Faith

Bible Study Guides – Exercising Faith

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February 11, 2007 – February 17, 2007

Key Text

“Now the just shall live by faith: but if [any man] draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” Hebrews 10:38.

Study Help: The Desire of Ages, 315–320; Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, 141–144.

Introduction

“For six thousand years, faith has builded upon Christ. For six thousand years the floods and tempests of satanic wrath have beaten upon the Rock of our salvation; but it stands unmoved.” The Desire of Ages, 413.

1 What is the definition of faith? Hebrews 11:1, 2; 11 Corinthians 4:18. How is faith born? Roman 10:17.

note: “Faith is not the ground of our salvation, but it is the great blessing—the eye that sees, the ear that hears, the feet that run, the hand that grasps. It is the means, not the end. If Christ gave His life to save sinners, why shall I not take that blessing? My faith grasps it, and thus my faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. Thus resting and believing, I have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1073.

2 How are we to develop the “measure of faith” (Romans 12:3) that God has granted each one of us? John 6:53, 63; Luke 17:5; 1 Peter 2:2.

note: “Courage, fortitude, faith, and implicit trust in God’s power to save do not come in a moment. These heavenly graces are acquired by the experience of years.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 213.

“You have to talk faith, you have to live faith, you have to act faith, that you may have an increase of faith; and thus exercising that living faith you will grow to strong men and women in Christ Jesus.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1121, 1122.

3 How does true faith assimilate the Word of God? 11 Timothy 3:15–17; 1 Peter 1:22, 23.

note: “The word of God must be interwoven with the living character of those who believe it. The only vital faith is that faith which receives and assimilates the truth till it is a part of the being and the motive power of the life and action.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 576.

“Temptations often appear irresistible because, through neglect of prayer and the study of the Bible, the tempted one cannot readily remember God’s promises and meet Satan with the Scripture weapons. But angels are round about those who are willing to be taught in divine things; and in the time of great necessity they will bring to their remembrance the very truths which are needed.” The Great Controversy, 600.

4 What agencies work together in the process of sanctification? 11 Thessalonians 2:13; 11 Timothy 2:15; John 17:17.

note: “The Scriptures are the great agency in the transformation of character. Christ prayed, ‘Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy word is truth.’ John 17:17. If studied and obeyed, the word of God works in the heart, subduing every unholy attribute. The Holy Spirit comes to convict of sin, and the faith that springs up in the heart works by love to Christ, conforming us in body, soul, and spirit to His own image. Then God can use us to do His will. The power given us works from within outwardly, leading us to communicate to others the truth that has been communicated to us.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 100.

“By looking constantly to Jesus with the eye of faith, we shall be strengthened. God will make the most precious revelations to His hungering, thirsting people. They will find that Christ is a personal Saviour. As they feed upon His word, they find that it is spirit and life. The word destroys the natural, earthly nature, and imparts a new life in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit comes to the soul as a Comforter. By the transforming agency of His grace, the image of God is reproduced in the disciple; he becomes a new creature.” The Desire of Ages, 391.

5 What is the difference between genuine faith and a mere profession of faith? James 1:6, 7; Titus 1:16; Hebrews 11:6.

note: “There are thousands who claim to have the light of truth who take no steps in advance. They have no living experience, notwithstanding they have had every advantage. They do not know what consecration means. Their devotions are formal and hollow, and there is no depth to their piety. The Word of God offers spiritual liberty and enlightenment to those who study it earnestly. Those who accept the promises of God, and act on them with living faith, will have the light of heaven in their lives. They will drink of the fountain of life, and lead others to the waters that have refreshed their own souls. We must have that faith in God that takes him at his word.” Review and Herald, September 22, 1910.

6 What will be the result of true faith? Galatians 5:6 (compare Romans 13:9, 10); James 2:14–17.

note: “There is a belief that is not a saving faith. The word declares that the devils believe and tremble. The so-called faith that does not work by love and purify the soul will not justify any man. . . .

“We need the faith of Abraham in our day, to lighten the darkness that gathers around us, shutting out the sweet sunlight of God’s love, and dwarfing spiritual growth. Our faith should be prolific of good works; for faith without works is dead. Every duty performed, every sacrifice made in the name of Jesus, brings an exceeding great reward. In the very act of duty, God speaks and gives His blessing.” The Signs of the Times, May 19, 1898.

7 How did a Roman centurion exercise faith when his servant was sick to the point of death? Luke 7:2, 3.

note: “The centurion was tenderly attached to his servant, and greatly desired his recovery. He believed that Jesus could heal him. He had not seen the Saviour, but the reports he heard had inspired him with faith. Notwithstanding the formalism of the Jews, this Roman was convinced that their religion was superior to his own. Already he had broken through the barriers of national prejudice and hatred that separated the conquerors from the conquered people. He had manifested respect for the service of God, and had shown kindness to the Jews as His worshipers. In the teaching of Christ, as it had been reported to him, he found that which met the need of the soul. All that was spiritual within him responded to the Saviour’s words. But he felt unworthy to come into the presence of Jesus, and he appealed to the Jewish elders to make request for the healing of his servant. They were acquainted with the Great Teacher, and would, he thought, know how to approach Him so as to win His favor.” The Desire of Ages, 315, 316.

8 As far as faith was concerned, what was the difference between the Roman centurion and the Jewish elders who recommended him to Christ? Luke 7:4–10.

note: “The Jewish elders who recommended the centurion to Christ had shown how far they were from possessing the spirit of the gospel. They did not recognize that our great need is our only claim on God’s mercy. In their self-righteousness they commended the centurion because of the favor he had shown to ‘our nation.’ But the centurion said of himself, ‘I am not worthy.’ [Luke 7:5, 7.] His heart had been touched by the grace of Christ. He saw his own unworthiness; yet he feared not to ask help. He trusted not to his own goodness; his argument was his great need. His faith took hold upon Christ in His true character. He did not believe in Him merely as a worker of miracles, but as the friend and Saviour of mankind.

“It is thus that every sinner may come to Christ. ‘Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.’ Titus 3:5. When Satan tells you that you are a sinner, and cannot hope to receive blessing from God, tell him that Christ came into the world to save sinners. We have nothing to recommend us to God; but the plea that we may urge now and ever is our utterly helpless condition that makes His redeeming power a necessity. Renouncing all self-dependence, we may look to the cross of Calvary and say,—‘In my hand no price I bring; Simply to Thy cross I cling.’ ” The Desire of Ages, 316, 317.

9 What assurance is given us in seeking to live by faith? 1 Peter 1:7–9; Philippians 4:6, 7.

note: “Let us keep our eyes fixed upon Christ, and He will preserve us. Looking unto Jesus, we are safe. Nothing can pluck us out of His hand.” Steps to Christ, 72.

10 What are some of the things that faith accomplished in the past, and what will it accomplish today? Hebrews 11:29–35; 1 John 5:4.

note: “Faith is simple in its operation and powerful in its results.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 2, 322.

“It is faith that connects us with the power of heaven, and that brings us the strength for coping with the powers of darkness.” Review and Herald, September 22, 1910.

Victory of Faith

“The Christian life is a battle and a march. But the victory to be gained is not won by human power. The field of conflict is the domain of the heart. The battle which we have to fight—the greatest battle that was ever fought by man—is the surrender of self to the will of God, the yielding of the heart to the sovereignty of love. The old nature, born of blood and of the will of the flesh, cannot inherit the kingdom of God. The hereditary tendencies, the former habits, must be given up.

“He who determines to enter the spiritual kingdom will find that all the powers and passions of an unregenerate nature, backed by the forces of the kingdom of darkness, are arrayed against him. Selfishness and pride will make a stand against anything that would show them to be sinful. We cannot, of ourselves, conquer the evil desires and habits that strive for the mastery. We cannot overcome the mighty foe who holds us in his thrall. God alone can give us the victory. He desires us to have the mastery over ourselves, our own will and ways. But He cannot work in us without our consent and co-operation. The divine Spirit works through the faculties and powers given to man. Our energies are required to co-operate with God.

“The victory is not won without much earnest prayer, without the humbling of self at every step. Our will is not to be forced into co-operation with divine agencies, but it must be voluntarily submitted. Were it possible to force upon you with a hundredfold greater intensity the influence of the Spirit of God, it would not make you a Christian, a fit subject for heaven. The stronghold of Satan would not be broken. The will must be placed on the side of God’s will. You are not able, of yourself, to bring your purposes and desires and inclinations into submission to the will of God; but if you are ‘willing to be made willing,’ God will accomplish the work for you, even ‘casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.’ 11 Corinthians 10:5. Then you will ‘work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.’ Philippians 2:12, 13.

“But many are attracted by the beauty of Christ and the glory of heaven, who yet shrink from the conditions by which alone these can become their own. There are many in the broad way who are not fully satisfied with the path in which they walk. They long to break from the slavery of sin, and in their own strength they seek to make a stand against their sinful practices. They look toward the narrow way and the strait gate; but selfish pleasure, love of the world, pride, unsanctified ambition, place a barrier between them and the Saviour. To renounce their own will, their chosen objects of affection or pursuit, requires a sacrifice at which they hesitate and falter and turn back. Many ‘will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.’ Luke 13:24. They desire the good, they make some effort to obtain it; but they do not choose it; they have not a settled purpose to secure it at the cost of all things.

“The only hope for us if we would overcome is to unite our will to God’s will and work in co-operation with Him, hour by hour and day by day. We cannot retain self and yet enter the kingdom of God. If we ever attain unto holiness, it will be through the renunciation of self and the reception of the mind of Christ. Pride and self-sufficiency must be crucified. Are we willing to pay the price required of us? Are we willing to have our will brought into perfect conformity to the will of God? Until we are willing, the transforming grace of God cannot be manifest upon us.

“The warfare which we are to wage is the ‘good fight of faith.’ ‘I also labor,’ said the apostle Paul, ‘striving according to His working, which worketh in me mightily.’ Colossians 1:29

“Jacob, in the great crisis of his life, turned aside to pray. He was filled with one overmastering purpose—to seek for transformation of character. But while he was pleading with God, an enemy, as he supposed, placed his hand upon him, and all night he wrestled for his life. But the purpose of his soul was not changed by peril of life itself. When his strength was nearly spent, the Angel put forth His divine power, and at His touch Jacob knew Him with whom he had been contending. Wounded and helpless, he fell upon the Saviour’s breast, pleading for a blessing. He would not be turned aside nor cease his intercession, and Christ granted the petition of this helpless, penitent soul, according to His promise, ‘Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me.’ Isaiah 27:5. Jacob pleaded with determined spirit, ‘I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me.’ Genesis 32:26. This spirit of persistence was inspired by Him who wrestled with the patriarch. It was He who gave him the victory, and He changed his name from Jacob to Israel, saying, ‘As a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.’ Genesis 32:28. That for which Jacob had vainly wrestled in his own strength was won through self-surrender and steadfast faith. ‘This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.’ 1 John 5:4.” Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, 141–144.

Reprinted with permission, Reformation Herald Publishing Association, Roanoke Virginia, 2003.

Learning to Walk With God, Part IV

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Remember that obedience to all of God’s holy laws and adherence to His divine will in all things must be combined with our faith; for, say the Scriptures, “Faith without works is dead.” James 2:20. Therefore, besides trusting in God’s mercy, love, and divine presence, we also need to follow Christ by constantly communing with God and decisively obeying His holy Word. Only thus can we truly become heroes for God. Then God will walk and talk with us as He did with Enoch. Hence, we are told: “Enoch’s walk with God was not in a trance or a vision, but in all the duties of his daily life.” Gospel Workers, 51.

If we, like Enoch, are prayerful and faithful in all our duties of life, the Lord will work for us much more than we have ever seen Him work for us in the past. We need to believe that we are not alone, that Christ is at our side through every trial, every test, every challenge, every duty, and every circumstance in life. We must see Him with us at all times by utilizing our spiritual eyes or the eyes of faith. This makes communing with Him easier.

But, like Enoch, we, too, must faithfully do all our duties and strive to obey God’s will. Otherwise, keeping a vision of the Lord’s presence with us would be useless. If we, however, visualize the Lord with us and endeavor to use this vision to help us to constantly commune with Him and trust in Him, we will quickly learn that a sense of God’s presence will actually strengthen and encourage us to make firm decisions and earnest efforts to obey God.

Imagination

The children of God have often gained victories simply because they envisioned something in their mind’s eye that others did not see. Therefore, we need to use our imaginations. God has given them to us for a good purpose. The imagination can help, as well as it can hinder. But we must believe that no matter what problem we face, it is never too big for God. The reason the Lord destroyed the antediluvians was because “Every imagination of the thoughts of [their] heart was only evil continually.” Genesis 6:5. They used their imaginations for the wrong reason. However, if God’s Word is telling us what is happening around us, that we are not alone, then we have to see this truth in our mind’s eye or in our imaginations, and make it a part of our lives. This will make a big difference in how we face life. We must now teach ourselves and our children to use our imaginations wisely before the end-time crisis comes. “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18.

Doing Away with Worry and Sin

Sometimes we wonder what lessons can be taught to our children when we share different Bible stories with them. One of the best lessons we can impart to the minds of children, and even imprint upon our own minds, is the lesson that they (and we) are not alone. This lesson will affect every phase of their (and our) lives thereafter.

When we consider different incidents in the Bible where men of God gained victories because they believed that God was with them, we usually find that our faith is strengthened. We begin to believe that we, too, can become conquerors and champions for God. We begin to realize that many who went before us also encountered problems and temptations, and through much prayer and faith they overcame. Let us remember that frustration and worry are supposed to be strange and foreign for true children of God, and sinning is supposed to be a dying habit or a passing experience for all Christians.

“Many who profess to be Christ’s followers have an anxious, troubled heart because they are afraid to trust themselves with God. They do not make a complete surrender to Him, for they shrink from the consequences that such a surrender may involve. Unless they do make this surrender they cannot find peace.” The Ministry of Healing, 480, 481.

