Ministry by C. H. Mackintosh
– Part Two

• "If any brother have an unbelieving wife, and she think proper to dwell with him, let him not put her away: and if any woman have an unbelieving husband, and he think proper to dwell with her, let her not put him away (for the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband, else were your children unclean, but now are they holy) for what knowest thou, O wife, if thou shalt save thy husband? Or what knowest thou, O husband, if thou shalt save thy wife?", 1 Cor. 7: 12-16.

We shall now consider "the unequal yoke", in its commercial phase, as seen in cases of partnership in business.

• This, though not so serious an aspect of the yoke as that which we have just been considering, will, nevertheless, be found a very positive barrier to the believer's testimony.

• When a Christian yokes himself, for business purposes, with an unbeliever – whether that unbeliever be a relative or not – or when he becomes a member of a worldly firm, he virtually surrenders his individual responsibility.

• Henceforth the acts of the firm become his acts, and it is perfectly out of the question to think of getting a worldly firm to act on heavenly principles.

• They would laugh at such a notion, inasmuch as it would be an effectual barrier to the success of their commercial schemes.

• They will feel perfectly free to adopt a number of expedients in carrying on their business, which would be quite opposed to the spirit and principles of the kingdom in which he is, and of the Church of which he forms a part.

• Thus he will find himself constantly in a most trying position. He may use his influence to christianise the mode of conducting affairs; but they will compel him to do business as others do,
  • and he has no remedy save to mourn in secret over his anomalous and difficult position, or else to go out at great pecuniary loss to himself and his family.

• Where the eye is single, there will be no hesitation as to which of these alternatives to adopt; but, alas! the very fact of getting into such a position proves the lack of a single eye;
  • and the fact of being in it argues the lack of spiritual capacity to appreciate the value and power of the divine principles which would infallibly bring a man out of it.

• A man whose eye was single could not possibly yoke himself with an unbeliever for the purpose of making money.

• Such an one could only set, as an object before his mind, the direct glory of Christ; and this object could never be gained by a positive transgression of divine principle.

This makes it very simple. If it does not glorify Christ for a Christian to become a partner in a worldly firm, it must, without doubt, further the designs of the devil.

• There is no middle ground; but that it does not glorify Christ is manifest, for His word says, "Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers".
  • Such is the principle, which cannot be infringed without damage to the testimony, and forfeiture of spiritual blessing.

• True, the conscience of a Christian, who transgresses in this matter, may seek relief in various ways – may have recourse to various subterfuges – may set forth various arguments to persuade itself that all is right.

• It will be said that, "We can be very devoted and very spiritual, so far as we are personally concerned, even though we are yoked, for business purposes, with an unbeliever".
  • This will be found fallacious when brought to the test of the actual practice. A servant of Christ will find himself hampered in a hundred ways by his worldly partnership.

• If in matters of service to Christ he is not met with open hostility, he will have to encounter the enemy's secret and constant effort to damp his ardour, and throw cold water on all his schemes.

• He will be laughed at and despised – he will be continually reminded of the effect which his enthusiasm and fanaticism will produce in reference to the business prospects of the firm.

• If he uses his time, his talents, or his pecuniary resources, in what he believes to be the Lord's service, he will be pronounced a fool or a madman, and reminded that the true, the proper way for a commercial man to serve the Lord is to "attend to business, and nothing but business";
  • and that it is the exclusive business of clergymen and ministers to attend to religious matters, inasmuch as they are set apart and paid for so doing.

Now, although the Christian's renewed mind may be thoroughly convinced of the fallacy of all this reasoning – although he may see that this worldly wisdom is but a flimsy, threadbare cloak, thrown over the heart's covetous practices –

• yet who can tell how far the heart may be influenced by such things? We get weary of constant resistance.

• The current becomes too strong for us, and we gradually yield ourselves to its action, and are carried along on its surface.

• Conscience may have some death-struggles; but the spiritual energies are paralysed, and the sensibilities of the new nature are blunted, so that there is no response to the cries of conscience, and no effectual effort to withstand the enemy;

• the worldliness of the Christian's heart leagues itself with the opposing influences from without – the outworks are stormed, and the citadel of the soul's affections vigorously assaulted;

• and, finally, the man settles down in thorough world-liness, exemplifying, in his own person, the prophet's touching lament,
  • "Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire:

  • their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets; their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick", Lamentations 4: 7-8.

