1888 - Still Missing the Mark in 2013?

[stinsonmarri]

Andrew

No I would never say that your are deceived. The reason is: one I am not to judge, secondly, I can not read your heart. I read what you say and to me you are looking for truth. There is an old saying that "one is playing the devil advocate." Which simply means he asking hard questions to get at the truth. I would not call you a devil but that you are trying to find answers.

If you would be so kind to go back, I've address all of them including Pentecost. Let me ask you some questions and maybe you will see why these days point to Salvation as well as Redemption.

Did Pentecost "came" by the receiving the HOLY SPIRIT? If so did these TONGUES of FIRE come upon the 120 after the death and resurrection of YAHSHUA? If it did then how could this day be nailed to the SAVIOUR'S tree? Who did these Holy Days belong to the Jewish people or did YAHWEH said they were HIS? What day did YASHUA instituted HIS New Supper on including the washing of the feet? Acts speaks of both the Unleavened Bread and Pentecost and other New Testament speaks of them as well correct? Then are not these days kept after the resurrection. Have you read anywhere that they were for Jews only? Did you receive the Outline I sent you because it is very specific read it also and get back with me.

I want to make it very clear you can always tell a person by how they speak to others. I have found you to be honest, direct, kind and sincere. Thanks for all of them and please pray for me, I truly need it.

Blessings,
stinsonmarri

 

[AndrewK788]

Andrew

No I would never say that your are deceived. The reason is: one I am not to judge, secondly, I can not read your heart. I read what you say and to me you are looking for truth. There is an old saying that "one is playing the devil advocate." Which simply means he asking hard questions to get at the truth. I would not call you a devil but that you are trying to find answers.

If you would be so kind to go back, I've address all of them including Pentecost. Let me ask you some questions and maybe you will see why these days point to Salvation as well as Redemption.

Did Pentecost "came" by the receiving the HOLY SPIRIT? If so did these TONGUES of FIRE come upon the 120 after the death and resurrection of YAHSHUA? If it did then how could this day be nailed to the SAVIOUR'S tree? Who did these Holy Days belong to the Jewish people or did YAHWEH said they were HIS? What day did YASHUA instituted HIS New Supper on including the washing of the feet? Acts speaks of both the Unleavened Bread and Pentecost and other New Testament speaks of them as well correct? Then are not these days kept after the resurrection. Have you read anywhere that they were for Jews only? Did you receive the Outline I sent you because it is very specific read it also and get back with me.

I want to make it very clear you can always tell a person by how they speak to others. I have found you to be honest, direct, kind and sincere. Thanks for all of them and please pray for me, I truly need it.

Blessings,
stinsonmarri

I'll reply via e-mail to the questions you posed. I'll also reread the outlines you provided as well and look back over my Scripture notes.

God bless,
Andrew

P.S. You said you need to do some editing to your article, but would send it later. How later is later? I want to read it!

 

[rainbowinthesky]

Andrew, like you I have searched for the 1888 message for many years. In 2000, after more then 20 years of intense and agonizing study and research, I put out three small pamphlets on the subject. If you are interested you can read these booklets online from my website at www.hidden-treasures.ca

They are "What Must I Do To Be Saved?"
"Letter to the 1888 Message Study Committee"

Mrs. White summarized their message in clear, distinct lines.

"How long will you hate and despise the messengers of God's righteousness. God has given them His message. They bear the word of the Lord: There is salvation (righteousness) for you but only through the MERITS of Jesus Christ. The grace of the Holy Spirit has been offered to you again and again." Testimonies to Ministers,96-97.

The grace of the Holy Spirit brings the righteousness of Christ into the life and "Christ's righteousness accomplishes everything," as "it is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God." Faith & Works,27; Testimonies to Ministers,92.

"You cannot explain this faith that lays right hold upon the MERITS of the blood of a crucified and risen Saviour to bring Christ's righteousness into your life. Clothed with the righteousness of Christ and not your own righteousness, you will not depend upon what you can do or what you will do," for "Christ's righteousness accomplishes everything." Faith & Works,65,66,27.

The message was a focus on the necessity of trusting wholly in the MERITS of a crucified and risen Saviour in order to bring His righteousness into the life.

