Our Firm FoundationThe 7th Day Sabbath Immutable Law of God The Everlasting GospelNon-Immortality of the Soul Three Angels' Messages The Sanctuary

Vol. 2, No.8

Baptism

Judas and theSons of Eli

FanaticismSide Issues

A Storyof Hope

A JourneyDown Under

Temptationand the Powerto Overcome

August 1987

The Impossible Partnership, see page 8

EditorialB UT THIS SHALL be the cov-

enant that I will make withthe house of Israel; After thosedays, saith the Lord, I will put mylaw in their inward parts, and writeit in their hearts; and will be theirGod, and they shall be my people."Jeremiah 31 :33When the law of God is wrillen

in the heart, every man, woman,and child with this experience willrespond to each life situation asJesus would. This response will bespontaneous because of a pure andholy life orchestrated moment bymoment by the Holy Spirit.To bring the imagination and

our very thoughts into consistentsubjection to the will of Christ isthe spirit and life of true religion.See Christ's Object Lessolls, 312The hC3rl within which God's

law is written will be kept with alldiligence, for out of the heartcomes every issue of life. The lifethus stayed upon God will not beself-sufficient. The very humilityof Jesus will be displayed in everythought, word, and action. Such anexperience is necessary for thecharacter of Christ to be perfectlyreproduced in us. See Christ's Ob-jec/ Lessolls, 69The great danger for God's

leaders, pastors, and laity is the ab-sence of pure religion and holinessunto the Lord. We must ever guardagainst a reliance upon our human-ity rather than on divinity. "But yeare a chosen generation. a royalpriesthood, an holy nation, a pecul-iar people; that ye should shewforth the praises of him who hathcalled you out of darkness into hismarvelous light." I Peter 2:9Without the law written cominu-

ally in the heart, we are not God's

peculiar. holy, remnant people. Wemay profess to believe precioustruths as did the Jewish nation, butin their total failure to practicesacred truths. they were ignorantboth of the meaning of the Scrip-tures and the power of God. Theinfluence of God's law was aroundthem, but not within their souls, torenew their lives daily in true holi-ness. Therefore they miserablyfailed to carry out the great planGod had for them and were finallyrejected as a people.We read in the Spirit of Proph-

ecy that the church today is fol-lowing in the very footsteps ofthe ancient church. uThe sin ofancient Israel was in disregardingthe expressed will of God andfollowing their own way accordingto the leadings of unsanctifiedhearts. Modern Israel are fast fol-lowing in their footsteps, and thedispleasure of the Lord is as surelyresting upon them." Testimonies,vol. 5, 94. HI saw that many whoprofess to believe the truth forthese last days think it strange thatthe children of Israel murmured asthey journeyed; that after the won-derful dealings of God with them,they should be so ungrateful as toforget what He had d.one for them.Said the angel: "Ye have doneworse than they." Testimonies, vol.I, 129'With this strong evidence of our

fnilure to carry out God's commis-sion after onc hundred years oftrying. should we not analyze ourheart's experience and confess thatwe have not allowed the Spirit ofGod to write His law on our hearts?If we refuse to humble ourselvesand pray for the Holy Spirit, thereis no other course that God can

follow but to reject us and spew usout of His mouth. What tragedy!"The Lord Jesus will always

have a chosen people to serve Him.When the Jewish people rejectedChrist, the Prince of life, He lOokfrom them the kingdom of God andgave it unto the Gentiles. God willcontinue to work on this principlewith every branch of His work.When a church proves unfaithful tothe work of the Lord, whatevertheir position may be, however highand sacred their calling, the Lordcan no longer work with them.Others 3re then chosen to bear im-porrant responsibilities. But. ifthese in turn do not purify theirlives from every wrong action. ifthey do not establish pure and holyprinciples in all their borders.the Lord will grievously afflict andhumble them and, unless they re-pent, will remove them from theirplace and make them a reproach."The UpIVQl'd Look, 131We, the Seventh-day Adventist

leaders, pastors, and laity, are nowfacing a great crisis. Which waywill we choose? \ViII we continue tofollow a course that God has said isin insubordination? See Evangelism,696. Or will we confess our fail-ures, ask forgiveness. and return 1Ofollow the great blueprint, theSpirit of Prophecy, that God hasgiven to us?"'And Elij<lh came unto all the

people, and said, How long halt yebetween two opinions? if the Lordbe God, follow him: but if Baal,then follow him. And the peopleanswered him not a word." I Kings18:21I. See Testimollics. vol. 3, 251-252;vol. 5, 75-76, 160; vol. 8. 41, 67-68, 250-251 l!!!

2 OUl" Firm FV/f/ldatioll August 1987

Table of Contents

Temptation and the Power to OvercomePractical advice on the crucial question

It is the mission of Hope Interna-tional and the editors of Our FirmFoundation to give the straight testi-mony and to present Christ and Hini.crucified. The days that yet remain ofthis world are few, and what we do wemust do Quickly. We must boldlyproclaim the truths that place us on sofirm a foundation in the midst of thistroubled world.--THE EDITORS

Vol. 2, No.8

ARTICLES

August 1987

Clark Floyd 4

Editor Ron SpearManaging Editor Dave FiedlerAssociate Editor Vern JenningsAss!. Ed./Typography Arnet MathersAss!. Ed./Books Jeff CrockeltCopy Editor Lila Rae FrederjckAss!. Copy Editor Lori CrockenEditorial Secretary Clarissa FiedlerContributing Editors Colin Standish,

Ralph LarsonArt Director Bob BresnahanLayout Sharilyn KendallCirculation Joseph Leatherman

The Impossible Partnership Paul Felt 8Separation. unity, and m:-tintaining balance

Fanaticism and Side Issues Ellen G. White 12The other side of earnestness and sincerity

Judas and the Sons of Eli Kel'in D. Paulson 16So much alike, yet so different

A Story of Hope Beth Jennings 20A testimony of the Lord's blessing and guidance

Baptism Ellen G. White 24Timely instruction on the roots of church growth

DEPARTMENTS

Editorial 2 Religions Liberty Update 18

Line Upon Line 6 Looking Back 19

Letters 7 Food for Thought 27

Melange II

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A Journey Down UnderA report from New Zealand and Australia

The Vision at VohwinkelChurch fellowship-the secret of peace

Ron Spear 29

Ellen G. White 30

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Copyright «:> 1987Hope International

Invitation to Writers

We are accepting :-trticle-length (1800-2800 words) manuscripts(preferably typewritten) for possible publication in Our Firm FO/.lll-daLion. We are not in a position to give consideration to longer sub-missions. When sending material for our consideration, please retainyour original manuscript and send us a photo copy. If you desirenotice of a decision in regard to your article, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Address all editorial correspondence toManaging Editor, Our Firm Foul/dalion, P.O. Box 940, Eatonville,WA 98328

August 1987 OUI' Firm Foul/da/ioll 3

WE ARE TOLD in Scripture that "God is faithful,who will not suffer you to be tempted above that

ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a wayto escape, that ye may be able to bear it." I Corinthians10:13. This verse at first reading might sound like badnews and good news. The bad news is that temptationexists, and we are subject to it. The good news is thatGod has given us a way out; the choice is ours as long aswe seek H is help.However. even the fact that temptation exists may not

be all bad news if we approach it with the right mentalattitude. Temptation, like the tree in the Garden ofEden, can be OUf test of loyalty to God. By saying "no"to persistent temptation, we demonstrate that God is firstin our lives. and that we do love Him supremely. SeeI John 2:15-17Through temptation we can grow. It helps us to see

the areas in our lives that need to be changed.Temptation is God's magnifying glass; it will bringout either the best or the worst in us. InDeuteronomy 8:2 the people were told, "Andthou shalt remember all the way which theLord thy God led thee these forty years inthe wilderness, to humble thee, and toprove thee, to know what was in thineheart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments,or no."Temptation also helps us to recognize our weakness

and the need of God's strength in our lives. "Christ con-nects man in his weakness and helplessness with thesource of infinite power." Patriarchs alld Prophets, 184

4 Our Firm FOUI/datioll August 1987

Telllptationand thePowerto

OverCOllle"Christ's example shows uS that our only hope of vic-

tory is in continual resistance of Satan's attacks. He whotriumphed over the adversary of souls in the conflictwith temptations understands Satan's power over therace, and has conquered him in our behalf. As an over-comer, He has given us the advantage of His victory,that in aUf efforts to resist the temptations of Satan, wemay unite our weakness to His strength, our worthless-ness to His merits. And sustained by His enduring might,under strong temptation, we may resist in His all power-ful name, and overcome as He overcame." Signs 0/ theTimes, May 27, 1897

In spjte of temptation, "perfection of character isattainable by everyone who strives for it." SelectedMessages, book J, 212. "Oh. how often we yield totemptation because we do not keep OUf eye upon Jesus."Testimonies, vol. 5, 652. "Christ brought men and wom-en power to overcome." Selected /t1essages, book 1,226

Clark Floyd

The O"crcomers

A select group of people will spend eternity withJesus. In giving the vision of the seven churches to Johnthe revelator on the island of Patmos, Christ describedthat select group again and again. "To him that over-cometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is inthe midst of the paradise of God.... He that overcom-eth shall not be hurt of the second death.... To himthat overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna,and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a newname written, which no man knoweth saving he thatreceiveth it.. . And he that overcometh. and keepethmy works unto the end, to him will I give power overthe nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; asthe vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers:even as I received of my Father. And T will give him themorning star. .. He that overcometh, the same shall beclothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out hisname out of the book of life. but 1 will confess his namebefore my Father. and before his angels. . Him thatovercometh will I make a pillar in the temple of myGod, and he shall go no mOre out: and 1 will write uponhim the name of my God, and the name of the city ofmy God, which is new Jerusalem. which cometh downOut of heaven from my God: and I will write upon himmy new name. .. To him that overcometh will I grantto sit with me in my throne, even as 1 also overcame.and am set down with my Father in his throne." Revela-tion 2:7, I I, 17, 26-28; 3:5, 12, 21The above promises to the seven churches not only

apply to seven phases in the experience of the Christianchurch from John's day to the coming of Christ, butthey also apply to everyone everywhere in every age, in-cluding the present. These promises apply to you.Throughout Scripture the requirement of the need to

overcome is ever present. In Leviticus 11:44, we are told."Ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall beholy." We are asked in Psalm 119:9, "Wherewithal shall a

Satan IS cantinuallybombarding us with thethought that God IS

restricting us

young man cleanse his way?" The answer follows inverses 10 and II: "With my whole heart have I soughtthee.... Thy word have 1 hid in mine heart that 1 mightnot sin against thee." And in Matthew 5:48, Jesus tellsus, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father whichis in heaven is perfecr." Paul in 2 Corinthians 7: I states:"Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the fleshand spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." Jamessays, HDraw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts,

ye double minded." James 4:8. See also the comments ofPeter and John in t Peter 4: 1-2; I John 2:6; 3:3, 7-10;Revelation 12:17; 14:5. We, if we desire to spend eternitywith Jesus, need to be overcomers.

Prerequisites to Overcoming

A close personal relationship with Jesus is of necessitythe first requirement for anyone seeking to overcome thesin in his or her life. Only through Jesus can sin be over-come. But as part of that relationship. certain mentalpresuppositions should exist so that our chances of vic-tory may be enhanced.First, we must thoroughly believe that what God

desires for our lives is better than anything we wouldchoose apart from God. At this point you may be saying,"Number one is no problem; let's go on to number two."But it is not quite as simple as that. Satan is continuallybombarding us with the thought that God is restrictingus. that He won't really let us reach our potential, thatHe isn't really on our side.

We sometimes think that God will allow or bring cir-cumstances into our lives that are not best for us-sick-ness, money problems, death of a loved one. We sufferfrom tunnel vision. We fail to operate with eternity inour hearts. We have faith only as long as our cir-cumstances are correlating with our plans.

We need to do mOre than repeat Romans 8:28. Weneed to firmly believe with all our heart and soul that allthings do "work together for good to them that loveGod, to them who are the called according to his pur-pose." We need to believe that God's plan for OUf lives isbest.Second, we need to firmly accept that we are respon-

sible for our own behavior. Since the Garden of Eden,man has sought to place responsibility for his misdeedsoutside of himself.Today's psychiatrist says that our misdeeds are not

our fault. Our parent, some thing, or some person in ourpast has caused us to commit our misdeeds. The prisonsare full of people who are there because of "conditionsoutside of themselves."The Bible tells us that "all have sinned. and come

short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23. We must acceptthat responsibility in order to truly confess and becleansed from all unrighteousness. I John 1:9

Finally. we must believe that overcoming is possible.Jesus is able to change our life. He has made manypromises throughout the Bible assuring each of us thatwe can be overcomers if we allow Him the control ofour lives. Beginning at (he very first book of the Bible inGenesis 3: 15. Jesus promised that Satan and his reign ofevil will be crushed. And in Philippians 4: 13, we aretold, "I can do all things through Christ whichstrengtheneth me." See also Ephesians 2: 1- I0; Psalm51:1- 13; Romans 12:2; Titus 3: 1-6

O,'ercoming

Satan has many lies. Before someone falls, he [ellshim that one time won't make any difference. After hefalls, he tells him that since he has already done it. hemay as well do it again. One fall does make a difference,

August 1987 QlIr Firm Foundatioll 5

Corin-!jji

but we shouldn't allow that fall to open the door to end-less sin. Virginity cannot be regained. words cannot betotally erased from all minds, and physical abuse cannotbe undone. but all these sins can be worsened by repeti-tion. In Galatian 6:7 we afe informed that "whatsoever aman soweth, that shall he also reap."Isaiah 1:18 states: "Though your sins be as scarlet,

they shall be as white as snow; though they be red likecrimson, they shall be as wooL" God will and does buryOUf sins in the deepest ocean if only we, by His strength,forsake them. He then puts up a sign, IONo fishing."

We cannot expect the evilto leave our lives

unless we put somethingbetter in its place

Ellen White in Testimonies, vol. I. 144. states: "Wecan overcome. Yes; fully, entirely. Jesus died to make away of escape for us, that we might overcome every eviltemper, every sin, every temptation, and sit down at lastwith Him,"Often, however, we feel trapped in OUf sin. We try to

give it up. We are successful for a while. We begin tofeel confident. Then something depressing happens. Wefall back into our sin. We seem to be in an endless cycle.Are we really using the strengths Jesus has promised usin overcoming?The Bible offers an important spiritual principle in

overcoming. If we would use this principle. we would besuccessful overcomers. Romans 12:21 states: "Be notovercome of evil, but overcome evil with good." Wecannot expect the evil to leave our lives unless we putsomething better in its place. The spiritual principle isthat of substitution. We must substitute good in place ofthe bad. Jesus demonstrated this truth in a parable.

"When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, hewalketh through dry places, seeking rest; and findingnone. he saith, I will return unto my house whence Icame out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept andgarnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven otherspirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, anddwell there: and the last state of that man is worse thanthe first." Luke 11:24-26Lust, fear, pride, covetousness, and all sins can be

forced from the mind through the spiritual principle ofsubstitution. To de-fuse the power of sin in our mind,we need to have our thought patterns in these areas re-placed by the Word of God. We need to memorize andsubstitute God's Word in every area of Our life needingto be changed.

