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The parable of the sower in Matthew
13 makes plain that not all who receive
the good seed bear fruit to the glory of
God. Some good seed is wasted because
of the nature of the soil on which it falls.
There are wayside hearers, stony-ground
hearers, and thorny-ground hearers, none
of whom are sanctified by the truth.
Only good ground brings forth good fruit.
From the very beginning of our own
work there have been those who have
departed from the faith. Various reasons
have been ascribed by these men. Hardly
two give the same reason. Some have
declared that they would never attack the
people with whom they once had Chris-
tian fellowship. Yet only a few who have
gone out from us have been willing to
carry on their own work without attack-
ing the doctrines which they once preached
and believed. Apostates are not all alike
in temperament, but most of them seem
impelled to wage a warfare against the
people of God.
It is not so much to be wondered at,
perhaps, that an apostate seeks to destroy
his former faith, as it is that among the
believers there are ever willing ears who
listen to an apostate as if he were an angel
of light. He usually thinks he has new
light. But how strange that professed
people of God, in full church fellowship,
willingly listen to the teachings of those
whose effort is not to build up the church
of Christ, to increase faith, and to excite
to godliness, but to destroy in the hearts
of true Christians faith in those doctrines
and practices in which they themselves
once believed.
Why will Christians, and sometimes
Christian workers, go to apostates for
light? Can a man whose light has really
gone out give forth the true light that will
illuminate the soul? He may confuse and
dim the light aiready shining in another’s
heart, but how can he do otherwise than
fill the mind with unbelief when his own
mind is actually darkened ? Many a light
which once shone brightly has become
a body of darkness,
Every Christian is to seek for truth
from the Word of God. We are com-
manded to search the Scriptures. But
we are not to take apostates as our teach.
ers. The Word of God is to he our
guide. Apostates from the truth cannot
lead into the truth, They are blind. If
any of us follow them, they will lead us
to ruin. “Let them alone; they be blind
leaders of the blind. Ard if the blind
lead the blind, both shall fall into the
ditch.” Do not have anything to do with
them; do not seek light from blind men
who have rejected the light. They may
transform themselves into angels of light,
assume great meekness, and manifest
great zeal, but it is not a transformation
accomplished and wrought by the Holy
Spirit. It is self-illumination, not illu-
mination from the Holy Spirit, and must
leave the soul in darkness,
Why will any of God's people draw
water out of strange cisterns? Why will
any member suppose an apostate has light
that he must seek? Does a rejection of
spiritual gifts constitute such a person a
source of light? Why seek truth from
those who forsake the truth? Why
expect men who reject light and the truth
to he able to impart light? Why go to
men who deny the Spirit of Prophecy and
13/11/33
the light God has given His remnant
church, hoping that such teachers can give
faith and hope for eternal life? * To the
law and to the testimony: if they speak
not according to this word, it is because
there is no light in them.” Isa. 3:20.
I. H. EVANS,
General Conf. Vice-President.
An Editorial in © The Ministry.”
Starting a New Training
School in Papua
A LONG felt need for this field has heen
that of a training school in which to pre-
pare native workers. It was finally decided
that such a school should be located at our
new head station, Mirigeda. For some
months Pastor Lock has been labouring
unceasingly, preparing buildings and gar-
dens that the school might be started.
We appreciate the privilege that was
ours to open this school, and on August 21
we were pleased to meet our students for
the first time in the classroom, twenty-
one in all.
You will be interested to know that
practically the first work that our boat, the
Diari, did was to go to Vailala in the west
and then to Aroma and Vilirupu in the east
to bring in students to this our first train-
ing school.
This is indeed a milestone in the work
in Papua, and we trust that this school
will be the means in God’s hands of supply-
ing teachers to answer the many calls tha
are constantly coming in.
Our association with these students has
been a pleasure, and we realise that our
district leaders have sent us their very
best. All our mission stations are repre-
sented, which means a number of languages
and dialects. A unique feature of our
mission programme is seen in the prayer
bands conducted every Friday evening.
The bands are arranged according to the
languages, of which we find there are four
main ones. It is the privilege of each
member to have at least one meeting a
week conducted in his own tongue.
These young people are here for a defin-
ite purpose, as is witnessed by their daily
lives and the interest manifested in their
work and study.
We have practically only laid the founda-
tion for our mission here, It is an ideal
site, situated about a mile and a half from
the seashore, with which it is connected
by a good motor road. The mission
homes are built on an elevation, giving us
a view of the ocean and the surrounding
district. The land is proving more pro-
ductive than we expected, and the prospects
for an ample food supply for the mission
family are good. .
We trust that Mirigeda will be, under
God’s hiessing, the means of supplying one
of our greatest needs in this field, —more
native workers, Woe solicit an interest in
your prayers. :
C.J. AND M. A. HOWELL.
Baptism at Natewa, Fiji Islands
[We may be permitted to ment on to our readers
that the writer of this report is the European who
was baptised. Brother Parr was educated in
England for the Roman Catholic priesthood, and
tiained in a monastery, but accepted the message
in Fiji recently while associated with Brother R.
W. Lane.—ED.]
“ And a litle child shall lead them.”
Isa. 11 : 6.
“BACK of the baptism of Ratu Epeli, Tui
[king] of Natewa and paramount chief in
this part of Fiji, there is a story of God's
leading and providence which will, I
believe, interest RECORD readers.
For many years Ratu Epeli bad admit-
ted the truth of the Advent message, but
the customs connected with his position as
a native chief held him hack from seeking
baptism.
This year a district bose, our island
equivalent for a camp meeting, was held
at a village within a few days’ walking
distance of Ratu Epeli's home. His little
daughter attended this meeting, and when
she returned home she told her father of
the haptism held there, and of the tears
that came to her eyes during the ceremony
as she thought that, if only her father had
come to the meeting, he also would have
sought baptism. As the father listened to
the child’s story, the Holy Spirit touched
his heart, and he determined to seek
baptism without delay.
With Ratu Epeli were baptised his wife,
two other Fijian chiefs of lower standing,
two Fijian boys from our Buca Bay
School, and a European.
The rocky pool in the creek where the
baptism was carried out took one back in
spirit to Biblical scenes, There were 160
Fijians assembled to witness the ceremony,
the majority of whom were not of our
faith. It is pleasing to record that the
Methodist native minister gave his people
an example which too few of his fellow
workers follow in attending the ceremony
himself.
As Pastor Branster discoursed on the
significance of the ceremony which they
were about to see performed, the sunlight
filtered through the heavy foliage of the
trees surrounding the pool. The native
congregation listened with rapt attention,
as well they might, seeing that their chief
was giving public witness to the power of
the gospel.
Although Christianity made its first
entry into Fiji nearly one hundred years
ago, the ka vakavanua, or native customs,
hold much more sway with the majority
of the native race than their religion.
This, I believe, is largely due to the fact
that the early Christian missions used the
ka vakavanua to introduce themselves to
the people; by this introduction the
missionaries directly denied the power of
the gospel and acknowledged their indebt-
edness to the power of the customs which
came out of the pagan past of these island
races. Be this as it may, it isan undoubted
fact that the natives hold their ancient
customs in the highest esteem, so that
when a chief publicly renounces them the
testimony to the power of God’s truth
gathers corresponding strength.
All connected with the message in this
part of the field hope that this baptism at
Natewa will be the starting-point for a
big forward movement in the acceptance
of the truth. -
G. C. PARR,