General Conference Daily Bulletin, vol. 1
February 17, 1897
32ND SESSION. - LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, - VOL. 1. - NO. 4
General Conference Daily Bulletin,
PUBLISHED DAILY BY THE
GENERAL CONFERENCE OF SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS.
Terms, 35 Cents for the Session. JACOB NORTH & CO., PRINTERS, LINCOLN, NEB. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 49.1
The Science of Salvation. - No. 1. A. T. JONES. (Continued from page 47.)
Now I want you to see that others think so too. I want you to see that I am not alone in this. I want you to see that for this position we have authority - scientific authority - that is, the authority of persons who understand science. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 49.2
If I could bring to you to-night evidence that those who understand all other sciences the best of anybody in this world, testify that they are more interested in this science than in all the other sciences put together, that they see more in it worthy of their consideration than in all the other sciences put together, would you not say then that I am safe in talking as I do - from a scientific standpoint? Well, I have just such a company - a company that understands all other sciences, and I have the evidence truly stated that they are more interested in this than in all the others put together. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 49.3
In 1 Peter 1:10-12, the apostle is speaking of salvation, and there I read as follows:- GCDB February 17, 1897, page 49.4
Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the ANGELS DESIRE TO LOOK INTO. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 49.5
What things do the angels desire to look into? - The salvation of God when it is preached with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. The Greek word for “desire,” here means “to set one’s heart upon.” And the Greek word for “look into” means, “to stoop to a thing in order to look at it; to look at with head bowed forwards; to look into with the body bent; to look carefully into, to inspect curiously - of one who would become acquainted with something.” Such is the attitude of the angels toward the subject of salvation. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 49.6
Now, do the angels understand other sciences - biology, geology, ichthyology, astronomy - all other sciences? You know that they do. Everybody knows that the angels understand thoroughly all other sciences. Everybody knows that it is perfectly safe to say that all the angels understand all other sciences infinitely more thoroughly than any man understands, or ever understood, any one single science. But the angels are more interested in the subject of salvation than in all the other sciences. They who know the most of all others, are most interested in this one. O, well, you agreed with me a while ago that if I could cite such authority as that, you would say that we were safe in taking this position. Come along, then, we are safe. We are in the best of company - yes, the best of scientific company. There is authority that is conclusive on the subject, scientific authority. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 50.1
Now, I am not making a play on the word science here to-night. I am using the words “science” and “scientific” with reference to salvation as an absolutely truthful word. The salvation of God is truly a scientific thing, not falsely so-called, but genuinely, supremely scientific. So do not get the idea at all that I am making a play upon the word “science” or “scientific.” I am using it truthfully, because it is correct in this connection. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 50.2
But this is not all: not only do the angels desire to look into this, as those who would become acquainted with something; but they do become acquainted with something. They do learn by looking into this and studying it. Turn to Ephesians 3:8-11, and you will see this thought expressed:- GCDB February 17, 1897, page 50.3
Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all [I leave out the word men, because that is supplied] see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent [Look, now, I am to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ in order to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery which has been hid in God, and that is to the intent, for the purpose] that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Jesus Christ our Lord. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 50.4
What is the “intent” of making men see this? - In order that the principalities and powers “in heavenly places” (“in heaven” other translations give it; that is correct) may be known the manifold wisdom of God. The angels, the principalities, and powers, earnestly desire to look into this gospel of salvation when it is preached with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. They do look and study. And as they study, they learn new revelations of the wisdom of God - the manifold wisdom of God - according to his eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. You know by other scriptures that this mystery of God, this eternal purpose, is revealed in the gospel. You know that the principalities and powers in heaven are not eternal in one way - they are not from eternity to eternity. They are from a certain point to eternity, as you and I are. Gabriel is to eternity only from the point where he was created. He is not from eternity to eternity. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 50.5
But God is from eternity to eternity. Now, from eternity to eternity there was, there is, a purpose - his eternal purpose which is purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. How long will it take the angels to get to the depth, to exhaust the study, of that eternal purpose? - To eternity. That is plain enough. Then as that purpose is revealed in the gospel, is made known through the mystery of God, which is, “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” it is plain enough that the angels are studying it. And as they look into it, they see there revealed the manifold wisdom of God, according to his eternal purpose. They desire to look into it. They do so, and thus learn. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 50.6
Well, then, as they understand all other sciences more than any man understands any one, when they are more interested in this than in all the others, and learn from this; is not that a fact upon which you and I can with safety trust ourselves? Then is not this, too, a subject more worthy of our thought, our highest thinking, than all others put together? And cannot we set our hearts upon this, and give our whole soul to it without being unscientific? O, we can, we can! Let us do it. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 50.7
Now, do not misunderstand me. I am not making an attack on other sciences. I am not saying that all other sciences should be ignored, and counted as Will-o’-the-wisps, and unworthy of any attention. No; I am saying that this is greater than all of them; and that whatever we study in them must be studied in subjection to this which is greater than they. I am saying only that all others must take a secondary place, at least, to this one, if we would be scientific. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 50.8
Think of it! Take our own natural minds with which we deal with other sciences. Would I, would any man, be strictly scientific to put his best and highest thinking on a science, when he had the highest possible authority that there was a higher one at his hand? Would that be scientific? - No. Well, then, we see so far that this is a science; that it is the highest science. Then any man who does not put his highest thinking, his best thinking, and all his powers, upon this science first of all, and have it lead all other sciences, in the nature of things he is not scientific. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 50.9
And he is not wise either. For what is this science? - Salvation, Very good. And it is eternal life. Suppose I put all my life, all my powers, on other sciences, to the neglect of this, or holding this as inferior, do I get it? - No. How long shall I have then, to study the other sciences? - At the most only a few years. Then my work upon these sciences will be done forever, and I shall never have a chance to study them any more. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 50.10
But if I take this one first of all, and let the others take the inferior place until I get this one secure, then shall I have a chance to study the others? - Yes. How long? - To eternity. Ah, is not that the wise way then? Is not that the only wise course? And is not that the only scientific and sensible course? - Certainly it is. Come, then, let us be scientific, strictly so, supremely so. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 50.11
Now let us look a little further. In that first passage that we looked at about the angels, it began with the prophets, thus: “Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, and prophesied of the grace that should come unto you,” when they testified beforehand of the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 50.12
Now, by the prophets was brought forth in writing, as we have it here, this science of salvation, this product of God’s thinking on the subject of salvation. This book of science, this science of salvation, came by the prophets. Did they know anything about the other sciences? - Yes. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 51.1
We can find this in a number of places - more than we would have time to notice to-night. But we will look at two or three points, that we may get before our minds the fact that they did have a knowledge of these. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 51.2
In the fifteenth chapter of first Corinthians there is a scientific statement that was made about seventeen hundred years before it was discovered by science. It was there all these ages, but the scientists in whose field it was did not know it by the process of their thinking. It is the statement of a truth in astronomy. Whoever believed the statement in the Bible knew it all the time, of course, even though he never heard the word astronomy; but the science of man did not know it, and discovered it only after so long a time. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 51.3
