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Till: SABBATH V AFCHMAN, the officialorgan of the Seventh-day Adventist ReformMovement. Americun t nion, has been published continuously since 1926. Its aim is toproclaim the straight truth and elevate thestandard of the threefold angel s message.

V,orld liar I saw responsible men of the‘eventh-day Adventist Church publicly declaring tt to he the duty of all Adventist mento defend their reap ectivi’ countries withweapons in hand and even on the Sabbath.Hundreds of staunch believers protested thisstand, but thei’ protest was not heeded andthey were dtsfellowshipped against theirwishes. All attempts to reunite on the oldplatform of truth have failed. This was thebirth of the Reform Movement, which today isrepresented in all major countries.

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Fdiior: 0. KramerSpecial Contributors: M. P. Hingelberg,

H. H. Kramer

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Address correspondence intended for theAmerican Union and remittances coveringtithes and offerings (bank draft or moneyorder) to: International Missionary Society,S. I). A. Reform Movement, 1151 Xenia Street,Denver, Colorado 80220.

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Subscriptions: $3.50 tier year in advance.Orders and remittances for literature shouldbe sent to: Religious Liberty PublishingAssn., 115 I Xeni a Street Denver, Colorado80220.

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Foreign Offices:Canada: P.O. Box 401, Hamilton, Ontario.Australia: 121 Toongabbie Road, Too.igabbie,

N.S.W. 2146.lnIarul: H Garden louse I..in,’. ‘I’ingiey,

.ik ‘fi rid, York shin’ 51,3 IPhilippines: Box 1642, Manila, Philippines.South Afnic a: 98 Bertha Street, ‘l’urftontcin,

Johannesburg, Transvaal.Other Offices: Arpent izia, Austria, Bolivia.Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Bic a, Denmark,El Salvador, Equador, Finland, C ermany,Guatemala, Holland, honduras, Italy, Mexico,Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Peru. Sweden,Switzerland, Uruguay, Venezuela, ugoslavia.

By all that has given us advantage overanother—be it education and refinement.nobility of character. Christian training.religious experience—we are in debt tothose less favored; and, so far as lies inour power, we are to minister unto them.

IN THIS ISSUE

If Any Man.. . (Frontispiece) . . . . 2Brotherhood 3That Weak Link 7“Hold My Hand” 9Ripening for Heaven 10War 12God’s Method for Saving Souls . . . 15Yottth for Truth

Sublimation 18Trans-A-Word Puzzle 19

Hotne and Health“Tell Me a Story!” 20Grow Your Own Sprouts 23

News from Flome and AbroadReport of Western Regional Meetings 24

FRONTISPI ECE

If Ang Man,.,U NDER much prayer and with painstaking care, we have prepared and

launched the Reformation Study Course. This new venture in the battlebetween light and darkness is a thorough and yet very readable set of lessons on the topic of Reformation. These lessons are designed to be ofbenefit to all who believe and accept the threefold angel’s message as thepresent truth, This, of course, includes all members of the Seventh-dayAdventist denomination as well as every member of this Reform Movement.You should become thoroughly familiar with the contents of this course sothat you will be able clearly to defend what you believe. The greatest dangerfor God’s people in the last days is the possibility that they have not madethe present truth their personal property.

Our work of Reformation throughout the years has seen many things:People have come and people have gone; we have battled with spirits thatwere extreme in one point or another, with rebellious spirits, and with manytroubles from various sources. But we are not unique in this. Every movementof God has had to endure these woes; and the closer a work resembles thedivine blueprint, the more numerous and intense such troubles will be.Misunderstanding, prejudice, and outright antagonism, often based on fear,face every movement for reform. This was true in the Bible days, and it istrue today. Sometimes such feelings have been aroused by unwise actionson the part of the would-be reformers; their unbalanced views and theirvehement, unfeeling words have not called forth sympathetic sentiments fromthose who need to reform. Therefore, recognizing all these facets of thework before us, let us be wise and loving, while at the same time being firmand unyielding on matters of sacred truth.

This Reformation Study Course is now ready, and the first two lessons withintroductory letter have been sent to all the leaders and workers in theSeventh-day Adventist Church worldwide (approximately 20,000) within thethe last six weeks. We believe this method is entirely straightforward andabove board in that it gives the leaders every opportunity to learn about usand our work. It is not our desire to work underhandedly nor to undermine thework that is done by the denomination to save souls. It is our fervent desire,though, to warn every soul of the many discrepancies that have become anintegral part of the denominational life and practices.

We shall respect and honor the full right to religious liberty of everySeventh-day Adventist who prefers to stay in the church, be he right or wrong.At the same time, we claim this same right for ourselves tospeak up aboutthe many perverted views concerning the precious truth we love.

The response to the lessons and this mailing has thus far been veryheartening. There is, naturally, a percentage of replies that are directlynegative, coming mostly from ministers, administrators, or conferences. Yet

To page 26

SABBATH. JULY29, 1972

HAS BEEN SET ASIDE BY THE GENERAL CONFERENCE

AS A DAY OF FASTING AND PRAYER FOR ALL MEMBERS

THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.

IT IS REQUESTED THAT YOU PRAY EARNESTLY

FOR GOD TO GUIDE THE GENERAL CONFERENCE SESSION,

WHICH BEGINS TUESDAY, AUGUST 1, 1972, IN WEST GERMANY.

2 THE SABBATH WATCHMAN

By M. P. RINGELBERG

BRO THER HOOD

THE term “brotherhood” is understood in many different ways by various people. Everyone knows what

a physical brother is—he is the son of your parents.When the civil rights leaders speak of the brotherhood ofman, they mean that people of different colors and racesshould be acknowledged as equals with the white race.We fully agree with them in this but also notice thatsometimes this kind of brotherhood is somewhat one-sided. The labor union man calls his fellow workers“brothers.” However, this brotherhood extends only tomembers of the union. Far be it from them to include themanagement in their hallowed circle of brotherhood!

Then we hear about the brotherhood of nations - One ofthe most successful implants of Satan’s emissaries isnational pride and racial prejudice among people. Itresults in hatred, bigotry, selfishness, war, strife, andoppression. In fact, looking around us, we can see thatracial brotherhood, as well as national fraternity, theideal of the United Nations, is nothing but a ridiculousfarce.

In religious circles we find brotherhoods. Not only inCatholic monasteries and convents do we meet brotherhoods, but also in religious orders of one kind or anotherand Protestant churches, which freely use the term“brother.” Edwin T. Dahlberg said: “Brotherhood musthave a religious basis if it is to have any real significance. Without faith in the fatherhood of God, as Jesusand the prophets preached it, people have a pretty hardtime being brotherly. They drift off into hate society ormore often into the society of the indifferent.”

We believe that practical Christianity and true brotherhood are virtually synonymous. When the Pharisee askedHim the loaded question, “Who is my neighbour?” Jesusreplied in His unique way with the parable of the GoodSamaritan. The argument was clinched; there was nocounter-argument. Jesus with one stroke transcended allracial and religious barriers and revealed the despisedSamaritan as the true child of God.

June 1972U

Many other incidents from the lives of Jesus and theother writers of the Scriptures can be produced to provethe fact that the entire human race is one before God.He is the Father of all, and we are all His children,whether we are red, yellow, black, brown, or white,whether we are barbarian, Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, orChristian.

“Christ recognized no distinction of nationality orrank or creed. The scribes and Pharisees desired tomake a local and a national benefit of the gifts of heaven and to exclude the rest of God’s family in the world.But Christ came to break down every wall of partition.He came to show that His gift of mercy and love is asunconfined as the air, the light, or the showers of rainthat refresh the earth.

“The life of Christ established a religion in whichthere is no caste, a religion by which Jew and Gentile,free and bond, are linked in a common brotherhood,equally before God.

“From age to age the Lord has been seeking to awakenin the souls of men a sense of their divine brotherhood.”—11/ttnlstry of Healing, pp.25,159.

ECUMENISM AND BROTHERHOOD

Confronted with daily scenes of racial strife andpolitical and national upheaval, it is perhaps understandable when the world turns toward Christendom forhelp. In the last few years, we have witnessed thechurches’ search for a harmonious bond of unity in theecumenical movement. “Too long,” they say, “have wetolerated schisms and separation, antagonisms andreligious infighting. We must come to unity at all cost.”Apparently they mean what they say, for when we studythe recent mergers between various churches, it appearsthat their leaders are quite willing and sometimes positively eager to compromise, modify, and squander theirreligious identity and heritage, abandon the principlesthey may have had thus far, and stamp their formerconvictions as worthless. All this for the desired unityand religious brotherhood of churches! They gladlyerase their past course, often written with the blood andlives of martyrs, for the glory of becoming a facelesscell in the monstrous structure of ecumenism in whichboth friend and foe nestle snugly, congratulating eachother on their newly found peace, which in fact is thepeace of a dead confession.

The atmosphere of impersonality, superficiality, andterrifying willingness to sell their spiritual birthright andGod’s blessing for the bland approval of the other fallenchurches pervades the farthest and most hidden cornersof our society. The desire to “belong” is evident evenamong Seventh-day Adventists in their headlong scramble -

for “respectability” and acceptance. It also rears itsugly head in some “reformers’” circles. Those who arehonest and honorable, whose feelings are liberal and fullof goodwill toward those outside the fold, unwittinglyspearhead a disastrous “Hail, fellow-well-met” course.

From my own experience, coming from the Old Worldwith its stringent customs. I can freely testify that thetruly Christian and thoroughly wholesome view of liberty,

equality, and fraternity, is like a marvelous draft of fleshair. Sometimes we breathe a stifling, reeking, toxicatmosphere of narrowness and bigotry. Indeed. Christians, of all people, should be free!

And yet, especially now in these last times, we cannotafford to let down our guard and embrace with arms ofspiritual acceptance just anyone who chooses to approach us under one pretext or another. The Bible stillspeaks to us today in warning tones: “. . . Try the spiritswhether they are of God: because many false prophetsare gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1. This time ofLaodicean tranquility and religious tolerance may bevery deceiving. The peace we enjoy may not be realpeace at all; in fact, it is alarming. The statement ofthe Spirit of prophecy in the Great Controversy, p. 48,flashes before us like a red beacon: “Why is it, then,that persecution seems in a great degree to slumber?The only reason is that the church has conformed to theworld’s standard and therefore awakens no opposition.The religion which is current in our day is not of thepure and holy character that marked the Christian faith inthe days of Christ and His apostles. It is only becauseof the spirit of compromise with sin, because the greattruths of the word of God are so indifferently regarded,because there is so little vital godliness in the church,that Christianity is apparently so popular with the world.Let there be a revival of the faith and power of the earlychurch, and the spirit of persecution will be revived, andthe fires of persecution will be rekindled.”

LIMITATIONS OF BROTHERHOOD

It may seem very strange to some that the high ideal ofbrotherhood, born from God, could have some limitationsin practice. Yet this is so. To be sure, this thoughtthat there may be a limit is contrary to the current popular notion of some liberal sectors of our society. Someyouth see no harm whatsoever in stepping outside theGod-given boundaries of propriety, modesty, moralrestraint, sexual limits and racial distinction. Yet God’sword has placed obvious limits on human relations. Theindiscrimination of free love, discarded marriage vows,and situational ethics, as well as a total disregard ofdifferences existing between nationalities, are graveoffenses against the true meaning of brotherhood.

In the brotherhood of Christians there are obviouslimits. The church of God is pictured in the Scripturesas a select entity that stands distinguished from the restof mankind. The Bible speaks of “the very elect,” the“chosen people,” the “chosen generation,” “overcomers,” “disciples,” “apostles,” and “churches.”All these terms indicate a specific, incorporate group orbody, which Christ calls His body. All the members ofthis body must work in harmony with each other, all beingsubject to the one Head, which is Christ. Those who donot submit to the rule of Christ, the Lord, are obviouslynot a part of this spiritual body of the church. Thebrotherhood of the church is therefore limited to themembers of that church who are in full harmony with theprinciples of the body.


CHURCH RELATIONS

What makes a person a brother? Is it his affiliationwith the church alone? Or is it the spiritual, intangiblebond of faith and purpose that connects you to him?Regrettably, we all know that sometimes we find amongchurch members those who are dishonest, who steal, wholie, who accuse others falsely, and who undermine thework of righteousness by their actions. The Bible tellsus how we should deal with such open sins. When wehave dealt with such persons according to the Scripturalinjunction to help and try to correct the evil condition,and yet they refuse to change their ways, “. . . let him beunto thee as an heathen man and a publican. Verily Isay unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall bebound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earthshall be loosed in heaven.” Matt. 18:17, 18.

Far from being the cornerstone of the Roman Catholicpontificate of Peter, who was given the keys of heaven,this statement of Christ is a deep-probing saying whichsheds light upon this subject of brotherhood.

The binding or loosing of a member in regard to churchfellowship as done by the church leadership here onearth is in fact only a ratification of the severance ofthe truant member because of his errant ways. Likewise,when a person comes to Christ, the entering of his namein the church books is not the “binding” of such a soulto the body of Christ; but his commitment to the truth, ofwhich baptism is only an outward sign, is the decidingfactor. Yet Jesus in His earthly example made it clearthat these “church relations” are most important and arenot to be disregarded.

The Advent Movement, like every other reformatorymovement, from its inception has been plagued withoffshoots and so-called independent or free-wheelergroups; these are very close to and imitative of the truthand therefore very deceptive. Our Reform Movement inwhich we stand is no different from this early pattern. Inaddition to this true, authorized work of reform, a workwhich fulfills the divme predictions of birth, time, andmessage, we have witnessed through the years schismsand rebellious movements which serve only one purposeand that is to hinder God’s work.

Unstable souls, not being established in the presenttruth, are constantly hedgehopping or shopping for temporal or spiritual benefits first in one satellite group andthen in another. They are not seeking truth but are guidedby personal prejudices or preferences. In the time ofEzra and Nehemiah, there were also similar fringegroups, who would have liked to be included in thebrotherhood of Israel—not to further the cause but todestroy it from the inside. The message of the Reformerwas a stern: “I am doing a great work, so that I cannotcome down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it,and come down to you?” Neh. 6:3.

It is our conviction that such people, hovering aroundthe edges of God’s church as spiritual camp followers,snapping up tidy tidbits of information that may fall bythe wayside, and eagerly carrying them on to others, arenot to be regarded as brothers.

True church members and faithful Christians should beable to distinguish honest motives from ulterior ones andshould be careful to try the spirits whether they are ofGod. Whereas we should show Christian kindness andcourtesy to all people, we should likewise have thestrength of conviction and Christian concern for theirwelfare to point out in love their erroneous ways.

THE SACRAMENT OF BROTHERHOOD

Unthinkingly breaking down the dividing line betweenthe sacred circle of Christian fellowship and the uncaring, worldly communities actually annihilates the conceptand true meaning of brotherhood. Yet we see in thecurrent practices of the Professed church of God thatthis very thing is done.

