Inspiration

Pen of Inspiration – The Work of the Holy Spirit

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The grace of God cannot cooperate with iniquity. God’s Spirit can only enlighten the understanding of those who are willing to be enlightened. We read that God opened the ears of Lydia, so that she attended to the message spoken by Paul. To declare the whole counsel of God and all that was essential for Lydia to receive—this was the part Paul was to act in her conversion; and then the God of all grace exercised His power, leading the soul in the right way. God and the human agent cooperated, and the work was wholly successful. …

You do not need the excitement of theaters and plays to while away your time. You have a character to form after the divine similitude. If you will believe with all your heart, you will be worked by the Holy Spirit. Then you will never hunger for cheap, earthly amusement. The grace of God will be your helper, your strength. …

In strict loyalty, for the glory of God, we are to bring to the people all the light and evidence possible. In order to do this, we must be constant learners in the school of Christ. We are to learn His meekness and lowliness. Only thus can we, by our words and in our character, impart the Holy Spirit’s unction.

If there is a difference of expression in presenting the truth, let everyone seek to view all things in the light of the glory which shineth in the face of Jesus Christ. The more we as believers drink in of the Spirit, the more we shall be animated and united by His surpassing love, and the more we shall reveal of that tender, compassionate Spirit which made our blessed Master so long and patiently bear with the misunderstandings of those whom He had selected as His workmen. …

Oh, shall we not clear away the rubbish that is filling our hearts, and invite Christ to enter as an abiding Guest? Then He will richly bless us, and we shall receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. …

We greatly desire that at this time the Holy Spirit may show every professing Christian the fullness and perfection of Christ’s atoning sacrifice. It was a whole and entire sacrifice that Christ made for the sins of the world. We are living and working and breathing in a low atmosphere. Now and then we get glimpses of Christ, but much selfishness is manifested. Our failure to appropriate the grace of Christ leaves us defective and faithless, unable correctly to represent Christ. By clinging to self, ministering to our selfish interests, we dishonor God, and the sacred word we minister is made to taste of the uncleansed vessel through which it is communicated. Self is so largely revealed that the sacredness of the truth is lost sight of. …

Those who place themselves under the control of the Holy Spirit can be doers of Christ’s words. All such will be refreshed as with the dew of heaven. …

The Lord desires to make man the repository of divine influence, and the only thing that hinders the accomplishment of God’s designs is that men close their hearts to the light of life. Apostasy caused the withdrawal of the Holy Spirit from man, but through the plan of redemption this blessing of heaven is to be restored to those who sincerely desire it. The Lord has promised to give all good things to those who ask Him, and all good things are defined as given with the gift of the Holy Spirit. The more we discover our real need, our real poverty, the more will we desire the gift of the Holy Spirit; our souls will be turned, not into the channel of ambition and presumption, but into the channel of earnest supplication for the enlightenment of heaven. It is because we do not see our need, do not realize our poverty, that we do not pour forth earnest entreaties, looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith, for the bestowal of the blessing. …

God desires to refresh His people by the gift of the Holy Spirit, baptizing them anew in His love. There is no need for a dearth of the Holy Spirit in the church. After Christ’s ascension, the Holy Spirit came upon the waiting, praying, believing disciples with a fullness and power that reached every heart. In the future, the earth is to be lightened with the glory of God. A divine influence is to go forth to the world from those who are sanctified through the truth. The earth is to be encircled with an atmosphere of grace. The Holy Spirit is to work on human hearts, taking the things of God and showing them unto men. …

The Holy Spirit alone is able to work with us, in us, and through us, giving us a character which God can approve. The Lord loves His people. With the growth of the Christian life there will come the want of a deeper and more perfect experience. Nothing can meet the necessities of sinful, erring men but the perfect sacrifice of Christ. …

Every church has need of the Holy Spirit’s searching power. This alone can enable them to seek peace, to pursue that course which will bring peace to their own souls, to be faithful witnesses to Christ, testifying by their circumspect course of action that they have the mind of Christ. …

We can be saved only by forming characters like the character of Christ. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit will be shown by the outflowing of heavenly love. The Lord Jesus is our Sinbearer. God covers the repenting sinner with His forgiveness, and hides the sin from the sight of God by clothing him with the perfection of righteousness. The more perfectly we are transformed to the image of God, the greater will be our hatred for sin; and we will work to save the sinner. …

If you seek the blessing of God every day, you will be blessed every day. The Lord gives the Holy Spirit, and supplies all providential opportunities and facilities. …

The grand truths of the Bible are for us individually, to rule, to guide, to control our life; for this is the only way in which Christ can be properly represented to our world in grace and loveliness in the characters of all who profess to be His disciples. Nothing less than heart service will be acceptable with God. God requires the sanctification of the entire man, body, soul, and spirit. The Holy Spirit implants a new nature, and molds through the grace of Christ the human character, until the image of Christ is perfected; this is true holiness. …

Manuscript Releases, vol. 2, 9–13.

Pen of Inspiration – The Fight of Faith

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Every one who shall be found with the wedding garment on, will have come out of great tribulation. The mighty surges of temptation will beat upon all the followers of Christ; and unless they are riveted to the eternal Rock, they will be borne away. Do not think you can safely drift with the current; you must stem the tide, or you will surely become a helpless prey to Satan’s power. You are not safe in placing your feet on the ground of the enemy, but should direct your path in the way cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in. Even in the path of holiness you will be tried; your faith, your love, your patience, your constancy, will be tested. By diligent searching of the Scriptures, by earnest prayer for divine help, prepare the soul to resist temptation. The Lord will hear the sincere prayer of the contrite soul, and will lift up a standard for you against the enemy.

