Question

Question – What does God require of those who do not have health and strength of body?

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Question:

What does God require of those who do not have health and strength of body? Are they excused from the responsibility of doing God’s work?

Answer:

Praise God! God is love! We really do not understand love. Consequently, we do not always know how to relate to it, because we do not know what love expects of us. The best way to find that out is to study the Bible and the inspired writings that the Lord has given us.

We human beings sometimes go by feelings, thinking it is love when it is only emotional excitement. God has created emotions in us for our joy and happiness, but He also gave us a mind and a heart, which go deeper than emotions. He bids us to reason things out and decide what is best in each situation. Isaiah 1:18 says, “Come now and let us reason together.” It is not reasonable to expect a handicapped person to do what a strong, healthy individual can do.

God is not in need of our help. We are in need of the service that we can do to gain a character that will fit us for the heavenly society. Some individuals need to learn patience by being handicapped, some by responsibility, and some by illness and by whatever the Lord sees that is needed. God is more interested in our characters than in what we do, because our characters are all that we can take to heaven.

There are several texts that spell out what the Lord expects of us as individuals. “He hath showed thee, O man, what [is] good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” Micah 6:8. “For if there be first a willing mind, [it is] accepted according to that a man hath, [and] not according to that he hath not.” 11 Corinthians 8:12.

Ellen White also gives counsel on this subject:

“Now when you can no longer be active, and infirmities press upon you, all that God requires of you is to trust Him. Commit the keeping of your soul to Him as unto a faithful Creator. His mercies are sure, His covenant is everlasting. Happy is the man whose hope is in the Lord his God, who keepeth truth forever. Let your mind grasp the promises and hold to them. If you cannot call to mind readily the rich assurance contained in the precious promises, listen to them from the lips of another. What fullness, what love and assurance are found in these words from the lips of God Himself, proclaiming His Love, His pity and interest in the children of His care:

“ ‘The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin’ (Exodus 34:6, 7).” Reflecting Christ, 281.

But everyone must witness for God in some way—maybe only by being patient with difficulty, maybe only by a smile during pain and distress, or maybe with words of encouragement. None of us are released from the responsibility of reflecting the character of Christ in some way.

Question & Answer: Why didn’t God just destroy Satan?

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God is bound by justice. If God had destroyed the one who accused Him, Lucifer’s argument against Him could have been strengthened. The angels could have been suspicious thinking Lucifer may know something that God was trying to cover up. Fairness would dictate all of God’s actions.

“Even when it was decided that he could no longer remain in heaven, Infinite Wisdom did not destroy Satan. Since the service of love can alone be acceptable to God, the allegiance of His creatures must rest upon a conviction of His justice and benevolence. The inhabitants of heaven and of other worlds, being unprepared to comprehend the nature or consequences of sin, could not then have seen the justice and mercy of God in the destruction of Satan. Had he been immediately blotted from existence, they would have served God from fear rather than from love. The influence of the deceiver would not have been fully destroyed, nor would the spirit of rebellion have been utterly eradicated. Evil must be permitted to come to maturity. For the good of the entire universe through ceaseless ages Satan must more fully develop his principles, that his charges against the divine government might be seen in their true light by all created beings, that the justice and mercy of God and the immutability of His law might forever be placed beyond all question.

“Satan’s rebellion was to be a lesson to the universe through all coming ages, a perpetual testimony to the nature and terrible results of sin. The working out of Satan’s rule, its effects upon both men and angels, would show what must be the fruit of setting aside the divine authority. It would testify that with the existence of God’s government and His law is bound up the well-being of all the creatures He has made. Thus the history of this terrible experiment of rebellion was to be a perpetual safeguard to all holy intelligences, to prevent them from being deceived as to the nature of transgression, to save them from committing sin and suffering its punishments.” The Great Controversy, 498, 499.

“In the contest between Christ and Satan, during the Saviour’s earthly ministry, the character of the great deceiver was unmasked. Nothing could so effectually have uprooted Satan from the affections of the heavenly angels and the whole loyal universe as did his cruel warfare upon the world’s Redeemer.” Ibid., 501.

Question – How can I find out if I am deceived?

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Question:

Since a person who is deceived does not know that he is deceived, how can I find out if I am deceived?

