The Present Truth, vol. 10
July 26, 1894
“Is Bread Food?” The Present Truth 10, 30.
E. J. Waggoner
Is Bread Food?—“Of course it is,” every one replies. How do you know? “We have tried it, and proved it; we have eaten it, and it has given us life and strength.” Very good; that is evidence enough. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 465.1
Reasoning About It.-No sane man thinks of questioning the fact that bread is food, and that it gives strength. The reason is that we learn to eat before we learn to doubt. We prove the value of bread before we know enough to question it. But if we could arrive at the age of manhood before ever seeing bread, many people would starve to death before they would believe that it is of any use. Even while starving, some would doubtless “prove” to their own satisfaction that bread could not sustain life. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 465.2
Personal Experience.-Suppose that there is a man in such a condition. He has heard that bread will give him strength, and he comes to me and asks me to prove it to him. I say to him, “Very well, here is a piece; eat it and see for yourself.” He replies, “No, no; I will not try any experiments. I must first have satisfactory proof that it is good, and then I must understand how it works.” But I cannot tell him the mystery of the transformation of the bread into bone and muscle. As to experimenting, however, I tell him that there is nothing doubtful about it, for I and thousands of others have proved it abundantly. I can give him evidence, but not demonstration; he must demonstrate by his own experience. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 465.3
“Is The Bible Truth?”—This is the subject of a religious meeting, which I saw announced the other day. No minister or other Gospel worker ought ever to raise such a question, or to discuss it for a moment when others raise it. It is just as foolish to argue about it as it would be to argue the question whether bread will support life. The only proof is by eating. Give men the Word, and let them prove its value by eating it. If they do not believe it, give them some more, and leave it with them, until its power convinces him. He who will for a moment admit that the truthfulness of the Bible is a debatable question, does not know it as he ought to know it, and has no business to attempt to teach others. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 465.4
“Taste and See.”—“O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.” That is the true method of proof. Jeremiah took the proper course, and he found satisfaction. He said, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.” Jeremiah 15:16. Go and do thou likewise. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 465.5
Faith Is Substance.-People seem to think that faith is fancy. As soon as you speak about the power of God’s word in them that believe, they think that you have unsettled everything. They have an idea that it is your faith that gives the efficiency to the word, and that anything else would do as well if one would only exercise his imagination. Let them try their imagination on a loaf of sand formed so as to resemble bread made from flour. All the imagination in the world will not give a man an ounce of strength from such a loaf. The more he eats, the worse off he is. But his imagination is not faith. Faith lays hold of substance. Faith grasps realities. Faith does not clothe a worthless thing with an imaginary value, but appropriates the value that actually exist in its object. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 465.6
“His Name” The Present Truth 10, 30.
E. J. Waggoner
“And they that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee.” Psalm 9:10. This being the case, it follows that there are very many in so-called Christian lands, and even in the church, who do not know the name of the Lord. Let us see something of what is involved in knowing the name of the Lord. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 465.7
In Scripture, names are not given at random. Every name has meaning. The true name indicates the character of the one to whom it belongs. For instance, the name “Jacob” means “supplanter,” and that was the character of the son of Isaac. He was a schemer, benefitting himself at the expense of somebody else. That was before he was converted. When the Lord met him, and, like Saul, he was “turned into another man,” he was given the name “Israel,” to indicate the character of the new man. He was a conqueror over his besetments. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 466.1
So the name of God is the expression of His character. One may be familiar with the form and sound of the words which are used in His titles, without knowing the name of the Lord. His name is just what He is, and only those who are personally acquainted with Him know what His name is. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 466.2
Moses prayed to be permitted to behold the glory of the Lord, God said, “I will make all My goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee.” Exodus 33:10. Accordingly the “Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaim, the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” Exodus 34:5-7. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 466.3
He who does not know the goodness and longsuffering and truth of the Lord, and that He forgives iniquity and transgression and sin, does not know His name. But no one need be ignorant of His name, for He has written it upon everything that He has made. “The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.” Psalm 33:5. “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name and all the earth.” Psalm 8:1. “Thy mercy, O Lord, it is in the heavens; and Thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.” Psalm 36:5. The Lord’s name is a glorious name (Deuteronomy 28:58), and “the heavens declare the glory of God.” PTUK July 26, 1894, page 466.4
The name of God is in Christ. The only begotten Son of God has by inheritance the same name. Hebrews 1:4. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1. Whoever knows Christ, therefore, knows God. “The only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.” John 1:18. “He that hath seen Me, have seen the Father.” John 14:9. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 466.5
“And thou shalt call His name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21. Jesus means Saviour. If He did not save, His name would be a misnomer. But His name is expressive of what He is. He saves by virtue of Himself. In Him is salvation. “Behold God is my salvation.” Isaiah 12:2. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 466.6