Another thought: When that Bible writer made that scientific statement which seventeen hundred years afterward scientists found to be scientifically correct, was it not just as truly a scientific statement all the time as it was after the discovery of it? - Assuredly. Then was it not that when the writer wrote it? - Certainly. The passage is 1 Corinthians 15:41:- GCDB February 17, 1897, page 51.4
There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 51.5
That was not known one hundred years ago, because about that long ago a man who considered himself considerable of an astronomer, and was so considered amongst his fellows, criticised that statement as being incorrect, and as being an evidence of the ignorance of Bible writers; because he thought (that is, the Bible writer thought) that one star differs from another star in glory, in brightness, instead of in distance. That is the statement of this critic about it. His idea was, and he spoke for the science of astronomy, that the only reason why one star is to us brighter and more beautiful than another, is that one is nearer to us than another, so that we get more of its light. But to-day in all the realms of science it is known to be the truth that there is as much difference in the stars, in their grandeur and beauty and tints, as in the flowers upon the earth. So that if we could see all the flowers on the earth set before us in a grand field, with all their glory, and variety of tints, and then could see the stars of the heavens as plainly as we see these, we should see one just as variegated and beautiful as the other. This is known now, but it was not known when that passage was written to the Corinthians. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 51.6
Now, I ask, was not that a scientific statement, was it not the statement of a truth in science, the day that Paul wrote it and sent it to Corinth, just as certainly as it is now? The discovery that science made that it was the truth did not make it the truth, nor did it add a particle to its weight as the truth. Their discovery simply showed that they had found out something that was true, but which they did not know before, because they did not believe the Bible. If they had only read that in the Bible, and believed it and accepted it, that point in science they would have known long before any scientists had discovered it. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 51.7
There is another science: Sir Isaac Newton one day was sitting under an apple tree. An apple fell from a branch near him. Many times apples had fallen from trees before. He had seen apples fall from trees before. But that day he was in a meditative mood, and he began to think. Why did that apple fall? It must be because the earth had some influence on it to draw it to itself. The earth being larger than the apple, would draw it to itself when it came loose from the tree. He said, If I take that apple, and throw it as high as I can, it falls again to the earth. Then if it was the influence of the earth that brought it this little distance, when I throw it as high as I can and it comes back again, that is proof that the influence of the earth reaches that far away from the earth, and holds to that thing and brings it back. If I could throw it a mile high, and it should come back, then it would be plain that that influence reached a mile away to bring that thing back. Then, he said, If that is the truth, that influence ought to reach to the moon. I wonder if it does reach to the moon? I will go and see. He went to his house and sat down there, took the astronomical calculations upon the orbit of the moon in its place, and worked a long series of figures. But they didn’t fit. He tried it over and over again, but they didn’t fit; he couldn’t get that influence to reach to the moon. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 51.8
He laid the thing aside for about ten years, if I remember correctly, before he took it up again. One day there was published a new calculation of the orbit of the moon, correcting some inaccuracies in former figures. When that was published, Newton said, I wonder whether that will supply what I want. He got the figures, went to work, and worked a long series of figures that you and I would be astonished at, of course. But he came down at last within two or three figures of the end, and he saw that it was going to fit. He was so overwhelmed with the wonderful fact that he could not finish his figures. The pen dropped from his hand, and he had to ask a friend to carry it out for him. The friend did so, and Sir Isaac Newton had demonstrated a scientific fact, or rather, a new science. It is called gravitation. And he has been immortalized ever since. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 52.1
That was indeed a great thing. Yet that was in the Bible twenty-five hundred years before Sir Isaac Newton discovered it in nature. Gravitation is simply the balancing of the universe. It is that principle, that law, as scientists would say, by which the balance of the universe is maintained. That is, each body in the universe influences every other body, and is balanced with it. Not only each body, but each particle of matter in the universe, attracts and influences every other particle of matter in the universe. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 52.2
In the physical world that is simply the corresponding fact to what we had in the Bible class this afternoon, in the matter of life. We found that you could not touch anybody or anything without its being known throughout the universe. A sparrow does not fall without your Father, and that sparrow does not fall without its fall being felt throughout the universe. This is simply a corresponding fact with that. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 52.3
There is a spiritual fact there also corresponding to these two. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 52.4
Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. Psalm 139:7-10. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 52.5
When you and I think a right thought, is it discerned anywhere else? We think a wrong thought. What is a wrong thought? - Sin. Where does the sin begin, then? - In the thought. Is my sin discerned any place else in the universe besides myself? Who discerns it? - God, by his Spirit. O, then, is there a spiritual fact in our universe that is not discerned? is not felt? or a thought for good or ill that is not felt? Do you not see gravitation as a science then? Sir Isaac Newton discovered a truth in the universe which corresponds to other truths of the universe. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 52.6
The law which Newton discovered is, as I have said, that by which the balance of the universe is maintained. Now I will read the scripture that shows that this was known twenty-five hundred years before Newton discovered it. Isaiah 40:12:- GCDB February 17, 1897, page 52.7
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with a span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? GCDB February 17, 1897, page 52.8
When the mountains and the hills were set, they were balanced one with another. Did God fix the thing so that their balance would be maintained? What is the scientific name of the law by which the balance of things is maintained? - Gravitation. Of what, then, did Isaiah speak? - Of gravitation. Certainly he did. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 52.9
A scientist illustrates that fact by the little flower called the snowdrop. Think of two kinds of flowers that reproduce themselves from the seed. One is a standing flower, the other is a drooping flower. You have noticed in flowers little spindles standing around a central one. Now, in a standing flower that reproduces from the seed, the central spindle is always shorter than the surrounding ones. If it is a drooping flower, the central spindle is longer than the surrounding ones. The reason of that is that the flower-dust - pollen - that is upon the surrounding ones must fall upon the central one, or there can be no reproduction of the flower. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 52.10
Now, in a standing flower that breeds from the seed, this central spindle must be shorter than the others, so that the pollen of the others can fall upon it. If it were longer, you see the dust would fall below, and miss it, and so no seed could form. If it is a drooping flower, and this spindle is shorter than the others, the dust will fall away and again no seed can form. So then, in every standing flower that is reproduced from the seed, the central spindle is shorter than those surrounding. In every drooping flower that reproduces from the seed, the central one is longer. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 52.11
The snowdrop reproduces itself from the seed. And though it is a standing flower, yet the central spindle is longer than the surrounding ones. How can this be? I will state it again so that you may get the point more clearly: The snowdrop is a standing flower, properly, and reproduces itself from the seed. The central spindle, then, should be shorter than the others. But it is longer. How, then, can it reproduce itself from the seed? The Lord has provided for that. He has fixed it so that though it be a standing flower, yet it shall bend and droop. Therefore the central spindle is made longer than the others, in this, a standing flower. It grows up and stands straight until it blooms and is ripe and ready for reproduction. Just then it droops its head, and when the pollen has fallen to its place, the little flower rises again and stands. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 53.1
