Christ
Our Righteousness
Part
4
We found when we reached Battle Creek
that some of our brethren and sisters had been preceding us with letters from
the meeting of the same character that we had met at the meeting, evidencing
that those who made these reports had not received at that meeting the benefit
that the Lord designed they should have. There were also a number of delegates
who returned to Battle Creek before us who were forward to make reports of the
meeting at Minneapolis, giving their own incorrect version of the matter, which
was unfavorable to Brethren A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner, W. C. White and
myself, and the work I had been compelled to do at that meeting. Some who had
not seen me since the General Conference in Oakland, California, met me as
almost a stranger. {16MR
212.1}
I knew that the same work that had
leavened the camp in Minneapolis had not been confined to that place but had
reached over to Battle Creek through letters sent from Minneapolis and by word
of mouth of those who preceded us to Battle Creek. Reports had come to Elder
Butler that were not correct or true. Those reporting were deceived by the
enemy and were in their turn deceiving him, putting a wrong interpretation upon
many things. In his weak condition of health he accepted everything as verity
and truth, and acted accordingly. He solicited no interview with me and did not
come to call upon me although several times he passed almost by the door where
I was rooming. He did not ask me if the statements brought to him were true,
but accepted all that had been unwisely told him. Have those who made these
impressions upon his sick mind been as zealous to remove them as they were to
make them? Let them answer this to God, for they must be met in the judgment
and answered to there. {16MR
212.2}
I met with the brethren in the
tabernacle, and there I felt it my duty to give a short history of the meeting
and my experience in Minneapolis, the course I had pursued and why, and plainly
state the spirit which prevailed at that meeting. I told them the position I
was compelled to take at that meeting which was not in harmony with my
brethren, and the efforts I there made with select brethren to convince them
that they were not moving in the counsel of God, that the Lord would not
sanction any such spirit as that which prevailed at that meeting. {16MR 213.1}
I told them of the hard position I was
placed in, to stand, as it were, alone and be compelled to reprove the wrong
spirit that was a controlling power at that meeting. The suspicion and
jealousy, the evil surmisings, the resistance of the
Spirit of God that was appealing to them, were more after the order in which
the Reformers had been treated. It was the very order in which the church had
treated my father's family and eight of us--the entire family living in
Portland, Maine, were excluded from the church because we favored the message
proclaimed by William Miller. {16MR 213.2}
I had been writing out Volume 4
of Great Controversy. It was fresh in my mind how those men,
upon whom the Lord was moving to bear to the world a message of light and of
truth, were treated, and because it did not coincide with their opinions men
closed their eyes and ears to the message sent of God. What effect did this
resistance and opposition have upon those to whom God had given light to be
flashed amid the moral darkness that had been gathering over the church like
the pall of death? Did they cease their efforts? No. The Lord had placed the
burden upon them: "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet,
and shew My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins"
(Isa. 58:1). {16MR
213.3}
The Lord was working, and I must be
faithful to speak the words given me of God although I was passing through the
most grievous trial of my life, for from this hour that confidence which I had
hitherto had that God was leading and controlling the minds and hearts of my
brethren, was not as heretofore. I had felt that when a call came to me,
"We want you at our meeting, Sister White; your influence is needed,"
I should not consult my choice of my feelings but would arise by faith and try
to act my part and leave the Lord to do the work that was essential to be done.
Now a greater burden falls upon me. From this time I must look alone to God,
for I dare not rely upon the wisdom of my brethren. I see they do not always take God for their counsellor, but look
in a large degree to the men they have set before them in the place of God. {16MR
214.1}
I tried at the meeting in Battle Creek
to make my position plain, but not a word of response came from the men who
should have stood with me. [SEE THE CHAPTERS "GEORGE I. BUTLER MOVES INTO
THE LIGHT," "URIAH SMITH FALLS ON THE 'ROCK,'" AND "STILL
MORE CONFESSIONS," INTHIRTEEN CRISIS YEARS, BY A. V. OLSON, PP.
