salvation

Bible Study Guides – A Plan to Regain Paradise

by

April 14, 2013 – April 20, 2013

Key Text

“Jesus saith unto him [Thomas], I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” John 14:6.

Study Help: Patriarchs and Prophets, 71–79; “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 931.

Introduction

“The Father has given the world into the hands of Christ, that through His mediatorial work He may redeem man and vindicate the authority and holiness of the law of God.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 366.

1 GOD’S PROMISE

  • What promise has God often repeated? Genesis 12:3; 22:18; 28:14; Galatians 3:8, 16.

Note: “Not alone at the Saviour’s advent, but through all the ages after the Fall and the promise of redemption, ‘God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself’ (II Corinthians 5:19). Christ was the foundation and center of the sacrificial system in both the patriarchal and the Jewish age. Since the sin of our first parents there has been no direct communication between God and man. … All the communion between heaven and the fallen race has been through Christ. It was the Son of God that gave to our first parents the promise of redemption. It was He who revealed Himself to the patriarchs. Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses understood the gospel. They looked for salvation through man’s Substitute and Surety. These holy men of old held communion with the Saviour who was to come to our world in human flesh.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 366.

  • What does the Bible call God’s promise to send His Son into the world, and how was the promise fulfilled? Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:18, 21.

Note: “The gospel preached to Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses was to them good news; for their faith embraced a coming Saviour.” The Signs of the Times, August 7, 1879.

2 CAIN AND ABEL

  • How was Abel blessed, accepted, and justified through the gospel? Hebrews 11:4.

Note: “ ‘By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain’ (Hebrews 11:4). Abel grasped the great principles of redemption. He saw himself a sinner, and he saw sin and its penalty, death, standing between his soul and communion with God. He brought the slain victim, the sacrificed life, thus acknowledging the claims of the law that had been transgressed. Through the shed blood he looked to the future sacrifice, Christ dying on the cross of Calvary; and trusting in the atonement that was there to be made, he had the witness that he was righteous, and his offering accepted.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 72.

  • How did Cain forfeit the blessings and acceptance of the gospel, and why? Genesis 4:3, 5.

Note: “Cain came before God with murmuring and infidelity in his heart in regard to the promised sacrifice and the necessity of the sacrificial offerings. His gift expressed no penitence for sin. He felt, as many now feel, that it would be an acknowledgment of weakness to follow the exact plan marked out by God, of trusting his salvation wholly to the atonement of the promised Saviour. He chose the course of self-dependence. He would come in his own merits. He would not bring the lamb, and mingle its blood with his offering, but would present his fruits, the products of his labor. He presented his offering as a favor done to God, through which he expected to secure the divine approval. Cain obeyed in building an altar, obeyed in bringing a sacrifice; but he rendered only a partial obedience. The essential part, the recognition of the need of a Redeemer, was left out.

“So far as birth and religious instruction were concerned, these brothers were equal. Both were sinners, and both acknowledged the claims of God to reverence and worship. To outward appearance their religion was the same up to a certain point, but beyond this the difference between the two was great.” [Author’s italics.] Patriarchs and Prophets, 72.

3 TWO CLASSES OF WORSHIPERS

  • What two classes of worshipers do Cain and Abel represent? How do the two phases in the life of Paul illustrate the difference between these two classes? Philippians 3:4–9.

Note: “Cain and Abel represent two classes that will exist in the world till the close of time. One class avail themselves of the appointed sacrifice for sin; the other venture to depend upon their own merits; theirs is a sacrifice without the virtue of divine mediation, and thus it is not able to bring man into favor with God. It is only through the merits of Jesus that our transgressions can be pardoned. Those who feel no need of the blood of Christ, who feel that without divine grace they can by their own works secure the approval of God, are making the same mistake as did Cain. If they do not accept the cleansing blood, they are under condemnation. There is no other provision made whereby they can be released from the thralldom of sin.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 72, 73.

  • What lesson should we learn from the fig-leaf garments of our first parents and from the offering of Cain? Genesis 3:7; Jude 11, first part. What principle underlies the belief and practice of those who fail to abide by the true gospel?

Note: “The class of worshipers who follow the example of Cain includes by far the greater portion of the world; for nearly every false religion has been based on the same principle—that man can depend upon his own efforts for salvation. It is claimed by some that the human race is in need, not of redemption, but of development—that it can refine, elevate, and regenerate itself. As Cain thought to secure the divine favor by an offering that lacked the blood of a sacrifice, so do these expect to exalt humanity to the divine standard, independent of the atonement. The history of Cain shows what must be the result. It shows what man will become apart from Christ. Humanity has no power to regenerate itself. It does not tend upward, toward the divine, but downward, toward the satanic. Christ is our only hope.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 73.

4 THE GOSPEL AND THE TWO COVENANTS

  • How are we in danger of failing—as the Israelites failed—to truly understand the gospel? Exodus 24:7; Joshua 24:19–21; Hebrews 3:15–17; 4:2.

Note: “The people [of Israel] did not realize the sinfulness of their own hearts, and that without Christ it was impossible for them to keep God’s law; and they readily entered into covenant with God. Feeling that they were able to establish their own righteousness, they declared, ‘All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient’ (Exodus 24:7). They had witnessed the proclamation of the law in awful majesty, and had trembled with terror before the mount; and yet only a few weeks passed before they broke their covenant with God, and bowed down to worship a graven image. They could not hope for the favor of God through a covenant which they had broken.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 371, 372.

  • What covenant did the Lord offer to establish with Israel and is offering to each one of us? Jeremiah 31:31–34; Hebrews 8:8–12.

Note: “The same law that was engraved upon the tables of stone is written by the Holy Spirit upon the tables of the heart. Instead of going about to establish our own righteousness we accept the righteousness of Christ. His blood atones for our sins. His obedience is accepted for us. Then the heart renewed by the Holy Spirit will bring forth ‘the fruits of the Spirit.’ ” Patriarchs and Prophets, 372.

“It is impossible for us, of ourselves, to escape from the pit of sin in which we are sunken. Our hearts are evil, and we cannot change them. ‘Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.’ ‘The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be’ (Job 14:4; Romans 8:7). Education, culture, the exercise of the will, human effort, all have their proper sphere, but here they are powerless. They may produce an outward correctness of behavior, but they cannot change the heart; they cannot purify the springs of life. There must be a power working from within, a new life from above, before men can be changed from sin to holiness. That power is Christ. His grace alone can quicken the lifeless faculties of the soul, and attract it to God, to holiness.” Steps to Christ, 18.

“By His perfect obedience He [Christ] has made it possible for every human being to obey God’s commandments.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 312.

5 ONLY ONE TRUE GOSPEL

  • Since the days of Eden, men and women have been saved by only one gospel. How does this apply to us? John 14:6; Acts 4:12.

Note: “Christ is the connecting link between God and man. He has promised His personal intercession by employing His name.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1078.

“Through the grace of Christ we shall live in obedience to the law of God written upon our hearts. Having the Spirit of Christ, we shall walk even as He walked.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 372.

  • How are we to benefit from the gospel? I Timothy 1:15; Ephesians 1:4–11.

Note: “Jesus … took humanity upon Himself that He might touch and elevate humanity. He came to seek and to save that which was lost. He reached to the very depth of human misery and woe, to take man as He found him, a being tainted with corruption, degraded with vice, depraved by sin, and united with Satan in apostasy, and elevate him to a seat upon His throne.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 199.

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1 Why is the plan of salvation referred to as the “gospel”?

2 How do we know that Abel was under the “new” covenant?

3 What will make us today to be an “Abel” instead of a “Cain”?

4 How can we be sure our religious experience is really in accordance with the new covenant?

5 How would you summarize the gospel to someone who has never heard it before?

© 2007 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.

Bible Study Guides – A Plan With a Purpose

by

April 28, 2013 – May 4, 2013

That I Might Live

Key Text

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

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

Introduction

“Through the goodness and mercy of Christ the sinner is to be restored to the divine favor. God in Christ is daily beseeching men to be reconciled to God.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 178.

1 RESTORATION TO GOD’S FAVOR

  • For what purpose does the gospel call come to us? Mark 2:17, last part.

Note: “He [the Majesty of heaven] is too pure, He is too just, to behold iniquity. But even this need not keep you away from Him; for He says, ‘I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance’ (Mark 2:17). Let perishing souls come to Him just as they are, without one plea, and plead the atoning blood of Christ, and they will find acceptance with God.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 252.

  • What does salvation through Christ mean for us, here and now? Matthew 1:21; Revelation 1:5, last part.

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

2 TWO THINGS OFFERED

  • What does God offer us, and on what condition, as a first step in our restoration? Isaiah 55:6, 7; Luke 24:47.

Note: “Through faith, the believer passes from the position of a rebel, a child of sin and Satan, to the position of a loyal subject of Christ Jesus, not because of an inherent goodness, but because Christ receives him as His child by adoption. The sinner receives the forgiveness of his sins, because these sins are borne by his Substitute and Surety.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1070.

“God does not deal with us as finite men deal with one another. His thoughts are thoughts of mercy, love, and tenderest compassion. He says, ‘Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.’ ‘I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins’ (Isaiah 55:7; 44:22).” Steps to Christ, 53.

  • Besides forgiving us, what else does God do in behalf of our salvation? I John 1:9. What aim is put before us, and what is our responsibility? Philippians 3:12–14; John 5:14; 8:11.

Note: “Abstain from all evil. Common sins, however insignificant they may be regarded, will impair your moral sense, and extinguish the inward impression of the Spirit of God. The character of the thoughts leaves its imprint upon the soul, and all low conversation pollutes the mind. All evil works ruin to those who commit it. God may and will forgive the repenting sinner, but though forgiven, the soul is marred; the power of the elevated thought possible to the unimpaired mind is destroyed. Through all time the soul bears the scars. Then let us seek for that faith which works by love and purifies the heart, that we may represent the character of Christ to the world.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 195.

“It is by following in the path of obedience in simple faith that the character obtains perfection.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 1137.

3 DELIVERANCE FROM SATAN’S GRASP

  • What did Paul say about the deliverance that Christ operates in us when we accept Him? Hebrews 2:15; Colossians 1:13. Sadly, how do some people cooperate with Satan rather than with Christ?

Note: “Satan will move upon minds that have been indulged, upon men who have always had their own way, and anything presented to them in counsel or reproof to change their objectionable traits of character, is considered fault-finding, binding them, restraining them, that they cannot have liberty to act themselves. The Lord in great mercy has sent messages of warning to them, but they would not listen to reproof. Like the enemy who rebelled in heaven, they did not like to hear; they do not correct the wrong they have done, but become accusers, declaring themselves misused and unappreciated.

“Now is the time of trial, of test, of proving. Those who like Saul, will persist in having their own way, will suffer as he did, loss of honor, and finally the loss of the soul.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 3, 1163, 1164.

  • How does Christ make us free from the penalty of the law that condemn us? Romans 3:24–26; 5:1.
  • What should we learn from the experience of the apostle Paul? Romans 7:9.

Note: “The apostle Paul, in relating his experience, presents an important truth concerning the work to be wrought in conversion. He says, ‘I was alive without the law once’—he felt no condemnation; ‘but when the commandment came,’ when the law of God was urged upon his conscience, ‘sin revived, and I died’ (Romans 7:9). Then he saw himself a sinner, condemned by the divine law. Mark, it was Paul, and not the law, that died.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1076.

4 RESTORING THE IMAGE OF GOD IN US

  • How does faith in the gospel relate to the law of God? Romans 3:31.
  • What warning are we given against transgressing God’s law? Romans 2:23–27; 8:7; I Timothy 1:9, 10.

Note: “The law of God is the mirror to show man the defects in his character. But it is not pleasant to those who take pleasure in unrighteousness to see their moral deformity. They do not prize this faithful mirror, because it reveals to them their sins. Therefore, instead of instituting a war against their carnal minds, they war against the true and faithful mirror, given them by Jehovah for the very purpose that they may not be deceived, but that they may have revealed to them the defects in their character.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1077.

  • What do we lose through sin? Romans 3:23; 6:23.
  • What is to be restored in us through the gospel? II Corinthians 3:18. How? John 16:13; 17:17, 19.
  • How does Christ perform the ministry of restoration? I Thessalonians 5:23.

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

5 HEIRS OF THE KINGDOM

  • On what condition, and for what purpose, has God given us “the Spirit of adoption”? Romans 8:14–17. What evidence reveals our adoption as God’s children? II Corinthians 6:16–18; II Peter 1:4.

Note: “Let every one who desires to be a partaker of the divine nature appreciate the fact that he must escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. There must be a constant, earnest struggling of the soul against the evil imaginings of the mind. There must be a steadfast resistance of temptation to sin in thought or act. The soul must be kept from every stain, through faith in Him who is able to keep you from falling. We should meditate upon the scriptures, thinking soberly and candidly upon the things that pertain to our eternal salvation.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 3, 1145.