Trustworthiness and fidelity beget confidence. No one can help trusting one whose honesty is well known. Even the most suspicious come at length to lose their doubts after long dealing with a one whose fidelity is unswerving. The cause of doubt is dishonesty and lack of faithfulness. If no lie had ever entered the world, there would never have been such a thing known as doubt. Goodness wins confidence, and so they who know the Lord must necessarily trust Him. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 466.7
But the Scripture meaning of trusting is to take refuge. Psalm 7:10 would more accurately express the original, and would be more striking, if rendered as in the margin of the Revised Version, “O Lord, my God, in Thee do I take refuge; save me from them that pursue me, and deliver me.” So when we read, “They that no Thy name will put their trust in Thee,” we may know that it means that they will take refuge in God. And this is in keeping with the verse just before. “The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.” The Revised Version has it, “a high tower.” PTUK July 26, 1894, page 466.8
God Himself is a Tower, a Rock of defence, a tower of Refuge. Psalm 18:2. But His name is just what He is; so we read, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” Proverbs 18:10. His name is a strong tower, an impregnable fortress; it stands to reason, therefore, that they who know it will fly to it for refuge, and will abide in it. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 466.9
Christ is God. John 1:1. The Father and the Son are one. John 10:30. Their name is one. He who is in Christ is in God, for Christ “is in the bosom of the Father.” Baptism is the sign of taking refuge in Christ; “for as many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ.” Galatians 3:27. Those who have put on Christ in baptism, have taken refuge in God. Baptism therefore is a reality, and not a mere form, only when the soul consciously takes refuge from sin in the mighty name of God. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 466.10
This is in exact accord with the Saviour’s commission, as properly rendered in the Revised Version: “Baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” Matthew 28:19. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 466.11
Reader, at do you know the name of the Lord? It is easy to learn. When you know it, you know Him, and then you have eternal life: for “this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” John 17:3. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 466.12
“Oh, the precious name of Jesus!
How it thrills our souls with joy.
When His loving arms receive us,
And His songs our tongues employ!”
PTUK July 26, 1894, page 466.13
“Christ at the Helm” The Present Truth 10, 30.
E. J. Waggoner
If Christ is at the helm why should we be running about the deck in distress lest the vessel should sink? Duty belongs to us, results to God. Then let us work and wait and trust, cast our burdens on the Lord, leave them there and go right on with our work. The prophet says, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose minds is stayed on Thee.” PTUK July 26, 1894, page 466.14
“Studies in Romans. The Law and Judgment. Romans 2:12-16” The Present Truth 10, 30.
E. J. Waggoner
A few words may suffice at present to bring to mind what we have already studied. The first chapter of Romans may be briefly summed up as setting forth the condition of those who know not God, and the way in which they lost their knowledge, together with the fact that they are wholly without excuse. Then just as we are ready to hold up our hands in horror at their wickedness, and to launch forth severe condemnation upon them, the apostle turns to us, and shuts our mouths with the stinging words, “Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest; for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.” And so the second chapter proceeds to show that all will be subjects of God’s righteous judgment, “for there is no respect of persons with God.” Thus we are brought to a confirmation of the fact that God is impartial, by a comparison of the PTUK July 26, 1894, page 466.15
TWO CLASSES IN THE JUDGMENT
“For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law; and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law for not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves; which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another); in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my Gospel.” PTUK July 26, 1894, page 466.16
QUESTIONING THE TEXT
What proves that there is no respect of persons with God? PTUK July 26, 1894, page 466.17
“For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law; and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law.” PTUK July 26, 1894, page 466.18
What is to become those who have sinned without law? PTUK July 26, 1894, page 466.19
They “shall also perish.” PTUK July 26, 1894, page 466.20
How shall those who perish who have sinned without law? PTUK July 26, 1894, page 466.21
“Without law.” PTUK July 26, 1894, page 466.22
What of those who have sinned in the law? PTUK July 26, 1894, page 467.1
They “shall be judged by the law.” PTUK July 26, 1894, page 467.2
When shall this be? PTUK July 26, 1894, page 467.3
“In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men.” PTUK July 26, 1894, page 467.4
What will simply hearing the law not do for men? PTUK July 26, 1894, page 467.5
“For not the hearers of the law are just before God. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 467.6
Who alone shall be justified? PTUK July 26, 1894, page 467.7
“The doers of the law shall be justified.” PTUK July 26, 1894, page 467.8
But what of the men who had never heard a law? PTUK July 26, 1894, page 467.9
“Those, having not the law, are a law unto themselves.” PTUK July 26, 1894, page 467.10
What shows that even without the law they have some knowledge of what the law requires? PTUK July 26, 1894, page 467.11
“Their conscience also bearing witness.” PTUK July 26, 1894, page 467.12
How do they regard the different actions done by themselves? PTUK July 26, 1894, page 467.13
“Their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another.” PTUK July 26, 1894, page 467.14
By whom will the secrets of men be judged? PTUK July 26, 1894, page 467.15
“God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ.” PTUK July 26, 1894, page 467.16
In accordance with what will the judgment be? PTUK July 26, 1894, page 467.17
“According to my Gospel.” PTUK July 26, 1894, page 467.18
