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Health – Why Cow’s Milk is So Dangerous

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In 1863, the Seventh-day Adventist Church was blessed with information on health far in advance of medical science. “But I [Ellen White] wish to say that when the time comes that it is no longer safe to use milk, cream, butter, and eggs, God will reveal this.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 206. Those who obeyed the counsel by faith, put away meat eating and limited the use of sugar and dairy products, benefited from those principles that are only now, over 150 years later, being proven to be scientifically beneficial. Now there are many voices advocating those same truths as the following article demonstrates. Could this be our final warning that these things should not be introduced into the diet of those waiting the coming of Jesus?

Milk Does A Body Bad!

As we begin this renewal process, I am going to start with a food we have been programmed to accept not only as “good,” but absolutely necessary for good health ever since our earliest childhood: “Cow’s Milk.” A product the dairy industry proclaims, “Milk Does A Body GOOD!”

I will acknowledge that the breast milk of a human mother is the ideal source of nutrition for a human baby! Absolutely! That is God’s plan for almost the total nutritional intake of a human baby for at least the first year of life. On human breast milk, a baby will grow strong and healthy and develop a strong immune system (especially if mother is eating a healthy diet).

You will probably agree with me that under normal circumstances human breast milk is the perfect food for a human baby! I also believe that you would also agree that human breast milk is NOT the perfect food for a baby cow.

May I ask why you would accept human breast milk as being the perfect food for a human baby, and not accept human breast milk as being the perfect food for a baby cow? Think for a moment before you answer that question.

Now, if we do not believe human breast milk is the perfect food for a baby cow, why do we believe that cow milk is the perfect food for a human baby? Think!

To be successful in renewing our minds, we must allow ourselves to think “outside the box,” and to reevaluate what we believe, and why we believe it.

The Difference Between Human Babies and Calves

I believe that everyone reading this will acknowledge there is a huge difference between human babies and baby cows at birth and at maturity. Let’s begin with birth weight:

  • Human babies usually weigh in the 7 to 8-pound range at birth
  • A baby Holstein cow’s birth weight is in the 100-pound range.
  • The average human adult, worldwide, is in the 150-pound range.
  • A Holstein cow’s mature weight is in the 1,500-pound range.

Next, the protein content of human breast milk is less than 5%, and is designed by God to double the baby’s birth weight in approximately 180 days.

The protein content of cow’s milk is approximately 15% (300% of human breast milk protein content) and formulated by God to double birth weight in 45 days.

The protein content of rat’s milk is approximately 20% (400% of human breast milk protein content) and designed to double birth weight in 5 days.

Please note the correlation between percentage of protein and time necessary to double birth weights. God knew what He was doing when he created each animal species, and that He knew what he was doing when He specifically formulated the milk of each species exclusively for that particular species?

In nature, other than an extraordinarily rare circumstance of one species nursing the orphaned offspring of another, you will not find an animal of one species ever consuming the milk of another species on a regular basis. Animals in the wild are possibly wiser than we so-called intelligent humans!

  1. Colin Campbell, PhD, a prestigious nutritional biochemist, and author of The China Study, (Benbella Books, Dallas, Texas), writes: “Isn’t it strange that we’re the only species that suckles from another species.”

And though Dr. Campbell grew up on a dairy farm and prided himself that he could drink a gallon or more of milk a day, after years of research he’s convinced that cow’s milk is responsible for a huge share of our nation’s physical problems. The bottom line for Dr. Campbell is simple: “It’s unnatural to drink milk.”

Think about that statement for a moment. How many animals in the wild “DRINK” milk after weaning? The answer – NOT A SINGLE ONE!

Might the animals in the wild be wiser by instinct than we humans are by following the teachings of the nutritional experts and the advertising of the milk producing industry of this world?

Remember, the Bible tells us, “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.” I Corinthians 3:19.

There are some 5,000 species of mammals on earth, and God formulated the milk of each species for that specific species.

As we continue, we are going to learn that when we attempt to nourish a human baby, child, teenager, or adult with cow’s milk—milk coming from another species of animal—it becomes one of the most foolish and dangerous things we can do. And it doesn’t matter whether the milk is organic or not! Both are equally dangerous and destructive to the human body!

Cow’s Milk Protein: 87% Casein

Casein is a powerful binder, a polymer used to make plastics, and the glue used in making sturdy furniture. It can also be found in many foods as a binder. But it is also a powerful allergen, causing a histamine release that creates excess mucus, and is responsible for many of our children’s physical ills.

Of even greater concern is that casein, according to Dr. Campbell, was found to grow cancer faster than any other thing fed to cancer-induced rats.

In his research, Dr. Campbell found that casein, which makes up 87% of cow’s milk protein, consistently and strongly promoted all stages of cancer development. Alternatively, proteins obtained from plants did not promote cancer at all, even at higher levels of intake.

Also, of serious concern regarding cancer is that one of those 59 hormones found in cow’s milk is insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). This hormone is a key factor in the rapid growth and proliferation of breast, prostate, and colon cancers, and is suspect in the growth of ALL cancers.

Is Cow’s Milk The Best Source of Calcium For Bone Health?

Where do cows get the calcium that builds their big bones? They get it from the green grass they eat! The calcium in plants has a large amount of magnesium, a mineral necessary for the body to absorb and use the calcium. The calcium in cow’s milk is basically useless in building bones, because it has insufficient magnesium content. Those nations with the highest intake of milk/dairy consumption have the highest rates of osteoporosis.

Cow’s milk has 300% of the calcium of human breast milk, but it is not very usable because in order to be absorbed and used there must be an adequate quantity of magnesium. When a cow eats grass, that cow gets all the calcium it needs for their big bones only because grass contains a substantial amount of magnesium. When humans consume large quantities of greens, they not only get the calcium the body needs, but the magnesium needed by the body to utilize that calcium.

Interestingly, though cow’s milk contains 300% of the calcium of human breast milk, it only has enough magnesium to absorb around 11% of that calcium.

Another serious concern here is the acidity of cow’s milk. The more milk and cheese, along with animal flesh a person consumes, the more acidic the body becomes. In an effort to neutralize this acidity, the body removes calcium (an alkaline mineral) from the bones to neutralize that acidity, thus possibly causing soft bones and ultimately osteoporosis and hip fractures.

Disparities between calcium intake and bone health can be seen worldwide. The more dairy that people consume, the more susceptible they become to hip fractures. The 12-year Harvard Nurses’ Health Study, involving 78,000 nurses, found that those who got the most calcium from dairy products had approximately double the hip fracture rate, compared to women who got little or no calcium from dairy products. In other words, the more dairy in your diet, the higher your risk of breaking bones.

Basic Composition of Cow’s Milk

Cow’s milk, whether it be commercial or organic, contains 59 active hormones, scores of allergens, fat, and cholesterol. Most cow’s milk has measurable quantities of herbicides, pesticides, dioxins, up to 52 powerful antibiotics, blood, pus, feces, bacteria and viruses.

Remember … cow’s milk (and beef, for that matter) may contain traces of anything the cow ate – including such things as radioactive fallout.

There’s a lot more fat in cow’s milk and dairy products than you might think:

  • Whole milk derives 49% of its calories from fat
  • 2% milk derives 35% of its calories from fat
  • Cheddar cheese derives 74% of its calories from fat
  • Butter derives 100% of its calories from fat

Most folks have no idea just how much fat is in milk and dairy. Americans who are overweight or obese need to understand that milk, ice cream, cheeses, yogurts, and all other products derived from cow’s milk are most likely a significant cause for their weight problem.

Homogenization

Large fat molecules from un-homogenized cow’s milk cannot get through the intestinal wall and into the blood stream; this is a good thing, the way God intended. But when milk is homogenized, cream no longer rises because homogenization breaks up those large molecules into small ones that DO get into the bloodstream! This becomes a dangerous, unnatural expressway for any fat-borne toxins (lead, dioxins, etc.) to get into the blood.

Is it any wonder why one of the top “killer” foods to avoid is dairy?
http://healthtip.hacres.com/index.php/2013/09/09/why-cow-milk-is-so-dangerous

Keys to the Storehouse – Conditions Chosen for You

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I am sure many of you remember this conversation in the Bible: “Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found Him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.” John 1:45, 46.

To hear what Philip said about Nazareth, it must have been considered a rough and sinful city, well known for its crimes and vices. Even with its notorious reputation, something “good” did come out of Nazareth, Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Nazareth, with all of its depravity, was the city chosen by our heavenly Father for His only begotten Son to be raised.

“What were the conditions chosen by the infinite Father for His Son?

