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The Ten Commandments, Part VIII – The Sabbath is a Delight

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In Part VII of this series, we laid down some of the concepts about the seventh-day Sabbath. In this article, we will consider some of the things that God has asked us to do and not to do in observance of the seventh-day Sabbath.

In Isaiah 58:13, 14, we read: “If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, [from] doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking [thine own] words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken [it].”

Who is it that is telling us these things? Is it Isaiah? No. It says, “The mouth of the Lord hath spoken [it],” so this is an instant cue that this is more than just a prophetic utterance. It comes to us right from the mouth of the Lord Himself.

No Coercion

This passage of Scripture is telling us several things that we need to closely consider.

  1. In its broadest context, Isaiah 58 is, as a whole, telling us that it is necessary to have a proper attitude and observance of the Sabbath as a condition for receiving the Lord’s blessings.
  2. Proper Sabbath observance cannot be coerced. I have heard people say that they are not in favor of a Sunday law, but may be favorable to a Sabbath law! Would you be in favor of a Sabbath law? No, no! We cannot coerce Sabbath keeping. It is not God’s plan; it is not God’s will. He says, “Remember”; He says, “Whosoever will,” but He never coerces us into observing His Sabbath day. The text says that Sabbath observance is to be voluntary.

When this passage says, “If thou turn away thy foot,” it means that if you are walking, perhaps on a sidewalk, and see a coin laying on it, you would not want to step on top of the coin, because you would not then be able to reach down and pick it up. So you turn away your foot from stepping on it. This is what the Lord is talking about here, the fact that you are not to trample on the Sabbath day. If you turn away your foot from stepping on the Sabbath and from trampling it under your feet, a blessing is there for you.

The decision as to how we are going to treat the Sabbath rests with each one of us. Do not trample it under your feet, but do not force anyone to keep the Sabbath either. It has to be voluntary.

Own Way

  1. God’s people have been finding their own pleasure, going their own way, doing their own thing, speaking their own words on God’s holy day. They have been robbing God of what really and truly is His. They have been using it as if it were their own.

The Book of Isaiah was written in Old Testament times. You would think that the people, having lived under the economy of Israel, would have known better, because the whole economy was built around the Ten Commandments and the sacrificial system of the sanctuary. You would think that the people would have recognized this, but that was not the case.

Regardless of their culture, people are no different when it gets down below the surface. Character traits have not changed for 6,000 years. All have been sinful. All have fallen short. “There is none righteous, no, not one.” Romans 3:10. “All our righteousnesses [are] as filthy rags.” Isaiah 64:6. That is why God has given us these principles—so the re-ordering of our lives can take place, and God’s will can be done in and through us. The Sabbath is very much a part of the whole programming system, if you please; it is basically the spiritual DNA that holds us together.

A Holy Day

  1. The only type of Sabbath keeper whom God can approve and bless is one who looks upon the Sabbath as a delight, because it is “the holy of the Lord” and therefore is worthy of honor.
  2. Because it is “the holy day of the Lord” and because God asked man to keep it in a particular way, the manner of one’s Sabbath keeping reveals the nature of the relationship between himself and God. This is a principle that Jesus outlined when He said, “By their fruits ye shall know them.” Matthew 7:20. The manner of our Sabbath keeping is going to be in direct correlation to how we relate to God.

God-centered

  1. The express command not to do one’s own way, to find one’s own pleasure, or to speak one’s own words implies, in the light of this revelation, that the Sabbath is “the holy of the Lord,” and we are to keep it God’s way. We are to find pleasure in doing God’s will, and we are to find pleasure in speaking God’s words. Further, it states that if we will do this, such Sabbath keeping will make the Sabbath a delight. It will be a pleasure.

Such a degree of God-centered-ness—one that excludes all secular preoccupation on the Sabbath—is possible and pleasurable only for those whose lives on the other six days of the week are God-centered—God-centered in the middle of the secular world in which we live.

We will discover that, even though we are out in a secular world, as we are orbiting around godly things, the Sabbath will indeed be a delight to us. If we are orbiting about in a secular world with a secular mind, we will not find the Sabbath to be a delight, because we will not be looking forward to that holy time, as we should.

Saviour and Lord

  1. In these verses, God is pleading for His professed people to enter into a deep, loving, personal relationship with Him—fellowship that gladly responds to and delights in His lordship.

We often find it is easier to accept Jesus as Saviour than it is to accept Him as Lord. As we reflect upon our future, eternal life, we recognize that we need a Saviour. We know that, and we readily accept a Saviour. Most people, when asked if they want to go to heaven, will say yes. They do want to go to heaven. But when you ask whether or not they are willing to conform their lives to God’s requirements, a number of them begin to fall off on the wayside. They are not too sure if they want to change their lifestyles and bring them into harmony and conformity with God so that they can make it to heaven.

Christ is not only to be the Saviour, but He is to be the Lord. So we find in these verses that God is pleading for His professed people to enter into a deep personal relationship with Him, a fellowship that we will gladly respond to and delight in His lordship.

If the Sabbath is not the delight that God intends for it to be for us, then something needs to be overhauled. The Sabbath does not need to be overhauled as far as God is concerned. Outside of this context, the words that we read in Isaiah about the Sabbath being a delight become to us just baffling conjecture.

In other words, anyone whose life is not centered in God can never understand these verses. But if the life is centered in God, then these verses make a great deal of sense.

Creative/Redemptive

How should the Sabbath work on our behalf? Ellen White gives some insight on this: “To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ’s creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight.” The Desire of Ages, 289.

In Part VII of this series, the Sabbath in Exodus 20 and the Sabbath in Deuteronomy 5 were studied. One shows the Sabbath as a memorial for the creation, and the other shows it as a memorial for redemption. This is what she is saying in this quote.

And then, in Evangelism, 233, she wrote: “Instead of the people of God becoming less and less definitely distinguished from those who do not keep the seventh-day Sabbath, they are to make the observance of the Sabbath so prominent that the world cannot fail to recognize them as Seventh-day Adventists.” That is quite a profound statement! The Sabbath is to be such a distinguishing mark for us as Seventh-day Adventists that the world can recognize it!

What do we find today? We find that the Church wants to take down its colors more and more and become less distinguishable. For example, the churches take the fact that they are Seventh-day Adventist off their signs and change their names to “Community Fellowship” or “New Life Fellowship” or something else—anything, it seems, to get away from “Seventh-day Adventist.” Many of the Church’s schools and colleges are abandoning the name. Today, they are called, for example, Southern Adventist University or Walla Walla College or some such name. “Seventh-day” or “Seventh-day Adventist” should be in the name, because it stands as a rebuke to the world, for the apostasy in which they have participated.

Do Not be Obnoxious

We do not need to be obnoxious about how we keep the Sabbath. Some people can be obnoxious as far as what they believe, and I have known some Seventh-day Advent-ists who are obnoxious about the fact that they are Seventh-day Adventists. We do not need to do that, but we do not need to soft pedal it either. What we need to do is to be tactful; we need to be helpful in every way that we can.

One of the things that encouraged me to become a Seventh-day Adventist was a neighbor who witnessed to me. He had a philosophy that, at the time, worked very well, although I do not know that I could particularly endorse it now. I did not have a tractor, so he said, “I do not use my tractor on Saturday; you may use it then.” So I did! That act of kindness helped more to win me to listen to what he had to say than if I had asked him for the use of his tractor and he had said, “Do you not know that I am a Seventh-day Adventist? My tractor is supposed to rest on the seventh day.” The idea is that we need to be kind and tactful and not obnoxious, because that is going to help us more in our witness as we draw near the end of time. We should be kind and possess the fruits of the Spirit.

Honorable

The Bible says that the Sabbath is to be honorable. We are to recognize it as the Lord’s Day. We should look forward to it during the week. Not just on Friday, but all week, beginning on Sunday, are we to plan for the Sabbath. We need to start getting things in order during our six days of work so that everything is in readiness for the Sabbath. There is probably nothing that is more harmful regarding Sabbath observance than to come down to the last 30 minutes before the sun sets and then decide that we must get everything squared away so that the work will all be done before the Sabbath begins.

We are not to be doing our own ways, or speaking our own words, or thinking our own thoughts, but, rather, we are to be seeking the ways of the Lord. We are to be thinking His thoughts and speaking His words.

Practical Application

The question that we need to ask ourselves then is, How do I observe the Sabbath in a workable, practical way? The messenger of the Lord gives, in one sentence, a fairly inclu-sive outline as far as being able to accomplish the instruction given in Isaiah 58. She says, “Devote those sacred hours to healthful rest, to worship, and to holy deeds.” The Desire of Ages, 207.

I want to point out to you what this quote does not say. It does not say, “Devote those sacred hours to healthful rest, [or] to worship, [or] to holy deeds.”

The ideal that is being presented here is that the Sabbath is to be divided into these three categories. Each Sabbath’s observance should have some aspect of these three things included—rest, worship, and some kind of good deed for somebody.

Misapplication

This has taken some turns lately. Some think that good deeds comprise community service—painting people’s houses and cleaning up their yards. That is not the kind of good deeds spoken about here. What is meant is doing something that can be of an encouragement and a help to someone, such as Bible studies, visitation, hospital visitation, or singing bands. These types of things are holy deeds.

We need to have the balance of these three activities. The Sabbath is not the delight that it is intended to be if these things are out of balance.

Discipline

There has to be some planning put into the Sabbath. One of the things we need to understand is that Sabbath observance calls for discipline on our part. Sabbath observance does not just happen. Sabbath observance has to be planned, as God has told us time and time again.

“We should in no case allow burdens and business transactions to divert our minds upon the Sabbath of the Lord, which He has sanctified. We should not allow our minds to dwell upon things of a worldly character even.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 583.

In other words, if the Sabbath is to be the delight God wants it to be for us, we must have our minds centered upon Him and off secular things. We cannot allow our minds to run undisciplined. It is not unusual for people sitting in the congregation to hear the words of the service, but not understand what is being said, because their minds are trailing off on something else. When this happens, and it can happen to any one of us, we must discipline our minds and bring them back on track. The devil knows that the message is something we need to hear, and if we do not exercise discipline, he can distract our minds so we will miss it. Many times— through a baby crying, a disruption, or a daydreaming thought—our minds can be drawn away from where they should be, so we must discipline our minds to keep them focused on Sabbath subjects.

Mrs. White wrote that, “God requires . . . [on] the Sabbath, . . . that the mind be disciplined to dwell upon sacred themes.” Child Guidance, 529. How many of us, and I include myself, discipline our minds to dwell on sacred themes during the Sabbath hours? If we can discipline our minds to dwell upon sacred themes, this then becomes a defense against those temptations that the devil brings to us to try to distract us.

To be continued . . .

A retired minister of the gospel, Pastor Mike Baugher may be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

1 Corinthians 12 and 13, Part I

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To the believers in Corinth, the apostle Paul delivered some of the most definitive and eloquent illustrations and instructions regarding relationships with one another. Beginning in chapter 12 of his first letter and continuing on through chapter 13, he clearly describes what must be for there to be unity and harmony among believers in the church.

These chapters are so important that we have been counseled to memorize them.

“The twelfth and thirteenth chapters of 1 Corinthians should be committed to memory, written in the mind and heart. Through His servant Paul, the Lord has placed before us these subjects for our consideration, and those who have the privilege of being brought together in church capacity will be united, understandingly and intelligently. The figure of the members which compose the body represents the church of God and the relation its members should sustain to one another.” Sermons and Talks, Book 2, 119, 120.

Different Gifts and Functions

In 1 Corinthians 12, the diversities of spiritual gifts given to the church are to help it become ready for the kingdom. They are to unite the church. After addressing spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12, Paul discusses how these gifts work together in the body. “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.” “For in fact the body is not one member but many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,’ is it therefore not of the body?” 1 Corinthians 12:12, 14, 15.

The Church is compared to the physical body. One lesson we can learn from this representation is that all parts of the body do not do the same thing, but all parts of the body work together for the benefit and blessing of the entire body. Paul illustrates this by asking a rhetorical question, “If the whole body [were] an eye, where [would be] the hearing? If the whole [were] hearing, where [would be] the smelling?” 1 Corinthians 12:17. As each part of the body has different functions, so each member of the church has different gifts or functions. Thus the whole is blessed by a diversity providing a unity that is far more powerful.

“The vine has many branches, but though all the branches are different, they do not quarrel. In diversity there is unity. All the branches obtain their nourishment from one source. This is an illustration of the unity that is to exist among Christ’s followers. In their different lines of work they all have but one Head. The same Spirit, in different ways, works through them. There is harmonious action, though the gifts differ. Study this chapter. You will see from it that the man who is truly united with Christ will never act as though he were a complete whole in himself. . . .

“The perfection of the church depends not on each member being fashioned exactly alike. God calls for each one to take his proper place, to stand in his lot to do his appointed work according to the ability which has been given him (Letter 19, 1901).” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1090.

Another lesson to be learned from the body representing the church is that just as the hand without the rest of the body is not much good, so one member working without the rest of the church is not much good. For the church to work as God would have it, each must fulfill a part. You may think that you cannot do very much, but every part has a necessary function. “By a comparison of the church with the human body, the apostle aptly illustrated the close and harmonious relationship that should exist among all members of the church of Christ.” The Acts of the Apostles, 317.

Notice something very significant about these gifts. They are given so that the body may work as a whole, not as individual parts. “God’s servants are to work together, blending in kindly, courteous order, ‘in honor preferring one another.’ Romans 12:10. There is to be no unkind criticism, no pulling to pieces of another’s work; and there are to be no separate parties. Every man to whom the Lord has entrusted a message has his specific work. Each one has an individuality of his own, which he is not to sink in that of any other man. Yet each is to work in harmony with his brethren. In their service God’s workers are to be essentially one. No one is to set himself up as a criterion, speaking disrespectfully of his fellow workers or treating them as inferior. Under God each is to do his appointed work, respected, loved, and encouraged by the other laborers. Together they are to carry the work forward to completion.” Ibid., 275, 276.

Care for One Another

Continuing on in 1 Corinthians 12:25, 26: “That there should be no schism in the body, but [that] the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with [it]; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with [it].” From these verses, we notice that the body feels for (cares for) other members of the body. I should not be biting and devouring any part of the body of Christ, but I should be working together with the body to keep it alive by caring for it. In this life, no one in his right mind cuts off part of his body or bites it. Just so, I should treat the spiritual body with love and concern.

In Romans 12:10–16, several specific graces of the spirit are identified. We are to be of one mind, kindly affectionate, esteem others better than ourselves, and give preference to them. “In the Lord’s plan human beings have been made necessary to one another. To every one God has entrusted talents, to be used in helping others to walk in the path of right. It is by unselfish service for others that we improve and increase our talents.