Paul wrote in Romans 12:2, "And be nOt conformedto this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing ofyour mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and ac-ceptable, and perfect, will of God." Your mind will berenewed as Scripture is substituted for the sins of theflesh."Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true. what-

soever things are honest, whatsoever things are just,whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely,whatsoever things are of good report; if there be anyvirtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."Philippians 4:8. "For as he thinketh in his heart, so ishe," Proverbs 23:7

Scripture for SulJstitution

Lack 0/ Disciplille-Romans 12: 11; I Corinthians 9:26-27; Philippians 4:12-13; Hebrews 6:12Pride-Galatians 6:3, 14; James 4:6; I Peter 5:5-6Lust-Romans 6: 11-12; 2 Corinthians 10:4-5; Ephesians4:22-24; Philippians 4:8; I Peter 2: I IAuger-Psalm 37:8; Proverbs 14:29; 16:32; Ephesians4:26, 3 t; Colossians 3:8; James I: I9-20COI'etoumess-Psalm I 19:36; Luke 12: 15; Colossians 3: 1-2,5-6; Philippians 4:11-12; I Timothy 6:6; Hebrews 13:5Worry-Matthew 6:25-34; Philippians 4:6; I Peter 5:7Bitterness-Ephesians 4:3 I -32; Hebrews 12: 15Gluttoll.v-Judges 3: I4-22; Proverbs 23:20-2 I;thians 9:27; 10:31-33; Philippians 4:12

Again and again the Lord has presented Ihis matter before me in clear lines. The teachers must he carefully picked. Nohaphazard work must be done in the appointment of teachers. Those who ha\'e devoted years to study, and yet have notgained the education essential to fit them to teach others, in the lines the Lord has marked out, should not be con-nected with our schools as educators. They need to be taught the first principles of true, all-around education. ThePaulson Collection, 88

Elijah humlJled himself until he was in a condition where he would not take the glory to himself. This is the conditionupon which the Lord hears prayer, for then we shall give the praise to Him. The custom of offering praise to men isonc that results in great evil. Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commenlar.v, vol. 2. 1035

We must turn away from a thousand topics that i1nite attentioll. There are matters that consume time and arouse in-quiry, but end in nothing. The highest interests demand the close attention and energy that arc so often given to com-paratively insignificant things. The Ministry 0/ Healing, 456

6 Our Firm Foul/do/io/l AuguSt 1987

LEITERS TO THE EDITOR·1·.. = -

My friend has been receiVingyour magazine. It is a very intensemagazine, so intense I thought atfirst it might be fanatical. But Ibelieve in the prophet Ellen Whiteand had to listen. Especially to thearlicles on music. I have been lis-tening to Christian rock for yearsand sometimes questioned if it wasright in the eyes of God.I must say that Dr. Leno put up

a good argument, but the finalword came when you quoted EllenWhite at the end of the article-herresponse to the music band of the1900 campmeeting in Muncie, In-diana. Her response to dance musicwith sacred words was HThis prob-lem would recur before probationclosed."

I was defensive at first.couldn't believe it, but I had to.The words :lre still echoing in mymind and the truth of it is beingseen. Her words from the Lord area commandment to me and I mustkeep remembering them to abide inthem.

Peter CopodiferroWaterbury, CT

Although I enjoy your magazinevery much, 1 would like you to usethis money for someone else whocannot afford, but would like, asubscription. There are peoplearound here that I can borrow OurFirm Foundation from to read.Press forward, brethren, the

Lord cometh.

Curt ShearerMoses Lake, WA

Please remember that we do havea subscriptioll assistcnce fund. Anywho CQIll/ol offord the suggesteddOllDlioJl need 1IO[ miss out all themaga=ille. and 011)1 who wish to sup-port this effort are more lha" wel-come La do sa.-EDITORS

I am forever grateful to anunknown friend who left a copy ofTrwh For Today in my door.

I was raised and taught theChristian way of life from an earlyage. My parents were Methodist butI prefer nondenominational teach-ing. The others all are tOO narrow.We must be diligent and faithful toall the evidence from the times andfrom Scripture.

Lorena HillumsMurphys, CA

I do not know how to thank youenough for these wonderful truth-filled articles. We love the Adventmessage with all our hearts andsouls and we are looking forward toHis coming with gladness and hope.My husband is 84 and I am 82,

and we just wish we could sub-scribe to Our Firm Foufldalion, buthow can we send money from thispart of the world? Our money is ofalmost no value in comparison withthe dollar.

We are still of the old Advent-ists, and we still hold fast to the oldpaths. One of our dear brotherspreached from one of the articles ofOur Firm FouNdation, and manyhearts were touched and peoplestarted thinking seriously aboutcoming events.

M.A.]. BredenkampDunnotar, South Africa

I was convened in a villagewhere I was teaching in a Methodistschool. This conversion fromCalholicism cost me a great deal. Iwas rejected by the Methodists andhad to be transferred immediately. Ilost much in the village.

By the grace of God we havebeen able to get some people in thisnew station of mine, and we areworking strenuously to get peopleto hear the Adventist doctrine. My

problem now is lack of materials. 1need books .and pamphlets tobroaden my scope of knowledgeand also to supply some of thepeople who have opted to studywith me.

I would be grateful if you wouldgive this information to otherpeople who can help me. Souls areperishing, so we must work aroundthe clock even if it comes to thelosing of life to save them frompaying homage to the pope insteadof to Christ.

Stephen Baffour AnhwereSDA Primary SchoolBox 9 Kyeremasu DfAhenkro BfAGhana, West Africa

I first came into this faith twelveyears ago after reading The CrealCOlllrollersy. Recently a friend lentme two of your magazines. I foundthem so enlightening that I ran offcopies of the articles and gave themout 10 others. The Bible study groupI'm a part of are studying the sanc-tuary and righteousness by faith, sothe articles have been helpful.

Lorraine ThompsonBellevue, WA

I can't tell you how much weapprecjate OUI' Firm FOllndationand the tapes we have receivedfrom you.

We are sharing our tapes withseveral families in the church. Atleast two of us have given up ourTV, and others are more selective.

I was excited about the booklVill the Real Sevellth-day AdvelltistPlease Stolid Up, and plan to sendsome to aUf family. Every Seventh-day Adventist should read thaibook.

Carl and Tora LahdeCottonwood, CA

AuguSt 1987 Ollr Firm Foul/datiol/ 7

The Impossible Partnershiptheir mInistry. UNeither pray I forthese alone, but for them alsowhich shall believe on me throughtheir word; that they all may beone; as thOU, Father, art in me, andI in thee, that they also may be onein us: that the world may believethat thou hast sent me." John17:20-21. Repeating the thought,Jesus showed the urgency of theneed in the words, Uthat the worldmay know." Verse 23He had just been instructing the

disciples as to the most essentialsecret for achieving such unity. Astheir hearts were humbled by Hiswashing their feet, He said, Hay

M ANY FASCINATING para-doxes abound in the teachings

of Jesus. Of these, one of the mostimportant for us to understand isthat unity among true believers ispossible only through division.Without separation from error andwrongdoing, all supposed harmonyis out of harmony with God.How important Jesus considered

unity to be is beautifully expressedin the touching words of His prayerfollowing the Last Supper. He waspleading with His Father, not onlyfor His eleven remaining disciples,but also specifically for us whohave received the gospel through

Paul Felt

this shall all men know that ye aremy disciples, if ye have love one toanother." Wrestling with the prob-lems arising in the newly raised-upchurches, however, the apostle Pauldiscovered that emotional love, nomatter how tender, would not beenough. Heart and mind must bejoined together under the influence00<,== of the Holy Spirit. "I beseech you,brethren," he wrote to the Corin-thian church, "by the name of the

Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speakthe same thing, and that there be nodivisions among you; but that ye beperfectly joined together in thesame mind and in the same judg-ment." I Corinthians 1:10. Impossi-ble? Yes-just like any miracle.If unity is so absolutely essential,

why did Jesus seem to care so littleabout it in practice? "Think not,"He declared, Uthat I am come tosend peace on earth: I came not tosend peace. but a sword." Matthew10:34. Luke's version makes clearjust what kind of "sword" He hadin mind. "I tell you, Nay; but ratherdivision: for from henceforth thereshall be five in one house divided,three against two, and two againstthree." Luke 2:51-52The unity for which Christ

prayed and Paul pleaded can neverbe accomplished by mere humanaffection and sympathy. It is pro-'duced by the self-sacrificing, un-selfish love revealed in the life ofJesus and brought into our heartsonly through His Holy Spirit. Itbrings together our fallible humanminds on the solid platform ofrevealed Bible truth, as we are will-ing to be taught together by thatsame Holy Spirit. It is a miracle thatcan never be wrought without OUfhumble, wholehearted co-operation.When this miracle takes place, then,and then only, can the gospel bepreached with convincing power to

8 Our Firm Foundatiol/ August 1987

Paradoxical as it seems, those who arecounted as wheat for the heavenly garnerwill have had their own part in the work

of harvesting

every nation, kindred, tongue andpeople. And then, and then only,can Jesus come again.Such unity, in a world still ruled

by the prince of darkness, willnever come except through the mostintense conflict. It will be conflictwith all that is false, that is basedon mere human tradition or satanicdelusion. And it will be conflictwith every competing loyalty,whether in the home, on the job, insocial intercourse, or national al-legiance.It was to make possible this uni-

ty that Jesus, "when he ascended upon high, ... gave gifts unto men,"the gifts of the Spirit. He gave them"for the perfecting of the saints,for the work of the ministry, forthe edifying of the body of Christ:till we all come in the unity of thefaith, and of the knowledge of theSon of God, unto a perfect man,unto the measure of the stature ofthe fulness of Christ." Ephesians4:8, 12-13. "Speaking the truth inlove," those taking advan tage ofthese gifts will "grow up into himin all things, which is the head,even Christ." Through these giftsand their exercise, Hthe wholebody" of believers will be "fitlyjoined together." Verses 15-16.Then, and only then, will the finalmessage to the world go like fire inthe stubble, and the billions 'ofearth be brought to conviction anddecision. "And then shall the endcome." Matthew 24:14, emphasissuppliedOf all these gifts, none is more

to be desired. none more indispen-sable, than the gift of prophecy.That is, unless it be "charity," theagape love of 1 Corinthians 13.This love is the glue that unites allthe gifts in harmonious, fruitfuloperation. It is the best of the Hbestgifts" we are urged to "covet ear-nestly." 1 Corinthians 12:31. Butafter proclaiming the virtues ofsuch love, Paul says, "Follow aftercharity, .and desire spiritual gifts.but rather that ye may prophesy."Then, concluding his discussion ofthe troublesome and spectacular giftof tongues, he says, "Wherefore,brethren, covet to prophesy, and

forbid not to speak with tongues."I Corinthians 14:1, 39Prophecy may be understood to

be preaching, under the guidanceand by the power of the Spirit ofGod. There may well be a generalapplication to all Spirit-filledpreaching of the gospel, but theusual, specific designation in Scrip-ture seems to be to the receivingand declaring of special revelations,messages direct from the throne ofthe universe. It is this gift which iscalled in the Revelation "the tes-timony of Jesus," and specificallypromised to the church of the finalgeneration, the one whose witnesscompletes the fulfillment of thegospel commission. Revelation 12: 17How grateful we should be that

this promise has been kept! Howsolemn and wonderful is the re-sponsibility of the Seventh-day

Adventist Church, upon which thegift has been bestowed in the per-son and ministry of Ellen G. White!And how inevitable that as the finalcrisis draws near, the adversaryshould be working with such skilland apparent success to destroyconfidence in that gift and neutral-ize its influence! We need to seeclearly that if indeed the gift isgenuine, then faith in its messageand obedience to its counsel is notan option to any candidate fortranslation. We have taken our standbefore God and man with the"remnant . .. which keep the com-mandments of God, and have thetestimony of Jesus Christ." Revela-tion 12: 17. No others can trulyproclaim "this gospel of the king-dom" in the context and power ofthe three angels' messages of Reve-

lation 14. Scripture itself makesclear the need for and the purposeof the gift. It operates in completeharmony with the sharp two-edged"sword of the Spirit, which isthe word of God." Hebrews 4:12;Ephesians 6: 17. The one throughwhom the gift has come to us daredto Claim, "There was never a timewhen God instructed His peoplemore earnestly than He instructsthem now concerning His will andthe course that He would have thempursue." Testimonies, vol. 4, 148Wrapped up in this breathtaking

truth is a great mystery. We maynot be able to fully understand it,but we must accept the fact and bewilling to face the consequences.The tares and the wheat are not tolive together in perfect harmonyuntil the final gathering of thegospel harvest. Paradoxical as it

seems, those who are counted aswheat for the heavenly garner willhave had their own part in thework of harvesting. No wheat willfinally be harvested which has nothad its part, whether little or big,in the active work of reaping.Though tares will still be in thefield to the end of the harvest, thevery work of reaping begins theprocess of separation. This processis painful. Conflict and controversyare inevitable if true unity andharmony are ever to be attained.So it has been revealed to us in

the counsel of God. "While Christ issowing the good seed, Satan issowing the tares. There are two op-posing influences continually ex-erted on members of the church.One influence is working for thepurification of the church, and the

August 1987 OUI' Firm FOUlldalioll 9

Every Seventh-day Adventist minister, likeTimothy, is called at ordination to "reprove,.-ebuke, exhort with all long-suffering anddoctrine"

other for the corrupting of thepeople of God." Testimonies toA1inislers, 46"Speaking the truth in love." In

this way Jesus is working todaythrough human instruments for thepurification of His church. "TheHoly Spiril will apply the wordspoken in love for the soul. Thetruth will have quickening powerwhen spoken under the influence ofthe grace of Christ."God's plan is firsl to gel at the

heart. Speak lhe truth, and let Himcarry forward the reformatorypower and principle. Make no ref-crence to what opponents say, butlet the truth alone be advanced. Thetruth can cut to rhe quick. Plainlyunfold the word in all its impres-siveness."As trials thicken around us,

both separation and unity will beseen in Our ranks. .. Those whohave had great light and preciousprivileges, but h3ve not improvedthem, will, under one pretext oranother, go Out from us.... But,on the other hand, when the stormof persecution really breaks uponus, the true sheep will hear the trueShephcrd's voice.... The people ofGod will draw together and presentto the enemy a united front. ..."Thus will the truth be brought

into practical life, and thus will beanswered the prayer of Christ, ut-tered just before His humiliatjol1and death: 'That they all may beone. . . .' The love of Christ, thelove of our brethren, will testify tothe world thnt we have been withJesus and Icarned of Him. Then willthe messnge of the third angel swellto a loud cry. and the whole earthwill be lightcned with lhe glory ofthe Lord." Testimonies, vol. 6, 400-401

