Departing From the Landmarks
By J.L. McElhany
We are living in a changing world. The evidences of this are seen on every hand. The political, social, and religious worlds all bear witness to this fact. And with some people the desire to change the old order of things has become almost an obsession, so that to stand as a conservative, in defense of that which has been tried and proved, often meets with the appellation of "old fogy." The modern demand for up-to-dateness may, in some respects, be very appropriate, but on the other hand, it may lead onto very dangerous ground.
Our forefathers traveled by ox team, and were months covering the distance which is now covered in a few days or possibly a few hours. It is true that as time is such an important factor, we should seek rightly to conserve it in all our customs, plans, and operations. But the modern trend away from the methods and the faith of our fathers, constitutes a very real danger, which nowhere needs to be more carefully guarded against than within the ranks of the Seventh-day Adventist ministry.
We have a great heritage. The forefathers of this movement have handed down to us certain principles and methods, which cannot be subjected to the changeful spirit of the times. While resourcefulness and adaptability are necessary outstanding qualities in the successful minister's experience, these must never lead to the abandonment of vital principles of truth established in the word of God, or of methods of work which have stood the test of time. To do so, would be to depart from the landmarks of the third angel's message.
Seventh-day Adventists are a distinctive people; they have a distinctive message, distinctive methods, and distinctive ways. The truth which we preach cannot be adapted to conform to the present-day thought and customs of other religious bodies, and at the same time maintain its distinctive features. To attempt to note down the message committed to us, in order to adapt it to the ways and methods of other religious leaders, is to destroy its force of appeal; and for Seventh-day Adventist ministers to attempt to preach like other ministers, and pattern after the popular manner of public address, is a clear indication of departure from our landmarks.
In this day of apostasy and deception, it is well to halt and consider the course we are taking: Shall we attempt to copy the pulpit methods of the modern preacher, or shall we adhere to the simple, expository type of preaching truth which from the earliest days has characterized this movement, which has transformed plain, unpretentious men into powerful preachers, and which is still most effective in satisfying soul hunger for God's word? Can the solemn and serious appeal of this message be carried to the hearts of the hearers through the emotional methods so common today? Brethren, we need to adhere to the old landmarks, even in our preaching.
Shall we pattern all our church services and public worship after the prevailing forms of church service observed by other religious bodies? Shall we bury our dead with the same ritual, and marry our young people with the same form and ceremony which have become popular today? Are these modern forms better than the methods which have been handed down to us in simplicity from the fathers of this movement? Why the change? Why the innovation? Have we legitimately outgrown our simplicity? Must we cut loose from the old moorings and abandon the old landmarks?
Surely we must agree in saying, Let us conserve the tried and proved methods and experiences that have attended the message in its rapid progress; let us not be so eager for change that we abandon the very things which have so largely contributed to our success in the past.
Experience teaches the necessity and value of improving our methods; but we can be progressive without being radical; we can make improvement without- yielding to the worldly mold. Preachers of power are not produced by copying the ways and manners of the world. Brethren, let us all stick to the old landmarks.
"No line of truth that has made the Seventh-day Adventist people what they are, is to be weakened. We have the old landmarks of truth, experience, and duty, and we are to stand firmly in defense of our principles, in full view of the world."—"Testimonies," Vol. VI, p. 17.
Laws of Evidence
By Judge Cyrus Simmons
The purpose of evidence is to establish a fact. Evidence is both personal and documentary. The principles of evidence are laid down in the Mosaic law, where it is written, "At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness shall he not be put to death." Dent. 17: 6. The same evidence is required in the courts of the land. One or two witnesses with strong circumstantial evidence will justify a conviction. More than this is cumulative; less than this is insufficient.
Hearsay evidence is not admissible. The witness must know of his own knowledge. He cannot tell what he has heard others say. These principles should govern religious as well as secular bodies, Christians as well as litigants. Many a noble Christian character is injured or murdered by hearsay, gossip, and wicked innuendoes. Talebearing separates friends, causes strife, and is condemned by God in the following statements: "Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor: I am the Lord." Lev. 19:16.
