Question

Question and Answer – Made Complete. How is this possible?

by

Question: I see myself with so many faults, but I read in the Bible that I must be without spot and blameless (II Peter 3:14). How is this possible?

Answer:

It is not by anything man can do by his own merit to complete the good work in you that was initiated by the Holy Spirit. He will complete what He started (Philippians 1:6).

“By partaking of the Spirit of God, conforming to the law of God, man becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Christ brings His disciples into a living union with Himself and with the Father. Through the working of the Holy Spirit upon the human mind, man is made complete in Christ Jesus. Unity with Christ establishes a bond of unity with one another. This unity is the most convincing proof to the world of the majesty and virtue of Christ, and of His power to take away sin.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1148.

“The influence of the Holy Spirit is the life of Christ in the soul. We do not see Christ and speak to Him, but His Holy Spirit is just as near us in one place as in another. It works in and through every one who receives Christ. Those who know the indwelling of the Spirit reveal the fruits of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.” Ibid., vol. 6, 1112.

“The words spoken to the disciples are spoken also to us. The Comforter is ours as well as theirs. The Spirit furnishes the strength that sustains striving, wrestling souls in every emergency, amidst the hatred of the world, and the realization of their own failures and mistakes. In sorrow and affliction, when the outlook seems dark and the future perplexing, and we feel helpless and alone—these are the times when, in answer to the prayer of faith, the Holy Spirit brings comfort to the heart.” The Acts of the Apostles, 51.

Since this is the means by which we are to receive power,

  • Why do we not hunger and thirst for the gift of the Spirit?
  • Why do we not talk of it,
  • pray for it,
  • and preach concerning it?

“The Lord is more willing to give the Holy Spirit to those who serve Him than parents are to give good gifts to their children.” Ibid., 50.

“Of the Spirit Jesus said, ‘He shall glorify Me’ (John 16:14). The Saviour came to glorify the Father by the demonstration of His love; so the Spirit was to glorify Christ by revealing His grace to the world. The very image of God is to be reproduced in humanity. The honor of God, the honor of Christ, is involved in the perfection of the character of His people.” The Desire of Ages, 671.

“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:6.

Question & Answer – Is There Anything Satan Fears?

by

At the birth of Christ, Satan saw the plains of Bethlehem illuminated with the brilliant glory of a multitude of heavenly angels. … The rebel chief himself trembled at the proclamation of the angel to the shepherds. … He had met with good success in devising a plan to ruin men, and he had become bold and powerful. He had controlled the minds and bodies of men from Adam down to the first appearing of Christ. But now Satan was troubled and alarmed for his kingdom and his life. …

Dark forebodings were awakened in his mind. … He queried if this was not the coming One who would contest his power and overthrow his kingdom. He looked upon Christ from His birth as his rival. He stirred the envy and jealousy of Herod to destroy Christ by insinuating to him that his power and his kingdom were to be given to this new king. Satan imbued Herod with the very feelings and fears that disturbed his own mind. He inspired the corrupt mind of Herod to slay all the children in Bethlehem who were two years old and under, which plan he thought would succeed in ridding the earth of the infant king. …

Satan followed him from infancy to childhood, and from childhood to manhood, inventing means and ways to allure Him from His allegiance to God, and overcome Him with his subtle temptations. The unsullied purity of the childhood, youth, and manhood, of Christ which Satan could not taint, annoyed him exceedingly. All his darts and arrows of temptation fell harmless before the Son of God. And when he found that all his temptations prevailed nothing in moving Christ from the steadfast integrity, or marring the spotless purity of the youthful Galilean, he was perplexed and enraged. He looked upon this youth as an enemy that he must dread and fear. …

Satan was afraid for his kingdom. He felt that the voice, sounding forth in trumpet tones in the wilderness, caused sinners under his control to tremble. He saw that his power over many was broken. The sinfulness of sin was revealed in such a manner that men became alarmed; and some, by repentance of their sins, found the favor of God, and gained moral power to resist his temptations.

He was on the ground at the time when Christ presented Himself to John for baptism. He heard the majestic voice resounding through Heaven and echoing through the earth like peals of thunder. … The circumstances connected with this baptismal scene had aroused the most intense hatred in the breast of Satan. He knew then for a certainty that unless he could overcome Christ, from thenceforth there would be a limitation of his power. He understood that the communication from the throne of God signified that Heaven was more directly accessible to man.

