THE HERALD
of Christ's Kingdom
VOL. X. May 1, 1927 No. 9
Table of Contents
THE
WAKING UP OF CHINA
THE
COST OF DISCIPLESHP
EDIFYING
OF THE BODY IN LOVE
"AN
UNCTION FROM THE HOLY ONE"
AUTHORITY
OF THE DIVINE WORD
SPECIAL
CONVENTION ANNOUNCEMENTS
ENCOURAGING
LETTERS
VOL. X. May 15, 1927 No. 10
Table of Contents
OBSERVATIONS
AND REVIEWS OF THE TIMES
IN
MEMORY OF THE SAVIOR'S LOVE
ANNUAL
MEETING OF THE PASTORAL BIBLE INSTITUTE
THE
TRIUMPHS OF FAITH
WRESTLING
WITH PRINCIPALITIES AND POWERS
IN
THE SCHOOL OF CHRIST
VOL. X. May 1, 1927 No. 9
THE EYES of all the world are in these days turned toward the Orient.
The unparalleled revolutionary conditions that have obtained and that are now prevailing
in the Chinese Empire have elicited the earnest gaze of thoughtful people in all countries
of the earth. Nor are we, as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, without keen interest in
these developments that directly concern a people whose population comprises about
one-fourth of the earth's inhabitants and that indirectly involve more or less the
interests of millions of people of so-called Christendom.
Asked as to what mean all these events and changes that are so
rapidly taking place in this large section of the Orient, .and what relationship these
matters bear to the prophetic forecast of the last days and the setting up of the Kingdom
of God, the reply is that these developments may well be regarded as significant; and
there may be a close connection between the Chinese War and other events that are peculiar
to the last days of this Age. For long ages this portion of the world, whose history
antedates that of all other nations (alleged to cover a period of more than four thousand
years), has slept in the deep darkness of ignorance, superstition, and idolatry.
Considering that from the prophetic standpoint we are haw living in the close of the Age,
we may very reasonably look for the waking up and shaking up process of this "Day of
His Preparation" to include to a more or less extent heathendom as well as
Christendom. The Public Press and various periodicals commenting on the present situation
in the. Orient refer to it as the "Waking up of China."
Seeks Legitimate Place in Family of Nations
As among the so-called Christian nations the waking up process, the
overturning of monarchies and the throwing off of the yoke of bondage exercised and
controlled for centuries by despots and tyrants, have come as the result of the increase
of knowledge and the spread of the spirit of liberty, so the discontent and disorders that
have been on the increase for the past twenty-five years, culminating in the present
tragic struggle in China, are seen to be largely due to the letting in of the influences
of knowledge and civilization, which always bring to the masses a sense of their
degradation and down-trodden condition and awaken them to a realization of their rights
and liberties.
In line with this a Chinese authority, S. Yui, Assistant Professor of
Political Science in Tsing Hau University, Peking, states the case of New China in an
article contributed to the London "Daily Express." He says:
"'The period in China today is a period of fighting for
emancipation. The Chinese revolution, which began in 1911, is a fight for emancipation
from despotic rule. This fight will continue till the Republic is firmly established.
"'The Chinese renaissance movement, which began in 1917, is a
fight for emancipation from illiteracy and for freedom of thought. This fight will
continue till illiteracy vanishes.
"'But the most important fight today is the fight for
emancipation from the "unequal" Treaties which have bound China hand and foot
for over eighty years. And this fight will continue till the powers realize the gross
international injustice they have done to China, and give China her legitimate place in
the family of nations.
"'What China aspires to today is not any concession from any of
the foreign Powers, but merely the restoration of her lost independence -- no more than
that, and no less than that."'
For Liberty and Independence
In corroboration of the foregoing, there has developed in connection
with the Chinese upheaval, a powerful political party known as the Kuomintang organized by
the late Dr. Sun Yat Sen, founder of the Chinese Republic and its first President and the
prophet of Nationalist China. This party is proving to be a gigantic force in the present
period of civil strife. Mr. Henry W. Harris, writing in the Boston "Globe," says
of this party:
"'The English translation of "Kuomintang,". goes a
long way toward explaining the movement: In Chinese, "Kuo" means country,
"min" people, and "tang" or "tong" association.
"Kuómintang" means "association to bring the country into the hands of her
people." It is half a patriotic organization and half a political party. It has three
basic principles.
"1. People's Nationalism -- The freeing of China from foreigners
who have tied up the country by treaties dictated at the cannon-point.
"'2. People's Sovereignty -- Development of education and
political democracy.
"'3. People's Livelihood -- Better opportunities for Chinese
business men; better conditions for Chinese labor. (In China women and children work
fifteen hours a day for a few cents in foreign factories.)"'
As indicating the important part being played by this organization,
Mr. Harris goes on to say:
"'Kuomintang armies, having brought 55 per cent. of the people
within their sway, having forced the British from their sixty-million-dollar concession at
Hankow, now hang like a cloud over the key foreign colony at Shanghai.
"'Kuomintang political agents tour the whole country, organize
locals and arouse the whole people against the "foreign devils," who deprive
China of her ports, limit and collect her tariffs, run gunboats up and down her rivers at
will and live in the country under their own laws, not the laws of China.
"'Chang Tso-lin and Wu Pei-fu, whose constant wars with each
other have kept the country in impotent confusion, are now combining, drilling troops, and
marching against the Kuomintang in the hope of stemming the Nationalist tide, of saving
the feudal anarchy which brought to them leadership and to their country slavery.
"'On his way to Washington, American Ambassador MacMurray
receives a wire and hurriedly returns to Peking. President Coolidge orders Marines and
battleships to protect the l2,000 American citizens in China. Great Britain embarks a
division of soldiers for Shanghai.
"'Obviously, the present trouble is not "just another war
in China." Old-timers there recall the Boxer days of a quarter-century ago, when a
military secret society, encouraged by the decadent Manchu dynasty, invoked the spirits of
China's ancient gods, practiced incantations calculated to hypnotize foreigners; attacked
the legations and forced the Powers to combine in a march on Peking."'
The Missionary Phase
Up to the year 1912, when China became a republic, it was one of the
most ancient of monarchies. Since then a Republican form of government has attempted to
rule, but has not successfully functioned, owing to the disturbed state of the country and
to the fact that military governors in several of the Provinces have refused to obey the
orders of the Central Government. To the student of history, the present enactments in the
Orient are largely a repetition of what has occurred in the past in the case of the
(breaking up of a great empire -- rival generals on all sides, leading troops in bitter
struggle, fighting for power, inflicting suffering on the people, and devastating the
soil.
Another and important matter related to the Chinese political
earthquake is the Christian Missionary enterprise -- both Catholic and Protestant; the
Revolutionary and anarchistic developments having become so tense in recent days as to
bring about almost a complete collapse of the efforts of long years to Christianize and
convert China. To use the language of "The Literary Digest":
"Millions of Americans have spent millions of dollars in
founding .and maintaining Christian missions in China, and, on the face of some reports,
it appears that the whole Christian structure, erected at the cost of so much willing
sacrifice in blood and treasure, is about to be destroyed. Both warring factions are
reported determined to drive out the foreigner, trade drummer, exploiter and missionary
alike. But, in the main, Christian churches in America, and in other parts of the world,
too, face the present chaos undismayed, believing that Christianity will remain when the
revolution is done."
Diffusion of Civilization but Heathendom not Converted
Obvious it is that after all the years of Christian missionary
endeavor to which millions of dollars and thousands of lives have been devoted,
Christianity has made little or no impression on the people of China so far as effecting a
conversion to Christian principles and real Christian living is concerned. It should be
manifest to all the thoughtful by this time, that God's Plan for the evangelizing and
converting of heathendom is of quite a different character and must relate to a different
time than that which many professing Christian people have supposed. Yet it would,. not be
fair to say that nothing has been achieved by the long years of missionary effort; for
while the results in the way of converting native Chinese to become real followers of
Christ are very meager, the work of missionaries and the circulation of the Bible have had
the effect of scattering the influences of civilization. In other words, through
missionary enterprise, there has been a general diffusion of knowledge that has given
enlightenment and caused study and thinking. Again, the writer last quoted, speaking of
the relationship of Christian missions to the present Chinese trouble, says:
"For the strange feature of it is that the revolution is in part
the creation of the missionaries and their associates themselves. With the seed of the
Gospel they have innocently mingled the seed of revolution; they teach secular history as
well as the Gospel story, and if the Chinese have learned the story of the Crucifixion
they have also learned that freedom has been attained by revolution against the
transgressors of human law."
Thus we observe that it is the same story that is told over and over
in history, that men and nations finding themselves emerging from the darkness of ages in
which they have blindly groped in bondage, superstition, and fear, commence to assert
their independence, their rights and liberties and are soon carried away with the tide of
revolution. In other words, civilization and revolution have generally gone hand in hand;
and this in harmony with the Scriptures which assure us that it is the great increase of
knowledge in the last days throughout the world that is preparing for and leading on to a
time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation.
Failures of Christendom
Another factor entering into the matter of heathendom's rejection of
the Bible is the failure of the so-called Christian nations to measure up to Christian
principles; that these nations who send missionaries to evangelize China and other dark
portions of the earth have time and again demonstrated that they themselves have not been
converted to Christianity. Many of the heathen world have been keen to note this, and as
has been observed, it is a fact today in Christendom as it was in former times of the
Jewish nation "that the name of God is blasphemed among the heathen through them.
(Rom. 2:24.) Note, for instance, the imposition of the liquor and opium traffics upon the
heathen nations by the greed of the Christian nations for gold.
"A reliable witness, who speaks from personal knowledge wrote,
some time ago, to the 'New York Voice' as follows:
"'According to my own observations on the Congo and the West
Coast [Africa] the statement of many missionaries and others, drink is doing more harm to
the natives than the slave trade now or in past times. That carries off people, destroys
villages; this not only slays by the thousands, but debauches and ruins body and soul,
whole tribes, and leaves them to become the parents of degenerate creatures born in their
own debauched image.
All the workmen are given a big drink of rum every day at noon, and
forced to take at least two bottles of gin as pay for work every Saturday night; at many
of the factories, when a one, two or three years' contract expires, they are forced to
take a barrel of rum or some cases or demijohns of gin to carry home with them. Native
traders are forced to take casks of liquor in exchange for native produce, even when they
remonstrate, and gaining no redress; pour the liquor into the river; traders saying,
"The niggers must take rum, we cannot make money enough to satisfy the firm at home
by selling them salt or cloth." Towns are roaring -- pandemoniums every Sunday from
drink. There are villages where every man, woman, and child is stupid drunk, and thus
former religious services are broken up. Chiefs say sadly to missionaries, "Why did
not you God-men come before the drink did? The drink has eaten out my peoples heads and
hardened their hearts: they cannot understand, they do not care for anything good."'
"It is even said that some of the heathen are holding up the
Christian's Bible before them, and saying, 'Your practices do not correspond with the
teachings of your sacred Book.' A Brahmin is said to have written a missionary, 'We are
finding you out. You are rat as good as your Book. If your people were only as good as
your Book, you would conquer India in five years.' -- See Ezek. 22:4.
"Truly, if the men of Nineveh and the queen of the south shall
rise up in judgment against the generation of Israel which the Lord directly addressed
(Matt. 12:41, 42), then Israel and every previous generation, and the heathen nations
shall rise up against this generation of Christendom; for where much has been given much
will be required."
Returning to the question of what connection there may be between
China's period of trouble and civil strife, and the general events and troubles of this
Day of the Lord, it may be safely assumed that the tragic experiences through which the
Chinese people are now passing are in some manner related to the Day of Vengeance, this
day in which the Lord, commencing with the nations of the earth is recompensing evil;
calling the attention of all to the violation of the principles of justice and letting
loose various agencies and forces which are calculated to thoroughly humble and discipline
all peoples, so that they may be. prepared to listen to His voice of instruction and the
words of life which His Kingdom will administer.
"The Relationship of the Heathen Nations to
Christendom
and to the Great Tribulation"
Speaking of this subject of the responsibility of heathendom to the
Lord and their measure of accountability, Brother Russell has written the following
interesting statement:
"The heathen nations long ago suppressed what truth was known in
the early Ages of the world concerning God and His righteousness, and preferred darkness
rather than light because their deeds were evil, and out of then evil and vain
imaginations invented false religions which justified their evil ways; and while
succeeding generations have endorsed and justified the evil course of their forefathers by
subscribing to their doctrines and walking in their footprints, thus also assuming the
accumulation of their guilt and condemnation, on the very same principle that the present
nations of Christendom also assume the obligations of their preceding generations, yet the
heathen nations have not been wholly oblivious to the fact that a great light has come
into the world through Jesus Christ. Even previous to the coming of Christ the wonderful
God of Israel was known among many heathen nations through His dealings with that people;
and all through the Gospel Age the saints of God have been bearing the good news abroad.
"Here and there a few individuals have heeded the truth, but the
nations have disregarded it generally, and walker) on in darkness. Therefore the
indignation of the Lord is upon all nations: (Isa. 34:2.) The heathen nations are now,
without the Gospel and its advantages, judged unworthy of a continued lease of power;
while the so-called Christian nations, with the Gospel light and privileges. of which they
have not walked worthy, are also, by its standard of truth and righteousness; judged
unworthy of continued power.
"Thus every mouth is stopped, and all the world stands guilty
before God. Of all the nations 'there is none that understandeth, there is none that
seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become
unprofitable; these is none that doeth good; no, not one.'
"The justice of. God in punishing all nations is manifest; and
while the heathen nations will receive the just reward of their doings, let not the
greater responsibility of Christendom be forgotten; for if the Jews had 'much advantage
every way' over the Gentile nations, chiefly in that unto them were committed the oracles
of God (Rom. 3:1, 2), what shall we say of the nations of Christendom, with their still
greater advantages of both the Law and the Gospel? . . .
Modern Civilization Links Christendom and Heathendom
"But, dropping the morally retributive aspect of the question,
we see how, in the very nature of the case, the heathen nations must suffer in the fall of
Christendom, Babylon. Through the influences of the Word of God, direct and indirect, the
Christian nations have made great advancements in civilization and material prosperity in
every line, so that in wealth, comfort, intellectual development, education, civil
government, in science, art, manufacture, commerce and every branch of human industry,
they are far in advance of the heathen nations which have not been so favored with the
civilizing influences of the oracles of God, but which, on the contrary, have experienced
a steady decline, so that today they exhibit only the wrecks of their former prosperity.
Compare, for example, the Greece of today with ancient Greece, which was once the seat of
learning and affluence. Mark, too, the present ruins of the glory of ancient Egypt, once
the chief nation of the whole earth.
"In consequence of the decline of the heathen nations and the
civilization and prosperity of the Christian nations, the former are all more. or less
indebted to the latter for many advantages received -- for the benefits of commerce, of
international communication and a consequent enlargement of ideas, etc. Then, too, the
march of progress in recent years has linked all the nations in various common interests,
which, if seriously unsettled in one or more of the nations soon affect all. Hence when
Babylon, Christendom goes down suddenly, the effects will be most serious upon all the
more or less dependent nations, which, in the symbolic language of Revelation are
therefore represented as greatly bewailing the fall of that great city Babylon. -- Rev.
18:9-19.
"But not alone in Babylon's fall will the heathen nations
suffer; for the swelling waves of social and political commotion will quickly spread and
involve and engulf them all; and thus the whole earth will be swept with the besom of
destruction, and the haughtiness of man will be brought low; for it is written, 'Vengeance
is Mine: I will repay; saith the Lord.' (Rom. 12:19; Deut. 32:35.) And the judgment of the
Lord upon both Christendom and heathendom will be on the strictest lines of equity."
"So likewise, whosoever he
be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple." -- Luke
14:33
THESE WORDS of Jesus, as well as others by Him and by those whom He
used as His mouthpieces, the Apostles, leave no room for doubt that the way of entrance
into the Kingdom of Heaven, the way whereby any may obtain a place with Him in the
heavenly inheritance was intended of God to be a very costly way -- a way involving great
sacrifice and self-denial so far as the present life is concerned. Not that one can
actually purchase for himself -- a place in God's Kingdom by enduring so much or by paying
so much for it in the way of physical suffering or by the practice of self-denial.
Something more important really than these is involved, and that is, complete and supreme
loyalty to the will of God. It is only therefore inasmuch as the sacrifice, self-denial,
and suffering are the result of the yielding of the heart to Him, of full consecration to
Him, that they are counted by God as of any value in His sight.
