The Signs of the Times
February 12, 1902
Living For Christ
Ye are the light of the world.... Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.... Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” ST February 12, 1902, par. 1
God has given His subjects a work to perform. By helpful words and kindly actions they are to reveal Christ to the world. By self-denial, by sacrificing that which would be obtained at the loss of another, they are to show the power of the truth to restrain evil inclinations. Those who do this are “the salt of the earth,” preserving it from decay. ST February 12, 1902, par. 2
God requires His followers to exercise toward others the compassion they desire others to exercise toward them. Christians are to bring Christlikeness into their service, that in their hands the truth may not lose its preserving influence. In all their associations in the church and in the world they are to be unselfish and sincere. ST February 12, 1902, par. 3
If a professing Christian is unchristlike; if he cherishes unholy traits of character, studying how he may get the best of a bargain to the disadvantage of some one else, if, forgetting that it is his duty to help others, he cares little whether he destroys his neighbor's prospects, he is as salt that has lost its savor—fit only to be cast out. He may gain some advantage himself, but what help is he to the world? If the character is not under the moulding influence of the Spirit of God, if the life is not free from selfishness, what does the profession avail? ST February 12, 1902, par. 4
How may we retain in our lives the preservative qualities of the truth? How may we exert a saving influence on the world?—By obeying the plain command of God; by being kind and generous; by relieving the necessities of the needy; by working as Christ worked. ST February 12, 1902, par. 5
“Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in Thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoreth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.” ST February 12, 1902, par. 6
Let these lessons be practised. Not a tithe of what we should be are we in purity, in Christlikeness. This is why we have not more power with God. We profess to believe truth that God declares will refine and sanctify the life. But if our religion is merely nominal, we are as salt without savor. ST February 12, 1902, par. 7
Every true Christian will say from the heart, When I was baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I was buried in the likeness of Christ's death, and raised in the likeness of His resurrection. I have taken a sacred vow to live in close communion with Christ. I am pledged to devote my life to His service. ST February 12, 1902, par. 8
“Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses.” As you openly renounced sin and Satan, the three great powers of heaven pledged themselves to help you to overcome. You were raised in newness of life by the power that raised Christ from the dead. You came forth from the watery grave pledged to devote your life to the Master's service. You are henceforth to live a new life, as if reason, knowledge, affection, speech, property, and all else you have, had been anew entrusted to you, with a distinct intimation from heaven that they are to be used for God. You are to live a life of cross-bearing and self-denial, a life bound up with the life of Christ. ST February 12, 1902, par. 9
The character of the Christian is to be a reproduction of the character of Christ. The same love, the same grace, the same unselfish benevolence, that characterized the life of the Redeemer, are to characterize the lives of His followers. “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.” ST February 12, 1902, par. 10
In His great mercy, God gives men and women power for service, strengthening them as He strengthened Joseph, Samuel, Daniel, Timothy, and many others who availed themselves of His promises. They believed in Him and relied on Him, and this was their righteousness. Without the help that comes only from God we are in constant danger of falling into the snares that Satan has prepared for our feet. It is the one who obeys God, the one who is not satisfied unless he has the divine presence with him, that is a power for good in the world. ST February 12, 1902, par. 11
“Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write: These things saith He that holdeth the seven stars in His right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, I know thy works.” This figure illustrates the eternal vigilance of our Saviour. Christ is in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, walking from church to church, from congregation to congregation, from heart to heart. He who keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. If the candlesticks were left to the care of human beings, how often they would flicker and go out. But God has not given His church into the hands of men. Christ, One who gave His life for the life of the world, is the Watchman of the house. He is the Warder, faithful and true, of the temple courts of the Lord. We are not dependent on the presence of priest or minister. We are kept by the power of God. The presence of Christ is the secret of our life and light. ST February 12, 1902, par. 12
Mrs. E. G. White