The Present Truth, vol. 12

April 23, 1896

“The Man with a Grievance” The Present Truth, 12, 17.

E. J. Waggoner

We all meet him now and then. He has a carefully compiled list of slights and grievances. Other peoples’ faults are as personal affronts, whether they affect him directly or not, so fully has he become the embodiment of the aggrieved. Sometimes we cannot escape hearing portions of the list, and as his fond fancy lingers over details we seem to remember having heard the same thing years before. But the man with a grievance has a good memory-for small things, and a vivid imagination, which strengthens the evidence as the story is retold. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 258.1

But it is of no use to suggest that imagination is a factor in the matter; it is all so real that he can appeal to his sincerity with perfect assurance, and the list has been so often repeated that he honestly believes it all. He lives by calling upon it. But what a death is the life! It is the law of nature that the vulture that lives on carrion becomes an unclean bird, and the mind that lives on grievances, real or imaginary, and on the sins of others, becomes a hold of evil and unhealthy thoughts. And the vision sees things distorted and inverted. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 258.2

Whenever we meet an extreme example of this, we ought to learn a lesson; for this is what we are by nature. “We ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived,...living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared” something better to think about was revealed. Yet the self is of sin, and sensitiveness which is sin. As Professor Drummond says, sensitiveness is “conceit with a hair-trigger,” and is sprung on the slightest occasions if self is not continually crucified. Let us remember, then, that the feeling of sensitiveness is but the signal that self is not dead, and take warning before we, too, have a grievance. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 258.3

“The All-Sufficient Life” The Present Truth, 12, 17.

E. J. Waggoner

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ; even as He chose as in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before Him in love; having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved; in whom we have our redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.” Ephesians 1:3-7, R.V. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 258.4

“In Him.”-Notice that everything is in Christ. In Him we have “all spiritual blessings.” “For how many soever be the promises of God, in Him is the yea; wherefore also through Him is the Amen, unto the glory of God through us.” 2 Corinthians 1:20, R.V. In Him we were chosen, and in Him we are accepted. In Him we have forgiveness of sins. In Him we become sons, and in Him we are made “holy and without blame.” “For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him.” Colossians 2:9, 10. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 258.5

“In Him was Life.”-According to the most critical Greek text, John 1:3, 4 reads, as is indicated in the margin of the Revised Version, “All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made. That which hath been made was life in Him; and the life was the light of men.” That is to say, everything exists by virtue of His life. “In Him were all things created;...and in Him all things consist.” Colossians 1:16, 17. “As the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself.” John 5:26. That is why He is the “wisdom of God, and the power of God.” PTUK April 23, 1896, page 258.6

“Saved by His Life.”-Christ is, by virtue of His kinship with men, “a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.” Hebrews 2:17. But He is made priest according to “the power of an endless life.” Hebrews 7:16. He is “the Author of life” (Acts 3:15, R.V., margin), and therefore He is “the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him.” Hebrews 5:9. “If, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Romans 5:10. Here is continuation, not contrast. In His death, Christ gives His life to us. The reception of that life reconciles us to God. If the reception of that life reconciles us when we were enemies, much more will the holding fast the life save us now that we have become friends. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 259.1

The Redemption In Christ Jesus.-“All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past.” Romans 3:23-25. This is the same as the text first quoted: “In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” “The redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” is “the remission of sins that are past,” or the forgiveness of sins. And this is accomplished by His blood. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 259.2

Forgiveness by His Life.-The blood is the life. “Flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.” Genesis 9:4. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls.” Leviticus 17:11. Therefore when we read that we have redemption, or the forgiveness of sins, through the blood of Christ, we know that it means that we have forgiveness through His life. “The redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” is the life that is in Him. He “was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.” Romans 4:25. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 259.3

“The Lord Our Righteousness.”-In the days to come, when Christ shall be King over all the earth, “This is His name whereby He shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” Jeremiah 23:6. This righteousness is His life: “for as by the offence 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. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” Romans 5:18, 19. His obedience and righteousness become ours when we receive His life. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 259.4

