Salvation

Getting Out of a Bad Marriage, part 2

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“For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath subjected the same in hope. Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” Romans 8:19–23.

Now we have received the firstfruits of the Spirit. That does not mean that we are now to receive only a little of the Spirit but that we get the Spirit as the firstfruits or the advance money—the earnest—of our inheritance. Paul proves this in Ephesians 1:13, 14: “In Whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in Whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of His glory.” Then, having the Spirit of God and being the sons of God is entering upon the riches of our inheritance now. We begin to share the riches of that inheritance now; and if we continue to be the sons of God, we continue in our inheritance right along through eternity, the only difference being that when the Son of God comes, we shall have the full inheritance and glory of it.

By looking at these promises this way, we can see how it is that heaven begins right here on earth. If we really take hold of these things by faith, we can carry the Spirit of God with us; and we shall know the peace and joy of heaven.

“For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit maketh intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered.” Romans 8:24–26.

I have been at our meetings and have heard one after another arise and bear testimony and close with the words, “Pray for me.” Christ Himself prayed for us; and the Holy Spirit Itself is making intercession for us, with groanings that cannot be uttered. Brethren, while we can ask for others to pray for us, cannot we take hold by faith and appropriate the prayers that are being continually offered for us in heaven above? Even if the brethren do not pray for us, we have the joy and comfort of knowing that Christ and the Spirit are praying for us.

For myself, I can understand these things and draw encouragement out of them just this way: I go to God and lay my soul open before Him and ask Him to give me—what shall I ask for? Sometimes the words are gone, and I can think of nothing, only an inexpressible desire for something more than I have; but the Holy Spirit knows what I need and knows the mind of God. It knows just what God has to give me; and so it makes intercession for me, and God gives exceeding abundantly above all that I can ask or think. The Spirit of God takes those thoughts that we cannot put into words and can scarcely think and transmutes them into words and petitions before the throne of God. He that searcheth the hearts of men knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit.

I am persuaded that a great many of us make a great mistake in this matter of searching the heart. We hear brethren saying that they “are going to search their hearts and put away all of the evil things that they can find to be in them.” Says Jeremiah, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” Jeremiah 17:9, 10. We are here on earth and in a sinful condition. We admit that we are not in that spiritual condition that we ought to be so we will search our hearts and put away all of the wickedness that we can find in them. We cannot do it, for the heart will deceive us every time. Yet God can search the heart, and He does; and if we will take the result of His searching, great will be our joy. For it is the Comforter Who brings these sins to our hearts that the Lord hath searched out, and this very act of bringing our sins before our eyes is a part of the comfort of God. Yes, by the very work of making known our sins to us, God gives us comfort.

Now we come to the most blessed and the most glorious part of this most glorious chapter.

Nothing Bad Happens to the Christian

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified; and whom He justified, them He also glorified.” Romans 8:28–30.

The twenty-eighth verse is quoted wrong very often and applied wrong, very much more often, just by the changing of tense. People read it, “We know that all things will work together for good to them that love God.” But that is not what Paul says. He says that all things work together for good, at the present time, for those who love God. “But,” says one, “I do not know that they do.” Well, just take hold of this Scripture and believe it; and then you will know it. The only way that we can know is by believing the Word of God. We shall then find that all things do work together for good to them that love God. This is the joy of the Christian—that there cannot anything bad happen to him.

Some say, “There is a special class to whom this is so.” Yes, that is true; there is a special class, and that special class is composed of those who love God. We know whether we love God or not, therefore we know whether we can appropriate this promise or not. Is there not reason enough to love God? Some say, “I want to love God more. I know that I do not love Him enough.” How absurd this is, just as if the love of God was a duty that we could drive ourselves to perform. Love cannot be forced; the very act of forcing a person to love another would show that there was not any love at all. How do we love any object for which we do have affection? Simply because it is lovable in our eyes; and the more we know of that thing we love, the more we love it. Then the more we know of God, the more we shall love Him. As we come to His Word, from which we must get our knowledge of Him, we see the wideness of the mercy of God; and we cannot help loving Him. Why cannot we help loving Him? Because He first loved us. Then, if we would love God more, study His love more as it is revealed in His Word.

Now how about this class—”To them who are the called according to His purpose”? Here we have the matter of “calling,” and that causes some to be discouraged sometimes. A brother will say, “Perhaps I am not called, I am not at all sure that I am; and therefore it does not work good for me.” That matter of “calling” can be settled very easily. Who has God called? “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” Revelation 22:17. The call is to every man and woman and child on earth.

Now we are “called” and “elected.” Sometimes we get wonderfully afraid of that word elected. Is there any need to be afraid of that term? No. For every individual can be a candidate, and every candidate can be elected. In II Timothy 1:9 we read, “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.” Mark you, His own purpose is a purpose of grace; and the free gift by grace comes upon all unto justification of life. Now note what the election is:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved.” Ephesians 1:3–6.

Therefore, just the moment that you give up self and take Christ instead, you have everything that Christ has to give. So since we have given to us by God Himself all of the blessings that can be given to deliver us from sin and to turn us from our iniquities (see Acts 3:26), we can have joy and peace in Him. Peter says, “According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue.” 2 Peter 1:3. Everything that is necessary for life and godliness is given unto us in Christ.

“For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate. Being predestinated according to the purpose of Him Who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will.” Sometimes the position is taken that God did not know what man was coming to when He made him; and if He did know, then He ought not to have made him at all or He ought to have stopped him from going in the way that he has gone. God does know; He foreknows, and He knows the end from the beginning. “Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world.” Acts 15:18. God has not changed a hair’s breadth from the plan which He knew before the world began. And there is no power in all of the universe that could make Him change.

God ’s Foreknowledge

Did God know that Adam was going to sin, and does He know whether we will be saved or not? Yes, He knows all about it—who will be saved and who will be lost. Then how can it be that we are free? I do not know, and it does not make any difference. I know from His Word that I am perfectly free to have salvation and to have it when I want it. I know at the same time that God knows whether I will take it or not. I cannot understand how these two things can be; but God knows, and He is not unjust, so it is all right. There is not an angel in heaven who knows how it can be, but they know that it is so.

Some say that if He did know, He would be responsible for our being saved or lost, so He does not exercise His power to know and therefore releases Himself from that responsibility. That is bringing a fearful charge against God. It really throws all of the responsibility of man’s ruin upon God and charges Him with trying to shirk it. If He chooses not to know certain things, how is it possible for Him to know what He wants to know and what He does not want to know? The very statement that He wills not to know certain things proves that He must know them in order to know that He does not want to know them, and this is an utter absurdity. God does not have to count and calculate and figure to arrive at conclusions. He is God, and knowledge is in Him and begins and ends in Him. Past, present, and future are all present with God. He lives in an eternal now. We cannot understand how that can be, but that does not matter. He says it is so, and we believe Him.

That He is the eternal God constitutes the strength of the fact that He is our refuge. It is the eternal God who has had charge of our ways in the past, and we have confidence in His leading. If He had not known the past and the future, how could I have known whether He was leading me right or not? Job says, “He knoweth the way that I take.” Job 23:10.

He leads us in the way that we should go. He looked over the ages and saw just who would have the inheritance, and He is preparing it for him. What would you think of a man, to put the thing on a very low plane, who got a lot of stones together and commenced to build a house? You ask him what kind of house he is going to build. “Why,” he says, “I do not know. I am going to put these stones and timbers together and then see what kind of house will come of it.” Such talk as that would be foolishness. Before a man starts in to build a house, he knows just how it is coming out; he knows exactly how it will look when it is finished. When God laid His plans in ages past, do you not think that He knew what kind of earth He was gong to have? He knew what kind of earth it was going to be, and He had a purpose in making it. He created it to be inhabited.

Not only did He know what kind of place it was going to be, but He knew what kind of men were going to dwell in it; and He had every one of them named. Those men whom God saw that He would have to inhabit the earth, when He laid His plans for it in ages past, were to be good and holy men; and that same earth, when this little experiment of sin is worked out, will be inhabited by just exactly the persons whom God saw would inhabit it; and they will have the names that He gave them in ages past.

In Revelation 2:17 we read, “And will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.” Now it is not to be supposed that over in the kingdom of God we will not know each other’s names, to be able to pronounce them. In the Bible, every name signified something. Jacob was the “supplanter;” Israel, the “prince of God;” Abraham, the “father of many nations;” Sarai, a “contentious woman;” and Sarah, a “princess.” The name signified the character of the individual.

Now while all of the redeemed are to have the perfect character of God, yet that character is so perfect and so broad that there is room for each to have a distinct character. Why is it that no one will be able to understand the name of anyone else? Because no two persons will have had the same experience in developing character. No two persons have been led in the same way and have had the same experience or trials.

Our God Given Freedom of Choice

Man fell, but every man who lived directly after the Fall could have accepted the proffered salvation if he had wished and could have been one of those persons whom God saw when He laid the plans for the earth. If that had been so, the earth would have been filled and the work closed up long ago. Would that have been unjust to us? For in that case we would have been unborn and therefore left out. No, it would have been no more unjust than it will be unjust to close the work in a few years from now and leave out possible nations yet unborn.

Now God foreknew us in Christ; and in Him, in the beginning, we were predestinated to just such a place in the earth in its state of purity as God wants us to have. I am so thankful that we may have Christ, if we will; and if we will believe Him and trust in Him, we know that we are predestinated to a place in His kingdom. God hath “predestinated us according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will.” Cannot you see that all things work together for good to them that love God?

How do I know that I am a child of God? He loved me, and He bought me; and I gave myself to Him, therefore I am His. Now I am in Christ, and it matters not what happens to me. There is not a bad thing that can come upon me; for everything that does come, God will work it for my good; and not only will He do it, but He does do it. He does it that He may develop my character and fit me for what He is preparing for me.

Satan may concoct some wicked scheme against me—influence some man or government to do something that is calculated to destroy me,—but God takes those wicked schemes and out of them He brings good for me, and by them carries me along to the desired haven. Therefore, the Christian has no business to be complaining.

No Cause for Complaint – Praising God for all Things

There is no one who would think of complaining when he was having a good time. But the Christian is having a good time all of the time, for all things work together for good to him. When we look at things in this way, we can praise God no matter what happens.

Joseph’s brethren sent him down to Egypt with no other intention than to destroy him, and yet we are told by the psalmist that, “God sent a man to Egypt.” Psalm 105:17. Those brethren of his were working out the evil of their hearts; and at the same time, God sent him down according to His will. We cannot understand how this can be, but we know that it was so.

Caiaphas asked if It were not better that one man die than that the whole nation perish, expressing the sentiment of the worldly-wise, scheming politician. Yet at the same time, in those very words, God was speaking in prophecy. There is not a wicked person, not even the devil himself, but God makes him and his wickedness work out His own eternal purpose. There is a world of comfort in the thought that this is the kind of God that we serve.

“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31.

Isaiah ’s Turning Point

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Apparent Prosperity

“In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.” Isaiah 6:1. KJV

Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king; and he reigned fifty-two years in Jersualem, one of the longest reigns of any of the kings of Judah. “And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah did. And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper. And he went forth and warred against the Philistines, and brake down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod, and built cities about Ashdod, and among the Philistines. And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gurbaal, and the Mehunims. And the Ammonites gave gifts to Uzziah; and his name spread abroad even to the entering in of Egypt; for he strengthened himself exceedingly.” 2 Chronicles 26:4–8.

Outwardly, Israel was experiencing great prosperity. Oftentimes, however, people who are having the greatest outward prosperity are in the deepest trouble spiritually. We have two examples in the book of Revelation that reveal how the outward circumstances are no indication of the true spiritual condition. There is the church at Smyrna which outwardly was a persecuted church and was in poverty and in terrible trouble; but the Lord said, “Really, you are rich.” (See Revelation 2:9.) In fact, there is no condemnation or rebuke given to the church of Smyrna. In contrast, there is the church of Laodicea. Outwardly, Laodicea was prosperous and rich; but of its spiritual condition, the Lord says, “You are poor, wretched, miserable.” (See Revelation 3:17.) You see, what is happening to you on the outside may in no way reflect your true spiritual condition. During the reign of Uzziah, the people of Israel wee in good shape financially, militarily, and economically; but notice what took place.

“But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the LORD His God by entering the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. So Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him were eighty priests of the LORD, valiant men. And they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, ‘It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You have no honor from the LORD God.’ Then Uzziah became furious; and he had a censor in his hand to burn incense. And while he was angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead, before the priests in the house of the LORD, beside the incense altar. And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and there, on his forehead, he was leprous; so they thrust him out of that place. Indeed he also hurried to get out, because the LORD had struck him. King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an isolated house, because he was a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the Lord. Then Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land. Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from first to last, the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz wrote.” 2 Chronicles 26:16–22. NKJV

Uzziah had leprosy, and everybody knew why he had it; He had leprosy because he had transgressed; he had disobeyed. I have often wondered if the Christian world would not be a completely different place if we were living in the time of the old covenant and judgment against our sins came instantly. One of the amazing things that I have learned from studying the Old Testament, however, is that when the Lord did bring judgments instantly upon people, while it affected the person who received the judgment, often the rest of the people went on as if nothing had taken place. Apparently it was this way in Judah.

