Bible

Behold, the Bridegroom Cometh, Part II

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A key text for people who are living in the last years of time, approaching the end of everything in this world as we know it, is Revelation 12:12: “On account of this, rejoice, O heavens, and those who dwell in them! Woe to the earth and the sea! Because the devil has come down to you having great wrath, knowing that he has but a short time.”

Among different Bible students and scholars, there is a difference of opinion as to what exact time this text in Revelation 12 applies. I am not interested in getting into a controversy about it. I will mention the two positions, and you can study this whole chapter and try to figure it out for yourselves. Some people believe that this applies particularly to 31 a.d., after the resurrection of Jesus. I have no real argument with those people. I personally believe that this Scripture has more particular application to 1798, the end of the 1260 day period. Study it out for yourself and make your own decision. Whichever way it is, we are living in that time now.

With a Whisper

“The devil has come down to you having great wrath, knowing that he has but a short time.” What does this text predict? This text predicts that as we approach the last years of earth’s history, the controversy between Christ and Satan is going to become more fierce and intense.

Ellen White wrote: “The Lord Jesus Christ came to dispute the usurpation of Satan in the kingdoms of the world. The conflict is not yet ended; and as we draw near the close of time, the battle waxes more intense.” Review and Herald, April 14, 1896. Then she discussed how Satan will personate Jesus Christ and how he will work upon the human imagination. The devil is cunning; even though he has great wrath, sometimes he comes with a whisper.

How does the devil get to your imagination? He can get to it through billboards, magazines, radio, television, novels, plays, videos—all of those are ways the devil can use to introduce things into your imagination and to start working on it. You need to be careful what you are looking at, what you are listening to, and what your imagination is dwelling upon.

After Ellen White says that the battle will wax more intense, she continues: “He will exercise his power, and work upon the human imagination.” Ibid. The devil wants to work on your imagination and on my imagination. We sometimes may not even know we are being tempted. We may think that we are just daydreaming, that we are just enjoying a little reverie, but the devil is working on the imagination.

A special warning is given for the young people: “Through the pleasures and ambitions of the world, the enemy is working to draw the youth into his ranks, and he has much success. As we approach nearer to the close of time, he will invent every possible attraction to draw their minds into worldly channels.” Ibid., February 1, 1912.

Attack upon Marriage

Another sign that the end of this earth is near is the severe attack we see upon marriage. Divorce seems to be used as the solution to a myriad of issues.

A young lady who was contemplating divorce once asked me for counsel. In her situation, I could only tell her, “Jesus said that if you divorce your spouse and marry somebody else, for some reason other than adultery, you are in adultery.” She did not like my answer. She divorced her husband and married somebody else anyway. That is one of the signs of the times.

Ellen White wrote, “A woman may be legally divorced from her husband by the laws of the land, and yet not divorced in the sight of God and according to the higher law. There is only one sin, which is adultery, which can place the husband or wife in a position where they can be free from the marriage vow in the sight of God.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 1, 159.

When Jesus comes again, there will be many people who have remarried after divorce, with no biblical grounds. It is a problem that we are facing all over the world. It is one of the signs of the times.

Fashionable Sins

Speaking about a certain class of people, Ellen White said, “Those who cannot sustain their position by the Scriptures are stubbornly determined that it shall be sustained at all hazards, and with a malicious spirit they attack the character and motives of those who stand in defense of unpopular truth. Though very unbelieving in regard to the sure word of prophecy, they manifest the utmost credulity in accepting anything detrimental to the Christian integrity of those who dare to reprove fashionable sins. This spirit will increase more and more as we near the close of time.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 292.

If you study history, you will learn that in every period of history in this world there have been certain sins in different cultures that have been acceptable. There are sins today that are acceptable in Adventism. When some of us have decided that we have to write, preach, teach, and say what God says about these fashionable sins, people get angry. There is hatred of those who reprove fashionable sins.

There are sins that were fashionable in other periods of time that are not fashionable today. People fall into fashionable sins because they are looking around at other people, and they may not even realize something is sin, because everybody is doing it.

When we lived in Keene, Texas, my son attended the Keene Adventist Elementary School. One evening when we were talking, I was admonishing him about certain things that he should not do, and he said to me, “But dad, everybody is doing it.”

I was ready for that! I said, “Son, what if all those people who are doing that burn up some day? Would you like to burn up with them?”

There was a time, during Old Testament times, when one of the fashionable sins was the practice of polygamy. Was it a sin? Of course it was a sin. That is not fashionable right now, although today we have consecutive polygamy—we marry and divorce, marry and divorce. We have multiple spouses; we just have them one at a time.

One of the fashionable sins in Adventism today is lewdness. Do you know what lewdness is? Maybe I should use a simpler word: immodesty. Ellen White says that lewdness defiles the conscience. (Patriarchs and Prophets, 454.) Concealed Sin

“As we near the close of time, Satan will work with masterly activity to undermine principle, and corrupt moral character. Sin is committed by many who think their crime is effectually concealed. But there is One who says, ‘I know thy works.’ ‘There is nothing covered, which shall not be revealed; and hid, which shall not be known.’ [Revelation 2:2; Matthew 10:26.] When the mind is infatuated with the idea of sin, there will be deception practiced; lies will be told; for those who commit such sins will not be slow to lie as well. But all sin shall be revealed.” Review and Herald, May 24, 1887.

“The small sins will swell into the greater sins. Impure thoughts, private, impure actions, unrefined, low, and sensual thoughts and actions in the marriage life, the giving loose reins to the baser passions under the marriage vow will lead to every other sin, the transgression of all the commandments of God.” Ibid.

We need to face up to the divine counsel in the Spirit of Prophecy. Impure thoughts lead to impure actions. God has given you the right to eat. He gave Adam and Eve the right to eat, but did He give them the right to eat anything they pleased at any time? No. There was one tree of which God said, “Do not eat.” (Genesis 2:17.)

Whether you are a man or a woman, God has given you the right to get married. That is honorable. The Bible says that marriage is honorable, but just as it is not right for a person to eat anything, any time, any way, so the marriage privileges can be abused.

If you are concerned as to whether or not you and your spouse are living in a way that is honorable and glorifying to God, obtain the book, Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce, by Ellen White. In it her counsel and advice is very, very specific.

Lose to Win

Matthew 24:10, 11 has some specific counsel as to what will happen as we approach the end of time: “And then shall many be offended and shall betray one another and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall arise and shall deceive many.” These verses say, “many.” How many are these many? Ellen White states very specifically that the majority will forsake us. (Testimonies, vol. 5, 136.)

What is going to happen? She says, “We are living in these last days, when lukewarmness and apostasy abound.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 7, 171. “The development of those who are not of the truth, will become of more frequent occurrence, as we near the close of time. Many will show that they are not one with Christ, that they are not dead to the world, that they may live with him; and frequent will be the apostasies of men who have occupied responsible positions. To be dead with Christ, means to be dead to all sin,—dead to the pleasures, the enjoyments, the profits, the honors, of the world; and, if we are partakers of Christ’s self-denial and suffering, we shall lose nothing by it, for we shall be partakers with him of his glory. It is at the peril of our souls that we prove unfaithful.” Review and Herald, September 11, 1888.

Remember that whatever we lose when we follow Jesus is not really a loss. As we approach the end, we are going to lose everything, from a worldly standpoint. But if we have faith, that is going to be a very exciting time. When it seems as though everyone around us has forsaken us and we lose everything for Jesus’ sake, then we know, if we have faith, that we are going to gain everything.

The day that we lose everything and the day that we gain everything is not the same day. There will be some time when it will appear, from a worldly point of view, that we have lost out on everything completely. Our friends or our relatives who are not in the faith, who are not walking up the narrow road, will think we are absolutely crazy. Some of us have had some experiences like that already.

Accuser of the Brethren

Revelation 12:12 says that as we approach the end of time, “On account of this, rejoice, O heavens, and those who dwell in them! Woe to the earth and the sea! Because the devil has come down to you having great wrath, knowing that he has but a short time.”

Verse 10 says, “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Now has come salvation and power, the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ, because the accuser of our brethren has been cast out, the one accusing them before our God day and night.”

The devil is the accuser of the brethren. You can study about that in Zechariah 3. He stood at the right hand of Joshua to oppose him. Ellen White writes, “Satan studies every indication of the frailty of human nature, he marks the sins which each individual is inclined to commit, and then he takes care that opportunities shall not be wanting to gratify the tendency to evil.” The Great Controversy, 555.

As we approach the close of time, she writes that, “Satan commenced his work as an accuser in heaven. This has been his work ever since the fall, and it will be his work in a special sense as we approach nearer to the close of time.” Review and Herald, September 22, 1896. We are going through this right now.

What To Do

What should we do since we are in this situation? Divine counsel has been given. I do not see God’s people doing this very much, but we should start doing it: “Now and onward till the close of time the people of God should be more earnest, more wide-awake, not trusting in their own wisdom, but in the wisdom of their Leader. They should set aside days for fasting and prayer. Entire abstinence from food may not be required, but they should eat sparingly of the most simple food.” Ibid., February 11, 1904.

This is a very interesting statement. If Ellen White were not inspired, she would not have known to write this. But, you see, we are living in a time when we are the weakest generation there has ever been. There are people all around us who have diabetes and various other health problems, which make it difficult to easily fast. They have to be very careful. I have friends who are on insulin, and they cannot just decide that they are not going to eat anything for a day. They have to be careful.

We are facing a crisis in the church and in the world that we have never before faced. We are not going to make it through these last years successfully unless we have special divine help. I believe that because, as I have prayed, I have been impressed that unless I have special divine help from the Lord, I am not going to make it. Jesus said to the disciples, when they could not cast out the devil, “This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” Matthew 17:21.

We will be opposed, in a very short time, by a monolithic worldwide church led by the antichrist. How are we going to make that? It is written in The Great Controversy, 384, that, “The Protestant churches have much of antichrist in them, and are far from being wholly reformed from . . . corruptions and wickedness.” The Seventh-day Adventist church is a Protestant church, and many Adventists will be right along with this worldwide church. We are not going to make it through this time unless we devote some days to fasting and prayer.

What is Happening

A most startling statement is given in Manuscript Releases, vol. 13, 379. This is a prediction of what is going to happen in the last years. I believe that we are living in the last years, and I believe this is being fulfilled right in front of our eyes. This quotation explains to me why Adventists are exclaiming, “What is going on? I cannot believe that this is happening.” But it is happening.

“In His Word the Lord declared what He would do for Israel if they would obey His voice. But the leaders of the people yielded to the temptations of Satan, and God could not give them the blessings He designed them to have, because they did not obey His voice but listened to the voice and policy of Lucifer.”

What was the problem? God promised His people, “If you obey My voice, I will do these things for you.” But she continued, “God could not give them the blessings He designed them to have, because they did not obey His voice but listened to the voice and policy of Lucifer.”

That is the setting for the statement that applies to us: “This experience will be repeated in the last years of the history of the people of God, who have been established by His grace and power. Men whom He has greatly honored will in the closing scenes of this earth’s history pattern after ancient Israel.” Ibid.

Who are the people of God in the last years of earth’s history that have been established by God’s grace and power? Seventh-day Adventists.

What happened to Israel? God said, “If you obey My voice, I will do this for you.” They did not obey His voice but listened to the voice and policy of Lucifer. This is why so many things are happening today. People wonder why the Vatican flag was in the Parade of Nations at the General Conference Session. What is happening? Why are Catholic priests giving testimony and monsignors addressing the leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church? What is happening?

What did Ellen White say would happen in the last years? The experience of leaders of God’s people not obeying His voice but listening to the voice of Lucifer, she said, would be repeated. Just like it happened in ancient Israel, she said, “Men whom He has greatly honored will in the closing scenes of this earth’s history pattern after ancient Israel.”

We are in the closing scenes of this earth’s history, and that is why we see things happening in the church that cause us to say, “What is happening?” We cannot understand it. We cannot believe it. It is so confusing that we cannot make any sense out of anything. That is what is happening.

True or False

One more thing that is going to happen as we approach the end is:

“Falsehood will be so mingled with truth, that only those who have the guidance of the Holy Spirit will be able to distinguish truth from error.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 7, 359.

This statement is an excellent one to follow after the quotation about listening to the voice of Lucifer. You see, when you listen to the voice of Lucifer, that does not mean that you are not going to hear truth. The devil knows what the truth is, and the devil can teach you a lot of truth. By the way, everything that the antichrist believes is not a lie. Much of what the antichrist teaches is the truth.

Does the antichrist power believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sin? They teach it. Do they believe that you should pray? Yes. They are even teaching now—they did not teach this in the Dark Ages—that you should read your Bible. They believe in missions.

I was given an official Catechism of the Catholic Church. I have looked through it, and it is actually quite amazing, the tremendous amount of truth it contains. But, of course, it is mixed up; it is the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

The Book of Revelation predicts that the whole world is going to be deceived by the devil at the end of time. Do not think that all they will believe are lies. A lot of what they believe will be the truth. That is what will make it so deceptive. There will be truth mingled with error, and you will not be able to figure it out unless you have the help of the Holy Spirit.

This perhaps helps you to understand why we need to be praying every day. This is why we pray before we preach. This is why we pray before we study God’s Word. This is why we pray, “Lord, help us to understand the truth,” before we study our Bibles at home.

The devil stands beside some people when they are studying the Bible. He teaches them lots of things—a lot of truth mixed up with error. We cannot tell the error unless the Holy Spirit is working in our mind s. When we understand this, we no longer have self-confidence. Instead, we ask the Lord to keep us. We surrender our lives totally to Him because we recognize that only He can keep us from being deceived.

Lust of the Flesh

What is happening as we approach the end of time, the last years of earth’s history? Ellen White wrote, in the January 2, 1900, Review and Herald, “Many who profess to believe the word of God do not seem to understand the deceptive working of the enemy. They do not realize that the end of time is near; but Satan knows it; and while men sleep, he works. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life are controlling men and women. Satan is at work even among the people of God, to cause disunion. Selfishness, corruption, and evil of every kind are taking a firm hold upon hearts.”

The day of probation is not over yet. If selfishness, corruption, the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life has a firm hold on your heart, if you cry out to the Lord Jesus, He can set you free from the devil’s firm hold.

From the few things we have addressed in this article, you know that the Lord Jesus can save you if you make a complete surrender and dedication to Him. I hope you understand that it is necessary to make a total surrender to the Lord, because if you do not, the devil is going to get you.

We are living in the shaking period, in the last years of earth’s history. There is going to be a group of people that will be ready when Christ returns. I want to be one of those people. If you want to be one of those people also, make a covenant with the Lord right now; pray, “Lord, I want to make a covenant with You. Whatever I lose in this world, whatever opposition I have, I want to be one of the people that is ready when Jesus comes. Lord, if there is anything in my life that is wrong, please point it out to me. I want every wrinkle, every spot, to come out of my character. Lord, I am really serious about being saved.”

[Bible texts quoted are literal translation.]

Pastor John Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

The Ten Commandments, Part XVI – Truth or Consequences

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God has given the gift of language so that communication can take place between members of the same species. Many animals communicate out of instinct, but man communicates through the gift of speech that God has given to him. The language of communication is given so that cooperation can take place between human beings. Through the use of words, men can cooperate in the process of building up society and getting God’s plan and principles to the entire world.

Language is a bridge between man and man. It is the circulating medium of human exchange—the exchange of thoughts, sentiments, and plans. God has ordained it so. One of the greatest joys that can take place between human beings is communication. Communication plays a very essential part in man being able to get along within the world in which he lives.

The gift of language, like all other gifts that God has given to man, can be exercised for good or for evil. We all know that. So, true to His great purpose for the human family and all that is good, God has placed a guard around language. That guard is found in the ninth commandment.

As we have studied the commandments that deal with man’s relationship to man, we have noted that several of them, as recorded in Deuteronomy 5, begin with “neither” rather than “thou.” Deuteronomy 5:20 states, “Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour.”

The entire Bible really is nothing more and nothing less than an amplification of the Ten Commandments and their application to the human life. In the Scriptures, we find many encounters that are recorded concerning the human experience as it pertains to language. I have not counted them all, but it seems there are more encounters of experience concerning the ninth commandment than any one of the other commandments.

Why would that be? Because the ninth commandment is a delineation between truth and error. Truth and error are outlined in this commandment. It becomes the focal point of the entire great controversy, the great controversy between truth and error. It really has its roots and its focal point in this commandment!

A Universal Sin

Perhaps the reason for this fact is that bearing false witness is such a universal sin. It is how the devil launched his career of rebellion against God. The Bible says that lying originated with the devil; he is the father of all lies. (See John 8:44.) The Greek word, diabolis, translates into the English word, devil. If we were to give it a more literal translation, we would perhaps use the words accuser or slanderer.

