Completing the Temple with the Gospel of Jesus

Through the ages that have passed since the days of the apostles, the building of God’s temple has never ceased. “Paul and the other apostles, and all the righteous who have lived since then, have acted their part in the building of the temple. But the structure is not yet complete. We who are living in this age have a work to do, a part to act.” The Acts of the Apostles, 598, 599.

In a previous article [LandMarks, November 2013], we studied about completing the temple with the law of God. We learned that, for ancient Israel, the ark of the covenant was a symbol of God’s presence and power. As we looked into the sanctuary we learned that wherever God’s law and mercy were found, there is where God’s presence was found and where communion with God occurred. Then we made the connection with modern Israel, the church. We learned that the law of God, as well as the mercy of God, should be located in the church and, specifically, in the hearts of His people.

The reason for addressing this is because, according to Early Writings, 254, “The minds of all who embrace this [the third angel’s] message are directed to the most holy place, where Jesus stands before the ark, making His final intercession for all those for whom mercy still lingers and for those who have ignorantly broken the law of God.” The third angel’s message emphasizes the law of God and the faith of Jesus which is present truth at its core and our primary message.

Another reason is because of what may be read in The Great Controversy, 478: “It is only as the law of God is restored to its rightful position that there can be a revival of primitive faith and godliness among His [God’s] professed people.” Friends, do you want to see a revival of primitive faith and godliness? Inspiration says, “A revival of true godliness among us is the greatest and most urgent of all our needs. To seek this should be our first work.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 121. Such a revival can come only as the law of God is restored to its rightful position, and that position is in the heart. Let us therefore do as Jesus did, magnify the law and make it honorable, first and foremost in our lives.

While the law of God is essential to the finishing of God’s work, the completion of God’s temple, there is something else that is as essential as the law. Without it the law of God would leave us sinners under eternal condemnation with no hope of eternal life. The Bible says that by the law is the knowledge of sin (Romans 7:7). Therefore, if we had only a knowledge of our sins, what rest or peace could we receive from such guilt? The law brings condemnation to the sinner; therefore, if man is to be restored to the image of God, there must be something blended with the law.

“The law and the gospel go hand in hand. The one is the complement of the other. The law without faith in the gospel of Jesus cannot save the transgressor of law. The gospel without the law is inefficient and powerless. The law and the gospel are a perfect whole. … The two blended—the gospel of Jesus and the law of God—produce the love and faith unfeigned.” Our High Calling, 141.

With this in mind, let’s consider completing the temple with the gospel of Jesus. But before discussing the completion of the temple, let us take a brief look at the gospel as it was given to man at the beginning of time and also as it is given to man at the end of time.

In Genesis 3:15, we read, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Here God, in the Garden of Eden, made a decree that He would put enmity (hatred) between the serpent (Satan) and the woman (the church). He would also put enmity between Satan’s seed (his followers) and the woman’s seed (Jesus and all who belong to Him). There is one point from this that needs to be emphasized. According to this text, although Satan and his army will fight against Christ and His church, the promise is that Jesus will ultimately gain the victory in this war. God told the serpent that although he would bruise the heel of the woman’s seed, that seed would bruise the serpent’s head, signifying victory for Jesus and defeat for the devil.

Notice the following quotation concerning this Scripture: “To man the first intimation of redemption was communicated in the sentence pronounced upon Satan in the garden. … This sentence, uttered in the hearing of our first parents, was to them a promise. While it foretold war between man and Satan, it declared that the power of the great adversary would finally be broken. … Though they must suffer from the power of their mighty foe, they could look forward to final victory.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 65, 66. According to this statement, the sentence pronounced in Genesis 3:15 was a promise to Adam and Eve. It was a promise that the power of the adversary would eventually be broken and that they could look forward to final victory. In simple terms, this is the gospel, and this gospel is a promise of victory. Friends, I want you to keep the word victory in mind, because we will come back to it at the end.

While this gospel was first given to man at the beginning of time, the Bible declares that, in the last days, the same gospel, the everlasting gospel, is given to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” Revelation 14:6, 7.

Look at the phrase “another angel.” The word angel refers to a messenger. It can refer to a heavenly messenger, or it can refer to a human messenger. The angel in Revelation 14:6 has the everlasting gospel to preach. Notice what Jesus said in Mark 16:15: “And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Here we learn that the responsibility of preaching the gospel was given to the church. Therefore, the angel referred to in Revelation 14:6 must represent a movement in which the church would proclaim a message to the world.

The message of the first angel is a message announcing the judgment hour. This message began to be proclaimed in the early 1830s by William Miller, Joseph Wolff and others. The movement became known as the Millerite movement and later on as the Advent movement. The Scripture that laid the foundation for this movement was Daniel 8:14: “And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Here we have a prophecy that the sanctuary is to be cleansed at the end of 2300 days. In this article we will not discuss this prophecy in detail or the misunderstanding of the Millerites concerning the sanctuary, but note that, in the everlasting gospel, the sanctuary is to be cleansed. This is the gospel of the first angel. It is a message of final victory.

This is the first angel that preaches the everlasting gospel at the end of time; however, it is not the last. The message of judgment was to be followed by two other messages, and all were to be proclaimed together. Skipping directly to the third and last angel’s message: “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:9–12.

There are at least five descriptions within the third angel’s message, but draw your attention to that which the angel of God directs. Recall the quotation mentioned earlier from the book, Early Writings, 254: “The minds of all who embrace this [the third angel’s] message are directed to the most holy place, where Jesus stands before the ark, making His final intercession for all those for whom mercy still lingers and for those who have ignorantly broken the law of God.”

Notice that the third angel draws the attention of God’s people to the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary. Our attention is drawn to the work that Jesus is doing for us, and according to this quotation, Jesus is making His final intercession for sinners. God’s mercy is still lingering for that man or woman who is ladened with the burden of sin, and it is the third angel’s message that points us to the sin-bearer. Once again, this is the gospel. This is the hope of the world. Preaching the law of God without this gospel would leave us sinners under eternal condemnation and with no hope of eternal life. Yet, because we have a gospel message, we have the hope that, though we are sinners, we can become saints by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. This is the gospel, and the sooner we fully receive the provisions of this gospel, the sooner the building of God’s temple will be completed and the sooner we can leave this world of sorrow and sin.

In conclusion, consider what is the provision of the third angel’s message and how it is connected with the finishing of God’s temple. In Revelation 14:12, it says, “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Here is described the characteristics of the saints. Because sanctification is a lifetime process, this Scripture also gives a clue to the work that should occupy our attention in the last days. The keeping of God’s commandments and the faith of Jesus is the most important work we are called to do. Nothing should divert our attention from this. Because we have already discussed the importance of God’s law, let us now consider the importance of the “faith of Jesus.”

What is the faith of Jesus? “ ‘The faith of Jesus.’ It is talked of, but not understood. What constitutes the faith of Jesus, that belongs to the third angel’s message? Jesus becoming our sin-bearer that He might become our sin-pardoning Saviour. He was treated as we deserve to be treated. He came to our world and took our sins that we might take His righteousness. And faith in the ability of Christ to save us amply and fully and entirely is the faith of Jesus.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 172.

Friends, do you have the faith of Jesus? Do you believe that He can completely save you from all of your besetting sins, even today? The only solution for the transgressor of God’s law is the sacrifice and intercession of Jesus Christ. There is no need for us to bear our own guilt. There is no need for us to be doubtful, hateful, lonely, distressed, depressed, despaired or defeated. There is a Saviour who can, even at this moment, deliver you from the power of sin and give you the power to live victoriously. Not only can He do it, but He wants to do it, even right now. All you have to do is have faith in the promise, yea in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and He will give you the victory that was promised to Adam in the beginning and that is still being offered to all who will receive it today.

“Feeling is not faith; the two are distinct. Faith is ours to exercise, but joyful feeling and the blessing are God’s to give. The grace of God comes to the soul through the channel of living faith, and that faith it is in our power to exercise.

“True faith lays hold of and claims the promised blessing before it is realized and felt. We must send up our petitions in faith within the second veil and let our faith take hold of the promised blessing and claim it as ours. We are then to believe that we receive the blessing, because our faith has hold of it, and according to the Word it is ours. ‘What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them’ (Mark 11:24). Here is faith, naked faith, to believe that we receive the blessing, even before we realize it. When the promised blessing is realized and enjoyed, faith is swallowed up.” Early Writings, 72.

Friends, do you have faith in the promises of God? Do you believe that God can deliver you from all evil? Remember the word victory that was mentioned in the beginning? Victory over sin is the promise of the gospel, but it will come to those only who ask, believe, and receive it by faith.

Demario Carter is currently a Bible worker for Steps to Life. 

The Faithful Christian

The true Christian acts on the basis of faith, saving faith, true faith, genuine faith, that quality of trust without which it is impossible for any human being to please God. The faith, which every believer needs, is the faith of Jesus, which purifies the soul. It is that faith which the True Witness asks us to “buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich” (Revelation 3:18). The Bible discloses for us the normal path of a Christian’s walk in such passages as: “the just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17); “the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God” (Galatians 2:20); “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (II Corinthians 5:7). By faith are we to live. But while this principle may be quickly grasped in the mind, it is not so readily experienced in life.

The obvious question then would be, Why is faith for many Christians only an intellectual concept but not an experimental reality? The late Professor James Orr of Scotland, in one of his sermons entitled “Science and Christian Faith,” said, “In many quarters the belief is industriously circulated that the advance of ‘science,’ meaning by this chiefly the physical sciences—astronomy, geology, biology, and the like—has proved damaging, if not destructive, to the claims of the Bible, and the truth of Christianity. Science and Christianity are pitted against each other. Their interests are held to be antagonistic. Books are written … to show that this warfare between science and religion has ever been going on, and can never in the nature of things cease till theology is destroyed, and science holds sole sway in men’s minds.” The Fundamentals: A Testimony, (Testimony Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1910), vol. 1, 334.

We can all agree that science, falsely so called, has eroded the pure faith of Christianity for too many Christians, hence, there is for the majority of professed Christians a form of godliness, because the real substance is lacking in their lives which is to produce a holy, Christlike character. I would hasten to say that the pressures and tensions of modern life require a mature faith based on an intelligent understanding of religious truth and not on magic or superstition. Of course, it always has been hard for men to recognize, and much harder to understand, that the Christian needs to believe with the mind as well as with the heart. Yet true faith, as stated so admirably by Alexandre Vinet, theologian and literary critic (1819), “consecrates the mind, the heart, and the will to God and His purposes.”

Absolute Reality and Purposefulness of Christianity

“And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” I John 3:3. In the “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 950, 951, we see a wonderful explanation of this text and what will form the basis of this study. It reads as follows: “Does this text [I Peter 1:22] mean that the human agent can remove one stain of sin from his soul? No. Then what does it mean to purify himself? It means to look upon the Lord’s great moral standard of righteousness, the holy law of God, and see that he is a sinner in the light of that law. ‘Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin’ (I John 3:4, 5).

“It is through faith in Jesus Christ that the truth is accepted in the heart, and the human agent is purified and cleansed. … He has an abiding principle in the soul, that enables him to overcome temptation. ‘Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not.’ Verse 6. God has power to keep the soul that is in Christ who is under temptation. …

“A mere profession of godliness is worthless. It is he that abideth in Christ that is a Christian. … Unless the mind of God becomes the mind of men, every effort to purify himself will be useless; for it is impossible to elevate man except through a knowledge of God.”

It is through faith in Christ that the truth is accepted in the heart, and the human agent is purified and cleansed. Fundamentally, we must take God at his word for the transformation of our characters. Our faith in Christ acknowledges Him as an abiding Saviour who is able to keep us from practicing sin and eventually overcoming every sin! So who is a Christian? It is he that abides in Christ! “Unless the mind of God becomes the mind of men, every effort to purify himself will be useless.” The Youth’s Instructor, March 1, 1894.

This clearly shows that it is extremely important that sinful man agrees with God in order that he becomes purified of sin.

The remaining portion of the quotation is significant to our understanding of how God defines a Christian. It reads, “The outward gloss may be put on, and men may be as were the Pharisees whom Jesus describes as ‘whited sepulchres’ full of corruption and dead men’s bones (Matthew 23:27). But all the deformity of the soul is open to Him who judgeth righteously, and unless the truth is planted in the heart, it cannot control the life. Cleansing the outside of the cup will never make the vessel pure within. A nominal acceptance of truth is good as far as it goes, and the ability to give a reason for our faith is a good accomplishment, but if the truth does not go deeper than this, the soul will never be saved. The heart must be purified from all moral defilement.” Ibid.

For God, Christianity is practical godliness based upon righteous principles, which permanently controls the believer; it is not motivated by a faith that is based on feelings. As Watchman Nee puts it in his book, The Spiritual Man, (Christian Fellowship Publishers, Inc., New York, 1968), vol. 2, 240, “The life of faith is not only totally different from, but also diametrically opposite to, a life of feeling. He who lives by sensation can follow God’s will or seek the things above purely at the time of excitement; should his blissful feeling cease, every activity terminates. Not so with one who walks by faith. Faith is anchored in the One Whom he believes rather than in the one who exercises the believing, that is himself. Faith looks not at what happens to him but at Him Whom he believes. Though he may completely change, yet the one in Whom he trusts never does—and so he can proceed without letting up. Faith establishes its relationship with God. It regards not feeling because it is concerned with God. Faith follows the One believed while feeling turns on how one feels. What faith beholds is God whereas what feeling beholds is one’s self. God does not change: He is the same in either the cloudy day or the sunny day. Hence he who lives by faith is as unchanging as is God; he expresses the same kind of life through darkness or through light. But one who dwells by feeling must pursue an up-and-down existence because his feeling is ever changing.”