Approaching Retribution

The time came when Uzziah died. It was in the year Uzziah died that Isaiah was called to be a prophet. “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw also the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.” Isaiah 6:1. The New Kings James Version says, “the train of His robe;” but it would be more accurate to say the “train of His glory filled the temple.” When Isaiah received this revelation, he was in a state of depression and discouragement. The divine protection was starting to be removed from God’s chosen people, and they were soon going to suffer terrible calamities. There was something, however, that was worse than these threatening outward dangers that troubled Isaiah. “But the dangers from without, overwhelming though they seemed, were not so serious as the dangers from within. It was the perversity of his people that brought to the Lord’s servant the greatest perplexity and the deepest depression. By their apostasy and rebellion, those who should have been standing as light bearers among the nations were inviting the judgments of God. . . . The outlook was particularly discouraging as regards to the social conditions of the people. In their desire for gain, men were adding house to house and field to field. (See Isaiah 5:8.) Justice was perverted, and no pity was shown the poor. Of these evils God declared, “The spoil of the poor is in your houses.’ ‘You have beaten My people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor.’ Isaiah 3:14, 15. Even the magistrates, whose duty it was to protect the helpless, turned a deaf ear to the cries of the poor and needy, the widows and the fatherless. . . . With oppression and wealth came pride and love of display.” Prophets and Kings, 305, 306. The Lord rebuked that in Isaiah 2 and the prevailing pride of the daughters of Zion with their tinkling ornaments described in Isaiah 3:18–23.

Isaiah knew about these things. He was perplexed and discouraged and did not know what to do. How would you feel if you were supposed to be a prophet under conditions like that?

God knew how Isaiah felt, and He did something for him. “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.” And he saw a picture of innumerable angels around this throne, below it. Ellen White says that it was like the veil to the Most Holy Place had been lifted and he could see in where he could not go. He heard the angels saying, ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” Isaiah 6:3.

Do you realize that what he saw that day changed his whole life? What he saw that day became the burden of his message and everything that he wrote. He was never the same again. Ellen White says that he was transformed; he was changed by what he saw. So he started to tell the people, “You need to behold your God.’ What will happen if you behold Him? “Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.” Isaiah 45:22. NKJV.

So often, friends, when we are in situations like Isaiah was in, and there is trouble on the outside and greater trouble on the inside, we have a tendency to look at the problem and then try to figure out the solution from just studying the problem. But notice what happens to you if you do that. “Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven to darkness.” Isaiah 8:22.

You do not dare concentrate your mind on the imperfections that are all around you because you will be driven to discouragement and despair. This was Isaiah’s condition already, and what was the solution to it? The Lord lifted the curtain and Isaiah saw something else. He saw the glory of God; and when he got his mind fixed on that, it changed his life. “And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.” Isaiah 6:4 NKJV. What was it that filled the temple with smoke? It was the glory of God and His power.

“As Isaiah beheld this revelation of the glory and majesty of his Lord, he was overwhelmed with a sense of the purity and holiness of God. How sharp the contrast between the matchless perfection of his Creator, and the sinful course of those who, with himself, had long been numbered among the chosen people of Israel and Judah!” Prophets and Kings, 307.

Isaiah ’s Turning Point

When Isaiah saw the glory of God, his own character was transformed. “When one turns away from human imperfections to behold Jesus, a divine transformation takes place in the character.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 250. Suddenly Isaiah realized this true condition. He realized that inside he was defiled. His defilement stood out in startling clearness, and he was alarmed. He was no longer concerned about the Assyrian armies. He was not even concerned now about the dreadful social condition of the people, although he recognized that he dwelt in the midst of a people of unclean lips. Now, it was not just the others, it was himself about whom he was concerned. By human standards, he would have been judged one of the most holy of men; but when he saw the divine perfection, he said, “I am undone. I am a wicked man. My heart is defiled with sin.”

Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” Matthew 12:34. The reason that we have unclean lips is because we have unclean hearts. When the heart is changed, the lips will be changed. “Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth sand said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away and your sin purged.’” Isaiah 6:6, 7. NKJV. This is a symbolic representation of what God wants to do in our hearts. “The Holy Spirit will work with power through all who realize that a deep and thorough transformation must take place in the heart. A transformation represented by the touching of the lips of God’s servant with a live coal.” Pacific Union Recorder, July 17, 1902.

Isaiah realized that even though he was a sinner, that his heart was desperately wicked and deceitful, God had a remedy for his problem. He realized that the same remedy that God had provided for him, He would provide for anyone else who was willing to look to Him. That is why he said, “Behold your God.” He had caught a glimpse of the loveliness of the divine character; and he could testify to the people that in beholding the love of God, there was the power to change their lives. The Lord revealed to Isaiah all of the evil that had been developing for generations would not be turned around and stopped in his lifetime, but he was assured that the time would come when a remnant would be saved.

So Isaiah began his mission, undaunted by the discouraging prospect, knowing that God’s church was eventually going to triumph. In fact, some of the most wonderful prophecies in all of the Bible about the future triumph of God’s people come from the pen of Isaiah. He began to teach the people that God’s glory—His character—was to be revealed to all mankind. This is what it means for the glory of God to cover the earth. The Bible says that as surely as God lives and reigns, His glory shall be declared among the heathen, His wonders among all the people. (See Psalm 96:3.)

There were some people in Isaiah’s time who had gone into such depts. Of wickedness that when the prophet went to speak to them, they were afraid that God would not receive them if they turned back. To them, Isaiah said, “Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel: ‘My way is hidden from the LORD, and my just claim is passed over by my God’? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. There is no searching of His understanding. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:27–31. NKJV.

God’s Love for His People

Isaiah taught that the heart of the infinite God yearns over people who feel powerless to free themselves from the snares of Satan. Have you ever felt that you were on a toboggan run down to the bottom of the hole of sin and there was no way out? Isaiah taught that there is a way out. If you look to the Lord, the Lord says, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God, I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10. NKJV.

As I visit with people I find many who realize that they have chosen their own way. Sometimes they are past the meridian of life and have wandered far from God. They have feasted on the fruits of transgression and found that they turn to ashes on their lips. They seem alone and desolated. Oh, friend, you need to see what Isaiah saw. You need to hear that voice speaking to your heart that perhaps you would not listen to before, coming to you distinct and clear, saying, “Arise and depart, for this is not your rest; because it is defiled, it shall destroy you, even with utter destruction.” Micah 2:10. NKJV. Return to your Father’s house. He is inviting you right now. He says, “Return unto Me,” no matter how bad you have been, no matter what you have done, no matter what you have done, no matter what mistake you have made. If your life seems thwarted, all your dreams have disappeared, your hope is gone and it just seems like nothing is working out right, the Lord says, “Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.” Isaiah 44:22. NJKV. “Incline your ear,” the Lord says, “and come to Me. Hear, and your soul will live; I will make to you an everlasting covenant—the sure mercies of David.” Isaiah 55:3. NKJV.

Do not listen to the enemy’s suggestions telling you to stay away from Christ until you have made yourself better, until you think that you are good enough to come to God. If you wait until you are good enough, you will never come. Come just the way that you are. Say, “Lord, help me to see Your character and to be transformed into the same image by the Holy Spirit.” If the devil is telling you that your garments of character are filthy, you tell him that Jesus said, “The one who comes to Me, I will by no means cast out.” John 6:37. NKJV. That is an emphatic statement! Make the prayer of David your own. Say to the Lord, “Purge me.” That is what God did for Isaiah. He touched him with a coal and He said, “Your iniquity is purged. You are clean now.”

David said, “Purge (purify) me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” Psalm 51:7. Oh friend, Isaiah tried to get the eyes of the people fixed on the One who is altogether lovely. Have you seen Him? He is described as the “Chiefest among ten thousand.” Song of Solomon 5:10. He is spoken of as “The King in His beauty.” Isaiah said, “You are going to see the King in His beauty.” (See Isaiah 33:17.) Have you seen that beauty? The day is coming when the people who see it are going to say, “The majestic LORD will be for us a place of broad rivers and streams . . . (for the Lord is our Judge, the LORD is our Lawgiver, the LORD is our King; He will save us.)” Isaiah 33:21, 22.

This vision was the turning point in Isaiah’s life. It turned him around and made him a different person. It not only transformed his life, but it transformed the life of everyone who would listen to what he said. If you want this experience to be yours, you must fix your eyes on the One Who is altogether lovely. You will be transformed in character, your iniquity will be purged, and your heart altogether changed. Ask the Lord to work this miracle in your life today.

This Man Receiveth Sinners

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“Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.” Luke 15:1. The tax collectors were considered the worst of sinners in their society in Jesus’ day. If you were a woman, the worst thing that you could do was to become a harlot. And there were many tax collectors and harlots who came and listened to Jesus.

“And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receives sinners and eats with them.” Verse 2. Is this statement true? Yes, it is. Jesus came to save sinners. Although the statement was true, the people who stated it were not inspired by the Holy Spirit to do so, because within this statement there was a wicked insinuation. It is what we would call a covert negative.

You remember when the devil came to Eve in the Garden of Eden and said, “Has God indeed said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” Genesis 3:1. Now was there anything wrong with that statement? There is a hidden negative in the statement. Anytime that you hear anyone, whether they claim to be a Christian or not, making a statement that is true but which contains a covert negative, be careful. That is the way the devil has worked for thousands of years to deceive people.

What was the covert negative in the statement of the Pharisees and scribes? First of all, though they did not actually say so, by their tone of voice and the words that they used, they implied that Jesus liked to associate with the sinful and with the vile. They also insinuated that Jesus was insensible to the wickedness of those sinful people with whom He associated. We need to examine our own hears to know whether we are developing a heart like Jesus or like that of the Pharisees.

Jesus was willing to endure the pain of associating with sinners, because He loved them so much and wanted to save them, but the Pharisees were indifferent and had no sympathy. They regarded themselves as too educated and refined to associate with social outcasts, and they were unhappy with Jesus, because His example laid bare their own selfishness. In The Desire of Ages, 42, we read, “It is not Christ’s follower that, with averted eyes, turns from the erring, leaving them unhindered to pursue their downward course. Those who are forward in accusing others, and zealous in bringing them to justice. . . .”” Did the Pharisees want to bring the sinners to justice? Yes, they did. Notice what Ellen White says about those kinds of people. “Those who are forward in accusing others, and zealous in bringing them to justice, are often in their own lives more guilty than they. Men hate the sinner, while they love the sin.” Ibid. In their minds, they are saying, “I wish I could have gotten away with that,” but they hate the other person who did it. “Christ hates the sin, but loves the sinner. This will be the spirit of all who follow Him. Christian love is slow to censure, quick to discern penitence, ready to forgive, to encourage, to set the wanderer in the path of holiness, and to stay his feet therein.” Ibid.

If Jesus treated us the way that we often treat each other, we would all be lost. Have you ever thought about that? What is your attitude? Do you love sin and hate the sinner? That is what the Pharisees did. Or do you hate the sin, but love the sinner? That is what Jesus did, and that is what all will do who have His Spirit.

No Compromise With Sin

Do not misunderstand, we are not talking about compromising with sin. When Jesus talked to the publicans and sinners, He talked to them about repentance, about getting sin out of their lives; and He showed them that it was possible. “Jesus Himself never purchased peace by compromise. His heart overflowed with love for the whole human race, but He was never indulgent to their sins. He was too much their friend to remain silent while they were pursuing a course that would ruin their souls,—the souls He had purchased with His own blood.” Ibid., 356. If we really love our brother, when we see him going down a course that is going to end in the lake of fire, we will love him too much to be silent. When Jesus received sinners, He did not compromise with their sin. He showed them how to be delivered from their sins.

First, Jesus showed them that escape from sin was possible. Jesus set them free, and He is no respecter of persons. He will set you free, too.

Second, these people were used to receiving from the Pharisees nothing but scorn and condemnation; but Christ came and greeted them as the children of God. “The souls who came to Jesus felt in His presence that even for them there was escape from the pit of sin. The Pharisees had only scorn and condemnation for them; but Christ greeted them as children of God, estranged indeed from the Father’s house, but not forgotten by the Father’s heart. Christ’s Object Lessons, 186. Whoever you are, whatever has been your past, no matter how many sins there have been in your life, the Father’s heart yearns over you. If we all could understand how much the Father’s heart yearns over us and how much love He has for us, we would be just like the sinners in Jesus’ day; we would come to Him to receive of His love.

“And their very misery and sin made them only the more the objects of His compassion. The farther they had wandered from Him, the more earnest the longing and the greater the sacrifice for their rescue.” Ibid. The more miserable your condition and the more you need Jesus, the more He wants to save you. The sinners flocked to Jesus because it really was true that, “This man receives sinners.”

Unless we receive sinners, we cannot be saved. “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew 6:14, 15. Then in Luke 15, Jesus gave a powerful illustration of what He was talking about. “So He spoke this parable to them, saying: What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost! I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.” Verses 3–7.