  • A secluded home in the Galilean hills;
  • a household sustained by honest, self-respecting labor;
  • a life of simplicity;
  • daily conflict with difficulty and hardship;
  • self-sacrifice, economy, and patient, gladsome service;
  • the hour of study at His mother’s side, with the open scroll of Scripture;
  • the quiet of dawn or twilight in the green valley;
  • the holy ministries of nature;
  • the study of creation and providence;
  • and the soul’s communion with God—these were the conditions and opportunities of the early life of Jesus.” Ministry of Healing, 365, 366.

We have no excuse for not following our Lord under all circumstances. God has chosen our surroundings for our growth. If it were not for challenges, we would not grow spiritually. Let us praise God for His choices for each of us, knowing that He has chosen such because He loves us.

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

God has a plan for you and He has chosen the conditions surrounding your life for good reason. Are you being conformed to His image, or are you making excuses because you are not happy with the circumstances that the Lord has chosen for you? God’s only begotten Son followed His will with delight. Will You?

Father: Forgive me for complaining at times because of circumstances and challenges. Please put peace and happiness into my heart that I may give glory to Thee in all areas of my life. That under all conditions or circumstances, I will remember that it is Your will for my life, and I will praise Your name for Your mercy at that moment and not murmur or complain. Amen.

Current Events – A New Constitution

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“A striking contradiction between the professions and the practice of the nation … is the action of its legislative and judicial authorities. By such action it will give the lie to those liberal and peaceful principles which it has put forth as the foundation of its policy. …

“Such action would be directly contrary to the principles of this government, to the genius of its free institutions, to the direct and solemn avowals of the Declaration of Independence, and to the Constitution.” The Great Controversy, 442.

The United States Constitution is unusually difficult to amend. As spelled out in Article V, the Constitution can be amended in one of two ways. First, amendment can take place by a vote of two-thirds of both the House of Representatives and the Senate followed by a ratification of three-fourths of the various state legislatures (ratification by thirty-eight states would be required to ratify an amendment today). This first method of amendment is the only one used to date. Second, the Constitution might be amended by a Convention called for this purpose by two-thirds of the state legislatures, if the Convention’s proposed amendments are later ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures. http://law2.umkc.edu

On November 12, 2012, Frank Lake, reporter for Weekly World News, New York, wrote that the President of the United States reportedly said the United States Constitution is out-of-date, so he is ripping it up and writing a new one. President Barack Obama reportedly told reporters last night [November 11, 2012] that the U.S. Constitution has become a hindrance to progress in America. “The document is so out-dated, that it is now becoming a hindrance to governing the country.” Obama has signed an Executive Order voiding the U. S. Constitution. “We need to move forward. We need change.” Obama reportedly said he has already drafted a new constitution and that Americans “will love what I came up with.” Insiders say Obama is keeping a lot of old elements from the original constitution “he’s just making it better, bringing it into the 21st century,” said White House Spokesman, Jay Carney. http://weeklyworldnews.com

This is in regards to Senate Bill 139 of the 113th Congress, which was presented to prevent the Second Amendment rights of the United States from being given to the United Nations. Data shows that 99 Senators voted, with 46 of them voting “Nay” (which means they were willing to give our rights per our Constitution in regard to the Second Amendment to the United Nations). This vote was recorded on March 23, 2013, which was just a few months after the Election in November 2012. http://www.westernjournalism.com

Republicans are warning that Democrats will regret their November 21, 2013, party-line vote to change rules of the United States Senate to permit confirmation of presidential appointees (except Supreme Court justices) by a simple majority instead of the 60 percent supermajority which had been required. The U.S. Constitution does require a supermajority in the U.S. Senate for specific reasons like the ratification of treaties and amendments to the Constitution itself. But in all other cases including legislation and confirming presidential appointments, Article I provides that in the event of a tie vote in the U.S. Senate, the vice president of the United States should cast the deciding vote.

Allowing the U.S. Senate to act by simple majority, except as otherwise specified in the Constitution, seems like the essence of constitutional democracy. The practice of simple majority rule in the U.S. Senate should be expanded to include enactment of legislation and the confirmation of Supreme Court justices. http://www.newsworks.org

God is Never Too Late

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Through prayer, we have access to communicate with our Creator. Whatever situation we may find ourselves in, Jesus said, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” John 14:18. The only way to overcome temptations is to have an intimate connection with Him through sincere prayer and the study of His word.

For the past few years I have been honored to direct the team of workers at Three Angels’ Polytechnic and Bible School in Bunyore, Kenya. One of my responsibilities is to purchase necessities for the college. Recently, an incident occurred that severely tested my faith.

On Friday, I left the school to go into Luanda, which is 85 kilometers (approximately 54 miles) away from the school, to conduct some business and purchase some needed school items. My first stop was the bank. After making the necessary withdrawals I decided to hire a motorbike taxi to take me back to school to avoid the often much wasted time while waiting at the bus stop for the public vehicles. We had not gone more than two kilometers when a grey saloon vehicle overtook the motorbike and blocked the way, forcing the driver to promptly stop. Three men came out of the vehicle like policemen, in private garments, armed with a gun and chains. As soon as I climbed off the bike the driver raced away, leaving me in the hands of these men who pushed me into their vehicle. Once inside I was forced to lie down between the seats. I did not know what was going on. The men hit me on my head wedging my large frame between the seats. As I lay there one man stepped on my neck, while another was on my back and another held down my feet. For almost three hours I was a victim of their torture. My cell phone was taken from me, and I knew that nobody would know what had happened to me or where I was to rescue me. I could not see or know where I was being taken or by whom, as my captors ensured that I did not see their faces.

I remembered the plans I had made for that day and the other chores that were to be done. Many people at the school were waiting for me to get home with the needed purchases, but I had no other choice but to accept the situation in which I found myself. In pain I remembered how Daniel and his friends had suffered for the sake of their faith, and I sought help from above. The more I was beaten, the more I offered silent prayer. I knew that if God would not hear and answer my prayer I would be dead, because the men were very angry because I was not answering their questions the way they wanted.

Becoming exhausted, I felt that God had forsaken me, but He reminded me of how Joseph had remained faithful when his own brothers had sold him to the slave traders, so I continued to pray. Eventually the vehicle stopped and the driver asked my tormentors what they were going to do with me now—throw me in the water or kill me! The man sitting next to him told the driver that they would throw me in the water to either survive or die on my own. The three men in the back who held me down rarely spoke.

The one who had taken my documents noticed that I was a pastor and responsible for children. He suggested that they look for a place to leave me and not kill me as they had previously been directed. The vehicle picked up speed again for almost 20 minutes before it stopped. I was pulled out of the vehicle, my face tied with a plastic cover as well as being chained. Two of the men led me to a small path that led into a forest while a third man pointed a gun to my head threatening to shoot if I showed any sign of resisting or making a noise for assistance. The driver and the other man remained in the vehicle.

After we had walked quite a way, I was unchained and told to continue walking without looking back or I would be killed. They knew that I was weak. My hand was dislocated from being twisted and my joints hurt from the beating that I had received. There was no part of my body that was not in pain. I continued walking for a few more minutes before carefully looking back. What a relief it was when I saw nobody; they had already gone.

Having no idea where I was, I needed to look for assistance. Following the path I was on brought me to a small homestead where I was then able to contact my wife and staff members at the school who came to assist me back to the nearest police station to report the attack. Before heading back home we detoured by the hospital to have my injuries checked.

I praise God for His watch-care throughout this ordeal. It was a miracle to feel alive again, because I was like a dead man being jammed under those seats. Since this incident, more security measures have been taken to prevent this from happening again.

Dear brothers and sisters, what do you think of each time you learn of lives that have been cut short? My heart is heavy when I see such evidence that man has become the worst enemy of his fellow man. I am living proof that though all worldly communication can be broken and withheld and not one of your loved ones has any idea what has happened to you or where you are, God is still in control! He knows where you are every minute, and He hears every sincere prayer. His arm is not short that He cannot save you. He said, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Hebrews 13:5. Whatever you may go through you are not alone. As Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us …” (Daniel 3:17), but if not we will still trust in Him. This can also be our conviction. God is not late to rescue us. When we trust Him with everything, we have the assurance that nothing happens without His knowledge and purpose. Never forget that we are not safe if we do not continually seek for heavenly assistance.

Atanas Anyanzwa has been connected with The Three Angels’ Polytechnic and Bible School in Bunyore, Kenya, since it was formally organized. Prior to returning to the Bunyore area with his family, as a result of the 2007 post-election violence, he was a successful building contractor. With his previous experience and with the help of the students, they have constructed most of the buildings on the compound. Since January 2012 he has been the manager, taking on the role of counselor and father figure for many of the students and particularly for those who are orphaned.

