Christian Life

Lasting Commitment in Your Youth

by

Week of Prayer for Friday

In the day and age in which we live, it seems there are very few people making lasting commitments to anything. The commitment to marriage appears to be almost lost—by the church as well as by the world—and commitment to God, our faith, and many other things seem to be losing out also. In this time, many young people are not choosing to make a lasting commitment to the Lord and to His cause. Instead, they are going out into the world.

Commitment Defined

What is commitment? A dictionary offers several definitions of the word commitment, including: “the trait of sincere and steadfast fixity of purpose; the act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action.” Commitment involves forfeiture of your rights and privileges for someone else or for a cause; it involves responsibility.

What is commitment to God? Making a commitment to God involves entrusting your life to Him and choosing to serve Him, whatever the cost. A man by the name of Jim Elliot, who gave all for the Auca Indians, puts it this way: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Elisabeth Elliot, Through Gates of Splendor, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois, 1996, 172. When we commit our lives and ourselves to God, we are only giving back to Him what He has already given to us. To try to have a relationship with God without commitment is selfish.

God’s Desire

God wants people who are committed to Him; committed people can be trusted with responsibility. If there is no commitment, they cannot be trusted. It is like an army. A soldier cannot be effective in an army if he is not committed to the work of that army. If he is not committed to the cause of the army, he cannot be trusted. One day, he might switch sides and join enemy forces. It is the same with the Lord. If we are truly His, we must be committed to Him and His work. Not being thus committed to Him indicates that we are too selfish to trust the Lord with our lives, and we cannot be trusted.

God is waiting for us to make a commitment to Him and His cause.

“The greatest want of the world is the want of men—men who will not be bought or sold, men who in their inmost souls are true and honest, men who do not fear to call sin by its right name, men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole, men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall.” Education, 57.

“For your present and eternal good it is best to commit yourself wholly to the right, that the world may know where you are standing. Many are not wholly committed to the cause of God, and their position of wavering is a source of weakness in itself, and a stone of stumbling to others. With principles unsettled, unconsecrated as they are, the waves of temptation sweep them away from what they know to be right, and they do not make holy endeavor to overcome every wrong, and through the imputed righteousness of Christ, perfect a righteous character.

“The world has a right to know just what may be expected from every intelligent human being. He who is a living embodiment of firm, decided, righteous principles, will be a living power upon his associates; and he will influence others by his Christianity. Many do not discern and appreciate how great is the influence of each one for good or evil. Every student should understand that the principles which he adopts become a living, molding influence upon character. He who accepts Christ as his personal Saviour, will love Jesus, and all for whom Christ has died; for Christ will be in him a well of water springing up unto everlasting life. He will surrender himself without reservation to the rule of Christ.” Messages to Young People, 28, 29.

“Never did greater responsibilities await the youth than await them now. Never was it more important that a right mould be given to the character of the rising generation. Upon every youth, God has bestowed varied capabilities, mental, moral, and physical; and he requires that those be cultivated and improved. We are formed for activity; every power of mind and body must be developed, strengthened, and increased by use. No one should feel that he is his own master, and can do as he pleases with his time and his intellect. Time and talents belong to God, and he has intrusted them to us, to be employed for his glory.” The Signs of the Times, August 23, 1883.

No Loss

In considering making a commitment to God, there is a tendency to wonder, Am I going to lose something or miss out on something in this life? Especially is this the case for those who are young, since there are many things in life they have not yet experienced. Many young people question, If I commit my life to God now, will I miss out on some pleasure or fun in this life? Since I am a young adult, these questions have come to my mind also. There are several answers that I have found in inspired writings.

First, God has said in His Word, “Trust in the Lord, and do good; . . . Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:3, 4. God desires to give us our desires! On the other hand, He is a father, so He does not always give us what we want because it is not for our best interest. Sometimes God does not give us what we desire because He is looking at the big picture and sees that which we do not. “We have a wise, loving heavenly Father, who hears the prayers of His children. But He does not always give them what they desire. He withholds that which He sees would not be for their good. But He bestows on them all that they need. He gives them that which is necessary for growth in grace. When we pray, we should say, ‘Lord, if what I ask for is for my good, give it to me; but if it is not, withhold it, but give me Thy blessings.’ The Lord hears our petitions; He understands our situation, and He will supply the very thing we need. He will strengthen our faith and increase our spirituality. The Lord is good and merciful, perfect in understanding and infinite in wisdom.” The Upward Look, 369.

Second, for anything that we may “miss out on” in this life, God has promised ample repayment. “Jesus does not require of man any real sacrifice; for whatever we are asked to surrender is only that which we are better off without. We are only letting go the lesser, the more worthless, for the greater, the more valuable. Every earthly, temporal consideration must be subordinate to the higher. But abundant blessings are promised to sincere faith and obedience. ‘Every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive a hundred-fold, and shall inherit everlasting life.’ [Matthew 19:29.]” Review and Herald, August 11, 1891. This is the reward of those who commit themselves to God’s service. God will more than one hundred times make up the things that we may lose in this life for serving Him and give us eternal life.

Remember Now Your Creator in the Days of Your Youth . . .

Why should you commit your life to God while you are young? When you are young, there is a tendency to think that you have many years left to live, so you can enjoy some worldly pleasures now and come back to God later. The wisest man who ever lived has something to say about this: “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth . . . .” Ecclesiastes 12:1. When you are young is the best time to commit your life to the Lord. First of all, you can devote more of your life to God’s service. Second, when you are young, you are not yet set in habits, and it is easier to be molded for use in God’s service. Third, if you go out into the world now, when you are young, it is not going to be easy to come back and commit your life to the Lord. In fact, it will be much harder. You will have formed bad habits—things you have seen and listened to that cannot be erased from your mind—with which to battle, that you would not have had, had you not strayed from the Lord. Fourth, everyone has influence upon others. If you choose not to live for Christ, others, by your example, may choose not to live for Him either.

“Do not for a moment suppose that religion will make you sad and gloomy and will block up the way to success. The religion of Christ does not obliterate or even weaken a single faculty. It in no way incapacitates you for the enjoyment of any real happiness; it is not designed to lessen your interest in life, or to make you indifferent to the claims of friends and society. It does not mantle the life in sackcloth; it is not expressed in deep-drawn sighs and groans. No, no; those who in everything make God first and last and best, are the happiest people in the world. Smiles and sunshine are not banished from their countenance. Religion does not make the receiver coarse and rough, untidy and uncourteous; on the contrary, it elevates and ennobles him, refines his taste, sanctifies his judgment, and fits him for the society of heavenly angels and for the home that Jesus has gone to prepare.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 83, 84.

“Jesus wants the service of those who have the dew of youth upon them. He wants them to be heirs of immortality. They may grow up into a noble manhood and womanhood, notwithstanding the moral pollutions that abound, and that corrupt so many of the youth at an early age. There is no happiness or safety but in the fear of the Lord. Young friends, morning and evening let your prayers go up from unfeigned lips that the Holy Spirit may take possession of your hearts and keep you from the seductive influences of the world. Work for Jesus; stand up for Jesus; and he will stand up for you in the day of God’s vengeance.” The Signs of the Times, September 11, 1884.

“Young people who follow Christ have a warfare before them; they have a daily cross to bear in coming out from the world, and being separate, and imitating the life of Christ. But there are many precious promises on record for those who seek their Saviour early. . . . ‘Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.’ Wisdom calls to the sons of men, ‘I love them that love me; and they that seek me early shall find me.’ They will find that the ‘path of the just is as a shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day;’ and at the last, the Judge of all the earth will give every one according to his works. [Ecclesiastes 12:1; Proverbs 8:17; 4:18.]” Review and Herald, July 15, 1884.

“Dear youth, the very best thing you can do is to enlist freely and decidedly in the army of the Lord. Surrender yourself into the hands of God, that your will and ways may be guided by the One who is unerring in wisdom and infinite in goodness. . . . Let your name be enrolled in the heavenly records as one of the chosen and elect of God.” Our High Calling, 219.

“Early piety insures to its possessor the full enjoyment of all that makes life happy, and will give him a right to the future, immortal life. Those who seek God early have the assurance that they shall find him. Those who wait until the span of life is almost ended before they seek God, lose a life of pure, elevated happiness,—happiness that never comes in the pursuit of the pleasures that this life affords. Those who have been long acquainted with God, who from their youth have drawn their happiness from the pure fountain of heaven, are prepared to enter the family of God.

“Good and evil are set before the youth of today. They are left free to choose which they will. In yielding to Satan, they give up eternal happiness for pleasures which are vain and fleeting. That which he promises them they never obtain; for the path of sin is a path of sorrow.” The Youth’s Instructor, October 25, 1900.

Bible Examples

In the Bible, we find many examples of youth who gave their lives to God and His service. Joseph, when a teenager, was sold into slavery. There are few characters in the Bible about which nothing bad is said, and Joseph is one of them. He committed his life to God, no matter what. He did not deny his faith when tempted by Potiphar’s wife. In fact, he went to prison unjustly because he was committed to God. “Loyalty to God, faith in the Unseen, was Joseph’s anchor. In this lay the hiding of his power.” Education, 54.

Daniel was another person who committed his life to the Lord when he was young. He was removed from his family at a young age and taken to the court of the greatest monarch of that time. The greatest wealth, fame, and temptations were all around him, and yet, because of his commitment to God, he did not fall for the temptations. God honored Daniel and his friends for their faithfulness to Him by giving them understanding greater than all others of Babylon. Daniel is another Bible character of whom no fault could be found.

“The same mighty truths that were revealed through these men, God desires to reveal through the youth and the children of today. The history of Joseph and Daniel is an illustration of what He will do for those who yield themselves to Him and with the whole heart seek to accomplish His purpose.” Ibid., 57.

Moses, who was younger than Joseph or Daniel when taken from his parental home, also chose to commit his life to God. God’s principles had been taught to him by his mother in his youth, which laid the foundation for his greatness in God’s cause. “These histories are of vital interest. To none are they of deeper importance than to the youth. Moses renounced a prospective kingdom, Paul the advantages of wealth and honor among his people, for a life of burden bearing in God’s service. To many the life of these men appears one of renunciation and sacrifice. Was it really so? Moses counted the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. He counted it so because it was so. Paul declared: ‘What things were gain to me, these have I counted loss for Christ. Yea verily, and I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but refuse, that I may gain Christ.’ Philippians 3:7, 8, R.V., margin. He was satisfied with his choice.

“Moses was offered the palace of the Pharaohs and the monarch’s throne; but the sinful pleasures that make men forget God were in those lordly courts, and he chose instead the ‘durable riches and righteousness.’ Proverbs 8:18. Instead of linking himself with the greatness of Egypt, he chose to bind up his life with God’s purpose. Instead of giving laws to Egypt, he by divine direction enacted laws for the world. He became God’s instrument in giving to men those principles that are the safeguard alike of the home and of society, that are the cornerstone of the prosperity of nations—principles recognized today by the world’s greatest men as the foundation of all that is best in human governments.” Ibid., 68, 69.

Another example of commitment in youth was Jeremiah, who was called to work for the Lord. “Among those who had hoped for a permanent spiritual revival as the result of the reformation under Josiah was Jeremiah, called of God to the prophetic office while still a youth. . . .

“In the youthful Jeremiah, God saw one who would be true to his trust and who would stand for the right against great opposition. . . . ‘Say not, I am a child,’ the Lord bade His chosen messenger; ‘for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee.’ [Jeremiah 1:7, 8.]” Conflict and Courage, 237.

Modern-day Inspirations

In modern times, there lived a woman by the name of Betty Scott Stam who wrote the following commitment to the Lord when she was about eighteen years old: “Lord, I give up all of my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all, utterly to Thee to be Thine forever. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt. Send me where Thou wilt and work out Thy whole will in my life. At any cost. Now and forever.” Elisabeth Elliot, Let Me Be A Woman, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois, 1976, VIII. Betty Scott Stam went to China as a missionary and married another missionary, John Stam, in China. A few months after they were married, they were captured by Chinese Communists and marched off to their deaths, leaving behind a tiny baby girl. Betty stayed true and firm to her commitment to the Lord.

Another person whose commitment to the Lord came first was Jim Elliot. He, along with several others, went as a missionary to the jungles of Ecuador. They went to try to reach a Stone Age tribe that later murdered them. Jim knew that it might mean losing his life to reach this tribe, but he said, “I’m ready to die for the salvation of the Aucas.” Elliot, Through Gates of Splendor, 172. His commitment to God was so firm that he was willing to lay down his life.

Call for Commitment

Today, God is calling for commitment to Him and to His cause. “The burden-bearers among us are falling in death. Many of those who have been foremost in carrying out the reforms instituted by us as a people, are now past the meridian of life, and are declining in physical and mental strength. With the deepest concern the question may be asked, Who will fill their places? To whom are to be committed the vital interests of the church when the present standard-bearers fall? We cannot but look anxiously upon the youth of today as those who must take these burdens, and upon whom responsibilities must fall. These must take up the work where others leave it, and their course will determine whether morality, religion, and vital godliness shall prevail, or whether immorality and infidelity shall corrupt and blight all that is valuable.” Gospel Workers, 68.

