Editorial – What If?

What would happen if every professed Christian decided today that following Jesus Christ in faithful discipleship and willing obedience to His instruction, would be the number one priority in life?

Many people who profess to be Christians are afraid to make this decision although it is a prerequisite to being one of Jesus’ followers. The reason is because of the devil’s lies. The devil tempts people to distrust God when they are perplexed by circumstances or dealing with poverty or sickness because God has allowed such conditions to exist.

A more enticing temptation is the offer of the kingdom of this world. It was this that caused the fall of the early church in the first few hundred years after Christ. It works like this: “By the one who had revolted in heaven the kingdoms of this world were offered Christ, to buy His homage to the principles of evil; but He would not be bought; He had come to establish a kingdom of righteousness, and He would not abandon His purpose. With the same temptation Satan approaches men, and here he has better success than with Christ. To men he offers the kingdom of this world on condition that they will acknowledge his supremacy. He requires that they sacrifice integrity, disregard conscience, indulge selfishness. … While he allures them with the hope of worldly dominion, he gains dominion over the soul.” The Desire of Ages, 130

But amid all the pretense and false professions by millions of Christians, God has always had a remnant, for whom following Christ in faithful discipleship and in obedience to His word is the first priority in life.

“Before the final visitation of God’s judgments upon the earth there will be among the people of the Lord such a revival of primitive godliness as has not been witnessed since apostolic times. The Spirit and power of God will be poured out upon His children. At that time many will separate themselves from those churches in which the love of this world has supplanted love for God and His word.” The Great Controversy, 464

Are You Really a Christian?

Jesus emphasized in His teaching that there would be people who were deceived into believing they were going to heaven as part of God’s chosen people.

In Capernaum, a centurion came to Him requesting healing for his paralyzed servant. In His response to the centurion, Jesus addressed this common deception. When Jesus told him He would come, the centurion said, “ ‘Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.’ … When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth’ ” (Matthew 8:8, 10–12).

Here Jesus predicted that there will be people who will be weeping and gnashing their teeth when He returns. Many pious ones would only then be aware of their true condition and see that they were lost.

One of the primary reasons that those who think that they are part of God’s chosen people will be “weeping and gnashing” their teeth is because of their un-Christlike speech.

We are admonished to “Strive to overcome harshness of expression, and cultivate soft tones.” The Signs of the Times, November 14, 1911. Jesus taught that out of the abundance of the heart come our words and actions. He said, “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:36, 37).

We sin against the Holy Spirit when we are not in control of the way we speak. Our speech is an indicator of whether we are saved or not.

“We should accustom ourselves to speak in pleasant tones, to use pure, correct language, and words that are kind and courteous. Sweet, kindly words are as dew and gentle showers to the soul.” The Signs of the Times, February 22, 1905.

The Bible says, “Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools” (Ecclesiastes 7:9).

In writing to a person who had this very problem Ellen White said, “You do not speak wisely and judiciously to your wife and children. You should cultivate kindness and gentleness.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 78.

“When about to speak passionately, close your mouth. Don’t utter a word. Pray before you speak, and heavenly angels will come to your assistance and drive back the evil angels, who would lead you to dishonor God, reproach His cause, and weaken your own soul.” Ibid., 82.

“No harsh, passionate word is ever spoken without grieving the Lord Jesus, and hurting the heart of speaker and of hearer. From the Christian home all angry or trifling speeches will be excluded; for in the home above nothing of this character finds place.” The Signs of the Times, February 17, 1904.

In the heavenly home above there are no “angry or trifling speeches.” Children and young people in our homes need help in learning how to speak and conduct themselves to be prepared to live in heaven.

In the same article it says, “Parents, be sure to spend some time each day in private prayer, asking the Lord for wisdom, lest self-importance take possession of you, and you give the talent of speech into the control of the enemy.”

“Live lives that will help them to prepare for translation into the courts above when the last trump shall sound, and Christ shall come to gather His faithful ones to Himself. Do not neglect your children. They are your first care. The home is to be their first school. And in this school you yourselves are to learn lessons that will prepare you better to work for their salvation and for the salvation of others. These lessons will be of the highest value to you in your religious experience.

“As you labor successfully for your children, you are working out your own salvation, and God is working in you, to will and to do of His good pleasure.

“Kindly but firmly correct every inclination to wrong that may appear in the lives of your children. When you are obliged to correct a child, do not raise the voice to a high key …” Ibid.

The more angry or upset a person gets, the pitch of the voice goes up, and the volume increases. When that happens, a child recognizes the emotion being communicated. A very young child who is not yet able to speak, recognizes the pitch of the voice immediately. The admonition to parents is to be sure to spend some time each day in private prayer. Pray to the Lord and say, Lord, I want to learn to speak the way the angels speak in heaven. Help me. I want to learn to speak in the right way.

Throughout their association with Jesus the disciples never heard Him speak a passionate word or a word spoken unadvisedly.

The intelligences of heaven have pure speech and we need to learn to speak as they do. When Jesus returns, the redeemed will be given new bodies but their characters will not be changed. Their habits will be those they have developed during this life and will be the same on that first day in heaven as it was their last day on earth. That being the case, if pure habits in actions and speech have not been learned, they will not fit in a pure atmosphere.

“The chief requisite of language is that it be pure and kind and true—the outward expression of an inward grace.” Education, 235.

Gossip originated in heaven with Lucifer among the angels and gossip is one of the main problems in the church today.

“Un-Christlike speech lies at the foundation of nine-tenths of all the difficulties that exist in the church. Satan’s agents are industriously trying to get professed Christians to speak unadvisedly. When they succeed, Satan exults, because God’s followers have hurt their influence.” The Voice in Speech and Song, 56.

Problems in our homes and churches would improve mightily with correct speech. Ellen White says to parents: “Scolding and passionate reproof will never work reforms. Fathers and mothers commit a grievous sin when they educate their children to give way to temper by giving way themselves, and by training them according to wrong methods. …

“Mothers, deal gently with your little ones. … They are God’s property; He loves them, and calls upon you to co-operate with Him in helping them to form perfect characters. The Lord requires perfection from His redeemed family. He calls for perfection in character-building.” The Signs of the Times, August 23, 1899.

“Every defect in character, every fault in the disposition, needs to be cut away, for if allowed to remain, these will mar the beauty of the character.” Ibid.

When we consider the condition of this world today, it is hard to imagine a place where the inhabitants are perfectly happy all the time. Heaven is such a place. If we could just get one glimpse of that place, we would never want anything in this world again.

A big part of getting ready to live in heaven is learning how to speak like the angels speak. It may be surprising to know that one of the principle reasons for dietary and health reform is to help us exercise patience in our speech. The wrong type of diet can result in passionate speech and behavior, a character trait that must be conquered through self-control.

“God looks into every secret thing of life. By some a constant battle is maintained for self-control. Daily they strive silently and prayerfully against harshness of speech and temper. These strivings may never be appreciated by human beings. They may get no praise from human lips for keeping back the hasty words which sought for utterance. The world will never see these conquests, and if it could, it would only despise the conquerors. But in heaven’s record they are registered as overcomers. There is One who witnesses every secret combat and every silent victory, and He says, ‘He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city’ (Proverbs 16:32).” Ibid.

Much prayer is needed to gain control over the tongue. James 3:8 says that no man can tame the tongue; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that the tongue can be tamed. Think how unhappiness, sorrow, and trouble could be avoided when control of speech is exercised as well as the blessing to others that can result if we learn to speak the way they speak in heaven. Every defect in the character can be overcome. Pray for opportunities to do that tender act or speak that tender word to somebody each day. Ask for a calm spirit before speaking when upset.

You may find yourself in a situation where you can’t quietly absent yourself and have to deal with it right then. Nehemiah found himself in a situation like that.

“I [Nehemiah] took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. Therefore the king said to me, ‘Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart’ ” (Nehemiah 2:1, 2).

Nehemiah found himself in a dangerous situation. Being cup bearer to the king, he was never to appear sad. The king was apprehensive for his own safety, for his life was dependent on his cup bearer who was responsible to see that he did not get poisoned. Often the cup bearer was to pour what was offered to the king into a glass and drink first to test for poison.

When Nehemiah was questioned by the king over his sadness, he didn’t know what to say. The Bible says, “So I [Nehemiah] prayed to the God of heaven” (verse 4). Here he was, standing right before the king. He could not absent himself for a private prayer. He needed help right away; so in his mind he said, Lord, help me.

We all get in situations where we have to speak, but don’t know what to say. Like Nehemiah, we can call on God and He will answer our prayer and give us clarity of thought and words.  You can read how the Lord led Nehemiah in his situation in the later part of that chapter.

It is common for these situations to arise in the home, when we are with those around whom we should guard our speech most carefully.

We are admonished, “Allow in the home nothing that savors of cheapness or commonness. You are preparing your children for entrance into the City of God, and nothing that defiles can enter there.

“Be pleasant and cheerful. Remember that love is the power that binds your children to you. Keep your words and actions free from anger. Do nothing that will destroy the harmony of the home. Let the sharp words that you are tempted to speak die unspoken. Such words wound and bruise the hearts of the hearers.” The Signs of the Times, September 16, 1903.

“It rests with you to decide whether good or evil thoughts shall occupy the minds of your children. …  To prepare them to inherit eternal life requires patient, untiring effort. Let not your perseverance fail. Study with your children. Remember that you yourselves are God’s little children, and that you must first learn of Him before you can teach your children aright.” Ibid.

It is imperative to teach our children and our young people that nothing can enter heaven that defiles. In Revelation 21:27, we read, “There shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”

“Never treat your children harshly, for harshness arouses stubbornness and resistance. You will find that they are most easily and successfully governed by kindness and gentleness. Love breaks down all barriers, and gentleness subdues the most stubborn will. Treat your children as you would wish to be treated were you in their place. Let there be no scolding, no loud-voiced, angry commands. …

“Disobedience and rebellion must be punished; but remember that the punishment is to be given in the spirit of Christ. …

“All Heaven is interested in your home. God and Christ and the heavenly angels are intensely desirous that you shall so train your children that they shall be prepared to enter the family of the redeemed. Teach them to be loyal to Christ. Bring into the home the transforming power of the grace of Christ. … Teach your children to live Christlike lives.” Ibid., November 11, 1903.

Everything that we do has an influence. This is true for parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts, any children you are around. The way that you speak, not just the words, but the tone, the volume, and the pitch will have an effect on the young people.

All these principles about correct speech are actually found in the book of Proverbs. Each table of the law also addresses speech. The second commandment in the first table of the law is about speech. The ninth commandment, in the last table of the law, directly deals with the honesty of our speech and whether we tell the truth.

“Parents should set their children an example of strict truthfulness. They should never utter one word that is not true.” The Review and Herald, April 13, 1897.

Most people think that many of the things that they tell their children are harmless, such as the lie about Santa Claus who reportedly brings gifts at Christmas. Many children are raised on fictitious stories and fairy tales like this. When the children later find out that these things are not true, it weakens their trust in those who have propagated the lies.