Jesus left his home in heaven, and came to this dark world to reach to the very depths of human woe, that He might save those who are ready to perish. He laid aside his glory in the heavenly courts above, clothed his divinity with humanity, and for our sakes He became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich. He came to the earth that was all seared and marred with sin; “and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” [Philippians 2:8]. He submitted to insult and mockery, that He might leave us a perfect example. When we are inclined to magnify our trials, to think we are having a hard time, we should look away from self to Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith, “who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” [Hebrews 12:2]. All this He endured that He might bring many sons and daughters to God, to present them before the universe as trophies of his victory.

Will man take hold of this divine power which has been placed within his reach, and with determination and perseverance resist Satan, as Christ has given example in his conflict with the foe in the wilderness of temptation? God cannot save man against his will from the power of Satan’s artifices. Man must work with his human power, aided by the divine power of Christ, to resist and to conquer at any cost to himself. In short, man must overcome as Christ overcame. Christ was a perfect overcomer; and we must be perfect, wanting nothing, without spot or blemish.

In order to be overcomers, we must heed the injunction of the apostle: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” [Philippians 2:5]. He is the Pattern that we, as his disciples, must follow. We cannot cherish selfishness in our hearts, and follow the example of Christ, who died to make an atonement for us. We cannot extol our own merits, and follow his example; for He made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Himself the form of a servant. We cannot harbour pride, and follow Christ, since He humbled Himself until there was no lower place to which He could descend. Be astonished, O heavens, and be amazed, O earth, that sinful man should make such returns to his Lord in formality and pride, in efforts to lift up and glorify himself, when Christ came and humbled Himself in our behalf even to the death of the cross.

Christ came to teach us how to live. He has invited us to learn of Him to be meek and lowly of heart, that we may find rest unto our souls. We have no excuse for not imitating his life and working his works. Those who profess his name, and do not practice his precepts, are weighed in the balances of heaven, and found wanting. But those who reflect his image will have a place in the mansions which He has gone to prepare.

The redemption that Christ achieved for man was at infinite cost to Himself. The victory we gain over our own evil hearts and over the temptations of Satan will cost us strong effort, constant watchfulness, and persevering prayer; but, gaining the victory through the all-powerful name of Jesus, we become heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ. This could not be the case if Christ alone did all the overcoming. We must be victors on our own account. Then we shall not only reap the reward of eternal life, but shall increase our happiness on earth by the consciousness of duty performed, and by the greater respect and love that we shall win from those about us.

He who is a child of God should henceforth look upon himself as a part of the cross of Christ, a link in the chain let down to save the world, one with Christ in his plan of mercy, going forth with Him to seek and to save the lost. The Christian is ever to realize that he is bought with a price, to stand under the blood-stained banner of Prince Immanuel, to fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold on eternal life. He is to reveal Christ to the world. The self-denial, the self-sacrifice, the sympathy, the love that were manifested in the life of Christ are to reappear in the life of his followers. In order to do this, we must put on the whole armour of God; “for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” [Ephesians 6:11, 12]. If we do not overcome, we lose the crown; and if we lose the crown, we lose everything. Eternal loss or eternal gain will be ours. If we gain the crown, we gain all things; we become heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.

Christ is coming in a little while. He has been our brother in suffering; and if we overcome through his grace, we shall see Him as He is. We shall suffer here but a few days longer, and then enter into an eternity of happiness; for there is sweet rest in the kingdom of God. For those who fight the good fight of faith, there is reserved a crown of glory, a palm of victory, an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. Let the determination of every soul be, “I must run the race; I must overcome.”

The Bible Echo, January 1, 1893.

Inspiration – The Privilege of Prayer

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After Christ was baptized of John in Jordan, He came up out of the water, and bowing upon the bank of the river, He prayed fervently to his Heavenly Father. The heavens were opened to his prayer, and the light of the glory of God, brighter than the sun at noonday, shone from the eternal throne. The form of a dove encircled the Son of God, while the voice from the excellent glory was heard saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” [Matthew 3:17].

Christ was the representative of humanity. He had laid aside his glory, stepped down from his throne, clothed his divinity with humanity, that with his human arm He might encircle the race, and with his divine arm reach the throne of the Infinite. He took upon Him the nature of man, and was tempted in all points like as we are. As a man He supplicated at the throne of God, beseeching his Father to accept his prayer in behalf of humanity; and to his earnest petition the heavens were opened. Never before had angels listened to such a prayer, and the glory of the Majesty of heaven shone upon Him, and words of love and approval assured Him of the acceptance of his petition as man’s representative. God accepted the fallen race through the merits of Christ.

Communication between heaven and earth, between God and man, had been broken by the fall of Adam; but through Christ man could again commune with God. He who knew no sin became sin for the race, that his righteousness might be imputed to man. Through the perfection of Christ’s character, humanity was elevated in the scale of moral value with God; finite man was linked with the infinite God. Thus the gulf which sin had made was bridged by the world’s Redeemer.

How grateful should we be for the privileges which Christ has gained for us in opening heaven before us. What hope does it give to man that the Father said to Christ, who represented humanity, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” [Matthew 3:17, 17:5]. In the Father’s acceptance of Christ in man’s behalf, we are assured that through the merits of his Son, we may find access to God. We may be accepted in the Beloved. Jesus, the world’s Redeemer, has opened the way so that the most sinful, the most needy, the most oppressed and despised, may find access to God, may have a home in the mansions that Jesus has gone to prepare for those who love Him.

In a vision Jacob beheld a mystic ladder reaching from earth to heaven, on which were angels ascending and descending, and from the throne of God the glory of heaven streamed down. This ladder represented Jesus, the appointed medium of communication between man and God. Had He not by his humanity bridged the gulf of separation that sin had made between God and his people, the angels could never have been ministering spirits to communicate with fallen man; but through Christ man in his weakness and helplessness is connected with the source of infinite power.

