Review and Herald, Vol. 77, No. 1.
COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM, AND BE YE SEPARATEPage 1
“COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM, AND BE YE SEPARATE.”
By Ellen G. White
The truth as it is in Jesus has shone with great clearness upon God’s people. Line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, the truth has been given. But the light which it has been our privilege to enjoy has not been carefully cherished and carried into practical life. For this reason there is little power among us at the present time. Many are inquiring, “Why is it that we have so little strength? Is it because heaven is sealed? Is it because there are no precious blessings in store for us? Is it because our source of strength is exhausted, and we can receive no more? Why is it that we are not all light in the Lord?” He who was a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, who was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities, is high and lifted up, and the glory of his train fills the temple. Why is this glory withheld from those who are in a world of sin and sorrow, trouble and sadness, corruption and iniquity?” The trouble lies with ourselves. Our iniquities have separated us from God. We are not filled, because we do not feel our need; we do not hunger and thirst after righteousness. The promise is that if we hunger and thirst after righteousness, we shall be filled. The promise is to you, my brethren and sisters. It is to me; it is to every one of us. It is the hungering, thirsting souls who will be filled. We may come to Christ just as we are, in our weakness, with our folly and imperfections, and offer our petitions in faith. In spite of our errors, our continual backsliding, the voice of the long-suffering Saviour invites us, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” To the needy, the fainting, those who are bowed down with burden and care and perplexity, the invitation is, Come. It is Christ’s glory to encircle us in the arms of his mercy and love, and bind up our wounds. He will sympathize with those who need sympathy, and strengthen those who need strength. To the unbelieving, obstinate Pharisees, Christ said, “Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” Oh that this may never be said of us! There is life and peace and joy in Jesus Christ. He is the sinner’s friend. In him there is power and glory and strength for all. If we believe that this power and glory are ours, and comply with the conditions laid down in his word, we shall be strong in the strength of the Mighty One. Many professed Christians are well represented by the vine that is trailing upon the ground, and entwining its tendrils about the roots and rubbish that lie in its path. To all such the message comes, “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” There are conditions to meet if we would be blessed and honored by God. We are to separate from the world, and refuse to touch those things that will separate our affections from God. God has the first and highest claims upon his people. Set your affections upon him and upon heavenly things. Your tendrils must be severed from everything earthly. You are exhorted to touch not the unclean thing; for in touching this, you will yourself become unclean. It is impossible for you to unite with those who are corrupt, and still remain pure. “What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial?” God and Christ and the heavenly host would have man know that if he unites with the corrupt, he will become corrupt. Ample provision has been made that we may be raised from the lowlands of earth, and have our affections fastened upon God and upon heavenly things. Will separation from the world, in obedience to the divine command, unfit us for the work the Lord has left us? Will it hinder us from doing good to those around us?—No; the firmer hold we have on heaven, the greater will be our power for usefulness. We should study the Pattern, that the spirit which dwelt in Christ may dwell in us. The Saviour was not found among the exalted and honorable of the world. He did not spend his time among those who were seeking their ease and pleasure. He worked to help those who needed help, to save the lost and perishing, to lift up the bowed down, to break the yoke of oppression from those in bondage, to heal the afflicted, and to speak words of sympathy and consolation to the distressed and sorrowing. We are required to follow this example. The more we partake of the spirit of Christ, the more we shall seek to do for our fellow men. We shall bless the needy and comfort the distressed. Filled with a love for perishing souls, we shall find our delight in following the footsteps of the Majesty of heaven. The requirements of God are set plainly before us; the question to be settled is, Will we comply with them? Will we accept the condition laid down in his word—separation from the world? This is not the work of a moment or of a day. It is not accomplished by bowing at the family altar and offering up lip-service, nor by public exhortation and prayer. It is a lifelong work. Our consecration to God must be a living principle, interwoven with the life, and leading to self-denial and self-sacrifice. It must underlie all our thoughts, and be the spring of every action. This will elevate us above the world, and separate us from its polluting influence. All our actions are affected by our religious experience. If our experience is founded in God; if we are daily tasting the power of the world to come, and have the fellowship of the Spirit; if each day we hold with a firmer grasp the higher life, principles that are holy and elevating will be inwrought in us, and it will be as natural for us to seek purity and holiness and separation from the world, as it is