Issue: 2005 February

The Spirit and Power of Elijah, Part I

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Elijah the Tishite, an inhabitant of Gilead, is one of the greatest characters of Old Testament times. He has the peculiar distinction of being the only man since the flood to be translated to heaven without seeing death. From those far-off times until the present age he seems to be God’s type of a true man. The prophet Malachi could find no better type of the forerunner of Christ than Elijah the prophet; and the angel Gabriel, four hundred years later, when making known to the aged priest Zacharias the birth of his wondrous son, said: “He shall be great in the sight of the Lord, . . . and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias.” Luke 1:15–17.

The final fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy, which is to reach to the very end, is still in the future. “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to their children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” Malachi 4:5, 6. Elijah was a type of all those who will be translated at the Second Coming of Christ.

A Man of Like Passions

One noted writer has said; “We are studying the life of a man of like passions with ourselves—weak where we are weak, failing where we would fail; but who stood single-handed against his people, and stemmed the tide of idolatry and sin, and turned a nation back to God. And he did it by the use of resources which are within the reach of us all. This is the fascination of the story. Prove to us that he acted by the spell of some secret which is hidden from us meaner men; convince us that he was cast in a heroic mold to which we can lay no claim,—then we must lay aside the story; disappointment has overcast our interest: it is a model we cannot copy, an ideal we cannot realize, a vision that mocks us as it fades into the azure of the past.

“But this is not the case. This man by whom God thrashed the mountains, was only a worm at the best. This pillar in God’s temple was, by nature, a reed shaken by the breath of the slightest zephyr. This prophet of fire, who shone like a torch, was originally but a piece of smoking flax. Faith made him all he became; and faith will do as much for us, if only we can exercise it as he did, to appropriate the might of the eternal God. All power is in God; and it has pleased him to store it all in the risen Saviour, in some vast reservoir; and those stores are brought into human hearts by the Holy Ghost; and the Holy Ghost is given according to the measure of our receptivity and faith.

“Elijah’s strength did not lie in himself or his surroundings. He was of humble extraction. He had no special training. He is expressly said to have been a man ‘of like passions’ with ourselves. When, through failure of faith, he was cut off from the source of his strength, he showed more craven-hearted cowardice than most men would have done; he lay down upon the desert sands, asking to die. When the natural soil of his nature shows itself, it is not richer than that of the majority of men; and, if anything, it is the reverse.”

It was said of John the Baptist that he would go before Christ in the spirit and power of Elias. When we think of John the Baptist, we are wont to think of the great power he wielded as the wilderness preacher; and when we think of Elijah, we are apt to think of him on Mt. Carmel, praying down fire on the sacrifice, or of his wonderful departure out of this world. But let us notice the text, “He shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias.” Let us consider not alone the power these men wielded, but the spirit they manifested, and especially the training, experience, and discipline through which Elijah passed before he came to Carmel.

Student of Prophecies

Elijah was evidently a student of the prophecies, and from the writings of Moses (Deuteronomy 11:13–17) he had learned that God had said that if the people should turn aside and worship other gods, he would shut up the heavens, so that there would be no rain. Now, under the reign of Ahab, who had done more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him, Elijah knew that the true God had been set aside, and that Baal had been set up.

And so “he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not.” Afterward he went boldly into the presence of Ahab and said, “As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.” When he had delivered his message, “the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.” [James 5:17; 1 Kings 17:1–3.]

Think of those lonely days and weeks and months beside that drying brook in the wild wilderness gorge that runs down from near Jerusalem to the northern shores of the Dead Sea! But God had commanded him to go there, and has promised that the ravens should feed him there. “So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord: . . . and it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.” [1 Kings 17:5–7.] When the last drop of water had seeped into the ground, Elijah was still there.

Elijah Obeyed

Then the word of the Lord came unto him again, saying, “Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath.” [Verses 9, 10.]

It will be noticed that Elijah did exactly what he was told, “according unto the word of the Lord”; and afterward he could say, when the time came for God to display his power wondrously through his servant, “I have done all these things at thy word.” [1 Kings 18:36.]

The word “Zarephath” means “place of refining,” and surely this last mission upon which God had sent his servant was calculated to drain the last dregs of pride or self-reliance or independence from the already tried soul of Elijah. Some one has remarked that Elijah, with his great heart, would not have so much minded to sustain a poor widow during those terrible years of famine, but it was certainly not pleasant to his manly nature to feel that a poor widow was to sustain him. So the days slowly passed into weeks, and months, and years. The barrel of meal did not waste, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of God that he spake by Elijah.

The pen of inspiration records only one instance in the life and experiences of Elijah during those weary years of drought and famine, and that was the death of the widow’s son, who, Jewish tradition says, afterward became Elijah’s servant, and who was also the future Jonah. However this may be, Elijah raised him to life, and presented him again to his mother. We can judge of his hold upon God during those times by the testimony of this woman, who said, “I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.” [1 Kings 17:24.]

Challenge to the Gods

“It came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, show thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth . . . And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have foresaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.” 1 Kings 18:1, 17, 18. Then Elijah called for a great convocation of all Israel and of all the false prophets, on Mt. Carmel, that a test might be made of the rival systems of worship, and the god that answered by fire was to be acknowledged as the true god.

The prophets of Baal chose their bullock and laid it on their altar, and cried aloud and cut themselves with knives from morning until noon, and from noon until the time of the evening sacrifice, saying, “O Baal, hear us.” But “there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.” [Verse 26.] Then Elijah said unto all the people, “Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. . . . And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood.” [Verses 30, 33.] Elijah was triumphant in the midst of that unbelieving host. He was more than conqueror. When all was ready, he called three times for four barrels of water to put on the wood and the sacrifice. By his mighty faith he even piled up difficulties in the way of God. Instead of trying to make it as easy as possible for his prayers to be answered, he soaked the wood and the sacrifice and filled up the trench around about his altar with water.

“And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.” [Verses 36, 37.] God more than met Elijah’s faith on this occasion. Not only was the sacrifice consumed, but also the wood and the stones and the dust and the very water that was in the trench.

No Compromise

Immediately following this remarkable demonstration of God’s power, Elijah took the false prophets down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. There was no compromise with sin. That was the secret of his power. This is where King Saul had failed in his war with Amalek. God had told him to “go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.” 1 Samuel 15:3. But Saul spared Agag and the best of the sheep. Some one has aptly remarked that if we save our Agags, when we would be at our best in some great crisis (as when Samuel went out to meet Saul) there will be the bleating of the sheep and the lowing of the oxen just when we would have them keep still, and it will be to our utter chagrin and undoing.

“Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. . . . and Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.” [Verses 32, 33.] Let us slay utterly, and give heed to the admonition, “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” Romans 13:14.

The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, October 12, 1916; October 19, 1916.

To be continued . . .

