Thursday, September 15, 2016
Lesson 12. Urban Ministry in the End Time
Sabbath School Today With the 1888 Message Dynamic The Role of the Church in the Community Lesson 12. Urban Ministry in the End Time
"If clearly understood and presented to the world, the accomplishments of Christ's sacrifice will move human hearts as no other truth can. Such truth, presented together with the fulfillments of prophecy and our major doctrines, will bring the phenomenal soul-winning power that prophecy indicates will be in the 'latter rain' and in the 'loud cry' of Revelation 18.* This evangelistic 'efficiency,' says Ellen White, 'might have been [ours] in carrying the truth to the world, as the apostles proclaimed it after the day of Pentecost.' But it has been 'in a great degree' lost to our work in consequence of the rejection 'in a great measure' of the 1888 message.** Is not the recovery of that 'most precious message' therefore priority for the world church?" † [1] Although this statement is not specifically dealing with outreach efforts in the cities, it highlights the genuine basis for all evangelism regardless of geography. One of the most compelling aspects of the 1888 message is the love it generates for others. "Wherever the life of God is in the hearts of men, it will flow out to others in love and blessing. ... That which selfish hearts would regard as humiliating service, ministering to those who are wretched and in every way inferior in character and rank, is the work of sinless angels. ... When the love of Christ is enshrined in the heart, like sweet fragrance it cannot be hidden. ... No sooner does one come to Christ than there is born in his heart a desire to make known to others what a precious friend he has found in Jesus; the saving and sanctifying truth cannot be shut up in his heart." [2] Notice the sequence, "wherever the life of God is in the hearts of men, it will flow out to others." Programs are good and we should support them, but nothing motivates like gratitude for what God has done for us. This must be genuine gratitude, not out of fear of punishment, or hope of reward or recognition. The nation of Israel revealed the true condition of their hearts as they became more legalistic and exclusive. They claimed Abraham as the venerable father of their faith. Their idea was that before Abraham, humanity was simply an undifferentiated mass hardly noticed by God. By calling Abraham out of this mass, God distinguished him and this honor was perpetuated to his progeny by the rite of circumcision. Any legalistic religion can fall into this trap by selecting some outward sign of pious allegiance and using it as a division between those who are acceptable and those who are not. If the standard is, "When the love of Christ is enshrined in the heart, like sweet fragrance it cannot be hidden," if we have not enshrined that love in our hearts, we have nothing to share. A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner taught the idea of Christ having legally, objectively, saved the world, dying every man's second death, bearing the iniquity of all sinners, legally justifying all men. This is the evangelistic message in Revelation 14. It is "the everlasting gospel" because it alone can truly reconcile the alienated heart of sinful man to God and to His holy law. It is easy for the legalist to fall into the trap that evangelism must take the form of an organized church-sponsored activity, but that was not Christ's method. He relied on His Heavenly Father to create circumstances where He witnessed in most effective ways. We can believe that God is willing to use those who love Him in the same way. This kind of witnessing can be so subtle, that we humans can easily miss the opportunities. Statistics tell us that most of the world's population live in cities, and even those in rural areas must go into town for various things. If we consider even simple interactions as opportunities we will realize how frequently they occur. If we genuinely value everyone as someone Christ died for, we can be kind to anyone. Persons who serve us at stores or restaurants are entitled to be respected and treated kindly, even if we or they are having a bad day. People in jobs considered menial also deserve respect, and all people appreciate a word of kindness and thanks. If the Lord continues to keep you in a relationship with a person, your consistent kindness will impress them that there is something different about you. Doors can open in simple ways. When we allow God to do everything, we will never boast or take credit for our witnessing. We know that whatever we have done has flowed out of our hearts "like sweet fragrance," which is a gift from Him. We never have to force ourselves to do something "kind" out of a guilty sense of obligating God with our sacrifice. We can never obligate God to do anything, including feeling better about us. "But no man can put the Lord under obligation to him. ... If anyone could do something for the Lord for which the Lord would be under obligation to him, then all things would not be from him. That is to say, the idea of justification by works is opposed to the fact that God is the Creator of all things. And, conversely, the recognition of God as Creator is the acknowledgment that righteousness comes from him alone." [3] --Arlene Hill Endnotes: Notes: "Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888mpm.org |
