Earlier text: THEY CAN NOT BE SEPARATEDTHE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL.
By E. A. Morey
“For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Rom. 1:16. While the Gospel of Christ is so simple that a child may receive the benefits it offers, it is so comprehensive and deep in meaning that it has never been fathomed by the stoutest mind nor keenest intellect. Notice the condition upon which its advantages are proffered,—“To every one that believeth.” As Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith, and is no respecter of persons, why are not all receivers of the power of the Gospel, and salvation thus be assured to every one? While it is true that God has made provision for universal salvation, it is also true, “Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.” Mark 10:15. It is by the inestimable gift of faith that a child begins to receive a knowledge of things; and, finally, to prepare the way for receiving the treasures of wisdom and knowledge expressed in the English language, by the same gift it learns the A, B, C’s. As all words are formed by associating the letters of the alphabet together, it can be truthfully said that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge contained in the English language are hid in the alphabet, through which these treasures are revealed to us. From John 17:3 we learn that it is eternal life to know God and Jesus Christ. Now as no man knows the Father but the Son and he to whom the Son reveals him (Matt. 11:27), it is evident that one must come to the Son before he can know the Father, and as no man knows the Son but the Father (Matt. 11:27), it is also clear that no man can come to the Son except the Father draw him (John 6:44). Whosoever, therefore, feels the drawing influence of the Spirit of God, let him know by this that God is doing all he can to save him. Again in Col. 2:3 we are told that in Christ “are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” As the words that he spoke were not his, but the Father’s (John 14:24), it must be the treasures and wisdom of God that are hid in Christ, thus making Christ the alphabet of God. In harmony with this thought Christ himself says, in Rev. 1:8, “I am Alpha and Omega,” Alpha being the first and Omega the last letter of the Greek alphabet. Being the first and the last, Christ is all the way through the alphabet of God. To learn Christ, then, as the alphabet of God, it takes the same act of faith, the same simplicity, manifested in a child in learning his letters. When his teacher says a certain character is A, the child with full confidence says A, having no disposition to doubt it, and so on, thus becoming acquainted with the alphabet; so we are to become acquainted with Christ. He is the Word. John 1:1, 14. His name is called The Word of God. Rev. 19:13. His life, power, and Spirit are in the word. John 6:63; 1 Peter 1:23; Heb. 1:3; Ps. 33:6. In short, Christ is incarnate in the word as he was incarnate in the flesh. “The Word was made flesh.” In John 6:53–63 Christ himself teaches us that the word is his flesh, the spiritual food of life. He, therefore, who sees no more in the word of God than he sees in the same words when uttered by man, sees no more than the Pharisees saw in Christ,—nothing but humanity. Then we are to take the word believing it for ourselves. “Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God.” “Let God be true, but every man [which includes ourselves] a liar.” Rom. 3:4. Let us heed the words, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself,” thus emptying ourselves of self as Christ did. So will we become acquainted with him and know him. When the alphabet is all learned by the little ones in school, they begin to read. Often they will read in concert, all saying the same thing at the same time. But what a spectacle it would be to hear the various Christian sects attempt to read their faiths in concert! Knowing God as we think he is has been the principal cause of this confusion. Many have gone so far in expressing their idea of God as to say that this is as God would have it. But God expressed his own idea in 1 Cor. 1:10: “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” Others justify these different ways by saying that as there are many ways leading into the city of Chicago, so these conflicting faiths are the different ways leading to the city of God. But the Lord says, “I am the way.” John 14:6. He that “climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.” John 10:1. To know God is to know him as he is, as he says he is, having his own idea of himself, as expressed in his word through Christ. As we associate the letters of the alphabet together, forming words to express the thoughts of the writer, so in the Bible we have Christ in every word, thus making every word a letter of the alphabet of God. These words associated together express the thoughts of God. As we feast on his words (Jer. 15:16), forsaking our ways and thoughts (Isa. 55:7–9), we think the thoughts of God over after him, and so become like him, “for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Prov. 23:7. Thus we are brought into harmony and perfect agreement with God. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Rom. 5:1. Moses once said to the Lord, “Show me now thy way, that I may know thee.” To know God fully means a conformity to, as well as a knowledge of, his way. The way or will of a sovereign is most clearly revealed in his law. Paul taught that those who knew God’s will were instructed out of his law. Rom. 2:18. Then to know God implies the keeping of his commandments: “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” 1 John 2:4. And that part of the moral law that reveals the true God in a special sense is the fourth commandment. Eze. 20:20. Then he who seeks to destroy God’s Sabbath is doing what he can to destroy one of the strongest pillars upon which a knowledge of the true God depends—a knowledge necessary to man’s salvation. This is war against God, and not peace. Now, while the Lord is finishing his work and cutting it short in righteousness (Rom. 9:28), may the reader and the writer so behold in the word the glory of the Lord that we shall thus become changed into the same image (2 Cor. 3:18), and be among those who “shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion” (Isa. 52:8.) Salvation Exemplified in Christ
By T. H. Starbuck
THE INTERRELATION OF THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL. NO. 13.
