Issue: 2016 January

Inspiration – Thoughts for the New Year

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Although in one sense the first day of the new year is no more to God than any other day, yet He often puts into the hearts of His children at that time a desire to begin the new year with new resolves—perhaps with plans to carry out some worthy enterprise—and with purposes to depart from the wrongs of the old year and to live the new year with new determinations.

In God’s plan for His ancient people, He gave the command, “On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:2). We have no tabernacle to set up as had the children of Israel, but we have a work of building to do, the importance of which all need to understand. Let us remember that character is not the result of accident, but day by day it is forming for good or for evil. Great importance attaches to this work of character building; for it is far-reaching in its results. We are builders for time and for eternity. Few realize the power of habit. Examine your own heart and life in the light of God’s Word, and ask yourself, “What has my record been for the year that is just closing? What advancement have I made in the Christian life? What victories have I gained? And what have I done to help others, and to lead them to Christ?”

God has not placed you in the world to lead an aimless life. He designs that you should be useful, and reach a high standard of moral excellence. To each one some work is given. During the old year have you performed your appointed tasks with cheerfulness and fidelity, having an eye single to the glory of God? Opportunities and privileges have been granted you; what use have you made of these gifts entrusted to you by our Heavenly Father? Have you made yourself a blessing to those around you? Have you done what you could to make them happy and win them to Christ?

All this is a part of your appointed work. God also requires each of us to subdue self, not giving the rein to self-indulgence or appetite, and to form characters that will stand the test of the judgment and go with us into the future life.

Shall the close of the year find you further advanced than you are today? Will you put away evil habits? Will you be considerate of others, faithful to do the work of a Christian? If you will carry the principles of right-doing into all the affairs of life, you will find that it will promote health of body, peace of mind, and prosperity of soul. You will have a strength, dignity, and sweetness of character that will have a transforming influence upon others.

We are now entering upon a new year, and may it prove a beginning of years to us. If in the old year we have made failures, let us commence the new by rectifying these errors as far as we can. If the old year has borne into eternity a spotted record of opportunities neglected and privileges slighted, let us see that that of the new year is free from these blemishes. Its days are all before us; let us begin now to make the history of each as it passes, such as we shall not tremble to meet in the judgment. Let us fill each one full of loving, helpful work for others. Let us develop all our powers, and make of ourselves all that God designed that we should.

In the keeping of God’s commandments there is great reward. A reward awaits the overcomer in the great day, when he shall hear from the lips of our Lord, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23); and there is also a present reward in the peace and happiness that flow from the conscience at rest, from the sweet assurance that we enjoy the favour of God. “All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep His covenant and His testimonies” (Psalm 25:10). To all who walk in His ways the new year will be crowded with goodness and blessing.

Australian Union Conference Record, January 5, 1914.

Current Events – Syria War History

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There is a steady trend of events which the wise will understand. “Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried, but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” Daniel 12:10

“And at the time of the end shall the king of the south (1) push at him (2): and the king of the north (3) shall come against him (2) like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he (2) shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. He (2) shall enter also into the glorious land (4), and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his (2) hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. He (2) shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he (2) shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his (2) steps. But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him (2): therefore he (2) shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. And he (2) shall plant the tabernacles of his (2) palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he (2) shall come to his end, and none shall help him (2). Daniel 11:40–45.

Meaning of the symbols of Daniel 11:40–45:

  1. king of the South – “… governments ruling the southern part of Alexander’s empire.” God Predicts Your Future, John J. Grosboll, 1994, page 248.
  2. him – [the Papacy], Ibid., 247.
  3. king of the North – “… government ruling the northern part of Alexander’s empire (now a stronghold for the religion Mohammed.)” Ibid.
  4. glorious land – “… refers to the land of Palestine (Ezekiel 20:6, 15), a symbol of the heavenly inheritance of the saints (Hebrews 11:9, 10). Ibid.

“During the wars and revolutions which for long ages succeeded, these geographical boundaries were frequently changed or obliterated; old ones were wiped out, and new ones instituted. But whatever changes might occur, these first divisions of the empire must determine the names which these portions of territory should ever afterward bear, or we have no standard by which to test the application of the prophecy.” Daniel and the Revelation, 250.

“Cassander was very soon conquered by Lysimachus, and his kingdom, Greece and Macedon, annexed to Thrace. And Lysimachus was in turn conquered by Seleucus, and Macedon and Thrace annexed to Syria.” Ibid.

Rise of Islamists

2013 June – Government and allied Lebanese Hezbollah forces recapture strategically-important town of Qusair between Homs and Lebanese border. Rebel commanders complain that arms supplies taper off over international concerns about Islamists in the opposition camp.

2013 July – Saudi-backed Ahmed Jarba becomes leader of opposition National Coalition, defeating Qatar-backed rival. 2013 September – UN weapons inspectors conclude that chemical weapons were used in an attack on the Ghouta area of Damascus in August that killed about 300 people, but do not explicitly allocate responsibility for the attack.

2013 October – President Assad allows international inspectors to begin destroying Syria’s chemical weapons on the basis of a US–Russian agreement.

2013 December – US and Britain suspend “non-lethal” support for rebels in northern Syria after reports Islamist rebels seize some bases of Western-backed Free Syrian Army.

2014 January–February – UN-brokered peace talks in Geneva fail, largely because Syrian authorities refuse to discuss a transitional government.

2014 March – Syrian Army and Hezbollah forces recapture Yabroud, the last rebel stronghold near the Lebanese border.

2014 May – Hundreds of rebels are evacuated from their last stronghold in the central city of Homs. The withdrawal marks the end of three years of resistance in the city.

2014 June – UN announces removal of Syria’s chemical weapons material complete.

‘Caliphate’ in east

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria militants declare “caliphate” in territory from Aleppo to eastern Iraqi province of Diyala.

2014 August – Tabqa airbase, near the northern city of Raqqa, falls to Islamic State militants, who now control entire Raqqa province.

2014 September – United States and five Arab countries launch air strikes against Islamic State around Aleppo and Raqqa.

2015 January – Kurdish forces push Islamic State out of Kobane on Turkish border after four months of fighting.

2015 March – Opposition offensives push back government forces. New Jaish al-Fatah (Army of Conquest) Islamist rebel alliance, backed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, captures provincial capital of Idlib.

Southern Front alliance of secular and Islamist groups take Jordanian border crossing at Nassib

2015 May – Islamic State fighters seize the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria, raising concerns that they might destroy the pre-Islamic World Heritage site. They also capture last border crossing to Iraq.Jaish al-Fatah takes control of Idlib Province, putting pressure on government’s coastal stronghold of Latakia.

2015 June – Islamic State and Kurdish fighters intensify fighting between Raqqa and Turkish border. Kurds take Ain Issa and border town of Tal Abyad, Islamic State attacks Kobane and seizes part of Hassakeh, the main city in north-eastern Syria.

