Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jul 26, 1883
General Articles.
By Ellen G. White
Luther Appeals to Germany.
BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
ON the 23d day of June, 1520, Luther published an appeal to the emperor and nobility of Germany in behalf of the Reformation of Christianity. In this appeal he declared: "The Romanists have raised three barriers against all reformation. When the temporal power has attacked them, they have denied its authority, and asserted that the spiritual power was superior to it. When any one rebuked them out of the Scripture, they have answered that no one but the pope was able to interpret Scripture. When they have been threatened with a council, the reply has been, No one but the sovereign pontiff has authority to convoke a council."
He writes of the pope: "It is monstrous to see him who is called the vicar of Christ, displaying a magnificence unrivaled by that of any emperor. Is this to represent the poor and lowly Jesus, or the humble St. Peter? The pope, say they, is the Lord of the world! But Christ, whose vicar he boasts himself to be, said, My kingdom is not of this world. Ought the power of the vicar to go beyond that of his Lord?"
Luther writes thus of the universities: "I fear much that the universities will be found to be great gates leading down to hell, unless they take diligent care to explain the Holy Scriptures, and to engrave them in the hearts of our youth. I would not advise any one to place his child where the Holy Scriptures are not regarded as the rule of life. Every institution where the word of God is not diligently studied, must become corrupt."
This appeal was rapidly circulated throughout Germany, and exerted a powerful influence upon the people. The whole nation was roused to rally around the standard of reform. Luther's opponents, burning with a desire for revenge, now urged on the pope to take decisive measures against him. The pontiff and his courtiers yielded against their better judgment, and it was decreed that Luther's doctrines should be condemned immediately. Sixty days were to be granted the Reformer and his adherents, after which, if they did not recant, they should be all excommunicated.
It was a terrible crisis for the Reformation. For centuries Rome's sentence of excommunication had been swiftly followed by the stroke of death. Luther was not blind to the tempest about to burst upon him, but he stood firm, trusting in Christ to be his support and shield. With a martyr's faith and courage he wrote: "What is about to happen I know not, nor do I care to know. I am assured that He who sits on the throne of Heaven has from all eternity seen the beginning, the progress, and the end of this affair. Let the blow light where it may, I am without fear. Not so much as a leaf falls without the will of our Father. How much rather will he care for us! It is a light thing to die; for the Word which was made flesh hath himself died. If we die with him, we shall live with him; and passing through that which he has passed through before us, we shall be where he is, and dwell with him forever."
When the papal bull reached Luther he said: "I despise it, and resist it, as impious and false. It is Christ himself who is therein condemned. No reasons are given in it; I am cited to appear, not that I may be heard, but that I may recant. Oh that Charles the Fifth would act as a man! Oh that for the love of Christ he would humble these demons! I glory in the prospect of suffering for the best of causes. Already I feel in my heart more liberty; for I now know that the pope is antichrist, and that his chair is for Satan himself."
The whole nation waited with intense interest to see what Luther would do. They were not kept long in doubt. With great energy and boldness, he immediately answered in a discourse which he entitled, "Against the Bull of Antichrist."
Yet the word of the pontiff of Rome still had power. Prisons, torture, and sword were weapons potent to enforce submission. Everything declared that Luther's work was about to close. The weak and superstitious trembled before the decree of the pope, and while there was a general sympathy for Luther, many felt that life was too dear to be risked in the cause of reform.
Amidst the general tumult, Luther remains calm and composed. "Be of good cheer," he says to Spalatin. "It was Christ that begun all this, and he will bring it to its appointed issue, even though my lot may be banishment and death. Jesus Christ is here present; and He that is in us is mightier than he that is in the world."
Luther formally appeals from the authority of the pope to a general council of the Christian church. Having stated his reasons for this step he says: "Wherefore I most humbly beseech the most serene, illustrious, excellent, wise, and worthy lords, Charles, the Roman Emperor, the electors, princes, counts, barons, knights, gentlemen, cities, and municipalities of the whole German nation, to adhere to this my protest, and unite with me to resist the antichristian proceedings of the pope, for God's glory, in defense of the church and of the Christian faith, and to uphold the free councils of Christiandom; and Christ our Saviour will richly reward them by his everlasting grace. But if there be any who set my entreaties at naught, preferring obedience to the pope, an impious man, rather than to obey God, I do hereby disavow all responsibility on their account, having given a faithful warning to their consciences, and I leave them to the final judgment of God, together with the pope and all his adherents."
