Editorial

Editorial – The Standard, Part II

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Just as an inaccurate standard of time or length or weight will produce serious consequences, an inaccurate moral standard will produce serious moral consequences.  “A wrong conception of the character, the perpetuity, and the obligation of the divine law has led to errors in relation to conversion and sanctification, and has resulted in lowering the standard of piety in the church. Here is to be found the secret of the lack of the Spirit and power of God in the revivals of our time.” A New Life [Revival and Beyond], 10.

“The law of God is an agent in every genuine conversion. There can be no true repentance without conviction of sin. The Scriptures declare that ‘sin is the transgression of the law,’ [1 John 3:4] and that ‘by the law is the knowledge of sin’ [Romans 3:20]. In order to see his guilt, the sinner must test his character by God’s great standard of righteousness. … Without true repentance, there can be no true conversion. Many are deceived here, and too often their entire experience proves to be a deception. This is why so many who are joined to the church have never been joined to Christ.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 297.

“In the closing work of God in the earth, the standard of His law will be again exalted.” Prophets and Kings, 186.

In 1886, Ellen White wrote a letter to leading Adventist ministers about the importance of uplifting the standard of God’s law. Following are excerpts from that letter: “I [Ellen White] want to speak to the ears of our people in America in every church. Awake from the dead, and Christ will give you life. Souls are perishing for the light of truth as it is in Jesus. We are standing upon the very borders of the eternal world. … There must be intensity brought into our faith and in the proclamation of truth. I tell you, a new life is proceeding from satanic agencies to work with a power we have not hitherto realized. And shall not a new power from above take possession of God’s people? The truth, sanctifying in its influence, must be urged upon the people. There must be earnest supplications offered to God, agonizing prayer to Him, that our hopes as a people may not be founded on suppositions, but on eternal realities. We must know for ourselves, by the evidence of God’s Word, whether we are in the faith, going to heaven or not. The moral standard of character is God’s law. Do we meet its requirements?” Selected Messages, Book 2, 382, 383.

The law of God—the only true, infallible standard of character in our world “is the standard of the character they must attain in order to be among God’s family in the heavenly courts.”  The Review and Herald, March 22, 1898.

Editorial – The Higher Standard

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In the world there are standards in every area of life. In the church, there are also standards relevant to our religious life—standards of conduct, standards of speech, and standards relating to even our thoughts (see the Sermon on the Mount—Matthew 5). The Ten Commandments were pointed out by Jesus in His sermon as the standard, not only of our conduct and speech, but even our thoughts. In this editorial, I want to point out the highest standard for the Christian.

“There is no higher standard than the life of Christ.” Medical Ministry, 160. The Ten Commandments are the standard, and when we hear them we are hearing the standard of character that God has for all of His children. But when we look at the life of Christ, we actually see what the standard is when lived out in the life of a person. The life of Christ provides for us not only the precept, but an actual perfect example of what a person is like when living out the principles of the commandments. Since seeing is a more powerful teaching device than hearing, and since the mind will accept what is seen over what is heard, the life of Christ provides a perfect standard and the highest standard for which we are to strive.

This is what the Lord wants to do in our lives: “God has called His people to glory and virtue, and these will be manifest in the lives of all who are truly connected with Him. Having become partakers of the heavenly gift, they are to go on unto perfection, being ‘kept by the power of God through faith.’ 1 Peter 1:5. It is the glory of God to give His virtue to His children. He desires to see men and women reaching the highest standard; and when by faith they lay hold of the power of Christ, when they plead His unfailing promises, and claim them as their own, when with an importunity that will not be denied they seek for the power of the Holy Spirit, they will be made complete in Him.” The Acts of the Apostles, 530.

The devil claims that this cannot be done, but the Lord predicts that it will happen in every one of His children: “It has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him.” 1 John 3:2. NKJV This is the experience to which God is calling you. It will happen in your life as you cooperate with the divine agencies sent to this world for your salvation.

Editorial – True or False Assurance

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“Therefore, brothers, be diligent to make sure of your calling and election.” II Peter 1:10, Literal Translation. Unfortunately, much of the assurance that many Christians have today is a false assurance. Ellen White explained it this way: “Many accept an intellectual religion, a form of godliness, when the heart is not cleansed. Let it be your prayer, ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.’ Psalm 51:10. Deal truly with your own soul. Be as earnest, as persistent, as you would be if your mortal life were at stake. This is a matter to be settled between God and your own soul, settled for eternity. A supposed hope, and nothing more, will prove your ruin.”

