Christian Life

The Wise and the Foolish – The Test of True Discipleship

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There is a differentiating factor between the wise and the foolish virgins. As we read various descriptions of the two classes—the wise and the foolish virgins, see where you might place yourself in the descriptions or illustrations. Be honest with yourself. This is one place where it will be fatal to be self-deceived. “When the foolish virgins reached the banqueting hall, they received an unexpected denial. They were left outside in the blackness of the night.” The Review and Herald, October 31, 1899. These foolish virgins felt secure and expected entrance, but they were denied. This is not an experience we want to have.

“We all need to study as never before the parable of the ten virgins. Five of them were wise, and five were foolish. The wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. This is the holy oil represented in Zechariah. ‘Then answered I again, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth’ (Zechariah 4:11–14). This representation is of the highest consequence to those who claim to know the truth. But if we do not practice the truth, we have not received the holy oil, which the two golden pipes empty out of themselves. The oil is received into vessels prepared for the oil. It is the Holy Spirit in the heart which works by love and purifies the soul.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 1179.

Here is the same definition of the oil, but in different words. “The golden oil represents the grace with which God keeps the lamps of believers supplied, that they shall not flicker and go out. Were it not that this holy oil is poured from heaven in the messages of God’s Spirit, the agencies of evil would have entire control over men.” The Review and Herald, July 20, 1897.

Our Lord describes the foolish, without the oil of God’s grace. “The oil of grace gives to men the courage, and supplies to them the motives for doing every day the work that God appoints to them. The five foolish virgins had lamps (a knowledge of Scripture truth), but they had not the grace of Christ. Day by day they went through a round of ceremonies and external duties, but their service was lifeless, devoid of the righteousness of Christ. The Sun of Righteousness did not shine in their hearts and minds, and they had not the love of the truth which conforms to the life and character, the image and superscription, of Christ. The oil of grace was not mingled with their endeavors. Their religion was a dry husk without the true kernel. They held fast to forms of doctrines, but they were deceived in their Christian life, full of self-righteousness, and failing to learn lessons in the school of Christ, which, if practiced, would have made them wise unto salvation.” Ibid., March 27, 1894.

The difference between the wise and the foolish virgins is that the wise virgins accept and cooperate with God in His plan of redemption. They grasp the promise of the new covenant which is, “The restoration in the human soul of the image of God.” Education, 125. It is “the power of God, ‘which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ’ (1 Corinthians 15:57).” Ibid., 125, 126.

Paul says, “I will put My laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know Me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more” (Hebrews 8:10–12).

The Jews were not only unprepared, unready, not looking for and understanding the first advent of Christ, but fulfilled the very prophecies of Christ’s suffering, His rejection, His betrayal and death. This happened because they were driven by self and pride, they had changed their fundamental beliefs, they were foolish virgins.

Some have done the very same thing today. “In the time of the Saviour, the Jews had so covered over the precious jewels of truth with the rubbish of tradition and fable, that it was impossible to distinguish the true from the false. The Saviour came to clear away the rubbish of superstition and long-cherished errors, and to set the jewels of God’s word in the frame-work of truth. What would the Saviour do if He should come to us now as He did to the Jews? He would have to do a similar work in clearing away the rubbish of tradition and ceremony. The Jews were greatly disturbed when he did this work. They had lost sight of the original truth of God, but Christ brought it again to view. It is our work to free the precious truths of God from superstition and error.” The Review and Herald, June 4, 1889.

The prevailing popular error that it is impossible to gain victory over sin will lead many to reject Christ by rejecting the Spirit of Prophecy, which explains clearly, in complete agreement with Scripture, that we must overcome not only our sins but our propensity to sin. Many repeat with all the conviction worthy of pure truth that overcoming sin completely is impossible, but this is Satan’s lie.

Let’s look at this a little more.

All ten virgins have lamps – symbol of light—truth.

All ten are called virgins – they profess a pure truth.

All go out to meet the bridegroom – all believe that Jesus is coming again for they “go out to meet Him” (Matthew 25:6).

All ten expect entrance at the wedding feast.

All these are good attributes but the key element is missing from the foolish virgins, the oil of grace, the Holy Spirit in their lives. Steps to Christ, 58, 59 explains it like this:

“Those who become new creatures in Christ Jesus will bring forth the fruits of the Spirit, ‘love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance’ (Galatians 5:22, 23). They will no longer fashion themselves according to the former lusts, but by the faith of the Son of God they will follow in His steps, reflect His character, and purify themselves even as He is pure. The things they once hated they now love, and the things they once loved they hate. The proud and self-assertive become meek and lowly in heart. The vain and supercilious become serious and unobtrusive [inconspicuous, unremarkable, bland, modest, self-effacing, unassuming]. The drunken become sober, and the profligate pure. The vain customs and fashions of the world are laid aside. Christians will seek not the ‘outward adorning,’ but ‘the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit’ (1 Peter 3:3, 4).

“There is no evidence of genuine repentance unless it works reformation. If he restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, confess his sins, and love God and his fellow men, the sinner may be sure that he has passed from death unto life.”

The following two statements are from an article on the parable of the ten virgins entitled “A Solemn Lesson.” “Repentance for sin is the first step in conversion. Repentance is an intense hatred of sin in all its forms. … He who is truly repentant, he who is regenerated, hates sin. All manner of selfishness is distressing to him. Indifference to God on the part of those around him grieves him.” The Signs of the Times, August 13, 1894. The wise virgins are regenerated. They have been born again.

This experience is no happenstance. It is no accident. It is a conscious choice. Again, Steps to Christ describes the path of the wise virgin. “Many are inquiring, ‘How am I to make the surrender of myself to God?’ You desire to give yourself to Him, but you are weak in moral power, in slavery to doubt, and controlled by the habits of your life of sin. Your promises and resolutions are like ropes of sand. You cannot control your thoughts, your impulses, your affections. The knowledge of your broken promises and forfeited pledges weakens your confidence in your own sincerity, and causes you to feel that God cannot accept you; but you need not despair. What you need to understand is the true force of the will. This is the governing power in the nature of man, the power of decision, or of choice. Everything depends on the right action of the will. The power of choice God has given to men; it is theirs to exercise. You cannot change your heart, you cannot of yourself give to God its affections; but you can choose to serve Him. You can give Him your will; He will then work in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure. Thus your whole nature will be brought under the control of the Spirit of Christ; your affections will be centered upon Him, your thoughts will be in harmony with Him.

“Desires for goodness and holiness are right as far as they go; but if you stop here, they will avail nothing. Many will be lost while hoping and desiring to be Christians. They do not come to the point of yielding the will to God. They do not now choose to be Christians.

“Through the right exercise of the will, an entire change may be made in your life. By yielding up your will to Christ, you ally yourself with the power that is above all principalities and powers. You will have strength from above to hold you steadfast, and thus through constant surrender to God you will be enabled to live the new life, even the life of faith.” Steps to Christ, 47, 48. [Emphasis author’s.]

Here is where the foolish virgins fail. They are not hypocrites. Hear the words of the Lord. “The class represented by the foolish virgins are not hypocrites. They have a regard for the truth, they have advocated the truth, they are attracted to those who believe the truth; but they have not yielded themselves to the Holy Spirit’s working. They have not fallen upon the Rock, Christ Jesus, and permitted their old nature to be broken up. This class are represented also by the stony-ground hearers. They receive the word with readiness, but they fail of assimilating its principles. Its influence is not abiding. The Spirit works upon man’s heart, according to his desire and consent implanting in him a new nature; but the class represented by the foolish virgins have been content with a superficial work. They do not know God. They have not studied His character; they have not held communion with Him; therefore they do not know how to trust, how to look and live.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 411.

This is serious business. “They have not studied His character; they have not held communion with Him.” We learn of God, of Jesus, His character, of His work and purpose for mankind in the holy words of Inspiration.

“The life of Christ that gives life to the world is in His word. It was by His word that Jesus healed disease and cast out demons; by His word He stilled the sea, and raised the dead; and the people bore witness that His word was with power. He spoke the word of God, as He had spoken through all the prophets and teachers of the Old Testament. The whole Bible is a manifestation of Christ, and the Saviour desired to fix the faith of His followers on the Word. When His visible presence should be withdrawn, the Word must be their source of power. Like their Master, they were to live ‘by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God’ (Matthew 4:4).

“As our physical life is sustained by food, so our spiritual life is sustained by the word of God. And every soul is to receive life from God’s word for himself. As we must eat for ourselves in order to receive nourishment, so we must receive the Word for ourselves. We are not to obtain it merely through the medium of another’s mind. We should carefully study the Bible, asking God for the aid of the Holy Spirit, that we may understand His word. We should take one verse, and concentrate the mind on the task of ascertaining the thought which God has put in that verse for us. We should dwell upon the thought until it becomes our own, and we know ‘what saith the Lord.’ ” The Desire of Ages, 390.

Do you know experientially, “what saith the Lord?” The wise virgins do. They know the voice of their Lord. What about the foolish virgins? We read, “… but the class represented by the foolish virgins have been content with a superficial work. They do not know God. They have not studied His character; they have not held communion with Him; therefore they do not know how to trust, how to look and live. Their service to God degenerates into a form. ‘They come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as My people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness’ (Ezekiel 33:31). The apostle Paul points out that this will be the special characteristic of those who live just before Christ’s second coming. He says, ‘In the last days perilous times shall come: for men shall be lovers of their own selves; … lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof’ (2 Timothy 3:1–5).” Christ’s Object Lessons, 411.

Here it is stated again: the foolish are content with a superficial work. They do not believe that it is possible to overcome. So as long as they keep their sins confessed they will be fine. They believe that Jesus did it all at the cross. All that is necessary now is to believe. This is the overpowering yet fatal deception of today.

The foolish virgins have been content with a superficial work and they do not truly know God. What we need is faith that works by love and purifies the soul.

“Those who have divine enlightenment will see the necessity of overcoming, for they will realize something of the purpose of Heaven in regard to the influence they are to exert upon others for their salvation. If those who have serious faults to overcome, would rely on God with earnest faith, he would work for them; and the more diligently they devoted themselves to the cultivation of virtue and the discharge of duty, the more grace would they receive to become like the Pattern. With the experience of conversion to Christ, a new life begins. The apostle says, ‘If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new’ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Whoever accepts Jesus will make determined efforts to overcome through the strength imparted to him from Heaven; his whole character must and will be transformed. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of his faith, he will go on from grace to grace, from strength to strength, and power will be given him to uproot every evil. … Faith, living, active faith, works by love and purifies the soul; it becomes an abiding principle in the life. Everyone who has accepted the righteousness of Christ is placed on high vantage-ground. His conversation, his habits, will be of a high, refined character, after the example of his Lord, and then he will not lie against the truth. He will rise above all baser things into the pure atmosphere of heaven.” The Signs of the Times, October 13, 1890.

“Genuine faith is followed by love, and love by obedience. All the powers and passions of the converted man are brought under the control of Christ. His Spirit is a renewing power, transforming to the divine image all who will receive it. It makes me sad to say that this experience is understood by but few who profess the truth. Very many follow on in their own ways and indulge their sinful desires and yet profess to be disciples of Christ. They have never submitted their hearts to God. Like the foolish virgins they have neglected to obtain the oil of grace in their vessels with their lamps. I tell you, my brethren, that a large number who profess to believe and even to teach the truth are under the bondage of sin. Base passions defile the mind and corrupt the soul. Some who are in the vilest iniquity have borrowed the livery of heaven, that they may serve Satan more effectively.

“ ‘Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin’ (1 John 3:9). He feels that he is the purchase of the blood of Christ and bound by the most solemn vows to glorify God in his body and in his spirit, which are God’s. The love of sin and the love of self are subdued in him. He daily asks: ‘What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me?’ ‘Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do’ (Psalm 116:12; Acts 9:6)? The true Christian will never complain that the yoke of Christ is galling to the neck. He accounts the service of Jesus as the truest freedom. The law of God is his delight. Instead of seeking to bring down the divine commands, to accord with his deficiencies, he is constantly striving to rise to the level of their perfection.

“Such an experience must be ours if we would be prepared to stand in the day of God. Now, while probation lingers, while mercy’s voice is still heard, is the time for us to put away our sins. While moral darkness covers the earth like a funeral pall, the light of God’s standard-bearers must shine the more brightly, showing the contrast between heaven’s light and Satan’s darkness.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 119, 220.

Don’t these words from Inspiration just thrill your soul? Oh, to the soul in love with our Saviour, these words are electrifying, they are life. Obedience is not drudgery.

“The service of Christ is not drudgery to the fully consecrated soul. Obedience to our Saviour does not detract from our happiness and true pleasure in this life, but it has a refining, elevating power upon our characters. The daily study of the precious words of life found in the Bible strengthens the intellect and furnishes a knowledge of the grand and glorious works of God in nature. Through the study of the Scriptures we obtain a correct knowledge of how to live so as to enjoy the greatest amount of unalloyed happiness. The Bible student is also furnished with Scripture arguments so that he can meet the doubts of unbelievers and remove them by the clear light of truth. Those who have searched the Scriptures may ever be fortified against the temptations of Satan; they may be thoroughly furnished to all good works and prepared to give to every man that asketh them a reason of the hope that is in them.” Ibid., vol. 3, 374.

Another description of the wise virgins from the pen inspired by our God: “When we seek for appropriate language in which to describe the love of God, we find words too tame, too weak, too far beneath the theme, and we lay down our pen, and say, ‘No, it cannot be described.’ We can only do as did the beloved disciple, say, ‘Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God’ (1 John 3:1). In attempting any description of this love, we feel that we are as an infant lisping its first words. Silently we may adore; for silence in this matter is the only eloquence. This love is past all language to describe. It is the mystery of God in the flesh, God in Christ, and divinity in humanity. Christ bowed down in unparalleled humility, that in His exaltation to the throne of God, He might also exalt those who believe in Him, to a seat with Him upon His throne. All who look upon Jesus in faith that the wounds and bruises that sin has made will be healed in Him, shall be made whole.

“The themes of redemption are momentous themes, and only those who are spiritually minded can discern their depth and significance. It is our safety, our life, our joy, to dwell upon the truths of the plan of salvation. Faith and prayer are necessary in order that we may behold the deep things of God. Our minds are so bound about with narrow ideas, that we catch but limited views of the experience it is our privilege to have. How little do we comprehend what is meant by the prayer of the apostle, when he says, ‘That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen’ (Ephesians 3:16–21).” The Review and Herald, November 17, 1891.

This describes the passion of the wise virgin. The foolish virgins do not thrill to these words. The foolish virgins do not understand these words. The foolish virgins are put to sleep by these words, uninterested in these themes.

“Many who profess to be Christians become excited over worldly enterprises, and their interest is awakened for new and exciting amusements, while they are coldhearted, and appear as if frozen, in the cause of God. Here is a theme, poor formalist, which is of sufficient importance to excite you. Eternal interests are here involved. Upon this theme it is sin to be calm and unimpassioned. The scenes of Calvary call for the deepest emotion. Upon this subject you will be excusable if you manifest enthusiasm. That Christ, so excellent, so innocent, should suffer such a painful death, bearing the weight of the sins of the world, our thoughts and imaginations can never fully comprehend. The length, the breadth, the height, the depth, of such amazing love we cannot fathom. The contemplation of the matchless depths of a Saviour’s love should fill the mind, touch and melt the soul, refine and elevate the affections, and completely transform the whole character.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 212, 213.