Jesus said to the Pharisees, “These people whom you despise and scorn are God’s property, and they are of value in His sight. They are of such great value in His sight that all heaven would be risked just to gain back one.” As I have read this story, so often the realization has come to me that God puts a higher estimate on us than we put on each other.

Oh friend, you are of value in God’s sight. “As the shepherd loves his sheep, and cannot rest if even one be missing, so, in an infinitely higher degree, does God love every outcast soul. Men may deny the claim of His love, they may wander from Him, they may choose another master; yet they are God’s, and He longs to recover His own.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 187. Do you realize how much you are worth to God? Does that include you? That includes everybody, friends. “In the parable the shepherd goes out to search for one sheep—the very least that can be numbered. So if there had been but one lost soul, Christ would have died for that one.” Ibid. If everybody else in this world would have rejected the gift of God’s grace and you would have been the only one who would have accepted it, Jesus would have died for you. That is the estimate that God places on your soul.

The Love of the Shepherd

The Shepherd does not wait and say, “Well, when that sheep comes to his senses, then I will take it home.” But is not that the way that we treat each other sometimes? That is the way the Pharisees treated the sheep. “It was taught by the Jews that before God’s love is extended to the sinner, he must first repent. In their view, repentance is a work by which men earn the favor of heaven. And it was this thought that led the Pharisees to exclaim in astonishment and anger, ‘This man receiveth sinners.’ According to their ideas, He should permit none to approach Him but those who had repented. But in the parable of the lost sheep, Christ teaches that salvation does not come through our seeking after God, but through God’s seeking after us.” Ibid., 189.

So often we say, in effect, “You change. Then, when you change, things will be all right.” Now the Pharisees taught that “there is rejoicing in heaven when one who has sinned against God is destroyed.” Ibid., 190. That was a lie, friends. Jesus did not teach that. The Bible says that God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked—none! He is joyful when they are restored.

Very often a person who has wandered in the fields of sin and has decided to come back to the Lord encounters all kinds of suspicion and distrust and criticism. Have you ever noticed that? People say, “Well, I am not sure that his repentance is really genuine. We had better wait and see.” So everybody just sort of stands off and looks. That is the condition of a lot of churches, and this is one of the reasons that there is a multitude of sinners who never darken the door of the church. They are afraid to come in.

“When one who has wandered far in sin seeks to return to God, he will encounter criticism and distrust. There are those who will doubt whether his repentance is genuine, or will whisper, ‘He has no stability; I do not believe that he will hold out.’ These persons are doing not the work of God but the work of Satan, who is the accuser of the brethren. Through their criticisms the wicked one hopes to discourage that soul, and to drive him still farther from hope and from God. Let the repenting sinner contemplate the rejoicing in heaven over the return of the one that was lost. Let him rest in the love of God and in no case be disheartened by the scorn and suspicion of the Pharisees.” Ibid., 190.

The devil has plenty of Pharisees around, and he has them scattered through all of the churches; but there are far too few people who are filled with sympathy for those who are tempted and erring. If we are going to save the lost, friends, we must have a heart that is filled with the mercy and love of Christ and not a heart that is vindictive and always seeking to point out or discover mistakes of others.

Jesus then gave the parable of the lost coin. “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost! Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:8–10. There is a reason that Jesus told these stories to describe the situation of the lost. There are some people who are lost like the lost sheep. They know that they are lost, but they cannot find their way back; and they will never find their way back unless somebody goes and searches for them. There are Christian homes today in which family members are attending church and going through all of the motions of Christianity, but they are not vitally connected to Christ. They are lost, but like the coin, they do not even know it.

The Value of One Soul

When you follow Jesus to His trial and see His wounded head, when you see His pierced side, when you see His marred feet, when you recognize that all heaven was placed in jeopardy to save mankind, then you start to comprehend, friends, the worth of a soul. If we ever begin to understand the value of a soul and realize that one soul is worth more than a whole world of material things, we will begin to have a shepherd’s heart. Friends, when we print Christian literature, every piece is important, every tract is important. Every aspect of our work is of vital significance because we are dealing with souls. Just one soul is more important than the wold world.

If we are going to save souls, we must have the heart of the Shepherd. The Pharisees said, “This man receives sinners.” They said it with scorn; they said it with anger, they said it with hatred, distrust suspicion, and a wicked insinuation. Nevertheless, they told the truth. “This man receives sinners.” Do you receive sinners? If you have the heart of a shepherd, you will go searching and will bring the sinners back to the Father’s house. We will never bring very many back, friends, unless we have the mercy and love of Christ in our hearts, unless we have the love of the Shepherd, the heart of the Shepherd.

When you have the heart of the Shepherd, you will not be criticizing the lost, but will be doing whatever you can to help them to come back to the Father’s house. If you want to understand the worth of a human being that is lost, go to Gethsemane. There you will see the Saviour enduring, not seconds or minutes, but hours of agony. He suffered super-human agony that you and I will never comprehend.

None of us are going to heaven alone. We need a shepherd’s heart. We need the mercy and love of Christ in our hearts, and we need to be searching for lost sheep. Perhaps there is a lost coin right in your own home. Do you want to have the heart of the Shepherd and to receive sinners back to the Father’s house? It is the most wonderful work that anyone can do.

This is a Hard Saying

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Today many people, even among Seventh-day Adventists, attend church to be entertained. This is why we have celebration churches and sermons that are watered-down messages. This should not surprise us, however, for we have been warned that it would take place. “”Teach the Word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” II Timothy 4:2–4.

In Jesus’ ministry, there came a time when a crisis point was reached. You can read about this experience in the chapter in The Desire of Ages entitled, “The Crisis in Galilee.” It was at this time that Jesus clearly spelled out the spiritual nature of His kingdom. To many, His words were difficult to accept. We find their response recorded in John 6:60. “Many therefore of His disciples, when they had heard this, said, ‘This is an hard saying; who can hear it?’”

Have you at some time heard a message, which was just, more than you could handle? At that point, the road appeared too rugged. The reality is that it only appears impossible to the carnally minded. The person who is converted finds that he has no problem with it.

To Each One the Test Comes

In the life of every person, there comes a time when he must make a decision and take a stand. Though this decision will require an effort, when we remember that we are talking about decisions that will affect our eternal happiness, we realize that we are talking about a priceless treasure, something that we cannot adequately measure.

Every decision that we make in this life has its affect upon our characters. This, in turn, determines our eternal destiny. It matters not what area of our life we are speaking of; for the Bible tells us, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” I Corinthians 10:31.

Solomon, a very rich man, recognized the futility of worldly gain, apart from eternal considerations. He said, “I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards: I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruits: I made me pools of water to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees: I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me: I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts. So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them. I withheld not my heat from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity.” Ecclesiastes 2:4–11. In addition, the Bible also tells us that he had about one thousand wives.

I compared this passage with that found in the NIV and found that the NIV more nearly expresses it as translated in Martin Luther’s German translation. It says, “Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained.” Is it not amazing that a man could have everything his heart desired and at the end say, “It was so useless”?

Jesus said, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the wold world, and lose his own soul?” Matthew 16:26. There is a reason why He said that. The time is coming when we will have to pass on; and when that time comes, we will not be able to take with us any o the things we have accumulated in this life. How short-sighted to do as many are doing today, selling their birthright for a mess of pottage. For some, it is for a job. Others trade eternal life for an unbelieving spouse, or a friendship; and for some it is their appetite. Whatever the object to be obtained, people are selling their eternal life for that which will prove to be of no worth in view of eternity.

Jesus said, “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:33. Is that a hard saying? It is for some people, because they find that there are certain things that they still want to hang to. But for the truly converted person, it will not be a problem.

Jesus said, “Verily I say unto you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:23, 24. Is it impossible? No, it is not impossible; but it is difficult. However, “No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Luke 16:13. Though a person may try to have both heaven and the world, eventually a decision must be made. Jesus will accept nothing less than 100 percent. Ellen White makes a statement that almost saved does not mean almost saved but wholly lost. (See Christ’s Object Lessons, 118.) A serious though, is it not?

The message that Jesus gave to the people of His day was too difficult for many of those who had been following Him to accept. “From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him.” John 6:66. There were twelve of His closest friends, however, who stayed with Him no matter what happened. Turning to them, Jesus asked, “Will ye also go away?” Verse 67. Did the twelve disciples have a choice to leave Him? Yes. They could have left, but they chose not to.

We may be faced with a similar choice someday. In fact, even now as we look around us, we see the numbers lessening. We should not be disappointed, however, because the number will always be small; but we are in the majority as long as we are on the side of the Lord. We may not be able to realize it right now, but we will at the end.

In response to Jesus’ question, Peter answered, “To whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.” John 6:18. That was a good answer. If we leave Jesus, what do we have left? It is the same question that we can ask ourselves today. On one side there is apostasy, worldliness, and heresies. We have no choice but to go where the truth is being preached, because that is where Jesus is. It is so simple. That is what Peter said. “Lord, to whom shall we go?” There is no eternal life when you have error. There is only eternal life where there is truth.

Only Eternal Life Where There is Truth

Now if we have that attitude and conviction, we do not have to fear, even if everybody leaves us. Men may disappoint us, but Jesus will not. As long as we stick to the Word, we are securely united to Him; and when we are one with Christ, of course, we will be one with each other. It is this unity that we need to experience, especially as Historic Adventists.

“The oneness and unity of God’s truth-believing remnant people carries powerful conviction to the world that they have the truth, and are the peculiar, chosen people of God. This oneness and unity disconcerts the enemy, and he is determined that it shall not exist. The present truth, believed in the heart and exemplified in the life, makes God’s people one, and gives them a powerful influence.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 327. But while we are to seek unity, it is never to be formed on the platform of error. We cannot unify with any who are preaching error. This does not work because just as Jesus said, “No man can serve two masters,” neither “can two walk together except they be agreed.” Amos 3:3.

“There is no compromise in the Word of God for those who conform to the world. The Son of God was manifested that He might draw all men unto Him. But He came not to lull the world to sleep—not to send peace, but a sword. The followers of Christ must walk in the light of His glorious example; and, at whatever sacrifice of ease or selfish indulgence, at whatever cost of labor or sufferings, we must maintain the constant battle with self, exalt the gospel standard, and push forward the triumphs of the cross.” Signs of the Times, September 12, 1878.

In Matthew 10:35, 36, Jesus gave us another hard saying. “For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.” When we truly accept Christ and follow His words, there will always be division and separation. This is because there is a collision of spirits that just cannot get alone. That is why it says in II Corinthians 6:14–18, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion that light with darkness?” When we determine to fully follow Jesus, we may expect misunderstanding, hatred, disunity, division, and sometimes even war. “The faithful presentation of the message of truth will always cause division. And upon the messenger of truth the blame of the trouble will be cast.” Review and Herald, October 22, 1901.

In II Thessalonians 3:6, 14, Paul tells us, “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us. . . . And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.” When you continue to go to a place where you know that error is steadily being preached and do nothing about it, what are you actually doing? You are encouraging the error.

The apostle John tells us, “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: for him that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.” II John 9–11.

We need to avoid those people whose influence would lead us astray and corrupt our morals. “When those who are uniting with the world, yet claiming great purity, plead for union with those who have ever been the opposers of the cause of truth, we should fear and shun them as decidedly as did Nehemiah.” Prophets and Kings, 660. Even in worship, you cannot unite with those whom God tells you not to unite with. There are only two camps—truth and error. We admonished, “Sever the links which have bound you to those who love not God and the truth.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 48.

Peter was always outspoken. At one time he said to Jesus, “Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed Three; what shall we have therefore?” Matthew 19:27. Jesus did not rebuke him, but answered, “Verily, I say unto you, That ye which have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.” Matthew 19:28, 29.

The bottom line is that in leaving all, we are not leaving or separating from anything that is good for us. And, if we are converted, we will want to do it anyway, because there are better things in store for us.

All May Have the Power to Overcome

I would like to share one more statement with you. “While Jesus was talking to the people, His mother and brethren, stood without, desiring to speak with Him; and one told Jesus. And He said unto him that told Him, ‘Who is My mother? and who are My brethren?’ And He stretched forth His hand toward His disciples, and said, ‘Behold My mother and My brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of My Father which is in heaven, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother.’” Review and Herald, August 7, 1888. She then goes on to say, “If we are doing the will of God, we are counted as the brethren and sisters of our Master. We are to remember this in our daily life. We are to press toward the mark for the prize of our high calling, exerting every God-given power, that we may be overcomers. We must be constantly drawing nigh to God. We must talk of Jesus, expressing His love in a devoted life of entire consecration to His service.

Right now there are many messages that, to the unregenerate heart, seem hard to listen to. It is far better, however, to hear a hard message right now while there is opportunity to turn around. This is not the time to celebrate, but rather the time to hear the hard messages. If we are unwilling to hear hard messages today, the day is coming when we will hear an even harder message from Jesus. “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:23. How much better to be able then to hear His commendation, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” Matthew 25:21. This is the message that I want to hear from Jesus. But the only way that I can hear this message is if I am willing to hear the straight, hard message today, because that is the message of love.