“Study God’s word prayerfully. That word presents before you, in the law of God and the life of Christ, the great principles of holiness, without which ‘no man shall see the Lord.’ Hebrews 12:14. It convinces of sin; it plainly reveals the way of salvation. Give heed to it as the voice of God speaking to your soul.” Steps to Christ, 35.

Has your heart been renewed by Divine grace so that the supreme object in your life is to be Christlike, to breathe His Spirit, do His will, and please Him in all things? If not, any assurance that you have is a false assurance and will not stand the test of the judgment.

“Many are leaning upon a supposed hope without a true foundation. The fountain is not cleansed, therefore the streams proceeding from that fountain are not pure. Cleanse the fountain, and the streams will be pure. If the heart is right, your words, your dress, your acts, will all be right. True godliness is lacking. I would not dishonor my Master so much as to admit that a careless, trifling, prayerless person is a Christian. No; a Christian has victory over his besetments, over his passions. There is a remedy for the sin-sick soul. That remedy is in Jesus. Precious Saviour! His grace is sufficient for the weakest; and the strongest must also have His grace or perish.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 158.

“The hope of eternal life is not to be received upon slight grounds. It is a subject to be settled between God and your own soul–settled for eternity. A supposed hope, and nothing more, will prove your ruin. Since you are to stand or fall by the word of God, it is to that word you must look for testimony in your case. There you can see what is required of you to become a Christian. Do not lay off your armor, or leave the battlefield until you have obtained the victory, and triumph in your Redeemer.” Ibid., 163, 164.

“To make our calling and election sure is to follow the Bible plan to closely examine ourselves, to make strict inquiry whether we are indeed converted, whether our minds are drawn out after God and heavenly things, our wills renewed, our whole souls changed.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 19, 351, 352.

Editorial – Understanding the Prophecies

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Recently, I studied a theological presentation given by an Adventist minister, in which he attempted to destroy the foundation and central pillar on which the Adventist faith is built. Since this person was well-versed in Greek and Hebrew and religious history, he was able to make an interesting attempt to actually destroy the faith of which he claimed to be a part. As I was studying this and comparing his comments with my Hebrew Bible of the book of Daniel, I was wondering in my mind, how would a person that was not trained in theology deal with this. One of these days, all of God’s people, whether trained in theology or not, will have an opportunity to deal with these things, because “Every position of our faith will be searched into, and if we are not thorough Bible students, established, strengthened, settled, the wisdom of the world’s great men will be too much for us.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 386.

Are you getting ready to have a talk with one of the world’s great men about what you believe from the Bible about the times in which we live and what we are to do to be ready for the second coming of Christ?

Have you studied the prophecies in Daniel verse by verse and word by word until you know how each statement and phrase fits into every other statement and phrase in the prophecy? If what you believe is really the truth, every phrase and every clause in the prophecy will perfectly fit, and you will be able to explain what the main themes or subjects are; and you will be able to fit all the parenthetical statements into their appropriate place within the main subject.

Theologians today try to explain the Bible in what they suppose is the historical context, but Peter says that the Bible writers actually did not know and understand what they were writing about except as they attempted to search it out. (See I Peter 1:10, 11.)

Many years ago, an elderly minister gave some young men, of whom I was one, a quiz concerning what we believed from the book of Daniel and why we believed it. It was appalling how little we understood. Maybe you need to have some quizzes in your church to see whether you believe historical Adventist theology or whether you have a name that does not really describe what you believe.

Editorial – How to be Ready for the Loud Cry

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“We are to throw aside our narrow, selfish plans, remembering that we have a work of the largest magnitude and highest importance. In doing this work we are sounding the first, second, and third angel’s messages, and are thus being prepared for the coming of that other angel from heaven who is to lighten the earth with his glory.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 406.

“Our watchword is to be: Onward, ever onward. The angels of God will go before us to prepare the way. Our burden for the ‘regions beyond’ can never be laid down until the whole earth shall be lightened with the glory of the Lord.” Ibid., 29.

“The missionary spirit needs to be revived in our churches. Every member of the church should study how to help forward the work of God, both in home missions and in foreign countries. Scarcely a thousandth part of the work is being done that ought to be done in missionary fields. God calls upon His workers to annex new territory for Him. There are rich fields of toil waiting for the faithful worker. And ministering angels will co-operate with every member of the church who will labor unselfishly for the Master.” Ibid., 29.