• The man who was once known as a servant of Christ – a fellow-helper unto the kingdom of God – making use of his resources only to further the interests of the gospel of Christ, is now, alas,
  • settled down upon his lees, only known as a plodding, keen, bargain-making man of business, of whom the apostle might well say, "Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present age".

But, perhaps, nothing so operates on the hearts of Christians, in inducing them to yoke themselves commercially with unbelievers, as the habit of seeking to maintain the two characters of a Christian and a man of business.

• This is a grievous snare. In point of fact there can be no such thing. A man must be either the one or the other.

• If I am a Christian, my Christianity must show itself, as a living reality, in that in which I am; and, if it cannot show itself there, I ought not to be there; for, if I continue in a sphere or position in which the life of Christ cannot be manifested,
  • I shall speedily possess naught of Christianity but the name, without the reality – the outward form without the inward power – the shell without the kernel.

• I should be the servant of Christ, not merely on Sunday, but from Monday morning to Saturday night.

• I should not only be a servant of Christ in the public assembly, but also in my place of business, whatever it may happen to be.

• But I cannot be a proper servant of Christ with my neck in the yoke with an unbeliever; for how could the servants of two hostile masters work in the same yoke?
  • It is utterly impossible; as well might one attempt to link the sun's meridian beams with the profound darkness of midnight.

• It cannot be done; and I do, therefore, most solemnly appeal to my reader's conscience, in the presence of Almighty God, who shall judge the secrets of men's hearts by Jesus Christ, as to this important matter.

• I would say to him, if he is thinking of getting into partnership with an unbeliever, Flee from it! yes, flee from it, though it promises you the gain of thousands. You will plunge yourself into a mass of trouble and sorrow.

• You are going to "plough" with one whose feelings, instincts, and tendencies are diametrically opposed to your own. "An ox and an ass" are not so unlike, in every respect, as a believer and an unbeliever. How will you ever get on?

• He wants to make money – to profit himself – to get on in the world; you want (at least you ought to want) to grow in grace and holiness – to advance the interests of Christ and His gospel on the earth, and to push onward to the everlasting kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.

• His object is money; yours, I trust, is Christ: he lives for this world; you for the world to come: he is engrossed with the things of time; you with those of eternity.

• How, then, can you ever take common ground with him? Your principles, your motives, your objects, your hopes, are all opposed. How is it possible you can get on? How can you have aught in common? Surely, all this needs only to be looked at with a single eye in order to be seen in its true light.

• It is impossible that any one whose eye is filled and whose heart is occupied with Christ, could ever yoke himself with a worldly partner, for any object whatsoever.

• Wherefore, my beloved Christian reader, let me once more entreat you, ere you take such a tremendous step – a step fraught with such awful consequences – so pregnant with danger to your best interests, as well as to the testimony of Christ, with which you are honoured –
  • to take the whole matter, with an honest heart, into the sanctuary of God, and weigh it in His sacred balance.

• Ask Him what He thinks of it, and hearken, with a subject will, and a well-adjusted conscience, to His reply.
  • It is plain and powerful – yea, as plain and as powerful as though it fell from the open heavens – Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.

But, if, unhappily, my reader is already in the yoke, I would say to him, disentangle yourself as speedily as you can.

• I am much mistaken if you have not already found the yoke a burdensome one.

• To you, it were superfluous to detail the sad consequences of being in such a position; you, doubtless, know them all. It is needless to print them on paper, or paint them on canvas, to one who has entered into all their reality.

• My beloved brother in Christ, lose not a moment in seeking to throw off the yoke. This must be done before the Lord, on His principles, and by His grace.

• It is easier to get into a wrong position than to get out of it. A partnership of ten or twenty years' standing cannot be dissolved in a moment.

• It must be done calmly, humbly, and prayerfully, as in the sight of the Lord, and with entire reference to His glory.

• I may dishonour the Lord as much in my way of getting out of a wrong position, as by getting into it at the first.