“Like the different parts of a machine, all are closely related to one another, and all dependent upon one great Center. There is to be unity in diversity. No member of the Lord’s firm can work successfully in independence. Each is to work under the supervision of God; all are to use their entrusted capabilities in His service, that each may minister to the perfection of the whole. . . .

“He who claims to be a Christian should examine himself and see if he is as kind and considerate of his fellow beings as he desires his fellow beings to be of him. . . . Christ taught that rank or wealth should make no difference in our treatment of one another and that in the light of heaven all are brethren. Earthly possessions or worldly honor do not count in God’s valuation of man. He created all men equal; He is no respecter of persons. He values a man according to the virtue of his character.” In Heavenly Places, 287.

Christian Love

Concluding 1 Corinthians 12, the apostle Paul pleads, “But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.” What is the “more excellent way”? It is Christian love, which we all must have. Love is one of the key ingredients for the body to stay together.

“The Lord desires me to call the attention of His people to the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians. Read this chapter every day, and from it obtain comfort and strength. Learn from it the value that God places on sanctified, heaven-born love, and let the lesson that it teaches come home to your hearts. Learn that Christlike love is of heavenly birth, and that without it all other qualifications are worthless.” Review and Herald, July 21, 1904.

The invitation contained in this short paragraph is to read, meditate, and learn of heavenly love. If we do not understand the value God places on heavenly love, all other qualifications, however wonderful they may be, are worthless. It is vital for all to become interested in 1 Corinthians 13 and to study what true love really is, for this is the kind of love that God wants His followers to possess. “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35. The world must see that the followers of Christ have His love in their lives.

“In the thirteenth chapter of first Corinthians the apostle Paul defines true, Christlike love. It would be well to print this chapter in small type in every paper issued from our presses. Put it in the Gospel Herald that it may preach its living sermon wherever the paper may go. This chapter is an expression of the obedience of all who love God and keep His commandments. It is brought into action in the life of every true believer.” The Gospel Herald, January 1, 1901.

Study of Heavenly Love

We can begin a study of heavenly love in the first three verses of 1 Corinthians 13. “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become [as] sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have [the gift of] prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed [the poor], and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.”

These verses tell us that we can do a variety of “good” things, but if we fail to do them for the right reason, which is love, they are worthless. What matters is the motive as to why I am doing the things that I do. Is it because I love God and my neighbor as myself? Having eloquent speech, understanding mysteries, obtaining knowledge, or giving to the poor are all commendable, but without love from a pure heart, what good are they? “The attribute that Christ appreciates most in man is charity (love) out of a pure heart. This is the fruit borne upon the Christian tree (MS 16, 1892).” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1091.

Practical Description

The apostle Paul continues his instruction in a practical description of heavenly love in verses 4–8: “Love suffers long [and] is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up [arrogant]; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether [there are] prophecies, they will fail; whether [there are] tongues, they will cease; whether [there is] knowledge, it will vanish away.”

From these verses we see that love is a very complex attribute that has nothing to do with selfishness. Love is always thinking of the other person. This kind of love is tough; it does not fail when put through the stress and strain of life. If each one possessed this kind of love, it would be wonderful to be around him or her. All too often we experience the opposite, as individuals become irritated, impatient, or proud. “Love is a plant of heavenly origin, and if we would have it flourish in our hearts, we must cultivate it daily. Mildness, gentleness, long suffering, not being easily provoked, bearing all things, enduring all things,—these are the fruits upon the precious tree of love.” Review and Herald, June 5, 1888.

“For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these [is] love.” These verses, in 1 Corinthians 13:9–13, conclude the picture of heavenly love that Paul paints in simple, yet eloquent language.

Cultivate This Love

We must cultivate this love, and it must be shown to those around us—especially to those in our families and within the “household of faith.” Galatians 6:10. It is a serious concern that we, as God’s professed people, are sadly lacking in this heavenly love. We do not demonstrate the care that we should have for one another. Instead, we are splitting up and biting and devouring one another. But heavenly love does not cover sin. Instead, it hates the sin and loves the sinner. If I really love God, I will demonstrate this heavenly love to all with whom I associate, in the home, at the work place, or in the household of faith.

“Let us bring into the daily experience the instruction contained in the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians. Believers must bring into their lives a stronger love for one another, a growing interest in one another.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 10, 143.

“O that there might be seen among our people a deep and thorough work of repentance and reformation! O that they would fall on the Rock, and be broken! Let us crucify self, that in our hearts may grow up a strong love for Christ and for one another. Let us bring into the daily experience the instruction contained in the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians. Self must be surrendered to God before there can take possession of the life that strong, steady belief in the truth that is broad and comprehensive; that casts out from the heart all enmity, all petty differences, and transforms coldness into Christlike affection.

“Why should not believers love one another? It is impossible to love Christ, and at the same time act discourteously toward one another. It is impossible to have the Christ-love in the heart, and at the same time draw apart from one another, showing no love or sympathy. The deeper our love for Christ, the deeper will be our love for one another.” Review and Herald, February 24, 1903.

Heaven Begins on Earth

“To possess true godliness means to love one another, to help one another, to make apparent the religion of Jesus in our lives. We are to be consecrated channels through which the love of Christ flows to those who need help. . . . He who approaches nearest to obedience to the divine law will be of the most service to God. He who follows Christ, reaching out after His goodness, His compassion, His love for the human family, will be accepted by God as a worker together with Him. . . .

“When the Lord’s people are filled with meekness and tenderness for one another, they will realize that His banner over them is love and His fruit will be sweet to their taste. Heaven will begin on earth. They will make a heaven below in which to prepare for heaven above.” In Heavenly Places, 287.

Did you get that? Heaven will begin on earth when the Lord’s people are filled with meekness and tenderness for one another. God has made it necessary for us to work with one another.

Union is Strength

“Union is strength, and the Lord desires that this truth should be ever revealed in all the members of the body of Christ. All are to be united in love, in meekness, in lowliness of mind. Organized into a society of believers for the purpose of combining and diffusing their influence, they are to work as Christ worked. They are ever to show courtesy and respect for one another. Every talent has its place and is to be kept under the control of the Holy Spirit.

“The church is a Christian society formed for the members composing it, that each member may enjoy the assistance of all the graces and talents of the other members, and the working of God upon them, according to their several gifts and abilities. The church is united in the holy bonds of fellowship in order that each member may be benefited by the influence of the other. All are to bind themselves to the covenant of love and harmony. The Christian principles and graces of the whole society of believers are to gather strength and force in harmonious action. Each believer is to be benefited and improved by the refining and transforming influence of the varied capabilities of the other members, that the things lacking in one may be more abundantly displayed in another. All the members are to draw together, that the church may become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. . . .

“Those who wear Christ’s yoke will draw together. They will cultivate sympathy and forbearance, and in holy emulation will strive to show to others the tender sympathy and love of which they feel such great need themselves. He who is weak and inexperienced, although he is weak, may be strengthened by the more hopeful and by those of mature experience. Although the least of all, he is a stone that must shine in the building. He is a vital member of the organized body, united to Christ, the living head, and through Christ identified with all the excellencies of Christ’s character so that the Saviour is not ashamed to call him brother. . . .

“A church, separate and distinct from the world, is in the estimation of heaven the greatest object in all the earth. . . . The church is to be as God designed it should be, a representative of God’s family in another world.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 15–17.

What Weakens

“Nothing so manifestly weakens a church as disunion and strife. Nothing so wars against Christ and the truth as this spirit. . . .

“He in whose heart Christ abides recognizes Christ abiding in the heart of his brother. Christ never wars against Christ. Christ never exerts an influence against Christ. Christians are to do their work, whatever it may be, in the unity of the Spirit, for the perfecting of the whole body.” My Life Today, 276.

Manifest Christ’s Qualities

“The life of Christ was a life charged with a divine message of the love of God, and he longed intensely to impart this love to others in rich measure. Compassion beamed from his countenance, and his conduct was characterized by grace, humility, truth, and love. Every member of his church militant must manifest the same qualities, if he would join the church triumphant. The love of Christ is so broad, so full of glory, that in comparison to it, everything that men esteem as great, dwindles into insignificance. When we obtain a view of it, we exclaim, O the depth of the riches of the love that God bestowed upon men in the gift of his only begotten Son!” Christian Education, 76, 77.

“We are to be one with him as he is one with the Father, and then we are beloved by the infinite God as members of the body of Christ, as branches of the living Vine. We are to be attached to the parent stock, and to receive nourishment from the Vine. Christ is our glorified Head, and the divine love flowing from the heart of God, rests in Christ, and is communicated to those who have been united to him. This divine love entering the soul inspires it with gratitude, frees it from its spiritual feebleness, from pride, vanity, and selfishness, and from all that would deform the Christian character.” Ibid., 76.

“How tender we should be in our dealings with those who are striving for the crown of life. He who in love and tenderness has helped a soul in need may at another time be himself in need of compassionate words of hope and courage.—Manuscript 63, May 18, 1898, ‘Home Missionary Work.’ ” This Day With God, 147.

To be continued . . .

Jana Grosboll, an Electrical Engineering graduate student, serves Steps to Life as its Network Administrator. She may be contacted by e-mail at: janagrosboll@stepstolife.org.

The Ten Commandments, Part IX – The Sabbath is a Delight

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For many people, the Sabbath is a time to dwell upon those things for which they think they do not otherwise have time, and it seems that their thoughts are upon everything but that upon which they should be dwelling. We can be sanctified through Sabbath observance only if we are dwelling on sacred themes. If we are only observing a 24-hour period because that is what the commandment says to do, not recognizing the spiritual impact that the Sabbath is to have upon our lives, and merely using it as a time to dwell upon anything and everything for which we think we do not have time otherwise, we are not going to be sanctified. God wants us to be sanctified on the Sabbath day.

Interestingly, most of us talk most about that which we know the most. When the mind is focused on secular pursuits the majority of the week, you would think that it would be a delight to leave those things behind and on one day of the week think and speak on sacred themes. But so often this is not the case. We come to Sabbath School and the worship service, but even there we have trouble dwelling on sacred themes. If we are spending time during the week with that thoughtful, contemplative hour on the life of Christ, as we have been told to do, our minds will not have trouble redirecting and focusing when it comes to the Sabbath School and church services, because we will have an abundance of materials upon which to dwell.

A problem comes if we are not spending time in Bible study and prayer during the week and we decide that we are going to sleep in and not attend church or Sabbath School on the Sabbath. If this is the case, yet we still call ourselves Seventh-day Adventists, whom the Lord loves and in whom He delights, we are only fooling ourselves. If the Sabbath is the only time we have for some kind of spiritual fulfillment, then we most definitely need to be in church.

In many countries outside the United States, the lives of the people are very difficult and filled with just trying to eke out a living. When Sabbath comes, many of them are at Sabbath School by 8:30 in the morning. They start singing and preaching and praying, and they continue singing and preaching and praying until the sun sets on Saturday night, because this is the only time they can recharge their spiritual batteries. It is far better to acquire some kind of nourishment than no nourishment at all.

Sabbath Reform

“There is need of a Sabbath reform among us, who profess to observe God’s holy rest day. Some discuss their business matters and lay plans on the Sabbath, and God looks upon this in the same light as though they engaged in the actual transaction of business.” Evangelism, 245.

What goes through your mind on the Sabbath day is of great significance. The Bible says that as a man “thinketh in his heart, so [is] he.” Proverbs 23:7.

A number of years ago, one of the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s schools was showing a film on skiing. This was in the days of the old 16-millimeter movie projectors, and the film that evening included two spools. The man who brought the film to show to the students and staff at the academy owned the ski lodge where they would go to ski. Of course, he took the opportunity to do a little promoting, trying to bolster his business. The first spool of film was shown, and while the second spool was being loaded, he wished to say a few complimentary words to the staff of the school concerning the young people who attended there. He said, “First of all, I want to compliment you on your young people. I think they are tremendous. You know,” he continued, “on Saturday afternoons they drive up to the ski lodge, but they sit in their cars until the sun goes down. They will not even go on the ski lift until after the sun sets.” The principal of the school did not feel complimented at all. He, as a matter of fact, was quite embarrassed that this kind of activity was being observed.

We need to think about this for a moment. We need to ask ourselves, How are we keeping the Sabbath? Is the Sabbath such a delight to us that we hate to see it go, or has it become burdensome for us, and we anxiously await the setting of the sun, so we can again go about our own activities?

The Sabbath is the Lord’s special time with us. If we cannot wait until it is over, we will never be happy in heaven, because the whole atmosphere in heaven is directed toward the worship of God.

Anxious for Sunset

The idea of being anxious for the sun to go down is not something new with us. This was the same problem that ancient Israel faced. They could not wait for the sun to go down, so they could be about their business. It even got to the point where they were bringing goods and setting them up outside the gates on the Sabbath day.

The situation is not a whole lot different today. A number of people, particularly in the Evangelical world, are looking to Israel and saying, This is a fulfillment of prophecy. God is blessing these people. They are His people, even though they are not keeping or observing the Sabbath day in Israel. Yes, they shut everything down on Saturdays. If you were to go to Israel on any given Sabbath, you would see that everything is closed down. On some streets there are even barricades so the traffic cannot go up and down the streets. But as sundown nears, the shopkeepers are inside their shops, ready for the whistle to blow indicating to all that the sun is set. When the whistle blows, the shades on the shop windows go up, and the carts go out into the streets, and they begin selling their wares again. This is the kind of thinking that pervades Israel today, so, regardless of what people may think prophetically, they are not living in harmony with even what they have written on the statute books. Where are their minds? Certainly not on the Sabbath.

Where are our minds at times? Are they on the Sabbath or on secular pursuits, the dollar, and self? Ellen White tells us, “The fourth commandment is virtually transgressed by conversing upon worldly things or by engaging in light and trifling conversation. Talking upon anything or everything which may come into the mind is speaking our own words.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 703.

We can converse on the Sabbath day. We can greet one another. We can make inquiry as to their well-being and the welfare of their family, but it is not the time to carry on light, jesting, joking kinds of conversation or deal with business matters.

Two Points

  1. The easiest way to keep the Sabbath and to keep the conversation on Sabbath topics is to converse with true Sabbath keepers. Although we are to spend some time in doing good deeds for those who may be of the world, too often we use this as an excuse to go to the homes of non-Sabbath keepers and spend God’s holy time visiting on Sabbath afternoons. One of the easiest ways for us to trample the Sabbath is to visit with relatives who are not Sabbath keepers. It is certain that they are not going to be speaking on sacred themes. Sabbath is not the time to visit unconverted relatives who do not realize the true keeping of the Sabbath. Leave that for another day of the week. If you are a Sabbath keeper, you will want to have Sabbath conversation.
  2. Included in not speaking our own words is not hearing other words spoken that are not Sabbath orientated. This means that we should not watch or listen to worldy, non-spiritual programs on our radios and televisions, and any materials that are not Sabbath orientated, such as newspapers and worldly magazines, should be put away.

