Editorial

Editorial – Harvest Time

by

One of the saddest texts in all the Bible is Jeremiah 8:20: “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” Do not let any preacher or religious teacher rob you of the inheritance of eternal life that Jesus died on the cross to provide for you by persuading you that you do not need to keep God’s law or that you can be saved without keeping it. The forgiveness that Jesus provided on the cross of Calvary is for sins that you have committed in the past (Romans 3:25, 26; Romans 6:18–23), not so that you can continue to sin in the future. Every person who receives the Holy Spirit will quit sinning. (See Romans 8:1–14.) The standard for the judgment that every person in this world is to face is the law of God. (See James 2:8–12.) God’s children in the last days will be obedient to His law (Revelation 12:17; 14:12; 22:14) and those who claim to be Christians and yet break God’s law will not be accepted by Jesus in the judgment. (See Matthew 7:21–23.) Don’t let the religious delusions of this age rob you of eternal life.

“All the inhabitants of earth are soon to meet the great Lawgiver over His broken law. There are many, many in the popular churches who know little of the real meaning of the message for this time. I appeal to them not to disregard the fulfilling of the signs of the times, which say so plainly that the end is near. O how many who have not sought their soul’s salvation, will soon make the bitter lamentation, ‘The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and my soul is not saved!’

“When will men learn that God is God, not man, and that He does not change? Every calamity, every death, is a witness to the power of evil and to the truth of the living God. The word of God is life, and it will abide forever. Through all eternity it will stand fast. How can man, knowing what God is and what He has done, choose Satan’s way instead of God’s way? There is only one path to Paradise restored—the path of obedience.” The Signs of the Times, January 25, 1910.

Editorial – The Inheritance We Are Preparing For

by

“In imagination I gathered with the saints around the wide-spreading tree of life. Friends and dear home relatives who had been separated from us by death were gathered there. The redeemed, white-robed multitude, who had washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, were there. No flaming guard stood around the tree of life, barring our approach. With happy, joyous songs of praise, the voices were blended in perfect harmony as we plucked of the fruit from the tree of life.

“I seemed to be there where all was peace, where no stormy conflicts of earth could ever come—heaven, a kingdom of righteousness where all the holy and pure and blest are congregated, ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands, living and walking in happy, pure intimacy, praising God and the Lamb who sitteth on the throne.

“Their voices were in perfect harmony. They never do each other wrong. Princes of heaven, the potentates of this mighty realm, are rivals only in good, seeking the happiness and joy of each other. The greatest there is least in self-esteem, and the least is greatest in his gratitude and wealth of love.

“There are no dark errors to cloud the intellect. Truth and knowledge, clear, strong, and perfect, have chased every doubt away, and no gloom of doubt casts its baleful shadow upon its happy inhabitants. No voices of contention mar the sweet and perfect peace of heaven. Its inhabitants know no sorrow, no grief, no tears. All is in perfect harmony, in perfect order and perfect bliss.

“The Great Shepherd was leading His flock to living fountains of water and to green pastures, new and delightful scenery opening continually before His people. Heaven, sweet heaven, the saints’ eternal home, the abode for the toilers, where the weary who have borne the heavy burdens through life find rest, peace, and joy! They sowed in tears, they reap with joy and triumph. Heaven is a home where sympathy is alive in every heart, expressed in every look. Love reigns there. There are no jarring elements, no discord or contentions or war of words.

“With our deepest study and our broadest experience we shall never be able to describe heaven or our senses to comprehend it. All that is pure, all that is excellent and lovely is there. The possession of heaven is endless bliss, infinite glory, riches, and knowledge. The character of heaven is perfect love, holiness, peace. We know these things now only in part. ‘Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.’ 1 Corinthians 2:9. It is the discipline imposed upon us all to walk by faith and not by sight.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 9, 104, 105.

“Remember that if you speak cross words to fellow church members, you would speak the same kind of words in heaven, were you permitted to enter there. But you never will be unless you change.” General Conference Bulletin, April 6, 1903.

“No unpleasant words are spoken in heaven. There no unkind thoughts are cherished. There envy, evil surmising, hatred, and strife find no place. Perfect harmony pervades the heavenly courts.” Upward Look, 163.