  • How are we enabled to resist the clamoring of our own carnal nature? Colossians 1:10, 11; Ephesians 3:16, 20.

Note: “Man cannot transform himself by the exercise of his will. He possesses no power by which this change can be effected. … All the culture and education which the world can give will fail of making a degraded child of sin a child of heaven. The renewing energy must come from God. The change can be made only by the Holy Spirit. All who would be saved, high or low, rich or poor, must submit to the working of this power.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 96, 97.

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1 What is the main purpose of the gospel?

2 Name two benefits granted us through God’s forgiveness.

3 How is the experience of the apostle Paul an example for us?

4 How are we to relate to the law and the gospel?

5 What is the depth of the value of the gospel message?

© 2007 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.

The Work of a Lifetime

by

From the study of life’s instruction book, we know that Christ often used everyday events to drive home a point. We call these occurrences parables. One of my favorite parables is that of the sower. It was one of the first ones I knew about in any great detail, and how I first became familiar with it is an interesting story.

Twenty years ago, I was the chief financial officer for a non-profit organization that operated bookstores in United States National Park Service areas. We had approximately sixty outlets in eleven western states. It came to pass that we needed to hire a controller. One of the applicants, when inquiring about the position, asked if it required working on Saturdays. I explained that at that point in time, I had worked for the organization for seven years and had never had to work on a Saturday and that our work was typically Monday through Friday. He responded that he would not want to apply if Saturday work was required, as he was a Seventh-day Adventist. Since I had never heard of Seventh-day Adventists, his remark did not mean much to me, other than that he was willing to turn down the chance for a relatively high-paying job simply because he did not want to work on Saturday.

During our interview, the applicant again stressed the fact that he would not work on Saturday, further explaining that his determination often made him the “odd man out” in previous positions. We acknowledged this restriction to his work and admonished him that if he were hired, he could not evangelize at the office, a condition to which he agreed.

Our interview was on a Friday. When it concluded, I asked him if he was going to head back home that evening, which required a two-hour plane flight, or wait until Saturday to go home. He replied that he was going to stay over until Sunday, at his own expense, because he did not want to travel on Saturday.

Again, I was struck by his determination to keep a low profile on Saturdays. It brought to my mind an incident that had occurred forty years before when I was about ten years old. I was attending Sunday school in the Methodist church. We were studying the Ten Commandments. When we read the fourth commandment, my little numbers-oriented brain did a quick calculation and realized that we were in church on the first day of the week, not the seventh. When I asked my Sunday school teacher about it, and later my parents, I received a vague answer that did little to satisfy my curiosity.

Nothing more occurred that caused me to reflect on this disparity for forty years—until this young applicant made it so prominent during the application and interview process.

After the applicant left our office, the executive director of our organization advised that we ponder this situation over the weekend and decide on Monday whether or not to make a job offer.

During the entire weekend, I was pondering the situation and anxiously looking forward to an opportunity to ask this young man about this “seventh-day thing.”

Monday morning, the executive director asked me to what conclusion I had come regarding a job offer. My exact words were, “I am absolutely giddy with anticipation,” which was clearly not the answer that he had expected. He had decided not to make an offer, as he felt that this man would indeed be an “odd man out” and would not participate in our Friday afternoon “attitude adjustment” sessions or other office social events.

However, since the controller position reported to me, he said that if I was willing to make it work, he would allow me to offer the young man the position, which he accepted.

The largest grossing outlet that we operated was a trading post on the Navajo reservation in northeast Arizona. Because the controller was primarily responsible for the financial record-keeping of that operation, it was important that he become familiar with that operation as soon as possible. Accordingly, after a couple of weeks of orientation in the home office, he and I made plans to travel there. It was a six-hour drive, as there were no airports anywhere close to the trading post.

Once we were in my car and well out of town, I asked the young man about this “Saturday thing.” He responded that he had been admonished not to discuss his religion on the job and that he did not want to violate his agreement. I assured him that since I had brought it up, there would be no negative consequences to our discussion.

Well, being a faithful Seventh-day Adventist, he had his Bible tucked in his suitcase. Every question I had, he answered with an appropriate Bible text. When we reached our destination, I got the Gideon Bible from my motel room and joined him in his room. We studied until eleven o’clock that evening, at which point I was a converted man.

The readiness with which I had accepted the truth came as a bit of a surprise to this young man, and he cautioned me that it was important to nurture the seed that had just been planted. He turned to Matthew 13 and read me the parable of the sower, and asked that I carefully consider that three of the four outcomes from sowing seed did not produce fruit—an expression that I did not fully understand at that time.

Well, twenty years later, that seed has not only sprouted, but it has produced a plant that, through gracious pruning by the Holy Spirit, has entered the fruit-bearing phase of growth.

The parable of the sower is the first one discussed in Christ’s Object Lessons. Sister White’s explanation of it consumes 29 pages, more than that of any other parable other than the talents.

In her analysis of this parable, Sister White made this statement on pages 42 and 43:

“The education to be secured by searching the Scriptures is an experimental knowledge of the plan of salvation. Such an education will restore the image of God in the soul. It will strengthen and fortify the mind against temptation, and fit the learner to become a co-worker with Christ in His mission of mercy to the world. It will make him a member of the heavenly family; and prepare him to share the inheritance of the saints in light.”

I encourage you to read for yourself to determine why she made this statement in her discussion of the parable of the sower. In this article, I would like to mine the Scriptures and inspired writings so that we can make perhaps a bit of progress in the five objectives enumerated in the preceding paragraph.

  1. Restoring the image of God in our characters
  2. Strengthening and fortifying our minds against temptation
  3. Fitting ourselves up to become co-workers with Christ in His mission of mercy to the world
  4. Becoming members of the heavenly family
  5. Preparing ourselves to share the inheritance of the saints in light.

Clearly, any one of these objectives could be the source of a lengthy article all by itself—if not a whole series of articles. So here we will be able to skim only the surface. But I hope to pique your interest in one or two of these areas enough to give you something to study on your own during your private devotionals.

Keep in mind that we are told by Inspiration that study of the Scriptures will give us a deeper understanding of the plan of salvation and will accomplish these five essential objectives in our lives and our character.

The first one we’ll look at is “restoring the image of God in our character.” That is a big subject and clearly one that cannot be covered fully in even one entire article, much less in part of one. It is summed up fairly succinctly in Matthew 5:48, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” We are to be as perfect in our sphere of existence as Christ is in His sphere. (See Our High Calling, 108 or That I May Know Him, 131.) “First the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.” Mark 4:28.

In commenting on this text in the book Education, Sister White wrote, “The germination of the seed represents the beginning of spiritual life, and the development of the plant is a figure of the development of character. There can be no life without growth. The plant must either grow or die. As its growth is silent and imperceptible, but continuous, so is the growth of character. At every stage of development our life may be perfect; yet if God’s purpose for us is fulfilled, there will be constant advancement.” Education, 105, 106.

Let’s begin exploring that injunction for constant advancement to completion by reading John 14:1–9 ISV:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in Me. There are many rooms in my Father’s house. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going away to prepare a place for you? And if I am going away to prepare a place for you, I will come back again and welcome you into My presence, so that you may be where I am. You know where I am going, and you know the way. Thomas asked Him, ‘Lord, we don’t know where You are going, so how can we know the way?’ Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you have known Me, you will also know My Father. From now on you know Him and have seen Him.’ Philip told Him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and that will satisfy us.’ ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know Me?’ Jesus asked him. ‘The person who has seen Me has seen the Father. So how can you say, “Show us the Father” ’?”

This is a wonderful passage and contains much food for thought, but I want to concentrate on verse 9. “The person who has seen Me has seen the Father.” The disciples had the privilege of actually physically seeing Christ. We have the Word that portrays Christ to us and, through diligent study, we can essentially know Christ as well as His disciples did.

In addition to the Bible, we have been blessed with the Spirit of Prophecy, written by one who, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, also saw and conversed with Christ. I’d like to quote a description of Christ’s character from a letter that Sister White wrote to Emma and Edson in 1874. In it, she lists twenty aspects of His character which we are to manifest in our own character if we are to be a faithful reflection of His.

“Christ never murmured, never uttered discontent, displeasure, or resentment. He was never disheartened, discouraged, ruffled, or fretted. He was patient, calm, and self-possessed under the most exciting and trying circumstances. All His works were performed with a quiet dignity and ease, whatever commotion was around Him. Applause did not elate Him. He feared not the threats of His enemies. He moved amid the world of excitement, of violence and crime, as the sun moves above the clouds. Human passions and commotions and trials were beneath Him. He sailed like the sun above them all. Yet He was not indifferent to the woes of men. His heart was ever touched with the sufferings and necessities of His brethren, as though He Himself was the one afflicted. He had a calm inward joy, a peace which was serene. His will was ever swallowed up in the will of His Father. Not My will but Thine be done (Luke 22:42), was heard from His pale and quivering lips.” This Day With God, 263.

So, if we expect to have the image of God restored in us, we need to manifest the twenty characteristics that are enumerated in the above paragraph.

  1. Never murmur
  2. Never complain
  3. Never utter discontent
  4. Never express displeasure
  5. Never express resentment
  6. Never be disheartened
  7. Never be discouraged
  8. Never be ruffled
  9. Never fret or worry
  10. Be patient
  11. Be calm
  12. Be self-possessed under the most exciting and trying circumstances
  13. Perform our work with a quiet dignity and ease, regardless of the commotion around us
  14. Never be puffed up by praise or approbation from others
  15. Remain unfazed by threats from our enemies
  16. Be unmoved and unexcited by passion and trials
  17. Empathize with the woes of our fellow pilgrims
  18. Be moved by the sufferings and necessities of our brethren as though we were the ones afflicted
  19. Manifest a calm, inward joy and a peaceful serenity
  20. And perhaps most importantly, fully surrender our will to the will of our heavenly Father so that we can say with Christ, “Not my will, but Thy will be done.”

Although this is a tall order, remember that our objective is to understand the plan of salvation through the study of God’s word. We have several promises in the Word that give us absolute, incontrovertible hope toward this goal—texts that we are familiar with that contain promises that we have every right to claim as our own. Keep in mind that it is not presumption to claim the promises of God, so long as we comply with the conditions under which those promises are given.

The first promise is contained in Philippians 1:6. “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” The Greek word that is translated perform in this text is actually a compound word that means to fulfill completely, to execute or to terminate.

The second wonderful promise we can claim is also in Philippians and is another that we should claim daily: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 NKJV.

We also have a more sure word of prophecy that tells us that, “Sanctification is not the work of a moment, an hour, a day, but of a lifetime. It is not gained by a happy flight of feeling, but is the result of constantly dying to sin, and constantly living for Christ. Wrongs cannot be righted nor reformations wrought in the character by feeble, intermittent efforts. It is only by [1] long, persevering effort, [2] sore discipline, and [3] stern conflict, that we shall overcome. We know not one day how strong will be our conflict the next. So long as Satan reigns, we shall have self to subdue, besetting sins to overcome; so long as life shall last, there will be no stopping place, no point which we can reach and say, I have fully attained. Sanctification is the result of lifelong obedience.” [Emphasis added.] The Acts of the Apostles, 560, 561.

There is one key phrase in this paragraph that I’d like to bring to your attention: “So long as Satan reigns.” How long is that? Until Christ returns. The second point I want to look at is strengthening and fortifying our minds against temptation. We’ve just read that so long as Satan reigns, we shall have temptations to resist. So long as life shall last on this earth, we will be faced with daily, perhaps even hourly, temptations to stray from the path of truth and righteousness. So what can we do about that?

As you might expect, the Bible does not leave us to speculate about that. There are several texts that give us divine wisdom in strengthening and fortifying our minds against temptation.

First, let’s look at the wisdom of David. In Psalm 101:3 he wrote, “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.”

There are two bits of wisdom in this text. The first is obvious. Do not look at anything that causes your mind to stray into forbidden paths. This is sometimes a difficult thing to do, especially in today’s world. To accomplish this objective, you must—and I know that I’m making a rather dogmatic statement here—you must destroy your television—at least figuratively. I believe it to be the single most effective means that Satan uses to promote his agenda of reproducing his malevolent character in humans. It is also imperative that you put mental blinders on. Satan uses billboards, magazines, advertisements of all kinds, Internet pop-ups, and a myriad of other means, ceaselessly tempting us to set wicked things before our eyes. You cannot even walk through the check-out line when buying groceries without being confronted by displays of unrighteousness.

The second bit of wisdom that is expressed in Psalm 101:3 is this: “I hate the work of them that turn aside. It shall not cleave to me.”

This text may mean something different to you, but to me it means that I will not use the sinful acts of others as an excuse for my own sin. Stop and think how common that is. How often have I been prone to think, “Well, I may lie now and then, but at least I don’t steal.” Just because you don’t speed doesn’t mean you can run red lights. And just because someone you know and perhaps even admire commits a transgression, that does not give you license to do the same.

