Our Firm Foundation -1987_04

7/26/2019 Our Firm Foundation -1987_04

1/32

The Everlasting Gospel

;

r

Ammutable Law of God

ur ound tion

Vol 1

No 6

April

1986

Ihc

Secret

Of

Self control

1hc FIe h

Versus The pirit

Teach Us

To

Pray

Well

With

Your

Soul?

Diagno ing

Doctrinal Douht

firm

Unto

The End

I

Obedienc 0

ible?

p


2/32

L TT RS TO TH

ITOR

With

thc cxccption of Ellen White 's

writings, I

havc

not so

thoroughly cn-

joyed rcading

anything

more t ha n th e

n t rodu to ry i ssu of your

publication.

I

hcar t hc

trumpet bcing

given a

certain sound. Pra ise the Lord.

Mrs. G.

Evcret t Stirk

Lawrcnecburg,

Kentucky

Hallclujah

Amen

Oh, what

a

rejoicing of my heart

in

reading

the

latcst of

Gllr Firm Ollndation I know

that Jcsus

is

rcjoicing

to sce

His

childrcn proclaiming

His

truth.

Jesus

and

His

Spirit are or

have takcn

ehargc of the work

is

hard

to

pinpoint which

article I

enjoyed

most.

The

Lord blessed each one.

will

sin gl c o ut

Brother

Priebe's

article

Two

Gospels Bencath The Surface.

His

thoughts rca lly rc inforced in

my

mind thc be aut ifu l trut hs o f

right-

eous

living.

Our subscription

to

your magazine

is

the bcst investment that we

have

made in a

long

time.

Thank you

for a ll ow ing Jesus

to

use you

at

this

time.

Louisc

Champen

Ardmorc, Tcnnessee

We havc been recciving Gllr Firm

Ollndation magazine

since

it began,

and we

love

it

[t

teaches ou r

wonder-

ful

messages in a

straight, positive

way.

Thcrc

is a

power behind these

articles-for

there

is power in

the

truth.

And

it 's so

positive

No

.:riticism

Thank you-we are being

fcd. I so

hope

that

every

SDA

receivcs

lhis-we

gave your addre ss and

a

good

recommcndation

to all of ou r

Adven-

tist friends

soon after

we

got

t he f ir st

issuc.

And

I

want to te ll

you

that my

husband , who

doesn' t rcad

magazines

(thcy

secm a

wastc

of

timc for him-

he'd

rathcr

read the

Bible

or

a book)

rcads every

word of

this

one

( I've of-

tcn

wondcrcd

why our o ther publica-

tions don't

print EGW's

articles )

Steve

and Anne

Sacora

Sedalia,

Kentucky

2 l l r i rm llndation April, 1986

My

dccpest appreciation

gocs to

God

for inspiring you

to print a

magazinc

of

this quality.

Thank you,

to

al l

involved

in

the

making of this paper,

Gllr

Firm

Ollndation You may add

my name

to

your

mailing

list.

am stirred

to

t he bot tom

of my

heart with the

messages

in the

Firm

Ollndation know God

is

working

t hrough i t

to

call

others

attention to

thc

coming

of

Him who

we

love and

scrve.

Oh

that

had

a

voice l oud

enough that

evc ryone for

miles and

miles

around

would

hear the

call

to

return

to

God, bu t

am just

a

little

dot

on

thc facc of

this

world. Pray

that my lig ht may

shinc

bright

and

stcady

to

all

I

come in contact with.

I

can

usc 50

copies or more

a

month.

am giv ing

one day

a

week

to

God 's work, p lus every opportunity

in

between

timcs.

Clarcncc

Kelley

Louisa,

Kcntucky

We as a

people

of this

Church,

God's t rue Church, need

a

light such

as

t hi s magazine

is, to

help

us

find

and hang

on

to

truth.

My

prayers are

with

you.

Darrell Jcwkes

Collegc

Hcights, Alberta , Canada

A

Change

Staff

For those rcaders

who g ive speci al

attcntion

to

t he l is ti ng

of

personnel

ins ide the front cover,

a

short note of

explanation

is in order.

Vince

Chris-

tcnscn a nd Char les

Lawson bel ieve

the Lord has

called

them to

work

with Uni ted

Prison Minist ry.

Limits

of

time

and

location

make it

impos-

sible

for them

to

carryon

this

en-

deavor while continuing

to

function

as Managing Editor an d

Design

Director

fo r Glir Firm Ollndation

The Lord has

blessed thei r ef for ts

here at Hope Int erna ti onal , and

we

arc thankful fo r

the

good

ground-

work they

helped to

lay in th e e ar ly

days of

the

paper. We pray that He

will

give them

grace and wisdom in

their new

work.-EDlTORS.

I have recently

read Dave Fiedler 's

article

in

the

January,

1986, issue

of

Gllr Firm

FOllndation Peace

Or

Picces.

was

well

wr itten , bu t the

picccs do not

al l

fi t together.

God

called His

people

out

of

dcnominationalism

to be

His Rem-

nant

Peoplc-never

to

become another

denomination. Denominationalism

is

no t of Christ ,

no r

is it

of

th e

Reformation.

is of th e

devil ,

anothcr

of his

dcv ices t o

cause

divi-

sion

among God's

people.

[EDITORS OMMENT

The wri te r o f the

above

lctter

is

poorly

represented

in

thc short

section we

have reprinted-

therefore we

have

chosen to withhold

his namc.

The le tte r,

as a whole,.

shows

concern an d compassion

fo r

God's

people.

These a re s en timent s

with which

we can

heartily

concur.

However

we

must

go

on

record

as

strongly

disag reeing with the above

thoughts.

Though

we

bel ieve it obv ious that

having

one's name

on the

church

books

is no

guarantec

of

salvation,

we

must confess our b el ie f that the

Scvcnth-day Advent is t Church was

cspecially

ordained and denominated

of God

for t he f in ishing

of

His work.

As

a

people,

we ar e

looked

upon

as

peculiar. Ou r position and

faith

dist inguish

us

from

every

other

denomination.

Testimonies vol. 5, 138

Wc

receive into o ur [medical] in-

stitutions people

of

all

denominations.

But as

fo r

oursclves we

ar e strictly

denominational. Testimonies

vol. 7,

109

(emphasis ours)

We

believe t ha t e rr or lies

on both

sides. While we

c anno t acce pt

the

growing trend

to e ra se the

peculiar

features

of

ou r

faith

which d is ti n-

guish

us as a

people, neither can

we

neglect

ou r p ro pe r

relationship

to

God's dcnomina ted remnant. Simply

put,

wc

support

every

aspect of

the

church

except

apostasy.]


3/32

able ontents

is

the mission of

Hope

Interna-

tional

and

the

editors

of ur irm

Foul/dation

to give the straight tes-

timony

and to

present

Chris t and

Him

c ruci fi ed . The

days that yet

remain

of this world arc few, and what

we

do wc must

do quickly.

Wc must

boldly proclaim the t ru th s that place

us

on

so

firm

a foundation in the

midst

of

this

troubled

world.-THE

EDITORS

Vol . 1 ,

No.6

ARTICLES

April ,I986

The Great ControHrsy Ellen G.

White

An enlightening view of the original batt le

Russell

and

Colin Standish

Our Words

Ellen

G.

White

Let the wor ds

of

my mouth be acceptable in Th y sight

Edi to r Ron Spear

Managing

Editor Dave Fiedler

Associate

Editor Vern Jennings

Assistant

Editor

Joseph Leatherman

Copy

Editor

Lila Rae Frederick

Editorial Secretary Clarissa Ficdler

Contributing Editors

Colin

Standish,

Ralph

Larson,

Dennis

Priebe

Ar t

Director

Bob

Bresnahan

Photography

Wes

Lawson

Typography Phyllis

Covington

Circulation Joseph Leatherman

TO

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The Secr et O f Self -control

Practical guidelines for

singles

Is Obedience Possible?