Friday, September 9, 2016
Lesson 11. Jesus Bade Them "Follow Me"
Sabbath School Today With the 1888 Message Dynamic The Role of the Church in the Community Lesson 11. Jesus Bade Them "Follow Me"
In this week's lesson we find the New Covenant, the whole gospel, the everlasting covenant--the centerpiece of the 1888message. It's one sentence in Sunday's lesson: "They Know His Voice." The fourth paragraph says, "When we, His body, set selfishness aside and take on the nature of a servant, letting Him live out His life within us, others will be drawn to the call of the Christ in us." No truer statement could be made! The lesson points out the difference between the Old and New Covenants. Elder E. J. Waggoner, one of the 1888"messengers," writes about this: "The difference between the two covenants may be put briefly thus: ... In the one case it is what we can do; in the other case it is what the Spirit of God can do. ... Is it to be our own doing, so that the reward shall not be of grace but of debt? or is it to be God working in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure?" [1] To follow Christ is to take every word of scripture and believe those words as coming from the Creator and Redeemer of our race. The power that created us is also the power that redeemed us, therefore creation and redemption are the same thing. [2] The apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that if "anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation." Being "in Christ" is a given since before time began, but God Himself willed that we know that His mystery is Christ in us, the hope of glory. So much could be included in this essay, but space prohibits, so only a few gems from Scripture, Ellen G. White, and the 1888 "messengers," E. J. Waggoner and A. T. Jones, will be given to whet the appetite for more personal study. "Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me'" (Matt. 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23). To follow Christ as He bids us to involves: (1) a desire to come after Him; (2) a denial of self; (3) a taking up of His cross; and (4) following Him. Waggoner writes: "There is only one actual cross in the world, and that is the cross of Jesus Christ. "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." We have often thought we were denying self, when we were only building self up; we were putting ourselves in the place of Christ. ... The failure with many people is that they make a distinction between the cross of Christ and their own crosses. There is no cross that comes to any person on earth, except the cross of Christ. If we will always remember this, it will be life and joy to us. ... The Lord does not give us some crosses of our own,--little crosses adapted to different ones,--one having one cross and another another. We cannot separate Christ from His cross. Christ is crucified; He is the only crucified one; therefore whatever cross comes to us must be the cross of Christ; and that cross is with us continually. But in the cross of Christ we find Christ Himself." [3, condensed] The Apostle Paul writes: "Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began" (Rom. 16:25; emphasis added). This secret he refers to is: "The mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:26, 27). Note: this mystery is the Gospel and it is God's will that it be known. We are to pray asking for His will to be done. The lesson points out that we are His body and the denial of self is accomplished through the cross. We are crucified with Him, and Christ in us will draw others to follow Him. Scripture: "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you are disqualified" (2 Cor. 13:5). "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God" (1 Cor. 3:16; 1 Cor. 6:19). Note: We know that the Holy Spirit was given to bring Christ to all men and here we see that it is gives it so: "That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; ... that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Eph. 3:17-19). Ellen G. White: "Souls that have borne the likeness of Satan have been transformed into the image of God. The change is itself the miracle of miracles. A change wrought by the Word, it is one of the deepest mysteries of the Word. We cannot understand it; we can only believe, that, as declared by the Scriptures, it is "Christ in you, the hope of glory." A knowledge of this mystery furnishes a key to every other. It opens to the soul the treasures of the universe, the possibilities of infinite development. [5] "The incarnation of Jesus Christ, the divine son of God, "Christ in you, the hope of glory," is the great theme of the gospel.[6] A. T. Jones: E. J. Waggoner: "By what life are we saved?--By the life of Christ, and He has but one. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever" (Heb. 13:8). It is by His present life that we are saved, that is, by His life in us from day to day. But the life which He now lives is the very same life that He lived in Judea eighteen hundred years ago. He took again the same life that He laid down. Think what was in the life of Christ, as we have the record in the New Testament, and we shall know what ought to be in our lives now. If we allow Him to dwell in us, He will live just as He did then. If there is that in our lives that was not in His then, we may be sure that He is not living it in us now. [9] The terms: "the nearness of Christ," "His closeness," and "His drawing near to us" all mean that Christ is in us--that is His nearness to us. In the Introduction to this quarter's lessons, the author uses an illustration of a pastor holding up his Bible before the congregation--he had cut out every passage dealing with justice, poverty, wealth, and oppression. This left the Bible in shambles. Let there be no further cutting of Bibles; let God's Word remain intact as He gave it; let Old Covenant teachings cease from our publications; and let Christ be in you, for He bade you to follow Him. --Daniel Peters Endnotes: |
