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Fallacies that have crept into SDA beliefs- All pf these things are clearly shown to be false in the Spirit of Prophecy writings and yet they are commonly believed by most mainline SDAs and many historics have swallowed them also. 1) That Paul was a married man. 2) That the ‘eyesalve’ is the Holy Spirit and we’re supposed to buy it from the Heavenly merchant-man. 3) That the ‘hour of God’s judgment is come’ means God is the one being judged. 1- That Paul was a married man- This is a classic example of being too smart for one’s own good. Somewhere back many years ago someone came up with the idea that in order to be a member of the Sanhedrin one had to be a married man; and therefore Paul was a married man. Now maybe this first part has some historical validity and is mentioned in the SOP, but the latter assumption is totally false. We must not forget how perfectly willing that august body of hypocrites were to break their own rules as exampled to us in the farce trial and cruel death of our Lord! The fact that Paul, at that time Saul, was so eager to help them to exterminate the hated sect of the humble Nazarene was enough to cause the Sanhedrin to throw open its doors and arms to the young zealot. Rules were no restriction to them! And yet notice how carelessly and even eagerly we have accepted this charge based on the research of some historian or theologian, in spite of clear word to the contrary in the Spirit of Prophecy, and no evidence from the Bible that such a thing was true! It is a case of wanting to flaunt knowledge that somebody else didn’t have and it is a most unwise trait. Now some may say, "Oh, it isn’t such a big deal one way or another." No error is benign. "No error is truth, or can be made truth by repetition, or by faith in it." Selected Messages Book 2 pg 56. "Error is never harmless. It never sanctifies, but always brings confusion and dissension. It is always dangerous." Counsels to Writers and Editors pg 49. You see, if you really believe this error, what does it do to your mind when you read the apostle’s counsel regarding marriage and not depriving one another and so on? It makes him less credible in ones mind as you ponder the mystery of ‘what did Paul do with his wife?’ Well, no such fallacy need be entertained - Paul was a single man. Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce. -PG- 251 "As in the days of Noah, one of the signs of these times is a passion for injudicious and hasty marriages. Satan is in this. If Paul could remain single, and recommend the same to others, that he and they might be wholly the Lord's, why not those who would be wholly His, and wish to make a sure thing of avoiding the cares, trials, and bitter anguish so frequent in the experiences of those who choose the married life, remain as he was? And more, if he chose to remain so, and could recommend it to others, eighteen centuries since, would not to remain as he was be a commendable course for those who are waiting for the coming of the Son of man, unless evidences were unquestionable that they were bettering their condition, and making heaven more sure by so doing? When so much is at stake, why not be on the sure side every time?" -RH March 24, 1868. 2- That the ‘eyesalve’ is the Holy Spirit and we’re supposed to buy it from the Heavenly merchant-man. Now this is a case of over-simplification of an important spiritual symbol. The Spirit of Prophecy does not give us this slick answer. A careful reading of Jesus’ message in Revelation 3:18, shows something interesting: "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see." Now you will notice that the first two items have to be bought from the merchantman; the person does not have any other access to them, but the third, the eyesalve is a bit different, of that one it says "Annoint thine eyes with eyesalve". Now it seems that the person must have access to it or else how could he anoint his eyes with it? It does not say buy it from Me and then anoint with it, it just says anoint your eyes with it. When the meanings of this symbol are explored then the reason for this differentiation is made clear. The true meanings are important to us, vitally so, and yet through the years we have learned to just rattle off a simplistic answer to the question, ‘What are these things?’ "We should study closely the meaning of the gold, white raiment, and eye-salve, lest we be found in self-deception, satisfied with what we are, and the attainments we have made." Advent Review and Sabbath Herald DT- 02-04-90 Here we see that if we don’t give some thought to these symbols, we could be ‘self-deceived’. Now if we just think that the eyesalve is only the Holy Spirit as in the Latter Rain, what happens to our behavior? Well we pray for it and expect God to just drop it down to us. BUT, if this is not the whole story of this symbol we might be deceived and miss out on what God is trying to show us. If a person is dying and a prescription has been made by a Doctor who knows the case and can cure it and the person mistakes the prescription - well it could be serious, couldn’t it? Notice the instructions say - ‘anoint thine eyes with eyesalve’. Not I’ll do it for you. Once one learns the full meaning of this symbol the problem is crystal clear. Let’s look at a few quotes: "Again and again has the voice from heaven addressed you. Will you obey this voice? Will you heed the counsel of the True Witness, to seek the gold tried in the fire, the white raiment, and the eye-salve? The gold is faith and love, the white raiment is the righteousness of Christ, the eye-salve is that spiritual discernment which will enable you to see the wiles of Satan and shun them, to detect sin and abhor it, to see truth and obey it." Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 11-18-09 "The eye-salve is that wisdom and grace which enable us to discern between evil and good, and to detect sin under any disguise." The Youth's Instructor DT- 04-22-97 So what is this wonderful stuff that can do all this for us? Advent Review and Sabbath Herald - 11-23-97 "The eye is the sensitive conscience, the inner light, of the mind. Upon its correct view of things the spiritual healthfulness of the whole soul and being depends. The "eye-salve," the Word of God, makes the conscience smart under its application; for it convicts of sin. But the smarting is necessary that the healing may follow, and the eye be single to the glory of God." Second Advent Review and Sabbath Herald - 09-16-73 "This message of the True Witness has not accomplished the design of God. The people slumber on in their sins. They continue to declare themselves "rich, and having need of nothing." Many inquire, Why are all these reproofs given? Why do the testimonies continually charge us with backsliding and grievous sins? We love the truth. We are prospering. We are in no need of these testimonies of warning and reproof. But let these murmurers see their hearts, and compare their lives with the practical teachings of the Bible; let them humble their souls before God; let the grace of God illuminate the darkness, and the scales will fall from their eyes, and they will sense their true spiritual poverty and wretchedness. They will feel the necessity of buying gold, which is pure faith and love; white raiment, which is a spotless character, made pure in the blood of their dear Redeemer, and eye-salve, which is the grace of God, and will give clear discernment of spiritual things, and detect sin. These attainments are more precious than the gold of Ophir." Advent Review and Sabbath Herald - 12-18-88 "God is working for his people, that they may not be left in darkness. He would have us anoint our eyes with eye-salve, that we may discern between the workings of the powers of darkness and the movings of the Spirit of God. We must not give our attention to unimportant things; we need to become acquainted with the Scriptures as we have never done before." The ‘eyesalve’ is said to be Grace of God, discernment of spiritual things, and the ‘Word of God’. It is a bigger study than we have space for here to list all the aspects of this symbol of the eyesalve, but suffice it to say that it is the study of the Holy Scriptures with the Grace of God and the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit that gives it to us. We have to ‘apply it’ ourselves - through diligent seeking and study in the Word and earnest prayer for the Grace of God and the Holy Spirit to be our tutor of the Word. No matter how often we may ask for it - if we remain indolent it is never going to just fall on our heads! Spiritual discernment is available to us, it is within our reach, but we must reach out for it and search the Word for clear understanding; pleading for the enlightenment of the Spirit. We must be in earnest and realize that as spiritual things are only spiritually discerned, it is a desperate need of each one of us, or we will join the multitudes all fallen into various ditches and snares and be lost. This is why an over simplistic definition of the meaning of ‘eyesalve’ is a snare, especially when it leads us to think that it is something that God is just going to drop down to us when He is good and ready; No! It is vital that we get into the Word and anoint our eyes with it! "Christian strength is obtained by serving the Lord faithfully. Young men and young women should realize that to be one with Christ is the highest honor to which they can attain. By the strictest fidelity they should strive for moral independence, and this independence they should maintain against every influence that may try to turn them from righteous principles. Stronger minds may, yes, they will, make assertions that have no foundation in truth. Let the heavenly eye-salve be applied to the eyes of your understanding, that you may distinguish between truth and error. Search the Word; and when you find a "Thus saith the Lord," take your stand." - Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 05-09-99 3- That the ‘hour of God’s judgment is come’ means God is the one being judged. This is such a shocking misinterpretation! In fact it borders on blasphemy. It came to us somewhere in the warm pabulum-mush of New Theology ‘Peace—Peace’ preaching. First we will look at why it is really false and then we’ll glance at the devastation it causes in our last warning message to the world. What is the explanation given for such a travesty? Well they say, God has allowed His government to be put on trial and His creatures are going to decide if He has a right to remain God or not. They say it is not really us who are being judged in this great Investigative Judgment, but rather God and His principles of governing the universe. You know; if it weren’t that so many are taking this thing seriously, I would not feel it worthy of an answer. It is like when a parent gives direction to a child and the child impudently questions the very right of the parent to ask obedience of him. First off - who does the Bible tell us is being judged? Who is supposed to ‘Fear God and give glory