433
July 1927
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
the Spirit, where work follows fëst. Our Saviour on the cross tolled the knell of the legal dispensation when He said: ‘It is finished.’ ” However, L. Erwin Wright concludes': “The first day of the week is not a sacred day at all, but just one of six working days.” We leave it to our readers if one, unaided by the helping hand of 7th Day Adventist writers, could carefully study the New Testament, together with the records of the early Church, and come to' any such con clusion. . I
and their lingering tribes from their ancient resting place, leaving their empty rites and silent Sabbath without observers, the Christian institution alone remained. The Lord’s Day from that time rose peacefully ând unopposed into universal observance in the Church. This was cen turies -before there was a Romish pope. Dr. David Anderson Berry well says : “The 7th day was the sign of the dispensation of law, where rest follows work. The Lord’s Day is the sign of the dispensation of
The Sin of Judg ing B y R e v . F r a n k S co tt
"Judge not according to thé appearance, but judge right eous judgment .’3 John 7:24. A S human nature is now constituted, this is one of the / A most difficult commands to keep. Men continually JL j L express judgment on their fellows and their actions ; and those judgments are swayed by various influ ences—prejudices, prepossessions, self-interes.t, ’ etc. In this age of criticism, judging of others seems to be a cus tom of many from youth tip. Accusation, censure, con demnation, are indulged in often without mercy; faults of others are magnified and intensified ; good character istics are diminished in proportional degree. Such a spirit will not find place in the heavenly world. But the Gospel does not leave the attainment of the spirit of right judg ment to the eternal future. The germs of that perfect state are implanted here. The more we progress in love to our neighbor, the more will the fault of judging others pass away. Besides, men’s attempts at judgment of others are often an infringement of the divine prérogative.: It is an endeavor with beclouded judgment; imperfect or erroneous information, and biased minds, to do what the great Creator, who reads men’s hearts and thoughts, alone can do. But-^H I. Are we never to judge of actions or character ?— 1. Not so; for our Lord warns men that they must dis criminate between false teaching and true,' false assump tions and true. As we judge a tree by its fruits, so we must judge the “prophets” who: claim our adherence. 2. Nor, of course, does our Lord in any way reflect on the province of human justice, although it must be inferred that in it also judgment must be according to righteous ness. Human rights and equity must be enforced. The laws for the commonweal, of morality and social order, must be maintained; and men chosen for their character and learning are appointed to carry out the judgments of the law. Human justice has its source in the divine; and all codes and institutes of human law are attempts’ to bring us into harmony with eternal justice. 3. But the crown of justice is love; and here often human judgments fail and are imperfect, a fact shown by the continual shift ing and changing of human laws, and the more the peoples approximate to the spirit of the Gospel, the more humane, etc., dp their laws become. A W r o n g a n d R ig h t J u d g m e n t II. I t is irresponsible and ill-founded judgments that our Lord commands us to avoid. — 1. We are to avoid rash and unthinking judgments—judgments founded plausibly on appearance, such as those passed on Christ
by the Jews (v. 23). We cannot enter into the hidden circle of motive and feeling in the life of another. 2. Nor are we to judge others without careful consideration of the meaning of their words and actions. Careful con sideration may often bring to light an entirely different signification. 3. How often and mournfully this- sinful habit has wrought havoc is evident in the history of the Church! True, men who become members of'and teachers in the Church are not to be permitted to hold and promul gate opinions utterly subversive of the faith. But how frequently are subjects of dubious import, speculations .on matters not directly bearing on the great fundamentals of the faith, made the occasion of harsh judgments and irre trievably wrongdoing! How terribly was this exemplified in the relations of the Jewish rulers, etc., to our Lord, as, hurried on by mistaken zeal for the law, and bitter enmity, they misjudged and condemned H im ! And how^ fatally was this spirit perpetuatéd in the persecutions of the early Christians and in the horrors of the Inquisition! I ll; “Judge righteous judgment.” —1. It is essential to our higher life that, we should be able to distinguish between good and evil, between wicked men and just men, so that we may not “walk in the counsel, of the ungodly.” 2. But we are not left to our own unaided judgment here. There is a rule laid down for us here. We are to judge men “by their fruits.” There is an unerring standard given us—the revealed will of God; and in judging by this standard we are not following the fallible opinions of men, but the Word of God. 3. It was just here that the Jewish rulers erred. They did not conform to the law God ■had given them (w . 22, 23). Even here too, then, we must discriminate, lest we fall into their error. It is not our duty to judge finally; so that even whilst we testify firmly against wrong and evil, our testimony must be given in the spirit of love. And in that case it will not be we who judge, but God by. His Word and law. 4. How often do men judge others by appearances, which are deceptive, and thus lead to much unhappiness and wrong! Men are not always what they seem to be. How often does it happen, when people have passed away, a chain of hidden cir cumstances may have come to light, overturning entirely the good or evil name they bore! How frequently the rough casket contains a precious jewel! How many rashly and harshly judged of men are accepted of God! Therefore, whilst discriminating between the evil and the good, we are to be careful to act in the spirit of love, and to obey the injunction of our Masters-“Judge not accord ing to the appearance.”
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