Articles – Page 221 – Steps to Life

Nature Nugget – Champion Trees

November 21, 2019 by David Arbour

Western North America is home to the tallest, largest, and oldest documented trees known to still be living. The Coastal Redwoods of California’s northern coast are the tallest living things in the world. Starting from seeds the size of tomato seeds, they can grow over 300 feet in only a couple hundred years. The tallest Coastal Redwood is 367 feet tall, with a width at its base of 22 feet. Due to the high tannin content of the wood, they are highly disease and insect resistant. Coastal Redwoods are also resistant to fire. Having no taproot, their roots only reach 10 to 13 feet deep and spread outward 60 to 80 feet. Because of this, the most frequent cause of death among them, aside from logging, is toppling. Coastal Redwoods commonly live more than 2,000 years, and a few are over 4,000 years old.

Another type of redwood, the Giant Sequoia, does not get quite as tall as the Coastal Redwoods but tends to be more massive. Giant Sequoias are the largest living things on earth. Trunk diameters of up to 30 feet are not uncommon, and their branches can be 50 feet long. Their bark can be 4 feet thick! The largest Giant Sequoia is known as the “General Sherman,” with a volume of over 55,000 cubic feet. It is only 274.9 feet tall, but it has a diameter at its base of 36.5 feet and a crown spread of 106.5 feet. Giant Sequoias grow at elevations of 4,900–8,200 feet on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Central California. They commonly reach an age of 2,000–3,000 years.

The oldest documented living things on earth are the Bristlecone Pines of the Great Basin areas of the Western United States. Earth’s oldest known living inhabitant, a Bristlecone Pine known as “Methuselah,” is 4,767 years old and is found in the White Mountains of California. In 1964, a Bristlecone Pine was cut down that was determined to be 4,862 years old. The age of a tree is determined by taking core samples and counting the growth rings. For each year of life, a new growth ring is produced. Bristlecone Pines are usually less than 60 feet tall. They are native to dry, windswept mountaintops above 10,000 feet.

The ages of some of the trees mentioned above would place them on the earth before the flood, which is not a problem if you consider this Spirit of Prophecy quote: “God by his miraculous power preserved a few of the different kinds of trees and shrubs alive for future generations.” Spiritual Gifts, vol. 3, 77.

There is a champion tree in Heaven whose glory surpasses that of all other trees. “The fruit of the tree of life in the Garden of Eden possessed supernatural virtue. To eat of it was to live forever. Its fruit was the antidote of death. Its leaves were for the sustaining of life and immortality.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 288. Man lost the right to eat of this tree when sin entered the world. The tree was removed from the earth before the flood and now resides in Heaven. (See “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 989; Patriarchs and Prophets, 62.) Access to the tree of life will soon be restored to man through Christ. (See Early Writings, 126.) “If you are true and humble and faithful in this life, you will be given an abundant entrance. Then the tree of life will be yours, for you will be a victor over sin; the city whose builder and maker is God will be your city.” Ibid., 125.

David Arbour writes from his home in DeQueen, Arkansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

Restoring the Temple – Cholesterol

November 21, 2019 by Sheryle Beaudry-RN,C

Cholesterol can be a confusing subject. You have probably heard that there is both good and bad cholesterol, but what does that mean?

First, let us address what cholesterol is and what its role is in the body. Cholesterol is a steroid that becomes part of the membranes, or outer coverings, of cells. Cholesterol has an essential function in our bodies, because it is an important component in the construction of certain hormones and bile salts. Cholesterol also serves as a waterproofing substance on the skin and is a precursor of Vitamin D3.

Its Source

From where does cholesterol come? Dietary cholesterol comes from animal products—both meats and dairy sources. This is because every animal cell contains cholesterol. Cholesterol is not found in plant foods.

You may ask, if I am a vegan (someone who does not eat any meat or dairy products), how do I get cholesterol in my body? Our bodies manufacture cholesterol from fats that we ingest. In fact, only about 20 percent of the cholesterol in the blood circulation of people who eat animal products comes from dietary sources. It is no problem for vegans to manufacture all the cholesterol they need for survival and health, as long as they include plant fats in their diets. Only a small to moderate amount of those fats is necessary for cholesterol production.

LDL and HDL

Next, let us consider the different types of cholesterol and what they mean to us. You may have heard of lipoproteins. Lipoproteins are a combination of lipids (fats) and protein that also contain cholesterol. Lipoproteins are generally classified according to size and the proportion of lipids that they contain. The most commonly known types are low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) and high-density lipoproteins (HDLs).

LDLs are made up mostly of cholesterol. LDLs deliver cholesterol to the peripheral tissues of the body, such as the arms and legs. Because the cholesterol in the LDL package sometimes sticks in the arteries, LDL cholesterol is called the bad cholesterol.

HDLs are made up of a fairly equal balance of lipids (largely cholesterol) and protein. The main purpose of an HDL molecule is to transport excess cholesterol back from the peripheral tissues to the liver, where it is stored, or to the bile, where it is excreted from the body. Because of this function, HDLs are generally labeled as good cholesterol.

You can remember which type is “good” or “bad” by thinking that low-density things float—fat also floats—and we do not want it sticking to our arteries. Therefore, low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) are the “bad” kind.

Currently, doctors consider persons with a total cholesterol level of 200 mg/dL or above to be at risk for heart and artery disease. LDLs are optimal at less than 100 mg/dL. HDLs are the opposite, with higher levels considered better than lower levels. HDLs should be at 60 mg/dL or more for optimal heart health. Another form of lipids, triglycerides, should be below 150 mg/dL. In the United States, 105 million people have total cholesterol levels of 200 mg/dL or higher.

Associated Disease

One type of disease associated with cholesterol is atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries. Almost every adult living in the developed nations has atherosclerosis to some degree. Even American children have been found to have early stages of this disease. Atherosclerosis occurs when LDLs dump their load of cholesterol on the walls of arteries. Eventually this build-up, or plaque, grows larger and larger, narrowing the artery and obstructing the flow of blood. If an artery to the heart is blocked, a heart attack can occur. If an artery to the brain is blocked, a stroke may occur.

What You Can Do

Cholesterol levels can be maintained at a healthy level through a healthy diet and lifestyle. Since cholesterol is found only in animal products, consume a plant-based diet to lower your risk of developing high cholesterol. Some people who eat meat purposely choose chicken over beef, but chicken actually contains just as much cholesterol as beef. Since there is no good cholesterol found in foods, it is wise to avoid the foods that contain it.

People who are not overweight, who exercise, and who do not smoke tend to have higher levels of HDLs (the “good” cholesterol). Saturated fats raise cholesterol and are found in animal products and a few plant sources such as coconut, palm, and hydrogenated oils and chocolate. One study has shown that people who adopted a vegetarian diet automatically reduced their saturated fat intake by 26 percent and had a significant drop in their cholesterol levels. A moderate- to low-fat diet is healthier. There also are oils that are healthier than others. Olive oil, for instance, can be beneficial in moderate amounts. Ellen White states that olive oil, “as eaten in the olive, is far preferable to animal oil or fat.” The Ministry of Healing, 298.

Some people have a hereditary predisposition toward developing heart disease and atherosclerosis. As a result, some of them can be vegetarians or even vegans and still have to keep a close eye on their cholesterol levels, because they tend to produce too much of it.

Eating a diet high in fiber will help. Fiber not only reduces the amount of cholesterol absorbed when eaten (again, not a problem with vegans), but also reduces the amount of cholesterol that the body manufactures. A plant-based diet can easily be high in fiber, but there is no fiber in animal products.

Other things you can do to help lower cholesterol levels are increase exercise, achieve and maintain your ideal weight, do not skip meals, and reduce your stress levels. Yet again, God’s laws of health help protect us from illness and disease. “Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden [part] thou shalt make me to know wisdom.” Psalm 51:6.

Sheryle Beaudry, a certified teletriage nurse, writes from Estacada, Oregon where she lives with her husband and twin daughters. She may be contacted by e-mail at: sbeaudryrn@hotmail.com. If there is a health-related question you would like answered in LandMarks, please e-mail your question to: landmarks@stepstolife.org, or mail it to: LandMarks, Steps to Life, P. O. Box 782828, Wichita, KS 67278.

Children’s Story – Too Many Feathers

November 21, 2019 by Unknown

There was once a man who had come to realize he had done some really wrong things—he had told lies about people. He had exaggerated stories about individuals. The stories had started out as true, but he had twisted the truth. He now felt sorry and wanted to have his sins forgiven, but he did not know the real way to have his sins forgiven. All he knew was to go to his priest for forgiveness. He did not realize that only God can forgive sins. (Mark 2:7.) If we are truly sorry, God will forgive us, but we must put things right as far as we are able to do so.

Well, the man went to his priest to ask what he should do. It was in the afternoon when he visited the priest, and the priest listened to his sorry tale and was silent for a moment. Then the priest told him what he should do. He should get a large bag of feathers (duck and chicken feathers would be fine). He was told to then take this bag with him late in the evening as he walked through town, and scatter handfuls of feathers along the streets, in the alleyways, and everywhere, until all the feathers were gone.

The man did just that, and he had a fine time! He really enjoyed scattering the feathers. Some of the feathers were carried by the wind up and over the rooftops. Some of the feathers went under cars parked in the street, and when the cars were driven away, the feathers went a long way with the cars before finally dropping to the ground. A few of the feathers were collected by children the next day and taken with them in their pockets, forgotten about until a long time later. Feathers went far and wide—carried by the wind, by little children, by vehicles . . . they just went everywhere.

The man had really enjoyed himself and eagerly went back to the priest to learn what he had to do next, for the priest had told him he had to do two things. He had done the first thing when he scattered the feathers. What would be the next thing for him to do?

Upon seeing him, the priest inquired, “How did the scattering of the feathers go?” He was pleased to know that the man had no more feathers left. “The next thing,” the priest told the man, “is to take the empty bag and this evening collect all the feathers.” Every feather had to be collected!

The man was aghast! He could not collect all the feathers. They had gone everywhere. It would be years before he could ever collect them all!

The priest looked at the dismayed man and said, “Just as your feathers have gone everywhere and cannot be collected up, so have your words gone everywhere with this and that person, and they cannot be reversed—they cannot be taken back.” The man went away sorrowful—to remember feathers every time he spoke.

“By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Matthew 12:37. “Let your words be life-giving, pointing those around you to the Saviour. Let them bring sunshine instead of gloom, harmony instead of animosity. Say nothing that you would not be willing to say in the presence of Jesus and the angels. Utter no word that will stir up strife in another heart. However provoked you may feel, restrain the hasty word.” Our High Calling, 291.

The Power of Speech, Part IV

November 21, 2019 by John J. Grosboll

[Editor’s Note: This article continues a compilation of counsel given to strengthen and encourage anyone who is struggling through a crisis caused by the “Power of Speech.”]

