EJW
E. J. Waggoner
“Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all the truth.” John 16:13. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 97.1
Jesus Christ is “the way, the truth, and the life.” John 14:6. Therefore the Spirit leads us into the truth by leading us into the knowledge of Christ. So Christ said, “He shall glorify Me; for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you.” John 16:14. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 97.2
This is the same that we read in 1 Corinthians 2:9, 10. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” PTUK February 14, 1895, page 97.3
“The deep things” is a term that applies specially to the things of God. “O God, how great are Thy works! and Thy thoughts are very deep.” Psalm 92:5. “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” Romans 11:33. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 97.4
But Jesus said, “All things that the Father hath are Mine: therefore said I that He [the Spirit] shall take of Mine, and shall show it unto you.” John 16:15. Consequently “the deep things of God,” and His unsearchable judgments, are but “the unsearchable riches of Christ.” Ephesians 3:8. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 97.5
All this serves to show us that truth is infinite and inexhaustible. To limit truth is to limit God. He who thinks that he knows all the truth, thinks that he fully comprehends God; and that is the same as thinking that he is equal to God. This is true not only concerning the whole range of truth, but also of every particular truth. Every thought of God is deep and unfathomable; therefore no one can ever exhaust any truth of God. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 97.6
Therefore truths that are new to men must be continually shining forth from the word of God. And they must be new to the church as well as to the world; for the church is composed only of men, and there are no men, however good, who know everything, and who can find nothing more in Christ to be learned. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 97.7
This was what gave the Reformation its power. The Reformers set forth truth that was new to the mass even of professed Christians, and that was all that made it a reformation. And because the truths were new, they stirred the people. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 97.8
The trouble with the Protestant church of to-day is that it has bound itself by creeds to just what the Reformers preached. But to be true successors of the Reformers, does not mean that we should believe only the things that they did, but that we should be moved by the same spirit. A true reformation never stops; but a reformation consists in the presentation of truth that tends to lift people out of the easy grooves in which they are resting; and it must never cease its lifting. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 97.9
There is, indeed, much talk of new things, and of progress, but it is not the kind of progress that works reformation. To seek to manufacture enthusiasm by the invention of new theories, is fatal. Sensationalism is spiritual death. Truth is not to be invented, but discovered by searching. It comes not from man, but from the word of God. In the true Reformation there is no straining after effect, but a simple adherence to the word. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 97.10
The preaching of the word was what began the Reformation. But the word is not exhausted. There is enough left yet to work a revolution not only in the world, but also in the church. Let Christians practise and teach the word of God without any gloss or interpretation, and the results will be marvellous. Let them begin with the fourth commandment, and keep the day which it enjoins, the Sabbath of the Lord,—the seventh day of the week-and there will be such a revival of religion as the world has never seen. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 97.11
EJW
E. J. Waggoner
The only victory that can be gained in this world is the victory of faith. Faith is the only thing that cannot be defeated. Alexander, C?sar, Napoleon, gained great temporary triumph; but defeat overtook them in the end. The first succumbed to the assassin, the second to his own devices, and the third to the enemies over whom he had long triumphed. Wealth never enabled a person to end his life victories, neither did power, nor fame. But the man of faith, though alone in the midst of his enemies, was never conquered. He might be ridiculed and denounced, but this could not touch his character. He might be imprisoned or put to death, but he lost nothing thereby, for he was already dead, having been crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20), and the life of Christ, which was his, could not be bound or taken away. “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” 1 John 5:4. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 97.12
EJW
E. J. Waggoner
Gospel liberty is the only full and true liberty. It is liberty both of thought and of conscience. The religious man may have liberty of thought, but he is not at ease as regards his conscience, which perpetually scourges him for his evil ways. He can never secure freedom of conscience until he becomes converted. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 98.1
On the other hand, some very religious men possess neither freedom of thought nor of conscience. The man who has a pope to tell him how he must think and act in order to be saved,—be it the Pope of Rome or any other-does not have liberty of thought; and without such liberty he cannot have liberty of conscience. His conscience may not trouble him perceptibly, but that is no evidence that it has liberty. It may be dead, or stupefied. To have liberty it must have life. It must be alive, and free to direct the actions of its possessors. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 98.2