The Pearl of Great Price
Various parables uttered by our Lord are constantly calling our
attention to the peculiar and difficult terms of becoming disciples of Christ and thereby
getting in line to attain membership in His royal Kingdom. The parable of the pearl of
great price is amongst those that convey to the devout disciple an impressive message.
(Matt. 13:45, 46.) In the days of our Savior pearls were represented amongst the most
precious and most desirable jewels, and the larger and more nearly perfect the pearl, the
greater its value. The parable represents one of the pearl merchants as coming across the
finest pearl he had ever seen. He considered it so priceless that he was quite rejoiced to
sell or trade all of his other pearls and property, that he might become the owner of that
pearl.
This parable represents the Gospel offer of a place with Christ in
His Kingdom as being superior to all other propositions in the world. The honor of the
world, of name and fame, position and wealth, are truly desirable as the Scriptures say --
good name is rather to be chosen than great riches"; but when our eyes behold the
pearl of great price, the Kingdom offer of joint-heirship with our Lord Jesus in His
heavenly Kingdom and the blessed association with Him in His ministry of service and love,
which will mean the uplift and blessing of all the families of the earth, we realize that
it is a priceless thing, worth more by far than aft the honor and dignity, emoluments and
treasures of the world. Those worthy to buy this pearl will gladly exchange all earthly
things therefor -- even their good name.
Cost of the Kingdom Pearl
Thus the Master virtually said that the pearl illustrated the value
of the Kingdom with its glory, honor, and immortality, which He was inviting an elect
company, a Little Flock, to share with Him. Those who prize it properly will show their
appreciation by the amount they will be willing and glad to pay for it, whether a man be
wealthy or poor, learned or ignorant, influential or otherwise, the cost of this Kingdom
Pearl of great value will be his all. It cannot be had for less. The wealthiest or most
educated person in the world could not obtain a share in that Kingdom if he kept back one
single atom of his possession. The price of the Kingdom is self-sacrifice even unto death,
and nothing less will secure it. Nor would any sacrifice that we could make secure a place
in this Kingdom for us except as our sacrifice would first be made acceptable in God's
sight through the precious merit of our Redeemer's sacrifice. made at Calvary.
But besides and in addition to the sacrifice and self-denial involved
in winning a place in the kingdom of God, the "sufferings of Christ," sufferings
because of being a Christian, are represented as a most necessary condition and phase of
discipleship. This was made prominent by our Lord when questioned respecting the occupying
of positions very dear to Himself in the Kingdom, He said, "Are ye able to drink of
the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized
with?" His cup referred to, represented the portion or dispensation of experience,
trials, sorrows, misunderstandings and finally the humiliating death of the cross. The
same thought is represented in His baptism which related to sacrifice, humiliation, and
death. Our Lord was continually reiterating this line of thought, at times using one
figure or parable or another to impress the .lesson. He spoke of the cross and the
necessity of bearing it after Him. He spoke of how His true disciples would be reviled,
mistreated, and evilly spoken of; and added, "Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for.
great is your reward in heaven."
Because the Darkness Hateth the Light
According to the words of inspiration, the messages of Our Lord and
the Apostles, much of the suffering incidental to the Christian life, comes as a result of
the gross darkness that exists upon the earth and because the masses of mankind are
groping blindly under the influence òf the great Adversary. Under these circumstances, as
Jesus explained, the darkness hateth the light, and therefore the various agencies of
darkness have been generally active in obstructing the course and in making very difficult
the pathway of the true children of light, the children of God.
As strange as it may seem, the purpose of God has really been served
and advanced unwittingly by those who have been the cause of suffering to our Lord Jesus
and His faithful followers: "It became Him," says the Apostle, "for whom
are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the
Captain of their salvation perfect through suffering." In other words, development
and refinement of character, proving and testing of character, the rounding out and
ripening of character, are realized in connection with faithful submission to the will of
God, to His providences, through experiences of distress and suffering. The trial of our
faith as Christians is likened to that of gold tried, refined, purified in the fire. And
again we are instructed that suffering because we are Christians yieldeth the peaceable
fruit of righteousness unto them that are rightly exercised thereby. All such learn to
realize the sentiment set forth in beautiful verse
"Let
sorrow do its work,
Send grief and pain;
Sweet are Thy messengers,
Sweet their refrain."
Our faith is greatly strengthened by considering the course of our
Lord and noting the similarity between His experiences and those of His faithful
followers. Both He and His Apostles were evilly treated and persecuted by their brethren
of the Jewish household and faith. The entire Jewish nation professed to be God's people
and our Lord recognized them as His own, as it is written. (John 1:11.) Again we have
before us the strange paradox of those who have professed to be God's chosen people,
persecuting and rendering evil to their brethren. History shows that the majority of the
persecutions and sufferings endured by Christians have come from those who professed to be
the people of God, many of whom really thought they were.
Christ Left Us An Example
But the important consideration for the child of God is not so much
who have been his persecutors or why professing brethren have persecuted him; rather the
all-important question is, How is he receiving the persecution; and what spirit is he of,
in the midst of his sufferings, and is he being properly exercised as he passes through
these tribulations Surely our Lord desires' to see in His followers the disposition to
triumph over the weaknesses and tendencies of the fallen condition and to follow in His
steps. No one is properly able to do this in his own strength; therefore each one must
fall back upon the Divine promise of grace provided, which is realized only in connection
with the possession of a large measure of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of faith, of power,
and of love.
Of the Savior it is written, "Christ also suffered for us,
leaving us an example, that we should follow His steps. Who, when He was reviled, reviled
not again; when He suffered, He threatened not." (1 Pet. 2:21, 23.) It is evident
that to be reviled is to be made to appear vile, to be evilly treated, slandered. The
natural tendency of all is to resent injustice, to render evil for evil, to give as goad
as we get, and a little more, if possible. This is the inclination of the natural man and
because all of the Lord's people in the flesh still have the body marked with these
natural proclivities, they are sure to realize more or less of a struggle in conserving
the attitude of holiness and love that is dictated by the Holy Spirit. It was because our
Lord Jesus was filled with the Spirit and thoroughly controlled by it that we find His
entire course and conduct were the opposite of the spirit of reviling. No matter then how
much we may be reviled, we are not to revile in return; no matter how much we are
persecuted, we are not to persecute in return. This is undoubtedly the law of the New,
Creation, that they are to bless instead of to injure. This would signify that if the
person who had done us injury became involved in difficulty and needed help, we should
overlook altogether what wrong had been done to us, and be just as ready to render help to
him as to any other person.
Your Brethren That Hated You
The spirit of the Lord's people must not be anything else than the
spirit of generosity and benevolence They are to bless those who revile and persecute them
by doing good and by explaining to them if possible the situation which evidently they
have misunderstood. The true disciple is to bless his enemy by helping him if opportunity
offers, out of darkness into light.
It behooves the Lord's people to look with great sympathy upon those
who may be, their opponents and persecutors. We recall instances where .persecution has.
been carried on with the thought that the persecutor was doing the will of God. Those who
persecuted the Lord Jesus were to some degree ignorant of who He was, as the Apostle
declared, "I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers." St.
Paul says, "Had they known it, they would not. have crucified the Lord of
glory." And when Saul of Tarsus persecuted St. Stephen and others of the early
Church, he verily thought that he did God a service, as he afterward tells us.
The sufferings and persecutions of today are much the same kind as
those endured by the faithful in the past; and they come from those who profess to be the
Lord's people. In harmony with this fact is the Scripture which says, "Your brethren
that hated you, that cast you out for My name's sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified; but
He shall appear to your joy, and they . shall be ashamed." (Isa. 66:5.) This
statement applies also we believe to the members of the family of the one cast out, who
are not in sympathy with a clear statement of the truth; that is to say, any persecutions
coming from the members of one's own family are frequently from those who profess to be
Christians. And often their opposition is not for personal reasons, but on account of
disagreement on some point which they do not see in the same light as the one whom they
would cast out and injure. If those who do the disowning and casting out possessed more
largely of the spirit of our Divine Master, they would show more tolerance, forbearance,
and patience toward those who differ with them, especially on points that are really
nonessential and do not constitute the foundation of the brotherhood in Christ.
Considering that we are living in the closing hours of the Age, it
appears that our day has a peculiarity that other days have not had. The Divine Plan is
now so beautiful that by its light it is very manifest that the masses are in darkness. As
this is the time when God is concluding His work with the Church and preparing the last
members for exaltation with Christ, the voice of God., the voice of conscience, the voice
of enlightenment, calls His true faithful children out of every condition of bondage and
confusion, calls them to be separate from everything that misrepresents God's character,
Plan and Word. But instead of feeling like bringing vengeance upon our enemies or those
who would hinder, we should feel a compassionate sympathy for them -- not with them, but for them. We should remember that with them it is
very much as it was with the Jews in our Lord's day and of others in the Apostolic period,
who, had they known what they were doing; would have been very much ashamed of their
course.
How Are We Being Exercised Under Trials and Tests?
Our Lord's warning that men "shall say all manner of evil
against you falsely for My sake" does not imply that those who malign the true
Christian will say, "We do this to you for Christ's sake, because you are one of His
followers." We have never heard of any one who was thus persecuted ; and therefore
such a course cannot be what our Lord meant. Evidently His meaning was that His followers,
honorable, truthful, honest, possessing the spirit of a sound mind, like Himself, would be
highly esteemed amongst the nominally religious were it not for their loyalty to the Word
of God. Because of faithfully pointing out popular errors, because of fidelity to the
Truth, they are hated by those who are still under the blinding influence of error.
These conditions and circumstances through which the disciples of
Christ are passing are most certainly in the nature of a schooling, a test to them to
prove whether they are willing to endure the terms of discipleship cheerfully, as a part
of the cost of being associated with Christ. If, under the pressure of these trials and
tests, they would render evil or revile in return, and slander and backbite, they would
thus demonstrate their unfitness for a place in the Kingdom. If, on the other hand, they
receive these lessons with patience and long-suffering, they will develop more of the
character-likeness of their Redeemer and thus become more worthy of a place with Him in
the future glory.
Our Lord's declaration, "Ye are the salt of the earth," may
very properly be applied to all those of His followers who are obediently heeding His
teachings and who accordingly are cultivating His character-lìkeness. As salt is useful
in arresting decomposition, so the influence of these faithful ones is preservative. This
was evidently so in our Lord's case. That influence is still manifest in the world where
true Christians live. Even today, although the truly consistent, consecrated believers in
the Great Redeemer are confessedly few in numbers, yet the soundness of the teachings of
the Savior has a wide influence. In spite of it, of course; we see very corrupt influences
at work everywhere ; and the wider our horizon, the more general our information, the more
we realize the truth of this statement that Christianity has had something of a beneficial
and stabilizing effect upon humanity, even though it has not converted the world, as it
was never .intended for that purpose ín this Age. .
How truly comforting the Divine message which assures us that the
Lord's consecrated people belong so completely to Him that in all their afflictions He is
afflicted. (Isa. 63:9.) When Saul of Tarsus was persecuting the early Church, our Lord
called to him on the way to Damascus, "Saul, why persecutest thou Me?" And he
said "Who art Thou, Lord?" And the Lord said, "I am Jesus whom thou
persecutest." Saul was not persecuting the glorified Savior directly; he was
persecuting the followers of Jesus; but so near were these to their Master that what
injury was done to them was considered by Him as done against His own person.
"For Thy Sake Are We Killed"
Here then is the Divine program for the Age, as summed up in the
Apostolic teaching: As our Lord suffered in the flesh, so also will all those who are
members of the Church, which is His Body. (Eph. 1:22, 23.) St. Peter admonishes us to
expect this, saying, "Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm
yourselves likewise with the same mind." It is the flesh, not the new creature that
suffers. While we are suffering in the flesh, we are also being developed in the spirit,
and the Holy Spirit existing largely in these, will in time enable them to sing
cheerfully:
"I fear
no tribulation,
Since whatsoe'er it be,
It makes no separation
Between my Lord and me.
Since Thou, my Lord and Teacher,
Hast claimed, me for Thine own;
E'en now with Thee I'm richer
Than monarch on his throne."
In Psalm 44:22 we read, "For Thy sake are we killed all the day
long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter." The Apostle Paul shows that this
statement is a prophecy applicable to the entire membership of Christ, of whom our Lord
Jesus is the Head. (Rom. 8:36.) The day to which reference is made is the Gospel Day (2
Cor. 6:2), the great antitypical Day of Atonement. As on the typical Atonement Day, the
typical or pictorial sacrifices were offered, so aft down the Gospel Age, the antitypical
"better sacrifices" have been in process of offering up. They began with our
Lord and continue with His Body, which is the Church.
In carefully examining and studying this subject we have seen that
the real sacrificing began at the time of our Lard's consecration, which was His full
surrender of His life to God, to be used in any way that the Father saw fit and that His
providences might direct. Those who are to be with Him in His Kingdom and compose His
Bride, follow in His steps. Their consecration is their death to the world, to earthly
hopes, human aims and ambitions. In our Lord's case we see that His sacrificial death not
only meant the giving away of His physical strength in healing, teaching, etc., but
included also the suffering resulting from the opposition of those about Him. Even from
members of His own family He experienced ostracism. Thus the Savior died daily.
Dying Daily
Surely in proportion as we are faithful to our Heavenly Father,
faithful in carrying out the terms of our covenant, our consecration, we shall have
similar experiences. Faithfulness to our covenant of sacrifice will bring upon us
opposition from the world, the flesh, and the Devil. Often our distressing experiences
will come as a result of the treatment received from professing brethren who are not
developed sufficiently to appreciate matters from the true and proper spiritual
standpoint. The great Apostle, in speaking of His own case, said that he was dying daily.
This statement is applicable to all who are laying down their lives in' the Lord's
service. Sometimes it is by the expenditure of physical strength; sometimes it is by an
evil, unkind word from some one who is disposed to hurt and injure his fellow brethren
with his tongue. . In the picture in ancient times this kind of experience we believe is
represented by the burning of the flesh outside the camp, à place which represents the
outcast's condition. Thus the faithful servants of the Lord are sure to experience
ostracism by the worldly-minded, as our Lord foretold. Their attitude of furl consecration
to the Father's will is not appreciated; for to the world it seems foolish. True disciples
of .Christ, by their holy conduct, are constantly reproving others around them, as our
Lord said, "For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the
light, lest his deeds should be reproved."
The great and all-important consideration with all the Lord's people
is, We have a baptism to be baptized with and how, are we straitened, how much difficulty
we are in, until it be accomplished. To be faithful unto death is a part of the covenant
of sacrifice. In some instances death may come early, in others it may come late. One of
the early Church, St. Stephen, was faithful unto death, which came early in his Christian
experience. St.' Peter was also faithful, but met his death after a long lifetime. The
promise to the overcomer is, "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a
crown of life." (Rev. 2:10.) "If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him."
"Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill
the law of Christ."
-- Galatians 6:2.
HOW WHOLESOME, how sublime, the counsel that comes from God! How
gentle and soothing are His messages as they come to His children reassuring the timid and
fearful, yea, all His dear trusting ones, of that love Divine all love excelling. While
His Word of Instruction tells us of His inflexible justice, and that He changeth not, yet
that same Word of Counsel is most explicit in the information that our Father in Heaven is
very long-suffering and patient, yea, pitiful and merciful, "Like as a father pitieth
his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him." He is declared to be the great
refuge, the hiding place for all His children, a very present help in trouble.
Various are the ways in which God reveals His compassionate love to
His children-in His Word, in His providences, in the bestowal of His unspeakable benefits
and gifts of both a temporal and spiritual character. But still another and indeed a very
important method of manifesting His own character of love is through His children to one another. He has called
upon. each one of them as they come to grasp the length and breadth of His loving kindness
to express that loving compassion and sympathy toward one another; to consider one
another; to edify one another by loving thoughts, words, and deeds, and to "help
together by prayer."
Love's Quick Discernment
Amongst the instructions to the children of God is the one above
cited: "Bear ye one another's burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ." The law
of Christ would stand for the will of Christ or the will of God; this we have seen to be
the law of love. It is God's will that we shall love one another; and that love will
prompt us to "bear one another's burdens." There are times in the experience of
almost every one when the surges of trouble roll high and the timid shrinking soul is
almost overwhelmed by them. At such times how soothing is the sympathy and counsel of a
fellow member of the Body of Christ! Worldly-minded friends and the undisciplined in holy
things may sympathize, but their counsel is almost sure to be wrong and of little or no
profit. Hence, the necessity of fellowship in the Body of Christ, and of disfellowship
with the world. The advantages of Christian fellowship are realized by the Lord's people
in that they are brought directly in contact with the power and influence of the Holy
Spirit which is illuminating, instructive, healing, and edifying.