Now, that is beautiful in itself; but here is where the illustration of the law of gravitation comes in. This scientist tells me that what causes the flower to droop, to bow its head, is the attraction of the earth. That is correct. What makes an apple fall? - Weight. But weight is simply gravitation - from the Latin gravus, signifying weight. What makes that standing flower droop its head? - The weight of the earth. But why does not the weight of the earth make that flower droop its head before? - Ah, when God made that little flower, he balanced the earth, yea, he balanced the universe, to its needs. When God made that modest little snowdrop, he held the universe in a balance, and fitted it to the need of that tiny flower! And if God take thought of that tiny flower, shall he not much more take thought for you, O ye of little faith? GCDB February 17, 1897, page 53.2
Now this scientist tells me that if the earth - and of course the universe - had been made a single pound, or a single ounce heavier than it is, it would have made the snowdrop droop before the right time; because, being heavier, it would have had more influence upon it. And in that case, the first snowdrop would have been the last. But that that little snowdrop might live and cheer mankind to the end of the world, God fixed the universe just exactly to the needs of that flower, so that when the exact time of its need comes, the weight is exactly sufficient to draw it over. Then as it hangs that reproduction may take place, other strength is coming in from the roots, and the stock becomes a little more stiff, and the flower overcomes gravitation, and stands as before. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 53.3
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with a span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? GCDB February 17, 1897, page 53.4
Who set the balance of the universe? - God. Isaiah stated it nearly twenty-five hundred years before Sir Isaac Newton discovered it. Was it not a scientific fact when Isaiah wrote it? - Yes. Was it not on record all those ages? - Yes. Was it not a scientific truth all the time? - It was. Was it any more a scientific truth when Newton discovered it? - No; scientists learned something that they did not know before, but there it had stood in the Bible all the time. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 53.5
Think on these things. God wants us to. He wants you and me to see that the salvation, the Word that he has given us, and to which he calls our highest thinking, is not some little narrow side issue; but the greatest thing the world can ever know. It is the greatest thing the science of the world can ever know. It is the chiefest science that the world can ever know. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 53.6
Yet we are not to study it to be scientific. We are to study it to be saved; and to be saved is scientific. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 53.7
(Concluded.)
God’s Glory. H. P. HOLSER. (Sabbath Morning, Feb. 13, 1897.)
TEXT: And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. Revelation 18:1-4. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 53.8
Much that is contained in the Revelation is intended in a specific sense for our times, and may be studied with profit by us. There are portions of the book that relate to the past, but all those portions which apply to our own times are entitled to particular attention at our hands, and such is the character of the language I have read. In the latter part of the thirteenth chapter is indicated what will be accomplished by the enemy of the truth in the last days. This work embraces the making of the image to the beast, and the enforcement of the mark of its authority. Following this in the fourteenth chapter we have the work that is given to the people of God, and this is embraced in a three-fold message. The message proclaimed by the first angel announces the hour of God’s judgment, in connection with the preaching of the everlasting gospel; the second proclaims the fall of Babylon, and the third warns against the work that is to be done by the enemy, the worship of the beast, or his image, or the reception of his mark. These three messages begin to be proclaimed with a loud voice, but as the work proceeds they are attended with increasing light and power, until the time brought to view in the first verse of chapter eighteen, they have “great power,” and the earth is lightened with their glory. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 53.9
When Babylon is become “the habitation of devils, the hold of every foul spirit,” the special feature of this movement is to proclaim this truth, and to call the people of God to come out of her. Gradually she sinks into this condition, and at last when darkness covers the earth, God flashes his light out upon the scene. Other Scripture descriptions of this work, reveal that the enemy works with all deceptive power, with signs and lying wonders. By these the people are deceived, and led into darkness; but in the midst of this evil work God will flash his truth and glory over the earth, and then call upon his people to separate themselves from Babylon:- GCDB February 17, 1897, page 54.1
And I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. Verse 4. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 54.2
This proclamation from what we might call the fourth angel, shows that God’s people will not all have come out of Babylon until this last great flash of light is shed upon the scene. This is God’s last call to the world to turn to him. We have generally denominated this feature of God’s work, the latter rain. We have anticipated that at that time there would be greater light, that the truth would be proclaimed with greater power; and now we even believe that we are living in the time of this latter rain, and we have been looking and praying for its outpouring. We have understood these things for years, and the Spirit of God tells us that in certain places there have been manifestations of the latter rain. But while we have understood this matter in theory, and talked so long about it, there is one thing of which we are sadly aware, and that is, we have not yet received the endowment of God’s power and blessing which must attend this work. God is waiting impatiently to pour upon us his grace, and we are told that we are rapidly approaching a very great crisis. Power from beneath, and light from above, are now being manifested. We are in the shadow of the time of trouble, but we must confess that the power that is to attend the latter rain is what we do not possess. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 54.3
Therefore what we need to do is to come into possession of the fact itself. We do not need more theory so much as we need more power; and the fault is not with God that we have it not, but it is with us. God has done his part, and the time has come for the work to advance; but we are not equipped for it. This is a solemn fact, and one that should engage our thought and earnest study at this time. The obtaining of this power and light is an individual work, and when the individuals move, the body will move also. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 54.4
In the first chapter of the Gospel of John, we have a clear definition of what constitutes the light which is to lighten the whole world in this special work. Speaking of the living Word, it is said: “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” The Word was made flesh, and his life in the flesh was the light of men. When this was manifest, “we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father.” Wherever the life of the Son of God appears, there light appears. But we sometimes overlook the fact that this is the light which we are to give to the world. To illustrate this point, let us read Matthew 4:12-16:- GCDB February 17, 1897, page 54.5
Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; the people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death, light is sprung up. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 54.6
The light which those people saw, was the life and work of Jesus. That was the “true light which lighteth every man which cometh into the world.” We are called upon to let this light shine in us. “Arise and shine, for thy light is come,” is the call of God to every one who reads his Word. These electric lamps and wires illustrate this to my mind. The little films look dark and cold naturally, but when connected with the power they become illuminous, and shine forth. The secret of their light is, that they are connected with another power; so God wants us to be connected with him, that his glory and power may shine to the world through us. It is the power of God in us that will cause us to shine. We are called to arise from slumber, to cast off the works of darkness, and to put on the armor of light. The apostle writes, “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” Every one who sins is in the grasp of death. To all intents and purposes he is dead, and God’s call is, “Awake, arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light;” and with the call comes the power to arise. How we are in this condition is shown in the following language:- GCDB February 17, 1897, page 55.1
Wherein in times past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience; among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 55.2
Finding us in that condition, the Lord by his Spirit quickens us. God has identified himself with men. Christ descended even to the lowest depths of human weakness, even to the grave, and from those lowest depths he was quickened for every man, by the power of God. But at the same time there is a part that we have to act. Our wills are left free. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 55.3
The life of righteousness which every Christian is to live, is accomplished for us in Christ Jesus; but there must be the co-operation of our wills. Two wills cannot work in us at the same time. One of them must rule; both cannot. God wants us to let his mind be in us, and it is our part to respond to his gracious call. It is a very simple thing if we will only accept God as our master, and reckon ourselves dead indeed unto sin. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 55.4
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Romans 6:12. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 55.5