From the pen of inspiration we are reminded: “Many pass long years in darkness and doubt because they do not feel as they desire. But feeling has nothing to do with faith. That faith which works by love and purifies the soul is not a matter of impulse. It ventures out upon the promises of God, firmly believing that what he has said, he is able also to perform. Our souls may be trained to believe, taught to rely upon the word of God. That word declares that ‘the just shall live by faith’ (Romans 1:17), not by feeling.” The Youth’s Instructor, July 8, 1897.

The apostle John states of faith, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” I John 5:4. The faith which overcomes the world is the faith which works by love and purifies the soul. The importance of this faith is brought out in The Review and Herald, October 6, 1891: “The Lord is represented as opening the hearts of men and women to receive the word, and the Holy Spirit makes the word effective. Those who receive the truth have that faith which leads to decided action, which works by love, and purifies the soul. Thus the truth is a sanctifier. Its transforming power is seen on the character. When it has been admitted into the inner sanctuary of the soul, it does not operate superficially, leaving the heart unchanged; it does not awaken the emotions merely, to the neglect of the judgment and will; but it goes down to the very depths of the nature, and brings the whole being into harmonious action.”

For many Christians today Christianity has to do with an emotional experience, which has its roots in self-love. There is no willingness to agree with God or to conform to His way of life, thus Christianity is reduced to an intellectual experience without any transformation of character, for there is no willingness to be obedient to Jesus. More and more many of those who profess to be Christians display attributes very much different from that of the Christ they profess to follow, obviously not caring that they “are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.” I Peter 2:9.

We are told that only “Few have that genuine faith which works by love and purifies the soul. But all who are accounted worthy of everlasting life must obtain a moral fitness for the same. …

“You must experience a death to self, and must live unto God. ‘If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God’ (Colossians 3:1). Self is not to be consulted. Pride, self-love, selfishness, avarice, covetousness, love of the world, hatred, suspicion, jealousy, evil surmisings, must all be subdued and sacrificed forever.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 705.

The veneer of human hypocrisy is the order of the day in Christianity. The prophet states, “Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the precept of men.” Isaiah 29:13. Also, the prophet Ezekiel wrote, “And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as My people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.” Ezekiel 33:31.

God requires perfect, loving obedience from us, for this will then prove that we possess that faith which works by love and purifies the soul. That’s why Paul wrote, “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.” Galatians 5:6. The apostle James shows the importance of loving obedience: “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” James 2:20. He also states, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” Verse 26.

Our obedience to Christ is not a legalistic obedience, for the Scripture states, “We love Him, because He first loved us.” I John 4:19. And the apostle Paul wrote, “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if One died for all, then were all dead.” II Corinthians 5:14. The servant of the Lord confirms this teaching when she wrote: “By faith the soul catches divine light from Jesus. We see matchless charms in His purity and humility, His self-denial, His wonderful sacrifice to save fallen man. Contemplation of Christ leads man to place a proper estimate upon himself, for he realizes that the love of God has made him great. ‘And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure’ (I John 3:3). The possibility of being like Jesus, whom he loves and adores, inspires within him that faith which works by love and purifies the heart.” The Review and Herald, October 7, 1890.

When we take God at His word, believing that Christ is the Saviour of the world and that without Him we would be completely hopeless, love springs up in our hearts for Jesus and we willingly obey Him because He becomes our Lord and Master, thus He works by the Holy Spirit to purify our minds making us His true followers.

So what will this faith, which works by love and purifies the soul, do for the believer? From the book, In Heavenly Places, 118, we are told: “It is a great thing to believe in Jesus. We hear many say, ‘Believe, believe; all that you have to do is to believe in Jesus.’ But it is our privilege to inquire, What does this belief take in? and what does it comprehend? There are many of us who have a nominal faith but we do not bring that faith into our characters. … We must have that faith which works by love and purifies the soul, that this belief in Christ will lead us to put away everything that is offensive in His sight. Unless we have this faith that works, it is of no advantage to us. You may admit that Christ is the Saviour of the world, but is He your Saviour? Do you believe today that He will give you strength and power to overcome every defect in your character?”

From The Bible Echoes, April 15, 1893, we read the following: “When you respond to the drawing of Christ, and join yourself to Him, you manifest saving faith. But to talk of religious things in a casual way, to pray for spiritual blessings without real soul hunger and living faith, avails nothing. … The faith which avails to bring us into vital contact with Christ expresses on our part supreme preference, perfect reliance, entire consecration. This faith works by love and purifies the soul. It works in the life of the follower of Christ true obedience to God’s commandments; for love to God and love to man will be the result of vital connection with Christ. ‘If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new’ (II Corinthians 5:17).”

May we ever keep in mind the words of our Saviour, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4. Also, “Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21. So for Jesus, being a Christian means perfect, loving obedience to the word of God, a practical application of that word in the life of the believer every day of his or her life.

John the Revelator in vision saw all the Christians of all ages stand at last before the throne of God and the testimony concerning them is: “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Revelation 7:14. I appeal to each one who reads to make every sacrifice to be among that number.

Pastor Ivan Plummer ministers through the Emmanuel Seventh Day Church Ministries in Bronx, New York. He may be contacted by telephone at: 718-882-3900.

The Rare Man

Matthew 13 is often called the parable chapter because it contains many of the parables that Jesus spoke. Some of them are explained and some are not.

Matthew 13:44 says: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

Those who heard then clearly understood. Since ancient times men have buried their treasure to protect it from marauding armies or thieves. Today we secure our treasure in investments or banks to be accessible when needed.

While on a Pathfinder camp in the 1950s in Colorado, an Adventist minister told the campers that in the 1800s gold was mined in Colorado. Fearing an attack by the Indians, one person took the gold and buried it being careful to write down the directions to find it again. The directions were complicated and the gold has never been found. In today’s market the value is estimated to be several millions. There has been much money spent trying to find it.

Burying gold and other valuables also often happened in ancient times. When the person who buried the gold or treasure died and was buried, nobody knew where the treasure had been hidden.

In this parable, a poor man was farming on rented land. While tilling the ground to get ready for planting his crop, his plow hit something. Digging around to see what it was, he found a metal box. When he opened it, he could not believe what he saw. It was a fortune. If he owned this he would be the wealthiest man in town. There was only one problem – the field was not his. The owner did not know that the valuables had been hidden there. So he closed up the box and covered it just the way it was before. He decided that he would not dare tell anyone about it, even his wife. If anyone found out what was there, the price of the land would go up so high he could never buy it.

He told his wife that they would have to sell their house, and the yoke of oxen, and his tools, because he had to raise enough money to buy that field. She thought he was crazy. Where would they live? How could they farm without tools? He even wanted to sell his wife’s dowry. He was adamant that everything must be sold. Everyone thought he was crazy until he got the title to the field. It cost all that he had to buy the field and it looked like he was going to be a pauper, worth nothing. But once he had the title to that field, he became the wealthiest man in the city.

Jesus said, the kingdom of heaven is like that. It is like treasure that is hidden and you have to find it. The treasure is the gospel. The field is the Bible and in the Bible the treasure is hidden for those that study and find it. The rarer something is, the more expensive it becomes, and since ancient times, gold has been one of the rarest metals. It has always been worth a large amount of money. The Bible talks a lot about silver and gold in both the Old and New Testaments.

Not very many years ago there was a shortage of a metal called palladium. Car builders need that metal to build catalytic convertors. Due to the shortage, the price went up to ten times what it had been before. When something is rare and the demand is greater than the supply, it becomes very expensive. It has been that way with gold since ancient times.

In Genesis 10 is recorded the nations that descended from Noah. Verse 22 lists the five children that were born to Shem. One was named Arphaxad, who had a son Salah, who had a son Eber, who had two sons. Verse 25 says, “To Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided …”

Eber also had another son named Joktan. Now Joktan had thirteen sons who became the seventh generation from Noah, sixth generation from Shem. One of Joktan’s sons was named Ophir. We would like very much to know where Ophir settled down and lived. Bible scholars have wondered about this for many hundreds of years. It appears that Ophir lived in a place where there was an abundance of very good gold. The gold of Ophir was highly sought after because it was thought to be, just as the treasure hid in the field, high quality gold. The gold of Ophir represents the treasure, which represents the gospel. Throughout Old Testament times the gospel was hid in types and ceremonies. Paul says in Hebrews 4:2, “For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.”

“But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” (2 Corinthians 3:14–16).

People often talk about the gospel but it is still hidden from most people who do not try to understand it. I want to try to explain in simple language what the gospel is, what the treasure is, and its rare elements and what the gold of Ophir represents.

2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

Many professed Christians who go to church every week do not understand the power of the gospel and what it will do in your life if you receive and accept it. Their faces are veiled.

In ancient times most people did not understand what the types and ceremonies meant or what they pointed to.

Today, many are still looking through a veil, unable to see clearly. Notice what Paul says: “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the gods of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:3-6).

Once the veil is removed and you see Jesus clearly, you will be changed into the same image. You will become Christ-like. If that is not your experience, then pray that the Holy Spirit will remove the veil and work a change in your character.

Isaiah shows what the Lord intends to do to people that keep looking at this glory with unveiled face. “I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold. A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir” (Isaiah 13:12).

The gold from Ophir was the highest quality and most precious gold available in the world. When, through the gospel, your character is transformed into the likeness of Christ’s character the Lord says you are more precious than that gold.

Would you like to be one of those people? The Lord is in the process of working miracles in people’s lives, taking people that are ruined by sin, and not only taking away their guilt, but changing their life.

The rare man is he or she who looks with unveiled face seeing the glory of the Lord, and as a result, his character is being changed into the image of his Saviour, his Redeemer.

The following are a few characteristics of the rare man:

 The rare man is meek and lowly. The word meek simply means to be gentle or humble.

“Jesus loves the young, and He longs to have them possess that peace which He alone can impart. He bids them learn of Him meekness and lowliness of heart. This precious grace is rarely seen in the youth of the present day, even in those who profess to be Christians. Their own ways seem right in their eyes. In accepting the name of Christ, they do not accept His character, … therefore they know nothing of the joy and peace to be found in His service.” Sons and Daughters of God, 82.

The rare man is filled with the Holy Spirit. “Just prior to His leaving His disciples for the heavenly courts, Jesus encouraged them with the promise of the Holy Spirit. This promise belongs as much to us as it did to them, and yet how rarely it is presented before the people. … Prophecies have been dwelt upon, doctrines have been expounded; but that which is essential to the church in order that they may grow in spiritual strength and efficiency, in order that the preaching may carry conviction with it, and souls be converted to God, has been largely left out of ministerial labor. This subject has been set aside, as if some time in the future would be given to its consideration. Other blessings and privileges have been presented before the people until a desire has been awakened in the church for the attainment of the blessing promised of God; but the impression concerning the Holy Spirit has been that this gift is not for the church now, but that at some time in the future it would be necessary for the church to receive it.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 174.

The Bible contains the life-record of a number of these rare men, which include the Apostle John, the prophet Daniel, and Moses. “Moses possessed a spirit which is rarely found at the present day. He had a sacred regard for the right, a morality unmingled with selfishness and policy.” The Review and Herald, September 14, 1886.

The rare man is thankful. “The Lord sends His blessing and manifests His love to the children of men. ‘He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust’ (Matthew 5:45), and yet how rarely is the Lord thanked, how seldom is His praise upon human lips! How few are found to testify to His loving-kindness, and to acknowledge His mercies to the children of men!” The Review and Herald, November 13, 1894.

Many do not know what to be thankful about. If you can see, be thankful. If you can hear, be thankful. If you can walk, be thankful. That’s just the beginning. Most people have so many things to be thankful for. Have you told the Lord you are thankful that He sent His Son into this world to save you and give you the opportunity to be adopted into His family, again, to be delivered from the slavery of the devil? Are you thankful for the mercies of God that we receive?

The rare man’s face is unveiled. He has looked at the glory of the Lord until he has been changed into the same image, and therefore he is godly. A godly person is a person who has a god-like character.

“A truly godly life is rarely seen.” The Review and Herald, August 10, 1905. A godly life is the same as a holy life.

The rare man always has Christian courtesy. Christian courtesy is so lacking in today’s society. Christian courtesy is to be kind and considerate to all, including my enemies. The rare man sees the glory of the Lord with unveiled face and has been changed so that he has become courteous to all people under all circumstances.

The rare man has been born again. “The new birth is a rare experience in this age of the world. This is the reason why there are so many perplexities in the churches. Many, so many, who assume the name of Christ are unsanctified and unholy. They have been baptized, but they were buried alive. Self did not die, and therefore they did not rise to newness of life in Christ.”  Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 51.

The rare man has both virtue and modesty. 

The rare man is heart to heart with Christ. When people get married, they are supposed to be heart to heart. This person’s heart is supposed to respond to the other person’s heart. In other words, if I am heart to heart with Christ, I am interested in what He is interested in.

