The Signs of the Times
April 23, 1894
Christ Came To Break Sin's Chain
(Concluded.)
Fathers and mothers, are you laborers together with God? How are you bearing the weighty responsibilities that rest upon you? How are you educating and training your children? Are you from their babyhood teaching them habits of self-control? Do you educate them to know that they cannot have everything they want? Are you teaching them to become missionaries for God, that they may go to the islands of the sea and proclaim the message of mercy to those who are in the darkness of error? Teach them that Christ, the precious Saviour, came to our world to save men from the transgression of the law of God. When God gave Jesus to the world, he gave all heaven in one rich gift. God made it manifest to the world, to angels, seraphim and cherubim, that his gift could not be excelled; for in the gift of Christ all was given. ST April 23, 1894, par. 1
Christ came to the world as a sin bearer. John exclaims, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” Jesus takes our sins away, and then imparts his own righteousness. The whole world is lying in wickedness. We see on every side crime, murder, embezzlement, pleasure seeking, gambling, horse racing, and every manner of evil. Who is the leader in all this engrossing of the minds of men in evil? It is Satan, who soon expects to gather in the harvest of the whole earth. But when the judgment shall sit, and the books be opened, every man shall be judged out of those things which are written in the books according to his works. What preparation are we individually making to meet that great day? Are we seeking to remove temptation from the rising generation? Are we making the name of Christ a familiar one in our homes? God grant that you may educate your children for heaven. ST April 23, 1894, par. 2
Fathers and mothers, a sacred trust has been committed to you. You are to be godly, firm, temperate. Let no one find you smoking or drinking. Remember that you transmit these depraved appetites to your children. God wants you to keep before them the fact that there is a heaven to win, a hell to shun. He wants you to keep them pure from the vicious, vile habits of the world. Keep your children at their home, and if people say to you, “Your children will not know how to conduct themselves in the world,” tell your friends that you are not so concerned about that matter, but that you do want to take them to the Master for his blessing, even as the mothers of old took their children to Jesus. Say to your advisers: “Children are the heritage of the Lord, and I want to prove faithful to my trust. The presence of God must be in my household, in order that as a family we shall present to the world evidences of his divine power. My children must be brought up in such a way that they shall not be swayed by the influences of the world, but where, when tempted to sin, they may be able to say a square, hearty no. They must be trained in such a way as to be able to say, ‘I will cling to the promises of God.’” “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have a right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” Tell your friends and neighbors that you want to see your family inside the gates of the beautiful city. Teach your children to know God; teach them that eternal life is of more value to them than the fleeting pleasures and honors of the world. Train them, mothers, from their earliest years in the principles of Christianity, in love, in truth, in genuine Christian politeness. ST April 23, 1894, par. 3
The wealthy classes are not excused from serving Christ, and from educating their children for the courts of heaven. What difference will it make with the judgment of your children if you have lived in palaces equal to that of Solomon? Is not Christ everything to us? and is it not necessary for us to be laborers together with God? We should tell our children that we desire them to join the army of the Lord. We should teach them to have beauty and loveliness of character. Jesus says, “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” Teach your children that the beautiful flowers that God has caused to grow are the expression of his love for us. Clothe your children in simple garments, and take time to open the Scriptures to them. ST April 23, 1894, par. 4
It is a most grievous thing to let children grow up without the knowledge of God. The knowledge of God did not unfit Daniel to be one of the greatest statesmen in the proud court of Babylon. The God of heaven recognized him as his child. He would not defile himself with strong drink and with the rich food from the king's table. And God gave him wisdom. But would God have given him wisdom if he had not walked in his counsel? Satan does not give true wisdom to men. When Daniel and his fellows were examined by the king, they were found to be ten times better than all the astrologers that were in the king's court. The record declares: “As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.... And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.” ST April 23, 1894, par. 5
We need the wisdom of God to carry with us through this life into the future, immortal life. We know not when our probation shall end. I have just read of a man who went out with his cart to his business, and in one hour he was killed. We hear of many who are cut off in a moment. We value every human soul, because God has given great opportunities to men, and in eternity alone can the length of the chain be measured by which you are to be saved. You can measure the love of God only as you look to Calvary. ST April 23, 1894, par. 6
What have you done with your intellect, in order that you may be complete in Christ Jesus? If mothers and fathers had learned of Christ, the greatest Teacher the world ever knew, we should see families that would be symbols of the family of heaven. If God endowed them with wealth, they would not use it all for the adornment of their poor bodies, but would realize that God had given it to them in trust, to feed the hungry and to clothe the naked. ST April 23, 1894, par. 7
The Bible is the garden of God. Are you discouraged? Are you bereaved? The word of God tells you not to sorrow as those who have no hope, for there will be a relinking of the family chain. When we look upon our dead, we think of the morning when the trump of God shall sound, and when the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. Over the rent sepulcher of Joseph, Christ proclaimed, “I am the resurrection and the life.” A little longer, and we shall see the King in his beauty. A little longer, and he shall wipe away all tears from our eyes. A little longer, and we shall have a robe of purity, whiter than any fuller on earth could whiten it. It is the garment woven in the loom of heaven, not to cover over our sins, for Jesus takes away the sin of the world, but to clothe us in the righteousness of Christ. I want to behold him until I shall be changed into his likeness; for by beholding we become changed. We should talk of the crown of life, of the heaven of bliss that awaits the faithful. May God help us to press the battle to the gate. He will place the crown of life upon our heads as we proclaim, “Worthy, worthy is the Conqueror.” We shall exclaim, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.” ST April 23, 1894, par. 8
Do you want heaven? Then will you show the line of demarkation between you and the world, and hear at last the words of approbation, “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” ST April 23, 1894, par. 9