Without Law, and in the Law.-Although it is quite certain that when the Lord comes the second time there will be no people on the earth who have not heard the preaching of the Word, it is a fact that thousands and millions have died without ever having seen or heard of the Bible. They are the ones to whom the apostle refers as “without law.” Yet it is plainly set forth that they are not absolutely without law, but only without the written law. The fact that they have some knowledge of the law is stated in the verses following, and is proved by the fact that they are counted sinners; but “sin is not imputed where there is no law.” Romans 5:13. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 467.19
All Sin Punished.-Whether we have had the written law or not, all are alike counted sinners. “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.” Romans 1:18. The heathen are declared to be without excuse; and if they who have not the written law are without excuse, they who have the law in their hands are of course far more inexcusable. God is just. “We know that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.” Yet all who sin, whether in the law or without the law, are to be punished. This is sufficient to show that “without law” does not mean without any knowledge of God. The first chapter settles that. The trouble with too many who read this statement that all shall be punished, and who think that it does not seem just, is that they forget, or are ignorant of, what is contained in the first chapter. It is a great mistake to take any single verse of the Bible and separate it from its connection. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 467.20
They Shall Perish.-That is declared to be the fate of the wicked. The apostle Peter tells us that the world is “reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” 2 Peter 3:7. What is meant by “perish?” It means just the opposite of living forever. On one occasion some people told Jesus of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices, and Jesus replied, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Luke 13:1-3. Again we read, “The wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs; they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.” Psalm 37:20. Therefore the statement that those who sin shall perish means that they shall die, that they shall be utterly extinct, that “they shall be as though they had not been.” Obadiah 16. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 467.21
Strict Impartiality.-That means strict justice. Sinners will be punished, whether they live in heathen lands or in so-called Christian lands. But no one will be judged by that of which he knew nothing. God does not punish men for violation of a law of which they knew nothing, nor does He hold them accountable for light that they have not had. It is very plain that those who have the law must know many things that are not known to those who do not have it in written form. All men have light enough to know that they are sinners; but the written word gives those who have it a knowledge of many particulars of which those are ignorant who do not have it. Therefore God in His justice does not hold the latter accountable for many things for which the former will be judged. “As many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law; and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law.” The man who has rejected light, whether it be little or much, is obviously guilty. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 467.22
The Root of Sin.-To some it seems unjust that those who have had but comparatively little light should suffer death for their sins, the same as those who have sinned against the greatest light. Their difficulty arises from the fact that they do not consider what sin really is. God alone is good. Luke 18:19. He is the source of goodness. Whatever goodness ever appears in man is only the working of God in him. But He is also the source of life. With him is the fountain of life. Psalm 36:9. God’s life is righteousness; therefore there can be no righteousness apart from the life of God. Now it is evident that if a man rejects God, he effectually cuts himself off from life. It matters not that he has had but comparatively little knowledge of God, if he rejects that light he rejects God, and thus rejects life. And by rejecting the little that he has seen of God, he shows that he would reject God in any case. Sin is simply separation from or rejection of God; and that means death. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 467.23
Justified.-Here is another term the meaning of which should be settled once for all. We have seen that righteousness means conformity to the law of God, and so we shall understand it throughout the book of Romans and the whole Bible. Romans 2:13 shows that “just,” or “justified” means the same thing. Who are the justified ones?—They who do the law. We need not hear stop to consider the fact that is stated later, that there are no doers of the law; all we are concerned with now is the statement that to be justified means to be in a condition of harmony with the law of God. The matter of how men get into such a condition will be considered later. Let it not be forgotten that “just” means “righteous,” and that both mean a state of harmony with the law of God, which is His life. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 467.24
Hearing and Doing.—“Not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.” That is, it makes no difference how much a man knows; his knowledge will not justify him. People who have had great advantages are very prone to look with contempt upon those who have been less favoured, and to feel pride because of their own superior knowledge, forgetting that their superior knowledge only makes their own shortcomings the more marked. The man who knows much and does wrong is obviously more blameworthy than the one who knows only little. “Take heed how ye hear.” Luke 8:18. “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any man be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass; for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his own way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth their end, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, that men shall be blessed in his deed.” James 1:22-25. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 467.25
