The Present Truth, vol. 10
April 26, 1894
“Discrediting the Lord” The Present Truth 10, 17.
E. J. Waggoner
Discrediting the Lord.-Many do not think the Lord is as good as they are. They are willing to give up everything for the Lord, but do not believe the Lord is willing to give up everything for them. When they give themselves to the Lord they do not take Him, and the fact that they do not take, shows that they do not believe that He has given everything. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 257.1
“Front Page” The Present Truth 10, 17.
E. J. Waggoner
“Judge not, and ye shall not be judged; condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned; forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.” Luke 6:37. The one whose disposition is such by grace that he never judges and never condemns, will of necessity not come into judgment and condemnation. Such an one has passed from death into life, because it is only by becoming a new creature, that men can refrain from pronouncing judgment on others. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 257.2
“The Difference” The Present Truth 10, 17.
E. J. Waggoner
The Difference.-When Christ the Holy One was on earth, He touched the outcast and the lepers, and mingled with those whom the He came to bless. He was not ashamed to call them brethren, and the needy were not ashamed to come to Him. This was the holiness of God manifested to the world. When men assume a spurious holiness, however, it is always a barrier between themselves and others. A few weeks ago the high priest of Kyoto, Japan, an aged man, fell in the open court in plain sight of the attendants; yet so holy and sacred was he counted the poor man lay half an hour on the ground before any one of sufficiently high rank to touch him could be summoned. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 257.3
“Christianity Not Penance” The Present Truth 10, 17.
E. J. Waggoner
The grace of God, which bringeth salvation, and hath appeared unto all men, teaches us “that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for the blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.” Titus 2:12, 13. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 257.4
Other texts of like import, of which there are many, teach us that the Christian life is one of self-denial, one which involves a daily cross, and demands nothing less than the surrender of the heart and of all that the individual counts as his, into the hands of Him whom he would serve. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 257.5
To the unconverted heart, all this means a great sacrifice. The carnal mind can view it in no other light. To one who has not exchanged this mind for the mind of Christ, the Christian life seems to be but a life of penance. As he views it, that which Christianity demands is done for the purpose of inducing God to bestow salvation upon the individual, or to earn it from Him, as if He had bargained with men to give them eternal life in His kingdom in return for a life of self-denial here. And this religion of penance is the religion of human nature; for human nature is fallen, and knows not how to find the path to righteousness and life. Penance is an essential element of all religions which have sprung from another source than God. And all works done to earn salvation are of the nature of a penance. The effort to fulfil the requirements of God,—to refrain, in desire and act, from theft, adultery, Sabbath-breaking, covetousness, etc., may be somewhat less disagreeable than wearing pebbles in one’s shoes, but it is no less truly a penance to the natural heart. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 257.6
It is impossible for the natural heart to comprehend the purpose and the meaning of the Christian life of self-denial. “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:14. The natural man must become the spiritual man, before he can discern the true necessity for that which the Christian life demands. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 257.7
The spiritual heart,—the heart that has been touched and renewed by the Holy Spirit,—realises the great truth that Christianity has nothing to do with penance. In the first place, God has not to be appeased, or in some way induced to regard the sinner with favour. He has always regarded the sinner with favour; not because he is a sinner, but in spite of it. When all the world were sinners, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. Christ, “the Lamb of God,” was “slain from the foundation of the world;” and in Him, all sinners are accepted with God and always were accepted since the day when Adam fell. If it were not in the very heart of God to regard the sinner with favour, nothing that any man could ever do could put it there; for what inducement could man offer to an omnipotent and omniscient God? What could men do that would in itself alone possess the least degree of value in His eyes? PTUK April 26, 1894, page 257.8
No man could do anything to induce God to bestow salvation upon him; nor could he do anything to earn it; and therefore penance has no place in the life of the Christian. “By grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8, 9. Salvation is God’s free gift. Romans 5:15-18; 6:23. There is no intrinsic value in any man’s works. There is nothing pleasing to God in mere sacrifices and burnt offerings of bullocks and rams. The sacrifices which God accepts are not sacrifices of human energy or wealth in the form of works; but “the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.” Psalm 51:17. The ancient Hebrews had so perverted the worship of God that they imagined there was virtue in the sacrifices which they offered upon their altars, losing sight of the great truth that only as the works of men are connected with what God has Himself provided for man’s salvation have his works any value whatever; that the intrinsic value is in the thing which God has provided, and that the value of works is but derived from connection with this. The thought is well expressed in the words of Christ, “Sacrifice and offering Thou didst not desire; Mine ears hast Thou opened; burnt offering and sin offering hast Thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come; in the volume of the book it is written of Me, I delight to do Thy will, O My God; yea, Thy law is within My heart.” Psalm 40:6-8. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 257.9
Here, then, is the source of our righteousness; not in our sacrifices and offerings, not in any of our works, but in the life of Him who had the law of God within His heart. This God desired and accepted. The life of Christ is righteousness, being the perfect keeping of the Father’s law. And this righteousness comes to us not by sacrifices, not by penance, not by works, but by the gift of God, given because He loves us. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 258.1
How true, then, are these words of Christ to us, “I am way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” John 14:6. The Christian life is the life of Christ. It is therefore not the life of self. With Christ living in us, the works of the flesh and the natural heart are not performed. Self is renounced; and this is self-denial. But it has nothing of the nature of penance; for the language is, “I delight to do Thy will, O My God.” It is only the natural heart that does penance; and whenever the service of God becomes in any degree a penance, it is conclusive evidence that the natural man is not yet dead. While the natural man lives, the attempted service of God cannot be anything else but a penance; but when he is dead, that service can be nothing else but a joy. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 258.2
“‘The Word Only’” The Present Truth 10, 17.