The age-old question

Th e

Flesh

Versus The Spi ri t

A closer look at

reform

Teach

Us

To Pray

How to be more effectual in prayer

Faith

And

Good Works

The inseperable

duo

Intelligent,

Constructive

onconformity

Nine

antidotes for peer

pressure

Is Well

With You r Sou l?

A call to prepare fo r

the

judgment

Diagnosing

Doctrinal Doubts

From the book Reaping

Tire

Whirlwind

Firm

Unto

Th e End

Lay

ho ld on Truth

and never

let

go

Flight 5

All went well until

Ralph Larson

Ellen G. White

Ron

Spear

Ellen

G.

White

Patrick Hogan

El le n G. Whit e

Jo e

Crews

Ellen G. \ \ h ite

Vince

Christensen

5

6

8

12

16

18

2

22

5

26

28

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DEPARTME TS

Letters to t he Edi to r 2

lelange

Editorial

4 Line Upon L in e

Looking Back 19

Berea

Food For Thought 24

29

3

31

Copyright

1986

Hope International

I ,itation

To Writers

We

a re accep ti ng manuscr ip ts for possible publication

in future

editions of

ur

irm

Foul/datiol/

Accep tance o r r ej ec ti on

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April , I986 Our irm Foulldatioll


4/32

ditori l

We have reached

the most

impor-

tant ho ur in

the h is to ry

of the

world

and of t he Church.

A nd

many

false

prophets shall

rise,

and shall deceive

many.

And

because

iniquity

shall

abound , th e love

of

many

shal l wax

cold. But he that shall

endure

unto

the end, the same shall

be

saved.

Matthew

24:11, 12, 3

The Gospel writers foretold

that

one of

the

grea t signs of

the end

would

be

f al se p rophets ; who would

deceive many. In

every generation

of

the his tory o f the Church

some

have

arisen

claiming the g ift of

prophecy.

But as we see the

ful fi ll ing o f

Mat-

thew

24

in end-time events

within

the

Seventh-day

Adven ti st Church, the re

will be many

false prophets.

Today,

without question, this pr ophecy is

being

fulfilled.

From recent tapes and

printed

material we

understand

there ar e

about 20 Seventh-day Adventists

that

are

claiming

t his g if t.

They arc all

acquain ted with one

another

and are

all

involved

in a del iverance

ministry.

After listening to one of

the tap es

and r eadi ng some

of

the

material

that

accompanied

it ,

we

were

convinced

that

the language

and

the phraseology were

not f rom divine

inspira tion.

The predictions

made

of the

d estru cti on o f

c ities, m ain ly

in

Cal ifornia, a re the predictions

of

El-

len G. White,

from her published and

unpublished

visions. But

t he dev il

is

th e master of playing both ends

against the middle.

When these

pre-

dictions

are

even tua l ly fu lf i ll ed,

which they will

be ,

these self-

proclaimed prophets will c la im them

as

proof

of

their

prophetic

gifts.

But

be

not

deceived; a movement is

in

the

making

that

will carry many into

apostasy and destruction.

God gives

this

warning through

genuine inspiration: T he l ight given

me has been very forcible that

many

would go ou t from us, giving heed to

seducing

spirits a nd doc tr in es of

devils. The

Lord des ires

that

every

soul

who c la ims

to

believe

the

truth

shall have an intelligent knowledge

of what

is truth.

False prophe ts

will

arise and will

dece iv e many . Every-

llr

irm Ollndation April, 1986

thing

is to be shaken that

can

be

sh ak en . T he n does it not become

everyone to understand the reasons

of

ou r

faith? Selected essages Book 2,

39

Le t

none c her is h th e

idea

tha t

special

providences

or

miraculous

manifestations are to be

the

p roo f o f

the

genuineness

of their

work

or

of

t he ideas th ey advocate . If

we

keep

these

things

before

the

people,

they

will p roduce a n

evil

effect,

an un-

healthful

emotion. The genuine work-

ing

of the

Holy

Spirit

on

human

hearts is

promised,

to give efficiency

through the

Word. Christ

has declared

the

Word to be s pi ri t a nd

life.

Th e

earth shal l be f i l led with the

knowledge

of

the

glory

of

Jehovah, as

the waters cover the

sea. Habakkuk

2:14,

RV

Satan will

work in

a most

subtle

manner to i nt roduce human inven-

tions clothed with angel garments.

But

the

l ight f rom the Word is

shin-

ing amid the moral darknes s; and the

Bible will

never

be

superseded

by

miraculous manifestations. The

truth

must be studied,

it must

be

searched

fo r

as

hidden t reasure. Wonderful

il-

luminations will

not

be

g iven a side

f rom the Word,

or

to t ake the

place

of

it.

Cling

to

the

Word,

receive the in-

grafted Word,

which

will

make

men

wise unto salva tion. This is the

mean-

ing

of

the

words

of

Christ in regard

to eating

His f lesh

and d rink ing

His

blood.

And

He says, This is life

eternal,

that

they m ig ht know Thee

the only

true God, and Jesus

Christ,

whom thou

hast sent. (John

17:3)

We shall encounter false claims;

false

prophets

will

arise; there

will be

false

dreams and

false

visions; bu t

preach the

Word, be

not

drawn

away

from the

voice of God in His Word.

Let

nothing divert the

mind.

The

wonderful,

the

marvelous, will be

represented and presented.

Through

satanic

delusions,

wonderful

miracles,

the c la ims

of

human agents will be

urged.

Beware

of

all

this.

Christ has

given

warning, so that

none

need

accept

falsehood

fo r truth.

The only chann el th ro ugh which the

Spirit

operates

is t ha t o f

the

truth

Our faith and hope are founded,

not

in feeling,

but

in God.

ele ted

essagesBook 2, 48, 49

Ellen Whi te had to mee t fa lse

p rophet s i n her day .

Some individuals

believed a

young girl named

Anna

Garmire was receiving visions. Her

thoughts were gathered up

and

pub-

lished as

though

they accurately

r ef lec te d th e m ind

of

the

Lo rd. Bu t

God

used

the real

gift of

prophecy to

revea l the

error

in

this.

Anna Phillips

followed

in this

same track. She

too

was reproved,

whereupon

she

repented and became

a faithful follower

of

the truth.

A s a denomination we need to

look

more

continually

to God

fo r

guidance. We

are living

in an evil

age.

The

perils

of

the last days

are

upon

us. Because

iniquity

abounds , Sat an

presumes

to

bring in all kinds

of

delusive

theories upon

those who

have tried to

walk

humbly with God,

and who are

dist rus t fu l of

self. Shall

self-confident, fanatical men come to

these humble souls assuring them

that

they

are possessed of

evil spiri ts ,

and

after

praying with

them, affirm

that

the

devil is cast

out? Such

are no t the

manifestations of the Spirit of

God,

bu t of another spirit. ibid., 47

Then

how

can these manifesta-

tions of great

power, and

these

wonderful

impressions,

be accounted

for, except on

t he g round

that

they

arc given through the

i nf lu en ce o f

that

miracle-working

spirit that

has

gone forth

to deceive

the whole

world, and infatuate them with

strong delusion

that

they sha ll

believe

a lie? ibid., 49 (See also Selected

essages

Book 3, 378)

The arch deceiver

is

now prepar-

ing

a wave of fanaticism to sweep

over c hu rc he s, a nd many

will

be

swept away . We

cannot

depend

on

impressions

or emotions in this

crisis

hour.

We

must be

taught

moment by

moment by

the

Holy

Spirit.

I advise

al l to consider well these things

which are

now

coming u po n

th e

Church.

Ponder

the

lessons of

the ar-

t icle ent i t led he Great Con-

troversy, and g ive heed to

your ways

that

t he angel s may record you

as

one

of the Lord s faithful and wise.

R O SPE R EDITOR


5/32

The

Secret f

elf control

She was

young

an d

pretty. She

had just

been

through divorce proceed-

ings,

and

was

frightened.

