to be read in aft the churches introduction

\‘oI. si

Readings for the Week of PrayerISSUED BY THE

GENERAL CONFERENCE S. D. A. REFORM MOVEMENT

To Be Read In Aft The ChurchesFROM DECEMBER 7 TO 16 , 1956

Introduction:

AS VE ENTEi the Week of Prayer, another year is drawing to its close. TheGod of all grace and mercy has carried us as a people, as well as every individual one, on wings of His love. He did not reward us according to ourmistakes and sins, but according to His immeasurable grace.

As time is being rapidly spent, we notice also, in conjunction with it, thefulfillment of God’s word on a grander scale. Never did the signs of thetimes speak more eloquently, according to divine prediction, as they do now.

Even infidels, men of the world, scholars, and statesmen have expressed themselves concerning the anticipated world—catastrophe which threatens the whole

world with annihalation.

We know, according to the light of the Bible, of what nature this great

catastrophe will be. It is the second coming of Christ.

The coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven will bring to all mankind the

eternal decision.

In the annually returning Week of Prayer a great privilege, given by the

grace of God, is imparted to us. In this season of prayer special opportunity

is given to us for repentance and conversion, and for a greater growth in

spiritual life, and a renewal of our faith.

We should ever remember that the parable of the ten virgins is applicable

upon the last remaining people of God. They all became sleepy, and when the

call was sounded, “The Bridegroom cometh,” it became apparent that half of

them were unprepared. Is not this a terrible truth in its significance?

Denver, Colorado, Fourth quarter 1956 No. 4

2 The Sabbath Patchman

It is for this very reason that the guiding thought of our Week of Prayer thisyear is on “ The Preparation for the Second Coming of Christ “. There is no othersubject of more sublime importance or of deeper earnestness and more life-givingsolemnity than this; the answer of which will decide for eternal life, salvationor condemnation.

The devises of Satan are manifold in these last days. By false revivals, falsereforms, mighty miracles, and apparent conversions he has roused millions of humanbeings to believe that they are serving God,

Should not we as the true Reformation keep on equal with this, meaning that amongus true godliness, holiness, and purity of heart should become deeper rooted andbe more revealed, so that the power of God may bring the divine cause to a mightyfinish?

0, dear fellow-believers in all the world, shall we not in this Week of Prayercome to the Throne of Grace with greater earnestness than ever before, that newstrength, vitality, conviction, and love may lay hold upon us in a measure as wehav not yet seen?

Heaven is ready to bestow on us showers of blessing, Let us open our hearts forlight, heavenly love, grace, peace and glory to enter in. Then an awakening willtake place and the work of God will soon be finished, which is our all desire,

May the Lord God bless us THE BRETHREN

Sabbath, December 15th, the Week of Prayer offerings will be gathered. Let theofferings we bring be truly a sacrifice unto God, Ps,5O23. This Sabbath is alsoappointed as a day of fasting and prayer, pleasing to the Lord,

CONTENTS

Reading No. 1 - Friday, December 7, 1956............,.,............ ...,., page 3

CHRIST IS COMING SOON, ARE WE READY?”

by E. G, White,

Reading No, 2 - Sabbath, December 8, 1956. .,,. ,,,,..,..,.,,. . . .,,.,.,,.. page 6

“THE GREAT DAY OF ATONEMENT WILL SOON BE ENDED,”by E. Stark, Denmark.

Reading No, 3 - Sunday, December 9, 1956: ..,.....,.,.. ,,,,,,,,,,.,,,,,, page 9

CHRIST DIED FOR US, WHAT DO WE DO FOR HIM?”by A, Ringelberg, Holland,

Reading No. 4 - Wednesday, December 12, 1956; ,, ,,,,.... ............. page 14

“REPENTANCE AND CONVERSION”by A. W. Doerschler, U. S. A.

Reading No. 5 - Friday, December 14, 1956: , , , ,, ,,.,.,,., page 17

THE REMNANT CHURCH AND HER DUTIES.”

by C, Kozel, Central America,

Reading No. 6 - Sabbath, December 15, 1956,,.,,........ , , ,,, , ,,.,..,, page 20

“THE AID OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS PROMISED TO GOD’S CHILDREN.”

by A, Mueller, Germany,

The Sabbgth±atchman 3

Reading No. 7 - December 16. 1966-

“Christ Our Righteousness, The Reward of Faith to the Overcomer.”

by A Craviotto, South America.

- mmmmmmmmm

Reading No. 1 - Friday, December 7, 1950.

CHRIST IS COMING SOON; ARE WE READY?

Compiled from the Writings of Mrs. H 0 White.

The PreeleeONE of the most solemn and yet most glorious truths revealed in the Bible is that of Christ asecond coming, to cospl.etc the great work of redemption. lb Clod’ s pilgrim people, so long leftto sojourn in ‘ the region and shadow of death1’ a preoious joy-inspiring hope is given in thepromise of His appearing, who is the resurrection and the life, bring home again His ban.ished.’ The doctrine of the second advent is the very key-note of the sacred Scriptures Fromthe day when the first pair turned their sorrowing steps from Eden: the children of faith havewaited the coming of the Promised One to break the destroyer s power and bring them again to thelost Paradise.

The coming of Christ to usher in the reign of righteousness has inspired the most sublime epdimpassionate utterances of the sacred writers. The poets and prophets of the Bible have dweltupon it in words glowing with celestial fire. ..

When the Saviour was about to be separated from His disciples. He comforted them in their sorrow with the assurance that He would come again Let not your heart he troubled. .. In My Path.or s house are many mansions. .,. I go to prepare a place for you..’ -Great Controversy pp 9-$01.

The Star of Hopefloly men of old looked forward to the advent of the Messiah in glory, as the consummation oftheir hope. Hooch, only the seventh in descent from them that dwelt in Eden he who for threecenturies on earth walked with God, was permitted to behold from afar the coming of the Deliverer.The Patriarch Job in the night of his affliction exclaimed with unshaken trust I know thatmy Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:Said the prophet Isaiah: Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust: ... Thy dead men shalllive, together with my dead body shall they arise

On rocky Pathos the beloved disciple hers the promise; . Surely I come quickly, and his longing response voices the prayer of the church in all her pilgrimage ‘ Even so come Lord Jesus.From the dungeon, the stake1 the scaffold, where saints and martyrs witnessed for the truth,comes down the centuries the utterance of their faith and hope. Being assured of His personalresurrection, and consequently of their own at His coming, for this cause. ‘ says one of theseChristians, ‘ they despised death, and were found above it.’ They were willing to down to thegrave, that thqjmight ‘ rise free.’ They looked for the : Lord to come from heaven in the cloudswith the glory of His Father.’ tringing to the just the times of the kingdom.’ The Waldensescherished the same faith. Wycliffe looked forward to the Redeemer s appearing as the hope of thechurch.Luther declared: ‘1 persuade myself verily, that the day of.judgmeuthot be absent full threehundred years. God will not can not, suffer this wicked world much longer.’ The great day isdrawing near in which the kingdom of abominations shall be overthrown.’‘Has not our Lord Jesus carried up our.flesh into heaven?’ said Knox, the Scotch Reformer, ‘andshall He not return? We know that He shall return; and that with expedition.’‘The thoughts of the coming of the Lord,, said Baxter, . are most sweet and joyful to me. It isthe work of faith and the character of His saints to love His appearing and to bat for that bles..sed hope.’ “ Ibid., pp. 302, 303

Seems is Cemimg Seem“prophecy net only foretells the manner and object of Christ a coming1 but presents tokens bywhich men are to know when it is near. Said Jesus. ‘ There shall be signs in the sun, and in themoon, and in the stars,’

These signs were witnessed before the opening of the nineteenth century. In fuflilment of thisprophecy there occured, in the year 1755, the most terrible earthquake that has ever been recorded

4 me Sabbath Patcflman

Though commonly known as the earthquake of Lisbon, it extended to the greater part of Gurope,Africa, and America. It was felt in Greenland, in the West Indies, in the island of Madeira,in Norway and Sweden, Great Gritain and Ireland.,.,

Twenty- five years later appeared the next sign mentioned in the prophecy, ..- the darkening ofthe sun and noon. Vthat. rendered this more striking was the fact that the time of its fulfilment haG been definitely pointed out. In the Saviour’ a conversation with His disciples uponOlivet, after describing the long period of trial, for the church, -the 1260 years of papal peraecution. concerning which He had promised that the tribulation should be shortened, -He thusmentioced certain events to precede His coming. and fixed the time when the first of these shouldhe witnessed In those days. after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moonSimli not give her light. ‘ The 1260 days, or years. terminated in 1798, A quarter of a centuryearlier, persecution had almost wholly ceased. Following this persecution, according to thewords ni Christ, the sun was to be darkened. On the 19th of May, 1780. this prophecy was fulfilled,” Ibid.., pp304—3O8.

The day of the Lord is approaching with stealthy tread; but the supposed great and wise menknow not the signs of Christ’ s coming or of the end of the world,. Iniquity abounds, and thelove of many has waxed cold

There are thousands upon thousands, millions upon millions, who are now making their decisionfor eternal life or eternal death,” .-Testjmonies, Vol.. 6. p. 406.

Tue end is near, stealing upon us stealthily. imperceptibly. like the noiceless approach ofa thief in the night,” —Testimonies, Vol. 9, p 135.

“Slowly but surely the wheel of providence is turning,, We know not how soon our Lord will Say,‘it is done.’ His coming is drawing nigh, Soon our opportunities for work will be forever past,Only a little while longer shall we be permitted to labor,” —Testimonies, Vol 7, p. 235,

The coming of Christ is nearer than when we first believed, The great controversy is nearingits end, The judaents of God are in tne land. They speak in solemn warning, saying, ‘Be ye.also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man conieth ‘ Matth.2444..” -Testimonies, Vol,8, p,252,

“Every day that passes brings us nearer to the end, Coes it also bring us near to God? Arewe watching unto prayer? .‘.i’estirnonjes, Vol 9, p. b7.

Are ?e keady?“let church-members bear in mind that the fact that their names are registered on the church

books will not save them, They must show themselves approved unto God, workmen that need not beashamed, Day by day they are to build their characters in accordance with Christ’ s directions,They are to abide in Him, constantly exercising faith in Him. Thus they will grow up to the fullstature of men and women in Christ,..whoi,esnrne. cheerful, grateful Christians. led by God into clearer and still clearer light,. lf this is not their experience, they will be among those whose voiceswill one day be raised in the bitter lamentation. ‘The harvest is past, the summer is ended, andny soul is not savecW’

Go to your rest at night with every sin confessed. Thus we did when in 1844 we expected to meetour Lord. And now this great event is nearer than when we first believed, Be ye always ready,in the evening, in the morning, and at noon, that when the cry is heard,. ‘Behold the Bridegroomcomethi go ye forth to meet Him.’ you may, even though awakened out of sleep, go forth to meetHim with your lamps trimmed and burning “ ..Testjmonies Vol 9, p48.“I saw that the remnWnt were not prepared for what is coming upon the earth. Stupidity, likelethargy, seemed to hang upon the minds of most of those who profess to believe that we are having the last message, My accompanying angel cried out with awful solemnity, Get ready! get ready!get ready! for the fierce anger of the Lord is soon to come. His wrath is to be poured out, unmixed with mercy, and ye are not ready. aend the heart, and not the garment.. A great work mustbe done for the remnant. Many of them are dwelling upon little trials.’ Said the angel, ‘Legions of evil angels are around you, and are trying to press in their awful darkness, that ye maybe ensnared and taken. Ye suffer your mind to be diverted too readily from the work of preparation and the all-important truths for these last days, And ye dwell upon little trials and gointo minute particulars of little difficulties to explain them to the satisfaction of this one orthat,’” -‘Early Writings, p,119,

We are now living in the great day of atonement. In the typical service, while the high priestwas making the atonement for Israel, all were required to afflict their souls by repentance of Sinand humiliation before the Lord, lest they be cut off from among the people, In like manner, allwho would have their names retained in the book of life, should now, in the few remaining days oftheir probation, afflict their souls before God by sorrow for sin and true repentance. There mustbe deep, faithful searching of heart, The light, frivolous spirit indulged by so many professedChristians must be put away, There is earnest warfare before all who would subdue the evil ten-

The Sabbath Watchman 5

dencies that strive for the mastery The work of preparation is an individual work, we are notsaved in groups. The purity and devotion of one will not offset the want of these qualities inanother. Though all nations are to pass in judgment before God, yet He will examine the case ofeach individual with, as close and searching scrutiny as if there were not another being upon theearth, Everyone must be tested, and found without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, “ Greatcontroversy, pp 489,490,

“When the redeemed stand in the presence of God. they will see how short-sighted were theirconclusions as to what heaven records as success As they review their efforts to achieve success, they will see how foolish were their plans how petty their supposed trials, how unreasonable their doubts. They. will see how often they brought failure to their work by not taking Godat His word And one truth will stiand out in clear lines that position does not prepare a manfor entrance into the heavenly courts. They will see, too, that the honor given to man is dueto God alone, that to Him belongs all the glory —Testimonies, Vol.7, p 28.

