John J. Grosboll

The Foundation – Daniel 7

by

Daniel 7 is one of the foundational chapters in the Bible concerning the investigative judgement and there’s no point in going to chapters 8—10, or 12 or Revelation before you understand this. It’s foundational and exciting information because it reveals that there is a God in heaven who knows thousands of years ahead of time what will happen. And He has shown us these things in the Bible so that we can be ready for the future.

The Fourth Beast and the Ten Kingdoms

There are four beasts. Let us look at the fourth beast. “Thus, he said: ‘The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces.’ ” Daniel 7:23

In his book, The Temporal Power of the Pope, 122, Cardinal Henry Edward Manning wrote regarding verse 23: “The legions of Rome occupied at the circumference of the world. The military roads which sprang from Rome traversed all the earth; the whole world was, as it were, held in peace and in tranquility by the universal presence of this mighty heathen empire. It was ‘exceedingly terrible,’ according to the prophecies of Daniel; it was as it were of iron, beating down and subduing the nations.” Does the Roman Catholic church know who the fourth beast is? Yes, Cardinal Manning tells us very clearly. It is an iron kingdom beating down the nations of earth.

“The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom. and another shall rise after them; he shall be different from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings.” Verse 24

These ten kingdoms rose up over hundreds of years. The ten kingdoms were despised by Rome—verse 23’s fourth kingdom—because Rome believed it would last forever. The ten kingdoms grew stronger and stronger. What Rome believed didn’t matter because hundreds of years before it was founded, Daniel had predicted its demise and the rise of the ten kingdoms.

  1. G. Wells says, “No vestige of the Western Empire, the original Roman Empire, remained as a distinct and separate political division.” The Outline of History, 526. They became stronger and stronger and divided it up until those ten kings owned it all. Another writer wrote, “The destruction of the Roman Empire in the West by the German barbarians is one of the most momentous events in history. It marks a turning point in the fortunes of mankind.”

Out of the Ten, Another.

Daniel then writes that after the fourth beast is divided into the ten kingdoms, another kingdom—different from the first ten—would rise up, more than the ten. This 11th kingdom would assume an air of superiority over all the others.

“The downfall of the Roman imperial government in the West was further, an event of immense significance in the political world, for the reason that it rendered possible the growth in western Europe of several nations or states in place of the single empire.

“Another consequence of the fall of the Roman power in the West was the development of the papacy. In the absence of an emperor in the West, the popes rapidly gained influence and power, and soon built up an ecclesiastical empire that in some respects took the place of the old empire, and carried on its civilizing work.” Myers’s General History for Colleges, 316

“If any man consider the original of this great ecclesiastical dominion, he will easily perceive, that the Papacy is no other than the ghost of the deceased Roman Empire, sitting crowned upon the grave thereof.” Thomas Hobbes

“There grew up in Europe a line of rulers far more powerful than any of these, namely the popes at Rome. Moreover, the majesty of Rome helped to raise the bishops above his fellows.” Medieval and Modern Times, James Harvey Robinson, 40, 41

Here we see secular history almost quoting Scripture regarding the characteristics of this new kingdom and its power over the previous ten kingdoms.

It is a well-established, historical fact that “Papal Rome was for all practical purposes the continuation of the Roman Empire … . Whatever Roman elements the barbarians and Arians left were put under the protection of the bishop of Rome who was the chief person there after the emperor’s disappearance. The Roman church in this way privily pushed itself into the place of the Roman world empire of which it is the actual continuation.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 4, 846, (Adolph Harnack in 1903, What is Christianity?, 269, 270) If we understand that Papal Rome is a mere continuation of the Roman Empire, then we will understand that Rome was established as a world power that would continue until the end of the world.

“The empire has not perished, but has only undergone transformation. … That is no clever remark, but the recognition of the true state of the matter historically, and the most appropriate and fruitful way of describing the character of this church. It still governs the nations.” Ibid. That was in 1903 he recognized that. “It is a political creation, and as imposing as a World-Empire, because the continuation of the Roman Empire, the Pope, who calls himself ‘King’ and ‘Pontifex Maximus,’ is Caesar’s successor.” Ibid.

  1. G. Wells talks about this power. “As the barbarian races settled and became Christian, the pope began to claim an overlordship of their kings. In a few centuries, the Pope had become in theory, and to a certain extent in practice, the high priest, censor, judge, and divine monarch of Christendom.” The Outline of History, 526. This provides a description of the development of the little horn’s power; a power that became greater than any other nation in Europe, and continues to this day.

Joseph Stalin also said, “How big an army does he [the pope] have?” He doesn’t need an army for He can use the armies of any nation he chooses.

He Speaks and Persecutes

The two big subjects of Daniel 7 are the little horn and the judgment. These subjects should be studied together because we cannot understand the judgment without understanding the little horn.

As the little horn’s power grew, prophecy tells us what happens next. “He shall speak pompous [great] words against the Most High.” Daniel 7:25, first part. “The pope is of so great dignity, and so exalted that he is not a mere man, but as it were God and the vicar of God. So that whatever the pope does, seems to proceed from the mouth of God. … The pope is as it were God on earth.” Ferraris Ecclesiastical Dictionary.

Pope Leo XIII said, “We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty.” Great words, indeed. But notice as we further in verse 25, Daniel says, he “shall persecute [wear out] the saints of the Most High.” Encyclical letter dated June 20, 1894

History says that “the church of Rome has shed more innocent blood than any other institution that has ever existed among mankind, will be questioned by no Protestant who has a competent knowledge of history. The memorials, indeed, of many of her persecutions are now so scanty, that it is impossible to form a complete conception of the multitude of her victims, and it is quite certain that no power of imagination can adequately realize their sufferings.” W.E.H. Lecky, History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe, Vol. 2, 32

A Roman Catholic scholar stated, “The Catholic Church is a respecter of conscience and of liberty. … She has, and she loudly proclaims that she has a ‘horror of blood.’ Nevertheless, when confronted by heresy she does not content herself with persuasion; arguments of an intellectual and moral order appear to her insufficient, and she has recourse to force, to corporal punishment, to torture. She creates tribunals like those of the Inquisition, she calls the laws of the State to her aid, if necessary she encourages a crusade, or a religious war and all her ‘horror of blood’ practically culminates into urging the secular power to shed it, which proceeding is almost more odious—for it is less frank—than shedding it herself. Especially did she act thus in the sixteenth century with regard to Protestants. Not content to reform morally, to preach by example, to convert people by eloquent and holy missionaries, she lit in Italy, in the Low Countries, and above all in Spain, the funeral piles of the Inquisition. In France under Francis I and Henry II, in England under Mary Tudor, she tortured the heretics, whilst both in France and Germany during the second half of the sixteenth and the first half of the seventeenth century if she did not actually begin, at any rate she encouraged and actively aided, the religious wars.” The Catholic Church, the Renaissance, and Protestantism, 182–184

The Thirty Years’ War, fought from 1618 to 1648, resulted from religious conflict within the Holy Roman Empire, sparked by the Reformation. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died in battle, from famine, or disease. Parts of Germany reported a 50% decline in population, this included approximately 98 percent of the Protestant men in Germany. (wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Years%27_War)

This was common knowledge in America because it was recent history. Today in America, it is not only acknowledged, but justified and defended. “The church has persecuted. Only a tyro [a beginner] in church history will deny that. … One hundred and fifty years after Constantine, the Donatists were persecuted, sometimes put to death. … Protestants were persecuted in France and Spain with the full approval of the church authorities. We have always defended the persecution of the Huguenots, and the Spanish Inquisition. … Wherever and whenever there is honest Catholicity, there will be a clear distinction drawn between truth and error, and Catholicity and all forms of heresy. When she thinks it good to use physical force she will use it. … But will the Catholic Church give bond that she will not persecute at all? Will she guarantee absolute freedom and equality of all churches and all faiths? The Catholic church gives no bonds for her good behavior.” The Western Watchman, December 24, 1908

The Saints

A saint keeps the law of God (Romans 7:12). A wicked person breaks the law of God. Understanding Daniel 7 is fundamental, foundational to understanding the prophecies regarding the judgment and the end of time found in the book of Revelation. More than any other chapter in the Bible, Daniel 7 provides the different descriptions and identifying marks of the little horn, and the distinguishing mark or sign of its power.