His next step was to publicly burn the pope's bull, with the canon laws, the decretals, and certain writings sustaining the papal power. By this action he boldly declared his final separation from the Roman Church. He accepted his excommunication, and proclaimed to the world that between himself and the pope there must hereafter be war. The great contest was now fully entered upon.
Viewed from a human stand-point, the path of duty and righteousness is not a path of peace and safety. By faith we must follow as the Lord leads us onward. But could we always discern the everlasting arms around and beneath us, there would be no occasion for the exercise of faith. The way of God's choosing may seem dark, yet it is the surest way to the light. In the midst of the apparent disaster and defeat, God's providence is working out his purposes.326
The eagle of the Alps is sometimes beaten down by the tempest into the narrow defiles of the mountains. Angry storm-clouds shut in this mighty bird of the forest, their dense, dark masses separating her from the sunny heights where she has built her nest. For a time her efforts to escape seem fruitless. She dashes to and fro, beating the air with her strong wings, and waking the echoes of the mountains with her cries. At length, with a scream of triumph, she darts upward, and, piercing the clouds, she is once more in the clear sunlight, with the darkness and tempest far beneath. Ever thus, by mighty efforts, have God's chosen servants urged their way upward, breasting opposition, reproach, and persecution, in their conflicts with principalities and powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places.
When the hand of the Lord was upon the prophet Ezekiel in the vision of the valley of dry bones, he was commanded to prophesy to the wind; and in answer to his word, life was restored to the slain, and they stood up before him, an exceeding great army. This figure was presented before the prophet to show him that no work of restoration can be too hard for God to do, and none who trust in him need ever say, as Israel had said, "Our hope is lost."
Like the eagle, Luther had been shut in by dense clouds of superstition and Romish heresy, and he had been beaten about by the fierce tempest of opposition; but on the wings of a mighty faith he had risen above the storm, and was now grandly free, with the sunlight of Heaven shining upon his soul.
Standing under the broad shield of Omnipotence, Luther was doing a mighty work for God. Amid the war of conflicting opinions, he stood as a guide and a covert to a bewildered and benighted people. The torch of truth, kindled at the altar of God's word, he placed in the hands of princes and peasants, who aided him in his work, dispelling the dense darkness, and awakening all Europe from the slumber of ages.
The mighty conflicts and victories, the great sorrows and special joys, by which individuals and nations are carried forward in the path of reform and salvation, are of too great importance to be permitted to pass from the memory. Such experiences cost the heroes of faith too much to be often repeated in history; they should not be lightly regarded. Those struggles for freedom of conscience, should be a lesson to all, that no truth which involves self-denial and sacrifice will be favorably accepted by the world. A costly effort is required of every soul that will go in an opposite direction from the multitude. All that stand in Christ's name in defense of the truth must have a history of conflicts and sacrifices. They cannot advance in reform, as Christ leads the way, except at the risk of liberty and life.
It is through divine mercy in giving to the world such men as Martin Luther and his co-laborers that we are now free to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience. We who are living so near the close of time should emulate the noble example of the great Reformer. Like Luther we should seek a deep and thorough knowledge of the word of God. It should be our highest ambition to stand firm as a rock when the strongholds of truth are assailed by an unbelieving world and an ungodly church. In the near conflict, thousands will be called to imitate Luther's constancy and courage. Now is the time for us to receive education and discipline in the school of Christ. Now is the time to cultivate faith and courage. Let the cry pass from one to another of the waiting ones, Stand fast. "Yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry."
God will again move mightily upon chosen servants to make terrible charges upon the hosts of Satan. The men whom he will accept to carry forward his work, to fight his battles, must be men of principle, brave and firm and true. The customs, traditions, and doctrines, even of professedly great and good men, must have no weight, until first brought to the infallible test of the law and the testimony. "If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." To this test, popes and prelates refused to submit, knowing that it would overthrow at once all their pretended power. It was to maintain this great truth that Luther battled so firmly and fearlessly. His words echo down the line to all the tried and tempted defenders of the truth,—Stand fast. "In the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength."
The Reformer found in Christ a hiding-place from the storms of opposition, wrath, and hatred that threatened to overwhelm him. In Christ alone was peace and strength and security. Such will be the experience of every Christian. Amid all the changes and agitations of the world, the Rock of our salvation stands firm. It has been assailed by the combined hosts of earth and hell. For centuries have active minds planned, and strong hands labored, to remove this great corner-stone, and lay another foundation for the faith of the world. The papal power most nearly succeeded in this blasphemous work. But God raised up Luther to cry day and night, as he built upon the walls of Zion. "Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." That great corner-stone, the Rock of Ages, stands to-day unshaken. Amid all the tumults and conflicts of the world, Christ still offers rest to the weary, and the water of life to the thirsting soul. Through the ages his words come down to us,—"I am the way, the truth and the life."