Salvation Exemplified in Christ.
God has revealed his saving power to the world in the person of Jesus Christ. The operation of his grace is exemplified in his perfect, sinless life. Sin imposes such conditions that it is impossible to reach the lost without a visible manifestation of the workings of saving grace. Jesus said, “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” There are numerous reasons why such an exhibition of saving power is necessary; but a few only will be considered:— 1. Sin has such tendencies that moral instruction alone can not reach man and reclaim him. The effort of the sinner to extricate himself is rendered nugatory by the nature of sin. “By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified.” Perfect music can not be produced by an imperfect instrument. Neither can the divine force of the law produce in man a sinless life, because of the imperfections of the flesh. The secret of that inability of the flesh lies in the carnality which must be destroyed by crucifixion before the grace of God can have free course in man; and an example showing how that work is accomplished became necessary to open the doorway of faith. Such an exhibition is given to the world in the perfect life of Christ. 2. Man is so constituted by nature that an example, or model, is better fitted to transform the life and elevate the character than precept or oral instruction alone. The perfect life of our Saviour is the model which, if imitated, makes the transformation of character an absolute certainty. We are “to run with patience the race set before us, looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith;” and as we look we “are changed into the same image.” Jesus set that race before us by running it himself in a perfect, sinless life, while encompassed by all the frailties of human nature with which men have to contend. Taking our nature upon him, he was made perfect by the things which he suffered, and thus became the Author of eternal salvation to all who follow him. Heb. 5:8, 9. Man finds it impossible by his own strength to discontinue the life of sin. This truth is revealed in many scriptures. God’s grace is sufficient to save man from the servitude of sin; but man can know that only as it is exemplified in Christ. The knowledge and the glory of saving grace are revealed only through him. In order to have a perfect illustration of saving power it was necessary for Jesus to come into the world in the form of man. There is much confusion in the minds of men relative to the nature of Christ as he revealed himself to the world. The darkness of sin leads the mind to theorize rather than to believe the simple statements of truth. The Bible speaks definitely in regard to all that we need to know. There are profound mysteries in regard to the incarnation, for a finite mind can not measure the infinite power of God. The mysteries connected with Christ clearly reveal his divinity. If there were nothing in the Bible which our minds could not fathom, there would be no evidence6of divinity revealed in it, and consequently nothing superior to human power. The pre-existence of Christ, the nature he assumed in his incarnation, and how he could pass from an immortal, independent state of existence to a moral, dependent one, are questions that have agitated the minds of thinking men for ages; and yet all are made sufficiently clear in the word to insure our salvation. Christ is called God in many scriptures, and he existed from eternity. It is positively stated that he was made flesh and in humanity revealed God in his divine characteristics to the world. God’s power to save sinful man could not be properly manifested in the person of Christ unless he became man. Some of the scriptures touching the nature of Christ incarnate will here be considered to elucidate the statements above:— 1. Christ “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.” Phil. 2:7. 2. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1. 3. “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” John 1:14. 4. “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same. . . . Verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren.” Heb. 2:14–17. 5. God sent his Son “in the likeness of sinful flesh.” Rom. 8:3. 6. He “was made of the seed of David according to the flesh.” Rom. 1:3. 7. “God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law.” Gal. 4:4, 5. 8. “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” 2 Cor. 8:9. 9. “Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.” Heb. 5:7, 8. 10. “Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness; God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” 1 Tim. 3:16. 11. “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.” 2 Cor. 5:19. 12. “I can of mine own self do nothing.” John 5:30. 13. “But the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” John 14:10. 14. “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself.” John 5:26. 15. “Now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” John 17:5. 16. Christ “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Heb. 4:15. 17. “God can not be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man; but every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” James 1:13, 14. 18. “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin.” (He was made to assume our sinful nature, that we might be saved.) 2 Cor. 5:21. 19. “Who his own self bare our sins [sinful nature] in his own body on the tree.” 1 Peter 2:24. The conclusions below are drawn from this array of divine truth. The numbers placed after each proposition refer to the scriptures above which establish it. The reader will please consider them carefully. 