Many Seventh-day Adventists feel that it is not a problem to sit at home on Sabbath afternoons and watch television, as long as it does not affect anybody else. But if we are going to follow what the Scripture has to say, we should not only guard the words that we speak but also the words that we hear.

Necessary Rebuke

“Ministers of Jesus should stand as reprovers to those who fail to remember the Sabbath to keep it holy. They should kindly and solemnly reprove those who engage in worldly conversation upon the Sabbath and at the same time claim to be Sabbathkeepers. They should encourage devotion to God upon His holy day.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 704.

If there are Sabbath keepers that we are to rebuke because their conversation is not on Sabbath issues, it should be done “kindly and solemnly.” Great emphasis is to be put upon “kindly.” We need to make sure that, as we encourage someone in his or her Sabbath observance, it is done gently and kindly. One of the ways that we can gently and kindly rebuke someone, as far as conversation on the Sabbath, is to take charge of the situation. When the conversation is going in a direction other than sacred themes, you may say something such as, “By the way, I do not mean to change the subject, but the other day I was reading in Patriarchs and Prophets about . . .” If you make the rebuke in that way, it will be done in kindness, and they will not feel that you are shaking a finger right under their nose.

Repairers of the Breach

Some may think that this is getting down to some pretty fine points of Sabbath observance. Well, perhaps so, but the Lord has spoken to us on these issues through the Bible and through the counsel of Ellen White. Therefore, we cannot lightly set these things aside. God sent them to us for one purpose and for one purpose only, and that is because we are called to be reformers. We are called to be repairers of the breach. (Isaiah 58:12.) This verse has been specifically applied to the hole that has been knocked in the Sabbath. We are to repair that hole; we are to restore the old paths upon which we are to be walking. The reform message that has been given to us needs to be carried out in our being the kindest, the most courteous, and the most thoughtful people in the world. We also need to be true to the mission to which God has called us. In doing that, we will find that the Sabbath is going to be more meaningful to us because we understand its principles.

If the Sabbath is to be a delight, then we need to delight ourselves in the God of the Sabbath. If we delight ourselves in the God of the Sabbath, we are then going to have true understanding of what the Sabbath is all about and the blessings that are in it for each one of us.

Thorough Bible Students

“Every position of our faith will be searched into, and if we are not thorough Bible students, established, strengthened, settled, the wisdom of the world’s great men will be too much for us.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 386. That is quite an awesome statement! When you consider it, you will understand precisely the reason why we are lingering over Exodus 20:8–11 and Deuteronomy 5:12–15. Both of these passages of Scripture deal with the Sabbath, the fourth commandment.

Unless we are “thorough Bible students,” unless we are established in the faith and have incorporated these truths into our hearts and into our minds—so we are prepared, when called to appear before magistrates and in legislative courts, to give an answer for our faith—the wisdom of these men will overwhelm us. One issue with which we must really come to grips in the last days is the issue of the Sabbath and Sunday.

Inspiration does not say that the test will be over whether or not we have stolen, lied, committed adultery, or built graven images. Those things are important, and I am not trying to minimize them in the least, but they are not going to be the confronting focal point. We will be confronted over the issue of the Sabbath and Sunday.

When asked why we are keeping Saturday, the seventh day of the week, instead of Sunday, the first day of the week, we must be able to give an answer. We will need to be able to defend the observance of the seventh day of the week.

New Testament Only

What would you say, what kind of a response would you give, if you were called before a panel or before a group of Sunday keepers, and they asked, “Can you defend the observance of this day you keep from the New Testament only? We know that Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 talk about the Ten Commandments and about the Sabbath day, but we are New Testament Christians.” In that circumstance, you will need to give a definitive answer from the New Testament.

Perhaps you would remember Hebrews 4:9: “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” But is there more to New Testament Sabbath observance than this passage? Even though you may know New Testament texts to argue against the sacredness of the first day of the week, it is not enough to just do away with Sunday keeping. Establishing Sabbath keeping from the New Testament is really the issue. Can we establish Sabbath keeping from the New Testament?

Jealous of Jesus

We know, as we near the end of the world and the approach of Jesus’ Second Coming, that the devil will move to convince the world that the seventh-day Sabbath is history and that Sunday, the so-called Christian Sabbath, is to be reverenced and observed as God’s rest day. We see movements even now taking us in that direction, but we know from the Word of God that these things are nothing more and nothing less than the workings of the devil. The devil hates the Sabbath, because he hates Jesus.

Why does he hate Jesus? He hates Jesus, because he is jealous of Jesus. Satan’s jealousy is motivated by the fact that Jesus is much better than he, and he hates that fact. Recognizing this, he would want, in a moment, to do away with Jesus and to take His place, if he could. He has tried that on more than one occasion.

“I will be like the most High,” declared Lucifer before being thrust out of heaven. Isaiah 14:14. Do you know who the “most High” was to whom he was referring? Jesus Christ. He wanted to take Jesus’ place and, ultimately, take the whole throne of God.

But since the devil cannot touch Jesus, he has determined to attempt to try to obliterate anything that would serve to remind a follower of Jesus about Him. That is why it serves the devil’s end to try to obliterate the Sabbath, because the Sabbath reminds us of Jesus Christ. It tells us so much about Him.

Developed from Ignorance

It is often said that the New Testament does not teach about the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath. It is also said that when Christ and the apostles brought the gospel message to us, they did not give any teachings about the Sabbath. The Sabbath is really downplayed and virtually ignored, as far as New Testament teachings are concerned, so people conclude that they are justified in believing that the Sabbath is not really a Christian institution and has very little to do with Jesus’ plans for our lives.

Such a concept as this comes entirely out of the sophistry of human intelligence, which is nothing more than ignorance. It does not come as a result of Bible study. The New Testament has its own Sabbath theology, and, indeed, it is quite a well-worked-out Sabbath theology.

Jesus had a lot to say regarding the Sabbath. In fact, it was the subject of several of His discourses that are recorded for us in the New Testament. A number of people have the idea that if something is not stated in the New Testament, then we do not have to pay much attention to it. If stated in the Old Testament, it had its life, but that life is now past, and we no longer need to deal with it.

The Sabbath is just such an issue, but it is going to play such an integral part in the scheme of last day events that it is taught throughout the Gospels and in the teachings of Jesus.

Problem of Observance

The problem has always been the observance of the Sabbath. In Old Testament times, consider Elijah on Mount Carmel. What was the issue? It was the Sabbath. (See 1 Kings 18.) Many people do not understand that this event concerned the Sabbath—whether the people were going to worship Baal, the sun god, or whether they were going to worship Jehovah, the God of the Sabbath day. That was really the issue. When John the Baptist came with his Elijah message, it was a message about the keeping of the Commandments of God. It was an issue between the traditions of men and the Commandments of God.

This is why God raised up the Seventh-day Adventist Church—for the purpose of bringing back the truths of the seventh-day Sabbath. This is why its message is called the Elijah message, because it is an issue over the worship of God on the Sabbath or worship on Sunday.

Old Testament Sabbath

As far as the Sabbath is concerned, in the Old Testament, we see there that God is described as the Maker and the Owner of the Universe, the One who initiates the covenant with His people. The Sabbath in the Old Testament describes God’s authority. It shows us the right God has to own us as His people, the right He has to make His people whole again. It describes God as the Maker and the Restorer, the One who sanctifies, and it is the Sabbath that becomes the hallmark. It is the Sabbath that really identifies God as the Maker and the Owner, and it is the covenant of God.

So the Sabbath, in the Old Testament, gives God His authority over His people. It ascribes to Him all authority that is in heaven and in earth. It ascribes to Him the sole proprietorship of the universe. Why? Because He created it all, and the Sabbath is the hallmark—the sign or the seal—of His creative ability as God. He is the One who is in charge of it all; the One who has the authority over all things.

Arbitrary Argument

It is for this reason that some have argued against the Sabbath, saying that the fourth commandment is so arbitrary. If you looked to common sense, what is known as natural law, there is good reason for all of the other commandments. It just makes good sense, for instance, not to kill someone, because, for one reason, whoever is killed probably has a surviving relative who will come to kill you in revenge. It makes good sense not to steal from someone, because they may come after you and take back what was stolen from them plus some of your possessions. So natural law tells us that there is common sense in these commandments.

From an historical point of view, there is what is called The Code of Hammurabi. The stone containing this code was discovered through an archaeological dig. It is dated as a contemporary with the times of Abraham. The interesting thing about The Code of Hammurabi is that most of the laws that we find written in the Old Testament, such as the laws of Moses, are contained in it, yet the stone has been dated centuries before the time of Moses. So many have declared that Moses was just a lawgiver. They say that he came up with these laws, patterning them after the lands around him.

From an intellectual point of view, one could almost fall for this explanation, because there is evidence that would tend to support this idea, if it were not for the Sabbath. The Sabbath, located right in the middle of the Ten Commandments, is a declaration that the commandments are beyond human wisdom. The validity of the Sabbath cannot be argued from any of the natural laws. Some have tried, but God has arbitrarily said that the week shall be seven days long, that the seventh day shall be the day in which we shall turn our eyes to Him, acknowledging that all things come from Him, and that He has all authority over all things.

That is arbitrary. That is God’s divine implant. That is God’s divine insignia in the Law of the Ten Commandments. This proves to me, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that this law has a divine origin, because what man would have thought up a law like that, giving everyone a day of rest during the week, that governs man’s time so fully? It has to be of divine origin. It turns our eyes totally to God for its source and for its appreciation.

God’s Sabbath Activities

You and I know that we should not do anything on the Sabbath, right? The fourth commandment says that we should not work on the Sabbath, so most of us do as little as possible. Some do not even make it to church on Sabbath morning, because they are trying to do as little as possible.

The Bible does say that God rested on the Sabbath, but is that accurate? (Genesis 2:2, 3.) It says that God rested on the Sabbath from His work of creation. The Bible does not say that God rests on the Sabbath.

“Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day [is] the sabbath of the Lord thy God: [in it] thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that [is] within thy gates: For [in] six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them [is], and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:9–11. [Emphasis supplied.] Note that rested is the past tense form of rest.

Remembering that we are studying how to better understand the Sabbath in the New Testament, it is important for us to get the point that the Sabbath is an institution that has more to teach us than the fact that God rested on the Sabbath day after creating the world. As important as it is to know that God did His work and that He finished His work, it is also important to know that the Sabbath has to teach us something today—currently, right now—about the authority and the work of God.

If we believe that we may someday soon be called to give an answer for why we are keeping the seventh-day Sabbath, that Old Testament Sabbath, when all of the rest of the world is keeping Sunday, then we must have a biblically founded explanation that not only satisfies us but also satisfies those who are making the enquiry. We must be “thorough Bible students” now.

To be continued . . .

A retired minister of the gospel, Pastor Mike Baugher may be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

1 Corinthians 12 and 13, Part II

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As long as we are in this world we must be linked with one another. Humanity is interlaced and interwoven with humanity. As Christians we are members one of another. The Lord has made us thus, and when disappointments come, we are not to think the worse of one another. We are individual members of the general body. In helplessness and disappointment we are fighting the battles of life, and the Lord designs us, as His sons and daughters, whom He calls His friends, to help one another. This is to be a part of our practical Christian work.” The Signs of the Times, February 7, 1900.

How is this unity (oneness) to be brought about?

“The prayer of Christ to His Father, contained in the seventeenth chapter of John, is to be our church creed. It shows us that our difference and disunion are dishonoring to God. . . .” Lift Him Up, 296.

Unity in Diversity

“[John 17:20, 21 quoted.] What kind of unity is spoken of in these words?—Unity in diversity. Our minds do not all run in the same channel, and we have not all been given the same work. God has given to every man his work according to his several ability. There are different kinds of work to be done, and workers of varied capabilities are needed. If our hearts are humble, if we have learned in the school of Christ to be meek and lowly, we may all press together in the narrow path marked out for us (MS 52, 1904). . . .

“[John 17:20-23 quoted.] What a wonderful statement! The unity that exists between Christ and His disciples does not destroy the personality of either. In mind, in purpose, in character, they are one, but not in person. By partaking of the Spirit of God, conforming to the law of God, man becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Christ brings His disciples into a living union with Himself and with the Father. Through the working of the Holy Spirit upon the human mind, man is made complete in Christ Jesus. Unity with Christ establishes a bond of unity with one another. This unity is the most convincing proof to the world of the majesty and virtue of Christ, and of His power to take away sin (MS 111, 1903).” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1148.

What is it that establishes a bond of unity with one another? Unity with Christ. How do we have this unity with Christ? “By partaking of the Spirit of God, conforming to the law of God, man becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Christ brings His disciples into a living union with Himself and with the Father. Through the working of the Holy Spirit upon the human mind, man is made complete in Christ Jesus.” Ibid.

Love and Unity Connection

The following quotes show how love and unity are connected. Love is a key ingredient to having unity in the church.

“Little differences dwelt upon lead to actions that destroy Christian fellowship. Let us not allow the enemy thus to gain the advantage over us. Let us keep drawing nearer to God and to one another. . . . The heart of the Saviour is set upon His followers’ fulfilling God’s purpose in all its height and depth. They are to be one in Him, even though they are scattered the world over. . . . When Christ’s prayer is fully believed, . . . unity of action will be seen in our ranks. Brother will be bound to brother by the golden bonds of the love of Christ. The Spirit of God alone can bring about this oneness. He who sanctified Himself can sanctify His disciples. United with Him, they will be united with one another in the most holy faith.” God’s Amazing Grace, 210.

“God is the embodiment of benevolence, mercy, and love. Those who are truly connected with Him cannot be at variance with one another. His Spirit ruling in the heart will create harmony, love, and unity. The opposite of this is seen among the children of Satan. It is his work to stir up envy, strife, and jealousy. In the name of my Master I ask the professed followers of Christ: What fruit do you bear?” Testimonies, vol. 5, 28.

“Selfishness and pride hinder the pure love that unites us in spirit with Jesus Christ. If this love is truly cultivated, finite will blend with finite, and all will center in the Infinite. Humanity will unite with humanity, and all will be bound up with the heart of Infinite Love. Sanctified love for one another is sacred. In this great work Christian love for one another—far higher, more constant, more courteous, more unselfish, than has been seen—preserves Christian tenderness, Christian benevolence, and politeness, and enfolds the human brotherhood in the embrace of God, acknowledging the dignity with which God has invested the rights of man. This dignity Christians must ever cultivate for the honor and glory of God.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1140, 1141.