The shock

and

stress

of

divorce, which

had

tem-

por ar il y benumbed her

natural feelings,

was

wearing away, and she

was now being

troubled

by sexual tensions.

She was astonished

and dismayed by

their

intensi ty. The

bleak

p ro sp ect o f si ng le life

that

s tretched before her

offered

no

relief.

She

was feeling increasingly

vulnerable, well

aware

of

t he dange rs that sur-

r ounded her in a pagan

soc ie ty f i l led with

predatory, conscienceless

males.

E ld er Lar son,

she

said, with tear-filled

eyes,

I m

afraid I can t

make it

living

alone.

I m

a fr ai d t ha t t empt at io n

will come and I will fall.

I hastened to

assure her that there

was no cause

fo r

such conce rn , and

explained

to

her how

to use

my secret

weapon

fo r

coping

with

sexual

tension. She

listened careful ly and

left , promising to

give

the weapon a

test.

About tw o weeks la ter sh e

returned,

smiling

ra di an tl y. E ld er

Larson, this works she exulted . I t

really works I m not afraid anymore.

Now I know I can liv e a lone success-

fully as long as I need to.

She had learned one

o f life s

most

urgently needed lessons,

how

to cope

with sexual tensions.

All

of

us humans, as we pass from

childhood to

maturity,

begin to ex-

perience sexual tensions. Learning

to

cope w ith them success fu l ly , and

direct

th e

sexual energies into

desirable channels, is one

of

the great

victories

of

life. A failure to cope

with them

successfully is

one

of

the

major

f ail ure s o f

life,

bringing

ex-

tremely negative results. There

is

something

profoundly depressing

about the thought that we do not

even

have mas te ry

over

our own

body, but are at the

mercy

of

feelings

Ral h arson

and tensions

from

which we

cannot

escape.

For

some, this struggle becomes

an

index to th e power

of

the Christian

faith. If faith doesn t give me a vic-

t ory here,

they

r eason, how

can it

give me a

vic tory anywhere?

And

how

can

religion be real?

They are

thus

led f rom discouragement to

despair about

Christianity

itself.

These

conclusions

are not

necessary.

Christianity

is real,

and

victory is possible. Here is a method

of

coping

with

sexual tensions that I

can recommend without reservation.

This

method

has been thoroughly

tested and

proven

in

my

own

experience,

and

I have

ta ught i t

to

countless o ther s, none

of

whom has

reported a

failure.

The apost le Pau1 tells us tha t the

word

of God

is

powerful.

(Hebrews

4:12) Ellen White writes, T he l if e of

Christ,

that

gives

life

to

the

world, is

in His word. The Desire of Ages

390) And

David

writes, T hy word

have

I

hid

in

mine

hearl

that I might not sin

agains t Thee.

Psalm

9: emph a s i s

supplied)

We can

hardly

refer to

anything

as being hidden

in our hearts if we have

to read

it out of

a book,

even th e Bible. And

unfortunately,

we

find

that we are capable of

reading

words

out of

a

book while our minds are

fa r

away.

Remember that

Jesus,

under

temptation,

quoted

the word of

God

to the tempter. He

di d

not read it.

t

was in

His

heart.

Therefore

do this:

Choose

a

rather

long

chapter of

the Bible

that

appeals to you, one

containing

f i f teen to

twenty verses. The

sub-

jec t mat t e r

is not

important,

because

th e

same

life and

power

of

Christ

are

in

every

chapter. I ha ve

long used

the

little

book

of Ju de for

th is v er y

purpose, because I espec ia lly l ike the

verses

with which it

closes.

Com mit

t

his

c

hap

t

t

0

memory. Know it

so wel l

that

you can

recite it

without

hesitation

at

any

time or in

any

circumstances.

This

may mean that you wil l need to prac-

tice it

at

t imes when you

don t

really

need it, just to keep it fresh in your

memory.

3 When t ro ub le d w ith

sexual

tensions,

simply

r ec it e t hi s c h p te r

f rom your memory you

are

alone,

recite it aloud. you are not a lone ,

recite

it silently,

in

your

own mind.

Your tensions wi ll d isappear.

The

struggle

will

be over . Your soul will

be

filled with peace , sweet

peace . (I

have sometimes found

it

necessary to

repea t the

chapter

a second time,

but

never a third.) t works.

And if

any of

you who read this

a rt ic le f ind that your p ract ice has

gone beyond

habit

to

compulsion

feel

free to write to me in care

of

this

magazine.

There are

some compul-

sion-breaking methods that I believe

will help you,

bu t t he re

is not space

to

presen

t them here. II

April, 1986 Our i rm oulldatioll


6/32

e

are

living

in

the

closing sccncs

of this earth s

history,

and

what is

now done fo r God is accomplishcd

under th e

most disadvantagcous

circumsta nces. Sa ta n has grea t sk ill

and

wonderful

ability. God

entrusted

him with power and wisdom; bu t he

became f il led with sel f-exa ltat ion and

thought

that

he should be first in

heaven. Through this se lf -seeking,

this striving for the

supremacy,

sin

entered

into

the

world.

Satan

resolved

to make an

effort

to over throw the government

of

God,

and set up a kingdom

of

h is own. He

began

thi s work

by

doing jus t

as

men

who ought to know

bett er a re

doing

today.

He

complained

of

the

supposed

defects

in the

management

of

heavenly things, and sought to fill the

minds of

the

angels with his disaf-

fe ction. Because he was not su pr eme,

he sowed seeds

o f doub t and

unbelief.

Because he was not as God, he strove

to

instill

in to th e minds of the angels

hi s own envy

and

dissatisfaction.

Thus the seeds

of

a li enat ion were

planted,

afterward

to

be drawn

ou t

and presented before the heavenly

courts

as origina ti ng , not w ith Sat an ,

but with the angels. So the deceiver

would show

that the

angels

thought

as

he did.

t was most difficult to

make the

deceiving power

of

Satan apparent.

His

power

to deceive inc re ased w ith

practice.

he

could

not defend

himself,

he

must accuse,

in order to

app ear just and ri ght eous, and to

make God appear arbitrary and

exacti ng . I n

secret

he whispered his

disaffection

to the

angels. There was

at f ir st

no

pronounced feeling

against

Our

rm

oulldatioll April, 1986

God; bu t

the

seed

had

been sown, and

the love and confidence of

the

angels

was marred. The

sweet

communion

b etwe en th em

and their God was

broken. Every move was watched;

every act ion

was viewed in

t he l ight

in which

Satan

had made

them

see

things.

That

which Satan had instilled

i nt o t he

minds

of the angels-a

word

here and a word there-opened

the

way fo r a long list of suppositions. In

his artful way he drew expressions

of

doubt from them. Then, when he was

interviewed, he accused those

whom

he

had educated.

He

laid

all

the

dis-

affection on

the

ones he had led. As

one in

holy

office, he

manifested

an

overbea ring desir e f or ju stice, but i t

was a

counter fe it o f

j us ti ce, whi ch

was entirely contrary to

God s

love

and

compassion and mercy.

Just

such t ransac ti ons a re t ak ing

p lace today .

Many place such

con-

fidence in

their

own ideas

that

they

present

their

theories as

if

they could

make no mist ake. Once their words

are spoken, they

never

go back,

never

repent,

never

feel that

they

need

forgiveness. They feel

that

they are

infal lible. Thus it has been in

past

history;

thus

it

will be

aga in . Fal se

religious confidence becomes

sup-

posed infallibility. How

can

these

deluded

ones t hink tha t

they

are

the

only ones led and

taught

of God?

When this spirit is manifes ted, what

can

be done?

You cannot

convince

them, be-

cause they say,

G od

has led

me.

They

will not

acknowledge

that

they

have acted on

wrong principles.

They

maintain that

they

have

moved

rightly.

The onl y cour se

that

can

pursued is to

leave

them to develo

their principles. They may never s

t he ir e rror , bu t others may be co

vinced and s aved . To attempt to u

mask them

would

be to

call sympath

to

their

side.