God accepts no half-way service. The first and great commandment is, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” Matthew 22:37. Notice that it includes the service both of the heart and of the mind, and that it is “thy” mind, and not the mind of some other. The mind must set its seal of approval upon that which the heart moves the individual to do. He who tries to serve God merely with the heart, simply willing to think and do as some other person tells him, is at most only an accomplice in what is done. We cannot serve God with all our mind by being merely accessory to deeds thought out and directed by another. Our judgment must approve of the work, in order that it may become, in a full and complete sense, our own. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 98.3
God has given us our minds, and He has given us a revelation of His will. He has also given us the Holy Spirit as a teacher, to show us all He would have us understand. There is no reason, therefore, for our not knowing and approving, both with the heart and with the mind, the things that pertain to His worship. We are accountable to Him if we do not. All things which He has enjoined are reasonable; but many things which man has directed to be done for the worship of God are not reasonable and therefore not susceptible of approval by any enlightened judgment. And this is characteristic of all religious commandments of men. For, just as an untutored savage could only marr the work of an artist to which he might put his hand, so man, a frail, finite, short-sighted, and ignorant being, can never put his hand to the ordinances of the Creator without perverting them, making unreasonable that which before was reasonable. And so the Saviour declared, “In vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” It matters not how good and useful these commandments may seem to the fallen, finite mortals who make them; they are commandments of men, and therefore, according to the words of Christ, vain for all purposes pertaining to the worship of God. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 98.4
Gospel liberty is liberty in the exercise of all the faculties God has given us. God wishes all men to be free; He has declared that every offering to Him must be a free-will offering. And He is not unjust or inconsistent. He has not required us to serve Him with all our heart and all our mind, and to do all from our own free will, and yet demanded that one or more of our faculties should be bound,—held in abeyance at the dictates of either men or devils. God aims through the Gospel to set the soul free; the devil aims through the law of sin and death, and the commandments of men, to keep it in bondage. To serve the devil we must be slaves; to serve the Lord we must be free men. We are slaves by nature; but to remain so we must reject the liberty which God offers us as a gift. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 98.5
EJW
E. J. Waggoner
These two sons of Adam were types of the two great classes which were to exist upon the earth, the wicked and the good. And this difference of character was shown in the sacrifices which they offered. Cain brought the fruits of the ground; Abel brought a lamb. God had instructed them in the offering of sacrifices, the essential feature in which was the shedding of blood. “Without shedding of blood there is no remission.” Hebrews 9:22. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 98.6
Abel did according to the word of the Lord; he had faith. Cain carried out the Lord’s instructions according to his own views. God had demanded a sacrifice, and he brought one; not, indeed, exactly as the Lord had said, but near enough, he might say, to answer the purpose. The sacrifice was the essential thing, and not the particular thing that was offered. His offering was just as valuable as Abel’s, and cost him just as much. But in that departure from the very words of the Lord he showed that he had not faith; for faith takes a thing exactly as God says it. The difference in their offerings was the difference between having faith and having it not. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 98.7
So it is with the people now. Not all who bring sacrifices to the Lord are counted righteous. God has said, “The seventh day is the Sabbath; in it thou shalt not do any work;” but we hear men say, “The particular day is not essential; what God wants is one day’s rest in seven.” But faith takes every word of God just as it is spoken, and does not attempt to measure the “substance” of what He says, or discover the “essential principle.” Not one word of God can be non-essential. If it could, God would be finite like ourselves. And those who knowingly disregard one word of God show thereby that they have not faith in Him as God. And thus they class themselves with the wicked; for the wicked are simply those who have not faith. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 98.8
EJW
E. J. Waggoner
Not long ago Brother L. R. Conradi, of Hamburg, visited the Seventh-day Adventist churches in Southern Russia, holding some conferences and learning of the progress of the truth amidst the persecutions which our brethren there are enduring in common with the Stundists. Some churches have been broken up and scattered by the banishment of members, but the truth is only proclaimed afar and near by this as the believers go “preaching the word.” PTUK February 14, 1895, page 98.9
On his return journey, by way of St. Petersburg, Brother Conradi visited some places in the Baltic Provinces, to see what could be done to get some publications into the languages spoken there. How the Sabbath truth was found to be already represented in one province he tells as follows:— PTUK February 14, 1895, page 98.10
“At Narva, a thirfty town almost entirely German, we crossed into Esthonia. With the change of language there is also a change of customs. While the Germans and Russians live in regularly laid out villages, the churches in the midst of them, and the Lettonians on their farms, the Esthonians join their premises promiscuously, thus forming wide-spread, irregular villages, and their churches stand on some lonely spot. I little dreamed, while hearing this strange tongue, that the truth had already found its way into this province, and that some of our publications were already translated into the Esthonian. Some six years ago a colporteur of the British Bible Society embraced the Sabbath, and it was even voted that he should come to Germany to be more fully instructed; but we lost track of him. He returned to his country home in Esthonia, and his relatives succeeded in discouraging him, so that he ceased to observe the Sabbath. But he could not satisfy his conscience; the seed of truth, in spite of all the opposition, burst forth anew, stronger than ever. He began to translate some of our publications, and finally, securing my present address, began to correspond with me, his first letter reaching me shortly after my return from Russia. Thus the Lord prepares instruments to carry the truth into all these nations.” PTUK February 14, 1895, page 98.11