The Bible says so much about lies because they have such a deadly nature. To tell a lie is even more criminal, morally speaking, than to counterfeit money or to forge a check. It is more deadly than those things because, if you write a bogus check, you can usually reclaim that check into your possession, but if you tell a lie, the words cannot be recalled. The lie may circulate and circulate, repeated again and again. An excellent illustration of lies is feathers that are blown in the wind—they are impossible to catch.

Lies are a poison. Once administered, the poison is absorbed into the very fabric of social mentality, never again to be reclaimed. We are told that there are poisons that are so deadly that if they are administered directly into the blood stream, they can cause death within three seconds. I believe that the death of a reputation can take place as rapidly as the administering of a poison into the blood stream.

Broad Scope

The ninth commandment has an equally wide range as all of the other commandments. In past articles of this series, we have seen how the commandments presented so far have a spiritual application, a very broad perspective covering the issues of mankind. The ninth commandment is no exception to that.

Its scope forbids all slander, of whatever kind—not just perjury, of telling a falsehood in court. This is where many people have focused the application of the ninth commandment, and, perhaps, in its primary application, that is where this protection originated. God did not want man to swear falsely, to tell lies against someone, so that they could in turn benefit from some item of property or some circumstance of life. So He instructed to not take an oath, to not swear falsely against our neighbor.

This whole matter of telling the truth, in the economy of Israel, was quite a serious matter. This is one of the reasons the Bible says, “One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.” Deuteronomy 19:15. This takes us right to the trial of Jesus, does it not?

This commandment was designed from the very beginning to vindicate Jesus from death on Calvary’s cross. If God’s Ten Commandments, as they were given on Mount Sinai to the children of Israel, had prevailed all the way down through time, Jesus would never have had to die on Calvary’s cross. It was only because of false testimony that Jesus was convicted and went to the cross. His accusers could not find two witnesses to tell the same story. That is, they could not until they bribed them to do so. It was the violation of this commandment that led to the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. If God’s people had allowed this law, which is holy, just, and good, to prevail in their spiritual and practical experiences, Jesus would never have had to die in that way. If Jesus had not died on the cross, He still would have had to die, because the Lamb was to be sacrificed.

Those who gave such false testimony are going to be raised to face the consequence of their sin. They not only lied in a legal proceeding, but they lied to God as well, and the Bible is very clear about how God feels about being lied to Himself. The story of Ananias and Sapphira tells us how God feels about those things. (See Acts 5:1–10.)

Character Assassination

When a false report is circulated concerning someone, it basically constitutes character assassination. Sometimes physical assassination with a gun would be much easier for a person to handle than to be assassinated by words. It is amazing how quickly false reports can circulate about someone.

Pastor John Grosboll shared with me a story about himself. Some people were trying to circulate false reports about him, so they took a photograph of a big, stone mansion, super-imposed pictures of him and his wife, Evelyn, onto it, and circulated the photo around, saying that this was their home, intimating that they were living quite extravagantly. There will be an answering for that false report in the Day of Judgment. It is those kinds of things that this ninth commandment is designed to guard against.

Character or Reputation

Human speech is such an important and precious gift that God has given to us. It is so important that He has given two commandments to help us deal with it.

The third commandment says, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” Exodus 20:7. And then the ninth commandment deals with bearing false witness.

The third commandment safeguards the name of God, and the ninth commandment safeguards the reputation and the character of men. It has been said that character is what you are, and reputation is what others think about you.

False witness, in reality, can harm only a person’s reputation, but a person can damage his or her own character. Character can only be revealed and damaged when a person takes that into his or her own hands. Reputation is what others are saying about you, but your own character can only be damaged by your own self.

Brother’s Keeper

Every man can determine what his own character is going to be, but reputation is our neighbor’s opinion of us and is, therefore, wholly in his or her keeping. God has given this commandment to deal with safeguarding those who are our neighbors. In more ways than one, we are really our brother’s keeper.

This, we find, was the question that was asked in the beginning of time—“Am I my brother’s keeper?” Genesis 4:9. Cain asked the Lord this when God asked where his brother was.

We are our brother’s keeper, and when we bear false witness, we betray a very sacred trust for which we will be called into account at the judgment.

Lawful Testimony

“I [Ellen White] was shown that when it is actually necessary, and they are called upon to testify in a lawful manner, it is no violation of God’s word for His children to solemnly take God to witness that what they say is the truth, and nothing but the truth.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 202.

In my years of ministry, I have, it seems, continuously run across people that have a problem with taking an oath to tell the truth. They have refused to go to court for they feel that taking an oath is a violation of the commandments. Yet we read here that Ellen White says that it is not a violation to take God as your witness as far as to tell the truth is concerned. It is the duty, really, of a witness to tell the truth, and if a person does not tell the truth, they bear a false witness or a false testimony.

Amplification

The divine instruction of the ninth commandment is further amplified in Zechariah 8:16, 17: “These [are] the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates: And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these [are things] that I hate, saith the Lord.”

In John 18:37, an example is given about the Lord Jesus in this regard, fulfilling this passage in Zechariah. Jesus, speaking to Pilate, says, “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.” Jesus never minimized nor did he exaggerate the truth in His witnessing. He never bore false testimony nor did he stoop to telling what we might call half-truths, which are sometimes more dangerous than telling a lie.

The track of error lies very close to the track of truth. A half-truth is when you are walking down the middle of the tracks. If you have ever walked along a railroad, you know that the easiest place to walk is between the tracks, but it is also the most dangerous place to walk. A half-truth can be just as dangerous or maybe even more so than an out and out falsehood, because quite often a falsehood can be identified, but if it is coupled with some truth, identifying the error becomes more difficult.

We are living in a world in which not too much is any longer a sacred trust. We in the United States have come through a lot of political experiences—such as the Nixon administration (1969–1974) and Watergate (1972–1975) and the Clinton administration (1993–2001)—in which lies were told. We have come to realize that those who are of greatest example are telling falsehoods, providing a powerful message that it is not important to tell the truth anymore.

God and Lying

There are other texts that indicate how God feels about lying. Read Proverbs 12:22: “Lying lips [are] abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly [are] his delight.”

“A false witness shall not be unpunished, and [he that] speaketh lies shall not escape.” Proverbs 19:5.

“These six [things] doth the Lord hate: yea, seven [are] an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness [that] speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.” Proverbs 6:16–19.

Black or White

It has been said that a lie does not have any legs but that it is carried along with other lies. There is no difference as to the quality of the lie. It still makes its way along.

Is there any difference between a white lie and a black lie? No, there is no difference between a white lie and a black lie. Some people think that it is all right to tell a white lie, but to God, it is all sin.

When I entered into the military service, the soldiers were checked very thoroughly for colorblindness. It was important that a soldier not be colorblind, because, on a battlefield, if somebody shot a flare into the air, he or she needed to know exactly what color the flare was. There were different colored flares for different kinds of situations. Good eyesight, and the ability to recognize different colors, was imperative.

It is said that serious automobile accidents result from people who are colorblind and cannot distinguish between green lights and red lights. The same thing can happen as far as spiritual eyesight is concerned as well. We can be blinded to such an extent that we cannot discern spiritual things very well. Then we have a tendency to skew the truth somewhat, because we are blind.

White lies and black lies are caused by spiritual blindness. Although there may be a tendency to excuse white lies because we think they are harmless, they are still an abomination in the eyes of God. There are people who will lie for their own convenience and for their own profit.

We must have the right estimation of sin, and when our hearts and minds are in accord with Jesus Christ, we will view all things as He does. We will be able to recognize sin and hate it the same way that Jesus does. We will be able to see it in its proper perspective, for, as far as Jesus is concerned, there is no such thing as a white lie or a little sin.

Hate the Sin

The Bible says that Jesus loved righteousness, and He who is the Truth hated iniquity. You know, the Bible says that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. To Him that is the Truth, lying is especially hateful; it is in that list of things that He hates.

The Bible tells us, in the Book of Revelation, that all liars, and whoever loves and practices lying, is going to be excluded from the kingdom of heaven. (Revelation 21:8.)

Character Revealed

Words sometimes misrepresent character, and character can be revealed in ways other than words, but it still remains true that words are the chief revealer of character. If you want to know the character of a person, listen to him talk for a while. Character will usually be revealed in that way.

In Matthew 12:34, Jesus is talking to the Scribes and the Pharisees, and He says, “O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” From this text, we can see that words represent character; thus, words translate into a language that can be read by everyone.

Now, if we trace the word, character, back to its origin, we find that it means, “that which is marked, engraved, or lettered.” So, when we think about a person’s character, it is marked, engraved, and lettered. A man’s character is basically an inscription that is read concerning his habits and his lifestyle. His words characterize him; they give his characteristics. We are going to be judged by every word that we speak. Our speech is going to be a revelation of our character, and if our character is not in harmony with God’s Law, we are going to be closed out of the kingdom of heaven.

What About Your Speech?

Now, consider a few questions in the light of having to face the judgment. What is the character of your words, the tenor of your speech? Are you truthful in all things? Do your words always, and exactly, represent your opinions, your purposes, and your feelings? Do you avoid all lies—white or black? Do you avoid all false suggestions and double meanings?

Quite often we can be asked a question, and we can give an answer, thinking that we have not told a lie. But we have perhaps avoided answering the question, thinking that that is not telling a lie. However, if we are asked a question and we avoid giving a truthful answer, by giving another answer, that is telling a lie, and for that we come under the condemnation of God.

Control the Tongue

The tongue is a mighty, mighty power. It can be used for good, or it can be used for evil. Since it has these two barrels and two triggers, it needs to be kept under control. The Book of James has some tremendous things to say about this subject. “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.” James 1:19.

And then consider James 3:1–10: “My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same [is] a perfect man, [and] able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though [they be] so great, and [are] driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whither-soever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue [is] a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; [it is] an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.”

The Bible says that the tongue is not able to be tamed, but it is talking about a natural man. It is talking about someone who is not under the control of God. God can tame anything that we submit to Him, whether it be our attitudes, our actions, or our tongues. He can deal with it. Our tongues are powerful things, and most of us struggle with it continuously. But if we get up each morning and submit ourselves to God, with His help we will be able to resist the devil, and our tongues will be controlled.

God’s People

We know that God is going to have a people, and those people are going to be purified. Zephaniah 3:13 says: “The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make [them] afraid.”

Who are the remnant of Israel?

Is this the same as the remnant church? Yes, it is. The remnant are going to be virgins. The Bible ties this all together. The remnant are going to be God’s chosen who are going to go through the final end of all things. How do I know that? Because the Book of Revelation tells us that.

Revelation 14 begins by telling the story of the 144,000. They are standing there with the Father’s name written in their foreheads, and verse 5 says: “And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.”

Here are the qualifications for God’s people. God’s people are not only going to worship Him as their God, but they are going to be Sabbath keepers. They are going to be obedient to every aspect of God’s law, and that includes the ninth commandment, which, when properly addressed, allows the character to develop with no deceitfulness, no falsehoods, and no false witness. God’s people will have a lifestyle that is going to meet His high standard.

Of course, there is only one way that that can happen, and that is for us to submit ourselves to Him and allow Him to burn out the character defects in our lives, through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is why the Holy Spirit has been illustrated with fire. The fire is to turn to ashes those sinful traits in our lives, so we can rightly represent the character of Christ.

Of Great Importance

The ninth commandment is a very important commandment. It is a special commandment that applies in so many ways across the experience and spectrum of mankind. Regarding it, Ellen White has written:

“The ninth commandment requires of us an inviolable regard for exact truth in every declaration by which the character of our fellow men may be affected. The tongue, which is kept so little under the control of the human agent, is to be bridled by strong conscientious principles, by the law of love toward God and man.

“False-speaking in any matter, every attempt or purpose to deceive our neighbor, is here included. An intention to deceive is what constitutes falsehood. By a glance of the eye, a motion of the hand, an expression of the countenance, a falsehood may be told as effectually as by words. All intentional overstatement, every hint or insinuation calculated to convey an erroneous or exaggerated impression, even the statement of facts in such a manner as to mislead, is falsehood. This precept forbids every effort to injure our neighbor’s reputation by misrepresentation or evil surmising, by slander or tale-bearing. Even the intentional suppression of truth, by which injury may result to others, is a violation of the ninth commandment.

“He [Jesus] teaches that the exact truth should be the law of speech. ‘Let your speech be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay.’ [Matthew 5:37.] . . . These words condemn all those meaningless phrases and expletives that border on profanity. They condemn the deceptive compliments, the evasion of truth, the flattering phrases, the exaggerations, the misrepresentations in trade, that are current in society and in the business world. They teach that no one who tries to appear what he is not, or whose words do not convey the real sentiment of his heart, can be called truthful. . . .

“Everything that Christians do should be as transparent as the sunlight. Truth is of God; deception, in every one of its myriad forms, is of Satan. . . . We can not speak the truth unless our minds are continually guided by Him who is truth.” Sons and Daughters of God, 64.

To be continued . . .

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

The Ten Commandments, Part XVII – Thou Shalt Not Covet

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In Romans 7:12, the apostle Paul says, “Wherefore the law [is] holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” This statement is a conclusion that he draws concerning the value of the Ten Commandments—holy, just, and good. Paul could very well have been answering the same spirit that is charged against those who love the Law of God today.

Paul is saying, “Do not think for a minute that there is anything wrong with the Law of God!” There are a number of people today who are challenging the Law of God, saying that it has been done away with. And, indeed, they, as those in Paul’s day, may very well be appealing for the justification of such a thing. But Paul says, “Do not even think such a thing! The law is good; it serves a purpose. It is righteous; it is holy, and it is good.”

The Psalmist confirmed this when he wrote, “The law of the Lord [is] perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord [is] sure, making wise the simple.” Psalm 19:7.

As we have gone through this series on the Ten Commandments, we have seen that indeed the intent of the law is to point out sin in a way that directs us to the Saviour. It is not the purpose of the commandments to save us. The commandments are there to point out the sin so we may be directed to the Saviour, find grace, find mercy, and ultimately be saved because we have sought Him.

The Law of God is perfect and eternal. It contains depth that we do not comprehend as we superficially read the law. If you just read the Ten Commandment Law, and you think that your duty and your responsibility is to just keep the letter of the law and not the spirit of the law, you have missed the point. The law goes much, much deeper than that. It is very comprehensive; it is immeasurable, and it encompasses every virtue within the range of human duty. It also strictly and directly prohibits every sin within the reach of human conduct. It contains the whole duty of man.

Full Circle

The Ten Commandments complete a full circle. Basically the law does not just start with the first commandment and end with the tenth commandment, because when we end with the tenth, we are back around to the first again. Making a full circle, we find ourselves back at the beginning. It is like the Bible. The Bible is not just Genesis to Revelation. When we finish Revelation, we can be directed back to Genesis again. It is a circle, and it is a whole.

The Bible begins with the creation of man in the perfect setting of the Garden of Eden, and when John closes the Book of Revelation, we see that the story of redemption has completed itself to the extent that we find man back in his perfect, restored state in the Garden of Eden again. So the Bible is circular, as is the Law of God.

The Ten Commandments, beginning with the first which deals with the worship of the true God, we will see again in Ephesians 5:5: “For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” The apostle Paul puts covetousness into the setting of the whole law, dealing with all aspects of the law—anything that is unclean.

The Tenth

In Deuteronomy 5, from where we have been studying the Ten Commandments, we read: “Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour’s wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour’s house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any [thing] that [is] thy neighbour’s.” Verse 21.

As I have mentioned before, there are some changes in the commandments as they first appear in Exodus 20 and as they appear in Deuteronomy 5. Did you catch what the difference is in this commandment, other than the first word, “neither”? Moses adds one word here; he says: “You are not supposed to covet your neighbor’s field.” So we see that there is a difference in the wording of the commandments, including the tenth one.

Covetous Defined

We can look longingly at the automobiles on a car lot, not recognizing our desire as coveting, because the cars do not belong to a specific individual. Or we can look out across the countryside at beautiful houses and say, “I wish that I had that house.” This expresses excessive desire. But Webster says that it is excessive desire concerning wealth or possessions or for another’s possessions. While it appears that there is a prohibition concerning just what belongs to our neighbors, in reality, anything that is not ours belongs to someone else, and our clamor to obtain it constitutes covetousness.

Some of the synonyms of covetous are: greedy, acquisitive (not inquisitive but acquisitive), grasping, and avaricious. Webster goes on to say that,

“Greedy stresses the lack of restraint and often of discrimination in desire. Acquisitive implies both eagerness to possess and ability to acquire and keep. Grasping adds to covetous and greedy an implication of selfishness and often suggests unfair or ruthless means. Avaricious implies obsessive acquisitiveness [acquiring] especially of money and strongly suggests stinginess.” Ibid.

