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Lessons From the Flowers

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“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, [will He] not much more [clothe] you, O you of little faith?” Matthew 6:28–30.

In this passage, Jesus talks about the lilies of the field, and how much more He cares for us. So, what are some lessons that we can learn from the flowers?

Quiet Graces

“Many are the ways in which God is seeking to make Himself known to us and bring us into communion with Him. Nature speaks to our senses without ceasing. The open heart will be impressed with the love and glory of God as revealed through the works of His hands. The listening ear can hear and understand the communications of God through the things of nature. The green fields, the lofty trees, the buds and flowers, the passing cloud, the falling rain, the babbling brook, the glories of the heavens, speak to our hearts, and invite us to become acquainted with Him who made them all.” Steps to Christ, 85.

“God would have His children appreciate His works and delight in the simple, quiet beauty with which He has adorned our earthly home. He is a lover of the beautiful, and above all that is outwardly attractive He loves beauty of character; He would have us cultivate purity and simplicity, the quiet graces of the flowers.” Ibid.

We are to cultivate, to copy, the quiet graces of the flowers. What are these quiet graces? First is purity, which means, “free from defilement or sin.” Second is simplicity, which means, “free from pretense or guile [not fake Christians], simple, and uncomplicated.”

Disregard the Thorns

Another lesson we may learn is to not look at the thorns on the flowers but rather at the beauty of the flowers. “Many, walking along the path of life, dwell upon their mistakes and failures and disappointments, and their hearts are filled with grief and discouragement. While I [Ellen White] was in Europe, a sister who had been doing this, and who was in deep distress, wrote to me, asking for some word of encouragement. The night after I had read her letter I dreamed that I was in a garden, and one who seemed to be the owner of the garden was conducting me through its paths. I was gathering the flowers and enjoying their fragrance, when this sister, who had been walking by my side, called my attention to some unsightly briers that were impeding her way. There she was mourning and grieving. She was not walking in the pathway, following the guide, but was walking among the briers and thorns. ‘Oh,’ she mourned, ‘is it not a pity that this beautiful garden is spoiled with thorns?’ Then the guide said, ‘Let the thorns alone, for they will only wound you. Gather the roses, the lilies, and the pinks.’

“Have there not been some bright spots in your experience? Have you not had some precious seasons when your heart throbbed with joy in response to the Spirit of God? When you look back into the chapters of your life experience do you not find some pleasant pages? Are not God’s promises, like the fragrant flowers, growing beside your path on every hand? Will you not let their beauty and sweetness fill your heart with joy?

“The briers and thorns will only wound and grieve you; and if you gather only these things, and present them to others, are you not, besides slighting the goodness of God yourself, preventing those around you from walking in the path of life?

“It is not wise to gather together all the unpleasant recollections of a past life,—its iniquities and disappointments,—to talk over them and mourn over them until we are overwhelmed with discouragement. A discouraged soul is filled with darkness, shutting out the light of God from his own soul and casting a shadow upon the pathway of others.

“Thank God for the bright pictures which He has presented to us. Let us group together the blessed assurances of His love, that we may look upon them continually: The Son of God leaving His Father’s throne, clothing His divinity with humanity, that He might rescue man from the power of Satan; His triumph in our behalf, opening heaven to men, revealing to human vision the presence chamber where the Deity unveils His glory; the fallen race uplifted from the pit of ruin into which sin had plunged it, and brought again into connection with the infinite God, and having endured the divine test through faith in our Redeemer, clothed in the righteousness of Christ, and exalted to His throne—these are the pictures which God would have us contemplate.” Steps to Christ, 116–118.

“We may come to the divine Helper, who is able to succor those who are in the midst of temptation and evil. The loving-kindness of God is not all reserved for the future, eternal reward, but it is abundant for the present needs of his people. All the changes of life, all the hard places in the way to heaven, will be blessed by the grace that is sufficient for every trial. We have assuring promises of protection and help. The everlasting arms will be beneath us to encourage, sustain, and uphold. Poverty or wealth, sickness or health, simplicity or wisdom,—all are provided for in the promises of his grace. There is light for the intellect, love for the heart, and vigor for every faculty. If we will not lay hold on the blessings God has provided for us, if we will only grasp hold of the thorns and the thistles, to wound and bruise ourselves, we have no right to complain of God’s dealing with us.” Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, April 1, 1889.

Lessons about God

In giving us flowers and other beautiful things in nature, God desires us to learn lessons about Him. “Why did not our heavenly Father carpet the earth with brown or gray? He chose the color that was most restful, the most acceptable to the senses. How it cheers the heart and refreshes the weary spirit to look upon the earth, clad in its garments of living green! . . . Every spire of grass, every opening bud and blooming flower, is a token of God’s love, and should teach us a lesson of faith and trust in Him.” The Faith I Live By, 25.

“The God of heaven is constantly at work. It is by His power that vegetation is caused to flourish, that every leaf appears and every flower blooms. Every drop of rain or flake of snow, every spire of grass, every leaf and flower and shrub, testifies of God. These little things so common around us teach the lesson that nothing is beneath the notice of the infinite God, nothing is too small for His attention.” Ibid., 28.

“All who have chosen God’s service are to rest in His care. Christ pointed to the birds flying in the heavens, to the flowers of the field, and bade His hearers consider these objects of God’s creation. ‘Are not ye of much more value than they?’ He said. Matthew 6:26, R.V. The measure of divine attention bestowed on any object is proportionate to its rank in the scale of being. The little brown sparrow is watched over by Providence. The flowers of the field, the grass that carpets the earth, share the notice and care of our heavenly Father. The great Master Artist has taken thought for the lilies, making them so beautiful that they outshine the glory of Solomon. How much more does He care for man, who is the image and glory of God. He longs to see His children reveal a character after His similitude. As the sunbeam imparts to the flowers their varied and delicate tints, so does God impart to the soul the beauty of His own character.

“All who choose Christ’s kingdom of love and righteousness and peace, making its interest paramount to all other, are linked to the world above, and every blessing needed for this life is theirs. In the book of God’s providence, the volume of life, we are each given a page. That page contains every particular of our history; even the hairs of the head are numbered. God’s children are never absent from His mind.” The Desire of Ages, 313.

Beauty of Character

God wants to impart beauty of character to us as He imparts beauty to the flowers. He has spent time and effort to make the flowers beautiful. How much more time does He want to spend with us to make us beautiful? How much more does He care for us?

“God is love. Whoso dwelleth in God, dwelleth in love. All who have indeed become acquainted . . . with the love and tender compassion of our heavenly Father will impart light and joy wherever they may be. Their presence and influence will be to their associates as the fragrance of sweet flowers, because they are linked to God and heaven, and the purity and exalted loveliness of heaven are communicated through them to all that are brought within their influence.” The Faith I Live By, 235.

“Oh, what rays of softness and beauty shone forth in the daily life of our Saviour! What sweetness flowed from His very presence! The same spirit will be revealed in His children. Those with whom Christ dwells will be surrounded with a divine atmosphere. Their white robes of purity will be fragrant with perfume from the garden of the Lord. Their faces will reflect light from His, brightening the path for stumbling and weary feet.” Ibid., 267.

“The grace of Christ in the soul is developing traits of character that are the opposite of selfishness—traits that will refine, ennoble, and enrich the life. Acts of kindness performed in secret will bind hearts together, and will draw them closer to the heart of Him from whom every generous impulse springs. The little attentions, the small acts of love and self-sacrifice, that flow out from the life as quietly as the fragrance from a flower—these constitute no small share of the blessings and happiness of life. And it will be found at last that the denial of self for the good and happiness of others, however humble and uncommended here, is recognized in heaven as a token of our union with Him, the King of glory, who was rich, yet for our sake became poor.

“The deeds of kindness may have been done in secret, but the result upon the character of the doer cannot be hidden. If we work with whole-hearted interest as a follower of Christ, the heart will be in close sympathy with God, and the Spirit of God, moving upon our spirit, will call forth the sacred harmonies of the soul in answer to the divine touch.” God’s Amazing Grace, 337.

“All who have indeed become acquainted, by experimental knowledge, with the love and tender compassion of our Heavenly Father will impart light and joy wherever they may be. Their presence and influence will be to their associates as the fragrance of sweet flowers, because they are linked to God and heaven, and the purity and exalted loveliness of heaven are communicated through them to all that are brought within their influence. This constitutes them the light of the world, the salt of the earth. They are indeed savors of life unto life, but not of death unto death.” Messages to Young People, 363, 364.

Be Fragrant

Another lesson that we learn from flowers is that the Christian’s life is to be as a fragrance to all those around them. The Christian should be pleasant to be around, not odious.

“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.” 11 Corinthians 2:14, 15.

What is the fragrance that a Christian is supposed to possess?

“The glory, the fullness, the completeness of the gospel plan is fulfilled in the life. The acceptance of the Saviour brings a glow of perfect peace, perfect love, perfect assurance. The beauty and fragrance of the character of Christ revealed in the life testifies that God has indeed sent His Son into the world to be its Saviour.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 419.

“It is the fragrance of our love for our fellow men that reveals our love for God. It is patience in service that brings rest to the soul. It is through humble, diligent, faithful toil that the welfare of Israel is promoted. God upholds and strengthens the one who is willing to follow in Christ’s way.” The Acts of the Apostles, 560.

“Every soul is surrounded by an atmosphere of its own—an atmosphere, it may be, charged with the life-giving power of faith, courage, and hope, and sweet with the fragrance of love. Or it may be heavy and chill with the gloom of discontent and selfishness, or poisonous with the deadly taint of cherished sin. By the atmosphere surrounding us, every person with whom we come in contact is consciously or unconsciously affected.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 339.

“Love, courtesy, self-sacrifice—these are never lost. When God’s chosen ones are changed from mortality to immortality, their words and deeds of goodness will be made manifest, and will be preserved through the eternal ages. . . . Through the merits of Christ’s imputed righteousness, the fragrance of such words and deeds is forever preserved.” The Faith I Live By, 239.

“Those who are sons of God will represent Christ in character. Their works will be perfumed by the infinite tenderness, compassion, love, and purity of the Son of God. And the more completely mind and body are yielded to the Holy Spirit, the greater will be the fragrance of our offering to Him.” God’s Amazing Grace, 245.

“How many years have we been in the Lord’s garden? And what profit have we brought to the Master? How are we meeting the inspecting eye of God? Are we increasing in reverence, love, humility, confidence in God? Do we cherish gratitude for all his mercies? Are we seeking to bless those around us? Do we manifest the spirit of Jesus in our families? Are we teaching his word to our children, and making known to them the wonderful works of God? The Christian must represent Jesus by both being good and doing good. Then there will be a fragrance about the life, a loveliness of character, which will reveal the fact that he is a child of God, an heir of heaven.” Ye Shall Receive Power, 353.

“When the love of Christ is enshrined in the heart, like sweet fragrance it cannot be hidden. The holy influence it reflects through the character will be manifest to all. Christ will be formed within, ‘the hope of glory.’ [Colossians 1:27]” In Heavenly Places, 244.

“To love as Christ loved means to manifest unselfishness at all times and in all places, by kind words and pleasant looks. These cost those who give them nothing, but they leave behind a fragrance that surrounds the soul. The effect can never be estimated. Not only are they a blessing to the receiver, but to the giver; for they react upon him. Genuine love is a precious attribute of heavenly origin, which increases in fragrance in proportion as it is dispensed to others.

“Christ’s love is deep and earnest, flowing like an irrepressible stream to all who will accept it. There is no selfishness in His love. If this heaven-born love is an abiding principle in the heart, it will make itself known, not only to those we hold most dear in sacred relationship, but to all with whom we come in contact. It will lead us to bestow little acts of attention, to make concessions, to perform deeds of kindness, to speak tender, true, encouraging words. It will lead us to sympathize with those whose hearts hunger for sympathy.” Letters to Young Lovers, 16, 17.

“If we are following Christ, His merits, imputed to us, come up before the Father as sweet odor. And the graces of our Saviour’s character, implanted in our hearts, will shed around us a precious fragrance.” God’s Amazing Grace, 77.