Do not let sin reign in you. It is there, but do not let it rule. Satan compels us to do his will against our wills, but God does not force the will. This is the difference between God and Satan; we need not consent to be governed by Satan, and if we do not consent, but give ourselves to God, he will work in us his own will. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 55.6
Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin; but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. Verse 13. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 55.7
This is very plain. It is not difficult to comprehend. We all know what it is to let sin use us. Just as we have done this, so let us let God work in us. It is for every one to decide who will be his master, and that is all that the individual can do. When we have chosen God, he will lead us. But before we can choose God, we must die to sin. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 55.8
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 55.9
And when we are dead to sin, Christ will come in with his quickening power. He will not leave us in the grave, but “like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” And it is this life of God in us that saves us. And when we have responded as individuals to this call of God to arise and shine in the light of his power, then the earth will be lightened with the glory of God. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 55.10
It is not that we do not understand these matters, but we fail to take hold and act upon them. The question is, Who will respond to this call to-day - who will walk after the Spirit? When the light of God shines out in us, the people around us will recognize it. There is now so much darkness and deception manifested by those who profess Christ, that many have lost confidence in Christianity. The professed church of Christ is becoming saturated with sin and unbelief so much, that the last call of mercy is sent to the lanes and byways of the earth, and to the Gentiles. But when this light is manifested in us, many of our neighbors, whom we have regarded as hard and indifferent, will be attracted to the light. They are hardened against the truth, because they do not see the power of godliness manifested in us. When the world can see in us true religion exemplified, the honest in heart will embrace it everywhere. It is a cause of sadness to see how little power there is in our work, when there is so much to be done. God help us in this conference to seek him, that he may manifest in us his glory and his power, that from this time forth his glory may arise upon us, and his work go forward with greater energy. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 55.11
“By their fruits ye shall know them.” GCDB February 17, 1897, page 55.12
Studies in the Book of Hebrews. - No. 5. E. J. WAGGONER. (Sunday Afternoon, Feb. 14, 1897.)
OUR text reads: “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the Son of man, that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels,” etc. Here we are referred to the origin of man. When we read that God made man, to what are our minds instantly turned? - To the record in Genesis 2:7: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground.” GCDB February 17, 1897, page 56.1
Wherever in the Old Testament it speaks of any one being broken to pieces by the Lord, we find coupled with that repentance, submission, or bitterness of soul, dust and ashes. When they humbled themselves before the Lord, they put dust on their heads. What was signified in this? - I am nothing but dust. In the fifty-first, the penitential Psalm, it says near the close: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, than wilt not despise.” That word “contrite” means rubbed together until it is dust. The Lord, then, does not despise dust; because he can do a great deal even with dust. A good workman does not despise his material. Dust is one of the things which the Lord takes to do everything. Out of dust he made all things to grow. Out of dust he made man to rule over the works of his hands, therefore the Lord does not despise dust. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 56.2
In Psalm 90:1-3, we read:- GCDB February 17, 1897, page 56.3
Thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, return, ye children of men. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 56.4
The better reading is, “Thou turnest man to dust.” The original word is the same as that before translated dust. It does not mean, turning man to destruction, for that would reduce him to a condition from which he could not be brought back. The force, then, of this expression is, that to turn man to dust has something to do with salvation. The Lord turns man to dust in order to make him over. Thus he turns him to dust, and says, “Return, ye children of men.” When God sends the message of reproof, that breaks a man all to pieces, and gives him a broken and contrite heart. Then he is just where the Lord can create him a new man. But if a man does not believe this message which breaks him all to pieces, he becomes discouraged, and says, I am good for nothing. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 56.5
Here is a man that knows himself to be a sinner, but he does not and will not believe that he can be anything different. All the talk about what God is able to do for him, and to make of him, is to him as an idle tale; he doesn’t believe that God can make him a righteous man, although he is contrite. That man may think he believes the Bible, but the fact is he does not believe the simple statement that the Lord can form man of the dust of the earth. Or if he does believe that, he believes that the Lord has lost his power since doing it the first time, and cannot do it again. But the Lord did that thing once, and he has not forgotten how. In the beginning he made man of dust. Now the man that doubts that God can take him where he is, and do what he pleases with him, does not believe that simple statement; and he needs to go back and learn the first principles. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 56.6
I am reminded of an incident: A friend of mine was going through the potteries in England, where thousands of men are employed. Of course you know that in making vessels some will be spoiled. He saw an old man with a barrow full of those broken vessels, and he said, “Uncle, what are you going to do with those?” - “O, I am going to convert ‘em.” And he went up and threw them into a hopper, and they were all ground up, and converted into dust, ready to be made into new vessels. In the first place they were spoiled, and were perverted. Then they were turned to dust again; and new vessels were made of them. The potter was just as able to make new vessels of them as he was to make them in the first instance. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 56.7
There is a lesson in this that the Lord wants us to learn - that he can make us over again, as well as he made us in the first place. But the trouble is that this dust begins to put on airs, and look down on other dust, and to forget that it is dust, or else to think that it is a little better quality of clay than some other. The man will not allow that he is dust, and he will not allow the Lord to use him. But as long as we acknowledge that we are dust, we have the blessed comfort that the Lord God made man of the dust of the earth, and crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of his hands, and put all things in subjection under his feet; and that what God did in the beginning, he is able to do still, and does do it in the man Christ Jesus. The text shows us two things at once - utter helplessness and wonderful dignity. The dignity comes only because of helplessness. The lowest places mean high places with God. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 56.8
God in the beginning made man of dust, and gave him dominion over everything. When God does anything, he does not undo it; and when he makes a gift, he does not take it back. God gave the earth to man, and he has not taken it back; it belongs to man forever. What world is it which God has given to man? - The world to come. What about this world? This is not the one. What does he say about us in this world? - “He gave himself for us, that he might deliver us from this present evil world.” What condition is it that calls for deliverance? - Bondage. The whole thing is turned upside down. In the beginning man had dominion, and now he has to be delivered from the thing which he ruled. “Ye are not of this world, but I have chosen you out of” it. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 57.1
What is the only use, then, that the child of God has for this world? - It is only just a place to stop while waiting for the world to come. It is only a stepping-stone, which he is to get off from. Who has this world? - The devil is the only one. Often the professed people of God, who have a home and a right in the earth made new, and are heirs to the kingdom which God has promised to them that love him, try to get a foot-hold in the affairs of this world, which the men of the earth are always trying to do. While professing to be heirs to the kingdom of God, they are trying to share a second dominion, and get a part of the devil’s dominion. Now, there is a message which has been sent. I will not read it, but it is in regard to the people of God taking part in the turmoil and politics of this world. The word politics has nothing to do with Christ. There is no politics with God. Policy and politics go together, but God has nothing to do with policy. If we had read the Bible and believed the truth, it would not have been necessary for a message to be sent. It is the world to come that God has given to us, and God has sent Jesus to deliver men from this present evil world. Christ is the Word made flesh, made lower than the angels, that he, by the grace of God, should taste death for every man. By what comes death? - Sin. So he took upon himself sin. Man was made just as good in the beginning as the Lord knew how to make him. He was made perfect. The devil said, I will spoil that man; I will show that I am stronger than the Lord. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 57.2
