To be “not far” is to be near. Then as he is not far from every one of us, he is certainly near to every one of us.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.3

Had it occurred to you that this word—“he is not far from every one of us”—was first spoken to a great crowd of heathen, Greek heathen, too, sunken to the very depths of idolatry and all other Greek heathen abominations; and that there was not a single even professed Christian there, except the man who spoke it?ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.4

That is the truth: it was spoken by Paul at Athens; and he was there “alone,” and he spoke it to a crowd of none but heathen. To them all he said, by inspiration of God, “He is not far from every one of us.”ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.5

That being true of heathen, and such heathen, too, how is it, then, with you who do believe in him and love him? Is he far from you?—No, no; he is not far from you; he is near to you.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.6

Yes, he is more than near to you: he says, “Lo, I am with you.” More than that: he says: “I am with you always.” Yea, even more than that: he says, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.7

Then please, please, never think again that God is far from you. Nobody but the devil can ever suggest such a thing. Please believe the Lord rather than the devil.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.8

“‘Unto Perfection’” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 74, 50, p. 790.

DO not make the mistake of thinking that you must be absolutely perfect before you can receive the Holy Spirit.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.1

It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that we can ever be brought to perfection. And for this very purpose the Holy Spirit is given.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.2

Here is the word: “Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.... And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.”ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.3

These are the gifts which were imparted by the Holy Spirit to the church at Pentecost and onward. For in another place it is said: “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; ... but all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.” 1 Corinthians 12:7-11.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.4

Thus the gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, knowledge, wisdom, healings, miracles, etc., etc., are all direct gifts of the Holy Spirit, and are received only by receiving the Holy Spirit.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.5

Yet what is the object of all these gifts?—“The perfecting of the saints.” Ephesians 4:12.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.6

Then as these gifts are the direct gifts of the Holy Spirit, and cannot be received but by receiving the Holy Spirit, and as these gifts are for the perfecting of the saints, it is plain that it is only the power of the Holy Spirit that can bring us to perfection.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.7

Therefore instead of being required to be perfect in order to receive the Holy Spirit, we must receive the Holy Spirit in order to be perfect.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.8

Again: after mentioning the gifts and the operations of the Holy Spirit, the word of the Lord is that now “we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is PERFECT is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” This also plainly shows that we must have the Holy Spirit in order to attain to perfection; and that to bring us to perfection, is the very object of the gift of the Holy Spirit to the believer.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.9

It is only “through the eternal Spirit” we can ever offer ourselves “without spot to God.”ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.10

O, then, “receive ye the Holy Ghost”! Receive him now, make no delay.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.11

In order to receive the Holy Spirit, all that is necessary is that you have the righteousness of God, so that in asking for the baptism of the Spirit, you will not be asking him to baptize sin for righteousness. And this righteousness of God is a free gift unto all and upon all them that believe in Jesus; for there is no difference.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.12

In order that the Spirit of God may come upon you and brood over your life, giving it form and comeliness to the glory of God, all that is necessary is that you shall be created new in Christ Jesus, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.13

The gift of the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ,—the righteousness that is imputed to the new-born believer in Jesus,—is declared for the remission of sins that are past, making the life righteous from the beginning unto this moment.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.14

Then, the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is by faith of Jesus Christ, comes upon the new-created believer in Jesus to brood upon the life forever, imparting the righteousness of God, that, instead of sin, the life may forever bear the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory of God.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.15

This gift of the Holy Spirit, then, is for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the church; and his blessed work will continue until we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.16

O, then, “receive ye the Holy Ghost”! Receive him now. Make no delay. “Be filled with the Spirit,” that ye may be “filled with all the fulness of God.”ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.17

“Eulogies Again” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 74, 50, pp. 790, 791.

