The Present Truth, vol. 10
November 29, 1894
“Praying for Wisdom” The Present Truth 10, 48.
E. J. Waggoner
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” James 1:5. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 753.1
There is only one condition to this promise, and that is that the one who desires wisdom ask for it in faith. “Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 753.2
The promise is absolutely unlimited: “If any of you lack wisdom.” There are no exceptions. It is open to the child as well as to the man; to the very ignorant as well as to the one who has had great advantages of education. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 753.3
The kind of wisdom is not specified. It includes everything that may be called wisdom. Everything that is worth knowing, and that is necessary, may be asked for and received under this promise. Some one may say that it means only knowledge of the way of salvation. Take it so if you please; but remember that every act of life has something to do with one’s salvation, and that therefore the promise of wisdom must include wisdom for every duty and for all circumstances in life. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 753.4
We have the record of at least one who proved this promise to the full. The young king Solomon said to the Lord, “I am but a little child; I know not how to go out or to come in.... Give therefore Thy servant an understanding heart to judge Thy people, that I may discern between good and bad; for who is able to judge this Thy so great a people?” 1 Kings 3:7-9. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 753.5
“And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; behold, I have done according to thy word: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.” Verses 10-12. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 753.6
That the wisdom given to Solomon in answer to his request was such as is not despised even by the world, may be seen from the following: “And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.... And his fame was in all nations round about. And he spake three thousand proverbs; and his songs were a thousand and five. And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall; he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.” 1 Kings 4:29-34. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 753.7
“Well,” some one will say, “I have asked the Lord for wisdom, but the wisdom doesn’t come; I asked in faith, too, because I believed that the Lord would give it; but I have waited a long time, to no purpose.” And you may wait a long time yet to no purpose, if that is your idea of the promise. Let this see where the trouble is. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 753.8
The word is, “Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.” “But faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17. The man whose trust is not according to the word of God, has not faith. There is another very striking text which tells us how we are to ask for wisdom; and it derives additional interest from the fact that it was written by Solomon, whose prayer for wisdom was so richly rewarded. Let us read it. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 753.9
“My son, if thou wilt receive My words, and hide My commandments with thee; so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom; out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.... Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.” Proverbs 2:1-9. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 753.10
These are the words of the Lord to Solomon, which he has passed on to us. It is the Lord’s answer to Solomon’s prayer for wisdom. It tells us how Solomon obtained his great wisdom. That “there is no royal road to learning” was as true in the days of Solomon as it is to-day. We greatly mistake if we suppose that Solomon obtained his great knowledge without any effort. It would have done him no good if he had. He valued wisdom so much that he was willing to search for it as for gold and silver, and the Lord gave it to him. And so the Lord will do for us, if we also have a longing desire to know true wisdom. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 753.11
Therefore when we wish for wisdom we must ask the Lord for it; “for the Lord giveth wisdom; out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.” And we must ask in faith. But since faith cometh by hearing the word of God, we must not ignore the text that we have read from Proverbs. “Nothing wavering.” We must not become weary nor discouraged. Keep the mind fixed upon the word of God, as the speculator does upon the stock report. Is not this reasonable? If we ask the Lord for wisdom, do we not thereby indicate that we expect Him to tell us something? Then where should we go except to His word? Try it, and you will find that in Christ even this promise is yea, and amen; because in Him are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 754.1
“The Big, Round World” The Present Truth 10, 48.
