International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, Cal. · Nov 11, 1886
General Articles.
By Mrs. E. G. White
Courtesy a Christian Grace.
BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
As Christians we are commanded to be separate from the world; we are not to drink in its spirit or to follow its customs; but it is not necessary for us to become coarse and rough in our manners and expressions. The truth of God is designed to elevate the receiver, to refine his taste, and to sanctify his judgment. The character of the Christian should be holy, his manners comely, his words without guile. There should be a continual effort to imitate the society he hopes soon to join, that of angels who have never fallen by sin.
No man can be a Christian without having the Spirit of Christ; and if he has the Spirit of Christ, it will be manifested in kind words and a refined, courteous deportment. The religion of Jesus is designed to soften whatever is hard and rough in the temper, and to smooth off whatever is rugged or sharp in the manners. External change will testify to an internal change. The truth is the sanctifier, the refiner. Received into the heart, it works with hidden power, transforming the character. But those who profess to be followers of Christ, and are at the same time rough, unkind, and uncourteous in words and deportment, have not learned of Jesus. A blustering, overbearing, fault-finding man is not a Christian; for to be a Christian is to be Christ-like. It is no mark of a Christian to be continually jealous of one's dignity. All these manifestations show that men are still servants of the wicked one.
Very many who are seeking for happiness will be disappointed in their hopes, because they seek it amiss, and are indulging in sinful tempers and selfish feelings. By neglecting to discharge the little duties and observe the little courtesies of life, they violate the principles on which happiness depends. True happiness is not to be found in self-gratification, but in the path of duty. God desires man to be happy, and for this reason he gave him the precepts of his law, that in obeying these he might have joy at home and abroad. While he stands in his moral integrity, true to principle, and having the control of all his powers, he cannot be miserable. With its tendrils twined about God, the heart will be full of peace and joy, and the soul will flourish amid unbelief and depravity.
Kind words, pleasant looks, a cheerful countenance, throw a charm around the Christian that makes his influence almost irresistible. It is the religion of Christ in the heart that causes the words to be gentle, and the demeanor winning, even to those in the humblest walks of life. In forgetfulness of self, in the light and peace and happiness he is constantly bestowing on others, is seen the true dignity of the man. This is a way to gain respect, and extend the sphere of usefulness, which costs but little; and the one who pursues this course will not complain that he does not receive the honor that is his due. But Bible rules must be written on the heart; Bible rules must be carried into the every-day life.
We are none of us what we may be, what God would have us be, and what his word requires us to be. And it is our unbelief that shuts us away from God; for we may at any time lift up our souls to him, and find grace and strength. When Christ shall come, our vile bodies are to be changed, and made like his glorious body; but the vile character will not be made holy then. The transformation of character must take place before his coming. Our natures must be pure and holy; we must have the mind of Christ, that he may behold with pleasure his image reflected upon our souls.
Enoch was a marked character, and many look upon his life as something far above what the generality of mortals can ever reach. But Enoch's life and character, which were so holy that he was translated to Heaven without seeing death, represent the lives and characters of all who will be translated when Christ comes. His life was what the life of every individual may be if he will live near to God. We should remember that Enoch was surrounded by unholy influences. The society around him was so depraved that God brought a flood of waters on the world to destroy its inhabitants for their corruption. Were Enoch upon the earth to-day, his heart would be in harmony with all of God's requirements; he would walk with God, although surrounded by influences the most wicked and debasing. The palm-tree well represents the life of a Christian. It stands upright amid the burning desert sands, and dies not; for it draws sustenance from springs beneath the surface.
Joseph preserved his integrity when surrounded by idolaters in Egypt, in the midst of sin and blasphemy and corrupting influences. When tempted to turn aside from the path of virtue, his answer was, "How shall I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" Enoch, Joseph, and Daniel depended upon a strength that was infinite; and this is the only course of safety for Christians to pursue in our day.
