judgement

Bible Study Guides – Salvation

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“He Shall Save His People from Their Sins”

Memory Verse “But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved).” Ephesians 2:4, 5.

Study Help: The Acts of the Apostles, 481–483.

Thought to Remember: “Your only hope and salvation is in overcoming as Christ overcame.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 457.

Introduction “Abandon the idea that temporal or spiritual advantages will win for you salvation. God calls for your willing obedience. He asks you to give up your sins. ‘To him that overcometh,’ Christ declares, ‘will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne.’ Revelation 3:21.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 117. “

Sin Bringeth Forth Death”

1 From what do we all need to be saved? Matthew 1:21.

note: “Through every device possible Satan has sought to make of none effect the sacrifice of the Son of God, to render His expiation useless and His mission a failure. He has claimed that the death of Christ made obedience to the law unnecessary and permitted the sinner to come into favor with a holy God without forsaking his sin. He has declared that the Old Testament standard was lowered in the gospel and that men can come to Christ, not to be saved from their sins but in their sins. But when John beheld Jesus he told His mission. He said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world’ ( John 1:29). To every repentant soul the message is, ‘Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool’ (Isaiah 1:18).” Faith and Works, 90.

2 Is the Lord’s desire to save sinners limited to a chosen few? 1 Timothy 2:4, 5.

note: See The Great Controversy, 261, 262.

“None Other Name”

3 From whom alone may salvation be gained? Acts 4:10–12.

note: “‘Sin is the transgression of the law.’ The sinner must be made to feel that he is a transgressor. Christ dying upon the cross of Calvary is drawing his attention. Why did Christ die? Because it was the only means for man to be saved.…He took upon Himself our sins that He might impute His righteousness to all who believe in Him.…The goodness and the love of God lead the sinner to repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. The awakened sinner…is pointed to the law he has transgressed. It calls to him to repent, yet there is no saving quality in law to pardon the transgression of law, and his case seems hopeless. But the law draws him to Christ. However deep are his sins of transgression, the blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse him from all sin.…” Our High Calling, 141.

4 What was the motive that led Christ to save us? Romans 8:34–39.

note: “The more we contemplate the character of Christ, and the more we experience of His saving power, the more keenly shall we realize our own weakness and imperfection, and the more earnestly shall we look to Him as our strength and our Redeemer. We have no power in ourselves to cleanse the soul temple from its defilement; but as we repent of our sins against God, and seek pardon through the merits of Christ, He will impart that faith which works by love and purifies the heart. By faith in Christ and obedience to the law of God we may be sanctified, and thus obtain a fitness for the society of holy angels and the white-robed redeemed ones in the kingdom of glory.” The Sanctified Life, 83.

“With the Mouth Confession is Made unto Salvation”

5 What acts are necessary on our part for the work of salvation to begin? Romans 10:10; 11 Corinthians 7:10.

note: “The great heart of infinite Love is drawn toward the sinner with boundless compassion. ‘We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.’ Yes, only believe that God is your helper. He wants to restore His moral image in man. As you draw nigh to Him with confession and repentance, He will draw nigh to you with mercy and forgiveness. We owe the Lord everything. He is the author of our salvation. As you work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, ‘it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.’” Testimonies, vol. 5, 635.

6 Where does the impulse to repent come from? Romans 2:4. Compare Acts 5:31; 11:18.

note: “While it is true that repentance must precede forgiveness, for it is only the broken and contrite heart that is acceptable to God, yet the sinner cannot bring himself to repentance, or prepare himself to come to Christ. Except the sinner repent, he cannot be forgiven; but the question to be decided is as to whether repentance is the work of the sinner or the gift of Christ. Must the sinner wait until he is filled with remorse for his sin before he can come to Christ? The very first step to Christ is taken through the drawing of the Spirit of God; as man responds to this drawing, he advances toward Christ in order that he may repent.” A New Life, 20.

7 When a sinner has repented, what promise may he claim? 1 John 1:9.

note: “We have no righteousness of our own with which to meet the claims of the law of God. But Christ has made a way of escape for us. He lived on earth amid trials and temptations such as we have to meet. He lived a sinless life. He died for us, and now He offers to take our sins and give us His righteousness. If you give yourself to Him, and accept Him as your Saviour, then, sinful as your life may have been, for His sake you are accounted righteous. Christ’s character stands in place of your character, and you are accepted before God just as if you had not sinned.” Steps to Christ, 62.

“He was Manifested to Take Away Our Sins”

8 What assurance may the one have who abides in Christ? 1 John 3:5, 6.

note: “More than this [see previous note], Christ changes the heart. He abides in your heart by faith. You are to maintain this connection with Christ by faith and the continual surrender of your will to Him; and so long as you do this, He will work in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure. So you may say, ‘The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.’ Galatians 2:20. So Jesus said to His disciples, ‘It is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.’ Matthew 10:20. Then with Christ working in you, you will manifest the same spirit and do the same good works,—works of righteousness, obedience.” Ibid., 62. See also The Desire of Ages, 123.

9 What symbol are we given to show the contrast between this new life and the old one? Romans 6:1–6.

note: “As you openly renounced sin and Satan, the three great powers of heaven pledged themselves to help you to overcome. You were raised in newness of life by the power that raised Christ from the dead. You came forth from the watery grave pledged to devote your life to the Master’s service. You are henceforth to live a new life, as if reason, knowledge, affection, speech, property, and all else you have, had been anew entrusted to you, with a distinct intimation from heaven that they are to be used for God. You are to live a life of cross-bearing and self-denial, a life bound up with the life of Christ.” Signs of the Times, February 12, 1902.

“Now is Our Salvation Nearer Than When We Believed”

10 What verses look forward to the time when our salvation is complete? Romans 13:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:8; Hebrews 9:28.

note: “We are never to rest in a satisfied condition, and cease to make advancement, saying, ‘I am saved.’ When this idea is entertained, the motives for watchfulness, for prayer, for earnest endeavor to press onward to higher attainments, cease to exist. No sanctified tongue will be found uttering these words till Christ shall come, and we enter in through the gates into the city of God. Then, with the utmost propriety, we may give glory to God and to the Lamb for eternal deliverance.” Maranatha, 236.