“A Law unto Themselves.”—“These, having not the law, are a law unto themselves.” They have not the written law, and so they are their own law. “Which show the work of the law written in their hearts.” So the law that they are unto themselves is nothing different from the written law. This statement is the same as that in the first chapter, namely, that “that which may be known of God is manifest in them.” God has revealed Himself, and therefore His law, not only to every man, but in every man. Christ is God, and He is “the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” John 1:9. In the judgment even the heathen will stand self-condemned. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 468.1
Accusing and Excusing.—“Their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another.” The French have a proverb to the effect that “He who excuses himself accuses himself.” This is a true proverb. No man thinks of excusing himself if he does not think that he is at fault. If a thing is right it needs no excuse. And so in the statement that the heathen either excuse or else accuse one another for the things that they do, we find evidence that their conscience continually condemns them. Even in the things which they try to make themselves believe are right, they show that they know that they are wrong. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 468.2
A Parenthesis.-The reader will note that verses 13, 14, 15, are thrown in by way of explanation, to show that although the heathen are said to sin without law, and to perish without law, they are not absolutely without law, but only without the written law. This needs to be noted in order not to become confused in following the apostle’s statement about the judgment. The connection is found by reading verses 12, 16 together, thus: “For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law; and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my Gospel.” PTUK July 26, 1894, page 468.3
Judged by Jesus Christ.-God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. Christ is the representative of the Godhead in all things,—in creation, in redemption, and in judgment. “The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son; that all should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father.” John 5:22, 23. “He hath appointed a day in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given the assurance unto all men, in that He raised Him from the dead.” Acts 17:31. The fact that the judgment will be conducted by Christ “who gave Himself for our sins,” who died to redeem man, and who is our Advocate with the Father, the propitiation for our sins, “and not for ours only, but also for the whole world,” is assurance to all men that the judgment will be conducted with the utmost fairness. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 468.4
According to the Gospel.-The judgment is according to the Gospel. This is additional evidence that love is always combined with justice. In fact the justice of God is always love itself. For God is love, and He can never be anything else but love, for He cannot deny Himself. And He is always just. His mercy appears even in His judgments. “O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good; for His mercy endureth for ever.... To Him which divided the Red Sea into parts; for His mercy endureth for ever; and made Israel to pass through the midst of it; for His mercy endureth forever; but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea; for His mercy endureth for ever.” Psalm 136:1-15. Since the righteousness of God-the law-is revealed in the Gospel, and men are judged by the law, it is plain that the Gospel is not omitted in the judgment. The Gospel is in reality nothing else but the law of God in Christ. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 468.5
“My Gospel.”-Paul says, “God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my Gospel.” What does he mean by “my Gospel”? Is it that he has a Gospel that is peculiarly his own, or from himself?—By no means. Let him explain himself. “But I certify you, brethren, that the Gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Galatians 1:11, 12. The Gospel which Paul preached was the word which he had received from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; and therefore his statement in the text before us is the same as saying that this judgment will be according to the word of the Lord. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 468.6
“The Uneasy Conscience” The Present Truth 10, 30.
E. J. Waggoner
How fearful the darkest conscience sometimes is at the knowledge of its guilt is shown by the notes of a journey into unexplored regions of Central Asia, made by a late Russia traveller. The natives had a myth that “any Russian article, if stolen, would at once begin to cry out, ‘I am here,’ till it was rescued.” PTUK July 26, 1894, page 468.7
These people, Tunguts by name, greet one by putting out their tongues, and bid farewell by knocking their heads silently together. “As they never wash, and seldom remove their clothes, this etiquette has other disadvantages than the percussion.” Yet these ignorant and unwashed Tunguts have enough of the law written in their hearts by nature so that their consciences accuse and terrify them when they wish to steal from the Russians. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 468.8
“‘No Hope’” The Present Truth 10, 30.
E. J. Waggoner
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow, not even as others which have no hope.” So wrote the Apostle Paul to the Church in Thessalonica, concerning those of their number who had fallen asleep in death. He then proceeded immediately to enlighten them with regard to the final outcome of the sleep which had fastened upon those whom they had laid away in the grave. “This,” he wrote, “we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent [go before] them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13, 15-17. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 468.9
These words the apostle wrote to them that they might not be ignorant. If they were ignorant they would have to sorrow for their dead as others which had “no hope.” It plainly follows therefore that the thought here expressed in the language of the apostle concerning the resurrection, and that thought alone, is the hope of the Christian, and that all other ideas and theories on the subject constitutes “no hope.” And therefore there is no hope to be derived from the theory that the saints at death go at once to be with the Lord. Those who entertain this view are, according to Paul’s testimony, comforting one another with words of error, and not with words of the Lord. But only the words of truth, which are the words of God, can give real hope and comfort to the sorrowing soul. For He is the God of all comfort. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 469.1
“Standing in the Faith” The Present Truth 10, 30.