Another wonderful piece of wisdom that the Word gives us is found in 11 Corinthians 10:5 NKJV: “Casting down arguments [the KJV says imaginations] and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”

“Bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ”… that is the hard part.

And what occurs when we have succeeded in this effort? We are clearly told in Isaiah 55:7 NKJV. “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”

Here God promises us that when we turn from our unrighteous thoughts, He will have mercy on us and will abundantly pardon. What a wonderful thing of which to be ever mindful.

A wonderful promise is given us in I Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

My experience is that finding the way of escape sometimes takes effort and the exercise of will, often beyond what is typical. Remember what we read earlier from The Acts of the Apostles, “sore discipline” is required to overcome. Sore is not a word that connotes to me something that is easily done. The Christian walk is indeed a battle and a march.

The third area in which we are to make continual progress is “fitting ourselves up to become co-workers with Christ in His mission of mercy to the world.”

We all are familiar with the great commission, which, according to the synoptic gospels, was the very last divine command given to us by Christ before His ascension into heaven: “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Matthew 28:18–20.

The obvious question is, How do I fit myself up to become a co-worker with Christ in His mission of mercy to the world?

One way is clearly implied in that text: “teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” I cannot teach Christ’s commands to others unless I know them myself. And how can I hope to know them without studying the word of God?

I would submit that fitting ourselves up to become coworkers with Christ involves a deep commitment to come apart from the world and be separate. Unless we separate from worldly influence, we will obviously be like the world. John gave us some explicit instruction on that in I John 2:15–17: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

Here again we are confronted with the need for “not my will, but Thy will” be done.

Inspiration also gives us some wonderful counsel on becoming a co-worker with Christ.

“The worker for God is not left without a pattern. He is given an example which, if followed, will make him a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men. He is bidden to glorify God by carrying out unselfish aims and purposes. The Lord understands man’s nature, and He holds up before him the laws of the kingdom of heaven, which he is to honor and obey. He places the Bible in his hands, as the guidebook that will show him what is truth, and what he must do in order to inherit eternal life. This book draws the attention from temporal interests to spiritual realities. It tells man, fallen and sinful though he is, that he can become a prince and a king in the heavenly courts, an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ.” This Day with God, 30.

A consistent study of the Bible will enable the diligent student to focus on spiritual realities rather than on secular, worldly interests. When we make the determination to live our lives according to the instructions given in the Bible, we will unavoidably separate ourselves from the world, from temporal interests, and become fit to be co-workers with Christ. May the Lord help us in this struggle.

The fourth area in which we are to make continual progress is “becoming members of the heavenly family.” What a comforting thought, “becoming members of the heavenly family.”

Well, ponder this somewhat sobering thought from Christ’s Object Lessons, 270: “When the voice of God awakes the dead, he will come from the grave with the same appetites and passions, the same likes and dislikes, that he cherished when living. God works no miracle to re-create a man who would not be re-created when he was granted every opportunity and provided with every facility. During his lifetime he took no delight in God, nor found pleasure in His service. His character is not in harmony with God, and he could not be happy in the heavenly family.”

Although this statement is couched in the negative, it can be interpreted to reveal how to be a happy member of the heavenly family.

Essentially, it stresses the necessity—not just the desire, but the necessity—of taking advantage of every opportunity and using every facility to be recreated in the image of God, to form our characters in harmony with the divine image. We must find delight in God and pleasure in His service. Our character must be in harmony with God if we would be happy in the heavenly family.

I remind you once again that this is the work of a lifetime.

The last area that I want to look at is another one that should bring joy to our hearts: “preparing ourselves to share the inheritance of the saints in light.”

What exactly is that inheritance? The Bible gives us tantalizing glimpses, but no detailed description. What it does give us, however, should serve as a powerful incentive for us to strive to walk the narrow path and enter in at the strait gate. Before we look at some of those tantalizing glimpses, let me quote a brief statement from Early Writings:

“The true Christian’s joys and consolation must and will be in heaven. The longing souls of those who have tasted of the powers of the world to come and have feasted on heavenly joys, will not be satisfied with things of earth. … Their amusement will be in contemplating their treasure—the Holy City, the earth made new, their eternal home. And while they dwell upon those things which are lofty, pure, and holy, heaven will be brought near, and they will feel the power of the Holy Spirit, and this will tend to wean them more and more from the world and cause their consolation and chief joy to be in the things of heaven, their sweet home. The power of attraction to God and heaven will then be so great that nothing can draw their minds from the great object of securing the soul’s salvation and honoring and glorifying God.

“As I realize how much has been done for us to keep us right, I am led to exclaim, Oh, what love, what wondrous love, hath the Son of God for us poor sinners! Should we be stupid and careless while everything is being done for our salvation that can be done? All heaven is interested for us. We should be alive and awake to honor, glorify, and adore the high and lofty One. Our hearts should flow out in love and gratitude to Him who has been so full of love and compassion to us. With our lives we should honor Him, and with pure and holy conversation show that we are born from above, that this world is not our home, but that we are pilgrims and strangers here, traveling to a better country.” Ibid., 112, 113.

If we could just remember that we are pilgrims and strangers here and that a better country awaits us, one in which there is no lying, no stealing, no killing, no temptations, no sexual immorality, no intemperance, no dishonoring of parents, no doctors or hospitals, no jails, no locks of any kind on any thing, no tears, nor sorrow, nor sickness, we should be willing to make whatever preparations are necessary to obtain that inheritance, shouldn’t we?

We’ve looked at the “nots,” the things that will not be in heaven. What about the “ares,” the things that are in heaven?

Here is a suggested list of the ten best things in heaven, beginning with number 10. This list is in no way comprehensive, as there are certainly more than ten best things in heaven. And it is not necessarily in order. If you were to compose such a list, it could be totally different.

  • A mansion, apartment, or permanent dwelling of some sort in the Holy City—whatever you want to call it—but permanent, no need of continual upkeep, with your name on the door (John 14:2, 3).
  • Streets paved with transparent gold (Revelation 21:21).
  • Travel to distant planets with perfect speed, such as manifested by Gabriel when he responded to Daniel’s prayer. Whatever type of environment you relish, you’ll be able to enjoy it in heaven.

“I begged of my attending angel to let me remain in that place. I could not bear the thought of coming back to this dark world again. Then the angel said, ‘You must go back, and if you are faithful, you, with the 144,000, shall have the privilege of visiting all the worlds and viewing the handiwork of God.’ ” Early Writings, 40.

  • Free access to the tree of life, with a different heavenly fruit each month, and to the river of life (Revelation 22:1, 2).
  • Animals, perhaps of kinds that we cannot even imagine, to have as pets and companions (Isaiah 11:6, 65:25).
  • Beautiful forests and other unspoiled natural environments lightened by the glory of heaven (Early Writings, 18; Revelation 22:5; Isaiah 60:19–21).
  • Lush gardens, vineyards, and orchards with healthy, disease-free and pest-free fruits and vegetables (Isaiah 65:21, 22).
  • Join with the angels in making heavenly music (Psalm 147; Revelation 14:2, 3; 15:2, 3).
  • The companionship of the saints (Psalm 23:6; throughout Psalm 37; Psalm 69:35, 36; Isaiah 60:19–21).
  • Divine fellowship with our God and our Creator. “They shall be My people, and I will be their God” occurs in one form or another at least eleven times in Scripture. I John 1 says much about the fellowship we will experience as followers of Christ.

A more thorough study of these points will result in a better understanding of the incredible sacrifice that made this incredible gift available to us.

May the Lord bless us and the Holy Spirit guide us as we strive to walk the narrow way.

John Pearson is the office manager and a board member of Steps to Life. After retiring as chief financial officer for the Grand Canyon Association, Grand Canyon, Arizona, he moved to Wichita, Kansas, to join the Steps team. He may be contacted by email at: johnpearson@stepstolife.org.

Lost in Eden, part 2

by

And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13. Adam and Eve were lost in Eden but, horrifying thought, could it be possible that while we are within God’s true church, surrounded with the loving care of God and His marvelous doctrines of truth and His precious standards, that we might personally become separated, disconnected from God and totally lost? Well, let me awaken you to reality; this is what will happen to millions within the Adventist church. We have been warned of this by God’s servant. The majority within our church will think they are connected with God but will believe the lies that are now being preached from some of our pulpits, and they will find out too late that, while they thought they were connected to God, they have become separated from Deity and are under a power and a control of another spirit.

Ellen White wrote of this because she saw in vision that it would happen in the end time. “I saw that Satan was working through agents in a number of ways. He was at work through ministers who have rejected the truth and are given over to strong delusions to believe a lie that they might be damned. While they were preaching or praying, some would fall prostrate and helpless, not by the power of the Holy Ghost, but by the power of Satan breathed upon these agents, and through them to the people. While preaching, praying, or conversing, some professed Adventists who had rejected present truth used mesmerism to gain adherents, and the people would rejoice in this influence, for they thought it was the Holy Ghost. Some even that used it were so far in the darkness and deception of the devil that they thought it was the power of God, given them to exercise. They had made God altogether such a one as themselves and had valued His power as a thing of nought.” Early Writings, 43, 44.

Just a few days ago I had one of our good, faithful Seventh-day Adventist ministers phone me from the East. He said, “You don’t know me. We have never met, but I have listened to some of your tapes.” He said, “Let me tell you what is happening in the area where I live. In one of our large churches they have brought in a minister who has so many degrees back of his name that whenever he speaks they think that he talks as God. They believe everything that he tells them.

“On Sabbath afternoon he is now having healing services. He strikes these people who come forward to be healed, on the head, and they fall backward. Somebody has to grab them, and they lay on the floor sometimes for 30 minutes. I just couldn’t believe that this would ever happen in my church. If you don’t have any idea what I’m talking about,” he said, “just turn on the television and look at some of these Pentecostal healing programs, and this is exactly what this man is doing in the Seventh-day Adventist church today.” I said, “Elder, I believe we are beginning to come into a great false revival within this church. Not only will there be healing such as you have seen, but you will see these men speaking in tongues and preaching doctrines of devils in these last days.”

“I saw that Satan was at work in these ways to distract, deceive, and draw away God’s people, just now in this sealing time. I saw some who were not standing stiffly for present truth. Their knees were trembling, and their feet sliding, because they were not firmly planted on the truth, and the covering of Almighty God could not be drawn over them while they were thus trembling. Satan was trying his every art to hold them where they were, until the sealing was past, until the covering was drawn over God’s people, and they left without a shelter from the burning wrath of God, in the seven last plagues.” Ibid., 44.

“I saw that the mysterious signs and wonders and false reformations would increase and spread. The reformations that were shown me were not reformations from error to truth.” Ibid., 45. If ever we needed a Divine power, we need it today to discern error from truth in the coming crisis that is breaking upon this church. In last month’s article, “Lost in Eden” part one, we discovered that the human race, whether before or after the fall of Adam, must reach above the level of humanity by divine power in order to maintain a vital connection with God. This connection is absolutely necessary if we are to overcome Satan’s masterful temptations. Why did Adam fall? “Adam did not reach above his humanity for divine power.” Signs of the Times, December 3, 1902. You see, he believed Satan when he said, “Each of you are gods.”

Jesus left heaven, came down to earth, and took upon Himself fallen, human nature. Yet, because He maintained a daily connection with God His Father, He never once broke His Father’s law. He accomplished this wonder, which Satan said was impossible, because He daily partook of the Holy Spirit.

Earnest Prayer

“Christ during His life on earth sought His Father daily for fresh supplies of needed grace.” Acts of the Apostles, 56. This is why we read in the Scriptures that Christ often spent the entire night in communion with God. We read of Him getting up early before the sun came up, spending time with God.

Jesus did not come to earth to demonstrate that a man, separated from God, sold into sin, could live a sinless life. Jesus came to demonstrate just the opposite—that only humanity connected with divinity would find it possible to overcome as He overcame. “Christ left His heavenly home and came to this world to show that only by being connected with divinity can man keep the law of God. In itself humanity is tainted and corrupted, but Christ brought moral power to man and those who live in communion with Him overcome as He overcame.” Signs of the Times, December 3, 1896.

The following statement makes it very clear. “Christ came to this earth taking humanity and standing as man’s representative to show in the controversy with Satan that man, as God created him, connected with the Father and the Son, could obey every divine requirement.” SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 926. We can understand how Christ demonstrated by His connection with His Father that a man having a fallen, human nature is enabled to obey every divine requirement if he truly becomes a partaker of divine nature. “He [Christ] assumed the liabilities of human nature, to be proved and tried. In His humanity He was a partaker of the divine nature.” Selected Messages, vol. 1, 226. “In Christ were united the human and the divine.” Testimonies to the Church, vol. 2, 201.

