fanaticism

Satan’s Third Brigade

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The devil has three brigades. The first brigade is the persecutors. Whenever God’s work is becoming prominent anywhere, at anytime, and the people are learning what the truth is and turning away from error, Satan’s first brigade comes on with persecution.

If that does not work, he brings in his second brigade, which is the dividers. They come in among the people of God and try to divide them one from another, and thus destroy them.

Satan’s third brigade is even more subtle. We read about it in Selected Messages, Book 2, 19.

“If Satan sees that the Lord is blessing His people and preparing them to discern his delusions, he will work with his master power to bring in fanaticism on the one hand and cold formalism on the other, that he may gather in a harvest of souls. Now is our time to watch unceasingly.” [All emphasis supplied.]

When does the devil bring in fanaticism? Whenever God is blessing His people. And certainly He is blessing the historic Adventist movement today. If you could go with me, in a time machine, back to the fall of the year 1977 when I moved to Loma Linda, California, and first became aware of the problems that were ravishing the church, you would not believe how lonely I felt. I was like a fence post in the middle of a field, standing all by myself, so far as I knew. Soon, however, I discovered that there were others who were standing for the truth and they too were being put through the fire.

Yes, the devil has tried his first brigade on us. Many have been persecuted, pushed out of their churches and put through kangaroo court proceedings of various kinds. But the devil’s first brigade has not succeeded in destroying us. The devil tried to scare us, but he found that historic Adventists do not scare easily. And so tremendous things have been tried: false accusations, false articles, false books (books that are full of false accusations of one kind or another), but it did not work.

Meanwhile our work was growing more and more and more. Books, magazines, television programs, radio programs, campmeetings and revival meetings all over the world. And so the devil had to fall back on his second brigade, the dividers. And these he has sent with full force, and all too often we have allowed divisions to come among us.

When people ask me about these divisions, I remind them of the Reformation. Those strong-minded men who became reformers had a difficult time getting along all the time, also. There are painful moments in our experience as we read that there were in their experience.

For example, when Martin Luther went to Zurich, Switzerland, to discuss the Lord’s Supper with Zwingli. Poor, dear Brother Martin, went up to the desk, which was a large table between them, and took a piece of chalk and wrote, “This is My body.” Then he backed off and he said, “It does not say ‘Represents it!’ It says, ‘This IS My body.’”

Poor Brother Martin, have you never read where Jesus said, “I am the vine”? He did not say, I represent the vine. Have you never read where Jesus said, “I am the way”? He did not say, I represent the way and so on down the line. That was the way Jesus talked. But there is the problem, you see. It takes a very strong-minded man to lead a ministry, to take all of the opposition, to take all of the guff, and that kind of man is not easily persuaded on any point.

Bring in the Third Brigade!

So we must bear in mind that although division has hurt us, and we must learn to get along if we all plan to be in heaven together, there is something that is even more serious than division. That is the devil’s third brigade. And I must tell you that the third brigade could stop us. The fanatics could kill this movement, because they almost killed the Reformation. Let me show you.

“In every age Satan has sought to impair the efforts of God’s servants by introducing into the church a spirit of fanaticism.” Acts of the Apostles, 348.

In The Great Controversy, in the chapter entitled “The Progress of Reform in Germany,” Sister White tells a particular story about Martin Luther that well illustrates the question we are considering.

At this time, Luther had made his stand before the Emperor and the Diet, and the Elector had put him in the castle at Wartburg, high in the mountains, to keep him safe from the death decree that had been issued against his life. He was there for about a year, and during that year two things were happening. The progress of the cause was going forward because various men had stepped in to fill Luther’s position. At the same time, Satan was looking on and realized that his first brigade, the persecution by the Emperor and the Pope, had not been successful. There had been much division and it had been very painful, but it was not stopping the work and so he said, “It is time to call my third brigade. Let us send in the fanatics.” And the fanatics gathered on all sides. They even invaded Wittenburg. People with strange ideas about this and strange ideas about that, apparently all very deeply convinced that they had the truth. But, friend, sincerity does not help if you do not have the truth.

Luther, hearing the news at Wartburg, decided that persecution or no persecution, death threat or no death threat, he was going to return. And so he went back to Wittenburg. We are told that after much effort he was able to stem the tide of fanaticism.

“But Satan was not idle. He now attempted what he has attempted in every other reformatory movement to deceive and destroy the people by palming off on them a counterfeit in place of the true work.…From the professed friends of the Reformation had arisen its worst enemies. [Worse than the Emperor; and even worse than the Pope.] They brought the Reformation to the verge of ruin.” The Great Controversy, 186, 187.

This is my authority for telling you that if this historic movement is ever stopped, it will not be stopped by persecution, it will not be stopped by division, but it could be stopped by the fanatics who are hitting us unmercifully on every side. Ellen White goes on to say that it was nothing but the firm rock-like stand of Luther that saved the Reformation: “Fearlessly did Luther defend the gospel from the attacks which came from every quarter. He stood firm as a rock against the fanaticism that sought to ally itself with the Reformation.” Ibid., 193.

It was the same in the early Advent movement. After the movement of William Miller, which was remarkably free of fanaticism, when the Bible conferences were going on for the next four or five years, and the message we lovingly describe as “the truth” was being studied out, Ellen White was called to her work. She tells us herself that her very first work was to fight off the fanatics. Although she was little more than a youth, her first work was to travel in Maine, then Vermont, and much later into Wisconsin and meet people with their wild ideas. Probably they were very earnest people. Only in a few rare cases does she accuse anyone of insincerity, but oh, the nonsense they wanted to get into the movement.

Sister White knew what it was like to fight fanaticism. She knew the intensity of the battle and she knew something else. She knew it was going to be acted on all over again in the final days of the movement! Here are just some of the warnings she gives about fanaticism.

“Fanaticism will appear in the very midst of us.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 16.

“Every phase of fanaticism and erroneous theories claiming to be the truth will be brought in among the remnant people of God.” Ibid., 14.

“Fanaticism will come in as it always has when God works.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 5, 245.

“Every conceivable, fanciful and deceptive doctrine will be presented by men who think that they have the truth.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 25.

“In the last days it will be like it was in 1844 as far as fanaticism is concerned.” The Review and Herald, January 28, 1909.

“Fanaticism once started and left unchecked is as hard to quench as a fire which has obtained hold of a building.” Mind, Character and Personality, 43.

“I was instructed that fanaticism similar to that which we were called to meet after the passing of time in 1844 would come in among us again in the closing days of the message. And then we must meet this evil just as decidedly now as when we met it in our early experience.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 221.

Are you a little surprised to read an article such as this from the pen of Ralph Larson, the gentle, kind old man? Well, I want to be gentle and I want to be kind, but I am going to be fair! Fanaticism could destroy us and I am going to take a stand against it. Sister White said fanaticism is like fire in a building. It is harder to quench when the whole building is in flames than when the fire is first ignited. And so, today, it is past time that we take a stand against fanaticism in our midst. We must call heresy by its right name and we must call fanaticism by its right name.

The Basis of All Fanaticism

Fanaticism has many different names, but they all have something in common which runs like a thread through them. We read in Selected Messages, Book 2, 14: “The devisings of men’s minds will invent tests that are no tests at all. That when the true test shall be made prominent, it shall be considered on a par with the man-made tests that have been of no value.”

“God will send us direct and practical tests, to teach us, if we will be taught, the benefits of faith. He has no use for man-made tests. The tests that He has given are sufficient.” The Pacific Union Recorder, October 20, 1904.

“Satan will lead men to manufacture false tests and thus seek to obscure the value of and make of non-effect the message of truth.” The Review and Herald, May 29, 1888.

What is the real test we should be focusing on today? “The commandment of God that has been almost universally made void is the testing truth for this time.” Ibid.

After referring to the Sabbath, Sister White stated: “This is the Lord’s test. Let us not descend from it to man-made tests.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 3, 56.

“‘Ye shall not add to the word nor diminish from it.’ The Lord guarded against the adding of man-made tests which would bring in confusion.” Letters to Sanitarium Workers in Southern California, 10.

“There will be brought in a vast amount of man-made tests that have not the least bearing upon the word given us of God to prepare a people to stand with the whole equipment of the heavenly armor on without leaving one piece.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 7, 91.

Examples of Man-Made Tests

What are the man-made tests that historic Adventists are being faced with today? The following is just a partial list.

The Feast Days

We are being called to tests on the Feast Days. We are being told today that if we do not keep the Passover, Pentecost, Feast of Tabernacles and so on we are going to be lost. Strange as it may seem, this is unsettling and troubling to good sincere people because it is wrapped in packages of sophistry that appears to be very convincing. (Sophistry is that which appears to be logical but it is not logical.)

It is not easy to know how to relate to someone who comes to you, apparently with great earnestness and with great sincerity and zeal and assures you most solemnly that two plus two, properly understood, equals seventy-five. Let me explain. A certain brother put out information calling on everyone to keep the feast days. When I published an article in Land Marks in which I called attention to some of the errors with these type of teachings, he responded with an open letter. I’ll reproduce just a few lines from his letter here, so that you may evaluate the logic of his conclusions for yourself.

Here are his words. “We are all familiar with the story of Moses and Pharaoh. Most of us have thought, until recently, that the Feast of the Passover was given to the Jews at that time. However, Abraham kept the feast four hundred thirty years before Moses.”

What! Abraham kept the Passover? How could a man, who claims to believe the Spirit of Prophecy, send out a letter of this type and even sign his name to it?

Look carefully at these inspired quotations which so clearly tell us when the Passover was instituted. “The observance of the Passover began with the birth of the Hebrew nation on the last night of their bondage in Egypt. The Hebrews went out from Egypt an independent nation.” The Desire of Ages, 76.

“On that night so terrible to the Egyptians and so glorious to the people of God was the solemn ordinance of the Passover instituted.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, 217.

“The Jews had been strictly enjoined to celebrate the Passover. This had been instituted at the time of their deliverance from Egypt.” The Review and Herald, November 4, 1902.

Now do you understand what I mean when someone solemnly assures you that two plus two equals seventy-five? How do you deal with that kind of a mind? I sent him the quotations that I have just listed and, so far, he has not responded. So, that was just one example of how we are being challenged to face a test about the Feast Days.

The Name of God

We are being called to face a test about the name/names of God. There are at least three variations on the name of God being endorsed and embraced by certain groups among us today. And all of them assure us that if we do not pronounce it their way, we will all go to hell. There is no hope whatever for our salvation if we do not say it right and they say it three different ways?

Beloved, if I may say so, of all the strange stuff, this is the most weird that we have ever come across. The Jewish people stopped pronouncing the name of God at least five hundred years before Christ. And the orthodox Jew, today, will not pronounce the name of God. He will refer to the deity saying “Hashem” which means “The Name.” He will not pronounce the sacred name. It has not been pronounced for probably twenty-five hundred years. Yet there are people coming among us today who say, “We know exactly how that name should be pronounced and if you do not say it like we say it, you are going to hell.”

Dear hearts, what happens to the human mind? They will with great triumph, pull out a verse from the Psalms which says “My name is Yaw” and place that under your nose. David, who wrote that, put down the Y or J and he put down the H, but he did not put the A in there. There were no vowels in the Hebrew alphabet. They had only consonants.

How did they get along? Well, they got along just like you and I do with abbreviations. When you see Mt. Lassen, does anyone have to tell you what it means? It means Mount Lassen, of course. However, if you had never learned that, as a child, you could look at Mt. for a thousand years and never know it said Mount.

The Hebrew alphabet was entirely like that and that is the way they read all of their words. About seven to eight hundred years after Christ, they finally decided to invent some vowels and put them underneath the letters so that you could follow along if you did not know from memory.

So, just think, if there has been no one around for twenty-five hundred years to speak the name and tell you how it sounds and if the people who wrote the name did not even have vowels, how can someone come along in our time and say, “I know! You say it like I say it or you are going to hell.” Dear people, what goes on in the human mind? And what is surprising is that this is troubling our people.

The Godhead

Another man-made test deals with the Godhead. Is the Holy Spirit God? Most people do not argue about whether the Father is God, but they argue about whether the Spirit is God. Here are just a few lines from the Spirit of Prophecy. “The Spirit being God knoweth the mind of God;” “The three powers of the Godhead;” “The Spirit in all the fullness of the Godhead;” “The Third Person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit;” “The three powers of the Godhead, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 3, 36; Review and Herald, July 18, 1907; Evangelism, 615; Australian Union Conference Record, October 7, 1907.

There are also those who are trying to chip away at the divinity of Christ. Consider this strong rebuke: “That doctrine that denies the absolute Godhead of Jesus Christ denies also the Godhead of the Father.” Signs of the Times, June 27, 1895.

Dual Application of Prophecy

Then we have a lot of “dual application of time prophecies.” When people approach me and say, “Would you not be interested in learning about a dual application of this prophecy?” I say, “No thanks, give me the tenth application. That is where my interest lies. Give me the fifteenth, the twentieth, the thirtieth, the fortieth, the fiftieth, the hundred and fiftieth, that is where my interest lies.”

