| The Presumption of Popery This topic is comprised of
pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 The Bible Says, "Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning." 1 Timothy 5:20. NASB. Seventh-day Adventists do things differently
"Let no man seek to go about Gods work in any one of its branches in his own strength; for if he does, the fruit will not be such as will abide unto eternal life. He appears to build on the foundation; but he puts upon it wood, hay, and stubble,material that will be consumed. Our ideas must be elevated. Lift him up, the Man of Calvary; let the language of the soul be, He must increase; I must decrease. It is very hard for self to occupy a subordinate place. It lifts up itself in many ways, runs without Christ, works without prayer and consecration. Mans wisdom is foolishness; but many do not yet know this. They form connections with persons no more pious or consecrated than themselves. They counsel and plan with them, and if their devising is accepted, it will surely lead away from the right path. Their self-sufficiency is great, they do not feel the necessity of prayer at every step. They judge after the sight of the eyes, and the hearing of the ears, but have not the discernment that God gives, which would enable them to look beneath the surface. They favor those who should not be favored, and turn from those who should find help and comfort and justice at their hands. What government are we under? We shall have to make a decided choice either to be under Satans rule, or under the rule of Him whom John saw while on the isle of Patmos, who hath prepared his throne in the heavens, and whose kingdom ruleth over all. " RH, Feb. 7, 1893.
"Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Me" "I do not find rest in spirit. Scene after scene is presented in symbols before me, and I find no rest until I begin to write out the matter. At the center of the work matters are being shaped so that every other institution is following in the same course. And the General Conference is itself becoming corrupted with wrong sentiments and principles. In the working of plans, the same principles are manifest that have controlled matters at [Alvarado] for quite a length of time. "I have been shown that the Jewish nation were not brought suddenly into their condition of thought and practice. From generation to generation they were working on false theories, carrying out principles opposed to the truth, and combining with their religion thoughts and plans that were the product of human minds. Human inventions were made supreme. "The holy principles that God has given are represented as the sacred fire, but common fire has been used in place of the sacred. Plans contrary to truth and righteousness are introduced in a subtle manner on the plea that this must be done, and that must be done, because it is for the advancement of the cause of God. But it is the devising of men that leads to oppression, injustice, and wickedness. The cause of God is free from every taint of injustice. It can gain no advantage by robbing the members of the family of God of their individuality or their rights. All such practices are abhorrent to God. He inspires no such practices as have been entered into by your councils in regard to [the lawsuit against Eugene Shubert.] "The Lord accepts no such transactions; prosperity will not attend these moves. Men connected with His work have been dealing unjustly, and it is time to call a halt. Let men deal with men upon the principles of the Ten Commandments, and not ignore these principles in [ecclesiastical or judicial] transactions. False propositions are assumed as truth and righteousness, and then everything is worked in such a way as to carry out these propositions, which are not in accordance with the will of God, but are a misrepresentation of His character. "The great and holy and merciful God will never be in league with dishonest practices; not a single touch of injustice will He vindicate. Men have taken unfair advantage of those whom they supposed to be under their jurisdiction. They were determined to bring the individuals to their terms; they would rule or ruin. There will be no material change until a decided movement is made to bring in a different order of things. "Let no plans or methods be adopted in any of our institutions that will bind mind or talent under the control of human judgment; for this is not in Gods order. God has given to men talents of influence which belong to Him alone, and no greater dishonor can be done to God than for one finite agent to bring other mens talents under his absolute control, even though the benefits of the same be used to the advantage of the cause. In such arrangements one mans mind is ruled by another mans mind, and the human agency is separated from God and exposed to temptation. Satans methods tend to one endto make men the slaves of men. And when this is done, confusion and distrust, jealousies and evil surmisings, are the result. Such a course destroys faith in God and in the principles which are to control, to purge from guile and every species of selfishness and hypocrisy. "The high-handed power that has been developed, as though position has made men gods, makes me afraid, and ought to cause fear. It is a curse wherever and by whomsoever it is exercised. This lording it over Gods heritage will create such a disgust of mans jurisdiction that a state of insubordination will result. The people are learning that men in high positions of responsibility cannot be trusted to mold and fashion other mens minds and characters. The result will be a loss of confidence even in the management of faithful men. But the Lord will raise up laborers who realize their own nothingness without special help from God. Age after age Jesus has been delivering His goods to His church. At the time of the first advent of Christ to our world, the men who composed the Sanhedrin exercised their authority in controlling men according to their will. Thus the souls whom Christ had given His life to free from the bondage of Satan were brought under bondage to him in another form. "The spirit of domination is extending to the presidents of our conferences. If a man is sanguine of his own powers and seeks to exercise dominion over his brethren, feeling that he is invested with authority to make his will the ruling power, the best and only safe course is to remove him, lest great harm be done and he lose his own soul and imperil the souls of others. All ye are brethren. This disposition to lord it over Gods heritage will cause a