A. T. JONES
NOW I turn to the other consequence. You could not live at all to-day except for the sacrifice made by the Lord Jesus. But there is more to this text. Therefore let us read two verses together, in the fifth chapter of Romans: “By one man sin entered into the world, and eath by sin.” “Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” The thought is: By one man sin came; and therefore by one Man righteousness must come: by one man death came; therefore by one Man life must come. And as certainly as I became an heir of sin by that one man at the beginning, so certainly I must become an heir of righteousness by that one Man who hath appeared “in these last days.” As I became subject to death, possessed by death, by the sin of that one man at the beginning of the world, so I must become heir of life, and possessed of life, by that other one Man “in these last times.” ARSH October 16, 1900, page 659.1
There is no hope of righteousness to any soul except by that one Man,—thank the Lord,—the last Adam. True, he is the second Adam; but the Scripture calls him “the last Adam; but the Scripture calls him “the last Adam,” and that is better; for, if it had been only “the second Adam,” there might have been a chance for the suggestion, “There may be a third Adam, and that will give me another chance.” But that will never do: there will be no third Adam. The last Adam who can ever come has come. And whosoever shall not be delivered by that last Adam is forever lost. “There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” The first Adam sinned; and by him we became heirs of sin. The last Adam sinned not; and therefore by becoming heirs of him, we become heirs of sinning NOT. The first Adam brought death to us all; and the second Adam, by not sinning, brought life to us all. And do not forget that he is the LAST ADAM. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 659.2
Thus you can see that life and righteousness must come from one source, precisely as death and sin came from one source. And that source must be not myself. Neither sin nor death entered the world by me, but by that one man. There is the means, though not the source. The source, of course, is in the one who stood back of the man, and persuaded him to go that way; that is, Satan. So Satan is really the cause of sin and death, while that one man is the channel through which he plunged this upon the world. On the other hand, God alone is the source of life and righteousness; and that one man, Christ Jesus,—the last Adam,—is the channel through whom life and righteousness are poured upon the world, in abundance, even to “all the fullness of God.” ARSH October 16, 1900, page 659.3
Therefore you can see that just as certainly as, to find the source of sin and death, we must look beyond ourselves; so, to find the source of righteousness and life, we must look beyond ourselves. And as, to find the source of sin and death in this world, we must look to Satan through the first Adam; so, to find the source of life and righteousness, in this world and in the next, we must look to God through the last Adam, always, always, always. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 659.4
Look at it on the other side again—on the side of sin. How many sins have appeared in your life that were not there the day that you were born? Is that saying too much? Have you and I accumulated something new, brought something new into the world, in the way of sin, that was not there before we were?—No. All that has ever appeared in you and me is what was in you and in me before it appeared; and it matters not how long in our lives it was before that thing appeared—it was there. True, it was latent; but it was there. But I need not argue upon that: I simply wish to draw your attention afresh to the reality of it, so that each can bring it home personally to himself, that there never has been anything in your life, or in mine, in the way of sin, that was not in us when we were born, and that did not come to us from the first Adam, who brought sin into the world. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 659.5
But the time came, thank the Lord, when you and I were born again. And remember we are to be born “from above;” born of God; the children of the last Adam; for he, the Child that was born to us, is “The everlasting Father” as well as “The Prince of Peace.” ARSH October 16, 1900, page 659.6
Then there is a second Father, the last Adam. And since you and I were born again, born from above, created of God in Christ Jesus new creatures, there never has appeared in our lives anything good, and there never can appear anything good, that was not there the day we were born again, and that does not come from him who caused us to be born again. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 659.7
Then, as certainly as the first Adam is the source of all the sin that ever appeared in us, the last Adam is the source of all the righteousness that ever can appear in us. Therefore, there comes the next verse in the fifth chapter of Romans, the nineteenth verse: “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the OBEDIENCE OF ONE shall many be made righteous.” Just so. As by that one man’s disobedience you and I were made sinners, so by that other one Man’s obedience you and I are made righteous. No man was ever made righteous by his own doing. You and I were not made subject to sin, not made heirs to sin, by our own sinning; it was in us before we had time to sin. That which appeared in us was what was in us—even the leading thing in us: and that is the truth forever. Never will anything appear in you but that which was in you before—and it the leading thing in you. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 659.8
So then, since Jesus is the source of all righteousness, his obedience is that which makes us righteous. Therefore we read on now, in the third chapter of Romans, as to Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin, and all subject to sin. Nineteenth verse: “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law:” so that they shall know what sin is; for “by the law is the knowledge of sin,” “that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” Not to make men guilty,—the law never came to make men guilty,—but to show to men that they are guilty. Neither the law nor anything that is connected with it, is sent to make men guilty; but that men may see that they are guilty,—that they may see where they are, what their condition is,—that they are lost, and need to be saved. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 659.9