Am I bewildering you? If an historic time prophecy can be re-applied, can it be re-applied twice or again and again and again? I do not know why not. So tell me about the twentieth one, that is where I want to plug in.

Then to a lesser degree, there are smaller items such as kneeling in prayer. I want to believe that these folk who come in and challenge us when we do not kneel for a benediction are sincere, dedicated, earnest, consecrated people, but I have a little trouble over this point. Almost invariably, when they detect that you are not buying their reasoning, they get furiously angry with you and are ready to denounce you as a false minister, a false prophet, a child of Satan, etc. It just makes me wonder, is this the spirit of Christ?

I have to share with you the bitter pill. There have been, and there are now, many thousands of earnest, sincere, dedicated, historic Seventh-day Adventists who in view of all the warnings that we have about error, have found it necessary to worship separately in little groups here and there. Inevitably, there come in among them people professing to be just like they are and, of course, they embrace them. They take them right in and pretty soon they start telling them, “You will surely be lost if you do not keep the Passover.” Or, “You will surely be lost if you do not pronounce the name of God right.” Or, “You will surely be lost if you think there are three divine beings who have the fullness of the Godhead, when Jesus and the Holy Spirit were not really God,” and so forth and so on down the list. They point out irrelevant texts and pile them around the issue, until, by their confused logic, they have convinced some that they are speaking the truth.

Dear friend, as we have read, God has no use for man-made tests. The Sabbath is the test that we are all going to be called upon to pass. All man-made tests will divert the mind from the great and important doctrines that constitute present truth. Let us not descend from the Sabbath to man-made tests. The truth is pure; the truth is wonderful. The tests of God are like they ought to be. They do not need to be improved upon.

We know that the truth will prevail, the only problem is that we must hold fast to it. This message is going to go through. The only question is whether I will go through with it. And that is what we all need to be thinking about day-by-day. Let us accept the test of God and let us reject all man-made tests.

Watch out for the devil’s third brigade—fanatics.

Counsels and Doctrines

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Strife Within the Church

Why is strife so common in the home church movement today? What has the devil done that has caused so much dissension and how will it be remedied? These are certainly questions that we should be asking ourselves, and there is not one simple answer.

I believe a good share of the problems we see today are the result of a common misunderstanding. Many today are confused about the difference between inspired counsel and inspired law or doctrine. You may be asking, “Can that really be so very important?” You may not think so at first glance, but in fact, the consequences of this misunderstanding can, and are, causing great harm in many churches and families today.

Let us begin our study by first looking at a lesson that Jesus taught in the eighth chapter of John. In this chapter is recorded the very familiar story of the woman taken in adultery. “Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives. And early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came unto Him; and He sat down, and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto Him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, they say unto Him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting Him, that they might have to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down, and with His finger wrote on the ground, as though He heard them not. So when they continued asking Him, He lifted up Himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again He stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”

Judge Not

It is clear that Jesus did not condone this women’s sin. He instructed her, “Go and sin no more.” But rather, this story was given to teach us a lesson. So often we are quick to judge someone, while we ignore the sins (sometimes even the very sins of which are condemning another) that dwell within our own hearts. I wonder, if Jesus was with us in person today, observing all the strife that is within the church, if he would not again stoop down to write in the sand all the faults and shortcomings of those who are condemning their brethren for not dressing or eating or doing something in the way that they feel is correct.

Today, the scene of this pitiful woman is repeated again and again, only with different circumstances. Brothers and sisters are brought before our private “judgment seat” and condemned for wearing the wrong clothing or eating the wrong food, while we commend ourselves for being such godly Christians. God’s prophet warned, “The ruling, driving, storming spirits need to take their hands off and turn their attention to themselves. Their own destitution of the Spirit of God is the reason of their unquiet, censorious, condemning spirit.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 285.

Think back in your own experience, how many divisions have you seen in churches and families because of this condemning spirit? It is breaking up churches and families everywhere in the world. And so the devil delights, for it is his game plan to divide and conquer homes, churches, husbands and wives. It is his goal to do everything he possibly can to stir up strife, suspicion and fanaticism to divide God’s people, for he knows that united we will stand and divided we will fall.

When Should We Separate?

Should we separate ourselves from a person or group of people that do not eat, dress, etc., exactly as we think they should? Let us look more closely at this subject of separation and unity from an inspired outlook, and notice why there will be a true need for separation in the last days.

“As trials thicken around us, both separation and unity will be seen in our ranks. Some who are now ready to take up weapons of warfare will in times of real peril make it manifest that they have not built upon the solid rock; they will yield to temptation. Those who have had great light and precious privileges, but have not improved them, will, under one pretext or another, go out from us. Not having received the love of the truth, they will be taken in the delusions of the enemy; they will give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, and will depart from the faith.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 400, 401. [Emphasis supplied.]

Are there times when there should not be a separation? “A house divided against itself cannot stand. When Christians contend, Satan comes in to take control. How often has he succeeded in destroying the peace and harmony of churches. What fierce controversies, what bitterness, what hatred, has a very little matter started! What hopes have been blasted, how many families have been rent asunder by discord and contention!

“Paul charged his brethren to beware lest in trying to correct the faults of others they should commit sins equally great themselves. He warns them that hatred, emulation, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, and envyings are as truly the works of the flesh as are lasciviousness, adultery, drunkenness, and murder, and will as surely close the gate of heaven against the guilty.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 244. [Emphasis supplied.]

Separate from Unsound Doctrine

It is perfectly appropriate, and necessary, to sever ties with a church that is not teaching sound doctrine. But is it appropriate to leave a church that is teaching sound doctrine, but where some may be dressing or eating a little differently than we think they should be? These types of issues (where the questions concern inspired counsel not law) are splitting up churches all over the world. Could it be that in fact the real problem is that we are cherishing the age-old sin of pride that Lucifer had in heaven.

“He sought to gain control of heavenly beings, to draw them away from their Creator, and to win their homage to himself. Therefore he misrepresented God, attributing to Him the desire for self-exaltation. With his own evil characteristics he sought to invest the loving Creator. Thus he deceived angels. Thus he deceived men. He led them to doubt the word of God, and to distrust His goodness. Because God is a God of justice and terrible majesty, Satan caused them to look upon Him as severe and unforgiving. Thus he drew men to join him in rebellion against God, and the night of woe settled down upon the world.” The Desire of Ages, 21, 22.

What is Counsel?

Before we study a Biblical example of the difference between counsel and law, let’s look at the simple dictionary definition of the two words. Counsel is “a mutual exchange of ideas. Advice.” Law is “the rules of conduct established by an authority or any rule expected to be observed.” Webster’s New World Dictionary. And we know that God’s divine laws are “immutable, unchangeable, eternal.” Maranatha, 177.

In the very beginning, in the Garden of Eden, God made a distinction between counsel and law. In the instructions given to Adam and Eve regarding the tree of knowledge there was both counsel and law. The law, if disobeyed, would lead to death.

“And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom had had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” “And the Lord God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Genesis 2:8-9, 15-17. [Emphasis supplied.]

Counsel vs Command

God told our first parents that they were not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil or they would die. “Adam and Eve were permitted to partake of every tree in the garden save one. There was a single prohibition. The forbidden tree was as attractive and lovely as any of the trees in the garden. It was called the tree of knowledge because in partaking of that tree of which God had said, “Thou shalt not eat of it,” they would have a knowledge of sin, an experience in disobedience.” Confrontation, 12.

In the following quotations, see if you can find the counsel that God gave which Eve ignored. “Eve had wandered near the forbidden tree, and her curiosity was aroused to know how death could be concealed in the fruit of this fair tree. She was surprised to hear her queries taken up and repeated by a strange voice. ‘Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’ Eve was not aware that she had revealed her thoughts in audibly conversing with herself; therefore, she was greatly astonished to hear her queries repeated by a serpent. She really thought that the serpent had a knowledge of her thoughts, and that he must be very wise.

“She answered him, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.’ And the serpent said unto the woman, ‘Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.’” Ibid., 13.

“Eve had overstated the words of God’s command. He had said to Adam and Eve, ‘But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.’ In Eve’s controversy with the serpent, she added ‘Neither shall ye touch it.’ Here the subtlety of the serpent appeared. This statement of Eve gave him advantage; he plucked the fruit and placed it in her hand, using her own words, He hath said, If ye touch it, ye shall die. You see no harm comes to you from touching the fruit, neither will you receive any harm by eating it.” Ibid., 14.

God counseled Adam and Eve not to go near the tree because there Satan would have access to them. But it was not a sin that would cost them their lives, if they did. If you are being tempted, that is not a sin. The temptation becomes sin when you yield to that temptation either in your mind or when you act upon it.

What other counsel did God give Adam and Eve? “The angels had cautioned Eve to beware of separating herself from her husband while occupied in their daily labor in the garden; with him she would be in less danger from temptation than if she were alone. But absorbed in her pleasing task, she unconsciously wandered from his side. On perceiving that she was alone, she felt an apprehension of danger, but dismissed her fears, deciding that she had sufficient wisdom and strength to discern evil and to withstand it. Unmindful of the angels’ caution, she soon found herself gazing with mingled curiosity and admiration upon the forbidden tree.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 53, 54.

Was it a sin for Eve to wander from the side of her husband? No, it says that the angels cautioned her to beware if she should be separated from Adam’s side because she would place herself in unnecessary danger. The only place Satan could have access to the pair in Eden was at the tree of knowledge of good and evil. “The angels charged them to closely follow the instructions God had given them in reference to the tree of knowledge, for in perfect obedience they were safe, and this fallen foe could then have no power to deceive them.” Lift Him Up, 20. [Emphasis supplied.]

The Problem with Fanaticism

All of God’s counsel is given for our good, and how much hardship and misery it would have saved our first parents if they followed God’s counsel. When they ignored God’s counsels they placed themselves in a position where they could more easily be lead into sin. However, we need to understand the definition of sin. “Our only definition of sin is that given in the Word of God; it is ‘the transgression of the law;’ it is the outworking of a principle at war with the great law of love which is the foundation of the divine government.” The Great Controversy, 492. This is the only definition given in the Bible of what sin is. It is breaking God’s law, either in the mind or openly.

However, sometimes we want to go beyond what the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy say in order to try to make it support our own ideas. This is what the Spirit of Prophecy calls “fanaticism.” As fanaticism takes a firm hold on a group or person criticism always follows. This particular point becomes the only subject discussed and studied and those who do not agree with our cherished opinion are chastised and condemned.

Sister White faced many types of fanaticism in her day. In Early Writings, 22, she gives this account. “At this time there was fanaticism in Maine. Some refrained wholly from labor and disfellowshiped all those who would not receive their views on this point, and some other things, which they held to be religious duties. God revealed these errors to me in vision and sent me to His erring children to declare them; but many of them wholly rejected the message, and charged me with conforming to the world.”

“In every age Satan has sought to impair the efforts of God’s servants by introducing into the church a spirit of fanaticism. Thus it was in Paul’s day, and thus it was in later centuries during the time of the Reformation. Wycliffe, Luther, and many others, who blessed the world by their influence and their faith, encountered the wiles by which the enemy seeks to lead into fanaticism overzealous, unbalanced, and unsanctified minds.” Acts of the Apostles, 348.

She warned a certain brother, “I consider you to be in positive peril. I present this because I know that you are in great danger of being seduced by Satan. We are living in a time when every phase of fanaticism will press its way in among believers and unbelievers. Satan will come in, speaking lies in hypocrisy. Everything that he can invent to deceive men and women will be brought forward.” Medical Ministry, 114. [Emphasis supplied.]

We are certainly living in that day and age right now. The devil has stolen a march upon us. He has successfully wounded the revival and reformation movement within Adventism today by the fanatical theories that are coming into the church. He is using men and women who have unbalanced minds to bring in some form or another of fanaticism to divide and conquer. And friend, we must each be on guard because the devil has been studying human nature for nearly six thousand years and he has designed some fanaticism to exactly fit each of our personalities and temperaments.

We have many lessons to learn. May God help us that we might each surrender our lives and our opinions to Him that He may cleanse us from the root of bitterness and the condemning spirit which destroys unity and impedes the gospel work. There is no longer time to waste in bickering and strife, there is world waiting to be warned. May the Lord bless each of you.

Fanaticism or Faith

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If a man believes a gospel that teaches that we can attain moral perfection before Christ comes, has he embraced fanaticism, or “the faith once delivered to the saints?” I believe Scripture proves that this matter touches the very heart of the Three Angels’ Messages, righteousness by faith, and sanctuary messages. It can be shown that these Bible messages constitute the very identity of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. But if “perfection” cannot be proven to be a consistent feature of the doctrine, or gospel, of Jesus Christ, it would seem to prove that the gospel that Evangelicals and espousers of the “New Theology” preach, that we are saved in sin, is true: then the doctrine of perfection is damnable heresy, and Seventh-day Adventism has grossly misapplied the first angel’s message in Revelation 14:6, 7, as well as the third angel’s message in Revelation 14:12. There is no room for pluralism here. Only one gospel is true, and the Bible is very clear regarding those who preach any other gospel.

