A Cause for Thanks, part 2
As we begin today’s study, a summary
would be in order from what we have learned thus far:
True Revival False
Revival
Real Repentance No
turning from sin
Self-denial No death to self
Drawn to purity, simplicity Emotional high, sensory input
Inward change of heart Outward semblance of modification
Body is God’s temple Self-indulgence,
unhealthy
Delight in God’s law Minimizing of
obedience to God
Letting go of worldly habits Compromise with sinful
activities
Hunger for spiritual truth Deafness to prophets and apostles
Trend toward modesty Worldly dress & adornment
Sincere love for people Impatience
and self put first
What the devil plans to do through false revival
As we can see, the devil tries to get
us to go along with just enough religiosity, excitement, and positive feeling
that we start to believe that we are indeed in a saving relationship with
Jesus. But false revival doesn’t lead a
person into a relationship with Jesus.
There is no surrender to His lordship in the life. There is no spiritual re-birth, no indwelling
of the Holy Spirit. It’s a false sense
of security that one has.
What makes it even more deceptive is
that Satan also performs miracles to make it seem like God is working in our
lives in a powerful way. There have been
physical healings and other miracles that are wrought by Satan in religious
circles. And well-meaning people are
deceived into thinking that the easy, comfortable religious experience that
they are having is legitimate because, after all, incredible things are
happening!
And so it becomes easy for the person
deceived by false revival to be carried along in his/her experience, with no
need to worry about lifestyle issues or full surrender to Christ. Exciting and miraculous things are happening,
so it must be of God, right?
We must be so very careful in what we
allow ourselves to believe. We must test
our emotions and feelings and even our experiences by the Word of God. The way of salvation, the way of God, is the
path of consecration and holiness. Jesus
described it as a narrow road that leads to salvation. And He said that there are actually very few
who travel on that road. But it need not
be, my friend. It need not be for you,
or for me. For God is with us this
morning, and He is our Teacher.
The true scope of the plan of salvation
Now that we have reviewed the
differences between true and false revival, let us move on to what the Lord
truly has in mind for every one of us.
Just what is the Lord trying to accomplish in sending His Son to live in
this evil world, die for our sins, and be resurrected? What is God’s master-plan of salvation,
concerning every one of us?
The restoration of the image of God in us
When our ancestors, Adam and
Eve, fell to sin in the garden of Eden, something detrimental occurred. Something was lost. Yes, holiness, purity, innocence indeed. But something more basic than these.
Originally we had been
created in the image of God, according to the book of Genesis:
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image,
according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over
every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own
image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created
them. Genesis 1:26-27
“We were made in God’s own
image and in His own likeness. The
principles of God’s government, His law, were naturally a part of us. “In the beginning, man was created in the
image of God. He was in perfect harmony with the nature and the law of God; the
principles of righteousness were written upon his heart. But sin alienated him
from his Maker. He no longer reflected the divine image. His heart was at war
with the principles of God’s law. "The carnal mind is enmity against God:
for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Rom.
8:7). A New Life [Revival and Beyond], 11
According to the Bible, and
backed up heavily by the spirit of prophecy, “being made in God’s image” means
“subject to the law of God; in harmony with God’s law.” But our ancestor’s sin brought separation
between ourselves and our Creator; between ourselves and His law. The image of God was lost in
But God already had a plan
that was ready to go. His Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ, had already decided in a council of peace long before, that He
would come to this earth to give His own life as a sacrifice for our sins.
“But ‘God so loved the world,
that He gave His only-begotten Son,’ that man might be reconciled to God.
Through the merits of Christ he can be restored to harmony with his Maker. His
heart must be renewed by divine grace; he must have a new life from above. This
change is the new birth, without which, says Jesus, ‘he cannot see the
It all starts at the cross,
my friend. It all starts with you and I
accepting the Lord Jesus as our personal Savior from sin. Then we begin a new life with Him, because we
also accept Him as Lord of our lives.