Lessons from the Children of Israel, Part II

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Have you ever set yourself about a task that you wanted to accomplish, but you could see that it was teetering in the balance between success and failure? Even though you do everything that you can to make it succeed, it fails. Do you, when someone asks you about the outcome, have a tendency to minimize the failure and to maximize the part that did succeed? Pride will not allow a person to exercise their faith because of the fear of failure.

Ten of the spies that had been sent into the Promised Land were scared to death, looking around and among themselves, that if the children of Israel went to the Promised Land, they were going to fail. (Numbers 13:25–14:1.) They did not want to face that. As a result of their fear, they began to work against Caleb, Joshua, Moses, and God. It appeared that they were against everything.

That is the process that we can go through. It happens that way sometimes. It seems that things can go along smoothly, and then, all of a sudden, a foul spirit can upset things so badly that everything is in an uproar.

Ultimately, the bottom line for the ten spies was not that they were concerned about Caleb and Joshua and Moses. They just did not want to obey the Lord.

That is usually the bottom line. If you begin to deal with issues and there are those of a rebellious spirit, it is usually because there is an area of rebellion in their hearts. They are not willing to surrender to the Lord, and it is really God that they are rebelling against and not the flesh and blood with which they have to deal. That is precisely what we see being taught in this lesson given from the experience of the children of Israel.

A Big Lie

“And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, [is] a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof . . . .” Numbers 13:32. This was an out and out lie. It was a fabrication of the first order. They went over to the Promised Land, and if indeed the land was eating up inhabitants, from where did the giants come? From where did the huge amount of grapes come that they brought? They fabricated the idea that it was the land.

“And all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.” Verse 32, last part. Well, that was not really true either. There were giants that were there, but now the story begins to grow. At this point the evil spirit had so influenced their thinking that they began to do things that, under other circumstances, they would never have done. They determined that they would discourage all effort to go in and possess the Promised Land, so they lied about it. They claimed there was not really anything good in it at all.

There is only one way that we can keep ourselves from falling into a similar trap, and that is, when God comes to us and reveals to us His will, we do it immediately. That is the only way we will be saved from getting involved in some kind of trap that will ultimately close us out of the Promised Land and leave us dying in the wilderness. When God comes to us, when we know what His will is, we must immediately set things in action, so we can follow what He has asked us to do.

Reaction to the Lie

What was the response of the congregation upon hearing this lie? They were rejoicing earlier, but now they have heard a lie. Their reaction is given in Numbers 14:1: “And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.”

We cannot begin to measure the amount of torment that these people experienced in their minds that night. The only reason they were tormented at all, however, was because they had forgotten that pillar of fire that was giving light through the darkness of night—and they had chosen to believe a lie. They were in their tents with the flaps closed, crying all night.

“And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return to Egypt?” Verses 2, 3. Little did the people realize that their words would be fulfilled. They would die, but not in the land of Egypt.

Maybe they had forgotten about God, but He had not forgotten about them. He had heard every word that they were saying. Right in the shadow of the cloud, right while they were in the shade of His presence, they rebelled against Him. They began to murmur and complain, and God heard it all.

There is another aspect of this lesson that needs to also be considered. That is the fact that the children of Israel not only rebelled against Joshua and Caleb, but against Moses and Aaron. They rebelled against their leaders.

Need for Leadership

We wrestle with this today, wondering how we are to relate to leadership. A spirit similar to that of the children of Israel is circulating in and amongst the congregation of modern Israel today. I believe that a lot of this came from the 1960s and the 1970s eras, when a spirit took control of a large majority of the world, and they were determined that they would not be beholden to anyone—nobody was going to tell them what to do. If they wanted to have free love, then they were going to have free love. If they wanted to do drugs, they were going to do drugs. If they wanted to just do their own thing, that was what they were going to do.

That prevailing spirit of the world in the ’60s and ’70s has made its way into the church, and we find that a lot of the turmoil within the church is because the people are not going to be beholden to anyone but God. There is a truth to that. We know that we are not to put any man before God.

Ellen White counseled: “I do hope you will not look to man, nor trust in men, but look to God and trust in God.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 4, 395. She also wrote: “Man’s inventions [sayings of others] are not only unreliable, they are dangerous; for they place man where God should be. They place the sayings of men where a ‘Thus saith the Lord’ should be.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 109.

Although we should not put man in the place of God, at the same time, we are told that an order of leadership was put in place by God to lead His people as they were making their way to the Promised Land. This order was followed by the disciples as they established churches, and is important in our groups today.

Writing of this, Mrs. White said: “The same principles of piety and justice that were to guide the rulers among God’s people in the time of Moses and of David, were also to be followed by those given the oversight of the newly organized church of God in the gospel dispensation. In the work of setting things in order in all the churches, and ordaining suitable men to act as officers, the apostles held to the high standards of leadership outlined in the Old Testament Scriptures. They maintained that he who is called to stand in a position of leading responsibility in the church ‘must be blameless, as the steward of God; not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; but a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.’ Titus 1:7–9. ” The Acts of the Apostles, 95.

However, as the children of Israel began to entertain some of the thoughts that came to them, it was their determined effort to rebel against the vision of a Promised Land that was flowing with milk and honey. They first rebelled against those who tried to encourage them to enter the Promised Land; then their rebellion went up the line of command until it reached Moses and Aaron. The people began to murmur and complain against the leadership, which ultimately ended with God.

How do we understand the issue of leadership today? What is its ordained place within the congregation today? I have come to the conclusion that we need to have leadership today. We need to have people in positions that can lead the congregation. The lack of such leadership is why, in many aspects, the home church movement is in shambles. It does not have the leadership that it should.

The lessons of the children of Israel are speaking to us in these verses from Numbers. How are we going to work out the issues facing the home church movement? We must get beyond our fears, first of all. We look out and see the walled cities; we see the giants that are out there. We have been told this, and we have been told that, and as a result, we are scared to death to move forward and to bring things into the order that God would want them to be. As a result, we are still just kind of wandering along.

Determined to Rebel

Numbers 14:5–8 says, “Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, [which were] of them that searched the land, rent their clothes: And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, [is] an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.”

I would like to take a little ministerial license on verse 9. It begins with the word only—“Only rebel not ye.” I would like to substitute, for the word only, the word please—Please do not rebel against God. I really believe that was the intent of the pastoral heart of these men in making an appeal to the people to follow the promises of God. In spite of how circumstances seemed, God was still in control of things. “[Please] rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they [are] bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord [is] with us.” Please do not be afraid of them.

We would like to believe that they followed the pastoral counsel of Caleb and Joshua and that they were willing to submit to the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Friends, this lesson is speaking to us who are living in the twenty-first century. What is to be our relationship as we make our way to the Promised Land? In reality, we in the United States are sailing along pretty well, compared to some places in the world. I am speaking even spiritually. There are places around the world where your head is cut off if you even think about changing faith. How does this relate to the pleading of Caleb and Joshua? Notice verse 10: “But all the congregation bade stone them with stones.” The people were starting a campaign to see if they could gain control and do things their way. They wanted to go back to Egypt.

