Law

Bible Study Guides – Revelation of God’s Love in the Law

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May 26 – June 1, 2002

MEMORY VERSE: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:37–40.

INTRODUCTION: “Love, the basis of creation and of redemption, is the basis of true education. This is made plain in the law that God has given as the guide of life. . . . To love Him, the infinite, the omniscient one, with the whole strength and mind and heart, means the highest development of every power. It means that in the whole being—the body, the mind, as well as the soul—the image of God is to be restored.” Reflecting Christ, 51.

Suggested Reading: Prophets and Kings, 15–22.

  1. What kind of a law did God make? Romans 7:12; Psalm 119:142, 151.

NOTE: “Christ does not lessen the claims of the law. In unmistakable language He presents obedience to it as the condition of eternal life—the same condition that was required of Adam before his fall. The Lord expects no less of the soul now than He expected of man in Paradise, perfect obedience, unblemished righteousness. The requirement under the covenant of grace is just as broad as the requirement made in Eden—harmony with God’s law, which is holy, just, and good.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 391.

  1. How enduring is God’s law? Matthew 5:18.

NOTE: “The moral law was never a type or a shadow. It existed before man’s creation, and will endure as long as God’s throne remains. God could not change nor alter one precept of His law in order to save men; for the law is the foundation of His government. It is unchangeable, unalterable, infinite, and eternal. In order for man to be saved, and for the honor of the law to be maintained, it was necessary for the Son of God to offer Himself as a sacrifice for sin. He who knew no sin became sin for us. He died for us on Calvary. His death shows the wonderful love of God for man, and the immutability of His law. . . .” Lift Him Up, 147.

  1. What is the underlying principle of God’s law? Matthew 22:37–40; John 14:15.

NOTE: “The law of love being the foundation of the government of God, the happiness of all created beings depended upon their perfect accord with its great principles of righteousness. God desires from all His creatures the service of love,—homage that springs from an intelligent appreciation of His character. He takes no pleasure in a forced allegiance, and to all He grants freedom of will, that they may render Him voluntary service.” The Great Controversy (1888), 493.

  1. What is the nature of the law that will judge God’s people? James 2:12.

NOTE: “In the work of redemption there is no compulsion. No external force is employed. Under the influence of the Spirit of God, man is left free to choose whom he will serve. In the change that takes place when the soul surrenders to Christ, there is the highest sense of freedom. The expulsion of sin is the act of the soul itself. True, we have no power to free ourselves from Satan’s control; but when we desire to be set free from sin, and in our great need cry out for a power out of and above ourselves, the powers of the soul are imbued with the divine energy of the Holy Spirit, and they obey the dictates of the will in fulfilling the will of God.” The Desire of Ages, 466.

  1. Why does God require obedience to the commandments? Deuteronomy 30:16; Jeremiah 7:23; Psalm 19:7–11.

NOTE: “Life, eternal life, is for all who will obey God’s law. Perfect obedience, revealed in thought, word, and deed, is as essential now as when the lawyer asked Christ, ‘What shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘What is written in the law? how readest thou? . . . this do, and thou shalt live’ (Luke 10:25–28).” That I May Know Him, 299.

  1. What was Lucifer’s goal in Heaven? Isaiah 14:12–14.

NOTE: “God’s love has been expressed in His justice no less than in His mercy. Justice is the foundation of His throne, and the fruit of His love. It had been Satan’s purpose to divorce mercy from truth and justice. He sought to prove that the righteousness of God’s law is an enemy to peace. But Christ shows that in God’s plan they are indissolubly joined together; the one cannot exist without the other. ‘Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.’ Psalm 85:10.” The Desire of Ages, 762.

  1. What is to be our attitude towards the Law of God? Psalms 119:97; 1:2.

NOTE: “The law of love is the foundation of God’s government, and the service of love the only service acceptable to Heaven. God has granted freedom of will to all, endowed men with capacity to appreciate His character, and therefore with ability to love Him and to choose His service. So long as created beings worshiped God they were in harmony throughout the universe. While love to God was supreme, love to others abounded. As there was no transgression of the law, which is the transcript of God’s character, no note of discord jarred the celestial harmonies.” That I May Know Him, 366.

  1. How are we to pray as we see the Sunday laws coming in? Psalm 119:126.

NOTE: “Men have gone on in disobedience to God’s law until they have reached a point of insolence that is unparalleled. Men are training in disobedience, and are fast approaching the limit of God’s forbearance and love; and God will surely interfere. He will surely vindicate His honor and repress the prevailing iniquity. Will God’s commandment-keeping people be carried away with the prevailing iniquity? Will they be tempted, because universal scorn is placed upon the Law of God, to think less of that law which is the foundation of His government both in heaven and in earth? No. To His church His law becomes more precious, holy, honorable, as men cast upon it scorn and contempt.” Testimonies to Ministers, 21.

  1. How are we to know if the messages we hear are truth or error? Isaiah 8:20; John 5:39.

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

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

  1. What does Jesus promise us if we keep His commandments? John 14:13–15, 15:7–12; 1 John 3:22.

NOTE: “If we live according to His Word, every precious promise He has given will be fulfilled to us. We are undeserving of His mercy, but as we give ourselves to Him, He receives us. He will work for and through those who follow Him.” The Ministry of Healing, 226, 227.

  1. What is God’s definition of sin? 1 John 3:4.

NOTE: “It is no light matter to sin against God, to set the perverse will of man in opposition to the will of his Maker. It is for the best interest of men . . . to obey God’s commandments.” The Sanctified Life, 76.

  1. What price was paid for the breaking of God’s law? Isaiah 53:3–7; Romans 5:6.

NOTE: “There are but few who have an appreciation of the grievous character of sin, and who comprehend the greatness of the ruin that has resulted from the transgression of God’s law. By examining the wonderful plan of redemption to restore the sinner to the moral image of God, we see that the only means for man’s deliverance was wrought out by the self-sacrifice, and the unparalleled condescension and love of the Son of God. He alone had the strength to fight the battles with the great adversary of God and man, and, as our substitute and surety, He has given power to those who lay hold of Him by faith, to become victors in His name, and through His merits.” Christian Education, 112.

  1. What is the reward to those who keep the commandments? Revelation 22:14.

NOTE: “The redeemed saints, who have loved God and kept His commandments here, will enter in through the gates of the city, and have right to the tree of life. They will eat freely of it as our first parents did before their fall. The leaves of that immortal widespread tree will be for the healing of the nations. All their woes will then be gone. Sickness, sorrow, and death they will never again feel, for the leaves of the tree of life have healed them. Jesus will then see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied, when the redeemed, who have been subject to sorrow, toil, and afflictions, who have groaned beneath the curse, are gathered up around that tree of life to eat of its immortal fruit, that our first parents forfeited all right to, by breaking God’s commands.” My Life Today, 355.

By Ruth Grosboll

Bible Study Guides – A Purposeful Plan

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October 27-November 2, 2002

MEMORY VERSE: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10.

SUGGESTED READING: Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, 149–152; “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 926, 927.

INTRODUCTION: “Christ has undertaken the work of saving all who trust in Him for salvation. He sees the wrongs that need to be righted, the evils that need to be repressed. He came to seek and save that which was lost. ‘Him that cometh to me,’ He says, ‘I will in no wise cast out’ (John 6:37).” Selected Messages, Book 1, 178.

1 The gospel call is given to us for what purpose? Mark 2:17.

NOTE: “Many of you feel no need of a Saviour. You are self-sufficient, self-exalted. Said Christ: ‘I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’ The blood of Christ will avail for none but those who feel their need of its cleansing power.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 219.

2 What does the gift of salvation through Christ mean for each one of us? Matthew 1:21; Revelation 1:5, last part.

NOTE: “God has spoken, and He means that man shall obey. He does not inquire if it is convenient for him to do so. The Lord of life and glory did not consult His convenience or pleasure when He left His station of high command to become a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, accepting ignominy and death in order to deliver man from the consequence of his disobedience. Jesus died, not to save man in his sins, but from his sins. Man is to leave the error of his ways, to follow the example of Christ, to take up his cross and follow Him, denying self, and obeying God at any cost.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 250, 251.

3 In the first step of our restoration, what does God offer us, and on what condition? Isaiah 55:7.

NOTE: “We must learn in the school of Christ. Nothing but His righteousness can entitle us to one of the blessings of the covenant of grace. We have long desired and tried to obtain these blessings, but have not received them because we have cherished the idea that we could do something to make ourselves worthy of them. We have not looked away from ourselves, believing that Jesus is a living Saviour. We must not think that our own grace and merits will save us; the grace of Christ is our only hope of salvation. . . . [Isaiah 55:7 quoted.] We must believe the naked promise, and not accept feeling for faith. When we trust God fully, when we rely upon the merits of Jesus as a sin-pardoning Saviour, we shall receive all the help that we can desire.

“We look to self, as though we had power to save ourselves; but Jesus died for us because we are helpless to do this. In Him is our hope, our justification, our righteousness.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 351.

4 What does God do for our salvation, in addition to forgiving us? 1 John 1:9.

NOTE: “We must have a knowledge of ourselves, a knowledge that will result in contrition, before we can find pardon and peace. . . . It is only he who knows himself to be a sinner that Christ can save. . . . We must know our real condition, or we shall not feel our need of Christ’s help. We must understand our danger, or we shall not flee to the refuge. We must feel the pain of our wounds, or we should not desire healing.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 158.

5 What goal is placed before us, and what is our responsibility in obtaining that goal? Matthew 5:48; John 5:14; 8:11.

NOTE: “The Lord requires perfection from His redeemed family. He calls for perfection in character-building.” Signs of the Times, August 23, 1899.

“It is by following in the path of obedience in simple faith that the character obtains perfection. . . . Christ has promised us sufficient power to reach this high standard.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 14, 20.

“Abstain from all evil. Common sins, however insignificant they may be regarded, will impair your moral sense, and extinguish the inward impression of the Spirit of God.” Review and Herald, December 8, 1891.

6 How did Paul describe the deliverance wrought within us when we accept Christ as our Saviour? Colossians 1:13; Hebrews 2:15.

NOTE: “In freeing our souls from the bondage of sin, God has wrought for us a deliverance greater than that of the Hebrews at the Red Sea. Like the Hebrew host, we should praise the Lord with heart and soul and voice for His ‘wonderful works to the children of men.’ Those who dwell upon God’s great mercies, and are not unmindful of His lesser gifts, will put on the girdle of gladness and make melody in their hearts to the Lord. The daily blessings that we receive from the hand of God, and above all else the death of Jesus to bring happiness and heaven within our reach, should be a theme for constant gratitude. . . .” Conflict and Courage, 93.

7 How does Christ make us free from the penalty of the law, under which we are condemned? Romans 6:14–18.

NOTE: “It is the sophistry of Satan that the death of Christ brought in grace to take the place of the law. The death of Jesus did not change, or annul, or lessen in the slightest degree, the law of ten commandments. That precious grace offered to men through a Saviour’s blood, establishes the law of God. Since the fall of man, God’s moral government and His grace are inseparable. They go hand in hand through all dispensations. ‘Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.’ Psalm 85:10. . . .

“The influence of a gospel hope will not lead the sinner to look upon the salvation of Christ as a matter of free grace, while he continues to live in transgression of the law of God. . . . He will reform his ways, become loyal to God through the strength obtained from his Saviour, and lead a new and purer life.” The Faith I Live By, 89.

8 In what way does faith in the gospel relate to the law of God? Romans 3:31.

NOTE: “The righteousness of Christ must be accepted as a free gift by us who are all undeserving. No thread of legality is of any value in the salvation of the soul; for we are saved by grace, through the subduing love of Christ, and the heart is made a willing sacrifice. By keeping the love of God in the heart, the love of the world is kept out, and we become built up in the most holy faith. Christ is the author and finisher of our faith; and when we yield to His hand, we shall steadily grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour. We shall make progress until we reach the full stature of men and women in Christ.

“Faith works by love, and purifies the soul, expelling the love of sin that leads to rebellion against, and transgression of, the law of God. This true love in the heart always leads its possessor into harmony with the commandments of God; for through the agency of the Holy Spirit, the character is transformed, and the mind and will of the human agent are brought into perfect conformity to the divine will, and this is conformity to the divine standard of righteousness.” Youth’s Instructor, February 17, 1898.

9 What warning is given to us about breaking God’s law? Romans 2:23–27; 1 Timothy 1:8–10.

NOTE: “The law of God is the mirror to show man the defects in his character. But it is not pleasant to those who take pleasure in unrighteousness to see their moral deformity. They do not prize this faithful mirror, because it reveals to them their sins. Therefore, instead of instituting a war against their carnal minds, they war against the true and faithful mirror, given them by Jehovah for the very purpose that they may not be deceived, but that they may have revealed to them the defects in their character.” Review and Herald, March 8, 1870.

10 Through sin, of what do we fall short? Romans 3:23.

NOTE: “Many are deceived concerning the condition of their hearts. They do not realize that the natural heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. They wrap themselves about with their own righteousness, and are satisfied in reaching their own human standard of character; but how fatally they fail when they do not reach the divine standard, and of themselves they cannot meet the requirements of God.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 320, 321.

11 How may this loss be restored to us through the gospel? 2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:23.

NOTE: “God is clothed with power; He is able to take those who are dead in trespasses and sins, and by the operation of the Spirit which raised Jesus from the dead, transform the human character, bringing back to the soul the lost image of God. Those who believe in Jesus Christ are changed from being rebels against the law of God into obedient servants and subjects of His kingdom. They are born again, regenerated, sanctified through the truth.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 332.

12 What enables us to resist the temptations of our carnal nature? Colossians 1:10, 11; Ephesians 3:16, 20.

NOTE: “When temptations and trials rush in upon us, let us go to God and agonize with Him in prayer. He will not turn us away empty, but will give us grace and strength to overcome, and to break the power of the enemy. Oh, that all could see these things in their true light and endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus! Then would Israel move forward, strong in God, and in the power of His might.” Early Writings, 46.

13 As we meet the conditions and experience the victory of overcoming sin, what promise will be fulfilled in us? Romans 8:14–17.