E. J. Waggoner
In the first epistle to the Corinthians we have this exhortation: “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.” 1 Corinthians 16:13. Here is set forth the duty of every soldier of the cross. It does not imply a life of ease and quiet, but one of earnest active warfare. Unlike the soldiers of earthly kings, the Christian warrior has not to wait and long for some outbreak of hostilities that will terminate a period of tiresome inactivity and give opportunity for a display of valour and skill. The great controversy between good and evil is ever in progress, and the devil and his angels will force him either to yield or fight without delay. They will take care that he be not long left without ample opportunity to display his valour for truth. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 469.2
It has not been left, however, for the soldier to adopt his own tactics, or choose his own weapons. Whenever the professed followers of Christ have done this, they have fought with the weapons of Satan, and done service in his cause. In the epistle to the Ephesians we find careful instructions given upon this point. The apostle writes, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” Ephesians 6:10. This cuts off at once any thought of the soldier being strong in his own might, or by the might of men. He must not seek the backing of the State nor think to make himself strong by leaning upon the power of the civil arm. He must learn what the power is upon which Christianity rests, and how to “be strong” by its means. He must not think to wield the power himself, for the Lord’s might is the might of the Lord’s own acts, just as man’s might is the might of his acts. It is by the working of God, therefore, that the Christian soldier must show himself strong. His might is the might of God working in him. And as God in him has still the strength of God, which is Omnipotence, the Christian becomes “strengthened with all might” (Colossians 1:11), and able to conquer every enemy that would oppose him. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 469.3
The apostle further says, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Ephesians 6:11. Nothing less than the whole armour of God will afford security against Satan’s attacks. A single point left unguarded, will be speedily discovered by the wily foe, and become the target of his darts. But with all the armour on, the Christian becomes invulnerable, and with the weapons furnished from the Divine armoury, he is irresistible to all his foes. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 469.4
“For,” continues the apostle, “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” It is a great mistake to suppose that the Christian warfare is ever a warfare against flesh and blood. When the Christian stops to wrestle with flesh and blood, He ceases at once to fight the battles of the Lord, and cuts himself off from “the power of His might.” He must not attack people, but principle; not sinners, but sin. Neither man, nor civil governments, nor churches, can properly be made objective points for his weapons. The conflict is with “spiritual wickedness,” and must not be lowered to the place of human warfare. The controversy is not man’s, but is between the “rulers of the darkness of this world” and Him who is the light of this world, and man’s part is but to unite his will, his weakness and his ignorance with the will and power and wisdom of the great Captain of the hosts of the Lord. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 469.5
“Stand therefore,” continues the apostle, “having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace; above all taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the word of God.” V. 14-17. The first requisite mentioned is truth. One is no more prepared to fight in the cause of God without truth, than he is to take a journey with loins ungirded. He may have great zeal; but without truth his efforts will be worse than useless, for he will be led without knowing it to fight under the banner of the prince of evil. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” And therefore he who has not the truth has not Christ, and does not know Him. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 469.6
But truth is of no avail unless the individual having it is sanctified thereby, and hence the necessity for “the breastplate of righteousness.” The wise man has said, “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23. The only sure safeguard for the heart is the breastplate of God’s righteousness. “Behold,” says the psalmist, “Thou desirest truth in the inward parts.” This truth in the heart, by which it is cleansed and sanctified, and guarded from the entrance of evil. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 469.7
For the feet there is provided “the preparation of the Gospel of peace.” Those whose feet are shod with this are ready and eager to publish peace and good tidings of salvation to all men, both far and near. Thus it was with the Apostle Paul, who testified that he was debtor both to the Greeks and to the Barbarians (Romans 1:14) to give them the Gospel, and likewise with his colabourers, by whom ere the first century A.D., had elapsed, the Gospel was carried to every part of the world. No one is fit to be a soldier of the cross until he is ready to say, “Here am I; send me” in response to the call of his Master, no matter to what place Lord may send him. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 469.8
With “the shield of faith,” the Christian is protected against “all the fiery darts of the wicked.” Faith is trust in the word of the Lord,—confidence in God that He will fulfil His promises to deliver us from the power of all our enemies. No one who had this confidence in the Lord was ever disappointed in it. God cannot deny Himself, and His power is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto Him. The Lord is ready and waiting to save each one of us from all the fiery darts of our adversary. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 469.9
The helmet is “the hope of salvation,” upon which hope the Christian’s mind must ever be fixed. The Apostle Peter also exhorts the church, “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind; be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:13. This is the hope of salvation, for it is the grace of God that brings salvation (Titus 2:11), which Christ brings with Him, when He appears “the second time.” Hebrews 9:28. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 469.10
Lastly, he must take with him “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” This is his weapon of offense and defence. But he must remember that it is the sword of the Spirit, and not his own sword; and that therefore it must be wielded by the Spirit. And therefore the Spirit must accompany him. There could be nothing more foolish than to take this sword along and leave the Spirit behind; for since without the Spirit no one can know the word of God, it is only the Spirit in man that understands how to use this sword; and man himself cannot do it. It is a very sharp sword (Hebrews 4:12), and he who undertakes to wield it by his own power is sure to cut himself much worse than he does his enemy. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 470.1
Thus completely equipped with “the whole armour of God,” the Christian is fully able to “stand fast in the faith,” to acquit himself like a man, and “be strong.” But let him remember that he holds no carnal weapon and has no controversy with flesh and blood. The battle is the Lord’s, and only He knows the foes to be overcome and has the power and the wisdom to overcome them. Man’s part is to stand in that place where the Lord can manifest through him His power in fighting the battles of His truth; for “the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole world, to show Himself strong in behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him.” 2 Chronicles 16:9. Man and God co-operate in the battle; but the Lord by His Spirit does the fighting, while man, His instrument, beholds with wonder and joy His salvation. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 470.2
“The Passion Play” The Present Truth 10, 30.
