Keeping.

Keepers.  If you are a keeper, what exactly does that mean? If you keep something you are actively involved in the keeping process, right?  You've made a choice to keep. Keeping something implies the choice available to no longer keep that something. If something is forced kept upon you then you aren't choosing to keep that something.

Is it possible for you to be forced to keep something? Yes. I could be locked in a cage and in that cage could be a pillow I'm forced to keep, meaning I can't get rid of that pillow, or better still, because let's be honest, pillows can be torn apart etc. I could be forced to keep an iron block. If the door to my cage was opened and I had the ability to leave the cage or discard things in the cage, I could get rid of that iron block. However, as long as the door is closed and I have no means for getting rid of the iron block, I'm forced to keep it with me. Not too many of us, the majority of people in the world, are forced to keep things. We have the choice to give up all our worldly possessions, we have the choice to give up any previous principle we might hold. We have a freedom of will to choose to keep something mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. And even those who have been made captive and imprisoned will still have the choice mentally, spiritually and emotionally to keep what they will. Some of the worst tortured have talked about the keeping of their faith protecting them from breaking. Others are broken by torture and everything is stripped from them- mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Keeping is for the most part- a choice. Children may grow up in a household being instructed to keep the rules of their parents and if they don't- consequences for the non-keeping result in punishment. A lot of children will have the thought (I know I did) that when they are grown up they won't have to listen to the rules of their parents any longer, they can do what they want. This freedom of being able to do what you want to do is in part determining what parts of the principles you are taught that you will keep. You choose.

We are constantly making choices in our lives, endlessly making them and we reveal our choices in our lives.

We choose to keep to a set of personal standards we may develop and yes, often a lot of those standards we choose to adhere to are kept by our fellowman by choice. When a person veers off the standards commonly kept they become noted for doing so and depending on how they choose to veer determines if their choice results in being simply quirky, maybe a bit odd, or strange, grossly abnormal, certifiable, criminal etc.  The degrees of how we accept the spoken and unspoken norms of society are personal choices.

Other than being forced into standards by captivity- physical or otherwise- we daily make choices it's not something new to us.

Keeping something normally is done by a choice we make.

If I choose to keep the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus- I am making a choice to actively keep these things. I am participating in the choice to keep. When we read this--

Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. 

--we are told that if we do these things, if we make this choice we are among those who are the saints of Christ and this is the patience the saints have.

A choice to obey, a choice to keep, a decision to be active in my desire to be a saint of God, and have the patience of a saint.

If I claim to belong to God, to belong to Jesus, then I am claiming that I keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus- I am proclaiming my status as a keeper.  So, what does being a keeper of God's commandments and the faith of Jesus mean?

More on this tomorrow by the grace and will of God.

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(Excerpt)

THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT WE FACE TODAY

In the Great Controversy we read concerning the Papacy [1] - "She is silently growing in power. Her doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of men. Stealthily and unsuspectedly she is strengthening her forces to further her own ends when the time shall come for her to strike." Is the hour when the Papacy will strike, the most important event we face today? NO! In Country Living, we read -"The trade unions will be one of the agencies that will bring upon this earth a time of trouble such as has not been seen since the world began." [2] Is this time of trouble the most important event we face today? NO! Documentation is not lacking from political sources that Communist Infiltration is growing in our own national government to a point where it has reached an alarming level. Should the objective be realized -the take over of our government -would this be the most important event which we face today? NO! What then is the most important event?

We have reached the final and last generation of men, and we face the close of human probation!

Because of this fact, a text from the book of Revelation trumpets forth to us for recognition and evaluation. It is the edict of our High Priest when He completes His work of final atonement. This edict declares -"He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy let him be holy still." [3] Consider the repeat of the word - "still". If I am to be still "holy" after Jesus ceases His intercession, then I must be "holy" when the decree goes forth. Since the decree works no change, only fixes beyond all change our earthly state of character, then I must be "holy" prior to the issuing of the decree. Not only is this event the most important event which we face today, but also the question of "how" this state of holiness might be realized is the most important question which we face today. All other research, all other study and investigation should take second place to this all important question!

This verse in Revelation consists of contrasting couplets -unjust and righteous; filthy and holy. From the letter of the Vienne and Lyons Martyrs in the 2nd Century, which antedates any manuscript upon which the New Testament text is based, we find that the first part of this verse reads -"He that is lawless (Greek - anomos) let him be lawless; and he that is righteous [or justified] let him be righteous (lit., 'be justified') still." [4] The two verbs which are connected with the other couplet, filthy and holy, are in the passive thus projecting "the constant middle sense of passive verbs when the act depends on a man's self." [5] For example one clause would literally read -"'Let the filthy pollute himself still." Thus the action indicated by the verbs in this verse reveals the two -not four -distinct groups of people when probation's hour closes - the dead and the living! This edict, then, closing

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the final atonement, reflects the results of the judgment of the dead, and the judgment of the living.

Summarizing Revelation 22:11, we find:   those who have died in Christ have been justified, and that justification has been made eternal; and those who are alive of the redeemed, reflect that Holy Likeness fully, and are decreed by their Divine Intercessor. Forever to reflect that image. But this holiness rather than being imputed - justified -arises from the impartation of the divine nature. Thus will be fulfilled the prophecy - "the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints." [6]

Commenting on this same group of saints, the servant of the Lord wrote:   "Their robes must be spotless, their characters must be purified from sin by the blood of sprinkling. Through the grace of God and their own diligent effort, they must be conquerors in the battle with evil." [7] This does not permit a shift to the left, solely by grace, which is justification only; neither does it permit a shift to the right -salvation by works. It is to be a cooperative picture, God and man working for the objective of God's glorification - His character fully revealed in a group of fallen humanity.

The group who will be declared holy when probation's hour closes are clearly defined in other references in the book of Revelation. They are the "remnant" of the seed of the women, and they "keep" the commandments of God. [8] This "seed" not only gives mental assent that the Commandments should be kept - this is the theological position of the woman in white, and had been the position of the true church through all of its ages - but the remnant experience the reality of this theoretical theology; they keep the commandments! The law which Paul declares to be "holy, just, and good " [9] becomes through the New Covenant operation by the Holy Spirit [10] so much a part of their lives that the decree that closes probation declares that they shall be holy still. This picture in Revelation 12 is the Biblical source of the statement:      I also saw that many do not realize what they must be in order to live in the sight of the Lord without a high priest in the sanctuary, through the time of trouble. Those who receive the seal of the living God, and are protected in the time of trouble, must reflect the image of Jesus fully. [11]

The original Seed of the woman was the Man-Child. His victory caused the Voice in heaven to declare - "Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ." [12] That "power" was the "spirit of holiness" because of which the grave could not hold Him. [l3] When the final vindication is given in the lives of the "remnant of her seed", this same Voice will again be heard proclaiming -      "They come! they come! holy, harmless, and undefiled. They have kept the word of My patience; they shall walk among the angels." [14]

From the deadly bondage of their fallen natures, they have experienced a spiritual resurrection revealing an impartation of life - even the divine nature. [15]

Revelation 14 tells us that this group is the end product of the Three Angel 's Messages. Following the Third Angel, the declaration is made - "Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." [16] They not only give lip service to the message of the Third Angel, but they also experience the verity of that message. Several wrote to Sister White after the 1888 Minneapolis meeting asking if the message of justification by faith is the third angel's message. Her reply was - "It is the third angel's message in verity." [17] We may study about 1888, and we may know all the ins and outs of the rejection of the message. We may call the attention of

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the church to this phase of our history by manuscripts, and series of lectures but unless we understand the objective of the message itself, we are going to come short in the final hour when the decree goes forth. We may still be talking about the theology of the church - that men ought to keep the commandments of God - instead of sensing the significance of the "remnant" in relationship to the woman when probation's hour closes.