It is not always necessary to tell one's sorrows and perplexities to
another and to solicit their sympathy and aid, in many cases they are better untold except
to the Lord. On the other hand, love's quick discernment is always vigilant, watchful, and
ready with the word in season, the cordial friendliness, and the helpful hand, if need be,
to help bear the burden.
In the course of experience the Christian learns that the burdens to
be borne are many and of various kinds; there are burdens that come in connection with the
loss of loved ones, burdens of deep sorrow and loneliness; there are burdens of a
financial character that embarrass and bring pressure on the mind; there are cares of the
family and business anxiety; cares that arise out of physical and mental sufferings, of
such disaster that bring great perplexity and anxiety; and there are burdens too at times
because of certain entanglements in sin. In all of these experiences, if we have it upon
our hearts to act in accordance with the law of Christ, we will often realize the
privilege of cheering and strengthening fellow members of the Body of Christ with a word
of sympathy and counsel and with such aid as may be most needful and in season.
Bearing Infirmities of the Weak
Particular attention is paid in the Scriptures to this last kind of
burdens -- burdens of sin -- and it counsels the exercise of the spirit of compassion,
especially in cases of acknowledged sin. All of the Lord's people are to remember their
own liability to weakness and failure, and therefore, to be patient and considerate with
others when they are overtaken in a fault. Such patient, forbearing love is one of the
most beautiful adornments of the Christian character.
There is no member of the Body of Christ but has his or her inherited
weaknesses against which each must engage in a life-long warfare. This is why the
Christian experience is spoken of as a fight and the admonition is full of solemn
significance, "Fight the good fight of faith." The weaknesses of the brethren
are sometimes of such a nature as to interfere to some extent with the rights and comforts
of others, as well as of themselves. Surely it is in this connection that the Apostle,
offers the word of counsel, "We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of
the weak and not to please ourselves." In bearing the infirmities of the weak we may
at times profitably reason with such an one and thus endeavor to impart new strength and
encouragement by the spiritual ad vice that we may be enabled to offer. We would do this
of course in the spirit of meekness and humility and love; at the same time we would
patiently endure the trial of our patience, not thinking nor seeking so much to please
ourselves, but rather to assist one who may in some respects be weaker than ourselves.
"Let every one of us," as the Apostle counsels, "please his neighbor
[brother] for his good to edification" -- that is, not by simply ignoring his fault,
as though we considered it all right, but while kindly urging him to strive against it,
still humbly and patiently submitting to the discomfort it may bring to us.
If One Member Suffer
If this spirit prevails, the Apostle further shows (1 Cor. 12:24-26),
there need be no schism in the Body; because the members all have a mutual care and a
mutual love for one another -- a care which seeks to encourage and strengthen all that is
good and to discourage all that is unbecoming; and a love which throws its mantle over the
deformities and endeavors to conceal his faults rather than to expose the weaker brother
to the reproach of others In the real Body of Christ then, which is knit together in
love, if one member suffer, all the members suffer with him, in proportion as they are
more or less directly associated with him; or if one member be honored, all the members
rejoice with him. and to some degree share the honor; just as when in an earthly family
one member rises to honorable distinction; all the members partake of the honor and the
joy.
In order to display such self-sacrificing love, how necessary is the
possession of a large measure of the Holy Spirit, for only that Spirit can impart to us
strength to walk humbly and to act gently, and to exercise patience and faith: We see
again the force of our Master's words, "Except ye be converted [from the spirit of
the world to the spirit of Christ], and become as little children [in meekness and
teachableness], ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." (Matt. 18:16) And
those other words of the Savior stand closely related, "Whoso shall receive one such
little child [one such humble, teachable child of God] in My name receiveth Me." Let
us therefore be in haste to receive -- and to heartily fellowship every such one. The
Master also adds a word of caution here, which all would do well to heed, saying,
"But whoso shall ensnare one of the least of these who believe in Me, it would be
better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were sunk in the
depth of the sea." With what deep solicitude and care then should We regard one
another!
Who of all the Lord's people would not delight in the consciousness
that he is fulfilling the law of Christ! What incentive then is there to bear one
another's burdens and so show forth the power of love; and so bind up the Body of Christ
that there be no unwholesome conditions in the Body, but that it be more and more knit
together in love. Surely it were well that this blessed law of Christ be allowed to rule
more fully in all' when have taken by consecration the name of Christ. All such should let
its hallowed influence shine out upon all those around them, thus showing others how it
brings peace and harmony and the true rest of the children of God; and how it pours oil
upon the troubled waters, of present experiences and prepares the heart for the enjoyment
of all the fruits of righteousness.
"Therefore being by the
right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy
Spirit, He bath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear." -- Acts 2:33.
"THEY were all with one accord in one place." Thus runs the
sacred record that tells of how the waiting and expectant disciples were rewarded with the
Pentecostal blessing. Their Master only a few weeks before had given them the sure
promise: "I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter that He may
abide with you for ever." Thus the coming of the Pentecostal flame marked the
commencement of the Gospel Church in the full sense.
There is a thought here respecting the propriety of the Lord's people
being at one, or in accord, in respect to the things they are seeking for and waiting for.
It is to this end that the Lord has exhorted us, through the Apostle, that we forget not
the assembling of ourselves together, and so much the more as we see the day drawing near
not the day of Pentecost, but a still greater and still grander day; Pentecost brought
merely the first fruits of the Spirit, while the day we wait for is the day of the
consummation of all our hopes and of all God's promises in respect. to the Church, as the
Bride and Joint-heir of His Son.
In the One Holy Condition
We cannot all come together in the literal sense, as did the Apostles
and the early Church on Pentecost, but we can come together into one place in another
sense; we can come into the holy place, into the sanctuary or consecrated condition of
heart and of life, and thus into oneness and fellowship with the Lord; and with all who
are in the same holy condition, and partakers of the same blessing of the inner light of
the golden candlestick, and the inner food of the table of skew-bread, and the inner
communion with the Lord, represented in the golden altar and its incense. Our natural
dispositions are various and their crooks and twists different; but our new natures are
one, begotten of the same Father, through the same Spirit. We are to seek accord as New
Creatures, and are to restrain, mortify and cast out the weaknesses of the flesh and the
contentiousness of disposition which maybe ours; accordingly -- that as New Creatures we
may be one with the Lord and with all who are His Body or Church, under the one Head or
Lord, infused or energized by one spirit of obedience to the one Father, and under the
control of the one law of Love.
It is not said that the Holy Spirit was imparted in connection with a
rushing wind, but merely that there was "a sound as of a rushing wind." Neither
is it said that flames or tongues of fire rested upon them, but that tongues or flames
having the appearance of fire, as in the case of the burning bush, rested upon them. The
Holy Spirit is an invisible power, and its impartation need not of necessity have any
outward demonstration. But God's purpose was the contrary of this. He desired to accompany
the Holy Spirit with certain manifestations which would be convincing to the Apostles
themselves as respected their acceptance with Him, and their identification as His
ministers, ambassadors of the new dispensation; he wished also to make manifest the
nucleus of the Gospel Church to others, to devout Jews then in Jerusalem, attending this
feast; and we think it quite probable that it was God's intention also by these gifts to
manifest who were the Apostles and to indicate their special office in the Church.
Tongues of Light
It is not stated specifically upon whom the tongues rested;
"upon each of them" might mean upon each of the eleven Apostles, or it might
mean upon each of the one hundred and twenty present. Whoever the tongues sat upon were
filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit
gave them utterance; and this preaching with other tongues seems to have been done only by
the eleven Apostles; for the multitude, hearing them, exclaimed, "Are not all these
which speak Galileans?" As for the eleven Apostles, they were all Galileans, but as
for the remainder of the one hundred and twenty, it is probable that the majority of them
were Judeans, residents of Jerusalem. We incline, therefore, to suppose that while the
whole room in which they were present was filled with the Holy Spirit, and the entire
company present made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and immersed into it, and blessed
thereby, yet nevertheless, these outward manifestations of tongues and speaking
miraculously were at first only given to the eleven, for the purpose of designating them
as God's chosen instruments in connection with the new dispensation. We know that it was
so subsequently; so that whoever received gifts of the Holy Spirit received them through
the laying on of the hands of the Apostles.
From the construction of the Greek text it is evident that these were
not split tongues, on the heads of the favored ones, but rather that they were tongues of
flame cloven or split off from a central or luminous body, tongues which emanated from one
common center, and went to the heads of those for whom intended. It was not fire; however
but light. The tongues represented nothing akin to destruction, which fire would
symbolize. They represented, on the contrary, enlightenment, knowledge, intelligence, and
implied that a holy intelligence, or light from the Lord had come upon the recipients
marking them as the Lord's mouthpieces; indicating that from henceforth their tongues
should show forth His praise, to the blessing and enlightenment of the world. And so
indeed it has been; those poor fishermen, illiterate, unlearned as respects earthly
education, under the power of the Lord's Spirit became mighty indeed in the pulling down
of strongholds of error, and the scattering of darkness by the illumination of the minds
of those prepared for the Word of God's grace.
Teaching a Great Lesson
Some have made the mistake of supposing that these tongues of flame
were a fulfillment of the prediction of John the Baptist, who said of Christ, "He
shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." (Luke 3:16.) This was the
fulfillment of only the first part; it was merely the baptism of the Holy Spirit; it. was
not the baptism of fire; the baptism of fire and destruction was for a totally different
class. The faithful of the Jews were to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the
unfaithful majority of them were to receive the baptism of fiery trouble, and they did
receive it a little further along. After the Holy Spirit, coming upon the infant Church at
Pentecost, had searched, sifted and winnowed out of the Jewish dispensation all of the
true "wheat," gathering it into the garner of the Gospel (spirit), dispensation,
then the fire came upon the "chaff.' (Luke 3:17.) The Apostle speaks of this, calling
it wrath, saying, "Wrath is come upon them to the uttermost." -- 1 Thess. 2:16.
The tongues of light which came upon the faithful at Pentecost did
not continue with them, even as the dove, which was seen descending upon Jesus, did not
continue to be seen. Both the dove and the flame of light were merely outward
representations, not to deceive, but for the purpose of teaching a great lesson, for the
purpose of convincing that the promised blessing and power had come. The Lord's people who
since come under the influence of the Holy Spirit, have neither signs of flames, nor
doves, nor sounds of rushing wind; nor do they speak miraculously. They, nevertheless,
come into and are made partakers of the Holy Spirit, which no longer uses these outward
manifestations because they are no longer necessary; the Church having been established,
and the fact of the Holy Spirit's impartation having been demonstrated, we now are to
accept the same by faith, and to permit it to dwell in us richly, and to cultivate in our
hearts and lives the fruit of the Spirit, instead of expecting them or other things as
miraculous gifts.
Holy Spirit Gave Energy and Courage
The tongues of light are a forceful illustration of the fact that God
purposed to use human tongues as His agencies in promulgating His message and calling out
His elect from the world. An energy of soul evidently went with the outward demonstration,
giving a courage to the Apostles of, which previously, as humble and unlearned men, they
were naturally deficient. Note, for instance, how it led the Apostle Peter, who,
fifty-three days before, had denied the Lord, saying, "I know not the man," for
fear of the Jews, to now courageously stand up in the midst of those very Jews, and to
proclaim Him as his Master, as the Son of God risen from the dead and ascended up on high;
as the great Mediator and High Priest of the new order. It gave him the courage to charge
home to the hearts of his hearers their responsibility for the crime. So also the other
disciples who previously had fled from their arrested Master, were now courageous to tell
forth His praise. Not only had they become convinced, by the proofs received, respecting
His resurrection and His ascension, but now these proofs were added to by the fulfillment
of His promises, evidencing the fact that He had ascended to the Father, and that He had
been favorably received, and that these gifts of the Spirit were evidences of the return
of Divine favor toward them, of their acceptance in the Beloved One, and of their right
and authority to go forth in His name and to declare remission of sins to all the penitent
who would come unto the Father through Him.
At this particular season of the, year the city of Jerusalem was
crowded with visitors from various parts of the world. We bear in mind too, that millions
of the ten-tribe kingdom, called Israel, were taken captive, and later millions more of
the two-tribe kingdom, called Judah, were also taken captive to Babylon; and that these
millions were scattered as immigrants in the various districts of Assyria .and Babylonia;
where they settled down, making these strange lands their home, so that when the
opportunity for returning from captivity came in the days of Cyrus, and by his edict, only
a very small proportion of the two tribes, and a still smaller proportion of the ten
tribes, returned to Palestine -- the great majority preferring to remain in the countries
where they at one time had been captives, but where, during their long exile, they had
become at home and formed attachments. From that time on all distinction as between Israel
and Judah was at an end; and all were recognized as at first, as Israelites, and all came
under the general name of Jews. Thus it was that our Lord and the Apostles addressed the
people as Israelites and Jews, using the terms interchangeably, and that they spoke of the
dispersed ones indiscriminately, as Jews and as Israelites also.
The Mighty Works of God
It was at seasons like the Passover and Pentecost that numbers of
devout Jews, not only from all parts of Judea and Galilee, went to Jerusalem, but also the
"dispersed" Jews of devout spirit from the surrounding countries came thither,
to worship the Lord and to obey the command requiring all His faithful to assemble
themselves before Him at Jerusalem. Thus it was that at the time of these visits the city
would sometimes have a crowded population of from two to three million people, chiefly
adults. The city was crowded at the time of this Pentecostal blessing, and a great
concourse of people were drawn together by the miraculous manifestation of Divine power
amongst the disciples. Some of these, hearing the Apostles speaking in various languages
which they could not understand, passed on, declaring that they had no interest in the
matter, and that probably the speakers were intoxicated, and did not know what they were
saying themselves; but others recognized their own tongues and dialects, some Apostles
speaking in one tongue, some in another; and when they perceived that all the speakers
were Galileans they were astounded, especially in view of the fact that they were
unlearned men. The miracle helped to impress the situation upon their minds, and we may be
sure that the words spoken were also powerful. We cannot suppose that the Lord would make
a special manifestation of power without an equal manifestation of wisdom. Indeed,
wherever we find people claiming various gifts and powers, and find these to be
accompanied by nothing that is reasonable and logical and comprehensible, we are justified
in doubting that the matter is of the Lord at all. We may be sure that when the Holy,
Spirit gives utterance it will utter that which is good and reasonable and sound of logic,
and not folly. And so we read that the hearers said, "We do hear them speak in our
tongues the mighty works of God."
The words of their discourse are not given us in detail here, but we
can readily discern that the mighty works of God which filled their own hearts and minds
were those wonderful things which they had just been learning from the Lord, namely that
God's time had come for conferring the blessing long before promised through Abraham; that
Jesus was the Messiah, whom the Father had sent, and whose death was necessary in order to
the carrying out of the Plan, as our Lord had declared to them, "Ought not Christ to
have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory?" (Luke 24:26.) It was theirs
further to declare another wonderful work of God, that in addition to Messiah, the Head,
God was about to gather out of the people a little flock to be joint-heirs with Messiah,
in the Kingdom, preparatory to its establishment for the blessing of the world. It was the
true Gospel that they preached, the Gospel of Salvation; and their message was in the
power and demonstration of the Spirit.
Speaking With Other Tongues Today
The miraculous gift of tongues is no longer with us, yet the same
Spirit, received by us, dwelling in us richly and abounding more and more, gives us
utterance, also, in respect to the wonderful
works of God. This is still true of all the Royal Priesthood, the consecrated. As the
Apostle expressed it in his day, "Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken
unto you more than unto God, judge ye [for yourselves] ; for we cannot but speak the
things which we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:19, 20.) The enlightenment of our
understanding has shown us Jesus as the Redeemer of the world, and our share in His
redemptive work; and also our acceptance with the Father, through Him, to be His
Joint-heirs in the Kingdom, and to be fellow-servants with Him in the present time, in
bearing the reproaches of the true Gospel in this time, when the great Adversary is
deceiving the world in respect to these matters, putting light for darkness and darkness
for light.
It should still be true that the Lord's people speak with other tongues. Those whose tongues had blasphemed
the Holy Name now give thanks and praise; those who had ignorantly misrepresented the
Divine character and Plan now vie with each other in showing forth the praises of Him who
has called them out of darkness into His marvelous light. The influence of the Holy Spirit
transforms their sentiments and expressions respecting the brethren also, and respecting
the world, so that instead of hatred and anger they have love and gentleness and patience;
and instead of their tongues showing forth envy and bitterness and pride, worldly
ambition, etc., they show forth the new mind in gentleness and wisdom, in helpfulness and
love -- toward all men, and especially toward the household of faith. These, their new
tongues, and the new living epistles which they represent to their families, their
neighbors and the world, are beautifully expressed by the Prophet to be their
"song" -- their praise, their acknowledgment to God for His grace and truth; as
it is written, "He hath put a new song in my mouth, even the loving kindness of our
God."
