Church

Anti Sacerdotalism

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“Sacerdotalism” comes from the French word for a priest, sacerdos. Sacerdotalism is the belief in the holiness or higher spiritual level of a priesthood. Raised a Roman Catholic, I can well testify to the elevation of the priesthood above the level of mere mortals. Roman Catholics firmly believe, “Once a priest, always a priest.” This concept requires the belief that the act of ordination confers on a man superior spiritual power and status that he does not naturally have.

An outgrowth of this theology is that priests can virtually do no wrong, but it was Jesuits who took the idea of the sacredness of the priests to new levels. Father Benzi even reasoned, starting from the premise of sacerdotalism, “It is only a slight offense [for a priest] to feel the breasts of a nun.” The Secret History of the Jesuits, 65

Martin Luther recognized the true essence of Roman Catholicism: “The authority of the Roman Catholic Church is built on the sacraments as the exclusive channel of grace and on the exclusive control of these by the clergy. The Church has become synonymous with the clergy; the congregation was not considered an integral part of it, merely an outside beneficiary and subject to it.” Luther Alive, Simon, Doubleday 1968, 223. Thus he clearly recognized that sacerdotalism, the prerequisite for sacramentalism, leads to a papal, authoritarian church.

“Above all, he [Luther] tried to carry out two fundamental innovations: the abolition of celibacy and the transfer to congregations of the right to elect pastors.” Road to Reformation, Boehmer, Muhlenberg Press, Philadelphia, 1946, 337

In attacking celibacy, Luther was really attacking church authoritarianism; but he went even farther. He said, “Every Christian is himself able and empowered to proclaim the Word of God. But just because everyone has this right, no individual may put himself forward and exercise this right without the approval and command of the others. The official exercise of this right is to be regarded as a service entrusted to someone by the Christian community, and consequently it can also be withdrawn again. In this respect it is like the office of burgomaster or other offices of shorter or longer tenure. If a clergyman is removed from his office by the community for any cause whatsoever, he once again becomes a peasant or burgher like other people.” Ibid., 338, 339

In his Notes on the New Testament (comments on Revelation 13:6, 1812 edition, 363), John Wesley cites the fact that in 1143, Celestine II was “by an important innovation, chosen to the popedom without the suffrage of the people, the right of choosing the pope is taken from the people, and afterwards from the clergy, and lodged in the cardinals alone.” Wesley cited this as evidence that the rise of the papacy was identical to the rise of the beast of Revelation 13! Thus he evaluates the action of removing the choice of pastor from the local congregation as satanic.

In about 1510, the French Reformation began at the Sorbonne with Lefavre. His doctrines, derived from Scripture, were essentially identical with those of Luther, even though Luther was not heard of in France for another five years. Lefavre passed the Protestant faith on to many disciples, one of whom was bishop Briconnet of the city of Meaux.

Briconnet embraced and spread the truth of the reformed doctrine until he was brought face to face with the threat of being burned at the stake. Sadly to say, he recanted; but “among the disciples at Meaux was a humble wool-comber of the name of Leclerc. Taught of the Spirit, he was ‘mighty in the Scriptures,’ and being a man of courage as well as knowledge, he came forward when Briconnet apostatised, and took the oversight of the flock which the bishop had deserted. Leclerc had received neither tonsure nor imposition of hands, but the Protestant Church of France had begun thus early to act upon the doctrine of a universal spiritual priesthood.” Wylie, History of Protestantism, vol. 2, 143 [Emphasis supplied]

Clearly, in choosing a layman who had neither been a monk nor ordained, the simple Protestants of France have left us their record of their rejection of the doctrine of sacerdotalism.

The pinnacle of sacerdotalism is the popery. Wylie, in History of Protestantism, vol. 1, chapter 6, 88–93, documents one evil perpetrated upon the English people in the fourteenth century by this system. The pope claimed the right to appoint all religious officers throughout the world, and therefore would appoint whomever he chose to the pastorate of English churches. It was not uncommon for him to appoint nine and ten year old Italians, who spoke neither Latin nor English, to the pastorate of English churches, setting a large price for their sustenance. In the absence of the official “pastor,” an Englishman, willing to take the job for considerably less money, was appointed to act in behalf of the official pastor. The difference between that which was charged by Rome and that which the English pastor actually received was part of the revenue received by the pope. Using today’s monetary values, it might work like this. Pick out an ignorant Italian lad and set a annual salary of $100,000. Then delegate the job out to an Englishman for $30,000 per year. The pope then collects a net of $70,000 a year for nothing and keeps complete control of all of the churches in England.

In 1372, the English Parliament estimated that the pope was extracting five times as much revenue from England as was the King of England! Worse yet, as the pope was a Frenchman living in France at Avignon, and as there was a war going on between England and France, part of the English gold was being used to pay mercenaries to fight for France!

Sacerdotalism demands that the higher class have greater privileges. The Jesuits, who seem to outdo all other Catholics at carrying theology to extremes, have concluded that,

“If a Father, yielding to temptation, abuses a woman and she publishes what has happened, and, because of it, dishonors him, this same Father can kill her to avoid disgrace!” Secret History of the Jesuits, 65

Unfortunately, the plague of sacerdotalism has entered the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Even pastors who commit open sins, such as adultery, and even outright crimes, such as theft, go virtually unreproved. A case in point occurred in Arizona in 1988–1989. A pastor, with whom I am familiar, was caught in the act of stealing material with a value in excess of $400 from the local Sears store. The evidence strongly suggested that this was not the first time that he had been involved in such activities. Bail was posted, however, and after spending a night in jail, he was released. At the request of parties unannounced, a closed trial was held. Though by his own admission the pastor was found guilty, he apparently received only probation. Incredibly, this pastor never missed a single paycheck during the whole affair and was rapidly relocated to Southern California where he continued to serve as pastor!

New theology comes from the pastorate.

It is clear that the source for the new theology entering our churches is the pastors. In every case that I have personally seen, it is only the laymen who stand up and fight against the perverted new theology of the pastors. This is no accident. It is a product of sacerdotalism.

Let us not forget that it was not lay members who preached to Soviet Adventists that they should break Sabbath by sending their children to school on Sabbath. It was also the leadership of Soviet Adventism that told Adventists to break the sixth commandment by bearing arms in the military in the 1920s. It was the German Division officials of Adventism who told Adventists to take up arms in the First World War. The pattern is clear.

Celebration is introduced from the top down.

An even greater evil than the new theology is the celebration movement. This movement, by its very nature, contradicts the concept of an ongoing judgment in heaven. It was introduced, promoted, and pushed on our people by the leaders and pastors.

But the plot against the truth by the leaders of the organized structure goes much further. A friend of mine, before taking part in a conference-sponsored trip to Magadan (eastern seaboard of the former Soviet Union), reported that he was forbidden to bring any Russian materials not previously approved by the conference. When he arrived at his destination, all of the American arrivals were warned during their orientation session that two people from the previous group were sent home because they had brought literature to distribute. My friend, however, had taken a backpack loaded with Bible studies in Russian, as well as Russian Bibles. In addition, I had furnished him with a plasticized card that said, “Hi! I am a dumb American who does not speak Russian, and I have a free Bible and a set of Bible studies for you. If you want them, just smile and shake my hand.”

On a day when he had no work, my friend took his backpack with the ten Bibles and sets of lessons he had brought with him, out on the streets of Magadan. He soon met a young couple walking down the street and presented his card to them. They read the message and reread it again. After a brief consultation between themselves, they gave him a big smile and pumped his hand. Taking off his backpack he placed it on the ground. By the time he got it open and reached up to hand out the promised Bible and studies, there were ten sets of hands reaching out to receive the treasure!

Worse yet, a worker at a major independent Adventist facility reported on her recent (1993) trip to Odessa (in the Ukraine on the Black Sea) that upon questioning the people coming for baptism, it was revealed that they had no knowledge of the mark of the beast, the significance of Babylon in the Bible, and had not so much as heard of the seventh-day Sabbath. Not only did those people, prepared for baptism by Seventh-day Adventist evangelists, not have any knowledge of the three angels’ messages, they did not even know about the biblical Sabbath!

Scriptural authority for anti sacerdotalism is plentiful. Jesus said, “Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister.” Mark 10:42, 43

Peter wrote, “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 2:5

The Bible firmly supports the priesthood of all believers, not the priesthood of a small minority. “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.” 1 Peter 2:9

“And hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” Revelation 1:6

Martin Luther reasoned it this way: “The Christian does not need a human mediator to enter into relationship with God; and God, for His part, does not need such mediators to communicate with man. Every Christian is himself able and empowered to proclaim the Word of God. But just because everyone has this right, no individual may put himself forward and exercise this right without the approval and command of the others. The official exercise of this right is to be regarded as a service entrusted to someone by the Christian community, and consequently it can also be withdrawn again. In this respect it is like the office of burghomaster or other offices of shorter or longer tenure. If a clergyman is removed from his office by the community for any cause whatsoever, he once again becomes a peasant or burgher like other people. What distinguishes the clergyman from his fellow-burghers is merely the service which has been entrusted to him, not a special supernatural faculty (character indelibilis) which is bestowed in ordination and never again lost.” Road to Reformation, Boehmer, Muhlenberg Press, Philadelphia, 1946, 332, 333

Luther also explicitly denied the authority of the church to claim the power over sacraments: “But cannot the church, that is, the communion of true believers, create new sacraments of her own making?

“She cannot, for the church is not the creator of revelation, but the creature of revelation. She does not stand above, but under, the Word of God to which she owes her existence.” Ibid., 324

The Spirit of Prophecy speaks directly against both hierarchy and sacerdotalism.

“Special instruction has been given me for God’s people, for perilous times are upon us. . . . In the church, man’s power is gaining the ascendancy; those who have been chosen to occupy positions of trust think it their prerogative to rule.

“Men whom the Lord calls to important positions in His work are to cultivate a humble dependence upon Him. They are not to seek to embrace too much authority; for God has not called them to a work of ruling but to plan and counsel with their fellow laborers.” Testimonies, vol. 9, 270

The real job of the pastor in the church is spelled out for us. “Just as soon as a church is organized, let the minister set the members at work. They will need to be taught how to labor successfully. Let the minister devote more of his time to educating than to preaching.” Testimonies, vol. 7, 20

Clearly the Spirit of Prophecy yields a different view of the church than does the papacy!

It is the right and duty of the congregation to choose their own pastor. Considering the theological brain damage being inflicted on the unsuspecting by the pastors, it behooves all Seventh-day Adventist congregations to thoroughly inspect and test the theology of any pastor appointed them by the conference.

I have earlier cited the position and practice of the great Reformers in regard to laymen in the pulpit. The Spirit of Prophecy goes even farther. “There are times when it is fitting for our ministers to give on the Sabbath, in our churches, short discourses, full of the life and love of Christ. But the church members are not to expect a sermon every Sabbath.” Testimonies, vol. 7, 19

In closing, if we Adventists had put into practice what we have learned here, it would have put a rapid end to the errors and abominations brought in by sacerdotalism. In simply refusing to accept conference pastors who fail to preach unadulterated truth, we would have put a stop to their ability to introduce error and lead the people astray. This would have nullified the impact of the wolves that are currently running rampant among the flock and would have destroyed the main conduit for the new theology that is coming down from non-Adventist theologians that have instructed Seventh-day Adventist teachers and pastors.

May we Historic Adventists learn from the past!

The End

The Indifferent Church Of Laodicea

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In this study, I would like to consider the indifferent church. I believe that God has a people who are going to be ready to meet Him when He comes and that this is going to be His church. What, however, would happen if these people were to become indifferent—indifferent to the gospel, indifferent to the signs of the times, indifferent to things that are going on in the world? What if they even became indifferent to one another? Perhaps we have adopted the attitude that we could care less whether we did anything or not to hasten the coming of the Lord. Very few people will admit that; but sometimes, by our fruits we are known. If, however, we understand by Scripture that we can hasten the coming of the Lord, then we should be looking around for something that we can do to hasten that coming. Is not that right?