The Lord made man to rule over the works of his hands. Satan said, I have spoiled his plan; it cannot be done. The Lord said, Yes, it can; and not only that, but I will take a fallen man, with all his infirmities, and I will rule the world through even him. The devil is defeated. That is not a theory; it is practical for you and me. When the devil has me down, he cannot rejoice against me; for when I fall I shall rise again. And just as low as I fall, just so high I will rise above where I was before. The Word was made perfect flesh in Adam, but in Christ was the Word made fallen flesh. Christ goes down to the bottom, and there is the Word flesh, sinful flesh. Who has believed our report? To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? There is no form nor comeliness in him, nothing that we should desire in him. Who would believe that he could see him, that same being, - so marred, more than any man, - crowned with glory and honor. What goes with the crowning of glory and honor? - Kingship. Of what? - Glory. Of what? - Of the world to come. Then the man Christ Jesus has a right now to the world to come. In the beginning it was the Lord ruling through Adam; now it is the Lord ruling through the second Adam, and through far inferior conditions, doing what he would have done through the first Adam under the first conditions. This is the glory connected with what we read the other day in the first of Ephesians:- GCDB February 17, 1897, page 57.3
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 57.4
Who is it that has all this? - The man Christ Jesus. And you also hath he made alive in Christ, and hath raised us up with him, and made us to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, but he has to us; and that is the reason why the angels cannot preach the gospel. The heavens belong to the Lord our God; but the earth hath he given to the children of men. One man lost it; Another came and regained it. And he was lifted up; and you hath he lifted up to sit with him in the same place, “far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world [that is a small thing], but also in that which is to come.” GCDB February 17, 1897, page 57.5
How much of an idea can a man have of the dignity of his position as a prince of God, an heir of God, and joint-heir with Christ, sharing what Christ has of the world to come, sitting with Christ in heavenly places, if he spends time digging around in the muck-heap of the politics of the world. These two things do not go together. You would not think of the President of the United States running for town-clerk, while still President of the United States. Think of the President of the United States coming down and taking part in a village caucus or running for office in a school district; yet there is a congruity in that, because it is all a part of the same dominion. But here is a man quickened, made alive in Christ, in possession of the power of the world to come, and then taking hold upon this world, from which the Lord said he must be delivered. He says, I know God has made me a ruler over the world, but let me play with this bubble a little while. I know that I am going to leave it, but there is something so inspiring, so thrilling, in the beat of the big drum; so let me play a little while before I leave it. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 58.1
Brethren, we do not begin to appreciate what the Lord has for us. That comes by the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. We need to pray for the Spirit of God; praying that we may know the high calling and the riches of the glory of the inheritance. The man who has found a diamond mine, and knows the value of it, does not have to be pleaded with not to put clay in his pockets, in place of the diamonds. But the trouble with us is, we have gone daft. We have not come to our senses. We have not received the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ, so that we can appreciate the inheritance that God has given us. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 58.2
The things that are seen, are not real; they pass away in a little while. But the things that are not seen, are real. God has given to man only eternal things to deal with; he gave him the eternal world. The center of man’s dominion was the garden of Eden; that was his home. No defilement came upon that, so that has continued unsmirched until now, and will so continue to all eternity. The central part, the homestead itself, has never been lost, never been cursed or defiled. And that is the thing we have to deal with; that is where our citizenship is. Some people think that Christians are the ones best qualified to rule in this world, but they are just the ones who are not. This world does not pertain to them, and they should leave the government of it to those to whom it pertains - to those who are of it. God has not given us any citizenship here; he has not given us anything to do with this world, except to get out of it, and take as many people along with us as we can: because it is a sinking ship, and going to perdition, and we are safe here only while we are saving or helping somebody else out. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 58.3
Political Controversy. (Special Testimony.)
IN the meantime when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trod one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples, first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 58.4
There were a great number who wanted to hear Jesus. They were attracted to him; for his teachings were simple and plain. Searching truths were spoken. Our Saviour presented before the people of that time the character of their sins. His plain words aroused the consciences of the hearers, but Satan’s counterworking agencies were seeking for a place for their theories, to attract minds from the plainly spoken truth. As the great Teacher would speak impressive truth, the scribes and Pharisees, under pretense of being interested, would assemble around the disciples and Christ, and divert the minds of the disciples by starting questions to create controversy. They pretended that they wanted to know the truth. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 58.5
Christ was interrupted on this occasion as on many similar occasions. And he wished his disciples to listen to the words he had to say, and not allow anything to attract and hold their attention. Therefore he warned them, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” They feigned a desire to get as close as possible to the inner circle. As the Lord Jesus presented truth in contrast to error, the Pharisees pretended to be desirous of understanding the truth, yet they were trying to lead his mind in other channels. Hypocrisy is like leaven, or yeast. Leaven may be hidden in the flour, and its presence is not known until it produces its effect. By insinuating itself, it soon pervades the whole mass. Hypocrisy works secretly, and if indulged, it will fill the mind with pride and vanity. There are deceptions practiced now similar to those practiced by the Pharisees. When the Saviour gave this caution, it was to warn all who believe in him to be on guard. Watch against imbibing this spirit, and becoming like those who tried to ensnare the Saviour. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 58.6
A man who had a dispute with his brother, supposing that the brother would not do him justice, presented the case to Jesus, saying, “Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus said, “Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?” Jesus could have told this man just what was right. He knew the right in this case, but the brothers were in a quarrel because both were covetous. Jesus virtually said, It is not my business to settle controversies of this kind. He came for another purpose - to preach the gospel, and so to arouse men to a sense of eternal realities, that they might not lose eternity from their reckoning. So it is not the work of a minister to settle the temporal affairs of the people. Christ gives men an example, that his work and that of his followers is to persuade souls to be reconciled to God. Many things will arise to divert the mind from God and the truth for this time; but we are not to enter into the controversies that are coming to the front. They are started in the councils of hell, and the children of God are not to turn aside to the right hand or to the left. Let them press on their way, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 59.1
The Lord Jesus is disappointed in his people. He is the Captain, they are to file under his banner. They have no time, wisdom, or strength to spend in taking sides with political parties. Men are being stirred with an intense activity from beneath, and the sons and daughters of God are not to give their influence to this political strife. But what kind of a spirit takes hold upon our people, when those who believe we are now under the third angel’s message, the last message of mercy to the world, brothers in the same faith, appear wearing the badges of opposing political parties, proclaiming opposite sentiments and declaring their divided opinions. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 59.2
Watchmen upon the walls of Zion, the people are asking you, What of the night? Can you tell them with assurance and authority, The morning cometh, and also the night? God is our Father, Christ is our Saviour. (See 2 Peter 1:16-21.) GCDB February 17, 1897, page 59.3
There is danger, decided danger, for all who shall link themselves up with the political parties of the world. There is fraud on both sides. God has not laid upon any of our people the burden of linking up with either party. We are under Christ’s banner, and every one who names the name of Christ is to depart from all iniquity. Sorrow and trial will come. The faith of every one is being tested. But our Lord is truth, he is love, and his scepter stretcheth over the universe. Surprises await every one. We know not what political crisis will come next. But in regard to the political agitators, the word of the Lord to us is, “Go not ye after them.” True wisdom will not lead us to follow the example of the foolish rich man of the parable. True wisdom is revealed in seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. ELLEN G. WHITE. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 59.4
The Science of Salvation. - No. 2. A. T. JONES. (Sunday Evening, Feb. 14, 1897.)