This is the definition of the wise virgin. Does it fit for you? This is one question where you cannot afford to be self-deceived. “The Lord calls upon His slumbering people to awake out of their sleep. Many who in their ignorance consider themselves to be wise—like the foolish virgins in the parable—do not realize that their lamps are going out. When they awake to their condition it will be too late for them to obtain a fresh supply of oil, and they will be unready to meet the Bridegroom.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 9, 206.

Cleansing the Camp

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There are people who do not believe in corporate accountability, or corporate responsibility, or corporate sin; and they believe it is all individual and not corporate. A book that investigates the beliefs of William Miller, called Then Shall the Sanctuary be Cleansed, was written in 1958 by Don Short but not published until 1991 investigates the beliefs of William Miller.

Don Short said, “The first proof we have as respects Christ’s Second Coming to time is Daniel 8:14, ‘Unto two thousand three hundred days, then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.’ By days we are to understand years. Sanctuary we understand the church. Cleansed we may reasonably suppose means complete redemption from sin, both soul and body.” He then makes the comments, “We should note especially that by sanctuary we understand the church. This is uniquely important in understanding the final atonement, a work for God’s people, the church, the New Jerusalem.” Op. cit., 14.

Short continues on page 20 stating, “The daily ministration was different from the yearly made on the 10th day of the 7th month, in making the former [the daily] the priest went into the holy place. But for the later he went into the holy of holies. The former was for the individual cases. The later was for the entire nation, the corporate body.”

This is something the Seventh-day Adventists have taught since the 19th century. Ellen White addressed this issue very clearly and at some length in a letter she wrote to the general conference president and also to S. N. Haskell in 1886. The entire letter was reproduced in Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, starting on page 318. In this letter, she refers to the term corporate body as a group of people that are organized into a church, either local or worldwide.

In paragraph 1 she wrote, “For weeks I have not been able to sleep after half past 3 o’clock. My mind is deeply exercised in regard to our condition as a people. We ought to be far in advance of any other people on the earth because we have greater light and greater knowledge of the truth, which lays us under increased accountability to advance that light and not only profess to believe the truth but to practice it. When we do practice the truth we are then following Jesus, who is the light of the world; and if we as a people are not constantly elevating, becoming more and more spiritually minded, we are becoming like the Pharisees—self-righteous—while we do not the will of God.”

If we are not advancing we are doing just the opposite, going backward. She wrote, “Ministering angels are waiting about the throne to instantly obey the mandate of Jesus Christ to answer every prayer offered in earnest living faith.” Ibid., 318, 319. It is wonderfully comforting to know that heaven is watching and waiting to answer earnest prayers.

However, there is such a thing as corporate responsibility and the possibility of corporate rejection. Giving an example of this she wrote, “I think of His [Jesus] great sorrow as He wept over Jerusalem, exclaiming, ‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not’ (Luke 13:34)! God forbid that these words shall apply to those who have great light and blessings. In the rejecting of Jerusalem it was because great privileges were abused, which brought the denunciation upon all who lightly regarded the great opportunities and precious light that were entrusted to their keeping.” Ibid, 319.

There was no group of people prior to that time that had had a greater revelation of divine truth than the Jews had when Jesus was on earth.

Jesus says in Luke 12:48, “… to whom much is given, much is required” (literal translation). With light and knowledge comes responsibility and accountability. She continued, “Privileges do not commend us to God, but they commend God to us. No people are saved because they have great light and special advantages, for these high and heavenly favors only increase their responsibility.

“The more and increased light God has given makes the receiver more responsible. It does not place the receiver in any safer position unless the privileges are wisely improved, prized, and used to advance God’s glory. Christ said,  ‘Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee Bethsaida! for if the mighty works which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes’ (Matthew 11:21).” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 319.

It was bad for Chorazin and Bethsaida but even worse for Capernaum. Capernaum was known as Jesus’ own city where He probably did more than in any other city. Notice what He said about Capernaum in Matthew 11:23, 24: “And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”

In commenting on this Ellen White wrote, “When Jerusalem was divorced from God it was because of her sins.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 319. Peter talks about this principle when he said, “For if God did not spare the angels … and did not spare the ancient world … then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly … and reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment” (2 Peter 2:4, 5, 9).

Jerusalem was divorced from God because of her sins. “She fell from an exalted height that Tyre and Sidon had never reached. And when an angel falls, he becomes a fiend. The depth of our ruin is measured by the exalted light to which God has raised us in His great goodness and unspeakable mercy. Oh, what privileges are granted to us as a people! And if God spared not His people that He loved, because they refused to walk in the light, how can He spare the people whom He has blessed with the light of heaven in having opened to them the most exalted truth ever entrusted to mortal man to give to the world?” Ibid.

God has given the Seventh-day Adventist church more light than any previous group of people since the beginning of the world. However, there is a problem.

“We are far from being the people God would have us to be, because we do not elevate the soul and refine the character in harmony with the wonderful unfolding of God’s truth and His purposes. ‘Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people’ (Proverbs 14:34). Sin is a disorganizer. Wherever it is cherished—in the individual heart, in the household, in the church—there is disorder, strife, variance, enmity, envy, jealousy, because the enemy of man and of God has the controlling power over the mind. But let the truth be loved and brought into the life, as well as advocated, and that man or woman will hate sin and will be a living representative of Jesus Christ to the world.” Ibid., 320.

On the day of judgment, “The people claiming to believe the truth will not be condemned because they had not the light, but because they had great light and did not bring their hearts to the test of God’s great moral standard of righteousness.” Selected Messages, vol. 2, 377.

Remember, this letter was written in 1886 to the general conference president, making an appeal to all the Adventist people. The 1888 General Conference was held just before a major Sunday law crisis in the United States. It appears, as I study history, that because the church failed to accept the message of righteousness by faith in 1888, everything in God’s plan for finishing His work was put on hold.

“Let the churches who claim to believe the truth, who are advocating the law of God, keep that law and depart from all iniquity. Let the individual members of the church resist the temptations to practice evils and indulge in sin. Let the church commence the work of purification before God by repentance, humiliation, deep heart searching, for we are in the antitypical day of atonement—solemn hour fraught with eternal results.” Ibid., 378.

Repentance results in a change of heart. The basic meaning of the Greek word means to change your mind. What do you change your mind about? You change your mind about sin. The unconverted person loves sin. If you love sin, you hate the law of God. And if you hate the law of God, you really hate God Himself. Paul refers to this in Romans 8. He says that the carnal man, the unconverted man, is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. He is at enmity with the law. So, how do you begin the work of purification? This begins with repentance, which means, instead of loving our sins, we are sorry enough to quit them.

The root of the sin problem is pride and selfishness. To be purified means to become humble in heart with deep heart searching.

The next instruction is for ministers to be “clean vessels.” Isaiah 52:11 says, “Touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her, be clean, you who bear the vessels of the Lord.” The same instruction is given in the New Testament: for “… each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor” (1 Thessalonians 4:4).

Clean vessels will then be able to sound a note of warning. “Let the men standing as watchmen and as shepherds of the flock proclaim the solemn truth, sound the notes of warning to all people, nations and tongues.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 321.

God never forsakes people either individually or corporately until they first forsake Him. “The neglect to bring purity and truth into practice will grieve the Spirit of God and weaken them because God is not in their midst to bless. Internal corruption will bring the denunciations of God upon this people as it did upon Jerusalem. Oh, let pleading voices, let earnest prayer be heard, that those who preach to others shall not themselves be castaways. My brethren, we know not what is before us, and our only safety is in following the Light of the world. God will work with us and for us if the sins which brought His wrath upon the old world, upon Sodom and Gomorrah and upon ancient Jerusalem, do not become our crime.” Ibid., 321, 322.

A very sobering thought is that, “The least transgression of God’s law brings guilt upon the transgressor, and without earnest repentance and forsaking of sin he will surely become an apostate.” Ibid., 322.

This letter that Ellen White wrote to the general conference president was in response to their inquiry about what they should do. They were concerned about the pressure being brought to bear on Seventh-day Adventists to sanctify Sunday. Some Seventh-day Adventists had been put in chain gangs in the southern United States at this time.

She wrote: “I can speak in the fear of God, it is right we should use every power we can to avert the pressure that is being brought to bear upon our people. I know that were our people spiritualized by the truth the greatest love would be maintained.

“[We are] not to provoke those who have accepted this spurious sabbath, an institution of the Papacy, in the place of God’s holy Sabbath. Their not having the Bible arguments in their favor makes them all the more angry and determined to supply the place of arguments that are wanting in the word of God, by the power of their might. The force of persecution follows the steps of the dragon. Therefore great care should be exercised to give no provocation. And again let us as a people, as far as possible, cleanse the camp of moral defilement and aggravating sins. When sin is making its march upon the people who claim to be elevating the moral standard of righteousness, how can we expect God to turn His power in our behalf and save us as a people that did righteousness?” Ibid., 322.

Notice, she says “as a people,” a corporate body. She is not referring to individuals here, but a camp. There was a need to cleanse the camp.

I have tried to think this through, in as unbiased a way as possible, what would be involved in cleansing the whole Adventist camp?

Here are a few things that would have to happen.

1    Past wrongs must be repented of, confessed to the appropriate parties, if they are still alive, and then, restitution must be made as far as possible to have genuine revival and reformation. The first thing the Holy Spirit does is to convict of sin.

2    Forsake the wrongs that have been perpetrated.

3    Forsake all hierarchical church organization and seek to get back to New Testament church order. Hierarchical church organization is patterned after the kingly power, manifested by the papacy, and what Israel wanted in the days of Samuel, and to which the Seventh-day Adventist church returned in 1903.

After Israel accepted kingly power they were never able to get back to a pure theocracy.

4    Cease the infighting among God’s professed people.

5    Recognize that in 1904 God authorized the self-supporting work and that these self-supporting workers were authorized to eat the showbread.

The corporate structure of Adventism has either fought or attempted to control self-supporting work ever since it began. Either position is apostasy. Every hand, mind, and heart is needed to finish God’s work.

Ellen White wrote, “All the policy in the world cannot save us from a terrible sifting, and all the efforts made with high authorities will not lift from us the scourging of God, just because sin is cherished. If as a people we do not keep ourselves in the faith and not only advocate with pen and voice the commandments of God, but keep them every one, not violating a single precept knowingly, then weakness and ruin will come upon us.” Ibid., 323.

Many claim to be commandment keepers, but if they are not actually kept, ruin is going to come upon us. “It is a work that we must attend to in every one of our churches.” Ibid.

God is looking for a clean, pure people ready for the return of Jesus Christ. She says, “All the struggles [of those in the southern United States at that time] to carry our appeals to the highest authorities in our land, however earnest and strong and eloquent may be the pleas in our favor, will not bring about that which we desire unless the Lord works by His Holy Spirit in the heart of those who claim to believe the truth. … we shall fail unless the Lord pleads in our behalf. God will be honored among His people. They must be pure; they must be divested of self … But as a people we need the beauty of righteousness, holiness, and truth. The most harmonious theory will not save us.” Ibid., 323, 324.

“There are many doctrines current in our world. There is many a religion current that numbers its thousands and tens of thousands, but there is but one that bears the superscription and the stamp of God.” Ibid., 324.

Here she speaks of the Seventh-day Adventist religion and then about what is going to happen.

“We are to be ready and waiting for the orders of God. Nations will be stirred to their very center. Support will be withdrawn from those who proclaim God’s only standard of righteousness, the only sure test of character.” Ibid.

Those are the people who are proclaiming the law of God as still valid. She says, “And all who will not bow to the decrees of the national councils and obey the national laws to exalt the sabbath instituted by the man of sin to the disregard of God’s holy day, will feel, not the oppressive power of popery alone, but of the Protestant world, the image of the beast.” Ibid.

And when this Sunday law crisis comes, that is going to be a time when more than ever before, we will see the devil work his miracles. They are going to be so powerful to deceive that it will appear that Adventism has disappeared from the face of the earth.

“Satan will work his miracles to deceive; he will set up his power as supreme. The church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall. It remains, while the sinners in Zion will be sifted out—the chaff separated from the precious wheat. This is a terrible ordeal, but nevertheless it must take place.” Ibid.

When this happens, who are the only people who will be left? “None but those who have been overcoming by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony will be found with the loyal and true, without spot or stain of sin, without guile in their mouths.” Ibid., 324, 325.

Though it does matter what church or organization you belong to, the most important thing of all is to learn how to overcome sin by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony. Those who learn this are the only ones that will be left. I want to be among those that are left.

“We must be divested of our self-righteousness and arrayed in the righteousness of Christ.

“The remnant that purify their souls by obeying the truth gather strength from the trying process, exhibiting the beauty of holiness amid the surrounding apostasy. …

“That which God required of Adam before his fall was perfect obedience to His law. God requires now what He required of Adam, perfect obedience, righteousness without a flaw, without shortcoming in His sight. God help us to render to Him all His law requires.” Ibid., 325.

God does not want any to be discouraged when reading His requirements. Remember that whoever wants to do His will He gives His power to accomplish it. If God cannot help me to do what He has told me to do, then He would be a liar. His throne is staked on His promise that if you choose to trust Him, He will enable you to do His will. It is the devil that keeps telling you that you cannot do it.

The answer is to be connected. If you have ever tried to raise grapes, there is an external connection which connects the branch to the vine. But there also has to be an internal connection. You cannot see the internal connection, but the living sap; the living current flows from the vine into the branch. It is invisible, but you can see the results, because the branch will be supple and not brittle. It will be alive and put forth leaves.

That is the living connection. The external connection is belonging to a church—being a church member with your name on the books, but that is not enough. What is needed is a living connection with Jesus Christ. He will come into your life and you will receive power from Him to do His will. That is what it means to have salvation. The result is no more struggling among us regarding who is going to be first.

The first struggle began in heaven with Satan who wanted to be like the Most High. The quest for being the best or first has been a huge problem ever since. Anybody who knows anything about church history knows that this has been a huge problem. Study the history of the Roman Catholic church. Study the history of the Adventist church.

“There is no struggling there [heaven] to be first, to have the supremacy; all will love their neighbor as themselves.” Ibid., 326, 327.

So, there is a great crisis coming. “The great issue so near at hand will weed out those whom God has not appointed, and He will have a pure, true, sanctified ministry prepared for the latter rain.” Ibid., 327.

We must know from God’s word where we stand, whether we are going to heaven. Those who will enter through those pearly gates will be people who do not lie or commit abomination, or do that which is unlawful. They are not transgressors of God’s law. Transgression must become a thing of the past in our lives.

Remember, when something seems to be whispering in your mind that says it is impossible, it is the devil attempting to cause discouragement. You may fall many times, but get back up and look to Jesus, who is “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).

If you come to Jesus, He will pick you up and He will give you strength and power. He will put His life into your life through His Holy Spirit and that is what will give you spiritual life and give you the ability to live a Christian life.

Friend, things are often not what they seem in the religious world. Many may appear outwardly to be getting ready for heaven but it is what is happening inside that counts.

God does not see things the way we see them. In heaven, there will be those whom we didn’t expect to be there and many will be missing whom we thought for sure should be. The Lord told Samuel that he looked on the outside. God does not look on the outside. He looks at what is going on in the heart.

We are so near the end of time. We need to pray for each other. We need to pray for our leaders. We need to pray for our fellow church members. We need to pray that the heart work that needs to happen will happen because we each must have that living connection with Jesus if we are going to be saved and be in the Kingdom of Heaven.