Answer:

We are living in the time of the end, very close to the end of all things here on this earth, and Satan is out to deceive the whole world. Since he has had at least 6,000 years of experience, and we have only been here a brief time, we surely are no match for him. There is no way that we could ever in our short span of life come to the place where we could outwit the deceiver, who was able to deceive one-third of the angels of heaven.

“Satan is constantly endeavoring to attract attention to man in the place of God. He leads the people to look to bishops, to pastors, to professors of theology, as their guides, instead of searching the Scriptures to learn their duty for themselves. Then, by controlling the minds of these leaders, he can influence the multitudes according to his will.” The Great Controversy, 595.

This makes it look as though we are in an impossible situation. How thankful we can be for the Bible promises: “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” Luke 1:37; Matthew 19:26.

Here is the key to unlock our problem. Jesus said, in John 17:3, “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” If we know the One with whom all things are possible, then it will be possible for Him to keep us from being deceived by the devil.

The question, then, is, How do we get to know Him? First, we must become intimately acquainted with Him through Bible study and prayer. Then, we must spend time reading and studying the Spirit of Prophecy, store in our memory precious promises from the Bible and pertinent statements from the inspired writings, and develop the habit of talking to Him about everything in our life. This is a good beginning, but to complete the fortification against the devil, we must, after reading and praying, begin practicing all that we have learned. Step by step we must practice walking with Jesus and talking to Him about everything we do. We must invite the Holy Spirit into our lives and ask Him to guide our life, and we must listen for that still, small voice and obey it.

“Every one of us will be sorely tempted; our faith will be tried to the uttermost. We must have a living connection with God; we must be partakers of the divine nature; then we shall not be deceived by the devices of the enemy, and shall escape the corruption that is in the world through lust.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 2, 50.

“As we near the end of time, falsehood will be so mingled with truth, that only those who have the guidance of the Holy Spirit will be able to distinguish truth from error. We need to make every effort to keep the way of the Lord. We must in no case turn from His guidance to put our trust in man. . . . Every day we are to come to the Lord with full assurance of faith, and to look to Him for wisdom. . . . Those who are guided by the Word of the Lord will discern with certainty between falsehood and truth, between sin and righteousness.” God’s Amazing Grace, 201.

“None but those who have fortified the mind with the truths of the Bible will stand through the last great conflict.” The Great Controversy, 593.

Question & Answer – What is the Bible meaning of leaven and meal?

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“Another parable spake He unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened” (Matthew 13:33).

“When leaven is introduced into meal, it penetrates to every part, till an entire change takes place. So it is with the work of the Holy Spirit upon the human heart. The truth received and believed introduces new rules, new principles of action into the life. A new standard of character is set up—the life of Christ. Those who thus receive the truth depend on Christ, and they receive more and still more strength, and greater and still greater light. Daily they expel from their hearts vanity, selfishness, self-righteousness.

“As they receive the spirit of Christ, light shines from them in clear, distinct rays. They have a solemn sense of eternal realities. There is a renewal of the entire mind and heart. As the leaven introduced into the meal leavened the whole, so the leaven of truth, if introduced into the heart, will absorb to itself all the properties of soul, body, and spirit. …

“Transformation of heart means an entire change of the entire man. ‘Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God,’ Christ declared (John 3:3). This change of heart is unseen; for it is an inward work, and yet, it is seen, because it works outward from within.

“Has the leaven of truth been at work in your heart? Has it absorbed the whole heart, the whole affections by its sanctifying power? …

“Our first work is with our own hearts. The true principles of reform should be practiced. The heart must be converted and sanctified else we have no connection with Christ. While our hearts are divided, we shall never, never be fitted for usefulness in this life or for the future life. As intelligent beings, we need to sit down and think whether we are really seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. The very best thing we can do is to think soberly and candidly whether we desire to put forth the effort necessary to obtain the Christian hope and secure the Christian’s heaven. If through the grace of Christ we decide that we do, the next question is: What is there that I must cut away from my life in order that I shall not stumble?” This Day With God, 48.

Question – Grieved the Holy Spirit

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Question:

I sometimes worry that I have grieved away the Holy Spirit. How can I know that I have not done this?

Answer:

There are others who have this same concern. I would say first, remember that “God is love,” and He has your best interest at heart. He also is more anxious for you to be saved than you are. God sent His only begotten Son down here to earth to save you. Jesus suffered untold miseries to save you, so keep your eyes on the Lord.

Jesus said, “But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” “The Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin.” John 14:26; 16:7, 8. Read John 14 and 15; you will receive a real blessing, and you may understand more about what the Holy Spirit does.