• Hence, if find myself in partnership with an unbeliever, and my conscience tells me I am wrong, let me honestly and frankly state to my partner, that I can no longer go on with him;
  • and having done that, my place is to use every exertion to wind up the affairs of the firm in an upright, a straightforward, and business-like manner,

  • so as to give no possible occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully, and that my good may not be evil spoken of.

• We must avoid rashness, headiness, and high-mindedness, when apparently acting for the Lord, and in defence of His holy principles.

• If a man gets entangled in a net, or involved in a labyrinth, it is not by bold and violent plunging he will extricate himself.

• No; he must humble himself, confess his sins before the Lord, and then retrace his steps, in patient dependence upon that grace which can not only pardon him for being in a wrong position, but lead him forth into a right one.

Moreover, as in the case of the marriage yoke, the matter is very much modified by the fact of the partnership having been entered into previous to conversion.

• Not that this would, in the slightest degree, justify a continuance in it.

• By no means; but it does away with much of the sorrow of heart and defilement of conscience connected with such a position, and will also, very materially, affect the mode of escape therefrom.

• Besides, the Lord is glorified by, and He assured]y accepts, the moral bent of the heart and conscience in the right direction.

• If I judge myself for being wrong and that the moral bent of my heart and conscience is to get right, God will accept of that, and surely set me right.

• But if He sets me right, He will not suffer me to do violence to one truth while seeking to act in obedience to another.

• The same word that says, "Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers", says also, "render, therefore, to all their dues" – "owe no man anything" – "provide things honest in the sight of all" – " walk honestly toward them that are without".

• If I have wronged God by getting into partnership with an unbeliever, I must not wrong man in my way of getting out of it.

• Profound subjection to the word of God, by the power of the Holy Ghost, will set all to rights, will lead us into straight paths, and enable us to avoid all dangerous extremes.

In glancing for a moment at the religious phase of the unequal yoke, I would assure my reader that it is, by no means, my desire to hurt the feelings of any one by canvas-sing the claims of the various denominations around me.

• Such is not my purpose. The subject of this paper is one of quite sufficient importance to prevent its being encumbered by the introduction of other matters.

• Moreover, it is too definite to warrant any such introduction. "The unequal yoke" is our theme, and to it we must confine our attention.

In looking through scripture we find almost numberless passages setting forth the intense spirit of separation which ought ever to characterise the people of God.

• Whether we direct our attention to the Old Testament, in which we have God's relationship and dealings with His earthly people, Israel; or, to the New Testament, in which we have His relationship and dealings with His heavenly people, the Church;
  • we find the same truth prominently set forth, namely, the entire separation of those who belong to God.

Israel's position is thus stated in Balaam's parable, "Lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned amongst the nations".

• Their place was outside the range of all the nations of the earth; and they were responsible to maintain that separation.

• Throughout the entire Pentateuch, they were instructed, warned, and admonished as to this; and, throughout the Psalms and the Prophets we have
  • the record of their failure in the maintenance of this separation, which failure, as we know, has brought down upon them the heavy judgements of the hand of God.

• It would swell this little paper into a volume were I to attempt a quotation of all the passages in which this point is put forward. I take it for granted that my reader is sufficiently acquainted with his Bible, to render such quotation unnecessary.

• Should he not be so, however, a reference, in his Concordance, to the words "separate", "separated", and "separation", will suffice to lay before him at a glance the body of scripture evidence on this subject.

• The passage just quoted, from the Book of Numbers, is the expression of God's thoughts about His people Israel: "The people shall dwell alone".

The same is true, only upon a much higher ground in reference to God's heavenly people, the Church – the body of Christ – composed of all true believers. They, too, are a separated people.

We shall now proceed to examine the ground of this separation. There is a great difference between being separate on the ground of what we are, and of what God is.

• The former makes a man a Pharisee; the latter makes him a saint.

• If I say to a poor fellow sinner, "Stand by thyself, I am holier than thou", I am a detestable Pharisee and a hypocrite;

• but if God, in His infinite condescension and perfect grace, says to me,
  • 'I have brought you into relationship with Myself in the person of My Son Jesus Christ, therefore be holy and separate from all evil; come out from among them and be separate';

• I am bound to obey, and my obedience is the practical manifestation of my character as a saint – a character which I have, not because of anything in myself, but simply because God has brought me near unto Himself through the precious blood of Christ.