NOTE: “One of the lessons that we are to learn in the school of Christ is that the Lord’s love for us is far greater than that of our earthly parents. We are to have unquestioning faith and perfect confidence in Him. [Romans 8:16, 17 quoted.]

“May the Lord help you, as a diligent student in the school of Christ, to learn to lay your burdens on Jesus. And if you are free in His love, you will look above and away from these annoying trials. Think of what Jesus has endured for you, and never forget that it is part of the legacy that we have received as Christians, to be partakers with Him of His sufferings, that we may be partakers with Him of His glory.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 126.

Bible Study Guides – Hebrews 9:20–23

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May 25-31, 2003

MEMORY VERSE: “Almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.” Hebrews 9:22.

SUGGESTED READING: Fundamentals of Christian Education, 506, 507.

INTRODUCTION: “The Jews saw in the sacrificial offerings the symbol of Christ whose blood was shed for the salvation of the world. All these offerings were to typify Christ and to rivet the great truth in their hearts that the blood of Jesus Christ alone cleanseth from all sin, and without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. Some wonder why God desired so many sacrifices and appointed the offering of so many bleeding victims in the Jewish economy.

“Every dying victim was a type of Christ, which lesson was impressed on mind and heart in the most solemn, sacred ceremony, and explained definitely by the priests. Sacrifices were explicitly planned by God Himself to teach this great and momentous truth, that through the blood of Christ alone there is forgiveness of sins.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 106, 107.

1 What did the Lord say to the children of Israel, through Moses, as the first covenant was made? Exodus 24:8, Hebrews 9:20.

NOTE: “The Lord hath set apart him that is godly for Himself; this consecration to God and separation from the world is plainly and positively enjoined in both the Old and the New Testament. There is a wall of separation which the Lord Himself has established between the things of the world and the things He has chosen out of the world and sanctified unto Himself. The calling and character of God’s people are peculiar, their prospects are peculiar, and these peculiarities distinguish them from all other people. All of God’s people upon the earth are one body, from the beginning to the end of time. They have one Head that directs and governs the body. The same injunctions that rested upon ancient Israel, rest upon God’s people now, to be separate from the world. The great Head of the church has not changed. The experience of Christians in these days is much like the travels of ancient Israel.” [Emphasis supplied.] Testimonies, vol. 1, 283, 284.

2 What similar language did Jesus use in establishing the new covenant? Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24.

NOTE: “Here our Saviour instituted the Lord’s supper, to be often celebrated, to keep fresh in the memory of his followers the solemn scenes of his betrayal and crucifixion for the sins of the world. He would have his followers realize their continual dependence upon his blood for salvation. The broken bread was a symbol of Christ’s broken body, given for the salvation of the world. The wine was a symbol of his blood, shed for the cleansing of the sins of all those who should come unto him for pardon, and receive him as their Saviour.” [Emphasis supplied.] Spiritual Gifts, vol. 3, 227.

3 In the typical law, what things were purified by blood? Hebrews 9:22, first part.

NOTE: “The cleansing, both in the typical and in the real service, must be accomplished with blood: in the former, with the blood of animals; in the latter, with the blood of Christ.

“The cleansing was not a removal of physical impurities, for it was to be accomplished with blood, and therefore must be a cleansing from sin.” The Faith I Live By, 206.

4 What is necessary for the remission of sin? Hebrews 9:22, last part.

NOTE: “These brothers [Cain and Abel] were tested, as Adam had been tested before them, to prove whether they would believe and obey the word of God. They were acquainted with the provision made for the salvation of man, and understood the system of offerings which God had ordained. They knew that in these offerings they were to express faith in the Saviour whom the offerings typified, and at the same time to acknowledge their total dependence on Him for pardon; and they knew that by thus conforming to the divine plan for their redemption, they were giving proof of their obedience to the will of God. Without the shedding of blood there could be no remission of sin; and they were to show their faith in the blood of Christ as the promised atonement by offering the firstlings of the flock in sacrifice. Besides this, the first fruits of the earth were to be presented before the Lord as a thank offering.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 71.

5 Why was blood chosen to make atonement? Leviticus 17:11.

NOTE: “Day by day the repentant sinner brought his offering to the door of the tabernacle and, placing his hand upon the victim’s head, confessed his sins, thus in figure transferring them from himself to the innocent sacrifice. The animal was then slain. [Leviticus 17:11 quoted.] The broken law of God demanded the life of the transgressor. The blood, representing the forfeited life of the sinner, whose guilt the victim bore, was carried by the priest into the holy place and sprinkled before the veil, behind which was the ark containing the law that the sinner had transgressed. By this ceremony the sin was, through the blood, transferred in figure to the sanctuary.” The Great Controversy, 418.

6 What should be the fate of him who sheds the blood of man? Genesis 9:6.

NOTE: “If the one tried for murder were proved guilty, no atonement or ransom could rescue him. [Genesis 9:6 quoted]. ‘Ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death.’ ‘Thou shalt take him from Mine altar, that he may die,’ was the command of God; ‘the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.’ Numbers 35:31, 33; Exodus 21:14. The safety and purity of the nation demanded that the sin of murder be severely punished. Human life, which God alone could give, must be sacredly guarded.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 516.

7 Whose lives are forfeited to the law? Romans 3:19, 23; 6:23.

NOTE: “The whole world stands condemned before the great moral standard of righteousness. In the great day of judgment every soul that has lived on the earth will receive sentence in accordance as to whether his deeds have been good or evil in the light of the law of God. Every mouth will be stopped as the cross with its dying Victim shall be presented, and its real bearing shall be seen by every mind that has been sin blinded and corrupted. Sinners will stand condemned before the cross, with its mysterious Victim bowing beneath the infinite burden of human transgression. How quickly will be swept away every subterfuge, every lying excuse! Human apostasy will appear in its heinous character. Men will see what their choice has been. They will then understand that they have chosen Barabbas instead of Christ, the Prince of Peace.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1069.

8 Upon what may we depend to clear us before the law? 1 John 1:7; Ephesians 1:7.

NOTE: “When the poor, condemned sinner was lying under the curse of the Father’s law, Jesus so loved him that He gave Himself for the transgressor. He redeemed him by the virtue of His blood. We cannot estimate the precious ransom paid to redeem fallen man. The heart’s best and holiest affections should be given in return for such wondrous love.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 119.

9 What was necessary in the earthly sanctuary? Hebrews 9:22, 23, first part.

NOTE: “Important truths concerning the atonement may be learned from the typical service. A substitute was accepted in the sinner’s stead; but the sin was not canceled by the blood of the victim. A means was thus provided by which it was transferred to the sanctuary. By the offering of blood, the sinner acknowledged the authority of the law, confessed his guilt in transgression, and expressed his desire for pardon through faith in a Redeemer to come; but he was not yet entirely released from the condemnation of the law. On the day of atonement the high priest, having taken an offering from the congregation, went into the most holy place with the blood of this general offering, and sprinkled it upon the mercy-seat, directly over the law, to make satisfaction for its claims. Then, in his character of mediator, he took the sins upon himself, and bore them from the sanctuary. Placing his hands upon the head of the scape-goat, he confessed over him all these sins, thus in figure transferring them from himself to the goat. The goat then bore them away, and they were regarded as forever separated from the people.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 265.

10 With what is it necessary for the heavenly sanctuary to be cleansed, and of what is it being cleansed? Hebrews 9:23, last part.

NOTE: “As the sins of the people were anciently transferred, in figure, to the earthly sanctuary by the blood of the sin-offering, so our sins are, in fact, transferred to the heavenly sanctuary by the blood of Christ. And as the typical cleansing of the earthly was accomplished by the removal of the sins by which it had been polluted, so the actual cleansing of the heavenly is to be accomplished by the removal, or blotting out, of the sins which are there recorded. This necessitates an examination of the books of record to determine who, through repentance of sin and faith in Christ, are entitled to the benefits of his atonement. The cleansing of the sanctuary therefore involves a work of investigative Judgment.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 266.

11 Who takes away our sins? John 1:29.

NOTE: “Let the repenting sinner fix his eyes upon ‘the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29); and by beholding, he becomes changed. His fear is turned to joy, his doubts to hope. Gratitude springs up. The stony heart is broken. A tide of love sweeps into the soul. Christ is in him a well of water springing up unto everlasting life. [John 4:14.]” The Desire of Ages, 439.

12 Why did Christ take our sins upon Himself? Exodus 28:29, 30; Hebrews 2:14, 15.

NOTE: “Like Aaron, who symbolized Christ, our Saviour bears the names of all His people on His heart in the holy place. Our great High Priest remembers all the words by which He has encouraged us to trust. He is ever mindful of His covenant.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 148.

Gospel of Liberty

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We are told, in the book of Revelation, that someday soon, just before Jesus returns, religious intolerance will once again bear sway—not only in this country, but throughout the world. Liberty will be gone. The only liberty that will be left on the face of this earth is the liberty that God has put in the hearts of His people.

How does God liberate us? God wants to give us the liberty of the eagle. There is nothing more free than a bird flying, and God wants to help us experience that spiritually. Jeremiah 13:23 asks the question, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? [then] may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.” The answer to that question is inferred—No! If the leopard cannot change his spots, nor the Ethiopian his skin, neither can we become good of ourselves. We see here the predicament of all humanity.

David illustrates the predicament that we see in Jeremiah 13. He illustrates it with a solution. Praise God, there is a solution! The Bible says, “I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, [and] established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, [even] praise unto our God: many shall see [it], and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.” Psalm 40:1–3.

The predicament, in which we find ourselves, is sin. It is illustrated here as a horrible pit. There is no hope for us without some outside help. Does this illustration bring to view the solution to the predicament? Oh, yes. “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay and set my feet upon a rock, [and] established my goings.” In these verses, who is doing all of the work? God is! But before we are through with our study, we will see that a cooperation needs to take place before we are lifted out of the horrible pit.

Crying out for Help

The psalmist says that he “waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.” He was seeking deliverance, and he took the first step—crying out for help.

The Bible gives us a true-life experience depicting the predicament that man is in and from which he cannot, in and of himself, help himself. This is an experience of Jesus: “And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught. And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes. And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, Saying, Let [us] alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine [is] this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.” Mark 1:21–27. This situation was taking place right in the church! Here was a man in the church, crying out to Jesus, saying, Let us alone! It was really an unclean spirit crying out.

What a predicament! This man could not help himself; he was demon possessed. There was no way he could help himself, but outside help from Jesus relieved him from the demon. Praise God!

Self-possession

“The demoniac partially comprehended that he was in the presence of One who could set him free [he wanted to be un-possessed, and he recognized in Jesus someone who was able to help him]; but when he tried to come within reach of that mighty hand, another’s will held him, another’s words found utterance through him.

“The conflict between the power of Satan and his own desire for freedom was terrible. It seemed that the tortured man must lose his life in the struggle with the foe that had been the ruin of his manhood. But the Saviour spoke with authority and set the captive free. The man who had been possessed stood before the wondering people in the freedom of self-possession.” The Ministry of Healing, 91, 92.

Self-possession is self-control. That is what God wants to give to all of us. Prophecy tells us what the Messiah would do when He came, and what we have just seen in Capernaum tells us that Jesus was doing everything that prophecy foretold He would do. Jesus is the Son of the living God. He fulfilled the prophecy: “The Spirit of the Lord God [is] upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison [to them that are] bound.” Isaiah 61:1. This same message is recorded in Luke 4:18: “The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor . . . .” It is only the meek, the poor, those who sense their need, that are going to receive the help of the gospel of Christ to set them free.

Greatest Obstacle

What is one of the greatest obstacles that Jesus had to meet here in this world, while seeking to save humanity from the predicament they were in regarding sin? “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, [then] are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?” John 8:31–33. It is an amazing thing that humanity finds itself in this horrible, miry pit of sin, yet the majority of humanity does not sense their need. They do not recognize that they are in bondage. “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” John 1:11. Why? Because they did not recognize that they had a need. The greatest obstacle is that humanity is not aware of the predicament which they are in and from which they cannot, of themselves, get out.

Jesus tells the people what causes the bondage from which He came to deliver them: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” John 8:34. Sin brings us into bondage and keeps us from doing what God intends for us to do. It is as simple as that.

Awaken to Righteousness

God wants to awaken us to righteousness, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:34, that we might not sin. The apostle Peter says, “While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.” 11 Peter 2:19. Being overcome by sin brings us into bondage and keeps us from doing God’s will.

Let us look at what Jesus wants to do for us and what He is able to do for us. “Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: [but] the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” John 8:34–36. What a wonderful promise! There is a solution for the predicament, and it is found in One person by the name of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ, the creator of this world, has become the Saviour of this world for those who are willing to wake up to their needs and choose to be saved in the manner that He has devised. He wants to save us from sin. He says the servant does not abide in the house forever. That is a warning. If we are only servants, servants to sin, God is telling us that we will not abide forever, but the Son abides forever. That is why God wants to make us His sons and daughters. He wants us to live through eternal ages with Him. That is why He created us. He loves us that much! He loves us so much that He gave us His Son to stand in our place and pay the penalty for our sins. Marvelous love!

“None have fallen so low, none are so vile, but that they may find deliverance in Christ.” The Ministry of Healing, 93. That is a marvelous, wondrous promise. No matter what your case is, no matter how bad you perceive yourself, and no matter how bad you really are, God wants to lift you out of that horrible pit. He wants to establish your feet on a Rock—Himself. Is He able to do it? Yes! He says, If the Son shall make you free, you will be free indeed! That word indeed means truly! You will truly be set free. God wants to help us fly spiritually; He wants us to be lifted up to His glory, honor, and praise.

Truth = Freedom

What is one of the means that Jesus uses to set His people free from sin? Jesus said, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32. This is only one means by which Jesus sets us free, because truth needs a catalyst, if it is going to work in our heart. We can receive the truth of God in our mind, but that is not where God wants it to end. He wants the truth in our hearts. Jesus is talking more than theoretical truth, when He says we will know the truth, and that truth will make us free. God wants to set us free from sin so we will not be in bondage that keeps us from doing God’s will.