As Satan had led man to sin, he had hoped that God’s abhorrence of sin would forever separate him from man, and break the connecting link between Heaven and earth. The opening heavens, in connection with the voice of God addressing his Son, was like a death-knell to Satan. He feared that God was now to unite man more fully to Himself, and give power to overcome his devices. And for this purpose Christ had come from the royal courts to the earth. Satan was well acquainted with the position of honor Christ had held in Heaven as the Son of God, the beloved of the Father. And that He should leave Heaven, and come to this world as a man, filled him with apprehension for his safety. He could not comprehend the mystery of this great sacrifice for the benefit of fallen man. He knew that the value of Heaven far exceeded the anticipation and appreciation of fallen man. The most costly treasures of the world, he knew, would not compare with its worth. As he had lost through his rebellion all the riches and pure glories of Heaven, he was determined to be revenged by causing as many as he could to undervalue Heaven, and to place their affections upon earthly treasures.

It was incomprehensible to the selfish soul of Satan that there could exist benevolence and love for the deceived race so great as to induce the Prince of Heaven to leave his home and come to a world marred with sin and seared with the curse. He had knowledge of the inestimable value of eternal riches that man had not. He had experienced the pure contentment, the peace, exalted holiness, and unalloyed joys of the heavenly abode. He had realized, before his rebellion, the satisfaction of the full approval of God. He had once a full appreciation of the glory that enshrouded the Father, and knew that there was no limit to his power.

Satan knew what he had lost. He now feared that his empire over the world was to be contested, his right disputed, and his power broken. He knew, through prophecy, that a Savior was predicted, and that his kingdom would not be established in earthly triumph and with worldly honor and display. He knew that ancient prophecies foretold a kingdom to be established by the Prince of Heaven upon the earth, which he claimed as his dominion. This kingdom would embrace all the kingdoms of the world, and then his power and his glory would cease, and he would receive his retribution for the sins he had introduced into the world, and for the misery he had brought upon man. He knew that everything which concerned his prosperity was pending upon his success or failure in overcoming Christ with his temptations in the wilderness. He brought to bear upon Christ every artifice and force of his powerful temptations to allure him from his allegiance. …

His most wily temptations Christ has tested and conquered in behalf of man. It is impossible for man to be tempted above what he is able to bear while he relies upon Jesus, the infinite Conqueror.

The Signs of the Times, April 5, 1883.

Question & Answer – What is the law that Paul talks about in Galatians that is the schoolmaster to bring us to Christ?

by

Both the ceremonial and the moral code of ten commandments are designed to bring us to Christ.

“Christ was the foundation of the whole Jewish economy. The death of Abel was in consequence of Cain’s refusing to accept God’s plan in the school of obedience to be saved by the blood of Jesus Christ typified by the sacrificial offerings pointing to Christ. Cain refused the shedding of blood which symbolized the blood of Christ to be shed for the world. This whole ceremony was prepared by God, and Christ became the foundation of the whole system. This is the beginning of its work as the schoolmaster to bring sinful human agents to a consideration of Christ the Foundation of the whole Jewish economy.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 233.

“All who did service in connection with the sanctuary were being educated constantly in regard to the intervention of Christ in behalf of the human race. This service was designed to create in every heart a love for the law of God, which is the law of His kingdom. The sacrificial offering was to be an object lesson of the love of God revealed in Christ—in the suffering, dying victim, who took upon Himself the sin of which man was guilty, the innocent being made sin for us.” Ibid.

“ ‘The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith’ (Galatians 3:24). In this scripture, the Holy Spirit through the apostle is speaking especially of the moral law. The law reveals sin to us, and causes us to feel our need of Christ and to flee unto Him for pardon and peace by exercising repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ibid., 234.

“The law is an expression of God’s idea. When we receive it in Christ, it becomes our idea. It lifts us above the power of natural desires and tendencies, above temptations that lead to sin. ‘Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them’ (Psalm 119:165)—cause them to stumble.” Ibid., 235.

Question & Answer – Revelation 12:10 Meaning of Accuser Cast Down

by

The accuser of the brethren is Satan. He contended earnestly with Michael over the body of Moses (Jude 9). Revelation 12:3, 4 states, “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth.” These stars refer to the fallen angels that were cast out with the devil.

Satan was no longer welcome in the heavenly courts. But, although he was cast out of heaven, he apparently was not confined entirely to this earth. Job 1:6; 2:1 states: “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.” “Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord.” These verses show that Satan was not entirely confined to this earth at that time but had limited access to other places.