1. Christ was God from eternity, and existed in glory with the Father before the world was created. 2, 15. 2. When he appeared in the flesh, he divested himself of his glory; for his riches were all laid aside. The wealth of the Godhead was exchanged for the poverty and humiliation of humanity. 1, 3, 4, 12, 16. 3. Before his humiliation his divinity was inherent, for it was his by nature; and this constituted his riches and glory. In his humiliation the divinity was dependent, for it was a gift from the Father; and thus he became poor for our sakes by taking our nature and dependent condition. 8, 9, 12, 16. 4. In his incarnation he was human in the fullest sense; for he had sinful flesh, with all its accumulated tendencies to evil; and in our nature he was tempted in all points as men are tempted. Environed with the frailties of our nature, he sought divine help, pleading with the Father for divine power by which alone he could overcome and hold a complete victory over the evil tendencies of humanity; and he was heard, and received that for which he sought. 4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 13, 16, 17. 5. It was through the human nature that he was tempted; for the divine nature is incapable of being tempted with evil. If the divine nature in him had been inherent instead of a gift from the Father, temptations would have been impossible. 16, 17. 6. When Christ took our nature, emptied of his own inherent divinity, God appeared in him; and Christ, as revealed in the Gospel, was divinity veiled in humanity. It was humanity with the divine nature dwelling in it. 4, 7, 11, 13. 7. While the divine nature was incapable of temptation, he was tempted through the human nature to use the divine power received from the Father, to save himself. 17, compared with Matthew 4. 8. He resisted temptation and lived a sinless life by the presence of the divine nature imparted to him from the Father. 12, 13. 9. All this was done in order that man might be made acquainted with God’s willingness to unite his divine nature with humanity in its weakness and poverty, to save man from the power of sin. 18, 19, compared with Rom. 8:3, 4; Isa. 53:4, 5. 10. It is not imputed to us as sin that we are borne with sinful flesh, or that we are tempted in that nature; for Christ voluntarily assumed that nature and was tempted in it, yet without sin. 4, 16. It is concluded then that God had a purpose in the incarnation of his Son. It was to exemplify his saving grace in the person of his Son, that the lost might see that operation of his power illustrated, and also have a perfect model of a sinless life to which they might attain by his grace. “Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.” 1 John 3:3. We are saved by his life, that is, by adopting it. Rom. 5:10. “The good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” John 10:11. In order to illustrate practically the operation of divine grace, it was necessary for Christ to empty himself of all the wealth of the Godhead, or the attributes of divinity, and take the nature and attributes of those who were lost. The operation of saving power could not be exemplified in the divine nature. Man is not capable of understanding it, or believing it, only as it is revealed in his own nature. Notice how perfectly it is all revealed in Christ. He assumed our sinful flesh, with its inherent sinful tendencies. He was tempted in that nature as we are tempted. The carnal nature must be crucified or destroyed before the righteousness of the law can appear in the life. Christ abolished (destroyed, or made powerless) that nature in his flesh. Eph. 2:15. Unless it operates in us in the same way, we are not saved from sin. But the abolition of the “enmity” in Christ’s flesh refers not only to his crucifixion on the cross, but to his whole life in the flesh. Paul caught the divine idea when he said, “I am crucified with Christ,” and, “They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh, with its affections and lusts,” and, “I die daily.” When the flesh, with its affections and lusts, is placed upon the cross, there begins a new life; for the law of the Spirit of life is at work in the heart. The law of the Spirit of life is the Spirit’s mode of operation, or the moral law. And so it is true that “the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” It slays the carnal nature; it imparts new life; it turns all the energies of the soul into the line of righteousness; and its power to do this was revealed by its operation in Christ. If the natural tendencies of the law are not toward a righteous life, then there is no use for law. God’s grace places a man where his laws can work out their natural tendencies in him. The operation of the Spirit is law; and the operation of law as seen in Christ’s life is the Gospel. The law of the Spirit of life in him kept him from sin; and if we choose to let its divine force into our hearts, it will do the same for us that it did in him. That same law of the Spirit of life is at work in Christ Jesus now, and if we will let the Saviour into our hearts, it will do its saving work in us, making us free. It will destroy the carnal nature and free us from the condemnation of the law; and it will make us free from the power of sin. If we welcome Christ into the heart, we shall overcome as he overcame; and we shall have the privilege of being like him, because we shall have the Spirit of life at work in us, changing us into the same image. LIGHT VERSUS DARKNESS.