E. J. Waggoner
It was customary for the Saviour as He went about healing the sick throughout Judea, to come and lay His hand upon them, or allow them to touch Him, and thus impart to them the healing virtue which restored their strength; and as we read the narrative of His ministry among the sick and afflicted, we naturally receive the impression that the miraculous blessings which He bestowed upon the people came through their personal contact with Him. We think that if we but had the chance to secure personal contact with the visible, tangible Jesus of Nazareth whom they knew, our opportunities of being blessed as they were would be much greater than they are. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 258.3
But there was one miracle performed by the Saviour, the account of which leads the thoughtful mind toward quite another conclusion. We refer to the healing of the centurion’s servant. The event is thus related by Matthew:— PTUK April 26, 1894, page 258.4
“And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto Him a centurion, beseeching Him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me; and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, He marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” “And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.” Matthew 8:5-10, 13. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 258.5
Jesus did not come near the centurion’s servant; the latter neither touched Him nor saw Him; yet he was healed as effectually as were any upon whom Christ laid His hands. The centurion said to Jesus, “Speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed,” and the Saviour put the stamp of truthfulness upon the utterance by saying, “I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” PTUK April 26, 1894, page 258.6
“The word only”! That is sufficient, and this is the language of faith. Those words, and not “I will come,” spoke the necessity of the occasion. Then cannot we speak them with the same assurance, and do we not stand upon a level with the centurion in relation to the healing power of Christ? How far off from the needy one must the Saviour be for His word to lose its power? Farther, we may be sure, than heaven is from the earth. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 258.7
And this is what we read in another scripture. For it is declared that “the righteousness which is of faith speaketh this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven (that is, to bring Christ down from above)? or who shall descend into the deep (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead)? But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in by mouth and in time heart,—that is, the word of faith which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Romans 10:6, 9. And this is the same word by which Christ healed all diseases. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 258.8
“Religious Pugilism” The Present Truth 10, 17.
E. J. Waggoner
It is not an edifying spectacle to see men fighting and wrangling about religion. The absurd inconsistency of a heated discussion about Jesus Christ is so apparent that it is marvellous that men should engage in such a thing. But human nature is a marvellous thing. The mystery of iniquity can only be treated as a mystery; we cannot analyse it. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 258.9
Yet all the way through the history of the world since the days of the Saviour, men have disputed, and contended, and even fought each other to the death about the meek and humble One, and the Prince of Peace! It was because they did not know Him. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 258.10
They did not fight to maintain the Lord, nor to teach men to know Him, but only to convince others of their own wisdom and prowess. It is impossible for one to be filled with anger and bitterness toward another because that other does not acknowledge the Lord. His bitterness is all on his own account, and the Lord has no partnership with him in it. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 258.11
The fighting spirit is born in man, and thus it seems impossible for some to hold any form of truth or doctrine without seeing in it something about which to contend and strive. They think they believe it so thoroughly that it awakens a great variety of emotions when others oppose them. It is only because they so thoroughly believe in themselves. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 259.1
When we fully believe the Lord, it follows that the contentious and selfish spirit is subdued. “The servant of the Lord must not strive.” He has no feelings to be offended; because the Lord has taken away the old nature, and the new man is being renewed day by day after the image of Him that created him. There is a battle to be fought, but it is the good fight of faith, not of feelings. Love is the motive power, not animosity. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 259.2
When a person finds himself agitated and impatient when someone differs from him, he should flee to the Lord; for it means that he needs a deeper acquaintance with Him. The life of Christ is the strength of every doctrine or truth, for all the truth is in Jesus only-and the life is not something that can be contended about. It can be lived, it can be spoken; but men must necessarily have the life out when they wrangle over it. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 259.3
One may hold a perfect form of a given truth, but he lets the life out of it and holds it only in unrighteousness when he carries it into the arena of contention and strife. He thinks he knows it, but to such an one the words of Scripture apply, “If any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.” PTUK April 26, 1894, page 259.4
Paul’s letter to Timothy was written at a late date, when many who had been attracted to the Gospel had lost the power of the life, and were entering upon that career of disputation and strife which bore all the evil fruits of discord so soon after apostolic days. The apostle tersely sets out the fact that the wranglers were fighting over something that they did not know. He speaks of those who had “missed the mark”—had failed to grasp the real life of the Christian doctrine-and had “turned aside unto vain jangling; desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.” PTUK April 26, 1894, page 259.5
Again, he says that such are “proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth.” “From such,” he says, “withdraw thyself;” and the only way to withdraw fully from their ranks is to have all the spirit of fight taken out of the heart. We may put it down as a truth, that when we find this spirit in the heart we have the fighter-ignorance of what we are talking about. The form may be according to Scripture, but we have lost the life of it. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 259.6
“The Vine and Its Fruit” The Present Truth 10, 17.
E. J. Waggoner
Shortly after Jesus began His public ministry, there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, to which He and His disciples were invited. In the course of the wedding feast the wine failed, and the mother of Jesus notified Him of the fact, and then said to the servants, “Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it.” The result is thus told:— PTUK April 26, 1894, page 259.7
“And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And He saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was (but the servants which drew the water knew); the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, and saith unto Him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse; but thou hast kept the good wine until now. This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and His disciples believed on Him.” John 2:6-11. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 259.8
CHRIST THE TRUE VINE
The Saviour and said, “I am the true Vine, and My Father is the Husbandman. Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the Vine, ye are the branches; He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without Me ye can do nothing.” John 15:1-5. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 259.9
The miracle of turning water into wine is an object lesson reality of this statement that He is the true Vine, and that we can bear fruit through being connected with Him, as branches. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 259.10
All life springs from God through Christ. He is the Creator of all things, and in Him all things are supported. Colossians 1:16, 17. It was by virtue of this power that He turned the water into wine. In that miracle He simply hastened the process. Let us trace it. In the instance before us, Christ transformed the water instantly into wine. In the ordinary case, the moisture is absorbed by the rootlets, and is drawn up through the stock, and dispersed to the various branches, where it is stored up in the little sacs which we call grapes. The sunshine has a large part to act in the process of transformation. No one can know how the change is effected; we only know that water, with the element which it holds in solution, is changed in the course of a few months into delicious fruit. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 259.11
Men call this the working of nature and because the thing is so common they forget that is a miracle. In the miracle which Jesus wrought at the wedding in Cana, He showed that in the ordinary process the water is not changed into wine through any inherent power in the vine, but by His own power, which works in every living thing. This shows that it is not as a mere figure of speech that He calls Himself the Vine, but that it is an actual fact. Because He is the true Vine, He could in a minute change the water into wine. He did in a minute what He ordinarily does in several months through the grape vine. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 259.12
Now by the same power by which Christ changed the water into wine, and by which He makes all the fruit of earth grow, He is able to make the fruits of righteousness come to perfection in human beings. We cannot know how it is done in any case; we can only know the facts. The Scriptures make use of the mysteries taking place all around us in “nature,” to teach us to grasp the mystery of the Gospel of grace. Just as the branch bears rich clusters of grapes, through its connection with the vine, all by the power of Christ the true Vine, so we, being directly connected with Him by faith, may bear the peaceable fruits of righteousness. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 260.1