In Revelation 12:10 John again said that “the accuser of our brethren is cast down.” At the cross when Jesus was crucified, Satan’s character was fully revealed. Witnessing the scene, the heavenly host lost any remaining sympathy for him. Since then, he and his evil angels have been confined to this earth.

The angels watched Satan’s actions toward Jesus and in putting Him to death, we are told: “When Christ came to the earth in person, Satan’s fiercest warfare was directed against Him. But by causing the Son of God to be crucified, Satan struck a blow at himself. When Christ died on the cross, Satan’s death-knell was sounded. His deceptions were narrowly watched by the inhabitants of the unfallen worlds, as he, in disguise, worked in such a way that he thought he could not possibly be detected. But he was left to follow his own course, to condemn himself by his own deeds. And before the cross of Calvary he stood revealed in his true character. When Christ cried out, ‘It is finished’ (John 19:30), the unfallen worlds were made secure. For them the battle was fought and the victory won. Henceforth Satan had no place in the affections of the universe. The argument he had brought forward, that self-denial was impossible with God, and therefore unjustly required from His created intelligences, was forever answered. Satan’s claims were forever set aside. The heavenly universe was secured in eternal allegiance.” The Review and Herald, March 12, 1901.

Q&A- For which three women did Elijah or Elisha perform a miracle and where in the Bible can I find these stories?

by

Question

I am confused! For which three women did Elijah or Elisha perform a miracle and where in the Bible can I find these stories?

Answer

There were three women, two widows and a great woman who was not a widow, about which the Bible tells us. They are as follows:

Elijah and The Widow of Zarephath

(I Kings 17:9–24)

The Lord told Elijah to go to Zarephath where he would there find a widow woman who would sustain him. When he arrived at the gate of the city, a woman was there gathering sticks. “He called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand” (verses 10, 11). The widow tells him how poor she and her son are, with just a little oil and a little meal left for one last cake (verse 12). She generously gave what she had to the prophet, and God blessed her by performing a miracle. Each day the woman had just a little oil and a little meal to provide for her and her son and Elijah, until the drought broke (verses 13–15).

Elisha and The Widow with Two Sons

(II Kings 4:1–7)

The woman’s husband was dead, and she found out she had no means to pay her debt. Desperate to know what to do, for the creditor had come to take the widow’s two sons in lieu of payment, she reached out to Elisha, the prophet. The only commodity she had in her house was a pot of oil. Elisha told her to go and borrow as many empty vessels as she could from all of her neighbors. When she got home with them, she was to go in and shut the door behind her and her sons and start pouring the oil she had into the vessels, setting them aside as they filled. To her amazement all the vessels were filled, and when she asked for more vessels, her sons told her there were no more. The oil stopped pouring as soon as the last jar was full. When she told Elisha what had happened, he told her to go sell the oil, pay off her debt, and use the remaining oil for her family.

Elisha and The Great Woman of Shunem

(II Kings 4:8–37)

The woman of Shunem whom the Bible describes as great or notable (possibly for her generosity), was not a widow, but she was childless. Because of her kindness to Elisha, he prayed to the Lord that she may have a child. She did conceive, and the following year she bore a son. Later, the child died, so she ran to Elisha for help. God worked a miracle through Elisha, and the child was restored to his mother.

Question & Answer – Explain who are the “sons of God” and “daughters of men” in Genesis 6:2?

by

“That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.” 

Genesis 6:2

“The descendants of Seth were called the sons of God; the descendants of Cain, the sons of men. As the sons of God mingled with the sons of men, they became corrupt and, by intermarriage with them, lost, through the influence of their wives, their peculiar, holy character, and united with the sons of Cain in their idolatry. Many cast aside the fear of God and trampled upon His commandments. But there were a few that did righteousness, who feared and honored their Creator. Noah and his family were among the righteous few.” The Story of Redemption, 62. [Emphasis supplied.]

“The Scriptures briefly state the reason for the prevailing iniquity in Noah’s day. The sons of God married the daughters of men. Those who still cherished the knowledge of God united themselves with the ungodly and corrupt, and as a result became assimilated to them in character. The message of warning would have been received by a larger number, had it not been for their connection and association with those who despised and derided the word of God.” The Signs of the Times, February 16, 1882.