“Pure, sanctified love, such love as was expressed in Christ’s lifework, is as a sacred perfume. Like Mary’s broken box of ointment, it fills the whole house with fragrance. Eloquence, knowledge of truth, rare talents, mingled with love, are all precious endowments. . . . Love for God and for those for whom Christ has died will do a work that we can scarcely comprehend.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 84.

“The true, honest expression of a sister, or brother, or friend, given in genuine simplicity, has power to open the door of hearts which need the fragrance of Christlike words and the simple, delicate touch of the spirit of Christ’s love.” My Life Today, 178.

“We must be Christlike. Let us strive to make our lives what Christ designs them to be, full of the fragrance of love to God and our fellow men, full of Christ’s own divine Spirit, full of holy aspirations toward God, rich in the beauty of Christlikeness.” Our High Calling, 274.

The Lessons

In summary, what are some of the lessons that we can learn from the flowers? First, we need to acquire the quiet graces of purity and simplicity from the flowers. Next, as the flowers look beautiful to the eye, God wants His followers to possess beauty of character. Third, God has spent time and thought to make the beautiful flowers; how much more does He care for us who are created in His image. Next, we want to keep in mind the pleasant experiences where God has helped us. Lastly, flowers produce fragrance. So the Christian’s life should be as a fragrance to all with whom he or she associates.

The things that constitute the fragrance in the life of a Christian are:

  1. love to God and man;
  2. Christlike words;
  3. deeds of mercy;
  4. little attentions;
  5. small acts of love;
  6. self-sacrifice;
  7. acts of kindness;
  8. courtesy;
  9. graces of our Saviour’s character;
  10. unselfishness at all times and in all places, by kind words and pleasant looks; and
  11. loveliness of character.

Unlike the fading flowers in this world, we can have a fragrance with us that will last throughout eternity. “Love, courtesy, self-sacrifice—these are never lost. When God’s chosen ones are changed from mortality to immortality, their words and deeds of goodness will be made manifest, and will be preserved through the eternal ages. . . . Through the merits of Christ’s imputed righteousness, the fragrance of such words and deeds is forever preserved.” The Faith I Live By, 239.

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

What Everybody Needs and Nobody Has, Part II

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The New Testament does not teach a religion where you just sit back and say, “Lord, please save me; I am just going to trust You to do it,” and then you do not do anything. That is New Theology, but that is not New Testament religion.

New Testament religion is when you see that you have a besetting sin and you go to the Lord and say, “Lord, I have this problem in my life. I know I cannot overcome it by myself, but Lord, You have promised that You are going to work in me what is according to Your good pleasure.”

If we are not willing to maintain a stern conflict against our besetting sins, then we will not overcome. That is what Paul is talking about in Philippians 3, when he says, “Forgetting those things that are behind—all those sins I have committed—I cannot change that, but I am stretching forth to what is in front of me; I am pressing toward the mark of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Ellen White wrote, “Their [God’s professed people] constant stumbling and falling reveal that they have not maintained a stern conflict with their besetting sins. They have not depended wholly upon Christ, because they have not realized that they are in peril of being overcome by these sins. It is the sin which appears small and unworthy of our notice against which we should be on our guard. If we could understand how deeply we injure our own souls and cause unhappiness to those around us by giving loose rein to unsanctified thoughts and unholy actions, we would strive to put them away. We would co-operate with God in working out our own salvation.” The Signs of the Times, December 13, 1899. That is so true! It is the little sin that you do not think amounts to anything, but if you do not overcome it, it will lead to a bigger one and a bigger one and a bigger one.

Powerful Mediator

Hebrews 7:25 is a wonderful text. It is a text that will encourage you if you have been discouraged: “Whence also He is able to save perfectly those who come to God through Him, since He always lives
to make intercession on their behalf.”

We have, in the courts in heaven, an all-powerful Mediator. Do not for a moment think that you are such a great sinner that Christ cannot save you. That is not true. There is not a single person who can say that, for if you are willing to be saved, He will save you. You cannot dictate to Him how you are going to be saved, just as you cannot go to a physician and say, “I only want you to treat me the way I want to be treated.” The physician has to decide what he needs to do to try to help you get better, and then you have to decide whether or not you are willing to accept the treatment. Jesus is called the Great Physician because He is a physician Who can heal you from the sting of sin which will cause you to die eternally. But, He can only save you if you are willing to accept the cure that He offers.

“The religious services, the prayers, the praise, the penitent confession of sin ascend from true believers as incense to the heavenly sanctuary, but passing through the corrupt channels of humanity, they are so defiled that unless purified by blood, they can never be of value with God. They ascend not in spot-less purity, and unless the Intercessor, who is at God’s right hand, presents and purifies all by His righteousness, it is not acceptable to God. All incense from earthly tabernacles must be moist with the cleansing drops of the blood of Christ. He holds before the Father the censer of His own merits, in which there is no taint of earthly corruption. He gathers into this censer the prayers, the praise, and the confessions of His people, and with these He puts His own spotless righteousness. Then, perfumed with the merits of Christ’s propitiation, the incense comes up before God wholly and entirely acceptable. Then gracious answers are returned.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 344.

One of the biggest problems we have as human beings is that we do not realize how defiled we are. It is when a person starts to think that he or she is a terrible sinner and that there is no way to be saved that there is hope. It is then that he or she is ready to say, “Yes, Lord, whatever it takes. I will commit my case to You. I know I am never going to make it on my own.” That is when there is hope.

Do you see that our prayers, our worship, our service are all defiled? They are all worthless unless Christ adds His righteousness to them. We cannot generate it; we can only receive it. Once we start to get an understanding of this subject, then we begin to realize how salvation is absolutely hopeless any other way but this. There is not any other way. That is why Peter said, “There is not any other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12.

There is not any other way to be saved because He is the only One who is righteous, and He is the only One who can give us righteousness, because we of ourselves do not have any.

It is an awful fact that, when we are studying things that should be simple, preachers and theologians for some reason use language that is difficult to understand. People then have trouble figuring out what is meant! So, I have been wondering how to present this subject and state it so simply that it is easily understood. I recognize that this is a major subject and that it encompasses more than can be presented in a brief article, yet we need to be practical Christians. We need to be able to relate this topic to our everyday lives and understand how we are to have this experience.

Last month, in Part I of this article, I stated that we must have righteousness to have eternal life, but you and I do not have any! “All our righteousness is like a defiled garment.” Isaiah 64:5.

Just Such Simplicity

To help in our understanding, I would like to relate a very short story that occurred in 1843. Ellen White knew these people, and she wrote about their experience. By the way, if you are married and are having trouble in your marriage, read this story carefully. The example it holds may help you!

“I remember in 1843 a man and his wife . . . who expected the Lord to come in 1844, and they were waiting and watching. And every day they would pray to God; before they would bid each other goodnight, they would say, ‘It may be the Lord will come when we are asleep, and we want to be ready.’ The husband would ask his wife if he had said a word during the day that she had thought was not in accordance with the truth and the faith which they professed, and then she would ask him the same question. Then they would bow before the Lord and ask Him if they had sinned in thought or word or action, and if so that He would forgive that transgression. Now we want just such simplicity as this.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 193.

What would happen in our families if we, before going to bed at night, quizzed each other and asked, “Did I say anything to you today that is not Christlike?” It is not for us to decide the answer to that question. The ones who heard us are qualified to answer it. We have to take counsel, if they say something like, “Well, it seemed to me that when you said such and such, that was a little short.” “Now we want just such simplicity as this.”

How to Get It

Continuing our study about the righteousness of Christ and how we can get it, read John 1:29. “The next day he [John the Baptist] sees Jesus coming to him, and he says, ‘Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’ ”

How did He bear the sin of the world? How did He take it away? Another text will help us to see the thrust of the message. “For the One who did not know sin He made to become sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 11 Corinthians 5:21.

How did Jesus take away the sin of the world? When He went to the cross of Calvary, the God of heaven knew all the sin that would be committed from the beginning of the world to the end of time, and all of that was placed on Jesus Christ. He did not have any sin of His own, but the One who did not know any sin He made to be sin for us, on our behalf, so we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. (11 Corinthians 5:21.)

When we confess our sins to Him, He takes away our sins; He bears them away from us, and then He gives to us His perfect righteousness. What is perfect righteousness like? You may read about it in Hebrews 10 and in Psalm 40. The fuller description is given in Psalm 40, which contains a prophecy of Jesus Christ and describes the righteousness of Christ. Verse 8 says, “I delight to do Your will, O my God. Yes, Your law is in my heart.” This is the kind of righteousness that Jesus had. He delighted to do God’s will, and God’s Law was in His heart.

When He gives His righteousness to you, then you begin to enjoy and want to do God’s will, and His law begins to be written in your heart. This writing of the law in the heart is not something that happens in an instant; it is a process that happens over a period of time.

Theologians have all kinds of terms for this, but I am not going to confuse you with all of their theological terms. I find that even preachers get confused with the theological terms! So I will just stay away from theology and try to explain it simply.

When you confess your sins and exercise faith in Jesus, you realize that you do not have any righteousness. You know you cannot go to heaven without it, but you do not have any and you cannot make any. But Jesus has said, “I will give you mine. I will take your sins, and I will give you My righteousness.”

Holy Spirit’s Work

Then the Holy Spirit starts writing on the heart the principles of God’s Law. As that happens, you look at your sinful life, and you say, “Lord, I cannot live like this anymore. I cannot think like this anymore. I cannot feel like this anymore. I cannot talk like this anymore. Lord, I . . .”

That is always what happens when a person receives Jesus and begins to see His righteousness. The person sees the way he or she really is, but the Lord says, “I can save you.”

The sinner says, “How can you save somebody that is as bad as I am?”

The Saviour says, “I can save you perfectly. Anybody who comes to God through Me, I can save perfectly. My Holy Spirit is going to start writing God’s Law in your heart. You are going to learn to love to do God’s will.” (Hebrews 7:25; see Jeremiah 31:33.)

You will not do God’s will because you think you have to or because you think you are going to go to hell if you do not. No, that is not the Christian religion. When the Holy Spirit begins to write God’s Law in your heart, you want to do what is right. Actually, the more you think about it, is that not the kind of religion you want? Do you want a religion where you do not have a desire to do what is right; you just do right so you will not go to hell? Is that the kind of religion you want?

Struggle of This World

In this world, we have to struggle, because, in our flesh, we have a sinful nature, so we have to fight the sinful nature. The Bible talks a lot about that. It talks about fighting the fight of faith.

Paul talks about keeping his body under, about not doing what comes naturally. (1 Corinthians 9:27.) Doing what comes naturally is what the heathen do; that is what the unconverted do. You cannot do what you wish; you have this sinful nature and that has to be put to death.

In heaven, when you no longer have a sinful nature, you will never have to struggle with yourself. You will no longer have to fight. What a wonderful life to which to look forward! Every time you are struggling to overcome a besetting sin, just remember, the time is coming when the struggles, the fight, will be over! You will not have a sinful nature with which to contend anymore. In heaven, you will not have to contend with the devil or the flesh or the world. That will all be in the past. If it is going to be in the past for you someday, you have to receive the righteousness of Christ in this life.

Righteousness is . . .

“Righteousness of Christ imputed to men means holiness, uprightness, purity. Unless Christ’s righteousness was imputed to us we could not have acceptable repentance. The righteousness dwelling in us by faith consists of love, forbearance, meekness, and all the Christian virtues. Here the righteousness of Christ is laid hold of and becomes a part of our being. All who have this righteousness will work the works of God. . . .” Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce, 134. [Emphasis added.]

If you have the righteousness of Christ inside, you have love in your heart.

Righteousness is forbearance. Do you know what forbearance is? It is refraining from the enforcement of something that is due. For example, as a child, if a friend hit you but you refrained from returning the blow, you were practicing forbearance.

Righteousness is meekness; that is gentleness or humility.

Righteousness is “all the Christian virtues.” To know what all the Christian virtues are, study Romans 12, Galatians 5, and 11 Peter 1.

