(62-67) to know and to do the Lord’s will; and finding myself taking the opposite view from the other elders and some of the other members of the class, I feel greatly concerned and ask your advice. Taking into consideration the present and future interests of the class, I feel that the matter is now too important to be in doubt about. I am, Your brother in his blessed service, OUR REPLY TO THE FOREGOING We have endeavored to set forth in Sruplzs IN THE ScriprurES, Vol. VI., what we believe to be the Seriptural teaching covering the querics of this letter. Repeating now, and seeking to make the matter applicable to the case in question, we would say: Each spirit-begotten child of God, by virtue of his anointing, has a right to speak, to preach, to declare his heavenly Father’s Word and message. The right to preach is not confined to bishops, nor to those upon whom they lay their hands, nor to elders and deacons chosen in the Scriptural manner by the stretching forth of the hands of the eeclesia. There are natural limitations, of course, such as lack of ability, from any cause, to hold the attention of an audience. Except the Apostle’s restriction that the sisters are not to do public preaching, there are none. With this broad view of the divine commission, the anointing or authorization of the holy Spirit, we perceive that none has a right to interfere with another. As Jesus said to the Apostle John, ‘‘Forbid him not.’’—Mark 9:39. However, while none may interfere with or bind his brother, we may give over some of our own liberties. Recognizing that God is a God of order, and that every good work is prospered by order, and following the instructions of our Lord that his followers should assemble themselves together as one body, we realize that in taking our places in the body, we lose some of our own personal independence, liberties, privileges. We are glad to do this, for we believe it to be the Lord’s will, because he instructs us: ‘‘Forget not the assembling of yourselves together.’’ So all who thus become associates, or members, in a class of Bible students thereby surrender individual rights. They operate as a class, deciding which mectings are necessary and which are unnecessary, whieh of their number would best lead and serve the class, which render other service, ete. From this viewpoint, it would not be proper for brethren J. J. Bz THE WATCH TOWER Brookityn, N. Y. associated in a class to start new classes and still consider themselves members of the original class. Jor a member of a class to individually start another class separate from anything provided for by his class, would mean to ignore it, to break off his relationship with the older elass and would indicate that he would no longer in any sense of the word recognize himself, either as a servant of that class, or as a member of it, or as a sharer in its privileges. In reassuming his own personal liberty he laid down his privileges as a member of the class. Hence from this standpoint we would say, that the brethren and sisters who participated in the organizing of the new classes evidently had only the best intentions, and quite probably did not consider at the time the real force and meaning of their action in organizing the classes. It would look, too, as though the parent elass and its elders and deacons had not fully provided for all the desires and necessities of the class; otherwise there would have been no incentive or reason for the starting of new classes aside from their arrangements. A sharp look out by the servants of the elass should always be maintained, to see that the spiritual needs of the interested are supplied; and a sufficient number of elders and deacons should be chosen and appointed, While we sympathize with the sentiments of those who drew up the resolution, we incline to doubt the wisdom of the movement, We believe that the better way for all concerned would be for all parties to confess their error. The class and the elders might very properly say: ‘‘We regret, dear brethren and sisters, that we had not such a grasp of the situation as would have enabled us at the time properly to supply the needs of the class as respects meetings. We promise to do our duty more faithfully in the future.’’ Those who started the new classes would, we think, do well to say: ‘‘We regret, dear brethren and sisters, that we did not take a broad enough view of the subject and put in a request for the meeting, to the intent that the need might have been supplied through appointments by the class.’’ With such apologies and resignations, we believe the entire matter will adjust itself and everybody feel relieved of a tension, and quite probably the results will not be far different from what they are now, except that the new meetings will be under the appointment of the original class. THE PHOTO-DRAMA OF CREATION Answering various inquiries, we report that the Drama is not a mere statement of the divine plan—not a mere sermon. It therefore appeals to the public. We trust that its effect will be a broadening of human intelligence and interest in respect to the Bible and the plan of God therein set forth. It is in four parts of two hours each. All witnessing it, we believe, will have larger conceptions of God, of the universe and of humanity—everything. Freed from some of the shackles of error and superstition and ignorance, some, we hope, will he the better enabled to receive the knowledge of God which the Bible sets forth. Many who have witnessed the Drama and heard its lectures express great delight. One minister is reported to haye said: ‘‘I have learned more in these two hours than T Jearned in the entire three years of my theologieal course in the U. B. College at Dayton, Ohio.’’ Catholies, Protestants and Jews—all come, all are interested, and no ground for offense is given to any. The DRAMA is exhibited in Cincinnati at Music Mall; in _ XXXV v OL. Consecration is another name for sanctification, and signifies a setting apart. Sanctification, consecration, is intimately related to justification, because, although there is a partial justification when one turns from sin to ‘God, there could not be a full justification, a justification to life, until such time as the person had made a full consecration. It would appear, then, that from the time when one starts toward God, when he turns away from sin, and seeks to know and to do’ God’s will, there is a certain degree of consecration, setting apart to God, as in contradistinetion to following evil. Each step that he takes toward God is a step toward sanctification and toward justification. Looking back to the picture in the type as illustrative of this, we sce that a Levite or a priest when first approaching the Tabernacle, desiring to enter, would discern in the distance the wall of white surrounding the Court. With more or less knowledge of what was inside he would approach it. When he reached the gate, he would see that the court was a sacred Cleveland at The Temple, Prospect Ave. and EF. 22nd Street; at Victoria Theatre in St. Louis, and at the American Theatre in Toledo—twice every day. In Boston it is shown in three parts every Sunday. Approximately twelve thousand people are now being reached daily in the cities mentioned. Our pictures are very beautiful, very costly, and require a great deal of time for preparation. We are, thercfore, limited as to the number of sects of the Drama we ean put forth; we are limited also by the expense incidental to each presentation—for rent, light, operators, etc. We shall not be able to reach very far for some months, Many more brethren have prepared themselves to be operators than we shall be able to employ for a good while. However, we have in mind something which we will mention as soon as it is ready, which may give opportunities of service to many more than are now employed. As for the sisters, we are relying upon the classes at the various cities where the exhibition is shown to supply the volunteers for ushers. BROOKLYN. N. yy MAROH 1, 1914 No. 5 CONSECRATION AS RELATED TO PRESENT-DAY CONDITIONS — place, and that none would be received in any sense within its enclosure except as he recognized the sacrifice on the brazen altar just inside. PROGRESSIVE STEPS OF JUSTIFICATION AND SANCTIFICATION And so with a person who is in a semi-consecrated condition—a semi-justified condition. His first great lesson at the gate of the Court is that he is a sinner, that God accepts not sinners, and that only those who approach him through recognition of the great sacrifice will be received. Having recognized the sacrifice, having trusted in the death of Christ for justification from sin, his next step would be a deeper consecration, and thus a fuller justification. If he proceeds, this would bring him to the brazen laver of the Court, which would represent a washing away of the filth of the flesh—the becoming more and more clean in life, doing all in his power to free himself from sin. This also is acceptable to God. But still he is neither justified completely nor sanctified [5410]
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