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Lesson 10. Jesus Won Their Confidence
Sabbath School Today With the 1888 Message Dynamic The Role of the Church in the Community Lesson 10. Jesus Won Their Confidence
While we live in the midst of distrust, uncertainty, and changeableness, in Christ we have a friend who is perfectly trustworthy and reliable, "the same yesterday, and today, and for ever" (Heb. 13:8). And only as we draw trust from Him, the source, can we gain people's confidence to lead them to Him. In having Christ's love and life, we become more like Him. "When men will show confidence in their fellow men they will come much nearer to possessing the mind of Christ." [1] Jesus tells youth and older folks, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ... My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Matt. 11:28-30, NKJV). You might ask, "How can I come to Him? I can't find Him, I can't feel Him. He's a trillion miles away, and His yoke seems hard, and His burden heavy." Most people don't know how near He actually is. He says, "It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you." That Helper is His Vicar, the One sent in His place. "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you" (John 16:7; 14:16-18). We are closer to Jesus by the Holy Spirit today than His disciples were then. Many see Christ as Isaiah describes Him, "a root out of dry ground." All that many see is a desert with this ugly root sticking out. "There is no beauty that we should desire Him." "He has no form nor comeliness" (Isa. 53:2.). Why? An enemy has done the work of an antichrist, and misrepresented Christ. There is a little letter the apostle John wrote where he says, "Many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist" (2 John 7). Oh yes, they say He's come, and you can see churches everywhere with steeples and crosses on top. They say, "We're Christian. We believe in Jesus!" But John puts his finger on the root of the problem when he says that there is an antichrist. They do not see that Jesus is come in our flesh, for the only kind of human flesh there is in the world is our flesh. Antichrist says that Jesus came in some different kind of flesh, pale-faced, hollow-eyed, sunken cheeks, a halo around His head like you see in old stained glass windows, hardly ever smiled, thin, emaciated, intoning His words like a preacher at a funeral--effeminate, an ugly "root out of dry ground." This is "Christ" to many people. Many wonder, "How could Christ be my best friend?" This horrible antichrist is masquerading as Christ. The word anti can mean three things: "instead of," "in place of," or "against." He has advanced himself instead of Christ, he's against Christ, and he misrepresents Christ while professing to be for Christ. No wonder many people are deceived. We will not find answers in what this world has to offer, because genuine love and trustworthiness come only from God, its source. He did not wait for human beings to become trustworthy before entrusting them with His only Son. The all-trustworthy God trusted the totally untrustworthy in order to draw them close to Himself, transform, and redeem them. All because of His great love for us. "He [Christ] honored man with His confidence, and thus placed him on his honor." [2] What a staggering thought to realize that God has faith in man or He would never have sent His Son to us. This faith of God in man was exercised before the foundation of the world, when the Father and the Son agreed together to make an infinite sacrifice for man should he fall. John wrote, "We love Him because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19). The 1888 message draws this great conclusion with its evangelism potential: "We believe in Him because He first believed in us." Which of us could bring himself to trust a converted thief enough to put in his hands every cent we possess, and expect him to keep it for us? Could you trust human nature that much? If you were trying to evangelize a band of notorious kidnappers, could you bring yourself to entrust your newly born son or daughter to their arms while you left for an extended trip? That illustrates what God did! When we reach out to others, they definitely need to sense that we have their best interest at heart--that we are not manipulating them for some ulterior motive but have genuine concern for them for their own sake, for the great value that God has already invested in each one of them. "The love of God causes us to love, not Him alone, but all men." [3] Like Jesus, we need to reach "the hearts of the people by going among them as one who desired their good." [4] As true Christians we listen to them, identify and sympathize with them. Christ's "strong personal