Satan leads many to believe that God will overlook their unfaithfulness in the.minor affairsuf life; but the Lord shows in His dealings with Jacob that He will in no wise sanction or tolerate evil. All who endeavor to excuse or conceal their sins, and permit them to remain upon thebooks of heaven, unconfessed and unforgiven. will be overcome by Satan The more exalted theirprofession, and the more honorable their position which they hold, the more grievous is theircourse in the sight of God, and the more sure the triumph of their great adversary,, Those whodelay a preparation for the day of God cannot obtain it in the time of trouble. or at any subsequent time. The case of all such is hopeless. ‘ —Jreat controversy, p.620

4ho Shall Stand When Christ Appears?“None but God can subdue the pride of man’s heart. We can not save ourselves We can not regenerate ourselves, In the heavenly courts there will be no song sung. To me that loved myself,and washed myself. redeemed myself, unto me be glory and honor. blessing and praise, But this isthe keynote of the song that is sung by many here in this world Tney do not know what it meansto be meek and lowly in heart; ..‘ —‘estimonies to ,inisters, p 456“It is possible to be a formal. partial believer, and yet be found wanting. and loose eternallife, It is possible to practice some of the Lible injunctions and be regarded as a Christian,and yet perish because you are lacking in essential qualifications that constitute Christncharacter.’ —Review and Jierald, Jan 11, 1887. C 0 a - p 83.“What is it that constitutes the wretchedness, the nakedness. of those who feel rich and in—creased with goods? It is the want of the righteousness of Christ In their own righteousnessthey are represented as clothed with filthy rags, and yet in this condition they flatter them

selves that they are clothed upon with Christ s righteousness Could deception be greater?”—Review and Herald, Aug. 7. 1894. (CO.. R,,, p, 90,

‘Christ has become our sacrifice and surety He has become sin for us, that we might becomethe righteousness of God in Him, Through faith in His name. He imputes unto us His righteousness,and it becomes a living principle in our life.’ —i?eview and Herald, July 12. 1892. (C0..R,, p-98,)

“As we near the close of time, the current of evil will set more and more decidedly towardperdition. We can be safe only as we hold firmly to the hand of Jesus. constantly looking to theAuthor and Finisher of our faith. He is our mighty helper. “ —Review and Herald, Oct. 7- 1890.(C,O,L,p,102)

“On Christ’ s coronation day, He will not acknowledge as His any who wear spot or wrinkle or anyuoh to Iji ithfu1 ones Wil’ give croWps of immortal glory, Those who would I)Otttat He should reign over theg will see Him rurrounded by the army of the redeemed, each of whombears the sign, ‘THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUNESS!” —Review and Herald, Nove. 24, 1904- (C0,R. ,p. 103.)

“Clad in the armor of Christ’ s righteousness, the church is to enter upon her final conflict—Christ Our Righteousness, p. 8.

6 The Sabbath Watchman

Reading No. 2 Sabbath, December 8, 1956:

THE GREAT DAY OF ATONEMENT WILL SOON BE ENDED I

by E. Stark. Denmark,

And the Lord spake unto Moses. saying, Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there

shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you and ye shall afflict your

souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. And ye shall %ó no work in that same

day for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God.” “For

on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you. to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from

all your sins before the Lord, It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you,, and ye shall afflict your

souls, by a statute for ever.” Lev,23:26-28; 16:30,31.

We know that we are living in the time of the great day of atonement today and that the day of

atonement of Israel in the old covenant is an example or shadow of the great heavenly atonement

day which is still in progress at the present time, As can be seen from the foregoing Bible

texts, the people of God were to celebrate the lOtn day of the 7th month as the annual day of

atonement, Preceeding this day there were days of purification, of affliction, and se1f-exami

nation, The people were to sanctify and prepare themselves to meet the Lord and to be reconciled.

All sins committed during the year, being confessed during the daily sacrifices and thus trans

ferred day by day upon the sanctuary remained there; but on the great day of atonement they were

to be brought into the most holy place, “not without blood,” to be atoned for and then to be

carried out again, that they might be blotted out forever out of the midst of the people by the

live goat,“The ministration of the earthly sanctuary consisted of two divisions the priests ministered

daily in the holy place. while once a year the high priest performed a special work of atonement

in the most holy for the cleansing of the sanctuary. Day by day the repentant sinner brought

his offering to the door of the tabernacle, and placing his hand upon the vietims head, confessed

his sins, thus in figure transferring them from himself to the innocent sacrifice, The animal

was then slain, Without the shedding of blood,’ says the apostle, there is no remission of sin,

‘The life of the flesh is in the blood,’ The broken law of God demanded the life of the trans”

gressor,. The blood, representing the forfeited life of the sinner, whose guilt the victim bore,.

was carried by the priest into the holy place and sprinkled before the vall, behind which was the

ark containing the law that the sinner had transgressed. By this ceremony the sin was, through

the blood, transferred in figure to the sanctuary,

“Once a year, on the great day of atonement, the priest entered the most holy place for the

cleansing of the sanctuary, The work there performed completed the iearly round of ministration

On the day of atonement, two kids of the goats were brought to the door of the tabernacle, and

lots were cast upon them, ‘one lot for the Lord, and the other for the scapegoat.’ The goat upon

which the lot fell for the Lord was to be slain as a sin-offering for the people, And the priest

was to bring his blood within the veil, and sprinkle it upon the mercy-seat, and before the mercy

seat. The blood was also to be sprinkled upon the altar of incense, that was before the veil,

And Aaron shall lay both hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the

iniqities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them

upon the head of the live goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilder

ness:“Important truths concerning the atonement are taught by the typical service, A substitute

was accepted in the sinner’ s stead; but the sin was not canceled by the blood of the victim, A

means was thus provided by which it was transferred to the sanctuary. By the offering of blood,

the sinner acknowledged the authority of the law, confessed his guilt in transgression, and ex

pressed his desire for pardon through faith in the Redeemer to come;

“Such was the service performed unto the example and shadow of heavenly things,’ And what

was done in type in the ministration of the earthly sanctuary, is done in reality in the mini

stration of the heavenly sanctuary. After His ascension our Saviour began His work as our high

priest. Says Paul, Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the

figure of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us,’

“It was the work of the priest in the daily ministration to present before God the blood of

the sin-offering, also the incense which ascended with the prayers of Israel, So did Christ plead

His blood before the Father in behalf of sinners, and present before Him also, with the prescious


fragrance of His own righteousness, the prayers of penitent believers. Such was the work ofministration in the first apartment of the sanctuary in heaven,

“For eighteen centuries this work of ministration continued in the first apartment of thesanctuary, The blood of Christ, pleaded in behalf of penitent believers, secured their pardonand acceptance with the Father, yet their sins still remained upon the books of record. As inthe typical service there was a work of atonement at the close of the year, so before Christ’ S

work for the redemption of men is completed, there is a work of atonement for the removal of sinfrom the sanctuary. This is the service which began when the 2300 days ended, At that time, asforetold by Daniel the prophet, our High Priest entered the most holy, to perform the last division of His solemn work,..to cleanse the sanctuary,” -.Great controversy. p,4l8-42l,

This service our Saviour is still performing today in the heavenly sanctuary, and as long asthis service continues, the door of mercy remains open for the repentant sinner, The manner inwhich His blood is still speaking in behalf of His servants is described to us by the Spirit ofprophecy in the following words’

‘Jesus was clothes with priestly garments, He gazed with pity on the remnant, then raisedHis hands, and with a voice of deep pity cried, ‘My blood, Father, My blood, My blood, My blood!ThSn I saw an exceeding bright light come from God,, who sat, upon the great white throne, and wasshed all about Jesus, Then I saw an angel with a commission from Jesus, swiftly flying to thefour argels who had a work to do on the earth, and waving something up and down in his hand, andcrying with a loud voice, ‘Hold! Hold! Hold until the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads,’” Early Writings, p38.

As of’ old the sins of the people were in faith laid upon the sinoffering and by’means of thebiood were symbolically transferred upon the earthly sanctuary. thus, in the new covenant, thesins of the repentant sinner are by faith laid upon Christ and actually transferred upon theheavenly sanctuary, And as the earthly sanctuary. being defiled by the accumulation of sinscuring the year in the typical service, was cleansed once a year on the great day of atonementthrough the carrying away of the sins, as described above, thus shall, in reality,, the cleansingof the heavenly sanctuary be effected by the carrying away, or the blotting out, of the sinswhich are registered there, Yet, before this can take place,, there must come an exaWjnation ofthe books to bring evidence as to who may take part in the blessings of the atonement by repent”ance of sins and faith in Jesus,

“ At the time appointed for the judgment the close of the 2300 days-in 1844- be3n the work ofthe investigation and blotting out of sins. All who have ever taken upon themselves the name ofChrist must pass its searching scrutiny. Both the living and the dead are to be judged ‘out ofthose things which were written in the books, according to their works

Sins that have not been repented of and forsaken will not be pardoned. and blotted out of thebooks of record, but will stand to witness against the sinner in the day of God. He may havecommitted his evil deeds in the light of day or in the darkness of night, but they were open andmanifest before Him with whom we have to do Angels of God witnessed each sin., and registered itin the unerring records. Sin may be concealed, denied, covered up from father, mother, wife,children, and associates; no one but the guilty actors may cherish the least suspicion of thewrong; but it is laid bare before the intelligencies of heaven,,.,.. God has an exact record ofevery unjust account and unfair dealing, He is not deceived by appearances of piety, He makesno mistakes in His estimation of character.

“How solemn is the thought! Day after day, passing into eternity, bears its burden of recordsfor the books of heaven, Words once spoken, deeds once done, can never be recalled. Angels haveregistered both the good and the evil. . . Our acts, our words, even our most secret motives,, allhave their weight in deciding our destiny for weal or woe.

“ Yet how little solicitude is felt concerning that record which is to meet the gaze of heavenlybeings. .. Sad is the record which angels bear to heaven,” ....Great Controversy., pp. 486,487,.

The Lord will also require an account for the sins of neglected opportunities, for it says: “ Inthe judgment, the use made of every talent will be scrutinized, How have we employed the capitallent us of Heaven? Will the Lord at His coming receive His own with usury? Have we improved thepowers intrusted us, in hand and heart and brain, to the glory of God and the blessing of thewo.rd? How have we used our time, our pen, our voice, our money, our influence? What have wec1ou for Chrl,st,. jn the person of the poor, the afflicted, the orphan, or the widow? God hasmade us the depositories of’His holy word; what have we done with the light and truth given usto .ake men wjse unto salvation? Ibid., p. 487.

The investigative judgment, now in session, and the blotting-out of the sins in the sanctuarywill be ended before the return of the Lord in the clouds of heaven. Christ shall soon returnand’ the investigative judgment, or the great day of atonement in heaven, will soon come to an end

with it the time of probation., It is. therefore, the great question for every one of us peraona],ly, Are we ready to meet the Lord? Are we ready to stand in the time of the anguish of Jaco,b, when God’s children must stand without an Intercessor before God? To this the Spirit of

3 The Sabbath ktchman

prophecy — the bllowin3 to aay.“trot ation is ended a shoit time beforo the ecpeenng of the Lord In thi cloudr of heaven. Christ in

the R.vclatten, looking foruard to that time, dc.clsres. ‘He that is unjust, let his be unjust still: anda Wc.i ibl 111th) 14 kIm ti filthy still. and ho that is rishtc.ous, let him be righteous still. sad hett&, is Liv itt hat be holy still. And behold, I come qul&ly and My reward is with Me, to give to.vor: :.an R000ruinc ‘is his work shall be ‘“ lbiL,pp. 490,491.

‘the suoject of the sanctuary sad the investigative judgment should be clearly understood by theuoie of God. Every human being has at least pse (his own) soul to save or to loose. Every ottol resn.naibie for himself before the great Judge, for Ho has to stand in His presence. How imp.,, Lart at. la., i’tsruf,.it, tit w.i pictire b’Zore our nyet tho judgraorat now going on, that tue(“,ks nave econ ojtenl. r .t c’ut auon Lao daj vail come when every caso will have beim deuidqdi. ilL’, Ot loi.tb. le do not knew on whit any yours or my own caso will be decided upon, but we

k a’ • that thu ti • o wilt .oo’a have paasel, and we suet be ready.%:ct a’. b: wa,.ssd’rntloi zt tbe heavegly ssaatuary arc. in regards to the very center of the

kurt at. (‘tri&.t for huiaauity. if we understand it right. it will open to our view the plan of red’ti;cio.’ Zt, tale end of tFae, and sill revval the victorinut, outcome of the great struggle betweenrlghtezu..’nsn awl sin. It, is, therefore, of the •trgat importance that we study these things

u”r.,i.flls and undur’ttsnd them, taat. e .at ba tibia to give to every one who inquired ai .a%cs..n rf t. ,npe Li it I:. in us.” Th’a Spirit of prophecy has given us wonderful testimonies.,. ‘it’ ii t,s tat , t,ubj ‘at, and wi titall continue to let them speak to us:

Th’ L.’t.:ue.ton of ihitet tu man’s behalf l.a the sanctuary above is as essential to the plinU.. balv Lion an sea Has deith noon the cross. ly His death He began that work whioh after Hisr1arrteLson He ascende’) to complete in heaven We must by faith enter within the veil, thithertue Forerunner in for us euterei ‘ There the light fran the cross of Calvary is reflected. Thenwe may : ‘i’ “ cle.irer i’i..l at into the mysteries of redemution The salvation of man is acoompll..had at an Infinite ozponse to heaven; the sacrifice mace is equal to the broadest demands ofthe broken law of God. Jesus has opened the way to the rather s throne, sad through His mediationtho sincere desire of all who come to Him in faith may be presented before God.” Ibid.,p.489.

