Life and Labors of Elder John Kline, the Martyr Missionary / Collated from his Diary by Benjamin Funk

by John Kline

I. Sometimes men who have been subject to very bad habits are, by the Gospel and the Holy Spirit, led to forsake them. They form new loves. They find joy in a new life. Old things with them have passed away. They come from the baptismal wave clad, as it were, in a new garment, even the beautiful garment of salvation; and the new song in their mouth is praise to our God. I can name some of this class in our church who have run well; some who have fought the good fight of faith with unflinching courage and resolution to victory complete. But others have been made to weep and lament from the fearful truth that this same beloved Brother Peter tells us, that "our adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour," for they have been devoured by him.

In the garden of Eden the devil came to Eve in the form of a serpent. I imagine this to be his most natural form. We sometimes see him caricatured as a man with horns and cloven feet. This is a mistake. A man in this form would make a frightful appearance. But the devil never approaches any one in a way to frighten him. He is too cunning for that. A fox takes care not to frighten away his prey. Even the lion, when he is seeking his prey, never roars at that time, but crouches and hides in the tall grass or thicket until his prey comes near enough, and then he springs upon it with a single bound. The reason why Peter calls him a roaring lion is because he roars furiously after his prey is in his power. His roaring then is but a note of victory and defiance. The devil knew that he would not frighten Eve by coming to her in the form he did, because she had never then, as yet, known anything of evil. But when he comes to men now in the serpent form, he comes as "a snake in the grass."

I sometimes think that age adds shrewdness to the devil's plans. He comes to men in so many forms and ways, first to delude and then to destroy, that they may be called legion. But, as Paul says, "We are not ignorant of his devices, for Satan is transformed into an angel of light."

He learns to know every brother's and sister's weak point. To the brother who has been fond of ardent spirits he comes behind the deceitful, covetous smile of the rumseller. In this instance the order of the fable is reversed. There the ass put on the lion's skin; here the lion puts on the skin of the ass. To the brother whose weakness is adultery he comes in the form of a harlot, "jeweled and crowned." To the brother whose special sin has been covetousness he comes as a friend. He takes him by the hand, leads him to the top of some high mountain, there shows him the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, and pledges to him the enjoyment of all this glory and power if he will but fall down and worship him.

Now, Herod was a type of this devil, and the prison in which Peter was chained is a type of the "horrible pit" into which many a good-meaning Christian has been cast by him. But even for such there is quite as much hope as there was for Peter. The Lord is ever nigh to redeem and to save. But there must be a willing mind. If Peter had said in his half-asleep state, "Just leave me alone—I'll come after awhile—I'm too sleepy to go now"—what then? It would have been impossible for the Lord to rescue him, if he had not been willing to be rescued by the Lord.

Some, who have "been taken captive by the devil at his will," keep awake in a certain sense. The pall of darkness and deep sleep has not yet settled down upon them. They are conscious of their situation. They know and feel that they are in the hands of the enemy, but how to escape is the trouble with them. If such would only have the mind and will to do as Christian and Hopeful did in "Doubting Castle," they could readily find a key in their bosoms with which to unlock every gate, and thus make their escape.

II. In this respect they differ from Peter, for "he was sleeping between two soldiers." Besides this, there were men stationed at the door to keep watch all night. But the Lord is prepared for every emergency. What storm can sink a ship when Omnipotence is at the helm? If you or I, brethren, were to see a brother confined and guarded as Peter was, I greatly fear we would utterly despair of ever seeing him rescued; especially so if public sentiment were rife with malice and rage against him. I fear we would say, It is no use to pray for that man. Nothing short of a miracle can save that man; and miracles are not wrought by prayer nowadays. But the loving hearts gathered together in secret places in Jerusalem thought not so. They "made unceasing prayer for him."

Now let us note the order in which the Lord proceeded to answer these prayers. He came to Peter and smote him. Whether the stroke was light or heavy is a thing of little consequence. It succeeded in awaking the man. This was its object. I think the Lord gave Peter only a slight tap on the side, because he was not hard to wake up that night. But there are some, and I have known such, whom the Lord had to smite very hard to stir them from their sleep. They open their eyes in amazement and wonder why they have been so smitten. Unfortunately for some of this class, they open their eyes, but they see not; they hear, but they heed not. I think I have known a few such; and I fear the Lord said of them what he said of Ephraim: "He is joined to his idols, let him alone."

III. There is a third class, and they compose a great multitude, who have, so to speak, grown up in the devil's prison house, and have grown so used to his ways that they are willing to stay there. These may be said to be bound with two chains. Their love of the world is one chain, and their love of self is the other. I may be addressing some now who are thus bound. Let us see. Jesus says: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And a second is like to it which is this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Does every one who is now under the sound of my voice do this? Are you sure, my friend, that you love God more than the world, and that you love your neighbor as yourself? What proof have you to give of this? Jesus again says: "If ye love me, keep my commandments. He that loveth me will keep my words." There can be nothing more perfectly in harmony with human nature in all its phases than these declarations of our Lord. Where is the subject that is unwilling to render obedience to the prince or king that he loves? Where is the loving child that refuses to obey its parents? I tell you that obedience is the test and proof of love. Do you obey our Lord Jesus Christ? Do you say "No"? Then, my dear friend, let me say to you, in all candor and love, you do not love him. You may imagine that you do, but your imagination on this point is a delusion. But perhaps you are ashamed to confess him. Hear again what the Lord says: "He that is ashamed of me and my words, of him will the Son of man be ashamed when he shall come in his glory."

But perhaps you ask: "How am I to get rid of my chains?" Get rid of them, my dear unconverted friend, just as Peter got rid of his. The Lord is just as willing and as able to rescue you from the chains of sin and the thraldom of bad habits as he was to rescue Peter from the chains with which the Roman guard had bound him. The Lord came to him, not in darkness, but in light. He brought the light with him. He never works in darkness. Even when he was about to fashion the world, the first thing he did was to throw a flood of light all over its wide, chaotic surface. But the light which he caused to shine in the prison did not wake Peter up, although it must have shone in his eyes. So he smote him on the side, and no doubt shook him gently.