Salvation

The Song of Deliverance

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“And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints.”

Revelation 15:3

 

Music has ever been and will ever be connected with God’s marvelous works. Consider when this world was created. Wouldn’t it have been exciting to watch as the earth came into existence to see the sun appear from nowhere and in the darkness of the first night suddenly the moon appears? Can you imagine watching vegetation develop and seeing hundreds and thousands of varieties of creatures, from the tiny insects to the mighty leviathan, created before your very eyes? And then to see man made in the image of God?

I know you would have joined with the angels to sing with them as they praised God as we read in Job, “The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:7)!

And what about the Saviour’s birth some four thousand years later? Mystery of mysteries! The Son of God, the Creator of the universe becomes a helpless babe in a manger; born of flesh to show us how to overcome Satan. Wouldn’t it have been thrilling to have been out there watching with the shepherds and suddenly to hear and see thousands of angels singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14)?

And what about Christ’s triumphant return to heaven after His crucifixion and resurrection? Oh, how the angels sang as they neared heaven. Death had been conquered. The resurrection of the saints was now assured. Listen as the angels sang as we read in Psalm 24:7–9: “Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.”

Let us consider two other mighty events connected with music. First, we shall consider the song of Moses inspired by the divine deliverance, the mighty deliverance at the Red Sea; and second, the song of the Lamb when the greatest of all anthems will be sung around the throne of God on the sea of glass. It will be a song that the millions of redeemed will sing.

“Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and His rider hath He thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation: He is my God, and I will prepare Him an habitation; my Father’s God, and I will exalt Him” (Exodus 15:1, 2).

So reads some 16 verses. Every word so full of meaning, of war, of horses, of chariots which are cast into the sea, of a glorious triumph, a song of victory, but in order for us to catch the full significance we must review for a few moments the circumstances. God had revealed to Abraham centuries before that his children would become slaves for exactly 400 years, then they finally would receive the promised home in Canaan.

In Genesis 15:13, 14: “And He said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.”

The four hundred years had nearly been fulfilled. Only a fraction of time remained. Notice how God faithfully carries out His promise. Exodus 12:51: “And it came to pass the selfsame day, that the Lord did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.” [Emphasis supplied.]

You can count on God who never fails to keep His word. Think of it – only 24 hours remained in the 400-year period. And now God through Moses tells His people: Tomorrow, Pharaoh will let you go a free people. The Scripture says it happened “the selfsame day.” Free at last! The Bible states in Exodus 13:20, “And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.” God led the way out of Egypt.

“He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people” (verse 22). What a God! Not only does He direct them by the cloud but He considers every need, even the physical needs. He provides a canopy to protect them from the desert heat of the day, and by night, He provides a burning fiery cloud to give warmth in the desert chill and to provide light in the darkness.

Thus it was that God led them to encamp at the edge of the Red Sea on a vast sandy plain, an area large enough for an encampment of some two million, with all their animals. Here they were surrounded by a rocky defile, the mountains running down into the very edge of the sea. At this spot the sea is some eight miles across. An Egyptian garrison is located just to the north. There is no possible way of escape. Word is brought to King Pharaoh of their situation. We read in Exodus 14:3: “For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.”

Can you catch the picture as the children are encamped? Suddenly there is a shout of fear. They look behind them and they see 600 chosen chariots plus all the chariots of Egypt coming after them. This was the mightiest army in the world at that time, coming to enslave them once again, forcing them to return to Egypt. Before them is a vast sea of water, eight miles across. There is no bridge, no ships; they are surrounded by rugged mountains obstructing their way. Behind them they see the flashing armor reflected in the sunlight. This army is led by the king himself, guided by the pagan priests of Egypt. Humanly speaking there is positively no way of escape.

But that’s only half the story. What they did not know was the depth of the sea before them. Archaeologists claim to have found the very spot on the Red Sea where the children of Israel crossed. What had never been seen before in modern times were two columns of stone, some 20 feet high, two to three feet across, one on either side of this crossing. And on these stones was discovered the words inscribed by King Solomon who erected these pillars to commemorate the Divine deliverance of the children of Israel.

Terror filled the Israelite’s hearts as they saw the army coming and they cried to Moses. Verse 12 says, “Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.” But Moses knew just what was about to happen.

In Patriarchs and Prophets, 283, are these revealing words: “It was revealed to him [Moses] that Pharaoh would pursue them, but that God would be honored in their deliverance.” Let us never forget the promises of God as we near the end when we will be facing impossible situations. In Amos 3:7 we read, “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets.” Thanks for the Spirit of Prophecy that has given us such wonderful details of what we can expect. And so Moses speaks with positive assurance.

“And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will show to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace” (Exodus 14:13, 14). Immediately, God takes action. That cloudy column rises majestically into the heavens and passes over the Israelites, descending behind them, separating Israel from the enemy. What a surprise! The cloud gives light in the night to Israel but total darkness to the enemy.

And now comes the command. Verse 15: “And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto Me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.”

Imagine! Go forward? How? There’s no bridge, no boats, no rafts, it’s too far to swim, but by faith they did advance right up to the very water’s edge. Then Moses lifts his rod. One more step and the leader will be in the water. But wonder of wonders the sea divides before them. A mighty miracle is wrought by God and a path opens before them through the midst of the sea.

Remember, it is night. Patriarchs and Prophets, 287: “The light from God’s pillar of fire shone upon the foam-capped billows, and lighted the road that was cut like a mighty furrow through the waters of the sea, and was lost in the obscurity of the farther shore.” So, two million people with their flocks and herds follow the lighted path and walk on dry ground. The water stands on either side like a wall. Exodus 15:8: “And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.” According to the Hebrew and Chaldea dictionary that you will find in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, the word congealed means frozen water. In other words, God formed two walls of ice, forming a perfectly safe path to cross the watery deep.

The Psalmist has declared in chapter 77, verses 19 and 20, “Thy way is in the sea, and Thy path in the great waters, and Thy footsteps are not known. Thou leddest Thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.”

Now the suspense deepens. The Egyptians have pursued the Israelites. As the Israelites are coming up on the other side and are out of the sea, the Egyptians are right behind them when suddenly God’s marvelous black cloud that has been a cloud of protection turns to a pillar of fire.

As morning breaks, the Israelites have safely reached the other side in Arabia. From a night of terrible peril God has brought complete deliverance. Jehovah alone has made Israel’s deliverance possible. Only by faith and faith alone did they go forward.

Now the Spirit of God rests upon Moses. He leads the freed slaves in a triumphant anthem. It’s the song of Moses. “I will sing unto Jehovah, for He hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song” (Exodus 15:1, 2, first part). Can’t you just hear two million singing such praises? Oh, how they must have sung! They had been freed from 400 years of slavery. Now they are totally free.

“That song does not belong to the Jewish people alone. It points forward to the destruction of all the foes of righteousness and the final victory of the Israel of God. The prophet of Patmos beholds the white-robed multitude that have ‘gotten the victory,’ standing on the ‘sea of glass mingled with fire,’ having ‘the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb’ (Revelation 15:2, 3).” Patriarchs and Prophets, 289.

Humanly speaking, we too have an impossible ordeal to face. Said the Psalmist in chapter 115:1: “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory, for Thy mercy, and for Thy truth’s sake.”

Have we considered lately what God hath done for us? How He has made it possible for us to be delivered from the power of sin if we will only follow the path that He has made for us? “In freeing our souls from the bondage of sin, God has wrought for us a deliverance greater than that of the Hebrews at the Red Sea. Like the Hebrew host, we should praise the Lord with heart and soul and voice for His ‘wonderful works to the children of men’ (Psalm 107:8).” Patriarchs and Prophets, 289.

Our hearts should be filled with the melody of gladness when we consider the daily blessings of food and clothing and shelter and health and the loved ones that surround us. All of these are blessings from the hand of God.

But above our temporal blessings consider for a moment what the death of Jesus means to you and me personally. He has brought the happiness of heaven within our reach. Because of His matchless love we are now called the children of God. We can look for a life that never ends all because of His matchless sacrifice on Calvary. Praise Him for a heavenly inheritance! Praise Him for His boundless promises! Praise Him that Jesus lives to intercede in the sanctuary above for us!

“Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me” (Psalm 50:23). All the angels of heaven unite in praising God. Let us begin learning that song that we are going to sing that we may soon join the ranks of the angels. Said the Psalmist, “While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being” (Psalm 146:2). “Let the people praise Thee, O God; let all the people praise Thee” (Psalm 67:5).

One of the most beautiful and comforting passages of Isaiah refers to that pillar of cloud of fire revealing God’s care for us in the final struggles just ahead. “In that day [referring to the end of the world] shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain” (Isaiah 4:2–6).

Isn’t it beautiful that we can expect again the Lord to cover us with His glory and take care of us as He did the children of Israel in the coming time of trouble?

But now notice a contrast of those who are within the church today claiming to be Christians but have never surrendered to God. “And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by Thy name, to take away our reproach” (Isaiah 4:1). These seven women are not pure women; they are impure. We are told they are taking hold of one man. The one man is Christ. They don’t want to follow His word; they don’t want to accept the Bread of Life. It says, they “will eat their own bread.” They have cooked up their own new theology based on manmade false doctrines upon which they are feeding. They even dress contrary to God’s way, refusing to put on His robe of righteousness which is given only to the obedient. They do not want to obey. All they want is His name, to be called Christians but refusing the clean, white fine linen which is the righteousness of Christ which God will place upon all who overcome every sin before He comes. Righteousness is sinlessness.

God’s saints are commandment keepers. They love Christ. “If ye love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). They are ready to be married to Christ. “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God” (Revelation 19:7–9).

Are we ready for this experience?

God had a purpose in bringing Israel to the Red Sea. He chose this method to test their faith. With the enemy at their back, with mountains on either side, with an impassible sea before them, God gave the command, “Go forward.” What if they had hesitated? What if they had not gone forward until their feet reached the water’s edge? The result – God would have never opened up a path in the sea. “By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned” (Hebrews 11:29).

“In marching down to the very water, they showed that they believed the word of God as spoken by Moses. They did all that was in their power to do, and then the Mighty One of Israel divided the sea to make a path for their feet.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 290.

This lesson is for us today. We who are living in this time of the end will find that at times duty seems hard to perform. Both the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy picture a coming crisis, humanly speaking, that can only bring bondage and death, yet God speaks, “Go forward.” We must obey His command even though our eyes cannot penetrate the gathering darkness, even though the cold waves are gathering about our feet. We must remember that the obstacles that hinder our spiritual progress will never disappear before a halting and a doubting spirit.

“Those who defer obedience till every shadow of uncertainty disappears and there remains no risk of failure or defeat, will never obey at all. Unbelief whispers, ‘Let us wait till the obstructions are removed, and we can see our way clearly;’ but faith courageously urges an advance, hoping all things, believing all things.” Ibid.

The cloud of darkness to the Egyptians was to the Hebrews a flood of light. While the world is daily encountering a hopeless darkness in these days the soul trusting in God’s word will be filled with a light of peace. The Lord is about to deliver His people and He alone can give the victory.

“And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints.”

By the grace of God, His people will someday soon sing this song.

For more than fifty years, Lawrence Nelson served the Seventh-day Adventist Church as a church pastor, evangelist, and then in Conference, Union, and General Conference leadership. When God laid upon him the responsibility to “tell it like it is” to alert the people how the church was leading them into the worldwide ecumenical movement, he was forbidden to preach in any church within the Oregon Conference. Elder Nelson passed to his rest on April 18, 2012.

The Assurance of Salvation

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From the Lives of Two Patriarchs

Perhaps no other characters in the Bible give more hope to the repentant sinner than do Jacob and David. Jacob is referred to by name 377 times in the King James Bible and by inference many more times. Likewise, David over one thousand times.

The name Jacob means “heel catcher” or “supplanter,” that is, one who displaces or usurps the position of someone else. Note that this is exactly what Satan desired to do in heaven—usurp the position that Christ held—and as a result, he was cast out.

“Opposition to the law of God had its beginning in the courts of heaven, with Lucifer, the covering cherub. Satan determined to be first in the councils of heaven, and equal with God. … When Satan had succeeded in winning many angels to his side, he took his cause to God, representing that it was the desire of the angels that he occupy the position that Christ held.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 222.

“And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Revelation 12:7–9).

The similarities between Satan’s act of deception and that of Jacob are interesting to study.

“Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. … So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau. Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them” (Genesis 25:21, 24–26).

The story of Jacob’s usurpation of Esau’s birthright is told in Genesis 25 and 27. He colluded with his mother to deceive his father and obtain the birthright that, according to custom, belonged to Esau.

This is the point at which the similarities between Jacob’s and Satan’s stories diverge. Satan has continued his relentless assault on Christ and His followers for millennia, while Jacob made a full surrender of heart and soul to Jesus and is regarded as a patriarch of the Christian faith.

In fact, when David was uttering his last words, Scripture refers to him as “The anointed of the God of Jacob”: “Now these are the last words of David. Thus says David the son of Jesse; thus says the man raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel” (2 Samuel 23:1).

Although the text is specifically a reference to David’s position with God, note that the verse also acknowledges that Jacob was considered a subject of high esteem who was under the domain of the God of the universe.

Considering that David was guilty of the death of Uriah, a violation of the sixth commandment, and Jacob was guilty of theft by deception, a violation of the eighth and ninth commandments, this one text shows that when one confesses and repents, acceptance into the kingdom of glory is assured.

This is not the only text that provides the assurance of salvation to David as a result of his confession and repentance. In 1 Kings 14:8, God’s amazing grace is clearly revealed when He refers to David as, “My servant David, who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, to do only what was right in My eyes.” This commendation occurs long after David’s devising of the death of Uriah and shows how forgiving and forgetting God is when the sinner pleads for and complies with the conditions necessary for forgiveness.

Jacob, too, is reckoned in Scripture as being highly favored of God. On his initial flight from home, he had the well-known dream of the Ladder that extended from earth to heaven and received this wonderful promise: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you” (Genesis 28:13–15).