1 What should we do if someone has wronged us?

“Let us take the words of Christ. If the man has done you an injury, go to him, and between you and him alone seek to set the matter right. Do not go to any one but himself. If he refuses to hear you, then take two or three others, and go to him again; but do not publish it in the church or out of the church. When you have done your duty, if he still refuses to hear you, then let the church take it up; but let them deal gently with the erring. Do not even listen to the gossiping tongue. If one comes to you with an evil report, ask him if he has been to the offending brother, as the Bible directs. If he has not, refuse even to hear him. Nine-tenths of the church trials might be avoided, if all would, in the spirit of kindness and love, pursue the course marked out by Inspiration. This can only be done by breaking down everything like a spirit of self-righteousness.” The Signs of the Times, January 6, 1887.

2 Whose name are we pledged to protect?

“Only that which is pure and lovely and of good report is it safe for us to follow. Human beings are under the most sacred obligations to God to be holy and uncorrupted; for they have been bought with a price, even the precious blood of the Son of God. By their baptismal vows they are solemnly pledged to do nothing which will bring an evil report upon the Christian name. Before the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the professing Christian pledges himself to discourage pride, covetousness, unbelief. And as the true Christian seeks to fulfill this pledge, he grows in self-distrust. Constantly he places more dependence upon God. His reverence and love for the Saviour continually increase, and he is a living witness for his Master. He realizes what it means to be a child of God. He has a realizing sense that the cleansing blood of Christ secures for him pardon and elevation of character. In spirituality he grows like the lofty cedar. Daily he holds communion with God, and he has a treasure-house of knowledge from which to draw. He is mighty in the knowledge of the Scriptures. His fellowship is with the Father and the Son, and he knows more and still more of the divine will. He is filled with a constantly increasing love for God and for his fellowmen.” Medical Ministry, 127, 128.

3 What created the frenzy that resulted in the crucifixion of Jesus?

“I [Ellen White] had been, during the forty-five years of experience, shown the lives, the character and history of the patriarchs, and prophets, who had come to the people with messages from God, and Satan would start some evil report, or get up some difference of opinion or turn the interest in some other channel, that the people should be deprived of the good the Lord had to bestow upon them. . . . I could but have a vivid picture in my mind from day to day of the way reformers were treated, how slight difference of opinion seemed to create a frenzy of feeling. Thus it was in the betrayal, trial, and crucifixion of Jesus. All this had passed before me point by point.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 121.

4 What feelings are we not to allow to arise?

“Our ministering brethren are too often imposed upon by the relation of trials in the church, and they too frequently refer to them in their discourses. They should not encourage the members of the church to complain of one another, but should set them as spies upon their own actions. None should allow their feelings of prejudice and resentment to be aroused by the relation of the wrongs of others; all should wait patiently until they hear both sides of the question, and then believe only what stern facts compel them to believe. At all times the safe course is not to listen to an evil report until the Bible rule has been strictly carried out. This will apply to some who have worked artfully to draw out from the unsuspecting, matters which they had no business with and which would do them no good to know.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 96, 97.

5 What is our moral obligation in regard to our countenance?

“While we are exhorted not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, these assemblies are not to be merely for our own refreshing. We are to be inspired with greater zeal to impart the consolation we have received. It is our duty to be very jealous for the glory of God and to bring no evil report, even by the sadness of the countenance or by ill-advised words, as if the requirements of God were a restriction upon our liberty. Even in this world of sorrow, disappointment, and sin the Lord desires us to be cheerful, and strong in His strength. The whole person is privileged to bear a decided testimony in every line. In features, in temper, in words, in character, we are to witness that the service of God is good. Thus we proclaim that ‘the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.’ Psalm 19:7.” Ibid., vol. 6, 365.

6 What are we to do with any evil report that we hear?

“When Jesus was on earth, and saw a scene of contention and strife, He would raise His voice in the notes of a melodious song, praising God. The presence of God would be felt; the hearts of those who had been contending would respond to the influences of the Spirit; and they would unite in the song. When some one comes to you with an evil report of some one else, do not take up the reproach and talk it over, either in the family or in the church. Do not add your complaints to those of others.” The General Conference Bulletin, April 6, 1903.

7 What other words and actions are a breaking of God’s Law?

“Every unkind criticism of others, every word of self-esteem, is ‘the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity.’ [Isaiah 58:9.] The lifting up of self in pride, as if you were faultless, the magnifying of the faults of others, is an offense to God. It is breaking the law which says, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.’ [Matthew 19:19.] The injunction is given, ‘Be kindly affectioned one to another.’ [Romans 12:10.] We have no right to withdraw our confidence from a brother because some evil report comes to our ears, some accusation is made or supposition is suggested that he has done wrong. Frequently the evil report that is brought to us is made by those who are at enmity with God, those who are joining the enemy in his work of accusing the brethren. Those who are unmindful of the Saviour’s words, ‘Take heed therefore how ye hear’ [Luke 8:18], allow their unsanctified ears to hear wrong, their perverted senses to imagine wrong, and their evil tongues to report wrong.” Review and Herald, May 7, 1895.

8 What underhanded method will Satan use to destroy God’s people?

“Satan well knows that all his strength, together with that of his angels and evil men, is but weakness when opposed to the faithful, united servants of the Great King, even though they may be few. In order to overcome the people of God, Satan will work upon elements in the character which have not been transformed by the grace of Christ; he will make these the controlling power of the life. Unless these persons are converted, their own souls will be lost, and others who regarded them as men led of God, will be destroyed with them, because they become guilty with them. Satan endeavors to create suspicion, envy, and jealousy, leading men to question those things that it would be to their soul’s interest to believe. The suspicious ones will misconstrue everything. They will call an atom a world, and a world an atom. If this spirit is allowed to prevail, it will demoralize our churches and institutions.” The Home Missionary, January 1, 1892.

To be continued . . .

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

What If . . . Almost

November 21, 2019 by Anna Schultz

An American poet, John Greenleaf Whittier, once wrote, “Of all the words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, ‘It might have been.’ ” If that is true, then one of the most tragic words in human language must be the word almost.

What if and almost speak of aborted opportunities and missed chances. Have you ever played the What if and Almost games in your life?

What if I had accepted that job across the considered how Almost impacts our spiritual lives, and how our lives would be affected if Jesus had played the game of What if?

Our Worth

What if Jesus would have said, “Never mind, those people are not worth My life”?

Paul wrote, “both Jews and Gentiles . . . are all under sin.” And he continued: “There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat [is] an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps [is] under their lips: Whose mouth [is] full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet [are] swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery [are] in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Romans 3:9–18.

These verses describe not only the people of Paul’s time but each one of us—without the loving mercy of Jesus Christ and His atoning blood.

When these words were penned, God, looking over all the people, could not find a single one who feared Him or sought after Him. The people had either abandoned or corrupted their worship of Him. They not only had turned their backs on God but they had turned against their brethren, thus showing the evil propensity of human nature in general.

What if God was to search our souls today? Could He find a single one with the “fear of God before their eyes”?

Through our actions, words, and music we have corrupted our worship to Him. Ignoring the counsel we have been given, we do not, in our churches, approach His throne with respect or reverence. “The angels veil their faces in His presence. The cherubim and the bright and holy seraphim approach His throne with solemn reverence. How much more should we finite, sinful beings, come in a reverent manner before the Lord, our Maker!” The Faith I Live By, 41.

As Paul described, by our malicious and wicked words we bury, as it were, the reputations of all men. We practice the habits of lying, defamation, and slandering, thus wounding, blasting, and poisoning the reputations of others. Destruction is our work, and misery to us and to the objects of our malice is the consequence of our murderous conduct. We have no peace in ourselves, and we certainly do not allow others to live in quiet.

With very little variation, these are the evils in which the vast mass of mankind delight and live. Without Christ’s death on the cross, we could hope for nothing more.

What We Deserve

What if Jesus had said, “Forget it! You all get what you deserve forever—death”?

“For the wages of sin [is] death.” Romans 6:23. “Sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4. Whatever sin may promise of pleasure or advantage, the end to which it necessarily leads is the destruction of body and soul.

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23.

“From the opening of the great controversy it has been Satan’s purpose to misrepresent God’s character and to excite rebellion against His law, and this work appears to be crowned with success. The multitudes give ear to Satan’s deceptions and set themselves against God. . . . Through Satan’s temptations the whole human race have become transgressors of God’s law.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 338.

Even if it is just one little, darling sin that is cherished, the Scripture is clear. What we deserve is death. What we have the opportunity to receive, as a result of Christ’s mercy and atoning blood, is eternal life. “By the sacrifice of His Son a way is opened whereby they [sinners] may return to God. Through the grace of Christ they may be enabled to render obedience to the Father’s law.” Ibid.

With the redeeming grace of the crucified Jesus, this what if has a very different ending.

“The Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity.” Isaiah 26:21. “But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth?” Malachi 3:2. “Jesus, our Redeemer, . . . suffered more than we can be called upon to suffer. He bore our infirmities and was in all points tempted as we are. He did not suffer thus on His own account, but because of our sins; and now, relying on the merits of our Overcomer, we may become victors in His name.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 86.

Because Jesus did not play the What if game, we may have eternal life, as a result of His sufferings, death, and resurrection.

Almost Released

What if Pilate had released Jesus? He almost did. Upon examining Jesus, Pilate found no basis for the charges against Him. Neither did Herod. Pilate did not see that Jesus had done anything to deserve death, so he told the gathering that he would release Him. But the chief priests, the rulers, and the people—with one voice—cried out their desire to have Barabbas (imprisoned for an insurrection in the city and for murder) released instead. (See Luke 23:13–24.)

Pilate may be the most infamous almoster in history, because he almost released Jesus. He almost lowered the gavel and said, “Not guilty.” He almost dismissed the charges against this innocent Man, but then he conceded to the demands of the people.

What a difference it would have made in our perception of Pilate if he had stood firm to principle and released Jesus. He almost did it, but he did not. He had the authority to do it. All he had to do was speak the word decisively, and Jesus would have been set free. He did it, almost.

“If at the first Pilate had stood firm, refusing to condemn a man whom he found guiltless, he would have broken the fatal chain that was to bind him in remorse and guilt as long as he lived. Had he carried out his convictions of right, the Jews would not have presumed to dictate to him. Christ would have been put to death, but the guilt would not have rested upon Pilate.” The Desire of Ages, 732.

Father, Forgive Them

So Jesus was released to His death. Soldiers went about their tasks. They were used to crucifying people. They had done it many times before. First, they laid the cross upon the ground, then they placed Jesus upon it, driving sharp spikes through His hands and feet. Then they hoisted the rough wooden cross into the air and dropped it into the hole that had held crosses before. Perhaps they even drove stakes into the ground around the cross to steady it. And then they were done. Jesus was crucified.

There He hangs between heaven and earth. Looking through tears and blood, He could see the faces of the people who had gathered around Him. Perhaps he was looking for familiar faces, but He did not see Peter or James or Andrew or Bartholomew. The soldiers gather underneath the cross and begin throwing dice, gambling for His robe.

Do we see a little bit of ourselves in the soldiers at the foot of the cross? Sometimes we are so close to the cross and yet so far away. Almost we decide to look upon the Saviour and accept His love and grace, but then we become distracted. They were right there, right next to the blood that was dropping to the ground. They could hear the cries of pain. They could look up at any time and see Jesus, but their minds were on other things—on the material things of life.