87-119.] I stated that I stood nearly alone at Minneapolis. I stood alone
before them in the conference, for the light that God had seen fit to give me
was that they were not moving in the counsel of God. Not one ventured to
say, "I am with you, Sister White. I will stand by you." {16MR 214.2}
After the meeting [in Battle Creek]
several shook hands with me and stated, "I am glad to be here. I am
entirely relieved. So many reports came to us from Minneapolis and were told us
by those who arrived here before you came, of positions Sister White took and
what she had said at the conference, that we really thought that Sister White
must be a changed woman; but I feel happy and grateful that I could be at this
meeting and hear from her own lips the truth of the matter, that Sister White
is not changed, that her testimony has not changed in its character. We
recognize the Spirit of the Lord speaking through Sister White as
heretofore." {16MR
214.3}
But there were quite a number who held
fast their evil surmisings and clung to the distorted
representations made of me, as though these reports were too precious to be
given up, although they had not one real vestige of evidence that I had
changed. It seemed to be their preference to believe the false reports. I felt
deeply grieved that my brethren who had known me for years and had evidence of
the character of my labor should continue to remain in the deception they were
in and, rather than confess that they had been mistaken, hold on to the same
false impressions as though they were truth. {16MR 215.1}
I was invited to speak the next Sabbath
in the tabernacle, but afterwards--because the impressions were so strong that
I had changed--I think the brother felt a little sorry he had asked me. Two
elders visited me on Sabbath morning, and I was asked by one what I was going to
speak upon. I said, "Brethren, you leave that matter with the Lord and
Sister White, for neither the Lord nor Sister White will need to be dictated to
by the brethren as to what subject she will bring before them. I am at home in
Battle Creek, on the ground we have broken through the strength of God, and we
ask not permission to take the desk in the tabernacle. I take it as my rightful
position accorded me of God. But there is Brother Jones, who cannot feel as I
do, and who will wait an invitation from you. You should do your duty in regard
to this matter and open the way before him." {16MR 215.2}
The elders stated they did not feel
free to invite him to speak until they had consulted Brother Smith to know
whether he would sanction it, for Elder Smith was older than they. I said,
"Then do this at once, for time is precious and there is a message to come
to this people and the Lord requires you to open the way for the light to come
to the people of God." {16MR 216.1}
I had freedom in speaking to the people
the words of life. I was strengthened and blessed of God. But days passed and
there came no invitation for Elder Jones to present to the large church in
Battle Creek the message given him of God. I sent for the elders of the church
and asked again if they designed to give Elder Jones an opportunity to speak to
the people. The answer was, "I have consulted Brother Smith and he has
decided it would not be best to ask him because he took strong positions, and
carried the subject of national reform too far." {16MR 216.2}
I then felt my spirit stirred within
me, and I bore a very plain testimony to these brethren. I told them a little
of how matters had been carried [on] at Minneapolis, and stated the position I
had taken, that Pharisaism had been at work leavening
the camp here at Battle Creek, and the Seventh-day Adventist churches were
affected; but the Lord had given me a message, and with pen and voice I would
work until this leaven was expelled and a new leaven was introduced, which was
the grace of Christ. {16MR
216.3}
I was confirmed in all I had stated in
Minneapolis, that a reformation must go
through the churches. Reforms must be made,
for spiritual weakness and blindness were upon the people who had been blessed
with great light and precious opportunities and privileges. As reformers they
had come out of the denominational churches, but they now act a part similar to
that which the churches acted. We hoped that there would not be the necessity
for another coming out. While we will endeavor to keep the "unity of the
Spirit" in the bonds of peace, we will not with pen or voice cease to
protest against bigotry. {16MR
216.4}
We see a people whom God has blessed
with advanced light and knowledge, and will the people thus favored become vain
of their intelligence, proud of their knowledge? Will men who ought to be more
closely connected with God think it better to trust in their own wisdom than to
inquire of God? There are ministers who are inflated, self-sufficient, too wise
to seek God prayerfully and humbly with the earnest toil of searching the
Scriptures daily for increased light. Many will close their ears to the message
God sends them, and open their ears to deception and delusion. {16MR 217.1}
Such a state of feelings as existed was
painful to me. I labored with pen and voice, doing all in my power to change
this order of things. A meeting was conducted at Potterville by the Michigan
ministers. I was urged by Brother Van Horn to attend the meeting. I was glad to
do this, hoping that the prejudice would be removed. The Lord gave me of His
Holy Spirit at that meeting. The Lord seemed to be close by my side, and I had
freedom when bearing my message to the people. On this occasion, when only our
brethren were present in the morning meeting, I spoke plainly, stating the
light that the Lord had been pleased to give me in warnings and in reproof for
His people. {16MR
217.2}
In leaning upon man--placing so many
responsibilities upon one man, as though God had not given intelligence of
reason and spiritual strength to other men to bear responsibilities--there is
not only danger that they themselves will become weak and inefficient, but they
do a serious wrong to the one whom they treat in this manner. Human beings
cannot endure this dependence placed upon themselves. Their danger is great that human influence will stand where the
Lord should be. {16MR 217.3}
Our brethren separate themselves from God, by reason of the
homage they give to human beings.They may esteem
themselves, they may esteem others, and look to themselves and to others with
that confidence which should be given to the Lord of Israel. The remedy for these things is the heartfelt belief of Bible
truth, taking the plainest declaration of the Scriptures. There is great need
for all who are placed in positions of trust, who have an influence over other
minds, to take heed that, in their positions of trust, they do not prove to be
agents through whom the enemy can work, to the detriment of souls. If the weak
brother perish, the blood of his soul will be required at your hand. {16MR 218.1}
Has God given men places in His
vineyard? Then let their talents be employed, and let them increase in
efficiency by consecrating soul, body, and spirit to God. The mind must be
brought under control, its powers educated, disciplined, and strengthened in
the same way that the physical powers are brought under control by right
exercise. I warned our ministers to put to exercise every spiritual muscle,
improving their talent and making the most of their acquirements in the service
of God, for I had been shown that in their special meetings but little good was
accomplished because they did not have such a living connection with God that
He could impress them by His Holy Spirit. When not under the control of the Spirit of God, another spirit
had control of their thoughts, words, and actions, and in place of growing in
grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ they were becoming dwarfs in
spiritual things. {16MR 218.2}
There was a loose, haphazard way of
doing the work of God. There was an atmosphere surrounding their souls that was
not heavenly, but earthly, common, and cheap. In this atmosphere spirituality
could not strengthen, but would decrease. There was laughing, jesting, joking.