Interestingly, when a person rebels against God and no longer wants to serve Him, the course that he or she takes is never a course into blatant atheism; it is a course into idolatry. As we begin to read the story of the history of the children of Israel, we see that this very same thing took place. Those Seventh-day Adventists whom I have known, who had served the Lord with faithfulness of heart and then began to rebel against God and what He wanted them to do, slid into the area of idolatry. They began to do all the things that brought them pleasure before they were Seventh-day Adventist Christians.

The shamefacedness that is to be addressed, according to the New Testament, now becomes a proud face. (See 1 Timothy 2:9.) All the bangles and bobbles are once again worn. The health message goes out the window. The modesty of dress and the places visited become an idolatrous involvement. It is not an atheistic involvement; it is an idolatrous involvement.

This is what we are actually to learn from the experiences of the children of Israel. The congregation wanted to stone the godly leadership to get them out of the way, so they could slip back into idolatry. If it had not been for the immediate intervention of God, that would have happened.

God’s Forbearance

Sometimes we wonder why things are in the state that they are. The limit of God’s forbearance has not yet been reached. When God’s forbearance has been reached, He will personally intervene and put a stop to what is happening. I never want to be in a place or in a set of circumstances where I have pushed God to the point where He has to personally intervene and bring me to the place He wants me. I want to be able to follow Him where He leads; I do not want to have to be driven with a whip. There are times when that will happen, and many experiences could probably be related as illustrations.

Numbers 14:10 continues, “The glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.” You would think that, with the next words spoken, Moses would have stood back and said, “Lord, have at it.” God said, “Moses, I want you to get out of the way. I am going to destroy all these miserable wretches. Then I will use you, and I will make a nation out of you.”

But Moses said, “Oh no, Lord, please do not do that. Spare your people.” I have never quite been able to work that out in my own thinking, but it is recorded for us. It is something we must consider.

The people had sinned, but Moses interceded on behalf of those people, and because of his action, God said, “All right, I have pardoned the people because of your intercession.” (Verse 20.) There is something to be said for personal confession and personal involvement, but we have this example that, because of the intercession of another, pardon is extended. This tells me that there is a place for the work of intercession which we do not totally understand.

Obedience Required

One thing that needs to be emphasized in this lesson from the children of Israel is the fact that, even though God requires obedience of His people, He is still a God of great mercy. He is longsuffering; He is of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression.

“And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to thy word: but [as] truly [as] I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.” Verses 20, 21. The Lord said, “My plan may know some delay. I may have to wait for a little while, but ultimately, this is going to move back out into the eternity of time, and My glory is going to be known.”

“Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it.” Verses 22, 23.

The Lord continued, declaring that Caleb had a different spirit. Caleb had followed Him, and Caleb would go into the Promised Land, and his seed would possess the land. (Verse 24.)

Whoredoms

“(Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.) Tomorrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea. And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, How long [shall I bear with] this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me. Say unto them, [As truly as] I live, saith the Lord, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me. Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, [concerning] which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. But [as for] you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.” Verses 25–33.

This is an interesting declaration that God makes concerning their “whoredoms.” To what is God referring? He is referring to the idolatrous practices in which they were involved. For some reason, they had not yet been cleansed of all of that. It was their lapse into idolatry—their seeking another god—that had brought them to rebellion against Jehovah. And He declared, “Because of these whore-doms, because of this idolatry, your carcases are going to waste in the wilderness.”

You would think that somehow this would be all there was to Scripture, because the lessons are so clear, but we find that is not the case. There are repeated instances of God’s chosen people turning their backs on Him.

Time Prophecy

Verse 34, which is a favorite text for Seventh-day Adventists, is then given: “After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, [even] forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, [even] forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.”

Seventh-day Adventists have always looked at this text as a formula which outlines prophetic time—and rightfully so, because this is a prophecy. This formula has been utilized to determine prophetic time, because it is in the setting of prophecy that it is given. God said this is what is going to happen; this is why it is going to happen; and this is how long it is going to happen. We can very comfortably utilize this formula when we need to measure time in prophetic settings and when we need to place things in their right perspective.

This formula has correctly and successfully been applied many times, particularly so in the 70 weeks prophecy of Daniel 9. Application of this formula to the 70 weeks prophecy accurately identified the very time when Jesus would begin His ministry and how His ministry would be executed. When we see how the formula of this text fits so precisely, we are encouraged, for the Lord has given us the key to unlock other prophecies. The more prophecies we unlock, the better our understanding is of Scripture and coming events. We do not have a thing to be ashamed about as far as our understanding of the Bible is concerned; it is based on good, biblical interpretation.

Conversion Flourishes

Verse 35 says, “I the Lord have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.” So the story continues that after this pronouncement, conversion flourished among the children of Israel. They suddenly decided that what the Lord had said about them going in and taking the land, they wanted to follow.

They said, “We need to go to the place that the Lord has promised, for we have sinned.” (Verse 40.) They recognized the fact that they were not doing what God wanted, but there is more involved in gaining God’s acceptance than just saying, “I have sinned.”

Judas, clutching the bag of 30 pieces of silver, went in before the priests and, throwing the bag down before them, said, “I have sinned,” but Judas found no place for pardon. (Matthew 27:3, 4.) Many instances are given in Scripture where the confession, “I have sinned,” is voiced, but it does not bring the approbation of God upon the person.

“We are going to go up,” the people said, “and we are going to do what God told us to do after all. We have sinned, we know that this is what God wanted us to do.”

Moses said, “I am sorry; do not even try it. Do not go there.” (Verse 41.)

Presumption

“Go not up, for the Lord [is] not among you; that ye be not smitten before your enemies.” “But they presumed to go up unto the hill top; nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and Moses, departed not out of the camp.” Verses 42, 44. The presence of God and the leadership of God stayed in the camp. But the people decided that, in spite of the fact that God’s presence and the leadership were not with them, they were going to go anyway.

That is what we call presumption. That can happen even in our own experiences. We can recognize that we have failed the Lord, but if we have not taken the proper steps to come back into His favor, and we go off on a tangent again, we will find that we will again suffer defeat. That is where confusion begins. We cannot begin to understand why we are experiencing the trouble that we are. It could be that we have not really understood what is outlined for us in the lessons from the past.

Is history indeed going to repeat itself in our generation? I hope not. I hope you have dedicated your life as I have dedicated my life to finishing the work of God. There is a lot of work that is yet to be done. It is a work of faith. God expects us to step out in faith, regardless of the circumstances; whatever the walled cities or giants may be, He says, “I want you to follow Me.”

To be continued . . .

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

Peter’s Counsel to Parents, Part II : The Path of Progress

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And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (11 Peter 1:5–11).

