We Are Liable to Deception—Is It Possible for Us to Know?—The Test to Be Applied
By I. A. CRANE
MANY good people are perplexed to know whether they are really children of God, when it is their blessed privilege to know that God accepts them, and watches over them with tenderest care. There are others who content themselves with the hope that all is well, when their heedless disregard of God’s word makes their ways and even their prayers an abomination to God.
TESTED BY THE WORD AND THE SPIRIT
Why should any expect that God will pay heed to their words when they pray, if they pay no heed to His word before they pray?
But how may we know of a surety that we are children of God? Thank God, we need not be in doubt. The most positive evidence is given, by which we may know that our very names are enrolled in heaven’s family record book, and that the Son of God is “not ashamed to call us brethren.”
Hear the Father’s message to us: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Rom. 8:14. Surely all may know whether they are allowing themselves to be led by the Spirit of God. This is the test. Are you led by the Spirit of God?
TRY THE SPIRITS
But many who have no love for God’s word, and are content to remain ignorant of its teaching, boastfully declare: “I know that I am a child of God. The Spirit leads me day by day. Praise God, I know I am saved.” But, my brother, what evidence have you that you are led by the Spirit of God? At this very point, there is greatest danger of deception. Have you not read the warning: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God”? I John 4:1.
There is a good Spirit and there are wicked spirits. Be not deceived. If you are led by the Spirit of God, you will surely be led to do what the word of God says. God’s Spirit and God’s word will always agree. God did not give us His word to tell us how to live, and then send His Spirit to lead us to do something else. Be assured that the Spirit of truth and the Word of truth will never be found in conflict.
FEELING IS NOT ENOUGH
It is not enough to feel that you are moved by an unseen power. It is only when you are led by the good Spirit, that you can know that you are a child of God. Are you honestly and sincerely walking in the light of God’s truth? Are you living up to what you honestly believe to be your duty, not only to God, but to all mankind? Are you searching the Scriptures daily, hungering to understand more about God, and better how to live for Him? Have you made peace with God by confessing your faults and sins to Him? Are you sincerely sorry that you have sinned against God, and have you asked Him for Christ’s sake to forgive you? Have you made peace with all mankind by confessing your faults, and making restitution to those whom you have wronged? Are you willing to give up all things to please your Father in heaven? If so, then rest assured that God, who gave His only Son for your salvation, will not reject that which He has purchased at so great a cost. He has commissioned all the angels to watch over and protect you. Ps. 34:7; 91:11; Heb. 1:14.
AN ALMIGHTY HELPER
Some may say: “I do long to serve God with all my heart; but I sin, and bring grief505to myself and others. How can I find peace with God?”
If you have sins, know of a surety that they must be overcome, or you are lost forever. Yet do not despair. You are weak, but you have an almighty Saviour. Delay not a moment, but flee to Him for help now. Every moment wasted gives the enemy greater advantage, and lessens your hope of victory. You may know that He who spoke the worlds into existence, is your Saviour. “He shall save His people from their sins.” Matt. 1:21. He died to convince you that He longs to save you. Do not be satisfied to be overcome by sin, while you have such a mighty Saviour longing to help you. You must overcome or be lost. The victory must be gained. The promises are only to those who overcome; and you have no promise of salvation to-morrow. To-day—now—is the accepted time.
Do not be discouraged. He who said to the loathsome leper, “I will; be thou clean,” will not spurn you when you humbly entreat Him to save you from your sins. And He who was able to cleanse the body and blood and being of that foul leper, is abundantly able to subdue your wicked habits and passions, and to make you clean indeed. “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” Never be content till He has made you free from the power of sin. See John 8:34-36.
LET IT DRIVE YOU TO YOUR HELPER
If you do not reach purity of life as quickly as you had hoped, learn from this experience how fearful and lasting are the effects of sin, and that you have no time to lose. Let this drive you at once, and with still greater earnestness and determination, to Him who alone can save you.
ESCAPE CONDEMNATION
Never, never risk a day or an hour under condemnation. You can never hope to be saved while you are under condemnation. What if your life should end thus? Find peace to-day, whatever be the cost. Confess your sins, and make it right at any sacrifice. Let the work of repentance and confession be deep and thorough. The greater the cost—the more your proud heart is humbled—in making amends to those whom your sins have wronged, the surer you will be never to repeat the wrong in time to come. By thorough repentance and confession and restitution, sins are rooted out of the life. This is the Spirit’s remedy for sin. It is then that atonement is made by the blood of Christ. “The righteousness of Christ will never cover one cherished sin.”