It is not straight; it is not fair; it is not a true presentation, nor representation, of things, to say to persons who are yet sinners, that they “will be lost.” They ARE LOST. They do not realize it; they do not believe it; but it is the truth. God wishes them to find out that it is so, that they may be saved; for “Jesus came to seek and to save”—what? That which might be lost?—No, sir; but to seek and to save “that which was lost.” Listen again: “If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that ARE LOST.” 2 Corinthians 4:3. Then he to whom the gospel, in its power, in its saving grace, is hidden is lost. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 659.10
“If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” Verses 3, 4. And it is the bounden determination of the god of this world to keep men so blinded that the light of the gospel may never reach them; while it is the longing purpose of God that the knowledge of his law may reach all men, that they may know, in the light of it, that they ARE LOST; and that there also shines the light of the glorious gospel of Christ that they may be saved; and by it, when they believe, they ARE saved. Thus “the law entered that the offense might abound; but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” ARSH October 16, 1900, page 659.11
“Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God [which is] by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference.” Romans 3:20-22. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 659.12
Who are those that are lost?—They are those “in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not.” The lost ones are those who believe not. The saved ones are the ones who believe in Jesus Christ the Saviour. So then, “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” but “all them that believe” are “justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God hath set forth to be propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness [God’s righteousness] for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness [God’s righteousness]: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” Romans 3:22-24. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 659.13
Now notice how continuous that is: men are justified by faith; saved by the righteousness of God, “without the law.” It is true forever, to all people, in every moment of the life of anyone who believe in Jesus. Listen: “NOW the righteousness of God without the law is manifested.” Is that word “now” thrown in there merely as a catchword, as we sometimes use the word “now”?—No. That is not the way the Scripture uses words. That word “now” is used in this place because it means just now—at this present time. This is made emphatic in the twenty-fifth verse: “To declare, I say, AT THIS TIME his righteousness.” Put the two verses together: “NOW the righteousness of God without the law is manifested... to declare, I say, AT THIS TIME his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” ARSH October 16, 1900, page 659.14
So, then, you see that that “now” is an everlasting word. It was “now” when Paul wrote it; it was “now” when Luther believed it and preached it; it is “now” yet. Nobody can ever get away from that “now.” “Now”—“at this time”—it is that the righteousness of God without the law is manifested. So no righteousness can ever come to anybody in this world, by any person, or by any means, but by Jesus Christ; and that, as the free gift of God. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 660.1
And as life must come from the same source as does righteousness, and this must be life that stands over against the death that lasts forever, so it must be a life that stands forever. And so it is written: “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.” ARSH October 16, 1900, page 660.2
And since it is only righteousness that goes with life,—and this life is eternal life,—it is only eternal righteousness that can ever go with eternal life. And since eternal life must come from God to me, or I shall never have life that is life indeed; and since I must have eternal righteousness in order to have eternal life,—it follows only that eternal righteousness must come from God to me, or I shall never have either righteousness that is righteousness indeed or life that is life indeed. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 660.3
HAVING shown that now is the time—from A.D. 1844, and onward—when the Third Angel’s Message is due to the world, it remains to study the import of that message. It is a world-wide message; for— ARSH October 16, 1900, page 664.1
1. The first of the three angels (Revelation 14:6, 7) spoke with a loud voice “to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people;” the second angel followed this one; and the third angel followed them. As, therefore, the first one was to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, and as the third one follows, the third likewise must go to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 664.2
2. The third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If any man worship the beast and his image,” etc. This phrase, “If any man,” shows that this word is spoken to all men; that it is a universal message. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 664.3
3. Of the Beast it is said: “All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Revelation 13:8. And the work of the Image of the Beast is but to cause the worship of the Beast. True, he compels men to worship himself—the Image of the Beast; but, as he derives his authority, and draws his inspiration, from the Beast, the worship of the Image is but indirectly the worship of the Beast. Now, as the worship of the Beast is to be by “all that dwell upon the earth;” as the Third Angel’s Message is the warning against the worship of the Beast and his Image; and as obedience to this warning is the only means of escaping that worship and the wrath of God,—therefore the Third Angel’s Message must go to “all that dwell upon the earth:” the warning must be as extensive as is the worship. It is therefore evident that this thing will not be done in a corner. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 664.4