There seemed to be very little solemnity, very little appreciation of the
sacredness of the work. There was much talk, but very little of the mind of
Christ. And as long as they carried
with them this atmosphere, the gifts and abilities given them of God were
misused, and the enemy often employed them in his service. In their blindness they
could not discern spiritual things, and under the influence of the great
deceiver would take a position to oppose the most sacred things of God. {16MR
219.1}
There must be no deifying of human beings, for this is highly displeasing to God. There must be no rings of
men to unite together in unholy fellowship to strengthen each other in ways and
ideas that are opposed to the Spirit of God. All these preferences, these
ardent attachments for individuals, are not after God's order. It is an injury
to all parties, for one thinks he is bound to stand by him who is his fast
friend.{16MR 219.2}
But let my brethren consider, is this a
sanctified union? I know that it is not. The power possessed over minds leads
you to look to and trust in each other rather than to trust in the living God.
It leads you to consult with each other when you should be on your knees
pleading with God, the mighty Counsellor. It leads you to strengthen each other
to find things you can question and construe in a way to encourage your
unbelief. What one man would not think of by himself, another will supply with
his suggestions.{16MR
219.3}
I stated that the course that had been
pursued at Minneapolis was cruelty to the Spirit of God; and those who went all
through that meeting and left with the same spirit with which they came to the
meeting, and were carrying on the same line of work they did at that meeting
and since they had come from it, would--unless they were changed in spirit and
confessed their mistakes--go into greater deceptions. They would stumble and
know not at what they were stumbling. I begged them to stop just where they
were. But the position of Elder Butler and Elder Smith influenced them to make
no change but stand where they did. No confession was made. The blessed meeting
closed. Many were strengthened, but doubt and darkness enveloped some closer
than before. The dew and showers of grace from heaven which softened many
hearts did not wet their souls. {16MR 220.1}
I went on my way, returning to Battle
Creek wearied but blessed of the Lord. I had repeated interviews with my
brethren, explaining my position and the work for this time. {16MR 220.2}
I thought it was my duty to go to Des
Moines, Iowa. I hoped to meet most of the ministers in that State. I came near
fainting in the cars, but the Lord strengthened me to bear my testimony to
those assembled. I wished I had all the conference that I could address, for my
heart was full of the Spirit of God, just as it was at Minneapolis. The Spirit
of the Lord came into our morning meetings, and many humble testimonies were
borne with weeping. I will say to the glory of God that He did sustain me and
hearts were touched. I did hope to see some who had taken an active part in
Minneapolis bend their proud wills and seek the Lord with their whole heart. I
believed this would be done, but although the Lord was manifestly at work upon
hearts no thorough confessions were made. They did not fall upon the Rock and
be broken, so that the Lord could put His mold upon them. Oh, if they had only
yielded their pride, the light and love of God would have come into their
hearts! {16MR
220.3}
There was Brother Leroy Nicola, whom
the Lord has blessed with ability. If his will were subdued to God's will, then
a work would be accomplished for him that would make him an instrument of
righteousness; but just as long as he cherishes doubts, as long as he feels at
liberty to criticize, he will not grow spiritually. The dark shadows will
encompass him, uncertainty and discouragements will take possession of reason,
and he who feels too proud to bend his will is found weak as a child in moral
strength and often almost helpless. Why will he not be healed? He has not the
consoling consciousness that he has the Spirit and favor of God. He is educating
his mind to doubt and criticize. {16MR 221.1}
How my soul longed to see these
ministers walking in the footprints of Jesus, pursuing the path He trod, rough
and thorny though it may be, but with the assurance that Jesus has traveled it
before them and commanded them to follow in His steps. When the will consents
to do this, when there is a crucifixion of self, then can they cheerfully take
hold of every duty. Then how joyfully is everything begun, carried through, and
finished in the name of the Lord God of hosts! Then they can run and not be
weary, walk and not faint. Perplexed about the ways and works of God, a cloud
of uncertainty hanging over them, and often grievously disappointed and almost
loosening the hands to let go, they have but little consciousness of the Lord's
presence and are fitful, undecided. {16MR 221.2}
Oh, what a blessed privilege to know
that we are entirely submissive to the will of God, that we are walking at all
times in the light of His countenance, hearkening to the words that He shall
speak concerning us, and not venturing a step without His counsel and His
direction. May the Lord move upon the minds of these brethren by His Holy
Spirit, and may the thick darkness which has clouded their minds and hung over
their souls be rolled back and the Sun of righteousness arise in their hearts
with healing in its beams. {16MR 222.1}
I left Des Moines hoping and praying
that these men in responsible positions would be wholly transformed by the
grace of Christ, that their labors would not be in vain in the Lord. I was
disappointed that no reference was made to the meeting in Minneapolis, no word
of retraction of the course pursued there. At the Des Moines meeting an
invitation was made by a standing vote for me to attend their conference. I
said if it was in the line of my duty, if I was this side the Rocky Mountains,
I would gladly comply with their request. But after many months no line reached
me from them, no word came that they desired me. {16MR 222.2}
I wrote them from the Kansas meeting
that I had been disappointed that no word had come to me since the good meeting
we had had in Iowa. I was much worn from labor. My heart had suffered so keenly
since I left California, in passing through the trials of seeing my brethren in
the condition they were in spiritually, that I felt every day that I might not
be found alive in the morning; and yet I could not cease my labors of
reproving, of standing firm for that which I knew was right. {16MR 222.3}
I asked my brethren in Iowa if they
deemed it to be their duty to counteract my labors if I attended their meeting,
bearing the message the Lord should give me, in case it did not coincide with
their ideas. If they felt thus, I could do them no good. Letters were pressing
me to go to Williamsport [Pennsylvania, 1889]. I had promised them I would
attend their camp meeting but did not know these meetings would be appointed at
the same time. I had to choose which meeting to attend. {16MR 223.1}
As not one word came from Iowa I had no
chance to know that there had been any change of their feelings, and I decided
it could not be my duty to place myself in the atmosphere of resistance and
doubt and opposition when there were urgent entreaties for me to attend
meetings of those who would receive the testimony given me of God and profit by
it because they had not shrouded themselves in an atmosphere of unbelief and
proud resistance to the light God had permitted to shine upon them. I cannot
believe it to be the will of my heavenly Father for me to tax my strength and
lift burdens when those for whom I labor feel no responsibility to lift with
me, but feel at liberty to criticize if they think they can do so. We should
ever seek to use our ability where we can accomplish the most good, where souls
feel their need and are willing to be helped. {16MR 223.2}
Oh, how interestedly is the universe of
heaven watching to see how many faithful servants are bearing the sins of the
people on their hearts and afflicting their souls; how many are colaborers with Jesus Christ to become repairers of the
breach which the ungodly had made, and restorers of the paths which others have
sought to obliterate. The path of faith and
righteousness must be restored. Our salvation is not built upon works of righteousness
which we have done, but upon God's mercy and love. We may put all the works of
our own righteousness together, but they will be found to be as sliding sand.