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

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

Dangers of Compromise

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We need to have the story of Jesus written in our hearts. God has promised, under the new covenant, to write His law into our hearts and minds—our hearts representing our affections and our minds representing our intellectual aspects. We need to believe and to love His law and the story of Jesus, and it needs to be more dear and precious to us than life itself. “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they did not love their lives to the death.” Revelation 12:11. We need to come to the place that we would give our life for Christ’s sake because we love Him that much, and we do not want anything to separate us from Him.

This was the experience Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had when they refused to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s image. We also need that experience; for things are happening all around us—increase of crime, wars and rumors of wars, and the judgments upon the land. (See Matthew 24.) The United Sates is speaking like a dragon.

But, we are not to be fearful. The Bible says in 1 John 4:18 that perfect love casts out all fear. We need that perfect love to cast out all fear. There is a tendency to become frightened about what the Bible tells us is going to occur in the last days. It is comforting to know that Jesus is coming again soon to redeem us. But, the Bible also speaks of a “time of trouble,” which may not appear very comforting to us. It is natural for us to be afraid. “And you will hear of wars, and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” Matthew 24:6. We are not to be troubled, or to fear, or have apprehension for the future, because we know that Christ will carry us through. If we are planted on the rock, nothing can shake us. We are to lift up our heads, because our redemption draws near.

“We have nothing to fear for the future except we forget how the Lord has led us in the past.” Life Sketches, 196. It is important that we remember the past, because what happened in the past is applicable to us today. “These things are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” 1 Corinthians 10:11. That is us. We must study history so that we will not be led astray in the future. It only makes sense that if someone else has gone through an experience that we are to go through, that we look and see how they handled it. It is well to learn from their mistakes, failures and success. We do not need to worry about the future if our soul is right with God.

Beware of Men

In Matthew 10:17-19, Jesus is speaking to His disciples when he sent out the twelve. He is telling them (as well as us) what they were going to encounter. He says, ” But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in the synagogues. You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak.” These things happened over and over again. Many people have gone through these experiences. And we will face such things too. But we are not to be frightened, for Jesus will be with us.

During the Protestant Reformation, the Papacy tried many different tactics to destroy it. Persecution did not work, but one scheme was almost successful. If God had not intervened, the Protestant Reformation would have failed, because they were on the very verge of accepting the bait.

When Luther was brought before the diet, he boldly declared that nothing was going to shake him. He said, “Here I stand. I can do no other. May God help me.” The diet was baffled. Here was one man, one lone monk with no backing, standing before all the great men of the empire, and they could not shake him. We need to stand as Luther, as the three worthies, and Daniel stood. We dare not swerve our allegiance to God.

Shortly after Luther’s experience came one of the grandest moments for the Protestant Reformation, namely the “Protest of the Princes.” Instead of one man standing before the diet, they had some of the most powerful princes in the empire; and they stood on the offensive, not on the defensive.

They had peace for a few years, but then came one of the most formidable obstacles to the Protestant Reformation—the Augsburg Diet in 1529 and 1530. The Elector and Princes were going to what seemed sure death. Their heads and morale were hanging low. It was then that Luther composed the song “A Mighty Fortress.” It was timely and uplifted their spirits. It would be well for us to memorize that song.

Charles V had come back. He had vanquished Italy, and he controlled almost all of Europe. The pope had given him the order, “Crush Lutheranism.” He marched up to Augsburg with that sole purpose. The princes and the Elector knew it was dangerous, but Luther encouraged them. He said, “Go ahead, confess Christ before the great men in this world.” The Papists met them with warm friendship. They were trying to get them to yield to compromise. But that did not work. Next, they threatened persecution and death. That did not work either. Then they tried the most successful inducement and the most to be feared. The Romans said, “OK, we’ll send three of our theologians and you send three of yours. We’ll try to come to an agreement.” This was the new and most formidable of the dangers. This plan almost crushed the Protestant Reformation.

Luther Begs to Be Excused

First, the Romanist party made amazing compromises and concessions. The Protestants put together a confession of twenty-one points. There were only three that the Protestants and Romanists were wrangling over. The Roman party made it appear that they had won the Reformation. They knew that if they could get the Protestants to yield once, they would eventually yield on everything. Unfortunately, the Protestants, agreed at first. But Luther, from his hideout, wrote letters. Let me read from one. “I learned that you have begun a marvelous work, namely, to reconcile Luther and the pope, but the pope will not be reconciled, and Luther begs to be excused.” The Reformation was saved. He knew that when they began to yield, they stepped off the platform to sure ruin. Yielding will always bring ruin. We cannot compromise.

Whenever the church has yielded to compromise, the result has always been a losing battle. The early church was pure in the days of the apostles, but they compromised, and now we have the Roman Catholic Church, which The Great Controversy says, is “The masterpiece of Satan.” Compromise is spiritual suicide on the installment plan. We cannot pull down the banner even a little bit. It may appear to look good, but it is not. That is what resulted in the dark ages. The Waldenses compromised and many lives were lost. The Bohemians compromised and their nation was bathed in blood. This sad history is for us to ponder.

We read from The Great Controversy, 607: “As the movement for Sunday enforcement becomes more bold and decided, the law will be invoked against commandment keepers. They will be threatened with fines and imprisonment, and some will be offered positions of influence, and other rewards and advantages as inducements to renounce their faith. But, their steadfast answer is, ‘show us from the word of God our error,’ the same plea that was made by Luther under similar circumstances. Those who are arraigned before the courts make a strong vindication of the truth, and some who hear them are led to take their stand to keep all the commandments of God.” The early Christians let down the standard to convert pagans and it resulted in converting the church to paganism.

We too, are going to have to answer for our faith. We must stand firm. Our God is a mighty fortress. He will uphold us, and give us strength. We must say as Luther, “Here I stand. I can do no other. May God help me.” The Great Controversy says that if Luther would have yielded in one point, Satan would have won the victory. Neither can we yield in one point.

Dare to be a Daniel

Daniel was thrown into the den of lions because he prayed with his windows open, as he always did. He did not compromise on one point, and God shut the lions mouths. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego could have bowed down to tie their shoes. But that would have been compromising. They knew very will that it could result in their death, but they stood firm. Even though the “greatest” man in the world opposed them.

Their steadfast adherence to right converted Nebuchadnezzar. That is encouraging, if we stand for the right, souls may be converted. Before this, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were tested on the point of appetite. Because they stood firm on the word of God then, they were able to stand the more severe trials.

We must set our face as firm as a flint now, if we stand later. “If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, in which you trusted, they wearied you, then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan?” Jeremiah 12:5. Right now we are deciding if we are going to stand as did Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, or, if we are going to bow down as all the other Hebrews did. We are choosing under which banner we are going to be arraigned. We are either with Luther saying, “Here I stand. I can do no other,” or we are compromising.

Little Things

Some people excuse themselves saying, “God understands.” God does understand your situation, and He tells you in His word what you need to do. The devil is in the business of giving excuses, not God. We read in Romans 1:20, that we are all without excuse. There is no excuse if it goes against God’s word. Daniel and his three friends stood firm in the little things. Because they had proved faithful in that which was least, they could be trusted with that which was more. “What if Daniel and his companions had made a compromise with those heathen officers and had yielded to the pressure of the occasion by eating and drinking as was customary with the Babylonians? That single instance of departure from principle would have weakened their sense of right and their abhorrence of wrong. Indulgence of appetite would have involved the sacrifice of physical vigor, clearness of intellect, and spiritual power. One wrong step would probably have led to others until their connection with Heaven being severed, they would have been swept away by temptation.” Sanctified Life, 23. It is the little things in life that make up the sum of life’s big things.
Too many times we think that little things do not matter much. But, little choices set us on the path which we are going to take. When a tree is young, if you bend it, it will grow bent. There are some funny looking trees, because they were bent that way when they were saplings. By compromising in little things, we prepare ourselves to compromise in big things.

Compromise and indifference in a religious crisis is one of the sins that God hates the most. We cannot flatter ourselves that we will stand when we are forced by law to disregard the Sabbath, if we do not keep the Sabbath now. It’s not just in the Sabbath, it’s in everything of our lives. “It is the grossest presumption for mortal man to venture upon a compromise with the Almighty in order to secure his own petty temporal interest.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 249. God says what he means and He means what He says. Right now in the little things, we are determining our destination. “It is as ruthless a violation of the law to occasionally use the Sabbath for secular business as to entirely reject it, for it is making the Lord’s commandments a matter of convenience.” Ibid. It is just the same to compromise in any other point. It is the principle.

Solomon compromised. This was what led to his ruin. He knew that polygamy was against God’s law, but it was a very common practice. And the first wife he took, appeared to be converted, but eventually he set up an idol to another god, which he and his children worshipped—because he took one wrong step. If we, like Solomon, take that one wrong step down—it is much easier to take the next one. We are developing habits that determine where we are going to stand. One little compromise in sin will eventually crowd out all the good.

Do you think that the Jews at their first departure from the right had any intentions of crucifying the Son of God? No, none whatsoever. But they took the one wrong step, and it led to that terrible sin. The fall of any person can be traced back to one departure from the right. We cannot, even in the slightest thing, compromise. It will not work. God considers it the grossest presumption to compromise in the smallest thing.

Compromise is the most dangerous thing we can do for our souls. In the history of the Israelites there are many examples of failure, but fortunately, there are encouraging examples also—Daniel, and his three companions, Joseph and others.

There is a song with these words: “Dare to be a Daniel, dare to stand alone dare to have a purpose firm, dare to make it known.” We must dare, like Daniel, to stand for the right no matter what. We cannot depart in the slightest, because it will lead to us going all the way, renouncing everything, and being lost.

Right now we are deciding if we are going to be numbered on the Lord’s side. If we know to do right, and do not do it, we will be weighed in the balances of the sanctuary and found wanting. Different people have different temptations and problems. It may not be the Sabbath issue. It could be something else. We dare not depart slightly, we must stand firm as a rock. The record says of Jesus that “He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.” Luke 9:51. That is what we must do—set our face steadfastly to go to the New Jerusalem. We must not allow anything to hinder us. WE must not compromise in the slightest, because it will be our ruin if we do. Many pleasing allurements and inducements may be held out, but we cannot compromise. We must, as did Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, stand erect, not allowing anything to sway us.

No Guile in Their Mouth

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The four angels are holding the four winds until God’s people are sealed. When these winds are released, God will have a people—the living saints, 144,000 in number. They will know and understand the voice of God. Early Writings, 14. The Bible says, “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.” Revelation 14:1-5. In this article we will concentrate on the characteristic described in verse 5, “And in their mouth was found no guile.”

In the Strong’s Concordance the word “guile” has several synonyms used to describe it: decoy, trick, wily, crafty, deceit, subtle and deceiver. Remember these words as we go on in this study.

Nathanael — An Example

Jesus spoke of a man without guile: “The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see, Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou was under the fig tree, I saw thee.” Nathanael was evidently bigoted against anyone from Nazareth. The devil used this to tempt him that Jesus could not be the Savior. Nevertheless, he went to see for himself. Nathanael was praying for truth and guidance in this exact thing—of a Saviour to come.

The Spirit of Prophecy says that Nathanael was a seeker after truth. As bad as his thought was of Jesus coming from Nazareth, he did not allow that to get in his way of accepting the truth. He was not just a seeker after truth, but was a follower of truth. That is why Christ said that he was an Israelite indeed in whose mouth there was no guile.

To better understand guile, let us look at it from an opposite view point. Nathanael had no guile, but here is a group that Jesus describes quite differently. “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?” “I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.” “But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? Even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.” John 8:31-33, 37, 40-45.

Professor Only

Remember synonyms for guile are: decoy, trickery, wily, crafty, deceitful or subtle. Nathanel was a seeker after truth, and nothing would stand in his way of seeking truth or following it when truth was revealed to him. But here Christ speaks to a group that he wants to give the truth to, and they will have nothing to do with it—yet they profess to be one in whose mouth is found no guile. But Jesus says to them, “Your father is” who? “the devil,” and that he was a liar and the father of it. They were professors only.

The hundred and forty and four thousand have no guile in their mouth—they do not just profess to be Christians. At the time of the end, the whole world will be converted to follow the beast, other than the small remnant that is following the lamb withersoever he goeth. Everyone at the end is going to profess to be a Christian.

The following verse fits that group whose father is the devil even though they profess to be Abraham’s seed and the children of God. “Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan which say they are Jews and are not, but do lie. Behold, I will make them to come and to worship before thy feet and to know that I have loved thee.” Revelation 3:9. If you are not of the church of God, what church are you? The synagogue of Satan. You can profess to be a Jew, because it says here that they say that they are Jews, but they are not. What are they? They are liars. They are bearing false witness.

All of these things tie in together with not having guile in your mouth. The ninth commandment says, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” Exodus 20:16. Any that are a decoy, or a deceiver, or tricky, or wily, or crafty or subtle—just as the group that Jesus talked to in John 8—have guile in their mouth and are bearing false witness.

There is no greater false witness than to bear witness that we are a Christian and in reality we are not. The greatest deception, subtlety and craft, and devil uses, is people who make a profession, but yet have guile in their mouth. This all came form the devil in the beginning. He is the one that was the first to have guile in his mouth. He has led all professed Christians who are not born again to have guile in their mouths also. The hundred and forty-four thousand have none of this in their mouth. They will be just what they profess, wholly and completely.

Lucifer in Heaven

The synonyms that were mentioned earlier are used in the Spirit of Prophecy to describe what went on in heaven with Lucifer. As the great conflict is just beginning to happen, the angels and even the devil himself did not see where it would lead. Lucifer was just letting the envy and jealousy that was found in him have control. Here are various descriptions from the book Patriarchs and Prophets talking about Lucifer. “The angels joyfully acknowledged the supremacy of Christ, and prostrating themselves before Him, poured out their love and adoration. Lucifer bowed with them, but in his heart there was a strange, fierce conflict. Truth, justice, and loyalty were struggling against envy and jealousy. The influence of the holy angels seemed for a time to carry him with them. As songs of praise ascended in melodious strains, swelled by thousands of glad voices, the spirit of evil seemed vanquished; unutterable love thrilled his entire being; his soul went out, in harmony with the sinless worshippers, in love to the Father and the Son. But again he was filled with pride in his own glory. His desire for supremacy returned, and envy of Christ was once more indulged.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 36, 37.

“Leaving his place in the immediate presence of the Father, Lucifer went forth to diffuse the spirit of discontent among the angels. He worked with mysterious secrecy, and for a time concealed his real purpose under an appearance of reverence for God.” Ibid., 37. He concealed his purpose under what?—an appearance of reverence for God. Everything now that he was saying and doing with the angels, he said, was in reverence for God. “He began to insinuate doubts concerning the laws that governed heavenly beings, intimating that though laws might be necessary for the inhabitants of the worlds, angels, being more exalted, needed no such restraint, for their own wisdom was a sufficient guide. They were not beings that could bring dishonor to God; all their thoughts were holy; it was no more possible for them than for God Himself to err. The exaltation of the Son of God as equal with the Father was represented as an injustice to reverence and honor. If this prince of angels could but attain to his true, exalted position, great good would accrue to the entire host of heaven; for it was his object to secure freedom for all. But now even the liberty which they had hitherto enjoyed was at an end; for an absolute Ruler had been appointed them, and to His authority all must pay homage. Such were the subtle deceptions that through the wiles of Lucifer were fast obtaining in the heavenly courts.” Ibid. [All emphasis supplied.]