RIGHTEOUSNESS AND TEMPERANCE
In the case of the water turned to wine we have the most striking lesson not only in righteousness but also in temperance. The two are combined. The question is often asked, “What kind of wine was it that Jesus made at Cana?” Many assume that it was as a matter of course fermented, intoxicating wine, and urge that miracle as an evidence that Christ sanctioned the use of intoxicating liquor. If we study the miracle as we ought, we shall have no difficulty over this matter. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 260.2
Whoever does not allow his appetite to becloud his judgment, will readily see that the miracle which Jesus wrought was the exact counterpart of the miracle which is wrought in the storing up of the sap in the grape clusters. He made just such wine as you would get if you should press the juice of the clusters of grapes into a vessel and drink it. This process is described in the dream of Pharaoh’s butler: “A vine was before me; and in the vine were three branches; and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes; and Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.” Genesis 40:9-11. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 260.3
But there is another point, which gives us a most practical lesson in both righteousness and temperance. The wine which Jesus made on that occasion, like the clusters of grapes on the vine, was the direct product of His own life. It is not too much to say that the guests who drank that wine were drinking directly of Christ’s life. Of the Israelites who drank of the water which flowed from the rock on which Christ stood in the wilderness, it is said that they drank from Christ. 1 Corinthians 10:4. Those who did not by faith recognise His life, did not in either instance receive any spiritual life; but the turning of water into wine did become spiritual life to Christ’s disciples, for they believed on Him. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 260.4
There is this difference between fermented and unfermented wine. The unfermented wine is pure food. It is the life of the vine in the most condensed form, and is all nourishing. It tends to build up the system, and is therefore one of the best ways in which to supply nourishment to those who are ill, and who cannot receive a great quantity of food. The unfermented wine,—the juice of the grape, the true fruit of the vine,—supplies a great amount of the nourishment in a small space, and is easily assimilated. But in fermented wine the food elements are so changed that there is scarcely any real nourishment. It is now a stimulant and an intoxicant, instead of a food. Instead of building up the system, and supplying new life and power, it simply excites the power already possessed, spurring it to action. It adds nothing to the one who takes it, but simply stimulates him to use that which he already has. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 260.5
Now Christ’s life is food, and not a stimulant. He did not come to earth to incite men to put into operation power that they already had, but which lay dormant, but to give them power, of which they were destitute. It was when we were “without strength” that Christ died for the ungodly. Romans 5:6. There is in men no power whatever to do right. “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.” Romans 8:7, 8. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 260.6
Anyone would say that it is an act of cruelty to beat a poor, lame horse that is almost ready to die, in order to make him work. He has no work in him, and neither whip nor spur can put it into him. The whip or spur may incite a strong animal to use its strength, but they cannot put strength into one that has none. So it would be wicked to try to force a palsied man to work. He has no power to work. There are men who are wicked enough to do such things, but they are moved by the spirit of Satan. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 260.7
For the work of the devil is to make men think that they can manufacture strength out of nothing. So he induces them to drink alcoholic liquors, and tea, etc., in order to get strength for work, when there is nothing in those substances to supply strength. Taken in certain quantities they only stimulate a man, and cause him to put forth and use up the physical strength that he has. In larger quantities they stupefy and intoxicate. Thus he literally induces them to spend money for that which is not bread, and their labour for that would satisfieth not. By the use of those substances people use up the strength they have, and become prematurely old. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 260.8
In the same line of work the devil causes people to think that they have in themselves all the power that is necessary for doing right. So he stimulates them with false hopes and promises. He gets them to punish themselves in various ways, for their failures, and to spur themselves up to bring forth the good which they are persuaded is latent in them. And when the individual effort fails, he induces the nation to pass laws with the object of compelling people to be religious. The idea is that they have goodness in them, but that they have to be spurred by the law, and by fear of punishment, in order to bring it out. That is the devil’s way. The end, of course, is increased sin, and death. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 260.9
Christ’s way is different. He knows that in man “dwelleth no good thing,” and therefore He does not give him a stimulant, which would do no good, but which would tend only to excite and wear him out. On the contrary, He feeds man with His own life, which contains all the elements necessary to perfect growth. In Him “all fulness” dwells, and we are made complete in Him. We are “saved by His life.” PTUK April 26, 1894, page 261.1
And so from the miracle of changing water into wine we learn an important lesson in righteousness, and temperance, and the judgment to come, because it is the life of Christ that is to be the standard in the judgment. That which Christ gives to us, is His life, which is real nourishment. His life in the heart produces righteous acts. And so for our physical sustenance He gives us that which is wholesome and nourishing, and not that which adds no real strength, but which dissipates the energy we already have. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 261.2
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” Galatians 5:22, 23. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 261.3
SLAIN, YET LIVING
Jesus says, “I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore.” Revelation 1:18. He is “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Revelation 13:8. He is “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 261.4
For this cause all who believed in Christ as the Saviour of sinners were taught from the beginning to offer a lamb as a sacrifice, in token of their faith. The blood was shed, and the flesh was consumed. Cain, who had no faith, brought the fruit of the ground, while Abel brought from the best of the flock. “By faith Abel offered unto God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous.” Hebrews 11:4. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 261.5
The Passover lamb also represented Christ. Its blood sprinkled upon the door posts caused the destroying angel to pass over the house. Those who offered it, especially the first time, in Egypt, did so in direct recognition of Christ, whose blood cleanses from sin, and who was delivering them from bondage. “Christ our Passover, is sacrificed for us.” 1 Corinthians 5:7. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 261.6
But at the Passover immediately preceding His crucifixion, Christ gave His disciples another memorial of Himself. “Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is My body. And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” Matthew 26:6-8. It was directly after this, that same evening, that Jesus said to His disciples, “I am the true Vine.” Hitherto men had shown their faith in the power of His blood to cleanse from sin, by shedding the blood of a lamb. But now the real Lamb was about to shed His own blood. Those lambs that had been slain had utterly ceased to live; but as surely as the Lamb of God was slain He was to live again. It would manifestly be out of place to go on taking the life of beasts in remembrance of Christ after He had died and risen again. And therefore henceforth His disciples were to commemorate the fact that life is obtained through His blood, by taking the fruit of the vine, which sheds its blood for the life of men, and still continue to live. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 261.7
MANIFESTING THE GLORY
“This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth His glory.” Yet the person of Jesus did not shine with any such splendour as when He was on the mount of transfiguration. There was no more beauty in Him, that men should desire Him on that occasion, than on any other; yet He at that time manifested forth His glory. This shows that His glory is in His works. It is by His life that all things on earth exist, and therefore it is that “the whole earth is full of His glory.” PTUK April 26, 1894, page 261.8
“And the glory which Thou gavest Me, I have given them,” is what Christ said of His disciples, in His prayer to the Father. He has given us His life, and His works, in which we may triumph; and as we yield to Him to become His workmanship, His glory is stored up in us, to be revealed at His coming. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 261.9
The goodness which He has wrought out and laid up for them that trust Him, is the glory which He imparts to men. Looking at Him, they are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, or goodness to goodness. Therefore “let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” PTUK April 26, 1894, page 261.10
These are some of the lessons to be learned from that first miracle in Christ’s earthly ministry. There was a wonderful fitness in the performance of such a miracle at the beginning of His work. It set forth the whole of the Gospel. “And His disciples believed on Him.” Let us be among the number. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 261.11
“Appearance vs. Reality” The Present Truth 10, 17.