Our Choice

Upon what is our freedom from bondage ultimately dependent? The Bible says, “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” Romans 6:16. Ultimately, friends, for us to be set free from the bondage of sin, it is by our choice. If we do not make the choice, it will not happen. It has to be a constant, determined choice—it cannot be an occasional choice—to allow God to do the work that will set us free.

“In the work of redemption there is no compulsion, no external force is employed. Under the influence of the Spirit of God, man is left free to choose whom he will serve. In the change that takes place when the soul surrenders to Christ, there is the highest sense of freedom. The expulsion of sin is the act of the soul itself. True, we have no power to free ourselves from Satan’s control; but when we desire to be set free from sin, and in our great need cry out for a power out of and above ourselves, the powers of the soul are imbued with the divine energy of the Holy Spirit, and they obey the dictates of the will in fulfilling the will of God.” The Desire of Ages, 466.

Paul said it well, in Philippians 2:13: “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of [his] good pleasure.” It is up to us to submit to His will and His doing. When we submit, the expulsion of sin from our lives will take place. We will no longer be in bondage; we will be set free.

Law of Liberty

Being set free from sin is the same thing as being brought into obedience to God’s will. Obedience is what we see in Romans 6:16: “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”

We saw, in John 8:32, where Jesus said, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” We noticed that if we choose to have sin expelled from us, it is only going to happen by way of obedience to God. Psalm 119:142 says, “Thy righteousness [is] an everlasting righteousness, and thy law [is] the truth.” So what is truth? It is the Law of God. When we refer to God’s Law, we are talking about the Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20, upon which God runs His whole universe.

Jesus compressed the Ten Commandments into two commandments. (See Matthew 22:37–40.) Likewise, He can take the complexities of our lives and make them simple, if we are willing. If we allow Him to take the sin out of our lives, our lives will be much simpler than they are in the complexity of sin.

“But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth [therein], he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” James 1:25. God calls His Law a law of liberty, but it is only a law of liberty to those who choose to obey it. To all who choose to dis-obey, it is a law of condemnation. It is the same with our civil laws. If we abide by the law, we have freedom, but if we break the law, then we are under the law of penalty and condemnation. It is no different with God’s Law.

Perfect Law

God calls His Law the law of liberty, but He also uses an adjective to describe it. It is a perfect law of liberty! There is nothing we can do to improve upon God’s Law. We cannot add; we cannot subtract; we cannot make it any better, because it is perfect. The psalmist says, “The law of the Lord [is] perfect, converting the soul.” Psalm 19:7.

God wants to change us by His Law. Liberty from sin is found only in obedience to God’s will. “When one surrenders to Christ, the mind is brought under the control of the law; but it is the royal law, which proclaims liberty to every captive. [Satan has the majority of the Christian world believing that the Law of God is a law of bondage.] By becoming one with Christ, man is made free. Subjection to the will of Christ means restoration to perfect manhood.

“Obedience to God is liberty from the thralldom of sin, deliverance from human passion and impulse. Man may stand conqueror of himself, conqueror of his own inclinations, conqueror of principalities and powers, and of ‘the rulers of the darkness of this world,’ and of ‘spiritual wickedness in high places.’ Ephesians 6:12.” The Ministry of Healing, 131. Do you have any trouble with your passions? Do you have any impulsive desires that are contrary to God’s will? We are all tempted in that direction, but God is able to deliver us.

God wants to deliver us from the power of sin in this world. He is able; He is willing; He is waiting for us to make the decision to cooperate with Him. Liberty is found only in obedience to God’s Law. Nowhere else will you find liberty.

Two Ways

What are the two great objects in the center of the way that leads to life and liberty? In Matthew 7:13, 14, Jesus talks about two ways that we can choose to go. One way is broad, and everything that we want to do we can do in that broad way. Then there is a narrow way. We are talking about the narrow way that leads to eternal life, and we are asking the question, What are the two great central objects in the way that lead to life and liberty? Jesus tells us, in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Jesus says He is truth, but we read, in Psalm 119:142, that God’s Law is the truth. God places the two great truths of Jesus and His Law in the way that leads to eternal life.

The Law of God is the center of the issue in the plan of salvation. In fact, it is the basis of the controversy between good and evil in which we are involved. Jesus died on Calvary to uphold the Law of God. If the Law of God could have been changed, Jesus need not have died on Calvary. But God’s Law is as changeless as is He, so Jesus came and died for us, making a way by which we can experience the truth that will set us free from the bondage of sin.

Law in our Hearts

It is not enough to have God’s Law in our minds; God wants to put it in our hearts. “For this [is] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts . . . .” Hebrews 8:10. The law must first be in our minds. We must have an intelligent knowledge of God’s Word and of His Law before they are written in our hearts. When that happens, He says, “I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.” Ibid. Friends, we will never be the people of God until we choose to allow Him to write His Law upon our hearts.

The Catalyst

We have all sensed ourselves, at one time or another, as being out of sorts with God, of being in that pit from which we cannot extricate ourselves. Jesus is the solution.

Truth is one of the great parts by which God will set us free, but there is a catalyst that is needed for truth to get from our minds to our hearts. We find it in the life of Jesus: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” John 1:14.

There is the catalyst—grace! God wants us to walk in the light that proceeds from His Word that has been there for centuries, waiting for us to make a choice. Grace is the catalyst that will send God’s truth to our hearts. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8, 9. We can never merit or earn this grace that is so much needed.

Gifts of God

The gifts of God are two-fold. James 1:17 tells us, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” God has good and perfect gifts that He bestows upon His children in this world. Those good gifts are the physical gifts, the blessings that all humanity receives.

Do we merit the sun that shines upon us today? Do we earn the right to breathe the breath of air? No, those are gifts of God. Have we earned the right to eat the food that gives us strength? No, we have not earned that. God gives the blessings and good gifts to us, not because we have earned them or that we merit them, but because of His goodness. Jesus said that our Father sends the rain upon the just and the unjust. (See Matthew 5:45.)

Is God any different with His spiritual gifts, His perfect gifts? Can we merit a spiritual gift? Can we merit God’s grace? Can we earn God’s favor and His Holy Spirit? No, we cannot. We access the spiritual gifts by faith, by trusting and believing what God says. It is not by works; it is by faith. Works will not produce grace, but grace will produce works. Ephesians 2:10 tells us, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

Many in Christendom today are trying to manufacture something in their own experience to get out of their bondage state. But no amount of works that we can do will manufacture God’s grace or merit it. None! We must come to God as He has ordained for us to come. There is a way, but if we do not follow the sequential order that God has laid out for us in the plan of salvation—faith and works, not works and faith—we are stuck in the pit. When we follow God’s order, we are going to experience the blessing, and we will be able to fly like the eagles.

Bottom Line

What is the bottom line? God wants to save us from sin, but He is not going to give us His grace when we are trying to work out our own salvation. He will honor us with His grace only when we choose to access the plan of salvation in the order in which He has designed it. When we come into harmony with the two great center truths of the plan of salvation, Jesus and God’s Law, we will receive the gift of grace and experience true liberty.

Craig Meeker directs the Bible correspondence school for Steps to Life Ministry. 

Time To Decide

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In this life, many decisions have to be made. Sometimes we do not have a long time to make the decision. Often we have already made preliminary decisions, before the time comes to make a final decision.

Before a pilot or captain in an airliner takes off, many preliminary decisions are made. You have perhaps seen printouts being made so a pilot can study the weather along his or her flight route. And, of course, there are checklists to go through and instruments to check. Each step requires that preliminary decisions be made. But after a while, when the plane is on the runway rolling towards take off, the time comes when a final decision has to be made.

When that final decision is made, it is a go or no-go decision. As the end of the runway approaches, the decision must be made to take off or to abort the take off. So in all affairs of life; there come times when we have to make final decisions.

Last Chance

The Bible recognizes this fact and has a lot to say about it. One of the things that the Bible says about these final decisions is that very often when a person is making his final decision, he does not know it. God has arranged things this way so that people will make a decision based on what is really in their hearts and not on some external circumstance.

We see a number of stories in the Bible where something like this took place. For example, in Acts 24:25, we see the apostle Paul talking to a heathen ruler by the name of Felix. Felix actually was a very wicked man, but he was offered, like all other wicked people, salvation. The Lord was willing, if he was willing to repent and turn around, to forgive his sins and give him another chance so that he could have eternal life through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus.

Paul preached to Felix about this, but notice his response. In Acts 24:25, it says, “Now as he [Paul] reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, ‘Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.’ ”

Felix was impressed that he was a wicked man and that he needed to repent of his sins and follow the Lord. But he loved his sins so much that he thought he wanted to enjoy them a while more. You know, there are many people in this world that have one or more darling sins, and they love those sins. They know they cannot go to heaven when they are committing those sins. But they say, I will enjoy them for a little while more, and then I will turn around; I will forsake sin at some future time. This is evidently what Felix was feeling. He said, It is not convenient for me right now to get ready for the judgment. There are some things in my life that I want to do first.

Do you know, that was Felix’s last opportunity for salvation. He made his final choice right then. He deliberately passed up his last chance for eternal life, because there were some darling sins in his life, and he wanted to hold on to them for a while longer. He did not want to get ready for the judgment right then.

Another story in the Bible tells about one of the most wicked men who had ever lived, yet the apostle Paul made an appeal to him. He was given the opportunity for salvation, but he too passed it up, and that was his last chance. He never had another opportunity. Paul talks about this meeting that he had with Nero, the Caesar. He says, “At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and [that] all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.” 11 Timothy 4:16, 17.

Nero was afraid to kill the apostle Paul right at that time. When he listened to the message, his heart was so under conviction that he could not condemn him, although he did condemn him to death later. But Nero, on that occasion, passed up his last chance for salvation.

The Bible talks about many people that passed up their last chance for salvation. Jesus told a story one time about the rich man and Lazarus, in Luke 16:19–31. This rich man was a person who believed that he belonged to the true church and that he would have salvation in the end. In the story Jesus told, the man not only did not have salvation but he had passed up his last chance for salvation. Never again would he have another opportunity to be saved.

A fact that every person needs to think about seriously is that every one of us at some time has our last chance to accept salvation. If we do not accept it at that point, we will never accept it. It will not be offered to us again, because we read, in Proverbs 1:24–33, “Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, Because you disdained all my counsel, And would have none of my rebuke, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, When your terror comes like a storm, And your destruction comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the Lord, They would have none of my counsel [And] despised my every rebuke. Therefore, they shall eat the fruit of their own way, And be filled to the full with their own fancies. For the turning away of the simple will slay them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them; But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil.” The Lord says, You turned away. You would not listen. The result is that you are going to reap the consequences of your own ways.

Time is Limited

The prophet Isaiah makes an appeal to people to not turn away. In Isaiah 55:6, 7, he says, “Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.”

There is a time when you may find salvation, but that time does not last forever. It is time limited, and at some point, if you turn your back on the Lord and you keep turning your back on the Lord, you will do it for the last time.

We are living in that age of the world when this is true, not just for individuals but for the entire world. Every one in the world will make a decision; they will make a final decision to go one way or the other. The whole world will be divided into two classes. Each class will be identified by a special mark.

Special Messages

Because of the seriousness of the time in which we live, a time when people would make a final decision that would result in eternal life or eternal death, God in the Bible gave special messages just for people that live in the last generation.

These special messages are recorded in symbolic language in Revelation 14:6–12. These symbolic messages are likened to angels whom fly in the midst of heaven, to take these messages to every single person in the world.

What is involved in accepting or rejecting the Three Angels’ Messages? A person’s acceptance or rejection of these messages will determine his or her eternal destiny.

Message of Judgment

Notice what it says in the first angel’s message, Revelation 14:6, 7. “Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

There are several vital points in the first angel’s message. First of all, it says that this angel has “the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth.” Nothing can save you, friend, except the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12.

What is the gospel? The gospel has two parts. You can read about it in Romans or Galatians, or you can read about it in the stories of Jesus. The first part is the blood of Christ, which cleanses a person from the guilt of sin and offers a pardon. But it is not enough to be pardoned. It is not enough to be forgiven. It is not enough to drink the blood. It is also necessary to eat the bread, to receive the life of Christ into our lives.

Jesus talked about this in John 6. We receive His life by receiving the Holy Spirit and putting to death the carnal or sinful nature, as Paul said in Romans 6:2. We are to die to sin. Paul told the Galatians that as many as are Christ’s, they have crucified the flesh with the passions and affections. (Galatians 5:24.)

Oh, friend, have you had this experience? Have you experienced the gospel? No matter what else you have; no matter how much you know; no matter what you do; unless you have died to self, unless you have received the Holy Spirit and you are dead to sin and are following in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ, your religion will end up being in vain.

The gospel is not just a belief system; it is a way of life whereby a person receives the Holy Spirit and lives and walks in newness of life, in harmony with God’s Law. As you can read in 1 John 3 or John 8 or Romans 8, you must receive the whole gospel, if you are going to survive the last generation.

Most of the world’s population will not survive. The vast majority will be deceived and lost, because they believe in what they see more than they believe in God’s Holy Word. But this message of the first angel is not just about the gospel. It is also an announcement that while the gospel is being preached, the hour of God’s judgment is come. God is judging the world!

Law of Liberty

Friend, we are living in the time when that is happening. One of the most important things to understand about the judgment is how you are going to be judged. It says in James 2 that we are to be judged from the law of liberty. What this law is, is made very clear and plain in the very same passage. The sixth and the seventh commandments are quoted, and it is that law, called the law of liberty, by which we will be judged.

It is not hard to understand that the Ten Commandments are called the law of liberty. For instance, if everyone kept just the eighth commandment that says, “You shall not steal,” everybody would be free. You would not have to lock your house, your car, or anything else—if there were no thieves in the world. God’s Law brings liberty.

The judgment is on the basis of God’s law. That is, God’s Law is the standard for the judgment. Your life in the judgment will be compared with the Law of God. If your life is in harmony with God’s Law, you will receive the gift of salvation. But if it is not in harmony with God’s Law, as you read in Revelation 22:15, then you will not be saved at all.