"The grass withereth, and
the flower thereof falleth away; but the Word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is
the word which by the Gospel is preached unto you." -- 1 Pet. 1:24, 25.
THE DIVINE standpoint is that no one really lives except he who has
the Word of God in his heart and who is obediently keeping his conduct through life'in
harmony therewith. This is surely the import of the words of Jesus, "Man shall not
live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." The
Word of God, the Message from God, is compared to life-giving waters, because that Word
embodies the Divine instruction setting forth God's will in the matter of co-operation
with Him so as to bring the blessing of continued life, everlasting life.
As God is unchangeable, so His word remains unchanged from age to
age; and what was truth in ages past is still truth. Another, enlarging upon the words of
St. Peter, says, "It is sad to look on a beautiful lily, a rose, a magnolia, and to
think how soon all that beauty will disappear. It is more sad to look on a rosy cheek, a
bright eye, a lovely form, an expressive brow, an open, serene, intelligent countenance,
and to think how soon all that beauty and brilliancy will fade away. But amidst these
changes which beauty undergoes, and the desolations which disease and spread over the
world, it is cheering to think that all is not so. There is that which does not change,
which never loses its beauty. 'The Word of the Lord' abides. His cheering promises, His
assurances that there is a brighter and better world, remain amidst all these changes the
same. The traits which are drawn on the character by the religion of Christ, more lovely
by far than the most delicate coloring of the lily, remain for ever. There they abide,
augmenting in loveliness, when the rose fades from the cheek; when the brilliancy departs
from the eye; when the body molders away in the sepulchre. The beauty of religion is the
only permanent beauty in the earth."
It is the perversion of the Divine truth by men, the traditions of
men, that make void the Word of God. And for this reason, it is of the most signal
importance that those who are walking in the pathway of life and seeking to be fed upon
the life-giving truth shall learn to distinguish between the Word of God and the
traditions of men -- that which is not according to that Word.
Our Inheritance in the Bible
The Bible is the great touch-stone or source of spiritual truth. Not
only so, but it becomes the means by which we determine what .is truth and what is error,
of all the messages that are being propagated amongst men. It may be truthfully said that
the entire Bible from beginning to end is the inheritance of the saints -- "The
sanctified in Christ Jesus." To them all the Apostolic epistles are addressed,
including the Apocalyptic visions of St. John, which are said to be in the opening pages a
revelation of things for the Lord's people -- "To show unto His servants things which
must shortly come to pass."
Furthermore, the Apostle Peter in referring to the prophecies of the
Old Testament, says even of the Prophets that, "Not unto themselves, but unto us they
did minister." (1 Pet. 1:12. See also Dan. 12:4, 8, 9.) And the Apostle Paul says
that "Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we
[the sanctified in Christ Jesus] through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have
hope." (Rom. 15:4.) Consequently all that was written aforetime by Moses and the
Prophets -- whether of history or law or prophecy or type or precept -- was designed
specially far those who are do Christ, for the instruction and comfort of the children of
God. And not any of it belongs to the unregenerate world. It is indeed a "light which
shineth in a dark place," to Christians. It is a "lamp to our feet, and a light
to our path." And whatever light the worldly or the unbelieving get from it, reaches
them indirectly-as reflected from the children who "shine as lights in the
world." "Ye," said cur Lord, "are the light of the world."-Phil.
2:15; Matt. 5:14.
The Plan of God once discerned, indirectly inculcates every principle
of morality and virtue by showing just what God designs to have us do; by showing first
how He created us perfect and glorious in His own image and designed us for everlasting
life in the enjoyment of His favor; next, by causing us to see that everything in us that
is short of that original perfection is due to sin and renders us unworthy of life. Then
there is the recognition of sin; and thus the glorious plan for both our legal and our
actual deliverance from sin and death is opened up, the final restitution of all things is
assured to the loyal and obedient sons of God, and the necessary provisions thereto are
made manifest.
As the Plan is now clearly outlined and laid bare before the children
of God as never before we see how history and prophecy and type and law all minister to
the one grand design of the Book of books, in which the reverent and careful student finds
the highest incentive to purity and holiness .and the most perfect delineation of that
praise-worthy character, which he should seek to build up and in contrast with which the
deformity of every evil is manifest.
The Thing Which the Lord Hath Commanded
As in ancient times it was of the greatest importance that God's
people not only heard but gave heed to and obeyed the Word and His instruction concerning
them and how they were to proceed; so it is no less important that the .true Israel of God
today journeying to the promised inheritance shall show forth great meekness and
teachableness and be swift to hear and obey what the Lord their God has said onto them.
"It is of the deepest interest," says another writer* whose
comment is specially to the point here, "to see that in the consecration of the
priests as well as in the entire range of the sacrifices, we are brought immediately under
the authority of the Word of God. 'And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing
which the Lord commanded to be done.' (Lev. 8:5.) And, again, 'Moses said, This is the
thing which the Lord commanded that ye should do: and the glory of the Lord shall appear
unto you.' (Lev. 9:6.) Let these words sink down into our ears; let them 'be carefully and
prayerfully pondered: they are priceless. words. 'This is the thing which the Lord
commanded.' He did not say, This is the thing which is expedient, agreeable, or suitable;
neither did he say, This is the thing which has been arranged by the voice of the fathers,
the decree of the elders, or the opinion of the doctors. Moses knew nothing of such
sources of authority. To him there was one holy, elevated, paramount source of authority,
and that was, the Word of Jehovah, and he would bring every member of the assembly into
direct contact with that blessed source. This gave assurance to the heart, and fixedness
to all the thoughts. There was no room left for tradition, with all its uncertain sounds
or for man, with his doubtful disputations. All was clear, conclusive and authoritative.
Jehovah had spoken; and all that was needed was to hear what He had said, and obey.
Neither tradition nor expediency has any place in the heart that has learned to prize, to
reverence, and to obey the Word of God.
_________
* C. H. MacIntosh in "Notes on
Leviticus," footnote. -- [Handwritten footnote in The Herald.]
__________
"And what was to be the result of this strict adherence to the
Word of God? A truly blessed result, indeed. "the glory of the Lord shall appear unto
you." Had the Word been disregarded the glory would not have appeared. The two things
were intimately connected. The slightest deviation from 'thus with Jehovah' would have
prevented the beams of the Divine glory from appearing to the congregation of Israel. Had
there been the introduction of a single rite or ceremony not enjoined by the Word, or had
there been the omission of aught which that Word commanded, Jehovah would not have
manifested His glory. He could not sanction by the glory of Hìs presence the neglect or
rejection of His Word. He can bear with ignorance and infirmity, but He cannot sanction
neglect or disobedience."
The Word of God Must Test All Teaching
A careful study of the history of the Lord's people, both prior and
subsequent to our Lord's First Advent, discloses the fact that their difficulties and
their failures to attain and secure to themselves the things God had promised, were due to
be a partial or complete neglect of His infallible Word; to a message of indifference to
what was marked out in. that Word as the Divine will for His children. Neglect of the Word
of God and the authority which it alone has, always opens up the way for the words of men
to enter in, for there have always been those in the Church, from the beginning of the
Age, who have been over-confident concerning themselves and their own importance, and
whose natural bent seems ever in the direction of exercising authority over others and
telling ethers what to do. Consequently, the word of men has many times been substituted
for the Word of God. The same writer continues in earnest appeal:
"Oh! that ail this were more solemnly considered, in this day of
tradition and expediency! I Would, in earnest affection, and in the deep sense of personal
responsibility to my reader, exhort him to give diligent heed to the importance of close
-- I had almost said severe -- adherence and reverent subjection to the Word of God. Let
him try everything by that standard, and reject all that comes not up to it, let him weigh
everything in that balance, and cast aside all that is not full weight; let him measure
everything by that rule, and refuse all deviation. If I could only be the means of
awakening one soul to a proper sense of the place that belongs to the Word of God, I
should feel I had not written my book for naught nor in vain."
The Stamp of Divine Sanction
The above writer discloses unusual wisdom, a wisdom that is borne of
long experience in the school of Christ and that comes as a result of careful study of the
lessons chat are realized from history. His emphasis on the importance of the unvarnished
Word of God and the strong appeal to the true disciple of Christ to be sure that all he is
accepting and engaging in is according to God's Word and will, is surely seasonable
advice. Thus he continues:
"Reader, pause, and, in the presence of the Searcher of hearts,
ask yourself this plain, pointed question: Am I sanctioning by my presence, or adopting in
my practice, any departure from, or neglect of, the Word of God? Make this a solemn,
personal matter before the Lord. Be assured of it, it is of the very deepest moment, the
very last importance. If, you find that you have been, in any wise, connected with, or
involved in, aught that wears not the distinct stamp of Divine sanction, reject it at once
and forever. Yes, reject it, though arrayed in the imposing vestments of antiquity,
accredited by the voice of tradition, and putting forward the almost irresistible plea of
expediency. If you cannot say, in reference to everything with which you stand connected,
'This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded,' then away with it unhesitatingly, away
with it forever. Remember these words, 'As he hath done this day, so the Lord hath
commanded to do.' Yes, remember the 'as' and the 'so'; see that you are connecting them in
your ways and associations, and let them never be separated."
ANOTHER CONVENTION AT BOSTON
The brethren in Boston have arranged for another convention in their
city, May 28, 29 and 30. They assure us that they are eagerly looking forward to the
occasion and anticipating that it will truly be a holy convocation in the Lord, a special
time for "coming apart" for worship, praise and thanksgiving unto Him who is
worthy of all praise and worship. The Lord has been pleased to pour out His blessing
abundantly upon the brethren as they have come together in this city in other years --
sweet memories still linger in the minds of those who have been privileged to attend these
conventions and enjoy sweet and sacred fellowship together. The holy influence of the
Master Himself has been in the midst of His people; and we have confidence, "full
assurance of faith," that He will be with the brethren on the occasion of their
coming together again. "Prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not
open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room
enough to receive it" Let the hearts of all be joined in fervent prayer for the
Divine blessing.
The dear brethren of the Boston Ecclessia extend to all who love the
Lord and trust in. His precious blood, a cordial invitation to attend and will do all they
can for the comfort of the friends and for the success of the convention. The convention
will be held in Burns' Hall, Caledonian Building, corner of Berkeley and Appleton Streets.
Further information regarding accommodations, etc., may be secured by addressing the Class
Secretary, Brother J. R. Donald, 16 Ticknor Street, South Boston, Mass.
CONVENTION AT DAYTON, OHIO
The brethren of this city advise us also of their plans for a general
convention oh the same dates as above, May 28, 29 and 30. These brethren are also
enthusiastic and are confident that it will be a happy time in the Lord. They likewise
extend a cordial invitation to all, promising that a warm welcome is awaiting all those
who will gather with them at that time. We would add in this connection that the
disposition to gather in the Lord's name for fellowship and communion is always to be
commended. Again we are reminded that the Apostle intimates that as the "day"
draws near there will be all the more need for the Lord's people to assemble together for
mutual comfort and upbuilding in Christ -- to commune one with the other and with the Lord
and to exhort and encourage one another to steadfastness. Experience proves this: We are
living in a special time of peculiar trouble and trial, testing and sifting upon the
Church, for the judgment of this day must begin at the house of God. It is as we see the
day drawing on that we are to be the more diligent in assembling ourselves with those of
like precious faith -- the more earnest ìn exhorting and provoking to love and good works
and thus to assist one another in putting on the whole armor of God, the graces of
character, meekness, patience, gentleness, brotherly kindness, faith, hope, love.
The brethren in Dayton promise to send us the address of the
convention gathering later. Meantime any desiring information may communicate with the
Class Secretary, Brother P. E. Thomson, R.F.D. 5, Dayton, Ohio.
THE PORTLAND CONVENTION
Notice has already appeared in the last issue of this journal
concerning the convention that is planned for Portland, May 29 and 30, and we are now
advised that all sessions of the convention will be held in Woodmen of the World Temple,
128 Eleventh Street, Portland, Ore. And all communications respecting the convention
should be addressed to Associated Bible Students, at the above address. May the Lord add
His blessing to this convention gathering also.
THE ANNUAL MEETING AND BROOKLYN CONVENTION
The annual meeting of the Pastoral Bible Institute will this year be
held on Saturday, June the 4th, at 2:30 p. m. The purpose of this meeting is to furnish
opportunity for the brethren to consider together a general review of the activities of
the Institute during the past, year. Also the election of directors will take place at
that time; the specifications of the Constitution of the Institute providing for directors
to hold office but one year.
The brethren of the Brooklyn Ecclesia have been conferring together
respecting the holding of a convention in connection with the annual meeting and decision
has been reached to arrange a convention for June 3, 4 and 5. It is hoped that a good
number of the friends in surrounding districts will be permitted to attend the meetings in
Brooklyn at that time. All are assured of a hearty welcome in the Lord. Further
particulars will be given later respecting both the annual meeting and the convention.
Dear Brethren in Christ:
I desire to express to you my appreciation for the help I have
received through the "Herald." I was much prejudiced against anything that did
not come through the so-called channel. As the "Herald" came to me from time to
time I destroyed it without reading.
I was uncomfortable where I was, the bed was too short and the
covering too narrow. I felt more and more in bondage and I wondered where we were
drifting, since they said time was no longer. Finally, a brother called my attention to
the Chronology article in the "Herald" of August 1-15, 1925, which I enjoyed
very much. I subscribed for the "Herald" and was delighted when I observed the
same sweet spirit therein that we enjoyed in Brother Russell's day. I read "Light
After Darkness" and feel much wrong was done to the brethren in those trying times,
and ever since. I do hope the brethren will forgive me for any part I may have had
therein. I want to co-operate with you to the extent of my ability in bringing honor to
the name of the dear Lord and comfort to His bewildered people.
Find enclosed $___ which you may use as you see best in the interest
of His cause.
Your brother in the service of the Lord, -- R. J. B.-Colo.
Dear Brethren:
I am enclosing Money Order for $___ which is for renewal of my
subscription to the "Herald"; the balance I desire to be used for postage, etc.,
on the following literature, which I trust you may be so good as to send. .
I am pleased at this time to express my appreciation of the good help
which the Lord is privileging you to convey to His people through the medium of the
"Herald," and I trust that so long as it may be His good pleasure to so arrange,
you may be kept "meet for the Master's use."
In this somewhat remote part of the world we are not without our
evidences that the one Lord is everywhere over all His people; and our experiences from
time to time seem in line with those of the brethren elsewhere. We are in days of testing,
and the tests are, I think, becoming more and more individual and searching, involving
much care and prayer, thinking and acting independently before the Lord.
All wrong considerations or fears, as for example, the retention of
.old associations, or the misunderstanding and criticism of others, must be laid aside;
that the one true consideration and purpose may influence us supremely. "I have set
the Lord always before me, because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved."
The Lord's love is an understanding love, and He seems to become more
and more to us a close friend and guide, and our continual satisfaction.
May the Lord help us all as we receive our necessary trials. to
manifest the desired faith, obedience, and love, and "hold up our goings in His paths
that, our footsteps slip not."
Yours in Christian love, in which Sister S. also joins, and with
prayers for your continued favor in His love and service,
L. G. S. -- Aus.
Dear Brethren:
Find enclosed $1.00 for one year's subscription to "The Herald
of Christ's Kingdom," dating from January 1, to the address of ______.
This dear sister has been with the I. B. S. A. for only two years and
yet she sees the bondage, and more so the foolishness of new light (?). Her heart is very,
very heavy. She is meeting with our Class now and I am sure the "Herald" will
comfort her as it has me.
I often thank my Heavenly Father for the "Herald and for raising
up brethren who like St. Peter would feed His lambs, feed His sheep. I know in my own case
how miserable I was. I felt forsaken, and when 'I had cried out, Lord help me, I perish,
He did help me, and Oh, how thankful I am! Shall I not rejoice that I have learned at last
to know His voice from man's! I will rejoice! And I am truly thankful that He kept me in
that dread hour. Lord, increase my faith.
I also want to mention the Revelation books that were such a help, to
me. What a 'comfort! . . . Brother D. joins me in praying the Lord's richest blessing upon
all the brethren who are feeding the flock of God at this time.
Yours by His grace, Mrs. W. D.-Ont.
Dear Sirs:
I have just been reading a leaflet published by you entitled,
"Why Does God Permit Evil." Like it very much. Would like t read other
literature on this and other subjects.