Christlike Forbearance

“Nothing can perfect a perfect unity in the church but the spirit of Christlike forbearance. Satan can sow discord; Christ alone can harmonize the disagreeing elements. . . . When you as individual workers of the church love God supremely and your neighbor as yourself, then there will be no labored efforts to be in unity, there will be oneness in Christ, the ears to report will be closed, and no one will take up a reproach against his neighbor. The members of the church will cherish love and unity and be as one great family. Then we shall bear the credentials to the world that will testify that God has sent His Son into the world. Christ has said, ‘By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.’ [John 13:35.]” Reflecting Christ, 200.

“True sanctification unites believers to Christ and to one another in the bonds of tender sympathy. This union causes to flow continually into the heart rich currents of Christlike love, which flows forth again in love for one another.

“The qualities which it is essential for all to possess are those which marked the completeness of Christ’s character—His love, His patience, His unselfishness, and His goodness. These attributes are gained by doing kindly actions with a kindly heart.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1141.

Perfect Oneness

“Our great need is unity, perfect oneness in God’s work.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 300.

“ ‘That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.’ John 17:21.

“Let these words be oft repeated and let every soul train his ideas and spirit and action daily that he may fulfill this prayer of Jesus Christ. He does not request impossible things of His Father. He prays for the very things which must be in His disciples in relation to their oneness to each other and their unity and oneness with God and Jesus Christ. Anything short of this is not attaining to perfection of Christian character. The golden chain of love, binding the hearts of the believers in unity, in bonds of fellowship and love, and in oneness with Christ and the Father, makes the connection perfect, and bears to the world a testimony of the power of Christianity that cannot be controverted.” That I May Know Him, 173.

Cease Criticism

“I am determined to keep before the people the fact that we must have unity. We must cease all criticism. We must urge that the great peculiarity distinguishing Christians from all others, is the union that exists between them and the Lord Jesus Christ, by constant exercise of the faith that works by love and purifies the soul. This union, oneness with Christ, leads to unity with and love toward one another. Christians delight to honor God by obeying all His commandments. Bound together in love with Christ, they have love toward one another.” The Voice in Speech and Song, 347.

The “How” of Unity

So how do we gain this unity? “Strive earnestly for unity. Pray for it, work for it. It will bring spiritual health, elevation of thought, nobility of character, heavenly-mindedness, enabling you to overcome selfishness and evil surmisings, and to be more than conquerors through Him that loved you and gave Himself for you. Crucify self; esteem others better than yourselves. Thus you will be brought into oneness with Christ. Before the heavenly universe, and before the church and the world, you will bear unmistakable evidence that you are God’s sons and daughters. God will be glorified in the example that you set.” Testimonies, vol. 9, 188.

“Look at the cross of Calvary. It is a standing pledge of the boundless love, the measureless mercy, of the heavenly Father. O that all might repent and do their first works. When the churches do this, they will love God supremely and their neighbors as themselves. Ephraim will not envy Judah, and Judah will not vex Ephraim. Divisions will then be healed, the harsh sounds of strife will no more be heard in the borders of Israel. Through the grace freely given them of God, all will seek to answer the prayer of Christ, that His disciples should be one, even as He and the Father are one. Peace, love, mercy, and benevolence will be the abiding principles of the soul. The love of Christ will be the theme of every tongue, and it will no more be said by the True Witness, ‘I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love’ (Revelation 2:4). The people of God will be abiding in Christ, the love of Jesus will be revealed, and one Spirit will animate all hearts, regenerating and renewing all in the image of Christ, fashioning all hearts alike. As living branches of the True Vine, all will be united to Christ, the living head. Christ will abide in every heart, guiding, coz`mforting, sanctifying, and presenting to the world the unity of the followers of Jesus, thus bearing testimony that the heavenly credentials are supplied to the remnant church. In the oneness of Christ’s church it will be proved that God sent His only-begotten Son into the world.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 385.

Experiencing the Cross

How are we to gain this oneness with Christ? By crucifying self, which involves a cross. I call it experiencing the cross. Look at how we can experience the cross.

Let us first look at the example of the experience of the disciples and the cross. Before Jesus was crucified, the disciples were frequently engaged in disputing about who would be the greatest. For example, in Mark 9:33, 34, we read, “Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, ‘What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?’ But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who [would be the] greatest.” The disciples definitely had some strife as to who would be the greatest.

In the Book of Proverbs, the Bible tells us some things that cause strife. “A perverse man sows strife, And a whisperer separates the best of friends.” Proverbs 16:28. “Where [there is] no wood, the fire goes out; And where [there is] no talebearer, strife ceases.” Proverbs 26:20. “He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, But he who trusts in the Lord will be prospered.” Proverbs 28:25.

But then we see that in the Book of Acts, chapter 2, verse 1, it says: “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.” Something had happened with the disciples! They had become unified and were no longer having strife as to who would be the greatest. What happened to the disciples that changed them so? I believe it was experiencing the cross.

A Thoughtful Hour

When we start looking at the cross, we see nothing but the greatest love and selflessness manifested. There was nothing selfish about the cross. It is not something a selfish person would do—give your life for a bunch of rebels. We see there the greatest love manifested—a love that completely melts selfishness. To think that Someone would give His life so we could have life for eternity is just mind boggling. To think that anyone would love us that much! It is amazing! He not only gave His life, but He suffered agony, rejection, separation from His Father, and pain—for you and for me. How can we not be drawn to One with a love like that? This is part of the reason we are counseled to spend a thoughtful hour every day studying the life of Christ, and especially the closing scenes.

“It would be well to spend a thoughtful hour each day reviewing the life of Christ from the manger to Calvary. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination vividly grasp each scene, especially the closing ones of his earthly life. By thus contemplating his teachings and sufferings, and the infinite sacrifice made by him for the redemption of the race, we may strengthen our faith, quicken our love, and become more deeply imbued with the spirit which sustained our Saviour. If we would be saved at last, we must learn the lesson of penitence and faith at the foot of the cross. . . . Everything noble and generous in man will respond to the contemplation of Christ upon the cross.” Gospel Workers (1892), 246.

Crowning Act

“ ‘As I have loved you.’ [John 13:34.] The crowning act in the sacrifice of love was yet to come. Soon, in the scenes of the Saviour’s betrayal, trial, and crucifixion the disciples were to see the measure of his love. They were to see him hanging on the cross in dying agony, bearing the sins of the world. In this, and in his resurrection and ascension, they were to see a love so broad and deep that all doubt as to the meaning of the new commandment would be swept away. The knowledge of the Saviour’s matchless love for them was to bind them heart to heart, preparing the way for the Lord to anoint them with his Spirit. United by this love, they were to go forth to witness with convincing power to the divinity of their Leader. And their Christlike love for one another was to be the sign of their discipleship.

“How much of this love have we shown for one another? Might we not better begin without delay to love one another as Christ has loved us? Would we not then be a power for good in the world? ‘By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.’ [John 13:35.]” Review and Herald, July 21, 1903.

“The disciples never realized Christ’s love for fallen man until they saw it expressed on the cross of Calvary, until He rose from the dead and proclaimed over the rent sepulcher of Joseph, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.’ [John 11:25.] Lessons have been given in regard to this love which are just as new to us, as far as practice is concerned, as they were to the disciples before the death and resurrection of our Lord. When these lessons are brought into the practical life, when God’s people love one another as He requires them to do, there will be an entire change in the experience of the churches.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 15, 109, 110.

“When the attention is fastened on the cross of Christ, the whole being is ennobled. The knowledge of the Saviour’s love subdues the soul, and lifts the mind above the things of time and sense. Let us learn to estimate all temporal things in the light that shines from the cross. Let us strive to fathom the depths of humiliation to which our Saviour descended in order to make man the possessor of eternal riches. As we study the plan of redemption, the heart will feel the throb of the Saviour’s love, and will be ravished by the charms of His character.

“It is the love of Christ that makes our heaven. But when we seek to tell of this love, language fails us. We think of His life on earth, of His sacrifice for us; we think of His work in heaven as our advocate, of the mansions He is preparing for those who love Him; and we can but exclaim, ‘O the heights and depths of the love of Christ!’ As we linger beneath the cross, we gain a faint conception of the love of God, and we say, ‘Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.’ [1 John 4:10.] But in our contemplation of Christ, we are only lingering round the edge of a love that is measureless. His love is like a vast ocean, without bottom or shore.” Lift Him Up, 248.

“In all true disciples this love, like sacred fire, burns on the altar of the heart. It was on the earth that the love of God was revealed through Jesus. It is on the earth that his children are to let this love shine out through blameless lives. Thus sinners will be led to the cross, to behold the Lamb of God.” Review and Herald, May 6, 1902.

By Beholding

Have you experienced the cross and seen Christ’s love for you? As we look at His life, at His love, it is going to change us. By beholding, we are changed; we are going to become like Him. (11 Corinthians 3:18.) This is part of the way we can gain the experience that is talked about in 1 Corinthians 12 and 13 of having love for one another and working in unity as a body. When we truly have this love, we will place others before ourselves, which involves crucifying self and letting Christ be enthroned within.

“By beholding Christ, you will become changed, until you will hate your former pride, your former vanity and self-esteem, your self-righteousness and unbelief. You will cast these sins aside as a worthless burden, and walk humbly, meekly, trustfully, before God. You will practice love, patience, gentleness, goodness, mercy, and every grace that dwells in the child of God, and will at last find a place among the sanctified and holy.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 388.

“He [Christ] became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Shall we feel it a hardship to deny ourselves? Shall we draw back from being partakers of his sufferings? His death ought to stir every fiber of the being, making us willing to consecrate to his work all that we have and are. As we think of what he has done for us, our hearts should be filled with love.” Review and Herald, December 1, 1910.

“To love as Christ loved means to manifest unselfishness at all times and in all places, by kind words and pleasant looks. These cost those who give them nothing, but they leave behind a fragrance that surrounds the soul. Their effect can never be estimated. Not only are they a blessing to the receiver, but to the giver; for they react upon him. Genuine love is a precious attribute of heavenly origin, which increases in fragrance in proportion as it is dispensed to others.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1140.

Foretaste of Heaven

1 Corinthians 12 and 13 tie together quite well. Chapter 12 tells us about the unity of the body, how each part has its job and works with the great whole. In chapter 13, we learn what love really is. If we truly have this love, it will enable us to have the unity, spoken of in chapter 12, with our fellow brothers and sisters. To learn what a person with this love is like, we must look at the life of Christ, especially at the cross, because it is the greatest display of love. Let us each keep pushing on to know Christ and not neglect the time with Him every day, so we can gain the experience of the cross, and possess this love and unity.

“Please read the twelfth and thirteenth chapters of 1 Corinthians. ‘And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.’ [1 Corinthians 13:13.] Let us wash our robe of character. Let us no longer bite and devour one another. Let those who claim to be Christians practise [sic] Christ’s words. ‘Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men. . . . Let all your things be done with charity.’ [1 Corinthians 16:13, 14.]” Review and Herald, October 17, 1899.

It would be a foretaste of heaven to belong to a church that had these characteristics. If it is going to happen, it has to start somewhere. I want to start. How about you?

Jana Grosboll, an Electrical Engineering graduate student, serves Steps to Life as its Network Administrator. She may be contacted by e-mail at: janagrosboll@stepstolife.org.

The Ten Commandments, Part X – New Testament Sabbath Observance

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The New Testament theology concerning the Sabbath does not talk about God’s rest, but it deals with His Sabbath work. That may take us off guard as Seventh-day Adventists.

Most Christians reading the New Testament theology about the Sabbath say to themselves, “God’s idea of Sabbath rest is completely left out of the New Testament; therefore, the Sabbath rest is unimportant to New Testament believers. We can go out and work and do as we please on the Sabbath.” Is that the way it is?

When we are called to stand before legislative assemblies, in halls of justice, or in royal courts, as a witness for the King of kings, the questioners will have great skill and expertise in fashioning questions to confuse us. They may ask a question such as, Can you show me in the New Testament where God rests? What are we going to say?

In this study, we will see that the Sabbath is set on a firm foundation, because the authority of God does not only establish it in the Old Testament, but the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ also establishes it in the New Testament.

Jesus and the Sabbath go together. From Nehemiah 9, we know that it was actually the Lord Jesus Christ who came down on Mount Sinai and gave the Ten Commandments. So Jesus and the commandments are like a hand and glove. They go together.

Lessons from Jesus

John 5 reveals what Jesus has to teach us relative to New Testament Sabbath theology. He teaches it in a very distinct way.

“Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep [market] a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.” Verses 2–5. He had been sick for a long, long time.

I have been preaching for over 30 years. The time seems to have gone by in a flash, but as I contemplatively look back on all those years, it has actually been a long time! I cannot imagine what it would have been like to have lain in an impotent condition, having had someone else look after me for those 30 years plus 8 more. But that was this man’s portion.

“When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time [in that case], he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?” Verse 6.

The impotent man, with great faith and belief in Jesus, appealed to Him to be healed. Is that what it says? No! It was not that way at all. There is a reason why we find this healing miracle take place without one mention of faith being exercised. There is a reason for everything in Scripture, and through this story, Jesus wanted to teach something about the validity of the seventh-day Sabbath.

What would your response have been if you had been lying in a condition such as this man had for 38 years? If your vocal cords could have moved at all, you would most certainly have said, “You better believe it! Yes, indeed!”

“The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.” Verse 7.

The man never made it into the pool in time. Now, I ask you: Where was this man placing his faith, in the One that was talking to him or in the pool of water? He was placing his trust and his faith in the pool of water. He thought that if he could just get down into that water, he would be healed. Jesus did not even seem to blink an eye or hesitate at his answer. He simply commanded, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.” Verse 8.

“And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.” Verse 9. Ah, here it is! Here is what Jesus wants to teach us about the Sabbath!

The Plot Sickens

You have probably heard the saying, “The plot thickens.” Well, in this case the plot kind of sickens. Notice the reaction to this man’s healing.

What do you suppose would be the reaction if someone came into your church that you knew to have been suffering a physical malady for years and told the story of how he or she was made whole? There would be jumping up and down and rejoicing; there would be smiles on everyone’s faces. You would rejoice with the person. Not so in those days. Not under those conditions. There were spies all around.

“The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry [thy] bed. He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?” Verses 10–12. Oh, how they wanted to know who this man was. What was His name? Was He registered at the local synagogue?

When I was in the Philippines, the leaders of the organized Seventh-day Adventist Church learned that my travel companions and I were there. They broadcast a daily radio program, and when they learned that we were holding meetings, they announced on their radio program that we were fakes. They warned the people that we were not registered with the General Conference, so we were fakes, and the people should not attend our meetings. I was so glad they made that announcement! Do you know what happened to the attendance at our meetings? The people came! They wanted to know why we were there.

The Pharisees wanted to know who this man was and whether or not He had any authorization for telling this man to break the Sabbath by taking up his bed. Verse 13 says, “And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in [that] place.”

“Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole. And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.” Verses 14–16.