Jesus lived a life of prayer; after toiling all day, preaching to the ignorant, healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, raising the dead, feeding the multitudes, evening after evening He went away from the confusion of the city, and in some retired place, poured forth supplication to his Father with strong crying and tears. At times the bright beams of the moon shone upon his bowed form, and again clouds and darkness shut away all light. While bowed in the attitude of a suppliant, the dew and the frost of night rested upon Him. He frequently continued his petitions through the entire night. If the Saviour of men felt the need of prayer in our behalf, how much more should feeble, sinful mortals feel the necessity of prayer—fervent, constant prayer—on their own account!

“It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord” [Matthew 10:25]. Jesus sought earnestly for strength from his Father. He regarded communication with God more essential than his daily food. He has given us evidence that in order to contend successfully with the powers of darkness, and to do the work allotted to us to perform, we must live in communion with God. Our own strength is weakness, but that which God gives will make every one who attains it more than conquerors. The continued, earnest prayer of faith will bring us light and strength to withstand the fierce assaults of the enemy. The light and strength of one day will not be sufficient for the trials and conflicts of the next. Satan is now constantly changing his temptations, as he did with Christ. Every day we may be placed in new positions, and may have to meet new and unexpected temptations. It is as consistent to expect to be sustained today by food we ate yesterday as to depend upon present light and present blessings for tomorrow’s success. Weak and sinful man cannot be safe unless God shall daily manifest his light and impart to him his strength.

It is of the highest importance that God manifests his will to us in the daily concerns of life; for the most important results frequently depend upon the smallest occurrences. The more we become acquainted with God through his divine light, the more we shall realize our weakness, knowing that without Him we can do nothing. We should ever feel that we need a sure guide to direct our faltering footsteps.

A living Christian is one who lives a life of continual prayer. “The path of the just is as a shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day” [Proverbs 4:18]. The Christian’s life is one of progression. He goes forward from strength to strength, from grace to grace, and from glory to glory, receiving from Heaven the light which Christ, at infinite cost to Himself, made it possible for man to obtain. The Christian cannot let his light shine before men, unless he is ever receiving divine illumination. He must ever receive strength and glory from the accessible heavens, that he may be able to meet new temptations and bear heavier responsibilities. Untried events await the Christian, new dangers even surround him, and unexpected temptations continually assail him. Our great Leader points to the open heaven, bidding us apply there for light and strength to enable us to overcome.

Jesus taught his disciples to pray. He directed them to present their daily needs before God. As we realize our dependence upon God for both temporal and spiritual blessings, we may offer up fervent and effectual prayer. Our great need is in itself an argument that pleads most eloquently in our behalf. Your wants, your joys, your sorrows, your cares, your fears, you may present before God. You cannot weary Him, you cannot burden his heart. Nothing is too great for Him to bear; for He upholds the worlds and rules the universe. Nothing is too small for his notice; for He marks the sparrow’s fall, and numbers the hairs of your head. He is not indifferent to the wants of his people. The Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy. He is touched by our sorrows, and even the utterance of them moves his great heart of infinite love. There is no chapter in our experience too dark for Him to read, no perplexity too complicated for Him to unravel. Our Heavenly Father is not unobserving; He sees our tears, He marks our sighs, He notes our joys and sorrows. “He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds” [Psalm 147:3].

The relation between God and each soul is distinct. His care to you is as minute as though there were no other soul to claim his attention. The psalmist says, “Thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. There is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, Thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me” [Psalm 139:2–5]. “Thou tellest my wanderings; put Thou my tears in thy bottle; are they not in thy book” [Psalm 56:8]? In the words of the psalmist is expressed the intimacy and tenderness with which God cares for his creatures. “For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” [Hebrews 4:15, 16].

The Bible Echo, February 1, 1893.

Inspiration – Our Mighty Helper

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The Christian is enlisted to fight in the cause of God, to be a soldier of Jesus Christ. Jesus fought all our battles during his life upon earth, and in that He was tempted, He knows how to succor those who shall be tempted. We have no power to war with principalities, and powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places (Revelation 6:12), except as we draw strength from Christ. Jesus calls upon you to behold the confederacy of evil, to behold the conflict through which you must pass. He bids us count the cost of standing under the blood-stained banner; He does not flatter us that we shall have no difficulties in this life; but although we shall be tried and tempted in meeting the confederacy of evil, yet we are assured that all the heavenly intelligences will be enlisted on our side in every battle. But the ministry of angels will not ensure us against sorrow and trial. Angels ministered to Jesus; yet their presence did not make his life one of ease, nor free Him from conflict and temptation. While we are engaged in the work which the Master has appointed us to do, though trials and perplexities and temptations press upon us, we should not be discouraged; for we know that One has endured all these temptations before us.

We each have a battle to fight with the fallen foe. We should begin the conflict in the light of the Bible, gaining victories over self, giving no place to the evil one. We should not sin against God by indulging sinful thoughts or speaking murmuring words. We should not let the enemy control our powers in the least, but throw all the weight of our influence on the side of Christ. God has pledged his word that his grace will be sufficient for us in our greatest necessity, in our sorest distress (II Corinthians 12:9). Appropriating this grace, Christ will be found to be a very present help in time of trouble (Psalm 46:1).

The Lord expects his servants to excel the lovers of the world in life and character. That they may do this, He has placed at their command unlimited resources. The Christian is a spectacle unto the world, to angels, and to men. He is looked upon as one who is striving for the mastery, running the race set before him that he may obtain the prize, even an immortal crown. His motives are to be above the motives of those who love the world. He is to feel that in the great contest in which he is engaged, there is everything to win, and everything to lose. He is to realize that he must make use of every entrusted power to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Grace has been abundantly provided that he may not fail nor be discouraged, but be complete in Christ, accepted in the Beloved.