Out of Darkness

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“Thus saith God the Lord, He that created the heavens, and stretched them out; He that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; He that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.” Isaiah 42:5–7 KJV

When I was living in northern Arizona, I occasionally had the opportunity to fellowship with a young man, whom I will call Bill, who had been born blind. On Sabbath afternoons, Bill and some of the other church members and I would go for a walk through the ponderosa pine forests of the Colorado plateau. Bill would hold the arm of someone in the group and walk along with us as we enjoyed the beauty of the forest. It always puzzled me what this experience was like for Bill, as he was obviously missing out on what was to me the best part of the adventure—the magnificent scenery we were walking through. So I asked him one day what his perception of a pine tree was. He explained that he had felt the bark and needles, had smelled them, and had a sense of their size, but other than that, he couldn’t really explain how he saw them in his mind’s eye, as he had no frame of reference that was common to each of us.

I have pondered that experience for a long time, wondering how to explain to someone who had never had sight the scene that lay before them. There is no way to describe green, for example, to someone who has never seen any color.

Recently, as I was reading about the miracles that Jesus performed, this experience with Bill came to my mind again.

That Christ worked miracles is beyond question. The Bible gives a fairly detailed record of at least 37 specific miracles Christ performed, though there were undoubtedly many more. Exactly how many, we don’t know. But as we read the story of Christ’s life in the gospels, we can gain a sense that there were probably thousands.

Matthew 4:24 tells us, “They brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.”

Then, in Matthew 8:16 KJV, we read, “When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick.”

In Matthew 14 there is recorded an interesting series of events. After the beheading of John the Baptist, Christ sought solitude by departing, by Himself, by boat to a deserted place. “But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. And when Jesus went out, He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.” Verses 13, 14.

Indeed, in each of the four gospels, there are accounts of great multitudes of afflicted souls being healed by Christ of their various ailments. Thus we can be certain that Christ performed far more miracles than the 37 specifically delineated.

As John puts it in the conclusion of his gospel, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.” John 21:25 KJV.

Inspiration addresses these miracles this way: “Entire cities and villages were freed from disease, and there was no work for a physician among them.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 2, 285.

Of the 37 miracles that are specifically delineated in the gospels, however, there are five that deserve special attention, as a study of them reveals more than what is initially obvious on first read.

The record of Christ’s miracle at Bethsaida, when He healed a blind man, is recorded in Mark 8:22–25: “Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything. And he looked up and said, ‘I see men like trees, walking.’ Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.”

A study of the miracles of healing the blind will reveal an element common to them all.

We’ve just read Mark 8:22–25, about the blind man near Bethsaida who initially saw “men like trees, walking,” then “saw everyone clearly.” In John 9 we have a very detailed account of the healing of the man born blind.

“Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ [which is translated, sent]. So he went and washed, and came back seeing.” John 9:1–7.

There are several interesting aspects to this wonderful story. First notice that in verse one, the word Jesus is supplied by the translators. As it was written by John, it would read, “Now as He passed by … .” The word construction here indicates that this miracle occurred immediately following the rather ugly confrontation that Jesus had had with the Jewish leaders in chapter 8. They had accused Him of being the illegitimate son of a single woman, of being suicidal, and of being demon possessed. The chapter concludes in verse 59. Read that and the first verse of chapter 9 together, just as John wrote it, so that the continuity is obvious. “Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. Now as He passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.” John 8:59; 9:1.

Imagine the selflessness required to leave a highly emotional confrontation such as is described in chapter 8 and immediately thinking of the welfare of someone else. I would have to go and stew for a while over being mistreated and criticized so harshly. But here, by the grace and mercy of God, we get a glimpse of Christ’s loving, selfless character that is truly eye-opening. Clearly His thoughts were always and only about the welfare of others. May the Lord give us a deeper understanding of what it means to be truly Christlike.

Continuing with this story of the man born blind, we read in John 9:8–11: “Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, ‘Is not this he who sat and begged?’ Some said, ‘This is he.’ Others said, ‘He is like him.’ He said, ‘I am he.’ Therefore they said to him, ‘How were your eyes opened?’ He answered and said, ‘A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, “Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.” So I went and washed, and I received sight.’ ”

“So I went and washed, and I received sight.” Keep this fact in mind.

Now let’s look at Matthew 9 and read about the two blind men whom Jesus healed. This chapter is full of miracles, but the one we want to contemplate begins in verse 27.

“When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, ‘Son of David, have mercy on us!’ And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ They said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord.’ Then He touched their eyes, saying, ‘According to your faith let it be to you.’ And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, ‘See that no one knows it.’ ” Matthew 9:27–30.

“Then He touched their eyes … and their eyes were opened.” Another point to keep in mind.

The healing of the demon-possessed blind man is described in Matthew 12:22: “Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.” This initially appears as three miracles in one: he was freed from demon possession, he was given the power of speech, and his sight was restored. We’ll see shortly that there was actually a fourth miracle performed here.

Let’s look now at the story of blind Bartimaeus. All three of the synoptic gospels tell his story, though only Mark identifies him by name.

“Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.’ And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. So Jesus answered and said to him, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ The blind man said to Him, ‘Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go your way; your faith has made you well.’ And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.” Mark 10:46–52.

Make note of how long it took for this man to receive his sight. According to the Bible narrative, it was immediate. The same is true of the man born blind, of the two blind men healed in Matthew 9, of the blind, mute demoniac that Matthew 12 and Luke 11 describe, and of blind Bartimaeus.

In each of these five instances, not only did Christ enable the blind to see, but perhaps even more miraculously, He enabled them to comprehend instantly what they saw. The significance of this “miracle within a miracle” has only recently been realized, as the scientific community has only just recently been able to accomplish in only a very slight degree what Christ did approximately 2000 years ago.

In 2009, a series of studies was done on individuals who had their vision restored, or stated more correctly perhaps, “activated,” after a lifetime of blindness. This activation provided a unique opportunity to determine how the human brain learns to make sense of a sudden flood of visual information—information that up to this point had been completely lacking in these individuals.

Just think about this for a minute. Suppose that you had been blind from birth. Imagine someone trying to explain to you exactly what they meant by “blue sky,” or describe a green pine tree to you. What words could they use that would not require a baseline of visual knowledge or prior visual experience to achieve some degree of comprehension? Every word that they might use to try to explain “blue,” for example, or “tree” would require an explanation as well. In light of this, we can perhaps have a deeper appreciation of the miraculous nature of Helen Keller’s achievements.

As the researchers in 2009 tested the patients within the first weeks following activation of their sight, they found that the subjects had only a very limited ability to distinguish an object from its background. They had no sense of depth perception and could not distinguish the individuality of overlapping objects, nor piece together the different parts of an object.

After treatment, one subject participated in a series of tests asking him to identify simple shapes and objects. He could identify some shapes, such as triangles or squares, when they were side-by-side, but not when they overlapped. His brain was unable to distinguish the outlines of a whole shape when it overlapped another shape; instead, he believed that each fragment of a shape was its own whole. For example, when a red circle partially obscured a yellow triangle, the subject identified the circle as a circle, but the triangle was perceived as an object having two straight sides and one concave side.

However, if the shapes were put into motion, the study subjects could much more easily identify them. With motion, their success rates for identifying shapes improved from close to zero to around 75 percent. Furthermore, movement greatly increased the patients’ ability to recognize objects within images.

During follow-up tests that continued for 18 months after treatment, the patients’ performance with stationary objects gradually improved to almost normal.

See https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917115658.htm for full details of the study.

Note that it took a year and a half for the vision of the study subjects to improve to “almost normal.”

In the five stories of the men whose sight Christ restored or activated, once Christ had activated the sense of sight, the men apparently perceived what they viewed as if they had had sight from birth. So it is clear that Christ not only enabled these men to see, but even more miraculously, He enabled them to comprehend instantly what they were seeing.

Clearly, He brought these men out from a world of darkness into a world of marvelous light in every sense of the word. As Psalm 18:28 KJV says, “For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.”

There is another fascinating story about the Lord enlightening the darkness of someone—a story that we’re all familiar with—but in this story, the Lord brought enlightenment by causing someone to temporarily lose his sight. The initial telling of the story is in Acts 9.

“Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ Then the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ So he, trembling and astonished, said, ‘Lord, what do You want me to do?’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’ And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.” Acts 9:1–9.

The Spirit of Prophecy adds some interesting details to this story.

“On the last day of the journey, ‘at midday’ (Acts 26:13), as the weary travelers neared Damascus, they came within full view of broad stretches of fertile lands, beautiful gardens, and fruitful orchards, watered by cool streams from the surrounding mountains. [Think a minute about these details. They will be referred to later.] After the long journey over desolate wastes such scenes were refreshing indeed. While Saul, with his companions, gazed with admiration on the fruitful plain and the fair city below, ‘suddenly,’ as he afterward declared, there shone ‘round about me and them which journeyed with me’ ‘a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun’ (Acts 26:13), too glorious for mortal eyes to bear. Blinded and bewildered, Saul fell prostrate to the ground.