Satan says he is reverencing God. He wants the best for God’s kingdom. But, at the same time he is working against His law.

“Taking advantage of the loving, loyal trust reposed in him by the holy beings under his command, he had so artfully instilled into their minds his own distrust and discontent that his agency was not discerned. Lucifer had presented the purposes of God in a false light—misconstruing [guile] and distorting them to excite dissent and dissatisfaction. He cunningly drew his hearers on to give utterance to their feelings; then these expressions were repeated by him when it would serve his purpose, as evidence that the angels were not fully in harmony with the government of God. While claiming for himself perfect loyalty to God, he urged that changes in the order and laws of heaven were necessary for the stability of the divine government. Thus while working to excite opposition to the law of God and to instill his own discontent into the minds of the angels under him, he was ostensibly seeking to remove dissatisfaction and to reconcile disaffected angels to the order of heaven. While secretly fomenting discord and rebellion, he with consummate craft caused it to appear as his sole purpose to promote loyalty and to preserve harmony and peace.” Ibid., 38.

Lucifer used subtlety, deception and craft. He talked to the angels and twisted the truth. Then when the angels made distrustful comments themselves, Lucifer would make it sound like He was loyal to God. He said, “You know, here I am, trying to magnify and follow God’s law and to give Him reverence that he deserves, and yet here you angels are causing discontent and strife.” Satan was the one doing this, but he turned the whole thing around once he got the discontent and strife started. Then he made it look like he was trying to lead the angels to the right path that they should be going in—while he was all the time drawing them to himself.

“Lucifer had at first so conducted his temptations that he himself stood uncommitted. The angels whom he could not bring fully to his side, he accused of indifference to the interests of heavenly beings. The very work which he himself was doing, he charged upon the loyal angels. It was his policy to perplex with subtle arguments concerning the purposes of God. Everything that was simple he shrouded in mystery, and by artful perversion cast doubt upon the plainest statements of Jehovah. And his high position, so closely connected with the divine government, gave greater force to his representations.

“God could employ only such means as were consistent with truth and righteousness. Satan could use what God could not—flattery and deceit. He had sought to falsify the word of God and had misrepresented His plan of government, claiming that God was not just in imposing laws upon the angels; that in requiring submission and obedience from His creatures, He was seeking merely the exaltation of Himself. It was therefore necessary to demonstrate before the inhabitants of heaven, and of all the worlds, that God’s government is just, His law perfect. Satan had made it appear that he himself was seeking to promote the good of the universe. The true character of the usurper and his real object must be understood by all. He must have time to manifest himself by his wicked works.

“The discord which his own course had caused in heaven, Satan charged upon the government of God. All evil he declared to be the result of the divine administration. He claimed that it was his own object to improve upon the statutes of Jehovah. Therefore God permitted him to demonstrate the nature of his claims, to show the working out of his proposed changes in the divine law. His own work must condemn him. Satan had claimed from the first that he was not in rebellion. The whole universe must see the deceiver unmasked.” Ibid., 42, 43.

He was supposedly reverencing God, but actually he was tricky, and crafty, he was deceitful, and subtle. All these words show that he had guile in his mouth. Here he was professing that he was there to exalt God. His position was the covering cherub. He was in the glory and presence of God. All of his life, he was to reveal to the angels the things that came from God. Now, he went around professing that he was doing such a thing, but in reality, he had guile in his mouth. All the things that he was saying were contrary to what he was professing.

Lucifer was actually a falsifier of God. Any professed Christian that has guile in his mouth is doing the same work as Lucifer did in heaven. Having guile in your mouth began with the devil. That is what the whole controversy is all about. Is the guile that the devil first gave in heaven and now on earth, true? The people in the world are struggling to know who to believe—God or Lucifer. In the end, when the great controversy is over, the hundred and forty-four thousand are going to be the full proof that the devil was a deceiver. They will be without guile in their mouth because they will be the full representation as far as we as human beings can be of what God’s character is all about. That is the reason they will have no guile in their mouth. Their profession will be fully shown by every work and deed and thought that they do.

1 Peter 3:10 says: “For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile.” No what?—guile. Do you love life? When Christ comes, eternal life and eternal death is going to be the end for each one. “If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.” James 1:26.

Bible Tests

The Bible tells us how we know if we have guile in our mouth. “For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, or of a bramble bush gather they grapes. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” Luke 6:44, 45. Whatever is in your heart, your mouth is going to speak. Sooner or later, when circumstances are just right, the mouth will speak what the heart is feeling and believing.

The words that we speak are so important! “But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Matthew 12:36, 37. The words that are coming out of your mouth are either going to justify you or condemn you. “By their fruits ye shall know them,” and what greater fruit than what comes out of your mouth?

List of Synonyms

We will look at some different words the Spirit of Prophecy uses when describing “guile.” No matter how much you profess to be a Christian, no matter how much you pay your tithe, and offering, and come to church every Sabbath, go door to door and do whatever it may be—if these kind of words are coming out of your mouth, you have guile in your mouth.

One that is mentioned is the use of enticing words. Webster’s dictionary says the word enticing is to lure or tempt. Do you use words to tempt somebody to say or do or think something that they would not do otherwise? Give thought to the words that come out of your mouth.

Another word that the Spirit of Prophecy describes as speaking with guile is using vain words. Vain words mean idle words, worthless words or empty words. For almost every word that Ellen White uses to describe guile—Webster’s Dictionary defines as false words, lying words or deceiving words. On vain words it says, “It suggests a deceiving lack of real substance.” Do you use vain words in your speech—worthless words, a conversation that does not amount to anything.

Another word that Ellen White describes as having guile in your mouth is exaggerating words. That is a representation of things beyond the truth, which means it is a lie. Do we use exaggerating words in what we say?

Those that gossip have guile in their mouth. The definition in the dictionary was “those that go from house to house tattling and telling news.” Do we have guile in our mouth as far as gossiping is concerned? Whether it be the truth or not, do we like to go and tattle tale the newest thing that is come up or going on with somebody?

Backbiting is having guile in your mouth. The definition of that was “to slander, to reproach, or speak evil of the absent.” In seeing a problem do we say, “Hey, you want to hear such and such about this person?” It serves no purpose other than to belittle, and slander the character of somebody else. Do you backbite in what you say?

A type of having guile in your mouth is joking. The definition is “to jest, something said to make a laugh, an illusion, not real.” Do we jest and joke? Unless it is something that has happened, most jokes have been made up by somebody. Although it makes people laugh, it is not the truth.

Related to joking is to speak light and trifling words. The definition of that was, “of little weight, or worth of importance.” In our conversations, do we have words that are light and trifling, that have no weight, or no importance? The words that we speak have their influence upon those that hear them. If people hear me speaking words that have no importance, how much are they going to listen when I give them the gospel message which is important?

Having guile in your mouth includes being proud and boastful. Do we speak proud and boastful words? Whether it be spiritual as with the Pharisees, or worldly, it is very easy to use proud and boastful words in the things we speak about.

Flattery and praise is another form of having guile in your mouth.

Another form of guile in your mouth is evil surmising. The definition of that is “presumption to accuse or guess, to form an opinion without knowledge.” When you have no absolute proof of something, but because of your feelings, or what has happened in the past, you evil surmise about somebody. You have no proof, but because of circumstances, you let your tongue speak words of evil surmising. That must be put away.

We need to be careful about using passionate words. This means “easily aroused, excited or agitated feelings and emotions.” Do you ever let your feelings and emotions get the best of you? Then before you know it you are saying passionate words. Do not let your emotions and feelings cause you to use passionate words.

The next one is using careless words. One understanding of careless words is speaking things that first pop into your mind without giving thought to them. Do you use careless words in your conversation?

Having guile in your mouth includes using harsh words. This means to be rude, abusive, stern, severe or cutting. We know that Jesus gave many rebukes, and very strong ones. In the one we just read He told the Pharisees that they were of their father the devil, that he was a liar and a murderer and they were just like him. But they were not harsh words. We are told that there were tears in His eyes when He gave these rebukes. It was the truth, but he had a love for these souls and their salvation.

A big one is scornful words. Do you use scornful words? Do you preach to and scorn your child until he just wants to turn away and walk in disgust?

A suspicious charge is having guile in your mouth. In a suspicious charge you just kind of throw the hint out there. “I don’t know if it’s so, but I kind of think that this is the way it is with that person.” You are throwing out a suspicious charge to get people to look in a certain direction and to believe what you are putting out there. You are not sure of it yourself, but you give a suspicious charge.

The next one is using jealous words. Do we use jealous words in our conversation?

The last synonym that we will look at is the use of filthy words. Anything that leads somebody to have a thought or word or action in a wrong impure direction is using filthy words. A major problem area for this is in telling jokes. You can use filthy words in the way that you lead your hearers to think upon what you are joking about. Do we use filthy words in our communication?

Where is Your Conversation?

The whole battle is over whether God is a God of love. Is His character a character of love? Is his law just? The devil once professed that God was love. But at the same time he went around deceiving the angels. His fruits were bearing witness of another thing. The hundred and forty-four thousand are going to end the great controversy. They are going to show that God is love and His law is just. They are going to show it because their profession will be more than a profession. There will be no guile in their mouths.

“For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Philippians 3:20. Is that where your conversation is that you have day in and day out? When it is all over with here, that is just where the hundred and forty-four thousand are going to be headed—to Heaven. We should strive to be among the hundred and forty-four thousand.

“For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously.” I Peter 2:21-23. There was no guile in his mouth. There was not a profession, and then turning around and being a deceiver and a decoy and deception. He left us an example that we should follow His steps. It is possible to have no guile in your mouth, as Jesus had no guile in His mouth.

“For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour [or help] them that are tempted.” Hebrews 2:16-18. We show by our conversation if we are in Heaven and we plan to be there in body and spirit as soon as the Saviour returns. Take action if the devil has deceived you into having a conversation that is not in Heaven. You can conquer no matter what kind of guile has been in your mouth. I pray that each one will look at the words that they are speaking. I pray for a blessing upon each one and I know the Lord will help every one to be victorious, that is truly seeking to be, without guile in their mouth.

Do You Hear the Call?

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Revelation 14:7 tells us to “fear God and give glory to Him for the hour of His judgment is come.”

The Lord is telling us that the hour of judgment is now upon us and it is our responsibility to “fear God and give glory to Him.” But what does this mean and how do we do it?

“It was the privilege of the Jewish nation to represent the character of God as it had been revealed to Moses. In answer to the prayer of Moses, ‘Show me Thy glory,’ the Lord promised, ‘I will make all My goodness pass before thee.’ Exodus 33:18, 19. ‘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.’ Exodus 34:6, 7. This was the fruit that God desired from His people.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 285.

When in the mount Moses asked to be shown God’s glory, God showed him His character attributes. Here we see glory shown as character. Character is defined as, “the thoughts and feelings combined make up the moral character.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 310.

If God’s glory is shown to be His character, and the thoughts and feelings make up the moral character, then we must give glory to God by developing moral characters—through our thoughts and feelings.

Paul tells us that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23. What is it that we have come short of? The glory of God, His character—His thoughts and feelings. We have all sinned and come short of the thoughts and feelings of God.

Romans 8:18 tells us that “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” The glory that Paul is referring to is character. God’s character will be revealed in His followers in thoughts and feelings.

We are all being called, but for what purpose? II Thessalonians 2:14 states, “Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The calling is to obtain the glory, the thoughts and feelings of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is what are we told in Revelation 14:7: “Fear God and give glory to Him.”

Paul also says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5. We need to examine ourselves to see what spirit rules supreme in our minds.

There is a wonderful statement in Numbers 14:21: “But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.” Here is a promise that all the earth will be filled with the glory of God! The thoughts and feelings of God will fill the earth.

Heaven rejoiced at the thought of the creation of man: “All heaven took a deep and joyful interest in the creation of the world and of man. Human beings were a new and distinct order. They were made ‘in the image of God,’ Genesis 1:27, and it was the Creator’s design that they should populate the earth. They were to live in close communion with heaven, receiving power from the Source of all power. Upheld by God, they were to live sinless lives.” The Review and Herald, February 11, 1902.

In Isaiah 40:3–5, it states, “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain; and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” Isaiah saw the glory of the Lord—His character, His thoughts and feelings—reflected in His people on the earth.

“Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” Isaiah 60:1. Again, we see the glory of the Lord being the moral character of His people.

“The Lord Jesus Christ is the author of our being, and He is also the author of our redemption, and everyone who will enter the kingdom of God will develop a character that is the counterpart of the character of God.

“The Lord, by close and pointed truths for these last days, is cleaving out a people from the world and purifying them unto Himself. Pride and unhealthful fashions, the love of display, the love of approbation—all must be left with the world if we would be renewed in knowledge after the image of Him who created us.

“By the transforming agency of His grace, the image of God is reproduced in the disciple; he becomes a new creature.

“It is the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, which Jesus said He would send into the world, that changes our character into the image of Christ; and when this is accomplished, we reflect, as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord.” God’s Amazing Grace, 246.

“When Adam came from the Creator’s hand, he bore, in his physical, mental, and spiritual nature, a likeness to his Maker. ‘God created man in His own image’ (Genesis 1:27), and it was His purpose that the longer man lived the more fully he should reveal this image—the more fully reflect the glory of the Creator.” Education, 15.

This is God’s purpose for you and me. The longer the life, the more fully God’s character will shine through us. We are in need of self-examination to assess what is happening in our lives. Are we pleading to God for His character to shine through us and accepting those character traits so freely offered? As we pray for God to transform our characters and purify our thoughts and feelings we must allow the Spirit to bring forth the fruits of love, joy, peace, and gentleness to soften our own temperament.

The choice is ours to determine whom we reflect. Sometimes we do not see the ugliness that we have accumulated over the years, and become content with who we are. David recognized the deceptiveness of his heart and prayed, “Search me O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23, 24. When we pray that prayer God will honor that sincere desire and search our heart. He will cause something to happen in our life that reveals exactly what is in there. Be prepared and be ready to turn whatever it is over to Him, that is not part of a heavenly character, when it is made known. This is what Paul calls working out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12.)

We are told, “Through His people Christ is to manifest His character and the principles of His kingdom.

“Satan seeks to counterwork the work of God, and he is constantly urging men to accept his principles.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 296. Once God brings these defects of character to light, a choice becomes necessary, and it is soon obvious that Satan is seeking and working hard to counteract the pleadings of God’s Spirit and have you reflect his character instead of our Lord’s. Watch and pray always!

“Wrongdoing and all thoughts and feelings condemned by the law are to be overcome.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 9, 235, 236. This is essential, as they do not reflect God’s glory—God’s character, God’s thoughts and feelings. If they are not God’s thoughts and feelings, not God’s character, then they represent Satan’s character! Satan continually urges us to accept his principles. If we follow the principles of Satan’s kingdom, reflecting the glory/character of Satan, we are not giving glory to God as we are commanded in Revelation 14:7.

We are told that “God gives the talents, the powers of the mind; man makes the character. The mind is the Lord’s garden, and man must cultivate it earnestly in order to form a character after the divine similitude.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 2, 341.

Watch and Cultivate

To do this we must begin with a prayer, which should always be, Father, let this mind be in us which was also in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 2:5.) Please, “Search me O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23, 24. Pray this with all your heart.