Great

efforts

will

be

made

those who suppose their own wisdo

to be supreme, in exactly the sam

lines on which Satan

worked,

an

which caused

so

much mischief

in

t

paradise

of God. The

very

same pri

ciples ar e

revea led and upheld

toda

When a man is

elected

to a

position

trust, to

preside

over importa

interests, large and

broad,

or

over

i

terests of

less

extent, but st

important , Satan st irs up the

minds

those who a re sel fi sh , who are n

consecrated

to

God s s ervi ce , w

have

no t an

eye single to his glory.

fills

their

hearts with the spirit

crit iciz ing and

accusing. If

they

thi

that they

a re not e spec ia ll y favore

they will talk

of

t he mis take s and

rors of the one against whom t hey a

working.

This step

ta ke n, S at a

whose special bus iness i t is to cre

a lienat ion and

strife,

will pl ace t

ma t te r before these persons

n

m

deceiving way , and

they

will bri

against

those in positions of tr ust

t

most unjust cha rges , i n order to d

courage and

destroy

God s

servants.

Satan s representat ions aga inst

government

of

God, and his defen

of t hose who s ided w ith him, were

constant accusat ion aga inst God. H

murmu rin gs a nd complaints wc

groundless; and ye t God

a llowed h

to

work out

his theory. God co

have des troyed Satan and al l hi s s y

pathizers

as

easily

as

one

can

pick

a pebble and

cast

it to the ear th . B

by

doing

so he would

have

given

precedent

fo r

the

exercise of

for

All

t he compell ing power

is

fou

only under S ata n s governmen t. T

Lord s p ri nc ip le s a re

no t

of t

order. He would

not work

in

this

li

He would

no t

give the

slightest

couragement

fo r

a ny human

being

set

h imse lf up

as

God over

anoth

human

being,

feeling at lib erty

cause him

physical

or men

suffer ing. This pr inc iple is wholly

atan s ereation.

The principles of the character

God

were the

f ou nd atio n o f

t

education

constantly

kept before

heavenly

angels.

These principl

were goodncss, mercy, and iove. Se

evidencing light was to be recogniz

and f re el y accep ted

by all who

cupied

positions of

tr ust and

pow

They must accept God s principl

and,

through th e p re sent at ion

truth

and

righteousness, convince

who were i n Hi s se rv ice. This was

only to be used. Force m


7/32

the

heavenly

universe. By

shedding

the blood of

the

Son of God, he

uprooted h imsel f f rom t he affections

of

the unfallen beings. He

was

seen

by al l to be a liar, a thief, and a

murderer.

God sees that

the s ame cou rs e

of

aetion is

being pursued the

world

over. Men and women come to

the

place where the

road

diverges; it is

e it he r r ig ht

or w ro ng .

Thousands

upon t housands c lo the

themselves

in

what

they

suppose

to be

an im-

penetrable disguise, and

choose

the wrong . An

a t

tcmpt

to make

th ir

course

plain

to o ther s by

abrupt disclosures would

only cause

a

larger num-

ber

to

choose the

side

of

wrong.

Thus the

wrong-

doers

would be sus-

tained,

and

many

souls

would be ruined.

Today Sat an

is

work-

ing

upon human

minds

by hi s crooked princi-

ples.

These will

be

adopted and acted upon

by some

who elaim

to be

loyal

and

true

to God s

government. How shall

we know that

they

are

disloyal and unt rue? By

their

fruits ye

shall

know

them.

God

does

not force

a ny one . He leaves all

free

to

choose.

Bu t

He

says,

B y t he ir

fruits ye sha ll know them. The Lord

will

no t write

as wis e

those

who ean -

not

distinguish

between

a

tree

that

bears

thorn

b er ries an d a

tree

that

bears ives.

Individually,

we

ar e deciding our

eternal dest iny,

whether we

shall en-

joy the

h ighe st honor

that can be

given to

man,

even

an

eternal

weight

of g lory, o r

to be

r an ked with Satan

by possess ing h is character,

by dis-

honoring

God becau se we

profess

to

be Chr is ti ans whi le

misrepresenting

Chr is t. Tho se

who

choose

to

reveal

the c har ac te r o f

the a rch-dece iver

identify themselves

w ith him beyond

t he possibi li ty of a

change,

because

they choose

no t

to see themselves as

wrong.

This was the course

that

Satan

pursued.

Re\ iew alld Herald

September

7 1897

bef ore him

truth in

c on tr as t w it h

falsehood. Time and time again

during the

con trover sy , Sat an was

ready

to be

convinced, ready to admit

hc was

wrong. But those he had

decei ved were

also

ready

to

accuse

him

of

leaving them.

What should he

do?-submit to

God, or continue in

a

course

of deeeption?

He chosc

to

dcny

truth, to

t ake re fuge

in

misstatements

and

fraud.

The

Lord a llowed Satan to go on,

and demonstrate

his

principles.

God

did r evea l

that

His

principles

were

right,

and

He carried the wor ld s un-

fallen

and

the

heavenly universe with

Him;

bu t

it

was

at a tcrrible cost. His

only bcgot ten Son was givcn up as

Satan s victim. Thc Lord Jesus Christ

rcvealcd

a

character entirely opposite

to that

of

Satan. As the high

priest

laid asidc his

gorgeous,

pontifical

robcs and officiatcd in

the wh ite

l in en d re ss of a common pries t, so

Chr is t empti cd H imse lf , and took the

form of a

s er va nt , and

offered

the

sac ri fice , Himsel f the

priest,

Himself

the viet im.

By

causing

th e death of th e

Sovereign of heaven, Sa ta n

de feated

his

own purpo se . The dea th

of

the

Son of

God made t he

death

o f S at an

unavoidable. He

was

allowed to go on

until

his administration

was laid

open

before the

worlds unfal len and before

God does not force anyone.

leaves all free to choose.

But says By their fruits

ye shall know

them

The Lord will not

write as wise those

who cannot distinguish between

a tree that bears thorn berries

and a tree that bears olives

ne\ er

eome

in. All who thought that

their pos iti on gave them power

to

eommand

their fellow human beings,

and eo ntro l co nscien ce, must be

deprived

of

their

position; fo r

this

not

God s p lan.

These principles

are

to be

th e

foundation

o f e du ca ti on in

God s

church

today. Th c rules

given by

Him

are to be observed

and

respected. God

has

enjoined

this. His

government

moral.

Nothing

is to be

done by compuls ion.

ruth is

to

be the

prevailing

power.

All

service is

to be done

willingly, and for the

love of God. All who are

honor ed wit h

positions

o f i nf lu ence

ar e to

rep-

resent God; fo r

when

officiating, they are in

th e

place

of God. In

cvcryth ing t hc ir a ct io ns

must

corrcspond to

thc

impor tance of thei r

position. The higher the

position the more dis-

tinctly

will

self-sacrificc

be revealed if

they are

fi t

fo r

th e o ff ic e. Eve ry

heart

that is controlled

by these principles will

be loyal. Bu t

when those

who

profess

to be

in

God s s crvi ce r esor t

to

accusa tion,

they a re a dopt ing S at an s

principles

to

cast

out S at an ; a nd this never

will

work.

In the

councils of heaven

it

was

decided that

principles

must be

acted

upon tha t would

no t

at once des troy

Satan s

power; fo r it

was

God s

pur-

pose to place things upon an eternal

basis

of

security. Time must

be

given

for

Satan to

de vel op t he p ri nci ples

which were

the

fou nda ti on o f his

government. The hea ve nl y

universe

must

see

worked

o ut the pr inciples

which Sata n dec la re d we re s upcr io r

to God s principles .

God s

order

must

be

contras ted with

Satan s order. Th e

corrupting

principles

of Satan s

rule

must

be

revealed. The princ ip le s

of

righteousness expressed

in

God s law

must

be

demonstrated

as

unchange-

able,

perfect, e ternal .

