Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Apr 17, 1893
Editorial.
By Editor
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable.”—2 Tim. 3:16.
CHRISTIAN, be not discouraged in missionary work if you do not see the results you wish. There is a difference in soils. In some soils the seeds germinate and produce quickly; in others it sometimes seems as though the first tiny shoot would never appear; but the root is forming, and the plant when grown many times yields marvelously, while that which sprang forth so quickly dies ere it reaches maturity. Let the seed sown be the word of truth. Let the motive behind the sowing be love for souls, love born of the Spirit of God. In such seed sowing we may in confidence leave the result with God, knowing that his word will not return void. You may not see the result here, but labor on, you will see it in eternity.
THE way man may regard a doctrine does not determine its standing in God’s sight. Some of the greatest errors have been the most largely received by mankind. In fact, the majorities have as a rule been on the wrong side of every question of moral reform. But the fact that the majority is opposed to the right releases no individual from doing the right. The admonition, “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil,” is as timely in these days of spiritual declension as when first spoken to the children of Israel. The man of God is the man of principle—of principle to do the right at whatever the cost, relying alone upon the God of right for sympathy and support. Such men were Joshua and Caleb, Elijah and Elisha, Paul and Silas. Such may we be by standing in God’s strength for the truth and righteousness of Christ our Saviour to-day.
As a man “thinketh in his heart, so is he” is a truth expressed in Prov. 23:7. Jesus voiced the same thought when he said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” The good things come from the good treasure of the heart, the evil things from the evil treasure. See Matt. 12:33-35. It is very important, therefore, to think right. It will not do to think that we think right, or to think that we do not think wrong. We must think right. It does not make a counterfeit bill genuine sincerely to believe it to be genuine; nor does it make a genuine bill counterfeit to believe it, however sincerely, to be counterfeit. A road will not lead us south if we travel north, even though we sincerely believe we are traveling south. And a million voices affirming that we were traveling south would not alter the fact that we were going in the opposite direction. We must know that we think right, that the bill is genuine, that we have the right road and the right direction. Our only standard, our only detector, our only guide is God’s holy word received as his word. That is truth the center and circumference of which is Christ Jesus.
THE BLESSED WITNESSES.
God’s law of ten commandments is many times called his "testimonies." The ark in which that law was placed was called the "ark of the testimony." Testimony means evidence, proof, witness. The ten commandments are called testimonies, because they witness of God’s character and either for or against every individual soul of man. First of all, that law is the reflect of God’s character and government; it is the expression of his righteousness. Says one scripture, "All thy commandments are righteousness." Ps. 119:172. In Isa. 51:6-8 that holy law and the gospel of Christ are thus contrasted with the most enduring things of earth: "Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner; but my salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished. Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool; but my righteousness shall be forever, and my salvation from generation to generation."
But it is not from God’s law, holy and enduring as it is, that man obtains his righteousness. That must be obtained by the gospel. Righteousness does not come by the law; if it does, Christ died in vain. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; "for therein [in the gospel] is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith." Rom. 1:16, 17. It is of the law of God as a witness, or of God’s commandments as witnesses, that we would speak.
The law witnesses to our condemnation. "By the law is the knowledge of sin." Rom. 3:20. "Sin is the transgression of the law," and "all unrighteousness is sin," are declared by the Lord through another apostle. See 1 John 3:4; 5:17. The apostle Paul expresses it still stronger when he declares that we would not know sin but by the law. Rom. 7:7. Now as all unrighteousness is sin, and as sin is the transgression of the law, it follows that the law condemns all unrighteousness, and must, in its far-reaching breadth, embrace all righteousness. As that law condemns all sin, it condemns all mankind as sinners, stopping every mouth and revealing the whole world guilty before God. Rom. 3:19. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Rom. 3:23. But "the soul that sinneth, it shall die." Eze. 18:4. "Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." James 1:15. Man as a sinner is, therefore, doomed to the curse of death, and the witnesses which condemn him are the ten commandments of God’s holy law, and these only can condemn him. No other testimony is accepted at the bar of heaven. No other witnesses can testify in the case. This is the inspired testimony of the apostle Paul regarding himself, as well as every other sinner. He asks, "Is the law sin," because it condemned him? And he thus answers: "Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law; for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet." Rom. 7:7. The tenth precept of the Decalogue witnessed against Paul and proved him a sinner. The law was holy, and the commandment holy and just and good, but the law proved Paul to be a sinner, carnal, condemned to death. He saw the law that it was good, but he could not do it. He tried to rise above himself and sin, but found that he was bound to a body of sin, the corruption of which would destroy him forever.