We are enjoined to take heed what we hear (Mark 4: 24), and also how we hear. Luke 8: 18. A Christian, therefore, should positively refuse to listen to anything about his brother which is hearsay or gossip. He should demand God's rule of evidence, and require the alleged fact to be established at the mouth of two or more witnesses. If this rule were observed by every one, a search warrant would be necessary in order to find a "busybody" in the church.
"Ye are My witnesses, saith the Lord." The Christian has the honor of witnessing for God. He is not appointed as a witness against his brother. The same rule of evidence is observed in the heavenly tribunal. The existence of God and of His salvation is established at the mouth of two or more witnesses. The believer is a witness. The indwelling Christ is a witness. "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself." 1 John 5: 10. The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost are witnesses in heaven. The Spirit, the water, and the blood are witnesses on earth. The spiritual world is witnessed by the material world, or documentary evidence, as it were, written on the face of nature. We look from nature up to nature's God, "for the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made." Rom. 1: 20.
If the court in heaven and the court on earth demand positive proof at the mouth of two or more witnesses for the establishment of a fact, should not Christians, as members of the heavenly family, demand the same kind of evidence when the integrity or the good name of a brother or neighbor is assailed?
The credibility of the witness has much to do with the weight of the evidence. In the courts, evidence is accepted unless the witness is impeached for want of truth or veracity. With God, the witness must be of high moral standing, and guiltless, or his own heart and conscience will condemn him. When the woman, taken in the very act of adultery, was brought before Christ, there were witnesses eager to testify, who pretended to know whereof they spoke from their own knowledge. The testimony of these witnesses was not accepted, because the witnesses were wicked themselves. Their purposes were not honorable. They wanted to tempt Christ, that they might accuse Him. When Christ wrote their own sins on the telltale sand, they realized that they were guilty of the same sins of which they had accused the woman, and they became powerless to cast the first stone, and as witnesses they were impeached. False swearing is perjury. raise witnessing for God is hypocrisy.
Knoxville, Tenn.
Further Experiment in Faith
(Concluded)
By L.H. King
The experiment in faith and prayer extends to our evangelistic work, and produces equally unprecedented and gratifying results as in the missionary campaigns. On one occasion I spoke on "The Restoration of the Temporal Power of the Pope," to a very large audience. People were crowded up around the rostrum and on both sides. Several days later I received a letter from a business man who had attended the service, in which he said:
"I was greatly impressed by your earnestness in the presentation of the theme, and I wish to extend to you an invitation to visit my church. I am the leader of a class of fifty men, and I should like to have you come next Sunday morning and speak to my class for half an hour."
I replied that I would be glad to accept his invitation, provided his minister was agreeable to the plan. He then wrote as follows:
"I have been a class leader for forty years, and a deep student of Christianity. I have written a commentary on the book of Acts, which is used by the denomination to which I belong. I am a man of experience in the Lord, but I feel that I want to know more about you and your work. My minister unites with me in asking you to come and speak to the Sunday school class, or to three classes, on the subject of 'Reasons 'Why We Should Keep the Bible Sabbath.' "
Accompanied by two of our church elders, I went to the church on Sunday morning, and spoke for nearly half an hour to an audience of nearly a hundred. At the conclusion of the presentation, the man who had invited me to come, said to the class: "I wish that our people were as zealous and as earnest and sincere in the espousal of their belief as Pastor King is in his. I am sure we would find it very difficult to refute the principles which he has laid down this morning."
Some members of the class came to me and expressed appreciation of the study, and a very decided interest seemed apparent in about a dozen cases. One man in particular asked questions about the resurrection of Christ, saying that if I could answer them, he would be' able at once to acknowledge the truth in regard to the Sabbath. The Lord helped me in giving the answer, and this man said, "I want to learn more about this. I believe you are right. You do not present argument, but you give the answer from the Bible, and I see it as plain as day."