Th e Lord saw

the

use Sa ta n

was

making

of his powers, and he se t

April, 1986 Our

irm

oundation 7


8/32

s

ediellce

o

Russell Standi h M D

Colin Standi h I h D

A nd the serpent said unto the

woman,

Ye

shall

no t

surely

die.

Genesis

3:4

Satan s

consistent

p romi se has

al -

ways

been, You can sin and

still

have eternal

life.

Hi s motto is

S in

and

live. On

the other hand, the

plain

word of

God informs

us

in

terms too

clear

to be

misunderstood,

T he soul that s inne th , i t sha ll d ie .

Ezekiel 18:4 20

Yet many Christ ians,

no t

always

aware

that by

deception Satan

is sug-

gesting tha t they

can

be saved in

their sins

rather

than from their

sins,

have

consistently accepted this

word

in preference to

the

truth of ou r

loving

heavenly

Father.

Even within the Seven th -day

Ad-

ventist Church we s ometimes

hear

those

who asser t tha

t

King Dav id was

a

saved

man at

th e

moment of his

sin

with Bathsheba.

Others

assert

that

if

the

tenor of a

man s l if e

is good,

he

can d ie w it h

a

curse upon

h is l ip s

and

still be saved eternally. is distress-

ing that such unscriptural teaching is

permitted to encourage those

weak

in

faith to antic ipate that t hey have sal-

vat ion whil e breaking the law of the

Most High. While th e ba sis of salva-

tion

is th e

merits of Christ alone, the

condition is

th e

keeping of God s

commandments . The

belief that

obedience

to God s

law

is no t a condi-

llr

i rm

Ollndation

April,

J986

tion of

salvation

is rapidly

gaining

acceptance

within

Adventism,

while

inspiration

declares that obedience is

the

condition

of ou r salvation. Notice:

N ot everyone that

saith

unto Me

Lord, Lor d, s hall

enter

into the

kingdom

of

heaven;

bu t

he

that doeth

the will of

My

Father which

is

in

heaven.

Matthew

7:21

T he gospel that is to be

preached

to al l nations,

kindreds,

tongues, and

peoples

presents

the

truth in clcar

lines, showing that

obedience

is th e

c ondit io n o f

gaining

eternal life.

Seventh day Adventi st Bib le Commen

tary

vol 7 972

From Genesis

to

Revelation

the

conditions

upon

which e te rnal l if e

is

promised, ar e made

plain

Keep

My

commandments

and live, is the

requirement

of God. eview nd

Herald

September 3,1901

One

is

entitled

to

in qu ir e, w hat

more does a man

need to do

than

murde r and

commit adultery

in

order

to lose life

e te rna l? This

must n ot be

confused

to mean that there is not

salvation

f or ever y

repentant

sinner

irrespective

of the depth

to

which

he

has

fallen. Confession and repentance

are conditions

of

salvation. Certainly

David

believed he had lost

salvation

prior to his prayer of de ep r ep en-

tance.

He cried out from

the

depths

of his

heart,

Restore

unto

me the joy

of

Thy salvation. Psalm

51:12

He recognized that it is only as

w e confess ou r

sins,

He

is

faithful

and jus t

to

forgive

us

ou r

sins,

and to

cleanse

us

from

al l

unrighteousness.

I John 1:9

To

promote

the

concept that

man

can have

salvation

whi le being

guilty

of cheri shed s in is a

dangerous

con-

cept indeed. Fu rther,

absolutely

no

scriptural verificat ion exists fo r this

false doctrine.

Seventh-day Adventists

do

no t

serve

a God

who

is

fickle in His dea l-

ings

with man,

striking him down at

the moment of a sin, when time

wou ld have produced repentance.

serve a

beneficent

Father who is n ot

willing that any

should

perish, bu t

that

al l

should come to repentance.

2

Peter

3:9

Thus, whi le eternity is lost

by one

unrepented

s in , nevertheless,

an

om-

niscient God

does no t

permit

a

single

s oul t o per ish whi le

there

is

t he l ea st

hope

of true

repentance.

ca n

surely trust Him to do

al l

in His

power

to

give

us

t he oppor tuni ty to

meet His

condition

of repentance.

is th e cry of the

devil

that

obedience is

no t possible.

ill be-

hooves God s

people to p reac h f rom

hallowed

pulpits

the despicable lies

of Satan.

is the

earnest

plea of

th e

writers

that f el low worke rs

for the


9/32

cause of tru th

w ill p ercei

ve

th e

danger

of

preaching such errors.

Sister

White,

under

inspiration,

specifically pointed out ove r and over

that the claim that

obedience

to the

law under the

power

of

the

Holy

Spirit

is

impossible, emana te s f rom

the

arch-enemy himself.

Let us ex-

amine a

few

instances of th is

warning.

T he

holy

life of Abel

testified

against Satan s claim

that it is impos-

sible fo r

man

to keep

God s

law.

Patriarchs and Prophets 77

Satan

had point ed

to

Adam s

sin

as proof that

God s law

was unjust,

and could

not be

obeyed.

The Desire

of Ages

Satan had claimed that

it

was

im-

possible fo r man to

obey

God s

c ommandments ; a nd in our own

s tr engt h it

is true that we cannot

obey them. But Christ

came

in

the

form

of

humanity, and by

His

perfect

obedience He proved

t ha t h uman it y

and divinity combined

ca n obey

everyone

of

God s precepts.

Christ s

Object Lessons 314

No

Spirit

of

Prophecy-believing

Seventh-day Adventist

could

surely

r ep eat S at an s c la im

as truth.

is

true that

the new Adv entism postu-

lates a view of sin to

which

neither

the

angels nor un f all en Adam could

achieve.

However,

a

faulty definition

leads many to have conf idence that

the

plan

of

salvation

does not

provide

fo r

complete

victory

over

sin.

Let it

be

properly understood

that

nowhere

does Scr ip tu re ver ify

this

claim

of

Satan.

Eternal life, God s

grace and

Hi s

mercy, ar e only

promised

contingent

upon

our

Spirit-

powered obedience.

In

the Psalms this

condition is set

forth.

But the mercy

of

the Lord is

f rom everlas ting to

everlasting

upon

them

t hat fe ar

Him,

and

His

right-

eousness

unto

children s children; to

such as keep

His

covenant , and to

those

that

remember

His

command-

ments

to do

them. Psalm

103: 17,

8

We hear men

speak words which

find responses

in

our c ar na l hearts,

disdaining to seek to verify th e

words of men

by scriptural

search. We

believe a

man

and doubt God. There

ar e some believers who have

so

elevated

a

fallible being that one

word

f rom him

is worth

more

to them

than ten from God. We are

told

that

-

some men

live exemplary lives and

this is used to v lid te th eir

statements.

The

Bible never invites

us

to

accept such

proofs.

Had

it

done

so, we would have been left to

follow

Satan, for

he

wil l come

transformed

into an angel

of

light.

2 Corinthians

11:14

Indeed, S is ter

White

commenting

on

this

fact,

states

that

Disguised

as

an

angel of

light,

he [Satan] wil l

walk

the earth as a wonder-worker.

In

beautiful

language

he

will present

lofty

sentiments.

Good

words

will be

spoken

by him,

an d

good deeds

performed.

Christ wil l be personified,

bu t on one point there will be a

marked d is ti nc ti on . Sat an will

turn

the people from the

law

of

God.

Fundamentals of Christian Education

471,472

While the fruits of the life are

evidence of t he power

of

God, we

must

beware

that such

evidence

is no t

allowed to overrule

the

evidence of

t he law and the

testimony.

Satan does

simulate the lofty concepts and

the

good

life of

Christ.

is now time

to look for the one and only point

of

dist inct ion-Satan turns

man s hea rt s

from the law

of God. Is

it

a

coin-

cidence

that

those procl aiming the

new Advent ism

present

lof ty

sentiments, do good works, are

Christ-centered

in

their

approach,

while turning

God s

treasured people

away f rom the

law

of

God? Thus the

new

Adventism has

al l

the

identify-

ing

marks

of a Satanic

delusion.

