Principle Never to be Sacrificed for Peace

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The Love of God a Constraining Motive. — Mrs. E. G. White. There always have been, and always will be to the end of time, two classes on the earth,-the believers in Jesus and those who reject Him. The truth will be a savour of life unto life to those who believe. However wicked, abominable, and corrupt he may be, the sinner will be purified by faith in Him, made clean by the doing of His word. But the same truth will be to the unbeliever a savour of death unto death.

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Argument will fail to convince the sinner of his responsibility to God. Learning and talent will fail to convince the soul. But the presentation of the love of God has a convincing power above that of argument, debate, or eloquence. The love of Christ, as expressed in self-denial, self-sacrifice, and death, as He bowed low under the sins of humanity, touches the sympathies and melts the stubborn heart. The fact that the Son of God, innocent and pure, suffered for sin; that the guiltless bore the punishment of the guilty, the just endured the penalty for the unjust, breaks the heart; and as Jesus is lifted up, conviction strikes to the soul, and the love that prompted the bestowal of the infinite gift of Christ, constrains the repenting one to surrender all to God. The seed of gospel truth has been dropped into his heart; and he beholds a love that is without a parallel, pledging a personal Saviour, and with Him every needed blessing. «He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?»

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Those who receive Christ are melted and subdued by the manifestation of His love in His humiliation, suffering, and death in their behalf. They behold Him as their substitute and surety, as pledging Himself to accomplish their full salvation through a plan that is consistent with the justice of God, and which vindicates the honour of His law. But there are some who are stirred with strong emotion as they view the humiliation of Jesus, who shrink from following in His footsteps when they understand that they must be sharers in His humiliation and suffering. When Jesus asks the surrender of self without reserve, when He asks compliance with His government, and that they shall walk in humble obedience and implicit trust, their nature rebels. «No,» says the proud heart; «we want to keep our independence.» But this is the very thing that Jesus wants you to have. It was that you might be freed from the slavery of sin that He died on Calvary’s cross. He died that through faith in Him, you might be free indeed, and stand fast in the glorious liberty of the children of God.

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Contemplate the sufferings of your Redeemer, and you will find that a check will be put upon sin. Every sin that is committed is a re-enacting of Christ’s humiliation, a re-opening of His wounds. Those who refuse to look upon Jesus lifted up upon the cross, who will not deny the inclination of their perverse hearts, who will not give up what they term their independence, their freedom to serve the author of sin as they please, will find their hearts filled with bitterness against those who accept Jesus as a personal Saviour. To them Christians will seem their enemies and injurers, and the gospel a sword.

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Paul writes. «God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.» There is a mutual suffering here presented on the part of the Christian and the world. The world sees no charm in Jesus, and the Christian sees in Him matchless charms, and expresses his love, saying, «Thy gentleness hath made me great.» Christians realize the blessing that comes upon those who hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they are filled. The blessing comes upon those who desire entire conformity to the will of God, who desire to know Christ and to reflect His image. Through the merits of Jesus Christ, they realize that nothing is reserved in the heart of God for them but the fountain of the water of life,-tender mercy, loving-kindness, infinite compassion. Jesus changes place with the sinner who believes, and the Father loves the followers of Christ, even as He loves His Son. He who receives the truth, has his heart filled with peace and joy as he contemplates Jesus.

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But how different is the case of him who refuses to receive the salvation purchased at infinite cost. He refuses to look upon the humiliation and love of Jesus. He plainly says, «I will not have this man to reign over me.» To all who take this attitude, Jesus says, «I came not to send peace, but a sword.» Families must be divided, in order that all who call upon the name of the Lord may be saved. All who refuse His infinite love, will find Christianity a sword, a disturber of their peace. The light of Christ will cut away the darkness that covers their evil doings; and their corruption, their fraud, their cruelty will be exposed. Christianity unmasks the hypocrisies of Satan, and it is this unmasking of his designs that stirs his bitter hatred against Christ and His followers.

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Satan has woven his spell even over the professed church of Christ, and many who claim to believe in Christ seem to be in the stupor of death. But the Lord has not left them to slumber on; He has sent them a message to arouse them from their carnal security. A part of these professors arouse and repent, and do their first works; but those who take comfort in their legal religion, in their form of godliness that is devoid of the power, feel that they have been personally rebuked and injured by the repentance of those who have aroused and returned unto the Lord. Instead of humbling their hearts and confessing their backsliding, they resist and oppose the message the Lord has sent. They oppose their finite wisdom against the wisdom of the Infinite. They allow their prejudices and passions to hold sway; they work on Satan’s side of the question. Thus the advocates of truth are brought into an unexpected conflict, and they are forced to bear witness to the truth, and to resist the hostility and hatred of those who would make the truth of God of none effect. Thus dissension comes in like a sword to divide believers and unbelievers.

