International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, Cal. · Aug 7, 1884
Family Prayer.
By Ellen G. White
BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
If ever there was a time when every house should be a house of prayer, it is now. Infidelity and skepticism are prevailing. Iniquity abounds, and in consequence, the love of many waxes cold. Corruption flows in the vital currents of the soul, and rebellion against our heavenly Father breaks out in the life. Depravity spreads its loathsome canker over the entire heart. The moral powers, enslaved by sin, are under the tyranny of unholy appetites and passions. The soul is made the sport of Satan's temptations; and unless some mighty arm is stretched out to rescue him, man goes where the arch-rebel leads the way.
It is Satan's regular employment to work for the destruction of the race. Says the apostle Peter, “Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” Here Satan is represented as prowling about, hoping to find some poor soul off his guard, separated from God, that he may make his prey. And man in his pride is utterly helpless. He may well tremble at the awful power, cunning, and deception exercised by Satan over all who are not by faith holding fast the hand of Christ.
And yet in this time of fearful peril some who profess to be Christians have no family altar. They do not honor God in the home, nor teach their children to love and fear him. There are persons who attempt to teach the Bible who open their meetings without prayer; and there are not wanting some who profess to be followers of Jesus, and yet argue that there is nothing in the word of God that teaches the duty of vocal prayer. These things grieve me; for I know that continual watchfulness and unceasing prayer are necessary for every soul that would successfully resist the wiles of the great deceiver. Those who maintain such positions are not sincere Christians. There are many, who, like unruly children, have separated themselves so far from God that they feel under condemnation in approaching him. They cannot “come boldly unto the throne of grace,” “lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.” They have not clean hands; they have not pure hearts; they have no living connection with God. Theirs is a form of godliness without the power.
The idea that prayer is not essential is one of Satan's most successful devices to ruin souls. Prayer is addressing the mind to God, the Fountain of wisdom, the Source of strength and peace and happiness. Prayer includes acknowledgment of the divine perfections, gratitude for mercies received, penitential confession of sins, and earnest entreaty for the blessing of God, both for ourselves and for others. Jesus prayed to the Father with strong crying and tears. Paul exhorts believers to “pray without ceasing.” “In everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.” “Pray one for another,” says James. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” God has a right to command our devotions; his authority is sacred and unquestionable. We are under obligation to pray because he requires it; and in obeying his requirements we shall receive a gracious and precious reward.
I know of nothing that causes me so great sadness as a prayerless home. I do not feel safe in such a house for a single night; and were it not for the hope of helping the parents to realize their necessity and their sad neglect, I would not remain. The children show the result of this neglect; for the fear of God is not before them. Parents should make a hedge about their children by prayer; they should pray with full faith that God will abide with them, and that holy angels will guard themselves and their children from Satan's cruel power.
In every family there should be order, and regular habits. There should be a fixed time to rise in the morning, a time for breakfast, and a time for prayer, either directly before or directly after the morning meal. How appropriate it is for parents to gather their children about them before their fast is broken, and direct their young minds to our heavenly Father, who bestows upon us the bounties of his providence. Let them thank God for protecting them during the night, and ask for help and grace and the watchcare of angels through the day. Man should not be as unmindful of God as the beasts of the field, that eat and drink, but render no tribute of prayer or grateful praise to their Maker. Beasts have no reason; but men should understand the great condescension of God to finite, sinful mortals.
Fathers and mothers, at least morning and evening lift up your hearts to God in humble supplication for yourselves and your children. Your dear ones are exposed to temptations and trials. There are frets and irritations that daily beset the path of old and young; and those who would live patient, loving, cheerful lives amid daily annoyances, must pray. This victory can be gained only by a resolute and unwavering purpose, constant watchfulness, and continual help from God.
The father, who is the priest of his household, should conduct the morning and evening worship. There is no reason why this should not be the most interesting and enjoyable exercise of the home-life, and God is dishonored when it is made dry and irksome. Let the seasons of family worship be short and spirited. Do not let your children or any member of your family dread them because of their tediousness or lack of interest. When a long chapter is read and explained and a long prayer offered, this precious service becomes wearisome, and it is a relief when it is over.
