GCDB Jan 27 and 28 1893 THE THIRD
ANGEL'S MESSAGE.—Number. 1. ELDER A. T. JONES
THE THIRD ANGEL'S MESSAGE.—NO. 1.
ELDER A. T. JONES.
As we begin our Bible study I think it
would be well to spend this hour, at any rate, in considering what we
came for, and how we are to come to get any good. I suppose that
every one came expecting to hear things we never thought of before;
and not only expecting to hear things we never thought of before, but
expecting to learn things we never thought of before. It is very easy
to hear things we never thought of before, but we do not always learn
what we hear; but I suppose we have come expecting to learn things we
never thought of before. It is simply saying we have come expecting
the Lord to give us new revelations of himself, of his word, and of
his way altogether. I have come for this. This text is good advice
for us all : " Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not
receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter
therein." Mark 10:15.
Thus we have come to learn of the
kingdom of God, to receive things of the kingdom of God, things new
and old, old things in a new way, and new things in a new way;
whosoever shall not receive it as a little child, shall not enter
therein; cannot have it. Hence, we are all to come here and to sit
down at the feet of Christ, looking to him as our teacher, expecting
to receive what he has to tell us, coming as a little child. Because,
not only is this text here which speaks thus about those who would
receive the kingdom of God, but in Matthew it is put in such a way as
to coverall the time after we receive the kingdom of God from the
first. " At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying,
Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a
little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said,
Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little
children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Matt.
18: 1-3.
Now if any one should say that the
other text refers to any who are receiving the kingdom of God for the
first time and admit the truth that they can receive it only as a
little child, confessing that they know nothing of it themselves, and
cannot bring themselves to a knowledge of it, this verse shows that
it goes beyond that, and that the idea goes with it even after we
have received the kingdom of God; for in order to be converted we are
to be as a little child, receive the kingdom of God as a little
child, allowing that we know nothing of ourselves, no wisdom of our
own. It is not our own wisdom that can make it plain to us, can open
the way by which we can understand it all right as it is. We must
leave all our wisdom out in order to gain it, and by being converted
become as a little child. "Except ye be converted and become as
a little child, ye shall not enter the kingdom of God."
What kind of children is
mentioned?—Little children. Little children have not much pride of
opinion of their own. Grown up ones are not so ready to learn. Then
this is spoken as giving us a model and example as to how we are to
come to the word of God to learn. There is another verse that tells
us the same thing and perhaps in a more forcible manner. "And if
any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he
ought to know it." 1st Corinthians 8: 2.
How many people does that cover? "Any
man," all of us that have come here. Any one then who has come
here, will it refer to us as personally as that ?
Every one: Any one of us then who have
come here, that thinks he knows anything, how much does that cover?
Thinks he knows how much? Thinks he knows what?—"Anything."
Does that cover all things then? Yes sir. Then the text covers all
people and all things that may be known. Then if any one of us thinks
he knows anything, what does he know? How much does he know? He knows
nothing yet as he ought to. Well then, we will all assent that that
is true, shall we? Just set that down for yourself. If you came here
thinking you knew something, you must decide you do not know that as
you ought to know it.
Then shall we come to this study in
that way ? Shall we all come to this study to-morrow, next day, each
time we come here, and just settle it in our minds that we do not
know anything as we ought to know it ?
I do not care if it is the oldest
minister in our ranks; he must come and say, " I do not know
anything yet as I ought to know it; teach thou me." And we will
learn; every one that comes to this house that way will learn
something every lesson he hears. And this includes that same oldest
minister in the ranks; he will learn more than any of the rest of us,
if he sits down like that. But how long a time does that text cover ?
How long will it remain there ? Will we go beyond that time
during this institute, think you? No sir. Very good then, we have
that settled, for the whole institute, if we thought we knew
anything. There are some things we thought we knew pretty well. If
there is one thing we thought we knew, just put it down, we don't
know anything.