We must ever keep in mind that the basis of commandment keeping is found in the prologue which God Himself had proclaimed with His holy law - "I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." [18] Only when we realize the redemption from the bondage of Egypt (sin), can we start on the path of imparted righteousness. What we have failed to realize is that "the church [the woman in white] has turned back from following Christ her leader, and is steadily retreating toward Egypt." [19] It is impossible to join this retreat toward Egypt, and obtain the deliverance from Egyptian bondage which permits the realization which is experienced by the "remnant of her seed which keep the commandments of God" [8] Ours is to determine with which group we shall be associated. [20]

The experience which leads to the final determination of filthiness is also the result of a religious involvement. In Revelation 17 it speaks of another woman clothed in purple and scarlet through whom "the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication." They drink from the golden cup in her hand, which is "full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication." [21] (The word translated, filthiness, in this verse is not the same word in Rev. 22:11 translated, filthy, a though the final result will be the same.) This woman -Babylon the great -has become "the habitations of devils." [22] Those who drink of her doctrines reflect the image of their source, even as those who drink from the cup in the hand of Jesus will reflect His image. We read:      Through yielding to satanic influences, men will be transformed into fiends, ... become the habitation of dragons, and Satan will see in an apostate race his masterpiece of evil, -men who reflect his own image. [23]

Herein lies the great deception. When men declare that it is impossible for the law of God to be kept; that it is by grace alone, and has been done for us in Jesus, and that our perfection rests upon the acceptance of the fact of an accomplished act; and when these same theologians place Christ in His earthly life on a level above the plane of fallen man, they are but echoing the sentiments of the arch apostate who declared from the beginning of the controversy that "the law of God could not be obeyed" by a creature. [24] The end result will be - even while giving lip service to Seventh-day Adventism - a reflection of the image of Satan.

Basic in this false theology is the failure to differentiate between the state required for man at death, and the state required for the living when probation's hour closes. But in this differentiation is found the genius of the Advent Movement raised up by God in 1844. This differentiation is the thread that is woven into our history of 1888, and the deviations that have taken place in such intermovements of the church as reflected in the Holy Flesh Movement of Indiana, and the Brinsmead Awakening of the past decade. This we shall analyze in the next thought paper.

(1)  Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 581

(2)  Ellen G. White, Country Living, p. 10

(3)  Revelation 22:11-12

Rev 22:11  He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. 

Rev 22:12  And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 

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(4)  Jamison, Fauset, and Brown, Commentary on the Whole Bible, p. 604

(5)  Henry Alford, The Greek Testament, Vol. IV, p. 747

(6)  Revelation 19:7-8

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 

Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 

(7)  Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 425

(8)  Revelation 12:17  Rev 12:17  And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

(9)  Romans 7:12  Rom 7:12  Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.

(10)  Hebrews 10:15-16

Heb 10:15  Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, 

Heb 10:16  This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them

(11)  Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 71

(12)  Revelation 12:10 Rev 12:10  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. 

(13)  Romans 1:4 Rom 1:4  And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: 

(14)  Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 636

(15)  II Peter 1:4 2Pe 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 

(16)  Revelation 14:12 Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. 

(17)  Ellen G. White, Review & Herald, April 1, 1890

(18)  Exodus 20:2 Exo 20:2  I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 

(19)  Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 217

(20)  For full presentation obtain taped sermon - "Out of Egypt Have I Called My Son"

(21)  Revelation 17:2, 4 Rev 17:2  With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. Rev 17:4  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

(22)  Revelation 18:2 Rev 18:2  And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 

(23)  Ellen G. White, Review & Herald, April 14, 1896

(24)  Ellen G. White, Desire of Ages, p. 761

A CRISIS

The Palmdale Accord entered into by theologians and administrators of the Church has produced a crisis rather than the unity of the Holy Spirit. (It is true that these men professed to have achieved a "unity of spirit and viewpoint." But this is vastly different than a unity in the Holy Spirit.) These men agreed that "when the words righteousness and faith are connected (by 'of ', 'by ' et cetera) in Scripture, reference is made to the experience of justification." (1) Note the "period." In other words, they are saying according to the Bible, righteousness by faith is justification alone. Then in the same accord, these men declare, after enlarging the concept of "righteousness", "thus Seventh-day Adventists have often used the phrase 'righteousness by faith' theologically to include both justification and sanctification." 1  But if the first concept is true, then the second acknowledgment as to the position of the church theologically is unscriptural!

As if this weren't enough to add to the confusion, these learned men of the Church concluded the statement on "Justification and Sanctification" with this sentence: "Sanctification thus begins with the new birth and justification, and all flow from the righteousness of Christ." 1  Is the "new birth" something apart from "justification"?  2  It has already been agreed that justification involves an "experience." What is this experience if it is not the "new birth"? Should not this sentence have read -"Sanctification begins with the new birth or justification, the whole experience thus flowing from the righteousness of Christ."

Let us consider the crisis in which this accord places us as Seventh-day Adventists. If the idea that both sanctification and justification are included in the phrase "righteousness by faith," and that this concept is not Biblical, then upon what have we based such a theological position? The answer is clear -the men whom the Lord sent to the Church with "a most precious message" In 1888,   3  - and the servant of the Lord who stood behind these men. The real crisis over justification by faith concerns, therefore, the authority of the Spirit of Prophecy in the area of theology,

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and the heart of the message of 1888.

This crisis has been painfully pointed up by a recent publication from the Southern Publishing Association - Perfection, the Impossible Possibility. Containing essays by four men of the Church - Douglass, Heppenstall, LaRondelle, and M. Maxwell - the conclusions drawn in these presentations thwart any "unity of spirit and viewpoint", let alone "the unity of the Holy Spirit." One reviewer of the book has with clear insight classified these essays into two categories:   the possibles, Douglass and Maxwell; the impossibles, Hepenstall and LaRondelle. And with keen perception the following table was compiled by the reviewer as to the number of times each of the authors used the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy to substantiate their position:  4 

AUTHOR	BIBLE	SPIRIT OF PROPHECY
Doug1ass	47	101
Heppenstall	53	8
LaRondelle	232	4
Maxwell	60	148

This is followed by the inescapable conclusion: It cannot be doubted that sinlessness is not usually implied in the Biblical concept of perfection; the "impossibles" have proved their point. Yet they have largely ignored the Spirit of Prophecy in doing so, as the above table shows. It is difficult to deny that Ellen G. White taught sinlessness as a requirement for translation; many of her statements are simply too plain to be explained away. 4

Then the question is asked - "WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE US?" The evidence compiled in the book review on Perfection, and the Palmdale Accord on "Righteousness by Faith" spells only one answer -a crisis of the greatest magnitude!