Fear and Trembling

At the beginning of Part I of this article, I stated some introductory facts about righteousness, which included the fact that you cannot be saved without it. Then we learned that we do not have any nor can we generate any, and the only way that we are going to get any is from Jesus, because He has enough for all of us, if we commit our lives to Him and choose to cooperate with Him.

Paul said that we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12.) In other words, we are to struggle and fight against the sinful nature, against the besetting sins. Then he said, “God will work in you to will and to do His good pleasure.” Verse 13.

Do you want God to work in your life, to work out His good pleasure? Oh, friend, God has something for us that is so much better than anything we can think of ourselves. As Paul said to the Philippians, “God is going to work in you that which is His good pleasure.”

[Bible texts quoted are literal translation.]

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

The Pen of Inspiration – “Thou Shalt Love Thy Neighbor”

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“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.”

The law of God condemns all selfishness, and is at variance with all evil-thinking and evil-speaking. It enjoins upon men and women that kindness, gentleness, and forbearance, that tender guarding of the interest of others, which was revealed in the life of our Saviour. He who takes this law as his standard must carefully heed the words of Christ, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” By unselfishness of heart and character, by a sincere love for our fellow-men, we may show that we are striving to honor our Maker; but if, finding the last six precepts of the law hard to keep, we transgress them by failing to manifest love for one another, by a lack of kind words and actions, we can not, with any truth, claim to be rendering acceptable service to God.

He who earnestly desires to fulfil the will of God must daily look into the law of God, the great moral looking-glass, that he may see himself as God sees him. But too often Christians neglect to do this. The mirror is not looked into as constantly as it should be, and our defects of character pass unnoticed. The command, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,” is disregarded; we fail to respect the rights of our fellow-men. Self, highly estimated, calls for recognition, and we listen to its voice, walking far apart from those we should help, not regarding their wants and woes.

Many apologize for their spiritual weakness, for their outbursts of passion, for the lack of love they show their brethren. They feel a sense of estrangement from God, a realization of their bondage to self and sin; but their desire to do God’s will is based upon their own inclination, not upon the deep, inward conviction of the Holy Spirit. They believe that the law of God is binding; but they do not, with the eager interest of judgment-bound souls, compare their actions with that law. They admit that God should be worshiped and loved supremely, but God is not in all their thoughts. They believe that the precepts which enjoin love to man, should be observed; but they treat their fellow-men with cold indifference, and sometimes with injustice. Thus they walk away from the path of willing obedience. They do not carry the work of repentance far enough. The sense of their wrong should lead them to seek God most earnestly for power to reveal Christ by kindness and forbearance.

Many spasmodic efforts to reform are made, but those who make these efforts do not crucify self. They do not give themselves entirely into the hands of Christ, seeking for divine power to do his will. They are not willing to be molded after the divine similitude. In a general way they acknowledge their imperfections, but the particular sins are not given up. “We have done the things we ought not to have done,” they say, “and have left undone the things we ought to have done.” But their acts of selfishness, so offensive to God, are not seen in the light of his law. Full contrition is not expressed for the victories that self has gained.

The enemy is willing that these spasmodic efforts should be made; for those who make them engage in no decided warfare against evil. A soothing plaster, as it were, is placed over their minds, and in self-sufficiency they make a fresh start to do the will of God.

But a general conviction of sin is not reformative. We may have a vague, disagreeable sense of imperfection, but this will avail us nothing unless we make a decided effort to obtain the victory over sin. If we wish to cooperate with Christ, to overcome as he overcame, we must, in his strength, make the most determined resistance against self and selfishness.

Genuine reforms of character are not common. This is an obstacle in the way of spiritual advancement. What work shall be instituted to purify and cleanse self of its moral defilement? What shall be done to awaken those who confess their wrong, and yet never forsake their own way? A man who has professed Christ sees his old selfish nature rising, and gaining strength with each wrong action. His besetting sins bind him with fetters of iron, and he sees himself under the condemnation of the law. What shall he do? Whatever his calling or profession, whatever his rank or station in life, that man must realize in himself the truth of the words spoken to Nicodemus: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye must be born again.” “Except a man be born again, he can not see the kingdom of God.”

There are many, too many, who claim to be servants of God, but who have no experimental knowledge of him. Their acknowledgement of Christ is misleading, because they have not faith to believe that he will give them power to overcome their sins. They do not receive him as their personal Saviour, and their characters reveal hereditary and cultivated defects. Their conduct is not brought into harmony with the law of God, but is influenced by their own inclinations. Selfishness binds them hand and foot. God looks with sorrow upon their bondage. If they would submit to his guidance, the light of his holy Word would flash upon their minds through the Holy Spirit’s power, convicting them of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment,–of sin, especially because they have claimed to do God’s will, and yet have neglected it. If they receive Christ as their personal Saviour, their sins will be forgiven; for God’s Word declares, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Of Christ it is written, “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”

A theory of truth may be taught and accepted, but this is of no avail to save unless the divine power of God is revealed in the life by unselfish actions and kindly words. Are you converted? Is Christ revealed in your daily life? No theory of truth will save you; no partial confessions will avail. With your whole heart you must serve God.

“Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love,” writes Paul, “in honor preferring one another.” “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ be in you, except ye be reprobate.” “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” “If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”

If men and women will critically examine their conduct, measuring it by the law of Jehovah, they will be enabled to see that sin is not limited to those things which the world condemns, but that selfishness and oppression, even in the smallest degree, are sins against God. They will see that by yielding to their inclinations, and refraining from obedience, they are depriving themselves of the richest blessings God can give.

“A new commandment I give unto you,” said Christ, “that ye love one another. As I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” He who fulfils his duty to his neighbor must of necessity love God supremely; but he who has little love for those who are in darkness, who are in great need of the revelation of the love of Jesus, is marked in the courts of heaven as a defaulter. He is weighed in the balances, and found wanting.

Love to God must be brought into our daily life. Then, and then only, can we show true love for our fellow-men. When this is done, when Christ is enthroned in our hearts, we manifest by our daily life, by our conversation, by our unselfish interest in one another, by our deep love for souls, that we are doers of the Word of God. The reality of our conversation is marked by a deep earnest piety, which purifies the soul, and works unceasingly for the good of others.

“Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God.” “Love worketh no ill to his neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” “The end of all things is at hand; be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. And above all things, have fervent charity among yourselves; for charity shall cover a multitude of sins.” [1 John 4:7; Romans 13:10; 1 Peter 4:7, 8.]

The Signs of the Times, March 11, 1897.

Editorial – Our Great Need

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We should know what we must do to be saved. We should not, my brethren and sisters, float along with the popular current. Our present work is to come out from the world and be separate. This is the only way we can walk with God, as did Enoch. Divine influences were constantly working with his human efforts. Like him, we are called upon to have a strong, living, working faith, and this is the only way we can be laborers together with God. We must meet the conditions laid down in the Word of God, or die in our sins. We must know what moral changes are essential to be made in our characters, through the grace of Christ, in order to be fitted for the mansions above. I tell you in the fear of God, we are in danger of living like the Jews,–destitute of the love of God, and ignorant of his power, while the blazing light of truth is shining all around us.

The present activity of Satan in working upon hearts, and upon churches and nations, should startle every student of prophecy. The end is near. Let our churches arise. Let the converting power of God be experienced in the hearts of the individual members, and then we shall see the deep movings of the Spirit of God. The forgiveness of sins is not the sole result of the death of Jesus. He made the infinite sacrifice, not only that sin might be removed, but that human nature might be restored, rebeautified, reconstructed from its ruins, and made fit for the presence of God.

We should show our faith by our works. A greater anxiety should be manifested to have a large measure of the Spirit of Christ; for in this will be the strength of the church. It is Satan who is striving to have God’s children draw apart. Love, O, how little love we have–love for God and for one another! The Word and Spirit of truth, dwelling in our hearts, will separate us from the world. The immutable principles of truth and love will bind heart to heart, and the strength of the union will be according to the measure of grace and truth enjoyed. Well would it be for us each to hold up the mirror, God’s royal law, and see in it the reflection of his own character. Let us be careful not to neglect the danger signals, and the warnings given in his Word. Unless heed is given to these warnings, and defects of character are overcome, these defects will overcome those who possess them, and they will fall into error, apostasy, and open sin. The mind that is not elevated to the highest standard, will in time lose its power to retain that which it had once gained. “Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.” “Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”

God has selected a people in these last days, whom he has made the depositaries of his law; and this people will ever have disagreeable tasks to perform. “I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil; and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars; and hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast labored, and hast not fainted.” It will require much diligence and a continual struggle to keep evil out of our churches. There must be rigid, impartial discipline exercised; for some who have a semblance of religion, will seek to undermine the faith of others, and will privily work to exalt themselves.

The Lord Jesus, on the Mount of Olives, plainly stated that “because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” He speaks of a class who have fallen from a high state of spirituality. Let such utterances as these come home with solemn, searching power to our hearts. Pamphlet 157.

Life Sketches – Love – The Best Gift

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Everyone enjoys receiving a free gift and the Bible says that God is the source of every good gift. However, God gives to some people more valuable gifts than to others because those people, desire, value, and appreciate more valuable gifts that He has to give.

Talking to the Corinthian church concerning their former life, Paul reminded them that they were once Gentiles led by senseless idols, believing they received special power and wisdom from them. However, in worshiping idols they were not worshiping the one true God and what they thought they had received was not from Him.

He said, “I say … that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons” (1 Corinthians 10:19–21).

Paul was clear in saying the Gentiles were not really receiving any special wisdom from God. They were receiving wisdom or power from demons—evil spirits. The Bible is very clear that there are many evil spirits in our world seeking to gain control of our minds. They are all working under the one master evil spirit called the devil and Satan.

These evil spirits were formerly angels of God in heaven, but they fell through sin. (See 2 Peter 2; Revelation 12; Jude.) After the rebellion in heaven, one third of the angels who were deceived by Satan lost their first estate and were cast out into this earth. Since the creation of man they are seeking to gain control of the world and we have been warned that in the last days, these evil spirits will succeed in deceiving almost the entire world. (See Revelation 12:9; Revelation 13; Revelation 16; Revelation 18.)

The only protection available to man to avoid being deceived is to receive the Holy Spirit into your life. Paul said, “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant” (1 Corinthians 12:1). “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all” (verses 4–6).

“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all” (verse 7) if you have been baptized into Christ. Then it says that you are to receive in your life the manifestation of the Spirit and it is to result in the profit of every other Christian. The manifestation of the spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.

You and I do not get to choose what spiritual gift we will receive, for it is the Holy Spirit who decides that. “For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues [languages], to another the translation of languages” (verses 8–10, literal translation).

Notice, Paul has specified nine different gifts that the Spirit gives to different people – wisdom, knowledge, faith, healings, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, different languages, and translation of languages.

“But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills” (verse 11). The Holy Spirit decides what gift each person receives. No one is going to receive all the gifts. They are distributed as the Spirit sees fit.

Then Paul explains how this works and how there is unity in diversity. “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,’ is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,’ is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as he pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be” (verses 12–19)?

What would it be if all you had for your body were eyes and no hands, or feet, or ears, or tongue, or the other things that you need to function as a human being? Eyes are wonderful, but you need more than eyes to have a body. You need ears, and you need hands, and you need feet, and you need a mind, and you need a tongue. Without a nose you could not smell, and you need a digestive system and organs to circulate the blood around your body. Without these additional parts you would not have a body.

However, Paul said, “Now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’; nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism (division) in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it” (verses 20–26).

Referring now to the church, all members are part of the same body. We are not to look on any other Christian as somebody separate from ourselves. We are to have care and regard for every other person that is part of the body of Christ. If you get up in the night, and you stub your toe, the rest of your body doesn’t say to the toe, “Well, that’s just too bad you got hurt. It’s all right with us.” No, no! The whole body sympathizes with the toe that got hurt. It is the same way with any other part of the body. The whole body works together and every part of it is in sympathy with every other part. That is the way Paul says the church is to be. Every member is to be in sympathy with every other member.