The lives of these marked men were hid with Christ in God. They were loyal to God, pure amid depravity, devout and fervent when brought in contact with atheism and idolatry. Through divine grace they cultivated only such qualities as were favorable to the development of pure and holy characters.
Thus may it be with us. The spirit which Enoch, Joseph, and Daniel possessed, we may have; we may draw from the same source of strength, possess the same power of self-control, and the same graces may shine out in our lives. Said Christ: "A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid." "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven." By reflecting the light of Christ to all around us, we shall become the light of the world; but a selfish, fault-finding, uncourteous person cannot have this sacred influence.
Pleasant, kind, and well-bred Christians will have an influence for God and his truth; it cannot be otherwise. The light borrowed from Heaven will shed its brightening rays through them to the pathway of others, leading them to exclaim, "O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man whose strength is in thee." The words we speak, our daily deportment, are the fruit growing upon the tree. If the fruit is sour and unpalatable, the rootlets of that tree are not drawing nourishment from a pure source. If our characters are meek and lowly, if our affections are in harmony with our Saviour, we show that our life is hid with Christ in God, and we leave behind us a bright track. Our life will be in such marked contrast to that of unbelievers, that our associates will discern that we have been with Jesus and learned of him.
The Christian need not become a recluse; but while necessarily associating with the world, he will not be of the world. Christian politeness should be cultivated, and daily put in practice. That unkind word should be left unspoken; that selfish disregard of the happiness of others should give place to thoughtful sympathy. True courtesy, blended with truth and justice, will make the life not only useful, but beautiful and fragrant with love and good works. It is no evidence that the Christian has lost his religion, because he has a good report among them that are without. Virtue, honesty, kindness, and faithful integrity make noble characters; those who possess these characteristics will win esteem, even of unbelievers, and their influence in the church will be very precious. We are required to be right in important matters; but faithfulness in little things will fit us for higher positions of trust.
On the part of many, there is a great lack of true courtesy. Much is said of the improvements that have been made since the days of the patriarchs; but those living in that age could boast of a higher state of refinement, and of more true courtesy of manners, than are possessed by the people in this age of boasted enlightenment. Integrity, justice, and Christian kindness, blended, make a beautiful combination. Courtesy is one of the graces of the Spirit. It is an attribute of Heaven. The angels never fly into a passion, never are envious, selfish, and jealous. No harsh or unkind674words escape their lips. And if we are to be the companions of angels, we too must be refined and courteous. And we have none too much time to change our wrong habits, reform our defective characters, and obtain a fitness for the society of those heavenly beings. All harshness and severity, coarseness and unkindness, must be overcome; and now is the time for us to do the work. We can have no second probation. But if we do not improve these hours of privilege, we would not improve a second probation, should it be granted to us.
A Christian will cultivate that charity that is not easily provoked, that suffereth long and is kind, that hopeth all things, endureth all things. If this grace be in you, if you are ruled by the Spirit of Christ, your words and actions will testify that your religion is genuine; for your life will be full of good fruits. The children of God never forget to do good and to communicate. Good works are spontaneous with them; for God has transformed their natures by his grace. "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit."
FEED MY SHEEP!
By Mrs. L. D. A. Stuttle
BY MRS. L. D. A. STUTTLE.
O, SHEPHERDS of Israel, feed my sheep,
They stray from the fold to-night.
They are off in the forests dark and drear,
Afar from the paths of right.
O, shepherds of Israel, rouse from sleep,
Go rescue the perishing; feed my sheep.
There are tender lambs on the mountains drear;
They die for the shepherd's care.
They are plucking the poisonous blossoms bright,
The flowers of sin so fair;
The shepherd of Zion should never sleep.
Up! up, and arouse thee, and feed my sheep.
Thou hast known thy duty and didst it not.
E'en thus shall the Master say,
And such shall be beaten with many stripes
In the hastening Judgment day.
Oh, tremble, false shepherd, and howl and weep;
E're dawneth that morning, go, feed my sheep.