1  "Christ Our Righteousness" Review, May 27, 1976, p.4

2  A. John Clifford and Russell R. Standish, Conflicting Concepts of Righteousness by Faith in the Seventh-day Adventist Church - Australian Division, pp 74, 75

3  Ellen G. White, Testimonies to Ministers, p.91

4 "Book Review", Southern Accent, Sept. 16, 1975, p.6. -

October 1976  -  "Watchman, What of the Night? " Thought Paper.  Adventist Laymen's Foundation.  (Excerpt)

"From that time many of His disciples went back..."

(Excerpt)

Eis ta Opisw ( Pronounced Eis TA Opiso) To the Things Behind-- "From that time many of His disciples went back [Greek - To the things behind] and walked no more with Him. John 6:66.

This verse summarizes what the Spirit of Prophecy calls the "crisis" in Galilee.(1) Not only did these erstwhile disciples of Jesus cease to follow Him, but they went back to the things behind[Greek]. They would not keep step with the advancing light which Jesus flashed upon their pathway. He desired to lead them into a living experience which He designated as eating His flesh and drinking His blood.

The day previously, Jesus had fed five thousand men with five barley loaves and two small fishes. (2) As this nucleus of a potentially powerful Jewish army sat eating what thoughts were theirs we can only conjecture. They did perceive that here was a leader who could in himself serve as a Quartermasters Corps, and with his other powers be the Medical Detachment, but with one supreme advantage -there would be no casualties because he could restore to life. And so they concluded - "This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.." (3) They would make him their King! But Jesus withdrew, and they saw Him no more till they found Him in Capernaum the next day.

Jesus plainly told them that they were seeking Him for the loaves and fishes. (4) Then He counseled them to seek for that "meat which endureth unto life everlasting, which the Son of man shall give unto you." (5) Soon the Jewish religious leadership got into the exchange, and reminded the laity that this was Joseph's son, so how could He be the bread of life coming down from heaven? (6) But Jesus reiterated His claim to be the living bread which came down from heaven, and that further -"Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you." (7) Jesus was seeking to lead those listening, and especially His professed followers from the material to the spiritual; and from the Past - "Our fathers did eat manna in the desert." (8) - to a Present living, vital experience in the things of God -"The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." (9) Not just the Word as He existed in Heaven, but the Word as revealed in the flesh as He had come down from Heaven was to be the life of men. This was to be to His disciples a living experience, not only something done for them, but something done in them -"He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in Me and I in him." (10)

This was too much for the many who professed to be His disciples in Galilee, so they went back to the things behind [Greek]

Eighteen hundred years after this event, another experience occurred when this same Jesus lead His followers "out a little way." (11) He told them -"Wait here; I am going to My Father to receive the kingdom; keep your garments spotless, and in a little

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while I will return from the wedding and receive you to Myself." (12) Then He was carried into "the holiest" to begin His work of the "final atonement." (13) This uniquely Seventh-day Adventist doctrine termed - "The Investigative Judgment" -has ever been an anathema to the Evangelical sector of Protestantism. Barnhouse called this teaching, "stale, flat, and unprofitable!" He considered it "the most colossal, psychological, face-saving phenomenon in religious history! " (14)

Recently it has been reported that a theologian who is known as "a renowned critic of Seventh-day Adventism" considers "the peculiar Adventist doctrines of the investigative judgment and the two apartment ministry of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary" as obscuring "the great truth of justification by faith." (15) Because of this critical attitude in religious circles, many erstwhile followers of the Advent Movement are offended and turn - unto the things behind [Greek]. Instead of walking with Jesus, that is doing what Jesus said to do -"Wait here", hold your position, faithfully maintain the truth -many are joining in an endeavor to rationalize away this distinctive Adventist teaching so as to make it palatable to their evangelical "cronies." (16)

Let us not become confused by outward appearances. Because seeming success and number of adherents follow such a compromise with our basic faith, this does not automatically spell the words -"a righteous cause." In the same vision, the servant of the Lord saw that those who never accepted the advanced truth -which would be applicable to the Evangelicals -and those who went back to the things behind did have "light and much power." (17) But the source of this power is also noted -"Satan would breathe upon them an unholy influence." In other words -"holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord" scandalizes them. Such an experience is considered subjective, and opposed to what they call the "gospel" unmindful that the proclamation of the "everlasting gospel" involves the fact that "the hour of His judgment is come." (18)

Furthermore, we are warned that Satan's object in all of this fanfare and manifestation of power is "to draw back and deceive God's children." (17) Let us not forget that in this deception, there is "light", or else there would be no power to deceive. But the light which God gave Luther is not the advanced light which God gave to the small company who prayed most earnestly following The Disappointment. To them an understanding of the Scriptures was unfolded "in regard to Christ, His mission, and His priesthood." (19) While the true light on justification by faith is not contradictory to the call for holiness emanating from the second apartment of the Heavenly Sanctuary, nevertheless to preach it out of the context of the investigative judgment is to distort that truth under the guise of proclaiming "present truth."

It was in 1888 that God brought the subject of justification by faith into its proper focus in relationship to the work that Christ was doing in the final atonement, because His people were failing to grasp the real experience that was to be theirs as commandment keepers. Waggoner has stated the matter clearly. Read his words:      There are just two services. The service of Satan, which is of sin unto death, and the service of Christ, which is of obedience unto righteousness. A man cannot serve two masters. All believe that. Then it is impossible to serve sin and righteousness at the same time. Now we call ourselves Christians. That means -what? Followers of Christ! But in all our Christian experience we have left little loopholes along here and there

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for sin. We have never dared to come to that place where we would believe that the Christian life should be a sinless life. We have not dared to believe it or preach it. But in that we cannot preach the law of God fully. Why not? Because we do not understand the power of justification by faith. Then without justification by faith it is impossible to preach the law of God to the fullest extent. Then to preach justification by faith does not distract from or lower the law of God, but is the only thing that exalts it.(20)

It is one thing to preach the "theory of the truth." But to denounce the "power" of justification by faith as a subjective experience is to nullify the very gospel itself, which is the power of God unto salvation. Christ in Galilee was seeking to lead His erstwhile disciples from theory to a reality -"Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you." (7)

The question is very simple. Are we going to hold to our Adventist position given to us by Jesus - "Wait here" - or are we going to retreat unto the things behind [Greek]? It really means that to turn to the things behind, we no longer choose to walk with Jesus, but enter the service of Satan with its "light and much power." May we in this crisis hour unfurl the banner on which are written the words: -

Quc eis TA opisw

Not unto the things behind, but rather to hold to the advanced light entrusted to the disappointed but teachable saints of l844!