The Distinguishing Mark

The Roman Catholic church is not alone in persecuting God’s saints. Other religions have spoken great things about themselves, but the little horn power has a special distinguishing mark that these other religions do not have. We find that mark in Daniel 7:25. We must understand this to have any comprehension about the investigative judgment.

Daniel 7:25, last part, says that this special distinguishing mark that sets the little horn power apart from other religions and powers, that he “shall intend to change times and laws.” What are these times and laws? The context of the prophecy is speaking about the things of the Most High. So, if the little horn power seeks to change times and laws, then it is seeking to change the times and laws of the Most High.

Can any human being, power, or organization in this world change the law of God? No! Why? Because God has said that He does not change, and we know that the law of God is His character. Changing the law would changing Himself, and this He will not do (Psalm 89).

Jesus said, “And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail.” Luke 16:17. A tittle is part of a letter, it’s actually a part of a part of a letter. Jesus said heaven and earth cold pass away, but not a single part of a letter of the law to fail. I don’t think you could state it in any stronger language. The apostle Paul says concerning Jesus Christ that it was through Him that God made the worlds, and He is the One who upholds everything by the word of His power, and He says that He would destroy it all before He would allow the smallest part of a letter of the law to fail.

The Protestant Reformation gave man access to the Bible. No longer was the Bible written only in Latin, a language the common man could not read, nor was it chained to the wall in Catholic churches. Reformers translated the Bible into many of the European languages, and the printing press was invented, allowing the Bible to be distributed everywhere.

When men began reading the Bible, they asked, “Why are we keeping Sunday?” Believed to be written in 1545 by Melanchthon, Martin Luther’s associate, in very old English, he says, “He changeth the tymes and lawes that any of the size works days commanded of God will make them unholy and idle days when he listeth or of their own holy days abolished make work days again. When they changed ye Saterday into Sondaye they have changed God’s laws and turned them into their own tradicions to be kept above God’s precepts.” Right away people recognized what was happening.

“Question: Have you any other way of proving that the Church has power to institute festivals of precept? Answer: Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her—she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority.” From A Doctrinal Catechism, 174. The special, distinguishing mark of the little horn power was an intention to change the times (the Sabbath) and the law (the fourth commandment). This is foundational to understanding the subject of the Investigative Judgment.

How Long, Lord? How Long?

God not only told us when and how the little horn power would develop, providing all the descriptions of who and what it would be so that we would recognize it, but for the first time God gave His children a timeline so that they would know how long this power would be given authority to persecute and overcome God’s saints. This period of time is so important that in Daniel and Revelation, it is mentioned seven times. Seven is a perfect number in the Bible. If something is mentioned seven times in the Bible prophecies, we can be sure it is very important that we understand it, the prophecies regarding the three and a half years, the 42 months, and the 1260 days.

Point 1: The year is called a time in scripture (Daniel 11:13, margin). So, a time is one year, a time dual is two years, the dividing of time is half a year giving you three years and a half.

Point 2: According to ancient history, historians and Jews believed that a year was 360 days.

Point 3: In a symbolic time prophecy, a day equals a year (Ezekiel 4:1–6). The prophecies that foretold Christ’s first coming as the Messiah used the day for a year principle. If a person does not believe in this principle, then they should be looking for a messiah to come around 455 B.C. The day for a year principle is foundational to the Christian religion (Daniel 9:25).

By applying the day for a year principle to Daniel 7, we find that the little horn power is granted the power to persecute and harass God’s saints for 1260 years.

When did the 1260 years begin? When the papacy was given its authority by the civil government. This was done when Justinian made a decree in A.D. 532 against anyone who was called a heretic, and in A.D. 533, Justinian made a decree making the bishop of Rome the lord of all the churches (The Apocalypse of St. John, 172).

However, Italy’s population included Arian powers who did not accept the pope as lord over the churches. In fact, they wanted to decide who would be pope. Not surprisingly, the papacy did not like that idea. So, the sword of the empire cleared the way.

For 16 years, these campaigns caused the city of Rome to be under different masters or rulers five times and suffered three severe sieges. In A.D. 538, at the close of the first siege, the imperial army under Belisarius and the almost the entire nation of the Goths under King Witiges gathered to take control of the city of Rome. The Goths were defeated, digging ‘the grave of the Gothic monarchy’ in Italy.* The resistance of A.D. 538 against Witiges was the crucial hour in history. George Finlay, a secular historian writes, “With the conquest of Rome by Belisarius, the history of the ancient city may be considered as terminating; and with his defense against Witiges commences the history of the Middle Ages.”

First by Decree, then by Force

In A.D. 533, the pope was made ruler over all Christendom by decree, but in A.D. 538, he was made the ruler by force. Now move ahead 1260 years to 1793. “On November 26, 1793, the Convention, of which 17 bishops and some clergy were members, decreed the abolition of all religion.” The Age of Revolution, W.H. Hutton, 156

As far as the France were concerned, the papacy was the only religion, so by decree, it declared the abolition of all other religions. France was then an atheistic socialistic power. The decree was effective in 1793, but it was not enforced until 1798.

In 1798, “General Berthier, by orders of the French government, led his forces into Rome and proclaimed a republic. The pope [Pius VI] was dragged into exile, where he died. The whole papal government was dissolved.”

“ ‘The papacy was extinct: not a vestige of its existence remained; and among all the Roman Catholic powers not a finger was stirred in its defense. The Eternal City had no longer prince or pontiff; its bishop was a dying captive in foreign lands; and the decree was already announced that no successor would be allowed in his place.’ ” Canon Trevor.

Let’s Summarize

Most of the world thought the papacy was done. However, Daniel 7 says it would continue until the kingdom was given to the saints. The Bible tells us that it would look like the papacy was dead, but it would be healed.

  1. The Roman Empire was the fourth beast.
  2. Ten kings would arise out of the fourth beast (A.D. 351–476).
  3. Another king would arise after A.D. 476.
  4. This other king would be different from the first ten.
  5. He would speak great words and be stronger than his fellows.
  6. He would speak great words against the Most High.
  7. He would wear out the saints of the Most High.
  8. He would attempt or think to change the times and laws of God’s government.
  9. This would continue for 1260 years.

This supremacy was established by decree in A.D. 533. It was established by force in A.D. 538. It was abolished by decree in 1793. It was abolished by force in 1798. When writing about this, Daniel says that this horn had “eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words. ‘I watched till 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

Notice, the court, the books, the judgment all have to do with what this little horn has been doing, and what the result of this court session will be.

  1. Jesus Christ will receive a worldwide kingdom that will last forever. “I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.” Verses 13, 14
  2. “I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.” Daniel 7:21, 22 The kingdom first given to Christ is now given to His saints.
  3. “But the court shall be seated, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and destroy it forever.” Daniel 7:26. God destroys the little horn’s dominion.
  4. “Then the kingdom [when the dominion of the little horn is taken away and destroyed] and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.” Verse 27. The whole world is given to the saints of the Most High. Where do you want to be when that happens?

The Bible tells us that a saint keeps the commandments. Since the law of God is holy, just, and good (Romans 7:12), the person who keeps the law of God, is made holy and is, therefore, a saint.

Our Father controls the future. When there is a transition of rulers in this world, when the true Christ stands up and begins to rule, when the rule of antichrist is over, may we be found among that number who are called the saints of the Most High.

*Thomas Hodgkins wrote a series of books entitled, Italy and Her Invaders. Excerpts from these books are used here.

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

Eating Bugs. The New Trend?

by

As the world is moving rapidly into the so-called “fourth Industrial Revolution,” one of the topics that quickly pops up into the regular lives of people under this massive and world-changing event is food and the prospect of supplementing one’s diet with bugs.

The very idea of having to eat creepy things, is gaining ground under this “revolution.” And even though “there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9), we can surely be surprised at what many of these ideas are suggesting.

For instance, let’s think of a typical lunch box menu during a usual lunch break: a vegetarian burger or a tasty lentil patty prepared and residing within a whole grain bun with vegan mayo and organic ketchup, plus good veggies to complete the meal, or perhaps a nice baked potato, or a health-conscious homemade fruit smoothie. I bet many of you are drooling by now, but just imagine all these with an extra ingredient—insect-derived by-products. Yes, you read that right.