Being raised in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, one of the hard things for me to do is to admit that Laodicea, the lukewarm church that really needs to be revived, is talking about us. It is hard to put ourselves in the right position and to say that this is the church that God was speaking about, to admit that we are lukewarm and need a change—a revival. There is counsel throughout the Spirit of Prophecy identifying our church as being in the Laodicean state. When we read how lukewarm we are and of our need for a revival, we say, “Well, yes, but it can not be quite that bad.” It is horrible! In fact, it is worse than that. We need a change. God wants that change to come about in our lives. To be indifferent and lukewarm is to be taken by the enemy.

Satan wants to trap God’s church. What does a person do when he is setting a trap? Does he just set the trap out in the open and say, “Hey, come on; get in this thing”? No! He camouflages it, hides it, puts things over it. And so, you are caught before you know it. You did not intend to get in that trap. You really did not want to make that mistake; but, dear friends, somewhere along the line, you took your eyes off of Jesus.

We have to realize that we are to be a witness to all the world; and when we are the kind of witness we need to be, Jesus will come. When the light of the Holy Spirit burns within us, we are going to see that it will draw people to us. Is it not sad that we, as God’s last-day church, having the last message going to all the world, find it so difficult to find people who even want to study the Bible with us? Could it be, dear friends, that we are not in the right relationship where God can use us to study with someone? Could it be that we need a change in our lives? When we are changed, when we are filled with the Holy Spirit of God, then God can use us to reach out and touch others.

People say, “I have been in the church for years, and I have never led a soul to Christ.” Dear friends, what is wrong? I am not trying to scold you; I am wanting you to think with me. The purpose for our being here is to win souls for God’s kingdom. Is that not right? Are we usable for Christ, or are we used up? If you love your fellowman like you say you do, you are going to be praying, begging, and pleading that God will give avenues, open up doors, that you may be able to reach some souls for Him before it is everlastingly too late. I cannot help it; it is always impressed on my mind how many thousands have gone to Christless graves. They are going to burn in hell, dear friends. Why? Because we did not do our job.

When we get to the kingdom, will there not be those who will be there who will come up to us and say, “It is because of what you said or what you did that I am here”? We will, of course, realize that we could do nothing of ourselves, so we will point them to Jesus; but they will recognize us as a willing vessel that Jesus used. They will recognize us as the one who put our arm around them when they needed someone, as the one who mentioned the name of Jesus, or who smiled at them. People have made my day sometimes when they just smiled. They do not have to say anything, just smile.

Oh, how we need to be pleading on our knees. We are either going to heaven or we are going to hell; it is just that simple. And you will have to decide where it is going to be. Only you can decide; salvation is very individual. It would be nice if we could go as couples and groups. Every person is going to have to give an account. Every person has to give an account to God individually; so I can never apologize, dear friends, for advocating that God must be first in our lives. Jesus said, “If you put anyone before Me, you are not worthy of Me.”

I get so tired of hearing people say that they have to sow their oats. You sow some oats and you are going to reap a crop. The crop does not come up overnight. Many times it comes up a lot later; but what you sow will eventually surface, and people will know what you have been sowing. Now is the time, dear friends, to be sowing righteousness and the love of Jesus and instilling it in the hearts of our children and in the church, when we so desperately need changes.

Satan knows what is going on. He knows what will take place when he causes us to neglect secret prayer. He knows what will take place when we are not searching the Scriptures, so he keeps us away from that.

Very few who believe that Jesus is coming are spending sufficient time in prayer each and every day. Now do not ask me what sufficient time is. The Bible does not say that we have to spend so many minutes or so many hours, but we need to recognize that we need more help than ever before since the enemy is consolidating and coming together and is going to throw everything at God’s people. Our only safety is in keeping our hand in the hand of God, staying on our knees, and spending time in the Word of God.

Every day we need to be putting on the whole armor of God. That is our protection. I think of the armor as being something like the manna. If you did not get out and get that manna, when the sun come up, it melted. If a person slept in, he did not eat. We ought to have a little bit more of that today. As with the fresh manna, we must go out and get it every day. The fact that you put that armor on last week or you prayed on Sabbath is not relevant to your condition today.

Yet, most people get up late to go to work. They just barely get to work on time. They do not know what is going on until nearly noon. They have spent no time with God or studying the Word; the enemy is working them over right and left, and they do not even know it.

How is your relationship with Jesus? As we read, the devil wants to keep us in sin. Someone will say, “Well, I am not committing those big sins over here. I’m not doing this.” We may be acting selfishly, but we do not think about selfishness as being sin. We think of selfishness, pride, and pride of our own opinion as being separate from sin.

One day I went to visit someone, and I knocked on the door. She saw me standing at the door, and it was obvious that she was not pleased to see me. (Now it is sad when you think that, as a pastor, you have to warn the people before you come to visit. You almost feel like you have to call and tell them that you are coming because you do not know what they will be up to.) I said nothing, just walked in the door. The TV was blaring and a soap opera was on. I did not think much about it until she jumped me.

“Oh, so you think I’m a sinner because I watch soap operas.” I did not say anything, and she continued, “So you think I’m a horrible, terrible person.”

I said, “No, it never entered my mind. I never thought about it. Give me a chance here.”

“Well,” she replied, “I will just tell you right up front, right now. That is the only fault that I have.”

I said, “I wish I could say that. If that were the only fault I had, I would just put my foot through that screen right quick, and then I would not have any.”

Do you see how people reason? Their conscience is bothering them, and it causes them to think that other people are condemning them.

The more you study the Word and the closer you get to Jesus, the more filthy you become. It is getting close to Jesus that helps us to see ourselves as we really are. If we stay away from Jesus, we cannot see the changes that need to be made. But when we have a real relationship with Jesus, those changes come out and we are able to see them. We can submit them to Jesus and gain the victory.

Now is the time to put the whole armor of God on. Put it on every day; put it on fresh and clean. Do it by spending some time in prayer. If your schedule is hectic, get up a few minutes early. It will not hurt you. If you find that you can not get up any earlier, then go to bed earlier.

“The agencies of evil are combining their forces and consolidating. They are strengthening for the last great crisis. Great changes are soon to take place in our world, and the final movements will be rapid ones.” Testimonies, vol. 9, 11. Now the enemy is well aware that the last movements are going to be rapid. He knows that if the agencies for evil combine together, he will be stronger. I do not know how the devils have unity, but evidently they have some. Somehow, it says, they are consolidating; they are combining. Yet here we are, the people of God, and we are having a difficult time finding unity. Dear friends, there is unity in consolidating—working together—and this is what God wants us to do.

“Satanic agencies are in every city, busily organizing into parties those opposed to the law of God.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 42

If you say that you love Jesus and that by God’s grace we can keep the law, the devil hates you. Is not that interesting? Now some people get concerned and they say, “Oh, we do not want to get the devil mad at us.” He is already angry with you. “I do not want to get the neighbors upset.” They are already upset. “I do not want to get all Protestants angry at me.” They are already angry at you. “I do not want to get the papacy or Romanism upset with me.” They are already upset. It is just going to get worse. The Protestants are not going to love you before it is all over; the Roman church is not going to love you when it is all over; and your next door neighbor is not going to love you when all is said and done—not if you are faithful to Jesus Christ. Jesus tells us that they hated Him before they hated you.

Somehow, too many of God’s people are trying to get out in the world where everybody loves them. If you can get out in the world and everybody loves you, dear friends, you will be going to the wrong place. Now think about it. If you stand for what is truth, people do not like you. If you tell them about God’s Sabbath, they do not like you. They look at you like you have some type of disease. They avoid you. They were fine until you began to talk about Jesus or you changed your lifestyle.

The evil angels are combining their forces, organizing, to get rid of those “who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus.” So let us admit it; you are on the bad list, not the good list, as far as the evil angels are concerned.

“To hold the people in darkness and impenitence till the Saviour’s mediation is ended, and there is no longer a sacrifice for sin, is the object which he seeks to accomplish.” The Great Controversy, 518. What does the devil want to do with us? He wants to hold us in darkness, or in sin, until probation closes. And when probation closes, it is all over; he has us.

Dear friends, let me challenge you today. We must be born again if we are going to see Jesus. We have to be willing to say, “Lord, I want to change. I want to be more and more like You.” Be willing to submit your life to Jesus each and every day. Let Him come in and reveal the things that need to be changed in your life. He will do it, dear friends. He wants to do it because He wants to spend eternity with you.

Let us not become weary in well-doing. Let us continue to fight the good fight of faith, and let us spend eternity together. That is my prayer today.

The End

To Judge or Not to Judge?

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“Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone; if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained by brother.” Matthew 18:15. Many times I have people who come to me when they have a problem with a brother or a sister and say, “You know, Pastor Hector, I am having this problem with this brother; he is doing this, that, and the other.” Do you know that the Spirit of Prophecy tells us that we are not to go to our pastor and talk to him about a problem that we are having with someone else until we have followed Matthew 18? Because I love them, I say, “Time out, my brother. Have you talked to this person yourself, first?” Too often we neglect to do this.

“But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.” Verse 16. How many of us do this? We claim that we do, but we do not. Let us be honest with ourselves. “And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church.” Verse 17. Here are the basic steps of gospel order to deal with clearing up problems between individuals.

Let us suppose that you decide to follow gospel order and you come in love to that brother or that sister and say, “My brother, I want to help you because I have a concern. I saw that you were doing such an such a thing which you should not be doing.” Are you following Matthew 18? If you are going to him in love and in kindness and humility, how do you think that brother is going to respond to you?

I have an open invitation to every member in our church that if they see me doing something wrong; I want them to come and tell me so that I can correct it. Recently I had a brother at Living Waters Church come up to me and say, “Pastor Hector, I saw you do this, and you should not be doing it.” I said, “Thank you for showing me this problem area in my life.” Why should we not do this with one another? We need to stop playing games and be honest with each other.

There are three possible things that could happen to you when you go to a brother as Matthew 18 has commanded us to do. He will thank you from the bottom of his heart because he is sincere about getting ready for the coming of the Lord; or he may say, “You know, I had better stay away from the church because they are watching everything I do.”

The third thing that might happen is that that person may deny that they have a problem. They may be self-deceived into thinking that it is you who has the problem. “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes.” Proverbs 21:2. Then he may tell you, “I know that you came to me in love, brother, but I have to tell you that you are judging me.” And so he takes you to Matthew 7 and says, “’Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?’ (Verses 1–3). Why are you looking at me? Don’t you see what Scripture is saying here? Go solve your own problems before you come talk to me.” Then he dares to read verse 5 to you. “Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.”

Remember, you started out in love and concern for this individual; but now you have offended him. “A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like bars of a castle.” Proverbs 18:19. Have you ever visited a person who is on the other side of the bars? As long as those bars are closed, it is impossible to get through. It is often the same way with the heart of a brother or a sister whom you have offended.

Suppose that this brother now reads to you: “The reason is plain why Christ has said, ‘Judge not;’ for it is natural for man to exalt his own goodness. . . . If we looked upon things in the right light, we should see that we need mercy from Christ every moment, and should render the same to our brethren. Jesus has not placed man upon the judgment-seat; for He knew human nature too well to give man the power to judge and condemn others.” Review and Herald, January 3, 1893. How do you feel now? You are probably feeling very small. And then he continues, “He knew that in their fallible judgment, they would root up some as tares, who were worthy of their sympathy and confidence, and would pass by others who deserved to be dealt with in a decided manner.” Now this is very interesting because when this brother reads this to you, he is going to become a little confused. Did you notice what it said? “He knew that in their fallible judgment, they would root up some as tares, who were worthy of their sympathy and confidence, and would pass by others, who deserved to be dealt with in a decided manner.” [All emphasis supplied.]

