The Review and Herald
December 4, 1894
Fellowship With the World Forbidden
“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him; rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.” “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.... And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance; for ye serve the Lord Christ.” RH December 4, 1894, par. 1
A Christian, as described by the Scriptures, is a person who is separated from the world in his aims and practices, and is united with Christ,—a possessor of the peace which Christ alone can bestow, finding that the joy of the Lord is his strength, and that his joy is full. Christians will not leave the world to perish unwarned, and make no effort for the reclaiming of the lost. The truth of God sanctifies the believer, and he holds sweet communion with Christ. He puts to use every talent God has given him in the service of Christ in grateful love to him who gave his precious life for him, in order that he might not perish, but have everlasting life. Those who truly love Christ become laborers together with God, and they watch for every opportunity to employ the means at their command in doing good, and in patterning after the works of Christ. They will not yield to temptations to make alliances with the world. They will not unite with secret orders and bind themselves by intimacies with unbelievers. But those who are not wholly on the side of Christ are to a large degree controlled by the maxims and customs of the world. They unite in close companionship with the world, and make partners of those who do not love God, but who rather dishonor him. Alliance with the world on the part of those who profess to be Christians, is pleasing to the enemy of all righteousness; for it is favorable to his determined purpose of building up his kingdom. It is conducive to his success that many of his subjects put on a form of godliness, and assume the appearance of the children of God. By this means his power to deceive and decoy souls to ruin is greatly increased. He exercises his wisdom and power through these unconverted agencies who still claim to be the followers of Christ, and wherever this class of his subjects meet for the supposed purpose of worshiping God, Satan is there to suggest words and to exert his influence against the truth. Satan is rich in this world's goods, and he is full of cunning to deceive, and his most effective agents are those whom he can lead to take a form of godliness while they deny the power of God by their unchristlike characters. RH December 4, 1894, par. 2
The children of God are to stand firmly for the right under all circumstances. They are not to be deceived by those who have the mind and spirit of the world, or be united with them in their spirit or practices. The bands of union will grow stronger imperceptibly, and the professor of religion, united in some alliance with the world, will finally feel resentment against any one who presents to him the necessity of coming out from the world and being separate. He will come into a condition of such harmony with the world that he will listen to the suggestions of Satan; and as his self-importance is fed by the praise and flattery of the world, and this is more acceptable to him than the self-denial required by the cross of Christ, he turns from the peculiar people of God to those who offer enticements to gratify worldly ambitions and enterprises in harmony with the natural tastes and desires. Backslidden from God, he has tasted the applause of men, and it has become pleasant to him. As he does not receive this praise in the church of Christ, he turns to the world. RH December 4, 1894, par. 3
The word of God forbids the praising and glorifying of men, therefore Christians cannot glory in men; but the mere professor of religion feels grieved over this lack of human appreciation, and believing that he has wonderful qualifications that his Christian brethren do not discern or rightly estimate, he presses a little closer to the world, loves their deceptive flattery, and thinking he is worthy of being extolled, he drinks more deeply of the turbid streams of the valley, until he no longer thirsts for the snow waters of Lebanon. He is restless and uneasy among true Christians who talk of Jesus and the precious truth. The language of Canaan is a language that he no longer delights in. The atmosphere surrounding the souls of Christians is unlike the atmosphere that surrounds the soul of the worldling, and the half-hearted professor feels uneasy while in the presence of those who love God with all their hearts. He seeks to weed out from his companions those who love and fear God, and he fills up their vacant places with those who do not love and fear him, and who have no respect for his commandments. He makes it evident by his course of action that he does not honor or revere God. RH December 4, 1894, par. 4
The Lord says, “Them that honor me I will honor.” Satan is well pleased with the sentiments of the average Christian whom the people of the world praise and extol, while they cast reproach and contempt on those who truly honor God. The worldly Christian feasting upon the flattery of men will receive no more reward than this that he seeks after. The praise of men will be his whole recompense. But God is grieved by the spirit and action of worldly-minded men and women who yet profess to be on the Lord's side. The personal worldliness of Christians testifies against the religion of Jesus Christ. How few honor God by being his faithful witnesses! Christ says of his true followers, “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.” RH December 4, 1894, par. 5
God has his faithful witnesses who are not attempting to do that which Christ has pronounced impossible,—that is, seeking to serve God and Mammon at the same time. They are burning and shining lights amid the moral darkness of the world, and amid the gross darkness that covers the people like the pall of death. The members of the church of Christ are individually to be controlled by the Holy Spirit, in order that they may not have a changeable, fluctuating experience. They are to be rooted and grounded in the truth. When the joy of the saving power of Christ's righteousness is rightly understood by experimental knowledge, there will be vital interest in the church, there will be those who will teach transgressors God's ways, and sinners will be converted to the truth as it is in Jesus. It is the professors of religion that need converting; for Satan has brought his deceptions to bear upon their souls. The soul that is brought into personal contact with Christ, becomes a holy temple unto the Lord; for Jesus is made unto the believer wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. He who has fully surrendered to God has a consciousness of Christ's saving presence. He is a possessor of spiritual patience, and has the rest of soul that comes from learning of Him who is meek and lowly of heart. Trusting in Jesus to be his efficiency and righteousness, his soul is filled with a pleasant contentment. RH December 4, 1894, par. 6
What is the joy of the Christian?—It is the result of the consciousness of the presence of Christ. What is the love of the Christian?—It is the reflection of the love of Christ. It is the effect of the operation of the Holy Spirit. Looking to the cross of Calvary, we see Jesus dying for the sins of the world, in order that by his death, life and immortality might be brought to light in behalf of the contrite soul. Jesus is all in all, and without him we can do nothing. Without Christ, spiritual life would be impossible. But this union of Christ with the soul is the union which Satan is ever seeking to disturb, and through yielding to his temptations, the soul that once was united to Christ may become assimilated to the world, and have no relish for the bread of eternal life. The provision from the table of the Lord, the heavenly manna, is not relished; and the world-loving soul loathes the corn of heaven, and hungers and thirsts for the praise and flattery of the world. The applause of men is the food that is relished by the perverted appetite of the Christless soul. Infatuated by a Satanic ambition to have the supremacy, professed followers of Christ are led on from one delusion to another until eternity is lost out of their reckoning. But he who lives godly in Christ Jesus will have no relish for the forbidden praise of men. RH December 4, 1894, par. 7