We are always learning the most out of
those texts that we already know best. Don't forget that. We are
always learning the most out of the texts with which we are already
the most familiar. Then don't you see that any one who takes any text
or thought, and studies upon it for a long time, and thinks he has
got all the thought out of it that is in it, he just shuts himself
off there?
When he says, "Now I know it,"
he shuts himself off from learning what is really in that text.
Brother Porter here in the lesson of the previous hour spoke to us of
God's purpose in making known to us these things. What kind of
purpose was that spoken of? An "eternal purpose." And the
Scripture is God's expression to us of his thoughts in that eternal
purpose. The Scripture is the expression of God's thoughts on that
purpose, in carrying out and setting forth and making known that
purpose. Well then, what kind of purpose is it? Eternal. How deep
then are his thoughts ? How far-reaching is that purpose? Eternal.
How deep then are the thoughts expressed in the Scriptures? Eternal.
In how many expressions in the Scriptures, and in how many scriptures
is the thought of eternal depth?
In how many passages? Every one. Then
it does take all the Scriptures that are written for the Lord to
express to us what he wants to tell us, of his eternal purpose? Yes
sir. Then how deep is the thought in each passage of Scripture and
the words that are used to tell it? Eternal. Then just as soon as any
man catches one of these thoughts and thinks, I know it now and have
got it, how far short is he? How far short is he from having the
thought that is really there, from having the thought that is in that
passage? (Voices: As far as his mind is from God's mind). When he
says, I have the truth ; I have the thought, he has shut up his own
mind from the wisdom of the knowledge of God ; putting himself and
his own mind in the place of God and his thoughts. The man that does
that cannot learn any more. Don't you see, that at that instant he
shuts himself out forever from learning? And the man who does that,
of course can learn nothing beyond himself, and of course will never
have the knowledge of God. The expressions of thought conveyed in the
statements of the Scriptures are as eternal depths. Then what limit
can we set to ourselves in the study of these? No limit at all.
Then does not that present the splendid
picture, and the grand prospect that the eternal and the whole mind
of God is wide open before us for us to study upon?
Well then, let us not forget that that
is the field of study upon which we are to enter. We have been in it
a good while, and let us be careful that we do not think we know
something; let us be sure that we have not been inveigled * into the
idea of thinking that we know something as we are to know it. Let us
just settle it now by the word of God that we do not know that thing.
at all. There is knowledge in each line of thought for us to catch.
And until all the depths and eternities are past we will never get to
the place where we will have the right to think we know that thing
and are done with it. Shall we?
Well then, I am glad to know that we
have such a subject as that to study upon, and such a length of time
as that (eternity) in which to study it. Well then let us be glad to
start with. That text is going to remain with us as long as we are in
the world at least; and it won't go then ; it will go in this shape
of course; the Bible, the word of God as put up in this shape, will
go. No doubt these Bibles will be burned up just as any other book of
paper and leather. But the word of God will not be burned up. That
text in this shape (in print) will last as long as the world does;
but after that it will still exist in this shape (the body). Then
that text will still remain with us all the time, even eternally.
"And if any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth
nothing yet as he ought to know." 1 Corinthians 8:2
No; no man knows it. Are not you glad,
brethren, are not you glad ? But we must not linger too long upon any
one of these texts, for there are several texts we want to bring up
to-night. Taking the thought we had a moment ago, we have come here
expecting to learn many things that are new and many new things about
what we have learned formerly. We have not come though, to learn
anything but the truth. That is what we want: The only thing there is
any power in, the only thing there is any good in, the only thing
there is any sanctifying force in, is the truth, the truth as it is
in Jesus of course, because there is no truth in any other way.
Then coming with that purpose, to know
only the truth, that is all we are to study, that is all we are to
ask about. It is none of your business or mine, whether a thing be
old or new, or who says it in this institute, or whether it is for us
to study, or for any one else, is it? The thing for us to ask, is, Is
it true? If it be true, then take the Lord's word as he has given it
to us, no difference by whom he says it, no difference in what way it
comes, no difference if it comes in exactly the opposite way in which
way we expected it to come — and the probabilities are that it
will, " for your ways are not my ways, saith the Lord."