We see, therefore, that Christ iswaiting, not only for His messageof salvation to reach the ears andthe thinking of this world's popula-tion, but He is waiting even morefor a demonstration of that messagein the lives of believers. United inlove, and in the teaching and thepractice of His word, they will liftup the risen Saviour. l'And I, if I belifted up from the earth, will draw

all men unto me." John 12:32. Onlythus can the gospel have the powerand the appcal to leave lhe last gen-eration of earth without excuse inrejecting Christ. Outward circum-stances will complete the process ofpurifying lhe church, through the"storm of persecution" againstthose who would rather die thandisobey God. But the' process mustfirst get well under \vay through aloving and determined witnesswithin the fellowship of professedbelievers. Inspiration has designatedthis as Bthe straight testimonycallcd forth by the counsel of theTrue Witness to the Laodiceans."Earl)' Writings, 270

The Straight Testimony

Down through all human history,the prophets God has sent have

borne their testimony. not to theunbelieving healhen, but to God'sown professed people. As the apos-tle Paul himself declared, "prophe-sying serveth not for them thatbelieve not, bur for them whichbelieve." I Corinthians 14:22

Elijah was sent to an apostatenation that should have served as aShining light to the world aroundthem. Instead, they "were mingledamong the heathen, and learnedtheir works. And they served theiridols: which were a snare untothem." Psalm 106:35-36John the Baptist, "in the spirit

and power of Elijah," was called byGod to prepare the mition of Israelfor the first coming of Christ. Inthat same spirit and power, everytrue believer today is called to havehis prtrt, "'to make ready a people

prepared for the Lord" at His sec-ond advent. This work, before itcan reach an entire world, mustfirst begin at home and in thechurch. See Luke I: 17This work was clearly shown to

Ellen White in one of her earlier vi-sions. "I asked the meaning of theshaking I had seen, and was shownthat it would be caused by thestraight testimony called forth bythe counsel of the True Witness tothe Laodiceans. [See Revelation3:14-2IJ. This wilt have its effeclupon the hean of the receiver, andwill le<ld him to exalt the standardand pour forth the straight truth.Some will not bear this straight tes-timony. They will rise up against it,and this is whar will cause a shak-ing among God's pcople."I saw that the testimony of the

True Witness has not been half

heeded. The solemll testimollY UPOIlwhich the destil1.v of the churchhangs has been lightly esteemed, ifnot entirely disregarded. This tes-timony must work deep repentance;all who truly receive it will obey itand be purified." Early Writings,27, emphasis suppliedA "solemn testimony" capable of

working "deep repentance" isbound to be the responsibilily firstof alt of those callcd to be under-shepherds of God's flock. EverySeventh-day Adventist minister,like Timothy, is called at ordina-tion to "reprove, rebuke, exhortwith all long-suffering and doc-trine." 2 Timothy 4:2. Like Ezekiel,he is called to be a "watchman untolhe house of Israel." Ezekiel 3: 17.When he sees wrongdoing in theflock assigned to him, he is to give

10 Oil!' F,rm Foul/datiol/ August 1987

We need to have a close communion withGod, lest self rise up, as it did in Jehu, andwe pour forth a torrent of words that are

unbefitting

the warning in the spirit of Christ,or share the blame. And oh. whatan awesome responsibility this is!"Not until the day of final accountswill it be known how great is theresponsibility of men in holy officeand how terrible are the results oftheir unfaithfulness." The GreatComrol'ers.JI, 640

It is also true, however, that allwho will stand as Christ's sheep inthe day of final judgment will havetaken their active part in the \vorkof See Matthew 25:31and following. This nssignment in-cludes more than compassionateministry to physical needs, and giv-ing a faithful witness to what Christhas done for them. BAli the soldiersof the cross of Christ virtu::!lly ob-ligate themselves to enter the cru-sade against the adversary of souls,to condemn wrong and sustain

righteousness." Testimonies. vo. 3,254. "So far as his opportunities ex-tend, everyone who has receivedthe light of truth is under the samesolemn and fearful responsibility aswas the prophet of Israel, to whomthe word of the Lord came. saying:'Son of m30, I have set thee awatch0l3n unto the house of Is-rael.' " The Great COlllrOi·ersl'. 459"Speaking the truth love"

will. if it is true love and not meresentimentality, not always soundlike love to the hearer. 14Thou shaltnot hare thy brother in thine heart:thou shalt in any wise rebuke thyneighbor, and not suffer sin uponhim" (Leviticus 19: 17) is rooted in"thou shalt love thy neighbor asthyselr." Verse 18. "The forerunnerof Christ's first advent was a veryplain-spoken man. He rebuked sin,

and called things by their rightnames. I-Ie laid the ax at the root ofthe tree." And notice again onwhom this duty is most directlylaid: HIn this fearful time. justbefore Christ is to come the secondtime, God's faithful preachers willhave to bear a still mare pointedtestimony than was borne by Johnthe Baptist." Testimonies, vol. I,321. I sadly confess that 3S a minis-ter of the gospel, during all theyears of my service to the church Ihnve fallen far short of mysibility in this respect. The problemhas been not only a matter of faithand courage, but also a lack of thatdeeper love that took my Saviour toHis CrOSS. And I fear that all toofew of my fellow ministers havedone much beuer.One thing is certain. No one

with a fault-finding, censorious

spirit, who finds it easy to criticizeand condemn, has any part in thiswork. "The truth should be pre-sented with divine tacl, gentleness,and tenderness. It should comefrom a heart th:!t has been softenedand made sympathetic. We need tohave close communion with Godlest self rise UP. as it did in Jehu:and we pour forth a tOrrent ofwords that are unbefiuing, that arenot as dew or as the still showersthat revive the withering plants. Letour words be gentle as we seek towin souls." vol. 6. 400.Only the Spirit of God. therefore,can produce a true "straight tes-timony." fin

Tv be cOlllillued

MelangeBob Vun Kannon

Subject: The E,'olution of Galaxies:Simply Breathlaking!

According to modern theories ofeVOlution, there was a big bangquite some time ago which blew allthe matter in the universe out intoevenly distributed bits of junk.Then. by some mechanism that hasnever been scientifically explainedit all started clumping itselfgalaxies and stars and such."How the galaxies and clusters

of galaxies formed in a universewhere matter was smoothly andhomogeneously distributed in thebeginning is one of the great ques-tions of cosmology." (Science NewsVol. 131, January 10, 1987,22) ,They're right it's a great ques-

tion, because real science says itcan't happen: jr violates the secondlaw of thermodynamics. That lawsays that all systems proceed towarda state of minimum available freeenergy or maximum entropy ill theabsence of QIl outside stimulus. Forany homogeneous system to moveaway from homogeneity requires anoutside force. Thus thermodynamicssays that what the evolutionists pos-tulate could not have happenedwithout the intervention of God.By the way, that same second

law of thermOdynamics explainswhy you are still breathing. If itwere not true, then you could right-fully expect, at some time Oranother. that all the air in yourroom would suddenly clump intothe far upper corner of your roomlong enough for you to suffocate. Ifyou're still breathing, it is becauseof that law. The air in your roomhas never clumped into one cornerand neither did an evenly distrib-uted universe clump into galaxiesby itselr. So if you place confidencein the second law of thermodynam-ics, you must throw out evolutionwhich requires that that very law beviolated pretty regularly.

August 1987 0/11' FI1'/11 FOIII/(/OIJOII II

and

design shall be entered. One mani-festation of fanaticism among uswill close doors against thesoundest principles of truth.Oh, how careful should every

worker be not to rush on before theMaster, but to follow where Heleads the way! How it would rejoicethe enemies of Our faith to get holdof some statement made by ourpeople which would have to beretracted! We must move discreetly,sensibly, for this is our strength;then God will work with us, and byus, and for us.Oh, how Satan would rejoice to

get in among this people. and dis-organize the work at a time whenthorough organization is essential,and will be the greatest power tokeep out spurious uprisings and torefute clnims not endorsed by theWord of God. We want to hold thelines evenly, that there may be nobreaking down of the system ofregulation and order. In this waylicense will not be given to disor-derly elements to control the work.

We are living in a time when or-der, system, and unity of action aremost essential. And the truth mustbind us together like strong cords inorder that no distracted efforts maybe witnessed among the workers. Ifdisorderly manifestations appear,we must have clear discernment todistinguish the spurious from thegenuine. Let no messages be pro-claimed until they have borne acareful scrutiny in every jot andtittle.My soul is much burdened, for I

know what is before us. Every con-ceivable deception will be broughtto bear upon those who have not adaily, living connection with God.Satan's angels are wise to do evil,and they will create that whichsome will claim to be advancedlight, and will proclaim it as newand wonderful; yet while in somerespects the message may be ttuth,it will be mingled with human in-ventions, and will teach for doc-trine the commandments of men. Ifthere was ever a time when weshould watch and pray in real ear-nest, it is now. Many apparentlygood things will need to be care-fully considered with much prayer;for they are specious devices of theenemy to lead souls in a path whichlies so close to the path of truth

ing our words in harmony with thesolid truth for this time. The truthshould be presented to the mind asfree as possible from that which isemotional, while still bearing theintensity and solemnity befitting itscharacter. We must guard againstencouraging extremists, those whowould be either in the fire or in thewater.

I beseech you to weed out ofyour teachings every extravagantexpression, everything that unbal-anced minds, and those who are in-experienced, will catch up, andwhich will lead them to make wild,immature movements. It is neces-sary for you to cuhivate caution inevery statement, lest you start someon a wrong track, and make confu-sion that will require much sorrow-ful labor to set in order, thus di-verting the strength of the laborersinto lines which God does not

o

T HE LORD IS soon to workamong us in greater power,

but there is danger of allowing OUfimpulses to carry us where He doesnot want us to go. We mllst not takeone step that we shall have to re-trace. We must move solemnly,prudently, and not make use of ex-travagant expressions, or allow OUffeelings to become overwrought. Wemust think calmly, and work with-out excitement; for there will bethose who become easily wroughtup who will catch up unguardedexpressions and make use of ex-treme utterances to create excite-ment, and thus counteract the verywork that God desires us to do.There is a class of people who

are always rcady to go off on sometangent, who want to catch upsomething strange :lnd wonderfuland new; but God desires us all tomove calmly, considerately, choos-

Ellen G. White

12 0111' Firm FOIllldaliol/ August 1987

that it will be scarcely distinguish-able from it. But the eye of faithmay discern that it is diverging,though almost imperceptibly, fromthe right path. At first it may bethought positively right, but after awhile it is seen to be widely diver-gent from the way which leads toholiness and heaven. My brethren, Iwarn you to make straight paths foryour feet, lest the lame be turnedout of the way.In the work of ministers and

laymen who have not a daily con-nection with God there is not thatwhich will stand the test of stormand tempest. A new order of thingshas corne into the ministry, There isa desire to pattern after otherchurches, and simplicity and humil-ity are almost unknown. The youngministers seek to be original, and tointroduce new ideas and new plansfor labor. Some open revival meet-ings, and by this means call largenumbers into the church. But whenthe excitement is over, where arethe converted ones? Repentanceand confession of sin are not seen.The sinner is entreated to believe inChrist and accept Him, withoutregard to his past life of sin andrebellion. The heart is not broken.There is no contrition of soul. Thesupposed converted ones have notfallen upon the Rock, Christ Jesus.The Old and New Testament

Scriptures show us the only way inwhich this work should be done.Repent, repent, repent, was the

The Lord desiresHis servants to

preach today the oldgospel doctrine

message rung out by John the Bap-tist in the wilderness. Christ's mes-sage to the people was "Except yerepent, ye shall all likewise perish."Luke 13:5. And the apostles werecommanded to preach everywherethat men should repent.The Lord desires His servants to

preach today the old gospel doc-trine, sorrow for sin, repentance,

and confession. We want old-fash-ioned sermons, old-fashioned cus-toms, old-fashioned fathers andmothers in Israel. The sinner mustbe labored for, perseveringly, ear-nestly, wisely, until he shall see thathe is a transgressor of God's law,and shall exercise repentance to-ward God, and faith toward theLord Jesus Christ. When the sinner

The enemy willpresent peculiarideas which willcreate a sensation

is conscious of his helpless condi-tion, and feels his need of a Sav-iour, he may corne with hope andfaith to the Lamb of God, thattaketh away the sin of the world.Christ will accept the soul thatcomes to Him in true repentance. Abroken and contrite heart He willnot despise.Brethren should not feel that it

is a virtue to stand apart becausethey do not see all minor points inexactly the same light. If they agreeon fundamental truths, they shouldnot differ and dispute about mattersof little real importance. To dwellon perplexing questions, that afterall are of no vital consequence,tends to cal1 the mind away fromtruths vital to the saving of thesoul. Brethren should be very mod-est in urging these side issues whichoften they do not themselves under-stand, points that they do not knowto be truth and that are not essen-tial to salvation. When there is dif-ference of opinion on such points,the less prominence you give tothem the better it wil1 be for yourown spirituality and for the peaceand unity of the church.Unbelievers are critical, and

they seek to frame some excuse fornot receiving the truth as it is inJesus. Where these differences existamong us, those who stand outsidewill say, "It will be time enough forus to believe as you do when youcan agree among yourselves as towhat constitutes truth." Thus the

ungodly take advantage of the divi-sions and can troversies amongChristians.

We are to pray for divine en-lightenment, and at the same timewe should be careful about receiv-ing everything termed new light.We must beware, lest, under coverof searching for new truth, we al-low Satan to divert aUf minds fromChrist and the special truths for thistime. J have been shown that it isthe device of the enemy to divertmen's minds to some obscure orunimportant point, something thatis not fully revealed or is not essen-tial to salvation. This is made theabsorbing theme, the "presenttruth," when all the investigationsand suppositions only serve to makematters more obscure and to con-fuse the minds of some who oughtto be seeking for oneness throughsanctification of the truth.

All must be careful what theypresent to the people as truth. Donot present your own imaginations.The enemy tries to warp and twisthuman minds. To the one who willlisten to him, he will present ideaswhich are odd and peculiar, whichwill create a sensation. These heleads him to present to others, witha test which he has imagined. ThusSatan sets minds running in wrongchannels, diverting them from thegenuine tests which God has pre-sented in His Word.There is no need of entering into

controversy with the poor souls whothink they are doing God's servicewhen they are believing fables.When our young ministers hurtthemselves and bring reproach uponGod's cause by placing solemn,sacred truth on a level with fables,let them be advised to become con-verted by closely studying the Wordwith men of experience, who foryears have underslOod the truth.Let them turn from romance, fromthe fanciful interpretations whichhave no foundation in God's Word."What is the chaff to the wheat?"Jeremiah 23:28

In this age of error, of day-dreamjng and reverie, we need tolearn the first principles of thedoctrine of Christ. Let us strive tobe able to say with the apostle, "Wehave not followed cunningly de-vised fables, when we made knownunto you the power and coming of

AuguSt 1987 Olil' Firm Fmllle/filiol/ 13

our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Peter1:16. The Lord calls upon us to fol-low high and noble principles. Wemust let the principles of the thirdangel's message stand out clear anddistinct. The great pillars of ourfaith will hold all the weight thatcan be placed upon them.