(1)  Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages. p. 394

(2)  John 6:9-10 

Joh 6:9  There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? 

Joh 6:10  And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 

(3)  John 6:14   Joh 6:14  Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. 

(4)  John 6:26  Joh 6:26  Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 

(5) John 6:27 Joh 6:27  Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. 

(6)  John 6:35-42

Joh 6:35  And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. 

Joh 6:36  But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. 

Joh 6:37  All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. 

Joh 6:38  For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 

Joh 6:39  And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. 

Joh 6:40  And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. 

Joh 6:41  The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. 

Joh 6:42  And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? 

(7) John 6:51-53

Joh 6:51  I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. 

Joh 6:52  The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? 

Joh 6:53  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 

(8) John 6:31 Joh 6:31  Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. 

(9)  John 6:63 Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 

(10)  John 6:56 Joh 6:56  He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. 

(11) Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 55

(12)  Ibid.

(13)  Ibid., also pp. 251,253

(14)  D. G. Barnhouse, "Are Seventh-day Adventists Christians?" Eternity, September, 1956. For further details of this dialogue between Barnhouse and Martin and our own church leaders see M. L. Andreasen's Letters to the Churches, and L. E. Froom's Movement of Destiny, pp. 476-481

(15)  R. D. Brinsmead, "The Pre-Advent Judgment", Duranbah Digest, #24, Sept. 15, 1975, p. 1

(16)  Ibid., See whole presentation of #24.

(17)  Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 56

(18)  Revelation 14:6-7

Rev 14:6  And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 

Rev 14:7  Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. 

(19)  Ellen G. White, Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 2, pp. 56-57

(20)  E. J. Waggoner, Studies in Romans, #10, General Conference Bulletin, 1891; p. 21 in Facsimile Reproduction.

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ADVANCING LIGHT -- "The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." Proverbs 4:18

As the Pilgrims were about to leave the home of their adoption in Holland, and sail for the New World, John Robinson, pastor at Leyden, counselled them in the following words:      I charge you, before God and His blessed angels, that you follow me no farther that you have seen me follow the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord has more truth yet to break forth out of His Holy Word. I cannot sufficiently bewail the condition of the reformed churches, who are come to a period in religion, and will go at present no farther than the instruments of their reformation. Luther and Calvin were great and shining lights in their times, yet they penetrated not unto the whole counsel of God. I beseech you, remember it -'tis an article of your church covenant - that you be ready to receive whatever truth shall be made known unto you from the written Word of God. (1)

The revelation of truth is governed by the purposes and the unfolding of the plans of God which were devised from "times eternal." (2) It is the Eternal One who sits over and beyond the distractions which sin has brought silently working out the counsels of His own will.

The entire Bible is the history of progressive revelation. To Moses was committed - truth which has cast light down through the centuries, and which with the testimony of the prophets has constituted a norm by which all truth and revelation is to be tested. (3) Then Jesus came. He declared that Moses "wrote of Me." (4) He advanced the revelation of God and truth to a point hitherto never before visualized for He was the way, the truth, and the life. But the Jews chose to make it the issue as to whether the members of the synagogue were Moses disciples or not. And if not -but rather confessed to the Advanced Light then shining -they were cast out. (5) This leadership preferred the "things behind." What Moses taught was truth -not one jot or tittle was to pass from the law -but they would not interpret Moses in the light of the revelation revealed in Jesus. Thus they became blind leaders of the blind.

The doctrine of justification by faith was "clearly taught by Luther." (6) It was present truth in 1517. And it is eternally true, "that faith alone without works justifies before God." (7) We must have this experience. This we must believe and let the results be realized in our thinking.

But three hundred years after 1517, another reformer arose in the Providence of God, and though imperfectly proclaimed, declared that the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary had come. The light of the true meaning of this change in the heavenly ministry of our great High Priest broke forth clearly after the disappointment in 1844. Thus all truth and prior revelation must be interpreted and understood in the light coming from the open door of the second apartment of the Holy of Holies, and not visa versa. (8) To keep step with this advancing light and revelation of truth is the very essence of Protestantism. Commenting on the article of the solemn covenant to which the Puritans subscribed, and to which John Robinson referred, the servant of the Lord writes:- "Here is the true spirit of reform, and the vital principle of " Protestantism." (9)

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(1)  John Robinson. "Farewell to Pilgrims", July. 1620. Quoted in Source Book for Bible Students, p. 528

(2)  Romans 16:25 ARV  Rom 16:25  Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, 

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

(4)  John 5:46 Joh 5:46  For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. 

(5)  John 9:28-34

Joh 9:28  Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses' disciples. 

Joh 9:29  We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is. 

Joh 9:30  The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. 

Joh 9:31  Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. 

Joh 9:32  Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. 

Joh 9:33  If this man were not of God, he could do nothing. 

Joh 9:34  They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out. 

(6)  Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 253

(7)  .Martin Luther, Quoted in History of the Reformation by J. H. M. D'Aubigne, Book 2. Chapter 6 (Vol. I, p. 209)

(8)  Revelation 3:7-8 

Rev 3:7  And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; 

Rev 3:8  I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. 

(9)  White, Op. cit., p. 291

DID YOU READ? -- In the Review. July 17, 1976 -less than a month after the Palmdale Accord - appeared the publication of Manuscript 1, 1892, from the pen of Ellen G. White. Keep in mind that two of the editors of the Review signed the Accord. How one can believe what was written in Manuscript 1, l892, and accept what was drawn up at Palmdale would make one talk out of both sides of his mouth. She wrote:      The Lord now demands that every son and daughter of Adam through faith in Jesus Christ serve Him in human nature which we now have.

The nature that I now have is fallen human nature. But if Christ did not take this Nature, then I have-no Example to follow. How can God demand that I serve Him in a nature that Christ did not serve in? But in this same inspired paragraph we are told:       The Lord Jesus came to our world, not to reveal what a God could do, but what a man can do, through faith in God's power to help in every emergency.

Some questions come to mind. Did the Editors have second thoughts after they returned to Takoma Park? Did they not know that this manuscript existed? (See Our High Calling, p. 48.) Or is this a "sop" to the laity of the church so that they will not be unduly concerned over the Munich at Palmdale? (In typing this section, I have had a difficult time with the name - Palmdale. I have repeatedly typed -Palmbrook. There is the name - Fallbrook. Any association?)

A BICENTENNIAL SERMON OUTLINE -- In the July. 1976, Ministry was given a sermon outline for ministers to follow entitled -"Freedom's Holy Light" (pp. 5-6). It presented the freedom from sin that can be ours in and through Jesus Christ. In the body of the outline, based on Rom. 8:3-11, appeared this comment - "The just requirements of the law are fulfilled in us by what Jesus did in taking sinful flesh and dying for sin." (p. 6) As I noted this very fine presentation, I wondered how many signers of the Palmdale Accord preached it this way? But then, on second thought, it doesn't matter. You can now preach and believe the incarnation either way - the way of Babylon, or the historic way of Adventism - and still be retained in the synagogue.

September 1976  -  "Watchman, What of the Night? " Thought Paper.  Adventist Laymen's Foundation.  (Excerpt)

Jesus Was Born With Our Sinful Nature.