“While the light continued to shine round about them, Saul heard ‘a voice speaking … in the Hebrew tongue’ (Acts 26:14), ‘saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? And he said, Who art Thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.’

“Filled with fear, and almost blinded by the intensity of the light, the companions of Saul heard a voice, but saw no man. But Saul understood the words that were spoken, and to him was clearly revealed the One who spoke—even the Son of God. In the glorious Being who stood before him he saw the Crucified One. Upon the soul of the stricken Jew the image of the Saviour’s countenance was imprinted forever. The words spoken struck home to his heart with appalling force. Into the darkened chambers of his mind there poured a flood of light, revealing the ignorance and error of his former life and his present need of the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit.” The Acts of the Apostles, 114, 115.

“The marvelous light that illumined the darkness of Saul was the work of the Lord.” Ibid., 121.

When Paul tells of this experience to Agrippa in Acts 26:16–18, he adds more detail: “But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.”

Paul makes an allusion to his experience on the road to Damascus in II Corinthians 4:3–6: “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Remember that the Spirit of Prophecy said, in speaking of Paul, “Upon the soul of the stricken Jew the image of the Saviour’s countenance was imprinted forever.” When he wrote to the Corinthians that God had given the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, he was speaking from first-hand experience.

That light, that marvelous light, is still shining to give the world the knowledge of the glory of God, though now it is to shine through His church.

“The church is God’s appointed agency for the salvation of men. It was organized for service, and its mission is to carry the gospel to the world. From the beginning it has been God’s plan that through His church shall be reflected to the world His fullness and His sufficiency. The members of the church, those whom He has called out of darkness into His marvelous light, are to show forth His glory. The church is the repository of the riches of the grace of Christ; and through the church will eventually be made manifest, even to ‘the principalities and powers in heavenly places,’ the final and full display of the love of God (Ephesians 3:10).” The Acts of the Apostles, 9.

“In His wisdom the Lord brings those who are seeking for truth into touch with fellow beings who know the truth. It is the plan of Heaven that those who have received light shall impart it to those in darkness. Humanity, drawing its efficiency from the great Source of wisdom, is made the instrumentality, the working agency, through which the gospel exercises its transforming power on mind and heart.” Ibid., 134.

This transforming power was demonstrated by Jesus over and over again, but quite clearly and quite literally in His miracles of enabling the blind to see.

Let’s look at some texts that give us greater insight into how we bring spiritual darkness upon ourselves:

Reproach has broken my heart,
And I am full of heaviness;
I looked for someone to take pity,
but there was none;
And for comforters, but I found none.
They also gave me gall for my food,
And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
Let their table become a snare before them,
And their well-being a trap.
Let their eyes be darkened,
so that they do not see;
And make their loins shake continually.

Psalm 69:20–23

“Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see.” Who is Christ referring to in this passage? Those who are not comforters, who do not take pity on the broken-hearted. And how are their eyes darkened? Through over-indulgence in appetite and in the abundance of luxuries—their well-being … two of the very sins that brought about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

The pen of inspiration addresses rather specifically how we are personally responsible for creating our own spiritual darkness.

“It is not God that blinds the eyes of men or hardens their hearts. He sends them light to correct their errors, and to lead them in safe paths; it is by the rejection of this light that the eyes are blinded and the heart hardened. Often the process is gradual, and almost imperceptible. Light comes to the soul through God’s word, through His servants, or by the direct agency of His Spirit; but when one ray of light is disregarded, there is a partial benumbing of the spiritual perceptions, and the second revealing of light is less clearly discerned. So the darkness increases, until it is night in the soul. Thus it had been with these Jewish leaders. They were convinced that a divine power attended Christ, but in order to resist the truth, they attributed the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan. In doing this they deliberately chose deception; they yielded themselves to Satan, and henceforth they were controlled by his power.” The Desire of Ages, 322, 323.

This deliberate choice of deception is clearly illustrated in the miracle of the man born blind that we studied in John 9. The Jewish leaders said, “We see,” when in fact, they refused to see.

I would like to give one more example of the miracle working power of God, one that occurred almost 2000 years after Christ’s physical presence on earth. Following are a couple of passages from the Spirit of Prophecy that illustrate this miracle:

“The apostles boldly declared that they ought to obey God rather than men. Said Peter, ‘The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him’ (Acts 5:30–32). At these fearless words those murderers were enraged, and determined to imbrue their hands again in blood by slaying the apostles.” Early Writings, 195, 196.

“In order to secure healthy digestion, food should be eaten slowly. Those who wish to avoid dyspepsia, and those who realize their obligation to keep all their powers in a condition which will enable them to render the best service to God, will do well to remember this. If your time to eat is limited, do not bolt your food, but eat less, and masticate slowly.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 107.

“Satan has crippled our efforts by so affecting the church as to call forth from us almost double labor to cut our way through the darkness and unbelief. These efforts to set things in order in the churches have exhausted our strength, and lassitude and debility have followed.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 11.

Let me remind you that these words were written by an individual with a third-grade education. How many third-graders can correctly define imbrue, masticate, lassitude, or debility? Indeed, how many adults can define all of these words?

Just as Christ enabled those whose vision He restored to comprehend instantly what they were seeing, He gave an incredible depth of knowledge and understanding to Ellen G. White—an education provided by the same miraculous power that gave sight to the blind.

That power is still at work today, converting men’s hearts from the darkness of sin and unbelief to the glorious light of the truth and knowledge found in the word of God.

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

John Pearson is the office manager and a board member of Steps to Life. After retiring as chief financial officer for the Grand Canyon Association, Grand Canyon, Arizona, he moved to Wichita, Kansas, to join the Steps team. He may be contacted by email at: johnpearson@stepstolife.org.

Who Shall Stand In The Judgment Of The Lord?

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“Behold, I will send My messenger and he shall prepare the way before Me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. Gut who may abide the day of His coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap; and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.” Malachi 3:1–3. The same question is asked in Psalm 15:1. “Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in Thy holy hill?” The answer is then given, “He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor. In whose eyes a vile person is condemned; but he honoreth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. He that putteth not his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.” Psalm 15:2–5.

Of what coming is Malachi speaking? Is it at His Second Coming that the Lord will purify His people? No. It is the coming spoken of in Daniel 7. “I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hairs of His head like the pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.” “Daniel 7:9, 10.

“Cast down” is an old, English term. The New Kings James Bible correctly translates it, “The court was seated, and the books were opened.”

Do you notice that the Ancient of Days was sitting? If He was sitting down, what position was He in before He sat down? He was moving. Before something is set down, it is moving; and the throne of God moved into the judgment phase of the sanctuary in heaven.

“I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was lain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for q season and time. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him.” Verses 11–13.

We see that, it is while the little horn is speaking great words against the Most High that the judgment is set and the books are opened, and that Christ does a work of purifying His people. Returning to Malachi 3, we read of the result of this work of purification. “Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in the former years.” Malachi 3:4.

It is with reference to this cleansing process that we read, “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Daniel 8:14. This great work of cleansing, as we all know, began at the close of the 2,300 prophetic days that ended in 1844. For one-hundred and fifty years this work has been going forward; and the questions that I want each of us to consider are these: When this work is completed, who will be left standing? Who can abide in the temple of the Lord when He appears? Do you have clean hands, a pure heart? Are you free of the sin of backbiting against your neighbor? We cannot collectively be a pure people until we are purified individually.

Paul picked up the same theme in Ephesians 5:25–27. “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or say such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” As verse 25 points out, the Lord wants to change us by love. He gave Himself for us that He might cleanse us by His Word. Are you deep in His Word? This is where the cleansing comes from. If we are not deep in the Word, we will not be found without spot or wrinkle.

“Every man’s work passes in review before God and is registered for faithfulness or unfaithfulness. Opposite each name in the books of heaven is entered with terrible exactness every wrong word, every selfish act, every unfulfilled duty, every secret sin, with every artful dissembling. Heaven-sent warnings or reproofs neglected, wasted moments, unimproved opportunities, the influence exerted for good or for evil, with its far-reaching results, all are chronicled by the recording angel.” The Great Controversy, 482. Friends, we are not living at the beginning of the Investigative Judgment; we are living at the close! We need to pray that the Lord will show us things in our lives as He views them, now, before it is forever too late to change. Ask Him about the reproofs and warnings that you have neglected. Ask Him to show you if you have wasted moments that you need to confess, if you have unimproved opportunities, or if you have lent your influence in the wrong direction.