Paul said, “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually” (verse 27). You are individual members with different offices, but all are to cooperate with each other and have sympathy for each other.

“God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues [languages]” (verse 28). Then he asks, “Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with languages [foreign languages]” (verse 29)? No, not everybody does. “Do all interpret, [that is, do all interpret foreign languages]” (verse 30)? No, not everybody does but imagine the impact when all of those gifts are available in the church in one body.

While in Ephesus, Paul found some disciples of Jesus and asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit when they believed. They answered him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit” (Acts 19:2). They informed him that they had been baptized into John’s [the Baptist] baptism. Paul then explained to them what Jesus had said to His disciples before He ascended to heaven. He said, “John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:5).

It was God’s will from that time on that every person who professed to be a Christian and was baptized would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “When they [the disciples in Ephesus] heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied” (Acts 19:5, 6).

O, friend, God wants to give gifts to His people. He wants to give gifts to everyone who has taken the name of Christ, to everyone who has chosen to be a disciple of the Christian religion. The Holy Spirit wants to give you a gift.

Paul said there is a gift that every member is to receive. Jesus made that very clear that this gift is more important, it is of greater value, than any other gift that the Holy Spirit could give to you.

Many people think that it is wonderful if they can speak in other languages, and that is truly a gift of the Holy Spirit. When the apostles at Pentecost received the Holy Spirit, they miraculously received the ability to speak in foreign languages, a gift which lasted for the rest of their life.

However, Paul says, “Though I speak with the tongues [languages] of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1). It does not matter how many languages you could speak, if you can speak in both the languages of earth and the languages of heaven, it is valueless if you have not received the love of Jesus into your heart.

Paul goes on to say, “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (verse 2).

Notice friends, the Christian religion is the most spiritual of all religions because it deals with the most inner part of one’s mind and conscience. It is not just about intellectual things but goes right to the heart of a human being. The religion of Christ says if you have all these other things, all these intellectual accomplishments, so that you can speak all the different languages, if you have the power to prophesy, and if you have faith and if you have all knowledge, but all these gifts are devoid of love in your heart, Paul says, it is not worth anything. It’s nothing.

“Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing” (verse 3). It matters not what achievements you make or what acquisitions you acquire or talents you have, even if you are filled with the Holy Spirit, if that gift of the Holy Spirit has not led you to have love in your heart, it is worthless. It profits you nothing, and you are nothing. You are like a sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

The most valuable of all gifts is so valuable that Jesus said that this would be the sign that you were a Christian. It is not so much whether you have absolutely the right doctrines, or theology, or understanding. Notice what Jesus said in John 13, verses 34 and 35: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Paul then goes through a list of 16 different things showing what love is like. If I have love in my heart, I will also have these characteristics. 1 Corinthians 13:4–8, first part:

“Love is long suffering.” It exhibits patience. It is long suffering. Everybody wants somebody to be patient with them when they make a mistake.

“Love is kind.” O, friend, it’s not enough to be the right kind of a person, unless you’re kind in what you do and how you deal with others.

 

  • Love does not envy. Be content with what you have and happy for those who may have more than you.
  • Love does not boast. It doesn’t brag about its own accomplishments.
  • Love is not conceited. It is not puffed up.
  • Love does not act in an indecent or a shameful way. It has a sense of propriety.
  • Love does not seek its own. It does not try to get its own advantage over others.
  • Love does not become irritated. This may be the hardest one of all.
  • Love does not dwell on evil. Today we are surrounded by evil. If you dwell on it, you will become like it, even if you abhor it. That of course is going to affect what we look at and what we think about.
  • Love does not rejoice in injustice. It does not rejoice in unrighteousness. This is another hard one for our generation.

“Rather it rejoices with the truth.” Do you love the truth? A person who has love in their heart will rejoice with the truth. The Bible predicts that in the last days there will be many people who will have a form of godliness who will still be lost because they never learned to love the truth. (See 2 Thessalonians 2:8–10.)

 

Love bears all things.

It believes all things.

It hopes all things.

It endures all things.

It never fails.

 

O, friend, love is the gift that God wants to give to everyone who follows Him. The gift of the Holy Spirit and the first fruit of the Holy Spirit is love.

Paul goes on to say that “Where there are prophecies, they will fail; where there are languages, they will cease; where there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part will be done away” (verses 8, last part–10, literal translation).

O, friend, have you received the most perfect of all gifts that God wants to give to everyone who chooses to follow Him? Do you have all 16 characteristics of love in your heart? Unless you have love in your heart, Paul says all the other profession of religion, all the languages, all the knowledge, all the faith, everything else you might do, is worthless unless you have love.

 

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

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

 

The Essence of Heaven, Part I

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What is heaven all about? When I was a child, the pastor of the church my family attended told me the following true story.

During World War II, he was a preacher in Europe. A Christian family he knew had a daughter who was not interested in Christianity. She was not interested in going to heaven. This preacher wanted to try to help this young lady; he wanted to arouse in her a desire to be a Christian and a desire to go to heaven. So he engaged her in conversation one day about this subject. She emphatically stated that she was not interested in Christianity, and why, if she did not want to go to heaven anyway, should she be a Christian? What was the point?

This girl told him, “I have heard about heaven. I have heard that it is a place where people float around on clouds, and they play harps.” And, she continued, “I am not interested. I do not even care for harp music! I certainly am not interested in floating around on a cloud, so I do not want to go there.” You see, she had no idea what heaven was really about.

There are many people like her. Even many Protestant Christians who go to church every week, if asked, “What is heaven? Please describe it to me,” could tell you almost nothing.

Abodes of Bliss

Many Seventh-day Adventist preachers, when talking about heaven, just tell people what it is not like. There is nothing wrong with this, because the Bible probably has more texts telling us what heaven is not like than any other thing.

For instance, it says in Isaiah, concerning that place, that no violence will be there. In Isaiah 33:24, we are told, “The inhabitants of that place will not say, ‘I am sick.’ ” Is that nice to know?

Revelation 21 gives us a number of descriptions in the first four verses. It says that in that place there is no sorrow, crying, or death. When we are in heaven, we will never attend a funeral. We will never go to a mortuary or pick out a tombstone or a casket. We will never go to a hospital; there will be no surgery there, because it is not needed.

There will be no pain in heaven. This is a great comfort to many people, such as drug addicts. Those who are trying to get off an
addictive substance experience extreme withdrawal pain. I have never been addicted to a substance like that, so I cannot explain or understand exactly how they feel, but one of their greatest pleasures is to read in the Bible that when they get to heaven, there will be no pain.

So, this is what preachers usually do. We tell people what heaven is by telling them what it is not¾there is no war; there is no crime; there are no prisons; there is no sickness. This is all good to know, but have you ever stopped to analyze the situation and think through that even if all those things were taken away, you would not necessarily be happy?

Heaven is a place described by Ellen White as having “the abodes of bliss.” (See Testimonies, vol. 8, 140.) Bliss! Do you know what bliss is? Bliss is an extreme, intense state of happiness. The angels, the intelligences in heaven, are in this bliss or this extreme, intense state of happiness all the time. The redeemed are going to be the same. Isaiah 35:10 says, “The redeemed of the Lord will come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads. They will obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”

They are going to have joy. They are going to have intense happiness. You see, that actually is the essence of what heaven is about. It is this intense happiness that everybody has all the time that makes heaven heaven.

Self-Sacrificing Love

You see, heaven actually has more to do with something that is internal in your mind than something that is external. It is not just golden streets and music, although there is beautiful music, and there are golden streets. There is also wonderful food, but that is not what heaven is.

So, here is the question: What makes heaven heaven? We can answer that in one sentence: “The spirit of Christ’s self-sacrificing love is the spirit that pervades heaven and is the very essence of its bliss.” Steps to Christ, 77.

What is the very essence of the bliss, the intense happiness that is in heaven? What is the very core of it? It is the spirit of self-sacrificing love. Somehow this is a concept that it is very difficult for people in this world to comprehend, because we have had an opposite education of which the devil has been in charge. It is throughout all the educational system, it is in all the philosophy of man, and it is in our language. Have you ever heard someone talking about “taking care of No. 1”? When they refer to “taking care of No. 1,” of whom are they speaking? Self. In the devil’s program, I am No. 1, and you are to make me happy.

There are many illustrations that would help us understand this concept, but I will share just one. About 30 years ago, a beautiful, young, married lady was driving her car, and she had neglected to put on her seat belt. Unfortunately, she was in a collision, and because she did not have her seat belt on, she was thrown forward headfirst through the windshield of the car. As she went through the shattered glass, her face was terribly lacerated. When her husband came to see her in the hospital, can you imagine what happened? This man had married that beautiful face. That beautiful face made him happy, but when that beautiful face did not exist any more, there was nothing to hold that marriage together, so he divorced her. (By the way, men are not the only ones who do things like that. I could tell you other stories where women did almost the identical same thing, but we will not go there. You get the point.)

If I am No. 1, then you are to make me happy, and when the time comes that you do not make me happy anymore, then we are going to separate. This is one of the reasons there is such a huge divorce rate today. This is the devil’s philosophy, the devil’s program that has taken over almost the entire world.

Jesus came into this world to show us that this is a wrong idea, to show us that we are to sacrifice ourselves for the good of somebody else. They are not to sacrifice themselves for our good; we are to sacrifice ourselves for their good. If we could ever get it learned, we would see the divorce rate bottom out.

Jesus’ Mission

Let us read a few Scriptures so you can see that this is exactly what the New Testament teaches that Jesus came to do.

“On behalf of all He died, in order that those living no longer might live for themselves, but on behalf of Him who died and was raised again.” 11 Corinthians 5:15. What was the purpose of Jesus’ coming and of His death on the cross? So I would no longer live for myself.

Jesus Himself talked about this in Matthew 10:34-39. Verse 39 reads, “The one who finds his soul will lose it.” Who is the one who finds his soul? That is the one, I am No. 1; I actually do get what I want! The text continues, “The one who loses his life for My sake will find it.”

What does it mean to lose your life? That means your life is sacrificed for somebody else, and if you learn that principle, Jesus says that you are going to find eternal life. If you do not learn that principle, you are not going to find eternal life.

John 12:25 says, “The one who loves his soul will lose it, and the one who hates his soul in this world will keep it unto life eter-nal.” Of what is Jesus talking? One person makes his own life  No. 1; the other person sacrifices his whole life for somebody else. The one who gains his soul and loves his soul will lose it, but the one who hates his soul and sacrifices all of his soul for somebody else will keep it. This is what Jesus taught.

Some Rain Must Fall

I have many cousins, but of all my relatives, two male cousins were much more handsome than were any of the rest of us. Both of them had very pleasing personalities and were very popular wherever they went.

One of these cousins, as a young man in the late 1950s, decided that he was going to join the Navy. He wanted to become a Navy pilot. I remember that as he was traveling from Washington State to Pensacola, Florida, he stopped to visit my family, who was living in Colorado, on a Saturday afternoon. He was going to Florida to join the Navy; then he went to flying school there, and realized his dream of becoming a Navy pilot.

While he was in Florida, he married an absolutely beautiful woman. Not only was she beautiful, but she was intelligent. She was a psychologist. After they married, he was stationed in Hawaii. He became one of the chief pilots for the DC7 that took the Rear Admiral of the United States Navy all over the world visiting bases, but especially over the South Pacific.

So, he had the job of flying the Rear Admiral of the United States Navy all over the South Pacific; his wife was a professor of psychology at the University of Hawaii; they were stationed in Honolulu; they had it made! I mean, he had the kind of job, the kind of wife, the kind of life that men all over the world dream about but almost none of them ever have high status, high income, lots of friends, lots of official functions, lots of parties. But the saying goes, “Into each life, some rain must fall.”

One time when he was stateside, he was in a dreadful automobile accident. He was injured so badly that he was unconscious when he was taken to the Intensive Care Unit. Of course, his wife came to the hospital and talked with the physicians. They told her they did not know what would happen; they did not know if he would ever come to consciousness again, and if he did, whether or not he would have his faculties or if he would be a vegetable.