EJW
E. J. Waggoner
The Bishop of Manchester, stirred by the activity of Roman Catholics in England, has begun what an evening paper calls a crusade against the Papacy. The Bishop devoted his first sermon to showing that there was no historical evidence that Peter ever was in Rome. But what does it matter whether Peter was there or not? The second sermon denied that the Bishop of Rome succeeded to the “prerogatives of Peter.” The whole question is given away by such treatment; for at the best, instead of one pope, this would give us any number of popes, each exercising his “prerogatives.” The Scriptures show that neither to Peter nor to any other man were ecclesiastical prerogatives committed which they could pass to others. The whole power of the Gospel is in the word, and the word is still the power. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 99.1
EJW
E. J. Waggoner
A Catholic paper objects to the word “martyr” being applied to any outside of the Roman fold, because it is a word “which belongs so peculiarly to the Christian and Catholic Church.” If the making of martyrs establishes proprietary rights in the use of the word it certainly belongs to Rome, as she has put to death more of the saints of God than any other power since the world began. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 99.2
EJW
E. J. Waggoner
“In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed; then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters.” Daniel 7:1. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 99.3
Just what year the first year of Belshazzar was, we are unable to determine. It used to be stated, with confidence, that it was the year 555 B.C.; but then it was supposed that Belshazzar and Nabonadius were one and the same person. The name Nabonadius was found in the accounts of the overthrow of Babylon; and, knowing that he began to reign in 555 B.C., chronologists placed 555 in the margin of the Bible, as the first year of Belshazzar. But more recent explorations have revealed the fact that Belshazzar was the son of Nabonadius, and was simply associate king with his father. (See Rawlinson’s Seven Great Monarchies, Fourth Monarchy, chap. 8, paragraphs 38-50.) When Cyrus came against Babylon, Nabonadius came out to meet him, but, being defeated, he shut himself up in Borsippa, a few miles below Babylon, leaving Belshazzar in charge of the city of Babylon. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 99.4
This explains why Belshazzar, on the night of his riotous feast, promised to make Daniel the third ruler in the kingdom (Daniel 5:16), and not the second, if he would interpret the writing on the wall. He promised Daniel the highest place that there was to bestow. Nabonadius was first, Belshazzar himself was second, and Daniel was made third. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 99.5
“Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.” Daniel 7:2, 3. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 99.6
The Scriptures never put us under the necessity of guessing at anything that God wishes us to understand. He wishes us to understand the book of Daniel (Matthew 24:15), and therefore we shall look to the Bible for the interpretation of this vision. In this seventh chapter we have the explanation. Verse 17 says:— PTUK February 14, 1895, page 99.7
“These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.” Verse 18. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 99.8
From this first we learn that these four kingdoms are to be the only universal empires before the setting up of the kingdom of God, of which the saints are heirs, and in which they are to dwell for ever. We found that this was the case with the four kingdoms of Daniel 2. Therefore we know that the four kings of Daniel 7. must be identical with the four kings of Daniel 2. For it is an utter impossibility that two series of universal kingdoms should exist in the earth at the same time. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 99.9
There are two other symbols, namely; the winds and the sea, but they are easily explained. The four beasts came up as a result of the strife of the four winds of heaven upon the great sea. Winds blowing on the sea produce commotion. But the commotion by which nations rise and fall is war; therefore we must conclude that the four winds blowing on the great sea, represent strife among the people of the earth. We shall see that this is correct. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 99.10
It must be accepted as a fact that when a symbol was once used in prophecy, with a certain meaning, it must have the same meaning in whatever other prophecy it is found. If this were not so, there would be no harmony in the Bible. By following this principle, all is harmonious. In the seventeenth of Revelation, John says that he saw a woman sitting on many waters (verse 1); and the angel told him (verse 15) that these waters were “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” Then the great sea of Daniel 7. must represent the people of the earth. See also Isaiah 8:7, where the people of Assyria are called “the waters of the river.” If the sea means people, then of course the stirring up of the sea by winds denotes the stirring up of the people,—strife. In harmony with this, we find in Jeremiah 25:32, 33 that, as a result of a great whirlwind that shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth, the slain shall be from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth. In Revelation 7:1-3 the winds-the fierce passions of men-are represented as being held so that the earth cannot be hurt. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 99.11