11 What assurance do we have of salvation in the judgment? Psalm 76:7–9.

note: “We are now living in the great Day of Atonement. In the typical service, while the high priest was making the atonement for Israel, all were required to afflict their souls by repentance of sin and humiliation before the Lord, lest they be cut off from among the people. In like manner, all who would have their names retained in the book of life should now, in the few remaining days of their probation, afflict their souls before God by sorrow for sin and true repentance. There must be deep, faithful searching of heart. The light, frivolous spirit indulged by so many professed Christians must be put away. There is earnest warfare before all who would subdue the evil tendencies that strive for the mastery. The work of preparation is an individual work. We are not saved in groups. The purity and devotion of one will not offset the want of these qualities in another. Though all nations are to pass in judgment before God, yet He will examine the case of each individual with as close and searching scrutiny as if there were not another being upon the earth. Everyone must be tested and found without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.” The Great Controversy, 489, 490.

“He Will Come and Save You”

12 To what precious promise may God’s people look forward? Isaiah 35:4.

note: “You must experience a death to self, and must live unto God. ‘If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.’ Self is not to be consulted. Pride, self-love, selfishness, avarice, covetousness, love of the world, hatred, suspicion, jealousy, evil surmisings, must all be subdued and sacrificed forever. When Christ shall appear, it will not be to correct these evils and then give a moral fitness for His coming. This preparation must all be made before He comes. It should be a subject of thought, of study, and earnest inquiry, What shall we do to be saved? What shall be our conduct that we may show ourselves approved unto God?” Testimonies, vol. 1, 705.

13 Who are the ones who will be saved when Christ returns? Psalm 50:1–6.

note: “We must be partakers of Christ’s sufferings here, if we would share in His glory hereafter. If we seek our own interest, how we can best please ourselves, instead of seeking to please God and advance His precious, suffering cause, we shall dishonor God and the holy cause we profess to love. We have but a little space of time left in which to work for God. Nothing should be too dear to sacrifice for the salvation of the scattered and torn flock of Jesus. Those who make a covenant with God by sacrifice now, will soon be gathered home to share a rich reward, and possess the new kingdom forever and ever. Oh, let us live wholly for the Lord, and show by a well-ordered life and godly conversation that we have been with Jesus, and are His meek and lowly followers. We must work while the day lasts, for when the dark night of trouble and anguish comes, it will be too late to work for God.” Christian Experience and Teachings of Ellen G. White, 104, 105. “I saw that the reason why God did not hear the prayers of His servants for the sick among us more fully was that He could not be glorified in so doing while they were violating the laws of health. And I also saw that He designed the health reform…to prepare the way for the prayer of faith to be fully answered. Faith and good work should go hand in hand in relieving the afflicted among us, and in fitting them to glorify God here and to be saved at the coming of Christ.” Counsels on Health, 247.

How to Get Your Name in the Book, Part I

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The parable of the ten virgins, as read in Matthew 25:1–13, is one of the stories Jesus told that shows us very clearly that not everybody who thinks they are going to be saved will actually be saved. That should cause solemn contemplation for all of us. You see, all of the virgins, at the beginning of the evening, thought they were going to the wedding supper, but they did not all get there.

It is a common belief among many churches that we are all going to the same place, but the Bible teaches differently. We need to face up to the fact that there really is a heaven to win and there is also a hell to shun. Read Revelation 20:15: “And if anyone was not found having been written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.” Not everybody is going to the same place. This verse identifies one place. The other place is identified in Revelation 21:27: “There shall in no case enter into it [that is, the holy city] any thing that is defiled or the one doing an abomination or the person who lies, rather, those who have been written in the book of life of the Lamb.” An abomination is something that is abhorrent and, in this case, especially something that is abhorrent to God. God abhors everything that is impure, unclean, polluted, or unrighteous; three things are mentioned in this text.

So, Revelation 20:15 says that if you are not written in the book of life, you are going to be cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 21:27 says that nobody who has not been cleansed from his pollution or defilement will enter into the city; only those whose names are written in the book will enter.

Two Options

In this article, we will first study how to get your name in the book, and, second, what to do so that it does not get blotted out of the book. There will be many people who come up to the end, thinking that they are going to be saved.

“To the marriage supper of the Lamb will come many who have not on the wedding garment—the robe [Christ] purchased for them with His lifeblood. From lips that never make a mistake come the words, ‘Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment?’ (Matthew 22:12). Those [thus] addressed are speechless. They know that words would be useless. The truth, with its sanctifying power, has not been brought into the soul, and the tongue that once spoke so readily of the truth is now silent. The words are then spoken, ‘Take them out of My presence. They are not worthy to taste of My supper’ (cf. Luke 14:24).” The Upward Look, 301.

Jesus described this for us in the Sermon on the Mount. This is a verse of Scripture read in almost every meeting of a Prophecy Seminar, because this is a verse that was written especially for those living in the last days. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heavens, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in the heavens. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name? In Your name we have cast out demons, and in Your name we have performed many miracles.’ And then I will confess to them, ‘Never at any time have I known you.’ ” Matthew 7:21–23.

Can you imagine what a shock that would be? These are Christians! They have called Jesus “Lord.” They come up to the Day of Judgment and say, “Lord, we know that we are saved, because we have the Holy Spirit. We were prophesying in Your name. We were working miracles in Your name. We were casting out demons in Your name. We know that we are saved.” But He says, “No. I have never known you.”

Have you ever considered that many people will receive much light and power in the last days from the devil? You see, these people have the light and the power. They could work miracles. They could prophesy. They could cast out demons. But Jesus says to them, “Then I will confess to them, ‘Never at any time have I known you, depart from Me you who practice lawlessness.’ ” In other words, you who break My law, you are not a subject of My kingdom because you break My law.

Oh, if we could just grasp the full force of that, we could, in the Christian world, quit arguing about which day to go to church and a lot of other things. Some Protestant churches today are so mixed up that they cannot figure out whether or not they should hire homosexual pastors. We could quit arguing about all kinds of things that are going on in the Christian world today if we would just realize that Jesus said, “When I come again, if you have been breaking My law, you are going to be rejected.”

In Luke 13, we read about Jesus going through the various cities and villages teaching, making His way towards Jerusalem (verse 22), and then it says, in verses 23–28, “And a certain one said to Him, ‘Lord, are there few who will be saved?’ And He said to them, ‘Struggle to enter through the narrow gate, because I say to you, many will seek to enter in and will not be strong enough. From what time the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you began to stand outside and to knock on the door, saying, “Lord, open to us,” and, answering, He will say to you, “I do not know you, where you are from.” Then you will begin to say, “We ate before You, and we drank, and You taught in our streets.” And He will say to you, “I do not know you, where you are. Depart from Me, all those working iniquity.” There will be weeping and gnashing of the teeth, when you see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God.’ ”

All those outside the wedding banquet will be wondering at those that have on the wedding garment without spot and wrinkle. But they, all the people that said, “You cannot keep God’s Law,” are going to be outside. They are going to see the people that, through the power of the Holy Spirit, did keep His Law.