BY NAME.
By F. H. Converse
OH, love divine, and wond'rous deep,
How strong that Shepherd's claim
Who not alone doth lead his sheep,
But calleth each by name.
I sought his blessed fold alone,
Bowed down with sin and shame;
He met me, and in loving tones
He called to me by name.
"Dear Lord," I cried, "how could'st thou know
The stranger who thus came ?"
He only whispered, sweet and low—
"I always knew thy name."
Now guided gently safe along,
His care is still the same;
But love appeareth tenfold strong
Which knows its own by name.
—F. H. Converse, in the Christian Woman.
The Church's Expectation.
By George, Duke of Manchester
"The grace of God which bringeth salvation" teacheth us "that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world." If, now, a man denied worldly lusts, and lived soberly and righteously, but yet was not godly—if he fulfilled all the duties of the second table, yet neglected the duties of the first—we should not hesitate to say that such a man was not taught by that grace of God which bringeth salvation. A man truly under the teaching of the Spirit cultivates both godliness and righteousness. But is this all that the grace of God, which bringeth salvation, teacheth? No; it also teaches us to be "expecting . . . the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ," and apparently the text implies that this expectation is as certainly and as universally taught as is the denial of ungodliness and worldly lusts. There seems no difference. The hope respecting Christ's advent appears quite as prominently brought forward as the characteristic life and conduct of the believer—indeed, I should say more so, for the one is introduced as the end at which the child of grace is aiming; the others are the means towards the attainment.
We may lay it down as a proposition, that only those who deny ungodliness can be expecting Messiah's advent; for if men cast not off the works of darkness they continue in a state of darkness; they know not that the night is far spent, and that the day is at hand. For the service of God, and the waiting for Christ, St. Paul gives us as the two great characteristics of true conversion: "How ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from Heaven." But in this waiting, an anxious wish for the event is implied, as well as the belief in the probability of its immediate occurrence.
Taken conversely the proposition is equally true. Those who are expecting Messiah's advent do deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. The expectation has a purifying efficacy: "Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and [or but] it doth not yet appear what we shall be." We are now in possession of this most exalted privilege, although the present is not the season when the sons of God are manifested. The world now knows them not any more than when he was on earth it knew him. "But," says St. John, "we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." I understand the last clause as assigning the cause, but affirming the proof, of our resemblance. It is not the transforming power of the beatific vision, but the discerning power of the beatified spirit. To see him as he is, to know him even as we are known, argues an exaltation of our nature commensurate with the glorified humanity of the Son of God; "and every man that hath this hope in him [i. e., in Christ] purifieth himself even as he is pure." Every one who has this exalting, exhilarating hope of being made like unto Christ at his glorious appearing, does now strive after, and in some measure attain unto, that purity which is in Christ himself. Hence St. Paul urges it as the great motive to mortification: "When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your members which are upon earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness which is idolatry."
The passage which I have quoted from St. John's epistle, seems to refer rather to the expansion of the intellectual and spiritual capacity of the glorified believer. But there must also be a spiritual body—a body capable of being actuated immediately by the glorified spirit—a body of glory suitable for the perfected spirit. Such was St. Paul's expectation; and in setting forth his walk as an example, in opposition to that which ends in destruction, he implies that this desire of Christ's appearing, and of the consequent transformation into his likeness, was a great impelling motive to heavenly conduct: "For our conversation is in Heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall transform our bodies of humiliation, in order that they may be fashioned like unto his body of glory." To attain to the hope, and to live in the expectation of the advent, is, in short, that which characterizes those who are not deficient in any spiritual gift. "I thank my God . . . for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; so that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
St. James speaks of patience as being the crowning and completing grace of the Christian, so that however perfect he might be, were he not placed in such circumstances as would elicit and call into exercise the grace of patience, he would be wanting in something; and so great would be the want that the believer should joyfully exchange a state of peace for one of manifold trials, in order that he might have the opportunity of exercising this grace. "But," adds he, "let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." What, however, can fortify the believer, and enable him to endure in the exercise of this perfecting grace, but the expectation of the Lord's speedy return? The same apostle says: "Be patient, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord; behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient, stablish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." St. Paul holds out precisely the same motive in support of the same grace: "Ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise; for yet a little while, and he that shall come, will come, and will not tarry." In both these passages the consideration of the Lord's speedy advent to put an end to suffering and trial, is held out as the support of patience. And in neither of them is there a hint of a period of spiritual peace and triumph prior to the advent.