The prophecy, then, simply brings to view the four universal empires,—Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia, and Rome,—each arising as a result of the ungoverned passions of the people. They were presented in this manner in order to bring out additional features. The first, Babylon, with its power and glory, was represented by a lion, with eagle’s wings. Daniel 7:4. In one place it is described as follows: “For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation.... Their horses also are swifter than leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves; and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; but they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat.” Habakkuk 1:6-8. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 100.1
Daniel continues concerning this first beast:— PTUK February 14, 1895, page 100.2
“I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.” Daniel 7:4. The marginal rendering “wherewith,” in place of the first “and,” makes the passage more clear thus: “I beheld until the wings thereof were plucked, wherewith it was lifted up from the earth, and [it was] made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.” PTUK February 14, 1895, page 100.3
The wings upon the back of the lion symbolise the swiftness with which Babylon extended her conquests. (See Habakkuk 1:6-8, quoted above.) By its wings it was lifted up from the earth, and made to rise above any obstacle that lay in its path, and thus its progress was unhindered. But the glory of the Babylonian kingdom ended with Nebuchadnezzar. The kingdom was as magnificent as ever, but the power to uphold the magnificence was gone. No longer did it surmount all obstacles as with eagle’s wings; it then stood still, and extended its conquest no further. Instead of being lion-hearted, Belshazzar was so timid that “the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another” (Daniel 5:6), when in the midst of his blasphemous revel the handwriting appeared on the wall. “Conscience doth make cowards” of all wicked man, when they see the handwriting of God, whether on the wall or in His book. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 100.4
We will continue the study of this chapter in future numbers. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 100.5
EJW
E. J. Waggoner
It is announced that “a pamphlet has just been written in English by a Madras Brahmin... which is intended to convey to Englishmen some of the leading teachings of Hinduism.” An examination of its teachings reveals that the leading one,—the doctrine upon which all the rest are based,—is that of the existence of a conscious undying spirit within but separate from the body. This doctrine is already accepted by the vast majority of the people for whose information this Brahmin pamphlet was written. The Brahmins are deep thinkers, and in a contest maintained by human reasoning and philosophy, can hold their ground against any people in the world. That they even have undertaken to do proselytising work in lands called Christian, is not, from the human standpoint, an exhibition of ignorance or folly. There is no reason why it should not prove quite successful among many people, however enlightened, who are not willing to believe that the Bible means what it says when it declares that “the dead know not anything.” Ecclesiastes 9:5. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 100.6
EJW
E. J. Waggoner
We have now finished that which might be called the argumentative portion of the Epistle to the Romans. The five chapters which follow are devoted to exhortations to the church. Those in the chapter before us are very simple, but will be much better understood if read in connection with that which immediately precedes. Accordingly, we preface our reading of the twelfth chapter with the last four verses of the eleventh:— PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.1
“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His counsellor? or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto Him again? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things; to whom be glory forever. Amen. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office; so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering; or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation; he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you; bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 11:33-36; 12:1-21. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.2
What is the truth concerning the Lord? PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.3
“Of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things.” PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.4
What therefore is the reasonable thing for men to do? PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.5
“Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God.” PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.6
What will be done for us if we thus yield ourselves? PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.7
“Not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think.” PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.8
How should men think of themselves? PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.9
“Think soberly.” PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.10
What induces soberness of thought? PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.11
“The measure of faith.” PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.12
From whom does faith come? PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.13
“God hath dealt... the measure of faith.” PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.14
To whom has God dealt the measure of faith? PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.15
“To every man.” PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.16
What is the relation of men in Christ? PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.17
“One body in Christ, and every one members one of another.” PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.18