After returning home, I was profoundly impressed as I reviewed the apparent working of the Holy Spirit to impress hearts to seek for truth. A few days later I received a copy of the "Commentary on the Book of Acts," written by the leader of the Sunday school class, with the request that I examine the volume and point out anything which was not in harmony with plain Bible truth. He also invited me to take lunch with him at a time when it would be possible to spend several hours together in further study. The acceptance of this invitation is still in the future. But this experience is, to me, just as miraculous as the events transpiring in the mission field. I have never before heard of a Seventh-day Adventist minister's being invited to come to church having 600 members and teach a Bible class of 100 people as to why we should keep God's holy Sabbath. Something is sure to come out of that experience, and I am looking forward to what God is going to do in the lives of these people.
There are several things which have contributed to this enlarged experience in evangelism. The first is prayer; the second is absolute surrender to the direction of the Holy Spirit, giving God the glory at every step of the way; If we glorify God before the people and in private devotions, results are bound to come, according to my experience. I realize that I have just ventured across the threshold of the experiment in faith and prayer, but I see it is the way out into the fullness of joy and blessing.
Buffalo, N. Y.
Deeper Life Confidences
The Doorkeeper of My Heart
For more than a year I have enjoyed a blessed new experience. Just when it began, or just why it began, does not interest- me so much as the fact that it has actually begun. The Lord Jesus has become very precious to me, and day by day I am learning what it means to turn the keeping of my life over to him. I cannot explain just how it is, but my experience is well illustrated by the story of the little girl who asked Jesus to keep the door of her heart, and in simple faith she said that when the evil one knocked at the door, Jesus met him at the threshold, and immediately Satan knew he was at the wrong house and hastily withdrew.
Here in China, where every home has a doorkeeper, a Chinese would never think of responding himself to the knock at the door, and this has been to me a practical demonstration of the great spiritual provision for permitting Jesus to keep the door of my heart. When the old temptations assail me, Jesus goes to the door, and the enemy cannot enter. He has never failed me. But it is He, and He only, who keeps me from falling. There is none of my strength in it; there is even no effort of mine. I merely place myself in His keeping, and the glorious work He does Himself. That sounds very simple, and it is very simple; but there is need to emphasize the importance of placing ourselves entirely in His keeping. Remember, He is the doorkeeper, and not we ourselves. Oh, how sad the road we travel when we take things into our own hands!
Some months ago, when I had reached a vital point in my Christian experience, at a time when the old life was clinging tenaciously for existence, I happened to be reading that wonderful book, "Power Through Prayer," and my eye caught this statement: "The sweetest graces by a slight perversion may bear the bitterest fruit." I was at the time on top of a high hotel building. It was early morning, and the rays of the sun were just appearing over the mountain tops, while the city stretched out before me in quietness and beauty. It was an inspiring scene, and a privilege to behold it; but I knew that a slight misstep would hurl me headlong to destruction. Then I saw the lesson in that statement, "The sweetest graces by a slight perversion may bear the bitterest fruit."
It is indeed a privilege to give up all. This is one of the "sweetest graces." A rare opportunity lay before me; would I by the assertion of my selfish heart turn this privileged blessing into bitter fruit? So slight an action on my part, to reap such consequential results, appalled me. No, I would trust everything to the hand that was nailed to the cross. Jesus must forever be the doorkeeper of my heart. From this blessed experience which Christ has brought to me, I look back over the years of struggle, and can but exclaim, "Lord, forbid that I should ever appoint my own footsteps; forbid that I should ever again try to be the doorkeeper of my own heart."
Aside from the precious presence of the, Lord Himself, I think there is nothing that has helped me more in this experience than my daily time for meditation and prayer. I have set apart a definite time, and have found the morning hours truly golden. I have resolved that absolutely nothing shall be permitted to steal away my early morning blessing in meditation and prayer.
In my office at home, or out in some native hut, or possibly traveling along the road on the back of a donkey, I greet the new day in prayer and meditation. Morning by morning the Lord reveals new truths and opens a new experience before me. The amount of time devoted to this meditation and prayer has not been uniform. Some mornings it may be an hour, and sometimes fifteen minutes only. My rule is to seek the Lord until I get His blessing and am enabled to go forth strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man.
I am sure there are rich blessings in store for all who consecrate the morning hours to meditation and prayer. It has been worth more to me than tongue can tell, and I would never go back to the barren experience of former years. Truly the Lord is precious unto those who draw nigh unto Him.
A Mission Director.