“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any [man] preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:8, 9.

I suggest that most “Christians” unwisely deny the possibility of perfection because of the experiences and feelings of the person they look at in the mirror and the failures of others they see all around them. Paul touches on this principle when he says, “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” II Corinthians 10:12.

It seems also that Christians limit themselves and God by repeating trite old bumper sticker-type slogans so often that they become more real to them than Scripture. Maybe you’ve heard or used one or more of these to excuse sin and failure. “I’m only human, not perfect.” “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.” “Nobody’s perfect—nobody can be perfect in this world.”

I submit that “perfection” is controversial in Christianity mainly due to the unbelief of theologians and sin-loving professors of religion. Somehow just mentioning it as part of the gospel causes resentment. If you include it, you can expect to hear something like: “What and whom do you think you are, Mr. Perfect?” Saying this implies that perfection is unattainable, even unbiblical. Don’t get me wrong, I do not count myself to have arrived at the destination of perfection, but I cannot deny what the Bible teaches regarding perfection. (That would not be safe for any of us.) Also, we must be sure not to confuse O.C.D. (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) or human “perfectionism” that says you cannot, for instance, accidentally dot a “t” or cross an “i” and yet attain perfection. And we are not talking about physical perfection concerning the flesh. Jesus Himself came “in the likeness of sinful flesh.” (See Romans 8:3, 4.) So we are dealing with spiritual and moral, even character issues. Before we do a Berean search for the truth about perfection in the Scriptures, let’s look into Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary for a slightly abbreviated definition of the word:

PERFECT

Finished; complete; consummate; not defective; having all that is requisite to its nature and kind; as a perfect likeness; a perfect system.

Fully informed; completely skilled; as men perfect in the use of arms; perfect in discipline.

Complete in moral excellencies. (a.) Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:48. (b.) My strength is made perfect in weakness. II Corinthians 12. (c.) If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. I John 4.

Friends, we will approach this subject with questions, objections and a Bible answer format. First, is truth regarding “perfection” or any other Bible doctrine decided by what learned theologians say? Is truth decided by our feelings, personal opinions, experience, or comparing ourselves among others? (See Jeremiah 17:5, 9 for the wisdom of that.) If not, where does a real Christian find the truth of this matter? Does the Bible encourage or discourage man from believing that moral perfection is possible? Praying for the Holy Spirit to guide us, let’s start with Genesis and go through the Old and New Testaments to get a consistent Bible understanding by weighing the evidence for ourselves and seeking an experience in what God’s Word shows us.

Among the prevailing wickedness just before and during the time of the flood, two men are known for gaining just such a perfect walk and experience. What did it get them? Genesis 5:22, 24: “And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, And Enoch walked with God: and he [was] not; for God took him.” Genesis 6:7–9. “And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Noah was a just man [and] perfect in his generations, [and] Noah walked with God.” After the flood, God commanded Abram to a certain kind of walk. What was connected with that walk? Genesis 17:1, 7: “The Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.” It appears here that the words “And I will” following “walk before me, and be thou perfect” show that the Everlasting Covenant was (and is) conditional upon God’s command to be perfect. Was Abraham alone commanded to be perfect? No; God commanded all whom He has delivered from bondage to do the same. Deuteronomy 18:13, “Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God.”

Some vehemently insist, “No man has ever been perfect!” Is that true to God’s Word? Has God ever declared any mortal to have become perfect? If so, what kind of spirit challenges God’s declaration? We find the answers clearly stated in Job 1:8–11, “And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.”

It appears that it is a satanic spirit that denies and defies perfection. Did any test cause this mortal man, Job, whom God called “perfect,” to turn against Him? If I remember correctly, even though Job did not understand what had happened to him, he said, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.” Job 13:15. But some will say, “Oh, that was then, in Old Testament times; today we stand in a different relation to perfection entirely.” Is that true? How does the Bible define how we stand? Romans 3:12, 23: “They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

All have sinned, and come short of God’s glory (which is His divine character,) by breaking His royal law, the Ten Commandments (which also is an abbreviated transcript of God’s character). This is why the everlasting gospel defines itself with a loud voice, saying, “Fear God and give glory to Him.” Such a command calls us up to an experience opposite of Romans 3:12, 23. So if we limit our scope to the experience of Romans 3:12, 23, yes, it looks like we present a very imperfect picture. But how does that picture change when we receive God into it and into our experience? II Samuel 22:31–33: “As for God, His way is perfect; the Word of the Lord is tried: He is a buckler to all them that trust in Him. God is my strength and power: and He maketh my way perfect.”

He does not leave us imperfect if we are joined to Him. His way becomes our way, and thereby He makes our way perfect in His strength and omnipotent power. Where do we most clearly see His perfect way? In God’s sanctuary and in Jesus Christ. (See Psalm 77:13 and John 14:6.) The process of our perfection starts as a command from the Lord. Matthew 5:48: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Peter, quoting Moses, and Moses, quoting the Lord, defines what this perfection means by using synonyms. 1 Peter 1:15, 16: “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” Leviticus 20:7, 8: “Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God. And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the Lord which sanctify you.”

These directives from the Lord parallel perfection with holiness and sanctification. We are directed to make these our experience because God is perfect. He is holy and He is our sanctification. And we as His born-again children are empowered to reflect Him. Hebrews 12:14 makes it clear that without holiness, also known as sanctification, no man shall see the Lord. This experience is not optional, if we would be saved.

Again, the Lord’s biddings found in Matthew 5 and through Peter and Moses are direct commands, and we know all His biddings are enablings. “The heavenly intelligences will work with the human agent who seeks with determined faith that perfection of character which will reach out to perfection in action. To every one engaged in this work Christ says, I am at your right hand to help you.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 332. “As the will of man co-operates with the will of God, it becomes omnipotent. Whatever is to be done at His command, may be accomplished in His strength. All His biddings are enablings.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 333.

Here are a few more good places to see this call or command to follow the Lord and God’s enabling and transforming power. Note the conditions. We have a part and must choose to have this experience to be saved. I Peter 5:10, 11, “But the God of all grace, Who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 5:8, 9: “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.” “ ‘We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.’ II Corinthians 3:18. Christ is the sinner’s advocate. Those who accept His gospel behold Him with open face. They see the relation of His mission to the law, and they acknowledge God’s wisdom and glory as revealed by the Saviour. The glory of Christ is revealed in the law, which is a transcript of His character, and His transforming efficacy is felt upon the soul until men become changed to His likeness. They are made partakers of the divine nature, and grow more and more like their Saviour, advancing step by step in conformity to the will of God, till they reach perfection.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 240.

There is no “creature merit” in all this. It is God’s power, and those who experience this perfecting power fear God and give glory to Him. Yet it is not automatically imparted to us! God does not force us; we must choose to believe, and act on that belief. Some try to hide the truth of this behind a smokescreen of falsehood or misapplication of words and concepts. They cause many to miss what God is offering. We must not let them deceive us or others by confusing worldly or human Perfectionism with the biblical process of Christian perfection, also known as sanctification. Romans 12:1, 2: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Being transformed, proving (to all who look on) that God’s perfect will can be done “on earth, as it is in heaven,” (Matthew 6:10) is the reasonable service set before true Christians by the One Who calls us to it. Yes, it requires the sacrifice of our otherwise “unprofitable” lives. “True sanctification means perfect love, perfect obedience, perfect conformity to the will of God. We are to be sanctified to God through obedience to the truth. Our conscience must be purged from dead works to serve the living God. We are not yet perfect; but it is our privilege to cut away from the entanglements of self and sin, and advance to perfection. Great possibilities, high and holy attainments, are placed within the reach of all. The reason many in this age of the world make no greater advancement in the divine life is because they interpret the will of God to be just what they will to do. While following their own desires, they flatter themselves that they are conforming to God’s will.” The Acts of the Apostles, 564, 565.

Can we see that proving the perfect will of God through the imputed and imparted powers of heaven is not optional? It is an ongoing work of Christ and the willing receiver to daily partake of the divine nature. But the fact that it is not done for us unconditionally should not remove any real assurance from us. Quite the opposite. From all we’ve seen so far, and especially coupled with the next divine assurance, any Bible believer will be assured that if we cooperate, He, the Author and Finisher of our faith, will bring this work to completion or perfection. Philippians 1:6: “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

There are those who will look at all this and worry that they may not live long enough to have the work of Christian perfection completed in them. It is a genuine concern, one that causes me to remember certain truths about God’s character and how he judges us. John 3:17–19: “For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”

Remember that Jesus’ name is who He is and what He does: Matthew 1:21, 23: “Thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. And they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” So we can safely trust that if we will walk in the light with Him, He will complete the saving work He began in us. For reassurance, let’s examine the case of a man who had his time cut short, yet Jesus promises him a place with Him in His kingdom. It is the story of a man whose life brought him a cruel death sentence, yet in his last moments of time, despite how unpromising every circumstance looked, his faith reached out to mercy and perfection in the Person who hung on a cross with him that day.

Luke 23:39–43: “And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”

With everything he had, he reached out in faith to Christ, when Jesus looked like anything but a king; when even the other malefactor joined the crowd in mocking Jesus, the other man strove against the tide of evil, repenting of his past and looking to the Author and finisher of his faith. He confessed Christ with his heart and lips, and placed his case in Jesus’ nail pierced hands. In this, his faith opened the way for the Saviour and His perfection to stand in his place. This is righteousness by faith, including both justification and sanctification, bringing in both the imputed and imparted merits of Christ’s sinless life, sacrifice, and His Spirit, to complete or perfect the good work begun in this man’s shortened life.

Some will attempt to refute this doctrine no matter how much proof you have, but I believe such prove that they are allied to the enemy of truth, and that it is spiritually suicidal to take an opposing view, as it leaves one with a mere form of godliness, but denies the power thereof. (Compare Romans 1:16–18.)

“The enemy will suggest that the Lord will not keep us from sinning, and make us obedient to all his requirements. He will direct our mind to our past imperfections, to our sins, failures, and mistakes, and tell us we need not expect to come off conquerors at last. We are not to listen to the suggestions of the enemy, or think that our unaided efforts can save us, but we are to believe that Jesus does the work for us.” The Signs of the Times, September 12, 1892. (Emphasis added.)

No one is safe who focuses on past sins or who listens to the enemy’s reasoning. But if we are going to prove our position, our evidence on this matter must be very biblical. We can use the Spirit of Prophecy with believers who have tested these writings to the Bible standard, but those among us who have not tested them or who are seeking loopholes have no fear of making those writings of none effect. So the rest will be only from the Bible. What did the Lord inspire Paul to write to those surrounded with the shadows of unbelievers? II Corinthians 6:17, 18; 7:1: “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. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

God promises to receive as sons and daughters those who, in the fear of God, come out from among those who do not believe in the transforming grace that both justifies and perfects holiness in our lives. I pray that all who read this receive the power inherent in God’s promises. Without using the words “perfect” or “perfection” Peter and Jude described perfecting holiness as the result of believing and acting on God’s promises. What are the results He promises us? II Peter 1:2–4, 10: “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. … Brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.” Jude 1:24: “Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.”

What do you get when you add this all together? We have the potential of being no longer “only human,” but enjoined with or a “partaker of the divine nature,” having escaped corruption, never falling, and faultless! May this also fit within the biblical definition of Christian perfection? By the way, who is given exceeding joy in this experience? Yes, it gives God joy to do it, and imagine the joy we can have as, in doing it, He lifts us up to sit with Him in His throne as overcomers! Paul wrote more about Christian perfection, though also here, other words describe that high, yet attainable condition. Please note once more who enables it and how it is accomplished. I Thessalonians 5:21–24: “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, Who also will do it.” It is interesting to note, in verse 23, how the word “wholly” is defined in the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. G3651 ho-lo-te-las’ From G3650 and G5056, which means complete to the end, that is, absolutely perfect—wholly.

Our faithful God promises the power, but leaves it to us to believe Him and hold fast to it. But for those who maintain that “we will sin till Jesus comes,” I agree that you probably will! But nonetheless, take careful note that this absolutely perfect sanctification is something “preserved blameless” in its recipients “till the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Let’s go with Paul as he describes further his mission to teach Christian perfection, as well as to and through whom it is to be taught. Here again, the Bible points us to the power through whom it is accomplished and its ultimate effect, calling it a “mystery.” Colossians 1:26–28: “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”

This is the purpose of the real gospel and its power—to present every man who receives it “perfect in Christ Jesus.” Can you say “Amen” to that? Friends, perfection is a continual biblical theme. Is it not precisely why we see Christ pouring spiritual gifts and administrations into His church? This is exactly what we see in Ephesians 4:7, 8, 12, 13: “But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”

Paul discovered that his traditional old Pharisaic view of the law and righteousness had not the power of true righteousness by faith. I submit that many of us have scales over our eyes. And like Paul, we have received them by traditions of men, and they have blinded us to true righteousness by faith, also known as justification, along with sanctification, or “perfection.” Look how Paul describes his experience once he discovered the truth. Philippians 3:9–14: “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

Far from teaching “saved by the law” or “once saved always saved,” Paul preaches a gospel that clearly illustrates our cooperation in pressing toward the mark of which sin causes us to come short. He preaches that the true Christian presses on with strength and confidence, knowing that Christ has apprehended him, laid hands on him, if you will, and is pulling him as he presses forward up the narrow upward path to the prize. What is that calling and what is the prize? It is perfection and the literal presence of God—face to face and side by side with Christ. Don’t you desire that? Can we get it any other way than Paul got it?