“We are to be in earnest for our efforts for gaining eternal life. The blessed Saviour has a crown waiting for us. It is to be decided by us whether or not we shall have that crown.” The Review and Herald, April 21, 1891. It is our daily choice whether we are to have that crown or not. We often subconsciously make that choice by our speech.

“Christ must be revealed in your daily life. There must be no angry words spoken in the home, no seeds of coarse, common talk sown in your children’s hearts, or they will have no confidence in you when you speak in meeting. … We may have a little heaven to go to heaven in, if Christ breathes upon us His Holy Spirit.” Ibid.

This means that when people come into your home, they sense it is like heaven because there is a heavenly spirit there. The home is pleasurable and enjoyable to be there. Your words are tender, thoughtful, true, and pure and never angry or passionate. Imagine how an atmosphere like that would affect people.

Beginning in Luke 13:24, Jesus says, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out” (verses 24–28).

Here Jesus was talking to people who expected that they would be saved, but we read in the Scriptures that some will not be ready. And that’s the same thing He talks about in Matthew 25 in the story of the ten virgins. All ten virgins believed they were going to go to the marriage supper, but not all of them got to go because some did not have sufficient oil.

“In the parable of the virgins, five were found wise, and five foolish. Can it be possible that half of us will be found without the oil of grace in our lamps? Shall we come to the marriage feast too late? We have slept too long; shall we sleep on, and be lost at last?” The Review and Herald, April 21, 1891.

There are many places in the Bible that talk about a sleeping church and the need to awake. “We have slept too long; shall we sleep on, and be lost at last? Are there those here who have been sinning and repenting, sinning and repenting, and will they continue to do so till Christ shall come?” Ibid. That is a question you need to ask yourself.

If you look at the context, this passage is referring to people who lose their temper and talk passionately, but then they are sorry, so they repent. Then, they do it again and then they have to repent again. “Are there those here who have been sinning and repenting, sinning and repenting, and will they continue to do so till Christ shall come?” Ibid.

Here is the problem with that. When Michael stands up in heaven, probation is closed. This event occurs before Christ returns to this earth. We need to have victory over our unruly tongues now. Remember, no man can control it. Only the Holy Spirit can give us the victory.

“No unpleasant words are spoken in heaven. There no unkind thoughts are cherished. There envy, evil surmising, hatred, and strife find no place. Perfect harmony pervades the heavenly courts.” The Upward Look, page 163.

Heaven is a good place. It is a place we all need to go. But notice what is written about the devil. “Well does Satan know what heaven is, and what the influence of the angels is. His work is to bring into every family the cruel elements of self-will, harshness, selfishness. Thus he seeks to destroy the happiness of the family. He knows that the spirit governing in the home will be brought into the church.” Ibid.

So, what shall we do to counteract his plan?

“Let the father and mother always be guarded in their words and actions. The husband is to treat his wife, the mother of his children, with due respect, and the wife is to love and reverence her husband. How can she do this if he treats her like a servant, to be dictated to, ordered about, scolded, found fault with before the children? He is forcing her to dislike him and even to hate him. …

“Fathers and mothers, bring sweetness and brightness and hopefulness into the lives of your children. Kindness and love will work wonders. Never punish a child in anger. …

“Be sure, before correcting your child, to talk with your heavenly Father. When your own heart is so softened by sympathy, talk with the erring one. If the matter can be adjusted without the use of the rod, so much the better.” Ibid.

Ellen White wrote, “Unless we control our words and temper, we are slaves to Satan.” The Signs of the Times, April 17, 1884.

“There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health” (Proverbs 12:18).

Remember, if your heart, thoughts, and emotions are right, the words you speak will also be right. But for that to happen, you must receive the Holy Spirit. While ever alive in this world, a battle is taking place in the human heart between the carnal, sinful nature, and the new spirit. Paul calls it the battle between the spirit and the flesh.

If you are looking at what is happening on the Internet or on television, you will notice that the speech of the people in this world has deteriorated to an all-time low. But praise God. At the same time that is happening, there are some people allowing the Holy Spirit to refine their speech. These are the ones who are preparing and longing to go to a different place where all is pure and holy.

And that place, friends, is heaven. Learn now the language of heaven so that you will not be among those “weeping and gnashing” their teeth when Christ returns to gather the faithful.

(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 in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

 

A Fractured Remnant

I can remember when I was young, hearing Adventist preachers tell people that although there were many different identifying marks of Babylon in the Bible, you only needed to know two things to find God’s people in the last days. They were called a remnant and the remnant is the last of anything. The remnant keep the commandments of God and they have the testimony of Jesus, the Spirit of Prophecy (Revelation 19:10). They said, if you know those two things, you can find God’s people.

I decided that I wanted to be part of God’s remnant people when Jesus comes and because of that, anything that happens to God’s remnant people is of great concern to me. It is not something that I just look on as a spectator or observer. God’s remnant people are so important to me that although there are some in God’s professed remnant church who consider me an enemy, I still pray for them to be saved. It is a great concern to me when I see God’s remnant people fractured. Why is that happening? What is going on?

This is not the first time God’s people have been fractured. Hosea 5:11 says: “Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, because he willingly walked by human precept.”

Another time God’s people were fractured is mentioned in Matthew 26:31: “Then Jesus said to them, ‘All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: “I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.” ’ ”

I’ve tried to imagine that, and I cannot comprehend what it must have felt like to be the Lord. He came to this world to willingly pay an infinite price to save people, a price that would cost unbelievable suffering and sorrow but when He did, every single person forsook Him. This is something that God’s people at some point in the future will experience.

The remnant is a small number of people scattered all over the world. It is easy to comprehend being in a situation where it seems as if you are the only one left who believes and everybody in the world has forsaken you. You are all alone with nobody left, but you still have faith. When we look at the fracture among God’s people today, we need to remember what God is getting us ready for.

Inspiration says, “As we approach the last crisis it is of vital moment that harmony and unity exist among the Lord’s instrumentalities. The world is filled with storm and war and variance. Yet under one head—the papal power—the people will unite to oppose God in the person of His witnesses. This union is cemented by the great apostate. While he seeks to unite his agents in warring against the truth he will work to divide and scatter its advocates.” Testimonies, vol. 7, 182.

This worldwide union will “have one mind” and make war against the Lamb. They cannot go to heaven to make war, so they make war against the Lamb by attacking His people in this world. At the same time, the devil unites his forces and tries to divide and scatter those who advocate the truth.

It is important to understand who is behind all these problems. If it seems those against you are in your family or local church, don’t think that they are your enemies. It is the devil who is behind what is going on. He is using them as pawns, and they are often unaware that they are being directed by a superior force. That is why Jesus said to pray for your enemies. (See Matthew 5:44.) The real enemy is the evil spirit that is using that person as a pawn.

As the devil wars against the truth, he will work to divide and scatter its advocates by jealousy, evil surmising, and evil speaking, which are instigated by him to produce discord and dissension. If only we could overcome those three things, we could solve problems more quickly than almost anything else we could do.

“The members of Christ’s church have the power to thwart the purpose of the adversary of souls. At such a time as this let them not be found at variance with one another or with any of the Lord’s workers. Amidst the general discord let there be one place where harmony and unity exist because the Bible is made the guide of life. Let the people of God feel that a responsibility rests upon them to build up His instrumentalities.” Ibid.

Ellen White says a deeper problem lies in our families. She says, “He knows that the spirit governing in the home will be brought into the church.” The Upward Look, 163.

You can be sure that if there is trouble in your church, there is trouble in the homes of the members in your church. “How many there are who reveal selfishness and unkindness in their dealings with one another. How many professing Christians seem never to be satisfied unless they are engaged in strife? How many home circles are broken because the members receive and act upon Satan’s suggestions? Well does Satan know what heaven is, and what the influence of the angels is.” Ibid.

He’s been there. He knows what it’s like.

“His work is to bring into every family the cruel elements of self-will, harshness, selfishness. Thus he seeks to destroy the happiness of the family. He knows that the spirit governing in the home will be brought into the church.” Ibid.

You can’t talk about the family without talking about husbands and wives. She says, “The husband is to treat his wife, the mother of his children, with due respect, and the wife is to love and reverence her husband. How can she do this if he treats her like a servant, to be dictated to, ordered about, scolded, found fault with before the children? He is forcing her to dislike him and even to hate him.” Ibid.

The devil often uses men to talk in a wrong way and destroy the happiness in the family.

The strength of the church and also the nation is the family. Strong families strengthen the church. With a lot of broken families in your church, your church will be weak.

Some of the causes of weakness in the church

Personal dislike – Within families there can be two people who have absolutely opposite temperaments; they think and reason differently. One may say: I have a rational mind. Why can’t my wife figure this out?

Because we are so different, it is easy to develop dislikes for each other while co-habiting. There are husbands and wives who have developed personal dislikes for each other, sometimes just because they don’t agree on some point.

Some things Ellen White wrote about the church also apply to the family. After all, if you are Christians, your family is a little church.

“Let us be careful how we pass sentence of condemnation of one for whom we may be cherishing dislike because he does not meet our ideas, for the sentence will reflect upon ourselves, and do far more harm to us than to the one we condemned. Christ would have His church strong in unity. Let us all praise God that we are not to be judged according to finite man’s discernment, which is very liable to be perverted.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 15, 195.

Friend, sometimes there is intense dislike for somebody in a person’s own family. None of us are perfect; so we need to have mercy on other family members. Maybe the thing you dislike most in a person is something they are aware of and are working on to overcome and they need encouragement. It is much harder to overcome something if someone is criticizing you and tearing you down. Pray that the Lord will help you to love those difficult family members. Without the right feelings toward them it will be impossible to love church members.

 

Rebellion – Many years ago George Vandeman wrote a book called A Planet in Rebellion. Ellen White wrote in Selected Messages, vol. 2, 58: “Rebellion and apostasy are in the very air we breathe. We shall be affected by it unless we, by faith, hang our helpless souls upon Christ.”

Rebellion is in the air. This is a special problem in families with children. The Bible says, “Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry” (1 Samuel 15:23.)

How do you deal with the problem of rebellion in your family? Ellen White wrote: “My soul is sick and discouraged in regard to those who have been so long rebellious in Waukon [a city in Iowa]. Souls in Waukon have rebelled and stood fast in their rebellion, and very recently they have professed to see themselves, and their stubbornness is changed to a spirit of witchcraft or divination. I call upon all who have the cause of God one particle at heart to rise in the name of the Lord and put down the manifestations among them.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 11, 352.

Children must know that whether they are rebels or not, there are rules in your home that are not going to be changed. Ellen White said to one father who had a problem with a son who wanted to smoke, you need to say to your son, I want the angels of heaven to abide in my home, and so I cannot allow smoking, drinking, or carousing. You cannot bring your girl friend over to my house to sleep with overnight. You can’t do that here. I have rules in this house.

Rebellion is never solved by letting down the rules. A son like that should be told that if he is determined to live that way, he will have to leave home and live wherever he chooses, because there are rules in your father’s house.

