Abiding Truth

A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside. Luke 8:5. {FH 107.1}

The great controversy between Christ, the prince of light, and Satan, the prince of darkness, is presented before us in the parable of the sower.... {FH 107.2}

The  sower is the Son of God, or the one to whom He delegates His work, for  by cooperating with Christ, we are to become laborers together with God.  Those who by personal ministry open to others the Scriptures are sowing  the good seed, for the good seed is the Word of God.... {FH 107.3}

The  seed sown by the wayside represents the word of God as it falls upon  the heart of those who are inattentive hearers, for those who are to  bring the fruit forth must meditate much upon the word of God which has  been presented to them.... As the birds of the air are ready to catch up  the seed from the wayside, so Satan is represented as ready with his  unseen agencies of evil to catch away the seeds of divine truth from the  heart, lest it should find a lodgment there and bring forth fruit unto  eternal life.... {FH 107.4}

Satan  and his angels are in the assembly where the gospel of the kingdom is  preached. While heavenly angels also are present to minister for those  who shall be heirs of salvation, the enemy is ever on the alert that he  may make of no effect the influence of the truth. With an earnestness  that is only equaled by his malice, he seeks to thwart the operation of  the Spirit of God on the heart of the hearer, for he sees that if the  truth is accepted, he has lost control of his subject, and Christ has  won the victory.... {FH 107.5}

There  are many whose hearts are as hard as the beaten pathway, and apparently  it is a useless effort to present the truth to them; but while logic  may fail to move, and argument be worthless to convince, let the laborer  for Christ come close to such in Christlike sympathy and compassion,  and it may be that the love of Christ will subdue and melt the soul into  tenderness and contrition.... {FH 107.6}

Through  the years of probation, God is testing and proving the hearts of all,  that it may be seen who will find room for Jesus. The question to be  answered by every soul is, Will you accept the pardoning love of God,  which is a remedy for the diseases of the soul, or will you choose the  enmity of Satan, and reap the terrible doom of the lost?—The Review and Herald, May 31, 1892. {FH 107.7}

One  reminder alone remains: our Redeemer will ever bear the marks of His  crucifixion, the only traces of the cruel work that sin has wrought.  Through eternal ages the wounds of Calvary will show forth His praise  and declare His power. {HF 408.4}

Christ  assured His disciples that He went to prepare mansions for them in the  Father’s house. Human language is inadequate to describe the reward of  the righteous. It will be known only to those who behold it. No finite  mind can comprehend the glory of the Paradise of God! {HF 408.5}

In the Bible the inheritance of the saved is called “a country.” Hebrews 11:14-16.  There the heavenly Shepherd leads His flock to fountains of living  waters. There are everflowing streams, clear as crystal, and beside them  waving trees cast their shadows upon the paths prepared for the  ransomed of the Lord. Wide-spreading plains swell into hills of beauty,  and the mountains of God rear their lofty summits. On those peaceful  plains, beside those living streams, God’s people, so long pilgrims and  wanderers, shall find a home.  {HF 408.6}

“They  shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards,  and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit;  they shall not plant, and another eat: ... Mine elect shall long enjoy  the work of their hands.” “The wilderness and the solitary place shall  be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the  rose.” “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall  lie down with the kid; ... and a little child shall lead them. ... They  shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain.” Isaiah 65:21, 22; 35:1; 11:6, 9. {HF 409.1}

Pain  cannot exist in heaven. There will be no more tears, no funeral trains.  “There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying: ... for the  former things are passed away.” “The inhabitant shall not say, I am  sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.” Revelation 21:4; Isaiah 33:24. {HF 409.2}

There  is the New Jerusalem, the metropolis of the glorified new earth. “Her  light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone,  clear as crystal.” “The nations of them which are saved shall walk in  the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and  honor into it.” “The tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell  with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with  them, and be their God.” Revelation 21:11, 24, 3. {HF 409.3}

In the City of God “there shall be no night.” Revelation 22:5.  There will be no weariness. We shall ever feel the freshness of the  morning and ever be far from its close. The light of the sun will be  superseded by a radiance which is not painfully dazzling, yet which  immeasurably surpasses the brightness of our noontide. The redeemed walk in the glory of perpetual day.  {HF 409.4}

“I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.” Revelation 21:22.  The people of God are privileged to hold open communion with the Father  and the Son. Now we behold the image of God as in a mirror, but then we  shall see Him face to face, without a dimming veil between. {HF 410.1}

But God’s thoughts are not as our thoughts, nor His ways as our ways.  When there was no eye to pity, no arm to save, His eye pitied, and His  arm brought salvation. Looking down upon the sinner, He cried, “Deliver  him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom.” [Job 33:24.]  The only begotten Son of God became our Mediator, our substitute and  surety. He took all our sins, all our failure, and pledged Himself as  King of kings to satisfy every claim of the law on our account. He would  make an atonement for us, and through the plan of redemption give us  another trial, that through obedience and faith we might come under the rule of the King of Righteousness. {Lt48-1893.30}