for the angels of glory to execute the mission of love assigned them. Every one who enters the pearly gates of the city of God will be a doer of the Word. He will be a partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Probation is about to close. In heaven the edict will soon go forth, “It is done.” “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Soon the last prayer for sinners will have been offered, the last tear shed, the last warning given, the last entreaty made, and the sweet voice of mercy will be heard no more. This is why Satan is making such mighty efforts to secure men and women in his snare. He has come down with great power, knowing that his time is short. His special work is to secure professed Christians in his ranks, that through them he may allure and destroy souls. The enemy is playing the game of life for every soul. He is working to remove from us everything of a spiritual nature, and in the place of the precious graces of Christ to crowd our hearts with the evil traits of the carnal nature,—hatred, evil surmising, jealousy, love of the world, love of self, love of pleasure, and the pride of life. We need to be fortified against the incoming foe, who is working with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; for unless we are watchful and prayerful, these evils will enter the heart, and crowd out all that is good.2 Many who profess to believe the word of God do not seem to understand the deceptive working of the enemy. They do not realize that the end of time is near; but Satan knows it; and while men sleep, he works. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life are controlling men and women. Satan is at work even among the people of God, to cause disunion. Selfishness, corruption, and evil of every kind are taking a firm hold upon hearts. With many the precious word of God is neglected. A novel or a storybook engages the attention, and fascinates the mind. That which excites the imagination is eagerly devoured, while the word of God is set aside. It was because they overlooked the word of God that the Jewish nation rejected Christ, demanding that a robber be granted them, and that the Prince of Life be crucified. And in these last days professed Christians are committing the same sin. They are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting because they suffer their minds to be engrossed with things of little importance, while eternal truth is neglected. The truth of God, which would elevate and sanctify and refine, and fit men for the finishing touch of immortality, is set aside for things of minor importance. Oh that this blindness might pass away, and men and women understand the work that Satan is accomplishing among them! PEACE
By Frances A. Cranston
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” Isa. 26:3. “In perfect peace,” O Lord, thou ’lt keep
The soul that trusts in thee:
The promise shines through all the years
Like beacon-lights at sea. “In perfect peace,” what does that mean?
Not freedom from all ill,
But grace and strength to bear it all,
And love and trust thee still. “In perfect peace,” ’mid sorrow’s gloom;
When grief’s sad passion wave
Sweeps on the soul its tide of woe,
Thou then art near to save; “In perfect peace,” when all is done,
When life’s last hour is near,
To simply trust our souls to thee,
And rest,—without one fear.
— Frances A. Cranston. “CONSIDER the lilies of the field, how they grow,” the Master said one day while talking to those dear disciples of his. And I believe the Spirit is just longing to speak the same to us to-day, but with an added illumination and inspiration, which would enable us to “consider,” and then grow like the lilies. We do make such a foolish waste of time trying to grow in spiritual things. You must grow up into him in all things, as the branch grows on the vine, or as the lilies grow. How do they grow?—Oh, I don’t know. I never saw the process. I do not understand the philosophy of adding joint to joint in the stalk, and cell to cell in the leaves and flowers, until the plant is full grown, with perfect leaves and gloriously tinted petals. And yet I can see that the lily grows easily, and without effort to itself. It did not choose the soil nor plant itself. Neither did I. He chose me, and planted me in his vineyard. It is mine to stay where he puts me, to drink in the rain and dew, to bathe in the glad, warm sunshine, to sway to and fro in the gentle breeze, or bow low, if need be, in the storm. But it is his to see that I grow. I simply let him build me up and cause me to grow by whatever method he may choose. I have nothing to do with growth. I have to trust and obey. If I look after the growing, I’ll make myself one-sided. I’ll bend all my energies to build great faith, or to be very humble, or to fill myself with the Word; for I can do but one thing at a time. So I get large on one side, and do not realize how unfitted I am for him. I stand where he puts me, I receive what he gives me; and as I am occupied to know him better, I find that faith and love and humility and all graces grow—spring up spontaneously. Joint is added to joint and cell to cell in my experience; my strength increases because I am so helpless; and as I keep my face turned always toward him through shine and shade, he tints and colors with his own artistic hand until his own beauty he has put upon me. He builds me all around—not all at once, to be sure: but his eye is on every part of my character, and he will neglect no part. He will give to me something of his symmetry of character, until I shall cease to be noted for any one grace. I will just bear an astounding likeness to him, that is all. I shall not be so conscious of growing, as conscious of a delightful oneness with him in all things. THE PRESENT STATE OF PROTESTANTISM.