“For some time the two classes remained separate. The race of Cain, spreading from the place of their first settlement, dispersed over the plains and valleys where the children of Seth had dwelt; and the latter, in order to escape from their contaminating influence, withdrew to the mountains, and there made their home. … But in the lapse of time they ventured, little by little, to mingle with the inhabitants of the valleys. This association was productive of the worst results. ‘The sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair’ (Genesis 6:2). The children of Seth, attracted by the beauty of the daughters of Cain’s descendants, displeased the Lord by intermarrying with them. Many of the worshipers of God were beguiled into sin by the allurements that were now constantly before them, and they lost their peculiar, holy character. …”  Christ Triumphant, 38.

“The great crime in the marriages of the days of Noah was that the sons of God formed alliances with the daughters of men. Those who professed to acknowledge and revere God associated with those who were corrupt of heart; and without discrimination they married whom they would.” Messages to Young People, 456.

What Inspiration Says About Fiction

by

Five Adverse Results of Reading Fiction

“By fostering love for mere amusement, the reading of fiction creates a distaste for life’s practical duties. Through its exciting, intoxicating power it is not infrequently a cause of both mental and physical disease. Many a miserable, neglected home, many a lifelong invalid, many an inmate of the insane asylum, has become such through the habit of novel reading.” Ministry of Healing, 446.

Counsel Regarding Inspirational or High-Class Fiction

“Dear Brother E: I have just read the Review and Herald and have seen your article giving a list of good books for our youth. I was much surprised to read your recommendation of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Robinson Crusoe, and such books. You are in danger of becoming somewhat careless in your writing. It would be well to give thought and careful study to whatever is to be immortalized in print. I am really alarmed to see that your spiritual eyesight is not more clear in the matter of selecting and recommending reading for our youth. I know that the recommendation in our papers of such infatuating books as Uncle Tom’s Cabin will in many minds justify the reading of other books which are nothing but fiction. . . . This recommendation will make taxing work for those who are laboring to persuade the youth to discard fictitious reading. I have repeatedly seen the evil of reading such books as you recommend, and have an article all prepared, cautioning our youth in this very matter.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 516.

How Does Fiction Affect the Mind and a Person’s Bible Study Habits?

“Light and truth are within the reach of all, and those who have the knowledge of the truth are to be as light in darkness; but if they do not set their minds to searching God’s Word, Satan will find chaff to fill their minds, leaving no room for the growth of the precious seed of truth. Amid the perils of these latter days, every individual member of the church should understand the reasons of his hope and faith, which are not difficult of comprehension if the mind is only kept free from the perverting and paralyzing influence of modern romance and fiction. There is work for the brain to do if we would grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then let us labor most earnestly to impress and urge upon our children the necessity of understanding the reasons of our faith. We are surrounded with temptations so disguised that they allure while they taint and corrupt the soul. Satan varies his enticements to suit different minds; and he takes advantage of every circumstance to make his plans for a soul’s destruction successful.” Review and Herald, November 9, 1886.

If a Person has Already Developed a Habit of Reading Fiction, What Should He Do?

“No effort should be spared to establish a right habit of study. If the mind wanders, bring it back. If the intellectual and moral taste has been perverted by the over-wrought and exciting tales of fiction, so that you are disinclined to apply yourself to the diligent study of God’s Word, then you have a battle to fight with yourself to overcome this depraved habit. A love for fictitious reading should be broken up at once. Rigid rules should be enforced to hold the mind in a proper channel. The pernicious practice of story-reading is one of the means employed by Satan to destroy souls. The mind that is occupied with exciting stories loses all relish for solid reading that would improve the memory and strengthen the intellect.” Ibid., October 9, 1883

Even if There Were no Other Harmful Effect From Reading Fiction, What Serious Disadvantage Results from its Use?

“Besides these there is a multitude of fiction writers, luring to pleasant dreams in palaces of ease. These writers may not be open to the charge of immorality, yet their work is no less fraught with evil. It is robbing thousands upon thousands of the time and energy and self-discipline demanded by the stern problems of life.” Education, 227.

What About High Class Fiction Written to Teach Moral and Spiritual Truth?

“There are works of fiction that were written for the purpose of teaching truth or exposing some great evil. Some of these works have accomplished good. Yet they have also wrought untold harm. They contain statements and highly wrought pen pictures that excite the imagination and give rise to a train of thought which is full of danger, especially to the youth. The scenes described are lived over and over again in their thoughts. Such reading unfits the mind for usefulness and disqualifies if for spiritual exercise. It destroys interest in the Bible. Heavenly things find little place in the thoughts. As the mind dwells upon the scenes of impurity portrayed, passion is aroused, and the end is sin.