Notice these words,

"Unless he makes it his life business to behold the uplifted Saviour and to accept the MERITS which it is his privilege to CLAIM, the sinner can no more be saved than Peter could walk upon the water unless he kept his eyes fixed steadily upon Jesus." T.M.93.

It is our privilege to come to God, every day, just as we are, sinful, helpless, dependent, trusting wholly in the MERITS of a crucified and risen Saviour. It is our privilege to claim the merits of our Redeemer. Then the Father receives us unto Himself and we are greatly blessed, blessed with all the blessings of the Covenant of Grace in Christ.

One could say that the merits of the creature are the foundation of all the religions of the world. Many seek to gain Heaven through the merits of good works.

But "The merits of a crucified and risen Saviour are the foundation of the Christian's faith." Great Controversy,73.

It is a simple faith but nevertheless it is not understood.

"The matter of salvation is just as simple as A B C. But we don't understand it." F.W.64.

sky

 

[rainbowinthesky]

I posted the following in the sanctuary thread but if you don't mind I will post it here too for it is relevant to the discussion. Thank you and God bless.

Some may say, Please teach it from the Scriptures! But the testimonies I have quoted above are mere paraphrases of the Scriptures. In Romans 3:25 we read that "Christ is our propitiation through faith in His blood." Faith is His blood means trusting wholly in the merits of that blood that was shed for us upon Calvary's cross. As we do this the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. (Rom.5:5) Hence "the faith that works by love." (Gal.5:6) The faith that works by love is the faith that lays right hold upon the merits of the blood that was shed for us upon Calvary's cross. We lay hold upon the merits of that blood by claiming them. God says that it is our privilege to claim them and that unless we do this we cannot be saved!

This is the only true faith and it works obedience. It works the works of God in and through us. This is righteousness by faith according to God's idea of it. The blood of Christ is of value beyond estimate because it was the life of God in His Son. Christ's sacrifice is infinite. Therefore it is full of merits, full of divine merits and it is by appropriating these divine merits to ourselves that we can be saved.

Notice these words very carefully and prayerfully:

"We see in the midst of the throne One bearing in hands and feet and side the marks of the suffering endured to reconcile man to God. We see a Father, infinite, dwelling in light unapproachable, yet who receives us to Himself through the MERITS of His Son." A.A.333.

"Unless he makes it his life business to behold the uplifted Saviour and to accept the MERITS which it is his privilege to CLAIM, the sinner can no more be saved than Peter could walk upon the water unless he kept his eyes fixed steadily upon Jesus." Testimonies to Ministers,93.

The Father receives us to Himself through the merits of the suffering that Christ endured to reconcile us to God.

This is what the Reformers discovered from studying the Scriptures. One of them said,

"Father we had devised for ourselves many useless follies but You have placed Your Word before me like a torch and You have touched my heart in order that I may hold in abomination all other merits save those of Jesus." Great Controversy,221.

You have placed Your Word before me like a torch and touched my heart in order that I may HOLD IN ABOMINATION ALL OTHER MERITS SAVE THOSE OF JESUS!

The majority of the people of this earth, in one way or another, seek to gain Heaven through the merits of their good works!

The necessity of appropriating to ourselves the merits of a crucified and risen Savior is the heart and essence of the everlasting Gospel and therefore the heart and essence of the 1888 message. In 1888 this message was made so plain and clear that not one had any excuse for not understanding what it really was. Yet the Lord sent this testimony: "There is not one in one hundred who understands for himself the Bible truth on this subject that is so necessary to our present and eternal welfare." 1 S.M.360.

It was in January of 1999, after many years of agonizing search, that the Lord finally opened my eyes to this wonderful truth. I was reading Patriarchs & Prophets when I came upon this sentence:

"We can do nothing of ourselves. In all our helpless unworthiness we must trust in the MERITS of the crucified and risen Saviour. None will ever perish while they do this." p.203.

Did you get this? "None will ever perish while they do this." Do what? Trust in the merits of the crucified and risen Saviour.