Stern, unrelenting, inexorable are the witnesses, and in them he can find no hope. And yet they are not his enemies; they have simply revealed his true condition. The Spirit of God speaking through those stern but faithfully true witnesses has given the soul a new view of the sinfulness of sin; and the poignant thrusts of an awakening conscience reveal somewhat of the depth of the disease and lead the despairing soul to cry out, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"
And now the blessed moment for which those witnesses have testified, the moment for which the Spirit of God wrought conviction,370has come. The diagnosis has been made, the physician has reported, the witnesses have testified, and the poor sin-sick soul has been led to see that he has no hope in himself, no power, no righteousness, no goodness; and the Comforter who has reproved becomes the Comforter which consoles. The blessed Spirit which points out the sin points out the Saviour in all his mercy, in his abounding love, holding out with yearning hands his own perfect robe of righteousness. His faith gladly grasps it; the sin rolls away, and he stands justified before God. Thus is fulfilled to him, simply by faith, "even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe, for there is no difference."
Where are now the ten inexorable witnesses? They still stand there, but with what blessed assurance upon their faces. They look upon the perfect righteousness of Christ and say, We have nothing against it; that soul is free. The condemnation is lifted, the sins are removed. Then can the soul truly sing, in the language of Inspiration:—
"Thy testimonies also are my delight." "Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live; for thy law is my delight."
And truly with such righteousness clothing us God’s law is a delight; for the law witnesses that that righteousness which is without the law is sufficient. "Therefore by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe." Rom. 3:20–22.
Christ died that he might bestow upon all this righteousness. "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree." Now notice why he is a curse for us: "That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." Gal. 3:13, 14. What is the blessing of Abraham? "Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness." Rom. 4:3.
How willing, yea, how anxious is God to thus bless all! Jesus Christ died for that very purpose, died that we might be clothed with his righteousness, died that we might have his Spirit, died that we might be "complete in him." Then, reader, why not come? Why not yield? Why not choose? All out of Christ is disappointment and sin and death; all in Christ is righteousness and life and peace. God desires that every soul shall sing:—
"I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
My soul shall be joyful in my God;
For he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation.
He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments,
And as a bride adorneth herself with jewels."
Reader, can you sing this song in truth? If not, why not? Are the ten commandments to you blessed witnesses of sin cleansed away, of the perfect righteousness of Christ upon you? If not, why not? God is willing, earnestly desirous. Are you?
WHY SO MANY WILL BE LOST.
By W. N. G.
“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.
Here is a plain provision for the salvation of everybody. So far as the plan is concerned, not one is necessarily lost. The sacrifice was sufficient to atone for all. Though “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,” yet the Son of God, heaven’s best possible gift, the Creator, the Lawgiver, “tasted death for every man.” Why, then, are not all saved?—Because of one condition in the plan,—the condemned ones must will to be saved. “Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.”
It is strange, indeed, that of an entire race of intelligent creatures doomed to death but a few, comparatively, will accept a full and free pardon, and a free gift of everlasting life. In each succeeding generation, from the first to the last, it has been and is the same. No wonder the inspired word inquires in anxious, pleading terms, “Why will ye die?” Men who are not unmoved by human appeals to the natural senses, who are not indifferent to ordinary promises of free gifts of even common value, seem utterly oblivious to the greatest possible promise of One whose good will is unbounded and whose ability to perform is illimitable.
Why is it that this free offer of universal amnesty is not accepted?—There is but one reason,—men do not believe it. How much has been lost, even in this world, because men would not believe God. The antediluvian world lost everything because they did not believe the word of God spoken through his servant Noah. The people of Sodom and the cities of the plain lost everything because they would not believe the word of God spoken through Lot. The Egyptians lost all their firstborn, all their crops, and much of their other property, and finally their grand army, because they would not believe the word of God spoken through Moses and Aaron. And the Israelites who were delivered from Egypt were doomed to wander in the wilderness until all the adults of the delivered ones had died, after being permitted to see the promised land, because they did not believe the word of Him by whose power they had been delivered from bondage. “They could not enter in because of unbelief.” And these things “are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come.”