It should be the special object of the heads of the family to make the hour of worship intensely interesting. By a little thought, and careful preparation for this season, when we come into the presence of God, family worship can be made pleasant, and will be fraught with results that eternity alone will reveal. Let the father select a portion of Scripture that is interesting and easily understood; a few verses will be sufficient to furnish a lesson which may be studied and practiced through the day. Questions may be asked, a few earnest, interesting remarks made, or incident, short and to the point, may be brought in by way of illustration. At least a few verses of spirited song may be sung, and the prayer offered should be short and pointed. The one who leads in prayer should not pray about everything, but should express his needs in simple words, and praise God with thanksgiving.
Abraham, the friend of God, set us a worthy example. His was a life of prayer and humble obedience, and he was as a light in the world. Wherever he pitched his tent, close beside it was set up his altar, calling for the morning and evening sacrifice of each member of his family. When his tent was removed, the altar remained. The roving Canaanite, as he came across that altar, knew who had been there before him; and when he had pitched his tent, he repaired the altar, and worshiped the living God.
From Christian homes a similar light should shine forth. Love should be revealed in action. It should flow out in all home intercourse, showing itself in thoughtful kindness, in gentle, unselfish courtesy. There are homes where these principles are carried out,—homes where God is worshiped and truest love reigns. From these homes morning and evening prayer comes up before God as sweet incense, and his mercies and blessings descend upon the suppliants like the morning dew.
We must have more religion. We need the strength and grace that are born of earnest prayer. This means of grace should be diligently used in order to gain spiritual muscle. Prayer does not bring God down to us, but brings us up to him. It makes us realize more and more our great needs, and hence our obligation to God and our dependence upon him. It leads us to feel our own nothingness and the weakness of our judgment.
God has made earnest prayer the condition of the bestowal of his richest blessings. Prayer466brings us nearer and nearer to Jesus. However fully we may have given ourselves to God at conversion, it is of no avail unless we renew our consecration in each separate duty as it presents itself. Dear reader, consecrate yourself to God in the morning; make this your very first business, even if you have to rise half an hour earlier in order to find time. Let your prayer be, "Take me, O Lord, as wholly thine. I lay all my plans at thy feet. Use me to-day in thy service. Whatever errand I may do, send me. Whatever I may say to honor thee, or lead souls to Christ, help me to say it."
This is a daily matter. Each morning consecrate yourself and your family to God for that day. Make no calculation for months or years, for they are not yours. One brief day is given you, and that one day work for yourself and your family as though it were your last. Surrender all your plans to God, to be carried out or given up, as his providence shall indicate. In this manner you may, day by day, be giving your life with its plans and purposes into the hands of God, accepting his plans instead of your own; no matter how much they may interfere with your arrangements nor how many pleasant projects may have to be abandoned. Thus the life will be moulded more and more after the divine Model; and "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
A CHRISTIAN'S PRAYER.
My God, in me thy mighty power exert;
Enlighten, comfort, sanctify my heart;
Sweeten my temper and subdue my will;
Make me like Jesus; with thy Spirit fill.
I want to live on earth a life of faith;
I want to credit all the Bible saith;
I want to imitate my Saviour's life—
Avoiding lightness, gloom, and sinful strife.
I want to bring poor sinners to thy throne;
I want to love and honor Christ alone;
I want to feel the Spirit's inward power,
And stand prepared for each important hour.
I want a meek, a gentle, quiet frame,
A heart that glows with love to Jesus' name;
I want a living sacrifice to be,
To Him who died a sacrifice for me.
I want to do whatever God requires;
I want my heart to burn with pure desires;
I want to be what Christ my Lord commands,
And leave myself, my all, in his dear hands.
O Lord, pour out thy Spirit on my soul;
My will, my temper, and my tongue control;
Lead me, through life, to glorify thy grace,
That I at length may see thee face to face.
Worldly Disciples.
By Rev. E. A. Lawrence, D. D.
A WORLDLY Christian! How glaring the incongruity! How incompatible the elements which mingle in such a character! It is like a sick-well man, or a dead-live one, and is a real struggle between life and death. Is not the love of the world as clearly forbidden as lying? Does it not involve as real opposition to Christ as to steal or murder? "He that is a friend of the world is an enemy of God." Hence the frequent admonitions and cautions of the inspired writers concerning it. "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but of the world."