Born of the Spirit

Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit, and as we compare inspired writings, we discover that “a connection with God” and the new birth are synonymous terms. “There must be a new birth, a new mind through the operation of the Spirit of God . . . This connection with God fits man for the glorious kingdom of heaven.” Signs of the Times, November 15, 1883.

Are you following me? When sinful man repents and chooses to connect with God, we refer to this experience as a new birth, having been born of the Spirit, which makes it possible to declare such a person as being “a new man in Christ Jesus.”

Jesus was born with a connection with God. Notice how clearly this is revealed as to the source of His power. “The Father gave the Spirit without measure to His Son.” Signs of the Times, February 24, 1888. That is tremendous. All heaven was given, but then notice these words, “And we also may partake of Its fullness.” Ibid. Marvelous, how God has made provision for us to be overcomers. “In Christ dwelt the fullness of the Godhead bodily. This is why although He was tempted in all points like as we are, He stood before the world from His entrance into it untainted by corruption, though surrounded by it.” SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 907. Then these words, “Are we not also to become partakers of that fullness and is it not thus, and thus only, that we can overcome as He overcame?” Ibid.

The divine secret of Christ’s victory over sin, from the moment of His entrance into this world as a human, was because He was filled with the Holy Spirit. “Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of Me, I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart.” Psalm 40:7, 8. Jesus was connected with God, not sold unto sin, even though He voluntarily bore our sins. “Satan charmed the first Adam by his sophistry . . . He believed the words of Satan. But the second Adam was not to become the enemy’s bondslave.” Signs of the Times, December 3, 1902.

Fallen Man to Have Power Over Sin

Christ proved that man bearing a fallen, sinful nature may obey and live without sin. “The only begotten Son of God came to our world as a man, to reveal to the world that men could keep the law of God.” Selected Messages, vol. 3, 136. “Christ came to this world as a man to prove to the angels and to men that man may overcome; that in every emergency he may know that the powers of heaven are ready to help him.” Signs of the Times, December 3, 1902. What a promise! Oh, praise God!

All the fullness of the power of God is available to us. “The Lord Jesus declares, ‘I have kept My Father’s commandments.’ ” Selected Messages, vol. 3, 138. And then Mrs. White continues. “How? As a man.” Ibid. “He [God] sent His Son to this world to bear the penalty of sin. Why? To show men how to live a sinless life.” Signs of the Times, March 30, 1904. Why am I dwelling on the fact that we must have in our humanity the power of divinity connected with us? Because I believe that Jesus is coming soon and we must get ready. The sealing will soon be over, and only those who have taken of this divine power and learned to live as Jesus lived are going to make it. “His life declares that humanity, combined with divinity, does not commit sin.” Ministry of Healing, 180. “Christ came to reveal the Source of His power, that man might never rely on his unaided human capabilities.” Review and Herald, February 18, 1890.

Do not let anyone ever mislead you by reading the following passage which may at first appear to contradict what I have just said. “Let every human being be warned from the ground of making Christ altogether human such a one as ourselves for it cannot be. The exact time when humanity blended with divinity is not necessary for us to know.” SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1129. We do not need to know the exact moment, but if this quotation perplexes you in any way, would you notice the clue: In Christ “humanity was blended with divinity. In His humanity He was a partaker of the divine nature.” Selected Messages, vol. 1, 226. “Christ did not possess the same sinful, corrupt, fallen disloyalty we possess, for then He could not be a perfect offering.” Selected Messages, vol. 3, 131.

Again and again this is so plainly revealed. “Laying aside His royal crown, He condescended to step down, step by step, to the level of fallen humanity.” Ibid., 128. “His human nature was created, it did not even possess angelic powers.” Ibid. He did not even have the power when He was here as a human that the angels have. “It was human, identical with our own.” Ibid. Never could it be written more plainly. In Romans 1:3 the Scripture says the same; “Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh.” And in Romans 8:3, “God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.”

Not a Lesser God

The obedience of Christ was not that of a god, but that of a man who was connected with divine power. “Christ’s overcoming and obedience is that of a true human being. In our conclusions we make many mistakes because of our erroneous views of the human nature of our Lord. When we give to Him, His human nature, a power that it is not possible for man to have in his conflicts with Satan, we destroy the completeness of His humanity. His imputed grace and power He gives to all who receive Him by faith. The obedience of Christ to His Father was the same obedience that is required of man. Man cannot overcome Satan’s temptations without Divine power to combine with his instrumentality. So with Jesus Christ, He could lay hold of divine power. He came not to the world to give the obedience of a lesser god to a greater, but as a man to obey God’s holy law and in this way He is our example. The Lord Jesus came to our world, not to reveal what a God could do, but what a man could do through faith in God’s power to help in every emergency.” Manuscript Releases, vol.1, 1892.

That is wonderful! We have an example Jesus has shown us. “Man is through faith to be a partaker in the divine nature, and to overcome every temptation wherewith he is beset. The Lord now demands that every son and daughter of Adam through faith in Jesus Christ, serve Him in human nature which we now have. The Lord Jesus has bridged a gulf that sin has made. He has connected earth with heaven and finite man with the infinite God. Jesus, the world’s Redeemer, could only keep the commandments of God in the same way that humanity can keep them.” Ibid. That gives me courage. And I trust it gives you courage. Wonderful! Oh, praise God! We are assured that every son and daughter of Adam when connected with the infinite God through faith may obey God in the human nature which we now have.

Forever let it be known that the Spirit of Prophecy clearly makes a distinction between sinful nature and sinfulness. “In Him was no guile or sinfulness; he was ever pure and undefiled, yet, He took upon Him our sinful nature.” Review and Herald, December 15, 1896. “He began life, passed through its experiences and ended its record with a sanctified, human will. He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet, because He kept His will surrendered and sanctified, He never bent in the slightest degree toward the doing of evil or toward manifesting rebellion against God.” Signs of the Times, October 29, 1894. Here then is the key that unlocks this mystery. Philippians 2:5, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”

Of every true Christian it must be said before He comes that “We have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:16. Why? Because Christ came to this earth. “That He might restore to man the original mind which he lost in Eden through Satan’s alluring temptations.” SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 926.

I would like to recap for you what Christ did when He came to this earth to demonstrate victorious living. What did Christ come to earth to demonstrate? Christ came to this earth to show that man, as God created him, connected with the Father and the Son, could obey every divine requirement. His life declares that humanity, combined with divinity, does not commit sin.

And so my friends, this is no time to be lost in the church. We need a connection with Christ that the divinity of God can be combined with our humanity; for in such an experience we will not commit sin. How is it with you, brother? How is it with you, sister? Young man? Young woman? Are you reaching out for this divine power? The divinity of God is promised to us in its fullness that we might be ready to meet Jesus. I appeal to you now to make this most important decision. Give your heart fully to God; allow the Holy Spirit to write His law within you and fill you with the power of divinity.

The End

Born Loser: Woman at the Well

by

I want to share some thoughts about a lady who I call “the born loser,” and I want to introduce the subject by pointing out that Jesus sometimes did not give the same answer to what was essentially the same question. We are going to look at three situations in which three different persons asked Him the same question, “Who are you?” and He gave a different answer to each one; which is interesting to think about, is it not?

The first one is where Jesus has been brought to trial for His life. Before Pilate really wanted to be out of bed, they have come clamoring to have him condemn Jesus. Pilate is not in a good mood. He is not interested in what is going on except that there is a certain routine that must be gone through. He asks Jesus an indifferent question and he gets an indifferent answer. “Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, ‘Art thou the King of the Jews?’ And Jesus said unto him, ‘Thou sayest.’ ” Matthew 27:11. “Are you the King of the Jews? So what, let’s get it over with.” An indifferent question and an indifferent answer.

Pilate gradually becomes convicted by his conscience that Jesus was an innocent man. Pilot did not really want to be involved in condemning an innocent man. He seized upon an opportunity to pass the problem on to somebody else. He sent Jesus to Herod because He had learned that Jesus was from Galilee and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee. “And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him.” Luke 23:6–8. Herod, at first, was alarmed and thought it was John the Baptist whom he had beheaded coming back to life, but gradually that fear faded away. As Jesus comes before him he simply wants to satisfy his curiosity. “Then he [that is Herod] questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing.” Verse 9. Jesus had only a few words for the governor Pilate, but He had no words at all for Herod. This is what I would call the idly curious question and the stony, stern answer.

Pilate asked his indifferent question and he got an indifferent answer. When the priests and elders began shouting their accusations, Jesus had not a single word for them. Neither had He a single word for Herod. All of which says a great deal about their condition, does it not?

Who Are You?

John, chapter 4, finds somebody else asking Jesus, “Who are you?” This is the woman at Jacob’s well. Jesus was resting. The disciples have gone into the village of Samaria to buy food. While Jesus is sitting at the well, the woman of Samaria comes to get water. He asks her for a drink which surprises her very greatly. A Jew would not do that because the Samaritans were an anathema to the Jews.

This deep animosity goes way back in history to the time when Solomon died and Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, took the kingdom. Finally Jeroboam took ten of the tribes to the North and rebelled against the two tribes of Benjamin and Judah in the South. Israel was in what we call, Samaria. A separate capital was set up for Samaria under the leadership of Israel. Israel’s kings, most of them, were very wicked kings. The tensions grew and the gulf widened. When the Babylonians came and took captives, there were a few people in Samaria who were not taken captive. These people left, gradually united their thinking, lives, and cultures with the pagans who lived around them. By the time the great captivity was over 70 years later, when Ezra and Nehemiah came back to rebuild the temple, these Samaritans were probably less than half Jewish in their religion and probably more than half pagan. They worshipped idols and other things forbidden by the law of God. They volunteered to help build the temple, but their idolatrous attitudes caused the Jews to refuse them that permission. So tension and bitterness between Jew and Samaritan remained through the ages. Beyond buying or selling, the Jews would have nothing to do with a Samaritan.

I Divorce Thee! , I Divorce Thee!,  I Divorce Thee!

The conversation that takes place between Jesus and this Samaritan woman is interesting and revealing. “Jesus saith unto her, ‘Go, call thy husband, and come hither.’ The woman answered and said, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said unto her, ‘Thou hast well said, I have no husband: for thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.’ ” John 4:16–18. Some have an idea that she was having a wonderful time flitting around gaily from husband to husband. I am afraid that is not very realistic. There was certainly nothing happy about this woman’s situation.

In that culture, in that time, in that place, what would cause five men to have enough feeling toward this woman to propose marriage to her, establish her as the queen of the home, and then change their mind and drive her away from the home? I think the reason would be because she had no children. That was an unforgivable fault in that culture, because a man’s lineage must be preserved, his name must be preserved, there must be children born. She was having a wretched time, a miserable time. She had been established as the queen of a home, the exalted position of a Hebrew wife, and then dethroned five times. I spoke on this subject once in a church and afterward a lady going out the door said, “You surprised me, Elder Larson. I thought she was a prostitute.” I said, “Well, I’m not an authority on the subject, but so far as I know, they don’t marry their customers. They just move on.” Five times she had to stand before the elders and listen to her husband pronounce those words of doom, “I divorce thee. I divorce thee. I divorce thee.” You say that three times and you are divorced.

What could she do? Go down to the dime store and get a job? There was no dime store. If there had been, they would not have hired a woman. Go down to some office in town and get a job in an office? There were no offices in town. And if there were, they would not hire a woman. Women did not get office jobs until the earliest part of the last century.

“I Want to Talk to You”

Now I am interested in the fact that Jesus, who has very little time for Pilate, the governor of the Jews, He who wasted not a single word on Herod, when this lady came along said, “Hey, come on, sit down, let’s talk. I want to talk to you.” He had plenty of time for her. Desire of Ages, 184, says, “The King of heaven came to this outcast soul.” And He did her a tremendous amount of good. He caused her life to turn completely around. She was, of course, living in sin. She was breaking the rules. Her sense of personhood was gone, her sense of self-worth was gone, she was just a piece of wasted, worthless, useless, human garbage, cast out on the garbage dump of humanity. And Jesus, King of heaven, who brushed Pilate off with a quick answer and who just scorned Herod, this same Jesus said to her, “Hey, let’s talk. I want to talk to you.” This was an altogether different experience for her.

Jesus Says to the Woman “I am He”

You may be wondering, did this woman ask Jesus who He was? Oh yes, look at John 4:25, 26; “The woman saith unto him, ‘I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.’ Jesus saith unto the woman, ‘I that speak unto thee am He.’ ” He took her words as a question. He answered her question. It was implied. Oriental courtesy is not too direct. Oriental people think that we are horribly discourteous and direct in the way that we speak to each other. They go carefully around in devious ways in what they say one to another. “Jesus saith unto her, ‘I that speak unto thee am He.’ ” In the Greek it is a linear verb, like a line, showing continuous action. “I that am continually speaking to thee am He.” So He had been speaking to her for a long time by the Holy Spirit. “I continually speak to thee.” When are you going to start listening to Me? That is when things are going to be different. I like the way Jesus handled this and the way He handles every case of human need.