Then when we have a way fixed up, we may expect it to come another
way.
The Lord will not allow any one to
dictate to him or to lay out plans for him. We may take the Lord in
that text, " 0 God, verily thou art a God that hidest thyself."
But we can see him; he will hide himself; we cannot fix the ways in
which he is going to do things always; but the best of it is we will
let him have his own way to do things, and we will be in a position
to do it all the time. Then we will be perfectly safe. Then we will
never need to have any anxieties, need never have any thing to do
with the management of it ourselves. He is all wise; everything goes
straight with him, and we simply keep ourselves ready to see him do
it at any time. And we have nothing to do but to enjoy ourselves in
seeing Him (God) do things.
I have been greatly blessed in the
study of the Bible and in watching the Lord do things. And when it is
the darkest, the most mysterious, then it is the best study, because
it takes us clear out of ourselves to see Him do it. If we could see
just how it was coming out always it would not seem interesting. When
it is the darkest, we can watch the more intently and with more
interest, to see the Lord straighten it out. So then we are to learn
the truth only, no difference who speaks it,—the Lord will speak
it, of course — no difference by whom it is spoken, or the way it
comes; if we knew it before, thank God somebody else knows it now: If
we did not know it before, then thank the Lord we now know it. The
only thing to ask is, Is it true?
You all know those verses in 2 Thess.
2: 9, 10: " Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan
with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all
deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they
received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved."
Why is it he does all that for this people? Because they received not
the love of the truth. Any one who loves the truth, and will receive
the love of the truth, Satan will never have any chance to work in
with all signs and lying wonders, and all deceivableness of
unrighteousness. No sir. Because Jesus has said it (John 8: 32) : "Ye
shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Then
every one who receives the love of the truth, this will make them
free.
Then the one in whom Satan is to work
all signs and lying wonders, is he free? No; he is a fearful slave.
As long as we have it settled in our minds that the only thing we
shall ever seek or expect is the truth, and love it because it is the
truth, and take it because it is the truth, then we need not be
uneasy about whether Satan is going to deceive us, or not. Notice the
last half of the verse; the effect of the truth is to make us free.
The first half is the best promise in the Bible, if we could measure
promises. But we cannot do that because one is just as important as
another. All are the thoughts of God, and his thoughts are eternal.
But this is an excellent promise, " Ye shall know the truth."
That, it seems to me, is a most wonderful promise. "Ye shall
know the truth." Think you know it? Wonder if you know it?
Wonder whether such and such a thing is true? No sir. "Ye shall
know the truth." That is the promise of Jesus Christ to you and
to me, that when we trust in him and follow him, we shall know the
truth. And as certain as we yield to him and follow him he will take
care that we know the truth, and we trust him for it.
"Then said Jesus to those Jews
which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my
disciples indeed. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall
make you free." How are we to know the truth? Continue in his
word, be his disciples indeed, and ye shall know the truth. Then his
word is the word of truth. " Ye shall know the truth." We
want to stick to that promise. It seems to me that if that promise
were the only one in the Bible it would be all we would need. "
Ye shall know the truth." Because Christ has promised that, this
is for you and for me, when we follow him, and when we yield to him.
And because this is so it seems to me that we ought to be the
gladdest people on earth, for that promise given, "Ye shall know
the truth." There will be plenty of opportunities, assuredly;
there have been some already no doubt in just the first lessons which
have been given,—some opportunities already for persons in the
classes to say, Well, now, is that so? Probably some opportunity has
already been offered for some to say, " Well now, I do not know
about that." There will be countless instances doubtless, before
the six weeks are past, that the Lord has given us to study his word
and ways, numberless times in which we will be called upon to say,
Well now is that so?
What is the promise? "Ye shall
know the truth." Now the Lord does not want us to take things
because some one says them. God does not want us to say when any one
says a thing, Well, that is so, because he says it. That is not the
thing. We are to know it is true, because God says it. And I say that
there is the promise, " Ye shall know." There will be the
opportunity for the query to arise, Is that so? How about that? There
is the query, but there is the promise with it. Do not forget it.