“God desires to refresh His people by the gift of the Holy Spirit, baptizing them anew in His love. There is no need for a dearth of the Spirit in the church. In the future the earth is to be lightened with the glory of God. A holy influence is to go forth to the world from those who are sanctified through the truth. The earth is to be encircled with an atmosphere of grace.” The Southern Watchman, September 5, 1905.

“During the loud cry, the church, aided by the providential interpositions of her exalted Lord, will diffuse the knowledge of salvation so abundantly that light will be communicated to every city and town. The earth will be filled with the knowledge of salvation. So abundantly will the renewing Spirit of God have crowned with success the intensely active agencies, that the light of present truth will be seen flashing everywhere.” The Review and Herald, October 13, 1904.

“If God’s people make no efforts on their part, but wait for the refreshing to come upon them and remove their wrongs and correct their errors; if they depend upon that to cleanse them from filthiness of the flesh and spirit, and fit them to engage in the loud cry of the third angel, they will be found wanting. The refreshing or power of God comes only on those who have prepared themselves for it by doing the work which God bids them, namely, cleansing themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 619.

(From the pen of Ellen White, emphasis supplied.)

Editorial – The Humanity of Jesus

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What should each of us learn from the humanity of Jesus?

“We need not place the obedience of Christ by itself as something for which He was particularly adapted, because of His divine nature; for He stood before God as man’s representative, and was tempted as man’s substitute and surety. If Christ had a special power which it is not the privilege of a man to have, Satan would have made capital of this matter. But the work of Christ was to take from Satan his control of man, and He could do this only in a straightforward way. He came as a man, to be tempted as a man, rendering the obedience of a man. Christ rendered obedience to God, and overcame as humanity overcome. We are led to make wrong conclusions because of erroneous views of the nature of our Lord. To attribute to His nature a power that it is not possible for man to have in his conflicts with Satan, is to destroy the completeness of His humanity. The obedience of Christ to His Father was the same obedience that is required of man. Man cannot overcome Satan’s temptations except as divine power works through humanity. The Lord Jesus came to our world, not to reveal what God in His own divine person could do, but what He could do through humanity. Through faith man is to be a partaker of the divine nature, and to overcome every temptation wherewith he is beset. It was the Majesty of heaven Who became a man, Who humbled Himself to our human nature; it was He Who was tempted in the wilderness and Who endured the contradiction of sinners against Himself. The Signs of the Times, April 10, 1893.

“The power of an angel could not make an atonement for our sins. The angelic nature united to the human could not be as costly, as elevated, as the law of God. It was the Son of God alone Who could present an acceptable sacrifice. God Himself became man, and bore all the wrath that sin had provoked. This problem, How could God be just and yet the justifier of sinners? baffled all finite intelligence. A divine person alone could mediate between God and man. Human redemption is a theme which may well tax the faculties of the mind to the utmost. The reason that Christianity is not more elevated is because there is so little effort put forth in the great, grand, holy work of struggling for immortality. Satan is constantly trying to make the salvation of the soul an indifferent matter—that man has but little to do to secure this priceless treasure. This is why eternal things are not discerned; this is why there is a cheap, spurious article passed off as religion. … We cannot be saved in indolence and inactivity. … We have to wrestle against pride and against the human passions, which the light of God’s word reveals.” The Youth’s Instructor, August 31, 1887.

 

Editorial – The Reluctant Prophet

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Jonah was the prophet who did not want to be a prophet. The Bible does not give all the reasons for Jonah’s reluctance, but it does record his complaint against God in Jonah 4.  Jonah was afraid for his own reputation. He feared that since he had stated the prophecy in unconditional terms, as God had instructed, he could be considered a false prophet if God showed mercy and his prophecy did not come to pass.

There are many people today to whom God has given the last message of warning and mercy to give to the world who are like Jonah. Instead of going east they go west. Instead of taking the message to everyone whom the Lord places in their pathway of influence, they are simply engaging in worldly business—not doing anything illegal (it was not illegal for Jonah to travel to Tarshish), but not getting the message out.

If you are one of those people, are you going to awake before it is too late? The ship’s captain said to Jonah, “What do you mean sleeping. Get up” (Jonah 1:6)! This wake-up call needs to be given to many who are asleep today. Will you hear the wake-up call before it is too late? Read the mission letter in this magazine for a suggestion what you could do.