But why do not men believe the word of God? We have only space to notice one reason, but perhaps this one will cover all; and that is pride. Jesus very explicitly says, “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” That means humility. A little child has nothing of its own. It is entirely dependent upon others, although it may be heir to a throne. Nothing in this world is so dependent as a little child. A young bird will take care of itself when but a few weeks old. The young animals, especially the wild ones, will hunt for themselves in a few months from their birth. But the little child must be entirely supported and nurtured by other hands for years.
The natural man is too proud to admit that his life has been a failure; that he is incapable of taking care of himself; that he must give up his own way and acknowledge that of himself he can do nothing. The natural heart revolts at the thought of reverting to childhood again, beginning life anew, and remaining as a dependent child throughout life, be it long or short. The young man has worldly ambitions to which his whole energy is being devoted, and he is enjoying visions of future wealth and honor and pleasure in their possession. But the Lord says, “My son, give me thine heart.” “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart.” The young man’s ambition has been to get out of childhood, and be deemed a man; and it is a terrible cross to think of going back to childhood and deeming himself a child all through life.
But the mature man has still a heavier cross. The lusts of the flesh have a still firmer hold upon him. Perhaps he has already attained wealth, or honorable position. Perhaps he is learned in the wisdom of this world; or perchance he is still only struggling in the pursuit of these things, and fancies he sees the goal just ahead. Shall he give up all that he has acquired? or shall he give up the chase of that alluring vision which he has been following so long, and which every day becomes more and more entrancing? Shall he admit that all his life he has been chasing a phantom, that all he has gained or hopes to gain is but vanity? Shall he turn in the face of fancied success, in the face of the jeering world, and say, I will become as a little child, and follow the meek and lowly Nazarene?
But perhaps the man has only an ambition for the trivial pleasures of this life. He is a votary of society, of the popular games and popular indulgences. Can he brook the gibes of his companions in such pursuits, in case he should admit that such a life is only vanity, and turn to the humble, sober ways of the despised disciple of Christ?
There is not an unconverted man or woman on the earth, whatever the station or condition, who is not in some way separated from the cross of Christ by the “pride of life.” And until there is a determination to break away from this pride, and become as a little child, the heart will resist all persuasion to believe the precious promises of God’s holy word, which are yea and amen in Christ Jesus. “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
Religion and Human Legislation
RELIGION from its very nature is a purely personal and individual concern, and can never justly be made the subject of human legislation in any manner. Neither the observance nor the non-observance of any day can, in itself, be considered either right or wrong. It is a matter wholly within the domain of religion and individual conscience—a domain into which religious zealots have never yet forced the arm of civil government save with disastrous effects on the liberties and natural rights of men—Judge H. C. Minter, in St. Louis Republic.
Great Victories and Great Battles
"GREAT victories can only be enjoyed by those who fight great battles."
THE LIFE OF THE WORD.
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
BY ELDER E. J. WAGGONER.
THE life of the word is the life of God, for it is God breathed, and the breath of God is life. Its life and power are thus attested: "For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart." Heb. 4:12, Revised Version. The Saviour also said of the words which he spoke, which were the words of God, "The words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life." John 6:63. Let us see what gives the word its life.
The thirtieth chapter of Deuteronomy follows the account of the curses for disobedience to the law, and the blessings for obedience. In it the people are again admonished to keep the law, and are told what the Lord will do for them, even after they have been disobedient, if they will repent. Then Moses continues: "For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldst say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldst say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it." Verses 11-14.
Now compare carefully with this passage the words of the apostle Paul in Rom. 10:6-10: "But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is to bring Christ down from above); or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is, the word of faith, which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
The careful reader will readily see that this latter passage is a quotation of the former, with additions in parentheses. These additions are comments made by the Holy Spirit. They tell us just what Moses meant by the word "commandment." Or, rather, since the Holy Spirit itself dictated the language in each case, in the latter passage it has made more clear what it meant in the first instance. Notice that bringing the commandment down from heaven is shown to be the same as bringing Christ down from above, and that to bring the commandment from the deep is the same as to bring Christ up from the dead.