Sometimes we do not want to remember that God is watching us all the time. Usually the reason is because we want more freedom to do our own thing. We want to be free from God. So our imaginations are filled with the thought that we are alone; we are free—free from God. But when we come up against a real challenge and we need the Good Shepherd to be with us, we then have problems remembering Him and trusting in Him. That is why we often see our challenges so huge in front of us. This, of course, is our fault. We have left God out of our thoughts too much. This we have done for our own selfish reasons, and now when we are confronted with trials and tests, we lack confidence in the thought that God is with us. We believe that we are alone. Thus, we find no peace. None can deny that this defeating and self-destroying practice needs to be changed.

We must know what we really want: do we really want to serve God, or are we trying to serve God and mammon? We have to decide! If we decide we want to serve God and to be all for Him, there can be no room for conveniently leaving God out of anything in our lives. We must ever keep God in our thoughts. Thus, when faced with challenges, we will pray and have one thought standing out boldly, clearly, firmly, and strongly, and that is, “I am not alone.” Such a person cannot fail.

Jesus did not say or do anything He did not want His Father to hear or to see. As a result, He constantly communed with God and trusted Him. Thus, when up against challenges, He was assured of His Father’s help. His heart was fixed on the thought that He was not alone, that His Father was with Him. Likewise, all God’s children need to have the mind of Christ: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5.

God Will Provide

“There are many whose hearts are aching under a load of care because they seek to reach the world’s standard. They have chosen its service, accepted its perplexities, adopted its customs. Thus their character is marred and their life made a weariness. The continual worry is wearing out the life forces. Our Lord desires them to lay aside this yoke of bondage. He invites them to accept His yoke; He says, ‘My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.’ Worry is blind and cannot discern the future; but Jesus sees the end from the beginning. In every difficulty He has His way pre¬pared to bring relief. ‘No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.’ Matthew 11:30; Psalm 84:11.

“Our heavenly Father has a thousand ways to provide for us of which we know nothing. Those who accept the one principle of making the service of God supreme, will find perplexities vanish and a plain path before their feet.

“The faithful discharge of today’s duties is the best preparation for tomorrow’s trials. Do not gather together all tomorrow’s liabilities and cares and add them to the burden of today. ‘Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.’ Matthew 6:34.

“Let us be hopeful and courageous. Despondency in God’s service is sinful and unreasonable. He knows our every necessity. To the omnipotence of the King of kings our covenant-keeping God unites the gentleness and care of the tender shepherd. His power is absolute, and it is the pledge of the sure fulfillment of His promises to all who trust in Him. He has means for the removal of every difficulty, that those who serve Him and respect the means He employs may be sustained. His love is as far above all other love as the heavens are above the earth. He watches over His children with a love that is measureless and everlasting.

“In the darkest days, when appearances seem most forbidding, have faith in God. He is working out His will, doing all things well in behalf of His people. The strength of those who love and serve Him will be renewed day by day.” Ibid., 481, 482. [Emphasis added.]

We must learn what it means to have faith in God. Despite our circumstances, we must believe that when we are striving to do God’s will, He is on our side to protect and defend us, and to grant us the victory over all things. We must realize that everything that comes our way is carefully scrutinized by the Lord ahead of time, and that He does not permit anything (good or evil) to come our way unless He Himself is near and available to provide His strength and support. Thus, difficulties, including those that threaten our happiness or even our lives, are seen as blessings by the true and mature saints of God, those who, like Enoch, learn to walk with God.

For Our Good

“Each fiery trial is God’s agent for their [Christ’s followers] refining. Each is fitting them for their work as colaborers with Him. Each conflict has its place in the great battle for righteousness, and each will add to the joy of their final triumph. Having this in view, the test of their faith and patience will be cheerfully accepted rather than dreaded and avoided.” The Desire of Ages, 306.

Like the three Hebrew youth who were placed in the fiery furnace in Babylon (Daniel 3:19–27), we, too, must learn to accept that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28. That is, we must learn to believe that “all things” (whether positive or negative) are really for our good and will always turn out in our favor in the end. Like these three champions of God, Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego, we, too, must become fully conscious of the fact that we have at our side “the form” of One “like the Son of God.” Daniel 3:25.

Indeed, the experience of all true Christians is that we are not alone. Like the psalmist David, we, too, can bravely say: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. . . . Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.” Psalm 23:1, 4.

There is no need for us to worry about anything; instead there is a great need for us to “be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.” Ephesians 6:10. We must always remember that “without faith it is impossible to please [God].” Hebrews 11:6. Therefore, we must trust in God and believe that He will always bless us in the end as we strive to do His will; we must believe that all our prayers will eventually be answered. Remember that worry and sin will surely deny us of the presence and blessings that only God can give. Surely, none of us can afford to be without divine help and strength or any of God’s appointed privileges and gifts. Therefore, no true Christian today should fail to learn exactly what it means to walk with God, as did faithful Enoch.

Our Source of Wisdom and Peace

Many feel that they are not equipped to do the Master’s bidding. Many times we hear of individuals saying that they just do not have what it takes to minister unto others. We also hear of those who claim that they do not know what to do when faced with different tasks and of those who say that they do not know how to carry out the will of God. Yet we are told that wisdom is a virtue that none should lack. The Scriptures say: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” James 1:5–8.

Wisdom (which comes from God) provides us with a sense of confidence, assurance, and peace. Such beautiful benefits can only come from God. Our heavenly Father has designed different means whereby His children can acquire this virtuous gift: a true and accurate knowledge of God’s Word, divinely-appointed experience, and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Since “wisdom is the principal thing” and “happy is the man that findeth wisdom,” it is the Master’s will that all His children be wise. Proverbs 4:7; 3:13. Thus, we read: “He is able and willing to bestow upon His servants all the help they need. He will give them the wisdom which their varied necessities demand.

“Said the tried apostle Paul: ‘He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take plea¬sure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.’ 11 Corinthians 12:9, 10.” Ibid., 482. [Emphasis added.]

God’s grace is sufficient for us; however, to really benefit from such abundant grace, we must constantly commune with God and ever keep Him close to us. We must, like Enoch, walk with God. Thus, we can be assured, not only of perfect wisdom, but also of perfect peace. Note: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.” Isaiah 26:3. [Emphasis added.]

Let us take the time to memorize this verse. It has become very important to me. I have found in my own experience that this verse is quite beneficial and encouraging from day to day. Furthermore, since I know that this verse was not recorded in God’s Word just for me, I believe that many others can benefit from it today and in the future, if they, too, will recall it to mind frequently.

Perfect Peace

Let us consider the words, “perfect peace.” Do you know what is perfect peace? It is peace without flaw or reservation. This, of course, seems foreign to the inhabitants of this sinful, violent world. Unfortunately, it also is foreign to some professed Christians. Yes, we may feel somewhat okay, but a little anxiety is still present, a little bit of fear. We are not too sure of ourselves or of our situation, yet we may say that we are okay. God, however, is saying that He wants to give all of us “perfect peace.” He wants to give us this gift in this life, and not just in the life to come.

Perfect peace means no uncertainty at all; it is a state of perfect assurance. This blessing is available and possible to all who keep their minds “stayed” on the Lord (Isaiah 26:3); that is, to all who maintain within their minds a sense of God’s presence, those who constantly talk to God and trust in Him. Even though such individuals may be confronted with trials and tests, instead of seeing the problem by itself, they see the Lord either in front of it, behind it, at the side of it, or surrounding it. In other words, they truly believe that God is in control. Such persons do not see things just isolated or by themselves, for they strongly believe that they are not alone and that they never have to handle anything by themselves. It is not just they and the problem anymore; it is they and the Lord, plus the problem, which they talk to God about as soon as it arises. Such Christians have learned how to truly walk with God!

Furthermore, these children of perfect peace are doers of God’s Word. In the strength of the Lord they struggle to gain the victory over sin and Satan. They see that God’s presence in their lives is for a purpose. He is there to help them in their battle to overcome sin and sinfulness in every form, be it in the form of the devil, the world, or the flesh.

This is the kind of outlook God is trying to get us to develop by allowing us to have problems. If we do not have difficulties and challenges, we will not learn how to include this new thought in our carnal minds. We were born with a mind devoid of God; it does not think about God; it does not know God; it is separated from Him; and it must learn to include Him. So the challenges in life are for us to learn and to practice putting Him into every picture we see in our minds.

Minds on the Lord

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee.” Isaiah 26:3. [Emphasis added.]

According to this verse, this experience of “perfect peace” is obtained only if our minds are “stayed” on the Lord. This view of abiding in Christ, or allowing our minds to dwell on heavenly and holy things, must not be allowed to die out for convenience sake, but we must strive to keep these things within our hearts at all times and under all circumstances of life, good and bad alike.

Joseph’s mind stayed on God, even when the carnal nature may have wanted to say, “Let me forget God for now; I can bring Him back in my thoughts afterwards.” Instead, his mind was stayed on the Lord even when his emotions or passions were under attack, whether from the wickedness of his brothers or from the seductive attempts of Potiphar’s wife. Said he while under the test of the latter circumstance, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” Genesis 39:9.

Enoch, Elijah, Moses, Luther, Joseph, Peter, Paul, and many others continually communed with God and maintained a sense of His presence. This protected them from sinning and kept them steadfast in the Lord during their trials. These men of God not only pictured the Lord in their minds and trusted in His mighty power, they also prayed continually for help and cooperated with Him in resisting sin. In return for their prayerfulness, faith, and efforts, God gave them the victory over every temptation and sin.
These men believed that this Almighty Being they saw in their mind’s eye or thoughts was going to help them, and give them wisdom and victory. In this way, God was not just a notion or a fantasy to them; He was a real person with character and purpose.
To all His children He is there to help. He loves us with an everlasting love; He cares for us; He is all powerful, and nothing can withstand Him. This is He with whom we must commune, trust, and see in our mind’s eye.

It is my prayer that we will truly experience what it means to walk with God. Let us therefore develop the mind of Christ, the mind of patri¬archs, prophets, apostles, reformers, and the saints of old. It is a mind of truth and trust that qualifies men of ancient and modern times to be described as champions of truth. May we, too, see and believe with all our hearts that the Lord is with us, morning, noon, and night—every second, every minute, every hour of every day.

We need to encourage continual prayerfulness, trust, and the precious thought that God is with us. May we implement this practice in our lives from this day forward. Then more and more we will see how God makes every problem diminish or disappear when we place it in the Master’s hands. Yes, may we truly believe with all our hearts that because of God’s abundant grace and love for us, we are not alone. Like Enoch, we, too, must not see ourselves alone amidst the duties and challenges of life, but instead we must always walk with God.

Fellow Christians, let us walk with God by praying constantly and resting in the sure promise of our beloved Saviour, Jesus Christ: “And, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Matthew 28:20.

Pastor Patrick Herbert is the senior pastor of the Tucker-Norcross Adventist Church and Director of the Gilead Institute of America, a medical missionary evangelistic training institution located in Norcross, Georgia. He holds a Doctorate in religion and speaks and writes on a wide range of religious and health topics. He may be contacted by e-mail at: gilead.net@usa.net.

Obstacles, Part II

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How do we relate to obstacles? One of the most common practices among God’s people can be documented from the days of the children of Israel to the present time!

Give Up

Quite often, when people meet obstacles, they just give up. This is true even in spiritual things. Perhaps you have heard someone lament that their spouse will not accept the truth, so they are going to give up. Such choices result in a lost condition. There will be many people in hell fire who gave up truth so they could stay with their spouse.

Getting you to give up is part of the devil’s strategy. If the devil can get you to give up, he has you. That is why the Bible says, in Revelation 21:8, “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” All of the cowardly will be in the lake of fire, because when an obstacle came, they gave up.

Unbelief

Another common reaction to obstacles is to express unbelief. This is what the children of Israel did. They expressed so much unbelief that the Lord said, “I cannot lead these people into the land of Canaan; they are just not ready. They do not even believe in Me. They do not believe I can do it.”

Have you ever wondered whether there is some wonderful, powerful thing that God would like to do in your life, but He cannot do it because you do not believe? That is what happened to the children of Israel. God could not do for them what He wanted to do, because they did not believe.

Discouragement

Discouragement is another common reaction to obstacles. Certainly some of you would argue that I do not know how bad your situation is. That is true; I may not know how bad your situation is, but the Lord knows how bad your situation is, and He knows how to get you out of it. He knows how to get you through it. But you are never going to get through the obstacles if you have a halting, unbelieving spirit and just fold your hands, do nothing, and give up. It is not going to happen!

I meet people that think the Christian religion is not true because they met an obstacle, and when they met the obstacle, they either gave up, experienced unbelief, or decided to get discouraged and not do anything. Such people cannot figure out why the Christian religion does not work—when they are the ones who are not working.

The Christian religion does work. I know it works, because I have seen it work over and over again. I have seen people overcome all kinds of apparently insurmountable obstacles through the power of grace, the power of God, when they united with it.

Trials and Trouble

The children of Israel questioned, If God is leading us, why are these things happening? Those things happened to them because God was leading them. Obstacles are happening to you because God is leading you. He wants to get you to a certain place, and to get there, you have to go through some trials and trouble.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Christian churches, in Acts 14:22, “We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.” You may say that you cannot endure the tribulation. Well, then, you cannot go. Simple!

In vision, the apostle John was shown a picture of the saints in heaven, and the angel asked him, “Do you know who these are?”

“No, I do not know who they are.”

The angel said, “These are the people who have come through great tribulation.” (Revelation 7.) They had obstacles, but they went through the obstacles by the grace of God.

Meeting Obstacles

In Part I of this article, we learned that the most serious obstacles that we have to meet are not the external ones. It is not the danger of going bankrupt, getting a fatal disease, or something like that.