By the way, when you are not heart to heart with each other anymore, it is sometimes hard to live together in the same house. You no longer walk together because your heart determines everything in your life. One person’s heart says, I want to go here, and the other, I want to go there. If one person’s heart is in the world and the other person’s heart is in the Lord, there will be no unity.

“The power of godliness has well-nigh departed from the churches. Heart union with Christ is a rare thing now.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 295. Rare!

The rare man has spirituality and devotion. He is devoted to the Lord. We are living in an evil time. Would you be a rare person?

“Spirituality and devotion are rare.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 469. But God says, I’m going to make some people more rare than fine gold, more precious than the golden wedge from Ophir.

The rare man is the man of faith. “The faith that takes God at His word, which works by love and purifies the heart, is very rare.” The Review and Herald, November 27, 1883.

The rare man is sober. Jesus’ first miracle is recorded in the gospel of John, chapter 2. When He made water into wine, He did not even touch those jars.

Some people have become confused about this and believe that Jesus made fermented wine because the Greek word could refer to either fresh grape juice or alcoholic drink. Ellen White wrote about this in The Bible Echo, September 4, 1899. “Christ never placed a glass of fermented liquor to His lips or to the lips of His disciples. Drunkenness was rare in Palestine, but Christ looked down the ages, and saw in every generation what the use of wine would do for the users, therefore at this feast He set a right example.” New wine, fresh grape juice was provided.

The rare man is obedient to what God says. Don’t worry because you are different from everybody else. When Noah and his family were inside the ark and the rain began to fall, they were happy to be one of the rare people.

The rare man has practical religion. His religion is not just a profession. He actually lives it out. “Practical religion as it was manifested in the life and character of Christ is a rare thing.” The Review and Herald, May 24, 1892.

The rare man has the spirit of self-denial. Jesus Christ had the spirit of self-denial. The whole story of His life reveals one denial after another. It would have been an almost infinite humiliation simply to become a human being, but after that, He walked down a path of humiliation and self-denial. He went lower, and lower, and lower. Paul says, “And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8 KJV).

Jesus said, If anybody wants to follow Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. The disciples didn’t know what that meant because He had not yet been crucified. They did not expect that to ever happen and thought He spoke in symbolic language. Soon they found out it was not symbolic.

“The spirit of self-denial is becoming a rare thing.” The Review and Herald, March 27, 1900.

The rare man has genuine and true love. This love is not just for his brothers or his friends, but for those who are also his enemies. “Christ’s requirements are not met by His people today. A strange deception is upon the people of God. Selfishness prevents the union which should exist. True love for one another is rare in our churches. This lack of love reveals most certainly that the members do not love God as they suppose they do.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 21, 411.

Isaiah 13:12 says, “I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, a man more than the golden wedge of Ophir.” May you be one of those rare people.

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

Helplessness, Hopelessness … and Hope

“Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots?

Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.” Jeremiah 13:23 NJKV

“We have no hope but in Jesus. He alone can reach us with His hand to lift us up out of the depths of discouragement and hopelessness and place our feet upon the Rock. Although the human soul may cling to Jesus with all the desperate sense of his great need, Jesus will cling to the souls bought by His own blood with a firmer grasp than the sinner clings to Him.

“I [Ellen White] read this over and over again, for it is so full of assurance: ‘Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need’ (Hebrews 4:14–16). … What a Saviour we have–a risen Saviour, One who can save all who come unto Him!” That I May Know Him, 80.

“Through the goodness and mercy of Christ the sinner is to be restored to the divine favor. God in Christ is daily beseeching men to be reconciled to God. With outstretched arms He is ready to receive and welcome not only the sinner but the prodigal. His dying love, manifested on Calvary, is the sinner’s assurance of acceptance, peace, and love. Teach these things in the simplest form, that the sin-darkened soul may see the light shining from the cross of Calvary.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 178, 179.

What beautiful thoughts and truths are revealed in these words of inspiration! Dear friend, are you ever in need? Does your heart, does your soul ever cry out in despair? Do you feel and know your desperate condition as a sinner? Truly there are temporal or earthly needs, but our spiritual need is even greater, even deeper, and even more hopeless when left on our own. Listen to the way God describes the reality of our condition as revealed to Isaiah, the prophet: “But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Isaiah 64:6. Does this leave room for the thought that there is any goodness in us? If our righteousness is as a filthy rag, what does that say for the rest of us? We need Jesus. We are helpless in and of ourselves. “We have no hope but in Jesus.”

I want to establish this fact beyond the shadow of a doubt not only theoretically, but as a deep, heart wrenching reality. Until we know the depth of our need, we will never receive the help we need. Too often we think ourselves relatively good. I’m OK, you’re OK kind of mentality. But that is not reality in God’s eyes. We are absolutely helpless to be good. As a leopard cannot change its spots, so we cannot change the spots of sin in our lives. Our righteousness is as filthy rags. “It is impossible for us, of ourselves, to escape from the pit of sin in which we are sunken. Our hearts are evil, and we cannot change them. ‘Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.’ ‘The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be’ (Job 14:4; Romans 8:7).” Steps to Christ, 18.

We know from Romans 6:23 that the wages of sin is death. Therefore, we are doomed if left to ourselves and we must recognize our need before we can get the help we so desperately need. Jesus repeatedly, during His ministry on earth, illustrated the basic fact that in order to get help you must feel a need.

“And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.” ’ ” Revelation 3:14–19.

Through John, Jesus sends a message to His church in Laodicea, the last of the churches mentioned in Revelation 2, revealing to them their true state, that of believing they are rich and increased with goods, when in reality they are described by God as being “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.” He warns them that if they continue in this state He will vomit them out of His mouth. There is no hope for this people if they do not see their true condition. They will be vomited out of the mouth of God. The Laodiceans must feel their need before they can receive help.

In the gospel of Luke, Jesus tells a parable to a group of people who had a pretty good opinion of themselves. “He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, “God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.” And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.’ ” Luke 18:9–14.

Only one of the men left the temple justified in the sight of God. It was not the one who felt no need. Rather it was the man who knew his wretched condition before God. Not one of us is “good” enough to stand before a righteous and holy God in our own goodness. The Bible describes all our righteousness as being filthy rags.

Jesus Himself also said in Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Again we see that it is those that feel their need that will be filled. Countless Bible stories illustrate that it is only the one who knows his need that will receive help.

We have seen clearly through Inspiration that we have no hope in and of ourselves. We are totally helpless to change our wicked and evil natures; we must have Divine help. So the question might be asked, as it is stated in Steps to Christ, 23, “How shall a man be just with God? How shall the sinner be made righteous?”

What is the very first thing that needs to happen in this process of the sinner being made righteous? Continuing in Steps to Christ, 23: “How shall a man be just with God? How shall the sinner be made righteous? It is only through Christ that we can be brought into harmony with God, with holiness; but how are we to come to Christ? Many are asking the same question as did the multitude on the Day of Pentecost, when, convicted of sin, they cried out, ‘What shall we do?’ The first word of Peter’s answer was, ‘Repent’ (Acts 2:37, 38). At another time, shortly after, he said, ‘Repent … and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out’ (Acts 3:19).”

The first step is to repent, but what does it mean to repent? The Encarta Dictionary defines “repent” like this: “To recognize the wrong in something you have done and be sorry about it.” So in order to repent you need a conviction that you have done something wrong, and that you are sorry for.

We are going to learn just how depraved we are in our dreadful condition and ruin, and how good and merciful and loving our God really is. John 16:8 says that we have become so lost that we are not able to recognize our evilness and cannot even gain a conviction of sin on our own. “And when He [the Holy Spirit] has come, He will convict the world of sin.” If we already have a conviction, why would we be told that when the Holy Spirit comes He would convict the world? It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that a conviction of sin is experienced.

Once convicted of sin we are sorry about it and have true repentance. “Repentance includes sorrow for sin and a turning away from it. We shall not renounce sin unless we see its sinfulness; until we turn away from it in heart, there will be no real change in the life.

“There are many who fail to understand the true nature of repentance. Multitudes sorrow that they have sinned and even make an outward reformation because they fear that their wrongdoing will bring suffering upon themselves. But this is not repentance in the Bible sense.” Steps to Christ, 23.

To repent because of the impending consequences is not true repentance or true reform. True repentance means that “the sinner has a sense of the righteousness of Jehovah and feels the terror of appearing, in his own guilt and uncleanness, before the Searcher of hearts. He sees the love of God, the beauty of holiness, the joy of purity; he longs to be cleansed and to be restored to communion with Heaven.” Ibid., 24.

We see an example of true repentance in David after his sin with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah. “His repentance was sincere and deep. There was no effort to palliate [lesson the intensity or severity; attempt to make an offense seem less serious by giving excuses] his guilt; no desire to escape the judgment threatened, inspired his prayer. David saw the enormity of his transgression; he saw the defilement of his soul; he loathed his sin. It was not for pardon only that he prayed, but for purity of heart. He longed for the joy of holiness—to be restored to harmony and communion with God.” Ibid., 24, 25.

Listen to David’s plea to God. “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy loving-kindness: according unto the multitude of Thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. … For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. … Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. … Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence; And take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free spirit. … Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, Thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of Thy righteousness (Psalm 51:1–14 KJV).” Ibid., 25.

Here we see true, deep, sincere repentance; not a repentance of making excuses, or of blaming someone else, or a desire to escape the punishment for his sin. But rather we see a sincere, heart-cry for restoration with His God. This is the meaning of true repentance.

Again though, as we study, we find how truly helpless we are of ourselves. “A repentance such as this, is beyond the reach of our own power to accomplish; it is obtained only from Christ, Who ascended up on high and has given gifts unto men.” Ibid., 25.

Again we read that this repentance can come only from Christ. “It is the virtue that goes forth from Christ, that leads to genuine repentance. Peter made the matter clear in his statement to the Israelites when he said, ‘Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins’ (Acts 5:31).” Ibid., 26. [Emphasis added.]

Jesus Himself also said, “ ‘I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me’ (John 12:32). Christ must be revealed to the sinner as the Saviour dying for the sins of the world; and as we behold the Lamb of God upon the cross of Calvary, the mystery of redemption begins to unfold to our minds and the goodness of God leads us to repentance. … And as Christ draws them to look upon His cross, to behold Him whom their sins have pierced, the commandment comes home to the conscience. The wickedness of their life, the deep-seated sin of the soul, is revealed to them. They begin to comprehend something of the righteousness of Christ, and exclaim, ‘What is sin, that it should require such a sacrifice for the redemption of its victim? Was all this love, all this suffering, all this humiliation, demanded, that we might not perish, but have everlasting life?’ ” Ibid., 26, 27. [Emphasis added.]

The answer is quite simply and profoundly, yes. What love, what devotion, what longing for righteousness this should engender in our hearts for the sacrifice that made possible our rescue from the doom of death required by our sin.

“One ray of the glory of God, one gleam of the purity of Christ, penetrating the soul, makes every spot of defilement painfully distinct, and lays bare the deformity and defects of the human character. It makes apparent the unhallowed desires, the infidelity of the heart, the impurity of the lips. The sinner’s acts of disloyalty in making void the law of God, are exposed to his sight, and his spirit is stricken and afflicted under the searching influence of the Spirit of God. He loathes himself as he views the pure, spotless character of Christ.” Ibid., 29.

So, the first step in this process of coming to Christ is conviction and repentance. If our conviction and repentance are sincere, what will follow is confession. Once we are convicted of wrongdoing and experience sorrow, there is an action that we need to take in order to be forgiven. 1 John 1:9 states this very clearly. It says: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The most important word in this text is just a little two letter word “if.” All the rest of the text hinges on that one word. And that word implies that we have a choice. We can choose to confess—or not. In order to gain forgiveness and cleansing we must confess. We will not be forgiven or cleansed unless we do confess. It seems that confession then is a very important step. So let’s see what God says about confession. “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” Proverbs 28:13 KJV.

Steps to Christ 37, 38 gives us a very beautiful explanation of confession. “The conditions of obtaining mercy of God are simple and just and reasonable. The Lord does not require us to do some grievous thing in order that we may have the forgiveness of sin. We need not make long and wearisome pilgrimages, or perform painful penances, to commend our souls to the God of heaven or to expiate our transgression; but he that confesseth and forsaketh his sin shall have mercy.

“The apostle says, ‘Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed’ (James 5:16). Confess your sins to God, Who only can forgive them, and your faults to one another. If you have given offense to your friend or neighbor, you are to acknowledge your wrong, and it is his duty freely to forgive you. Then you are to seek the forgiveness of God, because the brother you have wounded is the property of God, and in injuring him you sinned against his Creator and Redeemer. The case is brought before the only true Mediator, our great High Priest, Who ‘was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin,’ and Who is ‘touched with the feeling of our infirmities,’ and is able to cleanse from every stain of iniquity (Hebrews 4:15).