Solomon, tha vise men, ha: said “He that covered his sins shall not prosper: but whose confessed and forssketh them shall have mercy.” Proverbs 28:13.

‘We are now living in the great day of atonement. Zn the typical service, while the highpriert was making the atonement for Israel, all were required to afflict their souls by repentanceii sin and humiliation before the Lord, lest they be cut off from emong the people, In like ssnner,all who would have their nan retained in th’ book of lffe, should now, in the few remaining daysnf their prohatiot, afflict taeir souls before God by sorrow for sin and true repentance. Thereuust be Jeep. faithful searc.aing of bean. The ligat, frivolous spirit indulged by somany pitfes.nd ChridUans must ho put away.

Solemn are the scenes connected with the closing work of the atonement “ Ibid. ,pp. 489. 490.Today we have come much closer to the day of the Lard, beoanse since the year 1844, when the

2300 dan expired and the sanctuary was to be sanctified and cleansed again, over 100 years haveexp I rid the first angel’ s message, proclaimed at that time, “Fear God, and give glory to Him;fot the hour of His judgment is come,” is still in force The judgment in the heavenly sanctuaryis stilt jolnq forvartt the message of warning and the cll for repentance is still .aounding, forpro) gina it’ utill lingering. The judawant began with those who are asleep in death, and shalt.jlnsc with tao living In tto krosence of God our lives are ezaninet the deepest motives of allour actions are searched for with scrutiny, and neither the good nor the evil can be hidden fromHim How soon shall the last case be searched for? May it not be that today yours or my atmcase could be tried?hhat report of our accompanying angel shall those books renal?

‘ The law of God is the standard by which the characters and the lives of men will be tested inthe judgment Says the wise man: ‘Fear God, and ke5p His oommea&ents, for this iB the whole dutyof man For God shall bring every work into judament “ Ibid.,p.482.

Might we tbereforr. hasten to seek the forgtvc arsa. throush the bleed of Jane, end be clothedwith His righteousnoas, that next to our na..os the word “pardon” may be written. Concerning thistao Spin of prophecy says the following,

“All wno have trulj repented of sin, saa.by faith claimed the blood of Christ as their atoning sacrifice, have had pardon entered agsinct their iames it the books of heaven as they havebecome partekers of the righteousness of rhrit, kin! thQar charicter’ are iound in harmony withthe law of God, tneir sine will be blott :i ‘it, air ii, th n,,utv a: ‘41). be accounted worthy toeternal life. The Lord declares, by the pros,lt’S i,aj.au, . I, oven I, em He that blotted out thytranagressions for Mine own sake, sad wiLl not roe amber thy sins ‘ Said Jeans: ‘He that overcometh, the sate shall be clothed in whltc iaa sea t; and I VIII nt blot his neme out of the book oflift, but I tall confess his usme before My Father, end bt.foro His angels.” Ibid.,p 483

ma great atonement day will moon be ended, and 4 tn it aa woll the time of probation for thewhol” nrld. then every case will eternally hans L .,aa Gstl lec upon for life or death ‘hua LothLk


can be done any longer, nor can changes be made. for it has been done for eternity, and the neglects of the past can not be recalled. Therefore, my dear brethren and sisters, let us considerthis today in the right manner and order our life and the remaining days accordingly. by puttingfortn more earnest efforts to live by our faith. and to bring to others the message of warning inword and example. Jesus is still our Advocate with the Father. Wherefore He is able also tosave them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him. seeing He ever liveth to make intercessionfor them.” Heb. 7; 25. “ My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. Andif any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; And He is thepropitiation for our sins . , . 1 John 2. 1.2. In these days of prayer when God s people assembleto approach the seat of mercy of our Lord. it is our special duty to humble our hearts before Godand to feel deep sorrow for our sins. The Lord is willing to be merciful to His people, and inHis great love He will condescend to visit us with the fulness of His blessings. May we then beready to receive these blessings. Amen!

By living faith we now can see, In the most holy place on high,Jesus, our Advocate and Friend. Who gave Himself for us to die,

A sinister of holy things. At God s right hand exalted high,He pleads His own. His precious blood, That chosen Israel may not die,

Once was He offered, --once for all, A sacrifice for guilty man,-What wondrous, what unbounded love Is seen throughout salvation’ s plan)

All glory to His holy name! To those who love Him will He comeThe second time; then to redeem And take them to His glorious home.

C.F C.

(Song No. 81 in Church Hymnal’

keading No. 3 Sunday. December 9. 1956

CHRIST DIED FOR US. WHAT DO WE DO FOR HIM ?

by A, Ringelberg, Holland,

For God so loved the world,, that He gave Itis only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth inHim should not perish, hut have everlasting life.” John 3 16.

For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more,being reconciled, we shall he saved by His life.” Ron, 5; 10

The Glory in the BeginningLove is the expression of the character of God. From all eternity has love been the motive

power of all His actions, The spirit of love penetrated from the beginning all things in theuniverse. Every revelation of creative power is an expression of love, -divine love,

It was Jesus Christ who, in the eternal plan, became the instrument for revealing this love;and in the creation as well did He thus reveal the character of the Most High It was throughHim that all our knowledge of God. His omnipotence. His righteousness. His eternity and love cameta us. It was by the word that all things were made; it was the Word which “ was made flesh, anddwelt among us.

Moved by this eternal love. fathomlessly deep. God, through Christ Jesus, created the worldand man. Even before man was created, the Father and the Son made a covenanë through which thecharacter of love and grace was to illuminate us through all eternity with divine splendor..

Before the foundations of the earth were laid, the Father and the Son had united in a covenant to redeem man if he should be overcome by Satan, They had clasped their hands in a solemn

JO The Sabbath Watchman

pledge that Christ should become the surety for the human race This pledge christ hew; fuifThe Desire of i-iges, p. 834.

The report concerning this covenant between the Father and the Son already before the totions of the world, furnishes the evidence of the neverending love of God to man

The plan of our redemption was not an after thought, a plan formulated after the fall of dnmIt was a revelation of the mystery which had been kept in silence through times eternal It ww;an unfolding of the principles that from eternal ages have been the foundation of God s tJu’oneSn great was His love for the world, that He covenanted to give His only begotten 5om that Whrsnever bob eveth 5.n Him should not perish, but have everlasting life Ibid p 22

As the earth came forth from the hand of its Maker, it was exceedingly beauti ful Afterhe earth with its teeming animal and vegetable life, had been caGed Jots existence, man, thecrowning work of the Creator, and the one for whom the beautiful earth had been fitted up, wasbrought upon the stage of action Man was to bear God- s image. both in oui.ward semblance andr character Chri at alone is the express image of the Father, but man was formed in the like

noes ef God His nature was in harmony with the will of God His mind was capable of comprehend:inr divine things His affections were pure; his appetites and passions were under the cant-miof reason He was holy and happy in bearing the image of God. and in perfect abed:euce to Hissib t’at.:a.hs and Pc,phets. pp 4445

And God saw every thing that He had made and behold. it was very good Den 1 31.Ll of creation was a paradise Everywhere was rest and peace in the human soul as well Br

‘iaL, communion with God and the holy angels happiness was made perfect Neither one spot of sinnor one shadow of death soiled the virgin creation All was in. perfect harmony Heaven andeo.rth were united i.n their worship, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sonsof God shouted for ny Job 38 7

The Fab and its ResultsThe perfect happiness of man was made dependent upon his obedience toward the law of God The

nature of divine rulersni.p has been based upon the righteousness of His law. It is becauss theLaw is an expression of the character of God that it is equally as holy as God HimscZf

Satan succeeded to seduce our f- rat parents to transgress the commandments of God It. is be-o ose Eye was ready to listen to Satan and to transgress the divine commandment that she becamean instrument for evil from that moment on and thus she succeeded to cause dan t s’n wgainstGod also By this means the di vine warning, given to them. ‘ for in the day that thou eatestthereof thou sha-lt surel’ die came into effect Aaasi arid hi. a desee.rJa.ots became exposed tosuffering, time limitation and daath Because ‘thor were dr yen away from the tree at life theylost Gte aid immortality Rom 5 12 J4

Whe:efore as by one man si.n entered tot’; the orld and death by sin; nod so death passedupon nil men, for that all have sinned For until ‘the law sin was in the world ho” sin i,s notimputed when there is no law Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses. even over them thaihad not sinned after the similitude of Adam s traosgression who is the figure of Him that wasto come, Man became separated from the fountain of life and was to suffer the curse of sinIsa. 59 2.

The tide of woe that flowed from the transgression of our first parents, is regarded by manyas too awful a consequence for so small a sin; and they impeach the wisdom and justice of God inHis dealings with man- But i.f they would look more deeply into thi a question, they might discerntheir error. God created man after His own likeness, free from sin Ptiainhs and Prophewsp 60

If we. today. after nearly 6000 years. look upon the result of this apparently small beginningof sin, then there is no question any longer whether the punishment for the first sin was in order If we at present look back upon the history of this earth. we behold what sin has wrought-Every page of world- history is, as it were, written with human blood, witnessing to nameless sotferi.ngs sins, and terrible cruelty,

And today at the end of the world, how is it standing° Wickedness and demoralization of theheart, revealed in forgetting God. is nearly universal Dishonor to God, lawlessness, lack oflove selfishness, unfaithfulness, untrustworthiness evil- dci ng and passion, which often lowerman below the brute creation, mark the lives of millions of humans on earth Sin has separatediran from God more and more,, and the power of sin is growing darker Sin has so marred and attacked the inner being and the character of man, that often, by these means, the image of God inman has been tota.ll-t destroyed This is revealed in the intellect, in life- habi ta, in eating aoddrinking, in the woric at rest. in the married and family-life, and in the education and generalattitude toward God and fellow beings Everywhere the debasing, death and destruction- briogingresults of sin are visible The results of sin were complete

- But after hi,s sin, he could no longer find joy in holiness, and he sought to hide from thepresence of God Such is still the condition of the unrenewed heart It is no arbitrary dc

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oree on the part of God that excludes the wicked from heaven; they are shut dut by their own ‘unfitness for its companionship. The glory of God would be to them a consuming fire,” —Step. to

Christ, pp. 19,20.Man was sold to tue power of sin, and the apostle Paul describes this condition as follows

9) wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death’’ Dos 7:24

What øirist Did Per Us“The fall of man filled all heaven with sorrow. The world that God had made was blighted with

the curse of sin, and iri’abited by beings doomed to misery and death. There appeared no escapecr those who had transgressed the law.

The Son of Cod, heaven a glorious Commander, was touched with pity for the fallen race His• heart as moved with infinite compassj.on as tue woes of the lost world rose up before Him. Rut

divine love had concoived a plan whereby man might be redeemed The broken law of God demandedtI-,c life of the sinner. In all the universe there was but ‘one to could, in behalf of man, satis’

• fy its claims. Since the divine law is as sacred as God Hiaself, only one equal with God couldmae atonement for its transgression. None but Christ could redeem fallen man from the curse oftue law, and bring him again into harmony with Heaven. ‘Christ would take upon Himself the guiltand shame of sin—sin so offensive to a holy God that it must separate the Father and His Son.Christ would reach to the depths of misery to rescue the ruined race -Patriarchs and Prophets,p.63.

“0, the mystery of redemption’ the love of God for a world that did not love HimI Who can knowthe depths of that love which passeth knowledge’ Through endless ages, immortal minds seekingto comprehend the mystery of that incomprehensible love, will wonder and adore r Ibid.,pp 63,64

This love cost Heaven all it had. It was an incomprehensible sacrifice that had to be made; asacrifice whion had to pierce the hearts of tue Father and the Son like a sword.

Few give thought to the sufferings that sia has cansed. our Creator All heaven suffered inChrist s sgony; but that suffering did not begin or end with His manifestation in humanity Thecross is a revelation to our dull senses of the pain that, from its very inception, sin has broughtto the heart of God. ‘ .&*acstion p. 263.