I am a single man, fifty-two years of age. Have been striving to live
a Christian life since I was twenty-one. It is my desire to give the remainder of my life
to the work of the Lord.
I am a poor man and of course must make expenses as I go along. This
is all I would expect. Will you please advise me what is the best course to pursue.
Yours respectfully, H. W. B.-Portland, Ore.
Dear Brethren in Christ:
It has given us much joy to find that at least one journal is still
publishing consistent and proven doctrines. We have been reading The Herald about a month.
We were much impressed with the last one containing Brother Zink's letter. Many in this
Class have been encouraged by that letter.
Since .receiving the package of "Food For Thinking
Christians," I have been going from house to house, inquiring for Christians,
wherever any one is searching and desiring to understand the Scriptures. They .sell very
easy. I sold all I had in a couple of hours. The free tracts I give to such only who say
they are interested in knowing more than they hear in the churches, but do not. care to
buy any thing. I am using my best judgment. If this does not appeal to you, please let me
hear from you also would like some suggestions if you have any.
I have been selling I. B. S. A. literature up to the last two months,
abut I never felt quite satisfied with much of it -- too conflicting. "Food For
Thinking Christians" answers the purpose better than any thing I have yet seen, to
'my .mind. Enclosed find $____ for which please send me "Food For Thinking
Christians," and also "Where Are the Dead?" or "Immortality and the
Resurrection of the Dead."
Greetings. Mrs. F. H. J. -- Minn
VOL. X. May 15, 1927 No. 10
"FOR UNITY IN PROTESTANTISM"
LABORING under the impression that the term "the Church
Militant" signifies the Church at war with the world powers and forces of evil, with
the object of converting and subduing these unto herself, the World Conference of
Protestant churches will convene next August at Lausanne, Switzerland, for the purpose of
seeing what can be done to eliminate denominational and creed barriers so that Christendom
may effect a more complete unification and co-operation of all so-called Christian forces
in dealing with the problems of evil and thus the more readily bring about the
regeneration of the world. An editorial in "The Boston Herald," of recent date,
sets forth the general popular viewpoint on this subject:
"It might be difficult to say just how many denominations
constitute that great body of Christians known as Protestants. The churches have always
been of easy cleavage. Earnest students of the Bible have found therein warrants for
varying systems of doctrine and different forms of worship. We have churches governed by
bishops; and churches governed by ruling elders, denominations closely organized and
unified, and denominations loosely organized and independent; churches liberal in theology
and churches of conservative creed. Many of these denominations proudly look back on their
history and rejoice in the dramatic scenes in which the fathers of their faith
participated.
"The greatest single enterprise to which Protestantism in the
present century can address itself is the movement for the unification of these diverging
bodies of Christians. The divisive tendencies have been slowing down for many years. The
present time demands efficiency in every field of human endeavor, in ecclesiastical
matters no less than in secular affairs. Therefore the great conference to be held at
Lausanne, Switzerland, next August, in which no fewer than 87 Protestant bodies from all
over the world will take part, is to be hailed with satisfaction, as a token that the
movement for closer relations throughout Protestantism is actually under way. Nothing
revolutionary is contemplated. Evolutionary methods are to be applied to the problem of
church unity.
"The church today is not the church triumphant; it is the church
militant, and a great deal remains to be accomplished by the embattled church ere it can
claim to have achieved its mission.
"It is for the discussion of these common needs and problems
that half-a-thousand delegates from Africa, Asia, the two Americas, Europe, and Australia,
will come together at Lausanne in a world conference of faith and order. The formal
statement is: 'Five hundred representatives of 87 different nation-wide churches, all of
which acknowledge Christ as God and Savior, will earnestly study at this great conference
the differences of doctrine and organization among ail the churches, with a view to
preparing the way for unity.' They do not abandon any of their historical methods or
principles. They study disagreements as a means towards possible eventual agreement. Their
recommendations will be submitted to all churches to be considered in due time by them and
presumably acted upon."
Such a move in the direction of outward union and federation is in
keeping with the spirit of the times. Instructed people of God however are counseled to
"Say ye not, A confederacy to all them to whom this people shall say, A
confederacy." Thus the Prophet indicates that the Lord is not authorizing or
inspiring this modern federation movement, for He has altogether a different plan of
dealing with sin and evil amongst men. According to the Divine Program the Church in this
Age is truly the Church militant, the Church at war, but her warfare is not one in which
she is engaged in trying to convert and regenerate the world now. Rather her warfare is
that of fighting the good fight of faith for herself, resisting all kinds of evil inside
and outside of herself; overcoming the world and its spirit around her; adjusting her own
character and deportment in such a way as that she shall be approved of the Lord as fit
for His very special association as His joint-heir in the Kingdom of Heaven, which, when
established, will in a glorious and successful manner conquer evil upon the earth in every
form and accomplish the world's reformation -- in fact, bring about the establishment of
righteousness and truth in the earth, far beyond any length that men have ever conceived
of in this Age. For at that time the Prophet assures us that this Kingdom established in
the hands of Christ and His exalted and glorified Church shall become the desire of all
nations and all nations shall flow unto it.
___________
TELEVISION
Further marvelous developments in the scientific world mark the
progress of knowledge in this the most eventful and remarkable era of man's history; and
so continue to give support to the belief that this is truly the day of the Lord's
preparation for His coming Kingdom and for the blessing of the world. What is known as
television, seeing afar, promises to be a most interesting and useful production for man's
comfort and enjoyment. Thus rums an editorial in "The New York Times":
"Television is so obviously the next rich communication-price to
be won that nine American and European inventors and companies are racing to capture it.
The Bell Laboratories are far in the lead, with a young Scotsman, John L. Baird, a distant
second. Although Baird has not completely disclosed his invention, it is probable that he
has gone as far as one man can in surmounting difficulties that challenge all the
resources of group research by specialists. The revelations of Bell Laboratories indicate
that the apparatus of the future will be a composite of principles established by
televisionaries of the past, supplemented by engineering refinements developed through
research. So it has been with every great invention.
"We stand on the threshold of a new era of communication as
fascinating and stupendous in its potentialities as radio or the telephone. Wires and the
ether of space. quivering with unseen faces and, unheard speech, millions of instruments
selecting from this seeming chaos the visions and wards destined for them-the prospect
sets the imagination 'aflame. That the more important events will be 'televised' is a
foregone conclusion. The President of the United States, championship games, races --
these we may expect to visualize electrically. How important it is to see as well as to
speak across vast spaces must depend on circumstances created by the public. The inventors
of motion pictures never foresaw the film play. No one dreamed in 1880 that it would be
important to telephone from New York to San Francisco. So with the television. 'In the
hands of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company it has a commercial destiny which it
will shape itself."
"World Interest"
Mr. John L. Baird whose inventive genius deserves much credit for the
development of television writes as follows:
"'When the members of the Royal Institution returned to my
laboratory a year later they saw, brilliantly lit up in the televisor screen, the image of
people who were sitting in pitch darkness.
"'From that time we were beseiged by military agents from half
the governments of the world. Even in Japan the invisible ray has stirred the military
people to active interest.
"'And naturally! If by invisible searchlights projecting unseen
infra-red rays you can light up a whole battlefield as the ordinary searchlight does
today, the advantages to the army possessing this apparatus are incalculable.
"'And as for fogs -- the value of the ray apparatus to the
mercantile marine is so great that I believe it may eliminate -- certainly it will reduce
tremendously -- the danger of fog-collisions. The infra-red rays will penetrate into fog
about 20 times the distance of light.
"Army Demonstration"
"'The captain of a huge liner will stand on his bridge during a
fog and instead of looking into the blind, vague white shroud ahead, he will keep his eyes
glued intently on the small glass screen of the infra-red apparatus, watching it for the
form of a ship, hidden to ordinary vision in the fog.
"'Already I have been approached by several big shipping firms,
and a large scale demonstration of the ray is going to be held shortly for the benefit of
the Army authorities."'
_____________
EXPERTS FORESEE NEW WAR TERRORS
Cost Will be Staggering
Obviously the World-war was not the last and final struggle through
which mankind was to pass, even though at the time it was being fought the cry was
everywhere heard that the world was being made "safe for democracy." But another
great struggle is surely expected and imminent, and the world's war experts are busily
engaged in estimating the power and capacity for destroying human life represented in the
more improved implements of destruction. A special cable from Paris to "The New York
Times," under date of March 28, reads:
"The next war between first class powers, will be fought three
times faster than the late world conflict and be decided in a relatively short period of
time in the opinion of European military experts who for months have been studying the
effect which the terrifying developments in modern warfare made since the Armistice will
have upon future hostilities.
"Because of this greatly accelerated pane and the immense role
to be played, by airplanes and motor vehicles, technicians believe it will be impossible
for any future armed struggle to last as long as the World-war, no matter how many nations
become involved.
"If the next war moves along at a rate of speed three times
greater, it will, according to the views of the experts, kill, maim and lay waste in the
same increased ratio. The most depressing fate is in store for the civilian in the next
war, who, it is held, will suffer much more than the soldier.
"Predict Destruction Beyond Belief"
"After a prolonged inquiry and exchange of ideas, informal
reports have been written embodying the latest views of many military technicians. This
report, while entirely unofficial in character, reflects in a general sense the conviction
of some of the best informed officers in Europe and several British and American experts,
as well. It is their belief that the next war will be more frightful in its destructive
force-both human and material than has even been pictured by the most vivid fiction
writers.
"While the war itself may be won or lost in the classic manner
-- that is to say, through contact and exchange of old-fashioned body blows -- airplanes
and motor vehicles will play a vital role.
"Just how important, for example, will be France's air force can
be appreciated by the opinion held today by some experts, who maintain that it will be
impossible for any of France's potential enemies even to mobilize troops against her, so
great is French superiority in the air. Several thousand planes carrying out a combined
bombing, machine gun and gas attack over mobilization areas would put an end to troop
concentrations and probably force peace negotiations.
"The wear and tear upon human beings taking part in the next war
also has been considered, and, it is thought that the future soldier must be made so
productive as to be able to do the work of fifty old time soldiers. Trench warfare will be
impossible, and the struggle will be characterized by extreme movement, hasty action,
advancement at night and in small bodies of both troops and supplies. The importance of
airplanes, tanks and other forms of armed transport will diminish materially the number of
troops to be transported.
"Those who have fixed the speed of the next war as three times
greater than the last admit the arbitrary nature of such an assertion, but say evidence
makes the estimate a conservative one. The experts explain that, all things, considered,
movement in the air will cost less than on the hill-and-dale surface of the earth, while
the death-dealing qualities of the air arm will be far more terrible than those of the
infantry.
"Views of a French Authority"
"The report then goes on to quote a well-known French military
authority as follows:
"'The automobile, heretofore Considered the slave of the road,
is now freeing itself from this bondage. During the war we saw caterpillars and tanks
appear, and since the war light automobiles of the flexible caterpillar type and six-wheel
automobiles have come. We may expect soon to see our factories turn out machine gun
automobiles adapted to all terrains and tanks traveling on road and across country at the
speed of a high-grade truck.
"'Every one knows with something of a thrill the possibilities
of speed, the control of time and space. Only a man who has thought deeply knows the price
which must be paid.'
"In all this development in speed progress made since the war
the internal combustion engine and its application to national defense have been a serious
factor. The greater swiftness with which it will be possible to move troops and supplies
is due to the improved internal combustion engine.
"The general staffs of the various armies, aware of the speed at
which the next war will be fought, are bending the greater part of their energies to excel
potential enemies in the perfection of this new 'speed. warfare.' Nevertheless, there
remains the fear that the old fashioned trench or ground warfare may after all be the
deciding element. It is such a feeling that causes the French General Staff to insist upon
a 7,000,000,000 franc appropriation for the new German and Italian frontier defense
system."
Another opportunity has come to followers of the Lord Jesus Christ
to. observe the Memorial of the death of their great Leader, who is the Head and
Forerunner of the Church, which is His Body. Every year of progress in the Narrow Way
brings an increasing sense of gratitude and love upon the occasion of the participation of
the Lord's Supper, at which time it is our privilege to call forth in a special way the
scenes of His earthly life and pilgrimage. We believe the same Divine Master would say to
His people today, "Blessed are your eyes for they see and your ears for they
hear." Indeed, faithful children of God today do see and hear marvelous things that
lift them up to realms above. The things they have seen and heard have meant their
transference from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of God's dear Son. As they by
faith take their places as footstep followers, bearers of the cross after Jesus, they also
are caused to realize that a cup has been -poured for them as the Father poured a cup for
Him.
Most assuredly the Lord desired His followers to keep ever in mind
the source and means of their justification through His broken body and shed blood. How
appropriate that Jesus should on the eve of His death institute this beautiful Memorial!
He desired that they might be ever mindful of the solemn and sacred engagement into which
they had entered with Him and in which they had agreed to drink of His sacrificial cup and
be broken as members of His Body, as saith the Apostle, "For as oft as ye eat this
bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till He come."
The Memorial observed by brethren in Brooklyn on the evening of April
15, was an impressive one. The review of Israel's Passover, then of our Lord's death, the
significance of the emblems together with the prayers and hymns of worship and
thanksgiving all drew the hearts of the brethren close to the Master and caused them to
appreciate .afresh the great fact that Christ our Pass over is sacrificed for us.
Reports received from various quarters thus far reveal the general
observance of the Memorial Supper again this season-that as the brethren gathered in
larger or smaller companies they were richly blessed in reviewing again their share and
privileges in the great purpose of redemption.
We make the usual announcement respecting the annual meeting of the
Institute, which as provided in the constitution is held on the first Saturday of the
month of June; and this year will be on June 4; at 2 p.m., at the headquarters of the
Institute, 177 Prospect Place, Brooklyn, N. Y. Provision is made for this annual meeting
for the purpose of electing directors for the ensuing year and for the transacting of such
other business as may come before the members. The annual meetings heretofore have proved
to be generally very interesting and profitable occasions, the members thus being afforded
an opportunity to hear and consider reports of the year's activities and to discuss any
feature .or matter pertaining to the interests .of the ministry as may be desired.
The names of the brethren who have been serving as directors since
the last election and whose term of office expires June 4, are as follows:
I. I.
MARGESON, Westwood, Mass.
B. A. PARKES, Philadelphia, Pa.
P. L. GREINER, Ulster Park, N. Y.
I. F. HOSKINS, Brooklyn, N. Y.
B. BOULTER, Plainfield, N. J.
J. J. BLACKBURN, Toronto, Ont., Can.
A. L. MUIR, Glasgow, Scotland
The brethren who have composed the directorate the past year take
this occasion to express their thanksgiving to the Lord and their appreciation of the
assistance and co-operation of the friends in the feeble efforts put forth to serve the
Lord and His cause. Much of the Lord's blessing has been experienced on the ministry
during the past year. The brethren who have been serving as directors have endeavored to
keep in mind that it is the Master Himself they have desired to serve primarily and it is
hoped that what has been accomplished, though imperfect, is acceptable to the Lord, if not
to all the brethren. The results we leave with the Master, well knowing that He is fully
able to work out and .accomplish all His wise designs without the assistance of any of us.
Any member of the. Institute is eligible for nomination at the annual
meeting. It is always desirable to have as large a number of the friends present at this
meeting as reasonably possible; but on account of the distances and unfavorable
circumstances many of course will not be permitted to be present in person. Hence
provision is made whereby all the members may have a voice in the election by indicating
on a proxy form the names of those whom they desire elected as directors for the coming
year. A proxy form will be mailed to each member before the election; and those who do not
expect to be present at the annual meeting should fill out the proxy form and return to
this office before the election.
"Our fathers trusted in Thee: They trusted and
Thou didst deliver them." -- Psa. 22:4.
THE SCRIPTURES make the sweeping statement, "Without faith it is
impossible to please God." On the basis of this statement we may say then that a
person is pleasing to God in proportion as he has faith, and displeasing in proportion as
he lacks faith. There is therefore a strong incentive to all children of God to grow in
faith, since all of His people desire to be pleasing in His sight. But faith is not alike
easy with all the Lord's people, owing to hereditary conditions -- some being born with a
larger capacity for the exercise of faith than others. Some there are who experience rapid
growth and development of their faith. Early in their Christian experience they realize
the crystallization of their faith in God and His promises into what is the same to them
as an absolute knowledge; and on this faith-knowledge they can bear and do anything, and
increasingly so. But this is not true of all. Many have less faith and are still children
of God. Such must needs pray, "Lord, increase our faith," and earnestly seek to
emulate the faith of others, and to be encouraged by the rewards of faith given to them.
