Bible

Does My Flock Love a Lie?

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Life is a serious gift from our Creator. It is not to be taken lightly or wasted, for in the day of judgment all must give an account.

Paul, writing from his prison cell, outlines the responsibility and job description of every man who is called to be a minister in the Christian religion. “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given me for you, to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” Colossians 1:24–28.

Paul understood his appointment as apostle and a minister to “present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” His preaching was so powerful that there were people who heard only one sermon that changed their lives, and they will be in the kingdom of heaven because of what they heard. The apostle Paul is not the only one who will be asked about those the Lord put in their path, for since that time there have been thousands, actually millions of preachers who will be answerable.

On judgment day the Lord will ask every preacher, “Where is your flock, the people to whom you have been preaching?” I am well aware that someday the Lord is going to ask me, “Where are the people to whom you preached? Are they here? Are they perfect in Christ Jesus? Are they on My right hand or on the left? Where is your flock?” This puts a huge responsibility on those who minister to others to deliver messages that are sometimes very difficult or not popular.

To the Ephesian elders, Paul said, “Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.” Acts 20:26, 27.

Have you noticed that we are living in a time when all of the counsel of God is not popular? Paul predicted that would be the case and wrote to a young preacher, Timothy: “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.

Preachers are human. They want to be popular, and it is just a human desire to want to be accepted, so in order to be popular, many preachers do not preach everything. Many of them understand perfectly well what the Bible says about the seventh-day Sabbath, but they won’t preach it, fearing they may lose more than half of their congregation. I feel sorry for them. As for myself, I decided a long time ago that I would rather preach to six people and have them ready to go to heaven, than preach to 6,000 people and have them lost.

I receive many letters from people who say, “Your church isn’t perfect. You are preaching about perfection, but your people aren’t perfect. Don’t you sin? Don’t the people in your church sin?” God can bring a whole church full of people to perfection in Christ Jesus, for that is what the Bible teaches. The whole object of Paul’s preaching was to “present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” To reach that goal the whole counsel of God must be preached. This consists of three things:

Doctrines—The apostle Paul taught that there are foundation doctrines as well as more advanced doctrines of which an understanding is needed. He said, “Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.” Hebrews 6:1–3.

The Gospel—This is one of the main themes of Paul’s preaching. “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.” Galatians 1:6–10.

Practical Godliness—To explain this in the simplest possible language that even a child can understand, I’m going to quote a statement from the book The Ministry of Healing, 365. Ellen White said that, “He [Jesus] came as God’s ambassador, to show us how to live so as to secure life’s best results.” What we call practical godliness is simply, how to live and the condition of the people who are ready to meet Jesus when He comes in the clouds of heaven.

A practical Christian lifestyle is impossible without first knowing the gospel or the doctrines. Paul also wrote Timothy, “But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.” I Timothy 6:11. These are the attributes of Jesus to be reflected in His people.

John the revelator describes people who will be ready for Jesus to come in the last days: “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:12. Notice, these people have a practical experience in endurance and patience, and they keep the commandments.

In Revelation 14:1–5, there is mentioned a special group of people called the 144,000. These are described in some detail. They will live through the final judgments that will come upon the world and will be ready for Jesus to come. If we are going to be perfect in Christ Jesus and ready for His appearing, this is the group of people that we need to especially study. According to Revelation 14:12, they must be commandment keepers.

Look at Revelation 14:5; it says, “And in their mouth was found no deceit [guile], for they are without fault before the throne of God.” Notice this verse carefully. If in your mouth there is no deceit, you will be without fault before the throne of God. This is a fact that can be proven from several different places in the Bible.

In the Old Testament, Zephaniah 3:13 says, speaking about God’s remnant people in the very last days: “The remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness and speak no lies, nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth.” Twice in that one verse it says the remnant will not break the ninth commandment, which says, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Exodus 20:16.

Facts Concerning the Ninth Commandment

ONE—The devil was the first liar and a skillful one who was able to turn one third of the angels against God and to rebel against His government. In the Garden of Eden, he caused the fall of Eve and Adam by his lies, mixing truth with his error making it more deceptive. The fallen angels have become demons who continue to harass and tempt people on this earth to also lie. Jesus said, “When he [Satan] speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” John 8:44.

TWO—God never tells a lie. In fact, “It is impossible for God to lie.” Hebrews 6:18. That is an amazing text when you start to think it through. Anything that God tells you will turn out to be the truth. The devil may say the opposite, making it difficult to discern, but you can be certain that if God is speaking, it is always the truth, because God never tells a lie.

The Bible, written thousands of years ago, is true and dependable. Infidels have continually tried to prove it wrong, but it is still true. It’s impossible for God to lie, and those things that people are skeptical of now will eventually prove to be true.

THREE—A special identifying mark of the 144,000 is that they will be people who tell the truth. There is no deceit in their mouths (Revelation 14:5).

FOUR—This point is not so nice. Every person who is a liar will someday burn up. “All liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8.

This fact is so important that it is repeated three times in the last two books in the Bible. “There shall by no means enter it [the Holy City, New Jerusalem] anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” Revelation 21:27.

The most scary one of all is found in Revelation 22:15: “Outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.” As I study this, I find out that it is very uncommon to find any human being that doesn’t love a few lies.

We are living in a time when lying has become more common than ever before. And this was predicted in the Bible. Paul said, “Evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” II Timothy 3:13. Notice, these people are going to deceive, and it is going to get worse and worse. They are going to deceive other people. As a liar engages in deceiving others, he also deceives himself.

Let’s consider this to better understand the ninth commandment. Remember, the 144,000 will be keepers of all the commandments, but especially the ninth commandment is emphasized and, according to Zephaniah 3, they are without deceit in their mouths not telling any lies. This is a special qualification of God’s remnant in the last time.

We have been commanded to “not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Exodus 20:16. In the book Patriarchs and Prophets, 309, Ellen White expounds on this commandment.

  1. Make sure that everything you say is absolutely true. We say things often that aren’t true without even thinking about it. I remember my grandfather had a pocket watch and he checked the time three times each day for the exact time. My grandmother and my wife were different than that, and if you asked them the time, it might be given as ten to eight or five to eight, but if you asked my grandfather, he would tell you, “It is 7:56 and a half.” I try to always be approximate when I tell the time, because I realize that people don’t really even know what the time is. Often times we give general answers that are not exactly right in every detail. In those cases we should be careful to make it known that our statements are approximate and not exact, being careful not to bear false witness.
  2. Making a statement with the purpose to deceive.
  3. An intentional overstatement. You may ask the evangelist how many people attended his meeting tonight and he may tell you 150. This could be an overstatement, unless the heads were counted. It is very difficult to look at a crowd and tell exactly how many people are there. An exaggeration breaks the ninth commandment.
  4. The ninth commandment is broken when by a hint or insinuation or expression you convey an erroneous message.
  5. An effort to injure our neighbor’s reputation by misrepresentation or by evil surmising breaks this commandment. A correct statement can be given either a negative or positive twist to change the meaning. Do Christians take things that other people say and do and give it a negative twist? Yes, unfortunately this happens far too often.

Listed along with an effort to injure our neighbor’s reputation by misrepresentation is evil surmising, slander, or tale bearing. Slander is repeating evil information about a person. By the way, slander is not necessarily false. The slander may be true, but do you realize if each one of us knew everything about everybody else, we could all say something about every single person that would be slanderous!

The Wise Man

In the book of Proverbs, the wise man deals many times with this subject in strong terms. Using the terms folly and fools, he says, “The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way, but the folly of fools is deceit.” Proverbs 14:8. Read through the book of Proverbs noticing everything it says about fools and folly and remembering that the folly of the fool is deceit.

“The thoughts of the righteous are right, but the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.” Proverbs 12:5. “He who speaks truth declares righteousness, but a false witness, deceit.” Verse 17. “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are His delight.” Verse 22.

Proverbs 6:16–19 says there are six things that God hates. Then he says, actually there are seven, and they are listed. Of those seven things that God hates, two of them relate to the ninth commandment.

Solomon explains why people fall into that sin: “Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.” Proverbs 20:17. “He who hates, disguises it with his lips, and lays up deceit within himself; When he speaks kindly, do not believe him, for there are seven abominations in his heart; Though his hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness will be revealed before the assembly. Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him. A lying tongue hates those who are crushed by it, and a flattering mouth works ruin.” Proverbs 26:24–28.

Dig For a Deeper Meaning

A lie does not have to be spoken audibly. You can live a lie. In fact, your whole life can be a lie acted out—it is still a lie!

Some things really hit a tender nerve, but they need to be said if we are going to present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. All acting is lying. Did you understand that? I was involved in acting as a child. I was selected in school to play the part of the grandfather. Think this through. Was I a grandfather when I was in the eighth grade? No, I was acting out a lie; it was not the truth.

When watching movies or television or some DVDs of a theatrical performance, you are watching people act things out, and you are watching a lie. When I was at Southwestern Adventist College in Keene, Texas, we used to get what we thought were good movies, things like the life of Martin Luther. The actor in the movie who played the part of Martin Luther pretended to be him. Martin Luther had been dead for 400 years, so he was acting out a lie.

Remember that in Revelation 22:15 it said that outside the city is everybody who loves and practices a lie. Those people who watch the lie love it. If they didn’t love the lie, they wouldn’t be watching it. I know what I’m talking about, because I’ve been there and watched many movies. I’m not proud of that fact, but I know what happens when you watch a movie. Many Seventh-day Adventists believe that it is the environment of the movie theater that prohibits the Christian to watch movies, so they are brought into the school settings or other “safe” environments. One of the movies that we watched while I was in high school was about Peter Marshall, a very godly man who immigrated to the United States of America and became the chaplain of the United States Senate. He was one of the most brilliant preachers and orators of the twentieth century. It was clear that he had the gift of communication, but we were watching a lie. The actor was not Peter Marshall who had been dead for ten years, and neither was the actress his wife. So we were watching a lie. Mentally we entered into this thing, loving and practicing a lie. I remember when I got done watching that movie I could hardly sleep that night having entered into that experience.

Ellen White said to those who are preachers to avoid anything theatrical, in gestures, work, preaching or in evangelism. When she was alive, the only way a person could see theatrics was to actually go to a theater. This is what she wrote:

“Among the most dangerous resorts for pleasure is the theater. Instead of being a school of morality and virtue, as is so often claimed, it is the very hotbed of immorality. Vicious habits and sinful propensities are strengthened and confirmed by these entertainments. Low songs, lewd gestures, expressions, and attitudes, deprave the imagination and debase the morals. Every youth who habitually attends such exhibitions will be corrupted in principle. There is no influence in our land more powerful to poison the imagination, to destroy religious impressions, and to blunt the relish for the tranquil pleasures and sober realities of life than theatrical amusements. The love for these scenes increases with every indulgence, as the desire for intoxicating drinks strengthens with its use. The only safe course is to shun the theater, the circus, and every other questionable place of amusement.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 652, 653.