However, in addition to having rules, in a situation like this the Lord must be sought for wisdom to know what to do so that this child or person will understand that we still love them. In fact, that we love them so much that we would die for them. How can we help them to find that out? One thing is for sure, making a house with no rules is not showing them love. Rebellion is a huge problem affecting not just homes, but churches.

Evil Surmising – Ellen White wrote, “The church is made up of persons of different temperaments and of various dispositions; they have come from different denominations. … If the love of Christ is in the hearts of the members of the church, through the abundant grace of Christ, there will be oneness, unity, among brethren. …  Selfishness is sin, and it grieves away the Spirit of Christ. When we cherish unkind thoughts and harbor suspicions against our brethren, we are cutting ourselves off from the channel of God’s light and love.” The Signs of the Times, April 13, 1891.

Many things happen in this world which may seem to be suspicious but of which we have limited facts. When you see a situation in your family or your church and you don’t know all the facts, remember, you can put either a positive or negative spin on that. Some people always put a negative spin on everything. They often get in trouble, which extends to their families and the churches they attend.

“Jealousy is as cruel as the grave, and should never be cherished in the heart, much less expressed in the actions. How cruel it is to cherish evil surmising against those who are members of Christ’s body! Accusation, condemnation, and revenge are all of Satanic origin, and evil thoughts of others should be at once rejected from the mind …” Ibid.

Jealousy comes directly from the devil. It is he who stirs us up to accuse and condemn one another and to get even with one another. We all at some time have had evil thoughts come into our minds about others, but they are to be rejected.

Overbearing or Arbitrary Spirit – Ellen White wrote, “While at family prayer that night at Bro. S.’s I was again taken off in vision, and that portion of the vision that had passed from me was repeated, and I was shown the overbearing course of R. and C., that their influence in the church was to cause division. They possessed an exalted spirit, and not the meek spirit of Christ.” Spiritual Gifts, vol, 2, 181.

It only takes a couple of overbearing people to cause division in a church.

Pride of Opinion – “ ‘For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end’ (Ephesians 3:14–21).

“Here are brought to view the possibilities of the Christian life. How far short of reaching this standard falls the church of today! Strife, discord, selfish pride of opinion, self-exaltation,—self, self, self,—all this is manifest in those who claim to be followers of the meek and lowly Jesus. When shall we awake?” The Ellen G. White, 1888 Materials, 1794.

Believing my opinion to be better than your opinion divides churches. It divides families. It creates all manner of unhappiness because we think we are so much smarter and know so much better than somebody else.

If you would like to become a really wise person, ask the Lord to help you to look in an objective analytical way at the position of the person that thinks totally opposite from you. You may just learn something.

 

Impulsive and Erratic Movements – “The religious life of some is characterized by impulsive movements. They are as likely to be erratic as to be correct. Some are impatient and restless, while others are indolent and indifferent, and there is such a diversity of opinion and action that there is division instead of harmony in the church.” The Review and Herald, October 22, 1889.

This behavior can never produce a harmonious church in unity. Erratic, impulsive behavior results in division in the church.

Hard-heartedness – “The reason why there are so many hardhearted men and women in the world is that true affection has been regarded as weakness, and has been discouraged and repressed. The better nature of these persons was stifled in childhood; and unless the light of divine love shall melt away their cold selfishness, their happiness will be forever ruined. If we wish our children to possess the tender spirit of Jesus, and the sympathy that angels manifest for us, we must encourage the generous, loving impulses of childhood.” The Desire of Ages, 516.

Jesus said, “What God has joined together, let not man put asunder” (Matthew 19:6). However, the Jews then questioned why Moses had told them that they could divorce their wives and put them away (verses 7, 8). Jesus told them permission was given, not because it was right, but because of the hardness of their hearts. (See Deuteronomy 24:1–4.)

Lack of Discipline – There is very little discipline in churches today. People can do just about anything and still be a church member, but this will result in receiving the curse of God.

“God charged Eli with honoring his sons above the Lord. Eli had permitted the offering appointed by God as a blessing to Israel to be made a thing of abhorrence, rather than bring his sons to shame for their impious and abominable practices. Those who follow their own inclination, in blind affection for their children, indulging them in the gratification of their selfish desires, and do not bring to bear the authority of God to rebuke sin and correct evil, make it manifest that they are honoring their wicked children more than they honor God. They are more anxious to shield their reputation than to glorify God; more desirous to please their children than to please the Lord and to keep His service from every appearance of evil.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 578.

Sinful Neglect – “Though we have an individual work and an individual responsibility before God, we are not to follow our own independent judgment, regardless of the opinions and feelings of our brethren; for this course would lead to disorder in the church.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 30.

Each must realize that they are neither king nor pope. In church matters all must get counsel with other people.

Disrespect – Disrespect destroys families; it can also destroy a church. Ellen White says when the problem is with the husband: “There are many living martyrs today who suffer in silence.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 3, 372.

These victims are not dead, but they are considered martyrs. Could it be when we get to heaven that there may be people there with red around the border of their garment that we never knew were martyrs? Who are these living martyrs?

“They are abused with the tongue and who are tantalized, who are hurt and wounded by coarse, harsh denunciations, whose lot seems to be to live and to suffer, receiving comfort only from Jesus, who is the source of their strength. Such souls are missionaries. They are Christ’s noble ones, and their names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

“Remember, Jesus knows it all—every sorrow, every grief—He will not leave you to sink, for His arms are beneath you. You may be an enlightenment to a whole neighborhood if you are indeed patient, kind, forbearing. In this, my sister, consider your questions answered.” Ibid.

“When discouraging words are spoken to you, do not reply unless you can return a pleasant answer. When you are tried and tempted by unkind words, do not retaliate. Say to yourself, ‘I will not disappoint my Saviour.’ ” Ibid., vol. 8, 442.

“One mother says her husband is an unbeliever. She has children but they are taught by the father to disrespect the mother. She is deeply burdened for her children. She does not know what course she can pursue.” Ibid., vol. 3, 368.

“Because Satan uses the father of your children to counteract your work, do not be discouraged; do not give up the conflict. Do as you wish them to do. Treat your husband with kindness at all times and on all occasions, and bind your children to your heart with the cords of love. This is your work; this is the burden you have to bear. Talk not your home trials to anyone but Jesus; pour them into His ear.” Ibid., 369.

What can be done when communications between disparate parties have broken down?

  1. Look for an opportunity to be a good Samaritan. Remember, when the Samaritan passed the Jew who was wounded, Ellen White says he knew that if the situation were reversed, the Jew would just spit in his face and go on. He knew the wounded man was an enemy. He said, You are in trouble, so I am going to help you out anyway. The Bible says this story is actually a prophecy about the Messiah, “They that hate Me without a cause are more than the hairs of My head: they that would destroy Me, being Mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I did not take away” (Psalm 69:4).
  2. If you have said or done anything that is wrong by which the other party is offended, confess your mistake to them and ask for forgiveness. You don’t need to mention what they’ve done, but if you have done just one thing against them, confess it, tell them you are sorry, and ask for forgiveness.
  3. Pray and be brave enough to say, Lord, I am willing for You to do whatever it takes to save my child. Don’t pray that prayer unless you are serious. I know a mother who prayed that prayer, and in a short time later, her son got cancer, from which he eventually died. But before he died, he came back to the Lord. That is not the pleasant way to come back to the Lord, but when Jesus returns this mother and son will be reunited.
  4. A rift between parent and child will not be healed by giving money. Ask God for special wisdom whether you should actually give to your child what he or she is asking for as it may not be wise.
  5. If your son or daughter or perceived enemy is suffering with a medical problem or some other kind of serious problem, even if they are on the pathway to hell, it is proper for you to do something to try to alleviate their problem. They may see Jesus in you. Remember, Jesus healed ten lepers but only one said, Thank you.

If there is one in ten, or even one in a hundred that reaches salvation because of what you did to help them, it would be worthwhile and there will be rejoicing in heaven.

 

(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 in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

 

Life Sketches – The Church, a Living Temple

In ancient times God had the children of Israel build for Him a temple in their capital city, Jerusalem. However, the apostle Paul says that the Christian has no continuing city in this world. Nevertheless, the Christian does have an altar to which others have no right.

Many times in Scripture, in both in the Old and the New Testaments, the building of the Christian church is likened to the building of a temple. The apostle Paul uses this description in writing to the church at Corinth. He said, “According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus” (1 Corinthians 3:10).

Paul was a champion of the Christian faith. He was one of the main men who laid the foundation for the development of the Christian church. However, although he said that God had made him a wise master builder, he did not exalt himself, but stated that he was just a co-laborer with God, as were the Corinthians also to be co-laborers with God. He said, “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:9). Often the prophets and the apostles likened the Christian church to a temple, a building which is to be a habitation for God Himself. A temple is a house or a building for a deity, someone who is worshiped. In explaining this to the Corinthians, Paul communicated lessons which were to apply to all times, all places, and all people.

The Lord gave him the wisdom of a skillful architect that he might lay the foundation of the church of Christ. This figure of the erection of a temple is frequently repeated in the Scriptures, illustrating the building up of the true Christian church. Zechariah writes, “ ‘Then speak to him, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying: ‘Behold, the Man whose name is the Branch! From His place He shall branch out, and He shall build the temple of the Lord’ ” ‘ ” (Zechariah 6:12). Not only was He to build the temple of the Lord, but there would be many Gentiles, many people who were not Jews, who would come and help in this building. It says in verse 15, “Even those from afar shall come and build the temple of the Lord. Then you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. And this shall come to pass if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.”

Just as was told by prophecy hundreds of years before the foundation of the Christian church was laid, Paul worked in the Gentile quarry of the world to bring out valuable stones to lay upon the foundation, which was Jesus Christ. By coming in contact with that Living Stone we also might become living stones. Then Peter describes it in very similar language when he said, “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house [this is the temple, the church], a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.’ Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, ‘the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,’ and ‘a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.’ They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed” (1 Peter 2:4–8).

Just as Paul described it, Peter described it; the church is composed of human beings that are described as living stones who are built upon the foundation of that Rock, Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, Jehovah is described as that Eternal Rock that is a refuge and a fortress for His people. Paul used the same terminology in writing to the church in Ephesus. He said, “Now, therefore, you [that is, the Gentiles in Ephesus] are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:19–22, literal translation).

So, the church is described by both Paul and Peter as a spiritual temple, a spiritual building where God Himself dwells. To the Thessalonians Paul said that in the future the antichrist would come and sit in the church that is in God’s own temple. (See 2 Thessalonians 2.) In his letter to the Corinthians Paul uses this description tactfully, but yet as a severe warning.

He said, “Other foundations can no man lay except that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become manifest; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire” (1 Corinthians 3:11–15, literal translation).  Then he said, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are” (verses 16, 17, literal translation).

The foundation has been laid. By the Christian experience that you develop, you are building on the foundation. Are you advancing? Is your character being built with material that will stand the day that will reveal your character? When the day of judgment comes and all characters are revealed, will it be seen that you have built on the rock using building materials of gold, or silver, or precious stones? Or will it be seen that you have built on the sand and retained a carnal heart, an unsanctified character that has been whitewashed with a thin profession of righteousness and Christianity—an unsanctified character that cannot be readily detected by the eye of man, but will be detected in the day of God when all characters are revealed.

