Editorial

Editorial – Second Chance

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“Now the Word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time.” Jonah 3:1

Jonah had been the runaway prophet. He dreaded so much doing what God had told him to do that he decided to go west to Tarshish instead of east to Ninevah. This decision got him in deep trouble. On the first recorded submarine trip he prayed to the God of heaven. He said later, “my prayer went to you into your holy temple.” Jonah 2:7. The voyage seemed like an eternity, he said, “the earth with its bars was behind me forever.” Jonah 2:6. But in that living grave God heard him. Jonah said, “out of the belly of sheol I cried, You heard my voice.” Jonah 2:2.

Have not many other people had an experience like Jonah. For various reasons the way that God marked out for them to travel seemed too difficult, too painful, too distasteful, too dangerous or just plain ruinous and the human spirit shrank from what God said to do. We thought that we could not possibly do exactly as God directed. “Times have changed”(Testimonies, vol. 5, 211) and so, instead of going east, we went west to escape the disagreeable duty and find greater peace and happiness in a way that we deemed better than the one God had pointed out for us.

We still claimed of course that we “fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” (Jonah 1:9) and we still profess to be His people even after we had purchased our ticket to go opposite the direction that He has directed. If God should deal with us like we are prone to deal with each other we would all perish. But we serve a God who specializes in giving second chances to disobedient, runaway disciples. First, of course, we have to go through our own deep trouble—going opposite to God’s express instructions in any line always results in consequences, in trials and suffering even though we are forgiven when we repent and confess our sins. Sometimes we must, because of our own previous course of action, be cast into deep trouble, into stormy waters, until it seems that there is no hope and that both God and man have forsaken us and we say with Jonah, “I have been cast out of Your sight.” Jonah 2:4. But if we keep praying and surrendering our lives to the Lord we will find that, “Salvation is of the Lord.” Jonah 2:9.

When He sees that it is time, He can remove us from the furnace of trouble. “The refining furnace is to remove the dross. When the Refiner sees His image reflected in you perfectly, He will remove you from the furnace. You will not be left to be consumed or to endure the fiery ordeal any longer than is necessary for your purification. But it is necessary for you, in order to reflect the divine image, to submit to the process the Refiner chooses for you, that you may be cleansed, purified, and every spot and blemish removed—not even a wrinkle left in your Christian character.” Our High Calling, 312.

“I saw that the enemy would either contend for the usefulness or the life of the godly, and will try to mar their peace as long as they live in this world. But his power is limited. He may cause the furnace to be heated, but Jesus and angels will watch the trusting Christian, that nothing may be consumed but the dross. The fire kindled by Satan, can have no power to destroy or hurt the true metal. It is important to close every door possible, against the entrance of Satan. It is the privilege of every family to so live that Satan cannot take advantage of anything they may say or do, to tear each other down. Every member of the family should bear in mind that all have just as much as they can do to resist our wily foe, and with earnest prayers and unyielding faith, they must rely upon the merits of the blood of Christ, and claim His saving strength. The powers of darkness gather about the soul and shut Jesus from our sight, and at times we can only wait in sorrow and amazement until the cloud passes over. These seasons are sometimes terrible. Hope seems to fail, and despair seizes upon us. In these dreadful hours we must learn to trust, to depend on the sole merits of the atonement, and in all our helpless unworthiness cast ourselves upon the merits of the crucified and risen Savior. We shall never perish while we do this—never! . . .We are too quickly discouraged, and earnestly cry for the trial to be removed from us, when we should plead for patience to endure, and grace to overcome.” Review and Herald, April 22, 1862.

Editorial – The Infallible Guide, Part I

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Informed Seventh-day Adventists do not claim infallibility for inspired writings in the strictest sense of the word: “We have many lessons to learn, and many, many to unlearn. God and heaven alone are infallible. Those who think that they will never have to give up a cherished view, never have occasion to change an opinion, will be disappointed. As long as we hold to our own ideas and opinions with determined persistency, we cannot have the unity for which Christ prayed.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 37.

“The Bible is written by inspired men, but it is not God’s mode of thought and expression. It is that of humanity. God, as a writer, is not represented. Men will often say such an expression is not like God. But God has not put Himself in words, In logic, in rhetoric, on trial in the Bible. The writers of the Bible were God’s penmen, not His pen.” Ibid., 21.

“Some look to us gravely and say, ‘Don’t you think there might have been some mistake in the copyist or in the translators?’ This is all probable . . . All the mistakes will not cause trouble to one soul, or cause any feet to stumble, that would not manufacture difficulties from the plainest revealed truth.” Ibid., 16.

Notice that in the above statement Ellen White is talking about mistakes in the Bible. We do not possess one autograph of one book of the Bible and, as she indicated, mistakes have occurred in the copying process. We know this because when we compare various Greek and Hebrew manuscripts they do not all agree word for word. This is true for the received text, (Textus Receptus) the majority text, and all other ancient textual families of the scriptures. Both in the Bible and the writings of Ellen White grammatical mistakes were made in the writing. This is evident in the Greek New Testament and in the Spirit of Prophecy.

Concerning the Spirit of Prophecy writings given through Ellen White, she wrote, “In regard to infallibility, I never claimed it; God alone is infallible.” Ibid., 37.

Historic Adventists know that the writings of Ellen White were inspired in the same way and to the same extent (prophetic inspiration is an either-or situation) as the Bible, but infallibility in the strictest sense of the word is not claimed for either.