Soon we shall all stand before the judgment bar of God, and the Lord will ask us ministers, “Where’s your flock? Are they all perfect? Are they here, perfect in Christ Jesus?” Will we be able to say, “Yes, here they are”? That will not be the case if you don’t get over watching videos, movies, DVDs and programs on the Internet that some are still watching. It is time to take a careful look into this serious situation. The 144,000 have no deceit in their mouth. They are not watching it, or listening to it, or reading it, or speaking it; they are pure.

One More Thing

“He who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk just as He walked.” I John 2:6. It was in Antioch that men and women were first called Christians, because they continually talked about Jesus and His life. With tear-dimmed eyes and quivering lips, they would tell about His suffering in Gethsemane, how He was scourged and crucified for the human family, offering the invitation to believe on Him as Lord and Saviour, to deliver them from both the guilt and power of sin. They taught that He is in heaven right now interceding for His children and that He is going to come back again to take those who have received Him out of this world. Constantly they spoke about Jesus, His life, death and ministry for His chosen ones. As people listened to this over and over, it seemed like that was all they talked about. The people said they were just like the person they talked about, so they began calling themselves Christians. A Christian is one who is a disciple, a follower of Jesus Christ. They have been called Christians from that day to the present.

Christianity has now been around for about 2,000 years. But why is it that there are hundreds of millions of people in the world who hate all Christians? It is because of hypocrisy—there are many people who profess to be Christians, but they are far from being Christlike. Professing the name Christian, but not being like Christ, is to lie. I may not say anything, but I am acting a lie.

The 144,000 will have no deceit in their mouth. They are truly Christians—like Christ. I’ll confess this to you, that when I first studied this out, it made me scared to call myself a Christian, and I realized that I had a lot of praying to do. In Revelation 12:17, it talks about the followers of Jesus, the last ones left on the earth. It says, “The dragon [the devil] was enraged with the woman [the true church], 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.”

Notice the word remnant. Seventh-day Adventists love to call themselves the remnant of Revelation 12:17. The remnant, besides keeping the commandments of God must also have the testimony of Jesus Christ. To call myself a Seventh-day Adventist and part of the remnant means that my life should be in harmony with the Spirit of Prophecy. If I call myself a Seventh-day Adventist and my life is not in harmony with the Spirit of Prophecy, what am I doing? I am acting out a lie. To take it to the final conclusion, if you call yourself a Seventh-day Adventist church and your church is not living out the teachings of the Spirit of Prophecy, your church is acting out a lie.

The Lord is going to have a people that are Christlike, and I want to be one of them. I hope by God’s grace that each one of you can be one of them, too.

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

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.

Women in the Bible

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An article in an Eastern paper says: “Women were not permitted to speak in the early Christian churches. The Bible takes no more account of women generally than the Koran or any other Eastern book.”

Nothing could surprise us more than to read this statement in a paper which ought to know better. Women were not only degraded among Eastern nations, but they are always degraded where Christian civilization is unknown. It is in the diffusive benevolence of Christianity that “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28.

And the New Testament is not contrary to the Old, in this respect. Sarah was honored in the promise and birth of a son, as well as Abraham. She was called by name as the mother of “the seed,’’ to the exclusion of all others. Her name was changed as well as that of her husband.

Miriam was honored as well as her brothers, Aaron and Moses. Dr. Smith, in his Bible Dictionary says, “In Micah. 6:4 she is reckoned as amongst the three deliverers. She is the first personage in that household to whom the prophetic gifts are directly ascribed; Miriam the Prophetess, is her acknowledged title,” “judged Israel.” She was also a deliverer in the day of their trouble, as Barak refused to lead the armies of Israel against the Canaanites unless she went with him. And Jael, the wife of Heber, has honorable mention in the song of triumph which they sang. When Josiah repaired the temple, and learned by the book of the law which was found therein that there had been a great departing from the ways of God, and that wrath was like to come upon Israel, they took counsel of “Huldah the prophetess,” and the king and the priest and the king’s officers gave attention to the word of the Lord by her.

In Joel’s prophecy of the present dispensation it was said, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.” No promise was given there to the men which was not given also to the “handmaids.” On the day of Pentecost Peter quoted this prophecy without any suppression or diminution, and soon after we find a remarkable fulfillment in the household of Philip, the evangelist, who had four daughters “which did prophesy.” If four sons in any one family ever prophesied we certainly have no record of it.

The number of women of whom honorable mention is made for their labors in the gospel is not small. Now, in view of these facts, how can any man in this age say that the Bible does not notice women, or give them a place in the work of God? The Lord chooses his own worker, and he does not judge as man judges. Man looks at the appearance; God judges the heart, and he never makes mistakes. Happy for the people when they can heartily coincide with His judgment, and be co-workers with him, instead of taking an independent course, and choosing their own way, which is sure to lead to darkness, confusion, and ruin.

The Signs of the Times, October 30, 1879.

The Keys that Unlock the Bible

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A mission trip to Peru provided an experience that is perhaps the most vivid explanation of how to understand the Bible. As a medical doctor, able to read, write, and speak fluent Spanish, the group with which I traveled decided I could go alone to the most rural church in northern Peru.

In developing nations, the sermon does not end at midday. It is all encompassing, and Sabbath services continue all day. As the guest speaker, it is understood that you will teach the Sabbath School, present the sermon as well as the children’s story, give an afternoon meeting and then vespers, as well as any other possible speaking slot. If you can sing, you will also lead out in the song service and provide the special music.

Finishing vespers after sundown, the church announcements were made. They showed a book that they proposed to study for the following quarter’s prayer meeting. It was The Great Controversy, and they would have to raise money to purchase the books. Plans were made to sell things or work to acquire the books that they so desperately desired to study. Two church members, Cory and Heidi, said they would be willing to do anything for this book that they wanted to study and share with their families and friends. Returning to my hotel room, I arranged for books to be given to them.

During this trip our medical group was at a different place every day, providing free medical care. Three days after my speaking experience, we held a clinic near the church. Hundreds of people from the surrounding villages converged on the area. Many of the surrounding churches had sent members to assist us, and I could see that Cory and Heidi were helping with the hydrotherapy station.

When the opportunity came, I asked them if they had received the books. They had, and they were so excited. Six-year-old Heidi and nine-year-old Cory had already started reading their books and sharing with their families and friends. Heidi had to have her Mom read with her, not so much to share it with her Mom, but that she couldn’t understand some of the larger words in Spanish. Seeing the enthusiasm of these two children made me realize that I did not understand God’s word. I did not love God’s word at all compared to these youngsters who would prefer reading The Great Controversy over playing with toys or their friends. Returning home, I pulled out my copy of this book and reread it, going over several intriguing chapters more than once.

These two children in Peru, who would give anything to just have the opportunity to read about God, taught me the greatest thing necessary to understand the Bible.

Three Keys in Understanding the Bible

Key One – David makes quite a claim in Psalm 119:99: “I have more understanding than all my teachers: for Thy testimonies are my meditation.”

To meditate means to focus on one thing. To meditate on Scripture is different than Eastern religion’s transcendental meditation where the focus is on the word “oom” or a mantra.

Often times we neglect to stop our multi-tasking to spend time with God. We dart our prayers to Him while driving in the car or eating breakfast, which is not wrong as long as we schedule time to give Him our full attention during those intimate moments with Him, meditating on His word in the early hours of the morning.

I was baptized by Doug Tilstra, a very intriguing pastor. While talking to someone, he will not look at his watch or answer his phone, and he is never distracted. His focus is with one person at a time. More than anything else about him, I was moved by his interest in whomever he talks to; they are important and receive his complete focus. One reason we don’t understand the Bible is because we do not seek it at the loss of all other things, like Heidi and Cory. We are too distracted by many other things.

When Jesus visited His friends’ home in Bethel, Martha was so busy getting the food ready that she wasn’t focused on her guest. You can just hear the pathos in Jesus’ voice when He said, “Martha … ,” and He probably paused a little bit as she was still moving around, and then He said one more time, “Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41, 42.

Mary understood that although there were many good things in life, there was only one that was necessary. Ultimately, at the end of time, only one thing will matter, and that is going to be God and what we have done for others in His name. We have devalued an understanding of the Bible, placing more value on books, people, and academic degrees. We must seek an understanding of Jesus at the loss of all things.

Key Two – David said, “I understand more than the ancients, because I keep Thy precepts.” Psalm 119:100. The ancients were those people with the long beards and were hundreds of years old; the wise people with much experience.

It is not merely meditating on God’s word that gives understanding, not only focusing in on God at the loss of all things, but there needs to be an execution of what we learn. Jesus taught a very important principle in John 7:17. He said, “If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine.” Isn’t it interesting that another key to understanding is in doing it!

While doing some evangelism and presenting the health message in Holland, I said that we cannot always trust the medical literature to steer us in the right direction. True science will always be in harmony with revelation, but we do not always have true science in the journals. It is a matter of time before science will catch up with the Spirit of Prophecy and, eventually, it will. To illustrate my point, I shared an article from the 1935 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association, which is basically the premier journal for physicians, that stated that smoking cigarettes was good for several health conditions such as asthma.

Smoking is not good for asthma, and we recognize now that the second hand smoke can cause pediatric asthma. I had presented this to show that the medical literature does not always steer us in the right direction when it comes to true laws of health. In regard to matters of health, I have reminded people many times that it is more important what comes out of our mouths than what goes in. I believe in the health message. I’m a physician; I love the message, but we need to deal with the bigger issues first.

I am amused, whenever I present the health message to an Adventist audience, that someone always asks me about mushrooms. Why mushrooms? I can present information that I know about them that are insignificant compared to other unhealthful practices. These audiences are often eating meat, eating at night, drinking alcohol, and I think the mushrooms are at the bottom. Deal with the big issues first. What we don’t seem to understand is that God is not going to give us any more light in whatever area it is until we obey and do what He has asked us in the fundamental areas, like what we say and how we treat people. Those are the major things that need to be taken care of first.

When we obey what we do know, God will help us understand what we don’t know. That’s the key to understanding the Bible.

In Steps to Christ, 110, Ellen White wrote, “Whenever men are not in word and deed seeking to be in harmony with God, then, however learned they may be, they are liable to err in their understanding of Scripture, and it is not safe to trust to their explanations.” That is a very powerful statement. It does not matter how many letters you have after your name; it does not mean anything. In word and deed, to be in harmony with the Master in heaven means everything.

“Successful work for Christ depends not so much on numbers or talent as upon pureness of purpose, the true simplicity of earnest, dependent faith.” The Desire of Ages, 370. I can’t think of any better picture of simplicity and earnest dependent faith than the two children, Heidi and Cory, in Peru.