Those who would be victors should contemplate the cost of salvation, that they may be subdued by the love of Christ, that their strong human passions may be conquered, and their will brought into captivity to their Redeemer. The Christian is to realize that he is not his own, but that he has been bought with a price (I Corinthians 6:20). His strongest temptations will come from within; for he must battle against the inclinations of the natural heart. The Lord knows our weaknesses; yet He has valued man, even though finite and incapable of any good in and of himself, at an infinite price. “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” [John 3:16]. Every struggle against sin, every effort to conform to the law of God, is Christ working through his appointed agencies upon the human heart. Oh, if we could comprehend what Jesus is to us and what we are to Him, murmuring would be forever silenced, unbelief would be swept away, the value of the soul would appear, and we would believe that God has loved us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3).

You who are tempted and tried and discouraged, look up. Let no weary, halting, sin-oppressed soul become faint-hearted, and lose hope. The promises of God come sounding down along the lines to us, assuring us that we may reach heaven if we will abide in Christ. Look up; it is fatal to look down. Looking down, the earth reels and sways beneath you, and nothing is sure. A divine hand is reached toward you. The hand of the Infinite is stretched over the battlements of heaven to grasp your hand in its embrace. The mighty Helper is nigh to help the most erring, the most sinful and despairing. Look up by faith, and the light of the glory of God will shine upon you. Do not be discouraged because you see that your character is defective. The closer you come to Jesus, the more faulty you will appear in your own eyes; for your vision will be clearer, and your imperfections will be seen in distinct contrast with his perfect character. Be not discouraged; this is an evidence that Satan’s delusions are losing their power, that the vivifying influence of the Spirit of God is arousing you, and that your indifference and ignorance are passing away.

Whatever may have been your past experience, however discouraging may be your present circumstances, if you will come to Jesus just as you are, weak, helpless, and despairing, our compassionate Saviour will meet you a great way off, and will throw about you his arms of love and his robe of righteousness. Do not continue to talk of your weakness; Jesus came to bring moral power to combine with human effort, that we might advance step by step in the heavenward way. Let your faith lay hold of the precious promises of God, and if clouds have encompassed you, the mists will roll back; for the angels of God are ever ready to help in every trial and emergency. We are not left to battle unaided against the prince of darkness. As we realize the attacks of the enemy, we shall feel the need of fleeing to the stronghold, we shall learn to lean upon the Mighty One. He will be to us as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land, as a covert from the tempest (Isaiah 32:2). Deep and fervent will be the gratitude of him who experiences the help of God in times of temptation and trial.

The whole army of heaven is enlisted to fight our battles for us, to work out for us a glorious victory, and Jesus is the Captain of our salvation. But let no one think that we shall not be called upon to endure tribulation. John says, “I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God forever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these that are arrayed in white robes, and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in his temple, and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes [Revelation 7:9–17].”

The Bible Echo, December 1, 1892.

Pen of Inspiration – The Crisis Imminent

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I am deeply exercised in mind in reference to the low standard of piety among our people. And when I think of the woes passed on Capernaum, I think of how much heavier will come the condemnation upon those who know the truth and have not walked according to the truth, but in the sparks of their own kindling. In the night seasons I am addressing the people in a very solemn manner, beseeching them to ask their own consciences, What am I? Am I a Christian, or am I not? Is my heart renewed? Has the transforming grace of God moulded my character? Are my sins repented of? Are they confessed? Are they forgiven? Am I one with Christ as He is one with the Father? Do I hate what I once loved? Do I now love what I once hated? Do I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus? Do I feel I am the purchased possession of Jesus Christ, and that every hour I must consecrate myself to His service?

We are standing upon the threshold of great and solemn events. The whole earth is to be lightened with the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the channels of the great deep. Prophecies are being fulfilled and stormy times are before us. Old controversies which have apparently been hushed for a long time will be revived, and new controversies will spring up; new and old will commingle, and this will take place right early. The angels are holding the four winds, that they will not blow, until the specified work of warning is given to the world; but the storm is gathering, the clouds are loading, ready to burst upon the world, and to many it will be as a thief in the night.

Many smiled and would not believe when we told them, twenty and thirty years ago, that the Sunday Law would be urged upon all the world, and a law be made to compel its observance, and force conscience. We see it being fulfilled. All that God has said of the future will surely come to pass; not one thing will fail of all that He has spoken. Protestantism is now reaching hands across the gulf to clasp hands with the papacy, and a confederacy is being formed to trample out of sight the Sabbath of the fourth commandment and the man of sin, who, at the instigation of Satan, instituted the spurious Sabbath, this child of papacy, will be exalted to take the place of God.

All heaven is represented to me as watching the unfolding of events. A crisis is to be revealed in the great and prolonged controversy in the government of God on earth. Something great and decisive is to take place, and that right early. If any delay, the character of God and His throne will be compromised. The armory of heaven is open; all the universe of God and its equipments are ready. One word has justice to speak, and there will be terrific representations upon the earth, of the wrath of God. There will be voices and thunderings and lightnings and earthquakes and universal desolation. Every movement in the universe of heaven is to prepare the world for the great crisis.