“Not one in a hundred among us is doing anything beyond engaging in common, worldly enterprises. We are not half awake to the worth of the souls for whom Christ died.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 148.

Remember, there are people that you can reach who cannot be reached by others. This is especially true of many “timid” women who think that all the evangelism can be done by their husbands or sons or male relatives. Notice what God said women can do.

“Women as well as men can engage in the work of hiding the truth where it can work out and be made manifest. They can take their place in the work at this crisis, and the Lord will work through them. If they are imbued with a sense of their duty, and labor under the influence of the Spirit of God, they will have just the self-possession required for this time. The Saviour will reflect upon these self-sacrificing women the light of His countenance, and this will give them a power that will exceed that of men. They can do in families a work that men cannot do, a work that reaches the inner life. They can come close to the hearts of those whom men cannot reach. Their work is needed. Discreet and humble women can do a good work in explaining the truth to the people in their homes. The word of God thus explained will do its leavening work, and through its influence whole families will be converted.” Ibid., vol. 9, 128, 129.

Editorial – When More than One is Just One

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That they may be one just as We are one.” John 17:22.

The devil is determined that this will never happen, and this is one reason that we see constant debate about theology and everything else among God’s professed people today. However, there are going to be some people who will overcome all this dissension and become one. Here are some inspired predictions about this:

“ ‘We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord’ [II Corinthians 3:18]. We are to keep the Lord ever before us. Those who do this, walk with God as did Enoch, and imperceptibly to themselves, they become one with the Father and with the Son. Day by day a change is wrought upon mind and hearts, and the natural inclination, the natural ways, are molded after God’s ways and Spirit.” Sons and Daughters of God, 296.

“If your zeal is languishing, your first love grown cold, accept again of the proffered love of Christ. Eat of Christ’s flesh, drink of His blood, and you will become one with the Father and with the Son.” The Review and Herald, May 17, 1892.

“Christ in the courts of heaven had known that the time would come when the power of Satan must be met and conquered if the human race was ever to be saved from his dominion. And when that time came, the Son of God laid off His kingly crown and royal robe, and clothing His divinity with humanity, came to the earth to meet the prince of evil, and to conquer him. In order to become the advocate of man before the Father, the Saviour would live His life on earth as every human being must, accepting its adversities and sorrows and temptations. As the Babe of Bethlehem, He would become one with the race.” Ibid., January 28, 1909.

“Christ was one with the Father, on a level with the eternal throne.” The Signs of the Times, April 25, 1895.

“Our Lord Jesus Christ could not have become the Redeemer unless He had first been the Sacrifice. How precious is it to contemplate the faithfulness of God to His promises! After His humiliation, suffering, and death, the Son of God steps back to the position of His former glory, and is one with the Father in power and dominion.” Ibid., June 27, 1895.

“Christ became one with us in humanity in order that we might become one with Him in life everlasting. Thus our life is united with His life. He proclaimed over the rent sepulcher of Joseph, ‘I am the resurrection, and the life’ [John 11:25].”  Manuscript Releases, vol. 21, 348.

Editorial – The Time of the Harvest

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The harvest time that we are now in is the reason so many unbelievable things are happening in both the world and in the church.

“When Pharaoh hardened his heart on the first exhibition of God’s power, he made himself more capable of a second rejection of God’s power. Pride and stubbornness held him in bondage, and hindered him from acknowledging the warnings of God. It was contrary to the nature of Pharaoh to change after once having given expression to his purpose not to believe.

“What Pharaoh has done, will be done again and again by men until the close of probation. God destroys no man; but when a man stifles conviction, when he turns from evidence, he is sowing unbelief, and will reap as he has sown. As it was with Pharaoh, so it will be with him; when clearer light shines upon the truth, he will meet it with increased resistance, and the work of hardening the heart will go on with each rejection of the increasing light of heaven. … You are not to say that God is to blame, that He has made a decree against you. No, He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to the knowledge of the truth, and to the haven of eternal bliss. No soul is ever finally deserted of God, given up to his own ways, so long as there is any hope of his salvation. …

“Those who claim to be Christians are in continual need of a power outside of, and beyond, themselves. They need to watch unto prayer, and to place themselves under the guardianship of God, else they will be overcome by the enemy. … When he yields himself to the control of the Spirit of God, he will be renewed, transformed into the image of Christ. …