After his decades of perhaps unwilling albeit faithful service to Laban, Jacob’s faith in this promise was severely tested as he returned to the land that God had promised to him. Jacob received word that Esau was on his way to meet him with 400 men, with the apparent intent of fulfilling the vow he had made when he learned of Jacob’s theft of his birthright: “So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, ‘The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob’ ” (Genesis 27:41).

Familiar is the story of Jacob’s wrestle with the Lord the night before his reunion with Esau, recorded in Genesis 32: “Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. And He said, ‘Let Me go, for the day breaks.’ But he said, ‘I will not let You go unless You bless me!’ So He said to him, ‘What is your name?’ He said, ‘Jacob.’ And He said, ‘Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed’ ” (Genesis 32:24–28).

What wonderful and amazing reassurance the story of these two patriarchs provides the striving pilgrim today. Both Jacob and David are mentioned in Hebrews 11, the faith chapter, as being of the household of faith, in spite of their unrighteous acts. Their lives exemplify the fulfillment of God’s promise, written by David in Psalm 103:

 

“Bless the Lord, O my soul;

And all that is within me, bless His holy name!

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

And forget not all His benefits:

Who forgives all your iniquities,

Who heals all your diseases,

Who redeems your life from destruction,

Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,

Who satisfies your mouth with good things,

So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

The Lord executes righteousness

And justice for all who are oppressed.

He made known His ways to Moses,

His acts to the children of Israel.

The Lord is merciful and gracious,

Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.

He will not always strive with us,

Nor will He keep His anger forever.

He has not dealt with us according to our sins,

Nor punished us according to our iniquities.

For as the heavens are high above the earth,

So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;

As far as the east is from the west,

So far has He removed our transgressions from us”

(Psalm 103:1–12).

David wrote this uplifting psalm after his prayer that God create in him a clean heart and renew a right spirit within him, having been made to realize his sin by Nathan (see Psalm 51:10). It is undeniable evidence of the assurance that the repentant sinner has of God’s forgiveness.

Inspiration also acknowledges the assurance of salvation the lives of these patriarchs offer the repentant soul.

“Jacob’s history is also an assurance that God will not cast off those who have been deceived and tempted and betrayed into sin, but who have returned unto Him with true repentance. While Satan seeks to destroy this class, God will send His angels to comfort and protect them in the time of peril. The assaults of Satan are fierce and determined, his delusions are terrible; but the Lord’s eye is upon His people, and His ear listens to their cries. Their affliction is great, the flames of the furnace seem about to consume them; but the Refiner will bring them forth as gold tried in the fire. God’s love for His children during the period of their severest trial is as strong and tender as in the days of their sunniest prosperity; but it is needful for them to be placed in the furnace of fire; their earthliness must be consumed, that the image of Christ may be perfectly reflected.” The Great Controversy, 621.

“Though David had fallen, the Lord lifted him up. He was now more fully in harmony with God and in sympathy with his fellow men than before he fell. In the joy of his release he sang:

‘I acknowledged my sin unto Thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid.

I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord;

And Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. …

Thou art my hiding place; Thou shalt preserve me from trouble;

Thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance’

(Psalm 32:5–7 KJV).

“Many have murmured at what they called God’s injustice in sparing David, whose guilt was so great, after having rejected Saul for what appear to them to be far less flagrant sins. But David humbled himself and confessed his sin, while Saul despised reproof and hardened his heart in impenitence.

“This passage in David’s history is full of significance to the repenting sinner. It is one of the most forcible illustrations given us of the struggles and temptations of humanity, and of genuine repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Through all the ages it has proved a source of encouragement to souls that, having fallen into sin, were struggling under the burden of their guilt. Thousands of the children of God, who have been betrayed into sin, when ready to give up to despair have remembered how David’s sincere repentance and confession were accepted by God, notwithstanding he suffered for his transgression; and they also have taken courage to repent and try again to walk in the way of God’s commandments.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 726.

How blessed we are as modern Israelites to have such an indisputable record of our loving Father’s forgiveness!

All Bible quotes NKJV unless otherwise noted.

John R. Pearson is the office manager and a board member of Steps to Life. He may be contacted by email at: johnpearson@stepstolife.org.

Our Warning Message

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History shows that when a person, family, church, or nation casts aside the law of God, there are real consequences. This process started in heaven before the creation of the world when Lucifer rebelled against the government of heaven, consequently he was cast out.

“Satan stood in amazement at his new condition. His happiness was gone. He looked upon the angels who, with him, were once so happy, but who had been expelled from heaven with him. Before their fall not a shade of discontent had marred their perfect bliss. Now all seemed changed. Countenances which had reflected the image of their Maker were gloomy and despairing. Strife, discord, and bitter recrimination were among them. Previous to their rebellion these things had been unknown in heaven. Satan now beheld the terrible results of his rebellion. He shuddered, and feared to face the future and to contemplate the end of these things.

“The hour for joyful, happy songs of praise to God and His dear Son had come. Satan had led the heavenly choir. He had raised the first note; then all the angelic host had united with him, and glorious strains of music had resounded through heaven in honor of God and His dear Son. But now, instead of strains of sweetest music, discord and angry words fall upon the ear of the great rebel leader. Where is he? Is it not all a horrible dream? Is he shut out of heaven? Are the gates of heaven never more to open to admit him? The hour of worship draws nigh, when bright and holy angels bow before the Father. No more will he unite in heavenly song. No more will he bow in reverence and holy awe before the presence of the eternal God.

“Could he be again as he was when he was pure, true, and loyal, gladly would he yield up the claims of his authority. But he was lost! beyond redemption, for his presumptuous rebellion! And this was not all; he had led others to rebellion and to the same lost condition with himself—angels, who had never thought to question the will of Heaven or refuse obedience to the law of God till he had put it into their minds, presenting before them that they might enjoy a greater good, a higher and more glorious liberty. This had been the sophistry whereby he had deceived them. A responsibility now rests upon him from which he would fain be released.

“These spirits had become turbulent with disappointed hopes. Instead of greater good, they were experiencing the sad results of disobedience and disregard of law. Never more would these unhappy beings be swayed by the mild rule of Jesus Christ. Never more would their spirits be stirred by the deep, earnest love, peace, and joy which His presence had ever inspired in them, to be returned to Him in cheerful obedience and reverential honor.” The Story of Redemption, 24–26.

Peace, joy, contentment and happiness were now only a memory of the past. Everything worthwhile was lost. It was so bad that Satan himself would gladly have gone back. Ellen White saw that he entreated the Lord for readmission, but he was irretrievably ruined. The seeds of rebellion were still in him and he could not be accepted back into heaven. He then carried on his rebellion against the law of God and caused the fall of our first parents.

People today are still deceived by the same Satanic sophistry, believing that by casting off the law of God and any restriction, they will find some kind of joy and happiness. The Bible describes this as “temporary pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25), but in the process, they actually lose their happiness, they lose their joy, and they lose their peace.

Since the fall of Adam and Eve, the enemy of God and man has taught this world to trample under foot God’s moral standard so that we are living in a time of lawlessness. Talking about the last days, Jesus said, “Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12).

“The signs of the times are plain and startling. Look into the papers that flood our world, filled with recitals of daily crimes, committed not only in the lower walks of life, but also among the higher classes. Those who occupy positions of trust, who are placed as guardians of the peoples’ interest, are untrue to their responsibility. There is embezzlement and fraud. Public money is stolen, and not one tithe of these corrupt transactions comes to the light of day, and we do not see to what extent the wickedness of the world exists.” The Review and Herald, May 2, 1893.

The condition of this world has not improved. We have very little idea about how wicked the world is. “The youth of our time are receiving their education from the evil doings of these wicked, but honored men of the world. Theft, murder, adultery, corruption, every sin that has a name, prevails to an awful extent.” Ibid. When God called His people out of Egypt, the children of Israel were the depository for the law of God, which was given to them to guard, keep and teach it, and be a witness in the world.

Deuteronomy 4 tells of the privileges the Jews had because of the law of God. Deuteronomy 6:6–9 says: “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

It is during childhood that a person’s mind is the most plastic and most receptive to new ideas, good or bad. God’s laws were to be handed down to each generation. Had the children of Israel actually done this, the whole history of the world would have been different. However, the history of the children of Israel shows how they fell into idolatry over and over again. Had they been taught the law, they would never have been in violation of the second commandment. Children did not learn from their parents the principles of God’s law.

“Had fathers and mothers followed the direction given by Christ, we should not now read and hear of sins and crimes committed not only by adults, but even by youth and children. The evil condition of society exists because parents have disregarded this instruction, and neglected to train and educate their children to respect and honor the holy commandments of God. Even religious teachers have failed to present the holy standard by which character is measured.” The Review and Herald, May 2, 1893.

The devil has continually tried to attack any religious teacher or preacher who teaches the law of God. One favorite method of attack is to accuse people of being legalists, but is it not our duty to obey God?

People are attacked with smears or slogans in an attempt to keep them from teaching the principles of God, yet this is something that should be prominent in every Christian church. Think it through. If there is no law then there is no sin, because sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4 KJV). If there is no sin, then there is no need for the gospel. If there is no need for the gospel, there is nothing for a preacher to preach and your whole religion is an empty shell. If there is no sin or wickedness then how do we know what is right or wrong behavior? Thieves and murderers would not be held accountable because all would be doing what seemed right in their own eyes. Each government has laws and without them there would be total anarchy. The same is true within God’s government.

There are consequences to all actions. The devil says you can sin, but you don’t have to pay for it; just confess it and it will be forgiven and erased. But forgiveness does not erase. Study the life of David. When he committed that sin with Bathsheba, he repented and was forgiven, but his sin was not erased. The prophet said that the sword would dwell in his family from then on, before mentioning a whole series of terrible things that would follow.

In response to Nathaniel’s question, David said that whoever committed that crime should repay fourfold, not knowing that it was he who would repay. David lost four of his sons as a result of his crime. Each loss hurt him more than if he had died himself. Surely he was forgiven, but he had to pay the consequences.

There are both eternal as well as temporal consequences to be paid for a person’s choices. Sometimes the price is damage to a person’s health, either physical or mental. The wise man said, “Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him. But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God” (Ecclesiastes 8:12, 13).

There are limits to the forbearance of God. He has drawn a line. The nation or individual who passes the limit will experience judgments.

“O that every living teacher would teach both in word and doctrine that there are limits to God’s longsuffering. Many have gone beyond the limits of His forbearance. The world should be aroused to a wholesome fear of the Lord God of hosts. The time and age in which we live is one of marked depravity; for many disregard the precepts of the law of God. The commandment of God is treated with indifference, and even with open contempt, and the inhabitants of the world are fast approaching the limits of the forbearance of the grace of God. Erelong God will arise and vindicate His honor.” The Review and Herald, May 2, 1893.

A familiar example is in Genesis: “Then He said to Abram, ‘Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete [full]’ ” (Genesis 15:13–16).

The Amorites had not yet crossed the line the Lord had set. But things changed in the fourth generation. “Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:40, 41).

What God spoke to Abraham came to pass on the exact same day predicted. When the children of Israel came out of Egypt they dispossessed the Amorites. The Amorites had had a long period of probation, but the time came when their transgression was so large that the Lord said, Enough! They had crossed the line and were guilty of those things recorded in Leviticus 18, a chapter that is rarely read in church because it is too awful.

The scary thing is that the types of things listed in Leviticus 18 are being done today and God has not changed.

“The time will come when all the transgressors of His law will know that God will by no means clear the guilty (Exodus 34:7).” The Review and Herald, May 2, 1893.

It says in Exodus 34:6, 7, “The Lord passed before him [Moses] and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.’ ”

God is merciful. In God’s government there is a mingling of mercy and justice. The devil challenged that principle and asserted that God could be just or He could be merciful, but He couldn’t be both just and merciful. However, that charge was completely answered when Jesus died on the cross of Calvary. The rest of the universe has no question about that anymore. They know that God is both just and merciful. A just penalty was paid for the sins of the world and God is merciful at the same time.

We see the limits to God’s forbearance in the example of the Jews. Jesus told them, “The one that comes to Me I will in no case cast out” (John 6:37, literal translation). If I come to Him, as bad as I am, He has promised not to cast me out, but to save and cleanse me.  Paul said He died on the cross to save even the worst, the chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).

But the Jewish nation rejected the great light and truth that was given to them. As a nation they refused to listen. They rejected the counsel of God against themselves and set themselves stubbornly against the messages and warnings that God sent them.

The time came when they had exhausted the patience of God. When people are going in the wrong way, first God sends them a message of reproof. When the people in Nineveh listened to Jonah’s message and turned around, the Lord did not send the judgments to destroy them.

The same God, with the same accuracy, keeps a record of what is happening in the world today. Nations, churches, and individuals are still being offered the wedding garment that is woven in the loom of heaven, to be prepared for the coming of Christ. The Bible says that God does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men (Lamentations 3:33).

The Lord says, “What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it” (Isaiah 5:4)? It is impossible to say that God could have done more, because when Jesus Christ came, that gave all of heaven in one gift.

There is a land that has had unrivaled mercies and blessings from God, a land that has been the greatest land of liberty that has ever existed. It has been the glory of the whole earth. It has been blessed by God more than any other country on the face of the globe. But sadly, instead of returning gratitude for His multitude of blessings by honoring God and His law, the inhabitants of the land are turning their backs on God’s law, and professed Christians of America have become leavened with pride, covetousness, and self-sufficiency.

Ellen White described the situation in America a hundred and twenty-five years ago when she said, “The love of money, which is the root of all evil, has had a large place in their [the professed Christians of America] hearts. Many whose names are upon the church records have oppressed the poor, and grasped every possible advantage over those who were under them. They have lived to gratify appetite, to make extravagant display; and pride is fast making a Sodom of our world. But God is keeping His reckoning. The treatment of the poor, the robbery of the widow and the fatherless by those who are lifted up against the weak and helpless, is all written in the book of heaven. The cries of those who are oppressed have reached the ears of Him who judgeth righteously.” The Review and Herald, May 2, 1893.

