International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jul 8, 1886
General Articles.
By Mrs. E. G. White
The Christian a Missionary Worker.
BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
"He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."
NONE of us should feel content to save merely our own souls. Jesus, our perfect Pattern, left the royal courts of Heaven. He gave up his high command, and the glory that he had with the Father, and for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. He labored in his vineyard among the hills of Galilee, and at last bedewed with his own blood the seed which he had sown. When the harvest of the earth shall be gathered into Heaven's garner, and Christ shall look upon the saints redeemed, he will see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied.
Those who appreciate the plan of salvation, the infinite price paid for man's redemption, will not live for themselves alone. They will have the deepest interest to save their fellow-men, that Christ may not have died for them in vain. All Heaven is interested in the salvation of souls, and all who are partakers of the heavenly benefits will feel an intense anxiety that this interest manifested in Heaven may not be in vain. They will on earth co-operate with the angels in Heaven, by manifesting their appreciation of the value of souls for whom Christ has died. They will, through their earnest, judicious labor, bring many to the fold of Christ. Not one who is a partaker of the divine nature will be indifferent in this matter. The world is our field; with a firm hold on God for his strength and his grace we may move forward in the pathway of duty, as co-laborers with the Redeemer of the world. Our work is to spread the light of truth and advance the work of moral reform, to elevate, ennoble, and bless humanity. We should apply the principles of Christ's sermon on the mount to every move that we make, and then trust the consequences with God.
"I say unto you that likewise joy shall be in Heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance." "Likewise, I say unto you there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." If God and Christ and angels rejoice when even one sinner repents and becomes obedient to Christ, should not man be imbued with the same spirit, and work for time and for eternity with persevering effort to save, not only his own soul, but the souls of others? If you work in this direction with whole-hearted interest as the followers of Christ, discharging every duty, improving every opportunity, your own souls will be gradually settling into the mould of a perfect Christian. The heart will not be sere and unfeeling. The spiritual life will not be dwarfed. The heart will glow with the impress of the divine image; for it will be in close sympathy with God. The whole life will flow out with cheerful readiness in channels of love and sympathy for humanity. Self will be forgotten, and the ways of this class will be established in God. In watering others, their own souls will be watered. The stream flowing through their souls is from a living spring, and is flowing out to others in good deeds, in earnest, unselfish effort for their salvation. In order to be a fruitful tree, the soul must derive its support and nourishment from the Fountain of life, and must be in harmony with the Creator.
All who are faithful workers for God will yield their spirit and all their powers a willing sacrifice to him. The Spirit of God operating upon their spirit calls forth the sacred harmonies of the soul in answer to the divine touch. This is true sanctification, as revealed in the word of God. It is the work of a lifetime. And that which the Spirit of God has begun upon the earth for the perfection of man, glory shall crown in the mansions of God. Those who are indolent and half-caring know not true happiness and peace. They are losing, even in this life; and what glory they lose in the future immortal life! I wish I could speak words to men and women which would nerve them to diligent action. The moments now granted us to work are few. We are standing upon the very borders of the eternal world. We have no time to lose. Every moment is golden, and altogether too precious to be devoted merely to self-serving. Who will seek God earnestly, and from him draw strength and grace to be his faithful workers in the missionary field? Individual effort is essential for the success of this work. The ease-loving and self-caring, the worldly, ambitious ones will be ashamed to engage perseveringly in the tract and missionary work. Some may take hold of it impulsively, but they will not be able to bear rebuffs, and sneers, and contempt. These soon become weary in well-doing, and fall back to their own position of living and caring for self. For such there will be no reward in Heaven, for Christ is to give to every one as his works shall be.