Jesus has said to you every time that query arises, " Ye shall
know the truth." Then, when that query arises from some thought
in the lesson, what is the answer to you and me? What are we then to
consider? What is the place for us to occupy just then? Here is some
brother who will be speaking some day, and he will make a statement
perhaps, reading a passage, or two or three passages, and catch a
thought there that is new to me, make an expression here that is new
to me, and the query comes, Well now is that so? What is the answer
to me? " Ye shall know the truth." Then what am I to do
just then with that new thought, with that query ? Am I .1‘144:iii
44°Th just to hold that query, that new , thought, that which is to
me a new thought ? Am I not to hold that right before Christ, and ask
him the truth? Or wouldn't I better go to some of the brethren and
ask," What do you think about that? Brother A. says so and so.
What do you think about that? That is new to me, and I kind of half
doubt it." " Well, I doubt it too," says the other
brother. Well then, of course it cannot be so; that settles it; it is
not so. It is none of your business what I think about it. I remember
once in a camp-meeting a brother read some scriptures right straight
through—it was about all he did do; it was a Bible reading ; —
but the thoughts he brought out in the Bible reading were new to a
large number in the audience.
About half a dozen came in a flock to
me and asked, " Well, now, Brother Jones, what do you think
about that? " I said, " It is none of your business what I
think about it; what do you think about it yourself?" "Well,
we do not know what to think about it," they replied. Then I
said, "Find out." Suppose I had said I do not believe it;
then they would have gone off and said, "I do not believe that,
because Brother Jones said he did not." Suppose I had said it
was so; they would have said, "That is so; Brother Jones says
that is so." So I propose to tell you nothing about what I
think. It is none of your business: you know for yourselves what is
the truth. That is the position I propose to occupy in this
institute. I expect to find some things coming out here that are new.
I have never found a meeting yet where we have studied the Bible that
the Lord did not give us something that was new, beautiful, grand,
and glorious. But the place I propose to occupy is right upon that
promise, " Ye shall know the truth."
But I find people, and doubtless you
have too, who seem to get upon the idea that the only sure way to
know the truth is to raise all the objections they can and have them
answered. But when I have raised and presented all the objections I
know against a point, and they are all answered, then am I sure what
is truth? Am I sure of it? No; because there are objections I never
thought of. Don't you see? On that line can I ever be sure that it is
the truth, until every objection that is possible is brought against
it by every mind in the universe— can I be sure of it until then?
When these are all answered would that make me sure it was so? If it
would, how can I live long enough to hear all the objections
answered? Can we get at the truth in that way ? Is there any
possibility of getting at the truth by raising objections and having
them answered? No sir.
What is the use of starting on a road
of which you will never reach the end — a wrong road of course?
Better not start on it at all. Another word. Can there be any
objection against the truth? Think of that closely. Well, when
something is presented, are you and I to say, " I see an
objection against that? " Is that the position we are to take?
No; we are to ask whether it is the truth, and if it is, there is no
objection, there can be no objection against it. Our objection is a
fraud. Don't you see? The thing we are to ask is, Is it the truth?
And then another way the people have of getting at the truth is to
hear both sides of it. You have heard that thing yourself. "That
is one side," they say, "but now I want to hear the other
side before I decide." What is one side of the truth? Well, here
is one side of the truth, and there is the other side of the truth;
then where is the truth? You get on the either side of the truth and
it is error. I have heard one side, and I want to hear another side
of it! Then how can I tell what is the truth, any how? But suppose I
have heard actual truth (and that is the need of it), and I am not
satisfied until I hear the other side. What is the other side? Taking
this one side to be the truth, what is the other side? Error.