E. J. Waggoner
We have been informed that some who have read with interest the evidence concerning the Sabbath of the Lord, are wondering how it can be kept in all parts of the world, since the earth is round. This is a very common difficulty that arises in the minds of people who have become convinced that the seventh day is still the Sabbath of the Lord, according to the Bible, but who would fain find an excuse for not keeping it. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 754.2
We say that it is a difficulty that arises in their minds, for it exists nowhere else. As a matter of fact, nobody has ever found the slightest difficulty in keeping the Sabbath in any part of the world. And, still further, no person ever thought of any difficulty in regard to keeping a definite day, except in connection with the Sabbath of the Lord. People who have sent missionaries to the other side of the world, expecting them to teach the heathen to keep Sunday, and have themselves travelled around the world, observing Sunday strictly, all at once get the idea that a definite day cannot be observed, as soon as the seventh day is mentioned. This inconsistency is enough of itself to convince anybody that there is nothing in the objection. It is a ghost of the imagination. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 754.3
“But,” says one, “the day does not begin everywhere at the same time for the sun sets later and later, the further west you go.” That is true, and has always been the case. But the fact that the day begins later in New York than it does in London, is no proof that it cannot be kept in both places. A train from London to Liverpool will reach Leicester much later than it does Bedford; but that is no proof that it is not the same train in both places, nor that a man may not get in it at the former station as well as at the latter. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 754.4
There are seven days in the week. This is as true in China as in England. Each day is twenty-four hours long; no more and no less. This is also true of every part of the world. “The seventh day is the Sabbath.” This also is as true in China as in England. A man who is in China is not in England, and he cannot by any possibility be in both countries at the same time; therefore he is not required to keep the Sabbath in both places at the same time. Wherever he may be, there he will find the Sabbath, and there the Lord expects him to keep it. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 754.5
“They that sleep, sleep in the night.” It is a fact that people in all parts of the world sleep. We never heard the complaint that people could not sleep at night on the other side of the earth, because it is not night there at the same time that it is here. Wherever people live, they sleep in the night when it comes to them, and they sleep in the same nights that people do on the opposite side of the world from them. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 754.6
If all the rulers in Europe should agree to start a messenger from their respective capitals on a certain Monday evening at six o’clock, no one would think of raising the objection that it could not be done. No one ever thought of suggesting any difficulty in securing the copyright of a book in both England and America on the same day. In fact, all business operations are carried on from the basis of definiteness of time, notwithstanding that the earth is round, and nobody ever gets into trouble on that account. The fact that difficulty is never thought of except in connection with the Sabbath of the Lord, should be sufficient to convince one who stops to think about it that it is merely a flimsy excuse. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 754.7
God made the earth, it was just as round when He made it, as it has ever been. When He made the earth, He also made man. And He made man “to dwell on all the face of the earth.” Acts 7:26. God also made the Sabbath; and “the Sabbath was made for man.” Mark 2:27. It was given to Adam, the father of the whole human race. Therefore God designed that it should be kept by the whole human race on the face of the whole earth. And that is sufficient evidence that it can be kept. God does not have commandments that cannot be obeyed. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 754.8
“All Virtue in Christ” The Present Truth 10, 48.
E. J. Waggoner
That there is no virtue in works the Saviour taught His disciples when He said, “So likewise ye, when ye have done all those things that are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which was our duty to do.” Luke 17:10. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 754.9
Our relation to God is not the relation of two independent parties one of whom hires himself to the other, for we are dependent upon God for all that we have, while He is dependent upon on us for nothing. We are His because He created us and redeemed us. We are therefore under obligation to serve Him with our powers of mind and body. This is our duty, and it is all we can do. And therefore, whatever works we may perform, we are not entitled to claim any reward from Him because of them. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 754.10
No man can put the Lord under any obligations to him, because the Lord, being omnipotent and omniscient, cannot become in any way dependent upon men. It is true that He speaks of man as His hired servants, labouring in His vineyard, and has promised to reward every man according to his works. But this is only a manifestation of God’s love and generosity to men, and not the fulfillment of any obligation under which man has placed Him. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 754.11
For fallen man there is no virtue, no sanctifying power, no merit to which he can claim anything from God, outside of Jesus Christ. And He is “the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever,” having just as much merit at one time as another, since He has all merit. Having Him we have His merit and His holiness, and the same at one time as at another, and we can have no more, since that is all that there is. There is no other and no greater worthiness for us than that of Christ. And since He has given Himself freely to us, we have nothing to do to become righteous and worthy but to receive Him into our hearts by faith. This is the very purpose for which Christ suffered and died; and any religion that is built upon the merit of good works and penance, ignores this vital truth which God has at an infinite cost established and revealed to men. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 755.1
“Testimony of the Centuries. God’s Witness to All Nations” The Present Truth 10, 48.