May God help us to have open hearts and minds that are not easily offended, because it says of those who love Jesus and obey His law, that nothing will offend them. May God help us that this is true in our lives.

Growing Beautiful Leaves

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“Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.” Matthew 21:12, 13.

Outside, the temple was beautiful marble that glistened in the sun; but inside it was full of thieves dressed in rich clothes—professional thieves. After they were driven from the temple, “The blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.” Verse 14. This is what the church is all about. The church is not here to be enriched by the people but to be a blessing. As members of God’s family, our work is not to see what can be done for us but what we can do for others.

“But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ they were indignant.” Verse 15. They thought that the temple had been desecrated by all of the activity that Jesus was carrying on. They forgot that they had been involved in all kinds of activities; but, of course, their activities had to do with the ceremonies. After all, people had to have something to sacrifice. Jesus was just here healing the body and cleansing the soul.

The temple of Jerusalem was illustrative of the church today. We are told that it is also illustrative of the Christian heart. “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the temple of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” I Corinthians 3:16, 17.

The temple of Jerusalem was illustrative of the church today. We are told that it is also illustrative of the Christian heart. “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” I Corinthians 3:16, 17.

The work that Jesus did for the temple in Jerusalem He wanted to do for the whole Jewish nation. In the same way, when Jesus is cleansing the heavenly temple, what He really wants to do is cleanse the worshipers.

The next day, Jesus gave three parables to illustrate the life, work, and character that He wanted to see manifested in the lives of His people. We should pay special attention to these parables, as they apply in a special sense to us. Interestingly, the Bible describes the Laodicean church, representing God’s end-time church, as being similar to the church of Jesus’ day.

You see, the Jewish leaders thought that they were spiritually rich and had need of nothing. After all, they had the truth; they were the church; and all the time, Jesus was kept outside while they went on with their services within. And in like manner, Laodicea is pictured as having need of nothing, while outside the door, Someone is standing and knocking. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20.

Notice what the great concern of the religious leaders was with regard to Jesus’ teaching. “Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?” Matthew 21:23. By what authority do you publish your magazine? By what authority do you preach? By what authority do you broadcast? By what authority do you do these things?

Today, many people are being swept along in a Laodicean condition, thinking that everything is fine; but when those who are hungry come to a Laodicean church, they go away as empty as when they came. For the hungry, there is no fruit.

Leaves Without Fruit

In another message, which God gives to the Laodiceans of the last days, He describes the last day church as a church that is filled with leaves and pretensions and professions but have no fruit. “Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!” Matthew 7:21–23. “I don’t know who you are serving, but it certainly wasn’t Me. Depart from Me, you would had no fruit, you who went on practicing your own lawless deeds, you who had no character change. Depart from Me.”

When God looks at your life today, He is not looking for a great profession; He is looking for the fruits of holiness. The fruit spoken of in the Bible comes as the result of death to self and is revealed in service to others. “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me. Then they also will answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you? Then He will answer them, saying, Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.” Matthew 25:41–44.

Unless you are spending time with Jesus, only self is reigning on the throne of your heart; and you have no fruit. “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath.” Galatians 5:19. It does not say that you are angry all of the time, just outbursts once in awhile. “Selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control [some versions say temperance.]” Verses 20–23.

While mankind looks on the outward appearance, God looks at the heart. Outwardly we may be rich, cultured, educated, well clothed, and hold church offices; but if we lack these fruits, we have nothing.

Fruit Inspectors

It is necessary that we be fruit inspectors once in awhile. We need to examine our own lives. We need to pull back the leaves a little bit and see what is growing on the tree. It will sometimes help us to understand why Jesus cannot use us more than He does. But I am glad that we have a heavenly Vinedresser, Someone who knows how to put the fertilizer on and knows how to bring just the right trials and troubles in order to prune the tree, aren’t you?

“Never should we lose control of ourselves. Let us ever keep before us the perfect Pattern. It is a sin to speak impatiently and fretfully or to feel angry—even though we do not speak. We are to walk worthy, giving a right representation of Christ.” Child Guidance, 95. To our own children, to our spouses, and to one another, we are to be a right representation of Christ, because the Bible says that we are the body of Christ. We are His mouthpiece. We are His hands and His feet. If we do not show Jesus to our children, to our husband or wife, to those around us, who is going to show Him?

There is only one solution, and it is total victory. “An entire change must take place in you. You frequently feel that you must be more guarded. You resolutely say, ‘I will be more calm and patient;’ but in doing this you only touch the evil on the outside; you consent to retrain the lion and watch him. You must go further than this. . . .

“You have repeatedly said, ‘I can’t keep my temper.’ ‘I have to speak.’ You lack a meek, humble spirit. Self is all alive, and you stand guard continually to preserve it from mortification or insult. Says the apostle, ‘For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.’ Those who are dead to self will not feel so readily and will not be prepared to resist everything which may irritate. Dead men cannot feel. You are not dead, if you were, and your life hid in Christ, a thousand things which you now notice, and which afflict you, would be passed by as unworthy of notice; you would then be grasping the eternal and would be above the petty trials of this life.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 425.

The Jewish leaders were full of works. They kept all of the commandments, but self was never crucified. Self was still alive within. They had only the external leaves. “The strongest argument in favor of the gospel is a loving and lovable Christian.” Ministry of Healing, 470. God is calling us all to work in His vineyard, but what good is it going to do to work in the vineyard if we have no fruits to give to the people?

As long as we carry around self, we do not have the power of the Holy Spirit in our life. It is not until we reflect the character of Jesus that we have the power of Jesus; then hearts are touched.

The Meaning of the Time in Which We Live

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Present truth has always been important. Peter speaks about being grounded and established in present truth. (See II Peter 1:12.) Before every significant event in the plan of salvation, there have been special messages given so that God’s people could be established in present truth. If, however, the people to whom the message is given leave that message and turn back from following the light, they’re leaving present truth; and they do so at the loss of their souls.

As an example, in the days of Noah, if you were going to have your sins forgiven, if you were going to have eternal life, it was the same plan of salvation as today. There is just one plan of salvation. There was present truth in the days of Noah; and the present truth was that if you wanted to be saved, you had better get into the ark. If, at that time, you failed to listen to present truth, could you still be lost? Most certainly you could.

It has always been the purpose of the devil to distract God’s people or in some way divert their attention from these messages of present truth. Paul tells us, however, that we are not to be ignorant of Satan’s devices. We must know what is going on so that we will be prepared to resist Satan’s advances and not be deceived.

We have also been warned, “So subtle and untiring are the efforts of the enemy of souls, that God’s people need to be very watchful, and to labour earnestly and unceasingly to counterwork evil in the church and in the world. Satan and his agencies are laying out special lines of labour for those who are controlled by his power. Deceptions of every kind and degree are arising, so that, if possible, he would deceive the very elect. With the same subtle power that he plotted for the rebellion of holy beings in heaven before the Fall, Satan is working today to operate through human beings for the fulfillment of his purposes of evil.” Australian Record, April 15, 1912.

If you leave the message of present truth that God has given, the devil is going to take control of your mind. It is just that simple. Did you notice that if he gains control of your mind, Satan is going to outline a special work for you to do?

Where is Satan working? “I say to all be on your guard for as an angel of light; Satan is walking in every assembly of Christian workers and in every church trying to win the members to his side.” Review and Herald, May 14, 1908. The great controversy is going on in every church, in every family. Every soul whom Satan can deceive and is lost brings dishonor upon the name of Christ, and it is his purpose to bring as much dishonor upon Christ’s name as he possibly can.
There are all kinds of theories present in the world today to cast doubt on what God has said so that His people will not have faith in what is written. The devil knows that if you do not have faith in His Word, when temptation comes, you are going to fall.

Speaking of the last days, we read: “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; yours sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions, and also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.” Joel 2:28, 29. According to these verses, in the last days God’s people are going to have the gift of prophecy. The New Testament teaches exactly the same thing. Notice also how important the gift of prophecy is as we prepare for the coming of Christ. “I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you.” I Corinthians 1:4–8. According to Revelation 19:10, the testimony of Christ is the spirit of prophecy.

The gift of prophecy is one of the gifts of the Spirit that has been promised the church. Unless the remnant church, which is waiting for the Second Coming of Christ, has the gift of prophecy, it cannot truly be said that it comes short in no gift.

This counsel was not written primarily for the people living in the first century. The apostle Paul says very clearly that these books were written to the Christian church. Though this book was addressed specifically to the church of Corinth, in his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul said, “Even if you receive this letter that is purported to be from us, do not think that the Second Coming of Christ is going to take place right away, because it is not.; the great apostasy is going to come first.” (See II Thessalonians 2:2–4.) The apostle Paul knew that the Second Coming of Christ was not going to occur in the first century. He is addressing the Christians and the people who are waiting for Jesus to come in the last days. We also read that these gifts were given “till we all come to the unity of the faith.” Ephesians 4:13. Are all of God’s people in the unity of the faith yet? No they are not; so we still have need of the gifts, including the gift of prophecy.

“The dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 12:17.

Now, if you were the devil, what would you do? You would do the same thing that you did in the Garden of Eden, the same thing that you have done all down through history; you would try to get God’s people to doubt the authenticity of that gift. You see, if the devil can get you to doubt the Spirit of Prophecy, you will lose your way. One of his methods is to ask questions that no one can answer. You do not have to have a Ph.D. to do that; little children can do it. One of the devil’s deceptions is to lead people to ask questions that God is not going to answer, even throughout eternal ages. If you allow yourself to start asking questions that no one can answer, the day is coming when you will become a skeptic. That is just the way the human mind works.

“The Lord has given me a special work to do in giving words of warning that should come to our people. Satan’s forces are preparing their seductive temptations to deceive, if possible, the very elect. Satan will work through those who have disregarded the warnings of God to the church. They will be exceedingly zealous unto the working of a deceptive influence and most strange manifestations will appear.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 19, 376.

Where are the warnings of God to the church found? They are found in the inspired writings of the Spirit of Prophecy.

What is the result of disregarding the inspired writings? The devil is going to take control of the mind of the one who is questioning, and then he is going to use that person to take control of someone else. In an attempt to accomplish this, he has aroused doubt using a whole new theology which attacks that foundation pillar of Adventism, including the Third Angel’s Message.

“The mark of the beast is to be presented in some shape to every institution and every individual.” 1888 Materials, 477. Now, if it must come in some form, can it come in more than one way? Evidently. The devil is studying your character to try to find out what the most attractive form of the mark of the beast would be for you. If he can induce you to disregard the warnings of God to the church, you are going to be taken in by the snare and not even know it until it is too late.

Oh friend, do you want to be kept from the deceptions that will take the world and most of the Adventist Church captive? How are you going to be kept? The people who will be kept are people who do not doubt the Spirit of Prophecy.

Today, the devil will attempt to bring into the church every kind of confusion, but creating doubt with regard to inspired truth is one of the main ones. Satan knows that if people have confidence in the Bible and in the writings of Ellen White and they start to study them, wonderful things will happen. This leads to harmony and unity among God’s people. Even people who have newly come into the faith gain such a clear understanding of present truth that they are safe from the deceptions coming upon the world. These books enlighten people’s minds.

When studying the counsel of God on a subject, do not just take one little verse or sentence here or there and build your whole theology on it. The Bible says that there is a principle involved in studying inspired writings. We find in Isaiah 28:9, 10 that “precept must be upon precept . . . line upon line . . . here a little, there a little.” What is the principle? You look at all of the instruction. Remember, the Bible is inspired by a mind that is infinite, that is so much greater than yours or mine, that we will not be able to understand it all. IF we take just a little piece, without the benefit of all of the instruction in any given area of study, we are prone to misinterpret it. But if all of the counsels on any subject are considered, there is little danger of being deceived. In the past, when I have heard of new doctrines and teachings and wanted to know, Does the Lord endorse these teachings? Are they according to the Spirit of Prophecy? I have followed this method of study over and over again. You may not be able to explain every statement or every text; but if you are willing to look at all of the counsel on he subject, considering, what is the weight of evidence? You will be led to the truth.

Have you ever met people who want to interpret certain prophecies differently? This is common, not only in Adventism today, but all across the Christian world. People are studying prophecy, and there is more confusion than I have ever seen in my entire life. When considering something of this nature, the first thing that you want to do is to go to the inspired writings and ask, “Is this interpretation in line with all of the statements in inspired writings on that subject?” If you do this, you will be kept from much of the wild speculation that is going about today.

“The church, soon to enter upon her most severe conflict, will be the object most dear to God upon earth.” Testimonies to Ministers, 20. We are also told that the last conflict will be the devil’s most deceptive. She says, however, that it will result in the worst defeat that Satan has ever had. It will not look like defeat for a while, but truth and righteousness will emerge triumphant.

There is another area of deception that the devil is seeking to use to deceive Seventh-day-Adventists. Before examining it more closely, let me ask you a question. Suppose that you enlist in an army (the church militant is an army) and your commander tells you, “We are now going to enter into the most severe conflict you have ever experienced. Now as we enter this conflict, the army in which you are fighting is invisible, and you cannot tell who is part of your army and who is not.” How would you like to be in a conflict of this nature?