As judgment has fallen in the streets and equity cannot enter, and the one who departs from evil makes himself a victim, when this nation restricts religious liberty and sacrifices and surrenders the principles of Protestantism, and accepts again, the doctrines and the principles of the papacy, Ellen White says, Then “the measure of their guilt will be full, and ‘national apostasy’ will be registered in the books of heaven.” Ibid.

The result of this apostasy will be national ruin. It will also be a time of persecution for God’s children. Then we are instructed to pray the prayer found in Psalm 119:126: “It is time for You to act, O Lord, for they have made void Your law” (literal translation).

When the peoples of this world make void the law of God, God will intervene. These are the words of comfort that the Lord will give to His children who are faithful in keeping His law during this time of persecution that’s coming. “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name” (Revelation 3:10–12).

There are limits to the forbearance of God and there is no such thing as breaking the law of God without penalty, even during this lifetime.

Bible writers have this to say about the character of the law of God and our relation to it:

  • “The law of God is perfect” (Psalm 19:7, literal translation).
  • “The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide” (Psalm 37:31).
  • “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, you people in whose heart is My law: do not fear the reproach of men” (Isaiah 51:7).
  • “I delight to do Your will, O My God, and Your law is within My heart” (Psalm 40:8).
  • The righteous man says, “His delight is in the law of the Lord” (Psalm 1:2).
  • The whole of Psalm 119 is about the law of God.
  • “The commandment is a lamp, and the law a light” (Proverbs 6:23).

“Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:2, 3).

The third angel’s message, to be given to the world in the last days, will be given by people who keep the commandments. The judgment hour message cannot be preached without a distinct presentation concerning the law of God. If you compare Revelation 14 with Revelation 17, you will find out that the second angel’s message is a condemnation of those who break the law.

Paul said, “The carnal [unconverted] mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be” (Romans 8:7).

We as Adventist Christians have been given the responsibility to give the warning to the world that we are in the midst of the judgment right now. The standard of judgment is the law of God. Like Noah’s unpopular message of a pending flood, our message is not popular and mostly not welcome. Soon it will be too late to do what we can do right now. May the Lord help us to be faithful witnesses in getting the message out to the world.

 

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

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

The Savior is Waiting

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The sinner today has a Friend who ministers in the Most Holy Place of the sanctuary in heaven. Listen to His promise, “Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it.” Revelation 3:8. The door that He has opened is the door to the Most Holy Place where Jesus stands before the Father as our Advocate. Yes, Jesus is our advocate, to plead in our behalf before God. “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” I John 2:1.

From His high position before the Father, Jesus represents Himself as right by your heart’s door, for He says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20. Today we do not need to bring a lamb before the door of the sanctuary, confess our sins with our hands on its head, and then take its life to get rid of our sin. Oh no, we can go directly to our Mediator, Jesus Christ, and He will hear and pardon our sins.

“For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” “Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 9:24; 7:25.

My friend, that is all you need to do to inherit eternal life. “All who have truly repented of their sin, and by faith claimed the blood of Christ as their atoning sacrifice, have had pardon entered against their names in the books of heaven; as they have become partakers of the righteousness of Christ, and their characters are found to be in harmony with the law of God, their sins will be blotted out, and they themselves will be accounted worthy of eternal life.” The Great Controversy, 483.

“The Lord declares, by the prophet Isaiah: ‘I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.’ Isaiah 43:25. Said Jesus: ‘He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels.’ ‘Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven.’ Revelation 3:5; Matthew 10:32, 33.” The Great Controversy, 483.

Satan is constantly trying to interpose himself between you and your Savior. It is his objective to cut off all communication between the sinner and his Redeemer. Then he brings discouragement upon the helpless ones to make them feel like there is no hope left. “But Jesus pleads in their behalf His wounded hands, His bruised body; and He declares to all who would follow Him: ‘My grace is sufficient for thee.’ II Corinthians 12:9. ‘Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.’ Matthew 11:29, 30. Let none, then, regard their defects as incurable. God will give faith and grace to overcome them.” The Great Controversy, 489.

Dear friend, we must not minimize the work of Jesus in our behalf before the Father in the Most Holy Place, for this is essential to our salvation. “The intercession of Christ in man’s behalf in the sanctuary above is as essential to the plan of salvation as was His death upon the cross. By His death He began that work which after His resurrection He ascended to complete in heaven.” The Great Controversy, 489. Paul says that we must by faith enter within the veil, “whither the forerunner is for us entered.” Hebrews 6:20.

The sinner need not fear or doubt that Christ’s intercession for him will fail at any point. “The salvation of man is accomplished at an infinite expense to heaven; the sacrifice made is equal to the broadest demands of the broken law of God. Jesus has opened the way to the Father’s throne, and through His mediation the sincere desire of all who come to Him in faith may be presented before God.” The Great Controversy, 489.

The woman who for twelve years had suffered from a disease that made her life a burden had heard of the cures that Jesus performed. In her weakness and suffering she determined to see Jesus. When she arrived at the place where Jesus was passing by, the crowd was so great that she could only follow at a distance. Finally Jesus came near to where she was, but she could only get a passing glimpse of Him and had no opportunity to speak with Him. “Fearful of losing her one chance of relief, she pressed forward, saying to herself, ‘If I may but touch His garment, I shall be whole.’ As He was passing, she reached forward, and succeeded in barely touching the border of His garment. But in that moment she knew that she was healed. In that one touch was concentrated the faith of her life, and instantly her pain and feebleness gave place to the vigor of perfect health.” The Desire of Ages, 343.

But healing this earnest soul was not all that Jesus wished to do for her. The Savior could distinguish the touch of faith, and He would not let such trust be passed by without comment. He would speak to the humble woman words of comfort that would be to her a wellspring of joy.

Jesus recognized the touch of faith, and virtue went out from Him. He immediately responded with complete healing of both body and soul. The one who believes on the Son of God for physical healing will also receive spiritual healing, for it is the same Jesus who heals both body and soul. Jesus stopped and made a public statement of this woman’s faith and healing. He was waiting for her touch of faith, for He desired to make her whole. Jesus wants to heal every one of His children as He did this woman of faith.

Weary soul, crushed down with the burden of sin and sorrow, Jesus is waiting for you to come to Him. He not only desires to heal you, but to speak words of comfort to you that will be a wellspring of joy to you in this life and in the eternal kingdom of glory. Come to Jesus in faith as this woman did, and He will reward your faith also.

Let us consider another event in the life of Christ that reveals His deep interest in lifting up fallen individuals. John 8:1–5 says, “But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They dragged her before the group and said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’ ”

This woman had been seduced into this sin by the scribes and Pharisees. Old Testament laws said that both the man and woman caught in adultery were to be stoned. However, she was presented alone in her guilt.

“Jesus looked for a moment upon the scene—the trembling victim in her shame, the hard-faced dignitaries, devoid of even human pity. His spirit of stainless purity shrank from the spectacle. … He read the heart, and knew the character and life history of everyone in His presence.” The Desire of Ages, 461.

What would Jesus do? When would the first stone be thrown? The seeming delay and silence, following the question of the Pharisees, was torture to her despairing soul. Then she heard the words, “He who is sinless, let him cast the first stone.” The words of Jesus came to her as a death sentence. Silently she awaited her doom. That first stone never came. Astonished, she watched as her accusers, trembling lest the hidden iniquity of their own lives should be laid open to the multitude, stole away without a word.

Little did she understand the great pity and love that was in the heart of Jesus to save her soul. Then she heard the voice of Jesus. He was speaking to her: “Woman, has no one accused you?” Out of fear and shame she responded, “No one sir.” Then her ears heard these beautiful words of forgiveness from the lips of Jesus, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” [John 8:10, 11.]

Her heart was broken. His love had won her heart. Never again did she betray her Lord by slipping back into sin. Jesus was waiting for her to come to Him. In her shame and guilt she came to Him, never to leave Him again.

A few months later this woman was seen anointing the feet of Jesus for His crucifixion and burial. She used the finest perfume to be obtained. Later she was honored as the first one to whom Jesus appeared following His resurrection. He had given all for her, and in response she gave her all.

Friends, Jesus is waiting for you to give your heart and life to Him. It matters not how deep in sin you have fallen. Jesus has the power and wants to lift up and cleanse you from all your sin. His blood is sufficient to cover all your sin.

There are many today whom Jesus cannot help because they do not answer Jesus’ knock on the heart’s door. They are like the rich young ruler who came to Jesus asking, “What must I do to be saved?” This man was a lawyer. He claimed to be keeping the Ten Commandments, including the seventh-day Sabbath. He had the appearance of a good and faithful church member. Jesus’ answer instructed him to sell his earthly possessions, to help the poor and to come and follow Him. But the record says that he went away sorrowful. The rest of his life was filled with sorrow because he desired the things of this earth.

Friend, what was the difference between the rich young ruler and the two women whose stories are presented earlier? The difference is simple. The two women recognized their deep need of what Jesus had to offer. They realized their brokenness. They knew they were completely helpless in and of themselves. They each had been years in servitude to their respective problems, one exhausting all resources available for help, another living in shame and misery, each without relief. They each were looked down upon and scorned, outcasts from the “respectable” circles of society. They were humble in heart, yearning for healing. They hungered and were filled.

Notice the extreme contrast between these women and the approach and resulting outcome of the rich young ruler. He came inquiring, with a sincere heart, about his salvation. However, he felt no need. He viewed himself as already righteous, keeping the commandments in full. He had no hunger for what Jesus had to offer. His was not the approach of brokenness and humility. He had not a heart hunger for healing. He felt no disease in body or soul. He had all that this world had to offer, and felt it was enough. In fact, he was so satisfied that he went away sorrowful, unwilling to give up what, in his view, was a life of plenty.

Friend, which of these went away from their contact with Jesus satisfied? Which received the benefit they were, in their deepest soul, longing for? God is longing, yearning, to give you the healing and restoring of soul necessary for real peace. He desires to make you whole and forgive your sin. In this way only is a life of real peace and joy available. He has made every provision so that can happen. He has left nothing undone in His effort to communicate His love for you. But like the two women and the rich young ruler, we each have a choice to make. God will not force anyone’s will. He has opened the door. How? By His sacrifice foreshadowed through the services in the earthly sanctuary, and fulfilled through His life on earth and His death on the cross, and now by His ministration in the Heavenly sanctuary above. But He will not walk you through that door unless you want Him to.

If you still doubt, maybe thinking that God the Father doesn’t care, read this astonishing statement: “But the gift of Christ reveals the Father’s heart. It testifies that the thoughts of God toward us are ‘thoughts of peace, and not of evil.’ Jeremiah 29:11. It declares that while God’s hatred of sin is as strong as death, His love for the sinner is stronger than death. Having undertaken our redemption, He will spare nothing, however dear, which is necessary to the completion of His work. No truth essential to our salvation is withheld, no miracle of mercy is neglected, no divine agency is left unemployed. Favor is heaped upon favor, gift upon gift. The whole treasury of heaven is open to those He seeks to save. Having collected the riches of the universe, and laid open the resources of infinite power, He gives them all into the hands of Christ, and says, All these are for man. Use these gifts to convince him that there is no love greater than Mine in earth or heaven. His greatest happiness will be found in loving Me.” The Desire of Ages, 57. [Emphasis added.]

Truly, what more could God have given than He did? You see, it was the Father’s love in cooperation with that of Jesus that instituted the plan of salvation implemented through the sacrifice of Jesus. They, together, sacrificed on behalf of the fallen human race, God giving to His Son, who in turn gives to us.

This entire plan, this incomprehensible love, was symbolized in the earthly sanctuary service, and is now in reality taking place in the heavenly sanctuary. Dear friend, is there anything in this world today that equals the love of God for you? Jesus is indeed waiting. Will you not answer His knock today and enter through the door that Jesus has opened into the Most Holy Place, there to be relieved of your sin and misery? He is waiting there for you.

Maurice Hoppe is retired and volunteers at Steps to Life. His primary responsibility is working with the Training Program for Ministers and Church Leaders and the Training Program for Lay Workers. He also conducts a Bible Correspondence School from his home with emphasis on Bible prophecy. He can be contacted at: mauricehoppe@stepstolife.org.

Saving Faith

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But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above); or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is, the word of faith, which we preach: that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Romans 10:6–9.

May we accept these words, especially the statement in the last verse, as literally true? Shall we not be in danger if we do? Is not something more than faith in Christ necessary to salvation? To the first of these questions we say, Yes; and to the last two we say, No; and refer to the Scriptures for corroboration. So plain a statement cannot be other than literally true, and one that can be depended on by the trembling sinner.

As an instance in proof, take the case of the jailer at Philippi. Paul and Silas, after having been inhumanely beaten, were placed in his care. Notwithstanding their lacerated backs and their manacled feet, they prayed and sang praises to God at midnight, and suddenly an earthquake shook the prison, and all the doors were opened. It was not alone the natural fear produced by feeling the earth rock beneath him, nor yet the dread of Roman justice if the prisoners in his charge should escape, that caused the jailer to tremble. But he felt in that earthquake shock a premonition of the great Judgment, concerning which the apostles had preached; and, trembling under his load of guilt, he fell down before Paul and Silas, saying, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Mark well the answer; for here was a soul in the sorest extremity, and what was sufficient for him must be the message to all lost ones. To the jailer’s anguished appeal, Paul replied, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Acts 16:30, 31. This agrees exactly with the words which we quoted from Paul to the Romans.

On one occasion the Jews said unto Jesus, “What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?” Just the thing that we want to know. Mark the reply: “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” John 6:28, 29. Would that these words might be written in letters of gold, and kept continually before the eyes of every struggling Christian. The seeming paradox is cleared up. Works are necessary; yet faith is all-sufficient, because faith does the work. Faith comprehends everything, and without faith there is nothing.