I wondered why I had not seen this before as I had read this book more than once. None will ever perish while they trust in the MERITS of the crucified and risen Saviour! Shortly after I read that as we come to God daily, just as we are, sinful, helpless, dependent, resting in the MERITS of Christ, the Father clothes us with the robe of Christ's righteousness. Then Christ, by the Spirit, works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure and His good pleasure is expressed in the precepts of His holy law. This is how the Lord fills up the measure of the law's requirements.

This is our life business: Looking unto Jesus, accepting His merits which it is our privilege to claim. This is how we are forgiven, justified, and sanctified. As simple as that. We are to continue in this faith which will soon be spoken of throughout the whole world.

This was and still is the refreshing coming from the presence of the Lord as He intended that this message should come to His professed people as the latter rain.

sky

 

[rainbowinthesky]

All of us are familiar with these expressions, "I deserved it," or "he deserved it," or "they deserved it." It may be a promotion or a raise in one's wages or whatever it might be, a punishment for all we know.

We judge the worth of a cause by its merits. We accept or reject ideas on account of their having merits or not. In financial matters, schemes, propositions, ideas and plans are rejected or approved on the basis of them having merits or not.

It is a very natural thing for human beings to treat matters or other human beings according to their merits. And people "earn" merits through hard work, dedication, bravery, or through sacrificing whatever it might be. The more merits a person has earned, the more that person is worthy of notice, the more she is honored and the more she becomes the object of our admiration! Such are richly rewarded.

Now I ask you, are not the condescension and humiliation of Christ worth something? His death upon the cross, does it not have infinite value? Did not Christ, by His life and death, earn infinite merits? And would it not be fair to say that in the light of this infinite sacrifice that was made, all other merits should be held in abomination save those of Jesus?

But this is not all. Our Heavenly Father is not satisfied or pleased unless we appropriate the merits of Jesus to ourselves! That's right! God the Father is not pleased unless by faith we appropriate to ourselves the merits that Christ earned by His infinite sacrifice! Why is that? So that we might be treated as He deserves to be treated!

"He was treated as we deserve that we might be treated as He deserves." Desire of Ages,25.

We appropriate His divine merits by claiming them!

Behold what manner of love! God so loved the world!

Do we appreciate the fact that it is our privilege to claim the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour? It is a marvelous thing that by His death Jesus paid the ransom price for each one of us that we might be saved from eternal oblivion but is it not an even more marvelous thing that He was treated as we deserve that we might be treated as He deserves?

What manner of love! As we make it our lifebusiness to claim the merits of Christ, we are clothed with the glistening vesture of Christ's righteousness and we become a member of the Royal Family, a member of the Household of God on a par with Jesus Himself!

As we lay hold, by faith, of the merits of the Lamb that was slain, God encircles with His human arm while with His divine arm He grasps the throne of the Infinite. Thus we become partakers of Christ''s nature, a nature far above that which Adam fofeited by transgression and the Father loves us as He loves Jesus. The enemy is fighting against this all the time. He knows that this is the light that should burn brightly into the hearts of men to shine out in good works!

It has been said that not one in one hundred understands this Bible truth on this subject that is so necessary to our present and eternal welfare! Rom.3:25; Col.1:20; Heb.10:19; Eph.1:7; 1 S.M.360.

Hence we read, "The only faith that will benefit us is that which embraces Him as a personal Saviour, which appropriates His merits to ourselves." Desire of Ages,347.

This is the hope that is set before us in the Scriptures! Heb.6:18.

Thank God for His unspeakable gift! 2 Cor.9:15.

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[rainbowinthesky]

"Do not look for salvation in your own strength or in your good works, but in the merits of Christ and in God's grace." Martin Luther, D'Aubigne's History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century, p.78.

Some priest who, at first, had opposed Luther was finally converted and said,

"The whole world is lying in the thickest darkness. This man alone sees the light. Several priests, a deacon, and the abbot himself, received the PURE DOCTRINE OF SALVATION, and in a short time, by the power of their preaching, they led their hearers back from human superstitions TO THE SOLE AND EFFECTUAL MERITS OF JESUS CHRIST. Upon this a persecution broke out." Idem,233.

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[rainbowinthesky]

"Through the sacrifices and offerings brought to the earthly sanctuary, the children of Israel were to lay hold of the merits of a Saviour to come." Spiritual Gifts, vol.1,161.

