How Do You Know if You Are Listening to Error?

We know that the world is rapidly growing worse, and that the apostasy in the church is also rapidly growing worse. These conditions in the world and in the church set up a context of urgency. We have again come to the place where the children of Israel were when the Lord sent a special message to Amos. “Thus He showed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline with a plumbline in His hand. And the Lord said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of My people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more.” Amos 7:7, 8.

A plumb line is a string with a weight attached and it is used by builders to make things straight and true vertically. It is an instrument of testing, measuring and judging. This text in Amos pictures the Lord standing on a wall which was made by a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand.

What is the meaning of this wall? When God called His people out of Egypt, He had sought to teach them obedience by many kinds of miracles, and providential deliverances and even some severe punishments. But the record shows that the majority did what the majority always seem to do. They apostatized.

The Lord put a wall of separation between them and the nations around about them. That wall was made up of the truth of God and it protected them from the things that were evil outside. The stones or building blocks of that wall were: no human sacrifices, no temple prostitution, no paying to the sun god, no burning of children in fire as offerings to the sun god.

However, the people did not like the wall, and they tried to tear it down. “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgat the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves.” Judges 3:7. In spite of the Red Sea crossing, in spite of the Jordan miracle, in spite of the falling of the walls of Jericho, in spite of the manna, no matter what God did, the majority always turned their back on Him.

This sad observation is repeated five times in the book of Judges, which covers a history of a few hundred years. A remnant stayed true and faithful, but the majority always turned their back on God. Look at Judges 3:12. “And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord.” Then Judges 6:1. “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord.” A little further on to Judges 10:6. “And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord,” . .. again and again and again.

But in Amos 7:8, the Lord said, “I will not again pass by them any more.” He had punished them and they had repented and He forgave again and again and again and again. Finally He said, “No more.” It is over.

There is an epitaph in 2 Chronicles 36:14–16 which says: “Moreover all the chief of the priests [apostasy usually comes from the top down], and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the Lord which He had hallowed in Jerusalem. And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by His messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because He had compassion on His people, and on His dwelling place: But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised His words, and misused His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy.” At last there could be no remedy! Jerusalem was destroyed by fire a little later.

The Case of Modern Israel

What can be said about modern Israel then? Again God called a people out of Egypt—out of the darkness of apostasy. He worked many remarkable miracles of deliverance, and He gave some punishments at times. Incredible things were done under the leading of the Lord. But once again the people have demonstrated the principle that the majority will always turn away from God. A remnant will stand true, but the majority will always turn away from God. We cannot escape this unpleasant fact. Are God’s professed people today honoring the prophets that He sends or are they misusing the prophets and speaking against them? I think you can answer that.

For modern day Israel, God also made a wall. This wall was straight and true, there were no false stones in it: no false Sabbath, no false state of the dead, no false infant baptism, no false applications of prophecy. But people are not satisfied with that wall and they are trying to tear it down. They are not taking the last warning message to the world, saying, “Repent and turn away from your sins.” Instead, the popular message is, “Never mind, you do not need to stop sinning. The Lord is too merciful to allow you to be lost.”

All Seventh-day Adventists used to say, “The hour of God’s judgment is come.” But now many are saying, “There is no longer a need for a judgment. The judgment was all done on the cross.” Scripture in no way supports this teaching, which has become so popular among professed Adventists. We will examine several scriptures that readily prove that point. “Because He hath appointed a day, in which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained.” Acts 17:31.

“And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come.” Acts 24:25.

“In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.” Romans 2:16. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 5:10.

“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing in His kingdom.” 2 Timothy 4:1.

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” Hebrews 9:27.

“For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation.” Hebrews 10:26, 27.

“Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.” Hebrews 13:4.

“So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged.” James 2:12.

“Who shall give account to Him that is ready to judge the quick [the living]and the dead.” 1 Peter 4:5. “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment.” 2 Peter 2:9.