This beautiful, talented, intelligent lady knew lots of psychology, but she was not prepared for a situation like this. She could not handle it, so she divorced him. After the divorce, he did regain consciousness and improved, though he never could fly an airplane again because of the injuries he received.

This is what happens in this world when we make ourselves No. 1, but Jesus said, “If you gain your life, if you gain everything, you are going to lose it. But if you lose everything, if you lose your life, if you sacrifice your life for somebody else, you are going to keep your life unto life eternal.”

As a Mosquito

The greatest example of this is Jesus Himself. The more I study the story of Jesus, the more astonished I become. I am in absolute awe. I believe, personally, that I will tiptoe and walk in awe in His presence through all eternity, because I do not understand what He left. Talk about self-sacrifice! He did have everything. He had the whole universe, and He was not forced to come down here to earth. He was not ordered to come down here. He went to His Father and pled to come down here. He left everything¾the power and the glory.

There is no way to explain it. The best illustration I have ever heard is if you were to ask someone, “Do you want to become a mosquito?” That is pretty crude, I suppose. We just do not have any way to help people to understand what we are talking about when we talk about what He left behind to come down here to earth.

Jesus Christ is the only Person born in this world who planned out every detail of His life before He was born, with His Father. Every detail of His life was planned out before He ever came! It was not an accident that He was born in a stable. It was not an accident that He was born into a poor family.
It was not an accident that He was poor all of His life. Until He went to Jerusalem to die on the cross, He was one of the poorest men in Jerusalem. All He had left were His clothes, and they took those from Him. What was this all about? It was to teach us the principle that you sacrifice yourself for somebody else. Jesus said, “If you do not learn this, you will not have eternal life.”

A Happy Place

Now, what happens if you do learn the lesson? If you go to heaven, friend, here is what will happen. In this world, everybody is looking out for No. 1 first and, then, other people after that. But, in heaven, everybody is looking out for the happiness of somebody else. They get their joy and happiness from bringing joy and happiness to somebody else. So, everybody in the whole place will be interested in making someone else happy. It is a happy place!

When you are around somebody whose greatest desire is to give anything that they have to make you happy, then you are in a position to start to learn what heaven is about.

Ellen White said, concerning Jesus, that when He was here, “It was heaven to be in His presence.”
The Ministry of Healing, 18. Have you ever tried to analyze that? What was it that made it like heaven to be in His presence? Now, the road is going to get a little bit rough as we study this, so get your seat belt on!

The only people who are going to go to heaven are the people who are like Jesus Christ. Read Revelation 14:1-5; read 11 Corinthians 3:18; read 1 John 3:1-3. Now, Jesus Christ was a person, and it was heaven to be in His presence because of the self-sacrificing love that was in His heart. Remember, the spirit of self-sacrificing love is the spirit that pervades heaven, and it is the very essence of its bliss.

Now, notice carefully where we are going. Self-sacrificing love is the spirit that pervades heaven and is the very essence of its bliss. It was like heaven to be in Jesus’ presence, because He had that self-sacrificing love, and all the people who go to heaven will be people who are Christlike. They will have the spirit of self-sacrificing love like He had. Now, if we really have the spirit of self-sacrificing love like Jesus had, what will it be like to be in our presence? If you and I have become Christlike, it is going to be like heaven to be in our presence, because we have the spirit of self-sacrificing love inside.

The road is going to get rougher yet.

A Little Heaven

If the husband has the spirit of self-sacrificing love so that he is Christlike, it is going to be like heaven to be in his presence. If the wife has the spirit of self-sacrificing love like Jesus has, it is going to be like heaven to be in her presence. If both of them have the spirit of self-sacrificing love in their hearts, what is it going to be like in their home? Why, friend, it is going to be like heaven on earth!

I am glad Ellen White was so specific on this. “We may have a little heaven to go to heaven in, if Christ breathes upon us his Holy Spirit. His love will be with us, and we shall be acquainted with him, and can bring him into our families.” Review and Herald, April 21, 1891.

At another time, Mrs. White counseled: “Parents, make your home a little heaven on earth. You can do this, if you so choose. You can make home so pleasant and cheerful that it will be the most attractive place on earth to your children. Let them receive all the blessings of the household. You can so relate yourselves to God that His Spirit will abide in your home. Come close to the bleeding side of the Man of Calvary. Those who are partakers with Him in His sufferings will at last be partakers with Him in His glory.” Sermons and Talks, vol. 2, 200.

Now the road is going to get really hard.

Consequences

What if your home is not like a little heaven to go to heaven in? Oh, friend, this is what we did not want to hear. If your home is not like that, if your home is not a little heaven to go to heaven in, at least one of the people in that home cannot go to heaven in the condition in which they are right now. Something to think about, is it not?

This spirit of self-sacrificing love cannot be forced on anybody. A husband cannot force his wife to love him; a wife cannot force her husband to love her; parents cannot force their children to love them. You cannot force it. It cannot be commanded.

Ellen White wrote, “The exercise of force is contrary to the principles of God’s government; He desires only the service of love; and love cannot be commanded; it cannot be won by force or authority. Only by love is love awakened. To know God is to love Him; His character must be manifested in contrast to the character of Satan. This work only one Being in all the universe could do. Only He who knew the height and depth of the love of God could make it known.” The Desire of Ages, 22.

Let us consider this in a very practical way for a moment. Some of you will be able to relate to this because you have children. A human baby is born to be loved, but the baby does not understand very much about love. The mother is supposed to know about love, and if the mother knows about love, the mother starts giving love to the baby. It is a wonderful thing to see. Every day, several times a day, the mother gives love to the baby. It is expressed in many different ways¾by touching, by stroking, by the expression on the face, by the tone of the voice, by giving food, by giving water, by making the baby comfortable. There is a reason that God made human babies so they require a lot of care. It is in the process of receiving that care that they learn what love is.

But the time comes when the baby starts to really respond to the mother’s love. It is very interesting to see this response. Why is the baby responding to the mother’s love? Because the baby has received so much love from the mother that now this baby has love to give back to the mother.

Now, let me ask you a serious question, albeit an awful question, but we need to face reality. What if the baby is born to a woman who is angry and bitter and does not have very much love to give? Do you know what will happen?

Let us read about it: “The reason why there are so many hard-hearted men and women in our world, is because true affection has been regarded as weakness, and has been discouraged and repressed. The better part of the nature of those of this class was perverted and dwarfed in childhood; and unless rays of divine light can melt away their coldness and hard-hearted selfishness, the happiness of such is buried forever.” Review and Herald, June 22, 1886.

How awful this is! Their happiness is buried forever, unless divine love can break through that ice.

“If we would have tender hearts, such as Jesus had when he was upon the earth, and sanctified sympathy, such as the angels have for sinful mortals, we must cultivate the sympathies of childhood, which are simplicity itself. Then we shall be refined, elevated, and directed by heavenly principles.” Ibid.

There are people all around us (I do not say this to judge anyone) especially in our time much more so than 50 years ago, who are spiritually and emotionally crippled, and they will be spiritually and emotionally crippled until Jesus comes, because of the spiritual and emotional damage that was inflicted on them from babyhood up through childhood.

I am not saying that those people cannot be saved. God can save people whether or not they are physically crippled or spiritually and emotionally crippled, but the fact remains that in this world they are spiritually and emotionally crippled.

I mention these things to hopefully be a little bit of help to those of you who are parents of small children. Do not repress or neglect
to give affection to your small children. If you do, they will grow up to be hard-hearted men and women. They will be emotionally crippled for the rest of their lives in this world.

To be continued . . .

[Bible texts quoted are literal translation.]

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

The Essence of Heaven, Part II

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Ellen White counseled: “Parents, make your home a little heaven on earth. You can do this, if you so choose. . . . You can so relate yourselves to God that His Spirit will abide in your home. Come close to the bleeding side of the Man of Calvary. Those who are partakers with Him in His sufferings will at last be partakers with Him in His glory.” Sermons and Talks, vol. 2, 200. If your home is not a little heaven to go to heaven in, at least one of the people in that home cannot go to heaven in the condition in which they are right now.

Love Not Forced

The spirit of self-sacrificing love cannot be forced on anybody. A husband cannot force his wife to love him; a wife cannot force her husband to love her; parents cannot force children to love them. You cannot force it. It cannot be commanded.

Ellen White wrote, “The exercise of force is contrary to the principles of God’s government; He desires only the service of love; and love cannot be commanded; it cannot be won by force or authority. Only by love is love awakened. To know God is to love Him; His character must be manifested in contrast to the character of Satan. This work only one Being in all the universe could do. Only He who knew the height and depth of the love of God could make it known.” The Desire of Ages, 22.

Let us consider this in a very practical way for a moment. Some of you will be able to relate to this because you have children. Now, a human baby is born to be loved, but the baby does not understand very much about love. Some of the babies you see today you would think know nothing about love. Be that as it may be, no baby knows very much about love, but the mother is supposed to know about love, and if the mother knows about love, the mother starts giving love to the baby. It is a wonderful thing to see. Every day, several times a day, the mother gives love to the baby. It is expressed in many different ways¾by touching, by stroking, by the expression on the face, by the tone of the voice, by giving food, by giving water, by making the baby comfortable. There is a reason that God made human babies so they require a lot of care. It is in the process of receiving that care that they learn what love is.

But the time comes when the baby starts to really respond to the mother’s love. It is very interesting to see this response. Why is the baby responding to the mother’s love? Because the baby has received so much love from the mother that now this baby has love to give back to the mother.

Now, let me ask you a serious question, albeit an awful question, but we need to face reality. What if the baby is born to a woman who is angry and bitter and does not have very much love to give? Do you know what will happen?

Let us read about it: “The reason why there are so many hard-hearted men and women in our world, is because true affection has been regarded as weakness, and has been discouraged and repressed. The better part of the nature of those of this class was perverted and dwarfed in childhood; and unless rays of divine light can melt away their coldness and hard-hearted selfishness, the happiness of such is buried forever.” Review and Herald, June 22, 1886.

How awful this is! Their happiness is buried forever, unless Divine love can break through that ice.

“If we would have tender hearts, such as Jesus had when he was upon the earth, and sanctified sympathy, such as the angels have for sinful mortals, we must cultivate the sympathies of childhood, which are simplicity itself. Then we shall be refined, elevated, and directed by heavenly principles.” Ibid.

There are people all around us¾I do not say this to judge anyone¾especially in our time much more so than 50 years ago who are spiritually and emotionally crippled, and they will be spiritually and emotionally crippled until Jesus comes, because of the spiritual and emotional damage that was inflicted on them from babyhood up through childhood.

I am not saying that those people cannot be saved. God can save people whether or not they are physically crippled or spiritually and emotionally crippled, but the fact remains that in this world they are spiritually and emotionally crippled.

I mention these things to hopefully be a little bit of help to those of you who are parents of small children. Do not repress or neglect to give affection to your small children. If you do, they will grow up to be hard-hearted men and women. They will be emotionally crippled for the rest of their lives in this world.

Feminist Movement

The principle of sacrificing yourself for the good of others has special meaning and implications when discussing the marriage institution. Through my studies, I understand a little bit about what has happened in society since ancient Rome.

In the world today is something that is called the Feminist Movement. Most Seventh-day Adventist preachers seem to delight in condemning and criticizing the Feminist Movement. I am not saying that it is good; I am not trying to promote it, but I think it is right to recognize that it came as a reaction to a different extreme. What was the different extreme? Men said to their wives, “I am the head of the house; you do whatever I say.”

In my studies, I was shocked to see how different society was in the time of John Wesley (1703-1791). A man and his wife came to Wesley, the wife saying that her husband had been beating her. Wesley had a lady examine her, and sure enough, she was black and blue from her neck down to her feet. The husband declared, “I was full of faith while I was doing it,” and he was excused. His actions were considered to be all right. As an outgrowth of such action, some of the Methodist Christians decided that they needed to make a rule. This just shows you how far the human mind can go astray¾they decided that a man should not beat his wife with a rod that was thicker than his thumb. What kind of society was that?