 

[Castaway57]

We appropriate His divine merits by claiming them!

This means there is no need for Calvary since we can just do this on our own. All your half quotes and misquotes are just digging you in deeper.

His divine merits are not some power that we can use; it is the other way around. All the incantations in the world about claiming His merits will do you no good at all. We must come to Jesus as we are, and He will write His law on our hearts. We need to stop being like certain ones in the OT who once said: "All that the Lord has said; we will do."

It was an impossibility then; and it is impossible now.

 

[Castaway57]

"We can do nothing of ourselves. In all our helpless unworthiness we must trust in the MERITS of the crucified and risen Saviour. None will ever perish while they do this." p.203.

Did you get this? "None will ever perish while they do this." Do what? Trust in the merits of the crucified and risen Saviour.

I wondered why I had not seen this before as I had read this book more than once.

Again; your misquotes are misleading. How can we trust in someone we dont know? (John 17:3)

And how do we get to know Jesus?

This whole business of us somehow doing some actions or practice that in turn causes our salvation is a terrible deception, to put it mildly.

 

[rainbowinthesky]

Why is castaway57 allowed to continually taunt other users on this forum?

Isn't that the work of the devil, to taunt? If there is retaliation on our part, would not Satan triumph? Is it not the work of the devil to try to tempt others to say and do things that will not be commendable?

sky

 

[rainbowinthesky]

"John, while in vision, saw a company clothed in white robes. They were seen in the Temple of God. This will be the result for all who will lay hold of the merits of Christ and wash their robes in His blood." E.G. White, Our Father Cares, p.339.

"Lay hold by faith of the merits of Christ and the soul-cleansing blood will be applied." Faith and Works, p.94.

Together these two statements tell of the matter of salvation. By laying hold of the merits of Christ, daily, the Holy Spirit brings the righteousness of Christ into the life of the believing sinner and the soul is cleansed from sin and enabled to do good works. The blood is applied to his heart and he is greatly blessed. Appropriating the merits of Christ by faith insures both our title and fitness to Heaven.

A couple of years ago, one evening, I was watching National Geographic. On this particular show, the heroic deeds of a brave fireman were featured and he was given a beautiful badge on which these words were inscribed:

MERIT OF SERVICE AWARD.

Since this is how men honour and ascribe merits to their fellowmen's courageous heroic deeds, how much more must the heroic deeds of the Saviour be full of divine merits! So much so it is written that the Father bowed in acceptance of the sacrifice, that He bowed His head, satisfied. Thus, should we not hold in abomination all other merits save those of Jesus? Faith and Works, p.72; Bible Commentary, Vol.5, p.1150; Great Controversy,221.

May God give us eyesalve that we may "discern with astonishment the utter worthlessness of creature merit to earn the wages of eternal life," for "Only the merits and righteousness of Christ will be recognized." Faith and Works, p.23; E.G. White, Our Father Cares, p.149.

Any more than we can explain the movings of the Spirit of God upon the the human heart, "We cannot explain this faith that lays right hold upon the merits of the blood of a crucified and risen Saviour to bring Christ's righteousness into the life. Clothed with His robe of righteousness and not your own righteousness, you will not depend upon what you can do or what you will do..." for "Christ's righteousness accomplishes everything." E.G. White, Sermon preached at Ottawa, Kansas, on Sabbath May 11, 1889; Manuscript 1, 1889. (Faith and Works, p.65,66,27)

As we look to Jesus and accept His merits which it is our privilege to claim, "Christ places His own merits upon man and thus elevates him in the scales of moral value, with God." See E.G. White, Our Father Cares, p.121.

This is the highest place to which man can attain! Through the merits of Christ the believing sinner becomes a partaker of Christ's nature, "a nature far above that which Adam forfeited by transgression!" See 1 Corinthians 15:45-49; Upward Look, p.18.

"The Father receives us to Himself through the merits of His Son." A.A.333.

The Lord intends that this message shall come to His professed people as the latter rain message before it swells into the loud cry to the world. If the light is again resisted the professed people of God will seal their rejection of God's mercy and the call will be extended to other peoples. This is represented by the third call of the parable of Matt.22, the parable of the wedding garment.

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