It is well to be clear as to this. Pharisaism and divine sanctification are two very different things: and yet they are often confounded.

• Those who contend for the maintenance of that place of separation which belongs to the people of God, are constantly accused of setting themselves up above their fellow-men, and of laying claim to a higher degree of personal sanctity than is ordinarily possessed.

• This accusation arises from not attending to the distinction just referred to.

• When God calls upon men to be separate, it is on the ground of what He has done for them upon the cross, and where He has set them, in eternal association with Himself, in the person of Christ.

• But if I separate myself on the ground of what I am in myself, it is the most senseless and vapid assumption, which will sooner or later be made manifest.

• God commands His people to be holy on the ground of what He is: "Be ye holy, for I am holy". This is evidently a very different thing from "stand by thyself, I am holier than thou".

• If God brings people into association with himself, He has a right to prescribe what their moral character ought to be, and they are responsible to answer thereto.

• Thus we see that the most profound humility lies at the bottom of a saint's separation. There is nothing so calculated to put one in the dust as the understanding of the real nature of divine holiness.

• It is an utterly false humility which springs from looking at ourselves – yea, it is, in reality, based upon pride, which has never yet seen to the bottom of its own perfect worthlessness.

• Some imagine that they can reach the truest and deepest humility by looking at self, whereas it can only be reached by looking at Christ. "The more thy glories strike mine eye, the humbler I shall be". This is a just sentiment, founded upon divine principle.

• The soul that loses itself in the blaze of Christ's moral glory, is truly humble, and none other.

• No doubt, we have a right to be humble when we think of what poor creatures we are; but it only needs a moment's just reflection to see the fallacy of seeking to produce any practical result by looking at self.

• It is only when we find ourselves in the presence of infinite excellency, that we are really humble.

Hence, therefore, a child of God should refuse to be yoked with an unbeliever, whether for a domestic, a commercial, or a religious object, simply because God tells him to be separate, and not because of his own personal holiness.

• The carrying out of this principle, in matters of religion, will necessarily involve much trial and sorrow; it will be termed intolerance, bigotry, narrow-mindedness, exclu-siveness, and such like; but we cannot help all this.

• Provided we keep ourselves separate upon a right principle and in a right spirit, we may safely leave all results with God.

• No doubt, the remnant, in the days of Ezra, must have appeared excessively intolerant in refusing the co-operation of the surrounding people in building the house of God; but they acted upon divine principle in the refusal.
  • "Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the Lord God of Israel, then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you; for we seek your God as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him, since the days of Esar-haddon, king of Assur, which brought us up hither".

• This might seem a very attractive proposal – a proposal evidencing a very decided leaning toward the God of Israel; yet the remnant refused, because the people, notwithstanding their fair profession, were, at heart, uncircumcised and hostile.
  • "But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel", Ezra 4: 1-3.

• They would not yoke themselves with the uncircum-cised – they would not "plough with an ox and ass" – they would not "sow their field with mingled seed" – they kept themselves separate,
  • even though, by so doing, they exposed them-selves to the charge of being a bigoted, narrow-minded, illiberal, uncharitable set of people.

So, also, in Nehemiah, we read, "And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers", 9: 2.

• This was not sectarianism, but positive obedience. Their separation was essential to their existence as a people. They could not have enjoyed the divine presence on any other ground.

• Thus it must ever be with God's people on the earth. They must be separate, or else they are not only useless, but mischievous.

• God cannot own or accompany them if they yoke themselves with unbelievers, upon any ground, or for any object whatsoever.

• The grand difficulty is to combine a spirit of intense separation with a spirit of grace, gentleness, and forbearance; or, as another has said, "to maintain a narrow circle with a wide heart".

• This is really a difficulty. As the strict and uncompro-mising maintenance of truth tends to narrow the circle around us, we shall need the expansive power of grace to keep the heart wide, and the affections warm.

• If we contend for truth otherwise than in grace, we shall only yield a one-sided and most unattractive testimony.

• And, on the other hand, if we try to exhibit grace at the expense of truth, it will prove, in the end, to be only the manifestation of a popular liberality at God's expense – a most worthless thing.