How should Christians feel towards persecutors? PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.19
“Bless them which persecute you.” PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.20
What should be our sympathies? PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.21
“Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.” PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.22
How far is it possible for me to live at peace with all men? PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.23
“As far as lieth in you.” PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.24
With what is evil to be overcome? PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.25
“With good.” PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.26
A Logical Conclusion.-The closing verses of the eleventh chapter set forth the infinite, unsearchable power and wisdom of God. Nobody can add anything to Him. No one can put God under obligations to Him. No one can give Him something for which He should receive something in return. “For of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things.” “He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.” “In Him we live, and move, and have our being.” Acts 17:25, 28. This being so, it is but reasonable that all should yield their bodies to Him, for Him to control. He alone has the wisdom and the power to do it properly. The word “reasonable” is, literally, “logical.” The logical result of acknowledging God’s power and wisdom and love, is to submit to Him. He who does not yield to God, virtually denies His existence. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.27
Exhorting and Comforting.-It is interesting to know that the Greek word rendered “beseech” is from the same root as “the Comforter,” applied to the Holy Spirit. It is the word used in Matthew 5:4, “Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.” It occurs also in 1 Thessalonians 4:18, “Comfort one another with these words.” The following passage contains the word several times, as indicated: “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-5. The fact that the Greek word for “exhort,” or “beseech,” is identical with that for “comfort,” may give a new force to the exhortations of the Spirit of God. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.28
There is comfort in the thought that God is all-powerful. Therefore there is comfort in all his exhortations and commandments, since He does not expect us to act in our own strength, but in His. When He utters a command, it is but the statement of what He will do in and for us, if we yield to his power. When He reproves, He is simply showing to us our need, which He can abundantly supply. The Spirit convicts of sin, but is always the Comforter. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.29
Power and Mercy.—“God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God. Also unto Thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy.” Psalm 62:11, 12. “God is love.” Therefore His power is love, so that when the apostle cites the power and wisdom of God as the reason why we should yield to Him, He exhorts us by the mercies of God. Never forget that all the manifestation of God’s power is but the manifestation of his love, and that love is the power by which He works. Jesus Christ, in whom God’s love is revealed (1 John 4:10), is “the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24). PTUK February 14, 1895, page 101.30
True Nonconformity.-In this country religious people have often been divided into two classes-Churchmen and Nonconformists. Now every true Christian is a nonconformist, but not in the sense that the word is ordinarily used. “Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds.” When those who call themselves Nonconformists adopt worldly methods, and engage in worldly schemes, then they dishonour the name. “The friendship of the world is enmity with God.” PTUK February 14, 1895, page 102.1
How to Think of Self.-The exhortation to every man is not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think. How highly ought one to think of himself? “Put them in fear, O Lord; that the nations may know themselves to be but men.” Psalm 9:20. “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.” Psalm 146:3. “Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for wherein is he to be accounted of?” Isaiah 2:22. “Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity.” Psalm 39:5. “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.” “The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.” 1 Corinthians 3:19, 20. “What is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” James 4:14. “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Isaiah 64:6. “In lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” Philippians 2:3. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 102.2
Faith and Humility.-Pride is the enemy of faith. The two can not live together. A man can think soberly and humbly only as the result of the faith that God gives. “Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith.” Habakkuk 2:4. The man who has confidence in his own strength and wisdom, will not depend upon another. Trust in the wisdom and power of God comes only when we recognise and acknowledge our own weakness and ignorance. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 102.3
Faith a Gift of God.-We read that God hath dealt the measure of faith to every man. Faith-trust in God-comes from a knowledge of His greatness and our littleness; of His strength and wisdom and our weakness and ignorance; of His righteousness and our sinfulness. God tells us these things, so that we may trust in Him. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 102.4
What Faith Is Given.-That faith which God deals to man is indicated in Revelation 14:12: “Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” God does not give faith to the saints only, any more than He gives the commandments to them alone; but the saints keep the faith, and others do not. The faith which they keep is the faith of Jesus; therefore it is the faith of Jesus that is given to men. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 102.5