sympathy helped to win hearts." [5] "By visiting the people, talking, praying, sympathizing with them, you will win hearts." Ellen White describes this as "the highest missionary work" that we can do. [6] Asking a simple favor of someone, lets him know we need him and are willing to accept his kindness, and this builds trust. Jesus demonstrated this when He asked the Samaritan woman for a drink of water. That simple act helped to break down barriers that had accumulated for years, and showed her that Jesus accepted and trusted her. Tradition said that Samaritan women were always ceremonially unclean, so devout Jewish men would never accept anything that they had touched. It probably stunned the woman at the well when Jesus accepted water despite the fact that tradition said her very presence had made the vessel that contained it "unclean." But His trust stirred up trust in her own heart. He "was seeking to find the key to this heart, and with the tact born of divine love, He asked, not offered, a favor. The offer of a kindness might have been rejected; but trust awakens trust. The King of heaven came to this outcast soul, asking a service at her hands. ... [He] was dependent upon a stranger's kindness for even the gift of a drink of water." [7] Certainly Zacchaeus had no reputation for trustworthiness. On the contrary, he was notorious for his fraudulent tax-collecting practices. But when Jesus showed him acceptance and trust in going to his home, it awakened his nobler characteristics, and he yearned to prove himself worthy of Christ's friendship and trust. One cannot help getting the impression that the publican was just biding his time till someone like Jesus would believe and show confidence in him. People had constantly looked down on him, making it difficult for him to extricate himself from his predicament. But Jesus freed him. Ellen White movingly describes how Jesus inspired and won the confidence of those coming in contact with Him. She writes, "In every human being He discerned infinite possibilities. ... Looking upon them with hope, He inspired hope. Meeting them with confidence, He inspired trust. ... In His presence souls despised and fallen realized that they were still men, and they longed to prove themselves worthy of His regard. In many a heart that seemed dead to all things holy, were awakened new impulses. To many a despairing one there opened the possibility of a new life." [8] The challenges and opportunities before us are unprecedented. In the immediate future lies the culmination of the great controversy. God calls each of us to have a part in the proclamation of this message to the world. --Paul E. Penno Endnotes: Notes: "Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888mpm.org |
Friday, August 26, 2016
Lesson 9. Jesus Ministered to Their Needs
Sabbath School Today With the 1888 Message Dynamic The Role of the Church in the Community Lesson 9. Jesus Ministered to Their Needs
How Can I Help You? We read that Jesus had "compassion" on the multitudes and that He healed all who were sick, and sometimes left whole villages with no sick person in them (cf. Matt. 9:36; 14:14, for example). That was 2000 years ago. Now fast-forward to our time: we still have people sick and with all kinds of need. Monday's lesson quotes Ellen White: "Christ took a personal interest in men and women ... Wherever He went He was a medical missionary." [1] We, too, have compassion for the sick; but what can we do now to help them? Doctors and nurses can do a wonderful work relieving suffering; but what about us ordinary folk? When Jesus healed the paralytic who was carried to Him by four men who broke up the tiles on the roof and let him down, Jesus knew very well that this man had brought sickness upon himself by sinful living. But He didn't ask the poor man any questions or to make any promises. He didn't even ask him if he had repented; He said straight out, "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee" (Mark 2:5). So, what can we do? We can tell them New Covenant truth. In some cases simply doing that may bring physical healing to the sufferer; all the poor paralytic needed was to hear Jesus tell him, "Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee" (Matt. 9:2), and he was happy, willing to endure his sickness in peace. There are seven grand promises that make up the healing New Covenant truth. They are in Genesis 12:2, 3: the Lord will make your life important, He will give you happiness, "I will make thy name great," you will be a blessing wherever you go throughout the world, the Lord will bless the people who help you, He "will curse him that curseth thee," you will be part of the blessing that will come upon "all families of the earth" in Christ because you proclaim His message. Therein is healing truth! To say those words to someone flippantly or thoughtlessly of course does no good; but if by the grace of the Lord we are able to tell the message thoughtfully, meaningfully, the Holy Spirit will bless to the healing of the soul. Amazing as it may seem, the good news is that the Holy Spirit does the "work." That "wind" is forever blowing seeds of heavenly truth into our minds and hearts. No one is wise enough to tell where they come from, for the grace of God has been working on human hearts in multitudinous ways ever since the world began. Parents, friends, songs of praise, Bible