“There is a great work before us, and each individual has a special part to act. We shall not all have the very same line of service, but if we will commit our ways fully unto the Lord, He will direct our paths. Oh, that there were hundreds more of consecrated young people! God wants a large army of earnest, consecrated youth to gird on the armor, and to fight manfully the battles of the Lord. There is a work for each one to do.” Sermons and Talks, vol. 2, 286.

“With such an army of workers as our youth, rightly trained, might furnish, how soon the message of a crucified, risen, and soon-coming Saviour might be carried to the whole world! How soon might the end come—the end of suffering and sorrow and sin! How soon, in place of a possession here, with its blight of sin and pain, our children might receive their inheritance where ‘the righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever;’ where ‘the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick,’ and ‘the voice of weeping shall be no more heard.’ Psalm 37:29; Isaiah 33:24; 65:19.” Education, 271.

“Success in any line demands a definite aim. He who would achieve true success in life must keep steadily in view the aim worthy of his endeavor. Such an aim is set before the youth of today. The heaven-appointed purpose of giving the gospel to the world in this generation is the noblest that can appeal to any human being. It opens a field of effort to everyone whose heart Christ has touched.” Ibid., 262.

“Those who stand under the blood-stained banner of Prince Immanuel should be faithful soldiers in Christ’s army. They should never be disloyal, never be untrue. Many of the young will volunteer to stand with Jesus, the Prince of life. But if they would continue to stand with Him they must constantly look unto Jesus, their Captain, for His orders. They cannot be soldiers of Christ, and yet engage with the confederacy of Satan, and help on his side, for then they would be enemies of Christ. They would betray sacred trusts. They would form a link between Satan and the true soldiers, so that through these living agencies the enemy would be constantly working to steal away the hearts of Christ’s soldiers.

“I ask you, dear youth, who profess to be soldiers of Jesus Christ, what battles have you fought? What have been your engagements? When the word of God has plainly revealed your work, have you refused to do it because it did not suit your inclination? Has the attraction of the world allured you from the service of Christ? Satan is employed in devising specious allurements; and by transgression in what seem little matters he draws you away from Jesus. Then larger attractions are presented to seduce you fully from God.

“You may have your name upon the church books and claim to be a child of God, yet your example, your influence, misrepresents the character of Christ, and you lead others away from Him. There is no happiness, no peace or joy, to a professed believer whose whole soul is not enlisted in the work the Lord has given him to do. He is constantly bringing the world into the church, not by repentance and confession and surrender to God, but by surrendering more and more to the world, and engaging on Satan’s side in the battle rather than on Christ’s side.

“I would appeal to the youth to cut the finest thread which binds you in practice and in spirit with the world. ‘Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.’ [11 Corinthians 6:17, 18.]

“Will our youth heed this voice of invitation? How little do our young people realize the necessity of setting before their youthful associates a Christlike example in their life and character. Many of our youth understand the theory of the truth, but how few understand by experimental knowledge the practical bearing of the truth upon their every action. Where are youthful missionaries doing any work that presents itself to them in the great harvest field? Where are those who are daily learners in the school of Christ? Let them never feel that they are prepared to graduate. Let them wait in the courts of the Lord, that they may be directed as to how to work in unison with the heavenly intelligences. Dear youth, I wish to speak decidedly to you because I want you to be saved. Lose no more time. You cannot serve God and mammon. You may apparently be Christians, but when temptations come, when sorely tried, do you not generally yield?” Messages to Young People, 138–140.

“God is weighing our characters, our conduct, and our motives in the balances of the sanctuary. It will be a fearful thing to be pronounced wanting in love and obedience by our Redeemer, who died upon the cross to draw our hearts unto Him. God has bestowed upon us great and precious gifts. He has given us light and a knowledge of His will, so that we need not err or walk in darkness. To be weighed in the balance and found wanting in the day of final settlement and rewards will be a fearful thing, a terrible mistake which can never be corrected. Young friends, shall the book of God be searched in vain for your names?

“God has appointed you a work to do for Him which will make you colaborers with Him. All around you there are souls to save. There are those whom you can encourage and bless by your earnest efforts. You may turn souls from sin to righteousness. When you have a sense of your accountability to God you will feel the need of faithfulness in prayer and faithfulness in watching against the temptations of Satan. You will, if you are indeed Christians, feel more like mourning over the moral darkness in the world than indulging in levity and pride of dress. You will be among those who are sighing and crying for the abominations that are done in the land. You will resist the temptations of Satan to indulge in vanity and in trimmings and ornaments for display. The mind is narrowed and the intellect dwarfed that can be gratified with these frivolous things to the neglect of high responsibilities.

“The youth in our day may be workers with Christ if they will; and in working, their faith will strengthen and their knowledge of the divine will will increase. Every true purpose and every act of right doing will be recorded in the book of life. I wish I could arouse the youth to see and feel the sinfulness of living for their own gratification and dwarfing their intellects to the cheap, vain things of this life. If they would elevate their thoughts and words above the frivolous attractions of this world and make it their aim to glorify God, His peace, which passeth all understanding, would be theirs.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 370, 371.

Now is the time to choose to make a commitment to God to serve Him at whatever the cost and wherever He leads. Youth is the best time to commit your life to the Lord.

Jana Grosboll, an Electrical Engineering graduate student, serves Steps to Life as its Network Administrator.

A Lasting Commitment to Service

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Week of Prayer for Thursday

During this Week of Prayer, we have been looking at the topic of lasting commitments. Before compiling my topic, “A Lasting Commitment to Service,” I reviewed the meanings of the words, lasting commitment.

Lasting is defined as something that lasts a long time, is persevering, unchangeable, has staying power, permanent, durable, everlasting, forever, or goes on indefinitely. Commitment involves resolution, a pledge, a promise, devotion, a commission, and determination. When we really understand the meaning of lasting commitments, we will realize and admit that we see very, very few lasting commitments in our world today.

The first institution given to man was the institution of marriage, yet this very basic institution, a foundational pillar of our society, has crumbled. Where are our commitments to other vital aspects of life such as honesty, integrity, financial responsibility, our work, our families, our friends, and our God? With our whole adult society having trouble making lasting commitments, is it any wonder that we have children and young people who live selfishly and only for the moment? It is obvious that in order to make lasting commitments, we must find something that is, for the most part, lacking in our society.

Before we can make any truly lasting commitments, we must first experience the love, forgiveness, and power of God in our lives. You see, God and His Son, Jesus, made a lasting commitment to the welfare of man even before we were created. They agreed that God the Son would give His life, if necessary, for the redemption of mankind. Then they created Adam and provided him with an ideal home, ideal work, ideal diet, ideal surroundings, and ideal companionship. He did not stay in that ideal state but chose to rebel against the government of God. Since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, our nature has become fallen, and it is because of this fallen nature that we have a lasting commitment only to self. We read, in Jeremiah 13:23, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? [then] may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.” So it is only as we experience the transformation of character that comes from meditating upon and experiencing God’s love, His forgiveness, and His transforming power that our lives can be changed, and we can begin to make lasting commitments. I pray that each one of us may repent and be transformed by the power of God. With this foundation, let us look at “A Lasting Commitment to Service.”

Let us first consider twelve characteristics of godly service and how godly service is identified in the life.

Motivated and Encompassed by Love

The first two characteristics of godly service are that it is motivated by love, and our entire being is encompassed by it. We are commanded by Jesus, in Matthew 22:37, 38, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.” Quoting further, from the writings of Ellen White, we are told, “Every one who accepts Christ as his personal Saviour will long for the privilege of serving God. Contemplating what Heaven has done for him, his heart is moved with boundless love and adoring gratitude. He is eager to signalize his gratitude by devoting his abilities to God’s service. He longs to show his love for Christ and for his purchased possession.” Gospel Workers, 294. This love goes deeper than head knowledge; it goes deeper than an emotional, warm feeling. It involves both our heads and our hearts. It involves our very natures and souls.

A Humble Heart

A humble and contrite heart identifies characteristic three. “God does not ask us to purchase His favor by any costly sacrifice. He asks only for the service of a humble, contrite heart, which has gladly and thankfully accepted His free gift. The one who receives Christ as his personal Saviour has in his possession the salvation provided by Christ. And he is never to forget that as he has freely received, so he is freely to impart.” In Heavenly Places, 318. Godly service must come from a humble heart. We must know that it is God who is working in us to will and to do. We must know that without the blessing and transforming power of God, we would be incapable of rendering godly service. With this attitude, we will want to glorify only God through any service we perform.

More Than Money

Characteristic four is that service must be personal, and it must involve more than just our money. No other person can do the service for God and mankind that is entrusted to us. God has a job for each of us. Ellen White explains:

“By our churches there is a work to be done of which many have little idea, a work as yet almost untouched. ‘I was an hungered,’ Christ says, ‘and ye gave Me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me in: naked, and ye clothed Me: I was sick, and ye visited Me; I was in prison, and ye came unto Me.’ Matthew 25:35, 36. Some think that if they give money to this work, it is all they are required to do; but this is an error. Donations of money cannot take the place of personal ministry. It is right to give our means, and many more should do this; but according to their strength and opportunities, personal service is required of all.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 275, 276.

Earnest Service

A fifth characteristic of our service is that it is to be earnest service. There is seriousness about our work for the Lord and for the sheep of His pastures that must be realized. The job of being a co-laborer with God is not something to be taken lightly or frivolously. The eternal salvation of others can be affected by our service or lack of it. “Every soul is to be a bright and shining light, showing forth the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. ‘Ye are laborers together with God,’ yes, laborers; that means doing earnest service in the vineyard of the Lord. [1 Corinthians 3:9.] There are souls to be saved,—souls in our churches, in our Sabbath-schools, and in our neighborhoods.” Review and Herald, March 24, 1891. Would our commitment to service be different if we saw, in the light of eternity, the importance of the service that has been committed to us? Would we work more diligently, more faithfully?

Heartfelt Service

A sixth characteristic of service is that it is to be heartfelt. “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10:9, 10. This kind of heartfelt belief is real, is seen by others, and makes a difference in their lives. Notice what the prophet says: “God calls for men and women to be laborers together with him, to be workers who are sound in faith, pure in heart, and single in purpose. They should work to glorify God by the saving of souls that are lost. God requires heart-service. A service of form, lip-service, is wholly inefficient in the work of converting souls to God. A service that comes not from the heart is as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. The heart must be stirred with the co-operative energy of the Holy Spirit; then standing in full view of the cross of Calvary by faith, the worker can communicate to others the divine inspiration of his theme. From a full treasure-house he can bring forth things new and old, which will stir the hearts of his hearers, and convicted, they will cry out, ‘What must I do to be saved?’ ” Ibid., September 6, 1892.

Willingly Given

Characteristic seven is that service must be willingly given and marked by self-denial to be effective for the Lord. It is stated like this: “No one has been created in Christ Jesus for mere self-enjoyment. He who lives unto himself is not a Christian; for self-denial and cross-bearing are the portion of every true follower of Christ. We have been bought with a price, in order that we may render willing service to our Master. Every hour that we have failed to acknowledge Christ as our personal Saviour, we have robbed God; for Christ purchased us by the ransom of his own blood. The Christian cannot serve the world, or yield to the claims of any power, relation, or society, that will make him deny Christ, dishonor God, and prove disloyal to his holy law. The Christian is to surrender himself unreservedly to God as his purchased possession. God claims him for himself, and will impart to the believer special favors, enabling him to be complete in Christ, more than conqueror through him that hath loved him.” Ibid., May 12, 1896. When our service is not willingly given and must be forced, it is not the kind of service that God desires.

Consecration to God

An eighth characteristic of lasting commitment to service is that the service must be true service that results from our consecration to God. “In true service they find hope, and peace, and comfort; and with faith and courage they go forward in the path of obedience, following him who gave his life for them. By their consecration and devotion they reveal to the world the truth of the words, ‘I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.’ [Galatians 2:20.]” Ibid., January 5, 1897.

Correct Motives

Characteristic number nine is that our service must be given based upon correct motives. This type of service is truly unselfish and is motivated by a love for souls. We cannot be giving in order that we will receive. “Let all engage in missionary effort from pure, unselfish motives, co-operating with one another and with God, working not because of personal ambition or for the praise of men, but because they long to act a part with Christ in the work of saving perishing souls. In Christ’s service, everything depends upon the motives prompting believers to action. Those who labor for the love of souls will advance His work in our world.” Pamphlet 151, 8. Oh, Lord, help us to have this unselfish love for lost humanity.

Cheerful Service

Cheerful service is characteristic number ten. Too often, we as Christians are long faced, gloomy, not at all representing the joy that is in the Lord and His service. Service done for our Lord should always be given cheerfully, not because we have been coerced, begged, or shamed into service. “We are to render to God cheerful service.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 11, 341.