Let’s start bringing this home as we read what Paul wrote of the successful tools and gospel efforts of others that aided even more as they pressed toward the same mark. Colossians 4:12: “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.”

In his letter to Timothy, Paul defines the purpose of the Scriptures, in II Timothy 3:15–17: “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” All through the New Testament, God assures us that it is His will to bring us out of the experience of Romans 3:23. Hebrews 13:20, 21: “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

James also describes this same process, illustrating one of the elements God uses to bring it about. James 1:2–4: “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

Friends, after seeing what the Bible says for itself, are those who teach perfection merely fanatics, preaching an impossibility or even a false gospel? Or is this a biblical doctrine of Christ? If it is clearly biblical, and it is a doctrine of our Savior, Jesus Christ, why do so many deny it? It would be best to let God’s Word briefly answer that, lest I be perceived to be judgmental, unChristlike, or unloving. II John 1:9: “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God.” John 14:23, 24: “If a man love Me, he will keep My words: He that loveth Me not keepeth not My sayings.”

We are coming around full circle in this study. And before we close, if there is still some doubt in us or somebody else, I’d like to ask Jesus to help us expose and dispose of it. Let’s read two passages from Jesus’ words found in Matthew 5:16, 48. Ask anyone who claims to be a Christian and denies the doctrine of Christian perfection, “Is verse 16 to be taken seriously and not verse 48?” Matthew 5:16: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:48: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”

Why is one cheerfully and confidently proclaimed and encouraged by nearly every Christian? And why is it that most who call themselves Christians doubt that we can experience the other, and whole denominations and seminaries and theologians really doubt it, and discourage preaching all that it can mean?

Do we really love the Lord? Don’t we really want God the Father and Son to receive all they paid for with the greatest sacrifice the eternal universe will ever have known? There is really a lot more at stake here than many will ever think. As we go to our closing Scriptures, let’s use our imaginations and lean close to the Lord as He prays His last prayer with His disciples before being betrayed into the hands of the mob to be tried and crucified. This is really a dying prayer. Let’s read it and ask Him, “Lord, did you pray an unanswerable prayer?” John 17:20–23: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”

In this prayer, if we look closely, we see how or if Christianity accepts this truth and prayer, “that they may be made perfect in one.” This determines how or if the world can really ever know that Jesus was truly the divine sent of God the Father. Our perfection in Christ, or our doubt and rejection of it, preaches a louder gospel than the words we speak or write. What gospel will your life preach?

Paul’s farewell to all Christians who read his inspired letter to Corinth and the world also expresses my appeal to you. II Corinthians 13:11: “Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.”

You or I may not yet have experienced perfection. We may not have known or seen others who have, but does that make God’s words untrue? We need to walk by faith (which comes by the word of God) and not by sight, feeling, or comparing the experiences of others with God’s Word. By God’s grace and calling, let us come up higher.

Dean Ferrell has served as a Bible worker, a pastor, and an evangelist in a variety of locations. He and his wife, Blanca, make a powerful team in ministry. Dean is currently helping his spiritual mentor, Elder Ron Spear, in Kettle Falls, Washington.

Danger of Fanaticism

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There is a serious danger of God’s people entering into fanaticism. Fanaticism is so dangerous that it can easily cost you your eternal life. If you look in the book The Great Controversy you will find that Ellen White makes it clear that fanaticism almost destroyed the 16th century Protestant Reformation. The devil has not forgotten that. It is stated very clearly that fanaticism was more dangerous to the Protestant Reformation than was the Roman Catholic Church.

During the last few decades, God has raised up a grass-roots revival and reformation movement in the Second Advent movement all over the world, and the devil knows how to successfully destroy these revivals. Fanaticism is still his method of choice. Many historic Adventist churches have been destroyed as a result of fanaticism. Fanaticism has threatened to disrupt and destroy the work that God’s workers have worked for years to build up in various parts of the world.

When we talk about the dangers of God’s people entering fanaticism, we need to learn what we can do so we don’t get caught up by it. This does not just happen to common people; leaders in God’s work are also susceptible, and often we don’t realize what is really going on until it’s too late. It is a deadly trap!

Fanaticism can cost you your life. There is a dramatic story in I Kings 13 about a prophet who got caught up in fanaticism. This fanaticism cost him his life. One of the reasons for this story to be in the Bible is to help people understand how dangerous the issue is.

The Lord gave to this prophet a message. He said he was to go down to Jeroboam in Bethel and pronounce judgment against him and against the altar because they were practicing idolatry. So, he told Jeroboam that one born of the sons of David by the name of Josiah is going to destroy the altars and burn the bones of the ones that sacrificed on them. Incidentally, this was hundreds of years before Josiah was born. Jeroboam, not being very happy, decided to have this prophet arrested, and in the attempt, his arm withered up and became helpless. He became scared, and said to the prophet, Please pray to Jehovah for me so that I can have the use of my arm again. The prophet prayed for the king, and God restored his arm.

There was no question that God had sent this prophet. This was demonstrated by three miracles. Not only was the prophet sent with a message to Jeroboam, God had given him specific instructions about what he was to do after he gave the message. You can read it all in 1 Kings 13; the Lord told him, You’re not to eat bread there. You are not to eat bread and you’re not to drink water in that place, and you are to leave by a different path than that by which you came.

Now, here is the point. When God gives instructions, nobody has a right to change any instruction that God has given, and if you allow a change in the instructions, you are touching fanaticism.

For instance, did God give some instructions on what day of the week to keep holy? All through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation it is talked about. Now, if somebody comes to you and says, “Our church was authorized by Jesus Christ, and we have the authority to change that day,” if you believe that, you’re into fanaticism. Is it reasonable to believe that you can lose your soul from fanaticism? You can be as sincere as you want to believe, but you can still lose your soul, because God gave you the instructions and you allowed somebody else to give you different instructions than what God gave you.

The prophet that took the message started out, and there were two young men who were the sons of another prophet, who came home and told their father everything that had happened. The father went looking and found him sitting down under a terebinth tree and said, “Come to my house and eat bread and have something to drink before you go back home.” And the prophet said, “I can’t. The Lord told me that I wasn’t to drink water, and I wasn’t to eat bread in this place. I was to go back by a different way.”

The other prophet said, “Well, an angel of the Lord told me by the word of the Lord, that you can come to my house and eat bread and drink water.” Do you remember what the apostle Paul said in Galatians 1 about that? He said, “Even if an angel from heaven tells you a different gospel than we have told you, let him be cursed.” When God gives you a message, even an angel doesn’t have authority to change the message, and if you allow an angel to convince you to do something different than you have instructions from God’s word to do, you are into fanaticism. And don’t think it can’t cost you your life.

That prophet got up and went to the other prophet’s home, and while he was eating and drinking, the word of the Lord came to the other prophet who had lied, and He said, “Because this man, whom I told not to eat bread or not to drink water in this place, disobeyed, he will never return to the land of his fathers.”

The other prophet felt badly about this, as he was the one who had invited him back home, so he thought he had better help him get home. He wasn’t going to let him walk home, so he saddled up a donkey and sent him home on his own donkey. On the way home, a lion met him and killed him, and his carcass never got home. Part of the punishment of the false prophet was not only to notify all the relatives, but also to go and take care of the man. He buried him in his own tomb, and the Bible says that they made a terrible wailing for this man. He felt terrible because he was responsible for the other man’s death.

The same thing has been repeated down through history. Whether you’re listening to it, or promoting it, fanaticism can destroy you. Fanaticism is usually a distortion or exaggeration of something that is actually true; just an extreme position. It is often a result of a lack of faith or presumption. Usually it helps the people who accept it have a good feeling about themselves and their advanced beliefs that others supposedly do not understand.

There are a few cures for fanaticism. One is to develop a humble mind. Jesus said, “I am gentle and lowly in heart.” Fanaticism is almost always associated with spiritual pride. If you want to avoid fanaticism, you need to develop a humble mind, a humble heart. And secondly, you need to develop faith. Faith is based on the promises of God’s word.

When the word faith is used it is based on the promises of God’s word—what God’s word explicitly says, and not what is implicit in God’s word.

An example of this is the story of Paul and Silas in Philippi in the book of Acts, chapter 16. At midnight there was an earthquake, and they were let out of prison and the jailor comes. Verses 30 and 31 say, “And coming to them outside he said, ‘lords, what is necessary for me to do so that I should be saved?’ And they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved, and your house.’ ” Now there is nothing wrong at all with that explicit statement, but it is very interesting what we think is implied by that statement. There are four different conclusions that people have deduced from this simple statement, “You shall be saved and your house.” Acts 16:31:

His house will be saved if the father or husband believes.

His house will be saved if they also believe.

If he does not believe, then his house will automatically be lost.

His house will be lost if they don’t believe, but they could be saved if they believe.

Those are four contradictory deductions that people think are implicit in the text. And that’s the problem with implicit evidence. Different people will get a different implication out of the very same thing. That’s why if you don’t want to end up in fanaticism when any new teaching arises you must insist that, in order to accept the teaching, it is explicitly taught in God’s word.

Paul said to Timothy in II Timothy 2:15, “Study to show yourselves approved to God, a workman that does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” As we draw near to the end of time, there will be people more and more deceiving and being deceived. God knew ahead of time; Jesus predicted it in Matthew 24: He said, “There will arise false christs and false prophets, and they will show great signs and wonders insomuch that if it were possible, they would deceive (or lead astray) the very elect.” Now that’s an interesting statement. If it were possible, they would lead astray the very elect. The Lord gave the Spirit of Prophecy to the Second Advent movement, so His people need not be deceived.

We are living in the most deceptive period of earth’s history. Not only this, but we are the weakest generation that has ever lived physically, spiritually, and mentally. If this is the case, how are we going to deal with the prevailing deceptions? God predicted through Malachi 4:5, 6, “Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet. He’s going to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and hearts of the children to the fathers, lest I come and curse the earth, smite the earth with a curse.”

We read in Revelation 12:17 that God’s remnant people are not only going to be a commandment keeping people, but they are going to be people who have the testimony of Jesus. The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy; Revelation 19:10.

One of the reasons that God gave us the Spirit of Prophecy was to keep us from going into fanaticism. If you understand the Spirit of Prophecy, thoroughly and carefully, it will protect you from going off on tangents.

We are not as powerful or as intelligent as we sometimes think. In II Timothy 2, in Greek, it says that the devil captures them alive at his will. He just leads them astray, takes them wherever he wants to, and they don’t even know what is happening. We need both the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy to keep us from going into fanaticism.

Before we have any new teaching, in addition to talking to the leaders in our churches, we should be checking in the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy to find a plain “thus saith the Lord” to support the belief. In the book, The Great Controversy, 595, it says that God will have a people who, before accepting any doctrine or teaching, will demand a plain “thus saith the Lord” in its support.

The devil is very successful in leading many of God’s people into fanaticism today. We need to be on the watch for this.

False visions and dreams. That is the number one way that the devil is leading God’s people into fanaticism. It is all over the world today, and it has been with us for a long time. Some claim to have seen Jesus. Recently, a book was circulating from a man who claimed that Jesus told him that a Sunday law would be passed before April 2008. Friends, Paul said to Timothy, “Preach the word.” The Bible is the authority, and we should not believe any message that is not in the word of God or the Spirit of Prophecy.

If God sends you a message from a prophet, that message will be able to be documented and authenticated. For example, Ezekiel says, at a certain date, in the certain year of a certain king, at a certain place, the Lord told me this; I’m Ezekiel and the Lord told me this, this, this. The message is authenticated; there is a place, a date, and there is a person who can be identified who meets the Biblical tests of a prophet. That is always the way God has worked. The Lord says in Numbers 12:6, “If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord will manifest Myself to that person in a vision and in a dream.” And it says in Amos 3:7 that God won’t do anything except He reveals His secrets to His servants the prophets.

If God has a special message for His church, it will come through a person who is a prophet. And, of course, God has authority to do that at any time. But, if God has a message for you and me, for the church, through a person to whom He is giving a vision or a dream, that message can be documented and authenticated. Part of the documentation is, as we read in either the book of Numbers or Daniel 10, when a prophet has a vision, that prophet does not breathe. There must be supernatural events connected with the vision; otherwise you do not know whether the vision is from the Lord or the devil. You cannot tell whether an angel is from heaven or hell. Remember, it says in Revelation 16 that in the last days devils are going to work miracles. They are going to be so successful that they will deceive the whole world.