Do you understand what I am getting at yet? There are some people who believe that the true church is invisible. Though we have been accused of teaching the idea that the true church is invisible and only God knows who they are, we do not believe this is true, nor have we taught it.

Speaking about the meaning of the times in which we live, Ellen White says, “Before the great trouble shall come upon the world such as has never been since there was a nation, those who have faltered and who would ignorantly lead in unsafe paths will reveal this before the real vital test. The last proving, comes so that whatsoever they may say will not be regarded as voicing the True Shepherd. The time of our educating will soon be over. We have no time to lose in walking through clouds of doubt and uncertainty because of uncertain voices.” 1888 Materials, 1002. God is going to arrange things so that those who would lead His people astray will manifest their true character so that people will know not to put confidence in them in the time of trouble. I believe that this helps us to understand a great deal about the meaning of the times in which we are living right now. If you think that in the last days, during the time of trouble, the 144,000 are not going to be able to know who each other are, you are sadly mistaken; and if you believe that God’s army in the last great conflict is so invisible that nobody can figure out who they are, you are sadly mistaken.

Do not sink into the trap of believing that you are to live a godly life and develop a godly character but no one will know who you are. God’s church is visible now, and it is going to be more and more visible. The Second Advent Movement is going to be public, and it is going to be visible until the end. Do not let anyone confuse you with the theory that the true church is invisible and that you cannot tell who it is. The true church is visible. In Testimonies to Ministers, 20, Sister White is talking about the church militant. The church is soon to enter upon her most severe conflict. Because we are entering a time of most severe conflict, it is a time to press together, to pray for unity of doctrine, faith, and spirit. It is a time to meet together to pray and to ask the Lord to send us the Holy Spirit—to bring us, to make us, a unified, organized army to finish God’s work in the world.

Present truth is going to triumph gloriously very soon. Do you want to triumph with it? Well, friend, if you want to triumph with it when it triumphs, you need to be part of it now. And being part of it is not being part of some invisible, amorphous mass that nobody knows who and what it is. I am sorry if that sounds hard to some, but it is important that we do not get mixed up and be lost because of false theological teachings.

If you belong to an invisible church, it is time for you to make a public profession of faith and become visible, because there is not going to be an invisible church that is going to triumph. The church that triumphs is going to be a people who have made a profession of faith publicly and are visible. The devil and all of his angels even know who they are, and they are going to see them triumph. I want to be a part of that group, do you? It will not consist of people who doubt the Spirit of Prophecy. It is going to be made up of people who have accepted the warnings and said, “Lord, whatever needs to be changed in my life, I am willing to change. I am willing to change my mind on anything; just show me.

Married to the Wrong Man

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By Christ’s obedience we are made righteous. This is because His life is now given to us, and He lives in us. This union with Christ we get by being crucified with Him. In that death, the body of sin is destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin, or, in other words, that we should no more transgress the Law. So closely are we identified with sin, it being our very life, that it can not be destroyed without our dying. But in Christ there is no sin, so that while we have a resurrection with Him, sin remains dead. So, being raised with Him, we live with Him, a thing that was formerly impossible on account of sin; sin can not dwell with Him.

“Know ye not, brethren (for I speak to them that know the Law), how that the Law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then, if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the Law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now we are delivered from the Law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the Law; for I had not known lust, except the Law had said, Thou shalt not covet.” Romans 7:1–7.

The illustration is a very simple one, and one which everyone can understand. The Law of God says of man and woman, “They two shall be one flesh.” It is adultery for either one to be married to another while the other is living. The Law will not sanction such a union.

For reasons that will appear later, the illustration cites only the case of a woman leaving her husband. The Law unites them. That Law holds the woman to the man as long as he lives. If while her husband lives she shall be united to another man, she will find herself under the condemnation of the Law. But if her husband dies, she may be united to another and be perfectly free from any condemnation.

The woman is then “free from the Law,” although the Law has not changed in one particular. Least of all has it been abolished; for the same Law that bound her to the first husband and which condemned her for uniting with another in his lifetime, now unites her to another and binds her to him as closely as it did to the first. If we hold to this simple illustration, we shall have no difficulty with what follows.

In the application, as in the illustration, there are four subjects—the Law, the woman, the first husband, and the second husband.

We are represented as the woman. This is clear from the statement that we are “married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead,” which is Christ. He, therefore, is the second husband. The first husband is indicated in verse 5: “When we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the Law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.” Death is the fruit of sin. The first husband, therefore, was the flesh, or “the body of sin.”

Dead to the Law

This is the expression that troubles so many. There is nothing troublesome in it, if we but keep in mind the illustration and the nature of the parties to this transaction. Why are we dead to the Law? In order that we might be married to another. But how is it that we become dead in order to be married to another? In the illustration, it is the first husband that dies before the woman may be married to another. Even so, it is here, as we shall see.

The Law of marriage is that the two parties to it “shall be one flesh.” How is it in this case? The first husband is the flesh, the body of sin. Well, we were truly one flesh with that. We were by nature perfectly united to sin. It was our life. It controlled us. Whatever sin devised, that we did. We might have done it unwillingly at times, but we did it nevertheless. Sin reigned in our mortal bodies so that we obeyed it in the lusts thereof. Whatever sin wished was law to us. We were one flesh.

There comes a time in our experience when we wish to be free from sin. It is when we see something of the beauty of holiness. With some people, the desire is only occasional; with others, it is more constant. Whether we recognize the fact or not, it is Christ appealing to us to forsake sin and to be joined to Him, to live with Him. And so we endeavor to effect a separation. But sin will not consent. In spite of all that we can do, it still clings to us. We are “one flesh,” and it is a union for life since it is a union of our life to sin. There is no divorce in that marriage.

Freedom in Death

There is no hope of effecting a separation from sin by any ordinary means. No matter how much we may desire to be united to Christ, it can not be done while we are joined to sin; for the Law will not sanction such a union, and Christ will not enter into any union that is not lawful.

If we could only get sin to die, we should be free; but it will not die. There is only one way for us to be freed from the hateful union, and that is for us to die. If we wish freedom so much that we are willing [for self] to be crucified, then it may be done. In death, the separation is effected; for it is by the body of Christ that “we” become dead. We are crucified with Him. The body of sin is also crucified. But while the body of sin is destroyed, we have a resurrection in Christ. The same thing that frees us from the first husband unites us to the second.

A New Creature

Now we see how it is that we are dead to the Law. We died in Christ and were raised in Him. But “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God.” II Corinthians 5:17, 18. Now we may be united to Christ, and the Law will witness to the union and sanction it. For not only is the first husband dead, but we also died, so that, although alive, we are not the same creature that we were before. “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” Galatians 2:20. We are one. The same Law that formerly declared us to be sinners now binds us to Christ.

Now that the union with Christ has been affected, we serve in newness of spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. In marriage, the woman is to be subject to the husband. So when we were united to sin, we were in all things subject to sin. For a time it was willing service; but when we saw the Lord and were drawn to Him, the service became irksome. We tried to keep God’s Law but were bound and could not. But now we are set free. Sin no longer restrains us, and our service is freedom. We gladly render to Christ all the service that the Law requires of us. We render this service because of the perfect union between us. His life is our, since we were raised only by the power of His life. Therefore, our obedience is simply His loyalty and faithfulness in us.

The apostle says that when we were in the flesh, “the motions of sins, which were by the Law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.” What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? Far from it. The Law is righteousness. But it is only by the law that sin is known. “Sin is not imputed when there is no Law.” Romans 5:13. “The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the Law.” I Corinthians 15:56. “Sin is the transgression of the Law.” I John 3:4. So there can be no sin but by the Law. But the Law is not sin; for if it were, it would not reprove sin. To convince of sin is the work of the Spirit of God and not of Satan. He would make us believe that sin is right.

Thou Shalt Not Covet

It once seemed very strange that the apostle should have quoted only this one commandment as the one that convicted him of sin. But the reason is plain. It was because this one includes every other. We learn (see Colossians 3:5) that covetousness is idolatry. Thus the Law ends just where it begins. It is a complete circle, including every duty of every person in the universe. “I had not known lust,” or unlawful desire, “except the Law had said, Thou shalt not covet.” Not lust is the beginning of every sin, for “when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin.” James 1:15. And sin is the transgression of the Law.

The tenth commandment is that one which forbids lust or unlawful desire. Therefore, if it is perfectly kept, all the others must be. It is not kept, no part of the Law is kept. So we see that in quoting the tenth commandment as that which convinced him of sin, the apostle really included the whole Law.

Before leaving this portion, we must call attention to the force of the eighth verse of Romans 6: “Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.” We can see how apt this is when we know that it is our death with Christ that frees us from the union with the monster sin and unites us in marriage to Christ. People marry in order to live together. So we become united to Christ in order that we may live with Him here and in the world to come. If we would live with Him in the world to come, we must live with Him in this world.

In the first seven verses of the seventh chapter of Romans, we have had the relation which we, by nature, sustain to sin and which, by grace, we afterwards sustain to Christ, represented under the figure of marriage to a first and second husband. The union with the second husband can not take place while the first husband is living; and in this case, the marriage is so perfect, the two parties being literally one flesh and blood, that one can not die without the other; therefore, we must needs die with sin before we can be separated from it.

But we die in Christ; and as He lives, although He was dead, we also live with Him. In His life there is no sin, so the body of sin is destroyed, while we are raised. Thus in death we are separated from the first husband, sin, and united to the second husband, Christ.

In the verses which follow, the apostle has pictured the struggle with the sin that has become distasteful. It is really and enlargement of that which has been presented in the first verses.

“But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the Law sin was dead. For I was alive without the Law once; but when the commandments came, sin revived, and I died. And the commandments, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandments, deceived me, and by it slew me. Wherefore the law is holy; and the commandment holy, and just and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandments might become exceeding sinful. For we know that the Law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do, I allow not; for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the Law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing; for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would, I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the Law of God after the inward man; but I see another Law in my members, warring against the Law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the Law of sin which is in my members. O wretched men that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the Law of God; but with the flesh the Law of sin.” Romans 7:8–25.

Sin Personified

It will be noticed that in this entire chapter, sin is represented as a person. It is the first husband to which we are united. But the union has become distasteful because, having seen Christ and having been drawn to Him by His love; we have seen that we were joined to a monster. The marriage bond has become a galling yoke, and our whole thought is how to get away from the monster to which we are united and which is dragging us down to a certain death. The picture presented in this chapter is one of the most vivid in the whole Bible.

The Strength of Sin

“The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the Law.” I Corinthians 15:56. “Without the Law sin was dead.” “Sin is not imputed when there is no Law.” “Where no Law is, there is no transgression.” So it is that “sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence.” Sin is simply the Law transgressed, “for sin is the transgression of the Law.” I John 3:4. Sin has no strength, therefore, except that which it gets from the Law. The Law is not sin, and yet it binds us to sin; that is, the Law witnesses to the sin and will not grant us any escape, simply because it can not bear false witness.

The Law of Life and the Law of Death

“The commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.” The Law of God is the life of God. “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:48. His life is the rule for all His creatures. Those in whom the life of God is made perfectly manifest keep His Law. It is very evident, therefore, that the design of the Law is life, since it is life itself. But the opposite of life is death. Therefore, when the Law is transgressed, it is death to the transgressor.

“For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.” It is not the Law that is the enemy, but the enemy is sin. Sin does the killing, for “the sting of death is sin.” Sin has the poison of death in it. Sin deceived us so that for a time we thought that it was our friend and we embraced it and delighted in the union. But when the Law enlightened us, we found that sin’s embrace was the embrace of death.

The Law pointed out the fact that sin was killing us. “Therefore the Law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” We have no more reason to rail at the Law than we have to hate the man who tells us that the substance which we are eating, thinking it to be food, is poison. He is our friend. He would not be our friend if he did not show us our danger. The fact that he is not able to heal the illness that the poison already eaten has caused does not make him any the less our friend. He has warned us of our danger, and we can now get help from the physician. And so, after all, the Law itself was not death to us, but its office was “that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.”

The Law is Spiritual

“For we know that the Law is spiritual.” If this fact were more generally recognized, there would be much less religious legislation among so-called Christian nations. People would not try to enforce the commandments of God. Since the Law is spiritual, it can be obeyed only by the power of the Spirit of God. “God is a Spirit.” (John 4:24); therefore, the Law is the nature of God. Spiritual is opposed to carnal, or fleshly. Thus it is that the man who is in the flesh can not please God.

A Slave

“But I am carnal, sold under sin.” One who is sold is a slave, and the evidence of the slavery in this instance is very plain. Free men do that which they wish to do. Only slaves do that which they do not wish to do and are continually prevented from doing what they wish to do. “For that which I do, I allow not; for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.” A more disagreeable position can not be imagined. Life in such a state can be only a burden.