I do not know how old she was; probably not too young, not too old. Men were still attracted to her. But in any case, she was so messed up, she was so worthless, she was so wasted, she was useless, and it did not matter what happened to her. People come to that situation in different ways.

God Heals Hearts

We held evangelistic meetings in the state of New Jersey way down on the coast at a little place called Cape May Court House. That was the name of the town. The only place we could find to hold our meetings was a firemen’s hall in which bingo games were held on other nights of the week than when we were there. Part of the arrangement was that when we left after our weekend services, we had to set the place back in order for the bingo games. I thought it was interesting to watch a Seventh-day Adventist pastor carefully going around and setting up a room for a bingo game. I had never seen that before.

We had quite an interest there, for a little town. One gentleman who came, we learned, was the city engineer. It took us a little while to get acquainted with him because he would leave during the closing song. So we went to his home and visited him. We found that he was very interested in what he was hearing. We learned also that some while before, less than a year before, he had found it necessary to go out to the front of his house and pick the body of his wife up from the street, where she had been hit and killed by a car. He said later, “Life was over for me. It was finished.” And he began to drink heavily. Different persons in town who knew him talked to us, hoping we could do something for him. He was just drinking himself to death.

The meetings made a difference. He came all the way through. He had decided that if these two ministers have come once, they will probably come again, so I better be prepared. He went downtown and bought two very expensive bottles of brandy to serve to us when we came again. When we explained that we did not use brandy, he was very surprised. He had been an engineer in the navy, and he said he had seen lots of chaplains drinking brandy in the navy. We had to explain that Adventists were kind of different on some of these things and he accepted that. I do not know what he did with the brandy, but he did not offer it to us anymore. His interest grew, and he identified himself with the message, and he began to say, “Hey, life is beginning all over for me again.” He was beginning to get a different look on his face.

Because of the exceptional interest that we had in this small town, we decided to extend the meetings one week longer than the normal length of the series. And to put in something special, we sent for Barbara Morton to come and sing for us every night. She came, and when we picked her up at the airport and listened to her talk, we learned that things were going a little bit hard for her. Her daughters had gone from home. She was alone, so she had put all of her furniture in storage, and she was just living in a station wagon, going from church to church to present concerts.

Empty People

For the first meeting she sang a beautiful series of songs. But our engineer did not show up. I went to see him the next day because I wanted to know what was wrong. It seemed that when he was a child he had been neighbor to the home where Madam Schumann Heink lived. She was a terrific opera singer of her time. Well, he listened to her practice and vocalize, and he did not appreciate lady singers at all after hearing Madam Schumann Heink practice. He thought that Barbara Morton was probably going to be something like Madam Schumann Heink, and he was not going to expose himself to that. We told him, “Well, you are making a mistake, man, you better come down and listen to her and see her.” So he did. The next night he was there and you should have seen what happened. This naval engineer went down like a mast in a high wind. They just took to each other automatically. Some things can happen really fast at times, and this week was one of those times.

We came to the last Sabbath. We had a baptism on Sabbath and a church dinner afterwards, honoring the newly baptized people. We got over to the school building where they were having the dinner set up, and everything was ready, but for some reason Barbara was not there. We looked around and our engineer was not there either. I finally went back from the dinner hall to the church and sure enough there were Barbara and Russell having a conversation about some subject. So I told them dinner was ready. She went to get her purse and as he walked out the door with me he said, “You know Ralph, that woman is lonely.” I said to myself, “Well, she’s lonely, huh?” I took a plate from another table and put it down by Barbara’s plate for Russell. You know that worked fine. She did not show any signs of loneliness through the whole dinner.

After dinner, it had been arranged that she would go to the old folks’ home in town and sing for the people there. Russell, our engineer, volunteered to take her to the old folks’ home, but in spite of the fact that he was the city engineer, he lost his way and could not find it and wound up down at the beach somehow. So they spent their whole afternoon at the beach and barely got back in time for the meeting that night. To make a long story short, they finally were united in marriage, and lived very happily as long as the Lord gave them life. They have both gone to their rest now.

God’s Delicate Work

Life can be just used up. Life can have no more future to it. Life can just appear like it is pointless, worthless, wasted, useless, and then it can start all over again. When? When we start listening to Jesus Christ. “When are you going to start listening to Me?” That is what He keeps saying over and over again. And that is the question we all need to take very seriously. I think most of us here, could tell a similar story. There are many times when we are in that condition. Everybody is an evidence of how God works with a single individual, bringing them through this life situation and that life situation, step by step, little by little, until finally that moment, when the decision is made, and life begins all over again.

The woman at the well was a born loser. But her life tells a marvelous story. Her life was hopelessly messed up. Then the woman met Jesus and her life began all over again. She was changed into something wonderful and new. Do not turn away from these outcasts with misunderstanding; do not turn away from them because you do not think there is much there. There is a lot there. This story tells of the Lord Jesus Christ as One who moves very close, doing exquisitely delicate work as He deals with human hearts. Bringing us to the place where we recognize that we can have a wonderful, wonderful life in Him.

The End

Lost in Eden, part 1

by

“And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13. If you are trying to find someone, the reason is obvious, you have become separated from someone. Do you understand what is involved in the statement, separated from God? When Adam sinned we know that by this act he lost his connection from God. But a plan of salvation was developed whereby, through the atonement of Christ, Adam and Eve could be reunited once more with their Creator.

“And you, that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled.” Colossians 1:21. Notice the word “alienated.” That means separated. And then it says, “enemies.” Where? In your mind. In Mind, Character, and Personality, vol. 2, 396, it tells us that the mind is that which instigates sin. “The mind controls the whole man.” The mind is that which either connects or separates from God, for man is controlled by his mind. The term “separated from God’ refers to a man with a carnal mind who has not been born again of the Holy Spirit and is therefore separated from the spiritual life of God.

Man at Creation

Man was originally created in a state of purity. From the book Healthful Living, 9, Ellen White says, “We are God’s workmanship…a temple which the Lord Himself has fitted up for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.” Adam and Eve in Eden were partakers of the divine nature. They were connected with God constantly. But as the consequences of sin in Eden, they lost their intimate connection or their union with God. They lost the robe of light which had previously surrounded them. The nakedness of their bodies now vividly illustrated the present nakedness of their souls, for they were separated from divine nature which they had lost.

Restoration of man to his original condition at creation is the very essence of the gospel. Peter speaks of this in 2 Peter 1:2-4. “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

Original Sin

Historic Seventh-day Adventists do not accept the original sin doctrine developed by St. Augustine. But we feel 100% safe in following the scripture in which the term “separated” represents the loss of man’s connection with God, through sin, for which Christ offers a remedy. How beautiful to understand that when we refer to man being separated from God, or of a baby having been born separated from God, we do not infer that such a one is cut off from the nearness of God, for there is a plan of salvation in operation.

God watches over the formation of an individual in the womb. He forms every cell. Every heartbeat is created by Him. God furnishes the power for every breath. Every hair of the head is numbered. Angels are sent to watch and protect the little one. When this child becomes an adult and still remains in a state of separation, God is ever near. He constantly sends the Spirit to speak to the mind. He entreats with the invitation, “Come,” producing conviction, repentance, surrender and a spiritual life through the Word. Providence thus ministers and teaches us of the way to God.

Separated from God

The sinner is constantly being led into a response. The person who is in a state of separation is not connected with God; he is lost just as Adam was lost in Eden. Until man closes his probation by persistence to the truth, Christ remains near. So near, we are told that He stands at the heart’s door knocking, calling us to open the door that He may come in. If the sinner responds by refusal to open the door, he remains in a lost condition, separated from God.

Let us consider Adam at his creation. The Spirit of Prophecy in the Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 926, states, “God created him connected with the Father and the Son.” “From eternal ages it was God’s purpose that every created being, from the bright and holy seraph to man, should be a temple for the indwelling of the Creator.” Desire of Ages, 161

It was through the indwelling of the Creator that Adam and Eve were partakers of God’s divine nature. The law of God “was written upon their hearts.” This is identical to that which is promised in the new covenant experience. Notice the following statements closely. “Adam and Eve at their creation had knowledge of the original law of God. It was imprinted upon their hearts.” Bible Commentary, vol. 1, 1084. “In the beginning, man was created in the image of God. He was in perfect harmony with the nature and the law of God; the principles of righteousness were written upon his heart.” Great Controversy, 467. “When Adam and Eve were created and placed in their Eden home, they had knowledge of the law that was to govern them. Its precepts were imprinted on their hearts by Jehovah Himself and they were acquainted with its claims upon them.” Signs of the Times, April, 22, 1886. Perhaps this can be summed up in this beautiful statement in Selected Messages, vol. 3, 133, “All was a sinless transcript of Himself.”

The Power Source

It is good for us to remember that regardless of the purity of Adam and Eve at their creation, in themselves they possessed no inherent spiritual power as an inseparable part of themselves. Signs of the Times, May 31, 1896, says, “God created him that every faculty might be the faculty of His divine mind.”

With such a purpose, God gave man the power of choice. Man could choose to remain united to the source of power, his Creator, permitting God to continually guide his mind, or he could separate himself from His indwelling presence and power. Sadly, Adam and Eve chose separation. When man disregards the divine Spirit, his mind comes under the control of the spirit of Satan. This is how they became lost in Eden.

What did Adam really lose in the fall? “Because of sin, humanity ceased to be a temple for God. Darkened and defiled by evil, the heart of man no longer revealed the glory of the Divine One.” Desire of Ages, 161. “Sin brought separation between man and his Maker.” Ministry of Healing, 419. “By sin we have been severed from the life of God.” Desire of Ages, 203

We have no idea of the sorrow that filled heaven when man yielded to temptation. Ellen White stated, “When man sinned all heaven was filled with sorrow; for through yielding to temptation, man became the enemy of God, for through sin, man became carnal and the carnal heart is enmity against God, is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Signs of the Times, February 13, 1893

Adam and Eve unplugged themselves from the source of power; just as you unplug the lamp and the light goes out. So, “The light, the garments of heavenly innocence, departed from these tried, deceived souls, and in parting with the garments of innocence, they drew about them the dark robes of ignorance of God.” Upward Look, 198. What a picture this portrays! “So by sin, man lost his connection with God. Of himself he has no means of salvation.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 165. He was in Eden, but he was lost.

The result of their separation also brought the impossibility of sinless living without God dwelling within them. The result of separation in our lives makes it impossible for us to live sinless lives without an indwelling God. “It was not possible for man out of Eden, separated from the light and the love of God since the fall, to resist the temptations of Satan in his own strength.” Redemption, 44. So the picture is clear.

What Man Lost

Permit me to extract the key phrases from quotations presented. These are direct quotes concerning what happened when Adam fell. Notice, he lost his “connection with God,” he lost his “open communion with his Maker,” he lost his source of divine power to resist Satan,” he lost his beautiful garment of light and love,” he became an “enemy of God,” “a partaker of satanic nature,” his mind became “carnal”; a mind that could not obey the divine law. The law of God was no longer “imprinted upon his heart.” His very nature became “evil.” He drew about him the “dark robes of ignorance of God.” He ceased to be “the temple of God” for “Satan controlled his mind.” Thus fallen man was in a state of continual opposition to the mighty God.

Ellen White tried to impress it upon us, that it is impossible to go to heaven without being connected with God. We hear from the pulpits today that we may sin until Jesus comes and then go to heaven. That is a lie! There must be a connection of the divine power with our life which will give us victory or we shall never see His face. “Satan takes the control of every mind that is not decidedly under the control of the Spirit of God.” Testimonies to Ministers, 79. At creation man was not made so that he could not be separated from God. If this had been so, he could never have fallen. He would have been a mere automaton. Jesus would have failed as a man if He had not pleaded with God every single day for power.

A Daily Decision

In Acts of the Apostles, 55, it says, “Those only who are constantly receiving fresh supplies of grace, will have power proportionate to their daily need and their ability to use that power.” “Satan charmed the first Adam by his sophistry just as he charms men and women today by leading them to believe a lie. Adam did not reach above his humanity for divine power. He believed the words of Satan.” Signs of the Times, December 3, 1902. They became lost in Eden.

How important it is for you and me to be daily seeking a fresh supply of God’s grace. We may know all the truth. We may be members of God’s true family, but without this personal connection with God, we will never have victory over Satan. Adam and Eve were lost in Eden and we can be in God’s church today and we too, can be lost. We must experience a complete victory over sin to be sealed before Jesus’ second coming. Join me in a deeper daily commitment to God. What does the scripture say? “Ask and ye shall receive.” “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” As Jesus attained daily victory over Satan in His personal connection with God, so we may also experience the same in our lives.