E. J. Waggoner
The Passion Play.-The great attraction which the Passion Play has proved to be in Ober-Ammergan has led another town to organise a similar exhibition, where, every Sunday during July, August and September the last days of Christ on earth will be represented by the aid of the “most approved modern theatrical appliances.” Nothing could be further from the true story of those days than these theatrical exhibitions, which play on sentiment. The day is long since passed when simple people ignorantly did these things as a religious exercise. They are mere money-making enterprises. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 470.3
“A Few Quotations” The Present Truth 10, 30.
E. J. Waggoner
What every believer wants to know is what the Bible says. That settles all controversy; it is the only word that is able to build us up, and is the word by which, according to the knowledge which we have of it, we shall be judged in the last day. No word of man can be of any authority whatever. But here are a few quotations from well-known writers on the Sabbath question, as to the truth of which everyone able to read the Bible can decide for himself. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 470.4
Dr. Wm. Smith’s “Bible Dictionary,” known to every experienced Sunday-school worker, after quoting a passage is usually referred to in behalf of Sunday observance, says:— PTUK July 26, 1894, page 470.5
Taken separately, perhaps even altogether, these passages seem scarcely adequate to prove that the dedication of the first day of the week to purposes above mentioned, was a matter of apostolic institution or even of apostolic practice. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 470.6
Sir Wm. Domville, who wrote, be it remembered, merely with a regard for accuracy as an ecclesiastical writer, said:— PTUK July 26, 1894, page 470.7
Not any ecclesiastical writer of the first three centuries attributed the origin of Sunday observance either to Christ or to His apostles. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 470.8
Neander, the Church historian, said:— PTUK July 26, 1894, page 470.9
The festival of Sunday, like all other festivals was always only a human ordinance, and it was far from the intention of the apostles... and from the early apostolic Church, to transfer the laws of the Sabbath to Sunday. Perhaps at the end of the second century a false application of this kind had begun to take place; for men to appear by that time to have considered labouring on Sunday as a sin.-Rose’s Neander, p. 186. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 470.10
Dr. Peter Heylyn, who was Sub-Dean of Westminster, and an acknowledged student of ecclesiastical history, said:— PTUK July 26, 1894, page 470.11
Take which you will, either the Fathers or the moderns, and we shall find no Lord’s day instituted by any apostolic mandate; no Sabbath set on foot by them upon the first day of the week.-Hist. Sab., part. 2, chap. 1. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 470.12
Dr. Kitto, in his “Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature,” says of Sunday observance in the time of Chrysostom:— PTUK July 26, 1894, page 470.13
Though in later times we find considerable reference to a sort of consecration of the day, it does not seem at any period of the ancient church to have assumed the form of such an observance as some modern religious communities have contended for. Nor do these writers in any instance pretend to allege any Divine command, or even apostolic practice in support of it.... Chrysostom (A.D. 360) concludes one of his homilies by dismissing his audience to their respective ordinary occupations. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 470.14
The Bible is not only silent as to any change of day, but in the words of Christ and the Holy Spirit repeatedly enforces the obligation of the Lord’s Sabbath, His day. The tracing of the growth of Sunday observance in ecclesiastical history is but the tracing of the growth of that apostasy which culminated in the Roman Papacy. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 470.15
“News of the Week” The Present Truth 10, 30.