2015 September – Russia carries out first air strikes in Syria, saying it targets the Islamic State group. But West and Syrian opposition say it overwhelmingly targets anti-Assad rebels instead.

www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14703995

Sermon on the Mount Series – The Way of Holiness

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Most people who have read the first two books of the Bible know of a famous mountain called Mount Sinai where the law of God, the Ten Commandments were spoken by God and written with His finger on tables of stone. But have you heard of what is called the Sinai of the New Testament?

In the Old Testament it is predicted concerning the Messiah that “He will magnify the law, and make it honorable.” Isaiah 42:21 KJV. To magnify means to look at it under a magnifying glass. Jesus did that very thing when He spoke the Sermon on the Mount. He expounded on the law, making it honorable. This sermon has been called the Decalogue of the New Testament, or the Mount Sinai of the New Testament, because in it we take a look at the law of God under the magnifying glass of the Lawgiver to understand in detail what really is the spirit and nature of God’s law.

In His sermon, Jesus restated and explained the law for everyday living in practical terms that children can understand. So, the thunders of Mount Sinai reecho in the beatitudes of Him who is living the law. Not only did Jesus give to His disciples a model prayer, He preached before them a model sermon, which was the greatest sermon that had ever been listened to by mortal man. It was the master sermon by the master Preacher.

In Matthew 5, 6, and 7, eternal truths were spoken by Him Who is the truth and therefore the author of all truth. It is a proclamation of the eternal realities of the kingdom of heaven. This sermon has been studied because of its matchless beauty. More important than this, however, are the basic fundamental principles that it contains. The Sermon on the Mount is an unabridged edition of the law—a summary of all truth—and has been called a miniature Bible because it is made up of quotations from the Old Testament or restatements of its truths. It seems that Jesus selected the most priceless gems out of the writings of all the prophets and set them down in a way that even children can understand.

This sermon has also been appropriately called Christ’s inaugural address because in it He enunciated the principles which are to control the administration of His eternal kingdom, the kingdom of grace, and spells out the qualifications for heavenly citizenship. The conditions by which we can expect to enter the kingdom of heaven are clearly pointed out, as well as who will be there and who will not be there. All the citizens of the heavenly kingdom will live in harmony with the eternal principles that have been set out within God’s law.

Because of the significance of this occasion, let us examine the setting of Jesus’ sermon. Jesus had spent the entire night before in prayer, and in the morning He had selected and ordained the twelve apostles, who were to constitute a cabinet to help Him administer the affairs of this spiritual kingdom. They were to be His special ministers or ambassadors. In fact, Jesus said in Matthew 19:27, 28 that the twelve apostles would later be crowned as kings. Their office was the most important to which human beings have ever been called, second only to Christ Himself.

In fact, the twelve apostles are so important that the Bible records in Revelation 21:14, that throughout eternal ages, their names will be written, emblazoned, inscribed, on the twelve foundations of the New Jerusalem, the capital city of the universe.

This Sermon on the Mount was not only the greatest of all sermons, but it was preached to a very large and interesting audience that was composed of people from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond Jordan. See Matthew 4:25.

The congregation that listened to Christ was made up of all classes of men, women, and children, representing every condition of life. There were proud Pharisees, poor fishermen, and rich rulers from the palace. There were poor peasants along with the wise and those who were uneducated and ignorant. There were those who were believers and those who were doubters. Many races of men and various religious creeds were represented in the audience. It was a cross section of humanity who had gathered to listen to Jesus’ words because they had feelings of great expectancy. What were they expecting? This gathering had a political aspect because Jesus’s fame had filled the people with new hopes and aspirations.

They hoped that He was the Messiah and they expected Him on this occasion to proclaim His mission as such and to make an announcement regarding the setting up of His kingdom. They were looking for the least excuse to proclaim and crown Him king. The disciples of Jesus also shared these feelings of expectancy. Their thoughts were filled with visions of future glory, and power, and wealth, when they believed that the nation of Israel would become the central power of the world and that they would be the center of a worldwide kingdom.

These were the ambitions, the expectations that had brought together this great company of people. The expectation of His audience gave Jesus the subject or the theme for His sermon, which was the kingdom of heaven. It was His purpose to correct the popular misconception concerning the nature of His kingdom that He had come to establish, for their expectations had completely unfitted them to receive Him and His teachings. The only kingdom that the Jews seemed to know anything about was an earthly temporal kingdom. The disciples were no different. They never lost this conception during the whole time Jesus was on earth until after Pentecost when they finally got their thinking partially straightened out.

There is danger today that modern Israel, the Christians of today, will make the same mistake. By becoming so thrilled over the prospects of the coming kingdom of glory that is clearly predicted in the Bible and to be established at the Second Advent of Christ, there is danger that in anticipating this, we will lose sight of the spiritual phase of His kingdom, which must be first established in the individual’s heart.

None of us will ever enter the kingdom of glory until the kingdom of grace has entered our heart. Until the first phase of the kingdom of heaven has been accomplished in our lives, we can never enter into the second phase. The first phase of God’s kingdom is the kingdom of grace that Jesus established by dying on the cross. The second phase of God’s kingdom will be the kingdom of glory that will be established when He comes again.

Jesus’ sermon is a summary of the Bible, and like the Ten Commandments or the Lord’s Prayer, it is of universal application. It appeals and applies to all races and to all ages.

One time in India, there was a large crowd which had gathered at a railway station to hear Mahatma Ghandi speak. After greeting the people, he opened a New Testament and read to them the beatitudes and then he said, “This is my message to you. Act upon it.” That was all the speech he made on that occasion, but that was enough.

The eight beatitudes constitute a ladder, an advancing road of Christian experience. They contain natural and logical steps in spiritual growth and development that take us into the kingdom of God. The word beatitude comes from a Latin word which means blessed or happy. So the beatitude ladder is a blessed ladder or happy experience. It is similar or synonymous with the words consecrated, hallowed, happy, sacred, or holy. Only a consecrated, holy people can enter the kingdom of heaven. And the journey must be made by way of the beatitude ladder. You start on the first rung, and you advance up the road. Each beatitude takes you to an advanced step. It is called the way of holiness in the Bible and it leads eventually to Zion (Isaiah 35:8). The result is that those who travel this ladder will obtain joy and gladness, they will return to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads, and sorrow and sighing will flee away (Isaiah 35:10).

This way, however, as Jesus pointed out, is a narrow way. In fact, Jesus said that there will be few people in this world who find it. The great majority of the world will go down a broad way which leads to destruction. Jesus said that the way that leads to life is a narrow way, and only a few compared to the world population will find it (Matthew 7:14).

It is a narrow way that leads to eternal life and Jesus points out exactly what that way is. He said that it is so narrow that it excludes all evil and all evildoers. It is a path, a narrow way for the righteous or the just and it has ever increasing illumination until those who walk in it reach the perfect day of spiritual light and experience.