What is shown by this?—Nothing more nor less than that the commandment, the law, or the entire word of the Lord, is identical with Christ. Do not misunderstand. It is not meant that Christ is nothing more than the letters and words and sentences that we read in the Bible. Far from it. The fact is that whoever reads the Bible, and finds nothing but mere words, such as he may find in any other book, does not find the real word at all. What is meant is that the real word is not a dead letter, but is identical with Christ. Whoever finds the word indeed, finds Christ, and he who does not find Christ in the word, has not found the word of God.
The apostle Paul says that "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Rom. 10:17. But he says also that Christ dwells in the heart by faith. Eph. 3:17. So faith in the living word of God brings Christ into the heart. He is the life of the word.
This is also shown in the same chapter in which we find the statement made by Christ that the words which he spoke were Spirit and life. In the thirty-fifth verse of that chapter we read, "Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life." Again, in the fifty-first verse, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." And again, "Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." Then in the sixty-third verse he added, "It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life." Here we find the plainest declaration that the word of God, received in faith, conveys Christ actually to the soul of man.
In the statement, "the flesh profiteth nothing," we have the Romish "sacrifice of the mass" effectually undermined. Suppose that it were actually possible for the priest to perform the feat of turning the bread of the sacrament into the body of Christ; that would not amount to anything. If Christ himself had divided the actual flesh of his body, while on this earth, into portions large or small, and had given a piece to every man in the world, and each man had eaten his piece, that would not have affected the character of a single man in the world. Christ himself said that "the flesh profiteth nothing." The only way that any man in the world can eat the flesh of Christ is to believe his word with all his heart. In that way he will receive Christ indeed, and thus it is that "with the heart man believeth unto righteousness," for Christ is righteousness. And in this, the only way, any man in the world may eat the flesh of Christ, without the services of a priest or bishop.
This is a meager presentation of the theme. But who can do justice to it? No one can do more than take the simple statements of the Scriptures and meditate on them until the force of the fact begins to dawn on his mind. The fact that Christ is in the real word, that the life of the word is the life of Christ, is a most stupendous one. It is the mystery of the gospel. When we receive it as a fact, and appropriate it, then we shall know for ourselves the meaning of the words that man shall live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST.
By Elder F. M. Wilcox
IT would consume much time and space to note all of the signs of Christ's return. We must content ourselves for the present with an enumeration of the few leading ones. Before leaving this phase of the subject, however, it will be important that we note the moral condition of the world, and especially the moral condition of the church in the times immediately preceding the coming of the Lord.
We have already shown that while some—the children of the day—would be looking for Christ to return, and preparing themselves to meet him in peace, upon the great majority of mankind would the day of the Lord come "as a thief in the night." The great mass, with hearts set upon sin and sinful pleasures, will rush blindly on, regardless of foreboding signs. If the thickening omens awaken for one moment their stupefied senses, they will lull them again into the sleep of carnal security by the siren song of "peace and safety." 1 Thess. 5:1-4. But here we wish to guard against a possible misconception. We have said that Christ's coming would be "as a thief in the night" upon the careless and unconcerned. Strictly speaking, this expression refers to the close of probation, which occurs a short period this side of the second advent of our Lord; for at this point [the close of probation] the day of the Lord begins. Hence the expression "day of the Lord" and "the second coming of Christ" are not strictly synonymous terms. But the close of probation and the events occurring in "the day of the Lord" (which, according to the Scriptures, is about one thousand years long), are all incidents growing out of Christ's return to the earth. Hence for convenience we have generalized, for the present, all of these events under one head.
The same as the wicked antediluvians scoffed at the message of impending doom, and as the devoted cities of the plain turned derisively from the pleadings of Lot, so will many in the last days turn from the heaven-sent omens of threatening destruction, and find in the pleasures of sinful indulgence that gross delight and fascinating association which shall drown the cry of stifled conscience, and372render them willing captives to the arch deceiver. Says our Saviour in speaking of this time:—
"And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed." Luke 17: 26-30.