We will never be able on this earth to exactly understand the Holy Spirit. We can only know what He does and that He is one of the members of the Godhead. “The nature of the Holy Spirit is a mystery. Men cannot explain it, because the Lord has not revealed it to them. . . .

“To the repentant sinner, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, the Holy Spirit reveals the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. . . .

“The Spirit is given as a regenerating agency, to make effectual the salvation wrought by the death of our Redeemer. The Spirit is constantly seeking to draw the attention of men to the great offering that was made on the cross of Calvary, to unfold to the world the love of God, and to open to the convicted soul the precious things of the Scriptures.” The Acts of the Apostles, 52.

As for grieving the Holy Spirit, that is not a sudden thing; it happens over a period of time as a person repeatedly refuses to do God’s will. One example of this would be Pharaoh. The Lord pleaded with him to let the children of Israel go, but he kept refusing until he had completely disconnected himself from God. (See Exodus 7−12.)

What usually happens is that a person learns that something is right to do, such as keeping the Sabbath, but he says, “I am not going to do that.” He hears about it again and again, but he continues to refuse to obey what he knows is right. Finally the Holy Spirit gives up on that person. Then his conscience no longer bothers him about going to church on Sunday. He has no more dread of sin, because the Holy Spirit is the one that convicts us of sin.

If you are still trying to do God’s will and you are convicted when you sin that it is wrong, you have not sinned against the Holy Spirit. He is still pleading with you. He wants you to be in heaven, and if you want to go there, too, and are willing to follow His guidance, you will reach your goal and have eternal life.

If you worry that you have grieved the Holy Spirit away, you have not, or you would not worry about it; you could not care less.

Question – Is it necessary to believe in the Spirit of Prophecy…

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Question:

Is it necessary to believe in the Spirit of Prophecy to be a Seventh-day Adventist?

Answer:

Let us first consider several passages from the Bible: “Where [there is] no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy [is] he.” Proverbs 29:18. “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” Amos 3:7. “Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.” 11 Chronicles 20:20, last part.

Paul speaks of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12. Verse 10 specifically mentions the gift of prophecy. Romans 12:6 also refers to the gift of prophecy.

John the Revelator wrote: “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 12:17. Revelation 19:10 explains the “testimony of Jesus Christ.” It says, in the last part, “The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy.”

After reading these texts, we should have some idea of how the Lord communicates with His people. “And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, [I] the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, [and] will speak unto him in a dream.” Numbers 12:6.

The Lord did not expect human beings, with their finite mentality, to figure out their way by themselves here on this sin-cursed earth. He provided them communication with heaven by prayer, then, specifically, through prophets to guide His people.

We are living in the end time of this earth’s history. Knowledge is increasing, and men are running to and fro. (Daniel 12:4.) In such a situation, surely God would have something to say to His people to guide them through the maze of new information and new inventions. Human reasoning tells us that we need the advice of a prophet.

How do we know that the true gift of prophecy has been given? First, truth is always truth. One of the strongest evidences is that a true prophet’s writings will agree with the former prophets in the Bible, especially with the Law of God. It says, in Isaiah 8:20, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, [it is] because [there is] no light in them.” Therefore, the writings and the works of a prophet must be tested against the Bible.

Ellen White, who authored what is known as the Spirit of Prophecy, wrote many books and articles—some 225,000 pages—and every one agrees with the Bible; never in one word did she contradict the Bible. Her writings always lead to the study of the Bible. Having only a third grade education, in order for her to write as much and as accurately and interestingly as she did, she had to have more than just her human intelligence. Her many visions and dreams all draw one closer to the Lord.

I could write a small book on physical proof and the proof of prophecies fulfilled, but to me that is not the greatest proof that she was a prophet of the Lord. The greatest proof comes from the reading of her writings and seeing what they will do for you. Lay all your preconceived ideas and prejudices aside and read.

Since we have all this wonderful instruction, it would surely be an insult to the Lord if we did not accept it. Therefore, I would suggest that a real Seventh-day Adventist will read and follow the instruction given in the Spirit of Prophecy.

Question – What does it mean to “Work Out Your Own Salvation”

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Question:

What does it mean to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling”?

Answer:

Acts 4:12 says, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” And Jesus Himself said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6.