Faith Given to Every Man.-Every man is exhorted to think soberly, because God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. Many people have a notion that they are so constituted that it is impossible for them to believe. That is a grave error. Faith is just as easy, and just as natural, as breathing. It is the common inheritance of all men, and the one thing wherein all are equal. It is as natural for the child of the infidel to believe as it is for the child of the saint. It is only when men build up a barrier of pride about themselves (Psalm 73:6) that they find it difficult to believe. And even then they will believe; for when men disbelieve God, they believe Satan; when they disbelieve the truth, they greedily swallow the most egregious falsehoods. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 102.6
In What Measure?—We have seen that faith is given to every man. This may be known also by the fact that salvation is offered to every man, and placed within his grasp, and salvation is only by faith. If God had not given faith to every man, he could not have brought salvation within the reach of all. Now the question is, In what measure has God given every man faith? This is really answered in the fact already learned, that the faith which he gives is the faith of Jesus. The faith of Jesus is given in the gift of Jesus himself, and Christ is given in His fulness to every man. He tasted death for every man. Hebrews 2:9. “Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” Ephesians 4:7. Christ is not divided; therefore to every man is given all of Christ and all of His faith. There is but one measure. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 102.7
The Body and Its Members.—“There is one body” (Ephesians 4:4), and that is the church, of which Christ is the head (Ephesians 1:22, 23; Colossians 1:18). “We are members of his body, of His flesh, and of His bones.” Ephesians 5:30. There are many members in the body, “so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.” As in the human body, so in the body of Christ, “all members have not the same office;” yet they are so joined together, and so mutually dependent, that none can boast over the others. “The eye can not say unto the hand, I have no need of thee; nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.” 1 Corinthians 12:21. So it is in the true church of Christ; there are no divisions and no boastings, and no member seeks to occupy the place or perform the work of another. No member thinks himself independent of the others, and all have an equal care for one another. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 102.8
Various Gifts.—“All members have not the same office, and all have not the same gifts. “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.... And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.... For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of Spirits; to another divers kind of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues; but all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 102.9
“The Proportion of Faith.”—“Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith.” As we have seen, there is but “one faith” (Ephesians 4:5), and that is “the faith of Jesus.” Although there are various gifts, there is but one power behind them all. “All these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit.” Therefore, to prophesy or to exercise any other of the gifts “according to the proportion” or measure of faith, is to do it “as of the ability which God giveth.” 1 Peter 4:11. “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” PTUK February 14, 1895, page 103.1
“In Honour Preferring One Another.”—This can be done only when one is able “in lowliness of mind” to esteem others better than himself. Philippians 2:3. And this can be done only when one knows his own worthlessness. The man who “knows the plague of his own heart” can not think that others are as bad as himself. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus; who ... made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant.” PTUK February 14, 1895, page 103.2
How to Treat Persecutors.-Bless them which persecute you; bless, and curse not.” To curse does not necessarily always mean to use profane language, to swear. To curse means to speak ill. It is the opposite of bless, which means to speak well of. Sometimes men persecute according to law, and sometimes they persecute without any legal warrant; but whether it is “due process of law” or mob violence, no hard words are to be used against those who do it. On the contrary, they are to be spoken well of. One cannot do this without the Spirit of Christ, who prayed for his betrayers and murderers, and who did not venture to bring railing accusation even against the devil. Jude 9. To hold persecutors up to contempt is not according to God’s instruction. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 103.3
Rejoicing and Weeping.-To rejoice with them that rejoice and to weep with them that weep, is not an easy thing for the natural man. Only the grace of God can work such sympathy in men. It is not so difficult to weep with those who are afflicted, but it is often very difficult to rejoice with those who rejoice. For instance, suppose another has received something which we very much desired, and is rejoicing over his gain; it requires much grace to rejoice with him. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 103.4
Keeping the Peace.-We are to live peaceably with all men if it be possible. But what is the limit of possibility? Some will say that they tried to keep peace until “forbearance ceased to be a virtue,” and then they paid the troublesome one in his own coin. Many think that this verse exhorts them to hold out as long as they can, and not to take part in any disturbance until they have had great provocation. But this verse says, “as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” That is, there is to be no trouble so far as we are concerned. We can not always keep other people from warring, but we can be at peace ourselves. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee; because he trusteth in Thee.” Isaiah 26:3. “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1. “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts.” Colossians 3:15. “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7. He who has this abiding peace of God, will never have any trouble with men. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 103.5