I refer to the now common custom of inviting anyvisitor in Adventist Churches to partake of the Lord’sSupper as long as he professes to believe in Christ. Thispractice is encouraged by the leadership and is advocated in their writings and compilations of Spirit ofprophecy statements; these compilations are put togetherin such a way as to justify the current practice. (Suchcompilations should be studied under close scrutiny.)Let us take a closer look at the facts, gleaned from theBible and the Testimonies.

One such compilation is found in the book Evangelism,pp. 273-278. The selections quoted there seem to conveythe idea that communion should be open to all “Christians.” We strongly believe that this was not the intentof the messages given. First, we note a severe discrepancy in the quotation of the first statement given onpage 273, which may or may not be intentional. Thesource is given only as 4’Ianuscript 27, 1900, but we findthe identical statement in Vol. 6 of the Testimonies forthe Church, p.91, and in Vol.2 of Testimony Treasures,p.389. In Evangelism it reads as follows:

“The ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s supper aretwo monumental pillars, one within and one without the

Symbols of the brotherhood within the church: One Lord,one cup, one bread, one people.

June 19725

church. Upon these ordinances Christ has inscribed thename of the true God.”

If you will read this same statement in the other books,you will find that the words “without” and “within”have been switched in Evangelism, which of coursegives the statement an entirely different meaning.

Then on page 276 of Evangelism, an experience withan interested person is related. It is stated that aminister of a different denomination was invited to partake of the Lord’s Supper, after which he was baptizedand accepted into the church. This statement is takenas representative of the common practice in SisterWhite’s days. We believe that the very reason it isrecorded here is that it was an exception to the rule,instead of the common practice. The other writings fromthe same pen show very clearly that this ordinance wasintended for church members only.

Please note the following statements:“Christ left for His church a memorial of His great

sacrifice for man.” —Evangelism, p.273.“On the Friday before, every church member endea

vored to clear away everything that would tend to separate him from his brethren and from God.” —Evangelism,p.274.

“As Christ celebrated this ordinance with His disciples, . . .“ —Evangelism, p. 275.

“This ordinance was given for the benefit of Christ’sdisciples.” —Evangelism, p.275.

To be observed through alL time by His followersin every country.” —Evangelism, p.276.

There are many more such clear references, but let uslook at one more statement which is often used to bolsterthe open communion notion. It is found in Desire ofAges in the chapter, “In Remembrance of Me.” There it

says: “Christ’s example forbids exclusiveness at theLord’s Supper,.. .“ —Desire of Ages, p.656. When westudy carefully the whole setting, we see that Jesus wasonly with His disciples in the upper room, but that therewas one sinner — hidden to the disciples but open to theLord—present, Judas. Yet Jesus showed that thisordinance was not to exclude anyone, since He evenwashed the feet of His betrayer and ate with him.

Furthermore, if we study the sanctuary of ancientIsrael, we see the symbols of baptism and the table ofcommunion in their proper order —the brazen layer outsidethe tabernacle, the table of showbread within the tabernacle. In the court all interested people could assemble,but in the tabernacle only the believer in the form of thepriest could go.

Some voices have been raised advocating that weshould follow the footsteps of the Adventist Church andopen our communion table to all who bear the name ofAdventist. We believe this is a violation of the spiritand intention of the ordinance of the Lord, which wasto strengthen the special bonds of Christian fellowshipand brotherhood.

Let every Reformer show a zeal with understanding for“the house of the Lord,” keeping the sacred precinctsof the Lord holy and undefiled from every wind of doctrine and keeping every false fire away from the altarsthat are erected to the glory of God. Let us not diminishthe true meaning of brotherhood within the church, evenwhen we are loving, outgoing, and Christlike toward theerrant sinners in the world around us. Let us all bewarelest the bonds of brotherhood among God’s remnant people degenerate, under the influence of a mistakengenerosity and unwarranted tolerance, into a spinelessecumenical body of social club membership.

THE PEACE OF PERFECT TRUST

Oh! for the peace of a perfect trust,My loving God, in Thee,Unwavering faith that never doubtsThou choosest best for me.

And e’en though disappointments come,They too are best for me;

Best though my plans are all upset,Best though my way be rough;Best though my earthly store be scant;In Thee I have enough.

To wean me from this changing world,And lead me nearer Thee.

Oh! for the peace of a perfect trustThat looks away from all,That sees Thy hand in everything,In great events and small.

Best though my health and strength be gone,Though weary days be mine,Shut out from much that others have;Not my will, Lord, but Thine.

That hears Thy voice, a Father’s voice,

Directing for the best;Oh! for the peace of a perfect trust,

A heart with Thee at rest.

—Writer unknown


“Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespassin the accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? and that man perished not alone in hisiniquity.” Joshua 22:20.

IN the annals of sacred history we find a significantincident which centered near the small town of Ai

during the conquest of Canaan under Joshua. (Joshua 7:2-9.) And since much of Israel’s experience during theirjourney to the promised land is repeated in the AdventMovement—and its conquest of Canaan under the newleadership of Joshua, in this Reform Movement—wehave all reason to believe that we can draw some veryinteresting and instructive parallels for our time, for

all these things happened unto them for ensamples:and they are written for our admonition, upon whom theends of the world are come.” 1 Cor. 10:11.

The town of Ai spelled disaster and defeat for Israel.This defeat was absolutely ridiculous, for the large

failed to realize that divine help alone could give themsuccess. Even Joshua laid his plans for the conquest ofAi without seeking counsel from God.” —Patriarchs andProphets, pp.491,493.

Does this sound familiar? How often do we forget toseek divine counsel from the Scriptures and Testimonies,or in prayer, before venturing into a given project? Butthis was only part of the reason for the defeat at Ai. Thereal cause lay much deeper.

The chain

There is great wisdom in the old saying, “A chain isno stronger than its weakest link.” The implication isthat if one single link is faulty, or perhaps sawed halfway through, that chain will never support the weight itis intended to hold. Some years ago on a river in California, water poured Out on the land side of a levee duringflood stage. When detected, it was quickly sandbaggedand stopped. Investigation blamed a gopher hole for thisterrific threat of inundation o the city nearby.

14)e6k LIKkBY THE EDITOR

fortress of Jericho had proven no challenge at all justprior to the Ai experience. If Jericho’s walls fell flat bytheir merely marching around its massive walls, blowingtrumpets and shouting, this little town of Ai among theravines a few miles to the east of the Jordan valley couldbe taken easily—they thought—by a small force. Butthey had a surprise coming. “So there went up thither ofthe people about three thousand men: and they fled beforethe men of Ai. And the men of Ai smote of them aboutthirty and six men: . . . wherefore the hearts of the peoplemelted, and became as water.” Joshua 7:4,5.

Joshua, stunned by this blow, rent his clothes in utterdismay and cried to the Lord in prayer, saying, “0 Lord,what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs beforetheir enemies!” Joshua 7:8. What had happened? Whatcaused such a sad, unexpected defeat?

Self-confidence

The answer is very simple: God was not with them.“The Israelites had not gained the victory (over Jericho)by their own power; the conquest had been wholly theLord’s;...

“The great victory that God had gained for them hadmade the Israelites self-confident. Because He hadpromised them the land of Canaan they felt secure, and

There is also a story about a steward on a passengership who came upon a man in the process of drilling ahole in the ship’s hull below the water line. When thesteward told him to stop, the man answered, “This isnone of your business! The hole is under my own bed.”What reasoning! Yes — little causes, terrible results!

The real cause

In the case of Ai, the Lord made it very clear that Hehad refused to go with the three thousand soldiers for avery good reason. “And the Lord said unto Joshua, Getthee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Israelhath sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them: for they have even takenof the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their ownstuff.” Joshua 7:10,11. And then the Lord added thissolemn injunction: “Therefore the children of Israelcould not stand before their enemies,. . . neither will I bewith you any more, except ye destroy the accursed fromamong you.... There is an accursed thing in the midst ofof thee, 0 Israel: thou canst not stand before thineenemies, until ye take away the accursed thing fromamong you.” Joshua 7:12,13.

June 1972 7

The investigation

And now all Israel had to undergo an investigativejudgment. Yes, this term accurately describes what wasdone. Every tribe of Israel was investigated, then everyfamily in the tribe, and after this every individual memberof the family. Finally one man was singled out as thecause of all the trouble that had befallen Israel. Remember, it was ONE man alone—Achan! But the curse thathe brought fell upon ALL ISRAEL, not just on him.Thirty-six men lost their lives in the battle at Ai becauseof Achan’s disobedience, plus he caused the great inconvenience and trouble to all Israel. In addition, hisdisobedience cost him his own life and the lives of hisbeloved family and the loss of all his possessions.“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever aman soweth, that shall he also reap.” Gal.6:7.

This incident shows clearly how God regards sin amongHis people. And this was not even open sin but wassimilar to the falsehood of Ananias and Sapphira,which had similar results. God will not be trifled with.“Achan’s sin brought disaster upon the whole nation.For one man’s sin the displeasure of God will rest uponHis church till the transgression is searched out and putaway. The influence most to be feared by the church isnot that of open opposers, infidels, and blasphemers, butof inconsistent professors of Christ. These are the onesthat keep back the blessing of the God of Israel and bringweakness upon Hi people.

“When the church is in difficulty, when coldness andspiritual declension exist, giving occasion for the enemies of God to triumph, then, instead of folding theirhands and lamenting their unhappy state, let its membersinquire if there is not an Achan in the camp. With humiliation and searching of heart, let each seek to discoverthe hidden sins that shut out God’s presence.” —Patriarchs and Prophets, p.497.

Inconsistent professors

“Having a form of godliness, but denying the powerthereof: . . .“ 2 Tim, 3:5. This is prophesied of the lastdays, and we see it everywhere. All the sins mentionedin the verses preceding this one—self-love, covetousness, boasting, pride, blaspheming, disobedience toparents, lack of natural affection, etc. —are carefullycovered by the outward form of religion. It reminds us ofIsaiah’s description that “. . . Seven women (churches)shall take hold of one man (the Son of man—Christ),saying, We will eat our own bread (Jesus says He is thebread of life), and wear our own apparel (our own work-righteousness): only let us be called by Thy name(Christian), to take away our reproach (because we arereally heathen).”

This class makes up the great Babylon of confusion inthe religious world today. But the saddest part is thatthis false spirit has infiltrated even the remnant churchin the form of some inconsistent members; they are the“weak links.” They pose a potential danger to thespiritual success and prosperity of the church. In thisage of tolerance, when “everything goes” according to

the individual’s whim and fancy, these niembers feel it anencroachment upon their personal liberty when they arecounseled to bring their life habits into conformity withthe truth which they outwardly profess to believe. Thesemembers are Achans in the camp. They bring disgraceupon the church. Even worse — they drive away the holyangels and the sacred presence of God. The result isinternal weakness of the church, apathy, indifference,coldness, and a general spiritual decline. Satan usessuch members to great advantage and reaps a rich harvestfor his kingdom. The truly honest in heart in the churchare deeply perplexed, grieved, and almost helplessagainst the tide of evil. They have a great burden forsouls and want to save them for the kingdom. But whenthey bring those searching souls into the church, whatdo they behold? They stare astonished at examples ofmodern immoral fashions, hear worldly conversation,notice the indifference and coldness of some believers,and declare that the church which harbors and shelterssuch inconsistent Christians cannot be God’s truepeople, in spite of their wonderful doctrine. “Actionsspeak louder than words” to them.

Inspired counsel

“I have been shown that God here illustrates how Heregards sin among those who profess to be His commandment-keeping people. Those whom He has speciallyhonored with witnessing the remarkable exhibitions ofHis power, as did ancient Israel, and who will even thenventure to disregard His express directions, will besubjects of His wrath. He would teach His people thatdisobedience and sin are exceedingly offensive to Himand are not to be lightly regarded. He shows us thatwhen His people are found in sin they should at oncetake decided measures to put that sin from them, that Hisfrown may not rest upon them all. But if the sins of thepeople are passed over by those in responsible positions,His frown will be upon them, and the people of God, as abody, will be held responsible for those sins. In Hisdealings with His people in the past the Lord shows thenecessity of purifying the church from wrongs. Onesinner may diffuse darkness that will exclude the lightof God from the entire congregation. When the peoplerealize that darkness is settling upon them, and they donot know the cause, they should seek God earnestly, ingreat humility and self-abasement, until the wrongs whichgrieve His Spirit are searched out and put away. .

“If wrongs are apparent among His people, and if theservants of God pass on indifferent to them, they virtuallysustain and justify the sinner, and are alike guilty andwill just as surely receive the displeasure of God; forthey will be made responsible for the sins of the guilty.In vision I have been pointed to many instances wherethe displeasure of God has been incurred by a neglect onthe part of His servants to deal with the wrongs and sinsexisting among them. Those who have excused thesewrongs have been thought by the people to be veryamiable and lovely in disposition, simply because theyshunned to discharge a plain Scriptural duty. The task


was not agreeable to their feelings; therefore theyavoided it.

“The true people of God, who have the spirit of thework of the Lord and the salvation of souls at heart, willever view sin in its real. sinful character. They willalways be on the side of faithful and plain dealing withsins which easily beset the people of God. Especially inthe closing work for the church, in the sealing time ofthe one hundred and forty-four thousand who are to standwithout fault before the throne of God, will they feelmost deeply the wrongs of God’s professed people.

“Who are standing in the counsel of God at this time?Is it. those who virtually excuse wrongs among the professed people of God and who murmur in their hearts, ifnot openly, against those who would reprove sin? Is itthose who take their stand against them and sympathizewith those who Commit wrong? No, indeed! Unless theyrepent. and leave the work of Satan in oppressing thosewho have the burden of the work and in holding up thehands of sinners in Zion. they will never receive themark of God’s sealing approval.

‘‘In the case of Achan’s sin God said to Joshua:‘Neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroythe accursed from among you.’ How does this instancecompare with the course pursued by those who will notraise their voice against sin and wrong. but whosesympathies are ever found with those who trouble thecamp of Israel with their sins? Said God to Joshua:‘Thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until yetake away the accursed thing from among you.’ liepronounced the punishment which would follow thetransgression of’ His covenant.” —Testimonies, Vol.3.pp. 265-267

‘HOLD MY HAND!”

Reformers in deed

The cause of’ God in An,ei’ica has been blessed in manyways. New projects of a decisive nature have beenlaunched to awaken those who are sleeping in Laodiceanprosperity. Our new Reformation Study Course is on itsway to spread the light of a thorough reformation throughout the length and breadth of the earth. Will you furtherthis noble and timely work with your liberal offerings andprayers? God wants you to do so! And yet even this willnot benefit the cause unless you. yourself, show in everyrespect—ill your speech, interests. behavior, dress, etc.—that you are a reformer indeed. We must in tills solemnperiod of’ earth’s history use all our willpowei’ to reformour own lives and wipe out all existing inconsistenciesover which our enemies can gloat. If’ you do not, theblood of dear souls will be found on your garments, foi’you will be accounted responsible for driving them awayby your inconsistent example.

Why speak so plainly? It is because we want to malesure that the divine presence is with us in this pro/ctu,,d in all our endeavors. Is this a good reason? Do nottrifle with God any longer. He means what lie says!