Now what does that mean? If we are not supposed to judge, how do we deal with people in a decided manner? We are told, “When there are cases in the church which need to be dealt with decidedly, let the rule of the Bible be carried out. If the influence of erring members has an influence that corrupts others, they should be disfellowshipped; and heaven will ratify the action. It is the work of the enemy to sow tares among the wheat; and there will be men found in the church whose influence, as far as we can discern from outward appearance, is no blessing to the church.” Ibid. Pretty heavy words! It continues, “But even in cases of this character we are to move cautiously; for Christ and heavenly agencies are at work to purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Ibid.

What do we do when people are hindering the work? “God has given us our work, and if He has given us a message to bear to His people, those who would hinder us in the work and weaken the faith of the people in its truth and verity are not fighting against the instrument, but against God, and they must answer to Him for the result of their words and actions.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 433.

I want to ask you a question. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, did God still love and forgive them? Yes, He did. He provided a plan of salvation for them. If, however, God loved them so much, why did they have to be removed from their original home? Because there are consequences to our actions. “They must answer to Him for the result of their words and actions. All who have spiritual discernment may judge of the tree by its fruits.” Ibid.

Earlier we read that we were not supposed to judge, but now we are being told that we can judge the fruits. You see, it is not left up to me to determine the eternal salvation of an individual; I can never judge anyone and tell that they will not be in heaven. God has not given us the power to do that, but we are to judge the fruits.

How do we judge the fruits of an individual? “The Bible is the standard by which to test the claims of all who profess sanctification. . . . The Bible will be to them ‘profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.’ ‘Ye shall know them by their fruits.’ We need no other evidence in order to judge of men’s sanctification; if they are fearful lest they shall not obey the whole will of God.” Review and Herald, October 5, 1886. Are you confused? The Bible tells us not to judge and now it says that “we need no other evidence in order to judge of men’s sanctification.” My brothers and sisters, all of us are different; but we are supposed to bear the same fruit. Do you get the point?

“Our Lord does not leave us in darkness as to whom to trust. Here is the rule by which to decide; ‘Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles? Even so, every good tree bringeth forth good fruit.’” Signs of the Times, October 29, 1885.

We are supposed to give the light to the world. “‘A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.’ Our thoughts and purposes are the secret springs of action; and hence determine the character. The purpose formed in the heart need not be expressed in word or deed in order to make it a sin, and bring the soul into condemnation. Every thought, feeling, and inclination, though unseen by men, is discerned by the eye of God.” Signs of the Times, March 25, 1886.

We all need to reflect the character of Jesus Christ that men may see our good works. If we will be attentive to Christ’s voice, our characters will be blameless, harmless, and faithful, making us one of the chosen ones. We will be godly, guileless, holy, humble, hungry for righteousness, led by the Spirit, loving, lowly, meek, merciful, pure in heart. Do we have all of these traits of character? If we were to have all of these traits of character, people would not view us in the same light as the rest of the world. We would have the reputation of being Christians.

Unfortunately, most of us have a decidedly different character. The character of the vast majority of people in this world, even of those professing to be followers of Jesus, is one of alienation from God. They are blasphemous, blinded, boastful. Now as you read these characteristics, remember that it is by their fruits that you will know them. They are boastful, conspiring against the saints. They are corrupt, deceitful, disobedient, foolish, fraudulent, hard-hearted, hating the light. They are heady and high-minded, hypocritical, lying, selfish, and stiff-necked.

Now let me ask you something. If you find an individual with these character traits, would you have these people in responsible positions in your church? Why not? Are they exemplifying the character, or fruits of our Saviour, Jesus Christ? The problem today, however, is that we are finding too many people with all of these character traits who think that we, as a people, are not supposed to judge them. They believe that we are supposed to let them get away with anything and still allow them to stand in the desk and deliver a sermon, or take part in Sabbath School, or perform whatever other responsibilities that they may have. It is impossible that it should be this way. We are duty bound to not allow it to. Why? Because by their fruits, we are to know them.

When we refuse to allow such people to continue to function in responsible capacities, are we casting them away? No, we are not. We are merely saying, “We are no longer playing games in this church, my brother or my sister. You go home and put your house in order so that people see something different in you. When we see fruits of the Spirit in you, you can join us once again in this work that we are doing. We will pray for you, and you may join us in church and listen to the sermons. You may be admonished and edified with us, but do not expect to minister to us when we know that you are not demonstrating in your life the fruits of the Spirit.”

Today, we need to understand, my brothers and my sisters, that the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy tell us to watch the fruits of individuals because it is by their fruits that we are to know them. The next time that you come to an individual about a problem that they have, remember to first do a deep searching of your own heart and ask, “Lord, is there anything in my life that I need to change?”

And, if someone comes to you with something that you are doing wrong, instead of putting them off and refusing to listen, look in the mirror of the Law of God. Most of the time, when someone comes to you and reveals a problem in your life, it is not something that they have fabricated. It is the result of actions that they have seen and things that we have done.

Are you sincere enough to stop and consider what this brother or this sister is bringing to you? Have you come to a place in your Christian experience where you are willing to kneel down and say, “Lord, I know there are problems in my life; please help me; I want to be used in Your service; I cannot continue to go on the way that I am going? How can I go to church and pretend to be something that I am not?” It is time to stop playing games, my brothers and my sisters. This is serious business. And when you are involved in the gospel work, you had better have your house in order. As I mentioned earlier, I made a public request at Living Waters Church that if there is ever a time when I do or say anything that I should not be saying or doing, please come to me and let me know what it is. I want to know about it. And you know, if you do this in your church, the Lord is going to bless your church magnificently.

Consider, how much time do you spend looking at yourself in the mirror in the morning before you leave the house? We all spend a great deal of time making certain that we look the best that we possibly can. Have you put the Law of God in that mirror?

Each morning when we leave our houses, we need to pray to the Lord that He will help us to submit our wills to Him daily so that we can walk in the newness of life. And when someone comes to you, listen to that brother. I do not care who this person is, even if it is a person who is critical all of the time, listen to what he has to say, because maybe there is a fault that you need to see. Never cast away a brother or a sister who comes to you. If they are willing, be willing to kneel down with them, thanking them for coming to you and revealing these things in your life, remembering that we will be known by our fruits.

What Goes Around Comes Around

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For over one hundred years, Seventh-day Adventists have known that the time is coming when all who refuse the mark of the beast will be faced with a death decree. But friends, there are going to be many Seventh-day Adventists who will never reach the point where their life is threatened. Without realizing it, their minds will have already come under the control of Satan long before the crisis arrives.

The first method of mind control that we looked at was the attempt to change the terminology. Change the terminology and you will change the way a person things about the subject. As an example, we showed how rebuke has been called criticism, thereby changing the way people relate to it.

The second method is actually more deceptive than the first. In this method, the same words are used; but they are given a different meaning. Has anyone ever asked you, “Do you believe that the church is going through?” Well, of course you believe that; but the real question is, Who and what is this church that is going through?

There have been some Historic Adventist preachers who have made statements like, I don’t believe in sarcasm.” Now that sounds like a very pious thing to say. In Webster’s dictionary, 1828, it says that sarcasm is an expression that is uttered with some degree of scorn or contempt. Accordingly, a Christian will never, ever utter a sarcastic word.

I am bringing this up because when you get to studying cybernetic warfare, you find that eventually a person goes contrary to the direct command of Jesus in Matthew 7:1, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” In this same chapter, Jesus also said, “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” Verses 16–20. Therefore, on the basis of the Word of God, we can check the fruit, which is a person’s words and actions; but we do not have authority to say what motives they may have had in speaking those words.

Let me give you an example. “And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, ‘Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is mediating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.’ So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.” I Kings 18:27–29. In twentieth century English, that is sarcastic speech; but I do not have the authority to say whether Elijah had the feeling of contempt in his heart toward these people. That is God’s prerogative, and that is one of the problems that you run into when you start changing definitions of words. Eventually you get to assigning motives to other people.

To the person lacking spiritual vision, it appears that the agents of God and those of Satan are doing the same work. Because of God’s agents rebuke and reprove, sometimes with severity, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, this reproof and rebuke is interpreted by unconverted hearts to have been given from the same motives that they themselves feel when making such remarks. You see, we judge things on the basis of our own motives and heart and experience. That is why the Bible says, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” And so it is that the person who, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, speaks the words of God in reproof and rebuke finds his words interpreted as sarcasm, faultfinding, criticism, and condemning.

Many years ago there was a life insurance salesman in the United States by the name of Vash Young. He wrote a book entitled The Go-Giver. In this gook he wrote about a number of his experiences. One of the conclusions that he came to was that the average human being makes about 85% of his decisions on any subject based upon his feelings or emotions; but he needs about 15% of logic and reason to justify that feeling or emotion. Now cybernetic warfare, when we say changing the terminology of the word involves communicating an emotional picture to a person’s imagination which influences that person’s decisions and get his sympathy in a desired direction. Often this desired direction can be completely contrary to the facts.

Suppose that you invited my daughter and me to come along with you for a ride and a picnic in the mountains. However, when the time comes, I notice that there are not enough seat belts to go around and, in addition, that your car does not have very good tires. Rather than hurt your feelings by referring to the poor condition of your car, I just tell you that I have decided that I would rather not go. Suppose, then, that a couple of days later a friend of yours calls me on the telephone after talking to you and tells me that you informed him that I boycotted your picnic and he was wondering why I would do anything so traitorous as this.

Ellen White says that, “It is a fact widely ignored, though never without danger, that error rarely appears for what it really is. It is by mingling with or attaching itself to truth that it gains acceptance.” Education, 230, 231. Very often these mind control techniques are a perversion of something that actually is true. Is it true that I did not go on the picnic? Yes. But how has my decision been described? It has been described by words that have a very powerful, negative, emotional connotation. I receive letters all of the time in which this technique is used.

Deuteronomy 6:6–9 says, “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” What is the principle here? If you really want to learn something, you expose your mind to it over and over again.

Experts in mind control techniques understand this principle. Did you now that this principle of repeating something over and over again is one of the main principles upon which all propaganda is based? When you hear something you immediately have to do one of two things. You have to decide whether to accept it or to resist it. It does not matter whether the information is true or false; if it is repeated often enough and you are not resisting it, you will believe it. That is the way the human mind is made, and the devil knows it.

When you hear a minister speaking, do you believe what he has to say on the basis of the Word of God, or because he has said it? Not too long ago I received some videos. The person doing the speaking would consider himself an Historic Adventist preacher. I did not have the time to watch them, so I asked a relative of mine to watch them for me and tell me what he heard. It was reported to me that on these videos, the minister made a particular statement. I asked my relative if the person speaking had shown that statement to be true from the Bible or the Spirit of Prophecy? “No,” he replied, “he didn’t prove it, but he repeated it 12 times throughout that video.”

If you are not asking the questions, “Is this substantiated in the Word of God?” and resisting everything that is not, after something is repeated 12 times you are going to believe what you are told. You will probably write me a letter or call me on the telephone and tell me about it. It happens all of the time.

This same principle also applies to the speaker. Something repeated over and over again, even if it is not true, eventually becomes truth to the one speaking it, until he will believe it so thoroughly that no one can convince him otherwise. In the effort to get other people to think a certain way, you will influence yourself.

Ellen White tells us that in the last great crisis, “Those who honor the Bible Sabbath will be denounced as enemies of law and order, as breaking down the moral restraints of society, causing anarchy and corruption, and calling down the judgments of God upon the earth. Their conscientious scruples will be pronounced obstinacy, stubbornness, and contempt of authority.” The Great Controversy, 592.