We are living in that most stupendous, serious time in earth’s history when people’s lives are being compared with the Law of God.

A Second Angel

The first angel’s message is followed by another angel, a second angel. God knew in advance that the great majority of the people in this world would not harmonize their lives with His Law, and He predicted what will happen. Remember this was written almost 2,000 years ago, but it is happening in our time.

In Revelation 14:8, we read: “And another angel followed, saying, ‘Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.’ ”

Who is that? Well, it refers to her as a woman. A woman in Bible prophecy represents a church, as you can see in 11 Corinthians 11 or Jeremiah 6, or the Song of Solomon, or Ephesians 5 or many other Scriptures. A woman represents a church. But this is not a pure church. This is a harlot, a fallen church. This is also called a city, a city that rules over the kings of the earth.

In addition, this city, this church, this woman, this harlot is referred to as a power that rules over the nations and makes all nations drink of her wine, of her teachings. It is talking about spiritual wine, but what is spiritual wine? The Bible tells us in Isaiah 29:9, 13, 14: “Pause and wonder! Blind yourselves and be blind! They are drunk, but not with wine; They stagger, but not with intoxicating drink.” “Therefore the Lord said: ‘Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men, Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work Among this people, A marvelous work and a wonder; For the wisdom of their wise [men] shall perish, And the understanding of their prudent [men] shall be hidden.’ ”

We see here that spiritual wine involves teaching people to worship God, to serve God according to the commandments of men. That is the wine of Babylon. If you drink this wine and follow it, you will receive the wrath of God, because as Jesus said, in Matthew 15, people through the traditions of men make the commandments of God of none effect. They say they are keeping it, but if you look at what the commandment says, by the time they have kept the commandments of men, the traditions of men, they have broken the commandments of God. You see, you cannot keep both.

Come Out of Her

So what is the result? The result is recorded in Revelation 18:1–4. “After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, ‘Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.’ And I heard another voice from heaven saying, ‘Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.’ ”

A terrible condition of the religious world is here described. As a result of drinking this wine—the traditions, the commandments of men—the world has sinned against the Lord. Concerning Babylon, it says, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.”

Sin, 1 John 3:4 tells us, is breaking God’s Law. By the commandments of men the commandments of God are made of none effect. If you associate with a group of people who are deliberately breaking any one of the Ten Commandments, eventually you are going to participate with them. If you participate with them in sin, you will participate with them also in receiving the plagues of God which are going to be poured out on Babylon, as you can read in Revelation 15 and 16.

One Final Warning

If the warning of the second angel is not enough to wake a person up, there is one final warning. This final warning will separate the wheat from the tares. It will separate the whole religious world into two classes. This final warning is the warning of the third angel given in Revelation 14:9–12. “Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives [his] mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.’ Here is the patience of the saints; here [are] those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”

Notice that the third angel warns people against worshiping the antichrist power. That is the beast power described in Revelation 13:1–10, the same as the little horn power described in Daniel 7 or the man of sin described in 11 Thessalonians 2. Also, men are prohibited, forbidden in this message to worship the image of the antichrist or to receive the mark of the antichrist.

The identifying mark of the antichrist power is spelled out very explicitly in Daniel 7:25. It (the antichrist power) will attempt to change times and laws. The one who receives this mark will end up, it says, receiving the wrath of God. God does not pour out His wrath on anybody without due cause. But the mark of the antichrist involves a deliberate breaking of the Law of God.

Obey Unrighteousness

In Romans 2:8, it is made very plain that the people that receive the wrath of God are those that obey unrighteousness—not those that do what is right or follow God’s Word. To receive the wrath of God, a person must first obey unrighteous-ness. But what is unrighteousness? “All unrighteousness is sin.” 1 John 5:17.

So obeying unrighteousness means sinning, and sinning is transgressing God’s Law. (See 1 John 3:4.) If you put these three texts together, you can see very clearly that receiving the mark of the beast involves sinning against God, breaking His Law—breaking His Law as mentioned in Daniel 7:25, a deliberate attempt to change times and law. Read the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:3–17. See what it says about time, and examine and see how the religious world today has changed the times that God has given.

You cannot change something that God has given. You cannot adjust something that God has given. The Bible says do not change or add or take anything away from what God has done lest ye be found to be a liar. (See Deuteronomy 12:32; Proverbs 30:6.)

In contrast to the people that receive the mark of the beast, right at the end of the third angel’s message there is revealed the people that listen to the message and are saved. Who they are and how they are described is seen in Revelation 14:12: “Here is the patience of the saints; here [are] those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”

There you have it, friends; it is spelled out in Revelation over and over again. The ones that lose out at the end are those that break God’s Law. The ones that are accepted and receive the gift of eternal life and get to go through the gates into the city are those that keep God’s Law.

The question is, What are you going to do with that information? Are you going to accept it, repent of your sins and say, Lord, create in me a new heart? Are you going to miss your last chance? The choice is yours.

Pastor Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life Ministry and pastor of 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.

First Things First

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[Editor’s Note: This sermon was presented at the Steps to Life Camp Meeting, July 2003. The conversational style of the speaker has been preserved.]

In case you do not know it, homes in America have been falling apart by the hundreds and thousands. That is not new. Homes have been under siege since the Garden of Eden. We find that almost every day we are assaulted with news stories about mothers drowning their children so they can run off with their lovers. Husbands and wives are killing each other; fathers and mothers are locking their children in dingy, stinky closets where the children live in filth.

We have to ask ourselves, What is really going on in the minds of human beings today? Well, we would say it is the signs of the times. Yes, it is the signs of the times. Jesus could see what would happen near the end of time, and He prophetically gave us insight into those things. He gave us this insight so when we would see these things come to pass, we would begin to understand that the Bible is true, and we would prepare our lives to meet Jesus when He returns.

I really believe, and I have been a pastor long enough to know, that in the heart of every one of us there are troubles in our families that we wish were not there. Maybe not in our immediate family but in the extended family. Why are so many homes experiencing troubles? There is an answer, and it, too, is very basic.

Failure to Obey

It all boils down to the failure to abide by the Law of God, to our failure to teach it properly in our homes. The first commandment says, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3. On a spiritual level, God is the only god that is to be recognized. Jehovah, Yahweh, the Lord, is His name. He is the only one. He is a jealous God, and He said, “I am the only one who is to be worshipped.” He is the creator of all things. The responsibilities to God are spelled out in the first table of the law.

The second table also has its first commandment, which is really the fifth commandment of the total law. The first commandment deals with the respect for the Creator of human life. The second table, in reality, is connected very carefully and is a part of the first table. The first table lays out the spiritual relationship that we are to have; the second table deals with human relationships. They are all tied together. The second table, I believe, helps us to understand the relationship of the first table.

Childhood Influence

How many times I have had people tell me about their childhood—how they are the way they are today because of how they were raised. Some of those comments have been positive, but usually most have been negative. “My dad did not like me.” “My mother whipped me too much.” “I had chores to do.” I had this and I had that as a bad experience in my life.

All that might be true, but we do not have to stay there. Growing evidence suggests that the structural and functional brain reserves, thought to develop in childhood and adolescence, may be crucial in determining when cognitive impairment begins. A leading researcher, Robert Abbott, says that there is a whole constellation of diseases out there that occur in later years that are associated with how children are treated early in life.

Foundation of the Home

The fifth law of God’s Ten Commandments is terribly important. The fifth law, in reality, is the whole foundation of the home. Do you think that we have need of restoring the family? I think it is one of the most crucial needs that we have in Adventism today. A lot of times it is easy for us to point out into the world and say, You know, this is taking place in the world, and the world really needs to come to grips with its problems and resolve those things. I would like to suggest that we need to resolve some problems within the church, and we have the tools with which to do that.

Exodus 20:12, the fifth commandment, says, “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.”

This is the first commandment that is foundational in understanding who God is. I say this, because where does a child learn about God? By reading the first commandment that says, “I am the Lord thy God”? No. They learn it from mom and dad. The fifth commandment is foundational in understanding every other relationship that we have on this earth. I think that this is where we have gone astray. This is where we have failed, as Seventh-day Adventists. We claim to be the people of the Book; we claim to be the repairers of the breach, the restorer of paths to walk in, and yet have we really understood the law ourselves so that we can teach it to our children in the right and proper way?

Absolute

Previous commandments to the fifth law have dealt with the object and the manner of worship—God and the Sabbath. This commandment deals with the nursery and the school of worship. Where is the discrimination taught to really discern between good and evil? This commandment, I believe, would solve all those problems, if it was rightly understood and rightly taught, because it is profoundly deep in its concepts.

Let us consider what this commandment teaches. First of all, it is absolute. Parents are to be honored, whether they are living or dead, known or unknown, good or evil. Now that is kind of a big order, is it not? But I did not write the Ten Commandments, God did, and God does not qualify His commandments. He does not say, Honor thy father and thy mother, if they treat you right, and they do not spank you very often. Honor your father and your mother if they are sober and if they are good, upstanding citizens. That is not what the commandment says. It is absolute.

I am the first one to confess that this can be hard. Yet there is one thing that I know about God’s Law; it is always possible to keep it. God never asks us to do something that is impossible. Perhaps we were raised in a home where we have carried a lot of “extra baggage”; we have had a lot of problems; we cannot relate to our parents in the right way. Then we read God’s Law, and we come to the fifth commandment that says, “Honour thy father and thy mother . . . .” We swallow hard and say, “I do not think I can do that.” Know for a certainty that through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can do it. There are consequences for not doing it, and there are consequences for doing it—one has good consequences and the other has bad consequences.

Present Society

Today, the society in which we live does not promote honoring father and mother. For years, there have been many television programs that have depicted the father as a buffoon and the mother as incompetent, that family life in the home is nothing but a joke, and that the children are petted and allowed to do just about anything and everything they want. We have grown up on those kinds of examples that have come to bear on our lives. So when we come to a church setting and a spiritual teaching that we are to honor our father and our mother, it kind of flies over our head because of how we have been trained.

We can honor our parents, though, from the standpoint of a child, even those who may be despicable. A father may be a reprobate, guilty of all sorts of crime, but God, in His wisdom, sees how that can make children better for the honor they pay to their parents. It is kind of designed as a two-edged sword. The Bible talks about a two-edged sword that cuts both ways. This commandment deals not only with parents, but it deals with children and with children and parents.

There is damage that can come because of disrespect of parents. There is nothing honorable about being ashamed of one’s own parentage. A lot of times we think it is smart to be ashamed, especially as young people growing up. I remember what it was like when I was growing up; we thought it was cute and cool to talk about our parents as “the old man” and “the old lady.” Maybe some of you have been there, too. I am ashamed of that kind of thing, as I understand now exactly what God requires of me, but there are still some young people today who have that kind of disrespect in their heart relative to their parents. Somehow we, as Seventh-day Adventists, need to tighten the screws down a little bit in our thinking as to how we need to understand God’s Law, because whether you are as old as I am or much younger, this still applies to us in a multitude of ways. There is never an excuse to continue being disrespectful or dishonorable of our parents. People see us. People watch us. They watch how we relate to our family. They watch how we relate to other positions of authority around us. They watch how we relate to God.

No Respect, No Reverence

We preach reverence in the church sanctuary, and rightfully so. When we come into the house of God, there should be an attitude of reverent awe that we are coming into the presence of the Lord. I would like to suggest that this same honorableness needs to be in the home as well. Never should a child be allowed to be disrespectful to the parent. Never should a child be allowed to be disrespectful to the teacher. Never should a child be allowed to be disrespectful to the police officer. Never should a child be allowed to be disrespectful to the minister. Never should a child be allowed to be disrespectful to the President of the United States. You do not have to agree with everything, but do you realize that all those attitudes stem right back to this fifth commandment? Look at the irreverence that is displayed by young people today to the school, to the government, to the neighbor, to the environment by throwing trash out onto the road. The children displaying such disrespect have not been taught how to honor their parents, to be obedient to their parents. If they are not taught how to be obedient to their parents, they are not going to be obedient or respectful to anyone else.

As a little child grows, that little child, looking to the earthly parent, sees the only God he can understand. Worship, like other things, comes by practice and experience, and those first lessons are taught in the home. This is why Ellen White makes such an important point about bringing the nature of that little child into harmony with God’s plan of salvation while it is still an infant in arms. (See Spiritual Gifts, vol. 4b, 132, 133.) Many times children are petted and allowed to do whatever they want. Oh, someone may say, they are just babies; they cannot learn. That is not true; what they say is not according to God’s plan. Children need to learn, from the time they are just little infants in arms, how they are to relate to God through the parent. Now that puts parents in a very awesome position, does it not? Practically speaking, God is revealed through the parent to the child. If there is no reverence, no respect for the parents, there will be no reverence for God.

Restore the Home

How do we restore the home? How do we accomplish restoring the home and restoring the family? Malachi 4:4 says, “Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, [with] the statutes and judgements.”

God is saying, through the prophet Malachi, remember the Ten Commandments. I gave those to Moses in the mount, along with the statutes and the judgments.

Continuing in verse 5, we read, “Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” What is being spoken of here? This is the Second Coming, is it not? Elijah was long off the scene, but Elijah was manifest in John the Baptist, in the Elijah message John the Baptist preached. The Elijah message has come again in the person of Ellen White, through the gift of prophecy.

The coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord is the Day of Judgment. We are living in the time of the judgment. God is saying that there is going to come a reform. In the last days, just before Jesus comes, that work is going to be under the Spirit of Prophecy. This Elijah message will be of such a nature, “He shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” Verse 6.

What a message we have here! The last message is going to be a message of restoring the family. I am thankful for the gift of prophecy that sets us in a proximity where we can know every truth that God has for us to develop our characters, so we can meet Him with peace in our hearts. In those messages there is the concept that is going to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children. Do you think that needs to take place today? It most certainly does. And it is going to turn the hearts of the children to the fathers. This is a message that we, as Seventh-day Adventists, need to understand, to put into practice, so we can be the light that God wants us to be.