Then, as to the object for which real Christians usually yoke themselves with those who, even on their own confession, and in the judgment of charity itself, are not Christians at all,

• it will be found, in the end, that no really divine and heavenly object can be gained by an infringement of God's truth.

• Per fas aut nefas can never be a divine motto. The means are not sanctified by the end; but both means and end must be according to the principles of God's holy word, else all must eventuate in confusion and dishonour.

• It might have appeared to Jehoshaphat a very worthy object, to recover Ramoth Gilead out of the hand of the enemy; and, moreover,
  • he might have appeared a very liberal, gracious, popular, large-hearted man, when, in reply to Ahab's proposal, he said, "I am as thou art, and my people as thy people; and we will be with thee in the war".

• It is easy to be liberal and large-hearted at the expense of divine principle; but how did it end? Ahab was killed, and Jehoshaphat narrowly escaped with his life, having made total shipwreck of his testimony.

Thus we see that Jehoshaphat did not even gain the object for which he unequally yoked himself with an unbeliever; and even had he gained it, it would have been no justification of his course.

The unequal yoke proved a terrible snare to the amiable heart of Jehoshaphat. He yoked himself with Ahab for a religious object and, notwithstanding the disastrous termination of this scheme, we find him yoking himself with Ahaziah for a com-mercial object, which likewise ended in loss and confusion; and, lastly, he yoked himself with Jehoram for a military object. Compare 2 Chronicles 18; 2 Chronicles 20: 32-37; 2 Kings 3.   CHM

• Nothing can ever warrant a believer's yoking himself with an unbeliever; and, therefore, however fair, attractive, and plausible the Ramoth expedition might seem in the eye of man, it was, in the judgment of God, "helping the ungodly, and loving them that hate the Lord", 2 Chronicles 19: 2.

• The truth of God strips men and things of the false colours with which the spirit of expediency would deck them, and presents them in their proper light; and it is an unspeakable mercy to have the clear judgment of God about all that is going on around us:
  • it imparts calmness to the spirit, and stability to the course and character, and saves one from that unhappy fluctuation of thought, feeling, and prin-ciple which so entirely unfits him for the place of a steady and consistent witness for Christ.

• We shall surely err, if we attempt to form our judgment by the thoughts and opinions of men; for they will always judge according to the outward appearances, and not according to the intrinsic character and principle of things.

• Provided men can gain what they conceive to be a right object, they care not about the mode of gaining it.

• But the true servant of Christ knows that he must do his Master's work upon his Master's principles and in his Master's spirit.

• It will not satisfy such an one to reach the most praiseworthy end, unless he can reach it by a divinely appointed road. The means and the end must both be divine.

• I admit it, for example, to be a most desirable end to circulate the scriptures – God's own pure, eternal word;
  • but if I could not circulate them save by yoking myself with an unbeliever, I should refrain, inas-much as I am not to do evil that good may come.

But, blessed be God, His servant can circulate His precious book without violating the precepts contained in that book.

• He can, upon his own individual responsibility, or in fellowship with those who are really on the Lord's side, scatter the precious seed everywhere,
  • without leaguing himself with those whose whole course and conduct prove them to be of the world.

• The same may be said in reference to every object of a religious nature. It can and should be gained on God's principles, and only thus.

• It may be argued, in reply, that we are told not to judge – that we cannot read the heart – and that we are bound to hope that all who would engage in such good works as the translation of the Bible, the distribution of tracts, and the aiding of missionary labours, must be Christians; and that, therefore, it cannot be wrong to link ourselves with them.

• To all this I reply, that there is hardly a passage in the New Testament so misunderstood and misapplied as Matthew 7: 1: "Judge not, that ye be not judged".

• In the very same chapter we read, "Beware of false prophets by their fruits ye shall know them". Now, how are we to "beware", if we do not exercise judgment?

• Again, in 1 Corinthians 5 we read, "For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person".

• Here we are distinctly taught that those "within" come within the immediate range of the Church's judgment; and yet, according to the common interpretation of Matthew 7: 1, we ought not to judge anybody; that interpretation, therefore, must needs be unsound.

