Church

Come Into Line

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When the storm comes and the crisis breaks, we are going to be destroyed. It is absolutely essential that we stand united to face the foe.

John 17 is the prayer that Jesus prayed just before he went into the Garden of Gethsemane. In this prayer, Jesus expresses His will that we all come into perfect unity of spirit and doctrine. Ellen White tells us that we should make a special study of that prayer because if we understand the principles contained in it, we will understand how unity is to be achieved.

“The true peace will come among God’s people when, through united zeal and earnest prayer, the false peace that exits to a large degree is disturbed.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 20.

A major obstacle to real unity is a false unity that many mistake for true oneness. As long as this condition exists, there can be no progress in achieving real unity. It is God’s plan to disturb the false peace that we have among us today. Though truth does not bring dissension, the presentation of truth does disturb the false peace because of the resistance that rises against it. This is not to say that we all have to believe everything exactly the same, but there are certain foundational pillars of the advent message that we have to agree on if we are going to have unity.

In the Scriptures, Jesus is not only described as a lamb, but as a lion. (See Revelation 5:5.) He is a General who makes war. (See Revelation 19:11.) He is the Commander in Chief of the celestial forces, and very soon, He is coming back to this world to conduct a battle. The message here comes from the Person who is the Commander in Chief—the General. It is not from a lamb; it is from the Lion.

These orders can be expressed in just three words: come into line. Ellen White states it like this: “In vision I saw two armies in terrible conflict. One army was led by banners bearing the world’s insignia; the other was led by the blood-stained banner of Prince Immanuel. Standard after standard was left to trail in the dust as company after company from the Lord’s army joined the foe and tribe after tribe from the ranks of the enemy united with the commandment-keeping people of God. An angel flying in the midst of heaven put the standard of Immanuel into many hands while a mighty general cried out with a loud voice: ‘Come into line.’ ” Testimonies, vol. 8, 41.

For a long time, we have been treating this order as advice, thinking of it as something that sounds good, but we fail to realize what it means. But when the General says, “Come into line!” we must obey if we are to be saved.

What does a banner mean in a war? When you pick up a banner, it declares on which side you are going to fight. In picking up the banner of Prince Emmanuel, you are declaring to the whole universe that you are going to war and that you are going to fight.

Today there is a lot of apostasy because people do not have enough backbone to hold up the banner and go to war. They do not want to fight, but prefer to go to heaven sitting down. They want to just pray, read, and study, and expect the Lord to save them. If, however, you are not willing to take up the banner and fight, you are not going to heaven.

“Our work is an aggressive one, and as faithful soldiers of Jesus, we must bear the blood-stained banner into the very strongholds of the enemy.” The Review and Herald, May 8, 1888.

The first principle we have to understand is that if we are going to take hold of the banner and come into line, we have to be willing to fight. There is little use of an army even coming into line if it is not going to fight.

“Those who stand under the blood-stained banner of Prince Immanuel, should be faithful soldiers in Christ’s army. They should never be disloyal, never be untrue. Many of the young will volunteer to stand with Jesus, the Prince of life. But if they would continue to stand with Him, they must constantly look unto Jesus, their Captain, for His orders. They cannot be soldiers of Christ and yet engage with the confederacy of Satan, and help along his side, for then they would be enemies of Christ. They would betray sacred trusts. They would form a link between Satan and the true soldiers, so that through these living agencies the enemy would be constantly working to steal away the hearts of Christ’s soldiers.” The Youth’s Instructor, March 30, 1893.

You need to realize that there are people who say that they are Seventh-day Adventists, but they have united with the world. They have formed a link with Satan. In a war you cannot be on both sides; Satan and the Lord do not work together.

“My message to you is: No longer consent to listen without protest to the perversion of truth. Unmask the pretentious sophistries which, if received, will lead ministers and physicians and medical missionary workers to ignore the truth. Everyone is now to stand on his guard. God calls upon men and women to take their stand under the blood-stained banner of Prince Emmanuel. I have been instructed to warn our people; for many are in danger of receiving theories and sophistries that undermine the foundation pillars of the faith.” Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 2, 15.

If we are going to hold the banner of Emmanuel high, it is our job to unmask those sophistries and teachings that are undermining the pillars of the faith. Have you noticed, however, that whenever anyone does this work, there are always some people who will say, “Oh, that is not Christ-like”? That is Christ-like! Christ is not only a lamb, He is a lion. He is a general and He says that you are to unmask those false doctrines and deceptions. You are to take the mask off so people can see the truth, while exposing the error. There is no sitting on the fence; you are either going to hold up the banner of Prince Emmanuel or, if you are ashamed of it, someone else is going to place another banner in your hands.

“There is to be no compromise with the powers of darkness. Individually we must take our stand. If we are not at enmity with the prince of darkness, the serpent, his folds encircle us and all our power; his sting is in our hearts. All who range themselves under the blood-stained banner of the Prince of life will henceforth count Satan as a foe, and will in God’s strength oppose him as a deadly enemy.” In Heavenly Places, 48.

The second principle that is involved in this warfare is that we must break with the devil’s force. You cannot hold two banners; you cannot fight for two armies at the same time.

“And everyone who will break from the slavery and service of Satan, and will stand under the blood-stained banner of Prince Immanuel, will be kept by Christ’s intercessions. Christ, as our mediator, at the right hand of the Father, ever keeps us in view, for it is as necessary that he should keep us by His intercessions as that He should redeem us with His blood. If he lets go His hold of us for one moment, Satan stands ready to destroy.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 15, 104.

If you are going to hold up the banner, you need to break from the slavery and service of Satan. What is the slavery and service of Satan? In John 8:44, Jesus is speaking to the leaders of His day and He accuses them of being children of the devil. These people were lying and contemplating murder—breaking God’s commandments. Because of this, they had a character like the devil. Jesus said to them, “Your spiritual father is the devil.” It is true that they were the professed church of God, but their spiritual father was the devil. The same principle still holds today. No matter what the profession may be, if the character and life are not in harmony with God’s law, the person is in slavery to Satan, a member of his army. You may know with certainty that if a person is living like the devil, practicing unrighteousness, and without love for his brother, he is of the devil. It is just that simple. He can profess anything he wants, but he is under the black banner of Satan. We must develop a character like our Leader.

“What is it to serve God?—it is to resemble Him in character, to imitate Him. To serve God is to obey Him, to keep His commandments, to make an open confession of standing, not under the black banner of the great apostate, but under the blood-stained banner of Prince Emmanuel. Those who serve God strive earnestly to obey His will. Thus they show to what army they belong.” The Signs of the Times, February 1, 1899.

Fourth, we must be organized as an army of soldiers. No army can win a war unless they are organized. The people who are going to win this war are going to be perfectly organized. They are not just going to be a group of independent ministries or separate groups of Historic Adventists with everyone doing whatever he thinks best. We are going to be in perfect unity.

“God’s people are called upon to rally without delay under the blood-stained banner of Christ Jesus. Unceasingly they are to continue their warfare against the enemy, pressing the battle even to the gates. And everyone who is added to the ranks by conversion is to be assigned his post of duty.” The Review and Herald, January 13, 1903.

When a person becomes a Historic Seventh-day Adventist in your home church, he is to be assigned a post of duty. The church is not just a club where everyone meets together to congregate. We are an army, and everyone is to be assigned his post of duty.

“Everyone should be willing to be or to do anything in this warfare. When church members put forth earnest efforts to advance the message, they will live in the joy of the Lord, and will meet with success. Triumph always follows decided effort.” Ibid.

We are both going to conquer or be conquered and we must have perfect order among us in order to prosecute the war that we are in.

“They have lifted the cross, separating from opposing friends and relatives, and have taken their stand under the blood stained banner of Christ, to be loyal to all the commandments of God. … Now this little flock are babes in Christ, and need to be taught and led along, step by step, into faith and assurance; they need to be educated and trained to do the work of soldiers in the army of the Lord, and to bear hardness, that is, trials and opposition, contempt and scorn, as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.” The Paulson Collection, 134.

If we are going to hold high that banner, we must be involved in the war, and forsake the slavery of sin and Satan. This means that we must develop a Christ-like character, and be organized—just as organized as a group of soldiers.

“Many have received all the evidences of truth that God will ever give them. They have permitted and encouraged false sentiments; and they have practiced deception to cover up their apostasy.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 7, 194.

Part of the battle is to unmask these sophistries, but there are people who are working to cover up the apostasy with deceptive statements. This is why we have to produce videos and print tracts to unmask it.

“I am instructed to say to those who desire to return to God, ‘Cleanse your hands, and purify your hearts. Break loose from the spell of the enemy.’ ” Manuscript Releases, vol. 7, 272.

This is the problem with many Christians. They are under the spell of the enemy. When my parents were missionaries in Burma, I remember going to a place where they showed snakes. The cobra starts weaving back and forth and can actually hypnotize its prey. This is the situation in our world right now. The serpent is trying to hypnotize Christianity and lull them into complaisance. Oh, friend, go to your closet and pray, “Lord, take the blinders off my eyes and help me to see what is going on.”

The problem with a large number of Christians today is that they have fallen into error, but they cannot comprehend it unless the Lord works a miracle in their hearts. We need to pray for ourselves and for each other and say, “Lord, give me a new heart, please. Open my eyes so that I can see.”

God is appealing to people to close up the ranks and to come into line! We have to be willing to be involved in the battle. We have to break from Satan’s banner, keep the commandments, develop a character, and become as organized as an army of soldiers. In the past we have worked in a much too haphazard way, and it is not pleasing to the Lord. This is why we must be organized. We need to counsel with each other; that is part of gospel order.

With whom are we to counsel? Somebody might say, “Oh, there are plenty of people with whom to counsel.” No, there are not. We have been forbidden to counsel with anybody who does not give evidence that they are under the control of the Holy Spirit. That severely limits the people with whom you can counsel.

“When all our ministers and physicians come into line, taking their stand under the blood-stained banner of Prince Emmanuel, we shall see an army of men and women going forth to work for Christ, speaking the word with holy boldness and power.” The Review and Herald, February 16, 1905.

Friends, we are never going to finish God’s work if we do not come into line. It is a Divine command that we must be organized in everything we do. Do not think that just because you have a home church and you have been cast out, that you can forget about organization. It is more important now than ever before. Every Historic Adventist needs to belong to an organized body that is working for the Lord to finish His work.

I want to make an appeal to you. Very soon there will no longer be another opportunity. We are either going to be organized and in unity or we are going to be destroyed. It is just that simple. I am not asking you to do anything rash. In fact, I am not asking you to do anything at all; it is the Lord who has given the order. As the General of the armies of heaven, He says, “Hold up the banner and come into line.”

Are you willing to make this commitment with the Lord? You may not understand everything that is involved, and Jesus does not ask you to do what you cannot understand. The question is, are you willing to say to the Lord, “Lord, I am willing to come into line, to do your will. Lead us into that line that You want us to be in so that we will have a united front against the foe”?

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

Commitment to the Church Triumphant

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Week of Prayer for Sunday

As people, we think in pictures. When you hear someone say the word church, what image or picture comes into your mind? Is it a building? Is it a people? Is it a congregation? Is it an organization? Is it a denomination? What is the church?

When the Bible refers to the church, what does it really mean? To answer this question, we will explore the Bible—the Word of God—and the testimonies of God’s messenger to His last day people.

The word church is a New Testament word. It is never used in the Old Testament, although God had a church in Old Testament times. This is confirmed by the fact that Stephen refers to the period when the children of Israel were in the wilderness as, “the church in the wilderness.” Acts 7:38. It is also confirmed by the following statement from the Spirit of Prophecy: “God had a church when Adam and Eve and Abel accepted and hailed with joy the good news that Jesus was their Redeemer. These realized as fully then as we realize now the promise of the presence of God in their midst. Wherever Enoch found one or two who were willing to hear the message he had for them, Jesus joined with them in their worship of God. In Enoch’s day there were some among the wicked inhabitants of earth who believed. The Lord never yet has left His faithful few without His presence nor the world without a witness.” The Upward Look, 228.

Called Out

The Bible word from which the English word church is translated is derived from a verbal root that means “to call out,” or, in other words, the noun refers to those who are called out. They have been called out from one place to another place. From where have they been called out and to where are they called?

We are called out of darkness, unto fellowship with God’s Son, and unto holiness. (1 Peter 2:9; 1 Corin-thians 1:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:7.) It is a holy calling, a high calling. The very nature of the word translated church shows clearly that the church can never be catholic. If the church are those who are called out, and those not in the church are those not called out (see Ephesians 2:1–3), then the church can never be catholic, because that word means “according to the whole,” and the church never refers to the whole but rather to those who are called out from the rest of the population into fellowship with God’s Son. This fact is emphasized over and over again in the Book of Revelation. (See, for example, Revelation 12:9; 13:3, 8; 15:2, 3; and the list could be greatly lengthened.)

In fact, in the Scriptures, the word church does not refer to everyone who has been called out, because a testing takes place after the calling out, and each individual must be chosen or elected and then be found faithful. (See Revelation 17:14; Hebrews 12:21–28.)

God’s Elect

How does a person become one of God’s elect? Here are the conditions upon which every soul will be elected to eternal life: “Your obedience to God’s commandments will prove your right to an inheritance with the saints in light. God has elected a certain excellence of character; and every one who, through the grace of Christ, shall reach the standard of his requirement, will have an abundant entrance into the kingdom of glory. All who would reach this standard of character, will have to employ the means that God has provided to this end. If you would inherit the rest that remaineth for the children of God, you must become a co-laborer with God. You are elected to wear the yoke of Christ,—to bear his burden, to lift his cross. You are to be diligent ‘to make your calling and election sure.’ [11 Peter 1:10.] Search the Scriptures, and you will see that not a son or a daughter of Adam is elected to be saved in disobedience to God’s law. The world makes void the law of God; but Christians are chosen to sanctification through obedience to the truth. They are elected to bear the cross, if they would wear the crown.” Christian Education, 118.

“There is an election of individuals and a people, the only election found in the word of God, where man is elected to be saved. Many have looked at the end, thinking they were surely elected to have heavenly bliss; but this is not the election the Bible reveals. Man is elected to work out his own salvation with fear and trembling. He is elected to put on the armor, to fight the good fight of faith. He is elected to use the means God has placed within his reach to war against every unholy lust, while Satan is playing the game of life for his soul. He is elected to watch unto prayer, to search the Scriptures, and to avoid entering into temptation. He is elected to have faith continually. He is elected to be obedient to every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, that he may be, not a hearer only, but a doer of the word. This is Bible election.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 453, 454.

“Those who humbly and prayerfully search the Scriptures, to know and to do God’s will, will not be in doubt of their obligations to God. For ‘if any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine.’ [John 7:17.] If you would know the mystery of godliness, you must follow the plain word of truth,—feeling or no feeling, emotion or no emotion. Obedience must be rendered from a sense of principle, and the right must be pursued under all circumstances. This is the character that is elected of God unto salvation. The test of a genuine Christian is given in the word of God. Says Jesus, ‘If ye love me, keep my commandments.’ ‘He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him. . . . If a man love me he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.’ [John 14:15, 21, 23, 24.]

“Here are the conditions upon which every soul will be elected to eternal life. Your obedience to God’s commandments will prove your right to an inheritance with the saints in light. God has elected a certain excellence of character; and every one who, through the grace of Christ, shall reach the standard of his requirement, will have an abundant entrance into the kingdom of glory. All who would reach this standard of character, will have to employ the means that God has provided to this end. If you would inherit the rest that remaineth for the children of God, you must become a co-laborer with God. You are elected to wear the yoke of Christ,—to bear his burden, to lift his cross. You are to be diligent ‘to make your calling and election sure.’ [11 Peter 1:10.] Search the Scriptures, and you will see that not a son or a daughter of Adam is elected to be saved in disobedience to God’s law. The world makes void the law of God; but Christians are chosen to sanctification through obedience to the truth. They are elected to bear the cross, if they would wear the crown.” Review and Herald, July 17, 1888.

(There is such a thing as the “elect church.” It was not the Jewish church in the days of Christ, even though they were the chosen people and it was not yet a.d. 34. See The Desire of Ages, 680.)

The Elect Must be Faithful

The elect must be faithful. This should need no explanation, but let us read a few inspired descriptions of the faithful.

“You can prove yourself elected of Christ by being faithful; you can prove yourself the chosen of Christ by abiding in the vine.” Our High Calling, 77.

“The work is soon to close. The members of the church militant who have proved faithful will become the church triumphant.—Letter 32, 1892.” Evangelism, 707.

“ ‘The Lord is very good to us,’ she [Ellen White] declared; ‘and if we follow on to know the Lord, we shall know that His going forth is prepared as the morning. If there is any question in your minds in regard to what is right, look to the Lord Jesus, and He will guide you. We should bring every plan to the Lord, to see if He approves it. . . . Remember that the Lord will carry us through. I am guarding every moment, so that nothing may come between me and the Lord. I hope there will not. God grant that we may all prove faithful. There will be a glorious meeting soon.’ ” Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, 447, 448.

“The Lord is still testing us to see whether we will prove faithful servants. He is calling upon his people to consider his goodness, to respond to his mercy, and to give proof of their loyalty by bringing all the tithes into his storehouse. ‘Prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.’ [Malachi 3:10.]” Review and Herald, November 10, 1896.

“Fathers and mothers, a sacred trust has been committed to you. You are to be godly, firm, temperate. Let no one find you smoking or drinking. Remember that you transmit these depraved appetites to your children. God wants you to keep before them the fact that there is a heaven to win, a hell to shun. He wants you to keep them pure from the vicious, vile habits of the world. Keep your children at their home, and if people say to you, ‘Your children will not know how to conduct themselves in the world,’ tell your friends that you are not so concerned about that matter, but that you do want to take them to the Master for his blessing, even as the mothers of old took their children to Jesus. Say to your advisers: ‘Children are the heritage of the Lord, and I want to prove faithful to my trust. The presence of God must be in my household, in order that as a family we shall present to the world evidences of his divine power. My children must be brought up in such a way that they shall not be swayed by the influences of the world, but where, when tempted to sin, they may be able to say a square, hearty no. [Emphasis in original.] They must be trained in such a way as to be able to say, “I will cling to the promises of God.” ’ ‘Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have a right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.’ [Revelation 22:14.] Tell your friends and neighbors that you want to see your family inside the gates of the beautiful city. Teach your children to know God; teach them that eternal life is of more value to them than the fleeting pleasures and honors of the world. Train them, mothers, from their earliest years in the principles of Christianity, in love, in truth, in genuine Christian politeness.” The Signs of the Times, April 23, 1894.

“There will be colored people there in heaven. Do you think that Christ has a separate apartment for them? Not at all. Heaven is broad, and they come right in. They have labored to overcome their difficulties, they have proved faithful to the end. We must labor diligently to bring them to the position where they will recognize and accept the truth for this time; and then we must labor and plan to fit them up to work for others of their own race. . . .

“By and by it is going to be much harder than it is today, to reach the colored people. Now is our opportunity to labor among them. By and by there will be combinations of circumstances that will make it impossible for us to labor as we can now; and so we should try to improve every moment of our time in seeking to bring to a knowledge of the truth, souls that are ready to perish, that they may at last have the crown of life with us.—Manuscript 15, 1909, pp. 6, 7, 10, 15, 16. (Talk to Madison teachers and students, April 26, 1909.)” Manuscript Releases, vol. 4, 34, 35.