Jesus began to pray. “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. Father, forgive the soldier who drove the nails into my hands. Father, forgive Pilate who found me innocent but sentenced me to die anyway. Forgive Annas and Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin and all the rest. And Father, forgive the Christians who will meet in [your church] in [your town] in 2004, because their sins nailed Me here, too. Yes, Father, forgive them all.”

What if you and I prayed that kind of prayer? Would it bring us to our knees before our Saviour? Would it make a difference in our lives and in the lives of those around us? “We are not forgiven because we forgive, but as we forgive. The ground of all forgiveness is found in the unmerited love of God, but by our attitude toward others we show whether we have made that love our own. Wherefore Christ says, ‘With what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.’ Matthew 7:2.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 251.

What if He had Escaped?

Scientists tell us that self-preservation is a very basic instinct. Whenever we encounter danger, we automatically seek to protect ourselves. If we stumble, we put our hands out to break the expected fall. If we are riding in an automobile and suddenly it appears that we are going to crash, we automatically brace ourselves—even though experts say that is not the wisest thing to do. We automatically do it, because self-preservation is a basic instinct in man.

So the enemies of Jesus gathered beneath His cross. They reasoned that Jesus would want to save Himself. They thought that if He really was the Son of God then He had the power to come down from the cross. That would be the natural thing to do. But when Jesus did not save His own life, they assumed He did not have the power and therefore was not the Son of God. “He saved others; himself he cannot save,” they mocked among themselves. (See Mark 15:29–32.) That was their conclusion—a logical conclusion but a false conclusion.

You see, Jesus could have saved Himself. He could have saved Himself by not going to Jerusalem. He could have stayed in Galilee. He could have saved Himself by escaping from the Garden of Gethsemane. He could have saved Himself when He was in Pilate’s judgment hall. He chose not to escape.

What if Jesus had escaped and saved Himself? Well, Jesus could not have saved Himself and us, too. There is no greater love than “that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13.

What if we try to save ourselves? “You cannot save yourself from the tempter’s power, but he trembles and flees when the merits of that [Jesus’] precious blood are urged.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 317. “You want your own way, and do not rend your heart before God, and with brokenness and contrition cast yourself all broken, sinful, and polluted, upon His mercy. Your efforts to save yourself, if persisted in, will result in your certain ruin.” Ibid., vol. 2, 89. “You cannot save yourself by any good work that you may do. The Lord Jesus has not made you a sin-bearer.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 325.

“The cross of Christ is our only hope. It reveals to us the greatness of our Father’s love and the fact that the Majesty of heaven submitted to insult, mockery, humiliation, and suffering for the joy of seeing perishing souls saved in His kingdom. . . . Save yourself and your household, for the salvation of the soul is precious.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 502, 503.

What if we are almost persuaded to accept Jesus, His sufferings, His death on the cross, and His resurrection? “To be almost persuaded, means to put aside the proffered mercy, to be convinced of the right way, but to refuse to accept the cross of a crucified Redeemer.” Sketches From the Life of Paul, 260. [Emphasis supplied.]

Oh, friend, that is a game you do not want to lose. Do not decide to wait for a more favorable opportunity; it may never come. That is a what if you want joyously to testify that you did. That is an almost you want to report as fully accepted.

“It is perilous to the soul to hesitate, question, and criticize divine light. Satan will present his temptations until the light will appear as darkness, and many will reject the very truth that would have proved the saving of their souls. Those who walk in its rays will find it growing brighter and brighter unto the perfect day.” Review and Herald, September 3, 1889.

A LandMarks staff member, Anna Schultz writes from her home near Sedalia, Colorado. She may be contacted by e-mail at: jschu67410@aol.com.

Lessons From the Book of Amos, Part V

November 21, 2019 by Mike Baugher

Perhaps you have never before studied the Book of Amos. I have chosen the Book of Amos in developing a series of articles to give us an understanding of the New Testament. You may wonder how Amos of the Old Testament is going to help us with the New Testament. You cannot understand the New Testament unless you understand the Old Testament.

In 1 Corinthians 10:11, we are told that the things that happened in the Old Testament were written for our admonition, for our instruction, and for examples to us upon whom the ends of the world are come. I find that statement very interesting, because it refers to Old Testament instances and says that those things are going to pertain to us for last day event understanding. I understand that to mean that those things found in the Old Testament, as far as principles are concerned, are last day concepts. History has an uncanny way of repeating itself.

As we read the Old Testament, we learn how God dealt with His people—how He tried to woo them, how He tried to lead them, and how He tried to help them. We learn what their reactions were to the way God was relating to them. It is all there. We also find that there were many times that God had to deal with distasteful situations and conditions. Many times God would extend His mercy and His love, only to meet with a stiff-necked people. They yearned after their own way, and they would have nothing whatsoever to do with God. That is basically the setting of the Book of Amos.

What was God going to do? There comes a time of finality when no remedy of any kind will rectify a problem. That is what Amos was called to reveal to God’s people. God said, “I have tried this, and I have tried that, and it did not work. So now I am going to call My prophet. He is going to be My spokesman. He is going to be My mouthpiece. I am going to send him with a message, Prepare to meet your God, O Israel.”

Woe Unto You

As we come to Amos 6, we find what is going to take place. ”Woe to them [that are] at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, [which are] named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!” Verse 1.

This chapter starts out pronouncing a woe. When you are reading Scripture, and you come to the word woe, you want to pay special attention, because God is using this word to draw attention to what is going to follow. The meaning of the word woe has not changed over the years. We still use it today. When we talk about a bad situation, we may refer to it as a woe. It still carries with it the connotation of doom and disfavor, of calamity and misfortune. The prophet Amos is here attempting to let Israel know just where they stood in relation to their favor with God. To hear a woe coming from one of God’s prophets is no light matter. It needs to be taken to heart.

The Bible says, ”Believe His prophets, so shall ye prosper.” 11 Chronicles 20:20. When God speaks, He means exactly what He says. This principle is taught in the Old Testament. This is certainly the case here with the Northern kingdom of Israel and with Judah as well.

At Ease in Zion

“Woe to them [that are] at ease in Zion.” The word ease depicts a very meaningful picture of what was taking place. God had to pronounce a woe, because they were at ease in Zion. The Hebrew word sha’anan used here for ease means to be tranquil—but in a bad sense—that is, to be settled back when everything around you is wrong. When things were in a life-threatening condition, there was a settling back, with an attitude of, Why should I care? It is not affecting me. Things are going great, as far as life is concerned. I am quite secure from any danger.

That was the attitude of the people when Amos came on the scene, and he said, ”Woe to you that are at ease in Zion.” This was a direct statement to those who were at ease in Zion. It was one thing for the world to kick back and to take it easy, believing that there was no accounting for their indifference or ease. But for those who were in Zion—those who knew the Scriptures and God’s requirements—to kick back, it was altogether a different matter.

Parallel to Laodicea

There is a parallel here to the church of Laodicea, and this is why I believe that Old Testament prophetic utterances have last day applications. What is the message to the church of Laodicea? It is, “Woe unto you. You think that you are rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing, but I am here to tell you a different story. You need to look at where you are, because in actuality, you are poor, wretched, blind, miserable and naked.” (See Revelation 3:17.)

I do not know of any one of us who would like to hear those words spoken to us, do you? There is a sense of stiffening up, when we hear words like that. We think that certainly they cannot apply to us—we are not miserable; we are happy most of the time! Wretched? No, no, Lord, you have it all wrong. Poor and blind and naked—what do you mean? We are rich and increased with goods, and we have need of nothing. This is specifically what God was speaking to His people in the days of Amos. ”Woe unto you who are taking your ease.”

Hiding From God

Being at ease is caused by only one thing. Those to whom Amos is speaking believe that they have been entirely successful in hiding their true condition from God. They consider themselves to be right. There is nothing wrong, as far as they are concerned. They think that God is off on a vacation somewhere and does not know what is happening. This indeed is a masterful deception that the devil will pull off in every generation.

Sacred history tells us that this is a very easy deception on God’s people. This is precisely the reason why it is so difficult for the Gospel to be accepted when it is preached. There are people who are at ease, either in the world or in Zion, who think that everything is all right when indeed everything is all wrong. Those who could benefit from the Gospel are so deceived that they think God—nor anyone else—knows their situation. It is easy to fall into such a trap, when everything around you seems to be going right.

At this particular point of time in history, Israel was at its height of prosperity. The stock market was at 12,000, and they were buying and selling and having a good time. They were kicked back, at ease. Yet, all of this was leading to a deplorable condition. They were oppressing the poor; they were grinding down everyone they could so their stock prices would stay high. They were riding high!

Temperance

As I studied about this, I mused to myself about what was really happening—what contributed to this deception, this kicking back at ease. I came across a very interesting quotation from pages 52 and 53 of the book Temperance: “The use of wine among the Israelites was one of the causes that finally resulted in their captivity.” We need to remember that the Book of Amos applies to last day conditions.

Ellen White continues, on page 53 of Temperance, to quote from Amos 6. Israel had problems with intemperance. Wine was blurring their thinking processes. We know that wine affects the mind in this manner, and I am convinced that this is one of the reasons we are in the condition that we are as a people today. “But,” someone protests, “Pastor, what are you saying? We are Seventh-day Adventists; we don’t use wine. What are you talking about?”

When I became a Seventh-day Adventist, I was taught that one of the foundational principles of Adventism was abstaining from alcoholic beverages. Let me ask you a question: When was the last time you heard a temperance crusade being promoted within the Adventist church? It used to be that temperance crusades came around as often as Ingathering. It was something that was promoted and upheld before the people. This is one of the things about preaching; we need to continually hold before the people the high ideals of God, or those principles seem to lose contact with our minds and are forgotten.

I have read how some Adventists today are now imbibing in alcoholic beverages, and they have no compunctions about doing so. If we want to be successful Seventh-day Adventist Christians, we will follow the counsels God has given for us. We will review them constantly, holding them up in our minds so we do not lose sight of what it is that God has for us. This will prepare us for the last days on this earth.

Like the World

Temperance crusades, unfortunately, have been relegated to the heap of old rubbish along with some of the other teachings that have made us distinct as a people. But God has not changed—we have changed. We, too, have been at ease in Zion for so long that we think we need to update things and do away with some of the old things we think hold us back as a people. But remember, God does not change, and neither should we.

We have the problem of doing the same things that the world does. We go to the same places that the world goes; we listen to the same music that the world listens to. So why should we not drink the same drink that the world drinks and have a “good time”? This was what was happening in the days of Amos. We need to learn the lessons that are there for us. The sad part is, in many Adventist churches, if we begin to touch on these areas of intemperance and how people ought to live, we will immediately be branded as mean-spirited, narrow-minded, bigoted, and meddlers into people’s lives.

When I was in conference work, I mentioned from the pulpit, one Sabbath during the 11 o’clock service, some of the concepts of temperance and stated that we should not imbibe certain beverages. That very week the conference president drove 175 miles to see me. After confirming things I had expressed in my sermon, he counseled, “Mike, you need to leave those things alone on Sabbath morning. Keep them for prayer meeting.” You know as well as I do what prayer meeting attendance is in comparison with the attendance at 11 o’clock on Sabbath morning!

