Bible

Is Christ in You?

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The path on which each person walks is either heading for the kingdom of heaven or to destruction.

The night before Jesus was to be arrested, all, including the one who would betray him, were spending time together in communion. “And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.” Mark 14:27. Something was about to happen that would result in all of His disciples being offended.

Depending upon whether being accused of something of which you are guilty or innocent, the reaction of an offended person will differ. But, Jesus told them that they would all be offended because of something He would do that night.

“But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.” Mark 14:29. This statement by Peter was filled with self-assurance and self-confidence, thinking that he knew better than his Lord. He really believed that though all of the others would be offended, he would not. How easy it is for us to fall for that same deception of self-reliance. “Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.” Verse 30. Here, Jesus prophesied what Peter would do before that next morning, yet Peter still neglected to admit his weakness and plead for the courage and strength that he would need to avoid denying his Lord.

How often we deceive ourselves because of our pride and selfishness and do not acknowledge our own weaknesses when struggling with trials. If we would simply humble our hearts and fall at the feet of Jesus, giving ourselves completely into His hands, all the power of heaven would be available to us to “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12); to “resist the devil and he would flee from us” (James 4:7). The audacity of Peter’s confidence influenced the other disciples who then responded in the same manner. “But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all.” Mark 14:31.

No one lives to himself, but all have either a positive or negative influence on those around them. Though it is not the ideal, the non-Christian judges God by the behavior of Christians who, by their very profession of faith, are His representatives here on the earth. Great wisdom and grace is required to live a righteous life to truly represent Jesus.

Peter’s confidence and arrogance was so great that he really thought he was capable of following Jesus and defending Him even to death.

Often we judge another’s reaction to certain situations believing that we would never do what they have done, but when in a similar situation we surprise ourselves. Remember that the way we act or react to trials affects those around us, whether in a work environment or at home just as Peter, by the way he responded, affected all of the other disciples. When Judas came and betrayed his Master, instead of them not being offended, they all ran away.

There is coming a day very soon, when each will give an account of his/her life. Situations or trials that arise are opportunities to allow others to witness the power of God in the life of the Christian.

The Bible is very clear that the great controversy is between Christ and Satan, good and evil, and this war will continue until Jesus comes. In the end, there will only be two groups, those who believe and have developed a relationship with Jesus and walk with Him, and those who reject the last message of mercy, refusing to follow in the steps of our Lord Jesus Christ and remain on the path to destruction.

The decisions that are crucial to eternal life must be made in accordance with the Word of God. Time is running out. The prophecies tell us that before Jesus comes again there will be many wonderful signs, including earthquakes and disasters. Already, we see these things happening.

Just as Peter was under the delusion that he was ready for the prophecy Jesus spoke concerning him that would take place that very night, we also can be deluded into thinking that, in our own strength, we are ready to go through a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation (Daniel 12:1).

In Mark 14:37 it says, “And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour?” Not even one hour could Peter watch. This same Peter had earlier said that he would die for Jesus, but when Jesus said watch, he slept. “Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.” Verse 38.

All power is available but will do us no good unless we respond to the invitation to have that connection with God and reach out to Him and receive Him, acknowledging our weakness and drawing upon His strength to overcome.

Peter had already been told that he would deny his Saviour. If ever there was a time to “watch and pray” it was that night, but instead, Peter was found sleeping.

We know that the end of the world is coming. Do we take the warning seriously? Do we recognize all the signs? Are we watching and praying to be strengthened for the final battle so that we do not fall into temptation? Or are we sleeping as did Peter?

Later that night “Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest: and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire. And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one of the maids of the high priest: and when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and said, “And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth. But he denied it saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew. And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them. And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth thereto but he began to curse and to swear, saying I know not this man of whom ye speak. And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.” Verses 54–72.

Peter reacted to the accusation of being one of Christ’s followers by cursing. Jesus saw that Peter’s heart had not been renewed and in that moment of trial the thoughts of his heart were made manifest by denying Jesus. Paul said, “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:2.

Peter had been under the impression that since Jesus walked with him and the other disciples, taught them and ate with them, that he was connected with Him. In that court of the palace of the high priest, Peter’s eyes were opened and he saw that he did not have that relationship with Jesus that he thought he had. He saw that the Lord did not curse or do anything to shame His heavenly Father as he had done. Every time we find that we, in the least way, misbehave, it is a reminder that our connection with God is being lost. It is not Christ who directs our bad behavior. If we continue on that path, the more we misbehave, the farther we grow from the Lord. On the other hand, the closer we grow to the Lord, we will respond as Christ would, reflecting His character.

In all of his denials and cursing, it was evident that Peter still lacked self-control. At the moment Jesus looked over to him and their eyes met, Peter was converted as he saw no condemnation, but love directed toward him. It was then that Peter ran out and wept. Everything that Jesus had prophesied that night regarding him had taken place.

Everything that Jesus prophesied about the end of the world is going to take place exactly as He described it would. If we have the attitude that “it is not a big deal” or “we can do it,” we will surely fail as did Peter. We need to recognize our humanness and weakness and our need for dependency on Jesus. The carnal nature is selfish, disobedient and very hardheaded and stubborn, but God desires to re-create in us a clean heart and renew a right spirit in us (Psalm 51:10) to prepare us for the things that are coming on the earth.

How would you react if you were told, as Peter was, that you would deny your Lord this very night? What would your response be if you were told that your soul would be required of you this very night (Luke 12:20)? Maybe it would be time to “watch and pray that you do not enter into temptation.” Matthew 26:41. We know that those who are not ready, those who have not been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb and covered with the garment of Christ’s righteousness, will not enter into heaven. It is not by watching government conspiracies or even watching what the papacy does that will prepare us for the final crisis. This is all about a personal heart preparation.

“And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” Luke 21:34. The Bible tells us that it will happen. All of those things will come. If you are not ready, you will be overwhelmed by anxiety. You will be involved in doing the wrong things, because you are not physically, mentally and spiritually prepared for the crisis that is coming. Peter fell after he had been in the physical presence of Jesus for three whole years. We will fall also if we are not prepared.

“For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.” Verses 35, 36. It is coming upon all of us. What are we told to do? “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Verse 36. Here Jesus is talking about the end of time. We are to watch and pray that we may be accounted worthy. Peter fell because he was sleeping when he should have been watching and praying. Peter had been given warning and we are to learn from his neglect of that warning.

“Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” James 4:4. In other words, he says that if you are friend of the world, you are my enemy, and if you are an enemy to the world, you are a friend to me. When Peter did not stand up for his master, he was not a friend. There is no middle ground. Either you are for Christ or against Him. “Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.” Psalm 1:5. Peter found himself unable to stand up for Jesus; he followed his Master from a distance. He was afraid to be associated with Him; therefore, he came at a distance. We are told that if we walk with the Lord daily, we will have a closer walk with Him.

“Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” 11 Timothy 2:19. We have a tremendous responsibility to stand up for the Lord and if we do not have that living connection with Him, we will go through the same experience as did Peter.

“Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.” Mark 13:33. Now is the time to be watching and praying. We are to be walking with the Lord right now and gaining strength to be able to stand. If we could put ourselves in the place of Peter right now, how would we stand? Only the Lord Jesus Christ and our Father in heaven know what tomorrow will bring. Our only hope is to have faith in Christ and have that confidence that we are in connection with God, living our life and doing those things that are pleasing in His sight today. Trusting in Jesus today guarantees that tomorrow the Lord will be our strength and He will take care of us. Those who watch and pray today will find a place by His side in His kingdom.

“Consecrate yourself to God in the morning; make this your very first work. Let your prayer be, ‘Take me, O Lord, as wholly Thine. I lay all my plans at Thy feet. Use me today in Thy service. Abide with me, and let all my work be wrought in Thee.’ ” The Faith I Live By, 126.

Tell the Lord that even though you may become offended, you want to react to His glory. Ask Him to teach you what you need to do to give Him honor and glory so that you will never be guilty of denying Him.

Situations or crises may come upon us to show us where our hearts are. The Lord is watching with interest to see how each of us responds to these trials. He is especially watching the ones who profess themselves as Christians. Christians are to be followers, or imitators, of Christ. When Peter denied Christ, he recognized that his relationship was not one of the heart. Later, Peter did truly fall in love with Christ. Peter now understood why Jesus had asked him, “Do you love me?”

Three times Jesus had asked the same question and his response was the same. Peter now understood the purpose and mission of Jesus Christ. It was to select him and His followers to be ambassadors or representatives of His kingdom. At that point Jesus said unto Peter, “Peter, feed my sheep.” Once Peter was truly converted and had received the bread of life in his heart, he was able to give it to others. He was done with the old man. He now knew his Master and could honestly say to his Lord, “I do love you.”

When Peter died, it was in honor of his Lord. At first, he demonstrated that he was not willing to die or even to stand up and acknowledge that he knew Jesus of Nazareth or to be recognized as one of His followers. He now acknowledged his love for the Lord and he understood the responsibilities and consequences of following Jesus. He understood the consequences of preaching that message under opposition, oppression, and persecution but he could finally say, “Master, I love you.”

Do we know ourselves? Are we now, while not under the threat of opposition, persecution or oppression, claiming to love Jesus? Persecution will come. Will you stand? Now is the time that we must prepare our hearts and souls by allowing the Holy Spirit to convert us, and give us the faith that will be needed to stand and serve God unto death. “Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.” 1 Thessalonians 5:6. We are to be calm and not in distress because God knows what is going to happen and we must trust in Him. We know that we have an economic crisis going on right now, but the Lord tells us not to be distressed. Let each of us watch and pray so that our connection with the Lord today is our surety that He will take care of us tomorrow.

In 1 Peter 4:7 it tells us, “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” Be alert and watch and pray. Never be afraid to pray. Scripture records that three times each day, as was his habit, Daniel was not ashamed to pray in his window for any to see, even when there was a decree prohibiting prayer to anyone except the king (Daniel 6). We are told not to fear men but we should fear God. Men can destroy this body but cannot destroy the soul.

“There are those who profess to serve God, while they rely upon their own efforts to obey His law, to form a right character, and secure salvation. Their hearts are not moved by any deep sense of the love of Christ, but they seek to perform the duties of the Christian life as that which God requires of them in order to gain heaven. Such religion is worth nothing. When Christ dwells in the heart, the soul will be so filled with His love, with the joy of communion with Him, that it will cleave to Him; and in the contemplation of Him, self will be forgotten. Love to Christ will be the spring of action. Those who feel the constraining love of God, do not ask how little may be given to meet the requirements of God; they do not ask for the lowest standard, but aim at perfect conformity to the will of their Redeemer. With earnest desire they yield all and manifest an interest proportionate to the value of the object which they seek. A profession of Christ without this deep love is mere talk, dry formality, and heavy drudgery.” Steps to Christ, 44.

We know that those decrees are coming and many will deny Christ. Many today are too proud to acknowledge their weaknesses, but Satan knows them all too well. He has studied carefully each life and has become an expert at knowing what buttons to push to get the reaction he desires. Only the Lord can heal those weak spots and turn them into strengths that will resist the devil. We need to have a relationship with God. Today is the day to examine ourselves to see where we stand, for Jesus or against Him. When Peter came to Jesus that night, he assumed that he would follow the master, even to death, but he was mistaken. Peter walked on water, but as soon as he took his eyes off Jesus, he fell. As long as we preserve that relationship with God, we will go forward. If we take our eyes off Jesus, we will fall.

Today, make sure you can say, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20.

Pastor Domingo Nunez is Director of Outreach Ministry for Steps to Life. He is involved in the coordination of world mission projects and he travels extensively, encouraging the many home churches supported by Steps to Life. He can be contacted at: (316) 788-5559 or by email at: domingonunez@stepstolife.org.

Honor has Lost its Integrity

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We live in a world abounding in contracts, lawsuits, counter lawsuits, a world teeming with word processors, with delete buttons and faulty memory, but lacking in one crucial commodity—men, real men. By that I mean both men and women who would be true to their word like the needle to the pole. Our world has discovered the mystery of the atom but it has forgotten the Sermon on the Mount. We live in a world of both nuclear giants and moral midgets. The churches, the business world and even the Marines are looking for a few good men.