It is essential that all who have named the name of Christ have a personal knowledge of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. They should understand the Scriptures for themselves. All indifference and lethargy must be overcome. Work, work, is crowding upon the few who are willing and obedient. They overwork because they see so much to do and so few who are willing to lift the burden and bear the yoke of Christ. Many who see the work for this time, and realize its importance, are pressed under the weight of responsibility as a cart beneath sheaves, while hundreds are dying a spiritual death of inaction because they will not work at all. These might come into working order if they would gather divine strength, and yield not to passing influences. They have the opportunity to cultivate traits of character which would be the opposite of selfishness, which would refine, enrich, and ennoble their lives. These may grow in spirituality if they will accept any burdens of the work where they can best serve the cause of God. Christians, in the fullest acceptation of the term, grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. They love God more and more, and are more and more desirous of acting a part in the great plan of salvation. Intellectual laziness and spiritual lethargy must be overcome, and as Christ's soldiers we must be faithful to duty, ready for every good work.
The sweet savor of Christ surrounds them; their influence is to elevate and bless. These are fruitful trees. Men and women of this stamp of character will render practical service in thoughtful deeds of kindness, and earnest, systematic labor. Self-importance, vanity, and pride should in no case be mingled with the sacred work. Those who become lifted up because they can do something in the cause of God, will be in danger of marring the work by their self-conceit, and they will ruin their own souls. All who are connected with the work of God should make their mission as attractive as possible, that they may create no distaste for the truth in consequence of their demeanor. Self must be hid in Jesus, and those who labor for God must have characters with a pleasant flavor. Now is the time to put forth earnest efforts. Men and women are needed to work in the great missionary field with determined effort, praying, and weeping, sowing the precious seed of truth in imitation of the Redeemer, who was the Prince of missionaries.
He who gives increased talents to those who have made a wise improvement of the talents intrusted to them, is pleased to acknowledge the service of his believing people in the Beloved, through whose strength and grace they have wrought. Those who have sought the development and perfection of Christian character by exercising their faculties in good works, in sowing the seeds of truth beside all waters, will in the world to come, reap that which they have sown. The work begun upon402earth will reach its consummation in the higher and holier life, to endure through all eternity. The self-denial and self-sacrifice required in the cultivation of the heart in doing the works of Christ, will be infinitely overbalanced by the rich reward of the eternal weight of glory, the joys of the life which measures with the life of God.
If the Christian thrives and progresses at all, he must do so amid strangers to God, amid scoffing, subject to ridicule. He must stand upright like the palm tree in the desert. The sky may be as brass, the desert sand may beat about the palm tree's roots, and pile itself in heaps about its trunk. Yet the tree lives as an evergreen, fresh and vigorous amid the burning desert sands. Remove the sand till you reach the rootlets of the palm tree, and you discover the secret of its life; it strikes down deep beneath the surface, to the secret waters hidden in the earth. Christians indeed may be fitly represented by the palm tree. They are like Enoch; although surrounded by corrupting influences, their faith takes hold of the Unseen. They walk with God, deriving strength and grace from him to withstand the moral pollution surrounding them. Like Daniel in the courts of Babylon, they stand pure and uncontaminated; their life is hid with Christ in God. They are virtuous in spirit amid depravity; they are true and loyal, fervent and zealous, while surrounded by infidels, hypocritical professors, godless and worldly men. Their faith and life are hid with Christ in God. Jesus is in them a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Faith, like the rootlets of the palm tree, penetrates beneath the things which are seen, drawing spiritual nourishment from the Fountain of life.
The character of the true Christian will be consistent, meek, cheerful, fragrant with good works, and so resolute that sin will find no sanction in the heart, in the words uttered, or in silence. The peace of Christ ruling in the heart of the earnest, working Christian will be reflected upon others; and will elevate and refine the taste, and sanctify the judgment. The faithful sower of the seed will hear the commendation of the Master, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant, . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." What is the joy of our Lord? It is the joy of seeing souls for whom Christ died redeemed in the kingdom of glory. Those who enter into the joys of their Lord will have the blessed satisfaction of seeing souls saved in the mansions of God through their instrumentality. These souls will be as stars in the crown of their rejoicing.