First Shall Be Last

“They shall come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. But, behold, they are last who shall be first, and the first shall be last.” Verses 29, 30.

This has always been a very scary passage of Scripture to me, because I had the great privilege of growing up in a Seventh-day Adventist home. But the Bible says, “The first shall be last.”

So, how do you know that you will not meet with disappointment? Oh, you have to have your name in the book. How do you get your name written in the book?

Missionary Spirit

Luke 10:17 is one of the few verses in the New Testament that has a textual variation, and the best scholars cannot figure out for sure which reading is right, but we will find out when the Lord comes. There are some manuscripts that say that Jesus sent out 70, and there are some manuscripts that say He sent out 72, but I have decided I do not need to be in that controversy. So, we read:

“They came back with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us through Your name.’ And He said to them, ‘I beheld Satan as lightning falling from heaven. Behold I have given you authority to trample upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means injure you: [one of the most wonderful promises in the Bible] however, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names have been written in the heaven.’ ” Luke 10:17–20.

Jesus said, “Do not be glad because you can work miracles. What you really need to be glad about is that your name is written in heaven.” You see, what your eternal destiny is makes all the difference.

As I have gone through the Bible, this is just one of the passages that talks about those whose names are written in the book of life. Another such text is Philippians 4:3 where Paul wrote: “And I entreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and [with] other my fellowlabourers, whose names [are] in the book of life.”

One of the important things that I have noticed is that the people written about in the Bible, whose names are written in heaven, are missionary workers. Do not ever forget that!

The Spirit of Christ is a missionary spirit. He left the throne of glory, laid aside His kingly robe, and laid down the scepter of absolute power. He laid aside His crown, and He came down to this world. Ellen White said, “Christ, at an infinite cost, by a painful process, mysterious to angels as well as to men, assumed humanity. Hiding His divinity, laying aside His glory, He was born a babe in Bethlehem.” The Upward Look, 90. It is a mystery that we will never fully comprehend, even in heaven!

In Luke 19:10, it says, “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” The Spirit of Christ is the missionary spirit, and if we do not have the Spirit of Christ, we are none of His. (Romans 8:9.) We must never forget that.

If you have no burden on your soul for those that are lost, you had better start praying, because you do not have the Spirit of Christ. If you do not have the Spirit of Christ, you are not His; your name is not in the book. No one is written down in the books of heaven as a Christian who does not have a missionary spirit. (See Review and Herald, April 13, 1886.)

Confess Christ

How do we get our names written in the book? “Therefore whoever shall confess Me before men, I also will confess him before My Father who is in the heavens. But whoever will deny Me before men, I also will deny him before My Father who is in the heavens.” Matthew 10:32, 33.

If you want your name to be written down, Jesus said, “You need to confess Me before men.” If you are living in the United States, and have lived in the United States all of your life, perhaps the full significance of that statement does not reach your mind, because you are living in a land where there is religious liberty, to the present time.

Peter denied Christ when Jesus was at His trial. Have you ever tried to figure out what in the world drove him to do that? It was fear; he was afraid. Millions of people, even today, are not confessing Christ because of fear. Sometimes these fears are quite justified. We have church members who, because they have confessed Christ and chosen to be His disciples, have been divorced by their spouses. Sometimes confessing Christ costs something. There are people who have been driven away from home because they have confessed Christ.

Cost of Confession

In thousands of cities in the Roman Empire, for 300 years after the days of Christ, when those in charge decided they wanted to get rid of the Christians, they would set up a heathen altar in the center of the city, put a fire on it, and place some incense off at the side. They would then require everybody in town to march past the altar, pick up some incense, and throw it onto the fire. As the people did this, they were to exclaim, “The Caesar is the Lord.”

This was done deliberately because the leaders knew that a Christian could not and would not say that. When a Christian would come by the altar, he or she would say, “Christ is Lord.” Then the Christian would be separated from the others and martyred. We will learn one day how many people were martyred because they would not deny the name of Christ.

Several years ago while I was in England, I was taken to Cardiff, Wales, where the remains of a Roman garrison have been made into a museum. An amphitheater was even there. The amphitheater was where the Romans played. That was where they had their sports, and the Romans had some very cruel sports. The Romans enjoyed watching leopards, lions, and other ferocious animals kill and eat human beings. That was part of their entertainment. One of the signs at the amphitheater recorded that, in 309 a.d., two Roman soldiers who had become Christians were killed.

When Jesus said, “If you confess Me before men, I will confess you in heaven,” that cost something. It has cost millions of people their temporal lives.

Obedience Required

When you and I are willing to confess Jesus as our Lord and Saviour—that is what we do when we are baptized—then we are allowing Him to be the boss in our lives, and we are declaring that we will obey Him.

Jesus asked, in Luke 6:46, “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and you do not do what I say?”

We must confess Jesus as our Lord and as our Saviour from sin. Unless we are willing to maintain that confession, even if it costs us our lives, we are not yet converted. The Lord might allow us, just as He has allowed a number of other people, to come to a situation where we have to choose between whether we are going to confess Jesus and die or deny Jesus and live.

This was the experience of Peter. He denied Jesus so that he could live, but later on, as recorded in Acts 3, 4, and 5, he confessed Jesus boldly. He was beaten, but he declared, “We are still going to preach; as long as we have breath, we are going to preach.” (See Acts 5:42.)

A Spiritual Religion

Read Romans 10:8–13: “But what does it say? ‘The word is near to you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word which we preach) [quoting there from Deuteronomy]: Because if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and you believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart is belief unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession unto salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Every one who believes on Him shall not be ashamed.’ For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord is rich unto all who call upon Him. For ‘every one who calls upon His name shall be saved.’ ”

I love the Christian religion because it is the most spiritual of all religions. You do not become a Christian simply by going through a ritual or a ceremony. You become a Christian when, with your heart, your spirit, and your mind, you confess and say, “I choose for Jesus Christ to be the Lord of my life. He has promised to be my Saviour from sin.”