Christlike Actions

Characteristic number eleven is that our service should be Christlike in both our actions and in the duration of our commitment to service. We must be committed to serve as Christ did, and we must be committed to serve as long as we have breath in us. “Accepting Christ as a personal Saviour, and following His example of self-denial,—this is the secret of holiness. God exalted Christ above every name that is named. But Christ first reached to the depths of humiliation, working out in behalf of the human race a perfect character, and drawing men and women to God by His unselfish ministry. He has set an example that all who engage in His service are to follow. The more Christlike our efforts for God, the wider will be their influence for good, and the greater the work they will accomplish.” The Signs of the Times, December 17, 1902. Christ gave all that you and I might be saved eternally, and He continues even today to minister in the sanctuary for each of us. We must be willing to give all, so that others and ourselves will be saved. Our efforts cannot cease.

Service unto the Lord

Lastly, our service must be as unto the Lord and not unto men. Service can be very tiring, and it can be discouraging when our service is not appreciated. It can be frustrating when we do not see the benefits or results that we expect. Because of this, our service must be given in light of eternity and the God we serve. We must ask, as did David, “And who [then] is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the Lord?” 1 Chronicles 29:5, last part. By consecrating our service unto the Lord and not unto men, it can then be a joy, and it will be blessed of the Lord. God gives His Spirit to those fully committed to His service: “The promise of the Holy Spirit is not limited to any age or to any race. Christ declared that the divine influence of His Spirit was to be with His followers unto the end. From the Day of Pentecost to the present time, the Comforter has been sent to all who have yielded themselves fully to the Lord and to His service.” The Acts of the Apostles, 49.

As we do this, our own spirits will be blessed. The ones for whom we do service can also be strengthened. “The churches are suffering, not so much for the want of sermons as for lack of ministry. The members of the churches need personal labor; they need to be instructed as to how they can engage in the work of God. In the winter, special efforts should be put forth. Let the different churches visit one another from time to time. Thus one church may encourage another by the manifestation of friendly, Christ-like interest in the spiritual welfare of the brethren. Those who will engage in active service for the good of others will find that their own souls will be revived and quickened, and those whom they visit will be encouraged and strengthened by the interest of their brethren in their behalf.” Gospel Workers (1892), 241.

Who is Involved

Now that we have reviewed the characteristics of service, let us look at who is to be involved in service. This can be summed up in one word—all.

“Service to God includes personal ministry. By personal effort we are to co-operate with Him for the saving of the world. Christ’s commission, ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,’ is spoken to every one of His followers. (Mark 16:15.) All who are ordained unto the life of Christ are ordained to work for the salvation of their fellow men. Their hearts will throb in unison with the heart of Christ. The same longing for souls that He has felt will be manifest in them. Not all can fill the same place in the work, but there is a place and a work for all.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 300, 301. [Emphasis supplied.]

“Now is our time to labor for the salvation of our fellow men. There are some who think that if they give money to the cause of Christ, this is all they are required to do; the precious time in which they might do personal service for Him passes unimproved. But it is the privilege and duty of all who have health and strength to render to God active service. All are to labor in winning souls to Christ. Donations of money cannot take the place of this.” Ibid., 343. [Emphasis supplied.] It is very clear from the great commission in Matthew 28 and from the readings in the Spirit of Prophecy that, if you are the Lord’s, you are to have a place of service. Each and every one of us should be involved in service.

The Object of Service

Who are to be the objects of our service? The objects of our service include any of God’s heritages. “God expects personal service from everyone to whom He has entrusted a knowledge of the truth for this time. Not all can go as missionaries to foreign lands, but all can be home missionaries in their families and neighborhoods.” Testimonies, vol. 9, 30.

Service can also involve working in an area where the end result will benefit mankind. For example, “The light given me is that in the Southern field, as elsewhere, the manufacture of health foods should be conducted, not as a speculation for personal gain, but as a business that God has devised whereby a door of hope may be opened for the people. In the South, special consideration should be shown to the poor, who have been terribly neglected. Men of ability and economy are to be chosen to take up the food work; for, in order to make it a success, the greatest wisdom and economy must be exercised. God desires His people to do acceptable service in the preparation of healthful food, not only for their own families, which are their first responsibility, but for the help of the poor everywhere. They are to show Christlike liberality, realizing that they are representing God and that all they have is His endowment.” Counsels on Health, 494.

Did you note in this statement that our own families are to be our first responsibility? Do we really do service for our families that has the characteristics we just covered? Do we serve them as unto the Lord? Do we serve them with the guidelines laid out in the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy? Remember that our first responsibility is to our families, and we will one day have to give an account to the Lord for the work we have done for them. Oh, let this service be according to His Word and His way.

We should also do service for our church family. Do we really render them acceptable service in showing them the care, concern, and love that we should? We are also to be involved in service for our neighbors, the poor, the widow, the fatherless, those in prisons, and for all of suffering humanity. “Whatever the difference in religious belief, a call from suffering humanity must be heard and answered. Where bitterness of feeling exists because of difference in religion, much good may be done by personal service. Loving ministry will break down prejudice, and win souls to God.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 386. So, you see, you do not have to be a pastor, a medical missionary, or a foreign missionary to reach out in service. It is our responsibility to touch lives in the sphere of our daily living and daily work.

What Service Involves

Finally, let us consider what is involved in service. The first thing we must understand is that we are the vessel through which God works. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service.” Romans 12:1. God has given us our bodies, our intellects, our physical health, our personalities, our talents, and our gifts. We are His both by creation and redemption. It is our responsibility, our reasonable service, to give back to Him what He has given us. Each person’s service will be different, depending on what God has entrusted to him. “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. [Are] all apostles? [are] all prophets? [are] all teachers? [are] all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet show I unto you a more excellent way.” 1 Corinthians 12:27–31. If God has given us the gift of teaching, then we should use that gift in His service. If we have the gift of helps or hospitality, then this gift should be used in His service. If we have a gift of encouragement, then we should use this gift in His service to encourage those who are discouraged. Service is defined as acts of kindness, helpful acts, and conduct that is useful to others. So whatever talents the Lord has given us should be used in His service to help and bless others.

Is the legacy that we are endeavoring to hand down to our children being taught in the world, or is it being taught in the church? We can learn much from the Waldenses. Consider this: “The Waldenses had sacrificed their worldly prosperity for the truth’s sake, and with persevering patience they toiled for their bread. Every spot of tillable land among the mountains was carefully improved; the valleys and the less fertile hillsides were made to yield their increase. Economy and severe self-denial formed a part of the education which the children received as their only legacy. They were taught that God designs life to be a discipline, and that their wants could be supplied only by personal labor, by forethought, care, and faith. The process was laborious and wearisome, but it was wholesome, just what man needs in his fallen state, the school which God has provided for his training and development. While the youth were inured to toil and hardship, the culture of the intellect was not neglected. They were taught that all their powers belonged to God, and that all were to be improved and developed for His service.” The Great Controversy, 67.

In the home and in the church, we need to be committed to service and to helping others be committed to service. Our personal witness best does this as we work with each other. This is how Christ taught His disciples: “For three years and a half the disciples were under the instruction of the greatest Teacher the world has ever known. By personal contact and association, Christ trained them for His service. Day by day they walked and talked with Him, hearing His words of cheer to the weary and heavy-laden, and seeing the manifestation of His power in behalf of the sick and the afflicted. Sometimes He taught them, sitting among them on the mountainside; sometimes beside the sea or walking by the way, He revealed the mysteries of the kingdom of God. Wherever hearts were open to receive the divine message, He unfolded the truths of the way of salvation. He did not command the disciples to do this or that, but said, ‘Follow Me.’ On His journeys through country and cities, He took them with Him, that they might see how He taught the people. They traveled with Him from place to place. They shared His frugal fare, and like Him were sometimes hungry and often weary. On the crowded streets, by the lakeside, in the lonely desert, they were with Him. They saw Him in every phase of life.” The Acts of the Apostles, 17, 18.

Our Reasonable Service

In conclusion, we have discussed that Jesus gave the ultimate service to mankind when He gave His life for us, not only on the cross of Calvary but throughout the ages, as He mediates for us in the heavenly sanctuary. We have pointed out that our lives and the talents given us are gifts from God. It is, therefore, our reasonable service to give our entire being back to Him in service to mankind. We have identified that service is any helpful or kind acts and will be as diversified as are the talents that God has given to each one of us. We have documented that our service should be first to our immediate families and then to our church families, friends, neighbors, and to whomever else God calls us to serve.

We have identified the following twelve characteristics of service: True service is motivated by love, encompasses our entire being, requires a humble and contrite heart, is personal and involves more than our money, is earnest, is heartfelt, is willingly given and marked by self denial, is true, is based on correct motives, is cheerful, should be Christlike, and is unto the Lord and not unto men.

Dear friends, are we, are our families, and are our churches ready to make lasting commitments of service to God and to His heritage? Without a lasting commitment to service, we may be in this sin-filled world for many more years. God will someday have a unified group of people who will have this kind of commitment to service. As we consider the various topics of lasting commitments, let us pray that we will each decide now and for as long as we have breath to be a part of God’s final work of service to mankind.

Janet Headrick is a Registered Nurse as well as a member of the Steps to Life staff.

The Black and White Christian, Part II

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Is the work you are doing authorized by God? If you do not know whether or not God has been leading you in the past, then there is no point in looking at the present. To become more than black and white in your thinking, to be able to reason through things that are a little more difficult than two plus two, you must learn to understand the providence of God and how it has led in certain movements up to this present time.

Do you understand how the providence of God has been working in the last 150 years to finish the mystery of godliness in this world? Have you studied it? At one time, Ellen White said, “We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 162.

How is it with you today? Have you forgotten how God has led you in the past? If you have forgotten, you will be all mixed up about the present. You will not know what is what. If you have forgotten, I appeal to you to go to your own closet or wherever you do your studying, and say, “Lord, help me to understand what Your providence from past history shows me about where I am today and how I reached this point. Help me to understand where I should be and what I should be doing.”

Cornered

Throughout His ministry, the Pharisees attempted to trick Jesus by asking Him impossible questions that no one could answer and about which they argued all the time. On one occasion, they were certain they had cornered Him. They were going to ask Him a question, and they figured that no matter how He answered it, they would have Him. They were going to get Him into trouble either with the Jewish people or with the Roman people.

The story is recorded in Matthew 22: “Then the Pharisees go into counsel how they might trap Him in His talk. And they sent to Him their disciples, the Herodians, saying, ‘Teacher, we know that You are true, and the way of God You teach in truth, and it is not a concern to You concerning anyone, for You see not the face of man. Therefore, tell us, what do You think? Is it permitted to give tribute [pay taxes] to Caesar or not?’ ” Verses 15–17.

If Jesus answered, “Yes,” to this question, they immediately could discredit Him to the Jews, because Caesar was an idolater. In fact, the Roman Caesar was the personification of the sun god and was worshipped as the sun god. The rabbis believed that if you were supporting Caesar with your taxes, you were supporting idolatry. Surely, they reasoned with Jesus, “You know what happened to the Jews because of idolatry throughout the Old Testament. Are you not aware of all the warnings in the Scriptures against idolatry? Do you not know the second commandment? If you support this system, you are supporting idolatry.”

By the way, this was true. The pagan Roman government was a union of church and state. The church, of course, was an idolatrous, pagan church, so some of the taxes supported idolatrous worship. If you have studied the worship of idolatry, you know the awful things that were involved in such worship; more than the second commandment was broken.

The Pharisees believed that the Jews should not support a government that participated in idolatry. They reasoned that the head of the government was practicing and teaching idolatry; thus some of their taxes were supporting this idolatrous worship.

Many, many Christians were later martyred, on this account. The authorities would force the people to come into the town square where an altar had been placed. A fire would be burning on the altar, and beside it there would be a box of incense. The people were required to take just a pinch of incense, throw it on the fire, and say, “Caesar is Lord.” A Christian would not say this. We will never know until the Day of Judgment how many Christians lost their lives because they would not say, “Caesar is Lord.” They said, “Christ is Lord.”

If Jesus answered, “No, you should not support this idolatrous government by paying taxes,” immediately the Pharisees would report Him to the Romans, and He would be in trouble with the government. This is one of those black and white questions by people who are black and white in their thinking.

Peace and Harmony

The story continues, “And Jesus, knowing their wickedness, said, ‘Why do you tempt Me, hypocrites? Show Me the tribute money.’ And they brought to Him a denarius. And He said to them, ‘Whose is this image and this superscription?’ They say to Him, ‘Caesar’s.’ Then He said to them, ‘Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.’ And hearing, they were astonished and left Him; they went away.” Verses 18–22.

How interesting! The question which none of the rabbis could answer, about which they were constantly arguing, Jesus answered in one sentence. He also gave to the world a profound truth, which has changed it entirely. It is one of the reasons for a country today that we call the United States of America.

Jesus taught, in this brief response, that people with diverse persuasions, who worshipped different gods in different temples, could still get along together in the marketplace. They could still live together in peace and harmony.