E. J. Waggoner
“This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and His hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?” Isaiah 14:26, 27. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 755.2
When Paul and Barnabas were trying to persuade the people of Lystra to turn from the vanities of idolatry, they said unto them that although God “suffered all nations to walk in their own ways, nevertheless He left not Himself without witness, in that He did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” These are some of the means by which God witnesses of Himself to all nations. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 755.3
The prophet Isaiah sets forth the absurdity and inexcusableness of idolatry, by simply showing how a god is made. A man plants a tree, which the rain nourishes until it has grown large enough to be used; then he cuts it down, and with part of it he makes a fire, by which he warms himself and cooks his food, and the residue he makes into a god, and falls down to it and worships it, and cries to it, “Deliver me; for thou art my god.” Isaiah 44:14-17. Then the prophet shows where such people fail to use the common sense that belongs with nature itself. Since the rain nourishes the tree from which he makes his god, why does he not worship the power that gives the rain, if he does not know who God is? If he would but do that, he would be walking in the light of common sense, of reason, and of faith, and would soon find God more perfectly. Men who do not do so are without excuse. See Romans 1:20. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 755.4
But it is not alone by the giving of rain and fruitful seasons that God has “left not Himself without witness.” He has done it by revelation, and through living testimony. When Egypt stood at the head of the world in power, wisdom, and influence, God made manifest in that land His power and His glory in such a way that all the nations heard of it. The Canaanites heard of it, and knew that the God that delivered Israel was the God of Heaven and earth. Joshua 2:9-11. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 755.5
The next nation that arose to power and influence in the world was Assyria. And when Assyria had grown corrupt and had gone far away from God, the Lord graciously sent a Hebrew prophet to the people, and called them to repentance. Jonah 1:2, 3. After this, again and again, He bore witness to Assyria that He is God above all, the most notable instance, perhaps, being the slaughter of the host of Sennacherib. Isaiah 37. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 755.6
Babylon next spread her empire over all nations, and to them God left not Himself without witness. He bore witness directly to Nebuchadnezzar, in the dream of the great image, and its interpretation by Daniel, the captive Hebrew. Again in the affair of the three Hebrews and the fiery furnace, God bore witness of Himself to all the power and all the provinces of that mighty empire, by the representatives that were present (Daniel 3:3), and also by the decree of the king, which followed. Verse 29. Again when Nebuchadnezzar, after being warned of God (Daniel 4:4-27), was driven out from the presence of men to run wild for seven years, he learned by it that Jehovah rules in the affairs of men, and that He is above all gods; and when he recovered his understanding, he published “unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth,” that he “thought it good to show the signs and wonders that the high God” had wrought. Verses 1, 2. Again, when that empire was on the brink of ruin, God, by the handwriting on the wall of the palace, bore a last parting witness to the lascivious king, that he was weighed in the balances and found wanting, and that his kingdom was given to the Medes and Persians. Daniel 5:27, 28. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 755.7
The power of Media and Persia came after, and through that power, also, God again bore witness of Himself “unto all people, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth.” Daniel, the servant of God, was cast into a den of lions, and came forth unhurt, because God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouth that they should do him no hurt. “Then King Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth,” that the God of Daniel “is the living God, and steadfast for ever, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall be even unto the end.” Daniel 6:25, 26. When Cyrus reigned, he also “made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, the Lord God of Heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and He hath charged me to build Him house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all His people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (He is the God.)” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 755.8
When Alexander the Great was in the full tide of his career of conquest, he stood at the temple of the Most High in Jerusalem, and heard the witness of God concerning him (Daniel 8:5-8, 21) read from the Hebrew Scriptures. And through the Greek language, which the career of Alexander was instrumental in spreading throughout all the Eastern world, God chose to give witness of Himself in the salvation wrought for man in the death and resurrection of His own dear Son. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 756.1
When Rome ruled the world, God not only left not Himself without witness, in the preaching of the Gospel to every nation under heaven, but also by the Apostle Paul He bore witness more than once to the head of the Roman world himself. And from that day to this, God has not left Himself without witness to all nations. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 756.2
Nor was it only to these great empires and nations that the Lord bore witness of Himself. In Jeremiah 27:2-11 is the copy of a message from the Lord that was written by the prophet Jeremiah, and was sent “to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon.” The time would fail us to tell of all the testimonies that God bore by Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and Joel, and Amos, and Obadiah, and Zephaniah, and Zechariah, not only to Assyria, and Babylon, and Egypt, and Medo-Persia, but also to Edom, and Moab, and Ammon, and Tyre, and Zidon, and Syria, and Arabia, and all the nations round about. It is literally true that God has “left not Himself without witness” unto “all nations” in all ages. And when in that great day of the Lord the great trumpet shall be blown, there shall gather before the glorious throne of the Most High God, “a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues,” and they will cry “with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 756.3
Prophecy, the foretelling of the events, is one of the evidences which God has given to show that it is God who has spoken, and that men might believe. “Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass; I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I showed it thee; lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.” Isaiah 48:4, 5. The Lord utters this as a challenge to all who deny His power: “Produce your cause, saith the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth, and show us what shall happen; let them show the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Show the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods.” Isaiah 41:21-23. Thus it is shown that prophecy is an attribute of Deity. “Show the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods.” From this it is evident that the power to show the things that are to come belongs to God alone, and by the following text is made yet more evident: “Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done.” Isaiah 46:9-11. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 756.4
“Teaching Christianity” The Present Truth 10, 48.