“At the eleventh hour, when the work grows harder and the people are more hardened, there will be a variety of talent brought in. These workers will prove faithful and receive their penny. Sacrificing men will step into the places made vacant by those who would not be fitted for a place in the heavenly temple. These resources will continue to come in. The Lord will provide openings and facilities. He will call upon the youth to fill up the places made vacant by deaths and apostasies. He will give young men and women, as well as those who are older, the cooperation of the heavenly intelligences. They will have converted characters, converted minds, converted hands, converted feet, and converted tongues. Their lips will be touched with a living coal from the divine altar. If they will learn the lesson of walking humbly before God, if they will not seek to invent new plans, but will do that which the Lord has appointed them to do, they will be enabled to carry God’s plan onward and upward without narrowing it. . . .” Ibid., vol. 10, 170.

“The church is God’s fortress, His city of refuge, which He holds in a revolted world. Any betrayal of the church is treachery to Him who has bought mankind with the blood of His only-begotten Son. From the beginning, faithful souls have constituted the church on earth. In every age the Lord has had His watchmen, who have borne a faithful testimony to the generation in which they lived. These sentinels gave the message of warning; and when they were called to lay off their armor, others took up the work. God brought these witnesses into covenant relation with Himself, uniting the church on earth with the church in heaven. He has sent forth His angels to minister to His church, and the gates of hell have not been able to prevail against His people.” The Acts of the Apostles, 11.

“The church is God’s fortress, His city of refuge, which He holds in a revolted world. Any betrayal of her sacred trust is treachery to Him who has bought her with the precious blood of His only begotten Son. All down through the history of the world, faithful souls have constituted the church on earth. . . .” Our High Calling, 172.

“The church is God’s fortress, his city of refuge, which he holds in a revolted world. Any betrayal of her sacred trust is treachery to him who has bought her with the precious blood of his only begotten Son. In the past, faithful souls have constituted the church on earth, and God has taken them into covenant relation with himself, uniting the church on earth with the church in heaven. He has sent forth his holy angels to minister to his church, and the gates of hell have not been able to prevail against it.” Review and Herald, December 4, 1900.

Other Uses of the Word Church

The word church is sometimes used in the Spirit of Prophecy to refer to all those who call themselves a church (those who profess Christ and certain doctrines) or to that which is recognized by men as “the church.” Of course, this church is not the true church, as can be determined by looking at the contexts. A few examples:

“In the seventeenth century thousands of pastors were expelled from their positions. The people were forbidden, on pain of heavy fines, imprisonment, and banishment, to attend any religious meetings except such as were sanctioned by the church. Those faithful souls who could not refrain from gathering to worship God were compelled to meet in dark alleys, in obscure garrets, and at some seasons in the woods at midnight. In the sheltering depths of the forest, a temple of God’s own building, those scattered and persecuted children of the Lord assembled to pour out their souls in prayer and praise. But despite all their precautions, many suffered for their faith. The jails were crowded. Families were broken up. Many were banished to foreign lands. Yet God was with His people, and persecution could not prevail to silence their testimony. Many were driven across the ocean to America and here laid the foundations of civil and religious liberty which have been the bulwark and glory of this country.” The Great Controversy, 252.

“Even the church, which should be the pillar and ground of the truth, is found encouraging the selfish love of pleasure. When money is to be raised for religious purposes, to what means do many churches resort? To bazaars, suppers, fancy fairs, even to lotteries, and like devices. Often the place set apart for God’s worship is desecrated by feasting and drinking, buying, selling, and merrymaking.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 54.

“See Martin Luther withstanding that mighty church which is the masterpiece of the world’s wisdom. See him holding fast God’s word against emperor and pope, declaring, ‘Here I take my stand; I can not do otherwise. God be my help.’ ” Ibid., 78.

“The church has gone over to the world in transgression of the law, when the world should have come over to the church in obedience to the law. Daily the church is being converted to the world.” Ibid., 315, 316.

All Who Profess Not True Church

When we study the Spirit of Prophecy, we find that not all those who profess to be the church are actually part of the true church. A few statements will verify this:

“The professed church of Christ is full of the spurious article, and one distinct feature of it is, the more one drinks into the spirit of popular sanctification, the less he prizes the present truth. Many of those who are the open opponents of God’s Sabbath, the third angel’s message, and the health reform, are among the sanctified ones. Some of them have even reached the almost hopeless position that they cannot sin. These, of course, have no further use for the Lord’s prayer, which teaches us to pray that our sins may be forgiven, and but very little use for the Bible, as they profess to be led by the Spirit.” Review and Herald, June 6, 1878.

“The professed church of Christ has wandered from her privilege, her duty, and her God. Like ancient Israel, she has forsaken the covenant, and joined herself in harmony with the world. Pride, luxury, and pleasure are invited into the sanctuary, and her holy places are defiled. Those who have pledged their allegiance to God, enjoy the company and spirit of his avowed enemies. Their choice determines their character. Strong is the Lord God who judgeth them.” The Signs of the Times, October 4, 1883.

“The professed church of God may be possessed of wealth, education, and knowledge of doctrine, and may say by her attitude, ‘I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing’ [Revelation 3:17]; but if its members are devoid of inward holiness, they cannot be the light of the world. The church is to reflect light into the moral darkness of the world, as the stars reflect light into the darkness of the night. These who have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof, do not reflect light into the world, and will not have power to reach the hearts of the unsaved. Without vital connection with Christ the value of truth cannot be made to appear in good fruit in the world; but if Christ is formed within, the hope of glory, his saving grace will be manifested in sympathy and love for perishing souls.” Ibid., September 11, 1893.

“The Lord hath a controversy with his people, and, although in his great mercy he bear long with them, yet if they persist in living in transgression of his law, they will not stand in the day of his rebuke. He has seen the backsliding and iniquity of his professed people. He has noted the unbelief, the hypocrisy, the pride, the selfishness, the disobedience to his law, and he will punish for these things. God cannot be in harmony with the people who will not obey his commandments who are wickedly departing from his precepts and by their example of disobedience at leading their children and their neighbor in the way of transgression. The professed church of Christ is strengthening the hand of sinners in their evil work by making void through their traditions, the commandment of Jehovah.” Ibid., March 12, 1894.

“Through paganism, and then through the Papacy, Satan exerted his power for many centuries in an effort to blot from the earth God’s faithful witnesses. Pagans and papists were actuated by the same dragon spirit. They differed only in that the Papacy, making a pretense of serving God, was the more dangerous and cruel foe. Through the agency of Romanism, Satan took the world captive. The professed church of God was swept into the ranks of this delusion, and for more than a thousand years the people of God suffered under the dragon’s ire. And when the Papacy, robbed of its strength, was forced to desist from persecution, John beheld a new power coming up to echo the dragon’s voice, and carry forward the same cruel and blasphemous work. This power, the last that is to wage war against the church and the law of God, was symbolized by a beast with lamblike horns. The beasts preceding it had risen from the sea, but this came up out of the earth, representing the peaceful rise of the nation which is symbolized. The ‘two horns like a lamb’ [Revelation 13:11] well represent the character of the United States Government, as expressed in its two fundamental principles, Republicanism and Protestantism. These principles are the secret of our power and prosperity as a nation. Those who first found an asylum on the shores of America rejoiced that they had reached a country free from the arrogant claims of popery and the tyranny of kingly rule. They determined to establish a government upon the broad foundation of civil and religious liberty.” Ibid., November 1, 1899.

“Notwithstanding all the persecution of the saints, living witnesses for God’s truth were raised up on every hand. Angels of the Lord were doing the work committed to their trust. They were searching in the darkest places and selecting out of the darkness men who were honest in heart. These were all buried up in error, yet God called them, as He did Saul, to be chosen vessels to bear His truth and raise their voices against the sins of His professed people. Angels of God moved upon the hearts of Martin Luther, Melanchthon, and others in different places, and caused them to thirst for the living testimony of the Word of God. The enemy had come in like a flood, and the standard must be raised against him. Luther was the one chosen to breast the storm, stand up against the ire of a fallen church, and strengthen the few who were faithful to their holy profession. He was ever fearful of offending God. He tried through works to obtain His favor, but was not satisfied until a gleam of light from heaven drove the darkness from his mind and led him to trust, not in works, but in the merits of the blood of Christ. He could then come to God for himself, not through popes or confessors, but through Jesus Christ alone.” Early Writings, 222, 223.

“When the professed people of God are uniting with the world, living as they live, and joining with them in forbidden pleasures; when the luxury of the world becomes the luxury of the church; when the marriage bells are chiming, and all are looking forward to many years of worldly prosperity—then, suddenly as the lightning flashes from the heavens, will come the end of their bright visions and delusive hopes.” The Great Controversy, 338.

“There is the same dislike of reproof and correction among the professed people of God to-day as in the days of our Saviour. There is the same disposition to lean toward the world and to follow its mocking shadows. The presence of ambitious, selfish, time-serving members is imperiling the church, whose greatest danger is from worldly conformity. Such members are constantly exerting an influence to unite the church more closely with the world. They are doing the work of Satan. When God sends his servants with words of warning or counsel, these traitors to their holy trust reject the Heaven-sent message, and thus not only slight the grace of Christ themselves, but lead others also to smother their convictions and lose the proffered blessing.” Sketches from the Life of Paul, 233.

“The true people of God, who have the spirit of the work of the Lord and the salvation of souls at heart, will ever view sin in its real, sinful character. They will always be on the side of faithful and plain dealing with sins which easily beset the people of God. Especially in the closing work for the church, in the sealing time of the one hundred and forty-four thousand who are to stand without fault before the throne of God, will they feel most deeply the wrongs of God’s professed people. This is forcibly set forth by the prophet’s illustration of the last work under the figure of the men each having a slaughter weapon in his hand. One man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer’s inkhorn by his side. ‘And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.’ [Ezekiel 9:4.]

“Who are standing in the counsel of God at this time? Is it those who virtually excuse wrongs among the professed people of God and who murmur in their hearts, if not openly, against those who would reprove sin? Is it those who take their stand against them and sympathize with those who commit wrong? No, indeed! Unless they repent, and leave the work of Satan in oppressing those who have the burden of the work and in holding up the hands of sinners in Zion, they will never receive the mark of God’s sealing approval. They will fall in the general destruction of the wicked, represented by the work of the five men bearing slaughter weapons. Mark this point with care: Those who receive the pure mark of truth, wrought in them by the power of the Holy Ghost, represented by a mark by the man in linen, are those ‘that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done’ in the church. Their love for purity and the honor and glory of God is such, and they have so clear a view of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, that they are represented as being in agony, even sighing and crying. Read the ninth chapter of Ezekiel.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 266, 267.

“Says the prophet, ‘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.’ [Revelation 12:17.] We can see from this scripture that it is not the true church of God that makes war with those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. It is the people who make void the law, who place themselves on the side of the dragon, and persecute those who vindicate God’s precepts.” The Signs of the Times, April 22, 1889.

Church Triumphant

Unfortunately, the vast majority of those who consider themselves Seventh-day Adventists will never be a part of the church triumphant.

“We are living in a most solemn time. In the last vision given me [Ellen White], I was shown the startling fact that but a small portion of those who now profess the truth will be sanctified by it and be saved. Many will get above the simplicity of the work. They will conform to the world, cherish idols, and become spiritually dead. The humble, self-sacrificing followers of Jesus will pass on to perfection, leaving behind the indifferent and lovers of the world.

“I was pointed back to ancient Israel. But two of the adults of the vast army that left Egypt entered the land of Canaan. Their dead bodies were strewn in the wilderness because of their transgressions. Modern Israel are in greater danger of forgetting God and being led into idolatry than were His ancient people. Many idols are worshiped, even by professed Sabbathkeepers. God especially charged His ancient people to guard against idolatry, for if they should be led away from serving the living God, His curse would rest upon them, while if they would love Him with all their heart, with all their soul, and with all their might, He would abundantly bless them in basket and in store, and would remove sickness from the midst of them.

“A blessing or a curse is now before the people of God—a blessing if they come out from the world and are separate, and walk in the path of humble obedience; and a curse if they unite with the idolatrous, who trample upon the high claims of heaven. The sins and iniquities of rebellious Israel are recorded and the picture presented before us as a warning that if we imitate their example of transgression and depart from God we shall fall as surely as did they. ‘Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.’ [1 Corinthians 10:11.]” Testimonies, vol. 1, 608, 609.

Part of God’s Family

As we draw near the end, there are going to be great shifts—many whom we have thought were in the church will prove that, although they were in the church by profession, they were never really a part of it—they were just “pretended believers,” actually only “false brethren.” (Christ’s Object Lessons, 72.)

If you have been baptized, if you are a member of the church because of your profession of faith, you need to consider whether you are really part of the family of God or whether your experience is only one of profession. Remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ are not His. (Romans 8:9.)

“There are two kinds of connection between the branches and the vine stock. One is visible, but superficial. The other is invisible and vital. So there is an apparent union, a membership with the church, and a profession of religion, which, though in itself good, is too often unaccompanied by saving faith in Jesus or living obedience to the commandments of God. The branches that are connected with Christ, the living vine, will make it manifest by bearing much fruit in good works to the glory of God. But the branches which have nothing but an apparent union, will be fruitless. As the branch cannot possibly bring forth fruit without a vital connection with the parent stock, so the Christian can be fruitful in good works only as union with Christ is made and preserved. The ruin of those who are not connected with Christ, is as complete as though they had no name to live; for they are dead. Christ compares them to lifeless branches that are gathered and burned in the fire.” The Signs of the Times, July 27, 1888.

The Church as We Draw Near the End

“All society is ranging into two great classes, the obedient and the disobedient. Among which class shall we be found?

“Those who keep God’s commandments, those who live not by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, compose the church of the living God. Those who choose to follow antichrist are subjects of the great apostate. Ranged under the banner of Satan, they break God’s law and lead others to break it. They endeavor so to frame the laws of nations that men shall show their loyalty to earthly governments by trampling upon the laws of God’s kingdom.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 949.

“God has a church. It is not the great cathedral, neither is it the national establishment, neither is it the various denominations; it is the people who love God and keep His commandments. ‘Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them’ (Matthew 18:20). Where Christ is even among the humble few, this is Christ’s church, for the presence of the High and Holy One who inhabiteth eternity can alone constitute a church.

“Where two or three are present who love and obey the commandments of God, Jesus there presides, let it be in the desolate place of the earth, in the wilderness, in the city enclosed in prison walls. The glory of God has penetrated the prison walls, flooding with glorious beams of heavenly light the darkest dungeon. His saints may suffer, but their sufferings will, like the apostles of old, spread their faith and win souls to Christ and glorify His holy name. The bitterest opposition expressed by those who hate God’s great moral standard of righteousness should not and will not shake the steadfast soul who trusts fully in God. . . .

“They that will be doers of the word are building securely, and the tempest and storm of persecution will not shake their foundation, because their souls are rooted to the eternal Rock.—Letter 108, October 28, 1886.” The Upward Look, 315.

[All emphasis supplied unless otherwise noted.]

Jerry Stewart is a Bible Worker at Steps to Life.

Commitment to God’s Church

by

Week of Prayer for Sabbath

Many times, at Steps to Life and the Prairie Meadows Church, we receive telephone calls and letters questioning us as to why we are an independent church of Sabbath-keeping believers, not connected with the local conference, the union conference, or the General Conference structure of Seventh-day Adventists. While this is too extensive a question to be answered in one article, a few questions and answers will be given that, hopefully, will stimulate God’s people to think through their position relative to the coming of Christ.

Babylon

In an effort to avoid misunderstandings, it should be stated that we have not in the past called, nor are we at the present calling, the Seventh-day Adventist Church Babylon. In LandMarks magazine, the writer has published articles titled, “The Black and White Christian” [September and October 2005]. A large percentage of Catholics and Protestants, including Seventh-day Adventists, are black and white Christians. So many people say, “Either the church must be Zion or it must be Babylon; there are only two sides in the Great Controversy, so it must be one or the other.” They see that the church is in apostasy, which is a cardinal characteristic of Babylon, so they conclude that it is Babylon.

Most of the people we know who call the Seventh-day Adventist Church Babylon do so, in large part, because they see apostasy in the church at all levels. If we refuse to call the church Babylon, then these people conclude that it must be Zion—God’s church, and everyone should belong to it and work through the problems associated with it. However, in real life, a situation can be more complicated than just a simple yes or no.

Previous Independent Workers

Before addressing directly the situation of the present day, it is fair to ask the question, Are there instances in the Holy Scriptures or in the writings of Ellen White where individuals or groups of people did not work within the church structure of their day and yet were being led by God to do a work for Him? Many examples should immediately come to mind for any serious Bible student.

Jethro

First of all, there was Jethro. Jethro was Moses’ father-in-law, and he gave advice to Moses concerning church organization. Yet, Jethro was not a member of the children of Israel and refused to become one when Moses extended an invitation to him. Ellen White says, “When Moses was much burdened the Lord raised him up in Jethro an advisor and helper.” Christian Leadership, 55. Obviously, Jethro was being led by the Lord, but, as far as we can tell, he was never a member of the children of Israel. He was a priest and a prince but separate from the children of Israel, as far as membership was concerned. “Jethro was singled out from the darkness of the Gentile world to reveal the principles of heaven. God has ever had appointed agencies, and has ever given abundant evidences that these agencies were heaven-appointed and heaven-sent (Letter 190, 1905).” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 1, 1099.

Jethro did not understand all things, but he was spiritually in advance of Moses when Moses fled from Pharoah. He helped Moses to develop a more correct faith: “All the idolatrous rubbish of heathen lore must be removed, bit by bit, item by item, from Moses’ mind. Jethro helped him in many things to a correct faith, as far as he himself understood. He was working upward toward the light, when he could see God in singleness of heart. . . .” This Day With God, 321.

“And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses’ father in law, We are journeying unto the place of which the Lord said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel. And he said unto him, I will not go; but I will depart to mine own land, and to my kindred. And he said, Leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes. And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness the Lord shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee.” Numbers 10:29–32.

Eventually, at least some of the descendants of Jethro lived among the children of Israel, and the wife of one of these descendants killed Sisera. (See Judges 4.)

Elijah

A second example is Elijah. The church organization was in apostasy and had been taken over by the woman Jezebel. The times of Elijah are very instructive for people who are confused by the arguments of those who believe that all people must belong to the organization of “God’s church.”

Had God by divine arrangement denominated the children of Israel as His special people? Yes, God had done this very thing.

Were the children of Israel called by a divinely appointed name, and were they God’s chosen people? Yes, they were.

Had their church been organized by divine appointment, and, therefore, was it God’s chosen and organized church? Yes, it was.

Then why did Elijah not cooperate by being obedient and submissive to the church organization? Because the leadership had decided to fight and destroy God’s people and to go contrary to the historic truths of the organization. Therefore, it could not be said any longer that the leadership had divinely constituted authority. They were no longer to be followed. In fact, if you followed the authority of the church leadership, you would be separated from God. The authority of the church organization was not duly authorized by God and did not constitute divinely authorized leadership, because they had decided to follow the practices of the world around them instead of the Word of God.

This is a key point that many people fail to understand. It is only the words and writings of prophets and apostles that give any church organization (including the Seventh-day Adventist Church) divine authority. As soon as a church organization makes decisions that are not in harmony with the Word of God or the writings of prophets, then that church organization no longer has any divine authority. This is true even if the decision is made in a conference session with delegates from all over the world. If the reader would like an example of a decision directly contrary to inspired writings, examine the decision concerning marriage and divorce made at the General Conference session in the year 2000.