No one can make progress in fellowship with God without realizing
that the Christian life is effectually a life of faith. All the steps of progress are
steps of faith; all the victories are victories of faith; all the joys are joys of faith.
The Apostle Paul speaks of faith as "a basis of things hoped for, a conviction of
things unseen." In other words, faith in God and His Word is the foundation for hope
and expectation -- the substantial basis upon which hope builds. Hope itself is not faith,
though it is that attitude or Mate of desire and expectation that grows out of and is
borne of faith. Belief and trust, which constitute faith, are the substances out of which
living hope springs and grows naturally.
"What Is Faith's Foundation Strong?"
While the rule of the Scriptures is, "According to your faith be
it unto you," this does not mean believing in something without a reason or a
reasonable basis; although it may mean that we shall frequently be called upon to believe
in something that we cannot understand or explain. But to believe in something without a
reason or without a reasonable foundation would not be faith at all. Such an action of the
mind is properly termed credulity, which means the acceptance . of certain propositions
that have not been proven or established as truth. Ignorance, superstition and idolatry
come from and are associated with such an attitude of mind.
The faith that is pleasing to God and which He requires of His
children is a reasonable thing, well founded in that which is established, filed,
immovable, and steadfast, even in the Word of God which liveth and abideth for ever. (1
Pet. 1:23.) Nor is faith merely a matter of the intellect alone, although our mentality
has much to do with it; it is a matter of the 'heart also, for "with the heart man
believeth unto righteousness." If the heart be not in proper accord with God, the
intellect may be easily biased toward its own preferences, which in the fallen,
unregenerate mind are contrary to the righteousness of God; and so the heart being wrong,
the mind still gropes in darkness concerning those things which relate to everlasting life
and harmony with God. We are told that the natural, fleshly mind is at enmity against God,
for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be; therefore to such God does
not and cannot reveal the treasures of His wisdom and grace.
Faith and Works
In addition to the Apostle's assurance that without faith it is
impossible to please God, there is the further instruction that "Faith without
[corresponding] works [which attest its genuineness] is dead." And the inquiry is
raised (Jas. 2:14), What advantage has any one though he say he hath faith but have not
works? This faith is not able to save him. If faith without works is of no advantage, the
inference is obvious that without works it is equally impossible to please God. Yet we may
possess both faith (or what often passes for faith) and works corresponding with it and
not be pleasing to God. Experience confirms the wisdom which the Scriptures afford on this
subject, namely that the faith that is not well founded together with the works built upon
it, is subject to overthrow and likely to be swept away when the storms and floods of
trial beat upon it as upon a house built of wood, hay, and stubble and resting on the
shifting sands. How all-important it is therefore, that we have the right kind of faith
and that our works should be the outgrowth of that faith !
There is no difficulty in exercising faith in God and in any and all
of His promises if we are acquainted with His character and in simple sincerity apply our.
hearts unto the instruction of His Word. Our acceptance of and faith in all God's promises
should be as unwavering as our confidence that tomorrow's sun will rise. Thus it was in
the case of some commendable and grand examples to which the Apostle Paul refers. (Heb.
11.) Amongst these were such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Gideon,
Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the Prophets, who by faith in the promises and
instructions of God subdued kingdoms, stopped lions' mouths, quenched the power of fire,
raised dead ones to life, and in hope of a better resurrection submitted to privations,
persecutions and ignominious death; having faith in the unfailing promise of God in due
time to reward their obedience and faithfulness to Him and the principles of truth and
righteousness.
It is evident from the
sacred records of the Old Testament Scriptures as well as from St: Paul's description in
the New Testament that all these noble, faithful ones, who stood high in God's estimation
in olden, times experienced a most crucial testing of their faith: They were tried and
buffeted and appealed to from every standpoint to let go of their faith and renounce
Jehovah whom trey trusted; but because they held fast, the Apostle assures us that they
received a good report "through faith." It was their faith that pleased God,
because their faith and trust impelled to the fullest loyalty and obedience even at the
cost of their lives. And herein is the value of their faith really seen in its true light.
Faith Severely Tested
In some respects the example of Abraham stands out and is unique
amongst them all. Abraham's faith was severely tested a number of times; but upon one
occasion it received a test, a supreme test, that must elicit the profoundest esteem and
admiration on the part of all the thoughtful. A severer test upon any one than this could
scarcely be imagined. What could be a more difficult thing for any father to do than to
slay his own child, even in response to the Divine command? But in Abraham's case the test
of faith was a doubly keen one, because, not only had he the natural parental love for his
offspring, but this was the son of promise, for whose birth he had waited according to
Divine promise, and longed and prayed for twenty-five years -- the son whose birth in his
old age was admittedly a miracle of Divine power -- the son in whom, according to the
Divine Word, centered all the gracious promises which had filled Abraham's heart for now
fifty years; and which during all this period, had constrained him to be a pilgrim and a
stranger in the earth, so that he might in due time inherit these gracious promises which
belonged to the future. How strange it must have seemed to him -- how utterly
inexplicable, that the Lord should ask him to surrender Isaac as a sacrifice!
Our respect for Abraham's faith rises higher and higher, as we behold
the various manifestations of his confidence in God, and his obedience to the Divine
command. We say to ourselves, even as New Creatures and partakers of the Divine nature, O
that we might have in fullest measure this abounding faith, this willing obedience, this
trust resting securely in God, this assurance that He is able to accomplish all that He
has promised, even though the accomplishment of it should make necessary a resurrection
from the dead! For the Apostle assures us that Abraham philosophized respecting the fact
that Isaac was his legitimate heir, and had been so acknowledged of the Lord, saying,
"In Isaac shall thy seed be called." He could see no other way that God's Word
could be true; yet so strong was his faith that he trusted that the Lord was able to
raise, his son from the dead in order to fulfil the promise. -- Heb. 11 :17-19.
Faith Developed Through Trial
Who can measure the depths of suffering, the painful yearnings of the
heart of Abraham, as he is confronted with this most unusual circumstance and situation!
"Can faith give up that much loved life," asks another, writing of the
marvelous. faith of Abraham, "that son so long waited for, of whom it had been said,
'In Isaac shall thy seed be called.' It is not to leave this or that outward thing; this
was done long ago, when we came out of Ur of the Chaldees; it is not the trial of weary
pilgrimage, wandering from day to day without a certain dwelling place; it is not even the
giving up of Hagar's son, the fruit of our own energy, to which our God now summons us. It
is nothing less than to give up that life to which all God's promises have so long
directed us, which He has given to be our joy, and from which He Himself has bid us expect
such blessings, not to ourselves only, but to others, in the assurance that as He gave it
at the first, He will, though now He seems to take it from us, give it back again. Faith
therefore shrinks not even here, but binds its own fruit, and gives it back to God,
accounting that He who can raise up the dead, will restore the precious life which He
first quickened Rout of our barrenness."
This is manifestly the kind of faith that the Lord desires to find in
the spiritual seed of Abraham, the Gospel Church -- a faith that will trust Him even where
it cannot trace Him; a faith which recognizes His perfect wisdom, perfect love, and
perfect power. It is not a faith, however, that is a spontaneous growth, under present
fallen conditions. It requires years for its development. Abraham had not this degree of
faith when he first entered the land of Canaan as a pilgrim. It was the lack of this
perfect trust in 'God which made him fearful to acknowledge Sarah to be his wife', when
later he went into the borders of Egypt. It was a faith that had grown through his
continued intimacy with his Almighty "Friend." His previous trials and testings
had already contributed to the development of this his finished faith; the long waiting
and frequent disappointments in respect to Isaac had been beneficial; the attempt to
assist the Lord in the fulfillment of the promise, in the begetting of Ishmael, and the
subsequent rejection of Ishmael as not being of the Lord's arrangement had no doubt helped
to establish the patriarch in his confidence that God's purposes are immutable, and His
power unlimited.
Lessons to spiritual Israel
And so it is with the spiritual seed of Abraham, the Christ, the
Church -- our faith-development also is a work of time and patient endurance of trials and
testings, which, rightly received, work out for us an increase of knowledge, an increase
of faith, and an increase of fellowship with God -- until, by the Lord's grace, we later
on reach such a development of faith in Him as sometimes surprises ourselves, and assures
us that we have made some progress; because at the beginning of our way the could not have
endured the same trials successfully. Thus we see that in many respects even our faith is
a gift of God-that while we exercised some faith in the beginning of our experiences, yet
the development of it to such a condition and degree as will be acceptable to God is of
God's grace, through His providential leadings, dealings, instructions. To Him, therefore,
we must render the praise, not only for the glorious results, but also for the faith and
the works of this present time, which fit and prepare us for the coming glory and
blessings.
But a further lesson of faith is to be observed in connection with
the command to Abraham to offer, up Isaac: God specified that the offering should be made
at a certain place -- "Mount Moriah," which means "chosen of God."
Thus not only does God tell Abraham what to do,
but where to do it also. Again the lesson is
for spiritual Israelites. It is not for God's children now to choose and decide what shall
be their experiences, what tests they can endure, or what manner of sacrifice and
self-denial they shall experience. The fully consecrated spirit will hearken to the voice
of the Lord and obediently perform that which is indicated to be His good and perfect and
acceptable will.
God Must Choose Place of Our Offering
The writer quoted above again beautifully observes: "This
oblation is only to be offered when and where He will. Faith dares not choose its own
crosses, or where or when it will endure suffering. But if in the journey of life trial is
appointed, so grievous as to threaten to crush and slay the precious inward life, be that
trial what it may, pain, contempt, or misrepresentation, or what is far more trying to the
elect, confusion of soul, inward distraction, desolation, darkness, whatever it may be, if
it be God-appointed, on ground not of our own but of His choosing, let us go onward, the
spirit of sonship shall not perish; though bound and offered to death, it shall surely
rise again. But let us take heed where we
offer, that it is on Mount Moriah, not on self-chosen ground. Self-chosen penances,
self-inflicted pains, whips and scourgings of the flesh, these are not Moriah. Rather do
they savor of horrid Moloch; to whom Solomon may bow, and kings of Judah give their sons,
but which is abomination. Children indeed to please themselves without a murmur will
suffer things which they would complain of as hard if appointed for them; and
self-appointed pains can be gladly borne by us; when the Lord's cross is shrunk and put
away. For self can find its own in its schemes to rule the flesh, while it can find
nothing in bearing without earthly witness what the Lord lays on us. But great as those
sacrifices may seem which are self-imposed, how much more precious are those which God
calls us to. One day in which we yield our will to Him is of more value than years of
toiling self-will. Such yieldings of our will are safe. The life which has sprung from
faith cannot perish thus.
"For Isaac does not perish here. Being lifted up, he is, as Paul
says, 'received back again.' The spirit of sonship does not die; having been bound upon
the altar, it is brought back again, as from the dead, with greatly increased blessedness.
This is that inward death and resurrection, which all who possess the spirit of sonship
must know in due time; to be offered up, and yet to live; to lose our life, and yet to
keep it. Thus are we crucified with Christ, nevertheless we live, yet not we, but Christ
liveth in us. We bear about in the body the dying of the Lord, that the life also of Jesus
may be made manifest in our mortal bodies. We come back to walk awhile with there who
tarry with the ass, and have never reached to Mount Moriah, in the knowledge that, of
which those who have so tarried may indeed hear, and even speak about, but have never
realized; as men who have endured a real death, and who by it have learned to judge all
things here in the light of heaven."
Faith That Accepts Will of God
In considering the operation of faith in those who heard and obeyed
the voice of God in ancient time, it is to be observed that it was intelligent faith and
trust in Jehovah. In each instance of unusual requirement God gave clear evidence of His
will according to the methods of that dispensation; the communication being made either by
an angel, a vision, or some remarkable circumstance -- ways however which are not now
necessary since the completed Scriptures of the Old and New Testament form a perfect guide
to faith and which therefore are not now resorted to. In cases of extreme suffering and
martyrdom set forth in the sacred record, God's will was clearly expressed in the
principles of truth and righteousness which He ordained and which were properly recognized
as more valuable even than life. It would be well for many to specially mark these
illustrations of faith, for some claim to have wonderful faith in God when the chief
wonder in it is the ability to believe so much on so slight a foundation. God does not
wish us to believe and receive teachings and interpretations today that are not well
grounded and established, any more than He desired His trusting ones in ancient time to do
so.
It is to be observed also that there are many enterprises in our day
undertaken in the name of works of faith and quite successfully carried on financially;
when really faith has more foundation in the sympathies of philanthropic people than in
the plans, methods and promises of God. When we learn of Christian people making public
statements that they are starting a benevolent enterprise for the relief of distress and
suffering of humanity, we can bear in mind that they may do it with a large degree of
faith in the support from benevolent people; for even the worldly are often fully as
active in these directions as Christians, as we frequently observe in connection with
calls for help in great calamities and accidents.
Prosperous institutions in the direction of popular benevolences then
are not always proof of faith in God, though those who engage are doing a good work and
public appeals for assistance are often right and proper. But a clearer exhibition of
belief in God to be found in the intelligent consecrated believer in Christ, is that
humble confidence which espouses the unpopular cause for Christ's sake, which perseveres
in pursuing it in the face of opposition and without human encouragement and which
patiently endures whatever reproach, discouragement, privation and even persecution it may
bring, assured of ultimate triumph according to His promise; and finding in His precious
truth and in His smile of approval all the present reward and incentive desired.
Beware of Selfish Ambition
There is a very happy expression by the Apostle maul that should not
be forgotten. It reads, "Hast thou faith? Have it to thy self before God." If we
publish and parade our faith and need, and thus make capital out of them by eliciting the
sympathies and assistance of men, we are .in special danger of seeking to. be pleasers of
men. Almost unconsciously and imperceptibly this secret motive will creep into the heart
and become a controlling power in our actions, often causing deflection from the straight
and narrow path of Divine appointment. Beware, says our Master, when all men speak well of
you and when the multitudes are ready to join in your work and methods; and look -well to
it that no element of worldly Ambition or worldly, selfish policy be in it to ensnare your
feet and to .turn you out of the Narrow Way.
Much in the way of profession of faith in the relating of really
improper proceedings and their results as wonderful feats of faith, often do great harm to
both speakers and hearers.
While considering that the true faith is always pleasing to God, what
often passes for faith among professing Christians must be correspondingly displeasing to
Him. Some without careful observation and study of God's ways often hastily reach
conclusions much out of accord with the spirit of Divine truth; and acting and teaching
accordingly, dishonor the Lord and bring reproach upon His cause. Among these too, are
frequently found the loudest boasters of faith. Their faith is so strong, so rooted and
grounded and established in what God did not say and what He does not authorize them to
teach that they have no inclination to hear or heed what He has said and what He does
authorize to be taught as truth. In such instances of course God would be honored far more
by the sealing of the, lips. It is surely more preferable that we let our faith be
expressed to God and let our confidence be manifest to Him; and to our brethren we can by
our good deeds of love and devotion, let our faith be exhibited rather than by our words
of self-praise. Thus was the faith of those holy ones in ancient time attested. Where is
boasting then? It is excluded by the law of faith. The very nature of true, humble, and
obedient faith is opposed to boastfulness. It is sincere and too humbly mindful of
personal weakness and necessary dependence on God to be boastful. In fact, a humble,
faithful walk with God excludes every mean disposition and elevates the character far
above them.
Faith Pierces Every Cloud
It is evident that the faith of which we speak is something which
belongs only to the children of God. Since their hearts are in full harmony with God and
His righteous arrangements, His Word is unto them the end of all controversy; and their
faith in that Word is the foundation of their joyful hope; it is that which inspires their
activities and is the anchor to their souls through all the storms of the present life.
From the very first our faith depends upon a right attitude toward
God, but it continues to grow and thrive by a more close acquaintance and intimate
communion with God and a persistent, earnest endeavor to attain to His righteousness:
Faith in its earlier stages is always comparatively weak; but God does not despise 'the
day of small things. "A bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall He
not quench, till He send forth judgment unto victory." So also the Lord's people who
are strong in the faith are taught to bear with the weaker ones.
In consideration of the fact that faith must necessarily be at the
very foundation of Christian character and is such an important factor ín its
construction, even to the grand and glorious finish; and since without faith it is
impossible to please God, surely the efforts of every Christian should be toward a
continual growth in faith. To accomplish this the follower of Christ must maintain a close
walk and fellowship with God under alt circumstances and in all conditions. Does the
sunshine of prosperity make glad our hearts? Let .us see that we are joyful and glad in
the Lord; that our hearts are lifted to Him in grateful, reverential acknowledgment and
praise for all His mercies, from whom cometh every good and perfect gift. Or is it
otherwise, do the clouds gather and the storms of adversity beat upon the soul? Then let
us call to mind the goodness of the Lord in times past and take courage, assured that the
great sun of Divine favor will shine again, if we hold fast our confidence when the
lessons of this discipline have been learned..