E. J. Waggoner
The only competent teacher of Christianity is the Holy Spirit. One person may be instrumental in leading others to God, but “they shall be all taught of God;” that is, God Himself is the teacher. John 6:45; 1 Thessalonians 4:9. When men essay to teach Christianity, they simply teach man-made creeds, the product of the ideas and conclusions of the human mind. In Christianity we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:16. The Bible is God’s revelation of Himself to man, and the Holy Spirit is the Interpreter,—the Guide into all truth. John 16:13. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 756.5
Furthermore, Christianity stands for perfect freedom. It compels no man to do anything against his will. It will not compel anyone to pay taxes to support religious teaching in which he does not believe, or to have his children instructed in dogmas, the truth of which he denies. When anyone is compelled to do this, it is not Christianity which compels him. It is mere denominationalism, and not Christianity, that is served thereby. Christianity asks no help from the State, either financially or otherwise. It is the same cause of God, and His power, His wealth, and His wisdom, are behind it. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 756.6
“Studies in Romans. Freedom. Romans 8:1-9” The Present Truth 10, 48.
E. J. Waggoner
We now come to the conclusion of the whole matter. In the eighth chapter of Romans the epistle reaches its highest point. The seventh has presented to us the deplorable condition of the man who has been awakened by the law to a sense of his condition, bound to sin by cords that can be loosened only by death. It closes with a glimpse of the Lord Jesus Christ as the One who alone can set us free from the body of death. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 756.7
FREEDOM FROM CONDEMNATION
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” Romans 8:1-9. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.1
QUESTIONING THE TEXT
What is the condition of them that are in Christ? PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.2
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.3
How do such walk? PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.4
“Not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.5
From what have we been made free? PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.6
“From the law of sin and death.” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.7
What has done this? PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.8
“The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.9
How did God send His Son? PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.10
“In the likeness of sinful flesh.” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.11
What for? PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.12
“For sin.” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.13
What did He thus do? PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.14
“Condemned sin in the flesh.” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.15
For what purpose? PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.16
“That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us.” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.17
Why could not the law itself do this? PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.18
Because “it was weak through the flesh.” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.19
How is it then that it can be done in us through Christ? PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.20
Because we “walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.21
What is said of those who are after, or according to, the flesh? PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.22
“They that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh.” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.23
What of them that are after the Spirit? PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.24
“They that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.25
What is the difference between the flesh and the Spirit.” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.26
“These are contrary the one to the other.” Galatians 5:17. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.27
What is it to be minding the flesh? PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.28
“To be carnally minded is death.” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.29
And what to be minding the Spirit? PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.30
“To be spiritually minded is life and peace.” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.31
Why is it that to be carnally minded is death? PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.32
“Because the carnal mind is enmity against God.” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.33
In what does its enmity consist? PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.34
“It is not subject to the law of God.” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.35
Cannot the carnal mind be brought into subjection to the law of God? PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.36
“Neither indeed can be.” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.37
Then what necessarily follows? PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.38
“So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God?” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.39
What is the condition of those in whom the Spirit of God dwells? PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.40
“Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be the Spirit of God dwell in you.” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.41
What is said of the one who has not this Spirit? PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.42
“If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.43
“No Condemnation.”-There is no condemnation to them which are in Christ. Why? Because he received the curse of the law, that the blessing might come on us. Nothing can come to us while we are in him, without first passing through him; but in him all curses are turned to blessings, and sin is displaced by righteousness. His endless life triumphs over everything that comes against it. We are made “complete in him.” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.44
“Looking unto Jesus.”-Some say, “I do not find this Scripture fulfilled in my case, because I find something to condemn me every time I look at myself.” To be sure; for the freedom from condemnation is not in ourselves, but in Christ Jesus. We are to look at Him, instead of at ourselves. If we obey His orders, and trust Him, He takes the responsibility of making us clear before the law. There will never be a time when one will not find condemnation in looking at himself. The fall of Satan was due to his looking at himself. The restoration for those whom he has made to fall, is only through looking to Jesus. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.” John 3:14. The serpent was lifted up to be looked at. Those who looked were healed. Even so with Christ. In the world to come the servants of the Lord “shall see his face,” and they will not be drawn away to themselves. The light of His countenance will be their glory and it is in that same light that they will be brought to that glorious state. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.45
Conviction, Not Condemnation.-The text does not say that those who are in Christ Jesus will never be reproved. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.46
“Do you think He ne’er reproves me?