Another prayer that God is longing to answer is, “Create in me a clean heart, oh God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10.

“Let your cry be to God, Convert my inmost soul. Plead with God for the transforming power of His grace … Your soul’s salvation is in great peril, and now do not, I plead with you, deceive your own soul.” In Heavenly Places, 24.

When you pray these prayers, God will allow circumstances to come to you to show you what is really in your heart. He will allow these circumstances to test you and try you so that you may know exactly what changes need to be made.

“Temptation is allowed to come upon us to discover the character [the thoughts and feelings] we possess and to improve our defects.” Ibid., 24.

Praise God for temptations and trials.

The way we react to these situations, whether it be with anger or frustration, reflect either the character of God, giving glory to Him, or the character of Satan, giving glory to him. Give glory to God every moment. Life is so uncertain, and we never know what the next hour will bring.

Plead with God, “Search me O God and know my heart.” Psalm 139:23. Allow the Lord to show you what is in the deep recesses of your heart, to see your real self through testing and trial, and then be ready to pull out the weeds. Cultivate the garden of the mind so that God will be glorified; then be ready at that moment to be still and know that He is God. (Psalm 46:10.)

We are told about our future companions in The Review and Herald, September 1, 1885: “The angels never fly into a passion, never are envious, selfish, and jealous. No harsh or unkind words escape their lips. And if we are to be the companions of angels, we too must be refined and courteous. And we have none too much time to change our wrong habits, reform our defective characters, and obtain a fitness for the society of those with whom we expect to associate not long hence. All harshness and severity, coarseness and unkindness, must be overcome in this life; for they are Satanic. Now is the very time for us to do the work. We can have no second probation. If we do not improve these hours of privilege, we would not improve a second probation should it be granted to us. It is now, while it is called today, that we are not to burden our hearts and continue to make Christ ashamed of the unsanctified words and deportment of us who bear his name.”

“All jangling and unpleasant, impatient, fretful words are an offering presented to his Satanic majesty. And it is a costly offering, more costly than any sacrifice we can make for God, for it destroys the peace and happiness of whole families, destroys health, and is eventually the cause of forfeiting an eternal life of happiness.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 310.

Be careful not to insult Christ. “The greatest insult we can inflict upon Him, is to pretend to be His disciples while manifesting the spirit of Satan in our words, our dispositions and our actions.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 3, 1160.

In understanding what it is to “fear God and give glory to Him” we do not want to insult our Redeemer by giving glory to Satan! Cultivate Christlike thoughts. Watch, and in the moment of danger—before giving glory to Satan by reflecting his character—send up a prayer for help and then be still and wait on the Lord. “Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.” Psalm 141:3. This should be our prayer each moment, and God will hear you!

“Fear God and give glory to Him.” Destroy the devil’s darkness by letting His light shine through you.

Judy Hallingstad is part of our LandMarks team. She can be contacted by email at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

The Power of Divine Love

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It was the American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who penned these words which I find to be so true, “Love gives itself; it is not bought.” The New Dictionary of Thoughts, 369.

The English author, Hanna Moore, agrees with Longfellow when she wrote, “Love never reasons, but profusely gives; gives, like a thoughtless prodigal, its all, and trembles then lest it has done too little.” Ibid., 370.

The great German Reformer, Martin Luther, in his summation on God’s love, says, “Love is an image of God, and not a lifeless image, but the living essence of the divine nature which beams full of all goodness.” Ibid., 369.

Therefore, dearly beloved, “They are the true disciples of Christ, not who know most, but who love most.” Fredrick Spanheim, German Theologian.

Jesus Christ our divine Savior taught specifically, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13:34, 35.

What defines this “New Commandment”? What is it all about and why is it so important to the extent that Jesus says it is the trademark of discipleship?

One of Satan’s main activities among Christians is to destroy love for God and love for one another. He well knows the value and power of divine love. He knows what it can accomplish and what it will do for us individually, so he works determinedly to exterminate this plant of heavenly origin from every Christian’s life and the true church.

This commandment of Jesus to love was not in itself new. It was part of the instructions given to Moses, “Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.” Leviticus 19:18.

This verse contains some divine prohibitions. Firstly, God says, “Thou shalt not avenge.” This is another way of saying, “Thou shalt forgive.” With the spirit of vengeance there can be no peace on the earth. God says, “Vengeance is mine.” Secondly, God commands, Thou shalt not “bear any grudge against the children of thy people.” Here God specifically gives instruction to his people not to cherish anger or keep a record, or reserve of wrongs or hurts done to them by their fellow men.

Christ’s love was revealed by the things He taught and did, which sometimes seemed very unusual. He said, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Matthew 5:43, 44.

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” Matthew 5:38, 39.

“And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.” Matthew 5:40.

“For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?” Matthew 5:46, 47.

“But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.” Luke 6:35.

“Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.” John 13:3–5.

“And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” Matthew 26:51, 52.

Jesus’ love which is eternal and divine cannot be affected by circumstances. It is unchanging and focuses more on the person than the action of the person. We are told by God’s servant that “Christ has borne with the erring through all his manifest perversity and rebellion. His love for the sinner does not grow cold, His efforts do not cease, and He does not give him up to the buffeting of Satan. He has stood with open arms to welcome again the erring, the rebellious, and even the apostate.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 420.

Jesus, preparing himself for Calvary and his ascension back to heaven, was deeply concerned about the spiritual condition of the men he would leave in charge of his church. So, “in this last meeting with His disciples, the great desire which Christ expressed for them was that they might love one another as He had loved them. Again and again He spoke of this. ‘These things I command you,’ He said repeatedly, ‘that ye love one another.’ (John 15:17.) His very first injunction when alone with them in the upper chamber was, ‘A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.’ (John 13:34.) To the disciples this commandment was new; for they had not loved one another as Christ had loved them. He saw that new ideas and impulses must control them; that new principles must be practiced by them; through His life and death they were to receive a new conception of love. The command to love one another had a new meaning in the light of His self-sacrifice. The whole work of grace is one continual service of love, of self-denying, self-sacrificing effort. During every hour of Christ’s sojourn upon the earth, the love of God was flowing from Him in irrepressible streams. All who are imbued with His Spirit will love as He loved. The very principle that actuated Christ will actuate them in all their dealing one with another.” The Desire of Ages, 677, 678.

The apostle John speaks conclusively and emphatically of this love which is so different from anything earthly and human: “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” I John 4:10. God, the offended, chose, and continues to choose, to love us, the offenders. He looks beyond our faults and sees our needs.

The measure of this love is the standard found in I Corinthians 13. “Every true Christian will develop in his life the characteristics of this divine love; he will reveal a spirit of forbearance, of beneficence, and a freedom from envy and jealousy. This character developed in word and act will not repulse, and will not be unapproachable, cold, and indifferent to the interests of others. The person who cultivates the precious plant of love will be self-denying in spirit, and will not yield self-control even under provocation. He will not impute wrong motives and evil intentions to others, but will feel deeply over sin when discovered in any of the disciples of Christ.

“Love vaunteth not itself. It is a humble element; it never prompts a man to boast, to exalt himself. Love for God and for our fellow men will not be revealed in acts of rashness nor lead us to be overbearing, faultfinding, or dictatorial. Love is not puffed up. The heart where love reigns will be guided to a gentle, courteous, compassionate course of conduct toward others, whether they suit our fancy or not, whether they respect us or treat us ill. Love is an active principle; it keeps the good of others continually before us, thus restraining us from inconsiderate actions lest we fail of our object in winning souls to Christ. Love seeks not its own. It will not prompt men to seek their own ease and indulgence of self. It is the respect we render to I that so often hinders the growth of love.” Testimonies, vol 5, 123, 124.

“This is the love Jesus brought, and it was a new thing in this world.” The Gospel of John, vol. 4, 1040, by James Montgomery Boice. This love focuses more on who we are than on what we do. It works from the inside out. The fruit of love reveals the true Christian, for if this fruit is absent, regardless of the profession, that person is not a disciple of Christ.

The apostle Paul struggles to provide an understanding of this wonderful love. He calls us to remember: “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6–8.

Paul is emphasizing that this is the utmost that can be expected of human love. It is remotely possible that someone would be willing to sacrifice himself for a dear friend who is sufficiently good and lovable. But so great is the love of God for His erring creatures that Jesus died for us when we were godless and rebellious enemies. By the death of Jesus, God gives proof of His love to us.

Jesus sought for the best way to explain this new commandment. He said, “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:12, 13. He wanted them to exercise the same love towards one another that He had manifested towards them. He was about to demonstrate the extent of that love and lay down His own life for them. His love exceeded that which He had commended to them: “while we were yet sinners” He died for us.

This brings to light His strange and unfathomable teaching recorded in the Sermon on the Mount: “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Matthew 5:43, 44. Christ’s love transcends love for friends; it reaches out constantly to those who have done the greatest amount of evil. It confronts those who have done to us the greatest amount of wrong! Jesus’ love and example dictate to us that we should be as eager to demonstrate the same unchanging, unselfish love towards our fellowmen, in spite of whatever evil or wrong they may have done to us!

The Human Relationship Factor That Prevents Us From Experiencing God’s Love

What is it that prevents us from experiencing the love of God? We find our answer in the book, Our High Calling, page 348: “Love of self excludes the love of Christ. Those who live for self are ranged under the head of the Laodicean church who are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot. The ardor of the first love has lapsed into a selfish egotism. The love of Christ in the heart is expressed in the actions. If love for Christ is dull, the love for those for whom Christ has died will degenerate. There may be a wonderful appearance for zeal and ceremonies, but this is the substance of their self-inflated religion. Christ represents them as nauseating to His taste.”

The greatest challenge to man is to denounce self. It feels good to promote self, for then we can be revengeful, grudging, resentful, unkind, impatient, unloving, and selfish. In this way we can protect ourselves from being hurt or wronged; thus we take measures to prevent such things from ever happening to us. The question then that we need to answer is: Is this the way Christ loves? Does He love with reservation or with stipulated conditions, e.g., “I will love you only if …”? Please remember, Jesus is our paradigm!

Dr. Leo Buscaglia in his book, Loving Each Other, pages 95, 96, highlights the principle of love in this way: “When we give ourselves in love we become our most vulnerable. We are never safe. We become open to disappointment and hurt. In a relationship, individuals come together with separate histories and experiences. They do this in hope of creating new worlds by writing, living out and sharing new experiences together. But this is not easy, since we all interact in the shadow of past fears, expectations and habits; since we are all different, all imperfect, it is seldom possible without encountering conflict.”

In the church, people are brought together with different experiences, viewpoints, and characters, to build loving relationships in Christ that will be a marvel to the world. The church ought to be a microcosm of what the world should be. I believe Jesus had this thought in mind when He called His followers the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world”!

Dr. Buscaglia continues by stating, “When we feel wronged, we immediately look to the other for blame. We perceive ourselves as victims. Something has been done to us, ‘the innocent.’ We have a right, therefore, to demand justice. We believe justice has been accomplished only when we can hurt those who have hurt us, disappoint those who have disillusioned us, make those suffer who have injured us and given us pain. They must experience our revenge at once and preferably continue to experience it forever. We are certain that wrongs will be righted in this way. Only then will the slate be wiped clean and our pain disappear. After all, we rationalize, it was the other’s fault. … Why then should we be the one to suffer? We seek vengeance for we know that the experience will be sweet. But do we find it so? How many of us have gone to great pains to avenge a wrongdoing, only to find that once we have had our revenge we have accomplished little more than finding ourselves loveless and alone? What satisfaction is there in causing another to suffer if our pain still remains?”

So we see that to be human is so dangerous, for it is only about self-seeking and self-satisfaction. After self has displayed all the selfishness there is, we find ourselves more sad, unhappy, sick and lonely! One author, namely Dr. Gerald Jampolsky states, “Hate, bitterness and vindictiveness are overpowering, self-defeating and intellectually as well as emotionally depleting.” Ibid., 95.

According to Dr. Buscaglia, “When wronged by those we love we seem to devalue years of relationship—a relationship that may have brought us many joys and which required much intellectual and emotional energy to have lasted so long. Still, with a single harsh statement, a thoughtless act, an unfeeling criticism, we are capable of destroying even the closest of our relationships. We quickly forget the good and set out to rationalize scenarios of hate. We do this rather than take up the challenge of honest evaluation and confrontation. We ignore the possibility that in the act of forgiving and showing compassion we are very likely to discover new depths in ourselves and new possibilities for relating in the future. We are too proud. We engage in self-defeating activities which keep us from forgiving; beliefs that if we withdraw and run from the situation we will hurt the other and absence will heal us; the fantasy that in avoidance there can be closure; the naïve hope that in hurting, shaming, blaming and condemning we will be made to feel better. We fail to realize that when we refuse to engage in forgiving behaviors, it is we who assume the useless weight of hate, pain and vengeance which is never ending, and, instead, weighs upon us rather than the wrongdoer.” Ibid., 96, 97.

It is far better to be governed by the love of God, for Divine love has healing power. “The power of love was in all Christ’s healing, and only by partaking of that love, through faith, can we be instruments for His work. If we neglect to link ourselves in divine connection with Christ, the current of life-giving energy cannot flow in rich streams from us to the people.” The Desire of Ages, 825. With this in mind a number of questions come to mind.

What Has Happened To God’s Love In His Church?

“The love of God has been waning in the church, and as a result, the love of self has sprung up into new activity. With the loss of love for God there has come the loss of love for the brethren.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 387. “Selfishness is driving benevolence and the love of Christ from the church.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 205.

When The Church Lacks Love, What Is The Result?

“The church is greatly deficient in love and humanity. Some preserve a cold, chilling reserve, an iron dignity that repels those who are brought within their influence. This spirit is contagious; it creates an atmosphere that is withering to good impulses and good resolves; it chokes the natural current of human sympathy, cordiality, and love; and under its influence people become constrained, and their social and generous attributes are destroyed for want of exercise. Not only is the spiritual health affected, but the physical health suffers by this unnatural depression. The gloom and chill of this unsocial atmosphere is reflected upon the countenance. The faces of those who are benevolent and sympathetic will shine with the luster of true goodness, while those who do not cherish kindly thoughts and unselfish motives express in their faces the sentiments cherished in their hearts.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 63. “There is nothing that can so weaken the influence of the church as the lack of love.” That I May Know Him, 153.

What Is It That Will Make The Church Prosper?

“In order for the church to prosper there must be a studious effort on the part of its members to cherish the precious plant of love. Let it have every advantage that it may flourish in the heart.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 123. “Nothing will so successfully defeat the devices of Satan and his emissaries, nothing will so build up the Redeemer’s kingdom, as will the love of Christ manifested by the members of the church. Peace and prosperity can be enjoyed only as meekness and love are in active exercise.” Ibid., 167.

What Will Be The Product Of Love?

“Nothing can perfect a perfect unity in the church but the spirit of Christlike forbearance. Satan can sow discord; Christ alone can harmonize the disagreeing elements. … When you as individual workers of the church love God supremely and your neighbor as yourself, then there will be no labored efforts to be in unity, there will be oneness in Christ, the ears to report will be closed, and no one will take up a reproach against his neighbor. The members of the church will cherish love and unity and be as one great family. Then we shall bear the credentials to the world that will testify that God has sent His Son into the world.” Reflecting Christ, 200.

What Will Be The Instrument That The Church Will Use To Move The World?