The End

Sanctuary, part 4

by

The next event of that day after the Sanctuary was cleansed, was putting all of the iniquities and transgressions of the children of Israel upon the head of the scapegoat and sending him away into a land not inhabited, or of separation. It is supposed by almost everyone that this goat typified Christ in some of His offices, and that the type was fulfilled at the first Advent. From this opinion, I must differ; because:

  1. The goat was not sent away till after the High Priest had made an end of cleansing the Sanctuary, (see Leviticus 16:20-21); hence, that event cannot meet its antitype after the end of the 2300 days.
  2. It was sent away from Israel into the wilderness, a land not inhabited, to receive them. If our blessed Saviour is its antitype, He also must be sent away, not His body alone, but soul and body: for the goat was sent away alive, not to, nor into this people; neither into heaven, for that is not a wilderness or land not inhabited.
  3. It received and retained all the iniquities of Israel; but when Christ appears the second time, He will be “without sin.”
  4. The goat received the iniquities from the hands of the priest; and he sent it away. As Christ is the Priest, the goat must be something else besides Himself, which He can send away.
  5. This was one of two goats chosen for that day, one was the Lord’s and offered for a sin offering; but the other was not called the Lord’s, neither offered as a sacrifice. Its only office was to receive the iniquities from the priest after he had cleansed the Sanctuary from them, and bear them into a land not inhabited, leaving the Sanctuary, priest, and people behind and free from their iniquities. (See Leviticus 16: 7-10, 22)
  6. The Hebrew name of the scapegoat as will be seen from the margin of verse 9 is “Azazel.” On this verse, William Jenks in his Complete Commentary has the following remarks:” (Scapegoat.) See different opinion in Bochart Spencer, after the oldest opinion of the Hebrews and Christians, thinks Azazel is the name of the devil; and so Rosenmire, whom see. The Syriac has Azazel, the angel, (Stongone) who revolted.”
  7. At the appearing of Christ, as taught from Revelation 20, Satan is to be bound and cast into the bottomless pit, which act and place are significantly symbolized by the ancient High Priest sending the scapegoat into a separate and uninhabited wilderness.
  8. Thus we have the Scripture, the definition of the name into ancient languages both spoken at the same time, and the oldest opinion of the Christians in favor of regarding the scapegoat as a type of Satan. In the common use of the term, men always associate it with something mean, calling the greatest villains and refugees from justice scapegoats. Ignorance of the law and its meaning is the only possible origin that can be assigned for the opinion that the scapegoat was a type of Christ.

Differences Between the Scape Goat and Christ

Because it is said, “The goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities into a land not inhabited.” Leviticus 16:23, and John said, “Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh [margin, beareth] away the sin of the world,” (John 1:29), it is concluded without further thought that the former was the type of the later. But a little attention to the law will show that the sins were borne from the people by the priest, and from the priest by the goat. First, they are imparted to the victim. Second, the priest bore them in its blood to the Sanctuary. Third, after cleansing them from it on the tenth day of the seventh month, he bore them to the scapegoat. And fourth, the goat finally bore them away beyond the camp of Israel to the wilderness.

This was the legal process; and when fulfilled, the author of sins will have received them back again, (but the ungodly will bear their own sins) and his head will have been bruised by the seed of the woman. The “strong man armed” will have been bound by a stronger than he, “and his house [the grave] spoiled of its goods [the saints].” (See Matthew 12:29; Leviticus 11:21,22; Leviticus 16:21,22) The thousand years imprisonment of Satan will have begun, and the saints will have entered upon their millennial reign with Christ.

The Sanctuary must be cleansed before Christ appears because:

  1. He “was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Hebrews 9:28. Now His last act in bearing the sins of many is to bear them from the Sanctuary after He has cleansed it. As He does not appear till after having borne the sins of many, and then without sin; it is manifest that the Sanctuary must be cleansed before He appears.
  2. The host is still under the indignation after the Sanctuary is cleansed, Daniel 8. Both the Sanctuary and the host were trodden under foot. “Unto 2300 days then shall the Sanctuary be cleansed,” or justified (margin). This is the first point in the explanation, and after this Daniel still “sought for the meaning of the vision.” Gabriel came “to make him know what should be in the last end of the indignation.” In the explanation which follows, he says nothing about the Sanctuary, because that had been explained by the Wonderful Numberer. He now tells him about the host upon whom the last end of the indignation still rests after the Sanctuary is cleansed.

The last end of the indignation is evidently the bitter persecutions, and the severe and searching trial of God’s people, after the Sanctuary is cleansed, and before the indignation is made to cease in the destruction of the little Horn, the fruit and the successor of the Assyrian. (See Daniel 8:25; Isaiah 10:12; 25:3) The Sanctuary must be cleansed before the resurrection; for the Lord has provided a comforting message for His people, telling them that it is done. “Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her that the warfare [margin, appointed time] is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” Isaiah 40:1,2 (See Isaiah 11:1)

Deliverance of God’s People

Jerusalem and the Lord’s people are here spoken of as the Sanctuary and the host in Daniel 8. His people, when Jerusalem’s appointed time is accomplished, are affected and are to be comforted by telling them that her iniquity is pardoned. This must be New Jerusalem; for there was never any time set for pardoning the iniquity of the Old Jerusalem, which must have had iniquity of some kind and from some source, else she could not be pardoned of it. The fact that the Lord has commanded to comfort His people by telling them that Jerusalem’s iniquity is pardoned, is proof positive that she had iniquity, and that it will be removed before His people are delivered and enter her with songs and everlasting joy. This message is similar to that in Isaiah 52:9. After the good and peaceful tidings have been published, saying unto Zion, thy God reigneth, it is declared, “The Lord has comforted His people, He hath redeemed Jerusalem.” Jerusalem was in a state from which she had to be redeemed, and that before the resurrection; for the next verse says, “All the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.”

The End

Getting Out of a Bad Marriage, part 2

by

“For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath subjected the same in hope. Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” Romans 8:19–23.

Now we have received the firstfruits of the Spirit. That does not mean that we are now to receive only a little of the Spirit but that we get the Spirit as the firstfruits or the advance money—the earnest—of our inheritance. Paul proves this in Ephesians 1:13, 14: “In Whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in Whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of His glory.” Then, having the Spirit of God and being the sons of God is entering upon the riches of our inheritance now. We begin to share the riches of that inheritance now; and if we continue to be the sons of God, we continue in our inheritance right along through eternity, the only difference being that when the Son of God comes, we shall have the full inheritance and glory of it.

By looking at these promises this way, we can see how it is that heaven begins right here on earth. If we really take hold of these things by faith, we can carry the Spirit of God with us; and we shall know the peace and joy of heaven.

“For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit maketh intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered.” Romans 8:24–26.

I have been at our meetings and have heard one after another arise and bear testimony and close with the words, “Pray for me.” Christ Himself prayed for us; and the Holy Spirit Itself is making intercession for us, with groanings that cannot be uttered. Brethren, while we can ask for others to pray for us, cannot we take hold by faith and appropriate the prayers that are being continually offered for us in heaven above? Even if the brethren do not pray for us, we have the joy and comfort of knowing that Christ and the Spirit are praying for us.

For myself, I can understand these things and draw encouragement out of them just this way: I go to God and lay my soul open before Him and ask Him to give me—what shall I ask for? Sometimes the words are gone, and I can think of nothing, only an inexpressible desire for something more than I have; but the Holy Spirit knows what I need and knows the mind of God. It knows just what God has to give me; and so it makes intercession for me, and God gives exceeding abundantly above all that I can ask or think. The Spirit of God takes those thoughts that we cannot put into words and can scarcely think and transmutes them into words and petitions before the throne of God. He that searcheth the hearts of men knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit.

I am persuaded that a great many of us make a great mistake in this matter of searching the heart. We hear brethren saying that they “are going to search their hearts and put away all of the evil things that they can find to be in them.” Says Jeremiah, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” Jeremiah 17:9, 10. We are here on earth and in a sinful condition. We admit that we are not in that spiritual condition that we ought to be so we will search our hearts and put away all of the wickedness that we can find in them. We cannot do it, for the heart will deceive us every time. Yet God can search the heart, and He does; and if we will take the result of His searching, great will be our joy. For it is the Comforter Who brings these sins to our hearts that the Lord hath searched out, and this very act of bringing our sins before our eyes is a part of the comfort of God. Yes, by the very work of making known our sins to us, God gives us comfort.

Now we come to the most blessed and the most glorious part of this most glorious chapter.

Nothing Bad Happens to the Christian

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brethren. 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 8:28–30.

The twenty-eighth verse is quoted wrong very often and applied wrong, very much more often, just by the changing of tense. People read it, “We know that all things will work together for good to them that love God.” But that is not what Paul says. He says that all things work together for good, at the present time, for those who love God. “But,” says one, “I do not know that they do.” Well, just take hold of this Scripture and believe it; and then you will know it. The only way that we can know is by believing the Word of God. We shall then find that all things do work together for good to them that love God. This is the joy of the Christian—that there cannot anything bad happen to him.

Some say, “There is a special class to whom this is so.” Yes, that is true; there is a special class, and that special class is composed of those who love God. We know whether we love God or not, therefore we know whether we can appropriate this promise or not. Is there not reason enough to love God? Some say, “I want to love God more. I know that I do not love Him enough.” How absurd this is, just as if the love of God was a duty that we could drive ourselves to perform. Love cannot be forced; the very act of forcing a person to love another would show that there was not any love at all. How do we love any object for which we do have affection? Simply because it is lovable in our eyes; and the more we know of that thing we love, the more we love it. Then the more we know of God, the more we shall love Him. As we come to His Word, from which we must get our knowledge of Him, we see the wideness of the mercy of God; and we cannot help loving Him. Why cannot we help loving Him? Because He first loved us. Then, if we would love God more, study His love more as it is revealed in His Word.

Now how about this class—”To them who are the called according to His purpose”? Here we have the matter of “calling,” and that causes some to be discouraged sometimes. A brother will say, “Perhaps I am not called, I am not at all sure that I am; and therefore it does not work good for me.” That matter of “calling” can be settled very easily. Who has God called? “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” Revelation 22:17. The call is to every man and woman and child on earth.

Now we are “called” and “elected.” Sometimes we get wonderfully afraid of that word elected. Is there any need to be afraid of that term? No. For every individual can be a candidate, and every candidate can be elected. In II Timothy 1:9 we read, “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.” Mark you, His own purpose is a purpose of grace; and the free gift by grace comes upon all unto justification of life. Now note what the election is:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved.” Ephesians 1:3–6.

Therefore, just the moment that you give up self and take Christ instead, you have everything that Christ has to give. So since we have given to us by God Himself all of the blessings that can be given to deliver us from sin and to turn us from our iniquities (see Acts 3:26), we can have joy and peace in Him. Peter says, “According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue.” 2 Peter 1:3. Everything that is necessary for life and godliness is given unto us in Christ.

“For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate. Being predestinated according to the purpose of Him Who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will.” Sometimes the position is taken that God did not know what man was coming to when He made him; and if He did know, then He ought not to have made him at all or He ought to have stopped him from going in the way that he has gone. God does know; He foreknows, and He knows the end from the beginning. “Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world.” Acts 15:18. God has not changed a hair’s breadth from the plan which He knew before the world began. And there is no power in all of the universe that could make Him change.

God ’s Foreknowledge

Did God know that Adam was going to sin, and does He know whether we will be saved or not? Yes, He knows all about it—who will be saved and who will be lost. Then how can it be that we are free? I do not know, and it does not make any difference. I know from His Word that I am perfectly free to have salvation and to have it when I want it. I know at the same time that God knows whether I will take it or not. I cannot understand how these two things can be; but God knows, and He is not unjust, so it is all right. There is not an angel in heaven who knows how it can be, but they know that it is so.

Some say that if He did know, He would be responsible for our being saved or lost, so He does not exercise His power to know and therefore releases Himself from that responsibility. That is bringing a fearful charge against God. It really throws all of the responsibility of man’s ruin upon God and charges Him with trying to shirk it. If He chooses not to know certain things, how is it possible for Him to know what He wants to know and what He does not want to know? The very statement that He wills not to know certain things proves that He must know them in order to know that He does not want to know them, and this is an utter absurdity. God does not have to count and calculate and figure to arrive at conclusions. He is God, and knowledge is in Him and begins and ends in Him. Past, present, and future are all present with God. He lives in an eternal now. We cannot understand how that can be, but that does not matter. He says it is so, and we believe Him.

That He is the eternal God constitutes the strength of the fact that He is our refuge. It is the eternal God who has had charge of our ways in the past, and we have confidence in His leading. If He had not known the past and the future, how could I have known whether He was leading me right or not? Job says, “He knoweth the way that I take.” Job 23:10.