(Excerpt)

LEAVENED BREAD -- Part 2

We Christians have had a Passover Lamb sacrificed for us -none other than Christ himself! So let us "keep the feast" with no trace of the yeast of the old life. .. but with the unleavened bread of unadulterated truth! I Cor. 5:7-8 (Phillips)

The second section of the "statement of consensus" drawn up by the theologians and administrators at Palmdale, California, April 23 -30, 1976 was entitled - "The Humanity of Jesus Christ in Relation to Righteousness by Faith." (1)

In setting forth the God-man as revealed in Jesus Christ, the study group is to be commended on their use of the phrase - "truly God and truly man" in contrast to the phrase found frequently in the study of Christology - "fully God and fully man." I would hope that this distinction indicated that they recognized that when the Pre-Existent Son laid aside the glory which He had with the Father, (2) that glory included His omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, and immortality. (3) When we recognize this distinction clearly, we have arrived at the basis of an understanding of what constitutes the "divine nature" which finds its source in God, even as the external aspects of "the form of God" which Michael surrendered in becoming Jesus Christ. It is this "divine nature" which must be received by every born again child of humanity if he should reflect the image of Jesus fully, and be a son of God. Yet in a clear perception of this vital distinction between "the form of God" and "the divine nature" which Jesus had, and which we must receive, no one perceives of himself in this experience as becoming a demigod. It is indeed the beginning of a genuine appreciation of the relationship between the humanity of Jesus Christ and Righteousness by Faith.

Having begun well, the study group immediately enters into a fatal compromise with truth. After quoting Romans 8:3, Hebrews 2:14,17, and 2 Cor. 5:21,

(((Rom 8:3  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh

Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil

Heb 2:17  Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. 

2Co 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.))))

they state:      

Not all Christians view these passages alike. For example, for some they mean that Jesus did not commit sin either in word, deed, or thought; for others they mean that Jesus not only committed no sin but was without the inherited tendencies to sin common to fallen humanity. (4)

Reducing this language to the parlance of the laity, it is saying simply that some view these Scriptures to mean that even though Christ took upon Himself the fallen nature of Adam, He did not commit sin in word, deed, or thought, while others reject the idea that Christ took fallen humanity, and instead believe that He was "exempt from the inherited passions and pollutions that corrupt the natural descendants of Adam." (5) In other words, Jesus bore the "sinless nature of Adam before [the] Fall." (6) Or to state the matter very bluntly, the choice is between the historical position of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and the "new look" which developed within the church as a result of the fatal Barnhouse-Martin dialogue of the 1950's, and which has been expressed in the publications just quoted.

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And to what conclusion did the study group come? - "Whichever of these views Christians may hold of Christ's humanity, we believe that the central concept is to recognize Jesus as the Saviour of all mankind, and that through His victorious life, lived in human flesh, He provides the link between divinity and humanity." (4)

So now you can hold whatever view you wish in regard to the nature that Christ assumed in the Incarnation and still be a good Seventh-day Adventist. This is an adulteration of truth -leavened bread - and to accept the second position makes it totally impossible to reflect the image of Jesus fully without accepting the basic tenet of the Holy Flesh doctrine -the eradication of the fallen nature. (7)

In arriving at pure unadulterated truth -unleavened bread -in regard to the humanity which Christ assumed in the flesh, one may start at either the point of His pre-existence, and work forward, or he may look at the Cross and see the fullness of the condescension and the completeness of the victory. Let us briefly do both.

We are told that "Christ was one with the Father before the foundations of the world were laid. . . .This truth, infinitely mysterious in itself, explains other mysterious and otherwise unexplainable truths." (8) This Being did not cease to be at the Incarnation; He only exchanged one form of existence for another -from "the form of God" to the form of a "servant" (9) It was a slave form that He took to appear as a man. In Him was no sin, but in the form which He took upon Himself, all that makes us slaves, except for the commission of sin, He accepted and experienced.

This is clearly stated:      Think of Christ's humiliation. He took upon Himself fallen, suffering human nature, degraded and defiled by sin. ...He united humanity with divinity: a divine spirit dwelt in a temple of flesh. He united Himself with the temple. (10)

By experiencing in Himself the strength of Satan's temptation, and of human sufferings and infirmities, He would know how to succor those who should put forth efforts to help themselves. (11)

In the womb of Mary was prepared by divine stimulation a body of our humiliation. And what went into this body which "a divine spirit" took upon Himself, we are not left in doubt. The prescription reads:      Christ was to take humanity upon Him, not as it was when Adam stood in his innocence in Eden, but as weakened and defiled by four thousand years of sin. He was to come as the Son of man, like every child of Adam, accepting the results of the working of the great law of heredity. What these results were, what was the inheritance bequeathed to Jesus in His human nature, Scripture reveals in the history of those who were the earthly ancestors of our Saviour. With such a heredity, Jesus came as one of us, to share our sorrows and temptations, and to give us the Example of a sinless life. (12)

This is the only way a true Example could be given; any other way would not have given an example that could be followed by man in the fallen nature of Adam. In other words, it is impossible to relate the concept that Christ took the nature of Adam before the Fall with a true perception of righteousness by faith except that the concept of righteousness by faith be limited to justification alone. And this is what the study group did, thus opening the door to give status to the non-historical position of the Church in the matter of the Incarnation. They served up leavened bread.

p 3 -- There is a difference between Jesus Christ and all the other children of Adam, and this difference arises because of the mystery of the preexistence Let us reiterate. "The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, existed from eternity, a distinct person, yet one with the Father." (8) Thus at Bethlehem, this self identity, or Divine Ego, was not created, nor bequeathed to Him by natural generation. He had ever been. In that "painful process" (13) by which the Eternal Son became a Son of man, the "Divine Ego" [I use this terminology for the want of a better vehicle of expression] assumed humanity - the humanity of the fallen sons and daughters of Adam. The Spirit of Prophecy states simply as noted previously -"A divine spirit dwelt in a temple of flesh." (10) This temple in the Bible Is defined as "the likeness of sinful flesh." (14) The servant of the Lord states -"He took upon Him our sinful nature."(15) And we are further informed that the words -"flesh", "fleshly" and "carnal lusts" - embrace the lower corrupt nature, and have "their seat in the body." (l6) But this flesh cannot act of itself contrary to the will of God, unless the individual gives consent for these cravings of the body to manifest themselves.

Our identity or "ego" was received by natural generation, and we are powerless of ourselves to resist the strong movings of the flesh to do evil. Jesus Christ on the other hand recognized the constant necessity for the divine power of the Holy Spirit for victory, and ever kept His "Ego" submitted to the revealed will of God,. Thus He didn't even in one instance yield to the impulses of His human flesh that called for expression. When this clear distinction is understood, then we come to realize that our "ego", or self, must be crucified, for only in such an experience can the Holy Spirit work in us to the complete conquering of the impulses of our flesh to do evil. When "self" is surrendered fully, completely, and unreservedly, then the image of Jesus can be fully revealed in us. This is the basic relationship between the experience of Jesus Christ in humanity and righteousness by faith which is to be our experience.