messages heard or read, sermons, expressions of true love, all can be ways that the Lord uses to plant "good news" ideas in the heart. What is important is to recognize that their ultimate Source is God Himself. This is actually God's love in action. The wind blowing "wherever it pleases" is a picture of God's compassionate concern for every human soul. Not less surely is His love manifested for you than that the wind blows on you as well. One of the misconceptions of the 1888 message is that it is "soft" on works. Christ taught this distinctive kind of faith "which works," and the 1888 "messengers" picked up on this idea. Genuine faith produces obedience to all the commandments of God. Such faith makes the believer "zealous of good works" so numerous they cannot be measured. This goes far beyond trying to preserve a balance between faith and works. It's far more than 50% faith and 50% works understanding. God has already done the loving, and the giving. Our part (believing) comes by responding to that Good News with the heart appreciation that's appropriate--yielding to a heavenly love. Good works follow such genuine faith as surely as fruit follows seed planting. And then all the obedience part of the familiar "third angel's message" comes into place, but far more so, for here was a message that would prepare a people for the coming of Jesus. Pure Day-of-Atonement righteousness by faith is the only message that can produce anything other than "dead works." Dorcas in Joppa. Wednesday's lesson speaks to the story of the "disciple named Tabitha." Ellet J. Waggoner, one of the 1888 "messengers," relates the real meaning of "good works": "'Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas; this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did' (Acts 9:36). Good works are not something that one puts on, or which he acquires, but they come from within. 'A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh' (Luke 6:45). A man must be made good before he can do good; and this goodness comes from the Lord. 'Oh how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee; which Thou hast wrought for them that trust in Thee before the sons of men' (Psalm 31:19). 'For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them' (Eph. 2:10). Good works are extremely necessary, but none need worry about them. If a person is in Christ, the good works will follow as naturally as flowers follow spring rain and sunshine." [2] Paul in Athens. Here at the very end of our lesson study we read of "the famous story" of Paul preaching in Athens. It's one exception to apostolic success. What our lesson doesn't tell us is that few of his hearers responded positively. But reading through the Acts 17 story of his sermon we find not a mention of the cross! Paul at Athens was much like we are, working for "the higher classes." But from Athens Paul went to Corinth, where he proclaimed to these people what he did not proclaim in Athens. He proclaimed the cross of Christ. He says, "When I came to you, ... I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:1, 2). Paul explains to us how this mighty motivation works in our hearts: "He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again" (2 Cor. 5:15). In the original language the idea is clear that those who understand and believe this great truth of grace will "henceforth" find it impossible to live self-centered lives. No more gritting your teeth and clenching your fists and trying to force yourself to work hard for the Lord; it is automatic. The key word is "love." You cannot truly live under grace unless you appreciate that love revealed at the cross. When the sinner sees that cross, and appreciates that kind of love poured out, all for him, the tears come in his eyes. His heart is melted. That is true New Testament faith--a heart-appreciation of that tremendous love. That is why we shall keep on learning to glory in the cross of Christ. More and more that "under grace" motivation will crowd out the old self-centered hope-of-reward or fear-of-punishment motivation. Let us come out of the shadows into the sunshine of living "under grace," and work for Christ because His love "constrains us." --From the writings of Robert J. Wieland Endnotes: Notes: "Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888mpm.org RR |
Friday, August 19, 2016
Lesson 8. Jesus Showed Sympathy
Sabbath School Today With the 1888 Message Dynamic The Role of the Church in the Community Lesson 8. Jesus Showed Sympathy
Our lesson this week depicts Jesus as a compassionate, empathetic, and sympathetic Savior. True of course, but aren't these adjectives often used to describe us as well, in certain circumstances? But there's a text in Hebrews that goes "light years" beyond the "feeling" of sympathy, and it can only apply to Jesus: "We have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities [sympathize with our weaknesses]; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" (4:15). This one verse goes to the heart of the 1888 message--the human nature of Christ. We've read Ellen White's words many times, but to review them now, slowly, will set the tone, as she says: "The humanity of the Son of God is everything to us. It is the golden chain that binds our souls to Christ, and through Christ to God. This is to be our study. Christ was a real man; ... Yet He was God in the flesh. ... We