We cannot rest upon them. {16MR 223.3}
It is God's purpose that we should be
educated by providential experience and be habitual learners, building securely
on Jesus Christ, the only sure foundation, which will stand fast forever. The
blood of Jesus Christ alone can atone for our transgressions. We must claim His
righteousness by living faith, and depend on Him and abide in Him alone. We are
always to feel our continual dependence upon God. This will scatter our
self-sufficiency, our pride and vanity, to the winds. {16MR 224.1}
[E. G. W. Marginal Note: "Letter
to Elder Butler to stay after the week of prayer (Dec. 15-22) comes in
here." See E. G. White Letter to G. I. Butler, Dec. 11, 1888 (Letter 18,
1888.)] {16MR
224.2}
This extract from a letter written to Brother
Butler expressed the earnest desire of my soul in his behalf, but the answer I
received to this letter pained my heart, for I knew he did not understand the
work God has given me to do, neither did he understand the spirit which
prompted the answer to this letter.{16MR 224.3}
Brother Ballenger became very much
distressed in mind. He was almost in despair, and he solicited an interview
with me, but I was engaged in other work and could not see him at that time. He
tried to obtain an interview with his brethren but he was not favored in this,
and then he decided there was no help for him except in God. He began to see
that without Him he was in a state of spiritual nakedness and in the dark
midnight of despair. He went to the dear Saviour just as He had invited him to
come. "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest." He sought the Lord with earnestness of purpose and he
found Jesus was close by him. The atoning death, the sufficient propitiation,
was presented to him. He laid hold on Christ by living faith, and the cloud was
rolled back and he was clothed in the righteousness of Christ. {16MR 224.4}
He came into the meeting full of peace
and hope, for the Lord had put a new song in his heart, even praise to our God.
He then made confession of his great want of spirituality in his labors, and
how he had received a view of Jesus and His love, and that this should be his
theme in his future labors. {16MR 225.1}
Such experiences as these characterized
all our meetings after the first week. One brother bore testimony that he had
been a Sabbathkeeper many years but he had felt the
great lack of faith in Jesus Christ. Coldness and the want of the love of God
and of spiritual fervor had discouraged him. He went to other denominations to
find that for which his soul hungered, but he found greater dearth among them
than among Seventh-day Adventists. He said he had heard at this meeting just
the truth for which his soul hungered. "This," he said, "is the
truth, present truth. I accept it. And as I have withdrawn from the church of
Seventh-day Adventists, I now want to unite heart and soul with
you." {16MR
225.2}
During the week of prayer in Battle
Creek [Dec. 15-22] we labored earnestly, speaking at the sanitarium in the
early morning, and at the office chapel to the workers in the office, and at
the tabernacle. I had reason to give praise to God that strength was given me
for this labor. At times the power of God rested upon me in large measure. It
seemed at times while I was speaking that the unseen realities of the eternal
world were opened to my view, and I know that the Lord was speaking through me
to His people. I take no credit to myself. It was all of God, every bit of it,
and the Spirit of God rested upon the congregation. I was glad of this for the
sake of the people, for I knew that those who had been in doubt had evidence
for their faith if their hearts were open to receive the impression of the
Spirit of God. {16MR
225.3}
I longed to hear those who had
considered it a virtue to brace themselves against light and evidence
acknowledge the movings of the Spirit of God, cast
away their unbelief, and come to the light. I knew that unless they did this
their path would become darker, for light unconfessed and unacknowledged and unimproved becomes
darkness to those who refuse to receive it and walk in it. Up to this late date there are souls still in darkness,
who know not at what they stumble. And it will be much harder now for them to
go back and gather up the rays of light which they have scorned to receive, and
to acknowledge the light God graciously gave them to heal them of their
spiritual diseases. {16MR
226.1}
The first step taken in the path of
unbelief and rejection of light is a dangerous thing, and the only way for
those who have taken this step to recover themselves from the snares of Satan
is to accept that which the Lord
sent them but which they refused to receive. This will be humiliating to the
soul but will be for their salvation. God will not be trifled with. He will not remove all
reason to doubt, but He will give sufficient evidence upon which to base
faith. {16MR
226.2}
If my brethren had sensed their own
weakness, their own inability, and had never lost sight of this, they would
have humbled their hearts before God, confessed their errors, and come into
light and freedom. Are we ready to boast in pride that we are rich and
increased with goods and have need of nothing? This has been done and is being
done still. The voice of the True Witness is heard: "I know thy works,
that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then
because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue
thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich,