It was in reaction to this kind of thinking that the Feminist Movement arose. The Feminist Movement, of course, goes to a different extreme. This whole idea of who is the boss, who is the greatest, and all this, is something that destroys the homes and marriages. It can destroy the whole universe if it gets out of hand.

Who Is In Control?

You see, that is part of the original controversy. Who is going to be boss? Jesus addressed this problem in Matthew 20:20-23, “Then there approached Him the mother of the sons of Zebedee with her sons, worshipping and desiring a certain thing from Him. And He said to her, ‘What do you want?’ She said to Him, ‘Grant in order that these my two sons may sit one at Your right hand and one at Your left in Your kingdom.’ Jesus answering said, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink of the cup that I am about to drink of, and the baptism that I am about to be baptized with?’ They say, ‘We are able.’ And He says to them, ‘You shall indeed drink of My cup and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it shall be given to those for whom it is prepared by My Father.’ ”

At the time Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, suffering in terrible agony, if He had gone to James and John and asked them, “Are you able to drink the cup that I am drinking, and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” they would not have been so self-confident. But now, although He did not promise that He was going to give this honor to them, it still aroused trouble in the church. The apostles got very angry about it. We are told in verse 24, “And the ten, hearing, were indignant concerning the two brothers.”

Why were they angry? Because they wanted the top position too! This is the same thing that happens in the family. The husband and wife are fighting about who is going to get the final say on something.

Just Great or No. 1

Matthew 20 continues: “Jesus called them and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the nations lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. But it shall not be like this among you, but whoever wishes among you to be great, let him be your deacon.’ ” Verse 25. (A deacon is a middle-class servant.)

What if you do not want to be just great; what if you want to be No. 1? Jesus said, “If you want to be great, become a servant,” but then He goes on to say, in verse 27, “And whoever wishes among you to be first, let him be your doulos.” Now, a doulos was not a middle-class servant; a doulos was a slave or a bondservant. That was the lowest level of servanthood.

If you want to be great, Christ said that you should be a diakonos, a deacon. But if you want to be first, be a doulos, a bondservant. Are you catching on to what Jesus is saying? If you just want to be great, you can be a servant, but if you really want to be great, then you need to go even lower in servanthood.

Jesus demonstrated this in His own life. Who was the Majesty of heaven? Jesus Christ. He was the Majesty of heaven. The Father called Him, My One and only One¾He is Mine, and I am well pleased with Him. (11 Peter 1:17.)

Christ was the Majesty of heaven. He was equal with God the Father. There are still Christians arguing about this today. I am not interested in arguing about it, if somebody does not believe it. Inspired writings are very clear, in my understanding, that Jesus Christ is equal with the Father. (See Philippians 2:6.)

The One that is in first place in the universe left it all, and He came down to this earth for a wretch like me. And then, after He came down, He went to the cross for me. When He died on the cross, He had gone as low as anybody could go. You cannot go lower than that in servanthood.

If you read the New Testament in the Greek language, you will find that when Paul addresses the Christian churches, he refers to himself as a doulos of Jesus Christ every time except one—when he refers to himself as a deacon. He considered himself to be a bondservant, a slave of Jesus Christ.

If you and I do not learn the lesson being given here, we will never be in the kingdom of heaven. We can keep the Sabbath; we can pay tithe; but if we do not learn this, we will not be in the kingdom of heaven. This is the very essence of heaven. This is the essence of its bliss.

I do not know about you, but when I studied this subject, I recognized that I am not ready to go to heaven. I need a change inside; do you? Before we are ever going to have heaven on the outside, we have to have heaven on the inside.

Our Great Need

I would like to illustrate for you our great need and the great lack that we have of learning this principle in Adventism, because I know that we do not have it. I am not judging anybody, but I am going to show you now how I know we do not have it. Consider the words of Ellen White:

“We, living far down the passage of ages, have the privilege of studying the Old Testament in connection with the New. Our faith and courage should be strong as we see prophecies fulfilling. But how many there are who are unbelieving. How many there are who reveal selfishness and unkindness in their dealings with one another. How many professing Christians seem never to be satisfied unless they are engaged in strife. How many home circles are broken because the members receive and act upon Satan’s suggestions.

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

“Well does Satan know what heaven is, and what the influence of the angels is. His work is to bring into every family the cruel elements of self-will, harshness, selfishness. Thus he seeks to destroy the happiness of the family. He knows that the spirit governing in the home will be brought into the church.

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

“May God help fathers and mothers to open the windows of the soul heavenward and let the sunshine of Christ into the homelife. Unless they do this, they will be surrounded by a mist and fog most injurious to spirituality.

“Fathers and mothers, bring sweetness and brightness and hopefulness into the lives of your children. Kindness and love will work wonders. Never punish a child in anger. When you do this, you are acting like grown-up children, who have not left behind them the unreasonableness of childhood. Will you strive earnestly to be able to say, ‘When I became a man, I put away childish things’?” The Upward Look, 163.

In every family the devil is trying to do something. He is trying to bring in dissension and the cruel principles of selfishness, because he knows that if he can bring his principles in¾that includes the principle where I am No. 1, and you have to make me happy—it will destroy the happiness of the family.

Devil’s Success

As a pastor, I visit families all over when I travel. I am sorry to tell you that the devil has been very successful among Seventh-day Adventist Christians. He has been so successful that the divorce rate among Seventh-day Adventists is about the same as it is in the world. (<en.allexperts.com/q/Seventh-Day-Adventists-2318/biblical-inquiry.htm> June 4, 2007.) If your home is a little heaven to go to heaven in, do you suppose divorce is going to happen? No, it will not.

Why is the devil so hard at work in every single family to bring in the cruel principles of selfishness, dissension, arguing and strife, and destroy the happiness of the family?

Ellen White, as we read in the book The Upward Look, has told us exactly what his goal and his objective is. He is not trying to bring in dissension and the cruel principles of selfishness and strife just because he wants to destroy your family. He has something much bigger in mind. She says that the devil knows that the same principles worked out in people’s families will be worked out in the church.

Now, let us think this through. If every family in the church has a little heaven to go to heaven in, because they are practicing the principles of self-sacrificing love with each other, then when all the families get together, is it going to be like hell or heaven? Of course, it is going to be like heaven! But the devil knows that whatever principles are acted out at home will be acted out in church.

As I travel and preach at different churches, I find that the churches are experiencing terrible trouble with strife and dissension. What does that tell us? We do not have to be real intelligent; we do not have to have a college education to figure it out; we do not have to be prophets. If there is strife and dissension in the church, that tells us that there is strife and dissension in the homes of the people in that church. What does that mean? It means we are not yet ready to go to heaven.

Prayer Needed

We have some praying to do. We need to pray that the Holy Spirit will come in and change our hearts. There is a passage from Ellen White’s writings that I repeat to myself every day: “The part of the Christian is to persevere in overcoming every fault. Constantly he is to pray to the Saviour to heal the disorders of his sin-sick soul.” The Acts of the Apostles, 532. I have told the Lord that if He has told me to pray that constantly, I am going to do it.

Do you want the disorders of your sin-sick soul to be healed? Oh, I want to tell you that when the disorder of the sin-sick soul of the wife is healed and when the disorder of the sin-sick soul of the husband is healed, something will change in the family. It will no longer be like purgatory in the home.

There will be a change within the church too. We are going to experience what the early believers called “the fellowship of the saints.” “We are to engage earnestly in a spiritual warfare which we do not consider as we should, and we fail to appreciate what it means. The confederacy of evil is arrayed against those who would fight the battles of the Lord.

“But we battle not alone. The fellowship of the saints in light is ours, the championship of the hosts of heaven is ours, and more than angels are on our side; for leading the ranks of his armies is the Captain of the Lord’s hosts. He is Commander of the battle, and as he leads his army to the fields of action, his voice is heard above the din of the battle and the strife, ‘Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ [John 16:33.] Our leader is a conqueror. Advance, then, to victory.” Review and Herald, March 14, 1893.

May we learn the lesson of self-sacrificing love, which is the very essence of the bliss of heaven.

[Bible texts quoted are literal translation.]

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

Bible Study Guides – The Great Law of Love

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March 2, 2008 – March 8, 2008

Key Text

“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” Psalm 119:18.

Study Help: Selected Messages, Book 1, 211–215.

Introduction

“The law of God is as holy as He is holy, as perfect as He is perfect. It presents to men the righteousness of God. It is impossible for man, of himself, to keep this law; for the nature of man is depraved, deformed, and wholly unlike the character of God. The works of the selfish heart are ‘as an unclean thing;’ and ‘all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.’ Isaiah 64:6.” Thoughts From the Mount of Blessings, 54.

1 What is written about the Law of God? Psalm 19:7, 8.

Note: “In the precepts of His holy law, God has given a perfect rule of life; and He has declared that until the close of time this law, unchanged in a single jot or tittle, is to maintain its claim upon human beings. Christ came to magnify the law and make it honorable. He showed that it is based upon the broad foundation of love to God and love to man, and that obedience to its precepts comprises the whole duty of man.” The Acts of the Apostles, 505.

2 What is the relation between the Law of God and the unconverted heart? Romans 8:7.

Note: “By nature the heart is evil, and ‘who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.’ Job 14:4. No human invention can find a remedy for the sinning soul. ‘The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.’ ‘Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.’ Romans 8:7; Matthew 15:19.” The Desire of Ages, 172.

3 What did Paul declare in regard to the Law? Romans 7:12.

Note: “Through the plan of salvation the law holds its dignity in condemning the sinner, and the sinner can be saved through the propitiation of Christ for our sins, ‘in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.’ [Ephesians 1:7.] The law is not changed in any particular to meet man in his fallen condition. It remains what it ever has been,—holy, just, and good.” The Review and Herald, May 23, 1899.

4 Mention one of the purposes of the Law. Romans 7:7, 8.

Note: “Paul says that ‘as touching the law,’—as far as outward acts were concerned,—he was ‘blameless,’ but when the spiritual character of the law was discerned, when he looked into the holy mirror, he saw himself a sinner. Judged by a human standard, he had abstained from sin, but when he looked into the depths of God’s law, and saw himself as God saw him, he bowed in humiliation, and confessed his guilt. He did not go away from the mirror and forget what manner of man he was, but he exercised genuine repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. He was washed, he was cleansed. He says, ‘I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.’ [Romans 7:7–9.]

“Sin then appeared in its true hideousness, and his self-esteem was gone. He became humble. He no longer ascribed goodness and merit to himself. He ceased to think more highly of himself than he ought, and he ascribed all the glory to God. He was no longer ambitious for greatness. He ceased to want to avenge himself, and was no longer sensitive to reproach, neglect, or contempt. He no longer sought earthly alliance, station, or honor. He did not pull others down to uplift himself. He became gentle, condescending, meek and lowly of heart, because he had learned his lesson in the school of Christ.” Review and Herald, July 22, 1890.

5 What other essential function does the Law of God have? Galatians 3:24.

Note: “‘The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.’ [Galatians 3:24.] In this scripture, the Holy Spirit through the apostle is speaking especially of the moral law. The law reveals sin to us, and causes us to feel our need of Christ, and to flee unto Him for pardon and peace by exercising repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1110.

“When the law was proclaimed from Sinai, God made known to men the holiness of His character, that by contrast they might see the sinfulness of their own. The law was given to convict them of sin, and reveal their need of a Saviour. It would do this as its principles were applied to the heart by the Holy Spirit. This work it is still to do. In the life of Christ the principles of the law are made plain; and as the Holy Spirit of God touches the heart, as the light of Christ reveals to men their need of His cleansing blood and His justifying righteousness, the law is still an agent in bringing us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith. ‘The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.’ Psalm 19:7.” The Desire of Ages, 308.

6 What is the essence of God’s Law? Romans 13:8–10.

Note: “The law of God, from its very nature, is unchangeable. It is a revelation of the will and the character of its Author. God is love, and His law is love. Its two great principles are love to God and love to man. ‘Love is the fulfilling of the law.’ Romans 13:10. The character of God is righteousness and truth; such is the nature of His law. Says the psalmist: ‘Thy law is the truth’; ‘all Thy commandments are righteousness.’ Psalm 119:142, 172. And the apostle Paul declares: ‘The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.’ Romans 7:12. Such a law, being an expression of the mind and will of God, must be as enduring as its Author.” The Great Controversy, 467.