Justification Is Righteousness.-A friend has forwarded to me a severe condemnation of a statement made some time ago, to the effect that to justify means to make righteous. The criticism was based on the fact that “Grove’s Greek Lexicon” does not so define the Greek word from which justify is translated. Opening Liddell and Scott’s Greek Lexicon, I find the very first definition of the word in question is “to make righteous.” But that is only by the way. Appeals to Greek Lexicons do not edify people. It was stated that “being justified” means “being made righteous,” because that definition is patent from the reading of the English Bible. In addition to what has already been presented, read the following:- PTUK April 23, 1896, page 259.5

“Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1. But peace is for those only who love and keep the commandments, which are righteousness. See Isaiah 48:18; Psalm 119:165, 172. Moreover, “with the heart man believeth unto righteousness.” Romans 10:10. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 259.6

We are “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” through faith in His blood, because His righteousness is declared “for the remission of sins that are past.” Justification is therefore the forgiveness of sins. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 259.7

Forgiveness Makes Righteous.-But to be forgiven is to be made righteous. Forgiveness is not an imaginary thing, but is real. If I forgive a fellow-man, it makes no difference in him; the effect is only upon himself. But when God forgives us, He continues the same, but the forgiveness effects a change in us. It takes away the sin. But when sin is taken away, righteousness must take its place. A new life-the righteous life of Christ-is given in place of the old life of sin. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 259.8

Forgiveness and Cleansing.-The same precious truth is taught in the oft-quoted words of John: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9. Note that the forgiveness and the cleansing are immediately consequent upon the confession. When we confess we are forgiven and cleansed. We have already seen that we have forgiveness of sins through the blood of Christ (Colossians 1:14), and we read also that “the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7. So we find that forgiveness and cleansing are really one and the same thing, wrought by the appropriation of the life of Christ. The life of Christ is all righteousness, and so its reception cleanses from all sin; but nothing less than the life of Christ can cleanse a single sin. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 259.9

One, Undivided Life.-Christ has but one life. He needs but one, for the one is so infinite that it comprehends everything. “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” Romans 8:32. He laid down His life, and He took it again, because it was a perfect life. He needed not, as we do, to change His life. One life such as His is all-sufficient, and that is why we exchanged our life for His. Having it, we are saved by it. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 259.10

And Christ’s life is undivided. He is not parcelled out into fractions, so much to each believer. Each believer receives the whole of Christ. “Of His fulness have all we received.” John 1:16. “Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” Ephesians 4:7. And since a single sin cannot be removed from the soul except by the life of Christ, it follows that in the forgiveness of sins we have the richest gift that heaven can bestow,-the gift by grace, “the gift of righteousness.” Romans 5:15, 17. Being made righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 259.11

“Grow In Grace.”-“What!” exclaims one, in astonishment, “do you mean to say that there is no ‘higher life,’ no ‘second blessing’? Is a man never to advance beyond the point where his sins are first forgiven?” Yes; most certainly. But the “higher life” is the life in Christ, and there is none higher, and this life is given to us in the forgiveness of sins. To be blessed with “all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” and to be raised to “sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 1:3; 2:6) is as high a life as a man can aspire to. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 259.12

As to a “second blessing,” the man who is content with it is as much to be pitied as is the man who is content with a first. Rather accept the continuous blessing of the endless life of our Lord. “Of His fulness have all we received, and grace for (or upon) grace.” He adds grace to grace in endless succession. But all comes from the one life, which, received by faith, cleanses from sin. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 260.1

So a man is certain to advance beyond the point where he was “first forgiven,” but it is continual forgiveness-continual righteousness applied-by the one life. Growth is the law of the Christian life. But we are to grow in grace, not grow into grace. Grace is the only soil which promotes spiritual growth. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 260.2

Notice the statement, “Being justified by faith we have peace with God.” It is not enough that we were at one time justified, but it must be kept up. The blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin. It is not momentary, but continuous. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 260.3