Of what law are you an enemy? Well, you are an enemy of the Sunday law, obviously, so you are an enemy of order. In our society, does that send a strong, emotional message that will turn people against you? It certainly does! When this type of information is broadcast on radio and television, you will find that people will accept it; and immediately their emotions will be stirred to a white-hot heat. If you have already experienced, in a degree, this sort of thing, the Lord has just allowed it to take place in your life to harden you up and get your ready for the real attack that is coming.

Let me tell you, friends, we are living in the time when the vast majority of the people in this world are going to be subject to mind control without realizing it is taking place. They will believe that they are about to enter the most wonderful period of human existence that there has ever been. (See The Great Controversy, 588, 589.)

How are you going to escape this? Only by being grounded on the foundation of God’s government—love to God and love for your fellow man. These are the two fundamental principles. If these principles are not in your heart and in mine, if you are not manifesting them in your family or where you work or with the people you associate with, you are not going to make it. I used to naively think that studying the Bible so that I would know the truth would be sufficient; but I want to tell you that unless the truth about Jesus and the love of Jesus has taken possession of your heart, all of the theoretical knowledge is not going to hold you in the battle we are entering.

“That which distinguishes the character and conduct of Christians from all others is the principle of holy, Christlike love, which works in the heart with its purifying influence. The true Christian will work the works of Christ in giving expression in deeds of love one to another. With this living, abiding, working principle in life and in character, no one can resemble the world. If you know the character and works of Christ, you will know the disposition and conduct of Christians. Christ hated evil so much that sin and evil met a strong rebuke from His lips and from His example. While He hated sin, He loved the sinner. . . .

“How much greater strength you might have had as sons and daughters of God had you loved God supremely and your neighbor as you love yourself. How much higher ground you might stand upon if you had been following on to know more and more of the truth and gathering more and more divine light to shine forth in good works to all around you.

“Your works are not pleasing to God but pleasing to the enemy.

“You have lessons to learn in the school of Christ before you will be fitted for heaven. Your self, your ways, your sharp traits of character make you unskillful in dealing with minds and hearts. . . . If you allow yourselves to be dictatorial, accusing, and judging your brethren, and with unsanctified hearts and unholy tempers seeking to mend their wrongs, you do unskillful work and drive souls away from the service of Christ. . . .

“You must take hold of God with one hand while with the other hand, in love, you lay hold upon the erring and the sinner and draw them to Jesus. Pray with them, weep with them, feel for their souls, love them, and never let go of them. This is the love Jesus has expressed for you. You must ever strive for unity and forbearance and love. Never draw apart, but press together, binding heart to heart and making supplications in the Spirit. Then the power of God will work in your midst and many souls will be brought to the truth through your influence.” Manuscript 32, 1887.

Now, friends, I believe in missionary work with all of my heart, and I believe in proclaiming the gospel and the Three Angels’ Messages; but if we are going to get the kind of results that God wants us to have, we must love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind and our neighbor as ourself. It may take a great deal of prayer to know what Jesus would do in the situation in which you find yourself right now, but ask the Lord to teach you how and what to do.

There was a Bulgarian pastor who was taken captive by the Communists. They tried again and again to break him down, but they could not. He said that during the 13 or 14 years that he was in a prison camp, his captors considered him the number one enemy because what he represented would destroy their system. In telling his experience of being beaten and tortured, he said that he noticed that many of the soldiers who were administering this torture became just like animals. At the very time that these people were losing all human feelings and emotions, among some of the prisoners an amazing thing took place. There would be men who, because their jaws had been broken as a result of their beatings, could not take a piece of bread and eat it. Some of their fellow prisoners would take the bread and break it up into small pieces and put in into these injured prisoner’s mouths so that they could get some nourishment. As the torturers were becoming satanic in their nature, there were prisoners who were becoming godlike.

I want to tell you, friends, in the midst of the great crisis that we are entering right now, there is going to be a world full of people who will be like the devil in human flesh. But in the midst of all of this horror, there are going to be some people who will become and exact reflection of the character of Jesus Christ. And, friends, if you live until the end, it is going to be one way or the other with each of you. The only way that you are going to survive is if you have the love of Jesus in your hearts—you love God with all your heart, soul, and mind—and you have love for your fellow man so that nobody can induce you for anything to do something to hurt or harm one of your fellow men because you love others with all of your heart. If you have that love in your heart, they will not be able to break you down. This is the only thing, friends, that will hold you.

A Voice Crying in the Wilderness

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“When the religion of Christ is most held in contempt, when His law is most despised, then should our zeal be the warmest and our courage and firmness the most unflinching. To stand in defense of truth and righteousness when the majority forsake us, to fight the battles of the Lord when champions are few—this will be our test.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 136.

You will find in John chapter 1 the story of John the Baptist and an account of an incident that took place during his public ministry. John was a faithful minister in the church of God, but was not recognized as such. God raised up a voice crying in the wilderness; it was a prophetic ministry clearly outlining the Scriptures yet the ministers had no true understanding of John’s call to do a work of revival and reformation.

John 1:19 says, “And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?” They knew his family history, that John’s father was a priest after the normal order and who he was after the flesh. The question they asked was a statement of doubt. We don’t recognize you; we don’t endorse you; we don’t have any connection with you. We don’t see a legal connection with you and the church that we believe we have control over and we don’t see your messages in harmony with ours. We don’t recognize your theology. We don’t recognize your messages and your way of explaining the Scriptures. We do not recognize who you are because you are definitely not like us. So they asked, “Who are you?”

John 1:20–23 says, “And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias?” They knew that Malachi had said that Elias, or Elijah was supposed to come before Christ would come. “And he saith, I am not.” They really believed that Elijah was to come from the dead. The questioning continued, “Art thou that prophet?” (This refers to Moses, see The Desire of Ages, 135.) This was said in mocking and doubting. “Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?” Because they did not understand the simplest things, he answered their question prophetically. “He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias (Isaiah).”

When John was asked who he was, he did not attempt to give a history of his birth, or his parents or his physical baptism, but simply stated that his identity and foundation of belief was the word of God. He could tell them exactly where his work was prophesied in the Scriptures and he fully understood his role as the present truth of that time. Do you understand exactly where you stand when it comes to the prophecies of the last days? Are you able, as did John, to show others where you stand because you know what God has called you to do today?

John said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord.” The Scripture he quoted was Isaiah 40:3 which says, “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord.” The job of this voice was to prepare the way for Christ to come. It says, “… make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” So in preparing for Christ to come the way must be made straight in the desert, a highway.

There is a broad way and a narrow way. John’s mission was to direct the people to the narrow way and to prepare a people to find Christ in this way. Verse 3 continues: “… make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” Verses 4 and 5: “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”

This prophecy was one most definite, “for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” Through the power of God the high things would be brought down and the things that were abased, or despised would be exalted. The message would be crying out from the wilderness and doing the work in the desert.

John was literally in the desert that ran by the river Jordan. This was a very desolate place but because of the power of God it began to spring up and bud. The high things, even the scribes and the Pharisees, were abased and brought low in the messages that he spoke. Those who were despised of Israel, because of the converting power of God were brought high and exalted. The power of the message, even though the leadership did not recognize him, was a message of God and it was powerful enough to bring down the mountains.

There were many other preachers in Israel that were supposed to give the message. This included the Levites but they did not recognize the work of John or understand his role or the message he brought to the people. Before the second advent of Christ, there will be people who will stand in the power and spirit of Elijah and do a similar work.

“Crying” has a prophetic application. Isaiah 58:1 says, “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression.” This is all tied in with this voice—this message was to bring Israel to repentance by revealing the transgressions of Israel, bring down the high things and exalt that which was low. In a nutshell, this was the message of John the Baptist. The Levites, scribes and Pharisees were not giving this message, neither was the general church population and God rose up another to do the work.

Christ spoke through John when he preached in the wilderness. John gave those who would not listen to the clear admonitions answers that must be understood prophetically. The Scriptures explain the meaning of the words “crying in the wilderness.” “Neither said they, Where is the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?” Jeremiah 2:6. To be in the wilderness means to be in a place where there is drought, a desert, a pit and the shadow of death. A land where no man passed through and no man dwelt. In this place John was to raise up a highway for the Lord. A highway is where many people have access. John, among all of those claiming to be waiting for God, gave his message faithfully, the way God would give it.

John was in the desert, literally and figuratively, standing in the position as a prophet and a preacher where no man dwelt. How many pass through the Scriptures in such a way as John did to give the message?

John claimed to be a “voice crying in the wilderness;” like Isaiah, he preached a message that was not popular in his day. There were many people preaching, even some associated with Isaiah, but theirs was not the same message, a voice calling for repentance. No rebuke of sin was heard in their message. They were very gentle and careful about wounding and hurting people’s feelings. Neither John nor Isaiah was unfeeling, but they would rather obey God than men. There was a definite message to be given and it could only be given from the wilderness—a place where not many men pass through.

Many who preach want their fellow associates in the ministry to believe and stand with them. John stood alone; His was a message that came directly from God. He did not preach his own ideas about what he considered truth. Today, those who give the message in a straight line, must also dwell in obscurity, in the wilderness where few preachers will stand and give the straight testimony.

There were many preachers in John’s day. Nicodemus was over many ministers but he did not understand the first thing about God, so John stood alone to give his message. He was not the first; every prophet that God sent to Israel was crying in the wilderness and out of harmony with the theology of his day. None of them were popular and were all rebuked and cast off by the church.

“Those who have been thrust out to bear a plain, pointed testimony, in the fear of God to reprove wrong, to labor with all their energies to build up God’s people, and to establish them upon important points of present truth, have too often received censure [rebuke] instead of sympathy and help, while those who, like yourself, [from a personal testimony] have taken a noncommittal position [jewelry—do not like it but don’t deal with it and say if you want to wear jewelry that is fine; dress—come as you are; music—well everybody has to be persuaded in their own minds; I just deal with Jesus. I want to be noncommittal and not take any clear position in the church. I want to stay on the fence where it is safe. What does the elder say about that? These people dwell where many men pass through] are thought to be devoted, and to have a mild spirit. God does not thus regard them. The forerunner of Christ’s first advent was a very plain-spoken man. He rebuked sin, and called things by their right names. He laid the ax at the root of the tree. He thus addressed one class of professed converts who came to be baptized of him in Jordan: ‘O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance. … And now also 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 3:7–10).” Testimonies, vol. 1, 321. Consider the next line: “In this fearful time, just before Christ is to come the second time, God’s faithful preachers will have to bear a still more pointed testimony than was borne by John the Baptist. A responsible, important work is before them; and those who speak smooth things, God will not acknowledge as His shepherds. A fearful woe is upon them.” Ibid.

A fearful woe will be upon the great majority of the clergy because they want to preach smoothly and want to be non-committal and have people see them as being mild. Here we come to the end of time where people desire smooth things and now we are to give a more pointed testimony than John the Baptist. How many do not desire to dwell in the wilderness, but want to preach in Jerusalem and in the big synagogue and go up higher? John’s message was to bring the high things low.

“In every age, God has called his servants to lift up their voices against the prevailing errors and sins of the multitude. Noah was called to stand alone to warn the antediluvian world. Moses and Aaron were alone against kings and princes, magicians and wise men, and the multitudes of Egypt. Elijah was alone when he testified against an apostate king and a backsliding people. Daniel and his fellows stood alone against the decrees of mighty monarchs. The majority are usually to be found on the side of error and falsehood. The fact that doctors of divinity have the world on their side does not prove them to be on the side of truth and of God. The wide gate and the broad road attract the multitudes, while the strait gate and the narrow way are sought only by the few.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 214.

