The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, vol. 78

February 19, 1901

“The Keeping of the Commandments” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 78, 8, p. 120.

“I AM the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.1

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:2, 3. ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.2

What is it to have other gods before the Lord? Since to truly have Him alone, is to love Him with all the heart, and all the soul, and all the mind, and all the strength, then, plainly enough, it follows that anything by which any part of the heart, any part of the soul, any part of the mind, or any portion of the strength, is turned from God, is devoted to anything other than to God, is, in itself, to have another god than the Lord. And all this is what is forbidden in the First Commandment: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.3

It is important, therefore, to notice the gods which the Lord points out as the principal ones that it is natural for men to have before the Lord. ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.4

One of these, if not the chief one, is “the world.” For it is written: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 1 John 2:15. And, “Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” James 4:14. ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.5

The reason of this is that “the world” itself has a god. And “the god of this world” is “the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience,” and is, in fact, Satan himself. Friendship of the world, therefore, is of the spirit of the world; it is fellowship with the spirit of Satan. And this is why it “is enmity with God.” Note, the Word does not say that the friendship of the world is at enmity with God, but that it is itself “enmity with God.” And this is because it is of the very spirit of him who is the god of this world. ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.6

This is made plain in another text: “The whole world lieth in the evil one.” 1 John 5:19, R.V. It is true, as our King James version renders it, that “the whole world lieth in wickedness,” lieth in evil; but this is so because the whole world lieth in the wicked one, in the evil one. And the thought expressed here in the word “lieth” is “to lie at ease continually.” ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.7

Plainly, then, a person who has friendship, and is in fellowship, with that which lies at perfect ease, and is content continually so to lie, in the evil one, is of the same spirit; and that can be only the spirit of the evil one, and, therefore, is of itself “enmity with God.” And one thus so in friendship with the evil one, who is the fixed and continual enemy of God, makes himself thereby “the enemy of God.” ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.8

This spirit of enmity is described in another place: “The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Romans 8:7. It can not be subject to the law of God, because it is of the very mind and spirit of Satan, who is the decided enemy of God. ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.9

But thanks be to God, there is deliverance from this enmity; there is deliverance from this present evil world. For Christ Jesus “is our peace, who hath made both [God and man] one [who had been separated by this enmity], and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; having abolished in His flesh the enmity.... for to make in himself of twain [God and man] one new man, so making peace.” Ephesians 2:14, 15. ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.10

Therefore, though that enmity can not be subject to the law of God, in Christ every soul can find it completely abolished. Though such a spirit is enmity with God, in Christ every soul can find that spirit completely driven out, and himself made one with God, having not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that he may know not the things of the world, but “the things that are freely given to us of God.” Therefore, for a man to love the world, or to have friendship for the world, is for him to have the world as his god. And that is, in reality, to have the god of this world as his god; it is to do service to the evil one as his god. ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.11

And so, when the god of this world, the evil one, had shown to Christ “all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them,” and had offered them to Him, Christ could have them only on the condition that He would “fall down and worship” the evil one. And these are the only terms upon which anybody in the world can ever have the kingdoms of this world and the glory of them, or the things of this world and the glory of them. “For, all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.12

Christ’s answer to that whole thought, for himself and all who are His forever, is: “Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.” Matthew 4:10. ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.13

And when Jesus had taken this stand against all the world, against all that is of the world, against all worldliness, and all the spirit that is of the world, and for God only, “then the devil leaveth Him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto Him.” Verse 11. And so shall it be forever with every one who, in the faith of Christ, takes his stand as did Christ. ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.14

Thus utter separation from the world and from all that is of the world—nothing less than this—is the keeping of the First Commandment. “Ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.” “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.15

Deliverance from the world—this is the way to the keeping of the Commandments of God. And Christ “gave himself for our sins that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God.” ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.16

Deliverance from sin is deliverance from the world. Deliverance from the world is deliverance from sin. This is the way to the keeping of the Commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.17

“I am the Lord thy God which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” “Out of Egypt have I called my son.” And “behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.18

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.19

Who would have other gods? ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.20

“Editorial” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 78, 8, p. 120.

