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    April 26, 1898

    “The Sermon. Christian Manliness 1Preached in the Tabernacle, April 2, 1898. Stenographically reported.” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 17, p. 265.

    ALONZO T. JONES

    TEXT: “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.” 1 Corinthians 16:13.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 265.1

    That is Christianity. That verse is all there is of Christianity, and Christianity is all of that verse.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 265.2

    There are other scriptures that express the same thought in another way. In the fourteenth chapter and twentieth verse of this same book, I read: “Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.” Again, in chapter 13:11, I read: “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”ARSH April 26, 1898, page 265.3

    The one thought in all three of these verses is that Christians are to be men,—are to act like men, not like children, and much less like babies. The object of Christianity is to make people strong, manly men.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 265.4

    In this world, as the world goes, the tendency is, and always has been, to unman men,—to make them weaklings, dependent really upon nothing, yet upon what they think is something. There is no harm in a man’s depending upon something or somebody besides himself. That is in him, and belongs to him. He is not God, and is not capable of depending altogether upon himself alone.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 265.5

    It is in man always to be dependent on something or somebody; and when this is not God, it always weakens the man. But when man recognizes this need in himself, and then puts his dependence altogether upon God, that makes a man of him; that will always strengthen him in every way and in everything.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 265.6

    When a man puts his dependence in anything or anybody except God, he loses everything, even the manliness that is in him. It was so in the apostle’s day. The Roman Empire is recognized, by all who ever knew anything about it, as the mightiest representation of power among men that the world ever knew; yet the only tendency of that greatest manifestation of this evil that there has ever been in the world. It was that which made governments possible in the first place. Nimrod, seeing this, took advantage of it to exalt himself. And from the days of Nimrod to the present time, men, in organized forms called governments, have exalted themselves upon the weakening and unmanning of the people.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 265.7

    In the apostle’s days the world had reached the point where men could not continue any longer in the way they were going. When Christianity was sent into the world by means of the preaching of the apostles, the world stood on the very brink of falling into ruins by the weight of its own helplessness, and the most helpless were those who were possessors of most of this governmental power. The mighty mass that had been builded together as a government was ready to perish because of the corruption which it had accumulated upon itself, and had fastened upon multitudes of others. Thus ruin was the only thing that stood before the world when Christianity started: and this was so palpable that even the men who themselves stood at the head of the world were dreading the inevitable ruin that they saw must come.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 265.8

    But Christianity was put into the world just then, and proclaimed to a world of unmanned people. And that little seed of manliness which, in Christianity, was planted there, and which was spread by the apostles among men in that day,—it was that which saved the world from ruin then, and it is that which has kept it in existence until now.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 265.9

    But now, in spite of Christianity, the world is coming to that same point again. It went there without Christianity once. When it goes there the second time, against Christianity, it will certainly perish; for there is no kind of salvation for anybody or anything outside of genuine Christianity.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 265.10

    When Christianity, preached and accepted in its sincerity, had saved the Roman Empire from perishing, then against Christianity, under the false profession of it, the professedly Christian empire went absolutely to pieces.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 265.11

    True Christianity spread through an empire of pagan wickedness, bringing multitudes to its saving light; and, by restoring the integrity of the individual, building up the manliness of men, it was also the preservation of the Roman state. But when, by apostasy, the gospel was robbed of its purity and power in those who professed it, and when the profession of Christianity was used only as a cloak to cover the repetition of the same old pagan wickedness, the form being held without the power, men were not only deprived of the only means of true manliness, but this apostate Christianity was obliged to put its dependence upon the state, and to teach the people to do so. and though the church and the state were united for mutual support, this only increased the evil that was afflicting each.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 265.12

    Thus, against Christianity, the Roman world was brought to the very condition from which Christianity had saved it. And when thus the only means which it was possible for the Lord himself to employ to purify the people and restore them to genuine manliness, had been taken and made the cloak under which to increase unto more ungodliness, there was no other remedy; destruction must come. And the Roman Empire—human society as it then existed in the principal part of the world—was literally annihilated.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 265.13