E. J. Waggoner
The plea that the State ought to protect the people in the employment of the Sabbath rest, which greedy and unscrupulous employers are wont ruthlessly to invade, is, in appearance, the plea of benevolence and righteousness. But in reality it is something very different. Let us test it. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 261.12
The Sunday law, by which the State aims at this protection, compels each individual to cease from secular work on the first day of the week. How will this affect the sinner,—who is now, as he never has been, in the vast majority among mankind? The Saviour said, “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” John 8:34. See also Romans 6:16, 20; 2 Peter 2:19. The sinner is in bondage,—a slave to evil habits or passions that rule in his carnal mind, which “is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Romans 8:7. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 261.13
Now what does the Sunday law do for him? It finds him engaged on that day, as on every other, in the pursuit of either worldly business or pleasure; for a sinner has no other way of spending his time. He is not a Christian, and the Sunday law does not make him one; therefore he wants nothing to do with Christianity. The Sunday law says he shall not occupy himself in worldly business or pleasure; and being a sinner he cannot occupy himself in Christian exercises, for his carnal mind cannot be subject to God. So the law finds him in the bondage of sin and leaves him in increased bondage, by depriving him of personal liberty. This is all that a Sunday law can do for anybody, since it affects only those who would not otherwise conform to what it requires. It finds men bound in soul; it leaves them bound to both in soul and body. It would put men where they could neither play nor pray, work nor worship. A most benevolent thing, truly, for mankind! PTUK April 26, 1894, page 261.14
This is just the opposite of what is done by the Gospel. The Gospel finds men in the bondage of sin, and it frees them from it. The Gospel gives men perfect freedom, both of soul and body. There is nothing compulsory about it. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 261.15
He who does not choose to serve God, is not compelled to. He may keep the Sabbath or not, just as he likes. But the Christian chooses to keep the Sabbath (which, however, is the seventh day of the week and not the first), and hence his keeping of the Sabbath is to him perfect freedom. So he is free in everything,—free from sin, and free in mind and body. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 262.1
So then the work of a Sunday law, or of any law enforcing religious observances, directly antagonises the work of the Gospel. It is one of those things in which Satan “is transformed into an angel of light.” 2 Corinthians 11:14. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 262.2
“Afraid of the Lord” The Present Truth 10, 17.
E. J. Waggoner
The ancient Roman conception of the Divine Being is the prevailing idea of all paganism. Of this, Duruy says in its history:— PTUK April 26, 1894, page 262.3
The Roman knew nothing of Divine love; on the contrary, he trembled before the innumerable deities, capricious and vindictive, and whom he pictured to himself lying in wait everywhere along the path of life; in the words of the most religious of pagans, “Full of affright he entered their sanctuary, as though their temple were the cave of a bear or dragon.” Should he by mischance cross the threshold of his door with his left foot first, should he hear the squeak of a mouse, or his glance fall on any object held to be unlucky, immediately he re-entered his house distracted, and could not feel re-assured till he had offered an expiatory sacrifice. He believed in the evil eye, like the Italian of the present day, and like him too he thought to guard against it by a fascinum which he hung round the necks of his children, in his garden and over his hearth. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 262.4
To a world like this, that was through fear of its gods all the time subject to bondage, the apostles went with the Gospel of a God of love and pity. The pagan was constantly on the alert to propitiate the favour of his gods before they injured him by frustrating his plans or even slew him. What a new revelation to such was the Gospel, showing that it is not God fighting against man, in rebellion against God; and instead of men having to propitiate the favour of God, He in His boundless love gives His own life, His only begotten Son, as a propitiation for men’s sins, to reconcile His enemies to Himself. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” PTUK April 26, 1894, page 262.5
When the Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans, he said, “God commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” God was all the while doing all that Divinity itself could do to rescue a man from the wrath-not wrath which He had arbitrarily declared against man, but wrath which was the inevitable consequence of man’s voluntarily separating himself from God. So those who accepted the message of pardon received not the spirit of bondage “again to fear,” but the Spirit of adoption, bringing assurance of a Father’s care and tender pity. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 262.6
It was a glad proclamation of liberty from the bondage of sin and fear that the apostles carried to the world. It is the same thing that is the glad tidings of great joy to all people to-day. Not only in the so-called heathen lands are men seeking to propitiate the favour of Diety by their sacrifices and attention to details of ritual, but it is the religion of the human nature. Many go through the forms of Christian service who come so far short of knowing the Lord that they are afraid of Him. The thought that He is soon coming, or the thought of death, brings a fear to meet Him. Such need to know God, for He is love, and everyone who knoweth Him knoweth love; for to know Him is to love Him. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 262.7
As a declining Christianity compromised with paganism in the adoption of heathen ceremonies and the re-christening of heathen ritual, so also it took over the idea of God. Hence, penances and all those things which are supposed to be necessary to secure the favour of God. It is the old idea of the expiatory sacrifice, and of course a denial of the Sacrifice God has made. So also came in the intercession of the saints, who are supposed to argue the Lord into a more merciful frame of mind. It is all paganism; for the mercy of God is infinite and higher than the heavens. Every soul that is lost will be lost because the mercy was rejected, and the salvation provided spurned and refused; not because the mercy of the Lord has failed. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 262.8
“The Merits Vanish” The Present Truth 10, 17.
E. J. Waggoner
The Merits Vanish.-It is human nature to endeavour to get this goodness out of self, but notwithstanding the resoluteness of the effort there is always the conviction of failure. The very penances and self-inflictions in which men trust, are a confession that they are conscious of not doing as well as they know. “All have sinned and come short,” and all trust in self or in the works of man must come short of bringing to perfect rest and peace which is found only in Christ and His merits. With trust in His infinite goodness there is deliverance from every fear; for He has overcome every enemy. The faith He gives already “hath overcome the world,” and the knowledge of this in the most trying times does bring the promised rest, while all the confidence placed in self banishes when the trial comes. A French nun, who is still in a convent, recently said to her brother:— PTUK April 26, 1894, page 262.9
What strikes me more in my nursing ministry of thirty years, always with the dying, is to try and give them comfort. I have two rooms, one where are the dying nuns, but the other where the patients come from without; that means, people belonging to the world. I have never yet seen a nun die in peace, they seem terrified when death is near. All their works and merits seem to vanish, they have nothing to stand in the face of death with all its terrors. In the other room, death does not seem to bring on the same feelings. Many of these smile at its approach. Have they heard of something better than convent work? PTUK April 26, 1894, page 262.10
“Reason and Faith” The Present Truth 10, 17.