reaction unless these men change their course. Those in authority should manifest the spirit of Christ. They should deal as He would deal with every case that requires attention. They should go weighted with the Holy Spirit. A mans position does not make him one jot or tittle greater in the sight of God; it is character alone that God values. "The goodness, mercy, and love of God were proclaimed by Christ to Moses. This was Gods character. When men who profess to serve God ignore His parental character and depart from honor and righteousness in dealing with their fellowmen, Satan exults, for he has inspired them with his attributes. They are following in the track of Romanism. "Those who are enjoined to represent the attributes of the Lords character, step from the Bible platform, and in their own human judgment devise rules and resolutions to force the will of others. The devisings for forcing men to follow the prescriptions of other men are instituting an order of things that overrides sympathy and tender compassion, that blinds the eyes to mercy, justice, and the love of God. Moral influence and personal responsibility are trodden underfoot. "The righteousness of Christ by faith has been ignored by some; for it is contrary to their spirit and their whole life experience. Rule, rule, has been their course of action. Satan has had an opportunity of representing himself. When one who professes to be a representative of Christ engages in sharp dealing and in pressing men into hard places, those who are thus oppressed will either break every fetter of restraint, or they will be led to regard God as a hard master. They cherish hard feelings against God, and the soul is alienated from Him, just as Satan planned it should be. "This hardheartedness on the part of men who claim to believe the truth Satan charges to the influence of the truth itself, and thus men become disgusted and turn from the truth. For this reason no man should have a responsible connection with our institutions who thinks it no important matter whether he has a heart of flesh or a heart of steel. "Men think they are representing the justice of God, but they do not represent His tenderness and the great love wherewith He has loved us. Their human invention, originating with the specious devices of Satan, appears fair enough to the blinded eyes of men, because it is inherent in their nature. A lie, believed, practiced, becomes a truth to them. Thus the purpose of the satanic agencies is accomplished, that men should reach these conclusions through the working of their own inventive minds. "But how do men fall into such error? By starting with false premises, and then bringing everything to bear to prove the error true. In some cases the first principles have a measure of truth interwoven with the error, but it does not lead to any just action, and this is why men are misled. In order to reign and become a power, they employ Satans methods to justify their own principles. They exalt themselves as men of superior judgment, and they have stood as representatives of God. These are false gods." TM 359-364. "Satans skill is exercised in devising plans and methods without number to accomplish his purposes. Dissimulation has become a fine art with him, and he works in the guise of an angel of light. Gods eye alone discerns his schemes to contaminate the world with false and ruinous principles bearing on their face the appearance of genuine goodness. He works to restrict religious liberty, and to bring into the religious world a species of slavery. Organizations, institutions, unless kept by the power of God, will work under Satans dictation to bring men under the control of men; and fraud and guile will bear the semblance of zeal for truth and for the advancement of the kingdom of God. Whatever in our practice is not as open as day belongs to the methods of the prince of evil. His methods are practiced even among Seventh-day Adventists, who claim to have advanced truth. "If men resist the warnings the Lord sends them, they become even leaders in evil practice; such men assume to exercise the prerogatives of God they presume to do that which God Himself will not do in seeking to control the minds of men. They introduce their own methods and plans, and through their misconceptions of God they weaken the faith of others in the truth, and bring in false principles that will work like leaven to taint and corrupt our institutions and churches. Anything that lowers mans conception of righteousness and equity and impartial judgment, any device or precept that brings Gods human agents under the control of human minds, impairs their faith in God; it separates the soul from God; for it leads away from the path of strict integrity and righteousness. "God will not vindicate any device whereby man shall in the slightest degree rule or oppress his fellowmen. The only hope for fallen man is to look to Jesus and receive Him as the only Saviour. As soon as man begins to make an iron rule for other men, as soon as he begins to harness up and drive men according to his own mind, he dishonors God and imperils his own soul and the souls of his brethren." TM 366-367. "The Lord sees all the dealings of brother with brother, which weaken faith, and which destroy their own confidence in themselves as men dealing with justice and equity. In the most positive language He expresses His displeasure at the iniquity practiced in trade. He says, Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights? The very wrong here mentioned may not have been committed in our institutions, but acts which these things represent have been, and are still being done. "Page after page might be written in regard to these things. Whole conferences are becoming leavened with the same perverted principles. For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth. The Lord will work to purify His church. I tell you in truth, the Lord is about to turn and overturn in the institutions called by His name. "Just how soon this refining process will begin I cannot say, but it will not be long deferred. He whose fan is in His hand will cleanse His temple of its moral defilement. He will thoroughly purge His floor. God has a controversy with all who practice the least injustice; for in so doing they reject the authority of God and imperil their interest in the atonement, the redemption which Christ has undertaken for every son and daughter of Adam. Will it pay to take a course abhorrent to God? Will it pay to put upon your censers strange fire to offer before God, and say it makes no difference?" TM 372-373.