CHOSEN OUT OF THE WORLD.
By Malachi Taylor
LORD, be thou all in all to me,
My spirit keep in meekness,
'Midst all the ills that fall to me,
And all the foes that call to me,
For I am naught but weakness;
Hold thou me up when failing,
Defend from all assailing,
Be thou alone a wall to me.
The way on earth is drear to me,
The lights on earth grow dimmer;
Things in this scene, once dear to me,
As hindrances appear to me,
And I, a feeble swimmer,
The world's deep current breasting,
Its treacherous power testing,
Must know thee, Christ, then near to me.
In everything I fly to thee,
O thou, my shield and guerdon!
Thy love holds me so nigh to thee,
I need not even cry to thee,
My want becomes thy burden;
Thou knowest ere the telling
The wish my bosom swelling,
Clear as thy loved one's sigh to thee.
Break sight's delusive spell to me,
And break earth's idols wholly;
Reveal all that is well to me
In thy pure sight, and tell to me,
To occupy me solely,
More of thy cross and glory,
Heaven's richest, deepest story;
And all things else expel to me.
—Malachi Taylor, in Christian at Work.
How Weak!
By R. F. Cottrell
A RECENT writer who has learned that it is unscriptural to talk of "the undying soul," "the immortal soul," and "the deathless principle in man," after repudiating these phrases, still sets himself at the task of sustaining the same unscriptural theory to express which these very phrases were coined. The well-informed know that these phrases are unscriptural; and all ought to know that it is unscriptural doctrines that demand unscriptural words and phrases, and call them into existence. They are needed to express the doctrine; and if they are repudiated, the theory which called them into existence should be repudiated also.
The writer quotes, "All souls are mine; the soul that sinneth, it shall die," and in explanation says, "In other words, 'it shall be separated from me.' God said to the children of Israel, 'Your sins have separated between you and your God.'" Still further to explain this threatened death, he quotes, "You hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins."
Is it a death in sins that is meant in the threatening, "The soul that sinneth it shall die"? The sinner is already dead in this sense; and to threaten this death is meaningless. To suit this explanation the text should read, the soul that sinneth is dead. Such expositions are weak. To me they look silly.
The prophet again says, "When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die." Eze. 18:26. It is evident that this threatening relates to a final settlement, after the career of sin is finished. "Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." Jas. 1:15. Does it simply mean that the judgment shall decree that the man who has spent his life in sin, shall forever be a sinner? Wicked men seem to enjoy such punishment—they love their sins. They do not dread separation from God.
R. F. COTTRELL.
The Change of the Sabbath.
By C. P. Bollman
(Continued.)
FROM the facts which have been given it is clear, (1) "As it is admitted, that we must go to later than apostolic times for the establishment of Sunday observance;" (2) That Sunday was the festival of the pagans; (3) That with the pagan converts to Christianity, "patriotism gladly united with expediency in making it [Sunday] at once their Lord's day and their Sabbath;" (4) That it was a Roman Catholic council that first decreed that the first day of the week should be kept instead of the seventh day. Therefore we must conclude that the practice of Sunday-keeping was introduced into the church through pagan influence, and that, like many other heathen customs, it was first endorsed, and afterwards enforced by the church and bishops of Rome; and that still later the same power decreed that the first day should supersede the ancient Sabbath; hence we say that the change was made by the Papal power, the "man of sin," the power that Daniel said should "think to change times and laws."
The fact that the Papacy was not fully established till many years after the observance of Sunday had become quite general, does not militate in the least against this position; for while we may to some extent distinguish between the "mystery of iniquity" which Paul said was already working in his day, and the fully established Papacy, yet we cannot deny that they are one and the same power. It is a common saying that the United States has had two wars with England; but technically it has had but one; for the United States, as such, had no existence till the adoption of the constitution in A. D. 1788—certainly not till after the Revolutionary War, for until that time what is now only a part of the United States was the thirteen colonies—but nevertheless it is in deed and in truth the same power; and so are Paul's "mystery of iniquity"—the "man of sin" in his infancy—and the fully established Papacy one and the same.