What a false friend He would be
If He never, never told me
Of the faults that He must see!”
PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.47
Getting into Christ is only the beginning, not the end, of Christian life. It is the entrance to the school where we are to learn of him. He takes the ungodly man with all his evil habits and forgives all his sins, so that he is counted as though he never had sinned. Then He continues to him His own life, by which he may overcome his evil habits. Association with Christ will more and more reveal to us our failings, just as association with a learned man will make us conscious of our ignorance. As a faithful witness, He tells us of our failings. But it is not to condemn us. We receive sympathy, not condemnation, from Him. It is this sympathy that gives us courage, and enables us to overcome. When the Lord points out a defect in our characters, it is the same as saying to us, “There is something that you are in need of, and I have it for you.” When we learn to look at reproof in this way, we shall rejoice in it, instead of being discouraged. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.48
Law of Life in Christ.-The law without Christ is death. The law in Christ is life. His life is the law of God; for out of the heart are the issues of life, and the law was in His heart. The law of sin and death works in our members. But the law of the Spirit of life in Christ gives us freedom from this. Mark that it is the life in Christ that does this. It does not give us freedom from obedience to the law, for we had that before, and that was bondage, and not freedom. What He gives us freedom from is the transgression of the law. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.49
Christ’s Work.-This is made very plain in verses 3, 4. God sent his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, “that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us.” “The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” There is no fault to be found with it but with us, because we have transgressed it. Christ’s work is not to change the law in any particular, but to change us in every particular. It is to put the law into our hearts in perfection, in place of the marred and broken copy. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.50
The Weakness of the Law.-The law is strong enough to condemn, but it is weak, even powerless, with respect to what man needs namely, salvation. It was and is “weak through the flesh.” The law is good, and holy, and just, but man has no strength to perform it. Just as an axe may be of good steel, and very sharp, yet unable to cut down a tree because the arm that has hold of it has no strength, so the law of God could not perform itself. It set forth man’s duty; it remained for him to do it. But he could not, and therefore Christ came to do it in him. What the law could not do, God did by His Son. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.51
Likeness of Sinful Flesh.-There is a common idea that this means that Christ simulated sinful flesh; that He did not take upon Himself actual sinful flesh, but only what appeared to be such. But the Scriptures do not teach such a thing. “In all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.” Hebrews 2:17. He was “born of a woman, born under the law,” that He might redeem them that were under the law. Galatians 4:4, 5, R.V. He took the same flesh that all have who are born of woman. A parallel text to Romans 8:3, 4 is found in 2 Corinthians 5:21. The former says that Christ was sent in the likeness of sinful flesh, “that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us.” The latter says that God “made Him to be sin for us,” although He knew no sin, “that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 757.52
“Compassed with Infirmity.”-All the comfort that we can get from Christ lies in the knowledge that He was made in all things as we are. Otherwise we should hesitate to tell Him of our weaknesses and failures. The priest who makes sacrifices for sins must be one “who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that He Himself also is compassed with infirmity.” Hebrews 5:2. This applies perfectly to Christ; “for we have not an High Priest which can not be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15. This is why we may come boldly to the throne of grace for mercy. So perfectly has Christ identified Himself with us, that he even now feels our sufferings. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 758.1
The Flesh and the Spirit.—“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” Note that this depends on the preceding statement, “that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” The things of the Spirit are the commandments of God, because the law is spiritual. The flesh serves the law of sin (see the preceding chapter, and Galatians 5:19-21, where the works of the flesh are described). But Christ came in the same flesh, to show the power of the Spirit over the flesh. “They that are in the flesh can not please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of Christ dwell in you.” Now no one will claim that the flesh of a man is any different after his conversion from what it was before. Least of all will the converted man himself say so; for he has continual evidence of its perversity. But if he is really converted, and the Spirit of Christ dwells in him, he is no more in the power of the flesh. Even so Christ came in the same sinful flesh, yet He was without sin, because He was always led by the Spirit. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 758.2
The Enmity.—“The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” The flesh never becomes converted. It is enmity against God; and that enmity consists in opposition to His law. Therefore, whoever opposes the law of God is fighting against him. But Christ is our Peace, and He came preaching peace. “You, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight.” Colossians 1:21, 22. In His own flesh He abolishes the enmity, so that all who are crucified with Him are at peace with God; that is, they are subject to his law, which is in their hearts. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 758.3
“Life and Peace.”—“To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” To be spiritually minded is to have a mind controlled by the law of God, “for we know that the law is spiritual.” “Great peace have they which love thy law.” Psalm 119:165. “Being justified [made righteous] by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The carnal mind is enmity against God. Therefore, to be carnally minded is death. But Christ “hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel.” 2 Timothy 1:10. He has abolished death by destroying the power of sin in all who believe in Him; for death has no power except through sin. “The sting of death is sin.” 1 Corinthians 15:56. So that even now we may joyfully say, “Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 758.4
“Spiritualism in Korea” The Present Truth 10, 48.
