creation. “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth,” says our Redeemer. The method of revealing this power in the original creation was through the word of the Lord. “By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. . . . For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.” Through the same word is the power revealed for the new birth, or the new creation. “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” The image of God in which man was created at the first is the image which he will bear as the result of being created in Christ Jesus. “As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.” Thus are creation and redemption only different manifestations of the same working of creative power, and there is but one Creator.
The attacks of a false science and of a degenerate theology upon the Biblical record of creation have been made for a definite purpose. Redemption is simply one phase of the completed work of creation. To destroy confidence in the original creation is to remove the foundation of the hope of redemption. To establish the evolutionary theory of the original creation is to prepare the way for the acceptance of the evolutionary theory in the new creation, or redemption, and this discards the atoning work of our Mediator and High Priest, and makes each one the agent for developing his own salvation. But this is all a deception which will end in eternal disappointment and loss. There is no redemption except through the process of creation by the power of the living word of God. We may well adopt the prayer of David, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
What a wonderful plan of salvation! What a wonderful Saviour! “O, let us contemplate the amazing sacrifice that has been made for us! Let us try to appreciate the labor and energy that heaven is expending to reclaim the lost, and bring them back to the Father’s house. Motives stronger, and agencies more powerful, could never be brought into operation,—the exceeding rewards for right-doing, the enjoyment of heaven, the society of the angels, the communion and love of God and his Son, the elevation and extension of all our powers throughout eternal ages,—are not these mighty incentives and encouragements to urge us to give the heart’s loving service to our Creator and Redeemer?”
[The thoughts in this article may be found suggestive in connection with the study of the Sabbath-school lesson for February 10, the subject of which is “Creation and Redemption.”]
If Thou Canst Believe”
By L. A. S.
The little word “if,” though seemingly insignificant, is of vast importance. It stands in the way of many things. The devil tries to make it stand in the way of faith.
When the tempter came to Christ in the wilderness, he said: “If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” His whole effort was to raise doubt in the mind of Christ that he was the Son of God, and “if” was the appropriate word for his purpose. But Jesus allowed it to have no weight in his mind. It is a word that does not belong in the language of faith.
The reason why this word is such a troublesome one in the experience of many people is that they are not living their lives on the plane of faith, but on some lower level where the shadows of doubt and uncertainty are found. “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” Mark 9:23. The “if” of doubt is the one that most obstructs the pathway of the Christian.
As the tempter tried to raise doubt in the mind of Christ, so he tries to raise doubt in the minds of his followers. The faith of Jesus, which saved him in that hour of trial, rested wholly upon the testimony of God’s word. By that evidence he knew that he was the Son of God. He did not bring with him into this world the treasury of his knowledge in heaven, but he became a babe, and of his childhood it is said that he “increased in wisdom.” He knew that he was the Son of God, not by memory, but by faith alone.
The Christian knows the relationship which he sustains to God, not through feeling, nor through any other channel of evidence but that of faith. And whatever seeming evidence may come to him from any other sources to cause him to doubt, it has no weight with him against the declarations of God’s Word. The faith of Jesus is the faith that saves. The tempter says, “If you are a son of God,” “If your sins are forgiven,” etc., but the implied doubt can find no lodgment in the mind that is controlled by the faith of Jesus. “If thou canst believe,” is the only question to be settled. Remove that “if,” and all others disappear with it. “All things are possible to him that believeth.” L. A. S.
The Awakening
By W. A. S.
THOSE who are out in the field, east, west, north, or south, report a quickening of interest among the ranks of believers. There is a revival among those who have watched God’s providences in this advent movement. In our general offices the correspondence from laborers, conference officers, and people bears witness to the same fact.
There is the sound of a stirring in the camp. There is abroad a deepening conviction that the Lord, who has led this people out in this great advent movement, is guiding the marching hosts into the short way to the promised land, and that his voice is calling for all to come into line and get ready for the last things in the closing conflict.
In a Testimony, dated Sept. 2, 1902, the opening words were:—
Day by day I am impressed by the Holy Spirit that the very last messages of warning are now to be given to our people.
The Lord truly has been dealing with his church in these times, calling on men and women to make definite decisions. And all the time we have seen his providences leading the work forward in the mission fields as never before. Never were conferences and people more earnest in stepping in to urge the work onward as the great fields call for help. On every hand we hear those who move about among the churches and conferences bearing witness to this. It is an awakening and a reviving from the Lord.