E. J. Waggoner
-According to advices from Honolulu, a Republic has been proclaimed in Hawaii. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.1
-The Courrier de Bruxelles reports five fatal cases of cholera at Jemeppe, near Li?ge. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.2
-Mr. Gladstone’s prospects for the recovery of his eyesight are said to be somewhat unfavourable. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.3
-The damage to property in the Turkish capital from the recent earthquake exceeds five millions sterling. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.4
-Four and a half millions of “edible” dogs are slaughtered annually in China for consumption by the people. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.5
-In a strike riot between negroes and whites near Birmingham, Alabama, six men were killed and twenty wounded. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.6
-A society of young women has been formed in America, who declare that they will have nothing to do with young men who smoke. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.7
-The completed statistics of the Free Church of Scotland give a total membership of 344,082-an increase of 6,884 for two years. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.8
-Sutherlandshire is threatened with a plague of adders, some caught being two feet in length. Their stings have proved fatal to cattle. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.9
-President Cleveland has assented to the Bill admitting Utah as a State of the Union. This increases the number of States to forty-six. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.10
-It is telegraphed from Rio de Janeiro that the insurgent Admiral da Gama has informed President Peixoto that he is willing to surrender. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.11
-During the past twenty years the Jewish population of London has more than doubled. It is now estimated as between 100,000 and 120,000. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.12
-Several villages in Bavaria have been destroyed by a cyclone. The harvest was destroyed, and the forests were swept away as if mown down by a scythe. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.13
-An Italian force under General Baratieri attacked and captured Kassala, the chief stronghold of the dervishes in the Soudan. The loss on the Italian side was slight. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.14
-Mr. Debs, the president of the American railway union and leader in the late strike, has been imprisoned on a charge of contempt of court. Meanwhile the strike has collasped and the railway union seems to be greatly disorganised; but the root of the matter has not been touched, and another outbreak is sure to follow. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.15
-The Chronicle says that “a ride through England just now shows that 1894 bids fair to be one of the fat years for agriculture. Every sort of crop is looking at its best.” PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.16
-In a Roman Catholic Church in London on a recent Sunday, a shirt of Sir Thomas More, who was killed in the time of Henry VIII., was exposed for veneration by one audience. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.17
-Paolo Lega, who attempted to assassinate Signor Crispi, the Italian Premier, has been sentenced to solitary confinement for twenty years and seventeen days. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.18
-A wealthy young Frenchman has constructed a bull-ring at his residence near Paris, wherein he purposes assembling his friends to witness his prowess as an amateur toreador. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.19
-Madam Boulanger, the mother of the well-known French general, has just died in Paris. She had reached the advanced age of ninety-three, and remained to the last unaware of the downfall and death of her son. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.20
-A serious accident occurred in the Solent, off the Brambles, resulting in the deaths of seven men engaged in blowing up a wreck. An unexploded charge went off unexpectedly, blowing the boat and men to atoms. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.21
-The coal dispute has finally been settled. At a meeting of the Coal Conciliation Board, held at St. Martin’s Town-hall, the proposed terms of settlement of the wages question were agreed to, and the proceedings terminated with a mutual exchange of compliments. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.22
-A Bill has been introduced into the United States Senate asking for an appropriation of ?200,000 to pay for exterminating a weed known as the Russian thistle, which has overrun fifty counties in agricultural regions of the west. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.23
-A terrible shipping disaster is reported from St. Petersburg. A steamer plying from Perm to Kasan, collided on the River Kama with another river steamer. The latter vessel sank almost immediately, twenty-eight of her passengers being drowned. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.24
-A new railway bridge is to be built across the Hudson, connecting New York with Jersey City. There will be a single immense span over the entire river, and at its centre there will be a headway of 150 feet. The bridge, which is to have six lines of rails, and will accommodate 800 trains daily, is to cost eight millions sterling. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.25
-Steamers arriving at Vancouver, B.C., with the mails from China and Japan, report that cholera is spreading with amazing rapidity throughout the Chinese Empire. It is stated that there have been 40,000 deaths in Canton alone. The Government is, however, reticent, and there are no means of arriving at the full extent of the scourge. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.26
-The Porte has refused the Bulgarian Government authorisation to fly the Bulgarian flag on its warships, the only admissable flag being that of Turkey. The Bulgarian Government observe that Roumania, equally a vassal country to Turkey, flies its own flag, but the Porte has replied that this country has been authorised to do so by a special firman from the Sultan. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.27
-A despatch from Vienna states that successful trials have been recently made by Di. Biliniski, president of the Austrian State Railways, in hosting the railway engines with petroleum. The firing material is the liquid residuum remaining from refined petroleum. So satisfactory was the result that there is little doubt that coal as firing material will soon be given up by the State railways. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.28
-A French “Labour Congress” was recently held at Dijon, at which the subject of standing armies was considered. One speaker advocated the inauguration of a general strike of workingmen in two countries upon a declaration of war between them. This, he said, was the only practicable course open to the Labour party in their struggle against the military systems maintained by the rulers of Europe. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.29
-July 17, at Birmingham, Mr. Walford Green was chosen by a large majority to succeed Mr. Pope as President of the Wesleyan Conference. The change of office was conducted without ceremony. “Here are the keys and the seal,” said Mr. Pope, “and here is John Wesley’s Bible,” whereupon the new President, equipped for his work, began the business of the Conference year with the customary review of the position and prospects of Methodism. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 478.30
“Back Page” The Present Truth 10, 30.