In many countries, there are food processing plants that manufacture insect-derived flour from the larvae of a particular kind of fly, processed and ground to powder for human consumption. Experts say bugs are a climate-friendly and nutrient-rich alternative to typical animal proteins, but when it comes to Western cultures, the “ick” factor is standing in the way of an insect-inclusive diet.

Eating insects is nothing new. We find that almost every country has in its cultural history the inclusion of bugs for food. Even in the Bible, the Lord allowed the consumption of certain kinds of insects for food.

However, in a new world order, having an insect-based diet as a regular meal is a totally new concept. In spite of this trend, we need to be mindful of the counsel we are given regarding a vegan diet and the possible side effects of including bugs in the food we eat.

Insects Contain Chitin

Chitin (poly-N-acetyl-glucosamine), in general, is a biopolymer, very common in nature. It is mainly produced by fungi, arthropods and nematodes. The list also includes crustaceans, arachnids, algae, and, of course, insects. Insects carry this element not only in their body’s structural frame which supports their exoskeletons and trachea where it may be present in amounts ranging up to 60%, but it is a part of the lining of the epithelium in their digestive system as well. Here, the average chitin content in a number of different species is reported to be 33%.

What Are the Dangers of Chitin?

In general, chitin is not toxic to humans. However, things can change when humans are exposed to a high degree of chitin, particularly when found in food.

For instance, a whiff of chitin inhaled triggers an immune response in the lungs, likely causing a reaction similar to being attacked by fungal spores. In some people, that reaction goes haywire, leading to dangerous inflammation and asthma.

Dietary chitosan may influence calcium metabolism by accelerating its urinary excretion. The reported undesirable effects are a marked decrease in the level of vitamin E in the body’s plasma, reduction in bone mineral content, and growth retardation.

Insects also contain ecdysteroids. These are a type of steroidal hormone present also in certain water animals and some plants. In insects, they control various life-cycle processes. Ecdysterone has a similar chemical structure to testosterone, the male androgen. Due to this action, eating insects or insect derived products may interfere in the long run with human hormone metabolism.

At any rate, there are many things we can continue discussing about changing forms of standardized diets. Yet, for myself, I appreciate more God’s wonderful healthy lifestyle and diet program—found in His word—based on fruits, nuts, seeds, cereals, and vegetables for a healthy and happy life.

Resources: The National Library of Medicine, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23955853, 3786550, and 31102246

Esteban Salazar is a preventive medicine and lifestyle coach with more than 25 years of experience. His work has expanded as an international speaker and featured guest in many TV and radio shows around the world. He has a bachelor’s degree in Health Ministries and Nutrition from Hartland College in Virginia and also completed farther studies at the E. I. Institute of Applied Chemistry in Mittlesinn, Germany. He enjoys country living with his wife Maritza in the sierra region of Ecuador, South America. He loves playing the piano, traveling, and vegan cuisine.

Testimony – A Health Retreat

by

Health retreat anyone? Who wouldn’t love to unwind for three days and dedicate time to his/her physical health—healthy food, exercise classes directed by experts, massages, nature walks, swimming in waterfalls. I was recently invited to such a retreat held in a jungle camp in the tropical part of Mexico; just a short walk from the beach! The attendee limit was 25 people and the cost for each participant was rather steep, but I was invited for free! In exchange, the organizers asked me to oversee the preparation of vegan meals. I was also asked to give a daily 30-minute talk on veganism and healthy lifestyle to the guests. How could I refuse?

The retreat was a secular event. I was to be a part of a four-member team of instructors: two yoga instructors, and a gym trainer, and my task was to share my knowledge of veganism. The organizers knew that I do not consume animal products; hence they declared me an expert in the field. I don’t have any formal education in health sciences, so I decided to share the Adventist health message that has stood the test of time.

As I was contemplating what specifically to share with the group, I decided the first presentation would be on the five blue zones (see map). Blue zones are areas of the world where people live significantly longer and healthier lives. I mentioned that one such blue zone is the town of Loma Linda, California. Why was Loma Linda included on the blue zone list? The reason is simple: Most of its residents are Seventh-day Adventists who live the health message that our church has followed for 150 years.

I delivered the presentation and at the end I asked if anyone had heard of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Out of the 25 attendees, only one person knew that such a church exists. To say that I was surprised is an understatement. Seriously? Only one person? Not a good testimony for our church.

Yoga Instructor

Shortly after the presentation, one of the yoga instructors approached me and wanted to know more about the Adventist diet. I explained that veganism is not a test of fellowship; however, church members are to abstain from tobacco, alcohol, any illegal drugs, and do not consume animals that are listed in the Bible (Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14) as unfit for human consumption.

This instructor looked at me surprised. He had never heard of such a list of animals in the Bible. So, he pulled out his phone and googled the list. He read everything carefully and then we had about a 15-minute conversation on the subject. I explained that this Biblical dietary guide was given to the ancient Israel as a biological protection. They were not to suffer from the diseases and infections of their neighboring nations. Most Christians today claim that this prohibition was for the Jews only and doesn’t apply to us. Since it was for their biological protection, do non-Jews have a superior digestive tract? I left it as an open question.

This man exclaimed: “Yes, it makes a perfect sense. I’m convinced; I’ll never touch such meats again!” “Wow, that was easy,” I thought to myself. I had never witnessed such a quick conviction. This instructor’s actual profession is a food engineer, perhaps that contributed to his quick understanding.

We made friends and exchanged contact information. A week later I received a message from him. He confided to me that he has lots of overweight family members, suffering from diabetes and myriads of health issues. Just three days prior, his sister prepared a pork dish and got food poisoning. She didn’t learn her lesson, and is still cooking pork, which is quite discouraging to my new friend. He attempted to help her and also enlighten his family, but they were not open to it. It was apparent that he felt a bit down. “What shall I do?” he asked. All I could say was to lead by example and he’s the best light his family can have. Given his family history, his health and fitness are certainly a testimony. Imagine, this man isn’t even a Christian!

Gym Instructor

Unbeknownst to me, another instructor also looked up the Adventist church on the Internet. The next day he said to me: “I can’t believe a church has achieved something like this. Pretty incredible. Do you have access to the Adventist church? Is it open to the public? Can you take me?” After the retreat was over, we visited an Adventist bookstore in the city of Guadalajara. Since he already has all kinds of books on healthy living, I recommended the books Counsels on Diet and Foods and The Ministry of Healing by Ellen G. White to him so that he could learn about the beginnings of the health message. He was thrilled.

Be an Authentic Christian

Our role as Christians is not to convert people. Our role is to plant seeds. Only the Holy Spirit can convert hearts. So, what can we do for hungry souls around us? Two things:

Be authentic. Be firm in your principles and stand up for them. People will notice and will look up to you as you’ve never dreamed before. New opportunities to share your faith will arise without asking for it.

Share love with people. Is someone around you going through a tough time? Offer a hug, a strong shoulder, be a good listener. Has someone around you spiritually fallen? Leave any criticism at home. Instead, offer compassion and point the person to God’s grace.

As I attended the Sabbath School lately, the Sabbath school teacher shared that he has a hard time sharing the gospel with his coworkers. He’s just not ready. I thought, seriously? There is no need to preach anything. Our life is the most powerful sermon we can deliver. If we attend a church and at the same time don’t live a Christian life, then sure, our lives won’t impact anyone. But if we live authentically as Christians, people around us will notice and will ask questions themselves. May the Lord help us to be close to Him daily. Then, we will be witnesses for Christ without trying.

“A noble life is the most powerful sermon in favor of Christianity. If we would live such a life, our consciences must be quickened by continual contact with the word of God. Our souls must be familiar with the heavenly standard, and we must avoid every course that diverges from the right.” The Voice in Speech and Song, 303

Grass – God’s Carpet

by

Poaceae is (true grasses) the most economically important plant family because it includes cereals, wheat, rice, oats, barley, millet, and maize used for staple foods and feed for livestock. Some of the species, such as bamboo, thatch, and straw, are used for building materials, and other species are a source for biofuel—for example, maize is converted to ethanol.