Convicted, but Not Converted

“If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the Law that it is good.” The fact that we do not wish to do the sins that we are committing shows that we acknowledge the righteousness of the Law which forbids them. But conviction is not conversion, although a very necessary step to that condition. It is not enough to wish to do right. The blessing is pronounced upon those who do His commandments and not upon those who wish to do them, or who even try to do them. Indeed, if there were no higher position for a professed follower of the Lord than that described in these verses, he would be in a far worse condition than the careless sinner. Both are slaves, only the latter is so hardened that he finds pleasure in his slavery.

Now if one must all of his life be a slave, it is better for him to be unconscious of his bondage than to be continually fretting over it. But there is something better; therefore, it is a blessing that we are convicted of sin and that our slavery is thereby made as disagreeable as possible.

Two Laws

“I find then a Law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the Law of God after the inward man; but I see another law in my members, warring against the Law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” Compare this with verse 5.

Remember also that all of this is written to them that know the Law. It is not addressed to the heathen who have not the Law but to those who profess to know God. While knowing the Law, we are united in marriage to sin. This sin is in our flesh, since they who are married are one flesh. It is the Law that witnesses to the fact that we are sinners and that will not grant us any escape from it. But we are slaves. Whosoever commits sin is the slave of sin. (See John 8:34.) Therefore it is the Law that will not let us be anything but what we are that is really holding us in bondage. While we are in that condition, it is not to us a Law of liberty.

We are joined in marriage to sin. But sin has in it death, for “the sting of death is sin.” Sin is that with which death kills us. Therefore, the body of sin, to which we are joined when in the flesh, is but a body of death. What a terrible condition! Joined in such close union that we are one flesh with that which is in itself death. A living death!

And “the strength of sin is the Law.” It witnesses to our union and thus holds us in that bondage of death. If there were no hope of escape, we might curse the Law for not allowing us to die in ignorance. But although the Law seems to be pitiless, it is nevertheless our best friend. It holds us to a sense of the dreadfulness of our bondage until in anguish we cry out, “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” We must be delivered, or we perish.

There is a Deliverer

The pagan proverb has it that God helps those who help themselves. The truth is that God helps those who can not help themselves: “I was brought low, and He helped me.” Psalm 116:6. No one ever cries in vain for help. When the cry goes up for help, the Deliverer is at hand; and so, although sin is working death in us by all the power of the Law, we may exclaim, “Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” I Corinthians 15:57. “There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.” Romans 11:26. “Unto you first, God having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.” Acts 3:26. “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.” II Corinthians 9:15.

A Divided Man

“So then with the mind I myself serve the Law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” That is, of course, while in the condition described in the preceding verses. In purpose he serves the Law of God, but in actual practice he serves the law of sin. As described in another place, “The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye can not do the things that ye would.” Galatians 5:17. It is not a state of actual service to God, because we read in our next chapter that “they that are in the flesh can not please God.” Romans 8:8. It is a state from which one may well pray to be delivered so that he can serve the Lord, not merely with the mind but with his whole being. “The very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it.” I Thessalonians 5:23, 24.

Fitness Within

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A major theme of the New Testament is the concept that not only are we to be physically fit, but God wants us to be spiritually and morally fit. In fact, though salvation is a gift, the only people who will receive this gift are those who are spiritually and morally fit. The question that I want to ask you is, Are you spiritually and morally fit to receive the gift of salvation?

Many people only understand half of the gospel. They understand that you can be forgiven for all of the bad things that you have said and that you can receive a pardon through the blood of Jesus. We would be absolutely lost if Jesus had not made a way so that we could be forgiven; but friends, that is not all of the gospel. Jesus did not just provide a way to take care of all of my terrible past. He has also made provisions for the present and the future, to transform my life so that I do not have to go on living in my old, sinful way. The other half of the gospel is that there is grace sufficient to change my life into His image.

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God. Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” 1 John 3:1–3. If you have the hope of being like Him, you are going to purify yourself as He is pure. He has enough grace to make this a reality in your life.

Several books written by the apostles toward the end of the first century emphasize this theme of spiritual fitness and its importance to us as individuals if we are to pass the judgment and be found fit to be taken to heaven. The book written by the apostle James is one of these. In this book he points out several things that we must do if we are to be spiritually and morally prepared for a place in heaven.

A Twenty Point Fitness Test

If you want to be spiritually fit, you must be willing to endure trials. Putting your body to the test and forcing it to exercise produces physical fitness . The same is true spiritually. You cannot be spiritually fit unless you endure some trials, and the result of enduring those trials is that you develop endurance or patience. “But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” James 1:4.

If you want to be spiritually fit, you must also be able to endure temptation. “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” James 1:12. Part of the preparation process in the workshop of this world is learning to endure temptation. By the things that they endue, God is polishing His people. This is part of becoming spiritually fit.

“So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.” James 1:19. It is all right to be as fast as you want to be when you are listening; that is fine; but when you start to return an answer, do not be too quick. Especially be sure that you are slow to become angry, because he says in verse 20, “For the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”

The Natural World Helps Illustrate Spiritual Truth

I have learned that we understand spiritual lessons by giving them a physical application. Physically, as you put your body under stress and your body endures, your endurance increases until you do not develop an oxygen deficiency because your heart and lungs have developed enough capacity to keep you going. How is your spiritual endurance? When you are under a stressful situation, can you maintain your patience and keep going? The person who is spiritually fit can maintain his patience under difficult situations.

To be spiritually fit, one must become gentle. In the Bible, gentle is translated as meekness. Meekness actually means two things. It means to be humble and to be gentle. “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness [that is, gentleness] the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” James 1:21.

Jesus said, “Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28, 29. Gentleness produces tranquility and rest of soul. There is no strife in heaven, and a big factor is that everyone there is gentle. It is the meek, the gentle people, Jesus said, who will inherit the earth.

When Jesus met the devil, He said to him, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every work that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4. It is not enough to be hearers alone of the word; we must be doers. “But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” James 1:22–25.

While it is good to know what the Bible says, knowledge is not enough unless you actually do what it says. I cannot just talk about being gentle; I have to actually become a gentle person. My wife, my children, the people with whom I work must find out that I am a gentle person. I must actually act that way. There is enough grace, friends; that is what grace is all about.

If a person is going to gain spiritual fitness and moral fitness , the manner of speech must be transformed. “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless [vain or useless; not worth anything].” James 1:26. Though you know the truth, if you do not control the way that you speak, your religion is not worth anything.

Ellen White, speaking of the angels, said, “The angels never fly into a passion, never are envious, selfish and jealous; no harsh and unkind words escape their lips.” Review and Herald, September 1, 1885. Oh, friends, are you ready to go and live with angels, or would your speech spoil heaven?

“For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.” James 3:2. When I come to the place that my speech is perfect and harshness, unkindness, anger, impurity, or untruthful speech no longer find a part in my speech, I am ready to be taken to heaven. I am spiritually and morally fit.

Has your tongue ever gotten you in trouble? “Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.” James 3:5, 6. No doubt the majority of wars began because of something that someone or a group of people said. Divorce is often caused by the tongue. All manner of problems result from the tongue. In fact, the tongue is so unruly that no one can control it unless the grace of Christ is in the life. “But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” James 3:8.

I want to challenge you to do an experiment with the Lord. Say, “Lord, You know what I need to change in my speech, and I want Your grace to come into my life. I am yielding my life to You and I want Your grace to come into my life and help me to speak the way that You want me to speak.” If everyone would just pray that prayer, be in earnest, and start practicing it. There are families that are about to split up who could have a little heaven on earth in just a few days if they would change the way that they speak.

“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” James 1:27. In the social situation in which James was writing, the people in their society that were in the greatest difficulty were orphans and widows. They had no social security or pension benefits. They had no government programs to assist them financially. As a matter of fact, it was very difficult for women to find employment. This was one of the reasons that prostitution became a big business. James says that if you are really a Christian, if you really have “pure and undefiled religion,” you are gong to look around and find the people who are in trouble, and you are going to help them.

We are not to be partial. We are to love every human being and try to help every one that we can.

Love your neighbor as yourself. “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you do well.” James 2:8. If you love your neighbor as yourself, you are going to have eternal life. Did you know that? The apostle John says that if you do not love your neighbor, your brother whom you can see, then you cannot love God whom you cannot see. (See I John 4:20.) The way that you learn how to love God and do His will is to love your neighbor as yourself. That is a test you can apply to yourself and ask, “Am I morally fit? Do I have spiritual fitness ?”

“For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” James 2:10. You are going to be judged by the law of liberty. I took a class in graduate school in the area of physical fitness . One of the things that we learned in physical fitness is that if you are really going to be physically fit, you have to develop all of the muscles of the body. You cannot just do curls all of the time and develop your biceps. That is not being physically fit. To be really physically fit you have to develop the heart muscle, the diaphragm, the lungs, and all of the skeletal muscles of the body. It is the same thing with spiritual fitness . You cannot say, “Well, I keep all the law except for one point.” That is not good enough. You are not spiritually fit if there is one commandment that you are breaking.

“For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” James 2:13. Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain [receive] mercy.” Matthew 5:7. If you want to receive mercy from God, you need to give mercy to others.
We must not just have faith, but our faith must work. This is discussed in detail in verses 14–26 in chapter 2.

Pride The Root of All Strife

In James 4, he is talking to people who profess Christianity, yet they are having strife. Now I want to ask you, friend, Do you see any strife in the Christian world today? There is a lot of strife today. Do you know where strife comes from? It is the result of pride. James makes that very, very clear in chapter 4:1–6. Pride produces strife. He says in verse 6, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” So if I want to be spiritually and morally fit, I must be striving for humility. How do I get this humility, this humbleness, that I must have if I am going to be spiritually or morally fit?

“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” James 4:7–10. Make a decision and say, “Lord, I am choosing to humble myself before You. I am not going to be proud.” Do you know that in Christian churches, in homes, in families, and in the work place, if every single person would practice this and become humble, strife would vanish? This does not mean that we would have no problems, but we would not have strife as we try to deal with the problems. Pride produces strife, and in heaven everyone is humble.

“Do not speak evil of one another, brethren.” James 4:11. If you want to be morally and spiritually fit, you must stop speaking evil of others. “Oh,” you say, “but it is true.” It may be true. There are many things that are true that we could say about each other that are not necessary to be said.

“Oh,” you say, “but he is evil.” Well, he may be evil. The more you talk about it the worse it is going to be for both of you. Do no speak evil about your neighbor. This is part of being spiritually fit. By the way, if you want to read something interesting about evil speaking, study the life of Jesus and notice all of the different times when He restrained Himself from saying what He could have said. It is a very interesting study.

James says that if you want to be spiritually and morally fit, do not be a bragger or a boaster. (See James 4:16.) For some people, this is not a problem; but for others, it is. When you study the life of Christ, you will find no bragging or boasting. Of all people who could have boasted, He could have done so; but He did not.

Do you ever deliberately put your brother or your sister in a hard spot? The same hard-heartedness is often seen in those who may not actively oppress their brethren, but who just watch them without doing anything to help them. I have heard it said when someone makes a big mistake and gets himself into trouble, “Well, I am sorry he is in trouble, but it is his own fault.” James talks about people who, because they have money and power, oppress those who are poor. (See James 5:1–5.) He says that if you do this, you will be condemned in the Day of Judgment. In heaven, the powerful do not oppress, or refuse to come to the assistance of the weak.

“Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” James 5:7, 8. Have you ever heard the saying, “Only the good die young?” Now that is not totally true. There are a lot of people who are alive today because God has preserved their life from injury, accident, or sickness. God has preserved them from dying because in the past, if they had died, they would have been lost. God lengthened their probation so that they could have a chance to be saved. Maybe God has preserved your life until now because He wants to make you morally and spiritually fit so that He can give you eternal life. An awareness of this fact gives life a very solemn importance.

“But above all, my brethren, do not swear.” James 5:12. The very thing that the Bible emphasizes over and over again is something that people do unconsciously, almost without thinking. Some people can hardly say a sentence without swearing.

“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” James 5:16.

Oh, friend, has God put within you a desire to be spiritually healed and to be fit, spiritually and morally, for heaven? If so, confess your trespasses to one another. Make things right and pray for each other so that you may be healed.

Do you want to go to heaven? Oh, friend, it is your decision.

When it is too Late to Recover

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One of the first things that you are taught when you learn to fly an airplane is how to recover from a stall. If you are flying level and your airspeed gets to be too low, the airplane will stop flying and just drop. That is not serious generally, for in a small plane like a Cessna 150 or 152, you can recover in two or three hundred feet, but the larger the airplane, the more distance it takes to recover. To practice this maneuver you must have sufficient altitude. Stalling without sufficient altitude can be very dangerous and even deadly. The standard procedure to follow when going too slow and stalling is to give it fuel, push in the throttle and gain speed and you will come right out of it.