The Elijah Message

The Elijah message is to do a special work. If we are ever going to be ready for Jesus to come, we can know about all the prophecies, and we can speak all the mysteries, and we can understand all these things, but if we do not have love, we are nothing. Where is love learned? Love is learned in the home. As a Seventh-day Adventist, we can draw out the chart of the 2300 days, with all its intricate inner portions, the 1260 days, and all the rest of that. We can understand all of those things, but if we do not have our own family with us, what is it really all worth?

I know that many of you have reached out to your families. You are praying for them right now. My wife and I are the only Seventh-day Adventists on either side of our family. We were converts to this faith. It is hard reaching out to families. The one thing that we have discovered is that we really cannot say much to them. We have to live the message, and then leave the rest with the Lord.

God has a plan. He says, “I am going to turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to the fathers,” and that is going to have to be an accomplished fact before I can come back again. (Malachi 4:6.)

So in reality, what God is waiting for is for the Seventh-day Adventist message, through the Spirit of Prophecy, to sink into the hearts and the minds of those He has called to be His children. It needs to sink in to such an extent that the home base will change and there will be folks who will come to Him as changed people. Someone may say, “You do not know how I was raised. I do not know whether I would ever be able to change.” Do you think your battles are any more severe than anyone else’s? No, they are not. God can help you. God can take this message, and He can put it down in your heart and teach you to love that message so that it just kind of oozes out your pores.

If that happens, there is going to be a whole new set of circumstances that will begin to take place. The battle that we face individually will no longer be our battle but the Lord’s. It is His battle, and we can rest assured that whatever the consequences are, God will take care of it. That takes off a whole lot of pressure.

The Bible says that if you honor your father and your mother, your days upon the land are going to be long. Needless friction wears the life out. God knows that, so here is a blessing that can come to those who obey His command. They will not only build relationships but they will also have a long life because of the peace of mind they have.

Carryovers

There are carryovers to this, and I alluded to this earlier, about how what is done in the home affects the nation. Now, I realize that we are not in the game of politics, but at the same time, we have to live in the country, and the apostle Paul makes it very, very plain that we are to honor the governor and that we are to deal with civil matters in a right way. (See Romans 13:1–4.)

The reason why, when young people go to ball games and their team loses, they begin to riot and burn the town down, is because of the violation of the fifth commandment. They have not had any honor of the family at home, and as a result, they have no honor for anything in civil society either. In reality, home is linked with heaven, and God has ordained it so.

Linked With Heaven

We come together for worship, and we want the worship to be “just so.” How is it with our home? Do we want our home to be “just so”? Are we ordering the events in our home so reverence for God can take place when we go to church?

God has a message. He wants the home linked with heaven. The earthly parent He wants linked with the Father of eternity. Would you reach Heaven? Then reverence the home. Would you worship God? Then honor your parents, living or dead.

Back to Basics

“Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.” 11 Chronicles 20:20. “Here me, O Seventh-day Adventists, and ye inhabitants of Wichita, Kansas, or Denver, Colorado, or Portland, Oregon, or Seattle, Washington, or where ever it might be that you live.” In reality that is what it is saying. Unless we personalize it, we are going to miss the point.

This test of prosperity is tied right in with the law. It says, “Honour thy father and thy mother.” We need to start with first things first. We are never going to be able to accomplish anything that is good unless we come back to the basics of Scripture. We must learn them, make the application of them into our lives, and allow them to be lived out in our lives. But so often we, in our own wisdom, try to do these things apart from God, and we fail. Maybe because we have failed so many times, it is now time for us to go back to the basics, back to the home, back to the instruction that God has given concerning the home. He says that He is going to restore the home before He comes.

If not us, then who? If not now, when? It has to start somewhere. I, like you, get older each year, and the older I get, I wonder, When is Jesus going to come? I believe that Jesus can come in my lifetime, and I want to do all in my power to hasten that day. I know that you do, too. I hope that by sharing some things old that it will help you to reflect a little bit more of perhaps where we have failed. There is nothing wrong in looking back where we have failed, but we must learn from it and go forward in the strength and the power that God gives to us.

Pastor Mike Baugher is Associate Speaker for Steps to Life Ministries. He may be contacted by e-mail at: mikebaugher@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Lessons From Josiah’s Reign

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[Editor’s Note: In “Preparing for the Latter Rain, Part 11” by Maurice Hoppe (November 2003 LandMarks), some Ellen G. White statements were given pertaining to the rejection by the leaders and ministers of the counsel given in the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. The message delivered by Mrs. White at the 1903 General Conference session contains counsel and warnings that are applicable to God’s people today. We trust that it will be a blessing to each reader.]

Night before last, the experiences and the work of Josiah, the king of Israel, as recorded in the thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth chapters of 11 Chronicles, and the twenty-second and twenty-third chapters of 11 Kings, were presented to me as a lesson that I should bring to the attention of this Conference [1903 General Conference session].

“Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. . . . And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left. And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan, . . . the scribe, to the house of the Lord, saying. Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may sum the silver which is brought into the house of the Lord, which the keepers of the door have gathered of the people; and let them deliver it into the hand of the doers of the work which is in the house of the Lord, to repair the breaches of the house, unto carpenters, and builders, and masons, and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house. Howbeit there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand, because they dealt faithfully.” [11 Kings 22:1–7.]

This record contains precious instruction for us. Born of a wicked father, surrounded with temptations to follow in his father’s steps, with few counselors to encourage him in the right way, Josiah was true to the God of Israel. He did not repeat his father’s sin in walking in the way of unrighteousness. Although he had not the advantages of the Christian parental influences that many of us have had, he determined to climb upward, instead of descending to the low level of sin and degradation to which his father and grandfather had descended. Warned by their errors, he chose to walk in the right way, and, though surrounded by wickedness, he pressed in the upward path. His course of obedience made it possible for God to graft him from a wild olive tree to a good olive tree, giving him grace to do that which was right in the Lord’s sight. Thus he became a chosen vessel.

Josiah “turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.” [11 Kings 22:2.] As one who was to occupy a position of trust, he resolved ever to honor God, to obey the instruction that He had given. The only safety for every one in attendance at this Conference, is to determine that he will walk uprightly before God.

In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, God chose him to superintend the repairing of the temple. It was as this work was being done that the book of the law was found. Through some mismanagement it had been lost, and the people had been deprived of its instruction. Brethren, have any of you lost the book of the law? Have not many of us lost sight of the precepts that are in the holy Book?

Upon finding this book, “Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan, the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. . . . And Shaphan the scribe showed the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king. And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes.” [11 Kings 22:8–11.]

The reading of the book of the law, so long forgotten, made a deep impression upon the king’s mind. He realized that something must be done to bring this law to the attention of the people, and to lead them to conform their lives to its teachings. By his own course of action, he designed to show his respect for the law. He humbled himself before God, rending his clothes.

In his position as king, it was the work of Josiah to carry out in the Jewish nation the principles taught in the book of the law. This he endeavored to do faithfully. In the book of the law itself he found a treasure of knowledge, a powerful ally in the work of reform. He did not lay this book aside as something too precious to be handled. Realizing that the highest honor that could be placed on God’s law was to become a student of its precepts, he diligently studied the ancient writing, and resolved to walk in the light it shed upon his pathway.

When the law was first read to him, Josiah had rent his clothes to signify to the people that he was much troubled because he had not known of this book before, and that he was ashamed and painfully distressed because of the works and ways of the people, who had transgressed God’s law. As he had in the past seen the idolatry and the impiety existing among them, he had been much troubled. Now as he read in the book of the law of the punishment that would surely follow such practises, great sorrow filled his heart. Never before had he so fully realized God’s abhorrence for sin.

Josiah’s sorrow did not end with the expression of words of repentance, or with outward demonstrations of grief. He bowed his heart in great humiliation before God, because he knew the anger of the Lord must be kindled against the people. He rent his heart, as well as his garments, for the dishonor shown to the Lord God of heaven and earth. He realized what the outcome must be; that God’s displeasure would come upon His people.

An Investigation Instituted

The king did not pass the matter by as of little consequence. To the priests and the other men in holy office he gave the command, “Go ye, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not harkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that is written concerning us.” [11 Kings 22:13.]

Josiah did not say, “I knew nothing about this book. These are ancient precepts, and times have changed.” He appointed men to investigate the matter, and these men went to Huldah, the prophetess. [11 Kings 22:15–20 quoted.]

In Josiah’s day the Word of the Lord was as binding, and should have been as strictly enforced, as at the time it was spoken. And today it is as binding as it was then. God is always true to His Word. What should we do, we who have had great light? The law has been kept constantly before us. Time and again we have heard it preached. The Lord’s anger is kindled against His people because of their disregard of His Word. Conviction of soul should send us in penitence to the foot of the cross, there to pray with the whole heart, saying, “What shall we do to be saved? Wherewithal shall we come before the Lord?” My brethren, inquire quickly, before it is too late.

Josiah sent as messengers to the prophetess, the highest and most honored of the people. He sent the first men of his kingdom,—men who occupied high positions of trust in the nation. Thus he conferred honor upon the oracles of God.

Apostasy must be Punished

God sent Josiah the word that Jerusalem’s ruin could not be averted. Even if the people should humble themselves before God, they could not escape their punishment. So long had their senses been deadened by sinning against God, that if the judgments had not come upon them, they would soon have swung back into the same sinful course. But because the king humbled his heart before God, he received from Huldah the prophetess the word that the Lord would acknowledge his quickness in seeking God for forgiveness and mercy. Still, the king must leave with God the events of the future; for he could not change them. The provocation had been too great for the punishment to be averted.

The king, on his part, left undone nothing that might bring about a reformation. With the hope that something might be done to turn aside the judgment that was to be sent because of the leaven of evil permeating the principles and morals of the whole nation, he summoned a general assembly of the elders of the people, the magistrates, the representatives of Judah and Jerusalem, to meet him in the house of the Lord, with the priests and the prophets, and others engaged in various parts of the Lord’s service. All joined in the deliberations of the assembly. In the place of making a speech to the people, Josiah ordered that the book of the law be read to them. So earnest did he feel that he himself read the law aloud. He was deeply affected, and he read with the pathos of a broken heart. His hearers were greatly affected by the intensity of feeling expressed in his countenance. They were impressed by the fact that the king, notwithstanding his high official position, cast himself wholly on the Lord, trusting in the strength and wisdom of the King of kings, rather than in his human wisdom.

If those occupying positions of responsibility were as fully resolved to obey God’s law as they are to make laws for governing those in their service, our institutions would be managed along right lines. Those who occupy positions of trust are to make it their highest aim to know God, as revealed in His Word; for to know Him aright is life eternal.

Josiah proposed that those highest in authority unite in solemnly covenanting before the Lord to cooperate with one another in bringing about a reformation. “The king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all their heart and all their soul, which affirmed the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant. And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that were made for Baal and for the grove and for all the host of heaven; and he burned them without Jerusalem, in the fields of Kedron, and carried the ashes of them unto Bethel.” [11 Kings 23:3, 4.]

Like unto Josiah “was there no king before him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him. Notwithstanding the Lord turned not from the fierceness of His great wrath, because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked Him withal.” [11 Kings 23:25, 26.] It was not long before Jerusalem was utterly destroyed.

Lessons for Us to Learn

Today God is watching His people. We should seek to find out what He means when He sweeps away our sanitarium and our publishing house. Let us not move along as if there were nothing wrong. King Josiah rent his robe and rent his heart. He wept and mourned because he had not had the book of the law, and knew not of the punishments that it threatened. God wants us to come to our senses. He wants us to seek for the meaning of the calamities that have overtaken us, that we may not tread in the footsteps of Israel, and say, “The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord are we,” when we are not this at all. [Jeremiah 7:4] When we reach the mark of our high calling in Christ, the protecting arm of God will be with us. We shall have a covert from the storm.

We have many lessons to learn. May God help us to learn them. Let us ask ourselves, Am I keeping the law of the Lord? Do I bring its principles into my home? Do I reverence God’s Word?

I felt so thankful when the college in Battle Creek was moved from there to Berrien Springs [Michigan]. This was a right move. If there had been a further carrying out of the principles that God has laid down,—the instruction that He has given to make centers in many places,—His salvation would have been revealed. A wrong policy has been followed in centering so much in Battle Creek [Michigan]. The Lord has told us that His work is to be established all over America. In every city a memorial for Him is to be established. Are we ready for this work? “Lo,” said Christ, “I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, speaking the things I have commanded you.” [Matthew 28:20, 19.] We are to proclaim to all the world the truths by which every one is to be judged. When this gospel of the kingdom shall have been preached to every nation and kindred and tongue and people, the Saviour will come.

A Reformation Needed

In every institution among us there needs to be a reformation. This is the message that at the last General Conference [1901] I bore as the word of the Lord. At that meeting I carried a very heavy burden, and I have carried it ever since. We did not gain the victory that we might have gained at that meeting. Why?—Because there were so few who followed the course of Josiah. There were those at that meeting who did not see the work that needed to be done. If they had confessed their sins, if they had made a break, if they had taken their stand on vantage ground, the power of God would have gone through the meeting, and we should have had a Pentecostal season.

The Lord has shown me what might have been had the work been done that ought to have been done. In the night season I was present in a meeting where brother was confessing to brother. Those present fell upon one another’s necks, and made heart-broken confessions. The Spirit and power of God were revealed. No one seemed too proud to bow before God in humility and contrition. Those who led in this work were the ones who had not before had the courage to confess their sins.

This might have been. All this the Lord was waiting to do for His people. All heaven was waiting to be gracious.

God is in earnest with us. If the heart is pure, there will be purity of action and nobility of purpose in all the work done. Every mind is to be cleansed, every heart purified. All are to understand that sin is not to be tolerated by the people who have received the most precious light ever given to mortals. Only a little while, and He who shall come will come, and will not tarry. Those who choose to cleave to their sins must perish. But God will have compassion on all who will make thorough work for eternity.

I wish to say that the work that is to be carried on by our people is becoming less and less appreciated by many—not by all. Many of us do not realize the covenant relation in which we stand before God as His people. We are under the most solemn obligations to represent God and Christ. We are to guard against dishonoring God by professing to be His people, and then going directly contrary to His will. We are getting ready to move. Then let us act as if we were. Let us prepare for the mansions that Christ has gone to prepare for those that love Him. Let us stand where we can take hold of eternal realities, and bring them into the every-day life. We are to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn of Him.