“(John 14:15, 21, 23, 24 quoted.) Here are the conditions upon which every soul will be elected to eternal life. Your obedience to God’s commandments will prove your right to an inheritance with the saints in light. God has elected a certain excellence of character; and every one who, through the grace of Christ, shall reach the standard of His requirement, will have an abundant entrance into the kingdom of glory. All, who would reach this standard of character, will have to employ the means that God has provided to this end. If you would inherit the rest that remaineth for the children of God, you must become a co-laborer with God. You are elected to wear the yoke of Christ,—to bear His burden, to lift His cross. You are to be diligent ‘to make your calling and election sure.’ 2 Peter 1:10.”  Christian Education, 118.

“Both you and ourselves fully believe that holiness of life is necessary to fit us for the inheritance of saints in light.” Review and Herald, June 6, 1878.

“Those who have been tested and proved on this matter of loving others as themselves, will be pronounced meet for an inheritance with the saints in light.” Signs of the Times, July 2, 1894.

“By looking unto Jesus, by talking with Jesus, by fashioning the life after Christ’s example, they become meet for the inheritance of the saints in light, for our taste is perfected for the purity of heaven.” Signs of the Times, September 5, 1895.

“This present life is only our training-school. Here we are to be purified that at Christ’s coming we may be without spot or wrinkle or any such thing,—prepared to receive the inheritance of the saints in light.” Signs of the Times, July 17, 1901.

Editorial – The Infallible Guide, Part II

by

We showed the first part of this series (in the editorial in July 1999), that informed Adventists do not claim verbal inspiration or infallibility in the strictest sense of the word for inspired writings. But at the same time we saw that inspired writings are an infallible guide to salvation and that no one will be able to say, in the day of judgement, that he followed the inspired writings and was lost.

“The Bible presents a perfect standard of character; it is an infallible guide under all circumstances, even to the end of the journey of life.” Signs of the Times, March 21, 1906.

“It was the Spirit of God that inspired the Bible, it is impossible that the teaching of the Spirit should ever be contrary to that of the word.” The Great Controversy, vii.

“Divine power is infallible. Then let us come to God, pleading for the guidance of His Holy Spirit.” Testimonies to Ministers, 485.

As is evident in the above quotations, the reason that the Bible is an infallible guide to heaven is because it was inspired by the Holy Spirit and divine power is infallible. Since the Spirit of Prophecy, as manifested in the writings of Ellen G. White, is also inspired by the same power and person, the Spirit of Prophecy, which is confirmed, is also an infallible guide. No one will be able to claim, in the day of judgement, that they studied and read these books and attempted to follow the counsel therein contained and then lost their soul. The danger is that through neglect that the following will come to pass: “Many are going directly contrary to the light which God has given to His people, because they do not read the books which contain the light and knowledge in cautions, reproofs, and warnings. The cares of the world, the love of fashion, and the lack of religion have turned the attention from the light God has so graciously given.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 681.

The following letter illustrates the vital importance of the Spirit of Prophecy for the remnant living in the last days: “The truths given us after the passing of the time in 1844 are just as certain and unchangeable as when the Lord gave them to us in answer to our urgent prayers. The visions that the Lord has given me are so remarkable that we know that what we have accepted is the truth. This was demonstrated by the Holy Spirit. Light, precious light from God, established the main points of our faith as we hold them today. And these truths are to be kept before the mind. We must arouse from the position of lukewarmness, from being neither cold nor hot. We need increased faith and more earnest trust in God. We must not be satisfied to remain where we are. We must advance step by step, from light to greater light.

“The Lord will certainly do great things for us if we will hunger and thirst after righteousness. We are the purchased property of Jesus Christ. We must not lose our devotion, our consecration. We are in conflict with the errors and delusions that have to be swept away from the minds of those who have not acted upon the light they already have. Bible truth is our only safety. I know and understand that we are to be established in the faith, in the light of the truth given us in our early experience. At that time one error after another pressed in upon us; ministers and doctors brought in new doctrines. We would search the Scriptures with much prayer, and the Holy Spirit would bring the truth to our minds. Sometimes whole nights would be devoted to searching the Scriptures, and earnestly asking God for guidance. Companies of devoted men and women assembled for this purpose. The power of God would come upon me, and I was enabled clearly to define what is truth and what is error.