Lest, when by the angel scribes above,
Thy record is read at last,
When the tares have been gathered and bound to burn,
And mercy's forever past,
Thou canst bring no souls that are saved from sin,
Nor precious sheaves thou hast garnered in.
Sanctification.—No. 1.
By A. S. Hutchins
"For this is the will of God, even your sanctification." 1 Thess. 4:3.
SANCTIFICATION, as applied to a moral agent, signifies "to cleanse from corruption; to purify from sin; to make holy by detaching the affections from the world and its defilements, and exalting them to a supreme love of God."—Webster. It is the will of God that his people should attain unto this high and holy state; it is our privilege to have our hearts stablished, unblamable, "in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints."
The pardon of sin, or justification from past transgressions, may be an instantaneous work. It may be effected as suddenly as the light from Heaven shone upon Paul while on his way to Damascus. "Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ," may secure peace and happiness without long and mournful delay. And when these priceless blessings are obtained, when one has passed from death unto life, he enters the school of Christ as "a babe" in his new life to develop into a man in Christ Jesus. Says Peter, "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby."
In the spiritual birth and life, the Scriptures recognize childhood, youth, and "full age." 1 John 2:12-14; Heb. 5:13, 14. As the work of growth in the Christian's experience progresses, sanctification of heart and life is developed. In this the individual must act a part, which he cannot do in justification, as is clearly proved by the following texts: "Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy; for I am the Lord your God. And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them; I am the Lord which sanctify you." Lev. 20:7, 8. But in all the word of God there is no such command as, Justify yourselves. Yet man cannot sanctify himself, cannot be holy, cannot keep God's statutes, without divine aid; nor will God sanctify any man without his concurrence. He who says, "Sanctify yourselves," has provided the means for the accomplishment of this high and holy work; and in their use we act in harmony with his will.
Buck, in his theological dictionary, in speaking of sanctification, says: "It is distinguished from justification thus: Justification changeth our state in law before God as Judge; sanctification changeth our heart and life before him as our Father. Justification precedes, and sanctification follows as the result and evidence of it. The surety righteousness of Christ imputed is our justifying righteousness; but the grace of God implanted is the matter of our sanctification. Justification is an act done at once; sanctification is a work which is gradual; justification removes the guilt of sin; sanctification the power of it. Justification delivers us from the avenging wrath of God; sanctification conforms us to his image."
Archbishop Usher said: "Sanctification is nothing less than for a man to be brought to an entire resignation of his will to the will of God, and to live in the offering up of his soul continually in the flames of love, and as a whole burnt offering to Christ." "Sanctification," says another, "is nothing less than a daily dying to self, and daily conformity to the will of God."
But the subject of the progressive character and work of God in the heart sanctifying the entire being, mentally and physically, is clearly elucidated in the third chapter of Paul's letter to the Colossians: "If ye then be risen with Christ [i. e., if you have put on Christ by baptism. Chap. 2:12], seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God." Then follows the injunction as to where to set the affection, as to mortifying the "members which are upon the earth," putting off the "old man," putting on the "new man," gaining victories over the carnal mind, and becoming spiritually minded; "and above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness."
Peter also presents this important theme in a clear and convincing light. Addressing those who had fled from "the corruption that is in the world through lust," he says: "And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure; for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall; for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." 2 Pet. 1:5-11.
Now who can fail to see that if the Christian does not work by this rule of addition with respect to the graces of the Spirit, that his justification is rendered futile and unavailing?
The agencies for the accomplishment of sanctification, are the truth, the Holy Spirit, faith, and obedience. "Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth," is the petition of the Son to the Father. Error, however venerable from age, cannot sanctify men. Again, says Jesus, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
We may emphatically say of the law of God proclaimed upon Mt. Sinai, that it is his truth. "Thy law is the truth." "All thy commandments are truth." Ps. 119:142, 151. By means of the law Paul was convinced of sin. Rom. 7:7. And he affirms, "By the law is the knowledge of sin." "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law." 1 John 3:4.