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In one of His confidential talks with His disciples, a short time before His crucifixion, Jesus bequeathed to His followers His legacy of peace. He said, «Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.» The peace that Christ bequeathed to His disciples, and for which we pray, is the peace that is born of truth, and which cannot be banished by divisions caused by the truth. Without may be wars and fightings, jealousies, envies, hatred, strife; but these do not affect the peace of Christ, for it is that which the world neither gives nor takes away. His peace was that which was born of love for those who were plotting His death. But peace cannot be gained by a compromise of principle, and Christ did not for an instant seek to purchase it by a betrayal of sacred trusts. His heart was overflowing with love to every human being He had made; but this deep love did not lead Him to cry, «Peace and safety,» when there was no safety for the sinner. Christ understood the strength of Satan’s temptations; for though sinless, He was tempted in all points like as we are. But He never lessened the guilt of sin. He was the Saviour, the Redeemer of the world, and came to save His people from their sins.

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The love of Christ should have been discerned by those He came to save, in as much as He became poor that we through His poverty might be made rich. Jesus came to the world with an embassage of mercy. He was sent by the Father, not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved, and to all that believe in Him He gave power to become the sons of God. In the rich loveliness of His character, zeal for God was always apparent. His righteousness went before Him, and the glory of the Lord was His rearward.

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Christ hated one thing only, and that was sin. But although He represented in His spotless character the character of His Father, yet the world hated and refused Him. The human heart loves sin and hates righteousness, and this was the cause of the hostility of the world to Jesus. The atmosphere that surrounded His soul was so pure, so elevated, that it placed the hypocritical rabbis, priests, and rulers in their true position, and revealed them in their real character as claiming sanctity, while misrepresenting God and His truth. If Christ had given license to men to exercise their evil passions, they would have hailed this great miracle-worker with shouts of applause; but when He reproved sin, made open war upon selfishness, oppression, hypocrisy, pride, covetousness, and lust, they hunted Him down as a malefactor. He endured the contradiction of sinners against Himself until at last they cried out, Away with this fellow, and give us Barabbas.

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Jesus could have been at peace with the world only as He left the transgressors of the law unreproved, unrebuked. And He has said, «The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept My saying, they will keep yours also.» The followers of Christ must often proclaim a message that is in direct opposition to the people’s sins, prejudices, and customs; they are called upon to «reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine.» Those who faithfully carry out this commission will be charged by the world with being the disturbers of its peace; they will be accused of stirring up strife and creating divisions. But they will only be bearing the reproach that fell on Christ, who denounced unrighteousness, and whose very presence was a rebuke to sin.

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It is impossible for any one to become a true follower of Jesus without distinguishing himself from the worldly mass of unbelievers. If the world would accept of Jesus, then there would be no sword of dissension; for all would be disciples of Christ, and so in fellowship one with another, and their unity would be unbroken. But this is not the case. Here and there an individual is true to the convictions of his conscience, and he is often compelled to stand alone in the family or in the church to which he belongs, and perhaps finally, because of the course of those with whom he associates, to separate himself from their companionship. The line of demarkation is made distinct. One stands upon the word of God; the others upon the traditions and sayings of men.

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There will never be any true unity existing between those who stand under the banner of the arch-deceiver, and those who stand under the blood-stained banner of Prince Emmanuel. The followers of Christ may follow the things that make for peace; they may earnestly desire to overcome the spirit of discord with the spirit of kindness and love; but the enemy will stir up his agents to bring about strife and division. It is a grave mistake on the part of those who are children of God to seek to bridge the gulf that separates them from the children of darkness by yielding principle, by compromising the truth. It is surrendering the peace of Christ to make peace with the world, to fraternize with the world. The sacrifice is too costly to be made, to have peace with the world by giving up the principles of truth.

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Those who have the mind of Christ will let the light shine forth to the world in good works, but that light will bring about a division. Shall the light therefore be hid under a bed or under a bushel, because it will mark a distinction between the followers of Christ and the world? It must be made apparent that the believers in the truth are antagonistic to the serpent and to his seed. It was the purity of the character of Christ that stirred up the enmity of a profligate world. His spotless righteousness was a continual rebuke to their sin and uncleanness; but no principle of truth was compromised by Christ to win the favour of the world. Then let the followers of Christ settle it in their minds that they will never compromise truth, never yield one iota of principle for the favour of the world. Let them hold to the peace of Christ.