It is interesting to note, as we go through these definitions that the synonyms Webster gives for the word covetous itself, reveal that this is probably one of the areas of life that we almost applaud! Almost every advertising campaign that is launched today bases its advertising on this concept of covetousness. The advertisers usually try to flavor their advertisements with all kinds of desirable objects in an attempt to enhance the desire for the object that they are trying to sell. They try to get us on a two-pronged approach, not only from the object of advertising but from the object itself, so this commandment is tremendously flouted today.

Covetousness is Unrighteous

In looking through the Bible, we find that a goodly amount of Scripture deals with the sin of covetousness. Paul wrote again, concerning this, in 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10, which basically says the same thing as Ephesians 5:5, but it is a little more defined: “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”

Notice that when Paul says “unrighteous,” then a list follows that defines those things that are unrighteous. The one thing to which we need to pay attention in this list of sins is that covetousness is placed with those that are considered to be the grossest sins. Right in the very middle of all these sins that we find very distasteful is covetousness. It is a sin that, when left uncontrolled by the person who can control it, grows until it completely possesses that person and corrupts his or her character.

Undetected

This is a sin that goes undetected except by the persons themselves. I think this is probably the reason why this sin is listed as the last commandment. There is a sequence to the commandments, starting with “Thou shalt have no other gods.” If we can make that application in our lives, then we can move down to the next one, that says, “Do not make any graven images,” and down to the next one that says, “Do not take the name of the Lord in vain,” and then “Remember the Sabbath day,” and on through the relationships between man and man. Once we can focus on all of those, once we get all of those together in our thinking, we can with the Psalmist say, “The law of God is perfect, converting the soul.”

A conversion process occurs that can take a man of wretchedness and turn him around. I do not know that any of us can actually understand it, except by what we see transpiring in our lives—but it is there.

So, as we have made our way through God’s Law, we find ourselves at that tenth commandment that declares, If you can be judged by all of these others from an outward appearance, once you get to the tenth, you have to judge yourself. You have to deal with that.

A Heart Matter

Ellen White wrote: “Satan carries out his plans well. As the servants of God appoint meetings, Satan with his angels is on the ground to hinder the work. He is constantly putting suggestions into the minds of God’s people.” Early Writings, 267.

From this quotation, we can see how covetousness makes a foothold in our minds. If we have gone through the sequencing of the commandments and have been converted to God, but we have not quite yet come to the tenth commandment, the devil is going to get on our trails like we would not believe! He may not put thoughts of covetousness into our minds, but Ellen White says that he and his angels work on God’s people and that he puts suggestions into their minds.

Covetousness is the only sin that deals with the heart in terms of an internal way that cannot really be seen from the outside. If the devil can put those thoughts into our hearts, into our minds, we need to be very, very careful of guarding our hearts so that he is not able to put those thoughts there.

Continuing, Ellen White wrote: “He leads some in one way and some in another, always taking advantage of evil traits in the brethren and sisters, exciting and stirring up their natural besetments.” Ibid. What are “their natural besetments”? Well, “their natural besetments” are those weaknesses of the flesh that are either inherited or cultivated. The devil knows what those inherited and those cultivated tendencies may be for each one of us, so he puts thoughts into our minds of covetousness. As a warning to us, God put in place a commandment to deal with all the various aspects of this, which can be magnified even farther beyond just the word.

“If they are disposed to be selfish and covetous, Satan takes his stand by their side, and with all his power seeks to lead them to indulge their besetting sins.” Ibid. Now, that is alarming!

Battle Raging

We are in what is called the great controversy. There is a battle raging for our souls, and the devil is going to do anything and everything that he can to destroy us, not only from this earth but also from any inheritance into eternal life. Remember that we earlier read that the unrighteous are not going to inherit eternal life, and the list of sins that are associated with unrighteousness.

Ellen White also wrote: “Covetousness, selfishness, love of money, and love of the world, are all through the ranks of Sabbath-keepers. . . . Those that have this covetousness in their hearts are not aware of it. It has gained upon them imperceptibly.” Spiritual Gifts, vol. 4b, 26. This sin cannot be seen on the outside of those suffering from it. We cannot see into others’ minds.

In Testimonies, vol. 1, 141, we read: “Worldly-mindedness, selfishness, and covetousness have been eating out the spirituality and life of God’s people.”

Camouflaged Covetousness

Allow me to ask the question: Do you think covetousness is a problem for Seventh-day Adventists? I think it is. Some of the things that we can see that are manifested from covetousness, we do not specifically identify as covetousness, but it becomes an outgrowth of that. As an example, say that a man and a woman get involved in a personal relationship. There is a little saying that suggests that a man chases a woman until she catches him. It works both ways, but there is a chasing that occurs, and sometimes, once the catching takes place and the two begin to bond into a relationship, one or the other begins to treat the other individual very meanly and very badly and to take advantage of them. Sometimes it even turns into physical abuse. There are shelters now to protect individuals from such things, but we have probably all observed such a relationship at some time.

This is kind of a twisted example of covetousness, because a person can desire someone, and, after the conquest is over, the motivation for going after that person has been a covetous, greedy motivation, not love. It is really a lustful kind of motivation. As we study the Bible, we find that the word lust and the word covetous are interchangeable. In the Strong’s Concordance (James Strong, New Strong’s Concordance of the Bible, Thomas Nelson Inc., Nashville, Tennessee, 1985) you will find the same Greek word, epithumia, can be translated one way or the other, as lust or as covetous.

In a relationship such as I described above, the man or woman, instead of building the relationship on love, appreciation, and companionship, becomes possessive, when the challenge is over, and greedy. The attitude of “you are mine; you will do as I say,” is displayed. In this attitude of covetousness, the other person is treated as a possession or a piece of property that the other person has sought after and now owns. This is why many of these relationships turn so bad. That is how covetousness works.

Selfish Orientation

The whole orientation of a covetous person seems to be about himself or herself. We might often hear from such an individual, “What about me?” I will never forget an experience that I had several years ago. I was called to a home to pray for and anoint a lady who was quite ill. This lady’s mother and husband were in the home when I arrived. The husband and I went into his wife’s sick room, and I talked with them to ascertain where their experience with the Lord was before doing the anointing. After the anointing and the prayer were over, we opened the bedroom door and went into the living room where the mother was waiting to come into the bedroom, thinking that the anointing had not yet taken place. She was on fire when she learned that the service was completed. “What about me?” she demanded. “What about me? I am the mother. What about me?”

What about me? is basically the motivation for a covetous person—What about me? What do I get out of this? Why cannot I have what others have? They have a house along the lake; why cannot I have a house by the lake? They have a new car; why cannot I have a new car? He has a beautiful wife; why cannot I have a beautiful wife?—Everything is about “me.”

The interesting thing is that this commandment covers all of these areas and says, You need to search your own heart and make sure what your own motivation is, so that you are right in all of these areas.

Application for Today

From Deuteronomy 5:21, look at the things that are meaningful to us today. This was not something that Moses wrote 3,500 years ago and has no application to us today. It definitely has application to us today.

“Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour’s wife.” We could save so much pain in society today if that was followed! So that is very applicable today.

“Neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour’s house.” We could certainly make application of this as well.

What does it mean, Thou shalt not covet “his field”? This is actually referring to the aspect of supplying the needs for sustenance of life. In our time we might say, “Thou shalt not covet his job.” This is where political maneuvering, ladder climbing, and all of these kinds of things come into play so we can get into position to get the right job. In the Bible, the reference is made to a man who had a field from which he got his sustenance to support not only himself, but his family as well. The command is, “Do not make any move toward the man’s field.”

“. . . or his manservant.” It is not uncommon for a company to attempt to entice a prized employee from a competitor or other company. The manservant is seen as something that is valuable for the sake of greediness. Is it applicable today? You better believe it is applicable today! “. . . or his maidservant” falls into the same category.

“. . . his ox” is part of the machinery that is necessary for the man to earn his living. An ox was a “tractor” in the days of Moses. At that time, a person might desire to have the man’s ox—his “tractor” or “farm implement”—so that he could do his work better and more efficiently.

“. . . his ass.” It is an interesting point that Israel always had, as its mode of transportation, the ass. The people did not ride horses. As a matter of fact, as we read Scripture, we find that there was a very strong disapproval of Israelites having horses, notwithstanding King Solomon. The reason for this was that horses were considered implements of war. God wanted His people to be agrarian; He did not want them to be covetous. He did not want them to overreach, so they were not horse people; they were donkey people. That was the means of transportation for the Israelites. What is our means of transportation today? We do not have donkeys that we ride today, but we have automobiles and all kinds of other conveyances. These may be necessary, but God says that we are not to covet what belongs to someone else.

And then comes what may be called a blanket statement: “Do not covet anything that belongs to thy neighbor.”

When we stop and consider the practicality of such a commandment as this, we see that, in reality, it produces a great degree of harmony and peace of mind. The people who are always out there wanting to grab ahold of something that does not belong to them are generally very unhappy individuals. Happy is the man who is content with his lot.

Parallels

There are many parallels to which covetousness gives birth, and, in its ultimate, covetousness is the seed that can produce the plant of violation of every other one of the Ten Commandments. For example, consider these.

First Commandment: Coveting tempts us to the violation of the first commandment, which prohibits the worship of gods other than Jehovah. Polytheism is the worship of many gods, or at least of two or more. Mammon is one of the most popular gods that has been a silent rival for worship. Jesus said that the worship of mammon and of Jehovah is incapable of being compatible with one another. He said, “You cannot have them both. You have to choose one or the other.” (See Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13.)

Many people have tried, silently, to covet after mammon and yet worship God at the same time. Ultimately, they must make a decision at some point. Jesus said that, “No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.” Matthew 6:24. As is so often the case, mammon wins. Material wealth and possessions command attention of God’s people in ways that they should not.

Job gave some wise counsel when he said, in Job 31:24, 25, 28, “If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, [Thou art] my confidence; If I rejoiced because my wealth [was] great, and because mine hand had gotten much; . . . This also [were] an iniquity [to be punished by] the judge: for I should have denied the God [that is] above.” He recognized a choice must be made between mammon and God, and he chose God.

Second Commandment: What about the second commandment? We do not have to go to the heathen in mission lands in order to find worshippers of images. There are plenty of idol worshippers of gold and silver, stocks and bonds, real estate and business. This worship is going on all the time, and it is never really identified in the area of sin as it should be, because it is a sin of the heart. It is something that can be concealed, and nobody else can know that it is happening.

Third Commandment: Coveting leads us to violate the third commandment, which deals with sacrilegious falsehood. An example of this is found in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament.

Gehazi, you may remember, was Elisha’s servant. Seemingly, in the earlier part of his life, he was a dedicated man, but when Naaman was healed, Gehazi could not stand the fact that Elisha did not take any reward for this. Elisha was a man of God; he was a man who stood for God’s name; he did not take God’s name in vain. Gehazi, who also professed to be a follower of Jehovah, decided that he would go after some reward, so he denied the name of God for the purpose of covetousness. Swift judgment came upon him because of his sin of covetousness. (See 11 Kings 5:20–27.)

Ananias and Sapphira selfishly tried to retain part of the pledge they had made to God. As a result, they lost everything that this earthly life could hold for them, including eternal life. (See Acts 5:1–10.) Again, their sin is an example of what can come to one who has a covetous nature.

Fourth Commandment: Does covetousness cause the violation of the fourth commandment? Breaking of the Sabbath always comes through a motivation of covetousness. One of the primary violations of the fourth commandment is that of employment. People choose to work on the Sabbath for the sake of their employment.

We can be tempted to play during the Sabbath hours for the sake of our own personal pleasure. We can be tempted to buy or sell for our own convenience. Violation of the Sabbath really boils down to the sin of covetousness that starts in the heart.

Fifth Commandment: The fifth commandment can be trampled through covetousness, tempting the young person to forget parental counsel that limits wants and desires. A covetous spirit may also keep children from honoring parents and attending to their needs as they grow older.

Sixth Commandment: The sixth commandment concerning murder has been broken to satisfy the cravings of a covetous mind. It was Judas’ love of money that lured him into the betrayal of his Lord into the hands of murderers. Writing of Judas, Ellen White stated, “How tenderly the Saviour dealt with him who was to be His betrayer! In His teaching, Jesus dwelt upon principles of benevolence that struck at the very root of covetousness. He presented before Judas the heinous character of greed. . . .

“Instead of walking in the light, Judas chose to retain his defects. Evil desires, revengeful passions, dark and sullen thoughts, were cherished, until Satan had full control of the man.” The Desire of Ages, 295.

Seventh Commandment: Being tempted into adultery comes from a direct violation of this tenth commandment that says, “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbours wife.” A Bible example of this is found in the story of David and Bathsheba. (See 11 Samuel 11:3–17.) The length to which this violation can carry a person is revealed there. What a shame the sin of covetousness brought upon the nation of Israel.

Eighth Commandment: Covetousness tempts us into the violation of the eighth commandment that says, “Thou shalt not steal.” This, of course, is what led to Achan’s downfall. (See Joshua 7:18–26.) “The deadly sin that led to Achan’s ruin had its root in covetousness, of all sins one of the most common and the most lightly regarded. While other offenses meet with detection and punishment, how rarely does the violation of the tenth commandment so much as call forth censure. The enormity of this sin, and its terrible results, are the lessons of Achan’s history.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 496. Achan sold his soul for “a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight.” Joshua 7:21. What a cheap price for forfeiting eternal life!

Ninth Commandment: The ninth commandment, bearing false witness, also has its basis in covetousness. How often have we heard people lie about someone or something to better their own positions? As discussed previously, covetousness is motivated by the selfish attitude of “me.”

How very important for us to follow Jesus’ counsel: “Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” Luke 12:15.

All of the commandments deal with the issue of covetousness rooted in the heart. If this sin is not dealt with between ourselves and God, we are destined to violate openly the Ten Commandments, and, ultimately, we can lose everything in the end.

Importance of the Ten

We must realize just how precious the Ten Commandments are to us, as a people. As we read in the Book of Ecclesiastes 12:13: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this [is] the whole [duty] of man.”

God means what He says. The Ten Commandments are revealed in all the stories and documentation of Scripture. It all comes down to Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. There is the whole duty of man.

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

The Pool of Bethesda, Part I

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In this article, I would like to study about the pool of Bethesda with you. Let us refresh our memories of this story recorded in John 5: “After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 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.” Verses 1–4.

A Myth

Do you believe that the troubling of the water at this pool of Bethesda, about which the people gathered for healing, was of God? No! It was not God’s ordained method of healing. Something is so essential in one of these verses that lets us know this. A myth had been built around this situation. Notice, in verse 4, that the Bible says, “For an angel.” It does not say, an angel of God.

Let us look a bit closer at verse 4. “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.” It says that whosoever was first in entering the troubled water was healed. What do you think about that? Is that God’s method of dealing with His precious souls? No, God is no respecter of persons. God is not about the business of the survival of the fittest.

If a pool such as the one at Bethesda was located near you and everyone in the area knew that at a certain time an angel moved the water, and whatsoever disease an individual had, if he or she just got into the pool first, they could be healed of that infirmity, do you believe the grounds around that pool would be overflowing with people? Oh, yes, most definitely!

Quick Fix

You might not think this is so, but there are hundreds of people who gather at large auditoriums where ministers simply wave their hands over the individual or blow their breath upon the individual and a supposed healing takes place. You have perhaps seen such a service on the television. Many people seek out a quick solution that requires no sacrifice on their part. That is what they want. They want the benefits without the effort.

What do you think would be the response if I could take the eight principles of health—godly trust, open air, daily exercise, sunshine, proper rest, lots of water, always temperate, and nutrition—and capsulate them, put them in a bottle with a brand name on it, and tell people, “Take three godly trust capsules a day, and it will bring you close to Jesus”? This might seem to be humorous to you, but it is not an over-simplification of the truth, because people love quick fixes; they love pills. They are looking for methods that require no sacrifice.

In the Book of Jeremiah 30:12, 13, we read: “For thus saith the Lord, Thy bruise [is] incurable, [and] thy wound [is] grievous. [There is] none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines.”

Testimony

The apostle Paul always gave his testimony every place he went. He would tell of how, while walking on the road to Damascus, there was a light. (See Acts 9:3.) God has given us each a testimony. It does not have to be a dramatic testimony. It does not have to be, “I almost fell over the cliff, but the angel pulled me back, and I gave my heart to the Lord.” It does not have to be that at all. Many of us, in the quietness of our hearts, have been touched by God. Some of our experiences are dramatic, but whether dramatic or not, we each have a testimony.

Forty-one years ago, when I was clinically dying with arthritis, which lasted for ten years, my career as a professional basketball player was ended. As I look back in retrospect, I thank God for arthritis. Not that I glory in the pain, but I would not be where I am today if it was not for arthritis. That is the only way God got my attention to slow me down, so He could put me in the position where He could fill me with His Spirit. He had to take a basketball out of my hands and put a Bible there. He had to keep me from going up and down a hardwood court. He had to say, “Jackson, I have a job for you going up and down on the court of earth.” I did not premeditate these things. It was the farthest thing in my mind to be doing what I am doing today, but God put a call in to me, as He puts a call in to you.