Young men must be educated tokeep within the bounds of Bit iswritten." Paul writes, "I chargethee therefore before God, and theLord Jesus Christ, who shall judgethe quick and the dead at his ap-pearing and his kingdom; preachthe word; be instant in season, outof season; reprove, rebuke, exhortwith all long-suffering and doc-trine. For the time wi [I come whenthey will not endure sound doc-trine; but urter their own lusts shallthey heap to themselves teachers,having itching ears. And they shallturn away their ears from the truth,and shall be turned unto fables."That time has come. 1 present theword of warning: "Watch thou in allthings, endure afflictions, do thework of an evangelist, make lullproof of thy ministry." 2 Timothy4: 1-5

No one is to put truth to the tor-ture by placing a forced, mysticalconstruction upon the Word. Thussome are in danger of turning thetruth of God into a lie. There arethose who need in their hearts thetouch of the divine Spirit. Then themessage for this time will be theirburden. They will not search forhuman tests, for something new andstrange. The Sabbath of the fourthcommandment is the test for thistime, and all connected with thisgreat memorial is to be kept beforethe people.r have words to speak to the

young men who have been teachingthe truth. Preach the Word. Youmay have inventive minds. Youmay be expert, as were the Jewishteachers, in getting up new theories;but Christ said of them, "In vainthey do worship me, teaching fordoctrines the commandments ofmen." Matthew 15:9. They pre-sented to the people traditions, sup-positions, and fables of a[1 kinds.The forms and ceremonies they en-joined made it simply impossiblefor the people to know whetherthey were keeping the Word of Godor following the traditjons of men.

14 Oill' Fil'lll FUIIIUfo/ioll Augusl 1987

Satan is well pleased when hecan thus confuse the mind. Let notministers preach their own supposi-tions. Let them search the Scrip-tures earnestly, with a solemnrealization that if they teach fordoctrine the things that are not con-tained in God's Word, they will beas those represented in the lastchapter of Revelation.Let those who are tempted to in-

dulge in fanciful, imaginary doc-trines sink the shaft deep into themines of heavenly truth, and securethe riches which mean life eternalto the receiver. Precious treasurewill be secured by those who studyGod's Word with earnestness; forheavenly angels will direct thesearch.

Young men must beeducated to keepwithin the boundsof "It is written"

Our mInisters must cease todwell upon their peculiar ideas,with the feeling, Hyou must see thepoint as I do, or you cannot besaved." Away with this egotism!The great work to be done in everycase is to win souls to Christ. Menmust see Jesus on the cross; theymust look and live. It is not yourideas they must feed upon, but it isthe flesh and blood of the Son ofGod. He says, "My flesh is meatindeed." "The words that 1 speakunto you, they arc sp"irit, and theyare life." John 6:55, 63. The soulthat accepts Jesus places himselfunder the care of the Great Physi-cian, and let men be careful howthey come between the patient andthe Physician who discerns all rheneeds of the soul.Christ, the Physician of the soul,

understands its defects and its mal-adies, and knows how to deal withthe purchase of His own blood.What the soul lacks, He can bestsupply" But men are so officious,they want to do so much, that theyoverdo the matter, leaving Christ noroom to work. Whatever moulding

and fashioning needs to be wroughtin the soul, Christ can best do. Theconviction may not be deep, but ifthe sinner comes to Christ, viewingHim upon the cross, the just dyingfor the unjust, the sight will breakevery barrier down.Christ has undertaken the work

of saving all who trust in Him forsalvation. He sees the wrongs thatneed to be righted, the evils thatneed to be repressed. He came toseek and save that which was lost."Him that cometh to me," He says,"I" \..... ill in no wise cast out." John6:37. Through the goodness andmercy of Christ the sinner is to berestored to the divine favor. God inChrist is daily beseeching men tobe reconciled to God. With out-stretched arms He is ready to re-ceive and welcome, not only thesinner but also the prodigal. Hislove, manifested on Calvary, is thesinner's assurance of acceptance,peace, and love. Teach these thingsin the simplest form, that the sin-darkened soul may see the lightshining from the cross of Calvary.Satan is working in many ways,

that the very lTIen who ought topreach the message lTIay be occu-pied with fine-drawn theorieswhich he will cause to appe;;lr ofsuch magnitude ::1I1d importance asto fill the whole mind; and whilethey think they are making wonder-ful strides in experience, they areidolizing a few ideas, and their in-fluence is injured, and tells but

Mysteries which youcannot explain

might better be leftalone

litt[e on the Lord's side. Let everyminister make earnest efforts to as-certain what is the mind of Christ.There are those who pick out

frol11 the Word of God, and alsofrom the Testimonies, detachedparagraphs or sentences that may beinterpreted to suit their ideas, andthey dwell upon these, and buildthemselves up in their own posi-

tions, when God is not leadingthem. Now all this pleases theenemy.

We should not needlessly toke acourse that will make differences orcause dissension. We should notgive the impression that if our par-ticular ideas are not followed, it isbecrlUse the ministers are lacking incomprehension. There are in the

Let the plain, simplestatements of theWord of God befood for the mind

lessons of Christ subjects in abun-dance that you can speak upon; andmysteries which neither you noryour hearers can understand or ex-plain might better. be left alone.Give the Lord Jesus Christ Himselfroom to teach; let Him by the in-fluence of His Spirit open to theunderstanding the wonderful planof salvation.There is a time of trouble com-

ing to the people of God, but weare not to keep that constantlybefore the people, and rein them upto have a time of trouble before-hand. There is to be a shakingamong God's people; but this is notthe present truth to carry to thechurches; it will be the result ofrefusing the truth presented.The ministers should not feel

that they have some wonderful ad-vanced ideas, and unless all receivethese, they will be shaken out, anda people will arise to go forwardand upward to the victory. Satan'sobject is accomplished just assurely when men run ahead ofChrist and do the work He hasnever entrusted to their hands, aswhen they remain in the Laodiceanstate, lukewarm, feeling rich andincreased with goods, and in needof nothing. The two classes areequally stumbling blocks.Some zealous ones who are aim-

ing and straining every energy fororiginality have made a grave mis-take in trying to get somethingstartling, wonderful, entrancing,

before the people, something thatthey think others do not compre-hend; but often they do not them-selves know what they are talkingabout. They speculate upon God'sWord, advancing ideas that are nota whit of help to themselves or tothe churches. For the time beingthey may excite the imagination;but there is a reaction, and thesevery ideas become a hindrance.Faith is confounded with fancy,and their views may bias the mindin the wrong direction. Let theplain, simple statements of theWord of God be food for the mind;this speculating upon ideas th3t arenot clearly presented there, is dan-gerous business.Some are naturally combative.

They do not care whether theyharmonize with their brethren ornot. They would like to enter intocontroversy, would like to fight fortheir particular ideas; but theyshould lay this aside, for it is notdeveloping the Christian graces.Work with all your power to answerthe prayer of Christ, that His dis-ciples may be one, as He is onewith the Father. Not a soul of us iss3fe unless we learn of Christ dailyHis meekness and lowliness.In your labor do not be dictato-

rial, do not be severe, do not beantagonistic. Preach the love ofChrist, and this will melt and sub-due hearts. Seek to be of one mindand one judgment with your breth-ren, and to speak the same things.This talking about divisions becauseall do not have the same ideas aspresent themselves to your mind, isnOl the work of God but of theenemy. Talk the simple truthswherein you can agree. Talk ofunity; do not become narrow andconceited; let your mind broaden.Christ does not weigh character

in the scales of human judgment.He says, "I, if I be lifted up fromthe earth, will draw all men untome." John 12:32. Every soul whoresponds to this drawing will turnfrom iniquity. Christ is able to saveto the uttermost all who come untoHim. He who comes to Jesus is set-ting his feet upon a ladder th3treaches from earth to heaven.Teach it by pen, by voice, that Godis above the ladder; the bright raysof His glory 3re shining upon everyround. He is looking graciously

upon all who are climbing painfullyupward, that He may send themhelp, divine help, when the handseems to be relaxing and the fOOltrembling. Yes, tell it, tell it inwords that will melt the heart, thatnot one who will perseveringlyclimb the ladder will fail of anentrance into the everlasting king-dom of our Lord and Saviour JesusChrist; those who believe in Christshall never perish, neither shall anypluck them out of His hand.Tell the people in clear, hopeful

language how they may escape theheritage of shame which is ourdeserved portion. But for Christ'ssake do not present before themideas that will discourage them, thatwill make the way to heaven seemvery difficult. While we must oftenimpress the mind with the fact thatthe Christian life is a life of war-fare, that we must watch and prayand toil, that there is peril to thesoul in relaxing spiritual vigilancefor one moment, the completenessof the solvation proffered us byJesus, who loved us and gave Him-self that we should not perish buthave everlasting life, is to be ourtheme.Day by day we must talk with

God, day by day following on toknow the Lord, entering into theholiest by the blood of Jesus, layinghold on the hope set before us. Ifwe reach heaven it must be bybinding our souls to the Mediator,becoming partakers of the divinenature. Leaning on Christ, your lifebeing hid with Christ in God, isyour trust. And led by His Spirit,you have the genuine faith. Believ-ing fully in the efficacy of Hisatoning sacrifice, we shall be labor-ers together with God. Trusting inHis merits we are to work out ourown salvation with fear and trem-bling; for it is God that worketh inus both to will and to do of Hisgood pleasure.Always keeping hold of Christ,

we are coming nearer and nearer toGod. Jesus desires us to keep thisalways prominent. Do not arouseyour combative spirit; the wisdomthat is from above is first pure;then peaceable, easy to be en-treated, full of mercy and goodfruits. Ii!l

Undated Manuscript 111

August 1987 Our Firm FOUlI(/flIio/l 15

Judas and the Sons of EliT HE QUESTION OF how to

deal with religious offenders,whether doctrinal or moral, is onedeeply troubling to many laypersonsand leaders in the Seventh-day Ad-ventist Church today. How are weto properly address challenges tothe integrity and practice of ourfaith? How are justice and mercy tobe balanced in such decisions? Atwhat point does responsible firm-ness give way to brash cruelty.Christian tolerance give way tosecular license?Many in the current scene em-

ploy the example of Christ's dealingwith Judas as the model for han-dling apostasy and carelessness inthe church. They cite the protractedpatience and gentle reproofs ofJesus in this case as the norm fordealing with persons disseminatingheresy or breaching inspired coun-sel in their daily lives. Those whocall for decisive action-for thedismissal of such persons fromchurch employment or member-ship-are often criticized as unlov-ing, warlike, and guilty of need-lessly dividing the community offaith.

16 DI/r Firm Foundation August 1987

This article wishes to examinecarefully the case of Christ andJudas. and to compare it with an-other biblical example of patiencewith offenders-the story of Eliand his sons. The reader is encour-aged to study the chapter "Judas"in The Desire of Ages as well as"'Eli and His Sons" in Patriarchsand Prophets, as recommendedreading along with this article.

Christ and Judas

Included among the disciples, atthe urging of the other eleven,Judas quickly acquired prestige andrespect in Christ'S inner circle offollowers. His persomil talents, ex-ceeding by far those of his peers,were viewed as indispensable to thelater success of the church. Doubt-less many others were convinced, aswas Judas himself, that none of theother disciples could match his ad-ministrative or financial skills. Nowonder Ellen White declares, "HadJudas died before his last journeyto Jerusalem he would have beenregarded as a man worthy of aplace among the twelve, and one

Kevin D. Paulson

who would be greatly missed." TheDesire 0/ Ages, 716Quite obviously, Judas had many

people fooled. His proud, avariciousspirit he had kept well concealedduring his years with Christ. Hissubtle insinuations of doubt, hisctevil's-advQcate role playing, werelargely. jf not exclusively. a privatematter involving Jesus and the

The errors in thelife of Judas werelargely veiled frompublic scrutiny

other disciples. His occasional steal-ing of funds from the treasury wasprobably unknown to anyone saveJesus and Judas himself. [n short,the errors in the beliefs and life ofJudas were largely veiled from

public scrutiny, even though theywere shared to some extent byChrist's other followers, both with-in and outside the Twelve.In Ellen White's words, "Judas

made no open opposition, norseemed to question the Saviour'slessons. He made no outward mur-mUf until the time of the feast inSimon's house." Ibid., 720. Thisstatement is highly significant. Noobservable, humanly perceivable

The problem ofJudas exhibiteditself on secret andsubtle occasions

damage had been inflicted by Judason the cause of Christ until now.Hitherto, almost completely, theproblem of Judas had been a prob-lem of the heart, exhibiting itselfon secret and subtle occasions insecret and subtle conduct. As such,it could only be addressed by Christin secret and subtle ways. Evenwhen He rebuked Judas at Simon'sfeast He did not disclose the realpurpose of Judas in wanting Mary'sointment sold. Ellen White states,"Secret sins are to be confessed insecret to God." Ibid., 81 I. It isprobably fair to say that so far aspossible they should be rebuked insecret as well. While the public dis-closure of secret sins is at timesnecessary. as shown in the experi-ences of Ellen White and certainbiblical prophets, it might be bestto conclude that only an inspiredperson-with supernatural insightinto the inner reactions and recep-tivity of individuals-is qualifiedfor such work.

Eli and His Sons

Here we find another instance ofgentleness and patience in dealingwith religious offenders. But in thiscase the inspired pen records seri-ous divine displeasure at this ap-proach to the problem.

Why the difference?Like Judas, the sons of Eli were

avaricious and self-seeking. Butunlike the acts of Judas, those ofHophni and Phinehas were donepublicly. defrauding the worshipersat the sanctuary in open defianceof the Levitical law. I Samuel 2:13-16. Vile and degrading practiceswere freely mingled with theirministry. Thus was the Lord's workpublicly dishonored and profaned.]n Ellen White's words, "The serv-ice which God had ordained wasdespised and neglected becauseassociated with the sins of wickedmen, while those whose heartswere inclined to evil were embold-ened in sin. Ungodliness, profli-gacy, and even idolatry prevailed toa fearful extent." Patriarchs andProphets, 577

During the time Judas walkedwith Christ, those persons exposedto the subtle errors of Judas wereundoubtedly so blinded by theirown errors that they failed to seewhat was wrong. Inspiration recordsnothing of any protest movementamong Christ's followers demandingthat the offender be brought to jus-tice. But in the case of Eli's sons,we read a different story. "Thepeople complained of their violentdeeds, and the high priest wasgrieved and distressed. He daredremain silent no longer. But hissons had been brought up to thinkof no one but themselves, and nowthey cared for no one else. Theysaw the grief of their father, buttheir hard hearts were not touched.They heard his mild. admonitions,but they were not impressed, norwould they change their evil coursethough warned of the consequencesof their sin. Had Eli dealt justlywith his wicked sons, they wouldhave been rejected from the priest-ly office and punished with death.Dreading thus to bring public dis-grace and condemnation upon them.he sustained them in the most sa-cred positions of trust. He stillpermitted them to mingle their cor-ruption with the holy service ofGod and to inflict upon the causeof truth an injury which yearscould not efface." Ibid.