E. J. Waggoner
In the study of the word of God, great care should be exercised that reason is not allowed to usurp the place of faith. This is one of the dangerous forms of self-exaltation, and one of the most dangerous and ruinous. The havoc wrought by it is everywhere visible in the Christian world to-day. It causes men to substitute their own inventions for the institutions of God, thus obliterating true faith in the minds of men, and causing the loss of that power which alone is able to keep them from falling. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 262.11
This is done when man endeavours by his reason to grasp the mysteries which the word of God reveals, so as to make them comprehensible to the human mind. In this way most of the miracles of the Scripture records have been “explained away.” In truth, however, it is not the miracles that have been explained away, but that faith which should have dwelt in the minds of the ones affected by it. The word of God reveals the power of God,—the Gospel which is “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” And if that which shows the power of God is accepted by an individual in simple faith, without reference to his ability to comprehend it, the purpose of God in sending His word to him is fulfilled. But if, instead of so accepting it, he goes as far as his reason will take him toward comprehending it, and then declares that that which marks the limit of his reason is the meaning of the text, he frustrates God’s purpose toward himself by bringing God’s wisdom down to the level of the wisdom of man, and making faith of none effect. The whole value of faith lies in the fact that it brings to an individual knowledge which reason alone could never enable him to get. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 262.12
It is no more necessary in the spiritual life to comprehend the mysteries that pertain to it, than it is to comprehend the mysteries revealed in nature in order to live physically. He who would refuse to eat bread until he could comprehend the process of growth in the grain from which bread is made, would never eat it at all. The person who would insist upon doing this would be justly counted a fool. Yet many people seem to think it necessary to comprehend the mysteries that pertain to the plan of redemption in order to the successful operation of that plan in their behalf. And this very effort to comprehend the mysterious manifestations and declarations of God’s power defeats its operation toward them; for since God’s ways are as much higher than man’s ways as the heavens are higher than the earth (Isaiah 55:9), after man has gone as far as he can in the process of comprehending, he is still infinitely below the truth as it is known by the mind of God. And therefore when he gives to the words of God a certain meaning which marks the limit of his power toward comprehending them, simply because he cannot understand how they can mean just what they say, he puts a meaning upon them which is infinitely below the truth which God reveals in them to man, and which He designs man to grasp by simple faith. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 263.1
Man’s reason is not God’s reason. Man cannot always reason correctly upon physical matters, and much less can he do so in regard to things spiritual. When the mind enters the domain of spiritual truth; it must substitute faith for reason, or it will never proceed very far in the requirement of knowledge. Faith enables us to know that which, if it were obtained by reason, would require that we be omniscient, and able to reason as well as God Himself. We must view faith in the light of this truth if we would prize it at its true worth. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 263.2
“Every Temptation” The Present Truth 10, 17.
E. J. Waggoner
Every Temptation.—“And when the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from Him.” This rendering of the Revision, in Luke’s account, brings out strongly the encouragement of the text. Every temptation was tried, every bolt shot, and all failed. There is not a weapon left untried for Satan to bring rattling down upon the Christian armour for a fresh test. That armour has turned aside every device in the artillery of the enemy. It is encouraging to the tempted to know that there has no temptation befallen him, but such as is common to man. But there is all joy and strength in the knowledge that there can come no temptation which was not common to the “Man Christ Jesus.” He was tempted in all points like as we, yet without sin; and He gives to us His own faith—“the faith of Jesus”—which is able to quench all the fiery darts of the enemy. It has done it; this faith is already the victory that hath overcome the world. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 263.3
“The Postal Service” The Present Truth 10, 17.
E. J. Waggoner
The Postal Service.-The Gentleman’s Magazine, in an article on the Post Office, gives the following information about the service in the days of Charles I:— PTUK April 26, 1894, page 263.4
In 1635, Thomas Witherings, who three years before had obtained an assignment of the King’s patent of the postmastership for foreign parts, was commissioned by Charles I. to reform the inland posts, which had been so much neglected as to be almost useless. The mails were conveyed by foot messengers who rarely travelled more than eighteen miles a day, so that it took nearly two months to get an answer from Scotland or Ireland to a letter dispatched from London. Witherings established a post-office in the City of London, probably in Bishopsgate-street, for the receipt and dispatch of letters, and arranged trunk lines of posts to the chief towns of the kingdom, with branch posts to less important places. The posts were to travel day and night, so as to cover 120 miles every twenty-four hours, and were dispatched from London at least once a week. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 263.5
Two hundred years later-within fifty years of our own time-very little improvement had taken place in facilities for communication. In fact, the postal tariff was higher. A letter to Windsor cost 6d., to Birmingham, 9d., and to Liverpool, 11d. Within the memory of those whose age is less than the threescore and ten, the wonderful developments in communication and transit have brought all the world close together. It is impossible to think of these changes without recognising the fact that they have a bearing on the duty of Christians to fulfil the Lord’s command to carry the Gospel of the Kingdom into all the world. The world, the flesh, and the devil are not to have the monopoly of these things. It is time for the Gospel to go to every nation, and tongue, and people, and all the facilities at command are to be pressed into service. Yet be it remembered that there is no new road to the Kingdom, no easy nineteenth century method of doing the Lord’s work. Not by might nor by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord the work must be done. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 263.6
“The Christian Sect” The Present Truth 10, 17.
E. J. Waggoner
The Christian Sect.-When the Apostle Paul was at Rome, the Jews came to him and said concerning the believers in Jesus, “We desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest; for as concerning this sect, we know that everywhere it is spoken against.” In Paul’s day the Christians were plainly a sect; but now, we find it assumed that in some way they have ceased to be such, although the world is as full of other religions to-day as it was then. But the assumption is entirely false; and public money devoted to the furtherance of the doctrines or institutions of Christianity, or State aid rendered for the support of the same, is as truly devoted to sectarian uses as though given to the Methodists, or the Friends, or the Jews. Only by Christianity becoming universal could Christians cease to constitute a sect. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 263.7
“Religion and Human Nature” The Present Truth 10, 17.