God Himself suffered with His Son.Human intellect will never fully comprehend the depth of suffering which sin has censed the uni”

verse. Our finite mind can only partially grasp the grief it aost the Saviour, and we cannot fullycomprehend the extent of the sacrifice which He was able to bring in His love to free us humansfrom the power and curse of sin It cost all to the Saviour, His glory, His connection with HisFather, and His life

‘The guilt of every descendant of Adam was pressing upon His heart The wrath of God againstsin the terrible manifestation of His displeasure beoanse of iniquity, filled the soul of His Sonwith consternation But now with the terrible weight of guilt He bears, He cannot see theFather’ s reconciling face, ,. He feared that sin was so offensive to God, that their separationwas to be eternal “—The Dealt. of Ages, pp 752.753

‘As the outer gloom settled about the Saviour, many voices exclaimed, “The vengeance of Heavenis upon Him. ‘“ Ibid.,, p.754.

spotless Son of God hung upon the cross, His flesh lacerated with stripes; those hands sooften reached out in blessing, nailed to the wooden bars: those feet so tireless on ministries oflove, spiked to the tree, that royal head pierced by the crown of thorns, those quivering lipsshaped to the cry of wot And all that He endured,—.the blooddrops that flowed from His head,. Hishands, His feet, the agony that racked His frame, and the unterable anguish that filled His soulat the hiding of His Father’ a face,—speak to each child of humanity, declaring, It is for theethat the Son of God consents to bear His burden of guilt, for thee He spoils the domain of death,and opens the gate of paradise “ Ibid., pp.754.755

All this was needed becanse the law of God, which had been transgressed, could not be changed.“The law requires righteouanoss,—a righteous life, a perfect character—and this man has not

to give. He cannot meet the claims of God’ 5 holy law But Christ, coming to the earth as man,lived a holy life, and developed a perfect character. These’ He offers as a free gift to all whowill receive Him. His life stands for the life of men. Thus they have remission of sins thatare past, througn the forbearance of God More than this, Christ imbues men with the attributes’of God. He builds up the human character after the similitude of the divine character, a goodlyfabric of spiritual strength and beanty. Thus the very righteousness of the law is fulfilled inthe believer in Christ. God can ‘be just, and the justufier of him which believeth in Jesus.”Ibid.., p. 762.

“Pbrammuch a ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and sold,from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious bloodof Christ, ,as of a lamb without blemish and without spot,” 1 Peter 1:13,19.


What Do We Do For Jesus?Shall men ever be able to thank or reward Heaven for what Jesus and the Father have done for

them? Is there anything in this life by which we cay be released from the obligation of lovingservice which we owe to the Saviour?

All treasures of this world are as nothing in comparison to the infinite price which He paidfor our salvation, Men will not be able throughout eterni. ty to pay for this debt of love. Andyet, God does not even require this,. for He has given it all to us out of mercy Neverthelessthe heart which has tasted the blessings of redemption now feels impressed to do something forthe Saviour as well ‘lithin the freed soul. made happy. there is always the burning question.‘This I did for you, what do you do for Me?”

This question is caused because true love in the heart is awakening a longing to love agai.nSuch love can only be revealed in works. Love cannot be shown in words alone,, but must be shownin deeds.. There we find in first place the works of obedience True love is ever seeking to dothe will of Him whom we love. Such deeds of love are done with true joy It i.s what the apostleJames is referring to, saying: ‘Even so faith, if it bath not works, is dead, being alone James2, 17, A soul,, therefore. which knows his redemption by the blood of Christ. will show his loveto God and the Saviour by obedience toward all His commandments. This.is the fi.rstfruit ofthankfulness, the first deed we can do for Jesus.

If ye love Me,, keep My commandments.. “ John 14’’. 15. ‘ He that saith, I know Him, and keepethnot His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in Him, “ 1 John 2 4. Such a man proves thathe has jn reality not experienced anything of the eternal love his words and the form of godliness are a lie and self-deception,

Speaking of the commandments of God, we have to understand much more under it than only the tencommandments of the decalogue.. All of the revealed will of God is embraced in it. The laws ofnature which rule our physical being, and with it all of health reform, the standard of moral pur’ity within and without married life, the laws of love and compatibility toward each other, -all ofthese are laws of God which have to be fulfilled in our Christian life And although the Lord inmercy forgives a sin done in weakness. if the sinner repents of it, still the word of His Spiritis true which says. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it issin. “ James 4: 17 ‘For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he isgulty of all.” Chap 2 10.

The Lord is glorified in His children when they prove themselves faithful in all of the presenttruth. He who understands this, will know that much has to be done for Jesus, We think here ofthe beautiful hymn in the ‘ Zion s Songs-” (German Edition’, ‘There is much to do for Jesus.. 0 noWgreat the field of labor! - Yes, my dear brother and dear sister. for you, for every one of us,there is much to do for Jesus, He is calling us as His co workers into the battle for the redemption of souls. He is calling us as His servants into the great missionary field. He is calling us to co-operate with Him to finish the work. The field of labor and the duty to performis far extended, and everyone who has accepted Jesus as His Redeemer must invest all his str’ngthand help along to finish the work of God.

The Lord has need of young and old,. rich and poor, whether belonging to a church or livingscattered and standing alone all have received a talent and a commission from the Lord. Jesus,who has promised a place in heaven for all His children has also a place in His vineyard for allHis children here on earth. It shall, therefore, remain one of the most important questions ofthe heart, ‘ What do I do for Jesus?” Every morning this question should be before our eyes., andevery evening we should ask ourselves, “ What have I done for Jesus this day?”

To one person the Lord gives an abundance of means, that he may support the cause of God fi’nancially. Those Who have means and who feel that their strength is failing them, and that theyare approaching the grave, can do a work for Jesus i.n their healthy and yet older days by takingcare that the means which God gave them may not fall into the hands of unbelieving relatives, butthat they may be legall.i. willed to the cause of God To others the Lord gi.ves health and strengthto work, that they may serve Him through a perfect and faithful tithe. that there may be meat inGod’ s house,

To the mothers the Lord gives a great missionary field i.n being blessed with children and bring’-’ing them up,. and to the fathers He gives a golden opportunity that they, as priests of the house,may well care for it, The Lord calls the youth into His service that they may go out and let thelight of the truth shine into all the world,. Young men and women should regard it as a solemnduty and also as a privilege to dedicate at least a few years of their young lives to the Lord,,and enter the vineyard of the Lord as a colporteur-evangelist,

The whole church should regard it as a service of loving gratitude to go out from time to ti.mefor Jesus and proclaim to the neighbors, and to all who are willing to listen, the gospel by wayof mouth and through literature,

On the day of reckoning the Lord will not present to those, standing before His throne. whatHE has done for them, but He shall speak to them about the faithful work which THEY have done


for Him, In this setting the parable which Jesus uses in Matthew 25: 3l-46 is of great significance.Not one single deed, done in His name. shall Jesus pass by unnoticed and unrewarded lYe shall beastonished about te scrdtiny and great justice with which the Lord will take an account with theworld and with His children.

“Even among the heathen are tjiose who have cherished the spirit of kindness; before the wordsof life had fallen upon their ears, they have befriended the missionaries, even ministering tothem at the peril of their own lives. Among the heathen are those who worship God ignorantly,those to whom the light is never brough.t by human instrumentality, yet they will not perishThough ignorant of the written law of God. they have heard His voice speaking to them in nature,and have done the tings that the law requires. Their works are evidence that the Holy Spirithgs touched their hearts, and they are recognised as the children of God.,. But not to anyclass is Christ s love restricted,., He identifies Himself with every child of humanity Thefallen, the erring, and the sinful. Christ s love embracCs: and every deed of kindness done to uplift a fallen soul, every act of mercy, is accepted as done to Him.

A company of believers may be poor,, uneducated. and unknovn: yet in Christ they may do a workin the home., the neighborhood. the church. and even in ‘the regions beyond,’ whose results shallbe as .far’reaching as. eternity.” -The Desire of Ages, pp. 638,640.

To every soul has been given a precious charge. Of every one shall the Chief Shepherd requirean account one day. and shall ask. “ ,

. where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautifulflock?” Jer, 13: 20,

What the Lord Requires of Every One of Us TodayYhe, tim,e in which we live is filled with great dangers for the people of God, The deceptions

of Satan become more subtil and more evil continuously, In every quarter the devil is seekingto’ deface th truths of God and to imitate them. His deceptions already span great continents,Ph think about Billy Graham, Tommy Hicks, and Father Divine, the negro-christ Millions ofsouls are being deceived by these worldstirring preachers and faithhealers and defrauded in thespiritual realm,,

The professed people of ‘the third angel’ s message become more and more like the world, and themessage of the third angel ,is more and more being robbed of its power What the meaning of thisis. is told to us by the Spirit of prophecy in the following:.

The world must not be introduced into the church, and married to the church, forming a bondof unity. Through this means the church will become indeed corrupt, and, as stated in Revelation,‘a cage of every unclean.and hateful bird.’” —Testimonies to iWnisters,.p 265,By, means of these developments of things in the world and among the Adventists, the true Reform’ation is brought more and more to the point to stand alone in the ‘proclamation of the full truthThe task and, responsibility of the Remnant Church is thus steadily increasing It demands ofevery one who believes in this reformation to take place to spend all his strength and capabilit’ies for the same,

At this time “- a time of overwhelming iniquity a new life, coming from the Source of alllife, is to take possession of those who have the love of God in their hearts,.,” -Testimonjes,Vol.9, p. 44.“Let ‘all who, believe the truth begin to work.. Do the work that lies nearest you, - . If thelay members of the church will arouse to do the work that they can do . , each seeing how muchhe can accomplish in. winning souls to Jesus, we shall see many leaving the ranks of Satan to standunder the banner of Christ,” —Testimonies, Vol.8,p,246,“This is the special work now before us, All our praying and abstinence from food will availnothing unless we resolutely lay hold of this work,” —Testimonies, Vol 2. p 34,

Oh, that the neverending love of Christ might warm the hearts of His children, that theymight awake out of sleep and begin to work for Jesus. Many among God’ s people merely vegetateby what othe’rs know and preach, but the Lord calls us to personal effort.. The fields are ripefor harvest’,,’ but where are the.reapers? Is not this the greatest need of our time as pertainingto God’ s cause? . .

May, ‘ therefore, every one of God’ s people,, ministers, canvassers, or lay-members alike,, askthemselves the earnest question during this Week of Prayer, “This Christ did for me;. what do Ido for Him?” Amen

14 The Sajjbatb Watchman

Reading No, 4 — Wednesday, December 12, 1956.

REPENTANCE AND CONVERSiON

by A. W. Doerschler. U. S A.

Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent and do the first works, or elweI will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. kevelation 2.5.

Therefore also now, sat th the Lord, turn ye even unto Me with all your heart, and with fast-in g, and Wi th weeping en d wi th moo ruing: dnri rent I your heart, an ci not your armcn ts, and turnunto the Len your God: For lTe is gracious and merciful, sloe’ to anger, ,cnd of great kindness,and resenteth himof the evil, ‘ Tool 2 12, 13.

The Great NecessityWe, as a reformatory people, are standing in the focal point of earthly events. The great

e,,eisiy ut soul i s waging ear on the remnants of the. seed of the woman, HIS methods are many andhave the object, if possible, to deceive the very elect. Soon the battle will commence fiercelyand every soul will be tested whether he is standing faithfully to the divine principles, or,touched ny toe contagious spirit ot the wprio, will succumb by and by to apostasy,

Durins tee last years a notable change has taken place in the religious wor!d. The host ofBabyloni .n confusion nave confederated sore ann more. ThP Protestant world has even forgottenthe clark ages ot papal persecutions and seeks an agreement with Borne, This, according to Bibleprophecy, sic the last act in the drama df this world, The end is very. very near, The earth isripe for the judgment, and probation is about to close,

Surrounded by tnese nioncutous events in the religious field, the political upheavals, and theever-increasing oatural calamities on water and land, the anxious inquiry is raised in our hearts:How may we as God’ a people of the latter days, within the framework ot redemption, step into public notice in all events and as God’ s witiosseo proelasm the last message of warning?

‘the ConditionTo serve as God S witnesses in these deys of dcci sion is not found in higher education, nor in

nuisstandi ug talents,, or nunian zeal, These aatturs. although good in themselves, are not tnefoundati ‘so for kn fintsiing of the work, This is eloquently espressed in the cnnversatiou ofJesus with the educated Nicodemus, And although he acknowledges Jesus as a great teacher witnastound i n g facul ties, the Saviour does not even touch hi. s compl i mont. bt answers Ye inst he

again John 3 /. a new hi eth, a cnmpi etc innovation of the ol ci man, i s tne answer to ourinquiry,

S New Lite,cs oh” tiny 1110- c,rm grows roots cinder tee mnis tore of rain and the warmth of the heavenly

nunsicinc. and during tee years grows uij to become Snii ghty tree, SO it is that a new spiritualgerm of life must falL into our heart and start a new life, Oh, the power of such a Ii fem Itis typified icc the well-known event at Hannover, Germany, were a tiny seedling burst open thesolidly anchored tombstone of a grave, growing up to become a tree, thus symbolizing the giganticforce of a new life, And such a life-germ of eternal life must fall into our hearts Li rst tobring about the miracle of a godly life,

The PreparationBut before this seed can develope into lively growth, the soil of the heart must Li nit be madesoft and pliable. The story is told of a hardened criminal who was once asked to carry a littlegirl up a flight of stairs, and how this girl in thankfulness pressed a kiss upon nis cheeks. Itwas enough to melt his heart of ice and bring tears into his eyes, causing a great change in hislife, Thus the love of Heaven must first kiss our hearts and melt away the ice of Sin,

The Power of LoveJesus, our Savinur, point the iuqui ring Nicodenmus to the brazen serpent, to the croci fled loveof God, being so immeasurably great that He gave His very best, His first-born Son, “ -, that whosoever believeth in Him should not peel sic. hut have everlasting life.” Before the mighty powerof such love even the tyrants of earth tremble and the principalities of hell give Li I ght. Noi timersword nor firebrands, torture or death, is able to cope with her, for ‘love is as strong as r,Ieatlm, ‘‘Overcome by the mighty power of these words” This I did fur you, whet do you do for Mo?’ fo:,:id


under the painting of the suffering Man of Calvary, the notable Count Von Zinzendorf gave hisheart to the Prince of Heaven, And this is still the only solution for you and for me, Bybeholding Calvary, our heart must melt in deep contrition.