“As the points of our faith were thus established, our feet were placed upon a solid foundation. We accepted the truth point by point, under the demonstration of the Holy Spirit. I would be taken off in vision, and explanations would be given me. I was given illustrations of heavenly things, and of the sanctuary, so that we were placed where light was shining on us in clear, distinct rays.

“All these truths are immortalized in my writings. The Lord never denies His word. Men may get up scheme after scheme, and the enemy will seek to seduce souls from the truth, but all who believe that the Lord has spoken through Sister White, and has given her a message, will be safe from the many delusions that will come in these last days.” Letter 50, 1906. [Emphasis supplied]

Editorial – Preparation for the Second Coming of Christ

by

Jesus is coming back to this earth again (Acts 1:9-11). For this event we need to prepare (Amos 4:12). In the judgment the question will not be “What did you profess?” but rather “What have you done” (Luke 12:42, 43, 47)?

Those who are saved will be those who have washed their robes of character and made them white in the blood of the lamb (Revelation 7:14). This means that at an infinite cost a fountain has been prepared for our cleansing (Zechariah 13:1). Those who are cleansed will secure a place among the homes being prepared in the New Jerusalem for those who love Him, but how do we do that?

All our righteousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Everything we can do of ourselves is defiled by sin. But Jesus was manifested to take away our sins (1 John 3:5) and there is no sin in Him. Sin is the breaking of God’s law, but Jesus was obedient to every precept of the law (see Psalm 40:8; John 15:10). By His perfect obedience He has made it possible for every human being to obey God’s commandments.

“When we submit ourselves to Christ, the heart is united to His heart (see Proverbs 23:26), the will is merged to His will (see Philippians 2:12, 13), the mind becomes one with His mind (see 1 Corinthians 2:16), the thoughts are brought into captivity to Him (see 2 Corinthians 10:5); we live His life (see Philippians 1:21).” Christ’s Object Lessons, 311.

“There will be no second probation in which to prepare for eternity. It is in this life that we are to put on the robe of Christ’s righteousness. This is our only opportunity to form characters for the home which Christ has made ready for those who obey His commandments.

“The days of our probation are fast closing. The end is near. Solemnly there come down to us through the centuries the warning words of our Lord from the Mount of Olives: ‘Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares’ (Luke 21:34). Beware lest it find you unready. Take heed lest you be found at the King’s feast without a wedding garment. ‘In such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh’ (Matthew 24:44). ‘Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame’ (Revelation 16:15). ‘Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man’ (Luke 21:36).” The Signs of the Times, November 22, 1905.

Editorial – A Special Testimony, Part II

by

This is a continuation of the letter we started publishing excerpts from in last month’s editorial—a letter from Ellen White to two large Seventh-day Adventist churches.

“Those who have used the tithe money to supply the common necessities of the house of God, have taken the money that should go to sustain ministers in doing his work, in preparing the way for Christ’s second appearing. Just as surely as you do this work, you misapply the resources which God has told you to retain in his treasure-house, that it may be full, to be used in his service. This work is something of which all who have taken a part in should be ashamed. They have used their influence to withdraw from God’s treasury a fund that is consecrated to a sacred purpose. From those who do this, the blessing of the Lord will be removed.

“If the brethren in responsible positions would talk faith and courage to all the workers in the office, if you would talk self-denial in the church, if you would practice it in your own families, if you would bear a clean-cut testimony, which you have not yet borne, if you would all be mouthpieces for God, and present to the church the necessity for self-denial, the humiliation of the soul, praying for the Lord to forgive your pride, your foolish, senseless vanity, the Lord may pass by and leave you a blessing.

“Let your works show that you do believe your words of murmuring in the past to be wrong, that it is time now for you to cast your net on the right side of the ship, the side of faith. For the rest of your days, while probation lasts, show what can be done by a self-denying, self-sacrificing, consecrated, living church.