The trouble is that people in general have a faulty conception of faith. They imagine that it is mere assent, and that it is only a passive thing, to which active works must be added. But faith is active, and it is not only the most substantial thing, but the only real foundation. The law is the righteousness of God (Isaiah 51:6, 7), for which we are commanded to seek (Matthew 6:33); but it cannot be kept except by faith, for the only righteousness which will stand in the Judgment is “that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.” Philippians 3:9.

Read the words of Paul in Romans 3:31: “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law.” Making void the law of God by man is not abolishing it; for that is an impossibility. It is as fixed as the throne of God. No matter what men say of the law, nor how much they trample upon it and despise it, it remains the same. The only way that men can make void the law of God is to make it of none effect in their hearts, by their disobedience. Thus in Numbers 30:15, a vow that has been broken is said to have been made void. So when the apostle says that we do not make void the law through faith, he means that faith and disobedience are incompatible. No matter how much the law-breaker professes faith, the fact that he is a law-breaker shows that he has no faith. But the possession of faith is shown by the establishment of the law in the heart, so that the man does not sin against God. Let no one decry faith, as of little moment.

But does not the apostle James say that faith alone cannot save a man, and that faith without works is dead? Let us look at his words a moment. Too many have with honest intent perverted them to a dead legalism. He does say that faith without works is dead, and this agrees most fully with what we have just quoted and written. For if faith without works is dead, the absence of works shows the absence of faith; for that which is dead has no existence. If a man has faith, works will necessarily appear, and the man will not boast of either one; for by faith boasting is excluded. Romans 3:27. Boasting is done only by those who trust wholly in dead works, or whose profession of faith is a hollow mockery.

Then how about James 2:14, which says: “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?” The answer necessarily implied is, of course, that it cannot. Why not?—Because he hasn’t it. What doth it profit if a man say he has faith, if by his wicked course he shows that he has none? Must we decry the power of faith simply because it does nothing for the man who makes a false profession of it? Paul speaks of some who profess that they know God, but who deny him by their works. Titus 1:16. The man to whom James refers is one of this class. The fact that he has no good works—no fruit of the Spirit—shows that he has no faith, despite his loud profession; and so of course faith cannot save him; for faith has no power to save a man who does not possess it. Bible Echo, August 1, 1890.

From the book, Lessons on Faith.

©1995 by Teach Services, Inc. Used with permission. www.teachservices.com

In 1888, the Lord brought a message of righteousness to the Church through Elders E.J. Waggoner and A.T. Jones. This message was identified as the beginning of the loud cry of the third angel whose glory was to fill the whole earth in preparation for the second coming of Jesus.

Are You Serious about Being Saved? Part 1

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While reading The Great Controversy, at 19 or 20 years of age, I noticed that the people who will be in heaven would have developed perfect characters while on this earth. I knew then that I did not have a perfect character, and, today, I am not sure if I know anyone who has a perfect character.

As I continued my study, I discovered that those of us who do not have perfect characters are not going to heaven. Upon this discovery, the same thought came to mind as came to the disciples, when Jesus said to them, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Matthew 19:24. And they said, Well, Lord, who then can be saved? Is there anyone who is going to be saved? (Verse 25.)

When I discovered that people who do not have perfect characters are not going to heaven, I do not think it would be exaggerating to say that I was in a state of alarm. I had been baptized for ten years. I was looked upon as a good person. I was studying to be a minister. But I knew that my character had serious defects. If you realize, also, that your character has serious defects, then what you and I want to know is what can be done about it.

Ellen White wrote: “Let no one say, I cannot remedy my defects of character. If you come to this decision, you will certainly fail of obtaining everlasting life.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 331. So, if you come to the conclusion that you cannot overcome your defects of character, and you cannot remedy your defects of character, what will happen? You will not be in heaven. This, perhaps, is one of the main reasons why the great majority of Seventh-day Adventists will not be in heaven.

A Small Portion

“I [Ellen White] would say that we are living in a most solemn time. In the last vision given me, I was shown the startling fact that but a small portion of those who now profess the truth will be sanctified by it and be saved. Many will get above the simplicity of the work. They will conform to the world, cherish idols, and become spiritually dead. The humble, self-sacrificing followers of Jesus will pass on to perfection, leaving behind the indifferent and lovers of the world.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 608, 609. She goes on to say that, in ancient Israel, only two of those above the age of 20 years who left Egypt reached the Promised Land.

Did you notice that but a small portion of those who now profess the truth will be saved? Is this not startling? She says, “the humble, self-sacrificing followers of Jesus will pass on to perfection, leaving behind the indifferent and lovers of the world.” So there will be some people who are going to pass on to perfection. By the grace of God, it is my full intention to be one of those people. How about you?

God Will Enable

Remember that all of God’s biddings are enablings. God does not tell us to do something that we cannot do. Jesus said, “Without me you cannot do anything.” John 15:5. God does not tell us to do something that we cannot do with His help. Jesus said, “Therefore you be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:48.

Mrs. White, writing to a husband who had some very serious character defects, said: “When tempted to murmur, censure, and indulge in fretfulness, wounding those around you, and in so doing wounding your own soul, oh! let the deep, earnest, anxious inquiry come from your soul, Shall I stand without fault before the throne of God? Only the faultless will be there.” Ibid., 705. Where are the rest going to be? Well, they are not going to be there! “None will be translated to heaven while their hearts are filled with the rubbish of earth. Every defect in the moral character must first be remedied, every stain removed by the cleansing blood of Christ, and all the unlovely, unlovable traits of character overcome.” Ibid.

Do you have any unlovely or unlovable traits of character? Do you have any unchristlike traits of character? Those things must be overcome, if you are to go to heaven.

“In the state which you and your family are in at present, all heaven would be marred should you be introduced therein. The work for you must be done here. This earth is the fitting-up place. You have not one moment to lose.” Ibid., 706.

No Time to Lose

I used to wonder what Ellen White meant when she wrote to individuals the words, “You have not one moment to lose.” But, you see, our time is limited. We do not have an infinite amount of time in which to overcome the things that we need to overcome. Since we do not have an infinite amount of time to overcome these things, she wrote to many, as she did this man, You do not have any time to lose; you better get busy.

She continued, in her writing to this man, “All is harmony, peace, and love in heaven. No discord, no strife, no censuring, no unloving words, no clouded brows, no jars there; and no one will be introduced there who possesses any of these elements so destructive to peace and happiness.” Ibid. How serious are you about being saved and having eternal life? Are you serious enough to say to the Lord, “Help me to learn the lesson that you are trying to teach me today”?

God knows exactly what defects are in our characters that we must overcome every day, if we are going to heaven. The Lord knows everything about this. Surrender your heart, your life, everything to Him, and say, “Lord, help me to do Your will; help me to learn the lesson You have for me today.” Every day God is going to give you a lesson. These lessons involve trials that we do not like. At times, people wonder why they are going through certain experiences. Oh, friend, God is trying to get us ready to live with Him for eternity.

Bible Supports Also

In studying this subject, we have read several statements from the writings of Ellen White. Someone may think that I am basing this study on her writings alone. No, I am just presenting these statements because they are so clear and plain and simple enough for a child to understand—not because it is not in the Bible. This subject is found all through the Bible; however, because of lack of space, we will look primarily at the New Testament.

In Genesis 17:1, God told Abraham, “I [am] the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.”

The apostle Paul talks about this same subject when he first addresses the Corinthian church. He admonishes them to be blameless when Jesus comes: “Be blameless in the day of Christ.” (See 1 Corinthi-ans 1:4–8.) In Ephesians 5:25–27, the apostle Paul remarks about the condition of the church when Jesus returns again, and he says that the church is going to be holy. It is going to be without a spot, without a wrinkle, and without any blemish; that is, without any defect.

All the apostles spoke on this subject. The apostle Peter, when counseling the church, talked to them about being found blameless and without spot when Jesus returns. (See 11 Peter 3:14–17.)

Our First Work

The work of seeking perfection of character is so important that Ellen White wrote, “Our first work is to become perfect in His sight, by living faith claiming His promise of forgiveness.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 19, 49. [Emphasis supplied.] This is how important it is!

We have been told that every soul should aim for perfection of character. “Success in any line demands a definite aim.” Review and Herald, May 16, 1912. This is why Mrs. White says, in the book Christ’s Object Lessons, 331, that if you have come to the conclusion that you cannot overcome your defects of character, that they cannot be remedied, “You will certainly fail of everlasting life.” You will not overcome your defects of character if you are not aiming to do so. This is why it is so important to take aim, and say, “Lord, help me.” If you start taking aim and praying about this, you will be astonished at what the Lord will reveal to you. He will start revealing to you what your defects are and what you need to do differently.

Ellen White wrote that if we do not develop a perfect character, we will not endure the presence of the Lord. “How earnestly should we strive to perfect a character that will enable us to stand before the Son of God! Only those who are clothed in the garments of his righteousness will be able to endure the glory of his presence when he shall appear with ‘power and great glory.’ [Matthew 24:30.]” Review and Herald, July 9, 1908.

Perfect in Character

In fact, when Jesus comes, the wicked are going to be destroyed by the brightness of His coming. She says that they are going to fall just like the Roman guards fell. “Opportunity is now given you to improve and become perfect this side of the Judgment. You must obtain a moral fitness here to meet your God. You should be right, just right, if you wish to obtain an entrance in through the gates of the holy city of God. Should your probation close today and you be brought just as you are this moment to the gate of the city, and it should open before you, and the rays of light that emanate from the throne of God should beam forth upon you, could you endure it? Could you bear it, in your sins and in your iniquity and imperfection? Could you enjoy that sacred and divine light? Not for a moment. You would drop as powerless as the Roman guard, who watched around the sepulcher of Jesus Christ, when the angels there descended to resurrect the Son of God. As that light fell upon the Roman guard, they became as dead men. They fell to the earth. They could not endure the light from Heaven, which was reflected from one mighty angel.” Ibid., April 12, 1870. We cannot endure to be in the presence of God if we are not perfect in character. Only those who are perfect in character can see God.

No one without perfection of character will enter the pearly gates. “No unlikeness to Christ will be permitted in the holy city.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 15, 171. Why? because one person taken to heaven with even a single defect of character would spoil heaven. “God will accept nothing but purity and holiness; one spot, one wrinkle, one defect in the character, will forever debar them from heaven, with all its glories and treasures.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 453.

Eventually, the same rebellion we have here on this world would pop up again, if a defect were allowed to enter heaven. The Bible says that affliction is not going to rise up the second time. (Nahum 1:9.) How glad we should be for that! Why is it not going to rise up the second time? Because God is not going to take anyone up there who has an unchristlike character. It would spoil heaven.

What Is It?

So, what is it? You can see how important it is. We cannot be saved unless we have a perfect character. If we come to the conclusion that we cannot remedy the defects in our character, it is for certain that we will lose eternal life. What is perfection of character?

If we were to state in the fewest possible words what perfection of character is, it is to be like Jesus Christ. This is one of the reasons we all need to be studying the life of Christ, so we understand what He is like and how we can imitate Him.

Aspects of a Perfect Character

We, because of our feeble minds, need some descriptions to help us understand the distinguishing traits of a person who has a perfect character. A search through the writings of Ellen White reveals a number of characteristics.

Number 1: The person with a perfect character is always patient. They never, ever lose patience. Jesus was never impatient, not even once. He did not even lose patience with Caiaphas or Herod or Pilate. He did not lose patience with the Roman soldiers who abused Him and tortured Him. He never lost patience.

Number 2: A person with a perfect character is pure in his heart. Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Matthew 5:8. Purity is a huge subject. The people of the world think that pure or impure only refers to whether or not somebody commits adultery with their body. But the purity Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount has to do with what is going on in your mind, not just what is going on with your body. What is going on in your mind?

Ellen White wrote to a young lady who had fallen in love with a man. But this man already had a wife. “I have been considering your case in connection with L, and I have no other counsel to give than I have given. I consider that you have no moral right to marry L; he has no moral right to marry you. He left his wife after giving her great provocation. He left her whom he had vowed before God to love and cherish while both should live. Before ever she obtained her divorce, when she was his lawful wife, he left her for three years, and then left her in heart, and expressed his love to you. The matter has been negotiated largely between you and a married man while he was legally bound to the wife he married, who has had two children by him. . . .

“I am astonished that you should for a moment give thought to such a thing, and place your affections on a married man who had left his wife and children under such circumstances. . . . You have both broken the law even in thinking that you might unite in marriage. You should have repelled the thought at its first suggestion.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 340, 341. Mrs. White was telling this young lady that by marrying this man she would be committing adultery, but she had already broken God’s Law in her thinking. Now, that is not complicated. (See Romans 7.)

We need to study the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy and make the decision that we are going to be pure no matter what the cost. There might be a cost for some people in being pure, but if we are really serious about being saved, we are going to ask the Lord to help us, by His grace, to become pure and remain pure, no matter what the cost.

Number 3: A person who is perfect in character always possesses self-control; they always have a calm spirit. Jesus did. Read the story of His life. The Desire of Ages describes His trial, and all the commotion surrounding it, yet He maintained a spirit of calmness and self-control, because He had a perfect character.

Number 4: A person who has a perfect character never manifests any kind of self-exaltation. They do not engage in accusations of other people; they are never harsh. Now, do not misunderstand. A person with a perfect character does acknowledge when there is something wrong. They do not deny it and hide it.

Number 5: A person with a perfect character is a person who is kind, who is refined, and who is tender-hearted.

Number 6: A person who has a perfect character has the meekness of Christ. The word meek means two things. If you study the etymology of that word, you will find that it means “to be humble” and “to be gentle.” Jesus said, “Come to Me. I am humble and gentle. You will find rest.” (See Matthew 11:28–30.)

Number 7: A person who has a perfect character is not half-hearted. If you want to make a study of this, you will find that this was Ephraim’s sin, and if you study Revelation 7, you will see that the tribe of Ephraim will not be among the 144,000. If this poses a problem for you, then you need to pray about it. You cannot go to heaven if you are half-hearted, even if everyone thinks that you are a good Christian.