The precious stones represent those Christians who have been refined and polished by the grace of God. Many times both Paul and Peter said, “We are to grow in grace” (2 Peter 3:18). You are to grow in your Christian experience. Paul talked about the necessity of growing up into Christ. In 1 Corinthians 1:4–8 he said, “I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” It is God’s will for each one of His children to be blameless in the day of Christ when Jesus comes again in the clouds of heaven.

During the probationary time in this world we are all given opportunity to not only accept Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour from sin, but also to receive the Holy Spirit and grow up into His image. Paul wrote about how there were some people who were like little children being pushed back and forth with every wind of doctrine. He admonished them that they needed to grow up so that would no longer be the case. In Ephesians the 4th chapter it says, “He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ” (verses 11–15, literal translation).

Since the time of the apostles, Paul’s epistles helped lay the foundation for building the church of God. Paul brought each person who was willing to accept the gospel to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and to a connection with the living cornerstone. Slowly, there ascended the temple, the church of the living God, which is to be completed before Jesus returns in the clouds of heaven. Paul said, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are” (1 Corinthians 3:16, 17).

The Jews made the work of Paul exceedingly difficult, claiming that they were the only true children of Abraham and therefore they were the only ones who could be part of God’s house. However, the apostles had received a commission from God Himself that the gospel was to go to every nation, to every tribe, to every nationality, to every group of people and to every language (Revelation 14:6). They had to contend with the bigotry, prejudice, and the violence of men who wanted the gospel to be restricted. One after another the noble builders fell at their posts of duty by the hand of the enemy. Stephen was stoned. James was slain with the sword. Paul was beheaded. Peter was crucified. John was exiled, but in spite of the fact that it appeared that all the leaders would be killed off, the church of God still slowly ascended by men who were willing to endure terrible persecutions.

New workers eagerly took the place of those who had fallen, and these faithful laborers down through the ages have brought precious material to the living foundation. Paul told Timothy, “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine” (1 Timothy 4:16). Although they are dead now, the righteous of all ages testify by the record of their words and deeds to the truth of God. The names of all the martyrs of the Christian faith for Christ’s sake are immortalized among the angels in heaven, and a bright reward awaits them when the Lifegiver shall come back to this world and call them from their graves.

This light of truth that has been ascending in our world has always been exceedingly annoying to those joined to the world because the truth exposes the darkness of error. There is a contrast between righteousness and sin. Those who refuse to obey the truth themselves are unwilling that others should obey it. For that reason, the course of the faithful is a continual reproof; their very presence is a reproof to those who do not believe and are disobedient. Carnal minds wrest the word of God to make it pander to their follies and superstitions, but that unerring Word, which is the rule that will test every stone that is brought to God’s temple, will be the record in the judgment to which your life will be compared.

How will it be with you in that final day of judgment when Paul says God is going to “bring every secret thing to light” (Ecclesiastes 12:14)? He said, “Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts” (1 Corinthians 4:5).

O friend, think of the consequences of that day of judgment. How will it be with you? Will you be found connected to the living stone, the living foundation? Will you be found to have a Christian character that is likened to gold, and precious stones, and pearls, or will your character be represented by wood, hay, and stubble? Remember what Paul said to the Corinthians that, “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, to receive the things that we have done in the body, whether it is good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10, literal translation).

The leaders of this world, both church leaders and secular leaders, have sought to defile and destroy this temple by sacrilegious idolatry and persecution of the faithful. But God’s eye has never for a moment left the building that He is erecting in this world. In the face of gaping prisons and torture, and flames, the work of the Christian church has grown under the hands of faithful men. The workmen were at times almost blinded by the mists of superstition that settled as dense darkness on this world. They seemed to be beaten back and destroyed by the violence of their opponents. But in spite of all that, the work of building the church, has gone forward and will continue to go forward in the face of the persecution that we are continuing to face until Jesus returns again. Paul said, “Where are you going to be in the day when God reveals the nature of character that you have been building?” Characters are being built for eternity, either for everlasting life or everlasting destruction. What is going to be your destiny?

Jesus said that your character determines your destiny. (See the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5; Matthew 25; and John 17.) Paul taught that principle to the Corinthians who had fallen into apostasy and the sins of idolatry and paganism that surrounded them. Attempting to draw them back he asked, “Are you going to be a Christian in truth as well as in name or not?” Then he gave them an illustration of something that they could clearly understand being used to seeing these things in their city.

There were people who lived in the first century, just as there are people today, who wanted a religion where all they had to do was simply believe, and that was all. They sought a profession of faith and wanted assurance of salvation without having to change their lifestyle. So today, there are many people who live like the devil thinking that they are Christians and that they are going to heaven, but this is not the religion that was preached by the apostles. This is not the religion described in the New Testament.

In writing to the Corinthians who were in a terrible state of apostasy practicing open sins among themselves, Paul talks to them as a father instructs his children. Paul wants to describe to them the necessity of firm self-control and strict temperance. He did this by comparing it with the games that were celebrated near Corinth and were always attended by a multitude of spectators. This illustration was calculated to make a vivid impression upon the minds of those he addressed because it referred to something with which they were intimately acquainted. There were various games that had been instituted among the Greeks and Romans, not only for the purpose of amusement, but also to train young men for personal vigor and activity, and prepare them to be qualified to be excellent soldiers in warfare.

The most famous of all these games, the most ancient and the most highly esteemed, were the foot races. They were held at stated times and places with great pomp and were patronized by kings, nobles, statesmen, and very wealthy people. These contests were governed by strict regulations from which there were no exceptions. Before the names of the candidates could be entered upon the list as competitors for the prize, they were required to undergo a severe preparatory training. Every indulgence of appetite or other gratification which could in the least affect their mental or physical vigor was strictly forbidden.

Paul speaks of these games to help the believers understand what is necessary for the Christian who is preparing to leave this world to go to a different place. The Christian is also running a race, the race of life. Paul said, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate [that is, practices self-control] in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run like thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:24–27).

O friend, have you ever thought that through? We should ask ourselves, if it was possible for the apostle Paul, who had faithfully preached the gospel all over the world to become disqualified from receiving the prize of eternal life because of lack of self-control, what about me? O friend, do not fall for the idea that the Christian religion is just a shallow assent to saying, “I believe,” and then it is all over—you are saved!  No, the Christian religion involves running a race, one in which you practice strict self-control in all things, so that you might be ready for the coming of Christ and your character is such that you are safe to take to heaven.

(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 in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Perfection, Fear or Faith

We live in an epoch of time in which the prevailing belief, thought, teaching, is that it is impossible to overcome sin in this life and that this blessed gift will not be fulfilled to the saints until Jesus comes. Is this true, or is it a dangerous, and in fact fatal deception which the father of lies has fabricated, just for this time when it is so essential to have that pure “faith which works by love and purifies the heart.” The Sanctified Life, 83.

There is a statement from Inspiration that introduces a subject which I believe is at the core of our “fear,” our perceived sense of powerlessness and hopelessness in regard to overcoming sin. On the surface this statement may seem to be totally disconnected from the subject at hand, but we will see in this study an integral connection.

“It is impossible to estimate the evil results of removing one of the landmarks fixed by the word of God.” The Great Controversy, 525. If that be the case then what are the landmarks? If it is not known what they are, it would be possible to avoid removing one, or more. In fact, as Adventists, we have not only removed just one, but I have come to the realization that we have lost, or at the very least seriously minimized every one of the “landmarks fixed by the word of God”! I believe this is at the core of our weakness.

One of these pillars is Creation as presented by inspired writers (The Great Controversy, 582, 583.) It is mind blowing to study the great facts of creation and the God of creation, the significance of who He is, what He has done, and what He is to the sinner. The following are words inspired by this God:

“By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Psalm 33:6, 9). In six days this earth was created out of nothing, by the breath of His mouth! That is power.

“The theory that God did not create matter when He brought the world into existence is without foundation. In the formation of our world, God was not indebted to pre-existing matter. On the contrary, all things, material or spiritual, stood up before the Lord Jehovah at His voice and were created for His own purpose. The heavens and all the host of them, the earth and all things therein, are not only the work of His hand; they came into existence by the breath of His mouth.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 258, 259.

In addition to physical matter all other things are of His creation. “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him” (Colossians 1:16). All thought, all law, all principle, all language, was brought into existence by our Creator. And this creation was perfect. Nothing marred the workmanship of anything God had created.  But when we turn to the study of the creation of man, there are new thoughts to contemplate.

When man was created, he was created in the image of a perfect God. “Man was to bear God’s image, both in outward resemblance and in character.  Christ alone is ‘the express image’ (Hebrews 1:3) of the Father; but man was formed in the likeness of God. His nature was in harmony with the will of God. His mind was capable of comprehending divine things. His affections were pure; his appetites and passions were under the control of reason. He was holy and happy in bearing the image of God and in perfect obedience to His will.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 45. These are marvelous truths.

But then man sinned (the fall of man—another landmark that is little understood) and as a result no longer bore the image of the Creator. But, the divine God of love had created a plan whereby man could be restored to His perfect image. Who created or made this plan? It was the God of creation, this same God of power!

So, you might ask, what does this have to do with perfection of character?

Inspiration goes on to say, “The creative energy that called the world into existence is in the word of God. This Word imparts power; it begets life. Every command is a promise; accepted by the will, received into the soul, it brings with it the life of the Infinite One. It transforms the nature and recreates the soul in the image of God.” The Signs of the Times, April 11, 1906.

If God could create man “in His image” with a nature “in harmony with the will of God,” with a mind “capable of comprehending divine things,” with pure affections, with “appetites and passions under the control of reason,” and “holy and happy in bearing the image of God and in perfect obedience to His will” does He not have the power to re-create us in His image—in His own timing? If He can do this when He comes, is it not possible He has the power to do this before the close of probation?

Inspiration is very clear that our characters must be made perfect before the close of probation. The following are just a small sample of statements that show this to be true. “Through the grace of God and their own diligent effort, they must be conquerors in the battle with evil. While the investigative judgment is going forward in Heaven, while the sins of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary, there is to be a special work of purification, of putting away of sin, among God’s people upon earth.” The Great Controversy, 425.

“By the king’s examination of the guests at the feast is represented a work of judgment. The guests at the gospel feast are those who profess to serve God, those whose names are written in the book of life. But not all who profess to be Christians are true disciples. Before the final reward is given, it must be decided who are fitted to share the inheritance of the righteous. This decision must be made prior to the second coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven; for when He comes, His reward is with Him, ‘to give every man according as his work shall be’ (Revelation 22:12). Before His coming, then, the character of every man’s work will have been determined, and to every one of Christ’s followers the reward will have been apportioned according to his deeds.

“It is while men are still dwelling upon the earth that the work of investigative judgment takes place in the courts of heaven. The lives of all His professed followers pass in review before God. All are examined according to the record of the books of heaven, and according to his deeds the destiny of each is forever fixed.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 310.