E. J. Waggoner
It is with good authority that the followers of modern Spiritualism count the ancient sorcery and witchcraft as practically identical with the modern phase of spirit manifestations. The religions of heathenism are full of it, and in fact from the most ancient times the idea of communication with the dead has been a root principle in heathen systems of belief. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 759.1
The Lord warned the children of Israel against observing the enchantments and times of the heathen round about them, or engaging in their rites in behalf of the dead. Leviticus 19:26-28. Notwithstanding this we read in the Psalms that “they joined themselves to Baal-peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead.” Psalm 106:28. The heathen profess to hold intercourse with the dead, but the beings with whom they were really in communication, and who personated the dead, were devils, as the apostle says: “But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God; and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.” 1 Corinthians 10:20. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 759.2
A newspaper correspondent, writing of Korea, gives a short account of the demon or spirit worship among the Koreans. He says:— PTUK November 29, 1894, page 759.3
A good deal of attention in religion is paid to the worship of ancestral spirits, and sacrifices are made to demons who play star roles. One of the spirits is said to take up its abode in an aperture made by nailing two pieces of walnut board together without causing them to meet. This is called an ancestral table, and is often so deified as to have a temple built for its reception. At other times it has a separate room in a house, or again it is carefully laid aside in a quiet nook. A second spirit “goes back” to the ancestors, and the eldest son of the deceased dutifully propitiates the demons by sacrificing for its peace, and a third spirit is in like manner waited upon by this dutiful scion lest by any means the demons should disturb its peace in the grave. He may be so dutiful as to build a hut beside the grave on the mountainside in order to be able to offer morning and evening sacrifice to the demons for the benefit of the spirit remaining in the body. The sacrifices are continued three years in the case of the father and one year for the mother. The son’s clothing while performing these rites is of course sea-weed cloth and girdle, and reminds one of the scriptural sack cloth. The meat offering that he brings is the best food that he can afford. It consists usually of boiled rice, raw cabbage and turnips sliced in strong brine, fish, and fruit. The drink offering is native liquor made of wheat, and is highly intoxicating. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 759.4
The Koreans are an imaginative race. The time between the sacrificial ceremonies is taken up in searching the hills for a propitious site for burial, and the hills themselves become dragons, spirits, and ghosts, to gain whose favour is the desire of every heart, for in that way alone can they hope for earthly prosperity. Praying to the mountain spirits and worshipping every hill-top is the outgrowth of the ancestral reverence. Shrines or spirit trees are at every mountain pass, and travellers bow and make a trivial offering to them. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 759.5
The choice of a grave in Korea is a much more serious matter than in other countries. In fact, so complicated and mixed are the methods of arriving at a proper conclusion that a large number of people make a special study of it and gain their living as experts in geomancy. If possible, a grave is chosen having two arm-like ridges on either hand, one called the dragon side and the other the tiger. It is a duty of vital importance to the natives to watch after burial and see that no one encroaches on or interferes with these ancestral graves. In fact, if it becomes a choice between feeding and clothing the living and making some outlay for this resting-place for the dead, they will decide in favour of the latter. Should a household meet with repeated disaster, up come their ancestors’ bones, which are buried elsewhere to conciliate the spirits. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 759.6
“News of the Week” The Present Truth 10, 48.
