salvation

Nature Nugget — Three Stages of Newt Development

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The Red-spotted Newt is found in the eastern part of North America. Adult Newts are aquatic and are found in ponds, small lakes, marshes and ditches in wooded areas. They are olive-green with red spots above and yellow with small black spots below. They have skin-gland secretions that are distasteful and toxic to most predators.

The life cycle of the Red-spotted Newt is more complex than that of most salamander species. Newts lay their eggs in the body of water in which they live. The gilled larvae, averaging slightly over a quarter of an inch at hatching, remain in the water until mid-summer when they metamorphose into a land-dwelling form called an eft. Efts are red or orange and rough-skinned. They take shelter under logs, rocks or piles of dead leaves in wooded areas near water inhabited by adults. Efts are most active during and after rain showers —even in broad daylight. Their bright coloration is a warning that they are not edible. After spending one to three years on land the efts return to water and transform into adults.

Like the Newt, the growing Christian goes through three stages of spiritual development: justification, sanctification and glorification. First we are led by the Holy spirit to seek Christ and repentance, which results in us being justified by faith, which is granted by the merits of Jesus Christ.

“The grace of Christ is freely to justify the sinner without merit or claim on his part. Justification is a full, complete pardon of sin. The moment the sinner accepts Christ by faith, that moment he is pardoned. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to him, and he is no more to doubt God’s forgiving grace.” The Faith I Live By, 107.

By daily dying to self and conforming to the will of God the growing Christian becomes sanctified, which means purified.

“Through obedience comes sanctification of body, soul, and spirit. This sanctification is a progressive work, and an advance from one stage of perfection to another.” My Life Today, 250.

And finally, if we die in Christ or are part of the living righteous at Christ’s second coming, we will be glorified; which has to do with the brightness or radiance that will surround our transformed immortal bodies from being in the presence of God. “In that great day, those whose characters the judge of all the earth can vindicate will stand before the world glorified and honored. On this earth they manifested forth the light and glory of God, and He now rewards them according to their works.” Upward Look, 272.

“Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified.” Romans 8:30.

Three Gardens

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We are in a contest of time and space and circumstance which creates a very real need for a strong, true, vibrant faith. You may think you have heard enough about faith, so let me try a different approach to get past your guard and plant some thoughts as seeds in your mind about faith. Our study will be divided up into three sections, each one about a garden.

Section One:

Our Father Meets an Enemy in a Garden

“And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.” “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” Genesis 2:8, 15. That was a pretty nice garden. They are not making gardens like that now. We think about compost and vegetation, and things that die to make other things live. But, they were not working on that basis in this garden. Nothing had to die in order to make something live. The soil was so perfectly rich and balanced in all the nutrients, that you did not have to add anything. It was all there, perfectly created by the Master Gardener Himself. All you had to do was cooperate with the laws of nature, and the results were wonderful. That is what our father, Adam, was doing.

The soil, of course, did not have rocks like New England. When I went to Atlantic Union College, I bought a little piece of land in order to build a home in the country. I noticed rocks sticking up here and there all over the land. I noticed fences made out of rocks. I thought, “Well, I’ll get a bulldozer in here and we’ll smooth this all out and I’ll plant grass.” Then a friend told me, “Don’t bring any bulldozer in here. It will turn up ten rocks for every rock you scrape off. There’s no end to the rocks here. It’ll just stir up the soil and you will have a big, big harvest of rocks; that’s all you’ll have.” So I left it the way it was and let nature take care of it.

You can see, we have handicaps here that they never thought of in our father’s garden in Eden. Another example is the adobe soil in California. This is strange soil—almost hard as concrete when it is dry, and soft like slush when it is wet. But the garden of Eden had the right texture all the time. There is a statement that it was watered from underneath. Have you been to the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico and wondered about those miles and miles of underground tunnels there, and the tunnels back in Kentucky which they tell me are larger still? The water in Eden was probably flowing underneath and came up to the soil. That is the ideal arrangement. I have no use for rain. I have lived in some very rainy places, both here and in the tropics, and I can get along fine with no rain at all if we could water things without it. So, I see the ideal as a land where the water seeps up from underneath and waters everything, but the top of the soil is always dry. You could lie down on it and not get wet.

The temperature must have been something like Hawaii, an average of about 70 degrees. The fruit was magnificent. The vegetables were marvelous. The flowers were beautiful beyond compare. Our father—your father and my father, loved that garden. He loved to work it. It was his to dress and tend. I suspect that he had pathways prepared with little colonies of this kind of a plant, and little plantings of that. It was a place of marvelous beauty.

But Adam was being closely watched, because our father had an enemy. He was not fully aware of why this enemy should have it in for him, but he did. Lucifer was studying our father, watching his every movement and wondering: “How can I get to this created human being in such a way that I can influence him and cause his heart to rebel against the Heavenly Father who created him?” As Satan watched, he observed something. The most precious thing to our father upon this earth, was his wife, Eve. That gave Satan an idea. “If I can work through her, and cause her to be damaged or destroyed, I could get to Adam.” So he studied Eve. He watched carefully to see what her mind considered beautiful and what her thoughts were. It did not take him long to see that Eve was a lover of beautiful things. Just about the most beautiful thing around the garden, was the serpent that had wings. Practically in all mankind, there is, in their tradition, a story of the winged serpent. In the discoveries of stonework down in Central and South America they find carved pictures of a serpent with wings. This tradition goes way back into the memory of man, the serpent with wings, the flying serpent. The devil arranged things so that every time Eve enjoyed admiring the beauty of that serpent with wings, the serpent was a little closer to that forbidden tree. Finally his purpose was accomplished. You know what happened, she was deceived. She took of the fruit and ate it. When this became known to Adam our father, it blew his mind. This is what the devil planned.

Adam was confronted with a problem that he thought was too much for God to handle. You see the point? That is still a problem today. Every one of us have had that sort of situation, at least temporarily—a problem that looked like it was too much for God to handle. “God can do a lot of things, I’m sure, but He can’t handle this. There’s no hope. There’s nothing even God can do about this.” That is typical of the human family. We see so many examples of it. When Abraham got into the country ruled by Abimelech, he decided that his beautiful wife, Sarah, was going to be at risk. He said, “You tell them that you’re not my wife. Tell them that you’re my sister.” He seemingly thought God could not handle this problem. He was in the foreigner’s territory, and was at the mercy of the king. He could not defend himself against the power that was in control. He figured, “God can’t do anything about this. I’ll have to seek another solution.”

We could also think of the people of Israel coming to the border of the promised land at the edge of the Jordan River and pausing there to send the spies into the land. When the spies came back with their ten spies giving a terribly dismal report, what was the reaction? “It’s hopeless, it’s hopeless, it’s hopeless. God has not the ability, or the strength, to handle this problem. He can’t deal with this.”

Let us bring it up to our modern times. This is something that everybody goes through when they decide to start keeping the Sabbath. Those of us who came in from the world, had to struggle with that problem. I was working in a plywood factory in the state of Washington on Friday nights. I was warned by some that if I tried to keep the Sabbath they would fire me, because it had happened to others before. I had to struggle with that problem. Is the Lord able to handle this, or is He not? I finally decided I would rather lose my job than lose my soul. But, I will never forget the struggle. I have done some hard things in my life, but I do not believe anything was harder than for me to go into the office where that rough old lumber man stood who owned the mill. He was chewing tobacco, chewing on a cigar, and spitting his tobacco juice into a spittoon on the floor—just as rough a character as you will ever find. How do I talk to this man about spiritual things? But I did—by the grace of God I did it.

As an evangelist, I have seen so many men and women come up to this awesome situation, and they have the question, like Adam had—”Can God handle this problem? Can I keep the Sabbath on this job? If I lose this job, can God help me get another job?” It is a powerfully big problem. They either take the advanced step and say, “I will begin keeping the Sabbath,” and discover something—that God is watching, and that He has a plan all the way from there to the kingdom for each one. Or if they do not take that step of faith, they never know anything about that plan.

What can we learn about all of this from Adam? He saw a problem, and in his view, it was beyond any solution. He decided he would rather be lost with Eve than live without her. Those two choices were not the only choices, because God had already solved the problem before it started. Take a look at the scriptures. “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace.” Now look at this carefully: “which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.” 2 Timothy 1:9. [All emphasis supplied.] “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, [that is the anti-Christ,] whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Revelation 13:8. God was not taken by surprise by the sin of Eve. It was certainly a sad situation, but to think of it as something that God could not handle, that was the big mistake. It was not by any means something that God could not handle. We find a statement like this: “The plan for our redemption was not an afterthought, a plan formulated after the fall of Adam.” Desire of Ages, 22. It was made long before the fall of Adam. “It was a revelation of ‘the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal.’” Romans. 16:25, R.V. “From the beginning, God and Christ knew of the apostasy of Satan, and of the fall of man through the deceptive power of the apostate. God did not ordain that sin should exist, but he foresaw its existence, and made provision to meet the terrible emergency.” Ibid.

The point is that God has no problems in the sense that we humans think of them—as being something that He cannot handle. No problem is any harder for God than any other problem. No problem is any easier for God than any other problem. To Him, they are all just a matter of His will, that is all. We want to think about that when we consider the principle involved here. This statement makes it personal. “If we surrender our lives to His service, we can never be placed in a position for which God has not made provision.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 173. Notice the past tense. No matter what kind of a situation you get into, God was there ahead of you. God sized the whole situation up ahead of us. He decided just what avenue of escape He would have ready for us. It is no problem to Him. God makes decisions, but He has no problems at all. Adam’s great mistake was to feel that this problem was too much for the Lord.

In our modern times, we find people struggling with believing that God can solve their problems. We should remember to look back across the years. It is clearly stated that God foresaw the problem of Israel wanting a king. Patriarchs and Prophets, 603. He foresaw the problems that would lead to the captivity of Israel. Prophets and Kings, 408. Jesus foresaw the treachery of Judas. Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1102. But look especially at this thought: God foresaw the delusive doctrines of the last days. Testimonies, vol. 8, 201.

If I would ask you what our biggest problem is now, many would say: “The horrible false doctrines that are assailing the church, the apostasy in the church.” God foresaw it. God foresaw that you would be living in these last days seeking a place of refuge on Sabbath mornings, not wanting to listen to error from the pulpit, but wanting to hear the pure Word of God and the Spirit of Prophecy expounded. God knew exactly what He was going to do about this problem of apostasy, and these last day delusions. In Review and Herald, September 6, 1898, is a similar statement about how God foresaw the last day arts and devices of Satan. So God has no problems! We have a most horrible problem if we ever suspect that anything has happened to us that God cannot handle. God can handle it! He can handle the problems of the church. He can handle the problems of our individual lives. He can handle anything and everything that comes along, because He was there first. He is watching the whole thing from above, where He sees ahead.