“Those who have not humbled their souls before God in acknowledging their guilt, have not yet fulfilled the first condition of acceptance. If we have not experienced that repentance which is not to be repented of, and have not with true humiliation of soul and brokenness of spirit confessed our sins, abhorring our iniquity, we have never truly sought for the forgiveness of sin; and if we have never sought, we have never found the peace of God. The only reason why we do not have remission of sins that are past is that we are not willing to humble our hearts and comply with the conditions of the word of truth. Explicit instruction is given concerning this matter. [Now what does this confession of sin involve?] Confession of sin, whether public or private, should be heartfelt [you must truly mean it] and freely expressed [it can’t be dragged out of you, forced, or coerced]. It is not to be urged from the sinner. It is not to be made in a flippant and careless way, or forced from those who have no realizing sense of the abhorrent character of sin. The confession that is the outpouring of the inmost soul finds its way to the God of infinite pity. The psalmist says, ‘The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit’ (Psalm 34:18).”

In order for our confession to be heard by God it must be 1) heartfelt, 2) freely expressed, 3) not made in a flippant or careless way, 4) not forced, 5) with a realization of the abhorrent character of sin, 6) be the outpouring of the inmost soul. This is true repentance as we saw with David.

“True confession is always of a specific character, and acknowledges particular sins. They may be of such a nature as to be brought before God only; they may be wrongs that should be confessed to individuals who have suffered injury through them; or they may be of a public character, and should then be as publicly confessed. But all confession should be definite and to the point, acknowledging the very sins of which you are guilty.” Ibid., 38. In addition here we find that true confession, 1) is of a specific character, 2) acknowledges particular sins, 3) may need to be kept only between you and God, 4) if the sin wronged or caused suffering to another, it should be confessed to that individual, 5) if the sin was public, it should be publicly confessed, 6) is definite, 7) to the point.

“Confession will not be acceptable to God without sincere repentance and reformation. There must be decided changes in the life; everything offensive to God must be put away. This will be the result of genuine sorrow for sin. The work that we have to do on our part is plainly set before us: ‘Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow’ (Isaiah 1:16, 17). ‘If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die’ (Ezekiel 33:15). Paul says, speaking of the work of repentance: ‘Ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter’ (II Corinthians 7:11).

“When sin has deadened the moral perceptions, the wrongdoer does not discern the defects of his character nor realize the enormity of the evil he has committed; and unless he yields to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit he remains in partial blindness to his sin. His confessions are not sincere and in earnest. To every acknowledgment of his guilt he adds an apology in excuse of his course, declaring that if it had not been for certain circumstances he would not have done this or that for which he is reproved. …

“The examples in God’s word of genuine repentance and humiliation reveal a spirit of confession in which there is no excuse for sin or attempt at self-justification. Paul did not seek to shield himself; he paints his sin in its darkest hue, not attempting to lessen his guilt. He says, ‘Many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities’ (Acts 26:10, 11). He does not hesitate to declare that ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief’ (I Timothy 1:15).

“The humble and broken heart, subdued by genuine repentance, will appreciate something of the love of God and the cost of Calvary; and as a son confesses to a loving father, so will the truly penitent bring all his sins before God. And it is written, ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’ (I John 1:9).” Ibid., 39–41.

Why are these things, conviction, repentance and confession so very important, and what do they have to do with the kingdom of glory? The kingdom of glory is the kingdom established by God, governed by His perfect law (Psalm 19:7). In this kingdom there is no sin. Sin cannot exist in God’s presence. Since sin has entered this world, in His mercy and love God provided a means for our restoration. It is called the plan of salvation.

The covenant that God made with His son Jesus “before the foundations of the earth” was simply “an arrangement for bringing men again into harmony with the divine will, placing them where they could obey God’s law.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 371. These steps, conviction, repentance and confession are the beginnings of our part in this great plan for our restoration. “It is man’s part to respond to His great love, by appropriating the great salvation the blessing of the Lord has made it possible for man to obtain.” Lift Him Up, 232.

These truths should awaken in us the most ardent, the most tender, the most devoted love for the One Who loved us so much that “He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.

NKJV unless otherwise noted.

Brenda Douay is a staff member at Steps to Life. She may be contacted by email at: brendadouay@stepstolife.org.

Living by the Word

“Now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:21–23

The righteousness of God is that which every man is to seek first of all. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness.” Matthew 6:33. And in the way of righteousness there is life. It is impossible to separate the life of God from the righteousness of God. As certainly as you have the righteousness of God, so certainly you have the life of God.

And “the righteousness of God is made known at this time, at this very moment, even while you read. At this very moment, then, the righteousness of God is manifested “unto all, and upon all them that believe” (Romans 3:22). Do you believe in Jesus Christ now, at this moment? Do you? If you say, Yes, then “now,” at this very moment, the righteousness of God is made known to you and upon you. Do you believe it? The word of God says that it is; do you say that it is? And if you do not say that it is, then do you believe the Word? When the Lord says plainly to you that His righteousness is now manifested unto you and upon you, and you do not say that it is now manifested unto you and upon you, then do you really believe the Lord? When He plainly says a thing to you, and you will not say that that thing is true to you, then do you really believe Him?

The Lord wants you to say that what He says is so; that it is so now, at this moment; and that it is so to you and in you. “A new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you” (I John 2:8). When the Lord says a thing, it is true, even though nobody in the world ever believes it. It would be true in Him, but not in them. But He wants it to be true in you as well as in Himself. And when you acknowledge that what He says is true to you now, at this moment, then that thing is true in Him and in you. This is believing God. It is believing His word. This is having His word abiding in you. And, “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” John 15:7.

Many people are ready to admit, in a general way, that what the Lord says is so; they will admit that it may be so to other people; but that it is so to themselves, just now, they will not say. Such people do not really know that the word of God is true. “Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God” (Romans 14:22). If you do not have faith for yourself, faith of your own, you do not have faith at all. If you do not believe the word of the Lord as being true to you personally and now, you do not believe it at all; for as you are not living yesterday nor tomorrow, but just now … so if you do not believe now, you do not believe at all. Therefore the word of God is that now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation; and, “Now the righteousness of God … is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.” Romans 3:21, 22.

Do you believe in Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour now? You can answer that in one moment; you know that you do. Then this moment thank the Lord that His righteousness is manifested unto you and upon you. He not only says it, but He gives you witnesses to the fact—it is witnessed by the law and the prophets. That law which you have transgressed, that law that has shown you guilty before God, that very law now, in view of the manifestation of the righteousness of God, witnesses that you have a just claim to this righteousness, and that you are thereby justified through the faith of Jesus Christ. The prophets likewise witness to this blessed fact. “The moment the sinner believes in Christ, he stands in the sight of God uncondemned; for the righteousness of Christ is his; Christ’s perfect obedience is imputed to him.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 430. Is not this, then, sufficient to cause you to say now, at this moment, if never before, that “now the righteousness of God is manifested” unto you and upon you who now do believe in Jesus?

“Being justified freely by His grace through the temptation that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.” Romans 3:24, 25. Would you rather have the righteousness of God now than to have your sins? You say, Yes. Very good. God has now set forth Christ Jesus “to declare” to you “His righteousness for the remission of sin that are past” (Romans 3:25). Will you let the sins go now, this moment; and take the righteousness which He is set forth purposely to give, and which He now, at this moment, freely gives? “Being justified freely.” “Being” is present tense. “Was” is past; “shall be” is future; but “being” is present. Therefore the Lord says to you and of you who believe in Jesus, “Being [now, at this moment] justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus … through the forbearance of God.” Romans 3:24, 25.

But the Lord does not drop the subject yet; He emphasizes the present power and blessing of this infinite fact. “To declare, I say, at this time His righteousness.” O poor, trembling, doubting soul, is not this assurance enough that now, at this moment, the righteousness of God is yours? that now you are being justified freely by His grace? that now, “at this time,” righteousness is declared to you for the remission of all your sins that are past?

Is not this enough? It is enough to satisfy the Lord; for He says, “To declare, I say, at this time, His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.” Romans 3:26. Then as it is all-sufficient to satisfy the Lord, is it not enough to satisfy you? Will you now take the fullness of this blessed “gift of righteousness,” which is life, so that the Lord, by seeing the fruit of the travail of his soul, shall be satisfied again, and so, by your rejoicing, be doubly satisfied? This is all He asks of you. For “to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Romans 4:5.

Here is the word of God, the word of righteousness, the word of life, to you “now,” “at this time.” Will you be made righteous by it now? Will you live by it now? This is justification by faith. This is righteousness by faith. It is the simplest thing in the world. It is simply whether the word of God shall be true in you now or not. God spoke to Abraham, “Tell the stars, if thou be able to number them … So shall thy seed be.” Genesis 15:5. And “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Galatians 3:6. “Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Our Lord Jesus from the dead; Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 4:23–5:1.

“Now,” “at this time,” it is true; it is true in Him. Now, at this time let it be true in you.

God’s Promises

Recently I chanced to run across this little bit of expression from some disappointed and disillusioned heart. It had been scrolled in a place where others could read it.

“In the dark I light a match and
watch it fight for existence,

But it will never win

and I again sit in darkness.”

What a picture of hopelessness. As I was thinking about it my mind went to the expression in Isaiah the 8th chapter, one of the chapters dealing especially with our time. The closing lines as translated by Moffatt read: “They shall roam through the land, hard pressed and hungry, hunger driving them to rage, … they shall gaze up to heaven, and look round upon earth, only to see distress and darkness, anguish and utter gloom—poor waifs of men!” Moffatt Translation, 757.

Jesus pictured it: “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth” (Luke 21:26). Looking around us, looking at the darkness, we too might be driven to that hopeless frustration. Thank God we have something better. Jesus says, “When these things begin to come to pass,” then look where? “look up” (verse 28).

The text we will look at in this article is 2 Peter 1:2–4. Instead of hopelessness, this Scripture offers hope. Instead of gloom we are given joy. Instead of worry and frustration, peace. “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus Christ our Lord. According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” What a great constellation of truth shines here in these few lines.

Let us notice some of the bright stars. First He says, “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you.” God multiplies as we add. Our adding is mentioned in the fifth verse: “add to your faith virtue” and so on. When we add, God multiplies. That is why the Christian grows. “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus Christ our Lord.” Peace and grace are multiplied to us through the knowledge of Him. You remember Christ said in His last prayer, “This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom Thou hast sent” (John 17:3). So to know God is life eternal, to know God is to have grace and peace multiplied to us.

2 Peter 1, verse 3: “According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness.” Notice the tense here. He does not say, these things are coming some day; He says we have them, according as His divine power hath given unto us, all things that pertain unto life and godliness. What a wonderful commissary to go in and help ourselves to. What a great storehouse, filled with all things that pertain unto life and godliness. And how do these come to us? Again, He stresses knowing God, because these things He says come through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises. What is a promise? It is God saying, “I will do this, I will do that; I will give you this, I will give you that.” Peter says that these promises are great promises, but that isn’t enough. He calls them “exceeding great and precious” promises.

When we study the 8th chapter of Daniel we stress the fact that the ram, Medo Persia, is spoken of as great; the rough goat, Greece, is spoken of as very great; but the little horn waxes exceeding great.

Here is something that is a brighter picture than Persia or Greece or Rome. Here are some promises that wax not only exceeding great, but they are precious. Precious means something valuable, something important, something that brings wealth to those who possess what is precious. We don’t find precious stones in the gutter or usually out in the brook or creek. Precious stones are rare. Thank God, in the Bible, we have a treasury of precious promises.

Notice what these things will do for us: “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” To be a partaker means to take part. Partaker: take part. When we come to the communion table, each one receiving of the bread and the wine, we are partakers of the Lord’s table. We are partakers of His life, ministered to us through those emblems. That same precious life is ministered to us through His Holy word, through these exceeding great and precious promises. Oh, thank God we don’t have to be malnourished.

We become like that which we feed upon. If we eat heavenly food we will become heavenly minded. As the body is built up from what we put in the stomach, the mind, the character is built up from what we put into our thoughts through what we read and listen to. Oh, I’m glad that God has made it plain how we can be built up. “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

How does the world look to you anyway? Does it look like a place to escape from? If you have gotten out of the world, thank God you’ve escaped. The man who knows that does not look upon himself as a captive in jail but he looks upon himself as a ransomed captive out of jail because he has escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Paul says, “For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret” (Ephesians 5:12). There is too much parading before the saints the sins of this wicked Sodom world. Those things do not help us. There “are given to us exceeding great and precious promises that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” [Emphasis added.] Can a person who has been deep down in the mire, the filth, the mess of this cesspool of a world be lifted up and ransomed? Can he be saved? Can he be delivered? Can he escape? Oh, yes. Thank God, friends. That is the glorious news of the gospel.

“We have heard the joyful sound, Jesus saves, Jesus saves;

Spread the tidings all around, Jesus saves, Jesus saves;

Bear the news to every land, Climb the steeps and cross the waves,

Onward, ‘tis our Lord’s command, Jesus saves, Jesus saves.”

Priscilla J. Owens, 1882.

What is it that He saves from? It is sin and all the results of sin. Those who let Jesus in their hearts and receive these exceeding great and precious promises become partakers of His nature and escape the corruption that is in the world. We need to study more and more how to appropriate these promises, how to use them to get the benefit from them, because unless we do that, they are simply words here on the page.

Notice how God wants us to use His promises. Jesus, speaking in Mark 11:24, says, “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Now this believing that we receive what we ask for is akin to signing our name on a check. This is the appropriation of the promise. For example, God says, in Philippians 4:19, “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

So far that is just a promise in the book. I can carry that around in my pocket printed on a card but it is still just a promise printed. But suppose I run into a situation where I need something, not just material things, but I need help to win the victory over a temptation. We all need deliverance from temptation at times. Well, my need is to get help and here is a promise, “My God shall supply all your need.” I can present that promise to Jesus.