As these

highly

respe ted

theologians repeat

Sa

tan s despicable

attack

upon

our Redeeme r and His

law, we

must flee

their teachings

which, if followed, will

lead us to

e te rnal perdi tion . The matter is so

simple.

If

it

were not

possible fo r human

beings under the Abrahamic covenant

to keep

the commandments

of God,

every soul of us is

lost. The

Abrahamic covenant

is

the covenant

of grace.

By grace

ye

ar e s av ed .

(John

1:11, 12) Disobedient children?

No,

obedient

to all

His command-

ments.

If

it

were not possible

for us to

be

commandment-keepers,

then

why

does He

make th e obed ien ce

to

His

commandments the

proof that we

love

Him?

Leller 16, 1892, quoted

in

Seven th day dven t i s t Bible

Commentary

vol. I, 1092

Sister White s

simple

logic stands

as a s tark rebuke to

those who would

p romote or

a ccep t Sat an s per si st en t

lie

tha

t

obed ience

to

the

la w is

no t

possible.

B ut the mercy

of

the Lord is

from everlast ing to everlas ting upon

them

that fear

him,

and His right-

eousness unto children s children; to

such

as

keep His covenan t, and

to

those

who remembe r

His

command-

ments to do them.

Psalm

103:17, 8

T he F at he r

ratified the covenant

made with Christ,

that

He would

receive

r epen tant and obedien t men,

and would love them even as He loves

His Son. The Desire

of

Ages 790

Under the new covenant, th e

conditions

by

which

eternal l ife

may

was

impossible

for

the

sinner to keep

the

law of

God; but . ..

be

gained

are the

same

as under t he

old-perfect

obedience.

Seventh day

Adventist Bible

Commentary

vol. 7 931

When many times the

Bible

a nd the

Spirit

of

Prophecy urge obedience

as

a

condi ti on for salvation and never

once does either

inspired source state

that

the

Spirit-filled

man

cannot

obey

God s law, one

marvels

at

the

pom-

posity of man

to

declare

true that

which

God

denies,

and

to

oppose that

which

God reveals .

Listen to the

irrefu

ta

ble voi ce of

inspiration

once

more:

I t was

impossible for the sinner

to keep

the law

of God,

which

was

holy, just, and good;

bu t

this impos-

sibility

was

removed

by

the

imparta-

tion of the

righteousness

of Chr is t to

the

repenting, bel ieving

soul. . . .

Therefore he [Satan]

has

originated

the

falsehood

that

the

s ac ri fi ce o f

Christ on Calvary s cross was for the

purpose

o f fre ein g man from

th e

obligation

of

keeping

the command-

ments

of

God Having suffered

the

ful l penal ty fo r

a

guilty world,

Jesus

became th e

mediator

between

God

and man,

to

restore the repenting

soul to f avor with

God

by

giving him

grace

to

keep the law

of

the

Most

High.

Signs of the Times June

20,

1895

April, 1986 ll r i rm

FOlIl datiol


10/32

Can anyone truly accept God's ser-

vant as a

messenger

of truth,

and

consc ient ious ly r ead t hi s statement

and

sti l l bel ieve

the

views

of

the

new

Adventism?

Thank God the pil la rs

of

ou r faith a re f irmly based.

Whatever

claims

are made

and

whatever

use is

made

of

the Spiri t

of

Prophecy

by

the

proponents

of

the new Adven ti sm,

d ail y men and women

a re t ur ned to

doubt it s u tt erance s. Many today who

once

believed

t he i nsp ir at io n o f

the

Spirit

of

Prophecy

now

refer

to its

claimed

inspiration as

cultism.

Sis ter White,

writing

from

Australia to our young people,

gave

them solid grounds to look

to

Christ

to

empower them

to obey .

How much

the youth

of today

would

benefit

from the

q ua lit y o f articles

which

appeared

in those YOllth s Illstrllctors

He [Ch rist] was to bear th e

penalty

of

transgression

of

the la w

of

God,

not

to

give

men liberty

to

con-

tinue in

sin

but

to take

away

their

inclination

to

sin, that they might not

desire to

transgress.

Those who

receive

Christ are obedient to His

commands,

for His mind is

given

to

them. He

embues them with His Spirit

of

obedience,

and

they return

to

Him

their loyalty. Youth s Illstructor, April

6

1899

Th e

apostle Paul 's

letters

ar e

rep lete

with e x h o r t t i o n s

to

obedience

under

God 's p ower . To

deny the pos si bi li ty o f the born-

again

Christian

being obedient

is to

If, while we seek to be

justified by Christ, we

ourselves also are found to

be sinners, is

therefore

Christ

the minister

of sin?

God

forbid

-Galatians

2:17

destroy the very fabric

of

the

New

Testament and to make Christ's death

impotent.

Th e

Spirit was to

be

given

as a

r-egencrating

agent,

and

without this

the sac rific e o f C hrist

would have

been of no

avail. The Desire

o f ges

671

l lr i rm llndation April, 1986

Paul admonishes

us as fol lows:

Casting

down imagina tions ,

and

eve ry h igh

t hi ng t ha t exa lte th i tse lf

against the

knowledge

of

God,

and

bringing into captivity every thought

to

the obedience

of

Christ.

2

Corin-

thians 10:5

In

the same

letter to

the Cor in -

thian bel ievers Paul encouraged them

in a similar

manner.

Hav

ing

therefore these

promises,

dearly beloved, let us

c le anse our -

selves from al l filthiness of

the

flesh

and spi ri t, perfecting holiness in

the

fear

of

God.

2 Corinthians

7:1

Paul made it clear that

a

person

Let us cleanse ourselves

from

all fil thiness of the

flesh

and

spirit

-2 Corinthians 10:5

cannot

be justified

while

he

disobeys.

This,

of

course,

is

t he cons is ten

t

teaching

of al l

sources

of inspiration.

Why men propose that which God

does not , can only be known to the

individual and

his

Maker.

B ut if, while

we seek to be

jus-

tified by

Christ,

we

ourselves

also

are

found sinners,

is therefore Chris t

the

minister

of sin? God

f or bi d. F or

if I

b uild a ga in

th e

things

which I

d es t ro y ed

I make

mys e l f

a

transgressor.

Galatians

2:17,18

This passage

of

Scripture should be

read

and s tudied

by

all Seventh-day

Adventists,

for it

settles

the quest ion

once and for all

as

to whether

a

man

can disobey

nd s t i l l re t in

justifica tion.

Paul believed that

th e

Lord shal l

deliver me from every

evil

work.

2

Timothy

4:18 He

was

able

to

of-

f er thanks unto

God,

which

2.lways

causeth us

to

tr iumph

in

Christ.

2

Corinthians 2:14

t

was no

doubt

this

conviction

and

t he knowl edge

that I

can do all things

through

Christ

which

strengtheneth me

(Philippians 4:13 which formed the

basis

for Paul' s admonition

to awake

to r ighteousness , and si n not.

I

Corinthians 15:34

Either

God's promises

a re sure

or

they

are worthless.

Not one

reader

will

support the

second

of

these

two

propositions.

Ye t we

surely

cast

aspersions

upon the

ver ac it y o f

ou r

Lo rd when

we

claim to believe His

promises an d

then

proclaim

th e

precise

reverse

of

that

which God

declares.

Do we truly

believe that

Ther e h at h no temptation taken you

bu t

such

as is common to

man;

bu t

God is faithful,

who will not

suffer

you to be

tempted above t ha

t ye

are

able;

but will with the temptation

also

make

a

way to

escape, that ye

may be

able

to bea r i t ? I Corinthians

10:13

What

a

sublime promise

Why

should

we

doubt God's power

to

give

us

v ic to ry ove r sin? Le t

us

not

so

desire

to be

saved

in our

sins rather

t han from

them that

we

wil l i gnore

such

positive

promises.