“If you make that choice,” the Lord says, “if you choose Me as your Lord and as your Saviour from sin, I am going to save you someday at the end of the millennium.”

Wonderful Promise

One of the most wonderful promises in all of the Spirit of Prophecy is given at the end of The Great Controversy. Ellen White there tells what the devil is going to see. The devil is still fighting, but at the end, “He sees that his hellish plots have been powerless to destroy those who have put their trust in Jesus. As Satan looks upon his kingdom, the fruit of his toil, he sees only failure and ruin.” The Great Controversy, 669. He is going to see that all of his plots, all of his machinations, all of his temptations, all of his cruelties, all of his seductions, everything that he has put on the line to win the great controversy has been powerless to destroy one person who put his or her trust in Jesus.

If you have not already made the decision to surrender all to Him, I hope you make that decision today so that your name can be written in the book. If you have chosen Him as the Lord of your life and you trust Him to save you from the guilt and power of your sins, then your name is written in the book. Your name can be written in the book today, just like the thief on the cross. When confession is made, salvation is assured.

It is wonderful! I love to dwell upon this point; it is so wonderful because every single person could be saved. No one has to be one of the foolish virgins. Every single one of us could be saved.

Name Retained

After you make the decision to choose Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, there is something else you need to do.

Revelation 3:5 says, “Blessed is he who overcomes. He shall be clothed in white raiment and I will not blot his name out of the book of life.” This text implies that you could have your name blotted out of the book, but if you overcome, your name will not be blotted out. You will be given white raiment.

In Exodus 32:33, we read that the Lord told Moses, “The one who has sinned against Me is going to be blotted out of My book.” So, in addition to having your name written in the book of life, during the time of the judgment, your name must be retained in the book of life and not erased or blotted out. What can you do so that your name will be retained in the book of life and not blotted out?

Overcome

Revelation 3:5 gives the answer to that question. If your name is going to be retained in the book of life, you must be an overcomer, a conqueror. There are three things you must overcome: (1) You have to overcome what the Bible calls the world. (See 1 John 5.) (2) You have to overcome the devil. (See James 4.) (3) You have to overcome the flesh, the sinful nature. (See Romans 6, 8; Galatians 5.) You have to overcome those three things.

After hearing Adventist preachers preach about those things, and then seeing their congregations become discouraged, saying, “What am I going to do?” I decided that I would not tell people to overcome, unless we had done a study on how to do it. I believe we all see from the Bible that we have to overcome if we are going to have our names retained in the book of life, but the question is, How?

The Power

The power to overcome, of course, comes from the Lord. You and I do not have power to overcome on our own. Only the Lord has power to overcome, and we must receive this power from the Lord if we are going to overcome. The Lord has plenty of power, and this is a great comfort to me.

Ellen White wrote that Jesus has made ample provision: “For all the natural weaknesses Jesus has made ample provision, that they may be overcome through His grace.” Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce, 91. [Emphasis added.]

“Christ was crucified to save the world. For his enemies, for a race in rebellion against God, our Saviour suffered the most excruciating agonies that human flesh could endure. He has made ample provision for sinners, that they need not perish. In the light of his death-agony on the cross, we may know that whosoever will truly repent and receive him as a personal Saviour will receive everlasting life.” Review and Herald, September 24, 1908. [Emphasis added .]

Do you know what the English word ample means? It means, “plenty.” It is not a situation where there is not quite enough; there is plenty. Jesus has ample power to save the person that is the most degraded, to save the person that is the most defiled, to save the person that is in the bottom of the pit of sin. Jesus has plenty of power.

Why, since He has plenty of power, is not everyone an overcomer? If there is plenty of power, why were there foolish virgins? Because the entire plan of salvation is a cooperative process. God is the only One that can make it happen, but God will not make it happen unless you and I cooperate.

To be continued . . .

[Bible texts quoted are literal translation.]

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

Our Character, Weighed in the Balance, part 2

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When we consider our age, we taken into account the period of time that began when we were born and that reaches up to the present moment. When God looks at our life, He looks at it from a completely different perspective. When God looks at a person’s life, He is looking between now and the last day that he will spend in this world, and He knows what experiences must take place in his life between now and the last day to prepare him to be ready to enter His kingdom.

The last day of our life is spoken of throughout the Scriptures as a day of judgment. In our last study, we looked at the last night of Belshazzar and the heavenly message that was written on the wall of his banquet hall, “You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting.” Samuel 5:27. A serious thought, one that we need to carefully consider, is that every one of us is going to be weighed in those same balances.

The gospel involves not just forgiveness of sin, though that is certainly a part of it; it also involves restoration. Our character , thoughts, feelings, and even our motives are to be changed by the power of the gospel, fully restoring in us the moral image of God. There are people who would like to say that by simply being justified you have a title to heaven and are qualified to enter in. Let me put it in a very simple way so that it will be easy to understand.

Suppose that you are a blind man. You want to go places, and you have the money to afford a brand new car. Because you have the money, you may be able to obtain a title to the car; but would you be able to drive it? No, you would not, because you would not be qualified to drive, even though you owned it.

You see, you can say, “Lord, I am choosing to put my trust in Jesus,” and qualify to have a title to heaven; but in the day of judgment, if you are put in the balances and found wanting, the Lord will say to you, “Yes, the price has been paid; but you are not fit. You are not qualified.” Jesus provides the title, but you must have both a title and a fitness for heaven in order to go. “Righteousness within is testified to by righteousness without. He who is righteous within is not hard-hearted and unsympathetic, but day by day he grows into the image of Christ, going on from strength to strength. He who is being sanctified by the truth will be self-controlled, and will follow in the footsteps of Christ until grace is lost in glory. The righteousness by which we are justified is imputed; the righteousness by which we are sanctified is imparted. The first is our title to heaven; the second is our fitness for heaven.” Review and Herald, June 4, 1895.

“The robe of your character must be washed till it is spotless in the fount open for all uncleanness. Your moral worth will be weighed in the balances of the sanctuary and if you are found wanting, you will be at an eternal loss.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 155.

Some are tempted to say, “Then I will never make it.” No, you will never make it on your own. Unless the Holy Spirit comes into your heart and it is purified and you are transformed, you never will meet the standard. We are not talking about an earn-it-yourself religion. The good news is that, if you surrender to the Lord and ask Him for His Holy Spirit, He has already told you in His Word that you will receive it.