“A different testimony must go forth from lips touched with the live coal from off the altar. When you are in Christ, you can bear a living testimony. But throughout the churches there is selfishness and sin, dishonesty, unbelief, criticism, and faultfinding. It is high time now for you have to awake out of sleep. We read that in olden times holy men spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

“This is what we need. This is what we must have. We need money here to carry forward the work. But we have no such resources to draw upon as you have in Oakland and Battle Creek. We can not sustain ministers in the field; for there is no money in the treasury. I know from the light given me of God that there should be many workers in California. There should be workers in Michigan, and yet men are questioning in regard to using the tithe for other purposes than that which the Lord has specified. In California, in all our cities in America, in the highways and byways, men and women should go forth as consecrated workers, who will proclaim the message of warning. Why should it [the General Conference] permit its ministers to be half paid, and at the same time talk so begrudgingly of that which they do receive? When this work shall cease in our churches, a living testimony will go forth from human lips, under the operation of the Holy Ghost.

“Satan has stolen a march on us. God desires that we shall put on the whole armor of righteousness. There are exceptional cases, where poverty is so deep that, in order to secure the humblest place of worship, it may be necessary to appropriate the tithes. But that place is not Battle Creek or Oakland. Let those who assemble to worship God consider the self-denial and self-sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Let those brethren who profess to be children of God study how they can deny themselves, how they can part with some of their idols, and carefully economize in every line. In each house there should be a box for the church fund, to be used for the needs of the church.

“I have been shown case after case where men are working in the ministry, who are just as deserving of their wages as those who are employed in the publishing houses, are left without sufficient means to support their families. If they work at all for the Master, they have to depend on charity. The censure and frown of God is upon the church that will permit these things to exist. Let not those to whom are entrusted responsibilities, allow the treasury that God has appointed to sustain the ministers in the field, to be robbed to supply the expenses incurred in keeping in order and making comfortable the house of God.

“A separate fund for the purpose of defraying the expenses, which every church member should share according to his ability, should be instituted in every place where there is a church.”

Taken from Manuscript Releases, vol. 1, 183–191.

Editorial – A Day of Reckoning Coming

by

Editor’s Note: This is a continuation of last month’s letter from Ellen White to the Oakland and Battle Creek Churches.

“Your mind, your soul, your strength are all the Lord’s. None of these talents will be left out by the Master in the reckoning that is soon to be made. We may leave them out of our reckoning, but the Lord measures with exactitude every possibility for service.

“A strict account must be rendered at that great day when Christ shall come. Day by day and hour by hour we are making our own record….We are trading with our Lord’s goods. Pharisaism will appear in abundance. But a formal church will have far less to account for in the sight of God than those who have had so great light, so many opportunities, and yet are found among transgressors.

“Those at the center of the work have manifested an avaricious spirit; they have, as it were, clothed fraud and double-dealing, conniving,—principles which God condemns in His work,—with a garment of righteousness. They have so perverted their imagination that they have supposed gain to be godliness.

“God would have wrought in a manner you have not yet realized were it not for the corrupting principles existing in the church at the very heart of the work, where it was supposed, and where it has been taught, that the counsel coming therefrom was of God. But the neglect of the measures that should have been taken to cleanse from our institutions and from our church their moral defilement, has brought the wrath of God upon His people.

“God, in His own good time will give the message to men whom you least expect, to come from men’s policy to the policy of God. The doctrine of justification by faith and the righteousness by faith was opposed, and masterly efforts made through opposition and denunciation by a formal church, whose attitude was of a character to discourage integrity and faithfulness and good works. And the result is just as it was in Christ’s day. Those who were blinded by the enemy would, from their standpoint, pronounce judgment against the living principles of truth as heresy, and if they dared, would make the press voice their sentiments with warnings and anathemas because their own preconceived opinions were not considered supreme and without a flaw.

“God has given His Word power, but at what a cost! What labor and pain, and anguish of soul have been endured! What time and money have been bestowed! And how much of God’s talents has been wasted under misconception in counter-working the work of God, at the very time the message was to go with a loud voice and ripen off the harvest of the earth! Men in high places of trust have gone from place to place as agents, working on the enemy’s side. While the workers of God, sent forth with a special message, have prosecuted their work as men who must give an account, they have not been appreciated. Their way has been hedged up, and their labor counter-worked as far as possible.