E. J. Waggoner
Religion and Human Nature.-It does not in any wise commend a religion to say that it agrees with human nature. Recently the Catholic religion was alluded to in PRESENT TRUTH as “the religion of human nature;” and the expression was emphatically commended by a Catholic lady. In agreeing with the statement she unconsciously condemned religion as anti-Christian; for human nature has to be changed for the Divine nature before an individual can become a Christian. Human nature is evil, because man is fallen. Catholicism is a religion which appeals to this fallen nature, in common with other heathen religions which, though different in name, are built upon the same essential principles. Christianity makes no appeal to human nature; on the contrary, it cuts directly across it. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 263.8
“Up with the Times” The Present Truth 10, 17.
E. J. Waggoner
Up with the Times.-The question of what to read in order to keep in touch with the advanced thought of the times, is one that is often raised by active minds, but never satisfactorily settled, for the reason that there is no authoritative source from which it can be answered. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 263.9
It would be well for those who are anxious not to be left behind in the matter, to pause and consider what it is that is directing the advancing current of the world’s best thought. Who is controlling the times? And is it the best always to follow and keep in touch with what the world calls advanced thought? One thing may be known with certainty on this point, and that is that the word of the Lord is always up with the times; and if we would keep abreast of the times and be wise respecting the developments which they disclose we must study that word. The Bible is the one book absolutely necessary to the reader who would not be ignorant concerning the best thought and life of the day. For God, whose “kingdom ruleth over all,” holds the times in His hands and Himself directs the unfolding of its thought and life; and what that is to be, both good and bad, He has foretold in His word, together with its true significance. It gives us the world’s history in advance, even down to the end of time. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 263.10
“Religious Stimulants” The Present Truth 10, 17.
E. J. Waggoner
Religious Stimulants.-Christ uplifted before men is the only thing that can draw them in the right direction, and He is lifted up by the preaching of the word of the Gospel in the power of the Spirit. There is always the temptation to try other methods, but only this can do the work. Dr. Pentecost is one who believes that the Gospel is its own attraction, and he has told an interviewer that he thinks there is a danger in the Pleasant Sunday Afternoon movement which many do not realise. He says:— PTUK April 26, 1894, page 264.1
In most cases the P.S.A. is a stimulant, not a tonic. Its excitements must be increased, and unless fresh attractions are introduced the interest soon wears off. A cup of tea is offered as an inducement, or it may be, a pipe of tobacco. And entertainment, either in the form of music or an address is expected and supplied. Now my firm conviction is, that if we cannot reach and hold the people with the Gospel, we cannot do it with the Gospel plus a bribe. Socialistic addresses, violin and organ solos, tea and tobacco, what are these but so many confessions of failure to bring the people in by a higher means? Soon the novelty wears off, and then the question is, What next? PTUK April 26, 1894, page 264.2
The Apostle Paul told in his epistle to Timothy of the time coming when men would be lovers of pleasures and would not take kindly to “sound doctrine;” but his only charge for such a time is, “Preach the word.” PTUK April 26, 1894, page 264.3
“Going to Law” The Present Truth 10, 17.
E. J. Waggoner
Going to Law.—“If any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.” Matthew 5:40. If all the professed followers of Christ had followed that counsel, they would have been better off. There is sound sense in it. Many men have gone to law, and spent ten pounds, to recover one. Sometimes a person wins his case, and get justice; but even then his expenses more than amount to what it would have cost him to settle the case without law. To be sure one cannot gratify his desire for revenge in this way, but Christians do not have such a desire. There is sound business sense, as well as Gospel, in the injunction, “Agree with thine adversaries quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him.” PTUK April 26, 1894, page 264.4
“The Bright and Morning Star” The Present Truth 10, 17.
E. J. Waggoner
In the last chapter of the Bible we read:— PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.1
“I Jesus have sent my angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.” Revelation 22:16. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.2
What does Jesus mean? In what way is He like the morning star? If we go back to the first three chapters of the Bible, and glance over the lessons that we have had, we shall see. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.3
We have learned that, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” “In six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day.” “And God saw everything that He had made, and behold it was very good.” PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.4
And all things remained good so long as Christ, “the Light of the world,” was followed by man. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.5
Christ Himself says, “I am the Light of the world; he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of [My] life.” PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.6
As long as a person follows Christ and goes only where He goes, and does only as He does, he cannot go wrong; for His life is always right. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.7
Because His life is so pure and bright, and so sure to keep its followers in the right way, it is called a light. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.8
You know if a child walks in the day he does not stumble, because he has the light of the sun; so if any child walk with Christ he will not stumble, because he has the light of Christ’s life; Christ’s life has power not only to show him the right way, but to keep him in the right way. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.9
But if a child walks in the night he stumbles because there is no light with him, and likewise if he walks without Christ he stumbles into all sorts of bad ways, because the light of Christ’s life is not with him. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.10
And that is what Adam and Eve did when they rejected Christ’s life and chose to follow Satan,—they stumbled and went entirely out of the right way, because they had turned away from the Light. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.11
They so completely shut themselves away from Christ and the light of His life, and away from all that He had given them, that they were like children far from home and lost in the dark. They could not find a way back to their Father. And unless they did get back to Him they were lost for ever, with nothing but death before them. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.12
And that was not all. Not only would Adam and Eve be lost for ever, but we, the children that they were to have, would be lost for ever too. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.13
Sad were their hearts when they realised what a foolish thing they had done. They had been carefully warned by their Father, but like wilful children, they thought they knew enough to take care of themselves. Alas, they had found, as children generally do, that their Father knew best. What would they not give now if they could once more be in the light of their Father’s face, and enjoy the countless blessings of their lost home. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.14
But not one thing could they do to save themselves. They had forsaken the Light and turned their backs upon the right way, and were completely surrounded with the dark, dark cloud of sin. They were without God and without hope in the world. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.15
“Lost, lost, LOST! rang through the Father’s house. The angel’s harps were hushed, and grief filled every heart. The children who had been so blessed and so beloved had disobeyed their Father and were lost! PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.16
To be sure it was their own fault that they were lost, but what father stops to think of that when his children are lost? “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him.” He must save them even though it takes His life! And He very well knew that nothing less than the light of His life could pierce the darkness of sin that surrounded them. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.17
“Behold what manner of love!” Suddenly the people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death, light sprang up! PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.18
Where did the light come from? From their Father! He gave His only begotten Son to come and save them! It cost Him His life to break through the cloud of sin and let the light of His life shine in. But He gladly did it to save them,—and to save us. In providing a way of salvation for them, He provide a way of salvation for us also, and for “every man that cometh into the world.” PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.19
Jesus says, “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on Me should not abide in darkness.” PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.20
Then if we really believe that Jesus can save us, and follow the light of His life, it will cleanse us from sin, and lead us, like the morning star, out of darkness into the perfect day. It will lead us, as well as Adam and Eve, back to our lost home and into the marvellous light of our Father’s presence. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.21
How sad it would be for a lost child to refuse to follow the light that his father had sent to guide him home. Yet is not that what we are doing when we refuse to follow the blessed Light that God has sent to guide us back to Him? PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.22
Then “O..., come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord,” let us follow “the Bright and Morning Star.” PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.23
1. Who created the heaven and the earth? Genesis 1:1. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.24
2. When did He create them? Genesis 1:1. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.25
3. Who created the grass, flowers and trees, and the insects, birds, and animals, and all living things? PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.26