“It is the work of conversion
and sanctification to reconcile men to God by bringing them into accord with
the principles of His law.” A New Life [Revival and Beyond], 11
Jesus gave His life so that
we can receive forgiveness of sins, because sin is the transgression of the law
(1 John 3:4). He also LIVES to guarantee
that He will give us strength and spiritual guidance, so that our minds and our
lives can be brought back into harmony with His law. This is what it means to be restored to the
image of God. Indeed, this should be the
highest aim of parents in raising their children.
Here again is the full
significance of what was lost, and God’s provision for our restoration to God:
“But by disobedience this was
forfeited. Through sin the divine likeness was marred, and well-nigh
obliterated. Man’s physical powers were weakened, his mental capacity was
lessened, his spiritual vision dimmed. He had become subject to death. Yet the
race was not left without hope. By infinite love and mercy the plan of
salvation had been devised, and a life of probation was granted. To restore in
man the image of his Maker, to bring him back to the perfection in which he was
created, to promote the development of body, mind, and soul, that the divine
purpose in his creation might be realized--this was to be the work of
redemption. This is the object of education, the great object of life.” Education,
15
How God works in us to transform us
“When
the Spirit of God controls mind and heart, the converted soul breaks forth into
a new song; for he realizes that in his experience the promise of God has been
fulfilled, that his transgression has been forgiven, his sin covered. He has
exercised repentance toward God for the violation of the divine law, and faith
toward Christ, who died for man’s justification. "Being justified by
faith," he has "peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Romans 5:1.
“But
because this experience is his, the Christian is not therefore to fold his
hands, content with that which has been accomplished for him. He who has
determined to enter the spiritual kingdom will find that all the powers and
passions of unregenerate nature, backed by the forces of the kingdom of
darkness, are arrayed against him. Each day he must renew his consecration,
each day do battle with evil. Old habits, hereditary tendencies to wrong, will
strive for the mastery, and against these he is to be ever on guard, striving
in Christ’s strength for victory.” Acts of the Apostles, 476
The good news is that God
does not leave us to our own weakness.
The Bible says,
“Work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do
for His good pleasure.”
Philippians 2:12-13
Aren’t you glad that it is
GOD—the King of the Universe—who works IN us?
This is a most significant passage of Scripture. Notice it says that we are to “work out” our
own salvation, but it also tells us that God gives the ability both to will or desire to do that which is right, AND the ABILITY to do that which
is right! It’s a great situation.
When we accept Jesus Christ
as our personal Savior and Lord, He sends His powerful Holy Spirit to take up
residence inside of us. He is the Spirit
of truth. He convicts us of sin, He
leads us into truth, He strengthens us to make wise, holy choices. He also changes our thoughts and our desires,
as we read the Book that He inspired: the Bible.
This Spirit is none other
than the very presence of Jesus Christ in our lives! The Holy Spirit is 100% God, and Jesus said
that we must be born of the Spirit in order to receive eternal life.
As we pray and read the
Bible, our thoughts and aims are brought up to where God dwells. He shares His purity and goodness with us,
and His power. God wants more than
anything to free us from the grip of sin in our lives. He wants to restore His image in us, and He
does it through His Holy Spirit who is active in our lives. The more we say “Yes” to God and surrender to
His Word and His ways, the more the Holy Spirit molds us and changes us. Thus day by day we are being changed in the
likeness of Christ. This what the
apostle meant when he said, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27
Vine and Branches
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in
Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
Jesus made it very clear when
He described Himself as the Vine, and we, His disciples, as branches that are
attached to the Vine. The only way a
branch can produce fruit and grow is by being connected to the Vine, isn’t that
right? Jesus then tells us exactly what
He means by this connection:
“If you abide in Me, and My
words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
By this My Father
is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” John 15:7-8
“If you abide in Me” means
prayer, talking regularly to Jesus, pouring out your heart to the One who loves
you, a ongoing conversation between you and Him.
“My words abide in you” means
quite simply reading His words in the Bible—both Old Testament and New
Testament, and allowing His words to become a part of us; receiving His words
with gladness and adjusting our ideas, inclinations, and plans accordingly.