Precisely the same thought is held out for the consolation of those under bereavement: "I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning as others who have no hope; for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the327air; and so shall we be ever with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." To me it appears evident that the special ground of comfort here urged is the prospect of speedy reunion with the departed brethren; and that, not by our being absent from the body, and so present with the Lord, but by the return of Christ together with those who sleep in Jesus. Here, then, evidently, the whole consolation consists in the probability of Messiah's speedy return.
This language of the apostle seems to have taken such hold of the Thessalonians that their desire for the Lord's return amounted to an error in the way of excess rather than of defect; for in his second epistle St. Paul prays that the Lord would direct their hearts into "the patient waiting for Christ." Such, apparently, was their ardent desire for his advent that it almost trenched upon the grace of patience. How very different is the condition of the church now from what it was then! the apostle having to rein in their ardor, whereas our sluggishness needs much goading. But with those who have the assurance of hope, and are living in the sense of God's favor, the Thessalonian would be the more likely state of the two; they would be hoping "for the grace which is to be brought unto us at the revelation of Jesus Christ;" those whose conversation is in Heaven are looking from thence "for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ;" and in all holy conversation and godliness, not looking for, but "hastening on, the coming of the day of God."
It is distinctly said that the crown of righteousness "is laid up for . . . all those that love his appearing," and not only so, but apparently it is only for those, for it is "unto them that look for him," that he will appear unto salvation. In that day the church will say: "Lo, this is our God, we have waited for him, and he will save us; this is Jehovah, we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation." The iteration seems to mark that the waiting was an evidence that his appearing would be to their joy.
I have now stated what I apprehend should be the expectation of the church, and the blessed effects of that expectation upon the disposition and conduct of the believer. I will now show some of the evil consequences upon the character of those who profess to be followers of the Lord, but yet who do not live in this attitude of expectation.
In the perilous times of the last days, covetousness will be a leading feature among men who have the form of godliness while denying the power, but such men cannot be living upon the contemplation of Christ's speedy return, for nothing can be so effectual against the snare of covetousness as the expectation of Messiah's advent, for it is the thought which enables one to sit loose to the world, and which frees from all anxiety. "Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand, be careful for nothing."
Our Lord also intimates that some of his servants will be fostering a spirit of persecution, and indulging fleshly lusts, just because they say in their hearts, "My Lord delayeth his coming;" upon which he urges watchfulness; for those only who watch and pray always will be accounted worthy to escape. So our Lord says again: "Watch, therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." And those who do watch for his advent are blessed: "Behold, I come as a thief, blessed is he that watcheth." The whole point and force would be taken away from the exhortation to watchfulness, if we admitted that there was to be a spiritual millennium intervening before the second advent. The idea intended to be conveyed seems to be the possibility, not the probability, of Messiah's return within the period of a natural life. "The end of all things is at hand, be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer."
A similar exhortation, "Let us watch and be sober," is grounded just upon the fact of light or darkness upon this point being the distinguishing mark of the believer. "But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief." The "but," here is a particle of opposition by which St. Paul distinguishes the brethren from others. The son of Jonas in like manner makes willful ignorance the characteristic of the wicked scoffers in the last days, attributing to them this inquiry: "Where is the promise of his coming?" Hence he expressly warns the beloved not to fall into this error of the wicked.
The expectation of the Lord's advent has always been the aspect of the true church. It was so in the apostolic days; it was so with the fathers for the first three centuries; and it was so with the reformers. Our church, therefore, teaches us to say: "I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come." We do not merely state our belief that there will be a resurrection of the dead some time or other—a thousand years hence, or even a year hence; but we declare that we are in the attitude of hope and expectation. "I look for it"—I know neither the day nor the hour.
The notion of a spiritual millennium, which originated apparently by the oscillation into the opposite extreme, from the excesses of the German Anabaptists and English Fifth Monarchy Men, has since been fostered by the expectations raised from the efforts of religious societies, till it has become the deliberate creed of many. Thus we are enabled to understand how it can be used by our Lord and St. Peter as a prophetical feature and sign of the last days. I do not mean to imply that carelessness or indifference alone upon the subject of the Lord's return could be considered a prophetic sign—for that, I fear, has been the melancholy feature in most ages of the church—but the deliberate maintenance of a doctrine which virtually says: "My Lord delayeth his coming," is a prognostic of the speedy approach of Messiah. Now, we before observed that a man who holds the spiritual millennium cannot be expecting the advent of the Lord. Is he not, then, saying in his heart "My Lord delayeth his coming?" And of what is such a belief the forerunner?