Surprisingly, there are many people who do not want to receive the Holy Spirit. They are unwilling to do so because when the Holy Spirit comes, as Jesus said, He reproves of sin. (See John 16:8.) So, when a person comes to the Lord, the first thing that the Holy Spirit does when he enters into the heart is to rebuke them. As people do not like to receive a rebuke, they begin to resist. They want to be a Christian and they want to be saved, but they do not want to totally surrender to the Lord, or open their heart to Him, because they are afraid that God will require of them something they do not want to do.

One of the things that we have to recognize and remember is that God, although He is all-powerful, does not use His power to force Himself upon anyone. If you put up a wall in response to His rebuke, though He may continue to knock at the door of your heart, He will never force His way in. Ellen White expressed it like this. “He says, ‘Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.’ How willing is Christ to take possession of the soul temple if we will let Him! He is represented as waiting and knocking t the door of the heart. As soon as we consent to give sin up, to acknowledge our guilt, the barrier is removed between the soul and the Saviour.” Signs of the Times, September 12, 1911.

Oh, friends, I do not know your heart; but if the Holy Spirit is speaking to you saying, “I want to come in; but you know that there is sin that you do not want to give up, so I can not come in,” let me remind you that the One who loved you enough to die on the cross to save you will never, ever make a requirement of you that is actually not in your best interest. You can trust Him.

God knows exactly how many days you have until it is your last day in this world and what work must be accomplished in your life if you are to be ready for heaven. If, however, you do not open the door; if you are hanging on to something and you do not want to let go, you are slowing the process. Soon your moral worth will be weighed in the balances of the sanctuary; and if you are found wanting, you will be at an eternal loss.

Let us consider for a moment what heaven is like. To begin with, we know that it is a wonderful place and that we all want to go there. The problem that arises is that, if we went like we are, it would no longer be such a wonderful place anymore. Heaven has already experienced what it is like to have sinful beings there; and according to the Bible, it resulted in a war. That war is still going on, and God has quarantined the war so that it is restricted to this world. The issue of sin was resolved for the rest of the universe when Jesus died on the cross, through it has taken another 2,000 years to resolve it here on the earth. God is not going to take anyone from here up to heaven who would again introduce the sin element. God has given His word on this; you can read it in the Old Testament. “Affliction will not rise up a second time.” Nahum 1:9. God determined, through His infinite wisdom and knowledge, that in order for this problem to be totally solved so that sin would never take place again, it was going to take some time for the whole thing to work out; so God has allowed this problem to develop and to go on for almost 6,000 years. In order for the sin problem to be totally resolved, the element of sin must be removed from the heart and life of everyone who goes to heaven.

One of the effects that sin has had on our lives is “coarseness.” When you go to heaven and you have a conversation, do you suppose that the people you talk with will be refined?

“We are to bear the image of God, and every soul saved through the sacrifice of the Son of God must in this life be made complete in Christ. There is much to do in order to fit us for the courts of the Lord. The roughness of spirit, the coarseness of speech, the cheapness of character, must be put away, or we can never wear the garment woven in the heavenly loom, —the righteousness of Christ.” Review and Herald, July 4, 1899.

The way that God works to refine our character is to subject us to the troubles that we experience here on earth. “It is in mercy that the Lord reveals to men their hidden defects. He would have them critically examine the complicated emotions and motives of their own hearts, and detect that which is wrong and modify their dispositions, and refine their manners. God would have His servants become acquainted with their own hearts. In order to bring them to a true knowledge of their condition, He permits the fires of affliction to assail them, so that they may be purified. The trials of life are God’s workmen to remove the impurities, infirmities, and roughness from our character , and fit them for the society of pure, heavenly angels in glory.” Review and Herald, April 10, 1894.

Suppose that you were taken to heaven and someone that you know received a crown nicer than yours. What are you going to do? If you have not laid aside your envy, your jealousy, you will only carry the same disposition to heaven with you; but there will be nothing of this character in the world to come. “Nothing will exist there but love and joy and harmony. Some will have brighter crowns than others, but there will be no jealous thoughts in any heart among the redeemed. Each one will be perfectly satisfied, for all will be rewarded according to their work; for ‘they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars forever and ever.’” Signs of the Times, February 10, 1888. If we are to go to heaven, all envy and jealousy will have to come out of our lives. It is the way of this world that people look at the way that someone else is dressed and compare that with their own. Jealousy is a problem in this world, have you noticed? If, however, we are to find our place in heaven, the love of Christ must replace it. We must develop His meekness and lowliness of heart.

The Bible says a great deal about speech. When you are put into the scales, one of the big factors that will determine your moral worth is your speech. Speech is so important that when God gave the Law of the Ten Commandments to the children of Israel, two of them dealt directly with speech—the third and the ninth. Jesus said, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the Day of Judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:35–37. In reviewing your life, a large part of what you should be reviewing is your speech. Has your speech today been in harmony with the Word of God? Is it true? Does it not take God’s name in vain? Is it kind?

Closely associated with speech is evil surmising. It only takes one person to get evil surmising started in a church, and if the other people succumb to it, it can destroy a whole church. There are many examples of this in the Bible. For instance, among Jesus’ disciples, there was constant quarreling and fighting prior to the crucifixion. And, though they were all at fault because they succumbed to it, Ellen White makes it very clear that there was one person who was continually stirring things up. It was Judas. Jesus knew this, though the rest of the disciples did not realize what was going on. They believed Judas to be a very spiritual person, one of the leading disciples.

Evil surmising can take place in a family, or in a church, and wreak havoc and destruction before the majority of the people realize what is taking place. It is a very, very destructive tool of the devil. We cannot go around judging each other’s hearts and motives. We do not have that right. The devil knows that if you become involved in evil surmising, he can work through you to bring everything into disarray. If we are going to heaven, friends, we personally have to get over evil surmising and we have to help the others do so, too. “Those who are filled with envy, jealousy, and evil surmising, and who indulge in evil speaking, make it manifest that they are unfit for the kingdom of heaven, because they are not peacemakers. Through trial and test, it is proved that they are weighed in the balances and found wanting.” Signs of the Times, October 3, 1895.

Just as it was with Belshazzar, when the handwriting was on the wall, there is coming a time when it will be too late for each of us to change. We will have been weighed in the balance. What is going to be the outcome for you? We are all going to have to face the handwriting on the wall; and it is going to say, “You are weighed in the balance. . . .” How will the sentence end for you?

Do you want a transformation of character to take place in your heart, your life, and your home? If that is what you want, kneel down right now and ask the Lord to work this miracle in your heart and life.