There are many people preaching the message but how many are preaching a message that God would recognize. I ask myself that same question—am I preaching God’s message—will God pass by me and say “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:23)?

Elijah, Moses, Noah, all of these people stood alone to preach the truth. These men were voices crying in the wilderness. Many people may wish to be like Elijah and Moses but they do not want to stand alone. They would rather try to harmonize with the brethren and yield the truth instead of standing for the right. I hope you don’t know anybody like that.

There is an amazing quotation found in Prophets and Kings, 367. There was no cloudiness in Isaiah’s message; it was clear truth. It says, “Throughout his ministry Isaiah bore a plain testimony concerning God’s purpose for the heathen. Other prophets had made mention of the divine plan, but their language was not always understood. To Isaiah it was given to make very plain to Judah the truth that among the Israel of God were to be numbered many who were not descendants of Abraham after the flesh. This teaching was not in harmony with the theology of his age, (Isaiah’s message was considered error and very divisive) yet he fearlessly proclaimed the messages given him of God and brought hope to many a longing heart reaching out after the spiritual blessings promised to the seed of Abraham.”

Even today people are confused about who and what comprises the church or who are faithful and who are not.

People wonder why there are some who do not preach like the majority, to be accepted. In Christ’s Object Lessons, 78, 79, it says, “For His church in every generation God has a special truth and a special work. The truth that is hid from the worldly wise and prudent is revealed to the child-like and humble. It calls for self-sacrifice. It has battles to fight and victories to win. At the outset its advocates are few. By the great men of the world and by a world-conforming church, they are opposed and despised. See John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, standing alone to rebuke the pride and formalism of the Jewish nation. See the first bearers of the gospel into Europe. How obscure, how hopeless, seemed the mission of Paul and Silas, the two tentmakers, as they with their companions took ship at Troas for Philippi. See ‘Paul the aged,’ in chains, preaching Christ in the stronghold of the Caesars. See the little communities of slaves and peasants in conflict with the heathenism of imperial Rome. 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 cannot do otherwise. God be my help.’ (Martin Luther was crying in the wilderness, crying all alone.) See John Wesley preaching Christ and His righteousness in the midst of formalism, sensualism, and infidelity. See one burdened with the woes of the heathen world, pleading for the privilege of carrying to them Christ’s message of love. Hear the response of ecclesiasticism: ‘Sit down, young man. When God wants to convert the heathen, He will do it without your help or mine.’

“The great leaders of religious thought in this generation sound the praises and build the monuments of those who planted the seed of truth centuries ago. Do not many turn from this work to trample down the growth springing from the same seed today? [The same truths of this generation are trying to be stomped out.] The old cry is repeated, ‘We know that God spake unto Moses; as for this fellow [Christ in the messenger He sends], we know not from whence he is’ (John 9:29). As in earlier ages, the special truths for this time are found, not with the ecclesiastical authorities, but with men and women who are not too learned or too wise to believe the word of God.”

The voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the paths of the Lord. It may be more possible now that we may not even hear the message for the time. Remember that John was not only literally in the desert, but also was that great body of preachers and ministers supposedly bringing the revival message. John was someone who was seemingly standing alone in the midst of all of these methods and interpretations and even theories about revival and reformation. This work of preparation was going on all over and Jesus passed by all the Essenes, the Pharisees and schools of theology and came right to John the Baptist and suffered him to fulfill all righteousness. Jesus saw that his work would fulfill righteousness.

“I was shown that even this decided message of the True Witness had not accomplished the design of God. The people [the remnant church] slumber on in their sins. They continue to declare themselves rich and having need of nothing [even Christ and the forgiveness of sins]. Many inquire: Why are all these reproofs given? Why do the Testimonies continually charge us with backsliding and with grievous sins? [Many cannot see it—either the testimonies are wrong or they are right.] We love the truth; we are prospering; we are in no need of these testimonies of warning and reproof. But let these murmurers see their hearts and compare their lives with the practical teachings of the Bible, let them humble their souls before God, let the grace of God illuminate the darkness, and the scales will fall from their eyes, and they will realize their true spiritual poverty and wretchedness. They will feel the necessity of buying gold, which is pure faith and love; white raiment, which is a spotless character made pure in the blood of their dear Redeemer; and eyesalve, which is the grace of God and which will give clear discernment of spiritual things and detect sin. These attainments are more precious than the gold of Ophir.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 254.

Without the grace which is shown as being white raiment, eyesalve and gold, we cannot have true spiritual discernment. We will not be able to detect sin under any guise. Remember that “he [Satan] will work with ‘all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved’ (II Thessalonians 2:9, 10)” [Testimonies, vol. 2, 172, 173] and it will be near impossible to distinguish between truth and error except by the Spirit of God and the word of God.

Brothers and sisters, we need that eyesalve, that raiment, that gold tried in the fire but how many are willing to receive this message. How many are willing to stand alone and give this message and be a voice crying in the wilderness in these last days, these evil days. How many are willing to stand alone though the majority forsakes us. How many are ready to stand with Jesus.

Two thieves were crucified with Jesus, one on one side and one on the other and even though they both reviled Him, one was converted. One said to remember him when he came into His kingdom. Jesus had something to strengthen Him in his last hours. That cloud covered Jesus and He was wrapped in thick darkness while lightening crashed and thunder rolled throughout the heaven and he could not be seen and He was all alone wrestling with God. He was suffering the agony of separation from God for you and for me. Jesus knew what it meant to be alone.

In these last days, though we may be in the crowd, or in the forest, we will, in our spiritual experience, have to stand alone with God. If God would send someone to stand by your side and to preach with you, you will still have your hand firmly in His. Though we may have mother, father, brother, sister, pastor, standing with us our hands must be in Christ’s hands alone. We must all be a voice crying in the wilderness, a land where “no man passed through and where no man dwelt.” Jeremiah 2:6.

May we all see the importance of this divine truth and that we understand that the popular, the easy side, is not the side of God. “As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the third angel’s message, but have not been sanctified through obedience to the truth, abandon their position and join the ranks of the opposition. By uniting with the world and partaking of its spirit, they have come to view matters in nearly the same light; and when the test is brought, they are prepared to choose the easy, popular side. Men of talent and pleasing address, who once rejoiced in the truth, employ their powers to deceive and mislead souls.” The Great Controversy, 608.

All those who desire to be on the popular and easy side will go over there when the storm approaches. We need a fitting up, a preparation that is greater than what we now know. We need an understanding of truth greater than what we now possess so that we may stand.

[All emphasis supplied.]

John R. Cofer is currently engaged in establishing training schools under the name, The Schools of the Prophets for the youth. He and his wife, Maria, have established a digital media company to create and promote video media teaching the unique message of Adventism using social media such as Facebook and YouTube. 

If the Devil Were Your Pastor, What Would He Say?

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Have you ever wondered what you would do if you were the devil and were trying to deceive someone like you? Have you ever thought of that before? By the way, the devil has all kinds of advantages. You see, God has a great disadvantage, because God cannot tell you what you want to hear; He can only tell the truth. (See Titus 1:2.)

Have you ever heard someone say, “Well that just doesn’t make sense to me”? Do you know what the devil does? He is listening; and he says, “Well, I can make something make sense to him. I will come up with just the philosophy that appeals to him and that he thinks makes sense. If he thinks God is a certain way, I will come up with a religion that presents God in that way. I will come up with a religion or a philosophy or an idea that tells him just what he wants to hear.”

Satan is a deceiver; and as we read in Revelation 12:9, he has succeeded in deceiving the whole world. The Bible says that if it were possible, he would “deceive even the very elect.” Matthew 24:24. And after all, the elect are who he is really after. In Noah’s day, there were only eight out of millions who were not deceived. In Jesus’ day, there were only a few humble disciples; and even some of them did not fair so well. And in the last days, we are told that there will be only a small minority, even of God’s people, who are going to be saved. The rest are going to be deceived. Those who are going to be sealed in the last days are those who, because of the Word of God, see the deceptions that are creeping into God’s church today.

“And the LORD said to him, ‘Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.’ To the others He said in my hearing, ‘Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.’ So they began with the elders who were before the temple. ” Ezekiel 9:4–6.

Now, if I were the devil, I would study your life. I would put an angel by you, just like every other Christian. In fact, if I had enough, I would put two angels by each Christian; and I would say, “Listen, you go by each one of these Christians and find how they think, what they really like, and their weakest points; and strike at those weak points. You find what they like the best, and we will deceive them on those points. Tell them a lot of good things; just weave in a few errors here and there so subtly that they can’t decipher where they are, and lead them to hell.”

If I were the devil, I would go to a revival meeting and be converted. But I would not stop there for sure. It would not be good enough for me to be just a common church member; I would want to be active in the church. In fact, do you know what I would really like to do? I would like to teach and preach. I think I would go to the seminary and become educated.

Suppose the devil became the pastor of your church. What kind of a pastor do you think he would be? I want to tell you what kind of a pastor he would be. He would be the best speaker you have ever heard. He would be the best administrator you have ever seen. He would be the most personable pastor you have ever had. He would be a pastor who would speak more love than any pastor you have ever heard; it would be love and righteousness. But the only thing that your faith should be based on is the Bible. “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20. Paul says, “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11. He commended the Bereans because they did not accept what he said without going to the Bible first to see if it was according to Scripture.

I want to tell you something. Satan has lost none of his power and none of his guile and none of his ability; and he is working to deceive. “Who knows whether God will not give you up to the deceptions you love? Who knows but that the preachers who are faithful, firm, and true may be the last who shall offer the gospel of peace to our unthankful churches? It may be that the destroyers are already training under the hand of Satan and only wait the departure of a few more standard-bearers to take their places, and with the voice of the false prophet cry, ‘Peace, peace,’ when the Lord hath not spoken peace.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 77. Here we are told that when the faithful pastors are removed, pastors will take their places who have been trained by Satan himself; and they may take over all the pastorates.

The disciples were loath to believe that the Bible meant all that it said back in Jesus’ day. When Jesus told them that He was going to die, they said, “That really isn’t going to happen to You. You are speaking in parables.” I want to tell you, the prophets do not lie. Did you notice what the sign of a false prophet is and what they are going to preach? These people who have been trained under the hand of Satan are going to come with the voice of the false prophet and cry, “Peace, Peace.” Oh, do not give us any straight sermons. Do not tell us, like John the Baptist, where we are wrong. We do not want to hear that. Do not tell us any of these things. That is being critical. Do not say any of those things. Just tell us how good we are.” I want to tell you, that is a doctrine of the devil!

“I seldom weep, but now I find my eyes blinded with tears; they are falling upon my paper as I write. It may be that erelong all prophesyings among us will be at an end, and the voice which has stirred the people may no longer disturb their carnal slumbers. When God shall work His strange work on the earth, when holy hands bear the ark no longer, woe will be upon the people.” Ibid. The ark is not dependent upon who is carrying it. It is still God’s ark. God has a church on earth today. It is defined and identified in Revelation 12:7, and throughout Revelation. It will be those who keep the Commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

“None but those who have fortified the mind with the truths of the Bible will stand through the last great conflict.” The Great Controversy, 593. None! “Only those who have been diligent students of the Scriptures and who have received the love of the truth will be shielded from the powerful delusion that takes the world captive.” Ibid., 625.

I want to tell you something, friends. God inspired those words. He knew that we would need them in this day. And I want to tell you something about inspired words. Inspired words mean what they say. A lot of people think that there are exceptions. They think that if they are in the right church, they will somehow sail through as long as they keep their membership. Inspiration says that that is not so, that it is only those who have fortified their minds with the truths of the Bible who will have a defense against the powerful temptations of the evil one. You need to prayerfully open the Word of God. Study it, dear friends; study it day after day after day. Spend more than five minutes with it. You have to become a diligent student of the Word of God. It must become a personal Book to you. Jesus Christ must become your personal Saviour.