“But the sinner who refuses to give himself to God, is under the control of another power … . Passion controls him, his judgment is blinded, reason is dethroned, and impetuous desires sway him, now here, now there. The truth will have but little influence over him, for there is in human nature, when separated from the Source of truth, a continual opposition to God’s will and ways. … Inclination moves, passion holds the control, and his appetites are under the sway of a power of which he is not aware. He talks of liberty, of freedom of action, while he is in most abject slavery. … The mind controlled by Satan is weak in moral power. Can such a one without change be taken into a holy heaven?—Oh, no; it would be no mercy to the impenitent sinner to place him in the society of the angels.”  The Review and Herald, February 17, 1891.

Editorial – Are We Humble Enough to be Saved, part 2

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It was pride that caused the Jewish Nation to reject Christ

“The Jewish leaders discerned the truth that Christ presented, but they also realized that it meant the greatest humiliation to them to accept of the rich salvation brought to them through this humble teacher. To be saved through grace alone, to confess that in and of themselves they deserved no favors, was to acknowledge that which was contrary to their cherished ideas, and to lay in the dust their pride, vanity, and ambition. To receive the benediction that Christ pronounced, they saw that an entire change must take place in their lives, but this fact they did not relish.” Sabbath School Worker, August 1, 1895. See also Patriarchs and Prophets, 475.

Pride results in evil surmising and a spirit of accusation and criticism

“When the Spirit of God rests upon you, there will be no feeling of envy or jealousy in examining another’s position; there will be no spirit of accusation and criticism, such as Satan inspired in the hearts of the Jewish leaders against Christ. As Christ said to Nicodemus, so I say to you, ‘Ye must be born again.’ ‘Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ You must have the divine mold before you can discern the sacred claims of the truth. Unless the teacher is a learner in the school of Christ, he is not fitted to teach others.” 1888 Materials, 534.

“Never have an idea that you know more than your brethren, but just keep humble. It was this spirit of evil surmising that brought all the weakness into the Jewish nation.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 11, 243.

It was pride that caused Adventism to reject the message that God sent to us in 1888

“The conference at Minneapolis was the golden opportunity for all present to humble the heart before God, and to welcome Jesus as the great Instructor; but the stand taken by some at that meeting proved their ruin. They have never seen clearly since, and they never will; for they persistently cherish the spirit that prevailed there, a wicked criticizing, denunciatory spirit…They will be asked in the Judgment, ‘Who required this at your hand, to rise up against the message and the messengers I sent to My people with light, with grace and power? Why have you lifted up your souls against God? Why did you not humble your hearts before God, and repent of your rejection of the message of mercy He has sent you?’ The Lord has not inspired these brethren to resist the truth. He designed that they should be baptized with the Holy Spirit, and be living channels of light to communicate the light to our world, in clear, bright rays.” Paulson Collection, 154.

“From this meeting decisions will be made for life or for death; not that anyone needs to perish, but spiritual pride and self-confidence will close the door that Jesus and His Holy Spirit’s power shall not be admitted. They shall have another chance to be undeceived, and to repent, confess their sins, and come to Christ and be converted that He shall heal them.’”1888 Materials, 277.

“If all the brethren at Minneapolis had been seeking the Lord with humility of mind, there would have been no conflict, no clashing, no uncourteous words, nothing unwise advanced. But men who were capable of being entrusted with great interests, desired to reveal their executive ability in guiding the vessel through the breakers to the harbor. They did not wait for divine guidance.” 1888 Materials, 1229.

Those who stumbled at Minneapolis had to overcome their pride or they could not be saved. Do you believe that God is the same in His requirements today? The most basic problems in Minneapolis were not theology. The most basic problems today are not theology. “Only by pride comes contention.” Proverbs 13:10. Even if our theology is all right if the condition of our heart is wrong then we have something to overcome—the old man must be crucified, a new creation must take place, a contrite and humble spirit must develop among us or we will be just as guilty as those in 1888 whether our theology is right or not.

Jockeying for position, pride of opinion, the war of words, the strife of tongues, the attempt to prove that we are just dealing with issues when the facts reveal that it is personalities that are being dealt with even more—all of this and more is evidence for our need to humble ourselves before God in dust and ashes and “pray to him, morning, noon, and night, to give you a meek and humble spirit, a mild temper, an affectionate disposition.” Youth’s Instructor, January 1, 1856.