The good news is that He will reveal to us, as we can stand it, the areas of our life that need to be changed. “For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” Matthew 7:8. Jesus’ greatest desire is to be the Lord and Saviour of your life. His promise is that, “If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous.” I John 2:1. We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous!

The Lord has not kept a record so that He can condemn us, but so that He can save us. You see, friends, if you or I have unconfessed sin in our life, it would destroy all of heaven; so the Lord has kept a list of the things in our lives that must be corrected if we are to be made safe for heaven. If we ask Him, He will not only forgive us, but also work in our lives to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. “Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession them.” Hebrews 7:25.

Regardless of how we perceive our experience, if unconfessed sins are a part of our record, all of the right things that we have done will be of no consequence. “But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.” Ezekiel 18:24. It is not our names, however, that Jesus wants to blot out. “I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.” Isaiah 43:35. What He longs to blot out is our sins. John 3:17.

You see, we have a choice. We can either plead with the Lord to reveal our faults to us now, while we can confess and be cleansed of them, or we can choose to go on in our spiritual pride, blind to our deficiencies, until it is forever too late. Satan knows that there is grace to conquer even pride, so he “invents unnumbered schemes to occupy our minds, that they may not dwell upon the very work with which we ought to be best acquainted. The archdeceiver hates the great truths that bring to view an atoning sacrifice and an all-powerful Mediator. He knows that with him everything depends on his diverting minds from Jesus and His truth.” The Great Controversy, 488. “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” John 1:12.

Salvation is free, but it costs me something. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” Psalm 51:17. This is the only thing that we own that God will not despise. Everything else, friends, has been corrupted by sin. There is no other offering that He will accept. There is a time of probation granted to all; but the time is coming very soon when the opportunity will be gone forever. It is the nature of sin that, if allowed to remain in your heart, it will harden your heart to the point that the gift of a broken and contrite heart will forever be out of your reach. “His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.” Proverbs 5:22.

Jesus is all-powerful; and the devil knows that if your mind is totally surrendered to Him, He will save you. There is nothing that can stop the work of your salvation aside from your decision to not avail yourself of the power that Jesus makes available to each one of us. But Satan is an opportunist. He knows that each day that he can divert your mind from the great work that Jesus is desiring to accomplish in your life during these closing hours of probationary time, brings you that much closer to failing to make a decision in favor of accepting the cleansing in your life, that must take place before Jesus comes. Satan realizes that which we must never forget, and that is, that to put off the time of our decision is, by default, to choose to be lost; so he has invented unnumbered schemes to divert our attention, to take our minds off of the great theme of the Investigative Judgment, the atoning blood of Christ.

“Satan has many devices whereby he holds us back from rendering prompt and unquestioning obedience to God. We have often had strong promptings and conviction of duty, but have shrunk back from fulfilling them. Yet Jesus says, ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it.’ How many have been deeply stirred at times, yet because duty demanded a sacrifice, they have tampered with their conscience, seated themselves in the enemy’s debating chair, and have not made the decision that God sought to have them make. They have not broken away from the associates whose seductive influence for evil, led them to follow their own carnal reasoning, and because there was not evidence of any immediate danger, they have rested in their false security. They have debated in their minds, saying, Shall I obey the voice of God that bids me shake off the lethargy of the world, and escape from the world as did Lot from Sodom, or shall I listen to the voice of the world that cries peace and safety to my soul? Shall I wait for a more convenient season? All the sophistry of Satan is bound up in that one word, ‘wait.’ O that those who are now moved by the Spirit of God, would make a decided stand for God and for the truth…

The Faithful Christian

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The true Christian acts on the basis of faith, saving faith, true faith, genuine faith, that quality of trust without which it is impossible for any human being to please God. The faith, which every believer needs, is the faith of Jesus, which purifies the soul. It is that faith which the True Witness asks us to “buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich” (Revelation 3:18). The Bible discloses for us the normal path of a Christian’s walk in such passages as: “the just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17); “the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God” (Galatians 2:20); “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (II Corinthians 5:7). By faith are we to live. But while this principle may be quickly grasped in the mind, it is not so readily experienced in life.

The obvious question then would be, Why is faith for many Christians only an intellectual concept but not an experimental reality? The late Professor James Orr of Scotland, in one of his sermons entitled “Science and Christian Faith,” said, “In many quarters the belief is industriously circulated that the advance of ‘science,’ meaning by this chiefly the physical sciences—astronomy, geology, biology, and the like—has proved damaging, if not destructive, to the claims of the Bible, and the truth of Christianity. Science and Christianity are pitted against each other. Their interests are held to be antagonistic. Books are written … to show that this warfare between science and religion has ever been going on, and can never in the nature of things cease till theology is destroyed, and science holds sole sway in men’s minds.” The Fundamentals: A Testimony, (Testimony Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1910), vol. 1, 334.

We can all agree that science, falsely so called, has eroded the pure faith of Christianity for too many Christians, hence, there is for the majority of professed Christians a form of godliness, because the real substance is lacking in their lives which is to produce a holy, Christlike character. I would hasten to say that the pressures and tensions of modern life require a mature faith based on an intelligent understanding of religious truth and not on magic or superstition. Of course, it always has been hard for men to recognize, and much harder to understand, that the Christian needs to believe with the mind as well as with the heart. Yet true faith, as stated so admirably by Alexandre Vinet, theologian and literary critic (1819), “consecrates the mind, the heart, and the will to God and His purposes.”

Absolute Reality and Purposefulness of Christianity

“And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” I John 3:3. In the “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 950, 951, we see a wonderful explanation of this text and what will form the basis of this study. It reads as follows: “Does this text [I Peter 1:22] mean that the human agent can remove one stain of sin from his soul? No. Then what does it mean to purify himself? It means to look upon the Lord’s great moral standard of righteousness, the holy law of God, and see that he is a sinner in the light of that law. ‘Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin’ (I John 3:4, 5).

“It is through faith in Jesus Christ that the truth is accepted in the heart, and the human agent is purified and cleansed. … He has an abiding principle in the soul, that enables him to overcome temptation. ‘Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not.’ Verse 6. God has power to keep the soul that is in Christ who is under temptation. …

“A mere profession of godliness is worthless. It is he that abideth in Christ that is a Christian. … Unless the mind of God becomes the mind of men, every effort to purify himself will be useless; for it is impossible to elevate man except through a knowledge of God.”

It is through faith in Christ that the truth is accepted in the heart, and the human agent is purified and cleansed. Fundamentally, we must take God at his word for the transformation of our characters. Our faith in Christ acknowledges Him as an abiding Saviour who is able to keep us from practicing sin and eventually overcoming every sin! So who is a Christian? It is he that abides in Christ! “Unless the mind of God becomes the mind of men, every effort to purify himself will be useless.” The Youth’s Instructor, March 1, 1894.

This clearly shows that it is extremely important that sinful man agrees with God in order that he becomes purified of sin.

The remaining portion of the quotation is significant to our understanding of how God defines a Christian. It reads, “The outward gloss may be put on, and men may be as were the Pharisees whom Jesus describes as ‘whited sepulchres’ full of corruption and dead men’s bones (Matthew 23:27). But all the deformity of the soul is open to Him who judgeth righteously, and unless the truth is planted in the heart, it cannot control the life. Cleansing the outside of the cup will never make the vessel pure within. A nominal acceptance of truth is good as far as it goes, and the ability to give a reason for our faith is a good accomplishment, but if the truth does not go deeper than this, the soul will never be saved. The heart must be purified from all moral defilement.” Ibid.

For God, Christianity is practical godliness based upon righteous principles, which permanently controls the believer; it is not motivated by a faith that is based on feelings. As Watchman Nee puts it in his book, The Spiritual Man, (Christian Fellowship Publishers, Inc., New York, 1968), vol. 2, 240, “The life of faith is not only totally different from, but also diametrically opposite to, a life of feeling. He who lives by sensation can follow God’s will or seek the things above purely at the time of excitement; should his blissful feeling cease, every activity terminates. Not so with one who walks by faith. Faith is anchored in the One Whom he believes rather than in the one who exercises the believing, that is himself. Faith looks not at what happens to him but at Him Whom he believes. Though he may completely change, yet the one in Whom he trusts never does—and so he can proceed without letting up. Faith establishes its relationship with God. It regards not feeling because it is concerned with God. Faith follows the One believed while feeling turns on how one feels. What faith beholds is God whereas what feeling beholds is one’s self. God does not change: He is the same in either the cloudy day or the sunny day. Hence he who lives by faith is as unchanging as is God; he expresses the same kind of life through darkness or through light. But one who dwells by feeling must pursue an up-and-down existence because his feeling is ever changing.”