A Great Work to be Done

The Lord has a great work to be done. If this meeting is a success, the laborers will go from it to open up the work in new places. The salvation of God will be revealed. I am thankful that during the past year something has been done in Southern California. I praise God for what has been accomplished there. It is hard work to press the battle to the gates, but this must be done. God calls upon every one of us to take hold in earnest.

Here is the medical missionary work,—a wonderful work. God gave us this work thirty-five years ago, and it has been a great blessing. It is to be to the third angel’s message as the right hand is to the body. The gospel and the medical missionary work are one. They can not be divided. They are to be bound together. Medical missionary workers should be encouraged and sustained. And let them remember that they are working for the Master. Unless they do this, they can not exert a strong influence for good in the world. And they must ever keep clear and distinct the line of demarcation between worldlings and those who are carrying the gospel of the kingdom to the world.

In the place of erecting large sanitariums, we should establish smaller sanitariums in many places. A few patients in a small institution can be helped and educated to much greater advantage than a large number gathered together in a large institution. God help us to let the light shine forth. It must shine forth, and God will make us channels of light, if we will let Him.

The Southern field needs our help. I have carried this field on my heart for many years. I have tried to make known its needs, and yet it has scarcely been touched. God has given me encouragement for the workers there, and I have followed them step by step in their work. There are those who say that mistakes have been made by the workers in the Southern field. Do you ever make mistakes? My husband and I used to grieve when we made mistakes. But often we found that in His providence God had permitted us to do as we had done, that we might understand what He wanted us to understand.

God does not cast us off because we make mistakes. Of Ephraim He says: “I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms. . . . I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love.” [Hosea 11:3, 4.]

The Spirit of Criticism to be Banished

My brethren, if you stand before God as true Christians, you will do in the year before us a work different from that which has been done in years past. Your wicked criticism is a sin in the sight of God. By it you are weakening the hands of God’s servants. This criticism is as a root of bitterness, whereby many are defiled. Let us come to the Lord in penitence, and ask Him to forgive us for not keeping His law, for not obeying the command to love one another as Christ has loved us. He says to us, “You have left your first love, and, unless you repent, I will remove your candlestick out of his place.” “Be watchful,” He pleads, “and strengthen the things that remain, that are ready to die; for I have not found thy works perfect before God.” [Revelation 2:4, 5; 3:2.]

Speech is a precious talent. It is the means by which we communicate with one another. The man who, though professing to be a Christian, allows himself to speak angrily because his will is crossed, needs to go apart and rest awhile. Let him go to God, and tell Him that he is sorry for what he said, and that he is ashamed of himself. Let him not try to vindicate himself.

Those who criticize and condemn one another are breaking God’s commandments, and are an offense to Him. They neither love God nor their fellow-beings. Brethren and sisters, let us clear away the rubbish of criticism and suspicion and complaint, and do not wear your nerves on the outside. Some are so sensitive that they can not be reasoned with. Be very sensitive in regard to what it means to keep the law of God, and in regard to whether you are keeping or breaking the law. It is this that God wants us to be sensitive about.

If it were not for the burdens that rest so heavily on my soul, I could do tenfold more than I do. But night after night I am unable to sleep, because so many of the people of God act like quarrelsome children. My brother, my sister, when trouble arises between you and another member of God’s family, do you follow the Bible directions? Before presenting to God your offering of prayer, do you go to your brother, and in the spirit of Christ talk with him. Christ says, “If thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” [Matthew 5:23, 24.] Then you can offer it with a clear conscience; for you have cast out the root of bitterness.

There is much to be done at this meeting. But I do not feel depressed by the outlook. At times I do feel depressed, but I struggle against the feeling. I know that God wants His joy to be in us, that our joy may be full. He has a heaven full of blessings, and these blessings He will give to us, if we will take them. Our Father has an abundant treasure, but you do not want it. If you did, you would have it. You let so many things come between you and God! Your individuality is spotted and stained. It needs to be cleansed by the blood of the Lamb.

The judgment is right upon us. We can not afford to spend our time quarreling over little things. There is a great work before us. My brethren, we must wake up to the issues which face us, and that before this meeting closes. Heart must be cemented to heart. Pray for this; labor for it. Do not, I beg of you, allow differences to come in. May God help you to gather up the divine rays of light, and flash them across the pathway of others. May He help you to love one another as Christ has loved you. “By this,” He says, “shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.” [John 13:35.]

There is power with Christ to heal; there is power with Him to save to the uttermost all who come to Him. But we must be willing to be saved. We must put aside all self-sufficiency. We must be in spirit as little children, or we shall never see the kingdom of heaven. Our measurement of ourselves is too large. We are but little children. We have not attained to the full stature of men and women in Christ. There is much matured intelligence for us yet to gain.

We must overcome the pride that leads us to prefer to work by ourselves, rather than with a fellow-laborer, lest he rob us of glory. God wants us to press close together, that we may help one another. In Australia a minister was asked by a brother minister to leave the pulpit. “I want the people to see no one but me,” he said. And they did indeed see no one but him.

God calls for volunteers who will say, “I will do the very best I can.” God pities us as He sees the wickedness all around us. But He declares that we are not to be wicked. Though we are in the world, we are not to be of the world. The Lord desires His institutions to stand as educational powers in the world. Everything connected with them is to bear the seal of God. Every worker is to be sanctified, body, soul, and spirit. No coarse, rough words are to be spoken; no action that shows a grasping spirit is to be performed. In thought and word and act the workers are to represent Christ.

The Advent Message to be Given

Those who stand as teachers and leaders in our institutions are to be sound in the faith and in the principles of the third angel’s message. God wants His people to know that we have the message as He gave it to us in 1843 and 1844. We knew then what the message meant, and we call upon our people today to obey the word, “Bind up the law among My disciples.” [Isaiah 8:16.] In this world there are but two classes,—the obedient and the disobedient. To which class do we belong? God wants to make us a peculiar people, a holy nation. He has separated us from the world, and He calls upon us to stand on vantage ground, where He can bestow on us His Holy Spirit.

Soon will come the time of which John writes: “I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them; and they were judged every man according to their works.” [Revelation 20:11, 12.]

How prone we are to look to human beings for help, to listen to their opinions, to rely upon them for sympathy, succor, and counsel! When in trouble, we should shut ourselves up with God. How many there are who realize no refreshing because they have forsaken the living waters, and have hewn out for themselves broken cisterns, which can hold no water! When men do this, what can we expect but barrenness of soul?

“Thus saith the Lord: Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land, and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.” [Jeremiah 17:5–8.] Let us rely on God. He never fails a trusting soul.

From the moment of our conversion till the close of our earthly history, our lives are to be characterized by a spirit of true, intelligent service. Only thus can we be true to our covenant with God. He who is daily converted has crossed the boundary line that separates the children of light from the children of darkness. But he who professes to believe the truth, and acts as a sinner, will be treated by God as a sinner, and, unless he repents, will be punished as a sinner, only with many stripes, because he was given great light.

The General Conference Bulletin, April 1, 1903.

Ellen G. White (1827–1915) wrote more than 5,000 periodical articles and 40 books during her lifetime. Today, including compilations from her 50,000 pages of manuscript, more than 100 titles are available in English. She is the most translated woman writer in the entire history of literature, and the most translated American author of either gender. Seventh-day Adventists believe that Mrs. White was appointed by God as a special messenger to draw the world’s attention to the Holy Scriptures and help prepare people for Christ’s second advent.

Bible Study Guides – Can We Depend on God’s Word Today?

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December 26, 2004 – January 1, 2005

Memory Verse:

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105, NKJV.

Suggested Reading: The Great Controversy, v–ix.

Introduction

The Bible says that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God,” for “prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” 11 Timothy 3:16; 11 Peter 1:21. The Bible teaches that it is the word of the living God, written by human penmen, to the inhabitants of earth. How can we know that this claim of the Bible is true?

1 What does Jesus say is the source of truth? John 17:17. See also 11 Peter 1:19–21.

note: “ ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.’ [Proverbs 9:10.] A knowledge of God and His requirements will open the understanding of the student to realize his responsibilities to God and to the world. To this end he will feel that his talents must be developed in that way which will produce the very best results. This cannot be done unless all the precepts and principles of religion are connected with his school education. In no case should he disconnect God from his studies. In the pursuit of knowledge he is searching for truth; and all truth comes from God, the source of truth. Students who are virtuous and are imbued with the Spirit of Christ will grasp knowledge with all their faculties.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 273.

2 From Whom did Jesus receive the information contained in Revelation? Revelation 1:1.

note: “The whole Bible is a revelation; for all revelation to men comes through Christ, and all centers in Him. God has spoken unto us by His Son, whose we are by creation and by redemption. Christ came to John exiled on the Isle of Patmos to give him the truth for these last days, to show him that which must shortly come to pass. Jesus Christ is the great trustee of divine revelation. It is through Him that we have a knowledge of what we are to look for in the closing scenes of this earth’s history. God gave this revelation to Christ, and Christ communicated the same to John.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 953.

3 What two phrases describe the record that John wrote out? Revelation 1:2.

note: “They [kings and rulers] saw John the aged, honored and beloved, constantly referring to Jesus as the eternal Word, giving to him a power exceeding their power. His testimony was always the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. And notwithstanding his age, his venerable appearance, his white locks, in their envy and jealousy they condemned the faithful apostle to what was then thought to be the most severe of all punishments. He was separated from his beloved people, and banished to Patmos. ‘I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.’ [Revelation 1:9.]” Review and Herald, May 16, 1899.

4 Who does the disciple John say is the Word? John 1:1, 2, 14. See also John 6:47–51; Revelation 19:13.

note: “The Sovereign of the universe was not alone in His work of beneficence. He had an associate—a co-worker who could appreciate His purposes, and could share His joy in giving happiness to created beings. ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.’ John 1:1, 2. Christ, the Word, the only begotten of God, was one with the eternal Father—one in nature, in character, in purpose—the only being that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 34.

5 How long has the Word of God been in existence? Micah 5:2. See also John 17:5; Psalm 119:89, 160.

note: “ ‘His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.’ Isaiah 9:6. His ‘goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.’ Micah 5:2. And the Son of God declares concerning Himself: ‘The Lord possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting. . . . When He appointed the foundations of the earth: then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him.’ [Proverbs 8:22–30.]” Patriarchs and Prophets, 34.

6 What knowledge does God have concerning the past and the future? Isaiah 46:10. See also Isaiah 41:4; 45:21; Revelation 10:7; 1:1, 2; John 16:13.

note: “He that ruleth in the heavens is the one who sees the end from the beginning—the one before whom the mysteries of the past and the future are alike outspread, and who, beyond the woe and darkness and ruin that sin has wrought, beholds the accomplishment of His own purposes of love and blessing.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 43.

7 For how long will God’s precepts or Commandments be trustworthy? Psalm 111:7, 8. See also Psalm 119:111, 112, 152; Isaiah 40:8.

note: “ ‘The word of our God shall stand forever.’ ‘All His commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.’ Isaiah 40:8; Psalm 111:7, 8. Whatever is built upon the authority of man will be overthrown; but that which is founded upon the rock of God’s immutable word shall stand forever.” The Great Controversy, 288.

8 Where is the Word of God anchored? Psalm 119:89. See also Revelation 11:12.

note: “The law of God in the sanctuary in heaven is the great original, of which the precepts inscribed upon the tables of stone and recorded by Moses in the Pentateuch were an unerring transcript. . . . The law of God, being a revelation of His will, a transcript of His character, must forever endure, ‘as a faithful witness in heaven.’ [Psalm 89:37.] Not one command has been annulled; not a jot or tittle has been changed. Says the psalmist: ‘Forever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven.’ ‘All His commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever.’ [Psalms 119:89; 111:7, 8.]” The Great Controversy, 434.

9 What standard of character is ascribed to the testimonies? Psalm 119:144. See also Psalm 119:137, 138, 160, 164, 172.

note: “ ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy is understanding.’ Proverbs 9:10. The great work of life is character building, and a knowledge of God is the foundation of all true education. To impart this knowledge and to mold the character in harmony with it should be the object of the teacher’s work. The law of God is a reflection of His character. Hence the psalmist says, ‘All Thy commandments are righteousness;’ and ‘through Thy precepts I get understanding.’ Psalm 119:172, 104. God has revealed Himself to us in His word and in the works of creation. Through the volume of inspiration and the book of nature we are to obtain a knowledge of God.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 596.

10 How enduring are the words of God (the Bible)? Matthew 24:35. See also Psalm 119:144, 152; Mark 13:31.

note: “If with a humble heart you seek divine guidance in every trouble and perplexity, His word is pledged that a gracious answer will be given you. And His word can never fail. Heaven and earth may pass away, but His word will never pass away. Trust in the Lord, and you will never be confounded or ashamed. ‘It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.’ ” Testimonies, vol. 5, 427.

11 Will any weapons or plans to destroy the Scriptures succeed? Revelation 11:3–12. See also Psalm 119:126, 152, Isaiah 54:17.

note: “Millions have joined in the war upon the Bible. But it is so far from being destroyed, that where there were a hundred in Voltaire’s time, there are now ten thousand, yes, a hundred thousand copies of the book of God. In the words of an early Reformer concerning the Christian church, ‘The Bible is an anvil that has worn out many hammers.’ Saith the Lord: ‘No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.’ Isaiah 54:17.” The Great Controversy, 288.

12 What does the Bible say about those who walk according to the law of the Lord and who keep His statutes; who seek Him with all their heart? Psalm 119:1–3; Revelation 22:14. See also Psalm 119:104, 130, 165, 175.

note: “In our churches we should not act as though we were groping our way in the dark. Clear light has been given us. The Lord has spoken to every one in his word, and that word is luminous with light, and weighty with the precious ore of truth. In the Bible we have a perfect rule of conduct, and we are safe in humbly following it. With reverent hearts we should bow to God’s expressed will. We are not left in uncertainty; for in all the varied circumstances of life we may walk according to the instructions of God, which are based upon golden principles of truth, and revealed in the precepts of his law. In the Bible there are rules to meet every case. A complete system of faith has been revealed, and correct rules for practice in our daily life have been made known. Those who turn from the beaten path marked out in God’s word, because it suits their feelings better to do so than to walk according to the commandment, leave the light, and are enshrouded in darkness. Peace of mind, happiness, and heaven are sacrificed for the sake of maintaining human pride and indulging stubbornness of will.” Review and Herald, July 22, 1890.