“The Knowledge of Christ.”-“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3:18. The trouble with so many people is “that they do not know the value of the treasure which they have received. They receive Christ, and are blessed; then, by reason of not increasing in the knowledge of Him, they are conscious of a great lack, and so hastily conclude that the gift which they have received is not great enough, and that God must have another in reserve for them. As though God had any greater gift than Christ, or that when He gave Christ, He made some reservation. No; with Him He freely gives us “all things.” If we have received Christ, our part is to study Him, that we may know that in Him all our wants are supplied. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 260.4

“Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him; the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 1:15-20. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 260.5

“The Papacy’s Growing Power” The Present Truth, 12, 17.

E. J. Waggoner

The Chronicle’s special correspondent from Rome continues to mingle with his eloquent description of the Papal pomp and circumstance of the events, at the Vatican and St. Peter’s, much that is of great political significance. He refers to the old contest between the Vatican and the Quirinal and dubs it “a controversy which goes down to the roots of the European situation, which troubles the peace of king and cardinals, and affects the alliances and estrangements of the great States of the world.” PTUK April 23, 1896, page 260.6

After enumerating various local incidents which have caused friction between the representatives of the Papal court and the State, and have given some new prominence, within the very precincts of Rome itself, to the persistent seclusion of the “Prisoner of the Vatican,” he says:- PTUK April 23, 1896, page 260.7

And above all the crushing blow which the House of Savoy has received in Africa, the relations of Italy to the Triple Alliance, the Pope’s leaning toward France-all the pressing problems which during the last few weeks have centred in Rome and made her the “hub” of diplomatic Europe, the centre of the modern as she was of the ancient world-have swept this “Roman question” to the front. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 260.8

And yet, he asked himself, why should there be any desire to see this question raised at this time?-for, “Not for years-I had almost said for centuries-has the moral and political influence of the Vatican stood at so high a level.” In his view too the very disabilities under which the Pope has chafed so impatiently have been to the advantage of the Papacy, “and the Holy See has gained enormously by its dissociation from the responsibilities of secular power.” So that now it is a fact that the Papal chair is raised in the eyes of the Roman Catholic world above the throne of Kaiser and Czar and King, that it is in a sense protected and guaranteed by Europe, that it has founded a new empire in the new world, that it is sustained by an acute and active diplomacy, and yet is free from actual responsibility, and, like Hamlet’s Ghost, possesses a certain majestical invulnerability of its own. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 260.9

Yes, all this is true,-the Papal power is a creature of destiny and of prophecy. Until that destiny and that prophecy are fulfilled it does possess a certain invulnerability. But when that time has come when she shall feel no longer these disabilities and shall say, “I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow,”-then, “shall her plagues come in one day, death and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.” PTUK April 23, 1896, page 260.10

“As God Is” The Present Truth, 12, 17.

E. J. Waggoner

“God was in Christ.” Jesus manifested the Father. When Jesus went about among the lowly homes of Judea and Galilee, associating with the simple people who loved Him for His kindness and homeliness, He was showing what God is. There was no barrier of reserve or haughtiness to repel, but an air of gentle refinement that drew the common people to Him. Even the children felt no timidity in coming to Him, and He found time to give attention to the simplest details of the life of the people. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 260.11

This was showing what God was. And what He was He is-the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever. To-day, then, God finds delight in drawing the humblest to Himself. There is no barrier on His side to make any afraid of trusting and confiding in Him as a friend. What Jesus was, He is, the friend of those who need Him, gentle, patient, finding joy in companionship with the lowly and the humble. He was all that before Jesus came in the flesh (Isaiah 66:1, 2); but when we see it in the life of Jesus, we can see it as in other ages it “was not made known unto the sons of men.” God wants us to know Him, and in Jesus we see Him as He is. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 260.12

“Items of Interest” The Present Truth, 12, 17.