False Security

Why not just sit back and relax? Maybe the world is not doing so badly. After all, the coming of Jesus is a long way away. These are the thoughts in many people’s minds. There is a danger in that kind of thinking; it causes us to lose the urgency of God’s message.

This is the very same kind of thinking that was in the minds of the children of Israel during the days of Amos when woe was brought upon them. “Woe to them [that are] at ease in Zion and trust in the mountain of Samaria.” Israel thought that they were going to be safe. They were perched upon a mountain where they could see the approach of any enemy. God told them that it did not make any difference where they were located. They may have believed they were safe, but they were not.

”Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: [be they] better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?” Amos 6:2.

The cities mentioned here were all very familiar to the Israelites. These cities had been overthrown and destroyed. If we were to bring this into a modern scenario and terminology, we would say, “Take a look at the Twin Towers [the former World Trade Center, New York City, New York] today. How much hope would there be for your security to look to the Twin Towers today? Thousands were killed on September 11, 2001, when the Twin Towers came down.” That was the lesson that God was trying to bring to these people’s minds: “Look at these towns out here. You think you are doing just fine. Look at them; they are destroyed. You need to learn the lessons from those things.”

They were all aware of what had happened to these communities. They had thought these cities were safe, but they had fallen into the hands of their attackers, and Amos used the destroyed ruins as an illustration of what was going to happen to them. “You are no better than they are, and you are going to be just as vulnerable as they were,” he told them.

An Evil Day

“Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near. . . .” Verse 3. One of the greatest, fatal deceptions to come upon God’s people is to believe that the day of the Second Coming of Jesus is a long way off. When you begin to believe that all is well—you have money in the bank, your health is good, you think life will go on as it has for many more years, you are at ease while others are suffering around you, you think that the day the Lord can reach you is a long way away—the devil is speaking in your ear.

All the while you put off the evil day. All the while, you think that the Second Coming of Jesus is a far way off. Believe me, people who know about the Second Coming, and who know that their lives are not right with Jesus, see His Second Coming as an evil day. They do not welcome the Second Coming, because they know that ultimately it will destroy their lives.

The children of Israel viewed it in the same way. They knew that the day of the Lord was the Day of Judgment, and they looked at it as an evil day. So the seat of violence came near, involving the oppression of the poor for their own personal gain.

It is not unusual that, when people come into a lot of money, such as winning the lottery, for example, they suddenly consider themselves to be someone of great importance. Have you ever noticed that? Many, many of the people who have become big dollar winners end up living under a bridge, because they cannot handle the prosperity that comes to them. But they had thought themselves very important!

One of the first things people do, when they come into big money, is to bedeck their mortal bodies with all kinds of junk to make them appear attractive to other people. And they buy big, big houses and big, big cars, thinking that these will impress people around them.

Picture of Luxury

“Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall.” Verses 3, 4.

What a tremendous picture is given in these verses! Prophets of old were able to put together word pictures that conveyed things you could not say by typing out a flat sentence. What a picture! While most people were out working from sunrise to sunset, these people were lounging on beds of ivory.

Ivory, even today, is a very precious commodity, but these were bedsteads that were inlaid with ivory! A very luxurious picture. Most people were lucky to have a mat to sleep on, let alone a bed—and certainly not a bed that was inlaid with ivory. They would stretch out and take their rest in luxury. This is a picture of the society today.

Perverted Appetite

And then, when they finally climbed out of their beds of luxury, they ate lambs out of the flock and calves out of the midst of the stall. It does not say that they were eating sheep and cows. It says they were eating the delicate meat of lambs and calves. They were eating lambs and calves, not sheep and cows, because one of the greatest treats for meat eaters is the tenderest cut. Nobody wants tough meat.

Have you ever heard of veal cutlets? Do you know from where veal cutlets come? Veal cutlets come from calves that have been penned up in small crates, hardly able to move. They are raised there until they are a certain age, and then they are slaughtered. Their meat is harvested at its most tender stage, so it can go upon the plates and into the palates of those who desire tender cuts of meat.

It would make you sick to see how these animals are raised and how they are treated, yet we see this very thing taking place in the days of Amos. They were crating up these little animals so they would have tender cuts of meat that only the rich could afford. If you are poor, you may be able to buy hamburger, but you certainly cannot afford veal cutlets. They are expensive. But here the people were satisfying the cravings of perverted appetites. They wanted the choice cuts; they would not settle for second best. They wanted tender meat. They wanted the lambs and the calves.

From what I have been able to determine, as I have researched this series on Amos, most Israelites—not all but most—ate meat only three or four times a year. That was the norm! The three or four times they ate meat centered around the times of their festivals. The poor ate meat even less times than that.

So the picture given in Amos 6 is that the leading citizens were eating quite a bit of the choice cuts—they had the money to buy it. Their actions were causing some very baleful effects to come into the nation. History has recorded that for us, and if we fail to learn the lessons that God has for us, then we are destined to repeat the same mistakes and to face the same future that Israel faced.

Symptoms Developing

Remember the visions recorded in Ezekiel 8 and 9, where God took Ezekiel to the temple and showed him the priests there that were worshipping the sun, playing the harlot? The record shows that God took him even deeper into vision and showed him greater abominations that were taking place. We ask, how in the world could these things of old have taken place? How could they have gotten so far out of hand that those who were commissioned of God to perform a sacred service so prostituted it that it became immoral and was an abomination before God? How could they depart from God in that way?

We see a definite pattern that brought these things to pass. Is it not true that if we see symptoms developing regarding a certain situation, we know what the results are going to be? This is one of the requirements of a physician. A physician always looks for symptoms. A pastor is somewhat like a physician. He watches for spiritual symptoms, and when he sees these symptoms, it behooves him, under the direction of God, to point out the potential results, so the actions can be corrected and God’s glory can be manifested.

Ezekiel saw things that were very uncomfortable for him, and as we have been studying, in Amos, we see things coming out in the forefront that are disturbing for us. We see certain kinds of trends and symptoms developing within the body of Adventism and within the body of Christians at large. I state this from a standpoint that the majority of God’s people are in other churches. (See John 10:16; The Great Controversy, 1888, 383.)

Sound of Music

“That chant to the sound of the viol, [and] invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David.” Amos 6:5. This verse is very difficult to translate. The phrase, “chant to the sound of the viol,” is translated in other versions to read, “sing idle songs to the sound of the harp.” But even this translation does not really do justice to what is being said here. The words, “sing idle songs,” are used only once in the entirety of the Old Testament, so it is difficult to find a translation that will make sense to us. There is an Arabic equivalent, however, which has the meaning, “to talk immoderately or to babble or prattle to the sound of the harp.”

It seems that this would be the best translation to apply to the context of what was taking place in this text and to us in the times in which we live.

The same is true of the phrase, “inventing to themselves instruments of musick.” The alternate translation of this would be, “shouting, they imagine themselves to be singing.” If you watch the videotape Are You Ready for Church? you see an exact parallel of this taking place today. In reality, there is nothing new under the sun! People are shouting and prattling and talking and considering this music. I am sorry, but I still like melodious strains of music and not all the babbling and shouting that passes for music today.

But let me point out to you that this was taking place in the days of Amos, and this music was part of their downfall. It was part of what led them to do things they probably never would have done otherwise. Ellen White tells us that music was part of the problem for the children of Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai when they built the golden calf and just before they crossed over into Canaan, at Kadesh-Barnea, when they began to associate with the Midianitish women. They would never have succumbed to the temptations had it not been for the music. (See Patriarchs and Prophets, 319, 320, 454.)

Music pervades our entire society today. I am not bringing these things out to condemn anyone, but we need to elevate the standards once again. “If we do not receive the religion of Christ by feeding upon the word of God, we shall not be entitled to an entrance into the city of God. Having lived on earthly food, having educated our tastes to love worldly things, we would not be fitted for the heavenly courts; we could not appreciate the pure, heavenly current that circulates in heaven. The voices of the angels and the music of their harps would not satisfy us.” Review and Herald, May 4, 1897.

“That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.” Amos 6:6. The “affliction of Joseph” here means that the conditions in Israel were deplorable for most of the people, because most of the people were quite average people. They were getting by, but they were not happy, and they were not growing spiritually. They were not developing a character like God intended them to do. Those who were eating and drinking and laying and stretching themselves out on couches and beds thought life would never end. They had food, wine, and perfume. For what more could they ask?

Wrath of God

Verse 7 changes gears somewhat: “Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed. The Lord God hath sworn by himself, saith the Lord the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces; therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein. And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die. And a man’s uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that [is] by the sides of the house, [Is there] yet [any] with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the Lord. For, behold, the Lord commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts.” Amos 6:7–11.

Those who thought they were so blessed, living in luxury and letting the world go by, were to be the first to go into captivity. Do we dare make a comparison here? In the circumstances Amos described, he was speaking specifically of the leadership of that day. He asked, “Do you want the best places at the banquets? Do you want the most acknowledgement in the Synagogues? Then you are going to be the first to go into captivity.” And the reason was that they had departed from the plan that God had for His people.

All men are created equal. There is a value of the soul, and God looks upon all people the same, but there are certain areas of responsibility to which God has called people. He has equipped them for those responsibilities, but at the same time, they will have greater accountability when they are called before God in the Day of Judgment. That is the way that God works.

As He was trying to deal with the nation of Israel, God left no doubt regarding how He felt about the Northern kingdom. They would pay the price for their attitudes and their actions. God said, “I hate everything about you, and you are not going to escape; you are going to die.”

These verses give a very realistic account of the horrors of pestilence that would come after the seize of Jerusalem took place. So complete was the destruction to be that even where a large number gathered in a house to escape these dangers, not one of them would escape. There would be no place to hide.

Those who would give the burial message of them that had died did not even want to carry the bodies out, for fear that they would be attacked or sieged upon, so they would burn the bodies. When giving the burial message, they dared not even mention the name of the Lord. Why? Because they were fearful that a greater manifestation of wrath would come upon them by even mentioning the name of God.

This is one of the things that contributed to the loss of the name Yahweh. Many people have tried to re-capture the use of that name, and they have not succeeded. If someone comes to you saying that you need to call upon the name of the Lord in a certain way, do not listen. This is one of the things that contributed to the loss of the pronunciation of the name. The children of Israel did not dare call upon the name of the Lord because they were fearful that their sins would be raw and ripe before God and His wrath would come down upon them—even in a burial message. That is how far away from God that they had gone.

For Ensamples

Again I say, “All these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” 1 Corinthians 10:11. The books of the Old Testament, dear friend, point to last day happenings.

“Shall horses run upon the rock? will [one] plow [there] with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock: Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength? But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the Lord the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.” Amos 6:12–14.

The general order of things at this time of judgment, this time of retribution, would be so far out of the order that it would be like horses running on rocks—something you do not do. If you have ever ridden a horse, you know you do not run a horse on rocks. People knew that back then too. And you do not take oxen and plow a rock field. God was trying to convey to them that these things were not things that would normally be done, but they would be done to deal with such a corrupt and poisonous situation.