The most serious obstacles are the internal ones—such as pride—that nobody thinks are that bad. But pride is bad enough. The Bible says that everyone who is proud is going to be in the lake of fire someday. (See Malachi 1.) Pride, selfishness, and covetousness—those are the most serious obstacles, even more serious than adultery and stealing. Men think those are the most serious, but according to the Bible, pride, selfishness, covetousness, and love of the world are the most serious obstacles that we have to conquer. (See, for example, 1 John 2:15; Proverbs 16:18; Mark 7:21–23.)

How, then, should we meet obstacles?

Persistent Faith in God

The first prerequisite to successfully meeting obstacles is to have faith in God. Jesus said, in Luke 18:1, “Men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” And then He told a story to illustrate this point.

He said that there was a certain widow in a certain city with a problem. We do not know what the legal issue of this widow was, but evidently she had not received part of the inheritance that she should have received from her deceased husband, so she was destitute. She had to have some legal relief, so she went to an unjust judge, and she said, “Avenge me of my adversary.” (Verse 3.)

The judge would not do anything. Consequently, this widow had an obstacle. She was in trouble, but she would not quit. She went to the unjust judge again, and she said, “Avenge me of my adversary.” He would not do it. So she went to the unjust judge again, and she said, “Avenge me of my adversary.”

She kept going to the unjust judge day after day after day, saying, “Avenge me of my adversary,” but he would not do anything.

Finally the unjust judge said, “I am going to avenge this woman of her adversary just to get rid of her, so she will not keep coming back.” (Verses 4, 5.) So he did it.

Jesus said, “Did you hear what the unjust judge said? And shall not your heavenly Father avenge His children that cry day and night to Him? Truly I say unto you, He will avenge them speedily, but when the Son of Man comes will He find faith on the earth?” (Verses 6–8.)

What is the lesson here? Be persistent in prayer! Say to the Lord, “You have promised. This is what you have promised. I am fulfilling the conditions. You have promised; You cannot go back on Your word.” He will not go back on His word. He never goes back on His word.

Your job and my job, when we have an obstacle—some trouble, a trial, a difficulty, or the insurmountable problem—is to keep going to the Lord in prayer and saying, “Lord, I am reading in Your book; I am fulfilling all of the conditions that I find in Your book, and this is Your promise. I pray that You will deliver me from this problem. Save me.”

Remember, the most serious problems are the internal ones. You have to overcome those if you are going to go to the kingdom of heaven. There will not be any prideful people in the kingdom of heaven. Not one person there will be selfish. There will not be anybody in the kingdom of heaven that is covetous.

Caleb’s Faith

You must have a faith like Caleb’s. When Caleb returned from spying out the Promised Land, he encouraged the people, “Let us go up right now [into the Promised Land]. With the Lord’s help, we can overcome the people there right now.” (Numbers 13:30.)

Was that true? Yes, that was true, but nobody except Joshua believed him, so they did not enter into that land. Consequently, they had to stay in the wilderness for 40 more years. After those 40 years, Caleb was 85 years old, and he was still ready to go in. All those who had doubted before had died.

Caleb was given, as his share of the Promised Land, the territory where the giants lived. Those giants were 10, 12, 13 feet tall. They were huge. And Caleb said, “Well, give me that territory where the giants are.” Then this 85-year-old man conquered the giants, because the Lord blessed him.

The Lord will bless you, too, if you will say, “Lord, help me to get through this obstacle. Help me to overcome this selfishness, this pride, this covetousness that I have inside.” The Lord will give you the help you need.

Exercise Faith

How should we meet obstacles? We have to exercise faith; we have to pray; but we also have to press on against the obstacle. Ellen White addresses this in the following statements:

“You will have obstacles and difficulties to encounter at every turn, and you must with firm purpose decide to conquer them, or they will conquer you.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 497. You have to conquer the obstacles, or they will conquer you.

“Success will come to them as they struggle against difficulties.” Prophets and Kings, 595. So, you have a work to do.

You see, those giants did not just mysteriously disappear. Caleb had to go up and conquer them. He prayed, and then he had to work.

A third thing that you need to do if you are meeting obstacles and troubles and insurmountable trials in your life is given in Patriarchs and Prophets, 293, 294: “The obstacles they encounter, instead of leading them to seek help from God, the only Source of strength, separate them from Him, because they awaken unrest and repining.

“Do we well to be thus unbelieving? Why should we be ungrateful and distrustful? Jesus is our friend; all heaven is interested in our welfare; and our anxiety and fear grieve the Holy Spirit of God. We should not indulge in a solicitude that only frets and wears us, but does not help us to bear trials. No place should be given to that distrust of God which leads us to make a preparation against future want the chief pursuit of life, as though our happiness consisted in these earthly things. It is not the will of God that His people should be weighed down with care.”

So, have faith as Caleb did, press on against the obstacles, ask God for help, and keep on going.

Persistence

Have you ever met people who have an obstacle or trial in their lives, and they try once, without success, to overcome it, so they quit? What is the problem? What would have happened to the widow in Luke 18 if she had just gone to the unjust judge and asked only one time to avenge her of her adversary? What would have happened? Nothing! But she was persistent.

Perhaps some people have tried to overcome smoking, but did not make it, so they guess they are stuck. This may be best illustrated by a quote accredited to Mark Twain: “It is no problem to quit smoking; I have quit a thousand times.” Of course, that would mean that he started smoking a thousand times!

“Many are the hindrances that lie in the path of those who would walk in obedience to the commandments of God. There are strong and subtle influences that bind them to the ways of the world, but the power of the Lord can break these chains. He will remove every obstacle from before the feet of His faithful ones or give them strength and courage to conquer every difficulty, if they earnestly beseech His help. All hindrances will vanish before an earnest desire and persistent effort to do the will of God at any cost to self, even if life itself is sacrificed.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 147.

There are millions of people who have lost their lives in order to do God’s will. If you are saved, you are going to meet all those people someday, so keep trying; keep trying.

Physical Habits

One important aspect about meeting obstacles in life, which a number of people do not like to address, is following correct physical habits. Your physical habits have a great deal to do with your state of mind and whether or not you will have the determination to attack the problem and to solve the problem with the help of God.

For example, as soon as an individual drinks an alcoholic beverage—the very first drink, not the second or third drink—it has an anesthetizing effect on the frontal lobe of the brain. This weakens willpower. Now, the devil sees an individual when he or she is drinking, and he knows that the willpower is weakened. He, then, brings to that person a strong temptation.

It is his favorite time to tempt, when you have weakened your mind or your body by lack of sleep, lack of exercise, a bad diet, alcoholic beverages, drugs, cigarettes, tobacco. Whatever it is that weakens the body weakens the mind; then you are not as able to meet the problem.

Do Not Just Wait

What is the result of meeting obstacles the way God directs? The answer is given in Zechariah 4:7 and Matthew 21:18–21. If you meet the obstacles in your life the way God directs, Jesus promises that mountains of difficulty are going to be cast into the sea; they are going to be removed.

But the mountains of difficulty will never be removed before a halting spirit who says, “Let us wait until the obstacle is removed.” The obstacle will just stay there forever. This is the problem with many Christians today. They are sitting there; they are praying; they are looking at the mountain of difficulty; and they are waiting for God to remove it, but God is waiting for them to do something.

Do not just wait! Some people say, “Oh, let us wait. Let us not pass out The Great Controversy now. Let us wait for a more opportune time.” Friend, there is never going to be a more opportune time than right now.

Some people say, “Let us wait to get the Three Angels’ Messages to the world. Let us wait until the national Sunday law happens.” Friend, that is a delusion. It is not going to be easier then than now. It is going to be harder then than now.

Some people say, “It is not time now to do evangelism. Let us wait.” And while they are waiting, the golden opportunity passes. People all around them are dying who do not know Christ and who are not saved, because people are waiting. Friend, do not wait!

The time to witness for your faith in the Bible is always now, and it is never a good idea to wait. If you have a friend or relative who is not saved, do not wait. You do not know how long they are going to live. Witness to them now.

Result

Do you know what happens to those people who meet obstacles the way the Lord tells us to meet them—with prayer, following the principles we have studied? In any church anywhere in the world, you find there are certain Christians that everybody recognizes as being rock solid; you cannot move them. They have a powerful, stable Christian experience.

Do you know who those people are every time? Just look around. They are the people who have met gigantic obstacles and problems and have overcome them. As they have surmounted one obstacle after another, those men and women have become men and women of power. That is why God allows those things to happen, so we might not be so weak, but may become men and women of power.

If you want to become a powerful Christian, you have to be willing to fight through the obstacles and ask the Lord to help you. The person who is dealing with discouraging circumstances needs to pray, needs to keep trying to deal with the obstacle, and needs to not quit. Do not talk unbelief. Do not say, “I am going to wait until the latter rain comes.”

The only people who will receive the latter rain of the Holy Spirit are those who are intensely active
in doing God’s service now. The other people are not going to receive it. They will not even know what is happening.

Do not wait until the church is purified. Do not wait until the obstacle disappears, because it will not disappear.

“When hedged about on every side, this is the time above all others to trust in God and in the power of his Holy Spirit. We are not to walk in our own strength, but in the strength of the Lord God of Israel. It is folly to trust in man or to make flesh our arm. We must trust in Jehovah; for in him is everlasting strength.” Review and Herald, January 16, 1908.

Our Battle

We are in a battle against the devil, against the world, but, most importantly, we are in a battle against our own sinful, carnal nature. The internal enemy is the most dangerous one of all. You, however, can win and inherit eternal life. You can receive the gift of eternal life, but you are not going to win, friend, unless you are willing to fight. The Bible teaches that from the beginning to the end. You must be willing to fight through the obstacles and ask the Lord to help you.

“Let the tempted soul remember that he is a representative of Christ. It is only by coming in contact with obstacles and difficulties and overcoming them that we become strong. Our necessity is God’s opportunity. If we will hold fast to Christ, every trial will work out for our good.” The Signs of the Times, October 17, 1900.

Right now you and I are on the battleground. The devil is trying to get your soul, but you can inherit eternal life if you are willing to say, “Lord, I am going to follow Jesus. I am going to meet the obstacles. Whatever the problem is, I am going to follow Christ, and I plan to become Christlike, by His grace and power.”

It will not happen in one day, but it can happen to every one of us. Every one of us can become Christlike. We can surmount these obstacles internally that are unchristlike in the character. That can happen to every one of us if we go forward and follow the principles given in this article.

When Jesus comes, will you be one of those who will realize that He has made you like Himself? And how did He do it? He made you like Himself by allowing you to go through trials and troubles and obstacles in this world. If you really want to have that experience, you need to make a covenant with the Lord right now and tell Him that is what you want.

[Bible texts quoted are literal translation.]

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

Bible Study Guides – Victory Through Believing

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June 3, 2007 – June 9, 2007

Key Text

“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive [them], and ye shall have [them].” Mark 11:24.

Study Help: Gospel Workers (1915), 161, 162, 259-261.

Introduction

“Jesus said: ‘If Thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.’ [Mark 9:23.] All things are possible with God, and by faith we may lay hold on his power. But faith is not sight; faith is not feeling; faith is not reality. ‘Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.’ [Hebrews 11:1.] To abide in faith is to put aside feeling and selfish desires, to walk humbly with the Lord, to appropriate his promises, and apply them to all occasions, believing that God will work out his own plans and purposes in your heart and life by the sanctification of your character; it is to rely entirely, to trust implicitly, upon the faithfulness of God.” Special Testimonies on Education, 115.

1 What things are possible to the believer? Mark 9:23; Matthew 21:22.

note: “All things are possible to him that believeth; and whatsoever things we desire when we pray, if we believe that we receive them we shall have them. This faith will penetrate the darkest cloud and bring rays of light and hope to the drooping, desponding soul. It is the absence of this faith and trust which brings perplexity, distressing fears, and surmisings of evil. God will do great things for His people when they put their entire trust in Him. . . . Christ will prove a never-failing source of strength, a present help in every time of trouble.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 140.

2 What must we have to please God? What must those who come to God believe? Hebrews 11:6.

note: “Many feel that they lack faith, and therefore they remain away from Christ. Let these souls, in their helpless unworthiness, cast themselves upon the mercy of their compassionate Saviour. Look not to self, but to Christ. . . . As you come to Him, believe that He accepts you, because He has promised. You can never perish while you do this¾never.” The Ministry of Healing, 66.

“Faith can endure trial, resist temptation, bear up under disappointment. Jesus lives as our advocate. All is ours that His mediation secures.” Ibid., 488.

3 How worthless is our righteousness, or our own works, in saving the soul? Isaiah 64:6. What mistake did the Pharisees make? Romans 10:3.

note: “In the estimation of the rabbis it was the sum of religion to be always in a bustle of activity. They depended upon some outward performance to show their superior piety. Thus they separated their souls from God, and built themselves up in self-sufficiency. The same dangers still exist. As activity increases and men become successful in doing any work for God, there is danger of trusting to human plans and methods. There is a tendency to pray less, and to have less faith.” The Desire of Ages, 362.

4 What alone gives victory to the struggling soul? 1 John 5:4. What explanation is given of what is to be overcome in the world? 1 John 2:16.

note: “Many hold faith as an opinion. Saving faith is a transaction by which those who receive Christ join themselves in covenant relation with God. Genuine faith is life. A living faith means an increase of vigor, a confiding trust, by which the soul becomes a conquering power.” The Desire of Ages, 347.

“The greatest victories gained for the cause of God are not the result of labored argument, ample facilities, wide influence, or abundance of means; they are gained in the audience chamber with God, when with earnest, agonizing faith men lay hold upon the mighty arm of power.” Gospel Workers, 259.

5 How does Christ dwell in our hearts? Ephesians 3:17–19.

note: “Christ must abide in the heart by faith. His word is the bread of life and the water of salvation. Trust in its fullness comes to us through constant communion with God. By eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Christ we gain spiritual strength. Christ supplies the lifeblood of the heart, and Christ and the Holy Spirit give nerve power. Begotten again unto a lively hope, imbued with the quickening power of a new nature, the soul is enabled to rise higher and still higher.” Counsels on Health, 593.