Section Two:

Our Brother Meets an Enemy in the Garden

“When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where there was a garden, which he entered, and His disciples.” John 18:1. “They came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and He said to His disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.” Mark 14:32–35.

Compare this problem with Adam’s problem. Adam’s problem was that he might lose his companion. The comparison is one sided, because Christ is facing the problem of being cast into non-existence, (which will be the equivalent of the sinner’s death) a much greater problem. If anybody would have a temptation to think “This is too much for the Lord,” it would be Jesus. He struggled. Yes, we have to admit, He struggled. The struggle is easy to understand when we consider what He was giving up—the dominions of all the universe, the glory and the adoration from all.

But if you look at these two garden scenes there were differences. Our Brother in the garden of Gethsemane appeared much smaller than our father in the garden of Eden. He did not look a lot like him. The garden itself, instead of being the beautiful scene that we talked about in Eden, was a rough and rocky hillside. The best thing they could grow there was olive trees.

The Man Himself, our Savior, our Brother, was weaker than Adam. Notice this comment,”When Adam was assailed by the tempter, none of the effects of sin were upon him. He stood in the strength of perfect manhood, possessing the full vigor of mind and body. He was surrounded with the glories of Eden, and was in daily communion with heavenly beings. It was not thus with Jesus when He entered the wilderness to cope with Satan. For four thousand years the race had been decreasing in physical strength, in mental power, and in moral worth; and Christ took upon Him the infirmities of degenerate humanity. Only thus could He rescue man from the lowest depths of his degradation.” Desire of Ages, 117.

To study this for yourself, read the chapter “Gethsemane” in Desire of Ages. There you will have a look into the heart of Jesus, a look right into His soul, to see what he was fighting with. It describes what being numbered with the transgressors meant. The guilt of fallen humanity He must bear. Upon Him who knew no sin must be laid the iniquity of us all. He is tempted to fear that it will shut Him out forever from His Father’s love. He is staring annihilation in the face—non-existence. He falls prostrate to the ground. The thought of being separated from His father was so broad, so black, so deep, that His spirit shuddered before it. This agony, He must not exert His divine power to escape. He could have. He could have backed out even then.

He stretched out on the ground and tried to cling to the soil with His hands, as if He were going to be shaken loose from it. Three times He went back to the disciples to see if He might get some comfort and encouragement from them, some realization that what He was doing had value in their sight. But they were asleep, all the while. He did not get any help there at all. Finally, when He made that supreme decision, “He fell dying to the ground.” He would have died right there except for miraculous intervention. He would not have gotten to the cross at all. Jesus had an enormously stronger reason to judge the immensity of His problem than Adam had. But, He said, “My Father has no problems. My Father is in control. All that my Father gives shall come to me.” This time it was victory, instead of failure!

To make this personal—do you ever feel a sense of panic? Events among the nations, events in our church, events in our own lives—that is where it comes close to us. Remember our father’s experience? He decided that God could not handle his problem, so he gave in. But God had it all solved. Christ would have died for Eve if nobody else had ever sinned. There was a problem but, there was a solution available. So remember our father, and remember our Elder Brother, and never doubt God’s power.

The Spirit of Prophecy focuses on this particular problem—feeling that God can not handle it, and that things are out of control. Do you think anything ever happens to you when God is not looking, that He just does not care about? There is nothing about you that He does not care about. There is nothing that He is not interested in. Every aspect of our entire life experience is important to Him, but He is taking a long view.

Sometimes we take the short view. We will look at a few lines to remind us of what is said to us about this particular question: “Can God handle this? Or is God off somewhere paying attention to other things and not watching?” “Many who sincerely consecrate their lives to God’s service are surprised and disappointed to find themselves, as never before, confronted by obstacles and beset by trials and perplexities. Like Israel of old they question, ‘If God is leading us, why do these things come upon us?’ [Here is the answer.] It is because God is leading them that these things come upon them. Trials and obstacles are the Lord’s chosen methods of discipline and His appointed conditions of success.” Ministry of Healing, 470, 471. “God’s care for His heritage is unceasing. He suffers no affliction to come upon His children but such as is essential for their present and eternal good. [No affliction, from the largest, to the smallest.] All that He brings upon His people in test and trial comes that they may gain deeper piety and greater strength to carry forward the triumphs of the cross.” Acts of the Apostles, 425.

Does God really take personal interest in you? “He who is imbued with the Spirit of Christ abides in Christ. Whatever comes to Him comes from the Saviour.” Ministry of Healing, 489. Look at that carefully. That is a bold statement. “Whatever comes to him comes from the Saviour.” You mean all of this hard luck, all of these disappointments? Yes, everything. There are no exceptions. “Nothing can touch him except by the Lord’s permission. All our sufferings and sorrows, all our temptations and trials, all our sadness and griefs, all our persecutions and privations, in short, all things work together for our good. All experiences and circumstances are God’s workmen whereby good is brought to us.” Ibid., 488. “God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end from the beginning and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as co-workers with Him.” Ibid., 479.

Faith is like a diamond—it has many facets. We are studying a couple of those facets in this article. We have looked at your trials and your faith. Let us look at another aspect of faith—your words and your faith. We are told, “It is a law of nature that our thoughts and feelings are encouraged and strengthened as we give them utterance. While words express thoughts, it is also true that thoughts follow words.” Ministry of Healing, 251, 252. You can talk yourself into a lot of discouragement and doubt. You can talk yourself into total doubt, total unbelief, total abandonment of the truth, just by talking about how bad things are. “Talk of faith, of light, and of heaven, and you will have faith, light and love, and peace and joy, in the Holy Ghost.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 168. If you love darkness, talk about it—it will come. Ibid., 699. “Those who talk faith and cultivate faith will have faith, but those who cherish and express doubts will have doubts.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 302.

In Ministry of Healing, 250 we are told, “When temptations assail you, when care, perplexity, and darkness seem to surround your soul, look to the place where you last saw the light” and talk about that. Our words have a reaction upon ourselves. If we express our gloomy thoughts, “Oh, how terrible this is, how terrible that is,” we will talk ourselves into a bad condition, because thoughts follow words. But we can train ourselves to say, “That is bad, but it is no problem to the Lord.”

We live in a time when some terrible things are happening. It will get us down if we are not careful. It will depress us and discourage us. We must fight that depression and discouragement. We must fight that awful feeling of goneness when we see horrible things happening. “God calls upon His faithful ones, who believe in Him, to talk courage to those who are unbelieving and hopeless.” Christian Service, 234. “If we will restrain the expression of unbelief, and by hopeful words and prompt movements strengthen our own faith and the faith of others, our vision will grow clearer. The pure atmosphere of heaven will surround our souls. Be strong and talk hope.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 462. “Never allow yourself to talk in a hopeless, discouraged way. If you do you will lose much. By looking at appearances and complaining when difficulties and pressure come, you give evidence of a sickly, feeble faith.” Now look at this line, “Talk and act as if your faith was invincible.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 147.

Section Three:

Our Father Meets Our Brother in a Garden.

This is a beautiful scene talking about the redeemed coming to the gates of the Holy City. “As the ransomed ones are welcomed to the City of God, there rings out upon the air an exultant cry of adoration. The two Adams are about to meet. [Christ and Adam] The Son of God is standing with outstretched arms to receive the father of our race—the being whom He created, who sinned against his Maker, and for whose sin the marks of the crucifixion are borne upon the Saviour’s form. As Adam discerns the prints of the cruel nails, he does not fall upon the bosom of his Lord, but in humiliation casts himself at His feet, crying, ‘Worthy, worthy is the Lamb that was slain!’ Tenderly the Saviour lifts him up, and bids him look once more upon the Eden home from which he has so long been exiled.” Great Controversy, 647. Did you know that the garden of Eden is in heaven? Pretty nice. I want to be there. Don’t you? Faith is the victory. We have got to have faith that will never look at any problem of any dimension and say, “This is too much for the Lord.” Nothing is too much for the Lord! He has it all figured out. He knows exactly what his response isgoing to be to every trial that comes along. All we have to do is hang on to Him for dear life, and never let ourselves doubt in any way.

Bible Study Guides – Many Called—but Few Chosen

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February 21, 2010 – February 27, 2010

Key Text

“Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.” II Peter 1:10.

Study Help: Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 445–456, especially 450–456.

Introduction

“Man is elected to work out his own salvation with fear and trembling. He is elected to put on the armor, to fight the good fight of faith.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 454.

1 To what are we told to give diligence, daily diligence, and why? II Peter 1:10.

Note. “If we comply with the conditions the Lord has made, we shall secure our election to salvation. Perfect obedience to His commandments is the evidence that we love God, and are not hardened in sin.

“Christ has a church in every age. There are in the church those who are not made any better by their connection with it. They themselves break the terms of their election. Obedience to the commandments of God gives us a right to the privileges of His church.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1079.

2 Knowing that our salvation is an issue in making our election sure, what are we told to do? Philippians 2:12.

Note. “Every soul is elected who will work out his own salvation with fear and trembling. He is elected who will put on the armor and fight the good fight of faith. He is elected who will watch unto prayer, who will search the Scriptures, and flee from temptation. He is elected who will have faith continually, and who will be obedient to every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. The provisions of redemption are free to all; the results of redemption will be enjoyed by those who have complied with the conditions.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 208.

“Genuine faith always works by love. When you look to Calvary it is not to quiet your soul in the non-performance of duty, not to compose yourself to sleep, but to create faith in Jesus, faith that will work, purifying the soul from the slime of selfishness. When we lay hold of Christ by faith, our work has just begun. Every man has corrupt and sinful habits that must be overcome by vigorous warfare. Every soul is required to fight the fight of faith. If one is a follower of Christ, he cannot be sharp in deal, he cannot be hardhearted, devoid of sympathy. He cannot be coarse in his speech. He cannot be full of pomposity and self-esteem. He cannot be overbearing, nor can he use harsh words, and censure and condemn.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1111.

3 To lay hold on eternal life, to what kind of fight are we called? I Timothy 6:12.

Note. “When we lay hold of Christ by faith, our work has just begun. Every man has corrupt and sinful habits that must be overcome by vigorous warfare. Every soul is required to fight the fight of faith.” Ibid., 1111.

4 The testing or trial of our faith is more precious than what? How are we to be found when Jesus comes? I Peter 1:7.

Note. “Many poor souls are groping in darkness, looking for the feelings which others say they have had in their experience. They overlook the fact that the believer in Christ must work out his own salvation with fear and trembling. The convicted sinner has something to do. He must repent and show true faith.