I remember my junior year in school when one professional basketball team was putting out its feelers. During that time, very few college players were going from college to the pros. It was virtually unheard of for a high school student to go into professional ranks, such as LeBron James, who was the first round draft pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland, Ohio, in 2003. He instantly became a very wealthy 19-year-old, signing several endorsement deals totaling nearly 100 million dollars. When I was coming up, the highest paid player was Wilt Chamberlain; he made $100,000, which was like a million dollars during that time.

Search for Relief

As I searched for relief from the arthritis, I remember my doctor looking me in the eye and telling me, “Young man, yes, you play pretty good basketball, but unfortunately there is no known cause or cure for your arthritis.”

I stayed on anti-inflammatory drugs for almost ten years, when those drugs lost their effect. This created a condition that led me to take other kinds of drugs that the doctors did not have to prescribe. It was only by God’s grace that I am here today.

“Thou hast no healing medicines.” I am not saying that there is not a place and time for medicine, but I do know that in my situation, medicine was not improving my condition. It was not until God put me flat on my back that I looked up and cried out to the most powerful Person in the universe. I did not cry out to be healed physically; I cried out to be healed spiritually, because I did not know that there was healing physically in His Word. But God is the Chief Physician. He knows how to heal, but if He chooses to not heal, as He chose not to heal Paul, He promises that, “My grace is sufficient.” 11 Corinthians 12:9.

You see, in Jeremiah 46:11, it says, “Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt: in vain shalt thou use many medicines; [for] thou shalt not be cured.”

That is what I did for ten years. I tried many medicines, but I was not cured. I was in the pool of human philosophy, seeking man’s method for human dilemma. There is only one solution to the human dilemma—the gospel of Jesus Christ.

House of Mercy

The word Bethesda means, “house of mercy.” Look at the last three letters of that word. God’s people, His true people, should be the balm in Gilead. Is there a balm in your area?

People should be coming to us for the healing of their souls and for the healing of their bodies. We should be the head and not the tail. (Deuteronomy 28:13.) “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.” Jeremiah 8:20, 21. Am I black? When God says that He is black, He is not talking about being black in color. It denotes that He feels the pain, the sorrow. The Bible says that He is touched with the feelings of our infirmities. (See Hebrews 4:15.) When nobody else understands our pain, there is One who enters into our suffering, and that is God.

Jeremiah 8:22 continues, “[Is there] no balm in Gilead . . .?” A balm is an herb; it is medicinal. God is saying, “My people should be medicinal.” We should have healing in our attitudes, in our dispositions; our very lives should testify of the mercies of God. His mercies should be seen in the way we treat one another and in the way we speak. Even when we are under provocation, we should not retaliate. “A soft answer turneth away wrath.” Proverbs 15:1.

Jeremiah 8:22 goes on to say, “. . . [is there] no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?” Why is there suffering among God’s people?

People Types

I want to share with you that at the pool of Bethesda there were four types of people. We read in John 5 that there was a multitude of impotent, blind, halt, and withered at the pool. As we have already declared, the troubled water of that pool was not God’s method of healing. It was a myth built up by the leaders of that time. No angel of God stirred up the water, but it was impressed upon the minds of the people that there was something supernatural about that water, and all one had to do was get in to be healed of his or her condition. Such is the propaganda that we find in society today, which is not based on biblical and true scientific facts. We allow our emotions, our destinies, and our circumstances to move us. We grab hold of anything that sounds good, but we do not inquire, “Is this the way of the Lord?”

We may find our marriages are on the rocks, and we go to people who do not know the Word of God to give us counsel as to how to establish our marriages. That is the pool of Bethesda. When we find ourselves in financial crisis, we listen to those who encourage us to take out another loan, and we find ourselves deeper in debt, because we are still at the pool of Bethesda. We find ourselves losing our children, and in churches today we are told that the only way we can hold onto our children is to entertain them, to change the style of worship, to have music that has the beat. We are at the pool of Bethesda. We need to train our children to be servants and to minister, not to be entertained.

There is no healing in that pool, so let us investigate the people by the pool, and let us see where our hope lies. First, consider the following one word definitions: the word impotent means, “powerless”; the word blind means, “sightless”; the word halt means, “motionless”; and the word withered means, “useless.”

Four types of people were found around the pool and are found in God’s church, but do not drop your head in despair. The story has a good end, because there is hope. We need to know, however, where we are. Are we powerless? Are we sightless? Are we motionless? Are we useless? Let us investigate.

Powerless

Read 11 Timothy 3:5: “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

Recently, several of us were sitting in the cafeteria at M.E.E.T. Ministry, and we were discussing a particular issue. Someone stated that the way to tell whether or not a man is living up to the truth or has the truth is to observe his life and visit in his home. Now, I know the fact is that a life should be in harmony with the truth, but I cannot determine the truth based on a person’s life. A person may be preaching truth but not living the truth. That does not negate the truth.

It is very important to understand this, because many of us judge the truth based on the life of a person, when it is unfortunate that the person is not living up to the truth. Nevertheless, that is truth, if it agrees with the Word of God.

Inspiration warns of many preachers who look to the souls they have baptized, but they were not living according to the truth. In spite of these unconverted ministers, God is moving upon the honest hearts. (See Early Writings, 98–102.)

What is the lesson from this? I can have truth in the intellect, and I can be theologically correct, but if this knowledge does not impact and change my life, I live a lie to that truth. When Jesus spoke the truth, His life testified of the power of the truth. As a body of people, God does not want form; He wants substance.

Impotent

From a medical viewpoint, the word impotent means, for a man, that he does not have the ability to produce. There is no power.

In Genesis 17, we read about Abraham. God came to Abraham, after the birth of Ishmael, and declared that he would give to him a son. “And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah [shall] her name [be]. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be [a mother] of nations; kings of people shall be of her.” Verses 15, 16.

What was Abraham’s response? “Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall [a child] be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!” Verses 17, 18.

But God responded: “Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, [and] with his seed after him.” Verse 19.

Continuing in Geneses 18:11–14, we read: “Now Abraham and Sarah [were] old [and] well stricken in age; [and] it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” Abraham was past the time of producing.

Notice Romans 4:17: “(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, [even] God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.” Do you understand this principle? That which we do not see, God sees as it is.

Verses 19, 21 say: “And being not weak in faith, he [Abraham] considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb . . . And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.”

God of the Living

Let us continue to see the mighty goodness and wonderful works of God. In Hebrews 11:11, we read: “Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.” God can take a dead womb and bring life out if it. God can take a spiritually dead person and bring forth power, if we believe.

I am so glad that God is not God of the dead. He is God of the living. If we have not the power to overcome our inherited or cultivated habits, then we need to realize that God has power to give us victory. The only reason that we are not enjoying the victory is because we do not believe.

Abraham asked, “Lord, how can I produce a child? I am past age. My sperm count is gone.” But God reminded him that He made the womb. God is not bound by biology; He created it.

We do not know the God we serve. There is nothing too hard for Him. From where do the banks get their money? It comes from the resources that God made. The water we drink comes from the very fountains of God. This is why we, as Christians, though we find ourselves challenged and faced with discouragement, must never, never doubt that God is able to keep us. Everything and everyone belongs to God, and He needs people into whom He can put His power.

Castration

You, I am sure, are familiar with the background of Daniel. As teenagers, he and his companions were taken hostage. Daniel, whose name means, “God is my judge,” was from the tribe of Judah. He was in the line to be progenitor of Christ Himself—the seed of Abraham, of Isaac, and Jacob, and right on down the line.

Nebuchadnezzar the king, “Spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring [certain] of the children of Israel, and of the king’s seed, and of the princes; Children in whom [was] no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as [had] ability in them to stand in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.” Daniel 1:3, 4.

Something very important is stated in verse 3. What is a eunuch? It is a castrated male. God has said that there will be some made eunuchs for the kingdom, born eunuchs. (Matthew 19:12.) That means that such a man does not have the ability to reproduce or procreate.

Read 11 Kings 20:17, 18. This is speaking of the days of Hezekiah. Hezekiah showed all of his goodness to the heathen kings, and God was going to deal with that, but in verse 17, the Bible says, “Behold, the days come, that all that [is] in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the Lord.” This is the prophecy of the captivity of Babylon. Verse 18 continues: “And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

So, is Daniel 1:3 telling us that Daniel, Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego were made eunuchs? Yes, they were. What a terrible ordeal to experience, especially a male Hebrew! That eliminated all probability of them being the progenitors of the seed of Jesus Christ. The devil was trying to stop God’s plan.

Intimate Relationship

These young men were castrated, but not cast away. The devil is seeking to castrate you and me. He is trying to immobilize us; he is trying to make us impotent. But God is looking for a people that will conceive His character. The Bible says, “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” John 17:3. That word know indicates an intimate relationship.

The Bible says that when Adam knew his wife, they brought forth a child. (See Genesis 4:1, 25.) When we have an intimate relationship with God, we are going to produce character, because God is going to impregnate us with His seed. He is going to put His seed in us through His word. But the devil is seeking to make the Word of non-effect in our lives. He is seeking to castrate us.

Power

Daniel purposed in his heart. The devil thought that impotency would stop God’s plan, but God is not bound by biology. God is not bound by circumstances. God said to Abraham, “You shall have a child.” God said to Peter, “When you are converted,”—not if but when! Luke 22:32. Jesus will put a positive emphasis on our lives. God will give us power.

At the pool of Bethesda, there were impotent, powerless people. They were people controlled by such things as appetite, sensual desire, pornography, and lying. Does that sound similar to today?

There is not one habit, inherited or cultivated, that God’s power cannot break. Whatever our past may be, if we cry to Him and say, “Lord, I want to be freed,” He will free us quicker than He will heal our physical infirmities.

God does not delay when it comes to delivering us from sin. However, if we pray, “Lord, take this tumor out of my body,” He might say, “I give you grace and power to endure it.”

To be continued . . .

Thomas Jackson is a health evangelist and Director of Missionary Education and Evangelistic Training (M.E.E.T.) Ministry in Huntingdon, Tennessee. He may be contacted by e-mail at: gods-plan@meetministry.org or by telephone at: 731-986-3518.

Are We Properly Clothed?

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Revelation 3:17, 18 says, “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and [that] the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”

These startling words of Christ are spoken in love to those dwelling in Laodicea who profess to be among God’s remnant. Could it be possible that some of us could be deceived as to our spiritual condition? Such an alarming description given by our Saviour, who discerns the secrets of the heart, calls for some serious thinking.

“What is it that constitutes the wretchedness, the nakedness of those who feel rich and increased with goods?—It is the want of the righteousness of Christ. In their own righteousness they are represented as clothed with filthy rags, and yet in this condition they flatter themselves that they are clothed upon with Christ’s righteousness. Could deception be greater?” This Day With God, 228.

A Question

What is it going to take to awaken our sleepy heads from our deception that we may comprehend how God sees most of us? Ellen White wrote: “The knowledge of our state as God views it, seems to be hidden from us. We see, but perceive not; we hear, but do not understand; and we rest as unconcerned as if the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, rested upon our sanctuary. We profess to know God, and to believe the truth, but in works deny Him. Our deeds are directly adverse to the principles of truth and righteousness, by which we profess to be governed.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 84.

Sadly, rather than accepting Christ’s righteousness, many within the church today have done exactly as did Adam and Eve in their disobedience. “They have sewed together fig leaves to cover the nakedness caused by transgression. They have worn the garments of their own devising, by works of their own they have tried to cover their sins, and make themselves acceptable with God.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 311.

Praise God! He is ready, if we are ready, to awaken all lukewarm believers and help them to see the necessity of changes that must be made in their lives if they will be properly clothed. This is no small matter. In fact, it is a life and death issue. “He [God] is waiting to strip them [believing souls] of their garments stained and polluted with sin, and to put upon them the white robes of righteousness; He bids them live and not die.” The Faith I Live By, 134.

Now, since God is just waiting to put upon us the white robes of Christ’s righteousness, why are we so reluctant to accept His precious gift? The Bible has the answer. Because we are “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” Revelation 3:17.

Wretchedness

Have you ever really seen such a person? I have. On one of my visits to Africa, I was scheduled to spend 30 days in the Cameroons, visiting every outpost. As we started out by Volkswagen, we had some eight flat tires in just a few miles. Our tires were absolutely useless. I suggested we return to the capital city and try to find some other used tires, since new tires were unavailable. We searched for several hours through a huge pile of old, used tires until we finally found four that we hoped would do the job.

As these tires were being put on the car, I decided to see the little town. Believe me, it was only a few blocks in size. As I was walking slowly, looking in the shops, the smell was anything but pleasant, for beside the narrow sidewalk ran an open sewer ditch. Suddenly I smelled a stench I could hardly stand. But from where was it coming?

As I turned a corner, I almost bumped into him. I hesitate to describe what I saw. There he stood, about 6 feet 4 inches tall, dirty, and covered with mud and filth. I could hardly stand the odor, yet there he was stark naked, with not even a loincloth. On his stomach and sides were large ulcers, some as large as six inches across, with puss oozing from them. Some of his toes were missing, for he was filled with leprosy. I also noticed that half of his fingers had been eaten away. But when I looked at his face I was really shocked, for the leprosy had eaten away both eyeballs—only the sockets remained—and part of his nose was missing. What a shocking experience! I shall never forget this man who was in such a hopeless condition.

There is Hope

The Scriptures describe what God sees in many of us as believers today. Isaiah 1:5, 6 says, “Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head [there is] no soundness in it; [but] wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.”

Yet there is hope. While we have failed to grasp God’s grace and strength provided through Christ, none are so sinful that they cannot find strength, purity, and righteousness in Jesus who died for us. The True Witness not only points out our Laodicean spiritual disease, but He offers the remedy. We are invited to come to Him and buy the white raiment of His righteousness, that we might be clothed with the robes of His righteousness so that the shame of our nakedness will not appear.

How do we buy Christ’s white raiment? “When the work of repentance is earnest and deep, the individual members of the church will buy the rich goods of heaven. [Revelation 3:18 quoted.] Oh, how many behold things in a perverted light, in the light in which Satan would have them see.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 961.

Imputed and Imparted

If only we could see ourselves as God sees us, not as Satan wishes us to see ourselves, then through earnest repentance we could buy the remedy for the Laodicean condition. The True Witness exhorts us to “be zealous therefore, and repent.” Revelation 3:19. The white raiment of Christ’s righteousness is often referred to in inspired writings as a robe or as robes in the plural. In truth, Christ has only one righteousness, but His righteousness is applied to man in two different ways—imputed and imparted. These are given to man for two different purposes.

“The righteousness by which we are justified is imputed; the righteousness by which we are sanctified is imparted. The first is our title to heaven; the second is our fitness for heaven.” Messages to Young People, 35. Thus, the robes of righteousness that Christ provides for repentant man consist of 1) justifying righteousness and 2) sanctifying righteousness.

Robes of Righteousness

Inspiration often uses the plural noun when speaking of Christ’s robes of righteousness. A few of those references are given here. “Christ could stoop to raise unnumbered multitudes from the abyss of ruin and clothe them with the spotless garments of His own righteousness.” The Great Controversy, 415.

Revelation 16:15 says, “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed [is] he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.”

“Only those who are clothed in the garments of His righteousness will be able to endure the glory of His presence when He shall appear with ‘power and great glory.’ [Luke 21:27.]” Sons and Daughters of God, 368.

We notice from these quotations that garments is in the plural. We might think of the imputed robe of Christ’s righteousness as being the foundation garment, for we must receive it first. This robe signifies that the believer has confessed, repented of, and forsaken his sins; that he has been forgiven or justified.

Immediately after we are clothed with this robe, Christ places upon man His imparted robe of righteousness. Christ enters his heart to dwell there by faith. Christ’s imparted righteousness signifies that the believer is being sanctified; that his character is being fitted for heaven. Christ, with man’s cooperation, is living out His life within. This outer garment of sanctifying righteousness is often referred to in inspired writings as “the wedding garment.” All who attain to these two robes of divine righteousness are properly clothed and ready for the coming of the bridegroom to the wedding. Without these two divine garments, no man can see God and live.

Man’s Part

The next Bible verse introduces to us a different part of God’s truth. It declares that man has a part to act in wearing the robes of Christ’s righteousness. In Revelation 7:14, we are told, “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Now the questions arise, What robes does man wash? And how does he wash them? We need not wash the imputed robe of Christ’s righteousness, for it is spotless. “It is the righteousness of Christ that makes the penitent sinner acceptable to God and works his justification. However sinful has been his life, if he believes in Jesus as his personal Saviour, he stands before God in the spotless robes of Christ’s imputed righteousness.” The Signs of the Times, July 4, 1892.