My maternal grandfather was a cattle rancher in Cuba. My grandfather was like Lorne Greene in the series Bonanza. At my grandfather’s ranch you could ride your horse a whole day and not see the end of it and there were thousands of heads of cattle. My grandfather was not a terribly educated man, except for the fact he was self-taught and very naturally intelligent. He was not a man of many words. I had precious few times with him, as I only lived a few years of my infancy in Cuba. My father was a businessman, so he liked the city and did not see the charm of the ranch and only once in awhile would he take me to see my grandfather, but I remember those times well.

The only thing I can remember my grandfather ever telling me is something that I remember still to this day. He said, “If you speak all the time, people will not remember what you say. You must be economical with your words. If you are economical, they will be memorable and if they are memorable, they are useful. If they are useful, they will do somebody some good.” I remember grandfather getting off his beautiful white horse and grabbing me and lifting me on top of those wooden fences. He looked at me as if he was going to speak and I thought, the world is going to come to an end; my grandfather is going to speak! I looked at him as I waited for the words to come. He said, “My boy, be a man of your word.” By that time the Fidel house was already dispossessing him of everything he owned and he may have been thinking of that, but he said to me, “The only thing no one can ever take away from you, the treasure that you will always possess, is your word. When you give your word, you are giving your own soul.”

My grandfather did not know the slogan save the trees, but he did, because he never used paper. He did not need paper. When it came to doing a contract with someone, there was no need for paper or a notary public or a lawyer. He only entered into deals with real men who he knew were real men. He would look them in the eye, shake their hand and the deal was sealed. We need that today. We need the power of the word. We need our word to become real. We need to be one with our word. We need to be known by what we say.

Two of the Ten Commandments speak about how we use the tongue. The third commandment says if we believe the good news of Jesus Christ, we shall never be guilty of taking the Lord’s name in vain (Exodus 20:7). The ninth commandment becomes a wonderful promise to the one who understands and believes just how good the good news is. You will never bear false witness (Exodus 20:16).

I once wrote a book on the Ten Commandments, which was published by Pacific Press. It is titled Ten Promises of Miracles and by God’s grace 150,000 copies have been sold. I believe that the Ten Commandments, rightly understood and connected with the understanding of the gospel through the New Covenant spectacles, which is how God sees them, are not harsh, impossible rules to obey. Instead, the Ten Commandments will be seen as ten promises of God to you. The problem is that the world has been taught a gospel less than Ten Commandments. It is as if somebody gave you a wonderful Cadillac, which looks great, and when you get into it, it is so plush, but there is no motor in it. There is no gas tank. There is no radiator. Other than that you will like it, it will not take you anywhere. It is like those wonderful gifts that you buy for your grandchildren that they have seen on television. They are all excited about it, but you did not read the small print which would turn what could have been a wonderful experience into the worse you can imagine. The small print says, “Batteries not included.” Without the batteries, without the power, it simply does not do what it is supposed to do.

The world has been told that the Ten Commandments do not come with the batteries included, because it is gospel-less and only the gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). I am going to show you where the batteries are located.We obtained thousands of prints of the Ten Commandments and after being shown how beautiful they were I was asked, “What should we do with them?” I said, “They have to go into the trash.” They just stared at me in disbelief. I said, “You forgot the batteries. You have the Ten Commandments without the batteries. That is not going to help anybody.” Now we have a new poster of the Ten Commandments which includes the battery. The battery is already part of the commandments. Let me explain.

Look at Exodus 20:1: “And God spake all these words, saying …” From here on it is all God’s words. This is where the Ten Commandments actually start. Then God continues, “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” Those first words are the batteries. The Ten Commandments begin with an expression of the gospel and it reminds us of who the deliverer is. The Ten Commandments come with a Saviour, the One who first took little Egypt out of Egypt, and now, by His sacrifice on the cross, has taken spiritual Egypt out of Egypt becoming the Saviour of the world. That very fact is the battery power of the commandments. Do not leave the batteries out. Never start with the third verse. The Ten Commandments start after the word saying.

Here we are reminded that we have a God who is a Deliverer. It states here what God did for His people. Sometimes He went against their will and some of them wanted to go back to Egypt. He stepped in and took them out of Egypt. He physically took them out of bondage and put them where the air was pure and where the light was illuminant, where they could breathe freedom. God put the people in a free place and said to them that this is my magna carta; this is my declaration of independence. This is what I promise my citizens. This is what I will do. I pledge myself to perform this gospel work in your life. Jesus did the same thing on Calvary; God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.

He liberated us from the world, freed us from the bondage of sin. If we believe and want to be a citizen of the free kingdom of God, He will then give us the magna carta, the ruling documents of freedom and promises, the batteries so you can live your life and be free.

The Ten Commandments rightly understood are ten promises. This is good news, not bad news. God is not a stern lawgiver, dishing out the theories of impossible-to-obey rules. He is a Saviour from breaking those commandments. The only way the commandments can be kept is because of the Saviour. The only way the commandments can be obeyed is to allow Jesus to be in control of your heart. He is your battery. Christ is the Saviour of all men and especially of those who believe (1 Timothy 4:10). This country is free to everyone, but especially to those who cherish it.

Breaking the ninth commandment is a sin, unfortunately, for which many people will lose their soul. When God says, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour,” Exodus 20:16, He means that we are never to tell a lie, not even one of those white lies. It commands never to give a false impression, even by a nod of the head. It forbids all gossip, including damaging the reputation of a person by remaining silent while he or she is being accused of something and you know differently and it is possible to speak up to save that person’s reputation.

We are to “speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates.” Zechariah 8:16. All false witness somehow comes from its true origin, Satan. “He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” John 8:42. “Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight.” Proverbs 12:22. They are His delight!

“A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.” Proverbs 19:5. We read that God actually hates “a lying tongue, a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies” (Proverbs 6:17-19). But remember that even though God hates lying, He loves the liar and wants to save him. There are people who are as sincere as any of us, who bear false witness and have no idea of what they are doing. They are among those for whom Jesus prayed as He was being crucified, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34.

Sometimes parents unwittingly teach children to tell lies. Some people are color blind and cannot tell the difference between a red light and a green light, which can cause accidents. Though a judge would not be merciful in such a case, God is merciful to those who do not know the difference between right and wrong and He sends His Holy Spirit to teach the people.

Children in schools today are being taught that the universe is a random universe, that this universe, one among billions of universes, just happened to have everything lined up right, exactly the way it needed to be to sustain life. It is just an object of chance, like the roll of the dice! We just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Scientists have had to come up with a theory to explain the incredible order of our universe. But there is no mystery. The universe is the way it is today because God made it that way to suit life. God created things just the way they needed to be. Scientists call it the big bang theory. But they are running away from the real big bang. It scares them! When the big bang happened, the elements spread so quickly that it had to have been faster than the speed of light and according to Einstein, nothing goes faster than the speed of light. For the universe to be what it is, there is only one explanation, which science does not want to accept: the big bang had an author, and His name is God.

In the last few verses of the Bible there are three warnings that tell us that whosoever loveth and maketh a lie will not be able to enter the eternal kingdom (Revelation 22:15). Fiction, which makes up the subject matter of most books and movies today, is just lies. It is not only a serious thing to make a lie, but the text says it is equally serious to love a lie.

Truth, according to Biblical principles, is very clear. We are invited to turn from fables and turn to the truth and be God’s delight. He loves those who are His true witnesses. “Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that … speaketh the truth in his heart.” Psalm 15:1, 2. But, “He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool.” Proverbs 10:18. In other words, smiling at someone, slapping him/her on the back, shaking his/her hand and yet hiding our hatred for him or her deep in our heart is acting out a lie and breaking the commandment. Even if it means costing your job, you may need to confront that person and be honest and truthful in all your dealings to be clean and ready to live in the heavenly kingdom.

What it boils down to is that it is impossible for any of us mortals to obey this commandment unless we are truly converted deep within. This commandment goes to the core of all things. The core of God is His Word. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). God is one with His Word. The same is true with us. We can never escape our words. Once words are spoken they can never be unspoken and they always have either a positive or negative response. You will be remembered by what you said, even if it came out differently from what you meant to say. For that reason the counsel is to let your words be few. This reminds me of Romans 3:10. It says, “There is none righteous, no, not one.” “Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.” Psalm 141:3. “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me.” Psalm 139:23, 24.

When children would say bad things to me when I was a boy growing up in the south of Florida, Mom would say, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” This is such foolishness! There are times when people have said things to you that you would rather have had a broken bone that would heal far more easily than the hurt of words. Some of us are an emotional mess, having stored in our minds those words that we have heard as children, whether it be wittingly or unwittingly. The brain has a heart. When the Bible talks about the heart, it says, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” Matthew 15:19.

When we say that a person has a big heart it is not referring to the physical condition of the heart, which would be a serious medical condition, but the mind wherein lies all the thoughts and feelings, which is called the hypothalamus region. Jesus says that the evil thoughts are right there. When bad words are spoken and terrible things happen to you it is stored in your subconscious, in the basement of the hypothalamus, so to speak. Sometimes things are so tragic that you have put them into the subconscious, which can be very dangerous. God wants to cleanse these inner temples, our hearts. In fact, the promise of the gospel is a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26). It is a cleansing out of the hypothalamus so you can be true and faithful. Part of the hypothalamus region controls the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system which regulates the inner organs. The pancreas and other internal organs do not depend on conscious decisions but are controlled involuntarily to do their work. This is why hanging onto stress or other negative emotions can cause physical sickness. To enjoy true health one must have a happy heart that trusts in the Lord at all times.

I visit a health center every so often where I have seen people go in terribly sick, in wheelchairs, etc., and come out running in a few weeks. I finally turned to the doctor one day and asked him, “Is there anybody who does not heal or get well here?” He said, “Oh yes, the people who cannot forgive. One of the things we teach those who come here is to write letters to the people with whom they have a problem, because that is often the reason for their sickness.” When God says to forgive, He not only is doing it for the benefit of the person who hurt you, He is doing it for your own sake, to help you.

This commandment is a promise from God to make you a true witness. It is impossible for you to be a true and faithful witness and also a false witness. It is a promise from God to make you a person of integrity, one who is always true to your word. It is a promise to make you one who will reflect the character of Christ and be a witness and a light wherever you are.

Frank Gonzales’ sermon was taken from the Ten Commandment Weekend, 2008 series aired on 3ABN. For more information contact www.3ABN.org.

Methuselah’s Grandchildren

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For many people, all that is known about Methuselah is that he lived before the flood and he lived longer than any other man, 969 years. No other descendants of Adam lived that long. The name Methuselah has come to mean something that is very long-lived, very old or ancient. Let’s review several facts about Methuselah.

Fact #1

Methuselah was the eighth generation from Adam (Genesis 5).

Fact #2

Methuselah was born when the world was still young, less than 700 years since creation.

Fact #3

Methuselah was very well acquainted with both Adam and Eve. He was 243 years old when Adam died, so his grandchildren were able to hear the story of creation and the fall from Adam himself.

Fact #4

Methuselah was the son of Enoch who was a prophet and one of the most holy men who ever lived. In Jude 14 and 15, it says, “Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all those harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.’ ” Growing up in a godly home, Methuselah was one of the leaders in God’s work during his lifetime.

Fact #5

At the time his father was translated (taken to heaven), Methuselah was 300 years old. If you do a little arithmetic, you will find that Enoch was translated just 57 years after Adam died.

Because of his long life, Methuselah witnessed many things during his lifetime. When he was about 369 years old, Noah was born. Though he had many grandchildren, the only one that we know the name of is Noah. In Genesis 5:25, 26 it says, “Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech. After he begot Lamech, Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years, and had sons and daughters.” Even if he did not father sons or daughters during the last 300 years of his life, he could have had a lot of children in three or four hundred years. In those days when men lived such a long time, the families were very large. His sons and daughters got married, had children, and became a multitude of people. That was Noah’s generation.

Fact #6

When Methuselah was 849 years old, God told Noah there was going to be a flood in 120 years. This was not news for Methuselah who had known for over 500 years that there was going to be a flood; he just did not know the exact date until Noah told him. In Patriarchs and Prophets, 85 we are told that, “Through holy angels God revealed to Enoch [his father] His purpose to destroy the world by a flood, and He also opened more fully to him the plan of redemption. By the spirit of prophecy He carried him down through the generations that should live after the Flood, and showed him the great events connected with the second coming of Christ.” Over 500 years before, Enoch declared the prophecy that the Lord was going to come in judgment and that He would no longer put up with what they were doing (Jude 14).