Lawns and pastureland are composed of true grasses and 46% of the world’s arable land (land used for crops) is covered by rice, wheat, maize, barley, and sugar cane.

It is estimated that there is 11,000 to 13,000 species of grass (Poaceae). These species include cereal grasses, bamboos, natural grassland, lawns, and pastures.

Grasses can be annual or perennial. During winter’s cold, snow, and ice, grass lays dormant beneath the ground with most species turning brown. The melting ice and snow provides the moisture necessary to bring it back when the warming temperatures of Spring awakens the blades and they begin to grow, breaking through the soil.

By summer, the ground is green with new grass. A soft, lush carpet of Kentucky bluegrass, fescue, buffalograss, zoysia grass, and crabgrass.

How many remember running barefoot through and digging your toes into the soft grass in the summer or the smell that fills the air after mowing the lawn?

I love the texts that use grass as an example of Jesus’ promises in which we can place our full trust. What a loving God who covers the world with His perfect carpet.

“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of God stands forever.” Isaiah 40:8

“Thus, Christ interpreted the message which He Himself had given to the lilies and the grass of the field. He desires us to read it in every lily and every spire of grass. His words are full of assurance, and tend to confirm trust in God.

“So wide was Christ’s view of truth, so extended His teaching, that every phase of nature was employed in illustrating truth. The scenes upon which the eye daily rests were all connected with some spiritual truth, so that nature is clothed with the parables of the Master.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 19, 20

“Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the over, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” Matthew 6:30

Sources: wikipedia.org/wiki/Grass; wikipedia.org/wiki/Poaceae; americangardener.net/types-of-grasses-for-lawn

The Early Life of George Stephenson

by

George Stephenson, the inventor of the locomotive engine, and the founder of the railway system of traveling, was born in 1781 in England. His parents were poor, honest, industrious people. His birthplace a cottage with a clay floor, bare rafters, and unplastered walls.

George was the second of six children, and his father’s earnings seldom exceeded twelve shillings a week. Little, therefore, was left for clothing, and nothing at all for school. As a child, George’s time was spent in running errands and playing about the cottage.

He often helped to care for the children, his special duty being to see that they were kept out of the way of the coal wagons that passed on the tramroad in front of the cottage. These wagons were drawn on wooden rails by horses. Who can tell to what extent the constant sight of this rude railway may have shaped the great work of George Stephenson’s later life? It is interesting to know that the first experiment of a locomotive steam engine was tried on this very tramroad.

When George was eight years old, he found his first employment. He was appointed to look after the cows belonging to a widow, and for this he received twopence (2.5 cents) a day. He had plenty of leisure, which he spent chiefly in company with a favorite playmate, erecting small mills in the little streams around, and making engines out of clay, with hemlock stalks for steam pipes.

George was soon promoted to hoe turnips and to lead horses in plowing, though he was barely big enough to stride across the furrows. For this work he received fourpence a day.

But his great desire was to be with his father and brother at the coal mine. His wish was granted, and his wages were raised, to sixpence and afterward to eightpence a day. This was his employment for several years.

The growing and thoughtful lad, however, never forgot his clay engines; and his great ambition was to have the management of a real engine. Great, therefore, was his delight when he was taken to be an assistant to his father in firing an engine.

At seventeen years of age, his youthful ambition was gratified by his appointment as engineer at the same coal mine where his father was employed as fireman. Here, at last, he was able to carefully study every part of the machinery and to become a thorough master of the construction of the steam engine, an opportunity he had so ardently longed for.

He was now eighteen years of age, but he had never learned to read. His parents could not afford to send him to school, but they had tried to train him to good habits at home. He had been taught to use every minute wisely, and now he determined to learn to read and write. At the age of nineteen, he was proud to be able to write his own name. Then he began the study of arithmetic, working out his problems upon a slate as he sat by his engine fire.

Industry, sobriety, and thrift were the true secret of George’s success as a young man, and these sterling qualities afterward made him useful, prosperous, and honored. Besides his work as engineer, he became an expert in mending and making shoes. He also became skillful in mending clocks.

A heavy trial awaited him in the early death of his wife, leaving one son, Robert. The next year after this sad event, his father was blinded by an accident and reduced to want. With part of the money he had so carefully saved, George at once paid his father’s debts and placed him and his mother in a comfortable cottage near his own home, where he supported them until their deaths.

A great triumph now awaited him, a fitting reward of his own close attention and perseverance. An engine of defective construction had been erected for the purpose of pumping the water from a neighboring pit. It proved utterly incapable of doing the work for which it had been erected. All the best engineers in the district had tried in vain to remedy its defects. George examined it and expressed his belief that he could make it efficient. He was asked to undertake the task, and very soon the pit was cleared of water.

It would be a pleasant task to follow the growing success of this noble young man step by step—to read of his resolve to give his son the best education he could, of his own unceasing efforts at self-improvement, of his ingenuity, his untiring industry, and his masculine vigor.

Amid difficulties of no ordinary kind, God was gradually preparing George Stephenson for his great and enduring work—the construction of the locomotive engine, and the introduction of the vast railway system—so that in this “time of the end” when “knowledge shall be increased” His truth might be carried to “every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.” In the year 1825, this work was accomplished, and passengers and goods were first carried over a railway by a locomotive. This great achievement ranked among the highest of all the wonderful products of the industrial era.

Ferns, Selections from the True Education Series, ©1976, 60–63

Our Own Hearts Deceive Us

by

Two years ago, I installed an electric fence in the backyard at my home. My dog, Finn, wears a collar that receives a signal from a transmitter inside the house that reminds him, if he gets too close to the fence, to remain within its confines. A green light on his collar’s receiver flashes telling me it is receiving a strong signal.

The fence is a two-wire barrier. If Finn gets too close to the first strand, he receives a warning tone, and if he stops there, nothing further happens. But if he gets too close to the second strand, he receives a more powerful, though painless, incentive to remain in the yard. Let me share with you just how powerful it is.

Not long ago, I noticed that the green light on the receiver was flashing red. This meant that the battery was or very near dead. If Finn got too close to the fence, there would be a weak warning tone or maybe no tone at all nor any other deterrent to keep him inside the fence. Finn had the ability to leave the backyard any time he chose. However, as accustomed as he was to receiving the warnings, he didn’t know that. Yet.

I don’t know how long the battery was weak or dead, but I watched him for two days go outside, wander around the backyard, sometimes for a very long time, or sit in his special spot, surveying his domain. He never tested the fence, and he never crossed it.

That got me thinking about our sinful nature, besetting sins, and how we are too often so settled in our lives of sin that we do not recognize the opportunity to leave that life when it comes.

“The secret of Satan’s power over God’s professed people lies in the deceitfulness of the human heart.” The Signs of the Times, December 13, 1899

Our own hearts deceive us. If we are satisfied to stay as we are, then the devil’s work is easy, but when we realize that we have the chance to be made better, to be changed, then he opens the floodgates against us.

I thought this quote from a popular Christian movie explains it pretty well.

“Sometimes the devil allows people to live a life free of trouble because he doesn’t want them turning to God. Their sin is like a jail cell, except it is all nice and comfy and there doesn’t seem to be any reason to leave. The door’s wide open. Till one day, time runs out, and the cell door slams shut, and suddenly it’s too late.” (God’s Not Dead, Pure Fix Entertainment 2014)

“We must be sanctified through the truth, be wholly consecrated to God … . Every moment that we are not on our watch we are liable to be beset by the enemy and are in great danger of being overcome by the powers of darkness. Satan commissions his angels to be vigilant and overthrow all they can; to find out the waywardness and besetting sins of those who profess the truth, and throw darkness around them, that they may cease to be watchful, take a course that will dishonor the cause they profess to love, and bring sorrow upon the church. The souls of these misguided, unwatchful ones grow darker, and the light of heaven fades from them. They cannot discover their besetting sins, and Satan weaves his net about them, and they are taken in his snare.” Early Writings, 105

Lord, help us to depend upon You alone, and to turn away from Satan’s snares.