• If people take, even in profession, the ground of being "within", we are commanded to judge them. "Do not ye judge them that are within?"

• As to those "without", we have naught to do with them, save to present the pure and perfect, the rich, illimitable, and unfathomable grace which shines, with unclouded effulgence, in the death and resurrection of the Son of God.

All this is plain enough. The people of God are told to exercise judgment as to all who profess to be "within";

• they are told to "beware of false prophets"; they are commanded to "try the spirits:" and how can they do all this, if they are not to judge at all?

• What, then, does our Lord mean, when he says, "Judge not?" I believe He means just what St. Paul, by the Holy Ghost, says, when he commands us to
  • "judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the heart: and then shall every man have praise of God", 1 Cor. 4: 5.

• We have nothing to do with judging motives; but we have to judge conduct and principles; that is to say, the conduct and principles of all who profess to be "within".

• And, in point of fact, the very persons who say, "We must not judge", do themselves constantly exercise judgment.

• There is no true Christian in whom the moral instincts of the divine nature do not virtually pronounce judgment as to character, conduct, and doctrine; and these are the very points which are placed within the believer's range of judgment.

All, therefore, that I would press upon the Christian reader is, that he should exercise judgment as to those with whom he yokes himself in matters of religion.

• If he is, at this moment, working in yoke or in harness with an unbeliever, he is positively violating the command of the Holy Ghost.

• He may be ignorantly doing so up to this; and if so, the Lord s grace is ready to pardon and restore;
  • but if he persist in disobedience after having been warned, he cannot possibly expect God's blessing and presence with him, no matter how valuable or important the object which he may seek to attain.

• "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams".

We have only now to consider the philanthropic phase of the unequal yoke.

• Many will say, 'I quite admit that we ought not to mingle ourselves with positive unbelievers in the worship or service of God; but, then,

• 'we can freely unite with such for the furtherance of objects of philanthropy – such, for instance, as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, reclaiming the vicious, in providing asylums for the blind and lunatic, hospitals and infirmaries for the sick and infirm, places of refuge for the homeless and houseless, the fatherless and the widow; and, in short, for the furtherance of everything that tends to promote the amelioration of our fellow-creatures, physically, morally, and intellectually'.

This, at first sight, seems fair enough; for I may be asked, if I would not help a man, by the road-side, to get his cart out of the ditch?

• I reply, Certainly; but if I were asked to become a member of a mixed society for the purpose of getting carts out of ditches, I should refuse – not because of my superior sanctity, but because God's word says, "Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers".

• This would be my answer, no matter what were the object proposed by a mixed society.

• The servant of Christ is commanded "to be ready to every good work" – "to do good unto all" – "to visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction";
  • but then, it is as the servant of Christ, and not as the member of a society or a committee in which there may be infidels and atheists, and all sorts of wicked and godless men.

• Moreover, we must remember, that all God's philanthropy is connected with the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.

• That is the channel through which God will bless – that the mighty lever by which He will elevate man, physically, morally, and intellectually.
  • "After that the kindness and philanthropy of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour", Titus 3: 4-6.

• This is God's philanthropy. This is His mode of ameliorating man's condition. With all who understand its worth the Christian can readily yoke himself, but with none other.

The men of the world know naught of this, care not for it.

• They may seek reformation, but it is reformation without Christ. They may promote amelioration, but it is amelioration without the cross. They wish to advance, but Jesus is neither the starting-post nor the goal of their course.

• How, then, can the Christian yoke himself with them? They want to work without Christ, the very One to whom he owes everything. Can he be satisfied to work with them? Can he have an object in common with them?

• If men come to me and say, 'We want your co-operation in feeding the hungry, in clothing the naked, in founding hospitals and lunatic asylums, in feeding and educating orphans, in improving the physical condition of our fellow mortals; but you must remember that a leading rule of the society, the board, or the committee, formed for such objects, is, that the name of Christ is not to be introduced, as it would only lead to controversy. Our objects being not at all religious, but undividedly philanthropic, the subject of religion must be studiously excluded from all our public meetings. We are met as men, for a benevolent purpose, and therefore Infidels, Atheists, Socinians, Arians, Romanists, and all sorts, can happily yoke themselves to move onward the glorious machine of philanthropy'.