Fact #7

Methuselah was the first man on record to go to the funeral of his own son who died of natural causes while the father was still alive. His son Lamech died when he was 964 years of age. Very few men have lived a sadder life than Methuselah.

A few other interesting facts about Methuselah are:

  1. He was a gospel worker and spoke of the coming Redeemer. He was one of the most renowned gospel preachers and leaders of God’s faithful people in those days. He was a preacher of righteousness. See Christ’s Object Lessons, 126.
  2. Methuselah aided Noah in building the ark. Somebody might ask, “Then why didn’t he get on the ark?” He died in the very year of the flood. The flood occurred 1,656 years after creation and that was the very year that Methuselah died. See Patriarchs and Prophets, 92.
  3. Ellen White tells us that Methuselah aided Noah in warning the antediluvians. He told them the present truth that there was going to be a flood and they needed to get into the ark. See Ibid. “This hope of redemption through the advent of the Son of God as Saviour and King, has never become extinct in the hearts of men. From the beginning there have been some whose faith has reached out beyond the shadows of the present to the realities of the future. Adam, Seth, Enoch, Methuselah, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—through these and other worthies the Lord has preserved the precious revealings of His will.” Prophets and Kings, 682, 683.

Methuselah’s many grandchildren could easily have been numbered in the hundreds and were contemporaries of Noah. We often do not realize that many of the people who heard Noah preach were his own relatives, the grandchildren of Methuselah. Usually, when we think about the flood we think about the descendants of Cain, who would have been in the great majority. Cain was Adam’s oldest son, and he was probably already married and having children before Seth was born, creating a generation jump between the two brothers.

In Patriarchs and Prophets, 90–104, Ellen White says this about the descendants of Cain:

  • God’s bounties were used to glorify themselves in constructing fabulous, beautiful habitations and they vied with one another as to who could build the most beautiful houses.
  • They reveled in scenes of pleasure.
  • They reveled in scenes of wickedness.
  • This is astonishing, being so close to creation, but the descendants of Cain denied the existence of God, even when Methuselah was right there among them and could tell them how the world came into existence. The Garden of Eden was also still on earth until the flood.
  • Nature was adored and worshiped.
  • Human genius was glorified. There were many geniuses and very skillful people.
  • The descendants of Cain all became idolaters and were involved in sensual worship.
  • Creatures were worshiped in place of God.
  • As a consequence of idolatry, the understanding of the character of God was lost.
  • Every conceivable sin was committed. Justice was trampled in the dust, and there were people who were oppressed, crying out to heaven for vengeance upon their persecutors.
  • Polygamy was freely practiced.
  • The rights of neither the marriage relation nor property were regarded.
  • The descendants of Cain were flesh-food eaters. Flesh food did not start after the flood. The descendants of Cain were flesh-food eaters, although God had never given permission to the human race to eat flesh food before the flood.
  • The descendants of Cain had no respect for life.

As mentioned previously, Methuselah’s father was Enoch.

Enoch lived apart, but: “He [Enoch] did not make his abode with the wicked. … He placed himself and his family where the atmosphere would be as pure as possible. Then at times he went forth to the inhabitants of the world with his God-given message. Every visit he made to the world was painful to him. He saw and understood something of the leprosy of sin. After proclaiming his message, he always took back with him to his place of retirement some who had received the warning. Some of these became overcomers and died before the Flood came. But some had lived so long in the corrupting influence of sin that they could not endure righteousness.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 1, 1088.

Methuselah was Enoch’s oldest son and, as the custom was in those days, when the father died, the oldest son took the place of the father as the spiritual leader of the family. After Enoch was translated, Methuselah became the spiritual leader of the movement that Enoch had started. Methuselah himself was a righteous and holy man. He was a religious leader and teacher. Therefore, we would expect that at least some of his grandchildren would be God-fearing.

Remember, those who had accepted Enoch’s message came out. The word church comes from the Greek word ecclesia, and that word means called out.

Enoch called the people out from these wicked cities. In other words, Enoch started what we would call today a revival and reformation movement or a home church movement. The sad part of the story is that Methuselah lived to see the complete collapse of the home church movement that his father had started. What would have made this development intensely painful for Methuselah was that a large number of those who backslid into worldly living were his own grandchildren.

The church is the people called out by God. Enoch called out people. Jesus called out people. They were called out of the evil of the world. Christianity is calling people out from the evil of the world today, and the people who choose to come out compose the church. Only one or two of Methuselah’s grandchildren were saved in the ark. The rest of them drowned in the flood, right along with the descendants of Cain. It was awful that the descendants of Cain drowned, but it is even more awful when you think of the fact that these people, the descendants of Methuselah, had come from a holy line. Their great-grandfather was Enoch; Methuselah was their grandfather, and he was a holy man. These people had been taught the truth, and they had, at one time, believed the truth. There were many who at first, when called out, received the warning. What happened?

In chapter 7 of Patriarchs and Prophets, Ellen White gives descriptions about these very people. Methuselah’s grandchildren, the great-grandchildren of Enoch, had been part of a revival and reformation movement. These were the people who had been called out and had been in the church. They had been living holy lives and were not part of the evil of the world. Yet, except for Noah and his wife, they all drowned in the flood. About these people who at first received the warning, she says:

  1. Their faith was tested.
  2. They did not have a true repentance.
  3. They were unwilling to renounce their sins. In other words, they were not willing to quit all sin.
  4. They failed to endure the trial or test, which is very similar to number one.

Point number one says their faith was tested. Point number four was that they did not endure the test. What does it mean to have your faith tested? Has your faith been tested of late? How is a person’s faith tested? These people believed that the flood was coming in just a little over a hundred years. They had a hundred years to have their faith tested, and by the time the flood came, they had all failed.

There are two very common ways that, I believe, faith is tested. The descendants of Cain, who were the largest part of the world’s population, opposed their faith, but that was not the biggest test. Their faith was tested by intermarriage. The descendants of Seth intermarried the descendants of Cain (Genesis 6) resulting in one of the reasons for the flood. Eventually the grandchildren of Methuselah were drawn in and their faith was tested, not so much by the descendants of Cain but by the other descendants of Seth, the other grandchildren of Methuselah.

Their faith was not tested as much by the people out in the world but by the people in the church. After intermarriage, the situation in the church changed; what people originally had thought was wrong, they no longer thought it wrong. Their standard of morality changed. Ellen White said they did not have true repentance; they were unwilling to renounce their sins, and they were not willing to quit all sin. If there is any sin in your life that you are not willing to give up, you are in the same situation as Methuselah’s grandchildren. These people believed a flood was coming and started to get ready for it, but before it started to rain, they were not ready to enter the ark. They were overcome by the prevailing unbelief and finally joined their former associates in rejecting the message. The standard of morality was lowered. Human beings are social creatures and do not like to live alone. They want to be with a group and to be accepted by the group. The devil knows too well how to use that principle, and Methuselah’s grandchildren were overcome with the prevailing unbelief by finally joining their former associates in rejecting the message.

There was a lot of opposition and social pressure on these people. “Some were deeply convicted, and would have heeded the words of warning; but there were so many to jest and ridicule, that they partook of the same spirit, resisted the invitations of mercy, and were soon among the boldest and most defiant scoffers; for none are so reckless and go to such lengths in sin as do those who have once had light, but have resisted the convicting Spirit of God.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 95. Notice, these are people in the church. These are not the descendants of Cain. These are the people who once had light but drifted away from it.

Some of them were worshipping God with idols and “they ceased to realize the holiness of His character, or the sacred, unchanging nature of His requirements.” Ibid., 96. They did not realize that His law could not be changed. “As sin became general, it appeared less and less sinful, and they finally declared divine law was no longer in force.” Ibid., 95. Sin became so prevalent everywhere in the world, including the church, that, finally, it did not look so bad anymore. As sin became general, it appeared less and less sinful, until they finally declared that the Divine law was no longer in force. They believed it was contrary to the character of God to punish transgression, so they thought Noah’s message was just a delusion.

  1. More confidence was placed in science than in the Word of God. One of the biggest problems we have today is that there are people who have more confidence in science than in the Word of God. This is one of the reasons why the gospel in general is so unsuccessful with highly educated people.
  • Some of the things they said were:
  • “It has never rained.” That was true!
  • “God protected Cain after he (Cain) killed Abel.”
  • “God put a mark on him and would not let anybody kill him. Would God kill the whole world? He would not even let anybody kill Cain.”
  • “God only does good. God never does evil.”
  • “God is in the salvation business, not in the destruction business.”
  • “Have you ever thought of the fact that there is not enough water in the whole world to cause a worldwide flood?”
  • “Do you not know, we have talked to Adam?” Some of the older ones had. “We have talked to Seth. Don’t you know that God is a God of love? God is not a God to just destroy everything that He made.”

Hitler understood this. If you tell somebody something enough times, they will believe it. That is why the educated people believe in evolution, because they have been told about it ever since they were little children in school. They have heard it thousands of times, seen it thousands of times on television, and read it in books. That is one of the reasons we need to have Christian schools.

They talked about all these things among themselves over and over until they believed them, and they said, “Noah is deluded.” There were probably some people who said, “If God was going to do something like that, He would not tell just one person. He would not tell some woman who had only a second or third grade education. He would tell more people than that.” Have you ever heard that argument?

  1. Another thing that got them Jesus mentioned in Luke 17. It was a time of intense worldliness. John said that they are of the world, and they talk about the world. Our speech is about God. A person who is of God listens to us. We have different things to talk about (1 John 4:5, 6). Ellen White says they continued their festivities and their gluttonous feast. They ate and drank, planted and built and laid their plans in reference to advantages they hoped to gain in the future; they went to greater lengths in wickedness. See Patriachs and Prophets, 97.

Remember, this is not referring to the descendants of Cain, but to Methuselah’s grandchildren. They became hardened by persistent rejection of light so that the truth only made a momentary impression. By the way, is there any spiritual light that you have but that you have not accepted? Are you not living up to what you know is right? If you know something is right and you are not doing it, your heart will become hardened.

There are several lessons we should learn from Methuselah’s grandchildren.

First lesson: Will your faith endure the opposition of family and friends who go back from where they were? Notice what Jesus said: “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” Matthew 10:34–38.

That was the situation in which Methuselah was. He had to watch a few of his children, his grandchildren, and the entire revival and reformation movement that Enoch had started collapse. It must have been intensely sad and painful. He had to walk alone. Noah walked alone!

Second lesson: Have you decided to renounce all sin or has the devil convinced you that it is impossible? That is what the devil has been trying to do for thousands of years. One of the things God intended to teach the world by translating Enoch was to show that His law could be kept and he did do it. The devil is still trying to convince people of this lie. The apostle John said, “Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.” I John 3:7–10.

Third lesson: Would you remain faithful to the truth if your church family, your children, and your grandchildren went back out into the world? That is exactly what Methuselah had to do. I want to tell you something encouraging. I do not know how many people I have met who have said something to the effect, “Well, if my children are not going to be in heaven, I do not want to go either.” They will not be there either, as we read in Matthew 10. Jesus said that if you do not love Him more than son or daughter, more than father or mother, you are not worthy of Him and are not going to heaven (verse 37). But, there is some good news. Though, like many families today, Methuselah’s family was fractured, God is going to put his family back together. His immediate grandchildren are not going to be saved because Jesus said that a man’s foes or enemies would be those of his own household (Matthew 10:36). But someday his family will be put back together again and you may be part of it.

Isaiah says, “ ‘Sing, O barren, you who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, you who have not labored with child! For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married woman,’ says the Lord. ‘Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes. For you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities inhabited.’ ” Isaiah 54:1–3.

This is talking about all the people who are in Methuselah’s situation. He lost his whole family except for Noah and his wife. He lost nearly everything. In the Kingdom of Heaven there will be people from all ages who have come from this kind of a situation. Their families have been absolutely fractured and shattered because many members of their families went into sin, would not accept the gospel, and are going to be destroyed. But God is going to put the families of these fractured people who are saved back together again.