“For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. … Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.” I Corinthians 1:19–21, 25, 26.

Now I can tell you that I am very thankful that the words are “not many” instead of “not any.” I am educated, and if it said “not any,” then that would exclude me and several other people, but it says “not many.” Very, very few people who are educated, who are mighty or who are wealthy understand what God is all about. Why is that? Highly educated people, with their degrees, tend to trust more in man. People tend to judge the quality as good on their intellect and their degrees. The amazing thing is that this is the reason God chooses the foolish things and the weak things, because when we look at Heidi and Cory, with their fervor and devotion to God, it is God Who gets the glory. Heidi has not gone to Stanford University or Harvard. In fact, she has not yet even gone to school. Whereas, if someone is learned, very intelligent and talented and smooth in their presentation, there is a tendency to give that person the glory. When God chooses children, the weak things of the world, to do things like this, there is no way we can miss the illustration, and it is clear that it is God at work.

Key Three – Once you know God, putting into practice what He has revealed to you, the last step is critical. “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” Luke 6:38.

The best way to learn a subject is to teach it. When I return home from presenting meetings, I can meet someone on the street and can often remember my whole presentation to share with them. The most critical part of understanding the Bible is sharing what we do know with those around us.

There is a very important concept, which I believe is not only important for understanding the Bible but is important to being saved. It is the concept of trust. When I was young, I liked to climb those walls beside the sidewalk that started off low and gradually became a little higher. I would get up on the wall, with my Dad beside me on the pathway, and I would go higher and higher and higher, to eventually a place where the wall was about six feet high and it would end. At the end of the wall, my Dad wanted me to jump down into his arms. My Dad is a pretty big guy, so he would not have any trouble catching me. But as I got older, maybe 5, 6, or 7, I would come to the end of the wall and I would get down myself. Something had changed, and it was not because my Dad was no longer able to catch me. I had become more dependent on myself. A normal part of human nature is to become self-sufficient and independent, but that is lethal to your spiritual life. The more dependent you are on yourself and your own abilities, the less likely you will be saved. Jesus tells us this is critical, not only to understanding the Bible but to salvation itself. “And [He] said, Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3. Because a child is dependent, it is humble and teachable. It is far easier for God to save little children than you and me.

I praise God that He had mercy upon my soul and sent me two children in Peru to teach me what it really means to understand His word.

“God can teach you more in one moment by His Holy Spirit than you could learn from the great men of the earth.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 119. That is very impressive!

“Understanding of Bible truth depends not so much on the power of intellect brought to the search as on the singleness of purpose, the earnest longing after righteousness.” The Great Controversy, 599.

You may not have a PhD; you may not have any formal education at all. You may not have gone to school past high school or even elementary school, but you can understand the Bible. In fact, you may be able to understand the Bible much better than those who have gone to school, because you are not dependent upon yourself but are dependent upon Jesus Christ. As you open God’s word, I pray that you will remember the toothless grin of six-year-old Heidi, deep in Peru with her nine-year-old friend Cory, and remember that the key to understanding God’s word is to seek it with all your heart at the loss of all other things and to obey what God reveals to you and to share it with others. Ultimately, although we are not all children, unless we become as little children we will never understand God and His truth and be saved.

Tim Riesenberger is an ER physician in Washington state with a passion to share the gospel both locally within the United States of America and also in foreign mission fields. He may be contacted by email at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

Let there be Light

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“Then the Pharisees and the Sadducees came, and testing Him [Jesus] asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, ‘When it is evening you say, “It will be fair weather, for the sky is red”; and in the morning, “It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.” Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.’ And He left them and departed.”

Matthew 16:1–4

Jesus often used physical realities—the things of nature—to make a spiritual point. He referred to them as signs. These signs were actual, factual, even sometimes historical events intended to direct the minds of the hearers beyond the truths of the physical world to greater spiritual truths.

Paul suggests that God has done the same thing—used physical reality to make a spiritual point—in the act of creation itself. He wrote, in II Corinthians 4:6, “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Here Paul is making an allusion to Genesis 1:1–3, which reads, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.”

Clearly, Paul considers the creation as recorded by Moses in Genesis to be a historical, factual, and plainly understood and widely accepted fact. God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. For Paul, this text points to a real event in time and history—the creation of light around six thousand years ago.

However, God revealed to Paul that the text does even more than record history. God showed Paul that His acts in creation were prophetic and eternal words, foretelling spiritual things to come. Just as God said, “Let there be light!” He now says to helpless, weak sinners, “Let there be understanding of who Christ is.” To quote 11 Corinthians 4:6 again, “to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

As the divine light on day one invaded the darkness of the pre-creation void, so God’s grace invades our weak, frail, dark minds. We stand before God without spiritual light and void of goodness. Like the original creation in Genesis 1, we do not yet have spiritual life, but all that changes because of God’s grace. God says, “Let there be light,” and there is light!

God revealed a similar idea to John. John 1:4, 5 says, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” Like Paul, John is alluding to Genesis 1:1–3, understanding that every word of the creation story is historical and literally true.

In addition, God revealed to John that the Genesis text says much more. God intended the historic light of creation to burn an even greater spiritual truth into our minds. The same God who said “Let there be light” is the God who inspired Peter to write, in I Peter 2:9, “You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

Allusions to the light of truth penetrating darkness are ubiquitous in both the Old and the New Testaments. Both Job and his “miserable comforters” speak of the contrast between light and dark. In Job 29:2, 3, Job remarks of his misery, “Oh, that I were as in months past, as in the days when God watched over me; when His lamp shone upon my head, and when by His light I walked through darkness.”

David spoke of it in Psalm 18:28, where he wrote, “For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness,” and again in Psalm 112:4: “Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness.” (KJV)

Isaiah used the same metaphor in Isaiah 9:2: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.”

In speaking for God, Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 42:16, “I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, and not forsake them.”

Micah as well made reference to this phenomenon in Micah 7:8: “Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; when I fall, I will arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.”

And, of course, we are all familiar with the words of Christ Himself, as quoted in John 8:12: “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’ ”

He made a similar reference in John 12:35, 36: “Then Jesus said to them, ‘A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.’ ”

In John 3:19, in His conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus remarked, “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”

The same God Who, in Genesis 1, transformed the earth, filling it with light, life, order, and rule, is the same God Who is transforming believers by His grace into men and women who are to be “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14), and, when fulfilling the grand commission, will, as Gabriel told Daniel in Daniel 12:3, shine as the stars of heaven. The power of God that was manifested in the historic creation is the same power that is at work in our lives today.

Unfortunately, some professedly Christian leaders have mythologized the Creation, dismissing it as pre-scientific nonsense. Even Pat Robertson, a leading evangelical Christian, has maintained that the Creation is a myth, citing carbon dating and dinosaurs “frozen in time out in the Dakotas” as irrefutable evidence that the earth is vastly more than 6,000 years old. (November 27, 2012, on the “700 Club” broadcast, CBN television.)

Such statements give strength to the Catholic argument that man’s intelligence overrules the teachings of Scripture, and erodes faith in God’s word, leading one to believe that he can pick and choose what he takes as truth in God’s word.

Paul and John took the opposite view. They understood that all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness.

To trivialize God’s words—any of His words, from the very first words, “Let there be light,” to the very last words, “Surely, I come quickly”—deprives believers of the blessings, the faith, and the confidence in His word that God intended us to have when He gave it to us.

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

John Pearson is the office manager and a board member of Steps to Life. After retiring as chief financial officer for the Grand Canyon Association, Grand Canyon, Arizona, he moved to Wichita, Kansas, to join the Steps team. He may be contacted by email at: johnpearson@stepstolife.org.

Without a Wedding Garment

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The parable of the wedding garment, given in Matthew 22:1–14, opens before us a lesson of the highest consequence. By the marriage is represented the union of humanity with divinity; the wedding garment represents the character which all must possess who shall be selected by the king to attend the wedding banquet.

As we look at the parable more closely, we find that this invitation of the king has been extended to the people of this world for thousands of years. Verses 1–7 apply to the Jewish nation during the time of the Old Testament through the time of the ministry of Jesus in the first advent. The Jews refused to recognize Jesus as the Lamb of God Who had come to ratify the new covenant by His death on the cross. They refused to believe that Jesus ascended to heaven to open the holy place of the sanctuary in heaven. Therefore they cut off the means by which they could receive the wedding garment. The king was enraged by the refusal of the people to accept this gracious invitation. “He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city” (Matthew 22:7) in A.D. 70.

From the time of the first advent to the present time, the king has continued to send this gracious invitation to the people of this world. “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.” Matthew 22:8–11.

These verses describe the great gospel invitation that has been going forth to the world during the ministry of Christ in the sanctuary of the new covenant in heaven. Jesus opened the sanctuary in heaven on the day of His resurrection when He confirmed the ratification of the covenant with His Father.

“Jesus refused to receive the homage of His people until He had the assurance that His sacrifice was accepted by the Father. He ascended to the heavenly courts, and from God Himself heard the assurance that His atonement for the sins of men had been ample, that through His blood all might gain eternal life. The Father ratified the covenant made with Christ, that He would receive repentant and obedient men, and would love them even as He loves His Son. Christ was to complete His work, and fulfill His pledge to ‘make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir’ (Isaiah 13:12). All power in heaven and on earth was given to the Prince of Life, and He returned to His followers in a world of sin, that He might impart to them of His power and glory.” The Desire of Ages, 790.

All through the history of the Christian church the invitation has been and is still being given to the people of the world to come to Jesus in the sanctuary in heaven that they may receive the wedding garment.

Satan stepped between the people and Christ while He was ministering in the daily service in the first apartment of the sanctuary in heaven. He declared the Pope to be the head of the church in place of Christ. Next he directed the people to confess their sins to the priests who could never forgive their sins or provide them with a wedding garment. During the centuries that followed the knowledge of Christ’s ministry in the sanctuary in heaven was lost to the church.

But the knowledge of the ministry of Christ in the sanctuary above to provide the wedding garment was to be restored. “And he said to him, ‘For two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state.’ ” Daniel 8:14 RSV. Again the invitation to the wedding banquet went out to the world. “So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.” Matthew 22:10. People responded to the invitation and the banquet hall was filled.

Finally the king entered to examine the guests to see if everyone was properly attired in the wedding garment. Matthew gives the following description: “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.” Verses 11, 12.

What is the wedding garment that this man failed to acquire? “In the parable of Matthew 22 the same figure of the marriage is introduced, and the investigative judgment is clearly represented as taking place before the marriage. Previous to the wedding the king comes in to see the guests, to see if all are attired in the wedding garment, the spotless robe of character washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb (Matthew 22:11; Revelation 7:14). … This work of examination of character, of determining who are prepared for the kingdom of God, is that of the investigative judgment, the closing of work in the sanctuary above.” The Great Controversy, 428.