By J. E. Evans
LIGHT is opposed to darkness, and, in its operations and effects, it is clearly seen that it is governed by a distinct and particular law. In creation, light preceded animal and vegetable life. Light will cause and preserve life; but where total darkness remains, the property of life is inactive, and life finally becomes extinct. The results plainly show that organic life is controlled by a definite law, which is subordinate to that of light. If we desire to illuminate a room, we do not seek to drive out the darkness, but place a light in the midst of the darkness, and it is immediately dispelled. Light is health, darkness is disease. All desire to enjoy health, but many refuse the light, which alone can bring it. They carefully close the doors and windows of their dwellings, and thus exclude from their homes this celestial boon. They place a higher value upon the paper on the wall, or the carpet upon the floor, than upon their own lives. Life in inanimate creation inclines toward the light. This inclination is the result, not of the plant’s inherent power, but of the power of light, and the willingness of the plant to be controlled by that power. The earth annually recedes from, and again approaches toward, the sun, and the effects are seen and realized by all. The results are not7so apparent at first, but the farther it recedes, the more visible are the effects, until that part once so beautified by nature, becomes a wilderness, enveloped in ice and snow. When it again returns, ice and snow give place to refreshing streams and showers; and these cause the signs of life everywhere to appear, and the beauties of nature to abound. These beauties then exist in such variety as to lead all who behold to admire the handiwork of God; yet there are really no such beauties to him who is blind, because his body is full of darkness. The beauty, then, is in the light, not in the eye; and until the light enters the eye, the beauty can not be seen. A man may be clothed in a gorgeous robe, but if he remains in the dark, those colors can not be seen. But let him come into the light and no effort is needed to reveal the colors, for the color is in the light. “And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night.” These two great lights are the sun and moon. The “greater” was to measure the day, and furnish the light for both day and night, while the “lesser” was only to give to the earth the light it received from the greater, and this is done while the sun is not visibly present. Sometimes the sun rises while the moon is still in sight, and, though the light of the moon is the sun’s light, it is gradually lost sight of in the increasing brightness of the superior light. If it were possible for us to follow through space the light coming from the moon, we would soon see that the light does not originate with the moon, but is received from the sun and reflected to the earth; and we could thus gain, even at night, an uninterrupted view of the source of light. Light makes no noise. It goes silently and faithfully about its work—seen but not heard. In the consideration of these few thoughts upon the subject of light, it is only that we may see more clearly what the Saviour designed to teach us upon the same subject. As physical life is dependent upon physical light, so spiritual life is dependent upon spiritual light; and in the study of these we observe many interesting parallels, and see in each case the same fixed law. God’s word in the beginning operated upon a world enveloped in darkness; the same word now has to do with a world spiritually dark. In Isa. 60:2 we read, “For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people.” The cause of this condition is distinctly stated in Eph. 4:17, 18: “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.” Our first parents were warned that death would be the immediate result of disobedience. They disobeyed, by the consent of the mind, and, by believing another than God, received another mind. Thus the understanding was darkened, and the heart blinded. By the Word they were made to live; by faith in the same Word their lives would be continued, and when once lost, must be regained by faith in that Word. “Unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings.” Mal. 4:2. “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me.” John 12:32. Jesus said, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:5. And John says of him, “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” John 1:9. The term “man” does not mean those alone who have lived or may live since Christ was on earth; for he is “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Rev. 13:8. He alone can give life, and the patriarchs and prophets of ancient times manifested their faith in this fundamental truth by taking the life of innocent victims—the types of “the Lamb of God, which beareth [margin] away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. Christ’s mission was to bring life and immortality to light, and to abolish death. By faith in the promise of God, pardon of sin is obtained. Pardon is the taking away of sin; and when sin is taken away, the consequence, death, is of necessity removed. This leaves the believer in possession of life—the life of Christ, which is eternal. This life is the light of men (John 1:4); and its Author has promised that all who follow him “shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). Thus all who are saved, from the days of Adam to the close of time, must be saved by the life of Christ, “for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12. Life is not a dream. It is not made up of words alone, but of deeds as well. We hear what men say, but see what they do; and the