Christ’s Denunciation of the Pharisees

by

When Christ came to the world, moral power was at a low ebb. The Jews as a people were not spiritually minded. Their hearts went out after their idols—supremacy, wealth, and worldly honor. The teachers of the nation interpreted the Scriptures according to their cherished ideas. They taught that the Messiah was to come as an earthly prince, who would reign on David’s throne, and crush the heathen under Him. They led the people to believe that God would stretch out His arm in their behalf according to His promise, while they did not comply with the conditions of that promise. So far had they separated themselves from God by their wicked works, by their pride and self-righteousness, their oppression of the poor and needy, their hatred and jealousy, that spiritual things were not discerned.

The angels did not announce the birth of Christ to those who claimed to have great light and knowledge. The rabbis who explained the law in the synagogue—those who above all others should have been intelligent in regard to the coming of the Messiah and the manner of His appearing—knew nothing of the Babe cradled in the manger. Had the angels appeared to them with the good tidings of great joy, telling them the wonderful story of the Babe of Bethlehem, they would have rejected the message with contempt. Such humble birth was not according to their lofty ideas. Therefore, the Lord of glory passed by the self-exalted, the men intoxicated with self-love and worldly honor, and came to the men who were humble, who would receive the heavenly messengers and the tidings that were to echo to earth’s remotest bounds.

It was to the humble shepherds that the birth of Christ was first made known. While they were watching their flocks on the hills of Bethlehem, “lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

The manner of Christ’s first advent, and the condition of those to whom the joyful tidings came, is a lesson we shall do well to study. The Lord does not honor those who honor themselves. He does not give His precious light to those who will not make a right use of it—who use it to honor themselves, in the place of exalting the Lord God of Israel. Those whom the Lord has blessed with great privileges are to be pure and humble and undefiled. The humility of the world’s Redeemer is solemn and instructive. He was the Majesty of heaven, yet while on earth, He was unhonored and almost unknown. The light of the world, the heir of glory, He was despised and rejected of men.

As we trace the course pursued by the scribes and Pharisees, and see the light and privileges granted them, we are led to inquire, How could those teachers read the word of God without perceiving the truths which it teaches? Upon these men was placed the responsibility of explaining the law in the synagogue; but Christ declared, “Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God.” Ye teach for doctrine the commandments of men. The sayings of men, coming down through the rabbis from age to age, had molded their religious worship. Traditions were constantly increasing, which kept the mind in a state of questioning and controversy over the most trivial matters. New laws were constantly being enacted, and the people were taught to regard them as the requirements of God, until a mechanical service became the sum of their religion and their worship. Many of these laws were not committed to writing, and exaction after exaction was added until a most unreasonable mass of maxims and fables was brought together. He who attempted to bring forward scriptures that conflicted with these laws and traditions, was condemned as if he had refused to accept a “Thus saith the Lord.” This education of the rabbis was well-pleasing to Satan; for through them he was preparing the way so that when Christ should come to the world, He would be rejected by His own nation.

Christ designed that His disciples should have an education altogether different from that which they had received from the scribes and Pharisees. He accused these men of teaching many things contrary to the law. “The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses seat,” He said; “all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, and love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. … He that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.”

When the question was asked, “Why do Thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread,” Christ answered them, “Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and thy mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; and honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Thus Christ showed the comparative value of the law of God and their traditions.

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites,” Christ continued; “for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.” Do we not find just such teachers in our day, men who will not obey the plainest statement of the word, and who, after they have turned from the light of God themselves, do their utmost to lead others into the same path? They manifest the same spirit toward those who keep God’s commandments that the scribes and Pharisees manifested toward Christ. How earnest are these transgressors of God’s law to hedge up the way of those who would accept Christ. They will not enter in themselves, and those who would enter in they hinder.

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers: therefore, ye shall receive the greater damnation.” There are many who claim to be sanctified, but who are not. Shall we receive their testimony? If they are holy, their testimony will be in accordance with the divine will; their prayer will be the prayer of Christ, “Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy word is truth.”

What shall be the detector of character in these last days?—“Ye shall know them by their fruits.” “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” If men come to us, making void the law of God, we may know that their sanctification is worth just as much, when weighed in the balances of heaven, as were the long, pretentious prayers of the Pharisees.

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. … Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”

These fearful denunciations were made upon the Jews, because, while teaching the law of God to the people, they were not doers of the word. Had they kept the law of God, they would have discerned Christ and His mission. So it is in our day. There are those who walk in darkness when light shines from every page of the written word. They study the Scriptures that they may interpret them to suit themselves. They sink the Scriptures to their own perverted ideas. They are not honest. They doubt that which they have every reason to believe. They become reasoners in doubt, experts in finding fault. God’s word is misinterpreted, misstated, misapplied, and has no power upon the life and character.

If professed Christians really believe in God, they will not disregard His commandments. Christ says: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever, therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” The Review and Herald, August 29, 1899

A Search for an Undistorted Version of this Spiritual Truth

by

What a profound Bible truth—without Jesus I am a lost soul. There is nothing within me that I could achieve that would make me worthy of being granted eternal life. If I would be taken to heaven as I am in this sinful condition, I would only stain that high and lofty place. What can I do to be saved, but most importantly what I must understand is, from what do I need to be saved?

Statement

Justification by faith is God’s provided tool to each one of us to bring about our restoration to the perfection of creation, saving us from sin, which is a distortion of His loving work, and making us fit again to be re-instituted in the New Jerusalem.

Example

Justification is the complete act of pardoning someone for a fault or omission on their part. For example, if a student is absent from school one day, the teacher will require the student to provide an excuse to justify his absence. The student must bring a justification note on the following day validated by an adult who proves the veracity of cause for the young one to miss class. For instance, if the cause of the absence was an illness or health problem, the person providing the justification should be a doctor for it to be valid. It would be unacceptable that a medical justification note would be signed by another classmate of the student in question.

Once a student’s absence is justified by a responsible adult and submitted to the teacher, the student may be reinstated in class to continue with his studies. This justification for this particular situation does not excuse the student from indefinitely missing classes, nor does it grant him a certificate of achievement after the end of the school year. The justification merely excuses the student for the specific absence, preventing removal from the class. Furthermore, the justification does not give the student permission to continue missing classes whenever he wishes, nor does it exempt him from preparing for exams.

Parallelism

In short, justification is a request for excuse or apology for the infraction committed by failing to comply with what has been established.

With this background, we can see how this legal framework centers on the work that Jesus, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit perform to restore us to the state of original perfection.

Sin and Consequences

As the absolute judge in this tribunal, we find God the Father, who has established His law as the standard of conduct for all created beings, indissoluble and perfect. The law establishes that upon violating one of its precepts, the transgressor must die; therefore, the punishment for one who transgresses God’s law is death.

Adam and Eve were created in complete harmony with God’s law. There was no need for them to require a justifier nor did they need justification before God, since they had never committed a sin nor disobeyed the law in any way. They could see God face to face and be accepted into His presence because of their perfect, untainted condition.

By violating a precept of God’s law, Adam and Eve broke that perfect bond between their own existence and compatibility with God’s law, becoming liable to execution for their disobedience. From our first parents and now each one of us, we face the same condemnation that Adam and Eve received.

Divine Grace

It is here, thanks to and solely due to the unique and unconditional love of God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit toward each one of us, a love that we can understand as divine grace and undeserved mercy is bestowed upon us. To give us hope of eternal life, the Deity of the Godhead set in motion the Plan of Redemption for our rescue, thus removing us from the condemnation of eternal death, the consequence of our own disobedience to God’s requirements; giving us a second chance to live in perfect harmony and obedience to God’s law.

Restoration and Redemption

Jesus interceded on behalf of disobedient humanity. Standing before God the Father, He was willing to receive the punishment of death in our place.

To be able to fully reconcile man to God, it was necessary for Jesus Himself to leave heaven and come to this earth that He might experience the results of our fallen condition and to become a part of the human race, which had become captive to sin.

The role of the Holy Spirit, as the indwelling power of divine Providence, would strengthen Jesus in His decision to obey God’s law and grant Him a life of victory over sin while living on this earth surrounded by sinners.

In being exposed to temptation, Jesus gained an understanding of our human weakness firsthand. He therefore identified Himself with our current condition. While He chose at every step of this earthly way to obey all the requirements of God’s law and live a perfect life before God’s eyes, He became familiar with our frailties and struggles.

