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Q&A – Duties of Children

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Is it required of children to obey their parents when the duties required are not in harmony with the requirements of God?

The command of the Lord is, “Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee” [Exodus 20:12]. Honor certainly means to obey. But the command assumes that the parent’s requirement will be in harmony with what is right. (See Deuteronomy 6:5–9; Proverbs 22:6.)

It is therefore the parent’s first duty to obey God and train the child aright; and it follows that it is the child’s duty to obey the parent. But if the parent commands the child to do what is contrary to God, and the child knows that it means eternal death to obey the parent, it is the duty of the child to obey God first; eternal life is worth more than this life. “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right” [Ephesians 6:1, emphasis added]. But let the child be careful that he faithfully obeys whatever is not against the word of God, however great the hardship involved.

“The obligation resting upon children to honor their parents is of lifelong duration. If the parents are feeble and old, the affection and attention of the children should be bestowed in proportion to the need of father and mother. Nobly, decidedly, the children should shape their course of action even if it requires self-denial, so that every thought of anxiety and perplexity may be removed from the minds of the parents. …

“Children should be educated to love and care tenderly for father and mother. Care for them, children, yourselves; for no other hand can do the little acts of kindness with the acceptance that you can do them. Improve your precious opportunity to scatter seeds of kindness.

“Our obligation to our parents never ceases. Our love for them, and theirs for us, is not measured by years or distance, and our responsibility can never be set aside.

“Let children carefully remember that at the best the aged parents have but little joy and comfort. What can bring greater sorrow to their hearts than manifest neglect on the part of their children? What sin can be worse in children than to bring grief to an aged, helpless father or mother?” The Adventist Home, 360.

Question and Answer – How did the Israelites sink so low as to sacrifice their own children?

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There is no limit to depravity when one denies worship of the true God.

“And they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger” (2 Kings 17:16, 17).

“God was a wise and compassionate lawgiver, judging all cases righteously, and without partiality. While the Israelites were in Egyptian bondage, they were surrounded with idolatry. The Egyptians had received traditions in regard to sacrificing. They did not acknowledge the existence of the God of Heaven. They sacrificed to their idol gods. With great pomp and ceremony they performed their idol worship. They erected altars to the honor of their gods, and they required even their own children to pass through the fire. After they had erected their altars they required their children to leap over the altars through the fire. If they could do this without their being burned, the idol priests and people received it as an evidence that their god accepted their offerings, and favored especially the person who passed through the fiery ordeal. He was loaded with benefits, and was ever afterward greatly esteemed by all the people. He was never allowed to be punished, however aggravating might be his crimes. If another person who leaped through the fire was so unfortunate as to be burned, then his fate was fixed; for they thought that their gods were angry, and would be appeased with nothing short of the unhappy victim’s life, and he was offered up as a sacrifice upon their idol altars.

“Even some of the children of Israel had so far degraded themselves as to practice these abominations, and God caused the fire to kindle upon their children, whom they made to pass through the fire. They did not go to all the lengths of the heathen nations; but God deprived them of their children by causing the fire to consume them in the act of passing through it.

“Because the people of God had confused ideas of the ceremonial sacrificial offerings, and had heathen traditions confounded with their ceremonial worship, God condescended to give them definite directions, that they might understand the true import of those sacrifices which were to last only till the Lamb of God should be slain, who was the great antitype of all their sacrificial offerings.” Spiritual Gifts, vol. 3, 303, 304.

Q&A – The Unpardonable Sin, Is There any sin that cannot be forgiven?

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God is love and it is His will that all would accept His invitation of mercy. However, this world cannot continue in the state it is in and His mercy will reach its limit. The sin against the Holy Ghost is to reject to the uttermost all the means of salvation in Christ Jesus, the only name given under heaven among men whereby we can be saved. (See Acts 4:12.)

The apostle Paul said, “Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?” Hebrews 10:29.

We are told: “There are none so hardened as those who have slighted the invitation of mercy, and done despite to the Spirit of grace. The most common manifestation of the sin against the Holy Spirit is in persistently slighting Heaven’s invitation to repent. Every step in the rejection of Christ is a step toward the rejection of salvation, and toward the sin against the Holy Spirit.

“In rejecting Christ the Jewish people committed the unpardonable sin; and by refusing the invitation of mercy, we may commit the same error. We offer insult to the Prince of life, and put Him to shame before the synagogue of Satan and before the heavenly universe when we refuse to listen to His delegated messengers, and instead listen to the agents of Satan, who would draw the soul away from Christ. So long as one does this, he can find no hope or pardon, and he will finally lose all desire to be reconciled to God.” The Desire of Ages, 324, 325.

“Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.” Matthew 12:31.