“Thou  shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul,  and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the  second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” {ST March 3, 1887, par. 1}

We  are in a world where hearts need human sympathy; and God has given us  benevolence, that we may realize this need, and be kind and charitable  to all with whom we come in contact. We often see a charitable  disposition manifested by men and women who have never given their  hearts to Christ, and it is a sad sight indeed when his professed  followers lack this great essential of Christianity. They do not copy  the Pattern; and it is impossible for them to reflect the image of Jesus  in their lives and deportment. {ST March 3, 1887, par. 2}

Love  is one of the fruits of true piety. Those who truly carry out the  principles of the law of God in their daily lives will realize that  suffering humanity has claims upon them. They will not only love God  supremely, but their neighbor as themselves. Jesus illustrated this principle in the parable which he told to a certain lawyer who “stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered him by asking another question: “What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right; this do, and thou shalt live.” {ST March 3, 1887, par. 3}

“This do,” said Jesus, not merely believe, but do, “and thou shalt live.” It is carrying out the principles of God’s law, and not merely a professed faith in its binding claims, that makes the Christian. {ST March 3, 1887, par. 4}

Sanctification is obtained only in  obedience to the will of God. Many who are willfully trampling upon the  law of Jehovah claim holiness of heart and sanctification of life. But they have not a saving knowledge of God or of His law.  They are standing in the ranks of the great rebel. He is at war with the  law of God, which is the foundation of the divine government in heaven  and in the earth. These men are doing the same work as their master has  done in seeking to make of none effect God’s holy law. No  commandment-breaker can be permitted to enter heaven; for he who was  once a pure and exalted covering cherub was thrust out for rebelling  against the government of God. {FW 29.2}

After  the ascension of Christ, when his followers no longer enjoyed his  personal presence and instruction, his disciples took up the work where  he left it; and the words of truth, as they received them from Him who  spake as never man spake, have come down to us clothed with divine  power. Paul declared that he had taught the Ephesians “publicly, and  from house to house, testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks,  repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” Peter  and the other apostles preached the same gospel. {ST August 5, 1886, par. 1}

Why  should the apostles teach repentance toward God?—Because the sinner is  in trouble with the Father. He has transgressed the law; he must see his  sin, and repent. What is his next work?—To look to Jesus, whose blood  alone can cleanse from all sin. Faith in Christ is necessary; for there  is no saving quality in law. The law condemns, but it cannot pardon the  transgressor. The sinner must depend on the merits of the blood of  Christ. “Let him take hold of my strength,” says our merciful Redeemer,  “that he may make peace with me, and he shall make peace with me.” Our  Lord declared that he would love most to whom most was forgiven; and he  only will feel that he needs forgiveness who sees himself as he is,  defiled by sin, a transgressor of God’s holy law. He who has the fullest  conviction of the sacred claims of the law, will most clearly see the  enormity of his offenses, and will feel that he is indeed forgiven much.  {ST August 5, 1886, par. 2}

We  are nearing the close of time; and a broader, clearer light than others  have been favored with shines upon us. The mists are rolling away, and  if we are humble students of the divine word, its truths will be clearly  revealed to us. But Satan and his host are warring against the  commandments of God as never before. Every attempt is made to blind  men’s eyes to the truth. If it were possible, even the elect would be  deceived. This is no common deception. Satan’s great success consists in  keeping men in ignorance of his devices; for then, through his  subtlety, he can confuse the minds of the unwary, and, as it were, lead  them blindfolded. He is close on the track of all who make profession of  Bible truth. He is constantly planning their overthrow, and his  temptations are soliciting them on every hand. {ST August 5, 1886, par. 3}

I  am asked concerning the law in Galatians. What law is the schoolmaster  to bring us to Christ? I answer: Both the ceremonial and the moral code  of ten commandments. {1SM 233.1}

Christ  was the foundation of the whole Jewish economy. The death of Abel was  in consequence of Cain’s refusing to accept God’s plan in the school of  obedience to be saved by the blood of Jesus Christ typified by the  sacrificial offerings pointing to Christ. Cain refused the shedding of  blood which symbolized the blood of Christ to be shed for the world.  This whole ceremony was prepared by God, and Christ became the  foundation of the whole system. This is the beginning of its work as the  schoolmaster to bring sinful human agents to a consideration of Christ  the Foundation of the whole Jewish economy. {1SM 233.2}

All  who did service in connection with the sanctuary were being educated  constantly in regard to the intervention of Christ in behalf of the  human race. This service was designed to create in every heart a love  for the law of God, which is the law of His kingdom. The sacrificial  offering was to be an object lesson of the love of God revealed in  Christ—in the suffering, dying victim, who took upon Himself the sin of  which man was guilty, the innocent being made sin for us. {1SM 233.3}