and increased with goods, and have need of nothing" (Rev. 3: 15-17). All
this boasting is vain. Christ sees to the very center of the soul and tells us
just what we are and what we must be in order to be saved.{16MR 226.3}
The message that was given to the people in these meetings
presented in clear lines not alone the commandments of God--a part of the third
angel's message--but the faith of Jesus, which comprehends more than is
generally supposed. And it will be well for the third angel's message to be
proclaimed in all its parts, for the people need every jot and tittle of it. If
we proclaim the commandments of God and leave the other half scarcely touched,
the message is marred in our hands. {16MR
227.1}
There was precious truth and light
presented before the people, but hearts that were obdurate received no
blessing. They could not rejoice in the light which, if accepted, would have
brought freedom and peace and strength and courage and joy to their souls. {16MR
227.2}
The blessings of that week of prayer
extended through the church. Confessions were made. Those who had robbed God in tithes and in
offerings confessed their wrong and made restitution, and many were blessed of
God who had never felt that God had forgiven their sins. All these precious
fruits evidenced the work of God, and yet those who had set their feet in the
path of doubt and unbelief did not backtrack and confess their wrongs and come
to the light. God was at work, but those who had been pursuing a course of
their own devising, contrary to God's word, contrary to His will, in place of yielding their wills and wishes and permitting their
hearts to be melted with thankfulness, felt more confirmed and determined to
resist. What shall we name this element? It is rebellion, as in the days of
Israel, when they stubbornly wanted their own way and would not submit to God's
way and God's will. {16MR
227.3}
We have the example of the children of
Israel to warn us off that ground. The Lord wrought in our midst, but some did
not receive the blessing. They had been privileged to hear the most faithful
preaching of the gospel, and had listened to the message God had given His
servants to give them, with their hearts padlocked. They did not turn unto the
Lord with all their heart and with all their soul, but used all their powers to
pick some flaws in the messengers and in the message, and they grieved the
Spirit of God, while those who did receive the message were charmed with the
presentation of the free gifts of Jesus Christ. {16MR 228.1}
The Lord forces His blessing upon no
one. There will be those who stand in resistance against light and will say the
same words as did the Jews, "Work a miracle and we will believe. If this
is the message of God, why do they not heal the sick, and then we will
believe." Others truly may comprehend that miracles have been wrought far
greater than to heal bodily infirmities. Has not the divine power of God taken
hearts cold as steel and softened them and subdued them so that they became as
little children? Their legal religion was seen as it is in its true
light--worthless. {16MR
228.2}
The religious feelings of many were
more natural than spiritual, and although they tried to be satisfied they felt
an unrest--cold, dark, and Christless. They remained
in ignorance of how they stand toward God, ignorant as far as experimental
knowledge was concerned of the office work of our Mediator and Intercessor.
When they by faith laid hold of Christ, their hearts were contrite and broken.
Christ was being formed within, the hope of glory. This was everything to them.
It was the intelligence of what constituted the mystery of godliness. The
miracle is wrought. The Lord and His Spirit break in upon the soul. Life and
joy take possession of the heart. How quickly is the soul made sensible of its
deficiency. Everything is laid open before Him with whom we have to do. {16MR 228.3}
But those who close their eyes to evidence
God is pleased to give--as did the Jews--and ask for miracles, will be passed
by. The evidences they refused to receive, others will receive, and others will
receive the blessing God tendered to them but which they refused because they
were proud, self-sufficient, and self-righteous. {16MR 229.1}
We thank God for every token of His
love and of His grace. We will praise God and take courage. We will not sit as
criticizers. We will not turn from the heavenly benefits, neither will we sit
in judgment to condemn God's ways and God's manner of working because others
feel like doing it. They have no reason for saying the things that they do, no
reason to resist the Spirit of God. {16MR 229.2}
Jesus upbraided His disciples for their
unbelief. Unbelief is the occasion of all sin and is the bond of iniquity. Its
work is to make crooked, things that are straight. Faith is the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. When we become as little
children, sitting at the feet of Jesus, learning of Him self-denial and what it
is to live by faith in every word of God, then the soul finds rest and peace.{16MR 229.3}
A woe is pronounced upon all such
unbelief and criticism as was revealed in Minneapolis and as was revealed in
Battle Creek. By their fruits ye shall know them. Evidence at every step that
God was at work has not changed the manifest attitude of those who in the very
beginning pursued a course of unbelief which was an offense to God. With this
barrier they themselves had erected, they--like the Jews--were seeking
something to strengthen their unbelief and make it appear they were right.