“Whatever the sin, if the soul repents and believes, the guilt is washed away in the blood of Christ; but he who rejects the work of the Holy Spirit is placing himself where repentance and faith cannot come to him. It is by the Spirit that God works upon the heart; when men willfully reject the Spirit, and declare it to be from Satan, they cut off the channel by which God can communicate with them. When the Spirit is finally rejected, there is no more that God can do for the soul.

“It is not God that blinds the eyes of men or hardens their hearts. He sends them light to correct their errors, and to lead them in safe paths; it is by the rejection of this light that the eyes are blinded and the heart hardened. Often the process is gradual, and almost imperceptible. Light comes to the soul through God’s word, through His servants, or by the direct agency of His Spirit; but when one ray of light is disregarded, there is a partial benumbing of the spiritual perceptions, and the second revealing of light is less clearly discerned. So the darkness increases, until it is night in the soul.” God’s Amazing Grace, 215.

It is not an enviable position to be in this world without hope or pardon and to lose all desire to be reconciled with God. There is a line that can be crossed from which there is no return. Only God knows when that is. There is no more time to waste; maybe the next invitation will be your last!

Questions and Answers – Attending Sabbath Funerals

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In Life Sketches of Ellen G. White (1915), 252, Sister White describes the death and burial of her husband, James.

“The next morning he [James] seemed slightly to revive, but about noon he had a chill, which left him unconscious. At 5 P.M., Sabbath, August 6, 1881, he quietly breathed his life away, without a struggle or a groan.

“The shock of my husband’s death—so sudden, so unexpected—fell upon me with crushing weight. In my feeble condition I had summoned strength to remain at his bedside to the last; but when I saw his eyes closed in death, exhausted nature gave way, and I was completely prostrated. For some time I seemed balancing between life and death. The vital flame burned so low that a breath might extinguish it. At night my pulse would grow feeble, and my breathing fainter and fainter till it seemed about to cease. Only by the blessing of God and the unremitting care and watchfulness of physician and attendants was my life preserved.

“Though I had not risen from my sick-bed after my husband’s death, I was borne to the Tabernacle on the following Sabbath to attend his funeral. [Emphasis added.] At the close of the sermon I felt it a duty to testify to the value of the Christian’s hope in the hour of sorrow and bereavement. As I arose, strength was given me, and I spoke about ten minutes, exalting the mercy and love of God in the presence of that crowded assembly. At the close of the services I followed my husband to Oak Hill Cemetery, where he was laid to rest until the morning of the resurrection.

“My physical strength had been prostrated by the blow, yet the power of divine grace sustained me in my great bereavement. When I saw my husband breathe his last, I felt that Jesus was more precious to me than He ever had been in any previous hour of my life. When I stood by my first-born, and closed his eyes in death, I could say, ‘The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord’ [Job 1:21]. And I felt then that I had a comforter in Jesus. And when my latest born was torn from my arms, and I could no longer see its little head upon the pillow by my side, then I could say, ‘The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’ And when he upon whose large affections I had leaned, with whom I had labored for thirty-five years, was taken away, I could lay my hands upon his eyes, and say, ‘I commit my treasure to Thee until the morning of the resurrection.’ ”

Though this experience is not advocating for Sabbath funerals, it is clearly seen that it is not wrong. You will notice that there was a whole week for the preparations to be made for the burial before the actual funeral service and the body interred.

Often in Western culture, family and friends bury or cremate the dead in a private service, and then later hold a memorial service, which is often held on Sabbath so many are able to attend.

Q&A -Should a Christian wear a Wedding Ring

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In Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 180, 181, we are shown how unnecessary it is to wear a wedding ring and how much it draws us to conforming to custom and fashion.

“Some have had a burden in regard to the wearing of a marriage ring, feeling that the wives of our ministers should conform to this custom. All this is unnecessary. Let the ministers’ wives have the golden link which binds their souls to Jesus Christ, a pure and holy character, the true love and meekness and godliness that are the fruit borne upon the Christian tree, and their influence will be secure anywhere. The fact that a disregard of the custom occasions remark is no good reason for adopting it. Americans can make their position understood by plainly stating that the custom is not regarded as obligatory in our country. We need not wear the sign, for we are not untrue to our marriage vow, and the wearing of the ring would be no evidence that we were true. I [Ellen White] feel deeply over this leavening process which seems to be going on among us, in the conformity to custom and fashion. Not one penny should be spent for a circlet of gold to testify that we are married. In countries where the custom is imperative, we have no burden to condemn those who have their marriage ring; let them wear it if they can do so conscientiously; but let not our missionaries feel that the wearing of the ring will increase their influence one jot or tittle. If they are Christians, it will be manifest in their Christlikeness of character, in their words, in their works, in the home, in association with others; it will be evinced by their patience and long-suffering and kindliness. They will manifest the spirit of the Master, they will possess His beauty of character, His loveliness of disposition, His sympathetic heart.”