Finally, taking our place, He willingly accepted execution and death for the sins and disobedience we are guilty of. In this way, He now stands before the Father as the authorized Advocate to sign our much-needed justification note excusing us from our transgression. Thus, He grants us a second chance to make things right in this life. We are renewed within ourselves through the power of the Holy Spirit who now dwells in us. He empowers us, as a renewed being, restored to the image of God, to live in harmony and obedience to His law, just as it was in the beginning.

Just as the Holy Spirit empowered Jesus to live a perfect life of obedience to God’s law, this same Holy Spirit can grant us the transforming power to bring about a new birth in us. Thus, we are delivered from that captivity to sin and brought back into a new life of harmony with the original plan of creation and perfection.

Point of Thought

Justification by faith comprehends the work of the Godhead in our behalf to first pardon us from our faults and then, along with our own choice, to empower us to live in harmony with the laws of heaven, reconciled to God.

Bible

We can compare the previous statements with the following verses from the Bible in order to obtain a Biblical foundation. We can find additional explanation in the Spirit of Prophecy quotations.

– Sin

– Consequences of Sin

– Grace

– Justification

– Sanctification

– Salvation

Sin

Individual transgression and disobedience of God’s law.

“Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” 1 John 3:4

Consequences of Sin

The consequence of transgressing and disobeying God’s law is separation from God and ultimately death.

“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.” Isaiah 59:1, 2

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23

“The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the sons. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.” Ezekiel 18:20

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

“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” Romans 5:12

Grace

An undeserved gift. God’s goodwill to forgive and divine initiative to give us a second chance for eternal life.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8, 9

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.” Titus 2:11

“Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.” Colossians 3:11

“I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.” Galatians 2:21

“I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel.” Galatians 1:6

Justification

This is what only God can do in our favor and is essential within the Plan of Salvation. Jesus lived a perfect life through the power of the Holy Spirit, in obedience to God’s Law. He lived a life without the stain of sin, and therefore was accepted by the Father as righteous. For this reason, nothing and no one can justify us before the Father except Jesus. No good work from our own part justifies us. Only our faith in the work Jesus is performing in us and with us is what allows us to appropriate and receive justification.

“Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.” Romans 3:28

“For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin; He condemned sin in the flesh.” Romans 8:3

“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Romans 3:19, 20

“Knowing that a man is not justified by the worlds of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.” Galatians 2:16

“And he brought them out and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ So, they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced having believed in God with all his household.” Acts 16:30–34

“Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ Then Peter said to them ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.’ ” Acts 2:37–39

“For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” Romans 4:13

Sanctification

It is the work that Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, performs in us, that provides the basis for a new life. We choose to obey and walk in harmony with God’s Law. God does not force this decision. It is a synergistic mechanism for an end goal that integrates God and man.

The degree of responsibility we have for our sanctification corresponds to the degree of willingness we have to be changed.

The word of God reveals how we are reconciled to God.

“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” John 16:13

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you should abstain from sexual immorality.” 1 Thessalonians 4:3

“But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves to God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.” Romans 6:22

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And 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.” Romans 12:1, 2

“Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 13:20, 21

“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

“And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” John 16:8

“Likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” Romans 8:26

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.” Matthew 28:19, 20

“And so, all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.’ ” Romans 11:26, 27

“If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.” 1 Timothy 6:3–5

“Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” Romans 6:6

“But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live. ‘Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?’ says the Lord God, ‘and not that he should turn from his ways and live?” Ezekiel 18:21–23

Salvation

It is the result of Divine grace manifested in justification and sanctification. Salvation is having experienced the new birth and being a new creation in Christ Jesus. We are finally saved from our past.

“Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.’ ” John 3:5

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

“And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, ‘Be saved from this perverse generation.’ ” Acts 2:40

“And she shall bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first, and also for the Greek.” Romans 1:16

“ ‘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. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.’ ” Isaiah 1:18, 19

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

“To him who overcomes will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father in His throne.” Revelation 3:21

Spirit of Prophecy

About Repentance:

“But sorrow had not worked true repentance. The people mourned because their sins had brought suffering upon themselves, but not because they had dishonored God by transgression of His holy law. True repentance is more than sorrow for sin. It is a resolute turning away from evil.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 557

About the Victory of God in His Children

“When the plan of salvation was revealed to the angels, joy, inexpressible joy, filled heaven. The glory and the blessedness of a world redeemed outmeasured even the anguish of the Prince of Life. Through the celestial courts echoed the first strain of that song that angels sang above the hills of Bethlehem—’Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will to men.’ And the lost pair in the garden of Eden, standing as criminals before the righteous Judge, waiting the sentence their transgression merited, heard the first notes of the divine promise. Before the life of toil and sorrow which sin had brought upon them was depicted before them, before the decree that the wages of sin is death was pronounced, they heard the promise of redemption. Though they must suffer from the power of their mighty foe, still through the merits of Christ they could look forward to victory. The mystery of the gospel was spoken in Eden, when God said to the serpent, ‘I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.’ If Satan could have touched the head with his specious temptations, the human family would have been lost; but the Lord had made known the purpose and plan of the mystery of grace, declaring that Christ had bruised the serpent under His feet.” The Signs of the Times, February 13, 1893

About the Kingdom of Grace

“The kingdom of grace was instituted immediately after the fall of man, when a plan was devised for the redemption of the guilty race. It then existed in the purpose and by the promise of God; and through faith, men could become its subjects. Yet it was not actually established until the death of Christ. Even after entering upon His earthly mission, the Saviour, wearied with the stubbornness and ingratitude of men, might have drawn back from the sacrifice of Calvary. In Gethsemane, the cup of woe trembled in His hand. He might even then have wiped the blood-sweat from His brow, and have left the guilty race to perish in their iniquity. Had He done this, there could have been no redemption for fallen men. But when the Saviour yielded up His life, and with His expiring breath cried out, ‘It is finished,’ then the fulfillment of the plan of redemption was assured. The promise of salvation made to the sinful pair in Eden was ratified. The kingdom of grace, which had before existed by the promise of God, was then established.” The Great Controversy (1888), 347, 348

Summary

In spite of the many arguments brought by scholastic debates, the simple consistent point of the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy is that we can only find the hope of salvation when we realize that our own rebellion against God and His law is what has separated us from Him. This consistent line of thought throughout the Scriptures establishes justification by faith and the doctrine regarding salvation.

Sin is breaking the law of God. We are condemned by that transgression to death. Jesus took that damnation upon Himself and died in our place. The Holy Spirit now appeals to our conscience so that we might see our true wicked condition, living a life in transgression of God’s word, that keeps us separated from Him. As we see our extreme doom, we beg God to forgive our sins and ask Him to cleanse us by the blood of Jesus.

As the promise of God is fulfilled: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” 1 John 1:9, the Holy Spirit now convinces us to seek conversion and righteousness. “And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” John 16:8. Through His power we may have victory over sin and live a life of obedience.

Victory requires a constant, moment-by-moment experience of surrendering to the will of God. As long as we distrust ourselves and cling to our Saviour for help, this work of the Holy Spirit can continue in us. When Peter took his eyes off Jesus and focused on his own power, achievement, and delight, he sank into the depths of the raging sea. It was only by grasping the hand of Christ that he was saved from the waves. The continual connection through the Holy Spirit was, in the end, what saved Peter from spiritual death. And we are promised the same.

At the very end, we realize that we are our own enemy and we need to be saved from our own rebellion.

That’s why we can never say, “once saved always saved.” The surrendering of self to the will of God, is an act of choice at every step of the way. Nevertheless, if we do this, we have the assurance indeed that in Christ we are more than conquerors.

Esteban Salazar is a preventive medicine and lifestyle coach with more than 25 years of experience. His work has expanded as an international speaker and featured guest in many TV and radio shows around the world. He has a bachelor’s degree in Health Ministries and Nutrition from Hartland College in Virginia and also completed additional studies at the E. I. Institute of Applied Chemistry in Mittlesinn, Germany. He enjoys country living with his wife Maritza in the Sierra region of Ecuador, South America. He loves playing the piano, traveling, and vegan cuisine.

Must I Be Crucified?

by

Natural Tendency – Man’s inherited natural tendency to and desire for doing wrong; a condition that is forever who we are without Divine intervention and transformation.