The attainment of a living faith in Christ is essential. The pardon of sins, the contrite heart, the reception of the blessed atonement through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth, must be wrought through personal, individual agencies. This can not be obtained or wrought out by a substitute. Each individual must arm himself with the high purpose of doing the will of God. When he does this to the full, his decision of fundamental doctrines and principles will be considered worthy of attention.

Editorial – Our Divine Helper

by

The devil is constantly trying to get the Lord’s people to give up in discouragement and despair. The answer to this, and to all other temptations of the enemy, is Jesus. Following are a few encouraging, inspired statements about where the help is and how to get it.

“Our divine Lord is equal to any emergency. With Him nothing is impossible . . . Come to Christ just as you are, weak, helpless, and ready to die. Cast yourself wholly on His mercy. . . Trustful dependence on Jesus makes victory not only possible, but certain.” Signs of the Times, January 3, 1906.

“You may take all your trials, all your troubles, all your sorrows to Jesus in prayer; you may feel that He is at hand to help you in every emergency, and you can tell Him all about it and He will give you just the help you need.” Signs of the Times, September 15, 1887.

“The fact that you have been baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is an assurance that if you will claim Their help, These powers will help you in every emergency.”  Testimonies, vol. 6, 98, 99. (1900).

“There is not a single instance in which God has hidden His face from the supplication of His people. When every other resource failed He was a present help in every emergency. God bless you, poor, stricken, wounded soul. Cling to His hand; hold fast. He will take you, your children, and all your griefs and burdens if you will only cast them all upon Him.” This Day with God, 194.

“We are not to give up in discouragement, but in every emergency we are to seek help from Him who has infinite resources at His command. Often we shall be surrounded with trying circumstances, and then, in the fullest confidence, we must depend upon God. He will keep every soul that is brought into perplexity through trying to keep the way of the Lord.” Desire of Ages, 369.

“Divine power will cooperate with human effort. Dear reader, the gates are open, and the glory of God is shining for every soul who looks to Heaven in times of trial and perplexity. How many go to human friends when they are in trouble! But how vain is the help that man can give! Human aid is only as a broken reed. Christ has been manifested to the world as the One who can bind up the broken in heart, and comfort those that mourn.” Apples of Gold Library, August 1, 1898; Signs of the Times, July 29, 1889.

“We have a precious, loving Saviour. I wish I could present Him to you just as He is. Many have Jesus so exalted in their minds that He seems far off and they have no communion with Him. But Christ took upon himself human nature and was called the Son of man, because He was to become acquainted with all the trials, with all the sorrows, and with all the sufferings of humanity, that He might know how to succor those who are tempted. To the weeping ones He says, ‘I have wept. I know how to sympathize with you.’ He is a Saviour that is in sympathy with the woes of man, a Saviour that is by our side to help, and strengthen, and succor us. We are to stand firm as a rock to the principles of the Word of God, remembering that God is with us to give us strength to meet each new experience. Let us ever maintain in our lives the principles of righteousness, that we may go forward from strength to strength in the name of the Lord. John found in his solitude and exile that the Lord had not forgotten him. From this we may learn that God is a shield and helper in every emergency, to those who believe and trust in Him. When surrounded by difficulties, dangers, and discouragements, we must not yield faith and principle, but cherish every precious ray of light granted us, and be true to our God given responsibilities.” Signs of the Times, February 28, 1878.

Editorial – Millennium Meltdown?

by

In 1998, I received stacks of printed material about the world fiasco that would occur at midnight, December 31, 1999.

There was “proof” that power companies would shut down because of the Y2K computer bug. This would be ominous in the United States, because most home heating systems will not work without electricity. Public utilities would shut down, so there would be no lights, heat, running water, and maybe no phones.

It was also predicted that banks would erase, or corrupt, records of accounts, causing world-wide panic that would create the greatest economic shutdown ever.  Chaos would ensue, air travel would become unsafe, or impossible, records of tax payments, and issuance of government checks would be paralyzed.