For many people this belief or teaching that we must be perfect and stand “in the sight of a holy God without a mediator” causes a panic, fear, and sometimes despair. Why should this cause such hopelessness? Are not the promises of our God as sure as His admonitions and warnings? Why believe the admonitions and warnings and cast off the promises?

“The creative energy that called the worlds into existence is in the word of God. This word imparts power; it begets life [eternal life]. Every command is a promise; accepted by the will, received into the soul, it brings with it the life of the Infinite One. It transforms the nature and re-creates the soul in the image of God.” Education, 126. This is a divine promise from the very God that sent His Only Begotten Son, “at the risk of failure and eternal loss” (The Desire of Ages, 49 and 131) to this world to provide for us His power “which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57). These are powerful words!

“Now we have opportunity to prepare for the solemn scenes before us. We may be converted to God, and have a change of character; but when Christ shall come there will be no time for this. The change then will be with our bodies. ‘This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality’ (1 Corinthians 15:53).” The Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, January 15, 1889.

“When He comes He is not to cleanse us of our sins, to remove from us the defects in our characters, or to cure us of the infirmities of our tempers and dispositions. If wrought for us at all, this work will all be accomplished before that time. When the Lord comes, those who are holy will be holy still. Those who have preserved their bodies and spirits in holiness, in sanctification and honor, will then receive the finishing touch of immortality. But those who are unjust, unsanctified, and filthy will remain so forever. No work will then be done for them to remove their defects and give them holy characters. The Refiner does not then sit to pursue His refining process and remove their sins and their corruption. This is all to be done in these hours of probation. It is now that this work is to be accomplished for us.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 355.

“I will never advocate the popular theory that it does not matter what doctrine men espouse, if they only have faith. ‘Faith without works is dead, being alone.’ Genuine faith will be expressed by good works. We are looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ. We may not be living when Christ shall come in power and great glory, for all are subject to death at any time, but if we are righteous, in harmony with the law of God, we shall respond to the voice that will call the people of God from their graves, and shall come forth to receive immortality. It is only the blessed and holy who will be ready for the first resurrection; for when Christ comes, he will not change the character. The change that will take place will be that change spoken of by Paul when he says: ‘… we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality’ (1 Corinthians 15:51–53). The word of God declares that we must be found blameless, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. Now we are to learn obedience, submission to the divine will, that God may work in us to will and to do of His good-pleasure, and that we may work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. But our own efforts are of no avail to atone for sin or to renew the heart. Only the blood of Christ can atone for us; His grace alone can create in us a clean heart, and enable us to obey God’s law. In Him is our only hope.” The Signs of the Times, February 9, 1891. [Emphasis supplied.]

Do we believe what God says? Do we really believe in the God of creation, “who spoke … and it stood fast” (Psalm 33:9)? Do we have that “faith which works by love, and purifies the soul?”

Christ, Himself, when He walked the paths of earth once posed a significant, and plaintive question. “When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth” (Luke 18:8)? He was looking down the long years to the time just before He would return to this earth. He saw the skepticism, the lack of belief in His mighty power. If we read and understand aright the words of Holy Writ, we find that Christ had to leave whole towns with little healing. Why? Because of their unbelief! If we do not believe, we will not receive the blessing.

“Where is the faith of those who claim to be the people of God? Shall they also be included among that number of whom Christ questioned, ‘When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth’ (Luke 18:8)? Jesus died to redeem us from the curse of sin and from sin itself, and shall we render Him only a feeble half of those powers which He has paid such an infinite price to ransom from the hands of the enemy of our souls?” The Review and Herald, July 9, 1895.

“Will we put forth most earnest efforts to form this alliance with Christ, through which alone these blessings are attained? Will we break off our sins by righteousness and our iniquities by turning unto the Lord? Skepticism and infidelity are widespread. Christ asked the question: ‘When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth’ (Luke 18:8)? We must cherish a living, active faith. The permanence of our faith is the condition of our union.

“A union with Christ by living faith is enduring; every other union must perish. Christ first chose us, paying an infinite price for our redemption; and the true believer chooses Christ as first and last and best in everything. But this union costs us something. It is a union of utter dependence, to be entered into by a proud being. All who form this union must feel their need of the atoning blood of Christ. They must have a change of heart. They must submit their own will to the will of God. There will be a struggle with outward and internal obstacles. There must be a painful work of detachment as well as a work of attachment. Pride, selfishness, vanity, worldliness—sin in all its forms—must be overcome if we would enter into a union with Christ. The reason why many find the Christian life so deplorably hard, why they are so fickle, so variable, is that they try to attach themselves to Christ without first detaching themselves from these cherished idols.

“After the union with Christ has been formed, it can be preserved only by earnest prayer and untiring effort. We must resist, we must deny, we must conquer self. Through the grace of Christ, by courage, by faith, by watchfulness, we may gain the victory.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 231. This is a promise, an infallible promise by the God of the universe.

Here are just a few more mighty and powerful promises from our God that should inspire hope, courage, love kindling within us that “faith which works by love, and purifies the soul.”

” ‘For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich’ (2 Corinthians 8:9). He in whom ‘dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily’ (Colossians 2:9) descended to our world, humiliated Himself by clothing His divinity with humanity, that through humanity He might reach the human family. While He embraces the human race with His human arm, He grasps the throne of God with His divine arm, thus uniting humanity to divinity. The Majesty of heaven, the King of glory, descended the path of humiliation step by step until He reached the lowest point possible for humanity to experience; and why? That He might be able to reach even the lowest of mankind, sunken in the very depths of degradation though they be, that He might be able to elevate them to the heights of heaven. He has promised, ‘To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne’ (Revelation 3:21). Wonder of wonders! Man, a creature of the earth; dust, elevated to the throne of the King of the universe! Marvelous love! inexpressible, incomprehensible love!” The Review and Herald, July 9, 1895.

“And the Lord said unto Moses, Is the Lord’s hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether My word shall come to pass unto thee or not” (Numbers 11:23).

“Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is My hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver” (Isaiah 50:2)?

“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear” (Isaiah 59:1).

“The life of Christ that gives life to the world is in His word. It was by His word that Jesus healed disease and cast out demons; by His word He stilled the sea, and raised the dead; and the people bore witness that His word was with power. He spoke the word of God, as He had spoken through all the prophets and teachers of the Old Testament. The whole Bible is a manifestation of Christ, and the Saviour desired to fix the faith of His followers on the Word. When His visible presence should be withdrawn, the Word must be their source of power. Like their Master, they were to live ‘by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God’ (Matthew 4:4).” The Desire of Ages, 390.

Oh, if we only understood the spiritual significance of these words! “Healing disease!” As with all words of Inspiration, this paragraph has deep spiritual meaning. “Healing disease,” that is, the dread and fatal leprosy of sin! He can heal it! “Stilled the sea,” that is, the raging human heart of passion and pride—He can still it! “Raise the dead” that is, the heart “dead in trespasses and sin”—He can raise the spiritually dead! And the power for this is “in His word.” Just as the power of creation was “by the breath of His mouth.” Oh, the beauty of Inspiration. The chapter in The Desire of Ages, “Thou Canst Make Me Clean” has such hope, power and beauty.

Often, when our Saviour healed disease He bade the restored soul, “Go, and sin no more” (John 8:11). Are these idle, empty words, words that Christ did not mean to be taken literally? By no means. This is where true faith comes in, that faith that “works by love and purifies the soul.”

“Faith works by love and purifies the soul. Through faith the Holy Spirit finds access to the heart, and creates holiness therein. Man cannot become an agent to work the works of Christ unless he is in communion with God through the Holy Spirit. We can be fitted for heaven only through a transformation of character; we must have Christ’s righteousness as our credentials, if we would find access to the Father. We must be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. We must daily be transformed by the influence of the Holy Spirit; for it is the work of the Holy Spirit to elevate the taste, to sanctify the heart, to ennoble the whole man, by presenting to the soul the matchless charms of Jesus.” The Bible Echo, February 15, 1893.

“All heaven is interested in our salvation. The angels of God, thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand, are commissioned to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. They guard us against evil and press back the powers of darkness that are seeking our destruction. Have we not reason to be thankful every moment, thankful even when there are apparent difficulties in our pathway?” Testimonies, vol. 6, 63.

“The grace of Christ and the law of God are inseparable. In Jesus mercy and truth are met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other. In His life and character He not only reveals the character of God, but the possibility of man. He was the representative of God and the exemplar of humanity. He presented to the world what humanity might become when united by faith with divinity. The only-begotten Son of God took upon Him the nature of man, and established His cross between earth and heaven. Through the cross, man was drawn to God, and God to man. Justice moved from its high and awful position, and the heavenly hosts, the armies of holiness, drew near to the cross, bowing with reverence; for at the cross justice was satisfied. Through the cross the sinner was drawn from the stronghold of sin, from the confederacy of evil, and at every approach to the cross his heart relents and in penitence he cries, ‘It was my sins that crucified the Son of God.’ At the cross he leaves his sins, and through the grace of Christ his character is transformed. The Redeemer raises the sinner from the dust, and places him under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. As the sinner looks upon the Redeemer, he finds hope, assurance, and joy. Faith takes hold of Christ in love. ‘Faith works by love, and purifies the soul.’ ” Selected Messages, Book 1, 349.

Promise after promise, after promise. How can we doubt? Do we have this faith? Are we strong in the Lord and of a good courage, not doubting His word who created the entire universe “by the word of His mouth?” Again I pose the question. Are not the promises of our God as sure as His admonitions and warnings? Why believe the admonitions and warnings and cast off the promises?

It is the pillar of creation, rightly understood that gives the assurance that what our God says He can do, He can indeed do. There is no need for doubt or skepticism. It is essential that we understand the great pillar of creation and know the power of the God of creation as penned by the inspired writers. This pillar, creation, is one of the mighty saving truths of our God to protect us from the skepticism and doubt of this time. It is one of the powerful truths which constitute the “faith of Jesus” and which characterize “the saints” that “keep the commandments.” This pillar, rightly understood, will keep us from the doubt and fear that will lead to defeat and give us the courage and faith to overcome, “through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Dear friends, will you doubt the Lord of Glory with such promises set before us by the very One with the creative power that “He spoke and it was done; He commanded and it stood fast” (Psalm 33:9)?

 

Brenda Douay is a staff member at Steps to Life. She is director of The Training Program for Ministers and Church Leaders, a correspondence course that prepares individuals to serve as pastors or Bible workers. She may be contacted by email at: brendadouay@stepstolife.org.

Separate from the World

There is much written about Enoch, the seventh generation from Adam, throughout the Spirit of Prophecy even though he is only mentioned in four places in the Bible.

Ellen White wrote, “Enoch … represents God’s loyal people in the last days who will be separate from the world. Unrighteousness will prevail to a dreadful extent upon the earth. Men will give themselves up to follow every imagination of their corrupt hearts, and carry out their deceptive philosophy, and rebel against the authority of high Heaven.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, 64. Though sparsely mentioned in the Bible, Enoch is famous. We know that he was the first person to be translated. “Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him” (Genesis 5:21–24).