• What should be my answer to such an application? The fact is, words would fail one, who really loved the Lord Jesus, in attempting to reply to an appeal so monstrous.
  • What! benefit mortals by the exclusion of Christ? God forbid!

• If I cannot gain the objects of pure philanthropy without setting aside that blessed One who lived and died, and lives eternally for me, then away with your philanthropy, for it, assuredly, is not God's, but Satan's.

• If it were God's, the word is, "He shed it on us abundantly through Jesus Christ", the very One whom your rule leaves entirely out.

• Hence your rule must be the direct dictation of Satan, the enemy of Christ. Satan would always like to leave out the Son of God; and when he can get men to do the same, he will allow them to be benevolent, charitable, and philanthropic.

But, in good truth, such benevolence and philanthropy ought to be termed malevolence and misanthropy,

• for how can you more effectually exhibit ill-will and hatred toward men, than by leaving out the only One who can really bless them, for time or for eternity.

• But what must be the moral condition of a heart, in reference to Christ, who could take his seat at a board, or on a platform, on the condition that that name must not be introduced?

• It must be cold indeed; yea, it proves that the plans and operations of unconverted men are of sufficient importance, in his judgment, to lead him to throw his Master overboard, for the purpose of carrying them out.

• Let us not mistake matters. This is the true aspect in which to view the world's philanthropy.

• The men of this world can "sell ointment for three hundred pence, and give to the poor"; while they pronounce it waste to pour that ointment on the head of Christ.

• Will the Christian consent to this? Will he yoke himself with such? Will he seek to improve the world without Christ? Will he join with men to deck and garnish a scene which is stained with his Master's blood?

• Peter could say, "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk".

• Peter would heal a cripple by the power of the name of Jesus; but what would he have said, if asked to join a committee or society to alleviate cripples, on the condition of leaving that name out altogether?

• It requires no great stretch of imagination to conceive; his answer. His whole soul would recoil from such a thought.

• He only healed the cripple for the purpose of exalting the name of Jesus, and setting forth its worth, its excellency, and its glory, in the view of men;
  • but the very reverse is the object of the world's philanthropy; inasmuch as it sets aside His blessed name entirely, and banishes Him from its boards, its committees, and its platforms.

May we not, therefore, well say, 'Shame on the Christian who is found in a place from which his Master is shut out?'

• Oh! let him go forth, and, in the energy of love to Jesus, and by the power of that name, do all the good he can;
  • but let him not yoke himself with unbelievers, to counteract the effects of sin by excluding the cross of Christ.

• God's grand object is to exalt His Son – "that all should honour the Son even as they honour the Father". This should be the Christian's object likewise; to this end he should "do good unto all";
  • but if he join a society or a committee in order to do good, it is not "in the name of Jesus" he acts, but in the name of the society or committee, without the name of Jesus. This ought to be enough for every true and loyal heart.

• God has no other way of blessing men, but through Christ; and no other object in blessing them but to exalt Christ. As with Pharaoh of old, when the hungry Egyptians flocked to his presence, his word was, "Go to Joseph"; so God's word to all is, "Come to Jesus".

• Yes, for soul and body, time and eternity, we must go to Jesus; but the men of the world know Him not, and want him not; what, therefore, has the Christian to do with such? How can He act in yoke with them?

• He can only do so on the ground of practically denying his Saviour's name. Many do not see this; but that does not alter the case for those who do.

• We ought to act honestly, as in the light; and, even though the feelings and affections of the new nature were not sufficiently strong in us to lead us to shrink from ranking ourselves with the enemies of Christ,
  • the conscience ought, at least, to bow to the commanding authority of that word, Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.

May the Holy Ghost clothe His own word with heavenly power, and make its edge sharp to pierce the conscience, that so the saints of God may be delivered from everything that hinders their "running the race that is set before them!"

• Time is short. The Lord Himself will soon be here. Then many an unequal yoke will be broken in a moment; many a sheep and goat shall then be eternally severed.

• May we be enabled to purge ourselves from every unclean association and every unhallowed influence, so that, when Jesus returns, we may not be ashamed, but meet Him with a joyful heart and an approving conscience!

C.H.M.