Neither does man wash Christ’s robe of imparted righteousness, for it too is spotless. When it comes to sanctification, we find that during sanctification the imparted righteousness of Christ is to become part of man’s very own character, for it is the character of man that must be fitted for heaven. This is not done instantaneously. Verily, it is the work of a lifetime, be it long or short.

At the new birth, Christ imputes and imparts His righteousness to the believer. Both are spotless robes. The repentant one is now ready for Christ to come just as was the thief on the cross. But then, during sanctification, man’s character is to be developed to recognize and resist sin and temptation in its many forms, and to become more and more Christlike every day. This requires cooperation between Christ and man, for Christ does not furnish man with a ready-made, spotless character. God furnishes the talents and His imparted righteous building-blocks. But we build the character. For further study, I suggest you read Christ’s Object Lessons, 331.

Cooperation Needed

Please allow me to illustrate. For some years now I have been wearing one suit for preaching engagements. The other day, my wife told me it was time to get a new suit, so we went shopping for one. Fortunately, we found a department store that had a sale on men’s clothing. Surprisingly, the first suit that the salesman showed me was exactly what I wanted.

As I put the suit on, I felt there was a problem, probably necessitating the need for an alteration, for the suit felt slightly snug. But the tailor, after careful examination, said, “No, it does not need to be altered. The suit is a perfect fit exactly as it is, but you must lose about ten pounds.” I agreed and purchased the suit, and I am cooperating by reducing my weight; then the suit will fit properly.

This is a striking illustration of how we are to cooperate with God. He does not alter His character requirements; we must develop characters that fit His divine pattern. In our human, defective, stained, and polluted robes of character, we are to wash in the blood of the Lamb every day. As we continue to wash, God accounts our character as perfect in Christ. So, washing our garments is a very important work.

“The provision has been made for us to wash. The fountain has been prepared at infinite expense, and the burden of washing rests upon us, who are imperfect before God. The Lord does not propose to remove these spots of defilement without our doing anything on our part. We must wash our robes in the blood of the Lamb. We may lay hold of the merits of the blood of Christ by faith, and through His grace and power we may have strength to overcome our errors, our sins, our imperfections of character, and come off victorious, having washed our robes in the blood of the Lamb.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 183.

Work of Leaders

In this process, there is a work for God’s ministers and leaders to do. “We should teach those who are filthy how to cast away their old, sin-stained garments of character, and how to put on Christ’s righteousness.” The Southern Work, 27. We should also teach men that if they cooperate with the divine, the divine will cooperate with them, and they will come off victoriously.

“The whole purpose in giving His Son for the sins of the world is that man may be saved, not in transgression and unrighteousness but in forsaking sin, washing his robes of character, and making them white in the blood of the Lamb. He proposes to remove from man the offensive thing that He hates, but man must cooperate with him in the work. Sin must be given up, hated, and the righteousness of Christ must be accepted by faith. Thus will the divine cooperate with the human.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 632.

Repentant sinners also need to be informed that God has given detailed instructions for them as to how to wash their robes. In The Signs of the Times, August 1, 1878, Ellen White declares, “Here is a work for man to do. He must face the mirror of God’s law, discern the defects in his moral character and put away his sins, washing his robes of character in the blood of the Lamb. Envy, pride, malice, deceit, strife, crime will be cleansed from the heart that is recipient of the love of Christ, and cherishes the hope of being made like him when we shall see him as he is.”

In the Review and Herald, August 5, 1887, she wrote, “The Lord would have us wash our robes of character now, remove every stain in the blood of the Lamb. . . .

“We need to have higher and more distinct views of the character of Christ, to lead us to copy his example. We need to better understand what constitutes a pure religious life. We must learn to be Christlike in disposition and character.”

In these quotations, we are told how to wash our robes, for God would have us 1) face the mirror of God’s Law, 2) identify our sins, 3) put our sins away, and 4) learn to be Christlike in character. When must this be done? Now! Day by day!

“A probation is granted us in which to wash our robes of character and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. Who is doing this work? Who is separating himself from sin and selfishness?” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 960.

Again we read, “Now we have the precious opportunity of washing our robes of character in the blood of the Lamb till they are spotless in his purity.” The Signs of the Times, December 22, 1887.

Wedding Garment

We will quickly note that the wedding garment and our robes of character are one and the same thing. “The wedding garment in the parable is represented as a pure, spotless character which Christ’s true followers will possess.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 310. The wedding garment represents the character which all must possess who shall be accounted fit guests for the wedding. “The parable of the wedding garment opens before us a lesson of the highest consequence.” Ibid., 307.

What happens to the man who comes to the wedding feast without a wedding garment? These are “they who would not put off the garment of earth in order to be clothed with the robe of heaven.” Ibid., 318. In Matthew 22:13, we read of the king who declares of these, “Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast [him] into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

How different the experience will be for those who have put on the wedding garment. Revelation 19:7, 8 says, “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” These are qualified to become the bride of Christ.

“Clothed in the glorious apparel of Christ’s righteousness, they have a place at the King’s feast. They have a right to join the blood-washed throng.” Ibid., 315. Why? Because they have washed their robes of character, their wedding garments. They are a blood-washed throng.

So we see that this parable of the wedding garment, as told by Jesus, contains a lesson of the highest consequence. “The wedding garment represents the character which all must possess who shall be accounted fit guests for the wedding.” Ibid., 307. After the marriage, these fit guests will have a home with their King forever and ever.

“If we now wash our robes of character at this fountain, God will give us a place in the mansions that are being prepared for those who love Him.” The Signs of the Times, November 22, 1905.

Inspiration asks some very serious questions which each of us must, sooner or later, be prepared to answer. Are you keeping your garments unspotted from the world as you read in James 1:27? “Have you been washing your robes of character and making them white in the blood of the Lamb; or are you defiling your robes of character with moral pollution?” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 442.

Fullers’ Soap

We will now turn back to the topic of our preparation for the glorious coming of our King to the wedding. The prophet Malachi brings to light a time of special preparation for God’s people who are to face the exceedingly turbulent times of the end. God will give them special help for this special time. As they are washing their garments of character in the blood of the Lamb, God will come to their aid even as a refiner’s fire and as fullers’ soap. This glorious promise is recorded in Malachi 3:1–3: “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he [is] like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: And he shall sit [as] a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.”

Most of us seem to understand what is meant by the refiner’s fire—the process whereby gold and silver are refined and purified. But just what is the significance of the fuller’s soap? In Bible times, a fuller was a person who laundered, or whitened, cloth or clothing. Webster’s Dictionary states that fuller’s soap is extracted from a certain type of clay. “Fuller’s earth is a highly absorbent substance composed of clay and silica material, either natural or artificial, used for taking grease out of cloth. Fuller’s herb,” says Webster’s, “is a plant formerly used for taking stains out of cloth.”

In several places in the Scriptures, a fuller’s field is said to be located “at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field.” Isaiah 7:3. The field was located in a place where the fuller could get not only the necessary detergent, clay substance, and needed bleach and herbs, but also an abundance of pure water. It was thus that he was able to achieve fantastically white, bright, spotless cloth and clothing.

We can readily appreciate what a great help fullers’ soap, God’s special cleansing grace, would be in the washing of our garments and character. Mark vividly describes, in Mark 9:3, the garment of Jesus on the Mount when He was transfigured before some of His disciples. “And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.”

We can scarcely imagine the whiteness of Christ’s garment! However, Jesus has opened an abundant fountain of His blood for us in which to wash our garments of character. He promises to supply fullers’ soap in abundance. Praise His name! His provisions are complete. We need only to cooperate.

Time of Judgment

We are now in the time of the judgment. In the Review and Herald, May 9, 1893, after penning the three verses in Malachi, previously quoted, Ellen White explains: “The coming of Christ which is here referred to is not his second advent to this earth, but his coming to the investigative judgment in the most holy place of the sanctuary in heaven. Thus the message is especially to us, who are living in the time of the judgment.”

For emphasis, permit me to repeat that last phrase, “The message of Malachi is especially to us who are living in the time of the judgment.” That time is now! The time of the judgment spoken here, that began in 1844, had a two-fold purpose: 1) to accomplish the investigative judgment, and 2) through a special work of putting away sin, to prepare a people to be able to stand when Christ appears.

To the members of God’s church, I will say that we are the modern sons of Levi, brought to life in Malachi. If we are to abide the day of His coming, our garments of character must be refined, purified, and purged. Why? So that we may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.

Read from The Great Controversy, 425. In the first paragraph, Ellen White quotes Malachi 3:1–3; then she follows with this vivid description: “Those who are living upon the earth when the intercession of Christ shall cease in the sanctuary above are to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator. Their robes must be spotless, their characters must be purified from sin by the blood of sprinkling. Through the grace of God, and their own diligent effort, they must be conquerors in the battle with evil. While the investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while the sins of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary, there is to be a special work of purification, of putting away of sin, among God’s people upon earth. This work is more clearly presented in the messages of Revelation 14.

“When this work shall have been accomplished, the followers of Christ will be ready for His appearing. ‘Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.’ Malachi 3:4. Then the church which our Lord at His coming is to receive unto Himself will be a ‘glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.’ Ephesians 5:27. ‘Then, she will look forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners.’ Song of Solomon 6:10.”

What a solemn time in which to live! A time when a whole group from among God’s professed people, through the grace of God and their own diligent efforts, must be conquerors in the battle with evil. For it will be necessary for them to stand before God during the time of final trouble without a mediator in the heavenly sanctuary. This means that if they were to sin, there would be no forgiveness available. No other people will have lived under such a condition as this, but we need not be discouraged, for God is our Helper. What a Saviour is our Lord!

Get Ready

What a glorious future we have to look forward to! Preceding each of the following passages, Ellen White first quotes Malachi 3:1–3:

“Soon every man will be judged according to his deeds. Wake up, my brethren, before Christ comes to your name in the record books of heaven, and passes judgment upon every unchristlike word and deed.” The Kress Collection, 95.

In the Review and Herald, December 1, 1896, in connection with these verses, Ellen White declares, “A message which is as a two-edged sword must be given to the people, to clear away the evils that are seen among them. A living testimony that will awaken the paralyzed conscience is to be borne.”

But alas, at such a time when Jesus wants to come to take unto Himself a glorious church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, as we read in Ephesians 5:27, what is the condition of this people? He finds them in a condition of self-deception, thinking that they are properly clothed when they are actually wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. Rather than being among those who are deceived and spiritually paralyzed, let us determine to be one of God’s messengers to bear His special awakening message, though it may be as unflattering as the Laodicean message and as piercing as a two-edged sword.

With Ellen White, let us sound the alarm, “Wake up, my brethren, get ready! get ready! get ready!

“In a view given June 27, 1850, my accompanying angel said, ‘Time is almost finished. Do you reflect the lovely image of Jesus as you should?’ Then I was pointed to the earth and saw that there would have to be a getting ready among those who have of late embraced the third angel’s message. Said the angel, ‘Get ready, get ready, get ready. Ye will have to die a greater death to the world than ye have ever died.’ I saw that there was a great work to do for them and but a little time in which to do it.” Early Writings, 64.

Properly Clothed

Permit me to give one more important point. All need to understand the answer to the question, What does it actually mean to be clothed in the garments of Christ’s righteousness; to be clothed in the white raiment that is offered in Revelation 3? I will let Inspiration answer: “When we submit ourselves to Christ the heart is united with His heart, the will is merged to His will, the mind becomes one with His mind, the thoughts are brought into captivity to Him; we live His life. This is what it means to be clothed with the garments of His righteousness. Then as the Lord looks upon us He sees, not the fig-leaf garment, nor the nakedness and the deformity of sin, but His own robe of righteousness, which is perfect obedience to the law of Jehovah.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 312.

When the Lord dwells in our hearts, we think the thoughts of God and do the works of God. After reading these inspired messages, let us ask ourselves, Am I properly clothed? If we are not, we need to heed the words of the angel, “Get ready, get ready, get ready.”

For over 60 years Pastor Lawrence Nelson served as an evangelist and minister for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Of that time, he served 13 years as the director of evangelism for youth at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Upon retirement from the General Conference, he continued to pastor, but when, as a result of his stand for truth, he was denied the opportunity to continue his pastorate, he started Keep the Faith Audio Tape Ministry, recording his sermons and making them available to individuals. Before his retirement from this ministry in 2004, over 18,000 audio tapes were being sent around the world each month.

The Pool of Bethesda, Part II

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There is not one habit, inherited or cultivated, that God’s power cannot break! The reason we do not have that power is because we do not believe in that power. The reason we do not have it is because we do not access it. We do not crave it.

As a freshman in high school, I made the varsity team. I remember getting my uniform, No. 23, and the coach telling the team, “Young men, if you are going to be great basketball players, you must eat, drink, and sleep basketball.”

I was so excited to go home and tell my mother that I had made the first team. When the sun set, instead of putting on my pajamas, I put on No. 23 to go to bed. The next morning I was up, going to the bathroom to get ready for school, and I heard my mother call me. Now, when my mother wanted my attention, she did not call me by my first name; she said, “Boy!” And when she said that, I knew that I had better stop at attention! This particular morning, she got my attention, then asked, “Where are you going?”

“I am going to prepare for school.”

“What is that you have on?”

“My uniform.”

“Did you sleep in that?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Is that appropriate?”

“Well, no.”

“Why?”

“Mom, my coach said that if I am going to be good, if I am going to be great, I must eat, sleep, and drink basketball.”

She looked at me like I was stupid. She said, “Son, you have to understand what he was saying. He was saying that you must have a passion for it. That is what he meant.” Are you following this? You have to have a passion for it.

My wife has always been No. 2 in my life. She knows that. We started dating when we were 17 years of age. We went to high school together and have been together ever since. When I got out of college, we married.

When I was in high school, I thought I was something very good because I was a basketball player. My wife could not stand basketball players. That was a challenge in itself. Growing up in Chicago, Illinois, there were a lot of street gangs, but basketball kept me out of those gangs. I would play in the winter; I would play in the rain; I would play in the snow. When my date wanted to go out somewhere, I would always put her off, saying that we would do something the next week.” It always occurred that way. I do not know why she stayed with me, because she was No. 2 to basketball. She is still No. 2, but not to basketball—to Jesus now. My point is this: there is a power in passion.

Happiness

When I played basketball, I was in so much pain. The drugs would wear off; the needle would wear off; the ultra-sound treatment did not work, but I had such zeal and passion for the sport, I rose above the pain. That was for a corruptible crown.

When you are possessed by God, you do not become fanatical. No. You have a radical change in your life, but there is a balance. The fact is that you love God more than the necessary food. You love God so much that you are willing to do anything to make Him happy.
People say, “I want to be happy.” Wait a minute! When you make God happy, you are going to be happy.

In Romans 1:16, Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation.” From 1 Corinthians 1:18, we know that the cross of Jesus is the power of God.

Romans 1:16 includes the phrase, “unto salvation.” Salvation means, to save from sin. What is sin? 1 John 3:4 tells us that “Sin is the transgression of the law.”

So, the gospel contains the power to deliver us from sin. That power is invested in Jesus Christ. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name.” John 1:12. To those who become sons and daughters, Jesus gives authority; He gives them power. We are not talking about Internet power or nuclear power; we are talking about a power that made the Internet. We are talking about a power that made nuclear. It is the energy and power that brought the world into existence. This same energy that brought the world into existence is found in God’s Word. There is power there. When we receive His Word, not intellectually only, but when it becomes a part of our lives, there will be a change in us. We are not going to be the same. The change is going to be radical. That does not mean we are instantly perfect and ready to go to heaven, but that the power is transforming.

Do Not Practice Spiritualism

God gives you power. If you have been struggling with the same sin problem, year after year after year, when you hear His voice today, access this power. You do not have to continue to be under the control of the demonic forces. You are going to have trials and tests, but that does not mean you succumb to them. The Spirit is the President; the flesh is the resident, and the resident does not tell the President what to do.
In Galatians 5:16, we read, “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” It does not say that you are not going to have tests and trials, but it says that you do not have to succumb to them. Do not converse with the resident. When you listen to the resident, you practice spiritualism.

Spiritualism simply means the dead communicate with the living. Now, we definitely know that the dead are dead in the grave. We know the situation with Saul (see 1 Samuel 28), but at the same time, the average Seventh-day Adventist is not going to be caught up into believing that the dead communicate with the living. But the average Christian Adventist will be caught up if they do not get the victory over the flesh, because the Bible says, “Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin?” Romans 6:11.

So, if that flesh begins to speak to you, enticing you to do something you know you should not do, telling you that it is all right, that nobody is watching you, and you begin to converse with that flesh that is supposed to be dead, I know it might sound a bit strange, but you are communicating with the dead! Do not listen to that flesh; listen to the Spirit of the living God, who is alive and will give power to you.