Studying the life of Enoch is a lesson on how to be ready for the end time. Let’s look at a few things about him.

Enoch walked with God and spent much time in prayer. “Enoch devoted time to prayer and communion with God, and this enabled him to escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. It was his devotion to God that fitted him for translation.” The Review and Herald, April 15, 1909.

“When in trouble, when assailed by fierce temptations, they have the privilege of prayer. What an exalted privilege! Finite beings, of dust and ashes, admitted through the mediation of Christ, into the audience-chamber of the Most High. In such exercises the soul is brought into a sacred nearness with God, and is renewed in knowledge, and true holiness, and fortified against the assaults of the enemy.” An Appeal to Mothers, 24. Daniel also was a man of prayer praying at three specific times daily in a certain place. (See Daniel 6:10.)

God’s people everywhere, including people of all ages, are assailed by multiple temptations and by the privilege of a consistent prayer life you will be fortified to deal with each temptation.

“To him [Enoch] prayer was as the breath of the soul. He lived in the atmosphere of heaven.” Gospel Workers, 52. Enoch had work to do just like everybody else in this world. He was a husband, a father and a citizen, and he had to make a living by the sweat of his face just as was pronounced on Adam (Genesis 3:19) and all of his posterity. In the midst of his responsibilities he communed with God.

“The infinite, unfathomable love of God through Christ, became the subject of his meditations day and night. …

“In the midst of a life of active labor, Enoch steadfastly maintained his communion with God. The greater and more pressing his labors, the more constant and earnest were his prayers.” Ibid., 51, 52.

The apostle Paul describes such communion this way: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

“It is a law of the human mind that by beholding we become changed.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 91.

Considering the world today and even in the church this could be a subject of terror. Many professing Christians spend much of their time looking at sin, watching it, listening to it. It is the natural progression of things that you will think about what you look at. What is the result? There is an interesting text in Isaiah that tells what the result will be. It says, “Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness” (Isaiah 8:22).

Without exception, you become what you look at and listen to. Enoch took advantage of that natural law and began to commune on the character of God and His love, and the result: “Communing thus with God, Enoch came more and more to reflect the divine image. His face was radiant with a holy light, even the light that shineth in the face of Jesus. As he came forth from these divine communings, even the ungodly beheld with awe the impress of heaven upon his countenance.” Gospel Workers, 52.

This experience is available to all and in the last days those who seek it will have the same experience as Enoch. “While still on earth, he dwelt by faith in the realms of light. …

“For three hundred years Enoch had been seeking purity of heart, that he might be in harmony with heaven. …

“To such communion God is calling us. As was Enoch’s, so must be their holiness of character who shall be redeemed from among men at the Lord’s second coming.” Ibid., 53, 54.

God will demonstrate to the whole universe what He can do in human beings through the power of the Holy Spirit if they will yield totally to Him. And He is going to do it in the last generation of people who are the weakest generation that there has ever been. (See Revelation 14:1–5.)

If we don’t have the experience, somebody else will take our place. There is a warning in the book of Revelation that says, “Don’t let somebody else take your crown” (Revelation 3:11).

How can we have the same experience as Enoch? “God must be ever in our thoughts. We must hold converse with Him while we walk by the way, and while our hands are engaged in labor. In all the purposes and pursuits of life, we must enquire, What will the Lord have me to do?” The Review and Herald, May 30, 1882.

Enoch had many responsibilities, but in the midst of all his work, he talked to the Lord about it and that had an effect on his countenance and on the way he spoke. “The love of Jesus always leads to Christian courtesy, refinement of language, and purity of expression that testify the company we are with—that like Enoch we are walking with God. There is no storming, no harshness, but a sweet fragrance in speech and in spirit.” That I May Know Him, 198.

No one will enter heaven without overcoming the disposition to speak harshly and unkindly. Heaven has already been ruined once, and the angels that ruined it were cast out. God is not going to have heaven polluted again.

In researching the life of Enoch in the Spirit of Prophecy, it was amazing to find all that was written about imagination. In Genesis 6:5, notice what it says: “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

It says in verse 11 that the earth was corrupt and filled with violence, and this was a result of corrupt imaginations. A study on this subject will find that one of the principle ways the devil tempts men and women is through the imagination. Before a person engages in open sin of some kind, it has already been formulated in the imagination. In the book Patriarchs and Prophets, in the chapter Apostasy at the Jordan, Ellen White says that there is a long process, hidden, secret to other human beings, that goes on in the mind, the soul, before a Christian engages in any kind of open sin. It has to do with the imagination.

With regard to the imagination, “They should not venture on forbidden ground, where Satan can claim control over them. If they in humility entreat God for purity of thought and a refined and sanctified imagination, He will hear them, and grant their petitions. God has not left them to perish in their sins, but will help the weak and helpless, if they cast themselves in faith upon Him.” An Appeal to Mothers, 22, 23.

No one is going to enter heaven with a defiled, impure imagination. This appears to be one of the bigger problems many Christians have. “It is your duty to control your thoughts. You will have to war against the vain imagination. … You are responsible to God for the indulgence of vain thoughts.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 82. “In place of permitting the imagination to fill the mind with day-dreams and air-castles, let the soul cultivate the habit of contemplating the world’s Redeemer.” The Youth’s Instructor, June 7, 1894.

Controlling the imagination is only possible by cultivating a prayer life as did Enoch. Many believe it impossible to live the Christian life as is described throughout Scripture and it is as impossible in one’s own strength as it was for Peter to walk on water. But, when the Holy Spirit takes control of your life all things are possible. Then you can walk on water!

But without the Holy Spirit holding you up, you will sink immediately. “We cannot keep ourselves from sin for one moment.” The Ministry of Healing, 180. Enoch understood where to go for help and he communicated with the Lord at all times. Whatever he did, he talked to the Lord about it. The result was that he had power to control his carnal imagination and develop pure thoughts.

Enoch was not a hermit. He did not live in a cave somewhere separate from the rest of the world. But he did live separately from the concentrations of wickedness that were present in the world at that time. I am sure that we are all aware that there are some places that have concentrated wickedness. “A separation from the world is required of us, for we cannot remain free from its pollution unless we follow the example of the faithful Enoch.” God’s Amazing Grace, 304.

“God’s people will separate themselves from the unrighteous practices of those around them, and will seek for purity of thought, and holy conformity to His will, until His divine image will be reflected in them. Like Enoch, they will be fitting for translation to Heaven.” The Signs of the Times, February 20, 1879.

King David learned his lesson the hard way by falling into sin. But notice what He said: “I will set nothing wicked before my eyes” (Psalm 101:3). Why did he say that? Because he knew that if he looked at sin, he would become like that in character. “I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness” (verse 4).

Enoch separated himself from the wickedness around him. “Those who follow the Lord are to be firm and straightforward in obeying His directions. Any deviation to follow human devising or planning disqualifies them for being trustworthy. Even if they have to walk as did Enoch—with God alone—His children must separate from those who do not obey Him, who show that they are not in vital connection with Him.” The Youth’s Instructor, April 28, 1898. To follow this counsel, even if they have to walk alone, is one of the great trials that sometimes happens to people who are trying to live for Jesus and be ready for His second coming. These people are scattered all over the world. I often meet people who say to me things like, “My husband or my wife doesn’t believe what I believe.” They are alone at home. “My children, or my parents, or both, don’t believe what I believe …” so they are completely isolated at home. Others say, “There’s no church anywhere near where I am that is teaching and preaching the Three Angels’ Messages, and I work in a secular workplace, and I am all alone.”

It cannot be explained why God allows different people to go through different trials but God allows people to be in situations where they have to develop a character, often alone. This is not some new experience. Enoch had it, he had to walk all alone, but he decided that even if there was nobody else in the world who believed as he did, he would still believe.

While the Lord has been bringing revival and reformation to the Second Advent Movement, there have been some interesting experiences over the past few years. We have met people in various parts of the world who have been cast out of Adventist churches because they stood up for what they believed was right. They thought they were the only ones in the whole world trying to do what’s right and we have encouraged them by telling them there are people scattered all over the world in the same situation.

Even if they have to walk as Enoch did, with God alone, His children must separate from those who do not obey Him and show they are not in vital connection with Him. Remaining in a church that is in open sin that will not turn around will cause you to be spiritually anesthetized, leaving you in a much worse condition than you were to start with. Enoch refused to compromise and was willing to walk alone.

No human being enjoys being alone. Even Jesus didn’t enjoy being alone although He had to walk alone His whole life. His mother didn’t understand Him. His earthly father didn’t understand Him. Neither did His brothers who criticized Him making His childhood hard. His disciples didn’t understand Him and even John the Baptist didn’t understand. Nobody on earth understood Him.

Enoch was the first to be translated, but while on earth he had to walk alone. The sacrifice was worth it, for Enoch is the oldest human being. He is over 5,000 years old right now.

While in vision, Ellen White had a conversation with Enoch. “There I saw good old Enoch, who had been translated. On his right arm he bore a glorious palm, and on each leaf was written ‘Victory.’ Around his head was a dazzling white wreath, and leaves on the wreath, and in the middle of each leaf was written ‘Purity,’ and around the wreath were stones of various colors, that shone brighter than the stars, and cast a reflection upon the letters and magnified them. On the back part of his head was a bow that confined the wreath, and upon the bow was written ‘Holiness.’ Above the wreath was a lovely crown that shone brighter than the sun. I asked him if this was the place he was taken to from the earth. He said, ‘It is not; the city is my home, and I have come to visit this place.’ He moved about the place as if perfectly at home.” Early Writings. 40.

Enoch has access to anywhere in the universe. How exciting it would be to join him in some of those travels some day. When you struggle standing alone and it seems like nobody understands, it will not be forever. Enoch is no longer alone. He has far more friends than any wicked man has ever had or will have.

In regard to Enoch, Ellen White wrote in The Paulson Collection, 178, “We want every one of us, to have an amiable disposition, and unless you have a sanctified, amiable disposition, you will lose heaven entirely.”

A person with an amiable disposition is someone who is easy to get along with. There will not be anybody in heaven that is hard to get along with. “We do not glorify our Redeemer when we complain of the difficulties of the way, and murmur at the providences of God.” The Signs of the Times, February 3, 1888.

Enoch was involved in evangelism. He did not have a lot of success as far as converts were concerned, but he was still involved in it. Wherever he could find two or three people willing to listen to the word of God, he would teach them. He had very small congregations of two or three. “Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him’ ” (Jude 14, 15).

Enoch gave warning to people who were living in sin. Some listened to the warning and renounced their sins, but the multitudes mocked and made fun of him. “The servants of God are to bear a similar message to the world in the last days, and it also will be received by the majority with unbelief and mockery. …

“Enoch, the witness of faith, held on his way, warning, pleading, and teaching, striving to turn back the tide of guilt and to stay the bolts of vengeance.” Gospel Workers 53.

God revealed to Enoch that the wickedness on the earth was so great, that a flood was coming. Because he knew what was coming even though it was still several hundred years away, he tried to help the people get ready so that they wouldn’t have to drown. His son, Methuselah also warned the people of the coming judgment.