From the pen of inspiration we are reminded: “Many pass long years in darkness and doubt because they do not feel as they desire. But feeling has nothing to do with faith. That faith which works by love and purifies the soul is not a matter of impulse. It ventures out upon the promises of God, firmly believing that what he has said, he is able also to perform. Our souls may be trained to believe, taught to rely upon the word of God. That word declares that ‘the just shall live by faith’ (Romans 1:17), not by feeling.” The Youth’s Instructor, July 8, 1897.

The apostle John states of faith, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” I John 5:4. The faith which overcomes the world is the faith which works by love and purifies the soul. The importance of this faith is brought out in The Review and Herald, October 6, 1891: “The Lord is represented as opening the hearts of men and women to receive the word, and the Holy Spirit makes the word effective. Those who receive the truth have that faith which leads to decided action, which works by love, and purifies the soul. Thus the truth is a sanctifier. Its transforming power is seen on the character. When it has been admitted into the inner sanctuary of the soul, it does not operate superficially, leaving the heart unchanged; it does not awaken the emotions merely, to the neglect of the judgment and will; but it goes down to the very depths of the nature, and brings the whole being into harmonious action.”

For many Christians today Christianity has to do with an emotional experience, which has its roots in self-love. There is no willingness to agree with God or to conform to His way of life, thus Christianity is reduced to an intellectual experience without any transformation of character, for there is no willingness to be obedient to Jesus. More and more many of those who profess to be Christians display attributes very much different from that of the Christ they profess to follow, obviously not caring that they “are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.” I Peter 2:9.

We are told that only “Few have that genuine faith which works by love and purifies the soul. But all who are accounted worthy of everlasting life must obtain a moral fitness for the same. …

“You must experience a death to self, and must live unto God. ‘If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God’ (Colossians 3:1). Self is not to be consulted. Pride, self-love, selfishness, avarice, covetousness, love of the world, hatred, suspicion, jealousy, evil surmisings, must all be subdued and sacrificed forever.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 705.

The veneer of human hypocrisy is the order of the day in Christianity. The prophet states, “Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the precept of men.” Isaiah 29:13. Also, the prophet Ezekiel wrote, “And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as My people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.” Ezekiel 33:31.

God requires perfect, loving obedience from us, for this will then prove that we possess that faith which works by love and purifies the soul. That’s why Paul wrote, “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.” Galatians 5:6. The apostle James shows the importance of loving obedience: “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” James 2:20. He also states, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” Verse 26.

Our obedience to Christ is not a legalistic obedience, for the Scripture states, “We love Him, because He first loved us.” I John 4:19. And the apostle Paul wrote, “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if One died for all, then were all dead.” II Corinthians 5:14. The servant of the Lord confirms this teaching when she wrote: “By faith the soul catches divine light from Jesus. We see matchless charms in His purity and humility, His self-denial, His wonderful sacrifice to save fallen man. Contemplation of Christ leads man to place a proper estimate upon himself, for he realizes that the love of God has made him great. ‘And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure’ (I John 3:3). The possibility of being like Jesus, whom he loves and adores, inspires within him that faith which works by love and purifies the heart.” The Review and Herald, October 7, 1890.

When we take God at His word, believing that Christ is the Saviour of the world and that without Him we would be completely hopeless, love springs up in our hearts for Jesus and we willingly obey Him because He becomes our Lord and Master, thus He works by the Holy Spirit to purify our minds making us His true followers.

So what will this faith, which works by love and purifies the soul, do for the believer? From the book, In Heavenly Places, 118, we are told: “It is a great thing to believe in Jesus. We hear many say, ‘Believe, believe; all that you have to do is to believe in Jesus.’ But it is our privilege to inquire, What does this belief take in? and what does it comprehend? There are many of us who have a nominal faith but we do not bring that faith into our characters. … We must have that faith which works by love and purifies the soul, that this belief in Christ will lead us to put away everything that is offensive in His sight. Unless we have this faith that works, it is of no advantage to us. You may admit that Christ is the Saviour of the world, but is He your Saviour? Do you believe today that He will give you strength and power to overcome every defect in your character?”

From The Bible Echoes, April 15, 1893, we read the following: “When you respond to the drawing of Christ, and join yourself to Him, you manifest saving faith. But to talk of religious things in a casual way, to pray for spiritual blessings without real soul hunger and living faith, avails nothing. … The faith which avails to bring us into vital contact with Christ expresses on our part supreme preference, perfect reliance, entire consecration. This faith works by love and purifies the soul. It works in the life of the follower of Christ true obedience to God’s commandments; for love to God and love to man will be the result of vital connection with Christ. ‘If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new’ (II Corinthians 5:17).”

May we ever keep in mind the words of our Saviour, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4. Also, “Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21. So for Jesus, being a Christian means perfect, loving obedience to the word of God, a practical application of that word in the life of the believer every day of his or her life.

John the Revelator in vision saw all the Christians of all ages stand at last before the throne of God and the testimony concerning them is: “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Revelation 7:14. I appeal to each one who reads to make every sacrifice to be among that number.

Pastor Ivan Plummer ministers through the Emmanuel Seventh Day Church Ministries in Bronx, New York. He may be contacted by telephone at: 718-882-3900.

Judgment Is Upon Us, Are We Prepared For It?

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In the Bible we find that God has, at different times, given life and death warnings. Moses came to Egypt and had a message from God—”Let My people go.” They rejected the message; and Pharaoh replied, “Who is God that He should tell us that?” As a result, they first lost their cattle, then their crops, and eventually their first born. Finally, they lost their army and Pharaoh himself.

Jeremiah came to Israel with a life and death message, calling them to repent and to return to the true worship of God. They wanted to hear love spoken and thought that his message was too straight; they cast him into a miry pit. Because they rejected Him, God could not protect them; and although they claimed to be worshiping Him, going through the motions of religion, their city was completely destroyed.

Then there was John the Baptist who came with a message of repentance to Israel. They rejected the message, and what happened? Again, Jerusalem was destroyed and lay in ruins for many years. The Jewish people were scattered all over the world.

So at various times, God has had life and death messages that have been given to various groups, individuals, and nations. But twice in this world’s history, He has had a life and death message for the whole world. The first one came through Noah. “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, ’I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth. Both man and beast, creeping things, and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.’” Genesis 6:5–7. Conditions then must have been something like today. The Bible says that every imagination of man’s heart was evil continually.

God said that it had become unbearable to allow this to go on in the universe, and he decided that He was going to put a check on sin. But God is merciful; He did not do it overnight. “And the Lord said, ‘My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.’” Ibid., verse 3. In I Peter 3, we find that this power that pled with men was the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and that was manifested at Pentecost. It was not just human power; it was the power of the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us that when God sends a warning message the second time, it will again be as in Noah’s time. There will be many scoffers. “Knowing this first, that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the father fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of Creation.’ For this they willfully forget that by the Word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which now exist are kept in store by the same Word, reserved for fire until the Day of Judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” II Peter 3:3–7. Notice it says that they willfully forget. In other words, they choose to ignore the evidence by which they might have a knowledge of the flood. The world today is being kept in store by this same power; but this time it is not to be destroyed by water but by fire—the fire at Jesus’ Second Coming.

Now there were scoffers in Noah’s day, and there are scoffers today. But scoffers did not change the facts then, nor will they today. God has given evidence by which, if people are interested, they can find that the Bible is true. Even if the whole world disbelieves God’s Word, His Word is still going to come true!

Now, if the judgment has come, and if it is going to be preached, someone must know that it has begun. Somewhere in the Bible there must be a time pointed out as to when the judgment is going to begin. Paul tells us in Acts 17:31, “He has appointed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness.” God has had to put the date for the judgment some place in the Bible, and we want to find it.

Daniel 7 gives us an approximate date for the beginning of the judgment, though it does not give us an exact time. “I watched until thrones were put in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire; a fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.”” Daniel 7:9, 10.

Now if you will continue on to verses 11–13, you will see that this is not yet the end of the world. “I watched then [after the court had been seated] because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn was speaking.” We find in Revelation that while the horn reigned for 1,260 years, at which time it received a deadly wound, yet it would be healed and all of the world would wonder after the beast. So Daniel hears the horn speaking after the judgment has set.