“And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” Jude 6.

Here are twelve verses in the New Testament which all talk about a judgment that is to come. How then can anyone delude or deceive a Seventh-day Adventist by telling them that the judgment was all finished on the cross? That is a problem and it worries me.

How to Know Error

Some time ago, I presented a sermon in which I read Spirit of Prophecy statements about the danger of listening to error. A lady came to me afterward and said, “I am not sure I would know when I am listening to error.” This made me really sad! Any Seventh-day Adventist who is spending much time with his or her Bible should not have that problem. Let me give you a few examples of errors you are likely to hear, and if you do, I warn you to flee for your life.

On a trip to Texas, Betty and I visited Southwestern Adventist University. We went to see the new men’s dormitory and there we picked up a student newspaper. In that paper there was an article written by a fourth year theology student who, in a few short months would be out ministering to churches. He was the assistant to the chaplain. The headline reads, “IT IS OK TO SIN.” In the opening paragraph he uses a filthy four-letter word. He then goes on to describe his concern in these words: “I read an article in the last “Southwesterner” [this student newspaper] and I perceived or felt its understanding to be that we could not live in sin and still be children of God. This is exactly what I have spent my last four years of ministry fighting against.” [Emphasis supplied.]

The point he wants to prove in this article is that one can live in sin and still be a child of God. Further down there is a line like this, “We are saved even before we are born. [This is reflecting Calvinistic theology.] The whole world was saved at the cross. Jesus not only saved us before we were born, but He has forgiven us of all unrighteousness. His sacrifice was not only for professed Christians, but also for all who ever were or ever will be. He forgave every sin we will ever do at the cross.”

That is a better deal than Tetzel offered in Luther’s time when you had to drop some money in the chest before the soul flew up to heavenly rest. Here there is no charge whatsoever. This deluded young man continued: “He forgave all of your sins that you ever will do before you were even born. If Christ had wanted us to be sinless, He would not have had to die on the cross.” This is an absolute contradiction of the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. The Calvinistic wolf has its teeth in the throat of the Bride of Christ.

My next example is worse. So much worse that I cannot print a single line from this article which was published in a student newspaper at Andrews University. This article was written by a professor who uses his entire article to strongly recommend licentious practices to the students of that University, with written details. His article is a manual of how to practice licentious habits. Those habits that the Spirit of God has clearly told us are defiling, debasing and degrading he calls beautiful and recommends that everyone should be practicing them. I do not see how a man with a licentious mind, like this, could be allowed to influence the students on the campus of an Adventist College.

Men want salvation in sin, but it does not work that way. God’s wall is going to stand. God said to Amos, “Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of My people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more.” Amos 7:8. That means that God’s judgment is going to be done once and for all.

My Appeal to Adventist Ministers

In the book The Great Controversy, 654, 655, we have an interesting line. “The minister who has sacrificed truth to gain the favor of men now discerns the character and influence of his teachings. It is apparent that the omniscient eye was following him as he stood in the desk, as he walked the streets, as he mingled with men in the various scenes of life. Every emotion of the soul, every line written, every word uttered, every act that led men to rest in a refuge of falsehood,has been scattering seed; and now, in the wretched, lost souls around him, he beholds the harvest.”

These religious leaders are leading people to perdition while pretending to guide them to the gates of Paradise. Yet we know that this sad state has been predicted in exact detail. “The clergy will put forth almost superhuman efforts to shut away the light lest it should shine upon their flocks. By every means at their command, they will endeavor to suppress the discussion of these vital questions.” The Great Controversy, 607.

They will not let a historic Seventh-day Adventist speak at their pulpit, but they will let a Catholic priest. “They try by every means to suppress the discussion of these vital questions.” Read these words of warning. “The people see that they have been deluded. They accuse one another of having led them to destruction; but all unite in heaping their bitterest condemnation upon the ministers.” The Great Controversy, 655.