This message says: “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation.” We have before cited the scriptures which show this wrath to be the seven last plagues, and which show that with the seventh of these plagues comes the end of the world. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 664.5
But all do not worship the Beast and his Image. There are some who get “the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name;” and these are seen standing “on the sea of glass,” before the throne of God, having the harps of God, and they sing a song which none can learn but they, and it is the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb. Revelation 4:6; 15:2, 3. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 664.6
How do these get the victory? Notice: the message not only warns all men against the worship of the Beast and his Image, but it tells how to avoid that worship; it not only tells men what they shall not do, but it tells them what to do; it not only calls men to the conflict with the Beast and his Image, but it tells them how to get the victory; and this is contained in the words, “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:12. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 664.7
Here, then, is a message which is now due, which is to go “to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,” calling upon all to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. The purpose of this message is to gather out from “all that dwell upon the earth” a people of whom it can truly be said, “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus;” and that so, such may escape the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 664.8
This makes it incumbent upon all now to study the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus as they have never studied these before, asking themselves the question, Am I one of whom this scripture speaks? Am I one who truly keeps “the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus”? And, as this message is world-wide, these considerations plainly show that under the power of the Third Angel’s Message there must be, and there will be, such a world-wide study of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus as there has not been since holy John stood on the Isle of Patmos. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 664.9
What, then, is meant by “the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus”? ARSH October 16, 1900, page 664.10
First, as to the commandments of God. In a certain sense, there is no doubt that every injunction of the Bible is a commandment of God; for the Bible is the word of God. Yet, besides this, there is a certain part of the Bible that must be admitted to be the commandments of God above every other part. That certain part is the TEN COMMANDMENTS. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 664.11
Whereas, in giving all other parts of the Bible, “holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:21), in giving the ten commandments “God spake all these words.” The whole nation of Israel was assembled at the base of Sinai, and “Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire;” “and all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet,” “and so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake.” And there, amid those awful scenes, God personally spoke the ten commandments, with a voice that shook the earth. Hebrews 12:26. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 664.12
Nor was that all. After having spoken these great words unto all the people, “The Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.... And Moses went up into the mount of God.” Exodus 24:12, 13. “And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.” Exodus 31:18. “And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.” Exodus 32:15, 16. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 664.13
When Moses came down to the people, he found they had made a golden calf, and were worshiping it after the manner of Egypt; “and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.” “And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto Mount Sinai.” Exodus 34:1, 2. Then, Moses says: “I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand. And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the Lord spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.” Deuteronomy 10:3, 4. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 664.14
Thus we find not only that God spoke the ten commandments, but that he wrote them twice upon tables of stone. Although holy men of God, when moved by the Holy Ghost, could speak the message of God, none could be found holy enough to speak the words of the ten commandments in their deliverance to the children of men. Although the Spirit could say to the holy prophets, “Write,” no such word could be given to any man when the ten commandments were to be given in tangible form to the children of men. But, instead, God said, “I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written.” And again the second time, when these tables were broken, “I will write... the words that were in the first tables.” ARSH October 16, 1900, page 664.15
Nor was this all. God did not come down upon Mount Sinai alone; but thousands upon thousands of the holy angels were with him there. “The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from Mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints; from his right hand went a fiery law for them.” Deuteronomy 33:2. “The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.” Psalm 68:17. This array of angels is that to which Stephen referred when he said to his persecutors that they had “received the law by the disposition of angels.” Acts 7:53. The Greek word here rendered “disposition” signifies “to set in order; draw up an army; posted in battle order.”—Liddell and Scott. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 664.16