But notice, it isn’t enough to present the promise. “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” That is what it means to sign your name. It means to present the promise to Jesus and say, Lord, I not only want your promise fulfilled but I am accepting it and I believe Your word that it is being fulfilled. I believe it because God says so and He cannot lie. He cannot fail. The bank of heaven, no matter how many checks are presented, no matter how many times there’s a run on the bank, it never runs dry and has plenty for every need “according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” The assets of some banks amount to billions and billions of dollars, but the capital of the bank of Heaven is infinite. Therefore there is no limit. However, in order to receive the benefit of these promises, I must bring them to God, and ask Him to fulfill them, meet the conditions, and claim the answer. “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”

In the light of these verses, notice three great facts concerning our Lord. The first is brought to us in Isaiah 40:11. Speaking of Jesus, “He shall feed His flock like a shepherd.” As the shepherd feeds his flock, so my Lord feeds me. Sheep graze and are fed every day. And my soul must be fed every day. God loves to feed those who come and let Him give them nourishment. Jesus said, “I am the Bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger” (John 6:35).

Day by day we eat. God sought to teach Israel this lesson by feeding them manna from heaven for 40 years in the desert. Manna from heaven. What food is to the body, God’s promises are to the soul. It is God Who feeds me day by day.

Revelation 7 gives a view of the heavenly land soon to be our eternal home. Here the One Who has fed us day by day on earth will continue to bring us sustenance and nourishment. “For the Lamb Which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them” (verse 17). Jesus Himself is going to feed us in heaven. The prophet wrote: “And I saw a table of pure silver; it was many miles in length, yet our eyes could extend over it. …” Jesus said, “Come, My people, you have come out of great tribulation, and done My will; suffered for Me; come in to supper, for I will gird Myself, and serve you.” Early Writings, 19.

Won’t it be wonderful to have Christ Himself come to the table where you are sitting and put His hand on your shoulder? You look up into His dear face and He says, “What would you like?” Jesus, interested in what you would like to eat? Oh, yes. And you might say, What’s on the menu? Well, we do not know everything that is going to be there, but we do know some of the things. There will be some grapes because He said I will not be eating those until you get here (Matthew 26:29). There will be figs and almonds and manna. I think I’ll ask Him to bring me some manna. Wouldn’t you like to taste some? There will be no shortage. The Lamb shall feed them. But those who eat with Him there will first eat with Him here. Those who sit down at supper with Him there will let Him sit down to sup with them here. That communion and fellowship is to begin here in this life. Those whom God feeds day by day here He will feed there for evermore.

There is something else in verse 17 to notice. Not only will He feed us but He will lead us. “The Lamb Which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them.” He is not only the One Who gives us nourishment, He is the One Who gives us guidance. Will we need it up there? Apparently. Do we need it here? Oh, yes. I suppose we would probably say we need it even more now. There won’t be any way to get lost up there like there is here. There will not be any devil to divert or distract or deceive us up there like there is here. So, if we appreciate the promise that He will lead us in the future, how doubly precious is His promise to lead us now. Compare this with Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” He leads me in the green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He leads me in the paths of righteousness. So feeding and leading, He meets my needs. What a shepherd! And how happy He is for those who follow where He leads, for a leader cannot accomplish much unless there is somebody to lead.

Psalm 25:9 says He will guide the meek, the humble, and those who want help. “The meek will He guide in judgment: and the meek will He teach His way.” Over in the third chapter of Proverbs we have a most wonderful promise of guidance. Remember it is by these exceeding great and precious promises that we become partakers of the divine nature and here we see some of these rich ones. There are conditions to every promise. Sometimes they are clearly stated and sometimes they are implied, but they are always conditional, allowing the opportunity to decide whether we choose to have them fulfilled to us. “In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:6). What is the promise? He shall direct thy paths. What is the condition? Acknowledging Him. What does that mean? It means look to Him for His direction. Stop and listen before you take this step. “Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it” (Isaiah 30:21). But if we rush on, we will not get the guidance.

Often when we are going for a walk with a dog, it will run ahead and veer off onto a trail which is not the one that we are taking. Pretty soon after finding itself alone, it comes running back and catches up again. Some people are like that with the Lord. Before deciding what turn of the road to take, we are admonished to acknowledge Him. Say, “Lord, which way are You going? I want to go with You.” If in all our ways we acknowledge Him, He will direct our paths. But suppose a person says, I already know which way I want to go. Well, then, I may be like the dog; I may find myself all alone, for God has gone along another road. But oh how patiently He waits, how longingly He lingers sometimes, hoping that we will retrace our steps and let Him lead.

Proverbs 4:11: “I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.” Can you say that? Is that what God has done for you? Praise His wonderful name. Now we have already noted that promise in Revelation 7:17 where the Lamb that feeds us will lead us. And in Revelation 14:4 the counterpart of that is the picture of the redeemed: “These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.” The redeemed will follow Him out through the trackless fields of space, suns, and stars, through Orion and on to the throne of God. We are going to continually follow Him from world to world, but those who follow Him there will first have followed Him here.

There is a third fact to share here which is the most precious promise of all. God feeds me; God leads me; God needs me. In The Signs of the Times of April 22, 1903, the inspired messenger wrote: “We were brought into existence because we were needed.” Are you needed? Oh, somebody says, I think things would be just as well, maybe a little better, if I weren’t around. And if you say that or even think it down in your heart, it shows that you are hungry. The greatest need in the human heart is to be needed. My friend, you are needed. And the reason that God put a longing in your heart to be needed is so that you could understand how He feels about you. You not only need Him, He needs you. He needs you to be His friend, to share with Him the joy of companionship. We were brought into existence because we were needed.

Jesus told a wonderful story to help us to understand just how important we are to Him. “He spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance” (Luke 15:3–7).

How many sheep were lost? One—the least that can be numbered. What is Jesus seeking to tell us? That one soul that is lost is more precious to Him than all the world beside, that Christ will leave the ninety and nine that went not astray and He will come after one. That’s this world; that’s you; that’s me.

“It was not thought of any gold that hundredth sheep might bring

That sent the keeper of the fold back into weariness and cold when home was beckoning.

It was His love that could not think of that poor willful one unmindful by the canyon’s brink

Or in despair about to sink with strength and courage gone.

It was not any grace of mine that drew my Lord to me;

In heaven spotless angels shine that vie to do His will divine and here was Calvary.

It was His love that could not bear to think of my distress;

He knew the pride of life would wear away and leave me bleating there in utter wretchedness.

Oh if He had not come for me, forever I would roam, alone and lost in misery,

But up and over Calvary the shepherd bears me home.

Why – He needed me; He wanted me; He couldn’t bear to live without me.

I’m not just a sheep, a shepherd loves his sheep, but I’m a man, a human being formed in God’s image.” Author unknown.

Friends, may I say it very simply — He cannot live without me. He would rather die to get me than live without me. That is love, isn’t it? He needs me. The simple message for each of us is this: God feeds me; God leads me; God needs me—here and now and through eternity.

“My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). Do you need food? Physical, spiritual? He will supply it. Do you need wisdom? “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally” (James 1:5). He will supply it. And do you need to be needed? Oh indeed, and that need He will supply. He needs you. He comes close to assure you of His love, His desire for your love. He says to each one, “My son, [my daughter], give me thine heart” (Proverbs 23:26). Thank God, friends, we can give Him something He needs – our choice, our decision, our response to all He has done for us. Would you like to send Him the word, “Yes, Lord, I will meet Your need”?

“With Christ we shall walk beside the living waters. He will unfold to us the beauty and glory of nature. He will reveal to us what He is to us and what we are to Him.” The Adventist Home, 547. What will it be like to have Jesus take me on a special walk down by the river of life? I look up and see that golden fruit hanging from those lovely boughs. I walk with Him and He begins to explain to me things that I never understood in this life. He begins to show me the things in nature and explain to me. But oh, something more wonderful than that. This says He’s going to tell me what He means to me and what I mean to Him. I must not miss it, not just for my sake, but for His sake.

Elder W.D. Frazee studied the Medical Missionary Course at the College of Medical Evangelists in Loma Linda, California. He was called to Utah as a gospel medical evangelist. During the Great Depression, when the church could not afford to hire any assistants, Elder Frazee began inviting professionals to join him as volunteers. This began a faith ministry that would become the foundation for the establishment of the Wildwood Medical Missionary Institute in 1942. He believed that each person is unique, specially designed by the Lord, of infinite value, and has a special place and mission in this world which only he can fill. His life followed this principle and he encouraged others to do the same.

We Will See Him

Everyone who has studied microbiology and hygiene should understand the value of cleanliness to prevent sickness, but physical cleanliness is not the only kind of cleanliness that is necessary. Spiritual cleanliness is even more important, and without it no one can receive the gift of eternal life. But the question is, How can an impure mind become pure?

In Matthew 5:8, Jesus enunciated the sixth step of a spiritual ladder that will lead a person into the kingdom of God. It says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” This step establishes citizenship in the kingdom of God. Purity of heart and life is a result of the spiritual experience that is represented by the first five steps in Matthew 5; the person first of all recognizes his spiritual poverty, he mourns over his sinful condition until God makes him humble or meek. He has a thirst for righteousness that he cannot generate and becomes merciful. He is then purified from pride, and malice, and deceit, and other heart-defiling sins. There is no other road to purity of heart than the beatitude road and each step needs to be taken in that order. This next step, like the others, is not the enunciation of something that is new, but actually a restatement of a truth that is as old as the plan of salvation.

Notice what David wrote about salvation in Psalm 15. In verse 1 he asks the question, Who is going to be saved? “Lord, who may abide in Your holy hill? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?” He then gives the answer in verse 2: “He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart.” Upright walking, righteous working, and truthful speaking from the heart results in a pure heart.

David, after he had fallen into sin with Bathsheba, recognized that a divine miracle had worked in his life. Psalm 51:6 says, “Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.” Then verse 10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” David was afraid on this occasion that because of the grievous sins he had committed against the Holy Spirit, he was lost and he could not be saved. He says in verse 11, “Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” I want Lord that You recreate my heart. My heart is wicked, lustful, impure, but Lord I want a different heart. The Lord heard His prayer; He created in him a different heart, a different spirit, a new heart, and a new spirit. Receiving a new heart and a new spirit is so important that Jesus said that unless it happens there is no chance for any of us to be saved. Speaking to Nicodemus, one of the leaders of the Jews who had secretly come to Him one night for an audience, Jesus said in John 3:3, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” A birth represents a new creation, a new being comes into the world when a baby is born. Jesus said, if you haven’t been born again, there is no chance for you to be in the kingdom of God. When Nicodemus heard this he sarcastically replied, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s uterus and be born” (verse 4, literal translation)?

“Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God’ ” (verse 5). Unless you have been born again, not just of water, but of the Holy Spirit, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. We do not naturally have hearts that are pure. Our hearts are impure, and wicked, and unholy. The only way we can have a pure heart is through God’s recreative power making us a new creature. The apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

If you and I are ever to have a pure heart, we must be a new creation. The Lord must create within us a clean heart, a new heart, a new spirit. That is what being born again is all about. It is the work of the Holy Spirit. It is through the Holy Spirit that the heart is made pure. Many people are confused today about this work. They think that the work of Holy Spirit is doing some kind of magic or miracles, speaking in tongues, or doing some other thing that is a scientific wonder that unconverted people cannot explain. But the work of the Holy Spirit, as Jesus pointed out to Nicodemus, is to give you a new heart, to cause you to be born again, to give you a new spirit. Unless that happens, Jesus said, there is no chance of inheriting the kingdom of heaven.

Only he who becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus can have a new heart, a new spirit, new thoughts, new feelings, new motives, created by the Holy Spirit in that person’s mind. The wise man said in Proverbs 22:11, literal translation, “He that loves pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips, the king shall be his friend.” The heart is the emotional center of a person, the fountain of life. The character and conduct are determined by the condition of a person’s heart, the spiritual condition of our heart.

Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” As a person thinks in his heart, that is the way he is, that is the kind of a person he is, that is the kind of a character he is. It is for this reason that the wise man counsels us to guard our heart. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” The heart here is represented as a fortress which must be guarded. One version of the Scriptures translates it this way: “Keep your heart above all that thou guardest.” The heart is a fortress, a citadel that is to be guarded against the attacks of the enemy, because out of it are the issues of life. Out of the fountain of the heart there flows, or issues, the stream of character and conduct. Our words and our actions are simply the result of what is in our heart. Jesus said in Matthew 12:34, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” When you stop to think about it, all evil in our world has its source and fountain in an evil heart. And the human heart is by nature, evil. It is a part of our inheritance from our first parents, Adam and Eve.

Notice what David said about this after he had sinned and he was thinking about his situation and the awful series of things he had done. Psalm 51:5 says, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.” He understood that from the time he was conceived, he had been born in sin. The Lord recognized the same thing when He spoke to Noah after the flood. Genesis 8:21 says, “And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, ‘I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.’ ” The Lord said the imagination of a man is evil from his youth.

How evil is our imagination? How evil is our heart? In Jeremiah 17:9, literal translation, it says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and is desperately wicked.” Or it could be translated, incurably wicked. “Who can know it?” Jesus made it very clear when He was here that the heart is the source of all evil. In Mark 7:21–23 He said, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile the man.”