ANOTHER word or two of explanation before we begin the study to-night: No doubt a great many may have been querying somewhat whether all that was said the other evening would bear the test. It will. I was not talking at random. It is true I did not follow everything out in detail, but if you will think of what I was saying when you get it in print, you will see that it is true. When I said that the snow-drop was balanced to the earth, and the earth balanced to the snow-drop, then if a meteor several tons in weight falls upon the earth, is not the gravity greater than before? and would not that destroy the balancing of the flower to the earth? - No; because it is not the earth only that is balanced to that flower, but the universe. Do you remember that, in studying the law of gravity, the scientific statement is, Every particle of matter in the universe is attracted by every other particle, so that not only the earth, but the universe, is balanced to the needs of the flowers; so the falling of the meteorite would not increase the gravitation of the universe. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 59.5
Just a few words of explanation in beginning: If I had been talking, in the former lesson, upon the subject of “Science in the Bible,” or “Science and the Bible,” I would have discussed more fully what gravity is, and what it is not, according to the scientific idea of the word. But I was not talking about that; all I intended to do the other night was to state the fact of the discovery of the law of gravitation, and the theory of it as a law. There are changes of view since Newton’s time, in regard to the theory of that law; but that doesn’t affect the law. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 59.6
In strict truth, gravitation is not a law at all, but simply the power of God. There are really no “laws of nature.” The laws of nature are only the habits of God. All that the law of gravitation is, is a habit of God; the manifestation of the power of God. But as I was not discussing what it really is, I used the terms in the commonly accepted sense, and only to state it as that by which the balance of the universe is maintained. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 60.1
I will read this evening another definition of science. This, too, is taken from one of the leading recognized scientists of the world: “Science is the most exact knowledge which we possess of any subject.” The word “science” literally means knowledge. The definition we had the other night is correct. It is the product of thinking. Also it is well enough to define it as the most exact knowledge we have on the subject. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 60.2
Now recurring to the two points we had in the previous lesson. Where was to be found the most exact knowledge as to the difference in brightness of the stars, for seventeen hundred years before science discovered it? - In the Bible. Then where was the true science of that subject to be found? - In the Bible. - Where was the most exact knowledge of the balancing of the universe to be found for twenty-five hundred years before it was discovered? - In the Bible. Then what was the most scientific book in the world, on the subject of that science? - The Bible. Bear in mind still, that I am not talking upon science and the Bible. I am talking upon the science of salvation. And though other sciences may be referred to, it is only in inseparable connection with this chief science. It is that you and I shall know by all the evidences that we can bring together in these two hours of study, that salvation is science, that it is the highest science in the universe, that it is the most worthy of our study, and that we are acting scientifically when we are giving our chief and whole-souled study to it. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 60.3
Now, the Bible is not a treatise upon any science except the science of salvation. It is a set treatise upon that subject. The Bible refers to other sciences; but there are no treatises in the Bible on any other science. Other sciences are referred to, as the ones that we have noticed in Corinthians and in Isaiah; why are they referred to in these places - to state a scientific point? - No; but to be used to illustrate better to our understanding the science of salvation. Why is that astronomical truth brought into 1 Corinthians 15:41? What is the purpose of saying, “One star differeth from another star in glory?” It goes right on to say, “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.” Just as one star differs from another in glory, so also is the resurrection. Thus you see that the purpose of calling in that scientific point, is to illustrate a point in the science of salvation, to help us the better to see a truth in the science of salvation. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 60.4
Why did Isaiah draw into his discourse that statement of the fact of gravitation? Let us look a little further into the chapter, and we shall see. I will read that verse and then another at the end of the thought that he is following. “Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand?” “To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy one. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.” Isaiah 40:25, 26. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 60.5
Not one escapes his notice, and they are all balanced to the needs of every little flower that grows in the field. But why does he call our attention to that, and bring it into his discourse in this place? - Not to state the scientific fact; but to call the attention of all people to the science of salvation. What does he make of it? We are to consider all this, and to consider what it is that has done all this? And then I read farther, “Why speakest thou O Jacob, and speakest O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?” Isaiah 40:27. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 60.6
When God has so much care over the flower that grows at our feet, it is not hid nor forgotten; how then can you say that you are hidden from the Lord, and that your judgment is passed away, and he has no care for you any more? Thus you see that in every instance, the scientific truth is brought in altogether to illustrate to you and me the science of salvation. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 60.7
Another thought: When these writers caught this, it was by revelation. Of course they did not get these things from any scientific study that this world had. The Lord was revealing his chief science, the science of salvation; and he called upon the other sciences to illustrate that. Then which of all the sciences is most important to the Lord? - Salvation, assuredly. When the Lord used the other sciences only to illustrate this, it is perfectly plain that he considers this science more important than the others. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 61.1
Yet this is not all. One man named in the Bible was thoroughly versed in universal science - all the natural sciences of this world. I want you to see that there was a man thoroughly versed in the sciences that are now made so much of in the world. And I want you to see what he says in view of it all. Here is the scripture:- GCDB February 17, 1897, page 61.2
And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all nations round about. And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. And he spake of trees from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. 1 Kings 4:29. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 61.3
He spoke of trees from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that springeth out of the wall. What is that called in science? - Botany. He understood botany better than any one else in the world. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 61.4
He spoke also of beasts. What would be the scientific word if it were put there to-day? - Zoology. Solomon understood zo-ology better than any man who lives in the world to-day. He taught it; for it says he spoke of all these things. He taught these sciences. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 61.5
“And of fowl.” What is that science? Ornithology. Then Solomon taught in the sciences of botany, zo-ology, ornithology. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 61.6
What next? - “And of creeping things.” What science is that? - Entomology. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 61.7
“And of fishes.” What science is that? - Ichthyology. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 61.8
People who read this passage of Scripture, do not usually think of Solomon as a universal scientist. But if it had been said that Solomon spoke of botany, zo-ology, ornithology, entomology, and ichthyology, they would be ready to say, What a wonderful man Solomon was. But it would not then be a particle more wonderful than it is; for it does say all that. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 61.9