“Even fiction which contains no suggestion of impurity, and which may be intended to teach excellent principles, is harmful. It encourages the habit of hasty and superficial reading merely for the story. Thus it tends to destroy the power of connected and vigorous thought; it unfits the soul to contemplate the great problems of duty and destiny. . . .

“It is often urged that in order to win the youth from sensational or worthless literature, we should supply them with a better class of fiction. This is like trying to cure the drunkard by giving him, in the place of whiskey or brandy, the milder intoxicants such as wine, beer, or cider. The use of these would continually foster the appetite for stronger stimulants. The only safety for the inebriate, and the only safeguard for the temperate man, is total abstinence. For the lover of fiction the same rule holds true. Total abstinence is his only safety.” Ministry of Healing, 445, 446.

How is a Taste for Fiction Often Developed Unintentionally?

“I am troubled to see in Sabbath-keeping families periodicals and newspapers containing continued stories that leave no impress of good upon the minds of the children and youth. I have watched those whose taste for fiction has been thus cultivated. They have had the privilege of listening to the truth, of becoming acquainted with the reasons of our faith; but they have grown to maturer years destitute of true piety and practical godliness. These dear youth need so much to put into their character-building the very best material—the love and fear of God and a knowledge of Christ.” Review and Herald, November 9, 1886.

Why is it Easier to Develop a Desire for Fiction than for Good Reading?

“The similarity between an uncultivated field and an untrained mind is striking. Children and youth already have in their minds and hearts corrupt seed, ready to spring up and bear its perverting harvest; and the greatest care and watchfulness are needed in cultivating and storing the mind with precious seeds of Bible truth. The children should be educated to reject trashy, exciting tales, and turn to sensible reading that will train their minds to be interested in Bible story, history, and arguments. If their imagination becomes excited by feeding it upon highly-wrought fictitious stories, they will have no desire to search the Scriptures or obtain a knowledge of truth to impart to others. Truth is what our youth should read and study, not fiction—truth to be practiced every day, that truth which Christ prayed might sanctify His disciples.” Ibid.

What, Then, Is Our Only Safe Course?

“No efforts should be spared to establish right habits of study. If the mind wanders, bring it back. If the intellectual and moral tastes have been perverted by overwrought and exciting tales of fiction, so that there is a disinclination to apply the mind, there is a battle to be fought to overcome this habit. A love for fictitious reading should be overcome at once. Rigid rules should be enforced to hold the mind in the proper channel.” Ibid., January 30, 1915.

Writing About the Experience of Ellen White and Himself, What Did James White Say About Fiction?

“The Christian world is cursed with religious fiction. This is especially exhibited in Sunday school books which are early thrown into the laps of children as their first series for instruction. Next, as they reach riper years, come those volumes in which learned doctors of divinity philosophize upon the mysteries of the ‘hidden life.’ Their efforts to make it appear that ‘entire consecration’ is a second great work to succeed justification has added to the general bewilderment.” Signs of the Times, February 3, 1876.

What Should We Study Instead of Fiction?

“The oftener and more diligently the Scriptures are read, the more beautiful they will appear, and the less relish will one have for light reading. The daily study of the Scriptures will have a sanctifying influence upon the life.” Ibid., February 19, 1880.

“The glory of God is displayed in His handiwork. Here are mysteries that the mind will become strong in searching out. Minds that have been amused and abused by reading fiction may in nature have an open book, and read truth in the works of God around them. All may find themes for study in the simple leaf of the forest tree, the spires of grass covering the earth with their green velvet carpet, the plants and flowers, the stately trees of the forest, the lofty mountains, the granite rocks, the restless ocean, the precious gems of light studding the heavens to make the night beautiful, the exhaustless riches of the sunlight, the solemn glories of the moon, the winter’s cold, the summer’s heat, the changing recurring seasons, in perfect order and harmony, controlled by infinite power; here are subjects which all for deep thought, for the stretch of the imagination.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 581.