The Ten Commandments, Part VII – The Sabbath of Creation and Redemption

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In Deuteronomy 5 is recorded what is often referred to as the second giving of the law. What we know as the fourth commandment (Exodus 20:8–11) is given again in Deuteronomy 5:12–15: “Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee. Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day [is] the sabbath of the Lord thy God: [in it] thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that [is] within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and [that] the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.”

A comparison of this passage of Scripture with Exodus 20:8–11 reveals some differences: “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day [is] the sabbath of the Lord thy God: [in it] thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that [is] within thy gates: For [in] six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them [is], and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” These are the words of the fourth commandment written on the two tables of stone by the very finger of God. (See Exodus 31:18.) This commandment, the Sabbath commandment, closes the first table of stone that was given to Moses by God.

One difference between the account of Deuteronomy 5 and that of Exodus 20 is that instead of the former saying, “remember,” it says, “keep.” “Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it . . . .” This is what you might call “ministerial license” on the part of Moses, as he attempted to emphasize a point to the children of Israel because of all the difficulties they had encountered as they traversed through their 40-year wandering experience. He is trying to make the point that they needed to keep the Sabbath holy.

Logical Sequence

The first four commandments, which were written on the first table of stone, outline for man what his responsibilities are to his Creator. As we consider these first four commandments, we can see that they are arranged in a very logical sequence of order. This is not a coincidence; God set these down in a very specific way. Seeing such a logical sequential order confirms that these are of divine origin.

The first commandment proclaims to us the true object of worship. Worship of the true God was a problem in the days of the children of Israel. A variety of other gods commanded their attention for worship. The first commandment warns against having false gods.

The second commandment outlines the true mode of worship and prohibits false forms of religion. When we look at all of the various religions and “isms” that have inundated mankind around the world, they all have their origin in this second law as to their rightness and wrongness.

The third commandment gives the proper approach to this God who has been revealed to us in the first two commandments. It gives a proper approach to worship, and it warns against profanity, irreverence, and hypocrisy in our relationship to God.

The fourth commandment designates the special time for worship by consecrating each seventh day, the Sabbath day, as a memorial of creation and as a memorial of deliverance from bondage to sin.

Egypt Symbolism

Many times I have talked with people, particularly with pastors, about the seventh-day Sabbath. Quite often someone will point out the differences found between Deuteronomy 5 and Exodus 20, to let me know that these commandments are fluid and that they can change—particularly the one that deals with the Sabbath—and that it is not necessarily limited to just the creation story but that it also had implications of deliverance from Egypt.

Then I have asked, “Have you ever been to Egypt?” No, they have never been to Egypt, but they have certainly been in the land of sin, of which Egypt is symbolic. The Book of Revelation makes it explicitly clear that the land of Egypt is symbolic of sin. (See Revelation 11:8.)

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23. Moses brought this fact out when he said, “And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and [that] the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.” We, as Christians living in the twenty-first century, can relate to this verse also.

There is a difference between the two writings of the commandments. One was written by the very finger of God, in stone, so that those words could never, ever be changed. The other was contained within the law of Moses, which was written on paper, and it could be changed. It is very easy to drive a nail through paper. It is not an easy task to drive a nail through a piece of stone. You can nail a book of paper to a cross, but you cannot nail a stone to a cross, and you cannot change it. So these differences are there for a very specific reason.

In the very beginning of time, “God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” Genesis 1:3. Then, the process of creation took place. After six days of creation, Jesus and the Father rested from their work. They established the Sabbath. We are told specifically, in Genesis 2:3, that the Sabbath day was blessed. It was hallowed. It was set apart. It was a day of rest that was established from the very beginning of creation, before there was ever a Jew, before there was ever sin, before there was ever anything that would try to include it as something that was temporary. God established it, and what God has blessed is blessed forever.

Brief History

When sin took the course that it did with Adam and Eve’s fall in the garden, the plan of salvation that had been conceived in the mind of God was put into operation, right at that point. The promise of a Saviour was there, yet to be fulfilled some 4,000 years later.

The Bible records for us how that all took place. It says that Jesus came in the form of human flesh. He lived; He died; and He rose again. The Bible also tells us that when Jesus was finished with His work of redemption, when at last His head fell into the hollow of His shoulder, after crying out, “It is finished,” His body was taken down off the cross just about sundown on a Friday afternoon. Jesus Christ, the Lord of all—not only the Lord of creation but also the Lord of redemption—rested in His tomb on the seventh day. He rested from His work of reclaiming man from the bondage of sin—man who had been living in the land of Egypt, man who had been contaminated with sin.

Sabbath a Seal

The Sabbath has been given as a sign or a seal. Revelation 7 tells us about a group called the 144,000, and it says that in their foreheads is found the seal of God. That seal of God is in contrast to the mark of the beast. God’s seal is the seventh-day Sabbath; the mark of the beast is Sunday keeping, that counterfeit day of worship that has been raised up by the devil to try to thwart the plans of God.

God’s redeemed will not only recognize Him as the Creator of all, but they will recognize Him as the Redeemer of all as well. The fact that they have recognized Him as Creator and the fact that they have accepted Him as their Redeemer shows that the Sabbath is doubly binding upon them. It seals them in their decision making process, so they are never again wanting to depart from the ways of God.

Proper Balance

In order to maintain this special relationship with God, which is so vital, He has asked that, at regular times, man turn from his secular pursuits to spiritual things. Man, in his fallen condition, needs to understand that all of his time and all of his activities are planned and ordered of God; his spiritual and his physical life depend upon each other. Because of this interdependence, if we are going to be properly balanced as human beings, it is of the utmost importance that we keep the seventh-day Sabbath.

Man, because of his selfish nature, is bent on doing as much as he can for himself. Usually that means, more than anything else, spending his time for himself. God knew that man needed to have some time away from himself to focus on spiritual things. This was the wonderful wisdom of God in setting aside the Sabbath day.

If you leave off either the physical or the spiritual, man becomes unbalanced. This is one of the reasons why we see so much carnage and destruction in the world today. Man, even though he may look sane, is really insane, because all that he wants to do is direct things to himself. It is very difficult to understand that Someone else has a claim on our lives other than ourselves.

Pivotal Point

The fourth commandment, given as a command to worship the Creator, implies the absolute necessity for the setting apart of a special time to worship God. The Sabbath commandment is a pivotal point between the first table and the second table of the Law of God. It is a binding influence between the divine and the human. The Sabbath has been said to be the meeting place between God and man. This must surely be one of the reasons why the devil has attacked it so vigorously. The Sabbath, as the weekly appointment for communion and worship, brings heaven and earth together.

It is God’s Sabbath, but we men and women are to keep it. The Sabbath commandment commands our worship, but it also commands our work. Have you ever noticed that? We give emphasis to the point that we are supposed to rest on the Sabbath day. Six days of each week are reserved for work, for labor, and the seventh day is set apart for rest from our work and all worldly activities.

Living in the society in which we do, that seems to be the thing that needs the most correcting, because Saturday, the holy Sabbath day, is the time for garage sales and auctions. The grocery stores and businesses do their biggest volume of sales on Saturday. It is hard for us, especially in a western society where our minds are turned towards the accumulation of things, to set that day aside for the worship of God. But I have felt, as well as witnessed, the blessings that come from the observance of God’s holy time.

Sacred and Common

The Sabbath commandment combines in a unique way the sacred and the common, outlining our duty to God and our duty to man. It divides all time into secular time and holy time, and it defines man’s duty to each allotted share of time that God has established.

One thing that has been present in every age of this earth’s history, and particularly this age in which we live, is the need for a Sabbath rest—even the Pope recognizes this! He recognizes that there is a need for a Sabbath rest, but he has the wrong day. He claims the day on which we need to rest is Sunday.

Habit

Our lives are rushed with so many things that we sometimes fail to take the time to even think. Much of our routine is carried on by habit. Did you know that?

Each morning when I arise, I go through my routine, as I am sure you also do. Much of what we do is governed by habit, and if we have developed good habits, we are going to grow in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4. If we have developed bad habits, however, they become very difficult to change.

This is one of the reasons why so many individuals have difficulty when they are confronted with the true Sabbath of the Lord. They find it hard to change the habit patterns that they have established during their lifetimes so they can give the Sabbath time back to God as His own and, in so doing, be blessed and benefited because of it.

Innumerable people with whom I have studied will acknowledge that Saturday is the Sabbath, but because of family, because of work, because of personal preferences, they find it is inconvenient to reverence it.

Need for Rest

There is a need for a Sabbath rest. It seems that we have no time for leisure, no time for spiritual exercise, no time for study, no time for reflection or meditation, except as we decidedly acknowledge the Sabbath commandment and rest according to God’s will.

There are those in the field of marriage counseling who many times find that disorders between couples occur because they are not spending quality time together as they should. The counselor, upon learning this state of things, will say, “What you need to do, if your schedule is so tight, is to ‘X’ out a certain time, so you can spend that time together.”

God knew that a long time ago, so He “Xed” out every Sabbath day and called it holy. He blessed it and sanctified it. As we enter into that experience with Him, we will find a change taking place in our own hearts and lives. We will have a balance in our lives. God wants us to choose the time that He has chosen and not choose the time that we have chosen. He wants us to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

How

Since God says, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy,” we need to ask ourselves how this is to be accomplished. What does it mean to keep the Sabbath day holy? How do we keep it holy?

Have you ever watched a little child in clean clothes at play where there is mud and water? There seems to be a magnetic draw between little children and mud and water! If they begin to play in it, one thing is for certain—not just their hands will get dirty. Once mud is on their hands, children generally wipe it off onto their clothing.

It is just as impossible for us to keep God’s Sabbath day holy, if we are placing ourselves within proximity of sin and defilement. Just as little children’s hands are drawn to mud and water and to wiping the mud off onto themselves, man, in his sinful nature, is drawn by temptation to do sinful things. Unless we find ourselves deliberately absenting ourselves from all the secular draw and all the secular temptations that come to us, we are going to find ourselves like little children, getting our hands into it. Then we are going to get it on our clothes, and we are going to be defiled.

No Exceptions

The parallel is very apparent. God’s Sabbath day is holy. It is a sanctified day, and we are asked to keep it holy. The only way that we can keep it holy is to refrain from those secular activities that would pollute us on the Sabbath day. Those activities are covered by the commandment itself.

“Six days thou shalt labour”; six days we are to do all our work. How does that speak to the person who is retired? Well, God says, “All right, you have six days to do whatever you want to do, within reason. The seventh day is Mine.” If your wife has a “honey-do” list for you when you are retired, get it done in six days. The seventh day belongs to God.

The rule applies across the board. It does not make any difference whether you have regular employment or whether you are retired, you have six days to work.

The same principle applies to the tithe. God says that one-tenth of our increase belongs to Him. It does not even belong to us. (See Deuteronomy 14:22; Leviticus 27:32; Genesis 28:22.) A large number of people say that they are going to return their tithe to this or that church. Actually, as stewards, they are not returning their tithe, but God’s tithe.

The same thing is also true of time. The seventh day belongs to God. It is His holy day. The Bible says so. It is not our holy time to adjust our schedule however we might want it to be.

Work is Vital

Six days of work are commanded in this fourth commandment, and those six days of work are as vital as the rest time that God says should also take place.

If the concept of Sabbath keeping, as it is found in the fourth commandment, would be taught and impressed upon the minds of young children, creating in them a work ethic, it would save this old world a lot of misery and woe.

For instance, there are some people who think that they do not have to work, that they can get what they want easier by stealing something that does not belong to them. Learning the Sabbath concept would help them in keeping the commandment that says, “Thou shalt not steal,” because they would have a work ethic of working six days, rather than going out and taking what did not belong to them.

So, we are not only reminded to rest, but we are also commanded to work.

The Devil’s Attack

For the whole human family, the Sabbath commandment is really the foundation for true well-being—physical, mental, and spiritual. Again I ask the question, Is it any wonder that the devil has made such a special attack on this commandment? Even to the most casual observer, it is obvious that there is an attack upon this commandment, more than on any of the other commandments.

If the fourth commandment was observed as it should be from the standpoint of not only God being the Creator but also Jesus Christ being the Redeemer, we humans would be in a whole lot better shape. These two aspects are absolutely tied to the observance of the seventh day as the Sabbath.

Character Development

There are those who stress the part of the fourth commandment that deals with rest and forget the other part that deals with labor. I would like to suggest to you that no one could be a Christian and be indolent. No one can keep the Sabbath unless he is also willing to work, because the two concepts go together. We, as Seventh-day Adventists, have been somewhat remiss in bringing out those points and emphasizing them, but they are there, nonetheless. If we put them both together, we will see character traits developed that would not be developed otherwise.

We often speak about the character formation that Jesus desires to take place. The Sabbath commandment has more to do with character development than we realize. No other commandment tells us that we are going to become sanctified by refraining from breaking it. It does not say, “Thou shalt not steal, and you will become holy because of it.” But the Sabbath commandment says, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” And in Exodus 31, it says that through the observance of the Sabbath, man recognizes that God is making him holy. This is the only commandment that deals with holiness, as far as that which is brought into man’s experiences because of observance.

A Special Blessing

The Sabbath has to become a special blessing to us as Seventh-day Adventists, if we are going to fulfill the role and the commission that God has given to us. The Sabbath has to become special for us.

There is at times the tendency, when Seventh-day Adventists are asked concerning their denominational affiliation, to skirt around the issue. Some may respond, “Well, I am a Christian.”

“But what kind of a Christian are you?”

“I am a Protestant Christian.”