Now let us fix our eyes upon the Cross of Calvary. From Bethlehem to Golgotha, Jesus descended "step by step, to the level of fallen humanity." (17) On the Cross, "when He bowed His head and died, He bore the pillars of Satan's kingdom with Him to the earth." (l8) The power of Satan's kingdom is founded upon only one thing - sin. (19) But Christ in His own body brought the pillars of sin upon which that kingdom rests down to the earth with Him.

These twin pillars are the weakened hereditary nature of man, and the cultivated tendencies to sin which have become in man's habit patterns. For thirty years the Son of God as the Son of man demonstrated that the weakened hereditary nature was no excuse for sin. He condemned sin in the flesh -His flesh. But the question remained - Could He carry the weight of the load of man's accumulated transgression remain faithful and true? Could He sense the need of man chained in the habit patterns of sin? No wonder all heaven looked on with amazement as the cup trembled in the hand of the divine Sufferer! Yet He drank it to the last bitter dregs!

In His closing hours, while hanging upon the cross, He experienced to the fullest extent what man must experience when striving against sin. He realized how bad a man may become by yielding to sin. He realized the terrible consequence of transgression of God's law; for the iniquity of the whole world was upon Him.(13)

Though the darkness covering the Cross hid from Christ the sustaining presence of the Father, and though He was unable to see through the portals of the tomb, Jesus,

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by faith, grasped the pillars of Satan's kingdom and brought them down, even as Samson in his blindness grasped the two central columns of Dagon's temple, and brought that temple of the devil crashing in a heap of stones. Even as it cost Samson his life, so it cost the Son of God His life. He resisted unto blood - His very own blood - striving against sin.

The picture of a complete Saviour - a Saviour who for thirty three years cumbered with the fallen nature of the descendants of Adam did not sin in word, thought, or deed; and who on the Cross accepted the realization of the depths of the cultivated sins of fallen man -was the heart of the message of 1888. Hear A. T. Jones saying: 0, He is a complete Saviour. He is a Saviour from the sins committed, and a Conqueror of the tendencies to commit sins. In Him we have the victory. (20)

AND - Christ in us through the indwelling Spirit is our hope of glory.

(1)  Review & Herald, May 27, 1976 - Statement on "Christ Our Righteousness", pp. 4-7

(2)  John 17:5  Joh 17:5  And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. 

(3)  See Desire of Ages, pp. 335-336 for "omnipotence" laid aside; Matt. 24:36 for "omniscience" laid aside; Desire of Ages, p. 669 for "omnipresence" laid aside; and B.C. Vol. 5, p. 1127, col. 1 for His having laid aside, "immortality."

(4)  Review & Herald, op. cit., p. 5

(5)  Questions on Doctrine, p. 383

(6)  L. E. Froom, Movement of Destiny, p. 497

(7)  See ALF Manuscript -The Holy Flesh Movement, Chapt. IV -"Threads of the Fabric"

(8)  Ellen G. White, Review & Herald, April 5, 1906

(9)  Philippians 2:6-7 

Php 2:6  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 

Php 2:7  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men

(10)  Ellen G. White, Youth's Instructor, Dec. 20, 1900 (4BC:1l47)

(11)  Ellen G. White, Review & Herald, March 18, 1875

(12)  Pre-pub1ication Draft of Desire of Ages, p. 49 (Andreasen Collection #2)

(13)  Ellen G. White, Ms. 29, 1899 (7 Bible Commentary :915)

(14)  Romans 8:3 Rom 8:3  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh

(15)  Ellen G. White, Review & Herald, December 15, 1896

(16)  Ellen G. White, Adventist Home, pp. 127-128; Christ Object Lessons, p. 346

(17)  Ellen G. White, Our High Calling, p. 17

(18)  Ellen G. White, Youth's Instructor, April 25, 1901 (5BC:I108)

(19)  Ibid., June 28, 1900 (7 Bible Commentary:924)

(20)  A. T. Jones, General Conference Bulletin, 1895, p. 267

COMMENT ON "THE 1888 ERA"

The third section of the Statement of Consensus briefly notes the issues involved in our sad history of 1888. This is probably the first time since Elders R. J. Wieland and D. K. Short submitted their landmark manuscript on 1888 (1) that a group of church administrators and theologians in an official statement have admitted that the real issue regarding 1888 was not the Reformation doctrine of Justification by Faith, but

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was indeed the rejection of "the 'beginning' of the latter rain and loud cry." (2) While there will be readers who will conclude that real progress has been made in setting the record straight regarding our rebellion at Minneapolis, a total picture of what was written still reveals that the study group did not come to grips with the magnitude of that rebellion and insubordination, nor faced up to the basic issue of repentance which that experience demands. The servant of the Lord wrote: All the universe of heaven witnessed the disgraceful treatment of Jesus Christ, represented by the Holy Spirit. Had Christ been present before them, they would have treated Him in a manner similar to that in which the Jews treated Christ. (3)

Besides this, there is the "vote" issue that must be settled.(4) Whether the official record has been kept hidden, or was destroyed to cover up what was done, we do not know; but this must be clarified and publicly altered. The tragedy of this third section by the study group is the affirmation - "We take our stand not only with the messengers whom the Lord used in 1888 to proclaim the most precious message of the righteousness of Christ, but with all who may have faithfully presented it in the years since." (2) Who all are covered in the last clause is not spelled out, but it is evident that the first clause means Elder A. T. Jones and Dr. E. J. Waggoner. To make such a statement following what was agreed to in the previous two sections is nothing short of attempted deception. Anyone who has read, or will take the time to read Waggoner's Studies in Romans as given at the 1891 G. C. Session knows that he did not understand the message of Paul in Romans to be "the specialized meaning of justification" which this study group declared it to be. Also anyone familiar with the 1895 studies which Elder A. T. Jones gave at the General Conference, or the position Waggoner wrote out in his book, Christ and His Righteousness finds it utterly impossible to harmonize this position with the permissive conclusions on the Incarnation drawn up by the study group at Palmdale, California. (6)

The affirmation of standing with Jones and Waggoner is mere lip service without the corresponding evidence, in fact evidence to the contrary. Would to God that every laymen reading this Statement of Consensus will have the "first love" of the Ephesian period of the Church that "tried them that called themselves apostles and [were] not, and ... found them liars." (7)

(1)  R. J. Wieland & D. K. Short, 1888 Re-Examined. Written in 1950

(2)  "Christ Our Righteousness", Review & Herald, May 27, 1976, p. 6

(3)  Ellen G. White, Special Testimonies, Series A, No. 6, p. 20

(4)  See Thought Paper, "Ellen G. White Vs Ellen G. White Estate", March, 1976, p.5

(5)  E. J. Waggoner, Studies in Romans, #10. Cmp with Statement of Consensus, p. 4

(6)  A. T. Jones, "The Third, Angel's Message" #13, G. C. Bulletin, 1895, p. 232: Commenting on John 1:14 - "This world does not know any other flesh of man, and has not known any other since the necessity for Christ's coming was created. Therefore, as this world knows only such flesh as we have, as it is now, it is certainly true that when 'the Word was made flesh,' He was made just such flesh as ours is. It cannot be otherwise." Waggoner wrote: "The fact that Christ took upon Himself the flesh not of a sinless being, but of sinful man, that is the flesh which He assumed had all the weaknesses and sinful tendencies to which fallen human nature is subject, is shown by the statement that He 'was made of the seed of David according to the flesh.''" Christ and His Righteousness, pp. 26-27

(7)  Revelation 2:2

 Aug. 1976  -  "Watchman, What of the Night? " Thought Paper.  Adventist Laymen's Foundation.  (Excerpt)

Believing Lies Is Deadly.