to Him’? That’s us, isn’t it? That’s the people of this earth that are being warned that it’s accounting time. The Bible says this message goes through the earth with a loud voice - it is no whisper. It is not a ‘don’t worry, this doesn’t really concern you’ message - it’s a ‘shape up before it is too late!’ message. Notice the description in Revelation 20:12 "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." Now does that sound like God is on trial? In the great Day of Atonement, was Israel assembled to decide whether God was to go on being God or not? No way! It was to decide if each individual would remain part of Israel or not. Well, say some, Satan had challenged God’s government and so God had given him opportunity to demonstrate whether his form of government was better than God’s. Yes, that is true, so who is being judged? Is it God? Was it God’s government that had to prove itself? No! God’s government had already been proven - it had been running the universe just fine before Satan started out on his tangent. Obviously it was Satan and his ideas that have to prove themselves better than God’s Laws. God graciously allowed the rebellion of Lucifer to come to fruition to demonstrate once and for all to all His created subjects that Satan’s claims are unfounded and his rebellion unreasonable. Now what does this aberration of exegesis do to our thinking when we accept it? Well it sort of rocks us to sleep in a cradle of carnal security. It changes the ‘Loud Cry’ of warning to a mere whimper. It says don’t worry, don’t get alarmed - just go on with your life, this doesn’t concern you. Oh, Brothers and sisters, it’s time we stopped rattling off our clichés and its time we stopped allowing others to rattle them off to us and us sit there glassy-eyed and accept whatever they are pouring into our ears! Advent Review and Sabbath Herald - 08-20-03 "The powers from beneath are working with intensity of effort. Soon will come the time when God will discern between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not. Soon will come the time of which John writes: "I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. …and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." That’s not God, folks- that’s everyone who doesn’t take heed to God’s warning about the judgment! You, me, everyone of us have a heaven to win and a hell to shun, God doesn’t have to prove anything to us, He’s already proved it all. The results of sin are already plain enough to the universe and when Jesus suffered on Calvary, Satan’s horrible cruelty was exposed forever. God on trial? Better think again brethren. In Conclusion - I want to urge all to seek truth for ourselves, stop taking the word of the ‘blind who are leading the blind’; stop being a generation of parrots; look what happened to the Jews as they clung to their clichés and mistaken ideas received from tradition of their fathers- it’s time to grab the eyesalve and get busy anointing the eyes, pleading for God in the name of the Savior to send the Holy Spirit to teach you personally. We can be lost in groups, but only saved as individuals! temcat
We can't get the victory over such things ourselves- I was just talking to ___ about that this AM- The Lord showed me in the night the secret of victory over ALL hereditary and cultivated sin-- It is not easy to explain- but I will try- you will likely have to ask the Holy Spirit to help you get what I am trying to say- as I can't say it too clearly: The facts are these- - the Wedding Garment - is Christ's righteousness It has in it NOT ONE thread of human devising-- so you see, we can't pray for Jesus to help US to get the victory- that won't work-- He will NEVER help US to get the victory-- we can't do it- remember not ONE THREAD of the human! The Father's plan, knowing this, was that Jesus got the victory over every possible sin and temptation- then it is all woven there into that wedding garment-- the heavenly garment of Jesus' righteousness- His character. When confronted by an attitude that you know is wrong- an attitude that you know Jesus would not have-- we tend to start trying to resist it- we tell ourselves-- we shouldn't feel that way- but then the devil whispers all kinds of excuses as to why we can't help it and we wallow there in self pity and self justification. We may pray- Lord, help me not to feel this way - but you know Lord how-- (this and that and the other excuse) We might as well not bother to pray that way because it will NEVER do any good!! But we are told we CAN receive the victory over EVERY sin and evil trait- Jesus came to free us from sin-- SO what is the secret?? Here it is-- and it works but is not easy for our proud hearts- When the resentment, annoyance, self pity, or whatever comes into our minds- we must recognize that it IS sin!! Then we have to go to the Lord and repent of it- but that won't be easy at first- we have to deal with every excuse that our minds or the devil pops into to justify ourselves, by saying Jesus would not feel this way- this is sin, there is NO EXCUSE for sin- We have to leave the other person totally to God- we are not responsible to God for the other's sin- and we should not take that burden on ourselves because when we do- we are putting ourselves in the place of God! We have to consciously turn that person over to God- and repent of trying to tell them what to do or judging them- they have to answer to God- but we have to answer for the attitudes in us! We must face the fact of the contrast between our attitude and what we know Jesus