There is a principle that every prophecy builds on the one before it. The prophecy of Daniel 8 covers much of the same history as Daniel 7. It begins with the rule of Medo-Persia and relates the fall of that kingdom before Alexander the Great. After giving more details about the rule of Greece, it goes over the reign of the little horn power. When it comes to the end of the little horn power, it also goes into the judgment; but this prophecy gives us something a little more specific. “And he said unto me, ‘For two thousand three hundred days then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.’” Daniel 8:14. The Jews knew what that terminology meant. The cleansing of the sanctuary was a term that had reference to the Day of Atonement, which was a period of judgment for the Jews. Because we are dealing with prophetic time, we know this to be a time period of two thousand three hundred literal years. This places the judgment a great distance into the future.

“Now it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said; ‘Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.’ So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, ‘Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.’” Verses 15–17. We know that the time period stretches to the time of the end; but without a starting point, this still is not very specific.

Gabriel was told to explain the vision to Daniel, but he was not able to finish because Daniel fainted. Upon his recovery, however, Daniel kept praying and the angel came back. “Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God, yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, ‘O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision.’” Daniel 9:20–23.

To what vision is Gabriel referring? The vision in chapter 8! This is the vision which Gabriel started to explain, but Daniel became sick before he finished explaining about the 2,300 days. “Go finish your explanation,” God said. “You did not finish.”

The only part of that vision which had not been explained was the part dealing with time. Naturally, Gabriel does not go back and talk about the powers of Greece and Medo-Persia; he starts right in where he left off, explaining the 2,300 days. “Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; . . . . Then He shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.” Verses 24–27.

Now there is an unfortunate mistranslation here. The word determined is from the word chathak. In Hebrew it literally means, cut off. The reason the translators did not translate it that way is because, failing to go back to the previous vision, they could not determine from what it was cut off. Seventy weeks must be cut off from some larger period of time. There is only time period in the vision of the beginning and that is the 2,300 days, or years. Now he said, 70 weeks are cut off from this 2,300-day period. Seventy weeks is 490 literal years. If you cut 490 from 2,300, there are 1,810 years left. In other words, of the 2,300 years, 490 were given especially to the Jewish people.

The 490-day period began with the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. This took place in 457 B.C. It then extended until A.D. 34. At that time, Stephen was stoned and persecution broke out in Jerusalem, scattering the followers of Jesus everywhere. It was then that the gospel began to go to the Gentiles. By the way, as 1844 follows 1798, it also fits the prophecy of Daniel 7.
Other than the prophecy in Daniel 8 and 9, there is no prophecy in all of the Bible that reveals a date for the judgment to begin. Daniel 7 gives the approximate date for the judgment to begin, but Daniel 8 is the only one that gives the time.

“As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be also in the days of the Son of Man.” Luke 17:26. In Noah’s day, those who heeded God’s warning, though very few in number, were saved, while those who scoffed at the message were lost. The Bible says that there is coming a judgment. It also tells us that the judgment message will be preached with a loud voice. I believe, according to Bible prophecy, that the judgment has already begun. When it is ended, the destiny of all mankind will have been decided. When the judgment is over, the pronouncement will be made, “He who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still. ‘And behold, I am coming quickly.’” Revelation 22:11, 12.

This has not yet taken place, but the time is rapidly approaching when all decisions relative to salvation will have been irrevocably made. Remember, the flood did not come immediately after Noah entered the ark and the door was closed. There were still seven days, but probation was closed. Everyone had made his final decision. “As the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the day before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away.” Matthew 24:37, 39.

When probation closes, no one is going to know on earth; but their destiny will be fixed. People did not know that their destiny had been fixed when Noah entered the ark, but it had been fixed. In Noah’s day, God gave them 120 years. The final judgment message has already been being proclaimed for a longer period than that, but God is still waiting. Do you know why He is waiting? He is waiting for us, because He loves us so much. Not everyone has made a decision yet, and God wants to give us a little more time. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” II Peter 3:9.

Today, God’s message is going to all the world. Where you and I will be a million years from now depends on what we do with God’s message today. In Noah’s day, every person who was saved had to make a choice to be in the ark. They did not have to make a choice to be outside, as that is where they already were. There is not a man nor woman who has to make a decision to be lost; we are already lost. If you would be saved, however, you have to make a decision to follow God. It is not something that just comes naturally. You have to say, “Lord, I am going to follow You all the way.”

The Six-Question Test

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All of those who are chosen (Matthew 22:14) to enter the kingdom of heaven will be able to give the correct answer to each one of the following six questions that are found in order in Selected Messages, vol. 3, 419. Some of them can be answered with a simple yes or no.

These are questions or inquiries that Ellen White says each one of us should ask ourself.

1 To whom do I belong?

On the surface this appears to be an easy question for a Christian to answer, but delve a little deeper and the answer might be surprisingly different. Christians will always say that they belong to the Lord, but John says, “He who sins is of the devil.” I John 3:8. It matters not what we claim. If we continue to live in sin, the Bible says that we belong to the devil.

The devil has only one rule under his government—to break the law of God. He does not care which part is broken. Jesus had a controversy with the Jews on this very point. They claimed God as their father, but Jesus said, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” John 8:44. The character of the Jews mirrored the devil. Jesus pointed out two commandments that the devil broke from the beginning; he was a murderer and also he was a liar. As Jesus was speaking, the Jews were contemplating murdering Him. While telling lies about Him, accusing Him of casting out the evil spirits by the prince of spirits—Beelzebub—they took up stones to stone Him. This confrontation occurred right after the feeding of the five thousand when the whole area of Galilee, in addition to Judea, had turned against Christ. (See John 6.) False reports were spread about Him all over the country, and so much hatred was stirred up against Jesus that His life was in danger. Their actions proved that God was not their father, but they were of the devil.

Angels of God do not get into any argument with the devil over those who are living in sin, for the devil rightly claims them as his children. But praise God that probation has not closed yet, and these people caught in Satan’s web can still repent and choose to turn around and follow the Lord. However, those who continue in sin will develop a character like the devil.

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” I John 5:4. “We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.” Verse 18. “Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his bother.” I John 3:9, 10. The evidence that proves who is a child of God and who is a child of the devil is the way a person lives.

“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” I John 4:4–6.

2 To whom do I owe allegiance?

In Romans 6:15–23, it says, “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slave whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness, I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Notice, there are some people who are unconverted and slaves of sin and they will tell you they cannot overcome certain sins. That is true. They are slaves of sin. The Bible is very clear that we of ourselves cannot overcome unless the Lord works a divine miracle in our life. In Isaiah 43:27, we are told, “Your first father sinned.” So, because of that, we have a fallen, sinful nature and of ourselves we cannot give our allegiance to God, even though we owe it to Him. As it says, there was a time when you were perfectly free from righteousness, but you were slaves of sin. But now, when you become a Christian, you’ve become slaves of righteousness and set free from sin.

Jesus said, “Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.” John 8:34. “A slave does not abide in the house forever [meaning eternal life], but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” Verses 35, 36. The work of the gospel is to set sinners free from their sins and then their allegiance would be given to the One who set them free.

3 Is my heart renewed?

Jesus referred to this subject when he had his secret meeting with Nicodemus. He said, “Unless one is born again,” or unless you are born from above, “he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3. Nicodemus could not figure that out and became sarcastic. He said, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Verse 4.

Jesus replied in stronger language, explaining it more clearly. He said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Verse 5. To be born again is to have a renewal of the heart.

The born again experience is spoken of as a necessity for salvation in both the Old and New Testament. David, because of his adultery with Bathsheba and the consequent killing of her husband, Uriah the Hittite, and afraid that he had committed the unpardonable sin, pled with God to “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” He said, “Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” Psalm 51:10, 11.

David wanted to be born again. He realized that his heart was wicked. To preach in prison to a rapist, or a person incarcerated for capital murder, those people do not question their need to be born again; they know that they are sinners. However, people who have not been involved in some criminal activity, comparing their spirituality against other people, are often inclined to say, “Well, I’m OK. I could improve a little, but I’m no worse than …”

The Bible says in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?” The Hebrew word used there means incurable. The carnal heart is so bad that it cannot be cured without a divine miracle. A person with this wicked heart and a weak will and sinful mind cannot keep the law of God and live a righteous life. He cannot go to heaven in that condition. He must be born again and become a new creation. Paul said, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” II Corinthians 5:17. This is a very important question for each of us to ask of ourself, Have I been born again?

It’s not enough that my wife or husband has been born again, or my parents or my children, or anybody else. The question is, Have I been born again? We are not saved as groups; we are saved as individuals. Each individual must ask himself these questions: Am I born again? Has my heart been renewed? Say like David, “I need a new spirit, I need a new heart. Lord, create me anew.” He realized that he could not just make an improvement, but that he needed a new heart, a converted heart and a new spirit. He needed God to create in him something that he did not have. Conversion is being a new creation and not just an improvement of the old self. It is a new creation that happens by divine power and until that happens, Christianity doesn’t work.