God is working today and will work even more wonderfully in the future through those who conscientiouslyfollow the light. God bless you, my dear brethren andsisters, for letting your light shine as a living witness toothers that you are born again from heaven, Heaven isyour home, and you will get there as fast as possible byhelping to finish God’s cause on earth. And it will bevery soon—as soon as the stumblingblocks are removed.Then God’s church will shine forth as the morning, fairas the moon, clear as the sun, and tetrible as an armywith hanners (Sol. Song 6:10).

everlasting love; therefore wit/i /ovingkindness have / drawn thee.” Jeremiah 31:3.

to pat the head of a little child oftensends him skipping away in completeecstasy,

All this denotes love, and love motivates the desire to seek the source ofit—our Father. By being generous andyet discreet in all our well-meantactions, we will honor our Lord. He willlead us to be channels for His greatlove.

Loneliness is like a terrible disease;but God, through the human hand, hasquieted those in need until natural sleepor the sleep of death gives them relief.Only God can give the comfort.

In Testimonies, Vol.2, His servanttells us: “Without the spirit of love noone can be like Christ.” So in our desireto be like Him we must reach Out tocomfort and strengthen those around us.Tell them of the time He reached Hishand to redeem you. Lead them to ourloving Saviour.

By META B. WILLIAMS

assurance of His promise, “Though Iwalk in the midst of trouble, Thou wiltrevive me: Thou wilt stretch forth Thinehand against the wrath of mine enemies,and Thy right hand shall save me.”

A story is told: A little boy’s motherhad died, and after the funeral the fatherand son walked slowly home to wheremother’s love would never again be felt.

When night settled down around thelittle home, the loneliness seemed moreapparent and the little boy asked.“Daddy, can I sleep with you?”

The father answered in the negative.knowing that in his own grief he wouldnot be able to sleep. But he placed thelittle boy’s bed close to his.

Then after the light had been extinguished, through the darkness came thesmall, tearful voice, “Daddy, are yoithere?”

“Yes, son, I’m right beside you.”A few minutes of silence—then came

the tearful plea, “Daddy, hold my hand’”

“The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying. Yea, / have loved thee with a,’In Psalm 138:7, we have the blessed

I S THERE greater love than this—thatHe knew our need and with loving-

kindness “drew” us to Him?His hand is always outstretched, but

what aboLit us2 Do we not realize thatwe must reach Out for that hand soearnestly stretched forth to hold us? Dowe shun it, deny it?

Do we perhaps think that we needreach but once? What about the manytimes we have denied our Lord — lostcontact by neglect, our neglect—andfinally come to the realization of thedistance between us and the hand sograciously extended? By faith andprayer we may again be restored to thesafety of His arms.

The genuine clasp of the hand betweenfriends long parted speaks much. Thecomforting hand, even in silence, willbring to a sin-sick soul the peace sodesperately needed. The hand extended

June 1972 9

WE are living today in the most momentous time in thehistory of our world, the “last hours” of the investi

gative judgment, the time when the cases of all mankindare being decided for eternity. Very soon probation willclose. Every case will have been irrevocably decidedwithout chance for appeal. It behooves us, therefore, toreview our position, making sure that we will be able tostand before God blameless and undefiled. When ourgreat High Priest throws down the censer and declaresHis work of mediation finished, He will pronounce thesesolemn words: “He that is unjust, let him be unjuststill: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: andhe that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and hethat is holy, let him be holy still.” Rev. 22:11.

i- .-

, I

‘- _tfrr14

By HELMUT H KRAMERI -

II

Ripening for

Heaven


In this solemn proclamation we have portrayed beforeus four classes of people at the close of probation — twoclasses which are lost and two which are saved. Tounderstand this we must understand the message ofChrist Our Righteousness. This shows us the importanceof accepting Christ as our personal Saviour. Regardlessof how well people may live their lives, if they do notaccept Christ’s sacrifice for their sins, His justification,they will be among that class of which it is proclaimed,“He that is unjust, let him be unjust still.” He will notbe classified among those who are filthy, those whohave willingly, openly fought against God and good. Hemay have lived an apparently good life. He may not havedirectly harmed anyone and may have considered himselfgood enough in his own self-righteousness. He refusedto recognize himself as a sinner. Possibly he evenpatted himself on the back as did the Pharisee when heself-righteously declared, “I thank Thee that I am not asother men!” In the final judgment, the Judge who makesno mistakes will declare: “Your righteousness is butfilthy rags! You did not accept My righteousness whichwas offered to you without cost, as a free gift. You areunjust; you will be unjust still.” What a pity that somany in our world refuse the gift of salvation so freelyoffered!

The second class portrayed in Revelation 22:11 iseasy to visualize. “He which is filthy, let him be filthystill.” This class, of course, includes those who haveopenly, defiantly blasphemed God —those who haveloved iniquity and violence, the defiant rebels againstGod. I believe that we can easily visualize these firsttwo classes, but is it possible that among the redeemedthere are also two classes? The proclamation of Jesusdepicts two: the righteous and the holy. To understandwhat these two classes represent, we must be clear asto the two phases of the righteousness of Christ—Hisrighteousness imputed and His righteousness imparted.“The righteousness by which we are justified is imputed;the righteousness by which we are sanctified is imparted.The first is our title to Heaven; the second is our fitnessfor Heaven.” —/liessages to Young people, p.35.

“Sanctification is not the work of a moment, an hour, aday, but of a lifetime. It is not gained by a happy flightof feeling, but is the result of constantly dying to sin,and constantly living for Christ. Wrongs cannot berighted nor reformations wrought in the character byfeeble, intermittent efforts. It is only by long, persevering effort, sore discipline, and stein conflict, that weshall overcome. We know not one day how strong will beour conflict the next. So long as Satan reigns, we shallhave self to subdue, besetting sins to overcome; so longas life shall last, there will be no stopping place, nopoint which we can reach and say, I have fully attained.Sanctification is the result of lifelong obedience.”—. lets of the .lpostles. pp. 560, 561.

“God has chosen men from eternity to be holy. Thisis the will of God, even your sanctification. God’s lawtolerates rio sin, but demands perfect obedience. Theecho of God’s voice conies to us, ever saying, ‘Holier,holier still.’ Holiness is within the reach of all who

reach for it by faith, not because of their good works, butbecause of Christ’s merits. Divine power is providedfor every soul stuggling for the victory over sin andSatan.

“Justification means the saving of a soul from perdition, that he may obtain sanctification, and through sanctification, the life ot Heaven. Justification means that theconscience, purged from dead works, is placed whereit can receive the blessings of sanctification.” —11 conscript 1/3, 1902 (Bible Commentary, Vol.7, p. 908).

The first step which we must take to enter the Christian life is repentance — sorrow for sin. Repentancebrings about conversion — turning from the world of sinand turning to Christ. We must realize our sinfulnessand unworthiness. Jesus offers us full and completepardon freely.

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith theLord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be aswhite as snow; though they be red like crimson, theyshall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18. This step to justification is appropriately described for us by Jesus Himselfth the parable of the Pharisee and the publican. “Andthe publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so muchas his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast.saying. God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, thisman went down to his house justified rather than theother: . . .“ Luke 18:13, 14.

“Pardon and justification are one and the same thing.Through faith, the believer passes from the position of arebel, a child of sin and Satan, to the position of a loyalsubject of Christ Jesus, not because of an inherentgoodness, but because Christ receives him as His childby adoption. The sinner receives the forgiveness of hissins, because these sins are borne by his Substitute andSurety. The Lord speaks to His heavenly Father, saying:‘This is My child. I reprieve him from the condemnationof death, giving him My life insurance policy — eternallife—because I have taken his place and suffered forhis sins. He is even My beloved son.’ Thus man, pardoned, and clothed with the beautiful garments of Christ’srighteousness, stands faultless before God.” —Manuscript 21, 1891 (Bible Commentary, Vol.6, p. 1070).

Justification and sanctification are two separate anddistinct works wrought out by God in our lives. Thefirst is the work of a moment, the moment when we fall atthe foot of the cross with our burden of sin and guilt andcry out, “Lord, be merciful to me a sinner! I acceptYour atoning sacrifice for my sin.” At that moment thesinner is justified; the righteousness of Christ is imputed;he receives his title to Heaven; his name is registeredin the Book of Life. This will be the condition of thosewho accept Christ just before probation’s door is shut.Their sins will have been forgiven. They will standjustified or righteous before God when the proclamationis made, “He that is righteous, let him be righteousstill.” They will have been justified, but since probation’s door shuts soon after their conversion, they willnot have a lifetime to become sanctified. “Some of ushave had time to get the truth and to advance step bystep, and every step we have taken has given us strength

June 1972 ii

to take the next. But now time is almost finished, andwhat we have been years learning, they will have to learnin a few months.” —Early ltritings, p.67.

How, then, does it stand with us, my dear Brother andSister who may have known this wonderful truth for manyyears? Many years ago you may have come to Jesus forjustification, but this is not enough. The Lord calls forall of us to reach sanctification, holiness. This sanctification is the work of a lifetime. As we behold Jesusand copy the divine pattern, we are changed into the sameimage. There comes a time even before probation closeswhen our Saviour expects us to reach this sanctification,this righteousness imparted. This time is just beforethe latter rain is poured out upon God’s people.

“I saw that many were neglecting the preparation soneedful and were looking to the time of ‘refreshing’ andthe ‘latter rain’ to fit them to stand in the day of the Lordand to live in His sight. Oh. how many I saw in the timeof trouble without a shelter! They had neglected theneedful preparation; therefore they could not receivethe refreshing that all must have to fit them to live in thesight of a holy God. Those who refuse to be hewed bythe prophets and fail to purify their souls in obeying thewhole truth, and who are willing to believe that theircondition is far better than it really is, will come up tothe time of the falling of the plagues, and then see thatthey needed to be hewed and squared for the building.But there will be no time then to do it and no Mediatorto plead their cause before the Father. Before this timethe awfully solemn declaration has gone forth, ‘He that isunjust, 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 holystill.’ I saw that none could share the ‘refreshing’unless they obtain the victory over every besetment, overpride, selfishness, love of the world, and over everywrong word and action. We should, therefore, be drawingnearer and nearer to the Lord and be earnestly seekingthat preparation necessary to enable us to stand in thebattle in the day of the Lord. Let all remember that Godis holy and that none but holy beings can ever dwell inHis presence.” —Early Writings, p.71.

Let us, then, not be satisfied with a low goal. We arelooking for and praying for the Holy Spirit to be pouredout in full measure so that the work on earth can befinished and Christ can come. However, are we makingthe necessary preparation? The Lord is calling for us tocome up higher, to be holy, holier still. We have no timeto sit at ease waiting for a marvelous change to takeplace in our lives by a miracle. The Lord is calling onus now to become holy. We are to walk with God in sucha close way as did Enoch so that the Lord can also takeus from this earth and translate us to Heaven. Let usremember that sanctification is the work of a lifetime.In other words, every day and each hour of the day wemust spend in preparation so that it may be said of us,“He that is holy, let him be holy still.”

We are living today in the time of the harvest of ourworld. The Lord is binding His sheaves together for theheavenly garner. He is looking for ripe grain. We mustripen for Heaven! We have no time to lose, for the reaperwill pass us by if we are not ready. Christ is waiting toimpart His righteousness, His purity, and His holinessto each of us. Are you ready to receive it?

I F we were to make an effort to condemn war on thebasis of Old Testament history. we might find it a

somewhat difficult task. We should, however, alwaystake into consideration the fact that the major reason forOld Testament wars under the theocracy of Israel wasdisobedience on the part of God’s people at that time.“It was not His purpose that they should gain the land bywarfare, but by strict obedience to His commands.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, p.392. If the Jewish peoplehad been obedient to God’s entire plan for them, and ifthey had continued to be the depositary of the truth, orthe law of God, then there would have been no need forwar.

God tolerated certain things that were not inHis original plan.

If we study the Old Testament very carefully, we findthat God permitted many things that were not in Hisoriginal plan for His people. Let us study two examplesin addition to warfare. First, it was never the plan ofGod to have Moses write a law of commandments contained in ordinances for the Jewish people. All theyneeded at the beginning was the law of the Ten Commandments, which give man the knowledge of sin (Rom.

WAR

WHAT DOES GOD THINK OF IT?

WHAT SHOULD BE A CHRISTIAN’SATTITUDE TOWARD IT?

By C. NORMAN


7:7; 3:20). We read in the book of Ezekiel that God gavethem commandments that were not good because of theirdisobedience. “Because they had not executed Myjudgments, but had despised My statutes, and had p01-luted My sabbaths, and their eyes were after theirfathers’ idols. Wherefore I gave them also statutes thatwere not good, and judgments whereby they should notlive.” Ezekiel 20:24,25.

The apostle Paul, referring to this ceremonial law.tells us in Galatians 3:19 that “It was added because oftransgressions, till the seed should come....” Andverse 16 of the same chapter tells us that. the “seed” isChrist, The first law, given by God and written with Hisown finger. was designed to keep before the mind of manwhat sin or transgression is and its terrible results(Rom. 3:20; 7:7; 6:23). The ceremonial law, or the “lawcontained in ordinances” (Eph. 2:15), was given becauseof transgression against the first law, the Ten Commandments, or God’s moral law.

The second example in the Old Testament of somethingpermitted as a result of sin was a deviation from theoriginal diet for man. God did not plan a flesh diet. forman at the beginning. Rather Fle planned that he shouldeat “the herb bearing seed” and the “fruit of a treeyielding seed.” Gen. 1:29; 3:18. This was a vegetariandiet including nuts, seeds, fruit, and vegetables. Godwould never have tolerated a diet including the flesh of’animals if man had not so greatly sinned. God permittedhim to eat the flesh of the clean animals after the flood.When Noah and his family came out of’ the ark, there washardly a green thing on the face of the earth; thereforeGod permitted man for the first time to eat the flesh of’clean animals with the exceptions of the fat and theblood. I am sure God would have preferred man to returnto the original diet as soon as the earth began to produce

Once again. But man liked the flesh diet and. like t a’Israelites aftei’ leaving Egypt, ‘Listed after the fleshpots.’’ In many istances . God tried n love and oleiance to bring Israel back to the original diet, hut bc(’.atlseof’ their murmuring, flesh was permitted or ulerated , As aresult of’ their murmuring and lust itig, their ‘ ‘(:arcasesfell in the wilderness.’’ Heb. 3:17.

In Psalm 106:14. 15. we i’ead that they “lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God iii thedesert. And lie gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.’’ If we read Exodus 3:6 ir connection with 1 Cot. 10:7. 8, we will understand what thePsalmist. writing under divine inspiration, meant by theexpression, ‘‘sent leanness into their soul.’’ Paul theapostle admonished modern Israel — you and me today —.

that ‘‘We should not lust after evil things, as I hey alsolusted.’’ 1 Cot. 10:6. He also said in verse 11 of thesame chapter, ‘‘Now all these things happened unto thetafor ensample.s: and they are written tom’ our admoiiit ion.upon whom the ends of’ the world are conic.’’ That is. tous who are living in the last. (lays of earth’s instotv.what happened to the Israelites back then should he adeep lesson to keep us from lusting after evil things asthey did. I am sui’e if we are obedient it. will be a greatcontribution to both our physical and spim’itual wellbeing (Isa. 55:2).