He leads us in the way that we should go. He looked over the ages and saw just who would have the inheritance, and He is preparing it for him. What would you think of a man, to put the thing on a very low plane, who got a lot of stones together and commenced to build a house? You ask him what kind of house he is going to build. “Why,” he says, “I do not know. I am going to put these stones and timbers together and then see what kind of house will come of it.” Such talk as that would be foolishness. Before a man starts in to build a house, he knows just how it is coming out; he knows exactly how it will look when it is finished. When God laid His plans in ages past, do you not think that He knew what kind of earth He was gong to have? He knew what kind of earth it was going to be, and He had a purpose in making it. He created it to be inhabited.

Not only did He know what kind of place it was going to be, but He knew what kind of men were going to dwell in it; and He had every one of them named. Those men whom God saw that He would have to inhabit the earth, when He laid His plans for it in ages past, were to be good and holy men; and that same earth, when this little experiment of sin is worked out, will be inhabited by just exactly the persons whom God saw would inhabit it; and they will have the names that He gave them in ages past.

In Revelation 2:17 we read, “And will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.” Now it is not to be supposed that over in the kingdom of God we will not know each other’s names, to be able to pronounce them. In the Bible, every name signified something. Jacob was the “supplanter;” Israel, the “prince of God;” Abraham, the “father of many nations;” Sarai, a “contentious woman;” and Sarah, a “princess.” The name signified the character of the individual.

Now while all of the redeemed are to have the perfect character of God, yet that character is so perfect and so broad that there is room for each to have a distinct character. Why is it that no one will be able to understand the name of anyone else? Because no two persons will have had the same experience in developing character. No two persons have been led in the same way and have had the same experience or trials.

Our God Given Freedom of Choice

Man fell, but every man who lived directly after the Fall could have accepted the proffered salvation if he had wished and could have been one of those persons whom God saw when He laid the plans for the earth. If that had been so, the earth would have been filled and the work closed up long ago. Would that have been unjust to us? For in that case we would have been unborn and therefore left out. No, it would have been no more unjust than it will be unjust to close the work in a few years from now and leave out possible nations yet unborn.

Now God foreknew us in Christ; and in Him, in the beginning, we were predestinated to just such a place in the earth in its state of purity as God wants us to have. I am so thankful that we may have Christ, if we will; and if we will believe Him and trust in Him, we know that we are predestinated to a place in His kingdom. God hath “predestinated us according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will.” Cannot you see that all things work together for good to them that love God?

How do I know that I am a child of God? He loved me, and He bought me; and I gave myself to Him, therefore I am His. Now I am in Christ, and it matters not what happens to me. There is not a bad thing that can come upon me; for everything that does come, God will work it for my good; and not only will He do it, but He does do it. He does it that He may develop my character and fit me for what He is preparing for me.

Satan may concoct some wicked scheme against me—influence some man or government to do something that is calculated to destroy me,—but God takes those wicked schemes and out of them He brings good for me, and by them carries me along to the desired haven. Therefore, the Christian has no business to be complaining.

No Cause for Complaint – Praising God for all Things

There is no one who would think of complaining when he was having a good time. But the Christian is having a good time all of the time, for all things work together for good to him. When we look at things in this way, we can praise God no matter what happens.

Joseph’s brethren sent him down to Egypt with no other intention than to destroy him, and yet we are told by the psalmist that, “God sent a man to Egypt.” Psalm 105:17. Those brethren of his were working out the evil of their hearts; and at the same time, God sent him down according to His will. We cannot understand how this can be, but we know that it was so.

Caiaphas asked if It were not better that one man die than that the whole nation perish, expressing the sentiment of the worldly-wise, scheming politician. Yet at the same time, in those very words, God was speaking in prophecy. There is not a wicked person, not even the devil himself, but God makes him and his wickedness work out His own eternal purpose. There is a world of comfort in the thought that this is the kind of God that we serve.

“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31.

The Meaning of the Time in Which We Live

by

Present truth has always been important. Peter speaks about being grounded and established in present truth. (See II Peter 1:12.) Before every significant event in the plan of salvation, there have been special messages given so that God’s people could be established in present truth. If, however, the people to whom the message is given leave that message and turn back from following the light, they’re leaving present truth; and they do so at the loss of their souls.

As an example, in the days of Noah, if you were going to have your sins forgiven, if you were going to have eternal life, it was the same plan of salvation as today. There is just one plan of salvation. There was present truth in the days of Noah; and the present truth was that if you wanted to be saved, you had better get into the ark. If, at that time, you failed to listen to present truth, could you still be lost? Most certainly you could.

It has always been the purpose of the devil to distract God’s people or in some way divert their attention from these messages of present truth. Paul tells us, however, that we are not to be ignorant of Satan’s devices. We must know what is going on so that we will be prepared to resist Satan’s advances and not be deceived.

We have also been warned, “So subtle and untiring are the efforts of the enemy of souls, that God’s people need to be very watchful, and to labour earnestly and unceasingly to counterwork evil in the church and in the world. Satan and his agencies are laying out special lines of labour for those who are controlled by his power. Deceptions of every kind and degree are arising, so that, if possible, he would deceive the very elect. With the same subtle power that he plotted for the rebellion of holy beings in heaven before the Fall, Satan is working today to operate through human beings for the fulfillment of his purposes of evil.” Australian Record, April 15, 1912.

If you leave the message of present truth that God has given, the devil is going to take control of your mind. It is just that simple. Did you notice that if he gains control of your mind, Satan is going to outline a special work for you to do?

Where is Satan working? “I say to all be on your guard for as an angel of light; Satan is walking in every assembly of Christian workers and in every church trying to win the members to his side.” Review and Herald, May 14, 1908. The great controversy is going on in every church, in every family. Every soul whom Satan can deceive and is lost brings dishonor upon the name of Christ, and it is his purpose to bring as much dishonor upon Christ’s name as he possibly can.
There are all kinds of theories present in the world today to cast doubt on what God has said so that His people will not have faith in what is written. The devil knows that if you do not have faith in His Word, when temptation comes, you are going to fall.

Speaking of the last days, we read: “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; yours sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions, and also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.” Joel 2:28, 29. According to these verses, in the last days God’s people are going to have the gift of prophecy. The New Testament teaches exactly the same thing. Notice also how important the gift of prophecy is as we prepare for the coming of Christ. “I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you.” I Corinthians 1:4–8. According to Revelation 19:10, the testimony of Christ is the spirit of prophecy.

The gift of prophecy is one of the gifts of the Spirit that has been promised the church. Unless the remnant church, which is waiting for the Second Coming of Christ, has the gift of prophecy, it cannot truly be said that it comes short in no gift.

This counsel was not written primarily for the people living in the first century. The apostle Paul says very clearly that these books were written to the Christian church. Though this book was addressed specifically to the church of Corinth, in his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul said, “Even if you receive this letter that is purported to be from us, do not think that the Second Coming of Christ is going to take place right away, because it is not.; the great apostasy is going to come first.” (See II Thessalonians 2:2–4.) The apostle Paul knew that the Second Coming of Christ was not going to occur in the first century. He is addressing the Christians and the people who are waiting for Jesus to come in the last days. We also read that these gifts were given “till we all come to the unity of the faith.” Ephesians 4:13. Are all of God’s people in the unity of the faith yet? No they are not; so we still have need of the gifts, including the gift of prophecy.

“The dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 12:17.

Now, if you were the devil, what would you do? You would do the same thing that you did in the Garden of Eden, the same thing that you have done all down through history; you would try to get God’s people to doubt the authenticity of that gift. You see, if the devil can get you to doubt the Spirit of Prophecy, you will lose your way. One of his methods is to ask questions that no one can answer. You do not have to have a Ph.D. to do that; little children can do it. One of the devil’s deceptions is to lead people to ask questions that God is not going to answer, even throughout eternal ages. If you allow yourself to start asking questions that no one can answer, the day is coming when you will become a skeptic. That is just the way the human mind works.

“The Lord has given me a special work to do in giving words of warning that should come to our people. Satan’s forces are preparing their seductive temptations to deceive, if possible, the very elect. Satan will work through those who have disregarded the warnings of God to the church. They will be exceedingly zealous unto the working of a deceptive influence and most strange manifestations will appear.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 19, 376.

Where are the warnings of God to the church found? They are found in the inspired writings of the Spirit of Prophecy.

What is the result of disregarding the inspired writings? The devil is going to take control of the mind of the one who is questioning, and then he is going to use that person to take control of someone else. In an attempt to accomplish this, he has aroused doubt using a whole new theology which attacks that foundation pillar of Adventism, including the Third Angel’s Message.

“The mark of the beast is to be presented in some shape to every institution and every individual.” 1888 Materials, 477. Now, if it must come in some form, can it come in more than one way? Evidently. The devil is studying your character to try to find out what the most attractive form of the mark of the beast would be for you. If he can induce you to disregard the warnings of God to the church, you are going to be taken in by the snare and not even know it until it is too late.

Oh friend, do you want to be kept from the deceptions that will take the world and most of the Adventist Church captive? How are you going to be kept? The people who will be kept are people who do not doubt the Spirit of Prophecy.

Today, the devil will attempt to bring into the church every kind of confusion, but creating doubt with regard to inspired truth is one of the main ones. Satan knows that if people have confidence in the Bible and in the writings of Ellen White and they start to study them, wonderful things will happen. This leads to harmony and unity among God’s people. Even people who have newly come into the faith gain such a clear understanding of present truth that they are safe from the deceptions coming upon the world. These books enlighten people’s minds.

When studying the counsel of God on a subject, do not just take one little verse or sentence here or there and build your whole theology on it. The Bible says that there is a principle involved in studying inspired writings. We find in Isaiah 28:9, 10 that “precept must be upon precept . . . line upon line . . . here a little, there a little.” What is the principle? You look at all of the instruction. Remember, the Bible is inspired by a mind that is infinite, that is so much greater than yours or mine, that we will not be able to understand it all. IF we take just a little piece, without the benefit of all of the instruction in any given area of study, we are prone to misinterpret it. But if all of the counsels on any subject are considered, there is little danger of being deceived. In the past, when I have heard of new doctrines and teachings and wanted to know, Does the Lord endorse these teachings? Are they according to the Spirit of Prophecy? I have followed this method of study over and over again. You may not be able to explain every statement or every text; but if you are willing to look at all of the counsel on he subject, considering, what is the weight of evidence? You will be led to the truth.

Have you ever met people who want to interpret certain prophecies differently? This is common, not only in Adventism today, but all across the Christian world. People are studying prophecy, and there is more confusion than I have ever seen in my entire life. When considering something of this nature, the first thing that you want to do is to go to the inspired writings and ask, “Is this interpretation in line with all of the statements in inspired writings on that subject?” If you do this, you will be kept from much of the wild speculation that is going about today.

“The church, soon to enter upon her most severe conflict, will be the object most dear to God upon earth.” Testimonies to Ministers, 20. We are also told that the last conflict will be the devil’s most deceptive. She says, however, that it will result in the worst defeat that Satan has ever had. It will not look like defeat for a while, but truth and righteousness will emerge triumphant.

There is another area of deception that the devil is seeking to use to deceive Seventh-day-Adventists. Before examining it more closely, let me ask you a question. Suppose that you enlist in an army (the church militant is an army) and your commander tells you, “We are now going to enter into the most severe conflict you have ever experienced. Now as we enter this conflict, the army in which you are fighting is invisible, and you cannot tell who is part of your army and who is not.” How would you like to be in a conflict of this nature?

Do you understand what I am getting at yet? There are some people who believe that the true church is invisible. Though we have been accused of teaching the idea that the true church is invisible and only God knows who they are, we do not believe this is true, nor have we taught it.

Speaking about the meaning of the times in which we live, Ellen White says, “Before the great trouble shall come upon the world such as has never been since there was a nation, those who have faltered and who would ignorantly lead in unsafe paths will reveal this before the real vital test. The last proving, comes so that whatsoever they may say will not be regarded as voicing the True Shepherd. The time of our educating will soon be over. We have no time to lose in walking through clouds of doubt and uncertainty because of uncertain voices.” 1888 Materials, 1002. God is going to arrange things so that those who would lead His people astray will manifest their true character so that people will know not to put confidence in them in the time of trouble. I believe that this helps us to understand a great deal about the meaning of the times in which we are living right now. If you think that in the last days, during the time of trouble, the 144,000 are not going to be able to know who each other are, you are sadly mistaken; and if you believe that God’s army in the last great conflict is so invisible that nobody can figure out who they are, you are sadly mistaken.

Do not sink into the trap of believing that you are to live a godly life and develop a godly character but no one will know who you are. God’s church is visible now, and it is going to be more and more visible. The Second Advent Movement is going to be public, and it is going to be visible until the end. Do not let anyone confuse you with the theory that the true church is invisible and that you cannot tell who it is. The true church is visible. In Testimonies to Ministers, 20, Sister White is talking about the church militant. The church is soon to enter upon her most severe conflict. Because we are entering a time of most severe conflict, it is a time to press together, to pray for unity of doctrine, faith, and spirit. It is a time to meet together to pray and to ask the Lord to send us the Holy Spirit—to bring us, to make us, a unified, organized army to finish God’s work in the world.