I want to appeal to my brethren in the ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, who I love very dearly. Please, hear my words! Those of you who are prostituting the pulpits of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, using improperly that which was ordained for a holy use, prostituting it to the devil’s use, please, hear my words! You who are prostituting the classrooms of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, defiling the minds of young people with falsehood and doctrines, listen! You who are prostituting the publications of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and you who are even prostituting the Conference Offices of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, using them to support falsehood and error, hear my words!

You may be saying like the people of Israel, “The Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil,” so let me do what I want to do. (Zephaniah 1:12.) But God is keeping record and everything is going into His computer and, when God pushes the right button, it is all going to come right back on the screen and you are going to be looking at yourself, telling people that they do not need to stop sinning. You are going to be looking at yourself telling people that the judgment was all done on the cross, while you stand in judgment! May God have mercy! I implore you, my brethren, I plead with you, my brethren, be done with it. Finish it off. Recognize that you cannot win.

There is an old black folk sermon that says, “Young man, young man, your arm is too short to fight with God.” I appeal to any minister of the Seventh-day Adventist Church who ever reads these words; you cannot fight with God and win.

More Errors to Flee From

To those of you who may ask the question, “How do I know if I am listening to error?” here are some suggestions. Do you hear “It is O.K. to sin”? Scream and run for your life. If you are not hearing any sermons on overcoming, if you are not hearing any sermons on the Sanctuary, but you are hearing the statement made that it was all done on the cross, flee from the wrath to come.

Are you hearing that obedience is legalism? So many people are being accused of legalism because they want to obey the law. What is legalism? Let’s read Paul’s comparison. “For it is written that Abraham had two sons [Isaac and Ishmael], the one by a bondmaid [Hagar], the other by a freewoman [Sarah]. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory; for these are the two covenants.” Galatians 4:22–24.

There you have a very clear Biblical definition of legalism. We must ask the question delicately and chastely. Was the physical action of Abraham that resulted in the birth of Isaac any different from the physical action of Abraham that resulted in the birth of Ishmael? No, the action was the same. Legalism has nothing to do with actions. The actions can be identical, legalistic or not legalistic.

The difference is the attitude of the heart. In the case of Hagar, the mother of Ishmael, Abraham was saying, “I know how to do this. The laws of the country provide for this. It has all been worked out. I do not need the Lord; I can do this by myself.” That is legalism. In the other case Abraham was saying, “This will not work unless the power of the Lord comes into the situation. There is no way this can be done except by the power of the Lord.” That is not legalism.

Fix this fact in your mind. Legalism is not an action. Legalism is an attitude of the heart. So if you say, “I believe I should obey the commandments of the Lord,” and someone tells you, “Oh, you are a legalist,” you just say, “How long have you been on the throne of God? Can anybody other than God read the heart and see what attitude is there?”

Be warned, if you hear many sermons on justification and very few on sanctification; if they tell you from the pulpit that Christ came in the unfallen nature of man; if they tell you that they believe in original sin. By the way, they probably will not use the word “original sin.” They will probably say something like the definition given in The Review and Herald, January 25, 1990, in an article written by a Seventh-day Adventist theologian and professor in one of our colleges. He describes it very succinctly like this. “If a baby dies a few hours or days after birth, it is still subject to the second death, the condemnation death even though it has never broken any commandment.”

According to the Calvinistic theology that this man is following, that little baby is going to hell and he will burn and burn and burn, and never stop burning! That is where they are taking us. May God have mercy!

If your minister is talking a lot about the Eucharist instead of the Lord’s Supper, watch out. If you hear the line that behavior has nothing to do with salvation, beware. Where did that come from? A Calvinistic theologian wrote, “It is an error to think that there is anything that must be done to inherit eternal life. When we bring the message of Scripture, we must be careful not to create the impression that human repentance, faith and obedience contribute in even the smallest way to divine forgiveness.