Covetousness is the basis of war.

The tenth commandment of God’s holy law tells us thatwe should “not covet . . . any thing that is thy neigh-bout’s’’ (Exodus 20:17). and that is precisely the rootand offspring of all wam’. It originated in the heart ofLucifer and it converted him into a rebel, an enemy of’God and the human race. Under his influence today. onenation desires to rule over another, The latter will notstand for this. Tlieii the question is asked. Who shouldbe inlet? And the archrebel is right on the spot with theanswer: ‘‘Wai’ is the answer; let us fight one another;‘let the weak say, I am strong.’ and we will soon see whois the rightful ruler.’’ As a result. millions of’ humanbeings are destroyed. And the worst part of it all is thatSatan tries to make the human lace believe that God.who is a God of love, is the cause of all wars. What apity that millions believe thus tei’rihle lies We shouldnot forget that Jesus taught that Satan ‘‘was a mum’dererfrom the beginning, and abode not in the truth om’ heis a liar, and the father of it.’’ John 8:44. Yes. Satancoveted the first place in God’s throne, and because hecould not, obtain it he began to 1ii5iUC the angels withthe same rebellious, covetous spirit that has extendedto our planet and to the nations c.’urrent1’ at war (Rev.12:7-9). He is especially at war with t.he people whosincerely desire to keep all of God’s commandments(Rev. 12:17).

Jesus taught. “Love your enemies.”

Iii the Old Testament days. God spoke to 1-us peoplethrough Moses and many othem’ prophets; bitt in these last

,juiie 1972 13

days He speaks to us especially “by His Son, whom Hehath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He madethe worlds.” Heb. 1:2. Arid Jesus Himself testified ofthis very great and marvelous truth in the followingwords of life and truth: “All power is given unto Me inheaven and in earth.” Matt. 28:18. When God the Fatherhad the reins in His hands, because of the disobedienceand lust of His people He tolerated war and the otherthings mentioned above even though they were not in Hisoriginal plan. But when Jesus His Son came for the firsttime to this earth, all power was given to Him. We knowthis is true because of the important words spoken by theFather on the Mount of Transfiguration: “This is Mybeloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him.”Matt. 17:5.

In one of the Saviour’s prayers to His Father justbefore He was crucified, He prayed: “Father, glorifyThy name. Then there came a voice from heaven, saying,I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. Thepeople therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that itthundered:.. .“ John 12:28,29. Yes, my dear friends andbrethren, God the Father has honored and glorified theSon; therefore we can depend implicitly on what Jesussaid about all things, including war. Therefore, let usstudy very carefully and prayerfully what Jesus ourSaviour taught on this subject.

Jesus, referring to the words found in Exodus 21:24,said: “Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye foran eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” Matt. 5:38. That wasthe Old Testament way of treating the war question underthe old theocracy; but now that the Father had placed allpower into Christ’s hands, He said: “That ye resist notevil: but whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek,turn to him the other also. Ye have heard that it hathbeen said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thineenemy. But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless themthat curse you, do good to them that hate you, and prayfor them which despitefuily use you, and persecute you.”This is Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt.5:39,43,44). Let us not forget that the Father Himselfsaid we should listen carefully to Him; and He said ofHis own words: “. . .The words that I speak unto you,they are spirit, and they are life.” John 6:63. “Heavenand earth shall pass away, but My words shall not passaway.” Matt.24:35.

It was the Spirit of Christ that spoke through all theprophets (1 Peter 1:10, 11), and Paul the apostle andprophet said that “Love worketh no ill to his neighbour.”Romans 13:10. “Be not overcome of evil, but overcomeevil with good.” Rom. 12:21. It was also the Spirit ofChrist that inspired Sister Ellen G. White, the prophet ofGod to the remnant church, to write the following wordsregarding war: “Satan delights in war, for it excites theworst passions of the soul and then sweeps into eternityits victims steeped in vice and blood. It is his object toincite the nations to war against one another, for he canthus divert the minds of the people from the work ofpreparation to stand in the day of God.” —Great Controversy, p.589.

Participants in war do not all pull the trigger.

Some people may be reasoning like this: “Well, wecan participate in war without having to shoot down ourenemies, and thereby not commit sin.” To this 1 willgive a brief Biblical illustration: Saul could have reasoned along that line when he consented to the death ofStephen, since he did not throw a stone at him but onlyheld the clothes of those who stoned him. Saul probablysaid words to this effect: “Say, fellows, you cannotstone that man very well wearing those long, heavygarments (worn in those days). Let me hold your heavyclothing while you stone him to death.” Was not Saul asguilty of Stephen’s death as those who stoned him? I amsure you Will agree with me that he certainly was asguilty in every way.

Just recently I read in the San Francisco Chronicle ofApril 1.1, 1971, about a young cadet who resigned fromthe Air Force Academy because of his conscientiousconvictions regarding war. Here are his words: “It isnot just wearing a fancy uniform. It’s taking part inkilling — even if you’re only handing bullets to someoneelse. Everything in the Air Force is connected in someway with war.”

Louis P. Font, another cadet who asked to be discharged from all responsibilities of war, said: “TheMy Lai incident strongly crystalized my belief that theVietnam war was unjust. I love my God and my country.

But I love my God first.... The more I learned aboutthe war, the more I turned to religion.” —San FranciscoExaminer, April 13, 1971.

To these two cases we could add the firm convictionsof the Honorable Justice Douglas in his speech beforegovernment circles in Washington, D.C., on April 22,1946. He said: “The bearing of arms, important as it is,is not the only way in which our institutions may besupported and defended. Total war in its modern formdramatizes as never before the great cooperative effortnecessary to victory. The nuclear physicists whodeveloped the atomic bomb, the worker at his lathe, theseaman on cargo vessels, construction battalions,nurses, engineers, litter bearers, doctors, chaplains—these too made essential contributions and many of themmade the supreme sacrifice.” —The Sacramento Bee,April 22, 1946.

Thus we can understand very clearly that no matterwhat we do in connection or in cooperation with war weare without a doubt cooperating in the destruction ofhuman life. Therefore, as Christians, we should avoidhaving anything to do with it. God’s law must always besupreme in our lives. The laws of the country in whichwe reside are only a reflection of God’s eternal morallaw. We are to obey them unless the requirement of therulers conflicts with the law of God. If they do conflict,we should as Christians follow the example of theapostle Peter; when brought before the authorities of histime because of obedience to the command of the God ofheaven, he said: “We ought to obey God rather thanmen.” Acts 5:29.


GOD’S

METHOD

FOR

SAVING

SOULS

F we would humble ourselves before God, and bekind and courteous and tenderhearted and pitiful,

there would be one hundred conversions to the truthwhere now there is only one.” —Testimonies, Vol.9,p. 189.

The foregoing testimony is of tremendous importanceto the people of God. It reveals not only the true attitudeof the Christian toward those for whom Christ died butalso the condition which we as reformers must achievebefore we can ever expect the fulness of the latter rain.In this article we want to learn God’s method for thesaving of the lost so we might be more effective insaving souls for Flis kingdom. Not only do we want tolearn God’s method, but we also wish to unlearn ourown methods, which we have so often employed, thinkingwe were doing God a service.

Jesus said, “Learn of Me: for I am meek and lowly inheart.” And that is just what we want to do right now —

learn of Jesus. If we will learn His method for savingsouls, the secret of His success, I am sure the gospelwork will be completed in a very short time. And isn’tthat just what we want as Christians? Haven’t wesojourned long enough on this sin-sick earth? Then letus put forth every effort to learn of Jesus. “Let uslearn from Christ how to combine a high sense of purityand integrity with sunniness of disposition. A kind,cou’teous Christian is the most powerful argument thatcan be produced in favor of Christianity.” —GospelWorkers, p. 122. Oh, it takes wisdom and much prayer tobe able to present Jesus to the lost in a kind, courteous

By LESTER McSHERRY

way, instead of in a superior manner. As we present thegospel to others, let us heed the words of Solomondescribing our lovely Jesus: “His mouth is most sweet:yea, He is altogether lovely. This is my Beloved, andthis is my Friend.” Song of Solomon 5:16.

Have you ever noticed the method of Jesus in choosingHis words when speaking to those who were hungeringand thirsting for righteousness? He chose such sweetwords that no one could be offended or hurt by what Hetold him. And He is altogether lovely. Christ presentedthe truth in such a loving way that souls were simplydrawn to Him. This is God’s method, and it must be oursalso. “No other influence that can surround the humansoul has such power as the influence of an unselfishlife. The strongest argument in favor of the gospel is aloving and lovable Christian.” —Ministry of Healing,p.470.

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June 1972 15

)id :vou notice the word ‘Friend’’ in the verse ofSolomon? Jesus becomes the friend of all He is seekingto save. We must come close to the one we desire todraw to Christ. To be able to feel with, encourage andbless is truly a gift from above. A little boy was askedthe meanina of the word “friend.” He thought a momentand then said. “It’s a feller who knows all about you andloves you just the same.” As you work for souls and seedisagreeable traits of character in their lives, do notbecome discouraged but be their friend and remember thatChrist died for them.

Hosea beautifully illustrated God’s method for savingsouls. “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bringher int.o the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.”Hosea 2:14. Here was a woman who truly was steeped insin. But God was not content with her just having aknowledge of truth. He told Hosea to “allure her.” Hewas to present Jesus in the truth in such a way that shewould be charmed or lovingly drawn to him. It’ we wereto see a soul in sin, as was this woman, we would beapt to say, “I’ll really tell her. I will go and give it toher straight from the shoulder.” But this is not God’smethod. He says, “I will give her My love straight fromMy heart.”

“In Christ is the tenderness of the shepherd, theaffection of the parent, and the matchless grace of thecompassionate Saviour. His blessings He presents in themost alluring terms. He is not content merely to announcethese blessings; He presents them in the most attractiveway, to excite a desire to possess them. So His servantsare to present the riches of’ the glory of the unspeakableGift. The wonderful love of Christ will melt and subduehearts, when the mere reiteration of doctrines wouldaccomplish nothing.” —Desire of ies. p.826.

Brethren aid Sisters, pray for that heavenly wisdom soyou can present the gospel of Jesus in such an attractiveway as to excite a desire to possess it, rememberingthat the mere reiteration of doctrine will accomplishnothing. “A legal religion can never lead souls toChrist; for it is a loveless, Christless religion.” —Desireof slges, p.280.

I believe we too often have a pharisaical attitude Intrying to win souls, rather than the attitude of Chi’ist. Asancient Israel, we “fast for strife and debate, and tosmite with the fist 01’ wickedness’:...” Isaiah 58:4.Examine your heart, brother or sister. Is this your wayof presenting the truth? If it is, you can mark thatmissionary visit down 101 Satan. Jesus said, “For Godsent not His Son into the woi’ld to condemn the world hutthat the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:17.Flave you often, in times past, misread this text to meanthat God did send His Son to condemn? When we condemna soul who is outside the fold of Christ and who isseeking truth, we ate not working as Christ worked. incondemning we erect a harrier that may never be brokendown And what have we accomplished? — a flUSsiOliary

visit ton Satan. “The Lord wants his people to followoil cc :;:ethod thou that of’ condemning wrong, even thoughthe condemnation is lust He wants us to do somethingmore than to huni at our adversaries charges that oniy

drive them farther from the truth. The work which Christcame to do in our world was not to erect barriers, andconstantly thrusr upon the people the fact that they werewrong. He who expects to enlighten a deceived peoplemust come near to them and labor for them in love. Hemust become a center of holy influence.” —GospelWorkers, p.373.

The apostle Paul was acquainted with Jesus’ methodas he labored for souls. He explained it in his secondletter to the Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 18: “And allthings are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself byJesus Christ, and bath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.” Jesus has drawn us out of the world and tothe Father through His great love, and He has given toeach of us this same ministry. Are we falling short ofthe mark set for us by Jesus? “How little do we enterinto sympathy with Christ on that which should be thestrongest bond of union between us and Him — compassionfor depraved. guilty, suffering souls, dead in trespassesand sins! The inhumanity of man toward man is ourgreatest sin.’’ —ilinistrv of healing, p. 163.

We live in a solemn time! A great and important workhas been committed to all who have linked up with Christ.We are to be His ambassadors to herald His secondcoming. Are we fulfilling our God-given duty? “If wewould humble ourselves before God, and be kind andcourteous and tenderhearted and pitiful, there would beone hundred conversions to the truth where now there isonly one.” —Testimonies, Vol.9, p.189. There is onlyone way in which we can correctly use God’s method insaving souls. It is found in Galatians 2:20: “I amcrucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, butChrist liveth in me: and the life which I now live in theflesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me,and gave Himself for me.” If Jesus is abiding in theheart and we desire and permit the Holy Spirit to takecontrol of our lives, we shall be changed into His loveliness. With His traits of character revealed in our lives,we can only labor as He did. “If’ Christ be in us thehope of glory, we shall discover such matchless charmsin Him that the soul will be enamored. It will cleave toHim, choose to love Him, and in admiration of Him, selfwill be foi’gotten.” —Testimonies, Vol.1, pp.162,163.

Not only are we to be kind and tenderhearted, revealingthe love of Christ that has been shown us, but we arealso to manifest self-forgetfulness. Again, let us firstlearn of Jesus, for He said of Flimself, “I can of Mineown self do nothing: . . .“ John 5:30. Christ realizedthat His strength and efficiency were in the Father. IfJesus needed the constant presence of God to do thework committed to Him, how much more we sinful, erringhuman beings need His divine companionship! “Thefirst thing to be learned by all who would become workerstogether with God is the lesson of’ self-distrust; thenthey are prepared to have imparted to them the characterof Christ.” —Desire of :lges, p.250. There are somebeautiful illustrations in the Bible revealing this verytact. The experience of Peter at the sea of Galilee,when Jesus told him to let down the nets neat’ the shoreat’tei’ they had toiled all that fruitless night, is heart


rending. After letting down the nets and seeing themultitude of fish, Peter “fell down at Jesus’ knees,saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, 0 Lord.”John 5:8. In the presence of the glory of God, Peter sawhimself as he really was; and he was humbled. Justthen, in that self-distrustful condition, was when Christcould use him the most, as we read in John 5:10: “AndJesus said unto Simon, Fear not: from henceforth thoushalt catch men.”

What was the testimony of Isaiah after beholding theglory of God? “Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone;because I am a man of unclean lips,...” Isaiah 6:5.When Isaiah recognized his true condition and humbledhimself, then God made a call for laborers to work in Hisvineyard. Isaiah responded by saying, “Here am I; sendme.” Isaiah 6:8. “The Lord can work most effectuallythrough those who are most sensible of their own insufficiency, and who will rely upon Him as their leader andsource of strength.