The early Christian evangelists did not go out and try to force the people in the various countries in which they lived to stop worshipping idols and begin worshipping the true God. This is not the way it happened. The Christian religion was introduced as leaven into society, and it worked to influence society, not to control society. The Christian religion is not a religion of control but rather a religion of influence, so people have a choice of whom they will worship and of what they will do.

Jesus said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.” He drew a sharp line of distinction between that which is civil and that which is religious. Paul drew the line even sharper in Romans 13 and 14, showing that the state (he is speaking of the pagan state) has the authority from God to enforce the last six commandments in the law. He shows, in Romans 14, that the state does not have authority to enforce the first four commandments of the law, which is man’s relationship between himself and God.

Where do you suppose you would have been if you had been living back in that time? This black and white thinking, which the Pharisees repeatedly displayed, is not uncommon to the human race.

Ellen White described Phariseeism as the religion of human nature: “Christ ever rebuked the Pharisees for their self-righteousness. They extolled themselves. They came forth from their religious services, not humbled with a sense of their own weakness, not feeling gratitude for the great privileges that God had given them. They were exalted to heaven in point of opportunity, in having the Scriptures, in knowing the true God, but their hearts were not filled with thankfulness to God for his great goodness toward them. They came forth filled with spiritual pride, and their theme was self—‘myself, my feelings, my knowledge, my ways.’ Their own attainments became the standard by which they measured others. Putting on the robes of self-dignity, they mounted the judgment seat to criticise and to condemn. But no human being has been authorized of God to do this work. It is the very essence of Phariseeism. It is gathering about the soul the very shadows of darkness so that the light of life cannot penetrate the darkness. Satan deluded the Jews with a natural or legal religion, which was full of selfishness and hypocrisy, and thus were light and knowledge perverted; but this exalting of self, this self-righteousness, is nothing short of deception and self-destruction.” The Signs of the Times, December 17, 1894.

We could look at several more examples in the Bible of attempts to entrap Jesus. There is the question, in Matthew 22:23–33, about the resurrection that the Sadducees posed. Then, in John 8, is the story of a woman who was taken in the very act of adultery. This, again, was a trick case; the trick was simply this: When the scribes and Pharisees brought this woman in, they planned to defend what they thought Jesus would answer by appealing to Moses. They said, “Moses taught that such a person should be stoned; what do you say about it?” Verse 5. This was a trick.

If Jesus would say, “This woman should be stoned,” immediately they could get Him into trouble with the Romans, because the Romans had made a very strict law that people of other nations, such as the Jewish nation, were not allowed to practice capital punishment. The Jewish leaders were not going to bribe the Romans to keep Jesus out of trouble. They were going to have Him arrested by the Romans.

But if Jesus should say, “This woman should not be stoned,” if He was going to exercise mercy upon her, then they were going to say to the Jews, “This man does not believe in the law of Moses.” They were going to discredit Him in front of all the Jews.

This was a black and white situation. Either way Jesus answered the question could get Him into trouble. He responded, “The one that is without sin among you, let him first pick up a stone and cast it.” Verse 7. Then He began to write on the ground, and when they looked at what He was writing, they left, which was what He had in mind.

God’s Writings

There are only three recorded events in the Bible when God wrote something. The first was the Ten Commandments; He wrote it on tables of stone. The second is given in Daniel 5, when a bloodless hand appeared and wrote Hebrew characters—mene, mene, tekel, upharsin—on the wall. Any time God writes something, it is very significant.

This situation is the third time that God wrote. The difference between this time and the others is that we do not know specifically what He wrote. We know from the writings of Ellen White that the people who brought this woman to Jesus were the ones responsible for getting her into the situation so they could trap her and, ultimately, trick Jesus. It was a setup from beginning to end. (See The Ministry of Healing, 86–89.)

Someday you are going to see the verdict that God has written by your name through the recording angel. When you see the secrets of your life revealed, are you going to want to stand there before the Lord, or will you want to slink away? These men left.

Continuing in John 8:11, we read, “Then Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on, no longer sin.’ ” This was the beginning of one of the most vehement controversies between Jesus and the Pharisees that is recorded in the gospels.

Who is Your Father?

Let us look at one last example of the Pharisees’ black and white thinking as this controversy proceeded. The controversy is over who is the father of the Jews, and in verse 37, the situation really becomes heated. The Jews say, “Abraham is our father.” This is equivalent to saying, “I am a Seventh-day Adventist, and I belong to a conference church.” If you could say that Abraham was your father, that was equivalent to having all the qualifications of God’s people.

In the conversation with Jesus, the Jews declared, in verse 33, “We are Abraham’s descendants.” Jesus denied this. He told them that they were Abraham’s descendants according to the flesh, but, He continued, “If Abraham was your father, then you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill me, a man that has told you the truth, which I have heard from God. Abraham did not do anything like this.” Verses 39, 40. Jesus denied that Abraham was their spiritual father.

It would be amusing, if it were not so serious. Have you ever heard people argue about whether or not an individual is a Seventh-day Adventist? Yes, he or she is a Seventh-day Adventist; no, he or she is not, because if they were, they would not be doing . . . . God has a book up in heaven in which He keeps records. In God’s record book in heaven, are you a Seventh-day Adventist, or what are you?

These people could not stand being told that Abraham was not their father, just as people today cannot stand it if they are told, “If you truly were a Seventh-day Adventist, you would not be doing this and this and this.” They cannot stand it if you tell them that! This is what Jesus was saying.

The people said, “We are the children of Abraham. We are the true church.” But Jesus said, “No, you are not. If you were, you would be doing the works of Abraham; you would have a character like Abraham.” This, more than anything else, reveals their black and white thinking. They said, “We are not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.” What they were saying was, “We know how You came into the world. We know that Your mother was not married until a short time before You were born. We know how babies come into the world. You do not have to tell us. We know how that works.”

Character, not Profession

This is what happens when you have black and white thinking. Because of your knowledge base, you know how something has to be. Black and white thinking is dangerous, friends, and when you read this story, you will come to understand that we are all guilty of it. We will never escape it except through the Holy Spirit.

The Jews thought that, from a human point of view, there was no other way a baby could come into the world. So they said, “We are not born of fornication ourselves; we have one Father, even God.” Jesus’ reply to this was: “If God was your Father, you would love Me. You would not be trying to kill Me, if God was your Father. If God was your Father, you would love Me, because I proceeded forth and came from God.” Verses 41, 42, first part. Notice that He again denies that God is their Father. He tells them from where He came; He did not come from fornication. “Neither did I come for Myself, but He sent Me. Why can you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to endure My word. You are of your father, the devil.” Verses 42–44.

These were the leaders of God’s professed people. Jesus said, “Not only are you not God’s people, not only are you not the true church, but you are of your father, the devil. The devil is your father. You belong to the synagogue of Satan.”

If you want to do an interesting study, and if you have access to an Ellen G. White CD-ROM, search on the phrase, “synagogue of Satan.” You will find some very interesting statements. This was not the last generation in which there were people who thought that God was their Father, that they were the children of God, and that they were the true church when, actually, they were part of the synagogue of Satan.

How did Jesus prove that these leaders were children of the devil? In verse 44, we read, “Because the lusts of your father you wish to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and did not remain in the truth. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own, because he is a liar and the father of it.” He is the father of lies, and he is also the father of murder.

In other words, it is your character and not your profession that determines whether or not you are a genuine Seventh-day Adventist. It is your character and not your profession that determines whether God is your Father or whether the devil is your father. In the great controversy, it is your character and not your profession that determines on whose side you are.

Black and White Conclusions

  1. A black and white thinker interprets Scripture in the context of his own culture, and this becomes for him absolute truth. This is dangerous, friend. Be careful that you do not read your own culture into what the Scripture says, and then say that it says a certain thing, when it actually does not say that at all. You are just putting your own cultural meaning into it.
  2. A black and white thinker interprets Scripture in the context of his own feelings and attitudes, and this becomes for him absolute truth. This is what the Pharisees did with the divorce issue. (Matthew 19:3, discussed in Part 1.) They were interpreting the Scripture in the context of their own emotions, attitudes, and feelings, and that became, for them, absolute truth, but it was wrong.
  3. A black and white thinker interprets Scripture according to his own knowledge base, and, for him, this becomes absolute truth. This is why the Pharisees said to Jesus, “We are not born according to fornication.” They interpreted events according to their total knowledge base, and they said, “It cannot be any other way but this.” Be careful, friend. This is why the Scripture says that the “natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God; they are foolishness to him,” because they are outside his knowledge base. 1 Corinthians 2:14. There is more involved than just your knowledge base. This is where faith should be applied.
  4. A black and white thinker uses the words of Scripture to support his preconceived opinions or ideas. Here is an issue over which Adventists have repeatedly stumbled. It is not the words of Scripture that were inspired, but the men who wrote the Scripture were inspired. Their thoughts were inspired, and they used the best human language at their command to convey these thoughts. For this very reason, if a person is going to understand Scripture, he must study it sufficiently, so he grasps the thought being conveyed that the prophet or apostle had in mind, and is not just depending on the interpretation, which he may be wresting from the words. It is for this very reason that it becomes essential to study how the words of Scripture were used by the people of that time. We need to know what the words meant to those people in the culture to which the apostle or prophet was speaking or writing and not simply read into them our own cultural meanings, which may make them say something completely opposite from what the apostle or prophet had in mind.

A powerful text, if you understand what it means, is 1 John 2:21: “I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and that no lie is of the truth.” Ellen White also wrote a comment on this idea: “All truth, whether in nature or in revelation, is consistent with itself in all its manifestations.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 114. The truth, whether in nature or revelation, is always consistent with itself. The truth never contradicts itself. If we think we know something, but there is even one text in Scripture that seems to say something different, we had better be careful. The truth is consistent with itself in all its manifestations. This is why we need to ask, whenever there are any new teachings, Do all the texts of Scripture and do all the Spirit of Prophecy statements point clearly, explicitly in this direction? If we do not do this, friend, we are liable to get into the same trap that the Pharisees got into.

I hope you will pray about what we have studied and say, “Lord, help me to study and search to find the weight of evidence and not just be a black and white thinker, as is so common today.”

[Bible texts quoted are literal translation.]

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

The Black and White Christian, Part I

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Included in the category of black and white Christians is a very large percentage of people who profess the Christian religion. It includes an even higher percentage of those who are historic Seventh-day Adventists. There are also, in this category, a very large number of Roman Catholics and people of other religions.

Expectations

The Pharisees had terrible trouble when they got into discussions with Jesus. They would ask questions, expecting certain answers, but when they would ask Question A, expecting either Answer B or Answer C, they were given Answer R. The reason they were expecting certain answers was because they were black and white in their thinking. They considered an issue to be either black, of the devil, or white, of the Lord. Only these two alternatives were possible. When Jesus answered the question, He showed that there were other possibilities of which they had never even thought.

This is a very common problem, not just with the Pharisees, but with Christians as well. It has been a common problem all through Christian history, and it is a problem today.

An Example

Let us look at an example from Matthew 19:3: “And they came to Him, the Pharisees, testing him, and saying, ‘Is it allowed, or is it permitted, for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?’ ” If you have studied the nature of this question and that about which they were speaking, you know that this question caused endless disputes among the Jews, because their rabbis taught that a man could divorce his wife for any reason. They defended this view from the Bible.

Biblical Defense

This is always one of the biggest problems in dealing with black and white Christians; they defend their positions from the Bible. They are so sure that they are right; it is difficult to even talk to them or reason with them. They know they are right, because they read it in the Bible.

The Pharisees read their answer right out of the Bible. Deuteronomy 24 is the Scripture they used to defend their beliefs. It says, “When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she does not find favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her . . . .” Verse 1. What has he found in her? The Hebrew word is `ervah. The translators have had great difficulty trying to decipher the meaning of this word.

The linguists have given us five different possibilities for translation of the word, ‘ervah. Following are the various definitions of this Hebrew word from those who specialize in the study of languages:

  1. a situation or condition of nakedness;
  2. the pudenda—the secret parts or the sexual parts of a person, especially when naked;
  3. something that is shameful or something that is filthy;
  4. any physical defect; or
  5. ignominy or something that is dishonorable.

The Pharisees knew this word, and they argued about its meaning. Some of the rabbis held the position that if, after his marriage, a man found any defect in the woman whom he married—anything in her body, anything physically that he thought was defective, anything that he did not like—he could divorce her. In this case, the man was able to write a bill of divorcement, put it in his wife’s hand, and send her out of his house. This was the position of many of the Pharisees, based on their understanding of this word, ‘ervah.

The Pharisees were involved in endless arguments over this condition. There were some Pharisees who said, “No, this is an extreme position. You are making this text say something very extreme. It does not mean that just because the person does something you do not like, you can get rid of them.” But other Pharisees said, “Oh, no, this is what the word means. It means you can divorce the woman for anything you find to be defective.” They were involved in endless controversy over this.

Perfect Test Question

Of course, this was a perfect test question to present to Jesus. Either way He answered would involve Him in instant controversy with the opposition, because there were two sides to this issue, as there are in most controversies, and there were a number of opinions in between, as there are in most controversies. The Pharisees thought that they would instantly entangle Jesus in their religious controversies, because they thought in black and white. “Lord, which is it? Is it this way, or is it that way? Is it black, or is it white? Which is it?”