The term world, as used in its relation to the Christian life, comprehends those maxims and fashions, objects and pleasures, which are inconsistent with the teachings and example of Christ. The spirit of the world, like the air we breathe, is everywhere around us. It is infected; it is miasmatic. All are born into it; all live in it, and are moulded by it. Worldly considerations so often and so easily prevail, that many professing Christians do not perceive the injury. A general debility is the consequence. No great sins mark their decline, but they have relaxed the strictness of their discipline, and the firmness and fervor of their adherence to the Christian cause. The motives to the higher Christian life are too feeble for the opposing power. The more elevated examples and the standard of this life have come to be so at variance with their ideas, that they are dismissed as impracticable, if not as offensive singularities. How often does the justification of this enfeebling conformity come from the lips of those whose Master says, "Ye are not of the world, even as I am not of the world."
Mr. Worldly-mind thinks "it does no good to be singular." "Conformity to the world," he says, "is a matter of construction, in which it is difficult to know where the right ends, and the wrong begins. It is a matter of degrees, too, in which something should be conceded by the few to the opinions of the many." It is by such sophisms that the adversary gains upon these worldly disciples, and Christ loses.
They seek for the latest fashions, and follow them at an expenditure of time and money which would be thought excessive were it an appropriation to the cause of benevolence. They indulge in festivities which are an open disparagement of the "joy unspeakable and full of glory" to which they professedly aspire. They resort to amusement from which the groveling derive their sensual enjoyment. Can the Christian character be unharmed by so much yielding to the world? Will the love of Christ long glow in a heart which gives such friendly entertainment to his greatest foe? "A Christian in the world," says John Newton, "is like a man who has had a long intimacy with one whom at length he finds out to have been the murderer of a kind father; the intimacy after this will surely be broken."
"The door at which those influences enter which countervail parental instruction and example, I am persuaded," writes Dr. Alexander, "is yielding to the ways of good society. By dress, books, and amusements, an atmosphere is formed which is not that of Christianity. More than ever do I feel that our families must stand in a kind but determined opposition to the fashions of the world, breasting the waves, like the Eddystone light-house. And I have found nothing yet which requires more courage and independence than to rise even a little, but decidedly, above the par of the religious world around us."
But what are the prevalent maxims and fashions of a community where the majority live unto themselves, that these should be the Christian's common law? The world has always outnumbered the church. But is that any reason for conforming to it? Is the evil of loving the world any less because so many love it? Is there any more safety in a wrong road because multitudes travel it? Custom may take away the singularity of worldliness, but can it remove its sinfulness? Refinement may make folly agreeable and fashionable, but can it refine away its intrinsic foolishness and incongruity with the Christian character?
Mrs. Pliable concludes that "it does no good to be singular. Besides, these peculiar people are often very repulsive to persons of taste. By such over-strictness many of the rich and cultivated are kept out of the church." But let me remind her that eminent piety has always been singular. The greatest benefactors of the race are those whom Christ has "redeemed from all iniquity, and purified unto himself as a peculiar people." He made the boldest encroachments on the venerated maxims and customs of the world, and was most thoroughly out of its fashions, reprehending them with unsparing rebuke. And this man, Mrs. Pliable, is your Master and Model, and mine. True, the world sought a cruel revenge for his boldness. But he conquered it by maintaining, not by surrendering, his singularity. And he has called you, Mr. Worldly-mind, out of the world, that you may overcome, not by conforming to, but by confronting it; not by compromises with its customs and indulgence in its amusements, but by unflinching resistance and denial, by prayer and unceasing labor, to win it back to Christ, its rightful Lord.
A Christian's power of good over the world is greatest when his spirit is in most pure and Christ-like antagonism to its spirit. Your faith and love and religious influence, worldly disciples, are inversely as you are ruled by its maxims and pleased with its applause. Your alliance owns it as a friend. But it is neither your friend nor Christ's. It deceives and defiles you. It defrauds and would destroy you, and yet you love it. You yield to its fascinations, in part because they are common, and in part because they delight you. Alas! this should have been your warning, for nothing is so common as sin. When you consider that the fashionable and the customary ways of the world are only the changeful hues of its self-same Christ-denying spirit; when you remember that conformity to them draws you into unholy alliance with that spirit against the kingdom and work of the Redeemer; that the Christian character can be formed, and the objects of the Christian life secured, only so far as the Christian doctrine is exemplified and worldly influences are resisted; and yet observe to what extent many in the church go in their conformity to the world, you will perceive how powerfully this cause operates to hinder the advancement of Christ's kingdom, through the defects in Christian character which it occasions by a worldly mind and too much pliability.