“By faith Enoch was translated so that he did not see death, and was not found, because God had translated him. For before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5, literal translation). What a testimony of this faithful man!

“It is our privilege to carry with us the credentials of our faith—love, joy, and peace. When we do this, we shall be able to present the mighty arguments of the cross of Christ. When we learn to walk by faith and not by feeling, we shall have help from God just when we need it, and His peace will come into our hearts. It was this simple life of obedience and trust that Enoch lived. If we learn this lesson of simple trust, ours may be the testimony that he received, that he pleased God. Then instead of mourning and bitter repining, we shall make melody in our hearts to the Lord.” Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions of the Seventh-day Adventists, 133.

If we live a life of simple obedience and trust in the Lord, we can do the same.

“We are required to improve every day. Even in this world of sin and sorrow, we may, by earnest, persevering effort, rise to the highest spiritual efficiency. … We are to please God. This we may do; for Enoch pleased God, though living in a degenerate age. And there are Enochs in this our day.” Sons and Daughters of God, 314.

“Enoch walked with God and ‘had the testimony that his ways pleased God.’ This is the privilege of every believer today. It is man dwelling with God, and God taking up His abode with man. ‘I in them, and thou in Me’ (John 17:21–23).” The Upward Look, 228.

“In all the purposes and pursuits of life, we must inquire, ‘What will the Lord have me to do? How shall I please Him, who has given His life a ransom for me?’ Thus we may walk with God as did Enoch of old.” Our High Calling, 61.

We can have that same experience today. In Ellen White’s day the world in general was optimistic. Because theologians and Christians are influenced by the world in which they live, they had theories of perfectionism and believed that you could just come to Christ and be perfect instantly. Perfectionism was a very popular teaching 150 years ago but Ellen White said it was a fallacy.

Today, after two world wars, a big depression and all kinds of trouble worldwide that is increasing, everything has flipped. We are now living in a pessimistic age where people say nobody is perfect and they do not believe anybody can be.

Christian perfection is a Biblical doctrine all through the New Testament, even though it is a very unpopular one in our time. Jesus mentioned it in Matthew 5:48 and Paul talks about it in almost every single epistle he wrote and also James and John make mention.

“We have fixed our minds upon the exceeding great and precious reward; and, in order to obtain it, we must have a perfect character. … Angels of God are weighing moral worth; and we are to obtain a fitness here to join the society of sinless angels. Do you expect that when Christ comes He will give you that fitness? Not at all. You must be found of Him without spot, without blemish, or wrinkle, or anything like it (Ephesians 5:25; 2 Peter 3:14). Now is the watching and trying time. Now it is the time to obtain a preparation to abide the day of His coming, and to stand when He appeareth. Do you say that you cannot do it because around you are so much sin and iniquity and corruption? I refer you to Enoch.” The Review and Herald, April 19, 1870.

Enoch did it. If we follow the same principles and the same way of life that he followed, we will have the same results. Remember his prayer life, his meditations, his evangelistic efforts, his disposition, his imagination, and the fact that he separated himself from the wickedness in the world, walking with God by living a life of simple obedience and trust.

When Jesus comes there will be a people who have the experience of Enoch and they will be translated. We have been given the Spirit of Prophecy so we can have explicit instruction and know how to order our lives and be ready for Jesus to come. The Holy Spirit earnestly waits to purify your imagination and give you the power to live the Christian life. You can become Christ-like.

The apostle John says that when Jesus comes we will be like Him (1 John 3:2). May the Lord help us to have that experience.

(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 in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Endurance

How happy we are when something is all done—the trial is all finished, the work is all completed, sundown has come.

Moving day is not generally looked forward to with joy. I have not heard of anybody that likes to move. But, when the boxes are all unpacked, and we are sitting down with the pictures on the wall, we are tired but happy. It is done.

We can think of people with casts on. Several in my family have had broken bones. And I know that it is a happy day when the bone is healed and the cast is taken off. What a relief, to finally be able to scratch their skin again.

What about labor and delivery? How happy mothers are when the baby is finally in their arms and all the labor pains are over.

How happy the Israelites were when they were finally out of the wilderness and safely in the land of Canaan. They were so pleased to be out of the hot, dirty, sandy desert.

But the best illustration of all happened on resurrection morning. When Jesus came out of the tomb, how happy He was that our salvation was secured, that the horrors of the cross were over.

We love it when the work is done, when the trial is over. We like to be happy. We like the feeling when we have made it through a tough situation, that it is past and over! There is a sense of joy and of well-being once again.

But, often here on this earth, the trial is not over. We are not finished—we are just starting. We often wish we were at the end when we have only begun. You are moving, and it is midnight, you have been carrying boxes all day and you are exhausted and want to go to bed. So you search through boxes to find the sheets for the bed. Unfortunately, someone forgot to mark the contents on the box that had the sheets in it. It seems that there still are hundreds of boxes to look in. You cannot sit down yet, the job is not done. It is now you need endurance.

Or maybe it is 98º outside and under your cast it feels like 110º. Your skin is itching and it is weeks before the cast comes off. You have a long way to go and the way is tough. It is now you need endurance.

There was a time when the Israelites were in the wilderness. It was years before they would be in Canaan. They had to go through the middle of the wilderness. Sometimes you may feel like you are in a hot, dry wilderness, or in an ocean of difficulties. Jesus has promised, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” Isaiah 43:2. Jesus will always be with you—how we need that today. We need His presence to be with us, because we are not there yet. We still have many mountains to climb.

In the midst of trials we have moments of peace, moments when we feel that for now everything is okay. But trials on this earth come again. We find ourselves in the furnace again and again. We need endurance.

In this article we will look towards the One who knows the most about endurance. “Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2.

The endurance of Jesus was based on the joy that He could see in the future. The future joy was so real to Him that He endured the tortures of Calvary and took no account of the mean remarks made of Him—He despised the shame.

We can learn about this kind of marvelous endurance by looking at various examples. First is the story of a man who did not pass the endurance test. He was a great man. He fought and won many battles with God. He had subdued self and won. But finally, even he was overcome. He got impatient and angry.

 

Moses ’ Failure

 

His name is Moses. We have a picture, in the Spirit of Prophecy, of his natural heart: “He was naturally impatient. But he had taken hold firmly of the grace of God and so humbly implored wisdom from heaven that he was strengthened from God and had overcome his impatience so that he was called by God the meekest man upon the face of the whole earth.” Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, 313. How encouraging! Moses was not naturally a patient man, but he had to overcome his natural tendencies.

A sad time came in the life of Moses. He had been putting up with a stiff-necked and rebellious people for forty years. He had long endured their complaining, but he eventually became weary. What one is strong at first to resist, over time starts getting under a person’s skin, becoming difficult to bear. The storm continues to rage, and those that have stood against the apostasy for a long time, get weary. This is the situation that Moses was in. For forty years the people had complained and complained, and he was sick and tired of it. Do you ever get sick and tired of something? Moses did.

The Lord did something very interesting. We need to consider how the Lord deals with people, because sometime, He might deal with us that way.

The Lord had given them water out of the rock for forty years and they had all the water they needed. Just before they were ready to go into the promised land, the water stopped. The Lord wanted to test their endurance to see if it had increased. “The Lord caused the living streams to cease to prove His people again to see if they would endure the trial of their faith or would again murmur against Him.” Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, 309. They were not in danger of dying of thirst. They were going into a country where they could buy water. So the Lord tested His people. He said, “I will stop the water. It’s been flowing for forty years. I will see if they will trust Me.” Oh, how He hoped. (Yes, the Lord has hopes for us.) He hoped His people would trust Him, but they failed the test. They murmured, they complained.

“And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord.” Numbers 20:3. They went on to complain about how their cattle were going to die. Then they uttered this most cutting remark, “Would God that we had died with our brethren.” They were talking about when their brethren, who were in direct rebellion against God and Moses, had died in the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. The earth opened up and swallowed them alive. These people had the gall to say, “Oh, that we had died with our brethren.” They were really saying that these people, who were in direct rebellion against God, would have treated them better than Moses. Moses was bitterly disappointed. “Disappointment often leads to unbelief.” The Acts of the Apostles, 265. And Moses fell into unbelief. He thought, “Because they complained, the Lord would not let this last generation go into Canaan—all of them are not dead. Now here are their children complaining. Am I going to have to stay out here in this wilderness for many more years?” (See Patriarchs and Prophets, 417, 418.) As Moses started thinking, he became angry with the people. For forty years he had tried to show them the love of God. When they complained he tried to stop it. Here they were at it again.

It is hard to live with contrary people day after day. The record says, “He became weary with the continual murmuring of the people against him.” Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, 310. They were continually murmuring, nagging and contradicting Moses. It was very frustrating to Moses, and by taking his eyes off of God, he made the mistake of taking it personally. Really the people were not murmuring against Moses but against God. Moses forgot that he was hidden under the shadow of God.

Do you ever run out of patience with people? It seems that someone else should be a better Christian. Certainly they know the right thing to do. You have witnessed to them. You have done everything you know. They do not seem to be responding. Sometimes we forget that the work is not ours, but God’s. By taking our eyes off of God, we make the same mistake Moses made—taking it personally.

Here is the story of how Moses gave into his frustrations: “And God said take the rod and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes, and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth unto them water out the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts water to drink.” Numbers 20:8. What was Moses to do? He was to take his rod, but he was not to strike the rock. He was to speak to the rock. He had struck the rock forty years earlier. But the rock was only to be smitten once. That rock represents Jesus, who was smitten once for us. Today, we only need to speak to Him and ask for the water of life. “To every soul, however sinful, Jesus says, If thou hadst asked of me, I would have given thee living water.” The Desire of Ages, 194. That water of life was purchased for us on the cross. Today we can receive it. But when He comes the second time, He will not be smitten again. That is what the Lord wanted to show with this wonderful illustration.

Verse nine says, “And Moses took the rod from before the Lord as He commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, ‘Hear now ye rebels, must we fetch you water out of this rock?’ And Moses lifted up his hand and with his rod he smote the rock twice. And the water came out abundantly and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.”

“Here Moses sinned. He became weary with the continual murmuring of the people against him.” Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, 310.

 

Losing Sight of Our Helper

 

Where did Moses fail? Did he fail by telling a lie? Although he did not portray the character of Christ correctly, he did not actually lie with his words. When Moses angrily commanded the people: “Hear now ye rebels,” he was telling the truth—they were rebels. Even though what Moses said was the truth, it was offensive to God. “This accusation was true. But even truth is not to be spoken in passion or impatience. When He took it upon himself to accuse them, he grieved the Spirit of God and wrought only harm to the people. His lack of patience and self control was evident.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 417. The whole congregation saw him get mad. They heard the angry tones in his voice. God’s character was misrepresented. Why did Moses fall? “Wearied with the continual murmuring and rebellion of the people, Moses had lost sight of his Almighty Helper.” He took his eyes off of Jesus and looked at people. “It was by looking to themselves”—you can only look in one direction. If you look at people, you will lose sight of God. Even Moses was totally dependent upon the grace of God. “It was by looking to themselves, appealing to their own sympathies, that they unconsciously fell into sin, and failed to set before the people their great guilt before God.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 418, 419. No matter how long you have been a Christian, no matter how many battles in which you have stood firm for truth and righteousness, if you are not looking to Jesus, you will fall. Moses fell, and that is the most perfect example of that point. None of us have gone through what Moses went through. We are certainly not qualified—any of us—to say, “My Christian experience is so good that I’ve arrived now; I won’t fall.” If Moses fell, we can fall too.