There were believers in Elijah’s day who did not submit to or obey the church organization or have any part of it at all—at least 7,000 of them. These people would, today, be thought of as offshoots. They were the ones meeting in home churches and refusing to be a part of the general apostasy. Elijah was accused of being the troubler of Israel. He was saying many things against the church organization, and since he was separate from the church organization, he was no doubt accused of being a separationist. It is never wrong to be separate from apostasy.

Elijah could have been accused of starting a new movement, a new church, a new organization—the same accusations that are leveled at those in independent churches today. But the truth of the matter is that Elijah was being loyal and faithful to the movement that God had originally established, just as we are trying to do today.

The big question that needs to be answered is not to what organization are you loyal, but are you loyal and faithful in practice to the inspired writings? If not, then whether you are a physician, a lawyer, a judge, a minister, or whatever you may be, you are not really being loyal and faithful, even if you are a member in good and regular standing in a church organization. We are headed for the final judgment, and the question is going to be whether or not we were obedient to the Law of God.

Elijah could be accused of pulling apart from God’s organization, and, like today, people probably said that this was not a good sign. Elijah would have responded that the organization had pulled apart from the truth, and he was staying with the truths that had been vouchsafed to God’s people. Elijah could be accused of separating from the organized body.

The experience of the true and faithful in Elijah’s time is very similar to the experience of the true and faithful today. They were unknown. They were, to human sight, unauthorized to be organized in their little groups in caves and other out-of-the-way places. They were, however, recognized in heaven and written down in God’s book as the people who would not in any way participate in the apostasy, not even so much as by a kiss.

New Testament Examples

Other examples from the Old Testament could be given, but it is in the New Testament where we see God calling and using people independent of the organization, of the chosen people of God. This does not mean that the organization is Babylon. It does mean that we need to rise above the level of black and white Christians. We must perceive that God has many ways to perfect His plans, and some of them may be contrary to what humans believe is the only right way to do things.

John the Baptist

John the Baptist worked entirely independent of the church organization of God’s chosen people. He said, “The ax is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” Matthew 3:10. “Not by its name, but by its fruit, is the value of a tree determined. If the fruit is worthless, the name cannot save the tree from destruction. John declared to the Jews that their standing before God was to be decided by their character and life. Profession was worthless. If their life and character were not in harmony with God’s law, they were not His people.” The Desire of Ages, 107.

“To a people in whose hearts His law is written, the favor of God is assured. They are one with Him. But the Jews had separated themselves from God. Because of their sins they were suffering under His judgments. This was the cause of their bondage to a heathen nation. Their minds were darkened by transgression, and because in times past the Lord had shown them so great favor, they excused their sins. They flattered themselves that they were better than other men, and entitled to His blessings.

“These things ‘are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.’ 1 Corinthians 10:11. How often we misinterpret God’s blessings, and flatter ourselves that we are favored on account of some goodness in us! God cannot do for us that which He longs to do. His gifts are used to increase our self-satisfaction, and to harden our hearts in unbelief and sin.

“John declared to the teachers of Israel that their pride, selfishness, and cruelty showed them to be a generation of vipers, a deadly curse to the people, rather than the children of just and obedient Abraham. In view of the light they had received from God, they were even worse than the heathen, to whom they felt so much superior. They had forgotten the rock whence they were hewn, and the hole of the pit from which they had been digged. God was not dependent upon them for the fulfilling of His purpose. As He had called Abraham out from a heathen people, so He could call others to His service. Their hearts might now appear as lifeless as the stones of the desert, but His Spirit could quicken them to do His will, and receive the fulfillment of His promise.” Ibid., 106, 107.

Would to God that we all could learn the lesson. God is not dependent on the historic Adventists or the home churches or the Adventists in conference churches. He is not dependent on our organizations or institutions to finish His work. He can finish His work through others: “We have a great work to do in our world. If ministers and doctors will work in God’s lines, He will work with them. But they must change, decidedly change, in spirit and character. They must remember that they are not the only ones to whom the Lord will give wisdom. If His people will not follow in His way, the Lord will employ heathen princes to do His will. . . .” Notebook Leaflets from the Elmshaven Library, vol. 1, 62.

The Lord

We will pass over the example we have in the life of our Lord Himself. He took a position independent of the church organization of God’s chosen people, and remember that this was before probation had closed on the Jews as a nation. Some people say that, until probation closes on a church, all should remain in it and work under its authority, forgetting the example of our Lord who said, concerning the leaders of God’s chosen people, that they were blind leaders of the blind. (Matthew 15:14.) He cautioned His children for all future ages that if they followed those who were blind, they, as well as the leaders, would fall into the ditch. He said to let them alone. There is a time when the only safe thing to do is to be separate from those who will lead you into the ditch if you follow them.

“While they had been with Him, the disciples had often been perplexed by the teaching of the priests and Pharisees, but they had brought their perplexities to Jesus. He had set before them the truths of Scripture in contrast with tradition. Thus He had strengthened their confidence in God’s word, and in a great measure had set them free from their fear of the rabbis and their bondage to tradition.” The Desire of Ages, 349.

“Since the healing at Bethesda He had not attended the national gatherings. To avoid useless conflict with the leaders at Jerusalem, He had restricted His labors to Galilee. His apparent neglect of the great religious assemblies, and the enmity manifested toward Him by the priests and rabbis, were a cause of perplexity to the people about Him, and even to His own disciples and His kindred. In His teachings He had dwelt upon the blessings of obedience to the law of God, and yet He Himself seemed to be indifferent to the service which had been divinely established. His mingling with publicans and others of ill repute, His disregard of the rabbinical observances, and the freedom with which He set aside the traditional requirements concerning the Sabbath, all seeming to place Him in antagonism to the religious authorities, excited much questioning. His brothers thought it a mistake for Him to alienate the great and learned men of the nation. They felt that these men must be in the right, and that Jesus was at fault in placing Himself in antagonism to them.” Ibid., 450.

“It was most difficult for the disciples of Christ to keep His lessons distinct from the traditions and maxims of the rabbis, the scribes, and pharisees. The teachings which the disciples had been educated to respect as the voice of God held a power over their minds and molded their sentiments. The disciples could not be a living and shining light until they were freed from the influence of the sayings and commandments of men, and the words of Christ were deeply impressed upon their minds and hearts as distinct truths, as precious jewels, to be appreciated, loved, and acted upon.” Ye Shall Receive Power, 39.

The Apostle Paul

We will also pass over the example of the apostle Paul. Although he was raising up churches all over the Roman Empire, much of his work was done entirely independently of the church organization in Jerusalem. His imprisonment and martyrdom were the result of opposition and unbelief by the church structure, which included some of the apostles. (See Sketches from the Life of Paul.)

Current Time

In our time, did God authorize, during the lifetime of Ellen White, any work and workers which were separate from the church structure and independent of the church structure? For a beginning, look up the expression “irregular lines” in the writings of Mrs. White.

When Madison College and Sanitarium were being started, Ellen White gave the following counsel: “It was quite a problem with Brethren Sutherland and Magan and their faithful associates as to how, with limited means, they were to adapt themselves to the work in Madison, Tennessee. They had many obstacles and difficulties to meet, some of which need never have come into the work.

“The reason these brethren were persuaded to purchase the place now occupied by the Madison school, was because special light was given to me that this place was well adapted for the educational work that was most needed there. It was presented to me that this was a place where an all-round education could be given advantageously to students who should come from the North and the South for instruction. In what has already been accomplished by the Madison school, the Lord is making it manifest that He is blessing the work carried forward there, and is leading the teachers who are associated together in bearing the burdens of the work.

“Many obstacles have been placed in the way of the pioneers at the Madison school of a nature to discourage them and drive them from the field. These obstacles were not placed there by the Lord. In some things the finite planning and devisings of men have worked counter to the work of God.

“Let us be careful, brethren, lest we counterwork and hinder the progress of others, and so delay the sending forth of the gospel message. This has been done, and this is why I am now compelled to speak so plainly. If proper aid had been given to the school enterprise at Madison, its work might now be in a far more advanced stage of development. The work at Madison has made slow advancement, and yet, in spite of the obstacles and hindrances, these workers have not failed nor become discouraged; and they have been enabled to accomplish a good work in the cause of God.

“The Lord does not set limits about His workers in some lines as men are wont to set. In their work, Brethren Magan and Sutherland have been hindered unnecessarily. Means have been withheld from them because in the organization and management of the Madison school, it was not placed under the control of the conference. But the reasons why this school was not owned and controlled by the conference have not been duly considered.

“The lack of interest in this work, by some who should have valued it highly, is decidedly wrong. Our brethren must guard themselves against the repetition of such experiences.

“The Lord does not require that the educational work at Madison shall be changed all about before it can receive the hearty support of our people. The work that has been done there is approved of God, and He forbids that this line of work shall be broken up. The Lord will continue to bless and sustain the workers so long as they follow His counsel.

“Brethren Sutherland and Magan are as verily set to do the work of the Lord at Madison as other workers are appointed to do their part in the cause of present truth. The light given me is that we should help these brethren and their associates, who have worked beyond their strength, under great disadvantages. Let us seek to understand the situation, and see that justice and mercy are not forgotten in the distribution of funds.

“The leaders in the work of the Madison school are laborers together with God. More must be done in their behalf by their brethren. The Lord’s money is to sustain them in their labors. They have a right to share the means given to the cause. They should be given a proportionate share of the means that comes in for the furtherance of the cause.” Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 11, 30–32.

“The Lord has instructed me that, from the first, the work in Huntsville and Madison should have received adequate help. But instead of this help being rendered promptly there has been long delay. And in the matter of the Madison school, there has been a standing off from them because they were not under the ownership and control of some Conference. This is a question that should sometimes be considered, but it is not the Lord’s plan that means should be withheld from Madison, because they are not bound to the conference. The attitude which some of our brethren have assumed toward this enterprise shows that it is not wise for every working agency to be under the dictation of conference officers. There are some enterprises under certain conditions, that will produce better results if standing alone.

“When my advice was asked in reference to the Madison school, I said, Remain as you are. There is danger in binding every working agency under the dictation of the conference. The Lord did not design that this should be. The circumstances were such that the burden bearers in the Madison school could not bind up their work with the conference. I knew their situation, and when many of the leading men in our conferences ignored them, because they did not place their school under conference dictation, I was shown that they would not be helped by making themselves amenable to the conference. They had better remain as led by God, amenable to Him, to work out His plans. But this matter need not be blazed abroad.

“In their change from Berrien Springs, Brethren Sutherland and Magan made many sacrifices. The Lord counseled them where to go, and in their labors at Madison, they have worked far beyond their strength. But under the direction of the Lord they are capable of doing a good work. They will give to the students who come there an education altogether different than what has been given in Washington during the past years. They will not only labor to impart an education in book knowledge and manual work, but they will endeavor to teach the students to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God.

“These teachers should be regarded, not as men who have had no valuable experience, but as men who have in the past accomplished a great and good work, and who have suffered privations for the cause of God. They have not exacted their just dues. Had some of their brethren been better able to reason from cause to effect, there would be a different record. The restrictions by which their hands have been tied are not pleasing to the Lord. They might have had a sanitarium and suitable buildings, and they might have been years in advance of where they now are. I would say, Let justice now be done.

“The world is our field. God’s children who feel a burden for the work of the message are to be allowed to work where the Spirit directs them. Let not a forbidding power be exercised to restrict them in their work. Let God accomplish His work through the agencies that He chooses. A great mistake has been made in the exercise of human authority in God’s work, and I am bidden to proclaim the message: ‘Break every yoke, and let the oppressed go free.’ [Isaiah 58:6.] I am bidden to say to church members, ‘Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee’ (Isaiah 60:1).

“When the disciples returned from their first missionary tour, the Saviour asked them, ‘Lacked ye anything?’ And the answer was given, ‘Nay, Lord.’ [Luke 22:35.] The same power that supplied the needs of the first disciples will provide for the necessities of those who today go forth to labor earnestly to give the last gospel message to the world. O, why do men and women feel so little burden to take up the work that needs to be done? Angels of God are waiting to go forth with them in this work.

“In the restrictions that have been placed on some who desired to do a definite work, many have found an excuse why they should not engage in active missionary work. I am bidden to bear my testimony against unnecessary restrictions being laid on those who desire to act a part in the work of the Lord.

“In all their associations together, God desires His followers to guard their personal responsibility to Him, and their individual dependence upon Him. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith. No ruling power of man over man is to be exercised. We have as a people lost much time and means, because we have not followed closely the Lord’s plan for us. By carrying out their own devisings, men get in the way of the Lord, and close up the avenue by which He would reach those who need the blessings of the gospel.

“My brethren, stand out of the way of your fellow-beings. . . .

“In the day of final reckoning, the Lord will deal with each soul individually. . . .

“There are among our church members faithful souls who feel a burden for those who know not the truth for this time. But one will say to such, The conference will not support you if you go here or there. To such souls I would say, ‘Pray to God for guidance as to where you shall go; follow the directions of the Holy Spirit, and go, whether the conference will pay your expenses or not.’ ‘Go work today in My vineyard,’ Christ commands. [Matthew 21:38.] When you have done your work in one place, go to another. Angels of God will go with you, if you follow the leadings of the Spirit.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 8, 202–207.

“Some have entertained the idea that because the school at Madison is not owned by a conference organization, those who are in charge of the school should not be permitted to call upon our people for the means that is greatly needed to carry on their work. This idea needs to be corrected. In the distribution of the money that comes into the Lord’s treasury, you are entitled to a portion just as verily as are those connected with other needy enterprises that are carried forward in harmony with the Lord’s instruction.

“The Lord Jesus will one day call to account those who would so tie your hands that it is almost impossible for you to move in harmony with the Lord’s biddings. ‘The silver and the gold is mine, saith the Lord, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.’ [Haggai 2:8; Psalm 50:10.]

“You and your associates are not novices in educational work, and when you are in stress for means with which to advance the work, you are just as much entitled to ask for that which you need as are other men to present the necessities of the work in which they are engaged.

“You have in the past done much to bring means into circulation in the work of God. And you need not now feel troubled about accepting gifts and free-will offerings; for you will need them in the work of preparing young men and women to labor in the Lord’s vineyard. As you carry on this work in harmony with the Lord’s will, you are not to be kept on a constant strain to know how to secure the means you need in order to go forward. The Lord forbids the setting up of walls and bands around workers of experience who are faithfully acting their God-appointed part.

“Much precious time has been lost because man-made rules and restrictions have been sometimes placed above the plans and purposes of God. In the name of the Lord I appeal to our conference workers to strengthen and support and labor in harmony with our brethren at Madison, who are carrying forward a work that God has appointed them.” Spalding and Magan Collection, 411, 412.

“Well,” someone may say, “Sutherland and Magan started a school, a sanitarium, and a publishing ministry that were independent from the conference, but that was all right, because Ellen White endorsed it.” (Or would it be more fair and correct to say that she endorsed it because it was right—exactly what God wanted them to do at that time?) They continue, “But you are starting churches which are independent from the conference, and that is wrong and not endorsed by Ellen White.” We will look at independent or self-supporting churches in future articles.

Pastor John Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas.

[Editor’s Note: This topic is so important and extensive that it will be further addressed in additional articles in future LandMarks.]

The Seven Churches, Part XII: The Church of Laodicea

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Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.” Isaiah 58:12.

The Law of God is likened unto a wall in the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. In Isaiah, we are told that a part of the wall has been broken down. It has been broken down for a long time, for many generations. However, God says that there is going to come a group of people who will restore this wall. They are going to build it again, but with this promise comes a condition: “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, [From] doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight . . . .” Verse 13. In other words, do not be like the Jews who mournfully went about doing God’s will. Oh, no! The Sabbath is to be a joy and delight, because we are doing God’s work. Doing God’s work should be the most wonderful thing in the world.

Notice that it is God’s work we are to do on this day—not our own work. This is what Jesus did on the Sabbath. He healed the sick. He preached the gospel. He fellow-shipped. But He did not go out and build homes or buy clothes. So it is; we are to do God’s work on the Sabbath, not do our own ways, “Nor finding your own pleasure.” Verse 13. Would you say that “your own pleasure” would include sports of every kind? “Nor speaking [your own] words.” Ibid.

There is going to be a people who restore this great commemoration, which God established at creation. The seal, the sign, God says in Ezekiel 20:20, that we are His people, is going to be restored.

The church of Pergamos did not have the Bible. God told them that He would not hold them responsible for anything more than what they knew. Very few of them knew about the Sabbath. The Waldenses knew, and they kept the Sabbath, but the average child growing up in the average home at that time never, in his or her entire lifetime, heard about the Sabbath. They never saw a Bible. Did God hold them responsible for what they did not know? No! What a fair, just, and good God! How glad we should be that God does not hold people accountable for things they do not know or ever could know.

More is Less

We have the Bible. We have the opportunity to study it and to know what it says. Today, God’s gospel is being preached around the world. Today, He holds us accountable for more. This is the trouble with Laodicea. They have more; they know more, but they do not do more.

God says, to the church of Laodicea, “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.” Revelation 3:15. Is the charge against Laodicea that they are so sinful? That they are terribly, terribly bad? Does God say, “You murderers”? No. Does He charge, “You thieves”? No. Does He accuse, “You swear”? No. Does He proclaim that they are so terribly bad? No. He says that they are lukewarm, and this is worse than being terribly bad. You see, to make an appearance of being righteous without being converted is actually worse than being totally bad.

Someone may think, then, that they might as well go out and be bad. Well, this is true! If you are satisfied with just a lukewarm state, you might as well, but I do not want to be either terribly bad or lukewarm, because I will be lost either way, and I want to be saved. God is the True Witness. (Revelation 3:14.) You may have your own ideas; you may have intelligence; you may think you know so much, but God is the Creator, and He truly knows!

Faithful and True

Being lukewarm is worse than being totally bad. In my ignorance and human wisdom, I say, “God, how could this be? I would not want my children to be totally bad. I would much rather my children be lukewarm than totally bad. Spare my children from being totally bad in this drug-infested day and age, with homosexuality and all the other sins. No, no, let them at least be lukewarm and have a form of religion.” But God says, “No! I know more than you do. Remember, I am the Faithful and True Witness. I tell the truth. It is better to be totally bad than to be lukewarm.”

This should keep us from ever judging the drunkards on the street or any other people whom we might think are bad! We might be worse than they, if we only knew ourselves. God says, “I am the Faithful and True Witness.” When we give an appearance of righteousness without being converted, we deceive others and ourselves. The person staggering down the street drunk is not fooling anyone. He is who he is. He is showing everyone that he is drunk. Everyone can see it; everyone knows it. But the Christian who has an appearance of Christianity, without being totally converted, fools everyone.

Good on the Outside

This is what makes it so difficult for people to keep the Sabbath. They may observe a preacher who is not keeping the Sabbath—but he seems so great and so good, and he does so many wonderful things and preaches such good sermons. It makes it difficult for them to keep the Sabbath, because they look at this man who is making a profession of religion, and they see that he is not keeping the Sabbath. Of course, we cannot judge a person, but we are to be fruit inspectors. (Matthew 7:16, 20.)

Such situations make it difficult for some people; it fools them. The more some individuals do missionary work and other good things, without obeying God, the more they fool other people. And millions of people are being fooled today, not by the drunk on the side of the street, but by preachers who—on the outside—are living good, conscientious lives, but—on the inside—are not keeping the Ten Commandments. More than that, when we make an appearance of righteousness without having Jesus within, we allow Satan to come in and deceptively use us.