Number 8: A person who has a perfect character will manifest constant obedience to Jesus Christ. They will always obey.

Number 9: This is a hard one. We already know that Jesus was humble and gentle, but Ellen White, speaking of Jesus’ perfection of character, says, “He never spoke a discourteous word.” Review and Herald, March 18, 1902. We must overcome this temptation, because no one in heaven is ever discourteous.

Number 10: A person who has a perfect character will have gentleness, forbearance, and longsuffering. His character will be manifest in his countenance.

All of those characteristics sound wonderful. The problem is, we do not have them all. We need to pray that the Lord will help us, by His grace and by His power, to remedy the defects in our characters. Remember, God never tells us to do something that we cannot do with His help. God stands behind every promise He has made. He is going to have a perfect people.

To be continued . . .

[Bible texts quoted are literal translation.]

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

How to Have Life, Part II

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If we do not have a connection to Christ, we are not Christians, no matter what our profession may be. We may, by our acts, appear to be moral, but we will not be righteous, because there is only one place to obtain righteousness. We must ask Him for the desire and the life. Our great need is not for more rules and more works and more religion, but more of Him. This is what we really need, but the desire is not natural. We need to be under the control of the Holy Spirit.

“We must be daily controlled by the Spirit of God or we are controlled by Satan.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 102. There are only two options, and every morning, when we get out of bed, we decide which one is going to control us. We do need to be under the control of the Spirit, and that comes through surrender. But to be controlled by the Spirit does not mean to be replaced by Him. When the evil spirits take over, they take over. They want to totally possess us, but the Holy Spirit does not want to possess us. He wants to empower us. The Holy Spirit works in cooperation with our faculties. He does not force; He empowers.

If we ask Him, He will teach us to love the things He loves and to hate the things He hates. When the Holy Spirit is in control, we will have total freedom—real, genuine freedom. Then we will have the power and the ability and the desire to do what is right. We will even have the right motives. Egotism will no longer be the motive, as in the worldly systems. We will be free indeed, and then the mind and the heart and the life will all be alive in Christ. Without this experience, truth is only a theory to fight about at best, and at worst, it makes us angry, and we rebel against it, calling people who obey it fanatics. If it goes far enough, we kill them, because it makes us feel guilty. That is what happened between Cain and Abel, and that is what happened with the Jewish leaders in Christ’s day. We do not like people making us feel guilty.

Nothing but the influence of Christ through the Holy Spirit can change us. We must have the original union that God gave to man. “Satan will constantly present allurements to induce us to break this tie—to choose to separate ourselves from Christ. Here is where we need to watch, to strive, to pray, that nothing may entice us to choose another master; for we are always free to do this.” Steps to Christ, 72.

Keeping the Union

Do you ever wonder how to keep that union? “Unceasing prayer is the unbroken union of the soul with God, so that life from God flows into our life; and from our life, purity and holiness flow back to God.” Ibid., 98.

Ellen White also wrote: “We may keep so near to God that in every unexpected trial our thoughts will turn to Him as naturally as the flower turns to the sun.” Ibid., 99, 100. How I would like to have that experience! Would you? When unexpected trials come, our hearts would automatically turn to God like the flowers do to the sun!

Being Born Again

Now, let us get down to brass tacks. How are we born again? In other words, what must we do to be saved? Well, that depends! How the process works depends on our mental stage when the invitation comes. Let us look at two different men who asked this same question.

“And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? [there is] none good but one, [that is], God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.” Mark 10:17–22.

Now, look at Acts 16:25–34, and see this question asked again by another man. “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed [their] stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.”

Two Men—Two Answers

Two men asked the same question. It appears that they were given two different answers. Why did not Jesus give the same answer as Paul? For the young Jew, Jesus gave a seemingly insurmountable obstacle to eternal life, and, unfortunately, it proved to be just that for him. But for the Gentile jailer, Paul gave a very simple answer. Why not the same answer? Did Paul’s response make salvation easy, while Christ’s answer made it difficult, if not almost impossible? Is salvation not freely offered to all? Matthew 11:28 invites, “Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden.” Is the gospel that we claim as simple as that?

Unfortunately, it is not always that simple. To get someone to make a right response—to surrender and trust God totally, placing themselves wholly on His side, depending on Him completely—can be very difficult. It depends very much upon where he or she is at in his or her mind, when the invitation is given. Notice that the invitation comes every day with every temptation, but the response depends on their state of mind when the invitation comes. If they are at a place where they are in dire straits, spiritually bankrupt, the invitation and response could be simple. They may readily put their whole weight on Christ and depend totally on Him. He can then help them.

But if they are at the place where they may just need a little push to get into the kingdom, as the rich young ruler, then things get a lot more complicated. The answer then depends upon their understanding of their condition and what their true need is.

How Are We?

Are we basically good, just in need of a little bit of development? Or can we, like Paul, say, “I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing”? Romans 7:18. Do we just need a little push, or do we, like Paul, have no good thing in us? Are we totally bankrupt, or are we proud of all the knowledge we have of the truth? That certainly can be a problem for historic Seventh-day Adventists; since we study more than the average person, we tend to have more knowledge, and it is easy to get proud of that.

A statement in the Review and Herald, July 23, 1889, says, “The message to the Laodicean church is applicable to our condition. How plainly is pictured the position of those who think they have all the truth, who take pride in their knowledge of the word of God, while its sanctifying power has not been felt in their lives. The fervor of the love of God is wanting in their hearts, but it is this very fervor of love that makes God’s people the light of the world.”

The Jewish people in Christ’s day were very proud of the fact that the oracles of God had been committed to them. They thought that they were quite righteous. If we are a people that have a lot of good in us that just needs a little bit of developing, I fear for us. If we are in that condition, we are in trouble. We have some hard lessons to learn. Those lessons were the purpose of John the Baptist’s message.

John the Baptist’s Message

Ellen White, commenting on John the Baptist’s message, wrote, “The message that God had given him [John the Baptist] to bear was designed to startle them [God’s people] from their lethargy, and cause them to tremble because of their great wickedness. Before the seed of the gospel could find lodgment, the soil of the heart must be broken up. Before they would seek healing from Jesus, they must be awakened to their danger from the wounds of sin.

“God does not send messengers to flatter the sinner. He delivers no message of peace to lull the unsanctified into fatal security.” The Desire of Ages, 103, 104.

Ask Not—Receive Not

That was the purpose of John the Baptist’s message—to arouse God’s people out of that lethargic condition, to help them to realize their true need. Today, we are in need of that same thing, but we do not even realize we have that need. We cannot come up with it on our own.

James 4:2 says that we have not because we ask not. Perhaps the reason we do not ask is because we either do not think we need to or we do not realize our need. We even need to ask God to show us our need. I have been asking Him to show me my need without having to go though some terrible experience in order to see it. That is one way we can learn of our need—to go through something terrible where God really gets our attention. I am certain there is an easier way to learn.

Did you ever struggle with a besetting sin? Most historic Seventh-day Adventists are not open sinners. Most of the sins with which we deal are in our thoughts—thoughts of lust, coveting, impatience, pride and anger. Do you ever cry out to God and say, “If You do not fix me, I am never going to get fixed”? That is a prayer that works well. It is amazing what God will do, when you cry out like that. Tell Him that you know that if He does not save you, you will be lost. Pray, “Lord, save me, or I will perish.” (See Our High Calling, 131.) We are told that as long as we pray that in sincerity, we will never be lost. Do you pray that? Do you cry out to God like that? If not, what will it take to get you to that point?

Remember, God had to strike Paul with blindness to get his attention. Peter was a good man, but he had to deny his Lord before God could get his attention. What will you have to go through?

Just a Little Shove

“And one of the Pharisees [Simon] desired him [Christ] that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat. And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that [Jesus] sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, And stood at his feet behind [him] weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe [them] with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed [them] with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw [it], he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman [this is] that toucheth him: for she is a sinner. And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that [he], to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped [them] with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, [the same] loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.” Luke 7:36–50.

Simon had a problem. He owed 500 pence, but he thought he only owed 50 pence. He thought everyone else owed 500, but not him. He thought that surely he was not as low as the prostitute. He definitely knew that for a fact. On the other hand, Mary had what we all need. She saw herself, like Paul, the chief of sinners. She did not have a pride problem. She knew that she had sinned much and had been forgiven much. But Simon had only sinned a little bit in his mind, and he had only been forgiven a little bit. All the others needed a lot of help, he thought, but in his mind, he only needed that little bit of a shove to get into the kingdom.

Are you like Simon, or are you like Mary? What is your attitude? What are your thoughts of your condition? Do you only need that little shove?

Lord, Help Us

Many men and women whom God has used powerfully over the years have had to learn some really hard lessons in the last few years, because they did not know their true conditions. I have had to say to God, “You know the evil thoughts in my mind. I know some of them, but You know them all. Reveal them to me, when I can handle them.”

God does not show us all of our problems at once, or it would kill us. We would die of guilt. “The path of the just [is] as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” Proverbs 4:18. It is like the sun coming up in the east. It comes up gradually, and our eyes adjust to it; it does not flip instantly on at high noon. That is the way God reveals things to us.

As He reveals our sins to us, we should ask Him to make those sins revolting to us, to give us an absolute hatred for them. Ask for the enmity that He promised in Genesis 3:15. We should ask Him to teach us to love the things He loves and to hate the things He hates. We should plead with Him that He will not allow us to ruin our reputations and our influences and bring shame to Him and His work or to cause others to stumble. We should pray that, as He helps us, we will not get puffed up or forget that He has given us victories; we have done nothing in our own power. Let us plead with Him to keep us humble and dependent on Him always.

“Let us not forget that as activity increases, and we become successful in doing the work that must be accomplished, there is danger of our trusting in human plans and methods. There will be a tendency to pray less, and to have less faith. We shall be in danger of losing our sense of dependence upon God, who alone can make our work succeed; but although this is the tendency, let no one think that the human instrument is to do less. No, he is not to do less, but to do more by accepting the heavenly gift, the Holy Spirit.” Review and Herald, July 4, 1893.

Christ’s will, His work, His teachings, His doctrines, His decisions were all from His Father. He did nothing of Himself. He stayed connected continually to His Father. Do we stay connected? Do we realize the need to stay connected?

Sift as Wheat

“And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired [to have] you, that he may sift [you] as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” Luke 22:31, 32. When Peter was sifted, he found that he was unconverted. He, fortunately, was given a second chance. There is coming a day when Satan is going to sift every one of us, and there will not be a second chance, because probation is going to close.

God has been protecting us in our weaknesses for years, but one of these days He is going to have to back off and let Satan sift us. We know that we are going to be sifted, but we should learn from Peter’s mistake, because if we repeat it in the time in which we are living, there may not be another chance to get it right.

Surrender

We have to trust and obey and cooperate with God. There is a battle to fight to enter into God’s kingdom. Are we converted? Are we converted from dependence on ourselves? Is our dependence on God? Are we surrendered?

“Many are inquiring, ‘How am I to make the surrender of myself to God?’ You desire to give yourself to Him, but you are weak in moral power, in slavery to doubt, and controlled by the habits of your life of sin. Your promises and resolutions are like ropes of sand. You cannot control your thoughts, your impulses, your affections. The knowledge of your broken promises and forfeited pledges weakens your confidence in your own sincerity, and causes you to feel that God cannot accept you; but you need not despair. What you need to understand is the true force of the will. This is the governing power in the nature of man, the power of decision, or of choice. Everything depends on the right action of the will. The power of choice God has given to men; it is theirs to exercise. You cannot change your heart; you cannot, of yourself, give to God its affections; but you can choose to serve Him. You can give Him your will; He will then work in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13.) Thus your whole nature will be brought under the control of the Spirit of Christ; your affections will be centered upon Him, your thoughts will be in harmony with Him.

“Desires for goodness and holiness are right as far as they go; but if you stop here, they will avail nothing. Many will be lost while hoping and desiring to be Christians. They do not come to the point of yielding the will to God. They do not now choose to be Christians.” Steps to Christ, 47, 48.

Many of us do not come to that point. We do not now choose to be Christians.

Exercise of Will

“Through the right exercise of the will, an entire change may be made in your life.” Ibid., 48. What is the next logical question we ought to ask? What does it mean, “the right exercise of the will”?

Mrs. White explains, “By yielding up your will to Christ, you ally yourself with the power that is above all principalities and powers.” Ibid.

I used to read that statement, and I heard it used in lots of different sermons. People would quote it a lot and say, “Through the right exercise of the will, an entire change may be made in your life.” And I would read, “You will be in constant peril until you understand the true force of the will.” Messages to Young People, 151. And, “Everything depends on the right action of the will.” The Ministry of Healing, 176. The thought that came to my mind was that I need to get my will directed in the right direction!

Getting our wills turned in the right direction is possible only as we yield them to Christ. We must ask Him to take our wills and make them in harmony with His. We cannot grit our teeth and try to twist our wills into shape; God will do the work. That is the only way it will happen. “You will have strength from above to hold you steadfast, and thus through constant surrender to God you will be enabled to live the new life, even the life of faith.” Steps to Christ, 48.

Are you converted from self-dependence to dependence upon God? If not, what will it take? I urge you to pray about it. On the authority of truth, I can guarantee you that if you ask Him, He will answer your prayer.

Righteousness by Faith

We need righteousness by faith to be able to stand in the last days. “What is justification by faith? It is the work of God in laying the glory of man in the dust, and doing for man that which it is not in his power to do for himself. When men see their own nothingness, they are pre-pared to be clothed with the righteousness of Christ.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 20, 117. It could be stated just the opposite. If we do not see our own nothingness, we are not pre-pared to receive Christ’s righteousness.

Do you want to see your own nothingness, so you can be clothed with the righteousness of Christ? If that is your desire, ask God right now to reveal to you your nothingness, and ask Him to take away your dependence on self and give you total dependence on Him.