“When Jesus speaks of the new heart, He means the mind, the life, the whole being. To have a change of heart is to withdraw the affections from the world, and fasten them upon Christ. To have a new heart is to have a new mind, new purposes, new motives. What is the sign of a new heart?—A changed life. There is a daily, hourly dying to selfishness and pride.” Messages to Young People, 71, 72.

5 Since faith is based upon a moral conviction, how is it made perfect? James 2:22. Can faith be dead; if so, how? James 2:17.

Note. “While we must often impress the mind with the fact that the Christian life is a life of warfare, that we must watch and pray and toil, that there is peril to the soul in relaxing the spiritual vigilance for one moment, the completeness of the salvation proffered us from Jesus who loves us and gave Himself that we should not perish but have everlasting life, is to be the theme.

“Day by day we may walk with God, day by day following on to know the Lord, entering into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, laying hold on the hope set before us. If we reach heaven it must be by binding the soul to the Mediator, becoming partakers of the divine nature. Leaning on Christ, your life being hid with Christ in God and led by His Spirit, you have the genuine faith.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 182.

6 Name some works of the flesh. Galatians 5:19–21.

Note. “That which Satan plants in the heart—envy, jealousy, evil surmising, evil speaking, impatience, prejudice, selfishness, covetousness, and vanity—must be uprooted. If these evil things are allowed to remain in the soul, they will bear fruit by which many shall be defiled. Oh, how many cultivate the poisonous plants, that kill out the precious fruits of love and defile the soul!” My Life Today, 179.

7 To overcome corrupt and sinful habits by vigorous warfare is a battle. What does I Timothy 6:12 say?

Note. “Man, fallen man, may be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that he can ‘prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God’ [Romans 12:2]. How does he prove this? By the Holy Spirit taking possession of his mind, spirit, heart, and character. Where does the proving come in? ‘We are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men’ [I Corinthians 4:9]. A real work is wrought by the Holy Spirit upon the human character, and its fruits are seen.

“Just as a good tree will bear good fruit, so will the tree that is actually planted in the Lord’s garden produce good fruit unto eternal life. Besetting sins are overcome; evil thoughts are not allowed in the mind; evil habits are purged from the soul temple. The tendencies which have been biased in a wrong direction are turned in a right direction. Wrong dispositions and feelings are changed, new principles of action supplied, and there is a new standard of character. Holy tempers and sanctified emotions are now the fruit borne upon the Christian tree. An entire transformation has taken place. This is the work to be wrought.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1080.

8 What is brought into the life of every true believer? I Corinthians 13:4–8.

Note. “Only the love that flows from the heart of Christ can heal. Only He in whom that love flows, even as the sap in the tree or the blood in the body, can restore the wounded soul.

“Love’s agencies have wonderful power, for they are divine. The soft answer that ‘turneth away wrath’ [Proverbs 15:1], the love that ‘suffereth long, and is kind’ [I Corinthians 13:4], the charity that ‘covereth a multitude of sins’ [I Peter 4:8]—would we learn the lesson, with what power for healing would our lives be gifted! How life would be transformed, and the earth become a very likeness and foretaste of heaven!” My Life Today, 179.

9 What character traits should no longer be found in the life of every true believer? Ephesians 4:31, 32.

Note. “We individually have a case pending in the court of heaven. Character is being weighed in the balances of the sanctuary, and it should be the earnest desire of all to walk humbly and carefully, lest, neglecting to let their light shine forth to the world, they fail of the grace of God and lose everything that is valuable. All dissension, all differences and faultfinding, should be put away, with all evil speaking and bitterness.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 279.

“I have this message for you from the Lord: Be kind in speech, gentle in action. Guard yourself carefully, for you are inclined to be severe and dictatorial, and to say rash things. The Lord speaks to you, saying, Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. Harsh expressions grieve the Lord; unwise words do harm. I am charged to say to you, Be gentle in your speech; watch well your words; let no harshness come into your utterances or into your gestures. Bring into all you do and say the fragrance of Christlikeness. Let not natural traits of character mar and spoil your work. You are to help and strengthen the tempted. Let not self appear in rash words. Christ has given His life for the flock, and for all for whom you labor. Let no word of yours balance souls in the wrong direction. In the minister of Christ there must be revealed Christlikeness of character.” Gospel Workers, 163.

10 What promise is given to him that overcomes? Revelation 3:21.

Note. “Here is the beginning of our confidence which we must hold steadfast unto the end. If Jesus resisted Satan’s temptations, He will help us to resist. He came to bring divine power to combine with human effort.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 929.

Additional Reading

“But those who are waiting to behold a magical change in their characters without determined effort on their part to overcome sin, will be disappointed. We have no reason to fear while looking to Jesus, no reason to doubt but that He is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto Him; but we may constantly fear lest our old nature will again obtain the supremacy, that the enemy shall devise some snare whereby we shall again become his captives. We are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God that worketh in you to will and to do of His good pleasure. With our limited powers we are to be as holy in our sphere as God is holy in His sphere. To the extent of our ability, we are to make manifest the truth and love and excellence of the divine character. As wax takes the impression of the seal, so the soul is to take the impression of the Spirit of God and retain the image of Christ.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 336, 337.

“There is an election of individuals and a people, the only election found in the word of God, where man is elected to be saved. Many have looked at the end, thinking they were surely elected to have heavenly bliss; but this is not the election the Bible reveals. Man is elected to work out his own salvation with fear and trembling. He is elected to put on the armor, to fight the good fight of faith. He is elected to use the means God has placed within his reach to war against every unholy lust, while Satan is playing the game of life for his soul. He is elected to watch unto prayer, to search the Scriptures, and to avoid entering into temptation. He is elected to have faith continually. He is elected to be obedient to every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, and that he may be, not a hearer only, but a doer of the word. This is Bible election.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 453, 454.

“God has appointed means, if we will use them diligently and prayerfully, that no vessel shall be shipwrecked, but outride the tempest and storm, and anchor in the haven of bliss at last. But if we despise and neglect these appointments and privileges, God will not work a miracle to save any of us, and we will be lost as were Judas and Satan.

“Do not think that God will work a miracle to save those weak souls who cherish evil, who practice sin; or that some supernatural element will be brought into their lives, lifting them out of self into a higher sphere, where it will be comparatively easy work, without any special effort, any special fighting, without any crucifixion of self; because all who dally on Satan’s ground for this to be done will perish with the evildoers. They will be suddenly destroyed, and that without remedy.” Ibid., 453.

Lesson Studies were prepared by Judy Hallingstad of the LandMarks staff. She can be contacted at judyhallingstad@stepstolife.org .

Questions & Answers – Many people want to go to heaven but will they all be there?

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“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. Jesus died for everybody and His heart yearns over each human being.

Consider this quotation: “Those who think of the result of hastening or hindering the gospel think of it in relation to themselves and to the world. Few think of its relation to God. Few give thought to the suffering that sin has caused our Creator. All heaven suffered in Christ’s agony; but that suffering did not begin or end with His manifestation in humanity. The cross is a revelation to our dull senses of the pain that, from its very inception, sin has brought to the heart of God. Every departure from the right, every deed of cruelty, every failure of humanity to reach His ideal, brings grief to Him.” Education, 263.

Sin is a terrible enemy and is responsible for all the pain, sickness, death and sorrow that has happened in this earth for the past 6,000 years, to say nothing of the billions of human beings who have been crippled and mentally deficient. Praise God, He is determined to rid the universe of sin. If it were allowed to enter heaven we would have this misery repeated over again, only on a larger scale.

After our first parents (Adam and Eve) fell into sin (disobedience to God), He had such pity for the human race that He was willing to sacrifice His only begotten son, who suffered unbelievable torture and death to save the human family from the results of sin, which is death.

At such a heavy cost for the redemption of man, no one who is clinging to sin could be allowed into heaven, for sin would ruin the whole universe again. Everyone must make their own choice either for the pleasures of sin for a season, or for a life of victory through Jesus to overcome sin and enjoy eternal life.

It is sin, the transgression of the law (I John 3:4), which causes all the misery and heartache in the world.

God’s law is a law of love. The foundation of His kingdom is the Ten Commandments, which may be summed up in the following words: “Thou shalt 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 neighbour as thyself.” Luke 10:27. It is imperative that those who enter heaven keep His law, to prevent the whole sin problem from erupting all over again. It would only be safe for God to take to heaven those who love His law and are happy and determined to live by its precepts.

Sin must be eradicated from the life. God has promised power to overcome sin and the devil. Those who follow in the footsteps of Jesus, believing in Him, will endure to the end and be saved.

If you have a Bible question you wish to have answered, please e-mail it to: ruthgrosboll@stepstolife.org.

Preparing for Heaven

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Time is speeding by and changes are constantly being made. Children are growing up and every day we all get a little older and hopefully wiser. Amazing scientific progress has been made in business, education, transportation, health resources and everyday life activities. The greatest changes seem to be in communication and travel. Many of you cannot imagine what it would be like to carry all the water you need each day into the house by bucket. Heating water, and all cooking and baking was done on wood burning stoves. Once the daylight was gone, a candle or a kerosene lamp had to be lit in the evenings. The differences in lifestyle are too many to be mentioned here. Even museums cannot accurately depict the way people used to live. It is certainly a different world in which we live today than the one in which our grandparents lived.

We have been told in the Word of God that, “Many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased.” Daniel 12:4. This prophecy is literally being fulfilled before our eyes. We are living in the closing days of this earth’s history. Are we really aware of the fact that Jesus is planning to come and gather His people to take them to a better country? Are we truly His people and are we earnestly preparing for the move, or are we planting our interests here in the present country where we are now living?

Are we too involved with the numerous modern inventions and allowing everyday responsibilities to take the lion’s share of our time? Does spending hours on our computer or Internet take precedence over studying our Bible and talking to the Lord on our knees? Are we living above our means and constantly worried about debts, or have we learned to be like Paul and can honestly say, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” Philippians 4:11.

Those planning for a future home in the New Jerusalem are seriously preparing their lives to fit into the heavenly society of that beautiful city. It is necessary to know how to get ready. The Bible and the inspired writings of the Spirit of Prophecy are the precious gifts that have been given as a guide to the eternal light.

Jesus said, “Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.” Mark 13:35–37. Are we sleeping or watching? Do we see so much wickedness and hear so much of the world’s music that we do not realize its sinfulness? Do we get so busy that we are not wide awake to do the Lord’s will and have time for prayer and Bible study?