Some of these Pharisees and others found this man walking with his bed on the Sabbath. They were distressed that such a thing should happen on the Sabbath day! They were delighted to learn that Jesus had commanded him to do this, because now they had an excuse to kill Him. They had been watching Him for a long time, but they had not been sure that He was the One that had performed the miracle. Now they had verification. They had heard what had happened, and now they had all that they needed to stop Him and to silence Him permanently. They wanted to slay Him.

So they sought Jesus out with that “we caught you this time” expression on their faces and accusations on their lips, “But Jesus answered them, My Father worked hitherto, and I work.” Verse 17.

You would think that would be enough to stop them somehow, but interestingly they did not just seek to slay Him now, they “sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but had also said that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.” Verse 18.

Our Example

It is interesting to note that in the ministry of Jesus, the start of all of His troubles and the pretext that was used against Him concerned His Sabbath instruction and His example. The Jews sought to persecute Jesus because they thought that He did not properly regard the Sabbath.

We need to know and to understand the setting and the application of these truths because we are going to face them again in the end of time. We need to have an understanding of New Testament theology regarding Sabbath keeping because, in the end of time, the pretext that will be used against God’s people will be their Sabbath keeping. If we follow Jesus and keep the Sabbath, the devil and his followers will come after us just like the Jews of old came after Jesus. They will seek to slay us. If we foil their plans on one account, they will seek all the more to slay.

When confronted with the Jews’ accusations of, “Why are You working? Why are You teaching people to work on the Sabbath?” Jesus could have said, “It was not really work at all. What I did was legal. After all, this man had to take his bed home, and how did you expect him to get it there? His actions were excusable, under the circumstances.”

But Jesus did not answer them in that way. He just said, “My Father worked hitherto, and I work.” Verse 17. He did not make any excuses.

Many Christians have used this verse in an attempt to justify their actions, to excuse their working on the Sabbath. Does this make Sabbath work acceptable? No, it does not, because there is another dynamic in this passage. If we try to take something out of its context to make it say what we want it to say, we are in serious trouble. The context here is establishing New Testament teaching relative to Sabbath observance. The works performed by the Father and Son on the Sabbath are not justification for us to work on the Sabbath.

Verse 18 continues this story with, “The Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath [in their estimation], but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.” Jesus knew what He was saying, and the Jews knew what He was saying. That made them hate Him all the more. You see, we can never use this argument, ever, that the Father works; the Son works; therefore I am going to work also. If we use that argument, it is tantamount to saying that we are equal with God. Jesus understood that. The Jews understood that. It simply would not be true for you or me, but for Jesus it was true, and the Jews hated Him for it. They could not accept a Messiah that was Divine. They did not want that kind of Messiah.

Jesus’ Sabbath Work

If Jesus worked on the Sabbath, what kind of work did He do? What do His acts teach us about the Sabbath that we do not learn from the Old Testament? The gospels give us a few occasions of Jesus’ Sabbath work.

We will first look at an event given in Matthew 12: “At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungered, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw [it], they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.” Verses 1, 2. The word corn applied to wheat, rye, oats and barley. This explains the circumstance that they rubbed it in their hands to separate the grain from the chaff. (Luke 6:1.)

We find here the same issue all over again. In John 5, the situation involved the healing of a man who had been in that condition for 38 years. It was not lawful for him to pick up his bed and carry it home on the Sabbath, according to the Jews. Here the disciples are in the grain fields, plucking grain to eat, and the Jews say that this is not lawful for them to do either. Why did the Jews make this charge? Is it wrong to eat on the Sabbath? No, this is not the issue.

The disciples broke two laws, as far as the Pharisees were concerned, by harvesting and threshing on the Sabbath. The harvesting was the picking of the grains, and the threshing was the rubbing of the grains between the hands and the blowing away of the chaff so that the kernels could be eaten. The Jews felt that a double sin had been committed. Now they had the disciples right where they wanted them!

They came to Jesus with this accusation, and He said to them, “Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungered, and they that were with him; How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?” Verses 3–5. The word profane means “to make common.” As used in verse 5, profane means to treat the Sabbath as another working day; this is what the priests were doing; yet they were found blameless.

Jesus brings into focus the crux of this whole issue in verse 6: “But I say unto you, That in this place is [one] greater than the temple.”

Jesus is using His Sabbath work to establish His authority. We cannot use the Sabbath to prove our authority. The Sabbath proves our subservience, and we are to relate to the Sabbath in that way. The Sabbath establishes the authority of God. It proves that we are creatures and that He is the Creator. The Sabbath, when rightly understood, always proves and elevates the authority of Jesus, which He was never able to establish with His people in Old Testament times.

Recognized Authority

In the Old Testament, Jesus wanted to establish His authority over His people, and the Sabbath was the mark or distinction of recognized authority. This was only accomplished by a few small revivals that took place.

As we read this passage in Matthew 12, one thing comes through very loud and clear: Jesus is saying that He is greater than the temple. The Jews loved the temple. They adored the temple. They worshipped the temple. The temple was where the Ten Commandments were kept, and right in the middle of all that was the Sabbath commandment. But Jesus says that there is Someone greater here than the temple.

If the temple can be served without blame by work that is done on the Sabbath, then Who can be served on the Sabbath without blame? Jesus is teaching that He can be served on the Sabbath without blame. His work must go on, and His work can be done on the Sabbath without blame. This is what He is teaching through this story.

Verse 7 continues, “But if ye had known what [this] meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.” In other words, “My disciples are innocent of the charges you are making. They are not guilty. You do not understand what the Scriptures are trying to teach you, or you would not be making these kinds of charges in this case.”

And then, in verse 8, Jesus says, “For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.” What He is really saying is, “I have authority.”

Use of the Sabbath

Another passage similar to this is Mark 2:27, 28: “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.”

Can we use the Sabbath, according to these verses? If so, for what purpose? We can use the Sabbath to lift up the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is how Jesus used it throughout the New Testament.

There were spies watching the disciples walking through the grain field, ready to accuse them. Jesus gave the disciples permission to pick and to eat the grain, and He defended them fully in what they were doing against the spies’ accusations. What kind of Sabbath work is Jesus doing here?

What does eating accomplish? It accomplishes several things. If we look at this from a spiritual standpoint, we see that eating nourishes and sustains the body. This becomes more impressive when we realize that Jesus taught in parables. “Blessed [are] they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:6.

So two uses of the Sabbath are the establishing of the authority of Jesus and the nourishing of the body of Christ. Jesus is teaching about His work on the Sabbath.

The Bible tells us, in Colossians 1:17, that in Jesus everything consists or is sustained. It is His authority to sustain, and the Sabbath work of Jesus lifts up His authority to sustain all of His creation. The New Testament theology of the Sabbath then points to Jesus as the sustainer of all that is in this world.

Half-Whole

Immediately following the report of the disciples harvesting grain on the Sabbath is another example of Jesus’ works on the Sabbath. In this next story, we find Jesus in church. He has gone through the cornfield and is now in the synagogue. Matthew 12:9, 10 reads, “And when he [Jesus] was departed thence, he went into their synagogue: And, behold, there was a man which had [his] hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.” In Mark 3:1, 2, this same report is recorded, and that passage tells us very specifically that this occurs on the Sabbath day.

What would you expect Jesus to do when confronted with the situation of the man with a withered hand—ignore it? Or would you expect Jesus to do something to help this man? There were people in the synagogue that knew enough about Jesus to know that He would do something about it. They knew His character well enough that they were certain He would relieve this man’s affliction. Of course, they hoped that He would do something, because they then could accuse Him yet again of breaking the Sabbath. These people were waiting to accuse Jesus of doing something that was good, so they could do something bad to Him, or at least have the authorities do something bad to Him. According to the traditions the Jews had developed and heaped around the Sabbath day, it was wrong to practice the healing arts on the Sabbath day.

“And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift [it] out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days. Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched [it] forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.” Matthew 12:11–13.

Imagine that man being confronted by Jesus, having heard the stories about Him. He was perhaps thinking, “If I stretch forth my hand, Jesus will reach out and touch it, and it is going to be changed.” But he did not have to wait for Jesus to touch his hand. He stretched forth his hand, and as it stretched, it kept straightening, because it was healed in the process. He acted out his faith. The hand that had been withered became as strong and healthy as his other hand that was not withered.

Jesus gave physical wholeness to this man. He took this man who had the use of only one-half of his capacity, and He made him whole. He made him complete.

What a wonderful work it was that Jesus did here.

The work of Jesus on the Sabbath day is a wonderful thing. The Sabbath is a wonderful time to experience what God has in store for us. Jesus loves to take half-whole people, on the Sabbath, and make them whole. Do you feel that you are only half a person? Is there part of you that is nice and another part that is not so nice? This story tells us that Jesus uses the Sabbath day to bring wholeness. It marks Him as the Creator, because the Sabbath is a memorial of creation, and it marks Him as a memorial of re-creation.

To be continued. . .

A retired minister of the gospel, Pastor Mike Baugher may be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

A Finished Work—The March

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In previous articles of this series, we have studied about “The Challenge” that a finished work is for us today [December 2005], and “The Method” of finishing the work [January 2006]. Each of God’s people around the world must be involved in the finishing of the work, doing their part through personal testimony and personal witness to those around them. In this article, we will consider “The March” in the Christian’s life.

Jesus said, in John 4:34, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” If Jesus’ food was to do the will of the One that sent Him and to finish the work, is that our food and drink today—to do the will of Him that has sent us and to finish His work? God is calling us today to partake of this food and drink and to make it our purpose for living.

The first chapters of the Book of Joshua record the experience of the children of Israel as they entered the Promised Land. Uncertainty, fear, and trepidation gripped many of them, because they had been told about the giants in the land. God had given Joshua direction to cross over the Jordan to Canaan, and it was only through explicit obedience to His direction that Canaan was conquered.

Triumphant March

In Joshua 6, very specific directions from the Lord for embattling with and conquering Jericho are recorded. This city was a formidable obstacle in the conquest of the rest of Canaan. In verses 6, 7, and 10, we read: “And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord. And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the Lord.” “And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall [any] word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout.”

What interesting battle plans! Not since this time have battle plans ever been laid like this. The directions were for a small, armed group to go first, followed by seven priests blowing on seven trumpets. The Ark of the Covenant was to follow the priests, with the entire armed host marching after it. As they marched, they could not be laughing and talking or conversing in any way. The instruction was, “You shall not shout, nor shall you make any noise.” They were to march in silence together for six days.

Then, we know the rest of the story: “And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city.” Verse 16. On the seventh day, as they finished that seventh circuit, they were to shout! Oh to have heard that shout!

Obey the Orders

For six days, the entire armed host was silent as it marched around the city, but on the seventh day, the seventh time marching around the city, when the priests blew the trumpets with a loud blast, every person gave a loud shout. The walls of the city came down, and Jericho was conquered without a fight.

Think this through for a moment. Suppose they had decided that it was not that important whether or not they were quiet during the first six days of marching around the city, and they engaged in talking and conversing with their friends. Do you think the victory would have been won? No. What if some were growing weary of the silent marching, so they decided to shout on the fifth lap or the sixth lap around the city? Would the victory have been won? No. Without united effort, without marching in unity, without explicitly following the instruction of God, Jericho would never have been conquered.

In the finishing of our work today, unless we learn as they did to march in unity, the work will not be finished by us. God will use others who will march in unity. A disunited army could not conquer Canaan, and a disunited army is not going to finish the work today.

Imagine how the situation would have unfolded if they had taken the orders from Joshua, which came directly from the Captain of the host of the Lord, and said, “All right, we will march around the city.” And then Ephraim had begun marching around the city clockwise as Judah had begun marching around it counterclockwise. Or perhaps Dan had started at the West Gate while Naphtali had started at the East Gate. Another tribe had started marching at 7:00 a.m., but another group had not gotten started until noon. Perhaps they had greeted one another or had waved to the curious onlookers as they marched. Would the plan have worked? Definitely not.

An army that fights like that is not ready to face any foe. It is very easy for us, as we stand up against sin and against apostasy, to begin standing up against our brethren too, and not march in unity.

Smiting Fellowservants

In Matthew 24, Jesus concludes His message on the signs of the times—what is to precede His coming and what His coming will be like. He tells a parable of two servants—a faithful servant and a wicked servant. Jesus brings, at the end of this discourse of last day events, a very interesting conclusion. Note verses 48 and 49: “But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite [his] fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken.” Is there anything absolutely terrible, any grave sin, we might say, with which this evil servant is condemned? He does not even verbalize it; He just says in his heart, “My Lord is delaying His coming.” And that leads him to smite his fellowservants.

Can we be guilty of this? Is it possible to smite our fellowservants with more than just a fist? A tongue can smite our fellowservants too, can it not? The Lord says, of those who are smiting their fellowservants and of those who are not marching in unity, that their portion is going to be with the hypocrites when He comes. Their portion is going to be weeping and gnashing of teeth, because they did not join the army that was marching shoulder-to-shoulder in conquest of Canaan.

We need to forget our silly differences and pray that the Lord will help us to not be smiting our fellowservants, because anyone that is smiting his fellowservants will not be in the army that is going to finish the work. We need to realize who the enemy really is. The enemy is not one another. The enemy is not those who disagree with us or have different ideas; the enemy is the prince of the unconquered and unwarned world.

One Mind

“Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind [and] one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 15:5, 6.

What an amazing passage! It directs that we are to have one mind and one mouth. What do we do with our minds? We think. Our ideas, our thought processes, come from our minds, and here Paul says that we are to have one mind. The church is to have one mind, one purpose, one goal, one mouth. What do we do with our mouths? We speak. We are not to be saying multiple different things. We are to have one mouth, and we are to be speaking one thing.

How can that happen? Philip-pians 2:2 tells us,” Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, [being] of one accord, of one mind.” Paul says that we are to “fulfill my joy, be likeminded.” And then he tells us how that is possible. We are to have the same love. We are not going to have the same mind, the same mouth, or march shoulder-to-shoulder until we have the same love. Do we have the same love today?

Brotherly Love

On the first night of one of my trips to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, my travel companions and I discovered that the people whom we were visiting had been preparing a mud hut for us. It was actually quite large. They had gone out of their way to make what we would call a mud mansion. But they were not completely finished with it by the time we arrived. There were not yet any doors on the hut, but we were very tired, only wanting a place to sleep, as we had been traveling for many, many hours by multiple conveyances.

During the night, we were awakened by sounds outside of the hut. Peering outside, we noticed that the kerosene lantern was burning, and there beside it was a brother who had not yet been baptized. He wanted to make sure that we were safe, so he stayed awake the entire night to be a guard for us. When I learned that he had stayed sitting upright in a chair all night just to make sure no one harmed us, I felt so badly for him, but he had love.