12. What Should We Be Doing With Our Time Instead of Reading Fiction?

“Cheap works of fiction do not profit. They impart no real knowledge; they inspire no great and good purpose; they kindle in the heart no earnest desires for purity; they excite no soul hunger for righteousness. On the contrary, they take time which should be given to the practical duties of life and to the service of God,—time which should be devoted to prayer, to visiting the sick, caring for the needy, and educating yourself for a useful life. When you commence reading a storybook, how frequently the imagination is so excited that you are betrayed into sin. You disobey your parents, and bring confusion into the domestic circle by neglecting the simple duties developing upon you. And worse than this, prayer is forgotten, and the Bible is read with indifference or entirely neglected.” Youth’s Instructor, September 10, 1884.

How Is Our Reading Related to Character Perfection?

“Why should we not perfect a Christlike character? Why should we not manifest His indwelling by corresponding works? The Master’s vineyard comprises the whole world. There is a large field for our efforts. We should study the Word of God, not in a stupid, sleepy, indifferent way, but with zeal and earnestness, longing for a knowledge of the truth. We should keep the mind pure by avoiding the reading of novels. He who allows himself to become infatuated with fiction, will have no genuine interest in the study of the Word of God; for the mind becomes diseased by contact with evil imaginations.” Ibid., February 20, 1896.

What Do Our Reading Habits Reveal About our Religious Experience?

“The nature of one’s religious experience is revealed by the character of the books he chooses to read in his leisure moments. In order to have a healthy tone of mind and sound religious principles, the youth must live in communion with God through His Word. Pointing out the way of salvation through Christ, the Bible is our guide to a higher, better life. It contains the most interesting and the most instructive history and biography that were ever written. Those whose imagination has not become perverted by the reading of fiction will find the Bible the most interesting of books.” Ibid.

What Does Ellen White Say About the Use of Fiction in School?

“The Protestants have accepted the spurious sabbath, the child of the papacy, and have exalted it above God’s holy, sanctified day; and our institutions of learning have been established for the express purpose of counteracting the influence of those who do not follow the Word of God. These are sufficient reasons to show the necessity of having educational institutions of our own; for we must teach truth rather than fiction and falsehood. The school is to supplement the home training, and both at home and at school, simplicity of dress, diet, and amusement must be maintained. An atmosphere must be created that will not be deleterious to the moral nature. Line upon line, precept upon precept, our children and households must be educated to keep the way of the Lord, to stand firmly for truth and righteousness. We must maintain a position against every species of sophistry that bewilders in this degenerate age, when error is glossed over, and so mingled with truth that it is almost impossible for those who are not familiar with the distinctions that the Scripture make between the traditions of men and the Word of God, for them to distinguish truth from error. It has been plainly stated that in this age ‘some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.’” Review and Herald, January 9, 1894.

What Did Ellen White Say about Fiction in Seventh-day Adventist Publications?

“Our power and efficiency as Seventh-day Adventists is largely dependent on the literature which comes from our presses. An indiscriminate class of articles should not be published in our periodicals. Cheap, worthless stories should find no place in them. There are articles of romance and fiction which contain no seeds that will bear good fruit. I would say to our editors, Be careful in the selection of the matter which is to go to the world. Show the greatest caution and discernment. Be careful that the Review and Herald and the Signs of the Times are kept free from worthless matter. Precious matter from what has already been printed can be found for our papers.” Selection of Articles for Our Papers, 2.

What Specific Counsel about Salvation did Ellen White give to a Man with a Problem with Fiction?

“You have not stored your mind with the precious things of God’s Word, and unless you repent, you will surely be deceived by Satan’s manifold devices. You have left the precious word of life for a dish of fables, and you are perverting your God-given powers; you are intoxicated with that which is false and deceptive. You have indulged in a kind of reading that gives you not a knowledge of God or of the truth. ‘And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom Thou hast sent.’ We want to understand every jot and tittle of God’s will as revealed in His Word; but you are filling your mind with rubbish, with trifling things. Time is passing, and you are not gaining an experience for the future, immortal life. The class of reading you enjoy destroys your appetite for solid reading that would improve the mind and strengthen the intellect. This much reading of unprofitable literature is a snare to your soul. You are like a man intoxicated with strong drink. Your mind is not clear upon any subject which concerns your eternal interest. You are unready for that which is coming upon the earth, unfitted to act your part in the great whole. You place yourself in the way of temptation; and when you stand upon Satan’s ground, you are inviting his assaults. . . . Your faith is adulterated, and your only safety is to determine that you will not fill your mind with fiction. You have not wisdom to discriminate, and the indulgence of your love for reading spoils you for your business.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 6, 261, 262

Regarding a Troublesome Employee Who’s Experience Has Been Used Repeatedly in an Effort to Discredit the Spirit of Prophecy. Ellen White said:

“I was troubled about Fannie for a long time. I could not see that she had any real interest in the work. She had the most precious matter of practical godliness presented before her. She was handling subjects every day that if she fed upon them would give her spiritual food and Christian experience. But I received not the evidence that she caught the precious ideas, but rushed through them mechanically, passively, without taking them in and appropriating them to herself. The precious things became common. Poor soul, she feeds upon fiction more than upon the truth.” Manuscript Release, 926.