Therefore they could not drink in the great salvation that the Lord proffered
them. The riches of divine grace they refused. The longsuffering of God, His
goodness, and His love and wonderful forbearance have not broken their hearts
because they have not looked upon it and appreciated these favors. I lay these
things open plainly before all, for I know their danger. I have labored
earnestly to one end--the good of souls and the glory of God.{16MR 229.4}
When we see men unconvinced and
unchanged, notwithstanding all the marked evidences God has given, we feel sure
that they will see no greater evidence. I thought of another thing that I could
do--to get out a testimony and set before the questioning, doubting ones
general principles, hoping this would bring some to see things in a correct
light. I know that it has had an influence upon many minds, but it seems to be
no help to others. They stand ready to block the wheels rather than to help
pull the car up the steep ascent. {16MR 230.1}
I have not left anything undone that I
have had any evidence it was my duty to do. And as far as Battle Creek is concerned I can do no more
than I have done. Those who have not united with me and the messengers of God
in this work, but whose influence has been to create doubt and unbelief, I do
not judge. Every jot of influence that has been cast on the side of the enemy
will meet its reward according to its works. God was working with me to present to the people a message in
regard to the faith of Jesus and the righteousness of Christ. There have been those who have not worked in harmony but
in a way to counteract the work God has given me to do. I must leave them with
the Lord. {16MR
230.2}
We attended meetings in South Lancaster
[Jan. 11-22, 1889], and the fruits were good. We had the same spirit and power
that attended the first and second angels' messages. I have given you an
account of these meetings. The Lord wrought upon all hearts, and many were able
to say, "The Lord hath put a new song in my mouth, the matchless love of
Jesus." His excellencies were kept before the mind's eye, and souls began
to see the delights in Jesus. They could speak of His love and tell of His
power. The Sun of righteousness was rising in the hearts of nearly all present.
Many were zealous and were repenting of their lukewarmness
and complying with the invitation of the Merchantman, "Buy of Me gold
tried in the fire," "and white raiment," "and eyesalve." Their testimony was, "I have found the
Pearl of great price." Hearts were impressed, confessions were made of
wrongs to unbelievers and believers, and restitutions were made. {16MR 231.1}
We inquire, as Christ inquired of the
Jews, The preaching of this message, is it of heaven or is it from beneath?
Jesus rejoiced in spirit as He saw men who had not had the continuous
opportunity and privileges the Jews had had, convicted and converted to the
truth. He said, "I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them
unto babes" (Matt. 11:25). The Lord rejoiced that the plan of salvation
was so plain that a child in its simplicity could understand it, while those
who were not spiritual and humble and willing to learn, who were puffed up in
their own self-conceit, could not see the beauty of the gospel, because it is
spiritually discerned. But all who are honest,
teachable, childlike, who desire to know the truth, will see the power of God
when it is revealed, and will acknowledge it. {16MR
231.2}
Earnest discourses have been given in
the power and Spirit of God by His servants, in regard to the hope set before
us in the gospel. The love of Jesus and the
righteousness of Christ have been presented,
and they are so plainly seen the mind grasps them by faith. They have come to
many who have long been Christians, as a new revelation. "God so loved the
world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish but have everlasting life." Oh, this is meat in due
season from first to last! {16MR 232.1}
The Jews looked upon a veiled Saviour
whom they had never seen unveiled, and many even who claim to be God's commandment-keeping
people are looking upon a veiled Saviour. They have thought so little upon the
great plan of redemption, the atoning sacrifice, and the truth that through the
shedding of a Saviour's blood alone the angels could proclaim peace on earth and
good will to men. Talk it. Pray it. Without the shedding of blood there is no
remission of sins. Then why not dwell upon the necessity offaith in the blood of Jesus Christ? {16MR
232.2}
It is said that Wilberforce once took
the great statesman Pitt to hear the celebrated Mr. Scott preach. The
preacher's theme was the way by which a sinner can be saved, and it was
presented with great plainness, fervor, and earnestness. At the close of the
service Pitt was asked what he thought of the sermon. He replied, "I did
not know what he was aiming at." Spiritual things are spiritually
discerned. The things of the Spirit, the preaching of the cross, are "to
them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." {16MR 232.3}
We visited Washington, D. C. [Jan
24-31, 1889], and labored there, and we saw the same fruits attending the
message. We felt to thank God for the evidences of His rich grace. We visited
Illinois, and there we saw the work of God. His Spirit was poured out in rich
measure. I will here insert a letter written while I was at that meeting.
(Insert letter to W. C. White.) {16MR 233.1}
I will pursue this history no further,
but I will in a very imperfect manner state [that] the law points to Christ and
Christ points to the law. Because man has broken the law, the day in which we
live is a period when the law of God is almost universally made void. How few
realize their personal responsibility to God. The power of free, independent
action may fill us with awe. God speaks. What does He say? He says, "Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. . . .