This man was baptized while we were there. He had been a member of the Baptist Church. He had discovered a little bit about the Advent message from a sign along the road, and he had received Bible studies. He took the studies back to his church and other Baptist churches, and the members accepted what they learned from the lessons and wanted to know more about the Seventh-day Adventist message. They accepted the Sabbath. He was there at our location as their representative. We were never able to visit the other members, as they were 160 kilometers—about 100 miles—away. We did not have time to walk there, but 15 Baptist churches had sent him to learn more of the Adventist message. One reason God could work in their hearts, I believe, was because they had a love in their hearts for the brethren and for the message.

God is going to work in our churches; the more love and the more unity we have, the more He is going to work with us. Ellen White wrote: “The success of our work depends upon our love to God and our love to our fellowmen. When there is harmonious action among the individual members of the church, when there is love and confidence manifested by brother to brother, there will be proportionate force and power in our work for the salvation of men.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 188.

March Shoulder-to-Shoulder

We need to march in unity. We need to march shoulder-to-shoulder if we are going to conquer Canaan. So often, though, we think that the method to which God has called us is the only method, and everybody must use that method. We think that anybody who is not doing what we are doing is just not quite as sanctified as we are.

My friends, we need to all march in unity. There is a work to be done in literature work, but literature work alone is not going to finish the work. There is a work to be done in medical missionary lines, but that alone is not going to finish the work, even though it was given for evangelism. It was not just given to educate our churches; it was not just given so we could treat those among our number that become sick.

Do you remember that Loma Linda University used to be called the College of Medical Evangelists? Medical missionary work was given as a part of finishing the work and of evangelism. Ellen White often used an interesting phrase: “gospel medical missionary evangelist.” (See, for instance, Medical Ministry, 56.) The purpose of medical missionary work is to do evangelism. The purpose of literature work is to do evangelism, public evangelism, personal work among the members of the church.

We have to march shoulder-to-shoulder and work together to finish the work, because there are those who will respond to literature work but who will not respond to other work. There are those who will respond to medical missionary work who will not respond to something else. There are those who will respond to public evangelism and personal testimony who will not respond to other methods. God has called us, just as He called the army that was to conquer Canaan. He has called us to march shoulder-to-shoulder.

Achieving Unity

How can we march shoulder-to-shoulder? How can we work together in unity? My favorite sermon titles are the ones that begin with “How”! I like practical things, and we are given some practical counsel regarding unity.

“The unity that exists between Christ and His disciples does not destroy the personality of either. In mind, in purpose, in character, they are one, but not in person. By partaking of the Spirit of God, conforming to the law of God, man becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Christ brings His disciples into a living union with Himself and with the Father. Through the working of the Holy Spirit upon the human mind, man is made complete in Christ Jesus. Unity with Christ establishes a bond of unity with one another.” Sons and Daughters of God, 286.

We can be united with one another by striving to be united with Christ.

“The cause of division and discord in families and in the church is separation from Christ. To come near to Christ is to come near to one another. The secret of true unity in the church and in the family is not diplomacy, not management, not a superhuman effort to overcome difficulties—though there will be much of this to do—but union with Christ.” The Adventist Home, 179.

When there is a lack of unity, when there is division, when there is discord, we have to examine our hearts. We individually must ask, “Lord, am I in union with You? Am I the cause of this disharmony? Am I marching in a direction different from the rest of my brethren, or am I marching shoulder-to-shoulder? Am I in union with Christ?”

Another interesting area that we are told will affect unity is also given: “Those who would be overcomers must be drawn out of themselves.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 207. Do you want to be an overcomer? If we are not overcomers, we are not going to finish the work. If we are not overcomers, we are not going to enter into the Holy City.

Be Overcomers

How can we overcome? How can we be drawn out of ourselves? She says, “The only thing which will accomplish this great work, is to become intensely interested in the salvation of others.” And then she says, “This does not mean that you are to convert men to your way of doing, or to compel them to view things in the same light as you do; but you are to seek to present the truth as it is in Jesus.” Ibid.

Continuing, Ellen White says, “Missionary effort will become more general, and the example of one zealous worker, working in the right direction, will influence others, and they also will go forth to preach the gospel. The missionary spirit will pass from house to house, and the brethren will find something to talk about of more interest than their grievances.” Ibid., 208.

Have you ever been in a church where there are discussions about grievances? If so, it means that there is not enough missionary work being done, because she says that if we had greater missionary work being done, we would not find time to talk about our grievances. We would have more important things to discuss.

She goes on: “They will be interested in displaying the jewels of truth which the Bible contains, and churches will be established, meetinghouses erected, and many will come to the help of the Lord.” And notice what the result will be: “The brethren will be united in bonds of love, and will realize their unity with experienced Christians in all parts of the world, as they are one in their plans, one in the object of their interest.” Ibid. [Emphasis supplied.]

What brings about this unity? It is brought about by union with Christ and an intense interest in the salvation of others and by missionary effort that leads us to forget about talking about grievances and problems in the church. These different things become nothing when we have the goal of a finished work before our eyes.

I am always amazed how this works! Every time a church is involved in active evangelism, there is greater unity than at previous times. I have noticed this played out every year with the youth class at camp meeting. Each time we have gone out door-to-door in the community, the spirit is always different when the young people get back into the van than when they got out. When they return, they are talking about the person they met at one door, and the person that signed up for Bible studies at another, and the literature they gave away. There is a common spirit and more of a unity, just in that van.

That is what we need in our churches. We have to look those giants in the face, and we have to march forward shoulder-to-shoulder, being as aggressive in our work as possible. We have to look at the giants in our hearts and ask the Lord to bring those giants in our hearts down, that we might have a closer unity with Christ and that we, as a church, can march in unity—because God’s work will be finished by His church marching in unity, shoulder-to-shoulder around Jericho.

Cody Francis is currently engaged in public evangelism for Mission Projects International. He also pastors the Remnant Church of Seventh-day Adventist Believers in Renton, Washington. He may be contacted by e-mail at: cody@missionspro.org.

The Ten Commandments, Part XI – New Testament Sabbath Observance

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Paul gives his testimony in 11 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” This is the work that has to be done in us before Jesus can come back again.

There are many Seventh-day Adventists who have given up the seventh-day Sabbath. There are multitudes more who are considering such action. Perhaps even now they are in the valley of decision as to whether they should continue to keep the Sabbath or whether they should give up the Sabbath. We know that before the end comes, the majority will give up the Sabbath. They have no regard for the plan and the purpose of what the Sabbath is all about or they would not even consider such a thing.

Yet, as the Sabbath is given up, and many start keeping Sunday, they think that everything still is all right between them and the Lord. They go to church and convince themselves that God does not really care on which day they worship. They are missing the whole concept of the Sabbath.

They see the Sabbath couched in the Ten Commandment Law that says, “Just do not do any work. Do not. Do not. Do not.” They have no concept of what the Sabbath is really designed to do and what God intended for the Sabbath, right from the very beginning of time.

Position of Authority

We, as Seventh-day Adventists, love to quote from Ezekiel 20, and I would like to share with you some things that are found there. We want to look at the context of what is being said, more than just the proof texts, because there is a flow that comes through it that we need to understand. It is, in fact, a heart cry of God on behalf of His people.

“Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness. And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which [if] a man do, he shall even live in them. Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I [am] the Lord that sanctify them.” Verses 10–12.

Notice that there is a sanctifying process that takes place, as far as the Sabbath is concerned and the recognition of the God of the Sabbath.

“But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which [if] a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them. But I wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out. Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given [them], flowing with milk and honey, which [is] the glory of all lands; Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.” Verses 13–16.

Now, tell me who was in command of God’s children, according to verse 16?

Issue of Authority

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3. Any god that is recognized before Me is a god of authority, because I am to hold the highest position of authority over you. The Sabbath is a sign of that fact.

What was the thinking of the children of Israel at this juncture? They wanted to follow their idols. They wanted someone other than the God of heaven to have authority over them.

So what we see coming to pass in the passage of Ezekiel 20 is an issue of authority. “Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness. But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols.” Verses 17, 18. In other words, come back to Me; come back under My authority once again. “I [am] the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them.” Verse 19. In verse 12, God is speaking to the first generation; in verse 20, He is speaking to the second generation.

“And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I [am] the Lord your God.” Verse 20. God is declaring that He is to have authority in your life. There is no other god that can do for you what the God of heaven can do for you.

Rebellion

“Notwithstanding,” Verse 21 says, “the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which [if] a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.”

Through all of recorded history, during the reign of sin, it has been a determined response of God’s children to be in rebellion against Him, even though they have believed that they were in harmony with Him. This is why Sabbath and Sunday become such a tremendous issue in the last days. It is a matter of who is going to rule in your life. There is nothing else of any consequence. Whether you accept Jesus Christ only as Saviour or as Lord and Saviour is really the issue.

Jesus loves it when we come to Him and accept Him as Saviour. But that is only half of the issue. The rest of the issue is, Who is going to rule your life? Whom are you going to serve?

The Sabbath points out all of this. This is why the Bible identifies the 144,000 as virgins. (Revelation 14:3, 4.) They have a pure faith. They recognize the authority of God in their lives. Jesus is the only One who has the authority to perform the type of work that is necessary to fit us for the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus’ Purpose

Jesus never caused trouble needlessly. He was always like oil on troubled waters. He was always very diplomatic. He never went out of His way to stir up trouble, even when He performed activities to bring attention to the Sabbath. He came to magnify the law and to make it honorable. He said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” Matthew 5:17.

In every Sabbath story, Jesus “got in the face” of those people whom He knew would be upset with what He was doing, yet He continued anyway. It was important for Him to show that the Sabbath—indeed all of the Ten Commandments—although written in stone, also needed to be written in the heart. “My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: write them upon the table of thine heart.” Proverbs 3:1, 3.

Establish Authority

Why did Jesus do these things on the Sabbath? He did not do them to aggravate or to upset; He did these things to establish His authority as the God of heaven.

Another Sabbath story is recorded in Mark 1:

“And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.” Mark 1:21.

Where was Jesus on the Sabbath day? He was in the synagogue. He was in church. Never do you read of Jesus staying at home on the Sabbath day because He was too tired to go to church. If anyone had a right to be tired, it was Jesus, but, interestingly, He was always in church on Sabbath.

“And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.” Verse 22. Jesus impressed His authority upon those with whom He came in contact.

No Authority Over You

If you are going to church on Sunday—not on the seventh-day Sabbath—Jesus does not have authority over you. What He desires to take place in your life cannot occur if you are not meeting with Him on the Sabbath day.

The sanctifying process that the Sabbath is designed to do cannot reach its culmination in producing the 144,000 who are pure in their faith unless they are Sabbath keepers.

This is not to say that Sunday keepers will not be saved. Ellen White makes that very plain. “Many have died conscientiously observing the first day of the week as the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. These will not be condemned, because they followed the best light they had. They will not be held responsible for light which they never received.” Review and Herald, January 5, 1886. Those Sunday keepers will only be saved because they lived up to all the light they had. This is why it becomes so dangerous for a Seventh-day Adventist, a Sabbath keeper, to abandon the seventh-day Sabbath and begin keeping Sunday. They know better, and they will be held responsible for what they know.

An Unclean Spirit

Jesus was teaching the people, we are told in Mark 1, and the people were astonished at what He was saying, because He taught them as One having authority. And, then, “There was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit.” Verse 23. There was a man in church on the Sabbath who was possessed of demons!

According to Bible teaching, people who are possessed of demons may be in the church on the Sabbath.

So often we find ourselves making excuses for what the devil is doing. Often, especially in the present time, we learn about individuals who have gone berserk and killed people. We have read about the incident at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, where two students shot and killed one teacher, twelve fellow students, and injured twenty-four others (April 20, 1999). Scott Peterson of Modesto, California, was found guilty of murdering his wife and unborn child (December 2002). Then you have perhaps heard about Andrea Yates of a Houston, Texas, suburb who drowned her five children in the bathtub, and then pleaded insanity (June 2001).

Inviting Demonic Possession

Then there was a teenage boy who slashed and stabbed his mother and then shot several of his classmates with a gun. He said that demons told him to do it. (Luke Woodham, Pearl, Mississippi, October 1997.) Interestingly, he tried to plead insanity at his trial. As a result, thousands of taxpayer dollars were spent in an effort to show that this young man was insane. Perhaps the more accurate picture was that he may have been responsible for his own insanity, because he invited demons to come in and take control of his life.

Do you realize that there are young people in our schools today who are going through just such experiences? Their attire is a sign of attracting demonic possession. It is called gothic dressing. They paint their lips and fingernails black; they dress in all kinds of weird clothing, and they tramp around school.

Such displays are pervading the school systems, yet people wonder why many young people are going berserk.

Devil Attacks

If you think for a moment that, because you are a Christian and have given your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ, you are free from the harassment and oppression of the devil, you are only fooling yourself. Some experiences in the life of Ellen White testify to just the opposite.

At the time of one experience, she was 82 years old. She had lived for the Lord the majority of her life and had settled the issue of her salvation decades before this instance took place.

“Since coming to this meeting [biennial session, Pacific Union Conference], I have passed through a strange experience. One day, after appearing before the conference to read some matter to you, the burden that was upon my soul continued to press upon me after I returned to my room. I was in distress of mind. That night I could not seem to lose myself in sleep. It seemed as if evil angels were right in the room where I was. And while I was suffering in mind, it seemed as if I was suffering great bodily pain. My right arm, which through the years has nearly always been preserved from disease and suffering, seemed powerless. I could not lift it. Then I had a most severe, excruciating pain in the ear; then most terrible suffering in the jaw. It seemed as if I must scream. But I kept saying, ‘Lord, You know all about it.’

“I was in perfect agony. It seemed that my brain and every part of my body was suffering. At times I would rise up, and think, ‘I will not lie here another moment.’ Then I would think, ‘You will only arouse those who are in the house, and they cannot do anything for you.’ And so I kept looking to the Lord, and saying, ‘Lord, You know all about this pain.’ The suffering continued, at times in the jaw, then in the brain, and then in other members of the body, until nearly daylight. Just before the break of day I fell asleep for about an hour.

“My arm is all right this morning. Legions of evil angels were in that room, and if I had not clung by faith to the Lord, I do not know what might have become of me. . . .

“I shall never be able to give you a description of the satanic forces that were at work in that room, . . . but since standing before you the next morning, I have had no suffering.

“Light has been coming to me that unless we have more evident movings of the Spirit of God, and greater manifestations of divine power working in our midst, many of God’s people will be overcome. Satanic agencies will come in, as they came to me. But we cannot afford to yield to the power of the enemy.— Manuscript 25, January 28, 1910, ‘An Address to the Workers Assembled at the Pacific Union Conference.’ ” This Day With God, 36.

Reading this makes the hair prickle on the back of my neck. If it does not have the same effect on you, it should, because it tells us that if we begin to even dabble with the devil and if we become lax in our Sabbath keeping and in our relationship to our Lord, the devil may come in and overwhelm us.