Shortly, then, to recapitulate this chapter: We may be confident that an expectation—which is taught by the grace of God, which is a sign of true conversion, which is purifying in the highest degree, which shows itself in all holy conversation and godliness, which is a mark of the highest spiritual knowledge, which, therefore, characterizes those for whom the crown is laid up, . . . is holy in its tendency, is in accordance with the divine mind, and is a point of great practical importance. On the other hand, that ignorance upon this subject, which is willful, which betokens a child of darkness, which encourages a covetous disposition, which fosters a persecuting spirit, which unbridles the animal desires, and which will end in sudden destruction, is to be reprobated and carefully avoided.
My second conclusion, therefore, is, that the church ought, according to the Scripture, to be "looking for the glorious appearing of the great God and Saviour," which conclusion being inconsistent with the belief of an antecedent spiritual millennium, confirms our former inference, drawn from the character of the present dispensation.
I have shown that during this present dispensation the enemies of Christ and his church are in the ascendant; and that the church is, or ought to be, looking for the return of the Lord.—George, Duke of Manchester.
Satan Goes to Church.
By Rusticus
How do I know it? I read about it in the Bible. You turn to the book of Job, and you will learn that when, on a certain day, the sons of God came to present themselves before him, Satan came also among them. I take it that coming to present themselves before the Lord means coming to church, and that, what Satan did then, he does still. Indeed, the Saviour says so in his parable of the sower. Look at Mark 4:15: "Satan cometh immediately and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts." The word is sown in the church, and if Satan takes it away immediately, he must be there. If he waited until the hearers got home, it might be too late—the seed might have got rooted. Satan never takes any chances in his business. He is always on hand when there is anything to be done in his line. In this respect, he sets us a good example. I don't believe he enjoys going to church, though they don't talk about him there as much as they used to. But it must annoy him to hear them sing the praises of Jesus. Yet he goes just as General Grant went to Vicksburg. If he can capture the congregation that worships there, he has taken a stronghold. Satan would be happier in the saloons on the Sabbath. But he is not needed there. He has agents in them who understand their business, and the people who go to them don't need any evil spirits but those that the barkeeper furnishes. So Satan leaves the saloons to run themselves, and goes to church.
And what does Satan do in church? If the morning is close and sultry, he comes early, and interviews the sexton. He persuades him that it isn't best to open the windows and ventilate the room, for old Mr. Chilly complained of the draft last Sunday. Satan don't care how hot it is. If he can make the house uncomfortable, he has half killed the sermon in advance. Satan turns from the sexton to the ushers. He has been around by Mr. Pompous' mansion, and knows that he is coming to church that day (he comes about once a month), and that he is going to bring some distinguished visitors. So Satan persuades the ushers to fill up Mr. Pompous' pew with a lot of paupers, under the impression that he is out of town. Mr. Pompous will come in late, and be as mad as a bull. The sermon won't have any chance at all with him or with the paupers in his pew either.
When the minister enters, the invisible gentleman from the lower regions steps lightly into the pulpit and whispers in his ear: "The rich Mr. Jones and the fashionable Mrs. Smith are here. You don't want them to give up their pews; so don't say anything to offend them. Keep those sharp things about riches and fashion for the weekly prayer-meeting. They'll not be there."
Having fixed up the sexton, the ushers, and the minister, Satan looks over the congregation with the eye of a general, and sees all the strategic points. There is Mrs. Moneybags in a new bonnet. He hastens to call the attention of a dozen ladies to it. He sets them to studying its ribbons and roses, to calculating its probable cost, and considering how they can raise money enough to get one like it. There is a strange gentleman with Miss Sally Soft. Can it be the beau from the city that she is said to be engaged to? Satan suggests this to a dozen young ladies, who are awfully jealous of Miss Sally, and not one of them will hear a word that the minister says.
Satan has read the morning paper. He knows that Deacon Doane has too, on the sly. He knows that the deacon has been dabbling in stocks, and that there are some startling quotations in the paper. So he buzzes about the good man's ears like a bee, humming "Ophir," "Eureka," "Yellow Jacket," etc., until he has drowned the minister's voice, and completely spoiled his sermon.