I read this that you might see that Solomon knew something of science, not only something of science, but more of all these sciences than any other man has ever known of any one of them. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 61.10
Yet though he so thoroughly understood all these sciences, and having taught in them all, here is what he says: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter;” the sum of all that hath been said, is: “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man: for God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.” GCDB February 17, 1897, page 61.11
In his estimation, what took precedence of all other sciences put together? - The salvation of God. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 61.12
The angels understand all the sciences, yet they consider salvation more worthy of their study than all of the other sciences put together. The prophets also considered it more worthy; and employed the others as a means to better understand salvation. And here is a man that understood the other sciences, and he says that the science of salvation transcends them all. Now I want you to see that God himself on his own part, separated from all these, considers it just so. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 61.13
See here: We just read that Solomon taught all these sciences. How much of those teachings have we written out for our study? - Not one. God did not bring to us any record or report of Solomon’s teaching in botany. He did not bring to us, or put on record, a single lesson that Solomon ever taught in zo-ology, or any other one of these sciences. But he did, over and over, bring us lessons from Solomon, as well as all the rest, on the science of salvation. Then, counting the angels as giving only an angel’s opinion; counting the prophets as giving only a prophet’s opinion, and Solomon as giving only a universal scientist’s opinion; what is God’s opinion? - It is that salvation is worth more to you and me, and is more worthy of our study, than all these other sciences, this knowledge of which he himself gave. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 61.14
This science that Solomon understood and taught was not such science as that of Huxley, Darwin, and the other scientists of this age. With the natural mind man can delve into natural sciences, and make many discoveries. And though they are not always correct, yet they can discover some points that are true. But that was not Solomon’s way. God gave to Solomon wisdom, so that he saw into all this by the light of God. He spoke of all this by the wisdom of God. Thus the science which Solomon taught was God’s science. The botany that he taught was genuine, divine botany. The zo-ology that he taught was divine zo-ology. It was God’s views, God’s truth, God’s science in all these things. It was not science falsely so-called. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 61.15
Well there, that being God’s science, and it being divine in itself, why didn’t the Lord give it all to us. Why didn’t he give to the world Solomon’s treatise on botany, and on all these other subjects? - There is a reason for it; and it is that that is not what the world needs first of all. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 62.1
A man might have all that, he might understand all that, as did Solomon. Yet what good would it do him, if he did not have the science of salvation first of all? Solomon had it all; yet when he turned his heart from God, from the science of salvation, and from the study of that with all his heart, what good did his knowledge of the other sciences do him? How much was it able to hold him back from sin? How much power was there in it to keep him back from his natural self, and from the deviltry and corruption that was in him. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 62.2
You know that when he turned his heart from God’s science, from the science of salvation, though he had all the others, he was just as bad, just as wicked, swallowed up as thoroughly in idolatry and every profane thing, as though he did not know the A B C of anything. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 62.3
Thus we can see why it is that the Lord did not preserve to man all there is of science. Suppose they had it all, as Solomon did, and could teach it as Solomon taught it. With the heart not surrendered to God, with the soul not saved, what good would science do them? It could not restrain them from any kind of wickedness and corruption that is in the human heart. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 62.4
These sciences are not what the world needs to-day, first of all. The heart needs to be purified, the soul needs to be saved, the whole character rebuilt, the mind transformed into the very image and glory of God, so that the life shall reflect his righteousness, to make manifest the knowledge of God alone to all the world. Though we have all that all the sciences can give, it will profit nothing without salvation; for it will be but a little while till we shall have none of it at all. This is worth thinking about for ourselves to-day, in all our studies, readings, and researches. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 62.5
There is another thing: God wants you and me, all men, to think right on every subject that he has anything to do with. There are men to-day thinking on all these scientific subjects, but they do not think right. They get so far along that they find no place for God at all. And the man without God, without the guidance of the thought, the mind of God, is not able to think right on these other subjects. But the mind is not right until it is renewed in the image of Him who created it. The mind is to be transformed, renewed. We are to have another mind altogether. Every though is to be brought into obedience, in subjection, to Christ. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 62.6
That is the work of salvation. It is to restore the image of God in the soul; to bring the mind where it will be but the reflection, the outshining, of the righteousness, the thought, of the living God. When that is done, and the work of God is finished in this world, in making known the knowledge of God to all the other people, then the Lord will open the universe and eternity to us. Then all these other subjects will be open for our study, and the Lord can say to us, Go where you will, I can trust you. The wide universe is open to you. There is nothing kept back from you. It is all your own. It belongs to you. Go where you please, stay where you please, do what you please; I can trust you. Think on whatever subject you please, delve into it as deeply as you please, you will do it rightly. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 62.7
Now, I am not saying that men are utterly to ignore all other sciences till we reach the other world. I am simply saying that the science of salvation is to lead in the study of all of them. Has not the Lord set us an example as to what attention we should pay to these things, and what use we are to make of them? What is the purpose of reading and studying these other textbooks? - That these may help us better to understand and to teach the things of the science of salvation, than if we do not have that knowledge. That is the use made of them in the Bible. He sends us to preach that gospel with which these others had to do, and by example he has shown us how to use it. By this the Lord shows us that the science of salvation must take the lead of all the other sciences known in the universe. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 62.8
It must take the lead of all others in this world, and when we get into that other world it will still take the lead. When eternity is open before us, and when we go anywhere we please, and think upon any subject we please, shall we turn our backs upon salvation then, and say, I have graduated in that? - No. We know it is written that “the cross of Christ will be the science and the song of the redeemed throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity.” Then, when we have finished our course here, when we have graduated, and the time comes for a grand commencement, and we enter upon an eternity of study, we shall then be more able to understand this greatest of all sciences than when we were in this world. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 62.9
We stated in the other lesson that it is not a misuse of the words “science” and “scientific,” to apply them to salvation. Salvation is science, it is scientific. The working of the Spirit of God upon the mind, transforming the mind and all the life into the image of Jesus Christ, from sin unto righteousness - that is a scientific thing. Therefore when you study it, bear in mind that we are not in the least unscientific when we make that the chief and the all in all of every subject, all the time. These would-be scientists are unscientific in neglecting this, the chief of all sciences. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 63.1