Ellen White was not dabbling in anything and yet the devil sent legions of angels to try to overwhelm her and overcome her so that her work would be stopped.

What do you suppose is happening in the church today? Who do you think it is that comes in and drives the Spirit of God out of the church? There have to be willing subjects in order for this to happen. Those subjects are not agonizing with the Lord for deliverance as Ellen White was.

Do not ever let anyone tell you that the devil does not have access to you, as a Christian. We must be on guard every moment. The devil is going to be after us constantly until we either die or are delivered by the voice of God.

Dealing with Demons

This instance in Mark is the first time we see Jesus confronted with demonic possession, and it takes place in the church on the Sabbath day. Just the presence there of Jesus caused this unclean spirit to cry out, saying, “Let [us] alone.” Apparently there was more than one demon involved.

“What have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.” Mark 1:24. The interesting thing we learn from this portion of Scripture is that when demons are in the presence of God, they have to tell the truth!

“And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.” Verses 25, 26.

Those who have never dealt with any kind of demonic presence may think it is just an ipso facto kind of experience. You just tell them to leave and they have to leave. It is all over and done with, and you go merrily on your way.

According to what we read in Mark 1, it was no ipso facto experience with Jesus. Verse 26 tells us that this demon left the man after it cried with a loud voice and tore him.

Authority Established

Verses 27 and 28 continue, “And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine [is] this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him. And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.”

The authority of Jesus Christ comes through again concerning His Sabbath work. That which He has desired to establish with His people from the time of the Garden of Eden will happen as each one of us comes to the point in our lives where we say, “I want nothing more, nothing less, than for Jesus to have the authority in my life.” That will find its manifestation in the keeping of the Ten Commandments of God and the establishing of the faith of Jesus in our lives so that we can live for Him. In no other way can it happen.

Whether or not we are a part of that is up to us. But at some point Jesus is going to have enough authority in enough lives that it will become a reality, and purification will take place. Perfection will become a reality, and the Holy Spirit will be poured out without measure. Events will go like a whirlwind, and we will see Jesus come in the clouds of heaven.

—To be continued.

A retired minister of the gospel, Pastor Mike Baugher may be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

Fear Not, Part I

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Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32. In this article, we will look at the features of this verse—first, “fear not”; then, “little flock”; followed by “your Father’s good pleasure”; “to give”; and, last of all, “the kingdom.”

Fear Not

It says, in 1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”

How easy it is to become fearful when we hear of the terrors and terrorists that have the world governments in a state of anger and confusion. We see and hear of natural disasters such as earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, fires, and tsunamis, as well as tragedies such as automobile accidents, airplane crashes, and man’s inhumanity to others. Then there are sicknesses and diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and a host of others that attack the human body. We know that a national Sunday law is coming and also a time of trouble such as there has never been. (See “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 977; The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, vol. 3, 1002.) We might well ask ourselves the question, How do I cope?

On top of all those things, we still have to earn a living. The economy is very unstable, and job security may also be a worry. Paying the bills month-to-month is not easy. Then we must get along with a difficult neighbor or an incorrigible boss at work or even some people in the church who do not think as we do. Is there a solution? If so, what is it?

What we need to learn and to experience is the perfect love of God. We have heard that His promises are sure, and we try to believe that. We have read the text in Romans 8:28 that says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose.” But when the real trials come, is our faith strong enough to carry us through? It is not, unless we are really acquainted with the love of God and can sense His presence with us at all times. We need to experience His love.

“Love is a precious gift, which we receive from Jesus.” Messages to Young People, 435. All love comes from God. We must ask for it, for he that asks receives. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Matthew 7:7. We must ask for love by spending time on our knees, talking with God.

“Love is a [tender] plant of heavenly growth, and it must be fostered and nourished.” The Adventist Home, 50. Love must be cultivated and nourished to flourish. We must care for the gift of love by studying the character of God until His attributes, His love, become a part of us.

If we are going to have a perfect love that casts out fear, we must ask for and receive the gift of love; then culture and nourish it daily.

As a Flower

When we, in our mind’s eye, view Jesus on the cross, we need to realize how terrible that was and that He did not have to do it. He came to earth and suffered and died on the cross because of the heaven-born love He had in His heart for you and for me. When we begin to count all of the blessings He has given to us, love for God wells up in our hearts, and we are ready to do anything for Him. He puts love in our hearts for our fellow beings, and if we will practice that love and keep up our relationship with Jesus, we will grow in love until we have perfect peace.

We must establish the habit of talking to God about everything—even when in a crowd of people, we can still lift up our hearts to Him. When we learn to turn to God for help in all things, our faith and love will grow. We should learn to turn to Him to give thanks and to ask for help, just as the flower turns to the sun. “We may keep so near to God that in every unexpected trial our thoughts may turn to God as naturally as the flower turns to the sun.” The Signs of the Times, December 16, 1889.

As we get into the habit of talking to our Heavenly Father about everything, realizing that His presence is by our side at all times, our love and faith will grow, until one day we will reach perfection. We will be prepared to stand without a mediator after probation closes. “As a flower turns to the sun that its bright rays may aid in perfecting its beauty and symmetry, so should Christ’s followers turn to the Sun of Righteousness, that heaven’s light may shine upon them, perfecting their characters, and giving them a deep and abiding experience in the things of God.” The Youth’s Instructor, September 22, 1898.

To be continued . . .

A member of Steps to Life’s staff, Ruth Grosboll is a retired registered nurse. She worked for many years with her husband in the mission field. She may be contacted by e-mail at: ruthgrosboll@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

The Ten Commandments, Part XII – It Will Go Well With You

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In this series on the Ten Commandments, we have previously studied the first four commandments (Exodus 20:3–11), and we are ready to begin the second table of the Ten Commandment Law. The first table deals with the vertical relationship between God and us. The second table of the law deals with the horizontal relationship between our fellowmen and us. As mentioned in a previous article, the first table of the law came into practical application when God created Adam. The second table of the law came into practical application when God created Eve. The second table of the law is a very important aspect as we deal with our horizontal relationships.

The first table tells us how we are to worship God; the six commandments of the second table teach us how we are to treat one another. So often, religious people concentrate on the first table. Many theological discussions take place about how we are to worship God, but there are not many that make the application as to how we are to treat one another. It is part of God’s plan to regulate human relationships so we will be able to appreciate and love one another, as we love God and ourselves.

The first commandment of the second table reads: “Honour thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” Deuteronomy 5:16.

Reading this commandment in Exodus 20, we see that it is a little bit different, just as the Sabbath commandment is a little bit different between Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” Exodus 20:12. Do you see the difference? The difference is that Deuteronomy 5 says that if you honor your father and your mother, not only are your days going to be prolonged, but also it will go well with you.

Falling Apart

In my ministry as a pastor, I have observed that a lot of fracturing is taking place in families today. Once stable and strong relationships are no longer as strong as they once were. There is a little saying, “The family is falling apart at the seams,” and, certainly, this is true.

What is the reason for this dissolution? The reason is that we are in violation of the fifth commandment. As we go through this study, we hopefully will be able to better understand what is involved with this commandment that says, “Honor thy father and thy mother.”

Respect for parental authority and obedience to parental law is the foundation of all order and organization. The fifth commandment deals with this. Another old saying that holds an abundance of truth is this: “As goes the home, so goes society, the nation, and the world.”

The family is the most important and fundamental unit in society and in government. In a speech given over two years ago, President George W. Bush, the forty-third president of the United States of America, emphasized the importance of the family and the home, and the significance that it consist of one man and one woman, a husband and a wife. He is determined to see that this is established and set, even going so far as endorsing a Constitutional Convention to pass an Amendment to the Constitution to establish it. This belief is in harmony with Scripture.

Families today are falling apart. I do not believe that there has been a time in earth’s history when there have been such large Social Service Departments to take care of homes that are falling apart at the seams.

Obedience to Lawful Authority

The first commandment of the second table, or the fifth commandment of the ten, is in a special position in the order of the total ten. Surely this placement is no accident, but divinely placed. Family relationships constitute the beginning of all human relationships that are set forth in the second division of God’s Law. In its broadest application, it deals with obedience to all lawful authority, in that formative part of life when characters are molded and destinies are determined.

Considering the nature of parenthood, parents, in many ways, stand in the place of God to their children until they reach the age of accountability. Then the children can transfer their accountability to God because He is ultimately the One to whom they are responsible in the final end of all things. Yet, there is still the force of the commandment that says to “Honor your father and your mother all the days of your life, so it will go well with you.”

In the earlier years of a child’s life, the parent is to that child what God is to the parent—the Lawgiver, the Overseer, and the Provider. The fact that the attitude of the child toward the parent determines his attitude toward God in later years gives the fifth commandment a double significance.

A Broader Application

When the home life is Christ-centered, the children are almost certain to fulfill both tables of the law and to respect both divine and human authority. This commandment has not just a literal application to mom and dad, but it has a spiritual application that forms the attitudes and the characters of how people relate to life from childhood to adulthood.

If children are brought up in a home where proper parental authority is exercised and where good and righteous commandments from the parents are handed down to the children, they will incorporate those into their lifestyles. They are going to relate to all other issues of authority in their lives in the right way.

This is why the commandment says, “Honor thy father and thy mother, so that it will go well with you.” Not only will it “go well with you,” but also your days will be prolonged. This is a promise from God! This is the first commandment with a promise.

Another evidence of the importance of this commandment is the fact that parenthood is a co-partnership with God in the work of creation. Reproduction is a form of creation. What greater honor could God bestow upon human beings than to share with them the power to perpetuate His creative works? If you stop and think about this, you realize that parenthood is an awesome responsibility. This is something that is not being taught to young people today.

Holy Function of Parenthood

One of the reasons, I personally believe, that God called the Seventh-day Adventist Church into existence was to bestow upon its members insights and situations where they could teach their children how to become better parents. It had to start at some point in time.

If you actually look at what was transpiring in the days when God called the Seventh-day Adventist Church into existence, you will see that parenthood and the kinds of relationships between fathers and their children that would give a right example to the children was almost nonexistent. So the children grew up with a very warped understanding of what it meant to be a parent.

So God gave counsels for us so the next generation, having exercised those counsels, could put them into practice and be better equipped to be parents. If the fifth commandment was understood, as God wanted it to be understood, not only would it affect children, but it would affect parents as well.

The realization of the holy function of parenthood will place marriage on a moral elevation that is seldom recognized in this world of sin. It will give sacredness to family relationships that will ennoble and dignify the marriage institution.

Human Relationships

While the law is divided into two tables of Ten Commandments, it is really still one law, the Law of God. Even though the second table deals with human relationships, its commands are nevertheless the commands of God, and we need to understand that the commands of God do not deal with just the first four commandments. They deal with the last six commandments also.

When we are called to give an account in the judgment, according to Matthew 25, one of the questions that will be asked is, “How have you related to those around you?” This commandment establishes that on a firm foundation.

Whole Duty of Man

Since this command is the command of God, it carries the same penalty for violation. Violation or transgression of the Law of God, the Bible says, is sin, and the wages of sin is death. (1 John 3:4; Romans 6:23.) Anytime we sin against man, we also sin against God who created man. Our ultimate responsibility, then, is to be obedient to God as defined in these ten principles.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 says, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this [is] the whole [duty] of man.” If we could really understand the first commandment and the fifth commandment, our lives would be revolutionized. We would have greater insight. We would have greater courage. We would have greater determination in our service to God and in our service to our fellowman. This is the whole duty of man.

A Matter of Being Perfect

Because the true relationship between parents and their children is based on the relationship between God and the human family, children should honor their parents, who symbolize God to them during the earlier years of their lives. While no parents in this world of sin are entirely perfect, they are usually more perfect than their children, if for no other reason than maturity. If parents are not a notch above their children in terms of maturity and righteousness, they have disqualified themselves as parents. They should always be better than their children because they have to set an example to their children.

Under most circumstances, parents are usually more perfect than their children, and that is a reason they deserve respect and courtesy from their children. Children owe their very existence to their parents. I have heard children say, “Well, I did not ask to be born.” No, they did not, but if they can ever get beyond this stage of development, they will appreciate life for what it is. They will find meaning and purpose in service, not only to God, but also to their fellowman.

My father once told me, “If you can just get a child past 17 years of age and keep him or her stabilized, he or she will usually come out on the other end pretty well.” There is a lot of wisdom in that.

One of the best ways to keep a child stabilized is to be an honorable parent. It is quite a responsibility, but a number of people do not even understand what it means to be a parent, let alone an honorable parent. In spite of this, children still owe their very existence to their parents; they are made in their image, inherit their characteristics, and depend upon them for things that sustain life.

Included with Honor

How could there be a more binding obligation of honor than that which children owe to their parents? Honor involves much more than just being obedient and doing the parent’s will. It includes affection as well.

Do you realize that there are many residents in nursing homes who never have a visitor? Oh, how I wish that was not the case. I wish that every child who has a parent in a nursing home would go to visit him or her on a regular basis.

Honor includes affection. Honor includes respect. Honor includes human reverence. Honor means to hold in high esteem because of recognition of superiority. Can you see how God placed these concepts in this commandment?

Magnify the Law

Jesus came, the Bible says, to magnify the law and to make it honorable. (Isaiah 42:21.) In the days of Jesus, there was no honor, no recognition, and no reverence of parents when they became old. They were just put away. There was given no high esteem or recognition of superiority.

Parenthood has been established by God and is, therefore, divinely ordained. He has placed this command concerning parents in the Ten Commandments because it is something that God foresaw as a need for the human family.

Family Government

As God’s representatives, parents are given divine authority to rule the family government.

Many people have problems with the Federal Government or their State Government. They do not want this or any other authority over them. Do you know why? Because they never had the proper government at home as a child. They were never taught the proper relationship to authority at home.

The lack of regard for authority, whether parental, civil, or divine, is the greatest evil of this modern world. One reason for this is the fact that ministers have preached for so long that the law was nailed to the cross. The prevalent message has been, we do not have to keep the commandments anymore; they were nailed to the cross. Now, after decades and decades of time, people believe this message, and we are reaping the results of this erroneous preaching.

There was a time when the Ten Commandments were strongly upheld and believed by the Protestant world. Every missionary sent out to other lands had the desire to not only present God but also to present the plan of salvation and God’s requirements of His people. They taught that the Ten Commandments were binding upon every soul in the world because that would be the standard of the judgment.

Then Seventh-day Adventists began to preach that the law is still binding, and specifically so as it is centered in the fourth commandment that says, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” When the Protestant preachers, who had been upholding the law all these years, heard this preaching and felt the guilt and condemnation that came from their breaking the Sabbath day, they began to search for an answer, some solution that would soothe their own conscience and allow them to continue on as they always had. The only solution, the only answer, they had was that the law has been done away with, nailed to the cross. Truth was replaced with error. And as this philosophy began to be accepted, we can see that the next generation began to slip, and the words of the apostle Paul rang out loud and clear: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, . . . .” 11 Timothy 3:1, 2. In what time are we living? We are living in the last days.