“In answering, Jesus said, ‘Have you not read that the One who created them from the beginning made them male and female,’ and, He said, ‘For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall be the two unto one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, what God has yoked [or joined] together, let not man separate.” Matthew 19:4–6. This, friends, is a clear, simple, unequivocal explanation of the question.

What is the answer to their question? Can a man divorce his wife for any cause? Jesus answered the question with more than, “No.” A man is not to divorce his wife, period. Is that what you see in Jesus’ response? Is there an exception? Yes, there is an exception. The one exception is if she commits adultery against her husband. But the rule given is not to divorce at all.

Objections

The Pharisees thought for certain that Jesus was a false teacher, because He was contradicting what Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 24:1. They thought they had Him! They could show to all the people that Jesus did not agree with Moses, and everyone knew that Moses was from God. They thought they had Him, and they were going to pin Him to the wall! They were going to quote the Scripture to prove that He was wrong.

Continuing in Matthew 19:7, the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Why, therefore, did Moses give commandment to give a writing of divorcement and to put her away?” Notice Jesus’ answer to them: “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not like this. And I say to you that whoever shall divorce his wife, except for the cause of fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery.” Verses 8, 9.

Jesus is here teaching that some things are in the Bible because of the hardness of hearts. God allows us to do some things, not because it is His will, but because of the hardness of our hearts. If we really want to find the answer to what God’s plan is for our lives, we need to go back to the beginning of this world when God revealed His plan for humanity.

In the Beginning

Let us review a few of the things that happened at the beginning. Later, we will look at a few more things from the Book of Genesis. By way of introduction, think about these few facts.

In our world today, people are so confused that in Protestant churches there are those who cannot decide whether or not there should be clergy who are homosexuals. Now, think this through. When we look back to the beginning, how many people did God create? He created two, a man and a woman. He did not create two men, nor did He create two women, so there was no provision made at the beginning for homosexuality. (See Genesis 1:27; 2:20–22.) By looking back to the beginning, we can reason out what God’s will is and what His plan is. He did not make two men; He did not make two women; He did not provide for homosexuality.

Not only that, but as a result of sin, there have been men who have had more than one wife. We call that polygamy. There have also been, even in America, women who have had more than one husband. We call that polyandry. Did God make provision for either polygamy or polyandry when He created the world? God did not make two wives for Adam—or three or four or six; He made just one.

It is not essential to have all of the rest of the Bible to figure out what God’s plan is. God made for Adam one wife. Did God provide for divorce at the beginning? Did the Lord say, “Well, Adam is going to get tired of this one wife after a few hundred years, so We need to create two or three?” No, He made no provision for divorce. God created for Adam only one wife. He created for Eve only one husband. He made no provision for polygamy, polyandry, homosexuality, or divorce at the creation of the world. Those were not part of the divine plan.

Jesus reminded the Pharisees, “If you want to find out what God’s will is, you have to go back to the beginning. Moses allowed you to do some things that were wrong because of the hardness of your hearts.”

Ezekiel 20:25 records the words God spoke: “Also I gave to them statutes that were not good, and judgments where they should not live in them.” Why? Jesus explained that it was because of the hardness of their hearts. You see, there are a lot of things recorded in the Bible which men did that were not right. Even godly men made mistakes and did things that were not right.

God’s Plan

How can you find out what is right? You look first of all, Jesus said, at the beginning. What was God’s plan, which He revealed in the beginning? This is one escape for us, one way to keep away from this black and white thinking which is so common in our society and among Christians today. One way to escape is to go back to the beginning and say, “How did God plan for me to live my life? When He created the world, what did He reveal as His plan?”

Steps to Life is currently recording a series of studies on the subject of health for its television broadcast. In this series, I have returned, over and over again, to the theme of God’s original plan. When you are trying to figure out how God wants you to live, so you will have good health, the quickest way to find out is to go back to the beginning of the world and study how God planned then for man and woman to live.

Have you ever heard someone say, “God wanted us to eat meat; that is why he created cattle”? Oh, really? Do you know that, in the very first chapter of the Bible, God considered your diet important enough to put down what He wanted the human race to eat? In Genesis 1:29, God specified this diet in detail. The fact that, later, people ate all other kinds of things does not change what Genesis 1:29 says, and it does not change what the ideal diet is. Just so no one will be confused, we need to be sure to include the fact that, after sin entered the world, God did change man’s diet.

I have studied nutrition, and there are many things that are of great interest to me regarding the diet God gave to Adam and Eve. One of the things I have learned is that the first diet in Eden was a very low sodium diet. After sin entered, God added foods to their diet whereby they would get more salt, because they were going to have to earn their bread by the sweat of their face. (Genesis 3:19.)

If you want to understand what God’s original plan was for exercise, for diet, for health, for living, for social structure, and for family structure, it is all right there in the first few chapters of the Bible. Those chapters are loaded with information that we need to study on how to live.

Another Lesson

Another lesson from God’s plan, when studying the Garden of Eden, is where God placed the man and the woman. Did He place them inside a building, or did He place them outside a building? He placed them outside. We should learn from that! One of the biggest causes of all kinds of health problems we have today is that we are so much indoors; we are rarely outdoors. Even invalids in wheelchairs should be taken outside for a brief period of time each day.

In lands where women have been taught the custom of purdah—the wearing of the berka robe, hood, and veil common in Muslim countries, whereby the body is covered except for a slit for the eyes—those women suffer terrible health problems, especially during childbirth, as a result of maldevelopment of their skeletons. Their bodies were never exposed to the sunlight all the time they were growing and maturing. As a result, they have terrible, terrible problems.

We need to study the original condition in which God placed man and woman, and we need to learn from it. In fact, Ellen White instructed men and women to, “Get outside; get outdoors every day.” (See Medical Ministry, 225, 232.)

There are a lot of things that we can learn from going back to the beginning. This is how Jesus directed the people who asked, “Can we divorce our wives for any cause?” He said, “Go back to the beginning.” God made no provision for Adam to divorce his wife. He made no provision for polygamy, polyandry, homosexuality, or any of those things. Jesus said, “If you want to find out what God’s plan is, go back to the beginning.” Going back to the beginning can save us from a lot of black and white thinking.

By What Authority

The cleansing of the temple is described in Matthew 21:12–17. After the temple was cleansed, verse 23 says, “And He, coming into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him as He was teaching, saying, ‘By what authority do You do these things, and who gave You this authority?’ ” They wanted to know what He was doing, chasing people out of the temple. They wanted Him to prove that He had lawful authority to do this.

This was a question that caused endless dispute then and, for some interesting reason, is causing endless dispute today. People frequently want to know, “Do you have a right to preach?” As you are no doubt aware, there are many Seventh-day Adventist churches in which I cannot preach, because I do not have any right, authority, or invitation to preach in them. Of course, I am not forcing myself into places where I am not invited.

Jesus was in a very similar dilemma. He had been shut out of the synagogue. In fact, the leadership had already decided that if anyone chose to follow Him, they would be disfellowshipped from the Jewish commonwealth or synagogue. It is very clear in the Gospel of John that they had made this decision a few months before this event. They hoped that they would be able to prove that Jesus had no authority to do what He was doing; therefore, He was a false teacher. They were going to discredit Him among the people.

The same thing happens today. People come to us at Steps to Life, saying, “What authority do you have to do what you are doing? You do not have any authority to build a church. You do not have any authority to organize a church. You do not have any authority to ordain a deacon or an elder or a minister. You do not have any authority to baptize.” All of those questions and statements are based on the same kind of thinking.

Look at Jesus’ answer. When, as a teenager, I first studied this text, I thought Jesus was playing a trick on them. But as I studied more, I found He was not playing a trick at all. He was giving them a very straightforward answer to their question, and there, actually, was nothing tricky about it.

In verses 24–27, we read what was happening and what Jesus was doing. It says, “And Jesus, answering, said to them, ‘I will ask you also one thing, which if you tell Me, I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, whence was it? Was it of heaven or of men?’ They reasoned with themselves saying, If we shall say, ‘Of heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Why, therefore, did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of men,’ we fear the multitude, for they all hold John as a prophet. And answering Jesus they said, ‘We do not know.’ He said to them also, ‘Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.’ ”

Providence of God

What was Jesus doing? He was taking them back in the providence of God. Do you believe the providence of God has worked in the second advent movement? Do you believe the providence of God has worked in your church? Do you believe that the providence of God has worked in your family? Do you believe that the providence of God has worked in your life? Can you look back and see that God has led you? I hope you can.

If you cannot look back and see that God has been leading in your life, you had better surrender your life to Him right now. Pray, “Lord, I want you to lead and guide and direct me on a plain path, so I can see that You are directing the way I should go.” This is what God wants to do for you. He wants to lead you on a path that is plain enough for you to see that He is guiding and directing you. When you look back, if you have surrendered your life to Him every day, you should be able to see that God has been directing and guiding in your life. You should be able to see that God has been leading and guiding and directing in what has been happening in the second advent movement.

So Jesus took them back a few years in the providence of God.

Self-supporting Work

I developed a sermon, about 15 years ago, based on this passage of Scripture, entitled, “Has God Authorized Self-supporting Work?” Has God authorized people who are working for Him but who are not working with the organized conference? Some people cannot understand that. The way to figure it out is to go back in the providence of God and see how God has been leading in the second advent movement. Has God directed that this should happen or not?

Jesus took them back in the providence of God to the baptism of John the Baptist. He said, “John the Baptist was baptizing thousands of people in the Jordan River.” “They came,” it says in Matthew 3:5, “from Jerusalem, and they came from beyond the Jordan”—that is, on the east side where the two and one-half tribes settled—and were baptized by John the Baptist. So, Jesus said to them, “John the Baptist was baptizing these people. Was God leading in this or was it just the leadership of men?”

Think through the answer for a moment. If you believe that the ministry and the baptism of John the Baptist was merely human, that God was not leading, would you believe that Jesus was the Messiah? Absolutely not! But if you believe the ministry and the baptism of John the Baptist was something inspired of heaven, would you believe that Jesus was the Messiah? Yes, you would, because John the Baptist testified publicly that he was. He said, “I have seen the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on this Person. I did not know Him, but the One that sent me to baptize, He told me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit of God descending, and remaining upon Him, that is the One that baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and I am bearing testimony that this is the Son of God.” John 1:32–34.

So, if you believe that the baptism of John the Baptist was inspired by heaven, what would you believe about Jesus? You would believe that He was the Son of God, and that was the authority by which He was doing these things. The evidence was overwhelming, even to these people.

The whole multitude believed that John the Baptist was a prophet. They could not deny it, but they did not like John the Baptist, because he was an independent worker. He was not under their authority. He was not credentialed by them. He was not educated by them. He did not have permission from them, so they did not like him.

They could not deny the work of John the Baptist, but they did not want to acknowledge it either, so they said, “We cannot tell.” Jesus said, “Then I do not tell you either by what authority I do these things, if you do not know.” That is the answer we have to give to some people too.

To be continued . . .

[Bible texts quoted are literal translation.]

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

To Be Like Jesus

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Among Seventh-day Adventist Christians, it is popular to say, “I want to be like Jesus.” But what does this involve? Is it simply a nice sounding phrase? What really does it mean “to be like Jesus”? To answer this we must know the experience of the One we are trying to imitate. What was Jesus’ life like here on earth?

 

Jesus—The Man of Sorrows

 

Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 53: “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth . . . For He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was He stricken . . . Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin . . . He shall see the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities . . . He hath poured out His soul unto death: and He was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:1–12.

To be like Jesus means to follow in His footsteps. To follow in the footsteps of the man of sorrows, to be despised and rejected of men as He was. Are we willing to face rejection, and misunderstanding by our closest friends and family? Jesus was. Not even His mother or His disciples understood His mission. Are we willing to be despised by those around us? Jesus was. The church leaders in His day hated Him so much that they sought to take His life. Are we willing to be mocked and scorned and lied about? Jesus was. He was called a winebibber and an illegitimate child. He was hated because He sought to help the publicans and sinners.

To be like Jesus is not always easy, but if you choose to follow Jesus, you can know that He will always be at your side, and, daily, you will be growing more and more like Him as you imitate His character.

 

Jesus—The Miracle Worker

 

Another aspect of Jesus’ life that God’s people are told that they will imitate is His miracle working power. Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall He do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father.” John 14:12. Think of Christ healing the blind man’s sight, making the leper whole, feeding the five thousand, restoring the lame man to perfect health, and raising a young girl from the dead. He was always working to relieve pain and suffering and to point people to God. This is the part of Christ’s life that many want to imitate, and Jesus has said that great signs, miracles and wonders will follow His people. But what are we doing now to help those who are in need? Are we feeding the hungry, using God’s methods to help the sick and helping the needy in any way that we can?