Steve Currey is a Bible worker for Steps to Life. He may be contacted by e-mail at: stevecurrey@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

How to Have Life, Part I

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John 10:10 says, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly.” With these words, Christ proclaimed His purpose for coming to this earth—to give us life.

The word life is translated from the Greek word zoe, which, in a theological sense, is eternal life. It is the kind of life that Adam and Eve were given before the fall. They were created with zoe, but they lost it when they sinned. Their physical life was extended, but they were no longer conditionally immortal. Jesus came to restore the condition of immortality. That is in contrast with what the thief said, which is also mentioned in this verse; he came to steal and to kill and to take away that life.

Jesus said that He not only wants us to have that life but He wants us to have it more abundantly. Our physical life is a great blessing, but He wants to restore us to the original life that has been stolen by the thief.

This life of Christ is what He spoke about in Matthew 4:4, when He said that “man should not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” “Bread alone” is needed for the physical life, but the Word of God is essential for that zoe, that immortal life, that eternal life. It is for the spiritual, intellectual life.

In John 14:6, we read: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” This must be one of the most basic short verses in the entire Bible! It tells us how to get to God, how to get life, which is only through Jesus, because Jesus is the way. Jesus is the path back to the Father. That path has been lost through the separation brought on by sin. Christ is the reality of the promise that we can have that life, as He offers to unite His divine life with our human life. When those two are put together, we end up with zoe; that is the life that He wants to restore.

Man does not have any life in himself. Ellen White wrote: “Separated from God, existence may be ours for a little time, but we do not possess life.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 61. So we have existence, but we do not have life, according to the Spirit of Prophecy. An example of how this could happen is given in 1 Timothy 5:6: “But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.” This verse is talking about people who are physically alive but spiritually dead.

As previously stated, when Adam and Eve were created, God gave them this zoe life. As long as they remained perfect and connected to God, Who is the Source of life, their lives continued on in conditional eternal life. As long as there was a union between them and God, this zoe life continued, but as soon as they sinned, this union—this life- giving relationship—was broken. Life immediately began to withdraw from them. They were banished from God’s presence. By what were they banished? They were banished by sin. They were banished by their choice of being independent of God.

The serpent came along and told Adam and Eve that he had a better way, and they bought into it. So, they were separated from God by their own independence. They were still alive—alive to sinning, but they were dead to spiritual things. They were physically alive but spiritually dead. All of man’s functions, from that point on, began to operate on a natural, carnal level. Except for Christ, every man since then has experienced this broken union with God, the Source of life. Nowhere is man’s life, in its natural state, seen to be in a right state of dependence upon God.

Physically Alive–Spiritually Dead

Let us look at Ephesians 2:1–6: “And you [hath he quickened], who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus.” (Note that in some versions of the Bible quickened is interpreted as “made alive” and conversation is interpreted as “living in the pleasure of or indulging in the passions of our flesh.”) Obviously, the people Paul referred to in this passage were physically alive, but he said they were dead.

It seems that men still believe Satan’s original lie that somehow we can have life apart from God. It is called self-sufficiency, and every day that we walk out the doors of our homes and go out into the world without having hooked up to God, without having spent time with Him through His Word and prayer, we prove that we still believe that lie. We think that somehow we can have life without being connected to the Source of life.

Now, we may walk out the door and stay “moral.” God’s definition of “moral” is a lot deeper than the world’s. As for the worldly meaning, we may walk out the door and stay “moral,” but we are not spiritual. We cannot be spiritual unless we connect to the Source of spiritual life. Culture, worldly education, and even the exercise of the will may enable us to put up good fronts—at least for a time.

Mrs. White wrote: “Education, culture, the exercise of the will, human effort, all have their proper sphere, but here they are powerless. They may produce an outward correctness of behavior, but they cannot change the heart; they cannot purify the springs of life. There must be a power working from within, a new life from above, before men can be changed from sin to holiness. That power is Christ. His grace alone can quicken the lifeless faculties of the soul, and attract it to God, to holiness.” Steps to Christ, 18.

Even though culture and worldly education and the use of the will may enable us to put up good fronts and fool some people, we will not fool God. Without actually having this connection with God, we will not be able to see any further than the kingdom of man. We will not be able to understand or perceive God’s kingdom. We will still just be natural or carnal humans—possibly reasonable, good, moral humans, but if we cultivate the natural man, what do we get? We just get more of the natural man.

If we have a whole garden full of weeds and all we do is take care of those weeds, we are going to end up with weeds. We may have some good, healthy weeds, and we may have more weeds than when we started, but they are still just weeds. If we cultivate the natural man, that is all we are going to end up with—the natural man, plus self-exaltation and pride, because of the cultivation that we have given to that natural man.

Hold Fast

You may recall that these natural traits got Lucifer booted out of heaven, and if we are going to go to heaven and take his place, we are going to have to get rid of those kinds of character traits. There is no place for the natural man in the kingdom of God. The Bible speaks of two Adams, and from them two kinds of life emerged: the natural, which is standard equipment, and the spiritual, which would be like after-market equipment. The first Adam lost life by alienation from God through sin. The second Adam, Christ, came to redeem us from that separation. The Spirit of Prophecy says, “The first Adam fell; the second Adam held fast to God and His Word under the most trying circumstances.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1129. The first Adam, in other words, let go of that hold on God. The second Adam held fast. “His faith in His Father’s goodness, mercy, and love did not waver for one moment.” Ibid.

Consider the following statement very carefully. “Sin not only shuts us away from God, but destroys in the human soul both the desire and the capacity for knowing Him.” Education, 28, 29. That is a somber thought. We know that sin separates us from God, but do we realize that it also destroys our desires and capacities for knowing Him? The only way back to God is through His Son. John 17:3 tells us, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” The only way to eternal life is through the Son, but the statement above says that sin destroys both the desire and the capacity for knowing Him. Now that is a serious problem!

Sin will separate us from God, from zoe life. We have to go back to God through Christ to get zoe life, yet we cannot know Him, as we need to know Him, because of sin. Because of sin, we do not have the desire. How glad we should be that God came looking for us, and we do not have to go looking for Him! Romans 3:11 says, “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.” None of us go seeking for God; we respond to God seeking for us.

Recognize the Need

Do we realize that we need something that we do not possess? Apparently Nicodemus realized his need. John 3:1–6 tells his story: “There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

Nicodemus was a highly educated man, a member of the Sanhedrin, but apparently, with all his learning and position, he realized that something was missing. He may not have known exactly what it was, and in his pride, he may not even have known what he was looking for, but something drove him to come to Jesus.

He came to Jesus by night; he came to be taught. In his position, Nicodemus could have sent one of his servants or one of his students, but he came personally. Why did he do that? Let me answer that question with an illustration, a parable.

Pre-chewed Food

Recently, I took my wife, Paula, to a restaurant for dinner. On the bottom of the restaurant’s menu was a short statement that said we could get any item on that menu as pre-chewed food for only several dollars more than the same item cost unchewed.

I asked the waiter, “What in the world is pre-chewed food?”

He explained, “We have a couple of guys in the back that will chew up your selection for you. All you have to do is spoon it into your mouth and swallow it.”

That sounds revolting, but are we trying to live off of pre-chewed food in the spiritual capacity? Do we come to Jesus personally, as Nicodemus did, and examine Jesus’ Word? Or are we trying to live off of the pre-chewed food that we get from the pulpit? The discourse between Jesus and Nicodemus goes right to the heart of man’s problem to bring about a spiritual change from death to life. A new birth—a spiritual regeneration and re-creation—has to take place.

Nicodemus perhaps knew something radical had to happen, but he was not sure what it was or how to get it. Do you ever feel that way? Do you ever feel like something radical has to happen in your life, but you do not know what it is, where to get it, or how it happens? We all go through that from time to time. Sometimes I wonder if it is ever going to happen, but by faith, I know that God is faithful.

Greatest Need

What do we as sinners most need to receive from Christ? Christ explained that to Nicodemus.

First, we have to understand that we are born of the flesh. We are tied to sin by our nature. If we walk in our own desires, we are under the power of nature—the one with which we are born.

Second, the fleshly nature can only produce after its kind. As stated previously, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.” We know things only produce after their kind. We do not get catfish from alley cats—unless something supernatural happens, unless someone does some genetic engineering. We know that it is not normal to have things cross species. The flesh stays flesh, and the spirit stays spirit, and unless something supernatural happens, we are going to stay flesh. “That which is born of flesh is flesh.”

Third, the spiritual life in man can only be created by the spiritual power of God through the Holy Spirit. We have to be reborn from above, which indicates that it is a supernatural life. Elaborating on John 3:3, Mrs. White explains: “The Saviour said, ‘Except a man be born from above,’ unless he shall receive a new heart, new desires, purposes, and motives, leading to a new life, ‘he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ ” Steps to Christ, 18. I was referring to this earlier, when I stated that we cannot perceive the kingdom of God. The word see, in John 3:3, is actually talking about seeing with perception—not just seeing with our eyes, but perceiving with understanding the kingdom of God.

Little Boost or New Birth

“To arouse those spiritually dead, to create new tastes, new motives, requires as great an outlay of power as to raise one from physical death.” Review and Herald, March 12, 1901. Have you tried raising anyone from the dead? It takes quite a bit of power! It obviously takes supernatural power. It is very important to understand that the new birth is not the fallen nature renovated; it is a whole new life from heaven.

Recently, I heard a preacher on the radio say, “We do not need a boost from beneath; we need a birth from above.” A lot of times we think that we just need a boost to get us into the kingdom of God, but we need a whole new birth and a whole new life, if we are going to be in the kingdom.

Many do not understand that it is not a one shot deal, either. A number of people are able to tell you the date, usually back in the past, when they were “born again.” When we meet someone who says that, we need to ask him or her if they were born again this very morning. This experience must be a daily conversion. Yesterday’s victories are good, but they are not good enough for today. Each new day brings new temptations. New victories, new life from above has to happen each day. We must, like Paul, die daily and be spiritually reconnected daily to the new life. (1 Corinthians 15:31.) This comes only through the Source of life.

Cost of Connecting

That connection will cost you something, though. There is an interesting statement in the December 13, 1887, Review and Herald: “The power of evil is so identified with human nature that no man can overcome except by union with Christ. Through this union we receive moral and spiritual power. If we have the Spirit of Christ, we shall bring forth the fruit of righteousness.” Stopping right there, we could undo that equation the other way. If we do not have the fruit of righteousness, what does that tell us? It tells us that we do not have the Spirit of Christ.

Mrs. White continues, “A union with Christ by living faith is enduring; every other union must perish. Christ first chose us, paying an infinite price for our redemption; and the true believer chooses Christ as first and last, and best in everything. But this union costs us something.” Ibid. How much does it cost? “It is a relationship of utter dependence, to be entered into by a proud being.” Ibid. So, it will cost us getting rid of our pride, and a proud being does not like that.

“All who form this union must feel their need of the atoning blood of Christ. They must have a change of heart. They must submit their own will to the will of God. There will be a struggle with outward and internal obstacles. There must be a painful work of detachment, as well as a work of attachment.” Ibid. Oh, yes, the union will cost us!

Not a Self-improvement Program

When Christ gives us this life, He does not just give it to us to possess on our own. He does not make us unconditionally immortal. This life is ours only as long as we remain connected with the Source of life. Even throughout eternity, I do not believe that God just hands us immortality. We are immortal throughout eternity, because we choose never to commit sin, which separated us from zoe life in the first place. We know sin will never rise again the second time, so no one will ever choose to disconnect, but as long as we stay connected, we have zoe life, and that can begin now. (See Nahum 1:9; The Faith I Live By, 71.) We do not have to wait until Christ returns. As a matter of fact, if we wait until then, we will not have it then either. We have to start now.

God does not just hand us zoe life and say, “Now go develop yourself.” It is not a self-improvement program, a self-centered program; they fail every time. We are told, “The idea that it is necessary only to develop the good that exists in man by nature, is a fatal deception.” Steps to Christ, 18, 19. If we want to die eternally, all we have to do is stay on that program.

The world offers all kinds of self-improvement programs. They are based on ego motivation, and they do work to a certain extent. Some people do experience success with them. Many have learned to put up a good front to receive the praises of men. It seems that one of the biggest problems God has is to get man to see the bankruptcy of all purely human systems—all the human systems that the world offers—and to see the need of the entirely new, completely surrendered life to Christ. God has a difficult time getting us to see that we have that need. The last thing man wants to give up is trust in himself.

If you have ever read one of those little books that gives different facts about the Bible, you know that Psalm 118:8 is the very central verse of the whole Bible. If you were to start counting from the front then start counting from the back of the Bible, when you would get right to the middle, you would find this is the very central verse. It says something very interesting, because it is talking about the very central issue in the great controversy. It says, “[It is] better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes” or men. We are not to trust in ourselves or in anyone else. I cannot believe that it is a coincidence that this text is the central verse in the Bible.

To give up on self and to depend totally on God is so hard for us to experience, let alone believe that we need to do so. It took Paul being struck blind to be able to do it. And Peter had to deny his Lord before he could do it. I wonder what will it take before we do it.

Constant Union

Life, even spiritual life, is dependent upon God’s continued action. There must be a constant union between God and us in order for life to continue. That is the purpose for which Christ came, not only to make that union possible, but to demonstrate and show us what it looks like when it is maintained. The union begins when we respond to God’s drawing into His invitation to a new birth. It is active as long as we are connected to Him. (See John 15:1–8.)

Electrically, things work real well, as long as they are plugged in, but if they are unplugged, they are worthless. This planet chose to “unplug” itself from the Source of life. The miracle of moment by moment regeneration reverses that problem that was caused by sin. The new birth, which once again unites us with God and this life of zoe, is the result.

When Christ was here in the flesh, He maintained the union with the Father, and He prayed that we would experience that union as well. “And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” John 17:22, 23. If we do not have that connection to Christ, we are not Christians, no matter what our profession is.