We read of the power of God in Jeremiah 10:12: “He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.” We see also the words of Jesus, in Acts 1:8, promising the power of the Holy Spirit. That is what we should be looking for today, that Pentecostal power. How did the apostles receive it? They emptied themselves of themselves. A person that is already full with self cannot be filled with anything else, just as you cannot pour more water into an already full glass of water. When we empty ourselves of ourselves, God will fill us with power.

History is Past

At the pool of Bethesda, the people were waiting for the moving of the water, but there was no power in the water. That certain man had been lying there beside it for 38 years, unable to get into the waters when they were stirred. (John 5:5.) Inspiration says that the reason this man was in such a condition for 38 years was because of his own choices. “His disease was in a great degree the result of his own sin, and was looked upon as a judgment from God.” The Desire of Ages, 202. He had messed up! How many of us have fallen? How many of us have messed up? But when Jesus overshadowed that man with His dignified shadow, He did not rehearse to that man the history of his mistakes. He just asked one question: “Wilt thou be made whole?” John 5:6.

That is what He is asking of each one of us today. He says, “I know your history; I know where you have fallen. Wilt thou be made whole?” I am sure you would want to instantly respond that you indeed wish to be healed; you want that power! Do you believe that Jesus is going to give that power to you? He gave it to that man.

Too many of God’s people are struggling with the sin problem, and we are told that we will keep sinning till Jesus comes. To me, that is almost blasphemy! Calvary should be a revelation to our dull senses of what sin does to the heart of God. God hates sin. He will eradicate it, and He will get it out of us.

The Blind

There were, by the pool of Bethesda, other impotent people, including the sightless, those who were blind. (John 5:3.)

Revelation 3 directs us to the Laodicean church, which is rebuked for its lukewarmness, and then, in Revelation 3:17, another element of this people is described:

“Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” [Emphasis added.]

This is not speaking about other churches, but about God’s people, of which there are those who are blind, spiritually blind. This is why God counseled: “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and [that] the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.” Verse 18.

“I counsel thee to buy of me . . .”; to whom is “Me” referring? It is definitely not referring to man or to a church. God holds the resources. Isaiah 55:1 tells us, “Every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” How are we going to buy or otherwise acquire power from Jesus? We cannot buy it; all He wants is our sin in exchange for His righteousness. He just wants to hear: “Lord, here I am. I recognize that I am wretched, miserable, and poor. I am blind, God. I have failed, and You have promised me that You will give to me, if I come and buy. The only thing I can give You is my sin.” What kind of a deal is this, when God says, “Just give Me your sin; I will give you My righteousness”?

Read again Revelation 3:18. The “gold tried in the fire” is understood to be faith and love, faith that works by love and purifies the soul. It goes on to state, “Anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.” The anointing of the eyes is that the Holy Spirit wants to awaken us to the reality that we might see our need. We need eyesalve so that we may see how we look. We need to pick up and look into the mirror—the perfect law of liberty—to see in what kind of condition we are. As we draw closer to Jesus, we will continue to see our wretchedness.

God is not going to save us in our sin; He is going to deliver us from our sin. The more we behold Jesus, the more we see our need. But the more we behold one another, the more we think that we look pretty good. We must behold Christ, and the more we see ourselves through the eyes of Jesus, we are going to cry, as did the apostle Paul, “O wretched man that I am.” Romans 7:24.

We need the eyesalve to help us to see our wretchedness, and then we need the other eye anointed so we can see the needs of our fellow human beings. We need to see ourselves the way we are and know that God can clean us; then we need to see that our fellowman needs our help. We must turn our eyes from ourselves, from me and mine. There is no healing in the pool of Bethesda for that, but Jesus said, “I counsel thee, . . . anoint thine eyes.”
“I will bring the blind by a way [that] they knew not; I will lead them in paths [that] they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.” Isaiah 42:16. God said that He would take the blind, and lead them out of darkness. All we need to do is ask.

To be concluded . . .

Thomas Jackson is a health evangelist and Director of Missionary Education and Evangelistic Training (M.E.E.T.) Ministry in Huntingdon, Tennessee. He may be contacted by e-mail at: godsplan@meetministry.org or by telephone at: 731-986-3518.

Vain Promises of the World

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The story of a shipwreck is recorded in Acts 27. The apostle Paul was shipwrecked as he journeyed to Rome, a prisoner awaiting trial before Caesar. In verse 4, we can read that the ship’s captain avoided difficulty, caused by contrary winds, by taking a different course. As a result, we see that they “sailed slowly.” Verse 7. It would seem that they just sailed along, not worrying too much about where they were going or what they were doing. They refused to accept the counsel given them by God’s messenger. Paul cautioned that if the voyage were made, there would be hurt, not only to the ship and to the goods, but also of life. But because the centurion would rather believe the owner of the ship than God’s messenger, he did not follow Paul’s counsel. (Verses 10, 11.) Because it was a more comfortable setting to travel, they did not heed the messenger’s voice.

Soft Wind

Read Acts 27:13: “And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained [their] purpose, loosing [thence], they sailed close by Crete.” What happens next in the story? It says that the “wind blew softly,” and when it blew softly, they thought it was safe. It says that they thought they had “obtained their purpose,” and so they set sail. They thought that now they could disobey what God’s messenger had said, because the wind was now blowing softly. It was perfect for sailing, they thought. They could now make it to the place in which they wanted to harbor, because the south wind was softly blowing.

To what in our lives might we liken that south wind softly blowing? Here God had sent them a message through His prophet, the apostle Paul, but they did not want to follow it. They then thought that they had verification for not following that about which God had warned them, because it looked like the wind that was blowing would take them to where they desired to be. The south wind softly blowing was giving promise of smooth sailing! And so they set out.

Devil’s Promises

We speak often about the promises of God, and we should, but do you know that the devil has promises too? Here the devil is promising, we could say, a safe trip; a safe journey without being shipwrecked; a safe trip in violation of what God had said. And they accepted this false promise and set sail, expecting a safe trip. They trusted the deceiving promises of the enemy.

Does the enemy have promises for soft south winds blowing for us today? What do you think some of those promises might be? It is good to identify some of these promises so that we are not deceived by the south wind as it softly blows.

Has the temptation or the thought ever come to you that if you would get out into the world you would have more fun? It is a soft wind blowing. The devil prompts, “You would have a lot more fun if you would do this or something else. You will not shipwreck. You will just have more fun.” We all would like to have fun, would we not?

The devil tries to blow a soft south wind; he tries to give some promise that in the world it is going to be more fun, more exciting; there is going to be more pleasure. Many, many people set sail in the wrong direction, because they are listening to the promises that the devil brings.

Some things that the devil wants us to think are fun in this world include music and movies. They are not that bad, you may think; they will not hurt; they just provide a good time. And they hoist their sails because of the soft south winds—the promises of more fun, of more pleasure in the world, and they do not realize that it is leading them forward to shipwreck. The devil does not care why or how you start sailing towards shipwreck; he just wants to get you sailing into the tempestuous winds, that you might go down into the ocean.

Wisest Man

There was a young man in the Bible who had one of the most promising beginnings of anyone. His father was a prophet. His father wrote portions of the Bible, and this young man wanted, especially in his youth, to follow and obey God. So much did he want to do this that, as he was praying, the Lord appeared to him and said, “Ask Me. What do you want?” The young man asked for wisdom! The Lord told him that he could have fame, riches, whatever he desired; and Solomon said that what he wanted and needed was wisdom. God gave him wisdom; he was the wisest man. (11 Chronicles 1:7–12.)

Seven years later, after the temple was finished being rebuilt, the Lord appeared to Solomon again to renew that vow with him, saying that if he would follow Him, not only would He give to him wisdom, but everything else. So Solomon continued to follow the Lord. (11 Chronicles 7:17–22.) Solomon, who began on such a good course, who had more promise than perhaps any other young person in the Bible, ended up shipwrecking his life. What does the Bible give as the reason why Solomon shipwrecked his life? Nehemiah 13:26 says that “outlandish women” caused Solomon to sin.

Solomon did not think he was going to end up with 300 wives and 700 concubines. If you would have told him that at the beginning, he would have said, “No way; that is ridiculous!” What was it that started Solomon down that wrong course? He listened to the soft south wind blowing. Solomon listened to the promises of the devil—“Oh, you can have more fun! It will not matter; it is not a big deal! It makes perfect sense for you to take the King of Egypt’s daughter for your wife, and, besides, she may become converted!”

Depressing Book

Some people think that the Book of Ecclesiastes is a depressing book, and I can understand why, because a man who knew what he could have achieved wrote it—a man wrote it who came to the end of his life and realized that his life was ruined. We perhaps cannot even fathom coming to the end of our lives, but Solomon came to the end of his life and realized that he had wasted the best of everything.

Solomon repented, but notice what counsel he gives to us in Ecclesiastes 2:1–11. He is telling his experience, and I believe it is very instructive for us, especially for young people: “I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also [is] vanity. I said of laughter, [It is] mad: and of mirth, What doeth it? I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what [was] that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life. I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards: I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all [kind of] fruits: I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees: I got [me] servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me: I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, [as] musical instruments, and that of all sorts. So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all [was] vanity and vexation of spirit, and [there was] no profit under the sun.”

Grasping the Wind

Did Solomon have anything this world had to offer? Did he have everything this world had to offer? Sometimes we think, Oh, if I just had this amusement, then I would be happy. Solomon did not just listen to CDs; Solomon had the bands performing in front of him! Was he happy? Sometimes young people think, Oh, if I just had a boyfriend or a girlfriend, then I would be happy. Did Solomon have quite a few of these? Was he happy? No! He still was not happy! We think, Oh, if I just had what my friend has, then I would be happy. Did Solomon have everything that his friends had? Yes, he did, and a lot more; but he was not happy. He was only happy when he was following God.

Solomon lamented, “I had all the money a person could want. I had all the girlfriends a man could want. I had all the pleasure and all the music anyone could want.” But as he looked at it, what was it to him? Nothing! In one place he calls it grasping for the wind. (Proverbs 30:4.) Have you ever tried to grasp the wind? Do you get much when you reach out for the wind? You only get a handful of air. And Solomon said that was all everything was; it was just like grasping for the wind. It was nothing!

The devil, however, saw that this trap was successful with Solomon, and the devil is still using this game to win your soul and mine. He says, “You would be happy if you just had this; you would find enjoyment in listening to this music,” or whatever it is. Perhaps he entices you with alcohol. Some people may think it is fun for a while, but when they wake up the next morning, the resulting hangover or headache is not fun. Thinking about alcohol rationally, it would not make any sense at all to use it. Why would anyone want to have a little fun so that they can feel terrible the next day?

That is what everything in the world is like. Oh, it looks fun! It looks inviting! And the devil encourages, “Just do it! It will not matter. It will be fun; you will enjoy it! Everybody is doing it!” The devil promises pleasure, but Solomon tells us that there is no true pleasure apart from obedience to the Lord. His life is on record that we might know not to be deceived by the soft south wind blowing.

A Thousand Days

Notice what Solomon’s father, David, said in Psalm 84:10, 11: “For a day in thy courts [is] better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God [is] a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good [thing] will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.”

David said, “I would rather spend one day in God’s favor than one thousand days outside of it.” How many years are in 1,000 days? Almost three years. David said, “I would just rather spend one day with God’s blessing than three years outside of it.” The only lasting, true happiness in this world is in God’s court. He said, “I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. I would rather be a janitor with the Lord’s blessing than to be in that beautiful palace of this world without it.” And then he tells us why; because “no good [thing] will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” How many things that are good does the Lord withhold from us? Not one thing!

So, if the Lord asks us not to do something—not to turn the television on to the shows that everybody is watching or not to listen to the music to which everybody is listening—is it a good thing that the Lord is withholding? It is not. It is just something that is going to bite us in the end.

God tells us that He has our best good in mind. He wants us to be happy; He wants us to know what true happiness and true joy are. That is why He is warning us about the deceiving pleasures of this world.

The pleasure may be anything of this world, and it may be different for different individuals. Whatever it might be, the devil has a promise for each one of us. He has a temptation for each one of us, and it is going to be different for everyone. For some of us, the pleasures of this world might have no attraction, but something else does, and the devil whispers, like that soft south wind blowing, “It is all right; you can sail; you can go; try it just once.”

Fool’s Gold

Are you familiar with fool’s gold? In 1849, there was a gold rush in the United States. That is how California became the most popular state in this country; it was from that gold rush. There was a man at a mill, and he looked down and saw a pretty, gold rock. He picked it up to examine it more closely, and he discovered it was a nugget of gold. When the word got out, everybody started going to California to find gold.

The miners that looked for the gold had a way in which they could tell the difference between fool’s gold and real gold. Fool’s gold looks good. It is pretty; it is shiny; it looks like real gold; but the way to know if it is real is to bite down on it. Gold is a soft metal. When you bite down on it, it will leave an imprint. You cannot do that with fool’s gold. If you bite down on it, you will break your teeth!

The devil has lots of fool’s gold in this world. It looks good; it looks pretty; it looks shiny; but it is worthless. You cannot sell fool’s gold for anything. And when you really bite down into the world’s fool’s gold, it breaks your teeth.

God has true riches; God has true pleasures; God has true joys. But those true riches, pleasures, and joys come only by refusing to listen to those soft-whispering promises that the devil gives. God has our best good in mind.

Tempestuous Winds

Let us look at Acts 27 again, and read what the result was of listening to the soft whispering promise of the devil—that soft south wind blowing he made sound so inviting and so good. “But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon.” Verse 14.

At first the wind blew softly, and it seemed like they had obtained their purpose. It seemed like they were going to be able to do what they wanted to do, but then a tempestuous wind came up very quickly. Those smooth promises—the soft wind—that the devil gives sound sweet and beautiful at first, but then they turn into tempestuous trouble.

I had a friend, much older than I, and he listened. We had given Bible studies together, but he listened to the deceiving promises of the devil. He thought it was the only way he was going to be happy. After a little while, he made a statement that I will never forget. He said, “The broad road is pretty rocky too!” There are lots of bumps and trouble in the broad road, even though it, at first, seems so sweet, so soft, and so pleasant. But, then, that tempestuous wind comes up.

“When neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on [us], all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.” Verse 20. Because they listened to those sweet, whispering promises that the devil gave, what was the result? Not only did a tempestuous wind come up, but also they did not see the sun or stars for days.

We may read that and say, “So what?” But travelers in those days were dependent upon seeing the sun or the stars for guidance. What did it mean if they could not see these things? It meant that they were lost. They had no GPS (global positioning system). Using the stars as guides, those living in the Southern Hemisphere looked for the Southern Cross. Those in the Northern Hemisphere looked for the Big Dipper and North Star. They would guide their boats and their travels by the stars. But in an ocean in the middle of nowhere, without chart or compass, these sailors had no idea where they were going. This is also the result of listening to the promises of the devil.

Then, notice that although it began with a soft wind that was blowing and the thought that they could make it to their desired destination, hope departed. That is what the devil wants to do to each of us. He begins with a soft wind, saying, “Do not worry; you will have fun. You will make more money.” And then a tempestuous wind starts to blow, and we find ourselves out in the middle of the sea with no guidance. He wants us to lose all hope, and the end result is shipwreck.

Safety

Do you want to be shipwrecked? The only safety is to determine in your heart right now that you are not going to listen to those soft south winds. You are not going to listen to the promises of the devil that you will have more fun or make more money, that you will have more pleasure or more honor or whatever it is. Do not listen to him! You have an anchor—an anchor sure and steadfast, an anchor of the blessed hope, an anchor of Jesus who has died and resurrected and is interceding for you and is coming again for you.

I am sure you do not want to bite into the fool’s gold of this world. We have to make a decision every day that we are not going to follow the promises of the world, so we might truly escape shipwreck. Thousands and probably millions of people will be lost and shipwrecked because they listened to the promises of the world. Will you choose in your heart not to be one of them? Will you decide by God’s grace not to listen to those vain promises but to say with David, “A day in your courts is better than a thousand without your blessing”?

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 Pool of Bethesda, Part III

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Have you ever considered that the seven days of creation are a revelation of the steps of becoming a converted person? Each day represents a step in conversion! If you study just Genesis and apply the principles of Genesis, you will get into heaven. Every word is a revelation of God’s plan to restore His image in the soul of man.

For example, on the first day, God said, “Let there be light.” Genesis 1:3. Where were you before God touched your life? You were in darkness, without shape or form. God said, “Let there be light,” and that light came into your heart and lighted your path. Christ is the Light of the world. (See John 1:6–9.)