 

Jesus—A True Friend

 

The character of the One who we want to imitate was one of true love. He was a faithful friend, who would never forsake those that He loved. He loves us regardless of what we say, what we do or how we treat Him or anyone else. If we say we want to be like Jesus, then we must become loving friends. We must learn to be a constant friend, one who loves at all times, no matter the circumstances. We must learn to speak kindly and truthfully, not gossiping behind each other’s backs. And we must learn to have sympathy and compassion for those who have fallen, just as Christ is merciful to forgive us when we wander away from His loving care.

 

Jesus—A Rebuke to Hypocrisy

 

When Christ was here He had a two-fold ministry. In The Desire of Ages, 611, 612, we read, “It was His purpose both to warn the rulers and to instruct the people who were willing to be taught.” Not only did Christ preach and teach the people who where willing to be taught, He came to expose the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. Because of “their reverence for tradition, their blind faith in a corrupt priesthood, the people were enslaved. These chains Christ must break. The character of the priests, rulers, and Pharisees must be more fully exposed.” Ibid.

Jesus was in the business of saving souls, but before the people could fully receive His message they had to be loosed from the bonds with which their leaders had shackled them. They had to learn that it was the commandments of God that they must keep, not all the rules and traditions that the Pharisees had set up. “Christ declared that they made void the law of God by teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Ibid., 603.

Just think what it must have been like when Christ came, the humble carpenter, the Nazarene, and began preaching that the highest leaders of the church were making void God’s law. Are you willing to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and correct, with the holy Scriptures, those who are leading people astray?

Many people, today, think that we should never correct others. They say, “Oh, you are being critical.” But Jesus corrected those who were in error because He loved them and longed for their salvation. Jesus was willing to sacrifice Himself that others might be saved. Our work must be along this same line. Are you willing to warn those you know of their desperate condition, even if you will be despised and rejected as Jesus was?

Many in Christ’s day were not willing to make this sacrifice. Many believed on Christ, even some of the chief rulers, “but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogues. They loved the praise of men rather than the approval of God. To save themselves from reproach and shame, they denied Christ and they rejected the offer of eternal life.” The Desire of Ages, 626. You and I are challenged with that same philosophy. Are we willing to be disfellowshipped or even killed in order to stand for Jesus?

 

Jesus—Tempted and Tried

 

Jesus came as our example. “He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15. He suffered the worst temptations that Satan could invent. And these “most fierce temptations assailed Him in the time of His greatest weakness.” The Desire of Ages, 120. No one else has ever been tempted as severely as Christ was, yet through the power given Him by His Father, He resisted each temptation. All the hosts of the devil “could not bring Christ to yield even by a thought.” The Great Controversy, 623. Isn’t it comforting to know that someone has already fought the battle and won?

How did Christ receive the power to overcome from His Father? He prayed. The Bible says He spent hours in prayer, at the close of the day. He lived the life of prayer, praying for grace, strength and victory. Do you want to be like Jesus? How long has it been since you spent all night in prayer, as Jesus did?

Why were these long prayer vigils necessary? It was because Jesus understood the enemy He was dealing with. Today we are dealing with the same enemy, and if we are not watchful and vigilant, constantly in prayer that God will give us wisdom and strength to resist the temptations the devil throws at us, we will fail.

Inspiration says that Jesus prayed with strong crying and tears. His heart was so heavy with the burden for the souls that would reject eternal life. He offered it to them freely. He said, “Here it is. Just take it, please, I am giving it to you.” But the people rejected Him! While they were driving the nails in His hands and feet, spitting on Him and heckling Him, He prayed for them. How long has it been since you have reacted like that? Do you want to be like Jesus? What a challenge that is for us.

If we want to be overcomers and have heaven as our home, we must have powerful prayer lives. That means we might have to get up a little bit earlier in the morning, or sacrifice some treasured activity to find the time to spend with Christ. We might have to deny self. Are you willing to do it? Jesus did it for you. And if you choose to spend time in communion with Christ, I promise that you will come from those times refreshed and strengthened for the day ahead.

 

Jesus—The Only Way

 

The Scriptures say we must be like Jesus to enter heaven. Therefore, we need to understand what His character is like. In Exodus 33, Moses asked the Lord to show him His glory. The Lord answered him and said, “I will make all My goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.” “And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” Exodus 33:19; 34:5–7.

Christ’s character is merciful, longsuffering, forgiving and abundant in goodness and truth. Do we have these character traits? If we are not merciful, gracious and longsuffering, then the Spirit of God is not living in us. It says in Mount of Blessing, 78: “If you are the children of God, you are partakers of His nature and you cannot but be like Him. Every child lives by the life of his father. If you are God’s children, begotten by His Spirit, you live the life of God. In Christ dwells ‘all the fullness of the Godhead bodily’ (Colossians 2:9); and the life of Jesus is made manifest ‘in our mortal flesh.’ (2 Corinthians 4:11) That life in you will produce the same character, and manifest the same works as it did in Him.”

Jesus is the perfect Pattern we are to copy. Some people say, “You will never equal the Pattern—He was perfect.” It is true that we are powerless to develop a perfect character on our own. But if we let Jesus come in and control our lives, His character will be revealed in and through us.

“Christ is the ladder that Jacob saw. The base of the ladder was resting on the earth, and the topmost round reaching to the gate of heaven . . . If that ladder had failed by a single step of reaching the earth, we should have been lost. But Christ reaches us where we are. He took our nature and overcame, that we through taking His nature might overcome. Made ‘in the likeness of sinful flesh’ (Romans 8:3), He lived a sinless life. Now by His divinity He lays hold upon the throne of heaven, while in His humanity He reaches us. He bids us by faith in Him attain to the glory of the character of God.” The Desire of Ages, 311, 312.

“By passing over the ground which man must travel, our Lord has prepared the way for us to overcome. It is not His will that we should be placed at a disadvantage in the conflict with Satan. He would not have us intimidated and discouraged by the assaults of the serpent.” The Desire of Ages, 122.

The way of escape has been made for us. No matter how low we think we are, He will reach us if we are willing. Will we spurn His great gift? Will we turn away thinking that He is unable to perform the promise He has made? Or will we draw nearer to Christ, and surrendering our all to Him, begin to walk in the way that He tread before us?

“The nearer we live to Jesus, the more will we partake of His pure and holy character; the more offensive sin appears to us, the more exalted and desirable will appear the purity and brightness of Christ.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 141. The reason sin does not appear offensive to us is because we are living so near to the world. The closer we get to Christ, the more offensive sin becomes, and the more we long to be freed from it.

And dear friend, we can! The apostle John had this wonderful experience. “He (John) was not only self-assertive and ambitious for honor, but impetuous, and resentful under injuries. But as the character of the divine one was manifested to him, he saw his own deficiency and was humbled by the knowledge. The strength and patience, the power and tenderness, the majesty and meekness that he beheld in the daily life of the Son of God, filled his soul with admiration and love. Day by day his heart was drawn out toward Christ, until he lost sight of self and in love for his Master . . . The power of the love of Christ brought a transformation of character.” Steps to Christ, 73.

Do you want to have this experience? Do you want to be daily drawn closer and closer to Christ Friends, we must have this experience! For, “when the character of Christ is perfectly reproduced in His people, He will come to claim them as His own.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 69. I want to be ready! I want to be like Jesus!

Kenny Shelton is the director of Behold the Lamb Ministries, P.O. Box 2030, Herrin, IL 62948.

 

Pray Without Ceasing

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In the beginning, God spoke and made a world. David records: “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth . . .For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” Psalm 33:6, 9.

It was Jesus, in conjunction with His Father, that created this world and designed human beings to inhabit and fill it. (See 1 Corinthians 19:1–4; Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:16.) What we see of creation, in our world today, is but a pittance of what the original must have looked like.

On the morning of the sixth day of creation, the beautiful world was filled with animals of all descriptions roaming over the lush green hillsides and down through the valleys, blanketed with flowers. Birds, flying through the air, warbled their lovely songs of praise to their Creator.

After pronouncing all that He had made, “good,” this great Creator wants to make a caretaker for the beautiful garden. He decides to make man, in His own image, out of the dust of the ground and then breathe into him the breath of life making him a living soul.

After forming every feature with the greatest care, God looks down on this beautiful being. He might have said, “He looks like Me.” Then, kneeling down, He puts His mouth to the mouth of this beautiful being and breathes into him His breath. As the blood reaches the brain I can see Adam give a great gasp and suddenly the heart and all the organs begin to operate. Adam opens his eyes and looks into the face of God. I imagine his first words could have been, “Who are You?” Then he must have looked at himself and asked,” Who am I?” Now, this wonderful God reaches down, raises this beautiful being to his feet, and says, “Your name is Adam. You are My gardener. And I want to show you your garden.”

I can see God now putting His arm around this beautiful being and they begin to walk through this beautiful place. He says, “You, Adam, are in charge of everything. It is your world. You can name the flowers, trees, animals and birds.”

After they had finished their tour, I can hear Adam say, “God, everything is so wonderful, but I am wondering, why are there two of all the other creatures but there is only one of my kind?” And God replies, “I have a plan.” Then He lays this giant of a man down, puts him to sleep and takes a rib from his side. From this rib He creates the most beautiful being of all, a woman. Can you imagine when Adam wakes up and sees God and then looks past God to the woman? I can hear him say, “But who is she?” And God responds, “She is your wife.”

The shadows of the sixth day are leaning heavily upon the trees of this beautiful garden of God. The sixth day is ending and the seventh day, the Sabbath, is about to begin. As they stand before Him, God puts their hands together and He pronounces them man and wife. Then, standing in the shadows of that sixth day, He watches these two beautiful people, that He has created, walk away, arm in arm, talking about this beautiful place which He has created for them to live in.

Every day they had an opportunity to meet with God and the angels. I can see them running to meet their appointment with God. Wherever they were, they came hand in hand, leaping, running and racing to meet God, and casting themselves at His feet. Then I can see this great God raise them up to their feet, put one arm around Eve and the other around Adam and walk through the beautiful garden, explaining its wonders to them.

I can just imagine Adam looking at a magnificent tree, maybe a Sequoia Redwood tree, and asking, “But God, how does the moisture get from the root to the top?” And the Creator of the world explains how it all happens.

Eden was a wonderful place, a wonderful opportunity for two people. Yet, we know what happened. The picture now changes and we find these two people hiding. God comes for His daily visit, and walking through His garden, He calls, “Adam, Adam, where are you?” I can see them now, coming from their hiding place, no longer dressed in that beautiful robe of light, which He had made for them, but in fig leaves that Eve put together.

I can hear them cry, “God, we will never do it again. Please, God, do not send us away.” But sin was so terrible, and so infectious that they had to leave the garden. This was the only way that God could solve the tremendous problem that sin had brought.

I can see Jesus standing with both arms around them, hugging them close to His breast and explaining Genesis 3:15. He tells them that He will come and take their place. The law of God had been broken, and the wages of sin is death. Jesus tells them: “I have to die for you. I am the Lawgiver and the only way I can save you and your posterity, now, is to die in your place.” Then He explains the sacrificial system that pointed to the day He would die for their sins so they could live again and come back and be caretakers of His garden once more.

Can you see the picture of Adam with that first little sacrificial lamb, taking the sharp instrument in his hands, looking into the eyes of this little innocent creature, knowing that it had to be slain because of his sin?

 

God’s Sacrifice

 

The picture changes. For four thousand years the world looked forward to the time when the Messiah would come. Every Jewish mother looked at the man-child that came from her womb and wondered if he was the one—the promised Messiah. Then, just as the Old Testament prophets had predicted, the Christ child was born to bring hope and salvation to a perishing world.

What was Christ’s mission when He came to this earth?

“Christ came to our world to counteract Satan’s falsehood that God had made a law which man could not keep. Taking humanity upon Himself, He came to this earth, and by a life of obedience showed that God has not made a law that man cannot keep. He showed that it is possible for man perfectly to obey the law. Those who accept Christ as their Saviour, becoming partakers of His divine nature, are enabled to follow His example, living in obedience to every precept of the law. Through the merits of Christ, man is to show by His obedience that He could be trusted in heaven.” The Faith I Live By, 114.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. Fallen humanity cannot measure that love. Our earthly minds cannot fully understand it. And even in heaven, we will continue to study it throughout all eternity. God’s love is so amazing! Jesus was born in a barn. He was willing to come, all the way down to where fallen humanity was, so He could show them how they could gain eternal life and go back to His garden as caretakers, for the beautiful world that He will re-create.

The cross was a tragedy, yet it was the only way God could solve the sin problem. We think that when we are taken out of our positions in churches, or are disfellowshipped, we have been mistreated; look at the cross and see what the church did to the Messiah. Yet, He uttered not a word of rebuke. He just put out His hands and they nailed them to the cross. The Roman soldiers picked up the tree and dropped it into the hole that had been prepared for it. You can imagine the physical agony 20 Land Marks

that He must have gone through, but it was not the physical agony that killed Him. It was our sins—yours and mine—that crucified the Son of God.

 

Christ Prays for Us

 

Just before Jesus was crucified, He prayed a very important prayer, not only for Himself, but also for His disciples. These were His words: “Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee: As Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him. And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.