Intensity is taking possession of every earthly element; and as a people who have had great light and wonderful knowledge, many of them are represented by the five sleeping virgins with their lamps, but no oil in their vessels; cold, senseless, with a feeble, waning piety. While a new life is being diffused and is springing up from beneath and taking fast hold of all Satan’s agencies, preparatory to the last great conflict and struggle, a new light and life and power is descending from on high, and taking possession of God’s people who are not dead, as many now are, in trespasses and sins. The people who will now see what is soon to come upon us by what is being transacted before us, will no longer trust in human inventions, and will feel that the Holy Spirit must be recognized, received, presented before the people, that they may contend for the glory of God, and work everywhere in the byways and highways of life, for the saving of the souls of their fellow-men. The only rock that is sure and steadfast is the Rock of Ages. Those only who build on this Rock are secure.

Those who are carnally minded now, notwithstanding the warnings given of God in His word and through the testimonies of His Spirit, will never unite with the holy family of the redeemed. They are sensual, debased in thought, and abominable in the sight of God. They have never been sanctified through the truth. They are not partakers of the divine nature, have never overcome self and the world with its affections and lusts. These characters are all through our churches, and as the result the churches are weak and sickly and ready to die. There must be no indifferent testimony borne now, but a decided, pointed testimony, rebuking every impurity and exalting Jesus. We must as a people be in the attitude of expectation, working and waiting and watching and praying.

This blessed hope of the second appearing of Christ needs to be presented often to the people, with its solemn realities; looking for the soon appearing of our Lord Jesus to come in His glory, will lead to the regarding of earthly things as emptiness and nothingness. All worldly honor or distinction is of no value, for the true believer lives above the world; his steps are advancing heavenward. He is a pilgrim and stranger. His citizenship is above. He is gathering the sunbeams of the righteousness of Christ into his soul, that he may be a burning and shining light in the moral darkness that has enshrouded the world. What vigorous faith, what lively hope, what fervent love, what holy, consecrated zeal for God is seen in him, and what a decided distinction between him and the world! “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man” (Luke 21:36). “Watch ye therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come” (Matthew 24:42). “Therefore be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh” (verse 44). “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments” (Revelation 16:15).

Special Testimonies, Ellen G. White, February 18, 1892.

Inspiration – What was Secured by the Death of Christ?

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It became Him for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in the redemption of the world to save sinners by the blood of the Lamb. The great sacrifice of the Son of God was neither too great nor too small to accomplish the work. In the wisdom of God it was complete; and the atonement made testifies to every son and daughter of Adam the immutability of God’s law. The value of the law of Jehovah is to be estimated by the immense price that was paid in the death of the Son of God to maintain its sacredness.

The law of God is a transcript of his character; it portrays the nature of God. As in Christ we behold the brightness of his glory, the express image of his person, so also in the law the attributes of the Father are unfolded. Although the law is unchangeable, his having provided a means of salvation for the law-breaker does not in the least detract from the dignity of the character of God, since the penalty of man’s transgression was borne by a divine Substitute. The Father himself suffered with the Son; for “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself” [II Corinthians 5:19]. Man, with his human, finite judgment, cannot safely question the wisdom of God. Hence it is unbecoming for him to criticise [sic] the plan of salvation. Before the theme of redemption, let man lay his wisdom in the dust, and accept the plans of Him whose wisdom is infinite.

God grants men a probation in this world, that their principles may become firmly established in the right, thus precluding the possibility of sin in the future life, and so assuring the happiness and security of all. Through the atonement of the Son of God alone could power be given to man to establish him in righteousness, and make him a fit subject for heaven. The blood of Christ is the eternal antidote for sin. The offensive character of sin is seen in what it cost the Son of God in humiliation, in suffering and death. All the worlds behold in him a living testimony to the malignity of sin, for in his divine form he bears the marks of the curse. He is in the midst of the throne as a Lamb that hath been slain. The redeemed will ever be vividly impressed with the hateful character of sin, as they behold Him who died for their transgressions. The preciousness of the Offering will be more fully realized as the blood-washed throng more fully comprehend how God has made a new and living way for the salvation of men, through the union of the human and the divine in Christ.

The death of Christ upon the cross made sure the destruction of him who has the power of death, who was the originator of sin. When Satan is destroyed, there will be none to tempt to evil; the atonement will never need to be repeated; and there will be no danger of another rebellion in the universe of God. That which alone can effectually restrain from sin in this world of darkness, will prevent sin in heaven. The significance of the death of Christ will be seen by saints and angels. Fallen men could not have a home in the paradise of God without the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Shall we not then exalt the cross of Christ? The angels ascribe honor and glory to Christ, for even they are not secure except by looking to the sufferings of the Son of God. It is through the efficacy of the cross that the angels of heaven are guarded from apostasy. Without the cross they would be no more secure against evil than were the angels before the fall of Satan. Angelic perfection failed in heaven. Human perfection failed in Eden, the paradise of bliss. All who wish for security in earth or heaven must look to the Lamb of God. The plan of salvation, making manifest the justice and love of God, provides an eternal safeguard against defection in unfallen worlds, as well as among those who shall be redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Our only hope is perfect trust in the blood of Him who can save to the uttermost all that come unto God by Him (Hebrews 7:25). The death of Christ on the cross of Calvary is our only hope in this world, and it will be our theme in the world to come. Oh, we do not comprehend the value of the atonement! If we did, we would talk more about it. The gift of God in his beloved Son was the expression of an incomprehensible love. It was the utmost that God could do to preserve the honor of his law, and still save the transgressor. Why should man not study the theme of redemption? It is the greatest subject that can engage the human mind. If men would contemplate the love of Christ, displayed in the cross, their faith would be strengthened to appropriate the merits of his shed blood, and they would be cleansed and saved from sin. There are many who will be lost, because they depend on legal religion, or mere repentance for sin. But repentance for sin alone cannot work the salvation of any soul. Man cannot be saved by his own works. Without Christ it is impossible for him to render perfect obedience to the law of God; and heaven can never be gained by an imperfect obedience; for this would place all heaven in jeopardy, and make possible a second rebellion.