“And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by. Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.” Luke 21:8–11. Only diligent study of the inspired writings will prepare us to recognize truth from the error of every wind of doctrine that is blowing today. Jesus said to “take heed that you be not deceived.”

And Paul said, “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” Romans 13:11. Are we wide awake as to the time in which we are living? Are we ready to go home with Jesus if He should come today? Jesus also said, “Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” Matthew 24:44.

Knowing the attributes of the kingdom of heaven makes us aware of the necessity for a personal commitment to shape our characters so fit we may in with the heavenly environment. For instance, Jesus said, “Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:14. And again He said, “Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3. We must be as humble and as dependent as a little child. As a little child has to look to his parents for love and acceptance and for food and clothing, so we must realize our dependence on our heavenly Father for our very existence and sustenance.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” Matthew 13:45, 46.

Eternal life is as a goodly pearl; it is worth everything we have. We must be like Job who said, “Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.” Job 23:12. We must rather miss our breakfast or our dinner than to miss worship or the study of His word.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: “the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just.” Matthew 13:47–49. Notice, only the good fish are kept. All that are in the net are not fit for the kingdom of heaven. There is a judgment coming and although our names may be on the church books and we may be in the net or profess to be Christians, that does not ensure us of a home in the kingdom of heaven.

Just as in Jesus’ parable, it takes all to buy the field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.” Matthew 13:44. Heaven is worth more than anything we might attain on this earth and we must be willing to give up all for it, even our mortal life itself if necessary. Jesus gave all to save us and we must be willing to deny ourselves and give all that we have to gain eternal life.

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21.

How do we do the will of the Father? To do His will we must first know what it is and that is found out by studying His word and talking to Him in prayer. We must daily study our Bibles and the Spirit of Prophecy so that we can recognize His voice and be guided by His word. Once we know the Lord’s will, we must be like Daniel and purpose in our heart to do His will regardless of the cost.

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” Psalm 1:1, 2.

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” I Corinthians 2:9.

A member of Steps to Life staff, she worked for many years with her husband in the mission field. She may be contacted by e-mail at ruthgrosboll@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at 316-788-5559.

Preparing for Home

I’ve been waiting for Jesus to come back again;

I’ve been longing, preparing for home;

I’ve been praying and working for fitness within;

I’ve been longing, preparing for home.

I’ve been watching the final events tell their tale;

I’ve been longing, preparing for home;

I can almost see glory from heaven’s opening vale;

I’ve been longing, preparing for home.

I must join in the final great controversy;

I’ve been longing, preparing for home;

I must follow my Master through Gethsemane;

I’ve been longing, preparing for home.

by Marshall Grosboll

Bible Study Guides – Christ our Redeemer

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March 28, 2010 – April 3, 2010

Key Text

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12.

Study Helps: The Desire of Ages, 68–74.

Introduction:

“The more we behold Christ, talk of His merits, and tell of His power, the more fully we shall reflect His image in our own characters and the less we shall submit our minds and affections to the paralyzing influences of the world. The more our minds dwell upon Jesus, the less they will be enveloped in the fog of doubt, and the more easily shall we lay all our trials, all our burdens, upon the Burden Bearer.” In Heavenly Places, 127.

1 Who was Christ? Romans 1:3, 4; John 3:16; Matthew 8:29.

Note: “Jesus was the Commander of heaven, one equal with God, and yet he condescended to lay aside his kingly crown, his royal robe, and clothed his divinity with humanity. The incarnation of Christ in human flesh is a mystery. He could have come to earth as one with a remarkable appearance, unlike the sons of men. His countenance could have shone with glory, and his form could have been of remarkable grace. He could have presented such an appearance as to charm the beholder; but this was not according to the plan devised in the courts of God. He was to bear the characteristics of the human family, and the Jewish race. In all respects the Son of God was to wear the same features as did other human beings. He was not to have such beauty of person as would make him singular among men. He was to manifest no wonderful charms by which to attract attention to himself. He came as a representative of the human family before heaven and earth. He was to stand as man’s substitute and surety. He was to live the life of humanity in such a way as to contradict the assertion that Satan had made that humanity was his everlasting possession, and that God himself could not take man out of his adversary’s hands.” The Signs of the Times, July 30, 1896.

2 How did the Old Testament writers prophecy His birth? Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Genesis 22:18.

Note: “Mary, the mother of Jesus, pondered the far-reaching prophecy of Simeon. As she looked upon the child in her arms, and recalled what the shepherds of Bethlehem had said, she was full of grateful joy and bright hope.

“Simeon’s words called to her mind the prophecy of Isaiah. She knew that of Jesus were spoken these wonderful words:

“ ‘The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.’

“ ‘For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.’ Isaiah 9:2, 6.” The Story of Jesus, 20.

“Plain and specific prophecies had been given regarding the appearance of the Promised One. To Adam was given an assurance of the coming of the Redeemer. The sentence pronounced on Satan, ‘I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel’ (Genesis 3:15), was to our first parents a promise of the redemption to be wrought out through Christ.

“To Abraham was given the promise that of his line the Saviour of the world should come: ‘In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.’ ‘He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.’ Genesis 22:18; Galatians 3:16.” The Acts of the Apostles, 222.

3 Did the Jewish people at the time of Christ’s birth know about the Old Testament prophecies? Matthew 2:1–8.

Note: “When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.” Matthew 2:3–8.

4 Why did God send His Son to this earth? I Thessalonians 5:9, 10; II Timothy 2:10; Hebrews 9:28.

Note: “Had silver and gold been sufficient to purchase the salvation of men, how easily might it have been accomplished by Him who says, ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine.’ Haggai 2:8. But only by the precious blood of the Son of God could the transgressor be redeemed. The plan of salvation was laid in sacrifice. The apostle Paul wrote, ‘Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich.’ II Corinthians 8:9. Christ gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity. And as the crowning blessing of salvation, ‘the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ Romans 6:23.” The Acts of the Apostles, 519.

5 What was our salvation to save us from? Matthew 1:21; Ephesians 1:7; Acts 4:12.

Note: “For every soul struggling to rise from a life of sin to a life of purity, the great element of power abides in the only ‘name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved’ [Acts 4:12]. ‘If any man thirst,’ for restful hope, for deliverance from sinful propensities, Christ says, ‘let him come unto Me, and drink’ [John 7:37]. The only remedy for vice is the grace and power of Christ.” Counsels on Health, 440.

6 How far did the Son of God go to redeem man? Philippians 2:6–8; Isaiah 53:3–5.

Note: “Point after point Paul lingered over, in order that those who should read his epistle might fully comprehend the wonderful condescension of the Saviour in their behalf. Presenting Christ as He was when equal with God and with Him receiving the homage of the angels, the apostle traced His course until He had reached the lowest depths of humiliation. Paul was convinced that if they could be brought to comprehend the amazing sacrifice made by the Majesty of heaven, all selfishness would be banished from their lives. He showed how the Son of God had laid aside His glory, voluntarily subjecting Himself to the conditions of human nature, and then had humbled Himself as a servant, becoming obedient unto death, ‘even the death of the cross’ (Philippians 2:8), that He might lift fallen man from degradation to hope and joy and heaven.” The Acts of Apostles, 333.

7 What did Jesus claim to be when He was on earth? John 14:6.

Note: “There are not many ways to heaven. Each one may not choose his own way. Christ says, ‘I am the way … no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me’ [John 14:6]. Since the first gospel sermon was preached, when in Eden it was declared that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head, Christ had been uplifted as the way, the truth, and the life. He was the way when Adam lived, when Abel presented to God the blood of the slain lamb, representing the blood of the Redeemer. Christ was the way by which patriarchs and prophets were saved. He is the way by which alone we can have access to God.” The Desire of Ages, 663.

8 What kind of a life did Jesus live while He was on earth? Acts 10:38.

Note: “The unselfish labor of Christians in the past should be to us an object lesson and an inspiration. The members of God’s church are to be zealous of good works, separating from worldly ambition and walking in the footsteps of Him who went about doing good. With hearts filled with sympathy and compassion, they are to minister to those in need of help, bringing to sinners a knowledge of the Saviour’s love. Such work calls for laborious effort, but it brings a rich reward. Those who engage in it with sincerity of purpose will see souls won to the Saviour, for the influence that attends the practical carrying out of the divine commission is irresistible.” The Acts of the Apostles, 109, 110.

9 How did Jesus pay the price for our sins? Luke 23:33; Matthew 27:35.

Note: “Those who think of the result of hastening or hindering the gospel think of it in relation to themselves and to the world. Few think of its relation to God. Few give thought to the suffering that sin has caused our Creator. All heaven suffered in Christ’s agony; but that suffering did not begin or end with His manifestation in humanity. The cross is a revelation to our dull senses of the pain that, from its very inception, sin has brought to the heart of God. Every departure from the right, every deed of cruelty, every failure of humanity to reach His ideal, brings grief to Him. When there came upon Israel the calamities that were the sure result of separation from God—subjugation by their enemies, cruelty, and death—it is said that ‘His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.’ ‘In all their affliction He was afflicted … and He bare them, and carried them all the days of old.’ Judges 10:16; Isaiah 63:9.” Education, 263.

10 What caused Jesus to be put on the cross? I Corinthians 15:3; Hebrews 9:28; Isaiah 53:5.

Note: “The Lord desires us to appreciate the great plan of redemption, to realize our high privilege as the children of God, and to walk before Him in obedience, with grateful thanksgiving. He desires us to serve Him in newness of life, with gladness every day. He longs to see gratitude welling up in our hearts because our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life, because we may cast all our care upon Him who cares for us. He bids us rejoice because we are the heritage of the Lord, because the righteousness of Christ is the white robe of His saints, because we have the blessed hope of the soon coming of our Saviour.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 299.

“Love for lost souls brought Christ to Calvary’s cross. Love for souls will lead us to self-denial and sacrifice, for the saving of that which is lost. And as Christ’s followers give back to the Lord His own, they are accumulating treasure which will be theirs when they hear the words: ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant … enter thou into the joy of thy Lord,’ ‘who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.’ Matthew 25:21; Hebrews 12:2. The joy of seeing souls eternally saved will be the reward of all who follow in the steps of the Redeemer.” Testimonies, vol. 9, 59.

Additional Reading

“In taking our nature, the Saviour has bound Himself to humanity by a tie that is never to be broken. Through the eternal ages He is linked with us. … ‘Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given …’ (Isaiah 9:6). God has adopted human nature in the person of His Son, and has carried the same into the highest heaven. It is the ‘Son of man’ who shares the throne of the universe. … In Christ the family of earth and the family of heaven are bound together. Christ glorified is our brother. Heaven is enshrined in humanity, and humanity is enfolded in the bosom of Infinite Love.” God’s Amazing Grace, 79.