“When those who profess to serve God follow Christ’s example, practicing the principles of the law in their daily life; when every act bears witness that they love God supremely and their neighbor as themselves, then will the church have power to move the world.” Ibid., 298.

“Christ’s most favorite theme was the paternal character and abundant love of God. The curse of every church today is that men do not adopt Christ’s methods.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 192.

Seriously ponder this question. Are you a true Christian, a true disciple of the meek and lowly Jesus? Are you? Our Savior emphatically affirms, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13: 35.

Jesus says to you today, “This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you.” John 15:12. Amen!

Pastor Ivan Plummer ministers through the Emmanuel Seventh Day Church Ministries in Bronx, New York. He may be contacted by telephone at: 718-822-3900.

Luther and Laodicea

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“Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.”

Psalm 97:11 NKJV

 “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”

Proverbs 4:18

On our Christian walk, we are either constantly growing, receiving, learning, gaining new light and understanding, or we are dying, stagnating, losing light and understanding, and locking ourselves into spiritual darkness and eternal death. This principle is exhibited in nature. Is there such a thing as a plant that simply stays at the exact same point of growth? No, it is either growing, or it is dying.

This same instruction God has given throughout inspiration. We could look at this principle throughout history, but we are going to study a little in inspiration from the life and example of Luther and how God views his work and the work of future generations.

Most Christians are familiar with the reformer Martin Luther and his lifelong striving and gaining greater light and truth from the Holy Scriptures. Those things which he understood in his later years were not even thought of or supposed when he first began his quest for truth. He was constantly seeking a better understanding of God’s word, and because of his faithfulness and earnest desire for truth, God opened up tremendous truth to him.

In the message of God to Laodicea as found in Revelation 3:14–22, Laodicea is content with the “knowledge” that she has. She considers herself “rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing” (verse 17).

Is there not a stark contrast between these two principles, these two attitudes? Which one does God value? Which one does He require?

“The Reformation did not, as many suppose, end with Luther. It is to be continued to the close of this world’s history. Luther had a great work to do in reflecting to others the light which God had permitted to shine upon him; yet he did not receive all the light which was to be given to the world. From that time to this, new light has been continually shining upon the Scriptures, and new truths have been constantly unfolding.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 123.

“Luther and his co-laborers accomplished a noble work for God; but, coming as they did from the Roman Church, having themselves believed and advocated her doctrines, it was not to be expected that they would discern all these errors. It was their work to break the fetters of Rome, and to give the Bible to the world; yet there were important truths which they failed to discover, and grave errors which they did not renounce.” Ibid., 180.

Was it safe to stop with the light that was revealed to Luther and his co-laborers? No. They still retained grave errors. Does God want us in error? No. He wants us in the purity of His truth, untainted with error.

“The infinite God, whose throne is in the heavens, condescends to address His people, ‘Come now, and let us reason together’ (Isaiah 1:18); but frail, erring men proudly refuse to reason with their brethren. They stand ready to censure one who accepts any light which they have not received—as though God had pledged himself to give no more light to any one than he had given to them. This is the course pursued by opposers of the truth in every age. They forget the declaration of the Scriptures, ‘Light is sown for the righteous’ (Psalm 97:11). ‘The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day’ (Proverbs 4:18). It is a sad thing when a people claiming to be reformers cease to reform.” Ibid., 185.

The following is a powerful and wonderful promise of God, and note the condition for that promise, which begins with the mighty word “if.” “If professed Christians would but carefully and prayerfully compare their views with the Scriptures, laying aside all pride of opinion and desire for the supremacy, a flood of light would be shed upon the churches now wandering in the darkness of error. As fast as His people can bear it, the Lord reveals to them their errors in doctrine and their defects of character. From age to age He has raised up men and qualified them to do a special work needed in their time. But to none of these did He commit all the light which was to be given to the world. Wisdom does not die with them. It was not the will of God that the work of reform should cease with the going out of Luther’s life; it was not His will that at the death of the Wesleys the Christian faith should become stereotyped. The work of reform is progressive. Go forward, is the command of our great Leader—forward unto victory.” Ibid., 186.

Dare I say that it is not the will of God that the work of reform should cease with the going out of Ellen White’s life; it was not His will that at the death of Ellen White the Christian faith should become stereotyped.

What is our attitude? Do we prayerfully compare our views with the Scriptures and lay aside all pride of opinion and desire for supremacy? Or, do we, when new ideas are presented immediately defend our position, our way of thinking. In this respect, I must ask a question here. If I genuinely want to understand something better, will I continually be giving my interpretation, my understanding, or will I be eagerly asking questions of those who know with a genuine desire to understand what is being presented? How do you approach “new light”?

Do you think it dangerous to broach “new light” with candor and a desire to understand the position of what is being presented? I submit to you, according to the Lord, it is dangerous to broach “new light” in any other way, or to refuse to broach it at all.

“We shall not be accepted and honored of God in doing the same work that our fathers did. We do not occupy the position which they occupied in the unfolding of truth. In order to be accepted and honored as they were, we must improve the light which shines upon us, as they improved that which shone upon them; we must do as they would have done, had they lived in our day. Luther and the Wesleys were reformers in their times. It is our duty to continue the work of reform. If we neglect to heed the light, it will become darkness; and the degree of darkness will be proportionate to the light rejected.

“The prophet of God declares that in the last days knowledge shall be increased. There are new truths to be revealed to the humble seeker. The teachings of God’s word are to be freed from the errors and superstition with which they have been encumbered. Doctrines that are not sanctioned by the Scriptures have been widely taught, and many have honestly accepted them; but when the truth is revealed, it becomes the duty of every one to accept it. Those who allow worldly interests, desire for popularity, or pride of opinion, to separate them from the truth, must render an account to God for their neglect.” Ibid., 186, 187.

“Those who received the great blessings of the Reformation did not go forward in the path so nobly entered upon by Luther. A few faithful men arose from time to time, to proclaim new truth, and expose long-cherished error; but the majority, like the Jews in Christ’s day, or the papists in the time of Luther, were content to believe as their fathers believed, and to live as they lived. Therefore religion again degenerated into formalism; and errors and superstitions which would have been cast aside had the church continued to walk in the light of God’s word, were retained and cherished. Thus the spirit inspired by the Reformation gradually died out, until there was almost as great need of reform in the Protestant churches as in the Roman Church in the time of Luther. There was the same spiritual stupor, the same respect for the opinions of men, the same spirit of worldliness, the same substitution of human theories for the teachings of God’s word. Pride and extravagance were fostered under the guise of religion. The churches became corrupted by allying themselves with the world. Thus were degraded the great principles for which Luther and his fellow-laborers had done and suffered so much.” Ibid., 194.

“The church cannot measure herself by the world nor by the opinion of men nor by what she once was. Her faith and her position in the world as they now are must be compared with what they would have been if her course had been continually onward and upward. The church will be weighed in the balances of the sanctuary. If her moral character and spiritual state do not correspond with the benefits and blessings God has conferred upon her, she will be found wanting. The light has been shining clear and definite upon her pathway, and the light of 1882 calls her to an account. If her talents are unimproved, if her fruit is not perfect before God, if her light has become darkness, she is indeed found wanting. The knowledge of our state as God views it, seems to be hidden from us. We see, but perceive not; we hear, but do not understand; and we rest as unconcerned as if the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, rested upon our sanctuary. We profess to know God, and to believe the truth, but in works deny Him. Our deeds are directly adverse to the principles of truth and righteousness, by which we profess to be governed.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 83, 84.

“Unless the church will follow on in His opening providence, accepting every ray of light, performing every duty which may be revealed, religion will inevitably degenerate into the observance of forms, and the spirit of vital godliness will disappear. This truth has been repeatedly illustrated in the history of the church. God requires of His people works of faith and obedience corresponding to the blessings and privileges bestowed. Obedience requires a sacrifice and involves a cross; and this is why so many of the professed followers of Christ refused to receive the light from Heaven, and, like the Jews of old, knew not the time of their visitation (Luke 19:44). Because of their pride and unbelief, the Lord passed them by, and revealed His truth to men in humble life, who had given heed to all the light they had received.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 200, 201.

God’s words of inspiration are not only rich with warning and rebuke, but filled with treasures and promises for the true and faithful.

“If the followers of Christ were but earnest seekers after divine wisdom, they would be led into rich fields of truth, as yet wholly unknown to them. Whoever will give himself to God as fully as did Moses, will be guided by the divine hand as verily as was the great leader of Israel. He may be lowly and apparently ungifted; yet if with a loving, trusting heart he obeys every intimation of God’s will, his powers will be purified, ennobled, energized; his capabilities increased. As he treasures the lessons of divine wisdom, a sacred commission is intrusted to him; he is enabled to make his life an honor to God and a blessing to the world. ‘The entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple’ (Psalm 119:130).” Ibid., vol. 3, 417, 418.

Do we live by the principles that governed Luther, seeking new light, new revelations from the word of God, or do we exhibit the principle found in Laodicea, satisfied with our current position, “rich and increased with goods.” My friends, we have studied God’s view of both. It is impossible to hold to both principles. Where are you? Are you with Luther, or are you with Laodicea? Your works will tell the tale, not your words. It is time we deal honestly with our souls, for the night is far spent, and the morning cometh.

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

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

Secret Sins

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Do you have a longing for the return of Jesus?

Do you believe He is returning for a church without spot or wrinkle?

There is a heavy burden on my heart that I have carried for a while. The reason why this burden is heavy is because I realize that the presence and power of God, to a great degree, is missing from His church. The joy of the Lord, which is our strength, is not expressed on a daily basis. The gifts of the Spirit, which are promised, are as foreign to us as light is to darkness. The love of God, which is the bond of perfection, is as low as a river in the middle of the summer; it is almost dry. Indeed, for this realization, my heart is grieved. Now you may be wondering what my burden is. I am burdened by the thought that there are secret sins among God’s people and these secret sins are preventing the power of Jesus from being manifested within His church. Therefore, let us consider three interrelated results of secret sins and how to combat them.

First, what are secret sins? Simply put, they are cherished sins that are practiced by an individual or group within the church and which are hidden from the church body as a whole. For the purpose of space, we will only consider the secret sins of an individual.

In order to recognize three results of these secret sins, let us look at an event which occurred during the days of Joshua. In Joshua chapter 6 we see that the children of Israel had just crossed the Jordan River after 40 years of wilderness wandering and it was time for them to possess the promised land. Prior to them entering Jericho, the Lord gave them a clear command as to what they were to do with the inhabitants and their possessions. In Joshua 6:17–19 we read, “And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the Lord: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the Lord: they shall come into the treasury of the Lord.”

Well, what did Israel do? In Joshua 6:23, 24 we read, “And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had … And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord.” Yes! Mission accomplished! Praise God for His faithful people, right? Well, the story takes a bitter turn, and Israel is in for a secret surprise.

In Joshua 7:1 we read, “But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel.” Now in this passage it was Achan who took of the accursed thing. However, who was God’s anger aroused against? It was the entire camp of Israel. This brings us to the first result of secret sins.

Not only the perpetrator of the sin is affected but the secret sins of one individual will arouse the displeasure of God against His entire church. It only takes one.

Now as we consider this, we can look at various times and places in the Scripture and see that this is displayed on various levels. For example, Adam transgressed in the beginning. In those days there were only two souls who composed God’s church on earth. However, on whom is the judgment of God placed as a result of Adam’s sin? It was on all humanity. We have all inherited the result of Adam’s sin. In Romans 5:18 Paul states, “Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation.” And in I Corinthians 5:6 Paul says that “a little leaven leavens the whole lump.”

In light of this, here is what the Lord’s prophet says: “Achan’s sin brought disaster upon the whole nation. For one man’s sin the displeasure of God will rest upon His church till the transgression is searched out and put away.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 497. “No man lives to himself. Shame, defeat, and death were brought upon Israel by one man’s sin … Various sins that are cherished and practiced by professed Christians bring the frown of God upon the church.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 493.

Now the questions for you to consider are: How much do you truly love the church of God? Do you love the church of God in private, when no one else is around or looking? Do you love the church so much that you will do nothing in secret to cause the frown of God to rest upon her? These are questions that we all must consider.

Let us now look at the second result of secret sins. Israel had destroyed Jericho, and it appeared as if all was well. God granted them victory and it was time to press forward. Unknown to them, however, was the fact that there was secret sin in the camp. They went forth ready to take the next city, little Ai. Joshua sent out spies to view the city, and they reported to him that the city was too small to send the whole army of Israel. Joshua consented and sent only 3,000 men. As they went to dispossess the city, the men of Ai came out and chased Israel away. In this pursuit, thirty-six Israelites were slaughtered. Now this may appear as a small defeat, but to Israel it was so great a defeat that their hearts melted and became like water.

In response to this, Joshua fell down before the Ark of the Covenant and began to mourn. Perplexed, he says, “Alas, O Lord God, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of Jordan!” Joshua 7:7.

When he ended his complaint, Jehovah responded. “And the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed.” Joshua 7:10–12.

This brings us to the second result of secret sins. That is, the secret sins of one individual will cause the church to lose her battles and fall before her enemies.

Now, is the church engaged in warfare? Yes! And who is her enemy? In Revelation 12:17 we read, “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

Satan and his legions are undoubtedly at war with the remnant church. And what is Satan’s main strategy? How does he effectively war against the church? Well, his main strategy is to work through false disciples who enter the sheepfold over the fence and destroy the church by sowing strife, teaching falsehood, casting doubt, and trampling upon our faith. We are told by inspiration that, “The great deceiver has many agents ready to present any and every kind of error to ensnare souls … It is his plan to bring into the church insincere, unregenerate elements that will encourage doubt and unbelief, and hinder all who desire to see the work of God advance and to advance with it.” The Great Controversy, 520.

Now, this only addresses the battle front that Satan attacks us on as a church body. But what about the battle that each individual member has against the enemy called self? Since the secret sins of one individual will cause the church to lose her battles, could it be that the secret sins of professed brethren has a weakening effect on those who are earnestly trying to overcome? Consider these inspired words: “The influence most to be feared by the church is not that of open opposers, infidels, and blasphemers, but of inconsistent professors of Christ. These are the ones that keep back the blessing of the God of Israel and bring weakness upon His people.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 497.

Let us move to the third result of secret sins. Now that the Lord had told Joshua the cause of their defeat, notice the warning He gave: “Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.” Joshua 7:12.

The Spirit of Prophecy gives implications that this text is applied to the church as a whole, but more importantly to the leaders. The Lord said that He would no longer be with Joshua unless he destroyed the accursed thing.

The third result of secrets sins is this: The secret sins of one individual will eventually fall upon the leaders of the church and they will be held accountable for those sins. Surprising? This is what inspiration says: “If the leaders of the church neglect to diligently search out the sins which bring the displeasure of God upon the body, they become responsible for these sins.”

“God’s displeasure is upon His people, and He will not manifest His power in the midst of them while sins exist among them and are fostered by those in responsible positions.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 269, 270.

Are you a leader in the church? Are you being faithful to your duty?

Now I have just presented three interrelated results of secret sins. Once again they are:

The secret sins of one individual will arouse the displeasure of God against His entire church.

The secret sins of one individual will cause the church to lose her battles and fall before her enemies.

The secret sins of one individual will eventually fall upon the leaders of the church, and they will be held accountable for those sins.

Now consider the most subtle secret sin that exists within the church—covetousness.