That was the secret of the terrible wickedness that came upon the world in Noah’s time, before the flood, and brought the judgment of a world-wide deluge. Genesis 6:5 says, “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence” (verse 11).

That was the condition of the world before the flood in Noah’s day. Jesus stated very clearly in Matthew 24 that this same condition of wickedness would occur in the world again, before His return to this world. That prophecy explains to a large extent the cause of the present tidal wave of crime and iniquity and lawlessness that is sweeping over all the earth. The source is the corrupt and unregenerate hearts of mankind.

The patriarch Job asked a question in Job 14:4: “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one!” So who can bring a clean heart out of an unclean heart? Nobody. What are we going to do then? The purpose of the gospel is to enable a person to receive a new heart, a new creation, a new spirit, a brand new one. And there is One power in the universe that can do that for you, friend. No human being is able to cleanse the heart, but there is One Who can. Jesus is the great purifier and cleanser from sin. The genius of the Christian religion lies in the restorative power of the gospel, not in the performance of certain ceremonies or recitation of certain doctrines. The core of the Christian religion is that if you accept Jesus as the Lord of your life and as your Saviour from sin the Holy Spirit will create in you a new heart, a new spirit.

If you acknowledge Him as the Lord of your life, as your Saviour, the Holy Spirit will work a new creation in your heart and in your mind. All forms of false religion, paganism, tend toward corruption. Purity of heart does not find any prominent place in the teachings of Socrates or Aristotle or other heathen philosophers. The wisest and the greatest of them were impure and they knew it. They were corrupt in their teachings and in their practices. The gospel, though, will produce purity and holiness in the heart, not just on the outside, but in the heart. It brings the heart and the life into conformity with the divine law which is the standard of righteousness.

Jesus Christ, when He was here, was the very incarnation of purity. One time He said to the people, “Which of you convicts Me of sin” (John 8:46)? They didn’t have anything to say. The Bible says that if I accept Him, if I hope to meet Him, “every man that has this hope in Him purifies himself, as He is pure” (1 John 3:3, literal translation), because it is only the pure in heart that will see God.

This purifying process cleanses our motives. When right principles are enthroned in the heart, then we do right because it is right, not because of policy or expediency. The right doing of the pure in heart occurs not to escape punishment, or for hope of reward; their good conduct occurs because of the motives inside.

A question that many Christians could ask themselves is, Is my obedience for the purpose of avoiding punishment or because of an inborn love of what is good and what is right? Many people would be shocked if they stopped to think about their honest answer. Why do I obey God by observing His law? This beatitude says that the pure in heart will see God. If my heart is full of sin, then my vision is beclouded. I cannot see or understand God. The disease of sin produces spiritual blindness. The Bible talks about this in many places. Peter talks about it in 2 Peter 1:9. Jesus talks about it in the message He gave to John the Revelator in Revelation 3:17, referring to people who thought that they had need of nothing, and yet Jesus says, you are blind, you are miserable, wretched, poor, blind, and naked. You do not even know your spiritual condition.

That was the reason the majority of people in Jesus’ day failed to see God. To them Jesus was only a root out of the dry ground, as stated in Isaiah 53:2. They saw in Him no beauty that they should desire Him. This is also true with the mass of mankind even today. It explains the reason why there are so many modern thinkers or philosophers who see Jesus only as a man. O, they say, He was a good man, even a superman perhaps, but only a man. To them, the beauty of His matchless character is no evidence that He is the Son of God. To them Jesus is altogether such a one as themselves. Sin dims our vision about God. But when we get a vision of God, then sin is revealed and holiness is produced. We see in Hebrews 12:14 that without holiness, no one will see the Lord. It is a vision of God that gives a person a vision of themselves and their true condition.

When Job saw the Lord he wrote about it in Job 42, verse 5 and 6. Verse 6 says, “I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” A vision of the Lord’s glory had the very same effect upon other Bible writers, for example, Isaiah. When you read Isaiah 6 you will see that he had the same experience. Daniel had the very same experience recorded in Daniel 10. Peter had the very same experience as recorded in Luke 6. Paul had the very same experience as recorded in Acts 26. And the apostle John had the very same experience as recorded in Revelation 1.

We can never know the blackness of our sin until we see the purity of the character of Christ. And once a person really sees that, the contrast brings us to a state of shock and awakens us to realize that we need a complete change in character and the person says, “Lord, I’m all undone” (Isaiah 6.5 literal translation), as Isaiah said. The Lord said, I’m going to purge your iniquity (verse 7). In other words, you’re going to get a new heart, a new mind. Jacob was a crooked dealer, a cunning trickster, a person that you would not want to do any kind of business with. His very name meant a deceiver or a supplanter (Genesis 27:36), and he lived up to his name.

But his character was completely changed one night when he had a wrestling match with the Lord Himself. It’s recorded in Genesis 32. For a man that had been spiritually bankrupt, he was changed into a prince of God. What was the secret of the wonderful transformation that he experienced? In Genesis 32:30, he said, “I have seen God face to face …”

The apostle Paul had that experience. It was the vision of the crucified One on the road to Damascus that transformed him into a different person and changed the whole current of his life. From then on, his goal was to behold and see that person. He said, by beholding we will become changed (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Have you beheld the purity of Christ? The spiritual vision of God must eventually involve seeing Him face to face. We must see Him now by the eye of faith and then we will see Him in the kingdom of glory, because He has promised His people that they are going to see the king in His beauty (Isaiah 33:17).

The only people that will see Him in His beauty, then, are the people who have seen the beauty of His character in the present life. Everybody else, when they see Him, will be calling for the rocks and mountains to fall on them as stated in Revelation 6:16. They are destroyed by the brightness and glory of his person. The only people that will see God face to face and be preserved are those who are pure in heart. They have seen God by the eye of faith in this life and they will be blessed with a vision of His immaculate loveliness when He returns. Because they have lived as in the visible presence of God in this life, they will have fellowship with Him in the future immortal life.

Friend, are you reading your Bible and studying to understand, not just the words, but to see the character of Jesus Christ, what kind of a person He is? You must become like Him if you are going to be with Him. For those who become like Him, the apostle Paul says, the time is coming when, even though now we only know in part, we are going to know as we are known. Now we see through a glass darkly, but then, we will see Him face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12). Who will do that? It is those who are pure in heart. How can that happen? It can only happen if the Holy Spirit creates in you and in me a new heart, a new spirit, when we yield to the working of the divine agencies.

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church of Free Seventh-day Adventists in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Standing on the Promises

“Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 6:17–20

The above text is like richly laden ore from which precious gems of truth can be obtained if, as we are counseled, we “sink the shaft deep, and bring up the hidden treasures” (Our High Calling, 115).

The first treasure nugget is contained in God’s determination “to show more abundantly.” Clearly His word reveals His unfathomable love for us, even with a cursory reading, but in order to “more abundantly” understand that love, we must search diligently to understand that He is “able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).

The second nugget is found in the next phrase: “to the heirs of promise.” Who are those heirs? Paul makes that clear in his letter to the Galatians. He states it so clearly that it is too plain to be misunderstood. “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:26–29).

The next gem is contained in the “the immutability of His counsel.” Psalm 89:34 speaks of the immutability of God’s word: “My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.” How comforting it is to know that “all His precepts are sure. They stand fast forever and ever” (Psalm 111:7, 8). Thankfully He is not like the unpredictable waffler who condemns an act today that was acceptable yesterday. By study of God’s word, we can know where we stand with Him and be assured that His standard will not change—ever.

He assures us of that with an oath. “Because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself,” saying, “ ‘By Myself I have sworn’ ” (Hebrews 6:13, Genesis 22:16).

Then we come to the next gem: the two immutable things that confirm His promises. If we cannot determine from these texts what those are, we can turn to Inspiration for the answer.

“Another compact—called in Scripture the ‘old’ covenant—was formed between God and Israel at Sinai, and was then ratified by the blood of a sacrifice. The Abrahamic covenant was ratified by the blood of Christ, and it is called the ‘second,’ or ‘new,’ covenant, because the blood by which it was sealed was shed after the blood of the first covenant. That the new covenant was valid in the days of Abraham is evident from the fact that it was then confirmed both by the promise and by the oath of God—the ‘two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie’ (Hebrews 6:18).” Patriarchs and Prophets, 371.

Why is it impossible for God to lie? We have already read the inspired promise of Psalm 111:7, 8, but for confirmation, let’s read the inspired words of a prophet who couldn’t lie, even though he wanted to. They were spoken by Balaam and recorded in Numbers 23:19. “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”

It is important to realize that whatever God speaks is—simply and unavoidably is: “For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Psalm 33:9). For that reason, if for no other, we can rely on the promises of His word.

“When the afflicted ones came to Christ, He beheld not only those who asked for help, but all who throughout the ages should come to Him in like need and with like faith. When He said to the paralytic, ‘Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee’ (Matthew 9:2) …, He spoke to other afflicted, sin-burdened ones who should seek His help. So with all the promises of God’s word. In them He is speaking to us individually, speaking as directly as if we could listen to His voice. It is in these promises that Christ communicates to us His grace and power. They are leaves from that tree which is ‘for the healing of the nations’ (Revelation 22:2). Received, assimilated, they are to be the strength of the character, the inspiration and sustenance of the life. Nothing else can have such healing power.

“God loves His creatures with a love that is both tender and strong. He has established the laws of nature, but His laws are not arbitrary exactions. Every ‘thou shalt not,’ whether in physical or moral law, contains or implies a promise. If it is obeyed, blessings will attend our steps; if it is disobeyed, the result is danger and unhappiness. The laws of God are designed to bring His people closer to Himself. He will save them from the evil and lead them to the good if they will be led, but force them He never will.” God’s Amazing Grace, 266.

This passage brings to mind another wonderful promise. In Deuteronomy 5, Moses has recounted the giving of the law and repeats the commandments God had given the people through him on the mountain. Then he begins the next chapter with this wonderful promise:

“Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, that you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged …” (Deuteronomy 6:1, 2). [Emphasis added.]

Then Moses concludes a brief recounting of their experience with the reason for claiming the promises that accrue through obedience to His word:

“And the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is this day. Then it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to observe all these commandments before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us” (Deuteronomy 6:24, 25). [Emphasis added.]

Let us pray that we might not be like the children of Israel, who repeatedly failed to walk by sight, who repeatedly failed to trust the promises of God.

“We do not realize how many of us walk by sight and not by faith. We believe the things that are seen, but do not appreciate the precious promises given us in His word. And yet we cannot dishonor God more decidedly than by showing that we distrust what He says.” Our High Calling, 85.

As Inspiration tells us, we must “search for the precious promises of God. If Satan thrusts threatenings before your mind, turn from them and cling to the promises, and let your soul be comforted by their brightness. The cloud is dark in itself, but when filled with the light it is turned to the brightness of gold, for the glory of God is upon it.” That I May Know Him, 241.

The most precious of all promises, of course, is John 3:16, the first Scripture that we memorized as children. Couple that uplifting promise with the one in Philippians 1:6, and the Christian has absolutely no reason to question his salvation.

There was a time when even those closest to Him doubted His word. It is recorded in Matthew 19:23–26. “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.’ When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, ‘Who then can be saved?’ But Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’ ”

This same promise is recorded in Mark 9. When Jesus came down from the Mount of Transfiguration, He found a large group of people gathered around a demon-possessed man. The disciples had attempted to cast the demon out, with no success. Then the father of the boy appealed to Christ in desperate, pleading tones: “If You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us” (Mark 9:22).

What did Jesus answer? “Jesus said to him, ‘If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes’ ” (verse 23).

That is the challenge we face today: to understand and believe the possibilities that lie before us if we claim the promises in God’s word and act on those promises as if our lives depended on them, because, in fact, they do.

All quotes NKJV unless otherwise noted.

John Pearson is the office manager and a board member of Steps to Life. After retiring as chief financial officer for the Grand Canyon Association, Grand Canyon, Arizona, he moved to Wichita, Kansas, to join the Steps team. He may be contacted by email at: johnpearson@stepstolife.org.

Are You Ready for the Time of Trouble?

I believe that the time of trouble is right around the corner for God’s people. God’s people should not be afraid of the time of trouble. When I was a little boy, I used to have nightmares about the time of trouble. I have found out since, that when you know the Lord Jesus Christ, you do not need to worry about the time of trouble. It is during this time that Michael is going to stand up to protect God’s people.

We are going to study about the persecution of God’s people. Second Timothy 3:12 tells us that, “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” Is persecution of God’s people something new? No, it has been going on for thousands of years, but there is going to be a time of trouble that is going to come upon God’s people that is going to be worse than any persecution that has ever taken place. Have you heard about what happened to God’s people during the Dark Ages, about how the early Christians were fed to the lions?

“In every age since the fall of Adam the opposition of evil agencies has made the lives of those who would be loyal and true to God’s commandments a continual warfare. Those who would at last be victorious must meet and conquer the forces of Satan, who with fierce determination opposes every step of advance. They must meet a vigilant foe, a crafty enemy who never sleeps and who tries untiringly to undermine the faith of God’s servants.” In Heavenly Places, 260. Do you know what it means when it speaks of undermining the faith of God’s servants? It means to discourage them. If that does not work, then there is an effort to undermine the work God’s servants are doing.