“We are not saved by anything we do, not even by our decision to believe. As paradoxical as it may seem, imperfect faith is an evidence of our union with Christ. . . We must get rid of all thought about our actions.” Neal Punt, Unconditional Good News, 135–139. How sick can the human mind become? There does not seem to be any limit. And today Adventists are following in the road of Calvinism.

So what can you do? If you are sneered at and asked if you think you are perfect, just take it and look for a city of refuge. Go to a historic campmeeting and look around, get acquainted. You may find someone from your own area that you did not know about who is feeling the same way you are and having the same problem you are having. Historic Adventists have to find each other, and get to know each other, and unite with each other in a way that will bring the harmony and the unity that God calls for without sacrificing any principle of truth. There is a power that will come with unity that cannot be obtained in any other way. We are claiming that promise. May God bless you and strengthen you to stand for the truth.

The Road to Persecution, Part I

When I was growing up, my parents used to receive sermon tapes from Elder W.D. Frazee in Wildwood, Georgia. My parents had worked with Elder Frazee in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in evangelistic work before I was born so they were well-acquainted with him and he had visited in our home when my Father was working for Madison Sanitarium and hospital in Madison, Tennessee.

One of the tapes that we listened to from Elder Frazee was entitled “The Road to Persecution.” Back in those days, many things that were written in the Spirit of Prophecy, we understood as only applying to the churches in “Babylon.” But as you will see, decades ago, even most of a century ago, there were leaders in Adventism who foresaw the situation today in Adventism and tried to warn the church of the very things that we are now experiencing. The experience of true and faithful Adventists, who are censured or disfellowshipped by the majority in Seventh-day Adventist churches, was foreseen by godly leaders decades ago as you will see in this article.

The subject which Elder Frazee developed in that sermon is applicable today and is screaming in siren tones to warn us of what we are about to experience in the very near future from Seventh-day Adventists. The major points from that sermon are included in this article.

In those days, we did not perceive (perhaps in the mercy of God) that many of the prophecies about faithful Adventists being persecuted would be fulfilled not only in Babylon, but also in the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. But as these prophecies have been in the process of fulfillment, and we read the inspired statements again, we have found over and over that the prophecies were not all directed at Babylon. Some have been given specifically to God’s professed remnant in these last days; for example:

“He [Dr. Kellogg] is working under the advice of the one who talked with Eve. Through this subtle reasoning the future of the cause is imperiled. I shall now have to be far more explicit than I have been in the past. I shall be compelled to make statements that I have not wanted to make, but I must be more explicit in order save the flock of God from deceptive influences.

“Every movement made now is to be carefully guarded, for the forces of Satan have minds under their control, and will strive through them to unsettle faith in the experience of the past, which bears the signature of Heaven. The delusive influences working upon human minds are of a character to unsettle the faith of the people of God in the experience of the past, which has borne the signature of Heaven.

“In His Word the Lord declared what He would do for Israel if they would obey His voice. But the leaders of the people yielded to the temptations of Satan, and God could not give them the blessings He designed them to have, because they did not obey His voice but listened to the voice and policy of Lucifer. This experience will be repeated in the last years of the history of the people of God, who have been established by His grace and power. Men whom He has greatly honored will in the closing scenes of this earth’s history pattern after ancient Israel.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 13, 378, 379.

“We want to understand the time in which we live. We do not half understand it. We do not half take it in. My heart trembles in me when I think of what a foe we have to meet, and how poorly we are prepared to meet him. The trials of the children of Israel, and their attitude just before the first coming of Christ, have been presented before me again and again to illustrate the position of the people of God in their experience before the second coming of Christ—how the enemy sought every occasion to take control of the minds of the Jews, and today he is seeking to blind the minds of God’s servants, that they may not be able to discern the precious truth.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 406.

Compare with this statement the following: “The people whom God had called to be the pillar and ground of the truth had become representatives of Satan.” Desire of Ages, 36.