Some things become so poisonous in God’s mind that they have to be dealt with in a very severe way—a way that normally would not be used.

Again, we have to learn the lessons of these things. God is longsuffering. God is merciful. Israel’s history was long. That is the principle that God has for us in dealing with situations. We, as human beings, do not have long periods of time to deal with situations like God does. God did not deal with individuals per se; He dealt with entire nations who had long, long lives. Sometimes He allowed them to go on for hundreds of years, and then finally, when the cup was full, God dealt with them.

Translate that down to us today and to how we are to relate to people and individuals in circumstances within the church. We do not have long periods of time, but we can apply the principles. We can extend the hand of mercy, but when a limit is reached and situations become poisonous, we have to deal with them in the same way that God dealt with them. That is the lesson we can gain from Amos 6. If we are going on the same path as the children of Israel, we will have to pay the same price. The price was a permanent one for Israel. The whole Northern kingdom was lost.

A Remnant Spared

In spite of that, God held out a light. He held out the fact that there was a remnant that would be spared, and that remnant was Judah. And even out of Judah there was another remnant that was to be saved. A smaller group even yet—a remnant of a remnant. The Spirit of Prophecy tells us that the majority will leave us. (See Patriarchs and Prophets, 102, 103.) We need to try to examine the reasons why the majority depart, and stay far away from the circumstances that would draw us, if we possibly can.

The children of Israel loved their wine so much that it blurred their thinking. They loved their fine cuts of meat so much that they had perverted appetites. They loved their celebration music and dance so much that it caused them to enter into temptation. They loved their money that provided for all of this, and the love of money is the root of all evil.

Friend, we dare not repeat the same history. Are we going to survive? We can survive by understanding. We can survive by drawing near to God. We can survive by not stiffening our necks against rebuke, when it comes from the Word. We can survive. It is possible. Amos 6 is a dark picture, but God has placed it there so we can survive. He has made all the provisions for us to survive, if we will just learn the lessons.

To be continued . . .

Pastor Mike Baugher is Associate Speaker for Steps to Life Ministry. He may be contacted by e-mail at: mikebaugher@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

The Depth of the Cross

November 21, 2019 by Jerry Timmons

You have, in all probability, noticed in your life, as I have in mine, that sometimes, after we have learned and known great truths for a while, we begin to take them for granted. We need to refresh our minds from time to time regarding these great truths that the Lord has been so gracious in giving to us.

Ephesians 3:14–19 says, “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what [is] the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

In this passage, Paul was contemplating the eternal purpose of God in Christ Jesus. As he was doing this, he was humbled to his knees in prayer, where he was praying for every believer. As he realized the tremendous sacrifice of Deity for the redemption of fallen man—for you and for me—he asked heaven if we could have a little comprehension of Christ’s sacrifice, so we could understand more of this immeasurable love. In our finite minds, we have no concept of the love that Jesus has for us. He wanted us to realize this love, not just for the sake of knowledge, but that we might be filled with the fullness of God.

Where do we find this immeasurable love of which Paul speaks? The following three statements may help us understand where to find it.

“There is one great central truth to be kept ever before the mind in the searching of the Scriptures—Christ and Him crucified. Every other truth is invested with influence and power corresponding to its relation to this theme.” The Faith I Live By, 50.

“The cross of Calvary challenges, and will finally vanquish, every earthly and hellish power. In the cross all influence centers, and from it all influence goes forth. It is the great center of attraction, for on it Christ gave up His life for the human race.” Sons and Daughters of God, 242.

“The sacrifice of Christ as an atonement for sin is the great truth around which all other truths cluster. In order to be rightly understood and appreciated, every truth in the Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, must be studied in the light which streams from the cross of Calvary, and in connection with the wondrous, central truth of the Saviour’s atonement. Those who study the Redeemer’s wonderful sacrifice grow in grace and knowledge.

“I present before you the great, grand monument of mercy and regeneration, salvation and redemption—the Son of God uplifted on the cross of Calvary. This is to be the theme of every discourse. Christ declares, ‘And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me.’ ” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1137.

None of us can deny the force and the power of these statements. But in many churches this theme is preached far too little. It is merely mentioned at times. The cross of Christ is our inexhaustible source of power for the Christian walk. Do you need power in your Christian life? I do. In this article, we are going to look at four revelations that the cross will show us, if we look deeply enough.

Just a Story

I read an article some time back about a 9- or 10-year-old boy by the name of Braun who lived over 100 years ago. Braun’s parents were not Christians; they were agnostics. They thought, however, that at least once in his life their little boy needed to attend church, so they could say they had exposed their son to religion. They sent him to church with his nanny in a horse-drawn buggy.

The pastor was speaking about the cross, and for the first time in his life, Braun heard about a man by the name of Jesus Who was nailed to a cruel, old cross. He heard for the first time about the blood that dripped down this Man’s face and about the thorns that were stuck in His brow. He heard about the Roman soldiers who hammered the rough nails into this Man’s hands.

It was not long before Braun began to cry. He had never previously heard this story. Between sobs he loudly whispered, “Nanny, why don’t these men do something about this poor Man on the cross? Why don’t the people in the church take Him down? He’s innocent!”

The nanny was getting a little nervous about Braun acting up in church. He looked around at the congregation, and he was astonished. He saw the head deacon in the back of the church, sleeping. He saw some teenagers whispering, telling stories, laughing, and giggling. He saw another man with a newspaper under his Bible, pretending to read the Bible, but reading the daily news instead.

“Nanny, why don’t they do something? Take this poor Man down off the cross,” pleaded the sobbing boy.

Attempting to comfort him, the nanny said, “Herr Braun, it is just a story. Don’t worry about it. You’ll forget about it when we get home.”

Is the cross just a story for us? Is it something that we sing about once in awhile? Is it something that we hear about in sermons once in awhile, something the pastor may refer to in passing, or maybe we mention in prayer?

What is the cross to you? Has the cross reached down into your life and changed it from the core? That is what it is meant to do. What difference does the cross make in your marriage? What about the relationships between you and your children, your spouse, or the people you meet each day? Does the cross make any difference in the way you treat others? When you encounter despair and discouragement, what does the cross do for you then, if anything?

We do not need to know so much about the cross theologically as we need to know and understand how it affects our lives.

Magnitude of God’s Forgiveness

The first revelation we will consider reveals the magnitude of God’s forgiveness. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” Romans 5:8–10.

We were His enemies, but He is our friend. God is not the enemy of His enemies, as we sometimes are. It is hard to be a friend to our enemy, but that is what God is. We deserve death, but He gives us life. We deserve condemnation, but He acquits us. We deserve a crown of thorns; He gives us a crown of glory. You and I, my friends, deserve the cross, but He gives us a throne. What a God we serve, what a Friend!

Father, Forgive Them

As we consider the cross and the magnitude of its forgiveness, we must contemplate what Jesus went through at Pilate’s judgment hall. We can picture a Man, stripped to His waist, His hands tied above His head. When those strong, Roman soldiers came in to whip His back, they did not use just a leather strap. The Roman whips had pieces of bone and jagged metal embedded in the straps, so with every whip to the back, pieces of flesh were torn out. He took our whipping—something that we deserve—but our Friend, while we were His enemies, took it for us.

As we reflect on Calvary, we can understand why He fell three times under the great burden of carrying His cross. He was weak from loss of blood. You and I could have done no better whatsoever.

As He was stretched out on the cross and those nails were driven through His flesh, He said nothing. As the cross was taken up and thrust into its hole, His flesh was ripped again when it hit the bottom. What were the only words that we hear from Jesus at this time? “Father, forgive them.” We see forgiveness at the cross, the great magnitude of forgiveness.

Judas betrayed Him; Peter denied Him; and the Jews forsook Him. The cross is very cruel, unjust, and unfair. You do not just nail a Man to a cross who touched blind eyes and they opened. You do not nail a Man to a cross who touched people’s ears and they became unstopped; they could hear the beautiful birds singing. You do not nail a Man to a cross who touched withered arms and legs and they immediately became vibrant with new life. A Man who can give back life to the dead—you just do not nail a Man like this to a cross. But they did that to Jesus! Yet, all we hear from Him is, “Father, forgive them.”

Do Unto Others

When we come to the cross, we receive forgiveness, so we can be forgiving to people in our lives. We know that Jesus has forgiven us from all of our past sins, so when people treat us cruelly or unjustly, we can forgive them, because we have been forgiven.

When we come to the cross, we find mercy, so we can be merciful to others. We have no excuse to not forgive people when they treat us unjustly. We can hear the echo of Paul’s words as we read, “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32.

Has somebody wronged you? Has somebody hurt your feelings? Someone thoughtlessly and wrongly saying something can easily hurt your feelings. They may not even realize what they said, and they do not mean to hurt your feelings. But your feelings get hurt.

Instead of going to that brother or sister to straighten things out, some people will refrain from ever coming to church again, or they will find another group with which to worship. That is not the way to do it. We must come to one another and forgive our brothers and sisters, if they have done something wrong to us. Our souls will be flooded with the peace of Jesus when we do this.

Forgiveness a Conscious Choice

All of us have things in our past lives that we remember, perhaps with anger or regret. Maybe your mother left your dad for another man. Maybe your father was an alcoholic. It may be that your parents did not raise you the way they should have (at least in your eyes)—so you have built up resentment and bitterness, and hold grudges. We must let these things go. We must come to the cross, receive forgiveness and the freedom from guilt, and then we can forgive others. It has to be done that way.

Perhaps you have read the story of Corrie ten Boom. In 1938 or 1939, she and her sister were captured by the Germans and sent to Ravens-bruck, a prison camp. It was noth-ing but a place of death. People by the thousands were brought there in train cars. They were told that they were going to be safe from the dangers of war in this retreat. They fully expected to be going back to their beautiful homes when the war was over.

When they arrived at the prison camps, they heard joyful, happy music; people were singing to them. But all too soon they learned that they had arrived at a place of death. Some would be gassed immediately upon arriving; some would be killed a month later, but as a rule, no one would live more than six months at any one of these camps. In fact, the fires of the furnaces burned for six years straight—from 1939 to 1945, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Millions and millions of innocent people were gassed to death.

But Corrie ten Boom was mistakenly released from this death sentence. She was accidentally let go—one of the very few people who got out of the camp alive. Corrie ten Boom set up a home in her native Holland for people as they were released from the prison camps. After the war, she spoke to many people in Germany and other countries about God’s forgiveness.

Do you know what she saw in the survivors of the ravages of war and the horrible things that were done to them? She saw that the people who were able to forgive were those who could go on living and functioning normally. Those who could not forgive were mentally unbalanced, and many suffered nervous breakdowns, which affected the rest of their lives. Forgiveness made the difference!

One night, in Munich, as she was speaking on God’s forgiveness, she noticed a man in the crowd; a man she would never forget. He was about 5 feet 10 inches tall, with deep-set eyes, a stocky build, and a square face. After her eloquent speech on forgiveness, this man came up to her, extended his hand, and asked, “Can you forgive me?” This man had been one of the cruelest guards in the Ravensbruck prison camp. She remembered how, when she and her sister walked in front of this guard, he had reached out and pulled her sister’s blouse off just to embarrass her. She remembered how this guard hit her sister in the face with his fist, knocking her to the ground and crushing her ribs with his leather boot heel. She remembered how her sister withered away to 90 pounds and died in this camp—this was one of the men responsible. Here he was, standing in front of her asking, “Can you forgive me?”