Glance at the circles of fashionable life, and see how many worldly disciples are eddying on its smooth or ruffled surface. How many are made giddy in its round of gayeties, or jealous by its competitions for the favor of the fashionable and the frivolous! Yet Mrs. Fashionable Christian studies to shine as a star in these circles, and gives much more of her time and thoughts to these than to Christ and his poor.
A glimpse of the business world discloses not a few of Christ's professed followers suffering from the same worldliness. Mr. Make-haste-to-be-rich affirms it as a Christian duty "not to be slothful in business;" that "if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." He thinks "a great deal of good can be done with money when one has earned it." So he takes the world's common law of trade as his rule,—to make the greatest profits and the fewest losses, to gain all one can, honestly if he can, but, any way, to gain, and keep what he gains.
"I cannot be strictly honest and make money," said a young man as he was commencing business. He made money, how honestly I cannot say. Many youthful disciples feel, with him, that they must yield to this commercial spirit, or fail of success. They begin by attenuating the law of Christ, which makes it as obligatory to do as well in a bargain for their neighbor as for themselves, and end by setting it wholly aside. The error lies in assuming that they must succeed. They ought to obey the law of Christ,—be diligent in business, and leave the measure of their prosperity to his providence. This would preserve their consistency as Christians, give full development to their character, and make them the light of the world.
Many a Christian in business seems as worldly as those who are not Christians. He is as eager after gain as they, and almost as unscrupulous in his means of securing it. The cause of Christ is apparently no dearer to him, and he does scarcely more for its advancement. The meetings for prayer on a week day draw him from business no more than them, and the Sabbath bears scarcely more testimony that he is interested in the welfare of sinners than are they.
Oh, "it is sad to see the work of the divine Spirit thus marred, and his consecrated temple thus deserted and in ruins! And the great evil is, not that worldliness induces a neglect of the outward means of grace, and therefore diminishes the supply; not that sacrifices of time and substance in the Redeemer's cause are more sparingly and more reluctantly made; but it is that it banishes the Spirit of God from the hearts of his people. It blots out the sunlight of Heaven, and leaves them to walk in darkness. It hangs a weight upon the wings of prayer, clogs the wheels of the gospel chariot, and retards an advancing Messiah.
This love of the world,—beware of it! In any of its forms it is the bane of the church, the perversion of the best things into the worst. It extinguishes the flames of love on the altar of the heart. It strips off the breastplate of righteousness, lets fall the shield of faith, and leaves the sword of the Spirit to rust in its scabbard. O world! world! in the heart of the Christian thou art his curse, his ruin; but, as his field of labor, thou art the arena of his spiritual struggles, the strengthener of his arm, and the monument of his final victory!
Many Called, Few Chosen.
By R. F. Cottrell
God has taken special care to make himself known to mankind in different ages of the world; but our fallen race have not desired "to retain God in their knowledge," and therefore the mass have been given over to a reprobate mind. The antediluvians might have had the knowledge of God, but they chose the way of corruption, violence, and sin, and therefore God gave them, and all future generations, the proof of his existence, his power and justice, and of the hatefulness of sin and certainty of retribution.
Again we find the world given to idolatry, and Abraham and his posterity were singled out, not because of God's partiality to them as a whole (for most of them proved unbelieving and rebellious), but to keep alive the knowledge of God in the earth; so that all, Jews or Gentiles, might choose the service of God and eternal life, if they would.
And when for their sins Jerusalem was destroyed and the people carried captive into Babylon, the Lord made it a special occasion to make himself known in all the earth. By being brought in contact with Daniel and his companions, Nebuchadnezzar, the king, was humbled, so that he proclaimed the name and wonders of the Most High, the "King of Heaven," to "all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth" (Dan. 3 and 4); and after this Darius the Median made a decree that in "every dominion" men should "tremble and fear before the God of Daniel," declaring to all nations that "he is the living God," who "worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth." Dan. 6.