THE leading Washington correspondent of the Chicago Times-Herald and of the administration, speaking of Congress and the Philippine Islands, says that there is a suspicion “that speculators are swarming into Manila, eager to gobble up mines, lands, and franchises,” and that “it has been suggested that the speculators, the commercial houses, the banks, the franchise seekers, had a good deal to do with forming” what is called the “federal party” in the Philippines, which is asking for wider powers for the Philippine Commission. ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.1

Of Rome it is written that, when she had spread her power over the whole basin of the Mediterranean, and had turned into Roman provinces or Roman dependencies these dominions, “over this enormous territory, rich with the accumulated treasures of centuries, and inhabited by thriving, industrious races, the energetic Roman men of business spread and settled themselves, gathering into their hands the trade, the financial administration, the entire commercial control, of the Mediterranean basin.... Governors with their staffs, permanent officials, contractors for the revenues, negotiators, bill-brokers, bankers, merchants, were scattered everywhere in thousands. Money poured in upon them in rolling streams of gold.” ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.2

The ancient history of Rome is modern, even up-to-date. And it will continue to be so; for the great influence even to the last day, is “the Image of the Beast.” ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.3

“Bible Stories for Children” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 78, 8, pp. 120, 121.

WE have received a circular letter and prospectus of what purports to be a Bible story paper for children. The circular letter refers to “the plea made of late by several educational experts... for a change in methods and plans for Sunday-school instruction, whereby the story shall be chiefly employed in teaching little children.” The chief of these experts “recommends Old Testament stories first—New Testament stories, involving higher truths, later.” ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.1

The publishers who send out this letter approve of this plea of the educational experts; and so do we. There is nothing that can equal it. ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.2

Now these publishers propose to meet this plea by publishing this paper of Bible stories for the children. And they say that “the manner in which these Bible stories are illustrated and told can be seen from the sample copies inclosed.” And they think that “teachers will be able to use them as supplementary to the regular lessons in many cases.” They also publish, as a P.S., the word of a “well-known kindergarten instructor,” that “the Old Testament stories are told in a delightful manner,” etc. ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.3

This No. 1 of the paper tells the story of Genesis 1. It tells the story of the first verse; then, in the story of the second verse, it says:— ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.4

“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” No bright sun was to be seen yet, or stars, but there was a kind of light. It had been one long night before this. It was a great many years before this light came. The Bible story of the making of the world divides it into six days,—not days like ours, but long ones, of thousands of years. On the first day light was made. ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.5

After this came a time of many years called the second day. ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.6

The story continues through the other five days of creation, and closes thus:— ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.7

The seventh day came, and God rested. Of course plants and animals kept growing, but no new thing was made. It is the long seventh day now. ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.8

Now, there can be no doubt that that is a fair sample of the “Bible” stories for little children, of the present day; for this paper is issued by the official publishing body of one of the leading denominations of the United States. And yet this professed Christian denomination, in a professed Bible story paper for the children, sows the seeds of the latter-day scientific infidelity, among the very first that are sown in the minds of the children. And when this is so, what can be expected of those children in the way of respect for the Bible, or in the way of their ever learning the truth of the Bible? And what can be expected of the coming men and women, when the truth of God is thus corrupted at the very fountain-head in the world; and when infidelity is laid as the very foundation stone of the spiritual life of the man? ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.9

This makes it important that all who have respect for the Bible as the word of God, exactly as God gave it, be diligent in putting before the children, and by every means getting into their minds, the true Bible story as it is in the Bible, and as it is in the fear of God. And to fill this demand, which is so emphasized by what we have here related, there is no better, no more appropriate, no more timely, books than “East Steps in the Bible Story” and “The Bible Reader, No. 1”—the latter for beginners, the former for others. ARSH February 19, 1901, page 120.10

From what we have here related, which is only an illustration of the situation throughout the whole United States, and even the world, it is perfectly plain that it is not enough that our people simply take these little books into their own homes, and put them into the hands of their own children—it is true missionary work to put these books into every family, and into the hands of all the children, where it can possibly be done. ARSH February 19, 1901, page 121.1

The people of God are in the world to hold up and to spread the word of God, and faith, against the word of men and infidelity—to hold forth the word of life. And in this time of most widespread infidelity, all who know God should be most active in fighting the good fight of faith. “Work while it is called, To-day; for the night cometh, when no man can work.” ARSH February 19, 1901, page 121.2