There is no sin in eating and drinking, buying and selling, or planting and building, when properly done, nor in the consummation of the marriage relation when entered into according to the ordinance of God. The sin in these things in the last days will lie in their perversion, and the excesses attendant upon their celebration. Do these words of the Saviour point out the condition of the world to-day? Every observing reader can answer the question in the affirmative. This is an age of feasting and drunkenness, and of marrying and giving in marriage. To-day as never before is there the mad rush for riches, and so engrossed are the minds of men with such things that there is little time for sacred things to engage their attention. What shall we eat? and what shall we drink? and wherewithal shall we be clothed? are the questions that concern men most to-day, to the exclusion of everything of an eternal nature.
In our own country alone last year $1,200,000 was spent for strong drink. And a just comprehension of this vast sum does not picture the sad results of its use in the ruined homes, deserted children, broken-hearted wives and mothers, and the long train of poverty, woe, and misery, which follow in its track. The lavish expenditure witnessed in the giving of costly dinners is but an evidence of the trend and profligacy of the times. Often are dinners served by the wealthy costing from one thousand to fifteen hundred dollars per plate.
The marriage relation to-day is largely used as a means for the legalization of lustful indulgence. Lust instead of love prompts many unions, and as a result we have the long list of divorce applications filling the records of our courts, the reaction from hasty and untimely marriages. Lasciviousness was the great sin of Sodom, and the world now equals the cities of the plain in the practice of this soul-and-body destroying vice. San Francisco is reported to support a population of 20,000 dissolute and fallen women, at an annual expense of $12,000,000, and the city of the Golden Gate is by no means more wicked in this respect than hundreds of other towns throughout the world. Many of our great cities are hotbeds of vice and sin, where scores of unwary souls are yearly drawn down into the vortex of iniquity and degradation.
Another evidence of the depravity of the public mind is seen in the matter of popular amusements. True, we do not have in this country the Spanish bullfights, nor the gladiatorial exhibitions of ancient Rome, but we have that which is more demoralizing in its tendency, and fully as brutal in its results,—modern prize fights. Thousands witness almost monthly some exhibition of this brutal display of physical force. And how eagerly do the public enter into the spirit of the contest! The contestants are sized up, and their brawn and muscle and fighting powers compared, as though they were beasts instead of men in the physical form and image of their Maker. The biggest bruiser is the greatest hero of the day, and alongside of the great men of the nation are their utterances placed as the watchwords for our future progress. What a comment upon our civilization and our professed(!) Christian character as a nation!
But the query may be suggested to some minds. Are not these sins confined to the world outside of the church? Are not those who have known or professed a Saviour's pardoning love comparatively free from these defiling taints of wrongdoing? We wish it were indeed so. We would that professed Christianity to-day might escape the odium, the stigma, the fearful results of such doings. But along with the godless world must be arraigned the professed church of Jesus Christ upon some serious charges of wrongdoing. And we are not left to prefer the charge. Such an arraignment of last-day Christianity does the great apostle of the Gentiles make in his second letter to Timothy. We leave it for him, guided in his prophetic utterances by the Spirit of the Master, to make the charge as is best fitting. It is for us to determine if the charge is applicable to our day and state:—
"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away." 2 Tim. 3: 1-5.
Here are enumerated eighteen different sins that would exist in the professed church of God in the last days; for they are found among those who have a form of godliness. Is this a correct picture of Christendom around us? Do we find professed Christians who are selfish, covetous, proud, boastful, disobedient to parents, without natural affection, and loving their own ways and the pleasures of the world more than they do the ways of right and the service of God? Sad indeed that we are forced to answer yes. But sadder still is the state of the church which makes such a conclusion necessary.
Pride of dress and display, formalism, love of pleasure and gayety, with thousands of other kindred ills, have eaten out the vital godliness of the church at large, and left it poor and naked and destitute of the Christian virtues. We find the house of prayer forsaken for the theater and ballroom. We find the church catering to the popular methods of the world in raising money to defray her expenses. Donation parties, oyster suppers, socials, games, and a thousand and one other questionable and positively demoralizing means, are employed by professed Christians to attract the patronage of the world and fill the coffers of the church. In proof of these things we have small need to quote the testimonies of others. The knowledge and observation of every one of our readers will attest the correctness of the statements. The following statement of the matter by Rev. Geo. F. Pentecost, of Boston, as published in the Christian Statesman, is but a fair presentation of the condition of Christendom to-day. The statements of Mr. Pentecost might be duplicated by testimonies from scores of other prominent churchmen throughout the country:—
"A confession can be had from the lips of the pastors of most of our churches that in our midst are wicked, unholy, corrupt men who maintain their positions, and are saved from a righteous discipline either by their wealth or social position. It is true of this church, and it is true of many of the churches around us. If a ship should go to sea with as many rotten timbers as we have spiritually rotten members, it would go to the bottom in twenty-four hours."