Corrie ten Boom wanted to spit in his face. She wanted to reach out and slap him across his face. Every emotion in her cried out for revenge, but she knew that unless she forgave him, every ounce of love in her would dry up. She knew that the bitterness, the resentment, and the unwillingness to forgive would eat out her spiritual heart. Contrary to her feelings, she reached out her hand and said, “Brother, I forgive you.” She wrote that immediately a new peace flooded through her.

Forgiveness is a conscious choice on your part and on mine—a choice to release someone from your condemnation because Christ has released you from His condemnation. We have to make that choice.

Is there someone to whom you need to express your forgiveness? There may be. Do you need to make a phone call to someone and say, “Brother (or sister), I forgive you; there may be a wall of separation between us, but I forgive you”?

When we come to the cross and see how Jesus forgives us of all the things that we have done, He will pour that forgiveness into our lives, so we can forgive others. Do you see now how the cross reveals the magnitude of God’s forgiveness?

Depth of God’s Love

The cross also reveals the enormity of the depth of God’s love. It leads us to a deeper message of His love than we have ever known before. This is the way Paul expresses it: “For He [God] made Him [Christ] who knew no sin [to be] sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 11 Corinthians 5:21. What a statement! Did Jesus ever sin? The Bible tells us that He never sinned. (See Hebrews 4:15.) He was tempted, just like you and I are tempted, but He never sinned. Did He ever think an evil thought? No! We are told He never sinned even by a thought. (See Review and Herald, November 8, 1887.) He never committed an unselfish act, but He who knew no sin became sin for us.

What are these deeper lessons we need to learn that, once we understand, our whole being, our whole way of thinking will be transformed? The cross must do this for us, or we are not taking full advantage of the power of Christianity. What is the power behind the cross that breaks the habits of sin in our lives? What is it that makes a dishonest man honest, that makes an impure woman pure, that makes an angry man patient? The cross breaks the grip of sin in our lives. We do not need a fancy theological definition here. What we need to understand are the practical realities of the cross. We need not only to know and to understand but also to experience the transforming power of the cross. It has to be experienced in our lives or it is of no avail.

Paul reveals the depth for which we are looking: “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’).” Galatians 3:13. What is the curse of the law from which He has redeemed us? Death! Death is the major curse of the law.

Atonement

Jesus voluntarily accepted and bore the corporate guilt of all humanity. As He hung on the cross, the Father turned away from Him, because of the sins for humanity that He bore. It was too much for Jesus to have this happen, because He had always been with the Father. This broke His heart. (See John 8:19; 10:30; The Great Controversy, 539.)

Jesus did not know whether He would ever be resurrected. He did not see through the portals of the tomb during those hours He was on the cross. He did not see Himself coming forth a victor. But He was willing to go to the grave and never, ever come up—if that meant that you and I could have hope of eternal life. Praise the Lord!

If He had fought against that—if He would have said, “No, there are not enough people who are going to accept this sacrifice; I want down; I want to go back to heaven; let these folks do what they want”—we would have no hope of heaven nor any hope of eternal life. I am so thankful that we serve a God who was willing to endure going through with the plan of redemption for you and me.

What He Experienced

I would like to share the following quotations:

“Bodily pain was but a small part of the agony of God’s dear Son. The sins of the world were upon Him, also the sense of His Father’s wrath as He suffered the penalty of the law transgressed. It was these that crushed His divine soul. It was the hiding of His Father’s face—a sense that His own dear Father had forsaken Him—which brought despair. The separation that sin makes between God and man was fully realized and keenly felt by the innocent, suffering Man of Calvary. He was oppressed by the powers of darkness. He had not one ray of light to brighten the future.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 214. Jesus experienced a lot of bodily pain, but we are told that His mental anguish of being separated from His Father was so much greater that He hardly felt the physical torture. It hurt Him more to have His Father turn away from Him.

“He could not see through the portals of the tomb. Bright hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the tomb a conqueror and His Father’s acceptance of His sacrifice. The sin of the world, with all its terribleness, was felt to the utmost by the Son of God. The displeasure of the Father for sin, and its penalty, which is death, were all that He could realize through this amazing darkness.” Ibid., 209, 210.

But, do you know what is beautiful? The Desire of Ages, 693, says, “His decision is made. He will save man at any cost to Himself.” Praise the Lord for His decision.

We need to make the decision to follow Him at any cost. We must! Can you imagine Jesus, the Creator of the universe, dying on that cross and saying that it was all worth it if you and I will be in heaven with His—with our—Father, even if it meant He might never be there again? He wants you and me to be there so much that He was willing to give up everything for us. This is the Man who created the worlds with His mouth; He spoke a word and this earth came into existence. He carpeted the earth with beautiful green. He is the one who caused the streams to flow and the brooks to babble. He caused the fruit trees to blossom. He gave the birds their songs so that we may enjoy their beautiful tunes. When His name is spoken in heaven, angels sing, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” They long to fulfill His every command. This is the Man who died on the cross for you and me. He was willing to go to the tomb so that you and I could sit upon a throne in heaven. For Jesus, the knowledge that some day we could be in heaven, made His death worth it all.

Your Worth

We have seen that the cross revealed the magnitude of God’s forgiveness and the enormity and depth of His love. We will now see that the cross reveals our worth.

We are definitely worth something; we are not just merely cosmic dust in this vast universe God created. We are not just skin coverings over bones and muscles. We are worth something in the sight of God. Sometimes that is hard to understand. With approximately six billion people in this world, we wonder how we could make a difference. How can God actually know about us individually when there are so many people? But it is true. He has a place in His heart just for you and just for me. I am so thankful that our God is able to love more than just a few people. He is able to love and to have a place in His heart for each one of us. His heart is so big—He is omnipotent and omniscient; He is omnipresent—He has a big, big heart.

Paul put it so personally when he said, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20. We can understand this a little better by using a very crude illustration. Parents may have eight, nine, or ten children. Let us say that one of the children dies from a disease or an accident. That would be a terrible tragedy. You would not say to that couple: “Well, don’t worry about it, because you have all those other children. Won’t they take the place of the one who died?” No, there would still be a place in the parents’ hearts for the one child who died.

We have an infinite God—can He not love more than just eight children? He has billions and billions of children, and He loves every one of them just as though he or she were the only one upon this earth. He would have died for only one. That is how much He loves us!

“The value of a soul, who can estimate? Would you know its worth, go to Gethsemane, and there watch with Christ through those hours of anguish, when He sweat as it were great drops of blood. Look upon the Saviour uplifted on the cross. Hear that despairing cry, ‘My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?’ Mark 15:34. Look upon the wounded head, the pierced side, the marred feet. Remember that Christ risked all. For our redemption, heaven itself was imperiled. At the foot of the cross, remembering that for one sinner Christ would have laid down His life, you may estimate the value of a soul.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 196.

We cannot comprehend it, can we? When we look up at Him, when we gaze upon those outstretched arms, He says, “I care for you. You are personal to Me, and I want you to be in heaven with Me forever.”

Hope in Despair

The cross also reveals hope in despair. What are some of the things that took place on that dark, crucifixion Friday? Jesus was nailed to a cross. A crown of thorns was placed on His head. A spear was stuck in His side. The sun quit shining. The birds stopped singing. Judas betrayed Him; Peter denied Him; the disciples fled.

A lot of terrible things happened on that Friday, and worst of all, the Son of God died on that dark Friday. But what was about to happen on resurrection morning? Joy was to be found on that Sunday morning resurrection! The sun rose; the birds sang; and most of all, the voice of God spoke, “Son, I call Thee.” That big, heavy stone that sealed up the tomb of God could no longer hold Him; it rolled away like a little pebble. Praise the Lord! And He came out, a victor! Conqueror! There is hope in despair.

You may be going through a crucifixion, but friend, there is a resurrection in the morning. Just stay with it; hold to your Christian walk; contemplate the cross and all of these things that it reveals. It can change your life! And it will, if you will let it.

We may each be going through some terrible heartaches right now. Heartache is worse than physical pain, much worse. We know that to be true because of what we are told regarding Jesus—His heart was aching more than the physical torture done to His body.

Maybe you are going through the agony of divorce. That can be worse than death itself. Maybe you are having economic problems. Something in your life can be hurting you to the extent that you must have the cross experience, and you must see and understand that there is a resurrection morning coming; there is joy! There is joy in the morning! We do have hope.

Christ is the Gospel

“Hanging upon the cross Christ was the gospel. . . . This is our message, our argument, our doctrine, our warning to the impenitent, our encouragement for the sorrowing, the hope for every believer.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1113.

This is our hope, friend. At the cross, you find forgiveness, and you find deliverance from guilt. At the cross, you find mercy, so you can be merciful to other people. At the cross, the love of God will break the habits of sin in your life, and believe me, sin is a hard habit to break. The only thing that will break it is the love of God, when you fall at the foot of the cross. That is where you can give yourself away to Jesus. Give yourself away! What can you do on your own? Nothing! You can do nothing without Him. (See John 15:5.) At the cross, Jesus says, “I care for you. You are more than a speck of dust in this vast universe.” At the cross, you will draw nearer and nearer to God. Is that not what you want? There is hope in despair.

The Master Artist

There is a beautiful, Muslim mosque in Teheran, Iran. While building the mosque, the workers had waited for an order of expensive mirrors to be shipped from Italy. These mirrors had cost tens of thousands of dollars. The mirrors finally arrived at the airport in Teheran, and the workers then shipped them to the work site, but when the crates were opened, they found that all of the mirrors were broken. Many of the workers were so discouraged that they just wanted to throw the broken pieces away and forget about it. But a master artist, seeing the dilemma, took a hammer and began breaking the pieces even more. He broke them all. The other workers thought he had lost his mind. What was he thinking, breaking these expensive mirrors? But then he took the jagged pieces of mirrors and set them in wet cement in the walls of the mosque. Today, the sun, shining down through the translucent roof, is reflected from the broken pieces. It looks as though the room is filled with millions of diamonds. The broken mirrors became more beautiful than they were before they were broken.

Bring your brokenness to the cross. You will become more beautiful than you have ever been before. The Master Artist of the cross can touch you—and your brokenness will become beautiful.

“In every true disciple this love, like sacred fire, burns on the altar of the heart. It was on the earth that the love of God was revealed through Christ. It is on the earth that His children are to reflect this love through blameless lives. Thus sinners will be led to the cross to behold the Lamb of God.” The Acts of the Apostles, 334.

I pray that this love will be manifested to everyone we meet.

Jerry Timmons was a Steps to Life staff member when he was fatally injured in an automobile accident, January 11, 2003.

The Meaning of the Cross

November 21, 2019 by John J. Grosboll

Ellen White tells us that we are going to spend all of eternity studying the meaning of the cross; it is the focal point of everything else. (See The Sanctified Life, 93, 94.) My college freshman, composition teacher taught that, when writing a paper, you need to limit your subject so that you can cover it adequately. But the cross is a subject that we can never fully cover. We still need, however, to understand all that our minds can grasp.