    Upon this subject, Dr. Schaff has well remarked that “nothing but the divine judgment of destruction upon this nominally Christian, but essentially heathen, world, could open the way for the moral regeneration of society. There must be new, fresh nations, if the Christian civilization, prepared in the old Roman Empire, was to take firm root and bear ripe fruit.”ARSH April 26, 1898, page 265.14

    These new, fresh nations came, and planted themselves upon the ruins of the old. Among these Christianity again found a place to manifest its virtue, and to produce the Christian manliness that preserved truth and integrity in the world through the times of papal terrorism in the Dark Ages. And when the despotic power of the papacy had completely unmanned men, and had dragged down the nations once more to the brink of ruin, then once more also, in the Reformation, Christianity shined out brightly, restoring manliness to men, and lifting up the nations into a vigor that has sustained them hitherto.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 265.15

    But now, in this our day, in spite of true Protestantism, in spite of the Christianity that is true Protestantism, the church itself, and the world because of the church, is again going swiftly over this same course of evil. And when this is all done again, in spite of Protestantism, in spite of Christianity,—when, in spite of all that God has ever done, and all that he ever could do in all the world,—the church and the world reach that point, it will be final: the destruction that then falls will engulf the world. That is why we are now so near the end of the world.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 265.16

    You know that I am calling attention to actual facts: there has been for years, and there is now, a powerful movement on the part of professed Protestantism, even in the United States, to form a union of religion and the state, which is church and state. And that means only corruption worse corrupted; for no nation can be as bad without a nation of church and state as every nation must be with it.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 265.17

    Accordingly, the people are to-day being taught that they must depend upon the government for their religion; that they cannot succeed in the Christianity which they profess, and that the Christianity which they profess cannot maintain itself in the world, without having the government to unite with it and support it. The government must “make it easy for them to do right”!ARSH April 26, 1898, page 265.18

    Now religion is the one thing, above all things, for which men cannot depend upon anybody or anything but God. And when people’s minds are turned away from absolute and unquestioning dependence upon God for their religion in every phase, and are taught to put their dependence upon a government for the maintenance of themselves in their religion in the world,—than it is impossible for anything to be invented that will more weaken or unman men. Whoever accepts it unmans himself the moment he does it. He puts a figment—not even something, but a mere figment—in the place of God, who alone can satisfy him in that of which he is in need. And when men are taught, in the things alone in which God can satisfy, to put a figment in the place of God, what could more unman them? What could make men weaker, or tend to make them more of weaklings?ARSH April 26, 1898, page 265.19

    Along with this, following only the example of the professed leaders of the world, men who are not Christians are taught to depend on the government for support. They are taught that the government can make enough money to supply them with the money that they need.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 265.20

    Thus the people both religiously and civilly, are being taught to-day, and are imbibing the notion, that the government should support them. But what, in fact, is the government? Apart from the people, it is absolutely nothing. Take out of the territory of the United States all the people of the United States, and where would be the government of the United States?—Certainly nowhere; there would be no such thing. The government is simply the people: and of the people, each one is simply himself. When anybody expects the government to supply him with religion or money, he is really expecting other men, just like himself, and himself among them, to do it. Yet this is not what is meant in this idea of government supplies of religion, money, etc. To those who entertain that notion, the government is an imaginary, indefinable something up at Washington City. So that in literal truth such teaching causes men to put their dependence upon a sheer figment. And the effect of this course is utterly to unman them, and make them worse than babies. I say worse than babies, because for a baby to be a baby is all right; but for a man to be a baby is infinitely bad.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 265.21

    That is largely the situation of things to-day, and you know it. consequently, you can see how altogether apt it is, how altogether essential it is, that there should go forth to the world, in mighty power, as it stands in the Scriptures, the message of “the everlasting gospel” to be preached “to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,” calling them to depend upon God,—to accept Christianity and be men and not babies.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 265.22

    (To be continued.)

    “Editorial” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 17, p. 268.