should come to this study with the humility of a learner, with a contrite heart." [1] She expressed her joy when she wrote of meetings held soon after the 1888 General Conference Session: "Many hearts were touched, ... The Lord came very near, and convicted souls of their great need of his grace and love. We felt the necessity of presenting Christ as a Saviour who was not afar off, but nigh at hand." [2] The key to understanding the heart of the 1888 message lies in that phrase--"a Saviour who was not afar off, but nigh at hand." He who is "the way, the truth, and the life" made Himself manifest as One "nigh at hand," "Emmanuel, ... God with us," not with Him only, but "with us" (Matt. 1:23). So fully has the Son of God identified Himself with our fallen humanity, that it's difficult to take a scalpel and separate the heart cries of Jesus in the Psalms from the heart cries of king David. For example, in Psalm 22:1 David cries out, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" But then we discover that Jesus cries the same dereliction as He hangs on His cross (Matt. 27:46). Then as we read further in Psalm 22, lo and behold, we find that the entire psalm records the heart cries of Jesus up to the moment of His death when He cried out, "It is finished." But how could Jesus Christ, the sinless One, pray the same words that the guilty, bloodstained sinner David prayed? Wasn't Jesus "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners" (Heb. 7:26)? He should be as far away from feeling like the despicable sinner, David, as day is from night! But let's go back to Matthew 1:23 in which His name is translated, "God with us." Isn't it "unto us" that this "Child is born, unto us a Son is given" (Isa. 9:6)? Didn't the Father "so love the world that He gave" Him to us forever? Don't we "see Jesus ... made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death" (Heb. 2:9)? How could He "suffer death" unless He came inside our skin, as it were? He is "not ashamed to call [us] brethren" (vs. 11)! He had to be "[made] perfect through sufferings" (vs. 10). But wasn't He "perfect" all along? In holiness, yes; but He had to go through a process of education for 33 years in order to qualify to cry out sincerely from a broken human heart every word of Psalm 22! That word "made" has enormous meaning: "In all things He had to be made like His brethren. ... In that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succour [aid] them that are tempted" (Heb. 2:17, 18). He was "made of a woman, made under the law" (Gal. 4:4). He was "made in the likeness of men" (Phil. 2:7), He became truly a man "in the [same] likeness of sinful flesh" (Rom. 8:3), "made ... to be sin for us, who knew no sin" (2 Cor. 5:21). Ellet J. Waggoner, one of the 1888 "messengers," understood the relevance of Christ being our Saviour, who is "nigh at hand." He wrote in The Present Truth magazine: "To confess Christ, it is not enough to believe that He once lived and suffered and died and rose again. We must confess not merely that He did come in the flesh, but that He 'is come in the flesh.' He is a present Saviour. As in all the afflictions of the Israelites of old He was afflicted, so now 'we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities' (Heb. 4.15). He still feels everything that touches us, for He is still in the flesh. Even in the heavenly places. He is still 'the Man Christ Jesus' (1 Tim. 2.5). He is our forerunner, that is, one of the brethren who has gone before to prepare a place for the rest. When He comes again, He will come in the flesh for His flesh did not see corruption and the same flesh that went into the grave also ascended to heaven (Eph. 4.10)." [3] "Although the Word was made flesh, even our own sinful flesh, He was 'full of grace and truth.' He was 'in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin' (Heb. 4.15). God made Him 'to be sin for us,' yet He 'knew no sin' (2 Cor. 5.21). He was made to be sin, yet He 'did not sin, neither was guile found in His mouth' (1 Peter 2.22). It is these two things combined that make Him a sympathizing Saviour, in whom we may freely confide. No one can sympathize with another's failings, if he has not been tempted in the same way. Moreover, those who are guilty of any sin are the quickest and fiercest to condemn others for the same sin. Sinners excuse sin, but have no sympathy for fellow-sinners. It is only those who are cleansed from sin, who can exercise charity for the erring. Christ was tempted to the uttermost, and was always pure from the slightest taint of sin; therefore we may trust Him as one who knows and who cares." [4] What does it all add up to? Jesus Christ is the Son of God who became "the Son of man," your Saviour "in the flesh." He empathizes with you 100 percent. In the first Bible verse cited in this essay is a double negative that makes a powerful positive: "We do not have an High Priest who cannot [sympathize with our weaknesses]; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15). Does He sympathize with all the sorrowing, pain-ridden people on earth? Yes! He longs to put an end to sin and the sorrow it brings. And the closer we come to Him, the more we will share His concern. Don't turn your back on Him even for a day! --From the writings of Robert J. Wieland Endnotes: Notes: "Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888mpm.org RR |