In  the contemplation of this great theme of salvation we see Christ’s  work. Not only the promised gift of the Spirit, but also the nature and  character of this sacrifice and intervention are subjects which should  create in our hearts elevated, sacred, high ideas of the law of God,  which holds its claims upon every human agency. The violation of that  law in the small act of eating of the forbidden fruit, brought upon man  and upon the earth the consequence of disobedience to the holy law of  God. The nature of the intervention should ever make man afraid to do  the smallest action in disobedience to God’s requirement. {1SM 234.1}

When  Adam and Eve were created, and placed in their Eden home, they had a  knowledge of the law that was to govern them. Its precepts were  imprinted on their hearts by Jehovah himself, and they were acquainted  with its claims upon them. When they transgressed that law, fell from  that state of happy innocence, and became sinners in the sight of God,  the dark future of the fallen race was not relieved by a single ray of  hope. Because of the transgression of the divine law, paradise was lost  to man, the curse was pronounced upon the earth, and the reign of death  commenced. {ST April 22, 1886, par. 1}

But  Heaven pitied man, and the plan of salvation was devised. When the  curse was pronounced upon the race, in connection with the curse there  was given the promise of pardon through a Saviour who was to come. This  promise was the star of hope that lighted up the gloom, that, like the  pall of death, hung over the future of man, and of the world which was  given him as his dominion. The gospel was first preached to Adam and Eve  in Eden. They sincerely repented of their guilt, believed the promise  of God, and were saved from utter ruin. {ST April 22, 1886, par. 2}

Those  who lived before the flood were favored in receiving instruction from  Adam, who had conversed with God and angels in Eden. He lived nearly a  thousand years, and by his teachings, and his example of humble  obedience, he exalted the law of God. He sought to turn his posterity  from transgression to a life of obedience and faith in a promised  Saviour; but he found from sad experience that it was easier to open the  flood gates of sin and woe upon the world, than to resist and press  back the tide of moral wretchedness that was pressing in upon mankind in  consequence of his transgression. {ST April 22, 1886, par. 3}

The  character of God is the law, and therefore Christ said, “Not one jot or  tittle of the law shall pass till all be fulfilled.” [Matthew 5:18.] Every specification which Christ has given is life. He came to bring before us the true and perfect character of the law of God, and the Word declares, “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” [Psalm 19:7.]  Let us hear from the lips of the greatest teacher the world has ever  known. He was giving His sermon upon the Mount. The Pharisees had  declared that He came to do away with the law. {Ms16-1894.7}

He  read what was in their hearts and said, “Think not that I am come to do  away with the law or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to  fulfill.” He was in the open air and as He pointed to the heaven and the  earth, He said, “For till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle  shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” [Matthew 5:17, 18.] God saw the importance of this, and Christ came to draw back the falsehood that it was impossible to keep the law. {Ms16-1894.8}

How  did Satan originate this lie? It was because the law of God was covered  up by tradition, misinterpretation and misconstruction. It was the  maxims and customs of men that were taught for the law, and so the  character of God was hidden. Christ saw that Satan had his own way on  the earth, and He came that the rubbish which had been accumulating from  generation to generation and from age to age might be removed, and that  the law might stand upon its own eternal basis of virtue and purity.  This was His work in our world. {Ms16-1894.9}

For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.—Psalm 50:10. {HB 206.1}

That  which lies at the foundation of business integrity and of true success  is the recognition of God’s ownership. The Creator of all things, He is  the original proprietor. We are His stewards. All that we have is a  trust from Him, to be used according to His direction. {HB 206.2}

This  is an obligation that rests upon every human being. It has to do with  the whole sphere of human activity. Whether we recognize it or not, we  are stewards, supplied from God with talents and facilities and placed  in the world to do a work appointed by Him. {HB 206.3}

Money  is not ours; houses and grounds, pictures and furniture, garments and  luxuries, do not belong to us. We are pilgrims, we are strangers. We  have only a grant of those things that are necessary for health and  life. . . . Our temporal blessings are given us in trust, to prove  whether we can be entrusted with eternal riches. If we endure the  proving of God, then we shall receive that purchased possession which is  to be our own—glory, honor, and immortality. {HB 206.4}

If  our own people would only put into the cause of God the money that has  been lent them in trust, that portion which they spend in selfish  gratification, in idolatry, they would lay up treasure in heaven, and  would be doing the very work God requires them to do. But like the rich  man in the parable, they live sumptuously. The money God has lent them  in trust, to be used to His name’s glory, they spend extravagantly. They  do not stop to consider their accountability to God. They do not stop  to consider that there is to be a reckoning day not far hence, when they  must give an account of their stewardship. {HB 206.5}

We  should ever remember that in the judgment we must meet the record of  the way we use God’s money. Much is spent in self-pleasing,  self-gratification, that does us no real good, but positive injury. If  we realize that God is the giver of all good things, that the money is  His, then we shall exercise wisdom in its expenditure, conforming to His  holy will. The world, its customs, its fashions, will not be our  standard. We shall not have a desire to conform to its practices; we  shall not permit our own inclinations to control us.—The Adventist Home, 367, 368. {HB 206.6}