This do and thou shalt live" (Luke 10:27, 28).{16MR 233.2}
It is impossible for us to realize the
far-reaching nature of God's law unless we view Christ upon the cross of
Calvary--the atoning sacrifice. Through the law is the knowledge of sin. God's
moral law is the sin detector, and how can we have an intelligent knowledge of
what constitutes sin unless we acknowledge God's moral standard of
righteousness? He who has the fullest conceptions of the infinite sacrifice of
Christ for the sins of the world, and by faith seizes and appropriates the
righteousness of Christ as his righteousness, can see the holiness, beauty, and
glory in the law of God, and exclaim with David, "O how I love Thy law! It
is my meditation all the day" (Ps. 119:97). {16MR 233.3}
God's law reaches to the internal as
well as to the external actions of men. It is a discerner of the thoughts and
intents and purposes of the soul. A man may be guilty of sins which God alone
knows. God's law is indeed a searcher of hearts. There are dark passions of
jealousy and revenge and hatred and malignity, lust, and wild ambition that are
covered up from human observation, and the great I AM knows it all. Sins have
been contemplated and yet not carried out for want of opportunity. God's law
makes a record of all these. These hidden-away, secret sins form
character. {16MR
234.1}
The law of God condemns not only what
we have done but what we have not done. We will, in the day of final accounts,
find a register of the sins of omission as well as the sins of commission. God
will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing. It is not enough
that by your own measurement of character you prove you have done no positive
wrong. The fact that one has done no positive good will be enough to condemn
him as a wicked and slothful servant. {16MR 234.2}
By the deeds of the law shall no flesh
be justified. There is no power in law to save the transgressor of law. If man,
after his transgression, could have been saved by his utmost energy to keep the
law, then Jesus need not have died. Man could have stood on his own merits and
said, "I am sinless." God will never bring down the law to man's
standard, and man can never lift himself up to answer to its claims of
perfection. But Christ comes to our world and pays the sinner's debt, suffers
the penalty for transgression of the law, and satisfies justice, and now the
sinner may claim the righteousness of Christ. "Where sin abounded, grace
did much more abound" (Rom. 5:20). {16MR 234.3}
But grace does not come in to excuse
the sinner in the continuance of sin. God's grace does not detract from the
law, but establishes the law as changeless in its character. Here "mercy
and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each
other" (Ps. 85:10). God looks upon His Son dying upon the cross and is
satisfied, and Jesus is called "the Lord Our Righteousness." Then let the sinner by faith appropriate the merits of the
blood of a crucified Redeemer to his own case--"the Lord my righteousness." {16MR
235.1}
The Lord is not pleased to have man
trusting in his own ability or good deeds or in a legal religion, but in God,
the living God. The present message that God has made it the duty of His servants to give to
the people is no new or novel thing. It is an old truth that has been lost
sight of, just as Satan made his masterly efforts that it should be. The Lord has a work for every one of His loyal people to do to
bring the faith of Jesus into the right place where it belongs--in the third
angel's message. The law has its
important position but is powerless unless the righteousness of Christ is
placed beside the law to give its glory to the whole royal standard of
righteousness. "Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and
just, and good" (Rom. 7:12). {16MR 235.2}
A thorough and complete trust in Jesus
will give the right quality to religious experience. Aside from this the
experience is nothing. The service is like the offering of Cain--Christless. God is glorified by living faith in a personal,
all-sufficient Saviour. Faith views Christ as He is--the sinner's only hope.
Faith takes hold of Christ, trusts Him. It says, "He loves me; He died for
me. I accept the sacrifice, and Christ shall not have died for me in
vain." {16MR
235.3}
We have not only lost much to our own
souls, but as ministers [we] have neglected the most solemn part of our work in
not dwelling upon the blood of Jesus Christ as the sinner's only hope for
eternal life. Tell the story of Christ's leaving the heaven of bliss and the
coming to our world, practicing self-denial and self-sacrifice, calling for all
to come and learn of Him, for He is meek and lowly of heart, and promising that
they should find rest to their souls if they would wear His yoke and lift His
burden. Oh, how many will have to have their false props swept away--their
self-congratulation, their self-esteem! Nothing will God accept of you but an
indwelling Jesus; Christ alone, Christ all and in all. {16MR 236.1}
The conversion of souls has been made
mysterious and complicated. Oh, tell the sinners, "Look and live."
Study and practice Christ. "Thy gentleness," said David, "hath
made me great" (Ps. 18:35). Just open the door and let Jesus come in, and
He will abide in the soul temple, and we may abide in Christ and rejoice in His
love. {16MR
236.2}
Bible religion is not made up of
theological systems, creeds, theories, and tradition, for then it would not remain
a mystery. The worldly would understand it through their own natural abilities.
But religion, Bible religion, has a practical, saving energy, elements
proceeding wholly from God--a personal experience of God's power transforming
the entire man. {16MR
236.3}
Many are ignorant of the deception
which palms off falsehood for truth. They entertain ideas that men may be saved
by their own merit. A false religion has come in among us, a legal religion. We
will not keep silent. The church must be roused. We will secure halls in the
cities and put out handbills and the people shall be enlightened. God has sent
a message of warning. We must soon wrestle with the powers of the land, and we
have every reason to fear that falsehood will gain the mastery. We shall call
upon our churches in the name of the Lord to view this struggle in its true
light. It is a contest between the Christianity of the Old and New Testaments
and the Christianity of human tradition and corrupt fables.{16MR 236.4}
This contest is to decide whether the
pure gospel shall have the field in our nation, or whether the popery of past
ages shall receive the right hand of fellowship from Protestantism, and this
power prevail to restrict religious liberty. The struggle is right upon us. We
are years behind, and yet men in responsible positions will in their blindness
keep the key of knowledge, refusing to enter themselves and hindering those who
would enter. The message must go broadcast, that those who have been
imperceptibly tampering with popery, not knowing what they were doing, may
hear. They are fraternizing with popery by compromises and by concessions which
surprise the adherents of the papacy. But let us hope it is not yet too late to
do a work that our people ought to have done years before this. {16MR 237.1}