“By the wedding garment in the parable is represented the pure, spotless character which Christ’s true followers will possess. To the church it is given ‘that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white,’ ‘not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing’ (Revelation 19:8; Ephesians 5:27). The fine linen, says the Scripture, ‘is the righteousness of saints’ (Revelation 19:8). It is the righteousness of Christ, His own unblemished character, that through faith is imparted to all who receive Him as their personal Saviour.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 310.]

“The man who came to the feast without a wedding garment represents the condition of many in our world today. They profess to be Christians, and lay claim to the blessings and privileges of the gospel; yet they feel no need of a transformation of character. They have never felt true repentance for sin. They do not realize their need of Christ or exercise faith in Him. They have not overcome their hereditary or cultivated tendencies to wrongdoing. Yet they think that they are good enough in themselves, and they rest upon their own merits instead of trusting in Christ. Hearers of the word, they come to the banquet, but they have not put on the robe of Christ’s righteousness.” Ibid., 315.

The reader could wisely ask, at this point, “How can I receive the wedding garment? How can I be sure I have the wedding garment on?” Thankfully the answer to these questions is very simple. It is found in the parable of the ten virgins. “The followers of Christ are to ‘wait for their Lord, when He will return from the wedding’ (Luke 12:36). But they are to understand His work, and to follow Him by faith as He goes in before God. It is in this sense that they are said to go in to the marriage.

“In the parable it was those that had oil in their vessels with their lamps that went in to the marriage. Those who, with a knowledge of the truth from the Scriptures, had also the Spirit and grace of God, and who, in the night of their bitter trial, had patiently waited, searching the Bible for clearer light—these saw the truth concerning the sanctuary in heaven and the Saviour’s change in ministration, and by faith they followed Him in His work in the sanctuary above. And all who through the testimony of the Scriptures accept the same truths, following Christ by faith as He enters in before God to perform the last work of mediation, and at its close to receive His kingdom—all these are represented as going in to the marriage.” [Emphasis added.] The Great Controversy, 427.

In this quotation, it is clearly seen that it was the wise virgins understanding of the “truth concerning the sanctuary in heaven and the Savior’s change in ministration” that were given entrance in to the wedding banquet. “By faith,” the wise virgins, “followed Him in His work in the sanctuary above.”

That it is the wedding banquet the virgins attend is made clear in the following references:

“They [the wise virgins] were not to be present in person at the marriage; for it takes place in heaven, while they are upon the earth. The followers of Christ are to ‘wait for their Lord, when He will return from the wedding’ (Luke 12:36). But they are to understand His work, and to follow Him by faith as He goes in before God. It is in this sense that they are said to go in to the marriage.” Ibid.

“Having received the kingdom, He will come in His glory, as King of kings and Lord of lords, for the redemption of His people, who are to ‘sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob,’ at His table in His kingdom (Matthew 8:11; Luke 22:30), to partake of the marriage supper of the Lamb.” Ibid., 426.

The case of the wise and foolish virgins is also represented in the parable of the wedding banquet in Matthew 22. “In the parable of Matthew 22 the same figure of the marriage is introduced, and the investigative judgment is clearly represented as taking place before the marriage. Previous to the wedding the king comes in to see the guests, to see if all are attired in the wedding garment, the spotless robe of character washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb (Matthew 22:11; Revelation 7:14). He who is found wanting is cast out, but all who upon examination are seen to have the wedding garment on are accepted of God and accounted worthy of a share in His kingdom and a seat upon His throne.” Ibid., 428.

The necessity of understanding and cooperating with Christ in His closing ministry in the sanctuary above is explained in the following reference:

“Those who would share the benefits of the Saviour’s mediation should permit nothing to interfere with their duty to perfect holiness in the fear of God. … The subject of the sanctuary and the investigative judgment should be clearly understood by the people of God. All need a knowledge for themselves of the position and work of their great High Priest. Otherwise it will be impossible for them to exercise the faith which is essential at this time or to occupy the position which God designs them to fill. Every individual has a soul to save or to lose. Each has a case pending at the bar of God.” Ibid., 488.

This ministry of Christ in the sanctuary of the new covenant is just as important to our salvation as was His death upon the cross. “The intercession of Christ in man’s behalf in the sanctuary above is as essential to the plan of salvation as was His death upon the cross. By His death He began that work which after His resurrection He ascended to complete in heaven. We must by faith enter within the veil, ‘whither the forerunner is for us entered’ (Hebrews 6:20). … The salvation of man is accomplished at an infinite expense to heaven; the sacrifice made is equal to the broadest demands of the broken law of God. Jesus has opened the way to the Father’s throne, and through His mediation the sincere desire of all who come to Him in faith may be presented before God.” Ibid., 489.

It is our acceptance of and our participation with Christ in the confession of our sins and His atonement for them with His blood that we can receive the wedding garment. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9. Listen to the invitation of Christ: “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.” John 7:37 KJV.

Not only must we receive the wedding garment ourselves, but when we receive it, it becomes our privilege and responsibility to tell others where they also can get it.

“All who have received the light upon these subjects are to bear testimony of the great truths which God has committed to them. The sanctuary in heaven is the very center of Christ’s work in behalf of men. It concerns every soul living upon the earth. It opens to view the plan of redemption, bringing us down to the very close of time and revealing the triumphant issue of the contest between righteousness and sin. It is of the utmost importance that all should thoroughly investigate these subjects and be able to give an answer to everyone that asketh them a reason of the hope that is in them.

“The intercession of Christ in man’s behalf in the sanctuary above is as essential to the plan of salvation as was His death upon the cross. By His death He began that work which after His resurrection He ascended to complete in heaven.” The Great Controversy, 488, 489.

“God’s people are now to have their eyes fixed on the heavenly sanctuary, where the final ministration of our great High Priest in the work of the judgment is going forward—where He is interceding for His people.” Evangelism, 223.

“In order to endure the trial before them, they must understand the will of God as revealed in His word; they can honor Him only as they have a right conception of His character, government, and purposes, and act in accordance with them. None but those who have fortified the mind with the truths of the Bible will stand through the last great conflict. To every soul will come the searching test: Shall I obey God rather than men? The decisive hour is even now at hand. Are our feet planted on the rock of God’s immutable word? Are we prepared to stand firm in defense of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12)? The Great Controversy, 593, 594.

“As the ministration of Jesus closed in the holy place, and He passed into the holiest, and stood before the ark containing the law of God, He sent another mighty angel with a third message to the world. … The third angel closes his message thus: ‘Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus’ (Revelation 14:12). As he repeated these words, he pointed to the heavenly sanctuary. The minds of all who embrace this message are directed to the most holy place, where Jesus stands before the ark, making His final intercession for all those for whom mercy still lingers.” Early Writings, 254.

“As a people, we should be earnest students of prophecy; we should not rest until we become intelligent in regard to the subject of the sanctuary, which is brought out in the visions of Daniel and John. This subject sheds great light on our present position and work, and gives us unmistakable proof that God has led us in our past experience. It explains … that Christ then entered into the most holy apartment of the heavenly sanctuary, and is there performing the closing work of His priestly office, in fulfillment of the words of the angel to the prophet Daniel, ‘Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed’ (Daniel 8:14).” Evangelism, 222.

Not only do the wise virgins receive the wedding garment through the ministry of Christ in the most holy place, but this truth is also the anchor that keeps them from being swept away by the storm during the latter rain. “Many saw the perfect chain of truth in the angels’ messages, and gladly received them in their order, and followed Jesus by faith into the heavenly sanctuary. These messages were represented to me as an anchor to the people of God. Those who understand and receive them will be kept from being swept away by the many delusions of Satan.” Early Writings, 256.

The three angel’s messages are a vital witness to the ministry of Christ in the most holy place to provide the wedding garment. “I saw a company who stood well-guarded and firm, giving no countenance to those who would unsettle the established faith of the body. God looked upon them with approbation. I was shown three steps—the first, second, and third angels’ messages. Said my accompanying angel, ‘Woe to him who shall move a block or stir a pin of these messages. The true understanding of these messages is of vital importance. The destiny of souls hangs upon the manner in which they are received.’ ” [Emphasis added.] Ibid., 258, 259.

In conclusion, those who go to Jesus, Who is still mediating in the most holy place, with confession of sin will receive the wedding garment. “All who have truly repented of sin, and by faith claimed the blood of Christ as their atoning sacrifice, have had pardon entered against their names in the books of heaven; as they have become partakers of the righteousness of Christ, and their characters are found to be in harmony with the law of God, their sins will be blotted out, and they themselves will be accounted worthy of eternal life. The Lord declares, by the prophet Isaiah: ‘I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins’ (Isaiah 43:25). Said Jesus: ‘He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels.’ ‘Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven’ (Revelation 3:5; Matthew 10:32).” The Great Controversy, 483.

Dear friend will you be found with a wedding garment when probation closes or will the King find you “without a wedding garment”?

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New International Version.)

Maurice Hoppe is Director of the Steps to Life training programs and a member of the Steps to Life Board. The Training Program for Ministers and Church Leaders is a correspondence course that prepares individuals to serve as pastors or Bible workers. Preparing for the Final Conflict is a correspondence course for the laity. Both of these courses teach present truth that will be an anchor for the soul during the storm of opposition and persecution just ahead. He and his wife also have a correspondence course offered through Revelation Ministry. He can be contacted at: mauricehoppe@stepstolife.org.

Just Say “NO!” To Unarmed Combat

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In just the gospel of Matthew alone, the Lord Jesus is recorded as having said, “It is written,” seven times (4:4, 6, 7, 10; 11:10; 21:13; 26:24; 26:31.) Clearly He could not have made these statements unless He had memorized the Scriptures. And, as Jesus is our Example (see I Peter 2:21), it is biblically sound to recommend that we memorize Scripture as well.

This point was driven home for me when I was serving as a translator for a Russian pastor who addressed a group of young Adventists one Sabbath. I wondered what this veteran of 12 years in Soviet concentration camps would have to say to our young people. It was a surprise to hear him begin by asking the class of juniors and young adults which of the three angels in Revelation 14 tells us to keep the Sabbath. Shockingly, none could answer him. He then asked which of the Ten Commandments tells us not to kill, and received a wrong answer! He pointed out that when you are taken to prison, they not only do not give you a Bible, but they take away the one that you have, and you are left with only what you have memorized. He stated that in his country where they know the meaning of persecution, all of the young adults have memorized the Ten Commandments and the Three Angels’ Messages. Some have memorized entire books of the Bible, and a few have even memorized the entire New Testament.