Paul said that there should come a falling away, that is, there should be a great departure from the truth, and he added: "The mystery of iniquity doth already work;" that is, the apostasy had already begun. So then any error, I care not what, that was introduced into the church however early, if it was retained and made a part of the fully matured Papal system, may properly be charged to that power. Otherwise the Papacy is responsible for very few of its abominations; for with but few exceptions, they were introduced into the church before the Bishop of Rome attained that pre-eminence which marks the beginning of the 1260 years of Papal supremacy spoken of in Dan. 7:25; Rev. 12:6, 13, 14; 13:5, 6.
Thus far in this examination, no mention has been made of Constantine's famous Sunday decree, and its influence upon the action of the church in the fourth century. This edict was issued A. D. 321, and is worthy of some notice,
though it makes no mention whatever of Sunday as a Christian festival. Nor is that at all strange since, according to Mosheim (a most excellent authority), at the time of the promulgation of the rescript, and for two years thereafter, Constantine was not even professedly a Christian—if indeed he was ever anything more. But upon this point a single extract must suffice:—
"The sincerity of the man, who in a short period affected such amazing changes in the religious world, is best known to Him who searches the heart. Certain is it that his subsequent life furnished no evidence of conversion to God. He waded without remorse through seas of blood, and was a most tyrannical prince."—Marsh's Eccl. Hist., period 3, chap. 5.
Both the character of the man, not only before, but also after his so-called conversion, and the decree itself, go far toward proving that the famous "sabbatical" edict of Constantine was, in very truth, only the outgrowth of a heathen superstition, having no reference whatever to any Christian feature which may, at that time, have been supposed by some to attach to the first day of the week. The decree is as follows:—
"Let all the judges and town people, and the occupation of all trades, rest on the venerable day of the sun; but let those who are situated in the country, freely and at full liberty, attend to the business of agriculture; because it often happens that no other day is so fit for sowing corn and planting vines; lest, the critical moment being let slip, men should lose the commodities granted by Heaven."
It will be noticed that it is "the venerable day of the sun" which is to be honored, and that there is not the slightest intimation that its observance has anything whatever to do with Christianity. Upon this point Milman, the learned editor of Gibbon, says:—
"The rescript commanding the celebration of the Christian Sabbath, bears no allusion to its peculiar sanctity as a Christian institution. It is the day of the sun which is to be observed by the general veneration; the courts were to be closed, and the noise and tumult of public business and legal litigation were no longer to violate the repose of the sacred day. But the believer in the new paganism, of which the solar worship was the characteristic, might acquiesce without scruple in the sanctity of the first day of the week."—History of Christianity, book 3, chap. 1.
Again in book 3, chap. 4, Milman remarks: "In fact, as we have before observed, the day of the sun would be willingly hallowed by almost all the pagan world, especially that part which had admitted any tendency towards the oriental theology."
Thus it appears even from the testimony of those who would naturally wish to find in this decree some Christian feature, that it was purely a heathen edict; therefore we will be doing the memory of the "first Christian emperor" no injustice by accepting the following from Gibbon as fully explaining Constantine's true motive for the edict:—
"The devotion of Constantine was more peculiarly directed to the genius of the sun, the Apollo of Greek and Roman mythology; and he was pleased to be represented with the symbols of the God of light and poetry. . . . The altars of Apollo were crowned with the votive offerings of Constantine, and the credulous multitude were taught to believe that the emperor was permitted to behold with mortal eyes the visible majesty of their tutelar deity. . . . The sun was universally celebrated as the invincible guide and protector of Constantine."—Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, chap. 20.