Self”knowledge“Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?” Prov 20:9, “For I acknow

ledge my transgression and my sin is ever before me,,” Ps,,51: 3, Jeremiah admonishes us, Onlyacknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God,,, “ Weacknowledge, 0 Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: ..“ Jere. 3: 13; 14: 20,,And John, the beloved, warns impressively. If we say that we have no sin,, we deceive ourselves,and the truth is not in us., If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us oursins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.,” 1 John 1’8.9.

Therefore also the fearful cry of the publican, “God, be merciful to me a sinner,” and the con”fession of the prodigal son. “Father,, I have sinned against heaven, and before’Th’ee, ‘and am nomore worthy to be called Thy son, ,“

Before man can come to acknowledge his condition, a soberingup, an awakening must come uponhim, He must stop short on the steeply descending road and become convinced that his course leadshim to destruction, Sin no longer reveals itself to him as joy, but as a terrible error,

Repent yeWhen Peter conducted his powerful sermon on the day of Pentecost and presented Jesus vividly

before the eyes of his hearers,, then their hearts melted also, “Now when they heard this, theywere pricked in’ their hearts, an’d said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, 4en and breth’ren, •what shall we do?” The answer of. Peter is also for us in these days of prayer, “ Repent ye!”—Yes, d&’penance! With other words, stop short in your life’s journey, Acknowledge your mistakesPerceive that sin actually is not joy,,. but full of misery; it is so indescribeably horrid,, so teriible in its results that the Prince of Heaven, in order to break the power of this iron chain,permitted Himself to be nailed to the cross, Then the “ little foxes that destroy the vine” willno longer ,be regarded as insignificant missteps,, but will appear in their entire terrible figure,.“He who has beheld Jesus at the cross.,,, “ Yes,, who who looks upon Him, will behold the endless’enormity of sin, The little word that slipped from our lips,, half jokingly, yet containing alittle (white) lie, grows in the sacred atmosphere of Golgatha to a hammer-blow upon the nailsthat penetrate the tender flesh of the,Saviour,, The little unkind deed, yes,, even to intonationof a two”fold meaning in our voice, brings with it the by taste of our guiltiness in the death ofJesus.. The Spirit of God admonishes us now at every’ approach to Sin, and we fall’ prostrate andremorseful at the foot of the cross,.

Re ConvertedBut it is not sufficient to stop on life’ s journey and acknowledge our lost condition,., A com

plete turnabout must take place a deep soul conversion, We will then ask ourselves:Who has the heart?, With whom are our thoughts? Of whom do we love to conversd? Who has our

warmest affections and our best energies? If we are Christ’ s, our thoughts are with Him,” —Stepsto hrist, p,62.

Then it may be said of us:“The things they once hated, they now love; and the things they once loved,’ they/hate,,

The prou,d and selfassertive become meek and lowly in heart, The vain and sup.erci’fious becomeserious and unobtrusive, The drunken become sober, and the profligate pure, The vain customsand fashions of the world are laid aside, Christians will seek not the ‘outward adorning,’ but‘the’hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek andquiet spirit,’” Ibid,, p,,63.

A reformation has been affected; the character has been changed, Such a man can hardly be recognized again he is converted,

The Divine Call“Therefore also now,, saith the Lord, turn ye even to Me with all your heart, and with fasting,,

nd with weeping, and with mourning: ,..“ “Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call aSOlemn assembly: gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders,, gather thechildren, and those that suck the breasts’ let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber and thebride of her closet, Let the priests,, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and thealtar, and let them say,, Spare Thy people, 0 Lord, and give not Thine heritage to reproach, thatth heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is theirGod?” Joel 2: 12; 15—17.

“The remnant people of God must be a converted people,. The presentation of this message is to


result in the conversion and sanctification of souls. We are to feel the power of the Spirit ofGod in this movement. This is a wonderful. definite message; it means everything to the receiver.

and it is to be proclaimed with a loud cry. Testimonies, Vol.9, p, 154.

HinderancesBefore God’ s people can call a sinful world to repentance. a thorough change must be effected

There are always those, who, like the mixed multitude among ancient Israel, are only half converted

Tneir interests are of a worldly nature; their heart is divided, and they have no true faith in

the message. They are about to loose both this and eternal life as well. They hang like leaden

weights on the feet of those who move forward in faith, and even try to unsettle their faith also.

They cause to the church and to the individual untold grief and heartaches with their unconvertedbehaviour, and they are the cause that the world looks down with disdain upon the professed fol

‘lowers of Jesus, whose lives make liars to their profession. They close the door for working with

souls. Unless this condition of things is healed, the fulness of the Spirit can never come uponGod’ s people, nor can the work succeed. Behold the disciples in the upper room before Pentecost,how they under confession of sins became one heart and one soul,. Thus the only way is pointedout to us that will lead to the completion of the work, In these days of prayer a precious oppor-’

tunity is presented to us to put this repentance and conversion into action

ConfessionIt was by the confession and forsaking of sin, by earnest prayer and consecration of themselves

to God, that the early disciples prepared for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pen-’

tecost, The same work, only in a greater degree. must be done now” —Testimonies to Ministers,

p.507,“?‘o repentance is genuine that does not work reformation. The righteousness of Christ is not

a cloak to cover unconfessed and unforgiven sins; it is a principle of life that transforms the

character and controls the conduct, Holiness is wholeness for God; it is the entire surrender of

heart and life to the indwelling of the principles of heaven. --The Desire of Ages, p. 555.

Under the title, “WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN.’ the Spirit of prophecy gives us the following descrip

tion of a scene in vision.‘One arose from his bowed position, and said that in the past he had not been in union with

certain ones, and had felt no love for them but that now he saw himself as he was, With great

solemnity he repeated the message to the Laodicean church... The speaker turned to those who

had been praying, and said: ‘We have something to do. We must confess our sins, and humble ourhearts before God..’ He made heart-broken confessions, and then stepped up to several of the breth

ren, one after another, and extended his hand, asking forgiveness Those to whom he spoke sprang

to their feet, making confessions and asking forgiveness, and they fell upon one another’s necks,

weeping, The spirit of confession spread through the entire congregation, It was a Pentecostal

season God’ s praises were sung. and far into the night, until nearly morning, the work was car

ried on.The following words were often repeated, with clear distinctness ‘ As many as I love, I re—

buke and chasten; be zealous therefore,, and repent,“No one seemed to be too proud to make heartfelt confession, and those who led in this work were

the ones who had influence, but had not before had courage to confess their sins,“Then I aroused from my consciousness, and for a while could not think where I was, My pen was

still in my hand. The words were spoken to me: This might have been, All this the Lord was wil

ling to do for His people, All heaven was waiting to be gracious,’ I thought of where we mighthave been had thorough work been done, .,; and an agony of disappointment came over me as I rea

used that what I had witnessed was not a reality,” —Testimonies, Vol.8, pp.104—106.Now the hour has struck that in this Reform Movement this repentance and conversion has to take

place; it must become a stark reality. The duty to make a start with it rests with me and withyou in this Week of Prayer. And, Oh, what precious promises await us if we make this PrayerReading a blessed reality! It must take place, sooner or later Why not today? Yes, let it beto-day!

That God may grant us this in mercy, is my heartfelt desire and earnest prayer Amen’


Reading No.. 5 Friday,. December 14. 1956

THE REMNANT CHURCH AND HER DUTY

by Carlos Kozel, Central America

I will also leave in the cjdnt of an, ar afflicted and noor “‘.-. idthey shall trcnfin the name of tne Lord. The romnant. of .E.:’aei shall not do in.qn.ty, nor speak l’tes, neithershall a deceitful tongue be found in tN’ir mould;’ for they shall feed and lie down. and noneshall make them afraid,.” Zeph 3 12, 12

The Meaning of the “ Rewnant’In harmony with tne title of our subject. we separate this reading into two parts Since this

world fell into sIn, there has been nothing complete or perfect By sin a condition of thingswas created which made tae word left-over” or “ remnant a necessity This word has a threefold meaning.. In our materialistic and egotistic age people, when they eat and drink usuallyleave alone such things which do not taste especially good Yet matters are reversed when natu—ral laws are mightily displayed. When a hurricane strikes, usually only the strongest, most deeply rooted trees and the solidly anchored buildings resist. and in this case it is said that they

remained”. The same law is also applicable in the spiritual aspect. God tested His church onearth in all ages to see whether she was actually and solidly built upon the word given her andupon His messagem, The- means employed to accomplish this were difficulties of all kinds and on--usual persecutions, the so-ca1led refining fires., And on occasions., where the church jf God hadalready been leavened with the spirit of the world among the leaders and lay members, it broughtabout a catastrophe for a cleansing, a separation, All that proved themselves as faithful, humble,obedient, and who were founded upon God and His Son, and were trusting in them, had to leave thechurch that. to all appearances. had fallen., No matter whether this was done willingly, or byforce of persecution; the latter occuring in most cases, These faithful ones who, in spite ofdifficulties and persecutions, adhered to the message of heaven, have always been but a few. described in the Bible and the testimonies as the “ remnant or the -l’emaining few - And the daugh-ter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard. as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besiegedcity. Except the Lord of host had left unto us a very small remnant, we shoul2 have been as Sodomand we should have been like unto Gomorrah “ Isa 1. 8, 9

The Dealings of God with the Remnant” or the -, Remaining Few”In the Old Testament, the disobedient perished from time to time by dreadful punishments from

God, (Heb, 1.0. 28; Ex 32 26—28; Numb, 11 33. 34; etc ‘! The remnant were then obedient for a whileagain, Yet, in the New Testament a new church had to be founded with the remnant of the left--over.in order that it might not be found guilty. too. in the sin of apostasy and darkness of errorLight and darkness, truth and error, must be separated from each other 2 Cor 6 14,15 ‘ In theChristlichex- Hausfveund. (German-American publication’!, of September 4 1.904 it is written,

“ It is possible for you to be so filled with the Spirit as to burn so warmly and shine sobrightly as to -cause the sinners in Zion to get right, or to get out or to get you out In anycase the result will be a blessing, There will be a separation from sin Backslidden Israelcontinued to drive the Spirit filled prophets out of the church until they drove Christ to Calvary; and then of those woo ‘iad been driven out of the synagogues He organized a new church

Historically, How does a Hihljcal Reformation BeginA thorough reformation,, beginning within the church, usually lands outside of it and thus the

faithful “Remnants” (the remaining few) have to be organized into a new church A sensibleChristian acknowledges in this that an awakening and reformation is almost never in a positionto embrace the whole apostatized church which became worldly The result is toerefore that theindividual, faithful children of God, mostly because of severe tests of faitn are cast out ofthe church and are obliged as the so called - remaining few-- to continue the reformation ontsi,deof the church as a new organization. To know this and to comprehend it should become a part ofChristian knowledge and education of every true child of God, in order that he might not be deceived in these momentous days of the end’-’time. That these historical and bibli cal facts mightfurther be enhanced, we present something. taken from the (dhristlicher Hausfrewid, of March 12,19O6 (re--translated, ins. )

“The church of Christ should ever be inseparably connected with toe word of God She is thebody of believers, having been called as the Greek word eclesia denotes They were called out


by the Word; and as long as the hold on to the Word. they are led by God and fulfill the purposefor which God has separated them from the world. Yet, if they neglect the Word and turn asidefrom Him, to walk in their own paths, they defeat the purpose of God concerning them, and althoughthey may keep the outward appearance, they soon will cease to remain in a position where God shallacknowledge them as Ffi church, This is what the church in all ages has done. Her history is sointimately connected with the worldso close, that it is nearly equivalent to a history of backsliding from God.

“And as the church continued sore and more in apostasy when men were called to choose betweenthe church and the word of God; and those who chose to obey God left the church, that they mightbe where they could worship God in the way which His word is pointing out. When this took place,a reformation in the church was effected, no, not a reform within the church, for no church wasever reformed, 2?eformation and conversion is only applicable upon individuals, and not upon bodies.There were some good people in the days of Luther who worked under the impression that the churchof Rome could be reformed, Yet it was not very long before they detected their error, The reformation was not- a reformation of the Roman-Catholic church. but a reformation of men and women, having been in her ranks and partaking of her erroneous doctrines, Thus it has been wi th all reformsbefore and after that time. The church has continued to exist in her outer forms and ceremonies.and even elarges in riches and members, for a church is always popular in the measure as sheadopts herself to worldly habits of life, so that the masses of the world may be brought into theapparent portals of salvation with one easy step. But love, truth, faith, and all the vital elements for the church of Christ remain with the individual ones, who are separating from the bodywhich has departed from God, and these will then become the church,”

In order not to become deceived, we must be able to distinguish the true from the falseIt is a fact that most separations originate with Satan, Many have separated from God’s church

already without a biblical reason, As a rule it is for personal matters, false ideas, opinions,smaller or larger errors concerning her teachings, inborn criticism, or the stumbling over apparent faults of others, especially of ministers, or even the coveting thought after a certain office,bringing about the occasion for such false separation, With such separations God has nothing todo They are the great work of Satan, Yet, to make his deception more perfect, such unbiblicalsplinter—separations, of which there are so many today., call flemselves Reformation. With this,Satan’ s obj ect is that souls should also rej ect the true Reforation for fear of deception, be—cause there was also a separation — in this case a biblical one, — however But when the worldfinds an entrance into the church; when the church touches the law and weakens it, and in her walkreturns to Egypt,— which is evidenced by her seeking help and honor from the world (Isa,3ll—3)—then it is God Himself who,, by the persecution of the faithful remnant through the church. is bringing a separation, and in this manner occasions a new organization Here then, each time, the true

Remnants” come to light.