In

re alit y th e p ossib ilitie s a re

three-fold:

God has th e power to

give

us

vic tory over

sin [obedience]

and

He

uses

th is power

on beha lf o f

every

penitent sinner

whose

will

is

subject

to

the

Spirit-interpreted Word.

2. God has the power

to

give

obedience,

bu t

He

chooses

not

to do

so fo r reasons known only

to

Himself.

3.

God does

not

possess

t he power

to

give

a

Spirit-filled

man

total

victory.

Since every trace

of

evidence in

Scrip tu re suppor ts p ropos it ion (I)

above, there are

no

grounds

other

than our own perversity or ignorance

to

imply

t ha t e ithe r

of the

other

two

propositions

is

true.

It

is

always an easier

matter

to

pre sent one s ide

of

an

argument than

to fairly, also,

pre sent t he

alternate

pos itio n. B ef or e

concluding

this

artic le , i t

is

only

proper to present

the

evidence

proposed by those

who

believe

that

f all en man

cannot

fully

obey.

This

is

quoted from th e wr it-

ings of

one

of

the

most prominent ex-

positors

of the new Adventism.

Human sinlessness

in this

life is

indeed

a

chimera.

See

James

3:2; I

John

1:8;

Matthew

6:12;

Romans

14:23;

James

4:17, etc.

Only when

the

Chris-

tian

receives

a

glorified immortal

body

at

the coming

of Chr is t will he

be

able

to function without lapse or

errorr. D. Ford,

Siglls

o f

the Times

Australasian edition, February 1978

In

this statement

we

have

set

ou t

the pos it ion supporting the

inability

to obey,

concepts so

central to

the


11/32

new

Adventism. There is also proof

text ing provided. Each

of

these texts

is quoted so that

the

reader

can

com-

pare

them

with the posi t ive,

unequivocal

s ta tements of inspira tion

cited previously

to support the Bible-

based Seventh-day Adventist position.

Four of these five texts are quoted

below;

the

fifth

will

be

discussed

a

little more

fully.

F or in

many things

we offend all.

If any man offend

not in

word, the

same is a

perfect man, and able

also

to

bridle the whole body. James

3:2

A nd

forgive

us our

debts,

as we

forgive

ou r

debtors.

Matthew 6:12

t is surely a misapplication

of Scripture to use

a text

from a book, the whole

theme

of

which is the call

to

obedience, to attempt

to

support the reverse

A nd he that

doubteth

is

damned

if

he ea t

beca

use

he

ea

teth not of

faith;

for wha tsoever

is

no t

of

faith

is

sin.

Romans 13:23

Therefore

to

him

that

knoweth to

do good and doeth it

not,

to him it is

sin.

James

4:17

is

not proposed

to

discuss these

four proof texts.

Their mere list ing

should

indicate to

the

r eade r t he ir

lack o f s uppo rt f or

this

pivotal error

of

the

new Adventism. This ins tance

does

indicate the

urgent

need

for

much

greater care in

the

editorial

work of some of our publications,

particularly those being sen t to non-

believers.

If proof texts are provided,

it

is

preferable

to

quote the text and

not simply the reference,

and to en-

sure

that

the texts really do

support

the proposition

advanced. This surely

i l lustrates the all too

often

used

tech-

nique

of quoting irrelevant

refer-

ences

to support erroneous doctrines.

Let

us

examine the

fifth reference

which

a t

least

does ha ve

the

v ir tue o f

relevance.

If

we

say

that

we have no si n, we

deceive ourselves, and the truth

is

not

i n us. I

John :8

t

must never be

overlooked

that

the em phasis here

is

on an

indi-

vidua l s c la im about

himself.

As

it

will be demonstrated

later, there

is a

decided difference between

a perfect

man s

assessment of his

own

unwor-

thiness

and

God s a na ly si s o f th e

man s condition. However, several

powerful reasons can

be

advanced to

demonstrate

that

John in

no wise

made this

sta

temen

t

on

the basis that

obedience

was impossible in

thi s l ife.

Indeed

it is incredible th at any

passage from

the

first

epistle

of John

should

be used for this purpose. No

book of

the

Bi ble

exhorts to

sinless-

ness more than

this brief

epistle. It is

surely

a

misapplication of Scr ip tu re

to use a t ex t f rom a book the

whole

theme of which

is

th e

call to

obedience, to

attempt to

support the

reverse. Th is should act

as a

further

warning to

those

within our

midst

who

would leave

Bible

exposition

to

theologians. All too frequently we are

hearing, even

from

some church

leaders, the cry, why d oesn t he stick

to his

own field

of

expertise and

leave

the expos it ion

of Scr ip tu re to

the theologians?

It

is

almost

unbelievable

that

such

sentiments

should

appear

within

God s

chu rch. They ref lect no credit

upon

those

who utter them, for it

was

this

very same

thing which led to

the

darkest era

of

Christendom.

Let us look

a t

some of the

numerous

calls to

to tal ob ed ien ce in

this epistle.

A nd

hereby we

do know

that we

know

Him,

if we

keep

His command-

ments. I John :3

He that

saith,

I

know Him, and

keepe th not His commandments,

is a

liar,

and

the truth

is

not in h im.

2:4

But whoso keepeth His word, in

him

verily

is

the

love

of

God per-

f ected; h er eby know

we that we are

in

Him.

:5

H e that saith

he

abideth in Him

ought himself also so to

walk, even

as

He

walked.

2:6

f

ye

know

that

He

is

righteous,

ye

know

that

everyone

that

doeth

righteousness

is

born

of

Him.

2:29

A nd

every man

that

hath this

hope

in Him purificth himse lf , even

as

He

is pure. 3:3

nd

ye know

that He was

manifested to take away ou r sins; and

in Him

is no

sin. 3:5

Whosoever a

bideth in Him sin-

neth

not;

whosoever

s inneth hath

not

seen

Him, neither known Him.

3:6

Lit t le children,

le t

no

man

deceive

you: he

that

doeth righteous-

ness

is

righteous,

even as He

is

righteous.

3:7

He t ha t commit te th sin is of

the

devil; fo r t he dev il s inneth f rom the

beginning.

For this

purpose

the Son

of

God was

manifested,

that He

might des troy the works

of

the deviL

3:8

Whosoever is

born

of God

doth

not commi t s in; for

hi s

seed

remaineth

in

him: and he cannot

sin,

because

he

is

born of God.

3:9

Little children, le t no

man

deceive you: he that doeth

righteousness

is righteous,

even as He is

righteous

John 3:7

I n

this the

chi ld ren o f God are

manifest, and the chi ldren o f the

devil:

whosoever

doeth

not righteous-

ness is

not

of

God,

neither he tha t

loveth

not

his brother.

3:

I0

And whatsoever

we

ask, we

receive of Him, because

we keep

His

commandments,

and

do

those

things

that are

pleasing

in

His sight .

3:22

A nd

he

that

keepeth His com-

mandments dwell eth in

Him,

and

He

in h im.

3:24

By thi s

we

know

that we love

the

children

of

God,

when we love

God,

and keep His commandments.

5:2

F or

this

is

the love

of

God,

that

we keep

His commandments:

and His

commandments are not grievous.

5:3

We

know

that

whosoever

is

born

of

God

sinneth

not.

5: 8

This quantum of Scripture

ha s

been c ited , not s imply to

demonstrate

the

misuse of I

John

1:8

bu t

to il-

lustrate

t he almost

unending

Scrip-

tural

opposition

to the

thesis

of

the

new

Adventism

which f os te rs

th e

belief

that God does

no t offer sin-

lessness to

His believers

here.

What then does I John :8

mean?

The entire passage

of I

John

1:7-10

Continued page

30

April,

1986 Our irm

oul da iol II


12/32

The lesh

V SUS

llen

White

A REFORM EEDED

If S e v en t h -d a y A d v e nt is ts

pra c -

ticed w ha t t he y

profess to

believe

if

they w ere

s in ce re h ea lt h r ef or me rs

t he y w ou ld

indeed

be a spectacle to

th e

world to

angels an d

to men. An d

they would show a fa r

greater

zeal

fo r

t he s al va ti on of

t ho se w ho

ar e ig

norant of th e truth.