Divine Strength Imparted

The apostle has presented before us the importance of making continual advancement in the Christian life. There is no excuse for our lack of spiritual understanding. The successive steps in the path of progress are stated in the exhortation of the text, and we must take these steps if we fulfill the requirement of God, and become fitted for the heavenly courts. The work of progress is not left wholly dependent on our weak human efforts; but as we endeavor to walk in the footsteps of the Redeemer, divine strength will be imparted, that the righteousness of the law may be fulfilled in us. Help has been laid upon One who is mighty to save, and as we strive to add these virtues, He will multiply grace, according to our need, from His own divine sufficiency.

Faith, the First Round; Round Two, Virtue

Faith is the first round in the ladder of advancement. Without faith it is impossible to please God. But many stop on this round, and never ascend higher. They seem to think that when they have professed Christ, when their names are on the church record, their work is completed. Faith is essential; but the inspired word says, “Add to your faith virtue.” Those who are seeking for eternal life, and a home in the kingdom of God, must lay for their character building the foundation of virtue. Jesus must be the chief cornerstone. The things that defile the soul must be banished from the mind and life. When temptations are presented, they must be resisted in the strength of Christ. The virtue of the spotless Lamb of God must be woven into the character till the soul can stand in its integrity. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” [James 4:7.]

Example of Joseph

The young Christian will have severe tests and temptations. Satan will not permit you to leave his banner of darkness to march under the bloodstained banner of Prince Immanuel, without making an effort to retain you in his service. He will present every attraction to cause you to leave the narrow road that leads to eternal life; but you must stand like a faithful soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ. Joseph is an example of how the youth may stand unspotted, amid the evil of the world, and add to their faith, virtue. Though a captive in a strange land, far from the restraints of home, he kept the fear of God before him, and when he was sorely tempted to indulge in evil, he exclaimed, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” The grace of God enabled him to resist the tempter. He was cast into prison, because of his steadfastness of purpose to keep the commandments of God. But prison walls could not shut out the light of Heaven’s favor, nor hinder his advancement in the divine life; for “the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy.” [Genesis 39:21.] And the Lord will be with every soul who adds the precious grace of virtue, and who fears to transgress the law of Heaven.

Belief and Patience

Joseph did not complain at his lot, nor question why the Lord permitted him to suffer for righteousness’ sake. He did not allow any cloud of despondency to settle upon his heart. He believed in God, and patiently waited for his salvation. He determined that this affliction should serve as an occasion to glorify God and benefit his associates. He did not cease his efforts toward perfection of character. He forgot his sorrow in seeking to lighten the sorrows of others, and the prisoners saw that the Lord was with Joseph. When he had borne the proving of the furnace, the Lord brought him out of the gloomy cell, and exalted him to a position next to the king of Egypt. Those who honor God will be honored by Him.

Had Joseph wavered and fallen under the first temptation, his strength would have been insufficient for the second test. It is important that we do not take a wrong step in any direction; for it is very unprofitable to us. Whatever it may cost you, add to your faith, virtue. The greatest earthly loss will prove eternal gain if this is accomplished. If we use our powers unwisely, for the gratification of sinful desires, we cannot attain to the exaltation of character to which God would have us attain. We rob God of the service we should render, and fail to accomplish the good that we owe to our fellow men. If we give ourselves to Christ, He will become our helper. Poor and sinful and dependent, He will wash us in His own blood, put His Spirit within us, and make us to reflect His image.

Round Three: Knowledge

Every moment of our lives is intensely real, and charged with solemn responsibilities. Ignorance will be no excuse for lack of spiritual understanding and attainment; for we are exhorted to add to virtue, knowledge. Many are very ignorant of Bible truth, and they do not realize the duty and necessity of becoming intelligent Christians. The disciples learned of Jesus, and men perceived the benefits of his association and service, as they saw the change in these men. The uncultured fishermen became men of refinement and ability; and the lessons that they were privileged to learn are written for our admonition and instruction. We are invited to become learners in the school of Christ. We need to acquire all the knowledge possible. We cannot afford to be ignorant of the things that pertain to our eternal welfare. If all would cease gossip and evil communication, devoting the time to contemplation of Christ and the plan of salvation, they would add the knowledge essential to a growth in grace. We are to add knowledge from “whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report.” [Philippians 4:8.] God wants us to understand why he has placed us in the world, and given us the sacred burden of life to bear. He would have us develop the faculties of mind and body, that we may be a blessing to those around us, and that his glory may be reflected from us to the world. It is not his will that our powers should be bound up in torpid stupidity and ignorance. “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” [1 John 1:5.]

Round Four: Temperance

“And to knowledge temperance.” This is the . . . [fourth] step in the path toward perfection of character. On every side there is indulgence and dissipation, and the result is degeneration and corruption. The inhabitants of our earth are depreciating in mental, moral, and physical power, because of the intemperate habits of society. Appetite, passion, and love of display are carrying the multitudes into the greatest excesses and extravagance. Temptations present themselves on every hand, not only in places of vice but also in the homes of our land. Our tables are spread with little regard for health or morality, and the cravings of perverted appetite are indulged, to the detriment of physical and mental strength. The people of God must take an opposite course from the world. They must take up the warfare against these sinful practices, deny appetite, and keep the lower nature in subjection. Said the great apostle, “I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” [1 Corinthians 9:27.]

Importance of Healthful Diet

God has given us the fruits and grains of the earth for food, that we might have unfevered blood, calm nerves, and clear minds. The stimulating diet and drink of this day are not conducive to the best state of health. Tea, coffee, and tobacco are all stimulating, and contain poisons. They are not only unnecessary, but harmful, and should be discarded if we would add to knowledge, temperance. We should live by “every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” It is for us to “search the scriptures,” and bring our habits into harmony with the instruction of the Bible. We are admonished, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” [Matthew 4:4; John 5:39; 1 Corinthians 10:31.]

Round Five: Patience

“And to temperance patience.” The need of becoming temperate is made manifest as we try to take this step. It is next to an impossibility for an intemperate person to be patient. We should make decided efforts to be on the right side in every matter. We are on a battleground, and Satan is striving for our souls. No impatient man or woman will ever enter into the courts of heaven. We must not allow the natural feelings to control our judgment. Many are quickly irritated, and their words are sharp and bitter. They wound the hearts of those about them, and make it apparent that the Spirit of Christ is not abiding in their souls. The grace of Christ will bring the peace of God into your homes; but many who profess the truth do not seem to realize that it is an essential part of religion to become meek and lowly, tenderhearted and forbearing.

Peace in the Home

Is there anything desirable in impatience? The loud, harsh complaint, the fretful, faultfinding spirit, are evidences of a narrow, conceited mind. Impatience brings strife and accusation and sorrow; but patience pours the balm of peace and love into the experiences of the home life. When we exercise the precious grace of patience toward others, they will reflect our spirit, and we shall gather with Christ. Patience will seek for unity in the church, in the family, and in the community. This grace must be woven into our lives. Everyone should mount this round of progress, and add to faith, virtue, and temperance, the grace of patience.