By H. F. PHELPS
It was once said that Archbishop Ireland made the following statement concerning Protestantism:— America is at heart a Christian country. As a religious system, Protestantism is in hopeless dissolution, utterly valueless as a doctrinal or a moral power, and no longer to be considered as a foe that we must count. The Catholic Church is the sole living and enduring Christianity. Our work is to make America Catholic. Our cry shall be, “God wills it.” We know that the church is the sole owner of the truths and graces of salvation. It might be claimed that this, coming from the source that it does, was a conclusion reached through prejudice in favor of Catholicism, and against Protestantism. It may be well to put some remarks by the side of this, made by the Rev. Dr. Henry R. Percival, an Episcopal clergyman of the diocese of Pennsylvania. We quote from the Literary Digest of Nov. 4, 1899. The subject of his paper is “The Future of the Christian Religion.” He is inclined to think that the tendency in the church of England toward ceremonialism is “a spirit which, unless I am entirely misinformed, is sweeping over the whole Western world, America included.” In this, he is no doubt correct. In the consideration of the subject, he lays down three propositions, the second of which is “that the distinctive doctrines of every Protestant reformer are being more and more universally rejected.” As to this decline of Protestantism, he says:— Here I need not ask the reader to take my word for anything; for his own experience will bear out the truth of my statements. Where are those who believe, as Luther taught it, that doctrine of imputed righteousness which is called “justification by faith alone”? The doctrine is extinct. So far as the popular churches are concerned, there is no doubt that this doctrine is almost, if not altogether, lost sight of. But, thank God, a “remnant” may yet be found who believe it, and teach it, and live it. And in them may be found the “salt of the earth” and “the light of the world.” It is no exaggeration to say that Protestantism is rapidly disintegrating, and is losing its hold as a teaching power. . . . It is not too much to say, then, that Protestantism as a system of positive religious belief is dying out, and that its professors are for the most part able to continue in its ministry only through some device of casuistry, which in any other manner would be considered by themselves, as it is in their case by almost every one except themselves, dishonest and dishonorable. It is manifest that this state of things can not go on, and that the final result of “progress” in this direction, so far as faith is concerned, must be unbelief, and, so far as organization is concerned, decay and dissolution. As to his third point,—the existence of a strong movement back to “Catholicism,” but not to Roman Catholicism,—he says that any one who remembers the common method of conducting service fifty years ago can not fail to be aware of a mighty change. He continues:— This wave, however, of which I am speaking is not a mere wave of ceremonialism; it is likewise a great wave of doctrine, bringing back, or at least calling attention to, the doctrines and practices of the church which had been lost sight of or rejected at the Protestant Reformation. Dr. Harnack has written well and most truly upon this point in his recent little book, which has been translated into English. His conclusion is that orthodox and believing Protestantism is becoming Catholicized; that the un-Protestant idea of the church as an institution with power to control the conscience and teach the intellect, is daily gaining ground; and that this inclination, if continued, will end in the overthrow of Protestantism altogether, which of course Harnack looks upon as a great misfortune. I have a firm belief that this is God’s good way of leading the nations back to Catholicism—not the Catholicism of medieval and modern popery, but to the Catholicism of primitive prelacy. But such can be nothing less than the very image to the papacy itself. The foregoing is but a true statement of the waning condition of Protestantism among so-called Protestants. And all we have to do is to read the word “image” into the last statement to make it correct, as showing the alluring manner in which men will be led on to its worship. Truly, men need the wisdom of God, which he has promised to all that ask, in order to be saved from the many delusions of these last days. May God save his people. A CERTAIN pasha, dead these thousand years,
Once from his harem fled in sudden tears, And had this sentence on the city's gate
Deeply engraved, “Only God is great.” So these four words above the city's noise
Hung like the accent of an angel's voice, And evermore, from the high barbican,
Saluted each returning caravan. Lost is that city's glory. Every gust
Lifts, with crisp leaves, the unknown pasha's dust. And all is ruin — save one wrinkled gate
Whereon is written, “ONLY GOD IS GREAT.” Wise(?) men some years ago proposed a new plan for bringing the world up out of the thraldom of sin and debauchery. They would start “college settlements,” where the name of Christ must not be pronounced, lest the people be frightened away; where the Bible must not be seen, lest it might excite prejudice; where prayers and hymns and sermons must not be heard, lest the people should suspect the movement. They would live among the people, minister to their wants, elevate their tastes, introduce cultured habits, and, after gaining their confidence, win them to Christ by showing them what a blessing they would be to the church and the world by accepting Christianity! A wealthy man in New York City is said to have put one hundred thousand dollars into a movement of that kind there; but after a fair trial, and anything but satisfactory results, he now declares that he will never put another cent of his money into any institution that begins by barring out the Bible and prayer and the Son of God from its sphere of action. This is good. “The world by wisdom knew not God,” and never can and never will know him; and without God the world never can and never will be saved. The knowledge of him must come from the gospel of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Bible, and this alone is able to save the world.—Religious Telescope. Congressman Roberts and Polygamy
REFERRING to the affair of Congressman Roberts, of Utah, a member of the House said: “If we keep Roberts out, we do so on the ground that he is living with women whom he has married. But what would we do if some one were to rise and object to the taking of the oath by a man who is known to be living with women to whom he was never married? There are such men about to take their seats, but I have not heard of any hue and cry against them.” And another member said that although this was all true, it seemed that nobody cared to raise any hue and cry against these.