“I have glorified Thee on the earth; I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world: Thine they were, and Thou gavest them Me; and they have kept Thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever Thou hast given Me are of Thee.

“For I have given unto them the words which Thou gavest Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from Thee, and they have believed that Thou didst send Me. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given Me; for they are Thine. And all Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and I am glorified in them.

“And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to Thee. Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Thy name: those that Thou gavest Me I have kept; and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to Thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have My joy fulfilled in themselves.

“I have given them Thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth. As Thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” John 17:1–19. What a prayer! I believe those words come closer to explaining the love of God than anything I have read in the Bible or the Spirit of Prophecy.

Today, Jesus is our High Priest in the Most Holy Place. But He will not remain there long. Soon the censor will no longer sway; the cases will be decided. It is now time for us to study the Word of God and the Spirit of Prophecy earnestly, and pray like we have never prayed in our lives before. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Pray without ceasing.” Often when I have read that I have wondered, “How can I do that? I would never get anything done if I prayed all the time.” But prayer is not only the position you are in, prayer is an attitude of mind that you start your day with, walk through the day with, and go to bed with, at night.

I praise the Lord for the relationship that I have with Him through prayer. It holds me in such a beautiful relationship and when I break that relationship by impatience, I weep. We must overcome this impatience. And our only hope of doing this is to pray more and take that prayer experience with us through the day. Practice the presence of Jesus and you will receive His power.

Christ’s Object Lessons, 174, contains a precious promise about prayer. It says: “Amid the anthems of the celestial choir, God hears the cries of the weakest human being. We pour out our heart’s desire in our closets, we breathe a prayer as we walk by the way, and our words reach the throne of the Monarch of the Universe! They may be inaudible to any human ear, but they cannot die away into silence, nor can they be lost through the activities of business that are going on. Nothing can drown the soul’s desire.”

What a wonderful promise! The God of the universe hears our cries for help, and is never too busy to answer. As we lay our requests before Him, claiming His promise that we can overcome, He gives us the power to keep His law. Just as Christ was constantly in tune with His father through prayer, and thus able to resist temptation, we can receive the same power.

We need to learn to pray, as we have never prayed before. We need to pray for ourselves, for our children, our husbands, our wives, our friends and our neighbors. We must carry the burden of these souls upon our hearts.

 

The Secret to Answered Prayer

 

A lot of people have told me, “I pray and nothing happens.” And I say, “Have you laid your whole life at the feet of Jesus, surrendering your will, your mind, and your life to Him? Have you given up everything in this world?” The reason many of our prayers are not answered is because of how we live. We are not fully committed to God.

When my son was in Vietnam, God taught me some unforgettable lessons about prayer. At that time in my life, I felt that I had done many things and I was proud of everything I had done. I was a good preacher, because I had worked hard to be one. But through this trying experience, God taught me every day that I had to be humble. I could not do anything, but I believed that God could.

During the eleven months that my boy was on the battlefields I learned to pray as I had never prayed before. He told us later of the many miraculous ways the Lord had brought him through the most tragic, terrible circumstances. He was a commander and there were soldiers being killed all around him. A Vietcong shot at him from ten feet away, with an automatic weapon, and the bullets never touched him. Angels were deflecting the bullets.

The lessons I learned during that time have never been forgotten. God taught me that the first thing I do in prayer is to give my will to Him. When you give your will to God you give your mind to Him and His thoughts are your thoughts. Inspiration says: “By His perfect obedience He has made it possible for every human being to obey God’s commandments. When we submit ourselves to Christ . . . the mind becomes one with His mind, the thoughts are brought into captivity to Him; we live His life. This is what it means to be clothed with the garment of His righteousness.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 312.

During that time I memorized that passage, and began to study my Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy in a different way. I was not studying to be a good preacher. I was studying to fill my soul with the good things that God has in His Word and in the Spirit of Prophecy. I could not leave it alone anymore. I was getting up at 3:00 or 3:30 in the morning to study and my congregation said, “What has happened to the preacher?”

I was changed—not by what I did, but by what God was doing, and I wanted Him to do it. “Nothing is apparently more helpless, yet really more invincible, than the soul that feels its nothingness and relies wholly on the merits of the Saviour. By prayer, by the study of the word, by faith in His abiding presence, the weakest of human beings may live in contact with the living Christ, and He will hold then by a hand that will never let them go.” Ministry of Healing, 182.

“When with earnestness and intensity we breathe a prayer in the name of Christ, there is in that very intensity a pledge from God that He is about to answer our prayer ‘exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.’” Christ’s Object Lessons, 147.

“Unwearyingly persist in prayer. The persistent asking brings the petitioner into a more earnest attitude, and gives him an increased desire to receive the things for which he asks.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 145.

“Cultivate the habit of talking with the Saviour when you are alone, when you are walking, when you are busy with your daily labor.” Ministry of Healing, 510, 511.

One of my greatest experiences in the morning is to walk in the trees and praise God. Praising God is prayer. I lift my voice in thanksgiving for the health and strength that God has given me. I praise Him with joy in my heart for the opportunity that He has given me to serve Him in this great and awesome time.

Through praising the Lord we receive a rich blessing for ourselves. “If we keep the Lord ever before us, allowing our hearts to go out in thanksgiving and praise to Him, we shall have a continual freshness in our religious life. Our prayers will take the form of a conversation with God as we talk with a friend. He will speak His mysteries to us personally. Often there will come to us a sweet joyful sense of the presence of Jesus. Often our hearts will burn within us as He draws nigh to commune with us as He did with Enoch.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 129.

“Whatever your anxieties and trials, spread out your case before the Lord. Your spirit will be braced for endurance. The way will be opened for you to disentangle yourselves from embarrassments and difficulty. The weaker and the more helpless you know yourself to be, the stronger will you become in His strength.” The Desire of Ages, 329. That is prayer.

 

Prayer—Finding the Experience

 

The only way we can face the tragedies of tomorrow, and the next day, and the months and years ahead of us, is by becoming a people of prayer. I pray that you are willing to be made willing to bring your life into such a prayer experience that you can have the joy of seeing your prayers answered. God does not always answer prayer the way you want it answered, but He answers every prayer.

Sometimes God says, “No,” and that means that you have to have the spiritual maturity to understand when He says “No.” When people tell me, “God does not answer my prayers,” I tell them that maybe God is saying “No” and you do not understand. I have had God say “No” many, many times to me. But I have always accepted the “No” as God’s answer.

If you are willing to be made willing to bring your life into harmony with such a beautiful relationship with Jesus, you will walk with Him day by day. And that is a prayer experience. You know that Jesus is there because your sins are forgiven. You have confessed your sins (Acts 5:31), and God gives repentance. Learn to walk in this joyous living. Otherwise, you are cheating yourself of the greatest experience in the world.

But do not expect that the road will always be easy. Learn to accept every trial as a little stepping stone to a greater relationship to Jesus. Each hardship overcome, each temptation resisted, takes us a step forward in developing a character like Christ’s. It will take effort—prayer, study and a willingness to follow Christ, wherever He leads. Without this, you will not make it.

There is nothing you can do to be saved, but if you do not do something, you are going to be lost. God’s prophet wrote it this way, “It will require the strongest effort, the persevering and unfaltering determination, and the strongest energy to control self.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 92. But we are not left to struggle alone. “Every provision has been made in the word of God whereby all may have divine help.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 574.

We “must cooperate with divine power, and put forth” our “human effort to subdue sin, and stand complete in Christ.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 429, 430.

“Many never attain to the position that they might occupy, because they wait for God to do for them that which He has given them power to do for themselves.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 248.

“If we gain eternal life, we must work, and work earnestly . . . The characters we form here will decide our eternal destiny . . . Our part is to put away sin, to seek with determination for perfection of character.” Review and Herald, June 11,1901.

“This to us is a mournful statement, that there are those who will fail to enter in at the strait gate because they only seek to enter in and do not strive.” Heavenly Places, 263.

We have a part to play, but we have not done a very good job of playing that part. Discipline and human effort must be amalgamated with divine power before we can overcome. Too many of us have been trying to overcome in our own power. We have been trying to be good, thinking we will go to heaven “being good.” But we cannot be saved “being good.” We can only be saved being holy, and holiness can only come from the Holy One.

Let us study the word of God and the Spirit of Prophecy like we have never studied before. Dedicate yourself anew to God every morning by submitting your will to Him. You will be given all the power you need to do everything He has commanded you.

“The warfare against self is the greatest battle that was ever fought. The yielding of self, surrendering all to the will of God and being clothed with humility, possessing that love that is pure, peaceable, and easy to be entreated, full of gentleness and good fruits, is not an easy attainment. And yet it is his privilege and his duty to be a perfect overcomer here.” Testimonies,vol. 3, 106.

May God make us like that, today and every day, until eternity.

Duty of Parents to their Children

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One of the signs of the “last days” is the disobedience of children to their parents. 2 Timothy 3:2. And do parents realize their responsibility? Many seem to lose sight of the watch-care they should ever have over their children, and suffer them to indulge in evil passions, and to disobey them. They take but little notice of them until their own feelings are raised, and then punish them in anger.

Many parents will have to render an awful account at last for their neglect of their children. They have fostered and cherished their evil tempers by bending to their wishes and will, when the wishes and will of the children should bend to them. They have brought God’s frown upon them and their children by these things. Parents, have you forgotten that which is written in the Holy Word: “He that spareth the rod hateth his son.” Children are left to come up instead of being trained up. The poor little children are thought not to know or understand a correction at ten or twelve months old, and they begin to show stubbornness very young. Parents suffer them to indulge in evil tempers and passions without subduing or correcting them, and by so doing they cherish and nourish these evil passions until they grow with their growth and strengthen with their strength.

The house of God is often desecrated, and the Sabbath violated by Sabbath-believers’ children. In some cases they are even allowed to run about the house, play, talk and manifest their evil tempers in the very meetings where the saints should worship God in the beauty of holiness. And the place that should be holy, and where a holy stillness should reign, and where there should be perfect order, neatness and humility, is made to be a perfect Babylon, “confusion.” This is enough to bring God’s displeasure and shut His presence from our assemblies. His wrath is kindled for these things, and He will not while these things exist, go out with Israel to battle against their enemies. The enemies of our faith will be suffered to triumph on account of God’s displeasure.

Parents stand in the place of God to their children and they will have to render an account, whether they have been faithful to the little few committed to their trust. Parents, some of you are rearing children to be cut down by the destroying angel, unless you speedily change your course, and be faithful to them. God cannot cover iniquity, even in children. He cannot love unruly children who manifest passion, and He cannot save them in the time of trouble. Will you suffer your children to be lost through your neglect? Unfaithful parents, their blood will be upon you, and is not your salvation doubtful with the blood of your children upon you? Children that might have been saved had you filled your place, and done your duty as faithful parents should.

God says: “I know Abraham, that he will command his household after him,” and God gave him the honor of being the father of the faithful. Parents, it is your duty to have your children in perfect subjection, having all their passions and evil tempers subdued. And if children are taken to meeting, they should be made to know, and understand where they are. That they are not at home, but where God meets with His people. And they should be kept quiet and free from all play, and God will turn His face toward you, to meet with you and bless you.

If order is observed in the assemblies of the saints, the truth will have better effect upon all that hear it. A solemnity which is so much needed will be encouraged and there will be power in the truth to stir up the depths of the soul and a death-like stupor will not hang upon those who hear. Believers and unbelievers will be affected. It has seemed evident that in some places the Ark of God was removed from the church, for the holy commandments have been violated and the strength of Israel has been weakened. Parents, correct your children. Commence while they are young, when impressions can be more easily made, and their evil tempers subdued before they grow with their growth and strengthen with their strength.

You should correct your children in love. Do not let them have their own way until you get angry, and then punish them. Such correction only helps on the evil, instead of remedying it. After you have done your duty faithfully to your children, then carry them to God and ask Him to help you. Tell Him that you have done your part, and then in faith ask God to do His part, that which you cannot do. Ask Him to temper their dispositions, to make them mild and gentle by His Holy Spirit. He will hear you pray. He will love to answer your prayers. Through His Word He has enjoined it upon you to correct your children, to “spare not for their crying,” and His Word is to be heeded in these things.

It certainly must bring God’s displeasure upon parents when they leave Him to do what He has left, and commanded them to do. God corrects us when we disobey, and go astray from Him; and parents are bound by the word of God to correct their children when they disobey them, and show evil temper. Check the very first manifestation of passion. Break the will, (but do it with feelings of tenderness, and with discretion,) and your children will be far happier for it, and you will be happier. Your effort will be remembered of God, and He that is so particular as to observe the falling of the sparrow, He that noticed and commended Abraham’s faithfulness, will not pass by your efforts. He that never slumbers nor sleeps will be ready to aid you with His Spirit and grace, and will reward your feeble efforts.