God has children, many of them, in the
Protestant churches, and a large number in the Catholic churches, who are more
true to obey the light to the very best of their knowledge than a large number
among Sabbathkeeping Adventists who do not walk in
the light. The Lord will have the message of truth proclaimed, that Protestants
may be warned and awakened to the true state of things and consider the worth
of the privileges of religious freedom which they have long enjoyed. {16MR 237.2}
This land has been the home of the
oppressed, the witness for liberty of conscience, and the great center of
Scriptural light. God has sent messengers who have studied their Bibles to find
what is truth, and studied the movements of those who are acting their part in
fulfilling prophecy in bringing about the religious amendment which is making
void the law of God and thus giving ascendancy to the man of sin. And shall no
voice be raised of direct warning to arouse the churches to their danger? Shall
we let things drift, and let Satan have the victory without a protest? God
forbid. {16MR
237.3}
The Lord Jesus understands the pressure
that is brought to bear against those who are loyal and true to Him, for He has
felt the same in the highest degree. Those who witnessed a good confession in behalf of truth in the
Reformation counted not their lives dear unto themselves, that truth might be vindicated.God and angels are looking on as witnesses from their holy dwelling
place, and marking the earnestness and zeal of the defenders of the truth in
this age. What do they defend? The faith once delivered to the saints. Then let
the message go to all nations, tongues, and people. {16MR 238.1}
Stand out of the way, Brethren. Do not
interpose yourselves between God and His work. If you have no burden of the
message yourselves, then prepare the way for those who have the burden of the
message, for there are many souls to come out of the ranks of the world, out of
the churches--even the Catholic church--whose zeal will far exceed that of
those who have stood in rank and file to proclaim the truth heretofore. For
this reason the eleventh hour laborers will receive their penny. These will see
the battle coming and will give the trumpet a certain sound. When the crisis is
upon us, when the season of calamity shall come, they will come to the front,
gird themselves with the whole armor of God, and exalt His law, adhere to the
faith of Jesus, and maintain the cause of religious liberty which Reformers defended
with toil and for which they sacrificed their lives. {16MR 238.2}
The watchmen must sound the alarm. If
men are at ease in Zion somebody must be awake to give the trumpet a certain
sound. Let the blaze of the beacon light be seen everywhere. Let the
ease-loving awake, the tranquil be disturbed, and let them labor for religious
liberty. And after we have done all we can, then leave our Lord to do His
work. {16MR
239.1}
There was at last an opening made for
Brother Jones, but it was not pleasant to fight every inch for any privileges
and advantages to bring the truth before the people. The message borne had a
wonderful effect on those that heard it. There were many not of our faith who
were deeply stirred with the importance of doing something and doing it now, in
the struggle for religious freedom. Many were awakened to see what this
religious amendment meant--turning from a "Thus saith the Lord, the
seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." A spurious sabbath is
presented to be legislated into power, compelling the observance of a sabbath
which God has not enjoined upon man. {16MR 239.2}
The persecutions of Protestants by
Romanism, by which the religion of Jesus Christ was almost annihilated, will be
more than rivaled when Protestantism and popery are combined. The darkest pages
of history will be opened in that great day when it will be too late for wrongs
to be righted. Registered in the book are crimes that have been committed
because of religious differences. We are not ignorant of the history. Europe
was shaken as though with an earthquake, when a church, lifted up in pride and
vanity, haughty and tyrannical, devoted to condemnation and death all who dared
to think for themselves, and who ventured to take the Bible as the foundation
of their faith. {16MR
239.3}
Our own land is to become a battlefield
on which is to be carried on the struggle for religious liberty to worship God
according to the dictates of our own conscience. Then can we not discern the
work of the enemy in keeping men asleep who ought to be awake, whose influence
shall not be neutral but wholly and entirely on the Lord's side? Shall men cry
peace and safety now, when sudden destruction is coming upon the world, when
God's wrath shall be poured out? {16MR 240.1}
And shall there be with the people of
God the cropping out of the very same spirit which they have condemned in the
denominations, because there was a difference of understanding on some
points--not vital questions? Shall the same spirit in any form be cherished
among Seventh-day Adventists--the cooling of friendship, the withdrawal of
confidence, the misrepresentation of motives, the endeavor to thwart and turn
into ridicule those who honestly differ with them in their views? I have in my
last few weeks' experience learned what little dependence may be placed in man,
for these things must be met. Alienation and bitterness give evidence that if
possible Satan will deceive even those who claim to believe the truth for this time, showing that they have need to
study the character of pure and undefiled religion. God forbid that Satan shall
do this. {16MR 240.2}
Godliness, which the gospel enjoins,
never bears briars and thorns, never--because all do not see exactly
alike--breaks the closest links of association, dividing those who have been
one in faith, one in heart, in their relationship. But a difference in the
application of some few scriptural passages makes men forget their religious
principles. Elements become banded together, exciting one another through the
human passions to withstand in a harsh, denunciatory manner everything that
does not meet their ideas. This is not Christian, but is of another
spirit. {16MR 240.3}
And Satan is doing his utmost to have
those who believe present truth deceived on this point, for he has laid his
snare to overcome them, that those who have accepted unpopular truth, who have had great light and great privileges, shall have the
spirit that will pervade the world. Even if it is in a less degree, yet it is the
same principle that when it has a controlling power over minds, leads to
certain results. There is pride of opinion, a stubbornness that shuts the soul
away from good and from God. Warnings have been scorned, grace resisted,
privileges abused, conviction smothered, and the pride of the human heart
strengthened. The result is the same as with the Jews--fatal hardness of heart.
It is not safe for the soul to rise up against the messages of God. All who are
handling sacred truth are only mortal men.--Manuscript 30, 1889.
Ellen G. White Estate Washington, D.C. October 2, 1986. Entire
Manuscript. {16MR
241.1}
...
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