It is difficult to comprehend how one who rejects the law of God can have a knowledge of sin which would lead him to fly from it to the Saviour. Now can we conceive how one can attain unto sanctification without the truth? and if it could be so, why the prayer of the Saviour, "Sanctify them through thy truth"?
Says Charles G. Finney, president of Oberlin (Ohio) College, "I have long been satisfied that the higher forms of Christian experience are attained only as a result of a terribly searching application of God's law to the human conscience and heart." Adam Clarke says, "Man cannot have a true notion of sin but by means of the law of God." Professor Brown, of Brown University (Baptist) says, "You can no more change the moral law than attempt to change God himself."
But this finishing work of the grace of God upon the heart to prepare men for the kingdom of glory, is not accomplished by the law alone—the Holy Spirit must act its part. Paul says, "But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." 2 Thess. 2:13.
The steps here are, men must hear the truth, believe the truth, receive the Spirit, and experience its sanctifying power; thus connecting with the truth or the word of God, faith, and the purifying and elevating influence of that divine power which "beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God," "being sanctified by the Holy Ghost." Rom. 15:16.
Again, says Peter, "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ; grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied." 1 Pet. 1:2.
Here the subject of obedience is introduced as an important factor in the work of sanctification. So we have the fact before us that the truth (the word of God), the operation of the Holy Spirit, the energizing, vitalizing power of faith, with cheerful obedience, are the warp and woof of the agencies of Bible sanctification.
And here let it be remarked, the Spirit of God and his word do not lead nor work in opposite directions in the accomplishment of sanctification. As well might the telegraph agent talk of dispensing with the long lines of wires stretching themselves over the earth, and declare that he could control the electric current sending his messages everywhere through the air, as for one to claim sanctification by the Spirit while the teachings of God's word are repudiated.
A. S. HUTCHINS.
Truth.
By C. P.
WHAT is truth? Webster says, "Conformity to reality or fact." To be true is to be just what you are, to say just what you feel, to act just as your nature prompts you. We can act a lie just as easily as we can speak one. We can keep up a sham or a pretense about half the things in our daily life. Don't do it. Be what you want to appear to be. Appear to be just what you are. "Buy the truth and sell it not." It is an important possession. He who knows the whole truth never falls into errors. He will have just conceptions. In every age, in every department of thought, men have been seeking for the truth. Slowly, laboriously, they clear away the vast mass of error and guesswork, and, step by step, find out exactly how things are. Sometimes the truth flashes out upon the mind with a wonderful light. It seems strange that we did not see it before, it is so plain and so simple. Some one has said, "The greatest simplicity is the greatest science;" for the greatest science is that which lies most nearly parallel with nature. Nature herself is truth.
How beautiful is a truthful character! one that has a high ideal, and tries with all its power to reach it as near as may be, with no pretense of being better, no false sham at not rising higher, but content to do and be just what its highest powers, in their best exercise, enable it to do and be. "I can do no other," said Luther; "God help me." For he was just following truth; and God did help him. "For he is a God of truth, and without iniquity; just and right is he."—C. P., in California Christian Advocate.
A Prayer for Guidance
By David
LEAD me in thy truth, and teach me.—David.
Temptation.
Temptation is a condition of human life. Every period of life, every class in society, every occupation and calling, duties as well as pleasures, work as well as rest, contain within them the elements of incessant temptation, which is at once our folly to ignore, our discipline to encounter, and our glory to overcome.
It is no sin to be tempted; for Jesus, the sinless one, was tempted in all things like as we are, yet without sin. It is no weakness to feel the temptation grievous, for Jesus again "suffered, being tempted." Heb. 2:18. The mistake is to run into temptation of our own accord. The sin is in listening to the voice of the charmer until our hearts go out after that which is forbidden. The weakness is in our great terror at the noise of the waves and the darkness of the sky, to gaze upon the danger till we are rapidly sinking into it, and till it is almost too late to call out to him who rides upon the storm, "Lord, save us; we perish!" Matt. 8:25.