Does sin not appear sinful anymore to you because you have seen it so much? Remember Methuselah’s grandchildren. The natural law of the mind is that by beholding we become changed. Examine carefully the things you are reading, what you are looking at, and to what you are listening. Never forget that what you are doing in your spare time could determine your eternal destiny.

We have been called out of the world. We have to live in the world, but we do not need to be part of the evil of this world. However, if we are looking at it, watching it, and listening to it, it is going to have an effect on us that eventually we will not think it is so bad, and we will lose our soul.

Remember Methuselah’s grandchildren!

[Bible texts quoted are NKJV translation.]

Pastor John J. 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.

Sons and Daughters of God

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We were created to be sons and daughters of God.

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.” I John 3:1–3.

There are people who consider it a real privilege to see a person of royalty. Some even travel across the ocean to England in the hope that they will catch a glimpse of the British royal family. The whole world looked on and mourned at the funeral of Princess Diana. However, the Christian has a much higher privilege and honor, to actually be accepted into and become part of the Most High Royal Family, as sons and daughters.

To accept this invitation means to separate from the world. The Lord invites us to, “Come out from among them, and be separate … I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters.” II Corinthians 6:17, 18. There is no need to travel to England. There is a heaven just before us and a crown of life to win, but only to those who overcome will this reward be given. “And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” I John 3:3. Every human being should look to heaven with reverence and gratitude, and say with amazement, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons [children] of God!” Verse 1.

Claiming this relationship with God brings the tremendous responsibility for each one to represent His kingdom right here and now. How is this possible? The attributes of the Heavenly King’s sons and daughters never reflect the ways of the world. “You once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” Ephesians 2:2, 3. “That at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.” Verse 12.

By faith and repentance and through the merits of Christ, we can claim the privileges of sons and daughters of God. As we become co-workers with Jesus, sharing the good news of the gospel, a righteous character is perfected. Holiness of heart and purity of life were the greatest subjects of the teachings of Christ. Perfection and holiness—nothing short of this would give success in carrying out the principles of the heavenly kingdom.

Does this mean that because we are now the sons and daughters of God there is nothing for us to do? No, there is a judgment going on right now, and we are in the time of probation. Divine son-ship is not something that can be gained by one’s self; it is a free gift to those who receive Christ as their Saviour. There is no power within a sinner to rid himself of his own sin. No, he/she must look to the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin (John 1:29). Christ alone has the power to cleanse the heart and the promise of son-ship is made to all who believe on His name (verse 12), and everyone who comes to Jesus in faith will receive pardon.

When we receive Christ, we receive power to live the life of Christ. In separating from the world, difficulties will be experienced, but our comfort is in the Word that we are the sons of God, and even if it doesn’t look like it, when Jesus appears, we will be like Him.

There is a great responsibility on all the sons and daughters of God. Because the glory of the Lord is shining down upon His children, that light should be shining through each one and be clearly seen by others in words and actions.

“ ‘Ye are the light of the world’ [Matthew 5:14]. As the sun goes forth on its errand of love, dispelling the shades of night and awakening the world to life, so the followers of Christ are to go forth on their mission, diffusing the light of heaven upon those who are in the darkness of error and sin.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 38.

This is the manner in which glory is brought to the Father and demonstrated to the world that we are connected with heaven and joint heirs with Christ Jesus. As believers, our self-worth is based on the fact that God loves us and calls us His children. We are His sons and daughters right now. This should be our encouragement to live as Jesus lived. We are the sons of God—members of God’s family. We will be like Him and be reflections of God. The rest of the chapter tells us that we will grow victorious over sin: “Whosoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.” I John 3:4–9.

Those who love God will have love for one another. “In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He that does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love [of God], because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” Verses 10–18.

We will have confidence before God: “And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.” Verses 19–24.

God tells us, “I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” II Corinthians 6:17, 18.

Imagine the Creator of the universe as an affectionate Father addressing you. Our heavenly Father proposes to make us members of the royal family through Jesus Christ. Now, if you call God the Father your father, you are not only acknowledging yourselves to be His children, but you are agreeing to be guided by His wisdom and to be obedient in all things that He instructs. Remember that it is through his precious promises and through Jesus Christ that we are becoming partakers of the divine nature. The more we partake of the character of Christ our Redeemer, the more we will reflect that same divine character and the less we will resemble the world.

The Christian life is a process of becoming more like Christ. Paul says that, “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Romans 8:29. This process will be complete when we see Christ face to face (I Corinthians 13:12, Philippians 3:21). Knowing our ultimate destiny, it is now time to long for purity of soul, heart and mind.

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” Romans 8:14–17.

All who will enter into a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ become, by adoption, the children of God. They are cleansed and sanctified by the regenerating power of the Word, and angels are commissioned to minister unto them. They are baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. They pledge themselves to become active members of His church on the earth. They are to be dead to the ways of the world and through their conversation and godliness, exert a living influence for God. Heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ—what an exalted, dignified position! We will be separate and distinct from the world. God’s people have pledged themselves to stand in opposition to evil.

“Of Enoch it is written that he lived sixty-five years, and begat a son. After that he walked with God three hundred years. … After the birth of his first son, Enoch reached a higher experience; he was drawn into a closer relationship with God. He realized more fully his own obligations and responsibility as a son of God.

“Enoch’s righteous life was in marked contrast with the wicked people around him. His piety, his purity, his unswerving integrity were the result of his walking with God, while the wickedness of the world was the result of their walking with the deceiver of mankind. There never has been and never will be an age when the moral darkness will be so dense as when Enoch lived a life of irreproachable righteousness.” Sons and Daughters of God, 20.

It was his constant communion with the Father that enabled Enoch to experience this close connection.

“The greater and more pressing his labors, the more constant and earnest were his prayers. … After remaining for a time among the people laboring to benefit them by instruction and example, he would withdraw, to spend a season in solitude, hungering and thirsting for that divine knowledge which God alone can impart. Communing thus with God, Enoch came more and more to reflect the divine image. His face was radiant with a holy light, even the light that shineth in the face of Jesus. As he came forth from these divine communings, even the ungodly beheld with awe the impress of heaven upon his countenance.

“We, too, are to walk with God. When we do this, our faces will be lighted up by the brightness of His presence, and when we meet one another, we shall speak of His power, saying, Praise God. Good is the Lord, and good is the word of the Lord. … And those who will be translated at the close of time, will be those who commune with God on earth.” Ibid.

The apostle Paul uses adoption or son-ship to illustrate the believer’s new relationship with God. In the Roman culture, the adopted person lost all his rights in his old family and gained all the rights of a legitimate child in his new family. He became a full heir to his new father’s estate. Likewise, when a person becomes a Christian, he or she gains all the privileges and responsibilities of a child in God’s family. One of these outstanding privileges is that of being led by the Spirit of God the Father.

We may not always feel as though we belong to God, but the Holy Spirit is our witness. His inward presence reminds us of who we are and encourages us with God’s love.

We are no longer submissive and fearful slaves; instead, we are the Master’s children. What a privilege we have because we are God’s children. We share in great treasures as co-heirs. God has already given us His best gift, His only Son Jesus, to die on the cross, taking on Himself our sins to give us the promise of eternal life. Then, as a loving and faithful Father, He encourages us to ask Him for whatever else we need on this pilgrim journey.

“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’ Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” Galatians 4:4–7.

“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Galatians 3:26, 27.

[Bible texts quoted are NKJV translation.]

Pastor Domingo Nuñez is Director of Outreach Ministry for Steps to Life. He is involved in the coordination of world mission projects and he travels extensively, encouraging the many home churches supported by Steps to Life. He can be contacted at: (316) 788-5559.

To Be a Pilgrim

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“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. … These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.” Hebrews 11:8–10, 13–16.

From this passage, we can gather the Bible’s description of a pilgrim and a stranger.

  • They obey, not consulting the consequences.

Abraham went out, not knowing whither he went. The first consideration of true Christians is: “What does God want me to do?” They are willing to give up whatever stands in the way of obedience.

  • They are sojourners as in a strange country.

This world is not our home, and we must live as if we believe this. We are not here to seek for personal comforts, but to perfect Christian characters and hasten the coming of Jesus. Therefore, Christians will turn away from materialism. While they may not dwell in tents, as did the patriarchs, they will keep their homes and possessions simple and not excessive.

  • Their goal is a heavenly city.

Others may try to persuade them to stop and enjoy the pleasures and advantages of the world, but their eye is single to their goal.

  • Although they do not yet see the fulfillment of God’s promise, they are fully convinced of the heavenly treasure that awaits them.

The world’s philosophy says, “Get all you can now, for you never know what will happen tomorrow.” The Christian, however, lays aside present comforts and gains for an enduring reward, as did Joseph.

  • They confess or plainly declare that their goal is a better country than this earth has to offer.

Christians are not ashamed of being different from the world. They let it be clearly known that they cannot participate in the world’s lifestyle, since they are pressing toward a better country.

  • Although they have opportunity to return to the world and its ways, they do not return.

How often the good seed springs up in someone’s heart, only to wither away after a short time! So many rejoice to hear God’s truth, but after a while they slip back into their old way of life. They view their original fervor for the truth as an overreaction, or fanaticism, and gradually pick up the worldly ways, which they had gladly cast aside at the time of their conversion. Such people have returned to the land “from whence they came” [Hebrew 11:15].

  • God is not ashamed to have them bear His name.

Their life fully harmonizes with their profession, thus presenting no contradiction to the watching world. They are not claiming to be preparing to meet Jesus while their conduct loudly declares, “My Lord delayeth His coming” [Luke 12:45]. Rather, they exemplify the beauty of holiness.

In these last days, God is looking for a revival of the pilgrim spirit. While we may not be led to far countries as some of His pilgrims have been, we need to be ready to go wherever He sends us, and do whatever He asks of us. We must accept the fact that we are different, that we are not here on this earth to fit in with the crowd, make a name for ourselves, or live a comfortable life. We cannot hope to just blend in with society, giving no noticeable witness for our Lord. Rather, as Christians we are destined to be different, a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men.

In our era, life has in many ways become easier and more comfortable than in any other age. No longer do we inhabit hot, dusty tents, or cold, drafty stone castles. We no longer need to wash our clothes by hand, harvest and mill grain, spin wool and weave cloth or haul water from the well. In some homes, convenience foods have replaced cooking to a great extent. Everything comes ready-made, from shirts to bread. Instead of chopping wood, all we need to do is flip on a heater. Dishwashers, washing machines, bread machines, food processors, computers, and many other devices now take care of jobs that once required hours. It is becoming easier and easier to settle down and feel comfortable in this world. Today we have more time and money for shopping, entertainment, increasing our possessions, or making a display than did our forefathers who carved their living out of the wilderness, yet we must guard against the temptation to become too comfortable in this world. Today, as luxury is within the reach of more people, materialism is a great temptation. Satan knows that our possessions can firmly root us to this earth, and he uses a profusion of advertising, excess income, idle time, and peer pressure to lure professed Christians into the trap.

God’s pilgrims have a peace and hope that cannot be destroyed when earthly surroundings are crumbling. Our home or possessions may be destroyed, lost, or stolen, but we still have our faith in God, and a promise of eternal life in the heavenly country. This heavenly peace in the midst of calamity is something that worldly people cannot understand.

“And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings … they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.” Hebrews 11:36–38.

These people were not at home on earth. In humble garments, homeless, even persecuted, they wandered in deserts, mountains, and caves. Why? Why did they choose such a hard life? Why did men like Abraham and Moses leave home and family to go on long journeys? Why did Moses forsake riches and pleasures? Why did unnamed others consent to mockings and scourgings? Why were they content to wear goatskins and call a cave or den their home?

“And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” Verses 39, 40.

These pilgrims and strangers were looking forward to a day in the future when they, with us, would receive the promise together. This will be the day when all of God’s people from all ages will receive their heavenly reward.

“That they without us should not be made perfect.” Our names can be added to the list of those faithful ones in Hebrews 11. When they receive the reward, we also can receive it. But how can this take place? Can we be borne to the heavenly treasure on the wings of ease? Or must we too become pilgrims and strangers, as were they? It is something to ponder.