This departure from Christ has been brought about largely by the terrible and shameless worldliness of the churches. The drift of the churches in their social life, in their religious work, in their management, is to worldliness. One thoughtful, intelligent layman, a member of a church which is a leader in its denomination, said the other day, "Our church has degenerated into a great, strong, social, fashionable organization."
Such is the state of Christendom to-day, not of any one church in particular, but of all in general. And although we have pointed out according to the Scriptures of truth its sins and dangers, we by no means rejoice in its fallen condition. Sad indeed is its state, but although so sad we cannot shut our eyes and ears to the picture presented before us. We must face the facts as they are, and endeavor by the help of God to work a reformation. Nor are we alone in noting these conditions in the churches. In every denomination in the land are godly men and women who deplore the state of things existing to-day as sadly as do we. And earnestly are these faithful souls praying for deliverance, that God may once more let his face shine upon his backslidden people. Will God heed their cry? Will he revive his truth in the earth, or will he leave the world and backslidden Christianity to their common doom? The history of the past proves that God is not unmindful of his creatures. Whenever danger has threatened, God in mercy has forewarned his children. Danger threatens to-day. Christ is at hand, as indicated by the testimony of his word. The world and the professed church are not prepared to meet him in peace. Will he seek to arouse them from their lethargy?—We may rest assured that he will. He warned men of the coming flood, he warned the cities of the plain of destruction; he warned ancient Nineveh of threatening doom. And in that last great event which shall concern the fate of not merely one city, nor five, but of all the cities and of all the world, we may rest assured that a warning will also be given. The basis and general import of that message of warning to go to the world before Christ will come, we leave for future consideration.
LOOK UP.
By Ellen Patton
BY ELLEN PATTON.
It was early in the morning;
The light was faint and dim;
The birds were just beginning
To chant their morning hymn.
A voice from out the silence
Was sounding clear and sweet;
My soul put on her garments,
Having wakened from her sleep.
This is what the voice was saying:
"Look upward to the sky;
The gates are swinging open;
The Bridegroom draweth nigh."
It was early in the morning,
Yet I gently trimmed my light;
For I must keep it burning
Both in the day and night.
The selfish world kept calling:
"Since the fathers fell asleep,
All things remain unshaken;
Still man must wait and weep.
It is simply a delusion,
If you look into the sky;
I'm gray with age and wisdom;
The Bridegroom is not nigh."
But I tell you, there's the signal;
I shall lift my voice and cry:
"Wake up, you sleepy virgins,
The Master draweth nigh;
Put on your clean white garments,
Go out to meet him, go.
Hail to the world's Redeemer!
He has washed me white as snow."
—Selected.
NO ETERNAL HELL.
By Joseph Clarke
BY JOSEPH CLARKE.
THAT sinners are now in hell, according to the “orthodox” view of hell, is not a scriptural doctrine; the contrary is proved by the words of our Lord in Matt. 13: 28-30. The interpretation of this parable places the burning of the tares in the future at the end of the world. Verse 40.
That the punishment of the wicked will be a source of happiness to God, or to the angels, or to the redeemed, is a wicked fable. See Eze. 18: 32. It is much more scriptural, much more logical, more honorable to God, and to his people, to suppose that while the wicked are being consumed, the universe of God will be hushed in sorrow and grief, and that when the wicked are no more, then the new earth will shine in its primitive Eden beauty; then will the Lord blot out the memory of the wicked. See Isa. 65: 17; Prov. 10: 7.
Angels have their joys over one sinner that repents. Luke 15: 7, 10. This being so, there is sorrow in heaven when sinners reject the offers of mercy. Christ wept over apostate Jerusalem. Matt. 23: 37; Luke 13: 34. Are5we sure there are no tears in heaven? If so, why should it say that God would wipe away all tears from their eyes? But when the tragedy of the fall shall have ended, the curtain falls, and throughout eternity all will be peace, rapture, fullness of joy forevermore.