In our little historic church in Montana, we have added a new feature to our adult Sabbath School program. We allow time for voluntary recitation of Scripture. This is definitely a popular activity. We have six Sabbath School members actively involved; and it appears that another person, not yet even a baptized member, is beginning to memorize. We have only been doing this for about the past six months, yet I was surprised at how easy it is to memorize Scripture. Though it may seem difficult at first, it steadily becomes easier with practice.

The strongest weapon that we have been given to resist temptation is specified in Psalm 119:11, “Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” If we do not memorize the Word of God, with what will we resist the enemy? Would not a well-meaning Christian without Scripture be like a karate black-belt attacking a machine gun nest with his bare hands?

Just say “NO!” to meeting Satan’s temptations unarmed. Arm yourself by memorizing Scripture while you still have the opportunity.

Completing the Temple with the Law of God

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In I Corinthians 3:9 and 16 Paul says, “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. … Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” What was the apostle Paul referring to as God’s building or temple in this passage? Many interpret this as referring to the human body. But a closer look at the context (chapter 3:1) shows that it is the church as a whole that Paul was referring to as the temple of God. God’s church is His temple on earth. The question is, Is the building of God’s temple complete?

Notice what the pen of inspiration says: “Through the ages that have passed since the days of the apostles, the building of God’s temple has never ceased. …

“Paul and the other apostles, and all the righteous who have lived since then, have acted their part in the building of the temple. But the structure is not yet complete. We who are living in this age have a work to do, a part to act.” The Acts of the Apostles, 598, 599. Friends, the temple is not yet complete. You and I have a work to do and a part to act.

And with what are we to complete the temple? In the book, Our High Calling, 141, Inspiration says, “The law and the gospel go hand in hand. The one is the complement of the other. The law without faith in the gospel of Christ cannot save the transgressor of law. The gospel without the law is inefficient and powerless. The law and the gospel are a perfect whole. … The two blended—the gospel of Christ and the law of God—produce the love and faith unfeigned.” So with this in mind, let’s consider completing the temple with the law of God, and in a future article (LandMarks, December 2013) we will consider completing the temple with the gospel of Jesus.

In Exodus 25:2, 8, God tells Moses: “Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering … And let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” This is a reference to the sanctuary built by Moses which was “the example and shadow of heavenly things.” Hebrews 8:5. What was it that made this sanctuary holy? Exodus 29:43 says, “And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory.” Notice that it was the glory of God, or His presence, that sanctified the sanctuary and made it holy. And what was it that signified the glory or presence of God? “Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” Exodus 40:34, 35. The presence of the cloud signified the presence of the Lord, and this cloud signified God’s presence throughout Israel’s journey in the wilderness.

Now while this is true, there was something else that also signified the glory of the Lord, not only during the time of Israel’s journey, but also during the time of Israel’s monarchy. “And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the Lord was come into the camp. And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore.” I Samuel 4:6, 7. Notice the connection between the ark of the Lord and the presence of God. In verses 21, 22 we read, “And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband. And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.” Notice how the ark of God signified the glory or presence of God, not only in the wilderness sanctuary, but wherever it was placed.

In the book Patriarchs and Prophets, 584, this point is magnified: “The most terrifying calamity that could occur had befallen Israel. The ark of God had been captured, and was in the possession of the enemy. The glory had indeed departed from Israel when the symbol of the abiding presence and power of Jehovah was removed from the midst of them.” According to this quotation, the ark of God was the symbol of God’s presence and power.

Now there is another point worthy of notice. In Exodus 29:43, God said that He would meet with Israel at the tabernacle. Just where in the tabernacle did communion with God occur? “And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.” Exodus 25:21, 22.

Here we learn that communion with God occurred where the mercy seat and the ark of the testament were. These two articles were found in the most holy place of the tabernacle. Now we know that the high priest was not allowed to enter the most holy place except for one day out of the year. However, every day the priest appeared before the altar of incense to offer sweet incense, which was a symbol of prayers mingled with the righteousness of Christ. The altar of incense was located in the holy place, just before the veil that separated the holy from the most holy place. Now the fact that communion with God occurred where the mercy seat and the ark of the testament were shows the connection between the law of God, the mercy of God, and the voice of God. Wherever God’s law and mercy are found, there is where God’s voice can be found. On the other hand, wherever God’s law or God’s mercy is absent, there we can be sure that God’s voice is absent. The commandments of God and the faith of Jesus are the truth, and neither can save the sinner by itself; both must be united.

In I Kings 8:13, Solomon said, “I have surely built Thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for Thee to abide in for ever.” To what house was Solomon here referring? We know it as Solomon’s temple, because it was the temple he built for the worship of the God of heaven. And what do you think it was in this house (temple) that signified the presence of God? In verses 6, 10, 11 we read, “And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place. … And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.” So, again we see a cloud signifying the presence of God. As the cloud filled the temple, the glory of God filled the temple. The glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. Now while this is true, notice again the connection between God’s presence and God’s law. It was not until the priest put the ark of the covenant in its rightful place that the glory of the Lord filled the house. The ark of the covenant, along with its mercy seat, was a symbol of the abiding presence and power of Jehovah, and wherever God’s law and mercy were found, there is where God’s presence could be found.

In Revelation 11:19 the Bible says, “And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament.” Historic Adventists understand that this prophecy was fulfilled in 1844, when Jesus closed the door of the holy place in the sanctuary above and opened the door to the most holy place. And when Jesus entered the most holy place, He called the attention of the Advent believers to the ark of the testament. We know that there is a sanctuary in heaven, and in this sanctuary can be found the law of God as well as the throne of grace. Therefore, we know that God is present in the heavenly sanctuary, but what about the earthly sanctuary? Is there anywhere on earth where God’s law and mercy should be found? Yes, friends, it should be found in God’s earthly temple, i.e. the church. “Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.” “… as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” Isaiah 8:16; Romans 10:15.

Now concerning the law of God, where in the church should it be found? In Hebrews 8:10 Paul says, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put My laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts … .” The ark of the covenant, i.e. the law of God, must be found in the hearts of the people of God. This is the goal of the new covenant, to restore man to the image of God. This restoration can occur only as man is brought back into harmony with God’s law. And when this occurs, then God’s presence will be with that man and, consequently, with the church.

Friends, is the law of God written upon the table of your heart? Can you say, as did David, “I delight to do Thy will, O my God: yea, Thy law is within my heart.” Psalm 40:8. Do you take pleasure in doing the will of God? Do you take pleasure in self-denial, in the crucifixion of your sinful desires? When we come to the point where we take pleasure in doing God’s will, in self-denial, we are on our way to heaven, and God’s law is being woven into our characters. The completion of the temple will be accomplished.

Earlier we learned that the law of God must be found in the heart of God’s people. Now if it is not in its rightful place, then the glory or presence of God, to a great degree, is absent. On the other hand, if the law of God is restored to its rightful place, what do you think would happen? Inspiration tells us, “It is only as the law of God is restored to its rightful position that there can be a revival of primitive faith and godliness among His [God’s] professed people.” The Great Controversy, 478.

Would you like to see a revival of primitive faith and godliness? Would you like to see God’s temple completed and His work finished? Many Adventists want God to finish His work on earth. We have a longing to enter our heavenly home. But many Adventists are not ready for God to finish His work. We want to participate in the loud cry, but we are not willing to keep the commandments of God. Friends, God will finish His work. The question is, will we have a part in the completion of this work, or will we have a part in its hindrance?

What is the greatest obstacle in the church that must be eliminated if God’s temple is to be completed? In Spiritual Gifts, vol. 2, 236, we read, “The greatest sin which now exists in the church is covetousness.”

This statement was made during the early 1860s, and if covetousness was the greatest sin then, when the church was poorer than it is today, then this statement is even truer today when the church, especially in America, is rich and increased with goods, and appears to be in need of nothing. The reason covetousness is such a great obstacle is because as human beings we have desires, but because of our lack of self-control, we allow our desires to overpower our ability to reason and make moral decisions. And as a result, we find ourselves thinking that our strong desires are legitimate when, in reality, we are being greedy and covetous.

Friends, we must guard ourselves against covetousness, against the cravings for possessions. Instead of coveting the Babylonish garments of this world, we should be coveting the righteous robe of Jesus Christ. Beware and take heed of covetousness. For life does not consist of the abundance of the things which one possesses. Therefore, be content with such things as you have because godliness with contentment is great gain, even the gain of the righteousness of Christ.

When God’s children today have put away all covetousness and by faith wear the robe of Christ’s righteousness, then the temple will be complete, and Christ can return to take up residence therein.

Demario Carter is currently a Bible worker for Steps to Life. 

Laodicea and ” New Light “

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Revelation 3:17 tells us, “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” The true state of Laodicea, “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked,” but indeed, they believed they were “rich and in need of nothing.”

There are several aspects to this being “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” The specific aspect of Laodicea we are going to study has to do with what we might call “ new light.” As Adventists, do we have this attitude of “knowing the truth” of “having no need for new light ” of “having a satisfaction with what we already know spiritually”? In other words, claiming that we are “rich and increased with goods”?

Let’s see what God Himself has said about our spiritual condition. “It is a fact that we have the truth, and we must hold with tenacity to the positions that cannot be shaken; but we must not look with suspicion upon any new light which God may send, and say, Really, we cannot see that we need any more light than the old truth which we have hitherto received, and in which we are settled. While we hold to this position, the testimony of the True Witness applies to our cases its rebuke, ‘And knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked’ (Revelation 3:17). Those who feel rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing, are in a condition of blindness as to their true condition before God, and they know it not.” The Review and Herald, August 7, 1894.

What does this paragraph tell us? We must not look with suspicion upon any new light. We must hold with tenacity (stubbornness, obstinacy, insistence, resolve) to those things which cannot be shaken. In other words, according to inspiration, the very basis, the foundation of our faith cannot be changed or removed. But, does that mean we simply freeze frame where we are? Let’s read what God Himself says in answer to this.

“A spirit of Phariseeism has been coming in upon the people who claim to believe the truth for these last days. They are self-satisfied. They have said, ‘We have the truth. There is no more light for the people of God.’ But we are not safe when we take a position that we will not accept anything else than that upon which we have settled as truth. We should take the Bible, and investigate it closely for ourselves. We should dig in the mine of God’s word for truth. ‘Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart’ (Psalm 97:11). Some have asked me if I thought there was any more light for the people of God. Our minds have become so narrow that we do not seem to understand that the Lord has a mighty work to do for us. Increasing light is to shine upon us; for ‘the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day’ (Proverbs 4:18).” The Review and Herald, June 18, 1889.