Then we can decide best what is truth
by hearing a lot of lies, can we? "Well," says one, "
I have heard your side of it, and it looks to me as though it were
true, but I want to hear the other side!" The truth is the word
of God. Then he proposes by waiting to hear the other side, to know
whether it is true, or not, by comparing it with a lot of lies, and
thus make a lot of lies a test of the truth. We do not want to hear
the other side. All we want is the truth. Here is one side of the
truth, and there is the other side of the truth. He hears both sides
according to his own plan; then how does he arrive at the truth? In
his own way. He has heard this and that. Where is the truth? He must
find it out some way. Does he not compare one side with the other,
and weigh one against the other, and strike the balance and judge
where the truth is? Well, when he has done that, can he know he has
the truth ? Is he sure that is the truth? Is my mind, my judgment, my
ability to weigh arguments and decide upon the truth,— is that the
infallible test of truth? Is a man's judgment, his faculties, the
test of truth at all?
When we want to test the truth so as to
know it is the truth, the test must be an infallible one. Is not that
so? It must be one that will never fail. To discern the truth and
declare it, it must be one that will never miss under any
circumstances amid ten thousand arguments and errors. The one by
which we must test the truth must be such a one as will strike the
truth among ten million diverse opinions, and strike it without fail
in succession—every thought that may be raised among men. Is not
that so? Man's mind we know is not the test of truth. It is only his
own idea of the truth that he settles upon. " But your thoughts
are not my thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord."
Now brethren, in the time in which we are, there are two reasons why
that thing could not be worked, even if it were correct. One is, that
the truth of God is developing so rapidly that we have not time to
hunt out all the objections and listen to the arguments on both
sides, because we would be everlastingly behind while we were
listening to a lot of arguments and objections. But we do not want to
stand in that place when probation closes. The time is too short for
that ; and we would be left out when we get there. But there is the
promise, "Ye shall know the truth." Turn again to John
14:16, 17: "I will pray the Father and he shall give you another
Comforter that he may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of
truth." Spirit of what? Truth. Oh! Thank the - Lord for the
promise, "I will pray' the Father." What is Christ doing
to-night for us, who are here in this institute?—Praying the
Father. He will send us the Comforter?—The Spirit of truth.
What is the position to occupy, before
we come to the class each day ? Taking part in that prayer, that we
may have the Spirit of truth, isn't it ? So then Jesus is praying,
and by the way, as Jesus is doing it are not we in good company when
we do it? Let us spend a good deal of time at it then during this
institute. Let us spend a good deal of time in his company during
this institute. What do you say? (Audience, Amen). I will pray the
Father and he will give you. He does not say I will pray the Father
that he may do it, as though it was to be decided after he had
prayed; but I will pray the Father and he shall give you. Of course
his prayer is heard, for he makes intercession for us. He presents
our prayers according to the will of God. And so then he prayed and
we pray that he may give us this Comforter, and he does. When we ask
we know we receive, for he says so. If we ask anything according to
his will, what then? He hears us. And this is the confidence we have
in him to-night. This is the confidence we have in him that if we ask
anything according to his will he hears us. Then if we have that
confidence in the Lord, we can have a good time throughout this
institute. Ask anything according to his will and he hears us. Then
it is his will that we should have the Holy Spirit. Then we can go to
him every day, and every hour of the day, asking him for that Spirit
of truth and know that we shall receive it, know he hears us; and if
we know he hears us, we know we have the petitions we desired of him.
Now put these things together. We ask
anything according to his will, and he hears us. Every time we ask,
he hears. Then when he hears, then what? —We' know we may have it?
shall have it? Have it. Then what are we to do? When we have asked
according to his will we know he hears us. And we have what we ask
for; then what are we to do? Let us thank him for it. Then before we
come to the institute each morning let us ask the Lord for the Holy
Spirit according to his will; then when we have asked, yield wholly
to the Lord, and thank him that it is done, and come expecting him to
teach, and that he will teach the teacher, and through him teach us.
"That I may abide with you."— How long? Forever. Good.
The Spirit of truth is able to take the truth and make known the
truth at any moment amid ten thousand times ten thousand phases of
error. How long ? — Forever. Isn't that good? Is not that a good
promise that he shall give to us the Spirit of truth, and he will
stay there forever ? " Even the Spirit of truth ; whom the world
cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye
know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." "
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you."