    “HE that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith.”ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.1

    Seven times this command is given in only two cchapters of the Bible.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.2

    All people have ears, but not all have ears to hear. And of all who have ears to hear, not all have ears to hear what the Spirit saith.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.3

    Have you ears to hear what the Spirit saith?ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.4

    This hearing by which we recognize what the Spirit saith, is the hearing of faith.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.5

    There is a hearing of faith, as well as a seeing of faith, a walking of faith, and a living of faith.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.6

    Therefore it is written, “Receive ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith.”ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.7

    Receiving the Spirit by the hearing of faith, the hearing of what the Spirit saith, is only by faith.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.8

    We are commanded these seven times not only to hear what the Spirit saith, but also to hear what the Spirit saith “unto the churches.”ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.9

    When the Spirit has spoken distinctly seven times to the churches, and when He who is the head of the church has commanded seven times that we hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches, then how can we prosper spiritually unless we do hear this?ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.10

    But how shall they hear without a preacher? Is it not, then, perfectly plain that both preachers and people shall carefully consider what the Spirit saith unto the churches, in order that we all may indeed hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches?ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.11

    “Free from the Service of Sin” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 17, p. 268.

    “KNOWING this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.1

    Plainly, therefore, the Lord intends that we shall not serve sin, and, accordingly, has made provision that this intention shall be fulfilled.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.2

    “The body of sin” must be “destroyed,” in order that henceforth we shall “not serve sin.” If the body of sin is not destroyed, if sin is not taken up by the root, we shall certainly still serve sin, whatever our profession or desire.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.3

    Indeed, if I desire not to serve sin, if I desire to live without sinning, and yet do not desire it enough to have the body of sin destroyed, to have sin completely uprooted, whatever the cost, or however painful the process, then my desire is not sincere, and cannot possibly be realized. I am simply tickling my fancy with a mirage.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.4

    No; the body of sin must be destroyed,—nothing short of destruction will do,—in order that we shall not serve sin. See, too, what “destroy” means: “To pull down; unbuild; demolish; to overthrow; lay waste; ruin; make desolate; to kill; slay; extirpate; to bring to naught; put an end to; annihilate; obliterate entirely; cause to cease, or cease to be.”ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.5

    The Lord has made full provision for this destruction of the body of sin; it must be accomplished by crucifixion. “Our old man is crucified,” “that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” That is the straight, sure course to freedom from the service of sin.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.6

    But thank the Lord, we do not have to go this way alone. “Our old man is crucified with him.” He was made “in the likeness of sinful flesh” for us. He was “in all things made like unto his brethren.” He “was in all points tempted like as we are.” “The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” And he was crucified. He was crucified for us. He was crucified as us. He was “the last Adam.” He was humanity. And in him the old Adam—the old, sinful humanity—was crucified. And “our old man is crucified with him,” in order “that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.7

    Are you indeed crucified with him? Have you given up yourself to crucifixion, do you give yourself up to destruction, that you may be delivered from the service of sin? Is your desire to be freed from sinning so sincere that you freely give yourself up to crucifixion,—that you abandon yourself to destruction? If it is, then you can easily know the triumph that there is in knowing that the body of sin is destroyed, and that henceforth you shall not serve sin.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.8

    Why is this verse of scripture written, if it is not intended that you shall not serve sin? And when it is written to show you this the Lord’s intention, then of what good is that to you, what good can it ever be to you, if that intention is not fulfilled in you, and you are not kept from the service of sin?ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.9

    “Editorial Note” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 17, p. 268.

    CHRISTIANITY is a living, vital entity, that has in it the power to transform a man completely,—make him a new creature. The individual who has named the name of Christ, and does not know experimentally what it is to be “born again,” is robbing himself of the sweetest blessing that Heaven can bestow upon him.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.1

    “Studies in the Book of Daniel” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 17, pp. 268, 269.

    THE book of Daniel is a book for young people, and especially for young men.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.1

    Daniel and his three brethren were but youth, of eighteen years or less, when they were taken captives to Babylon.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.2

    On the other hand, Belshazzar was also a young man of only eighteen or twenty years.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.3

    Thus at two great crises in the history of the kingdom of Babylon,—one at the beginning, the other at the end,—the chief interests of that great kingdom hung upon the conduct of young men of from eighteen to twenty, or perhaps twenty-one, years.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.4

    This book of Daniel was written to tell what should come to pass in the latter days, and therefore especially “for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” And the lesson to be drawn from the characters of these two sorts of young men are of special importance in the last days.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.5