In this context we find one ofthe truly great passages in the Spiritof Prophecy on the subject ofchurch discipline:

UThose who have too little cour-age to reprove wrong, or whothrough indolence or lack of inter-est make no earnest effort to purifythe family or the church of God,are held accountable for the evilthat may result from their neglectof duty. We are just as responsiblefor evils that we might havechecked in others by exercise ofparental or pastoral authority as ifthe acts had been our own." Ibid.,578

God's Church Today

No one will deny that casessimilar to that of Judas abound inthe Adventist Church today. EllenWhite indicates that some in thechurch who. like Judas, have expe-rienced gentle reproof from godlysouls will follow in the steps ofJudas by betraying their reprovers.The Great COlllrOl lersy, 43-44. Butare there also sons of Eli among us?

1n recent years a tidal wave ofopen apostasy and sin has sweptthrough our ranks. Attacks on thechurch and its beliefs have re-sounded through sermons, class-room lectures, and the printed page.Unscriptural divorce, Sabbathbreak-ing, and the misuse of funds have

We are dealingwith the problemof Eli's sons

occurred. Institutions are operatedin a manner totally out of step withinspired counsel. As in the days ofEli, many have suffered alienationfrom the organized church as aresult. Thousands of trueheartedbelievers have raised their voices inprotest to the leaders of God'swork.But too many leaders, like Eli,

have responded with mild admoni-tions, accommodating policies, andappeasement posing as redemptivelove. Persons are granted leadership

August 1987 Our Firm Foundatioll 17

positions whose public statementsnnd lifestyle pntterns nre completelyout of step with the truth. In suchI.:ases the an310gy of Christ's treat-ment of Judas is utterly inappro-priate. We are dealing with theproblem of Eli's sons.The tension between tolerance

and license here depicted is similarto the tension between judging(Matthew 7:1-2) and fruit-inspect-ing (7: 16-20) in the tenchings ofChrist, The former involves the mo-tives and the heart, which Godalone can read. The latter involvesoutward conduct and ideas, whichbelievers have a duty to comparewith the stnndards of God's Word.Isaiah 8:20. Ellen White clearly dis-

tinguishes the t\\/O in discussing theparable of the wheat and the tares.She writes. "Christ has plainlytaught that those who persist inopen sin must be separated fromthe church, but He has not com-mitted to us the work of judgingcharacter and motive." Christ's 06-j(!CI Lessons, 71. Again we find thedifference between open and secretsin.

Elsewhere we read:"I saw that decided efforts

should be made to show thosewho arc unchristian in life theirwrongs, and if they do nor reform,they should be separated from theprecious and holy, that God mayhave a clean and pure people that

He can delight in." Testimollies.vol. I, 17

J believe with all my heart thatGod's church will one day be puri-fied. Dut leaders must be men andwomen of courage, unafraid ofhard choices and the possible re-moval of personnel. AS in the rear-ing of children, love must at timesbe firm and even severe. PerhapsDeitrich Bonhoeffer said it best:"Nothing can be more cruel thanthe tenderness that consigns anotherto his sin. Nothing can be morecompassionate than the severe re-buke that cJ.lIs a brother back fromthe path of sin." Dietrich Bonhoef-fer, Life Tugether (New York: Har-per & Row, 1954), 107 Ii!I

I<:lo '" 1_R_e_l_ig_io_u_s_L_ib_e_f_t_y_U_p_d_a_t_e_I'" <:lo <:> <:> eo <:> <:> '" <:> <:><:><:

Rcasscrtion: Twenty years ago,Father Joseph A. Ratzinger said the"methods and behavior" of theHoly Office-which descendedfro.I11 the medieval Inquisition-were "outdated (and) .. a sourceof scandal to the world." PopeP3ul VI renamed it the Congrega-tion for the Doctrine of the Faith.Today Cardinal Ratzinger heads theorg3nization and h3S shaped theCongregation for the Doctrine ofthe Faith intO a powerful weaponagainst dissent. The church andsociety once saw eye to eye, Rat-zinger said, but society has pulledaway from that consensus and thechurch must reassert its teachings.Los Angeles Times, November 7,1986

Accuratc Assessmcnt: ChristianaUlhor as Guiness said, "America isullcrly exceptional in the commu-nity of nations because of its deepreligious rOOlS and opportunity forpublic expression of faith. But inall my studies I have yet to see aWestern society where the churchpews are so full and the sermonsarc so empty." As regards the fu-ture of American Christianity, Mr.Guiness said one possibility is "itwill stabilize and be exploited bythe political Right for its own pur-poses." Chalceclol/, October 1986

Common Goals: Quoting the popeand citing shared "fundamentalvalues," Ronald Reagan has urgedthe Knights of Columbus to workfor the administration's politicalgoals. The President, whose fatherwas a Knight, told the group theywould face charges of mixingreligion and politics, but he said hehas faced the same charge himself."I'm pleased to be able to tell you,"said Reagan, "that I've already ap-pointed 284 federal judges-menand women who share the funda-mental values that you and 1 socherish." The Pope expressed hisfervent hope "that the entire struc-ture of American life will rest evermorc securely on the Strong founda-tion of moral and spiritual values.""Well, let us pray," said Reagan,"that this should come to pass.Let us work [Q make it so." Church" Siale, September 1986

Sacrilege: Prominent journalistRichard Goodwin fears that thePope and Cardinal R3tzinger havejoined forces with more of hisbogeymen, "the Protestant religiousright," in an attempt to dictate totheir coreligionists in our pluralisticdemocracy. He concludes, "To en-list God in support of moral policyis to supp13nt reasoned discoursewith unanswerable dogma. And it

verges on sacrilege against thedivine Providence that has longguarded our great experiment indemocracy." The lVanderer, October23, 1986

Monster In 1\1aking: Federal JudgeThomas A. Wiseman of Nashville,Tennessee, said, "Chief Justice Wil-liam RehnquisL . our President,Our Secretary of Education. andprominent members of Congressurge relUrn of prayer to publicschools, public support for sectarianschools, and various forms of 'ac-commodation' which seem to manyof us to amount to establishment.

When church and state get inbed together, the odds are greattheir progeny will be a monster."Americans Uililed Press Release,Ocrober I, 1986

Balancing Freedoms: Few cases nrcopen and shut. Judges balance com-peting interests like the fundamen-tal tension between freedom andorder, both of which our societycherishes. Some judges, includingthe new Chief Justice of the UnitedStates, invariably balance on theside of society, finding in almost allcases that the broad social interestoutweighs individual rights. LosAI/geles Times, September 25, 1986

/8 0/11' Firm Fo//u(/o!1fJ1l August 1987

Elder G.8. Starr (1854-1944)sened the church lor many years asevangelist, minister. teacher. alldadministrator. III 1875 he llJorked illChicago with D.L. IHoody. bw ayenr later joilled the Sevelllh-dayAt/vell/ist Church, and was ordainedin 1879. In 1891 he accompanied El-len White to Australia, alld serredthere for the next 18 years. On theoccasioJl of Sister While's departurefor the return lrip to America, heand a group of friends challedp/easQmly wilh her aboUl liule itemsof commOJl il/terest. We'll let himtell the story:

W E NEXT INQUIRED if shehad received any word from a

certain minister who had opposedthe presentation of righteousness byfaith at the Minneapolis GeneralConference in 1888.She replied, uYes, we received a

letter from him only a few monthsago, and he has been convertedupon that subject and we now havea new man of God in him."

I then asked if I had ever relaredto her an incident which occurredin a tent meeting in Oskaloosa.Iowa, at which a stranger severelyrebuked this same minister for hiscontroversial. debating spirit. Shereplied that I had not, and [ relatedthe following incident.One morning as four of us were

in [he tent at Oskaloosa, Iowa-twoof us engaged in conversation.Elder E. W. Farnsworth seated at atable writing, and this other minis-ter walking about the tent-astranger entered the tent door. Heappeared to me as one of the finestlooking men I had ever seen, Hewas over six feet tall, well propor-tioned, and had such a kindly ex-pression on his face. My interest in

him was immediately awakened as Jhoped he might be one who wouldembrace the truth and bring a goodinfluence to the work there. As theminister, who was walking towardthe tent door, approached him. thestranger inquired the meaning ofthis tent and the paraphernali3 con-nected with it. The minister an-swered, "This is a religious meet-ing. We are Seventh-day Adventists.We bel ieve the Lord Jesus is sooncoming and we are working toprepare the people."The stranger responded, "I. am

much interested in that, and wouldlike to talk with you about it." Sothe minister invited him to beseated and we two young men lis-tened with interest to the conversa-tion. The str:lIlger inquired how wethought Jesus would come, Theminister explained our views of thepersonal. visible coming; and thenfollowed the usual questions as towhat would happen to the living.the righteous and the wicked. theresurrection of the righteous andother questions.At first the minister replied to

the questions in a kindly spirit, butsoon assumed a debating, controver-sial attitude. We saw no reason forthis reaction, as the stranger mani-fested such a good, sweet spirit ofinterested inquiry, and offered noobjections. Usually he would reply,"Well, that is right. Now whatabout this?" as the point wouldnaturally lead to further inquiry.But this minister instead of continu-ing to patiently explain further, as-sumed an attitude of defense. I be-came anxious. as J feared his man-ner would offend the stranger. andwe would lose one who seemed sucha desirable acquisition. I couldthink only of that picture of Satan

playing the game of life with manfor his soul.After about an hour's such con-

versation, the stranger arose in allhis dignity, and addressing the min-ister, said, "You are no minister ofJesus Christ; you are a comrover-sialisr, sir." Instead of the minister'srealizing that he had been properlyrebuked, he instead chuckled andlaughed, and said, l'Oh, you can'tmeet the argumcnt." The Strangermade no reference to this response,but repeated again, word for word,IIYOli are no minister of JesusChrist; you are a controversialist.There is your minister," he said, ashe pointed to Elder E. W. Farns-worth at the other side of the tent,who was still writing. Again theminister laughed, and the third timethe stranger repeated, "'You arc nominister of Jesus Christ. You are acontroversialist, sir. I bid you goodday." And out of the lenr door hewalked.Turning to us young men, the

minister said. "He couldn't meetthe argument:' But. oh, our heartswere sad indeed. It seemed thatsuch a wonderful opportunity hadbeen lOSt, and a most promising in-quirer driven from us."Why, Brother Starr, that was an

angel of God," Sister White said."Was it?" I inquired. "How did

you know?""How did I. know?" replied

Sister White, "Why, I gave thatmessage to that brother at the Min-neapolis Conference, and told himthat the Lord had sent an angel torebuke him for his controversialmanner of labor."

Starr Manuscript, 150-152, Ellen G.White Publications Document FileNo. 496

August 1987 0111' 1-"/1'11/ "'(Wlldt/liol/ 19

ili'eing a §hort CITrea tise

on the and

of l/n ternationallJennings

MANY HAVE been askingquestions about Hope Interna-

tional. How and when did it begin?What exactly is Hope? What areyour objectives? and what relation-ship do you have to the Seventh-day Adventist Church? What alldoes Hope do? A book could bewritten about Hope International,but I will answer as briefly as pos-sible these questions.

Hope was organized and incor-porated in the State of Washingtonin July 1964 with Dr. Lloyd H. Sil-ver as chairman and founder. Theboard consisted of four men (amedical doctor, two engineers and abuilding contractor) and theirwives. Among these were my hus-band, Vernon Jennings, and 1. Allwere lay leaders in local Seventh-day Adventist Churches in theSeattle area.

What had brought these peopletogether? It was their common in-terest in finishing God's work inthe world and following as closelyas possible the Spirit of Prophecycounsels on true medical missionarywork, true educational work, and inother areas as well. We encountereddifficulty in carrying out these in-structions in the local churchesbecause of lack of interest andknowledge on the part of mostmembers and pastors. Of particularconcern to the charter members of

Oil!' Fin11 FVlllld(JfiVII August 1987

Hope were the doctrinal aberrationsbrought into the Seventh-day Ad-ventist Church as a result of theMartin-Barnhouse doctrinal discus-sions with some of the officers ofthe General Conference and theprinting of the book, Questions OnDocui1le, in 1957.

A beautiful l65-acre ranch onthe south end of Ohop Lake nearEatonville , W3shington, was pur-chased to be the home base ofoperations. Next, a comprehensivecharter and bylaws were drawn upand registered with the state gov-ernment and the Internal RevenueService. This document gave Hope awide range of possible activities.The following is quoted from Arti-

cle II of the constitution and bylawsof Hope International:"The purposes for which this

Corporation is formed are as fol-lows:

I. To establish a religious, edu-cational association to further aknowledge, acceptance, and prac-tice of divinely inspired doctrinalwritings of the Seventh-day Ad-ventist Church, viz., the Bible andthe writings of Ellen G. White.

2. To give special religious,health and healing instructions.

3. To teach and practice thebws of health and the laws of God.

4. To carryon a program ofbenevolent charity to those in need.

5. To accumulate, compile,

publish, and distribute information,statistics and other data of helpfulinterest to public and individualhealth.6. To establish, own, maintain,

conduct and operate such institu-tions, schools, lecture halls, sani-taria, clinics, industries, facilities,publications and other media ofeducation such as magazines, news-papers, radio and television as maybe lawful, necessary or convenientfor the accumulation and dissemina-tion of information relatingto physical, mental andspiritual health.

7. To conduct researchand develop projects in theareas of interest of the Cor-poration."In summary, our purpose

is to support the divinelyordained mission of theSeventh-day AdventistChurch to bring the gospelto all the world. Our missionis not to tear down ordestroy the work of thechurch, but to uphold it andhelp build it up along thelines that God has directed.Mercifully, God hid the fu-ture from us, or we wouldhave been considerablymore afraid than we were toproceed with our mission.God has in the past years

miraculously preservedHope through difficulttimes. We will mention onlya very few. During thesevere economic recessionof the early 1970s, Hope had greatdifficulty trying to survive. Dona-tions were down while the mortgagepayments increased sharply, due togreatly increased real estate taxesand insurance, both of which wereincluded in the monthly mortgagepayments. Even though we werecontributing thousands of dollars ofOur own money to Hope, manytimes mortgage payments weref\lissed owing to a lack of availablefunds. The laws of the State ofWashington allowed foreclosureproceedings to begin after threemonths of default in payments.However, each time that it lookedas if foreclosure would begin, sud-denly funds came in to save theplace. One such experience oc-curred when a man sent us $10,000.