6 What shield is given to the believer? What will this shield do? Ephesians 6:16.

note: “The work of conquering evil is to be done through faith. Those who go into the battlefield will find that they must put on the whole armor of God. The shield of faith will be their defense and will enable them to be more than conquerors. Nothing else will avail but this¾faith in the Lord of hosts, and obedience to His orders. Vast armies furnished with every other facility will avail nothing in the last great conflict. Without faith, an angel host could not help. Living faith alone will make them invincible and enable them to stand in the evil day, steadfast, unmovable, holding the beginning of their confidence firm unto the end.” Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 182.

7 What hinders the fulfillment of God’s promises to us? James 1:6, 7; Mark 11:24.

note: “Prayer and faith are closely allied, and they need to be studied together. In the prayer of faith there is a divine science; it is a science that everyone who would make his lifework a success must understand. Christ says, ‘What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.’ Mark 11:24. He makes it plain that our asking must be according to God’s will; we must ask for the things that He has promised, and whatever we receive must be used in doing His will. The conditions met, the promise is unequivocal.” Education, 257, 258.

“True faith lays hold of and claims the promised blessing before it is realized and felt. We must send up our petitions in faith within the second veil and let our faith take hold of the promised blessing and claim it as ours. We are then to believe that we receive the blessing, because our faith has hold of it, and according to the Word it is ours. [Mark 11:24 quoted.] Here is faith, naked faith, to believe that we receive the blessing, even before we realize it. When the promised blessing is realized and enjoyed, faith is swallowed up. But many suppose they have much faith when sharing largely of the Holy Spirit and that they cannot have faith unless they feel the power of the Spirit. Such confound faith with the blessing that comes through faith. The very time to exercise faith is when we feel destitute of the Spirit. When thick clouds of darkness seem to hover over the mind, then is the time to let living faith pierce the darkness and scatter the clouds. True faith rests on the promises contained in the Word of God, and those only who obey that Word can claim its glorious promises.” Early Writings, 72, 73.

8 What proclamation of deliverance is made to those in the bondage of sin? Isaiah 61:1–3. What further assurance of deliverance is given the captives? Isaiah 49:24, 25.

note: “Jesus knows the circumstances of every soul. The greater the sinner’s guilt, the more he needs the Saviour. His heart of divine love and sympathy is drawn out most of all for the one who is the most hopelessly entangled in the snares of the enemy. With His own blood He has signed the emancipation papers of the race.

“Jesus does not desire those who have been purchased at such a cost to become the sport of the enemy’s temptations. He does not desire us to be overcome and perish. He who curbed the lions in their den, and walked with His faithful witnesses amid the fiery flames, is just as ready to work in our behalf to subdue every evil in our nature. Today He is standing at the altar of mercy, presenting before God the prayers of those who desire His help. He turns no weeping, contrite one away. Freely will He pardon all who come to Him for forgiveness and restoration.” The Ministry of Healing, 89, 90.

“The Lord Jesus is making experiments on human hearts through the exhibition of His mercy and abundant grace. He is effecting transformations so amazing that Satan, with all his triumphant boasting, with all his confederacy of evil united against God and the laws of His government, stands viewing them as a fortress impregnable to his sophistries and delusions. They are to him an incomprehensible mystery. The angels of God, seraphim and cherubim, the powers commissioned to cooperate with human agencies, look on with astonishment and joy, that fallen men, once children of wrath, are through the training of Christ developing characters after the divine similitude, to be sons and daughters of God, to act an important part in the occupations and pleasures of heaven.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 18.

9 From how many things in the life may we be delivered? Hebrews 2:18. (Compare Hebrews 4:15.) What should deliverance lead men to do? Psalm 107:15, 16.

note: “Jesus . . . walked once a man on earth, His divinity clothed with humanity, a suffering, tempted man, beset with Satan’s devices. He was tempted in all points like as we are, and He knows how to succor those that are tempted. Now He is at the right hand of God, He is in heaven as our advocate, to make intercession for us. We must always take comfort and hope as we think of this. He is thinking of those who are subject to temptations in this world. He thinks of us individually, and knows our every necessity. When tempted, just say, He cares for me, He makes intercession for me, He loves me, He has died for me. I will give myself unreservedly to Him. We grieve the heart of Christ when we go mourning over ourselves as though we were our own savior. No; we must commit the keeping of our souls to God as unto a faithful Creator. He ever lives to make intercession for the tried, tempted ones. Open your heart to the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness, and let not one breath of doubt, one word of unbelief, escape your lips, lest you sow the seeds of doubt. There are rich blessings for us; let us grasp them by faith.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 391.

10 What declaration of faith did Paul once make under trying circumstances? Acts 27:22–25.

note: “Those who open their hearts and homes to invite Jesus to abide with them should keep the moral atmosphere unclouded by strife, bitterness, wrath, malice, or even an unkind word. Jesus will not abide in a home where are contention, envy, and bitterness. . . .

“Paul had a healthful religious experience. The love of Christ was his grand theme and the constraining power that governed him.

“When in most discouraging circumstances, which would have had a depressing influence upon halfway Christians, he is firm of heart, full of courage and hope and cheer, exclaiming, ‘Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again I say, Rejoice.’ [Philippians 4:4.] The same hope and cheerfulness is seen when he is upon the deck of the ship, the tempest beating about him, the ship going to pieces. He gives orders to the commander of the ship and preserves the lives of all on board. Although a prisoner, he is really the master of the ship, the freest and happiest man on board. When wrecked and driven to a barbarous island, he is the most self-possessed, the most helpful in saving his fellow men from a watery grave. His hands brought the wood to kindle the fire for the benefit of the chilled, shipwrecked passengers. When they saw the deadly viper fasten upon his hand, they were filled with terror; but Paul calmly shook it into the fire, knowing it could not harm him; for he implicitly trusted in God.” My Life Today, 334.

11 How did Abraham lay hold of a wonderful promise of God? Romans 4:19, 20. Of what was he fully persuaded? For what was his faith imputed? Verses 21, 22.

note: “No cross, no crown. How can we be strong in the Lord without trial? To have physical strength, we must have exercise. To have strong faith, we must be placed in circumstances where our faith will be tried. Every temptation resisted, every trial bravely borne, gives us a new experience, and advances us in the work of character building.” Reflecting Christ, 349.

“God is testing the motives and principles of men and women. Strong faith and much prayer will bring heavenly angels to our side. By patient continuance in well doing, we become channels of light.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 4, 254.

12 What is the source of victory? 1 Corinthians 15:57.

note: “If we would enter the city of God, and look upon Jesus in His glory, we must become accustomed to beholding Him with the eye of faith here. The words and the character of Christ should be often the subject of our thoughts and of our conversation; and each day some time should be especially devoted to prayerful meditation upon these sacred themes.” Messages to Young People, 114.

Adapted from “The Victorious Life,” Sabbath School Lesson Quarterly, Pacific Press Publishing Association, Mountain View, California, 1924.

Good News for Legalists

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I have a friend, a senior citizen now, who is still getting people out of bed early in the morning and late at night to study the Bible. Whenever she hears anyone putting down legalism, she gets upset. She says, “I am a legalist. I am glad to be a legalist.”

Legalist Defined

Her definition of legalism, however, is that a legalist is one who believes in the Law of God. In that case, then, every Christian ought to be a legalist!

But the usual definition of a legalist is a little different from that. When most people hear the word legalist, they think of it as meaning one who is trying to work his way to heaven by keeping the law. They would say that a legalist is one who depends on his good deeds to earn his salvation, and one who thinks that being good is what makes a person a Christian. If there is anything that the apostle Paul is against in his writings, it is the idea that the law can ever be used as a method of salvation. “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” “Where [is] boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.” Romans 3:20, 27, 28.

Let us go one step further and define legalist: A legalist is a person who is hoping for salvation apart from faith in Christ. He does not have daily personal devotions or daily prayer, and does not study his Bible regularly. He depends upon his own works, and he is sufficient to measure the goodness of those works.

Everyone in this world has suffered from the disease of legalism to one degree or another. Every day we experience it, and even though we might have a theory of faith alone in Jesus Christ, it is only the daily acceptance of the grace of God that can in practice keep us above the life of the legalist.

Black or Scarlet

This can get a little tricky, because there are two different kinds of legalists. There is the black legalist and the scarlet legalist! We might call them the rigid legalists and the liberal legalists.

By the black legalist, I mean the one who has the black suit, black tie, black shoes, black socks, and a long face! He finds his security in the standards of the church that he upholds, and he judges everyone else who falls short of his achievements. By the way, from his viewpoint, practically everyone else does fall short! He is the Pharisee, and his outward performance is well controlled.

The scarlet legalist is described in Revelation—the woman who is clothed in scarlet and adorned with jewels. (Revelation 17:4.) This type of legalist is reacting against the old-guard form of legalism. This person wears jewelry and makeup, is not particular in regard to attending church, and takes real pride in the fact that she is no longer legalistic.

But both kinds of legalists are deceived. They are as legalistic as ever, but just afflicted with different forms of the same disease. The liberal legalist is as much a legalist as the rigid one, for both know nothing of the personal relationship with Jesus. Both of them are trusting to their own ways instead of trusting in Jesus, who alone has the power to give salvation.

Good News and Bad News

Let’s read the good news and bad news for legalists, beginning with Romans 9:30–32, first part: “What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Why? Because [they did] not [seek it] by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law.”

This was the problem of the religious world back then—people trying to save themselves by their own works in keeping the law. And, the passage continues, “For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. As it is written: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’ ” Verses 32, last part, 33. Who is the stumbling stone? It is Jesus.

Continuing with chapter 10:1–4: “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

There is bad news for legalists in this passage, because they will never attain to righteousness by working on it, no matter how hard they work. But there is also good news for legalists, because they do not have to keep wearing themselves out with fruitless effort.

It is the legalist who has been working the hardest on trying to gain salvation, and the words of Jesus’ friendly invitation, “Come to Me, all [you] who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28), can be the best news the legalist has ever heard, when their meaning finally becomes clear. It is good news to hear and accept that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness for everyone who believes.

Overcoming Without Becoming A Legalist

In spite of the fact that we can never attain to righteousness by our good deeds and our obedience, the fact remains that the subject of obedience and victory is still important in the Christian life. Even the legalist recognizes that the subject of overcoming must be handled somehow. The scarlet legalist concludes that victory is not needed, maybe not even possible. But the theory does not even hold up to logic and reason, much less to Scripture. For even the most liberal legalist, who has lowered the standard in place of improving performance, will agree that there are limits.

Let us say that you are having problems with church standards, and you scrap them. That may appear to work out, if the standard with which you are having a problem is attending movies. But what if your problem is that you are a murderer, a child abuser, or you cannot stop robbing banks? How low can the standard go? The liberal legalist may be able to meet the liberal standard today, but what about the more liberal legalist who would like to see a more liberal standard? Suppose you were to find that you could not even join the liberal legalists, because your willpower was so weak that you could not even force yourself to meet the lowest standard of performance. What then?

On the other hand, for too long the rigid, traditional legalist has met all evidence of weakness on the part of others as simply an evidence of lack of sincerity. They look scornfully at the struggling sinner and say, “If you really wanted to, you could overcome. If you would really try, you could make it.” And the one who has failed has not only the guilt of defeat but the additional burden of being considered insincere and hypocritical as well.

There has to be good news for both types of legalists. There has to be a third option, and there is! It is the option of a relationship with Jesus. To all of the legalists of His day—to the liberals who wanted the standard lowered, as well as to the traditionalists who wanted the standard even more rigid—Jesus came and offered Himself. Jesus was the end of the law for righteousness then, and He is the end of the law for righteousness today, for those who trust in Him.

But being legalists naturally, we find it hard to understand how righteousness works. We accept the theory that works is not where it is. We admit that it is good news. And then we try to figure out how it actually works in practical life.

The Blue Letter

A young minister’s wife, a brilliant woman who had studied Greek and Hebrew and who was a theologian in her own right, once expressed the dilemma to me in a letter. She was trying to grasp the practical side of the good news for legalists. It was written on blue paper, so I have come to call it “The Blue Letter.”

“Help! I have some questions I thought were answered a couple of years ago; they are so elementary that I hesitate to ask them. Please overlook the baby Christian ideas and tell me what you have discovered, since you have been on the route longer than I have. This business of the will: How far do we take it? In giving our will to God, is that all we have to do?

“To clarify, here is an example, and that is all it is; it is not the problem, just an example, but the principles might apply. How does one go about fighting his appetite? Does he just tell God he cannot control it, ask Him to control it for him, give Him his will, and then let God make him not want to eat?

“In the meantime, when he is hungry, should he take diet pills to help God out? Stay busy all day to keep from food? Run out of the kitchen so he will not be tempted? Or just say, ‘Okay, God; You do whatever You want with my will, including controlling my appetite. I cannot, so the rest is up to You’? Do you claim the promises that God will and do in you, according to His good pleasure, and then sit back and eat while you are waiting for God to change your will and actions?

“When God gets me to the place where I do not want to eat because I know it is against God’s will and I do not want to hurt Him, but I still want to eat because it tastes good, should I go ahead and eat while I wait for God to take away the desire? Or should I exercise my willpower and try not to eat? What is this relationship between will and willpower? When I ask God to wash away my sins and give me a new heart, am I to believe He does this because He has promised? Then do I just wait for Him to do it all, no matter how long it takes—the don’t-sweat-it-just-surrender philosophy? Does God take away the food or the appetite? Will He answer prayer for other things while the appetite indulgence continues?

“I have read a lot of answers and promises, in the Bible and other places. I have experienced the solution to many problems, but this time I am baffled. Maybe I am impatient or looking for an easy way out, but I think I am being honest with God and with myself. How literal are these instructions? I am anxious for your reply because the hang-up hangs on!”

An Answer, Please

Soon after I received “The Blue Letter,” I took it with me to a ministers’ meeting and began to ask around for some answers from my colleagues. One person said, “She does not have enough faith.”