Many people think it is too hard to be a Christian because it seems to them that there are so many things they can’t do. The carnal heart is in opposition to God’s ways, but with a new heart, the things they used to hate, they will now love, and what they used to love, they hate. Paul describes it this way: “You put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:22–24.

Notice, he talks about a new spirit, a new man, a new person. Look at Romans 12:2: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Has your spirit, your mind been renewed? Titus 3:3–7 says, “We ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” The regeneration here mentioned means to bring something to life again. The question needs to be asked, Is my heart renewed?

4 Is my soul reformed?

It is not enough to stop after a revival. A revival has to do with the renewing of the heart, being born again, but reformation, which is a reforming or a changing of the life follows it. Reformation is to follow revival to be beneficial. In the book of Isaiah 1:16–18, it says, “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. [That could be translated, Go to court for the widow (people who are in trouble, like widows and orphans, need somebody to defend them before the law to see that they get what they need).] ‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’ ”

Paul, in his letter to the Ephesian church, addresses having a reformation in their lives. He said, “Therefore, putting away lying, ‘Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,’ for we are members of one another. ‘Be angry and do no sin’: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” Ephesians 4:25–29. He talks about forsaking all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, evil speaking, and malice, and then he says, in verse 32, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.” It is not enough for the heart to be renewed; it must be followed by a reformation in the life to live with a Christlike character. Through the power of the Holy Spirit it is possible to live a new life, one that is Christlike, in harmony with the law of God. “That you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.” I Thessalonians 4:12.

Reformation is essential, because the world at large is studying and watching how Christians live. One reason that evangelism is so powerless to bring people into the church today is because of how people perceive professed Christians. If they are not Christlike, they see a contradiction and have no attraction to the church. The world is watching!

When the Lord has a people who reflect the character of Christ, He will use them to finish His work in a very short time. In the upper room before Pentecost, there were only 120 faithful followers, and within 20 years there was a church right in Rome itself. Within approximately 25 years after that time, the apostle Paul said the gospel had been preached to every creature, all over the world. There were no airplanes, cars or trains, and the ships then did not have diesel engines to take them across the water at 30 miles-an-hour like we have today. There were no telephones, Internet or newspapers or the means of mass communication that we now have available. Besides that, the believers in the early church were poor, yet look at what they accomplished in 20 to 25 years—the gospel was taken to the whole world.

It will happen again, and next time it is going to happen a lot faster. The day of God’s preparation has been going on for 150 years plus. But when God has a people who are ready, it won’t take 20 or 25 years to finish the work. Ellen White says, “When divine power is combined with human effort, the work will spread like fire in the stubble.” Last Day Events, 207. In another place, she says, it will be fast, like the lightning going between the heavenly creatures that Ezekiel saw in his visions. But before that can happen, God has to have a people who have not only been renewed in their hearts, but their lives have been reformed to reflect the character of Jesus. As you study the life of Jesus, you will become like Him.

5 Have my sins been forgiven?

As Seventh-day Adventist Christians, we understand that salvation from sin is a two-step process. First, there is forgiveness of sin, then later on, as most people in the Protestant world don’t understand, there is the removal of sin.

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew 6:14, 15.

To many people this is one of the most awful texts in the Bible. Elder W. D. Frazee, a Seventh-day Adventist minister, used to tell a story about a family with whom he was studying that struggled with forgiveness. Their little daughter had been enticed into the woods where she was killed. The culprit was in the state prison, and they found it impossible to forgive him for his crime.

The problem is that you and I did not make the rules. Jesus said, “If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” The majority of people never have to deal with an experience anywhere near that bad, but to some people, this is one of the hardest texts in the Bible to apply, because it seems impossible to forgive some people for what they have done.

Notice the example of Jesus: “When they had come to a place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.’ And they divided His garments and cast lots.” Luke 23:33, 34.

The whole universe was watching this. Actually, it appears when you read the Greek texts, it is very possible that this was something Jesus said over and over again. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

The desire to get even or take revenge on those who have done you wrong is the spirit of Satan. Those guilty persons who have harmed another must stand before the Lord and give an answer for what they have done. If they are going to be in the kingdom of heaven, they will have to have their sins forgiven and make restitution. Actually, their salvation is not your problem. Your problem is, can you forgive them? The promise of forgiveness to us is only as we forgive others. This principle is in the Lord’s prayer (Matthew 6:12). I know that this is one of the hardest things that any preacher has to deal with, situations where somebody has been wronged so terribly that he just has a natural desire to kill the one or ones causing the pain or to get even. In heaven, before the fall of man, Satan became jealous of Christ and decided that he had been wrongly treated. His spirit of revenge has been passed on to the inhabitants of this world. Once it gets a hold of your mind, eventually you will want to kill the person that has wronged you. The choice must be made either to continue in revenge or find forgiveness, leaving justice with the Lord who is righteous and will deal with it in His way and in His time. In Mark 11:25, we are told, “Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.”

Peter came to Jesus asking how long he should forgive his brother, possibly seven times! Peter thought that he was being very generous, because the Pharisees taught that you should forgive only three times. Peter had learned that Jesus went way beyond anything the Pharisees did, so he thought he’d be really generous and suggest seven times. How shocked he was when Jesus replied not seven times, but seventy times seven!

Then Jesus told the story about the unforgiving servant who had been forgiven a large debt by the king, but did not offer the same grace to those who were indebted to him. “His master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.” Matthew 18:24–35. The way that the human mind works is that we either forgive the person, or eventually we will want to kill him. Our sins must be confessed and forsaken if we want them to be forgiven (Proverbs 28:13).

6 Will my sins be blotted out when the time of refreshing shall come?

It is not enough to have outward sins forgiven. Sin actually has to be taken away. This is a second step that has to happen before it is safe to allow a person into heaven. God is not just going to forgive the outward act of sins, but He will blot out the sins by cleansing the heart. Once a sin has been confessed and no unforgiveness is harbored against another, the sin is forgiven immediately. But the blotting out, or cleansing of sins, is a process that must take place before entering heaven where sin does not exist. David’s prayer in Psalm 51 referred to this. He said, “Lord, I want You to blot out, I want You to obliterate, take away my transgressions.” He realized that he was in such a bad shape, that he had something inside that had to be taken away and destroyed. That must be the heart cry of all who are waiting for Jesus to come and take them to His kingdom.

“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” Acts 3:19. Sins will be blotted out during the times of refreshing that occur just before the close of probation and the coming of the Lord.

I have reached the conclusion that no human being understands exactly what the blotting out of sins means, but whether you understand what it means or not, you can experience sanctification day by day as you receive power from above to overcome habitual sins. Daily studying the life of Christ and following His example you will discover that what you once loved you will now hate, and what you once hated, you will now love. Those whose sins are blotted out will be ready to receive the seal of the living God and enter into the New Jerusalem.

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

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

Editorial – Will You Be Satisfied Too?

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Jesus longs to manifest His grace and stamp His character on the whole world. Though Satan works to hinder this purpose, it is His purchased possession, and He desires to make men free and pure and holy. He will not be satisfied till the victory is complete and He has a church without spot or wrinkle to present to His Father. As He leads us through the pearly gates of the golden city, the New Jerusalem, Jesus will look upon His redeemed children and see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied.

“How is it with those who profess to be His followers? Will they be satisfied when they see the fruit of their labors? What are the members of the church doing, to be designated ‘laborers together with God’ (I Corinthians 3:9)? Where do we see travail of soul? Where do we see the members of the church absorbed in religious themes, self-surrendered to the work and will of God? Where do we see Christians feeling their responsibility to make the church prosperous, a wide-awake, light-giving people? Where are those who do not stint or measure their loving labor for the Master? Who are striving to quell every dissension in the church, being peace-makers in Christ’s name? Who are seeking to answer the prayer of Christ, ‘That they all may be one …’ (John 17:21)?” The Review and Herald, January 6, 1891.

“When Christ shall come with a great sound of a trumpet, and shall call the dead from their prison house, then the saints will receive holy flesh. Then this mortal shall put on immortality, and this corruptible shall put on incorruption. Then Christ will be admired in all them that believe.” General Conference Bulletin, April 23, 1901.

“All their woes will then be gone. Sickness, sorrow and death they will never again feel, for the leaves of the tree of life have healed them. Jesus will then see of the travail of His soul [Isaiah 53:11] and be satisfied, when the redeemed, who have been subject to sorrow, toil and afflictions, who have groaned beneath the curse, are gathered up around that tree of life to eat of its immortal fruit, that our first parents forfeited all right to, by breaking God’s commands. There will be no danger of their ever losing right to the tree of life again, for he that tempted our first parents to sin, will be destroyed by the second death.” The Youth’s Instructor, October 1, 1852.