Yet if our enemies are here, our Saviour is here as well. "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe." Prov. 18:10. If the assaults of the enemy all but exhaust us, and, like Christian and Apollyon, our sword flies out of our hand when we need it most, and the battle is all but decided against us, at the last moment the way to escape shall appear, that we may be able to bear it; for "when the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him." Isa. 59:19.
The table in the wilderness is spread by the Lord's own hand. He who provided a morning meal by the Lake of Galilee for his seven disciples, wearied by their night's toil; he who fed the five thousand on their way to the Passover because he pitied them as sheep having no shepherd, will be to his own tempted and wearied servants what the good Samaritan was to the wounded traveler, healing their wounds, supplying their needs, and comforting their hearts.—Sel.
Moral Courage.
No AGE ever demanded greater moral courage than does the present. Lawlessness lurks everywhere. Indifference to God's law and to the highest good, poisons every breeze. The miasma of disobedience, under the guise of non-essentialism, pervades every popular theory. Men want easy theories, and freedom in practice. "Puritanism" is scoffed at because it was rigid, exacting, uncompromising. Moral heroism is sadly needed.
An equally important truth must be recognized, viz., moral courage can be produced from nothing less than loyalty to God, his word, his law. Emotion may strengthen moral courage, but it cannot produce it. Creeds may deliver formulas concerning it, but they cannot give birth to it. It grows in no soil except the word of the Lord—Maker of heaven and earth. Doubt concerning that word destroys it. Quibbling, accommodative interpretation, loose exegesis, are all destructive of moral courage. Marble and granite are developed only under the pressure from above and the heat beneath. By a similar law, the pressure of obligation, arising from the grip of God's law, and the heat of obedient love, are needful to bring out moral courage in men. Longing and praying will not bring moral courage as a gift ready-made from God. It is one of the treasures which even the Almighty cannot give to men "ready-made." He who seeks moral courage, must seek it through obedience to all which God has commanded. He must do this by the one straight road which accepts God's word and stops then. When God says, "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God;" keep it holy; no man can develop moral courage to battle with Sabbathlessness by answering: "That old fourth commandment don't mean what it says; the seventh day is not the Sabbath, the first day has taken its place; of course you can change the count and call it seventh if you want to, but it is the first, nevertheless." This is what men do say in fact, and then bemoan the state of things, and the abounding lack of moral courage. They virtually disobey God and then pray for moral courage. It is all useless; such a course will beget moral cowardice in spite of God himself.—Light of Home.
Strength for Adversity.
It is the hour of adversity that tries a man and develops what is in him. A house built on sand is just as good in fair weather as one built upon a rock; but when the storm and the flood come, the former is overthrown, while the latter stands firmly. So, qualities that are concealed in time of prosperity are brought to light in the hour of adversity. It is only when a man is put to the test that the real strength of his character becomes apparent. Men are perfected by adversity as gems are polished by friction. We must not, then, regard the trials of life, as permitted to come upon us, without some wise and benevolent end in view; nor should we "murmur at the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when we are rebuked of him." It is in the midst of trials that God tests our fidelity and the strength of our character, and also demonstrates the sufficiency of his grace. Religion is good in prosperity, but it is still more precious in adversity. Let us not, then, choose our own way, but, whether in sunshine or in storm, let us trust in the Lord and hope in his mercy.—Sel.
JESUS OUR ONLY PRIEST.
By Converted Catholic
THOU art the Way, by thee alone
From sin and death we flee;
And he who would the Father see,
Must seek him, Lord, by thee.
Thou art the Truth, thy word alone
True wisdom can impart;
Thou only canst instruct the mind,
And purify the heart.
Thou art the Life, the empty tomb
Proclaims thy conquering arm;
And those who put their trust in thee,
Nor death nor hell shall harm.
Jesus, the Way, the Truth, the Life,
To us that wisdom give—
By thee to seek the Father's face,
In thee alone to live.
—Converted Catholic.