It is customary when purchasing a plane to take it up with an instructor, or someone that has experience with that particular plane, for a test run before taking delivery. A personal friend and Seventh-day Adventist minister was taking delivery of an airplane he had purchased and took it on the test flight. It was flying fairly low and stalled. Unfortunately, the plane was flying too low and it slammed into the ground instantly killing both occupants. In 1991 that very same thing happened to a 737. A sports team was coming in for a landing in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The winds were very gusty that day which makes it one of the most dangerous times to land, because you are flying into the wind and you have to have your flight speed up high enough so if the wind drops, you are still above stalling speed. The wind was gusting anywhere from 15 to 40 miles per hour, and the pilot failed to keep the correct airspeed. While the airplane was coming in for a landing, the wind pulled back and all of a sudden the plane just went straight down and instantly killed everybody. A stall is not dangerous when there is plenty of altitude, but coming in for a landing when the plane is low, there is not enough time or distance to recover.

We are headed toward the Holy City. We are almost home and ready to make a heavenly landing. Care must be taken to not stall, for soon it will be too late to recover.

The warning of the third angel is found in Revelation 14:9–12; it says, “Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.’ Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”

The reason for this warning given by the third angel is because of what the powers of this earth are going to do in the end of this world’s history. It is described in Revelation 13:14–17: “And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”

Now, for over 150 years, Seventh-day Adventists have been preaching the three angels’ messages to the world. Some Seventh-day Adventists have heard it so much that it no longer affects them. It is in the back of their mind; they believe it, but think it probably won’t happen in their lifetime. The messenger of the Lord has something to say about this way of thinking.

“The day is at hand when the destiny of every soul will be fixed forever. This day of the Lord hastens on apace. The false watchmen are raising the cry, ‘All is well’; but the day of God is rapidly approaching. Its footsteps are so muffled that it does not arouse the world from the deathlike slumber into which it has fallen. While the watchmen cry, ‘Peace and safety,’ ‘sudden destruction cometh upon them,’ ‘and they shall not escape’; ‘for as a snare [a trap] shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.’ It overtakes the pleasure-lover and the sinful man as a thief in the night. When all is apparently secure, and men retire to contented rest, then the prowling, stealthy, midnight thief steals upon his prey. When it is too late to prevent the evil, it is discovered that some door or window was not secured. ‘Be ye also ready: for in an such hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.’ People are now settling to rest, imagining themselves secure under the popular churches; but let all beware, lest there is a place left open for the enemy to gain an entrance. Great pains should be taken to keep this subject before the people. The solemn fact is to be kept not only before the people of the world, but before our own churches also, that the day of the Lord will come suddenly, unexpectedly. The fearful warning of the prophecy is addressed to every soul. Let no one feel that he is secure from the danger of being surprised. Let no one’s interpretation of prophecy rob you of the conviction of the knowledge of events which show that this great event is near at hand.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 335, 336.

Our only safety is to be ready at all times. Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of His time because they were not able to read the signs of the times.

About forty years ago I was first informed of a development that could bring about the fulfillment of the prophecy of being unable to buy or sell. Recently, I have become aware that this development is happening much more rapidly than most people realize. It is not happening in the United States, but all around the world and is developing secretly so that most people do not even know that it is happening. However, many of the relatively few who do know about it are scared to death about what it portends for the future, and these people don’t even know the three angels’ messages.

Most do know that the United States money supply has been increased by trillions of dollars in the last three or four years. But what many do not realize is that dozens of central banks, including the United States Federal Reserve Bank, are starting to abandon the paper money system and force us to a new traceable digital currency. The New York Times has reported that the United States government is shredding and burying billions of dollars in landfills, enough to fill 1,750 dump trucks per year. This shredding program has been going on for years to rid the system of worn out dollar bills. Recently they are destroying currency faster than they are replacing it, and are shredding so much cash, that they have been forced to outsource this to private companies. Landfill fees have been getting so high that they have been forced to find new and unusual ways to dispose of all this unwanted paper. ABC News reported that the dollars are piling up so quickly that the Federal Reserve will need to spend $650,000 to build a new vault in Dallas, Texas, to hold them.

What is this endless destruction of paper money all about? It appears that the plans are to flip us into an age of digital, traceable currency and bring to an end the use of cash. In 2011, the United States Treasury printed fewer $5 bills than it had in over 30 years, and no $10 bills were printed at all. In regard to coins, it costs the government about 9 cents to make a nickel, and about 2 cents to make a penny.

There is no legal requirement for businesses to accept dollars as payment, and businesses are starting to refuse cash. Many airlines no longer accept cash for food and drink during flights. Apple stores won’t accept it for an iPad or an iPhone. The State of Louisiana has made it illegal to buy many things with cash.

The Economist magazine said recently, “Cash, after millennia, as one of mankind’s most versatile and enduring technologies, looks set to melt away.” This same thing is happening overseas. In Mexico, there is a bill before the legislature to make it illegal to pay cash for real estate. In Greece, all cash transactions worth 1,500 Euros or more are against the law as of January 1, 2012. In Italy, all cash transactions over 5,000 Euros will be banned.

What does this mean to you? It means you will not be able to transfer a large sum of money anonymously, and every financial transaction that you make will be easily monitored and controlled by the government. Now, we have been on this road for over 50 years, but the pace has become much faster in recent months. Over 90 percent of our money supply is digital. The government is not printing more money but transactions are being made through computers.

Many do not believe that cash will ever disappear, however there is a bill in the United States Congress right now that would remove legal tender status from United States Treasury coins and Federal Reserve Notes. If that bill should pass, paper money would not be money anymore. The United States Treasurer has announced plans to switch to digital payments that will save, they say, nearly three hundred million dollars a year by eliminating millions of paper checks.

The Social Security administration recently switched from paper check to a new digital currency system to distribute billions of dollars in monthly benefit payments. Here is what one analyst said: “There’s not much time left, before the United States government prints their last dollar bill.” Dozens of central banks, including the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States, are about to force us into a traceable currency. And when that happens, it will be the simplest, easiest thing in the world to enforce the mark of the beast so you cannot buy or sell, as it is predicted in Revelation 13:15 and 17.

These things have been developing slowly over the last 50 years. But, like a lot of things, it is just going slowly and then all of sudden it happens. Ellen White said this about the rapidity of these things being fulfilled at the end: “The work of the people of God is to prepare for the events of the future, which will soon come upon them with blinding force.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 4, 74.

Blinding force is something that happens so fast you can’t see it; it blinds you to even try to see what is happening. Ellen White, when writing the book The Great Controversy, said, “I was moved by the Spirit of the Lord to write that book, and while working upon it, I felt a great burden upon my soul. I knew that time was short, that the scenes which are soon to crowd upon us would at the last come very suddenly and swiftly, as represented in the words of Scripture: ‘The day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night’ (I Thessalonians 5:2).” Selected Messages, Book 3, 113.

Peter also tells us that the last events of this earth would come very suddenly and swiftly. He says, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.” II Peter 3:10.

The ability to buy and sell is a test over the law of God. The mark of the beast is the change in the law of God, specifically the change in the time of the law of God as mentioned in Daniel 7:25. And the change of the Sabbath is the sign or mark of authority of the anti-christ. We are told in Evangelism, 234, 235. “No one has yet received the mark of the beast. The testing time has not yet come. There are true Christians in every church, not excepting the Roman Catholic communion. None are condemned until they have had the light and have seen the obligation of the fourth commandment. But when the decree shall go forth enforcing the counterfeit sabbath, and the loud cry of the third angel shall warn men against the worship of the beast and his image, the line will be clearly drawn between the false and the true. Then those who still continue in transgression will receive the mark of the beast.

“With rapid steps we are approaching this period.”

The great test of loyalty will be over the fourth commandment and this test is going to occur before probation closes, before the work closes up. Ellen White says, “The Lord has shown me clearly that the image of the beast will be formed before probation closes; for it is to be the great test for the people of God, by which their eternal destiny will be decided.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 80.

Think about what you would do tonight if you could not buy or sell. Only the Lord will be able to sustain His people through that period. The just shall live by faith. Though the 144,000 live until the Lord comes, it will look like they are going to be killed. They would rather be killed than disobey God. This is the mindset necessary to go through to the end and be part of the people who are ready to meet Jesus when He comes.

“This is the test that the people of God must have before they are sealed. All who prove their loyalty to God by observing His law, and refusing to accept a spurious sabbath, will rank under the banner of the Lord God Jehovah, and will receive the seal of the living God. Those who yield the truth of heavenly origin, and accept the Sunday sabbath, will receive the mark of the beast.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 15, 15.

If you receive the mark of the beast, it is too late to recover, just like an airplane that stalls when it’s coming in for a landing—it’s too late!

“The substitution of the laws of men for the law of God, the exaltation, by merely human authority, of Sunday in place of the Bible Sabbath, is the last act in the drama. When this substitution becomes universal, God will reveal Himself. He will arise in His majesty to shake terribly the earth. He will come out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the world for their iniquity, and the earth shall disclose her blood and shall no more cover her slain (Isaiah 26:21).” Testimonies, vol. 7, 141. Things are being put in place so that central governments can control every financial transaction that occurs. When that happens, it will be very easy on a central computer, if you don’t have proper ID, to block the code so that your card won’t work. Instantly, you will not be able to buy and sell. What will you do then?

“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.” Ibid., vol. 1, 608. This means that the majority now professing the faith will turn away from it for their temporal needs.

“I was pointed back to ancient Israel. But two of the adults of the vast army that left Egypt entered the land of Canaan. Their dead bodies were strewn in the wilderness because of their transgressions. Modern Israel are in greater danger of forgetting God and being led into idolatry than were His ancient people. Many idols are worshiped, even by professed Sabbathkeepers.” Ibid., 609.

“To stand in defense of truth and righteousness when the majority forsake us, to fight the battles of the Lord when champions are few—this will be our test. At this time we must gather warmth from the coldness of others, courage from their cowardice, and loyalty from their treason.” Ibid., vol. 5, 136.

We are rapidly approaching the test that will come to each of us individually. It is one thing to stand and preach about it, or sit and listen to it, but it will be another thing when hungry and thirsty and you can’t buy and sell.

The survivors will, like the three worthies on the plain of Dura, say, Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us but if He does not, let it be known that we will not bow even if we lose our lives. (See Daniel 3:17, 18.)

This is how Ellen White described it: “The time is not far distant when the test will come to every soul. The mark of the beast will be urged upon us. Those who have step by step yielded to worldly demands and conformed to worldly customs will not find it a hard matter to yield to the powers that be, rather than subject themselves to derision, insult, threatened imprisonment, and death. The contest is between the commandments of God and the commandments of men. In this time the gold will be separated from the dross in the church. True godliness will be clearly distinguished from the appearance and tinsel of it. Many a star that we have admired for its brilliancy will then go out in darkness. Chaff like a cloud will be borne away on the wind, even from places where we see only floors of rich wheat. All who assume the ornaments of the sanctuary, but are not clothed with Christ’s righteousness, will appear in the shame of their own nakedness.” Ibid., 81.

Time is running out. At this final test the wheat will be separated from the tares. “Said my [Ellen White] accompanying angel, ‘Fearful is his work. Awful is his mission. He is the angel that is to select the wheat from the tares, and seal, or bind, the wheat for the heavenly garner.’ ” Early Writings, 118.

We are preparing to come in to land at our heavenly home. The landing strip is in sight and there is still time to throttle up and make a safe landing by choosing to surrender your life to Jesus Christ and make the commitment, “Lord, I am committing my life to You, and whether I live or die, I am going to follow You and obey You.” Divine power will be given to you and you will be amazed that now you can overcome habits that you never thought possible.

Everyone is to receive a mark, some will have a mark of deliverance—the seal of God. Others will have a mark of destruction—the mark of the beast. At the close of probation one group is going to be saved and there is no way they can be destroyed. The other group of people that have the other mark are going to be destroyed, and there is no way they can be saved.

After receiving the marks, it is too late to change. “Our own course of action will determine whether we shall receive the seal of the living God or be cut down by the destroying weapons. Already a few drops of God’s wrath have fallen upon the earth; but when the seven last plagues shall be poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation, then it will be forever too late to repent and find shelter.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 212.

This is going to come suddenly, at a time when least expected. The signs of the times show that we are almost there, and it will be too late to pick up speed, just as the 737 stalled as it was coming in for landing and went straight down because it was too late! Spectators watched as it hit the ground. If the plane had stalled while still high enough in the air, it could have recovered but you don’t dare stall on the approach, for it is then too late to recover.

Soon there will be no more atoning blood to wash away the stains of sin. Jesus is about to leave the most holy place. Just being a Sabbath-keeper is not enough. “Not all who profess to keep the Sabbath will be sealed. There are many even among those who teach the truth to others who will not receive the seal of God in their foreheads.” Ibid., 214. That is scary!

If Paul said he had to keep his body under or he could be rejected (1 Corinthians 9:27), that would apply to me and it would also apply to you. “They had the light of truth, they knew their Master’s will, they understood every point of our faith, but they had not corresponding works. These who were so familiar with prophecy and the treasures of divine wisdom should have acted their faith.” Ibid. Pray earnestly that you are not in that class.

The spiritual condition of those who receive the seal of God is seen in Revelation 7:1–3 and Revelation 14:1–5. Compare this condition with Revelation 7:1–3. Plead for righteousness while there is still time: “Not one of us will ever receive the seal of God while our characters have one spot or stain upon them.” Ibid., 215.