The History of AdventismIt rests upon. three divine steps, namely the first. second, and third angel’ s message. In order

to keep every step under the focusing light and pure, it led through two and three separationswhich God had rpared to come. There was given light after light, in contrast with the darknessand with those who advocated it, There was’ each time a “i’emnant”’or a “left—over”, Yet, how.great was the disappointment and pain of the few when from the 50,000 Advent believers of thesecond angel’ s message hardly 100 souls accepted the third angel’ s message with the Sabbath asfoundation, Indeed an infinitesimally small remnant of those who were led by the solemnity ofthe hour through the set time of 1844 as Christ’ s second coming, and who eagerly wrestled day andnight that they might reflect the image of Jesus prior to it. (Early Writings, p256.) With thebeginning of the third angel’s message, the fulfillment of the 2300 days (1844), and the entranceof the Saviour into the most holy, started also the last time period, the one of Laodicea, to whichwas added the last part of Revelation 12: 17. “,. and went to make war with the remnant of herseed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ,” They began tokeep the Sabbath and received the instruction of the Spirit of prophecy (the testimony of JesusChrist). With this we have actually entered upon the time period when the gathering of the 144,000,or of the very special people, separated from the world and its perverted habits, has begun according to Revelation 14: l—3, and chapter 7: 1—8, The last chapter and the verses mentioned abovespeak of the special protection, the holding of the winds,, until all are gathered and sealed,Revelation l4:l-13 visualizes the messages bywhich these’emnants” are gathered, describing theirgodly character, separated from an evil world, from false teachings and errors. Revelation 12: 17describes their duty to adhere steadfastly’ and faithful toward the ten commandments and other messages, given by God, On the other side Revelation 3: 14—22 points us to the sad condition of theAdvent people, especially to the angel, or leaders, who linked up with the world and trampled withtheir, feet upon the holy law of God, From these verses an apostasy (verses 16,1.7’ and a reformation (verses 17—21) must be concluded, and the latter will finish the gathering work during the


latter rain with signs and wonders.

A Covering for the “Remnant”The “Remnant” shall be gathered under a wonderful covering, the sealing and the unadulterated

truthS The spreading of the covering (gathering) shall be completed shortly before the sevenplagues in the latter rain. He who is then under the covering shall not be touched by the plaguesThe spreading out of the covering began in the year 1844 when Jesus entered the most holy place,where the ark is with the ten commandments With this the time of sealing began. which will endshortly before the begin of the seven last plagues. To this the Spirit of prophecy remarks

“Satan is now using every device in this sealing time to keep the minds of God s people fromthe present truth and to cause them to waver. I saw a covering that God was drawing over Hispeople to protect tnem in the time of trouble, and every soul that was decided on the truth andwas pure in heart was to be covered with the covering of the Almighty I saw that Satan wasat work in these days to distract deceive, and draw away God s pecple. just now in this seaingtime. I saw some who were not standing stiffly for present truth Their knees were trembling.and their feet sliding, because they were not firmly planted on the truth, and the covering ofAlmighty God could not be, drawn over them while they were thus trembling.

“Satan was trying his every art to hold theni where they were, until the sealing was past, untilthe covering was drawn over God’ s people. and they left without a shelter from the burning wrathof God, in the seven last plagues, God has begun to draw this covering over His people—Early Wri tings. pp. 43, 44.

What is Now Our Duty as the Last Remaining “Remnants”?To do all, as pertaining to us, that we may actually be hidden under this covering and remain

there for good; — this is the Saviour’ s desire therefore. He is continually sending angels tous who are trying to make it clear to us that the time is now very solemn and short for our finalpreparation. Our consecration, conversion, and humility must be thorough, and our zeal to br,mgother souls under this covering must be great. May God give us this in mercy’ Here, the Saviouralone can help us, We must continually look unto Him that we may finally reflect His image fully.He who is proud, dresses and speaks like the world, who gets angry and gets aggrevated with thecares of this life,, who is a slave to passion or licentiousness. .. in sho’t, who loves theworld and its amusements can naturally not be hidden under this covering. unless he is converted.

On the other side Satan has also spread his dark cloak upon this earth The ast hour has a’ruckThe most wonderful inventions are in his hand to ensnare and destroy fully the hearts of mankindthrough the theatre, movies and circus in their home, with their sinful daily shows until thetime for their salvation will be past

There are two entirely opposite powers at battle with each other These are the powers ofHeaven and those of darkness. The latter are using every conceivabLe means today ic deceive theworld, Already great false signs and wonders are performed everywhere Churches and denominationsglory in these miracles and religious movements, which prove themselves as false efforts for reform, With this they put forth their best efforts to keep their members from coming under thewonderful protective covering of the “ remnant”, The following testimony of Sister White is actually fulfilling itself today and in the near future before our eyes, especially also as pertaining to the nominal Adventists of today,

“I saw that God has honest children among the nominal Adventists and the fa1,’.en churches, andbefore the plagues shall be poured out. ministers and people will be called out from these chur”ches and will gladly receive the truth, Satan knows this,. and before the loud cry of the thirdangel is given, he raises an excitement in these religious bodies. that those who have rejectedthe truth may think that God is with them. He hopes to deceive the honest and lead them to thinkthat God is still working for the churches.. But the light will shine and all who are honest willleave the fallen churches, and take their stand with the remnant “ Ibid.,., p 261.

The Lord Knows Already To”day Who is Missing of His ‘Eemnants”We must hasten to look for them’ From house to house, from province to province,, from country

to country, from nation to nation Thus we fulfill our missionary duty ‘Matthew 28: 182O). Everychurch ought to have a so-called storm’-group of Bible champions who will hasten from house to house,,Bible in hand and with Bible studies, to see where there is interest for the present truth and tobe brought under the heavenly protective covering, The Spirit of prophecy regards those upright

souls who are still scattered among the different denominations also as children of God and asprecious j ewels who later shall be counted with the “ remnant” and which will be hastened outlike Lot and his loved ones out of Sodom and Gomorrah, being done in the same haste during thelatter rain, “Every jewel will be brought out and gathered, for the hand of the Lord is set torecover the remnant of His people,, and He will accomplish the work gloriously “ Ibid. ,, p 70

“I saw that God had children who do not see anI keep the Sabbath They have not rejected thelight upon it, And at the commencement of the time of trouble, we were filled with the Holy Ghost


as we went forth and proclaimed the Sbath more fully. This enraged the churches and nominal

Adventists as they could not refute the Sabbath truth, And at this time God” s chosen all saw

clearly thay we had the truth., and they came out and endured the persecution with us,, Ibid

p, 33,

Get Ready, Get Ready, Get Ready’

The following words of the Spirit of prophecy are a solemn appeal to us. laying earnestly upon

cur hearts at the same time our duty concerning ourselves. “Said the angel, ‘ The little remnant

who love God tnd keep His commandments and are faithful to the end will enjoy this glory and ever

be in the presence of Jesus and sing with the holy angels

Than my eyes were taken from the glory, and I was pointed to the remnant on the earth, The

angel said to me. ‘Will ye shun the seven last plagues’ Will ye go to glory and enjoy all that

God has prepared for those who love Him and are willing to suffer for His sake9 If so, ye must

die that ye may live. Get ready, get ready, get ready.. Ye must have a greater preparation thn

ye now have, for the day of the Lord cometh. cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the

land desolate and to destroy the sinners thereof out of it Sacrifice all to God, Lay all upon

His altar—.-self, property., and all. a living sacrifice It will take all to enter glory,

1-leaven will be cheap enough, if we obtain it through suffering We must deny self all along the

way, die to self daily, let Jesus alone appear, and keep ills glory continually in view.. “ Ibid,,,

pp 66, 67. “ Time is almost finished, Do you reflect the lovely image of Jesus as you should?”

Page 64All of this is our great duty: to be thoroughly converted and to seek to save others The pro

tective covering spread out since 1844, must daily remind us of it Its meaning is seven-fold,

It represents:1) the sealing (Rev. 7. 1-8);

2” the protection by faithful and humble obedience to the law of God (Rev,14z12; l2:i7,

3) the last, purest light of the gospel, calling us to be free from all error, false teachings,

and worldliness (Rev, 14,4),’

4) the straight, pointed, and perfect not half) present truth, for which sake a test of faith

(1914’! and a separation among God’s people developed see Early Writings pp 269-27’3’!,

5) the uprightness in our entire being, also in thinking, speaking, and actions (Rev 14: 5);

6) the purity of the heart and of all efforts by being willing to joyfully bring all sacrifices

(Rev, 14:4);

7) the complete sanctification in overcoming self and all sins I saw that none could share

the ‘refreshing” unless they obtain the victory over every besetment,, over pride, selfishness,

love of the world. and over every wrong word and action. “‘ Ibid , p. 71

Great JoySoon there shall be the greatest joy The Savi.our has prepared for us a joyous feast for that

certain time when all the -‘remnants’’ shall hear the voice of God from heaven, declaring to them

the coming of the Saviour, Then the remnants” will be perfectly united, as the Spirit of pro

phecy declares, ‘The 144,000 were all sealed, and perfectly united

Might we --— and this is the importance of it — also be found faithful, to become partakers

in this eternal joy, Amen!

Reading No, 6 Sabbath. December 15, 1956

THE AID OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, PROMISED TO GODS CHILDREN

by A Mueller, Germany.

“And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Con forter, that He may abide with

you forever; even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not,,

neither knoweth Him: .“ John 14’ 16, 17.

The promise, given to His disciples by our Saviour before His ascension to heaven, was for

them the beginning of a very special work in the great plan of redemption. Without the fulfil-


mCnt of this promise, the cause of God would not have had any appreciable results nineteen hundred years ago. yes, it might have gone down entirely.

The Holy Spirit and His WorkThe work of the Holy Spirit, in the life of the children of God, is all-embracing and a11’pene-

trating, It works in harmony with our heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. We read on thefirst leaf of the Bible, ,, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters “ Gen, 1:2,Here is the first report of the mighìty activity of the Holy Spirit. Whenever in the visible andinvisible world the working of the Holy Spirit is lacking, there death and destruction is theresult The cause for the perishing of the first world by the great flood enhances this Thebiblical report says, And the Lord said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for thate :‘lso is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. “ Gen, 6: 3,

The chief labor and office of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is showing to us in the following words,And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judient.”

John 16, 8 It is the Holy Spirit that convicts of sin, If the sinner responds to the quicken’i.g influence of the Spirit, he will be brought to repentance,, and aroused to the importance ofobeying the divine requirements “ .The Acts of the Apostles, p. 52. The next to follow in thework of the Hold Spirit is, “He will guide you into all truth” John 16:1.3 Then if we arewilling to let the Holy Spirit work in us, He will accomplish a sanctification of the entire lifeand impress upon our soul the impress of the divine.

As in the days of the patriarchs and prophets the Holy Spirit was the leader and educator ofGod’ s church, thus it was in the days of the apostles- The promised Power from heaven came withsuch manifestation opon the cnurch. and was active in such a manner that the hearts of men andeven the place of gathering at Jerusalem were shaken. At the end of days,, the Holy Spirit willaccomplish the greatest work of all times through the church, and the earth shall be lightedwith the glory of the eternal gospel.

Presentations from Biblical HistoryWe read about the first king of Israel, Saul,, And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee,

and thou , , shalt be turned into another man. 1 Sam, 10:6, How nice is the beginning story ofthe rule of SauL yet. brought on by his disobedience, we soon hear the words. “And the Spiritof the Lord departed from Saul. .. “ 1 Sam. 16,14. Without the aid of the Holy Spirit, Saulwalked a steeply descending road which ended in suicide In the place of Saul, David. the manaccording to the heart of God, was now chosen. and right at the onset of his kingly course itsays. . and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward “ 1. Sam..16: 13 Howwonderfully David was led by the Holy Spirit, and how many experiences was he as the hero ofBethlehem, to make with the Lord! His struggles and victories are recorded upon the pages of theBible to the honor and praise of the Lord. Thus it was also the Holy Spirit who convicted theking of his great fall, brought on by the deception of sin, and restored him again, His petitionin his prayer of penitence,, and take not Th,y Holy Spirit from me .. , “ testifies how seriouslyhe was concerned that he might not meet with the same fate as his predecessor, Before the prophetElijah ascended to heaven he asked his follower Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for thee,, before Ibe taken away from thee,. And Elisha said, I pray thee,, ,let a double portion of thy spirit restupon me,” 2 ‘Kings 2:9, Elisha had witnessed the workings of the Hol,y Spirit in the work of Elijah,and he knew that without this power he would not be able to accomplish the work of following him,Thus he led Israel again back to the right path; by him the greatest signs and miracles were performed, and his work was even acknowledged in the kingly court of Syria,

The greatest of all the miracles ever performed by the Holy Spirit is. no doubt, the coming intothe flesh of our Saviour, Throughout eterity the workings of the Holy Spirit in the life andwalk of Jesus will be marvelled and wondered at,

The entire history of the apostles, which bears record of the work of the Holy Spirit, testifiesvery eloquently of the wonderful help i,n the first epoch of Christianity.