After the Lord warned Joshua that He would depart from him unless he removed the accursed thing, He tells him to sanctify and assemble the people (Joshua 7:13, 14). Joshua then conducted an investigation by the process of elimination. In the morning, all the tribes of Israel appeared before the Lord, and the tribe of Judah was taken. Out of Judah, the family of the Zarhites was taken. Out of the Zarhites, the household of Zabdi was taken. And out of this household, Achan was singled out. In Joshua 7:19–21 we read Joshua’s plea: “My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me.” (By the way, when we confess our sins to God, we are giving Him glory. We are recognizing that His law is just and that He is righteous.) Achan answers, “Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: When I saw …” Notice that he saw. Friends, we must be careful of what we see. There are three evils of this world, and one of these is the lust of the eyes. Achan says, “When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them.” Notice that he coveted and then took of the spoils. Covetousness was the root of Achan’s problem, and it led him to practice deceit and theft. We must beware of covetousness.

We often stress the importance of all of the Ten Commandments. We proclaim that they have not been abolished and that we are still obligated to keep them. It is easy for us to recognize when murder occurs or when someone is being disobedient to their parents. It is even easy for us to recognize when the fourth commandment is broken; we see this all over the Christian world. But how often do we recognize and reprove covetousness, the tenth commandment?

So what does it mean to covet? Well, one way to covet is to wish for something earnestly. This can be a positive action. But in a negative sense, to covet means to have a strong desire for what belongs to another. On a basic level, therefore, covetousness means to have a strong craving for possessions. We want so many things. We want and want until our wants are out of control.

In spite of this, coveting in itself is not evil. What makes it evil is the object of our desires mingled with our ambition to gain that object. For example, Achan coveted evil because his desire was for that which the Lord commanded to be destroyed or consecrated to Him. On the better side of coveting, the apostle Paul exhorts us to “covet earnestly the best gifts.” I Corinthians 12:31. We are told to covet spiritual things; we are to covet heaven; we are to covet after treasures that will last forever.

Why is it that covetousness is so subtle? Well, as humans we have desires; God has created us with the capacity to want. However, because of our lack of self-control, we allow our desire to overpower our ability to reason and make moral decisions. As a result we find ourselves thinking that our strong desires are legitimate when, in reality, we are being greedy and covetous. Inspiration says, “The deadly sin that led to Achan’s ruin had its root in covetousness, of all sins one of the most common and the most lightly regarded. While other offenses meet with detection and punishment, how rarely does the violation of the tenth commandment so much as call forth censure.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 496.

On top of this we have an astonishing quote from Spiritual Gifts, vol. 2, 236: “The greatest sin which now exists in the church is covetousness.” This was written in 1860 and at that time the church was not as wealthy as she is today. So if covetousness was the greatest sin in 1860, how much more are we struggling with this leaven today?

In conclusion, I wish to make an appeal to all Adventists, especially the youth. I want you to consider a possible solution for secret sins. Do you realize that there is no institution more precious to God than is his church? It is the church of God that receives the affections of the entire universe, and all the angels of God are working on her behalf. With intensity they are working to bring the church into perfect unity, but their labors are limited because of secret sins. But change indeed is possible, and a final reformation will come. But what is needed in the church for this reformation to occur? What is needed in the church to bring her into that condition in which she may receive the latter rain? Yes, we have evangelists, we have pastors and teachers. We have Bible workers, colporteurs, and medical missionaries. But there is still a vital office that is empty, and until this office is filled, we will continue to journey in this wilderness. Church of God, what we need at this time are true living prophets. Not necessarily prophets who have visions and dreams, but prophets who rightly proclaim the truth into the context of their community; prophets who, as God’s mouthpiece, speak light into a situation full of darkness. And more than that, we need true prophets who, in the name of Jesus, will call forth order out of chaos. Now not all are called to be prophets. However, let those who have ears to hear, listen to what the Spirit says. The apostle Paul says, “Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.” I Corinthians 14:1. And just as every other gift comes through constant prayer and obedience, so the gift of prophecy will be revived if you earnestly pray for it and obey Christ. Indeed, the only way to realize this gift is to learn what it means to truly love; to love God with all your heart, and to love your neighbor as yourself. I leave you with these final words of inspiration. “God would have His people disciplined and brought into harmony of action, that they may see eye to eye and be of the same mind and of the same judgment. In order to bring about this state of things, there is much to be done. The carnal heart must be subdued and transformed. God designs that there shall ever be a living testimony in the church. It will be necessary to reprove and exhort, and some will need to be rebuked sharply, as the case demands.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 360.

Once again I ask: Do you have a longing for the return of Jesus, and do you believe He is returning for a church without spot or wrinkle?

For a copy of the complete sermon or CD contact: orders@stepstolife.org or call 316-788-5559.

A member of Steps to Life staff, Demario Carter works in the Mail Order Services Department. He can be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org or by phone at: 316–788–5559.

The First Commandment

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When we study God’s word, a correct understanding of that word is the result of a number of factors and ingredients. Not only do we need an understanding of the people and the times of the particular book under consideration, but the overall context.

We see God in His word as One attempting to initiate and desiring to establish and maintain an intimate relationship with His people. His desire has always been to make an atonement for the world in general and His people in particular. This provides the background of our studies, not only for the commandments, but for every law, every rule, every ordinance, prohibition, every sanction, as well as every blessing, promise and every prophecy that God gave to His children and through them to the world.

From the time God asked Abraham to look into the sky and count the stars, through the long period until the first stone hit the holy brow of Stephen, there was something very special that God wanted to do with the Jews, to the Jews, for the Jews and through the Jews to the world. So, Jesus began to codify in Exodus a set of laws predicated on the demonstrated fact that you can do, because He has already done. God enjoins that to His people today. We can indeed do all things because of what Christ has already done.

When we were kids and we were playing, my dad many times would tell us to do something, or more accurately tell us to stop doing something. Sometimes we would get a little insubordinate, a little obstinate or hardheaded and the context for what ensued was the fact that my father did not take a particular liking in saying anything twice. There were times as kids when we thought we were out of range and in a safety zone, that we would actually question one of my father’s directions. He would say, “Don’t do that.” Sometimes in a fit of insanity we would say, “Why”? My old-schooled dad would provide a context for the discussion. “Because I am your father,” he would say. “I brought you in; I will take you out,” or “Because I said so.”

Once when I was 10 or 11, I searched my brain and it occurred to me that because “I said so,” or “because I am your father,” was not sufficient justification to alter or abate my intended course of action. I might have even used the word, “Stupid.” I thought I was out of reach and I thought he had not heard me, but my father sprang like a cat with blinding human strength and lifted me off my feet and said, “Because if I catch you doing that again I will kill you.” While growing up in my house there were many infractions to which death was the ultimate penalty. But I stayed alive long enough to baptize my dad into the Seventh-day Adventist church.

Yet over and over again we see this preamble that we are about to look at that contextualizes the perspective future relationship and activities between God and His people.

Exodus 20:2 says, “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” We see this pattern over and over again no less than ten times—four times on God’s behalf and six times it was recited by the Lord Himself. He recited this many times to a people who in many instances did not know God and even when they were introduced to Him they were disposed to develop an almost irresistible case of spiritual Alzheimer’s. There are pages in the Old Testament riddled with stories of a people afflicted with a selective memory loss. This loss resulted in their continual wandering from God. They never really got it right.

A loving Lord, knowing the unstable nature of his chosen people, would often have to reformulate in their minds the reality that He was the Lord God and beside Him there was no other.

He is the Lord God. Not just any god, but your God. He is the God who brought you out of Egypt. Pharaoh was a type of Satan, a type of sin. Jehovah is saying, I delivered you from their presence and their power. This is what I did for you; now I want you to do the following for me.

Verse 3 says, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” I always thought it was interesting that the Lord would have to put that there. It occurred to me that, other than Jehovah God, the one true God, there is no other god.

The word used in the Hebrew is Elohim, the im is a plural ending. It is mostly used in Scripture for God and often denotes the title or office of God. El was also the head of the Canaanites Pantheon, so it was a borrowed word. They had El; we have Elo—our God is greater than your god. Elohim bespeaks divinity, might, power and keeping ability. It is masculine in gender and always plural. Sometimes it means Jehovah, the real God; other times it means the false god. How do you know the difference?

When the context is singular with a plural Elohim, it is the true God. An example of this is found in Genesis 1:27: “So God created man in his own image.” So Elohim created man in his image. You have the plural Elohim with the singular word his. The plural with the singular is talking about the true God.

Another example is found in Genesis 1:29: “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb.” Again Elohim plural with singular word I. Look at Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord.” When you have a singular with a plural, you are talking about the true God.

When you have a plural with a plural, you are talking about a false god. It is the same word but a different god. God says, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me [Exodus 20:3].” No false gods before God.

There is but one true God. The mixed multitude in the desert thought that there were many gods. They had been seduced by 400 years of living in Egypt, over 200 of which they were in Egyptian bondage. But God would have them to know that there is only one true God and anything else is fiction or an idol. How dare we attempt to replace the real God with fiction.

The core meaning of the first Commandment is not to elevate to god status anyone or anything that can never really be God.

As bad as it is not to know God, it is arguably and grievously worse to know Him and live like He does not exist. Nothing comes before God. Nothing is more important than God. Not your money, your home, your job, your reputation, not your spouse or your family. Family is very important—next to God, but none of these temporal things can save you. Like jaundice—these things that replace God are symptoms of a deeper problem.

If your job is more important than Jehovah, you have a problem because the real issue is not your job and may lie somewhere else that is far more invasive and sinister.

The real demigod is not what we own; it is what we are. What you own is a symptom of what you are. Some say, “Tell me where a person spends his money and I will show you what he is.” Paul says, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves.” II Timothy 3:1, 2. People are going to fall out of love with God and in love with themselves. God says that the prevailing sin of these last days, of the end times, the fertile garden from which so much misery grows, is the sin of self love. The problem we have is that we are so much in love with ourselves that we do not have room for God. We have replaced God with us.

Man’s god today is himself. What was alluded to in Timothy is stated emphatically in Romans 1:25: “Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator.” Heaven’s complaint is that those who were created for God’s glory have decided they don’t want Him anymore.

At the beginning of Christ’s mediatory work in the Holy of Holies in the days surrounding 1844, heaven stepped into high gear and so did Satan.

Just as God began to raise up young people like James White, 1821, and Ellen White, 1827, with strength, stamina and the Holy Spirit, Satan also raised up his champions, Karl Marx, 1818, and Fredrick Engels, 1820.

Charles Darwin in 1831, the same year that William Miller preached his first sermon, jumped aboard a ship called HMS Beagle. As an unpaid naturalist, he made amazing discoveries in the Galapagos Islands about 1,000 leagues west of the country of Ecuador. By the time he returned in 1836, he had convinced himself that mankind was the product of an evolutionary process that he called natural selection. Chance was in, God was out. He fine tuned his ideas for 23 years. Others bought into his theories and during the days of the Great Disappointment, October, 1844, Darwin was saying that God had nothing to do with creation.

By the time the first edition of the Origin of the Species came out in 1859, it sold out in one day. Five additional editions also sold out within days of their release. One doctor said, commenting on Darwin’s work, “He is the single most influential individual on planet earth in the last 250 years.” And it is no coincidence that Darwin came to the front about 1844. When Christ stepped up His ministry, Satan also stepped up his.

Another doctor stated, “With the publishing of the book, Origins, mankind had finally escaped from God.” Satan didn’t stop there. Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels collaborated on a book called The Communist Manifesto, released in 1848. The Communist Manifesto served as inspiration for countless 20th Century and 19th Century dictators and tyrants, including Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, Polpot and many others who got their theology from The Communist Manifesto. None of them had any value for human life. When you take God out of the picture, all you are left with is an animal in a world that asserts that daddy was a gorilla and mommy was a chimpanzee.

The Bible says, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” Psalm 53:1. There are scientists that will tell you that it takes more faith to believe in evolution than it does in creation. Dr. Mike Denton says that by the time Darwin’s last edition of Origins came off the press in 1872, even Darwin himself was plagued by self doubts because he was unable to meet the many objections to his own theories. By the end of his life, Charles Darwin wasn’t even buying what he was selling.

In 1844 one month after the great disappointment, Engels collaborated on another book called The Holy Family. There was nothing holy about it. The book was described as a sarcastic assault and revolt against the state, the family, religion and God Himself. Engels lived with a woman all of his life but he never married her. He refused to marry her. As an affront to God, he taught that marriage was unnatural, unethical and evil.

It was not a coincidence that these men came to the front about the end of the 2300 days because Satan knew his time was short. Now the whole world accepts a myth or theory as fact.

Science was the hook used to pull God from His throne and to replace Him with us. So a new ideology is born. Nobody buys that God is dead. The new theology simply is that God is unnecessary because we have science, art, medicine, college degrees and PhDs. We are not illiterate; we don’t live in tents, we live in houses and we rely on ourselves. God is just not necessary. “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.” Romans 1:22.

The most overused, underrated, bankrupt word in the English language is love. “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” 1 John 4:8. The concept of love, like ethics and morality, has absolutely no meaning without God. You can talk about emotionalism and physical attraction, but if you are talking about real love you have to be talking about God. How curious it is that the further we move from God or stray from God in these last days, the more we tend to use words that substitute for God and the more we use terms that have their relevance and meaning only in God.

We tend to deify the terms and forget about God. We have made a god of love. I love my dog. I love my cat. I love my new clothes. I love my television. I love this summer. I love, I love, I love and if any of them get old and rusty I am turning them in on a new model. The concept of the word love itself has been adulterated. We talk about love, we read about love, we hear about love and sing about it, we sell love, we worship love. Ever searching, never finding, looking for love in all the wrong places.

You cannot purchase a $1,500 handbag or a $4,500 watch for a cool $25. Love in today’s world is little more than justification of self-indulgence.

God is love, but love is not God. The God of love, as much as He loves, says you cannot have any other gods before me, not even love itself. So man is latter day’s god. Love is his holy spirit and the logical, predictable end to that kind of ideology is evolution. When you put man at the top and take God off the throne, you are in for trouble. We see how twisted we can become when we leave out the pure gospel. I am my god and you are yours.

Have you heard of the story of the self-made man who worshipped his own god? He is absolutely pathetic, and of all men most miserable. If you are your own god, may I suggest to you that your god is too small. If you are your own god, one day you are going to run into something that your god can’t handle. If you are your own god, some days your god is going to be sick. If you are your own god, occasionally your god is going to have a day where he simply does not want to be bothered. If you are your own god, sooner or later your god is going to face a problem he can’t solve. If you are your own god and your god can’t keep you, can’t heal you, can’t help you, can’t cure you or comfort you or free you or constrain you or transform you—if your god can’t save you, then what in the world is your god going to do with me?

Theology aside, it just makes sense to serve the living God. If you reject God, all you are left with is you. When it comes to my salvation you are not good enough for me. The Lord said, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore in loving kindness I have drawn you.” Jeremiah 31:3. That is the God I want.

Look around. We have paid a heavy price for our arrogance. This year I heard on the news that nine fourth graders were arrested for plotting the murder of their teacher. It was so well organized that it shocked the community. When asked why, they said it was because she talked mean to one of them. The god of this world has replaced reason, sanity, morality, humility, kindness and sympathy. And terrorists, allegedly in the name of God, flew a plane into a 110 story building and we cry, where was God? He is right where you left Him.