To be continued . . .

Steve Currey is a Bible worker for Steps to Life. He may be contacted by e-mail at stevecurrey@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at 316-788-5559.

Why is it so Difficult to Turn Around? Part II

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The blood of Christ is so powerful that if we choose to trust in His merits, He is going to save us from every sin we have ever committed, and He is going to save us from the power of sin within. “As the high priest sprinkled the warm blood upon the mercy seat, while the fragrant cloud of incense ascended before God, so while we confess our sins and plead the efficacy of Christ’s atoning blood, our prayers are to ascend to heaven, fragrant with the merits of our Saviour’s character. Notwithstanding our unworthiness, we are ever to bear in mind that there is One that can take away sin and save the sinner.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 92, 93. There is Someone, and He can take our sins; He can save us, and He will do it if we look to Him. The next sentence says, “Every sin acknowledged before God with a contrite heart, He will remove.” Ibid., 93. If we confess our sins before the Lord, He will take them away. Then Mrs. White says, “This faith is the life of the church.” Ibid. Does our church have life in it? It only has life in it if we are confessing our sins and asking the Lord to take our sins away.

We are in grave danger—in the Adventist world more so than in some other churches—of becoming Pharisaical in our attitudes. We believe that God will give us the power and the ability to overcome sin, but we are never to say that we are sinless in this world—never. We live in a temple of fallen, sinful flesh, and the only way that we can keep ourselves from sin is the same way that Peter was kept from sin.

Keep Focused

Remember when Peter got out of the boat, and Jesus said, “Come to Me,” and he started walking on water? (Matthew 14:25–32.) As long as he was looking to Jesus, he was held up, but when he turned his eyes away from Jesus, he started to sink immediately. If the most holy man or woman in this world looks away from Jesus, he or she will go down immediately.

People come to me and ask, “Did you hear about so and so? How in the world? They have been a Christian for X many years.” It does not matter how many years. If any one of us turns away from Jesus and we are not keeping our eyes on Him, we are going to go down. As we are told, “We cannot keep ourselves from sin for one moment” without Jesus. The Ministry of Healing, 180.

If we keep looking at Him and toward Him, the Holy Spirit has in mind to work for the people of God today more than at any other previous time in the history of the world. But the Holy Spirit cannot do that unless we will turn and keep focused.

When President Ronald Reagan died [June 5, 2004], an associate was asked, “What did you learn from him?”

One of the things he said was, “I learned from him to keep focused.”

I thought, “That is a good idea for Christians, except we need to be sure that we are focused in the right direction and on the right Person.”

The devil wants to keep us from focusing our eyes, from turning our eyes, from looking to Jesus, because he knows that any day, any hour, when we are not focused on Jesus, we are going to go down. The devil is going to come and tempt us, and the temptation from without is going to be responded to by the sinful nature from within, and we will go down. The devil knows that. Since the devil knows that, what is he trying to do in our lives?

Eclipse

Have you ever heard of an eclipse? An eclipse is when either the light from the sun or the light of the moon is blocked. There is something between it and the earth, and its light is blocked from the earth. That is what the devil wants to do in our lives. He wants to eclipse our view of Jesus, because he knows that if we do not keep our eyes focused on Him, we are going to go down.

Are our eyes focused on a preacher, a teacher, an elder, or a deacon? What if they lose their sight? What if Jesus is eclipsed in their minds, and they start to go down? If we are focused on them, we will go down at the same time. There is One who can keep us from going down, if we keep focused on Him. The devil knows that.

We are living in a generation in which the devil has invented a thousand ways or more to get our attention on all kinds of things so that we will not keep our attention on Jesus. For some people, it is pleasure. We have available to us every kind of imaginable pleasure. Because of all of our electronic gadgets, we have more pleasure in the world today than there has ever been experienced in any previous time in this world’s history. We have videos and soundtracks, CDs and DVDs, television and tapes, and every kind of imaginable thing, and we can easily concentrate on those things and forget about Jesus.

We also have more access to food today than any previous generation that has ever lived. In the town in which my family lived when I was a boy, a person could not go downtown at 10 or 11 o’clock at night and get something to eat. The restaurants in those days were open certain hours for breakfast, certain hours for lunch, and certain hours for supper. Now we have fast food restaurants—called that because you can get the food quickly. An individual does not have to wait ten minutes for their food to be prepared, and many of these establishments are open 24 hours a day.

Some people are not focusing on the Lord, because they have their minds on food. Other people may have their focus on education; others have their focus on power.

Ellen White wrote, “It has been Satan’s determined purpose to eclipse the view of Jesus and lead men to look to man, and trust to man, and be educated to expect help from man. For years the church has been looking to man and expecting much from man, but not looking to Jesus.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 93. That is our problem.

Looking to Man

At the ministry, we frequently receive telephone calls from people who want us to answer questions. We are not priests; we are not a pope. How do the people expect us to answer all of these things? We are just human beings. We are not God. We are not prophets. Why do people ask us so many questions? It is because they have been educated to look to man and expect help from man. When people do not know the answer, they say, “I will go to my pastor. If he does not know the answer, we will call some high-powered preacher in some ministry somewhere. We will get the answer from him.” We each need to be looking to Jesus to get direction in our lives. All the pastors I know are just human beings. They need salvation just as much as you and I do. They need direction and guidance from the Lord just as much as we do. The good news is that the Lord is willing to guide and direct each one of His people.

Since I am a Protestant preacher, I do not believe that God’s people have to go to a priest to find direction for their lives. That is the devil’s plan. See to it that the devil is foiled. We need to get our eyes focused on Jesus and turn to Him, because when we look to Him, the Scripture says, “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! Because I am God, and there is not anybody else.” Isaiah 45:22. We have to get our eyes on the real Leader and not simply look at each other.

A very interesting Scripture on this subject is found in John 3:31. John the Baptist said: “The One who comes down from above is above all things. The one who is of the earth is of the earth and speaks of the things of the earth. The One who is coming from heaven is above all things.” That text tells us we can know whether or not we are converted by how we speak and by the things about which we talk.

“What He has seen and heard, this He bears testimony, and His testimony nobody receives.” Verse 32. Why do they not receive it? “The one who does receive His testimony is set to His seal that God is true. For whom God sent, the words of God speaks, for not out of measure does He give to him the Spirit. The Father loves the Son, and He has given all things into His hand. The one who believes on the Son has eternal life, and the one who is disobedient to the Son will not see life but the wrath of God abides [or remains] upon him.” Verses 33–36. Oh, friend, do you have your eyes on the One that can really help you?

Be Set Free

In my work, I deal all the time with people who are having very real and very severe problems. There are people in the Wichita [Kansas] community who are not just sick and in the hospital but who have severe financial problems. There are people who are struggling with different habits of long duration, and they want to be set free. Jesus is the only One that can set them free.

If you want to be set free, you need to turn to where the help is. I am not the help, but I can tell you where the help is. The help is in Christ, not in me. If you really want help, you need to turn to Him and say, “Lord, I am a sinner. I am down here in this pit, and I cannot get out. But You promised that if I looked to You, You would set me free, and I am claiming Your promise.” Can God set people free that are alcoholics? Yes. I have seen it happen. Can God set people free that are fornicators and adulterers and homosexuals? Yes, He can. Can God set people free that are addicted to one kind of drug or another? He can set them free.

Remember, there is One who, if you acknowledge your sin and ask for His help, will set you free from all sin. He has promised to do this. “Notwithstanding our unworthiness, we are ever to bear in mind that there is One that can take away sin and save the sinner.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 93. Do not get discouraged because you are a terrible sinner. The longer I live, the more I realize that we are all terrible sinners. It is just that some of us do not realize it. But if you acknowledge your condition to the Lord and look to Him, He is going to deliver you. He has promised to deliver you, and you must not give up just because you do not feel like you are being delivered right at the moment. There are many illustrations in the Bible about that.

Do Not Give Up

Do you remember the time when Elijah was praying for rain and he told his servant, “Go! Look and see if there is any cloud”? (See 1 Kings 18:41–46.)

The servant reported, “No, I do not see any cloud.”

So Elijah knelt down and prayed again. He said, “Lord, you promised when your people repented that You would send rain, so I am asking You to fulfill Your word.” He sent his servant again.

Again the servant reported, “No, no cloud.” Finally, after the seventh time, the servant said, “Well, I see just a little tiny cloud.”

Elijah said, “That is all I need. It is going to rain.”

Friend, if you have the faith of Elijah and you keep praying, the Lord is going to send you a cloud with some rain, too—the rain of the Holy Spirit.

Staying Turned Around

When some people turn toward the Lord, the Lord starts working in their lives and solving problems in their lives, and then, for some reason, they turn back to something else. I have seen that happen so often.

How do we stay turned around? In John 15, Jesus said, “Abide in Me.” (Verses 4–7.) If we want to be delivered from sin, we have to turn toward Him and stay turned toward Him. As Ronald Reagan said, “You have to stay focused.”

Staying focused is the subject addressed in 1 John 3:9–24: “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, [who] was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous. Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not [his] brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love [of God], because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down [our] lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels [of compassion] from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, [then] have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.”

How to Abide in Christ

In summary, this passage of Scripture teaches how to abide in Christ. If you are going to stay or abide in Him, the following characteristics must be developed in your life:

Number One. The one who abides in Him will cease to sin. You can see that very clearly in verses 7 to 10. If there is some sinful habit in your life and you turn toward the Lord and He delivers you from that, you cannot turn back toward that habit and keep focused on the Lord at the same time. Does that make sense? A minister I know once said it like this: “Even if you are the greatest sinner, and your sin is the biggest, if you turn toward the Lord, the Lord can save you from the biggest sin. But He cannot save you from the smallest sin if you are not willing to give it up.” That is one of the reasons that people lose their souls—there is some sin in their lives that has been called a “darling” sin. (See Messages to Young People, 112.) Do you have a darling sin? Is there some sin in your life that you love more than you love Jesus? Now, let me tell you, Jesus never told somebody to sin another day. If you choose to go on in sin, you love that sin more than you love Jesus, because He would tell you to stop. If you are going to keep your eyes focused on Jesus, you must choose to let the sin fall away. You have to focus on Him, and choose not to sin. You will never stop sinning until you choose to no longer sin. If you choose not to sin, the Lord will give you the strength.

Several years ago, I knew a man who had a problem with alcohol. He asked for prayer that he would quit drinking alcohol. I told him that we would pray for him and assured him that the Lord could deliver him from alcohol. Several of us encircled him, and we prayed that the Lord would deliver him from alcohol, but the Lord did not do it. I could not figure out what was going on, because we had prayed for him, but the desired result did not happen.

A few days later, he returned. He had the victory! He told us why the victory did not come before. “I had a little flask of alcoholic beverage that I always kept under the seat of my car,” he revealed, “so if the temptation became irresistible, I would have a way out.”

One day, after we had prayed for him, and the Lord had not answered our prayers, he said that he was driving, and the Holy Spirit spoke to him: “What about this alcohol? You asked the Lord to deliver you from alcohol, and you have alcohol right underneath the driver’s seat in your car.”

He said, “All right, Lord.” Stopping the car on the side of the road, he retrieved the flask and got out of the car. Going around the car, he opened the flask and poured its contents out onto the ground. Immediately he had victory from that sin. Why? That was his darling sin. He could not give it up on his own, but when he chose to give it up, the Lord gave him the victory.

The Lord will give you the victory, too, just as soon as you are willing to give up your darling sin and say, “I want Jesus to come into my life, and I am willing to give up my darling sin.”

Number Two. The one who abides in Him practices righteousness.

Number Three. The one who abides in Him loves his brother.

Number Four. The one who abides in Him keeps His commandments.

Number Five. The one who abides in Him does those things that are pleasing in His sight.

Number Six. The one who abides in Him trusts in Jesus.

Number Seven. Jesus says that the one who abides in Him receives the Holy Spirit.

Danger of Procrastination

Now I have a question to ask you. Are you going to choose to look to Jesus today? So often there is a darling sin in someone’s life and he or she says, “Yes, Lord, I am going to look toward You tomorrow.” Why do they say that? Because there is some darling sin in his or her life—it could be alcohol; it could be tobacco; it could be drugs; it could be dishonest dealing; it could be pornography; it could be a hundred different things—that they do not want to give up today. They say, “Yes, I realize I have to give that up, but I am going to give that up tomorrow.”

Do you know that procrastination has caused millions of people to be lost? You can only be saved today. Nobody is ever saved tomorrow. You are only saved in the present, when you make a decision. Someone may say, “I will make a decision tomorrow.” Well, I hope you do, but the trouble is that many times, after you have practiced procrastination for awhile, it gets to be a habit, too. It gets to be such a bad habit that the only way God can reach procrastinators is to send them a terrible jolt in their lives.

I have developed a habit of saying, “Lord, help me to learn the lesson You are trying to teach me without having to send these jolts to get my attention.” Do you want to make a decision today and say, “Lord, I am choosing. I am going to look to Jesus”? Do not tell me you are too bad a sinner. That is not true. I am not concerned about the bad sinners. I am more concerned about the people that do not think they are very bad.

If you know that you are a sinner and you need salvation, Jesus came into this world to save people like you that are sinners. If you will look toward Him, if you will focus your attention on Him, He will deliver you from the sins in your life. If you want to turn to Him and be saved, kneel down right now and pray that the Lord will turn you toward Him and keep you focused.

[Some Bible texts quoted are literal translation.]

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

Why is it so Difficult to Turn Around? Part 1

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God’s work is going to be finished soon, and I want to be part of it when it finishes—do you? In this article, I want to study with you about what the Holy Spirit can do in our lives. The best title, though, that I could come up with is, “Why Is It so Difficult to Turn Around?” There are many people for whom the Holy Spirit cannot do anything in their lives, because they will not turn in the right direction.

