A brother in the Lord writes thus:-" While I like Sound Words' much for its earnest proclaiming of Christ crucified, yet it seems to me that some of its contents are objectionable. In the article (in the January No.) "the Lord's Farewell,' I read, 'if we loved Him as we ought, it would be our greatest sorrow that we are not with Jesus yet.' It seems to me that this is the language of a sickly sentimentalism, rather than that of a healthy Christianity. I do not believe that it is sustained by Scripture, or by the experience of Christ's most devoted followers. With a show of love for the Lord it appears to me that it savors of repining at His will, in keeping us here for His service, while true -love to Him expresses itself best in a cheerful acquiescence in His will, and accepting the position He assigns us on earth, as well as in a joyful anticipation of being with Him in glory. The hearts of the disciples were indeed filled with sorrow when Jesus foretold. His departure. But when He was parted from them, and curried up into heaven, they worshipped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.' (John 14:51,52,) And with that parting blessing abiding on them, they labored and endured persecutions for Christ's sake joyfully. Realizing the fulfillment of the promise of His presence with them, (John 14:21,2321He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. (John 14:21)
23Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. (John 14:23)., Matt. 28:2020Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:20),) neither their history nor their writings give any indication that their 'greatest sorrow ' was that they were not with Jesus. Paul was in a quandary which to choose, it' it were left to himself-to depart and be with Christ, or to remain in His service below. And the' for himself he regarded the former as '.far better,' yet he was quite contented to 'abide in the flesh for his brethren's sake. His greatest grief seems to have been indwelling sin; nothing drew from him such expressions of anguish. (Rom. 7:2121I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. (Romans 7:21).)
I would question also the statement on page 7,—' I can't help having a bad nature, but I can help letting it act.' If by it is meant that, having a sinful nature, we can help sinning,-regarding a specific act-stealing or lying-we may do it or not, well. But who can help the sudden uprisings-of sin in the heart? Paul's experience (Rom. 7) I believe to be-common to christians."
We have given this somewhat lengthy extract, from our Correspondent's letter, because we desire that it may be seen, that the pages of " Sound Words " afford opportunity for the free and unchecked expression of the thoughts and feelings of our fellow members in Christ. We feel too, that the condition of soul that underlies the sentiments expressed,-may find an echo in that of many of our readers, and as our answer will deal with this condition, as the soil out of which the objections made grow, we think it may be helpful to many to -let that which we are dealing with fairly appear on the surface, our desire being, not to answer objections merely, as having any special views of my own to maintain, but to directly profit souls by bringing, as we trust, Christ and His truth into the heart.
In the paper impeached the writer is dealing with the question of the Lord's departure out of this world, or rather with His farewell to His disciples in connection with it. He remarks that one leading thought was at that moment on the mind of Jesus, and that thought, His ABSENCE. It was the thought then, of His absence, that produced the sorrow in the hearts of His own that the Lord so touchingly ministers to in the 14th of John. He tells them that, though hidden from their sight in the flesh, He would not be lost to them, but that they must see Him during the they of His absence by faith; in this same way as they realized and enjoyed the presence of God. He makes them understand, that though away in the Father's house, His heart would be occupied with them, and pre-pairing a house for them in that bright heaven above their heads, instead of giving them then, as the Messiah, the heritage of Abraham on the earth. He promises that when He had reached that Father's house, He would pray for them, and send them the Comforter to abide with them forever. He asks their obedience on the principle of love, and says all that love, such love as His, can say to sustain their hearts during the period of His absence; but the thing which, above everything else, was to steady and stay up their hearts under the sorrow that His departure from them would produce, was the promise that He would come again, and receive them unto Himself, that where He was, there they might be also.
By all this precious ministry the Lord did not intend to take away from the hearts of His disciples the sense of His absence, or the sorrow, that the longing of their hearts after Himself would produce. It was to sustain them under this sorrow, a sorrow that nothing but His personal presence could relieve, as taking away that which caused it. He counted on them to cheerfully acquiesce in His will concerning them, in thus leaving them, and bids them labor for Him during His absence. He-reveals Himself to them repeatedly after His resurrection, that they might know Him in resurrection as the same Jesus they had walked with in the days of His flesh. He allows them to see Him in the plainest way when He goes from them into heaven, and they do indeed worship Him, and return " to Jerusalem with great joy," and, as our correspondent justly observes, " their history and writings " give -evidence of nothing, but how simply and devotedly they served their much loved, though absent Lord. But with all this their sorrow at His absence remained, and what above all characterized them, and marked them off from the world that surrounded them, was that they waited for Him to return, and take them to be with Himself in glory.
We' may illustrate their position, and condition of soul in this way:—wife sees a dearly loved husband hated, and hunted to death by his countrymen. He is killed by them before her eyes, and his lifeless form cast into the sea, and buried there from her sight. Her grief is complete and utterly unrelieved. In the dead of the night, unknown to any hut herself, her husband, having been miraculously restored to life beneath the waves that had entombed him, appears to her; complete joy fills her heart, she has recovered, as she had supposed, her utterly lost husband. He tells her he can no longer stay in that country, and that he most go to another land. Take her with him then he cannot, but says that when he has prepared a home for her in that for off land of beauty, which he describes to her, he will come back for her, and have her forever once more with himself. He promises her that as soon as he has reached his destination, he will send back to her a most intimate friend of his, who shall tell her all about himself, and give her further direction as to his will concerning her, and more, that this friend shall remain and watch over her till he returns himself.