4. How long was He in creating all things? Genesis 1; Exodus 20:11. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.27
5. How did He make them? Genesis 1; Psalm 148:5. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.28
6. What did He do on the seventh day? Genesis 2:2; Exodus 10:11. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.29
7. Were all the things that He made just as they are now? How were they? Genesis 1:31. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.30
8. How long did they remain good? Genesis 3. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.31
9. Why would following Christ keep man good?—Because He kept all of His Father’s commandments. Psalm 40:7, 8. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.32
10. What does Christ call Himself? John 8:12. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.33
11. What does He say those have who follow Him? John 8:12. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.34
12. In what way is His life like a light? PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.35
13. What does a child do when He tries to walk in the night without a light? John 11:9, 10. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.36
14. What did Adam and Eve do when they tried to walk without Christ? Why? PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.37
15. What were they like? PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.38
16. Unless they got back to God, what awaited them? PTUK April 26, 1894, page 269.39
17. And if they were lost for ever, what about us? PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.1
18. Whose fault was it that they were lost? Why? PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.2
19. Could they not do something to save themselves? PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.3
20. Who only could save them? PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.4
21. Was He willing to? Psalm 103:13. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.5
22. What only could pierce through the darkness of sin that surrounded them? PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.6
23. What did those who sat in darkness suddenly see? Matthew 4:16. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.7
24. Where did the light coming from? PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.8
25. What was the light? John 8:12; 12:46; Revelation 22:16; John 1:4. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.9
26. How much did it cost Him to let the light of His life shine upon them? PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.10
27. In providing a way of salvation for Adam and Eve, what did He provide for you and me, and for every other person that cometh into the world? John 12:46; John 1:9. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.11
28. Will every one, then, be saved? John 3:19. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.12
29. If we follow Jesus, the Light, the Bright and Morning Star, where will He lead us? PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.13
30. Would it not be very ungrateful to refuse to follow Him after He has given His life to save us? PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.14
“The Real Cause” The Present Truth 10, 17.
E. J. Waggoner
In the reports of terrible accidents, says the Freeman, such as the burning down of a house with a severe loss of life, or overturning of a carriage, it is frequently stated, even in the public prints, that the cause was drunkenness. But when the coroner’s inquest is made, this is not inquired into, but attention is directed to some secondary causes, and a verdict of accidental death is recorded. Now, in this we contend that there is a direct violation of oath by the jurors. Our fearful drink system seems to paralyse even our coroners’ courts so that they fear to speak the truth. This is an evil which needs to be attacked. If every coroner’s inquest had but spoken the truth, and fulfilled the object for which it was designed, there would have been an appalling mass of evidence on the evil of drunkenness as a source of accident. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.15
“Interesting Items” The Present Truth 10, 17.
E. J. Waggoner
-The fishermen at Lowestoft recently struck against, the low prices, 13,000 herrings fetching only a sovereign. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.16
-The Czar is about to go on a journey to the Crimea, and 50,000 soldiers are being sent to guard the railway line. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.17
-A crisis is said to threaten the Spanish Cabinet in connection with the conclusion of commercial treaties with Germany, Austria, Italy and Belgium. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.18
-Wind has been utilised near London as the motive power for the generation of electricity. The motor is fixed on an open iron structure thirty foot high. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.19
-Bills are to be submitted to the Austrian Reichsrath and to the Hungarian Diet, making the manufacture of dynamite and all other explosives a State monopoly. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.20
-The first of the forts to guard the approaches to London has been erected on the heights near Guildford. The next fort of the chain will probably be built at Redhill. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.21
-A telegram from the Governor of the Soudan to the French Government states that the French troops have gained a complete victory over the Touaregs near Timbuctoo PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.22
-Some Babylonian tablets which have reached the British Museum are said to prove that faith in one God existed in that part of the world as far back as 3,000 years before Christ. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.23
-Admiral de Mello, the Brazilian insurgent leader, has surrendered to the Uruguayan authorities. The United States Government has unofficially intervened to obtain clemency for the Brazilian insurgents. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.24
-Francis Polti, an Italian anarchist, was recently arrested in London, having in his possession a large cylindrical bomb for which he was unable satisfactorily to account. The arrest is regarded as a very important one. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.25
-At Blackburn three young fellows were recently summoned by the guardians, under an old statute of George III., for having neglected their own health, and thrown themselves upon the rates for treatment. They were sentenced to fourteen days’ hard labour. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.26
-The three Austrian towns of Neusandez, in Galicia, Hradisch, in Moravia, and Adler-Kosteletz, in Bohemia, were almost entirely destroyed by fire April 17, the conflagrations having broken out simultaneously in all three towns. It is believed that the fire was the work of incendiaries. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.27
-Strikes in Russia, it is said, are daily becoming of more frequent occurrence. The workmen on the Valdikavkaz Railway have now struck work, demanding higher wages. The Government has, however, ordered the strikers to return to their work until their case has been enquired into by the authorities. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.28
-The Russian Government will this summer probably dismiss 200,000 soldiers from the ranks earlier than usual, with the double object of facilitating harvesting and diminishing the amount of the military Budget. With the latter object it is further intended to hold very few man?uvres this year, while the conscription will be smaller than usual. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.29
-A resident of Tiflis, Russia, states that the leading Baptists there and in other parts of Transcaucasia have just had domiciliary visits paid them by the police, when their books and papers were carefully examined, and a number of them confiscated. It is stated that in those raids the police have captured documents in which the names and addresses of a number of Baptists and Stundists are inscribed, and that many of the threads of the organisation, so far at least as it concerns the Caucasus, are now in their hands. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.30
-The authorities at Washington are beginning to think seriously of the advance of the Labour Army, which is marching to Washington in sections from different districts, and will no doubt be accompanied by disorderly mobs, which, while forming no part of the demonstrate will add to the difficulties of the situation. It appears certain that the main body will reach Washington by May 1 at latest, and the police officials are earnestly discussing the best means of dealing with so largo a body of men and preventing disturbances. The militia and police are being prepared for every emergency, and are exercised in the riot drill daily. It is understood that the Government, as an extra precaution, intends to reinforce the Federal troops quartered in the district. The Committees on Rules of both the Senate and House have arranged to prevent the “Coxeyites” from entering the grounds of the Capitol in bodies, and special precautions are being taken at the White House. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.31
-In opening his Budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer said he had estimated that the receipts for the year 1893-4 would be ?91,640,000, and the expenditure ?91,464,000, being a surplus of ?176,000. The expenditure had actually been ?91,303,000, and the revenue ?91,133,000, being a balance against him of ?170,000. For 1894-5 he estimated that he would have to meet an expenditure of ?91,458,000, and that his revenue on the basis of existing taxation would be ?90,956,000 so that he had a deficit to meet of ?4,502,000. He reduced this, mainly by an appropriation of the new sinking fund to the liquidation of out-standing debts contracted under the Imperial Defence and Naval Defence Acts, to ?2,379,000. He next proposed a series of radical reforms in the death duties involving not only an assimilation of the duties on realty to those on personalty, but a graduated charge which on sums of over ?1,000,000 would amount to eight per cent. This would give him ?1,000,000 this year and much more later on. He also raised the income-tax from 7d. to 8d., but increased the limit of total exemption to incomes of ?160 per annum, raised the amount of abatement on incomes of under ?400 to 2160, and made an abatement of ?100 on incomes of between ?400 and ?500. The net increased returns on the income-tax would in con-sequence be only ?330,000 this year. Finally he imposed an additional spirit duty of 6d. per gallon and an additional beer duty of 6d. per barrel, which would give him this year ?1,340.000. This gat rid of his deficit and left him with as estimated surplus of ?291,000. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 270.32
“Back Page” The Present Truth 10, 17.