Jesus said that if these two
things are happening in our lives on a regular basis, we can be sure that He
will not only hear our prayers, but that He will answer our prayers. We can be sure also that we will bear spiritual
fruit, to the Father’s glory! All
because of prayer and the reading of God’s Word, both of which are absolutely
free.
And just in case we missed
it, God wants us to see that the way that we show ourselves to be Jesus’
disciples is by bearing spiritual fruit.
This fruitage is really the only way the world can tell that we belong
to God, and that we are a disciple of Christ.
“Worldly
influences take us away from Christ, and our portion is the same as that of the
unfruitful branch—‘Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away.’
‘Every
branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.’
Our fruit-bearing testifies whether we are really abiding in Christ.” E.G.
White Comments, Vol. 7A, Commentary
The Bible tells us what this
spiritual fruit consists of, in Galatians chapter 5:
“But the fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control.” Galatians
5:22-23
Aren’t these wonderful fruit
to have? It all comes through a
surrendered relationship with Jesus Christ, through prayer and reading. God is responsible for the development of
spiritual fruit in our lives. Our part
is to give Him ample opportunity to do this, as we pray and read. And when you look at the list that comes
right before it in Galatians, what a difference is seen:
“Now the works of the flesh
are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry,
sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish
ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and
the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who
practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21
This is a list of the “works
of the flesh” which are, to one extent or another, a part of us before we come
to Christ. **I like the second list better, don’t you? God is so gracious to us, and kind. Oh, how He longs to cleanse us and to free us
from ourselves!
Walking in the Spirit
“I say then: Walk in the
Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16
I love how-to statements,
don’t you? I like good,
well-thought-out, practical assembly instructions, for instance. You know, the kind that you can pick up and
follow step-by-step, and what you’re putting together takes shape just like it
should! Don’t you love it when it’s
clear, and when it works?
The Bible says that if we
walk in the Spirit, we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh, or the works of
the flesh. The Holy Spirit will always
lead us away from sin and self, to Christ and purity and holiness. He will ALWAYS lead us to holiness and right-living,
if we let Him lead us.
Which leads us to a very
important passage of how-to Scripture: Romans 8. In Romans 8, three laws are discussed. We have the Holy Spirit, who is referred to
as a “law” for Paul’s sake of illustration.
Then we have the “law of sin and death”, which is basically our sinful
human nature. Then the law of God, or
Ten Commandments, is mentioned. In that
order. Let’s see if we can see what God
through the apostle Paul is trying to teach us this morning:
“There is
therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk
according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in
Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that
it was weak through the flesh, God did
by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He
condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be
fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the
Spirit.” Romans 8:1-4
First of all, isn’t that
wonderful news, that we are not under condemnation when we accept Jesus and His
sacrifice for our sins? We call that justification, which is God’s way of
making us right in His sight, and forgiving us of all our sins. God does this through His Son’s death on the
cross. When we accept Jesus, our sins
pass beforehand to judgment, and the Father looks upon us as THOUGH WE HAD NO
SIN!
Such a standing with God is
almost too good to be true. But it is
true, and it is ours, to be sure, because Jesus Christ indeed gave His life for
our sins, and has passed into the heavens as our Intercessor before the Father.
But look again at the
passage, my friend. Notice how naturally
the Bible writers move fluidly from justification to sanctification. Notice what God’s intention is for us. He tells us that we who are no longer under
condemnation should no longer walk according to the flesh, but according to the
Spirit. You see, that is what God is after. He wants to make such a difference in our
lives that the world will take note that He is real, and can do the same for
them as well! He wants to save us from
the power of sin, not only the
penalty of sin.
Notice that the first law
that is mentioned is the “law of the Spirit of life” or the power of the Holy
Spirit in our lives. The Bible says that
through the Holy Spirit we can be “free from the law of sin and death”, or our
sinful nature. This is because the Holy
Spirit is more powerful than the grip of sin in our lives. Then Paul reminds us that the law of God, or
Ten Commandments, could not save us nor change us, and that God had to
accomplish both of these things through His Son.