7 What will be the standard of judgment of all human beings? Romans 2:12, 13.

Note: “There are only two classes in the world today, and only two classes will be recognized in the judgment—those who violate God’s law and those who obey it. Christ gives the test by which to prove our loyalty or disloyalty. ‘If ye love Me,’ He says, ‘keep My commandments. … He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me. And he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him. … He that loveth Me not keepeth not My sayings; and the word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father’s which sent Me.’ ‘If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love.’ John 14:15–24; 15:10.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 283.

“He who becomes a partaker of the divine nature will be in harmony with God’s great standard of righteousness, His holy law. This is the rule by which God measures the actions of men. This will be the test of character in the judgment.” Ibid., 314.

8 How is the duty of every person clearly delineated? Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14; Matthew 5:17–20.

Note: “In the precepts of His holy law, God has given a perfect rule of life; and He has declared that until the close of time this law, unchanged in a single jot or tittle, is to maintain its claim upon human beings. Christ came to magnify the law and make it honorable. He showed that it is based upon the broad foundation of love to God and love to man, and that obedience to its precepts comprises the whole duty of man. In His own life He gave an example of obedience to the law of God. In the Sermon on the Mount He showed how its requirements extend beyond the outward acts and take cognizance of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” The Acts of the Apostles, 505.

9 What vital question did a learned man put to Christ? Matthew 19:16.

Note: “The Lord desires every one of us to be decidedly in earnest. We cannot afford to make a mistake in spiritual matters. The life-and-death question with us is, ‘What shall I do that I may be saved, eternally saved?’ ‘What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life—a life that measures with the life of God?’ This is a question that it becomes every one of us to consider carefully.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 98.

10 What was Christ’s answer? Matthew 19:17.

Note: “‘If thou wilt enter into life,’ He [the Saviour] added, ‘keep the commandments.’ [Matthew 19:17.] The character of God is expressed in His law; and in order for you to be in harmony with God, the principles of His law must be the spring of your every action.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 391.

Additional Reading

“By the death of Christ the changeless character of this moral standard of righteousness [Law of God] is shown. Christ lived the law of God’s government; he was an expression of God’s character; and he died to save men from the penalty of the transgression of this law. Those who reject God’s law crucify the Son of God afresh. They identify themselves with those who crucified him between two thieves on the cross of Calvary.” Review and Herald, January 30, 1900.

“Every soul who receives Christ, is to reveal Christ to the world through a transformed character. His life is to be a continual manifestation of devotion to the will of God. By obedience to the commandments of God, man is to honor and glorify his Maker. In his own transformed character he is to magnify before the world the plan of salvation as a plan that is laid in the mercy and the love of God. The name of Jesus will be exalted by these representatives of Christ; for there is no other name given among men whereby we may be saved.

“The man who is truly converted is taken into the plan of God, to work for the salvation of his fellow-men. In his own life he reproduces the character of Christ. The earnest, disinterested labor of Christ in behalf of sinners is repeated in his life; the same fervor and solicitude is revealed in his prayers. The Saviour often left His disciples for seasons of prayer with His Father. At these times he poured out His soul in strong crying and tears for those He had come to save, and for power and grace to carry out the great plan of redeeming the world. His example in prayer Christ desired should be a lesson to His disciples in all ages. …

“The law of God is to be obeyed. God’s Word sums up obedience of God’s law in the words, ‘Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself.’ [Luke 10:27.] God’s law is a law of mercy, an expression of goodness; it holds His creatures responsible for allegiance to Him, places them under obligation to reveal in their characters the attributes of its Author. Through the power of the Holy Spirit the law of God is to be exemplified in the life of a Christian.

“To live the law of God, means to reveal the holiness of God’s character in every action of the law. In the lives of many of our teachers and ministers this holiness is sadly lacking. With many, the law has become a dead letter. To those who, instead of allowing their lives to be controlled by the law of righteousness and truth, are being swayed by hereditary and cultivated traits of character, I [Ellen White] am given this message: There is no time to lose. The end of all things is at hand. …

“The Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul assures us that all our external privileges, all our high profession of acceptance with God, cannot take the place of faith. Sincere faith in Christ is that alone which can secure for us an entrance into the city of God. Faith in Christ, expressed in the life and character, revealed in love for God and for our brethren, makes the human agent a power in the world and in the church. I am made sad to see that many have not this faith and love; for these are the signs of our Christianity, the witness that we are the children of God.” Lake Union Herald, November 17, 1909.

©2005 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.

Bible Study Guides – God’s Love in the Church—Hospitality

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November 22, 2008 – November 28, 2008

Key Text

“Use hospitality one to another without grudging.” I Peter 4:9.

Study Help: Christian Service, 191–193.

Introduction

“The Bible lays much stress upon the practice of hospitality. Not only does it enjoin hospitality as a duty, but it presents many beautiful pictures of the exercise of this grace and the blessings which it brings.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 341.

1 What blessing does Paul mention regarding hospitality? Hebrews 13:2.

Note: “ ‘Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.’ Hebrews 13:2. These words have lost none of their force through the lapse of time. Our heavenly Father still continues to place in the pathway of His children opportunities that are blessings in disguise; and those who improve these opportunities find great joy. ‘If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.’ Isaiah 58:10, 11.” Prophets and Kings, 132.

2 How else does Scripture promote hospitality? Matthew 7:12; Romans 13:9.

Note: “All acts of injustice that tend to shorten life; the spirit of hatred and revenge, or the indulgence of any passion that leads to injurious acts toward others, or causes us even to wish them harm (for ‘whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer’); a selfish neglect of caring for the needy or suffering; all self-indulgence or unnecessary deprivation or excessive labor that tends to injure health—all these are, to a greater or less degree, violations of the sixth commandment.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 308.

3 At his home how did Abraham receive “three men” who were strangers? Genesis 18:2–8. Who was among them? Genesis 18:1.

Note: “It was Christ who spoke with Abraham under the oaks at Mamre.” The Desire of Ages, 290, 291.

“Angels have appeared in human form to men of God. They have rested, as if weary, under the oaks at noon. They have accepted the hospitalities of human homes.” The Great Controversy, 631.

4 What unique experience did Lot have with “two men”? Genesis 19:2–11. Who were those “men”? Genesis 19:1.

Note: “In the twilight two strangers drew near to the city gate. They were apparently travelers coming in to tarry for the night. None could discern in those humble wayfarers the mighty heralds of divine judgment, and little dreamed the gay, careless multitude that in their treatment of these heavenly messengers that very night they would reach the climax of the guilt which doomed their proud city. But there was one man who manifested kindly attention toward the strangers and invited them to his home. Lot did not know their true character, but politeness and hospitality were habitual with him; they were a part of his religion—lessons that he had learned from the example of Abraham. Had he not cultivated a spirit of courtesy, he might have been left to perish with the rest of Sodom. Many a household, in closing its doors against a stranger, has shut out God’s messenger, who would have brought blessing and hope and peace.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 158.

5 How does the experience of these patriarchs apply to us today?

Note: “The privilege granted Abraham and Lot is not denied to us. By showing hospitality to God’s children we, too, may receive His angels into our dwellings. Even in our day, angels in human form enter the homes of men and are entertained by them. And Christians who live in the light of God’s countenance are always accompanied by unseen angels, and these holy beings leave behind them a blessing in our homes.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 342.

6 How did Joseph receive his brothers in spite of their past cruelty toward him? Genesis 45:1–5.

Note: “He [Joseph] had seen in his brothers the fruits of true repentance. Upon hearing Judah’s noble offer he gave orders that all but these men should withdraw; then, weeping aloud, he cried, ‘I am Joseph; doth my father yet live?’ [Genesis 45:3.]

“His brothers stood motionless, dumb with fear and amazement. The ruler of Egypt their brother Joseph, whom they had envied and would have murdered, and finally sold as a slave! All their ill treatment of him passed before them. They remembered how they had despised his dreams and had labored to prevent their fulfillment. Yet they had acted their part in fulfilling these dreams; and now that they were completely in his power he would, no doubt, avenge the wrong that he had suffered.

“Seeing their confusion, he said kindly, ‘Come near to me, I pray you;’ and as they came near, he continued, ‘I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.’ [Genesis 45:4, 5.] Feeling that they had already suffered enough for their cruelty toward him, he nobly sought to banish their fears and lessen the bitterness of their self-reproach. …

“The news of what had taken place was quickly carried to the king, who, eager to manifest his gratitude to Joseph, confirmed the governor’s invitation to his family, saying, ‘The good of all the land of Egypt is yours.’ [Genesis 45:20.] The brothers were sent away abundantly supplied with provision and carriages and everything necessary for the removal of all their families and attendants to Egypt.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 230, 231.

7 How did Pharaoh deal with Jacob and his family at their arrival in Egypt? Genesis 45:16–20; 47:5–7. How was Pharaoh rewarded?

Note: “Joseph brought his father also to be presented to the king. The patriarch was a stranger in royal courts; but amid the sublime scenes of nature he had communed with a mightier Monarch; and now, in conscious superiority, he raised his hands and blessed Pharaoh.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 233.

8 Who was Rahab, and what kindness did she show to the Israelite spies? Joshua 2:1–7.

Note: “A few miles beyond the [Jordan] river, just opposite the place where the Israelites were encamped, was the large and strongly fortified city of Jericho. This city was virtually the key to the whole country, and it would present a formidable obstacle to the success of Israel. Joshua therefore sent two young men as spies to visit this city and ascertain something as to its population, its resources, and the strength of its fortifications. The inhabitants of the city, terrified and suspicious, were constantly on the alert, and the messengers were in great danger. They were, however, preserved by Rahab, a woman of Jericho, at the peril of her own life. In return for her kindness they gave her a promise of protection when the city should be taken.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 482, 483.

9 How was Rahab’s faith rewarded? Joshua 2:8–13; 6:25; Hebrews 11:31.

Note: “God’s judgments were awakened against Jericho. It was a stronghold. But the Captain of the Lord’s host Himself came from heaven to lead the armies of heaven in an attack upon the city. Angels of God laid hold of the massive walls and brought them to the ground. God had said that the city of Jericho should be accursed and that all should perish except Rahab and her household. These should be saved because of the favor that Rahab showed the messengers of the Lord.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 264.

“All the inhabitants of the city [Jericho], with every living thing that it contained, ‘both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass’ [Joshua 6:21], were put to the sword. Only faithful Rahab, with her household, was spared, in fulfillment of the promise of the spies. The city itself was burned.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 491.

“Through the teaching of the sacrificial service, Christ was to be uplifted before the nations, and all who would look unto Him should live. All who, like Rahab the Canaanite and Ruth the Moabitess, turned from idolatry to the worship of the true God were to unite themselves with His chosen people.” Prophets and Kings, 19.

10 How did Job treat the poor and the strangers, and how was his faith rewarded? Job 29:12–16; 31:32; 42:10–17.

11 Why is hospitality required even of those who are not especially rich in this world’s goods? Deuteronomy 26:12, 13.

Note: “ ‘Thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which He shall choose to place His name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always.’ Deuteronomy 14:23, 29; 16:11–14. …

“Every third year, however, this second tithe was to be used at home, in entertaining the Levite and the poor, as Moses said, ‘That they may eat within thy gates, and be filled.’ Deuteronomy 26:12. This tithe would provide a fund for the uses of charity and hospitality.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 530.

“ ‘A lover of hospitality’ is among the specifications given by the Holy Spirit as marking one who is to bear responsibility in the church. And to the whole church is given the injunction: ‘Use hospitality one to another without grudging. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.’ I Peter 4:9, 10.