Blessed is a word that was used by Jesus, not to refer alone to joy and happiness, but to that higher joy which is the result of divine favor. What Jesus came to give to us is infinitely greater and better than that which we had been seeking for ourselves.

One of the first things that we notice when we read the beatitudes in Matthew 5, is that true happiness is the result of a holy character rather than that of outward conditions or circumstances. Remember the word translated “blessed” could be translated “happy.” It says in Matthew 5:2, “Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’ ” God has always had a special regard for the poor in this world. Notice what the mother of Jesus, the virgin Mary said in Luke 1:46–48: “ ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant.’ ”

The mother of Jesus and also his earthly father were poor people. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Why is that? Until we recognize our need, we will never come to the Lord for help. In the same song of Mary, in Luke 1:52 and 53, she said, “He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty.”

Why has He “sent away” the rich “empty”? Because they didn’t feel a need of anything. One of the first requirements to be saved is that you need to feel your need of salvation. As long as you are proud and self-sufficient, there is not very much that God can do for you. But when you feel your need and ask for His help, the Holy Spirit will come into your life and start to recreate within you a new heart and a new spirit.

In the second beatitude Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn” (Matthew 5:4). How can you be happy if you are mourning?

Notice what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 7:8, 9: “… even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance.” Repentance occurs when you are sorry enough for your sin to turn away from it. This is misunderstood today. If you are not sorry enough for your sins to quit them, you have not really repented of them.

Paul says, “… I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing.” He continues in verse 10: “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”

What is the difference? The people in this world are sorry when they get caught in their sins, but godly sorrow occurs when you are sorry because you have committed the sin, because you realize that you have done something against your heavenly Father and you have done something that caused Jesus Christ to go to the cross. The Bible says that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. When you understand the consequence of sin and the price that Jesus Christ paid for them, you will never be able to enjoy sin again. You will then have godly sorrow for sin. You will not want to have anything to do with it. You will not just be sorry that you got caught.

“For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourself to be clear in this matter (verse 11).” There are many people today who have never been sorry for their sins. They have never really mourned for their sins or repented for their sins, and yet, they somehow think they are going to the kingdom of heaven.

However, this is a second step in the plan of salvation. If you are going to walk up the narrow road, not only must you feel your need, but you must also come to the place where you mourn for and repent of your sins. But that is not enough; there’s something that comes after that. In the third beatitude Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).

Now the meek do not inherit the earth as it is today. We live in a world that is controlled by force. The strongest become the richest and the most powerful. But the time is coming when the proud will not be living in the world anymore. Notice what it says in Malachi 4:1: “ ‘Behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,’ says the Lord of hosts.”

The day is coming when there will not be any proud people living in the world. The Bible says that the meek people will inherit the earth. A meek person is one who is gentle and humble. The time is coming when the only people on the face of the earth will be the meek—the gentle and humble.

Jesus does not ask of us anything that He has not demonstrated in His own life. Concerning Himself, He said in Matthew 11:28–30, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Jesus wants to deliver you from all your pride, from all your self-importance. He wants to help you become a meek person. Through His Holy Spirit He wants to recreate within you a new heart and a new spirit so that you will be gentle, meek, humble. Then you will be in a spiritual condition, where, when the world is made again, when the kingdom of glory is set up, you will be one who can inhabit the earth.

Then He says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matthew 5:6). Do you hunger and thirst for righteousness? The apostle John talks about how righteousness defines and demonstrates which people are really children of God and which people are children of the devil. It is not your profession that makes the determination; it’s the life you live. Notice what he says in I John 3:4–10: “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

“Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

“In this [or by this] the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.”

However wicked you may have been, if you would like to be righteous, and if you say, “Lord, I am hungering and thirsting for righteousness,” the Lord says, “Your desire is going to be filled. You are going to be satisfied.”

If you are hungering and thirsting for righteousness, if you realize that you are a wicked person but you do not want to be that way, you need to be recreated and born again. The Lord Jesus promises that, if you hunger and thirst for righteousness, your hunger and thirst will be satisfied.

Jesus then said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7), James says in James 2:13 that there will be no mercy for the person that does not show mercy. Are you a merciful person? That is the next step in the road that leads to heaven. These beatitudes take you up a narrow road that leads to the kingdom of heaven. Are you willing to walk that road? If you are willing to walk that narrow road, when Jesus comes back, you will wind up in the kingdom of heaven. If that is what you want, if that is what you choose, if you act accordingly, that will be your destiny.

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

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

Living by the Word

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“Now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:21–23

The righteousness of God is that which every man is to seek first of all. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness.” Matthew 6:33. And in the way of righteousness there is life. It is impossible to separate the life of God from the righteousness of God. As certainly as you have the righteousness of God, so certainly you have the life of God.

And “the righteousness of God is made known at this time, at this very moment, even while you read. At this very moment, then, the righteousness of God is manifested “unto all, and upon all them that believe” (Romans 3:22). Do you believe in Jesus Christ now, at this moment? Do you? If you say, Yes, then “now,” at this very moment, the righteousness of God is made known to you and upon you. Do you believe it? The word of God says that it is; do you say that it is? And if you do not say that it is, then do you believe the Word? When the Lord says plainly to you that His righteousness is now manifested unto you and upon you, and you do not say that it is now manifested unto you and upon you, then do you really believe the Lord? When He plainly says a thing to you, and you will not say that that thing is true to you, then do you really believe Him?

The Lord wants you to say that what He says is so; that it is so now, at this moment; and that it is so to you and in you. “A new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you” (I John 2:8). When the Lord says a thing, it is true, even though nobody in the world ever believes it. It would be true in Him, but not in them. But He wants it to be true in you as well as in Himself. And when you acknowledge that what He says is true to you now, at this moment, then that thing is true in Him and in you. This is believing God. It is believing His word. This is having His word abiding in you. And, “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” John 15:7.

Many people are ready to admit, in a general way, that what the Lord says is so; they will admit that it may be so to other people; but that it is so to themselves, just now, they will not say. Such people do not really know that the word of God is true. “Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God” (Romans 14:22). If you do not have faith for yourself, faith of your own, you do not have faith at all. If you do not believe the word of the Lord as being true to you personally and now, you do not believe it at all; for as you are not living yesterday nor tomorrow, but just now … so if you do not believe now, you do not believe at all. Therefore the word of God is that now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation; and, “Now the righteousness of God … is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.” Romans 3:21, 22.

Do you believe in Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour now? You can answer that in one moment; you know that you do. Then this moment thank the Lord that His righteousness is manifested unto you and upon you. He not only says it, but He gives you witnesses to the fact—it is witnessed by the law and the prophets. That law which you have transgressed, that law that has shown you guilty before God, that very law now, in view of the manifestation of the righteousness of God, witnesses that you have a just claim to this righteousness, and that you are thereby justified through the faith of Jesus Christ. The prophets likewise witness to this blessed fact. “The moment the sinner believes in Christ, he stands in the sight of God uncondemned; for the righteousness of Christ is his; Christ’s perfect obedience is imputed to him.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 430. Is not this, then, sufficient to cause you to say now, at this moment, if never before, that “now the righteousness of God is manifested” unto you and upon you who now do believe in Jesus?