I have asked the Lord, “If Moses failed, what about me?” Moses’ sin was very grievous, because he did not have to fall. He dishonored God’s sustaining power. In this instance, even though wicked, the people never received a rebuke from God. Only Moses and Aaron got the rebuke. “God did not on this occasion pronounce judgments upon those whose wicked course had so provoked Moses and Aaron. All the reproof fell on the leaders. Those who stood as God’s representatives had not honored Him.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 418.

 

No Excuse for Sin

 

In our world there are people that think it is okay to be impatient if you are tired enough. It is okay to sound harsh if you have had a hard day or have a headache. But God has never permitted that. He did not allow it in Moses and it is not alright today. “If we do not feel just as we want to, are we to fly into impatience, speaking those words that show that we have the attributes of Satan? We cannot afford to speak a harsh word or an unkind word, because we are standing right in view of the heavenly intelligences and we are fighting the battle with all the heavenly universe looking upon us; and how we grieve the heart of God when we deny Him in any way! The marks of the crucifixion in the hands of Christ show that He has graven us upon the palms of His hands.” Mind, Character, and Personality, vol. 2, 803, 804.

There will not be one harsh word in heaven. If we are to be there, we must learn here not to speak harsh words. We can be patient no matter how tired, no matter what time it is and we are still moving, or how itchy the cast is, or anything else. There is no circumstance—nothing that can separate us from the sustaining power of God.

Moses did not have to fall. One of the greatest and most powerful promises I have ever found in the Spirit of Prophecy is to clarify this situation of Moses. “God has made ample provision for His people. And if they rely upon His strength, they will never become the sport of circumstances. The strongest temptation cannot excuse sin, however great the pressure brought to bear upon the soul. Transgression is our own act. It is not the power of earth or hell to compel anyone to evil. Satan attacks us at our weak points, but we need not be overcome, however severe or unexpected the trial. God has provided help for us, and in His strength we may conquer.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 421.

Never excuse yourself because of Moses. Moses took his eyes off of God. If Moses would have kept his eye on Jesus and the joy that was set before him, he would have had strength to endure.

The little things in life can draw our thoughts to heaven. Just the other day, I was walking by a field of grass beside my home. The grass was about a foot tall. There was a gentle breeze and it was bright and sunny outside. The grass was gently waving in the wind and sparkled, like diamonds, in the bright sunlight. It was beautiful! Instantly my mind went to this quotation: “I saw a field of tall grass most glorious to behold. It was living green and it had a reflection of silver and gold as it waved proudly to the King Jesus.” Early Writings, 18. I stopped and looked at that beautiful grass, and said, “Lord, I want to be there. I want to be in heaven, and see the grass waving to honor my Lord. I want to stand in heaven and know that I am there; that all temptation is forever gone and I am eternally secure because of you.” It was just a little thing, but the little things in life can remind us of heaven and help us to endure.

Each one of us have trials. We need to get our eyes off of the landscape of the trials of life and fix them on the joys of heaven. That will make the trials of life seem temporary, like they really are. Heaven is forever. Trials are temporary. When we are in the middle of the trial, when we are in the middle of the river, and the current is strong, when people’s hatred against us is so hard to bear, and we hear scoffing remarks that we know are not true, if we get to thinking about it, and take our eyes off Jesus, and start feeling sorry for ourselves—we are ready to fall.

We need to say, “Lord, I’m much weaker than Moses. I’m very weak. Please take my eyes and help me to focus them on you. You have promised that a trial never would come that I could not bear.” That is what He has promised: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man, but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able, but will with the temptation make a way of escape that ye might be able to bear it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13. It is true. God is faithful.

 

The Joy Before Him

 

Jesus was sustained by looking ahead to the joy that was set before Him. “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2.

What was the joy that He looked at? He thought about the joy He would have in the future. He concentrated on this joy. He kept His eye focused on that joy. That is how He endured the cross. And by focusing on the joy ahead of Him, He endured the cross.

Once there was a soldier. After he had fought for months, he was taken captive and put in one of the worst communist concentration camps. One of the things they did was very unpleasant and uncomfortable. They shoved him in a cage that was too small for him. They would keep him in there for days. Many of the soldiers did not survive the cruel treatment. But they never broke this man’s spirit. After he was released, he was interviewed. What was his secret? He said, “When I was in that uncomfortable cage, it was horrible. My whole body ached and I longed to stretch. Everything ached.” He said, “I would think of my wife, and what it would be like when I came home, and what she would say—how happy she would be.” He said, “I would think of that by the hour.” He liked to play golf. So as he lay in that little cage, he would practice his swing. In his mind he would play a round of golf in the golf course back home. He would think about every hole. One day he was released. In a few days he went and played a game of golf. He shot the best game he ever had. Amazing! He had been practicing, in a cage, for months how to swing that golf club, all the while looking forward to getting home.

What was the joy that Jesus was thinking about on the cross? “And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people; and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.” Isaiah 65:19. What was He thinking about on the cross? He was thinking about you. “The joy of My people”—was the focus of His thoughts. He said, “Some day they will be in My kingdom, and I will take all sorrow away from them.” Jesus endured, because He was thinking of the delight you would have in His kingdom. You were on His mind. He saw the happy looks that would be on your face, and He endured. “Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame.”

Do you know how you can endure? You can endure by thinking about Him. He endured by thinking about you—how happy you would be when He wiped all your tears away. You can endure by thinking about Him and what He went through for you. You will have strength to go through the trials of life, to be patient, to overcome all anger, all fretfulness. Jesus was pained with the cutting remarks that were said about Him, but He never murmured or complained. Friends, we need to get our minds off the trials of this life. We need to have our mind riveted on the One that has gone through the trials already.

When He was on the cross, the religionists of His day ridiculed Jesus. They made sneering remarks that cut to the very quick of His heart. He knows what it means to be reproached. But He endured, just thinking of the joy that He could bring you. And you can endure thinking about the joy that you can bring Him. There is a wonderful joy that is laid up for the saints. A great part of that joy will be in seeing our Lord happy.

We are warned, “Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son, and children shall rise up against their parents and shall cause them to be put to death, and ye shall be hated of all men for My sake, but he that shall endure until the end, the same shall be saved.” Mark 13:12, 13. Righteousness and truth do not mix with error. If you are standing in defense of truth, you are going to be hated.

Are you ready to endure hatred? If you endure you will be saved. But the time is coming when all hatred will be at an end. “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Isaiah 35:10. Sorrow and sighing will someday be forever gone.

Look to Jesus. He can give you hope. You may feel encased in a cast, not a cast of plaster, but a cast of hatred and distrust. And it is hot, and itchy, and you want out, but you cannot get out. You are in the middle of a trial. If you look to Jesus, He will give you comfort. He will give you endurance. He will give you joy. You will have peace in the middle of the trial, because He is sufficient to take you through.

“Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2.

 

Editorial — Stumbling Along

Because everything that can be shaken will be shaken, many today are discouraged. They see nothing but the darkness of confusion and dissension that the devil has cast in their pathway, and have all but given up hope of seeing the perfect unity Christ spoke of. They are stumbling along in uncertainty, and darkness, when they could be rejoicing in the light. (This perfect unity will not occur as a result of compromise or going back into apostasy, but only among those who reach character perfection. It is because God’s people are a long way from character perfection, that we do not see unity yet. Much more knee work and striving to overcome are necessary first. “Perfection of character means perfection in unity.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 11,179.

These are the steps we should take to walk in the light of love and rejoicing:

  1. Decide to keep all the commandments. “The law of God is a complete standard of righteousness. Man has not in himself sufficient wisdom to frame a perfect rule of right, and therefore God has given His law as a safe guide. Man is not left to his own fallacious reasoning in regard to his course of action toward his fellow men or his service to God. He is not left to stumble along, following the imagination of his own heart and mind. God calls the attention of men to a comprehensible rule of action, commandments that have God for their Author, the law pronounced by inspiration holy, just, and good. The service that God expects of His servants is not left to question and doubt. Will man love God supremely, and his neighbor as himself?” Manuscript Releases, vol. 17, 112.
  2. Live up to all the light of truth that you have now. “Nathanael was walking in the light as far as he had received it, and God did not permit him to stumble along in ignorance and blindness.” Signs of the Times, March 24, 1898.
  3. Pray with persevering faith when you are in trouble. “I have been persons in trouble, who, instead of looking to Jesus, kept looking at their trouble, kept talking of their discouragements, and kept dwelling upon their trials . . .When we are in trial and sadness, we must look to Jesus. We must take our sorrow to the Lord in prayer.” Signs of the Times, January 19, 1891.
  4. Praise the Lord. “Oh, if we would by faith draw nigh to God, He would reveal to us His glory, which is His character, and the praise of God would flow forth from humans hearts and be sounded by human voices. Then we would forever cease to give glory to Satan by sinning against God and talking doubt and unbelief. We should no longer stumble along, grumbling and mourning.” Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 1097.

As God gives us light, we should make use of it; God will not give us a second ray while the first is not appreciated. We must praise the Lord for the light already graciously given, and reflect it upon those around us. Then more light will shine upon us. (See Review and Herald, October 11, 1892.)

  1. Study your Bible and strive to overcome. “Let us study the Word, and as we have opportunity, talk Bible truth. As you do this, you will find that your own mind and heart are becoming subdued. As you strive to overcome everything that is displeasing to God, angels of heaven will help you…You will not be left to stumble along in uncertainty.” Youth’s Instructor, June 9, 1914.
  2. Rejoice in faith. “The Christian always has a strong helper in the Lord. The way of the Lord’s helping we may not know; but this we do know: He will never fail those who put their trust in Him. Could Christians realize how many times the Lord has ordered their way, that the purposes of the enemy concerning them might not be accomplished, they would not stumble along complainingly. Their faith wold be stayed on God, and no trial would have power to move them.” Prophets and Kings, 576.

“The children of God may rejoice in all things, and at all times. When troubles and difficulties come, believing in the wise providence of God, you may rejoice.” Review and Herald, February 11, 1890.

  1. Give a steady signal. “The tiniest lamp, kept replenished with the golden oil, and sending forth its bright beams to dispel the darkness, is of far more value than the large lamp which flashes with brilliancy for a time, then sputters and goes out, leaving souls in darkness to stumble along as best they can. It is the golden oil, emptied by the heavenly messengers into the golden tubes, to be conducted into the golden bowl, that creates a continuous bright and shining light. It is the love of God continually transferred to man that keeps him a bright and shining light for God. Then he can communicate the light of truth to all who are in the darkness of error and sin.” Review and Herald, September 21, 1897.