E. J. Waggoner

-The population of Greater London is now considerably more than 6,000,000. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 270.1

-The German Emperor has recently met the Emperor of Austria and the King of Italy and it is said that the Triple Alliance is renewed. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 270.2

-A phenomenal dust storm has occurred in Australia. At Broken Hill the sun was obscured for twenty minutes, the town being in perfect darkness. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 270.3

-It is expected that a large force of British troops will be sent to Egypt in the autumn to take part in the Soudan campaign; 10,000 is the number that has been named. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 270.4

-An unprecedented feat is to be attempted this spring in towing an oil-laden barge across the Atlantic. The towing steamer and the barge together will carry about 2,500,000 gallons of oil. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 270.5

-The Russian Red Cross Society expedition to Abyssinia is said to number over eighty. Military officers accompany it to protect it, and many are taking the expedition to mean that Russia proposes to have a hand in the African question on her own account. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 270.6

-Mail advices show that an order to cut off their queues led the Koreans to revolt against the administration. Great changes, even the murder of their Queen, were accepted calmly, but at the regulation affecting their hair they rose in rebellion. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 270.7

-Before the Matabele rising the transport was so interfered with by the cattle plague in Rhodesia that the bakers in Buluwayo had given notice of an advance from 6d. to 1s. in the price of a loaf of bread. The rising will make provisions still more scarce. The natives have risen more generally than was at first apprehended, though many friendly chiefs have come into Buluwayo. The authorities are expecting that it will require a hard struggle to subdue the revolt. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 270.8

-Some idea of the terrors of a bursting volcano, says a despatch, may be gained from the account of the last eruption in Hawaii. The crater of the volcano was filled from 600 to 1,000 feet deep with molten lava, which finally forced its way through a subterranean passage. It was 40 miles from there to the sea, yet this avalanche of molten rocks reached the waters in less than two days, destroying everything in its track. It continued flowing for three weeks, heating the sea water 20 miles out from shore. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 270.9

-Li Hung Chang, the greatest of the Chinese, who has come West to attend the coronation of the Czar, will, it is said, visit the principal capitals of the Continent, and London, returning to China by way of New York. Thus he and his large suite will see a good deal of that western world which the patriotic Chinese of the interior regard as but a small outlying province of the Middle Kingdom. But Li Hung Chang has done his best to break down the stolid prejudice of his countrymen, and has accomplished many great changes. His wife was, it is said, a woman of high ability, educated in the United States, and has seconded his efforts. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 270.10

“Back Page” The Present Truth, 12, 17.

E. J. Waggoner

The Vatican is speaking of peace and arbitration, but it is a fact that the French arms had the blessing of the Catholic Church in the Madagascar campaign, and the Italian arms in the Abyssinian expedition. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 272.1

The Dominion Parliament has failed to pass the Bill to establish Catholic schools in Manitoba. The opposition wore out the House, and after two continuous sittings of 120 and eighty hours respectively, the Government decided to appeal to the constituencies. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 272.2

Our mission ship Pitcairn is reported about to sail from San Francisco for, we believe, its fourth cruise in the South Pacific. Pitcairn Island has built a school building, and it is expected that it will become a training centre for workers in the surrounding islands. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 272.3

We are glad to learn that the late interference of the Swiss authorities with the Imprimerie Polyglotte, of Basel, our Central European publishing house, which made our friends acquainted with the rigours of factory Sunday laws, has in no wise hindered the work. On the contrary, it has distinctly furthered the work, the changes made necessary having led to a very large increase in the volume of business done. Thus again it is demonstrated that man “can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.” PTUK April 23, 1896, page 272.4