We must guard ourselves very carefully that we do not find ourselves beholding and becoming like the maxims of the world, following the world’s traditions where we are taught that God’s Law no longer makes a difference; we should just do the nice thing. Situational ethics reign. We must guard ourselves against that, so we do not fulfill the prophecy we just read, given by the apostle Paul.

Respect for All

While the fifth commandment applies primarily to the honoring of parents by their children, in a broader sense it includes respect for all that are in positions of leadership and authority. Children should be taught to respect their schoolteachers. This is something that is on the skids today. The teachers know it, and the children know it. When children at large get into trouble at school today, they tell their teachers that they do not have to mind them because this is what their mothers tell them.

What example is shown to such a child? What is the home setting of such a child? This is the child that will ultimately find himself or herself incarcerated behind bars. Any sociological investigation will reveal that most individuals are in prison today because they have had faulty parental guidance in their formative and early years. They have not learned to honor authority and respect the laws.

Children should be trained to respect their teachers because, in fact, the teachers stand in the place of the parents while they have the children under their tutelage. Teachers also have superior knowledge and experience in thought, speech, attitude, and conduct. Honor is to be shown to whom honor is due, which includes all who are superior in position, in experience, and senior in age.

Hoary Heads

The Bible speaks of the hoary head, the white hairs. “Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I [am] the Lord.” “The hoary head [is] a crown of glory, [if] it be found in the way of righteousness.” Leviticus 19:32; Proverbs 16:31. There is something that comes with white hair—more than wrinkles. There is wisdom that comes just by virtue of length of life.

Children need to understand this, but in many instances we do not see this concept being practiced in the world. We do not see it being taught in the school. We do not see it being worked out in business, in government, or in the church. Instead, there seems to be an “anything goes” policy. No honor is given to anything or anyone.

Rebellious Music

Much of the music that young people are allowed to listen to today is music that incites rebellion against not only parental authority but also any authority. That is totally contrary to the experience that God desires to bring into the lives of people.

Music with words that incite rebellion is usually accompanied by a rhythm that thrills the flesh. Many of the young claim that they do not listen to the words; in fact, they cannot even hear the words, but they do like the music. Do not think for a moment that the devil is not at work. He is attacking the fifth commandment because he knows that if God can get His point across, if He can successfully bring a reformation in the homes and in the families through the power of His Holy Spirit, the devil’s power is broken. The devil knows this, so he is working overtime and double time against the two commandments that bridge the law between the divine and the human—the Sabbath and the home.

If importance of the commandments could be rated, these two commandments should have more importance than the others because with these two there, the others are going to be naturally and automatically understood and obeyed.

The Cornerstone

Home government is the cornerstone of all government. The peace and prosperity of all people depend upon the recognition of all constituted authority, and this comes through the proper discipline in the home. There are times that a child needs to be told no and under no circumstances should it turn into a yes.

You know of situations, as do I, where a child is told no, but the child whines or cajoles until the parent finally changes it to, “just this once,” or “okay, under these circumstances.” This is the very worst thing that can ever happen.

Parents, even if you have made a mistake in saying no, you had better bite the bullet and let it remain no. If you give in to your child, your position of authority drops down a notch or two in your child’s mind. The honor your position deserves has been compromised. Do not think for a moment that the devil will not take advantage of such a situation. When you say no, mean no!

Power of Example

Parents should remember that a good example is always more powerful for good than just saying yes or no. The honor parents receive from their children depends to a large extent on their own conduct and their own discipline.

Through His messenger, Ellen White, God has given counsel to parents on the raising of children in books such as, Child Guidance and Fundamentals of Christian Education. The Adventist Home was also given as counsel for the adult sector. God has shown how we are to order our lives so that the whole movement can move together. That is what God intended should take place—reform not only from the standpoint of the young people, but also from the standpoint of the older people.

Parents need to remember that they must provide a proper example. The more honorable parents are, the more honor they will receive from their children.

Train up a Child

The promise is given, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6. This text not only has a positive promise, but it has a negative promise as well. If you train up a child in the wrong way, when he is old, he is not going to depart from it either.

Statistics show us that the greatest time of reaping for souls is when people are young. The older an individual grows, the less likely it is that there is going to be any change because they become so set in their ways. This is why we are told that today is the day of salvation. (Luke 19:9.)

If you train up a child to go in the right way, when he is old, he is not going to depart from it. I have seen children who have been raised in God-fearing homes go over “Fool’s Hill.” Sometimes, years later, the Holy Spirit is able to draw these wanderers back to the path of salvation because their roots are in God’s Law. I have seen it happen over and over again.

On the other hand, I have watched undisciplined children who have been allowed to grow up as wild animals. They have not been disciplined or taught how they should relate to people or have respect and honor for their teachers and people in positions over them. When these children go out into the world, many of them will be lost to the kingdom because they were never taught how to respect or to honor anything or anybody but themselves. They have no roots in the law that the Holy Spirit can draw upon to bring them back into the fold.

It takes hard work to love and to train children. Nobody knows that any better than God does. In an effort to provide the right kind of foundation for our homes, He wrote His Law on tables of stone with His own finger and said, “These principles are going to last for eternity.”

Heaven on Earth

In this age, when nothing seems secure and love is empty, parents need to make the home as attractive, secure, and filled with God’s love as possible. The home can be a little heaven on earth when its atmosphere is filled with love and fellowship. This is why the apostle Paul concludes, in 1 Corinthians 13—that we are instructed to read every day—“The greatest of these is love.”

When love is the controlling principle in the home, it will be the most wonderful place in the world, and the children will delight to honor their parents, not only as they are being raised by them but as they enter into their elder years as well. The promise will be sure. It will be fulfilled as they move down through the years that if you honor your father and your mother, it will go well with you.

To be continued . . .

A retired minister of the gospel, Pastor Mike Baugher may be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

Fear Not, Part II

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Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32. In Part I of our study on the phrases of this text, we learned that, in order to “fear not,” we must experience the perfect love of God. We must ask for this love by spending time on our knees, talking with God, and we must care for the gift of this love by studying the character of God until His attributes, His love, become a part of us. As we grow in God’s love, we will attain peace.

Little Flock

Jesus calls us a “little flock.” If we look at the history of God’s people, we will find that they have always been in the minority. The throngs flock to worldly pleasures. Remember, it says in Hebrews 11:25 that Moses chose “rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.” We must choose to belong to the few. We are not to worry about who is the greatest or who has the biggest church. After all, if we are on the Lord’s side, we are in the majority.

There are two good angels to every bad angel, and there is the universe beyond which is peopled with faithful beings. “When Satan became disaffected in heaven, . . . through their sympathy with him one third of the angels lost their innocence, their high estate, and their happy home.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 291. “Worlds are peopled by his power, and yet the humblest creatures of the earth are the objects of his love and care.” The Signs of the Times, December 12, 1878.

When Jesus was here on earth in human form, he had only a “little flock.” Even the nation and church which He had blessed and established turned Him down. They called Him a deceiver. (Matthew 27:63.) They even said that he had a devil. (John 7:20.) But Jesus was calm, undisturbed by criticism and not elated by praise, because He knew His heavenly Father. He knew that His cause was just and true, and that truth would triumph.

If we know that what we believe is true and that our belief is founded on the eternal principles given to us from our Heavenly Father, it will not make any difference how many or how few believe as do we. We can stand as firmly as Jesus did, even if it is only a “little flock.” Numbers never make a thing right; the principle is, Is it truth? The majority may be able to sway crowds, but only God can control the events.

Our Example

When Jesus was here, He spoke to crowds and even fed thousands by His miracles. People flocked to Him for healing. But He had only a faithful few that actually followed Him. Of His 12 disciples, even one of them betrayed Him, and the rest fled from the mob when He was captured in the Garden of Gethsemane. No one stood with Him at His trial. One of the disciples even denied he knew the man, Christ Jesus. (Matthew 4:23, 25; 14:21; 15:38; 26:47–49, 56, 69–72.) Through all of this, He triumphed.

As His followers, can we expect to be accepted by any great number? Only 120 were faithful in following His instructions at the time Jesus returned to heaven. (Acts 1:15.) It was only a “little flock,” but He did a mighty work with only a “little flock.” There were times when He did a mighty work with only one person.

In the end of time, God will have a “little flock,” and I do hope to be one of them.

Good Pleasure

Now we come to the phrase in Luke 12:32 that says, “It is your Father’s good pleasure.”

Ellen White tells us of the suffering that God has experienced and is going through as the result of sin: “Those who think of the result of hastening or hindering the gospel think of it in relation to themselves and to the world. Few think of its relation to God. Few give thought to the suffering that sin has caused our Creator. All heaven suffered in Christ’s agony; but that suffering did not begin or end with His manifestation in humanity. The cross is a revelation to our dull senses of the pain that, from its very inception, sin has brought to the heart of God. Every departure from the right, every deed of cruelty, every failure of humanity to reach His ideal, brings grief to Him. When there came upon Israel the calamities that were the sure result of separation from God,—subjugation by their enemies, cruelty, and death,—it is said that ‘His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.’ ‘In all their affliction He was afflicted: . . . and He bare them, and carried them all the days of old.’ Judges 10:16; Isaiah 63:9.” Education, 263.

After reading of the suffering that our heavenly Father has gone through to redeem us from this world of sin and degradation, we should deem it a great privilege to bring even a little joy to His heart.

To Give

In our human experiences, we enjoy giving gifts to those we love and experiencing the thrill they have in receiving those gifts. And if the gift is something useful that the receiver will use for a while, seeing them use it may extend our joy.

Our key text says, “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give.” [Emphasis supplied.] “To give” is a great demonstration of Acts 20:35 that tells us, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” It brings the Father pleasure to give to His “little flock.”

“Our Heavenly Father gave Christ to our world as a sin-bearer, in order that he who would believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Having made so priceless a donation to men, will he not with Christ freely give us all things? In the gift of his Son, all heaven was opened up, that its priceless treasures might enrich men and women of faith. The love of God has been revealed to the hearts of believers, that they should diffuse the light of heaven, and not spend their time and money in lands and their cultivation, and in taking pleasure in the things which their imaginations might picture as being desirable, as did the inhabitants of the Noachic world.” Review and Herald, January 8, 1895.

The Kingdom

God’s eye is ever watching over us to help us to prepare for the day when He can say to us, “Enter into the joy of thy Lord.” (Matthew 25:21.) How great that joy is, we cannot comprehend, but, if faithful, we will be able to experience it someday soon.

Can you imagine, God giving us “the kingdom”? How great that kingdom is, we do not even know. But we are told that we will sit on the throne with Jesus, for it says, in Revelation 3:21, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” You may wonder to yourself, Can a God that rules the world and holds the stars in space and governs the unnumbered inhabited planets say to human beings such as you and I, “Come, sit with Me on My throne”?

When Jesus departed from this earth, He left with us a promise that has been held dear to the saints ever since: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also.” John 14:1–3.

Redemption of the Saints

Jesus is coming again, and the best way I know how to describe His coming and the kingdom of God is to quote from the writings of Ellen G. White. The description she gives is thrilling, and I cannot improve upon it.

But first, let us read 1 Thessa-lonians 4:15–17: “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive [and] remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

“Soon appeared the great white cloud, upon which sat the Son of man. When it first appeared in the distance, this cloud looked very small. The angel said that it was the sign of the Son of man. As it drew nearer the earth, we could behold the excellent glory and majesty of Jesus as He rode forth to conquer. A retinue of holy angels, with bright, glittering crowns upon their heads, escorted Him on His way. No language can describe the glory of the scene. The living cloud of majesty and unsurpassed glory came still nearer, and we could clearly behold the lovely person of Jesus. He did not wear a crown of thorns, but a crown of glory rested upon His holy brow. Upon His vesture and thigh was a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords. His countenance was as bright as the noonday sun, His eyes were as a flame of fire, and His feet had the appearance of fine brass. His voice sounded like many musical instruments. The earth trembled before Him, the heavens departed as a scroll when it is rolled together, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. ‘And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?’ [Revelation 6:15–17.] Those who a short time before would have destroyed God’s faithful children from the earth, now witnessed the glory of God which rested upon them. And amid all their terror they heard the voices of the saints in joyful strains, saying, ‘Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us.’ [Isaiah 25:9.]

“The earth mightily shook as the voice of the Son of God called forth the sleeping saints. They responded to the call and came forth clothed with glorious immortality, crying, ‘Victory, victory, over death and the grave! O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?’ [1 Corinthians 15:55.] Then the living saints and the risen ones raised their voices in a long, transporting shout of victory. Those bodies that had gone down into the grave bearing the marks of disease and death came up in immortal health and vigor. The living saints are changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and caught up with the risen ones, and together they meet their Lord in the air. Oh, what a glorious meeting! Friends whom death had separated were united, never more to part.” Early Writings, 286, 287.

What an experience that will be to see Jesus come and know that we will be with Him forever!

Strive for the Strait Gate

It is recorded, in Luke 13:24, that Jesus said, “Strive to enter in at the strait gate.” In this parable, He is talking about the kingdom of God, for which it is surely worth striving. Following are additional descriptions of that kingdom:

“All the treasures of the universe will be open to the study of God’s redeemed. Unfettered by mortality, they wing their tireless flight to worlds afar—worlds that thrilled with sorrow at the spectacle of human woe and rang with songs of gladness at the tidings of a ransomed soul. With unutterable delight the children of earth enter into the joy and the wisdom of unfallen beings. They share the treasures of knowledge and understanding gained through ages upon ages in contemplation of God’s handiwork. With undimmed vision they gaze upon the glory of creation—suns and stars and systems, all in their appointed order circling the throne of Deity. Upon all things, from the least to the greatest, the Creator’s name is written, and in all are the riches of His power displayed.” The Great Controversy, 677, 678.

“And as the redeemed shall ascend to Heaven, the gates of the city of God will swing back, and those who have kept the truth will enter in. A voice, richer than any music that ever fell on mortal ear, will be heard saying, ‘Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’ Then the righteous will receive their reward. Their lives will run parallel with the life of Jehovah. They will cast their crowns at the Redeemer’s feet, touch the golden harps, and fill all Heaven with rich music.” The Signs of the Times, April 15, 1889.

“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32. What a wonderful promise! It would be well worth it for each of us to make first things first and to prepare for the kingdom of heaven.

Ruth Grosboll is an employee of Steps to Life. A retired registered nurse, she worked for many years with her husband in the mission field. She may be contacted by e-mail at: ruthgrosboll@stepstolife.org or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.