Do you know what is the greatest deception in all the world? It is to think that you are right when you are absolutely wrong. We are told in Matthew 7:21–23 that when Jesus comes, many will be so certain that they are saved that they will argue with God about it. They will have done many things in Jesus’ name. They went to church and even paid their tithe in His name. They were Christians through and through. They held church offices. They may have even led many souls into the church. They have all the proofs and marks of salvation. Then they will hear those sad words, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” Oh, I tell you, do not think that you are smart enough to outwit the devil. You can never do it.

But guess what? There is another power on earth besides the power of the devil. What power is that? The power of God, the power of the Holy Spirit. God has promised to put a shield and a hedge around every true follower of His. If we will study the Bible daily and if we are following everything that it says, he will protect us from the devil’s deceptions. Jesus said, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31, 32.

Now if I were the devil, I would do one other thing. Not only would I be converted at a revival meeting, but also I would go to the seminary and become a pastor and work my way up. You see, I would be interested in achieving. Not only would I seek to be a good pastor, I would seek to get into a position where I could hire those I wanted to hire and get rid of those I wanted to get rid of. In time, I would surround myself with men like me; and I would take control of whatever organization I was a part of. Now, thank the Lord, God has said that His church is going through; but in the meantime, He says that it is going to suffer. If you do not believe this is so, consider this statement. “Many will stand in our pulpits with the torch of false prophecy in their hands, kindled from the hellish torch of Satan.” Testimonies to Ministers, 409. Do not think it is not possible for the devil to take control of any church in the land, even of God’s church.

Listen, dear friends, the devil is no dummy. He has his agents, and they are as good as any preachers you have ever heard. They are the best. They will do anything to achieve. They will do anything to get to the top; and they are getting there, dear friends.

Do you know what I would do first? I would try to get to the top and surround myself with people like me. Then I would start to week out anyone who gave the straight testimony. If anyone thought that they were going to follow those who were giving the straight testimony, I would send out an avalanche of bad news, gossip, rumors, and bad reports about them so that everyone would be turned away from them.

Second, I would get my public relations department going and in four-color brochures, in pictures, and in very other way, I would tell people what a good job I was doing. I would build up all of my people and destroy anyone who was giving the straight testimony.

Dear friends, I am not talking in parables. I just read that some day, when the faithful, firm, and true pastors are removed, their places are going to be taken by those “training under the hand of the devil.” Now, God does not want us to judge others, but He does tell us that we are to be wise as serpents because He sends us out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Many times the wolves are in the highest places. They are in places where they can influence our thinking and our actions.

Oh, dear friend, I have an appeal for you. You do not have to be deceived. Everyone is going to be deceived except those who study the Word of God every day. Pledge yourself to begin to faithfully study the Word of God every day.

Good Men Good Church

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“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” Revelation 3:14-17 (KJV)

How could a people or a church ever become so blind that they are actually naked and think they are clothed? It is because they have learned to depend upon their own works and their own righteousness rather than the righteousness of Christ. And, though they think they are clothed, their own righteousness cannot clothe them.

It is a situation similar to the one Jesus spoke of in Luke 18:10-14. “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector [or publican]. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God be merciful to me a sinner!’” Today, Pharisees are looked down upon; but back in Jesus’ day, they were respected. Publicans, on the other hand, were the worst of people in the eyes of the Jews. They did not respect God’s church, and the Jews considered them to be collaborating with the Romans. Yet Jesus said, “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

I have often studied with sadness the history of Saul. Here was a man who was chosen and ordained of God. He knew that he had been ordained by God to lead his church. When he went out to fight God’s battles, God fought for him. But when God told him to destroy the Amalekites, he failed to do as he was told. He reasoned, “Let’s take these animals and show our appreciation and gratitude for God. Instead of just killing them and wasting them, we will sacrifice them to God.” Look, however at God’s assessment of what had taken place. “So Samuel said, ‘when you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the LORD anoint you king over Israel? Now the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the LORD? And Saul said to Samuel, ‘But I obeyed the voice of the LORD, and gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.’ So Samuel said: ‘Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubborness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king.’” 1 Samuel 15:17-23

Saul thought he was so good, but he was blind. He thought he was clothed with righteousness, but he was absolutely naked. It says in verse 23, “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king.” It is a solemn reality that whom God ordains for service, He can remove; and what He has ordained for service He can also remove. God ordained the children of Israel to be His people. Of them, He said, “Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, who disturbs the sea, and its waves roar (The LORD of hosts is His name): if those ordinances depart from before ME, says the LORD, then the seed of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before Me forever.” Jeremiah 31:35, 36. Even if the sun, moon, and stars should be removed, Israel would not be removed from being His people.

The children of Israel reasoned in Jesus’ day, “We are God’s people’ nothing can change that. The tide is still coming in; there are still the sun, moon, and stars.” But somehow they forgot that what God establishes, He can also remove. Though God had established Saul, he also removed Him. As with Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, though God appointed them, He also removed them. Thus it was with the leadership in Jesus’ day, and thus it is today. When men begin to think that they are good because of position or works, they are absolutely blind. There is not a position or work in which we can engage that can make any one of us good. If there is any goodness in it, it is the goodness of Jesus that comes by faith in Him. But men have come to the place where they believe that they can break the Sabbath and be held guiltless. They believe that they can lie and bear false charges as the scribes and Pharisees did against Jesus in His day in order to preserve the system because it is for a good purpose, and somehow still be guiltless.

Korah, Dathan, and Abiram were in the holy service of God. They had come out of Egypt and gone through the Red Sea; they had eaten manna and drunk the water from the rock. More than that, some of these leaders, possibly even Korah, Dathan, and Abiram themselves, had gone up on Mt. Sinai with Moses. God chose them, through Moses, to be representatives for Him. Moses, on the other hand, was not a representative of leadership; he was a prophet. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, since they were elected and had all of the evidence of God’s leading, came to the place where they became good in their own eyes. They thought that they were “rich and had need of nothing and knew not that they were miserable, poor, blind, and naked.” They came to the place where they thought that they could do things that God had never given them permission to do.

In A.D. 364, the Council of Nicea declared that the sanctity of the Sabbath had been changed from the seventh day to the first day of the week. They did not do this by God’s authority but by church authority and church decree. They did so because they were leaders of God’s church.

It has interested me how people study the Bible and seem to twist everything to their own wishes. That was taking place in Ellen White’s day in the 1890s. The leadership was likening themselves to Moses, and anyone who did not go along with them was like Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. You see, in 1888, God had chosen Jones and Waggoner and others to give the message of Christ our righteousness; but the leaders said, “Listen, this message did not go through us. What right do these people have to preach? They are not ordained by us; they have not come through our authority. We are the leaders of God’s church.” Do you know what Ellen White says about that? They were actuated by the same spirit that inspired Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.” 1888 Materials, 1067. This is just one place where she says that the leaders were likened to Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.

I have been shocked by the way committees of the church today can somehow come to believe that they have been vested with authority to disregard God’s commandments and laws. When we suppose that we can overlook all of God’s counsels on competitive sports and introduce intercollegiate sports into our schools, are we not committing the sin of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram? Are we not coming to the place where we think that we can go against God’s counsels and make our own decisions? When we follow the practices and policies of the world instead of those laid down in the Word of God, are we not committing the sin of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram? When Ellen White says that God will not even hear the prayer of those who go to court against a brother, and we go to court against our brethren, which the Bible strictly prohibits and condemns, are we not committing the same sin as Korah, Dathan, and Abiram? When the church fights the very ministries that God has called into existence, are we not committing the sin of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram? That is the sin of the papacy; and, dear friend, it is becoming the sin of the church today. It is the sin of anyone who decides that they are so good that they do not need to follow God exactly; they can make their own decisions in life.

In Jesus’ day, the church of God had been sending some of their promising young men to the universities of Greece, especially down to Alexandria, Egypt. Of course, they remained members of God’s true church; but they learned and brought into it the Greek philosophy, which is the basis of higher education.

The Greeks had come the place where they believed that the way to be truly educated was to reject everything until it has been proved. When you incorporate that philosophy with the Word of God, it is disastrous because the word of God must be studied by faith and not by doubt. I talked with an educator at one of our colleges, an ordained Seventh-day Adventist minister, teaching according to the principles of Greek philosophy. He was asking people how they could know that God had really created the world in seven days. I asked him, “How can you instill this doubt into students’ minds?” He said, “I believe that the way we are educated is to doubt everything. That is the way we learn. This is true faith.” He said, “Faith is when you doubt so much that you come to doubt your doubts and that is faith.”

When this system of doubt is applied to the Word of God, it destroys faith. You cannot study God’s Word except by faith.

In Jesus’ day, the Jew who was not educated was looked down upon as being a heathen because everyone was supposed to have a Christian education; that was a duty of a Jewish parent. The educational system, however, had been taken over by a group of liberals called the Sadducees. They rejected much that was in the Old Testament although they claimed to be true followers of God. What could not be proved, they reasoned away.

You know, it is interesting that there is not a record of a single Sadducee being converted or accepting Jesus as his Saviour. It is a deadly disease, this liberal philosophy that causes people to doubt the Word of God and put human reason and human logic above the Word. But in reaction to the Sadducees came a group of conservative people who said, “We do not believe in this liberal philosophy that puts logic above the Word. We believe the Word simply because God says it.” They were called the Pharisees; but sadly, they became so conservative that they began to look at themselves as good people because they were doing everything the Bible said. As time went on, they began to confuse conservatism with structuralism and to place more and more faith in a structure and in a system rather than in God. They began to worship the church instead of God. In fact, the church was so sacred and so important that if anyone suggested that the church would be destroyed or said that the temple would be destroyed, as Jesus said it would be, that person was worthy of death and they sought to kill him because he was blaspheming God. Any criticism of the structure became criticism of God in their minds, so they killed the person who said that the church would be destroyed.

Do you know what is interesting? The Pharisees were the ones who became the most bitter enemies of Jesus, much more so than the Sadducees. In their minds, anything that did not go through the structure was wrong and was not of God.

The Elijah message was the message that John the Baptist had to bring to the people in his day. (See Matthew 3:7-10). It is interesting that this same message that was to prepare a people before Jesus’ first coming is the same message that is to be brought back to the church today before Jesus’ second coming. Ellen White says, “In this fearful time, just before Christ is to come the second time, God’s faithful preachers will have to bear a still more pointed testimony than was borne by John the Baptist. A responsible, important work is before them; and those who speak smooth things, God will not acknowledge as His shepherds. A fearful woe is upon them.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 321

As Saul so sadly learned, what God ordains, He can also remove. John the Baptist told the people of his day that God could raise up children to make a church out of the stones, and God did it. He took the stony hearts of the Gentiles and fashioned them into the true church of Israel in the New Testament. Paul says in Galatians 3, Ephesians 2, and Romans 2, that the Gentiles had now become the true church of Israel. The church survived, but it was made up of different people. John the Baptist said “Do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father [we are the church]’….Even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree [not just the trees in John the Baptist’s day but every tree from Saul’s day until Jesus’ second coming] which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

The truth will go through; the movement will go through; God’s true Seventh-day Adventist people, the movement that He has ordained for these last days, is going through. God promised it would go through. This is the last church, but the church is more than a structure. The structure is only an aspect of the church. God can raise up children to this church from the stones.

God says that every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down. In Jesus’ day, the church had become so structuralized that God could not reach it through the system. God had to send John the Baptist as an independent minister, independent of the system. When Jesus came down, He also came as an independent minister. He was never sanctioned or ordained by the church. The church never laid their hands upon Him, and they did not recognize Him.