This was the exact amount neededat the time. No one had asked himfor the money.Another time, I, as the Hope ac-

counr:lJ1t, saw that the three-monthsgrace period had almost run outwithout a payment made. Themortgage holder was ready to fileforeclosure. Alone and in tears 1knelt down and prayed, "0 Lord,this place was dedicated to You andYour poor people. Now the richbankers are about ready to take it

over. 0 God, don't let them takethis ranch away from us. It seemslike every time in the past when wewere in trouble we have seen Yourinvisible hand saving this place.Was it You, God- You all alongsaving the property fromforeclosure? J believe it was, Lord.Please, help us now! Please impresssome rich man-like my brother inCalifornia-to send us money. Iknow he has warned some of myrelatives not to give anything toHope so J can't ask him for help.But You ask him, Lord. You askhim. I'm leaving this problem com-pletely in Your hands, Lord. MayYour will be done. Amen."No one was told about this pri-

vate prayer-not even my husband.Only God and the angels witnessed

and heard it. However, in abouttwo or three days when I went tothe mail box 1 found a letter frommy brother. It was brief and to thepoint: "Dear Sis, I have been im-pressed by the Holy Spirit that youneed money. J 3m sending $1,000.00now, and I will be sending moremoney in the future. Love, Bob"I explained to Vernon how Thad

prayed to God for help. We wereboth thrilled and astonished at sucha wonderful response. lVe thankedGod and rejoiced together for thismarvelous answer to my prayer.On Friday evening of that same

week, J received a phone call frommy brother. He was very excitedand told me that he had had themost wonderful experience of hisentire life. He said, "It was marvel-ous! The Holy Spirit came to me ina strong way and impressed me thatyou needed money. I sent $1,000.00and r will be sending more later.Maybe some day you can have anexperience like this. Oh, it waswonderful-wonderful!" My broth-er continued to send money untilthe entire mortgage was paid off.As I received the money and re-

corded it in the deposit book Ithought many times how God hadinitiated this source of funds likesomeone turning on a water faucet.No human hand or voice did thejob. Praise the Lord! This experi-ence did a great deal for us all-butespecially for my brother. He had atremendous spiritual revival in hisown life. God is great. He knowsjust what we need. Heaven has awonderful communication system.From this point on we knew that

God was saving Hope for a par-ticular purpose. Different programscame and went over the years, butnothing seemed to be a great suc-cess, though we continued activitiessuch as helping the poor, distribut-ing literature, conducting Five-dayStop Smoking Clinics, conductingchurch school, and treating the sick.Nothing took deep root at I-lope.Surely God had something more inmind, or why would He miracul-ously preserve the ranch? Withgreat personal sacrifice. tears, pray-ers, and by the grace of God, weand our associates hung on.

During this time the Hope boardof directors decided to put theproperty up for sale. It was listed

AuguSt 1987 0111' Fil"/1/ FOIl/ldolivlI 21

with a local real estate office withmuhiplc-listing service for sixmonths. However, there was noresponse, and in due time the list-ing ran oul. We then tried to sell iton our own. Again, no response.Thcn onc Sunday cvening the Hopeboard decided that it was nOt God'swill that the ranch be sold, and wevoted unanimously to withdraw it

from the market. The next morningcash buyers appeared at our gate.We were offered $330,000 cashwith hints of marc money if neces-sary. Pastor Rolf Lindfors toldthcm, "No, it js not for sale at anyprice. You're one day too late."When I later told a local real estateagent about this fantastic offer hewas totally shocked. He couldn'tbelieve that we would turn downsuch a good offer. It was clear to usthat God had held off the buyersuntil a vote was taken to withdrawthe ranch from the market. Onlythen were buyers permitted by Godto come forward. Truly, the HopeRanch dedication was accepted byGod. It belongs to God for His finalwork in this world.Time passed. In the spring of

1984. I received a call from afriend living to the south of us. Sheosked if Elder Ron Speor couldhold a series of revival meetings atI-lope. "Oh," I responded, "'RonSpenr? I remember him years agoat camp meeting when the confer-ence was sending him to Africaas a missionary. Are you sure you

22 0111' FIrm Flllllldtl/lfIlI AugUSt 1987

can't find anywhere else for him?"She assured me that she couldn't.She also assured me that he wasstraight on his theology. Then sheoffered to come and help cleanup the born hayloft for the meeting.That task involved, among otherthings, sweeping, mopping andsetting up chairs. Surely, she wasdetermined.

He held his meetings in thehoyloft of the barn; we couldn'thelp but be reminded of the pio-neers of the early Advent move-ment-how they met in barns. And,too, the messnge we heard thatday rang true as a bell. We werethrilled! Many in the audience feltthe strong presence of the HolySpirit in that humble place. ElderSpear's rheology was as straight asan arrow. He preached present truthwith a sense of urgency. However,only three of the Hope board mem-bers were present to hear himpreach. As I sat there and listened,God strongly impressed me that thiswas the man we had been waitingfor all of these years.On Elder Spear's next swing

around the Pacific Northwest, Iurged him to come again to Hopewith his message so that the otherboard members could hear him. Hedid, and they also were thrilledwith his outstanding, urgent mes-sage. As I listened to this "'modern-day John the Oaptist" with hisriveting "prepare ye the way of theLord message" I knew in my heart

why God had soved Hope throughall those years. Elder Spear hadmemorized vast numbers of Bibleand Spirit of Prophecy statementsand was well Qualified to carry outthe number-one purpose of Ourcharter.Elder Rolf Lindfors, a key port

of Hope from 1979-1986, andchairman of the board at the time.took Elder Spear on a tour of theproperty, showing him the land andthe buildings. Now and then, com-ment was made that Hope mightserve well as headquarters for hiswork. As Elder Spear toured theproperty making suggestions, gmd-ually his use of pronouns changedfrom "you" to "we" when describ-ing wh:lt could be done with theproperty.

Ron Spear found at Hope thepropeny, the facilities, the atmos-phere, the support group, and thetax-exempt corporation that heneeded to do the work God hadsent him to do. At Hope he couldfulfill his God-given commission.Somehow the name "Hope Interna-tional" seems very appropriate forthe work. What is our mission? Tostart a grass-roots revival in theSeventh-day Adventist Church. Totrain people to give the loud-crymessage. To follow God's blueprintexactly in all we do. To spread hopearound this entire troubled world.The stressful years of struggle

during the past fade into insignifi-cance as we today see what God isdoing with this corporation. In therail of 1985, the Lord led Hope tobegin the publishing of a monthlymagazine, Our Firm Foulldalioll,designed to be a spiritunl blessingto Seventh-day Adventist laity, pas-tors and leaders. Since its inceptionhundreds of thousands of copies ofthis periodical have been published.The heartfelt letters of gratitudereceived daily from church mem-bers of all levels of church organi-zation who have been spirituallyrevived are most gratifying. Manywho have strayed from the fold arereturning to the church becausetheir hope and confidence in itsmission have been restored. HopeInternational is providing a widevariety of seminars, books, maga-zines, cassette tapes, video tapes,[rncts, memory verse cards, televi-sion programs, and more that God

is using to raise up an army ofdedicated men and women to finishHis work in this perishing world.Today aUf hearts are thrilled as

we see a strong outreach ministrydeveloping from Hope Internation-al. To date we have printed 80,000copies of our new magazine fornon-Adventists, Truth For Today.which are being circulated all overNorth America. We have begun thework of translation into Spanish forthe benefit of the Hispanic people.Also, I-lope is printing thousands ofbeautiful outreach tracts and book-lets to reach the people of theworld.

We have been thrilled as theLord opened the way for Hope tosponsor a television program nowairing one hour per week on satel-lite and cable across the UnitedStates and Canada. In connectionwith this program is the TruthFor Toda)' Bible CorrespondenceSchool. All of these activities aredLrected toward reaching the un-saved of this world.Soon our new qU3rterly mag3-

zine, Focus On Lay Minislries, willbe published. The goal of this peri-odical is to inspire and instruct thelaymen of the church to do the out-rench work God has commissionedthem to do in these last days.In addition, Hope is soon to

begin construction of a new medicalmissionary colporteur training cen-ter and health retreat. Here we planto train hundreds of people to go

out and sell low-cost, paperbackmissionary outreach books such asThe Creal ConLroversy, the book ofthe hour. Hope has sponsored theprinting of thousands of thesebooks, which must soon go into thehands of those who sit in darkness.

AS we contempl3te all that has beendone and is being done, we giveGod the glory for it all. It is onlybecause of His great love that thiswork has been made possible. Praisethe Lord!

We thank all those who in thepast have had any part in establish-ing and preserving Hope for thisgreat hour. Thanks alsoto those who currentlyare supporting this min-istry. Many of youwrite and tell us thatthe Holy Spirit im-pressed you to makedonations to Hope.Thank you for listeningto that beautiful voice.Hope does not have anexcess of funds. Eachmonth we pray Godwill give us enough topay our bills. Eachmonth He provides.Our banker cannot understand theway we do business. Tt is contraryto the ways of commerce. Our mostheartfelt thanks and love we give toGod who made it all possible.Without Him we could do nothing.The divine forecast as proph-

esied in the Bible and the Spirit ofProphecy of a great revival andreformatory movement led by thelaymen of the church for the finish-ing of the work in the world is nowbeginning to take place. (Read Joel2). From the pen of Ellen Whi,e weread the following:

"The Lord will usein the accomplishmentof His work means thatwe do not see. He willraise up from amongthe common peoplemen and women to doHis work, even as ofold He called fishermento be His disciples.There will soon be anawakening that willsurprise mJny. Thosewho do not realize thenecessity of whJt is tobe done, will be passed

by, and the heavenly messengerswill work with those who are calledthe common people, filting them tocarry the truth to many places. Nowis the time for us to awake and dowhat we can." Lama LiJlda A1es-sages, 83

"In VISions of the night, repre-sentations passed before me of agrer.t reformatory movement amongGod's people. Many were praisLngGod. The sick were heJled, andother miracles were wrought. Aspirit of intercession was seen, evenas was manifested before the greatDay of Pentecost. Hundreds and

thousands were seen visitingfamilies and opening before themthe word of God. Hearts were con-victed by the power of the HolySpirit, and a spirit of genuine con-version was manifest. On every sidedoors were thrown open to the pro-clam3tion of the truth. The worldseemed to be lightened with theheavenly influence. Great blessLngswere received by the true and hum-ble people of God. I heard voices ofthanksgiving and praise, and thereseemed to be a reformation such aswe witnessed in 1844." Teslimonies,vol. 9, 126God is using Hope InternariollJI

and other semi-independent minis-tries to help bring about the finalglorious effort to save the lost. Wehave been promised that the workwill end in a blaze of glory. "Notby might, nor by power, but by myspirit, saith the Lord." ZechMi3h4:6. It is only by the mighty powerof God that this great reformJtorymovement will be successful andend in the second coming of Christin the clouds of heaven.It is my prayer that each one

who reads this article will have apart in giving the loud-cry message,tl13t final glorious effon in whichhuman beings, angels, and the HolySpirit combine their efforts in thegreatest display o[ love and powerthat the world has ever experienced.Come quickly, Lord Jesus' Amen.1@

AuguSt 1987 Our p;/'/11 FOIlllclfllio/l

BaptismTHE ORDINANCES of bap-

tism and the Lord's Supperare two monumental pillars, onewithout and one within the church.Upon these ordinances Christ hasinscribed the name of the true God.Christ has made baptism the sign

of entrance to His spiritual king-dom. He has made this a positivecondition with which all must com-ply who wish to be acknowledgedas under the authority of the Fa-ther, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.Before man can find a home in thechurch, before passing the thresh-old of God's spiritual kingdom, heis to receive the impress of thedivine name, "The Lord our Righl-eousness." Jeremiah 23:6Baptism is a most solemn renun-

ciation of the world. Those who arebaptized in the threefold name ofthe Father, the Son, and the HolySpirit, at the very entrance of theirChristian life declare publicly thatthey have forsaken the service of

Satan, and have become membersof the royal family, children of theheavenly King. They have obeyedthe command, HCome out fromamong them, and be ye separate,. . . and touch not the unclean

The principles ofthe Christian lifeshould be made

plain

thing." And to them is fulfilled thepromise, "I will receive you, andwill be a Father unto you, and yeshall be my sons and daughters,saith the Lord Almighty." 2 Corin-thians 6:17,18

Preparation for Baptism

There is need of a more thor-ough preparation on the part ofcandidates for baptism. They are inneed of more faithful instructionthan has usually been given them.The principles of the Christian lifeshould be made plain to those whohave newly come to the truth. None

can depend upon their profes-sion of faith as proof thatthey have a saving connec-tion with Christ. We arenot only to say, "I be-lieve," but also to prac-

tice the truth. It isby conformity to the

will of God in ourwords, our deportment,our character, that weprove our connectionwith Him. Whenever

one renounces sin, which isthe transgression of the law,his life will be brought intoconformity to the law, into

perfect obedience. This is the workof the Holy Spirit. The light of theword carefully studied, the voice ofconscience, the strivings of theSpirit, produce in the heart genuinelove for Christ, who gave Himself awhole sacrifice to redeem the wholeperson, body, soul, and spirit. Andlove is manifested in obedience.The line of demarcation will beplain and distinct between thosewho love God and keep His com-mandments, and those who loveHim not and disregard His precepts.Faithful Christian men and

women should have an intense in-terest to bring the convicted soul toa correct knowledge of righteous-ness in Christ Jesus. If any have al-lowed the desire for selfish indul-gence to become supreme in theirlife, the faithful believers shouldwatch for these souls as they thatmust give an account. They mustnot neglect the faithful, tender,loving instruction so essential to theyoung converts that there may beno halfhearted work. The very firstexperience should be right.Satan does not want anyone to

see the necessity of an entire sur-render to God. When the soul failsto make this surrender, sin is not

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ellen G. White24 Our Firm Foundatioll August 1987 lIIustration: Wilma Hood

The Parents' Work

The Pastor's Work

Candidates who have grown tomanhood and womanhood shouldunderstand their duty better thando the younger ones; but the pastorof the church has a duty to do forthese souls. Have they wrong habitsand practices? It is the duty of thepastor to have special meetings withthem. Give them Bible readings,converse and pray with them, andplainly show the claims of the Lordupon them. Read to them the teach-ing of the Bible in regard to con-version. Show what is the fruit ofconversion, the evidence that theylove God. Show that true conver-sion is a change of heart, ofthoughts and purposes. Evil habitsare to be given up. The sins of evil-speaking, of jealousy, of disobedi-ence, are to be put away. A warfaremust be waged against every eviltrait of character. Then the believ-ing one can understandingly take tohimself the promise, "Ask, and itshall be given you." Matthew 7:7The test of discipleship is not

brought to bear as closely as itshould be upon those who present

begin. It is the first lessons thatmean so much. In simplicity teachthem how to do their first servicefor God. Make the work as easy tobe understood as possible. Explainwhat it means to give up self to theLord, to do just as His word di-rects, under the counsel of Chris-tian parents.After faithful labor, if you are

satisfied that your children under-stand the meaning of conversionand baptism, and are truly con-verted, let them be baptized. But, Irepeat, first of all prepare your-selves to act as faithful shepherds inguiding their inexperienced feet inthe narrOw way of obedience. Godmust work in the parents that theymay give to their children a rightexample, in love, courtesy, andChristian humility, and in an entiregiving up of self to Christ. If youconsent to the baptism of yourchildren and then leave them to doas they choose, feeling no specialduty to keep their feet in thestraight path, you yourselves areresponsible if they lose faith andcourage and interest in the truth.

parents sacredly pledge themselvesto be faithful stewards over thesechildren, to guide them in theircharacter- building. They pledgethemselves to guard with special in-terest these lambs of the flock, thatthey may not dishonor the faiththey profess.Religious instruction should be

given to children from their earliestyears. It should be given, not in acondemnatory spirit, but in a cheer-ful, happy spirit. Mothers need tobe on the watch constantly, lesttemptation shall come to the chil-dren in such a form as not to berecognized by them. The parentsare to guard their children withwise, pleasant instruction. As thevery best friends of these inexperi-enced ones, they should help themin the work of overcoming, for itmeans everything to them to be vic-torious. They should consider thattheir own dear children who areseeking to do right are youngermembers of the Lord's family, andthey should feel an intense interestin helping them to make straightpaths in the King's highway ofobedience. With loving interest theyshould teach them day by day whatit means to be children of God andto yield the will in obedience toHim. Teach them thaI obedience toGod involves obedience to theirparents. This must be a daily,hourly work. Parents, watch, watchand pray, and make your childrenyour companions.When the happiest period of

their life has come, and they in

their hearts love Jesus and wish tobe baptized then deal faithfullywith them. Before they receive theordinance, ask them if it is to betheir first purpose in life to workfor God. Then tell them how to

A warfare mustbe waged againstevery evil trait of

character

Teachby

them dayday what it

means to be thechildren of God

Parents whose children desire tobe baptized have a work to do, bothin self-examination and in givingfaithful instruction to their chil-dren. Baptism is a most sacred andimportant ordinance, and thereshould be a thorough understandingas to its meaning. It means repent-ance for sin, and the entrance upona new life in Christ Jesus. Thereshould be no undue haste to receivethe ordinance. Let both parents andchildren count the cost. In consent-ing to the baptism of their children,

Through association with those wholove and fear God they will receivestrength.OUf conversation with these

souls should be of a spiritual, en-couraging character. The Lordmarks the conflicts of every weak.doubting, struggling one, and Hewill help all who call upon Him.They will see heaven open beforethem, and angels of God descend-ing and ascending the ladder ofshining brightness which they aretrying to climb.

forsaken; the appetites and passionsare striving for the mastery; tempta-tions confuse the conscience, so thattrue conversion does not take place.If all had a sense of the conflictwhich each soul must wage withsatanic agencies that are seeking toensnare, entice, and deceive, therewould be much more diligent laborfor those who are young in thefaith.These souls, left to themselves,

are often tempted, and do not dis-cern the evil of the temptation. Letthem feel that it is their privilege tosolicit counsel. Let them seek thesociety of those who can help them.