“If they would cherish true humility, the Lord coulddo much more for His people; but there are few who canbe trusted with any large measure of responsibility orsuccess without becoming self-confident and forgetful oftheir dependence upon God.’’ —Patriarchs and Prop/letspp. 553, 554. How quickly the work of the Lord could befinished on this earth if we would only reveal the characteristics of our lovely Saviour!

“Behold,what manner of love the Father hath bestowedupon us,...” 1 John 3:1. In the midst of your cares andanxieties, just paus a moment and consider God’s lovefor you and what He has done for each one of us. As youthink of His ministry in your behalf, consider your laborfor others. Have you much to unlearn of your own methodof labor and much to learn of God’s method of savingsouls? Remember! “If we would humble ourselvesbefore God, and be kind and courteous and tenderheartedand pitiful, there would be one hundred conversions tothe truth where now there is only one.”

The following statement reveals our duty as Christiansand co-laborers with Jesus: “It was on the earth thatthe love of God was revealed through Christ. It is on theearth that His children are to reflect this love throughblameless lives. Thus sinners will be led to the cross,to behold the Lamb of God.” —lets of the .lposttes,p.334. If we will only learn God’s method for savingsouls, sinners will be led to Jesus and self will be lostsight of.

The story is told of a little girl living in the city ofLondon. One day she became lost but was soon found bytwo policemen. Trying to find the girl’s parents andhome, they asked her name.

She responded, “Patsy.”“Patsy what?” they asked.“I don’t know,” she cried, as tears began to fill her

eyes.“What is your father’s name?” one policeman asked.“I don’t know,” was the response.The policemen realized they were getting nowhere, so

they decided to drive around the city. Perhaps the littlegirl would recognize some building and thereby find her

way home. Time passed and still Patsy saw nothingfamiliar. Then one of’ the policemen thought of the oldcathedral, Asking Patsy, he said, “Do you remember theold cathedral and the great, big cross on top?”

“Yes, yes,” cried Patsy. “Take me to the cross, andfrom there I can find my way home.”

Brothers and sisters, that is all that Jesus is askingus to do today. If we will only learn God’s method forsaving the lost and point them to a crucified and risenSaviour, they will find their way back to God.

PERHAPS

He’s helping me now—this moment,

Though I may not see it or hear,Perhaps by a friend far distant,Perhaps by a stranger near,

Perhaps by a spoken message,

Perhaps by the printed word,

In ways that I know, and know not

I have the help of the Lord.

He’s keeping me now—this moment,

However I need Him most,

Perhaps by a single angel,

Perhaps by a mighty host,

Perhaps by the chain that frets me,

Or the walls that shut me in;

In ways that I know and know not,

He keeps me from harm and sin.

He’s guiding me now—this moment.

In pathways easy or hard,

Perhaps by a door wide open,

Perhaps by a door fast barred.

Perhaps by a joy withholden;

Perhaps by a gladness given;

In ways that I know and know not,

He’s leading me up to heaven.

He’s using me now—this moment,

And whether I go or stand,

Perhaps by a p’an accomplished,

Perhaps when He stays my hand.

Perhaps by a word in season,

Perhaps by a silent prayer;

In ways that I know and know not.

His labor of love I share.

—Annie Johnson Flint

June 1972 17

CATERPILLARS and butterflies arequite different. Caterpillars crawl

over and around slowly, making theirway up one leaf and down another.Often they must retrace their paths,meeting many deadends. Butterflies,however, are a different story. Theyflit frori one flower to the next, neverseeming concerned about things terrestrial, always free and a joy to watch.

Life’s circumstances frequently makeus feel like caterpillars—grounded, having no real freedom. It seems like wemust make so many detours. Oh, to befree like the butterfly’ It isn’t just ourenvironment that holds us captive; it’salso the natu,e that we were born with.The inner man, with its tendency to sin,is the basis for our stifled spirit. Butthrough the grace of our Lord JesusChrist we need not be caterpillars, forHe has given us the power to change —

the power to be free — if we are willingto accept it.

Sublimation is the process throughwhich one reshapes his desires intoanother socially acceptable activity. Itis not in man’s nature to change willingly his course of direction. It takesrational thought; but man by nature isnot rational. All of his attachments inlife to his parents, family, and friends,as well as his reactions to pain andpleasure, occur on an emotional and noton a rational level. Most of our actionsare rarely the result of logical thinkingalone. A child’s interaction with life isalmost totally on an emotional level.This is carried over even to adult lifemore frequently than we like to admit.

To he a true Christian, we need to baseour lives not just upon emotion but uponrational thinking as well. “I beseechyou therefore, brethren, by the merciesof God, that ye present your bodies aliving sacrifice, holy, acceptablc untoGod, which is yotir reasonable service.And be not conformed to this world: but

be ye transformed by the renewing ofyour mind, that ye may prove what isthat good, and acceptable, and perfect,will of God.” Rom.12:1, 2. It is obvious,then, that this process of being transformed (or sublimated) is a processwhich involves the whole man. Beforewe can present our bodies —our reasonable service — we must have a renewingof our minds. It takes effort to provethe good and acceptable things; and ifwe exert this effort, the change we arelooking for in our lives will occur.Through prayer and study the change willcome. Sometimes this occurs consciously, but more often it is an imperceptibleprocess.

There are some who feel that theemotional or physical part of man is notrelated to his mental or spiritual processes. The sciences, such as biologyand psychology, do not agree. Theyrealize that man’s emotional makeup“may stimulate or depress the functionsof the heart, the stomach, the intestinalapparatus, the respiratory and circulatory systems, the skin, or the endocrineglands; they may interfere with thedigestion and absorption of food, withthe functions of the sex organs, themuscles, or the blood vessels, or theymay cause headache, fatigue, insomnia,and other symptoms without apparentcause.” —Collier’s Encyclopedia, 1967ed., Vol. 17, p. 332.

Christ is the author of the physicallaws as well as of the moral law.Therefore, if we transgress the laws ofnature, we transgress the laws of God,Our emotional tendencies lead us intothese transgressions, which are notfor the benefit of our system as a whole.Many times we feel that it is our creativity and imagination that are stifledby the rules of society or the church.But actually what is stifled, if we lookat it honestly, is our own selfishdesire not based upon thought, notacted upon by reason, but given toimpulse. If we allow ourselves to betaught by the Holy Spirit, the first thingwe will see is our misdirection. Thesecond thing we will see is a better way.

Everyone wants to be accepted by hispeers. This is one of our basic psychological needs — to be loved. We haveother conflicts, such as life and death,the need for economic stability, and theueed to conduct our lives in an acceptable way within our society. The simplestway to solve these conflicts is just tolet life happen. But in doing this we gothrough life reacting emotionally to onecircumstance after another. This mayseem simple, but actually ills the hardway, because we are then just the pawnin the hand of life’s circumstances.The only way to break this chain ofcircumstances is by the use of the will.“The will is the governing power in thenature of man, the power of decision, orchoice.... Everyone may place his willon the side of the will of God, maychoose to obey Him, and by thus linkinghimself with divine agencies, he maystand where nothing can force him to doevil.” —Education, p. 289.

“Man can shape circumstances, butcircumstances should not be allowed toshape the man. We should seize uponcircumstances as instruments by whichto work. We are to master them, butshould not permit them to master us.

“Men of power are those who havebeen opposed, baffled, and thwarted. Bycalling their energies into action, theobstacles they meet prove to thempositive blessings. They gain self-reliance. Conflict and perplexity callfor the exercise of trust in God, andfor that firmness which developspower.” —Ministry of Heating, p. 500.

When we choose to limit our life stylebecause of our faith, we often meetopposition froni our peers — schoolmates,relatives, and perhaps even our ownfamily. The circumstances of life maythen seem to be a result of our religion.If we react positively to these situationswith faith and love, God will give us thevictory over those who oppose the goodwe desire to accomplish. Unfortunately,however, many give up the faith in orderto meet life in a way that is acceptableto the world. Such persons will not findperfection or satisfaction; they will be

Youth for Truth

%‘jj ‘ ..

‘,.

TNBy LARRY WATTS

THE SABBATH WATCHMAN

constantly trying to fit their faith to theobstacles of life. It is much better to bewilling to follow principle. God willthen give us simple tests to try our faithanti thus perfect . ‘1’r ans_.A.\sTord Puzz 1 eIn chemi s try the proc ss of sold i nia tionis the purilving of a solid by causing itto go directly from its solid state into a AS you fill in the words in the top section of the puzzle, notice that eachgaseous one. Then it is condensed back numbered letter becomes a part of the quotation in the lower section. A letterinto a solid which is free of impurities, over a given number is placed above its corresponding number in the lowerWater can go front ice to steam without areagoing through the liquid stage. Foi

Work down the list of definitions, filling in the words of which you are sureexam ic, this is the principle which isused in modern trust-tree refrigerators and transferring the letters to their places in the lower section. When youantI freezers, except that they don’t have finished, you will have a quotation from iIis,s uzi .s to ) iiuoi hop/c.conipl ete the cycle but turn the steam toliquid instead of ice. In its solid state,water is ha id cold, froz en solid.Without Christ, man is similarly nnpersonal, apathetic, and unchangeable. He 1. Higher in rank or office.

- 0can become free if he will sublimate, 4 5 21 3 6 40 1 3 7hi er any be coining free of 1 flip un ties.But sometimes, even though lie sees his

2. Building in which power is generated. . Siteed, lie refuses to be changed all the421823 812 222192611v,’av. He takes the easy road, saving,

Everybody else is cluing it,’’ or someoilier such cliche. Going from ice to 3. Past participle of forget. . Ewater is tio big thing. If we are goltig

14 28 20 29 30 1 27 24 9all the way to treedoin, we must sub1 ituate’

Yott say, “I’m willing; I’m ti\ tug. 4. Deprived of life; dead.-., $Why does it take so long’ It seems so 16 44 45 34 17 51 39 48hopeless’’’ Yes, it takes more than a

day , a nd we lie coilie i iiipa ti cut. Our5. Brought from a lower place.

-- --.-. --

huitian no litres want to fleet every icedright non, but we tints t stihlimate these 46 60 36 47 10physical drives into activities that areacceptable to God. One of the main 6. Aromatic gum resin in Bible history.

-— —--

-— Rreasons why progress is SO slow is that41 38 25 33 50we neglect the Bible, our guide to a

better, holier life. ‘Youthful iinncisfail to reach their noblest development 7. Tool for boring holes in metal.

— L --when they neglect the highest source oh 31 53 62 43 56Wi sdoni — the word oh God.” —Counselsto /‘ori’ots, l’i’uchers und .Stode,it.s,

8. End of a race; the objective; aim.-—

— Ap. 139.32 54 15 61‘‘If Satan seeks to divert the niiiid from

this to low and sensual things, hung itnick again, and place it on eternal 9. Meat derived from cattle.things; and when the Lord sees the

55 57 64 63(leteritilned etfort iiiade to retain onlyh)iid(-’ thoughts, lie will attract the iiiindl,like the magnet, and purify the thoughts 10. Nickname for Thomas. ___0

—and enable thetu to cleanse themselves 49 59 58from every secret sin.” —-,ol emo 1 pp i ul,Ii. 29. 11. Short abbreviation for Pennsylvania.

—-- --

We need not be caterpillars. The52 35sublime truths which are ours must be—

conic a pait of our thoughts. God hasgiven us these noble, exalted, andinspiring tm t his; through th em we canbecome majestic monarchs — free asbutterflies. Let us have faith in Godnot in our feelings, impressions, or —— ——

emotions, which cannot he trusted or 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1112 13 14 15 16 1718192021 22 23 24 25relied upon. Understand the true force ofthe will, ‘‘You may believe and profuse —— — —— — —-- —— — — —— —— ——

—— —— ——2728 293031 32 33 34 35 36 3738 394041 4243 4445 46 4748 495051all things, but your pronli ses or your

faith are of no value until you put your——

— — —will on the side of faith and action. If 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64you fight the fight of faith with all l’our

ANSWERS on page 25will power, von will conquer.’’ — Jest/monies, Vol.5, P. 513.

June 1972 19

j,boIste 4 $eaCth

“Tell Me a Story!”

R EALLY now, when is it necessary to

tell a story when we have ncc’ess to

wonderful books for children of all

ages—books containing lovely, full

colored pictures and written by master

story tellers? Such books are a joy to

have—at worship time, for instance, and

at bedtime. But how about telling a

story to that little one when it isn’t

possible to look at a book, such as

while going to church on Sabbath

morning, when dressing or bathing him,

while you sew and she watcries, or when

doing the dishes. If you want to, you

can find many opportunities for telling

stories,

Why tell stories?

What’s the good of story-telling?Well, first, it gives pleasure. Everybody

likes to hear stories. Why? Because

God put it into our natures to be inter

ested in other people; and stories are

the record of what other people have

done, To love stories and to love to

tell Stories helps us in our relationships

with other people. Even grown-ups like

to hear stories. And children—just you

watch that little boy and that little girl

while an entrancing story is being told.

And when it is through, how they delight

in it, how they put it into their play, and

how they come back to call for it again

and again. There’s no question that the

story gives joy to the child.

In the second place, the story teaches

truth, It does not take much mental

effort to follow a story (though it may

take much to remember it perfectly), and

yet through the story one may learn a

great deal of truth in concrete form. The

actors in the story either do something

rcjht or they do something wrong; they

keep the law or they break it; and in the

typical story, if they do right there are

good results, and if they do wrong there

are had results. And that is an easy and

effective way of teaching the command

ments. The right story, adapted to the

understanding of little children, is a

little bundle of truth in a form that their

minds can digest. Have a story, or

many stories, for every truth you wish

to teach; for the story teaches truth.

In the third place, the story inspires to

imitation. Imitation is another quality

that God has implanted in our natures.

It is, indeed, the sole avenue through

which the child learns the arts of

living, if what gives him pleasure is

worthy of imitation, he will, either in

act or in thought, become more like his

model. Tell the story of baby Moses:

you will find the little girl putting her

dolly into a basket and pushing it out

into the river of the rugs. In every case,

if the story has been rightly told, the

child will choose to be the hero rather

than the villain of the plot. Thereby he

is being taught truth as no motto can

ever teach him. Seek, then, to form your

stories so that they will form right

characters, for the story inspires to

imitation.This, then, is the value of story

telling: it gives pleasure, it teaches

truth, it inspires to imitation.

Who can tell stones?

VVho can tell stories? You can. Don’t

say, “Oh, no; I can’t tell stories. I

never could.” Maybe you never did, but

“never did” is a very different thing

from “never could.” Let your motto be

“Not what I like to do, but what I see

needs to be done.” You can tell

stories, because, as a teacher, present

or to come, you need to. If you have

never told stories, all you need to do is

to resolve that you will tell stories,

then learn how to begin, then begin, and

then keep on learning how to tell them

better.Does every mother need to be a story

teller? Yes, she does; and every father

does too, as well as every teacher.