Weighed in the Balance and Found Wanting

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Someday, every one of us is going to be on this world for the last day of our life. Every day that we live should be a day that we live in reference to that fact, because whether we live until Jesus returns, or die first, there will come a day when our destiny is fixed for eternity and there will be nothing that we can do to change it.

There is a story of a man facing judgment. It was Belshazzar’s last day on this earth, and we are told that he was giving a party. “They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, and iron, wood and stone.” Daniel 5:4. Have you ever read the text in the Bible that says, “The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth”? Ecclesiastes 7:4. “In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other.” Daniel 5:5, 6. Commenting on this verse, Ellen White tells us that, “When God makes men fear, they cannot hide the intensity of their terror.” The Youth’s Instructor, May 19, 1898.

So, Belshazzar called in all of the wise men, those that understand science and philosophy, that they might tell him the meaning of the writing; but they could not do so. “The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spoke, saying to the wise men of Babylon, ‘Whoever reads this writing, and tells me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck; and he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.’” Daniel 5:7. Philosophy and science have their proper place, but learning and education will not save you on your last day on earth unless you know the God of heaven.

The queen mother then came to Belshazzar and said, “There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers. Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation.” Verses 11, 12.

So Daniel came in and gave the interpretation of the handwriting that was on the wall. He began by reviewing with him the providence of God in the life of Nebuchadnezzar.

“But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. Then he was driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses. But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this, And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven.” Verses 20–23. By his actions, Belshazzar had despised the God of heaven.

“The fingers of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written. And this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of each word. MENE; God has numbered your kingdom and finished it.” Verses 24–16.

The time is going to come when we will be in this world for our last day, and our character is going to be put into that balance. Though there are stories in the Bible about people who were going in a certain direction who came to a point late in their life when they decided to reverse their direction, those cares are few in number.

“Many are quieting a troubled conscience with the thought that they can change a course of evil when they choose; that they can trifle with the invitations of mercy, and yet be again and again impressed. They think that after doing despite to the Spirit of grace, after casting their influence on the side of Satan, in a moment of terrible extremity they can change their course. But this is not so easily done. The experience, the education of a lifetime, has so thoroughly molded the character that few then desire to receive the image of Jesus.” Steps to Christ, 33.

The judgment is the heart of the message that God has given to Seventh-day Adventists. Our whole message has to do with judgment, because we are living in the end times when the judgment is taking place.

When, in the judgment, we are weighed in God’s balances; every detail of our character will be examined. “God weighs every man in the balances of the sanctuary. In one scale is placed His perfect, unchangeable law, demanding perfect obedience. If in the other there are years of forgetfulness, of rebellion, of self-pleasing, with no repentance, no confession, no effort to do right, God says, “‘Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.’” Youth’s Instructor, July 31, 1902.

None of us can weigh out unless someone takes away our guilt and in its place supplies us with the righteous fulfillment of the Law. That is what the gospel is all about.

We are living in a time when people have become unconcerned about this judgment. They believe that they can live in any way that they please and that it is sufficient to just say, “Lord, I am confessing my sins,” and their sins will be forgiven. But as we just read, if there has been no repentance and no effort to do right, God will say, “No, you are not going to weigh out.”

“A decree went forth to slay the saints, which caused them to cry day and night for deliverance. This was the time of Jacob’s trouble. Then all the saints cried out with anguish of spirit, and were delivered by the voice of God. The 144,000 triumphed. Their faces were lighted up with the glory of God. Then I was shown a company who were howling in agony.” Early Writings, 36.

What were they howling and in agony about? “On their garments [that is, their garments of character] was written in large characters, ‘Thou art weighed in the balance, and found wanting.’ I asked who this company were. The angel said, ‘These are they who have once kept the Sabbath and have given it up.’” Ibid., 37.

Now when the national Sunday Law is passed, there is going to be a multitude who are going to give up the Sabbath in order to obtain food and clothing. When that temptation comes to you, I hope that you will remember this reference in this story.

“I heard them cry with a loud voice, ‘We have believed in Thy coming, and taught it with energy.’ And while they were speaking, their eyes would fall upon their garments and see the writing, and then they would wail aloud. I saw that they had drunk of the deep waters, and fouled the residue with their feet—trodden the Sabbath underfoot—and that was why they were weighed in the balance and found wanting.” Ibid.

Sin is the transgression of the Law. When your time comes to be weighed, the Law is going to be on the other side of the balances. The Law demands perfect obedience, and therefore, if you are going to weigh out, you must be diligent and say, “Lord, help me by Your grace to get all sin out of my life now.” That is one of the great problems for a lot of people in our generation. You think this over, relative to some people that you know, and you will realize that many of them plan to get sin out of their lives at some future time; but not now. It has been estimated that there are three million Seventh-day Adventists in the United States. There are not, however, three million Seventh-day Adventists in church every Sabbath. Where are these people? They know our message, and they profess their belief in it; but they are not living it.

Let me share some statements with you. “Since Jesus has made such an infinite sacrifice for us, how cruel it is that we should remain indifferent. Individually, we have cost the life of the Son of God, and He desires us to walk out by living faith, believing in Him with all the heart. He would have you bring the truth of God into the inner sanctuary [that is, your mind], to soften and subdue the soul; for when Christ is dwelling in your heart by faith, you will love those for whom He died. Suppose that the trump of God should sound tonight, who is ready to respond with gladness? How many of you would cry, “Oh, stay the chariot wheels; I am not ready”? Of how many would it be written, as it was written of Belshazzar, “Thou art weighed in the balances and art found wanting”? To be wanting in that day is to be wanting forever; for when Christ shall come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, we must be all ready to be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Your only safety is in coming to Christ, and ceasing from sin this very moment.” Signs of the Times, August 29, 1892. Do you see what it means to come up to the last day and be wanting? Our only safety is in coming to Christ and ceasing from sin this moment.

If you decide that you are going to quit some sin in your life tomorrow, you have, at the same time, decided that you are still going to do it today. Now, if you decide that you are going to sin today, can Jesus be your Lord and Saviour today? No, He cannot. You have placed yourself outside of the vale of mercy; and if you should die today, you are lost.