E. J. Waggoner
-The future Czarina will be known as Alexandra Feodorovna. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 766.1
-The Abyssian alphabet consists of no fewer than 208 characters. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 766.2
-Anton Rubenstein, the eminent pianist and composer, died at Peterhof, near St. Petersburg. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 766.3
-Conventions have been signed by all the Australian colonies for the direct interchange of money orders with Canada. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 766.4
-The Rajah of Lombok has surrendered to the Dutch troops in the East Indies, and the war is considered virtually at an end. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 766.5
-A professional diver dropped 240 feet from the Tower Bridge to win a bet of ?50, and falling into the water feet foremost, was killed. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 766.6
-It is estimated that if the children attending the London Board Schools were to join hands they would reach from London to Carlisle, a distance of 300 miles. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 766.7
-The potato crop in Ireland is more diseased than for many years past. It is estimated that the world’s potato crop is 376,500,000 bushels short of what it was in 1498. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 766.8
-After several days’ consideration, the Japanese Government has declined to accept President Cleveland’s offer of mediation, thinking that China should approach Japan directly on the abject. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 766.9
-A report has been issued by the San Francisco State Board of Horticulture declaring that shipments of fresh fruits to London are impracticable until cheaper and better transport is obtainable. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 766.10
-Fines were recently inflicted upon some neon a this country for cruelly driving diseased and worn-out horses sixty miles in order to ship them at Grimsby for the Continent, to be there converted into human food. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 766.11
-News has reached Tangier that the rebellion in the South of Morocco in favour of Muley Mohammed, who is imprisoned in Morocco City, is at an end, and that the southern capital is again open to trade from the outside. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 766.12
-A syndicate of prominent Americans has resolved to equip an expedition with the determination of solving the problem of the North Pole before the expiration of the present century. An agent is in England arranging matters. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 766.13
-An effort is being made to exterminate the sparrows in Hanover. All the farmers in one district are informed that they must bring to the Town House so many dead sparrows within the text six months. The number is determined in each case by the size of the farm. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 766.14
-Three men are under arrest at Aldershot, charged with being concerned in placing an obstruction on the South Western Railway between Farnborough and Fleet Pond, by which the Bournemouth Express from Waterloo name very near being wrecked. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 766.15
-Salvador Franch, the Anarchist who threw a bomb which killed many persons in the Licco Theatre, Barcelona, twelve months ago, was publicly garrotted. The culprit, who had pretended to be converted and who had afterwards boasted of his hypocrisy, was callous up to the last. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 766.16
-A proposal has been made to the French Chamber by the Abbé Lamire to diminish the formalities surrounding marriage in France. This will, if carried, be an excellent reform. It is notorious that amongst the humbler classes concubinage is often caused by the harassing legislation which precedes the civil celebration of matrimony. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 766.17
-In Hungary the Jesuits are doing their utmost to prevent the Emperor Francis Joseph from signing the ecclesiastical bills recently passed by the Government, and an extreme Independent party, headed by Louie Kossouth, is hostile to the Emperor and is conducting an agitation against union with Austria. It is not thought, however, that the Emperor’s sanction to the bills will be withheld. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 766.18
-Among the birthday gifts presented to the Dowager Empress of China upon the occasion of her sixtieth birthday was a Bible in the Chinese language, for which her Majesty very graciously expressed her thanks, at the same time promising to read the holy book. It now transpires that the Emperor recently rent one of the chief officers of his household to the Bible Society’s depôt at Tientsin to purchase a copy of the Scriptures similar to that presented to the Empress. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 766.19
-Earthquake shocks in Sicily and Calabria have spread alarm throughout Italy. In one village, which was wrecked, over 200 people were killed, 47 of whom were destroyed by the collapse of the church to which they had fled for shelter. Other towns and villages suffered severely, and as the shocks continued the people were all camping out in the open spaces. In all about 400 lives were lost, twice that number being injured. The King of Italy sent 40,000 lire in aid of the sufferers. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 766.20
-Mr. Nazarek, one of the leaders of the Armenian patriotic movement, who has been interviewed; confirms the reports of outrages committed by Turkish troops upon Armenians in the Sassoun district. The Earl of Kimberley has replied to the Armenian Association in London that the Sultan is being pressed to send at once an impartial Commission of Inquiry. An influential meeting of American citizens was held at Minneapolis to protest against the alleged Turkish outrages, and a resolution was passed calling on President Cleveland to secure the execution of the filet Clause of the Treaty of Berlin. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 766.21
“Back Page” The Present Truth 10, 48.