“Being justified freely by His grace through the temptation that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.” Romans 3:24, 25. Would you rather have the righteousness of God now than to have your sins? You say, Yes. Very good. God has now set forth Christ Jesus “to declare” to you “His righteousness for the remission of sin that are past” (Romans 3:25). Will you let the sins go now, this moment; and take the righteousness which He is set forth purposely to give, and which He now, at this moment, freely gives? “Being justified freely.” “Being” is present tense. “Was” is past; “shall be” is future; but “being” is present. Therefore the Lord says to you and of you who believe in Jesus, “Being [now, at this moment] justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus … through the forbearance of God.” Romans 3:24, 25.

But the Lord does not drop the subject yet; He emphasizes the present power and blessing of this infinite fact. “To declare, I say, at this time His righteousness.” O poor, trembling, doubting soul, is not this assurance enough that now, at this moment, the righteousness of God is yours? that now you are being justified freely by His grace? that now, “at this time,” righteousness is declared to you for the remission of all your sins that are past?

Is not this enough? It is enough to satisfy the Lord; for He says, “To declare, I say, at this time, His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.” Romans 3:26. Then as it is all-sufficient to satisfy the Lord, is it not enough to satisfy you? Will you now take the fullness of this blessed “gift of righteousness,” which is life, so that the Lord, by seeing the fruit of the travail of his soul, shall be satisfied again, and so, by your rejoicing, be doubly satisfied? This is all He asks of you. For “to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Romans 4:5.

Here is the word of God, the word of righteousness, the word of life, to you “now,” “at this time.” Will you be made righteous by it now? Will you live by it now? This is justification by faith. This is righteousness by faith. It is the simplest thing in the world. It is simply whether the word of God shall be true in you now or not. God spoke to Abraham, “Tell the stars, if thou be able to number them … So shall thy seed be.” Genesis 15:5. And “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Galatians 3:6. “Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Our Lord Jesus from the dead; Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 4:23–5:1.

“Now,” “at this time,” it is true; it is true in Him. Now, at this time let it be true in you.

Will you, or Will You Not?

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“And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if it is Your will, remove this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.’ ” Luke 22:41, 42

I would like to explore the word will, and the place of that word in our lives as Christians. Though it is a small word, just four letters, upon that word hinges eternal life and eternal death.

The will is that faculty of the mind by which we determine either to do or forbear an action; the faculty which is exercised in deciding, among two or more objects, which we shall embrace or pursue. The will is directed or influenced by the judgment. The understanding or reason compares different objects, which operate as motives; the judgment determines which is preferable, and the will decides which to pursue. The will is based on judgment through the understanding or reason. Interesting to note, in the Bible, Jesus invites us, “Come let us reason together (Isaiah 1:18).” In other words, we reason with respect to the value or importance of things; we then judge which is to be preferred; and we will take the most valuable. These are but different operations of the mind, soul, or intellectual part of man. Great disputes have existed respecting the freedom of the will. Will is often quite a different thing from desire.

Will is a determination, a choice, a right intention, command (maybe of our mind over our choices?), based on judgment, understanding, reason, and is not based on desire, feeling, emotion.

It is crucial to consider the will because it is at the very core of whether or not we are truly followers of Christ. We need no discussion on the fact that every one of us is a sinner or that we have a fallen nature with inherited and cultivated tendencies to evil. So how can it be that the following statement be true? “There is no excuse for sin.” Do you believe that? Or do you have merely an intellectual assent to the words? If you truly believe it, can you honestly, before God, say you are living victoriously? “There is no excuse for sin. … When at the last great day sinners are confronted with their sins, and are asked, ‘Why did you transgress?’ every mouth will be stopped. The sinful will stand speechless before God.” The Review and Herald, September 24, 1901. With a fallen nature, with an innate tendency to sin, how can it be said, “There is no excuse for sin”?

The answer has to do with the power of the will. Recall that many of the definitions for the word will are words of power, of strength, of determination, of solid choice. So far though we have looked at the word will basically from a worldly perspective. Let us hear the thoughts of God concerning this word. “The will [or from our dictionary definition we could use words such as determination, choice, command-of the mind] is the governing power in the nature of man, bringing all the other faculties under its sway. The will is not the taste or the inclination, but it is the deciding power, which works in the children of men unto obedience to God, or unto disobedience.

“Every human being possessed of reason has power to choose the right. In every experience of life God’s word to us is, ‘Choose you this day whom ye will serve’ (Joshua 24:15). Everyone may place his will on the side of the will of God, may choose to obey Him, and by thus linking himself with divine agencies, he may stand where nothing can force him to do evil.” Child Guidance, 209. [Emphasis added.]

Inspiration continues to say, “The power of the will is not valued as it should be. Let the will be kept awake and rightly directed, and it will impart energy to the whole being.” The Ministry of Healing, 246.

God is so good. “God has revealed all that is necessary for our salvation.” Counsels on Health, 371. Are you not deeply grateful for His instruction? We can resist God’s words of life and lose out on the rich blessings God gives us through His words of inspiration, or we can gratefully accept them and live by them. We can will to obey.

God has given each individual the power of will. So why is it that we struggle with sin, over and over controlled by some besetting problem? God tells us why, and it has to do with the will.

“Many are inquiring, ‘How am I to make the surrender of myself to God?’ You desire to give yourself to Him, but you are weak in moral power, in slavery to doubt, and controlled by the habits of your life of sin. Your promises and resolutions are like ropes of sand. You cannot control your thoughts, your impulses, your affections. The knowledge of your broken promises and forfeited pledges weakens your confidence in your own sincerity, and causes you to feel that God cannot accept you; but you need not despair. What you need to understand is the true force of the will. This is the governing power in the nature of man, the power of decision, or of choice. Everything depends on the right action of the will. The power of choice God has given to men; it is theirs to exercise. You cannot change your heart, you cannot of yourself give to God its affections; but you can choose to serve Him. You can give Him your will; He will then work in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). Thus your whole nature will be brought under the control of the Spirit of Christ; your affections will be centered upon Him, your thoughts will be in harmony with Him.

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

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

There are many examples given in God’s holy word of people who lived out the right exercise of the will. Of Joseph we read, “In the crisis of his life, when making that terrible journey from his childhood home in Canaan to the bondage which awaited him in Egypt, looking for the last time on the hills that hid the tents of his kindred, Joseph remembered his father’s God. He remembered the lessons of his childhood, and his soul thrilled with the resolve [will] to prove himself true—ever to act as became a subject of the King of heaven.

“… Joseph was steadfast.” Education, 52, 53.

We read of Daniel that he was “unwavering in allegiance to God, unyielding in the mastery of himself.” Ibid., 55.