“EULOGIZE them that persecute you: eulogize, and curse not.”ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.1

This is the literal working of Romans 12:14, as nearly as it could possibly be put in English. As it reads in our Bible, it is, “Bless them that persecute you: bless, and curse not.” But as the word translated “bless” is eulogeite in Greek, from which comes our English word “eulogize,” the literal English of the verse is, “Eulogize them which persecute you: eulogize, and curse not.”ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.2

Now to eulogize a person is to speak well of him, to praise him, to use good language and fine phrases concerning him. And this is how the Lord says that we are to speak of them that persecute us. Did you ever do it? And if you did, do you still do it? Do you do it all the time?ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.3

Perhaps you say that “we cannot do that.” But that will never do: there stands the Word of the Lord, saying that that is precisely the thing which we are to do. And he does not tell us to do things which cannot be done. Therefore if you cannot speak well of, praise, use good language and fine phrases toward, those who persecute you, the difficulty is with you, and you need something that now you have not. Do not forget that “all of God’s biddings are enablings.”ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.4

What, then, will enable a person to do this, who now cannot do it? Let us see: “When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.” “We ourselves were foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.”ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.5

Being such as this, why did God reconcile us to himself?—This is why: “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.” “The kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared.” “For his great love wherewith he loved us,” he saved us.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.6

But why did he love such people as we were?—The simple answer is, Because he is Love. Love is what he is; and he cannot be anything else, because he is God. To be anything else than what he is,—the same yesterday, to-day, and forever,—he would cease to be God. Therefore, being God, and being Love, this is why he loved us and still loves us. Being the eternal God, and being Love, this is why he loves us with an everlasting love. And he cannot do anything else.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.7

Now, God being Love, do you think that it was, or that it is, difficult for him to love people? Being Love, do you think he has to try to love people, even bad people? In other words, Do you think that it is difficult for him to be himself? Do you think he ever has to try to be simply what he is?—No, no! of course not.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.8

The love of God, in himself, in his own heart, did all this for his enemies and those who persecuted him. The love of God in the heart of Jesus, even in dying agony, said of his persecutors, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” And it was not difficult for him thus to eulogize them: the love of God that was in his heart did it.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 791.1

Now, the love of God being the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever, is likewise the same everywhere that it can be found. And being the same always and everywhere, in its very nature it will act the same way always and everywhere. Then if this love were to dwell in you, would it not do in you exactly as it did in God and in Christ?—Assuredly so. Very good, here is the word: “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”ARSH December 14, 1897, page 791.2

Therefore if you cannot speak well of, if you cannot praise, if you cannot use good language and fine phrases toward, them that persecute you, it is simply because the love of God is not in you. And if the love of God is not in you, it is simply because you have not the Holy Ghost. Then the only thing for all or any to do is simply to receive the Holy Ghost, which will shed abroad the love of God in our hearts, by which we can always and easily eulogize them that persecute us; eulogize, and curse not.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 791.3

“Ask, and it shall be given.” “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.”ARSH December 14, 1897, page 791.4

“Watchman, What of the Night?” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 74, 50, p. 790.

HOW often appeal is made to the clock, to ascertain the hour of the day or night! A query of another kind in relation to the time, the prophet says will be asked. It is expressed in these words: “Watchman, what of the night?” that is, Where are we in the course of the night? how soon will the morning come? To such inquiring souls the watchman is the timepiece. “Ye are the light of the world,” says Christ to his followers,—light not only to show them the way in which to walk, but to show them where we are in the course of time. And our teaching and lives should be to them as plain as the hands on the face of the clock. Let us be careful that we do not point to the wrong hour.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 790.1

“A Goal Wanted—and Supplied” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 74, 50, pp. 791, 792.