Mat 16:6  Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. 

Mat 16:12  Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. 

Luk 12:1  In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 

Leaven something which infects something else causing it to take on the same properties.  Such as yeast in bread. If you put a tiny bit of yeast into dough the active - living properties of yeast- will soon cause the whole dough to rise. Once you put that yeast into the dough, there is no taking it out. The yeast overruns the entire ball of dough. The only way to keep dough free of yeast and it's properties which cause it to infect the entire thing, is to not have any yeast whatsoever near the dough.

The leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees is something to be wary off because it you accept even a tiny bit of their deceptions into the truth you hold, all of the truth is tainted. The hypocrisy of the Pharisees- speaking one thing believing another, deadly. To beware of something is to watch out for it, and keep away from it. If someone tells me to beware of something, I best be on my guard because if I'm not then that something could bring me harm. A common saying is Beware of the Dog- we have all seen signs declaring this and we see them because people want us to know that there is a dog present and it may hurt us. If we ignore the sign and are hurt by the dog, it is our own fault and the consequence could even be deadly to us.  We must beware of the hypocrisy that exists in the world around us and hold fast to the truth, and only the truth found in our Savior. When we allow just a little bit of lies to infect our lives - we are thoroughly tainted whether we want to believe it or not.  Truly we must be wary of deception which is so close to the truth we can scarcely tell it is not truth. To ignore that deception will exist, it so imperil our own salvation by blindly follow a false shepherd who leads us over a cliff to our deaths and not to safety in a fold at all!

God help us all!

In Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior we believe, we have faith, we trust, we seek only truth!  Now and forever!

(Excerpt)

LEAVENED BREAD -- Part 1

We Christians have had a Passover Lamb sacrificed for us -none other than Christ himself! So let us "keep the feast" with no trace of the yeast of the old life ... but with the unleavened bread of unadulterated truth! I Cor. 5:7-8 (Phillips)

1Co 5:7  Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 

1Co 5:8  Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (KJV)

For several months now I have been made aware of a theological controversy which has been developing in Australia. It involves the subject of righteousness by faith, and the nature of the humanity which Christ assumed in the Incarnation. Naturally with this came the subject of 1888 itself. Now in the latest Review to come to my desk, (1) there is a report of a conference held in Palmdale, California, involving administrators and theologians from Australia with their counterparts in the General Conference and professors from Andrews University. (2) While the report carefully stated that it was not "a formal presentation of doctrine, nor ... an official pronouncement by church leaders", nevertheless because it is presented as "a statement of consensus" by these administrators and theologians, it will mark the course of the doctrinal stance the church will take in the days ahead.

The controversy in Australia involves a paper prepared by Mrs. Desmond Ford, wife of the head of the Bible Department at Avondale College.(3) According to the information available, this paper was challenged by Pastor F. A. Basham at a hearing among Church leaders at Avondale, February 3 -4, this year. One of the points raised by Elder Basham caused Robert Brinsmead to issue what he called a "Thought Paper" which he asked not to be circulated among church members.(4) Brinsmead noted a key position held by Mrs. Ford, and stated -"It is true that I do agree wholeheartedly with Dr. Ford."(5) The statement in question reads - "Righteousness by faith is justification alone."(6) This is the basic emphasis of Brinsmead's Decade II teaching. However, he claims that this teaching by the Ford's preceded his own acceptance of the position.(7)

This position on righteousness by faith -moved by the Fords and seconded by Brins-mead -was the first point discussed in the "statement of consensus" released in the Review. It stated -"We agree that when the words righteousness and faith are connected (by- "of," "by," et cetera) in Scripture, reference is made to the experience of justification by faith."(8) And the unstated inference is that the phrase - "righteousness by/of faith" applies only to justification when used in the Bible. We do not need to take much time with this point, except to quote two texts, and let you, the reader, decided if this conclusion is true.

The first one reads:      Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for the

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hope of righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? (9)

Observe the phrase - "the hope of righteousness by faith" -and compare this relationship with Romans 8: 19-25, noting carefully the expressions: "the manifestation of the sons of God;" those having "the first fruits of the Spirit;' and "the redemption of our body," as Paul relates all these ideas to being "saved by hope." In regard to the phrase - "obey the truth" -check the definition of "righteousness by faith"!' which means -"the righteousness of Christ, which is pure unadulterated truth."(10) Are these expressions involving righteousness by faith, and the text so states, involved only with justification? Or do they cover the whole gambit of man's growth in grace?

Now for the second text - and it speaks for itself:      By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith! (11)

The other main aspect of the "statement of consensus" -the humanity the Son of man assumed in the Incarnation - will be discussed in the next thought paper - "Leavened Bread - Part 2".

It should be increasingly clear to the laity who desire to know truth for themselves of the need to have assembled a library of source materials that can be made readily available for such study; and equipment for their reproduction for those who wish to avail themselves of this material, but who are unable to come to the library. This is the goal which the Adventist Laymen's Foundation has in their plans by setting up a study and resource materials center in the Ozarks of Arkansas. It does require means to house this material, and purchase the necessary equipment so that it can be made available to those who wish to pursue truth. In the light of the need of the present hour, and the lateness of time, we invite those who have such means to make them available to complete the project which has now been started.

(1)  "Christ Our Righteousness", Review & Herald, May 27, 1976, pp. 4-7

(2)  See footnote (p.4) to the above noted report for names of those who were involved in "the study group." The names of some who have written authoritatively in recent years on the topics discussed are missing. This should tell the laity something.

(3)  Gillian Ford, The Soteriological Implications of the Human Nature of Christ, a 53 pp. manuscript in which the author claims indebtedness "to each member of the Avondale College's theological faculty" for their contributions of helpful criticisms. (p. 3)

(4)  R. D. Brinsmead, "The Current Righteousness by Faith Dialogue". A nine page "thought paper" published "for responsible brethren already involved in the righteousness by faith controversy." It was requested by the author -"Please do not circulate among church members."

(5)  Ibid., p. 1

(6)  Ford, op. cit., p. 9

(7)  Brinsmead, op. cit., p. 1 - "It is true that I do agree wholeheartedly with Dr. Ford. It is not true to say, however, that Dr. Ford is following my teachings. He was unopposed in teaching these things before I saw the light in his positions."