Does the Spirit, through the word of God, lead you to confess? Do not delay. Let Him lead you. Does He lead you to make restitution? Let Him lead you now. When the Spirit has led you to do these things, and you continue to be led, you bear the credentials of a child of God. The Spirit then bears witness with your spirit, that you are a child of God, and an heir of the kingdom. Rom. 8:16, 17.
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Verse 1. You will in this way find the peace that passes all understanding.
Resisting Seducing Spirits
“We are living in an atmosphere of satanic witchery. The enemy will weave a spell of licentiousness around every soul that is not barricaded by the grace of Christ. Temptations will come; but if we watch against the enemy, and maintain the balance of self-control and purity, the seducing spirits will have no influence over us.”
W. H. S
By W. H. S.
Many persons — all, perhaps — naturally feel that the amount of property they possess really increases their value, or is at least an indicator of it. Yet of all the property we do hold, the Lord is not going to save any. Apparently He values it at nothing. His object is to save mankind, and we alone are what He cares for. But if we can be brought to look on property in the same way, then that which is in truth so valueless may become of great use. The Word states that even the things that are not, may come, in the hands of God, to bring to naught the things that are; and property held at its true worth, and rightly used, increases not only the real value of the possessor, but makes him a coworker with God in bettering others.
W. H. S
Have You Taken the Antitoxin Treatment?
By David Paulson
By DAVID PAULSON, M. D.
SEVERAL years ago, a young man on our grounds ran a rusty pitchfork clear through the thick of his leg. I feared lockjaw, or tetanus infection. So I immediately rushed some one into Chicago for some antitoxin; and when it came, I took it up to the boy’s room—not to lay on a shelf for him to look at, but to inject into his blood.
We have all been bitten by “that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world” (Rev. 12: 9); and unless we have taken the antitoxin treatment, there is no future for us except death—eternal death.
But fortunately, an efficient antitoxin has been provided; only it has to be administered daily, for the devil tries to infect us every day. The psalmist said, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart [not up on a dusty bookshelf], that I might not sin against Thee.” Ps. 119: 11.
If you have not begun to take this antitoxin treatment, won’t you begin to-day?
Take one book, for instance, like Nehemiah. Read it right through from start to finish, and see what an awful time that good man had when he tried to do good. Then you need not be surprised that you are having a hard time when you are trying to be good.
Saturate your mind with the book of Nehemiah, so that when you meet some modern “Sanballat” or “Tobiah,” or some thoroughly up-to-date “Geshem the Arabian,” you will know exactly how to deal with them; for if you have not met them yet, you will, and they may prove your undoing instead of your gaining a glorious victory over them, as Nehemiah did.
Then read the book of Acts, and see how God’s plan succeeded in Paul’s case, even though he became a prisoner.
If you want to find out how sin began, read the first few chapters of Genesis. If you want to have your mind carried forward to a time when sin shall be no more, read the last few chapters of Revelation.
It is an interesting study to observe how many times the expressions “overcome,” “they overcame,” and “they got the victory,” are found in the book of Revelation. Are you having that kind of experience in your life? If not, you will begin to have it when you take the antitoxin treatment.
The Temple of Character
By W. H. Spicer
An admirable character, to one without religion, if not merely a wonder of nature, is like a triumphal arch, standing a beautiful and yet solitary and useless monument of human achievement. Religion, from such a standpoint, seems but superficial, a temporary, false work, helpful in raising the structure, but as well torn down when it is finished.
To the nominally religious, instead, character may appear a bridge by which man can journey toward life with God, and He communicate with man, while religion, as a strong central pier, is set midstream for its support. The non-Christian feels that the burden of its building rests mainly upon man; but Christ’s follower, in so far as he accepts this view, trusts God as the chief architect and guarantor of its security.
THE HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT IN LEMBERG
Yet while, to the Christian view, character, because it is the work of God, is not less beautiful and wonderful for its own sake, and on this account is only more secure as a way to eternal life, it is something different still; for rather than a creation of God in the past, or a means of reaching Him, it is a manifestation of His constant presence, a temple that He is building for His dwelling place. Though the temple be unfinished, though the owner may not fully cooperate, but defile it with idols, and keep it imperfect, the usefulness, strength, and beauty that are there are from the great Architect of all. Then for the Christian, religion is a system of the principles of the construction; worship, an acknowledgment of their perfection, and that of their Originator; life, their practice in cooperation with Him. And when finished, this work of God does not stand alone nor solely for either utility or ornament. It is both a part and a support of the greater temple, His church—a chapel, as it were, in the great cathedral of His universe.