In the light of these facts, what can we think of the learning or honesty of men who without a word of explanation as to the true nature of Constantine's decree, speak of it as403enjoining the observance of the "Christian Sabbath"? The decree was, beyond controversy, purely pagan; but that fact did not prevent those Christian converts from paganism who through motives of "patriotism" and "expediency" had made "the Sunday of their neighbors and respective countrymen" "at once their Lord's day and their Sabbath," from turning it to the account of their now doubly sacred day. And so we find Eusebius, that eminent but cringing and flattering bishop, who was contemporary with Constantine, saying: "All things whatsoever that it was duty to do on the Sabbath, these we have transferred to the Lord's day." Upon this statement an able writer has remarked: "The persons here referred to as the authors of this work [or transfer] are the Emperor Constantine, and such bishops as Eusebius, who loved the favor of princes, and [Pope] Sylvester, the pretended successor of St. Peter."—Andrews' History of the Sabbath, page 359. C. P. BOLLMAN. (Concluded next week.)
The Conscience and the Law as Moral Guides.
By W. A. Blakely
NOAH WEBSTER, LL.D., in his unabridged dictionary, defines conscience as "the faculty, power, or principle which decides on the lawfulness or unlawfulness of our actions and affections, and approves or condemns them." Whewell, the English philosopher and scholar, also says: "The English word implies a moral standard of action in the mind." The conscience, therefore, being a faculty of the mind, is susceptible of education the same as other faculties. Hence, early training has much to do in forming the standard by which the conscience judges right and wrong. Different persons have different ideas in regard to what constitutes morality. But why is this? Simply because of education; we find that all have not the same rule, and, therefore, one conscience approves what another condemns as a most flagrant departure from moral rectitude.
Take, for illustration, the devout Hindoo mother who casts her child into the jaws of the crocodile; the abominable worshipers of Moloch who offered human sacrifices and caused their children to pass through the fire; the Catholics, who, during the Dark Ages, in the name of Christ, tortured and put to death in various ways over fifty millions of people; and the many other false systems of religion that teach, or have taught, practices which can but be held in condemnation by all who have had their minds enlightened by the word of God. Yet the conscience of these devotees of error approved their actions. Christ himself said to his followers, while he was yet on earth: "Yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service." These words have been strikingly fulfilled in the persecution of true Christians, with the supposition, on the part of the persecutors, that they were doing God service.
In contrast with the foregoing, the moral law, given by the Author of all righteousness, is ever the same; it is the infallible rule by which to test our lives. And this same law is the standard by which we shall finally be judged. Eccl. 12:13, 14; Jas. 2:12. Says David: "The law of the Lord is perfect;" and "through thy precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way." Ps. 19:7; 119:104. Read the 119th Psalm entire, and a good idea of the value of God's law as an instructor may be obtained.
"There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." Prov. 16:25; 14:12. Here the conscience tells a man that he is doing right, yet his reward is death; but in the following scripture we have a rule by which we may know that he shall live: "And I gave them my statutes, and showed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them." Ezek. 20:11; see also verses 13, 21; Lev. 18:5; Neh. 9:39; Rom. 10:5; Gal. 3:12. In the above references we have the relative values of the conscience and the law as standards of right. Following one, he may die; obeying the other, he "shall live." Many a person is deceived with the assurance that "if I do what I think is right, regardless of the law, I shall be saved." The conscience is a safe guide only when in harmony with the law of God.
A marked instance of human standard was given by the Saviour in his sermon on the mount. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Matt. 7:21-23. Those persons had been serving Christ, as they thought, in preaching the gospel and in doing "many wonderful works;" but they had neglected the all-important thing, which was to make their life and life work conform to the will of their heavenly Father.
There is also danger of "being past feeling" (Eph. 4:19) and having the "conscience seared with a hot iron" (1 Tim. 4:2), which should make all doubly careful about following a fallible principle, liable to become perverted, instead of trusting in the Scripture, which is all "given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 2 Tim. 3:16, 17.