Amy Pavlovik has been a teacher and missionary in Macedonia, but her highest calling at present is mother to two-year-old Naomi and helpmeet to her husband Mile Pavlovik, Bible worker at Steps to Life.

That Which was Lost is Found

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“Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.”

Luke 15:1, 2

After the Pharisees and scribes had murmured against Christ and the work He was doing, He, knowing their hearts, told a series of parables that are recorded in the fifteenth chapter of Luke. Each one of these parables—the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son—conveys the same principle and was told in the presence of the Pharisees and scribes who were so actively impugning Christ’s work.

In Testimonies, vol. 3, 99–104, there is a presentation of these three parables which clearly indicates that the object of each one was to open the eyes of Christ’s listeners to the fact that when a sinner, represented by the found sheep and coin and the returning son, turns from his sinful ways and returns to Christ, there is to be rejoicing, not condemnation.

Another possible explanation for these parables is that the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son could be understood to represent this world. According to the Spirit of Prophecy, of all the created worlds, this is the only one that has eaten of the forbidden fruit and been lost (see Christ’s Object Lessons, 190, 191). As we return our allegiance heavenward, what if the angels treated us just as the son that remained at home treated the prodigal? Surely Christ will say to them, “It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.” Luke 15.32.

While both of these interpretations are applicable, there is perhaps a third interpretation for the parable of the lost coin. We read Christ’s words, “Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” Luke 15:8–10.

In the parable, it was a woman who lost one of ten coins. In Scripture, a woman is used to represent the church. Thus the first point for us to note is that the church has lost one of ten pieces of silver—interestingly, the same number of coins as the number of commandments.

Does the word of God provide a hidden treasure in this parable?

“Those who desire to find the treasures of truth must dig for them as the miner digs for the treasure hidden in the earth. No halfhearted, indifferent work will avail. It is essential for old and young, not only to read God’s word, but to study it with wholehearted earnestness, praying and searching for truth as for hidden treasure. Those who do this will be rewarded, for Christ will quicken the understanding.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 111.

In Psalm 12:6, we read, “The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.”

In Proverbs 2:1–5, the Bible records the enlightening words of Solomon: “My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.”

In these texts, the Hebrew word translated as words can also be translated as commandments. When we compare scripture with scripture, an interesting interpretation of this parable begins to unfold. Is it possible that the lost coin also represents a lost commandment as well as a lost sinner and a lost world?

How did the woman find the lost coin? She lit a candle to shed light on her search. In Psalm 119:105, we read, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

Therefore a suggestion for an alternative interpretation to this parable might be that the church lost one of the ten commandments and by searching for it in God’s word, they found it.

In 1885, Ellen White preached a sermon in Grimsby, England, in which she spoke of how Sabbath reform in the early Seventh-day Adventist Church came about as a result of the proclamation of the third angel’s message:

“The open door in heaven reveals the temple of God, in the most holy place of which is the ark, and in this ark is the law of ten commandments written with the finger of God on tables of stone. The light that shines forth from the open door attracts the attention of the people of God, and they begin to see what that ark contains—the law of ten commandments. They are seeking for light, and as they trace down that law, precept by precept, they find right in the bosom of the decalogue the fourth commandment as it was instituted in Eden and proclaimed in awful grandeur from Sinai’s mount, ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it’ [Exodus 20:8–11]. They then see that instead of observing the seventh day, the day that God sanctified and commanded to be observed as the Sabbath, they are keeping the first day of the week as the Sabbath. But they honestly desire to do God’s will, and they begin to search the Scriptures to find the reason for the change. Failing to find this, the question arises, Shall we accept a truth that has become unpopular, and obey the commandments of God? or, shall we continue with the world, and obey the commandments of men? With open Bibles they weep, and pray, and compare scripture with scripture, until they are convinced of the truth, and conscientiously take their stand as commandment-keepers.” The Present Truth, November 3, 1885.

Can we not conclude, then, that the parable of the lost coin was in one sense a prophecy about finding, through searching the word of God, the lost commandment that clearly shows the seventh day as the true Sabbath?

In searching God’s word, comparing scripture with scripture, we find a surprising number of references from Christ Himself regarding the commandments as a whole and the implications of keeping them.

“If ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15.

“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” John 14:21.

“If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” John 15:10.

“Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men. … Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.” Mark 7:7–9.

From these texts as well as from many others, it is clear that Christ kept His Father’s commandments and exhorted His followers to do the same. Let us look at one example in God’s word of Sabbath-keeping that should confirm to anyone who doubts the importance of finding the lost piece of silver, the lost commandment.

In Luke 23:50–56, there is a clear indication of faithful—and maybe even surprising—obedience to a commandment that many today seem to have lost. “And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just: (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God. This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on. And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.”

Doesn’t this story make it clear that if we want to serve our Lord, we must do so according to His commandments? May the world soon realize that there is indeed a lost coin, a lost piece of silver, a lost commandment that must be found and returned to its rightful place in our lives if we truly love the Lord.

“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” I John 5:3.

John Pearson is part of the Steps to Life team. He can be contacted by email at: johnpearson@stepstolife.org.

Devil’s Deceptions

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What should be the final authority for your belief and practice? Many different answers have been proposed for this question. To some it is the opinions of learned men; to others it is the conclusions of science, or the creeds or decisions of ecclesiastical councils; to yet others it is simply the voice of the majority. But there is a more satisfactory answer than any of these.

The prophecies in Revelation 13 and 14 are very clear that in the very last days of this earth’s history there is going to be worldwide religious legislation. In Revelation 13:15–17 we read the following: “He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” [Emphasis supplied.]

In the previous verses it is predicted that the earth will be deceived by this power and that it will pass legislation regulating how worship is to be conducted, and all who refuse to worship according to these laws will be prohibited to buy or sell. Eventually, a death decree will be added to this law.

While studying the Bible we find over and over again that God never forces the will or the conscience. Notice what the Lord says to the inhabitants of this world in the very last chapter of the Bible: “And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.” Revelation 22:17.

Salvation is offered in the Bible as a free gift, but it is only to those who want it, to those who are willing to comply with the conditions. The conditions are mentioned right in this very same chapter. In Revelation 22:14, 15 it says, “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral [those who break the seventh commandment], and murderers [those who break the sixth commandment], and idolaters [those who break the second commandment], and whoever loves and practices a lie [those who break the ninth commandment].”

At the end, it will be the commandment keepers on the inside of the Holy City, and those who break the commandments will be on the outside. It has been recorded very simply, very plainly and very clearly in the book of Revelation, so even a child can understand. God never forces a man’s will or his conscience. He gives an invitation to all to be subjects of His government and to be loyal to the government of heaven.

Satan, on the other hand, constantly resorts to deception. He is called, all through the Bible, the deceiver. He deceived our first parents and is repeatedly called a deceiver and a liar. Jesus called him the father of lies! If Satan fails in his attempt to deceive or seduce, his next step is to compel by cruelty. And that is exactly what we read in Revelation 13:15–17. Eventually, laws will be made to put to death any who refuse to worship in accordance with the laws.

At first, those who are faithful to God will not be able to buy or sell. How will these people feed their families? How will they have clothes, food, shelter, transportation, or anything else if they are unable to buy or sell? If that law fails to make them worship the beast, eventually the death decree will be established, as it says in verse 15. Through fear or force, Satan endeavors to rule a person’s conscience and to secure homage to himself. To accomplish this he has studied the past and he has worked over and over again through both religious and secular authorities. We believe, from reading Revelation 13, that he will do exactly the same in the future as he has done in the past and will move upon religious and secular authorities to make and enforce human laws that are in defiance of the law of God.

We know that this religious legislation in Revelation 13 is in defiance of the law of God because it enforces the mark of the beast, the worship of the image of the beast. In Revelation 14:9–11 we read, “Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.’ ”

Liberty of conscience has been bought at a high cost, a sacrifice that you and I cannot comprehend. The people of the United States of America have liberty of conscience as a result of people who fled from persecution in Europe and other places and said, “We are going to have a government where people have civil and religious liberty.” But, we have political corruption in our world today, even in our own country. This political corruption is destroying the love of justice and the regard for truth so that people are to the place where they want security more than they want freedom.

We are going to see the prophet’s words exemplified in the soon coming conflict that is predicted in Revelation 13 and 14. “The dragon [the devil] was enraged with the woman [a symbol of the church in Bible prophecy], and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Then I stood on the sand of the sea.” Revelation 12:17; 13:1. In other words, he had almost all of the world’s population on his side.

What are you going to do in such a time as that? Are you going to be deceived along with the majority, or are you going to read the word of God and say, “I am going to be obedient to the law of God, and I am going to live in harmony with that law”? Do you remember what Jesus said to the devil? He said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ” Matthew 4:4.

After Jesus had fasted for 40 days in the wilderness and was literally starving to death, He held to the position that He would not go contrary to the word of God, not even to provide food for Himself, one of the most basic necessities of life.

How is it with you? What is your position on the word of God and the law of God? Are you loyal to the commandments of God and to the government of God? Or will you be deceived by the miracles worked through people receiving manifestations of spirits—spiritualism? There is only one class of people who will stand and not be deceived by the final deceptions that will take the world captive, and they are pointed out in the book of Isaiah. “To the law and to the testimony [the testimony of the prophets]: If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20.

This is the final authority and test to know whom to believe and what to practice to be on God’s side of the great controversy. It is not whether you go along with miracles or religious legislation or anything like that. The question and/or test that will provide security in the final conflict between truth and error is the word of God—the law of God. Test the spirits to see if they are in harmony with God’s law. That is the question Isaiah asks. Is it in harmony with God’s law and is it in harmony with the Bible, the testimony of God’s prophets? If it is not in harmony with God’s law as found in Exodus 20:3–17, then there is no light in it and it is not on God’s side.

God’s word is a light unto our path (Psalm 119:105). If there is no light, then the spirit is an evil one, a fallen spirit, one of the devil’s angels. Any miracle done or command made not according to the Word cannot be trusted, because the devil is a liar and a deceiver. His policy has been deception from the first and will continue to be to the last. The only protection and safeguard against the influence of false teachers or the delusive power of spirits of darkness, according to Isaiah 8:20, are the Scriptures. Only an intelligent knowledge of the word of God, the Scriptures, will provide a safeguard against deception and enable you to evaluate the miracles, the teachings, and recognize the devices the devil uses to deceive the world.

The devil knows very well that the Bible shows him for who he is. For this reason he has devised many distractions to keep God’s people from gaining a knowledge from God’s word. Every possible device has been invented to keep men and women occupied, entranced and busy, so they do not obtain that crucial knowledge. The devil knows that the plain utterances of the Bible reveal his deceptions. At every revival of God’s work, the prince of evil is aroused to more intense activity, and right now he is putting forth his utmost efforts for a final struggle against Christ and His followers, because he knows his time is about to run out.

“The last great delusion is soon to open before us. Antichrist is to perform his marvelous works in our sight. So closely will the counterfeit resemble the true that it will be impossible to distinguish between them except by the Holy Scriptures.” Darkness Before Dawn, 36.

It is only through the Holy Scriptures that a person will be able to tell the difference between what is true and what is false. The counterfeit will appear so much like the true that most of the people in this world will think they are experiencing the most wonderful revival and reformation that has ever been, but they will be deceived.

Those who endeavor to keep all the commandments of God will be opposed and derided. Every testimony, every miracle needs to be tested by the testimony of the Scriptures. It will only be possible to stand in a time like this if you are standing in the power of God. In order to endure this deceptive trial that is fast approaching, an understanding of the will of God as revealed in His word is needed. To honor God is to understand what the Bible says about His character, His government, His purposes, and then choose to act in accordance with that government, with that character, with those purposes.

Only those who have filled their minds with Bible truth will be able to stand firm through that great deceptive time. I challenge you to study your Bible and Spirit of Prophecy today. Find out what the Bible says. “Be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things, you will never stumble.” II Peter 1:10.

To every soul, to every person there is going to be asked a close, searching, test question. The test question is simply, “Am I going to obey the laws of God as revealed in His word, or am I going to obey the laws of men when they contradict the law of God?”

The decisive hour is near. Are your feet planted on the unchangeable word of God? Are you prepared to stand in defense of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus? The third angel’s message closes telling of the people who go through this time of test and trial and come out victorious. It says, “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:12.