Control or Truth

This is the way the Jewish leaders were in the days of Jesus. Did they have an appearance of righteousness? Oh, did they ever! The people thought, when the leaders spoke, that it was the voice of God. They had degrees in religion, and they knew the Bible from A to Z. They knew all the rules and regulations, and never would they consider breaking a commandment. They knew it all; they acted it all on the outside, and they crucified Jesus.

In reading the account of Laodicea, I find a perfect description of the Pharisees in Jesus’ day. When I study about the Pharisees in Jesus’ day, I find a perfect illustration of the Laodiceans. In fact, Ellen White wrote: “The trials of the children of Israel, and their attitude just before the first coming of Christ, have been presented before me again and again to illustrate the position of the people of God in their experience before the second coming of Christ—how the enemy sought every occasion to take control of the minds of the Jews, and today he is seeking to blind the minds of God’s servants, that they may not be able to discern the precious truth.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 406.

As we consider the people of Jesus’ day, were they more interested in church control or in the truth? Oh, church control, for sure. What about when John the Baptist began his preaching? Did they search the Word, comparing Scripture with Scripture, to confirm what John the Baptist was saying? Did they tell him they were happy for the words he was speaking, or did they come to him and say, “John, who gave you the authority to preach? What degrees do you have? Who gave you the permission?” What did they do? Which way was it, the first or the second? It was the second. God was not pleased with that. May He save us from that experience.

Lukewarm or Bad

In Matthew 11:21, 22, we read about a lukewarm, Laodecian people in Jesus’ day. “Woe to you, Chora-zin! Woe to you, 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. But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.” The people of Chorazin and Bethsaida were Sabbath-keeping, tithe-paying Jews; today, many would call them Christians. Although they were not Christians, they professed to be God’s true people. They went to church every week, and history tells us that they even had church schools. They were highly educated. The people of Tyre and Sidon were noted for their idolatry; they worshipped idols. They were heathen in every sense of the word. In fact, the Old Testament tells us, in Ezekiel 28, that Satan was the king of Tyre. You cannot get much worse than that, can you?

What does God say? “Listen, you people who are reading the Bible in Chorazin and Bethsaida. You are worse than these devil-worshippers of Tyre and Sidon.” Is it worse to be lukewarm than to be totally bad?

Accountability

He goes on to say, “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.” Verses 23, 24.

Capernaum had a beautiful temple where people worshipped. Jesus preached there, in the beginning of His ministry. He cast out demons there. (Mark 1:21–26.) It was a great center of the Lord’s work in the area near Galilee. The people were faithful churchgoers. Some were involved in witnessing. You might say that they were actually better than some of the other Jews.

They had more light than did those in any other city, but they did not live up to their privileges. God held them accountable for more. Because they did not live up to their privileges, they came under the delusions and deceptions and control of Satan without even knowing it.

And God said, in verse 24, that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for the people of Capernaum in the Day of Judgment. The word Sodomite comes from the word Sodom. They were homosexuals, and God destroyed them with fire because of their abominable sin of homosexuality. Yet, He says that in the judgment it will be more tolerable for those terrible people who had become a whole nation of homosexuals in Sodom, than for those of Capernaum.

Is being lukewarm worse than being totally bad? It is the worst thing possible, because we deceive ourselves, and we deceive others. We come under the control of Satan just the same as if we were drinking alcohol or using illegal drugs.

Recognize Our Need

If we are not under God’s control, under whose control do we eventually come? If we come under Satan’s control while we are doing the outward works of religion, we are in the worst possible condition in which anyone could be, because we need to realize our need, so we do not fool others.

How can God help us? Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician.” He was talking to the Pharisees and Sadducees. Did these people have need of healing? Yes, they did, but they did not realize it. Those who think they are well do not realize they have any need, only “those who are sick. But go and learn what [this] means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” Matthew 9:12, 13.

Oh, I never want to get so good, in my own eyes, that I do not need Jesus, that I do not need repentance, that I do not need His message, that I get upset if someone brings to my attention something that I need to do or to change. I pray that God spares the church from ever reaching the place where they become upset if messages of warning and reproof are given to them.

Not Indispensable

God says, “Because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.” Revelation 3:16. There are only two churches that God warns of moving them out of the way, and they are the two churches that thought they could never be moved. One was the church of Ephesus, which was started by the apostles. They thought they could never be moved. But God says that we are not to fool ourselves; no one is indispensable.

The Jews thought they were indispensable. It is a most dangerous philosophy to come to the place where we think we—or whatever we are associated with—are indispensable. God is not dependent upon us.

This is the philosophy that led the Jews to crucify Jesus, because they figured that if they could put Him out of the way, God could not do away with them, because, eventually, what they did had to be right. This is rather mixed up reasoning, but they had the philosophy that if they really condemned and crucified someone, sooner or later it would be found to have been the right thing to do, because they were the true church and they could never be done away with. Who could question what they did?

What circular reasoning! But it is amazing how many people believe this way. The Catholic Church believed it for 2,000 years. In 1870, at the first Vatican Council, the Catholic Church declared themselves to be infallible. They proclaimed that they had never erred nor could they ever err. Holding that philosophy, you can burn people at the stake and, after having done it, accept the action as being right, because the church cannot err; it is a true church. So all you must do is have someone condemned and burned and that person is bad forever, because the church cannot make a mistake. Is this not strange reasoning?

It is my prayer that God will spare His church from any taint of this crooked kind of reasoning.

Bear Good Fruit

Many people today are asking, Is God dependent upon the Laodicean church to finish His work? God is going to have a people who go through. The last message is the final message God has to give to the earth. There is no other.

Matthew 3:9, 10 contains a message that shook up the Jewish nation. It is the same message that needs to shake up the church today. God intends for it to be given to the present day church. “Do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as [our] father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” Notice, it does not say, “every tree, except the last tree.” It says, “every tree,” period, “which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” There is one way for God’s last church, as presently organized, to go through, and that is to bear good fruit. There is no other way. There is one way for you, in your church, to go through to the end, and it is to bear good fruit.

The Elijah Message

This was, by the way, the Elijah message. It was the message Elijah brought to the children of Israel, and it was the message that John the Baptist repeated. We read, in Luke 1:17, that the message John the Baptist gave was the Elijah message: “He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” In Matthew 17:12, 13, Jesus recognized it as the Elijah message: “ ‘But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.’ Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.”

Do you know who else is going to give the Elijah message to the world? We learn, from Malachi 4:5, 6, that the Elijah message has to come to God’s last church. It says, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”

Last Day Elijah Message

This message must come again, right before the great and dreadful day of the Lord. I consider the following quotes to be from the Elijah prophet, brought to God’s last people, who, today, have so many privileges.

“A carnal security and ease in Zion prevail. Peace, peace, is sounded in her borders, when God has not spoken peace. They have forfeited the terms of peace; there is reason for an alarm to be sounded in all ‘my holy mountain.’ The sinners in Zion should be afraid, in a time when they do not expect it, sudden destruction will surely come upon all who are at ease.” Review and Herald, December 23, 1890.

Is there a condition? There are conditions, and Ellen White says that they have been forfeited.

“The Holy Spirit strives to make apparent the claims of God, but men pay heed only for a moment, and turn their minds to other things: Satan catches away the seeds of truth; the gracious influence of the Spirit of God is effectually resisted. Thus many are grieving away the Holy Spirit for the last time, and they know it not.” Ibid.

When the Holy Spirit was grieved away from the children of Israel for the last time, they did not know it. They went on sacrificing their sacrifices and going about their daily activities. They did not know their time of probation had come and gone.

“The words spoken by Christ of Jerusalem are, ‘Your house is left unto you desolate.’ [Matthew 23:38.] What anguish of soul did Jesus feel when all his appeals, his warnings and reproofs, were resisted! At the time he brought them home to the soul, impressions were made; but self-love, self-sufficiency, love of the world, came in and choked the good seed sown. Pride of heart prevented his hearers from humbling themselves before God, and confessing their sin in resisting his Holy Spirit, and reluctantly it left them. On the crest of Olivet, as he beheld the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace!’ [Luke 19:42.] Here he paused; he was loath to utter the irrevocable sentence. O that Jerusalem would repent! When the fast westering sun should pass out of sight, her day of mercy would be ended. Jesus closed his sentence, ‘But now they are hid from thine eyes.’ On another occasion he lamented the impenitence of the chosen city: ‘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! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.’ [Luke 13:34, 35.] The Lord forbid that this scene should now be repeated in the experience of God’s professed people! ‘My Spirit,’ he says, ‘shall not always strive with man.’ [Genesis 6:3.] The time will come when it must be said of the impenitent, ‘Ephraim is joined to his idols; let him alone.’ [Hosea 4:17.]

“Will the church see where she has fallen?” Ibid.

There Will Be a People

We need to read all of inspiration, not just the parts we want to read. God is no more dependent upon any human organization today than He was in the days of Jesus or than He was in the days of Ephesus. He says specifically in His counsel, “I will spew you, Laodicea, out of My mouth, unless you repent.”

Oh, yes, the message is going through, and there is a people going through. But we need to understand that God, if He needs to, will take people off the streets and make them His people, replacing every one who thinks they are His people. There is not a soul on this earth upon whom God is dependent! We are dependent upon Him. Oh, He loves us. He wants us to be saved more than anything else in the world. He died for us. He will do anything to help us be saved, but He is not dependent upon us. There is a difference.

Message to Laodicea

God will do anything to help us be saved, but unless we are converted, we will be lost, no matter what our profession. This is the message to Laodicea. The message to Laodicea is that the Laodiceans are in a lost condition. The trouble is, they think they are saved. It says, in Revelation 3:17–19, “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, [that] the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.”

Be Zealous and Repent

“ ‘Be zealous and repent,’ is the admonition of Jesus to the Laodicean church. There is something to repent of. Worldly-mindedness, selfishness, and covetousness have been eating out their spiritual life. . . .

“The gold of faith and love, the white raiment of a spotless character, and the eye-salve, or the power of clear discernment between good and evil,—all these we must obtain before we can hope to enter the kingdom of God. But these precious treasures will not drop upon us without some exertion on our part. We must buy,—we must be ‘zealous and repent’ of our lukewarm state. We must be awake to see our wrongs, to search for our sins, and to put them away from us.

“Those who have set their affections upon earthly treasures, have a work to do to overcome their love of the world. Many are not giving heed to the admonition of the True Witness. They desire the blessings which he offers, but do not seek them with earnestness proportionate to their value. While striving for the possessions of earth, what zeal and energy they manifest! What cool calculations they make! They plan and toil early and late, and sacrifice their ease and comfort to obtain a treasure that must soon pass away. A corresponding zeal on their part to obtain the gold, the white raiment, and the eye-salve, would place them in possession of these heavenly treasurers, and of everlasting life in the kingdom of God.

“Jesus is saying, ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.’ [Revelation 3:20.] But many have so much rubbish piled up at the door of the heart that they cannot admit Jesus. Some have difficulties between themselves and their brethren to remove; others have evil tempers, pride, covetousness; with others, love of the world bars the entrance. All this must be taken away, before they can open the door and welcome the Saviour in.

“How precious is the promise, ‘I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.’ Oh, the love, the wondrous love of God! After all our lukewarmness and sins he says, Return unto me, and I will return unto thee, and will heal all thy backslidings.” Review and Herald, September 4, 1883.

Oh, friend. Do not be one of those who is lukewarm. Be zealous and repent. You can overcome. Accept the way of escape, which Jesus died to make available for you, that you may overcome every fault, resist every temptation, and sit down at last with Him on His throne.

Pastor Marshall Grosboll, with his wife Lillian, founded Steps to Life. In July 1991, Pastor Marshall and his family met with tragedy as they were returning home from a camp meeting in Washington state, when the airplane he was piloting went down, killing all on board.

The Seal of Apostleship, Leaders Ordained of God

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While Christ is the minister in the sanctuary above, He is also, through His delegates, the minister of His church on earth. He speaks to the people through chosen men, and carries forward His work through them, as when in the days of His humiliation He moved visibly upon the earth. Although centuries have passed, the lapse of time has not changed His parting promise to His disciples: ‘Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ [Matthew 28:20.] From Christ’s ascension to the present day, men ordained of God, deriving their authority from Him, have become teachers of the faith. Christ, the True Shepherd, superintends His work through the instrumentality of these undershepherds. Thus the position of those who labor in word and doctrine becomes very important. In Christ’s stead they beseech the people to be reconciled to God.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 393.

“Paul [a minister who was not on the payroll of the church organization but, rather, was what would be called, today, a self-supporting minister or a minister working in pioneer evangelistic work] further disproved the accusations of his enemies, by showing that his position as an apostle of Christ had been acknowledged by the council at Jerusalem, and that in his labors among the Gentiles he had complied with the decisions of that council. Those who were seeking to destroy his influence, professed to acknowledge Peter, James, and John as pillars of the church. They were constantly extolling these apostles, and endeavoring to prove them superior to Paul in position and authority. But Paul showed that his enemies could not justify their course by a pretended regard for these apostles. While he honored them as faithful ministers of Christ, he showed that they had not attempted to instruct him, neither had they commissioned him to preach the gospel. They were convinced that God had called him to present the truth to the Gentiles, as he had designated Peter to go especially to the Jews. Hence they acknowledged before the council Paul’s divine commission, and received him as a fellow-laborer of equal position with themselves.

“It was not to exalt self, but to magnify the grace of God, that Paul thus presented to those who were denying his apostleship, proof that he was ‘not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles.’ [11 Corinthians 11:5.] Those who sought to belittle his calling and his work were fighting against Christ, whose grace and power were manifested through Paul. Hence the apostle felt that he was forced, by the opposition of his enemies, and even by the course of his brethren, to take a decided stand to maintain his position and authority.” Sketches from the Life of Paul, 193, 194.

“Men are deceived in thinking they are serving God when they are serving themselves and making the interest of the cause and work of God a secondary matter. Their hearts are not consecrated. The Lord takes no pleasure in the services of this class. From time to time, as the cause has progressed, He has in His providence designated men to fill positions at Battle Creek. These men could have filled important positions if they had consecrated themselves to God and devoted their energies to His work. These men of God’s selection needed the very discipline that a devotion to His work would give them. He would honor them by connecting them with Himself and giving them His Holy Spirit to qualify them for the responsibilities they were called to bear. They could not gain that breadth of experience and knowledge of the divine will unless they were in positions to bear burdens and responsibilities.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 468, 469.

“But what are the members of the church doing that they should be designated “laborers together with God”? 1 Corinthians 3:9. Where do we see travail of soul? Where do we see the members of the church absorbed in religious themes, self-surrendered to the will of God? Where do we see Christians feeling their responsibility to make the church prosperous, a wide-awake, light-giving people? Where are those who do not stint or measure their loving labor for the Master? Our Redeemer is to see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied; how is it with those who profess to be His followers? Will they be satisfied when they see the fruit of their labors?” Ibid., vol. 6, 423.

“O that this experience might be understood in all our ranks! Were children and parents converted, and did they but unite in using all their intrusted talents for the Master, and by using them double them, what a work might be done. Never was there a time in the history of the world when there was a more urgent demand for workers than at present. The seeds of truth are to be sown, and the reapers are to follow after to gather in the sheaves. If the members of all our churches did but have the love of Christ, and the love for souls which his indwelling presence would impart, they would be aggressive workers, and would lay aside their busy activities upon unimportant things, and would put out to interest their talents, and invest in that which would bring treasure throughout eternal ages. In the service of the Master, they would have increased strength and light. O then, why not study as to how you may reach souls who are out of the ark of safety? Let your work be proportionate to your advantages and privileges, and trade on the talents you have at your command, and you will have a living experience in the things of God. Some excuse themselves, saying they do not know how to do the kind of work that is called for in the missionary. You ought to have known how to do the work from the very beginning of your religious life. Will you be content to rest in ignorance and indifference? Will you venture to be a slothful servant to the end of the chapter? Or will you now seek most earnestly after God, and know what it is to eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of man, and become laborers together with God? ‘Ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.’ [1 Corinthians 3:9.] You must render an account to God as to how you build; for every provision has been made that you may be successful in your work. Will he who with his divine finger drew the boundaries of Judea, who designated the exact spot where the temple should stand, who wrought out designs for the Jewish church and for the service of the sanctuary, leave his people, his chosen people, who keep his commandments, to a chance experience, to accident, to stumble along in darkness? Shall those to whom he has committed most precious light, to whom he has intrusted the third angel’s message, have less of his providential leading than had his ancient people?” Review and Herald, February 21, 1893.

“The Lord has designated his people as ‘the light of the world,’ and to them he has committed the sacred trust of preaching the gospel in all the world. In order to do this, how great need there is of bringing our wants within the least possible scope, that we may give ourselves and our all for the fulfilling of our divine commission. We should all learn to economize in the use of means. God does not require that his people should deprive themselves of that which is really necessary for their health and comfort, but he does not approve of wantonness and extravagance and display. In no sense should we abuse the gifts of God; for we shall be called upon at the last day to give an account of our stewardship. Let us look at the precept and example of our divine Lord, regarding economy, and making the most of the blessing of heaven. When Jesus had worked a notable miracle, and had fed five thousand people, he said to his disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.’ [John 6:12.] This command had a double meaning; for it not only showed that every morsel of bread given through the miracle of Christ was sacred, but that those morsels, imparted to others, multiplied and extended the blessing to those who had need. From this circumstance we may learn a lesson in spiritual matters. As the bread was carefully saved to be given to others in need, so we should carefully treasure up all that God gives us, in order that it may be again imparted to those who have need.” Ibid., December 19, 1893.

“This large work and its sure results are plainly presented to me. I am so sorry that sensible men do not discern the trail of the serpent. I call it thus; for thus the Lord pronounces it. Wherein are those who are designated as departing from the faith and giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, departing from the faith which they have held sacred for the past fifty years? I leave that for the ones to answer who sustain those who develop such acuteness in their plans for spoiling and hindering the work of God.” Testimonies for the Church Containing Messages of Warning and Instruction to Seventh-day Adventists (1906), 61.

“Would that every minister might realize the sacredness of his office and the holiness of his work, and show the courage that Elijah showed! As divinely appointed messengers, ministers are in a position of awful responsibility. They are to ‘reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering.’ 11 Timothy 4:2. In Christ’s stead they are to labor as stewards of the mysteries of heaven, encouraging the obedient and warning the disobedient. With them worldly policy is to have no weight. Never are they to swerve from the path in which Jesus has bidden them walk. They are to go forward in faith, remembering that they are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. They are not to speak their own words, but words which One greater than the potentates of earth has bidden them speak. Their message is to be, ‘Thus saith the Lord.’ God calls for men like Elijah, Nathan, and John the Baptist—men who will bear His message with faithfulness, regardless of the consequences; men who will speak the truth bravely, though it call for the sacrifice of all they have.” Prophets and Kings, 142.

“A dignified looking personage, who had been repeatedly presented to me in my dreams as making one in our council meetings, and who seemed to have authority, was listening with the deepest interest to every word. He spoke with deliberation and with perfect assurance. ‘The whole world,’ he said, ‘is God’s great vineyard. The cities and villages constitute a part of that vineyard. These must be worked, and not passed by. Satan will try to interpose himself, so as to discourage the workers, and prevent them from giving the message of light and warning in the more important as well as in the more secluded places. Desperate efforts will be made to turn the people from the truth of God to falsehood. Angels of heaven are commissioned to work with the efforts of God’s appointed messengers. The preachers of the truth must encourage faith and hope, as did Christ, your Living Head. Keep humble and contrite in heart before God. Maintain an unwavering faith in the promises of God.’ ” Special Testimonies for Ministers and Workers, — No. 7 (1897), 3.