Another said, “She is impatient. She should give God more time.”

Someone else said, “I think she really has a problem!”

And I responded to them all, “Thanks a lot!”

Another person said, “God will sometimes give us a thorn in the flesh to keep us humble.”

And someone else said, “No one is perfect.”

Yet another said, “I would need more detail before I could give an answer.” On and on the answers came.

The question of obedience, overcoming, and victory is by no means that clear in our minds, and the nearer we come to the closing scenes, to the time of the judgment, the more anxious we become.

There are people everywhere who know about the eschatology [a branch of theology concerned with the final events in the history of the world], and they cannot miss the evidence that things are just about over. They say, “If I am supposed to be perfect and be one of these overcomers by such and such a time, then I am going to have to do better than I am doing now.” This is precisely why some have made a major shift in their theology in recent times. They know, according to their present and past performance, that they are not going to make it, so they shift their theology to meet their experience.

In so doing, perhaps they are missing one of the greatest avenues that God has in mind to enable them to be overcomers—that of coming to the end of their own resources. It is because they thought that they were doing pretty well, and because they figured they had plenty of time, and because they have thought that they could become overcomers if they tried a little harder and a little longer, that they have waited so long to surrender, to submit themselves to God, to give up on the hope that they could ever succeed in their own strength. “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” Matthew 9:12. Is it possible that one of the major reasons why they are not yet whole is that they have not yet admitted to being sick and so have not come to the Great Physician for healing?

I knew a woman one time who could not stop smoking. She could not understand her own problem. She had experienced a marvelous deliverance from alcohol and from some of her other problems, but her problem with smoking persisted. After my family and I had moved on to another town, one day I received a phone call from this woman. She was dying of lung cancer and was calling from the hospital where she was awaiting surgery. She asked me to pray with her, and then she said, “By the way, I have quit smoking.”

I asked, “How did that happen?”

And she replied, “I had to!”

As I questioned her further, she told me two things. First, she had never thought that smoking was that big a deal. She could see giving up the drinking. She could see the adverse effect it had on her behavior when she was drunk. But smoking? No biggie. What was so bad about smoking? And, second, she had always thought that she could stop smoking anytime she wanted. Sure, the drinking had been something she could not control. She had been compelled to give up on that and allow God to give her the victory. But when it came to smoking, she had thought she could handle that herself. She thought willpower was enough.

When the smoke began to rise for her personally, when she developed the lung cancer, she was brought face-to-face with two facts. One, smoking was a biggie. It was deadly. And, two, she had found that she was as helpless to control her desire for cigarettes as she had been to control her desire for alcohol. But she had continued her relationship with the Lord Jesus, and once she recognized and admitted her desperate situation and her need of God’s power, she was enabled to receive the gift of victory over her smoking as well.

Surrendering Means Giving Up

No one ever surrendered to the other side while he still thought he could win the war. Surrender comes only after all hope of winning is gone. The reason why we have not surrendered in the first place, or not stayed surrendered in the second place, is that our legalistic natures keep rising to the top, and we keep hoping that perhaps if we fight a little harder or a little longer, we can win by ourselves.

Have you ever come to the end of your rope on a particular problem, turned it over to God, and experienced victory that comes as a gift from Him? And, then, have you ever stayed in the position for a period of time, only to have the devil come and tempt you this way? “You are doing great on overcoming that sin. Now that you have broken the habit of sinning and are in practice with the overcoming bit, you can handle it yourself.” And as soon as you try, you fall again. Have you seen it happen? And so we fluctuate back and forth between surrender to God and trying to manage things on our own.

What will finally happen is that we will run out of time. For those who are absolutely locked in on the relationship with Christ but who have run out of time in learning how to be overcomers, there is only one alternative left. It is the alternative God has been trying to bring us to all along—it is to give up, completely, forever. When we finally realize the deadly results of the sin problem we have been trying to handle on our own and, at the same time, how helpless we are to handle sin on our own, we will give up on even attempting to overcome in our own strength. Once we have given up—finally, completely, totally—we will learn what Paul learned when he said, “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 11 Corinthians 12:10, last part.

The Bottom Line

In all of the discussion, dialogue, and debate in the church today, there is one common thread. It is often disguised, but the basic issue is whether obedience comes by faith alone in Jesus Christ or by our own hard work. Let me explain why this is the bottom line.

If my obedience is something that I work on myself, then my end product will be filthy rags. (See Isaiah 64:6.) Even if I go so far as to say, “Well, God is going to have to help me,” as long as I rely on myself to do any part of it, my end product is going to be, to any extent I am involved, filthy rags. Any kind of righteousness, obedience, victory, or overcoming that I am in any way trying to produce is going to be imperfect. I have no other option. If that is true, then it would be impossible for me to keep God’s commandments.

But the remnant people spoken of in Revelation 12:17 are those who do keep God’s commandments. It is the overcomers whose names are retained in the book of life during the time of the judgment, so there must be a way of obeying God and keeping His commandments that has escaped some of us. We need to understand something. What is it? It is that obedience comes by faith alone in Jesus Christ. This means that we must come into a relationship of absolute dependence upon Him. This relationship allows Him to do what He has always wanted to do—live his life in us. Then He wills and does according to His good pleasure, and whatever Jesus does is real obedience through and through. So the person who believes that obedience comes through faith alone, through dependence upon Jesus to bring the power, also believes that it is possible for Jesus to obey God’s commandments within the depending person.

For a long time the church has held two incompatible beliefs. One is that we can keep God’s commandments, that we can overcome. Some have even dealt with things like perfection. The other is that while we do need God’s help, we are supposed to work hard on our own obedience. Those two are incompatible.

At least those who modify their theology are consistent in that area. They say, “Yes, you are supposed to work hard on your own obedience and do the best you can, but you cannot obey; you cannot overcome; you cannot keep God’s commandments.” At least they are consistent, for the two go together.

The time will come when we will have to either modify our theology and reject the possibility of overcoming, or we will have to find out what obedience by faith alone in Jesus Christ is all about.

Obedience By Faith Alone

Obedience can come by faith alone; the Bible says so! “The righteous shall live by faith.” Romans 1:17. The righteous are those who have accepted justification by faith. Living the Christian life is understood to be part of sanctification. So Paul is saying that those who have been justified by faith are to be sanctified by faith as well. This in no way does away with works. To the contrary, only the one who lives by faith alone is able to do the works.

In John 15:5, Jesus says, “without Me you can do nothing.” But Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” So the conclusion is that we must get with Him, through communication, through relationship, through time spent with Jesus day by day. And that is the very thing that three-fourths of Christianity is not doing. This lack of relationship is the reason we get panicky when we see that the end is right upon us. We have forgotten that the entire basis of the Christian life is the fellowship and relationship with Jesus day by day. We spend our time and effort trying to be good. But we forget that the Christian is one who knows Jesus personally.

The only alternative to legalism is a relationship with Jesus. It is good news to the one who has been working on his behavior, trying to do his duty, trying to do what is right, trying to learn that there is a much higher motivation available. That motivation is the power of love. As we learn to know Jesus, we will learn to love Him. Love for Him will change our desires, our motives, and our hearts. The obedience that seemed to be either an unpleasant duty or a total impossibility now becomes the most natural thing in the world, for we become changed into His image by beholding Him. (11 Corinthians 3:18.) Duty becomes a delight and sacrifices a pleasure, and the news that Jesus’ coming is right upon us becomes good news, terrific news even for legalists!

Domingo Nunez is Director of Outreach Ministry for Steps to Life. He may be contacted by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Victory in Jesus, Part II

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Some of the hardest temptations to deal with are those that go with a natural drive or passion that God created but that has been perverted. They are hard because, for example, when gaining the victory over appetite you cannot just stop eating; you still have to eat some nourishment, unlike smoking where you must quit altogether.

“Of all the lessons to be learned from our Lord’s first great temptation none is more important than that bearing upon the control of the appetites and passions. In all ages, temptations appealing to the physical nature have been most effectual in corrupting and degrading mankind. Through intemperance, Satan works to destroy the mental and moral powers that God gave to man as a priceless endowment. Thus it becomes impossible for men to appreciate things of eternal worth. Through sensual indulgence, Satan seeks to blot from the soul every trace of likeness to God.

“The uncontrolled indulgence and consequent disease and degradation that existed at Christ’s first advent will again exist, with intensity of evil, before His Second Coming. Christ declares that the condition of the world will be as in the days before the Flood, and as in Sodom and Gomorrah. Every imagination of the thoughts of the heart will be evil continually. Upon the very verge of that fearful time we are now living, and to us should come home the lesson of the Saviour’s fast. Only by the inexpressible anguish which Christ endured can we estimate the evil of unrestrained indulgence. His example declares that our only hope of eternal life is through bringing the appetites and passions into subjection to the will of God.

“In our own strength it is impossible for us to deny the clamors of our fallen nature. Through this channel Satan will bring temptation upon us. Christ knew that the enemy would come to every human being, to take advantage of hereditary weakness, and by his false insinuations to ensnare all whose trust is not in God. And by passing over the ground which man must travel, our Lord has prepared the way for us to overcome. It is not His will that we should be placed at a disadvantage in the conflict with Satan. He would not have us intimidated and discouraged by the assaults of the serpent. ‘Be of good cheer,’ He says, ‘I have overcome the world.’ John 16:33.

“Let him who is struggling against the power of appetite look to the Saviour in the wilderness of temptation. See Him in His agony upon the cross, as He exclaimed, ‘I thirst.’ [John 19:28.] He has endured all that it is possible for us to bear. His victory is ours.” The Desire of Ages, 122, 123.

“Temptations to the indulgence of appetite possess a power which can be overcome only by the help that God can impart. But with every temptation, we have the promise of God that there shall be a way of escape. Why, then, are so many overcome? ¾It is because they do not put their trust in God. They do not avail themselves of the means provided for their safety. The excuses offered for the gratification of perverted appetite are therefore of no weight with God.” The Signs of the Times, August 10, 1915.

“Satan comes to man, as he came to Christ, with his overpowering temptations to indulge appetite. He well knows his power to overcome man upon this point. He overcame Adam and Eve in Eden upon appetite, and they lost their blissful home. What accumulated misery and crime have filled our world in consequence of the fall of Adam. Entire cities have been blotted from the face of the earth because of the debasing crimes and revolting iniquity that made them a blot upon the universe. Indulgence of appetite was the foundation of all their sins.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 153.

“The strength of the temptation to indulge appetite can be measured only by the inexpressible anguish of our Redeemer in that long fast in the wilderness. He knew that the indulgence of perverted appetite would so deaden man’s perceptions that sacred things could not be discerned. Adam fell by the indulgence of appetite; Christ overcame by the denial of appetite. And our only hope of regaining Eden is through firm self-control. If the power of indulged appetite was so strong upon the race, that, in order to break its hold the divine Son of God, in man’s behalf, had to endure a fast of nearly six weeks, what a work is before the Christian! Yet, however great the struggle, he may overcome. By the help of that divine power which withstood the fiercest temptations that Satan could invent, he, too, may be entirely successful in his warfare with evil, and at last may wear the victor’s crown in the kingdom of God.

“Through appetite, Satan controls the mind and the whole being. Thousands who might have lived, have passed into the grave, physical, mental, and moral wrecks, because they sacrificed all their powers to the indulgence of appetite. The necessity for the men of this generation to call to their aid the power of the will, strengthened by the grace of God, in order to withstand the temptations of Satan, and resist the least indulgence of perverted appetite, is far greater than it was several generations ago. But the present generation have less power of self-control than had those who lived then.” Ibid., 167, 168.

“One of the strongest temptations that man has to meet is upon the point of appetite. Between the mind and the body there is a mysterious and wonderful relation. They react upon each other. To keep the body in a healthy condition to develop its strength, that every part of the living machinery may act harmoniously, should be the first study of our life. To neglect the body is to neglect the mind. It cannot be to the glory of God for His children to have sickly bodies or dwarfed minds. To indulge the taste at the expense of health is a wicked abuse of the senses. Those who engage in any species of intemperance, either in eating or drinking, waste their physical energies and weaken moral power. They will feel the retribution which follows the transgression of physical law.” Counsels on Health, 122.

“Few temptations are more dangerous or more fatal to young men than the temptation to sensuality, and none if yielded to will prove so decidedly ruinous to soul and body for time and eternity. The welfare of his entire future is suspended upon the decision of a moment.” Letters to Young Lovers, 69.

Solution to our Condition

In the Scriptures, victory through Jesus is promised to us: “But thanks [be] to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12, 13. “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” Romans 7:24, 25.

“While the sinner cannot save himself, he still has something to do to secure salvation. ‘Him that cometh to Me,’ says Christ, ‘I will in no wise cast out.’ John 6:37. But we must come to Him; and when we repent of our sins, we must believe that He accepts and pardons us. Faith is the gift of God, but the power to exercise it is ours. Faith is the hand by which the soul takes hold upon the divine offers of grace and mercy.

“Nothing but the righteousness of Christ can entitle us to one of the blessings of the covenant of grace. There are many who have long desired and tried to obtain these blessings, but have not received them, because they have cherished the idea that they could do something to make themselves worthy of them. They have not looked away from self, believing that Jesus is an all-sufficient Saviour. We must not think that our own merits will save us; Christ is our only hope of salvation. ‘For there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.’ Acts 4:12.

“When we trust God fully, when we rely upon the merits of Jesus as a sin-pardoning Saviour, we shall receive all the help that we can desire. Let none look to self, as though they had power to save themselves. Jesus died for us because we were helpless to do this. In Him is our hope, our justification, our righteousness. When we see our sinfulness we should not despond and fear that we have no Saviour, or that He has no thoughts of mercy toward us. At this very time He is inviting us to come to Him in our helplessness and be saved. . . .