“Satan’s skill is exercised in devising plans and methods without number to accomplish his purposes. He works to restrict religious liberty and to bring into the religious world a species of slavery. Organizations, institutions, unless kept by the power of God, will work under Satan’s dictation to bring men under the control of men; and fraud and guile will bear the semblance of zeal for truth and for the advancement of the kingdom of God. Whatever in our practice is not as open as the day belongs to the methods of the prince of evil.” Testimonies, vol. 7, 180, 181.

“The work which the church has failed to do in a time of peace and prosperity, she will have to do in a terrible crisis, under most discouraging, forbidding, circumstances. The warnings that worldly conformity has silenced or withheld, must be given under the fiercest opposition from enemies of the faith. And at that time the superficial, conservative class, whose influence has steadily retarded the progress of the work, will renounce the faith, and take their stand with its avowed enemies, toward whom their sympathies have long been tending. These apostates will then manifest the most bitter enmity, doing all in their power to oppress and malign their former brethren, and to excite indignation against them. This day is just before us. The members of the church will individually be tested and proved. They will be placed in circumstances where they will be forced to bear witness for the truth. Many will be called to speak before councils and in courts of justice, perhaps separately and alone.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 463.

We know that persecution is coming because Revelation 13:15–17 says, “He had power to give life unto the Image of the Beast, that the Image of the Beast should both speak and cause that as many as would not worship him, should be killed. And he causeth all both small, and great, rich, and poor, both free, and bond to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads. And that no man might buy or sell save he that had the mark, or the name of the Beast, or the number of his name.”

A great persecution is coming. There will be a boycott against those who will not receive the mark of the Beast or worship the beast or his image. They will not be able to buy or sell and eventually a death decree will be issued against all those who honor all the commandments of God.

Jesus predicted that this persecution would come from organized religion—from those who call themselves God’s people: “These things have I spoken to you that you shall not be offended. They shall put you out of the Synagogues, yes the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he does God service.” This persecution is not going to be carried on simply by pagans or infidels. The men who lead out in this persecution will think that they are doing service for God. How do men come to a point where they can persecute the people of God and think that they are doing Him a service? Is there any possible danger that you and I, or that Seventh-day Adventists or those who claim to be the remnant of God could do such a thing. There most definitely is. But it does not happen in a moment, rather it generally takes a generation or longer. There is a road that leads men to the place where they will finally persecute their former brethren in the name of God. This is the road to persecution.

Revelation 13 speaks about the image to the Beast. We know that the Beast, in Revelation 13, which God warns us is a union of church and state, is the Papacy or Roman Catholicism. She became the greatest persecuting power of all times. And that is why she is pictured there in Revelation as drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.

But now the issue that is ahead of us here in the United States, according to Revelation 13, is the issue of making an Image to the Beast or an Image of the Beast—both expressions are used. Now, what is an image anyway? An image, by definition, is a likeness of something else. So, there is to be formed, or should I say there is already being formed before our eyes, a likeness of that Roman power, which was drunken with the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And, as the Beast was formed, so the Image is being formed. The likeness is striking. That is one of the great reasons why God, in His providence, gave us this wonderful book The Great Controversy.

Rome was Christian in its beginning. There was a church at Rome. Peter was there and Paul was there. Those are facts of church history. However, that very city eventually became the headquarters of that vast persecuting system which filled the earth with blood, in the name of Christ.

How did Rome begin its work and how will that Image be formed today? The Great Controversy, 289, 290 reads, ” The very beginning of the great apostasy was in seeking to supplement the authority of God by that of the church. Rome began by enjoining what God had not forbidden, and she ended by forbidding what He had explicitly enjoined.” Now this is one of those wonderful statements in the Spirit of Prophecy which shine out like a great beacon. Let us ponder these things.

The great apostasy began when men started to supplement the authority of God with that of the church. When Jesus left this world, He gave His church a commission and told them what they were to teach. Matthew 28:18–20 says, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” Was that enough? Rome did not think so.