There was a theory going around in the days of Jesus that the soul, or the spirit, hovered over the dead body for three days after death. Jesus, when summoned to the sick bed of his friend Lazarus, waited and did not arrive at Lazarus’ home until he had been dead four days. Thus, even according to the false theories of the Jews, he was really dead. Because Lazarus was raised in the presence of a large group of people, there was no way to deny what had taken place. Some of those present related to the Pharisees what had taken place. A meeting of the Pharisees and chief priests was quickly called. The record of that meeting begins in John 11:45 and continues to the end of the chapter.

Bonded Together as One

“If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.” John 11:48. They were afraid of the Romans. Are people afraid of the Romans, today? Yes, they are. God’s true church is afraid of the Roman power today just as the people in Jesus’ day were afraid of the Romans. Interestingly, the very thing that they believed would bring the Roman power to destroy them was the thing that would have delivered them from its power. This is amazing!

On this occasion, the church leaders decided they were going to have to kill Jesus to prevent the Romans from destroying them. Ironically, by that very act, they brought destruction on themselves by the Romans. As we continue our study, keep in mind that something similar could happen again.

“And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, ‘You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.’ Now this he did not say on his own [authority]; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.” John 11:49–52. What is the reason that the apostle John gives for the cross? The children of God were scattered all over the world, but John said that Jesus was going to die so that all of the people of God who were scattered abroad could be brought together into one. What a wonderful thought!

God’s people are still scattered all over the world and are going to continue to be so for a little while, because Ellen White said, concerning the 144,000 during the time of trouble, that they will be scattered all over the world. But when Jesus comes again, they are going to be gathered together into one church. I love to think about it. (See Early Writings, 282–287.)

Of One Spirit

Have you noticed that people sometimes do not like it at one church, so they go to another? It is not usually because they did not like the building, but because they did not get along with some of the people. Have you ever seen that happen? I have never seen anybody decide to go to another church because something was wrong with themselves, but I have seen a lot of people want to go to another church because they said that something was wrong with someone else. Well, now, here is my question: What if this were to take place in heaven? This has to do, friends, with the meaning of the cross. You see, as a result of sin, people are alienated from one another. According to the apostle John, God’s children will be gathered into one.

The Bible is a spiritual book, and when it says that God’s children will be gathered into one, it is not speaking of them being gathered into one building. “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit [with Him].” 1 Corinthians 6:17. “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation.” Ephesians 2:14.

I have always had a fascination in the American Civil War. It was the most disastrous war the United States has ever fought. As I was in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the whole matter became crystal clear in my mind. At the time of the war, our whole country was separated into two armed camps that were totally alienated from one another. All wars are the result of alienation. By the way, there is a great deal of alienation in the world today. There is even alienation among the professed people of God.

Is the cross just a story, or are we experiencing its spiritual meaning? Let me tell you something—something very serious—if there is one other person in this world from whom you are alienated, at least one of you is not going to heaven unless that problem is solved. It is just that simple. Now it could be both of you, but it might only be one. You might have someone who is alienated from you and you might not be at fault at all, but if there are two people who are alienated, there is something wrong with at least one of them, and that person cannot go to heaven unless that situation is taken care of. The purpose of the cross is to destroy this alienation and bring reconciliation.

You Put Jesus on the Cross

Today, with many Christians, the cross is just like the law was for the Jewish nation. The Jewish nation taught the law, talked the law, and yet Jesus said to them, “Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keep the law?” John 7:19. Today, wherever I travel, I see crosses on churches; I see crosses around people’s necks; but people fail to understand what the cross means. If the cross has not destroyed the enmity in your heart, it has not done the work in your heart that must be done if you are to be saved.

“For it pleased [the Father that] in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled.” Colossians 1:19–21.

Why did Jesus have to go to the cross? “Christ died for our sins.” 1 Corinthians 15:3. Now, when you understand that, if you choose to sin, what have you chosen to do? You have chosen to do the very thing that sent Jesus to the cross. By wicked works you are alienated, expressing hatred for the Son of God. You cannot love sin and love Jesus. “You, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.” Colossians 1:21, 22.

Reconciliation

When we come to the cross and we see the spiritual meaning of it, the sin that we used to love we learn to hate. Everyone who has that experience, through the power of the Holy Spirit, is going to be reconciled into one.

“Now all things [are] of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore [you] on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For, He made Him who knew no sin [to be] sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 11 Corinthians 5:18–21.

Oh, friend, is the story of the cross just a story to you, or have you had this experience? Have you been reconciled to God so that you are no longer at enmity with Him? Can you be taken to heaven and feel perfectly at home there because you are in harmony with the whole system?

We are living in a time when we need to get down on our knees and say, “Lord, I am choosing to surrender. I am choosing to submit to the cross of Jesus Christ.”

Need to Control

When you are no longer alienated from God, you are in a position to be reconciled, not only to God but also to your fellow man. You will no longer live for self but for Him who died for you.

“Satan is the originator of sin. In heaven he resolved to live to himself. He resolved to be leader. He determined to make himself a center of influence. . . . Head he would be, to control, not to be controlled.” Review and Herald, April 16, 1901. It is this character trait, or desire, in people that splits up churches. When I was a young man, there was a popular song in circulation that denoted the thought, there are too many chiefs and not enough Indians around this place. This is the root cause of all manner of troubles.

It is said that Julius Caesar was once walking along a mountain road when, in the distance, he saw a small village. He is said to have remarked, “I would rather be number one in that village than to be number two in Rome.” This is why Julius Caesar was willing to kill millions of people—he wanted to be number one.

If space permitted, we could go through the gospels and see that this was the same problem that the disciples had. They never got over it until Jesus was crucified. After that, you never again find them contending as to who would be the greatest. Though they had been alienated, the blood of His cross reconciled them.

If you have a desire in your heart to control other people, you have the same problem. It is possible for you to be the most respected person in town and still have this problem. If you have this desire to control other people, you have not yet been reconciled. The person who lives for himself is not a Christian, because he has never experienced the cross. “No one can live for himself and at the same time be united with Christ. Conformity to the world, attachment to the world, manifests a decided denial of Christ.” The Signs of the Times, June 13, 1892.

When His disciples were struggling and quarreling over who would be next to Him in the kingdom of heaven, Jesus said, “The princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister.” Matthew 20:25, 26.

Great Among You

In the English-speaking countries, we are not used to having servants, so we have only one or two words to express the concept. We talk about servants and slaves, and that is about all. But in the Roman Empire, they had many servants of various categories and used a number of different words to denote a servant. There were some servants who were what we would call managers. It was one of these, by the way, who struck Jesus when He was being tried before Caiaphas. This was a high-class servant; someone who had some authority. There was, however, a lower level of servant. The Greek word for these servants is diakonos. This is where we get the word deacon. Jesus said, “He that will be great among you, let him be a diakonos.”

In the Roman Empire, there was one category that was the lowest of all servants. They would be what we would call slaves. In the King James Version of the Bible, this word is usually translated as servant, and in modern translations, it is translated as bondservant or slave. It is the lowest category of servitude. The Greek word is doulos. Jesus said, “He that will be great among you, let him be a diakonos [that is, a middle level of servant], but the one that will be first among you, let him be a doulos [that is, the lowest level of servant], even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister”—a more literal translation would be “not to be served, but to serve”—“and to give His life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:26–28.

Philippians tells us how Jesus followed this principle. He started out as the highest, “but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, [and] coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to [the point of] death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:7, 8. I say this reverently, friend, He went lower for you and for me than we could ever go for Him. You will never be able to go as low for Jesus as He has already gone for you. And I want to tell you, once the Holy Spirit drives that thought home into our consciousness, we will never be the same again. We cannot go on in this alienated form of life, fighting and bickering, and with all that is going on among professed Christians today. We cannot do it!

No Longer Alienated

The apostles did not all think the same on every matter after the cross. The cross did not take away their ability to think, but they were no longer alienated from one another.

Friends, there is going to be a people when Jesus comes who are no longer alienated. They are no longer going to be fighting. The 144,000 will be perfectly unified, in harmony. It is going to happen, all right. The question is, Who is going to undergo the experience of the cross so that they can be part of it?

Christ died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and rose again. Oh, friend, is this your experience? The cross must be an experience, no longer just a story. It must change the inner wellspring of the life so that we no longer live for ourselves. This is such a big problem in human nature that our daily prayer to God needs to be that He will divest us of selfishness. (See Our High Calling, 242.)

The servant of the Lord would not instruct us to pray this prayer every day if we did not need to do so. We are talking about a big problem. This is why we need to go to the cross over and over and over again, until the message soaks in.

I invite you, just now, to kneel down and pray that through the power of the Holy Spirit, this will be your experience.

Reprinted from the September 1994 LandMarks.

Nothing to Fear. . . , Part II

November 21, 2019 by John J. Grosboll

We are living in the last days, that epochal period of earth’s history that will be marked by great unbelief. (See 11 Peter 3:3–7; Matthew 24:37–39.) Those who are truly seeking to know and to do the Lord’s will are desirous of exposing their minds only to the truth, avoiding looking at or studying error. Ellen White addresses these issues plainly in her writings: “I was shown the necessity of those who believe we are having the last message of mercy, being separate from those who are daily receiving or imbibing new error. I saw that neither young nor old should attend the assemblies of those who are in error and darkness. Said the angel, ‘Let the mind cease to dwell on things of no profit.’ ” Manuscript Releases, vol. 5, 425. In this statement, written in 1853, she was referring to those who had accepted the message of William Miller about the soon coming of Jesus and who had not accepted the Three Angels’ Messages which lead directly to an understanding of the sanctuary and the Sabbath.

“Many saw the perfect chain of truth in the angels’ messages, and gladly received them in their order, and followed Jesus by faith into the heavenly sanctuary. These messages were represented to me as an anchor to the people of God. Those who understand and receive them will be kept from being swept away by the many delusions of Satan.” Early Writings, 256.

The central truths of the Three Angels’ Messages (Revelation 14) are under attack in the Christian world and in the Adventist world today. The devil knows that those who cling to the truths as contained in these messages will be so anchored that they will not be swept away by his many delusions.

If we have the faith of Jesus, we will accept the testimony of Jesus. (Revelation 14:12; 12:17.) Ellen White not only claimed to have the gift of prophecy but she wrote that “all who believe that the Lord has spoken through Sister White, and has given her a message, will be safe from the many delusions that will come in in these last days.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 8, 320.