I believe that one of the master strokes of Satan in recent memory has been the Waco tragedy. Because that fanatical group had a tie-in with the Seventh-day Adventist Church some sixty years ago, the structure is now trying to show them to be an example of what takes place when groups separate from the organized structure, thereby casting reproach upon all independent ministries. I believe this was a master stroke of Satan to tie in anyone who dares, in 1993, to stand for the truth, with the group in Waco. Perry Parks, the president of the Montana Conference, immediately following the disbanding of the Troy, Montana Church said that the only difference between the Troy Church and Waco is that the Troy group had no guns.

Let me tell you; any man who would be so vile and low, who would stoop to compare the Historic Adventist independent ministries with the fanatical group in Waco, is absolutely devoid of all honesty. Cyril Miller, the Southwestern Union Conference president made the statement that the independent ministries and those responsible for the billboards have the potential of being more dangerous than the group in Waco had.

Satan has worked though his agents to agitate, to bring reproach upon the cause of God. We have been told that this is exactly what we are to be faced with in the last days, and we have not seen anything yet. There will be more reproach brought upon the truth and those who dare to stand for truth, than anything we have yet seen.

Let me assure you that there is no peace between truth and error. “The antagonism that exists between the spirit of Christ and the spirit of Satan was most strikingly displayed in the world’s reception of Jesus. It was not so much because He appeared without worldly wealth, pomp, or grandeur that the Jews were led to reject Him. They saw that He possessed power which would more than compensate for the lack of these outward advantages. But the purity and holiness of Christ called forth against Him the hatred of the ungodly.” The Great Controversy, 506. This is why Jesus was hated, for no other reason. “His life of self-denial and sinless devotion was a perpetual reproof to a proud, sensual people. It was this that evoked enmity against the Son of God. Satan and evil angels joined with evil men. All the energies of apostasy conspired against the Champion of truth.” Ibid.

What is apostasy? When you hold to a religious belief and later backslide from it and renounce what you once believe, that is apostasy. So, in the last days, we see that Satan is going to use the energies of apostasy. Now, does this mean that he is going to use people of other churches against Seventh-day Adventists? In order to be an apostate Adventist, you must have once been an Adventist and have backslidden. This does not necessarily mean you will no longer call yourself a Seventh-Day Adventist, because if you did that, you could not do as much damage. No, these people will still call themselves Seventh-day Adventists. They will still attend Seventh-day Adventist churches, but they will be suing people they do not like, and they will not believe what true Seventh-day Adventists have believed for one hundred and fifty years.

“The same enmity is manifested toward Christ’s followers as was manifested toward their Master. Whoever sees the repulsive character of sin, and in strength from above resists temptation, will assuredly arouse the wrath of Satan and his subjects. Hatred of the pure principles of truth, and reproach and persecution of its advocates, will exist as long as sin and sinners remain. The followers of Christ and the servants of Satan cannot harmonize. The offense of the cross has not ceased. ‘All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.’ 2 Timothy 3:12.” The Great Controversy, 507

Please do not waste your time, folks, calling me and suggesting a meeting with the conference men to try to reconcile. Can we reconcile? Folks, I am sorry. When the Waldensian Christians were persecuted, when God’s faithful people down through the ages who have been persecuted were approached by those who wanted to work out a compromise, they responded by telling them that when they would forsake their false doctrines and separate from sin, they would gladly embrace them; but as long as they insisted on being joined to falsehood, there was no purpose in talking.

Friends, do not think that some of the independent ministries are unwilling to reconcile. Oh, we are! We want to be reconciled with the corporate structure, and if they would be willing to get the Pentecostalism, the New Age spiritualism and the Neuro-linguistic programming of our pastors out of the church and ask for forgiveness, we would get on with preaching the three angel’s messages together. There cannot, however, be reconciliation over falsehood.

“All who in that evil day would fearlessly serve God according to the dictates of conscience, will need courage, firmness, and a knowledge of God and his word; for those who are true to God will be persecuted, their motives will be impugned, their best efforts misinterpreted, and their names cast out as evil.” The Acts of the Apostles, 431. We cannot be timid in the last days. We can no longer warm the pews. “No longer consent to listen without protest to the perversion of truth.” Selected Messages, book 1, 196. You are not going to obtain courage and firmness unless you are reading and studying.

God always divides His people up into two groups, and this is happening right now. There are no longer any gray areas; things are becoming black and white.

“He [Satan] is now preparing for his last campaign against the church. All who seek to follow Jesus will be brought into conflict with this relentless foe. The more nearly the Christian imitates the divine Pattern, the more surely will he make himself a mark for the attacks of Satan.” The Great Controversy, 510

Have you heard of the carrot and the stick routine? First of all, the person trying to conform you to his idea hangs the carrot out—something you like—and an attempt is made to entice you to conform to his idea. If you do not go for that, then the stick is brought out; and if you still do not conform, he will hit you with the stick. It is a method of Satan.

“As the movement for Sunday enforcement becomes more bold and decided, the law will be invoked against commandment keepers. They will be threatened with fines and imprisonment, and some will be offered positions of influence, and other rewards and advantages, as inducements to renounce their faith.” Ibid., 607

I do not know how the devil will try to use the carrot on you, but just as he offered to Jesus all of the kingdoms of this world if He would but bow down and worship him, he will come to you, offering you advantages to be gained by compromise. Just as the alternative to accepting the bribe was death, so in the last days, if you remain faithful, expect betrayal from your fellow Adventists. “Those who apostatize in time of trial, will, to secure their own safety, bear false witness, and betray their brethren. Christ has warned us of this, that we may not be surprised at the unnatural, cruel course of those who reject the light.” The Desire of Ages, 630

I believe that The Great Controversy does more to prepare God’s people than any other book.

“When He leaves the sanctuary, darkness covers the inhabitants of the earth. In the fearful time, the righteous must live in the sight of a holy God without an intercessor.” The Great Controversy, 614

Now what does it mean to live without an intercessor? It mans that we must have allowed Christ to give us victory over all sin in our life.

“The restraint which has been upon the wicked is removed, and Satan has entire control of the finally impenitent. God’s long-suffering has ended. The world has rejected His mercy, despised His love, and trampled upon His law. The wicked have passed the boundary of their probation; the Spirit of God, persistently resisted, has been at last withdrawn. Unsheltered by divine grace, they have no protection from the wicked one. Satan will then plunge the inhabitants of the earth into one great, final trouble. As the angels of God cease to hold in check the fierce winds of human passion, all the elements of strife will be let loose. The whole world will be involved in ruin more terrible than that which came upon Jerusalem of old.” Ibid.

Do you realize that in A.D. 69, when Cestius had surrounded Jerusalem problems were encountered in the homeland and the Romans suddenly withdrew? This was a sign that had been given by Jesus nearly forty years earlier. The Christians, following Jesus’ instructions, fled from the city and not one lost. The following year, Titus, another Roman general, again surrounded the city. Rather than attack the city, Titus resolved to starve the people out. Eventually things got so bad that people would try to slip out of the city gates at night just to find some grass to eat. If they were caught by the Romans, they were crucified in the area surrounding the city. It finally became so bad that the Roman soldiers had difficulty moving among the crosses, they had become so numerous. And, if they managed to escape the Romans and get back into the city, the people were killed by their own countrymen for the grass they had risked their lives to obtain.

Here, we read, however, that when God’s presence is finally withdrawn from the earth, it is going to be more terrible than that which came upon Jerusalem of old. Can we really fathom how terrible this world will be?

But even though God’s presence is withdrawn from the world, it is not withdrawn from His people. His presence is never withdrawn from His people.

“Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.” Revelation 18:8

“For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” Matthew 24:22, This means that it will be worse than any other persecution that has ever come upon this earth. Are we really ready for this? It comes right down to your Christian experience and how much you depend upon the Lord Jesus Christ, because if you depend upon Him enough, then you will be able to stand, and this is the only way that you will be able to stand.

Do God’s people suffer during this time?

“The people of God will not be free from suffering; but while persecuted and distressed, while they endure privation and suffer for want of food, they will not be left to perish. That God who cared for Elijah will not pass by one of His self-sacrificing children. He who numbers the hairs of their head will care for them, and in time of famine they shall be satisfied. While the wicked are dying from hunger and pestilence, angels will shield the righteous and supply their wants. To him that ‘walketh righteously’ is the promise: ‘Bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.’” The Great Controversy, 629

“Some were denouncing God and cursing Him. Others rushed to the people of God and begged to be taught how they might escape His judgments. But the saints had nothing for them.” Early Writings, 281. Why are the saints unwilling to help? It is because probation has closed. “The last tear for sinners had been shed, the last agonizing prayer offered, the last burden borne, the last warning given. The sweet voice of mercy was no more to invite them. When the saints, and all heaven, were interested for their salvation, they had no interest for themselves. Life and death had been set before them. Many desired life, but made no effort to obtain it. They did not choose life, and now there was no atoning blood to cleanse the guilty, no compassionate Saviour to plead for them, and cry, ‘Spare, spare the sinner a little longer.’” Ibid.

We hear about the time of trouble, and then we hear about a special part of this time of trouble know as Jacob’s time of trouble. During Jacob’s night of wrestling, through the entire time he was struggling, he feared that his sin had not been forgiven. Though he had confessed and repented, he feared that he had not obtained forgiveness. During this time of trouble, God’s people realize that there is no more forgiveness for sins. There is the awful realization that they are either saved, or lost, and that the plan of salvation is over. They will also be concerned as to whether they failed to do anything during the time of salvation. They will realize that should they fail, God will be dishonored, and this will bring a torture of mind we do not now comprehend. Though it is a terrible ordeal for God’s people, it is a time for them to look up in faith. The person who has in these times of relative peace and prosperity developed perfect faith in God, will not then be as severely tried as those who have failed to gain this experience.

Right now the Lord is allowing trials and troubles to come to us to develop the faith we will need to stand in the final time of the great test. God wants us to learn to live moment by moment in perfect peace because of our confidence in Him.

“When Christ shall cease His work as mediator in man’s behalf, then this time of trouble will begin. Then the case of every soul will have been decided, and there will be no atoning blood to cleanse from sin.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 201

Friends, we must get our eyes off of the things of this world and no longer allow the things that people are saying against us, or the problems that come against us in our daily lives, to bother us, but to turn them over to the Lord. We have to give up the concern that we have, that if we turn it over to the Lord, it may not turn out as we want it to.

“As Satan influenced Esau to march against Jacob, so he will stir up the wicked to destroy God’s people in the time of trouble. And as he accused Jacob, he will urge his accusations against the people of God. He numbers the world as his subjects; but the little company who keep the commandments of God are resisting his supremacy. If he could blot them from the earth, his triumph would be complete. He sees that holy angels are guarding them, and he infers that their sins have been pardoned; but he does not know that their cases have been decided in the sanctuary above. He has an accurate knowledge of the sins which he has tempted them to commit, and he presents these before God in the most exaggerated light, representing this people to be just as deserving as himself of exclusion from the favor of God. He declares that the Lord cannot in justice forgive their sins and yet destroy him and his angels. He claims them as his prey and demands that they be given into his hands to destroy.

“As Satan accuses the people of God on account of their sins, the Lord permits him to try them to the uttermost. Their confidence in God, their faith and firmness, will be severely tested. As they review the past, their hopes sink; for in their whole lives they can see little good. They are fully conscious of their weakness and unworthiness. Satan endeavors to terrify them with the thought that their cases are hopeless, that the stain of their defilement will never be washed away. He hopes so to destroy their faith that they will yield to his temptations and turn from their allegiance to God.

“Though God’s people will be surrounded by enemies who are bent upon their destruction, yet the anguish which they suffer is not a dread of persecution for the truth’s sake; they fear that every sin has not been repented of, and that through some fault in themselves they will fail to realize the fulfillment of the Saviour’s promise: ‘I will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world.’ Revelation 3:10. If they could have the assurance of pardon, they would not shrink from torture of death; but should they prove unworthy, and lose their lives because of their own defects of character, then God’s holy name would be reproached.” The Great Controversy, 618,619

When Moses saw the great apostasy of the people of Israel in the wilderness when they worshipped the golden calf, he chose rather to die himself than to have the people destroyed and bring reproach upon God. This is the concern that people of God will have for the honor of God’s name in these trying times.

“Those who exercise but little faith now, are in the greatest danger of falling under the power of satanic delusions and the decree to compel the conscience. And even if they endure the test, they will be plunged into deeper distress and anguish in the time of trouble, because they have never made it a habit to trust in God. The lessons of faith which they have neglected they will be force to learn under a terrible pressure of discouragement.” The Great Controversy, 622

Are you ready to give God every portion of your life? Are you ready to say, “Lord, prepare me for the time of trouble. Help me to be willing to give these little things that happen to me every day, over to You and to learn to trust You implicitly”? If we cannot in confidence do this now, we will not be able to stand in the time of trouble which all of God’s faithful must soon meet.

The End

Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

These words of Jesus recorded in John 14:1–3 were spoken by the Savior at the last supper. He had washed the feet of the disciples. He had given them the bread and the wine and He was speaking with them there round the table. He had spoken of His going to the Father. The disciples were troubled that there should be any thought of separation. Although He had told them about the cross which was just ahead, they had no idea that before another sun should set, Jesus would be hanging on the tree.