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(8)  Review & Herald, op.cit. p.4

(9)  Galatians 5:4-7

Gal 5:4  Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. 

Gal 5:5  For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 

Gal 5:6  For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. 

Gal 5:7  Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? 

(10)  Ellen G. White, Testimonies to Ministers, p. 65

(11)  Hebrews 11:7

Heb 11:7  By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. 

BATTLE LINES BEING DRAWN - ARE YOU READY?

"The Sabbath is God's Day. But Jesus said that man was not made for the Sabbath; the Sabbath was made for man. This suggests the two prongs of the attack I wish to recommend: the first has to do with man in a right relationship to God and the second with man in a right relationship to nature. Christians must learn of this twofold meaning of the Sabbath and come to a place where they practice Sabbath observance and also use their energies as members of Caesar's kingdom to get secular nations to do the same, albeit for different reasons. Primarily Christians celebrate the Lord's Day because it belongs to God and in it they can worship him suitably and with reverential trust and fear. But the Sabbath has in It more than the religious, or man's relationship to God in worship and commitment. It was and is part of God's natural revelation for man in nature itself. Men, converted or unconverted, are a part of nature and need the Sabbath as earthy people who in their bodies are inextricably dependent on water, air, and soil.

"It is important* for Christians to know that they are tied to the Sabbath because it was made for man's physical well-being. And it is this aspect of the Sabbath that can be used to bring unredeemed men to the place where they will keep it also - but for different reasons that may be devoid of the primary function of the Sabbath, which is the worship of God. The reason Christians should advance to convince unregenerate men to keep the Sabbath is that they need it, that it will work for their good, and that their failure to keep it is devastating for men and assures them of disaster. In this sense one could argue that outward Sabbath observance for unbelievers may be a form of pre-evangelism and could open the door to the propagation of the Gospel. ... 

"The proper use of the Lord's Day, wholly apart from any religious implications, can come about by free choice or it can be legislated. It is highly unlikely that it will be accomplished by voluntary action by the citizenry generally. Therefore the only way to accomplish the objective is by force of legislative fiat through the duly elected officials of the people. ... 

"Our faith commits us to the proposition that we are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. There could be no better way for us to fulfill the second table of the law than to press for social legislation that would benefit our neighbors, and by our efforts show that we love them as we love ourselves. This would be one of the highest forms of social action to spring from our confession of Jesus Christ as Lord. It would mark our concern for our fellow man and identify us with common and lost humanity in an area of great need."

--Harold Lindsell, Editor, "The Lord's Day and Natural Resources", Christianity Today, May 7, 1976, pp. 9, 12.

* -- Supply word, "even"

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The Supreme Court of the United States -whose decrees were declared to be "the law of the land" by a president of the United States - upheld the constitutionality of the Sunday "blue laws" of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts on May 29, 1961, against attacks that they abridge the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of religion. The rationale of the Court's ruling is that these laws are regulations aimed at protecting the health of the citizens of the State. Liberty News, June, 1961, Vol. 7, No. 6, p. 1

THE CAPITAL'S CARDINAL

"The newest Roman Catholic Cardinal in the United States and the only American in a class of nineteen announced April 27 will be remembered by evangelicals primarily for his early interest In the Key 73 evangelistic drive. William Baum, now archbishop of Washington D. C., headed a small diocese In Missouri at the time, and the Key 73 headquarters offices were located in St. Louis. He made the diocese an official participant, one of five representing Roman Catholicism in the endeavor." Christianity Today, May 21, 1976, p. 37.

Two questions: 1) Ever hear of Key 73 before? and  2)  Have you been hearing over the all-news stations, the reports assessing the new Cardinal's chances to become a future pope? (From a bishop of a small diocese in 1973 to a Cardinal in 1976 is moving up the ladder fast!)

CURIA ON THE SLIGO 

Curia - "the body of congregations, tribunals, and offices through which the pope governs the Roman Catholic Church." Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary.

"WHEN you and I joined the General Conference family something special happened to us. This is not just 'another office.' What goes on in these three buildings is of unique significance to the God whom we serve. Listen: 'When the judgment of the General Conference, which is the highest authority which God has upon earth, is exercised, private independence and private judgment must not be maintained, but be surrendered." Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 492 (Italics supplied).

"Did you notice those sobering words -'The General Conference, which is the highest authority that God has upon the earth'? They should cause everyone of us to ponder well their import. When we begin our work in the General Conference office we become part of what inspiration describes as God's highest authority on earth. This is a tremendous thought, freighted with great responsibility."

Elder R. H. Pierson, Talk given at General Conference worship, January 9, 1976, published in the Ministry, June, 1976, p. 7

Note the misuse of the statement from Testimonies, Vol. 3 as used by Elder Pierson.

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This was first written about 1875. In 1901, the servant of the Lord stood before the General Conference session and declared:      That these men should stand in a sacred place to be as the voice of God to the people, as we once believed the General Conference to be, -that is past. General Conference Bulletin, April 3,1901, p. 25

Is it past? Or has a "new curia" sprung up on the Sligo? Even in the 1909 statement in regard to the authority of the General Conference, It does not carry the implications given by the "first minister" of the Church, but rather rests the authority in the General Conference Sessions -not the officers, and committees operating from a three-building complex. See Testimonies, Vol. 9, pp. 260-261. And the statement found in Vol. 9 would be valid only till the time when the Church would be weighed in the balances of the sanctuary. See Testimonies, Vol. 8, p. 249. The decision rendered by the heavenly court would determine its continued application. If found wanting, no longer would such authority reside even in the General Conference Sessions.

FULL GOSPEL BUSINESS MEN'S FELLOWSHIP INTERNATIONAL

This organization is to hold its world convention at Miami Beach, Florida, July 5-10, 1976. A brochure telling of the guest speakers has been circulated to the mailing list of their official publication -The Voice. The time during the afternoon session from Tuesday through Saturday is allotted to "Teaching" in the Grand Ballroom of the Americana Hotel, while in adjoining rooms a Ministry in the Holy Spirit is to be conducted. On two of these days, a section of the afternoon teaching session is to be presented by Walter R. Martin, and on Saturday he is the leader of the Ministry in the Holy Spirit.

Now who is Walter R. Martin? Remember the Barnhouse-Martin dialogue? Remember how Martin was given free and unlimited access to the Ellen G. White files in Takoma Park? Have you read recently the Letters to the Churches, by the late Elder M. L. Andreasen? If not, it will refresh your memory.

Do you also remember the result of this dialogue between Barnhouse and Martin, and our Church leaders? It was the book -Questions on Doctrine - in which our basic doctrines were altered. Now here is this man -Walter R. Martin, a teacher at Melodyland School of Theology - a charismatic institution -now fully revealed for what he was -an agent of Satan to bring about the compromise of God's Church with the truth committed to it. And, we are still holding to some of these repudiations of that truth, unashamed, except for the fact that our Book Centers no longer have the book available. But there has been no explanation, or statement of repentance coming from the curia on the Sligo.

 July 1976  -  "Watchman, What of the Night? " Thought Paper.  Adventist Laymen's Foundation.  (Excerpt)