Allow me to clarify this for you. On what day did God create the sun? Did He create the sun before He created the plants? No, He created the plants before He created the sun! (Genesis 1:11–19.) The sun was created on the fourth day, but many people have believed that the light of the first day, when God said, “Let there be light,” was the sun. That was not the sun, because the sun that we see in the sky depends upon the Light of the world, the Son of righteousness who comes with healing in His wings. (Malachi 4:2.)

Matthew 5:14 says, “Ye are the light of the world.” Jesus is the Light, and if you have Jesus in you, then you are going to be the light. No darkness will be there. As soon as you step into a place, there is going to be light. Insects are drawn to light; they are rather pesky creatures. Considering this, consider that when you are filled with the Light, you are going to attract a lot of folk that you will perhaps want to put your foot on and squash, but they are God’s creatures. If you are not attracting individuals of every type, something is wrong with you; you must have Light.

The Halt

A third type of person was at the pool of Bethesda. John 5:3 identifies the impotent, the blind, and the halt. When you think of the word halt, you perhaps think of lame, but I would invite you to consider another meaning for it: “to stop or to be motionless.”

Ezekiel 37:1–5 reads, “The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which [was] full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, [there were] very many in the open valley; and, lo, [they were] very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live.”

If God can take a valley of dry bones with no motion and put life into it, what can He make with that which already has life, just not the life that He wanted it to have? God can take nothing and make something out of it.

I want so much for you to understand this, because we have a work to do. The devil has come down with great wrath. He is angry with the woman, and he is to make war with the remnant of the seed who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 12:17.) The devil is angry at no other church but this church. He is angry at this church because God has entrusted this church with the light. As long as the devil can keep us deceived and fighting among ourselves, he is happy.

The Bible continues, in Ezekiel 37:6, 7, “And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I [am] the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking.”

When God puts His people together with truth, there is going to be a shaking. In fact, the shaking is already here. All those sinners in Zion will be shaken out, and God will have a people. He will put life into those people.

“Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds.” Verse 9.

You see, God is holding back these four winds until He puts His seal upon His people. (See Revelation 7.) We are in the sealing time now. The sealing time is the settling into the truth, both spiritually and intellectually, so that you and I cannot be moved, that we might have that final seal. It is a settling in that we cannot be moved with every wind of doctrine.

Motionless Prey

The way the devil catches prey is to paralyze it with a roar. The ground trembles; the prey feels the tremble, and it becomes paralyzed. It does not know which way to go. It becomes motionless, and the devil can easily trap it. A moving target is difficult to catch! When people are not witnessing for the Lord, they are motionless. They are spiritless. They have no Spirit.

The gospel commission is given in Matthew 28. When you look at the word gospel, what are the first two letters? G and O. God is telling us that we must go. It is time to work. We need to roll up our spiritual sleeves and go to work for God. We need to get out of the pews and stop being motionless. We need to ask God for His Spirit so we can go to work for Him.

This action is not brought about at the pool of Bethesda. It is only brought through the power of the Holy Spirit. When it falls upon His church, it will be on fire for the Lord. As soon as you come to know God, you have got to tell someone about it!

The Withered

The last representation we read about at the pool of Bethesda is the withered. I am certain you have seen a withered celery stalk or a withered carrot. It has lost its quality. It is limp; it is useless.

In 11 Timothy 2:20, 21, we read: “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, [and] prepared unto every good work.” God is telling us that in His house He has different vessels, and He wants to prepare them for His use. In every house, in every church, in every ministry, God wants people He can use.

It is not how long you live that matters, but it is how well you live for the Lord. I am a young 58. I am not youthful, but I am useful. Those people who are 40 years of age and older are not youthful, but they are going to be useful. Those who are younger than 40 years are youthful, but they can be useful too. The Bible says, “The glory of young men [is] their strength: and the beauty of old men [is] the grey head.” Proverbs 20:29.

Matthew 5:13 states: “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.”

What is the purpose of salt? It is used for seasoning. When you put the salt on the food, does the salt become the food? When you season something, the salt adds flavor to it. It is mingled with the food, but it is distinct. It gives flavor.

God said, “You are the salt of the world.” Therefore, as Christians, we are not to become like the world, but we are to give flavor to the world. We are to provide the right impression that God wants the world to have.

We should give the right impression to the world that the God who created heaven and earth is a God of mercy and love, but He is also a God of particulars. He is not going to save us in our sin.

If the Christian is watching pornography, how can the Christian teach the world not to watch pornography? If the Christian, in a business transaction, uses an unjust balance, how can he or she testify to being a Christian while not being fair in trade?

A Christian should be transparent with nothing to hide. It has been said that character is what you do when nobody else is watching or will find out. In other words, what you do when no one else is around is character.

Jesus said, “He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit.” John 15:5. When you abide in Christ, you not only bring forth fruit for yourself, for when fruit appears on the tree, it is for other people to pluck. When people see fruit in your life, they are able to pluck it and benefit from it; they see Jesus. You are useful.

God talks about talents in Matthew 25:14–30. Every person has at least one talent. You might not be familiar with your talent; you might not know what it is, but you can ask God to reveal it to you. If you do not use that talent, it will be taken away from you. It will be useless.

Usefulness—whether it is playing the piano or playing the violin, do it to God’s glory. If it is working on the computer, do it to God’s glory. If you are working on automobiles, do it to God’s glory. Be useful!

Healing Waters

The true healing waters are described in Ezekiel 47:12: “And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.”

Inspiration tells us, “After the entrance of sin the heavenly Husbandman transplanted the tree of life to the Paradise above; but its branches hang over the wall to the lower world. Through the redemption purchased by the blood of Christ, we may still eat of its life-giving fruit.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 288. There is healing in those leaves; those leaves are the type of promises of God’s Word.

Instruction for the attire of Aaron as he served in the sanctuary included, “A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about.” Exodus 28:34. If you have eaten a pomegranate, you know that it is rather hard on the outside, and it has a lot of seeds on the inside. They are edible seeds, and they are encased in a juicy, red substance. Have you ever tried counting the seeds of a pomegranate? I have. I counted up to 300 or 320 seeds and I stopped counting. I gave up! It seemed an impossible task to count all of the seeds.

Why do you think the pomegranate was used on the hem of the priestly robe? Why not a mango or a kiwi? The pomegranate is a virtual seed basket.

Luke 8:11 explains, “The seed is the word of God.”

Peter said, “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that [pertain] unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature.” 11 Peter 1:2–4. Every seed contains the promise of God. Every seed of the pomegranate is encapsulated in red; every promise of God is backed by the blood of Jesus. You can bank on those promises!

Healing Waters

In the sanctuary, the colors of blue, scarlet, and purple were used. The blue represents loyalty. “The children of Israel, after they were brought out of Egypt, were commanded to have a simple ribbon of blue in the border of their garments, to distinguish them from the nations around them, and to signify that they were God’s peculiar people.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 473. They were to be commandment keepers. Blue represented obedience. The sky is blue. God wrote His law on sapphire; that is true blue. Blue represents loyalty and obedience.

Scarlet represents sacrifice. “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” Isaiah 1:18.

In Leviticus, an example is given of the cleansing sacrifice. “And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: And he shall kill the one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water: And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times: And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet: But he shall let go the living bird out of the city into the open fields, and make an atonement for the house: and it shall be clean.” Leviticus 14:49–53. One bird was killed. The live bird was dipped into the blood of the dead bird and then set free. The blood of the dead bird represents the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ. His blood sets us free. Scarlet represents sacrifice.

Royalty is represented by the color purple. The Saviour was mocked. A crown of thorns was placed upon His forehead and a purple robe was placed about Him as His accusers saluted, “Hail, King of the Jews.” (Mark 15:17, 18.)

Purple represents royalty. Blue represents obedience. Red represents sacrifice. God is a master artist. What two colors do you put together to get royalty? red and blue. When you mix obedience with sacrifice, the result is royalty.

God wants people with obedient hearts, hearts of sacrifice.

“Sin brings physical and spiritual disease and weakness. Christ has made it possible for us to free ourselves from this curse. The Lord promises, by the medium of truth, to renovate the soul. The Holy Spirit will make all who are willing to be educated able to communicate the truth with power. It will renew every organ of the body, that God’s servants may work acceptably and successfully. Vitality increases under the influence of the Spirit’s action. Let us, then, by this power lift ourselves into a higher, holier atmosphere, that we may do well our appointed work.” Review and Herald, January 14, 1902.

We do not need to be at the pool of Bethesda. All we need is the power of the Holy Spirit.

Thomas Jackson is a health evangelist and Director of Missionary Education and Evangelistic Training (M.E.E.T.) Ministry in Huntingdon, Tennessee. He may be contacted by e-mail at: godsplan@meetministry.org or by telephone at: 731-986-3518.

The 144,000, Part I

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There are many questions concerning the 144,000. Some can be answered; others cannot. For instance, is the 144,000 a literal or a symbolic number? Are the 144,000 sealed before or after the latter rain? Will the 144,000 convert a great multitude to God’s truth? Why will the 144,000 be translated without dying? What are the character developments that are necessary to become a part of the 144,000?

In this article, we will not dabble into speculation nor will we claim any new light, but we will search for what has been revealed in the Bible and in the Spirit of Prophecy.

From Scripture, we may read of the 144,000 in Revelation 7:2–4, 13, 14 and Revelation 14:1–5: “And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: [and there were] sealed an hundred [and] forty [and] four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.” “And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

“And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty [and] four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred [and] forty [and] four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, [being] the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.”

Different Standard

There are various members of our faith who are heard declaring that the 144,000 are no different from any other generation of God’s people. They say that God does not have two different standards, one for the 144,000 and one for all other generations. They insist that this is absurd. The 144,000 will be different only in that they will be alive when Jesus comes. Is this really true, or will the 144,000 be in some respect different? If so, what will make them different?

We first need to establish a very important truth. It is true that God does not have a different standard of salvation for the translated living and another for the resurrected, dead saints. Those who die must, at death, be right with God. They must be both justified and sanctified. As individuals, they must stop committing known sin, and invite Christ to dwell in their hearts by faith, and to give them the needed power to willingly obey their Lord. They will have been washing their robes of character and making them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Although the standard of salvation for both the living last generation and the dead saints is the same, there is a difference. Why? Because the severe end-time trials and great tribulations that the last generation will pass through, such as experienced by no other generation, will develop, in the 144,000 living saints, characters that will become more like Christ’s character than that of any prior generation of saints. They will reach a character maturity that will reveal that they have won the battle over evil.

“The true people of God, who have the spirit of the work of the Lord and the salvation of souls at heart, will ever view sin in its real, sinful character. They will always be on the side of faithful and plain dealing with sins which easily beset the people of God. Especially in the closing work for the church, in the sealing time of the one hundred and forty-four thousand who are to stand without fault before the throne of God, will they feel most deeply the wrongs of God’s professed people.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 266.

So intense will become their hatred of sin that they would rather die than sin. The difference will not be in the standard of salvation but in the degree of character development to which they will attain.

God has given us some Bible examples for this very purpose, so that we can clarify and better understand this difference. Let us begin with the example of Moses.

Moses

Ellen White wrote: “Moses, wearied with forty years of wandering and unbelief, lost for a moment his hold on Infinite Power. He failed just on the borders of the Promised Land.” Prophets and Kings, 174.

Consider the personal lesson we should learn from the experience of Moses, when he sinned by taking the glory from Christ in producing water from the rock. Christ uses the life of Moses as an object lesson to help us understand that there will be a difference in the experience between those who die and are resurrected, and those who are translated. Just one sin, which was immediately repented of, kept Moses from being translated, but it did not keep him from being resurrected.

“Satan had been trying to find something wherewith to accuse Moses before the angels. He exulted at his success in leading him to displease God, and he told the angels that he could overcome the Saviour of the world when He should come to redeem man. For his transgression, Moses came under the power of Satan—the dominion of death. Had he remained steadfast, the Lord would have brought him to the Promised Land, and would then have translated him to heaven without his seeing death.” Early Writings, 164.

“Had not the life of Moses been marred with that one sin, in failing to give God the glory of bringing water from the rock at Kadesh, he would have entered the Promised Land, and would have been translated to heaven without seeing death.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 478.

We know that, in the lifetime of Moses, he committed more than one sin. In fact, he even murdered a man; he killed an Egyptian. Though he had confessed and forsaken his sins, God used this one sin, which Moses knowingly committed on the banks of the Jordan River just before crossing into the Promised Land, to impress us with the fact that the living saints must make an end of sin in their lives before they enter the heavenly Canaan. Nothing could be more plainly stated!

Though God had planned on translating Moses to heaven without seeing death, he was not then ready to be a type of those who would be ready to be translated. He must die. Soon after this, Moses did die, but within a few days, God resurrected him. He was taken to heaven to become a type of the resurrected saints of God; a type of those repentant ones who will not be required to go through the special end-time circumstances and great tribulations.

Enoch

On the other hand, Enoch was a type of the living saints. Consider his record. The Bible says that he walked with God for 300 years before he was translated: “And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.” Genesis 5:21, 22.

In the book, Reflecting Christ, 307, we read, “Enoch was a marked character, and many look upon his life as something far above what the generality of mortals can ever reach. But Enoch’s life and character, which were so holy that he was translated to heaven without seeing death, represent the lives and characters of all who will be translated when Christ comes.”

Then, in Gospel Workers, 54, we read, “ ‘By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; . . . for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.’ [Hebrews 11:5.]

“To such communion God is calling us. As was Enoch’s, so must be their holiness of character who shall be redeemed from among men at the Lord’s second coming.”

This is such an important, provoking statement that the last sentence must be repeated: “As was Enoch’s, so must be their holiness of character who shall be redeemed from among men at the Lord’s second coming.”

Elijah was a type of the 144,000. He was a man of strong faith. He demonstrated this in the happenings of Mount Carmel, which are recorded in 1 Kings 18. However, after his lofty experience, “Depression seized him. . . . While under the inspiration of the Almighty, he had stood the severest trial of faith; but in this trial of discouragement, with Jezebel’s threat sounding in his ears, . . . he lost his hold on God.” Prophets and Kings, 161.

“Despondency is sinful and unreasonable.” Ibid., 164. So Elijah sinned, for “in a moment of weariness [he] allowed the fear of death to overcome his faith in God.” Ibid., 174.

Different Sins

Let us think this through for a moment. What was the difference between the sin of Moses and that of Elijah? While Moses committed sin just before he was to pass over into the Promised Land, not so in the experience of Elijah. As did Moses, he repented immediately, but he did not die soon thereafter. He lived on and demonstrated his strong faith in the Lord, which he quickly regained and maintained. God sent him back to Israel to finish bringing about a religious revival and a transformation in the land. When God finally asked him to call Elisha, a farm laborer, to replace himself, he spent some time teaching Elisha. He went from place to place with him, and from school to school, teaching him how to give the help that each needed.

Therefore, Elijah spent a number of years before he was translated demonstrating that he was a loyal, holy servant of the Lord. This is why God could declare, “Elijah was a type of the saints who will be living on the earth at the time of the second advent of Christ and who will be ‘changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump,’ without tasting of death. 1 Corinthians 15:51, 52.” Prophets and Kings, 227.

Absolute Necessity

Why is it necessary for the living saints who will be translated to be different in respect to the development of their characters? to have characters so mature that they will never again sin? What will make this maturity an absolute necessity?

First, they will be forced to meet the supreme test—that of a papal image of the beast. Second, after probation closes, they must be prepared to live sinlessly without a mediator in the sanctuary in heaven.

Let us consider the first test, the image of the beast. Some church members may have wondered, why is the Sunday sabbath, brought about by the image of the beast, to be the great test for the people of God by which their eternal destiny will be decided? Would we not naturally assume that this crisis would be a test for the world, for the unbelievers and the undecided?

The truth is that when God’s people are faced with this great test, they will be forced to make an immediate choice between life and death, as it were, between obedience and disobedience. If their characters were not already developed to the point to where they would rather die than sin, they would undoubtedly choose to sin, and thus come under Satan’s black banner. When brought to the test, God’s people will either receive the seal of God or the mark of the papal beast. Thus their eternal destiny will be forever decided.

In 1890, Ellen White wrote: “The Lord has shown me clearly that the image of the beast will be formed before probation closes; for it is to be the great test for the people of God, by which their eternal destiny will be decided. . . . [Revelation 13:11–17 quoted.] . . .

“This is the test that the people of God must have before they are sealed. All who proved their loyalty to God by observing His law, and refusing to accept a spurious sabbath, will rank under the banner of the Lord God Jehovah, and will receive the seal of the living God. Those who yield the truth of heavenly origin and accept the Sunday sabbath, will receive the mark of the beast.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 976.

What about the second reason, the close of probation? The saints who are to be translated must live through the final time of trouble, referred to as the time of Jacob’s trouble, without a mediator in the heavenly sanctuary. Probation will have closed for this wicked, old world.