“These admonitions have been strangely neglected. Even among those who profess to be Christians, true hospitality is little exercised. Among our own people the opportunity of showing hospitality is not regarded as it should be, as a privilege and blessing. There is altogether too little sociability, too little of a disposition to make room for two or three more at the family board, without embarrassment or parade. Some plead that ‘it is too much trouble.’ It would not be if you would say: ‘We have made no special preparation, but you are welcome to what we have.’ By the unexpected guest a welcome is appreciated far more than is the most elaborate preparation.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 342, 343.

Additional Reading

“If you would have your homes sweet and inviting, make them bright with air and sunshine. Remove your heavy curtains, open the windows, throw back the blinds, and enjoy the rich sunlight, even if it be at the expense of the colors of your carpets. The precious sunlight may fade your carpets, but it will give a healthful color to the cheeks of your children. If you have God’s presence and possess earnest, loving hearts, a humble home, made bright with air and sunlight, and cheerful with the welcome of unselfish hospitality, will be to your family and to the weary traveler a heaven below.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 527.

“What we say in the church is not of so great consequence as our deportment in the home circle and among our neighbors. The kindly word, the thoughtful act, true politeness and hospitality, will constantly exert an influence in favor of the Christian religion. Let not the testimony be borne concerning any of us, ‘Religion has made them no better. They are as self-indulgent, as worldly, as sharp in trade, as ever.’ All who bear such fruit scatter from Christ, instead of gathering with him. They place obstacles in the way of those whom they might by a consistent course have won to Jesus. It is our duty as Christians to give to the world unmistakable evidence that we are obeying the great commandment, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself’ [Mark 12:31], which is the same as our Saviour’s golden rule, ‘Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.’ [Matthew 7:12.]” The Signs of the Times, January 12, 1882.

“Our social entertainments should not be governed by the dictates of worldly custom, but by the Spirit of Christ and the teaching of His word. The Israelites, in all their festivities, included the poor, the stranger, and the Levite, who was both the assistant of the priest in the sanctuary and a religious teacher and missionary. These were regarded as the guests of the people, to share their hospitality on all occasions of social and religious rejoicing, and to be tenderly cared for in sickness or in need. It is such as these whom we should make welcome to our homes. How much such a welcome might do to cheer and encourage the missionary nurse or the teacher, the care-burdened, hard-working mother, or the feeble and aged, so often without a home and struggling with poverty and many discouragements.” The Adventist Home, 447, 448.

©2005 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.

Bible Study Guides – God’s Love in the Church Pt.2

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November 15, 2008 – November 21, 2008

Key Text

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.” I John 4:7.

Study Help: The Desire of Ages, 662–680.

Introduction

“Whatsoever is done out of pure love, be it ever so little or contemptible in the sight of men, is wholly fruitful; for God regards more with how much love one worketh, than the amount he doeth. Love is of God. The unconverted heart cannot originate nor produce this plant of heavenly origin, which lives and flourishes only where Christ reigns.” Gospel Workers (1892), 312.

1 In His intercessory prayer, how did Christ define life eternal? John 17:3.

Note: “It is only by knowing Christ that we can know God. … To know Christ savingly is to be vitalized by spiritual knowledge, to practise [sic] His words. Without this, all else is valueless.” The Signs of the Times, January 27, 1898.

2 What evidences will show that we know God? I John 4:7, 8.

Note: “Pure love is simple in its operations, and is distinct from any other principle of action. The love of influence, and the desire for the esteem of others may produce a well-ordered life, and, frequently, a blameless conversation. Self-respect may lead us to avoid the appearance of evil. A selfish heart may perform generous actions, acknowledge the present truth, and express humility and affection in an outward manner, yet the motives may be deceptive and impure; the actions that flow from such a heart may be destitute of the savor of life and the fruits of true holiness, being destitute of the principles of pure love. Love should be cherished and cultivated; for its influence is divine.” Gospel Workers (1892), 313.

3 What should the manifestation of God’s love cause us to consider? I John 4:9, 10.

Note: “The love of our heavenly Father in the gift of His only begotten Son to the world, is enough to inspire every soul, to melt every hard, loveless heart into contrition and tenderness; and yet shall heavenly intelligences see in those for whom Christ died, insensibility to His love, hardness of heart, and no response of gratitude and affection to the Giver of all good things? Shall affairs of minor importance absorb the whole power of the being, and the love of God meet no return?” Christian Education, 96.

4 How does the law of God go hand in hand with true love? Matthew 22:35–40; Romans 13:10.

Note: “We have full faith in the scripture that says, ‘God is love’ (1 John 4:8); and yet many have shamefully perverted this word, and have fallen into dangerous error because of a false interpretation of its meaning. God’s holy law is the only standard by which we can estimate divine affection. If we do not accept the law of God as our standard, we set up a standard of our own. God has given us precious promises of His love, but we are not to ascribe to Jehovah a tenderness that will lead Him to pass over guilt and wink at iniquity.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 311.

5 Since God has manifested such a great love for us, how should we act toward our neighbors? I John 4:11. Whereby will the world see that God dwells in us? I John 4:12.

6 What must we realize as we seek to develop this love in our heart? Jeremiah 17:9.

Note: “God considers more with how much love we work, than the amount we do. Love is a heavenly attribute. The natural heart cannot originate it. This heavenly plant only flourishes where Christ reigns supreme. Where love exists, there is power and truth in the life. Love does good, and nothing but good. Those who have love bear fruit unto holiness, and in the end everlasting life.” The Youth’s Instructor, January 13, 1898.

7 What are the main characteristics of perfect love? I John 4:17, 18.

Note: “There are many who desire to love and serve God, and yet when affliction comes upon them, they do not discern the love of God in it, but the hand of the enemy. They mourn and murmur and complain; but this is not the fruit of love to God in the soul. If we have perfect love, we shall know that God is not seeking to injure us, but that in the midst of trials, and griefs, and pains, he is seeking to make us perfect, and to test the quality of our faith. When we cease to worry about the future, and begin to believe that God loves us, and means to do us good, we shall trust him as a child trusts a loving parent. Then our troubles and torments will disappear, and our will will be swallowed up in the will of God.” The Youth’s Instructor, January 6, 1898.

8 How should we deal with those who fall in sin? Matthew 18:14–17.

Note: “In dealing with erring church members, God’s people are carefully to follow the instruction given by the Saviour in the eighteenth chapter of Matthew.

“Human beings are Christ’s property, purchased by Him at an infinite price, bound to Him by the love that He and His Father have manifested for them. How careful, then, we should be in our dealing with one another! Men have no right to surmise evil in regard to their fellow men. Church members have no right to follow their own impulses and inclinations in dealing with fellow members who have erred. They should not even express their prejudices regarding the erring, for thus they place in other minds the leaven of evil. Reports unfavorable to a brother or sister in the church are communicated from one to another of the church members. Mistakes are made and injustice is done because of an unwillingness on the part of some one to follow the directions given by the Lord Jesus.” Testimonies, vol. 7, 260.

“Divine love makes its most touching appeals to the heart when it calls upon us to manifest the same tender compassion that Christ manifested. That man only who has unselfish love for his brother has true love for God. The true Christian will not willingly permit the soul in peril and need to go unwarned, uncared for. He will not hold himself aloof from the erring, leaving them to plunge farther into unhappiness and discouragement or to fall on Satan’s battleground.” The Acts of the Apostles, 550.

9 How did Christ answer Peter’s question about forgiveness? Matthew 18:21, 22.

Note: “The rabbis limited the exercise of forgiveness to three offenses. Peter, carrying out, as he supposed, the teaching of Christ, thought to extend it to seven, the number signifying perfection. But Christ taught that we are never to become weary of forgiving.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 243.

10 What parable did Christ present to clarify the issue of forgiveness? Matthew 18:23–34.

Note: “The pardon granted by this king represents a divine forgiveness of all sin. Christ is represented by the king, who, moved with compassion, forgave the debt of his servant. Man was under the condemnation of the broken law. He could not save himself, and for this reason Christ came to this world, clothed His divinity with humanity, and gave His life, the just for the unjust. He gave Himself for our sins, and to every soul He freely offers the blood-bought pardon. ‘With the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption.’ Psalm 130:7.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 244, 245.

11 Since we have received pardon from the Lord, how should we deal with our fellow sinners? Matthew 18:32, 33.

Note: “In the parable, when the debtor pleaded for delay, with the promise, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all’ [Matthew 18:26], the sentence was revoked. The whole debt was canceled. And he was soon given an opportunity to follow the example of the master who had forgiven him. Going out, he met a fellow servant who owed him a small sum. He had been forgiven ten thousand talents; the debtor owed him a hundred pence. But he who had been so mercifully treated, dealt with his fellow laborer in an altogether different manner. His debtor made an appeal similar to that which he himself had made to the king, but without a similar result. He who had so recently been forgiven was not tenderhearted and pitiful. The mercy shown him he did not exercise in dealing with his fellowservant. He heeded not the request to be patient. The small sum owed to him was all that the ungrateful servant would keep in mind. He demanded all that he thought his due, and carried into effect a sentence similar to that which had been so graciously revoked for him.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 245.

12 What admonition is given us when we are tempted to act like the forgiven debtor who was unforgiving? Colossians 3:13.

Note: “There are many who hope by their own works to merit God’s favor. They do not realize their helplessness. They do not accept the grace of God as a free gift, but are trying to build themselves up in self-righteousness. Their own hearts are not broken and humbled on account of sin, and they are exacting and unforgiving toward others. Their own sins against God, compared with their brother’s sins against them, are as ten thousand talents to one hundred pence—nearly one million to one; yet they dare to be unforgiving.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 245–247.

13 If we are unforgiving, how will God deal with us? Matthew 18:35; 6:14, 15.

Note: “Jesus teaches that we can receive forgiveness from God only as we forgive others. It is the love of God that draws us unto Him, and that love cannot touch our hearts without creating love for our brethren.

“After completing the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus added: ‘If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.’ [Matthew 6:14, 15.] He who is unforgiving cuts off the very channel through which alone he can receive mercy from God. We should not think that unless those who have injured us confess the wrong we are justified in withholding from them our forgiveness. It is their part, no doubt, to humble their hearts by repentance and confession; but we are to have a spirit of compassion toward those who have trespassed against us, whether or not they confess their faults. However sorely they may have wounded us, we are not to cherish our grievances and sympathize with ourselves over our injuries; but as we hope to be pardoned for our offenses against God we are to pardon all who have done evil to us.” Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, 113, 114.

Additional Reading

“O that the mercy and love of God were cultivated by every member of our churches! O that brotherly love might be revived, never to wane, but to grow more and more fervent! It is true that words of admonition and counsel are frequently needed in the church, but they are never to be given by those who are filled with suspicion and distrust, who are eager to weigh others in the scales of their own opinions. No one can do the work of reproving and counseling in the way that Christ would have it done, whose heart is not filled with peace and love. We are near the end, there is no time to waste in educating ourselves in the line of accusation of brethren, and we are not to take up a reproach against our neighbor. Deal tenderly and graciously with every soul, and especially deal tenderly with those who are liable to err. They, of all others, need your help the most. Never take up a report against a brother or a neighbor, or harbor evil surmisings against him. Thou shalt not imagine evil in thy heart against thy brother.” Review and Herald, October 24, 1893.

“Bear in mind the fact that the church militant is not the church triumphant. Cultivate a spirit of kindness, of true, heavenly courtesy. Some may look upon this manner of courtesy as mere weakness; but do not regard it thus. It will always pay to be kind, to be courteous. ‘Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another. … Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.’ [Romans 12:9, 10; 14–18.]” Manuscript Releases, vol. 19, 203, 204.

“If brethren would meet together once or twice a week, and with humble minds, feeling their weakness and realizing their defects, would then ask the Lord to enlighten their understanding and fill their hearts with His love, examining not one another, but the Scriptures, Satan would be defeated. Many imaginary difficulties, mere molehills that have been magnified into mountains and have made barriers between brethren, would vanish, and love, compassion, and respect would take the place of jangling and accusation. When you begin to judge your brethren, you are doing a work God has not given you to do. You are not working with Christ. God did not place you upon the judgment seat to measure and pronounce sentence upon your brethren.” The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, 1087.

©2005 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.