When, therefore, God came down upon Mount Sinai to deliver the ten commandments, he was surrounded with the heavenly host of angels, drawn up in orderly array. Four-faced and four-winged cherubim, six-winged seraphim, and glorious angels with glittering, golden chariots,—all these, by the tens of thousands, accompanied the Majesty of heaven as in love he gave to sinful men his great law of love. Deuteronomy 33:3. Than at the giving of the law of ten commandments, there certainly has been no more majestic scene since the creation of the world. Well, indeed, might Paul name “the giving of the law” among the great things that pertain to Israel. Romans 9:4. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 664.17
In view of all these things, it is assuredly the truth that the ten commandments of God, above every other part of the Bible; although all the Bible is the word of God. This is according to that word itself: “Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy son’s sons; specially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they may teach their children.... And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.” Deuteronomy 4:9-13. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 664.18
In impressing upon the people the things they should diligently remember, “specially” to be remembered were the day that God came down upon Sinai, and the words that were then heard. And those words were the ten commandments. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 664.19
This is of equal importance to the world to-day; for all is summed up by Solomon when he says: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter [margin, “the end of the matter, even all that hath been heard, is”]: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 664.20
Men are to be judged by the law of God; that law is the ten commandments; and the words of Solomon are emphasized in the First and Third Angel’s Messages of Revelation 14. The first angel says: “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come;” and the third angel follows, saying: “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” ARSH October 16, 1900, page 664.21
The Third Angel’s Message embraces Sinai and Calvary; the law of God and the gospel of Christ; God the Father and God the Son. And when this message ends, the work of God for the salvation of men—the mystery of God—will be finished. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 664.22
Reader, are you keeping the ten commandments, with the faith of Jesus? Read them carefully and see. Read them earnestly and prayerfully, for God is now bringing every work into judgment: and every work that will not bear the test of the ten commandments will be “found wanting.” ARSH October 16, 1900, page 664.23
“BRETHREN, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” ARSH October 16, 1900, page 665.1
Note that when a man is overtaken in a fault, the only thing that the Scripture commands the Christians to do is to “restore such an one.” There is no commandment to condemn him, to set him at naught, to ostracize him, to talk about either him or his fault; but only to “restore” him. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 665.2
This is the only spirit that there is in Christianity; for “God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” Condemnation is not what anybody needs in this world; for everybody is already condemned over and over, by his own sins, and by his own knowledge of his own faults. And, surely, it could be nothing but an essentially vindictive spirit that would crowd more condemnation upon a person who is, already, and many times, doubly condemned. And Christianity is not of such spirit: Christianity is the spirit of love, of the very love of God; and God’s love is manifest in his sending of Christ, not to condemn the world, but to save it. Such alone is the spirit of Christianity, everywhere, and forever. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 665.3
This is shown also in the text, in directing that “ye that are spiritual restore such a one.” There is no direction to anyone who is not spiritual to make any attempt to restore such a one: and this for the simple reason that any such one could do it. The first consideration, therefore, when the Christian receives the knowledge that one is overtaken in a fault, is that that one is to be restored. The next is, Am I spiritual, so that I can hope to restore him? This brings the one who is to attempt the restoring, face to face with himself and God, in an examination of his own standing before God, as to whether he is truly spiritual. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 665.4
And when this is found to be so, when one has found himself truly spiritual, then, in the spirit of meekness, which is only the spirit of Christ, and which can be only in him who is truly spiritual, seek to restore the one overtaken in the fault: at the same time “considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted;” putting yourself in his place, asking yourself how you would like to be approached, how you would like to be treated, if you were in the fault in which the brother has been overtaken. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 665.5
Bear in mind also that it is the man who is “overtaken” in the fault who is to be restored—not one whom you imagine to have committed a fault; not one whom you think has done what you think to be a fault. This word gives no countenance whatever to any spirit of fault-finding, or of searching for faults in a brother. It is counsel to be followed and applied only when one is “overtaken in a fault;” when it has become apparent that there is actually a fault. Then, and only then, is the matter to be touched; and then only “ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” ARSH October 16, 1900, page 665.6
Jesus has also given specific directions as to how Christians shall go about to “restore” the one overtaken in a fault. He says: “Go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone.” Matthew 18:14. In all the word of God there is no counsel plainer than this of the Lord Jesus; yet what counsel of his is more, and more positively, disregarded by those who profess to be his? ARSH October 16, 1900, page 665.7