“It is possible to be a partial, formal believer, and yet be found wanting and lose eternal life. It is possible to practice some of the Bible injunctions and be regarded as a Christian, and yet perish because you lack qualifications essential to Christian character. If you neglect or treat with indifference the warnings that God has given, if you cherish or excuse sin, you are sealing your soul’s destiny. You will be weighed in the balance and found wanting. Grace, peace, and pardon will be forever withdrawn; Jesus will have passed by, never again to come within reach of your prayers and entreaties.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 405.

Friends, this is serious business. Are you praying every day and saying, “Lord, please fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Give me any rebuke I need, just do not take Your Holy Spirit from me”?

I find that there are many people who have a lot of questions about counsel and believe that in whatever we do, we should follow counsel. The Bible does say that in a multitude of counsel there is safety. We do need to move in harmony with counsel, but we also need to remember that from whomever we are receiving counsel, it does not matter who it is, unless that person is giving evidence that the Holy Spirit is working in their life, we cannot depend on their counsel.

“I might say much more, but have not the strength today. You are already confused by men whose counsel is erratic. If you will come out from these men and be separate, you will be in a much better position to advance the work. There is no safety in following the counsel of men who are not vivified by the Holy Spirit, but must be reformed, else they will be weighed in the balances of the sanctuary, and found wanting.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 14, 50.

Someday, though, we do not know when, we are going to be placed in the balances. The weight of our character, when put in the balance, will be determined by the motives that caused us to act. If we do not have the love of Jesus in our heart, we may be doing the right things, but we will not weigh out.

“God is weighing our characters, our conduct, and our motives in the balances of the sanctuary. It will be a fearful thing to be pronounced wanting in love and obedience by our Redeemer, who died upon the cross to draw our hearts unto Him. God has bestowed upon us great and precious gifts. He has given us light and a knowledge of His will, so that we need not err or walk in darkness. To be weighed in the balance and found wanting in the day of final settlement and rewards will be a fearful thing, a terrible mistake which can never be corrected.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 370.

“When this church is weighed in the balance of the sanctuary, it is found wanting, having left its first love. The True Witness declares, ‘I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and has found them liars: and hast borne, and hast patience, and for My name’s sake has laboured, and hast not fainted.’ [Revelation 2:2, 3.] Notwithstanding all this, the church is found wanting. What is the fatal deficiency?—‘Thou hast left thy first love.’ Is not this our case? Our doctrines may be correct; we may hate false doctrine, and may not receive those who are not true to principle; we may labor with untiring energy; but even this is not sufficient. What is our motive? Why are we called upon to repent?—‘Thou hast left thy first love.’” Selected Messages, Book 1, 370.

You see, if you do not have the love of Jesus in your heart, you can be doing the right thing, but fail to weigh out. The people in the Ephesian church were not heretics. In fact, those who professed to be apostles, but whom they found were not, they cast out. Their doctrines were right and they hated error, but that is not enough. There will come a time when you will be weighed, and doctrines alone are not enough. If you do not have the love of Jesus inside, you will be wanting; you will be lacking.

“You may manifest great zeal in missionary effort, and yet because it is corrupted with selfishness, and it is nought in the sight of God; for it is a tainted, corrupted offering. Unless the door of the heart is open to Jesus, unless He occupies the soul temple, unless the heart is imbued with His divine attributes, human actions when weighed in the heavenly balances, will be pronounced ‘Wanting.’” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 961.

Oh friends, each one of us is coming to our last day in this world, and each one of us is going to be weighed in the balances. Are you getting ready? Do you have the love of Jesus inside? His meekness, His lowliness? Are you obedient to Him; do your thoughts, words, and the tone of your voice reveal that fact? If you want to make a covenant with the Lord and say, “Lord, I am choosing to lay aside everything that would not be in harmony with Your will; I pray that You will fill my heart and mind with Your Holy Spirit and change them,” I invite you to kneel, right where you are, and ask the Lord to give you this experience right now.

Lesson 19 – When Will the Judgment Begin?

law cases booksIntroduction: In Lessons 11 and 12 we learned that Jesus is involved in a work of investigative judgment in the heavenly sanctuary that must precede His second coming. In this lesson we will learn when that judgment began.

1. When Jesus comes, will the results of the judgment, showing who is saved or lost, be already known or will it remain to be decided? Rev. 22:12 [The Further-study verse is Matt. 16:27.]

2. Has God foretold a specific day for His second coming? Matt. 24:33, 36 [Matt. 24:42-44]

3. Has God appointed a specific day for the judgment to begin? Acts 17:31 [Amos 3:7]

4. Will God’s people know and proclaim this set time? Rev. 14:6, 7 [Acts 24:25]

5. In Daniel 7:2-8, God revealed the successive rise and fall of earthly powers from ancient Babylon through the Papal power of the middle ages (the “little horn”), which came to an end in 1798. (See Lessons 7 and 15.) What did Daniel see happening in heaven sometime after this? Dan. 7:9, 10 [Rev. 5:8-11]

6. As Daniel’s prophecies each expand on the one before, the next prophecy gives the exact date for this judgment to begin. We noted in Lesson 12 that God’s throne, before which the judgment is held, is in the sanctuary in heaven. Another term for this judgment in the sanctuary is the “cleansing of the sanctuary.” This expression is used because the record of sins for those who pass the judgment will be cleansed and blotted out of the books of record (Lev. 16:16, 30, 34; Heb. 9:7-12, 23, 24; 10:16, 17; Isa. 43:25; Acts 3:19 KJV), while the names of those who do not pass the judgment will be blotted out of the book of life (Ex. 32:33; Rev. 3:5; Lev. 23:28-31). When does the Bible say that this “cleansing of the sanctuary” would begin? Dan. 8:14 [Ans: After 2300 prophetic days, or literal years. Remember, a day in prophecy equals one year. Eze. 4:6; Num. 14:34; Rev. 11:15-19]

7. The angel Gabriel explained to Daniel the whole vision of Daniel 8, except the last part, the starting date for the 2300 years (possibly because Daniel fainted). Did Gabriel come back to finish the explanation? Dan. 9:21-23

8. In explaining “the vision” of the 2300 years, Gabriel said that 490 years of it (70 weeks) were “determined” for certain purposes. (The word “determined” is from the Hebrew “chathak,” which literally means to “cut off.”) For whom were these first 490 years cut off? Dan. 9:24 [Ans: The Jewish nation. Matt. 21:43; Eph. 2:11-14]

9. In Lesson 9 we learned that this 490 year period lasted from 457 B.C. to 34 A.D. Four hundred and ninety years cut off from 2300 leaves 1810 years from 34 A.D. until the cleansing of the sanctuary, or the beginning of the judgment. What year would that be? [Ans: 34 A.D. plus 1810 years comes out to 1844 A.D.]