The law of God expresses what
God’s will is for us. It is often
described as a mirror, as in this statement from the pen of inspiration:
“The
law of God is the mirror to show man the defects in his character. But it is
not pleasant to those who take pleasure in unrighteousness to see their moral
deformity. They do not prize this faithful mirror, because it reveals to them
their sins. Therefore, instead of instituting a war against their carnal minds,
they war against the true and faithful mirror, given them by Jehovah for the
very purpose that they may not be deceived, but that they may have revealed to
them the defects in their character.
Should
the discovery of these defects lead them to hate the mirror, or to hate
themselves? Should they put away the mirror which discovers these defects? No;
the sins which they cherish, which the faithful mirror shows them as existing
in their characters, will close before them the portals of heaven, unless they
are put away, and they become perfect before God.” (Review & Herald, March
8, 1870).
It’s
a good illustration. We don’t throw away
a mirror just because we don’t like what we see. There’s nothing wrong with the mirror. It shows us what is there. When we look into God’s law, it reveals who
we really are at present. It simply
reminds us that God is not through with us yet, and that we need to give up to
Him the things that He shows us. He
shows us the areas in our lives that are in need of cleansing and healing. He shows us these areas so that we can be
saved at last. Sin is not the kind of
thing we want to cling to. Sin won’t be
allowed in heaven.
May
we always look into the faithful mirror that is God’s law.
If you ever wonder what
happened to that condemnation that God took from us, well, just look at His
Son. The Son took our condemnation upon
Himself. But that’s not all that was
condemned. Paul says that God condemned sin in human flesh. What that means is that because Jesus Christ
was totally victorious over sin in His human life, He has rendered sin
powerless in the process. And when this
same Jesus willingly gave His life to redeem us from sin, HE TRULY DID A NUMBER
ON SIN, ON OUR BEHALF!! WE ARE NO LONGER
LOOKED UPON AS SINFUL, AND WE ARE RESCUED FROM THE VERY POWER OF SIN IN OUR
LIVES!
Notice Paul says that “the
righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk
according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Paul, under inspiration, is telling us
emphatically that we who cooperate with the Holy Spirit are actually carrying
out the righteous principles of God’s law!
Stronger language could have been used, my friend! There is no doubt about it—GOD WANTS TO
CHANGE US AND TO TRANSFORM US INTO HIS IMAGE!
AND HE WILL DO THIS THROUGH THE INDWELLING OF HIS HOLY SPIRIT!
So what is our role to
be. What should be our focus in life?
“For those who live according
to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the
things of the Spirit. For
to be carnally minded is death,
but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not
subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh
cannot please God. But you are not in
the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.” Romans 8:5-9
Setting your mind on either
the sinful desires of the flesh, or choosing rather to focus on the things of
the Spirit—the things that please God.
We are told that God’s Spirit lives within us, and so our focus should
be on God and His Word. The Bible says
that if we do this, we will have both LIFE and PEACE.
The reason that the carnal,
unconverted mind cannot be subject to the law of God is that it is in a state
of enmity or rebellion with God’s law.
Until we come to Christ and are born spiritually, we are part of Satan’s
kingdom of darkness, and we participate in his rebellion against God and His
ways. We participate in Satan’s lies
about God. We live as though we have no
one to please but ourselves. That’s the
way Satan likes it. It’s the way of
death.
But when Jesus comes into our
lives, He shines brightly and reveals our need for salvation. As we accept Him into our heart, He writes
His law there—His Ten Commandments, as the Scripture says:
“For
this is the covenant that I
will make with the house of
Conversion
involves coming into close connection with God’s principles of life—His
law. It becomes a part of us. In Christ, we are now subject to the law, and
seek to order our life according to these principles.
So
our focus becomes very important indeed.