It is the truth well known to all, that the majority of professed Christians do go and tell anybody, and almost everybody, else than the one who has committed the fault. But how can they do so and be a Christian? Such a course is natural to the natural man, because it is natural to each man in the world to think every other man his enemy, and, consequently, to have no confidence in him; and then he concludes that it would do no possible good for him to go and tell the man his fault, because it would only make the man still more his enemy. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 665.8
But it is not so with Christians. The believer in Jesus is sure that all other believers in Jesus are not his enemies, but are his brethren; he counts them as such; he has confidence in them as such. Therefore, he who is really a Christian has confidence in his brother, that his brother will listen to him and will hear him in what he has to say, even though it be to tell him his fault “between thee and him alone.” ARSH October 16, 1900, page 665.9
Therefore, it is lack of confidence in a brother’s sincerity in the fear of the Lord, which is the cause that any professed Christian will not go and tell his brother his fault “between thee and him alone.” But lack of Christian confidence is only the mark of the lack of brotherly love, which in itself, is a lack of Christianity. So the true analysis of such a course shows that it is simply the lack of Christianity that causes any professed Christian to tell it to anybody else than the one in fault, and not to “go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone.” But go as a Christian, as a brother, and “tell him his fault between thee and him alone; if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.” To “gain” him, to “restore” him, is all the purpose of your going to him at all. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 665.10
And when one is not a Christian, there is indeed no need for him to go and tell a man his fault, because he is not in a condition to be able to tell it in a way that will do the man any good; for even when one is a Christian, and is spiritual, and “in the spirit of meekness” goes and tells a man his fault, between the two alone, it is possible that even then the man will not hear him. And “if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every work may be established.” Matthew 18:16. Not that you are to go and tell one or two more, but you are to take one or two more, and go and tell him, in their presence as witnesses. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 665.11
“And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church; but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.” Verse 17. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 665.12
He who, against all this attempt to restore him, holds on his own way, rejecting all attempts of his brethren to help him, has demonstrated that he has not the spirit of Christian brotherhood, and has separated himself from the company of the brethren. And then all that the church can do is to recognize the truth of the situation thus developed, and “let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.” As it is written in another place; “A man that is an heretic [one who chooses for himself, against the word of God. against all considerations of brotherhood] after the first and second admonition reject; knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.” Titus 3:10, 11. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 665.13
NOT content with attending real negro minstrel shows, it is said that “society is in possession of a new fad in the form of negro minstrel entertainments.” The queer part about it all is that the “negro minstrels” are white persons with blackened faces. The popular church organizations, such as the Epworth Leagues, Christian Endeavorers, King’s Daughters, etc., have all “fallen in with the prevailing spirit, and are resorting to minstrel shows as a means to replenish their treasuries.” It is further stated, and upon good authority, that “society belles and the most aristocratic young men do not hesitate to blacken their faces and assume the characters of negro performers on the amateur stage,” because it is “the thing” to do so. And the songs that are sung “either appeal to the senses or tend to arouse the sentiment of pathos, through which evil is oftener wrought than is generally known.” Further: “The results of this fad are even now coming to the front. In one city in an adjoining State, six fashionable young ladies, leaders in society, have fallen victims to the blandishments of a negro who was secured to train them in the divine art” of singing “darkey songs.” Thus the popular churches, having discarded tithing, God’s plan for filling the church treasury, and having abandoned the aid of the power of God, the Holy Spirit, are obliged to resort to carnal methods of raising money. “Babylon is fallen, is fallen.” “Come out of her, my people.” ARSH October 16, 1900, page 665.1
IN an interview in London, October 1, Archbishop Ireland said:— ARSH October 16, 1900, page 672.1
In one of the audiences which he granted me, the pope said: “We are well pleased with the relations of the American government to the church in Cuba and the Philippines. The American government gives proof of good will, and exhibits a spirit of justice and respect for the liberty and rights of the church. You will thank, in my name, the President of the republic for what is being done.” ... ARSH October 16, 1900, page 672.2
Furthermore, Cardinal Rampolla said that on no less than three different occasions petitions had been sent to the Vatican, in the name of the Filipino leaders, asking that direct, official relations be opened between them and the Vatican, but the Vatican has always refused to listen to such petitions, out of consideration for the American government. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 672.3
Of course it is a good deal better for the papacy for her to leave the United States through which to deal with the Filipinos, than to deal with them herself direct. And that the United States is filling the place so satisfactorily to the pope, is a matter of deep interest in itself. ARSH October 16, 1900, page 672.4