10. As the Passover in the spring (Jewish first month) symbolically pointed forward to Jesus’ crucifixion, what ceremony in the autumn (Jewish seventh month) symbolically pointed forward to the cleansing of the sanctuary? Lev. 16:29-34 [Note: As Jesus died on the very day of the Passover in 31 A.D., so the judgment must have begun on the Day of Atonement in 1844, which was on October 22. Lev. 23:26-32]

11. In light of the fact that the judgment has already begun, how should we live? Ecc. 12:13, 14 [1 John 2:3-6; 3:1-8]

12. Who has promised to be our advocate in this judgment? 1 John 2:1, 2 [Micah 7:9; Heb. 4:14-16; 7:25]

13. If we have accepted Jesus as our Savior by allowing Him to forgive our past sins and to write His law in our hearts, what attitude can we have toward the judgment? 1 John 2:28 [Ans: One of confidence. Heb. 10:19-23]

14. After the judgment is finished, what decree will God issue? Rev. 22:11, 12 [Note: As the door of the ark was closed seven days before the flood began, so probation will close shortly before Jesus comes. Matt. 24:37-41]

Commitment: God could have finished this judgment, which He began on October 22, 1844, long ere this, but He delays, for He is “longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9). Yet He will not wait forever. God has already given us longer to repent than He gave the people of Noah’s day. Will you choose today, while probation lingers, to let Jesus be your advocate in the judgment by making Him the Lord of your life?

STEP 2 (Lessons 11-20): Accepting Christ’s Final Message

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Lesson 13 – By What Standard Will We Be Judged?

court gavel and scalesIntroduction: In our last lesson we learned that “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.” In this lesson we will discover the standard by which we are to be judged.

1. Can we earn salvation? Eph. 2:8-10 [The Further-study verses are Rom.6:23; Gal. 2:16; Titus 3:5-8.]

2. What experience must we have to receive this free gift? John 3:3 [Note: While the gift is free and cannot be earned, it is conditional upon our being born again. John 1:12, 13; 1 John 5:4]

3. To be born again means to receive the gift of Jesus’ divine nature (In the Scriptures, this nature is variously called life, power, seed, or spirit.) How can we receive this new nature? 2 Peter 1:3, 4 [Ps. 119:11]

4. Unless we are “eating” the Word of God, through Bible study and prayer, can we have Jesus’ life (or nature) abiding in us? John 6:53, 63 [Note: God gives us a new spiritual birth through Christ Jesus, but we must nourish that spiritual life with spiritual food, just as our physical life is kept alive with physical food. Are we as careful about spending time in Bible study and prayer as we are in eating physical food? Matt. 4:4; John 15:4-7]

5. When we are born again, what must happen to the sinful habits in our life? Rom. 6:4-6 [1 John 3:3-9]

6. What is sin? 1 John 3:4 [Note: If sin is breaking God’s law, and to be born again involves overcoming sin, then the truly born-again person who will pass the judgment must become a law-keeper. Rom. 4:15; 7:7]

7. How will God know that we have been born again? By what standard will He judge us on the day of judgment? James 2:10-12 [1 John 2:3-6]

8. Since we were born in sin, and love sin, how can we have the new birth experience of victory over sin? Rom. 8:2-6, 13 [Note: We were born with a weak and fallen nature. This is the hereditary “law of sin and death.” But when Jesus became the Son of Man, He conquered sin by combining human nature with His divine nature, thereby “condemning sin in the flesh.” He now offers us His divine nature “that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us” also. We are born again when we by faith surrender the soul to Christ to be filled with His Spirit, and, thus strengthened, begin to live a life of righteousness. John 8:34-36; I John 3:3-9; Titus 2:11-14]

9. How do we know that Jesus had no advantage over us so that we, too, can live victoriously over sin “just as” Jesus did (1 John 3:3)? Heb. 4:15, 16 [1 Cor. 10:13]

10. How could Jesus have been “tempted as we are”? Heb. 2:11, 14-18 [Ans: Because He was “made like His brethren.” He came with a “heredity” like ours “to share our . . . temptations, and to give us the example of a sinless life.” “As the Son of Man, He gave us an example of obedience; as the Son of God, He gives us power to obey.” “Jesus . . . exercised no powers, that men may not have through faith in Him. His perfect humanity is that which all His followers may possess.” “In Christ, God has provided means for subduing every sinful trait, and resisting every temptation, however strong.”–The Desire of Ages, pp. 49, 24, 664, 429. Heb. 5:8, 9; Matt. 1:21, 23; Rom. 1:3; Phil. 2:7 cf. Rom. 8:3]

11. When Jesus gives us a new beginning (new birth) by imparting to us His Spirit (or nature), what does He write on our hearts? Heb. 8:10 [Phil. 2:5; Rev. 14:1]

12.What motive should prompt us to keep God’s law? John 14:15 [2 Cor. 5:14; John 15:10; 2 Thess. 2:8-12 (especially note verse 10)]

13. Are God’s commandments burdensome to those who are truly born again? 1 John 5:3, 4 [Ps. 119:47, 77, 97, 174]

14. Why will many who think they are born again be disappointed on the day of judgment? Matt. 7:21-23 [Note: The Greek literally reads: “Depart . . . you who work LAWLESSNESS” (ergazomenoi ten anomian). 1 John 2:3-6, 28]

15. How does the Bible summarize the answer to our question, “By what standard will we be judged on the day of judgment”? Eccl. 12:13, 14 [Rom. 2:13; James 1:25]

16. Who will be admitted into heaven? Rev. 22:14 [Note: The KJV and NKJV based on the “textus receptus” manuscript, read: “Blessed are they who do His commandments, that they may have the right to . . . enter.” Rev. 14:12]

Commitment: Our salvation cost Jesus His life, but He offers salvation to us free if we will but surrender our sinful natures to Him, who has promised to “take away our sins” (1 John 3:5) and to write His law on our hearts. Thus it is that we will be judged according to God’s law, for our works show whether we have been born again (1 John 2:29). “Let no one deceive you” on this point (1 John 3:6, 7)! The new birth involves a total, growing change of character, habits, and thinking (2 Cor. 5:17). Do you want Jesus to give you this new-birth experience, beginning today?

STEP 2 (Lessons 11-20): Accepting Christ’s Final Message

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