standard

Editor’s Letter – The Standard

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In this world there are standards. There are standards for weights and volume measurements, for length, and also standard measurements of time. Without standards there would be chaos. Without standards in the spiritual world there is also disorder and chaos. “Satan well knows that success can only attend order and harmonious action. He well knows that everything connected with heaven is in perfect order, that subjection and thorough discipline mark the movements of the angelic host. It is his studied effort to lead professed Christians just as far from heaven’s arrangement as he can; therefore he deceives even the professed people of God and makes them believe that order and discipline are enemies to spirituality, that the only safety for them is to let each pursue his own course, and to remain especially distinct from bodies of Christians who are united and are laboring to establish discipline and harmony of action. All the efforts made to establish order are considered dangerous, a restriction of rightful liberty, and hence are feared as popery. These deceived souls consider it a virtue to boast of their freedom to think and act independently. They will not take any man’s say-so. They are amenable to no man. I was shown that it is Satan’s special work to lead men to feel that it is in God’s order for them to strike out for themselves and choose their own course, independent of their brethren.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 650.

God’s spiritual standard that will bring order and prevent the divisions that endanger the churches is His law.

“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20.

The whole duty of man is summarized in the commandments of God (see Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14).

To keep the commandments of God is everything (see I Corinthians 7:19).

The Ten Commandments law will be the standard in the final judgment (see James 2:10–12).

The saved from the last generation will be commandment keepers (see Revelation 14:12; 12:17).

Multitudes of professed Christians will be lost because they have lived in transgression of God’s law (see Matthew 7:21–23).

Not even part of a letter of the Ten Commandments can ever be changed (see Luke 16:17).

It is sin that is responsible for all the trouble in the world and in the church. “Sin is a disorganizer. Wherever it is cherished—in the individual heart, in the household, in the church—there is disorder, strife, variance, enmity, envy, jealousy, because the enemy of man and of God has the controlling power over the mind.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 377.

Editorial – The Standard, Part II

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Just as an inaccurate standard of time or length or weight will produce serious consequences, an inaccurate moral standard will produce serious moral consequences.  “A wrong conception of the character, the perpetuity, and the obligation of the divine law has led to errors in relation to conversion and sanctification, and has resulted in lowering the standard of piety in the church. Here is to be found the secret of the lack of the Spirit and power of God in the revivals of our time.” A New Life [Revival and Beyond], 10.

“The law of God is an agent in every genuine conversion. There can be no true repentance without conviction of sin. The Scriptures declare that ‘sin is the transgression of the law,’ [1 John 3:4] and that ‘by the law is the knowledge of sin’ [Romans 3:20]. In order to see his guilt, the sinner must test his character by God’s great standard of righteousness. … Without true repentance, there can be no true conversion. Many are deceived here, and too often their entire experience proves to be a deception. This is why so many who are joined to the church have never been joined to Christ.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 297.

“In the closing work of God in the earth, the standard of His law will be again exalted.” Prophets and Kings, 186.

In 1886, Ellen White wrote a letter to leading Adventist ministers about the importance of uplifting the standard of God’s law. Following are excerpts from that letter: “I [Ellen White] want to speak to the ears of our people in America in every church. Awake from the dead, and Christ will give you life. Souls are perishing for the light of truth as it is in Jesus. We are standing upon the very borders of the eternal world. … There must be intensity brought into our faith and in the proclamation of truth. I tell you, a new life is proceeding from satanic agencies to work with a power we have not hitherto realized. And shall not a new power from above take possession of God’s people? The truth, sanctifying in its influence, must be urged upon the people. There must be earnest supplications offered to God, agonizing prayer to Him, that our hopes as a people may not be founded on suppositions, but on eternal realities. We must know for ourselves, by the evidence of God’s Word, whether we are in the faith, going to heaven or not. The moral standard of character is God’s law. Do we meet its requirements?” Selected Messages, Book 2, 382, 383.

The law of God—the only true, infallible standard of character in our world “is the standard of the character they must attain in order to be among God’s family in the heavenly courts.”  The Review and Herald, March 22, 1898.

Editorial – The Higher Standard

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In the world there are standards in every area of life. In the church, there are also standards relevant to our religious life—standards of conduct, standards of speech, and standards relating to even our thoughts (see the Sermon on the Mount—Matthew 5). The Ten Commandments were pointed out by Jesus in His sermon as the standard, not only of our conduct and speech, but even our thoughts. In this editorial, I want to point out the highest standard for the Christian.

“There is no higher standard than the life of Christ.” Medical Ministry, 160. The Ten Commandments are the standard, and when we hear them we are hearing the standard of character that God has for all of His children. But when we look at the life of Christ, we actually see what the standard is when lived out in the life of a person. The life of Christ provides for us not only the precept, but an actual perfect example of what a person is like when living out the principles of the commandments. Since seeing is a more powerful teaching device than hearing, and since the mind will accept what is seen over what is heard, the life of Christ provides a perfect standard and the highest standard for which we are to strive.

This is what the Lord wants to do in our lives: “God has called His people to glory and virtue, and these will be manifest in the lives of all who are truly connected with Him. Having become partakers of the heavenly gift, they are to go on unto perfection, being ‘kept by the power of God through faith.’ 1 Peter 1:5. It is the glory of God to give His virtue to His children. He desires to see men and women reaching the highest standard; and when by faith they lay hold of the power of Christ, when they plead His unfailing promises, and claim them as their own, when with an importunity that will not be denied they seek for the power of the Holy Spirit, they will be made complete in Him.” The Acts of the Apostles, 530.

The devil claims that this cannot be done, but the Lord predicts that it will happen in every one of His children: “It has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him.” 1 John 3:2. NKJV This is the experience to which God is calling you. It will happen in your life as you cooperate with the divine agencies sent to this world for your salvation.

Question & Answer – What is that “standard against him” in Isaiah 59:19?

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“… When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him” (Isaiah 59:19, last part).

This is the Spirit of the Lord lifting up that heavenly standard in and through you. “The standard which He uplifts is His law. …” This Day With God, 199.

“Angels of God moved upon the hearts of Martin Luther, Melanchthon, and others in different places, and caused them to thirst for the living testimony of the word of God. The enemy had come in like a flood, and the standard must be raised against him. Luther was the one chosen to breast the storm, stand up against the ire of a fallen church, and strengthen the few who were faithful to their holy profession. He was ever fearful of offending God. He tried through works to obtain His favor, but was not satisfied until a gleam of light from heaven drove the darkness from his mind and led him to trust, not in works, but in the merits of the blood of Christ. He could then come to God for himself, not through popes or confessors, but through Jesus Christ alone.” Early Writings, 222, 223.

“In the daily life you will meet with sudden surprises, disappointments, and temptations. What saith the word? ‘Resist the devil,’ by firm reliance upon God, ‘and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you’ (James 4:7, 8). ‘Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me’ (Isaiah 27:5). Look unto Jesus at all times and in all places, offering a silent prayer from a sincere heart that you may know how to do His will. Then when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard for you against the enemy. When you are almost ready to yield, to lose patience and self-control, to be hard and denunciatory, to find fault and accuse—this is the time for you to send to heaven the prayer, ‘Help me, O God, to resist temptation, to put all bitterness and wrath and evilspeaking out of my heart. Give me Thy meekness, Thy lowliness, Thy long-suffering, and Thy love. …’ ”  The Adventist Home, 214.

“… angels are round about those who are willing to be taught in divine things; and in the time of great necessity they will bring to their remembrance the very truths which are needed. Thus ‘when the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him’ (Isaiah 59:19).” The Great Controversy, 600.