“If we are conscious of our needs, we should not devote all our powers to mourning over them. While we realize our helpless condition without Christ, we are not to yield to discouragement, but rely upon the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour. Look and live. Jesus has pledged His word; He will save all who come unto Him. Though millions who need to be healed will reject His offered mercy, not one who trusts in His merits will be left to perish.

“Many are unwilling to accept of Christ until the whole mystery of the plan of salvation shall be made plain to them. They refuse the look of faith, although they see that thousands have looked, and have felt the efficacy of looking, to the cross of Christ. Many wander in the mazes of philosophy, in search of reasons and evidence which they will never find, while they reject the evidence which God has been pleased to give. They refuse to walk in the light of the Sun of Righteousness, until the reason of its shining shall be explained. All who persist in this course will fail to come to a knowledge of the truth. God will never remove every occasion for doubt. He gives sufficient evidence on which to base faith, and if this is not accepted, the mind is left in darkness. If those who were bitten by the serpents had stopped to doubt and question before they would consent to look, they would have perished. It is our duty, first, to look; and the look of faith will give us life.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 431, 432.

“We may resist temptation, and force Satan to depart from us. Jesus gained the victory through submission and faith in God, and by the apostle He says to us, ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.’ James 4:7, 8. We cannot save ourselves from the tempter’s power; he has conquered humanity, and when we try to stand in our own strength, we shall become a prey to his devices; but ‘the name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.’ Proverbs 18:10. Satan trembles and flees before the weakest soul who finds refuge in that mighty name.” The Desire of Ages, 130.

Our Part

“Let no man present the idea that man has little or nothing to do in the great work of overcoming; for God does nothing for man without his cooperation. Neither say that after you have done all you can on your part, Jesus will help you. Christ has said, ‘Without me ye can do nothing’ (John 15:5). From first to last man is to be a laborer together with God. Unless the Holy Spirit works upon the human heart, at every step we shall stumble and fall. Man’s efforts alone are nothing but worthlessness; but cooperation with Christ means a victory. Of ourselves we have no power to repent of sin. Unless we accept divine aid we cannot take the first step toward the Saviour. He says, ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end’ (Revelation 21:6) in the salvation of every soul.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 381.

“Let my brethren be very careful how they present the subject of faith and works before the people, lest minds become confused. . . .

“Never leave the impression on the mind that there is little or nothing to do on the part of man; but rather teach man to cooperate with God, that he may be successful in overcoming.” A New Life, 38, 39.

Our Will

We must place our will on the side of God’s will. We must be willing to fight.

“Will man take hold of divine power, and with determination and perseverance resist Satan, as Christ has given him example in His conflict with the foe in the wilderness of temptation? God cannot save man against his will from the power of Satan’s artifices. Man must work with his human power, aided by the divine power of Christ, to resist and to conquer at any cost to himself. In short, man must overcome as Christ overcame. And then, through the victory that it is his privilege to gain by the all-powerful name of Jesus, he may become an heir of God and joint heir with Jesus Christ. This could not be the case if Christ alone did all the overcoming. Man must do his part; he must be victor on his own account, through the strength and grace that Christ gives him. Man must be a co-worker with Christ in the labor of overcoming.

“The victims of evil habit must be aroused to the necessity of making an effort for themselves. Others may put forth the most earnest endeavor to uplift them, the grace of God may be freely offered, Christ may entreat, His angels may minister; but all will be in vain unless they themselves are roused to fight the battle in their own behalf. . . .

“Those who put their trust in Christ are not to be enslaved by any hereditary or cultivated habit or tendency. Instead of being held in bondage to the lower nature, they are to rule every appetite and passion. God has not left us to battle with evil in our own finite strength. Whatever may be our inherited or cultivated tendencies to wrong, we can overcome through the power that He is ready to impart.

“The strongest temptation cannot excuse sin. However great the pressure brought to bear upon the soul, transgression is our own act. It is not in the power of earth or hell to compel anyone to do evil. Satan attacks us at our weak points, but we need not be overcome. However severe or unexpected the assault, God has provided help for us, and in His strength we may conquer.” God’s Amazing Grace, 254.

Faith in Jesus’ Merits

“To talk of religion in a casual way, to pray without soul hunger and living faith, avails nothing. A nominal faith in Christ, which accepts Him merely as the Saviour of the world, can never bring healing to the soul. The faith that is unto salvation is not a mere intellectual assent to the truth. He who waits for entire knowledge before he will exercise faith cannot receive blessing from God. It is not enough to believe about Christ; we must believe in Him. The only faith that will benefit us is that which embraces Him as a personal Saviour; which appropriates His merits to ourselves. Many hold faith as an opinion. Saving faith is a transaction by which those who receive Christ join themselves in covenant relation with God. Genuine faith is life. A living faith means an increase of vigor, a confiding trust, by which the soul becomes a conquering power.

“True faith is that which receives Christ as a personal Saviour. God gave His only-begotten Son, that I, by believing in Him, ‘should not perish, but have everlasting life’ (John 3:16). When I come to Christ, according to His word, I am to believe that I receive His saving grace. The life that I now live, I am to ‘live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me’ (Galatians 2:20).” Ibid., 140.

Keys for Help in Overcoming

1) We must not place ourselves in the way of temptation. The Bible tells us: “Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.” Psalm 34:14. “I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?” Job 31:1.

For example, we should not jump off a cliff and expect the law of gravity not to work. So it is with temptation. We do not go where there is temptation and expect not to fall.

“We must keep close to the word of God. We need its warnings and encouragement, its threatenings and promises. We need the perfect example given only in the life and character of our Saviour. Angels of God will preserve his people while they walk in the path of duty; but there is no assurance of such protection for those who deliberately venture upon Satan’s ground. An agent of the great deceiver will say and do anything to gain his object. . . . Pretending great interest in their welfare, he casts a spell over his unsuspecting victims, charming them as the serpent charms the trembling bird. Soon they are completely in his power, and sin, disgrace, and ruin are the terrible sequel.” Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 115, 116.

2) If we are placed in the way of temptation because of circumstances, God will be with us as He was with Daniel and Joseph. 1 Corinthians 10:13.

“He who understands well his own character, who is acquainted with the sin that most easily besets him and the temptations that will be most likely to overcome him, should not expose himself needlessly, and invite temptation by placing himself upon the enemy’s ground. If duty calls him where circumstances are not favorable, he will have special help from God, and can thus go fully girded for a conflict with the enemy. Self-knowledge will save many from falling into grievous temptations, and prevent many an inglorious defeat. In order to become acquainted with ourselves, it is essential that we faithfully investigate the motives and principles of our conduct, comparing our actions with the standard of duty revealed in God’s word.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 517, 518.

3) We should notice situations that bring temptation and try to stay away from such situations as much as possible. If we are placed in temptation, we must immediately ask God for help. This involves self-knowledge; we must know about ourselves. “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to [fulfil] the lusts [thereof].” Romans 13:14. “But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.” Galatians 6:4. “The wisdom of the prudent [is] to understand his way: but the folly of fools [is] deceit.” “The simple believeth every word: but the prudent [man] looketh well to his going.” “A prudent [man] foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.” Proverbs 13:8, 15; 22:3.

If your temptation is to drink beer or other alcoholic beverages, do not go into or by a pub or saloon. Do not place yourself in the way of temptation. Consider another example: Mom says to little Johnny, “Come home right after school today; do not stop to swim.” Johnny may agree and commit that he will be home right after school, but when he returns home late with wet hair and admits that he has been swimming, Mom wants to know why he did not keep his word. Johnny replies that he was tempted. Persisting, Mom asks, “Why did you take your swimming clothes with you?” To which Johnny says, “Because I thought I might be tempted!” Johnny made provision to fall into temptation.

[All emphasis added.]

To be continued . . .

Jana Grosboll serves Steps to Life as its Network Administrator. She may be contacted by e-mail at: janagrosboll@stepstolife.org.

False Justification by Faith, Part I

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Allow me, please, to begin with a question: Why was justification by faith rejected in 1888 at the Minneapolis Conference? The answer: During the Dark Ages, God began to prepare a people for the Second Coming of Jesus by using Martin Luther to start the great Protestant Reformation in the preaching of justification by faith. Then, in 1844, God brought forth His Advent Movement preaching the additional truth that the divine Law of God, contained in the Most Holy Place within God’s heavenly sanctuary, must be obeyed in order for us to fully receive the righteousness of Christ.

Many within the church, in their zeal to preach the law, did so in a legalistic way, forgetting that we need Jesus in our hearts before we are able to keep the law and live the Christian life. Ellen White recognized this problem when she wrote, “As a people, we have preached the law until we are as dry as the hills of Gilboa that had neither dew nor rain.” Review and Herald, March 11, 1890.

To help the servant of the Lord meet this problem, the Lord sent E. J. Waggoner and A. T. Jones to preach justification by faith with the law. But many within the church, especially its leaders, thought they were trying to do away with the law. This is why the Minneapolis Conference of 1888 rejected the message of justification by faith.

Today, we are facing the imminent return of Jesus. Once again Satan has infiltrated God’s true church with the “Celebration” of New Theology that proclaims a false justification by faith in teaching that all that is needed for salvation is love and unity; that no one need be concerned about the law since Christ kept it for us. As a result, millions among us today have been duped to believe the lie of Satan that the divine Law of God cannot be kept, even in the power of Almighty God; therefore, we can sin until Jesus comes. May God help us! Surely our hearts faint within us as we see many within the Seventh-day Adventist Church today blindly following Babylon’s false teachings of justification by faith alone in love and unity, without equally emphasizing obedience to the divine law.

Turning to God’s Word, we read: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in [them]; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” 11 Corinthians 6:14-18.

In view of this clear counsel from God’s Word not to mingle with the followers of Babylon, let us examine how this false teaching of justification by faith alone is affecting the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Willow Creek

In 1975, Bill Hybels started an interdenominational Pentecostal-style church near Chicago, Illinois, focused on church growth. Today, about 17,000 adults attend his weekend services and 6,000 his mid-week services. By all human standards, the Willow Creek Church is a great success. Further, this church has formed the Willow Creek Association (WCA). Presently over 2,200 churches have joined this WCA, and at least 56 of those are Seventh-day Adventist churches; three are Seventh-day Adventist conference organizations. (See The Remnant Herald #43, Melbourne, Australia, November 1998.)

Several of these churches have adopted names that do not reflect that they are Seventh-day Adventist Churches. We must at least credit these churches with professing that which they practice, for they are surely no longer Seventh-day Adventist Churches, however the conference may regard them; thus, they do not publicly shame the name Seventh-day Adventist.

The Willow Creek Association is an organization of a fallen church of Babylon. It is a charismatic, Sunday-keeping church. These conferences and churches have now gone to a fallen church of Babylon in order to be better Seventh-day Adventists! Just as well may they go to the witch of Endor. (See 1 Samuel 28.) These conferences and churches have entered Babylon. It will be well nigh impossible to recover such denominational entities, for they have done so in the full light of truth.

Confirmation

Lest it be thought that these conferences and churches have incurred the displeasure of the church organization, or even that the Willow Creek Association on the Internet is unreliable in its listing of these churches, we direct your attention to the documented evidence to the contrary. An editorial by Andy Nash in the Adventist Review of December 18, 1997, made these points: 1) “Adventists should give Willow Creek a fair shake”; 2) “Adventists should continue gleaning from Willow Creek”; 3) “Gleaning from Willow Creek’s message doesn’t mean forfeiting our message.” (General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Silver Spring, Maryland, 6.) These subheadings contained two disgraceful admonitions and one absolute falsehood. How can we be so blind?

Just consider this statement from the same editorial listed above: “Adventists, both pastors and lay people, consistently make up one of the largest groups at Willow Creek’s half-dozen annual seminars . . . .” Ibid. This is not only so in the United States. In 1997, numerous Seventh-day Adventist pastors and laymen attended the Willow Creek Association meeting in Gothenburg, Sweden. This report is written to warn God’s flock worldwide concerning this phenomenon within the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Already the fruitage of this union with Babylon is well-known to church administrators. Again quoting from the same Adventist Review article, it is admitted, “Fact: The three largest Adventist churches to divide or depart¾Oregon’s Sunnyside, Maryland’s Damascus, and Colorado’s Christ Advent Fellowship, were clearly influenced by Willow Creek’s ministry hallmarks . . . .” Ibid.

Apostasy

Robert H. Pierson, a former president of the General Conference, foresaw what was about to take place as a result of this New Theology of a false justification by faith when he wrote in The Ministry magazine of October 1977, “It would be well for every Seventh-day Adventist leader to prayerfully study the subtle plans of the apostate ‘angel of light’ as he seeks to thwart the triumph of the Advent movement. Get out your Bibles and the Spirit of Prophecy (especially Selected Messages, book 1, pp. 193-200). On your knees consider these startling facts faithfully chronicled by the Lord’s servant. . . .

“Note well what Ellen White warns:

“1. ‘The principles of truth that God in His wisdom has given to the remnant church would be discarded.’¾[Selected Messages, Book 1], p. 204.

“2. ‘The truth will be criticized, scorned, and derided.’¾Ibid., p. 201.

“3. ‘It will “make of no effect the truth of heavenly origin.” ’¾Ibid., p. 204.

“4. ‘Our religion would be changed.’¾Ibid., p. 204.

“5. ‘The Sabbath, of course, would be lightly regarded, as also the God who created it.’¾Ibid., p. 205.

“6. ‘The fundamental principles that have sustained the work for the last fifty years would be accounted as error.’¾Ibid., p. 204.

“7. There would be a ‘supposition that a great reformation was to take place among Seventh-day Adventists, and that this reformation would consist in giving up the doctrines which stand as the pillars of our faith.’¾Ibid.

“8. ‘A system of intellectual philosophy would be introduced.’¾Ibid.

“9. The new philosophy would ‘rob the people of God of their past experience, giving them instead a false science.’¾Ibid.

“10. It would seek to weaken the preaching of the Second Advent by teaching, ‘that the scenes just before us are not of sufficient importance to be given special attention.’¾Ibid.