“If we are the Lord’s appointed messengers, we shall not spring up with new ideas and theories to contradict the message that God has given through His servants since 1844. At that time many sought the Lord with heart and soul and voice. The men whom God raised up were diligent searchers of the Scriptures. And those who today claim to have light, and who contradict the teaching of God’s ordained messengers, who were working under the Holy Spirit’s guidance, those who get up new theories, which remove the pillars of our faith, are not doing the will of God, but are bringing in fallacies of their own invention, which, if received, will cut the church away from the anchorage of truth, and set them drifting, drifting, to where they will receive any sophistries that may arise.—Manuscript 75, 1905, pp. 2, 3. (“Building the Waste Places,” May, 1905.)” Manuscript Releases, vol. 4, 247.

THE APPOINTED WATCHMEN

“You are at this time passing through a trying experience. Stand strongly linked with My appointed messengers, and let not any evil words prejudice your minds or be as seed sown in your hearts. Your strength now is not in keeping silent and allowing fables to be brought in and taught as truth. My word will go forth as a lamp that burneth. I will work through messengers who will not yoke up with Dr. Kellogg, who will not endorse his methods and plans, but who will reprove them. He has refused to wear My yoke, and unless he is converted I will separate from him and from those who sustain him in his self-exaltation.” Ibid., vol. 21, 175.

“From the beginning, faithful souls have constituted the church on earth. In every age the Lord has had His watchmen, who have borne a faithful testimony to the generation in which they lived. These sentinels gave the message of warning; and when they were called to lay off their armor, others took up the work. God brought these witnesses into covenant relation with Himself, uniting the church on earth with the church in heaven. He has sent forth His angels to minister to His church, and the gates of hell have not been able to prevail against His people.” The Acts of the Apostles, 11.

“The watchmen anciently placed upon the walls of Jerusalem and other cities, occupied a most responsible position. Upon their faithfulness depended the safety of all within those cities. When danger was apprehended, they were not to keep silent day nor night. Every few moments they were required to call to one another, to see if all were awake, and no harm had come to any. Sentinels were stationed upon some eminence overlooking the important posts to be guarded, and the cry of warning or of good cheer was sounded from them. This was borne from one to another, each repeating the words, till it went the entire rounds of the city.

“These watchmen represent the ministry, upon whose fidelity depends the salvation of souls. The stewards of the mysteries of God should stand as watchmen upon the walls of Zion; and if they see the sword coming, they should sound the note of warning. If they are sleepy sentinels, if their spiritual senses are so benumbed that they see and realize no danger, and the people perish, God will require their blood at the watchmen’s hands.” Gospel Workers (1892), 21.

“Sinful and worthless creatures though we are, through a vital connection with Christ we yet may be renewed in knowledge and true holiness, and thus reflect the glory and image of our Creator and Redeemer, and be qualified to care for His sheep and lambs. Not only have the sheep and lambs been dealt with in hardness, but even the shepherds themselves have been treated with reckless disregard. They have been spoken of in a way that shows that many in high and lower positions have little courtesy to give to God’s ordained ministers. The churches themselves have been educated in such a way that they have had too little respect for those who preach the Word of God, and who for years have given full proof of their ministry. But this way of dealing with the ministers and with the members of the family of God must be changed. The blessing of God cannot rest upon those who manifest little respect for the workers together with Him.” Review and Herald, October 24, 1893.

“These ordinances are regarded too much as a form, and not as a sacred thing to call to mind the Lord Jesus. Christ ordained them, and delegated His power to His ministers, who have the treasure in earthen vessels. They are to superintend these special appointments of the One who established them to continue to the close of time. It is on these, His own appointments, that He meets with and energizes His people by His personal presence. Notwithstanding that there may be hearts and hands that are unsanctified who will administer the ordinance, still Jesus is in the midst of His people to work on human hearts. All who keep before them, in the act of feet-washing, the humiliation of Christ, all who will keep their hearts humble, and keep in view the true tabernacle and service, which the Lord pitched and not man, will never fail to derive benefit from every discourse given, and spiritual strength from every communion. These ordinances are established for a purpose. Christ’s followers are to bear in mind the example of Christ in His humility. This ordinance is to encourage humility, but it should never be termed humiliating, in the sense of being degrading to humanity. It is to make tender our hearts toward one another.” Review and Herald, May 31, 1898.

“Jesus is the sinner’s friend, His heart is ever open, ever touched with human woe; He has all power, both in heaven and upon earth; but He respects the means which He has ordained for the enlightenment and salvation of men. He directs Saul to the church, thus acknowledging the power that He has invested in it as a channel of light to the world. It is Christ’s organized body upon the earth, and respect is required to be paid to His ordinances. In the case of Saul, Ananias represents Christ, and he also represents Christ’s ministers upon the earth who are appointed to act in Christ’s stead.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 433.

“Matters of grave import come up for settlement by the church. God’s ministers, ordained by Him as guides of His people, after doing their part are to submit the whole matter to the church, that there may be unity in the decision made.” Ibid., vol. 7, 263, 264.

“The ministers have their appointed work. The importance of the ministry is to be understood and appreciated. The preaching of the word is one of the means by which the Lord has ordained that his warning message shall be given to the people.” Australasian Union Conference Recorder, September 1, 1900.

“The gospel ministry is a high and sacred calling. Properly done, the work of the gospel minister will bring many souls into the fold. ‘All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth,’ Christ said. ‘Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.’ [Matthew 28:18, 19.] This commission is given to every ordained minister. The minister who is merely a speaker, who does not labor as Christ labored, putting his whole soul intelligently into the work, needs true conversion.” Review and Herald, October 6, 1904.

LOCAL CHURCH OFFICERS TO WORK WITH ORDAINED MINISTERS

“The forces for good among the lay members of the church cannot be developed and brought into proper working order without careful planning and systematic training. And as these workers are developed, they must be given the wise, helpful supervision of experienced leaders. They should not be left to struggle along alone, unaided. While it is true that the responsibility of leadership rests heavily upon the officers of the local churches, yet this responsibility is to be shared by the ordained ministers and by conference officers. Those in positions of trust in the General Conference and in union and local conferences cannot overlook their responsibility toward every church member, however humble may be the work in which he is engaged. All lines of service are to be bound together in one united whole.” Ibid., October 22, 1914.

“The ministers whom you condemn God has ordained to do a work for which He has not qualified you. Money cannot supply your deficiency. Your prejudices, preferences, dislikes, your sweeping condemnation of both the Healdsburg College and the Health Retreat, have been active influences in encouraging fault-finding, jealousy, evil surmising throughout all the churches. When your ideas and expectations are not met, you have talked out your dissatisfaction, but God has not prompted you in your independent spirit, in your accusation of His instrumentality. There can be no unity where such things exist. Confidence cannot live amid suspicion and evil surmisings.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 20, 97.

WARNINGS TO ORDAINED MINISTERS

“It is a truth which should make every one of us weep, that those living in these last days, upon whom the ends of the world are come, are far more guilty than was Belshazzar. This is possible in many ways. When men have taken upon themselves the vows of consecration, to devote all their powers to the sacred service of God; when they occupy the position of expositors of Bible truth, and have received the solemn charge; when God and angels are summoned as witnesses to the solemn dedication of soul, body, and spirit to God’s service—then shall these men who minister in a most holy office desecrate their God-given powers to unholy purposes? Shall the sacred vessel, whom God is to use for a high and holy work, be dragged from its lofty, controlling sphere to administer to debasing lust?” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 434.

CLARIFICATION OF THE MINISTER’S WORK

“The powers of every minister of the gospel should be employed to educate the believing churches to receive Christ by faith as their personal Saviour, to take Him into their very lives and make Him their Pattern, to learn of Jesus, believe in Jesus, and exalt Jesus. The minister should himself dwell on the character of Christ. He should ponder the truth, and meditate upon the mysteries of redemption, especially the mediatorial work of Christ for this time.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 187.

“Our churches are in need of those to minister in holy office who shall be men of honor, of piety, of purity; who shall be sanctified by the Spirit and by the word.” The Signs of the Times, February 2, 1882.

“Let your sanitariums be conducted by physicians and ministers who are in harmony with the light God has been giving to His people for the last half century. Place not men in positions of holy office who will not listen to God’s counsel concerning His way and His will. There are influences working mightily against the very work God requires to be done. The time has come when the Lord’s name is to be magnified in all your camp meetings. Every soul must now draw in even cords. Unbelief has taken possession of men who have been warned in regard to the seducing influence of Satan’s working and the methods of his work, yet who have taken no heed. They are of the party that will give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. Where is this party that will depart from the faith? Consider this. Do not place in charge of your important work or even of the less important enterprises, those who will lead minds away from the truth which is to decide the destiny of souls.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 21, 91.

“The work of the minister represented by the seven stars is a high and sacred work. When he entertains the idea that his work is comprehended in sermonizing, he overlooks, and is sure to neglect, the work devolving upon a shepherd of the flock. It is his work to have care, to oversee the flock, to so arrange the elements of the church that each may have something to do.” Review and Herald, May 31, 1887.

“The light that has been given me for the past fifteen years has been a representation of the great responsibility which is attached to the work of the ministry. The work of the minister should be regarded in a far higher light. It is the low estimate placed on this work that leaves our Conferences in such a weak, feeble condition. We can not afford this. Those ministers who place a low estimate on the work intrusted to them neither do justice to themselves or to the church. Just as long as our ministers fail to feel a sense of responsibility proportionate to the greatness of their work, there will be a deficiency in our Conferences.” The General Conference Bulletin, April 16, 1901.

“We do not want to lose sight of the peculiar sacredness of this mission of ministering in word and in doctrine to the people. It is the work of the minister to speak the words of truth to the people, solemn, sacred truth.” Review and Herald, February 22, 1887.

“The ceremony of the laying on of hands added no new grace or virtual qualification. It was an acknowledged form of designation to an appointed office and a recognition of one’s authority in that office. By it the seal of the church was set upon the work of God.” The Acts of the Apostles, 161, 162.

“The circumstances connected with the separation of Paul and Barnabas by the Holy Spirit to a definite line of service show clearly that the Lord works through appointed agencies in His organized church. . . . And now, when the divine commission given at that time was to be more fully carried out, the Holy Spirit, again bearing witness concerning Paul as a chosen vessel to bear the gospel to the Gentiles, laid upon the church the work of ordaining him and his fellow laborer. . . .

“God has made His church on the earth a channel of light, and through it He communicates His purposes and His will. He does not give to one of His servants an experience independent of and contrary to the experience of the church itself. Neither does He give one man a knowledge of His will for the entire church while the church—Christ’s body—is left in darkness. In His providence He places His servants in close connection with His church in order that they may have less confidence in themselves and greater confidence in others whom He is leading out to advance His work.

“There have ever been in the church those who are constantly inclined toward individual independence. They seem unable to realize that independence of spirit is liable to lead the human agent to have too much confidence in himself and to trust in his own judgment rather than to respect the counsel and highly esteem the judgment of his brethren, especially of those in the offices that God has appointed for the leadership of His people. God has invested His church with special authority and power which no one can be justified in disregarding and despising, for he who does this despises the voice of God.

“Those who are inclined to regard their individual judgment as supreme are in grave peril. It is Satan’s studied effort to separate such ones from those who are channels of light, through whom God has wrought to build up and extend His work in the earth. To neglect or despise those whom God has appointed to bear the responsibilities of leadership in connection with the advancement of the truth, is to reject the means that He has ordained for the help, encouragement, and strength of His people. For any worker in the Lord’s cause to pass these by, and to think that his light must come through no other channel than directly from God, is to place himself in a position where he is liable to be deceived by the enemy and overthrown. The Lord in His wisdom has arranged that by means of the close relationship that should be maintained by all believers, Christian shall be united to Christian and church to church. Thus the human instrumentality will be enabled to co-operate with the divine. Every agency will be subordinate to the Holy Spirit, and all the believers will be united in an organized and well-directed effort to give to the world the glad tidings of the grace of God.” Ibid., 162–164.

“Words were spoken by One of authority, and I will try to repeat in finite words the instruction given regarding the work to be done. The heavenly messenger said, The ministry is becoming greatly enfeebled because men are assuming the responsibility of preaching without gaining the needed preparation for this work.

“Those who give themselves to the ministry of the Word of God enter a most important work. The gospel ministry is a high and sacred calling. Properly done, the work of the gospel minister will add many souls to the fold. Many have made a mistake in receiving credentials. They will have to take up work to which they are better adapted than the preaching of the Word. They are being paid from the tithe, but their efforts are feeble, and they should not continue to be paid from the tithe. In many ways the ministry is losing its sacred character.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 17, 304, 305.

“It was at the ordination of the Twelve that the first step was taken in the organization of the church that after Christ’s departure was to carry on His work on the earth. Of this ordination the record says, ‘He goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto Him whom He would: and they came unto Him. And He ordained twelve, that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach.’ Mark 3:13, 14.” The Acts of the Apostles, 18.

“After choosing His disciples, Christ appointed them as His representatives, and gave them their ordination charge, their commission. They were to go forth as His witnesses, to declare what they had seen and heard of Him. Their office was the most important to which human beings had ever been called, and was second only to that of Christ Himself. They were to be workers together with God for the saving of the world.

“He who called the first disciples is still calling men to His service. And He is just as willing to manifest His power through us as through the first disciples. However imperfect and sinful we may be, the Lord holds out to us the offer of partnership with Him, of apprenticeship to Christ. He invites us to come under the divine instruction, that, uniting with Christ, we may work the works of God.” Pacific Union Recorder, December 4, 1902.

A LITTLE ADVENTIST HISTORY IN REGARD TO ORDINATION OF MINISTERS

“The resolution [Resolved, That we recommend to the churches in the State of Michigan to unite in one conference with the name of the Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists] was quickly adopted. Then the ministers and delegates from the churches were declared members of the Michigan Conference. Appropriate officers and a conference committee were elected. The chairman, Joseph Bates, and the clerk, Uriah Smith, were voted in as the officers for the current year, and the time for the first session was set for October 5 to 8, 1862. There was one more important question, and that was ‘ministers’ papers.’ Here is the action:

“Resolved, That our ministers’ papers consist of a certificate of ordination, also credentials to be signed by the chairman and clerk of the conference, which credentials shall be renewed annually.” White, Arthur L., Ellen G. White: The Early Years, Volume 1, 1827–1862, Review and Herald Publishing Association, Washington D.C., 1985, 455.

“The minutes of this conference session set forth some interesting items of business that Elder Sanborn brought from Illinois and Wisconsin, calling for the opinion of the conference:

“1. How shall we treat divorced marriages?

“2. Shall preachers from other denominations embracing the message preach and baptize among us, on the strength of their former ordination and standing as ministers?

“3. Shall young preachers, before being ordained, be allowed to baptize? . . .

“After satisfying themselves to the full intent of the first question—and ascertaining that what was involved was the accepting into church membership those couples comprised of individuals who had been divorced on grounds other than the violation of the seventh commandment, actions were taken as follows:

“1. Resolved, That the matter of divorced marriages be referred to the conference committee. [Diligent search fails to disclose any report on this perplexing item.]

“2. Resolved, That ministers of other denominations, embracing present truth, should give proof of being called to preach the message, and be ordained among us, before administering the ordinances.

“3. Resolved, That no person, young or old, should administer the ordinances before being ordained.” Ibid., 478, 479.

“1868: James White reported concerning their eastern tour:

‘We have, in this time [nearly three months], traveled by railroad 3,200 miles, and by private conveyance 600. Have held 140 meetings, and preached 60 times, and have spoken more or less in nearly all these meetings. Mrs. White has spoken from half an hour to two hours in more than 100 of these meetings. We have assisted in the ordination of four ministers, and the dedication of one house of worship. Have presided in the examination of 150 candidates for baptism, and have baptized 18. . . .’ ” White, The Progressive Years, Volume 2, 1862–1876, 220.

WAKE UP

“We are certainly living in the closing days of this earth’s history. We need to devote much time to our spiritual interests, if we would experience the spiritual growth that is essential in this age. We are to make decided reforms. The Voice said: The watchmen need to awake, and give the trumpet a certain sound. The morning cometh; and also the night. Wake up, My watchmen. Voices that should now be heard presenting the truth are silent. Souls are perishing in their sins, and ministers and physicians and teachers are asleep. Wake up the watchmen!” Pacific Union Recorder, February 20, 1908.

“The message of the third angel is to go forth with a loud voice. Wake up the watchmen; leave them not to settle back in their death-like slumber.” Review and Herald, July 23, 1908.

The Seven Churches, Part XI: The Church of Laodicea

by

“And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, [that] the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and rep ent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ ” Revelation 3:14–22.

The Last Church

In our study of the seven churches, we have come to the last church—Laodicea. God has some straight things to say to the Laodicean church! How wonderful it is to be living in the last days, right before Jesus comes! With the added privilege of living during this time, however, comes added responsibility. God holds us responsible for more than He does any other generation.

The message to Laodicea begins with, “I am Jesus, the Faithful and True witness.” The words, “I am Jesus,” are not actually given, but before the messages to the previous churches, Jesus is identified as the One speaking. The very first verse of Revelation says, “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you.”

Jesus wants us to know that what He is declaring in this message is true and accurate. It is not exaggerated; God neither overlooks nor does He exaggerate. It is a true account of the condition of God’s people in the last days. Of course, God’s account of each of the seven churches is faithful and true, but He felt the need to especially remind the last church of that fact. Because His counsel to it is so stern, He wanted to make sure that His people would not take it lightly.

Those Before

To bring everything into perspective, we will briefly review the first six churches. The first church, the church of Ephesus, was representative of the Christian churches during the apostolic era. They were faithful, diligent, and theologically correct, but they had lost their first love. They had that love once; the disciples had it at the time Jesus left, but they lost it before the church was through, and God had to remove their candlestick.

Ephesus, in some ways, was like Laodicea, although Laodicea is worse. Ephesus had left their first love. They were the church which thought they could never be moved, because they were the apostolic church. But God cautions not to think that we can never be removed, because He can remove our candlestick.

Ephesus was followed by the church of Smyrna, the persecuted church. Persecution brought back the love that Ephesus had lost. It weeded out those who had lost their first love. Smyrna is one of only two churches about which God had nothing bad to say; He had only good things to say about it. God is not all negative, by any means. He is a faithful and true witness. He does not call out only the evil deeds. The message that came from God for the church of Smyrna was only encouragement and nothing else. God said to that church, “You are doing well. You think that you are poor, because you have been stripped of earthly goods, but actually, you are rich. I am pleased with you. I am happy with what you are doing.” Would you like God to say that about you?

The church of Smyrna was just the opposite of the church of Laodicea. God had not one good thing to say about Laodicea. The church of Laodicea thought they were rich, but God said that they were poor. The church of Smyrna thought they were poor, but God said that they were rich.

144,000 Represented

Now, the church of Smyrna was like God’s people who come out of the church of Laodicea. It typified the 144,000. Persecution had refined and purified the church of Smyrna. The 144,000 will be refined and persecuted. “Then one of the elders answered, . . . ‘Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?’ . . . ‘These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’ ” Revelation 7:13, 14. Again, not one bad thing was said about them.

Remember the ten virgins, representing those, in the last days, who are waiting for Jesus to come? They thought they were all waiting for Jesus, but what were they really doing? They were sleeping. (Matthew 25.) However, some of them awakened, trimmed their lamps, and made ready for the Lamb. Those who had extra oil, who had been diligent Bible students, the Lord used.