Parents, above every thing, take care of your children upon the Sabbath. Do not suffer them to violate God’s holy day by playing in the house or out of doors. You may just as well break the Sabbath yourselves as to let your children do it, and when you suffer your children to wander about, and suffer them to play upon the Sabbath, God looks upon you as Sabbath-breakers. Your children, that are under your control, should be made to mind you. Your word should be their law. Will not parents wake up to their duty before it shall be too late, and take hold of the work in earnest, redeem the time, and make unsparing efforts to save their children?

Children are the lawful prey of the enemy, because they are not subjects of grace, have not experienced the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus, and the evil angels have access to these children; and some parents are careless and suffer them to work with but little restraint. Parents have a great work to do in this matter, by correcting and subduing their children, and then by bringing them to God and claiming His blessing upon them. By the faithful and untiring efforts of the parents, and the blessing and grace entreated of God upon the children, the power of the evil angels will be broken, a sanctifying influence is shed upon the children, and the powers of darkness must give back. When the destroying angel was to pass through Egypt, to destroy the first-born of man and beast, Israel was commanded to gather their children and families into their houses with them, and then mark their door-posts with blood, that the destroying angel might pass by their dwellings, and if they failed to go through with this process, there was no difference made between them and the Egyptians.

The destroying angel is soon to go forth again, not to destroy the first-born alone, but “to slay utterly old and young, both men, women and little children” who have not the mark. Parents, if you wish to save your children, separate them from the world, keep them from the company of wicked children; for if you suffer them to go with wicked children, you cannot prevent them from partaking of their wickedness and being corrupted. It is your solemn duty to watch over your children, to choose the society at all times for them. Teach your children to obey you, then can they more easily obey the commandments of God, and yield to His requirements. Do not let us neglect to pray with, and for our children. He that said, “Suffer little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not,” will listen to our prayers for them, and the seal, or mark of believing parents will cover their children, if they are trained up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

  1. G. White

Review and Herald, September 19, 1854.

 

Seventh-day Adventist Camp Meetings

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The season of year when these meetings can be held with comfort is rapidly approaching. As the writer has attended hundreds of these gatherings, and has taken a prominent part in many of them, it may not be deemed improper for him to express some thoughts concerning them.

These meetings have been very important in the progress of this cause in the past, and it is reasonable to expect they will be still more important in the future. In the early growth of this work, a great need was felt for large gatherings of our people for consultation, for instruction, for seeking God, and for promoting unity and oneness of purpose in carrying on the great work that God has committed to His people. The lack of such opportunities was deeply felt. . . .

Our people believed that all gatherings for the worship of God should be orderly, reverential, and solemn, with everything savoring of fanaticism discarded. In short, if we were to have camp meetings, we should have them with as good order as meetings in a church. The question with our leading brethren was whether or not this could be done.

Our first camp meeting was held in Wright, Michigan. It was a matter of great importance, and our people were deeply interested in its success. Of course everything was crude in comparison with our camp meetings at the present time. We had no family tents, so we had to learn how to make them. The campers were made as comfortable as possible. The attendance was quite good. Our leading brethren were present to supervise, and the order was as good as at meetings conducted in a church. Best of all, the Lord was there by His Spirit, and those attending were greatly blessed. The meeting was a great success. . . .

The purpose served by our camp meetings has been similar to that of the great feasts celebrated by ancient Israel. God required Israel of old to attend these gatherings, which were considered very important. The people came hundreds of miles, in many instances on foot, to attend these feasts. In the Saviour’s time, when the Jews were scattered among the nations, many thousands gathered at Jerusalem on these occasions.

The spiritual life of our people is largely influenced by our camp meetings. At these gatherings, all important interests in the cause of God are considered and advanced. Through indifference in attending these meetings, some of our people are suffering great loss spiritually, and are in danger of getting worldly-minded and careless. A large number of souls will be lost because of this great mistake. The camp meetings are a very prominent means of grace, to keep us as a people spiritually alive. They cost considerable money, to be sure, but what is the loss of a little money in comparison with jeopardizing the salvation of our souls?

We are coming rapidly to the time when our people will be terribly tested. The time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation is just upon us. . . . My dear brethren and sisters, we must be spiritually awake or be lost. There is no escaping this conclusion. There will be a terrible shaking before this shaking time ends.

Many among us are liable to be shaken out and lost, lost forever. Shall we not use this blessed means of grace provided at much cost, preparatory to the terrible scenes before us? How can we escape, if we neglect the means of grace designed to warn and arouse us? May the Lord impress this thought on all our hearts.

Reprinted from The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. 93, No. 26, Takoma Park Station, Washington, D.C., May 25, 1916.

George Ida Butler, twice president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (1871–1874 and 1880–1888), was a church administrator for many years.

The Never Ending Future

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Nothing brings more joy to the hearts of the followers of Christ than the thought of spending eternity in the presence of the One who died that we might enjoy a never-ending future. God’s word gives us unbridled hope in that regard.

One example of that hope is given in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians: “And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power” (1 Corinthians 6:14). This is just one of many texts that states firmly and positively the assurance of a never-ending future for God’s faithful people. However, reading this verse in context makes it clear that this assurance is only for those who glorify God in body and in spirit. “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God” (verse 9)? Only through the righteousness of Christ, inherited by faith, can we hope to glorify God as we must.

There is a surprising number of texts that promise everlasting life to the faithful through the same experience of being raised from the dead just as Christ was.

“Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him” (Romans 6:4–9).

Resurrection from the grave freed Christ from the dominion of death. That same deathless future awaits those who “walk in newness of life” and are united together “in the likeness of His resurrection,” symbolized through the act of baptism.

Paul gave further assurance to the Corinthians in his second letter to them: “knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you” (2 Corinthians 4:14).

It is clear that Paul understood the never-ending future that awaits those who fulfill the conditions of God’s promises.

As reassuring as Paul’s statements are, even greater assurance is found in the words of Christ Himself.

Following the healing of the paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda, when the Jews were seeking to kill Him, Jesus gave a lengthy discourse in which He explained His relationship with the Father in fairly explicit detail, no doubt angering the self-righteous Jews even more. In that discourse, He spoke words that, had the eyes of their understanding not been blinded by the enemy of souls, should have given them either unbridled joy or left them quaking in fear, depending on whether or not they chose to accept Him as the Son of God.

“For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:26–29).

The day after the feeding of the five thousand, when the multitude were seeking Him for the loaves and the fishes, Christ explained that “the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (John 6:33). In response to their demand to “give us this bread always” (verse 34), Christ asserted that “I am the bread of life” (verse 35). Then He spoke words that further inflamed His opponents but gives us further assurance of a never-ending future:

“This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:39, 40).

Christ again gives assurance of a never-ending future to the faithful just prior to the resurrection of Lazarus. After Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died,” Jesus assured her “Your brother will rise again” (John 11:21, 23). Martha, in an expression of her clear understanding of Jesus’ teaching, said, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (verse 24).

Jesus then provided yet another promise of everlasting life when He stated, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” (See John 11:21–26.)

It is critical to note in this promise the condition necessary for its fulfillment. It is exactly the same as that given to Nicodemus near the beginning of his ministry when Christ told him, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Clearly a never-ending future awaits those who truly believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and who have chosen to manifest that belief in their daily lives by taking up their cross daily and following the Lamb whithersoever He leadeth. That never-ending future can begin today if you choose to commit your life to Him who is “the bread of life.”

John R. Pearson is the office manager and a board member of Steps to Life. He may be contacted by email at: johnpearson@stepstolife.org.

Heavenly Laundry

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And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people. And any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people’ ”(Leviticus 23:26–30).

“Wait here; I am going to My Father to receive the kingdom; keep your garments spotless, and in a little while I will return from the wedding and receive you to Myself.” Early Writings, 55.

What does it mean to “keep” something? Is it possible to keep something if it is not in your possession in the first place? No, in order to keep it, it must be in your possession. So, what does this sentence mean, “keep your garments spotless?” To answer that we need to put the phrase into context. This phrase is taken from a vision Ellen White was given sometime before 1851, when it was first published.

“Then Jesus rose up from the throne, and the most of those who were bowed down arose with Him. I did not see one ray of light pass from Jesus to the careless multitude after He arose, and they were left in perfect darkness. Those who arose when Jesus did, kept their eyes fixed on Him as He left the throne and led them out a little way. Then He raised His right arm, and we heard His lovely voice saying, ‘Wait here; I am going to My Father to receive the kingdom; keep your garments spotless, and in a little while I will return from the wedding and receive you to Myself.’ Then a cloudy chariot, with wheels like flaming fire, surrounded by angels, came to where Jesus was. He stepped into the chariot and was borne to the holiest, where the Father sat. There I beheld Jesus, a great High Priest, standing before the Father. On the hem of His garment was a bell and a pomegranate. Those who rose up with Jesus would send up their faith to Him in the holiest, and pray, ‘My Father, give us Thy Spirit.’ Then Jesus would breathe upon them the Holy Ghost. In that breath was light, power, and much love, joy, and peace.” Early Writings, 55.

This phrase, “keep your garments spotless” was spoken by Jesus to His faithful ones as He moved from the Holy to the Most Holy Place. That took place in 1844. Let’s turn to an historical account of His true people at that time.

“Those who sincerely love Jesus can appreciate the feelings of those who watched with the most intense longing for the coming of their Saviour. The point of expectation was nearing. The time when we hoped to meet Him was close at hand. We approached this hour with a calm solemnity. The true believers rested in a sweet communion with God—an earnest of the peace that was to be theirs in the bright hereafter. None who experienced this hope and trust can ever forget those precious hours of waiting.

“Worldly business was for the most part laid aside for a few weeks. We carefully examined every thought and emotion of our hearts, as if upon our deathbeds, and in a few hours to close our eyes forever upon earthly scenes. There was no making of ‘ascension robes’ for the great event; we felt the need of internal evidence that we were prepared to meet Christ, and our white robes were purity of soul, character cleansed from sin by the atoning blood of our Saviour.” Life Sketches, 56, 57.

Here is the key to that phrase “keep your garments spotless.” That work of purification, of cleansing, had been done prior to when Jesus moved from the Holy to the Most Holy Place! “Through the grace of God and their own diligent efforts” they had become conquerors in the battle with sin. Then Jesus says to them as He moves from the Holy Place to the Most Holy Place, “Keep your garments spotless.”

That is still His instruction to us today. This is the unique, compelling, singular message of the Most Holy Place. Is this possible? The answer is a resounding, glad, and triumphant Yes. If it were not, God would never require it of us, and is it required? Again, the answer is a resounding Yes.

Long ago God said, “Now is the time to prepare. The seal of God will never be placed upon the forehead of an impure man or woman. It will never be placed upon the forehead of the ambitious, world-loving man or woman. It will never be placed upon the forehead of men or women of false tongues or deceitful hearts. All who receive the seal must be without spot before God—candidates for heaven.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 216.

Also, from Leviticus 23:26–30, in studying the “shadow” that was to teach us of the realities of the “true tabernacle” in heaven we read the following:

“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people. And any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people.’ ”

It is so clear here that during the typical Day of Atonement, God required His people to humble themselves, to afflict their souls through deep soul searching. This was so important that those who did not do this were “cut off.” God said “that person I will destroy from among his people.” Here is revealed the destiny of those who do not “keep their garments spotless.” That is serious my friends. This is the true Most Holy Place message. This is present truth.

“Many seem to think that it is impossible not to fall under temptation, that they have no power to overcome, and they sin against God with their lips, talking discouragement and doubt, instead of faith and courage. Christ was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. He said, ‘The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me’ (John 14:30). What does this mean? It means that the prince of evil could find no vantage ground in Christ for his temptation; and so it may be with us.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 192.

“If you would be a saint in heaven, you must first be a saint on earth. The traits of character you cherish in life will not be changed by death or by the resurrection. You will come up from the grave with the same disposition you manifested in your home and in society. Jesus does not change the character at His coming. The work of transformation must be done now. Our daily lives are determining our destiny.” The Adventist Home, 16.

Does God ever lie? No, God cannot lie. He has laid out before us His expectation. He has outlined explicitly how this is to be accomplished. The real question is, Is heaven truly where your heart is?

“The true Christian’s joys and consolation must and will be in heaven. The longing souls of those who have tasted of the powers of the world to come and have feasted on heavenly joys, will not be satisfied with things of earth. Such will find enough to do in their leisure moments. Their souls will be drawn out after God. Where the treasure is, there will the heart be, holding sweet communion with the God they love and worship. Their amusement will be in contemplating their treasure—the Holy City, the earth made new, their eternal home. And while they dwell upon those things which are lofty, pure, and holy, heaven will be brought near, and they will feel the power of the Holy Spirit, and this will tend to wean them more and more from the world and cause their consolation and chief joy to be in the things of heaven, their sweet home. The power of attraction to God and heaven will then be so great that nothing can draw their minds from the great object of securing the soul’s salvation and honoring and glorifying God.” Early Writings, 112, 113.

Friends, have you studied, have you infused into your heart, the true Most Holy Place message? Is your character clean? Are your garments spotless? Are you keeping them that way? God is calling us to be a pure and holy people that we may be ready to stand?

Is your laundry done?

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