EJW
E. J. Waggoner
-Six cases of cholera, two of which ended fatally, occurred at Constantinople on Feb. 4. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 110.1
-Twenty-eight lives were lost by a colliery explosion at Montceau-les Mines, in France, Feb. 4. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 110.2
-The French line steamship “La Gascogne” is several days overdue at New York, and grave fears are felt that she has been lost at sea. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 110.3
-It is reported from Moscow that a Commission of Experts is about to be summoned to elaborate a scheme of compulsory education in European Russia. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 110.4
-A boundary line dispute between Brazil and Argentina has just been settled by arbitration. President Cleveland was the arbitrator, and his decision was in favour of Brazil. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 110.5
-Earthquake shocks were felt in several districts in Norway on the morning of Feb. 6, and an avalanche, thought to have been occasioned thereby, caused eleven deaths in Feinmarken. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 110.6
-A mad soldier “run amuck” through the streets of Constantinople, Feb. 5, slashing right and left with a naked sword, and killing five men, while eleven men and three women were seriously injured. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 110.7
-The company at the Cape, who have a monopoly of the diamond production of the world, have sold their whole output during the present year to an English syndicate. The output is estimated at ?8,250,000. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 110.8
-Much distress prevails among the poor people In Ireland from the failure of last year’s potato crop. The local government board has, it is said, offered to advance money without interest for the purchase of seed potatoes for poor tenants. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 110.9
-The leaders in the recent abortive insurrection in Hawaii have been arrested, and are being tried by court-martial. The ex-Queen, who is also under arrest, has formally abdicated the throne, and proffered her allegiance to the Republican Government. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 110.10
-An International Exhibition is to be held during the summer at Amsterdam. One of the novelties will be an electric restaurant, where no waiter will be seen, and where, by simply touching a button, the dish required by the guest will rise and descend as desired. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 110.11
-According to advises from Beyrout, the Christians throughout Syria are in apprehension of another massacre by the Druses, outrage and murder being frequent, and without redress. No Christian, it is said, ventures out after nightfall at Beyrout or Damascus. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 110.12
-The National Federation of Sunday Societies bar undertaken to secure in Parliament an amendment to the old Sunday law of 1781, under which proceedings were taken last year against the Leeds Sunday Lecture Society, so as to prevent similar prosecutions in the future. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 110.13
-The Japanese have captured Weihaiwei, after a long and desperate fight with the Chinese forts and a number of Chinese warships under command of Admiral Ting. Two of the largest and best ironclads of the Chinese were sunk and the rest were captured. China is now practically without a fleet. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 110.14
-The French Government have concluded a bargain with an English company for conveying gunboats and flat-bottomed boats to Madagascar, only one French company having bid for the undertaking, and that at every high price. But the incident caused an exceptionally anti-English display in the Chamber of Deputies, which nearly led to the upsetting of the new ministry. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 110.15
-The governor of Texas, U.S.A., has proposed a plan for dealing with lynchings, for which that State has become notorious. It is, to make the county in which mob-violence occurs liable to heavy damages to the State; to give the surviving relatives of any victim an action for damages against the county, and against any persons who can be proved to have co-operated in mob-violence; also to provide for the removal of the sheriff from office whenever a prisoner is taken from his custody and put to death by a snob. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 110.16
EJW
E. J. Waggoner
Last week Lord Halifax, President of the English Church Union, delivered a lecture in which he said the Anglican Church ought to meet the Pope half way in his efforts to bring about union. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 112.1
It seemed hazardous, he continued, on so great a question, for a simple laymen like himself to make a suggestion, but it seemed to him that if the present Pope were to take steps, for example, for a complete investigation into the question of Anglican orders it might lead to a renewal of relations between Rome and England which might prove the beginning of negotiations that might eventually bring about the reunion of the whole of Western Christendom, in which he included English Nonconformists and German Protestants. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 112.2
It is being alleged in favour of the Russian Protestants that they are willing to enter the army and promise loyalty to the Czar, about like the Quakers, but they object to the oath. This is a libel on many Russian Protestants; for there are those in Russia who are followers of the Lord and will not take the lives of their fellow-men, when the Lord has commissioned them to preach the Gospel to them. A man ready to take the life of another, for whom Christ died as well as for himself, can hardly with consistency scruple about taking an oath. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 112.3