“If were conferences and people more earnest in stepping in to urge the work onward as the great fields call for help.”
At the sound of the alarm in the camp of Israel, all the hosts of God were to move forward toward the land of promise. Numbers 10. God himself has been sounding the trumpet of alarm in Zion, and, thank God, there is a moving in the camp. And the revival at home reaches to the ends of the earth. From away inland in China, Dr. Selmon writes:—5
Looked at from this distance, it seems to us that our people in the States are rousing themselves to push the work, and we are glad of the evidence that God is stirring us up. The East, and especially our old China, is being aroused to the very depth.
The awakening is coming within and without. We are not to be forever marching and never getting to the end of the journey. The last things are being done. The last messages of warning are surely being given to us.
Sin is to be put away from our own hearts. The heart must be circumcised from worldliness and lethargy; for, as Zion awakes and puts on its beautiful garments, it is written, “Henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.” Isa. 52:1. Then it is that “all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.” Verse 10.
The events in the world, and the stirring of new life in the church, are signs to us that the Lord has set his hand to finish the work. It is to us what that “sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees” was to David’s band. It is as the “sound of abundance of rain” which Elijah heard by faith, as he prayed to God on Carmel. Well may we be of good cheer, and speak the word of courage to others. And still, as never before, there is need of seeking God in one world-wide prayer circle, for the fulness of blessing that shall fit this church of the advent truth to quickly bear the message to all the earth.
“Go yet again in prayer, O church, and gaze
Eastward and westward where the nations thirst,
By sin and falsehood parched, and the hot rays
Of war and strife and gain; scorched, withered, cursed!
From Thee, Desire of nations, Life’s streams burst;
Come, Holy Ghost, through the reviving ground,
Like music thine abundant blessing sound.”
W. A. S.
Responsibilities of Civil Rulers
In the January number of McClure’s Magazine Lincoln Steffens, who has of late exposed a shocking amount of political corruption in civic affairs, writes of the career of the present mayor of one of the Atlantic coast cities, whose motto has been that he would, if elected to office, serve his constituents “faithfully and honestly.” The title of the article is a lesson in itself. It is, “A Servant of God and the People.” This recognizes a principle, too often overlooked. An officer of the state is, in fact, a servant of God, and is responsible to him first, and secondarily to the people, for the proper discharge of his official duties.
Civil government was ordained of God as a necessity in a world cursed with sin. Its purpose is to protect men in the exercise of their God-given rights and privileges. It is designed to be a terror to evil-doers. Here is the inspired statement for this: “Let every soul be in subjection to the higher powers: for there is no power but of God; and the powers that be are ordained of God. Therefore he that resisteth the power, withstandeth the ordinance of God: and they that withstand shall receive to themselves judgment. For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. And wouldest thou have no fear of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise from the same: for he is a minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is a minister of God, an avenger for wrath to him that doeth evil.”
The genius of civil government is of God. The people may, under the overruling providence of God, select the individual who shall occupy the seat of power, but inasmuch as he is “a minister of God,” he is primarily responsible to God for the administration of his office. He is, of course, responsible to the people as one who has been chosen to be, under God, a servant of the people, and he is in duty bound to conserve the interests of all the people. He who attempts to favor a majority of the body politic through whose suffrages he obtained office, at the expense of the minority whose first choice fell upon some other man, is a mere political partizan, and is utterly unworthy of the title of a statesman. He is a spoiler of the people, rather than a ruler of the people.
Sacred history furnishes striking examples of the principles herein set forth. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, became a universal ruler by the direct providence of God. Through the prophet Jeremiah Jehovah said: “I have made the earth, the men and the beasts that are upon the face of the earth, by my great power and by my outstretched arm; and I give it unto whom it seemeth right unto me. And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field also have I given him to serve him. And all the nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son.” Jehovah called Nebuchadnezzar “My servant.” Although Nebuchadnezzar conducted the usual campaigns of conquest against the surrounding nations, yet Jehovah declares that it was he who gave these nations into the hand of the king of Babylon. Jehovah then held Nebuchadnezzar responsible to himself for the right use of the power placed in his hands. As God’s servant he was to rule the people wisely in their temporal affairs, leaving God himself to deal with them in spiritual things. When he attempted to usurp the prerogatives of God by issuing a royal edict governing the object and manner of the people’s worship, the Ruler of heaven interfered, and by delivering his worshipers from the burning fiery furnace, he wrought into history the principle which Jesus of Nazareth afterward enunciated in words, “Render therefore unto Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.”