What will he do ? — Guide you. He will do it; that is positive.
When he comes, he will do that. Well,
brethren, can't we trust him, then? Let us put the three things
together,—" Ye shall know the truth ; " " I will
pray the Father," and " He shall guide you." Then
can't we trust him? Can't we surrender everything to him right off
without a single hesitation about anything? "Ye shall know the
truth." "The Father shall give you the Spirit of truth, and
he will guide you." Then shall we not yield everything to him
and trust him and expect him to guide us in every study we have here?
" Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide
you into all truth : for he shall not speak of himself; but
whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he will shew you
things to come." Will he? He will show us things to come. Good.
Doesn't the Lord want us to see things that are coming before they
overtake us? Hasn't he told us that the people who will now see what
is coming upon us by what is being transacted before us, will trust
no longer to human inventions, but will feel that the Holy Spirit
must be recognized and received? How will we see what is coming upon
us? — By what is being transacted before us.
Jesus will show us things to come. He
does not want us to be taken by surprise in any of these things. He
wants us to know what is coming beforehand, to be fully armed, and
not to be surprised and overtaken. "He shall glorify me: for he
shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you." And what is
he? " I am the truth, and the Spirit of truth." He takes
what is his and shows it to us. Then when the Spirit of truth takes
only that which is the Lord's (and that is all he will ever show to
us, he does not stand out independently and do great things of
himself; just as Jesus did not do that, but yielded everything that
the Father might move and work in him. So the Holy Spirit in his
place does the same things as Jesus did exactly. He does not show of
himself, but finds what God told to Jesus and tells that to you and
me. So he gives us the truth of God as it is in Jesus. He is the God
of truth? "All things that the Father hath, are mine. Therefore,
said I, that he shall take of mine and shall show it unto you."
Then we have the scripture, " But as it is written, Eye hath not
seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man, the
things which God bath prepared for them that love him." There is
the eternal purpose, and the depths of it. That is where we are to
stand, asking, taking part in that prayer of Jesus every day, that we
may have the Spirit of truth here in our studies and all our work,
guiding us into truth.
Note the following from " Steps to
Christ," pp. 105, 129, 130 :— " Never should the Bible be
studied without prayer. Before opening its pages we should ask for
the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, and it will be given. When
Nathaniel came to Jesus, the Saviour exclaimed, Behold an Israelite
indeed, in whom is no guile.' Nathaniel said, ' Whence knowest thou
me ? ' Jesus answered, ' Before that Philip called thee, when thou
wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee.' And Jesus will see us also in
the secret places of prayer, if we will seek him for light, that we
may know what is truth. Angels from the world of light will be with
those who in humility of heart seek for divine guidance. "The
Holy Spirit exalts and glorifies the Saviour. It is his office to
present Christ, the purity of his righteousness, and the great
salvation that we have through him. Jesus says, He shall receive of
mine, and shall show it unto you.' The Spirit of truth is the only
effectual teacher of divine truth. How must God esteem the human
race, since he gave his Son to die for them, and appoints his Spirit
to be man's teacher and continual guide." " God intends
that even in this life the truths of his word shall be ever unfolding
to his people. There is only one way in which this knowledge can be
obtained.
We call attention to an understanding
of God's word only through the illumination of that Spirit by which
the word was given. `The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit
of God;' for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of
God.' And the Saviour's promise to his followers was, ' When he, the
Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth. . . . For
he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you." "God
desires man to exercise his reasoning powers; and the study of the
Bible will strengthen and elevate the mind as no other study can. Yet
we are to beware of deifying reason, which is subject to the weakness
and infirmity of humanity. If we would not have the Scriptures
clouded to our understanding, so that the plainest truths shall not
be comprehended, we must have the simplicity and faith of a little
child, ready to learn, and beseeching the aid of the Holy Spirit.