To give us the gift of salvation, Jesus suffered every terrible experience that could come to mankind. We can scarcely imagine the depth of the suffering that He went through to gain for us eternal life. We may read about it and think about it, but we cannot understand the depth of His grief. It is more than we can realize that the sins of the world were laid upon Him, and He felt the extreme horror of being separated from the Father by the terribleness of sin. He then experienced the heartache of knowing that many of those He came to save would be lost. He actually died of a broken heart; it was broken for you and for me. We cannot estimate the cost of salvation.

The gift of salvation is so wonderful that we have little idea of what it really is worth. “All heaven is looking upon you with deep interest. One soul for whom Christ has died is worth more than the whole world.” Our High Calling, 98.

The gift of our salvation came at great cost to heaven, and especially to God the Father. God gave His Son to the human family, and He will belong to the human family forever. It was the greatest gift ever given; it wrung the heart of God Himself.

After you get some idea of what salvation cost God and all heaven, does it occur to you that it might cost you something? From the inspired writings, we read: “ ‘Wherefore, my beloved,’ he [Paul] continued, ‘as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, buperfect, t now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do His good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings: that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain.’ [Philippians 2:12-16.]

“These words were recorded for the help of every striving soul. Paul holds up the standard of perfection and shows how it may be reached. ‘Work out your own salvation,’ he says, ‘for it is God which worketh in you.’

“The work of gaining salvation is one of copartnership, a joint operation. There is to be co-operation between God and the repentant sinner. This is necessary for the formation of right principles in the character. Man is to make earnest efforts to overcome that which hinders him from attaining to perfection. But he is wholly dependent upon God for success. Human effort of itself is not sufficient. Without the aid of divine power it avails nothing. God works and man works. Resistance of temptation must come from man, who must draw his power from God. On the one side there is infinite wisdom, compassion, and power; on the other, weakness, sinfulness, absolute helplessness.” The Acts of the Apostles, 481, 482

Question and Answer – Why call the woman a dog?

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“He [Jesus] answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and cast it to dogs” (Matthew 15:26).

“The woman urged her case with increased earnestness, bowing at Christ’s feet, and crying, ‘Lord, help me’ (Matthew 15:25). Jesus, still apparently rejecting her entreaties, according to the unfeeling prejudice of the Jews, answered, ‘It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.’ This was virtually asserting that it was not just to lavish the blessings brought to the favored people of God upon strangers and aliens from Israel. This answer would have utterly discouraged a less earnest seeker. But the woman saw that her opportunity had come. Beneath the apparent refusal of Jesus, she saw a compassion that He could not hide. ‘Truth, Lord,’ she answered, ‘yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table’ (verse 27). While the children of the household eat at the father’s table, even the dogs are not left unfed. They have a right to the crumbs that fall from the table abundantly supplied. So while there were many blessings given to Israel, was there not also a blessing for her? She was looked upon as a dog, and had she not then a dog’s claim to a crumb from His bounty?

“Jesus had just departed from His field of labor because the scribes and Pharisees were seeking to take His life. They murmured and complained. They manifested unbelief and bitterness, and refused the salvation so freely offered them. Here Christ meets one of an unfortunate and despised race, that has not been favored with the light of God’s word; yet she yields at once to the divine influence of Christ, and has implicit faith in His ability to grant the favor she asks. She begs for the crumbs that fall from the Master’s table. If she may have the privilege of a dog, she is willing to be regarded as a dog. She has no national or religious prejudice or pride to influence her course, and she immediately acknowledges Jesus as the Redeemer, and as being able to do all that she asks of Him.

“The Saviour is satisfied. He has tested her faith in Him. By His dealings with her, He has shown that she who has been regarded as an outcast from Israel is no longer an alien, but a child in God’s household. As a child it is her privilege to share in the Father’s gifts. Christ now grants her request, and finishes the lesson to the disciples. Turning to her with a look of pity and love, He says, ‘O woman, great is thy faith’ (verse 28).” The Desire of Ages, 401.

Your Bible Questions – Nominal Adventists

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QUESTION:

To whom was Ellen White referring when she used the term “nominal Adventists” or “nominal churches”?

ANSWER:

There is no doubt that when Ellen White said, “Adventists,” she was referring to a group or a church of people who believed that Jesus was going to return to this earth, for that is virtually what the word means, looking for the advent of Christ.

However, she used the word nominal, meaning “in name only,” a number of times in different situations and different settings; therefore, one can hardly say that she was always talking of the same group of people when she used that expression.