When Nebuchadnezzar’s heart was lifted up because of his greatness and the extent of his kingdom, and he refused to recognize that he was God’s servant, responsible to him for the conduct of the affairs of the kingdom, those godlike faculties which enabled him to rule among men were taken from him, and he became as a beast of the field. This was done that he might know “that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.”
The same lesson concerning the legitimate sphere of the authority of civil rulers and their responsibility to the King of heaven is taught in the experience of Darius the Mede, who commanded Daniel the prophet to be cast into the den of lions because he prayed to God contrary to the decree of the king. When the earthly king disregarded his responsibility to the heavenly King, he was made to know that the power which ordained civil government was to be reckoned with in the administration of that government.
These lessons were left on record for the benefit of succeeding generations. They apply with equal force at the present time. Irresponsible power has not been committed to those who occupy positions of authority in the government. The sphere of their authority has been clearly defined by the very Ruler who ordained civil government. In temporal affairs they are supreme, subject always to those principles of right and justice which the God of heaven has established. With spiritual affairs they have nothing whatsoever to do, except that as men they are under obligation to lead the Christian life, as other men. As servants of God they will discharge their official duties by making or administering, in the fear of God, just laws within the legitimate sphere of civil authority, in matters which lie between man and man, and not by attempting to interfere in matters of faith and worship, which lie wholly between man and his God. And for the right discharge of these duties every servant of the people is primarily responsible to him whose throne is in heaven, and whose kingdom ruleth over all.
The downfall of those kingdoms whose6rulers have failed to recognize their responsibility to the King of heaven is the voice of history to this generation, emphasizing the message of the prophet Daniel to the king of Babylon: “The Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.” Fortunate will it be for the “minister of God” who heeds this lesson of the ages.
Arbitration Versus Armaments
By L. A. S.
SIR HENRY CAMPBELL-BANNERMAN, head of the new “liberal” government in Great Britain, is an advocate of international peace by disarmament. In a recent campaign speech he said:—
As the principle of peaceful arbitration extends, it becomes one of the highest tasks of statesmen to adjust these armaments to the new and happier conditions. No nobler role could this great country have than at the fitting moment to put herself at the head of a league of peace through whose instrumentality this great work could be effective.
Sir Henry would have the war fleets turned into scrap-iron, and the soldiers and sailors turned to more useful pursuits. Naturally, his speech has caused a sensation in England and on the Continent.
The principle of international arbitration seems to be extending, but, on the other hand, the armies and armaments of the nations are also being extended. The one makes for peace, the other, if it does not actually promote war, imposes a war burden which is crushing the people. The increase of armaments is evidence also that the nations do not trust one another. Each has small confidence in the other’s professed love of peace. And it is admitted that whatever progress the principle of arbitration may make in the world, it is useless to think of curtailing the world’s armaments. At all events, the extension of the forces of war must go on. The project of disarmament is spoken of by military writers as utopian and chimerical. Thus the Paris Temps says:—
On what basis could armaments be limited? Of course on the basis of the status quo, for a power at present better equipped for war than others could not calmly fold its arms while the others toiled in reaching the same standard. Very good! But what right has any one to take away from the powers all hope of improving their position? England, for example, is to-day incontestably the first maritime power in the world. But why should not other nations be permitted to cherish the ambition of disputing with her the empire of the seas? Prussia has realized German union to the advantage of Germany, and has given to that country a formidable military force. Does any one believe that she would readily be induced to diminish it? . . . The more one reflects on the proposal, the more it bristles with difficulties. It is, in fact, quite utopian.
Another Paris journal calls the proposal “a delightful dream,” and adds: “Alas! the amiable idea of the English prime minister is chimerical.”
Thus we are again reminded that we are living in a period of the world’s history when a state of real peace among the nations is a chimerical idea, and acknowledged by the nations to be such. At best there is only an armed peace, with a crushing and constantly growing burden of military demands for men and money. The prophecy says that in this time the nations are angry, and even so it is. There are wars and rumors of war. And this period of strife and unrest is to continue to that great event of the nearness of which it is a sign, —the coming of the King of kings.
L. A. S.
Neglect and Its Consequences
By George A. Irwin
“THEREFORE we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will.” Heb. 2: 1-4.