This quarter’s lessons were prepared by Ruth Grosboll prior to her passing in January, 2010.

Experiencing God’s plan in the Sanctuary Message

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The sanctuary message is so deep and so broad that it would take a lifetime to study it. As you walk through the sanctuary you behold Jesus Christ. The sanctuary in heaven is the very sensor of Christ’s work in behalf of men. It concerns every living soul upon the earth. It opens to view the plan of redemption, bringing us down to the very close of time revealing the triumphant issue of the contest between righteousness and sin. It is of the utmost importance that all should thoroughly investigate these subjects and be able to give the hope that is in them. The subject of the sanctuary was the key which unlocked the mystery of the disappointment of 1844. It opened to view a complete system of truths connected and harmonious, showing that God’s hand had directed the great Advent Movement, revealing present duty as it brought to light the position of His people.

We all need to keep the subject of the sanctuary in mind. Why? God forbid that the clatter of words coming from human lips should lessen the belief of our people in the truth that there is a sanctuary in heaven, and that the pattern of this sanctuary was once built on this earth. God desires His people to become familiar with this pattern, keeping ever before their minds the heavenly sanctuary where God is all in all.

We live in a time where so many things bombard us, even in our churches. The sanctuary is not preached much. Before I came into the church, I was a Catholic studying to be a Mormon. I did not have much understanding of the Adventist faith, only studying for four days before being baptized. The sanctuary doctrine was particularly hard to understand. The Bible said there was a sanctuary and I was told about the 2300 days and how everything ended in 1844 but not too many people knew anything more than that. They could tell me that there was a building up in heaven and that was all. I knew I had to study more if I wanted to know the truth.

Eventually I met some people who confused me a little and one of my pastors in his message said that the sanctuary did not exist and not to believe that anymore. I thought he was a good pastor and kind of believed him. Another lay person said I needed to believe it and to read the Book, because the truth is there and that is just what I did. I do not know everything, but I do know there is a High Priest ministering in heaven and Jesus is interceding for me and for you right now and there is a sanctuary in heaven.

“In the future, deception of every kind is to arise, and we want solid ground for our feet. We want solid pillars for the building. Not one pin is to be removed from that which the Lord has established. The enemy will bring in false theories, such as the doctrine that there is no sanctuary. This is one of the points on which there will be a departing from the faith. Where shall we find safety unless it be in the truths that the Lord has been giving for the last fifty years?” The Review and Herald, May 25, 1905.

In 1905 the Ballinger controversy was going on and one of his teachings some still hold today. He believed in universal justification which means that everybody was saved at the cross. Ellen White tried to counsel him and told him to be careful, as he was taking a pin away from the sanctuary. If everyone is justified, there is no need for a high priest.

“Satan is striving continually to bring in fanciful suppositions in regard to the sanctuary, degrading the wonderful representations of God and the ministry of Christ for our salvation into something that suits the carnal mind. He removes its presiding power from the hearts of believers, and supplies its place with fantastic theories invented to make void the truths of the atonement, and destroy our confidence in the doctrines which we have held sacred since the third angel’s message was first given. Thus he would rob us of our faith in the very message that has made us a separate people, and has given character and power to our work.” Counsels to Writers and Editors, 53, 54.

It is not merely being a vegetarian or keeping the Sabbath that made Seventh-day Adventists a special people, because there are vegetarians and Sabbatarians not of our faith. It is the understanding of Jesus’ work of salvation in the sanctuary, and there are no Sunday keepers who I know of who believe in this truth.

“The intercession of Christ in man’s behalf in the sanctuary above is as essential to the plan of salvation as was his death upon the cross.” The Great Controversy, (1888), 489.

Salvation does not end at the cross but continues on into heaven. The cross is the power, but it does not finish there. Jesus is trying to lead us back to the Father. We cannot, in our own righteousness, stand in His presence until Jesus washes us and we are a new people in the way we look, talk and think. If our mind is not in unity with His mind, we would want to shrink away from the presence of the One who knows all and reads our mind. The graciousness of Jesus is to bring us back to the Father because He only knows what is acceptable in His sight.

“The intercession of Christ in man’s behalf in the sanctuary above is as essential to the plan of salvation as was his death upon the cross. By his death he began that work which, after his resurrection, he ascended to complete in Heaven. We must by faith enter within the veil, ‘whither the forerunner is for us entered’ [Hebrews 6:20].” Ibid.

There is both an intellectual and also a practical faith. Just because I know that there is a heavenly sanctuary is not enough to save me. By faith I have to enter into that experience.

“There the light from the cross of Calvary is reflected. There we may gain a clearer insight into the mysteries of redemption. The salvation of man is accomplished at an infinite expense to Heaven; the sacrifice made is equal to the broadest demands of the broken law of God. Jesus has opened the way to the Father’s throne, and through his mediation the sincere desire of all who come to him in faith may be presented before God.” Ibid.

In the next passage, Satan is talking—these are his words: “Through those that have a form of godliness but know not the power, we can gain many who would otherwise do us harm. Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God will be our most effective helpers. [Remember, this is Satan talking, and he wants us.] Those of this class who are apt and intelligent will serve as decoys [something that is false—Satan has decoys] to draw others into our snares. Many will not fear their influence, because they profess the same faith [within the church]. We will thus lead them to conclude that the requirements of Christ are less strict than they once believed, and that by conformity to the world they would exert a greater influence with worldlings. Thus they will separate from Christ; then they will have no strength to resist our power, and erelong they will be ready to ridicule their former zeal and devotion.

“Until the great decisive blow shall be struck, our efforts against commandment keepers must be untiring. We must be present at all their gatherings. In their large meetings especially our cause will suffer much, and we must exercise great vigilance, and employ all our seductive arts to prevent souls from hearing the truth and becoming impressed by it.

“I will have upon the ground, as my agents, men holding false doctrines mingled with just enough truth to deceive souls. I will also have unbelieving ones present who will express doubts in regard to the Lord’s messages of warning to His church. Should the people read and believe these admonitions, we could have little hope of overcoming them. But if we can divert their attention from these warnings, they will remain ignorant of our power and cunning, and we shall secure them in our ranks at last. God will not permit His words to be slighted with impunity. If we can keep souls deceived for a time, God’s mercy will be withdrawn, and He will give them up to our full control.

“We must cause distraction and division. We must destroy their anxiety for their own souls, and lead them to criticize, to judge, and to accuse and condemn one another, and to cherish selfishness and enmity. For these sins, God banished us from His presence; and all who follow our example will meet a similar fate.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 474, 475.

Satan knows he is a defeated foe so he attempts to bring everybody else down with him by putting his decoys into the church, and many people are giving up their faith.

At one time while visiting with a minister he told me that The Great Controversy is 19th century theology, that it was not good for today but only good for their time and that the two beast powers were no longer the papacy and the United States because the United States does not act like a beast and the papacy is too quiet. Satan has fooled him.

“From the creation and fall of man to the present time, there has been a continual unfolding of the plan of God for the redemption, through Christ, of the fallen race. The tabernacle and temple of God on earth were patterned after the original in heaven. Around the sanctuary and its solemn services mystically gathered the grand truths which were to be developed through succeeding generations.” The Faith I Live By, 194.

“The great plan of redemption, as revealed in the closing work of these last days, should receive close examination.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 575.

We need to work in harmony with what God is teaching us through the sanctuary. “By study, contemplation, and prayer God’s people will be elevated above common, earthly thoughts and feelings, and will be brought into harmony with Christ and His great work of cleansing the sanctuary above from the sins of the people. Their faith will go with Him into the sanctuary, and the worshipers on earth will be carefully reviewing their lives and comparing their characters with the great standard of righteousness. They will see their own defects; they will also see that they must have the aid of the Spirit of God if they would become qualified for the great and solemn work for this time which is laid upon God’s ambassadors.” Ibid.

Exodus 25:8, 9 says, “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.” God wants to dwell with us. Moses had to make everything after the pattern he saw in the mountain.

In Acts 7:44 it says, “Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen.” “The holy places made with hands were to be ‘figures of the true,’ ‘patterns of things in the heavens’ (Hebrews 9:24, 23)—a miniature representation of the heavenly temple where Christ, our great High Priest, after offering His life as a sacrifice, was to minister in the sinner’s behalf. God presented before Moses in the mount a view of the heavenly sanctuary, and commanded him to make all things according to the pattern shown him. All these directions were carefully recorded by Moses, who communicated them to the leaders of the people.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 343.

The earthly sanctuary was a symbol or a shadow of the heavenly. When you look at a shadow of yourself, you see an outline because you cannot see everything else. The message that God is portraying is that the sanctuary is so deep that even Moses did not have complete understanding.

“It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” Hebrews 9:23, 24.

“But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building.” Hebrews 9:11.

When everything was made for the earthly sanctuary, the priest went into the Most Holy Place, then to the Holy Place and then to the courtyard to dedicate it to the service of God. Then the priest went into the Holy Place for his daily work. Because of a misunderstanding through the translations of the Book of Hebrews some people think He went into the Most Holy Place. Many times when the Bible says Holy Place, it really means Holy places—plural. When Jesus’ ministry on earth was completed here on earth, He went to heaven, right into His Father’s presence. When His Father said that His sacrifice was accepted, He came back to His disciples and told them. When He went into heaven He took some first fruits and He went to a coronation, a dedication, of the sanctuary. He opened it; it says He anointed it and then He started his Holy Place ministration.

In Hebrews 8:1–5 it says, “Now of the things which we have spoken that is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount.” Jesus could not be a priest here on earth because he was of the wrong tribe. He was from the tribe of Judah.

I believe that the sanctuary is a miniature crossing of the promise land. The children of Israel were supposed to go from Egypt, across the Red Sea to Sinai and then to the promised land. This is a symbol of the last days. God has brought us out of Egypt, out from all of our idols. He has baptized us, or brought us through the water, brings us to the law and now He wants to take us in. What is the problem? We do not believe there is a sanctuary. The Word says, “Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established.” Exodus 15:17.

God wants to bring us into the sanctuary because that is where God dwells—in the sanctuary. He wants to draw us right in and say, “Well Done;” but many do not believe.

“Many of the Israelites regarded the sacrificial service as having in itself virtue to set them free from sin. God desired to teach them that it had no more value than that serpent of brass. It was to lead their minds to the Saviour.” The Desire of Ages, 174, 175. The understanding of the sanctuary service is to lead us to the Saviour. Teaching the sanctuary message without introducing Jesus is of no value at all.