“11. ‘Books of a new order would be written.’¾Ibid.

“12. ‘A new organization would be established.’¾Ibid.

“13. ‘Nothing would be allowed to stand in the way of the new movement.’¾Ibid., p. 205.

“Now go back over those thirteen points. Study them carefully and prayerfully. You may have to meet them sooner than you expect. The seeds of such apostasy are in the churches of Christendom all around us. Before Jesus returns, the Seventh-day Adventist Church may well be confronted with a crisis that will exceed in magnitude the Kellogg alpha apostasy. It ‘will be of a most startling nature.’ ” Robert H. Pierson, “The Omega of Apostasy,” The Ministry, vol. 50, No. 10, Review and Herald Publishing Association, Washington, D. C., October 1977, 8.

“Spiritualism is now changing its form, veiling some of its more objectionable and immoral features, and assuming a Christian guise. Formerly it denounced Christ and the Bible; now it professes to accept both. The Bible is interpreted in a manner that is attractive to the unrenewed heart, while its solemn and vital truths are made of no effect. A God of love is presented; but his justice, his denunciation of sin, the requirements of his holy law, are all kept out of sight. Pleasing, bewitching fables captivate the senses of those who do not make God’s word the foundation of their faith. Christ is as verily rejected as before; but Satan has so blinded the eyes of the people that the deception is not discerned.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 405.

To be continued . . .

For over 60 years Pastor Lawrence Nelson served as an evangelist and minister for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Of that time, he served 13 years as the director of evangelism for youth at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Upon retirement from the General Conference, he continued to pastor, but when, as a result of his stand for truth, he was denied the opportunity to continue his pastorate, he started Keep the Faith Audio Tape Ministry, recording his sermons and making them available to individuals. Before his retirement from this ministry in 2004, over 18,000 audiotapes were being sent around the world each month.

False Justification by Faith, Part II

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The pen of inspiration tells us how to recognize false teachers. “ ‘Beware of false prophets.’ Matthew 7:15.

“Teachers of falsehood will arise to draw you away from the narrow path and the strait gate. Beware of them; though concealed in sheep’s clothing, inwardly they are ravening wolves. Jesus gives a test by which false teachers may be distinguished from the true. ‘Ye shall know them by their fruits,’ He says. ‘Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?’ [Matthew 7:16.]

“We are not bidden to prove them by their fair speeches and exalted professions. They are to be judged by the word of God. ‘To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word it is because there is no light in them.’ ‘Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.’ Isaiah 8:20; Proverbs 19:27. What message do these teachers bring? Does it lead you to reverence and fear God? Does it lead you to manifest your love for Him by loyalty to His commandments? If men do not feel the weight of the moral law; if they make light of God’s precepts; if they break one of the least of His commandments, and teach men so, they shall be of no esteem in the sight of heaven. We may know that their claims are without foundation. They are doing the work that originated with the prince of darkness, the enemy of God.” Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, 145.

Celebration Beginnings

Be honest now. How long has it been since you heard a pastor preach on a subject such as the Law of God and obedience? Is the power of Celebration affecting his sermons? Think it over. So few of those within the organized church today have any idea how this all began. Believe it or not¾it is a fact¾the birth of Celebration took place within the Vatican Council II in the early 1960s. The papal document from Vatican Council II indicated that through Celebration worship, which would be absorbed into all the churches, the objective to bring the whole humanity to one fold, meaning the Roman Catholic Church, would be realized.

As soon as these actions of the Vatican were published, seminars began to be given encouraging pastors to conduct Celebration worship services within the churches.

Objectives from the Second Vatican Council included: (1) Let there be a custom application (use) of the word Celebration. (2) Let there be a custom of revival in Celebration worship in which the people will be involved directly with both verbal and physical participation. (3) Let there be a custom of Celebration worship dialogue between the pastor and the people. (4) Let us use as much variety in worship as is possible. (5) Let music, while they worship there, be the most effective. (6) Lessen the difference between the Eucharist and the Lord’s Supper. Teach people that the Eucharist and the Lord’s Supper are the foundation of Christian unity, friendship, and Celebration of the Lord’s Day (meaning Sunday). (7) Do all your best to encourage observation of Sunday, including rest from work.

Can you now see what the purpose of the Celebration movement is within the church today? As a result of these Vatican objectives, Celebration started within the Catholic Church with noisy music, and soon the Pentecostal, charismatic churches followed. The old method of Jesuit infiltration of Protestant churches was suspended by the new infiltration of Catholic philosophy called love and unity.

The Second Vatican Council added its blessing by no longer calling the Protestant churches heretics but separated brethren from the Mother Church. The Council then began to emphasize the Holy Spirit by holding revivals among its nuns and priests. The result was startling. Tens of thousands of priests and nuns began speaking in tongues! Now both the Catholics and the Protestants had something in common¾they both spoke in tongues in the Celebration movement. (<www.beliefnet.com/story/127/story_12789_1.html>; < www.religion-cults.com/spirit/charismatic.htm> June 11, 2007.)

Celebration vs. Three Angels

I would like to confront this Celebration movement with the Three Angels’ Messages. John Janiuk, in his book Great Controversy Endgame II (publisher unknown, 1999), identified points which clearly differentiate between what is true and false justification by faith. These points include:

  1. The Three Angels’ Messages are a call of God to leave Babylon. It is the message of separation; but the message of the Celebration movement calls for unity of all churches.
  2. The Three Angels’ Messages are a warning message; but the Celebration movement is the message of peace and security and also of love and unity. Sin and the Law of God are treated lightly.
  3. The foundation of the Celebration movement is a false gospel, a false justification teaching salvation in sin¾You will be sinning until the Second Coming of Christ. It is a gospel without the power. If you continue in sin after accepting the gospel, which is the power of God, if you accept a false gospel, a false justification, you have no power of God.

Satan also has power. Do you know what Satan’s power is? His power is through his lies. For example, Satan demonstrated his power with great effect in Eden, and we are still affected by that same power today. Today he says that we cannot keep God’s Commandments. If you believe this lie, you will not obey God’s Law.

The Bible says, “Here [are] they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:12. The pen of inspiration says, “Christ left his heavenly home, and came to this world, to show that only by being connected with divinity can man keep the law of God. In itself humanity is tainted and corrupted; but Christ brought moral power to man, and those who live in communion with him overcome as he overcame.” The Signs of the Times, December 3, 1896.

Ellen White also wrote: “He who has not sufficient faith in Christ to believe that he can keep him from sinning, has not the faith that will give him an entrance into the kingdom of God.” Review and Herald, March 10, 1904. “Man’s obedience can be made perfect only by the incense of Christ’s righteousness, which fills with divine fragrance every act of obedience.” The Acts of the Apostles, 532.

We continue with John Janiuk’s points:

  1. The Three Angels’ Messages are calling the whole of humanity to fear, to reverence God, in complete surrender to God and His Word and also His will¾the ten moral commandments of the gospel. But the Celebration movement depends on theology which interprets the Bible “in a manner that is attractive to the unrenewed heart, while its solemn and vital truths are made of no effect. A God of love is presented; but his justice, his denunciations of sin, the requirements of his holy law, are all kept out of sight.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 405.
  2. The three angels call to give glory to God. The pen of inspiration tells us how we can give glory to God. “To give glory to God is to reveal His character in our own, and thus make Him known. And in whatever way we make known the Father or the Son, we glorify God.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 979. The Celebration movement does not preach anything about this.
  3. The Three Angels’ Messages proclaim that the hour of God’s judgment has come. This is the pre-Advent investigative judgment, which began in 1844. The Celebration movement does not warn the people about this. However, if the subject is mentioned, they simply say, “Do not be scared of the judgment. If you believe in Jesus, do not worry about it.”
  4. God chose the way in which we can worship Him. His way tells us to keep holy the Sabbath day as a special day in memorial of His creation and redemption. The purpose, aim, and goal of the Celebration movement, according to Vatican II, is to observe Sunday and recognize the pope as the vicar of Jesus Christ and submit to him.
  5. The second angel’s message declares, “Babylon is fallen.” Why is Babylon fallen? Because Babylon rejected the Biblical truths. Revelation 18:2 describes the last-day condition of Babylon, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.”

The fallen churches¾Catholic and Protestant¾are attacking the Seventh-day Adventist Church with the Celebration movement. Of course, God still has in these fallen churches some individuals who are His children. Our message, especially in the time of the Loud Cry, will be, “Come out of her, my people.” Revelation 18:4.

  1. The third angel’s message is the most fearful of any before. This message was proclaimed to mortal man as a warning against receiving the mark of the beast; that is, the observance of Sunday as the Sabbath. According to the document of Vatican II, the purpose of the Celebration movement is that the whole world come to observe Sunday and to submit to the papacy. It does not matter to them what else you believe, so long as you submit in these two things. Do you see where this movement is leading us?
  2. The Three Angels’ Messages are summarized in Revelation 14:12 and describe what people will be like after they accept the Three Angels’ Messages. “Here is the patience of the saints: here [are] they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Here are presented the main characteristics and qualities of God’s people¾the patience of the saints, they keep the commandments of God, and they have the faith of Jesus.

The Celebration movement, however, says that we cannot keep the commandments of God. In this point they are honest, because they cannot keep the commandments of God. Why is this? Because they accept a false justification by faith which claims that in justification there is no transformation. The new birth and the Holy Spirit do not come into the believer’s heart with Christ’s righteousness, and God does not write His Law in their hearts. This is why they have no power to keep the commandments of God. If somebody mentions that God requires His people to obey the law, they say that this is legalism.

Ellen White says, “Men who are under the control of Satan repeat these accusations against God, in asserting that men cannot keep the law of God.” The Signs of the Times, January 16, 1896.

Heart of Celebration

Let me become more pointed. An important element of Celebration worship style is found in the music. What kind of music? Contemporary Christian music or, as some say, Christian rock. (See www.willowcreek.org/history.) What is the message of Contemporary Christian music? It is love and praise for the most part. What is missing? A call to repentance, appeals for sacrifice, and prayer for sinners. The Second Coming is almost absent. Bible doctrines are not found. There is no mention, of course, of the seventh-day Sabbath.

Have you ever stopped to consider what is lacking in these Celebration ditties? As I heard someone put it, “In the typical, contemporary ‘praise and worship songs’ there are no expressions of confession, petition, or submission¾just praise.” Pioneering Seventh-day Adventists sang many hymns containing our message; hymns with several stanzas. They did so because they believed God had called them to proclaim a message even in their singing.

In the current Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal (Review and Herald Publishing, Hagerstown, Maryland, 1998) there is a topical index of hymns. Nearly every major doctrine is represented there¾salvation through faith in Christ, the Second Coming, the Sabbath, the judgment, the sleep of the dead, stewardship, and even the sanctuary, along with still others. God intended that the great hymns of faith should be used to teach God’s end-time message. Is there any comparison between the messages of the hymns and the messages of Contemporary Christian Rock Celebration music? The majority of Celebration music falls under the broad heading of praise songs and are often characterized by monotonous repetition of a single phrase. Topics even so basic as contrition, repentance, obedience, and witnessing are noticeably absent or at least very rare.

The great fear is that these Contemporary songs, reproducing after their kind, are replacing the message songs entirely and are doing their part to produce a generation devoid of doctrinal certainty. A church’s music is not merely a vehicle for socializing or for setting a happy mood. It is an essential part of its self-identity, its witnessing, and even its survival. The ultimate unity of our end-time movement requires the unifying influence of a common “hymnity.”

The former choir director of heaven uses his Celebration music to charm people, to bind them to himself, and to control them. He uses emotionally oriented religion that depends on feeling rather than on the Word of God.

Liberal Adventism

Can you imagine an Adventist professor of religion asking this thought-provoking question: “How seriously should Adventists take apocalyptic books like Daniel, Revelation, and The Great Controversy?” Answering his own question, this theologian said, “Perhaps we should replace them with the gospel of love, acceptance, and forgiveness.” This is the central message of the Celebration movement and its worship services.

Steve Daily, former chaplain and professor at La Sierra University, Riverside, California, suggests some practical things Adventists can do to contribute to this goal. Among these are:

  1. We can cease to speak or think of ourselves as the remnant church and see ourselves as a part of God’s larger remnant.
  2. We can take advantage of the special opportunities we have to attend other churches since they meet on a different day, to befriend them, learn from them, share with them, and affirm the good things we see in them.
  3. Each of us can make a special effort to maintain active membership in at least one non-Adventist community service organization to combat our natural tendency to isolation.
  4. We can involve ourselves in inter-denominational Bible studies and a charismatic intercessory prayer group to broaden our spiritual perspectives. (Adventism for a New Generation, Better Living Publishers, Portland, Oregon, 1993, 315, 316.)

Such advice is absolutely contrary to the Spirit of Prophecy. Is this the time for Seventh-day Adventists to seek such new light on worship, church growth, and learning from others?

The Prophet’s Warning

Ellen White has warned us: “If God has any new light to communicate, He will let His chosen and beloved understand it, without their going to have their minds enlightened by hearing those who are in darkness and error.

“I was shown the necessity of those who believe that we are having the last message of mercy, being separate from those who are daily imbibing new errors. I saw that neither young nor old should attend their meetings; for it is wrong to thus encourage them while they teach error that is a deadly poison to the soul and teach for doctrines the commandments of men. The influence of such gatherings is not good. If God has delivered us from such darkness and error, we should stand fast in the liberty wherewith He has set us free and rejoice in the truth. God is displeased with us when we go to listen to error, without being obliged to go; for unless He sends us to those meetings where error is forced home to the people by the power of the will, He will not keep us. The angels cease their watchful care over us, and we are left to the buffetings of the enemy, to be darkened and weakened by him and the power of his evil angels; and the light around us becomes contaminated with the darkness.” Early Writings, 124, 125.

If we reject true justification by faith and continue to proclaim a false justification, then true revival and reformation will not take place, and we will not receive the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Latter Rain. We will never finish God’s work in this world. We will lose our identity, our credibility, and the purpose for our existence. What a tragedy this would be.