This is a hesitancy that should not be. Sometimes it is wise to be discrete, if we know that there are existing prejudices, but the question we each need to ask ourselves is, Are there prejudices that I am recognizing, or am I exercising my own self-preservation?

The devil is very anxious to destroy the Sabbath and Sabbath keeping, because if he succeeds, he will destroy the relationship that he knows God wants to have between Himself and His people. It does not matter how rigidly Sunday keepers keep Sunday; they are not keeping God’s appointed Sabbath. The special relationship that exists between God and the Sabbath keeper is not the same relationship that God has with those who are breaking one of His commandments.

God may wink at their ignorance; God may bless them in their ignorance; but there is something that is still lacking in that relationship. This is why, when we come down to the end of time, things are going to narrow down in such a way that the focal point is going to be on the Sabbath and Sunday, because of the tremendous impact that the Sabbath has upon the lives of human beings. If we human beings are going to live with God in the kingdom of heaven, we are going to have to be observant of the Sabbath day. If that has been revolting to us, then we are not going to be there.

Joint Observance

Do you realize that the Sabbath commandment is the only commandment in which God can join with man in its observance? It would be nonsense for God to observe the first commandment that says, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” So with the second and the third. So with stealing, lying, and adultery. All these have no place as far as reference to God is concerned.

But there is one commandment that, in its observance, God can join with man. This is one of the reasons the devil attacks it so vigorously. Man, of course, is following God’s example in Sabbath keeping.

Isaiah 66 tells us that the Sabbath is going to be kept in the New Earth. “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, [that] from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.” Verses 22, 23. The Sabbath is going to be kept.

New Moon

It is sometimes questioned, If we are going to keep these new moons in the earth made new, then why should we not be keeping the feast days today?

It is often easy for us to expound on the keeping of the seventh-day Sabbath, but what about the new moon? How often does a new moon come? A new moon comes once a month. Is there ever a time in the earth made new that we are going to gather around the throne of God once a month? Most certainly! We are told, in Revelation 22:1, 2, “And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, [was there] the tree of life, which bare twelve [manner of] fruits, [and] yielded her fruit every month,” that is, new moon.

When it talks about the creation of the new heavens and the new earth, it is dealing with this. Not only is the seventh-day Sabbath still to be a very integrated part of life in heaven, but something else that is interesting and a blessing to us is that we are going to gather around the tree of life each new moon and there partake of its fruit.

We are going to live in the country, Isaiah tells us. We are going to build houses, and we are going to inhabit them. We are going to plant vineyards, and we are going to eat the fruit of them. (Isaiah 65:21.) But then, on the Sabbath day, we are going to find ourselves back in the New Jerusalem, that place where Jesus has gone to prepare a mansion for us. And on that High Sabbath or that high occasion, that once a month gathering, we are going to partake of the fruit that is growing on the tree of life.

Validation

Do not ever tell me the Bible is not inspired! Do not ever tell me that there is no God in heaven! There are just too many things that have come together, written hundreds of years apart, which validate that there is a God in heaven. That God in heaven loved us so much, He came down to this earth and took upon Himself human flesh. And remembering the Sabbath day, from creation until the time that He died on Calvary’s cross and rested in that tomb, He says, “Here is a twofold reason why you, too, who are my disciples, need to rest on the Sabbath day with Me. It is a time when we can come together. It is a time that we can unite our hearts together. It is a time when I can make you holy.”

To be continued . . .

A retired minister of the gospel, Pastor Mike Baugher may be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

The Ten Commandments, Part VIII – The Sabbath is a Delight

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In Part VII of this series, we laid down some of the concepts about the seventh-day Sabbath. In this article, we will consider some of the things that God has asked us to do and not to do in observance of the seventh-day Sabbath.

In Isaiah 58:13, 14, we read: “If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, [from] doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking [thine own] words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken [it].”

Who is it that is telling us these things? Is it Isaiah? No. It says, “The mouth of the Lord hath spoken [it],” so this is an instant cue that this is more than just a prophetic utterance. It comes to us right from the mouth of the Lord Himself.

No Coercion

This passage of Scripture is telling us several things that we need to closely consider.

  1. In its broadest context, Isaiah 58 is, as a whole, telling us that it is necessary to have a proper attitude and observance of the Sabbath as a condition for receiving the Lord’s blessings.
  2. Proper Sabbath observance cannot be coerced. I have heard people say that they are not in favor of a Sunday law, but may be favorable to a Sabbath law! Would you be in favor of a Sabbath law? No, no! We cannot coerce Sabbath keeping. It is not God’s plan; it is not God’s will. He says, “Remember”; He says, “Whosoever will,” but He never coerces us into observing His Sabbath day. The text says that Sabbath observance is to be voluntary.

When this passage says, “If thou turn away thy foot,” it means that if you are walking, perhaps on a sidewalk, and see a coin laying on it, you would not want to step on top of the coin, because you would not then be able to reach down and pick it up. So you turn away your foot from stepping on it. This is what the Lord is talking about here, the fact that you are not to trample on the Sabbath day. If you turn away your foot from stepping on the Sabbath and from trampling it under your feet, a blessing is there for you.

The decision as to how we are going to treat the Sabbath rests with each one of us. Do not trample it under your feet, but do not force anyone to keep the Sabbath either. It has to be voluntary.

Own Way

  1. God’s people have been finding their own pleasure, going their own way, doing their own thing, speaking their own words on God’s holy day. They have been robbing God of what really and truly is His. They have been using it as if it were their own.

The Book of Isaiah was written in Old Testament times. You would think that the people, having lived under the economy of Israel, would have known better, because the whole economy was built around the Ten Commandments and the sacrificial system of the sanctuary. You would think that the people would have recognized this, but that was not the case.

Regardless of their culture, people are no different when it gets down below the surface. Character traits have not changed for 6,000 years. All have been sinful. All have fallen short. “There is none righteous, no, not one.” Romans 3:10. “All our righteousnesses [are] as filthy rags.” Isaiah 64:6. That is why God has given us these principles—so the re-ordering of our lives can take place, and God’s will can be done in and through us. The Sabbath is very much a part of the whole programming system, if you please; it is basically the spiritual DNA that holds us together.

A Holy Day

  1. The only type of Sabbath keeper whom God can approve and bless is one who looks upon the Sabbath as a delight, because it is “the holy of the Lord” and therefore is worthy of honor.
  2. Because it is “the holy day of the Lord” and because God asked man to keep it in a particular way, the manner of one’s Sabbath keeping reveals the nature of the relationship between himself and God. This is a principle that Jesus outlined when He said, “By their fruits ye shall know them.” Matthew 7:20. The manner of our Sabbath keeping is going to be in direct correlation to how we relate to God.

God-centered

  1. The express command not to do one’s own way, to find one’s own pleasure, or to speak one’s own words implies, in the light of this revelation, that the Sabbath is “the holy of the Lord,” and we are to keep it God’s way. We are to find pleasure in doing God’s will, and we are to find pleasure in speaking God’s words. Further, it states that if we will do this, such Sabbath keeping will make the Sabbath a delight. It will be a pleasure.

Such a degree of God-centered-ness—one that excludes all secular preoccupation on the Sabbath—is possible and pleasurable only for those whose lives on the other six days of the week are God-centered—God-centered in the middle of the secular world in which we live.

We will discover that, even though we are out in a secular world, as we are orbiting around godly things, the Sabbath will indeed be a delight to us. If we are orbiting about in a secular world with a secular mind, we will not find the Sabbath to be a delight, because we will not be looking forward to that holy time, as we should.

Saviour and Lord

  1. In these verses, God is pleading for His professed people to enter into a deep, loving, personal relationship with Him—fellowship that gladly responds to and delights in His lordship.

We often find it is easier to accept Jesus as Saviour than it is to accept Him as Lord. As we reflect upon our future, eternal life, we recognize that we need a Saviour. We know that, and we readily accept a Saviour. Most people, when asked if they want to go to heaven, will say yes. They do want to go to heaven. But when you ask whether or not they are willing to conform their lives to God’s requirements, a number of them begin to fall off on the wayside. They are not too sure if they want to change their lifestyles and bring them into harmony and conformity with God so that they can make it to heaven.

Christ is not only to be the Saviour, but He is to be the Lord. So we find in these verses that God is pleading for His professed people to enter into a deep personal relationship with Him, a fellowship that we will gladly respond to and delight in His lordship.

If the Sabbath is not the delight that God intends for it to be for us, then something needs to be overhauled. The Sabbath does not need to be overhauled as far as God is concerned. Outside of this context, the words that we read in Isaiah about the Sabbath being a delight become to us just baffling conjecture.

In other words, anyone whose life is not centered in God can never understand these verses. But if the life is centered in God, then these verses make a great deal of sense.

Creative/Redemptive

How should the Sabbath work on our behalf? Ellen White gives some insight on this: “To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ’s creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight.” The Desire of Ages, 289.

In Part VII of this series, the Sabbath in Exodus 20 and the Sabbath in Deuteronomy 5 were studied. One shows the Sabbath as a memorial for the creation, and the other shows it as a memorial for redemption. This is what she is saying in this quote.

And then, in Evangelism, 233, she wrote: “Instead of the people of God becoming less and less definitely distinguished from those who do not keep the seventh-day Sabbath, they are to make the observance of the Sabbath so prominent that the world cannot fail to recognize them as Seventh-day Adventists.” That is quite a profound statement! The Sabbath is to be such a distinguishing mark for us as Seventh-day Adventists that the world can recognize it!

What do we find today? We find that the Church wants to take down its colors more and more and become less distinguishable. For example, the churches take the fact that they are Seventh-day Adventist off their signs and change their names to “Community Fellowship” or “New Life Fellowship” or something else—anything, it seems, to get away from “Seventh-day Adventist.” Many of the Church’s schools and colleges are abandoning the name. Today, they are called, for example, Southern Adventist University or Walla Walla College or some such name. “Seventh-day” or “Seventh-day Adventist” should be in the name, because it stands as a rebuke to the world, for the apostasy in which they have participated.

Do Not be Obnoxious

We do not need to be obnoxious about how we keep the Sabbath. Some people can be obnoxious as far as what they believe, and I have known some Seventh-day Advent-ists who are obnoxious about the fact that they are Seventh-day Adventists. We do not need to do that, but we do not need to soft pedal it either. What we need to do is to be tactful; we need to be helpful in every way that we can.

One of the things that encouraged me to become a Seventh-day Adventist was a neighbor who witnessed to me. He had a philosophy that, at the time, worked very well, although I do not know that I could particularly endorse it now. I did not have a tractor, so he said, “I do not use my tractor on Saturday; you may use it then.” So I did! That act of kindness helped more to win me to listen to what he had to say than if I had asked him for the use of his tractor and he had said, “Do you not know that I am a Seventh-day Adventist? My tractor is supposed to rest on the seventh day.” The idea is that we need to be kind and tactful and not obnoxious, because that is going to help us more in our witness as we draw near the end of time. We should be kind and possess the fruits of the Spirit.

Honorable

The Bible says that the Sabbath is to be honorable. We are to recognize it as the Lord’s Day. We should look forward to it during the week. Not just on Friday, but all week, beginning on Sunday, are we to plan for the Sabbath. We need to start getting things in order during our six days of work so that everything is in readiness for the Sabbath. There is probably nothing that is more harmful regarding Sabbath observance than to come down to the last 30 minutes before the sun sets and then decide that we must get everything squared away so that the work will all be done before the Sabbath begins.

We are not to be doing our own ways, or speaking our own words, or thinking our own thoughts, but, rather, we are to be seeking the ways of the Lord. We are to be thinking His thoughts and speaking His words.

Practical Application

The question that we need to ask ourselves then is, How do I observe the Sabbath in a workable, practical way? The messenger of the Lord gives, in one sentence, a fairly inclu-sive outline as far as being able to accomplish the instruction given in Isaiah 58. She says, “Devote those sacred hours to healthful rest, to worship, and to holy deeds.” The Desire of Ages, 207.

I want to point out to you what this quote does not say. It does not say, “Devote those sacred hours to healthful rest, [or] to worship, [or] to holy deeds.”

The ideal that is being presented here is that the Sabbath is to be divided into these three categories. Each Sabbath’s observance should have some aspect of these three things included—rest, worship, and some kind of good deed for somebody.

Misapplication

This has taken some turns lately. Some think that good deeds comprise community service—painting people’s houses and cleaning up their yards. That is not the kind of good deeds spoken about here. What is meant is doing something that can be of an encouragement and a help to someone, such as Bible studies, visitation, hospital visitation, or singing bands. These types of things are holy deeds.

We need to have the balance of these three activities. The Sabbath is not the delight that it is intended to be if these things are out of balance.

Discipline

There has to be some planning put into the Sabbath. One of the things we need to understand is that Sabbath observance calls for discipline on our part. Sabbath observance does not just happen. Sabbath observance has to be planned, as God has told us time and time again.

“We should in no case allow burdens and business transactions to divert our minds upon the Sabbath of the Lord, which He has sanctified. We should not allow our minds to dwell upon things of a worldly character even.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 583.

In other words, if the Sabbath is to be the delight God wants it to be for us, we must have our minds centered upon Him and off secular things. We cannot allow our minds to run undisciplined. It is not unusual for people sitting in the congregation to hear the words of the service, but not understand what is being said, because their minds are trailing off on something else. When this happens, and it can happen to any one of us, we must discipline our minds and bring them back on track. The devil knows that the message is something we need to hear, and if we do not exercise discipline, he can distract our minds so we will miss it. Many times— through a baby crying, a disruption, or a daydreaming thought—our minds can be drawn away from where they should be, so we must discipline our minds to keep them focused on Sabbath subjects.

Mrs. White wrote that, “God requires . . . [on] the Sabbath, . . . that the mind be disciplined to dwell upon sacred themes.” Child Guidance, 529. How many of us, and I include myself, discipline our minds to dwell on sacred themes during the Sabbath hours? If we can discipline our minds to dwell upon sacred themes, this then becomes a defense against those temptations that the devil brings to us to try to distract us.

To be continued . . .

A retired minister of the gospel, Pastor Mike Baugher may be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.