When God has a people in this world whose souls are cleansed from every defilement, they will receive the “latter rain.” James 5:7.

Do not despair; your case is not hopeless if you come to Jesus. All things are possible, if you can believe that Jesus can remove all the spots and stains out of your character if you are willing to let go of those bad habits no matter what they are. But, He will never force anyone to let them go and take away their free will. Victory is available to all of those who cooperate with the heavenly agencies. Before we can be ready to receive the latter rain and to give the loud cry, these stains have to come out. This is impossible for us; it is the Lord’s work, but we must cooperate with the divine agencies and be willing to let go.

“There are sinners in Zion who need to repent of sins that have been cherished as precious treasures. Until these sins are seen, and thrust from the soul, until every faulty, unlovely trait of character is transformed by the Spirit’s influence, God cannot manifest Himself in power.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 1, 366.

Imagine the family and church where each person had the unlovely traits of character removed. “Before the final visitation of God’s judgments upon the earth there will be among the people of the Lord such a revival of primitive godliness as has not been witnessed since apostolic times.” The Great Controversy, 464.

Ellen White wrote in The Signs of the Times, August 19, 1886, “If we have become the disciples of Christ, we shall be learning of Him—every day learning how to overcome some unlovely trait of character.”

We are approaching the time when it will be too late to stall and then recover. Every moment is precious, and we need to seek God day and night that every unlovely trait of character may be removed from our characters that we might become a perfect reflection of the character of our precious Saviour, Jesus Christ.

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

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

Keeping Up With the Light

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“But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” Proverbs 4:18. Notice, this verse does not say the room of the just, but the path of the just. As you walk that path, if you stay on it, the light is going to become brighter and brighter. But it is also true, friend, that if you do not keep walking on the path, the light is going to become darkness, because the light is moving.

The Bible talks about present truth. (See II Peter 1:12.) There are certain things that can be preached at one time that cannot be preached at another time. There are some truths that are timeless, but there is some truth that is present truth. What is present truth today is not exactly the same as it was 100 years ago.

I believe that very soon God’s servants are going to have to preach things that we have never thought we were going to preach. We are in a situation very similar to the Jews in the time of Christ. The devil had manipulated them into a situation, through what they had been taught, so that they were ready to reject the truth. They had developed a series of criteria which, if Jesus was the Messiah, they believed He would meet. Interestingly enough, they based these expectations on the Old Testament. Jesus did not, however, meet their criteria. It is interesting to note, in the study of history, that almost every time prophecy is fulfilled, it is not fulfilled in the way expected.

Seventh-day Adventists used to wonder what Ellen White meant when she said, “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.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 608. Very soon we are going to find out.

This concept that spiritual light is moving and the person who does not keep walking in the light finds himself in the dark, explains many spiritual phenomena that are happening all around us that otherwise would be very confusing. A few years ago, two Seventh-day Adventist ministers came to Marshall’s home, where I was staying, to question me. One of them said something like this: “Do you believe that the Seventh-day Adventist Church organization was ordained by God? Well, do you or don’t you?” Well, let me ask you some questions? Do you believe that the Jewish church organization was ordained by God, or that He had a hand in setting it up? Was there a time when the Jews were in the light? Yes, there was. The Jews had been called by God and chosen as His special people. They had been in the light. They had, friends, the spirit of prophecy. They had all of the Old Testament; that is the spirit of prophecy. But when the light moved, they did not move with it. God had more light for them, but they would not accept it. They stayed put and, as a result, they were left in the dark.

Jesus is the light of the world. I want you to notice Revelation 14:4 and what it says about the 144,000. “These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes.” When the light (Jesus) moves, the 144,000 follow. The problem today is that when the light moves, there are so many people who do not follow it; they stay put. They are left in the dark and are then spiritually blind. There was a time when they were in the light; but the light moved, and they did not move with it. “As the light and life of men was rejected by the ecclesiastical authorities in the days of Christ, so it has been rejected in every succeeding generation.” The Desire of Ages, 232. Did you notice that she said that this has taken place in every succeeding generation? “Again and again the history of Christ’s withdrawal from Judea has been repeated. When the Reformers preached the Word of God, they had no thought of separating themselves from the established church; but the religious leaders would not tolerate the light.” Ibid. What happened? The religious leaders refused to walk in the light. “And those that bore it were forced to seek another class, who were longing for the truth.” Ibid. Everyone who does not love the truth is going to be deceived and be lost.

“Few are listening for the voice of God, and ready to accept truth in whatever guise it may be presented. Often those who follow in the steps of the Reformers are forced to turn away from the churches they love, in order to declare the plain teaching of the Word of God.” Ibid. Did you know that there are many people who no longer believe that this statement can apply today? Have you ever heard people say, “Well, the cycles have to stop somewhere, and they stopped in 1863 because that is when we incorporated”? The trouble is, friends, The Desire of Ages was not even written until 1898.

We are living in a time that a few years ago no one expected to see. We believed that when persecution came, it would come from outside of the church. We failed to understand what Ellen White meant when she said that we have far more to fear from within than from without. (See Selected Messages, Book 1, 122.) Who would have thought that in Adventism the apostasy would become so great that in many places it would become spiritually dangerous to even attend the local Seventh-day Adventist Church because error was being “forced home to the people.”? (See Early Writings, 125.) We were not expecting the true and faithful Seventh-day Adventists to be disfellowshipped and persecuted by their former brethren all over the world, as is taking place today. But when we go to the inspired writings, we see all of this prophesied—we just did not understand it. People have come to believe that these things would not happen until after the national Sunday law. Friend, that theory is a dangerous deception. The national Sunday law does not initiate the shaking; it brings the shaking to a climax! Those who are waiting to take a bold, unyielding stand for the truth until the Sunday law test comes are simply preparing to receive the mark of the beast.

You see, when anyone rejects the light of truth that God has given to this people, he has turned his back on the light and goes out in darkness. He may still call himself a Seventh-day Adventist; but if he does not believe the First Angel’s Message and truth of the Investigative Judgment beginning in 1844, he has gone into darkness. You cannot, with safety, go to his church and listen to him preach. When a person rejects the truth of the great Day of Atonement that began in 1844 and says that instead of afflicting the soul (Leviticus 16:29, 30) it is time to celebrate, they have gone out into darkness. If a preacher says that you will sin until Jesus comes, he has accepted Satan’s fatal sophistry (see The Great Controversy, 489), and you dare not go and listen to him preach lest you be deceived and lose your own soul. Finally, if you are not hearing the historic doctrines of Adventism preached in your church, if you are hearing the same kinds of sermons that you could hear in any other church, then you are endangering your soul if you do not either find an Historic Seventh-day Adventist congregation, or start a home church where you can teach the truth, at least to your own family.

Our opportunities for learning and knowing God’s last message to a perishing world and being prepared for what is coming on the world are very limited at best, and we dare not allow ourselves and our families to be exposed to either heretical preaching or “peace and safety” messages that come just before destruction. “I saw that we have no time to throw away in listening to fables. Our minds should not be thus diverted, but should be occupied with the present truth, and seeking wisdom that we may obtain a more thorough knowledge of our position, that with meekness we may be able to give a reason of our hope from the Scriptures. While false doctrines and dangerous errors are pressed upon the mind, it cannot be dwelling upon the truth which is to fit and prepare the house of Israel to stand in the day of the Lord.” Early Writings, 125.

Every Sabbath after church, you should be more fitted to stand in the day of the Lord than before. But the prophet wrote sadly, “Those who have been regarded as worthy and righteous prove to be ring-leaders in apostasy and examples in indifference and in the abuse of God’s mercies. Their wicked course He will tolerate no longer, and in His wrath He deals with them without mercy.

“It is with reluctance that the Lord withdraws His presence from those who have been blessed with great light and who have felt the power of the word in ministering to others. They were once His faithful servants, favored with His presence and guidance; but they departed from Him and led others into error, and therefore are brought under the divine displeasure. . . .

“Not all who profess to keep the Sabbath will be sealed. There are many even among those who teach the truth to others who will not receive the seal of God in their foreheads. They had the light of truth, they knew their Master’s will, they understood every point of our faith, but they had not corresponding works. These who were so familiar with prophecy and the treasures of divine wisdom should have acted their faith. They should have commanded their households after them, that by a well-ordered family they might present to the world the influence of the truth upon the human heart.

“By their lack of devotion and piety, and their failure to reach a high religious standard, they make other souls contented with their position. Men of finite judgment cannot see that in patterning after these men who have so often opened to them the treasures of God’s Word, they will surely endanger their souls. Jesus is the only true pattern. Everyone must now search the Bible for himself upon his knees before God, with the humble, teachable heart of a child, if he would know what the Lord requires of him. However high any minister may have stood in the favor of God, if he neglects to follow out the light given him of God, if he refuses to be taught as a little child, he will go into darkness and satanic delusions and will lead others in the same path. . . .

“What are you doing, brethren, in the great work of preparation? Those who are uniting with the world are receiving the worldly mold and preparing for the mark of the beast.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 212–216.

Friends, it is a dangerous thing to fail to advance in the opening providence of God. The light is moving. Are you moving with it or are you in the dark? Early in her experience, Ellen White saw a vision about this light. You can read this vision in Early Writings, 15–20. In other places in her writings, she speaks about the light that was set up at the beginning of the path that the Advent company was traveling that shone all of the way up to the Holy City. This path, friends, is narrow; and if you do not have light on the path, you are going to stumble and fall off.

What was that light that was set up at the beginning? Sister White says that it was the Midnight Cry. The Midnight Cry was based on the Bible prophecies of Daniel 8 and 9, and Revelation 14:6, 7—the message of the 2300 days and the sanctuary and the Investigative Judgment. The devil knows that if we reject these truths, we will stumble and fall off of the path. It is amazing how successful the devil has been in leading us to reject them.

We have been told that, “When the power of God testifies as to what is truth, that truth is to stand forever as the truth. No after suppositions contrary to the light God has given are to be entertained.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 161. Yet there are Adventist teachers and ministers today who no longer believe these truths. Friend, if you are in the situation where you listen to this error, you are in the dark; you are going to lose your way. The Lord is not going to work a miracle to save you; you have turned your back on the light. This idea that you can have a spirit of free inquiry and ask any question you want to is not according to the Scriptures. Jesus rebuked people for their doubt. Friend, if these truths are not being upheld in your church, your church is in the dark.

In Testimonies, vol. 2, 594–597, Ellen White describes a very impressive dream. “I dreamed of being with a large body of people. A portion of this assembly started out prepared to journey. We had heavily loaded wagons. As we journeyed, the road seemed to ascend. On one side of this road was a deep precipice; on the other was a high, smooth, white wall. . . . As we journeyed on, the road grew narrower and steeper. . . . We concluded that we could no longer travel with the loaded wagons. We . . . took a portion of the luggage from the wagons and placed it upon the horses, and journeyed on horseback. As we progressed, the path still continued to grow narrow. . . . We then cut the luggage from the horses, and it fell over the precipice. We continued on horseback. . . . A hand seemed to take the bridle and guide us over the perilous way. As the path grew more narrow, we . . . left the horses and went on foot, in single file. . . . At this point small cords were let down from the top of the pure white wall; these we eagerly grasped. . . . The path finally became so narrow that we concluded that we could travel more safely without our shoes, so we slipped them from our feet. . . . Soon it was decided that we could travel more safely without our stockings; these were removed, and we journeyed on with bare feet.”

One of the most interesting points of this dream is that several changes were made. They began with heavily loaded wagons, then changed to horses with a portion of the luggage, to horses with no luggage, to single file on foot, to removing their shoes, and finally to removing their stockings. Notice that “at every change some were left behind, and those only remained who had accustomed themselves to endure hardships. The privations of the way only made these more eager to press on to the end. . . . We pressed close to the white wall, yet could not place our feet fully upon the path, for it was too narrow. We then suspended nearly our whole weight upon the cords, exclaiming: ‘We have hold from above!’” Ibid.

The light, friends, is moving. Are you keeping up with the providence of God? Are you aware that the road we are traveling is getting narrower? Have you noticed it? How are you going to stay on the path and keep up with the providence of God? The only way is to have faith. These cords represent faith. A few years ago a good friend of mine told me that he was sorry that I had worked so many years for the Adventist denomination and now had to give up all of my retirement benefits. If you stay on the road all the way to the end, you are going to give up much more than retirement benefits.

Oh friend, how much time are you spending in prayer? If you are energetic enough to get up and to pray, God will hear and answer.

“Where there is no active labor for others, love wanes, and faith grows dim.” The Desire of Ages, 825.

You must not only study your Bible and pray, you must be actively involved in missionary work. If you are not, ask the Lord to show you what to do to become involved in some type of outreach program spreading the Third Angel’s Message.

We did not follow the path to the end of the vision. The time came, however, when the path disappeared and all that was left were the cords that had been let down from above. When you come to this place in your experience, will you have a faith that will hold you? Do you want the Lord to let down a cord of faith today so that you can get a hold from above? If so, determine that from this day forward, you will faithfully walk in the light as God sheds it upon your pathway.