The Bible tells us, in Genesis 35:4, “And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.”

In Spiritual Gifts, vol. 3, 137, we are told: “Jacob was humbled, and required his family to humble themselves, and to lay off all their ornaments. … God accepted the efforts of Jacob to remove the wrong from his family, and appeared unto him, and blessed him, and renewed the promise made to him, because his fear was before him. ‘And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone’ [Genesis 35:14].” [Emphasis supplied.]

Exodus 33:6 states, “And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb.”

In Isaiah 3:16–21 we read this: “Moreover the Lord saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will discover their secret parts. In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon, the chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, the bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings, the rings, and nose jewels.”

We can find, by example, in the word of God, what His will is for our lives. It is that new heart experience that leads us to hear and obey what God’s will is for each of us. We can always find an excuse to follow our own ways over and above God’s will.

“Choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15.

Questions and Answers – Three Phases of the Judgment

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Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14, states, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”

Investigation Phase—

Before a jury trial, there is an investigation of the charges filed against the individual. Satan is the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10) bringing up all the sins we have committed so there needs to be an investigation. As the great High Priest, Jesus entered the Most Holy Place on October 22, 1844, to investigate each case. All have sinned, but Jesus offers forgiveness to those who repent. Once His atonement is completed, Jesus will say, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” Revelation 22:11.

“While the investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while the sins of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary, there is to be a special work of purification, of putting away of sin, among God’s people upon earth.” The Great Controversy, 425.

Sentencing Phase—

If the individual is found guilty, then the trial moves to the second phase of the judgment, the sentencing phase, in which the jury evaluates the severity of the crime and assigns a just punishment. In I Corinthians 6:2 it says: “Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?”

Those who have repented and turned away from their sins—the saints, will be taken to heaven when Jesus returns for 1,000 years to examine the books for the sentencing phase. The word of God tells us in Revelation 20:4, 6: “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. … Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”

Execution Phase—

The third phase in the trial is the execution of the sentence assigned—that is, applying the sentence to the individual. After the 1,000 years is over, then the Lord and His people in the New Jerusalem descend from heaven and the execution of the sentences will be carried out.

“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” Revelation 20:12.

To summarize:

The investigative phase – October 22, 1844, to the close of probation

The sentencing phase – during the 1,000 years

The execution of the sentences – after the 1,000 years are ended

Q&A -Meaning of “will draw all men unto Me”?

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Jesus said, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me.” John 12:32. What is the meaning of the phrase “will draw all men unto Me”?

“If I be lifted up from the earth” refers to the death of Christ upon the cross. By this act of self-sacrifice, not only was the redemption of man, the forgiveness of his sins made possible, but the love of God was manifested to the universe in a fuller and more complete way than it had ever been revealed before. (It will take all eternity to understand the love of God.) By Christ’s sacrifice, the accusations of Satan against the government of God and the character of God are refuted and Satan is cast out not only physically, but all sympathy for him from angels or men will finally be cast out by means of this sacrifice. Angels, as well as men, are drawn to the Redeemer.

It was prophesied in the Old Testament that unto the Messiah the people would be gathered (Genesis 49:2). This prophecy in Genesis applies with special force to the elect—to God’s true and faithful children. Jesus said, “Every one who is of the truth hears my voice.” John 18:37. But this prophecy will have a universal fulfillment at the end of the millennium. The cross will be presented. (See The Great Controversy, 666, 667). “With all the facts of the great controversy in view, the whole universe, both loyal and rebellious, with one accord declare: ‘Just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints’ [Revelation 15:3].

“Before the universe has been clearly presented the great sacrifice made by the Father and the Son in man’s behalf.” The Great Controversy (1888), 671.

Q&A – What was Written in the Little Book in Revelation 5?

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Have you any ideas of what was written in the little book in Revelation 5?

Revelation 5:1: “And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.”

We have found two references in the Spirit of Prophecy that may be of help to you.

“There in His open hand lay the book, the roll of the history of God’s providences, the prophetic history of nations and the church. Herein was contained the divine utterances, His authority, His commandments, His laws, the whole symbolic counsel of the Eternal, and the history of all ruling powers in the nations. In symbolic language was contained in that roll the influence of every nation, tongue, and people from the beginning of earth’s history to its close.

“… The vision as presented to John made its impression upon his mind. The destiny of every nation was contained in that book. John was distressed at the utter inability of any human being or angelic intelligence to read the words, or even to look thereon. His soul was wrought up to such a point of agony and suspense that one of the strong angels had compassion on him, and laying his hand on him assuringly said, ‘Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof’ [Revelation 5:5].” Manuscript Releases, vol. 20, 197.