In regard to Ellen White, her visions were authenticated. Ellen White had many public visions, and these have been very thoroughly documented. The Lord gave her visions over and over again in public so that God’s people could document and authenticate that this was a prophet of God.

If God has a message for you, you must be able to prove that this person really does have the prophetic gift, because you’re going to stake your life on it, and you’d better not stake your life on a message that you don’t know for sure came from a true prophet.

The second example—and this is a terrible one to have to go over, but it is worldwide. God does speak to people individually for some specific circumstance in that person’s life or in some other person’s life to help them. He has done that many times; however, if God has a message for His church, it will come through a prophet that can be authenticated and documented.

In John 18:19, 20, it says, “The high priest therefore asked Jesus concerning His disciples and concerning His teaching. Jesus gave answer to him, ‘I have spoken openly to the world. I always taught in the synagogue and in the temple where always the Jews gather together, (or you could say where all the Jews gather together). And in secret I have spoken nothing.’ ” Jesus is saying, I don’t deal secretly. It’s the devil that is behind all the secret information that God’s people are accepting today. It’s time to wake up and recognize where this information is coming from.

If God wants to warn His church about something, He will not do it by some secretive way that you can’t document. As an example: a rumor was spread that by the middle of September 2008, the entire American economy is going collapse and the world would never be the same again. That prophecy, by the way, has proved to be false, but, unfortunately, when these prophecies prove to be false, they are just revised and moved up in time. The same people will tell you nothing happened in September, but it is going to happen in October.

It is usually difficult to ascertain the source of these messages, because they come through so many people. A lot of this information is coming from the evangelicals, and we’re taking their information and spouting it off, and we’re just getting into fanaticism. There’s a book, written by a Sunday keeping evangelical pastor, about what is going to happen in 2008. The book states all the awful things that are going to happen in 2008. Before the end of the book, he gets into his own false interpretation of the seals and the seven thunders, and our people are getting information from all of these people.

At the beginning of every year, Pat Robertson tells the world what the Lord told him is going to happen that year. In January 2008, he said that before September 2010, there will be a major stock market crash and there will be a major depression. Then he listed other things that are going to happen, but what he didn’t know was that he was about one year late. Several financial analysts, in January and February of 2007, said that we are going to have a major recession during 2008, and they didn’t claim that God was telling them anything. They were just looking at the economic and financial conditions in the world.

So you see, Pat Robertson was actually about a year late in his prediction, and, of course, he did hedge himself using the date in 2010. Pat Robertson does not have a stellar record. When he gave his yearly prediction of what the Lord had told him was going to happen in January of 2007, he said there was going to be a major terrorist attack on the cities of the United States, probably using nuclear weapons. People were petrified all over this country. Strangely, though, it didn’t happen. So, in 2008, he announced, “I guess God’s people must have prayed and the Lord had mercy on us!”

If God is trying to get a message through to you, you will not find it out by some secretive source that somebody found from this, that, that, and that. There is a game called “Gossip” where a circle of children sit, and one child whispers something in somebody’s ear and then that child whispers in the next person’s ear what they heard and then they keep going around and the last person has to tell you what he or she heard. When the last person tells what he or she heard everybody else starts laughing because it is so distorted by the time it passes from one mouth to another ear.

Unfortunately, there are people who are making all kinds of rash decisions on the basis of this kind of information.

Friends, the devil is trying to get God’s people terrified so that they will go into a panic, because he knows that when people go into a panic, they will do irrational, crazy things that don’t make any sense. God’s people are in a state of panic. Back in Jesus’ day His disciples were also in a state of panic, and Jesus said, “Do not let your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me.” The reason the Lord is allowing these things to happen now is to get you ready for the bigger troubles in the future. If you can’t survive the panics we have now, what are you going to do if we get a really bad one? What are you going to do then?

We need to forget about all this secret information, because there is so much that you’ll never be able to even read it all; the information that’s coming from the CIA, the Vatican, the Jesuits, the government—in every group in the world—there is somebody who claims to have secret information that will help you to do something. And you have no way of knowing which is accurate and which isn’t.

What you need to do is ask, What does the Bible say? What does the Spirit of Prophecy say? Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled.” In commenting on that, Ellen White said, Satan’s devices are most successful against people whose hearts are darkened by discouragement or trouble; they’re oppressed, they’re depressed, they’re discouraged. God does not want you to be troubled. It is the devil that wants you to be terrified and in a panic, not the Lord. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you, not as the world gives, do I give unto you.”

The world’s peace can be taken away at any time, but God’s peace cannot. “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

This is not suggesting that we stick our heads in the sand. Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation. But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.” John 16:33.

There are going to be worse times in the future than there are now. And we have to learn to trust in Jesus, and to follow Him and His Word and not any other teaching if it does not agree with the Bible or Spirit of Prophecy. We have the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy to show us what to do and which way to steer our craft. If you allow yourself to get caught up and directed and led by all the information coming, the devil will see that you get enough information to lead you astray.

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.

Why is it so Difficult to Turn Around? Part 1

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God’s work is going to be finished soon, and I want to be part of it when it finishes—do you? In this article, I want to study with you about what the Holy Spirit can do in our lives. The best title, though, that I could come up with is, “Why Is It so Difficult to Turn Around?” There are many people for whom the Holy Spirit cannot do anything in their lives, because they will not turn in the right direction.

Gospel Order

In the early church, when the Holy Spirit was poured out, 3,000 people were converted in a day; many more accepted Christ, and God added to their numbers daily. (Acts 2:41, 47.) How did someone become a member of the apostolic church? When the people heard that they were the ones that crucified Jesus, they were pricked in their hearts and they asked, “What shall we do?” Peter told them, “Repent and be baptized.” (Verses 36–38.) All through the New Testament baptism is the door into the church.

We need to recognize that when the Holy Spirit comes, He never does away with gospel order. God always works in an organized way. That is why, before we have a baptism, it is our custom to entertain a motion that the baptismal candidates be accepted into church membership, subject to their baptism. That is orderly procedure. The Holy Spirit does not work in a disorderly way; the Holy Spirit works in an orderly way. Things were done this way in the New Testament. If a person was baptized and professed faith in Jesus, then he or she became a member of the church. But, the Holy Spirit cannot do anything for you or for me unless we turn around.

Turn Around

In the Bible, the basic meanings of the Greek and Hebrew words that are translated “to be converted” or “to repent” simply are “to change your mind” or “to turn around.” The Holy Spirit cannot do anything for us if we do not change our minds or turn around. Isaiah 45:22 says, “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! Because I am God, and there is not anybody else.” In other words, there is no other God. The first word of the verse, in my Bible, is turn, “turn to Me.” If we do that, we will be saved. Some Bible versions say, “look to me;” it means the same thing.

From this verse, we can see that it is vital that we turn to the Lord and look to Him, so we can be saved. Remember, I have entitled this article, “Why Is It so Difficult to Turn Around?” It is difficult to turn around, because from our memory banks, we have things in our minds that we have believed for a long time. After we have believed something for a long time, we are just sure that it is the truth, even though it may not be. That is what happened to the Jews in the days of Jesus. There were certain things that they had known for so long that they were sure that they were the truth, but they were not.

Believing an Error

“The Jews refused to receive Christ, because He did not come in accordance with their expectations. The ideas of finite men were held as infallible, because hoary with age.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 64. They had believed it for so long that they thought it was infallible.

That would never happen again, would it? Read the next sentence: “This is the danger to which the church is now exposed.” Ibid. What is the danger to which we are exposed? That we have believed certain things for so long that we just know that is the way it is.

No matter how long we have believed an error, at some point in time, we are going to be forced to recognize it was not so. A lot of people are not going to recognize until the end of the millennium that what they believed was not truth, but they are going to recognize it then. Every error that an individual has believed, he or she is going to be forced, at some point, to acknowledge, but it will be too late someday to be saved, even though the error is acknowledged.

“This is the danger to which the church is now exposed—that the inventions of finite men shall mark out the precise way for the Holy Spirit to come.” Ibid., 64, 65. What is the danger? That we will get in our minds the way that the Holy Spirit has to come, and if the Holy Spirit does not come the way that we think, we will not accept it. Ellen White goes on to write, “Though they would not care to acknowledge it, some have already done this.” Ibid., 65. That is alarming!

In another statement, Mrs. White wrote: “They [ministers, church leaders] will not open their eyes to discern the fact that they have misinterpreted and misapplied the Scriptures, and have built up false theories, calling them fundamental doctrines of the faith.” Ibid., 70. What are these false theories called? They are called fundamental doctrines of faith. Who was building up these false theories and calling them fundamental doctrines of faith? The leading Seventh-day Adventist ministers. We would never do that again, would we?

Well, read the following statement: “Even Seventh-day Adventists are in danger of closing their eyes to truth as it is in Jesus, because it contradicts something which they have taken for granted as truth . . . .” Ibid. How interesting! We are in danger of closing our eyes to the truth. Why? Because the truth contradicts something that we think is the truth, and we have thought it was the truth for so long that we are sure we know.

Know for Sure

Galileo threatened with imprisonment Let me ask you a question just to make you think. How many things do you know for sure that are not so? You cannot answer that. Since you know it for sure, you do not know which things that you know for sure are not so. If you study history, you know the story of Galileo. In the 1600s, the whole world was sure that they knew the truth—that the earth was the stationary center of the universe. Through his studies and research, Galileo discovered this theory was false, but his newfound knowledge directly contradicted the long-standing geocentric view held by the Roman Catholic Church. Galileo was threatened with imprisonment if he did not recant. The trouble was, he was right, and the whole world was wrong. (“Galileo Galilei,” www.About.com, cited October 5, 2004.)

There are many stories in the Bible like that. The most famous one, of course, is the one of Noah. People thought that Noah could not be right, because everybody else believed something else. I have stated it before, and I will state it again: The truth is never, ever dependent on numbers. Never. If you were the only person in the whole world who knew that the seventh day is the Sabbath, if there was not another person in the whole world that knew that the seventh day is the Sabbath, it would still be the truth. The truth is the truth whether anyone believes it or not.

“Many things will appear distinctly as truth which will not be acceptable to those who think their own interpretations of the Scripture always right. Most decided changes will have to be made in regard to ideas which some have accepted as without a flaw.” Ibid., 76.

An Adventist minister wrote a letter to a lady recently, stating, “Everybody (all the Adventists) believes this except ,” and he named a heretic who did not believe it. Does that make it right, because everybody believes it? We can never determine what the truth is just by how many people believe something. In the days of Christ, if we had done that, we would have rejected Jesus. We would also have rejected John the Baptist, Elijah, Noah, the apostle Paul, Martin Luther, and James and Ellen White.

It is vital that we each have an open mind and pray, “Lord, if there is some area in my life where I need to be willing to change my thinking about something that I have known all my life but that evidence now shows it to not be so, turn me around.”

Self-Exaltation

Did you know that error is more attractive than truth to the human mind? Did you know that truth is unpopular? Was truth unpopular when Jesus was here? It most certainly was. Why?

We may have trouble understanding why someone would not want to know and believe the truth. Have you ever given a Bible study to someone who told you, “I just want to know the truth”?

You say, “Well, good, let us study the truth.” You start to study with them, and after awhile they do not want to study anymore, because they found out something they did not want to hear. Have you ever seen that happen?

The fact of the matter is that error is more attractive to the human mind today than is truth. Ellen White gave an illustration as to why that is true. She said, “Truth was unpopular in Christ’s day. It is unpopular in our day. It has been unpopular ever since Satan first gave man a disrelish for it by presenting fables that lead to self-exaltation.” The Desire of Ages, 242. If space allowed, we could go through many, many, many of the false doctrines that are being proclaimed today, and we would see the connection between those false doctrines and self-exaltation. That is why the truth is unpopular. But it is not just self-exaltation; that is only one reason.

After we have believed something, if we are going to turn, the Lord says, turn, “Turn to Me and be saved.” Why is it so hard to turn? How many people have you met lately that like to acknowledge that they have been wrong? We each have what is known as pride of opinion. Please do not tell me that you are the only human being in the world that does not have that. That would be difficult for me to believe. This is a universal, human problem. We do not like to acknowledge that we may have been wrong on something, but remember, the devil has introduced myths and fables that lead to self-exaltation. It is humbling for us to admit that we have believed a fable.

This happens the most with fanaticism. One day, a long time ago, my brother Marshall and I were talking about fanaticism, and he told me, “The thing behind fanaticism is spiritual pride.” I had never considered that before, but after pondering that thought for a few years, I had to agree; that is exactly what it is.

If we know something that other people do not know, we have pride, because we have insider knowledge that not everybody has. We have the inside scoop. We feel better than those other poor folks who do not have the knowledge that we have. That is one of the driving forces of fanaticism. It leads to self-exaltation.