There is another thing that has been demonstrated; and it has been demonstrated in the three nations that are the examples in the learning of the world. The record of the Bible people, the Jewish people, God’s people as in the Bible, is professedly the example and source of study for all who propose to serve God. Greece and Rome, with their philosophy, their literature, and their laws, are the examples of many of those who profess to follow the Bible, and of all others. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 63.2
Now we have seen that amongst God’s people there was a man who was a universal proverbialist, as well as a universal poet, and a universal scientist. His songs were a thousand and five, and his proverbs three thousand. There you see a master mind; and yet the one who had such an understanding, such wisdom, in all these things, demonstrated in his life that all such knowledge as that is absolutely impotent for any good in a man or to a man, without the science of salvation being there to control, and hold in righteousness the balance over all. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 63.3
I called your attention awhile ago to the fact that God did not bring to us any of that scientific teaching. Now I call your attention to the fact that he did bring to us a record of that man’s life when he turned away from God. He did bring to us a record of the enormous failure that that man made in spite of all this knowledge, when he forgot the science of salvation. Why, then, did God consider it more important for you and me to record all that man’s life after he turned from God, than to bring to us a record of all the scientific instruction that he gave? In the minds of men, which is the more valuable to mankind? The record of the failure, the enormous failure, made by Solomon is of more value to mankind than would have been all of the scientific teaching that Solomon ever spoke put in a book for mankind to-day; because in that failure it was demonstrated to all the world how altogether vain and less than nothing, is all knowledge of all things without the knowledge of the salvation of God. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 63.4
Another great example is seen in the Greeks. The natural mind never can attain to a higher, closer, and more perfect thinking than the Greek mind did. In that is portrayed the perfection of human thinking without God. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 63.5
But what did it do for them? That is the question. What did their literature do for them? What did their philosophy do for them? What did their art do for them? What did their religion do for them? Philosophy, philo sophia - the love of wisdom. What was that wisdom? - It was absolute foolishness. God says so. What was their religion? - It was mythology only. What was their art? - God says it was idolatry. Do you remember the record? GCDB February 17, 1897, page 63.6
The Word of God does not say that as Paul walked among those statues and saw their art, he admired their art. No, it says: “His spirit was stirred within him when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Then what was it? - Idolatry. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 63.7
Yet even to-day men, women, and children take the remains of that which was only idolatry, and worship it, and call it art, and copy it. Their minds dwell upon it, they prepare books on it, and they teach and study it in the schools of the country. But what can come from all this? What came of it amongst the Greeks themselves? You know what it did for them. I need not repeat - literature, art, law, philosophy, all these things. Rome copied her philosophy from Greece more than it originated from herself, but the literature is there. And what did it do for the Romans? - Some things it did for the others, only, if possible, it made them worse than the others were. In all Greece, so far as my observation went, I saw everywhere that the Greeks had respect enough for woman to drape properly every figure of her they carved. A man, of course, is always naked; but when we get to Italy that respect is gone, and all are without any drapery whatever. In most cases the drapery is all gone; and by the way, the perfection of art to-day that is worshiped by those who go to Rome, and study there in art, is only the undraped female figures, and that is not art anyhow when it is done; and yet it is come to the perfection of art, and is copied everywhere, and its imperfections are copied every time. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 63.8
I want to ask a question. Who of you have ever seen a human pair of legs from the knees down? As I stand here, the weight of my body is on my left foot. That balances altogether the weight of my body. The right foot rests with the toes on the floor. Will the muscles of my right leg be conformed exactly to those of the left? - No. But that is the wonderful piece of art. There is just that difference. The two legs are exactly alike, and we cannot discover a hair’s breadth of difference. And so we see it is not art anyhow. There is much to say about that, but I am not giving a lecture on art to-night. I am talking about what is the value of salvation, and what is the good of all things without it. What good did Rome have without it? - Her iniquities sunk her. What good did Greece have without it? - Her iniquities sunk her. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 64.1
(To be continued.)
Editorial Notes
NEWS of the death of Elder P. H. Cady, of the Wisconsin Conference, has reached us. He died last week at the Sanitarium in Battle Creek, after a long and painful illness of internal cancer. Brother Cady was a pioneer in this cause, and has often been in our councils. He was a man beloved of God and of all his associates. His unvarying kindness and childlike faith and simplicity, his lofty sense of duty, and his sterling integrity have left to us a rich legacy. We all share in the sorrow that has come upon his family. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 64.2
WE have received a request from the elder of the church in Council Bluffs, Iowa, that any of the ministers or others passing through that city who can do so, favor them with a call. They would be glad to have preaching services if two or three days’ notice can be given. The address of the elder is B. P. Shilling, 201 Broadway, and the services are held at the corner of Story and Bluff Sts. Visitors may call at 205 Logan St. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 64.3
DR. J. H. KELLOGG, Superintendent of the Battle Creek Sanitarium, reached the city on Monday morning, and spoke to a large audience in the church in the evening, taking for his subject, “God in Man.” We expect to be able to give a report of the discourse soon. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 64.4
THE meetings that have been held in the Scandinavian chapel of the College are now transferred to the Tabernacle, as the congregation has outgrown the room. All meetings are now held in the Tabernacle except the educational meeting at five o’clock, which still meets in the large chapel of the College. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 64.5
NOT ENTIRE. - The reports we are able to give of the many excellent lessons and discourses that are being given are but abstracts of what is really said. The words given are in nearly all cases the words of the speaker, but they are only a part of the words. That which is not given is of the same nature as that which is written. It is the want of sufficient room that prevents our giving these good things entire. But care is taken to present to our anxious readers the leading characteristic truths, and to preserve the lines of thought as entire as possible. We hope these articles will be carefully read, and attended in their reading by the same Spirit in which they were heard. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 64.6
CALIFORNIA!
If You Are Going There, GCDB February 17, 1897, page 64.7
by all means inquire about the Burlington Route Personally Conducted Excursions to San Francisco and Los Angeles, which leave Chicago every Wednesday, with a Pullman Palace Tourist Car through to destination. The route is via Denver, the Denver & Rio Grande Ry. (Scenic Line) and Salt Lake City. The Cars are fitted with carpets, upholstered seats, mattresses, pillows, blankets, bed linen, berth curtains, toilet rooms, heat and light, and, in fact, all the conveniences of a standard Pullman Palace car; they lack only some of the expensive finish of the Pullmans run on the limited express-trains, while the cost per berth is only about one third of the price. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 64.8
Write for full particulars to T. A. GRADY, Excursion Manager, C. B. & Q. R. R., 211 Clark street, Chicago, Ill. GCDB February 17, 1897, page 64.9