In A.D. 70 when the temple was destroyed, all the Jews could do was run and say, “the temple, the temple.” The temple in itself was powerless to do anything for them because Jesus was not there. “Whether for the healing of their wounds or the pardon of their sins, they could do nothing for themselves but show their faith in the Gift of God. They were to look and live.” Ibid. Just like that serpent of brass that was erected in the wilderness, those who looked up in faith to Jesus, whom it represented, were healed.

I grew up in the Catholic church; my godmother was a nun and she would tell me to pray to the rosary beads and they would help me. I would pray, but it did not help. Then she gave me this little statue of a black saint from Africa and told me to put him in my car and wherever I would go he would help me. When I got into an accident, where was he? I knocked him off my dash in frustration because he was no help. Then my godmother gave me some water that came from Italy and told me to put it on me and I would become smart. All of those things were just symbols and idols and useless.

We need to examine ourselves to see if our lives are leading others to Jesus or just uplifting ourselves. In Psalm 29:9 it says, “In his temple doth every one speak of his glory.” His glory is His character. Everything reveals His glory.

“And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.” Ezekiel 37:28. Most people in the world do not know anything about the sanctuary. I had an opportunity to work with a Baptist minister. One time he was reading the book, The Ministry of Healing, and he liked the book and he said that whatever spirit is in that book it is in the Bible. He asked about the author because he had never heard of Ellen White or Seventh-day Adventists. He was so interested that he went down to the book store and bought the whole three-volume set of the Spirit of Prophecy and started reading the books.

The first book he opened to read was The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Volume 7A, Revelation chapter 13, where it talks about apostate Protestantism, and he was a Sunday keeper. He then started crying, recognizing that he was part of apostate Protestantism. He said that if he went back to his church and started preaching from these books, they would fire him. I assured him that if he was fired, Jesus would take him in. I challenged him to accept the message, and he said he was going to take the books back to his church and read them before making a decision. I have not heard from him since.

The understanding of the workings of the sanctuary is a blessing to God’s people. We are the ones privileged to have that light and are teaching it to others. The sanctuary is basically the plan of redemption.

“The sanctuary in heaven is the very center of Christ’s work in behalf of men. It concerns every soul living upon the earth. It opens to view the plan of redemption, bringing us down to the very close of time and revealing the triumphant issue of the contest between righteousness and sin. It is of the utmost importance that all should thoroughly investigate these subjects and be able to give an answer to everyone that asketh them a reason of the hope that is in them.” The Great Controversy, 488.

“For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” Hebrews 4:2.

We know that God loves us because He tells us, “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” Jeremiah 31:3. God is drawing us. “For the love of Christ constraineth us.” II Corinthians 5:14. “There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12.

In John 3:14, 15 it says, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

Jesus draws His people. He is pursuing you and He knows what you have been through and has the power to save you. When He takes your mess from your hands, He takes it into the sanctuary where He can cleanse you and make you into a new creature.

I John 4:8–10 tells us: “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” Propitiation is another word for mercy seat and Jesus is our Mercy Seat.

God loves us so much that He sent His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not die but have everlasting life (John 3:16), and it is by leading us through the sanctuary service that He restores our relationship with Him.

Brad Neeley is Administrative Assistant of M.E.E.T. Ministry. He is a master gardener, lecturer and Bible instructor with over ten years in Christian ministry. He is married to S. Lynn Neeley, they have one daughter, Christiana.

Positions Reversed

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Millions of God’s people have been persecuted and killed, both in ancient and in modern times. But the time is coming when the position of the oppressors and the persecuted will become completely reversed. Those who have been persecuted will receive their eternal inheritance, and those who have been the oppressors will be raised to receive their doom. On which side will you be? Each one of us will either be on one side or the other. How do you know on which side you will be?

The book of Revelation clearly predicts that as we approach the end of the world, the entire world will be deceived, but God’s children will not be deceived. This is spoken of over and over again in the latter chapters of the book of Revelation. Not only will the whole world be deceived, but the book of Revelation tells us that they will be deceived by evil spirits. The devil is the chief evil spirit, and he is the one who deceives the whole world in the last days by means of miracles. Read Revelation 13:13–17 and Revelation 16:13, 14.

People are also going to be induced to build an image to the beast. They will be commanded to worship this image, and if you do not worship this image, it will be decreed that you be killed. In Revelation 13:15, it says, “He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.”

Verses 16 and 17 continue: “He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”

If you do not worship the beast or receive his mark, you will not be able to buy or sell. This is very serious. When the powers of this world declare that you must worship God by worshiping the image to the beast, you must remember that the Ten Commandments say that you are not to worship any image. In Exodus 20:4–6, it says, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” This is clear instruction not to worship any image.

When the powers of this earth say that you must worship the image, or be killed, what is God going to do? The answer is given in Revelation 14:9–12: “Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.’ Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”

Notice, God says that if you worship the beast and his image and receive his mark, you are going to receive of His wrath, undiluted. In other words, it will be unmixed with mercy. This has never happened before. All judgments of God in the world, up to the present time, have been mingled with mercy.

We are living in the day of mercy, the day of grace, called in the Bible, the day of salvation, as you can read in Isaiah 49:8: “Thus says the Lord: ‘In an acceptable time I have heard You, and in the day of salvation I have helped You; I will preserve You and give You as a covenant to the people, to restore the earth, to cause them to inherit the desolate heritages.’ ”

It is the acceptable time, a day of salvation for the person who has been sinning. When a person is sinning, he has been following the devil, because he who sins is of the devil (I John 3:8). During this time, a person who has been living in sin, following the devil, can decide to repent, to turn around, to be converted, and follow Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour.

If we follow Jesus Christ, we are to walk as He walked. He lived a holy life. We are to learn to live the way He lived. We are living in that day of grace, but the day of grace will not last forever.

When the world rejects the third angel’s message, as stated in Revelation 14:9–12, the day of grace will come to an end, and God’s wrath will be poured out. A description of this is found in Revelation 22:11, 12. It says, “He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still. And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.”

The time is coming when you won’t be able to turn around. You won’t be able to forsake your life of sin and follow the Lord Jesus. Whatever condition you are in, you are going to stay that way. You are either saved or lost, and you are going to stay that way. You might be lost today, but we are not yet living in the time when probation is closed, so you still have the opportunity to turn around. You could choose to turn and follow the Lord Jesus. But when probation is closed, it will be too late for you to turn around. It will be too late to change your mind. You will either be saved or lost. And when that happens, then will be what the Bible calls, “the day of His wrath.”

Remember, the third angel’s message tells us that those who do not listen to this will receive God’s wrath unmixed with mercy, unmingled. What is God’s wrath? In Revelation 15:1 it says, “Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete.” If you reject the third angel’s message, then when probation closes, you will receive the wrath of God, and it is contained in the seven last plagues. “So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.” Revelation 16:2.

Those who reject the Three Angels’ Messages will receive the seven last plagues, which are God’s unmingled wrath. They do not just receive the first plague; they receive the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth, and when the seventh plague is poured out, life in this world, as we know it, will come to an end.

Notice what it says in Revelation 16, starting with verse 17: “Then the seventh angel [this is the seventh plague] poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, ‘It is done!’ ” Notice, it is over now! “And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth. Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.” Verses 18–21.

Then the second coming of Christ will occur; the day and hour for the coming of Jesus will be announced from heaven [see “My First Vision,” Christian Experience and Teachings of Ellen G. White (1922), 57–61], and when Jesus comes, it says in the Bible, every eye will see Him (Revelation 1:7). Jesus said to His disciples, before He left them, “If I go away, I am going to prepare a place for you, and I am going to come again, and I am going to receive you to Myself” (John 14:2, 3).

The apostle Paul described this wonderful, exciting event in I Thessalonians 4:16, 17. He said, “The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”

The Bible says, concerning God’s children, that, “They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:16, 17.

In this world, in all ages, the chosen of Jesus Christ have been educated and disciplined in the school of trial. God’s children walk in narrow paths on this earth. Jesus said it is a narrow way that leads to the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 7:14). God’s children, in this world, are purified in the furnace of affliction, and for Jesus’ sake, God’s children have endured opposition and hatred. The children of our Lord have followed Jesus through conflicts, trials terrible, and through self-denial, and they have experienced bitter disappointments. However, by their own painful experience, they have learned the evil of sin and of its power, its guilt, and its woe, and they look upon sin with abhorrence. A sense of the infinite sacrifice that the God of heaven made to cure sin will keep us humble forever. And it will fill our hearts with gratitude and praise for the One Who offered His life on Calvary’s cross to save us from sin and death.

If we are partakers of Christ’s sufferings here, we will be partakers of His glory in the future. The heirs of God, when Jesus comes in the clouds of heaven, will come from hovels, dungeons, scaffolds, mountains, deserts, from the caves of the earth and also from the caverns of the sea. In this world, as Paul says in Hebrews 11, they were destitute, afflicted, and tormented, because they followed Jesus. Millions of people have gone down to the grave, loaded with infamy, because they steadfastly refused to listen to the deceptive claims of Satan that had taken the world captive. By human tribunals they have been judged to be the vilest of criminals, but when Jesus comes, the Bible says, “God Himself is Judge.” Psalm 50:6.

At that time, the decisions of this earth will be reversed. The Bible tells us that the rebuke of His people He will take away. “He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken.” Isaiah 25:8.

Isaiah 62:12 says, “And they shall call them The Holy People, the Redeemed of the Lord; and you shall be called, Sought Out, a City Not Forsaken.” And also, “Proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes ….” That is talking especially about people who have been burned at the stake. “The oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” Isaiah 61:2, 3.

No longer will God’s children be feeble, afflicted, scattered, oppressed and tormented. From now on, the Bible says in I Thessalonians 4:17, they will “always be with the Lord.” They will stand before the throne of God, clad in richer garments than anyone in this world has ever worn. They will have crowns that are more glorious than any monarch of this world wears. The days of pain and weeping will be forever ended. The King of Glory will have wiped away every tear from every face. Every cause of grief will have been removed. They will wave palm branches and pour forth a song of praise, clear, sweet, and harmonious. In fact, the song of praise they will sing is recorded in the Bible in Revelation 7:10, 12. This is what it says they will sing: “Crying out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ … saying: ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever.’ ”

Are you going to be in that throng singing that song? In this world we can only begin to understand the wonderful theme of Redemption. With our finite comprehension, we may consider most earnestly the shame, the glory, the life, the death, the justice, and the mercy that meet in the cross.