John the Revelator has pointed out a time of worldwide lawlessness for which God will judge the world and send the sinners to destruction. The Bible is very clear in both the Old and New Testaments that this world is going to be destroyed at the coming of Christ. The mass of world population will be caught in deliberate violation and disobedience to the law of God just as it was before the flood. The people who do not receive the mark of the beast and do not worship his image are described as people who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus (Revelation 14:12). Are you going to be in that number?

Several times in the gospels it is recorded that Jesus told His disciples what would happen to Him when He went to Jerusalem. He said, “We are going to Jerusalem, and I am going to be betrayed by the chief priests and scribes. They are going to give Me to the Gentiles—to the Roman government, to mock and scourge, and I am going to be crucified, and then on the third day, I am going to rise again” (Matthew 16:21; 20:19).

The Bible says that when He told the disciples this, they were exceedingly sorry (Matthew 17:23). In fact, they were so sorry about it that they could not accept it. They just could not believe it. Many people today believe that the whole world is going to be converted, but this is not taught in the Bible. In fact, it says just the opposite.

The world is going to be converted to worship antichrist. They will believe that they are worshiping Christ, but it is not the real One. The disciples were deluded by the teachings of popular theology in their time. They thought Jesus was going to give temporal dominion to the children of Israel and give victory over the Roman government. They could not tolerate the thought that He was going to die an ignominious death, but when the time came, exactly what Jesus predicted happened. The words that they needed to remember were somehow banished from their minds, and when the time of trial came, it found them unprepared. The death of Jesus as fully destroyed their hopes as if He had not forewarned them of what was going to happen. In the same way, in the prophecies in Daniel and Revelation, the future of our world and what is going to happen just before the end of the world is opened up to us just as plainly as what Jesus told His disciples was going to happen to Him.

But, these events connected with the close of probation and the important truths concerning the time of trouble that is coming upon this world, even though they are clearly presented in the Bible, are misunderstood. There are multitudes of people in the world today that have no more understanding of these things than if they were not even recorded in Bible prophecy. And Satan is watching to catch away the truth, to catch away every impression that would make you wise unto salvation so that the time of trouble will find you unready.

Have you ever thought about the fact that when God sends to men warnings that are so important that they are represented in symbolic form as being presented by angels flying in the midst of heaven, as you see in Revelation 14:6–12, that God requires every person who has reason, to pay attention to what He is trying to warn us about? The fearful judgments that are pronounced in the Three Angels’ Messages against the worship of the beast and his image, against Babylon, should lead every Christian to a diligent study of the Scriptures of the prophecy, to learn what this mark is, what this image is, and how to avoid receiving it.

But the masses of the people turn away their ears from hearing the truth. They are turned to fables. The apostle Paul predicted that this would happen. Looking down to the last days, he wrote, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” II Timothy 4:3, 4. Paul predicted that would happen in the future. That has happened. The multitudes today do not want Bible truth, because it interferes with the desires of their sinful, world-loving hearts. Satan provides them the deceptions that they love, so they can have an easy religion, and they can go to heaven sitting down, as it is said.

Would you like to be one of God’s people, one of His children in these last days? God is looking for a people on the earth who will maintain the Bible and the Bible only as the standard of all doctrines and the basis of all reforms. The opinions of learned men are not good enough, because they are still men. The deductions of science are not good enough. The deductions of science have been proved false over and over again in the past. Much of what we believe, much of our deductions, much of our conclusions will be proved false in the future. That is not good enough for a final authority, especially on religious things.

What about the creeds and the decisions of ecclesiastical councils? These are numerous and discordant as are the churches that they represent. How about the voice of the majority? A study of religious history reveals what it was like in the days of Jesus. The majority has been wrong over and over again; in fact, almost every time, because the devil is a deceiver and he deceives the whole world (Revelation 12:9).

What should be the final authority as evidence for or against any point of religious faith?

Before accepting any doctrine or teaching, the question you need to ask is: “Is there a plain ‘Thus says the Lord,’ in support of this doctrine or teaching?” That is not too hard of a question to require. Paul was teaching the truth to people who did not know a lot about it and commended them, saying, “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11. The apostle Paul preached the gospel to people, and they decided to check him out.

They did not just accept it because Paul said it, because Paul was a human being. These people in Berea said, “We are going to find out if what the apostle Paul is teaching is really true. We are going to check the Bible.” So they started searching the Scriptures every day to find out if what the apostle Paul taught about the Messiah was really true. For doing that, the apostle Paul commended them. God is going to have a people in the last days who maintain the Bible and the Bible only as the standard of all doctrines and the basis of all reforms.

Before accepting any doctrine, precept, or teaching, we should demand a plain “Thus says the Lord” in its support. If the Lord does not say so, what confidence can you have? Even the apostle Paul commended the people who checked him out to see, “Is this really what the word of God says?” Jesus said, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31, 32. In other words, Jesus said, “If you abide in My word, then, that is what proves you are My disciples, and the result will be that you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.”

What side of the great controversy are you going to be on as we approach the end of the world?

(Bible verses are from the New King James Version.)

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

Nicodemus

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There is not a lot said about Nicodemus in the Bible, but there are many lessons and illustrations applicable from the little that is mentioned. In fact, there is a whole chapter devoted to Nicodemus in The Desire of Ages. Ellen White makes this statement: “In the interview with Nicodemus, Jesus unfolded the plan of salvation, and His mission to the world. In none of His subsequent discourses did He explain so fully, step by step, the work necessary to be done in the hearts of all who would inherit the kingdom of heaven.” Ibid., 176. This is quite a statement, if you stop to think about it. “In none of His subsequent discourses did He explain so fully ….” It seems to me that since inheriting the kingdom of heaven is our goal it would be important to study this interview carefully to see what is the necessary work. So, we will focus on one small portion of the interview as an illustration of what is necessary for the first step of salvation. It is a step often missing from the lives of professed Christians, yet it is the very first requirement for salvation. Without this step, there are no others.

Nicodemus was what, in our society today, would be called one of the “rich and famous.” He held a high position in the Jewish society. He was highly educated. He possessed unique talents “of no ordinary character.” (See Conflict and Courage, 291.) He was an honored member of the national council. He was a strict Pharisee filled with good works. He was widely esteemed for benevolence; in other words, he cared for the poor and destitute, and for his liberality in sustaining the temple service, he gave liberally to the Lord. What more could he do or be? It seems he had all the bases covered. Nicodemus himself was secure in his salvation. And if we are honest at looking at his life today, we would have to admit that from an outward point of view, he had it all together. Yet it is clear from the interview he had with Jesus that he was lacking something.

Do you want to be in the position where you feel secure of salvation but don’t have it? Jesus explained that situation in Matthew 7:21–23: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” What a fatal, crushing realization, and when it is too late! How can we avoid being in that position?

Let’s continue on with our story of Nicodemus. Let’s join him as he seeks Jesus on that night; that night when a rich, satisfied, successful ruler of the Jews initiated an interview with the meek, humble, poor teacher from Nazareth; that night which was to be the turning point for Nicodemus’ entire life.

Jesus has retired to the Mount of Olives. It is late. The night is peaceful and quiet. Silently, clothed in the darkness so as to conceal his destination, Nicodemus makes his way to Jesus’ retreat. He does not want to be seen; he reasons that he would not want to set this example for the common people.

Under the light of the stars and the moon, speaking with the One who created these things, Nicodemus begins with an air of composure and dignity. “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that you do, except God be with him.” John 3:2, AKJV.

Picture it. Nicodemus is in control; rather he perceives that he is in control. In fact, he probably has the whole conversation planned out in his head. You know what that is like. You have something to say; you know how you will say it, and you know exactly how someone will react to what you have to say. That is Nicodemus’ situation. Well, this is where the story gets interesting. Nicodemus has begun, but his well laid plans don’t work out. Jesus completely ignores Nicodemus’ statement. Immediately, Jesus takes control of the conversation, going directly to the heart of the issue of conversion. He says, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” Verse 5.

Nicodemus is startled. Where did that come from? He had said nothing of conversion. He didn’t need conversion; he was already saved! This is not where his well planned conversation was to go. He loses all sense of his self-possession. He is no longer aware of his surroundings, or his own preconceived conversational ideas. Rather he is focused intently on One who reads his heart like an open book.

Nicodemus had, of course, heard the preaching of John the Baptist. He was aware of the message John had preached concerning repentance and baptism. But never had he related the need for repentance and baptism to himself. He was startled, surprised and self rose up in irritation. What? He, a strict Pharisee not good enough? He, benevolent and liberal yet not good enough? He, highly educated and intelligent but not good enough?

We need to stop right here and reflect a moment. What just happened? Truth was brought home to a heart. And what happened when truth hit home? What happened when Nicodemus was confronted with truth? Is it not the same with many as with Nicodemus? Nicodemus didn’t like the close application of truth to himself. “The pride of the Pharisee was struggling against the honest desire of the seeker after truth.” The Desire of Ages, 171. Let’s think about this for a moment. This is the crux of where so many people lose their way. There are many, many examples of this very thing. In fact, this same situation happened with Lucifer in heaven. Sadly, Lucifer chose to retain his pride, and consequently, he lost all heaven.

Here is where a basic requirement must take place in the heart to begin the process of regeneration and conversion. It is at this point that something must happen in order to gain salvation.

This first basic requirement is succinctly described at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:3, 5, 6, where it says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit … Blessed are the meek … Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.”

These same basic attitudes and attributes are beautifully portrayed in David’s prayer in Psalm 51:10, 11. He says, “Create in me a pure heart, O, God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me.”

What common attributes do you see woven between these two texts, Matthew 5 and Psalm 51? It is humility of heart, an admission of need, a desire for righteousness. Without these, we cannot take the first step towards regeneration and redemption.

Were these attitudes valued and exhibited by the Pharisees? (Remember, Nicodemus was a leading Pharisee.) Not if I read my Bible correctly. In fact, a Pharisee’s thoughts went more like this: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.” Luke 18:11. No wonder the statement Jesus made hit Nicodemus with such force.

Now let’s turn the conversation to our day, to the last church that will exist before Jesus’ coming. As you read the following text, see if there is any correlation or parallel with the statement regarding the Pharisee we just read in Luke 18.

Revelation 3:17, 18 says, “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ ” Does that sound familiar? Doesn’t that sound something like what the Pharisee said? Next it says, “But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.” Do you think this is saying the same thing that Jesus said to Nicodemus on that night when He said, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again”? John 3:5.

This is a serious subject, a crucial subject for those interested in gaining eternal life. And it cuts right to the heart of our salvation. Even more, it is a requirement for anyone wanting a relationship with the meek, humble, lowly Jesus. Do you want an intimate relationship with Jesus? Do you want to be like Him?

“We may have flattered ourselves, as did Nicodemus, that our life has been upright, that our moral character is correct, and think that we need not humble the heart before God, like the common sinner: but when the light from Christ shines into our souls, we shall see how impure we are; we shall discern the selfishness of motive, the enmity against God, that has defiled every act of life. Then we shall know that our own righteousness is indeed as filthy rags, and that the blood of Christ alone can cleanse us from the defilement of sin, and renew our hearts in His own likeness.” Conflict and Courage, 292.

Do you and I today have the humility and meekness, the hunger and thirst for righteousness necessary for salvation, or are we like the Pharisee or the Laodicean? Let us pray earnestly for the Spirit of Christ, as it is the only way unto salvation.

(Bible texts quoted are New International Version unless otherwise noted.)

Brenda Douay is a staff member of Steps to Life. She can be contacted by email at: brendadouay@stepstolife.org or by phone at: 316-788-5559.

Hearers of the Gospel

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The gospel message of Jesus Christ is so simple a child is able to understand it. Yet, at the same time it is deep enough to keep the most diligent student enthralled and challenged. In the Bible are written many things that can be missed by a mere superficial reading. Careful, prayerful study, having an open mind, meditating on each verse, comparing Scripture with Scripture, will reveal many gems and blessings that would be missed if the Holy Spirit has not given understanding.

The attitude in which the Bible is studied affects the character and behavior of the one who reads it and develops an ear for the gospel. In Mark 14:27, it says, “And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.”