It is interesting to note that even among those who were in independent ministry, pride and self-sufficiency often came in. We find it in Peter and John. They, thankfully, eventually overcame. But this became the spirit of Judas; and Jesus Himself was betrayed by someone from the independent ministry, from the self-supporting work, even from His own group.

Jesus said that the prevailing problem with the church in the last days would be the problem that has been with the church in all ages—self-righteousness. That is what has brought in all of the errors of the Christian church. It is that righteousness that makes a person so righteous that they no longer need to obey God and they can decide for themselves what is right or wrong. That was the temptation of Eve in the Garden of Eden. “God knows that in the day you eat this fruit, that you will be so wise and so good that you will know yourself what you should do and what you should not do.” Self-righteousness, the fig leaves of self-righteousness.

God has a message to the church today. It is called the Elijah message—the Laodicean message. It is a message of love. God says, “I love you too much to let you go. If you will accept Me as your Lord and Saviour, if you will simply come and follow Me, I will give you righteousness; you will not have to earn it. I will give it to you as a free gift, and then you can obey Me because you love Me. I will give you the power to obey every precept from a heart of love.” You will no longer try to find out how little you can do to get to heaven. No! You will have salvation because God has given it to you, and you will be doing everything you can do because you love Him. None of if will earn you a place in heaven; that was earned on the cross of Calvary two thousand years ago. Praise the Lord! But it is a gift to the obedient.

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Living Stones

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Speaking about the church, Peter describes it as a spiritual house. He says, “Coming to Him [Christ] as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 2:4, 5. Another definition that the Bible uses of the church is that it is a temple. It is a spiritual building; and the material is not concrete blocks or marble blocks, as the temple in Jerusalem, but living stones—people. You can read about these living stones in Acts of the Apostles. There Ellen White describes these living stones as people who have been quarried, chiseled or cut out from the quarry of the world. They are brought as building materials to be laid up as a living temple—a living temple of living stones, as the Bible describes this spiritual temple of God’s church.

We are looking here at the Christian church and the question arises, How do Christians offer up sacrifices? Do they bring acceptable sacrifices to Christ? Yes, but it is a very special type of a sacrifice that they bring to God; and without this sacrifice, they will not be acceptable to Him.

Turning to Psalm 51:16, 17, we discover the sacrifices that are acceptable to God when offered by His people—those who comprise His church, this living temple. This is the psalm David wrote, you recall, after being reproved by the prophet for committing that terrible sin with Bathsheba. He realized that his sin had been discovered, and here he offered up one of those acceptable sacrifices to God. “For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise.” So what are the acceptable sacrifices that God’s people are to bring to Him if they are going to be living stones? They bring the sacrifices of a broken and a contrite spirit. In other words, they are repentant. And these are the sacrifices that they bring, trusting in Jesus’ merits.

Friends, we cannot be living stones in God’s temple if we are living in sin. The prerequisite to being a part of God’s temple is that they “offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” Let us also notice something else. Going back to God’s church as it was under the Jewish system, they were told time and time again to repent of their sins. They claimed to be God’s people. God had called them to fulfill a purpose; but their lives, time and time again, disqualified them from being living stones. Many times they brought sacrifices, they went through all the protocol, they did all of the outward things that were necessary; but with those burnt offerings, those sin offerings, there was not a broken and contrite spirit and they could not be accepted by Him.

The Jewish people had a literal temple of polished marble, but they missed the point that it was but a symbol of the living temple that they were to be. Speaking to them God said, “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.” Isaiah 1:16, 17. “Look,” God says, “you claim to be My people, but you are in sin. Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil.”

The wonderful thing is, when we cease to do evil, the Lord is so merciful to us. “‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the Lord, ‘though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’” Isaiah 1:18. Wonderful, precious, merciful God, even to those who are deliberately sinning against Him.

Sadly, the people had been bringing the wrong kinds of sacrifices. “‘To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?’ says the Lord. ‘I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or goats. When you come to appear before Me, who has required this from your hand, to trample My courts?’” Isaiah 1:11, 12. They were offering the sacrifices, but it might as well have been a slaughterhouse. They did not offer them with a broken and contrite spirit.

What did God tell them? “Bring no more futile sacrifices; incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; they are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes.” Isaiah 1:13-16. Then He says, “Come now, and let us reason together. I want to forgive you, but it has to be on the right basis. I want to forgive you, and I will. Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow.”

Though God is a very merciful God, He expects certain conditions; and if we want to be a living stone in that living temple, we must abide by the conditions that He has laid down. “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people [a peculiar people], that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2:9. Here Peter is using the same terminology which God had used in the Old Testament in referring to Israel. Speaking to Israel, God had said, “‘And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” Exodus 19:6

So, these living stones were to be a holy nation, a royal priesthood; but again, it was only under certain conditions. “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.” Exodus 19:5. Only in obedience could the people meet the conditions of the covenant.

Just as there were conditions to being a living stone in the Old Testament, there are conditions being a living stone in God’s spiritual temple in the New Testament. “That you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2:9. So, friends, if we are living stones, we are called to come out of the darkness and to show forth “the praises of Him” who has “called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

What kind of darkness is this speaking about? This is the darkness that Peter made reference to when he said, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” Ephesians 5:8. Specifically, what does the darkness mean? “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.” Ibid., verse 11. So, the darkness is the unfruitful works; in other words, it is sin. You cannot be a living stone if you are still living in sin, if you are still in spiritual darkness. It just does not work.

The Bible uses some very specific terms to describe those who choose to remain in spiritual darkness and sin. “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:6, 7 The only way that we can be justified is to come out of the darkness and walk in the light.

Remember when Solomon dedicated the temple in Jerusalem? There was the table of shewbread, the candlestick, the altar of incense, and the gorgeous tapestry veil. In the second apartment, the Most Holy place, there was the ark of the covenant, inside of which were the tables of God’s Law. There were the priests in their beautiful, gorgeous costumes; everything was according to the direction that God had given. But there was something missing. Do you remember? It was the presence of God, the Holy Spirit. God’s shekinah glory was to come down into that temple. Remember that wonderful prayer of Solomon’s as he knelt there before the temple and prayed? As he prayed, what happened? The glorious presence of God was seen to come down and fill that temple. Now that it was filled with the Holy Spirit, it was fulfilling the purpose for its existence.

Jesus wanted to make the apostolic church a habitation for His Spirit; but before Pentecost could take place, those stones had to be made ready to be a fit habitation for the Spirit. For three and a half years Jesus had labored with these men. They were privileged above every other group of people; but the very night that He knew that He was going to be betrayed, there was strife over who was the greatest. He had been grooming them, preparing them to be this building that He could pour His Spirit in, that, like fire in the stubble, they might take the gospel to the then-known world; and here they were, His very last night, contending as to who would be the greatest?

It was customary, as you recall, for someone to wash the feet of the guests. As no one was willing to do it, Jesus got up and, laying aside His robes, got down upon His knees and started pouring out the water. Those last few hours of the life of Jesus were the culmination of what He was seeking to accomplish for them. This act did more to turn those men around than anything else.

You know that whom the Lord loves He chastens, reproves, and prunes. Have you ever received some chastening and reproof? Has God been pruning you recently? Friends, we have to submit to this process because it is part of the polishing that prepares us to finally become the recipient of the latter rain just before Jesus comes. Jesus had to reprove and correct His disciples very often so that they might become qualified to be these living stone, and He has to reprove us.

Well, something did happen to the disciples. As they saw the wonderful love of Jesus, as they beheld that love, that unselfish, self-sacrificing love for them, it just broke them completely. They witnessed the love that He had for them when they deserved it the least. This is the only thing that can break the stubborn, human, sinful heart that rises up against reproof. So there they were in one accord, and God was now able to fulfill His purpose through them. This is why we are told that every day it would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour on the life of Christ, particularly the closing scenes. (See The Desire of Ages, 83.)

When we make the same complete surrender to Christ, friends, as the apostles and the believers did, then God will be able to give us that full outpouring of the Holy Spirit; and He will finish this work very quickly. We are told in Testimonies, vol. 1, that back in the 1850s, which was even before the Seventh-day Adventist Church had taken its name, that Jesus could have come. All of this shows that, while God is willing to use organization and all of our modern methods of communication, he does not need them. He has means of getting this message out that we do not even understand. What He does need is a people who are surrendered. It may be only a few, as in the apostolic age when there were just twelve apostles and a few followers. Though few in number, through the power of Christ, in a few short years they reached the world. Friends, He will do the same today if we will be yielded and allow ourselves to become those polished stones.

About 1859, James and Ellen White were concerned about the spiritual condition of God’s professed people. They thought they were the Philadelphia church, the church of brotherly love; but James and Ellen White came to the conclusion that the church was in the Laodicean state. James White wrote some articles in the Review and Herald and said, in so many words, “Folks, we are Laodicea. We are poor, miserable, blind, wretched, and naked; and we do not even realize it. We need to accept the reproof of the true witness.” James and Ellen White wondered if the people of God would receive this reproof.

By and large, they did; and as they accepted that reproof, they started to get down upon their knees and pray. They started to confess and repent of their sins. They started to receive from Christ that rich cup of grace that they needed. At the very same time that the people of God were surrendering to Christ, there took place out in the world and across this nation a great religious revival. Historians are at a loss as to how to describe how it happened, but it is well chronicled. Even in the stock exchange there were prayer circles.

At the time that this great revival was taking place in America, Ellen White wrote, “As this message affected the heart, it led to deep humility before God. Angels were sent in every direction to prepare unbelieving hearts for the truth.” Testimonies to the Church, vol. 1, 186. God was sending His angels out to work upon hearts and minds and consciences of multitudes of people to prepare them to receive the loud cry of the third angel that was about ready to be given by that little nucleus of Adventists.

Sadly, the people of God did not persevere. They pulled back, and the great work that God was wanting to accomplish came to almost nothing. Then in 1861 there was a civil war. Half a million sons, brothers, and fathers were swept into oblivion. This need not have been the case. Jesus was ready then to pour out His Spirit upon His people, to fill that living temple with the latter rain. That message would have gone around this whole world, and the Lord would have come.

Friends, Christ is still longing to prepare a people to receive the latter rain and give the loud cry of the third angel. When it comes, if we are to be a part of it, we must be among those who have been willing to submit to reproof, to counsel, and to correction that comes through the Word of God and the Spirit of Prophecy.

“The church is the repository of the riches of the grace of Christ; and through the church will eventually be made manifest, even to the ‘principalities and powers in heavenly places,’ the final and full display of the love of God.” Acts of the Apostles, 9. May the Lord help us to be those who are part of this, who see it as part of this grand and final display of the love of Jesus Christ.

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Well Armed for the Battle

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Few Adventists object to the idea of tract work, while the prospect of actually knocking on the door of a stranger’s house fills them with fear. The most commonly voiced fear is that they do not feel that they know their Bible well enough to be able to give a Bible study. While this is understandable, it does not correctly reflect the reality of the situation. Simply stated, most Adventists have little appreciation of how much of their Bible they really do know, at least relative to the average population. A little reflection, however, will reveal how great an advantage we really do have when presenting the truth to others.

A direct and simple approach is to, first of all, simply ask what subject your prospective student would like to study. Having them pick the subject will virtually guarantee that they will be eagerly anticipating the Bible study. It also makes a very excellent reason for us to say, “I have some good material on that subject at home. Let’s get together next Tuesday evening after I have had a chance to organize the study for you.” You will now have at least a week to gather up all of the necessary information on the subject.

Second, almost all Adventists have a Bible concordance. This places us far ahead of the vast majority of all non-Adventists who have never even heard of such a book.

Third, most Adventists have some form of access to the seven volume set of Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentaries. Every verse in the Bible is expertly exegized there, and volume 7A is inspired exegesis.