E. J. Waggoner
Whenever Christian work gets associated with political agitation, the results are deplorable. The real Christians in Armenia are suffering much from the indiscretions of political Armenians who are fighting only against the cruel injustice of Turkish rule. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 272.1
The Pope of Rome having advised the Spanish pilgrims to recognise the legitimate claims of the young King of Spain, the Carlist leaders will publish a manifesto, in which they will lay stress on the fact that the infallibility of the Pope has no relation to politics. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 272.2
Purity of the water supply is one of the most important considerations for any city or people. It is encouraging to Londoners to hear, therefore, that of 175 samples taken by analysts from the water supplies of London last month, all but five were found to be “clear, bright, and well filtered.” PTUK April 26, 1894, page 272.3
It is a sad misuse of corn, which might be turned into good bread, to make beer out of it by the processes of the vat. A vast quantity is thus misused, however, no less than eleven million bushels of malt and corn having been consumed by London brokers last year. The total for England was 73,250,000 bushels. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 272.4
The Daily Chronicle in a commendatory notice of the proposal of the British Women’s Temperance Association, to establish a number of country industrial homes for inebriate women, shows the necessity for something of the sort. Among other things it says: “Drunkenness among women, especially in the poor and crowded quarters of our great towns, is far more common than it used to be. It seems, indeed, as if the increased sobriety of the men of the labouring class had been accompanied by the reverse process amongst the women.” PTUK April 26, 1894, page 272.5
A certain writer has said, “I never knew any man in my life who could not bear another’s misfortunes perfectly like a Christian.” By that he meant that men can be philosophical and unmoved at misfortunes which do not affect themselves. But that is not bearing another’s misfortunes like a Christian. Christ “went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil.” “Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; ... He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5, 6. To be a Christian is to be like Christ. Therefore, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 272.6
The latest phase of the Board School religious controversy is a resolution, passed at the last meeting of the Metropolitan Board Teachers’ Association, that the teachers as a body should petition to be relieved from the duty of giving religious instruction at all. The consequences of this, says an Anglican journal, “must be most embarrassing to the majority. On the one hand, the Board cannot well dismiss any large number of its teachers, neither can it well insist on their giving religious instruction which they do not want to give.” PTUK April 26, 1894, page 272.7
Exactly; and neither can it insist that parents should have their children taught ideas of God and religion which they do not believe to be true. It is strange that there are people who cannot see so obvious a lesson as that which this edifying controversy has furnished, nor hear a demand which is made not only by justice and the interests of religion, but by common worldly expediency; namely, that religious questions be kept entirely separate from matters pertaining to any branch of the civil government. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 272.8
“The Truth in Russia” The Present Truth 10, 17.
E. J. Waggoner
The Truth in Russia.-For many years the Russian authorities have been banishing Stundists and other Protestants to the Caucasus. As might have been foreseen, this has made that province a stronghold of Protestantism; and now at a meeting of the Holy Synod, soon to be held, the head of the Greek Church in the Caucasus is to submit a plan for breaking up the communities of believers and isolating the individual members in villages where they may be under closer surveillance. But wherever the real Protestant goes he carries the word of God, and that is the power to convert men; so that this further dispersal will only scatter the light into regions unentered. Ecclesiastics depending upon numbers and ritual and earthly power never seem able to comprehend the fact that they cannot bind the word of God, nor hinder the progress of the truth by penal legislation. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 272.9
“Elementary Morality” The Present Truth 10, 17.
E. J. Waggoner
Elementary Morality.-In an address at Liverpool telling of the progress of missions in China, and the difficulties they had to contend with, Dr. Wenyon said that elementary morality was scarcely known in China. In reply to a question whether it was a sin to tell a lie, one of his teachers asked time to consider it, and after studying the problem some time returned with the answer that he did not think it was, if any beneficial end could be served by it. The Chinese certainly have the virtue of frankness. Again we are reminded that all the world is kin, and all men are of one flesh. Evasiveness or untruthfulness for beneficial ends is not unknown outside of China. It is sometimes discussed as a serious question whether a tradesman can get on in business successfully without deception. Of course Christian tradesmen do; but very often they may have to do as one writer in the Economic Review says he did. He purchased a dairy business of a highly respectable and church-going man, but found that so much deception and dishonesty was required to keep on the business, that he sold out at a loss of half its capital. “Truth in the inward parts” is not a natural product, wherever we may go. The green-grocer who piles up the fine apples in front in tempting array, labelled so much per pound, and then fills a bag for the purchaser from the ill-favoured and gnarled specimens in the rear, really reveals his ideas of morality as frankly as the Chinese teacher. Morality is a very simple and elementary thing, after all, and not hard to understand; but in order to practise it we must have it put into us, and the human nature put out of us, by the power of Divine grace. PTUK April 26, 1894, page 272.10