In Revelation 14:5, it is written, “In their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.” This is how the Bible describes the 144,000 who come out of the church of Laodicea. These people will be of like character to those of the church of Smyrna that came out of the church of Ephesus. Oh, how wonderful it would be to have God say this about each one of us! If we are faithful, this can be said about us.

What is it that helps us to gain this experience? The trials and troubles that come our way help us to learn to look to the Lord and trust in Him. As we experience trials and troubles, just remember that God is getting us ready to be among the most privileged people who have ever lived. Only two people have ever gone out of this world alive, without dying first—Elijah and Enoch. But there will be saintly people alive, when Jesus returns, who will live forever. These people are approved of God, “for they are without fault before the throne of God.” This is God’s purpose and His will for each one of us.

Blessings to Perdition

The church of Pergamos followed the church of Smyrna. This church came about when Constantine, the emperor of Rome, declared himself to be a Christian. Then the church became very, very popular, but with popularity, the church became worldly.

What a shame it is that, when God gives us peace and ease and blessings, we, so many times, use these very blessings to our perdition. You would think that, when God gives us blessings, we would use them for our salvation. But too many times we use the very blessings God gives to us to forget Him and be lost. Have you ever known people, with lots of trials and troubles, who looked to God, prayed, became Christians, and found happiness? God took away their troubles, blessed them financially, blessed them with good health, but then, sometimes, they became so engrossed with their money, their pleasures, or their families, that they forgot all about God. It is not long until such people end up unhappy, like they were before, but too proud to repent to God.

Such people think they have too much going for them to spend time with and for the Lord. They do not need to follow Him; that is for the poor or the ugly or the weak. They can make it in the world, you see. What a shame that the very blessings God gives to us are sometimes used for our demise! That is what the children of Israel did.

God, speaking to Jeremiah, said, “I remember you, The kindness of your youth, The love of your betrothal, When you went after Me in the wilderness, In a land not sown. Israel [was] holiness to the Lord.” Jeremiah 2:2, 3. This was in the days when Israel was poor, living in tents.

Verse 6 continues, “Neither did they say, ‘Where [is] the Lord, Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, Who led us through the wilderness, Through a land of deserts and pits, Through a land of drought and the shadow of death, Through a land that no one crossed And where no one dwelt?’ ” When they were in Egypt, God said that they were holy, but when God brought them into a land flowing with milk and honey, a land of plenty and prosperity, what happened? They completely forgot Him.

“I brought you into a bountiful country, To eat its fruit and its goodness. But when you entered, you defiled My land And made My heritage an abomination. The priests did not say, ‘Where [is] the Lord?’ And those who handle the law did not know Me; The rulers also transgressed against Me.” Verses 7, 8.

Well, that is what happened to Pergamos. They became rich and prosperous, and God did not have much good to say about them.

The next church, Thyatira, was in existence during the Dark Ages. God did not hold those people as responsible as He did the others, we are told, in Revelation 2, because they did not have Bibles. The Bibles had been taken away. God just told them to hold fast to what they had. In that church, the papal leaders were likened to Jezebel.

Reformation

Then we come to the church of Sardis, the period of the reformation. Except for Laodicea, God has the least good to say about this church! We look back to this period as a great and wonderful time, but the Bible says, regarding that church, “You have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.” Revelation 3:1. The church of Sardis had some wonderful leaders, but the church did not follow them, so the reformation did not accomplish what God purposed. It fell short, and the beast’s wound was healed.

Second Reformation

This was followed by the second reformation—the age of Wesley, Whitefield, the Quakers, and others. During this time of the church of Philadelphia, many people fled to America to escape persecution.

There was some persecution in America’s beginning. Roger Williams had to flee to Rhode Island because of persecution. Nevertheless, for the most part, they did not have as much persecution as did the sixteenth-century reformers. Not one good church escaped persecution, but no church suffered as much persecution as the church of Sardis. Yet, even in comparative prosperity, which the church experienced, at times, the church of Sardis developed a character that God approved. I do not know of any other time in the Bible where that happened.

God had not one bad thing to say about them. This was a time of revival and reformation. When Wesley preached, 10,000, 15,000, 20,000 people came to hear him, especially in America, but in Eng-land too. The people would leave their jobs to listen to him speak. The same thing happened with Whitefield.

This was a time when the missionary societies were started, sending missionaries all over the world. The Bible societies were organized and began translating the Bible in all languages. People gave offerings—this is when serious mission offerings began. This is a time when prayer meetings and evangelistic meetings began. This was a time of Baptist lay preachers and Methodist circuit riders. So this takes us to the last church, the church of Laodicea. This is the church upon which God pours out His special blessings, because He is getting a church ready, a special people ready for the Second Coming.

A Church Ready

What are God’s requirements of His church when Jesus comes again? Ephesians 5:25, 26 says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word.” He has been going through a great washing process for 2,000 years with seven different churches. We are in the last church, the church of Laodicea, culminating with the 144,000.

We could almost say that the 144,000 are an eighth church, which comes out of Laodicea, but they certainly are not like Laodicea! God does not list the 144,000 as a church, however. The list of churches ends with Laodicea. Nevertheless, the Bible says there will be a remnant—a remnant out of Laodicea, a remnant out of the churches.

What is the church going to be like when God is done washing it, purifying it? We are told, in verse 27, “That He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” That is what God says about the 144,000.

The Greatest Work

This last church has the greatest work of history to do. This work is outlined in Revelation 14:6, 7. In verse 6, we read, “I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth . . . .” To whom are they to preach? “Every nation, tribe, tongue, and people”—Chinese, Africans, South Americans, Caucasians, Russians—to everyone.

The devil would like to close every avenue he can to keep the gospel from going throughout the world, but the Lord has allowed for many inventions to take place in these last days—things like radio, television, and mass publishing—that go right into areas that are “closed” to Christianity. Most people in countries such as Russia and China have shortwave radios, and many hear the gospel on them. God has people in those countries, people who are willing to risk their lives for the gospel.

Before the communist revolution in China, God helped the Seventh-day Adventist Church to become firmly established in China. All through that vast country, from Mongolia to Shanghai to Hong Kong, churches were firmly established for almost 50 years before the revolution. The church has continued, but not because of Americans or missionaries, because missionaries have not been allowed to enter China since 1947. Some of the missionaries who were there at that time went to jail for the next 30 years. Some of them died there.

The Chinese work continues, just as it does in Viet Nam and Cambodia, and all other countries, because God has faithful, national people there who are true to Him and who, at the risk of their lives, continue to hold worship services where they can preach the gospel.

The devil does everything he can to close up the work, but he cannot close out the gospel. And so, the Bible says, the gospel is to go “to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.’ ” Verses 6, 7.

God’s Requirements

God gives special blessings to the last church in order to fulfill this commission, in order to become holy, in order to give the gospel to the world. But with increased blessings come increased responsibilities. When God gives greater privileges, He requires more.

Jesus said, “That servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare [himself] or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many [stripes]. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.” Luke 12:47, 48.

This is why the church of Pergamos was told, “I do not require so much of you.” He required something; they had to overcome. Those who overcome will be saved. He also counseled to hold on to what you know, and to do what you know. This is why we should not question people, because we do not know how much light they have received. There may be people who are not nearly living up to the light we have, who are better Christians than we are! We cannot judge people. Some people say that their mother, their father, their grandmother, and their grandfather were good Christians, but these people did not do everything God requires them to do. Why not? Because God may not have required it of these forefathers.

We, however, are living closer to Jesus’ Second Coming than have our parents. We are living much closer than have our grandparents. Jesus did not come in their day. They were not among the 144,000. And so, today, God is requiring more, and He is giving more. We cannot go by what our fathers or our forefathers did.

More Required

God requires more of the last church. We look at the counsel to the last church, and we see that not one good thing is said. Someone may say, “My, this is a terrible church!” Well, if you compare it to some of the other churches, it is probably better than some, from a human perspective. But the others did not have as great privileges or as much knowledge.

Look at what the Lord has given to the last church. Revelation 3:14 says, “To the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness.’ ”

Two things are implied in “the Faithful and True Witness”:
(1) What God is going to say about Laodicea is correct and faithful and true. It is not exaggerated.
(2) Beyond this, God is renewing His witness, His testimony to the church in the last days.

In Revelation 12:17, we read: “The dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” The Greek word, loipoy, which is here translated as rest, also means remnant. This means “the last part,” which actually is implied in the Greek.

Testimony of Jesus

“The testimony of Jesus Christ,” the witness of Jesus, is rather a technical term in prophecy. We find, in Revelation 19:10, as well as in Revelation 22 and other places in the Bible, that the testimony of Jesus Christ is the Spirit or the gift of prophecy.

God promised different gifts to the church. In 1 Corinthians 12, various gifts of the Spirit are given. There is the spirit of discernment and the spirit of working miracles. The spirit of helpfulness is an interesting gift, which God talks about in Romans 12. There is the spirit of administration, which may not have been a miraculous gift, but it is a gift of ability which God gives people. There is a spirit of being able to speak in other languages. Then there is a spirit of prophecy. This spiritual gift is going to be renewed in the last days, we are told in Revelation. God says to this last church, I am “the Faithful and True Witness.” He renews His witness in the last days. God continues, “the Beginning of the creation of God.” Revelation 3:14.

In the Beginning

The beginning of the creation of God, as given in Genesis 1 and 2, is when the Sabbath was made. “So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God created and made.” Genesis 1:31–2:3. In fact, the Sabbath, as we are told in the fourth commandment, is the memorial of the creation: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day [is] the Sabbath of the Lord your God: . . . For [in] six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that [is] in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:8–11.

It is interesting that it does not just say to remember the Sabbath day, but to remember also that “the seventh day [is] the Sabbath,” and “to keep it holy.” God does not say, “Make a sabbath,” or “Keep one day a week.” He is as specific as He can be. It is the Sabbath, and “you shall do no work,” because in six days He created everything, and on the seventh day He rested from His works.

The Sabbath is the commemoration of the creation. It is what God has given to us to help us remember that He is the creator. Evolution is wrong, and all false religions are wrong. We cannot make up our own philosophy or religion or any- thing else. God is the creator. Everything here is created, and we are creatures.

If only people had kept the Sabbath and kept the meaning of the Sabbath, there would not be all the false religions we have today. The Sabbath teaches people about creation.

When more than in the last church do we need the teaching of the Sabbath? We have the teaching of the creation and the Creator and the memorial of creation, restored on earth. That is done by the seventh church, the church of Laodicea.

To be concluded . . .

Pastor Marshall Grosboll, with his wife Lillian, founded Steps to Life. In July 1991, Pastor Marshall and his family met with tragedy as they were returning home from a camp meeting in Washington state, when the airplane he was piloting went down, killing all on board.

The Seven Churches, Part X: The Church of Philadelphia

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The Bible says that we are not to bear any grudge. Why? Because God does not bear grudges, and we are to have the character of Jesus. This is what it means to be holy. We are to be holy, for God is holy. We are to be like Him, so we are told that we are to not “bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself:  I [am] the Lord.” Leviticus 19:18.

“You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I [am] the Lord.” Verse 30. In Genesis 2, God declared: “I keep the Sabbath, so you are to keep it too.” When Jesus came to earth, He kept the Sabbath, and He is our Example.

“Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I [am] the Lord your God.” Leviticus 19:31. Do not go after astrology, witchcraft, or mediums, because to do so is not holiness. This is not what Jesus did. “You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I [am] the Lord. And if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself.” Verses 32–34. The Jews taught that you should love your neighbor but hate your enemy. Sometimes they interpreted this to mean, “hate the stranger that is among you.” Somehow they did not read the entire message. The Bible does not just say, “Love your neighbor,” but love also the stranger whom you do not even know, just as you love your own self, “for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” He loves us and wants us to be like Him.

Message of Holiness

In essence, the message to the church of Philadelphia, in Revelation 3, is, “I am Holy, therefore you shall be holy.” This was the message of the reformer, Wesley, and it brought a great reformation, which stirred the world and prepared the people for the Three Angels’ Messages.

The message of Martin Luther was a wonderful message, but, for some reason, the people did not respond to it in the way that they reacted to the message given by Wesley. The churches refused to allow him to speak from their pulpits, because they were teaching that an individual did not have to be holy. All you have to do is believe, the churches taught, and by faith you will be saved. But Wesley taught that this kind of faith would never save you; you not only had to believe, but you had to do what the Bible instructed. Consequently, he was turned out of the churches and forbidden to preach.

So, Wesley took his message to the people, often preaching five times a day, some days beginning at 4:30 or 5:00 in the morning. As workers were going to the coal mines, he would preach to them. They would get up an hour early and make their way to a field to listen to Wesley speak for an hour, before going to work. They would come by the thousands to hear him preach. His message turned society around! His movement grew into the British Bible Society and the American Bible Society. A great missionary outreach began with people like David Livingstone. Whole continents were influenced by Christianity.

Revelation 3:8 says, “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it.” Oh, many tried so hard to shut this door. The preachers refused to let Wesley preach in the churches. They banished him, but God said, “I have set before you an open door,” so he went out into the fields, and the people came there to hear the message. The door could not be shut.

Pattern for America

The message came to America. The teachings of Wesley and Wycliffe helped to frame the Constitution and the Bill of Rights of the United States, when the Methodist movement became strong. Before this time, and even before the Revolution, there were many towns that were given up to wickedness. Many of the frontier towns had only a couple of saloons and maybe a general store. When the Methodist preachers came through these towns to preach, just as Jesus went through towns, some were left without a single sick person. Some towns were so transformed that there was not a single person left in the saloons, and these barrooms were sometimes transformed into churches. How wonderful it would be to see this again!

Studying America’s history, you learn that not all of its founders were of the purist sort. On some of the buildings, built during the beginning of this country, may be seen figures that portray pornography and other immoral things. But the Methodist influence had an effect on the society of America. There is a reason why pornography, in general, was not allowed in America, why morality was on such a high level.

No one can study American history without realizing that America probably had the highest morality of any nation since the days of David. The greater portion of the population read the Bible. It was read in morning and evening worship by the average person of America. People did not steal. You could leave your house unlocked and return to find it as you left it. Prostitution, astrology, and witchcraft were unheard of in America. America was fashioned by the message to the church of Philadelphia.

“Indeed I will make [those] of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.” Revelation 3:9. The preachers hated Wesley in his day. They tried, a number of times, to kill him. Burning at the stake was no longer used, but mobs were sent out to kill him. Many times he was saved from certain death by an angel of God. His movement influenced the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and the American lifestyle.

Door is Yet Open

The Bible says, “I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it.” Revelation 3:8. This door is open yet. The gospel is going to go forth with a loud voice. It will go to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. (Revelation 14:7, 6.) The door is still open, if we will but walk through it. Not everyone is going to respond. We will not see the great crowds that Wesley saw. Those days are gone. The Bible says that, in the last days, only a small remnant will be saved. (Romans 11:5.) But, dear friend, that small remnant is going to carry, with a loud voice, the gospel to all the world. The door is still open. Whether or not anyone comes through the door, it is open. The door is open for the gospel message.

“Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which hall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.” Revelation 3:10. The people of that generation, because they were faithful, died in relative peace. The great time of trouble, which was to come upon the entire world, was spared them. They did not have to go through the seven last plagues. Verse 11 says, “Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.”

Decline of Methodism

Sad to say, they did not hold fast. This is why another church had to be formed. I have a book, written in 1963, which details the various religions of America. Each church was allowed to choose someone to write about it. The book is not biased. It is not written against anyone. It is just a book written to provide every church the opportunity to explain itself.

With some curiosity, I turned to the Methodist section, written by one of the Methodist leaders. There I read, “Methodists today are about as broad and liberal in their code of behavior as are other leading Protestants.” Now, the writer is stating this as a compliment. “We are just like all the others today.” I do not think it is a compliment, do you? I think it is a shame. It shows that this church has fallen.

It says, “Methodists traditionally have fought against intemperance, gambling, licentiousness, indulgence.” It is of interest that, throughout American history, until just a few years ago, gambling was outlawed in America. Everyone knew gambling was wrong. We have come a long way! “Traditionally the Methodist fought against intemperance, gambling, and licentiousness. John Wesley formulated a list of general rules for the members of his society, because he believed they needed concrete standards as well as ideals. For many years the church had a provision forbidding diversions such as card playing and dancing. This tradition was changed nearly 30 years ago. The Methodist church has taken official action to change all those rules.”

There was a time when Methodists did not believe in going to theaters. It was against their rules, because they did not believe such action would lead people to holiness. They were not allowed to wear jewelry; they were not allowed to smoke.

I met a young fellow, from a small town in Pennsylvania, who was a leader in the Methodist Church. His wife and, eventually, he were baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He told me that although the main body of the Methodist Church had long before changed, some of the little country churches did not change. This is generally the way things go. A ruling is passed in the main body, but some of the little country churches do not change. They continue to uphold the standards.

Hold Fast

The Bible says, “Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.” Everyone who believes in the “once saved, always saved” theory has to cut this verse out of their Bibles. All they have to do to blow their theory is read, “Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.” Revelation 3:11. Is it possible to have your crown and then lose it? The Bible says it is. This should cause every one of us as Christians to become very serious.

Paul said, “It is possible for me to preach the gospel and lose my own soul.” He added, “Therefore, I keep myself under subjection.” (1 Corinthians 9:27.) We have a victory to win today, not just yesterday. Paul says, “Forgetting those things which are behind . . . I press toward the goal,” to those things which are good. Philippians 3:13, 14. What is behind cannot save us today. We have to press on today.

“Hold fast,” says Jesus. “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And [I will write on him] My new name.” Revelation 3:12.

The Bible says that those who overcome will have the Father’s name written in their foreheads. That is speaking of the 144,000. “Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred [and] forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.” Revelation 14:1.

What does it mean to have the Father’s name written on their foreheads? It means holiness to the Lord. This is what Aaron had written on his forehead. (Exodus 28:36–38.) What does this holiness mean? It means that we have God’s Law—His character of His Ten Commandment Law—written in our minds and our hearts. As it says, in Revelation 14:12, “Here [are] those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”

The Open Door

Today, God has opened before us a door, to help us to be among the 144,000. He not only opened the door to mission work in the world, so the gospel could go to all the nations, but He opened also another door. In 1844, this door was opened in heaven, when Jesus entered the Most Holy Place. There was a door entered when Jesus went in to where the Ten Commandments are kept. In Revelation 11:19, we are told: “Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple.” This was the ark of the Ten Commandments. So, today, God has opened the door in heaven, the door to where His Ten Commandments are located. And the light from these Ten Commandments is shining through this open door to the world. Many people would like to shut this door, but it cannot be shut.

There may have been a day when people could keep Sunday as sacred and do other things and still be saved, because the door was shut and many people had not yet seen beyond this door. For instance, it was as if Martin Luther had a blindfold over his eyes. God can put a shield over people’s eyes. Remember what God said to the church of Thyatira? He said, “Just hold on to what you have. I will not require of you anything else, because you have come out of such great darkness.” So Martin Luther did not understand all these things. But the Bible says that God would open a door in heaven and no one could shut it, and today we are responsible for walking in the light which shines from this open door.

“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light . . . .” John 3:19. Dear friend, we are simply accountable for the light, which God has allowed to shine on our pathways. The door has been opened, and no man can shut it. You and I are responsible for walking in this light. We can never be saved, as were our forefathers, whose door was not opened. We must walk in the light from this open door.

Two Happenings

Two things happened when the door was opened in the sanctuary in heaven. First, as we just read, the ark of the Ten Commandments was seen. Second, through this opened door, God has again chosen to communicate with the world.