There, gathered in the upper room, they heard this wonderful assurance of Jesus, these wonderful words of comfort. It is significant that the Savior was thinking not of His own suffering and sorrow but was reaching out in the endeavor to comfort these who were so near and dear to Him. “Let not your heart be troubled,” He said, “ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

As we meditate on this beautiful passage, let us drink in, first of all, the precious assurance that He wants to be with us; He wants us to be with Him. That’s the whole purpose of the entire plan of salvation, to get man and God together. This is why the gospel condemns sin and points to the remedy for sin. Sin is an intruder; sin is a troublemaker; sin is what is responsible for the separation. Your iniquities have separated between you and your God (Isaiah 59:2). And the reason God hates sin is that sin has brought separation between those that God loves and God.

If you love somebody, you want to be with them very much. Jesus loves us very, very much and He wants us to be with Him; He wants to be with us. So He says, I’m going to the Father’s house to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself, in order that, where I am, there ye may be also.

What is the purpose of the second coming reunion? To unite God with His people. That’s why all heaven is soon to come to this planet; that’s why Jesus is going to bring the angels with Him and send them all over this world to gather the resurrected saints and the translated together to meet the Lord in the air. Then all will enter the pearly gates and enter in to rejoice in that fellowship, that wonderful association, with Jesus and with the good and blessed of all ages. “I will come again” (John 14:3). Sweet promise, wonderful assurance. Jesus is coming again.

But thank God for the reason that He’s coming – He’s coming for us, you and for me.

“Jesus, my Savior, shall come from on high,

Sweet is the promise as weary years fly;

O, I shall see Him descending the sky,

Coming for me, for me!” Seeking for Me, author unknown, 1878.

Yes, it’s for me that He is coming, as if I were the only one. He thinks I am valuable enough that He would make the whole trip just to get me. Isn’t it nice to be worth that much to Heaven? You are, my friend, whether you know it or not. Whether it’s ever dawned upon your soul or whether you’ve reveled in it for years, you are worth that much to Heaven. You are worth that much to Jesus. That’s why He paid redemption’s price.

He does not desire us to be in uncertainty and fear during the interval between His first coming and His second coming. “Let not your heart be troubled,” He says. “Ye believe in God, believe also in Me.” Is it really true that believing in Him we need not be troubled; is that really true? That’s what He is saying. Does He tell the truth? Oh, yes, for in the sixth verse He says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

Man is feeble, utterly lacking in what it takes to help us, and by the same token, lacking in what it takes to hinder us or hurt us. Man is powerless to lift us up and man is powerless to knock us down if we are abiding in Christ. We want to note especially the security, the comfort, the help and courage that come from looking unto Jesus. “Let not your heart be troubled,” He said, “ye believe in God, believe also in Me.”

I love that wonderful hymn, “Jesus, I my cross have taken, All to leave and follow Thee.” There is a stanza tucked away in the body of the hymn: “Man may trouble and distress me, ’Twill but drive me to Thy breast. Life with trials sore may press me; Heaven will bring me sweeter rest. Oh, ’tis not in grief to harm me If Thy love be left to me; Oh, ’twere not in joy to charm me, If that love be hid from me.” Jesus I My Cross Have Taken, Henry F. Lyte, 1824. Yes, friends, “man may trouble and distress me, ’twill but drive me to His breast.” The utter inability of man to meet our needs draws us and drives us to the Fountainhead of help and courage and strength and blessing, even Jesus Himself. So He says, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me.”

In the closing conflict of the great controversy, those who are standing for God will find every earthly support cut off, but we need not despair as we look forward to that. As David says, “Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion: in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock. And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me” (Psalm 27:3–6). How nice it will be to hear David sing some of his own original compositions, accompanying himself on the harp as he used to do there at Bethlehem. Thank God that now we can learn those Psalms of faith and hope and trust and courage that direct our eyes from men with their frailties and failings to God, Who doeth all things well.

Let us think of why it makes sense to trust in God. He says, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me.” In the first place, friends, God always knows the answer. God always knows the answer. Things are expensive today but one of the most expensive commodities on the market is good advice. No matter how much a man can earn working with his muscles, the highest fees are still paid for good counsel, solid sense, and advice. Too bad so much of it is misspent; too bad so much of the confidence is misplaced. Now what a wonderful thing it is to find in Jesus a Counselor Who never makes a mistake, Who knows everything in all dimensions. He was from all eternity. He will be to all eternity. He knows everything that ever happened. He knows everything that’s ever going to happen. There is nothing hid from Him.

How ardently men are maneuvering to get certain information in Washington today. Well, the Lord knows all about it and did before they ever started squabbling about it. The Lord knows what the stock market is going to be next week, what the war news is going to be. He knows how you are put together personally. He knows what makes you happy better than you do. He knows your future. Yes, God is infinite in wisdom. How wonderful to have an audience with the One Who knows all things. But that is only the beginning of the wonder. He not only knows everything—He has all power. Sometimes people are strong in good advice but they lack what it takes to implement their counsel, but God is not short there. He is all mighty. He is omnipotent.

What do those expressions mean? They mean that there is nothing impossible with God. He has demonstrated that thousands of times – from Creation right on through to today. God spoke, and the Red Sea rolled back, and Israel went through on dry land. God spoke and the walls of Jericho fell down with no human hands touching them. God spoke and the dead were raised in the days of Elijah and Elisha and then in the ministry of Jesus here on earth. God spoke and blind eyes were opened, deaf ears unstopped, the lame went like deer leaping over the earth. Oh, friends, God is not only wise, He is also powerful. God can do more than heal sick bodies; He can relieve weary hearts. He can heal the sick soul. He can bring forgiveness to sin. He can take away the guilt. He can do anything. He is all wise, He is all powerful. But beyond His wisdom and His power is His love.

There are people who have money that you and I might sometimes desire in order to solve some problem that we think money could solve. However, if the people who have the money are not interested in helping us, what good does it do us? What good does it accomplish? Not a bit. But Jesus has demonstrated that all the resources of the universe are available to help those He loves—and He loves you. Thus there is nothing kept back, nothing in reserve that you cannot have that you need.

Now let’s put that together. Infinite wisdom, infinite power, infinite love – all harnessed to the one task of helping you with every problem, filling every need. Isn’t that wonderful? Well, somebody says, I wish I could believe it. Of course, if you can’t believe it, it’s hard to get any good out of it, isn’t it? That’s why our text says, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me.” As Jesus said to the two blind men who approached Him, “According to your faith be it unto you” (Matthew 9:29), and so my dear friends, infinite possibilities are for you and me if the hand of faith reaches up to the hand of love that’s stretched out to help us. Infinite possibilities, wonderful blessings – according to your faith be it unto you. Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me.

What does it mean to believe in the sense that Jesus is speaking of here? This expression is oft repeated by John, who wrote these words. We remember those immortal words in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Notice that God’s love has been poured out and everyone who believes in Him will not perish but instead have everlasting life. It all hinges on believing. Not only our present peace but our eternal salvation is dependent on believing.

John 1:12: “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” [Emphasis added.] Who gets the power? Those who believe on His name. Now this is also spoken of here as receiving Him. “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” [Emphasis added.] Those who receive Him believe Him. Those who believe Him receive Him. Again it says in John 5:24: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” [Emphasis added.] Jesus says that passing from death to life depends upon two things: hearing and believing.

This agrees with what we read in John 1:12: “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” Jesus was speaking to a multitude of people when these words were given. Among them, some believed and some did not. Jesus said that those who believed were entering into life, and those who did not were in condemnation. It is possible for me to make a decision which places me either on the side of belief or on the side of unbelief.

God has given to every one of us the ability to choose – not only what we will do but what we will believe. We can either believe God and enter into His promises or we can disbelieve Him and go the way of rebellion. Think of Adam and Eve back in the Garden of Eden. God made them perfect, but He gave them the power of choice. He instructed them concerning obedience and for some time they cooperated with their Creator. But the third chapter of Genesis tells us the story of Eve’s listening to Satan, speaking through a serpent. Sad to say, she chose to believe the serpent instead of believing God.

Her unbelief in what God said led her to do what the serpent said. Unbelief always precedes an outward transgression. Whenever we do anything that is contrary to the law of God, it is because something has happened in our mind in which we’ve lost some of that precious faith, that belief in what Jesus says. Eve lost it listening to the serpent. You and I can lose it in the same way. Faith comes by listening to the word of God. “He that heareth My word and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life.” Unbelief comes by turning from what Jesus says and listening to what the enemy says.

Consider this: If the person who is strongest in faith, the most experienced Christian, spends next week listening to the serpent instead of Jesus, he will lose some of the faith He has and begin to believe the devil’s lies. On the other hand, if the weakest person, the one that has the least faith, who finds it hardest to believe, if he will shut his ears to the voices of sin in this world and open his heart to the word of God and listen to Jesus speaking, faith will grow in his soul. He will become more and more conscious of what a joyful thing it is to trust in Christ for salvation, full and free.

The choice is yours. You can decide. We become what we behold. We are affected by what we listen to. “He that heareth My words,” Jesus says, “and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation.”

Let’s examine Romans 10:17: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Faith is just the opposite of unbelief. As unbelief comes by listening to the serpent, faith comes by hearing the word of God. Do you want more faith? Then listen more to the Word. Not only are you to hear His word, but you are to believe. Put your will on the side of faith and action. This is the way we all began to learn.

Jesus said, “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). You know how little children learn. Dad and Mother say to the little one, “See this star?” And what does the little one lisp? “Star, star.” How did you learn that was a star out there in the sky? Somebody you loved and trusted told you and you repeated it. Think of the alphabet. How do you know that A is A? Somebody you loved and trusted pointed to a certain symbol and said, “A” and you said, “A.” And so it was with B and C. Oh, that God may help us to be that simple in our faith and our attitude toward Jesus. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater.

It has been said that there are some things that we do not believe unless we can understand them, but there are other things that we cannot understand unless we believe them. Ponder that. One of the great problems with the skeptic, the scoffer, the infidel, the higher critic, the modernist is this: He does not know how truth is received into the inner sanctuary of the soul. He supposes that by argument he can arrive at an understanding of truth. He supposes that spiritual things can be comprehended by the same tools that are used in solving a mathematical equation. But all the mathematics in this world will not make plain to anybody the taste of a watermelon or a peach, will it? Never. So David says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8).

So we are dealing with the experiential, and if, without arguing when God says something, we open our minds and hearts to His assurance, we can grow in faith; we can understand by believing first instead of waiting to believe until we understand. I repeat, this is the way most of us have learned most of what we know in life. It is also the law of progress in the spiritual experience. “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me.” He wants that little band of disciples gathered around the table in that upper room to be at peace, especially in light of what is soon to transpire.

Turn again to John the 16th chapter. This is part of the same message that Jesus was giving to the disciples in chapter 14. “These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). When Jesus spoke these words, He was even then in the shadow of the cross. Yet He looked beyond. He saw the triumph and He longed for the courage of it, the cheer of it, the hope of it to grip every heart. “Be of good cheer, He says, I have overcome the world.” He speaks of His victory as already accomplished. By faith He knows that He will plant the banner on the eternal heights and He wants His friends to share with Him in that hope. Are you sharing it? He invites you to turn aside from the temptations of Satan and pay no attention to them. He invites you to turn aside, turn away from men who have no power to lift you and who cannot hinder you if you will stand with Jesus. He wants you to abide with Him.

Jesus says, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me.” You know whether you are resting in Jesus or not. I cannot read your heart. But if you are resting in Jesus, are you not thankful for it?

“Under His wings, oh, what precious enjoyment!

There will I hide till life’s trials are o’er.

Sheltered, protected, no evil can harm me,

Resting in Jesus, I’m safe evermore.” Under His Wings, William O. Cushing, 1896.

Do you mean that safely resting in Jesus works, even if committees don’t vote right things? Do you mean it works, even if some government agency doesn’t understand? Do you mean that holds true even if there is sickness or lack of money? It is always true provided we believe—and we can choose to believe.

If you are resting in Jesus, thank Him for it. If you are thinking that you would give anything if you could have what I have described, realize that you cannot buy it with money. It will take everything you have. That rich young ruler who came to Jesus needed just what we are studying. He saw Jesus bless the little children and he thought, Oh I wish I could get blessed too. But when Jesus, responding to his question, What lack I yet? said, you lack just one thing – sell everything you have and give it away and come take up the cross and follow Me, He went away sorrowful (see John 19:13–23). He kept his possessions and his sorrow. Sin, selfishness, gets in the way. There is no way to have peace and hang on to self and sin. No way. We cannot buy it with money, but we can open our hearts to receive it if we just surrender fully to Jesus and then trust Him. If you need that peace, I invite you to find it in the Saviour.

Elder W.D. Frazee studied the Medical Missionary Course at the College of Medical Evangelists in Loma Linda, California. He was called to Utah as a gospel medical evangelist. During the Great Depression, when the church could not afford to hire any assistants, Elder Frazee began inviting professionals to join him as volunteers. This began a faith ministry that would become the foundation for the establishment of the Wildwood Medical Missionary Institute in 1942. He believed that each person is unique, specially designed by the Lord, of infinite value, and has a special place and mission in this world which only he can fill. His life followed this principle and he encouraged others to do the same.