God saves man through the blood of Christ alone, and man’s belief in, and allegiance to, Christ is salvation. It is no marvel to angels that the infinite sacrifice made by the Son of God was ample enough to bring salvation to a fallen race, but that this atoning sacrifice should have been made is a wonder to the universe. It is a mystery which angels desire to look into. The angels are amazed at the indifference and coldness manifested by those for whom so great a salvation has been provided. They look with grief and holy indignation upon those who do not seek to appreciate the unspeakable gift of God. Instead of offering adoration to God, finite men think themselves capable, without divine unction, of determining what is worthy of praise or blame in their fellow-men. But to be glorified by man is no glory. We should learn to value the praise of man at what it is worth. The Lord says, “Them that honor me I will honor” [I Samuel 2:30]. Let every breath of praise, every word of exaltation, flow to him who is worthy, flow to Jesus, the Prince of life, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Elevate the cross of Christ. Elevate the Mediator. Lift up Jesus. In him is everything noble. Contemplate God in Christ. He is surrounded with angels, cherubim and seraphim continually behold him. Angelic voices day and night cry before him: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to comecome. … Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.” “Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy; for all nations shall come and worship before thee” [Revelation 4:8, 11; 5:12; 15:3, 4]. But although God only is holy and worthy to be praised, human tongues are perverted to praise and glorify man rather than God.

The greatest gift that God could bestow upon men was bestowed in the gift of his beloved Son. … There was nothing held in reserve. No second probation will ever be provided. If the unspeakable gift of God does not lead man to repentance, there is nothing that ever will move his heart. There is no power held in reserve to act upon his mind, and arouse his sensibilities. The whole character of God was revealed in his Son, the whole range of the possibilities of heaven is displayed for the acceptance of man in the Son of the Infinite One. The way for man’s return to God and heaven has no barriers. The matchless depths of the Saviour’s love have been demonstrated; and if this manifestation of God’s love for the children of men does not prevail to draw men to himself, there is nothing that ever will.

Those who will be saved in the kingdom of God will be those who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:14). The image of Christ will be perfected in every soul who accepts the gift of his grace, and those who are perfected through his grace, will stand before God equal in elevation, in power and purity, to the angels, and will be honored with them before the eternal throne. The angels of heaven will love those whom Christ has loved, and has bought with his own precious blood.

The attention of all the inhabitants of all worlds will be directed to the cross of Christ, around which will cluster the exceeding and eternal weight of glory. The imagination becomes exhausted in its stretch to comprehend the wonderful work of redemption. The plan of salvation is too high to be fully reached by human thought. It is too grand to be fully embraced by finite comprehension. The apostle says, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” [I Corinthians 2:9]. Can we wonder that Heaven is amazed because men act as though the gift of God were valueless? What will be the eternal loss of those who reject so great a salvation, offered freely through the merits of God’s only-begotten and well-beloved Son!

The Signs of the Times, December 30, 1889.

Inspiration – The Elijah Prophecy

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Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” Malachi 4:5, 6.

Those who are to prepare the way for the second coming of Christ are represented by faithful Elijah, as John came in the spirit of Elijah to prepare the way for Christ’s first advent.

The work of John the Baptist, and the work of those who in the last days go forth in the spirit and power of Elijah to arouse the people from their apathy, are in many respects the same. His work is a type of the work that must be done in this age. Christ is to come the second time to judge the world in righteousness.

John separated himself from friends and from the luxuries of life. The simplicity of his dress, a garment woven of camel’s hair, was a standing rebuke to the extravagance and display of the Jewish priests, and of the people generally. His diet, purely vegetable, of locusts and wild honey, was a rebuke to the indulgence of appetite and the gluttony that everywhere prevailed. … The great subject of reform is to be agitated, and the public mind is to be stirred. Temperance in all things is to be connected with the message, to turn the people of God from their idolatry, their gluttony, and their extravagance in dress and other things.

The self-denial, humility, and temperance required of the righteous, whom God especially leads and blesses, is to be presented to the people in contrast to the extravagant, health-destroying habits of those who live in this degenerate age. God has shown that health reform is as closely connected with the third angel’s message as the hand is with the body.

“As John the Baptist … called their attention to the Ten Commandments, so we are to give, with no uncertain sound, the message: ‘Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come’ [Revelation 14:7]. With the earnestness that characterized Elijah the prophet and John the Baptist, we are to strive to prepare the way for Christ’s second advent.” Maranatha, 22.

The Health Reform

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I was again shown that the health reform is one branch of the great work which is to fit a people for the coming of the Lord. It is as closely connected with the third angel’s message as the hand is with the body. The law of Ten Commandments has been lightly regarded by man, but the Lord would not come to punish the transgressors of that law without first sending them a message of warning. The third angel proclaims that message. Had men ever been obedient to the law of Ten Commandments, carrying out in their lives the principles of those precepts, the curse of disease now flooding the world would not be. …

Our gracious heavenly Father sees the deplorable condition of men who, some knowingly but many ignorantly, are living in violation of the laws that He has established. And in love and pity to the race, He causes the light to shine upon health reform. He publishes His law and the penalty that will follow the transgression of it, that all may learn and be careful to live in harmony with natural law. He proclaims His law so distinctly and makes it so prominent that it is like a city set on a hill. All accountable beings can understand it if they will. Idiots will not be responsible. To make plain natural law, and urge the obedience of it, is the work that accompanies the third angel’s message to prepare a people for the coming of the Lord.

Adam and Eve fell through intemperate appetite. Christ came and withstood the fiercest temptation of Satan and, in behalf of the race, overcame appetite, showing that man may overcome. As Adam fell through appetite and lost blissful Eden, the children of Adam may, through Christ, overcome appetite and through temperance in all things regain Eden.