Round Six: Godliness—Beauty of Religion in the Home

“And to patience godliness.” Godliness is the fruit of Christian character. If we abide in the Vine, we shall bear the fruits of the Spirit. The life of the Vine will manifest itself through the branches. We must have a close and intimate connection with heaven, if we bear the grace of godliness. Jesus must be a guest in our homes, a member of our households, if we reflect His image and show that we are sons and daughters of the Most High.

Religion is a beautiful thing in the home. If the Lord abides with us, we shall feel that we are members of Christ’s family in heaven. We shall realize that angels are watching us, and our manners will be gentle and forbearing. We shall be fitting up for an entrance into the courts of heaven, by cultivating courtesy and godliness. Our conversation will be holy, and our thoughts will be upon heavenly things.

Round Seven: Brotherly Kindness

Enoch walked with God. He honored God in every affair of life. In his home and in his business, he inquired, “Will this be acceptable to the Lord?” And by remembering God, and following His counsel, he was transformed in character, and became a godly man, whose ways pleased the Lord. We are exhorted to add to godliness, brotherly kindness. O how much we need to take this step, to add this quality to our characters! In many of our homes there is a hard, combative spirit manifested. Critical words and unkind actions are offensive to God. Dictatorial commands and haughty, overbearing manners are not acceptable to Heaven. The reason there are so many differences existing between brethren is that they have failed to add brotherly kindness. We should have that love for others that Christ has had for us. A man is estimated at his true value by the Lord of heaven. If he is unkind in his earthly home, he is unfit for the heavenly home. If he will have his own way, no matter whom it grieves, he would not be content in heaven, unless he could rule there.

Round Eight: Love

The love of Christ must control our hearts, and the peace of God will abide in our homes. Seek God with a broken and contrite spirit, and you will be melted with compassion toward your brethren. You will be prepared to add to brotherly kindness, charity, or love. Without charity we will become “as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” [1 Corinthians 13:1.] Our highest professions are hollow and insincere; but “love is the fulfilling of the law.” [Romans 13:10.] We shall be found wanting, if we do not add charity that suffereth long and is kind, that vaunteth not itself, that seeketh not her own.

Heaven Brought Nearer

Will it make us miserable to follow this plan of Christian progression?—No. It will bring heaven nearer to us. We may have the sweet peace and consolation of God in doing this work. These steps will take us into the atmosphere of heaven; for as God sees His children seeking to carry out His instruction in their habits and thoughts, He multiplies grace, and gives them that wisdom that cometh down from above, that is “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits.” [James 3:17.]

“Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall” (11 Peter 1:10). [Sermon at Christiana, Norway, October 6, 1886.]

Review and Herald, February 21, 1888.

To be continued . . .

“How Readest Thou?” Part I

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As you read and study this article, I encourage you to ask yourself the question, How do I read God’s Word? Do you read to be able to win a biblical argument or to really know and understand what truth is? Do you let the Word of God speak for itself that you may be saved when Jesus comes?

We are saved individually, not in groups. Not understanding real truth can cost us eternal life.

The Question

The question was asked by a certain lawyer years ago, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” The answer came by way of a question, “How readest thou?”

“And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him [Jesus], saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” Luke 10:25–27.

We need to ask the question again: “What must I do to have eternal life?” The answer to the question is the same: “How readest thou?”

Do we just study the Word of God to gain knowledge of the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy until we develop an “Excedrin headache”? Do we study to settle a theological question or to win an argument? On the other hand, do we study to have a converted knowledge of the saving power of God and Jesus Christ? Have we come to the point that we know Jesus personally? Have we come to know that, as The Song of Solomon 2:1 states, Jesus is “the rose of Sharon, [and] the lily of the valleys”?

In Revelation 22:16, Jesus states that He is “the root and the offspring of David, [and] the bright and morning star.” Jesus is King of kings, Lord of lords, Creator, Redeemer, Saviour, Intercessor, and Friend—our only Hope. Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life.” John 14:6. This same Saviour who ascended to heaven and is now sitting on the right hand of God, making intercession for us and preparing a place for you and me, is coming back soon! (Mark 16:19; Romans 8:34; John 14:1–3.) Oh! how we need to take a new look at the cross and fall in love with the wonderful Saviour.

Stop Playing Religion

We need to have a Damascus road experience, as did Saul, who had an experience with Jesus and became a true, converted worker for God. Saul became totally God’s man. We, as individuals, need the scales lifted from our eyes, so we can really see the lovely Jesus, our precious Redeemer.

“The Lord requires of all who profess to be his people, far more than they give him. He expects believers in Christ Jesus to reveal to the world, in word and deed, the Christianity that was exemplified in the life and character of the Redeemer. If the word of God is enshrined in their hearts, they will give a practical demonstration of the power and purity of the gospel. The testimony thus borne to the world is of much more value than sermons, or professions of godliness that do not reveal good works. Let those who name the name of Christ remember that individually they are making an impression favorable or unfavorable to Bible religion, on the minds of all with whom they come in contact.” The Southern Watchman, January 17, 1905.

“In this age, just prior to the second coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven, God calls for men who will prepare a people to stand in the great day of the Lord. Just such a work as that which John did, is to be carried on in these last days. The Lord is giving messages to his people, through the instruments he has chosen, and he would have all heed the admonitions and warnings he sends. The message preceding the public ministry of Christ was, Repent, publicans and sinners; repent, Pharisees and Sadducees; ‘for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Our message is not to be one of peace and safety. As a people who believe in Christ’s soon appearing, we have a definite message to bear,—‘Prepare to meet thy God.’ ” Ibid., March 21, 1905.

Our message must be as direct as was that of John. He rebuked kings for their iniquity. Notwithstanding the peril his life was in, he never allowed truth to languish on his lips. Our work in this age must be as faithfully done.

It is time to stop playing religion, time to stop having merely a form or profession. Rather, we need to have a genuine, Damascus road, converted experience. It is time to get rid of pride, selfishness, and every other sin.

Our Need

“It is written, Man”—each person individually—“shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4.

What the world needs is Jesus; and we, as Seventh-day Adventists, need Him more than ever. Satan is, and will be, attacking you and me—the church—more than ever to get us to join his camp. We need to look at and study the cross. Jesus loved you and me so much He died for us. If we would just take time to capture the scene of the cross and understand the suffering He went through for each of us, we would see a revival and reformation, and our characters would be developed into the image of Christ. Oh, friend, let us become children of God.

A New Creature

“For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And [that] he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we [him] no more. Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 11 Corinthians 5:14– 17.

Now, what does that mean?

“The love of Christ in the heart is what is needed. Self is in need of being crucified. When self is submerged in Christ, true love springs forth spontaneously. It is not an emotion or an impulse, but a decision of a sanctified will. It consists not in feeling, but in the transformation of the whole heart, soul, and character, which is dead to self and alive unto God. Our Lord and Saviour asks us to give ourselves to Him. Surrendering self to God is all He requires, giving ourselves to Him to be employed as He sees fit. Until we come to this point of surrender, we shall not work happily, usefully, or successfully anywhere (Letter 97, 1898).” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1100, 1101.