would be like- focus on the character of Jesus until we can see the contrast- plead for repentance- plead to have every tendency to excuse or rationalize the wrong attitude- see it for what it is- selfishness!! It is a real spiritual wrestling with God! We have to make the choice-- NO! I will not have this attitude- Jesus, take this sin and give me Your Mind instead! Crucify my selfish heart- take every wrong attitude - I refuse to allow nothing within except Your mind and Your attitudes! Save me Lord from this sin and self-- or I perish! You will find that as soon as you focus on the wrongfulness of the attitude- on the rightfulness of Jesus-- on the helplessness of you to remove or resist the attitude-- on the VICTORY of Jesus which He won and gives to those who want it badly enough to plead and insist on having it-- on truly repenting and repudiating all such attitudes as evil-- you will receive the victory- in which there is not one thread of human devising. We don't receive Christ's victory- because we fool ourselves we can do it ourselves- with a little help- We don't receive Christ's victory because we keep excusing or rationalizing the sin- there is NO EXCUSE or NECESSITY for sin!! We don't receive Christ's victory because our pride refuses to admit the sin and we keep pointing to the other person as the reason. We don't receive Christ's victory because we don't agonize and insist on having it and insist and plead for the wrong to be removed from us! Instead we plead for the wrong to be removed from the person or the person from us-- when maybe, the Lord sees that the stress is just what we need so that we will repent and die to self and let Him live in us. What to do for others? Pray for them, plead for the Blood of Jesus to be applied to them, plead for holy angels and the Holy Spirit to work and plead that the Lord's will be done and not ours! You see- your blowing up- is not the real problem- the blowing up came as a sure result of lots of wrong attitudes--many hours of inward fretting as you hold up the person to your standards and complain inwardly of all the wrong you are suffering. We never even come close to suffering the wrong Jesus suffered- from His earliest years all the way to the present-- as we are still treating Him cruelly! Deal with the attitudes before the throne of grace- cleanse your mind and soul in the BLOOD- claim the Victory of Christ and the blowing up can never happen- because the attitudes are the fuel. Jesus passed through His life here on earth-- He was hassled much more than any dozen of us will ever be hassled- He was treated more unfairly and more heartlessly cruel than any dozen of us- and yet His heart always had a perfect peace and serenity- and that is the PEACE He has promised to us- and we CAN have it- but we must repudiate every sinful and selfish thought- NEVER - NEVER excuse or rationalize that the other person is responsible for making you sin- this is not true- we are responsible- NO EXCUSING = Christ's Victory EXCUSING= No Victory and no salvation Fall on the Rock and be broken, crawl into the Rock and be hidden-- cling to the ROCK and find His PEACE! It is that simple!
Although Jesus when on earth was hounded by the devil from birth to grave, there are certain times in His life where He went through intense temptation. It was not by chance that this happened, it was part of the plan for our salvation. Most people know about Jesus’ trial, mocking and death on the cross. Many also know about the terrible struggle of Gethsemane, when the whole destiny of a lost world trembled in the balance until Jesus’ pale and trembling lips uttered the words, "Nevertheless, not My will but Thine be done." He made the CHOICE at that time that even if He ended up separated forever from His Father, He would go through it to save us. In order for the following to make any sense at all, it is first necessary to realize that Jesus WAS born in the same kind of flesh as you and I. He was born in a human body that was subject to the weakness and temptations coming from generations of sin. Very few Christians today believe this, instead they prefer to accept some form of the Roman Catholic idea that He was born with some kind of ‘holy flesh’, not subject to temptations as we are. Sort of a ‘pretend’ savior. This is not true according to the Bible. Notice: Heb 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. In fact, we are told that believing that Jesus did not come in human flesh, flesh subject to the tendencies to sin, is a sign of antichrist. It gives us a false Christ, a make-believe Savior, But we have a REAL Savior: 1Jo 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. 2Jo 1:7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Jesus was not play-acting when He lived on earth, His was a terrific struggle, harder than any of us will ever be called to face. He had the same ‘flesh’ as we do. He could have sinned. He did not fall. True He was also Divine, however, He did not use His Divinity on His own behalf, not even once. So why did He not fall? He lived a sinless life through connection by faith with the power of His Father. We can overcome sin through connection by faith with Jesus, our Great High Priest. He did not use any power that is not available to us through Him. The third great struggle that Jesus went through for you and me, was actually the first, it was the temptation in the wilderness. It had been planned as part of salvation for man that Jesus would go through temptation on the very points that Adam and Eve fell on. These