W. H. Spicer.
Christ’s Manner of Teaching
“CHRIST always used simple language, yet His words tested the knowledge of the deep, unprejudiced thinkers. His manner of teaching should be followed by teachers of to-day. Spiritual truths should always be presented in simple language, that they may be comprehended, and find lodgment in the heart.”
Temples of the Holy Ghost
By Eliza H. Morton
A PROFESSOR in a certain college said to the pallbearers at the funeral of his son, “Tread lightly, for you are bearing a temple of the Holy Ghost.”
The body of the Christian is indeed a temple in which God’s Spirit dwells; and whether he lives or dies, he is the Lord’s. In the resurrection of the just, the bodies of God’s children that have been laid away in their graves will come forth changed and glorified, and become a part of God’s spiritual temple, eternal in the heavens.
ELIZA H. MORTON.
THE SEAL OF THE LIVING GOD
By R. C. Porter
Must Show His Authority and His Territory
This is the second of four articles by Elder Porter on the general theme of the seal of God as contrasted with the mark of the beast, presented in verses 9 to 12 of Revelation 14. In his article last week, he showed what the beast of this prophecy symbolizes. His article this week, as will be seen, considers the seal of God, which is set in opposition to the mark of the beast. His article next week will deal with the mark of the beast and its enforcement, predicted in that striking prophecy; while his concluding article will be on the theme of God’s last appeal to a lost world, as set forth in the thrilling messages of warning in this fourteenth chapter of Revelation.
EDITOR.
THERE is a seal in the law of God. “Bind up the testimony, seal the law among My disciples.” Isa. 8: 16. The time here alluded to is when the people of God are looking for the return of the Lord. “And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth His face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for Him.” Verse 17. It is evident that this work of restoring the seal in the law of God takes place at the same time the beast of Rev. 14: 9-12 is enforcing his mark upon the inhabitants of the earth.
If we can learn what the seal of God is, we shall have no difficulty in ascertaining what the mark of the beast is, for they are directly opposed. The mark of the beast is the counterfeit of the seal of God. Once having the genuine before us, the counterfeit will be easily detected. The law of God is the only document the world has, in God’s own handwriting, that demands obedience. The seal of that document, like any other seal, must show by what authority the document demands obedience. A document signed “Woodrow Wilson” would be worthless as a state document unless the government seal were affixed, showing that he was president of the United States. The seal not only points out that Woodrow Wilson issued the order, but indicates by what authority he issued it. This is the purpose of a seal.
HIS SEAL IN HIS LAW
Somewhere in the law of God such a seal will be found. When found, it will specify the true God, and distinguish Him from all false gods.
The first commandment says, “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” The name of God is here mentioned, but there is nothing in this command to distinguish between Him and false gods. This command therefore cannot contain the seal of the law.
The second commandment contains the name of God, and forbids the making and worshiping of images. It does not specify the true God, however. Hence it is not the seal of the law.
The third commandment reads, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” There is no word here to point out the true God, or to give the authority upon which this command rests.
Passing the fourth commandment, as some claim that it is no longer binding, we note that the fifth command says, “Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.”
In all these commands, the name of God is mentioned, but in none of them is any seal found that refers to the authority or jurisdiction of the God who gave the law.
In the remaining commandments, the name of God is not used.
THE CHINAMAN NOT CONVINCED
To illustrate the importance of a seal: The writer is at this time in the heart of China, surrounded by idolaters. He finds it impossible to convince them, by reference to any of the foregoing commandments, that they are not worshipers of the true God. When these commands are read, the idolaters say it is their god that is speaking. The seal of the law must be presented in order to reveal its Author and declare His right to command obedience.
Failing in all the other precepts of the divine law, we are forced to turn to the fourth commandment, which has been declared by some to have become obsolete since the death of Christ upon the cross. It reads: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Here we find the seal of the law. It not only declares God to be the author of the law, but it points out the God who made the heavens and the earth as the God who gave the law, of which this commandment is a part. It gives as the domain over which He has a rightful jurisdiction, the whole universe that He created.507
CONVINCING TO THE HEATHEN
With this command, we can go to the heathen who is worshiping the sun, and point out to him that in worshiping the sun he is not worshiping the Creator, but the works of the God who commands his worship. Here is plainly the seal of the law. It is the only command that reveals the true God. If this command had always been properly observed, there never would have been a heathen or an infidel. It is evidently the very command to which the prophet refers in Isa. 8: 16, where he says, “Bind up the testimony, seal the law among My disciples.” This scripture indicates that by false teaching, this precept has been removed from its place in the law. It is to be restored when the return of Christ is expected. That time is when “I will look for Him.” Verse 17, last part. The people to whom it is to be restored are disciples. A disciple is a follower. The text therefore refers to followers of Christ. It could apply only to Christ’s followers.
