In the days of Christ there were plenty of reasons to leave the Jewish church and we may be sure that many did or joined offshoots. Then Jesus showed up. He knew better than any one else that the church was in apostasy and consequently in dire need. So what did He do? Did He call people out of the professed church? Did He start a campaign to expose the leaders of the Sanhedrin who had become the representatives of Satan? (D.A.36) He did not. He went about doing good and He taught the multitudes. He did not try to intimidate anyone. In humility and love He sowed the seeds of precious truth and depended upon the Holy Spirit to water these seeds that they might take root into the hearts of men.
However, the simple truths that He taught did not please the leaders of the people. They felt threatened by Him even though He did not go out of His way to denounce their hypocrisy. They put an end to His ministry by crucifying Him.
Now you would expect that when God filled the disciples of Christ at Pentecost that His message to the Jewish people through them would be to come out of the "synagogue of Satan." After all, was not the nation guilty of crucifying the Lord of glory? Was that not in itself the "omega" of their apostasy? Certainly. But lo and behold the disciples, filled with all the fullness of the Godhead, instead of bringing a message of condemnation to the Jewish nation, presented to them the offer of salvation, the offer of pardon and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit through the merits of Christ's infinite sacrifice.
Thousands gladly accepted the message but the leaders were so exasperated by this offer of mercy that they turned upon the bearers of the message. "Many both men and women were thrust into prison, and some of the Lord's messengers, as Stephen and James, were put to death. Thus the Jewish people sealed their rejection of God's mercy." C.O.L.308,309.
Thus the disciples of Christ were forced to turn to the Gentiles. This is represented by the third call of the parable of Matt.22, the parable of the Wedding Garment. See Christ's Object Lessons,308-310.
We are repeating that history.
We are now living in the time of the last call to the Advent people. The first call took place between 1888 and 1901 and it was rejected.
The church has been in apostasy for more than a century. More than five decades ago the leaders, in secret meetings with the enemy, crucified the messages that had been entrusted to us as a people. This crucifixion took place in the 1950s. This was the "omega" of our apostasy as a people.
Yet, once again the Lord is filling His disciples with the fullness of the Spirit (latter rain power) and the message given to them is not one of condemnation but the offer of salvation, the offer of pardon for having crucified the messages entrusted to us in order to gain the friendship of the popular churches.
The message is the same. "Faith is the condition upon which God has seen fit to promise pardon to sinners; not that there is any virtue in faith whereby salvation is merited, but because FAITH can LAY HOLD of the MERITS of Christ, the REMEDY provided for sin." E.G. White, Faith & Works,100,101.
The same writings speak of "the 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 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." E.G. White, Faith & Works,65,66,27.
Christ's righteousness accomplishes everything because in imparting His righteousness to us "the Lord imparts all the powers, all the penitence, all the grace, all the inclination, all the pardon of sin." Faith & Works,24.
And His righteousness is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God (T.M.92) for righteousness is love and "love is the fulfillment of the law." Rom.10:13.
"Righteousness is love and love is the light and the life of God" and "the life of God in the soul is man's only hope." Mount of Blessing,18; Ministry of Healing,116.
This is the message that is to be received, believed, and acted upon.
If rejected the church will seal her rejection of God's mercy and the bearers of the message and their converts will be forced to turn to the world and it will swell into a loud cry coinciding with the National Sunday Law.
May the Lord give us hearts to receive this testimony, this special message of truth which is appropriate for our time.
Thus 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.
We appropriate His merits to ourselves simply by claiming them:
"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.
In concluding,
"Christ looked forward to the time when the Holy Spirit, as His representative, would come and do a WONDERFUL WORK in and through HIS MERITS." Testimonies to Ministers,402.
God bless.
sky
However, the simple truths that He taught did not please the leaders of the people. They felt threatened by Him even though He did not go out of His way to denounce their hypocrisy. They put an end to His ministry by crucifying Him.
Now you would expect that when God filled the disciples of Christ at Pentecost that His message to the Jewish people through them would be to come out of the "synagogue of Satan." After all, was not the nation guilty of crucifying the Lord of glory? Was that not in itself the "omega" of their apostasy? Certainly. But lo and behold the disciples, filled with all the fullness of the Godhead, instead of bringing a message of condemnation to the Jewish nation, presented to them the offer of salvation, the offer of pardon and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit through the merits of Christ's infinite sacrifice.
Thousands gladly accepted the message but the leaders were so exasperated by this offer of mercy that they turned upon the bearers of the message. "Many both men and women were thrust into prison, and some of the Lord's messengers, as Stephen and James, were put to death. Thus the Jewish people sealed their rejection of God's mercy." C.O.L.308,309.
Thus the disciples of Christ were forced to turn to the Gentiles. This is represented by the third call of the parable of Matt.22, the parable of the Wedding Garment. See Christ's Object Lessons,308-310.
We are repeating that history.
We are now living in the time of the last call to the Advent people. The first call took place between 1888 and 1901 and it was rejected.
The church has been in apostasy for more than a century. More than five decades ago the leaders, in secret meetings with the enemy, crucified the messages that had been entrusted to us as a people. This crucifixion took place in the 1950s. This was the "omega" of our apostasy as a people.
Yet, once again the Lord is filling His disciples with the fullness of the Spirit (latter rain power) and the message given to them is not one of condemnation but the offer of salvation, the offer of pardon for having crucified the messages entrusted to us in order to gain the friendship of the popular churches.
The message is the same. "Faith is the condition upon which God has seen fit to promise pardon to sinners; not that there is any virtue in faith whereby salvation is merited, but because FAITH can LAY HOLD of the MERITS of Christ, the REMEDY provided for sin." E.G. White, Faith & Works,100,101.
The same writings speak of "the 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 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." E.G. White, Faith & Works,65,66,27.
Christ's righteousness accomplishes everything because in imparting His righteousness to us "the Lord imparts all the powers, all the penitence, all the grace, all the inclination, all the pardon of sin." Faith & Works,24.
And His righteousness is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God (T.M.92) for righteousness is love and "love is the fulfillment of the law." Rom.10:13.
"Righteousness is love and love is the light and the life of God" and "the life of God in the soul is man's only hope." Mount of Blessing,18; Ministry of Healing,116.
This is the message that is to be received, believed, and acted upon.
If rejected the church will seal her rejection of God's mercy and the bearers of the message and their converts will be forced to turn to the world and it will swell into a loud cry coinciding with the National Sunday Law.
May the Lord give us hearts to receive this testimony, this special message of truth which is appropriate for our time.
Thus 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.
We appropriate His merits to ourselves simply by claiming them:
"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.
In concluding,
"Christ looked forward to the time when the Holy Spirit, as His representative, would come and do a WONDERFUL WORK in and through HIS MERITS." Testimonies to Ministers,402.
God bless.
sky
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