The Bible tests to be applied to anyone claiming to have the gift of prophecy are:

They must speak according to the law and to the testimony of the Bible. (Isaiah 8:20.) The opponents of Ellen White have tried over and over to find something in the Bible that disagrees with something in her writings. Those who oppose the Three Angels’ Messages find fault with Ellen White, because she teaches these messages, including the investigative judgment.
Their predictions come to pass. (Jeremiah 28:9.) Although well over 100 predictions that Ellen White made have been fulfilled already, her opponents attack statements that contain conditional prophecy. (See Jeremiah 18:7–10.) With this technique, even the Bible writers can be proved false prophets, including Isaiah and Jeremiah and especially Jonah.
A prophet’s writings will produce good fruit, or results, in the lives of those who follow their teachings. (Matthew 7:15–20.) Opponents of Ellen White blame her if they find somebody who has become fanatical or mentally unbalanced.
A prophet will confess the fact that Jesus came in the flesh. (1 John 4:1–3.) This is not talking simply about the fact that Jesus came in human flesh but that He came in fallen human nature, which is the technical way that the word flesh is used in the New Testament. (See 1 John 2:15–17; Romans 6–8; Galatians 5, 6.) To document Ellen White’s position on this topic, see Elder Ralph Larson’s book, The Word was Made Flesh.
A prophet will have visions and dreams. (Numbers 12:6.) This must be documented from public or published evidence before you can be sure that any person who claims to be a prophet really has the prophetic gift.

Bible Study Guides – Review of the Quarter

November 13, 2019 by Pacific Press Publishing

June 19, 2004 – June 25, 2004

Memory Verse

“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” Romans 15:13.

Suggested Reading: The Faith I Live By, 221.

Introduction

“In the instruction that Christ gave to His disciples, and to the people of all classes who came to hear His words, there was that which lifted them to a high plane of thought and action. If the words of Christ, instead of the words of men, were given to the learner to-day, we would see evidences of higher intelligence, a clearer comprehension of heavenly things, a deeper knowledge of God, a purer and more vigorous Christian life.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 518.

1 What was the mission of Jesus to this earth? What do sinners have through the death of Christ? What does the Lord desire to be for every person?

note: “We want clear views of what Jesus is to us. We want to have distinct views of the victories gained in our behalf. He spoiled principalities and powers and made a show of them openly. He broke the fetters of the tomb and came forth to take again His life that He laid down for us. He ascended on high, having led captivity captive and received gifts for men. All this suffering He endured for us. . . . He will be our helper and He will be our refuge in every time of need. He should be revealed in our Christian experience as all-sufficient, a present Saviour.” Our High Calling, 20.

See Luke 19:10; Ephesians 1:7; Isaiah 30:18.

2 Describe man’s condition without Christ. From what are believers delivered? To what spiritual life are they called?

note: “A life in Christ is a life of restfulness. There may be no ecstasy of feeling, but there should be an abiding, peaceful trust. Your hope is not in yourself; it is in Christ. Your weakness is united to His strength, your ignorance to His wisdom, your frailty to His enduring might. So you are not to look to yourself, not to let the mind dwell upon self, but look to Christ. Let the mind dwell upon His love, upon the beauty, the perfection, of His character. Christ in His self-denial, Christ in His humiliation, Christ in His purity and holiness, Christ in His matchless love —this is the subject for the soul’s contemplation. It is by loving Him, copying Him, depending wholly upon Him, that you are to be transformed into His likeness.” Steps to Christ, 70, 71.

See Ephesians 4:17–19; 2:11, 12; Colossians 1:12, 13; 1 Peter 5:10; Romans 3:20–22; Acts 13:39.

3 How do sinners become children of God? What change in the life is made necessary? What fruit of the Spirit will appear? What is the result of an unforgiving spirit?

note: “The condition of eternal life is now just what it always has been,—just what it was in Paradise before the fall of our first parents,—perfect obedience to the law of God, perfect righteousness. If eternal life were granted on any condition short of this, then the happiness of the whole universe would be imperiled. The way would be open for sin, with all its train of woe and misery, to be immortalized.” Steps to Christ, 62.

See Galatians 3:26; John 1:12; 11 Corinthians 5:17; John 3:3, 5; Galatians 5:22, 23; Matthew 6:14, 15.

4 What is assured to the obedient? By what standard will our lives be tested? Relate Abraham’s experience in offering up Isaac.

note: “Many today claim to obey the commandments of God, but they have not the love of God in their hearts to flow forth to others. Christ calls them to unite with Him in His work for the saving of the world, but they content themselves with saying, ‘I go, sir.’ They do not go. They do not co-operate with those who are doing God’s service. They are idlers. . . . In taking upon themselves the solemn covenant of the church they have pledged themselves to receive and obey the word of God, to give themselves to God’s service, but they do not do this. In profession they claim to be sons of God, but in life and character they deny the relationship. They do not surrender the will to God. They are living a lie.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 279.

See Isaiah 1:19; James 2:8–12; 1 John 3:4; Ecclesiastes 12:13; Genesis 22:1–14.

5 What did Jesus say His people would experience in this world? Give examples. Of what value is the trying of our faith? What legacy did Jesus leave with His people when He left the world?

note: “Our heavenly Father sees the hearts of men, and He knows their characters better than they themselves know them. He sees that some have susceptibilities and powers, which, directed in the right channel, might be used to His glory to aid in the advancement of His work. He puts these persons on trial and in His wise providence brings them into different positions and under a variety of circumstances, testing them that they may reveal what is in their hearts and the weak points in their characters which have been concealed from their own knowledge. He gives them opportunities to correct these weaknesses, to polish off the rough corners of their natures, and to fit themselves for His service, that when He calls them to action they will be ready, and that angels of heaven may unite their labor with human effort in the work that must be done upon the earth. To men whom God designs shall fill responsible positions, He in mercy reveals their hidden defects, that they may look within and examine critically the complicated emotions and exercises of their own hearts, and detect that which is wrong; thus they may modify their dispositions and refine their manners. The Lord in His providence brings men where He can test their moral powers and reveal their motives of action, that they may improve what is right in themselves and put away that which is wrong. God would have His servants become acquainted with the moral machinery of their own hearts. In order to bring this about, He often permits the fire of affliction to assail them that they may become purified.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 84, 85.

See John 16:32, 33; Hebrews 11:36–39; 1 Peter 1:6, 7; John 14:27.

6 Whom has the Lord promised to guide into judgment? What invitation does the Lord extend to the weary? Give an illustration of how God cares for His people.

note: “It is not the will of God that His people should be weighed down with care. But our Lord does not deceive us. He does not say to us, ‘Do not fear; there are no dangers in your path.’ He knows there are trials and dangers, and He deals with us plainly. He does not propose to take His people out of a world of sin and evil, but He points them to a never-failing refuge.” Steps to Christ, 122, 123.

See Psalm 25:9; Psalm 55:22; Matthew 11:28–30; Psalm 77:20; Deuteronomy 1:30, 31, 33.

7 What is the greatest personal victory we can gain? What will be considered in the Judgment? What kind of words should we speak? What manner of conversation should characterize Christians? In what kind of speech should Christians never indulge?

note: “God calls upon you to yield pride and stubbornness, and to let His peace rule in your hearts. A meek and quiet spirit must be cherished. Carry Christ’s meekness with you in all your labors. An excited temper and cutting censure will not impress the people or gain their sympathy. If we have the truth, we can afford to be calm and unexcited. Our language should be modest and elevated. The spirit you have cherished within has left its impression upon the countenance. Christ, enthroned in the soul-temple, will efface that fretful, peevish, unhappy look; and as the cloud of witnesses look upon a man reflecting the image of Christ, they will realize that he is surrounded by a pleasant atmosphere. The world will see that amid storms of abuse he stands unmoved, like the lofty cedar. That man is one of God’s heroes. He has overcome himself.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 348.

See Proverbs 16:32; 14:29; Matthew 12:36, 37; Proverbs 15:1, 2; Ephesians 4:29; Colossians 4:6; Ephesians 5:3, 4.

8 What admonition has the Lord given to parents? What instruction is given children concerning their duty toward their parents? How only can the young live a Christian life? What great work is to be wrought in homes before the Lord comes?

note: “A house with love in it, where love is expressed in words and looks and deeds, is a place where angels love to manifest their presence, and hallow the scene by rays of light from glory. There the humble household duties have a charm in them. . . .” Testimonies, vol. 2, 417.

See Ephesians 6:4; Colossians 3:21; Exodus 20:12; Colossians 3:20; Proverbs 1:8; 13:1; Ecclesiastes 11:10; 12:1; Psalm 119:9, 11; Malachi 4:5, 6.

9 Who meets with the people of God when they assemble for worship? How reverently do the heavenly beings worship? What instruction is given to believers concerning modesty of apparel? What should we bring when we come into the Lord’s sanctuary?

note: “When the worshipers enter the place of meeting, they should do so with decorum, passing quietly to their seats. . . . Common talking, whispering, and laughing should not be permitted in the house of worship, either before or after the service. Ardent, active piety should characterize the worshipers.

“If when the people come into the house of worship, they have genuine reverence for the Lord and bear in mind that they are in His presence, there will be a sweet eloquence in silence. The whispering and laughing and talking which might be without sin in a common business place should find no sanction in the house where God is worshiped. The mind should be prepared to hear the word of God, that it may have due weight and suitably impress the heart.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 492.

See Matthew 18:20; Isaiah 6:1–4; 1 Timothy 2:8–10; 1 Peter 3:3, 4; Psalm 96:8; 1 Chronicles 16:29.

10 What warnings are given especially for those living in the last days? On whom are we invited to cast our burdens?

note: “Men are rushing on in the chase for gain and selfish indulgence as if there were no God, no heaven, and no hereafter. In Noah’s day the warning of the flood was sent to startle men in their wickedness and call them to repentance. So the message of Christ’s soon coming is designed to arouse men from their absorption in worldly things. It is intended to awaken them to a sense of eternal realities, that they may give heed to the invitation to the Lord’s table.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 228.

See Luke 21:34; 1 Timothy 6:9–11; 1 John 2:15, 16; Luke 14:33; 1 Peter 5:7.

11 To whom does all in the world belong? Relate the parable of the talents. What lesson does it contain for each of us? What did Jesus state was the greatest commandment of the law?

note: “Many are inquiring, ‘How am I to make the surrender of myself to God?’ You desire to give yourself to Him, but you are weak in moral power, in slavery to doubt, and controlled by the habits of your life of sin. . . . What you need to understand is the true force of the will. . . . The power of choice God has given to men; it is theirs to exercise. You cannot change your heart, you cannot of yourself give to God its affections; but you can choose to serve Him. You can give Him your will; He will then work in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure. Thus your whole nature will be brought under the control of the Spirit of Christ; your affections will be centered upon Him, your thoughts will be in harmony with Him.” Steps to Christ, 47.

See 1 Chronicles 29:10–14; Romans 11:36; Matthew 25:14–30; 22:35–40.

12 By what illustration did Jesus show the place His people occupy in the world? Repeat the gospel commission. Where are we to sow seed?

note: “The spirit of Christ is a missionary spirit.” The Great Controversy, 70.

“A true missionary spirit will be imparted to those who seek earnestly to know God and Jesus Christ, whom He hath sent. The Lord lives and reigns. Young men, go forth into the places to which you are directed by the Spirit of the Lord. Work with your hands, that you may be self-supporting, and as you have opportunity proclaim the message of warning.” Medical Ministry, 322.

See Matthew 5:13–16; 28:18–20; Ecclesiastes 11:1, 6; Isaiah 32:20.

These lessons are reprinted from Sabbath School Lesson Quarterly, Pacific Press Publishing Association, Mountain View, California, 1912.