It is reasonable to suppose that some were benefited and prepared for salvation by these means; but still the mass of men were willing to ignore God and cleave to their sins and follies, and go on in the broad road to perdition. Many were called, but few chosen.
At length the promised Messiah came, of whom the devout among mankind were in expectation, Gentiles as well as Jews, for the Scriptures containing the promises and appointing the time, had, by God's providence, been translated into the Greek; and by this means the "wise men from the East," were on the lookout, "being in expectation," as well as devout Jews, "waiting for the consolation of Israel." And then the mighty miracles of Christ and his tragic death, in which Roman governors as well as Jews took a part, were soon made known in all the earth. Thus the proclamation went to the multitudes far and near, calling them to repent and believe the glad tidings. Many were called, and, thank God, a few of them were chosen. But soon those nations which had enjoyed the light of the gospel relapsed into darkness and idolatry, while others more remote were illuminated with its rising rays. The whole world might now have been in the light, if the light had been cherished; but the carnal mind is enmity against God, and is not willing to retain the knowledge of his ways and requirements.
And now in the closing of the gospel age the light of God, through his word and providence, is illuminating the world as never before. Prophecies fulfilled and fulfilling clearly point to the present time as the day of God's preparation. Messages from Heaven, clearly foretold eighteen hundred years ago, are now being proclaimed to "many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings." Many are being called; but, as it has been before, many will reject the glad tidings, while the few faithful and obedient, will receive, hold fast, and endure, and thus be saved.
And not all who professedly accept the last message of the gospel will be saved. Hundreds, if not thousands, of these will fail to walk in the light; and for this reason will not endure the fiery trials that lie before us. Even now they shrink from bearing the cross before an evil and rebellious generation, yielding to fashionable folly, rather than to stand boldly for the truth and the right. Many who have for years been connected with the people of God under this message will only be like the chaff—a needful support to the grain while it is ripening, and of no further use. Can it be so? O my soul! Yes, dreadful as the thought may be! But you and I, my brother, my sister, may be saved, if we will. We may be reckoned with the chosen few. God only asks for entire consecration of all that we have and are to serve the interests of his cause. This we can give. We can now give a whole sacrifice of ourselves and all we possess, live out the faith that we profess, and lay hold on eternal life. Will we do it? While in the providence of God the world is being aroused by the last call of mercy, will we sacrifice all to have a part in the work? Remember that to the saved it will be said, "Well done!" not well said, well believed, nor even well prayed; for "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven." See Matt. 7: 21-23. Many, the Lord Jesus assures us, will hear the word, Depart! But still it is our privilege so to believe and do that we may hear instead, Come, ye blessed of my Father. May God bless these thoughts to the salvation of some!
R. F. COTTRELL.
A Mark of the New Birth.
By John Wesley
A SCRIPTURAL mark of those who are born of God, and the greatest of all, is love, even the love of God shed abroad in their hearts, by the Holy Ghost which is given unto them. Rom. 5:5. Because they are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into their hearts, crying, Abba, Father! Gal. 4:6. By this Spirit, continually looking up to God as their reconciled and loving Father, they cry to him for their daily bread, for all things needful, whether for their souls or bodies. They continually pour out their hearts before him, knowing they have the petitions which they ask of him. 1 John 5:15. Their delight is in him. He is the joy of their heart; their "shield," and their "exceeding great reward." The desire of their soul is towards him; it is their "meat and drink to do his will;" and they are satisfied as with marrow and fatness, while their mouth praiseth him with joyful lips. Ps. 63:5.
And, in this sense also, "Every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him." 1 John 5:1. His spirit rejoiceth in God his Saviour. He "loveth the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity." He is so "joined unto the Lord," as to be one spirit. His soul hangeth upon him, and chooseth him as altogether lovely, "the chiefest among ten thousand." He knoweth, he feeleth what that means, "My Beloved is mine, and I am his." "Thou art fairer than the children of men; full of grace are thy lips, because God hath anointed thee forever!" Ps. 45:2.