There are people who get rich telling other people that they will give them the inside scoop about this or that or something else. I get letters from such people all the time. The problem is, they always want money to give me the inside scoop, so I do not have the inside scoop about very much.

Who is in the most danger of getting involved in this special insider knowledge and fanaticism? Someone may say that it is the person that does not have very much education. That is 180 degrees wrong! The people that are in the most danger are people such as ministers, physicians, lawyers, and other people that are highly educated and very intelligent. Of all people, they are in the greatest danger of getting snagged into fanaticism and error. It is more attractive than the truth.

We Avoid Humiliation

We have already started to look at why error is more attractive than the truth and why it is difficult to turn around. We have seen that it is very difficult and humiliating for us to acknowledge that we have been wrong. It is hard to acknowledge that we have made mistakes. We are afraid that others will think less of us. Our pride is injured; we are humiliated. We desire to avoid this humiliation as long as possible. That is what leads to procrastination.

Have you noticed that, as you study the Bible with people and they come to understand some things that they need to change in their lives if they are going to come into harmony with the Bible, they put off making the changes? It is humiliating for them to acknowledge that they have been in error, so they stall as long as possible.

I worked with an evangelist one time who said, “Do not ever make the person that you are studying with the ‘goat’ of whatever you are talking about. If there is a problem, do not let them be responsible for it. Put it on somebody else, because they cannot take it.” It is difficult for us to turn around, because it is hard for us to acknowledge when we are wrong. It is hard to acknowledge our mistakes.

We do not want to be humiliated, so sometimes people do what the Jews did. The Jews started to resist the truth when John the Baptist was there, and then they resisted the truth more when Jesus came. After Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected from the dead, they could not refute it. You would think they would have turned then, but they did not. Have you ever wondered why they would not turn to the Lord when they had the evidence of the resurrection and the ascension? There were over 500 witnesses that could have said, “We saw Him, and we talked to Him.” (See 1 Corinthians 15:6.) Why did they not turn? Because they had developed a habit.

I am mentioning this, because I am frightened of Adventists developing a similar habit. If we develop a habit and promote and practice it long enough, it will become almost impossible for us to turn around. Our pride will be at stake. The time may come when we have resisted something so long that even if it is proven to us to be truth, we would continue to resist it.

Resisting Truth

“Every act of resistance makes it harder to yield. Being the leaders of the people, the priests and rulers felt it incumbent on them to defend the course they had taken. They must prove that they had been in the right. Having committed themselves in opposition to Christ, every act of resistance became an additional incentive to persist in the same path. The events of their past career of opposition are as precious treasures to be jealously guarded. And the hatred and malignity that inspired those acts are concentrated against the apostles.

“The spirit of God revealed its presence unto those who, irrespective of the fear or favor of men, declared the truth which had been committed to them. Under the demonstration of the Holy Spirit’s power, the Jews saw their guilt in refusing the evidence that God had sent; but they would not yield their wicked resistance. Their obstinacy became more and more determined, and worked the ruin of their souls. It was not that they could not yield, for they could, yet would not. It was not alone that they had been guilty, and deserving of wrath, but that they armed themselves with the attributes of Satan, and determinedly continued to be opposed to God. Every day, in their refusal to repent, they took up their rebellion afresh.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 74. That is why it is difficult to turn around—all of those reasons.

How to Turn

Now let us look at the good news of how to turn around, and what will happen if we do turn around. Jehovah said to Moses, as recorded in Numbers 21:8, 9, “Make for you a fiery serpent, and put it upon a pole; and it shall be that everyone who has been bitten and shall look upon it will live. And Moses made a bronze serpent, and he set it upon [a pole], and it was, if anyone had been bitten by a snake among men, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.” There was not any power in that bronze serpent to make anyone live, and he or she knew that. It was not the serpent; it was the fact that they chose to turn and to look at it. In other words, they chose to look in the right direction. They chose to look to the Lord, to turn and look toward Him. This Scripture applies to every person in this world, because we have all been stung. The Bible, in Revelation 12, talks about “that ancient serpent,” and we have all been stung by it. That serpent’s bite is lethal; it will kill us forever. Unless God’s divine power is exercised in our behalf, we are lost 100 percent of the time.

But what happened, when the serpent had stung the people, if they chose to look toward the bronze serpent? They lived! We do not need to make it complicated. That is what the Scripture says. There is Someone that, if we look to Him, can and will heal us from all the consequences of sin. He will take our sins away. If we do not turn to Him, He will not take our sins away; we will die forever.

I have noticed over and over again that the people who are involved in all kinds of sin are looked upon as the worst of human beings, yet they get saved, because they recognize that they have a problem. People who have not been involved in some kind of crime or other terrible sin—at least they do not think of what they do as a terrible sin—do not get saved, because they think they are pretty good already. They are like the Pharisees of Jesus’ time. The Pharisees today may say, “I have never robbed a bank.” An elderly man once told me that he had never told a lie! I thought, “Brother, I am not sure but what that is the biggest one you have told!”

Friend, if you say, “I have never lied; I have never robbed a bank; I have never taken any illicit drugs; I have never committed fornication; I have never done what other people do, so I am okay,” you might be the worst sinner in church, the worst sinner in the land! Jesus told the Pharisees that the prostitutes and the tax collectors would go into the kingdom before them, because they were victims of spiritual pride.

All Have Been Stung

The Bible teaches that the ancient serpent has stung every single human being. But there is Someone that can take all that away from us, and He will take it away, if we will look to Him. We cannot look to Him the way the Pharisees did. They never got saved. We have to look to Him the way the tax collector did, and say, “Lord, I need a Saviour. I need somebody to save me. I am in a pit that I cannot get out of.” The fact of the matter is that every single human being in the world is in a pit he cannot get out of without Jesus. The only difference is that some people know it, and some people do not know it. Sometimes the Lord has to let us get into big trouble, so we can find out our need.

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

To be continued . . .

[Some Bible texts quoted are literal translation.]

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

 

Martin Luther, part X – The Fanatics

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While many new friends were joining the Reformation, even in the face of persecution, a principle of weakness was growing from within the ranks of the reformers. Two camps began to form, dividing the Protestant world—the Luther an and the Reformed.

Fanatics arose calling for forsaking all outward ordinances claiming men were to be guided by an inner light and that religion was exclusively a spiritual communion. Luther saw that this theory would end in the destruction of not only the outward but also the inward spirit of religion. At first the differences were confined to Luther and Carlstadt who had stood together against Dr. Eck. They differed in the Sacrament of the Supper, and Luther, who at an earlier time seemed to recognize the presence of Christ in the Sacrament as a symbol, reverted backward to the old position that the body and blood of Christ were actually present in the bread and wine but that these maintained their natural substance as well. “His doctrine of justification by faith alone implied the total renunciation of this idea; but, as regards the Sacraments, he did not so fully vindicate his freedom from the old beliefs.” History of Protestantism, book 1, 508

Carlstadt would not give in on this point and he also “attacked Luther on the subject of images . . . Luther not only tolerated the presence of images in the churches, like Zwingli, for the sake of the weak; he feared to displace them even when the worshippers desired their removal. He believed they might be helpful. Carlstadt denounced these tendencies and weaknesses as Popery.” Ibid, 509

Hatred of images began to be shown through acts of violence as churches and cloisters were broken into and images burned. Luther called on Frederick to curb this fanatical spirit. This is evidence that the reformer believed that the Reformation had more to fear from fanaticism within than from the persecutors.

Carlstadt began to decry Luther and Lutherans and Elector Frederick ordered him out of his dominions. Carlstadt moved southward spreading not only his views of the Supper and images but also proclaiming loudly his hatred of Luther and blaming him for all of his calamities.
The aged Elector began to fear that the Reformation was going too far. The necessary process of causing men to question and seek answers and the extreme ideas of some caused him alarm but his faith in the Reformed doctrine grew even as his health failed. He was at peace as he dictated his last instructions to his brother and called for reading of the promises of God’s word as he breathed his last.

War of the Peasants

The oppression of the German peasants had grown for centuries. The privileges to roam the forest and hunt and build their huts where they pleased, had been removed. They were expected to remain on their native property and by their sweat till the fields of their masters and spill their blood defending their masters in their quarrels. The small income that they were given was stripped from them by the priest by spiritual threat. As they compared their lot with their masters they were embittered.

The Reformation came on the stage and could have worked to heal the hearts of princes and their subjects, but its progress was prevented by force and then it was accused of causing the unrest that it could have cured if it had been allowed to grow. The poor, by imposed ignorance, knew of only one way to right the situation—death to their oppressors and destruction of their castles and lands. The rulers were content to shut their eyes to their own misdeeds and blame the Gospel for the unrest.

Some justification for this view was supplied as Thomas Munzer, a professed convert of the Reformation, used a religious element to fire the already hot tempers of the peasants. He put himself at the head of the revolted peasantry and taught them to put on the sword of Gideon and seek their liberty by their own hands. The peasants wrote twelve articles of demands which were quite moderate and reasonable but which the unwise princes chose to deny with their hands pressed to their swords.

Luther must now decide on the right course for the Reformation concerning this battle ready to erupt. “He knew that to ally so holy a cause as the Reformation with a movement at best but political, would be to profane it; and that to borrow the sword of men in its behalf was the sure way to forfeit the help of the mightier sword which alone could win such a battle. The Reformation had its own path and its own weapons, to which if it adhered, it would assuredly triumph in the end. It would correct all wrongs, would explode all errors, and pacify all feuds, but only by propagating its own principles, and diffusing its own spirit among men. Luther, therefore, stood apart.” Ibid, 514

This course made it possible for him to try to work with both parties. He was able to speak to each side. He told the peasants that they had chosen the wrong way to try to improve their lot. They must exercise Christian submission and wait for the healing power of the Gospel. He urged them to allow the process of reform to do its work and he argued that “it was preachers, not soldiers—the gospel, not rebellion, that is to benefit the world. And he warned them that if they should oppose the gospel in the name of the gospel, they would only rivet the yoke of their enemies upon their neck.” Ibid, 514

He worked faithfully with the princes reminding them of the tyranny which they and their fathers had long exerted toward the people. He spoke more plainly to the bishops revealing how they had hid the Gospel from the people replacing the doctrines of truth with fables and cheats. He said they were only reaping what they had sown and that God was using the peasantry as His instrument for their chastisement.

The courage and wisdom of the Reformer were evident as Luther spoke with these parties at the brink of war, but his mediation was not successful in preventing the cruel violence which soon erupted. Insurrection began to spread like wildfire, in the summer of 1524, filling towns with tumults, sedition and terrors. The twelve articles were published and demands for their enforcement were followed by armies of peasants who trampled fields, looted barns and storehouses, demolished castles of the nobility, and burned convents to the ground.

Death and destruction raged from town to town and the princes seemed to be chased before this whirlwind. But they recovered and joined their forces to oppose the rebels. On May 15th, 1525, they found the rebel camp of Munzer and his forces who were poorly armed. The princes sent a messenger with an offer of pardon if the rebels would lay down their arms. The rebels killed the messenger at Munzer’s suggestion and both camps prepared for battle. Munzer stood before his army and claimed that the Lord would fight for them and that they would be delivered as Israel at the Red Sea, David with Goliath, and Jonathan when he attacked the Philistine garrison. He vowed that his own coat would catch all the bullets shot at them and insisted that victory was theirs.

The first onset of battle, however, found the rebels at flight with Munzer among the first to try to escape. He was captured and more than five thousand peasants were slain. The battle moved into another region where over two-hundred castles had burned besides noblemen’s houses and monasteries. “Luther raised his voice again, but this time to pronounce an unqualified condemnation on a movement which, from a demand for just rights, had become a war of pillage and murder. He called on all to gird on the sword and resist it.” Ibid, 517

The war ended with terrible retaliation taken by the princes against the peasants. Estimates of the slain range from 50,000 to 100,000, with the high figure probably more accurate. Munzer was decapitated after torture on the rack where he admitted his crimes. Other rebel leaders were convicted and died with dreadful tortures.

In the end, the revolt was not seen in the places where the Gospel had taken hold. The differences between Protestantism and Romanism were illustrated. If only the Reformation had been allowed to do its work in all of the provinces, how different would have been the result. “This outbreak taught the age, moreover, that Protestantism could no more be advanced by popular violence than it could be suppressed by aristocratic tyranny.” Ibid, 518

The Battle of Pavia

Romanism, because it mixed with the politics of Europe, found its fortunes rose and fell with the King or Emperor with which it sided. Protestantism, free from this encumbrance, was able to develop principles and find its course apart from the turmoil of the political arena. But, God could intervene in the political arena for the benefit of the Reformation. Marvelous was the outcome where man could never have maneuvered such victories. This was made manifest in the Battle of Pavia and the resulting Diet at Spires and the effects of these on Protestantism.