What does God Himself tell us through these words? We must dig. Here are some synonyms for the word dig: excavate, burrow, break up earth, plow. Now, let’s put ourselves into the culture in which these words were written. We have no clue in these days as to the work involved. Digging meant backbreaking labor; labor that called into action every muscle fiber, the discipline of the mind to work through pain and fatigue. God says “we should dig in the mine of God’s word for truth.” It is going to take concerted effort. Truth will not come to the indolent, lazy, or neglectful. Further it says we have become “narrow that we do not seem to understand.” We must not let go of truth. Truth is so broad, so deep, so wonderful, but just like the Jews, we have constricted it.

“We must not think, ‘Well, we have all the truth, we understand the main pillars of our faith, and we may rest on this knowledge.’ The truth is an advancing truth, and we must walk in the increasing light.” [Emphasis added.] Counsels to Writers and Editors, 33. What is frightening is that we do not understand even the main pillars of our faith. “There was evidence and there was reasoning from the word that commended itself to the conscience; but the minds of men were fixed, sealed against the entrance of light, because they had decided it was a dangerous error removing the ‘old landmarks’ when it was not moving a peg of the old landmarks, but they had perverted ideas of what constituted the old landmarks.” Ibid., 30. This was written in 1889, and we could do a number of studies on the fact that this situation has never been rectified, but rather grown worse as time has passed.

Friends, what does God say about people who are in this position? Revelation 3:16 says, “So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth,” or “I am about to spit you out of My mouth” NIV. The following is another description of how God views His people, and what He requires of us: “Our efforts are languid, and we run the Christian race slowly, and manifest indolence and sloth, because we so little value the heavenly prize. We are dwarfs in spiritual attainments. It is the privilege and duty of the Christian to be increasing in the knowledge of the Son of God, ‘unto a perfect man’ (Ephesians 4:13).” Our High Calling, 161.

If we have this truth in our hearts, if it is acted out, spoken out, lived out, it will draw people. The kindness, happiness, peace of those who are truly converted draws people to Jesus. We need that conversion in our lives.

But whether you are a converted one with the light of Jesus’ life in your heart, or whether you are one being drawn by Jesus’ love, we each have an ongoing decision to make; for those already converted to maintain that conversion; and for those just being drawn whether they will surrender or not.

I would like to look now at another class of people, those who only profess. This class is described in John 6. They are repeatedly called Jesus’ disciples. But when the testing time came, when they had the invitation to be converted themselves, they turned away, because they didn’t want the searching truths to change their hearts. John 6:60 says, “Many therefore of His disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?”

This scenario takes place the day after Jesus fed the five thousand. Instigated by Judas, the crowd planned to take Jesus by force to Jerusalem, to make Him the king of the Jews. Jesus, knowing what was underway, with a commanding air, sent His disciples down to the lake, and then dispersed the crowd. The next day, the crowd was seeking Him again. But Jesus, knowing their hearts, revealed that He knew their hearts and that they were seeking Him only for the temporal blessings that they received from Him. He then told them clearly that He came not to give them earthly greatness, but that what He had to offer was forgiveness of and separation from sin; Jesus was offering them salvation, eternal life of bliss! Yet, the Bible records this sad record, “On hearing it, many of His disciples said, ‘This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?’ ” NIV. What was this teaching? It was that Jesus is the living bread and water. They must eat of it and drink of it and through partaking of Him, become changed. John 6:66 tells us of the choice made by those who could not accept the close, searching truths that require a change of heart. It says, “From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him” NIV. It was so bad that we read, “ ‘He that is not with Me,’ said Christ, ‘is against Me’ (Matthew 12:30). It is wholehearted, thoroughly decided men and women who will stand now. Christ sifted His followers again and again, until at one time there remained only eleven and a few faithful women to lay the foundation of the Christian church.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 130.

This just wrings my heart. These people had walked with Jesus, followed Jesus, were attracted to His love, His mercy, His goodness, His kindness. Yet when it came right down to the core issue, a change in their own hearts, [that is, the acceptance of what was to them ‘ new light ’] so they could be like Him, they choose to cling to formal, dry doctrine so they wouldn’t have to root out sin in their lives. It is a close, trying, painful work, but one that is absolutely essential if salvation is truly the goal of the life. Oh, my friends, if you wish not to be in a condition of spiritual apathy, listen to these words of Inspiration found in The Review and Herald, April 1, 1890:

“Several have written to me [Ellen White], inquiring if the message of justification by faith is the third angel’s message, and I have answered, ‘It is the third angel’s message in verity.’ The prophet declares, ‘And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory’ (Revelation 18:1). Brightness, glory, and power are to be connected with the third angel’s message, and conviction will follow wherever it is preached in demonstration of the Spirit. How will any of our brethren know when this light shall come to the people of God? As yet, we certainly have not seen the light that answers to this description. God has light for His people, and all who will accept it will see the sinfulness of remaining in a lukewarm condition; they will heed the counsel of the True Witness when He says, ‘Be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me’ (Revelation 3:19, 20).

“The Church is presented as standing in a self-satisfied, pleased, proud, independent position, ignorant of her destitution and wretchedness. By her attitude she says, ‘I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.’ How many who claim to be keeping the commandments of God are in this position today! The charge against the Church is, ‘Thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot’ (verse 16). But while many may be satisfied with their lukewarm condition, the Lord is far from pleased, and declares that unless you are zealous and repent, He will spue you out of His mouth. But He warns you, He entreats you. He says, ‘Thou knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see’ (verses 17, 18).

“The gold that Jesus would have us buy of Him is gold tried in the fire; it is the gold of faith and love, that has no defiling substance mingled with it. The white raiment is the righteousness of Christ, the wedding garment which Christ alone can give. The eye-salve is the true spiritual discernment that is so wanting among us, for spiritual things must be spiritually discerned.

“To our brethren who are standing in this self-confident, self-satisfied position, who talk and act as if there was no need of more light, we want to say that the Laodicean message is applicable to you. Many professed Christians are without Christ because they refuse to weave His principles of truth into their life. The word of God declares, ‘Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled’ (Matthew 5:6). We should pray earnestly and inquire with sincere hearts as to what the will of the Lord is, that we may be ready to receive the blessing we so much need.”

It is my plea and prayer for each one of us that we take this message personally. Do not grieve the heart of our precious Saviour by remaining one moment more in a Laodicean condition. Repent and be converted, truly converted. Buy from Jesus the 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.

Brenda Douay is a staff member at Steps to Life. She may be contacted by email at: brendadouay@stepstolife.org.

Out of Darkness

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“Thus saith God the Lord, He that created the heavens, and stretched them out; He that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; He that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.” Isaiah 42:5–7 KJV

When I was living in northern Arizona, I occasionally had the opportunity to fellowship with a young man, whom I will call Bill, who had been born blind. On Sabbath afternoons, Bill and some of the other church members and I would go for a walk through the ponderosa pine forests of the Colorado plateau. Bill would hold the arm of someone in the group and walk along with us as we enjoyed the beauty of the forest. It always puzzled me what this experience was like for Bill, as he was obviously missing out on what was to me the best part of the adventure—the magnificent scenery we were walking through. So I asked him one day what his perception of a pine tree was. He explained that he had felt the bark and needles, had smelled them, and had a sense of their size, but other than that, he couldn’t really explain how he saw them in his mind’s eye, as he had no frame of reference that was common to each of us.

I have pondered that experience for a long time, wondering how to explain to someone who had never had sight the scene that lay before them. There is no way to describe green, for example, to someone who has never seen any color.

Recently, as I was reading about the miracles that Jesus performed, this experience with Bill came to my mind again.

That Christ worked miracles is beyond question. The Bible gives a fairly detailed record of at least 37 specific miracles Christ performed, though there were undoubtedly many more. Exactly how many, we don’t know. But as we read the story of Christ’s life in the gospels, we can gain a sense that there were probably thousands.

Matthew 4:24 tells us, “They brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.”

Then, in Matthew 8:16 KJV, we read, “When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick.”

In Matthew 14 there is recorded an interesting series of events. After the beheading of John the Baptist, Christ sought solitude by departing, by Himself, by boat to a deserted place. “But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. And when Jesus went out, He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.” Verses 13, 14.

Indeed, in each of the four gospels, there are accounts of great multitudes of afflicted souls being healed by Christ of their various ailments. Thus we can be certain that Christ performed far more miracles than the 37 specifically delineated.

As John puts it in the conclusion of his gospel, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.” John 21:25 KJV.

Inspiration addresses these miracles this way: “Entire cities and villages were freed from disease, and there was no work for a physician among them.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 2, 285.

Of the 37 miracles that are specifically delineated in the gospels, however, there are five that deserve special attention, as a study of them reveals more than what is initially obvious on first read.

The record of Christ’s miracle at Bethsaida, when He healed a blind man, is recorded in Mark 8:22–25: “Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything. And he looked up and said, ‘I see men like trees, walking.’ Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.”

A study of the miracles of healing the blind will reveal an element common to them all.

We’ve just read Mark 8:22–25, about the blind man near Bethsaida who initially saw “men like trees, walking,” then “saw everyone clearly.” In John 9 we have a very detailed account of the healing of the man born blind.

“Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ [which is translated, sent]. So he went and washed, and came back seeing.” John 9:1–7.

There are several interesting aspects to this wonderful story. First notice that in verse one, the word Jesus is supplied by the translators. As it was written by John, it would read, “Now as He passed by … .” The word construction here indicates that this miracle occurred immediately following the rather ugly confrontation that Jesus had had with the Jewish leaders in chapter 8. They had accused Him of being the illegitimate son of a single woman, of being suicidal, and of being demon possessed. The chapter concludes in verse 59. Read that and the first verse of chapter 9 together, just as John wrote it, so that the continuity is obvious. “Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. Now as He passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.” John 8:59; 9:1.

Imagine the selflessness required to leave a highly emotional confrontation such as is described in chapter 8 and immediately thinking of the welfare of someone else. I would have to go and stew for a while over being mistreated and criticized so harshly. But here, by the grace and mercy of God, we get a glimpse of Christ’s loving, selfless character that is truly eye-opening. Clearly His thoughts were always and only about the welfare of others. May the Lord give us a deeper understanding of what it means to be truly Christlike.

Continuing with this story of the man born blind, we read in John 9:8–11: “Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, ‘Is not this he who sat and begged?’ Some said, ‘This is he.’ Others said, ‘He is like him.’ He said, ‘I am he.’ Therefore they said to him, ‘How were your eyes opened?’ He answered and said, ‘A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, “Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.” So I went and washed, and I received sight.’ ”

“So I went and washed, and I received sight.” Keep this fact in mind.

Now let’s look at Matthew 9 and read about the two blind men whom Jesus healed. This chapter is full of miracles, but the one we want to contemplate begins in verse 27.

“When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, ‘Son of David, have mercy on us!’ And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ They said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord.’ Then He touched their eyes, saying, ‘According to your faith let it be to you.’ And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, ‘See that no one knows it.’ ” Matthew 9:27–30.