People talk about this “enlightened age,” as though superstition were a thing of the past. They are sure that even the Catholic Church will never persecute any more, since it has partaken so much of the progress of the age. But what can they say about the progress of “the Church,” when a Catholic paper in this enlightened metropolis of the world gravely records the news that “Cardinal Richard has offered Mgr. Perraud a magnificent reliquary containing a portion of the true cross and a fragment of the crown of thorns”? Superstition is as much alive as ever, and persecution is only sleeping. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 112.4
One of the hindrances to the work of foreign missions is to be found in the readiness with which many missionaries turn to their home governments for protection in any case of violence or disorder. The influence of this is to cause the missionary to be regarded as merely a semi-official agent of a foreign power, rather than as the representative of the Lord of all. It was not the practice of the apostles to call for the punishment of those who opposeed the preaching of the Gospel. It was not thus that the Lord met the violence of His enemies. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 112.5
An illustration of the modern and unapostolic method of meeting opposition raised by religious prejudice is reported from Constantinople. The Turkish police visited the house of some French Catholic fathers, and upon being refused admission broke down the door, and arrested the Superior. Upon his release this individual lodged a complaint with the French Ambassador. The offending official was dismissed, and French gunboats, proceeding to the village where the priests live, landed a company of the ship’s officers who escorted the Superior to his house. Such a display is all very fine to show the natives the power of the French arms, but what idea will the people receive of the Gospel, which comes not to condemn and punish, but to save men, and which stands not in the power of men but of God? PTUK February 14, 1895, page 112.6
An English military writer anticipates “a most frightful outbreak of pestilence” around Pekin with the return of the warm weather, from the enforced lack of sanitary arrangements in the great Chinese camp which has been collected for the defence of the place, now said to amount to half a million men. It is a well-known fact that it is from similar large gatherings of Orientals that plague and pestilence start out on their devastating march to the various quarters of the earth. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 112.7
The Catholic Church in Austria has issued a manifesto on the social question. Of course its promises of good to workmen are a bid for support, as the Church in Austria is only one political party. The party declared that “Christ must be the supreme teacher and lawgiver in the life of every man.” This means that the Church, as Christ’s representative, is to be the lawgiver. The manifesto reads quite like similar pronouncements which are sometimes made by Protestant bodies, declaring that the principles of Christ must be enforced by legislative bodies. They always mean their own conception of the principles, and whether priest or presbyter, it is alike contrary to the principles of Jesus, who said, “If any man hear My words and believe not, I judge him not.” PTUK February 14, 1895, page 112.8
It is human nature to put confidence in the flesh. Even when the Pope at Rome is rejected, it is very easy to expect the council of bishops, or the minister, or some one of influence to take the responsibility of deciding what is right and what is wrong. At Bristol last week the Archdeacon of London, Dr. Sinclair, very truly said:— PTUK February 14, 1895, page 112.9
The Reformation had the courage and the loyalty and the inspiration to place the Bible in the hands of the people, and it not only repudiated the infallibility of the Pope, but of the Church. It would not be enough to repudiate the infallibility of the Pope if they held that a certain number of bishops, if they came together, would be infallible. In fact, the one might be worse than the other. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 112.10
We shall not be judged by popes, or councils, or creeds, nor will the men of “influence” be able to pass upon character in the last day. The word of God will be the standard in that day. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 112.11
“He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.” 1 John 2:6. He left us an example that we should “follow His steps.” What then, about following steps in which our Lord has not walked? For example, in his “Sacerdotalism,” Canon Knox-Little, of the Church of England, thus answers those who complain that the practices of the Ritualists are contrary to Christ’s example and the word of God:— PTUK February 14, 1895, page 112.12
Their efforts strictly to adhere to our Lord’s example to the letter, in spite of the usage of the Church, implies that they know better what our Lord desired than His Church. If they are consistent, as I have said, they must keep Saturday, not Sunday, as the day of rest. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 112.13
This answers the contention of those who would keep the word in some things, and yet hold to the papal custom and the matter of Sunday. But Christ lived in the flesh that He might point out the path, and He has given us the word that we may know of a certainty how to walk. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 112.14
When a man loses sight of God, his eyes turn naturally upon himself, and ere long he naturally assumes the position and attributes of deity. Only the constant sight of God can keep men from becoming “vain in their imaginations,” as did the heathen of old. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 112.15
The machine of national finance in the United States seems to have hopelessly broken down, defying the efforts of statesmen to furnish a remedy. PTUK February 14, 1895, page 112.16