By mid-December,1999 there would be serious oil shortages. The “fix” would take years, during which time we would be in the worst economic collapse of all time. It was called, “millennium meltdown.” Banks and supermarkets would shut down, and life savings could vanish. Americans were counseled to stock up on medications because they would not be available after January 1, 2000. We were warned to get several months supply of food that could be prepared without electricity.

With the shutdown of government and essential services, corporate collapse and banking disasters all predicted to happen at the same time, worldwide, panic was in the air!

We received communications about the seriousness of this problem, and about warning the Adventist people through Landmarks magazine.  After prayer, we decided we would not publish or preach about the coming Y2K problem.  Not because there was no potential for something serious to go wrong, but because that is not our mission. We have a God-given mission, and it is to get the Three Angels’ Message to the world, to prepare people for the coming of the Lord (Luke 1:17). Our mission is not to speculate about the precise nature and timing of disasters Jesus said would come upon the world in the last days (Matthew 24, Luke 21.)

We do not believe in sticking our heads in the sand— the Bible says that the wise man foresees evil and hides himself, but, the Y2K experience should teach us that the wisest men in the world cannot predict the future—they cannot even predict what their computers will, or will not, do, or what effect it will have. The only way to be prepared for the future is to study what God says and follow His counsel.  “We know not the future.” Manuscript Release, vol. 20, 10. “The Lord knows the future.” General Conference Bulletin, 4-10-1903.

For many decades, international agencies advised people to have an emergency water supply in case of problems with the public water supply.  It is always well to have enough food on hand to provide for your family until the next harvest. However, millions of dollars of “emergency food” gets thrown away every year because it has become too old. We must not let  these things detract us from the central issue.

The devil is trying, in every way, to detract Adventists from getting the Three Angels’ Message to the world. The Y2K predictions were not the first, and will not be the last, erroneous human predictions. In the 1970s it was predicted that the world would run out of petroleum by 1997 and we would revert to pre-industrial revolution primitive living, with worldwide economic collapse. According to Bible prophecy, worldwide economic collapse will happen in the future. (See Revelation 18 and Ezekiel 7.) Our mission is not to predict the precise timing or nature of this, but to get the Three Angels’ Message to the world so that those who accept may be delivered from the coming trouble.

“In the name of the Lord I advise all His people to have trust in God and not begin now to prepare to find an easy position for any emergency in the future, but to let God prepare for the emergency. We have altogether too little faith.” 1888 Materials, 487.

Editorial – The Body of Death

by

Many Christians are despairing. They realize they are living in a body of death and that they are helpless to free themselves from this sinful flesh. They perceive the loving-kindness of God. They not only discern the surpassing excellence of the divine character, but they see that His law is wise and just. At the same time, they find themselves in the shackles of sin from which they have tried, over and over, to free themselves, and yet they are not set free. “‘O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of death?’ Romans 7:24, margin. Such is the cry that has gone up from burdened hearts in all lands and in all ages. To all, there is but one answer, ‘Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.’ John 1:29.” Steps to Christ, 19.

It apparently is a universal experience that human beings judge others by themselves. This is the main reason for such faulty judgment by people who are considered to be wise.…“it is sad to see those who should be vessels unto honor indulging in the gratification of the lower nature and walking in paths that conscience condemns. Men professing to be followers of Christ fall to a low level, always mourning over their shortcomings, but never overcoming and bruising Satan under their feet. Guilt and condemnation constantly burden the soul,…Through indulgence in sin, self-respect is destroyed; and when that is gone, respect for others is lessened; we think that others are as unrighteous as we are ourselves.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 52, 53.