From some of the reports from Turkey one would almost think that we were back in the Dark Ages, in the days of the Crusades. We read of Christians fighting against Moslem armies, and of Moslems forcing men to profess the faith of Islam. On the other side, the Christian World prints an interview with several leading Armenian revolutionists who described how, when the Turkish garrison at Zeiboun surrendered to the Armenian forces in the recent uprising, the Turks were compelled to pass under daggers held aloft, while “the Archbishop held a cross, which they all had to kiss in token of submission.” There is little to choose between the two. These leaders say that “the revolutionary movement will not be stopped,” but they will educate the people to demand independence, and “when the time comes to rise successfully they will rise”-and then will come more horrors. They say that the revolutionary movement “has received a great impetus from the massacres.” PTUK April 23, 1896, page 272.5

Among other items of interest in a recent report from one of our workers in Turkey, himself an Armenian, is the following:- PTUK April 23, 1896, page 272.6

While I was there, one of the brethren had gone to a village near by with several Armenian tracts. As soon as a priest of the village learned that his brother was there, he took a stick, and ran to the place where the brother was, and suddenly attacked him. The spirit of the priest manifests the spirit of the times when Armenians shall have their own kingdom. Never believe that Armenians do not persecute; they do, as severely as they are persecuted. The want of opportunity is what makes the difference. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 272.7

It is these violent and murderous elements that bring down upon the quiet and peace-loving Armenians the awful calamities which attend insurrection and revolution. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 272.8

The Olympian games have been received and successfully celebrated. It was from them that Paul took that forcible illustration in the ninth chapter of first Corinthians, when he said: “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.” The world has no especial need of a renewal of the Olympic games, but it does need a revival Paul’s religious life. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 272.9

The Chancellor of the Exchequer presented a Budget last week which indicates a prosperous year. The revenues increased all round. What most of our readers will regret is that the most remarkable increase, apparently, should be in that derived from the consumption of spirits and other stimulants and narcotics. The amount of money spent on “that which is not bread” is enormous. The Chancellor gave the following very good lecture to smokers:- PTUK April 23, 1896, page 272.10

In my humble opinion, everything that is spent on tobacco by those who have enough to eat is waste. I am quite aware that that may be a matter of ignorance or prejudice, and I would only appeal to smokers whether this is not waste; it is calculated by the Customs authorities that no less a value than ?1,000,000-a year is literally thrown into the gutter in the shape of ends of cigarettes and cigars. It is all the better for the revenue, but I think it may be a subject of consideration for smokers. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 272.11

Almost as much as Great Britain spends on Foreign Missions is thrown into the gutter in this way. Of course it is much better thrown away than smoked, but the figures bring vividly before the mind the enormous sums spent in injurious indulgences. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 272.12

Geneva, so long the field of Calvin’s labours, and the birthplace and earthly home of that religious system which owed its origin to him, and has taken his name, has been for more than a hundred years cursed with that strange blot upon civilisation, state regulated vice. On Sunday, March 22, the question of the continuation of such regulation was before the people to be decided by popular vote. A majority of more than two to one voted for the maintenance of the system. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 272.13

In the annual report of the Russian Procurator of the Holy Synod, published in one of the official journals of St. Petersburg, this watchful official gives statistics of those provinces “infested by sectarianism,” and first in his list he mentions Seventh-day Adventists as “a very peculiar apparition.” The Russian officials keep close watch over “sectarians,” who are constantly being made to feel the wrath of the authorities. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 272.14

“His Way of Saying It” The Present Truth, 12, 17.

E. J. Waggoner

His Way of Saying It.-It is a freak of human nature to ascribe very unworthy motives to those who disagree with us, says the Review and Herald. Differences of opinion frequently lead to violent animosities, when there is really no ground for such animosities at all. It is related that a celebrated Frenchman, having been recently assailed with great bitterness by a French professor, quietly remarked: “I fancy he must be vexed. He called me a Jacobin, rebel, plagiarist, thief, poisoner, forger, leper, madman, imposter, libeller, a grimacing ragpicker. I gather what he wants to say. He means that he and I are not of the same opinion, and that is his only way of putting it.” There is in this little instance a very gentle reproof to many of us who are prone to attribute ulterior your motives to those who hold differing opinions from our own. PTUK April 23, 1896, page 272.15