Regarding a Girl in Europe Who Ran Away From Home, Ellen White said:

“One of the difficulties to be faced at headquarters centered on a young lady named Alace, daughter of a dedicated press worker. Alace had run away from home. Ellen White explained that ‘this is the fruit of . . . flirtations and courtships.’ This is no doubt considered a little chapter in romance resulting from the reading of ‘fiction and romance,’ she said. Young people who read their Bibles did not ‘do these things.’” Ellen White in Europe, 271, 272.

How Has the Devil Used Fiction to Increase Difficulties in Evangelism?

“Literature and cheap fiction of every order is circulated like the leaves of autumn; and the minds of thousands are so taken up with irreligious, cheap trash that there is no place in the mind for solid reading. The Word of God and all that would elevate man from his degradation is passed by with indifference.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 6, 263.

“Satan is now stirring up the minds of men to furnish to the world literature which is of a cheap, superficial order, but which fascinates the mind, and fastens it in a network of Satan’s contrivance. After reading these books, the mind lives in an unreal world, and the life, so far as usefulness is concerned, is as barren as a fruitless tree. The brain is intoxicated, making it impossible for the eternal realities, which are essential for the present and the future, to be pressed home. A mind educated to feed upon trash is unable to see in the Word of God the beauty that is there. Love for Jesus and inclination to righteousness are lost; for the mind is built up from that upon which it feeds. By feeding the mind upon exciting stories of fiction, man is bringing to the foundation ‘wood, jay, stubble.’ He loses all taste for the divine Guide Gook, and cares not to study the character he must form in order to dwell with the redeemed host, and inhabit the mansions which Christ has gone to prepare.” Special Testimonies on Education, 156, 157.

Question & Answer – I can understand forsaking all but how can I hate my family as stated in Luke 14:26

by

“If any man come to Me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:26

The word hate in this text is explained in the following:

“Hate referred to in Luke 14:26, means a less degree of love. We are to have supreme love to God, and our friends are to be loved secondarily. Our love for husband, wife, brother, sisters, father, or mother, must be inferior to our love to God.” The Review and Herald, September 16, 1862.

Some will put God’s word aside so that peace may be kept in the family or among friends. This shows God that we love our family or friends more than Him. See the following comment:

“Our love for these dear relatives must not be blind and selfish, and cause us to forget God. When these ties of relationship lead us to prefer their favor by disregarding the truth, we love them more than we love Jesus, and are not worthy of Him.” Ibid.

If we love others more than we love God, choosing their ways over God’s ways, then we have no shelter. We are told:

“In that fearful time when we need an arm to protect and shield us, stronger than any human arm, stronger than the arm of father, brother, or husband, and shall call upon Him that is mighty to save, He will not hear us.
“He will bid us to

  • lean upon those whom we preferred before Him,
  • whom we loved above Him,
  • whom we would not forsake for Him.

“He will say, Let them deliver you, let them save you. I gave you proof of My love. I left the glory of My Father, and all My majesty and splendor, and came into a world cursed with sin and pollution. For your sakes I became poor, that you through My poverty might be made rich. I bore insult and mockery, and died a shameful death upon the cross, to save you from hopeless misery and death.

  • Yet this did not excite your love enough to obey me,
  • and lead you to prefer My favor above the favor of earthly friends, who have given you
  • but feeble proofs of their love. I know you not; depart from Me.” Ibid.

Luke 14:33 says, “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple.”

To hate father, mother, wife, children, brethren, sisters, and his own life means to love God first and to put Him first.

Question & Answer – Why did Jesus not visit John the Baptist in prison?

by

It is very important to remember that whatever happens or does not happen the way we think it should, that all will work out for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). John was called according to His purpose.

“Jesus did not interpose to deliver His servant. He knew that John would bear the test. Gladly would the Saviour have come to John, to brighten the dungeon gloom with His own presence. But He was not to place Himself in the hands of enemies and imperil His own mission.