The necessary fruit of this love of God, is the love of our neighbor; of every soul which God hath made, not excepting our enemies, not excepting those who are now despitefully using and persecuting us—a love whereby we love every man as ourselves, as we love our own souls. Nay, our Lord has expressed it still more strongly, teaching us to "love one another, even as he hath loved us." Accordingly, the commandment written in the hearts of all those that love God, is no other than this, "As I have loved you, so love ye one another." Now, "herein perceive we the love of God, in that he laid down his life for us." 1 John 3:16. "We ought," then, as the apostle justly infers, "to lay down our lives for the brethren." If we feel ourselves ready to do this, then do we truly love our neighbor. Then "we know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren." Verse 14. "Hereby know we" that we are born of God, that we "dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit." Chap. 4:13. For "love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God." 1 John 4:7.
But some may possibly ask, Does not the apostle say, "This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments?" 1 John 5:3. Yea, and this is the love of our neighbor also, in the same sense as it is the love of God. But what would you infer from hence? That the keeping the outward commandments is all that is implied in loving God with all your heart, with all your mind, and soul, and strength, and in loving your neighbor as yourself? That the love of God is not an affection of the soul, but merely an outward service! And that the love of our neighbor is not a disposition of heart, but barely a course of outward works! To mention so wild an interpretation of the apostle's words, is sufficiently to confute it. The plain, indisputable meaning of that text is, this is the sign or proof of the love of God, of our keeping the first and great commandment, to keep all the rest of his commandments. For true love, if it be once shed abroad in our heart, will constrain us so to do; since whosoever loves God with all his heart, cannot but serve him with all his strength.
A second fruit then of the love of God (so far as it can be distinguished from it), is universal obedience to him we love, and conformity to his will; obedience to all the commands of God, internal and external; obedience of the heart and of the life; in every temper, and in all manner of conversation. And one of the tempers most obviously implied herein is, the being "zealous of good works;" the hungering and thirsting to do good, in every possible kind, unto all men; the rejoicing to "spend and be spent for them," for every child of man; not looking for any recompense in this world, but only in the resurrection of the just.—Wesley.
Let Your Light Shine
LET your light so shine before men that they may glorify God on account of it.
Teaching Transgressors.
THERE is no one who cannot read with profit the following paragraph from some comments by H. Clay Trumbull on the fifty-first psalm:—
"Then will I teach transgressors thy ways" (verse 13). No man can teach what he doesn't know. No man can lead where he doesn't go. No man really understands the value of that which he never had. It is he who knows the joy of forgiveness, who can teach its blessedness to the lost. It is he who walks in God's way, who can lead another there. It is he who has salvation, who appreciates its preciousness. If you want to teach, you must first be taught. If you want to lead in the way of life, you must walk therein yourself. If you would have others know how good it is to trust the Lord, you must know it yourself, to begin with. This putting of those who are not Christians to be teachers of those who are just like themselves, is at the best but setting the blind to lead the blind. Both parties are more likely to land in the ditch, than to find their way out of a wrong road into a right one. This trying to get transgressors to forsake their ways for God's way, while you are walking on before them to destruction, is as hopeless as it is foolish. Your example in a course which you do understand is a great deal more powerful than your words about a subject of which you are ignorant. Put your own trust in Jesus as a Saviour; rest on him for salvation; find joy in his service; then you may teach transgressors his ways, and be the means of converting sinners unto him.
Salvation Conditional.
By Editor
(Concluded.)
THE Scriptures clearly teach these things, namely: free grace, justification by faith, and the necessity of good works to salvation; and these are all in harmony.
It is not our purpose to examine at length the various texts quoted on this subject; but rather to notice the principles on which the true doctrine rests, and introduce texts sufficient to corroborate the principles.
The great question to be decided is this: In what respect is the gospel plan unconditional, and in what respect is it conditional? If there is anywhere such a distinction, and if we can clearly trace the line, the subject must thereby be relieved of much difficulty. Examining this, we find that,