In speaking of Elisha it is said, “When he was first summoned, his resolution had been tested.” Ibid., 59.

And the forerunner of Christ, John the Baptist though not exempt from temptation overcame because, “he had developed strength and decision of character.” The Desire of Ages, 102.

And Paul, of whom Inspiration declares, he was “except [for] Him who spoke as never man spake, the most illustrious teacher that this world has known.” Education, 51. Paul, the great apostle declared, “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection.” I Corinthians 9:27.

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

Directly opposite to these stellar and shining examples is that of Judas, possibly, aside from Lucifer, the most despised name in all history. Of him we read, “While he accepted the position of a minister of Christ, he did not bring himself under the divine molding.” The Desire of Ages, 717. Judas did not put his will on the side of Christ; and we know the sad and dire end he met, and he has yet two more fearful meetings with the Lord and Saviour Whom he rejected.

This brings us to the most important choice ever to be made in this life. The Desire of Ages, 324 states it this way: “We must inevitably be under the control of the one or the other of the two great powers that are contending for the supremacy of the world. It is not necessary for us deliberately to choose the service of the kingdom of darkness in order to come under its dominion. We have only to neglect to ally ourselves with the kingdom of light.” So what must we will? “God has given us the power of choice; it is ours to exercise. We cannot change our hearts, we cannot control our thoughts, our impulses, our affections. We cannot make ourselves pure, fit for God’s service. But we can choose to serve God, we can give Him our will; then He will work in us to will and to do according to His good pleasure. Thus our whole nature will be brought under the control of Christ.

“Through the right exercise of the will, an entire change may be made in the life. By yielding up the will to Christ, we ally ourselves with divine power. We receive strength from above to hold us steadfast. A pure and noble life, a life of victory over appetite and lust, is possible to everyone who will unite his weak, wavering human will to the omnipotent, unwavering will of God.” The Ministry of Healing, 176. [Emphasis author’s.]

The power of the will is applicable to every moment of life. We read it earlier: “In every experience of life God’s word to us is, ‘Choose you this day whom ye will serve.’ Joshua 24:15. Everyone may place his will on the side of the will of God, may choose to obey Him, and by thus linking himself with divine agencies, he may stand where nothing can force him to do evil.” Child Guidance, 209.

Let’s turn now to a few examples of the power of the will.

From Inspiration we read: “The mind and nerves gain tone and strength by the exercise of the will. The power of the will in many cases will prove a potent soother of the nerves.” The Adventist Home, 252.

“The power of the will can resist impressions of the mind.” Ibid., 259.

“Every human being possessed of reason has power to choose the right. In every experience of life God’s word to us is, ‘Choose you this day whom ye will serve’ (Joshua 24:15). Everyone may place his will on the side of the will of God, may choose to obey Him, and by thus linking himself with divine agencies, he may stand where nothing can force him to do evil. In every youth, every child, lies the power, by the help of God, to form a character of integrity and to live a life of usefulness.” Child Guidance, 209.

“Bring to your aid the power of the will, which will resist cold and will give energy to the nervous system.” Ibid., 339. This statement refers to the necessity to be in the open air every day in active exercise.

“The necessity for the men of this generation to call to their aid the power of the will, strengthened by the grace of God, in order to withstand the temptations of Satan, and resist the least indulgence of perverted appetite, is far greater than it was several generations ago.” Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 37.

“The only safe course is to touch not, taste not, handle not, tea, coffee, wines, tobacco, opium, and alcoholic drinks. The necessity for the men of this generation to call to their aid the power of the will strengthened by the grace of God, in order to withstand the temptations of Satan and resist the least indulgence of perverted appetite, is twice as great as it was several generations ago.” Counsels on Health, 125.

“The power of the will is not valued as it should be. Let the will be kept awake and rightly directed, and it will impart energy to the whole being, and will be a wonderful aid in the maintenance of health. It is a power also in dealing with disease. Exercised in the right direction, it would control the imagination and be a potent means of resisting and overcoming disease of both mind and body. By the exercise of the will power in placing themselves in right relation to life, patients can do much to co-operate with the physician’s efforts for their recovery.” The Ministry of Healing, 246.

“The influence of the mind on the body, as well as of the body on the mind, should be emphasized. The electric power of the brain, promoted by mental activity, vitalizes the whole system, and is thus an invaluable aid in resisting disease. This should be made plain. The power of the will and the importance of self-control, both in the preservation and in the recovery of health, the depressing and even ruinous effect of anger, discontent, selfishness, or impurity, and, on the other hand, the marvelous life-giving power to be found in cheerfulness, unselfishness, gratitude, should also be shown.

“There is a physiological truth—truth that we need to consider—in the Scripture, ‘A merry [rejoicing] heart doeth good like a medicine’ (Proverbs 17:22).

“ ‘Let thine heart keep My commandments,’ God says; ‘for length of days, and years of life, and peace, shall they add to thee.’ ‘They are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.’ ‘Pleasant words’ the Scriptures declare to be not only ‘sweet to the soul,’ but ‘health to the bones’ (Proverbs 3:1, 2, margin; 4:22; 16:24).” Education, 197.

“Then Jesus said to them, ‘That ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (He said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house’ (Luke 5:24). What, take up his bed with his palsied arms! What, get upon his feet with his palsied limbs! What did he do? Why, he just did as he was bidden. He did what the Lord told him to. The power of the will was set to move his palsied limbs and arms, and they responded, when they had not responded for a long time. This manifestation showed before the people that there was One in their midst that could not only forgive sins but that could heal the sick.” Faith and Works, 67, 68. If we had time to study this we would find that the power of the lame man’s will grasped by faith both the forgiveness of his sins and the ability to walk again.

“They should exercise the power of the will, rise above their aches and debility, engage in useful employment, and forget that they have aching backs, sides, lungs, and heads. Neglecting to exercise the entire body, or a portion of it, will bring on morbid conditions.” Medical Ministry, 105.

“The power of the will must be asserted; aversion to active exercise and the dread of all responsibility must be conquered.” Mind, Character and Personality, vol. 2, 604.

When the power of the will is asserted, it will:

  • be a soother of the nerves
  • resist impressions of the mind
  • link us with divine agencies
  • make us stand where nothing can force us to do evil
  • give us power to form a character of integrity
  • give a life of usefulness
  • resist cold
  • give energy to the nervous system
  • withstand the temptations of Satan
  • resist indulgence of perverted appetite
  • impart energy to the whole being
  • be a wonderful aid in the maintenance of health
  • be a power in dealing with disease
  • control the imagination
  • be a potent means of resisting and overcoming disease of both mind and body
  • co-operate in recovery from illness and disease
  • vitalize the whole system
  • be a valuable aid in resisting disease
  • be involved in the preservation and recovery of health
  • overcome the depressing and even ruinous effect of anger, discontent, selfishness, or impurity
  • grasp God’s promise of forgiveness of sin
  • help us rise above aches and debility
  • help us engage in useful employment
  • help us forget aching backs, sides, lungs, and heads
  • aid in the prevention of morbid conditions
  • aid in overcoming aversion to active exercise
  • help in conquering the dread of responsibility
  • govern the nature of man
  • affect decisions, of choice
  • depend on the right action of the will
  • overcome listless, dreamy condition of mind
  • aid us in arousing to action
  • aid in the severe and close battle to overcome wrong habits, and sinful indulgences
  • place in alignment with the will of God

As we read earlier, “Every human being possessed of reason has power to choose the right. In every experience of life God’s word to us is, ‘Choose you this day whom ye will serve’ (Joshua 24:15). Everyone may place his will on the side of the will of God, may choose to obey Him, and by thus linking himself with divine agencies, he may stand where nothing can force him to do evil.” Child Guidance, 209.