    Babylon itself was a picture of the last days; and the fall of Babylon was a representation of the fall of the whole earth. The last message heard from heaven before the end of all things is: “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.... Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.6

    It was the corruption of Babylon in all sorts of iniquity that caused her fall. And the wild rout in that drunken and lascivious feast of Belshazzar, was the culmination of a long and popular course of intemperance and iniquity.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.7

    Yet for sixty-nine years Daniel, as one of the chief men of the kingdom, had lived in the very center of this sea of intemperance and iniquity; he had daily passed in and out among the chief actors in it; and had kept himself pure from any taint of any of the abounding vices.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.8

    Called to that placed when he was but eighteen; honored at the very first with provision from the dainties of the king’s table, and from the store of royal wines; promoted at the age of twenty-one to the position of personal attendant in the presence of the king; at the age of twenty-two made one of the greatest men of the empire by being further promoted to the threefold honor of “ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon,” and given a seat in the council of the king; and with all this made the recipient of “many great gifts,“—this young man, so honored and flattered and courted in such a place as that, and in such society as was there, steadily maintained through his whole life absolute integrity of character, perfect propriety of conduct, and complete control of every appetite and every passion. This was Daniel; and his three brethren were not far unlike him.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.9

    There was another young man in the center of society in Babylon. He also was prominent in the king’s court. He, too, was promoted to a high place in the kingdom; he was asso- ciated with the king himself in the rulership of the kingdom. He knew the right way. He had the best of examples before him. He knew the purport of all these things. Yet he despised all instruction, disregarded all admonition, and indulged every appetite and every passion; and so reached at last the point where he recognized no bounds of propriety in conduct, was destitute of principle, and thought of no such thing as integrity of character. At the age of twenty-one, or younger, he had run his course, had been weighed in the balances and found utterly wanting, and had perished in his outbreaking iniquity. This was Belshazzar.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 268.10

    To-day the world is fast running in the way of Babylon. The intemperance and other vices of Babylon are prevalent everywhere. To-day every young man is practically in the society of Babylon. To-day these characters from Babylon, portrayed in the book of Daniel, are living examples; they are living illustrations of the choices that will be made, and, indeed, that are being made, by young men in the Babylon of to-day.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 269.1

    To-day there are before every young man the two ways,—the way of Daniel and the way of Belshazzar. To-day every young man has the opportunity to choose which of these ways he will take. To-day, indeed, every young man is choosing either the way of Daniel or the way of Belshazzar; for not to choose the way of Daniel is to choose the way of Belshazzar. There is no middle ground.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 269.2

    There is no middle ground because it is solely a question of principles. That you would not go to-day the whole length to which Belshazzar went at the end of his career, is no security to you; for to-day, and in this matter, the end is in the beginning. He who to-day despises the instruction given, and disregards the admonition written, on this subject for this time, chooses the way of belshazzar, and will reach the end of that way as Belshazzar did; for there is no other ending to it. Belshazzar knew the right way, but he would not humble his heart to choose that way. He knew of the Lord of heaven and his obligations to him; but he lifted up himself against the Lord of heaven, and would not glorify him.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 269.3

    It is perfectly certain that there are to-day scores of young men in the families of Seventh-day Adventists, as well as of others, who are choosing the way of Belshazzar. They have been taught, they have read, so that they know, for themselves, the lessons of the book of Daniel. They know the principles and the career of Daniel. They know that these principles are of God. Yet they disregard it all, they repudiate it all, and choose the way of Belshazzar; so that the words are as true to them to-day as to him that night: “Thou, ... Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven: ... and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified.”ARSH April 26, 1898, page 269.4

    To-day the message goes forth: “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.... Come out of her, my people, that ye be no partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Soon “great Babylon” will come “in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.” To-day, while it is called to-day, the representative characters of the book of Daniel are living characters. There are two of them—Daniel and Belshazzar. These are the two ways to-day, and there is no other way. The way of Daniel, or the way of Belshazzar—which do you choose to-day? Not to choose the way of Daniel is to choose the way of Belshazzar. Choose the way of Daniel to-day, now, and forever.ARSH April 26, 1898, page 269.5

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