IN the School Journal, Col. F. W. Parker, the noted expert in pedagogies, advertises for a goal in education. His advertisement stands under the heading, “Wanted—A Goal.” What he means by “goal” is “an end; an aim; a clear, distinct goal for education.” He says that “in other professions there is a definite aim;” and wants to know why there should not be for the educational profession.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 791.1

We should say so, too. To a good many people, it has been, for a good while, evident that the current system of education is entirely aimless—utterly without a goal. And what could confirm this more than the fact that one of the acknowledged authorities should find himself obliged to advertise for a goal for education? That the profession itself has at last discovered this, is a hopeful sign; and that even one of the profession realizes the need of a goal sufficiently to justify advertising for one, is a cheering token of progress.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 791.2

We answer that advertisement. We name for education not only a goal but the goal. We quote, because we are not the author of the idea. Here it is: “The true object [goal] of education is to restore the image of God in the soul.”ARSH December 14, 1897, page 791.3

There, without any qualification, modification, or restriction, is precisely what that advertisement calls for,—“and end; an aim, a clear, distinct goal for education.” Every teacher who accepts it, and who sincerely applies his energies to reaching it, will find all heaven enlisted with him in it. Let ever teacher in the United States accept this true goal, let each one sincerely strive to reach it, and there would be given to education such impetus, such breadth, and such power, as have never been imagined by even the acknowledged leading educators of the country.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 791.4

We know that many will say, “But we teach in state schools, and it is not the province of the state, or the state teacher, to teach religion.” Yes, that is true. And we acknowledge that the goal which we recommend is strictly for the ideal, the truly Christian, education; and the state cannot adopt it. Yet it must be accepted as the true goal by every teacher who would aim at the ideal of education.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 791.5

However, the state school and the teachers therein need not continued without a goal. Accepting the principle upon which the state school is professedly established, there is a true goal for that education. The object, the aim, the goal,—indeed the very reason of existence,—of the state school is said to be, and we believe it is, to make, or secure, good citizens. That, then, must be sincerely accepted as the goal of state education, or else it is absolutely without a goal. And when that is sincerely accepted as the goal, the direct line to that goal must be persistently and uncompromisingly adhered to, or else, again, by missing it, state education finds itself really without a goal.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 791.6

The best citizen, in the sense in which government and the world contemplate the concept, is he who exemplifies most fully the essential, the fundamental, principles of the government to which he belongs. Therefore any system of education the object of whose existence is to make good citizens, in order to reach that goal must, in the very nature of things, diligently inculcate, as the thing of supreme importance, the essential principles of the government to which the parties belong. For, manifestly, people cannot be made good citizens of one government by inculcating upon their minds, and saturating them with, the principles of other governments.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 792.1

Now in the United States the essential principles of the government are embodied in the Declaration of Independence and the National Constitution. These documents, then, are the things which are of supreme importance, and which must be inculcated as such in the system of state education in this country, or else that education, by missing its true goal, will find itself really without any goal. Of course this includes, the teaching and study of such branches as are an essential preparation for the intelligent study of these documents in their proper bearings.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 792.2

Yet as a plain matter of fact, the Declaration of Independence and the National Constitution are the things to which there is given about the least attention in the system of state education in the United States. Students are perhaps given a few weeks on the Declaration and the Constitution, whereas children and youth are kept for years dinging at Latin and Greek, inevitably, though it be unconsciously, imbibing the spirit of aggression and despotism of Rome and Greece; and all this in an effort “to make good citizens” of the free republic of the United States! An attempt to make sober citizens by giving them intoxicants for years, with, somewhere in their career, pure water for a few weeks or even months, would be equally effective in reaching the goal of sober citizenship.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 792.3

Let Good Citizenship be accept in fact, as it is in theory, as the goal of state education in the United States; let the essential principles of the government, as embodied in the Declaration and the Constitution, with the connecting and illustrating history, be the things of supreme importance in the teaching and study; let that direct line to the goal be persistently and uncompromisingly adhered to by every teacher in the state schools; and there would be in that education an impetus, a breadth, and a power that have never yet been seen in it, and that never will be seen in it without this.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 792.4

Then in all education that is not state education, let the Restoration of the Image of God in the Soul be accepted as the goal; let every teacher therein, by living faith and the living Word and the enlistment of all the power of heaven,—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,—sincerely strive to reach that goal; and education will display such impetus and breadth and power as have never been seen in the world since the days of Solomon.ARSH December 14, 1897, page 792.5

December 7, 1897

December 21, 1897