That first paragraph lists seven things:

  1. The roll of the history of God’s providences
  2. The prophetic history of nations
  3. The prophetic history of the church
  4. The divine utterances of His authority, His commandments and His laws
  5. The whole symbolic counsel of the Eternal
  6. The history of all ruling powers in the nations
  7. The influence of every nation, tongue, and people from the beginning of earth’s history to it’s close.

“When they (the Jewish rulers) were asked to choose between Christ and Barabbas, they cried out, ‘Release unto us Barabbas!’ Luke 23:18. And when Pilate asked, ‘What shall I do then with Jesus?’ they cried fiercely, ‘Let Him be crucified.’ Matthew 27:22. ‘Shall I crucify your King?’ Pilate asked, and from the priests and rulers came the answer, ‘We have no king but Caesar.’ John 19:15. When Pilate washed his hands, saying, ‘I am innocent of the blood of this just person,’ the priests joined with the ignorant mob in declaring passionately, ‘His blood be on us, and on our children.’ Matthew 27:24, 25.

“Thus the Jewish leaders made their choice. Their decision was registered in the book which John saw in the hand of Him that sat upon the throne, the book which no man could open. In all its vindictiveness this decision will appear before them in the day when this book is unsealed by the Lion of the tribe of Judah.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 293, 294.

If you have a Bible question you wish to have answered, please write to Steps to Life or e-mail it to:
landmarks@stepstolife.org.

Q&A – The Grace of God

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Paul said, “We then, as workers together with Him, beseech you also

that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.” I Corinthians 6:1.

What does that mean?

To receive something in vain is to receive it as something as worthless or unimportant. Have you ever given a gift to somebody that they did not appreciate? They put the gift aside and it cannot benefit them. That, in a sense, is what happens with the “grace of God” that is given to many, but received in vain. It is laid aside and the benefit is not received. God’s gift when not appreciated is worthless to them; it has little meaning and without benefit to them. It is received in vain.

Paul knew well what the grace of God would do for them if it was received into the heart and beseeched the people to receive it.

“The refining influence of the grace of God changes the natural disposition of man. Heaven would not be desirable to the carnal-minded; their natural, unsanctified hearts would feel no attraction toward that pure and holy place, and if it were possible for them to enter, they would find there nothing congenial. The propensities that control the natural heart must be subdued by the grace of Christ before fallen man is fitted to enter heaven and enjoy the society of the pure, holy angels.” The Acts of the Apostles, 273.

The influence of the grace of God when received into the heart changes the natural disposition of man and he is fitted to enter heaven and enjoy the society of the pure, holy angels. But when somebody considers God’s grace as worthless and receives it in vain, no change takes place in his heart. We are told that, “He (God) does not take pleasure in any man who retains his old nature, and is not so renewed in knowledge and grace that he is a new man in Christ.” Amazing Grace, 66.

Also, it is only by the grace of God that one can be led to repentance. “That repentance which is produced by the influence of divine grace upon the heart will lead to confession and forsaking of sin.” Acts of the Apostles, 324.

“In the heart renewed by divine grace, love is the ruling principle of action. It modifies the character, governs the impulses, controls the passions, and ennobles the affections. This love, cherished in the soul, sweetens the life and sheds a refining influence on all around.” Ibid., 551.

The influence of the grace of God changes our lives. To “receive the grace of God in vain” is to turn away from the new life, “the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” Ephesians 4:24.

Q&A – Can I Continue to smoke while claiming to be a Christian?

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There are many “good” people in this world who will not make it to heaven, because once being aware of a different lifestyle, they refuse to walk or live to a heavenly standard right here on earth. By the worldly standard they are considered “good” because the world agrees with their lifestyle. In heaven, there will be nothing that will cause either sorrow or death.

Smoking is not the only thing that pollutes the body, but also drinking alcohol. There is much information today revealing the deleterious effects of tobacco and alcohol. When shown that something is so harmful to your health, whether it be physical, mental or spiritual and you persist in its use, to turn away from the will of God to retain health and choose to walk in your own ways is a very serious matter. God has said, “Thou shalt not kill” and “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” Exodus 20:13; I Corinthians 10:31.

We are fearfully and wonderfully made and live in a time where there is a feast of information available to make healthy choices and avoid certain foods or substances that cause harm. Willfully continuing to do harmful things will cost you the gift of salvation unless you repent and turn away from those things that destroy your body, that amazing piece of machinery in which you live. (See Sermons and Talks, vol. 2, 286.)

We are told to “ ‘Make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way’ [Hebrews 12:13]. We cannot realize how powerful for good or for evil is our influence upon those with whom we associate. Let us be careful that there be not found on our garments in the day of judgment the blood of precious souls.” Ibid., 287.

To continue in these harmful habits while professing to be a Christian is a bad witness to others. It lowers the standard of behavior and can cause others also to sin by the bad example.