Faith Strengthened by Prayer and Communion with God
Experience teaches that nothing is more encouraging to faith than to
consider the Lord's past faithfulness to us and His assurance that thus it shall be to the
end. All of our interests, temporal and spiritual, are in His hand if we are His; and He
will not withhold any good thing from them that walk uprightly. All things shall work.
together under His providential care for good to those who love the Lord. How many times
as the years roll by, the children of God can recognize this! As they realize what the
disciplines of life, patiently and lovingly submitted to have already wrought in them,
they see as perhaps they could not see clearly while passing through them, how necessary
and important it has been in the developing of their character. Accordingly, they are
thankful for the rough and thorny places as well as for the smooth, because of the
peaceable fruits of righteousness which they have learned to prize about all else.
Again Christians may often encourage one another's faith by mingling
their prayers and praises together and by speaking to each other of their Christian
experiences, of how God has led them and borne them up under trial which otherwise would
have overcome them. Thus truly is the will of God that we should so stimulate each other
by loving communion and fellowship one with another in spiritual things and by unitedly
drawing near to God in prayer and praise. No Christian who has the opportunity to enjoy
this means of grace can afford to forego it; yet even this must mot displace nor supersede
that still more important means of grace, namely secret communion and fellowship with God,
as when alone with Him we can open our heart as to none else, assured that even though
language be lame and imperfect, He is able to read the very thoughts and purposes of our
heart. From such seasons of prayer and communion come the answers of peace which
strengthen faith into à firm and steady trust and reliance upon the Lord and thus we are
enabled the more fully to grasp with all faith what is the breadth and length and depth
and height of the love of Christ and of the fullness of God's loving benevolence toward
us. May we ever strive to have more of that pure, true faith so well expressed by the
poet:
"A faith
that shines more bright and clear
When tempests rage without;
That when in danger knows no fear,
In darkness feels no doubt:"
Such a faith alone will overcome the spirit of the world in us and
about us, remove mountains of difficulty and secure all that our hearts desire. When we
observe thus how reasonable a thing faith is, how God through His natural and written
revelations of Himself appeals to one of the highest faculties of our nature, our reason,
and bids us follow its logical deductions of faith in God and to rest in and act upon its
proper conclusions in studying His works and ways, we realize truly that this faith, this
trust and confidence that we are enabled to have in Him, is a firm basis of hope in the
eternal, unseen things, which hope we have ,as an anchor both sure and steadfast and which
entereth into that within the veil-into the blessedness and glory of the spiritual
inheritance of the saints in light.
"Behold Satan hath desired to have you,
that he may sift you as wheat." -- Luke 22:31
THAT THERE is an evil power and influence constantly exerted in the
world, operating against truth, righteousness and purity, and therefore operating against
God, is evident, even from the standpoint of what may be observed in the world around us
outside of the testimony of the Bible. But the Scriptures are very pronounced in giving us
the information that this unsavory and unholy influence is exerted by a powerful
adversary, called Satan, who was at one time a holy angel. We are informed that it was by
permitting pride and ambition to gain control of his heart that this once holy one
departed from the ways of God and became an opponent of Jehovah and of righteousness. --
1 John 3:8; 1 Tim. 3:6; Isa. 14:12-24.
In our authorized version of the New Testament the word devil is
frequently used and the impression is given that there are many devils; a thought that is
not borne out by the Scriptures in general. Two Greek words are used in the New Testament
and are translated thus, "Daimonion" and "Diabolos." The first of
these two words should be properly rendered "demon"; and the second,
"devil." The term demon is used with reference to unclean spirits, the familiar
spirits; spirits that were once holy. angels but left their first estate and degraded
themselves and are shut off from God's fellowship. The term devil or Satan, signifies
adversary, opponent, because of his persistent opposition to righteousness and to Jehovah.
"As a Roaring Lion"
Whoever has failed to discern that there is this powerful,
intelligent being opposed to God is all the more liable to come under the influence of his
spirit and be led still further away from God; for this adversary is portrayed in the
Scriptures as the great foe of God, of men, and of righteousness. St. Paul speaks of the
wiles of the Devil and warns the Church that her warfare is with wicked spirits in. the
heavenliness. (Eph. 6:11, 12, margin.) He also mentions the prince of the power of the air
(Eph. 2:2) and intimates that it would be impossible for us really to contend with him;
for he is too wise for us.
Although mankind cannot see the Adversary yet he can see them and by
means of mental influence and suggestions can hold them in general control. He has a
variety of ways by which he exercises his influence. And as he attempts to dissuade
mankind, his most potent method is through human agents -- using one person against
another. One of his favorite ways of operating is by putting darkness for light. He does
this by making the good appear evil, the true, false, and the right, wrong.
Another Apostle assures us that Satan goes about as a roaring lion
seeking whom he may devour. The lion has a very stealthy walk. On his. feet are soft
cushions, which enable him to come very near to his prey before his approach is
recognized. It is said that at this point when the beast is about to spring upon his prey,
he roars so loudly that the victim is paralyzed with fear and thus is easily caught.
As the most powerful adversary of the Church, Satan is strong and
lion-like, vigilant and fully awake. As the Scriptures truly declare, he seeks to use
every Opportunity against us. He lies in wait seeking to devour us. It would be in keeping
with his disposition therefore never to approach us with a roar, but to creep stealthily
upon us in some unlooked for and unexpected place or time to devour us, to overcome us, to
crush our spiritual life, and particularly to destroy our faith in God. Faithful children
of God, giving heed to the warning voice of wisdom that' comes from the Scriptures, have
ears that are trained to detect the sound of the Adversary's approach, even as those whose
ears are trained to detect the footfalls of the lion will hear his steps, while those who
are unfamiliar with his habits will not hear the slightest sound. Those whose ears the
Lord has opened and whose eyes have been anointed with the eye-salve of consecration and
submission to the Lord's will, will be of quick perception to recognize the approach of
the great arch-enemy and to resist him. How important then that we stand clad in the full
armor which the Word of God supplies and in His strength, wielding the sword of the
Spirit.
Not Ignorant of His Devices
The Apostle Paul declares that the Adversary works in the hearts of
the children of disobedience, thus indicating that the most subtle attacks of Satan are to
be expected through human agencies. And the more honorable they are and the more closely
identified with the Lord and His people these children of disobedience may be, the greater
and more important service they may render to the Adversary. It is for this reason that
Satan presents himself as an angel of light and not as a messenger of darkness; for he
well knows that error and sin will repel the children of light.
Appearing as an angel of light the Adversary has done much harm and
in many ways wrought havoc all along through the ages; yet not to the extent of
interfering with. or frustrating the Plan of God. Jehovah being all supreme above Satan is
able to overrule all the machinations of the Evil One so as to make them contribute to the
success of the great Divine Program. It is evident that the Adversary's constant endeavor
is to lead the people of God astray from the Lord and from their covenant of sacrifice.
While we know that God is able to so succor His people that the Adversary could have no
influence and could not tempt them, yet His . Word informs us that this is not His way. He
permits Satan seemingly to gain a great triumph over the Lord and His people; as was the
case on the occasion of the temptation that came to Peter to deny the Lord, even though
Jesus had forewarned the Apostle of his coming trial, saying, "Satan hath desired to
have you, that he may sift you as wheat." Our Lord thus informed Peter that he was
approaching a very severe trial, that Satan was seeking to gain control of him, that if
possible he might turn him aside from the path of fellowship with the Lord Jesus and thus
lead him out of Divine favor altogether.
Surely it is just as true with regard to all the Lord's people, that
Satan desires to have them, that he may sift them as wheat; that he may discourage their
faith and zeal, and cause them to give up the great hope that is set before them. The
Adversary evidently has some knowledge that a Divine Kingdom is in process of preparation
to rule the world; that this Kingdom is to be made up of called out ones here upon the
earth. He may know also that the purpose of this Kingdom is to destroy his own empire and
to establish a perfect and righteous order of things in the earth; in fact, that this
Kingdom will mean the complete undoing and overthrow of Satan himself. No marvel then if
the Adversary's chiefest attacks are made against these who are prospective heirs of the
Kingdom of Heaven.
The great consolation is that as God is greater than all that can be
against us, the Adversary is allowed to go only so far. But by this we do not mean that
God is co-operating with Satan and his evil works. Rather, God is testing His people by
permitting those conditions that make the way so narrow that only the faithful will walk
perseveringly to the very end. All others will sooner or later fall out by the way.
Proper Method of Resistance
To every Christian of experience the warfare is sure to be a fight of
faith. Truly the Apostle says, "Resist the Devil and he will flee from you," but
this cannot mean that we are to battle with him in order to confound him. Whoever thinks
that he is able to battle alone with the Adversary surely must possess a great
self-conceit or else must overestimate his own ability and underestimate that of the
Adversary. In any contention if we were to struggle in our own strength, Satan would
surely gain the victory.
There are certain baneful elements of evil that are to be observed in
connection with Satan and his influence. Malice, envy, hatred and strife, the Apostle
says, are the kind of works which Satan supports and into which he endeavors to lead,
mankind. His methods are subtle and deceptive. His suggestions frequently come along the
line of pride and too large an appreciation of one's self. The mental suggestion,
"You can do it; you are a person of unusual ability; do not be afraid of any one;
show others what is really in you," has led to the undoing and downfall of many.
It becomes manifest why, in order to deceive the children of light,
Satan transforms himself into an angel, messenger of light; for well he knows that he
could not deceive God's children if he were to present himself as a representative of
evil. While all along the stream of time since the fall of man Satan has sought to entrap
the race, he has particularly for the past nineteen centuries been endeavoring to hinder
and injure the Church; he has been introducing signal errors and by so doing has succeeded
in producing a large number of imitation or false Christians-Christians who would be a
detriment to the cause of Christ. Evidently he has had much to do with formulating the
gross and flagrant errors that constitute such a large part of the creeds of Christendom.
The Lord has made provision through His Spirit and providences that
the children of light may successfully resist the Adversary. Through the privilege of
prayer they must call forth those other powerful influences of light and holiness and thus
resist the evil one and not allow his seductive arguments to have weight with them. The
Saints of God have the sure word of prophecy and the instructions of our Lord and His
Apostles; and if they love the Word of the Lord they will seek to be guided by it. As with
the Apostle "He that is begotten of God keepeth himself and that wicked one toucheth
him not." -- 1 John 5:18.
Satan Misapplies Scripture
The course of our Lord Jesus in the wilderness, His manner of dealing
with the Adversary, affords the most powerful example for all the people of God to follow.
Jesus did not seek to keep up the controversy, the discussion, with the Adversary; but
when the evil suggestion or thought was presented, He promptly resisted it. Satan indeed
appeared as an angel of light to Jesus, for he came, as one interested in and well versed
in the Scriptures; portions of which he presented with a view to misleading our Lord into
taking a wrong course, and at the same time the endeavor was to have Jesus see that the
wrong course was the right one for Him to pursue. Jesus did not say to the Adversary,
"Merely because that is a Scripture I yield to your argument." On the contrary,
He immediately thought of the principle involved and indicated to the Adversary wherein he
was mistaken: When prophecies were quoted out of order, our Lord made very positive
statements to that effect. The course of Jesus is surely a very good one for us to follow.
If one of the Lord's people should be drawn by Satan into a discussion of some Scripture
and should recall another text which would answer right to the point of discussion, he
should decide, "The Scripture which tells me to resist the Devil is the proper guide
to my coarse of action. I will not stop to discuss what I do not understand." Thus he
would resist and at the same time rebuke the Adversary.
St. Paul's reason for urging the Lord's people to put on the whole
armor of God is most obvious; that they may be able to withstand the wiles of the Devil.
His statement seems to imply that none would be able to withstand Satan without Divine
aid. And the Apostle goes on to show that these are the days when the whole armor of God
will be necessary. (Eph. 6:13-18; Rev. 3:10.) The question may be asked whether those who
are furnished with the whole armor will be able to stand. The Apostle answers "that
ye may be able to withstand in the evil day," and the Lord is so supervising the
affairs of His people that all who are putting their trust in Him shall have opportunity
for becoming thoroughly equipped and fortified.
Lesson of Confidence in God's Wisdom and Love
It is evident in our day that many devote to frivolity the time which
they could employ in putting on the armor which God has provided: And it would seem that
the Lord is so arranging matters that such will not be able to withstand the darts of the
Adversary; for He wishes none to stand in this evil day except those who are thoroughly
resigned and consecrated to do His will. To all these He will render the needed
assistance, so that all things shall work together for good to them. His grace will be
sufficient to carry all such through who have come to a knowledge of Him and have made a,
full self surrender of themselves to Him. This assistance and grace may be realized
through some portion of the Scriptures, through reading matter, through a service or
through a hymn; but however the needed grace may be bestowed, the protection will be along
the lines of the truth. When we lose the sword of the Spirit, we lose our only protection
against error.
The failure of our first parents well illustrates how many fall under
the power of temptation: They stopped to listen to Satan's arguments and failed to be
exercised by the spirit of obedience. They should have said, "God knows all things
and He has His reasons for denying us the privilege of certain fruit. What He has said is
enough for us. We will be true to Him and trust the results to His superior wisdom."
The Lowly and Obedient Heart
Obedience is also the lesson for all the children of God to learn. We
have not a sufficiency of knowledge with which to reason on some subjects, even if our
reasoning faculties were fully developed. Consequently, when a suggestion of evil of any
kind is made, our only proper course is to say, No! the Lord our God has said that we must
not "touch it, lest we die." If we allow our own fallible reasoning to come in,
we will be making a fatal mistake. A proper confidence in God and a recognition of our own
lack of wisdom should decide us immediately. There should be no controversy with Satan. We
should always be in the attitude to say, No! The comments of another are very appropriate
here:
"Implicit obedience is the grand moral safeguard against the
wiles of the enemy. Reason is no guide for the people of God. We must be absolutely and
completely guided and governed by the Word of God. This is a privilege of the highest
order, and it lies within the reach of the simplest and most unlettered child of God. The
Father's word, the Father's voice, the Father's eye, can guide the youngest, feeblest
child in His family. All we need is the lowly and obedient heart. It does not demand great
intellectual power or cleverness; if it did, what would become of the vast majority of
Christians? If it were only the educated, the deep-thinking, and the far-seeing. that were
capable of meeting the wiles of the Adversary, then verily most of us might give up in
despair. Satan's wiles are more to be dreaded than his power. 'Put on the whole armor of
God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.' The more deeply we
ponder the various parts of the whole armor of God, the more clearly we shall see that
they are ranged under these two heads-obedience and dependence. The soul that is really
governed by the authority of the Word, and wholly dependent upon the power of the Spirit,
is fully equipped for the conflict. It was thus the Man Jesus vanquished the enemy. The
Devil could do nothing with a man who was perfectly obedient and perfectly dependent. May
we study, in this as in all beside, our great Exemplar.
"We find, in looking through the history of the people of God in
all ages, that human wisdom, human learning, human cleverness, if not kept in their right
place, have proved a positive snare, and rendered their possessors only the more efficient
tools in the enemy's hand. By whom have most, if not all, of the heresies been introduced
which have disturbed the Church of God from age to age? Not by the simple and the
unlearned, but by the educated and the intellectual."
Evidently God is seeking those who are willing to learn obedience.
Christ and the Church who are to compose the coming Kingdom have been called for the work
of bringing mankind back to perfection of character and full submission to God. At times
the Divine Plan may not seem to us to present the wisest course; and if we should not
learn the lesson of absolute faith in the Divine wisdom, justice, love and power, we could
not trust God in everything. As Jesus said, the Father seeketh such to worship Him as will
do so in spirit and in truth, and who have perfect confidence in Him as the one who is
all-wise and all-loving to direct and guide their affairs. Surely it is evident that those
who do not learn this lesson of trust could not be fit for the responsibility to be put
upon them as members of the glorified Church. How important that we learn this lesson and
be very positive in our endeavors to be in harmony with God.
The Wicked One Toucheth Them Not
Faithfulness, strict adherence to the will of God in trial, has much
to do with developing character in the overcoming class. The Lord could not have in the
Little Flock, who are to compose the Kingdom, any who have any measure of disloyalty in
any sense of the word. On account of weak and imperfect bodies they may be lacking in many
of the essentials of character, but they will all be loyal to God. And the Lord is
evidently seeking those who will remain loyal, steadfast under trials and reverses, and
thus continue to develop and strengthen character pleasing to Him. These will not be
alarmed at the onslaughts of the Adversary, which will be recognized as occasions for the
increase of faith; for greater is He that is on our part than all that are against us.