Satans Methods: A Judgment Of The Devilish Details A Time For Review What are Satans methods: and what is practiced in secretive and dark, sacrosanct counsels generally regarded as a prerogative of the gods? The Spirit of Prophecy answers these questions decisively. There is the masterful use of hearsay evidence in council and committee meetings. There is the commanding from a throne; There is plotting behind the scene. Actions such as these are inexcusable, yet this evil is not even understood as wrongdoing by the Richardson church board. This is the judgment of the highest court: "Go to those supposed to be in error, talk with them, not working with duplicity and hypocrisy, meeting them day by day with apparent friendship, and at the same time plotting against them in perfect unity with the satanic agencies at work to uproot, to tear down, to remove from the institution the ones the unbelieving element wants removed, while not a word is spoken with the brethren or sisters in the faith to redeem them, to heal them, if they are in error; and if they are not in the wrong, to vindicate the right, and put the rebuke where it belongsupon the plotters of an evil work, because Satan is behind the scene. The Lord Jesus rebuked the Pharisees, likening them to sepulchers that do not appear, hidden from sight, but full of corruption. The Lord hates all deception, secrecy, and guile. This is Satans work; the work of God is open and frank. No one will work against a child of God on the strength of the testimony of the Lords enemy, and work after Satans mannerconcealing himself, yet suggesting, instigating, planning in perfect unity with the Lords enemies. "How can the universe of heaven regard such underhanded, cowardly work against those who love God and keep His commandments? Members of the church may commit errors, and often make mistakes; but they are to be dealt with kindly, tenderly, as Christ has dealt with us. But the rebuke of God is upon all those who do the work of God deceitfully, professedly friends of Christ, yet working in an undercurrent style, in darkness, against those who love God. Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. " TM 274. "Someone not so mindful as he should have been of Christs words, Take heed how ye hear, allowed his unsanctified ears to hear wrong, his perverted senses to imagine wrong, and his evil tongue to report wrong. Many a man will not come openly to talk with the one he thinks in error, but will go to others, and under the mask of friendship and sympathy for the erring, he will cast reflections. Sometimes he openly agrees with the one whom he covertly seeks to injure. Suppositions are stated as facts, without giving the person charged with wrong a clear, definite statement of his supposed errors, and without giving him a chance to answer the charges. This is all contrary to the teaching of Christ. It is the subtle way in which Satan always works." 15MR 174. "Through the acceptance of hearsay evidence the enemy obtains great advantage in council and committee meetings. Those who would stand for the right if they knew what it was, are led astray by the evil surmisings of others in whom they have confidence. Their prayers are thus hindered, their faith is paralyzed and unkind thoughts, unholy suspicions, alienate them from their brethren. Thus God is dishonored, and souls are imperiled. "When an effort is made to ascertain the truth in regard to those who have been represented as in the wrong, their accusers are frequently unwilling to grant them the benefit of a doubt as to the reliability of the evil reports. They seem determined that their accusations shall stand just as they have stated them, and they treat the accused as guilty without giving them a chance to explain. But when accusers manifest so fierce a determination to make a brother or a sister an offender, and cannot be made to see or feel that their own course has been wrong, it is evident that the transforming power of the enemy has been upon them, and that he has caused them to reflect his attributes." RH, May 14, 1895. The church board obviously denies reflecting Satanic attributes and being duped by Satans agents. They deny following Satanic principles; but they do affirm a keen sense of justice. They believe that God has been honored in all their decisions, and that their resolution [of evident coercion, cruelty and oppression] is ratified in heaven. To give you their point of view (and their beliefs as they sincerely wish to believe them), as expressed by their beloved commander, we quote the Spirit of Prophecy. We hold nothing back; We give you their answer! We begin the next section by citing a revealing soliloquy.
|