Fourth, we all either have or have access to an extensive collection of Spirit of Prophecy books, in addition to the three volume set of indexes. By way of example, in the single volume of Christ’s Objects Lessons alone we have the definitively inspired commentary on each of Jesus’ parables. And remember, you do not have to tell the Bible student that you borrowed the material from Mrs. White! All your student wants from you is to know what is the truth is that is in the Bible. He does not care who taught you.

While these are all advantages that are working for you in presenting the truth to others, there is one more advantage which is, perhaps, of more value than all of the rest. Let me share a short story to illustrate what I am talking about.

A lady on my tract route once surprised me with the question, “My son was born out of wedlock. The Jehovah’s Witnesses tell me that he can never go to heaven. Is that true?”

I gave her the only answer I ever give to any non-Adventist about theology, “May I show you from the Bible?” This answer virtually guarantees that I am going to be invited into the home to open the Word of God.

As I went to get my Bible, my thoughts were racing. I did not have any idea what verse I might use that would deal with the salvation of illegitimate children. But we do not enter into the conflict alone. Heavenly intelligences guide our every step when we are seeking to carry the message to a perishing world.

The only reference that came to mind was the eighteenth chapter of Ezekiel. I remembered that it spoke about salvation being lost by the righteous man who turned away from righteousness and gained by the wicked man who turned away from wickedness. I was confident that I could reason my way to the truth from those statements. For some peculiar reason, however, my mind was blocked to Revelation 20:13, a favorite text of mine, which clearly states that we are judged by our own works. Opening my Bible to Ezekiel 18, verse 20 seemed to just leap off of the page at me. I cannot explain, in physical terms, why my attention was drawn to it other than by divine influence.

I was not at all familiar with the text, but on faith I read aloud the first sentence of that verse. “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” I thought, all right, I can reason my way to the truth with that alone. But when I read the next sentence, I was stunned. “The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father.”

I do not believe that we ever finished reading all of that verse. The lady was overjoyed! Her whole face just lit up to see the plain statement that her young son was not condemned because of her sin. She profusely expressed her thanks for the relief she felt.

I never knew that such a statement about illegitimate children even existed in the Bible and yet, when the need arose, I had gone directly to the text.

Brothers and sisters, when we go to fight the battles of the Lord, we do not go into the conflict unarmed, neither do we go alone.

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The Church Without a Pastor

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Do you know any churches that have no pastors? Are you aware of the fact that many of God’s faithful people attend churches that do not have a regular pastor? This situation is not going to get better in the sense that there are going to be more pastors; it is going to get worse. This is actually good news, however, because there are going to be more churches developing so fast around the world that there are not going to be enough pastors to care for them all.

Today many are meeting in homes or in unheated buildings because they have no other place to meet. There are some churches where the members are meeting in secret because of religious persecution, and most of these churches do not have a pastor.

By the way, how many people do you have to have to form a church? Have you ever thought that through? According to Matthew 18, you have to have two. In the book Upward Look, 315, Ellen White wrote an interesting statement about the church. It says, “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 inhabits 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.”

Many people think it is a great calamity to be without a pastor, especially people who have attended large churches where they have had somone to preach to them regularly. They are used to going and sitting in a pew, listening to the choir, organ and piano, and listening the the speakers and sermons; and they think, “My, if we had no pastor, what would we do?” However, even if you consider it a calamity, it is certainly not nearly the worst thing that could happen to you. Do you know what is an infinitely worse calamity than having no pastor? It is having an apostate pastor. It is much better having no pastor than to have one who is an apostate. So, do not get to feeling too sorry for churches that have no pastor. They are not in nearly as bad as shape as they might be.

Every Christian today needs to understand what the Bible says about apostate pastors. Are you aware of how dangerous it really is? If you sit and listen to an apostate pastor, you are in danger of losing your soul.

According to the Bible, one of the primary characteristics of an apostate pastor is that they preach a peace and safety message. “Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them, everyone, is given to covetousness; and from the prophets even to the priests, everyone deals falsely. They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly saying ‘Peace, peace! When there is no peace.” Jeremiah 6:13, 14

It is the natural human tendency, when there is the belief that there is going to be peace and security, to relax and feel secure. A false sense of security, however, is not going to keep you from being destroyed.

Part of the peace and safety message is the concept that you cannot keep the law of God perfectly. When a person who has been taught this peace and safety message meets someone who knows what the New Testament truth of obedience is, it is a very shaking experience for him. His initial reaction is to go back to his pastor and to his fellow church members, who have been taught this same lie, and talk to them about it.

Now one of two things has to happen. When a person is confronted with the truth, they will either yield to the truth or decide to keep believing the lie that the Christian’s experience is one of sinning and confessing. If they choose to believe the lie, they will then feel the need to rid themselves of those people who keep troubling their conscience.

In Testimonies to Ministers, 409, 410, there is a prophecy. It was prophetic then, but it is taking place now. She said, “Many will stand in our pulpits with the torch of false prophecy in their hands, kindled from the hellish torch of Satan. If doubts and unbelief are cherished, the faithful ministers will be removed from the people who think they know so much. ‘If thou hadst known,’ said Christ, ‘even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto they peace! But now they are hid from thine eyes.’”

If you go to a church and listen to apostasy being preached, convicting yourself that you are strong and that you are going to do missionary work, you are committing the sin of presumption; and God will not work a miracle to save you. I cannot overstate how serious this is. It has to do with understanding how the human mind works. If you have studied psychology, you already know that if you tell someone something long enough, they will believe it. That is the way the human mind works.

There are going to be millions of people who sat in churches and listened to this type of smooth preaching, who will come to the Lord in the day of judgment, and who will be lost. We are talking about a serious matter. We are dealing not with life and death; we are dealing with eternal life and death.

So, if you are listening to false doctrines being preached that are not according to the New Testament, if you stay listening to that, you will eventually believe it, even if you do not believe it now. You might say, “My pastor is wrong.” Listen, if you know your pastor is wrong and you keep returning to listen to that error, the time will come when you will believe it. If you do not accept and follow all of the truth, eventually you will believe a lie and be deceived and be lost. This is very clearly spelled out in 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2.

“I was shown the necessity of those who believe that we are having the last message of mercy, being separate from those who are daily imbibing new errors. I saw that neither young nor old should attend their meetings; for it is wrong to thus encourage them while they teach new error that is a deadly poison to the soul and teach for doctrines the commandments of men. The influence of such gatherings is not good. If God has delivered us from such darkness and error, we should stand fast in the liberty wherewith He has set us free and rejoice in the truth. God is displeased with us when we go to listen to error, without being obliged to go; for unless He sends us to those meetings where error is forced home to the people by the power of the will, He will not keep us. The angels cease their watchful care over us, and we are left to the buffetings of the enemy, to be darkened and weakened by him and the power of his evil angels’ and the light around us becomes contaminated with the darkness.

“I saw that we have no time to throw away in listening to fables. Our minds should not be thus diverted, but should be occupied with the present truth, and seeking wisdom that we may obtain a more thorough knowledge of our position, that with meekness we may able to give a reason of our hope from the Scriptures. While false doctrines and dangerous errors are pressed upon the mind, it cannot be dwelling upon the truth which is to fit and prepare the house of Israel to stand in the day of the Lord.” Early Writings, 124, 125

The question remaining in people’s minds is how to start a church without a pastor. This is keeping any people from starting home churches which they should have started long ago but were afraid to. Yet in the New Testament, there were many churches that had no pastor; and before the end there are going to be many more. So, we are going to look at the divine counsel for a church that has no pastor. We are going to look at how to have a Sabbath school and how to have a church service when you have no pastor.

“On the Sabbath, the few friends here assembled in Edson’s parlor for Sabbath school. There are four families—twelve persons in all—who usually meet for worship. Edson conducts a Sabbath school when he is at home. After Sabbath school they either have a Bible reading or a prayer and social meeting.”

The first service you want to have on Sabbath morning, if you have a church without a pastor, is Sabbath school. Notice that for church they did one of two things. They either had a Bible reading or they had prayer and a social meeting.

Ellen White goes on to say, “The family altar should be established in every home; and if in any locality there are more than two or three of like precious faith, they should meet together.” Ibid.

You do not say, “Well, I do not have a pastor, or my pastor is preaching heresy, so I am just going to stay home and not go to church.” What does it say in Hebrews 10:25? “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” Is the Day approaching?

We have more need to get together for worship now than we have ever before. I have been a pastor now for some years, and over and over again, I have observed that when people do not meet together and worship, their faith and love grow cold. If you go directly contrary to Bible counsel, you are guilty of the sin of presumption; and, as we said before, God is not going to work a miracle to keep the result from taking place. It is just like jumping off of a building and saying, “Lord, please keep the law of gravity from working now so I will not get hurt.” It is not going to happen.

Did you know that God writes down in His book which people meet together and worship Him today and which people do not? “Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name.” Malachi 3:16. You must never think that because you have an apostate pastor and you cannot go to this particular church that you are to just stay home and have church. You have a worship service. Did you notice that she said they either had a Bible reading or prayer and a social meeting? Do you know what a Bible reading is? A Bible reading is when nobody preaches. Instead, you study the Bible together. It is something that anyone who is able to read can do. In fact, people who cannot read can do it if they can ask questions of people who can read.

“Well,” someone asks, “What should we study?” There is more than one subject that Ellen White lists that should always be included, but I am only going to mention one. This is never to be left out when you come together and worship. She calls it by two names; she refers to it in one place as practical religion and in another place she calls it practical godliness. What is practical godliness? It is “to see the necessity of religious principle and righteousness in everyday life.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 237. Practical godliness has to do with the way we live every day. You cannot read much from the Bible without getting into that subject.

Suppose that you are responsible for the church service and you cannot preach. Can you talk? Can you read? If you can talk and read, you can have a Bible study; and that is all that is necessary. In fact, Ellen White told our ministers that they were doing too much preaching. She said they would be better off, if when they went to church, they just had a Bible class.

Suppose that we had a Bible class for about ten minutes on the subject of practical godliness. Are there any passages of Scripture that come to your mind? What was the greatest sermon ever preached? The “Sermon on the Mount.” That whole sermon is about practical godliness.

In a sermon, if you ask questions and have the Bible texts to answer the questions you have time to go through about twelve to fifteen texts at the most. If you are in a home church, you do not have a preacher, and you have to prepare a Bible study, you do not need a hundred texts. Ten to fifteen is all you need on the subject.

By the way, you could have a Bible study on practical godliness every Sabbath for a year and you would never run out of material. You would have more and more and more; the more you started studying it, the more it would start opening up to your mind and you would have more and more material. Practical godliness is not something that happens in an instant; it is something that takes time.

Here is a passage you could read in a Bible study on practical godliness in 2 Peter 1:5-7. “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue, knowledge, to knowledge, self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.”

Peter goes on to say that if you do this, you are going to be saved. This passage is called Peter’s ladder. It is very practical. The top rung of the ladder is love. Do you know what love is? To understand what practical godliness means is to understand what God’s love is like and to partake of that love in our life. The Bible is just full of illustrations, stories, and examples on this subject.

If you understand this subject of practical godliness, then God can use you to start churches anywhere in the world that He might send you.

Every one of us here can look back into the past and remember a time when, if someone had not brought us the precious truth about Jesus and His soon coming, we would have been left in the dark. There are still some people out there friends. They are not going to drive one hundred or maybe not even fifty miles to go to a church. If we are going to save them, somebody is going to have to start some churches closer to where they are.

You do not have to have buildings and money and ministers. All you must have is an understanding of practical godliness. You have to be experiencing sanctification yourself and understand what the Bible teaches. Then share your faith with somebody else. You can start a home church if there are only two of you. Let us pray that the Lord will use each one of us to do this.

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