E. J. Waggoner
In the city of New York there is one post-office to every 50,000 inhabitants. In London there is one to every 5,248. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 480.1
From what both High and Low Church papers say, it appears that the new Bishop of Bath and Wells is an advanced Ritualist. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 480.2
In an interview with a correspondent of the World, General Schofield, of the United States Army, said that upon considering the recent strikes in that country, he thought an increase in the army by several thousand men was needed at once. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 480.3
The Gospel of Christ is a Gospel of cleanliness and health. Far otherwise, in practical operation, is the religious system which sends men to Mecca on pilgrimages. Official figures show that last year 59 per cent. of the pilgrims succumbed to cholera. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 480.4
A leading Methodist paper states that the Nonconformist objection to the Establishment is on the ground that one body should not monopolise the patronage of the nations. Without doubt this expressed the mind of very many who talk of disestablishment. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 480.5
Men are by nature weak. Through prayer to God they gain strength. Yet, strange as it may seem, those who pray the least, and who are consequently the weakest, feel the strongest, while the more a man prays, the more conscious he becomes of his own weakness. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 480.6
The Edinburgh correspondent of the Christian Commonwealth tells of a Scotch minister who objects to church bazaars, which he characterises as “gambling for things you don’t want, to support a cause you don’t care for.” But the congregation decided that there must be a bazaar in order to lift the church debt, and the minister overcame his scruples sufficiently to announce it; and this was his method of announcement: “You are all aware that there is a considerable amount of debt hanging over this congregation. Now we have tried several means to raise the money, but without success; and the opinion of the managers is, that as we have exhausted every honest means of raising the money, there is nothing left but to have a bazaar.” PTUK July 26, 1894, page 480.7
It seems that it was a grave offence against Church discipline to have the Royal christening last week in a private residence. High Church papers protest, and a country vicar writes:— PTUK July 26, 1894, page 480.8
How on earth are we to expect our country folk to bring their children to church for baptism if the Bishops, without rhyme or reason, consent to christen Royalty in drawing-rooms! It is simply dreadful. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 480.9
A very good thing is reported of Bishop Ryle, of Liverpool. Some of the people of his diocese wished to present him with a pastoral staff, but he told them that he wanted no “Silver poker” carried before him, and that if one were sent he should lock it up in a cupboard, and never see it again. He said that a bishop needed a Bible, and not a pastoral staff. Whatever faults the bishop may have, he is to be credited with having passed the state of babyhood when one is pleased with a bright toy. Comparatively few men pass that stage. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 480.10
A newspaper reports the finding of an inscription in Egypt recording a seven years’ famine, and says that this “gives to Biblical scholars the fact that a seven years’ famine such as we find recorded in the Bible is by no means impossible.” But Biblical believers find it difficult to see why an inscription on stone by men should be considered of so much greater authority than the Bible record, which came not by the will of man. But it is the temper of some critics to disbelieve what the Lord says unless some evidence of man’s production can be found to endorse the statement. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 480.11
At the Canterbury Diocesan Conference Sir Dyce Duckworth well said that “no compulsion and no restraints would bring people to the right conception of the essentials of Sunday observance.” The use of force in trying to make men conform to religious exercises never has accomplished the end aimed at, except when the end aim was to legalise the persecutor of conscientious people who could not sacrifice principle for the sake of simulated conformity. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 480.12
“Sabbath and Sunday Observance” The Present Truth 10, 30.
E. J. Waggoner
At a recent meeting of the Canterbury Diocesan Conference of the Church of England, the question of Sunday observance came up for discussion, and one speaker moved the following resolution, which was carried:— PTUK July 26, 1894, page 480.13
That beyond the essential duty of attendance at public worship, no uniform rule can be laid down for the mode of observance of Sunday, which must necessarily vary with different classes of persons, and be dependent upon urban and rural populations. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 480.14
Nothing more clearly stamps the Sunday sabbath as a man-made institution than the fact that it is left wholly for men to settle the matter of its observance, and the means of its enforcement. Hence the frequent discordant discussions over the subject among Church people, and the abortive attempts made in various lands to secure its observance by all classes. Man is no more qualified to make and enforce a Sabbath than he is to create a world, and the effort to do so only reveals his inherent weakness and sinful folly. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 480.15
But how different with regard to the Lord’s Sabbath! Concerning that there is no question, for God Himself, who created the heavens and the earth, made it, and has clearly designated the manner of its observance. See Exodus 20:8-11. Being a part of His own law, He also tends to its enforcement, for which, unlike man, He is fully competent. He does not compel any man to observe it against his will, but gives to all His Holy Spirit, so that they can keep it if they will, and leaves all free to follow their own choices, for which they must find the answer at the bar of His Judgment. Man, on the other hand, has no reason nor authority for instituting a Sabbath, nor any power to enable anyone to keep it after it has been made. By attempting to make a sabbath and lay down rules for its observance, man puts himself in the place of God. The Sabbath of the Lord-the seventh day-is still extant and in force; and if men would but recognise this fact, as it is plainly told them in the fourth commandment of God’s immutable law, they would find in it just what they need, but what they will never attain by discussions over the question of what to do with an institution of their own. PTUK July 26, 1894, page 480.16