With the utmost stretch of our mental powers, we cannot grasp the full significance of the plan of salvation or the cross of Jesus Christ. People in this world dimly comprehend the length and breadth and depth and height of redeeming love. The plan of salvation will not be completely understood, even when we are taken to heaven. It will take eternal ages for us to understand the love, the mercy and grace of God. Your happiness will be constantly increasing. You cannot afford to miss this.

The cross of Jesus Christ will be the science and the song of the redeemed throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. Never will it be forgotten that He Whose power created and upheld unnumbered worlds in space—the Beloved of God, the Majesty of Heaven, the One Whom cherubim and seraphim delighted to adore, that Person—humbled Himself, to uplift fallen man. He came to this world and bore the guilt and shame of sin and the hiding of His Father’s face, until the woes of a lost world broke His heart and crushed out His life.

As we look upon Christ glorified, we will remember Christ crucified. The idea that the Maker of all the worlds, the arbiter of all destinies, should lay aside His glory and humiliate Himself from love to man, will always excite the wonder and adoration of the universe.

The Bible asks, “What do you conspire against the Lord? … affliction will not rise up a second time.” Nahum 1:9. The plan of salvation will work a permanent cure to the rebellion and disobedience of sin. As the nations of the saved look upon their Redeemer and see the eternal glory of the Father shining in His countenance, as they behold His throne, which is from everlasting to everlasting, and they know that His kingdom is to have no end (Daniel 7), they will break forth into a rapturous song.

We are told in Revelation 5:11–13 what heaven’s inhabitants are going to declare: “I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!’ And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: ‘Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!’ ”

The mystery of the cross explains all other mysteries. When we look at the light that streams from Calvary, then the attributes of God that used to fill us with fear and awe begin to appear beautiful and attractive, because we see that mercy and tenderness and parental love blend with holiness, justice and power. While we behold the majesty of God upon His throne, high and lifted up, we will see in His character the gracious manifestations and comprehend, as never before, the significance of that endearing term by which Jesus taught us to address Him Who is in heaven, “Our Father.”

It is going to be seen, in the future, that God the Father, the One Who is infinite in wisdom, could devise no plan for the salvation of fallen man except the sacrifice of His Son. The compensation for this sacrifice is the joy of peopling the earth with ransomed beings, holy, happy and immortal. Jesus asked of His Father, in the Garden of Gethsemane, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Matthew 26:39. And, the chief priests, when Jesus was on the cross, spoke the words inspired of them by the devil, “If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.” Matthew 27:42. Jesus could have come down from the cross. Jesus could have walked away from the Garden of Gethsemane. He could have left this world to perish in its guilt. But, because He did not walk away, because He did not come down from the cross, because He died on the cross to pay the price of sin, He has the authority and the right to forgive your sins, to cleanse you from all unrighteousness, if you confess them (I John 1:9). He has the right to give to you the gift of eternal life.

If we follow Jesus, we must obey His law; we must follow Him in holy living, but our obedience has nothing to do with merit. All merit for eternal life is of grace, none of works. Paul said, “For by grace you have been saved through faith … not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8, 9. It is a gift, but it is a gift that can be given only to those who are fit to receive it.

There are going to be some wonderful consequences of the Saviour’s conflict with the powers of darkness. It is going to be joy to the redeemed, redounding to the glory of God throughout all eternity. The big question is, Are you going to participate in this great salvation?

We do not comprehend what it means, because we do not live very long. How many people do you know who are over a hundred years old? We do not live very long in this world, but if you are saved, if you are redeemed, if you are taken to the Father’s house, you will then be given a life that measures with the life of God. You will be alive, not just a hundred years from now, not just a thousand years from now, not just ten thousand years from now; you will have a life that will never end. Can you comprehend the value of a gift like that? If you are given life that will last forever, that would have more value than you could write down or compute. It has infinite value.

The value of your soul is so great that the Father saw fit to send His Son to this world, to pay the price for your sins so that you could be restored and redeemed. The value of the soul is so great, that the Father is satisfied with the price that is paid. Not only is the Father satisfied with the price that is paid, but Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for your sins, will also be satisfied with the price paid. Notice what it says in Isaiah 53:11, 12: “He shall see the travail [labor] of His soul, and be satisfied. … Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

Jesus will be satisfied. He wants to take you to that place and give to you eternal life. The question is, Will you let Him do it? Will you choose to be His disciple, to follow Him today, in obedience and holy living?

[Bible texts quoted are NKJV translation.]

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

Editorial – True or False Assurance

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“Therefore, brothers, be diligent to make sure of your calling and election.” II Peter 1:10, Literal Translation. Unfortunately, much of the assurance that many Christians have today is a false assurance. Ellen White explained it this way: “Many accept an intellectual religion, a form of godliness, when the heart is not cleansed. Let it be your prayer, ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.’ Psalm 51:10. Deal truly with your own soul. Be as earnest, as persistent, as you would be if your mortal life were at stake. This is a matter to be settled between God and your own soul, settled for eternity. A supposed hope, and nothing more, will prove your ruin.”

“Study God’s word prayerfully. That word presents before you, in the law of God and the life of Christ, the great principles of holiness, without which ‘no man shall see the Lord.’ Hebrews 12:14. It convinces of sin; it plainly reveals the way of salvation. Give heed to it as the voice of God speaking to your soul.” Steps to Christ, 35.

Has your heart been renewed by Divine grace so that the supreme object in your life is to be Christlike, to breathe His Spirit, do His will, and please Him in all things? If not, any assurance that you have is a false assurance and will not stand the test of the judgment.

“Many are leaning upon a supposed hope without a true foundation. The fountain is not cleansed, therefore the streams proceeding from that fountain are not pure. Cleanse the fountain, and the streams will be pure. If the heart is right, your words, your dress, your acts, will all be right. True godliness is lacking. I would not dishonor my Master so much as to admit that a careless, trifling, prayerless person is a Christian. No; a Christian has victory over his besetments, over his passions. There is a remedy for the sin-sick soul. That remedy is in Jesus. Precious Saviour! His grace is sufficient for the weakest; and the strongest must also have His grace or perish.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 158.

“The hope of eternal life is not to be received upon slight grounds. It is a subject to be settled between God and your own soul–settled for eternity. A supposed hope, and nothing more, will prove your ruin. Since you are to stand or fall by the word of God, it is to that word you must look for testimony in your case. There you can see what is required of you to become a Christian. Do not lay off your armor, or leave the battlefield until you have obtained the victory, and triumph in your Redeemer.” Ibid., 163, 164.

“To make our calling and election sure is to follow the Bible plan to closely examine ourselves, to make strict inquiry whether we are indeed converted, whether our minds are drawn out after God and heavenly things, our wills renewed, our whole souls changed.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 19, 351, 352.

Merit or Grace

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In the beginning of Acts 16, it says that while Paul and Silas were answering the Macedonian call in Philippi, they were beaten and put in jail without a trial. That night there was an earthquake, and the jailer was also afraid that the prisoners would escape, which would result in him being under the death sentence, so he decided to kill himself. “But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, ‘Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.’ Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas, And he brought them out and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ ” Acts 16:28–30.

That is the most important question that any human being can ask: “What must I do to be saved?” Paul says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household” (verse 31). That night was a successful one night evangelistic series. No sermons were preached; it consisted only of a song service. Paul and Silas, in chains, sang in the prison praising the Lord. Then, suddenly, there was an earthquake. The jailer realized the prisoners had something that he did not have, and he wanted it; he wanted to be saved. They told him to, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.”

Salvation is not complicated. It is simple enough that a child can understand it. All you have to do is believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

Believe is often translated faith in the Bible. The Greek word translated believe, means to believe something enough to make a commitment to it. It is not merely an intellectual knowledge; it is a commitment. To believe in Jesus is to make a commitment to Him.

United States citizens are proud that they live in the land of the free and the home of the brave and do not live under the servitude of lords. The Roman Empire did understand the meaning of the word lord, because approximately two-thirds of the population was in slavery, with only one-third free. Those who were unfortunate to be slaves had a lord. Their master was called their lord. And that master, or lord, had absolute authority over their lives. In fact, if the slave did something that the lord did not like, he had authority to kill him without a trial because he was a slave. When Paul said, “Believe in the Lord,” the jailer knew exactly what the word Lord meant.

In Western society today, there are many who say they believe in Jesus as their Lord, but He had something to say to them. “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say?” Luke 6:46. Is Jesus really Lord to those who disobey Him and are they guaranteed salvation? Jesus predicted that in the last generation this very thing would happen.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you: depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ ” Matthew 7:21–23.

Notice, these are people who call Jesus Lord, but they do not do what He says. They break His law. There is no nation in the world that does not have laws. Judges in the courts of all countries consider a person to be a loyal citizen if he keeps the laws. God also has laws, and He decides the loyalty of the citizen of His government by the keeping of His law. In the final judgment, God will ask the same question that worldly judges ask: “Have you kept the law?”

When countries make laws, they are ever changing them and updating them. It is estimated that there have been over 35 million different human laws made; however, in God’s government, He has made only one law that has ten parts. The whole universe can be governed with one law that a child can read and understand. Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” John 14:15.

Ellen White wrote, “Let this point be fully settled in every mind: If we accept Christ as a Redeemer, we must accept Him as a Ruler. We cannot have the assurance and perfect confiding trust in Christ as our Saviour until we acknowledge Him as our King and are obedient to His commandments. Thus we evidence our allegiance to God.” Faith and Works, 16.

Is Jesus the Lord of your life? Many people today in the Western world want Jesus to be the Saviour of their life, but they do not want Him to be the Lord of their life. In essence they are saying, “We won’t have this man reign over us” (Luke 19:14).

  • Paraphrasing John 3:16, it is seen to have seven parts after recognizing God:
  • “God” – brings us to acknowledge an Almighty Authority, Himself, He
  • “so loved the world” – the strongest motive, love
  • “that He gave” – at ultimate cost
  • “His only begotten Son” – that resulted in the greatest gift that has ever been given
  • “that whoever” – this is the widest welcome that has ever been given
  • “believes in Him” – that is the easiest escape that has ever been given
  • “should not perish” – assuring divine deliverance
  • “but have everlasting life” – they will receive a priceless possession

Putting it all together, John 3:16 would read, “The One who has Almighty authority, motivated by the strongest motivation, gave the greatest gift, to give us the widest welcome, and the easiest escape, and divine deliverance, so that we might have a priceless possession.”

It is this subject that we are admonished to talk about the most. Ellen White wrote, “There is not a point that needs to be dwelt upon more earnestly, repeated more frequently, or established more firmly in the minds of all, than the impossibility of fallen man meriting anything by his own best good works. Salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ alone. …

“Let the subject be made distinct and plain that it is not possible to effect anything in our standing before God or in the gift of God to us through creature merit.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 3, 420.