Sheep need a shepherd, and when left alone without one to guide, protect and give assistance, they become afraid and run away. When Jesus said that the disciples would be offended and frightened that night, Peter replied, “Although all shall be offended, yet will not I. And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all.” Verses 29–31.

Here Jesus was prophesying to Peter, telling him that he did not have a heart for the gospel but just an ear. He told him that his mind was not right for the gospel. Peter had not surrendered all to Jesus at that point in time. He was still full of himself. Jesus told him that before the cock would crow that very night—not the next day, or the next week, or the next month—but that very night Peter would deny his Lord.

To do what is necessary in the name of the Lord requires a humble heart. The Lord is not looking for proud people; the world is full of them. He is looking for people who are willing to get their hands and their shoes dirty for the Lord. Like Peter, many of us want to have a position with the Lord but still retain those character defects and habits that He rebukes. Many of us still want to have the elevated positions above our brothers and sisters. What if I have been in the church for 25 years; does that give me the right to say, “Who do you think you are?” “I am the pastor, you are the deacon; you should listen to me.” “Do you know who I am; do you know to whom you are talking?”

This terrible prideful behavior influences others to respond in the same way, just as it influenced the other disciples. Peter’s arrogance in claiming his allegiance to Jesus under all circumstances that night infected the other disciples. It is recorded, “Likewise also said they all.” Verse 31. Before we are able to influence others to become like Jesus we must first be like Him. Peter was unaware of the weakness of his own heart, and because of this, he was able to make the boastful claim that, if needed, he was ready to die for Jesus, but we know what really happened. Peter denied Jesus three times. How many Christians today make similar boasts? “If the Lord would come today, I am ready for Him.” But are we really ready for Him today? Many exhibit the same boastful spirit as did Peter, but when something happens that is painful or a little bit uncomfortable and their comfort zone has been invaded, they begin to complain. Because of selfishness and unkindness, many defend their territory just like the animals do, marking their territory and attacking whatever comes too close. This type of person is a hearer of the gospel and not a doer.

In love for mankind, Jesus left the comforts of the kingdom of heaven, where He was adored by the heavenly host, for us. He asked the Father to allow Him to die in our stead. Only somebody of high position, equal with God, could take the place of sinful man in order to pay the penalty for sin.

In Matthew 16:13–16 it says, “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Did Peter really know that He was the Son of God? Though Peter confessed with his mouth that He was the Son of God, his whole heart had not yet connected with the gospel.

Matthew 17:24–27 says, “And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.”

Peter, instead of first enquiring of Jesus, spoke in His behalf, saying that Jesus would pay the tribute. Before presuming or engaging in any situation, we also should ask for wisdom. This lack of wisdom is often the reason for so many differences in today’s church. Decisions are often made without first consulting the Lord.

In the most critical moment of His life and in His weakened condition, Jesus determined to do only the will of His father. “And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.” Mark 14:33–36.

How many are truly prepared and willing to do this? The halfhearted ones will be as the disciples, with the mind willing, but the flesh weak. “And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping.” Verse 37. Some people literally sleep in church. They are so busy all week with the cares of this world that, while sitting quietly in church, they just fall asleep, missing the worship that brings the spiritual strength necessary to resist the attacks of the enemy.

The end of the world is coming, and every opportunity should be taken to expand the mind with Bible truths. Now is not the time to be sleeping; it is time to get ready. The prophecies warn that it is time to get ready!

Mark 14:37, 38 says, “And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.”

It is important that the mind is kept clear by healthful practices and control of the body is kept so that the senses are in subjection to the will of the Holy Spirit.

“And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words. And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy), neither wist they what to answer him.” Verses 39, 40.

The Christian who is prepared to die to self will not remain in his comfort zone and simply listen to the gospel, but he will put into practice the valuable lessons learned and share them with others. It takes serious discipline to get up and work for Jesus.

“And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.” Verse 41.

It is easy to become complacent. While living in California (United States), we, like many others, developed immunity to the shaking caused by minor earthquakes. Several times my wife and I were awakened because of severe shaking. There was lots of noise and the dogs barked. When you are awakened like that, you are in shock and start running. Sometimes you don’t even know where you are going. That is the way it is with the crisis that is coming. There are many sleeping now who are not getting prepared, and they will not know how to respond.

In Mark 14:50 we read how the disciples responded in their crisis: “And they all forsook Him, and fled.” Just a short time before this they had all said they would be willing to die for Him and now they all fled. We can say that we love God today and thank Him for the sacrifice He made on the cross for us, but what about tomorrow? Those who only develop an ear for the Lord will respond in the same manner, as did the disciples—they will run. They will not be able to stand and take their position with God—they will compromise.

Life brings with it many challenges. Resisting that which is bad and making right choices builds the character and increases faith for meeting bigger temptations. It is during this probationary time that the character can be disciplined and made ready to meet the pending crisis before Jesus returns. Those who do not diligently resist the devil now will turn away in the last days and even become collaborators with the persecutors of God’s people.

Mark 14:54 says, “And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest: and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire.” Peter did not want to be recognized as one of Jesus’ followers. He was scared and did not want anything to do with the Messiah, his Teacher, Master and Instructor, and he did not want to be identified with Him. The disciples had witnessed His miracles; they had seen the sick healed and even the dead resurrected. Peter had even admitted that Jesus was the Son of the living God, but it proved to be only giving lip service. If Peter really believed that Jesus was the Son of God, he would have stood right with Him. His expectations were not being met; he had not put his all on the altar, and he found that his lips were fooling him.

In Jesus’ sermon on the mount He said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3. It is not about being arrogant and self-assured but being completely dependent on Jesus, not trusting self at all. This is the condition of all who will inherit the kingdom of heaven.

“And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none.” Mark 14:55. Interestingly, there was none found who were willing to stand up, but there were many conflicting accusations.

“False witnesses had been bribed to accuse Jesus of inciting rebellion and seeking to establish a separate government. But their testimony proved to be vague and contradictory. Under examination they falsified their own statements.” The Desire of Ages, 705.

“And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one of the maids of the high priest: And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth. But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew. And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them. And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth thereto.” Mark 14:66–70.

Peter was identified as a Galilaean by his speech. Christians also should be identified by their speech. The study of the word of God sanctifies the heart, and the speech becomes pure and honest. “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” Luke 6:45.

“But he [Peter] began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak.” Mark 14:71. He responded by swearing and cursing, so he would not look like one of Jesus’ followers.

“Peter had not designed that his real character should be known. In assuming an air of indifference he had placed himself on the enemy’s ground, and he became an easy prey to temptation. If he had been called to fight for his Master, he would have been a courageous soldier; but when the finger of scorn was pointed at him, he proved himself a coward. Many who do not shrink from active warfare for their Lord are driven by ridicule to deny their faith.” The Desire of Ages, 712.

Be sure that under severe and stressful circumstances the feelings of the heart will manifest themselves in the words spoken. How true is the need for a new heart? We should pray, as did David, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10. Only with God’s Spirit is it possible to stand firm during trials.

Either the Spirit of God or the spirit of Satan controls the mind, which in turn controls the words and actions. Peter was offended when Jesus warned him about his denial, his heart being too full of pride. Humans have a tendency to be fooled and to think all is well. Without God we have the tendency to be rude and unkind, selfish. The Spirit of God subdues the selfish, prideful spirit that is within us, giving us a heart of compassion and love for others. Paul describes this: “That ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” Ephesians 4:24.

“And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.” Mark 14:72. “While the degrading oaths were fresh upon Peter’s lips, and the shrill crowing of the cock was still ringing in his ears, the Saviour turned from the frowning judges, and looked full upon His poor disciple. At the same time Peter’s eyes were drawn to his Master. In that gentle countenance he read deep pity and sorrow, but there was no anger there.

“The sight of that pale, suffering face, those quivering lips, that look of compassion and forgiveness, pierced his heart like an arrow. Conscience was aroused. Memory was active. Peter called to mind his promise of a few short hours before that he would go with his Lord to prison and death. …

“Once more he looked at his Master, and saw a sacrilegious hand raised to smite Him in the face. Unable longer to endure the scene, he rushed, heartbroken, from the hall.” The Desire of Ages, 712, 713.

When you fall in love with God, you will take your position with the Lord. Jesus said, “Father, Thy will be done and not mine” (Matthew 26:42). Jesus was there suffering because of His loyalty to His Father. At that point, there was no loyalty or obedience in Peter, because he was still able to swear and curse and to act cowardly. While self reigned there was no room for Divine power. But when Peter looked at Jesus and had eye-to-eye contact with Him, his heart was broken, and he was finally converted. The look on Jesus’ face said, “Peter, I love you.” Peter wept. Each of us needs to look into the face of our Saviour and truly surrender self and weep and be converted.

The gospel tells us to, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Matthew 28:19, 20.

Jesus is coming! Prophecies declare it, and the signs of His appearing are being fulfilled right before our eyes. Now is the time to get ready, not to sleep. Now is the time for discipline, willingly searching the Scriptures. The devil wants us to sleep; he doesn’t care if we are just a hearer of the Word as long as we are not a doer of the Word. Jesus is calling us to come out of the world and to be separate with Him. He has promised that He will be with us unto the end.

First, surrender to God—come to Him; it is too late in earth’s history to be lukewarm. The time is coming when persecution will begin and the decree will go forth to worship the beast and his image. Unless your heart has been renewed by God’s Spirit, you will respond just as Peter did and deny your Lord. You will say, “Leave me alone; I do not know what you are talking about.”

It is not enough to attend church and pay tithe. “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.” Luke 18:11, 12. It is not enough to do all the right things and then compare yourself with others, point out all the things wrong in the church and criticize other brethren for what they eat, what they wear, or what they do. There is no time to hit people over the head with the gospel, but to lead them to Jesus who stands at the door patiently and knocks (Revelation 3:20), offering an invitation to those who overcome as He did to sit with Him on His throne with His Father.

It is time now to, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” II Corinthians 13:5. If we are honest with ourselves, we will see that we can relate with Peter before his true conversion, but we need not stay in that condition. Today, the Saviour is waiting to open the door. Why don’t you let Him come in?

Without Christ, we are nothing!

Pastor Domingo Nuñez is Director of Outreach Ministry for Steps to Life. He is involved in the coordination of world mission projects and he travels extensively, encouraging the many home churches supported by Steps to Life. He can be contacted at: 316-788-5559 or by email at: domingonunez@stepstolife.org.

The Widow and the Unjust Judge

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In the last verse of the Gospel of John, it says that in addition to what is written, there are many other things that Jesus did. In fact, he said that if they were all written down, the world itself could not contain the books that could be written.

There were many incidents in the life of Jesus that are recorded, but of the stories that He told and the miracles that He worked, there are seventy-five recorded. In Matthew 9 you can read how He went through all the cities and villages healing people. Ellen White says in the book The Desire of Ages that there were whole villages where you could go without finding one sick person, because Jesus had passed through town and healed every sick person in that town. (See The Desire of Ages, 241.)

I doubt that there is a single village or town of any size in the United States today where there is not a single sick person. The few miracles that are recorded were the ones that the Holy Spirit inspired to write down because of special significance.

In Luke 17, starting at verse 21, Jesus related to His disciples not only the truth about His second coming, but also conditions in the world in the last day just before He would return.

Note that when the Bible was written, there were no chapter and verse divisions, so this account continues into the eighteenth chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Jesus said that in the last days it would be like it was in the days of Noah and in the days of Lot and gives a number of counsels. Luke 17:33 says, “Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.”

Luke 18:2–5 tells the story about a lady whose husband had died, leaving her in debt. Her adversaries had come and taken everything she had, and she was in a position where she did not know how she was going to get it back. It says, “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while.” Verses 2–4. The judge persistently repulsed the woman. Again and again she was treated with contempt, and he continually said “No.”

Jesus described the judge as being unrighteous and unjust. The woman was in trouble and needed help, but he refused to help her. In this parable Jesus describes the situation that His children will go through in the last days. The woman did not give up; she persistently kept going back to the judge. Ellen White wrote, “It was Christ who gave the pleading widow courage and determination before the judge.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 175.