Cultivated Tendency – Man’s nurtured, cultivated tendency to wrongdoing, the sin committed that, with repetition, soon becomes habit and precious to us.

Tempted by our natural, sinful nature to sin and enticed to sin by the devil and influenced by the world around us, we must understand our natural, sinful nature because it has everything to do with our eternal destiny.

Paul wrote this interesting statement, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

Anatomy of a Crucifixion

One of the most horrible forms of death ever invented by the devil was crucifixion; not actually death, it is a living death. A person can live, hanging on a cross, for days.

The apostle James was crucified, but while on the cross, he preached for two or three days before he died to the people who came to see him die. So, a cross did not mean death right away. Unable to do anything because the person is nailed to it, a crucifixion does not injure any of the vital organs of the body. The heart will still beat. The brain continues to function, as do the liver and kidneys. The nails are strategically placed so that when they are driven into the flesh, major arteries are missed, so there is minimal blood loss. And by pushing up against the cross, your lungs will still inhale and exhale air. Soon enough, however, the legs of the person being crucified are almost always broken so that he can no longer push up, and eventually he would die from a slow, agonizing asphyxiation. This was the fate of the two thieves who died with Christ.

Paul says, I am crucified with Christ so I am no longer alive, it is Christ who lives in me. The consequence of this relationship—my death and His life—is that my natural, sinful self must die, and, by faith in Jesus Christ, I am given the ability to live His life of righteousness in place of my life of selfishness and sinfulness.

Anatomy of Dying and yet Living

Paul’s main point in Galatians 2:20 is that he has died. He no longer lives the life he once lived, driven by his natural, sinful nature. That life was gone, and in its place, Paul accepted Christ as the Ruler of his heart. Paul knew that he could not continue to live as he had been living. His life had to be changed, and this Paul could not do alone.

While hanging on the cross, Jesus was mocked. The people jeered, “Come down and save Yourself. He says He can save us, but He can’t even save Himself.” Little did they know that what they meant as a taunt, Christ could have done. They didn’t believe in Him, that was obvious. They had rejected Him and the gift of salvation He offered by dying on the cross. He could have summoned the entire heavenly host, who waited for just such a moment, to take Him back to heaven, leaving mankind to fend for itself and eventually to destroy itself. This world, all of us living in it, are safe today with the opportunity of salvation still available because Jesus wouldn’t come down from the cross.

Jesus had to die to pay the penalty demanded by sin (Romans 6:23), but it is equally important to understand that He lived His life to show us the only true example of victory in living a righteous life.

Anatomy of Trouble

We, however, want to be in charge, and that, my friend, is when the trouble starts.

During the late 1800s and early 1900s, John Harvey Kellogg was a leading Adventist physician. The world’s most famous people of the time came to the Battle Creek Sanitarium to be healed from their diseases by Dr. Kellogg; and what he did was marvelous. He became renowned throughout the world for His work. Sadly, however, it was this worldly fame that caused him to spiritually lose his way.

In 1887, Mrs. White wrote to him, “The Christian’s life is a strangely-mingled scene of sorrows and joys, disappointments and hopes, fears and confidence. There will be much dissatisfaction with self, as he views his own heart so deeply stirred, surged with passion that it seems to bear all before it and then follows remorse and sorrow and repentance followed by peace and deep hidden joys, because he knows as his faith grasps the promises that are revealed in God’s word that he has the forgiving love of a longsuffering Saviour. And that Saviour he seeks to bring into his life, weave into his character.

“It is these revealings, these discoveries of God’s goodness that makes the soul humble and leads it to cry out in gratitude, I live, yet not I, for Christ liveth in me, we have reason to be comforted. Severe outward trials may press around the soul where Jesus lives. Let us turn to Him, for the consolations He has promised for us in His word.

“The nether springs of hope and comfort may appear to fail us, but the upper springs which feed the river of God are full of supply and can never be dried up. God would have you [Kellogg] look away from the cause of your afflictions [mainly coming from leading ministers and leaders in the church] to Him who is the owner of soul, body, and spirit. He is the lover of the soul. He knows the value of the soul. He is the true vine, and we are the branches. We shall have no spiritual nourishment only as we draw it from Jesus who is the true life of the soul.” Battle Creek Letters, 8, 9

There were significant differences between Adventism and Dr. Kellogg’s personal theological beliefs, and these differences caused issues between him and the Adventist church. His book The Living Temple was sharply criticized by Mrs. White because of his pantheistic ideas as stated in the book. By 1907, conflicts between Dr. Kellogg, A. G. Daniells, and others in the church, led to Dr. Kellogg being disfellowshipped, and resulted in a schism in the church. Dr. Kellogg retained control of the Battle Creek Sanitarium and the American Medical Missionary College, while continuing to promote Adventist health ideas at those institutions. (wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Harvey_Kellogg)

The Anatomy of Repetition

Passion comes. Desire is strong. So easily swayed by the desire within to sin and enticed from without by the excitement of the world to sin. But then, recrimination: Why did I do that? Why did I say that? Why did I think that? Why did that happen? I didn’t mean it. Lord, I’m so sorry, please forgive me. I won’t do it again. But even sorrow and repentance mean little if there is no transformation in the life—sin, confess, repent, repeat.

How do we reach the point where we stop this continual up and down experience? How do we submit to the transformation wrought by love?

Jesus said, “ ‘When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, “I will return to my house from which I came.” And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.  Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So, shall it also be with this wicked generation.” ’ ” Matthew 12:43–45

Jesus is talking in these texts about the man who listened to the preaching of John the Baptist and Jesus. He is touched by what he heard and influenced to determinedly remove from his life the evil spirit that had long controlled him. He praised God for His love and grace, and sought to follow Him only, allowing the Holy Spirit to control his life.

As long as the man praises God and surrenders himself to the Holy Spirit, the evil spirit stays away. But one day, the evil spirit came back to check on the man. He finds that he no longer praises God. The Holy Spirit is gone. This man had not entered into a covenant relationship with God even though he has had a lot of religious influence in his life. Sadly, the evil spirit finds the house is empty, and so he comes back, but not alone. The text says that he came back with seven evil spirit friends. Together, they all move in with the man, making the man worse now that he was before.

“We may leave off many bad habits, for the time we may part company with Satan; but without a vital connection with God, through the surrender of ourselves to Him moment by moment, we shall be overcome. Without a personal acquaintance with Christ, and a continual communion, we are at the mercy of the enemy, and shall do his bidding in the end.” The Desire of Ages, 324

Who Can Help?

There are two supernatural powers seeking for control of the world and all who live in it. As we approach the end of time, this spiritual battle becomes fiercer and more bitter. Spiritual war, for the souls and bodies of men and women is taking place all over the world. This spiritual war is between Christ and Satan—the heavenly host and the host of darkness, the servants of Christ and the servants of Satan. Unless we are connected with divinity, the devil will be in control of us. Moment by moment we must be fully surrendered to Christ or we will be overcome, at the mercy of the enemy and doing his bidding in the end. We are not able to deal with our own fallen, sinful nature alone. We must have divine help.

“All have the same sinful nature. All are liable to make mistakes. No one is perfect. The Lord Jesus died for the erring, that they might be forgiven. It is not our work to condemn … but to save.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 18, 334, 335

“The work of repairing souls broken down through errors, through manifest sin, is the most difficult we can do. Some pet sin has been cultivated which has taken the lines of control, one bad habit has not been vigorously fought and conquered, and oh, how hard [it is] to efface the bruises that soul has sustained.” The Upward Look, 162

Here are represented those who are spiritually sick, having been overtaken by some type of sinful habit that has control of their mind.

“As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all gone out of the way; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one.’ ” Romans 3:10, 11

Everyone wants to help someone in need, but they interpret experiences with a filter made up of their own background, training, and life experiences. One of the biggest problems in helping the sick is that few understand the spiritual component of the problems we face. Jesus, the Spirit of Prophecy, the apostles all teach that if some pet sin has taken control of a person’s life, they can never be free unless they are set free by divine power.

A psychologist wants to shape the mind to understand why a man has a sinful habit and what exercises can be used to gain control over it.

A nutritionist wants to plan a diet that will make him healthier in order to fight the habit.