  • Gladly would He have delivered His faithful servant.
  • But for the sake of thousands who in after years must pass from prison to death, John was to drink the cup of martyrdom.
  • As the followers of Jesus should languish in lonely cells, or perish by the sword, the rack, or the fagot, apparently forsaken by God and man, what a stay to their hearts would be the thought that John the Baptist, to whose faithfulness Christ Himself had borne witness, had passed through a similar experience!” The Desire of Ages, 224.

One very important point to remember is that Satan failed:

“Satan was permitted to cut short the earthly life of God’s messenger; but that life which ‘is hid with Christ in God’ (Colossians 3:3), the destroyer could not reach. He exulted that he had brought sorrow upon Christ, but he had failed of conquering John.” Ibid.

Remember the promise:

“Though no miraculous deliverance was granted John, he was not forsaken. He had always the companionship of heavenly angels, who opened to him the prophecies concerning Christ, and the precious promises of Scripture. These were his stay, as they were to be the stay of God’s people through the coming ages. To John the Baptist, as to those that came after him, was given the assurance, ‘Lo, I am with you all the days, even unto the end’ (Matthew 28:20 RV, margin).” Ibid.

John the Baptist in prison would not have chosen to be led any other way:

“God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end from the beginning, and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as co-workers with Him. Not Enoch, who was translated to heaven, not Elijah, who ascended in a chariot of fire, was greater or more honored than John the Baptist, who perished alone in the dungeon. ‘Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake’ (Philippians 1:29). And of all the gifts that Heaven can bestow upon men, fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is the most weighty trust and the highest honor.” Ibid., 224, 225.

Q&A – What did Jesus mean when He said in Matthew 11:7, “A reed shaken with the wind?”

by

“A reed shaken with the wind” in Bible language means a person blown about by every wind of doctrine. Ephesians 4:14 says, “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.”

Jesus compared the character of John the Baptist with that of the Rabbis. “The tall reeds that grew beside the Jordan, bending before every breeze, were fitting representatives of the rabbis who had stood as critics and judges of the Baptist’s mission. They were swayed this way and that by the winds of popular opinion. They would not humble themselves to receive the heart-searching message of the Baptist, yet for fear of the people they dared not openly oppose his work. But God’s messenger was of no such craven spirit. The multitudes who were gathered about Christ had been witnesses to the work of John. They had heard his fearless rebuke of sin. To the self-righteous Pharisees, the priestly Sadducees, King Herod and his court, princes and soldiers, publicans and peasants, John had spoken with equal plainness. He was no trembling reed, swayed by the winds of human praise or prejudice. In the prison he was the same in his loyalty to God and his zeal for righteousness as when he preached God’s message in the wilderness. In his faithfulness to principle he was as firm as a rock.” The Desire of Ages, 218.

This is a warning for us that we be not as those reeds.

“Many are changed by every current. They wait to hear what someone else thinks, and his opinion is accepted as altogether true. If they would lean wholly upon God, they would grow strong in His strength; but they do not say to the Lord, I cannot make any decision until I know Thy will. Their natural inclination is to allow another to be conscience for them; and they speak after he has spoken, saying what he says, and acting as he acts. When these persons are placed in circumstances where they must think and act for themselves, they dare not express any decided opinion. Yet often, like Aaron, they have much ability. God pity such weaklings. …

“We must free ourselves from the customs and bondage of society, that when the principles of our faith are at stake, we shall not hesitate to show our colors, even though we are called singular for so doing. Keep the conscience tender, that you may hear the faintest whisper of the voice that spoke as never man spoke. Let all who would wear the yoke of Christ show an inflexible purpose to do right because it is right.” Our High Calling, 341.

“Jesus knew that a reed trembling in the wind was the very opposite of John’s character. John could not be moved by flattery, nor be deceived by prevailing errors. Neither could he be turned aside from the work he came to do, by rewards, or worldly honors. He would preserve his integrity at the expense of his life. Steadfast as a rock stood the prophet of God, faithful to rebuke sin and crime in all their forms, in kings and nobles, as readily as in the unhonored and unknown. He swerved not from duty. Loyal to his God, in noble dignity of moral character, he stood firm as a rock, faithful to principle.” The Review and Herald, March 4, 1873.

Be strong in the Lord and be not blown about by every wind of doctrine or by popular opinion.