A sense of the power and wisdom of God,
and of our inability to comprehend his greatness, should inspire us
with humility, and we should open his word, as we would enter his
presence, with holy awe. When we come to the Bible, reason must
acknowledge an authority superior to itself, and heart and intellect
must bow to the great I AM." From this time forth as long as we
live, when we read his word just as it is, let us never set up an "
if" against it. Is there any " if " about it? Can
there be any " if "? There is no " if " in it at
all. It is just what it says. Thank God it is so, and let him tell us
what it means, and how it is to. I read again from "Gospel
Workers," p. 126 : — " God desires us to receive the
truth upon its own merits—because it is truth. The Bible must not
be interpreted to suit the ideas of men, however long they may have
held these ideas to be true." That means that I must not
interpret the Bible to suit this man (speaker pointing to himself).
It means you, too. " The spirit in which we come to the
investigation of the Scriptures, will determine the character of the
assistant at your side."—{GW92 127.3}
There is an important thing. We are
coming in here every day for the-investigation of the Scriptures. Now
the word is, The spirit in which you come will determine the
character of the assistant at your side. "Angels from the world
of light will be with those who in humility of heart seek for divine
guidance. But if the Bible is opened with irreverence, with a feeling
of self-sufficiency, if the heart is filled with prejudice, Satan is
beside you, and he will set the plain statements of God's word in a
perverted light.” {GW92 127.3}Let us not have Satan for an
assistant. Then let us be certain we join with Jesus in that prayer,
before we come, and remain in it while we stay. "We should study
the Bible for ourselves. No man should be relied upon to think for
us." {GW92 129.2} That does not say we are not to be led by a
man, if God is leading the man; or by a woman either, if God is
leading the woman. You know too, that a certain man once would have
done well to have consented to be led by an ass. But he proposed to
be led by the Lord alone; he didn't propose to have anybody lead him,
but he got into mischief. Let us not choose who shall lead us, except
that God shall lead us.
A man was once talking against the
Spirit of prophecy, and telling how easy Seventh-day Adventists were
deceived; how deluded they were; that their teachers got up and told
them certain things, and they just swallowed them down whole. I said
to myself; that I wished he would try it ; try to get things down
there in that way. It is a fact that Seventh-day Adventists are hard
to lead. I am glad of it in one way. I want every Seventh-day
Adventist to be so hard to lead that nobody in the universe can lead
him but Jesus Christ. Yes sir.
But oh, brethren, let us get where it
will not be nearly so hard for him to lead us. But I am glad they are
so hard to lead that nobody can do it but him. Let us get into that
place as soon as possible, and then let us just be led as easy as a
lamb by him, the Lamb of God that he is. " We must not become
set in our ideas, and think that_ no one should interfere with our
opinions. When a point of doctrine that you do not understand comes
to your attention, go to God on your knees, that you may understand
what is true, and not be found as-were the Jews, fighting against
God. . . It is impossible for any mind to comprehend all the richness
and greatness of even one promise of God. One catches the glory of
one point of view, and another the beauty and grace from another
point, and the soul is filled with the heavenly light. If we saw all
the glory, the spirit would faint. But we can bear far greater
revelations from God's abundant promises than we now enjoy. It makes
my heart sad to think how we lose sight of the fullness of blessing
designed for us. We content ourselves with momentary flashes of
spiritual illumination, when we might walk day after day in the light
of his presence. . . . He whose office it is to bring all things to
the remembrance of God's people, and to guide them into all truth,
may be with us in the investigation of his holy word."— {Gospel Workers 1892 }quotes from pages -129-181.
Oh, what a promise that is, that we
shall know the truth! Then he gives us the Spirit of truth to guide
into the truth. And that Spirit is such a perfect guide, such an
infallible one that it will silence every other voice when every wind
of doctrine is blowing. It silences every other voice than that which
comes from him who is truth and life. Well, then, brethren, let us
enter upon the study in this spirit, and remain in this spirit, and
God will teach us. And as it was said in the days of Job, and in the
book, " Who teaches like him? "
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* inveigle
= persuade
(someone) to do something by means of deception or flattery.
"we
cannot inveigle him into putting pen to paper"
|
synonyms:
|
- gain entrance to (a place) by persuading (someone) with deception or flattery.