1. The introduction of the gospel, or setting forth of Christ as the way of salvation, was unconditional. But,
2. The application of the gospel to individual salvation, is conditional.
We do not see how any, who believe the Bible, can dissent from either of these declarations. It is not said to the world, nor to any class in the world, that if they would do some certain thing Christ should die for them. But it is said that if they will believe and do certain things, they shall be saved by his blood as freely shed for the sins of the world. "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16. Freely and unconditionally he gave his Son to be a propitiation for the sins of the whole world, to die for all; but not so that they will be saved from perishing if they refuse to repent and believe. Salvation was freely purchased by the death of Christ, but will never be given to those who neglect it. Heb. 2:3. Eternal life through Christ was freely and unconditionally brought to man; Rom. 6:23; yet, if they would not perish, they must "lay hold on eternal life," 1 Tim. 6:19, which they can only secure "by patient continuance in well-doing," Rom. 2:7; and so "work out their own salvation with fear and trembling." Phil. 2:12. But in uniting works to faith we detract nothing from the grace and glory of Christ, for we can do nothing in our own unassisted strength. John 15:5. With this distinction in view we find no difficulty in harmonizing all the Scriptures. But we will notice a few texts to further show the conditional nature of God's promises to man.
When the Lord sent Moses to the children of Israel, it was with this message: "Say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which was done to you in Egypt; and I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey." Ex. 3:16, 17. Again he said to them: "And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burden of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it to you for an heritage; I am the Lord." Ex. 6:7, 8. Yet, direct and positive as this promise was, the Lord did not bring them into that land, but destroyed them for their disobedience.
Again, it was said to Pharaoh: "Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my first-born. And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me; and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy first-born." Ex. 4:22, 23. The first-born was the highly-prized and beloved. Yet on the institution of the Passover, they would have been destroyed with the first-born of Egypt, if they had not remained in their houses and sprinkled the blood on their door-posts; and were afterwards destroyed as noticed above. This teaches us that God's chosen—his first-born, will continue to enjoy his favor only on condition of continued obedience. The conditional nature of his gracious promises is shown by his word through Jeremiah, wherein he commanded Israel to obey him, saying: "That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers." Jer. 11:3-5. And again, where he has shown the fixed principle upon which he fulfills his promises and threatenings. "At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy; if that nation against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; if it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them." Jer. 18:7-10. And this is true not only of nations, but of individuals. Thus the Lord said to Eli: "I said indeed that thy house and the house of thy father should walk before me forever, but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." 1 Sam. 2:30.
It is argued that he that has an interest in the Saviour cannot or will not lose it. See what our Lord himself says: "I am the vine, ye are the branches. . . . If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered." John 15:5, 6; and in verse 2: "Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away." This completely overthrows that doctrine which affirms that if any one be in Christ by faith he cannot be taken away. He may "depart from the faith." It is urged, and with truth, that none can pluck them out of his hand. But this supposes that they "bear fruit," or continue faithful. He that endures to the end shall be saved. As the Jews were rejected because of their unfaithfulness, so Paul says to the Gentile converts, who, by faith, were grafted into the good olive tree, they must continue faithful or they should be cut off also. According to the unconditional personal election scheme, there could be no danger of it, and if so, the warning of the apostle was deceptive. He says also that they in whom the Spirit of God dwells, which can refer only to accepted believers, are the temple of God; and if they defile the temple of God, that is, themselves or their own bodies, God shall destroy them. And Peter affirms that some shall arise in the church who shall deny the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2 Peter 2:1.
Again, it is said we are chosen in him before the foundation of the world. But all must admit that there is a time when we become Christ's, come into him, etc. "As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." We are also said to receive Christ by faith. So it is evident that we are not "in Christ" before we have faith—before we have put him on. Prior to that event, we were the "children of wrath, even as others." Eph. 2:3. That we are personally and unconditionally elected before the foundation of the world cannot, therefore, be the sense of that scripture. Jesus Christ was the one chosen—"the elect"—to be the Author of salvation to all who believe and obey; and all who receive him and put him on, or are baptized into him, become one with him, members of his body; and, of course, are partakers of his privileges and his election. That the election was a prior event is admitted; but that we have any part in it before we become members of Christ's body is denied. The choice is of Christ, and through him all that are "in him;" but, personally, does not reach them that are out of him, children of wrath, as we were all by nature. With this view, we see the reasonableness of Peter's exhortation to make our calling and election sure, 2 Pet. 1:10; but with the Calvinistic view, it cannot be made to appear reasonable. And so of all the exhortations and threatenings in the Bible; if man is not free to choose or refuse, to obtain through obedience or lose through disobedience, they cannot be what they purport to be.
The truth on this subject we chiefly rest on the difference between the death of Christ, and the Atonement, to the argument on which we refer the reader.