Rome did not begin by taking away from what God had said. Rome began by adding to what God has said was necessary. For example, it took centuries to accomplish the change of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. First the Christian world remembered the death and resurrection of Christ every year at passover time—we can well understand how those who witnessed this most awesome event of all the ages would especially remember it every passover season, for Jesus died during that time.

The Christians wanted to avoid being associated with the Jews, who the apostles stated were contrary to all men. Thousands and thousands of their heathen neighbors paid particular attention to the first day of the week which bore the name of the sun god. And they noted that Jesus Christ had arisen from the dead on the first day of the week. That was, no doubt, in their mind a happy coincidence. And, it appeared to be good public relations, to take advantage of the honor that was given to the Sun god, on the first day of the week, and connect with it the historical fact that Jesus, the Sun of Righteousness, had risen on the first day of the week, And so, over decades and decades, there gradually came to be a certain honor attached to that first day of the week, and the Christians in some places began to meet on that day every year to celebrate the resurrection.

In fact, by the middle of the second century, the Bishop of Rome decreed that the resurrection should be celebrated not on passover day, but on the Sunday nearest to passover day. And, if Passover day fell on a Sunday, then it was to be celebrated not on that Sunday but on the next Sunday, thus being as much unlike the Jews and as much like the Sun worshippers as possible.

The time soon came when it was decided not to celebrate the resurrection just one Sunday a year but every week. Since there is no commandment for any of this in the Bible, this is “enjoining what God had not forbidden.” But, for hundreds of years, even in churches that met on Sunday, the Sabbath was also kept. But gradually the honor given to Sunday was increased and the honor given to the Sabbath was decreased. Finally, the Roman Catholic church, in the council of Laodicea (over three hundred years after Jesus went back to heaven) dared to come out in the open and officially abolish the observance of the Sabbath and substitute Sunday. Three hundred years. That is a long time, but that is how long it took from when Rome began to enjoin what God had not forbidden, until she ended by forbidding what He had explicitly enjoined. And from then there were still more steps to the point where she began to persecute dissenters who were determined to be true to their conscience. A few martyrdoms occurred before the end of the fourth century, but later tens of thousands were put to death because they chose to obey what Christ had said instead of what the church said. That was the issue.

The setting of these sentences we have been studying from The Great Controversy, 289, 290 is very interesting. They appear in the middle of that book, in the chapter called The Pilgrim Fathers. In the paragraphs around this sentence, Sister White discussed the days of the reformation and the distinction of two types of reformers, those who were willing to come only part way out of Rome and those who felt that they ought to come all the way out of Rome. I encourage you to read the entire chapter.

Now, I want to study with you a little more on the point of adding to or supplementing Divine Authority. Remember, “Rome began by enjoining what God had not forbidden, and she ended by forbidding what He had explicitly enjoined.” In doing this, Rome set herself against the word of God. God foresaw the results of all such things and He told us in advance not to put our feet on this forbidden ground. In Deuteronomy 4:2 we read, “Ye shall not add unto the word that I command you neither shall ye diminish ought from it. That ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I commanded you.” You must not do what? You must not add. What else must you not do? You must not diminish. If you do the first you are bound to do the second.

No one ever added anything to what God said, who did not eventually turn around and cut off something else that God had commanded. Do you know why that is? It is because there is only so much room. There is just four quarts in a gallon, just sixteen ounces in a pound, just twelve inches in a foot, and because there is only so much room there is only room for so much. Whenever you add something that God has not commanded, you crowd out something that He did command. That is the way Rome sank into apostasy.

That is the issue today. Did you know that Jesus did not go to the schools of His time for that reason? In Education, 77 we are told, “The schools of His time with their magnifying of things small and their belittling of things great, He did not seek.” What was the problem? They magnified the little things and, as a result, they had only time to belittle the big things.