Father and mother are the natural teach

ers of the child. and story telling is a

very important part of teaching. So also

every teacher, and every young person

who looks forward to being a teacher ora parent should learn to be a story

teller.We can help insure right doing on the

part of the child by telling him stories,

for—rememberl ‘—stories inspire to

imitation. It is better to form right

impulses than to correct wrong acts.

It is better to lead than to check. It isbetter to say. “Come on; let’s do this”than to be saying, “Stop; don’t do that!”

We can make the hard way easier bytelling stories. The tangled hair, the

dish washing, the broken shoe string,

the slight of a schoolmate, the giving up

of a picnic—the story helps to smooth

them. It is a great smoother of life’s

F”

--:.*.1,

i’ ,

t! .:•,

21) THE SABBATH WATCHMAN

rough pathways, for the right kind ofstory teaches the true philosophy oflife.

We can do much to hold the interestof our children through story telling. Ithelps us to be companionable, andcompanionship is a chief essential inchild training. If you maintain thefaculty of companionship with yourchildren, you will always have a freeaccess to the doors of their hearts.Without it, you have lost the key.

Prepare now to tell stories

Get a little notebook. Thelooseleaf kind is best, butany notebook will serve. Init make a classified list ofthe stories you can tell.My classified story notebook has the followingheadings:

OLD TESTAMENTNEW TESTAMENTNATURESECOND ADVENTMISSIONSCHURCH HISTORY

II.HEALTHFAITHCOURAGEOBEDIENCEGRACEJUSTICE

III.BABYHOODCHILDHOODADOLESCENCE

You will observe that thesecond column, whichdenotes qualities of character or conduct, will containsome of the stories listedunder the first headings.which give the origin of thestories. The third columncovers a classificationaccording to age and ismeant to contain only afew representative stories.which are also contained inthe other lists. This triplecross reference is avaluable feature. Thisnotebook should be startedat once. Make your ownclassifications as mayto you. Put i ito this book list thetitles of the stories, not the storiesthemselves. The stories, of course, youcarry in your mind. Start your notebook,even if you can tell only one story. Putthat story under the appropriate head orheads, and add other stories as you getthem. You will find this notebook veryconvenient for reference when you wanta story of a certain kind to tell. It willrefresh your memory and fit your need.

The seven essentials of story telling

1. Select your storyThe stories of the Bible are of a number

and nature and charm to cover almost thewhole field of human experience andteaching. There are fully five hundredsuch stories, and when you know half athousand stories, and can tell themeffectively, you may justifiably becalled a story teller!

THE STORY-TELLER

A LITTLE lad stood at his mother’s knee, listening to talesas old as the world, And his eyes went wide with the wonderof them: the dim old days when order and beauty sprang out ofdarkness at the breath of God Almighty; the days when giantsworked their will upon a shivering earth, till God’s wrathsmote in a flood that changed the world; the days of thepilgrimage of the patriarchs, of the faith of an old man wholifted a knife at the command of his God to slay his only son,of the gentleness of a maiden who would water the camels of astranger come out of the west, and of the love of her that madelight of deserts and rivers and mountains to reach her chosenlord, of the wonderful adventures of a boy who dreamed dreams,who toiled as a slave, who languished in the dungeon, whowas set on high by a king, and then, in the bowing of hiscruel brothers’ forms, saw his dreams come true. And thelittle lad drank it all in, night after night, in the charmedfamily circle, with his brother, and his elder sister, and hisbent, toil-wearied father.

It was a humble home, mud-walled, sod-thatched, a tablewithin and a stool for one, with a bench, a pot or two, andsome pallets on the floor—the home of a slave family, Atwisted rush, oil-soaked, for a light sometimes, or just theglow of the coals under the savory pot, or again the starsabove for company, with the uneasy stirrings of the cattle orthe sheep in the fold. And yonder, dim and ragged and cruel ingrim threat, the rising walls of the treasure city which thetoil of the slaves was rearing.

A slave mother! But she told stories! And to her it wasjust the wide eyes of a boy that thanked her; it was the heartof a child that drank those stories in; it was for this littleone whom God had given to her twice over that she remembered, and formed for telling, and made wonderful in simplicityand power, the stories of God’s dealings with men for twothousand years. She hoped those stories would help to holdhim to his God and they did. But she never knew, she nevercould dream, how they would go sounding down the ages of theworld to the last day thereof, and fill with faith and joy andhope and strength millions upon millions of men to a thousandgenerat ions.

A little hut in the grassy lands of Goshen, a weary motherwith the day’s toil as yet not ended, a little lad with his ever-present word. “Mother, tell me a story!” But when Jochebedtold Stories to her little boy Moses, she gripped the world witha lever kings could not grasp, and she set God in the hearts ofmen, --Cliristia,i Story-Telling, pp. 7, 8.

Try always to make attractive titles,titles which will challenge the curiosityof a child. When you say to him, “I willtell you the story of ‘The Little DeerThat Thought He Knew More Than HisMother,’” or “Would you like to hear astory about ‘The Chicken That Wouldn’tEat Gravel’?” you at once arouse hisinterest, for there is action, or impliedaction, in each title. And action, ormovement, is the compelling element inevery story.

Sit clown now a id think up some stories.Take up some books, Bible and others,and find some stories. As soon as youknow some stories, list them in yourstory notebook. Begin to select yourstories.

2. Know your StoryTo know the story you are preparing

to tell demands, first, careful reading;second, test of memory; third, rereadingto stop the gaps; fourth, telling it overand over, First, as you read, concentrate—______ on the narrative and make

yourself notice what pointcomes first, what next, andnext. Remember them,Second, leave your sourcebook and tell the story,You may tell it out loud toyourself if YOli do not wishto try it on a child. Notice.as you tell it, whether eachpart conies to your memoryreadily and in its rightplace. If there is any partof which you are uncertain,either as to.fact or as towording, then, third, goback and read the source,noting particularly thosepoints of which you areuncertain, until you aresure of them. Fourth, tellthe story again and again,every chance you get, untilit fixes itself in yourmemory,

There are several smallpoints which might or mightnot be of use in giving acertain turn to your story,depending on how you buildit. For example, in tellingthe story of Samuel, at agiven time you can emphasize a certain portion ofstory: “There was no openvision” in those days. Theexperience of Samuel wasunusual. “Samuel did notyet know the Lord.” Noyouthful prodigy was he,with early promise ofprophethood, but rather asimple, faithful boy. Elitold Samuel to say, “Speak,Lord, for Thy servant heareth.” But the awe-struckboy would not venture toname the great God. •Hesaid, “Speak, for Thy

servant heareth,”3. Feel your Story

To do this requires a use of the imagination. In telling a historical story,imagination is to be used not to inventfacts but to illumine the facts found inyour story source and to translate theminto modern phraseology or childishthought. Inform yourself as well as youcan as to geography, arch itecture, dress,and manners, and then visLialize thescene. You need not describe all you

seem best

,June 1972 21

see, but your seeing in detail operatesto make your story more vivid through anatmosphere of realism.

Forget yourself completely. Don’tworry about what your hearers will thinkof you; consider not the set of your hat,the expression of your face, or the tonesof your voice. Think of the heroes ofwhom you are telling, see them, hearthem, speak for them, and you will growin power of expression.

4. Analyze and outline your storyEveryone who learns and tells a story

analyzes it, though often unconsciously.But to do it consciously, and to practicedoing it until conscious analysis isnatural and easy gives a sense ofmastery of the story which is a veryimportant part of the story teller’sequipment.

First read the story, thinking of it carefully as you pass along. Then stop abit, shut your eyes, and think it throughpoint by point, making a picture of it inyour mind. Then read it over again,observing whether you remember it inevery point just as it occurred. Askyourself what point comes first, whatnext, and next, and so on, setting downyour answer on paper.

Now you have a list of several pointswritten down on your paper. By askingand answering your questions, you haveanalyzed your story, and by writing outyour answers you have outlined thestory. Whether or not one does thismakes the difference between the studentand the drifter. The student makes thesuccessful story teller; the driftermakes the failure.

So outline all your stories while youare preparing to tell them. After a whileyou will not need to write down theoutline on paper; you can keep it in yourhead. Then think, not of the list youhave written, but of the story itself andof what events follow one after another.See the story and you will have littletrouble in remembering the sequence ofevents.

5. Modify your story as necessaryStyle. Style involves the words used

and the sentence forms in which thethought is cast. The vocabulary must besuited to the understanding of the child.Children’s thoughts are short and direct,their sentences likewise.

Just to make a few comparisons ofElizabethan speech (in which the KingJames Version is written( with ourown: Do you say to a frightened person,“Fear not1” or do you say, “Don’t bescared!”? Does your child come homefrom school and tell you that for somemistake her playmates “laughed her toscorn” or “made fun of her”? Wouldyou address a twelve-year-old girl as“Maiden” or as “Little girl”?

Pertinence. The second division ofmodification deals with pertinence. Itapplies when the source contains extramaterial not pertinent to the story youwish to tell. In this we make a distinc

tion between chronicle and story.Chronicle is the prosaic recording ofevents and usually contains as manycontemporaneous events as are thoughtimportant. Story, on the other hand, is aselected narrative dealing with arestricted number of persons and eventsand having but one climax.

The story has one set of actors, allrevolving about its central hero. lttherefore has usually a simple plot,with little change of scene and thefewest possible distractions of newpersons or interests. The younger theaudience for whom the story is intended,the more regard must be paid to thisprinciple of including only what ispertinent to the central theme. Toillustrate modification for pertinence,let us take the healing of Jairus’daughter (Luke 8:40-56). In the middleof this story is the story of the womanwith the issue of blood. We may observethat the mingling of these two stories isquite admissible for mature minds, butto the single-track mind of the child it isconfusing because it divides his interest.Therefore we eliminate the story of thehealing of the woman; it can be told atsome other time or at a later age in thisconnection.

Abbreviation. If we had all time and ifour hearers had all patience and interest.perhaps we should never have too muchmaterial in any story. For variouspurposes we condense, more or less. aswe wish. We may tell “The Story ofMankind” in a chapter—but how immensely much is left Out! So also it iswith any part of that history. We mighttell it all, or a very great part, to matureand interested listeners. But to capturethe interest of a little child, and toinform his mind and inspire his heart, wemust take a small portion. And inselecting that portion we must determinewhat to take and what to leave out.First we read the material, read it again,and perhaps again, and so we note asbest we can what are the principalevents in the story and their relation toone another, what can be left out withleast injury to the story, and what mustbe kept.

Amplification. As the fourth divisionof modification — amplification — we mayconsider the less frequent occasionswhen we do not have enough material inour source to make out a story, and somust amplify the material. We have anexample in the story of Mephibosheth,son of Jonathan. There are only fourbrief references to Mephibosheth, and ofthese we would want only two for astory --2 Samuel 4:4. which tells of theaccident that made him lame, and 2Samuel 9, which tells of David’sdiscovering and befriending him, andincidentallyof the place of his residencein the meantime.

The great tragedy of his bereavementby his father’s death on the battlefield,and on the same day his own injury

leaving him crippled, are all too brieflyrevealed in that one verse of the fourthchapter. The second incident, in theninth chapter, is quite full yet containshints of his lonely seclusion in thewilderness east of Jordan, which suggestmore of our story. So we set to work toconstruct from this meager material astory that is erie of the most affecting inthe Old Testament.

Imagination is the great tool in thisconstructive modification. We mustvisualize the whole scene, coordinatethe scattered events, and weave theminto a harmonious whole. But we mustnot let imagination get away from thefacts. Therefore we mLlst inform ourselves as fully as possible, not onlyabout what is told in the Bible but whatwe may learn outside.

6. Tell your storySimplicity. Have a simple plot, simple

style, and simple vocabulary. The plotof the story is its plan. To be simple, itmust have one central figure, the hero,and it must have one straight narrativeof events in which that hero figures.The style of the story is the way yourthought is formed and expressed. If youare talking to children, you must makethe greatest difference in your style andbe sure that you talk to them in the waythey think. By your vocabulary we nieanthe words you use. The bigger and themore unusual your words, the stiffer yourstyle. In telling the story, you shouldbe sure the words you use are familiarto the children.

One of the “tricks of the trade” is thedevice of repetition of words and phrasesin the story. For instance, in “A LittleBoy Who Listened” (about Samuel’sCalling), observe the recurrence of thesame or similar phrases in the threesuccessive calls of Samuel. “In theBeginning” (the story of creation) strikesthe note in its emphasis upon the numberof each day of creation, One effect ofthis repetition is to capture the attentionof the child by the recurrence of something familiar. The word or phrase mustbe catchy so as to attract the attentionin the first instance. Then each time itoccurs it pleases the listener by itsfamiliarity and its aptness.

Directness. Don’t wander around,telling a number of unrelated things thatmay pop into your mind. Forget everything but the story and the end towardwhich the story is aiming. Concentrate.Leave reflections till afterwards.

Expression. While it is well to studythe science of voice control, facialexpression, and gesture, and so to beable to use more intelligently all theseaids of expression, you are not dependent upon this scientific culture. If youobserve faithfully the third essential ofstory telling, to feel your story, you willnaturally have the impulse to put yourwhole self into telling it.

Great dramatic value is found in directdiscourse, as contrasted with narrative


in the third person. This is anotherone of the “tricks of the trade.” Whydoes direct discourse make a story moreinteresting? Because it transfers thehearer’s thought from the story teller tothe actors in the story.

7. Have an aim and a climaxAim. Aim is the conscious effort of

the teacher to direct his story to acertain end. The lesson in the story isits soul, and without a purpose thestory is dead. What do we wish to teachby a story? We wish to teach our children the great qualities of character, thegreat inspirations of life. As theyadmire the heroes in the stories, and

detest the villains, they receive inspiration for building into their own lives thequalities of obedience, reverence.justice, honesty, courage, fortitude,forbearance, courtesy, and love.

Climax. Now what is a climax? It isthe peak of effort in the telling of astory, the point toward which you areaiming, the place where you impress thethought for which you are telling thestory. In “The Little Girl Who WasRaised from the Dead,” it is the point atwhich the little girl actually comes tolife. In “The Baby Moses,” it is thepoint where the baby’s own mother iscalled and given the child to nurse. In

That Was Never Throughis the point where it isthe little girl’s name is

Aim and climax are closely related.“Aim” is the road and “climax” is theend of the road. Know why you tell thestory, what lesson you intend to teach.Plan your story to that end and reachthat end.

Then when you reach it, stop.

Source: Christian Story-Telling andStories—For Parents, Teachers, andStudents, by Arthur Whitefield Spalding.

7row Vour OwH Sproutsthen kept dry for the same time. Othergrains should be soaked overnight only—sunflower, sesame, and radish seeds andfenugreek. They can be ground up forsauces or blended into a porridge,sweetened with pure cane sugar, maplesyrup, dates or raisins, or blended firstand then strained into a “milk” drink.

‘egetarian porridge

S PROUTING grains means to supplyyour body with the greatest amount

of “low proteins” and especially Vitamin B. The starch of the grains ischanged into protein by sprouting. Thenutritive value is increased as much as7 to 12 times.