Present truth is going to triumph gloriously very soon. Do you want to triumph with it? Well, friend, if you want to triumph with it when it triumphs, you need to be part of it now. And being part of it is not being part of some invisible, amorphous mass that nobody knows who and what it is. I am sorry if that sounds hard to some, but it is important that we do not get mixed up and be lost because of false theological teachings.

If you belong to an invisible church, it is time for you to make a public profession of faith and become visible, because there is not going to be an invisible church that is going to triumph. The church that triumphs is going to be a people who have made a profession of faith publicly and are visible. The devil and all of his angels even know who they are, and they are going to see them triumph. I want to be a part of that group, do you? It will not consist of people who doubt the Spirit of Prophecy. It is going to be made up of people who have accepted the warnings and said, “Lord, whatever needs to be changed in my life, I am willing to change. I am willing to change my mind on anything; just show me.

A Bear Robbed of Her Cubs

by

“Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs, rather than a fool in his folly.” Proverbs 17:12 NKJV.

A few years ago we were visiting the home of a friend and noticed a most interesting poster on the wall depicting the truth that is expressed in this verse. As you can imagine, it caught the attention of our young children; and they stood for some time studying it. We discussed it at the time. As time passed, however, I did not think much more about it.

In our family worship, we often read the chapter from Proverbs that corresponds to the day of the month. Some time later, when in our worship we again read this verse, events that we had recently experienced had so shaped our thinking that the verse took on new meaning for us; and we were reminded of the poster that we had seen some time before. As we reflected on the significance of the wise man’s words, we began to realize that they have a depth of meaning beyond what words can adequately express. This text of Scripture has caused me to ask the Lord to deliver me from the folly of the fool! Before we can be delivered from the folly of fools, we must, of course, have first had folly taken out of our own hearts.

The events that prepared us to better appreciate the meaning of this warning began during a visit to Yellowstone Park a few months ago. While looking for a book to buy the children, I became interested in one about bears. We bought the book and began reading it during our evening worships. We prefaced our reading with Proverbs 17:12. The children, of course, wanted to know what a “fool in his folly” is.

Before they could fully understand the danger involved in the situation, they needed to more fully understand the significance of the term, a bear robbed of her cubs. One story entitled, “A Mother’s Revenge” particularly caught my attention. Although this was not necessarily the most thrilling of the bear stories, it did make the point; and I would like to briefly share it with you.

In 1907, in the virgin forest of northwest Montana, a mother bear and her cub were preparing for winter. Unbeknownst to them, a small government survey team, accompanied by some adventurous tourists, was packing into this uninhabited region. The area was a section of high and rugged mountain peaks, snowfields, and living glaciers, wholly uninhabited except by the wild animals and well-nigh inaccessible save in the dead of winter. Soon after the party arrived, bad weather set in, making survey work impossible. The inactivity soon prompted the suggestion of a hunt, but only two hardy souls were interested. These two men, both experienced hunters, set out from camp with their horses and guns, little dreaming of the adventure that awaited them.

The men traveled some distance by horseback to a glacier, where they left their horses at the head of the basis. At this point, they separated, Mr. Stiles going one direction and Dr. Penrose another. Mr. Stiles soon spotted a buck dear and began stalking it when he heard three shots in rapid succession. Paying no special attention to the reports which came from the other side of the ridge, he was about to shoot the deer when he heard two more shots, rapidly followed by a third. Immediately becoming alarmed, he ran back in the direction of the shots. Within a few minutes he came around a mass of broken boulders and saw Dr. Penrose wandering aimlessly around in the canyon bed without his gun. His hat was gone, his coat torn off, and his trousers rent. Blood poured from his head and neck, and he gripped his left arm in his crimson right hand, presenting a horrible sight. As Mr. Stiles approached him, he murmured piteously, “Water, water.” As he tried to drink the water, part of it ran out through a gash in his cheek. He then said: “Stiles, I am all in; I have had a fight with a bear.”

As the story unfolded, it revealed that Dr. Penrose had come upon a young grizzly cub. Being late in the year, the cub was large enough that it appeared full-grown, to all but the careful observer. Dr. Penrose’s first three shots had killed the cub; and in his excitement, he failed to note that it was a cub that he had killed. Having laid his gun aside, he was bending over the young bear that he had so recently killed when suddenly, not more than sixty feet behind him, the doctor heard a cry of anger as the grief-stricken and enraged mother bear rushed forward to avenge the death of her offspring.

Turning, with almost superhuman presence of mind, Dr. Penrose caught up his rifle again and fired two shots into the enraged beast. Rapidly removing his last cartridge from his pocket, he worked it into the rifle and sent a third steel-jacketed bullet into the on-rushing bear. Swift and sure as were the little bullets, the bear continued her charge, her fury unchecked. With one stroke of her paw she sent him into the gulch, eight feet below. Springing down after him, she caught him in her mouth and shook him as a cat might shake a mouse, before dropping him. Again she caught him up, this time by his face, narrowly missing his eyes but tearing his cheek and throat wide open. There were five gaping wounds in his chest. His thigh was torn, the flesh handing in ragged pieces, and his left wrist was twisted and broken. Before she could again shake her half-dead victim, the mother bear staggered, and falling dead at his feet. In spite of the terrible beating that he had taken, Dr. Penrose did survive, though he spent several months recuperating from the attack.

The purpose of recounting this event is to bring home the point that, as terrible as is the wrath of a mother bear who has been robbed of her cubs, it is not so much to be feared as is a fool in his deceit.

Solomon also tells us “the folly of fools is deceit.” Proverbs 14:8. As severely as Dr. Penrose was mauled by the enraged mother bear, he did live; but those who are taken with a fool in his folly, do not fare so well. The Lord has warned us, “A companion of fools shall be destroyed.” Proverbs 13:20. As you are confidently passing along the road of life, you need to be aware that lurking not far from you, possibly just around the next corner, is a secret and hidden enemy, far more dangerous than an angered mother bear, and that enemy is deceit.

False Friends More to be Feared than Open Enemies

In all of the stories of angry bears, we found them to be an aggressive and open enemy. Far less to be feared is an enemy who openly seeks to destroy you than one who professes friendship, flattering with his lips, but in whose heart is hatred. The Bible describes what this secret enemy is like. “He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.” Proverbs 20:19. “The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with silver dross. He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him; when he speaketh fair, believe him not; for there are seven abominations in his heart. Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be shown before the whole congregation. Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him. A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin.” Proverbs 26:22–28.

Friend, a direct command from God cannot be disobeyed without terrible results, and the command is “meddle not with him.”

“It is not the open and avowed enemies of the cause of God that are most to be feared. Those who . . . come with smooth words and fair speeches, apparently seeking for friendly alliance with God’s children, have greater power to deceive. Against such every soul should be on the alert, lest some carefully concealed and masterly snare take him unaware.” Prophets and Kings, 570, 571.

“Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge.” “Speak not in the ears of a fool.” Proverbs 14:7; 23:9.

In our family worship, we made a list of the texts that were descriptive of a fool in his folly, describing his deceit. It would be well for all of us to keep these words of wisdom in mind. Here is a partial list from the book of Proverbs:

 

  • Fools despise wisdom and instruction. 1:7

 

  • Fools hate knowledge. 1:22

 

  • He that hides hatred with lying lips, and who utters slander is a fool. 10:18.

 

  • It is a sport to a fool to do mischief. 10:23.

 

  • The way of a fool is right in his own eyes. 12:15.

 

  • A fool’s wrath is presently known. 12:16.

 

  • A fool lays open, or reveals, his folly. 13:16.

 

  • A foolish woman plucketh down her house with her hands. 14:1.

 

  • In the mouth of the fool is a rod of pride. 14:3.

 

  • The folly of fools is deceit. 14:8.

 

  • Fools make a mock at sin. 14:9.

 

  • The fool rageth and is confident. 14:16.

 

  • A fool despiseth his father’s instruction. 15:5.

 

  • A foolish man despiseth his mother. 15:20.

 

  • A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool. 17:10.

 

  • The eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth. 17:24.

 

  • A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes. 18:6.

 

  • A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul. 18:7.

 

  • He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him. 18:13.

 

  • Every fool will be starting a quarrel. 20:3.

 

  • A foolish man spends up the treasure. 21:20.

 

  • A fool returns to his folly as a dog returns to his vomit. 26:11.

 

  • A fool uttereth all his mind, but a wise man keepeth it till afterward. 29:11.

 

After you have thoughtfully considered the traits of a fool, as the Lord has identified them for us, remember the seriousness of the matter. The wise man was not given to making an exaggerated statement when he warned us that a furious mother bear was less to be feared than the deceit of a fool. It is well summed up in this verse. “The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.” Proverbs 14:15.

We need to keep ever before our minds that the One Who counseled us to be harmless as doves also admonished us to be as wise as serpents. (See Matthew 10:16.) We would do well to remember that “those in the synagogue of Satan will profess to be converted, and unless God’s servants have keen eyesight, they will not discern the working of the power of darkness.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 1, 281. How said it is that so often “the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.” Luke 16:8.

Friends, if we are simple minded we are liable to be destroyed, because someone will come to you with fair words, concealing the hatred that is hidden in the heart. That, friends, is deceit and is more dangerous than an open enemy. That which appears to be a comparatively small snake is, in reality, worse than a dragon.

“Infidelity in many specious forms will have to be met. Satan works under disguise, and it will require a well-trained mind, sharpened by divine enlightenment, to meet his wily devices.” Signs of the Times, October 24, 1900. We can be so thankful that the Lord has not left us to our own demise. He has promised to help the simple minded. Proverbs 1:4 tells us that if we listen to His words, they will “give subtlety to the simple.” What a fabulous promise. Even fools can become wise. “O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.” Proverbs 8:5.

The terrible truth of the power of deceitful subtlety is found in the history of Adam and Eve.

“If he [Satan] should come boldly upon Adam and Eve and make complaints of God’s own Son, they would not listen to him for a moment but would be prepared for such an attack. Should he seek to intimidate them because of his power, so recently an angel in high authority, he could accomplish nothing. He decided that cunning and deceit would do what might, or force, could not.” The Story of Redemption, 29.

In the passage of time, Satan has lost none of his cunning and deceitfulness. Those of God’s people whom he can not destroy through an open, frontal attack he is often successful in overthrowing by deceitfulness. As you study the book of Proverbs, you can readily see that there are several tell-tale signs that deceit may be being used.

Twelve Ways to Know a Fool

In closing, I would like to summarize twelve character traits that quickly reveal to us, regardless of profession, that a person is a fool.

  • He indulges in flattery.

 

  • A fool finds pleasure in evil conduct.

 

  • He has a quick, or uncontrolled temper.

 

  • He mocks at making amends for sin.

 

  • He refuses to listen to his parents.

 

  • He is talkative, speaking all of his mind.

 

  • He does not listen to reproof.

 

  • He is contentious and quarrelsome.

 

  • He is arrogant.

 

  • He spends all that he has, often living beyond his means.

 

  • He is quick to answer, without pausing to give a thought-out reply.

 

  • He is a talebearer, or gossip.

Trials Alone Will not Save Us

We all face many trials; but trials, in and of themselves, will not save us; otherwise, the whole world would be saved. “Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his foolishness will not depart from him.” Proverbs 27:22. NKJV. Though we may lack wisdom, our condition does not have to remain such, for we have been promised, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” James 1:5. We must, however, submit our wills to God’s will in every matter of life; for “all who do not earnestly search the Scriptures and submit every desire and purpose of life to that unerring test, all who do not seek God in prayer for a knowledge of His will, will surely wander from the right path and fall under the deception of Satan.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 192.

If we do this, determining to do nothing that will dishonor our Lord, He will gently reprove our wrongs and change us into His image. “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” II Corinthians 5:17.

The time in which we are living is a momentous one, weighed with eternal consequences. The rapidly unfolding events in the world speak eloquently to the shortness of time. Now is the time that we must remedy the defects of our character, becoming wise in the wisdom of the Lord, lest we stumble and fall amidst the trials and temptations of the last days. “At the time of the Loud Cry of the Third Angel, those who have been in any measure blinded by the enemy, who have not fully recovered themselves from the snare of Satan, will be in peril, because it will be difficult for them to discern the light from heaven, and they will be inclined to accept falsehood. Their erroneous experience will color their thoughts, their decisions, their propositions, their counsels. The evidences that God has given will be no evidence to those who have blinded their eyes by choosing darkness. After rejecting light, they will originate theories which they will call ‘light,’ but which the Lord calls, ‘Sparks of their own kindling,’ by which they will direct their steps.” Review and Herald, December 13, 1892.