“When the soul is brought into close relationship with the great Author of light and truth, impressions are made upon it revealing its true position before God. Then self will die, pride will be laid low, and Christ will draw His own image in deeper lines upon the soul (MS 1a, 1890).” Ibid., 1099.

What Should We Do?

“How readest thou?” Do you read and study to be obedient overcomers, grateful for what Christ has done, so you can inherit a place in heaven? Or do you read to gain knowledge to establish opinionated, religious theologies or to win an argument?

Oh, how we need to look to the cross of Calvary and listen for the echoes of those who hated him and cried out, “Crucify Him; Crucify Him!”

In Matthew 22:29, we read, “Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.” And Colossians 2:6–10 tells us, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, [so] walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.”

We need to note the meaning of verse 9 as explained by Ellen White: “ ‘In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.’ Men need to understand that Deity suffered and sank under the agonies of Calvary. Yet Jesus Christ whom God gave for the ransom of the world purchased the church with His own blood. The Majesty of heaven was made to suffer at the hands of religious zealots, who claimed to be the most enlightened people upon the face of the earth (MS 153, 1898).” Ibid., vol. 7, 907.

“Let your speech [be] alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” Colossians 4:6. Mrs. White gives a very good explanation of this verse: “As you arose from the watery grave at the time of your baptism, you professed to be dead, and declared that your life was changed—hid with Christ in God. You claimed to be dead to sin, and cleansed from your hereditary and cultivated traits of evil. In going forward in the rite of baptism, you pledged yourselves before God to remain dead to sin. Your mouth was to remain a sanctified mouth, your tongue a converted tongue. You were to speak of God’s goodness, and to praise His holy name. Thus you were to be a great help and blessing to the church (MS 95, 1906).” Ibid., 908.

“We are to lift the cross, and follow the steps of Christ. Those who lift the cross will find that as they do this, the cross lifts them, giving them fortitude and courage, and pointing them to the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world.” Review and Herald, July 13, 1905.

Jesus “said to [them] all, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” Luke 9:23. “These words are spoken to every one who desires to be a Christian. He who shuns the cross shuns the reward promised to the faithful (Letter 144, 1901).” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1120.

Beware of False Doctrine

The following quote from Mrs. White is especially powerful: “Satan has wrought with deceiving power, bringing in a multiplicity of errors that obscure truth. Error could not stand alone, and would soon become extinct, if it did not fasten itself like a parasite upon the tree of truth. Error draws its life from the truth of God. The traditions of men, like floating germs, attach themselves to the truth of God, and men regard them as a part of the truth. Through false doctrines Satan gains a foothold, and captivates the minds of men, causing them to hold theories that have no foundation in truth. Men boldly teach for doctrines the commandments of men, and as traditions pass on from age to age, they acquire a power over the human mind. But age does not make error truth, neither does its burdensome weight cause the plant of truth to become a parasite. The tree of truth bears its own genuine fruit, showing its true origin and nature. The parasite of error also bears its own fruit, and makes manifest that its character is diverse from the plant of heavenly origin (Letter 43, 1895).” Ibid., 1094, 1095.

“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matthew 16:26.

Converted, Christ-based Religion

To only develop a form of religion is very dangerous, when we need a converted, Christ-based religion. Consider the following statements penned by Ellen White:

“The young man [the rich young ruler; see Matthew 19:16–22] . . . had cherished an idol in the soul; the world was his god. He professed to have kept the commandments, but he was destitute of the principle which is the very spirit and life of them all. He did not possess true love for God or man.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 392.

“He chose his riches before Jesus. He wanted eternal life, but would not receive into the soul that unselfish love which alone is life, and with sorrowful heart he turned away from Christ.” Ibid., 393.

“In the parable [Matthew 25:1–13], all the ten virgins went out to meet the bridegroom. All had lamps and vessels for oil. For a time there was seen no difference between them. So with the church that lives just before Christ’s second coming. All have a knowledge of the Scriptures. All have heard the message of Christ’s near approach, and confidently expect His appearing. But as in the parable, so it is now. A time of waiting intervenes, faith is tried; and when the cry is heard, ‘Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him,’ [verse 6] many are unready. They have no oil in their vessels with their lamps. They are destitute of the Holy Spirit.” Ibid., 408.

“The class represented by the foolish virgins are not hypocrites. They have a regard for the truth, they have advocated the truth, they are attracted to those who believe the truth; but they have not yielded themselves to the Holy Spirit’s working. They . . . have been content with a superficial work. They do not know God. They have not studied His character; they have not held communion with Him; therefore they do not know how to trust, how to look and live. Their service to God degenerates into a form. . . . The apostle Paul points out that this will be the special characteristic of those who live just before Christ’s second coming.” Ibid., 411.

“Saddest of all words that ever fell on mortal ear are those words of doom, ‘I know you not.’ [Matthew 25:12.]” Ibid., 413.

The Bottom Line

“Why cannot those who claim to understand the Scriptures, see that God’s requirement under grace is just the same he made in Eden,—perfect obedience to his law. In the Judgment, God will ask those who profess to be Christians, Why did you claim to believe in my Son, and continue to transgress my law? Who required this at your hands—to trample upon my rules of righteousness?” Review and Herald, September 21, 1886.

“How readest thou?” Are you sure where you will spend eternity? Have you made your election sure? What is the bottom line to be ready for Jesus’ soon return? We need a new spiritual vision. We need a new converted goal. We need a new conviction. We need a full conversion. We need a true, personal relationship with Jesus. We need to get ready for His soon coming.

I do not know of a better quote with which to close this study than the following:

“Many who profess sanctification are entirely ignorant of the work of grace upon the heart. When proved and tested, they are found to be like the self-righteous Pharisee. They will bear no contradiction. They lay aside reason and judgment, and depend wholly upon their feelings, basing their claims to sanctification upon emotions which they have at some time experienced. They are stubborn and perverse in urging their tenacious claims of holiness, giving many words, but bearing no precious fruit as proof. These professedly sanctified persons are not only deluding their own souls by their pretensions, but are exerting an influence to lead astray many who earnestly desire to conform to the will of God. They may be heard to reiterate again and again, ‘God leads me! God teaches me! I am living without sin!’ Many who come in contact with this spirit encounter a dark, mysterious something which they cannot comprehend. But it is that which is altogether unlike Christ, the only true pattern.

“Bible sanctification does not consist in strong emotion. Here is where many are led into error. They make feelings their criterion.” The Sanctified Life, 9, 10.

The Center of My Hope

“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Galatians 6:14.

“Remove the cross from the Christian and it is like blotting out the sun which illumines the day, and dropping the moon and the stars out of the firmament of the heavens at night. The cross of Christ brings us nigh to God, reconciling man to God, and God to man. The Father looks upon the cross, upon the suffering He has given His Son to endure in order to save the race from hopeless misery and to draw man to Himself. He looks upon it with the relenting compassion of a Father’s love. The cross has been almost lost sight of, but without the cross there is no connection with the Father, no unity with the Lamb in the midst of the throne in heaven, no welcome reception of the wandering who would return to the forsaken path of righteousness and truth, no hope for the transgressor in the day of judgment. Without the cross there is no means provided for overcoming the power of our strong foe. Every hope of the race hangs upon the cross. . . .