If we behold Jesus, as instructed above, what is going to happen to us? We have the divine promise that we will be set free. (See John 8:32-36.) But the bigger, and even more important, question to be answered is not what the result will be, but how do we comply with the condition, “Behold the Lamb of God”?  “By sin we have been severed from the life of God. Our souls are palsied. Of ourselves we are no more capable of living a holy life than was the impotent man capable of walking. There are many who realize their helplessness, and who long for that spiritual life which will bring them into harmony with God; they are vainly striving to obtain it.…Let these desponding, struggling ones look up. The Saviour is bending over the purchase of His blood, saying with inexpressible tenderness and pity, ‘Wilt thou be made whole?’ He bids you arise in health and peace. Do not wait to feel that you are made whole. Believe His word, and it will be fulfilled. Put your will on the side of Christ. Will to serve Him, and in acting upon His word you will receive strength.” The Desire of Ages, 203.

In His prayer to the Father, Christ said, “This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” We must learn of Christ. We must know what He is to those He has ransomed. We must realize that through belief in Him it is our privilege to be partakers of the divine nature, and so escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. Then we are cleansed from all sin, all defects of character. We need not retain one sinful propensity. Review and Herald, April 24, 1900.

“Come to Jesus every day, and tell Him you want strength, you want heavenly wisdom, to understand what is sin and how to forsake it.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 14, 75.

“It is in the word of God that we find encouragement to turn our eyes to Christ, to lift up our voice in hope and expectation, saying, ‘Jesus, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.’ It is in the word of God that we find what is the effectual remedy for the leprosy of sin.” Signs of the Times, July 2, 1896.

All emphasis supplied.

Editorial – When All Is Lost

by

When Adam and Eve sinned all was lost. Their innocence was replaced with guilt, which resulted in fear. They had no righteousness anymore. They were unrighteous and unholy and this is manifested immediately in the Bible account as erupting in self-justification and blaming somebody else for their actions.  Adam blamed Eve (since she had been given to him by God, this was an accusation against God Himself.) Eve blamed the serpent (since God had made the serpent this again was an accusation against God Himself.) This was not the first or last time for sinners to attempt to justify themselves and blame God. “The love of God does not lead Him to excuse sin. He did not excuse it in Satan; He did not excuse it in Adam or in Cain; nor will He excuse it in any other of the children of men. He will not connive at our sins or overlook our defects of character. He expects us to overcome in His name.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 316.

The peace and harmony Adam and Eve had experienced was immediately replaced with reproaches of each other and dissension in their home. They were alienated from the life of God, dead in trespasses and sins, doomed to death because they had voluntarily separated themselves from the life-giver.

Ellen White describes the fact that all was lost many times. A few examples follow: “Sorrow filled heaven, as it was realized that man was lost, and that world which God had created was to be filled with mortals doomed to misery, sickness, and death, and there was no way of escape for the offender. The whole family of Adam must die.” Early Writings, 149.

“All are lost unless they are transformed in character.” Signs of the Times, Janury 15, 1894.

“But the character of God was more fully revealed to angels and to men when God demonstrated that He would not leave man in this utterly lost and depraved condition.” (The Bible teaches the doctrine of total depravity of human beings—‘in my flesh there dwells no good thing.’ Romans 7:18—this is the chiefest of the apostles writing.) We were not left in hopeless misery.

We are still amidst the turmoil of earthly activities and troubles. Sickness and death, the division of families and the dissension originally brought in by sin surround the human family and the saints still today.  Many come to us feeling that all is lost, feeling hopeless.  All would be hopeless except for Jesus. Your case is not hopeless if you come to Him no matter what your family situation or your finances or your health or your surroundings: Do not entertain the thought that because you have made mistakes, because your life has been darkened by errors, your Heavenly Father does not love you and will not hear you when you pray. He says, ‘Him that cometh to Me

I will in no wise cast out.’ ‘The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.’ His heart of love is touched by our sorrows, and even by our utterance of them. Take to Him everything that perplexes the mind. Nothing is too great for Him to bear; for He holds up worlds, He rules over the affairs of the universe. Nothing that in any way concerns our peace is too small for Him to

notice. There is no chapter in our experience too dark for Him to read; there is no perplexity too difficult for Him to unravel. None have fallen so low, none are so vile, that they can not find deliverance in Christ. The demoniacs of Gadara, in the place of prayer could utter only the words of Satan; but yet the heart’s unspoken appeal was heard. No cry from a soul in need is unheeded.” Signs of the Times, June 18,1902.