For instance, we will use an example that is easy to figure out about whom she was talking: “I saw that God had children, who do not see and keep the Sabbath. They had not rejected the light on it. And at the commencement of the time of trouble, we were filled with the Holy Ghost as we went forth and proclaimed the Sabbath more fully. This enraged the churches, and nominal Adventists, as they could not refute the Sabbath truth.” Review and Herald, July 21, 1851.

We can plainly see here that she is not talking about Seventh-day Adventists, but Adventists who do not keep the seventh-day Sabbath. Undoubtedly she was referring to first-day Adventists, and other Sunday-keeping churches.

Another example of this is: “This is the word of the living God. The law is God’s great moral looking-glass. He is to compare his words, his spirit, his actions with the word of God. If we decide that in these last days we have no work assigned to us that is out of the common course of the nominal churches, we shall meet with great disappointment. The great question to be investigated, weighed, and decided is, ‘What can I do to reach souls that are lost?’ ” Special Testimonies to the Battle Creek Church, 1898, 18, 19.

Here we can plainly see that she was not using the word nominal as referring to Seventh-day Adventists but to other churches. Now, let us look at another statement that seems to refer to another group of people:

“Much of the faith which we see is merely nominal; the real, trusting, persevering faith is rare. Moses realized in his own experience the promise that God will be a rewarder to those who diligently seek Him. He had respect unto the recompense of the reward. Here is another point in regard to faith which we wish to study; God will reward the man of faith and obedience. If this faith is brought into the life experience, it will enable everyone who fears and loves God to endure trials.” Conflict and Courage, 85.

There are many more statements in the inspired writings about nominal Christians. Sometimes she was referring to first-day Adventists, but we must be careful that we do not miss the point of instruction that the Lord was seeking to give to Seventh-day Adventists.

When there is a warning against being a nominal Christian, we need to take heed to it and not get careless with our habits. We need a close walk with Jesus and a constant awareness of His presence in our lives. We need to develop a close relationship with Him. This will take earnest prayer and determination to follow all the instruction that divinity decides to give us.

We are living in a day and age of this world’s history when it is fatal for anyone to be a nominal Christian, and we dare not brush off the instruction by saying that that was written to the first-day Adventists. It will be impossible for a nominal Christian to go through the time of trouble and be saved in the kingdom of heaven.

Your Bible Questions: Separate From the World

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Question:

Why and how are we to be separate from the world?

Answer:

“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” II Corinthians 6:17, 18.

The object of being separate from the world is not to be different so we stand out and look odd, nor is it to draw attention to ourselves. The reason for coming apart from the world is to glorify God and to fulfill His purpose for our lives.

“We have a heaven to gain and a hell to shun.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 5, 259. This principle should guide the choices we make and the things we do. In order for us to make the proper choices, we have to know the standards that are required to gain heaven, or what it takes to send us to hell.

We will look at the latter one first. What are the goals? Number one is to please self; get all you can out of this world to make self look good, to feel good, and to get attention. The number one individual is yourself. Your own feelings come first. Push anybody down so that you can be elevated; your goal is to be number one. You are concerned about the final result only as it pertains to your own desires at the present time. Many times you do good things for others to make yourself look good and benevolent.

What are the goals to gain heaven? Self is to be hid in Christ; you live to glorify God, not self.

If you are Christ’s, you think more highly of others than of yourself. You live to please God and your fellow men. You recognize that you are a being of His creation; therefore, you care for your body to honor God. You do this by obeying the rules of health so you may preserve your life to be of service to God and man. You are to dress neatly, modestly, and healthfully to honor God by being a fit representative of His kingdom.

In other words, if you eat, drink, and dress like the world, you will receive the world’s reward. If you live to honor God, you will receive the reward He offers to His children, which is eternal life with Him.

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Matthew 7:13, 14.

“It is by leading the followers of Christ to associate with the ungodly and unite in their amusements that Satan is most successful in alluring them into sin… God requires of His people now as great a distinction from the world, in customs, habits, and principles, as He required of Israel anciently.” The Adventist Home, 460.

“The condition of our acceptance with God is a practical separation from the world… The world may despise you because you do not meet their standard, engage in their dissipating amusements, and follow their pernicious ways; but the God of heaven promises to receive you, and to be a Father unto you.” Counsels on Health, 51.