“Through the cross we learn that our heavenly Father loves us with an infinite and everlasting love, and draws us to Him with more than a mother’s yearning sympathy for a wayward child. Can we wonder that Paul exclaimed, ‘God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ’? It is our privilege also to glory in the cross of Calvary, our privilege to give ourselves wholly to Him who gave Himself for us. Then with the light of love that shines from His face on ours, we shall go forth to reflect it to those in darkness.” Our High Calling, 46.

To be continued . . .

[All emphasis supplied.]

An ordained minister of the gospel, Howard Anderson, now retired, lives in Zellwood Station, Florida. He may be contacted by telephone at: 407-886-1951.

Why is it so Difficult to Turn Around? Part II

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

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

Keep Focused

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eclipse

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

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

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

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

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

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

Looking to Man

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

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

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

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

Be Set Free

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

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

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

Do Not Give Up

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

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

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

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

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

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

Staying Turned Around

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

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

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

How to Abide in Christ

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Danger of Procrastination

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

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

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

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

[Some Bible texts quoted are literal translation.]

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

The Seven Churches, Part V : The Church of Pergamos

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After a long and severe conflict, the faithful few . . .”—there were only a few left. The changes that came in when the church began to compromise took a lot more souls than the sword of pagan Rome. Only a few were left. “. . . the faithful few decided to dissolve all union with the apostate church . . .” The Great Controversy, 45. This was the Christian church. There was only one church, but there were two churches within that one church—the faithful and the apostate. “. . . if she still refused to free herself from falsehood and idolatry. They saw that separation was an absolute necessity if they would obey the word of God. They dared not tolerate errors fatal to their own souls, and set an example which would imperil the faith of their children.” Ibid.

I have often wondered at the incredible naïveté of Christians today—especially those in God’s remnant church, who somehow unbelievably think they can sit and listen to any kind of thing being preached or taught without affecting their souls or even the souls of their children. “Just go on,” they think, “it is God’s church; do not worry about it. God will take care of it.” The incredible naïveté! I am telling you that people are being affected in their thinking, in their practices, and in their activities, and they do not even know it.

Ellen White continued, “To secure peace and unity they were ready to make any concession consistent with fidelity to God; but they felt that even peace would be too dearly purchased at the sacrifice of principle. If unity could be secured only by the compromise of truth and righteousness, then let there be difference, and even war.

“Well would it be for the church and the world if the principles that actuated those steadfast souls were revived in the hearts of God’s professed people.” Ibid., 45, 46.

No, no, no! We do not want anything to stir the waters or rock the boat or bring any kind of dissension or trouble. We just want to have peace and love, even at the expense of truth. No, not any big truths, of course, but those little truths that go step-by-step. Some of those little truths are a lot bigger than most people think, I tell you.

So it was that God commended the faithful few who would be true to duty and principle no matter what—those who were willing to die rather than sacrifice their principles, who would not yield to nor maintain ministerial or administrative apostasy in the church. Do you think we need that same attitude today that will not go along with apostasy? Some people think that it is a terrible attitude!

Curse of Compromise

Mrs. White wrote, “There are fearful woes for those who preach the truth, but are not sanctified by it, and also for those who consent to receive and maintain the unsancti-fied to minister to them in word and doctrine.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 261, 262. That was the trouble with the church of Pergamos. A few chose not to receive unfaithful ministers, but the majority chose to receive them and just try to live a good, consistent life at home. Step-by-step, they and their children began to make the same compromises they saw in the leadership.

The people are to make the choice whether they will receive a minister or not. As stated in the above statement, it is a sin to receive one who is not sanctified.

The papacy began to teach that those congregations that made their own choice as to whether they would receive a minister or not, were insubordinate and troublemakers. One of the first departures of Rome was to teach that the central leadership was to make the choices of who was to minister to all the churches. “It is one of the leading doctrines of Romanism that the pope is the visible head of the universal church of Christ, invested with supreme authority over bishops and pastors in all parts of the world.” The Great Controversy, 50.

That was not true of the church in the purest of days. In the New Testament, who had authority over who was to preach in the church? The church had that authority, not a central administration. Let us look at the way God had set up the church in the earliest of times. In Acts 20:17, Paul calls for the elders—plural; these are the local elders of Ephesus. He counsels them, in verses 28 and 29: “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.” Then he continued his counsel to these local elders of the church: “Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.” Verse 31. Who was it that was to guard and protect the flock? The local elders of the church; they were to maintain their purity in the providence of God.

Lessons from the Past

God allowed some circumstances to develop even in the early church, in order for it to be a guiding counsel to us throughout the history of Christianity on this earth. Ellen White says God allowed Peter to make a serious mistake in Galatia, in order to correct the abuses of the papacy throughout the Middle Ages. (See The Acts of the Apostles, 197, 198.)

One of the abuses of the papacy was to think that they had supreme authority over all the church leaders, over all the churches. Look at what it says in Galatians 2:11–13: “Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him.” Now, here were Peter and James from the central headquarters church in Jerusalem—the two greatest leaders at that time from the headquarters church.

In Galatians 3:1, Paul exclaimed, “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth?” It was the leadership from the headquarters church that had bewitched them. Satan, of course, was working through them, but from a human standpoint, it was the church leadership.

Paul counseled them further in chapter 5, verse 1, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” That is talking about the ceremonial law and the method by which these laws were again being enforced upon the people of Galatia. But the Pergamons chose to allow themselves to be entangled with the yoke of bondage to an apostate leadership, and God said, “I will come and fight against you with the sword, because you would not fight against those leaders.”

God commended those who were suffering martyrdom rather than yielding to apostasy, but he condemned those who were allowing the apostasy to enter into the church. “I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.” Revelation 2:14. Balaam, in the Old Testament, as you will remember, came into the camp of Israel and caused them to make friends with the Moabites. This led to compromise with heathenism and to God’s blessing being withdrawn from the church. Likewise, there were leaders in the early church, after the church became popular, who wanted to make compromises with the pagan church. There were a few faithful, but many of the leaders decided to make some compromising concessions.

“He [Satan] led the heathen idolaters to embrace a part of the Christian faith. . . . Some thought that if they should come down and unite with those idolaters who had embraced a portion of the Christian faith, it would be the means of their full conversion.” Early Writings, 211, 212. Oh, they had high ideals and principles behind what they were doing. They were going to convert these people. Have you ever heard of someone marrying a non-Christian in order to convert the person—I love this person; maybe if I marry him or her, I can convert him or her? That is exactly what the church leaders tried to do. These were not non-Christians. They all believed in Jesus now. They all professed to be Christians. Why not unite with them and help them to come up to an even higher standard? But that is not what happened.