The Spirit Giveth LifeThe great controversy that is being waged on earth for eternal life, is a spiritual battle, a

struggle between the flesh and the spirit. The whole life of Jesus up to His death on the crosswas the unfolding and revelation of the Holy Spirit,. Therefore it was the goal in the educationof His disciples that they might become men, anointed with the Spirit In His sermon of decision,after which’many of His followers left Him and returned to the broad road, this was amply demonstrated, for He said, It is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing’ the wordsthat’I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life,.” John 6:63.

True and living faith, with the rjghtobedience of faith, is always in true connection with theHoly Spirit, ‘SAnd we are Hi.s witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom Godhas given to them that obey Him,” Acts 5:32,, In the life of God’s children there is more in


volved than merely questions of doctrine and sensational matters, and to reveal them; no, it isconcerned with the fruits of the Spirit, Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness,faith, meekness, temperance,” Gal, 5:22.

Dear brethren and sisters, what good is a tree without fruit? Yonder fig tree, full of leaves,on the way to Jerusalem. bore no fruit but had beautiful and glorious leaves. Yet, Jesus lookedfor fruit on it, but could not find it, and as a result He cursed it, and in but a few hours itsadornment of leaves had faded away, We all know that this tree symbolizes the Jewish nation in thedays of Christ, The leaves, or outer forms, which had even extended beyond the teachings of thelaw of Moses, were found in great abundance, yet fruit could not be seen. The rulers of the peoplewith their priestly clan altogether were indeed stressing the letter of the law, but the Spirit wasabsent and therefore no fruits of the Spirit could be produced, This led to the rejection of thelong looked-for Messiah, and the further result was a total lack of the Holy Spirit which sealedthe doom of this nation. A service of forms, without the unfolding of the vital Spirit, leads tospiritual and eternal death, and it lies with us alone when the spiritual life is absent. Formalism is a dangerous disease, and unless it is overcome, it will result in a sickly condition andfinal death,

How Do We Obtain the Holy irit?1 After receiving the knowledge of the truth and having detennined to follow he Lord in mak

ing toe covenant of a good conscience, when repentance and conversion have been revealed beforehand,and this also by the working of the Holy Spirit, then this is sealed in the name of the Father, Son,and Holy Spirit, At this sacred rite of baptism. when all biblical conditions have been met, theFloly Spirit is promised to the believer,, Here we have the first step.

2. When Jesus after His resurrection met with His disciples, having been gathered behind closeddoors at Jerusalem, after some words of introduction, He breathed on them and said, “Receive yethe Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins yeretain, they are retained,.” John 20:21,22. Within the forgiveness of sins on our part there liesthe great secret of the stronger manifestations of the Holy Spirit This calls for earnest medittion,

3. In the third step, during Pentecost, the disciples received the Holy Spirit in power, Thsmanifestation of the Spirit is to us, as the last people, an object of intense study. As to theremnants of the seed of the woman it has been left to us to accomplish the last great work of theSpirit on this earth, yet, what was the condition whereupon the disciples could expect to receivethe promise o the Lord?

“As the disciples waited for the fulfilment of the promise, they humbled their hearts in truerepentance, and confessed their unbelief, The disciples prayed with intense earnestness for afitness to meet men, and in their daily intercourse to speak words that would lead sinners toChrist, Putting away all differences, all desire for the supremacy, they came close together inChristian fellowship,

These days of preparation were days of deep heart-searching,” —The Acts of the Apostles,pp. 36, 37..

Here we see what was necessary to receive the promise of Heaven, Ought not this to be a worthyexample especially for us?

Embracing all that is necessary to receive the Holy Spirjt, we perceive especially in our day thegreat need. Upright repentance for our sins, penitence and conversion, meaning a complete returnfrom all perverted ways, the laying aside of all pride and arrogance, replacing it with humilityof heart and self--denial, with the added acknowledgment of our own weaknesses, laying aside of allself-righteousness, forgiving our sins one to another, with burden for poor sinners; all these arethe tings that must be earnestly observed,

It does not lie with the Lord if the help of the Holy Sp:irit, promised to His children, is beingwithheld, “Since this is the means by which we are to receive power, Why do we not hunger andthirst for the gift of the Spirit? Why do we not talk of it, pray for it, and preach concerningit? The Lord is more willing to give the Holy Spirit to t.hose who serve Him than parents are togive good gifts to their children,

The lapse of time has brought no change in Christ’s parting promise to send the Holy. Spirit asHis reprethentative, It is not because of any restrictions on the part of God that the riches ofHis grace do not flow earthward to man, If the fulfilment of the promise is not seen as it mightbe, it is because the promise is not apprebiated as it should be. If all were willing, all wouldbe filled with the Spirit, Wherever the need of the Holy Spirit as a matter little thought of,there is seen spiritual drought, spiritual darkness, spiritual declension and death. Wheneverminor matters occupy the attention, the divine power which is necessary for the growth and prosperity of the church, and which would bring all other blessings in its train, is lacking,though offeredin infinite plenitude..” —The Acts of the Apostles, p,50.


The Final DecisionIn His wonderful illustration about the ten virgins the Saviour shows in an impressive manner

the cause why half of the waiting virgins did not reach their destination and did not partake inthe wedding, They were all dressed in white; all had wonderful lamps, all went forth to meet thebridegroom; all had the one destination, and outwardly there was no difference that could be seenamong them, all wished to beautify the wedding with their lamps,

But the darkest hour of the night—midnight——brought with it a decision, and this was the eternalseparation, the saddest hour. Let us place ourselves for a moment into their time and into theposition of these foolish virgins. Their lampp, which certainly were polished brightly, at thismoment of midnight became worthless, Why Because they were going out for lack of oil, the mostimportant factor for giving brightness,, for the oil gives the light, The lack of oil brought thedecision and eternal separation, we all are aquainted with the spiritual application of this solemn parable, and Jesus gave it even in the last days of His life on earth and in face of Jerusalem,

The two classes of watchers represent the two classes who profess to be waiting for their Lord,They are called virgins because they profess to be waiting for their Lord, They are called virginsbecause they profess a pure faith. By the lamps is represented the word of God. The Psalmist says,‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’ The oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit,” £hrjst’s Object Lessons, pp406,4O7

All the ten virgins had the form—the lamp—but the oil furnishes the light,, and this is what waslacking with the foolish virgins Their plea to their friends to give them some oil, could not begranted in this solemn hour, Surely, the wise virgins would have granted the plea of their friends,if this had been at all possible, but nothing else than a denial could suffice And why2 It wouldhave been a lack for the wise virgins also, for their light would have gone out before reaching thewedding hall. and they would have been left in darkness also If the Holy Spirit is representedby the oil in this parable. then we may know that the Holy Spirit can not be bought with money orgiven away Acts 8:18-20, It is a gift of Heaven and is given every soul who will personally prepare for its reception and prays the Lord concerning it., Yet, this is not an occasional effort onour part but an incessant, daily training,

The Sure PromiseThe’ word spoken that He would send His children the Conforter. was displayed mightily during Pen’

tecost “ And sudden].y there cane a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind. And theywere all filled with the Holy Ghost. and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave themutterance,” Acts 2:2,4,, The apostles now marched from victory to victory with the church at Je’rusalem, which at that time consisted of a number of 120 souls in their meeting Act.s 1: i5.. Yet,the success with their unseen leader, the Holy Spirit: was to them a great marvel

Dear brethren and sisters, we have today also the same promise as the disciples nineteen hundredyears ago. The great work of the gospel is not to close with less manifestation of the pcwerof God than marked its opening The prophecies which were fulfilled in the outpouring of the formerrain at the opening of the gospel, are again to be fulfilled in the latter rain at its close,,,,

“ Servants of God, with their faces lighted up and shining with holy consecration, will hastenfrom place to place to proclaim the message from heaven, By thousands of voices, all over theearth,, the warning will be given. Miracles will be wrought,. the sick will be healed, and signs ndwonders will follow the believers,.” .The Great Controversy, pp,,Gil,612,This .great work is still standing before us, Yet, the Lord is willing to use us already today, forHis Spirit is already prepared to help us, if we ask for it, In the great finishing work of thelatter rain only those shall participate which already today prepare for it, yet’ not in an idlemanner, but in fulfilling their duty, as such who wait for their Master’s return. ‘Let your loinsbe girded ahout, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord,”Luke 12:35,36.,

When Will The Holy Spirit Be Poured Out?“ But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy

Ghost was not yet.given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” John 7:39. This text everyone shall take personally for himself, If Jesus has been glorified in us, meaning that He hastaken full control of us, then the way is open for the Holy Spirit to be our guest.. Of the remnants it’ ‘is said that “thejreflected the image of Jesus fully,” Jesus and the Holy Spirit areworking together, for no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost,” I Cor,12:3, The saying of ‘Lord, Lord,”, does not save us, as can be seen with the foolish virgins,for the Lord told them, “I know you not.” Matt 25:12

The love of Jesus in the heart is the pledge for the reception of the Holy Spirit in a greatermeasure, and is also our only hope for the reception of the latter rain., “ , because the love ofGod is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given to us,” Row. 5:5., We see, there’-fore, that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is intimately connected with the outpouring of the


love of God into the human heart, fpr which reason we should put forth effort toward this end that

our heart may become a temple of God and a temple of the Holy Spirit, then the day of the outpour

ing of the latter rain will not bring us any disappointment, but will be the glad moment of joy

ful expectation of that great event for which we have waited so long

The question raised above, “When will the Holy Spirit be poured out?” is therefore answered,

and we say, ‘When the image of Jesus is reflected among His people and He is glorified in us,

then the time has arrived,.”

May our Lord help us that we, in the year of mercy lying before us. might consecrate ourselves

to the Lord in all earnestness, and may make progress in building our Christian character, in the

life of prayer, in the work for our Master- in sanctification, in the living of health reform,

in Sabbath observance, in faithfulness., that we may be found at last as those who are worthy to

receive the aid of the Holy Spirit, promised to us, that Jesus Christ might be glorified. This

is my desire for all dear believers in the whole world Amen

Reading No. 7 Sunday. December 16, 1956..

CHRIST OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS

THE REWARD OF FAITH TO THE OVERCOMERS

by A. Craviotto. South America,

Therefore being justified by faith,, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

Romans 5:1

Since we. during the discourse of this Week of Prayer reading, are studying the subj ect of

Christ Our Righteousness”, we ought to understand the importance of these words If we analyse

the word “ justification’ concerning its meaning, we come to the conclusion that it implies as

much as “virtue”; to every one is given what is coming to him Righteousness demands its own

and causes sensible humans to be led by this virtue But since we live 5,n the most perilous

time of the end of the world, we may say that all this has completely changed around today, Every’

one seeks his own righteousness, instead of permitting the righteousness of Christ to rule his

heart. For this reason men depart more and more from the truth and permit errors to cover the

path of true righteousness with darkness,As soon as a man acknowledges fully the righteousness of Christ, he feels himself unable to

accomplish any work; he feels his incapability in the truest sense of the word Then he will

put forth earnest effort to receive power by means of consecrating his heart to God. He knows

that his words, deeds, and actions have no strength without help from Above, A man will look

into the mirror of reality and behold his wretched condition in the face of the Most High. Under

such conditions the soul desires to find rest and power from the place where it really may be

found. One will not try to make his own apparent merits appear, knowing that they actually do

not exist, but the merits of the cross, based on the words Christ Our Righteousness” will shine

forth,.