A physical therapist wants to use therapy to make him stronger in the fight against the habit.

A surgeon wants to operate and remove the sinful habit.

An internist wants to use medicine to destroy the habit.

But if we are truly to overcome our sinful nature and besetting sins, there is only One to whom we must turn.

“To the careless, the indifferent, the unconcerned, those standing on the precipice of ruin, Christ says: Open the door of your heart; give Me entrance, and I will make you a child of God. I will transform your weak, sinful nature into the divine image, giving it beauty and perfection.” That I May Know Him, 106

“Our lifework now should be to prepare for eternity. We know not how soon our lifework here may close, and how essential that our low, sinful nature should be overcome, and we conform to the image of Christ.” This Day With God, 117

Is There Any Way Out?

The law of God cannot help us, because we are unable to keep it in our sinful nature. So, is there any way out? Yes, there is. Our low, sinful nature must be overcome. Revelation 2, 3, and 21 repeatedly show us the necessity of overcoming.

Jesus says if we will let Him into our lives, He will change our hearts and minds, transform our sinful nature. “The sinful nature is to be kept under the control of the Spirit of God.” General Conference Daily Bulletin, February 6, 1893

I am stuck. I cannot control my sinful nature. I cannot control my own tongue or my own thoughts. I cannot control my affections, passions, or desires, and the Bible is very clear that it is impossible for me alone to control them. I cannot keep the law of God in my sinful nature except if I am under the control of the Holy Spirit.

“ ‘Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.’ ” John 15:4, 5

“When He [God] gave Jesus to our world, He included all heaven in that one gift. He did not leave us to retain our defects and deformities of character, or to serve Him as best we could in the corruption of our sinful nature. He has made provision that we may be complete in His Son, not having our own righteousness, but the righteousness of Christ.” The Review and Herald, March 18, 1902

“He takes away the destructive tendencies of the sinful nature and brings the human agency into His service.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 18, 208

Just Quit or Struggle

There are people in this world who have tremendous willpower when it comes to making changes in their life. A smoker might decide that this is his last cigarette and he will never smoke again. And he is successful. Or the person who decides they just weigh too much and want to lose weight and live a healthy life. They make a diet plan, follow it each day, sticking to it until the desired weight loss has been achieved.

However, another smoker may awaken every day for the rest of his life fighting against that deep desire for just one cigarette, or an obese individual will struggle each day to stay committed to the effort of losing weight and keeping it off. For these individuals, they fight against a besetting sin, the one they just cannot overcome alone.

“God has not left us to battle with evil in our own finite strength [because we cannot win]. Whatever may be our inherited or cultivated tendencies to wrong, we can overcome through the power that He is ready to impart.” The Ministry of Healing, 176, 177

“The converting power of God can transform inherited and cultivated tendencies; for the religion of Jesus is uplifting.” The Review and Herald, April 13, 1897

The Deplorable Effects of the Original Apostasy

Because of the garment of light, Adam and Eve were enabled to read the message of God in every plant, flower, and leaf. They could understand the wisdom of God in everything in nature. But when they ate the forbidden fruit, that garment of light was removed and they were no longer able to interpret or understand God’s wisdom. Where they had loved and respected one another, they now began to reproach each other. The sacred unity that had existed between Adam and Eve was destroyed.

“The experience of Adam is a constant warning and reproof to us. We are not to turn aside from the word of God under any circumstances; but the Lord compels obedience from no one. He gives the human agent all the help that he requires to be an overcomer, but leaves him free to place himself, with his inherited and cultivated tendencies, under the control and guidance of the Holy Spirit, or to follow his own imaginations which are only evil, and that continually.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 4, 198

“One of the deplorable effects of the original apostasy was the loss of man’s power to govern his own heart.” Ibid., Vol. 8, 208. Our promises are like ropes of sand (Steps to Christ). A rope of sand doesn’t hold anything. Your promises are like ropes of sand and you find that you can’t control your thoughts, your passions, your affections; you can’t control anything. A person just feels helpless. Inspiration says that was one of the most awful things that happened at the original apostasy. We lost the ability to control our own heart.

God gives us the free will to choose to place our whole being under the guidance and control of the Holy Spirit or to follow our own imaginations. Without a connection with God, it is absolutely certain that we will sin.

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

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

“Through the right exercise of the will, an entire change may be made in your life. By yielding up your will to Christ, you ally yourself with the power that is above all principalities and powers. You will have strength from above to hold you steadfast, and thus through constant surrender to God you will be enabled to live the new life, even the life of faith.” Steps to Christ, 47, 48

Few Agree

Paul wrote about our inherited and cultivated tendencies to evil many times (Romans 6, 7, and 9; Galatians 6).

Theologians (Adventists and other churches alike) disagree, argue, debate, and write conflicting articles about mankind’s dilemma regarding his inherited, sinful nature and the sinful traits he cultivates throughout his life. The conclusion? We cannot control ourselves and keep the law of God. The answer? To be under the control of the Holy Spirit.

Still Waiting

Strife and contention throughout Adventism are signs that, as Paul writes, happen when we are still carnal, in the flesh, not walking in the Spirit. We must come to a place where we plead with the Spirit to show us the sins we must overcome, helping us to recognize that we cannot overcome them alone. Our prayer must be one of surrender, asking the Holy Spirit to intervene in our lives.

We talk about probation closing soon, about the time of trouble, about Sunday laws, about Jesus’ coming. We are waiting for the latter rain, but we cannot expect the latter rain to fall until we have received the early rain, and we will not receive the early rain until we are fully surrendered to God and the Holy Spirit holds control of our lives.

We cannot read the heart, but we can look at the fruit. We are in a desperate situation. The early rain has not fallen on those who are still at variance and in contention. We must crucify self and accept Christ living within us.

“The Holy Spirit is to do its work upon mind and character, exerting an influence upon thoughts and actions. If received, cultivated, and appreciated, it will always be reformatory, refining, elevating, and ennobling. He who always aims for entire conformity to God’s will, who does not follow his own natural inclinations, will allow the Holy Spirit to improve and mold and fashion his character upon a plan and model different from his own inherited and cultivated tendencies, changing him to another man.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 19, 23

We have inherited and cultivated tendencies to evil that we cannot change and we cannot with this nature keep the law of God. We cannot keep the law of God unless we are crucified with Christ, and the Holy Spirit comes into our minds and makes us into a different person, transforming our nature. That’s what the early rain of the Holy Spirit is about, the character change that happens in a person when they accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

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

 

He Who Is Not with Me

by

“No one but Christ is given us as an example. He is our true Pattern, and each should strive to excel in imitating Him. … We are decided, wholehearted Christians, or none at all. Says Christ: ‘I would thou wert cold or hot.’ ” Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 1, 126

“The Lord will have the whole man, or none at all. His favor cannot be purchased with gifts of money. He calls for the gift of the whole heart.” The Upward Look, 73

Christ laid aside His scepter with which He had ruled the universe, He laid aside His royal robe and crown of glory and came to this sin-darkened earth and hid His divinity behind humanity, the likeness of sinful flesh and became poor that we might be made rich with the riches that only He could impart. Having lived a perfect life, He gave up even this.

“To human eyes Christ was only a man, yet He was a perfect man. In His humanity, He was the impersonation of the divine character. God embodied His own attributes in His Son—His power, His wisdom, His goodness, His purity, His truthfulness, His spirituality, and His benevolence. In Him, though human, all perfection of character, all divine excellence, dwelt.” The Youth’s Instructor, September 16, 1897

“Christ’s perfect humanity is the same that man may have through connection with Christ. … He had not taken on Him even the nature of the angels, but humanity, perfectly identical with our own nature, except without the taint of sin. A human body, a human mind, with all the peculiar properties, He was bone, brain, and muscle. A man of our flesh, He was compassed with the weakness of humanity. … He breathed the very air man must breathe. He trod our earth as man. He had reason, conscience, memory, will, and affections of the human soul which was united with His divine nature.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 16, 181, 182

Think this through. After He has made so great a sacrifice to save you and me, can we claim to be His disciples without embarrassment if we have not surrendered our will to Him, acknowledging Him as the only Lord of our lives?

“Why do call Me Lord, Lord and do not the things which I say?” Luke 6:46