“At last the standard was lowered [instead of being raised], and . . . the heathen were uniting with the Christians. . . . As the followers of Christ gradually united with them, the Christian religion became corrupted and the church lost its purity and power.” Ibid., 211. Oh, God, save us from that today.

Thus some people, thinking to be tolerant, thinking to convert, thinking to unite, thinking to cooperate with these other people who were claiming Christianity, came together in unity—but who was converted? The Christians were converted to paganism instead of the pagans being converted to Christianity. This was the opposite of the people in the apostolic days, the church of Ephesus. “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars.” Revelation 2:2.

Pergamos’ Great Mistake

This was Pergamos’ great mistake. It was one of the two things that God held against them; thus God said that He would become their enemy. Oh, that we would learn the lesson of the Pergamons. Soon those who were perseveringly trying to uphold the standard of truth and would not go along with the majority began to be persecuted. Those who had once been brothers and sisters now began to persecute each other.

We are told that the same thing will happen in the last days. “As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the third angel’s message, but have not been sanctified through obedience to the truth, abandon their position and join the ranks of the opposition. By uniting with the world and partaking of its spirit, they have come to view matters in nearly the same light; and when the test is brought, they are prepared to choose the easy, popular side. Men of talent and pleasing address, who once rejoiced in the truth, employ their powers to deceive and mislead souls. They become the most bitter enemies of their former brethren. When Sabbathkeepers are brought before the courts to answer for their faith, these apostates are the most efficient agents of Satan to misrepresent and accuse them, and by false reports and insinuations to stir up the rulers against them.” The Great Controversy, 608. This is an exact parallel with what happened in Pergamos.

The Bible tells us, “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” 11 Timothy 3:12. If the church as a whole is godly, they will suffer persecution by the world. Satan has enough agents yet to bring persecution. But if the church becomes worldly, then those within the church who remain pure will suffer persecution by the rest of the church. That is what happened in Pergamos. The church of Smyrna was a pure church, and the pagans persecuted them. When the church itself became corrupted, then those within the church persecuted those who would remain true, firm, and faithful.

Second Mistake

Besides Balaam, what was the other thing that God had against the church of Pergamos? Revelation 2:15 says, “Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.” From our study of the church of Ephesus, you will remember that the Nicolaitans were those who believed that, as long as you had faith, it did not matter what you did. The Nicolaitans had a pseudo love; they believed that as long as you professed love to God, it did not matter whether or not you kept His commandments.

Today, “The doctrine is now largely taught that the gospel of Christ has made the law of God of no effect; that by ‘believing’ we are released from the necessity of being doers of the Word. But this is the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which Christ so unsparingly condemned.” The Signs of the Times, January 2, 1912.

We are counseled that, “It is our work to know our special failings and sins, which cause darkness and spiritual feebleness, and quenched our first love. Is it worldliness? Is it selfishness? Is it the love of self-esteem? Is it striving to be first? Is it the sin of sensuality that is intensely active? Is it the sin of the Nicolaitans, turning the grace of God into lasciviousness? Is it the misuse and abuse of great light and opportunities and privileges, making boasted claims to wisdom and religious knowledge, while the life and character are inconsistent and immoral? Whatever it is that has been petted and cultivated until it has become strong and overmastering, make determined efforts to overcome, else you will be lost. It is these cherished sins, abhorrent to God, that make enfeebled moral courage, and leave you to choose to walk apart from God, while you retain a miserable, heartless, outward form. Once the soul was all aglow with love for Jesus; but all this is changed. The great Head who moves in the midst of his candlesticks will never be without a church. There will be faithless ones who will go out from us because they were not of us. There will be apostasies. But ‘nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his.’ [11 Timothy 2:19.]” Review and Herald, June 7, 1887.

May you separate yourselves from the religion of Balaam and the Nicolaitans.

To be continued . . .

Pastor Marshall Grosboll, with his wife Lillian, founded Steps to Life. In July 1991, Pastor Marshall and his family met with tragedy as they were returning home from a camp meeting in Washington state, when the airplane he was piloting went down, killing all on board.

Editorial – Sympathy

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Sympathy is one of the strongest emotions and determinants of human behavior. Sympathy had a great deal to do with the fall of one-third of the angels in heaven. (See The Great Controversy, 495.) Sympathy had a great deal to do with the children of Israel staying in the wilderness for 40 years. (See Sermons and Talks, vol. 2, 78.) And sympathy today is causing the eternal destruction of millions of human beings.

The letter that we have been studying addresses this problem to the person who was in trouble. We each need to pray that the Lord will help us to avoid losing our souls as a result of sympathy with that which is opposed to the ways and truths of God and the reproofs and warnings which He sends to us. Here is the next part of the letter:

“Brother M, you have so presented matters to others that you have gained their sympathy. Your friends and sympathizers have lost faith in the testimonies. You have gained their sympathies by misstatements and misapplication of that which the Lord has sent you to save you from ruining your soul and the souls of others. You have planted the seeds of doubt and unbelief, and when your own soul may be rescued and faith takes the place of doubts, can you gather up the evil seeds of doubt you have planted in the minds of others? Will you be pleased to meet this work in the judgment?

“You cannot now see the work you have done. A power from beneath has taken possession of your soul. . . . Those who work under deception to gain this sympathy and support will surely meet with great loss and obtain the disfavor of God.

“You have said that Brother G has told me things to prejudice me against you. My brother, it is exactly the opposite of this. You have had evil surmising and imaginings and hatred to him, when he has not by word or action tried to injure you. He has treated you like a brother. Your course of action has gone a great ways in its influence to demoralize, because you were a minister, a professed representative of Jesus Christ. . . .

“Now look at your work and see if you are pleased with the outlook. You have created doubts in the minds of those who had but a limited knowledge of my work. And the very ones who had been the strongest in the condemnation of your course . . . listened to your statements, and your words have had an influence on them.

“Doubts were created, and seeds of unbelief sown in regard to my work. Your only objection to the testimonies is similar to the objection of skeptics and infidels to the Bible; it condemns their course of sin and evil. The testimonies condemn your course, point out your transgressions, and will not vindicate or praise in you a course of sin. . . .

“I am so sorry that you have acted the part of a traitor. . . . You have been envious and jealous. You have been doing the work of the great adversary of souls by suffering yourself to be the accuser of your brethren.

“Last night I received increased light. The words were spoken to me that were spoken to Joshua: ‘Why are you full of distress and anguish? Arise and set things in order. There has been falsehood and dissembling and iniquitous practices. God cannot bless His people until these sins are put away from among you.’ The lessons that you have given by precept and example have done a work, the results of which eternity alone will reveal, while you were concealing your own wrongs. You have imparted all you knew that was faulty in others, purely out of bitterness and revenge which strengthened and confirmed him [Brother G] to vindicate his unrighteous course, when you yourself were a far greater sinner in the sight of God.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 21, 162–164.