After remaining with her some little time in concealment, he leaves her. Unknown to any but herself, she watches with eager interest, his departure by ship to the distant land he has spoken to her of. With quiet joy, in the knowledge of all her husband is to her, and is gone to prepare for her, she returns to her now desolate home, and with a heart, in which joy and sorrow are strangely mingled, she patiently waits the coming of the promised friend.
The friend comes. She hears from his lips of her husband's safe arrival at his journey's end. With glad surprise she listens, all entranced, to the wondrous story of her husband's greatness and dignity in that distant land. She receives fresh assurances of his love, and of his intentions to come for her very soon. She submits fully and cheerfully to the care and guidance of this friend who has come to watch over her during her husband's absence: Her joy is to know and do the will of the absent one she so loves, but her sorrow at his absence remains, and his personal absence alone can remove that, and so she waits longingly, yet patiently, for his coming.
This may sound like sentimentalism, but we believe, the state. of heart, that we have endeavored to depict, is what was, and should ever be found in those who belong to Christ. The holy affections of the soul, longing after Christ as the Bridegroom of His church, affections that must in themselves entail sorrow, until His personal return gives the heart all it longs for, are fully given us in Scripture, and the Spirit in the Bride's heart can never, as she thinks of Him, say less than, "come Lord Jesus, come quickly."
Such a state of soul is perfectly compatible with, what our correspondent calls, "healthy Christianity," that serves Christ joyfully, and contentedly during His absence. But of such a state of soul he, and we fear very many Christians with him, would seem to know little. Service, rather that Christ Himself, is what occupies the mind, and the thought of going to be with Christ through death, as the end of such service, has taken largely the place of what characterized the early christian, as those who were called out of this world to wait for Christ to come and take them to Himself in glory. To depart and be with Christ, infinitely blessed as this would be, is not being " with Jesus in glory," and therefore all our correspondent's remarks, as to Paul in connection with 'this are wide of the mark. Paul could speak rightfully of such a thing, because the Lord had revealed to him that he would have to die for His name's sake, and Peter, for the like reason, could joyfully talk of putting off " this my tabernacle," but believers in the Lord are, with these two, exceptions, uniformly presented to us in Scripture as expecting the Lord in their life-time.
We may mention here, that exception has also been taken to the paper, " Shall I ever die? " because it teaches this, and the remark is made that, " The secret of the Lord is with thorn that fear Him, and we must not confine the Spirit of God;" to illustrate the meaning of which, the following matter of personal experience is put forward. " My Sunday School teacher, who was the means in God's hands of bringing me to the truth, used often to dwell in her teachings upon the Lord's coming, and the future glory. I asked her one day, if she expected to see Jesus coming?. She answered me, she did not in her life time, but thought it was very possible her children would, (meaning children in the faith). She was then in consumption, which years after removed her by death."
We are very sorry to have to take note of, in one too who knows the truth, such real- infidelity as to the Lord's coming, as the immediate hope of believers, though alas, we fear there is plenty of this kind of thing around. It is in keeping with the saying of the wicked servant, " My Lord delayeth His coming," and should be judged, as such, in the heart that has it. Jesus says, " Behold, I come quickly;" and with death staring. us in the face, we ought, as " abounding, in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost," to be expecting Him to come," that mortality might be swallowed up of life," " The wages of sin is death," save as a question of martyrdom, and the christian is to be looking for the full results of the "grace that reigns through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord; and where the conversation is really "in heaven," let earthly circumstances be what they may, "we look for the Savior, the Lord -Jesus, who shall change our body of humiliation that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to. -the working whereby He is able even to subdue all according unto Himself."
Feelings and notions are neither faith nor the Spirit, and are not produced by " the sincere milk of the word;" while, as a test of our love for Him, the Lord says, " If a man love Me he will keep My words."
The remark of our correspondent, in connection with this subject; that -" Paul's greatest grief seems to have been indwelling sin," has its spring in the state of soul that takes exception at the statement, " I can't help having a had nature, but I can help letting it act;" and which makes the 7th of Romans proper christian experience.
We reject, as thoroughly unscriptural, that " Paul's greatest grief was indwelling sin," or that the 7th of mans was Paul's abiding experience. Ile had doubtless passed through such an experience, but he thanks "God, through Jesus Christ our Lord," as one delivered from it, and in the 8th of Romans, which was Paul's abiding experience, and thus proper christian experience, we find no trace of such a state of distress. That thousands of God's dear children are in the 7th of Romans we sorrowfully admit, but it is law, and not grace, they are under in their consciences, and hence their distress.
A christian has not only been "forgiven all trespasses," but he "is dead to sin," and his "old man (i. e. his evil nature) has been crucified"' with Christ. A dead man no more thinks and feels, than acts- and speaks. " Sudden uprisings of sin in the heart," show that the evil nature is not by faith kept in the place of death, for if we walked by faith in simple fellowship with Jesus, in the enjoyment of His grace, we should be as much able to help them "as specific acts, such as stealing or lying." We are told to reckon ourselves " dead to sin, (not sins merely) and alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." It is not that the root of evil is gone out of the heart, but it is kept dormant there by faith in Christ and His work for us. When a man is soundly asleep he is not dead, but he no More thinks and feels, than he talks and walks. As to walk this is the state the old man should ever be in, and then nothing but the new life, i. e. Christ, is experienced or expressed.