We must set our minds on the things and issues of a new kingdom. We belong to the
The Bible describes this
conversion process as a death. Let’s
look at Romans 6:
“What shall we say then?
Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who
died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as
were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were
buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from
the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of
life.” Romans 6:1-4
We have the privilege of
participating with Jesus in His death.
This is what baptism is all about.
Our old man of sin is buried with Christ, in the water, and we are
raised with Christ, in His resurrection, into
newness of life.
Now, our old nature is still
there, and will still be there until Christ changes our vile bodies at the
Second Advent. But the difference for
the disciple is that we can now begin a new life in spite of that old sin nature.
We can render it dead, and buried.
This is what we are told to do.
And this is what the Holy Spirit, living within us, will help us to do.
This daily dying to self, and
living for Christ is what the Bible calls sanctification. Sanctification is God’s way of bringing us
back to His character, His image. It is
a lifelong process. But it is a very
important process. And it won’t happen
unless we are cooperating with God, and allowing Him to change us.
The Sabbath and Sanctification
Which brings us to the
Sabbath. Now, you may wonder what the
Sabbath has to do with our sanctification.
Well, the Bible informs us that the Sabbath is actually a sign of our sanctification:
“Moreover I also gave them My
Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies
them.” Ezekiel 20:12
You see, God created the
Sabbath as a day of sacred time, so that we can grow our relationship with Him
more fully on that day. It was meant to
be a day that is set aside for God and His creation, His Word, His ways. Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for
man. It’s a day in which we allow our
God to transform us and be very close to us.
The devil knows God’s
intention for the Sabbath, and he tries to do whatever he can to distract us and
to get us away from God on that day. He
knows what God is wanting to do on the Sabbath, and it scares him.
The Sabbath can be a powerful
experience for us, as we listen more closely to what the Lord is saying, and we
talk to Him throughout the day in response.
It is not a day to do whatever we please, and thereby miss out on God’s
blessings. The Bible gives us guidelines
as to how to make sure we are experiencing all that God has for us on the
Sabbath:
“If you turn away your foot
from the Sabbath,
From doing your pleasure on My holy
day,
And call the Sabbath a delight,
The holy day of the LORD honorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own
ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words,
Then you shall delight yourself in the
LORD;
And I will cause you to ride on the high
hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob
your father.
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.” Isaiah 58:13-14
The message and the intent is
clear: The Sabbath is a time for not
seeking our own pleasure, doing our own ways, speaking the same old words we
always speak. We are told that if we
call the Sabbath a delight, then we will delight ourselves in the Lord as
well. Because we are wrapped up in Him
on His day.
But Satan wants to get us
wrapped up instead with sports, shopping, restaurant-going, working, or
anything else he can manage. Satan is
desperate. He does not want us to grow our
relationship with God. He knows the
power of the Sabbath experience to change us into God’s image and
character. My friend, don’t allow the
devil to steal your Sabbath experience!
Guard it and do whatever it takes to safeguard this sacred time with
Jesus. If you have to get away from unholy
influences that surround you, then do it.
Even Jesus did this at times, after spending a great deal of time with
people on the Sabbath. He would go up
into the hills to be alone with His heavenly Father.
Definitely to be serious
about our relationship with Christ will cause us to stand out in this dark
world. It won’t be easy, as Ben Maxson
describes:
“Like the disciples prior to
Christ’s resurrection, we don’t accept; indeed we shrink from the suffering,
the death to self that holiness calls for. Our modern culture, hard-wired for
pleasure and comfort, makes us even more reluctant to submit to the sacrificial
demands of holiness.” Ben Maxson
The Lord Jesus will help us
to rise above this pleasure-loving existence, and onto His path of righteousness. Oh, how He longs to bring us up to where He
is.
God is preparing His people
for the final great testing times that will soon break upon this world. How wonderful of Him to call us to a deeper
relationship and commitment to Him every day, and especially on His
Sabbath. May we give Him full
opportunity today to develop in us the lovely fruit of His Spirit. May we call the Sabbath a delight today.