Ignorance is no excuse now for the transgression of law. The light shines clearly, and none need be ignorant, for the great God Himself is man’s instructor. All are bound by the most sacred obligations to God to heed the sound philosophy and genuine experience which He is now giving them in reference to health reform. He designs that the great subject of health reform shall be agitated and the public mind deeply stirred to investigate; for it is impossible for men and women, with all their sinful, health-destroying, brain-enervating habits, to discern sacred truth, through which they are to be sanctified, refined, elevated, and made fit for the society of heavenly angels in the kingdom of glory.

The inhabitants of the Noachian world were destroyed because they were corrupted through the indulgence of perverted appetite. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed through the gratification of unnatural appetite, which so benumbed the intellect that they could not discern the difference between the sacred claims of God and the clamor of appetite. The latter enslaved them, and they became so ferocious and bold in their detestable abominations that God would not tolerate them upon the earth. God ascribes the wickedness of Babylon to her gluttony and drunkenness.

The apostle Paul exhorts the church: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” [Romans 12:1]. Men, then, can make their bodies unholy by sinful indulgences. If unholy, they are unfitted to be spiritual worshipers and are not worthy of heaven. If man will cherish the light that God in mercy gives him upon health reform, he may be sanctified through the truth and fitted for immortality. But if he disregards that light and lives in violation of natural law he must pay the penalty.

God created man perfect and holy. But man fell from his holy estate because he transgressed God’s law. Since the Fall there has been a rapid increase of disease, suffering, and death. Yet notwithstanding man has insulted his Creator, God’s love is still extended to the race; and He permits light to shine that man may see that in order to live a perfect life he must live in harmony with those natural laws which govern his being. Therefore it is of the greatest importance that he know how to live so that his powers of body and mind may be exercised to the glory of God.

It is impossible for man to present his body a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God, while, because it is customary for the world to do so, he is indulging in habits that are lessening physical, mental, and moral vigor. The apostle adds: “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” [verse 2]. Jesus, seated upon the Mount of Olives, gave instruction to His disciples concerning the signs which should precede His coming. He said, “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the Flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the Flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” [Matthew 24:37–39].

The same sins exist in our day which brought the wrath of God upon the world in the days of Noah. Men and women now carry their eating and drinking to gluttony and drunkenness. This prevailing sin, the indulgence of perverted appetite, inflamed the passions of men in the days of Noah and led to general corruption, until their violence and crimes reached to heaven, and God washed the earth of its moral pollution by a flood.

The same sins of gluttony and drunkenness benumbed the moral sensibilities of the inhabitants of Sodom so that crimes seemed to be the delight of the men and women of that wicked city. Christ thus warns the world: “Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed” [Luke 17:28–30].

Christ has here left us a most important lesson. He does not in His teaching encourage indolence. His example was the opposite of this. Christ was an earnest worker. His life was one of self-denial, diligence, perseverance, industry, and economy. He would lay before us the danger of making eating and drinking paramount. He reveals the result of giving up to indulgence of appetite. The moral powers are enfeebled so that sin does not appear sinful. Crimes are winked at, and base passions control the mind until general corruption roots out good principles and impulses, and God is blasphemed. All this is the result of eating and drinking to excess. This is the very condition of things which He declares will exist at His second coming.

Will men and women be warned? Will they cherish the light, or will they become slaves to appetite and base passions? Christ presents to us something higher to toil for than merely what we shall eat, and what we shall drink, and wherewithal we shall be clothed. Eating, drinking, and dressing are carried to such excess that they become crimes, and are among the marked sins of the last days, and constitute a sign of Christ’s soon coming. Time, money, and strength, which are the Lord’s, but which He has entrusted to us, are wasted in needless superfluities of dress and luxuries for the perverted appetite, which lessen vitality and bring suffering and decay. It is impossible to present our bodies a living sacrifice to God when they are filled with corruption and disease by our own sinful indulgence.

Knowledge must be gained in regard to how to eat and drink and dress so as to preserve health. Sickness is caused by violating the laws of health; it is the result of violating nature’s law. Our first duty, one which we owe to God, to ourselves, and to our fellow men, is to obey the laws of God, which include the laws of health. If we are sick we impose a weary tax upon our friends and unfit ourselves for discharging our duties to our families and to our neighbors. And when premature death is the result of our violation of nature’s law, we bring sorrow and suffering to others; we deprive our neighbors of the help we ought to render them in living; we rob our families of the comfort and help we might render them, and rob God of the service He claims of us to advance His glory. Then, are we not, in the worst sense, transgressors of God’s law?

But God is all-pitiful, gracious, and tender, and when light comes to show who have injured their health by sinful indulgences, and they are convinced of sin, and repent and seek pardon, He accepts the poor offering rendered to Him, and receives them. Oh, what tender mercy that He does not refuse the remnant of the abused life of the suffering, repenting sinner! In His gracious mercy He saves these souls as by fire. But what an inferior, pitiful sacrifice, at best, to offer to a pure and holy God! Noble faculties have been paralyzed by wrong habits of sinful indulgence. The aspirations are perverted, and the soul and body defaced.

Testimonies, vol. 3, 161–165.

Pen of Inspiration – Angels and Their Work

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The connection of the visible with the invisible world, the ministration of angels of God, and the agency of evil spirits, are plainly revealed in the Scriptures, and inseparably interwoven with human history. There is a growing tendency to disbelief in the existence of evil spirits, while the holy angels that “minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation” [Hebrews 1:14], are regarded by many as the spirits of the dead. But the Scriptures not only teach the existence of angels, both good and evil, but present unquestionable proof that these are not the disembodied spirits of dead men.