Without an Intercessor

Are we aware of just what this means? It means that if a saint were to sin after probation closes, there would be no forgiveness available. I do not believe any of us now living fully realize what it will mean to live on this earth in such a chaotic condition and under such pressure of a death sentence without an intercessor.

“Those who are living upon the earth when the intercession of Christ shall cease in the sanctuary above are to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator. Their robes must be spotless, their characters must be purified from sin by the blood of sprinkling. Through the grace of God and their own diligent effort they must be conquerors in the battle with evil.” The Great Controversy, 425.

Christ is our only example of a man who lived on earth without an intercessor. What was the experience of Christ while He was on this earth? “Christ declared of Himself: ‘The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me.’ John 14:30. Satan could find nothing in the Son of God that would enable him to gain the victory. He had kept His Father’s commandments, and there was no sin in Him that Satan could use to his advantage. This is the condition in which those must be found who shall stand in the time of trouble.” Ibid., 623.

I trust that this is causing you and me to do some very serious thinking. In order for anyone to live on this earth without a mediator, such a one must attain to the same sinless condition lived by Christ while He was on this earth.

Gethsemane

Let us consider for a moment Christ in Gethsemane. In The Desire of Ages, 686, 687, Ellen White wrote: “Christ was now standing in a different attitude from that in which he had ever stood before. . . . Hitherto He had been an intercessor for others; now He longed to have an intercessor for Himself.

“As Christ felt His unity with the Father broken up, He feared that in His human nature He would be unable to endure the coming conflict with the power of darkness. . . . With the issues of the conflict before Him, Christ’s soul was filled with dread of separation from God. Satan told Him that if He became the surety for a sinful world, the separation would be eternal. He would be identified with Satan’s kingdom, and would nevermore be one with God.”

So, likewise, when probation closes, the saints will find themselves in a different position than they have ever been before.

Saints Enabled

How will the saints be enabled? Actually, it will be by following Christ’s earthly example. “Christ left his heavenly home, and came to this world, to show that only by being connected with divinity can man keep the law of God. In itself humanity is tainted and corrupted; but Christ brought moral power to man, and those who live in communion with him overcome as he overcame. We are not left in this world as orphans.” The Signs of the Times, December 10, 1896.

Unless the saints follow the example of Christ in joining their humanity with divinity, they will be among the lost who will be consumed at Christ’s coming. It is absolutely imperative that they have this special preparation, for God’s glory destroys all sin and sinners. Sin cannot exist in the visible presence of God, for God’s glory is a consuming fire.

The Bible is very clear in stating that the very presence of God will consume all who are found clinging to sin. 11 Thessalonians 2:8 tells us, “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” As Christ nears this earth, his very presence will consume the sinner while consuming their sins.

Therefore, it is evident that all sin must be removed from the 144,000 in the days of preparation before they are sealed. That is the time in which we are living, for we are living in the preparation time. Times are tense. There is still opportunity for us to prepare.

Avoid Attractive Errors

Would to God that the ministers in God’s pulpits today would preach soul-stirring messages filled with divine conviction that would move the listener to sense the enormity of the sin problem, causing them to fall on their knees pleading with God for victory. Believe me, friend, this is no time for Celebration, with tame messages to satisfy the sinful nature, such as teaching congregations that they can continue sinning until Jesus comes.

Rather than representing so-called “attractive errors,” ministers should heed the counsel of Joel: “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for [it is] nigh at hand.” “Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where [is] their God?” Joel 2:1, 16, 17.

This is the weeping time; a time for ministers to weep between the porch and the altar for all the sins that are being committed in the church. Certainly this is not a time for Celebration, for entertainment, or for preaching frivolous or smooth sermons to tickle the ear of the flocks. Rather, we ministers should sound such an alarming message that it will awaken the members of our churches from their Laodicean slumber to their need to sigh and cry for their own sins, as well as those of their fellow church members.

Ellen White informs us, “The abominations for which the faithful ones were sighing and crying were all that could be discerned by finite eyes, but by far the worst sins, those which provoked the jealousy of the pure and holy God, were unrevealed. The great Searcher of the hearts knoweth every sin committed in secret by the workers of iniquities.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 211.

So, God admonishes us to, “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” Isaiah 58:1. Ellen White asks, “What are you doing, brethren, in the great work of preparation? Those who are uniting with the world are receiving the worldly mold and preparing for the mark of the beast. Those who are distrustful of self, who are humbling themselves before God and purifying their souls by obeying the truth—these are receiving the heavenly mold and preparing for the seal of God in their foreheads. When the decree goes forth and the stamp is impressed, their character will remain pure and spotless for eternity.” Ibid., 216. This is God’s last-day, preparation message. It is urgent, for time is short.

A True Story

A Seventh-day Adventist lady, whom I will call Rachel, lived in Oregon. She was studying God’s Word with a very godly woman. Now, Rachel had a certain problem insofar as the health reform message was concerned. Her teacher pointed out to her that the Spirit of Prophecy clearly reveals that no one will be among the living translated saints who was indulging in this certain vice. This shook Rachel up, and for two weeks she abstained. But then, forgetting her reform, she went back to the old practice with this comment, “I decided that I would go ahead and indulge myself and prepare to be among the resurrected dead rather than striving to be among the living who will be translated.”

What a dangerous reasoning! We are living in the end time, and God calls us to make preparation appropriate for the time in which we live. Surely we do not have the option of making such a choice as did Rachel. Rachel failed to realize that the standard of salvation is exactly the same for the dead as for the living. All known sins must be repented of and put away before death or before translation. If a certain practice is a sin for a living saint, one that would keep him or her from being translated, after one recognizes its sinfulness, if he or she should continue in this practice would he or she be eligible to be among the resurrected saints? This would be very questionable.

In this end time, we are admonished,

“Let us strive with all the power that God has given us to be among the hundred and forty-four thousand.” Review and Herald, March 9, 1905.

In closing, I will reaffirm the words of Ezekiel the prophet, as he appeals to ministers and laymen alike. To everyone, both the saints who will be among the living and those who will die in the Lord, Ezekiel’s message from the Lord has the same urgency as do the messages of Joel and Isaiah. Ezekiel 18:30–32 says, “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn [yourselves] from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn [yourselves], and live ye.”

To be continued . . .

For over 60 years Pastor Lawrence Nelson served as an evangelist and minister for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Of that time, he served 13 years as the director of evangelism for youth at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Upon retirement from the General Conference, he continued to pastor, but when, as a result of his stand for truth, he was denied the opportunity to continue his pastorate, he started Keep the Faith Audio Tape Ministry, recording his sermons and making them available to individuals. Before his retirement from this ministry in 2004, over 18,000 audio tapes were being sent around the world each month.

The Scriptures a Sufficient Guide

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Editor’s Note: The April 2007 issue of LandMarks will be a special Spring Week of Prayer issue featuring articles written by dedicated workers from seven different ministries. As we prepare our hearts to receive their messages, prayerfully contemplate the following counsel.

Dear Brethren who assemble in the Week of Prayer:

We are impressed that this will be an important time among us as a people. It should be a period of earnestly seeking the Lord and humbling your hearts before him. I hope you will regard this as a most precious opportunity to pray and counsel together; and if the injunction of the apostle to esteem others better than ourselves is carefully heeded, you can in humility of mind, with the spirit of Christ, search the Scriptures carefully to see what is truth. The truth can lose nothing by close investigation. Let the word of God speak for itself; let it be its own interpreter, and the truth will shine like precious gems amid the rubbish.

Depend on God

It has been shown me that there are many of our people who take things for granted, and know not for themselves, by close, critical study of the Scriptures, whether they are believing truth or error. If our people depended much less upon preaching, and spent far more time on their knees before God, pleading for him to open their understanding to the truth of his word, that they might have a knowledge for themselves that their feet were standing on solid rock, angels of God would be around about them, to help them in their endeavors.

There is a most wonderful laziness indulged in by a large class of our people, who are willing others should search the Scriptures for them; and they take the truth from the lips of these as a positive fact, but they do not know it to be Bible truth, through their own individual research, and by the deep convictions of the Spirit of God upon their hearts and minds. Let every soul now be divested of envy, of jealousy, of evil surmising, and bring his heart into close connection with God. If all do this, they will have that love burning upon the altar of their hearts which Christ evinced for them. All parties will have Christian kindness and Christian tenderness. There will be no strife, for the servants of God must not strive. There will be no party spirit; there will be no selfish ambition.

Understand Bible Truth

Our people individually must understand Bible truth more thoroughly, for they certainly will be called before councils; they will be criticised [sic] by keen and critical minds. It is one thing to give assent to the truth, and another thing, through close examination as Bible students, to know what is truth. We have been apprised of our dangers, of the trials and temptations just before us; and now is the time to take special pains to prepare ourselves to meet the temptations and emergencies which are just before us.

If souls neglect to bring the truth into their lives, and be sanctified through the truth, that they may be able to give a reason of the hope that is within them, with meekness and fear, they will be swept away by some of the manifold errors and heresies, and will lose their souls. I beg of you, my brethren, for Christ’s sake, to have no selfish ambitions.

Know What Is Truth

As you shall assemble together at these general meetings for prayer, I beseech of you to make personal efforts to cleanse soul and spirit from every defiling influence which would separate you from God. Many, many will be lost because they have not studied their Bibles upon their knees, with earnest prayer to God that the entrance of the word of God might give light to their understanding. All selfish ambition should be laid aside, and you should plead with God for his Spirit to descend upon you as it came upon the disciples who were assembled together upon the day of Pentecost. “They were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing, mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” [Acts 2:1–4.] Let every heart be subdued before God. Let there be a taking hold by living faith for victory over ourselves, victory over Satan.

If all who claim to believe the Bible did believe it as the oracles of God, as actually a divine communication teaching every soul what to do in order to be saved, what a different effect would follow their labors. It is because so many who handled the word of God in opening the Scriptures to others are not diligent students of the Scriptures or doers of the word themselves, that they make so little advancement in growth of grace and in coming to the full stature of men and women in Christ Jesus. They take largely the interpretation of the Scriptures from others’ lips, but do not put their minds to the tax of searching the evidences for themselves, to know what is truth.

Perfectly United

All misunderstandings and controversies may be happily and successfully adjusted by the living testimonies of the word of God. One of the greatest hindrances to our spiritual success, is the great want of love and respect evidenced for one another. We should seek most earnestly, by every word and action, to answer the prayer of Christ, and to encourage that unity which is expressed in the prayer of Christ, that we may be one as he is one with the Father. Every feeling of indifference for one another should be strenuously overcome, and everything that would tend to variance with brethren should be put away from us. The love of Jesus Christ existing in the heart will consume these little things, or greater things, which tend to divide hearts. Satan sees that in unity there is strength; that in variance and dis-union there is weakness. Heaven’s enlightenment is what is needed, so that when we look upon the faces of our brethren, we may consider: “These are they that have been purchased by the price of the blood of Christ. They are precious in his sight. I must love them as Christ has loved me. These are my fellow-laborers in the harvest field. I must be perfectly united with them; I must speak only words that will tend to encourage and advance them in their forward movement.”

Christ’s Soldiers

My brethren, you are Christ’s soldiers, making aggressive warfare against Satan and his host; but it is grievous to the Spirit of God for you to be surmising evil of one another, and letting the imagination of your hearts be controlled by the power of the great accuser, whose business it is to accuse them before God day and night. Satan has his soldiers trained for the special work of breaking up the union which Christ made so great a sacrifice to establish between brethren. We are to be bound to one another in sacred bonds of holy union. But it is the work of the enemy to create a party spirit, and to have party feelings, and some feel that they are doing the work of God in strengthening prejudices and jealousies among brethren. God would have a sacred order to exist among his co-workers, that they may be bound together by Christ in the Lord God of Israel. We are to be faithful, frank, and true to the interests of each other. We are constantly to be listening for orders from our Captain, but not be guilty of listening to reports against our brethren, or imagining evil of our brethren. Our interests must be bound up with our brethren’s, and it is decidedly nothing but the work of the Devil to create suspicion and jealousies between each other. We are working for the same cause and under the same Master. It is one work,—the preparation of the people of God in these last days. The prosperity and reputation of our brethren are to be zealously guarded, as we would have our own honor and reputation preserved. Everything like evil-speaking, every word that savors of sarcasm, every influence that would demerit our brethren or any branch of the work of God, are all working away from the prayer of Christ. Satan is at work in this matter, that the prayer of Christ may not be answered, and he has helpers in the very men who claim to be doing the work of God. Everything that is said to create suspicion, or to cast a slur, or to demerit those engaged in appointed agencies, is working on Satan’s side of the question. It brings only weakness to our own souls, and is a great hindrance to the advancement of the work of God.

For years it has been shown me that everything of this character was grievous to the Spirit of God, and was giving the enemies of our faith great advantage to take misconceptions of the truth that God’s laborers were seeking to advance. Some who think that they are really doing the Lord’s work, are traitors in the cause. Envy is more common than we imagine, and prejudice is encouraged, and becomes strong by indulgence, in the hearts of those who should discern its baleful influence and spurn it from the soul-temple. Jealousy is as cruel as the grave, but Satan makes this a masterly temptation, not only to estrange friends, but brethren.

Examine Heart

It is high time that every soul intrusted with responsibilities should examine his own heart diligently by the lighted candle of God’s word, to see whether he is indeed in the faith and in the love of the truth. The spirit of love for one another, as Christ has evidenced for us, will lead us to examine closely every impulse, every sentiment and feeling indulged, in the light of the law of God, that the heart may be opened to conviction whether or not we are keeping the principles of that holy law. It is a positive duty, which God enjoins upon souls, to bring our will and spirit under the control of the divine influence of the Spirit of God. When we do this, we shall rise above all these cheap and unconsecrated feelings, and every victory that is gained by our brethren we shall be just as glad to see as if it were gained by ourselves.

Brethren, when we are doers of the word and not hearers only, we shall think much less of self, and esteem others better than ourselves. The greatest curse among our people today is, seeking for the highest place. Full of self-importance and self-esteem, we do not feel our need of the constant grace of Christ to work with all our efforts. Whatever you are in character, in purity, in persevering energy, in devoted piety, will give you position and will make others appreciate you. We should now closely examine the oracles of God. The garments of self-righteousness are to be laid aside. Let the word of God which you take in your hands be studied with simplicity. Cherish reverence for it, and study it with honesty of purpose. We are not to set our stakes, and then to interpret everything to reach this set point. Here is where some of our great reformers have failed, and this is the reason that men who today might be mighty champions for God and the truth, are warring against the truth. Let every thought, every word, and the deportment savor of that courtesy and Christian politeness toward each other which the Scriptures enjoin. God designs we should be learners, first, from the living oracles, and secondly, from our fellow-men. This is God’s order.

Detector of Error

The word of God is the great detector of error; to it we believe everything must be brought. The Bible must be our standard for every doctrine. We must study it reverentially. We are to receive no one’s opinion without comparing it with the Scriptures. Here is divine authority which is supreme in matters of faith. It is the word of the living God that is to decide all controversies. It is when men mingle their own human smartness with God’s words of truth in giving sharp thrusts to those who are in controversy with them, that they show that they have not a sacred reverence for God’s inspired word. They mix the human with the divine, the common with the sacred, and they belittle God’s word. We must in searching the Scriptures be filled with wisdom and power that is above the human, which will so soften and subdue our hard hearts that we will search the Scriptures as diligent students, and will receive the ingrafted word, that we may know the truth, that we may teach it to others as it is in Jesus.

The correct interpretation of the Scriptures is not all that God requires. He enjoins upon us that we should not only know the truth, but that we should practice the truth as it is in Jesus. We are to bring into our practice, into our association with our fellow-men, the Spirit of Him who gave us the truth. We must not only search for the truth as for hidden treasures, but it is a positive necessity, if we are laborers together with God, that we comply with the conditions laid down in his word, and bring the Spirit of Christ into our hearts, that our understanding may be strengthened, and we become apt teachers to make known to others the truth as it is revealed to us in his word. All frivolity, all jesting and joking, all commonness and cheapness of spirit, must be put away by the people of God. All pride, all envy, all evil surmisings and jealousies, must be overcome by the grace of Christ; and sobriety, humility, purity, and godliness must be encouraged and revealed in the life and character. We must eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of God. This is in doing his word, in weaving into our lives and characters the spirit and works of Christ. Then we are one with Christ as Christ was one with the Father. Then we are partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. There is no assurance that our doctrine is right, and free from all chaff and error, unless we are daily doing the will of God. If we do his will, we shall know of the doctrine. We shall see the truth in its sacred beauty. We shall accept it with reverence and godly fear, and then we can present that which we know is truth to others. There should be no feeling of superiority or self-exaltation in this solemn work. The soul that is in love with God and his work will be as candid as the day.

The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, vol. 1, 196–201.