In Revelation 12:17, we find there are two things which characterize God’s last day people: “And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God”—they walk in the light from this open door—“and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” In Revelation 19:10, we learn that the testimony of Jesus Christ is the spirit of prophecy. Indeed, once again, God is communicating to the world, and no one, dear friend, can shut this door. Oh, people can turn away from the light; they can reject it; they can cover their eyes; they can go with blinders on, if they choose, but no man can shut the door.

Malachi 4:5 tells us, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” Elijah, the prophet, will once again come before the Second Coming—this is “the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” As we have already read, “I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it.”

You and I cannot be saved the same way as were our forefathers, before the door to the Most Holy Place was opened. God told them, “I will not require of you any other thing.” We can try to open this door all we want, but it is shut to us. God has opened another door—the door into the Most Holy Place of the sanctuary, where His Ten Commandments are and where, today, our High Priest is ministering for us. He wants to write this law of love on our hearts and in our minds. This door is open, and no man can shut it.

He who overcomes will be made a part of the 144,000. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Revelation 3:13.

I want to hold on to the light that God has allowed to shine upon me. I do not want to be among those who do not hold on and lose the crown that I once had. I do not want someone taking my crown. How about you? May the Lord grant that each of us may have His holiness written within and without through faith in Jesus Christ. May His character of love and faithful obedience be written in our minds, on our hearts, and in our characters.

To be continued . . .

Pastor Marshall Grosboll, with his wife Lillian, founded Steps to Life. In July 1991, Pastor Marshall and his family met with tragedy as they were returning home from a camp meeting in Washington state, when the airplane he was piloting went down, killing all on board.

A House Divided, part 2

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“A HOUSE DIVIDED.” These words come directly from the words of Jesus. In Matthew 12:25, He said, “A house divided against itself will not stand.” President Lincoln, in a speech that he based on these words, gave some very wise advice. He said, “If we first understand where we are and whither we are tending, then we could better judge what to do and how to do it.” How true this is today for Adventism. We must face reality. Only when we realize that we are in a divided house can we work to be a part of the solution.

A divided house is not new. A division came into the early church because of apostasy. God sought to lead His people back out of that apostasy through the reformation. At each stage there were people that would go so far and no farther. In the 1830s and 1840s, God sent the Protestant churches a special message of reformation, warning that the hour of God’s judgment was come. But most rejected it! With this rejection, they fell from favor with God. (See Early Writings, 237.) Only a few accepted God’s special message, and, out of that few, Adventism was born.

The devil hates this message regarding the investigative judgment, and he is trying to divide Adventism on this point. Tragically, he has been successful. We are living in a house divided. Let me explain. Some Adventist preachers say that we are, and always will be, slaves to sin, unable to keep God’s law perfectly until Jesus comes again. Others say that we can be delivered and set free from sin through the power of Christ and the Holy Spirit working within our lives. One group says we are hopelessly enslaved; the other that we can be set free.

In 1858, Abraham Lincoln said that our country could not long exist half slave and half free. His words proved true, and it took a civil war to solve the problem. Our church is in a parallel condition to the United States, at that time. We are divided. Some teach that you can be free from sin, while others teach that we are all slaves to it. Our church is half slave and half free. The more conviction both sides have, the greater is the guarantee of a civil war. And that is precisely what we have been experiencing in Adventism for several years.

 

Dividing Doctrines

 

Satan exults as he sees how successfully his different methods have worked to divide God’s people, through the years. One of his first major efforts was with the pantheism crisis around the turn of the century. By these theories he attempted to destroy the distinctive doctrine of the investigative judgment. Sister White wrote: “There are already coming in among our people spiritualistic teachings that will undermine the faith of those who give heed to them . . . I have seen the results of these fanciful views of God in apostasy, spiritualism and free-loveism. These theories followed to their logical conclusion, sweep away the whole Christian economy. They do away with the necessity for the atonement [which is a part of the investigative judgment].” Testimonies, vol. 8, 291, 292.

About the same time as the pantheism crisis, Albion Ballinger, one of our leading ministers, propagated the theory that Christ went into the Most Holy Place in 31 A.D. It did away with the doctrine of the investigative judgment, which began in 1844 when Jesus went into the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary. In 1905, Ellen White condemned the theory as contrary to the Bible, and, because of her opposition and that of other leading ministers, it failed to develop in the Adventist Church at that time. However, the devil kept trying until finally he was successful in persuading a large number of our people to accept this theory!

The teachings that were introduced by Desmond Ford in the 1960s and 1970s have their origin in Ballinger’s theories. It is the same old heresy and if you accept it you must throw out the investigative judgment and you will end up out of the truth. The Bible teaches that we are judged on the basis of our works. For every person, the deciding question will be, “Has this person kept My law?” The answer to that question proves whether or not you have been born again. If you have been born again, the Holy Spirit will give you the power to keep God’s law. (See Romans 8; 1 John 5; 1 John 3; Romans 6). You do not earn salvation by obedience. Salvation is a gift. But you cannot receive the gift if you have not been born again.

Ford’s teaching, which so influenced Adventism, and brought many to reject the investigative judgment, has born fruit and today the natural results—sinful indulgence—are rampant in Adventism. Thrown out with the doctrine of the investigative judgment is the standard by which we will be judged. Instead of teaching that one must keep God’s law to be saved, Adventist pastors now tell people that they can have the assurance of salvation, while they are living in sin, breaking God’s law. This presumption is plainly denounced by God. (See Christ’s Object Lessons, 155.)

These false doctrines have brought a division and civil war to the house. Those who have stood for the truth have been ridiculed and disfellowshipped. And the civil war will go on! Abraham Lincoln later said about the civil war in our nation: “It is possible that the Lord will let it go on until every drop of blood that has been extracted by the lash will be extracted again by the sword.” We do not know how long our war will go on. That is in God’s hands. But we cannot retreat from it. It will continue until there is only one side left and God’s truth has prevailed.

How fittingly inspiration describes our current condition: “The prevailing spirit of our time is that of infidelity and apostasy—a spirit of pretended illumination because of a knowledge of the truth but in reality of the blindest presumption. There is a spirit of opposition to the plain word of God and to the testimony of His Spirit. There is a spirit of idolatrous exaltation of mere human reason above the revealed wisdom of God . . . But the spirit of antichrist is prevailing to such an extent as never before . . . The days are fast approaching when there will be great perplexity and confusion. Satan clothed in angel robes will deceive if possible the very elect. There will be gods many and lords many. Every wind of doctrine will be blowing [that is happening]. Those who have rendered supreme homage to ‘science falsely so called,’ will not be the leaders then. Those who have trusted to intellect, genius, or talent will not then stand at the head of rank and file. They did not keep pace with the light. Those who have proved themselves unfaithful will not then be entrusted with the flock. In the last solemn work few great men will be engaged.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 79, 80.

After describing these events, Mrs. White next describes the Sunday law crisis which she says will take place shortly thereafter. (See Ibid., 81.) Are we near this crisis? If you do not think we are near a Sunday law crisis, dear reader, you need to pray that the Lord will open your eyes! Signs all around tell us that it is right at the door.

It is through this crisis that the Lord is going to solve the problem of the divided house. “The time is not far distant when the test will come to every soul. The mark of the beast will be urged upon us. Those who have step by step yielded to worldly demands and conformed to worldly customs will not find it a hard matter to yield to the powers that be, rather than subject themselves to derision, insult, threatened imprisonment, and death. The contest is between the commandments of God and the commandments of men. In this time the gold will be separated from the dross in the church. True godliness will be clearly distinguished from the appearance and tinsel of it. Many a star that we have admired for its brilliancy will then go out in darkness. Chaff like a cloud will be borne away on the wind, even from places where we see only floors of rich wheat. All who assume the ornaments of the sanctuary, but are not clothed with Christ’s righteousness, will appear in the shame of their own nakedness . . . There are few really consecrated men among us, few who have fought and conquered in the battle with self.” Ibid., 81, 82.

What a solemn warning this is. We must ask ourselves, “Have I gained the victory over self? Have my words and thoughts been brought under the control of Christ?” A Christian does not allow his thoughts to run riot on anything that the imagination seems to suggest. The temptations the devil throws in at every step must be resisted. The devil tries in every possible way to get you involved in sinful thoughts. You cannot go to the grocery store without seeing lurid pictures. Billboards, television programs, videos, magazines, books, pictures and music all carry the devil’s messages. He works so hard in this line because he knows that if our thoughts are sinful, our feelings will also be sinful. And these together make up our moral character. (See Testimonies, vol. 5, 310.)

Another way the devil controls people is through their appetite. Have you gained the victory over appetite? This does not mean going to a monastery or a convent and fasting until you nearly kill yourself. That is what Ellen White calls voluntary humility and rigorous severe treatment of the body that is absolutely worthless. Paul says do not have anything to do with it. (See Colossians 2.) Victory over appetite involves eating temperately of good food, and eating for strength and not for drunkenness. Appetite is under our control, we are not controlled by appetite. This is a part of the battle that we must fight in order to conquer self.\

 

Liberalism and Kingly Power

 

Liberalism denies that we can win this battle. By denying such fundamental doctrines as the investigative judgment, the Three Angels’ Messages and the sanctuary truth, the power of the gospel is limited. Many will be lost because they have followed these liberal leaders and have been rocked into carnal security while they are enslaved to sin.

However, liberalism is not the devil’s final attempt to divide and conquer the people of God. Around the turn of the century, as Adventism was facing pantheism and the Ballenger crises, the General Conference leaders believed that they needed a strong centralized controlling power to safeguard against all the heresies that were dividing the church. Elder A. G. Daniels and his associates held that the General Conference should control all contributions (meaning all the power and decision making capabilities). This was one of the major disagreements between Elder Daniels and Sutherland, Magan and Ellen White when the self-supporting school in Madison, Tennessee was started.

Through this attempt to control the work by kingly power, the devil was very successful in dividing the house. This sin, which is all too commonly found among our ranks today, goes all the way back to the devil’s original sin in Heaven. He wanted to control others; in fact, he wanted to be a part of the godhead. Ellen White says God refused to let Lucifer be part of the godhead because he was not qualified. But that is what the great controversy started over. He wanted to be like God, but he was a created being.

The devil leads men to seek for the same thing. The result is always terrible trouble. God’s counsel says, “It is right for the workers to counsel together as brethren; but that man who endeavors to lead his fellow workers to seek his individual counsel and advice regarding the details of their work, and to learn their duty from him, is in a dangerous position . . . For years there has been a growing tendency for men placed in positions of responsibility to lord it over God’s heritage . . . In 1905, I had to bear my testimony of warning against it . . . I write thus fully because I have been shown that ministers and people are tempted more and more to trust in finite man for wisdom, and make flesh their arm. To conference presidents, and men in responsible places, I bear this message: Break the bands and fetters that have been placed upon God’s people.” Testimonies to Ministers, 477–480.

God’ people have been shackled, they have been in slavery. The house has been divided in parts—half slave and half free. How long can a house stand in this divided condition? The Bible says not long. The sure result will be civil war, and it will go on until God’s people have been set free.

Does this mean, then, that we should all work independently, refusing to work with others because we might lose our total independence? Inspiration answers: “The Lord desires His workers to counsel together, not to move independently . . . In this work there is no such thing as every man’s being independent . . .This does not authorize any one man to undertake the work of ordering his brethren arbitrarily to do as he thinks advisable, irrespective of their own personal convictions of duty . . . Organizations, institutions, unless kept by the power of God, will work under Satan’s dictation to bring men under the control of men, and fraud and guile will bear the semblance of zeal for truth and for the advancement of the kingdom of God.” Ibid., 485–494.

It is in this context that she said that we are going down the track of Romanism. When you place men under the control of other men, you follow the track of Romanism. “All of Satan’s plans make of some men the slaves of other men.” That is the way the devil has worked from the beginning.

 

One Solution

 

How is this problem of a divided house to be solved? Many of God’s people are discouraged. They see civil war going on and they see divisions because of apostasy, fanaticism and kingly power, exercised in the church, and they are ready to give up. But there is a solution—and that solution can be found at the foot of the cross. There we see a lesson in humility, and a lesson in the denial of self and sacrifice for the salvation of others. As our heart is broken, we are freed from the desire to rule others.

In the cross there is also a lesson as to where this division, that was begun by Satan, would lead. You see, the division is also a division of the mind that causes a person to have sympathy for both sides. The problem of the divided house cannot be solved as long as people have divided minds.

An example of this is the angels who did not choose to follow Lucifer. Until the cross, a trace of sympathy lingered in their hearts for Lucifer. They said, “We are on God’s side but we still have some sympathy for the other side.” But at the cross, “Satan saw that his disguise was torn away. His administration was laid open before the unfallen angels and before the heavenly universe. He had revealed himself as a murderer. By shedding the blood of the Son of God, he had uprooted himself from the sympathies of the heavenly beings. Henceforth his work was restricted. Whatever attitude he might assume, he could no longer await the angels as they came from the heavenly courts, and before them accuse Christ’s brethren of being clothed with the garments of blackness and the defilement of sin. The last link of sympathy between Satan and the heavenly world was broken.” The Desire of Ages, 761.

 

A Division No Longer

 

The time is coming when there will no longer be a division in our house. The civil war will continue until one side or the other comes out conqueror. And we know that God will win the battle. He will set His people free and He does not need the majority to do it. He did not need the majority in Gideon’s nor in Jonathan’s time. He just needs a few people that are totally committed to Him.

As in the days of Christ, the house that is divided will not stand. It will perish, and every one in the house will go all the way to one side or the other. “In the day of final judgment every lost soul will understand the nature of his own rejection of truth. The cross will be presented, and its real bearing will be seen by every mind that has been blinded by transgression. Before the vision of Calvary with its mysterious victim, sinners will stand condemned. Every lying excuse will be swept away. Human apostasy will appear in its heinous character. Men will see what their choice has been. Every question of truth and error in the longstanding controversy will then have been made plain. In the judgment of the universe, God will stand clear of blame for the existence or continuance of evil. It will be demonstrated that the divine decrees are not accessory to sin. There was no defect in God’s government, no cause for disaffection. When the thoughts of all hearts shall be revealed, both the loyal and the rebellious will unite in declaring, ‘Just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints. Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? . . . for Thy judgments are made manifest.’ Rev. 15:3, 4.” The Desire of Ages, 5.

God will solve the problem of a divided house, but not everyone will be saved. Your salvation depends on which side you decide to join. Have you learned the lesson of the cross? The cross solved the problem of the divided house for the angels. It solved the problem of the divided house for the apostles. And only if we come to the cross and understand what it means will the problem of the divided house in Adventism be solved. Are you willing to endure whatever you need to endure so that you can be on God’s side of the question? That is what I want and that is my prayer for you.

 

The Great House

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Isaac was old and blind, and called his sons to give them his last blessing. While Esau went hunting for venison to prepare a meal for his father, Jacob, covetous of the blessing given to the first son, deceived his father into thinking that he was the first born. Afraid of his brother, Jacob fled from his home, never to see his mother alive again (see Genesis 27).

Tired from his flight, Jacob slept, and the Lord spoke to him in a dream. Upon waking he said, “ ‘Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.’ And he was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!’ Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel” (Genesis 28:16–19).

Beth is the Hebrew name for house, and el is the Hebrew word for God. So Bethel is the House of God—the Great House. Isaiah 2:2 says, “It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it.”

Timothy describes the foundation of God’s house. He said, “Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.’ But, in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work” (2 Timothy 2:19–21).

Here is described two characteristics of God’s professed church:

1) the Lord knows those who are His and

2) a call to those who claim the name of Christ to depart from evil.

The church includes those who have taken the name of Christian, although not everyone is a member of the royal family. From among the church the Lord knows who are really His. Some are just there to make appearances without experiencing a heart change.

Jesus referred to these in John 10:1. It says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.” The only way to enter is through Christ, not Buddha, not Mohammed. No agnostics or atheists are in there, only those who call themselves Christian. “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver; but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor” (2 Timothy 2:20). In this house are both permanent vessels as well as temporary vessels that will be taken out. To remain in God’s house there must be a cleansing. Paul said, “Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter (that which is dishonorable), he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work” (verse 21).

Writing to the Thessalonians, Paul explained what is dishonorable saying, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness” (1 Thessalonians 4:3–8).

Peter also admonishes against un-Christian behavior in 1 Peter 1, “… as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy for I am holy’ ” (verses 14–16).

It goes on to say in verse 18, “Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver and gold.” Because we were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb, without blemish and without spot, we also are to separate ourselves from that which is dishonorable if we hope to become a holy people.

It is the holy people who are the precious, honorable vessels, who will not be thrown out with the trash someday. Paul says, “Pursue peace with all men, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). Holiness is not an option, it is a necessity. Heaven will not be divided into two sections, one for the holy people and another for the unholy.

Isaiah 4:3 reads: “It shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy-everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem.” Only the holy will be left when the Great House is cleansed and purified.

Isaiah 35 is a wonderful chapter about the future glory that God’s people will enjoy in heaven. It says in verse 8, “a highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it” (because they will not be there).

“And they shall call them The Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lord; and you shall be called Sought Out, a City Not Forsaken” (Isaiah 62:12).

This article focuses on the group of people who belong to the Second Advent Movement that began in the early part of the 19th century and includes a number of denominations that developed within the Second Advent Movement. Many people today do not know that the Jehovah Witnesses, for instance, were a development of the Second Advent Movement. The Seventh-day Adventist Churches came out of that movement and claim that they are the remnant church, or the last church, just before Jesus returns to this earth, and they make this claim on the basis of two Bible texts.

“And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring (the remnant of her seed, KJV) who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 12:17).

Revelation 19:10 tells us, “… the testimony of Jesus Christ is the Spirit of Prophecy.” Adventists have preached for over a hundred and fifty years that they will be the ones left when the Great House is completely cleaned out and cleansed.

Today we are living in the shaking time predicted in Hebrews 12. I do not claim to understand it all yet, but one thing I do understand is that the purification of the Lord’s house is actually a terrible ordeal. What is it that will eventually cleanse and purge out all the dishonorable vessels from the Great House? Ellen White says, “Renewed, purified, sanctified, the church must be, else the wrath of God will fall upon them with much greater power than upon those who have never professed to be saints.” Lift Him Up, 301.

We see here that it is the wrath of God, the seven last plagues, that are going to clean out the house completely. There will be millions of people who claim they are in the Great House. But when the seven last plagues are over, the majority will be gone. We just read, “Renewed, purified, sanctified, the church must be, else the wrath of God will fall upon them with much greater power than upon those who have never professed to be saints.”

We are living in the most sobering times of earth’s history. The question must come to us all, Am I a holy person? Holiness is a theological word but it is not complicated. It simply means you agree with God. Those who disagree are unholy.

Holy people are obedient. “Christ has made baptism the sign of entrance to His spiritual kingdom. He has made this a positive condition with which all must comply who wish to be acknowledged as under the authority of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 91.

When you are baptized, you acknowledge publicly that you agree with God and are now under His authority. “Baptism is a most solemn renunciation of the world. Those who are baptized in the threefold name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, at the very entrance of their Christian life declare publicly that they have forsaken the service of Satan and have become members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King.” Evangelism, 307.

To be members of the royal family of God brings responsibilities. There are many who neglect to meet with the rest of God’s family when they worship the Lord on the Sabbath. We have an appointment each week at the house of God on Sabbath, the day the Lord has set aside to meet with His children. Unless sick or in the hospital, all should endeavor to meet together with like believers in praise and worship, if at all possible.

Isaiah says, “And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me, says the Lord” (Isaiah 66:23). I doubt that in heaven anyone would make an excuse for not coming to worship our Maker.