Gospel Order

In the early church, when the Holy Spirit was poured out, 3,000 people were converted in a day; many more accepted Christ, and God added to their numbers daily. (Acts 2:41, 47.) How did someone become a member of the apostolic church? When the people heard that they were the ones that crucified Jesus, they were pricked in their hearts and they asked, “What shall we do?” Peter told them, “Repent and be baptized.” (Verses 36–38.) All through the New Testament baptism is the door into the church.

We need to recognize that when the Holy Spirit comes, He never does away with gospel order. God always works in an organized way. That is why, before we have a baptism, it is our custom to entertain a motion that the baptismal candidates be accepted into church membership, subject to their baptism. That is orderly procedure. The Holy Spirit does not work in a disorderly way; the Holy Spirit works in an orderly way. Things were done this way in the New Testament. If a person was baptized and professed faith in Jesus, then he or she became a member of the church. But, the Holy Spirit cannot do anything for you or for me unless we turn around.

Turn Around

In the Bible, the basic meanings of the Greek and Hebrew words that are translated “to be converted” or “to repent” simply are “to change your mind” or “to turn around.” The Holy Spirit cannot do anything for us if we do not change our minds or turn around. Isaiah 45:22 says, “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! Because I am God, and there is not anybody else.” In other words, there is no other God. The first word of the verse, in my Bible, is turn, “turn to Me.” If we do that, we will be saved. Some Bible versions say, “look to me;” it means the same thing.

From this verse, we can see that it is vital that we turn to the Lord and look to Him, so we can be saved. Remember, I have entitled this article, “Why Is It so Difficult to Turn Around?” It is difficult to turn around, because from our memory banks, we have things in our minds that we have believed for a long time. After we have believed something for a long time, we are just sure that it is the truth, even though it may not be. That is what happened to the Jews in the days of Jesus. There were certain things that they had known for so long that they were sure that they were the truth, but they were not.

Believing an Error

“The Jews refused to receive Christ, because He did not come in accordance with their expectations. The ideas of finite men were held as infallible, because hoary with age.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 64. They had believed it for so long that they thought it was infallible.

That would never happen again, would it? Read the next sentence: “This is the danger to which the church is now exposed.” Ibid. What is the danger to which we are exposed? That we have believed certain things for so long that we just know that is the way it is.

No matter how long we have believed an error, at some point in time, we are going to be forced to recognize it was not so. A lot of people are not going to recognize until the end of the millennium that what they believed was not truth, but they are going to recognize it then. Every error that an individual has believed, he or she is going to be forced, at some point, to acknowledge, but it will be too late someday to be saved, even though the error is acknowledged.

“This is the danger to which the church is now exposed—that the inventions of finite men shall mark out the precise way for the Holy Spirit to come.” Ibid., 64, 65. What is the danger? That we will get in our minds the way that the Holy Spirit has to come, and if the Holy Spirit does not come the way that we think, we will not accept it. Ellen White goes on to write, “Though they would not care to acknowledge it, some have already done this.” Ibid., 65. That is alarming!

In another statement, Mrs. White wrote: “They [ministers, church leaders] will not open their eyes to discern the fact that they have misinterpreted and misapplied the Scriptures, and have built up false theories, calling them fundamental doctrines of the faith.” Ibid., 70. What are these false theories called? They are called fundamental doctrines of faith. Who was building up these false theories and calling them fundamental doctrines of faith? The leading Seventh-day Adventist ministers. We would never do that again, would we?

Well, read the following statement: “Even Seventh-day Adventists are in danger of closing their eyes to truth as it is in Jesus, because it contradicts something which they have taken for granted as truth . . . .” Ibid. How interesting! We are in danger of closing our eyes to the truth. Why? Because the truth contradicts something that we think is the truth, and we have thought it was the truth for so long that we are sure we know.

Know for Sure

Galileo threatened with imprisonment Let me ask you a question just to make you think. How many things do you know for sure that are not so? You cannot answer that. Since you know it for sure, you do not know which things that you know for sure are not so. If you study history, you know the story of Galileo. In the 1600s, the whole world was sure that they knew the truth—that the earth was the stationary center of the universe. Through his studies and research, Galileo discovered this theory was false, but his newfound knowledge directly contradicted the long-standing geocentric view held by the Roman Catholic Church. Galileo was threatened with imprisonment if he did not recant. The trouble was, he was right, and the whole world was wrong. (“Galileo Galilei,” www.About.com, cited October 5, 2004.)

There are many stories in the Bible like that. The most famous one, of course, is the one of Noah. People thought that Noah could not be right, because everybody else believed something else. I have stated it before, and I will state it again: The truth is never, ever dependent on numbers. Never. If you were the only person in the whole world who knew that the seventh day is the Sabbath, if there was not another person in the whole world that knew that the seventh day is the Sabbath, it would still be the truth. The truth is the truth whether anyone believes it or not.

“Many things will appear distinctly as truth which will not be acceptable to those who think their own interpretations of the Scripture always right. Most decided changes will have to be made in regard to ideas which some have accepted as without a flaw.” Ibid., 76.

An Adventist minister wrote a letter to a lady recently, stating, “Everybody (all the Adventists) believes this except ,” and he named a heretic who did not believe it. Does that make it right, because everybody believes it? We can never determine what the truth is just by how many people believe something. In the days of Christ, if we had done that, we would have rejected Jesus. We would also have rejected John the Baptist, Elijah, Noah, the apostle Paul, Martin Luther, and James and Ellen White.

It is vital that we each have an open mind and pray, “Lord, if there is some area in my life where I need to be willing to change my thinking about something that I have known all my life but that evidence now shows it to not be so, turn me around.”

Self-Exaltation

Did you know that error is more attractive than truth to the human mind? Did you know that truth is unpopular? Was truth unpopular when Jesus was here? It most certainly was. Why?

We may have trouble understanding why someone would not want to know and believe the truth. Have you ever given a Bible study to someone who told you, “I just want to know the truth”?

You say, “Well, good, let us study the truth.” You start to study with them, and after awhile they do not want to study anymore, because they found out something they did not want to hear. Have you ever seen that happen?

The fact of the matter is that error is more attractive to the human mind today than is truth. Ellen White gave an illustration as to why that is true. She said, “Truth was unpopular in Christ’s day. It is unpopular in our day. It has been unpopular ever since Satan first gave man a disrelish for it by presenting fables that lead to self-exaltation.” The Desire of Ages, 242. If space allowed, we could go through many, many, many of the false doctrines that are being proclaimed today, and we would see the connection between those false doctrines and self-exaltation. That is why the truth is unpopular. But it is not just self-exaltation; that is only one reason.

After we have believed something, if we are going to turn, the Lord says, turn, “Turn to Me and be saved.” Why is it so hard to turn? How many people have you met lately that like to acknowledge that they have been wrong? We each have what is known as pride of opinion. Please do not tell me that you are the only human being in the world that does not have that. That would be difficult for me to believe. This is a universal, human problem. We do not like to acknowledge that we may have been wrong on something, but remember, the devil has introduced myths and fables that lead to self-exaltation. It is humbling for us to admit that we have believed a fable.

This happens the most with fanaticism. One day, a long time ago, my brother Marshall and I were talking about fanaticism, and he told me, “The thing behind fanaticism is spiritual pride.” I had never considered that before, but after pondering that thought for a few years, I had to agree; that is exactly what it is.

If we know something that other people do not know, we have pride, because we have insider knowledge that not everybody has. We have the inside scoop. We feel better than those other poor folks who do not have the knowledge that we have. That is one of the driving forces of fanaticism. It leads to self-exaltation.

There are people who get rich telling other people that they will give them the inside scoop about this or that or something else. I get letters from such people all the time. The problem is, they always want money to give me the inside scoop, so I do not have the inside scoop about very much.

Who is in the most danger of getting involved in this special insider knowledge and fanaticism? Someone may say that it is the person that does not have very much education. That is 180 degrees wrong! The people that are in the most danger are people such as ministers, physicians, lawyers, and other people that are highly educated and very intelligent. Of all people, they are in the greatest danger of getting snagged into fanaticism and error. It is more attractive than the truth.

We Avoid Humiliation

We have already started to look at why error is more attractive than the truth and why it is difficult to turn around. We have seen that it is very difficult and humiliating for us to acknowledge that we have been wrong. It is hard to acknowledge that we have made mistakes. We are afraid that others will think less of us. Our pride is injured; we are humiliated. We desire to avoid this humiliation as long as possible. That is what leads to procrastination.

Have you noticed that, as you study the Bible with people and they come to understand some things that they need to change in their lives if they are going to come into harmony with the Bible, they put off making the changes? It is humiliating for them to acknowledge that they have been in error, so they stall as long as possible.

I worked with an evangelist one time who said, “Do not ever make the person that you are studying with the ‘goat’ of whatever you are talking about. If there is a problem, do not let them be responsible for it. Put it on somebody else, because they cannot take it.” It is difficult for us to turn around, because it is hard for us to acknowledge when we are wrong. It is hard to acknowledge our mistakes.

We do not want to be humiliated, so sometimes people do what the Jews did. The Jews started to resist the truth when John the Baptist was there, and then they resisted the truth more when Jesus came. After Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected from the dead, they could not refute it. You would think they would have turned then, but they did not. Have you ever wondered why they would not turn to the Lord when they had the evidence of the resurrection and the ascension? There were over 500 witnesses that could have said, “We saw Him, and we talked to Him.” (See 1 Corinthians 15:6.) Why did they not turn? Because they had developed a habit.

I am mentioning this, because I am frightened of Adventists developing a similar habit. If we develop a habit and promote and practice it long enough, it will become almost impossible for us to turn around. Our pride will be at stake. The time may come when we have resisted something so long that even if it is proven to us to be truth, we would continue to resist it.

Resisting Truth

“Every act of resistance makes it harder to yield. Being the leaders of the people, the priests and rulers felt it incumbent on them to defend the course they had taken. They must prove that they had been in the right. Having committed themselves in opposition to Christ, every act of resistance became an additional incentive to persist in the same path. The events of their past career of opposition are as precious treasures to be jealously guarded. And the hatred and malignity that inspired those acts are concentrated against the apostles.

“The spirit of God revealed its presence unto those who, irrespective of the fear or favor of men, declared the truth which had been committed to them. Under the demonstration of the Holy Spirit’s power, the Jews saw their guilt in refusing the evidence that God had sent; but they would not yield their wicked resistance. Their obstinacy became more and more determined, and worked the ruin of their souls. It was not that they could not yield, for they could, yet would not. It was not alone that they had been guilty, and deserving of wrath, but that they armed themselves with the attributes of Satan, and determinedly continued to be opposed to God. Every day, in their refusal to repent, they took up their rebellion afresh.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 74. That is why it is difficult to turn around—all of those reasons.

How to Turn

Now let us look at the good news of how to turn around, and what will happen if we do turn around. Jehovah said to Moses, as recorded in Numbers 21:8, 9, “Make for you a fiery serpent, and put it upon a pole; and it shall be that everyone who has been bitten and shall look upon it will live. And Moses made a bronze serpent, and he set it upon [a pole], and it was, if anyone had been bitten by a snake among men, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.” There was not any power in that bronze serpent to make anyone live, and he or she knew that. It was not the serpent; it was the fact that they chose to turn and to look at it. In other words, they chose to look in the right direction. They chose to look to the Lord, to turn and look toward Him. This Scripture applies to every person in this world, because we have all been stung. The Bible, in Revelation 12, talks about “that ancient serpent,” and we have all been stung by it. That serpent’s bite is lethal; it will kill us forever. Unless God’s divine power is exercised in our behalf, we are lost 100 percent of the time.

But what happened, when the serpent had stung the people, if they chose to look toward the bronze serpent? They lived! We do not need to make it complicated. That is what the Scripture says. There is Someone that, if we look to Him, can and will heal us from all the consequences of sin. He will take our sins away. If we do not turn to Him, He will not take our sins away; we will die forever.

I have noticed over and over again that the people who are involved in all kinds of sin are looked upon as the worst of human beings, yet they get saved, because they recognize that they have a problem. People who have not been involved in some kind of crime or other terrible sin—at least they do not think of what they do as a terrible sin—do not get saved, because they think they are pretty good already. They are like the Pharisees of Jesus’ time. The Pharisees today may say, “I have never robbed a bank.” An elderly man once told me that he had never told a lie! I thought, “Brother, I am not sure but what that is the biggest one you have told!”

Friend, if you say, “I have never lied; I have never robbed a bank; I have never taken any illicit drugs; I have never committed fornication; I have never done what other people do, so I am okay,” you might be the worst sinner in church, the worst sinner in the land! Jesus told the Pharisees that the prostitutes and the tax collectors would go into the kingdom before them, because they were victims of spiritual pride.

All Have Been Stung

The Bible teaches that the ancient serpent has stung every single human being. But there is Someone that can take all that away from us, and He will take it away, if we will look to Him. We cannot look to Him the way the Pharisees did. They never got saved. We have to look to Him the way the tax collector did, and say, “Lord, I need a Saviour. I need somebody to save me. I am in a pit that I cannot get out of.” The fact of the matter is that every single human being in the world is in a pit he cannot get out of without Jesus. The only difference is that some people know it, and some people do not know it. Sometimes the Lord has to let us get into big trouble, so we can find out our need.

The blood of Christ is so powerful that if we choose to trust in His merits, He is going to save us from every sin we have ever committed, and He is going to save us from the power of sin within. “As the high priest sprinkled the warm blood upon the mercy seat, while the fragrant cloud of incense ascended before God, so while we confess our sins and plead the efficacy of Christ’s atoning blood, our prayers are to ascend to heaven, fragrant with the merits of our Saviour’s character. Notwithstanding our unworthiness, we are ever to bear in mind that there is One that can take away sin and save the sinner.” Ibid., 92, 93. There is Someone—He can take our sins; He can save us, and He will do it, if we look to Him. The next sentence says, “Every sin acknowledged before God with a contrite heart, He will remove.” Ibid., 93. If we confess our sins before the Lord, He will take them away.

To be continued . . .

[Some Bible texts quoted are literal translation.]

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