Today, let us join with the illustrious men of old, with Joseph, with Moses, with Paul, with the forerunner of Christ, and with Christ Himself, and “Choose you this day whom ye will serve. … As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15.

Will You, or Will you Not?

Brenda Douay is a staff member at Steps to Life. She may be contacted by email at: brendadouay@stepstolife.org.

The Sermon of John the Baptist

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In the closing verses of the third chapter of the book of John, we are given a wonderfully succinct and sublime sermon by John the Baptist.

Jesus and His disciples were in Judea, the territory of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. John, we are told in verse 23, was in Aenon, near Salim, which was about 50 miles north of Jerusalem in Decapolis.

Verse 25 explains that a dispute had arisen between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification.

Inspiration tells us that “John proclaimed the coming of the Messiah, and called the people to repentance. As a symbol of cleansing from sin, he baptized them in the waters of the Jordan. Thus by a significant object lesson he declared that those who claimed to be the chosen people of God were defiled by sin, and that without purification of heart and life they could have no part in the Messiah’s kingdom.” The Desire of Ages, 104.

Not surprisingly, the Jewish leaders were shaken and upset by this lesson. These leaders “had led the people to entertain a high opinion of their piety.” Ibid., 105. By submitting to baptism, they were acknowledging that they had need of cleansing from sin. But to which baptism should they submit? That of John? Or that of Jesus?

Then jealousy arose in the hearts of some of John’s disciples, “and they came to John and said to him, ‘Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him’ (John 3:26)! ” John’s response was probably not what his disciples expected. Rather than support their jealous assertions, he proceeded to provide one of the most succinct statements of the gospel contained in sacred writ.

He began his response by declaring man’s dependence on God, though he stated it in different words: “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven” (verse 27). Paul may have been mindful of this concept when he wrote to Timothy, “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.” I Timothy 6:7.

John then reaffirmed that he was not the Christ but that he had been sent before Him. Using the illustration of the best man at a wedding, he explains that the real joy in a wedding belongs to the groom.

“John represented himself as the friend who acted as a messenger between the betrothed parties, preparing the way for the marriage. When the bridegroom had received his bride, the mission of the friend was fulfilled. He rejoiced in the happiness of those whose union he had promoted. So John had been called to direct the people to Jesus, and it was his joy to witness the success of the Saviour’s work. He said, ‘This my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease’ (John 3:29, 30).” The Desire of Ages, 179.

Then in the following five verses, John delivers a truly sublime statement of the truth.

“He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:31–36).

Here John begins with the statement that Christ came from heaven and is therefore “above all.” The word above occurs three times in verse 31. The first use, describing Christ as coming “from above,” uses the Greek word that means “from the beginning,” or first. John is asserting that Christ is the alpha. He has existed from the beginning and is therefore before all things. The impact of his assertion is clearly evident in Greek, but not so dynamic in English.

The second two occurrences of above in verse 31 are the same Greek word, meaning superimposed on top of. John contrasts that exalted position with “he who is of the earth,” no doubt referring to the worldliness of the Scribes and the Pharisees.

Then John asserts, in a somewhat oblique way, that Jesus came from heaven, though he was careful to make this assertion in a way that would not allow the Scribes and the Pharisees to accuse him of blasphemy. His soliloquy is phrased wisely. Never does he claim that Jesus, the carpenter from Nazareth, is the Christ. Rather he states acceptable truths about the Christ that cannot be controverted.

Who could argue with the statement, “He who comes from heaven is above all”? But note that John did not make the dogmatic statement that Jesus came from heaven. Only those being led by the Spirit would have the insight to understand that this statement applied to Jesus, while those who wanted to doubt that Jesus was the Messiah could continue to cling to that error just as the Jews continue to do to this day.

After stating this truism, John indeed makes statements that apply directly to the Christ and therefore to Jesus. Although he does not identify Him specifically, his listeners would have to be willfully blind to fail to recognize that he was speaking of Jesus.

He alludes to their willful blindness in his next statement: “no one receives His testimony.” Then John acknowledges that he has indeed accepted the prophecies pointing to Jesus and that the Holy Spirit has certified that these prophecies have been fulfilled in Jesus.

Again, without directly stating that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, John presents another irrefutable truth: “The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.” Had John’s listeners accepted that Jesus was the Christ and therefore the Son of God, an entirely different chapter of church history would have unfolded here, but the stiff-necked Jews continued to hold tenaciously to their preconceived notion of a conquering redeemer.

John then concludes his remarkable sermon with a truth that is almost as powerful as that given by Jesus Himself to Nicodemus earlier in the chapter. “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

The power of this statement is somewhat obscured in English, for two different Greek words are translated into the same English word. In translation from Greek to English, “He who believes” and “he who does not believe” seem simply to be two opposing statements. However, in the original language, the words “believe” and “believes” are not two forms of the same word, but are rather two entirely different words.

The first means “to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), that is, credit; by implication to entrust (especially one’s spiritual wellbeing to Christ): believe; commit (to trust)” (Strong’s Concordance). The second occurrence could be translated “disobeys.” Thus this revelation from John the Baptist could perhaps be more clearly stated, “He who entrusts his spiritual wellbeing to Christ has eternal life; and he who disobeys Christ will suffer the wrath of God.”

These are the last recorded words of John the Baptist, and powerful words they are. Try as we might, we cannot escape the fact that being fit to receive the gift of eternal life requires obedience to God’s word, a fact clearly understood by the Baptist and expressed in his last recorded words.

All quotes NKJV unless otherwise noted.

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

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No Purchasing Power

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Revelation 13 is a chapter we need to understand thoroughly because some day we are going to have to explain these verses in courts and in legislatures. We must be able to explain what we believe and why we believe it.

Revelation 13:1–10 talks about a beast that comes out of the sea. There are 23 definitive descriptions of the beast power to help understand who it is and to know how they apply.

Revelation 13:11–17 talks about another beast that comes up later. I have found 17 definitive statements that describe this beast, which is the United States.

We need to study these things and pray that the Lord will help us to be ready for what is going to happen, because it is going to happen suddenly and at an unexpected time.