Se lf”RighteousnessThe spirit of self-• righteousness makes people believe that they are righteous and, therefore,

without a flaw and perfect, God, I thank Thee, that I am not as other men are,. extortioners,,

unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all

that I possess,” Luke 18’11,12, The Pharisee is a continual example of the meaning of the spir’

it of se1f-righteousness. His own words reveal the high regard he held for his own virtues, yet

were nonexistent in reality. Even if the words were spoken with sanctity,. it does not prove at

all that the actions were actually free’will actions of the heart. Not to say that the works he

mentions were not needed at all; not so, but he presented them in a manner which shows that he

did not glorify God for them, but rather himself, Here is a real case of the self’righteousness

everywhere displayed! These works, although good in themselves, were mentioned only to place

himself into the foreground, and to cause others to look up to him, to regard him as an example


of Christian virtues, and to praise and honor him.If we, dear brethren and sisters, live under the impression that we are better than others

because of certain deeds that we have done, then we are on a dangerous and enchanted groundof the arch enemy. This ground we call “ se1f righteousness”. It is a pity that so many soulsfall into this pit, prepared by the enemy, while thinking that their works are better and theirmotives more noble than their fellow believers. Such line of thought is not justified by God,The sentence of the Bible destroys such human imagination in the following words: I tell you.this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for everyone that exaltethnimseli shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” Luke 18:14

Tj:e fruits of v; are unuer the influence of self righteousness are well kno becausethey will ever exalt their own works. their own plans. their own motives, and their apparentsuccess. The good works, good plans, and rightful motives of others they look upon with disdain,and even criticising them. This is the spirit that self righteousness works with,

L:t; anoi:ner nan nrnise thee mud not. tOme own mouth; a stranger. and not thine own lips.should deeply porLuer over those uords of wise Solomon, for it is of no benefit if the things

no do find no approbation in Heaven,Every man who praises himself, brushes the luster from his best efforts, A truly noble

character will not stoop to resent the false accusations of enemies; every word’ spoken fallsharmless: for it strengthens that which it cannot overthrow. The Lord would have His peopleclosely united with Himself, the God of patience and love. All should manifest in their livesthe love of Christ. Let none venture to belittle the reputation or the position of another; thisis egotism. It is saying, I am so much better and more capable than you, that God gives me thepreference.. You are not nf much account. Testimonies Vol 4.p, 607

The spirit of self righteousness seeks continually to place himself above others by showing hisown apparently good works while disparaging the really good works of others. He ever finds some-thing to criticise in others Yet,, never are his own mistakes noticed, which might be enormouslygreat, leading to the enchanted ground of the enemy, In Ministry of Healing,, p, 493 is written:

“Evil-speaking is a two-fold curse, falling more heavily upon the speaker than upon the hearer,”

If God, in these days of prayer, has given us such important subjects, then it is necessary,dear brethren and sisters, that we ponder over these weighty matters that pertain to our salva’tion, It is time indeed that this tree (the Reform Movement” must produce its fruit to the gloryof God The 73ars, passing by so rapidly,, are speaking to our hearts and give us to understandthat the second coming of our Saviour is very nigh at hand, It is, therefore. necessary that weseek the necessary preparation for this day, If we free ourselves from self-righteousness andpermit that “Christ Our Righteousness” rule in our hearts. then we shall witness the gloriousresult of a renewed life in harmony with God.

Other fruits of self-righteousness are’ Envy, jealousy, fightings, enmity,, misunderstandings,,covetousness, prejudi cm, etc. All these have to be cast into the oven of purification in orderthat “Christ Our Righteousness” may be able to work unhindered,

The Righteousness by FaithThe text in Romans 5: 1 shows us that we can attain only by faith unto the ri gntenusness which

shall bring us peace and happiness, Yet, without Christ there is no true justification. Allefforts made by men to attain to righteousness are insufficient,, for it is a virtue which comesfrom God, It is a gift presented to the humble, The words of the publican are an example to us,

God be merciful to me a sinner,” Righteousness which comes by faith never tries to elevate itsown merits, for we know full well that it is not worthy of such merits, The merits are onlyfound in Christ who assists and strengthens us to overcome our sins, It is through His bloodthat we are justified before God. “I tell you. that this man went down to his house justifiedrather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humblethhimself shall be exalted.” Luke 18:14.

In the time of Christ, the scribes and Pharisees, the rabbis, and doctors of the law, boastingabout their high education and theology, could not understand the righteousness through faith,.They wished to attain to it through human effort, Christ was rejected by them because it seemedimpossible to them that such a humble being, poor and disregarded, could be the hope of theworld. They believed that Messiah would present Himself in a different manner., namely with greatsplendor, emphasizing His authority as monarch. They then expected to receive authority also, inwhich their merits would notably be seen, They expected to establish their righteousness throughthe works of the law by rejecting the Saviour of “Righteousness through Faith”, And, althoughthey acknowledged the law, they rejected the Originator of it They tried to fulfill the demandsof the ceremonial law and did not understand that Christ fulfilled them on the cross by offeringHis own blood as the only sacrifice they were looking forward to for the forgiveness of all sins,The modern scribes, Pharsees, rabbis, clergymen, and preachers of today may have accepted Christ,


yet they rej ect the law of God, the ten commandments, the only foundation of a true Christian,

In this manner the enemy of souls is trying to deceive men, in spite of their high theological

studies. It is the work of the devil, going about like a roaring lion, seeking to devour whom

he can, If we, dear brethren and sisters, do not try to receive the righteousness by faith that

we may in this manner fulfill the requirements of the law of God, we shall never reach the heav

enly fatherland. There are many frauds which the enemy introduces to disquiet souls.

Righteousness by faith has prepared a way through darkness. But without faith it is impos

sible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He i,s a rewar

der of them that dilligently seek Him,” Heb,ll:6, This righteousness causes that aChristian

will not boast about his own earnings., but will trust in the blood of Christ, “But if we walk

in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesu$

Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin, 1 John i.7

Examine yourself, dear brother and dear sister during these days of prayer, whether there is

not living in some corner of your heart the spirit of selfrighteousness, Commence a thorough

search in this matter and cast away everything evil from you. Am I not in error if I imagine

evil about others who possib1. are better Christians than I am myself? Have I spoken well or

evil about my fellow brother this year which is now passing? Have I elevated the merits of

Christ. or placed my own apparent merits in the foreground? Have I done all to glorify the good

came of the church of Christ. or have I by thoughtless words brought disrepute upon her? Was I

a good example in my family and’ towards my neighbor. or has it been the opposite? Have I gained

victories over my character faults? Have I overcome my favorite sins, or have they overcome me?

These questions ought to stir our attention and cause a thorough investigation of our hearts.

Abraham had placed himself on the side of righteodsness through faith, for which reason he was

called the friend of God, Yet. the righteousness by faith does not release us from our require

ments toward God, He was to testify to this faith by his works and decided actions, When God

called upcW him to sacrifice his darling son, he did not waver to fulfill this divine demand,

He let his faith lead him to the extent that he would have been enabled to sacrifice his beloved

son, if not the voice of the angel from heaven had stayed his hand from doing it. ‘ Abraham,

Abraham: and he said. Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou

anything unto him: fo,r now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son,

thine only son from me..” Gen 22:11,12, It is the same that the ,4ostle declares in these words:

faith without works is dead also, James 2 26. Abraham proved his faith by his works; he

fulfilled faithfully: the demands of God and thus became the friend of God, (Gen, 26,. 5; James

2:2l23).

The Rule of Righteousness

without Me ye can do nothing., John l5 5. These words are so all’embracing and full of

meaning that they suffice to acknowledge that all our own righteousness is but filthy rags, (1mW..

64:6.) Without Christ we can do nothing. This means that, even if our works, our plans, and

motives were meant entirely well, if they were not done in Christ they mould be all in vain. But

if we do all through Christ; if we permit that Heaven approves of it all; and if we are ever

ready to acknowledge our sins sicerely, then the Spirit of God is working in us in a positive

manner, and the good works we then show forth are not our own works, but are accomplished by the

power of God,In order that “Christ Our Righteousness” can do its work through us, we must put away all

hindrances that hold us back in our Christian race. Are we ready to leave the world and her

practices? Do we still lend our ars to matters that lead us away from the Lord? Have we plea’

sure in religious music and the precious Christian songs, or do we prefer to listen to the radio,

pretending to hear the news from the world? Have we given up the fashions of the world, or do

we wish to dress in a manner which is against our belief? Are we faithful in health reform as

to it being the right arm of the threefold angel’s message which we preach, or do we think that

certain things may still be eaten, and that we should not be so particular? Do we keep the Sab

bath as strictly as the Lord requires? or do we speak about matters that we are not to discuss

on the Sabbath? Are we good Christians away from home. and also within our family? Do we teach

our children the way of righteousness,, or do we permit them to walk about like lost little sheep

without parental guidance? Do we also fulfill our Christian duty in faithful and free-will tithe

and offerings? Are we zealous in the truth. or have we, per chance,. grown lukewarm?

The questions we have raised are for every one of us, especially in these days of meditation,.

l’he Writer desires to apply them upon himself as well, and would like that they would become a

help to all the believers in the whole world. If we are in reality the church of God—which is

our deepest conviction—then the reform must be progressive, especially in this time of great

peril, We should never anticipate to weaken the principles of the truth, for this is the very

thing that the enemy of souls would like to see., The banner of truth—the principles—have to

be held solidly aloft, In this manner the rule of ‘“‘Righteousness by ?aith” will be a great

The Sabgaatn Latchaan WI• _.,. •. . ..‘. — —. ._ ._ —— —— . 4.— —‘—a.— —. —.e •— — — — — •a.••• 4 —

alp Lot cur souls

The Rewaid of Rtflteewmesa to (be OvereownsI have unight a peed aighi. I have finianed m course, 1 have kufl tact faith. hvncctnrth

• ‘t.ii: hi lzn’i i) L”r n a rp.j j Ejgnl6nd*flbfl, w..tcaa the Lord, the kighteous Judgc. bhaU giveI at that iav. sad not tat no city, but attn all them also tint love His appoaring ‘ 2 Tim 4.7,8

%hti iriaxe. 0013 the overcomeigs will re.ceje “10 him that oberoeneth wilL 1 give to eat ofa , triac at Life, fllc’h in in tao maiclut of tht parailse of tInt “ Rev 2 7 flo that overcometh.a..aI Iahc’nt all taLagh, and I will .oe hi!. God and ne shall be my son “ key 211.

I,: the holy Gorigiture we have more than 31,00u promises which encourage us in the difficulties,a .,f, It itt riqaip faithful to tue.end.qn4 fight the good Light of faith, we shall togetherbit WI’ ajtIe PaiI* receive the crown of.li’fe This ought to cause us to ponder about ourtuuzxe end pay at$éztioa to improve our. Chr*stiaa nih. for the unmerited price of eternal lifea •‘ areato’ v rewk that God can give pa. Time Is passing by rapidly, death is coming on andtht ‘(civ of diviuwrqokpaing will jot waft’üoh. longer. tauretore, we otiaht to seek the Lord withnil cur t”erta ija f,flse dafl of prayer, we must cone near to the divine throne of mercj in order.., ‘w’t’jve heLp.’ he.ought not to do It in view of the prepised reward, fair we do act deserve it.

‘alt aoul’ Jo It tat glcartfa the merits of Carist who died for us on the cross, for our ama andhtsldkea

?ai picelseal. :eward for the overeoaer is sooething that cannot be explained The apostle Paulgag:’ ..sud rlaI.i ‘already clearly in I Itt. 2.0 That which is of particular interest to us is. that:. a •‘.nve tilu afluyanee of boini. a?.septed in I.eave’i, net by out own merits but by the blood of(‘it avtüt %.vIoaat. •OnCu we wlIr have entered into eternity, we shall beheld so many wondrous•i. .t tiat it oanp)4l’c dcta;orioed sod will. in reG1y be surprising Lo us tyet, b3 the raoe(II L3itIht afld b% Ift,wqbb anti oomjiaesi,au, so ahil see tnlnas in their strong reality Eternal.go jet e:vcq n4j p”ineflt. flZe.uaod be’ thE day In which cpr 8ãviou will abpear in His glory to bringus to that plaits. ot.ipcdmoarablb. ‘etol’nal happiness

Mn? ‘Ch1ibc On: dightecunns” work witain ua Llhall wepxay God that the teaire of all theiailhhil aay a..n be’ a’aaali.ea, a is expressed in the follewln woras.

‘“Ann. Even ae, Cne, Lord Jesust”

‘aiILaaarLuvttja -:: -

tWa Li?Tfl COMPANYhaat iao’r, dunpisc•d a’u54’en) ‘it ‘trant’ii’s an these.

Rita’ O.lk in ‘undur nazauw way. Abuag th.c’ rugged muse?.in’ Lhesn’ia’ro uf a naval Bait All Qiijnren of a King,

llulra cit immortal.’ crowas div:ue, Anti lot for Joy they sing.fly do they, thepappea: so sean, And why so much deipisod’

Becauso of theIr rich robes unseen the world is not apprised.tint why heap they that nurra)w rnd—that rup4ed. thorny maine9—

Why, that’s tact cay Lb. It Luader trod Th”y L,vo and !ceep his w’avs.Why uo they snun the pleebing path ‘that worldlingn love so well’

Because that is the rood to death, The open toad to hellthat I is thora, then no other road To salem’ s happy grounds

Ohrist is tin’ only way to God, No ether on be found.

Sal.

i issi.ng i inns a.;rznnniza ‘tnnhtsswazngnn:LnEcranarasxnx nit rxiirvnxnxr

Iatcrua$teaaal Iigiateeary setety M.B.A. Reform Msveneet, Anerleam Pale.,P.O,Ilez 51, Capitol Miii Stetieu, leaver 8,, Duoanita. Office: 2114 Roost Mtreet, Tereato, Out.

Religious l4oerty Publisniug Asia , 5420 Ban Praiwiscu Blvd. flacrsaento, Calif

“THY FACS, LORD, WILL I SEEK.”

to be read in aft the churches introduction

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