The invisible visitor knows that Miss Soprano in the congregation thinks herself a better singer than Miss Soprano in the choir. So he keeps close to her during the music, and says: "There, hear that—she flatted, and now she slurred; and see how vain she looks, as if she really had a voice, and knew how to sing." Miss Soprano in the pew has something else to think about besides the sermon.
Mr. Critic is nudged by Satan when the minister has said Phara-oh instead of Pharo. And as that Egyptian king hardened his heart against Moses, so Mr. Critic hardens his heart against the truth, on account of the mispronunciation of a word, and the rest of the sermon does him no good.
So all through the services Satan is busy. He knows just where to go, and just what to say. He could spoil the best sermon that was ever preached if there was not a mightier Spirit who counteracts his influence. The Holy Spirit can make the word quick and powerful in spite of the wiles of the devil. We ought then to pray earnestly for his presence in the sanctuary.—Rusticus, in Occident.
"Ought."
By Editor
THE following communication we find in the Christian Herald (Disciple), in answer to a statement previously made that feet-washing was not enjoined by Christ, and ought not therefore to be practiced as an ordinance. How any one can read the thirteenth chapter of John and not come to the same conclusion that the author of this article does, we cannot imagine:—
In love I desire to submit a few thoughts. There is no question as to feet-washing under certain circumstances; but as an ordinance what saith the record? Jesus was engaged in the act of washing the disciples' feet when Peter objected. Jesus answered him, "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me." Can it be conjectured that the washing was because of the dust that had adhered through the day and that this was preparatory to the usual rest at night? Did Peter so understand Jesus? "Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit." The washing here referred to is the same as 15th chap., 3d verse, "Ye are clean through the word," and he that is thus cleansed needeth not "save to wash his feet." Jesus said to them, "Ye are not all clean," having reference to the "inner man" authenticated by Judas' work that night. Why the feet-washing? Where is the key to solve the question? "Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." First teach, then baptize them, and then teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you"—to observe. We claim our authority from this commission; and for church ordinances we go to the form as instituted by our great Exemplar. "Ye call me Master and Lord (Master is teacher and Lord is one having authority to command), and ye say well, for so I am; If I then the Lord and the Master have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet." Why? "For I have given you an example that ye should also do as I have done to you." Truly, "a servant is not greater than his Lord, neither an apostle that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things [the supper, the feet-washing, the bread, and the wine] blessed are ye if ye do them." Shall we, with the words of life in our hands, single out from the institutions of one single hour and say, that this only is binding on us? The very fact that Jesus was speaking not of bodily cleansing, saying nothing of the corresponding fact that these things were not preparatory for a night of rest, teaches us that as the bread and wine is monumental—an evidence of our faith, so is the feet-washing a token of that humility of soul and brotherly love that permeates the church and should live together, since our Saviour gave them divine authority, and connected and designated them "these things," and since the "servant is not greater than his Lord," would it not be well for us, as followers of an exemplar, to consider, in the absence of that which declares null and void, the institutions of our Saviour as binding on us?
How to Get Them to Stand
How to Get Them to Stand.
If you were an eye-witness of the operations of farm servants on the barn-floor, you would there get an illustration of the way to get believers to stand. I have seen them filling sacks with chaff, and I invariably observed that one person had to hold the sack all the time of its being filled, and even when full, it could not stand alone, but had to be made to lean against the wall to get it to stand. But I noticed that if they took precisely the same sort of sack, and poured into it the well-bolted corn, it stood by the weight of what it was receiving during the process of filling; and also, after it was full it stood upright of itself in the middle of the floor, just because it had been made strong to stand by the weight and solidity of the heavy grain which it contained.
And so the Christian who is filled with the good seed of the word of God, and thereby filled with Christ, stands in the power of what he receives; whereas the hearer who is filled with the chaff of men’s thoughts and opinions of God’s truth, however quickly he may be filled to the dimensions of the other, will never be able to stand alone. There must be the solidity of the truth in Christ to insure stability.
If the preaching we are hearing does not so fill us with the heavy grain of God’s word, that we stand by the weight of it without a lean, we had better take heed what we hear and also how we hear.
“Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness; but grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and ever. Amen.”—Armor of Light.
Gratitude as a Means of Grace
GRATITUDE is a means of grace. Many a mortal would be consoled in his mere annoyances could he get a glimpse of the real trouble from which God saves him. Others, in comparatively light affliction, would cease murmuring could they realize the heartbreak that abides with some one else. There is always firm ground for thanksgiving to God for deliverance from that always possible greater trouble.