AuguSI 1987 Our Firm Foul/dalio/l 25

believer isto God,

Christ, and toHoly Spirit

After Baptism

and the Holy Spirit. we are buriedin the likeness of Christ's death,and rnised in the likeness of Hisresurrection, and we are to live anew life. Our life is to be bound upwith the life of Christ. Henceforththe believer is to bear in mind thathe is dedicated to God, to Christ,and to the Holy Spirit. He is tomake all worldly considerationssecondary to this new relation.Publicly he has declared that hewill no longer live in pride andself-indulgence. He is no longer tolive a careless, indifferent life. Hehas made a covenant with God. Hehas died to the world. He is to liveto the Lord. to use for Him all hisentrusted capabilities, never losingthe realiz3tion that he bears God'ssignature, that he is a subject ofChrist's kingdom, a partaker of thedivine nature. He is to surrender toGod all that he is and all that hehas, employing all his gifts to Hisname's glory.The obligations in the spiritual

agreement entered into at baptismare mutual. As human beings aCItheir part wilh wholehearled obedi-ence, they have a right to pray,

The vows which we take uponourselves in baptism embrace much.In the name of the Father, the Son,

things. Our churches need to beeducated to greater respect andreverence for the sacred service ofGod. As ministers conduct the serv-ices connected with God's worship,so they are educating and trainingthe people. Little acts that educateand train and discipline the soul foreternity are of vast consequence inthe uplifting and sanctifying of thechurch . ...

Thededicatedtothe

Christ's sake,should makebest of ourappearance

wethe

For

sacred influence upon all spectators.Every ordinance of the churchshould be so conducted as to beuplifting in its influence. Nothing isto be made common or cheap. orplaced on a level with common

seeking for the grace of Christ willheed the precious words of instruc-tion inspired by God. Even thestyle of the apparel will express thetruth of the gospel.All who study the life of Christ

and practice His teachings will be-come like Christ. Their influencewill be like His. They will revealsoundness of character. As theywalk in the humble path of obedi-ence, doing the will of God, theyexert an influence that tells for theadvancement of the cause of Godand the healthful purity of Hiswork. In these thoroughly convertedsouls the world is to have a witnessto the san'ctifying power of truthupon the human character.The knowledge of God and of

Jesus Christ, expressed in character.is an exaltation above everythingthat is esteemed in earth or inheaven. It is the very highest educa-tion. It is the key that opens theportals of the heavenly city. Thisknowledge it is God's purpose thatall who put on Christ by baptismshall possess. And it is the duty ofGod's servants to set before thesesouls the privilege of their highcalling in Christ Jesus.Whenever possible. let baptism

be administered in a clear lake orrunning stream. And give to the oc-casion all the importance and so-lemnity that can be brought inw it.At such a service angels of God arealways present.The one who administers the or-

dinance of baptism should seek tomake it an occasion of solemn,

themselves for baptism. [t should beunderstood whether they are simplytaking the name of Seventh-dayAdventists, or whether they aretaking their sland on the Lord'sside, to come out from the worldand be separate, and touch not theunclean thing. Before baptism,there should be a thorough inquiryas to the experience of the candi-dates. Let this inquiry be made, notin a cold and distant way, butkindly, tenderly, pointing the newconverts to the Lamb of God thattaketh away the sin of the world.Bring the requirements of the gos-pel to bear upon the candidates forbaptism.One of the points upon which

those newly come to the faith willneed instruction is the subject ofdress. Let the new converts befaithfully dealt with. Are they vainin dress? Do they cherish pride ofheart? The idolatry of dress is amoral disease. It must not be takenover into the new life. In mostcases. submission to the gospelrequirements will demand a decidedchange in the dress.There should be no carelessness

in dress. For Christ's sake. whosewitnesses we are. we should seek tomake the best of our appearance. Inthe tabernacle service, God speci-fied every detail concerning thegarments of those who ministeredbefore Him. Thus we are taughtthat He has a preference in regardto the dress of those who serveHim. Very specific were the djrec-(ions given in regard to Aaron'srobes, for his dress was symbolic.So the dress of Christ's followersshould be symbolic. In all things weare to be representatives of Him.Our appearance in every respectshould be characterized by neatness,modesty. and purity. But the Wordof God gives no sanction to themaking of changes in apparelmerely for the sake of fashion-thatwe may appear Iike the world.Christians are not to decorate theperson with costly array or expen-sive ornaments.The words of Scripture in regard

to dress should be carefully con-sidered. We need to understand thatwhich the Lord of heaven appreci-ates in even the dressing of thebody. All who are in earnest in

26 OUI' Firm FUUlldmiulI August 1987

M ANY YEARS ago I observedseveral parts of Christian

practice among the people calledQuakers. Two things I particularlyremarked among them, plainness ofspeech and plainness of dress. Iwillingly adopted both, with somerestrictions. and particularly plain-ness of dress; the same I recom-mended to you when God firstcalled you out of the world; and forthe addition of more than twentyyears' experience I recommend it toyou still.But, before J go any farther, I

must entreat you. in the name ofGod, be open to conviction. What-ever prejudices you have contractedfrom education, custom, or exam-ple, divest yourselves of them as faras possible. Be willing to receivelight either from God or man: donot shut your eyes against it. Ratherbe glad to see more than you didbefore. to have the e.ves of your un-derstanding opened. Receive thetruth in the love thereof, and youwill have reason to bless God for-ever.Not that I would advise you to

imitate the people called Quakers inthose lillIe peculiarities of dresswhich can answer no possible endbut to distinguish them from otherpeople. To be singular, merely forsingularity's sake. is not the part ofa Christian. I do not. therefore ad-vise you to wear a hat of suchdimensions, or a coat of a particularform. Rather. in things that are ab-solwely indifferent, lhat are 0/ nocOl/sequel/ce at all. humilil.V al/dcourtesy require you to conform tothe customs 0/ your countr)'.But I advise you to imitate them.

first, in the l1eallless of thejr ap-parel. This is highly to be com-mended, and quite suitable to yourChristian calling. Let all your ap-parel, therefore, be as clean as yoursituation in life will allow.I advise you to imitate them,

secondly, in the plaiuness of theirapparel. ...

"Let it be known, Lord, thot Thouart God in Israel." The fact thatyou have been baptized in the nameof the Father, the Son, and theHoly Spirit, is an assurance that ifyou will claim their help, thesepowers will help you in everyemergency. The Lord will hear andanswer the prayers of His sincerefollowers who wear Christ's yokeand learn in His school His meek-ness and lowliness."If ye then be risen with Christ.

seek those things which are above.where Christ sitteth on the righthand of God. Set your affection onthings above, not on things on theearth. For ye are dead, and your

The obligationsentered into at

baptism aremutual

life is hid with Christ in God."Colossians 3:1-3"Put on therefore, as the elect of

God, holy and beloved, bowels ofmercies, kindness, humbleness ofmind. meekness, long-suffering;forbearing one another, and forgiv-ing one another, if any man have aquarrel against any: even as Christforgave you, so also do yeo Andabove all these things put on char-ity, which is the bond of perfect-ness. And let the peace of God rulein your hearts, to the which also yeare called in one body; and be yethankful. ... And whatsoever ye doin word or deed, do all in the nameof the Lord Jesus, giving thanks toGod and the Father by him." Colos-sions3:12-17 I!iI

Testimonies, vol. 6, 91-99

Food for ThoughtShall r be more particular still?

Then I exhort you to wear no gold,no pearls, or precious stones: nocostly apparel, how grave soever. Iadvise those who are able to receivethis saying, Buy no superfluities, '10mere ornaments, though ever somuch in fashion. Wear nothing,though you have it already, whichis of a glaring color, or which is inany kind gay, glistening, or showy:nothing apt to attract the eyes ofbystanders. I do not advise womento wear rings, earrings, necklaces,lace, (of whatever kind or color), orruffles, which, by little and little,may easily shoot out from one totwelve inches deep. Neither do Iadvise men to wear shining stock-ings, glinering or costly buckles orbuttons. It is true these are little,very little things: therefore they arenot worth defending; therefore givethem up, let them drop, throw themaway, without another word; else alittle needle may cause much painin the flesh, a little self-indulgencemuch hurt to your soul.For the preceding exhortation J

have the authority of God in clearand express terms: HI will thatwomen [and, by parity of reason,men tool adorn themselves in mod-est apparel, with shamefacednessand sobriety. not with broideredhair, or gold, or pearls, [one kind ofprecious stones, which was thenmost in use, put for all], or costlyapparel; but, which becometh wom-en professing godliness. with goodworks." 1 Timothy 2:9, 10. Again,"Whose adorning let it not be thatoutward adorning of plaiting thehair, and of wearing of gold, or ofputting on of apparel; but let it be. . . the ornament of a meek andquiet spirit, which is in the sight ofGod of great price." I Peter 3:3-4Nothing can be more express:

the wearing of gold, of preciousstones, and of costly apparel is hereforbidden by name; nor is there anyrestriction made. either here or inany other scripture. Whoever,

AugUSI 1987 011" Firm FOIllldaf/ol/ 27

therefore, says, "There is no harmin these things," may as well say,"There is no harm in stealing oradultery." ."Oh! but one may be as humble

in velvet and embroidery, as an-other in sackcloth." True: for a per-son may wear sackcloth and haveno humility at all. The heart may befilled with pride and vanity, what-ever the raiment be.But can you be adorned at the

same time with costly apparel andwith good works? That is, in thesame degree as you might havebeen, had you bestowed less cost onyour apparel? You know this isimpossible: the more you expend onthe one, the less you have to expendon the other. Costliness of apparel,in every branch, is therefore imme-diately, directly, and inevitablydestructive of good works. You seea brother for whom Christ diedready to perish for want of needfulclothing. You would give it himgladly; but alas! it is corban, where-by he mighl have been profiled. It isgiven already, nOt indeed for theservice of God, not to the treasuryof the temple, but either to pleasethe folly of others, or to feed van-ity. or the lust of the eye in your-self. Now. (even suppose these wereharmless tempers, yet) what anullspenkable loss is this, if it bereally true, that "'every man shallreceive his own reward, accordingto his own labour," if there is in-deed a reward in heaven for everywork of faith, for every degree ofthe labor of love! ...Consider this more closely. Here

are two ways proposed for layingout such a sum of money. Tmay layit out in expensive apparel formyself, or in necessary clothing formy neighbor. The former willplease my own eye, or that of oth-ers; the latter will please God. ow.suppose there were no more harmin one than in the other, in thatwhich pleases man than that whichpleases God, is there as much goodin it? If they are equally innocent,are they equally wise? By the one Igratify the desire of the eye, andgain a pleasure that perishes in theusing; by the other r gain a largershare of those pleasures that are at

DI/r Film FfJllI/dtllfOli AuguSt 1987

God's right hand for evermOre. Bythe former I obtain the applause ofmen; by the latter the praise ofGod. In this way I meet with theadmiration of fools; in that 1 hearfrom the Judge of all, "Well done,good and faithful servant; enterthou into the joy of thy lord."[Matthew 25:23]Brethren, whatever ye are ac-

counted by men, I would not haveyou fools in God's account. Walk yecircumspectly. nOl as fools. but aswise; not in those ways which Godmay possibly [org;,'e, (to put thingsin the most favorable light), but inthose which he will cerlainly re-ward. III wickedness be .ve childrenstill; but ill ullderstanding be yemen . ...You who have passed the morn-

ing, perhaps the noon of life, whofind the shadows of the eveningapproach, set a better example tothose that are to come-to the nowrising generation. With you the dayof life is far spent; the night ofdeath is at hand. You have no timeto lose; see that you redeem everymoment that remains. Removeevery thing out of the way, be itnever so small, (though indeed gayor costly apparel is not so), thatmight any way obstruct your lowli-ness nnd meekness, your seriousnessof spirit, your single intention toglorify God in all your thoughts,and words, and actions. Let noneedless expense hinder your being,in the highest degree you possiblycan. rich in good works; ready todistribute, willing 10 communicate,till you are clothed with glory andimmortality.Our carcasses will soon fall into

the dust: then let the survivorsadorn them with flowers. Meantimelet us regard those ornaments onlythat will accompany us into eter-nity.You that are in the morning of

your days, either your form isagreeable, or it is not. ]f it is not,do not make your person remark-able; rather let it be hid in commonapparel. On every account it is yourwisdom to recommend yourself tothe eye of the mind, but especiallyto the eye of God, who reads thesecretS of your heart. and in whose

sight the incorruptible ornamentsalone are of great price. But if youwould recommend yourself bydress, is any thing comparable toplain neatness? What kind of per-sons are those to whom you couldbe recommended by gay or costlyapparel? None that are any waylikely to make you happy: thispleases only the silliest and worst ofmen. At most, it gratifies only thesilliest and worst principle in thosewho are of a nobler character.To you whom God has intrusted

with a more pleasing form, thoseornaments are quite needless."The adorning thee with so much

artIs but a barb'rous skill;

'Tis like the poisoning of a dart,Too apt before to kill."