Revelation 13:15 says, “He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast …” To understand that, you need to know what the image of the beast is. “… the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.” In verse 16, it says, “He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads.”

This beast power, this government, is going to cause everybody to receive that mark. Then in verse 17 it says, “No one may buy or sell except one who has the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of the name.” This will lead up to the death decree, in verse 15, which is not the first thing but the last thing.

When I was a child, we lived in a completely different world from today. When you wanted to pay somebody, you either gave them cash or a check. If you couldn’t pay with cash or a check, then you went to a bank and mortgaged something to obtain a loan. We thought at that time that we understood a little bit about what Revelation 13:17 meant regarding buying and selling.

Those who were alive in the 1940s during World War II experienced a foretaste of what will be experienced in the near future when there are restrictions on buying and selling. My father saw similar restrictions enforced by this country in the 1940s with the rationing system. You could not buy gasoline, oil, tires, shoes, sugar, meat, coffee, and a host of other consumer products without ration stamps procured from the Federal government. Conversely, you could not sell without permission from the same government. Prices were usually fixed for both buyers and sellers. There were very stiff penalties for violators, including fines and jail time. However, a large black market flourished illegally, just as it did during Prohibition in the 1920s. We assumed that restrictions on trade would be something similar. But today we are living in a completely different age.

We have been told that we need to prepare for that time. Ellen White wrote in 1903: “The work of the people of God is to prepare for the events of the future, which will soon come upon them with blinding force.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 142. In the future there is going to be a national Sunday law.

Ellen White also said that, “We have nothing to fear for the future except as we forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 31. The problem is that most Adventists today hardly even know what happened in the past; so how would they forget something they never knew?

In the past, there have been efforts to develop and enact a national Sunday law in the United States, but they have never succeeded. One of the reasons that the effort failed in 1891 was that A. T. Jones, an Adventist minister, went to the United States Congress and explained to them the consequences of doing such a thing, and the law was not passed.

However, even though our nation has never passed a national Sunday law, the states themselves have passed many state Sunday laws.

Let’s review a bit of what has happened in the past with Sunday laws in this country. This is not an extensive or exhaustive account. Events that occurred in the late 1880s in Tennessee were recorded in The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, 471–497. It was in regard to what happened in Tennessee that Ellen White wrote a very lengthy testimony about how we should relate to Sunday laws. This is important for Seventh-day Adventists to know so that when these laws are pushed again we do not take extremes either way.

In Tennessee, one hundred twenty Seventh-day Adventists were arrested, tried, convicted, fined, and imprisoned within a very short time for breaking the Sunday law. That was not a national Sunday law but a Tennessee Sunday law. Over twenty-five hundred dollars were paid in fines. Eighty-seven were put into prison for approximately five years. Twelve were put on a road-chain gang to repair roads, bridges, and break stones. What did they do? What had they done wrong? One of these men had repaired the screen door of his house on Sunday. One man had dug a mess of potatoes from his garden for his family’s meal on Sunday. Another had fixed his shoes, and in the process of fixing his shoes, he made a noise with a hammer, and a neighbor heard it and turned him in.

Another person was turned in by his neighbor after being spotted working in his cornfield on Sunday. The neighbor said he watched him work, then he went off to church, but he couldn’t concentrate on the sermon because he kept thinking how wrong that law-breaker was to work on “his holy day.” So this mental disturbance was sufficient enough to sustain a conviction in court and get the Seventh-day Adventist put in jail. A widow was convicted for returning a borrowed wagon with a load of kindling wood as payment for its use. This is just a sampling of what happened to the Adventists in the 1880s.

Actually, in the 1600s, before the United States became a nation, people were put to death for violating religious laws in this country. In Massachusetts, during the spring and summer of 1692, nineteen persons were hanged. One was killed by being pressed to death and sixty-six were tortured until they confessed. One hundred fifty were imprisoned and two hundred were deemed suspicious and worthy of arrest.

The Review and Herald reported a prominent churchman in the 1880s who said, “If you will look in Noah Webster’s dictionary, you will find the word ‘Sunday’ is defined as the Christian sabbath. It is true that before Christ the Jewish people kept the seventh day. However since Christ, the lines of longitude and latitude have been such that it is impossible to keep it. And furthermore, the custom of this country makes it obligatory upon us to observe Sunday sacredly. But these miserable Adventists come around in the face of all this, and tell us that we must keep the old Jewish Sabbath. They are a set of abominable traitors who are trying to produce dissention in our land and oppose the laws of our country. The place for every one of them is in our state prisons. And what we want is a law that will put them there. And thank God the time is not far distant when we will have it.”

In 1891 Sunday keepers thought they could get the law passed and would have if A.T. Jones had not protested it in Congress, resulting in the majority in the United States Congress voting it down. In 1920, in Virginia, on Tangier Island in Chesapeake Bay, a young man by the name of Roland Parks was shot with a revolver by the local constable because he refused to go to church on Sunday morning or to remain indoors. He was sitting outside on a bench in front of the town store, in violation of the local Sunday laws.

What has happened in the past on a state level is going to happen in the future on the national level. Ellen White wrote about this national Sunday law in Testimonies, vol. 5, 451, and lists a whole series of things that are going to happen when it is passed. She says it will be time when the marvelous working of Satan will come to pass.

She says our people are going to be plunged into those scenes of distress and affliction described in the prophecies and that national apostasy will bring about national ruin. When that happens we can know that it is almost time for the angel of mercy to take flight, never to return. What does that mean? That means that probation closes. Ellen White said these things would come upon us with “blinding force.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 4, 74. We need to be studying and asking the Lord to teach us step by step what to do and when to do it. The time will come when we will have to flee the big cities.

Only the Lord knows where each one of us will be when Jesus comes. Some will be in prison or in a cave, but be sure that life will not be the same as we are experiencing at this present time. Adventists believe and have taught that because of what is coming on the world we must get out of the cities, especially the big cities. Preparation must be made for these difficult times that are ahead of us.

Ellen White wrote in 1902: “The time is not far distant when every city will be visited by the plagues of God.” Ibid., vol. 17, 357. In another place she wrote: “The larger the city, the greater will be the oppression.” Ibid., vol. 19, 337.

Although the Pen of Inspiration states that the United States will lead out in this oppression, the very same crisis regarding buying and selling will eventually be a worldwide event. God’s people will be affected at the time, regardless of where they are when this happens, and “every city will be visited by the plagues of God.”

There are already plagues of God in the earth, but when I read these things and read that Ellen White says that in the last days, God is going to walk through the earth and spoil the whole land, I ask myself, What does that mean? We are yet to find out!

“Those who choose to remain in the cities, surrounded by the houses of unbelievers, must share in the disasters that will come upon them.” Ibid., vol. 17, 350. We’ve been told before it happens so that we can think through where we live and what we are doing, and consider how we will be affected by what’s going to happen.

I don’t fully understand what her statement means, but I do know that if I am there, surrounded by unbelievers, I will be sharing in the disasters that come upon them from the plagues that are coming on the cities.