E. J. Waggoner
The election of members of the London School Board last week resulted in the return of twenty-nine “Moderates,” and twenty-six “Progressives,” giving the party which favours the most advanced religious instruction a majority of three on the Board, although the other party polled the largest number of votes in all the constituences. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 768.1
It is probably too much to hope that the unseemly wrangling and fighting over religious questions will cease. Both sides claim a victory, and so long as men do not agree in religious matters, and so long as there is opportunity to use political and party issues to advance their religious views, there will be religious controversy to embitter political or educational issues. It ought to teach men that the Gospel is not to be advanced by such methods. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 768.2
Here is part of the account of one Church of England service in London:— PTUK November 29, 1894, page 768.3
The notice board informed me that “Low Mass” had already been said at 8 and 9 A.M., and that the “High Mass” would be at 11:15. At that hour the choir and clergy took up their positions. The officiating priest in alb, stole, and cope, attended by two other clergymen arrayed in the mass vestments (as deacon and sub-deacon), preceded by a sanctimonious-looking boy carrying a vessel of holy water, proceeded to the altar, and commenced the rite known among Roman Catholics as the “Asperges.” This is the ceremony which precedes the High Mass in Roman churches. The priest reciting the prayers as presented in the Sarum Missal, sprinkled the altar, himself, his assistants, the choir (on both sides), and then, with his attendance, marched down and up the church sprinkling the congregation.... Then the mass began. The priest recited the Psalm, Confession, and Absolution, etc., with which the Roman Catholic mass always began; then they ascended to the altar, the chief priest kissing it, and afterwards censing it, precisely as is done in the Roman Church. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 768.4
In connection with all this there was the “mixing of water and wine, washing the priests fingers, elevating the Host and chalice, with bell-ringing, the communion of the priest alone, the interpolation of the Benedictus and Agnus Dei, the ablutions, frequent crossings, prostrations and genuflections, etc.” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 768.5
This is only one instance out of many. We have asked for statistics showing the growth of the Roman Catholic Church in Great Britain; but figures cannot give any true idea of the actual status. In a religious sense these Ritualists would not be counted as Roman Catholics, and yet they are such to all intents and purposes. The only difference is that they do not, openly, at least, acknowledge the Pope of Rome. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 768.6
But this is not all. As will be surmised from the extracts given, the one who reports that Church of England service has no sympathy with it. He is of the class that glories in the name “Protestant.” Now mark the only objections which he offers to those Popish ceremonies. Here are the expressions that he uses: “These unauthorised prayers concluded,” etc. “This was followed by some more of unauthorised prayers.” “It was twenty minutes to twelve, and we had not been treated to a single authorised prayer.” “Suffice it to say that all those ceremonies which the compilers of our Prayer-Book suppressed and forbade, were boldly reintroduced.” PTUK November 29, 1894, page 768.7
This is the most pitiful part of the whole affair. Those who perform the ceremonies that have been described, do so with full consciousness of what they are doing. They know that they are copying Romish methods; they think it a great error that there was ever any division, and they aspire to be known as Catholics. But the majority of those who are opposed to such practices, and who claim to be Protestants, do not know that they really stand on Catholic ground. The objection is not that the things are contrary to the word of God, and idolatrous, but that they are “unauthorised,” that is, not authorised by the framers of the Prayer-Book, and by Parliament. The only real difference between the two parties is that one party follows one set of men, and the other party another set of men. The word of God says, “Cease ye from man.” It makes no difference whether the authority be derived from a Pope in Rome or from a Parliament in England, both are in essence the Papacy, which consists in following the word of man instead of the word of God. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 768.8
“Evil Servants” The Present Truth 10, 48.
E. J. Waggoner
Evil Servants.-The “evil servant” of the Lord began to say in his heart, “My Lord delayeth His coming.” Matthew 24:38. This was the starting point of a course of backsliding which ended in appointing him a portion with the hypocrites. The same indicated that he had lost his love for his Lord. It is not necessary to limit the application of these words to some particular time in the world’s history. Those who love the Lord have always been looking for and desiring His appearing. “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” Titus 2:7-13. “The grace of God that bringeth salvation” teaches men to look for the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ. How many men?—“All men”; for it has appeared unto all, and therefore every man who receives this grace will be looking for that glorious appearing. These words penned by Paul were addressed to all who should live after the time of their utterance. There is something wrong with the person who is not to-day looking for that appearing. If he is professedly a servant of the Lord, let him beware lest he be reckoned with the evil servants, and meet the fate of the hypocrites. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 768.9
“Drawing Near to God” The Present Truth 10, 48.
E. J. Waggoner
Drawing Near to God.-It is sin that separates an individual from God. But the Lord exhorts sinners to draw near to him, and says that when they do this, He also will draw near to them. James 4:8. Men were not created to live apart from God. It is His purpose that they shall dwell with Him, and He will sooner or later draw near to all. He can draw near to us whatever our condition; but we can draw near to Him only by the removal of the sin that separates us from Him. So it makes all the difference in the world to us whether the drawing near is on our part, or on His alone. If we are separated from Him by sin, it will be a drawing near to judgment (Malachi 3:5), in which our sins will be consumed and our life with them; for sin is the life of the sinner. But if we have confessed and forsaken our sins, so that they do not stand between us and God, we are like Him, and can see Him as He is and live. PTUK November 29, 1894, page 768.10