Before the creation of man, angels were in existence; for when the foundations of the earth were laid, “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” [Job 38:7]. After the fall of man, angels were sent to guard the tree of life (Genesis 3:24), and this before a human being had died. Angels are in nature superior to men; for the psalmist says that man was made “a little lower than the angels” [Psalm 8:5; Hebrews 2:7].

In all ages, God has wrought through holy angels for the succour and deliverance of His people. Celestial beings have taken an active part in the affairs of men. They have appeared clothed in garments that shone as the lightning; they have come as men, in the garb of wayfarers. Angels have appeared in human form to men of God. They have rested, as if weary, under the oaks at noon. They have accepted the hospitalities of human homes. They have acted as guides to benighted travellers. They have, with their own hands, kindled the fires of the altar. They have opened prison doors, and set free the servants of the Lord. Clothed with the panoply of heaven, they came to roll away the stone from the Saviour’s tomb.

In the form of men, angels are often in the assemblies of the righteous, and they visit the assemblies of the wicked, as they went to Sodom to make a record of their deeds, to determine whether they have passed the boundary of God’s forbearance. The Lord delights in mercy; and for the sake of a few who really serve Him, He restrains calamities, and prolongs the tranquility of multitudes. Little do sinners against God realize that they are indebted for their own lives to the faithful few whom they delight to ridicule and oppress.

Angels have defeated purposes and arrested evils that would have greatly retarded the work of God, and would have caused great suffering to His people. In the hour of peril and distress, “the angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them” [Psalm 34:7].

The Bible Echo, September 23, 1895

Pen of Inspiration – Christianity a Sword

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Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me. He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for My sake shall find it” [Matthew 10:34–39].

The question has been asked, How can there be an agreement between the statement, “I came not to send peace, but a sword,” and the song sung by the angels when Christ was born in the manger at Bethlehem, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” [Luke 2:14]? The song of the angels is in harmony with the words of the prophet Isaiah, who, when he predicted the birth of Christ, declared Him to be the Prince of peace [Isaiah 9:6]. The gospel is a glorious message of peace and good will to men; the blessing that Christ came to bring was that of harmony and peace. He left His throne of glory, and clothed His divinity with humanity, that He might bring back from apostasy to loyalty to God the children of men, and bind their hearts together and to the heart of Infinite Love. He came to present to a fallen world the remedy for sin, so that whosoever should believe on Him should not perish, but by becoming one with Him and the Father should have everlasting life [John 3:16]. In this way He establishes the Christian brotherhood, and unites His followers in one faith—faith in Him as their personal Saviour.

The condition of the world at the time when Christ came into the walks of men, was no exceptional condition. At that time the Scriptures had been buried beneath the traditions of men, and Christ declared that those who professed to interpret the word of God were ignorant both of the Scriptures and of the power of God. By misapplication and misinterpretation of the sacred oracles, the religious teachers had shut away the light that was to illuminate the precious utterances from heaven. Jesus revealed the pure truth in contrast with error, but those who professed to be teachers of truth in their own nation, not being accustomed to gaze upon truth, and not seeing in the divine Teacher that which they looked for of pomp and worldly splendour, turned from Him; for it was not purity of heart and life that they desired.

Christ presented to His countrymen and to the world brightness, beauty, and holiness, the divine nature, by which they might be bound close to the heart of Infinite Love; He brought light into the world to dispel spiritual darkness, and to reveal truth [1 John 1:5]. But they would not receive the heavenly gift. The apostle inquires, “Who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth” [Galatians 3:1]? It is through the deceptive working of Satan that fatal delusions have been brought even into the religious world, and error and falsehood have been accepted instead of the light of truth. When light is rejected, darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the people [Isaiah 60:2]. Men professing the name of Christ have worked against His cause, and the blessing brought to men at infinite cost has been turned into a curse; for when truth is rejected because it is out of harmony with the corruption of the natural heart, it becomes a sword to destroy. The truth, which was to restore and renew, is a destroyer of evil; and when evil is persistently cherished, it becomes a destroyer of the sinner also.

Strife and opposition have been the sure result of resistance on the part of men, incited by evil angels, to God’s plan of mercy. Man’s perversity, his resistance of the truth, makes the mission of Christ appear to be what He announced to His disciples—the sending of a sword upon the earth; but the strife is not the effect of Christianity, but the result of opposition in the hearts of those who will not receive its blessings.

From the first presentation of Christianity to the world, there has been a deadly warfare instituted against it. Its messengers have been hated, pursued, imprisoned and put to death, because they would not yield to the power of apostasy, and become one with Satan and his angels. They counted not their lives dear unto themselves, if only the truth might be revealed. But from the throne, as in the case of Stephen, Jesus in sympathy and tender love bends down, marking from His divine dwelling-place the earnest witnesses for truth, and the defenders of the faith once delivered to the saints. Those who suffer for the truth know the value of a pure gospel, a free Bible, and liberty of conscience.

Animosity to truth has not passed away, it exists in our own day. Families have been divided by the truth, and bitter persecution has been borne by those who have taken their stand on the side of truth. Many have realized the force of the words, “I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household” [Matthew 10:35, 36]. This prophecy was not limited to any time or place; but has been acted out over and over in the history of the world, and is re-enacted in our own day. Some have to meet persecution, and we should never cease to pray for those who endure opposition from their own families, and who keep silent.

Many lives have been lost in planting the cross of Christ in heathen lands; but the blood of the martyrs has been as seed from which has sprung up those who have carried on the great work. Vast changes have been wrought, and it has been demonstrated in the face of opposition, that Christianity never degrades the receiver, but on the contrary elevates, refines, and ennobles the character.

The Bible Echo, March 12, 1894.