Oh, that we might understand the implications of this. Thousands, not only in Babylon but thousands in Adventism, are traveling the road which Rome has traveled before us, and we are so far down the road that persecution already began several years ago. But it is going to get worse, much worse. We will learn even better, before it is over, that we have much more to fear from within than from without and that our worst enemies will come from the same direction that Jesus’ worst enemies came from—God’s professed people. We do well to ponder what road we are traveling before we come to the end of it.

There is a gradual change, which starts with the apparently innocent, and ends up with the image of Satan. It starts by calling evil good. In Isaiah 5: 20-23 we read: “Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink. Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!”

Those against whom the wrath of God is announced are those that call evil good and good evil. The two things inevitably are joined together and they come—watch the preciseness of the Scripturein this order. How did the verse start out? “They call evil good” and then they call “good evil.” I wonder why they would do that. Notice in the 23rd verse it says, “they justify the wicked for reward and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him.” Again it is the same sequence. Here is a bad man but they say he is a good man. And inevitably, when they start in to do that, they are forced to call the good man bad.

That is exactly what happened in Rome. Rome first opened her doors and let in a whole multitude of image worshipping idolaters. But as the inevitable result, they came to the point that they were able to kill the true saints of God. And so it is happening today. “Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil.”

Every man who gets so broad minded–watch this point–so tolerant, so kind, and so charitable that he can put his arms around iniquity and fellowship with sinners who defy the law of God, is preparing himself, whether he knows it or not, to come to the place where he can persecute the men that God calls righteous in this world.

This is what is happening in the United States as she prepares to set up an image to the Beast. “As the Protestant churches have been seeking the favor of the world, false charity has blinded their eyes. They do not see but that it is right to believe good of all evil, and as the inevitable result they will finally believe evil of all good.” The Great Controversy, 571. Oh, friends, what a warning against false charity.

What is false charity? Charity, in the sense that it is being used here, means to be tolerant of sin or to tolerate wrongdoing. It is said today that we should not blame the sinner because Jesus said, “he that is without sin among you let him cast the first stone.” Reproof and rebuke of sin is termed criticism and faultfinding. Toleration of sin is excused by saying that we must allow the wheat and the tares to grow together until the harvest. As a result of this type of thinking, there are people in the church, even in leading positions, who have been divorced and remarried without Biblical grounds and who attend social gatherings, fairs, and parades etc. on the Sabbath and buy food on the Sabbath. (Some call it witnessing.) We have people, even leaders in the church, who have deceived church members about business matters or the relations of the church to other churches and the ecumenical movement. A person may break the Sabbath, lie, kill, steal, commit adultery, go with the world and be worldly, but God is merciful, and “we ought to be all things to all men and be kind and be charitable and not be hard on people.” All that sort of talk, with the many variations and adaptation we hear today, is false charity.

The Protestant churches of our time, with their false charity, have opened up the doors and let all kinds of sinners into the church. The drunkard, the profligate, the lawbreaker, the grafter, the politician who gets caught in some great scandal, may be members of the church. Right? Today this type of person may not only be a member of the church, he may be the leader or the president of the church, but everyone thinks that it would be highly uncharitable if he received just discipline for his behavior. He must simply be transferred to some outlying district until people have forgotten the past scandal and then he may even be promoted and the same sins repeated again. Any careful observer has seen this happen in Adventism.

We are living in a time when the scandal of leading clergymen of different churches is frequent news. Today, as I am editing this article, national news is reporting about the leader of a Protestant church who might receive up to five or more years in prison for, what the church leaders say, is the result of some failed business ventures. The reports do not say he has been disfellowshiped however, or even had his credentials taken away for these crimes. It is thought that that would be absolutely uncharitable. The way to get your ministerial credentials taken away or to be disfellowshiped from a church today is to stand up and protest the iniquity and preach and teach the straight testimony and attempt to fulfill the gospel commission. That is happening all over the world today.