On the other hand, if we accept true justification, then the last great revival and reformation will take place. We will receive the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Latter Rain, and God will finish His work through us in this world now. May God give us wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and power to fulfill this for His honor and glory and also for the salvation of the people of the world. Then we will go home to praise Him who loved us and gave Himself for us.

For over 60 years Pastor Lawrence Nelson served as an evangelist and minister for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Of that time, he served 13 years as the director of evangelism for youth at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Upon retirement from the General Conference, he continued to pastor, but when, as a result of his stand for truth, he was denied the opportunity to continue his pastorate, he started Keep the Faith Audio Tape Ministry, recording his sermons and making them available to individuals. Before his retirement from this ministry in 2004, over 18,000 audiotapes were being sent around the world each month.

The Worthlessness of Creature Merit, Part II

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The subject matter of this article—the answer to the question, What must I do to be saved?—is one upon which Ellen White told ministers they should dwell more than any other subject. Since she said to dwell on this subject more than any other subject, how much do you think it would be profitable for you and me to think about this subject? Ellen White told us something interesting about that: “Habitually dwelling upon Christ and His all-sufficient merits, increases faith, quickens the power of spiritual discernment, strengthens the desire to be like Him, and brings an earnestness into prayer that makes it efficacious.” Gospel Workers, 166.

Efficacious means that it works—“having the power to produce a desired effect.” Your prayers work! Would you like to have that experience? Would you like to become like Christ? Would you like your prayer life to become so earnest that your prayers will actually accomplish something? Well, she says that the way that will happen is if you are “habitually dwelling upon Christ and His all-sufficient merits.”

Do not forget that adjective, “all-sufficient.” It is everything that you need to be saved; it is the only thing you need to be saved. It is the thing that will save you, when you start to dwell on it. People become alarmed when preachers start talking about this. They say, “Oh, you are doing away with sanctification!” No, we are not doing away with sanctification. This is the way it happens.

God’s Blessings

Do we not all desire to have God’s blessings in our lives? How can we have God’s blessings in our lives? Here is the way:

“Looking unto Jesus and trusting in His merits we appropriate the blessings of light, of peace, of joy in the Holy Ghost. And in view of the great things which Christ has done for us, we are ready to exclaim: ‘Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.’ [1 John 3:1.]

“Brethren and sisters, it is by beholding that we become changed. By dwelling upon the love of God and our Saviour, by contemplating the perfection of the divine character and claiming the righteousness of Christ as ours by faith, we are to be transformed into the same image.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 744.

How are you ever going to come into the image of Christ? You will never come into the image of Christ by trying in your own strength, but if you contemplate the Divine character, if you spend your time thinking about the merits of Christ and the love of God, something is going to happen inside that is going to change you. It is something that you cannot do, but something that He will do.

In Part I of this article (October 2007), we began to consider some questions as to how this comes together. In summary:

  1. How can we be received by our heavenly Father and adopted into His family? (See The Acts of the Apostles, 333.)
  2. Whom will God accept? (See Selected Messages, Book 1, 354.)
  3. How much does the righteousness of Christ accomplish in our salvation? (See Faith and Works, 26.)
  4. So, what do we need to do to be saved? (See Evangelism, 185.)
  5. How are our sins going to be blotted out and we be clothed in Christ’s righteousness? (See Ibid., 186.)
  6. What is the only plea we need to make to be saved? (See Faith and Works, 106.)
  7. How should you plead your case to the Father? (See Ibid.)
  8. How often do we need to have the merits of Christ applied to our cases? (See Ibid., 86.)

Our Work

  1. What is our work? There has to be some kind of work. That was asked of Jesus too. The conversation is recorded in John 6:28, 29: “Therefore they said to Him: ‘What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in the One that He sent.’

That is the work! As Ellen White expressed it, “Our work is to hang our helpless souls on His merits.” (Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 247.)

The Faith That Benefits

  1. What is the only faith that will benefit us?

Ellen White answers this question: “The only faith that will benefit us is that which embraces Him [Christ] as a personal Saviour; which appropriates His merits to ourselves.” The Desire of Ages, 347.

What an interesting statement! You see, you must choose to believe in Jesus as your personal Saviour and choose to appropriate—that is, claim—His merits, because you do not have any merits of your own. I am not getting after you; I do not have any merits either. None of us have any, and we never will have any of our own.

In Part I we read, “There is salvation for you, but only through the merits of Jesus Christ.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 97. We also learned the worth of human, or creature merit: “Discussions may be entered into by mortals strenuously advocating creature merit, and each man striving for the supremacy, but they simply do not know that all the time, in principle and character, they are misrepresenting the truth as it is in Jesus. They are in a fog of bewilderment. They need the divine love of God which is represented by gold tried in the fire; they need the white raiment of Christ’s pure character; and they need the heavenly eyesalve that they might discern with astonishment the utter worthlessness of creature merit to earn the wages of eternal life.” Faith and Works, 23.

Sanctification

Our merit, she says, is “utter worthlessness.” But Christ has merits. It is through His merits that our sins are blotted out. It is through His merits that we are adopted into the family of God. It is through His merits, when we put our trust in Him, that changes take place in our minds through the Holy Spirit. That is what sanctification is. In sanctification, your mind is changed through the Holy Spirit.

Some people have a very shallow view of sanctification. They think that sanctification is when you change what you do on the outside. That is rubbish. Sanctification is when the Holy Spirit changes the inside of your mind. If you make all the external changes that you can make, you can only say like Paul could say when he was a Pharisee, “according to the righteousness which is of the Law, I was blameless.” He said, “I found out that was all absolutely worthless, and I considered it less than dung that I might win Christ.” (Philippians 3:6, 8.)

All the external is worthless unless the Holy Spirit changes the mind. This is what we need to work with our children too. Some people think that the way to raise children is that you train them to do the right things. No, friend, the way children need to be trained is so that they are transformed in mind by the Holy Spirit, and when the mind is changed, then they will start saying and doing the right things.

It is the same with adults. A story is related about Ellen White in the Spalding and Magan Collection, 92. Some people wrote to her one time, and they thought that Ellen White ought to do something to get the women in the Adventist church to change their dress. She wrote back to them and said, “Changing the dress will not change the heart.” I wish we could get that figured out—that changing the external will not change the heart. You have to get the heart changed, and then the outside can change.

Living Faith

  1. What is living faith?

“That living faith is essential for our salvation that we should lay hold upon the merits of the blood of the crucified and risen Saviour, on Christ, our righteousness.” Faith and Works, 64.

What is living faith? Living faith is when you lay hold of the merits of Christ. The merits of Christ, friend, are the only thing that can forgive your sins; it is the only thing that can blot out your sin; it is the only thing that can change your life. He wants to minister His merits to you through the Holy Spirit.

One of the great purposes that God through His Son gave to us the Holy Spirit is so the Holy Spirit could work in the human mind and administer the merits of Christ. Please do not say that this is not talking about sanctification or that we do not believe in it. This is it!

  1. Where is your dependence if you have living faith?

“You cannot explain this faith that lays hold upon the merits of the blood of a crucified and risen Saviour to bring Christ’s righteousness into your life. Clothed with the righteousness of Christ and not your own righteousness, you will not depend upon what you can do or what you will do.” Faith and Works, 65, 66.

You will not depend on anything that you can do or anything that you will do in the future. Do you not know that you cannot do anything without Christ?

The Latter Rain

  1. What will be the one subject that will swallow up every other subject during the time of the Latter Rain?

We pray about the Latter Rain; we long for the Latter Rain to come. We know that when the Latter Rain comes the work is going to be finished very, very quickly, and the Lord is going to come. That is why we want the Latter Rain.

Would you like to get out of this world? Would you like to get to a place where you do not have any of the problems, trials, troubles, struggles, and awful things that happen to you and everyone else on a regular basis? We cannot get out of this world until Jesus comes, and Jesus is not going to come until the gospel goes to all the world. The Latter Rain will actually take the gospel to every single person in the world. How is that going to happen, and what is going to happen?

“One interest will prevail, one subject will swallow up every other,—Christ our righteousness.” Review and Herald, December 23, 1890.

Simple as Possible

I am just a sinful human being, and I have no ability to touch your heart or explain the gospel so you can understand it. I have tried to make it as simple as I know how. Do you understand that it is only the merits of Christ that can save your soul and that every sinful person can be saved if he or she is willing to claim those merits and surrender himself or herself to Him?

It is not complicated. Do not let anybody tell you that it is complicated. We make the plan of salvation too complicated until people think that there must be a list a mile long of what they have to do to be saved. That is Phariseeism; that is also Roman Catholicism.

You cannot do it on your own merit, but Jesus can save you. Just put your trust in Him. If you only accept Him, no matter how bad you are, you will be saved. “Jesus came into the world,” Paul says, “to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” 1 Timothy 1:15.

To be continued . . .

[Bible texts quoted are literal translation.]

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

The Pen of Inspiration – Prayer and Faith

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I have frequently seen that the children of the Lord neglect prayer, especially secret prayer, altogether too much; that many do not exercise that faith which it is their privilege and duty to exercise, often waiting for that feeling which faith alone can bring. Feeling is not faith; the two are distinct. Faith is ours to exercise, but joyful feeling and the blessing are God’s to give. The grace of God comes to the soul through the channel of living faith, and that faith it is in our power to exercise.

True faith lays hold of and claims the promised blessing before it is realized and felt. We must send up our petitions in faith within the second veil, and let our faith take hold of the promised blessing, and claim it as ours. We are then to believe that we receive the blessing, because our faith has hold of it, and according to the word it is ours. “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Mark 11:24. Here is faith, naked faith, to believe that we receive the blessing, even before we realize it. When the promised blessing is realized and enjoyed, faith is swallowed up. But many suppose they have much faith when sharing largely of the Holy Spirit, and that they cannot have faith unless they feel the power of the Spirit. Such confound faith with the blessing that comes through faith.

The very time to exercise faith is when we feel destitute of the Spirit. When thick clouds of darkness seem to hover over the mind, then is the time to let living faith pierce the darkness and scatter the clouds.

True faith rests on the promises contained in the word of God, and those only who obey that word can claim its glorious promises. “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” John 15:7. “Whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.” 1 John 3:22.

We should be much in secret prayer. Christ is the vine, we are the branches. And if we would grow and flourish, we must continually draw sap and nourishment from the Living Vine; for separated from the Vine, we have no strength.

I asked the angel why there was no more faith and power in Israel. He said: “Ye let go of the arm of the Lord too soon. Press your petitions to the throne, and hold on by strong faith. The promises are sure. Believe ye receive the things ye ask for, and ye shall have them.” …

I saw that we had doubted the sure promises, and wounded the Saviour by our lack of faith. Said the angel, “Gird the armor about thee, and above all take the shield of faith; for that will guard the heart, the very life, from the fiery darts of the wicked.” If the enemy can lead the desponding to take their eyes off from Jesus, and look to themselves, and dwell upon their own unworthiness, instead of dwelling upon the worthiness of Jesus, His love, His merits, and His great mercy, he will get away their shield of faith, and gain his object; they will be exposed to his fiery temptations. The weak should therefore look to Jesus, and believe in Him; they then exercise faith. Christian Experience and Teachings of Ellen G. White, 126, 127.

Christ Honors Faith

Come where Christ is, and you will have light. Talk unbelief, and you will have unbelief; but talk faith, and you will have faith. According to the seed sown will be the harvest. If you talk of heaven and the eternal reward, you will become lighter and lighter in the Lord, and your faith will grow, because it is exercised. Fasten your eyes upon Jesus, dear friends, and by beholding you will become assimilated to his image. Do not allow your thoughts to dwell continually upon things of the earth, but place them upon things that are heavenly, and then, wherever you are, you will be a light to the world.

Live the life of faith day by day. Do not become anxious and distressed about the time of trouble, and thus have a time of trouble beforehand. Do not keep thinking, “I am afraid I shall not stand in the great testing day.” You are to live for the present, for this day only. Tomorrow is not yours. Today you are to maintain the victory over self. Today you are to live a life of prayer. Today you are to fight the good fight of faith. Today you are to believe that God blesses you. And as you gain the victory over darkness and unbelief, you will meet the requirements of the Master, and will become a blessing to those around you. Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions of the Seventh-day Adventists (1886), 142, 143.

The Christian’s Privilege

Many who are sincerely seeking for holiness of heart and purity of life seem perplexed and discouraged. They are constantly looking to themselves, and lamenting their lack of faith; and because they have no faith, they feel that they cannot claim the blessing of God. These persons mistake feeling for faith. They look above the simplicity of true faith, and thus bring great darkness upon their souls. They should turn the mind from self, to dwell upon the mercy and goodness of God and to recount His promises, and then simply believe that He will fulfill His word. We are not to trust in our faith, but in the promises of God. When we repent of our past transgressions of His law, and resolve to render obedience in the future, we should believe that God for Christ’s sake accepts us, and forgives our sins.

Darkness and discouragement will sometimes come upon the soul and threaten to overwhelm us, but we should not cast away our confidence. We must keep the eye fixed on Jesus, feeling or no feeling. We should seek to faithfully perform every known duty, and then calmly rest in the promises of God.

At times a deep sense of our unworthiness will send a thrill of terror through the soul, but this is no evidence that God has changed toward us, or we toward God. No effort should be made to rein the mind up to a certain intensity of emotion. We may not feel today the peace and joy which we felt yesterday; but we should by faith grasp the hand of Christ, and trust Him as fully in the darkness as in the light. The Sanctified Life, 89, 90.

Faint Not

When the servants of God have prayed for his Spirit and blessing, it sometimes comes immediately, but it is not always then bestowed. At such times faint not. Let thy faith hold fast the promise, that it will come. Let thy trust be fully in God, and often that blessing will come when you need it the most, and unexpectedly you will receive help from God … Spiritual Gifts, vol. 4b, 8.