The Kings of France and Spain were battling one another for possession of Italy. Of course, the Pope thought that he was rightful ruler and he used his political influence to try to keep these two kings of about equal power so that one would check the other. All three were agreed on one thing however, they were enemies of the Reformation. During the course of battle, the Spanish Charles V defeated the French Francis I, capturing the well fortified Pavia and taking Francis captive. The king was carried to Madrid as a trophy and spent a year in captivity. Charles worked out an agreement for Francis’ release which stipulated among other things that they would fight together the Turks and the enemies of the Church, rooting out heretics.

Charles thought this was his chance to finally rid the world of the hated monk who had none to defend him. He called for a diet at Augsburg for the purpose of executing the Edict of Worms. The prospects for Protestantism grew darker every hour. The emperor had never been stronger and Frederick was now dead. The princes which backed Protestantism were new to the cause and were discouraged by the dangers. Germany was divided, the Ratisbon League was rampant and it appeared that the author of the Edict of Worms was about to carry out the order. “The only man who did not tremble was Luther . . . He knew that if the Gospel had been stripped of all earthly defense it was not because it was about to perish, but because a Divine hand was about to be stretched out in its behalf, so visibly as to give proof to the world that it had a Protector, though ‘unseen’, more powerful than its enemies.” Ibid, 521

Luther Marries

While calamity seemed about to strike, Luther did not run but he took Catherine von Bora as his wife. Many of his friends were stunned that he could make such a move while disaster seemed eminent. “Even some of the disciples of the Reformation were scandalized at Luther’s marrying an ex-nun, so slow are men to cast off the trammels of ages.

“With Catherine von Bora there entered a new light into the dwelling of Luther. To sweetness and modesty, she added a more than ordinary share of good sense. A genuine disciple of the Gospel, she became the faithful companion and help-meet of the Reformer in all the labours and trials of his subsequent life.” Ibid, 522

The Diet at Spires

Events seemed to foretell a repeat of the crusades and the extinction of Protestantism but to the amazement of all the storm moved and dispensed its fury over Rome.

One would have thought that the Pope would have thrown his lot with Charles at this important juncture but in a suicidal policy he turned from the emperor and called for a league against him. Clement did not want the emperor to be too strong for he designed to set Italy as an independent kingdom with he himself as its temporal monarch. His dream, of restoring the power of the papacy to its glories under Gregory VII, misled him. The “Holy League,” of all the nations who feared the emperors overgrown power, was set in motion with the King of England at its head.

In Germany, meantime, the diet at Augsburg had been so poorly attended in the autumn of 1525, that it was adjourned to midsummer of the next year in Spires. June of 1526, found the assembling of all the electoral princes except the Prince of Brandenburg. None was aware of the league against the emperor.

The Reformed princes made a strong showing, riding into the city with large retinues of armed retainers bearing a banner embroidered with five letters which stood for, in translation, “The Word of the Lord endureth for ever.” Under this banner they would conquer. They first demanded a church for the preaching of the gospel and when denied they opened their hotels for worship. On one occasion as many as 8,000 were gathered to hear the sermon. Luther’s tracts were freely distributed and helped to move the public strongly in the Reformed direction.

Charles had made his brother Ferdinand of Austria to preside over the diet. He thought to see something of the movement of the diet before reading his brothers instructions. In August, the Reformed princes gave a paper with certain complaints against the policies of the emperor. Seeing the diet turning toward Wittenberg, Ferdinand drew forth the emperor’s letter demanding that all within his kingdom move forward according to the form and tenor of the Edict of Worms. What was to happen now? What was to be done? The Reformation seemed at the Red Sea, blocked on every side.

At this hour a strange rumor reached Spires. There was strife between the emperor and the pope! Here were the great workings of the unseen hand made evident. The mighty confederacy was broken into two camps as the walls of the Red Sea and the Protestant army under its sacred banner were to march through to safety. “Instead of girding himself to fight against Lutheranism for the Pope, Charles must now ask the aid of Lutheranism in the battle that he was girding himself to fight against the Pope and his confederate kings.” Ibid, 529. “Thus the storm passed away. Nay, the crisis resulted in great good to the Reformation.” Ibid, 530

The Diet of Spires resulted in a decree which made the existence of Protestantism legal in the Empire with every state free to act in religion according to its own judgment. “This edict was the first legal blow dealt at the supremacy and infallibility of Rome.” Ibid, 530

By November, an army of 20,000 was marching through the snow to join the emperor’s general and march on Rome with an iron chain with which to hang the Pope. On the 5th of May, the troops reached Rome and were within the walls in hours. The Pope and his cardinals fled to the Castle of St. Angelo, and when he would not surrender the attack began.

In the first assault, the general was slain and the army left without a strong leader. The unrestrained army proceeded to plunder the magnificent city of the accumulated wealth of centuries. Their rage and greed resulted in unsparing and pitiless pillage. Even the corpses of the Popes were robbed of their rings and ornaments. Plunder was piled in heaps in the market places.

The remaining inhabitants suffered cruel tortures. Estimates of the number of victims range from 5,000 to 10,000 with all ages, ranks and both sexes suffering together. The more than 30,000 armed men of the city knew no bravery. They might have stopped the advancing army or chased them from their walls if they had been courageous. But in a matter of days, the city fell from the prime of her medieval glory which it had taken centuries to develop and which centuries have not been able to restore.

The End

Fanaticism In The Church

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In John 10, Jesus said that not one true sheep will be taken out of the Father’s hands; not one single soul needs to be lost. God has made ample provision; and yet the sad thing is that while God has made ample provision that all may be saved, so few people actually are saved. In the days of Noah, there were only eight. Today, in the last day and age, there will be just a remnant.

Few are saved because most of us have learned, like Eve, to trust our own wisdom as to what is right and wrong; but Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Can there be something that seems absolutely right and yet be absolutely wrong?

We know very well that millions of people are keeping Sunday, the wrong day, believing that they are keeping God’s holy day. Many people will be lost, not because they are deceived but because they do not believe the truth of the Sabbath when God presents it to them. They hold on to their false ideas, rejecting what is truth. As a result, millions will be lost while believing that they are serving God.

Satan’s greatest concern, however, is with Sabbath-keepers. The Bible says that he will come down with great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect. (See Matthew 24:24.) A true deception is one that we do not perceive but that we believe to be true. If we perceived it, it would no longer be a true deception.

Satan has a deception for every individual. We could not begin to unravel all of the deceptions of Satan, but I would like to go over some principles. There are two great areas in which Satan is trying to deceive people. Generally, we only look at the area of presumption. It is one great area of deception in which the majority of people are deceived. They presume that God will overlook a requirement or He will accept them in this area or that area. I believe that this is the great sin that we as a church are falling into. We acknowledge that we do not follow everything that the Lord says, but we presume that He will overlook areas of shortcomings. The New Theology is the theology of presumption in which we presume that God is not particular. This idea is sweeping hundreds of thousands of Adventists off of their feet.

Works and Fanaticism

But there is another area that is fully as dangerous as presumption—the area of legalism. Those who fall into legalism decide that they can do enough things to please God. They strive to be accepted of God for their good works. It is most often the case that they are led to fanaticism. The Lord tells us that in the last days we need to be especially careful of fanaticism.

While Satan is trying to keep the majority occupied in areas of worldliness, there are some whom Satan is trying to deceive in areas of fanaticism, knowing that he will never be able to deceive them with his other enticements. Ellen White says, “As the end draws near, the enemy will work with all his power to bring in fanaticism among us.” Gospel Workers, 316. Again in Selected Messages, book 2, 14, “Every phase of fanaticism and erroneous theories, claiming to be the truth, will be brought in among the remnant people of God. These will fill minds with erroneous sentiments which have no part in the truth for this time.” If the Lord says that the devil will work with all of his power to bring fanaticism in among us, then I believe that it will happen.

In the early Advent movement when God called people out of the liberal churches, many of them went on into fanaticism. The devil tried to keep them from accepting the Millerite message and the Adventist message. When he failed in this, he tried to push them into the area of works and fanaticism. Ellen White said, “At this very time, we are suffering from the reproach which was brought on the cause in the first message by unwise, ill-balanced minds who thought they were obtaining a wonderful experience which should receive the credence of all men. In our early experience, we had to encounter their ever-strange humility and false notions. The first labor given me to do was to reprove their man-made tests. The testimony which I bore against fanaticism gained me the envy, jealousy, evil-surmising, and criticism of those who participated in these movements.” The Paulson Collection, 130

The devil really does not care which camp he gets us into as long as he can keep us from following Jesus all the way. Whether we fall short of the Lord’s Word or go beyond His Word, it will suit his purpose.

Today we are indeed seeing every phase of fanaticism coming in like a flood among us. It is sweeping many of our people off of their feet, especially those who are the conservative people among us. Many people seem to be conservative by nature rather than because of a deep study of the Word. They are not rooted and grounded and cannot discern the true revival from some false, fanatical movement. Ellen White says in the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 907, “As we near the end of time, falsehood will be so mingled with truth that only those who have the guidance of the Holy Spirit will be able to distinguish truth from error. We need to make every effort to keep the Word of the Lord. We must in no case turn from His guidance to put our trust in man. Those who are guided by the Word of the Lord will discern with certainty between falsehood and truth, between sin and righteousness.”

I am alarmed as I have observed people saying “Amen,” enjoying the messages, and agreeing with everything that I say, but the next week when somebody else comes along teaching just the opposite, these same people are saying “Amen” and agreeing with everything that they say. Who is speaking the truth is not the point. The point is that not both can be true, yet people are drinking in both messages and have no discerning power to determine which message is the truth. We cannot be rooted and grounded in the truth merely by listening to tapes or listening to those whom we have faith in. We have to study the Word and the Spirit of Prophecy for ourselves.

Wisdom Above Inspiration

The first area of fanaticism that I would like to look at is one that probably does not seem important. It is the area of Christmas and Christmas trees. Ellen White does warn us that we should be careful not to become worldly in what we do on Christmas, or even with the Christmas trees. Though we have rarely had a Christmas tree and Christmas has never been an important part of our lives, nevertheless Ellen White says in the Review and Herald, December 11, 1879, “God would be well pleased if on Christmas, each church would have a Christmas tree on which shall be hung offerings, great and small, for these houses of worship.”

But when I point out to people that Ellen White talked about Christmas and about the birth of Jesus at Christmas time, their comment has been, “Ellen White was wrong in this area.” Now when I find people who know more of how we should act, what we should believe, how much different from the world we should become, and what is involved in keeping the commandments than the prophet of the Lord, it causes me great concern because it never stops there. Once they have established their wisdom above the prophet of the Lord, that same spiritual pride carries over into other areas. The belief regarding Christmas is only an opening wedge.

I searched through the Spirit of Prophecy and found twenty-two pages of statements on Christmas. It is interesting that for almost eleven years, Sister White wrote about Christmas every year in the Review and Herald.

Many people, realizing that Christmas has a pagan origin, have come to believe that it is wrong to give any recognition to Christmas. As Christmas is of pagan origin, they conclude that Christmas trees are something that must be pagan and are an abomination, and having a tree is, therefore, just like keeping Sunday. Therefore, if any church has anything to do with Christmas, it has apostatized. But Ellen White identifies this as being narrow minded. “May God forbid that any should be so narrow-minded as to overlook the event because there are uncertainties in regard to the exact time of Christ’s birth.” This Day With God, 360. Those are not my words; they are the Lord’s words. There is a vast difference between Sunday-keeping and Christmas. Sunday has replaced the Sabbath and led to the breaking of God’s commandment.

I remember one Christmas on which I gave a Christmas sermon. I thought that the Lord blessed, but some people told me afterwards that if I was ever preaching at Christmastime again, they would never come to hear because I had mentioned Christmas. To even recognize it, they felt, is the same as keeping Sunday. “Well,” I asked, “what do you do with the statements of Ellen White?” They replied, “Ellen White was wrong in this area.” Now you see, my concern is not Christmas but are we going to follow human wisdom or the Lord’s wisdom? Who understands best what constitutes rebellion against God? Whether or not other people have a Christmas tree is not the point, but their belief in the Spirit of Prophecy is. The Lord must give us balance, as none of us are very balanced to start with. For this reason, we have to lay aside our ideas and accept the Word of the Lord.

God has not forbidden that which allows us to fit into society which is not rebellion in nature. To keep Sunday is breaking the fourth commandment, so that is going to be part of the mark of the beast. To keep a twenty-four hour clock is not necessarily pagan, unless the Lord tells us that it is. As a result, in dealing with civil matters, we generallly use a civil clock, which is pagan. When it comes to keeping the Sabbath, we use God’s clock because we are dealing with holy time; and God has to decide how His day is going to be kept.

Going Beyond What God Says

I have found that once someone goes beyond what God says, it is harder for him to humble himself and come back to simple allegiance than it is to convert a person right out of the world. Fanaticism is the one hardest thing in the world to cure because there is a sense of holiness, a sense of righteousness that puts one head and shoulders above the common, lukewarm, Laodicean Christian. It is not easy to humble oneself and to let go of the fanatical idea.

I have also noticed that many people who take an extreme position on Christmas very shortly end up taking extreme positions in other areas. One area that is becoming popular is the keeping of the feast days.