“Then He touched their eyes … and their eyes were opened.” Another point to keep in mind.

The healing of the demon-possessed blind man is described in Matthew 12:22: “Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.” This initially appears as three miracles in one: he was freed from demon possession, he was given the power of speech, and his sight was restored. We’ll see shortly that there was actually a fourth miracle performed here.

Let’s look now at the story of blind Bartimaeus. All three of the synoptic gospels tell his story, though only Mark identifies him by name.

“Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.’ And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. So Jesus answered and said to him, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ The blind man said to Him, ‘Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go your way; your faith has made you well.’ And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.” Mark 10:46–52.

Make note of how long it took for this man to receive his sight. According to the Bible narrative, it was immediate. The same is true of the man born blind, of the two blind men healed in Matthew 9, of the blind, mute demoniac that Matthew 12 and Luke 11 describe, and of blind Bartimaeus.

In each of these five instances, not only did Christ enable the blind to see, but perhaps even more miraculously, He enabled them to comprehend instantly what they saw. The significance of this “miracle within a miracle” has only recently been realized, as the scientific community has only just recently been able to accomplish in only a very slight degree what Christ did approximately 2000 years ago.

In 2009, a series of studies was done on individuals who had their vision restored, or stated more correctly perhaps, “activated,” after a lifetime of blindness. This activation provided a unique opportunity to determine how the human brain learns to make sense of a sudden flood of visual information—information that up to this point had been completely lacking in these individuals.

Just think about this for a minute. Suppose that you had been blind from birth. Imagine someone trying to explain to you exactly what they meant by “blue sky,” or describe a green pine tree to you. What words could they use that would not require a baseline of visual knowledge or prior visual experience to achieve some degree of comprehension? Every word that they might use to try to explain “blue,” for example, or “tree” would require an explanation as well. In light of this, we can perhaps have a deeper appreciation of the miraculous nature of Helen Keller’s achievements.

As the researchers in 2009 tested the patients within the first weeks following activation of their sight, they found that the subjects had only a very limited ability to distinguish an object from its background. They had no sense of depth perception and could not distinguish the individuality of overlapping objects, nor piece together the different parts of an object.

After treatment, one subject participated in a series of tests asking him to identify simple shapes and objects. He could identify some shapes, such as triangles or squares, when they were side-by-side, but not when they overlapped. His brain was unable to distinguish the outlines of a whole shape when it overlapped another shape; instead, he believed that each fragment of a shape was its own whole. For example, when a red circle partially obscured a yellow triangle, the subject identified the circle as a circle, but the triangle was perceived as an object having two straight sides and one concave side.

However, if the shapes were put into motion, the study subjects could much more easily identify them. With motion, their success rates for identifying shapes improved from close to zero to around 75 percent. Furthermore, movement greatly increased the patients’ ability to recognize objects within images.

During follow-up tests that continued for 18 months after treatment, the patients’ performance with stationary objects gradually improved to almost normal.

See https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917115658.htm for full details of the study.

Note that it took a year and a half for the vision of the study subjects to improve to “almost normal.”

In the five stories of the men whose sight Christ restored or activated, once Christ had activated the sense of sight, the men apparently perceived what they viewed as if they had had sight from birth. So it is clear that Christ not only enabled these men to see, but even more miraculously, He enabled them to comprehend instantly what they were seeing.

Clearly, He brought these men out from a world of darkness into a world of marvelous light in every sense of the word. As Psalm 18:28 KJV says, “For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.”

There is another fascinating story about the Lord enlightening the darkness of someone—a story that we’re all familiar with—but in this story, the Lord brought enlightenment by causing someone to temporarily lose his sight. The initial telling of the story is in Acts 9.

“Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ Then the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ So he, trembling and astonished, said, ‘Lord, what do You want me to do?’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’ And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.” Acts 9:1–9.

The Spirit of Prophecy adds some interesting details to this story.

“On the last day of the journey, ‘at midday’ (Acts 26:13), as the weary travelers neared Damascus, they came within full view of broad stretches of fertile lands, beautiful gardens, and fruitful orchards, watered by cool streams from the surrounding mountains. [Think a minute about these details. They will be referred to later.] After the long journey over desolate wastes such scenes were refreshing indeed. While Saul, with his companions, gazed with admiration on the fruitful plain and the fair city below, ‘suddenly,’ as he afterward declared, there shone ‘round about me and them which journeyed with me’ ‘a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun’ (Acts 26:13), too glorious for mortal eyes to bear. Blinded and bewildered, Saul fell prostrate to the ground.

“While the light continued to shine round about them, Saul heard ‘a voice speaking … in the Hebrew tongue’ (Acts 26:14), ‘saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? And he said, Who art Thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.’

“Filled with fear, and almost blinded by the intensity of the light, the companions of Saul heard a voice, but saw no man. But Saul understood the words that were spoken, and to him was clearly revealed the One who spoke—even the Son of God. In the glorious Being who stood before him he saw the Crucified One. Upon the soul of the stricken Jew the image of the Saviour’s countenance was imprinted forever. The words spoken struck home to his heart with appalling force. Into the darkened chambers of his mind there poured a flood of light, revealing the ignorance and error of his former life and his present need of the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit.” The Acts of the Apostles, 114, 115.

“The marvelous light that illumined the darkness of Saul was the work of the Lord.” Ibid., 121.

When Paul tells of this experience to Agrippa in Acts 26:16–18, he adds more detail: “But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.”

Paul makes an allusion to his experience on the road to Damascus in II Corinthians 4:3–6: “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Remember that the Spirit of Prophecy said, in speaking of Paul, “Upon the soul of the stricken Jew the image of the Saviour’s countenance was imprinted forever.” When he wrote to the Corinthians that God had given the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, he was speaking from first-hand experience.

That light, that marvelous light, is still shining to give the world the knowledge of the glory of God, though now it is to shine through His church.

“The church is God’s appointed agency for the salvation of men. It was organized for service, and its mission is to carry the gospel to the world. From the beginning it has been God’s plan that through His church shall be reflected to the world His fullness and His sufficiency. The members of the church, those whom He has called out of darkness into His marvelous light, are to show forth His glory. The church is the repository of the riches of the grace of Christ; and through the church will eventually be made manifest, even to ‘the principalities and powers in heavenly places,’ the final and full display of the love of God (Ephesians 3:10).” The Acts of the Apostles, 9.

“In His wisdom the Lord brings those who are seeking for truth into touch with fellow beings who know the truth. It is the plan of Heaven that those who have received light shall impart it to those in darkness. Humanity, drawing its efficiency from the great Source of wisdom, is made the instrumentality, the working agency, through which the gospel exercises its transforming power on mind and heart.” Ibid., 134.

This transforming power was demonstrated by Jesus over and over again, but quite clearly and quite literally in His miracles of enabling the blind to see.

Let’s look at some texts that give us greater insight into how we bring spiritual darkness upon ourselves:

Reproach has broken my heart,
And I am full of heaviness;
I looked for someone to take pity,
but there was none;
And for comforters, but I found none.
They also gave me gall for my food,
And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
Let their table become a snare before them,
And their well-being a trap.
Let their eyes be darkened,
so that they do not see;
And make their loins shake continually.

Psalm 69:20–23

“Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see.” Who is Christ referring to in this passage? Those who are not comforters, who do not take pity on the broken-hearted. And how are their eyes darkened? Through over-indulgence in appetite and in the abundance of luxuries—their well-being … two of the very sins that brought about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

The pen of inspiration addresses rather specifically how we are personally responsible for creating our own spiritual darkness.

“It is not God that blinds the eyes of men or hardens their hearts. He sends them light to correct their errors, and to lead them in safe paths; it is by the rejection of this light that the eyes are blinded and the heart hardened. Often the process is gradual, and almost imperceptible. Light comes to the soul through God’s word, through His servants, or by the direct agency of His Spirit; but when one ray of light is disregarded, there is a partial benumbing of the spiritual perceptions, and the second revealing of light is less clearly discerned. So the darkness increases, until it is night in the soul. Thus it had been with these Jewish leaders. They were convinced that a divine power attended Christ, but in order to resist the truth, they attributed the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan. In doing this they deliberately chose deception; they yielded themselves to Satan, and henceforth they were controlled by his power.” The Desire of Ages, 322, 323.

This deliberate choice of deception is clearly illustrated in the miracle of the man born blind that we studied in John 9. The Jewish leaders said, “We see,” when in fact, they refused to see.

I would like to give one more example of the miracle working power of God, one that occurred almost 2000 years after Christ’s physical presence on earth. Following are a couple of passages from the Spirit of Prophecy that illustrate this miracle:

“The apostles boldly declared that they ought to obey God rather than men. Said Peter, ‘The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him’ (Acts 5:30–32). At these fearless words those murderers were enraged, and determined to imbrue their hands again in blood by slaying the apostles.” Early Writings, 195, 196.

“In order to secure healthy digestion, food should be eaten slowly. Those who wish to avoid dyspepsia, and those who realize their obligation to keep all their powers in a condition which will enable them to render the best service to God, will do well to remember this. If your time to eat is limited, do not bolt your food, but eat less, and masticate slowly.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 107.

“Satan has crippled our efforts by so affecting the church as to call forth from us almost double labor to cut our way through the darkness and unbelief. These efforts to set things in order in the churches have exhausted our strength, and lassitude and debility have followed.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 11.

Let me remind you that these words were written by an individual with a third-grade education. How many third-graders can correctly define imbrue, masticate, lassitude, or debility? Indeed, how many adults can define all of these words?

Just as Christ enabled those whose vision He restored to comprehend instantly what they were seeing, He gave an incredible depth of knowledge and understanding to Ellen G. White—an education provided by the same miraculous power that gave sight to the blind.

That power is still at work today, converting men’s hearts from the darkness of sin and unbelief to the glorious light of the truth and knowledge found in the word of God.

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

John Pearson is the office manager and a board member of Steps to Life. After retiring as chief financial officer for the Grand Canyon Association, Grand Canyon, Arizona, he moved to Wichita, Kansas, to join the Steps team. He may be contacted by email at: johnpearson@stepstolife.org.

The Six-Question Test

by

All of those who are chosen (Matthew 22:14) to enter the kingdom of heaven will be able to give the correct answer to each one of the following six questions that are found in order in Selected Messages, vol. 3, 419. Some of them can be answered with a simple yes or no.

These are questions or inquiries that Ellen White says each one of us should ask ourself.

1 To whom do I belong?

On the surface this appears to be an easy question for a Christian to answer, but delve a little deeper and the answer might be surprisingly different. Christians will always say that they belong to the Lord, but John says, “He who sins is of the devil.” I John 3:8. It matters not what we claim. If we continue to live in sin, the Bible says that we belong to the devil.