greater power of the latter over the former is well expressed in the old maxim, “Actions speak louder than words.” In the life of Christ alone do we find a perfect combination of words and deeds. This is the light of men. But since light is neither heard nor felt, but seen, how can any one be saved? For all men are blinded by sin. The word says, “Anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.” Rev. 3:18. If we can not do so ourselves, we may feel after the great Physician (Acts 17:26, 27), who is waiting to recognize the touch of faith (Luke 8:43–48) and to give the healing hand (John 9:5–7). Here is encouragement for all. If you, dear reader, have not yet found this precious Saviour, you can do so “at this time.” Rom. 3:26. If you have found him, and, in your quiet home life, feel that you can do but little for those around you, do not be discouraged. Think of the sunlight. It goes about its work without a word, bringing to all the necessities of life in the blessings of light. Christ is not with us in person to-day, but is he not with us as truly now by his Holy Spirit and word as in person then? His life is the light of men, and the Scriptures are a record of that life. The word of God is light, for “in him is no darkness at all.” This is why David could say, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Ps. 119:105. “For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light.” Prov. 6:23. “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isa. 8:20. God is jealous of his word; and, although it is unsettled in the minds of men, it is forever “settled in heaven.” Ps. 119:89. Such was its importance that Christ came to earth to magnify it before the eyes of men. Isa. 42:21. In his life the law of God is “drawn out in living characters,” which are to abide forever. 1 Peter 1:23. This world was created that God might speak light upon it, and there manifest his glory. “He spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.” Ps. 33:9. The same word made us (John 1:1–3), that the glory of God might be seen upon us (Isa. 60:1, 2; Rev. 4:11). “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined into our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Cor. 4:6. “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Cor. 3:18. This is the new creation spoken of in Eph. 2:10, which is carried forward in the lives of those only who look steadfastly into the face of Jesus Christ, the “Sun of Righteousness,” and who feed continually upon the word of God. Matt. 4:4; Job 42:5; Eph. 4:20–24. He is the greater light, and we the lesser. As the moon is dark in itself, but borrows light from the sun, reflecting it upon the earth in the night, so we, who have no light in ourselves, can reflect light upon those who sit in darkness, when “the dayspring from on high hath visited us.” Luke 1:77–79. When this takes place, no effort is needed to show our colors, but others in seeing our good works will be led to glorify our Father which is in heaven. “IN THE SWIM”—WHAT? WHO?
By Parrie L. H. Roberson
BY PARRIE L. H. ROBERSON. This slang phrase very appropriately expresses a much-sought-for position in fashionable society. Just what the expression means we may more fully appreciate after trying the use of a rather homely, though very natural, method of illustration. Gather a cluster of ripe wheat heads, rub briskly until the wheat and the chaff separate, and throw all into a pail of water. There! what do you see “in the swim”? Why, you can see nothing but the chaff, for the wheat is lying quietly on the bottom of the vessel. The pretty white caps of ocean foam glide beautifully over the dark, heaving billows, but the coveted pearls of great price are away down in the deep sea. Now let us turn and go over to that vat of boiling molasses, and see what we find upon the surface there. Well, here we see the scum “in the swim,” rising and riding triumphantly over the pure, sweet syrup. So we find the worthless chaff, the light ocean foam, and the filthy scum all occupying the same exalted position. If you feel envious of those who are in the high swim of popularity, remember it is usually just the light, impure nothings that float upon the surface—only gaudy bubbles of emptiness. Why should you envy them? Rather let pity take the place of envy: “Let not thine heart envy sinners; but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long.” Prov. 23:17. “Few and evil are our days” and “our years are as a tale that is told.” If our life is full of vanity, it is “like the chaff, which the wind driveth away.” “As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.” Ps. 103:15, 16. Thus the psalmist beautifully illustrates and yet seems to sadly lament the frailty of mortal man. Now let us return to our vessel of water8containing the wheat and the chaff. Look again and observe more closely; you may see something else “in the swim.” Examine very carefully; it is difficult to distinguish this rather unnatural substance from the chaff, inasmuch as its position is precisely the same. You have decided that it is imperfect wheat; you are right; every swimming grain is dwarfed and shriveled. But it seems very inconsistent for it to have the form of wheat and yet hold the same position as the chaff. But the reason for this is obvious; it is simply because it has not weight enough in itself to hold it down where the wheat properly belongs. Not one floating grain contains the germ of life. Would it be amiss for us to use these faulty grains to illustrate the moral worth of those spoken of in 2 Tim. 3:5, as “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof”? Paul, after giving Timothy a full description of the above-named classes, gives him this wholesome advice: “From such turn away.” But before we turn away from our pail, we will just tip it over and let the contents out upon the ground. There! the water that lifted the light, chaffy substance so high above the lowly wheat, has quickly flowed away and left all upon the same low level. And just as the water has flowed from under the chaff, leaving it humbled in the dust, from which it is unable to arise, inasmuch as it has no power nor merit in itself, so it is with proud, scornful man who trusts to worldly honor and earthly riches as his only security, when the uncertain waters of wealth have ceased to hold him up “in the swim;” then is he left upon his own resources, greatly humiliated. How this illustration calls to mind the words of the ancient man of wisdom, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Prov. 16: 18. “The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit. Before destruction the heart of man is haughty; and before honor is humility.” Prov. 18: 11, 12. “All are of the dust, and all return to dust again.” Eccl. 3: 20. Solomon, after he had ascended to the very pinnacle of earthly wealth and fame, says: “Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do; and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.” Eccl. 2:11. Nevertheless he again declares, “By humility and the fear of the Lord, are riches, and honor, and life.” And this wealth and honor and life will be profitable throughout eternity. Once more we will return to the spot where we left the subjects of our illustration. Several weeks of blustering, stormy weather, intermingled with frosty nights and days of warm sunshine, have passed since we last turned from our then bright new pail and its humbled contents. It is a lovely morning in May. The shining vessel has disappeared, and in its place a beautiful clump of tall green grass is waving in the sunlight. Every grain of sound wheat has taken root in the earth, and all are raising their tender, verdant arms higher each day, showing their appreciation of the warm baths of sunshine and nourishing sprays of heaven. In a few more swift-passing weeks, they will with one accord uplift their ripening heads to receive each a golden crown of glory. Yes, we see the once lowly, yet good, sound wheat now grandly waving high above the old, weather-beaten, rusty bucket; and it seems to modestly smile at the remembrance of its once helpless condition under the chaff. But where is the chaff,
The light, swimming chaff,
That prominent chaff,
That was ever on top? Well, you will hardly be able to find either the chaff or the faulty wheat, for the same driving wind that covered the grain with loose earth, carried the chaff away in every direction and to sure destruction. The same pelting rain that caused the good seed to burst into life, proved the utter worthlessness of the ill-natured wheat. What proved a blessing to the good, brought disaster to the bad. Now that we have made the chaff and the bad wheat to represent the classes of people who swim high in the corrupt seas of popularity, it certainly would be proper to use the good seed to illustrate (or represent) the true, humble children of God. When the loud-roaring tempests of adversity sweep over the true followers of Christ, and the buffeting storms of bitter persecution fall heavily upon them, then will they cling closer and firmer to the foot of the cross of their Saviour, with the arms of living faith, never attempting to sail above the cross of Calvary in the proud waters of sin; for their “life is hid with Christ in God,” and when Christ, their life, shall appear, then shall they appear with him in glory. Col. 3:3, 4. Then shall they “receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” 1 Peter 5:4. In all this we see the sure and fatal results of a life of vanity, and the uselessness of having the form of godliness while enjoying the social “swim” of popularity; and we also see the glorious reward awaiting the humble and obedient. We can not have all the pleasures of this world and the eternal glory of heaven. “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.” And just as surely as God exalts in due time those who humble themselves, just as certainly will he greatly humble those who vainly exalt themselves in this temporary life of sin, and their abasement will be terrible in that great day of just rewards. “When Jesus shall gather the nations,
Before him at last to appear,
Then how shall we stand in the judgment,
When summoned our sentence to hear?” “He will gather the wheat in his garner,
But the chaff will he scatter away,
Then how shall we stand in the judgment
Of the great resurrection day?” Surely we do not care to be “in the swim,” for those who depend upon the unstable waters of this world’s ocean for support, are driven about by every wind of doctrine over the uncertain and changeable waves, and in a “little while” shall pass away; and, though you may “diligently” seek them, they shall “not be found.” “But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” Ps. 37:11. NOTE this down: Acrimony is not essential to fidelity. On the contrary, acrimony needs fidelity in its own case. It needs to be told that a keen, smooth, oiled razor cuts more quickly, deeper, surely, less painfully, and less brutally than a blunt hatchet. Nevertheless, we should welcome the fidelity—loving or unloving, sweet or acrimonious—which shows us our faults. We should take the unloving as we would a bitter but salutary medicine. If the administrator declines to sugar-coat it, we would act foolishly if, therefore, we should reject it. Even if we must make a wry face over it, better swallow it down—the quicker the better, so as to get as little as possible of the disagreeable taste.