Equipment

Canning jars, wide mouth. The glasslid is replaced by a piece of stainlesssteel, galvanized screen (no fiberglas).Use only natural water. Water that hasbeen treated chemically spoils thegrains. Never drink such water. Somehealth food stores carry a product thatremoves impurities from the water. It isbest to use organic, untreated grains.

Procedure

Sprouting proceeds in two steps:1. Soaking. The seeds or grains are

put into the lars and covered with twoinches of pure water.

2. Sprouting. The water is poured off.You might drink the water as a “vitamindrink.” Water from alfalfa and fenugreekcan be used for tea. Then the grainsare kept moist by rinsing them threetimes a day, every 6 hours. After eachmoistening, place the jars upside downto drain the grains, then put them on theside. Ordinary water can be used formoistening. The last day the sproutsare put in the sunlight. When they attainabout one half the desired length (totallength varies from 1 inch to 2 inches),place them into the refrigerator after thelast washing. Never handle the seedswith your hands. If there is an odor, orif they turn black, do not use them.Usually they keep fresh for several

June 1972

days. An airtight container will keepthem moist for a long time.

Mung beans: 1/4 cup to 1 quart jarSoaking time: 18-24 hoursSprouting time: 3-4 days

Wheat: ¼ cup to 1 quart jarSoaking time: 15 hours

(Save the water to drink)Sprouting time: 3 days

Fenugreek: 1% cup to 1 quart jarSoaking time: 12 hoursSprouting time: 4 days

Alfalfa: 2-3 tablespoons to 1 quart jarSoaking time: 4 hoursSprouting time: 3-4 days

For alfalfa, the hulls are washed offafter sprouting. Use a large strainerwith large holes. Pour water over thesprouts so that the hulls may float overthe top and pass through the holes.Only the white and green sprouts are tobe kept.

Lentils and chickpeas: ¼ cup to 1 quartjar

Soaking time: 12-15 hoursSprouting time: 2-3 days

Sunflower and sesame seeds: 1% cup to1 quart jar (sesame seeds: 2-3 tbs.)

Soaking time: 12 hoursSprouting time: 3 days

Raw peanuts (organic): ¼ cup to 1 quartjar

Soaking time: 12 hoursSprouting time: 3 days

Raisins: Same as for peanuts. Good asseasoning for salads.

Light sprouting/soaking

The nutritive value of some seeds isincreased by “overnight” soaking.Wheat is to be soaked for 15 hours and

Cut into a blender two or three kinds ofraw vegetables to your taste. Carrots,squash, red beets, leafy vegetables,onions, etc. can be used, Add kelp forseasoning, lemon, and a little oil ifdesired. Blend into a porridge.

Raw grain porridgeUse grains that have been soaked,

such as:Wheat: Use ¼ cup and cover with water

in the blender. Blend, sweeten withsyrup, cane sugar, dates, or raisins.

Sunflower seeds: Use 2 tablespoonswith 1 tablespoon sesame seeds. Coverwith water and blend. Sweeten in thesame way or eat unsweetened withdried fruit, apples, pears, apricots, orraisins.

Raw grain milkFollow the same procedure as for

porridge. The grains are strained afterblending. Use the “milk” alone as adrink. Sweeten in the same way asabove.

Coconut milkFill blender one-third with water.

Start the blender and cut in slowly smallpieces of fresh coconut. When blended,strain the milk into a container. Throwthe white pulp into the blender again,cover with water and blend a secondtime. Pour the milk into the same container. When sweetened with maplesyrup, this is a delicious and healthydrink and is superior to natural milk.

SaladsThe simplest way to use sprouted

grains is in your everyday salad.

SandwichesSandwiches spread with mayonnaise

and shredded grains are delicious.—By G. M. Svoboda. Contributed by

Rosli lncze.

“The ChurnChurning,’’ itrevealed thatStomach!

23

News

THE weekend of March 31 to April 2.1972, was a very blessed one for

those of us who were privileged to attendthis year’s Western Regional Meetings.While most of the world was engaged infeasting of a temporal nature (Easter),God’s people were enjoying a muchgreater feast upon the treasures in Hisword. I believe none will soon forget thewonderful Christian fellowship theyenjoyed at these meetings.

Friday evening at 6: 15, we all gatheredfor a song service led by Elder 0.Kramer. Our hearts were warmed to seeso many present at that very first meeting and to be able to lift our voices inpraise to the Lord. At 6:30, BrotherHenry Dering conducted our SabbathVesper service as we all joined in thehymn, “Day Is Dying in the West.” Thetitle of Brother Dering’s study was“Preparation for Christ’s SecondComing.” Do we truly believe Christ iscoming again? If so, do we live livesconforming to God’s will? In ourspeech, manners, dress, health, etc., dowe show that we are reformers? Satan isalert, and he knows the weak points inour characters. We must continue to gofoiward and grow in our Christian experience, otherwise we will become stagnantand polluted. Today we must make ourdecision for Christ and strive to resemble Him in every thought, word andaction. May each of us be ready whenHe comes’

Following the Sabbath Vesper service,we had a few minutes of intermission,after which Elder Wilfried Kramerconducted the opening service of ourWestern Regional Meetings. TheSacramento Junior Choristers firstfavored us with the special song “LeadMe to Calvary,” after which ElderKramer welcomed all who had come,especially those who had traveled greatdistances to attend. We were all happyto see many from Los Angeles andDenver, as well as some from BritishColumbia, Oregon, and even New York.Many nationalities and backgrounds wererepresented, and yet we are all united inone truth, The subject of the serviceconcerned the experiences of the earlyChristian church. What a tremendoustask faced these early Christians Thegospel was to be given to the whole

world by a handful of people, and theyseemingly lacked the qualifications sonecessary for success. Nor did theyhave niethods of communication such aswe have today—radio, television, books,telephone missionary services, Biblecorrespondence courses, etc. Travelwas slow—no jets or rapid transit. Onecan well imagine the discouragingprospect before them. Yet the earlychurch was successful because: (1) Theywere Adventists (Acts 1:9-11); (2) Theywere of one accord (Acts 1:13, 14);(3) They prayed and made supplication(Acts 1:14); (4) They received the powerof the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-7); (5) Theywere bold in proclaiming the gospel(Acts 4:20, 33); (6) They told a personalexperience (2 Tim. 1:12); and (7) Theylooked forward in hope to the reward ofthe faithful (2 Tim. 4:8). Persecutiononly strengthened the church; but intimes of peace, worldliness often creptin and destroyed the zeal of the believers. Today the gospel commissionfalls upon our shoulders. It is a workthat cannot be finished by might orpower, but only by the Spirit of God.May the Lord help us to become humbleinstruments so we may be used by theHoly Spirit to finish soon God’s work onearth.

On Sabbath morning the church wasfilled to capacity as we all gathered forSabbath School, which was conductedby Brother Henry Dering and wasenriched with a special song by a groupfrom the Los Angeles church, “His EyeIs on the Sparrow.” There were at least130 souls present as Elder M. P. Ringelberg conducted the Sabbath Service on“Christ Our Righteousness.” TheScripture reading taken from 1 Cor. 10:1-12 brings to our attention the experiences of the children of Israel and givesus the solemn warning: “Now all thesethings happened unto theni for ensamples:and they are written for our admonition,upon whom the ends of the world arecome. Wherefore let him that thinketh hestandeth take heed lest he fall,” Todayit is most important that we understandthat we are not saved by church principles or by the law, but only by faith inChrist’s righteousness. Unless we showthe faith that Joshua and Caleb showedat the borders of the Promised Land—

“We are well able to overcome it”— wetoo will he lost because of unbelief.But if we try to put on our own garmentsof righteousness, we will find that theyare inadequate to cover our shanie andnakedness. What we must have today isthe garment of Christ’s righteousness.When this message was presented to theAdventists in 1888, it was rejected; butSister White endorsed the message ascoming from heaven. This is thereforethe message for today, for as we seek therighteousness of Christ we will seemore and more the imperfections in ourcharacters and desire the Lord to takeover in our lives. We will desire tobecome prisoners of Christ so He canset us free. God is leading His church,and He makes no mistakes. The onlyquestion is, Are we ready to enter inwith Him when He comes? Can it besaid of us as it was of Caleb that wehave followed the Lord fully? May eachof us have on this garment of Christ’srighteousness when He comes’

Three o’clock found us assembled forthe children’s program, and we receiveda rich blessing as the little childrenlifted their voices in praise to the Lordwith songs, poems, Bible verses, andfinger plays. It is marvelous how muchthese little minds can grasp and remember, and certainly it is the duty of everyparent and teacher to put forth everynecessary effort o that these littleones may be won for Christ.

After the children’s program we immediately continued with the next meeting.We were favored with two specials,“Joy to the World,” played on twoviolins and a cello, and “WhisperingHope,” sung by a group from LosAngeles. After this, Elder Ringelbergcontinued the morning’s service on“Christ Our Righteousness.” We werereminded of the morning’s discourseconcerning the history of the children ofIsrael. The journey of Israel from Egyptto the Promised Land parallels theexperience of the Adventist people. AsMoses was chosen as the spiritualleader of the Israelites, so Sister Whitewas called as God’s prophet to guidethe Adventist people. Likewise theexperience of the Israelites at KadeshBarnea corresponds to that of theAdventists when in 1888 the message ofChrist Our Righteousness was presentedby Elders Waggoner and Jones. Had thechildren of Israel accepted the goodreport of Joshua and Caleb and shownfaith in the power of God to bring theminto the land of promise, God would havefulfilled His promise to them immediately. But, instead, they had to wander in

from Home & AbroadREPORT

WESTERN REGIONAL MEETINGSSACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA

MARCH 31 - APRIL 2, 1972


the wilderness for forty years, and allthose over twenty years of age at thetime of the exodus had to die. TheAdventists made a similar experiencewhen the “Christ Our Righteousness”message was presented. Had the peoplereceived the message, the work wouldhave been finished and Christ wouldhave come. But Sister White said thatthe people hated the message because itdid not correspond with their ideas.

The message, however, was repeated—this time in the form of a severe test.Sister White saw this test coming and in1913 wrote, “1 see a crisis before us,and the Lord calls for His laborers tocome into line.” 1 And the crisis didcome. The year 1914 saw the worldengaged in a terrible war. This in turnbrought a severe test to the church.Governments required military serviceof all their citizens, and this of courseincluded Adventists. How did theAdventists face up to this test? Theyfailed! Repudiating the firm position ofconscientious objection taken duringthe American Civil War, they yielded tothe pressures of the governments and,rather than face persecution, obeyed therequirements of their military officers.How sad that the majority of God’speople failed the test, but how thankfulwe can be today that “God’s chosenpeople” did “stand unmoved.”2 WorldWar II saw the same situation repeated,but again the light of truth was keptburning by a faithful few despite thepersecutions of governments and formerbrethren.

Sister White wrote concerning therejection of the message of Christ OurRighteousness, “The Spirit of God isdepartng from many among His people.” And, sadly, we see the fulfillment of this in the heresies whichentered the church after 1888. Dr. J. H.Kellogg, the leader of the Battle CreekSanitarium, who first believed in SisterWhite but later turned from the truth andintroduced the heresy of pantheism,succeeded in deceiving many. SisterWhite faithfully warned the leaders ofthe results of supporting this and othererrors; but the warning went unheededand on February 18, 1902, the BattleCreek Sanitarium burned down. Thesame year, on December 30, the Reviewand Herald publishing house sufferedthe same fate. Even this, however,failed to bring repentance, and the lastyears of Sister White’s life were difficultones as she continued to warn thepeople.

Today more errors are creeping into thelarge S. D. A. Church, including falseinterpretations of the Battle of Armageddon and of the 144,000. Today wemust pour forth the straight truth, theimportant truth of Christ Our Righteousness. Only this will bring about therevival so necessary in our ranks, andthen a corresponding change will beseen in our lives.

We are truly thankful that the Lord hasblessed us with this Reformation andthat now it is possible to bring the lightto those in the large Adventist Churchby means of the new Reformation StudyCourse. May this prove to he a successful tool in the hand of God to showsouls that straight and narrow path tolife eternal! Let us all support thiswonderful course by giving liberally ofour means so that souls throughout allthe world may receive it.

After the close of this meeting, allwent to the homes of the various believers to have supper and close the Sabbath.At 7:30 p.m., all seats were filled as wegathered once more to enjoy the youngpeople’s program. We first enjoyed ashort song service led by Brother AdolfSchendel, and at 8:00 p.m. the lightswere dimmed and we were favored withthe presentation of “The Messiah.” Inverses of Scripture and beautiful hymns,the life of Christ was presented. Beginning with the beautiful song, “God SoLoved the World,” our thoughts were ledfrom the birth of Christ to His baptism,His earthly ministry, His suffering inGethsemane, His trial in Pilate’s court,and His death. How thankful we can be,however, that the story did not end here,for Christ could not be bound by thefetters of the tomb. He rose and returnedto heaven. But the most glorious thoughtis that He is coming again. And so theaudience was invited to share in theclosing hymn, “Lift Up the Trumpet, andLoud Let It Ring; Jesus Is ComingAgain”

Sunday morning at 9:45 we gatheredagain and Elder 0. Kramer spoke to uson the subject of “Unsuccessful Success.” How important it is today thatwe not only preach the truth but that welive the truth. Only by living the truthwill we be able to exert a right influenceon the world and show souls the way to

would rather be a JosephIn a prison dark and drear

Than to rule earth’s greatest kingdomWith a heart that did not fear

Our dear Saviour up in heaven—The great God whom all should love.

I would rather be a Joseph,With my heritage above!

I would rather be a Joseph,With my conscience sharp and clean,

Than to own the greatest treasureThat this world has ever seen.

For the treasure that I valueIs a heart both pure and true,

And a deed to that bright mansionHome within the earth made new!

eternal life. Now is the time to holdhigh the standard of truth and to seek noconfederacy with the world. Let us eachdo his part to sweep his own houseclean so that we may not preach toothers and ourselves be castaways.

At 11:15 a.m., Elder Ringelberg conducted the closing service of ourRegional Meetings. After a specialsong, “Even Me,” played on a clarinet,the baptismal candidates were examinedbefore the church. We were so happythat three Spanish-speaking souls fromLos Angeles and one soul from Sacramento had decided to make a covenantwith the Lord in baptism. Following thisexamination, all were invited to takepart in a praise service. Many responded,and our hearts thrilled to hear the manydifferent expressions of thankfulness tothe Lord. We closed this wonderfulmeeting with the hymn, “God Be withYou ‘Til We Meet Again.”

The baptism was conducted shortlyafter this meeting. Everyone drove tothe American River a few miles from thechurch; there the solemn rite was performed. After this, all four souls wereaccepted into church fellowship byElder Ringelberg, and the blessed timewe had spent in Christian fellowshipcame to an end. How wonderful will bethat day when we shall never have topart from one another again. But no onewill receive the crown without bearingthe cross, and so we must all work whileit is still day because the night comethwhen no man can work. Let each of usfind something he can do for the Lord sothat the work can be finished quicklyand Christ can come.