That is, to express ourselves inplain English, without any figure ofpoetry, it only rends to drag themfaster into death everlasting, whowere going fast enough before, byadditional provocation to lust, or, atleast, inordinate affection. Did youactually design to raise either ofthese in those who looked uponyou? What! while you and theywere in the more immediate pres-ence of God! What profaneness andinhumanity mixed together! But ifyou designed it not, did you notforesee it? You might have done sowithout any extraordinary sagacity."Nay, I did not care or think aboutit." And do you say this by way ofexcuse? You scatter abroad arrows.firebrands. Gild death; and do notcare or think about it.Oh, let us walk more charitably

and mare wisely for the time tocome! Let us all cast aside from thjsvery hour whatever does not be-come men and women professillggodliness; whatever does not springfrom the love and fear of God, andminister thereto. Let our seriousnessshine before men. not our dress: Jetall who see us know that we are notof this world. Let our adorning bethat which fndeth not away. evenrighteousness and true holiness.

John Wesley, "On Dress," from his"Ad vice to the People CalledMethodists"; quoted in Review andHerald, July 10, 1855

Ron Spear

NEW ZEALANO

ful and loyal Adventists in bothcountries greatly encouraged us,

even though the travel 3ndpreaching lefr us very tired andweary at times, \Ve praise God forHis Holy Spirit that accompanied usand for Ilis beautiful angels thatprotected.There were mnny thrilling ex-

periences we could rclnte. bur theone which stays in my mind indeli-bly is thnt of a young mnn who h3dattended one of our evening meet-ings in Newcastle. He was seekingand searChing for truth. Like many,he was confused by the wrongtheology that is running rampant inour midst. He approached mc nfterthe evening mecting, in grent :ll1xi-ety; the message I had givenevening on righteollsness by faith.victory over sin by the power of the

Holy Spirith:td stirred hissearching soulto its vcryJepths. liewanted marc)1' the samespiritual food'0 I'oniry thetruth he hadJUSt heard. andhim a set of ourhe took home with

books and tapes.Our last meeting was the week-

end in Sydney. This s:tI11c youngmnn was there; he sat through theentire weekend and carne to I11C af-tcrwards relating that his whole lifehad been changed by truth and thepower of God. This one experiencemade the whole trip worthwhile.The weary miles of travel, the shannights and the long dnys sank intoinsignificance in the light of Ihisone rewarding experience of a soulwith his feCI firmly planted on theroad to life eternal.

We plan to ship the Our FirmFoundation and TrLl//r [or Todaymagazines by boat each month toboth of these countries. Each 01'-g:tnization will then c:tre for theirdistribution locally.

We want to thank Colin 3ndCheryl 'lartin for their time andefforts in Jrranging our meetings inAustralia. Betty and I felt we weregreatly blest by our six weeks ofsharing God's I:tst warning messagewith His people in both these beau-tiful countries. 1m

AUSTRALIA

Undera 10,000 square-foot mansion whichthey want to develop into a Hart-land-type training school and healthcenter. [Anyone whom the HolySpirit impresses to help with such aproject may get in touch with ElderSpear at Hope International].Our fin:ll meeting was at

Christchurch on South Is-land. After three weeks of ......hard travel and preaching.Betty and I caught the planeto Sydney to begin our busyitinerary in Australia. Wewere tired, but well repaidror our errons. The HolySpirit had been with us andwe praise God for the opportunityof witnessing for Christ on thesebeautiful islands.

It was a warm sunny day forwinter when our plane toucheddown in Sydney. Colin Martin, who

sponsored us in Aus-tralia, was there tomeet us. The next daywe began our itiner-ary.

Dr. Russell Stan-dish, on rurloughfrom Penang Advent-ist Hospital, joined usfor the tour. We eachspoke every night and

then drove several hours the follow-ing day to make Our next appoint-ment. We had three big weekends inBrisbane, Melbourne, rind Sydney,and our evening meetings Ihroughthe week kept us hurrying fromplace to place.

We were able to help establish anorganization in Australia, as well asthe one in New Zealand, that willbe carrying our books, tapes, andmagazines.The response rrom God's railh-

\

JourneyDown

A

T HE CAPTAIN'S voice crack-led over the intercom of the

747, "We arc in the final approachto Auckland. Will the flight attend-allts please take their seats in prep-aration for landing."

It had been a long night flyingover the Pacific to meet our spc3k-ing appointments in New Zealand.Detty and I were groggy with jetlag as we made our way down theramp, through security, immigra-tion, ancl customs to be greeted byNoelenc Patterson and GeorgeVaega.

This wns the beginning of a verybusy itinerary through this lovelycountry of three million people andsixty-three million sheep, frombeautiful ocean beaches lO thesnow-capped Alps of South Isl3nd.We met hundreds of souls starvingfor spiritual food. Every night wepreached the ever-lasting gospel tohonest souls who'were searching fortruth. and drove fiveto seven hours eachday to m3ke the nextevening's appoint-ment. But it wasmost rewarding. Thesouls of many werawatered from the rivel of life thatnever runs dry. We had three bigweekends in A lick land, Plymouth,and Chrjstchurch in which altend-ance was good.

We established an organizationand a board of directors in NewZealand to take charge or our mag-azines. books. tapes, and videos.Noelene Patterson is directing thework on these beaurjful islands. Astrong group there are pursuing thepurchase or 1100 acres or lond andIllustmlioll: Julia Norris

August 1987 Ollr Firm FO/fllt/millll

Ellen While's first slop ill Germally lVas at lhe town oj Volllvillf.:.el. The fol-lowing instructioll was given her for lhal church. and-perhaps-fol' us as weI!.

Ellen G. White

atThe Vision placed upon man whom He has

purchased with His own blood?You seem willing to wound andbruise the hearts of one another. [sthis the pattern Jesus has givenyou? Where is His manner ofdealing? Do you find yourselvessustained in having so little loveand forbearance, so little patiencefor your brethren? Have you for-gotten the words of Christ, •A newcommandment I give unto you,That ye love one another; as I haveloved you, that ye also love oneanother. By this shall all men knowthat ye are my disciples, if ye havelove one to another'? [John 13:34-35] 'He that hath my command-ments, and keepeth them, he it isthat loveth me: and he that lovethme shall be loved of my Father, andI will love him, and will manifestmyself unto him.' [14:21]Hyou are not cultivating love to

God or love to your brethren. Becareful how you treat the purchaseof the blood of Christ. There willbe need of plain and fai,hfulreproving of evil works, but let theone who takes this work upon himknow that he is not separated fromChrist by evil works himself. Hemust be spiritual and restore suchan one in the spirit of meekness.Unless he has this spirit, he has noduty to reprove or to correct hisbrothers, for he would create twoevils in the place of curing one."One condescended to clothe His

divinity with humanity nnd came toour world in the likeness of men.He is the living fountain of life, theliving manifestation of purereligion in our world. Christ is theWay, the Truth, and the Life. Thereis but one Way, one Truth, oneLife, and they that believe in Himreceive power to become sons ofGod. and these are no more in theworld but are chosen out of theworld. The world knoweth them notbecause it knew J-.Iim not."The spirit and character of

Christ are manjfested in the cho-sen of God, by their heavenly con-versation, their meekness, theirblameless conduct. As many as areled by the Spirit of God, they are

The assemblingtogether had notbeen refreshing toanyone

would not only love God but alsolove his brother, and if that brothermade mistakes, if he erred, he mustbe dealt with after the gospel plan.Every step must be followed ac-cording to the directions given inthe Word of God. "'Ye which arespiritual, restore such an one jn thespirit of meekness; consideringthyself, lest thou also be tempted,' "

[Gnlatians 6: I] he said. "Remem-berest thou not the prayer of Christjust before He left His disciples forHis long, agonizing struggle in thegarden of Gethsemane, before Hisbetrayal, His trial, and Hiscrucifixion? [John 17: 15-23]"Are you not forgetful of the

sufferings of your Lord? Are younot forgetful of the estimate He has

Vohwinkel

M AY 28, 1887 [Sabbath]. Lastnight [May 27] I dreamed that

a small company were assembledtogether to ha ve a religious meet-ing. There was one who came inand seated himself in a dark cornerwhere he would attract little obser-vation. There was not a spirit offreedom. The Spirit of the Lordwas bound. Some remarks weremade by the elder of the church,and he seemed to be trying to hurtsomeone. I saw 3 sadness upon thecountenance of the stranger. It be-came apparent that there was notthe love of Jesus in the hearts ofthose who claimed to believe thetruth and there was, as the sureresult, an absence of the Spirit ofChrist and [] great want both inthoughts and feelings of love forGod and for one another. The as-sembling together had not beenrefreshing to anyone.As the meeting was about to

close, the stranger arose and with avoice that was full of sorrow and oftears, he told them that they had agreat want in their own souls, andin their own experience, of the loveof Jesus which was present in largemeasure in every heart whereChrist took up His abode. Everyheart renewed by the Spirit of God

30 Our Firm Foundatio/1 August 1987

the sons of God. They are united toChrist as the branches are united tothe one living vine. They walk notafter the flesh, but after the Spirit.These are living examples of Chris-tianity in the world. They are calledChristians because they are likeChrist and because Christ is inthem. Of a truth they are the lightof the world and the salt of theearth. The help of the Spirit and the

If you know thecharacter and worksof Christ. ..

words of eternal life are their wis-dom and their strength. And theyare led into all truth because theyare willing and obedient."That which distinguishes the

character and conduct of Christiansfrom all others is the principle ofholy, Christlike love, which worksin the heart with its purifying in-fluence. The true Christian willwork the works of Christ in givingexpression in deeds of love one toanother. With this living, abiding,working principle in life and incharacter no one can resemble theworld. If you know the characterand works of Christ you will knowthe disposition and conduct ofChristians. Christ hated evil somuch that sin and evil met a strongrebuke from His lips and from Hisexample. While He hated sin, HeJoved the sinner."Our Lord and Saviour loved

every creature. He laid aside Hisdominion, riches, and glory andsought after us, sinful, erring, un-happy, that He might make us likeHimself. He humbled Himself andtook upon Himself your nature thatHe might be able to teach you to bepure, correct in character, and freefrom all impurity of sin, that youmight follow Him to heaven. Hesuffered more than any of you willbe called to suffer. He gave all foryou. What have you given to Jesusfor th is great love? Have you prac-

ticed the same toward yourbrethren? have you copied His ex-ample in patience, in self-denial?You cannot equal the Pattern, butyou can resemble it."There has been committed to

you the sacred knowledge of thetruth, not for you to quarrel overand to become estranged from oneanother, but that you may be thelight-bearers to the world. Accord-ing to your individual ability willthe Master reckon with you whenHe comes. What have you done topersuade men to accept the precioustruth? All around you are those forwhom Christ has died that theymight be made pure, holy, and sin-less. Have your works as Christiansbeen fruitful and productive ofmuch good? Have you in meeknessand in faith tried to sow in thehearts of others the seeds of truththat they may bring forth fruitsunto righteousness? How muchgreater strength you might have hadas sons and daughters of God if youhad loved God supremely and your

... you will know thedisposition andconduct ofChristians

neighbor as you love yourself! Howmuch higher ground you mightstand upon if you had been follow-ing on to know more and more ofthe truth and gathering more andmore divine light to shine forth ingood works to all around you'"Your works are not pleasing to

God but pleasing to the enemy. Youhave lessons to learn in the schoolof Christ before you will be fittedfor heaven. Your self, your ways,your sharp traits of character makeyou unskillful in dealing withminds and hearts. You are oppres-sive where you should be kind.Your words and your works are thechannels through which the pureprinciples of truth and holiness areconveyed to the world. Then if youare not cultivating personal piety

you cannot be the light of theworld. If you allow yourselves to bedictatorial, accusing and judgingyour brethren, and with Ull-sanctified hearts and unholytempers seeking to mend theirwrongs, you do unskillful work anddrive souls away from the serviceof Christ. The believers will be asource of weakness to one anotherin place of a source of strength andcourage, unless they are truly abid-ing in Jesus. There can be nohealthful building up, bindingtogether principles, unless thetransforming grace of Christ shallbe felt upon your hearts andcharacters."Everyone who has a knowl-

edge of Jesus Christ-especially theelders of the church-must notcarelessly allow the members to beirregular in conduct and thus letevil and sin strengthen in thechurch, thinking this is the way toshow love for one another. Godrequires faithfulness in watchcare.You must take hold of God withone hand while with the otherhand, in love, you lay hold uponthe erring and the sinner and drawthem to Jesus. Pray with them,weep with them, feel for theirsouls, love them, and never let goof them. This is the love Jesus hasexpressed for you. You must everstrive for unity and forbearanceand love. Never draw apart, butpress together, binding heart toheart and making supplications inthe Spirit. Then the power of Godwill work in your midst and manysouls will be brought to the truththrough your influence."He was again seated and the sun,

which had been hidden, beamedforth and shone full upon his per-son. What a revelation! All knew ina moment who had been speakingto them. They said one to another:"It is Jesus; it is Jesus!" and thensuch confessions of sins as weremade and confessions to oneanother. There was weeping, for thehearts seemed to be broken, andthen there was rejoicing and theroom was filled with the mellowlight of heaven. The musical voiceof Jesus said, "Peace be with you."And His peace was. . Ii

Manuscript 32, 1887

AuguSt 1987 Our Firm FOIllldtJlioll 31

BOOKSRon SpearWaymarks of AdvelltismPreparing for EternityThe COUlllerleil and the GenuineWill the Real Sevellth-day AdvelllistPlease StOlid Up

Joe CrewsReapillg the WhirlwilldRalph LarsonThe Word Was Made FleshEllen G. White, [paperback]The Desire of AgesArmageddon and the Coming Crisis(The Great COlllroversy, 1884 ed.)

A. Jan MarcussenNa/iollal SUllday LawLloyd and Leona RosenyoldSeparation and UnityDennis E. PriebeFace to Face With the Real GospelVance FerrellBeyolld Pitcaim (a Sabbath book)Prophet of the Elld (story of E. G.White and the Spirit of Prophecy)

Mark of the Beast (historical infor-mation and part of Great Contro-versy)

Lorine TadcjStrict Vegetariall Cookbook (nosugars or visible fats)

Bible Verse Memory Cards (set of 63)Spirit of Prophecy Memory Cards (63)CASSETTE TAPESAdvelltist Roulld/able-Audio(J 2 monthly tapes beginning withJuly, 1987)

Ron SpearPreparillg for E/ernity-Audio(A series of 13 tapes, including oneby Dr. A. L. Bietz)

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Dr. Dennis PriebeRighteouslless by Faith, deals withthe nature of Christ. sin. andrighteousness (5 tapes) 10.00

Dr. Vernon Shafer, Dr. Wynn KnowlingMedia alld Milld COlltrol (6 tapes) 12.00Sa/ali's Me/hods of Milld Seduc-/ioll-update on above-Hope Int'lCamp. '86 (4 tapes) 8.00

Ralph LarsonIssues Surrounding the Nature ofChris/ Hope Int'l Camp. '86 (4tapes) 8.00

Ellen G. WhiteThe Great Controversy BetweenChris/ alld Sa/all, 1884 Edition(12 tapes, in protective case) 29.95

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