If we are going to inherit eternal life, we need to understand that there is nothing we can ever do to provide any part of the merit. It is a gift that comes through grace alone, to the person who believes. One of the greatest deceptions of all time, that has permeated all heathen religions and also the Christian world, is the idea that we are saved by faith and works.

Martin Luther fought this idea during the reformation. The belief that a person is saved by faith and works opens the door for believing that not only your own good works, but also those of others and even the saints give merit to salvation.

The book of James says that, “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:20, 26). True faith produces works; however, those works have no merit and have no saving power.

“Should faith and works purchase the gift of salvation for anyone, then the Creator is under obligation to the creature. Here is an opportunity for falsehood to be accepted as truth. If any man can merit salvation by anything he may do, then he is in the same position as the Catholic to do penance for his sins. Salvation, then, is partly of debt that may be earned as wages. If man cannot, by any of his good works, merit salvation, then it must be wholly of grace, received by man as a sinner because he receives and believes in Jesus. It is wholly a free gift.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 3, 420.

When you work or have a job, your employer is obligated to give you the appropriate wages. But if a man cannot, by any of his good works, merit salvation, and it is received by him, as a sinner, just because he receives and believes the promise in Jesus, then it is completely by grace—a free gift.

The apostle Paul wrote about this a great deal in the books of Romans, Galatians and Ephesians. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8, 9. “If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him Who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imparts righteousness apart from works.” Romans 4:2–6 (Literal translation).

Paul emphasized this point because of the error being taught in Christ’s day that a person was saved by grace, but they needed to do something first; they needed to be circumcised first, and then they would receive the grace.

That same teaching is very popular in churches today, including the Protestant churches, but it is not called circumcision. Some say first you need to repent, and that is true, but there are no merits in repentance. Some say that you need to have faith—belief. There is no merit just because you have faith. Salvation is through grace alone; it is a free gift and does not come because of anything that you do.

“It [salvation] is wholly a free gift. Justification by faith is placed beyond controversy. And all this controversy is ended, as soon as the matter is settled that the merits of fallen man in his good works can never procure eternal life for him.” Faith and Works, 20.

But the devil pulls another trick on those who do understand that there is nothing you can do to save yourself. Hundreds of millions of Christians in the world today believe that the church can save you if you are a member or are baptized. If you are a member of the Catholic Church, you need to be an active participant in the seven sacraments, which, if observed, enable you to receive the grace.

Stated bluntly, the church is unable to save anyone, and there will be billions of people lost who have been baptized. Billions of people who have partaken of the communion supper will not be in the kingdom of heaven. We cannot save ourselves, and the church cannot save us either. This same deception that is popular today was also popular in the days of Christ. The people believed that if they were not connected to Israel, the church, they would not be saved. Even Christ’s disciples believed this.

John records an incident when Jesus gave sight to the man who was born blind. There was a big church trial, and before it was over, because the man confessed Christ, he was disfellowshiped. “The Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, ‘Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?’ His parents answered them and said, ‘We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself.’ ” John 9:18–21.

Everybody in town, including his parents, knew what had happened, because the news had gone all over town, so why did they lie? They must have known it was wrong to lie and that no liars will be in heaven (Revelation 21:8). “His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, because the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed He was the Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.” John 9:22 (Literal translation).

They were under one of the most powerful delusions that can happen to a person. They had been taught that if you were disfellowshiped from the synagogue, you would not have eternal life. Ironically, the very thing they did do, lie, would keep them out of the kingdom of God. They thought that as long as they stayed in and had that connection with the church, they would be saved.

If they really wanted to be saved, they would have had to allow themselves to be disfellowshiped and not lie. This story is important, because this has happened millions of times since then. The very thing that people think will assure them of eternal life is the very thing that guarantees their destruction. Jesus’ own disciples believed this.

“ ‘I am the true Vine’ [John 15:1]. The Jews had always regarded the vine as the most noble of plants, and a type of all that was powerful, excellent, and fruitful. Israel had been represented as a vine which God had planted in the Promised Land. The Jews based their hope of salvation on the fact of their connection with Israel.” The Desire of Ages, 675.

Jesus says, “I am the real vine. Think not that through a connection with Israel you may become partakers of the life of God and inheritors of His promise. Through Me alone is spiritual life received.” Are you connected with the True Vine? Baptism with water is a symbol and important, but if you do not have what it represents, the symbol will not save you.

Peter explains what baptism represents. “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’ ” Acts 2:37, 38. Baptism by water represents baptism by the Holy Spirit.

Even though church will not save you, it is important to belong to one. “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body (the church)—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.” I Corinthians 12:13. Baptism, water baptism, is the door into the church. But water baptism is a symbol that won’t save you if you don’t have what it represents.

You become a member of the body of Christ when you are baptized by the Holy Spirit. Paul met some people in Acts 19 who had been baptized, and he asked if they had received the Holy Spirit. They said they had been baptized into John’s baptism and were told they needed to be baptized again. This clearly indicates that baptism is not really valid if you have not received the Holy Spirit.

There are many who have attended church all their life and decide to be rebaptized because they did not know before what they were doing or were not prepared. They did not receive the Holy Spirit.

If you have not received the Holy Spirit, the church cannot save you. The big question is, Are you connected with Jesus? Jesus said, “I am the true Vine.” There are two things working to connect the branches to the grape vines. The outer connection, the lignite in the wood, just holds them physically to the vine. The outer connection could be likened to church membership. When a person is baptized with water and makes a profession, they are now a “member” of the church, outwardly. It has an outer connection, but if the life sap does not flow through the inner part of that vine into the branch, it will die. This is described in John 15.

The dead branch is a person who is a member of the church, professing to be a Christian. They profess to be getting ready for Jesus to come, and they look like they are connected, but the only trouble is, there is no life in them.

When working with grape vines, you learn to trim and tie up the vines. Every dead branch is cut off. Jesus said, “That’s what My Father does.” Notice what He says in John 15:2–5: “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes [cleanses/purifies], that it may bear more fruit. You are already purified or cleansed, because of the word which I have spoken to you. ‘Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing’ ” (Literal translation).

Is the life of Christ coming into your life and is the Holy Spirit working a transformation in your life, changing the way you think and the way you act? Do others recognize you as a Christian?

There have been many discussions about creature merit. Theologians have been arguing these things for hundreds of years. Ellen White wrote about these discussions. She said,

“Discussions may be entered into by mortals strenuously advocating creature merit, and each man striving for the supremacy, but they simply do not know that all the time, in principle and character, they are misrepresenting the truth as it is in Jesus. They are in a fog of bewilderment. They need the divine love of God which is represented by gold tried in the fire; they need the white raiment of Christ’s pure character; and they need the heavenly eyesalve that they might discern with astonishment the utter worthlessness of creature merit to earn the wages of eternal life.” Faith and Works, 23.

How much is creature merit worth? She calls it utter worthlessness.

“The Lord Jesus imparts all the powers, all the grace, all the penitence, all the inclination, all the pardon of sins, in presenting His righteousness for man to grasp by living faith—which is also the gift of God. If you would gather together everything that is good and holy and noble and lovely in man and then present the subject to the angels of God as acting a part in the salvation of the human soul or in merit, the proposition would be rejected as treason.” Ibid., 24. Even the angels would say it was treason against the government of God.

Salvation is not complicated. It is a natural human tendency to want to do something to gain merit, so that we can be saved, but we can never be saved that way. Ellen White says, “He need not wait until he has made a suitable repentance before he may take hold upon Christ’s righteousness. We do not understand the matter of salvation. It is just as simple as ABC. But we don’t understand it.” Ibid., 64.

How can you receive the gift of salvation? Just say, “Lord, I’m choosing to believe in Jesus as the Lord of my life and Saviour from sin.” Jesus stated it in that simple language, over and over again. The apostle John, more than any other apostle, quoted Jesus’ words on that subject. For instance, he said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” John 5:24. “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.” John 6:47. That is not complicated. Jesus said, “If you believe in Me, you have eternal life.”

There is much to be thankful for. “The people had not been destroyed by the serpents in their long travels through the wilderness. They had been an ungrateful people.

“We are just so. We do not realize the thousand dangers that our heavenly Father has kept us from. We do not realize the great blessing that He has bestowed upon us in giving us food and raiment, in preserving our lives by sending the guardian angels to watch over us. Every day we should be thankful for this. We ought to have gratitude stirring in our hearts and come to God with a gratitude offering every day. We ought to gather around the family altar every day and praise Him for His watchcare over us. The children of Israel had lost sight that God was protecting them from the venomous beasts. But when He withdrew His hand their sting was upon them.” Ibid., 69.

We ought to have such gratitude that we gather around the family altar every day and praise Him for His watchcare over us. The children of Israel had lost sight that God was protecting them from the venomous beasts, but when He withdrew His hand, their sting was upon them. If we could just comprehend how simple the plan of salvation is. All you have to do is choose to believe. Some may say they cannot. Remember the man who came to Jesus and He said, “If you can believe, everything is possible” (Mark 9:23). The man then said, “Lord, I believe,” but he was struggling with doubt, just the way people are today. It is the devil’s intention to try to destroy all who believe by causing doubt. This man was struggling with doubt, and he said, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief” [verse 24].

Ellen White says that if you pray that prayer you can never perish. The plan of salvation is that simple. If we really believed it, we would be happy; we would be thankful; we would be rejoicing; we would be praising God every day for what He has done for us.

In the wilderness, the children of Israel were told to look at the brass snake and be saved (Numbers 21:8, 9). The Lord says, “Look unto Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and none else.” Isaiah 45:22 (Literal translation). This is not complicated. Are you willing to look? A dead snake, a brass snake, cannot save anybody. The Lord says, “If you will look, I will save you.” The problem we have is that we live in a world where the religion of Cain is more popular than the true religion. The religion of Cain says you have to do something for the Lord to save you. That is a deception. Just come to Jesus, just the way you are right now, with all of your sins, with all of your weaknesses. You cannot make yourself better.

Jesus said, “He who comes to Me, I will in no case cast out” (John 6:37). If you will come, He will save you. If you look, He will save you. You don’t have to do something first; just come to Jesus right now, just the way you are, with all of your sins, with all of your guilt, with all of your failings, with all of your past; come with everything that is wrong with you. He just says, “Look to Me. Come to Me, I will save you. You do the coming, I will do the saving.”

We cannot save ourselves; the church cannot save us, and no human being can save us. Only Jesus can save us.

(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 Free Seventh-day Adventist Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.