—GRETCHEN SCHENDEL

1. Testimonies to Ministers, p.514.2. Testimonies, Vol.9, p. 17.3. Testimonies to Ministers, p.90.

I would rather be a JosephExiled in a pagan land

Than to live in senseless pleasureIn a worldly clique so grand.

I would rather be a Joseph,With a record up above

That would show my life was usefulAnd my heart was filled with love.

“The surrender of all our powers to Godgreatly simplifies the problem of life.”Messages to Young People, p. 30.

I WOULD RATHER BE A JOSEPH

-- Elma Helgason

ANSWERS to Trans-A-Word Puzzle

1. Superior2. Powerhouse3. Forgotten4. Lifeless5. Lifted6. Myrrh

7. Drill8. Goal9. Beef

10. Tom11. Pa

June 1972 25

IF ANY MAN...From page 2

we can say that the tone and attitude of those whowrote in has generally been cordial and friendly, notwithstanding their expressed disagreement or concern.We have answered this correspondence in a courteousand Christian manner.

The greatest justification for our course of actionis the response from Bible workers, canvassers, and manyothers who do not identify their place in the church.Some comments from ministers have been a great encouragement to us. We believe that the Lord is with us inthis enterprise, and we do not look for any personalglory but only seek to fulfill our divine mission to work areformation among God’s professed people, a work thatwill separate all sincere believers from every work ofdarkness, no matter where it is found.

To give a sampling of the replies we have receivedthus far, here are some of the letters and comments.We will first give some that were against our work.

To whom it may concernI am returning your material unused.I cannot accept spiritual leadership from those who are

divorcing themselves from God’s church in order to saveit. Study of the EGW writings pomts out a different way.

Groups like yours are out of touch with the members ofthe church who are striving to be ready for Jesus’ coming. They know that the whole church will never berevived, that two parties are taking shape in the church,and that in time the “sinners will be shaken out ofZion.” They are accepting “righteousness by faith” asGod’s means of preparing a people who are ready tomeet Him. It will be a personal experience for all whostand on the sea of glass.

I would urge you, whoever you are, to stand shoulderto shoulder with those “in the church” who are seekingfor and attempting to follow all of God’s advice to Hispeople.

Perhaps you have my name because some of myrel.atives are “Awakeners” and I have received “PresentTruth.” I am not in sympathy with the methods of thatmovement.

With kind Christian regards,Miss L. W.

Many people think that we are connected with theBrinsmead movement. This spurious work, which formed,as it were, a fifth column within the church, caused muchtrouble for the denomination. Now, however, since theBrinsmead brethren have come to an agreement with theAdventist leadership and returned to the fold, theiropposition is laid to rest.

Here are another letter and a comment in the samevein:

Dear Brethren,I have received your first two copies of your study

course but I don’t think I should pursue this course. I ama great believer in our Adventist organization so I don’tsee why I should study a course gotten out by an organization opposed to ours.

Apparently some moneyed men in Denver underwritesthis expenditure as well as your “so called” presentTruth. I’ll say for your publication that your PresentTruth is a great improvement over the former paper, theGathering Call which made it a point to point out thesins of the S. D. A. leaders which probably didn’t makemany friends.

No, I have the “Review and Hetald” which doesn’tmince matters in calling our attention to our mistakes so

I don’t think I need a paper from the Brinsmead peopleto supplement what our own paper points Out from timeto time.

Sincerely yours,(Elder> G. L. S.

My dear brother,I thank you for sending me these lessons. I’m not as

ignorant as I acted in the lessons before. I thought thiswas part of Brinsmead’s movement, and I didn’t wantanything to do with it.

Please tell me more about you and how you are sponsored, and are you part of the Seventh-day AdventistChurch?

How did you get my name?J. R. E.

Here are two more unfavorable letters:Dear Sirs:

You attempt to give the impression of being loyalSDA’s and followers of the spirit of prophecy. How doyou explain the spirit of prophecy counsel againstcalling the SDA church Babylon? Also regarding directing your efforts against the SDA church?

Sincerely,T. D.

Dear Sir:I am sorry that I do not have a name to address this

letter to, but all the information I have is from yourrecent letter concerning the Reformation Study Course.

From the list of topics you have given, which will becovered by the course, I wonder just what your real aimis in providing this course. It would appear from yourcorrespondence that it originates from a group outsidethe Seventh-day Adventist Church and yet the courseseems to be directed to the Seventh-day AdventistChurch. Naturally this makes me suspicious.

May I suggest kindly under the name of our lovingLord that we endeavor to work toward unity and confidence in the Seventh-day Adventist Church if you havedeep regard for this rather than spending great amountsof money and time in that which would fragment andweaken.

Yours sincerely,H. F. El.Associate SecretarySabbath School DepartmentGeneral Conference of

Seventh-day Adventists

By far the majority of those responding were veryfavorable.

Dear People:Thanks for including me among your correspondence

students. The handwriting on the envelope you sent meseemed to be that of a schoolmate I had at A. U. C. (ifthat is right, have them write me, pleasel).

I would appreciate it if you sent me all the remaininglessons in one package, for I don’t want to wait.

From pastoral experience (one year as an intern> I’velearned that the ministers themselves must be convertedand baptized with fire, before they can move theirchurches into holy alliance with Jesus. The members dorespond when the Holy Spirit speaks through sanctifiedvessels. May the spirit of the pioneers come to us aswe let the Lord make us pioneers.

Yours truly,E.G. M.

Please send me the entire set of lessons. I am muchinterested in your format and approach and may beinterested in passing these on to others!

P. D.

These lessons are what many of us need.M. L. W.

Thank you for this opportunity to restudy true Adventisrn. J. W. H.


I really enjoy these lessons. I have waited for this tocome, and I would like to help in any way possible.

G. R. C.

Appreciate this new correspondence course.M. I., Japan

I an pleased with this idea of reformation in ourchurch. These lessons have awakened my slumber anddeepened my love for the truth. Thank you very much.

Z.L.

Some comments express real concern:We cannot send our children to high school in —

because of the racial situation, and the fear of thechildren being mobbed, stabbed or hurt, yet we arehaving a difficult time findi;ng an academy whoseteachers have not gone “mod.” Long hair, motorcycles,short skirts and tight pants on both boys and girls areall the vogue in “our” schools. Dope and narcotics areavailable for the asking and all the kids know how toget it, yet no one will “tell”!

Television has shrunk the conscience of our people.Our people do not see the impact of spiritualism whichhas swept into our daily living. The ecumenical movement is swallowed up in spiritualism—but who realizesit?

Mrs. A. L. S.

The church is changing so many ways of worship thatit is losing its own ground. We know that young peoplewant to leave because if it does not Suit themselves,they’d rather get out. f1yself, I believe that my SaviourJesus Christ is coming and if we don’t stop changingeverything just for the world we will be lost.

It is true. We have also noticed the changes in thespiritual feelings of our church. And if we keep on beinglukewarm, because this is all we are doing, like ancientIsrael we are going to be confused by the people ofEgypt, that drew many Jews to worship their idols. It istime for the reformation of our characters to be Christlike, not world-like. May the Lord have mercy on us andopen our eyes to the imminent events about to occur,and bless us to finish His work, for we want to gohome

M. P.

I have read the section on Lesson 1, Part 2, “Inconsistencies,” several times already. It’s absolute truth,every word of it. The line of demarcation is indeeddisappearing. Truly, when Jesus returns, shall He findfaith on this earth?

So far I fully agree with your 2 lessons. I am in fullaccord that a revival and a reformation must take place.And for a long time I have looked for the time when athorough reformation is to take place. Yes, a reformation is a great necessity among God’s people as thecoming of Jesus nears its accomplishment.

Testimonies to Ministers, p.514, may be your lot; Ifso, God bless you. Only be faithful. God still has Hisrepresentatives among His people. “God calls uponthose who are willing to be controlled by His Holy Spiritto lead out in a work of thorough reformation.”

This has been my attitude in God’s service. I loveGod’s people and I want to see a reformation among us.

J. A. S.

It is most interesting to see how the people answer thequestions—some doubtful, some disagreeing, some wholeheartedly in harmony, expressing their gratitude for thisopportunity. Here are one gentleman’s answers to theStudy Questions for Lessons 3 and 4:

Lesson 31. What is the only valid reason for a reformation?

It is to counter the work of wrong teachings and compromise within the church and to bring the church back tothe plan God has given to it.

2. What does true reformation bring?True reformation brings:1. persecution (2 Tim. 3:12).2. separation of the false from the true.3. a reinstatement of following the commandments.4. a uniting of the apostates with the forces of Babylon.5. a further attempt by the apostates to change additional

sacred teachings.6. a tested and purified people for tradslation.

3. What is a real obstacle to any reformation?The greatest obstacle to a reformation is the supremeeffort put forth upon the part of the apostates to refuseto recognize their errors; then to condemn the reformersas being enemies of the church. This causes manysincere followers of the “establishment” to feel that thereformers are in error, and that those who sit in “Moses’seat” cannot do wrong. Getting all to understand thereal facts of the apostasy remains the greatest and mostimportant duty of a reformer.a. self-righteousness.b. unbelief.

4. What three basic reasons for reformation were givenby Elijah the Reformer?a. Forsaking the Ten Commandments (covenant).b. Throwing down God’s altars.c. Slaying God’s prophets.

5. How can we apply these characteristics to God’spresent-day church?a. Jer. 17:5,7 (following man instead of God).b. The altars of: entertainment, dress, intemperance,

and love for the general world.c. People are being put out of the remnant church be

cause they refuse to follow after errors and teachingsof apostates and compromisers. A black list (similarto the trade unions) is used to boycott workers andmembers who will not accept the false ways. SeeJohn 16:1-3. Roman Catholic methods of persecutionare used against those who refuse to conform.

6. What constitutes an idol in God’s sight?An idol in God’s sight: Anything that is given the love,honor, affection, worship, service or reverence that isdue only to Him.

7. Who is the instigator of persecution?The instigator of persecution is always the unrighteous.Since the apostate cannot plead his cause with a thussaith the Word, his only recourse is to repent or persecute the reformer. Rarely do they do the former. Behindall instigation against reformers is Satan.

8. What is one of the outstanding characteristics of atrue, divine reformation?

One outstanding characteristic of a true, divine reformation: (2)a. It must be prophesied by the Bible and Spirit of

Prophecy.b. It will cause a cleavage between the true followers

and the false, with God’s blessings only resting upohthe true people.

Lesson 41. What characteristic must a true reformation have?

Characteristics that a true reformation must have:1. Call sin by its right name.2. Follow fully the teachings and counsel of God.3. Warn sinners of apostasy and false doctrines; leading

them back to the truth.4. Refrain from seeking approval of world.

2. What was the spiritual condition of God’s peoplearound 1844?Blessings of God rested on them.

3. What came in a short time later?Desire for worldly approval; pride—cares of this life;seeking worldly enterprises.

June 1972 27

4. What does the statement of 1903 tell us clearly?Our righteousness is not from heaven: year 1903.The Lord’s house has become secularized as a house ofmerchandise; the glory hath departed.

5. Why are the experiences of ancient Israel recorded inthe Scriptures?For our admonition—since we are following in the sametracks. Rom.6:16; 1 Cor. 10:11. “Modern Israel issteadily retreating toward Egypt.”

6. a. Can God reject His chosen people?Yes, God can reject His people.

On what grounds?The promises of salvation are all based upon our obedience to His will and covenant. If we do not conform toall we have promised to do and follow, we are lost. Onlya fragment of the total will follow and be saved.

7. What was foretold in view of this great apostasy?A reformation would be put in action by the Lord and Histrue followers.

8. What events would identify the time when the prophesied reformation would come?The reformation was to be expected when world-widedisasters and trouble came upon the earth. Fires,floods, earthquakes, wars, strife for supremacy amongthe nations; foretold in 1913.

9. Were the events that occurred during this time recognized by the General Conference as the prophesiedtest?It appears that a majority of the G. C. did not heed thecall for a reformation. Few seem to know that there wasa call for reformation within our churchl

10. How can you prove this?a. This can be made evident by the fact that when a

call was made for a reformation—Elders Waggonerand Jones, 1888, with the message of righteousnessby faith — it was NOT received by the G. C.

b. The church would not be “steadily retreating towardEgypt” (Test., Vol.5, pp.72,217) if it had beenundergoing a thorough reformation and revival.

c. The disastrous compromises with sin and worldlypolicy instigated and carried on by our leaders have

been the counterpart of reformation. Instead ofreformation, we have undergone “cOnformity.”

Examples:

1. Medical work knows only drug medication—opposed to all spirit of prophecy teachings.

2. Dress reform—is supplanted by “dress conformity.”

3. Buying and selling (secularism) has taken theplace of missionary and gospel work. Examples:Nursing homes, furniture plants, bakeries, etc.,etc.

4. Church government has become centralized in thehands of a few who totally dominate the wills ofconstituencies. “Conference administration” hasbecome more important and more dominant than“church administration.” CONFERENCE hasbecome the substitute for CHURCH The policiesand laws of a fewmust be carried out by a multitude.

5. Man has been taught to rely on the counsel andguidance of man, rather than to look to his God.

6. Politics and self-seeking pervade.H. R. R.

The following comment accompanied the completed

Study Questions for Lesson 1:

I am an ordained Minister in the S. D. A. Church of 35years standing, and have seen many changes and believemy influence for Reformation is more effective withinthe Ranks of the Church than in a separate position. Ihave been extremely interested in the recent issues ofthe “Present Truth” magazine and in the question of“Righteousness by Faith”—which has been my belief foryears. The question of war also has troubled me. Icannot agree that S. D. A.’s should be in the Battle dressof the Nations. My three brothers were C. Objectors inBritain in the 2nd World War, and my Father in the 1stWorld War.

I feel, however, that for those of us who attempt tohold the standards and preach Reformation—continuously—our best position is within its ranks even though wecannot agree with all that is sometimes sanctioned anddone, and I know I am but one of hundreds.

With Best Wishes,Sincerely in Christ’s Ser’ie,(Pastor) D. J. H.

ASLEEP IN JESUSIT IS with deep regret that we report the death of our dear

SISTER IVY HILDA WALDRON

of South Wales, England, who died suddenly on March 14, 1972, and wasburied at Ebbw-Vale, Monmouthshire, on March 18, 1972.

Sister Waldron, who was 69 years of age, accepted the light of Reformationin 1928 and was a faithful member from that time on. Although paralyzedas the result of a stroke for the last seven years of her life, yet her witnessfor the truth seemed to grow stronger as time passed.

Brother A. Charles was present at the funeral service and was privilegedto take part in the service and also to speak words of comfort and hope to themourners.

We now await the call of the Lifegiver and believe that, if faithful, weshall meet our sister again on the resurrection morning.

—A. WOODRUFF, England

TRUST THY MASTER

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What most you wish and long forMight only bring you pain.You cannot see the future,God’s purpose to explain.

So trust, faint heart, thy Master!He doeth all things well.He loveth more than heart can guess,And more than tongue can tell.

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