In addition to grammatical mistakes, Ellen White gives us the following insight into mistakes in the Bible. “I saw that God had especially guarded the Bible; yet when copies of it were few, learned men had in some instances changed the words, thinking that they were making it more plain, when in reality they were mystifying that which was plain, by causing it to lean to their established views, which were governed by tradition. But I saw that the Word of God, as a whole, is a perfect chain, one portion linking into and explaining another.” Early Writings, 220, 221.

Even though there are many mistakes, in every translation, which do indeed affect a person’s theological beliefs. And it is for this very reason that we, like William Miller use concordances to check our understanding of the text. We still know that in a larger sense the Bible is infallible, namely it is an infallible guide to eternal life. Not one person will be able to claim in the day of judgment that he attempted to live by every word in the Bible and was lost in consequence. We must compare Scripture with Scripture and follow the weight of evidence, even when we cannot explain every text on a subject.

How to be sure that you will be saved:

“It [the Bible] is an infallible guide under all circumstances, even to the end of the journey of life. Take it as the man of your counsel, the rule of your daily life.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 264.

“They [young people] are infatuated with the subject of courtship and marriage, and their principal burden is to have their own way. In this, the most important period of their lives, they need an unerring counselor, and infallible guide. This they will find in the word of God. Unless they are diligent students of that word, they will make grave mistakes.” Review and Herald, January 26, 1886.

“Christ will be to you an infallible guide if you will choose Him before your own blind judgment. . . . If you had trusted to the True Counselor instead of to your own judgment, you would ever have been guided out of your perplexities in your business transactions.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 457.

The following testimonies have application to the quibbling over the Ellen White writings that we see today, which was exactly what was being done to the Bible in her day:

“The testimony is conveyed through the imperfect expression of human language; yet it is the testimony of God.” Review and Herald, September 30, 1906.

“Brethren, cling to your Bible, as it reads, and stop your criticisms in regard to its validity, and obey the Word, and not one of you will be lost.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 18.

Editorial – As We Draw Near the End, Part I

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  1. The battle becomes more intense and subtle:

“The Lord Jesus Christ came to dispute the usurpation of Satan in the kingdoms of the world. The conflict is not yet ended; and as we draw near the close of time, the battle waxes more intense. As the second appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ draws near, satanic agencies are moved from beneath. Satan will not only appear as a human being, but he will personate Jesus Christ; and the world who has rejected the truth will receive him as the Lord of lords and King of kings. He will exercise his power, and work upon the human imagination. He will corrupt both the minds and the bodies of men, and will work through the children of disobedience, fascinating and charming, as does a serpent. What a spectacle will the world be for heavenly intelligences! What a spectacle for God, the Creator of the world, to behold! The form Satan assumed in Eden when leading our first parents to transgress, was of a character to bewilder and confuse the mind. He will work in as subtle a manner as we near the end of earth’s history.” Review and Herald, April 14, 1896.

  1. Satan tries to snare God’s people with licentiousness:

“Near the close of this earth’s history Satan will work with all his powers in the same manner and with the same temptations wherewith he tempted ancient Israel just before their entering the land of promise. He will lay snares for those who claim to keep the commandments of God, and who are almost on the borders of the heavenly Canaan. He will use his powers to their utmost in order to entrap souls, and to take God’s professed people upon their weakest points. Those who have not brought the lower passions into subjection to the higher powers of their being, those who have allowed their minds to flow in a channel of carnal indulgence of the baser passions, Satan is determined to destroy with his temptations,—to pollute their souls with licentiousness. He is not aiming especially at the lower and less important marks, but he makes use of his snares through those whom he can enlist as his agents to allure or attract men to take liberties which are condemned in the law of God. And men in responsible positions, teaching the claims of God’s law, whose mouths are filled with arguments in vindication of His law, against which Satan has made such a raid,—over such he sets his hellish powers and his agencies at work, and overthrows them upon the weak points in their character, knowing that he who offends on one point is guilty of all, thus obtaining complete mastery over the entire man. Mind, soul, body, and conscience are involved in the ruin. If he be a messenger of righteousness, and has had great light, or if the Lord has used him as his special worker in the cause of truth, then how great is the triumph of Satan! How he exults! How God is dishonored!” Ibid., May 17, 1887.

“The repeated murmurings of the Israelites, and the visitations of God’s wrath because of their transgressions, are recorded in sacred history for the benefit of God’s people who should afterward live upon the earth; but more especially to prove a warning to those who should live near the close of time.” Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, 270.

  1. No need for discouragement:

“When the Christian is looking forward to duties and severe trials that he anticipates are to be brought upon him, because of his Christian profession of faith, it is human nature to contemplate the consequences, and shrink from the prospects, and this will be decidedly so as we near the close of this earth’s history. We may be encouraged by the truthfulness of God’s word, that Christ never failed His children as their safe Leader in the hour of their trial; for we have the truthful record of those who have been under the oppressive powers of Satan, that His grace is according to their day. God is faithful who will not suffer us to be tempted above that we are able.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 398.

  1. But, we must be growing in Christ every day:

“As we near the close of this earth’s history, we advance more and more rapidly in Christian growth, or we retrograde just as decidedly.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 407.

“As we draw near the close of earth’s history, there will be no safety for those who do not become familiar with the Word of God.” Sons and Daughters of God, 190.

Editorial – Harvest Time

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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

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“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

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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

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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

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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

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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.