G r e a t e r

re forms

should be

seen

among

the people who

claim to

be

looking for the soon appearing of

Christ. H ea lt h r ef or m

is to do

among

ou r

people

a

work

which

it

ha s no t

ye t

done. There ar e t ho se w ho ought

to be

awake to

th e

danger

of

meat

eating who ar e still eating t he fle sh

of a ni ma l s t hu s e n da n ge ri ng th e

physical m e nt al a nd s pi ri t ual health.

Many

wh o ar e now only half

con-

verted on th e

question

of meat ea ting

wi ll go from G od s p eo pl e to walk no

more

w it h t he m.

In

al l

ou r

work we must

obey

th e

laws which God has

given

that th e

physical an d spiritual

energies

ma y

work in harmony.

Me n

may have a

form of godliness they may even

preach the gospel

and yet

be un-

p ur if ie d a nd u ns an et if ie d.

Ministers

should

be

strictly

tempera te in

their

eating

an d

drinking lest

they

make

llr i rm

llndation April

1986

crooked paths for th eir

feet turning

th e lame-those weak in the

f aith- out

of th e way. If while proclaiming th e

most

solemn a nd i mp or ta nt

message

God has e ve r g iv en me n wa r against

th e truth by indulging wrong habits

o f e at in g a nd d ri nk in g they take

al l

th e force

from

th e message t he y b ea r.

T ho se w ho indulge in meat

eating

tea

d r in k in g a n d g lu tt on y a r e sowing

seeds

fo r

a

h arv es t of pain an d death.

Th e

unhealthful f oo d p la ce d in th e

stomach strengthens th e appetites that

wa r

against

th e soul

developing

th e

lower

propensities. A diet of

flesh

meat

tends to d e ve l op a n im a l is m . A

de

velopmen t o f a nima Ii sm

lessen

s

spirituality rendering the mind in-

capable

o f u n de r st a nd i ng t r ut h .

Th e

Word

of Go d plainly

warns us

that unless we abstain

from

fleshly

lusts t he p hy si ca l nature

will

be

b r o u g h t i n t o

onf l i t

w it h th e

s pi ri tu al n at ur e. L us tf ul e at in g

wars

a gai nst he al t h

an d peace. Thus a war-

fare is instituted b et we en t he higher

an d

th e

lower

a tt ri bu te s o f th e man.

T he l ow er p ro pe ns it ie s

strong an d

active oppress

th e

soul. Th e highest

interests of th e b ei ng a re im pe ril ed

by

th e indulgence

of

appetites un -

sanctioned by He a ven.

G r ea t c ar e should

be

taken

to

form

right

habits

of

e at in g a nd d ri nk in g.

Th e

food

e at en s ho ul d

be that which

will

m ak e th e

b est b l oo d.

T h e d el ic at e

o r g a n s o f

iges t ion

s h o u l d be

r es pe ct ed . G od

requires

us

by

being

temperate

in all things to act our

p art to wa rd k eep in g o urselves in

health.

He

c a nn o t e nl ig h te n

th e m in d

of

a

man who

makes a cesspool of hi s

stomach.

He does no t

hear

th e

prayers

of t ho se w ho a r e w al ki ng in

th e

light

of

th e

sparks

o f t he ir ow n

kindling.

COMMON

ERRORS

IN

DIET

Intemperance is seen in t he q uan -

tity

as

well

as

in th e

q ua li ty o f

food

eaten.

Th e

Lord has instructed me

that as a ge ne ra l r ule we place too

much

food in th e

stomach. Many

make themselves unc omfort a bl e by

overeating an d sickness is often th e

result. Th e

Lord

di d no t bring this

punishment

on

them. T he y b ro ug ht it

on

themselves

an d G od d es ir es t he m

to r ea li ze t ha t

pain

is th e r esu lt of

tr a nsgression.

Daily

abused

t he d ig es ti ve o rg an s

cannot do

their

work

well. A

poor

quality of blood is m ad e a nd t hu s

through

i m pr o pe r e at in g the whole

ma c hi ne ry is

cr ippled.

Give th e

stomach

less

to do . It w il l r ec ov er if


13/32

proper

care

is s hown in

regard

to

the

qua li ty and quant ity of food

eaten.

Many ea t

too

r ap id ly . O ther s e at a t

one

meal

varieties

of food that do

no t

agree.

men

and

women would

only

remember

how

g rea tly th ey afflict

the soul when they aff l ict th e

stomach, a nd how

deeply

Christ

is

d is hono re d when

th e

stomach is

abused, they would

deny the appet ite,

and thus give th e

stomach

oppor-

tunity

to

recover its healthy action.

While

sitting

at

t he t ab le , we

may do

medical

missionary work

by eating

and drinking

to

the glory

of God.

To

cat on th e S abba th

the

same

amount

of food eaten

on

a

working

day, s ent ir el y out o f

place.

Th e Sab-

bath

is

the day set

apart

fo r t he wor -

ship of

God,

and on

it

we arc

to be

specially careful in

regard to

our diet.

A c log ge d

stomach means

a

clogged

brain.

Too

oftcn so

lar ge an

amount

of

food is

eaten

on

the

Sa

bba

th

tha

t

t he mind

is

r ender ed dul l and s tupi d,

incapable of

appreciating

spiritual

things.

Th e

habits

of eating

have

much

to

do with the

many

dull

religious ex ercises of th e

Sabbath.

The

diet

for the Sabbath should

be

selected with reference

to

th e dut ie s

of

th e

day

on which the purest,

holiest service

is to be

offered

to

God.

God s people should

place themselves

where

they will

grow grace

being sanctified,

body soul and

spirit,

by the truth

Eating

has much

to do with

religion.

Th e spiritual

experience

is

greatly affected by the

way

in

which

t he s tomach is

treated.

Eating

and

drinking

in

accordance with

the

laws

of

hea lt h p romote virtuous actions.

Bu t

if

th e s toma ch

is

abused by

habits that have

no

foundation in

na ture, Satan

takes advan tage o f

the

wrong

that

has been done, and

uses

the

s tomach as

an

enemy of

righteousness, creating a disturbance

which affects

the

entire being.

Sacred

things a re no t a pp re ci at ed . Spiritual

zeal

diminishes. Peace

of

mind

is l os t.

There is dissension,

strife,

an d

discord. Impatient

word s ar e s poken ,

and unkind deeds a re done; dishonest

practices

arc

followed, and

anger

is

manifested ,-and

al l

b ecau se th e

nerves of

the

br ain ar e disturbed by

the abuse heaped on the

stomach.

What a

pity it

is that

often, when

th e

grea tes t s e lf -den ia l

should

be

exercised,

th e s tomach

is

crowded

with

a mass

of

unhealthful

food,

which lies

there

to

decompose. Th e

affliction

of the

stomach afflicts

the

brain.

The

imprudent eater docs not

realize that

he s disqualifying

him-

self for g iv in g wise counsel, dis-

qualifying h imsel f f or

laying

plans

for the best

advancement of

th e work

of

God.

But

this

s

so.

He cannot dis-

cern spiritual t hi ngs, and

in

council

meetings,

when he should

s ay Yea ,

he

says

Nay. He

makes

propositions

that

are wide of the

mark,

becaus e t he

food

he

has eaten has benumbed

his

brain power.

RELATION OF HEALTH

U

PRINCIPLES

TO SPIRITUALITY

The

failure

to

follow

sound prin-

ciples has marred the his tory

of

God s

people. There

has been

a continual

backsliding

in

health

reform,

and

as a

r esu lt God

is

dishonored

by

a

great

lack of spirituality.

Bar rier s h ave

been

erected which

would

never

have

been

seen had God s p eo

Our Firm Foundation -1987_04

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Transcript of Our Firm Foundation -1987_04