points were appetite and lust, coveting, desire for power and fame and presumption. Jesus was led into the wilderness for this test right after He was baptized and anointed by the Holy Spirit for His ministry. For forty days he fasted, until humanity was weakened almost to the point of death. Satan came on the scene, determined to trick the Savior, the only one who stood between him and total conquest of the earth. He tempted Jesus to use His divine power to provide for His own needs and also to prove something to Satan. In other words to show off. Jesus refused and answered Satan with the God’s Word- ‘It Is Written’ Lu 4:4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. Jesus was there in the wilderness under the direction of His Father, He would trust and obey, even to death itself. Satan came back with other temptations, all connected with the way in which Adam and Eve fell in Eden. They had been strong, well fed, had perfect minds, no excuse at all to sin against their Creator, yet shamefully they fell. Now Jesus was passing over the same ground, but He was starving, weak and had a body/mind that had the effects of many generations of sin and degeneration. But He was doing this to provide a way out for us. He was showing us how to overcome; He clung by faith to His Father’s power and He used the Living Words of Scripture to defeat the devil. You can read about the temptation in Luke 4 and Matthew 4, twice more Satan came with schemes to trick Jesus. Once he even used cleverly twisted scriptures himself, hoping to trick Jesus into presumption. He offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, if He would just yield to him even once. How often are we tempted to think, ‘just once, doesn’t matter!’ Jesus refused and each time relied on the power of the Bible to defeat Satan. Finally in the name of the Lord Jesus ordered Satan to leave, and he had to run from the Word of the Father. Even in a starving and dying condition, even when He used no power not available to us, Satan could not overcome one who kept His faith on God and clung to the words of the Bible. Jesus fell fainting to the ground after this mighty battle, but He had won the victory; He had passed over the very ground where Adam fell and even though Adam had every advantage, and Jesus every disadvantage, the VICTORY was won. What was this victory for? It was for you and me! Yes, when we are tempted, and we will NEVER be tempted as badly as Jesus, we can choose to do right and call to God in the Name of Jesus to give us the Victory, and that very Victory is ours just as if we ourselves had won it. Yes, this is the secret of overcoming any bad habit or sinful practice, the Victory of Jesus! We fool ourselves, we think we can overcome ourselves and thus have something we can boast about or be proud of. We try real hard and we often do seem to succeed for a while. Satan is not worried a bit! He knows that it is just a matter of time and we will fall again and feel so discouraged, he can get his hooks into us even worse. I know, I have experienced it hundreds, yea thousands of times! BUT when we admit our weakness and call to Jesus for HIS VICTORY, for HIS power and we too lean on the Word of God and TRUST God in the Name of Jesus to save us and keep us, THEN Satan trembles! Soon he has to flee from that NAME and the Victory of Jesus is ours. Battles are not just fought once and that is it, temptation comes in many forms, just like it did to Jesus when here on earth, but He won the victory and He gives it freely to all who will have it. It never wears out, it never can fail. If we choose, and cling by faith asking for that mighty victory, we will have it. The weakest soul who clings to Jesus and the Word is more than a match for Satan and all his hosts of darkness. Why then do so few find this victory? Part of it is they don’t choose to have it and they don’t ask for it. They don’t want to choose to totally let go of sin, they want to keep the door open so that when an excuse comes along, they can run back to the sin. We can pray to the Lord to make us willing to make the choice, we can tell Him we are willing to be made willing. His Spirit will work with us. What about lack of faith? We can cry out as the man in the Bible, "Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief." When we feel we cannot hold on, we can cry out as did Peter when sinking in the water, "Lord save me, I perish". Every blessing we can possibly need is ours for the asking. Not one soul need continue in sin. Not one soul need fall into bad and harmful habits over and over. There is a VICTORY and it is yours for the asking. Never let Satan tell you that because you have fallen over and over, the Lord is fed up with you and you need not ask, He won’t hear you. That is a lie, our Savior hears the weakest cry and His hand is stretched out to save. For as long as human probation lasts, His hand is stretched out to save to the uttermost. When you are tempted, look away from self and what you are being tempted about, look to your Savior. See Him on your behalf alone in the desert, starving, weak, almost at death’s very doorstep. See the cruel foe trying to trick Him, coming as most cowards do, when Jesus was at His weakest point. See your Savior clinging by faith to the power of His Father. See Him driving the mighty devil away with the Word of God, the simple scriptures. Then ask for that VICTORY and cling by faith to that Savior. You can never fall when you do this. Never! TEMCAT
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