Forgetfulness and neglect seem to have been prominent traits in the character of God's people in all ages. As we read our Bibles, we are impressed with the frequency with which the Lord seemed to be compelled to call the attention of his people to their duties and obligations in order that they might co-operate with him in their own personal salvation, as well as in the extension of the knowledge of his saving truth to the people of earth. As we contemplate the serious consequences which have resulted from neglect, and what we are even now compelled to endure as a result of it, we stand appalled. We are told that “had the purpose of God been carried out by his people in giving to the world the message of mercy, Christ would, ere this, have come to the earth, and the saints would have received their welcome into the city of God.”
How sad the thought that we are still compelled to wander in this wilderness world, when, had we been faithful, we might have been enjoying the glories of the heavenly city. It is not only sad to contemplate what we have missed, but also the length of time that will still elapse before the saints will receive their reward, unless there is a speedy and general revival of the true missionary spirit all along the line. The following reasons why we are in our present condition are pointed out by the Testimonies:—
The work of God, which should be going forward with tenfold its present strength and efficiency, is kept back, like a spring season by the chilling blasts of winter, because some of God's people are appropriating to themselves the means that should be dedicated to his service. Because Christ's self-sacrificing love is not interwoven in the life practises, the church is weak where it should be strong. By its own course it has put out its light, and robbed millions of the gospel of Christ.
A flood of light is shining from the Word of God, and there must be an awakening to neglected opportunities. When all are faithful in giving back to God his own in tithes and offerings, the way will be opened for the world to hear the message for this time. If the hearts of God's people were filled with love for Christ, if every church-member were thoroughly imbued with the spirit of self-sacrifice, if all manifested thorough earnestness, there would be no lack of funds for home or foreign missions. Our resources would be multiplied; a thousand doors of usefulness would be opened, and we should be invited to enter. Had the purpose of God been carried out by his people in giving to the world the message of mercy, Christ would, ere this, have come to the earth, and the saints would have received their welcome into the city of God.
“It is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” The following additional instruction in regard to tithes and offerings and their proper use, is a clear statement of our obligations as stewards of God's bounties:—
Not only does the Lord claim the tithe as his own, but he tells us how it should be reserved as his. “Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increase.” This does not teach that we are to spend our means ourselves, and bring to the Lord the remnant, even though it be otherwise an honest tithe. Let God's portion be first set apart. The directions given by the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul, in regard to gifts, presents a principle that applies also to tithing. “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him.” Parents and children are here included. Not only the rich, but the poor are addressed. “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart [through the candid consideration of God's prescribed plan], so let him give; not grudgingly, nor of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” The gifts are to be made in consideration of the great goodness of God to us.
Let none feel at liberty to retain their tithe to use according to their judgment. They are not to use it for themselves in any emergency, nor to apply it as they see fit, even in what they may regard as the Lord's work. God has shown honor to men in taking them into partnership with himself in the great work of redemption. He expects his agents to labor, not against him, but in unison7with him that his treasury may be supplied.
The minister should, by precept and example, teach the people to regard the tithe as sacred. He should not feel that he can retain and apply it according to his own judgment because he is a minister. It is not his. He is not at liberty to devote to himself whatever he thinks is his due. Let him not give his influence to any plans for diverting from their legitimate use the tithes and offerings dedicated to God. Let them be placed in his treasury, and held sacred for God's service as he has appointed. The tithe is God's portion, not at all the property of man, and the Scripture declares that he who withholds it is guilty of robbery. Who, then, will stand with clean hands before the Lord?
The tithe is set apart for a special use. It is not to be regarded as a poor fund. It is to be especially devoted to the support of those who are bearing God's message to the world, and it should not be diverted from this purpose.
Let the church appoint pastors or elders who are devoted to the Lord Jesus, and let these men see that officers are chosen who will attend faithfully to the work of gathering in the tithe. If the pastors show that they are not fitted for their charge, if they fail to set before the church the importance of returning to God his own, they do not see to it that the officers under them are faithful, and that the tithe is brought in, they are in peril. They are neglecting a matter which involves a blessing or a curse to the church. They should be relieved of their responsibility, and other men should be tested and tried.
The Lord's messengers should see that his requirements are faithfully discharged by the members of the churches. God says that there should be meat in his house, and if the money in his treasury is tampered with, if it is regarded right for individuals to make what use they like of the tithe, the Lord can not bless. He can not sustain those who think that they can do as they please with that which is his.
God grant that each of us may be faithful in returning to God his own in tithes and offerings in this time of test and proving, so that the Lord may soon entrust us with the true riches.