The devil has only one rule under his government—to break the law of God. He does not care which part is broken. Jesus had a controversy with the Jews on this very point. They claimed God as their father, but Jesus said, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” John 8:44. The character of the Jews mirrored the devil. Jesus pointed out two commandments that the devil broke from the beginning; he was a murderer and also he was a liar. As Jesus was speaking, the Jews were contemplating murdering Him. While telling lies about Him, accusing Him of casting out the evil spirits by the prince of spirits—Beelzebub—they took up stones to stone Him. This confrontation occurred right after the feeding of the five thousand when the whole area of Galilee, in addition to Judea, had turned against Christ. (See John 6.) False reports were spread about Him all over the country, and so much hatred was stirred up against Jesus that His life was in danger. Their actions proved that God was not their father, but they were of the devil.

Angels of God do not get into any argument with the devil over those who are living in sin, for the devil rightly claims them as his children. But praise God that probation has not closed yet, and these people caught in Satan’s web can still repent and choose to turn around and follow the Lord. However, those who continue in sin will develop a character like the devil.

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” I John 5:4. “We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.” Verse 18. “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 bother.” I John 3:9, 10. The evidence that proves who is a child of God and who is a child of the devil is the way a person lives.

“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” I John 4:4–6.

2 To whom do I owe allegiance?

In Romans 6:15–23, it says, “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slave whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness, I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Notice, there are some people who are unconverted and slaves of sin and they will tell you they cannot overcome certain sins. That is true. They are slaves of sin. The Bible is very clear that we of ourselves cannot overcome unless the Lord works a divine miracle in our life. In Isaiah 43:27, we are told, “Your first father sinned.” So, because of that, we have a fallen, sinful nature and of ourselves we cannot give our allegiance to God, even though we owe it to Him. As it says, there was a time when you were perfectly free from righteousness, but you were slaves of sin. But now, when you become a Christian, you’ve become slaves of righteousness and set free from sin.

Jesus said, “Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.” John 8:34. “A slave does not abide in the house forever [meaning eternal life], but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” Verses 35, 36. The work of the gospel is to set sinners free from their sins and then their allegiance would be given to the One who set them free.

3 Is my heart renewed?

Jesus referred to this subject when he had his secret meeting with Nicodemus. He said, “Unless one is born again,” or unless you are born from above, “he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3. Nicodemus could not figure that out and became sarcastic. He said, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Verse 4.

Jesus replied in stronger language, explaining it more clearly. He said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Verse 5. To be born again is to have a renewal of the heart.

The born again experience is spoken of as a necessity for salvation in both the Old and New Testament. David, because of his adultery with Bathsheba and the consequent killing of her husband, Uriah the Hittite, and afraid that he had committed the unpardonable sin, pled with God to “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” He said, “Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” Psalm 51:10, 11.

David wanted to be born again. He realized that his heart was wicked. To preach in prison to a rapist, or a person incarcerated for capital murder, those people do not question their need to be born again; they know that they are sinners. However, people who have not been involved in some criminal activity, comparing their spirituality against other people, are often inclined to say, “Well, I’m OK. I could improve a little, but I’m no worse than …”

The Bible says in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?” The Hebrew word used there means incurable. The carnal heart is so bad that it cannot be cured without a divine miracle. A person with this wicked heart and a weak will and sinful mind cannot keep the law of God and live a righteous life. He cannot go to heaven in that condition. He must be born again and become a new creation. Paul said, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” II Corinthians 5:17. This is a very important question for each of us to ask of ourself, Have I been born again?

It’s not enough that my wife or husband has been born again, or my parents or my children, or anybody else. The question is, Have I been born again? We are not saved as groups; we are saved as individuals. Each individual must ask himself these questions: Am I born again? Has my heart been renewed? Say like David, “I need a new spirit, I need a new heart. Lord, create me anew.” He realized that he could not just make an improvement, but that he needed a new heart, a converted heart and a new spirit. He needed God to create in him something that he did not have. Conversion is being a new creation and not just an improvement of the old self. It is a new creation that happens by divine power and until that happens, Christianity doesn’t work.

Many people think it is too hard to be a Christian because it seems to them that there are so many things they can’t do. The carnal heart is in opposition to God’s ways, but with a new heart, the things they used to hate, they will now love, and what they used to love, they hate. Paul describes it this way: “You put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:22–24.

Notice, he talks about a new spirit, a new man, a new person. Look at Romans 12:2: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Has your spirit, your mind been renewed? Titus 3:3–7 says, “We ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” The regeneration here mentioned means to bring something to life again. The question needs to be asked, Is my heart renewed?

4 Is my soul reformed?

It is not enough to stop after a revival. A revival has to do with the renewing of the heart, being born again, but reformation, which is a reforming or a changing of the life follows it. Reformation is to follow revival to be beneficial. In the book of Isaiah 1:16–18, it says, “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. [That could be translated, Go to court for the widow (people who are in trouble, like widows and orphans, need somebody to defend them before the law to see that they get what they need).] ‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’ ”

Paul, in his letter to the Ephesian church, addresses having a reformation in their lives. He said, “Therefore, putting away lying, ‘Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,’ for we are members of one another. ‘Be angry and do no sin’: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” Ephesians 4:25–29. He talks about forsaking all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, evil speaking, and malice, and then he says, in verse 32, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.” It is not enough for the heart to be renewed; it must be followed by a reformation in the life to live with a Christlike character. Through the power of the Holy Spirit it is possible to live a new life, one that is Christlike, in harmony with the law of God. “That you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.” I Thessalonians 4:12.

Reformation is essential, because the world at large is studying and watching how Christians live. One reason that evangelism is so powerless to bring people into the church today is because of how people perceive professed Christians. If they are not Christlike, they see a contradiction and have no attraction to the church. The world is watching!

When the Lord has a people who reflect the character of Christ, He will use them to finish His work in a very short time. In the upper room before Pentecost, there were only 120 faithful followers, and within 20 years there was a church right in Rome itself. Within approximately 25 years after that time, the apostle Paul said the gospel had been preached to every creature, all over the world. There were no airplanes, cars or trains, and the ships then did not have diesel engines to take them across the water at 30 miles-an-hour like we have today. There were no telephones, Internet or newspapers or the means of mass communication that we now have available. Besides that, the believers in the early church were poor, yet look at what they accomplished in 20 to 25 years—the gospel was taken to the whole world.

It will happen again, and next time it is going to happen a lot faster. The day of God’s preparation has been going on for 150 years plus. But when God has a people who are ready, it won’t take 20 or 25 years to finish the work. Ellen White says, “When divine power is combined with human effort, the work will spread like fire in the stubble.” Last Day Events, 207. In another place, she says, it will be fast, like the lightning going between the heavenly creatures that Ezekiel saw in his visions. But before that can happen, God has to have a people who have not only been renewed in their hearts, but their lives have been reformed to reflect the character of Jesus. As you study the life of Jesus, you will become like Him.

5 Have my sins been forgiven?

As Seventh-day Adventist Christians, we understand that salvation from sin is a two-step process. First, there is forgiveness of sin, then later on, as most people in the Protestant world don’t understand, there is the removal of sin.

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew 6:14, 15.

To many people this is one of the most awful texts in the Bible. Elder W. D. Frazee, a Seventh-day Adventist minister, used to tell a story about a family with whom he was studying that struggled with forgiveness. Their little daughter had been enticed into the woods where she was killed. The culprit was in the state prison, and they found it impossible to forgive him for his crime.

The problem is that you and I did not make the rules. Jesus said, “If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” The majority of people never have to deal with an experience anywhere near that bad, but to some people, this is one of the hardest texts in the Bible to apply, because it seems impossible to forgive some people for what they have done.

Notice the example of Jesus: “When they had come to a place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.’ And they divided His garments and cast lots.” Luke 23:33, 34.

The whole universe was watching this. Actually, it appears when you read the Greek texts, it is very possible that this was something Jesus said over and over again. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

The desire to get even or take revenge on those who have done you wrong is the spirit of Satan. Those guilty persons who have harmed another must stand before the Lord and give an answer for what they have done. If they are going to be in the kingdom of heaven, they will have to have their sins forgiven and make restitution. Actually, their salvation is not your problem. Your problem is, can you forgive them? The promise of forgiveness to us is only as we forgive others. This principle is in the Lord’s prayer (Matthew 6:12). I know that this is one of the hardest things that any preacher has to deal with, situations where somebody has been wronged so terribly that he just has a natural desire to kill the one or ones causing the pain or to get even. In heaven, before the fall of man, Satan became jealous of Christ and decided that he had been wrongly treated. His spirit of revenge has been passed on to the inhabitants of this world. Once it gets a hold of your mind, eventually you will want to kill the person that has wronged you. The choice must be made either to continue in revenge or find forgiveness, leaving justice with the Lord who is righteous and will deal with it in His way and in His time. In Mark 11:25, we are told, “Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.”

Peter came to Jesus asking how long he should forgive his brother, possibly seven times! Peter thought that he was being very generous, because the Pharisees taught that you should forgive only three times. Peter had learned that Jesus went way beyond anything the Pharisees did, so he thought he’d be really generous and suggest seven times. How shocked he was when Jesus replied not seven times, but seventy times seven!

Then Jesus told the story about the unforgiving servant who had been forgiven a large debt by the king, but did not offer the same grace to those who were indebted to him. “His master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.” Matthew 18:24–35. The way that the human mind works is that we either forgive the person, or eventually we will want to kill him. Our sins must be confessed and forsaken if we want them to be forgiven (Proverbs 28:13).

6 Will my sins be blotted out when the time of refreshing shall come?

It is not enough to have outward sins forgiven. Sin actually has to be taken away. This is a second step that has to happen before it is safe to allow a person into heaven. God is not just going to forgive the outward act of sins, but He will blot out the sins by cleansing the heart. Once a sin has been confessed and no unforgiveness is harbored against another, the sin is forgiven immediately. But the blotting out, or cleansing of sins, is a process that must take place before entering heaven where sin does not exist. David’s prayer in Psalm 51 referred to this. He said, “Lord, I want You to blot out, I want You to obliterate, take away my transgressions.” He realized that he was in such a bad shape, that he had something inside that had to be taken away and destroyed. That must be the heart cry of all who are waiting for Jesus to come and take them to His kingdom.

“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” Acts 3:19. Sins will be blotted out during the times of refreshing that occur just before the close of probation and the coming of the Lord.

I have reached the conclusion that no human being understands exactly what the blotting out of sins means, but whether you understand what it means or not, you can experience sanctification day by day as you receive power from above to overcome habitual sins. Daily studying the life of Christ and following His example you will discover that what you once loved you will now hate, and what you once hated, you will now love. Those whose sins are blotted out will be ready to receive the seal of the living God and enter into the New Jerusalem.

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

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