False charity blinds the eyes of all churches that allow it and the inevitable result of accepting, as good, that which is evil, is to soon begin believing evil of all good. They will take the very people who stand for truth, who stand for law keeping, who stand for God’s standards, and will make them the mark of the most bitter persecution that this world has seen.

There is no middle ground in this issue. Every soul in this world is either going down the road of false charity and will end up persecuting, or he is going to stand with God against iniquity and end up being among the persecuted. Out of the two there is no middle ground.

continued…

Editorial – Purification of the Church, Part IV

What is the objective of the purification of the church?

The objectives are:

  1. that the church reach perfection here (that each church member becomes faultless in character with every impurity destroyed),
  2. perfect unity in the church with no discord,
  3. to keep the church free from false doctrine, as the references below describe.

“No unlikeness to Christ will be permitted in the holy city. The process of gaining perfection of character is to be carried on in this life, that we may be prepared for the future immortal life. It is God’s purpose that His church on earth shall reach perfection. It is essential that His directions be strictly obeyed. The members are to help and strengthen one another. No self-exaltation or accusing or harshness are to be shown in our dealings with one another. . . . We must purify our souls through love and obedience to the truth. We must act like saints toward one another,preparing ourselves, drilling ourselves, to be without fault in character, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 15, 171.

“God is leading out a people to stand in perfect unity upon the platform of eternal truth. Christ gave Himself to the world that He might ‘purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.’ This refining process is designed to purge the church from all unrighteousness and the spirit of discord and contention.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 17.

“The churches must be guarded, and warned against deception. Christ gave Himself for us, to redeem us from all iniquity, that He might purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good orks. His church must be kept free from all false doctrine.” SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1083.

“The Lord is willing to help us, to strengthen and bless us; but we must pass through the refining rocess until all the impurities in our character are burned away. Every member of the church will be subjected to the furnace, not to consume, but to purify.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 485.

What hinders this work of purification that God is attempting to perform in His church?

The willingness of church members and leaders to tolerate sin in the church:

“Do not think that you show love for one another by allowing that which God condemns. Do not let sin strengthen in the church. God requires His servants to exercise faithful watchcare. But be sure to manifest Christ’s love. Go to the erring one, and pray with him. . . .God would not justify any man to place himself as dictator [over] what others must do when [he] himself needs the converting grace of Christ.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 18, 150.

What means does God use to purify His church?

  1. In addition to the prophetic Word in the Bible, God has given the testimonies of His Spirit to His remnant people as manifested in the messages given to Ellen White by the Holy Spirit.
  2. the “strait testimony,”
  3. trials and suffering,
  4. judgements. “He [Satan] seeks by all the means in his power to shake the confidence of God’s people in the voice of warning and reproof through which God designs to purify the church and prosper His cause.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 211.

“I have been shown that the Lord is reviving the living, pointed testimony, which will develop character and purify the church.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 216. (See also Testimonies, vol. 5, 222.)

“The purification of the people of God cannot be accomplished without their suffering.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 85.

“The Lord will work to purify His church. I tell you in truth, the Lord is about to turn and overturn in the institutions called by His name. Just how soon this refining process will begin, I cannot say, but it will not be long deferred.” Paulson Collection, 415.

What will happen if the “church” is not purified as God is attempting to do?

“The Lord Jesus will always have a chosen people to serve Him. When the Jewish people rejected Christ, the Prince of life, He took from them the kingdom of God and gave it unto the Gentiles. God will continue to work on this principle with every branch of His work. When a church proves unfaithful to the work of the Lord, whatever their position may be, however high and sacred their calling, the Lord can no longer work with them. Others are then chosen to bear important responsibilities. But, if these in turn do not purify their lives from every wrong action, if they do not establish pure and holy principles in all their borders, then the Lord will grievously afflict and humble them and, unless they repent, will remove them from their place and make them a reproach.” Upward Look, 131.