We are told: “Everyone should feel that he has a part to act in making the Sabbath meetings interesting. You are not to come together simply as a matter of form, but for the interchange of thought.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 362. The Sabbath School is a time for interchange of thought. It is a time when people have opportunity to testify what the Lord has done for them over the past week, or ask for prayer requests. It is also time for the expression of thanksgiving. How wonderful would it be that the hour of Sabbath School was filled with thanksgiving.

Another reason we meet together is “for the utterance of your sincere desire for divine enlightenment, that you may know God, and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent. Communing together worshiping Christ will strengthen the soul for life’s trials and conflicts. Never think that you can be Christians and yet withdraw yourselves within yourselves. Each one is a part of the great web of humanity, and the experience of each will be largely determined by the experience of his associates.” Ibid.

H.M.S. Richards used to say that if the church was not necessary, Christ would not have established it. Do not think you can get along on your own and not show up in God’s family to meet together for worship.  Many who live where there is no religious freedom and risk being captured, tortured, put in prison, or killed, still meet; they see the necessity of getting together to study God’s word and worship Him.

We often receive letters from people who have no one with whom to worship; others meeting in very small churches of maybe 2, 3, 4 or 6. Be encouraged, for the servant of the Lord said, “The place of worship may be very humble (it maybe in somebody’s home) but it is no less acknowledged by God. To those who worship God in spirit and in truth and in the beauty of holiness it will be as the gate of heaven. The company of believers may be few in number, but in God’s sight they are very precious. By the cleaver of truth they have been taken as rough stones from the quarry of the world and have been brought into the workshop of God to be hewed and shaped. But even in the rough they are precious in the sight of God. The ax, the hammer, and the chisel of trial are in the hands of One who is skillful; they are used, not to destroy, but to work out the perfection of every soul. As precious stones, polished after the similitude of a palace, God designs us to find a place in the heavenly temple.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 363.

If we are to be one of the living stones in His heavenly temple we must be fashioned by the “One who is skillful.” A look at the people in most of the churches throughout history reveals them in a deplorable condition, but it is God’s work to shape all into living stones that fit exactly where the Master Builder wants to place them.

It is recorded in Revelation 2 and 3 for all but two of the churches what the Lord had against them. Each was in a terrible condition and severely rebuked, but given hope if they would overcome their faults.

The Philadelphia church was one of the two churches that was not reproved. But if you go to the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3:16 and 17, it says, “So then, because you are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, I will spue you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17).

Only Smyrna and Philadelphia escaped reproof. However, they still had people in them who claimed to be true Christians but were actually part of the synagogue of Satan. These churches still had huge problems. Read Revelation 2:9, and Revelation 3:9.

The church is supposed to bring holiness into the world. But oftentimes the world, instead, has brought unholiness into the church. Remember, when the Great House is cleaned out, only the holy vessels—the honorable vessels—will remain.

The Lord repeatedly said to His people anciently, and repeated it through the apostle Paul: “Come apart from what is unclean, be separate and touch not what is unclean, and I will receive you” (2 Corinthians 6:17, literal translation).

At the end of time a final loud cry will result in cleaning out the Great House.

Revelation 18 has to do with separating from organizations, groups, churches, who are living in open sin and refuse to repent. Revelation 2:21–23 speaks of a time in the church when the church was given opportunity to repent and would not.

Revelation 18 describes the fall of Babylon. Once identified, we must separate from it or we will end up sharing in her sins and sharing in the plagues as well. When a church falls and refuses to repent, she will receive the judgments of God.

Be sure to understand who Babylon is. Babylon claims to be part of the Great House. It cannot be the Hindus, the agnostics, the atheists, the Moslems, or anybody who does not claim the name of Christ. But Babylon, all of Babylon, claims to be part of the Great House of God. Babylon takes the name of Christ.

Revelation 18:2, last part, records that because of what Babylon has become, it is necessary to get out or receive the plagues with her. It says, “It has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird” (Revelation 18:3). Spiritualism will overtake the church and it will be controlled by demons.

In Matthew 7:6, Jesus said, “Do not give what is holy to the dogs.” A dog is an unclean beast. It is not a clean animal. It says in Revelation 22:15, that outside the holy city, on the outside, will be all the dogs. It is not talking about animals. It is talking about people. You cannot be part of any church that tries to mix what is holy with what is unholy.

“For all nations have drunk of the wine (false doctrines) of the wrath of her fornication, the kings (governments) of the earth have committed fornication (the union of church and state) with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury” (Revelation 18:3). It is impossible to stay pure and listen to false doctrines being preached and taught without losing your soul. The wealth and luxury of the world has come in and taken over the churches, shifting their focus from God to worldliness.

The Jews taught that where the law of God is not obeyed, there Satan dwells. “He who sins is of the devil” (1 John 3:8). If a church teaches that you can break God’s law and still go to heaven, that church has become a habitation of demons. For your safety, you have to get out of there.

Read 2 Thessalonians 2:1–11 carefully. This passage of Scripture talks about people who will believe “the lie”—the idea that you can sin and still have eternal life—the very first lie with which the devil deceived Eve.

The Great House of God is being cleaned out. The big question is, where will you be, on the inside as an honorable vessel, or cast out?

(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.

The Seven Churches, Part IX: The Church of Philadelphia

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Verses 7 and 8 of Revelation 3 introduce the message to the church of Philadelphia: “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens: I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.’ ”

In this study, we are coming to a time when God, immediately preceding the Second Coming, is going to open a door. We read, in verses 10 and 11, “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.”

When speaking to this church, God refers specifically to a certain period of time. It is that time period shortly before Jesus’ Second Coming. The open door was the door that was opened into the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary. The opening of this door is also predicted in Revelation 11:19. We see then that the message to the church of Philadelphia is anchored in the opening of this door, which actually occurred on October 22, 1844.

Of this, Ellen White wrote: “I was shown that the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ relating to the shut door could not be separated, and that the time for the commandments of God to shine out with all their importance, and for God’s people to be tried on the Sabbath truth, was when the door was opened in the most holy place in the heavenly sanctuary, where the ark is, in which are contained the ten commandments. This door was not opened until the mediation of Jesus was finished in the holy place of the sanctuary in 1844. Then Jesus rose up and shut the door of the holy place, and opened the door into the most holy, and passed within the second veil, where He now stands by the ark, and where the faith of Israel now reaches.

“I saw that Jesus had shut the door of the holy place, and no man can open it; and that He had opened the door into the most holy, and no man can shut it (Revelation 3:7, 8); and that since Jesus has opened the door into the most holy place, which contains the ark, the commandments have been shining out to God’s people, and they are being tested on the Sabbath question.” Early Writings, 42.

Let us review the seven churches, to help put the church of Philadelphia in perspective. The Lord, when returning to heaven, had left the church on a sure and solid foundation. It was in such a pure state that God poured out His Holy Spirit upon it. Before Jesus comes, the church will again be in a pure state, just as when He left it. We have two, great, anchor points for the church—when Jesus left the church, it was pure, and when He comes again, it will be pure.

The Wedding Garment

“They that were ready went in with Him to the marriage: and the door was shut.” [Matthew 25:10.] They were not to be present in person at the marriage; for it takes place in heaven, while they are upon the earth. The followers of Christ are to ‘wait for their Lord, when He will return from the wedding.’ Luke 12:36. But they are to understand His work, and to follow Him by faith as He goes in before God. It is in this sense that they are said to go in to the marriage.

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

“Previous to the wedding the king comes in to see the guests, to see if all are attired in the wedding garment, the spotless robe of character washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb. Matthew 22:11; Revelation 7:14. He who is found wanting is cast out, but all who upon examination are seen to have the wedding garment on are accepted of God and accounted worthy of a share in His kingdom and a seat upon His throne. This work of examination of character, of determining who are prepared for the kingdom of God, is that of the investigative judgment, the closing of work in the sanctuary above.

“When the work of investigation shall be ended, when the cases of those who in all ages have professed to be followers of Christ have been examined and decided, then, and not till then, probation will close, and the door of mercy will be shut. Thus in the one short sentence, ‘They that were ready went in with Him to the marriage: and the door was shut,’ we are carried down through the Saviour’s final ministration, to the time when the great work for man’s salvation shall be completed. . . .

“This subject was not understood by Adventists in 1844. After the passing of the time when the Saviour was expected, they still believed His coming to be near; they held that they had reached an important crisis and that the work of Christ as man’s intercessor before God had ceased. It appeared to them to be taught in the Bible that man’s probation would close a short time before the actual coming of the Lord in the clouds of heaven. This seemed evident from those scriptures which point to a time when men will seek, knock, and cry at the door of mercy, and it will not be opened. And it was a question with them whether the date to which they had looked for the coming of Christ might not rather mark the beginning of this period which was immediately to precede His coming. Having given the warning of the judgment near, they felt that their work for the world was done, and they lost their burden of soul for the salvation of sinners, while the bold and blasphemous scoffing of the ungodly seemed to them another evidence that the Spirit of God had been withdrawn from the rejecters of His mercy. All this confirmed them in the belief that probation had ended, or, as they then expressed it, ‘the door of mercy was shut.’

“But clearer light came with the investigation of the sanctuary question. They now saw that they were correct in believing that the end of the 2300 days in 1844 marked an important crisis. But while it was true that that door of hope and mercy by which men had for eighteen hundred years found access to God, was closed, another door was opened, and forgiveness of sins was offered to men through the intercession of Christ in the most holy. One part of His ministration had closed, only to give place to another. There was still an ‘open door’ to the heavenly sanctuary, where Christ was ministering in the sinner’s behalf.

“Now was seen the application of those words of Christ in the Revelation, addressed to the church at this very time: ‘These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it.’ Revelation 3:7, 8.” The Great Controversy, 427–430.

Anchored

We have, then, two great periods of time. When Jesus left this earth, the church was on a sure foundation. It was pure. It did not remain in that state long. The first church (Ephesus) left their first love. When Jesus comes again, the church will be on the same pure, solid foundation. Between these two events, there is a great chasm of sin, but God has spanned this gulf of sin and fastened into two great foundation points—times when He has a pure people on earth.

During the second and third centuries after Christ (the church of Smyrna), many true followers of the Lord were tortured and killed by the power and authority of paganism exercised through the pagan Roman Empire. In the fourth to sixth centuries, the pure church of Smyrna, was followed by the compromising church (the church of Pergamos).

The Middle Ages

Jezebel was allowed into the church during the Middle Ages (the church of Thyatira). She killed the true prophets of God and put Baal prophets in their places. The priesthood of the Middle Ages did not descend from the Jewish priesthood; it descended from the pagan priesthood.

I have only read about priests in the Old Testament, so those people who only read their Bibles—not truly study them—might be inclined to think that the priesthood originated from there. But you have never heard a Catholic priest claim to have come from the Jewish priesthood. They do not claim to come from that origin at all. Their rites and ceremonies are completely different from that of the Jewish priesthood. All their rites and ceremonies are almost exactly the same—except for a little Christian flavor thrown in—as the pagan priesthood.

The Surprise Church

At the lowest point of the church, God began to bring the church back up again to His secure foundation. He brought reformers (the church of Sardis), great men such as Wycliffe, Luther, and Tyndale. The whole face of Europe was changed during that time of Reformation. Catholicism was checked, and Protestantism flourished. The reformers were ready to give their lives so that the Bible could again be given to the people. We may think it a wonderful time, but I call the church of that period the “Surprise Church.” As we read the histories of Luther, Melancthon, Calvin, Zwingli, Tyndale, Huss and Jerome, and all those others, we think that they are some of the greatest men that have ever lived. When we go to the Bible, we expect only good things to be said about this church, but lo and behold, only bad things are said.

The Bible says, about that church, “I will give you the bright morning star.” (Revelation 2:28.) That is how the period of the church of Thyatira ended, looking forward to the church of Sardis. Wycliffe was the “morning star of the Reformation.” The Great Controversy, 80. Other stars followed. These leaders were wonderful individuals, but the people did not follow them. The Bible says they had a name that they were alive, because they were following these leaders, but they were dead. (Revelation 3:1.)

The Reformation did not succeed in its fullest sense, and it certainly did not succeed at all the way God wanted. The Reformation was cut short, and the Bible tells us that the deadly wound was healed. It was healed so well that eventually, “all the world will wonder after the beast.” Revelation 13:3.

The Protestant church took in the message of Martin Luther, which states that we are saved by faith. You see, in Luther’s day, people thought they were saved by doing penance, by paying money, and by earning forgiveness. If they did not have enough money to pay for their sins, they could perform certain tasks to “pay” penance. Sometimes this involved killing a Huguenot or a Mohammedan or a Waldensian. If an individual committed such a killing, then his or her sins were all forgiven, and he or she could go to heaven without having to pay money for penance. I am glad that Martin Luther brought the message that we do not have to murder people in order to gain forgiveness!

I am thankful for the message that we are saved by faith, but Luther’s followers began to interpret that to mean that we do not have to do anything to be saved—all we have to do is claim to believe in Jesus Christ, and then we are saved.

Wesley came along and preached on Romans 3:31: “Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.” In fact, the only way we can keep the law is by faith. If we do not have faith, the law does not do us any good at all except to condemn us. It is only by faith that we establish the law.

Philadelphia

God had little good to say about Sardis. He had to bring about another reformation to try to finish the work. When God commissions a work and it is not done right the first time, it never gets done as well as it could have been, had it been done right the first time. If the reformers, in the time of Sardis, had been true to the reformation, the deadly wound would never have been healed. But as time went on, it was healed, and the Protestant church was in a terribly decrepit situation, so God raised up some people to carry on the Reformation. They could not make up for all that had transpired, but they could bring new life into the church; they could bring a new reformation.

He raised up people such as Wesley, Whitefield, and Livingstone, and other great giants to carry on and finish the work that had been started 200 years earlier by Martin Luther and the other reformers.

The Bible has nothing but good to say regarding the church of Philadelphia. It did not have all the light that we have, but they lived up to all of it. God held them accountable for only the light they had.

God brought about a great reformation to prepare the world for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the last days and for the giving of the message of Revelation 14 that must go to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.

I Am Holy

With this brief historical background, let us look at the message given, in Revelation 3, to the church of Philadelphia. “And to the angel of the church of Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy.’ ” Verse 7.

It is interesting how God identifies Himself with each church. Each time He states who He is, and it is something unique for that church. To the church of Smyrna, He said, “I am the One who died and rose.” (Revelation 2:8.) To the church of Ephesus, that thought it was built on the apostles, God said, “I am the One who holds the seven stars; you do not own them.” (Revelation 2:1.) He told that church He would “remove your candlestick out of its place—unless you repent.” (Revelation 2:5.) For every church, God gave a message that was just for that church, and always the message was found in who God said He was.

Here it says, “I am Holy.” You see, the Christian church had entered a time, as just mentioned, when they thought that they did not have to be holy to be saved, because they were saved by faith. They thought that all they had to do was to believe on Jesus. They had accepted salvation by faith alone as though that did away with the law. They did not consider Romans 3:31 or 1 John 3:4–7, which says, “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins,” or our lawbreaking, “and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you.”

The descendants of the sixteenth century reformers came to a place where they believed that a person did not have to keep the law, and, by their preaching, they deceived many people. This passage says, “Let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous,”—not he who declares righteousness, who thinks he has been forgiven apart from the law.

Wesley’s Message

God calls Himself holy, when addressing the church of Philadelphia, and that was the message that John Wesley came to preach to the world. The first religious organization that John Wesley established, while he was yet in college, was one that would be ridiculed today. Some people made fun of it then too. He called this organization The Holiness Club, and Wesley preached holiness. His followers were called Methodists, because they believed in methods, in doing things. They believed that there were such things as rules in the Christian life, and an individual had to do something to be saved—not just believe.

I have acquired and read a copy of Wesley’s diary. On October 30, 1743, he wrote the following about the sermon he had preached that day: “I showed in the plainest words I could devise that mere outward religion would not bring us to heaven, that no one could go thither without inward holiness which was only to be obtained by faith.” Almost 17 years later, on November 17, 1760, he entered: “The fundamental doctrine of the people called Methodist is this, ‘Whoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the true faith. The faith which works by love, which, by means of the love of God and our neighbor, produces both inward and outward holiness. He that thus believes is regenerate or born again.’ ” That is what it means to be born again, John Wesley says.

Wesley states that to be born again means that you are made holy by God’s indwelling Spirit. This holiness, this belief in methods, this belief in making one’s life holy, translated itself into areas of dress, diet, and witnessing. I found it fascinating to read that, in December 1746, he taught his followers to quit drinking tea in order to preserve health and to keep their bodies holy to the Lord. Wesley was ahead of his time! In fact, he, for quite a period of time, was a vegetarian! On December 29, 1746, he wrote in his diary: “I resumed my vegetable diet, which I had now discarded for several years and found it of use both to my soul and body.” He did not have all the health reform knowledge, but he did recognize that such a diet helped him spiritually, and it translated itself into many other areas of life.

Preparation for Canaan

Wesley’s message was similar to the message that God gave to the children of Israel before taking them into Canaan. Wesley came with a message for us, before we enter the heavenly Canaan.

God sent a message of holiness to the church of Philadelphia. “These things says He who is holy.” Before a message of holiness can be given to the world, we must recognize that God is holy, and the reason that we are to be holy is because we are to be His people. “You [are] a chosen generation . . . a holy nation,” it says, in 1 Peter 2:9.

The message Moses gave to the children of Israel before entering Canaan is found in Leviticus 19. “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God [am] holy.’ ” Verse 2. We are to be holy because God is holy.

This one phrase gives so much to contemplate. It includes the nature of Jesus and a number of other things. Jesus came to earth in our nature and developed a holy character so that we can develop a holy character too. We are to be holy, because Jesus is holy. We can be holy, because Jesus is holy. This is the message in the Old Testament. We are to be holy as He is holy. We are to be His children. We are to have His character written in our hearts, in our minds, and in our souls. We are to be like Him. As we are told, in 1 John 3:2, we are to be children of God. That is the message of the Bible. Because God is holy, we, too, are to be holy.

The Pattern

In order to preach a message of holiness, we have to preach a message of God’s holiness, because we are to pattern after Him. He is our Pattern, dear friend, not one another, not some philosopher’s maxim. We are to pattern after the Great Standard. We are to pattern our characters after the character of God, and so the Bible says that we are to be holy, because He is holy.

Leviticus 19:3 tells us, “Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and keep My Sabbaths: I [am] the Lord your God.” I am holy, and I show reverence, so you are to do the same that I do. I kept the Sabbath; you are to keep the Sabbath. “Do not turn to idols, nor make for yourselves molded gods: I [am] the Lord your God.” “You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I [am] the Lord.” God is telling us that He is our Lord, and this is His character. We are to have His character—He is holy, so we are to be holy. “You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God.” Why? Because we are to be like Him, and that is His character. “I [am] the Lord.” He is holy, and we are to be like Him. Verses 4, 11, 12, 14.

In verse 18, we read: “You shall not take vengeance . . . .” Oh, if only the world could learn this verse! When Jesus came to this earth, He did not take vengeance. His accusers spat in His face, and He said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Matthew 26:67; Luke 23:34. To us, He says, “Be like Me”; do “not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people.”

What a happy people we would be, if we were holy!

To be continued . . .

Pastor Marshall Grosboll, with his wife Lillian, founded Steps to Life. In July 1991, Pastor Marshall and his family met with tragedy as they were returning home from a camp meeting in Washington state, when the airplane he was piloting went down, killing all on board.