The seal of the law is thus found in the fourth commandment. That command enjoins the worship of the true God upon every recurring seventh day of the week. A false theology has attempted to change this, but it is to be restored among Christ’s disciples at the time when they are looking for His second advent.
“Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for My salvation is near to come, and My righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.” Isa. 56: 1, 2.
“And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” Isa. 58: 12-14.
This is the time when warning is to be given against the worship of the beast and the reception of his mark.
GOD’S SEAL, SIGN, OR MARK
The first angel’s message prepares the way for that of the third by calling the people back to the worship of the true God. “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His Judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” Rev. 14: 6, 7. Keeping the seventh-day Sabbath is the seal, sign, or mark, of the worship of the true God. “And hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.” Eze. 20: 20. “Moreover also I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.” Verse 12. The words “sign” and “seal” are used interchangeably in reference to the Sabbath as the seal or sign of the power and authority of the true God.
In Rev. 11: 18, 19, John sees the law of God, which was placed in the ark of the covenant from Sinai, as it will stand at the time of the final Judgment, and before which all must pass and be judged. “And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear Thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.”
It is the work of the proclamation of the third angel’s message so to present that law during the hour of God’s Judgment that the people living at that time will accept it and live it through the faith of Jesus, and be prepared to pass successfully the test of the Judgment. The third angel’s message declares that as the result of its proclamation, “here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14: 12.
THE SEAL RESTORED
At the same time, as we have learned from Isa. 8: 16, the Sabbath commandment, containing the seal of the law, will be restored to its proper place among Christ’s disciples. This work will call for the observance of the seventh day of the week as the Sabbath, according to that commandment.
John, in the Revelation, speaks of this same work thus: “And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.” Rev. 7: 1-3.
The mark of the beast is received either in the forehead or in the hand; but the seal of God, which is presented with the warning against the reception of the mark of the beast, is received only in the forehead. The forehead is the seat of the intellect. The seal of God appeals to the reason and intelligence of all to whom it is presented, and is accepted only because it appeals to the reason. The beast imposes its mark by brute force, hence outward conformity to its claim is sufficient to satisfy its demands.
EZEKIEL FORESAW THE SEALING
The same sealing work is presented by Ezekiel under the term “mark.” “He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand. And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer’s inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brazen altar. And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon He was, to the threshold of the house. And He called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer’s inkhorn by his side; and the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.” Eze. 9: 1-4. The marking here mentioned is the same as the sealing with the seal of the living God, in Rev. 7: 1-3, and the sealing of the law “among My disciples,” of Isa. 8: 16.
THE JUDGMENTS THAT FOLLOW
That this work is identical with that of the third angel’s message of Rev. 14: 9-12, is evident, because it is followed by the visitation of the unmingled wrath of God upon those who refuse to accept it.
Ezekiel continues: “And to the others He said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eyes spare, neither have ye pity: slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house. And He said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.” Eze. 9: 5-7.
The words “sign,” “seal,” and “mark” are therefore used synonymously in referring to the work and warning of the third angel’s message of Revelation 14. It restores the Sabbath precept to its place in the law and in the foreheads of God’s people. Thus the law is sealed among His disciples.
R. C. P.
COMPULSION VERSUS FREE CHOICE
By A. G. D.
It is in every sense deplorable and unjust for civil government to legislate on religious questions. Many reasons can be adduced in proof of this. Here we present one:
Civil law means force; religion means free choice; and these ideas are absolutely incompatible.
We will demonstrate this: Government is defined to be “the administration of laws.” To administer law is to carry it into effect, to execute or enforce it. To enforce is to compel.
Civil government exists for the protection of the individual rights of its citizens. The value of the legislative branch of a government lies in the just laws it enacts for the protection of its citizens’ rights. The dignity of the executive department lies in the impartial execution of those laws. A government that has not the power either to make or to enforce just laws is a farce.
Thus the idea of force is inseparable from civil government.
But not so in matters of religion. Religion is man’s personal relation of faith and obedience to God. “Whatsoever is not of faith,” says Paul, “is sin.” Faith, then, must be the mainspring of all action in matters of religion.
But faith is voluntary. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Faith cannot be produced by law nor by any amount of compulsion. It is a matter of free will absolutely.
The basis of civil government is human law, and its law must be upheld by force. The basis of religion is the faith that keeps the divine law, and faith is voluntary.
For this reason, we submit that civil government and religion never can be united except at the peril of one or the other, or both. A. G. D.