Paul addresses the matter of continued adherance to the ceremonial law. “But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe,” and notice what he is talking about, “days [the various daily ceremonies] and months and seasons [we have seasonal and monthly ceremonies] and years [the years, by the way, is the jubilee].” We have the Jubilee, we have the Passover, we have the Day of Atonement, we have these various things that were added at Sinai or after the Fall. He says, “I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.” Galatians 4:9–11

Now Paul is not saying, “Well, it is fine. Some of you keep the feast days, you who are really holy. For the rest of you, it is not really necessary.” He says, “I am afraid of you who are keeping these feast days, lest I have labored for you in vain.” In chapter 4:22 and onward, he talks about those who are holding on to the ceremonies given at Sinai and compares them to Hagar and Ishmael. In verse 30 he says, “Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? ‘Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.’ ” So Paul says that we are not to allow those who continue to keep the feast days to be a part and parcel of God’s holy church. By the way, to return to keeping the feast days of the ceremonial law is cause for disfellowshipping, according to Paul in Galatians. He says, “Do not allow them to remain. Cast them out.” What does it mean to cast out? If is a very serious thing in Paul’s mind. It is total apostasy in the area of fanaticism.

Total Apostasy

Look at what Paul says in the next chapter. He brings in circumcision. “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.” Galatians 5:1–3. Now what is the whole law? The whole law means animal sacrifices, an earthly priesthood. He said that if you are going to keep the Day of Atonement, you have to offer an animal sacrifice; that is the rest of the law. If you are going to keep the Passover, you have to offer an animal sacrifice. If you are going to keep circumcision, you have to offer an animal sacrifice. You have to keep the whole ceremonial law; you cannot pick and choose. Now he says in verse 4, “You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.” Now, dear friends, do not think that this thing of going back and keeping the feast days is some new area of sanctification or some new light that has come into the church. It is total apostasy.

Speaking of the ordinance of humility and the Lord’s supper, we are told, “In this ordinance, Christ discharged His disciples from the cares and burdens of the ancient Jewish obligations in rites and ceremonies. These no longer possessed any virtue; for type was meeting antitype in Himself, the authority and foundation of all Jewish ordinances that pointed to Him as the great and only efficacious offering for the sins of the world. . . .

“If His disciples had not needed this, it would not have been left for them as Christ’s last established ordinance in connection with, and including, the last supper. It was Christ’s desire to leave to His disciples an ordinance that would do for them the very thing they needed,—that would serve to disentangle them from the rites and ceremonies which they had hitherto engaged in as essential, and which the reception of the gospel made no longer of any force. To continue these rites would be an insult to Jehovah.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1139, 1140

“None but those who have fortified the mind with the truths of the Bible will stand through the last great conflict.” The Great Controversy, 593. It is time that we are fortifying our minds. Not one of us is going to make it through the times ahead unless we are fortifying our minds with God’s Word every day.

The End

Stumbling Blocks

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Stumbling blocks may prevent many people today from attending church. The Spirit of Prophecy tells us that God does not bring new people into the church because of the unconverted state of many of its current members. He sees that since church members do not rightly represent Him, He refrains from bringing in new people until these stumbling blocks are removed.

We will discuss three stumbling blocks. The first is fanaticism; the second is being overzealous; and the third is our character.

Fanaticism nearly destroyed the 16th century reformation. If it had been successful, the condition of our earth would be different today. Catholicism would have been the dominant world religion and the United States would probably never have prospered as it has. Fanatics could have destroyed what we have today, in the United States and around the world.

What Is Fanaticism?

Fanaticism is going beyond what is specifically revealed in the word of God, and setting up a man-made standard. It was once said that we humans are all like the moon. We have a dark side that we don’t want anyone to see.

The Jewish nation was like that, and they tried to cover their dark side with fanaticism. They went beyond what God’s word said and formulated man-made standards. Anyone who did not measure up was considered unrighteous. Fanaticism is simply a cover-up for some particular hidden sin. Each of us must evaluate ourselves and ask, “Have I lifted up some man-made standard in my life that is a covering for my defects?”

New people visiting churches instantly recognize hypocrisy. They want to see Jesus; and we want to reveal Christ to them.

Jesus came into conflict with the elders of the Jewish church when they saw His disciples eating with unwashed hands, which they considered a sin. For hygienic reasons, most parents remind their children to wash their hands before they eat, but to call it a sin is going beyond Scripture. Sin being the transgression of the law of God, we need to be careful when deciding what sin is and what sin is not.

The Pharisees asked Jesus, “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” Matthew 15:2.

Jesus responded that their tradition was nothing more than a cover-up for their own sins. He said, “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” Verses 8, 9.

When people adapt God’s word, they are usually covering up something in their own lives. Man-made ideas and standards do not exalt Christ, but endeavor to lift up self. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4) and not from the mouth of men, neither their teachings nor traditions.

Interestingly, Paul writes in I Corinthians 4:6, “Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes; that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other.” Paul warns against fanaticism, against going beyond what is written.

An example of going beyond God’s Word is the person who believes in the two meal a day plan, but thinks if two meals a day is good, then one should be better, so he goes to one meal a day. That is fanaticism. It goes beyond what the Word says and is one of the biggest stumbling blocks to the church today.

A Biblical example of going beyond what God’s word says is found in the book of John. Jesus saw a poor, wretched and miserable man in extreme suffering sitting by the pool of Bethesda and wanted to relieve him. “Jesus said to him, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk.’ ” John 5:8.

Crime above all crimes! In the eyes of the Pharisees Jesus was not only laboring on the Sabbath, but He was encouraging someone else to labor as well, violating the fourth commandment.

“And immediately the man was made well, and took up his bed and walked. And that day was the Sabbath. The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, ‘It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.’ ” Verses 9, 10. Can you imagine how oppressed the people were in that day? They had so many traditions no one could keep up with them. It would take years to learn the rules of the rabbis.

We also find in Matthew 12 the story of Jesus, Who “went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.” Verse 1. Have you ever put wheat between your hands and rubbed it around until the chaff is removed? Crime above all crimes! Threshing, working on the Sabbath! The Pharisees took texts from Exodus and reduced them down to what they believed to be the nitty gritty of each little letter. By the time they had finished, the rules were beyond what was written in the word of God. The rules became so stringent that the Jews determined that if you were to spit on the ground on the Sabbath, you were considered to be irrigating.

The Jews had hundreds of rules like this, even still today. Today you will see a lot of people walking to the Synagogue rather than driving on the Sabbath. Since the spark plug ignites the gasoline in the cylinders to drive the pistons in the engine, that is considered starting a fire. In fact, you would be starting multiple fires since you have multiple cylinders. The reason for this rule: “You shall kindle no fire throughout your dwellings on the Sabbath day.” Exodus 35:3.

They also consider it “work” to manipulate a light switch with your finger on the Sabbath. If electricity is needed during the night, the switch must be left on before the Sabbath begins.

If man-made standards by which others are judged cannot be substantiated by the word of God, leave them alone. That is a sure sign of fanaticism.

“The rabbis counted their righteousness a passport to heaven; but Jesus declared it to be insufficient and unworthy. External ceremonies and theoretical knowledge of truth constituted Pharisaical righteousness. The rabbis claimed to be holy through their own efforts in keeping the law; but their works had divorced righteousness from religion. While they were punctilious in ritual observances, their lives were immoral and debased.” The Desire of Ages, 309. These ceremonies were a covering for their sins.

Jesus said, “Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:20. “The greatest deception of the human mind in Christ’s day was that a mere assent to the truth constitutes righteousness.” The Desire of Ages, 309.

God does not care about your theory of the truth. He wants to know if you are living it, not whether you can explain it.

Fanaticism undermines the work of the church and cuts it to pieces. Paul said to the Romans, “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.” Romans 10:3.

A study of the gospels provides the interesting revelation that there were very few Gentiles who became a part of the Hebrew religion. Jesus said, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.” Matthew 23:15.

“For it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.’ ” Romans 14:11–13.

Paul here tells us not to judge one another or become a stumbling block causing another who is weak in the faith, such as a new believer, to fall.

“Were men free to depart from the Lord’s requirements and to set up a standard of duty for themselves, there would be a variety of standards to suit different minds and the government would be taken out of the Lord’s hands. The will of man would be made supreme, and the high and holy will of God—His purpose of love toward His creatures—would be dishonored, disrespected.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessings, 51, 52. We see today the evidence of man ruling himself and the fruit it produces.

The identifying mark of the anti-christ is that he “opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” II Thessalonians 2:4.

If you or I should set up some man-made standard, Ellen White says that, “The will of man would be made supreme.” You become your own little god, which is spiritualism. The throne within me will determine what is right and wrong. This was the claim of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. “Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ ” Genesis 3:4, 5. In other words, you can become your own judge of what is right and wrong. This is a heavy subject, but we must get serious about winning souls so that those who have been deceived may have their eyes opened to truth.

Overzealous and Character

The second way we become stumbling blocks is by being overzealous. Paul said, “For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.” Romans 10:2.

It is really important that we get zealous over what we know is right from the word of God. Romans 14:16, 17 says, “Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Many people have that reversed, thinking the kingdom of heaven comes through their diet, and that is how they will get to heaven, which is nothing more than Jewish pharisaism.

Diet is important, for “you were bought at a price” (I Corinthians 6:20), but if a person thinks it makes him righteous and is meticulous with what he eats, yet has no control over his temper, there is something drastically wrong. The diet then becomes a covering or facade.

It has been said that while in London, Dwight L. Moody went to an art gallery and as he was walking down a hall, one picture caught his eye. From a distance he saw a monk with his hands folded and his head bowed and it appeared as if he was conversing in agony with God. As Moody continued to walk closer, his eyes were fixed on the picture. Standing before it he realized that it was merely a man with a lemon between his hands, squeezing it into a punch bowl.

He thought it a very interesting spiritual lesson for us, a picture of the human heart. Superficially examined, it is thought to be the seat of all that is good and noble, pleasing in man, whereas in reality, until regenerated by the Holy Ghost, it is the seat of all corruption.

We need to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit every day so that we can rightly represent our Saviour. We make a high profession and people are watching with expectation to see something in us or in our church that is different from other churches and the world.

“For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.” I Corinthians 4:9.

When potential members evaluate us, what are they going to see? Will they see a sincere person bowed down conversing in agony with God, or on closer examination see something disingenuous?

Being overzealous may be considered fanaticism to some. “Let no one place stumbling blocks before those who are walking in the dark paths of ignorance. Even in praising a good thing, it is well not to be too enthusiastic, lest you turn out of the way those who come to hear. Present the principles of temperance in their most attractive form.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 465.

It is so easy to be overzealous when experiencing the blessing of a healthy lifestyle and being in a hurry for others to experience the same by going vegetarian. But often those we are seeking to help feel judged and pull back. This is a common mistake that we make when giving too much information too quickly. Jesus said to His disciples that there were many things He wanted to tell them but they were not ready (John 16:12). Learn from the example of Jesus and wait on the Lord.

If we want to see souls saved in God’s kingdom we will ever keep that in mind and not be over-enthusiastic. We will hold our tongues even though we may see some things in new members that we think should be changed. We are all works in progress and still require change, so we must not point fingers. We must realize that often our words cause wounds and turn people out of the way if we are not careful. When this occurs, we are not helping the Lord. It is important to let Him lead.

If you do not want to become overzealous, go out and do some Bible studies with people. Try to help somebody else come into the kingdom of God. As you review your experiences, you will discern what you did well and when you erred. If you have made mistakes, the next time you study with somebody, you will know not to make that same mistake again.

I have made hundreds of mistakes with people. But by God’s grace I’ve learned much and I’m still learning how to deal with people because human minds are ultra-complex and each one is different. You learn to swim by first jumping into the water and the only way to become an expert in winning souls is to go out and start, and in the strength of Jesus Christ you will become a servant.

We do not want to become a stumbling block to anyone, through fanaticism, by being overzealous, or retaining a character with sin in our own lives. If we want God’s blessing to rest upon us, we need the Holy Spirit to reveal those things that need to be removed from our lives, so that the character of Jesus is revealed in us.

The condition of the church will determine whether God is blessing it, and whether He can trust us to be faithful witnesses to those He brings into it. God may bring in someone that is tough and challenging, but we must have tender hearts to nurture them in the truth.

We have God’s word and are to be not only hearers, but doers of the word. Yet we must not go beyond what is written, setting up standards, man-made ideas or tests that exalt and puff up self. We do not want to be stumbling blocks.

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

Mike Bauler was ordained into the ministry in 2005 and serves as pastor of the Historic Message Church in Portland, Oregon. Prior to locating in Portland, Pastor Bauler served as a Bible worker for Steps to Life Ministries. His goal is to help give the gospel to the greater Portland area with an emphasis in helping his Bible students discover the truths in Bible prophecy, which are so often neglected today. His wife, Amanda, a family nurse practitioner, and their daughters Hannah, Esther and Abigail assist him in his ministry.