Early in the history of the Christian church we have a case well known to all, illustrating very plainly the point under consideration. Saul of Tarsus was a devout Jew, "a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee," "brought up at the feet of Gamaliel," and "he made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and, haling [dragging] men and women, committed them to prison;" and he said: "I verily thought that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth." His conscience upheld him in his course; yea, more, it urged him on; and the way that seemed right to Paul, had he not left it, would have proved to be the way of eternal death.
When the light of truth shone upon Paul, he immediately asked, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" and after that the zeal which he had manifested against the truth was used in its favor. His conscience had been educated erroneously; but when light came Paul accepted it, and by a proper education his conscience led him to uphold Christ and his teachings,—just what it had before led him to condemn.
Yet, notwithstanding all this, we would not underestimate the value of the conscience: "For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves, which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another." Rom. 2:14, 15. Every one naturally has some trace of the law of God in his heart; and, of course, to this extent, the conscience will uphold right and condemn wrong. But all may be sure that when the conscience is not in harmony with "the law" and "the testimony" it will invariably be found that though that way seemeth to be right, it is indeed the way of death.
The work of the Spirit of God is to convince the world of sin (John 16:8, margin); but this is done through the law, "for by the law is the knowledge of sin." Rom. 3:20. And where there is any trace of the law remaining in the human heart, the Spirit has something with which it can work. And if any individual, no matter how sinful, when convinced of the error of his way, would follow the promptings of the Spirit and allow his mind to become enlightened by the law of God, it would then work a complete change in him, and entirely transform any erroneous views in regard to what is right and what is wrong. The conscience is educated by degrees; and if earnestly striving to do so, one will soon find that it can be brought into harmony with the law of God.
What Every Christian Must Do.
"Lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God" is one of the traits which the apostle names as characterizing men in the last, perilous times of the church. It is not surprising that men of the world, who have never been converted, and who have their portion in this life, and who know nothing of the joys which true religion imparts to the soul, should seek after the vain pleasures and gratifications of the world. They know no higher joy, and it is natural for them to indulge in this. But how men and women who profess to be the children of God, to possess the spirit of Jesus, to be animated with high and heavenly hopes, which lift them above the world and impart a peace and joy the world knows not of, can heartily enter into the spirit and indulge in all the vain and frivolous amusements and pleasures of the world, is a mystery which can only be solved on the supposition that while they have a name to live, they are dead; that while they have the form of godliness, they are destitute of its power.
"If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." But how can any one have the Spirit of Christ and also the spirit of the world? "Ye cannot serve God and mammon." "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." This is what every Christian must do, separate himself from sinners, so as not to partake of their evil deeds, and keep himself unspotted from the world.—Methodist Recorder.
Beware of Sin.
By Alexander Maclaren
BEWARE of the first evils, for as sure as you are living, the first step taken will make the second seem to become necessary. The first drop will be followed by a bigger second, and the second at a shorter interval, by a more copious third, until the drops become a shower, and the shower becomes a deluge. The course of evil is ever wider, deeper and more tumultuous. Little sins get in at the window and open the front door for the big house-breakers. One smooths the path for the other. All sin has an awful power of perpetuating and increasing itself. As the prophet says in his awful vision of the doleful creatures that make their sport in the desolate city, “None of them shall want her mate. The wild beasts of the desert shall meet with the wild beasts of the island.” Every sin tells upon the character, and makes the repetition of itself more and more easy. “None is barren among them.” And all sin is linked together in a slimy tangle, like a field of seaweed, so that the man once caught in its oozy fingers is almost sure to drown.—Dr. Alexander Maclaren.
Coming Clear Out From the World
A CONVERTED Chinese, when in America on a visit, was deeply impressed with the little difference he saw between the style of living of many professing Christians and the people of the world. Adverting to the matter, he said, making at the same time a sweep with his arm, ‘When the disciples in my country come out from the world, they come clear out.’—S. F. Christian Advocate.