In "Pilgrim's Progress" this inability of the wicked one to
touch the faithful people of God is very forcefully pictured. In the course of the Narrow
Way that Christian had entered, he beheld two ferocious lions, and for a moment was
terror-stricken. Being the champion of real and strong faith, Christian studied the
situation and decided to go forward. As he came near to the lions he found that they were
chained. So it is with the, adversaries of God's people, they can do no harm to those who
are fully trusting. Although they may roar and injure in a temporal way, yet they cannot
do any real harm to any life that is hid with Christ in God.
The new creature, the new life, may well develop even while the
outward man is perishing. Satan succeeded in having the chief priests and Pharisees cause
the death of our Lord; but in doing this they were but contributing to the furtherance of
the. Divine Program; this was the very means by which. the Savior entered into glory. And
may we not suppose that in His dealings with our Lord the Father has given us an
illustration of His providential dealings with us! Consequently we maybe assured that even
if the Adversary should seem, to triumph over us, these light afflictions will as we are
told work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. -- 1 Cor. 4:17.
Our confidence is that we have no power in ourselves with which to
oppose Satan. No one is sufficient for these things except the Lord. He is greater than
all that are Satan's and all his host of demons. With the eye of faith all the true
children of God are looking forward to the things that are unseen. And it behooves all who
would attain a place in the Heavenly Kingdom to summon all the forces of their being and
so seek to be filled with the Spirit from above that they shall ever be steadfast,
immovable, full of faith, and therefore able in the strength of the Lord to meet whatever
the Father permits to come to them.
"This is the will of God [concerning you], even
your sanctification."
-- 1 Thess. 4:3.
WELL DO the Scriptures represent followers of Jesus as pupils in the
.great spiritual school over which He as the master Teacher presides! This thought is
conveyed in the term disciple, meaning a pupil or one learning and receiving lessons,
training, etc., in a school.
The earlier in our Christian experience that we can get a proper
focus on this matter of what the Divine will is in calling us into fellowship with Christ,
to become His disciples, the better we will be prepared to accept the situation and deal
with it in a manner that will bring the most satisfactory results. It is evident, however,
that some in the school of Christ have required a long time to 'find out why they are in
this school under the tutelage of such a teacher. From but a little reflection it should
become evident to all that the object is to be taught -- to learn of Him whom God hath
appointed to be the teacher of all His believing and consecrated sons adopted into His
family. We do not come to this Teacher to obtain His certificate at once, as though we
needed no instruction; but, we come to Him and enter the school as disciples in order that
from His Word, in conjunction with the daily experiences (His providences to all His
people), we may grow daily in His likeness -- in grace and in knowledge.
If at first we as pupils were somewhat confused: and mistook
self-will for God's will, and our Teacher has pointed this out to us by some failure of
our project, we must be on guard against being rebellious and resentful of the lesson; nor
are we to be discouraged and disheartened. On the contrary, if our consecration be unto
God, we will earnestly endeavor to profit by every experience, seeking to put into
practice the lessons of one day that they may become our aid on, following days.
Studying
Under the Great Teacher
Perhaps we may safely say that the most important lesson of this
school term is faith: the faith with which we became the Lord's and entered His school
must grow. And our faith can grow only by knowledge -- not worldly knowledge nor worldly
learning, but knowledge of the Lord -- of His methods, His Plan, His character; in other
words, the knowledge that comes from intimate and personal acquaintance with the Lord
through an application of the Truth and the lessons of His providences to our lives. Thus
we learn to know Him as our most personal and faithful friend, the Friend that sticketh
closer than a brother. In order to the attainment of this happy state we must study our
Teacher's words and general conduct and as well, His providences or private instruction to
us individually -- interpreting life's experiences and circumstances always in the light
of our Master's Word. Much of what we accepted at first by faith (respecting the Lord's
goodness and wisdom) will gradually become knowledge in the sense of becoming more real to
us; giving basis for still greater length and breadth of faith, as well as for greater
love and appreciation of our Redeemer.
As in other schools, so in this, different degrees of learning are
represented in the students -- some are in the primary stage of development, some in the
intermediate, and some in the graduating class. The graduating degree of discipleship in
the school of Christ is the one that all are to strive for, because it alone denotes the
state of progress and qualification for some position of responsibility and service
hereafter for the glory of God. It is absolutely essential that we reach this final degree
of graduation if we would pass examination -- finish our course with joy and be granted
the Master's "Well done" and the prize of our high calling at the end.
The Bible alone outlines the course of "study" in the
school of Christ. Blessed are the results realized by those who come to the Master in the
sentiment which He expressed, "I came not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him
that sent Me." We will find as we make progress in mastering the lessons in this
school, the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, ruling in our hearts: this will
transmute the trials of faith and of patience into blessings, and the sorrows and
disappointments of earthly hopes into channels of God's grace, and the perplexities of
life into assurances of faith. This graduating degree 'of faith, hope, and love is
attained only by
Full Submission of Our Wills to the Lord's Will
At this point many would say, Why that is just what I have been
wanting to .do ever since I consecrated myself to the Lord; but I, have not attained it;
and such inquire, What more can I do? Ah, yes! so it has been with a large number of
consecrated children of God; perhaps for some time we all made the same mistake of wanting to fully submit our wills to God's will
instead of doing so.
A good wish is an excellent thing, very important indeed, but if the
wish does not lead to performance, it is of no value. It seems that there are some who
never get beyond the wishing point in any of life's affairs: They wish to rise at a
certain hour in the morning, or to attend to certain recognized duties, or render some
service, or speak some word of kindness or encouragement in the name of the Lord -- but
they seem never to fulfil their good wishes in deeds. The good wish should be accompanied
by a good and determined will, which is sure to be favored by a way in matters fully in
accord with the Divine will.
But again we must be on guard for we may be upon treacherous ground:
A strong will is as dangerous as it is valuable. If misdirected, we have started a force,
an energy which may lead us far astray. And conscientious people are in danger along this
line especially; for when their will gets hold of a matter which their consciences approve
they may make as much of a blunder as did Saul of Tarsus under similar circumstances.
There is but one safe course; and to qualify the Lord's people to
know this, to realize this, is the object of all the preliminary courses in the school of
Christ, leading up to this graduating climax. This final lesson to be learned is that the
wills that are to be exercised in good deeds and good works of service and devotion to God
are not our own wills, except as by adoption we have taken the Lord's will to he ours. We
became the Lord's pupils, as a consequence of the surrender of our own wills; and our
first lessons in this school were keeping our wills dead. We can see as we look backward
that by the Great Teacher's aid we won some victories over self-will and have come to the
place where our real desires are, as expressed by the poet:
"Lord, at
length Thy love has conquered,
None of self and all of Thee."
Not to Follow Human Leadership
But even after we have adopted the Lord's will (as instead of our own
natural preferences) and made it ours; and after we have resolved to do the Lord's will,
we are still in danger and need to walk carefully lest we misapprehend the Lord's will and
adopt the will and plan of fellow men; it may be some self-styled leader claiming to have
custody of the Church and her affairs; or it may be a company or an association of men
banded together, claiming power over tire Church and usurping the rights of the brethren.
To accept the will of such would be to ignore and set aside the Lord's will. Consequently
without despising human aid in ascertainment of the Lord's will, while remembering that
God as in times past makes use of human agencies in instructing His people, it must not be
forgotten that Satan also uses human agents to mislead and deceive, and that God permits
this in order to show us that He is the real Teacher. Hence He puts His Word of truth
contained in the Bible as the test by which His people are to distinguish between all true
and false teachers, saying, "If they speak not according to this Word, it is because
there is no light in them." -- Isa. 8:20.
Coming to the Scriptures to ascertain God's will, we find that 'the
great work which God asks of us is not so much for others but work in ourselves; subduing;
conquering, ruling self. "This is the will of God [concerning you], even your
sanctification!" Everything else therefore, our service of the household of faith and
our doing good unto all men, by whatever means may come before our attention must be
subservient to this most important work within. For as the Apostle by inspiration
declares, though we should preach the Gospel eloquently to others and though we should
give all our goods to feed the poor, or become martyrs for a good cause without love, the
spirit of Christ and the Father, developed in us as the ruling principle of life, we would
be nothing from the Divine standpoint.
A Clearly Marked Pathway
On the contrary, if we have really received of the anointing from
above and if the work of sanctification of the Spirit has begun in us, if our wills be
dead and if in thought, word, and act we have accepted the Lord's will instead, surely we
have attained the will of God and will win the prize as overcomers if we abide thus
faithful unto death. This happy result will be ours even though we never experience great
opportunities to serve in any large capacity, even though we may never have given largely
of earthly goods, nor suffered as martyrs for Christ's sake. This is a point to be noted
well; and may we let nothing becloud or obscure this truth; neither other truths nor
errors. Let this truth thoroughly dominate our course in life and then if God's will is
really our will, we have a clearly marked pathway before us which is very important. But
without doubt God will open before all such, opportunities to serve the truth to others,
in some measure, to let their light shine to the glory of the Father and the blessing of
fellow Creatures; for this is His command to us, and we may be sure that He gives no
command impossible to be obeyed. If we have been seeking opportunities of service without
realizing them, there is very probably something wrong. We may have been seeking some
special service of our own preference (our old will meddling with .our newly adopted
will-the Lord's will). Possibly the great Teacher sees pride remaining-pride which we
would have been prompt to crush had we recognized it, but which seemed to hide itself from
us under the cloak of "self-respect." Possibly the great Teacher by His
providence and His Word may be saying to us, "Do with thy might what thy hand findeth
to do." Or it may be that He sees that we would be spoiled by giving us a mote
important service for others, before .we have learned the lesson of humility --
all-important in the Lord's sight. If we recognize the above situation to be ours, it is
important that we act quickly, humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God to do
whatever service His providence has made possible to us, that He may exalt us in due time.
Forearmed by the Word of God
Have we never suffered for righteousness' sake -- a martyr to
principle? If so, it would seem strange, for our Master has plainly declared that
whosoever will live godly shall, suffer for it in some form. Can it be that the Lord
erred? May not the danger rather be that we have not been living altogether godly? We say
that it is our highest wish to live according to God and His holy instructions. We may say
that it is our highest wish to live thus, but let us not forget the distinction already
drawn between wishing and doing. Let us resign our own will entirely, putting it all away
in full and complete surrender and submission and begin to do the Lord's will item by
item, just as we are able to find and prove it in His Word -- using the best human helps
we can obtain in this seeking and proving. Surely some suffering will. be the result and
it may come from the most unexpected quarter.
It is important to be well equipped and prepared for trials,
reverses, and persecution whenever they come -- forearmed by the Word of God; temptations
no doubt will come to our flesh, through them the Adversary will seek to embitter our soul
and to stir up in us the elements of the old nature -- anger, malice, hatred, envy, pride.
If this be the effect of persecution in us, then the Adversary is gaining the victory --
we are not overcoming evil but being overcome by it. The old nature termed by St. Paul our
old man will even call upon its qualities to fight against persecution -- it will call
upon our natural sense of justice to come, help, and resist; it will call upon our
conscientiousness to agree that the suffering and unkind treatment is unmerited; it will
call upon benevolence and spirituality, our love off family and friends and every other
good quality of our being -- all will be appealed to, either to fight the persecution or
to abandon the course of godliness which led to it.
It is at such a time that we will realize that we are in the thick of
the fight and unless previously armed with the panoply supplied in the Divine Word, we are
almost sure to lose faith, become terrified and flee. Whoever does this is sure to be
wounded if not captured by the enemy; for our armor is a front armor, not a back armor. It
is invulnerable so long as we stand firm for the right, the truth, in our great Captain's
name and strength -it is a hindrance to those who draw back.
Love of Christ Must Replace All Bitterness
But why should any flee terrified? Is not this the very test of our
loyalty and devotion to the Lord and His Word, for which all of our previous experiences
and instructions were but preparations? Is not this the very test the Lord declares
indispensable to all who would be accounted victors and be made His joint-heirs in the
Kingdom? Is not this the very opportunity for which we prayed, and are not the incidental
sufferings and trials exactly what our Lord forewarned us would be part of the cost of
faithful discipleship? And are not these the very experiences whose absence earlier in our
Christian experience made us wonder whether or not we were acceptable sons of God? -- Heb.
12:8.
Surely our answer to these questions must be, Yea, Lord ! Even though
because of weakness of the flesh the answer be not joyous as it should be, but through
unbidden tears. And with this answer on our part the Lord is pleased; and angels of His
mercy -- His promises exceeding great and precious -- minister unto us and strengthen us.
That is the time to fight the good fight of faith -- and triumphing
over self-will completely, to accept the buffetings and slanders and misrepresentations of
good intentions and good deeds with meekness and patience. That will be the time when the
Lord's spirit of love dwelling in us richly will manifest itself in the control not only
of our words and actions, but of our inmost thoughts. If even so much as á bitter feeling
against our traducers and maligners arises, it is to be fought and so complete a victory
gained over it that every fiber of our being will be in sweet accord with our great
Teacher's instruction. "Love your enemies. Pray for them which despitefully use you
and persecute you. Bless and injure not."
Our earliest definition of "injure not" will probably have
been that we should not kill or wound our enemies physically; but as we look to the
Teacher and heed His Word, we will hear Him say, "Learn of Me." As we will note
with the Apostle that He did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth, yet, "When
He was reviled He reviled not in return; when He suffered He threatened not; but committed
His cause to Him that judgeth righteously." If we are faithful pupils,, it will not
be long until we see that the perfect law of liberty, the law of Christ, is a discerner of
the very thoughts and intents of the heart, and that while we must hate all sin, we cannot
hate any sinner and yet have the love of God perfected in our heart. We see that this
means that we not only must not retaliate and revile our foes, but not even wish to do.
so. The evil wish must be conquered and the selfish condition which gave it birth must be
utterly destroyed and replaced with the love of Christ -- the Spirit of Christ. -- Compare
1 Cor. 4:12 with 1 Cor. 6:10.
Signs of Christian Development
If the temptation has come to us to be despondent and discouraged
with our portion in life, then the test is upon us to willingly submit to the will of God;
discontent and impatience and the disposition to murmur represents so much of self-will,
and such as are in this attitude. are not so dead to human things as they may have
supposed. All those. who have really and truly buried their own wills in the Divine will
can really know no disappointment, because faith recognizes the Divine appointment or
supervision in every affair of life; faith hears the words, "All things work together
for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose."
When we are able to take the opposition of the great Adversary and of the world and of our
own flesh patiently and in full resignation to the will of God joyfully, it is surely one
of the strong evidences that we have reached or are reaching the graduating condition of
Christian development.
Such is the good fight of faith that all Christians are called to
wage. The first struggle is the severest, and each subsequent victory is easier; for with
each victory the new will (the Lard's will in us) grows stronger, and hope's sight of the
things God has in reservation for the faithful, grows keener, and faith's strength and
endurance greater. And with the very first victory come blessings which are added to,
after every victory: blessings of rest, peace, joy in the Holy Spirit and full assurance
of faith as our Teacher promised -- "Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and
persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice
and be exceeding glad:"
From this standpoint and from no other is it possible to accept with
fortitude and resignation whatever tests of patience, perseverance, faith, hope, and love
the Lord may see fit to permit to come upon us. In this .condition all our experiences
will result in blessings, however unpropitious they may appear on the surface.
All Things Are Yours
It is from this standpoint of victory over self-will unto
sanctification of the Spirit, through obedience to the truth that all the blessings and
promises of the Divine Word are ours in the fullest sense -- "All things are yours, .
. . whether things present or things to come; . . . [for] ye are Christ's and Christ is
God's." This is the graduating degree of the school of Christ, dearly beloved, in
which we all seek to be approved during our sojourn in the Narrow Way.
Let all the brethren who have truly entered the great engagement with
the Divine Master to learn of Him, unite their hearts and prayers, and above aft their new
wills with each others and with that of our Master to this end that we may be holy,
sanctified for the Master's use, present and prospective, made meet. "And the very
God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly."
Finally the sum of the entire matter of the present schooling
experience is that disciples of Christ shall attain spiritual development, development of
the mind of Christ; which in turn will result in the expanding and developing in them of
the character-likeness of our dear Redeemer. All the victorious ones, all who reach the
graduating stage are promised high and glorious things, stations that carry with them
important duties and weighty responsibilities in connection with the future Age, and all
such shall behold the Father's face.
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