The Virtue of Giving.
The virtue of a gift is in the giving, and not in the gift. The less expectation we can have of a return, the more absolute the gift. The more absolute the gift, the better it is for the giver; for the less of self there is in it. If there is a just claim upon us, it is our duty to satisfy the claim, and not ourselves. If one feels it his duty to surrender his seat in the street-car, the degree of probability of his being thanked for it should not modify his willingness to make the surrender. If the claim be found on deference to sex, or to age, or to character, or to physical need, the claim must remain while the cause remains. Ingratitude, or moral obtuseness, however repulsive on the part of the recipient, does not, in itself, change the duty of the giver. The receiver is responsible for his moral attitude; the giver for his. The debt is to God, and to God it must be paid. We are to bear one another's burdens because of the burdens and not because we expect a return. This, in fact, is the only way to fulfill the law of Christ. Our greatest gratitude should be that God does not regulate his gifts to us by the measure of our gratitude to him. And as we have received, so ought we to give.—Sel.
Romanism Everywhere the Same.
COMMENTING on an article in the Nineteenth Century the New York Churchman says:—
“The part which the Romish religion plays in creating and perpetuating the peculiarity and separateness of the French Canadians is well illustrated by the like effect which it produces upon the Scotch Highlanders, who remain under the control of that superstition. The writer, whose article is here discussed, points out a fact of much importance, though the true significance of it seems to have escaped him. He says: ‘Highland regiments disbanded in French Canada have become French.’ The reason was that those regiments were composed of Roman Catholic Highlanders, of whom there are large numbers in Canada and the United States. Whether in Canada or elsewhere the Roman Catholic Highlander is much the same as the Roman Catholic French Canadian. Unlike the Protestant Scotchman, he is the same thriftless, unprogressive, superstitious, unaspiring sort of a man, wholly lacking in the mental and moral characteristics which so honorably distinguish the Protestant Scotchman of the same race.
“Nothing is more instructive than to note the difference between the Roman Catholic Scotch and the Protestant Scotch of the Highlands, when they settle in this country or in Canada. It is easy to understand that the former should become ‘French,’ when they settle in French Canada. They are, mentally, morally, and socially, like the Canadian French, wherever they are, which goes to show that the religious factor is, after all, the most potent in determining the mental, moral, and social characteristics of a people. If, therefore, the Canadian French are an alien and dangerous element in the Dominion, it is safe to say that ‘the fine Italian hand’ of Romanism has made them so, and keeps them so.”
Afflictions and Temptations.
By Francis Roberts
AFFLICTIONS hunt us again into God's park, when we have leaped out. They are God's furnace, to burn up our dross; God's files, to rub off our rust; God's soap and fuller's earth, to fetch out our stains and spots; God's fan, to blow away our chaff.
The storm tries the building, and discovers which is built upon a rock, and which upon the sands. The storm tries the pilot. The touchstone tries the metal whether it be gold or copper. The furnace tries the gold whether it be pure or drossy. So afflictions and persecutions try the Christian. Paint will rub off with washing, but true beauty by washing will appear more beautiful.
As the strings of an instrument make no melody till they be struck, or as the birds in spring sing most sweetly when it rains most sadly, so sufferings draw forth the activity, beauty, and fragrance of a Christian's graces.
God will not spend his rods upon strangers, but upon his own children, because he loves them; and such afflictions, though bad things, are good signs.
If God's people be sometimes foiled by temptations, they are hereby provoked to more watchfulness for the future in regard to themselves, and are enabled to more helpfulness toward others. As Christ said to Peter, "When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren," and as David promised after his recovery, "Then shall I teach transgressors thy ways."
When the wind blows hardest, the traveler girds his cloak to him the closest; when temptations are most violent and impetuous, we must cling fastest to Christ, lest we fall, and Christ clasp us fastest that we may not fall.—Francis Roberts, 1657.
Condemning Others
We often condemn others who are less guilty, perhaps, than ourselves.