Many people at times have been short-circuited by the legal system. This was the widow’s experience. She kept going to the only place that she could go in this world to get help, and though she was continually refused and could not get the help she needed, she just kept asking. Finally, something happened. Luke 18:4 and 5 continue, “Afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ” This judge was selfish, but to save his own reputation he gave in to her demand. He was afraid that if she came too many times, eventually there might be some publicity about this, and his partial one-sided judgment might become open to the public. To save his reputation, though he had no pity or compassion, he decided to avenge her to get rid of her.

This story is not only to demonstrate the kind of legal system that His children will have to deal with, especially in the last days, but also to draw a contrast between this earthly judge and the Judge that we have in heaven. Notice what Jesus said in verses 6–8:

“Then the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?’ ”

This is one of the most striking stories in the Bible about the conditions in the world in the last days just before Jesus comes. Notice how it ends in the last part of verse 8: “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” What is the implication of that statement? Jesus said in Luke 17 that it would be like the days of Noah, and it would be like the days of Lot, and now He says when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth? Does this text sound like all the world is going to be converted before the Lord comes? No, it sounds like just the opposite. It sounds just like in the days of Noah and in the days of Lot.

Jesus describes our heavenly Father in exactly the opposite way as the unjust judge. The unjust judge would not do anything to help, but verses 7 and 8 of Luke 18 say, “Shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him … I tell you that He will avenge them.” How? “Speedily.”

The widow, having lost her husband, was alone in the world with no one to help her. In the same way, because of the sin of our first parents, all on this planet have lost their connection with God, and we have no means to save our self except through Jesus Christ. Because of the infinite price that has been paid on the cross of Calvary, the elect of God are dear to His heart, and when we are in trouble and make an appeal to God, that appeal will be heard. And it will be answered.

It may not be answered in just the way that we think or expect. There are some experiences where it seems as if our prayers are not being heard or are not being answered, but it is for us to believe by faith. David also went through some similar trying experiences in his life. While being chased and hunted like a wild beast, he came to a point that he was perplexed as to what to do. Whom could he trust? Would somebody else betray him? He had lost confidence in everybody.

“He saw in every man a spy and a betrayer. In a great emergency David had looked up to God with a steady eye of faith, and had vanquished the Philistine giant. He believed in God, he went in His name. But as he had been hunted and persecuted, perplexity and distress had nearly hidden his heavenly Father from his sight.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 657. In this condition, David made some very serious mistakes. But, “Oh, what a God is ours, who deals gently with the erring and manifests His patience and tenderness in adversity, and when we are overwhelmed with some great sorrow!

“Every failure on the part of the children of God is due to their lack of faith. When shadows encompass the soul, when we want light and guidance, we must look up; there is light beyond the darkness.” Ibid.

“God works out His plans, though to human eyes they are veiled in mystery. Men cannot understand the ways of God; and, looking at appearances, they interpret the trials and tests and provings that God permits to come upon them as things that are against them, and that will only work their ruin.” Ibid., 672.

There are many people today who continually have this kind of perplexity. “David looked on appearances, and not at the promises of God. He doubted that he would ever come to the throne. Long trials had wearied his faith and exhausted his patience.” Ibid. David had suffered through long trials, being hunted like a wild beast by the king of Israel for approximately ten years. This, no doubt, felt as if it was going to last forever.

When I first started working at Steps to Life, my family was living in north Texas about 380 miles from the ministry. Because of the long commute, I went home one to three times a month. I remember, after I had done that for over three years, that in my mind I would ask, “Well, Lord, how long am I going to keep doing this?” Now it didn’t happen forever. No trial that you have in this world is going to be forever, though at times it seems that way while you are going through it and you don’t know how you are ever going to get out of the situation. That is also the way it seemed to David, and that is the way it looked to this poor widow. Concerning David, “Long trials had wearied his faith and exhausted his patience.” Ibid.

Remember, this is a story that applies to God’s people in the last days. The widow said to the unjust judge, “Avenge me of my adversary.” Who was her adversary? The word Satan comes from the Hebrew word, saw-tawn. It is an exact transliteration of the Hebrew word that is a name for the devil, which means, your adversary.

As the woman pleaded, God’s children plead and say, “Lord, avenge me of my adversary. I need help and I can’t help myself; I cannot get out of the situation that I am in, and I don’t know how long it is going to go on. Lord, please deliver me from this.”

The Bible says that God will avenge His own elect speedily.

In Zechariah 3, there is a story recorded where Satan stands up to oppose God’s children. He is their adversary and wants to destroy them. Satan does not simply work alone, but he has many agents. When God’s children pray, “Avenge me of my adversary,” their adversary is the devil and his agents. Those agents are the majority of human beings in this world, and they are working out some social conditions that will exist in the last days. James describes this, “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded.” James 5:1–3. This could be translated rusted or cankered. In other words, it is not pure anymore; it has become destroyed.

It “will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.” Verses 3, 4. Sabaoth is a Hebrew word that means hosts, the Lord of hosts, or the Lord of armies. “You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have murdered the just [the righteous person]; he does not resist you.” Verses 5, 6.

The situation described here did not exist in the world in 1750. It started in the United States of America with the slave trade. Abraham Lincoln had some interesting things to say about it. He saw the inequity in the workplace and queried if it was right for one man to work for 70 cents a day and for another man in the same company to be making 70 dollars a day.

This is the kind of world that we live in today, full of oppression and extortion so there are some classes in the world that are starving. I have met people in Africa with children, men who have told me that they cannot afford to eat more than one meal a day. In Isaiah 59:14 it says, “Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.” What do you do when, because of the legal system and because of the social system, some become wealthy and others cannot survive? Maybe you are on the short end of the stick and you are in a situation where you do not know how you are going to survive. What will you do?

In Psalm 50:15 it says, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble.” If you and I are going to survive until the end of the world, we are going to have to learn how to pray. When we get into difficulty and there is no way out, we are going to have to learn how to call upon the Lord and to depend upon Him to solve our problem, rather than depending on human beings. The temptation is always to depend on human beings to solve our problem. When we are in difficulty, we think that we need a physician. Physicians, lawyers, or even insurance agents certainly have their place, but the kinds of troubles that God’s people are going to have to deal with in the very last days are not going to be solved by physicians or lawyers or insurance agents.

Those who endure to the end will live by faith. In Hebrews 11:33, 34 it says, “Who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.”

Ellen White comments on this text in Christ’s Object Lessons, 172. She says,

“The children of God are not left alone and defenseless. Prayer moves the arm of Omnipotence. Prayer has ‘subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire’—we shall know what it means when we hear the reports of the martyrs who died for their faith—‘turneth to flight the armies of the aliens’ (Hebrews 11:33, 34).”

Remember, when you pray you have an audience in the chamber of the One who is the most high God, who has absolute authority and power over the whole universe. Ellen White said, “We shall know what it means.” In other words, we do not know now; we do not know what it means, but we will know what it means when we hear the reports of the martyrs who died for their faith. There are some texts in the Bible we do not now understand. “By faith they quenched the violence of fire”? We do not know what it means, but she says, we will know what it means when we hear the reports of the martyrs who died for their faith.

In Christ’s Object Lessons, 173, it says, “If we surrender our lives to His service, we can never be placed in a position for which God has not made provision.” Have you surrendered your life to the Lord?

I do not know what situation you are experiencing. I meet a lot of people who describe to me situations that I can scarcely comprehend even after they describe them to me. I do not know what kind of trouble you are facing, but it is impossible that you could be in a situation where God has not made provision to help you.

As long as we are in this world, we are going to have problems on the outside. Jesus wants to come back and take His children out of the world to where there will not be any more trouble. We want to be delivered from the devil’s power. The widow said, “Avenge me of my adversary.” We want to be delivered from the devil’s power that is all around us and is causing so much trouble. But here is the problem. In Christ’s Object Lessons, 174, 175, it says,

“Christ desires nothing so much as to redeem His heritage from the dominion of Satan. But before we are delivered from Satan’s power without, we must be delivered from his power within.”

That is the reason why we are still here. It is not that Jesus does not want to come back and get us out of this place, but before He can deliver us from the devil’s power on the outside, we must first be delivered from the power within. He said, “When you cleanse the cup, first cleanse the inside, then you can clean the outside.” Remember what He said in Matthew 23:28, “That’s the trouble with you Pharisees. You look good on the outside, but inside you are full of all kinds of corruption. You are full of hypocricy and lawlessness.” (Literal translation.) He said to clean up first what’s on the inside; then get the outside clean. Man’s way is always to try to make himself/herself look good on the outside. Keep up the appearance! Whole industries in the world are devoted to glossing over any imperfection in order to make us look good on the outside. But Jesus wants us to look good on the inside. Where is your heart? What is going on in your heart? Are you delivered from Satan’s power within?

Maybe you are troubled because of the power of temptations on the inside, and like David, it just seems as if your patience, your faith, has just been exhausted and there is just nothing left. Some may have prayed for so long for something that they say, “Lord, I cannot keep going.” Keep holding on; there are invisible armies of light and power who attend the meek and lowly ones who believe and claim the promises of God. These angel visitants keep a record of every detail of your life. They know every trial that you are going through.

They are also measuring your character development. Are you getting free from the power of the devil inside? A sure record is kept of any injustice or cruelty that is done whether mental, spiritual, or physical. Paul said, in his letter to the Hebrews, “A little time is going to pass for yet a very little time and then the One who shall come will come and He will not tarry.” Hebrews 10:37, literal translation. But James says, “The husbandman who waits for the precious fruit of the earth has long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. You be patient and establish your hearts, because the coming of the Lord is drawing near.” James 5:7, 8, literal translation.

God is doing a mighty work in the world. He is getting people ready in the midst of all of their troubles. The Bible says that we must, through much tribulation, enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). God is working out a plan in your life to prepare you for heaven. Jesus said, “He will avenge them speedily, though He bear long with them.” Luke 18:7, literal translation.

Because of God’s long forbearance, men have become bold in trampling upon His authority. And they say what the Psalmist said, “Well, does God really know? Does He know what I am doing?” But there is a line beyond which they cannot pass. This also applies to nations. The United States as a nation has gone through a number of crises in the last few years. These crises are increasing both in number and also speed. Nations, families and individuals are in trouble more today than in any time that I can remember. God has often permitted matters to reach a crisis so that His interference might be more marked. We are fast coming to a time when the defiance of God’s law is almost universal. In talking to religious people, they talk as if we have the authority to adjust it. It would be a fearful thing in the Day of Judgment to be asked why liberty was taken to adjust something in His law. That is a question that I do not ever want to be asked.

The time is coming when man will change and adjust the law of God. Ironically, the only part they want to change and adjust is the very heart of the law and the longest commandment in the law. Jesus said it would be easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for a part of a letter to fail (Matthew 5:18). Very soon God is going to say to His children, “Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation is past. For behold, the Lord comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth will also disclose her blood, and will no more cover her slain.” Isaiah 26:20, 21.

The Lord is coming, and when He comes the widow who could not get justice is going to be avenged of her adversary, the devil. The widow represents God’s people, His church, His flock, His fold, who in this world have been destitute, afflicted, and tormented. But the day is coming, the Bible says, when God will be Judge Himself, and when that happens, the decisions of all the unjust judges in the world, whether in the church or the state, will be reversed.

Whatever cross you have borne, whatever loss you have sustained, whatever persecution you have suffered, even if you have lost your life, Jesus is going to recompense you. In Hebrews 11, Moses chose to suffer affliction with the people of God rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, because he had respect unto the recompense of the reward (verse 25, 26). What is the recompense of the reward? Jesus said, in Matthew 19:29, “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.”

The story of the widow and the unjust judge is a story from which, when studied, we may find great comfort. Jesus said that God is going to avenge His own elect, speedily. He is going to deliver them and give them a reward for what they have suffered in this world.

Whatever trouble or trial you may be going through right now, I encourage you to cry out to the God of heaven. Remember, prayer moves the arm of omnipotence, and your prayer will not be lost. It may not be answered immediately the way you think, but your prayer will never be lost. It will always be answered.

Commit your life to the Lord, to His service. If you do, you can never be placed in a situation in this world for which God has not made provision. If you commit yourself to Him, He is going to save you. The question is not whether God will hear your prayers. The question is, “When you are in trouble, will you keep praying?”

[Bible texts quoted are NKJV translation, unless noted otherwise.]

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