He has not gone anywhere. He is right where you left Him. In the beginning God—He was there, and He is still there now. He says in Jeremiah 29:13, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”

What are the ideologies of this world? They are contingency, temporality, relativity and autonomy.

Demi-god #1: Contingency

This suggests that everything that happens in this world is the result of cause and effect. You do something, you get a response so there is no need to ascribe any of the outcomes in my life to God. I do the work, I get the reward. In other words, 299 people apply for a job. I get the job, 298 did not get the job. It was not because God helped me; it was because I deserved the job. I worked for the job, I am better than the rest of them or just plain dumb luck. The bottom line—no God. The new god—man. Man controls his own destiny, not God.

Some Christians believe that they have to help God out. If I don’t do it, it won’t get done. Do you see how that pushes God to the side, takes Him off the throne and puts self on top?

Demi-god #2: Autonomy

This concept is, I determine who calls the shots in my life. I reserve the right to make my own decisions. The concept is that it is my life and I can do what I want. There is no need to seek or follow God for direction. If I want something I get it and I don’t need to ask God or anybody else about it. I don’t owe anything to anybody. An animal lover will leave five million dollars to his pet and leave nothing to feed starving children in Haiti who are eating mud patties. “I” determines what has value. Autonomy says I report to me. Bottom line—no God. New god—autonomy. I give meaning to my life and I don’t need God. God is unnecessary. Defacto god—man.

Demi-god #3: Relativity

This suggests the idea that absolutes are unintelligent and unreasonable. It insists that the idea that one size fits all, that there is one rule or one set of rules is stupid. In any situation you adjust the rules to fit the situation. That is relativity. I am different and you are different so the rules for each one of us must be different. Why would we ascribe to one set of rules? Bottom line, there is no God. New god—relativity. Defacto god—man.

Situational ethics says that what is right for me, is what is right. What is right for you is not right for me. What is right for me is not right for you. You determine what is right for you and I will determine what is right for me and this idea that there are ten rules that never alter or change, that is not right. That is relativity.

Demi-god #4: Temporality

This simply suggests that nothing lasts forever. Your car, house, your wife, your job, your religion—they are not going to last forever. They will all change. There are people today who expect things to change and even engineer change. My car is going to last so many years; I will have to get a new one. They don’t expect to be in the same place or relationship. The idea that some things can be unchangeable, the same yesterday, today and forever, is incomprehensible. Bottom line, there is no God. New god—change. Defacto god—man. If this marriage were to get rough, I am gone. It will never last, so why work at it.

Just imagine what a world we would have if we all could simply put all man-made gods away and put God first. The tall skyscrapers are built on a firm and deep foundation. The glory of all of the ten wonderful commandments, the constitutional reality of man’s existence, is foundation and revolves around the fact that In the beginning God (Genesis 1:1) and God desires and deserves no rival, for truly there is no god but God. There is none like Him.

God does not try to justify, explain or rationalize it. He simply says, In the beginning God. You have to accept that first page, that first chapter, that first line or else close the book because everything else in the book is based on In the beginning God. If you are going to live with Him and live for Him, then you can’t have anybody else in front of Him. God says, I am a jealous God (Exodus 20:5). God, God and only God.

“Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them show unto them. Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.” Isaiah 44:6–8.

Ellen White says, “We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us.” Christian Experience and Teachings of Ellen G. White, 1922, 204. If you cannot see the future, look back toward the past. You should be able to see a pattern of God inserting His hand into your life and bringing you from day one to today. You should be able to look and see where God kept you, directed you, instructed you. It is not an accident that you are here. God is in control of all life. There is no god but God.

Our God says, Don’t put anybody in front of me—not your children, not your sister, your husband or your wife. He is going to say to you, I knocked but you didn’t answer; you didn’t hear me over the sound of the television. I sent a letter, but you left it in the mailbox. I prayed for you, but you didn’t answer. Thou shall have no other gods because no one on this earth has a heaven to give you or a hell to keep you from. We owe our all to God and there is none other than God and one day very soon we are going to see Him face to blessed face.

Don’t let anything get between you and God. When you put your hand into His hand, nothing can take you out of His hand. He will take us home if we will but walk with Him.

Pastor C.A. Murray’s sermon was taken from the Ten Commandment Weekend, 2008 series aired on 3ABN. For more information contact www.3ABN.org.

Life Sketch of Ruth Josephine Wallner Grosboll, 8-25-1916 to 1-11-2010 Pt. 1

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Ruth Josephine Wallner Grosboll passed away on January 10, 2010, in Wichita, Kansas. She worked at Steps to Life Ministries for over 15 years and has been a regular contributor to LandMarks magazine.

Ruth Josephine Wallner was born to Joe and Agnes Wallner in Huron, South Dakota, on August 25, 1916. She was born into a family that was well acquainted with heartache and trouble. Her father Joe Wallner was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1878 to German merchants who operated both in Austria and Hungary.

At birth, the physicians said that Joe would probably never survive babyhood and certainly would never grow up to manhood because he was born with a congenital heart defect. His heart valve leaked so badly that it was said you could hear the swishing with your naked ear close to his chest even if you didn’t have a stethoscope.

During this time of disappointment and sadness, a Jewish physician told his mother, “Never let that boy eat any fat.” That medical counsel was followed his entire life, and though he did continually suffer heart problems and had to take to his bed many times, he survived until the age of 78.

After Joe immigrated to the United States, in 1910 he met and married Agnes Shoonhoven, the eldest daughter of ten children of a prosperous German farmer in Iowa. Agnes was 10 years younger than he, and in that same year a set of twins was born of which only one survived. The girl who lived was named Maize. In 1912, Agnes’ father was killed in a tragic accident on a horse, leaving Agnes’ mother with several children still at home to raise. Agnes stepped into this crisis situation and began to help her mother raise the younger children, and for years Agnes’ younger brothers and sisters stayed at her home for longer or shorter periods.

The year after her father died Agnes’ second child, Dorothy was born and four years after the accident Agnes had her final and youngest daughter in 1916 and named her Ruth.

When Ruth was born, one of Agnes’ youngest sisters was living with her and helped take care of Ruth in her babyhood. Christine was about 17 years of age when Ruth was born. Agnes’s younger siblings were often in their home so they developed a very close relationship to Ruth, Dorothy and Maize, which lasted as long as they lived.

When John and Ruth Grosboll moved to Kansas in 1992, Christine, who was in her nineties at that time, came with them. Christine was almost as close to my mother as her real mother even though she was an aunt, because she had taken care of my mother since babyhood. Christine lived with John and Ruth Grosboll until she died at about 95. Her funeral service was held in the Steps to Life chapel. Although my mother was very stoical and I had never seen her in tears to the extent that the tears ran down her cheeks, she was as close to tears as I had ever seen my mother when she came up to Christine’s casket at the end of the service.

Approximately six months after Ruth was born, her mother and grandmother who, by this time had been a widow for four years, accepted the Three Angels’ Messages and became a part of the Second Advent Movement. Ruth’s father was opposed to this new religion and eventually went to the public libraries in an effort to do research that would prove that his wife Agnes and her mother were totally confused about the right day to keep as the Sabbath. As a result of his research he was astonished to find out from the historical evidence in the library that his wife was correct and it was the rest of the Christian world that was wrong about which day to keep as the Sabbath. He thereupon became a Sabbath-keeper himself and also became a part of the Second Advent Movement; however, this took many years, and for those many years Agnes had to try to raise her girls as Sabbath keeping Christians with a great deal of opposition from her husband.

Joe and Agnes Wallner moved with their family from South Dakota to Montana and homesteaded a 640 acre farm which was about 120 miles from the nearest town. Joe also worked in the winter in the mines near Butte, Montana. He bought a house in town and the family lived in it during the winter and on the 640 acre homestead farm in the summer. At one time a snowstorm and bitterly cold weather prevented Agnes from coming back home from town so the girls had to fend for themselves for days during the inclement weather until their mother was able to return home with provisions. Since they had chickens, they always had eggs and during those days of being stranded alone without their parents the girls ate so many eggs, fixed so many ways, that Ruth said for a long time after that, she could hardly stand to look at an egg.

A woman needed to be strong to survive in that environment, but Agnes Wallner was strong. She was well able to fight off mad bulls with a pitchfork and she knew how to use guns. She also knew how to satisfy the stomachs of crews of men running threshing machines and how to take care of people who were hurt when there were no physicians around.

In 1922, Agnes had her final child and only son, naming him Leonard. As time went on and Maize and Dorothy were teenagers, Agnes saw that her daughters had an interest in boys and also that there were no Sabbath-keeping young men in that area of Montana—their family worshipped as what is commonly called today, a home church. She decided that something must be done about this because she was unwilling for her daughters to grow up and have no social outlet except the barn dances in the community and she did not want her daughters to be participating in these. She heard from relatives that in Washington state there was an Adventist high school and also that this was a fruit-growing area affording ready employment so she decided to take her daughters and son there.

When she announced her decision to her husband he was very upset because they had a 640 acre farm where he could eventually retire which would provide them a livelihood in their later years, so he earnestly protested such a move, wanting to keep the farm. But Agnes was adamant in her decision. She said, “I am not willing for my daughters to grow up here. I want them to associate with Sabbath keeping young people and I am firm in my decision to move to Washington state. I am going to move there with my daughters and son and if you choose to stay in Montana on this farm so that I have to move alone, I will still move.” They moved to Granger, Washington, in 1927.

That first year Joe worked in the mines for income, but a few months later they moved to Granger where they lived in the Yakima Valley for the rest of their lives and are buried in the Toppenish, Washington cemetery. In 2006, I had the opportunity with Mother and Evelyn to visit their graves where we prayed and looked forward to the coming resurrection.

Soon after moving to Granger the family was involved in agriculture again with chickens, cows and goats, as well as large gardening operations and farming. Because Joe had heart trouble all his life the girls had to do both men’s and women’s work. They not only took care of milking and other chores connected with livestock but they also pitched hay and did all kinds of work that men did on a farm. Their father’s weakness resulted in the girls becoming exceptionally physically strong women. None of them had the figure of today’s beauty queens but if they were motivated to do so, they could pick up most any beauty queen with one arm and throw her in any direction desired.

Although my mother never lost her temper with me so that she became violent, I was well aware throughout childhood that, if she wanted to, she could pick me up with one hand and send my body in any direction that she pleased. When she and her sister Dorothy were in nurses training, an invalid lady who had to be picked up said to the nurses, “When you have to pick me up let one of those two farm girls pick me up because I feel secure when they are holding me.”

Ruth graduated from Yakima Valley Academy in 1935. She attended the 100th year reunion there in 2006. After her graduation she then went to Walla Walla College and took pre-nursing. Her sister Dorothy was thinking about becoming a teacher, but later changed her mind and decided to become a nurse also. Ruth could take nursing in an Adventist school in Portland, Oregon, or in Adventist schools in California but Dorothy, who had decided to become a nurse also, could not because she had not taken pre-nursing courses. Ruth and Dorothy learned, however, that there was an Adventist nursing school that would accept a student into nursing school without pre-nursing. This allowed both Dorothy and Ruth to attend nursing school together and be in the same class rather than Ruth having to wait for Dorothy to take pre-nursing or for Dorothy to be behind her in nursing school. This nursing school was in Hinsdale, which is located about 20 miles from Chicago, Illinois. In 1937 Ruth and Dorothy left home and went to Hinsdale.

Ruth passed her state board examinations and received confirmation of her new status as a registered nurse in a document, dated August 31, 1940, which she retained with her important papers for the rest of her life.

The year before, in 1939, John N. Grosboll had graduated with a major in business from Emmanuel Missionary College in Berrien Springs, Michigan, and came to the Hinsdale area to work with his older brother who was working there as a painting contractor. Actually, John had two older brothers and one brother-in-law who were all painting contractors in the Hinsdale area and each of these relatives had picked out an Adventist girl whom they thought John should marry. However, they each picked a different girl but John had other ideas. One day when John was in the cafeteria with a male friend of his he saw Ruth Wallner and recognized from her dress that she was a student nurse and he asked his friend who she was. Later, when he was with this friend again and saw her, he inquired about her again and his friend said, “Well, that is same girl you asked me about before!” John said to his friend, “I want you to arrange a blind date for me with that girl and with you and your girlfriend.” John bragged for the rest of his life that once he had dated Ruth, he never dated another girl again and he held it up to her face that she could not say that she had never dated another boy after she dated him. Her retort to this was that he had a reputation of going out with one girl after another and she did not have a reputation like that and she could not tell that such a man was really serious after one date. They were married on September 26, 1940, and the year of John’s death would have been the year of their 60th wedding anniversary.

John and Ruth lived in the Hinsdale area for a short time after their marriage. They had both worked their way through school and although they did not have much money they were not in debt to anyone. They wanted to be involved in work that would make a difference in the world, not only for time but for eternity. A few months after they were married they joined an evangelist by the name of W. D. Frazee who was working at that time in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Ruth got part time nursing jobs and John got part-time painting jobs, but their full-time work for which they were not paid and worked as volunteers, was personal evangelism. They passed out hundreds of pieces of literature about the Three Angels’ Messages every week and this led to Bible studies and baptisms.

They were only in this work a short time when tragedy again struck their family. In late summer 1941 Ruth’s only brother, her father’s and mother’s only son who was not yet 20 years old, on the day before he was to go away to Walla Walla College with other students, was enjoying a game of volleyball. As he was preparing to serve the ball, all of a sudden a horrible look came over his face and he dropped over dead. John and Ruth felt that they must leave Baton Rouge and go to Ruth’s family in this hour of crisis so they made arrangements with Elder Frazee to leave and got in their car and drove nonstop for 36 hours to Granger, Washington. They did not have enough money to return.

They were acquainted with Adventist medical and nursing personnel in the area and found that there was a small town, Toppenish, which was near Granger, that had no hospital. All the sick there had to be transported to a hospital in Yakima, almost 20 miles away. John and Ruth got the idea of starting a small hospital in Toppenish, so they opened a ten-bed hospital. John was the business manager, accountant and overall superintendent of the operation. Ruth and her older sister Dorothy, who was not yet married, were the two registered nurses and Ruth’s mother Agnes Wallner was the cook. I have always supposed that the patients in that hospital had the best food of any hospital in the United States, genuine German cooking with all the fat, sugar, salt and other things that make food taste good. My father used to say that she could even make sawdust taste good! Other workers were also hired to help them in all these areas. It was in this hospital that I was born in 1943 and was given the first name of his father and grandfather and the middle name of his maternal grandfather.

It was the time of World War II and the hospital had to be closed down. My father, John Nelson, was drafted into the army in 1943. For a while Ruth moved wherever John went so they could keep their family together. They lived in El Paso, in Abilene, Texas, and other places, but the time came when John Nelson had to go overseas. He was shipped to the Pacific-Asia war theater and spent time in India and Burma, often not seeing any other Adventists for long periods of time. He witnessed for his faith by showing the soldiers from Daniel 2 that Hitler could not take over the world. Ruth went back to Toppenish to where her parents had moved from Granger and, while there, taught church school.

John Nelson met and got acquainted with Adventist missionaries in India and Burma while he was in the service as a U.S. soldier. He thought that he would like to be a missionary to a foreign country as well so when he returned to the United States in 1946, he immediately began making plans to bring this idea to a reality. He took a course work at Walla Walla College to prepare for mission service. During that time John and Ruth had a second son in 1947 at Walla Walla and named him Marshall James. When Marshall was a few months old, the family left on a ship for Burma.

To be continued.