Now here is what the Lord, Who knows everything, has told us. He knows what the devil is thinking and all of his devious plans and has revealed them through His prophet. “Satan says …

“ ‘For fear of wanting food and clothing they will join with the world in transgressing God’s law.’ ” Prophets and Kings, 183, 184.

They transgress God’s law for fear of want of food and clothing because they will not be able to buy and sell unless they compromise their faith. The devil says, “The earth will be wholly under my dominion.” Ibid. “Then the sabbath, [the false Sabbath] which I (the devil) have set up shall be enforced by laws the most severe and exacting. Those who disregard them [these severe and exacting laws] shall be driven out from the cities and villages, and made to suffer hunger and privation.” Maranatha, 163.

That time is coming. We do not know when or how.

When I studied these subjects many years ago, I thought, like many Adventists, that it was time to find an isolated place. However, further study into this subject revealed that there is a time to do that, but right now we need to get the message to the world. We have been told we should scorn concealment.

But that time is coming and we have to trust the Lord that He will show us at the right time when to flee. We need to go to the Lord and ask for the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us.

Ellen White saw in vision the time of trouble. She said, “During the night a very impressive scene passed before me. There seemed to be great confusion and the conflict of armies. A messenger from the Lord stood before me, and said, ‘Call your household. I will lead you; follow me.’ He led me down a dark passage, through a forest, then through the clefts of mountains, and said, ‘Here you are safe.’ There were others who had been led to this retreat. The heavenly messenger said. ‘The time of trouble has come as a thief in the night, as the Lord warned you it would come.’ ” Ibid., 270.

The Lord knows when we will be driven from our homes. If we are staying close to Jesus, He can send an angel to tell us ahead of time that it is time to get ready to go. There is no way you can surprise the Lord. If you are under His direction, the Lord can direct you when it is time to leave your home, when it is time to flee to the mountains, or similar place of safety.

In one place Ellen White says, “It is impossible to give any idea of the experience of the people of God who shall be alive upon the earth when celestial glory and a repetition of the persecutions of the past are blended.” Ibid., 205. Then she says, “By means of the angels there will be constant communication between heaven and earth [for God’s people].” Ibid.

When these prophecies in Revelation 13 are fulfilled, the most important preparation is, “Have you received the Holy Spirit? Are you being directed and guided by the heavenly agencies?”

Ellen White said: “I was shown that it is the will of God that the saints should cut loose from every encumbrance before the time of trouble comes, and make a covenant with God through sacrifice. If they have their property on the altar and earnestly inquire of God for duty, He will teach them when to dispose of these things. Then they will be free in the time of trouble and have no clogs to weigh them down.” Early Writings, 56, 57.

As we draw closer to the end, these things are going to come on us with blinding force. But, nothing comes on the Lord with blinding force. There is no such thing as surprising the Lord. Thus the most important thing is for each one of us to be guided by the heavenly agencies and to be in tune with the Lord and not just going our own way. For that to happen, we need churches. We need the people of God’s church to be praying day by day that we might be led and guided by His Holy Spirit.

We know that our work right now is to get the Three Angels’ Messages to all the world and to help people to get ready in character for Jesus to come. But the time will come when it will be time to do something different. Jesus said we do not know when the time is but He does know and will not be surprised when normality as we know it breaks apart. We need to be people of prayer, continually asking for direction. If our lives are committed to the Lord, and we are seeking for the Holy Spirit to direct and guide us, the angels know exactly what we need to do and will lead us. We have been promised His Holy Spirit so we can face the future without terror.

There are many peopIe who are fearful and cannot figure out what is happening in this world. The economy is collapsing, there is a moral decline, and they do not feel safe anymore. Some worldly people are moving out to the mountains for safety, believing that a terrible catastrophe is going to happen in the United States. There are some worldly people who are hoarding gold and silver and stashing food and water in preparation for their survival.

However, the most important thing is to be guided by the Holy Spirit. The Lord has promised us in Luke 11:13 that if you ask, He has promised to send you the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes, the next thing is, am I going to receive whatever rebuke or reproof or direction He gives me? If I receive that, then the Holy Spirit will continue to guide me.

Guidance from the Holy Spirit is what we need to be able to have the assurance that we will be able to face the future without terror. People that don’t even know the Three Angels’ Messages are terrified today by what’s going on in the world. This is not just in the United States. There is no need for fear if we are under divine direction and guidance. The only way possible to face the future without terror is to be under the direction of the divine agency.

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

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

Editorial – Unite or Separate

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God does not inspire His prophets and apostles to emphasize things that are unimportant. The emphasis given to the judgment, mentioned several hundred times in the Bible, shows us that this is a subject that we should all become familiar with and understand. The judgment is far more important than whether you should die or not because, for the Christian, death is simply a temporary separation. The judgment, however, will either unite or separate people for eternity.

Below are five facts about the judgment:

  1. God’s judgment of mankind includes every single person who has lived on this earth. 2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 14:10; Jude 15. Some people will be “as though they had never been.” Obadiah 16.
  2. The first phase of any judgment is an investigation or court hearing. (If the person being judged is acquitted, that is the end of the judgment; but if he is convicted then there follow two more phases of judgment—the sentencing phase and finally the execution of the sentence when the convicted person must pay the imposed penalty.) In God’s judgment there is first an investigation. The Bible speaks about this repeatedly, and often in symbolic language. For example in Zephaniah 1:12, the Lord states through His prophet that He “will search Jerusalem with lamps.” Note that a search is an investigation. Notice also that this search comes when the day of the Lord is at hand (Zephaniah 1:7). A court battle with Satan as the prosecuting attorney and Jesus Christ as the advocate of God’s people is described in Zechariah 3. In this judgment scene the salvation of God’s professed people is dependent on their walking in God’s ways—keeping His commandments (verse 7) and having their iniquity removed. Although the people being judged are God’s people on earth, this judgment occurs in heaven (see Daniel 7:9–14). This judgment begins while the gospel is being preached and before the third angel’s message is proclaimed (see Revelation 14:6–12).
  3. No judgment can take place without a standard for making a decision for acquittal or conviction. The standard for God’s judgment is the law of God, the Ten Commandments. James 2:10–12; Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14.
  4. Every action and word and thought and feeling of every person who has ever lived is reviewed in the judgment. See Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14; Matthew 12:36, 37; Isaiah 66:18; Psalm 139; I Corinthians 4:5.
  5. If you are to be acquitted in God’s judgment, your name must be entered and remain in the Book of Life. Revelation 20:15; Revelation 13:8; Luke 10:17, 18; Revelation 3:5; Daniel 12:1, 2; Philippians 4:3; The book of life contains the names of all who have ever entered the service of God. The Great Controversy, 480. Exodus 32:33; Ezekiel 18:24; Acts 3:19–21; Matthew 10:32, 33.

If you are a professed Christian, your name has been registered in the book. How does your page in that book look today?