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I would like to begin by recalling an incident from one of my first camp meetings with the CSDA Church. It’s been many years since that time, but somehow the conversation stuck with me. We were standing around a campfire one day, and somehow the topic of health reform came up. We were specifically talking about diet, and the importance of maintaining healthy habits consistently. One of the visitors, I don’t remember who it was, but it wasn’t a regular member, stated that she ate healthily most of the time, but every now and then would fall back into eating junk food.
Pastor “Chick” then said that he recalled a study that was done on some monkeys in a laboratory setting. The monkeys were separated into three groups. The first group was fed only healthy food. The second group was fed with food that was not considered to be healthy at all. The third group was fed healthy food six days of the week, and unhealthy food on the other. He then asked, “Which of the groups do you think had the best health at the end of the study?” The obvious reply was that the monkeys who had been fed with the healthiest food should be, themselves, the healthiest. That was correct. Next, he asked, “Which do you think was the least healthy?” The obvious reply was that the monkeys who had been fed the unhealthiest food should be in the worst condition. That was not correct. It was actually the monkeys that ate the mixed diet that fared the worst, because while the monkeys who were poorly fed could adapt to what they were getting, those on the “mostly good” diet were in a constant state of dietary confusion, and their systems were not able to handle it very well.
This has some obvious applications to health, but there is a spiritual dimension here as well that we ought to understand well as the saints of the Most High. In fact, our Enemy already has an advantage over many of us in this regard. You see, Satan knows this principle very well. Truly, he encourages its practice whenever and wherever he can. He may not be particularly creative, but he is clever and opportunistic, and he can reason from cause to effect just as easily as any other creature.
Satan loves, more than anything else, corruption. This is not the same thing as “evil,” although the distinction may not be initially clear. Evil, or as we call it in the spiritual realm, sin, is the transgression of Yahweh’s divine law. It is the harming of other creatures, the violation of the principle of love, and the absence of genuine care. This is a condition in which sinners find themselves, and from which only the Savior can rescue them.
Corruption, on the other hand, is the point at which something that is good becomes evil. Evil is the result of corruption. It is manifest in the physical world as the spoiling of food, the decay of dead bodies, the growth of mold on damp walls, and the poisoning of the body’s systems that can occur from certain illnesses. Corruption is the transition from something pleasant and enjoyable to something that is harmful and repellent. We know the word from politics, when greedy individuals pervert a system designed to help people by accepting bribes, or benefiting from organized crime. We know the word in a Biblical setting from a number of verses.
“And Elohim looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.” (Gen 6:12)
“And Yahweh said unto Moses, ‘Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.’” (Exo 32:7)
“Be not deceived; evil communications corrupt good manners.” (1Cor 15:33)
Here we see that it is always a change in the state, a change of nature. The earth had been made good, but it was corrupted, made violent and evil. Yahweh brought a people out of Egypt designed to serve Him, and spread His worship to the world, but they chose instead to long for the pagan gods they left behind, and to build a monument to their bondage. Paul warns against bad company (that word “communications” actually means companionship as well as the exchange of words) lest the Christian become used to immorality.
Lucifer loves corruption more than evil. He loves to see the ruination of Yahweh’s creation, and the turning-aside of His people from the path of righteousness. In this, He and the Creator are exactly in opposition. We know from the parable of the “Prodigal Son” that there was greater joy for the brother that had fallen away and repented than the one who had been faithful all along. (Luke 15:11-32) This is a principle clearly stated earlier in the same chapter, that “joy shall be in Heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.” (Luke 15:7) In the same way, there is greater pleasure among the devils for one righteous man that falls from grace, over all the world that lies in a steady state of wickedness.
We read, further, “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” (Rev 3:15, 16) Lukewarm is the “in-between” state. It is good becoming evil, zeal dying away, and bright light dimming on its way to darkness. Yahweh would desire us to be hot, of course… but if we cannot be hot, then cold. Those who are evil are often blind to their true condition, and their consciences may awaken, perhaps to repentance. Those who are lukewarm were once hot, but are actively resisting the leadings of conscience, the very means by which the Holy Spirit brings about the awakening to righteousness.
They may desire righteousness. They may believe that they have it most of the time, because they judge their condition based on their feelings and their works, but they fail, because they do not have Christ dwelling in them, who cannot be corrupted, and who has nothing of evil within Him. They think that they are on their way to pleasing God, that they are almost there, and may get there some day, but because they have not decidedly said, “Yes” to the gift of faith offered to them even then, in that moment, they do not have it at all.
This is when the Enemy is best pleased. He loves those who are on the “mostly good” diet of righteousness, who think that they are “okay with God” in a general sense, but every now and then, through habit, through backsliding, through inconsistency, they participate in the transgression of the Law. It is not, to be clear, the acts that condemn them, but the condition of their soul that allows the acts to occur. They are not the people that hate, and reject, those acts. The Savior is not returning for a bag of thoughts and actions, but a set of people, people who love Him, and have therefore made their robes white through His life, death, and resurrection.
Yahweh loves the state of being “hot,” spiritually, for He can work with such people to win souls. He accepts the state of being “cold,” because these are the ones for whom the “hot” can labor. These are the ones – which we all were at one point – whom He loved so much that He sent His Son. The Lukewarm, though, are Satan’s personal possession; these are the occasional bad examples, the ones stuck in a cycle of sin and repentance, and of course those who teach “salvation in sin” as the answer to man’s problems. These are without a doubt the most effective agents of the Devil. I do not say this by way of condemning these individuals either, but they are tools in the hand of the Enemy, perhaps unwittingly, and are in the more desperate need of rescue because of it. They know enough truth to be accountable, but they have not loved the truth that would free them from the account.
This is a most pitiable condition, this corruption, because it is being stuck in an evolutionary spiritual mindset: up and down, back and forth. It is a state of constant guilt for sin, because evil men who know they are evil do not spend much time thinking about judgment, and are therefore more at peace than the Christian who does not believe in Victory. “Perfect love casts out all fear,” John tells us. And why? “Because fear hath torment.” (1John 4:18)
What is torment? It is pain. Pain, in a spiritual sense, can only come from guilt. Have you realized that? What is it, spiritually, that causes people pain? It is nothing at all but guilt. When we undergo suffering of the body, and even the mind, for righteousness’ sake, we actually rejoice. We can sing songs. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs describes the triumphant declarations and songs of praise heard from the saints even as they gave their lives because of their witness before wicked men. These people were undergoing horrific treatment, and yet, because their consciences were clean (even if they did not have all the light in their day) they were not in torment of the spirit. They had no guilt.
Perfect love frees us from guilt. We do not feel guilt for our past lives, because Yahshua has paid the price for our transgression. As we recall it there may be sorrow at the harm we have caused, but Yah permits this so that our testimonies will be fervent, so that we may warn others against what we have done. We do not feel guilt for our present lives, because He keeps us from falling. He tells us, lovingly, “Fear thou not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness.” (Isa 41:10) What more precious promise can there be, than this?
But we read, “And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required; and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.” (Luke 12:47, 48)
The second servant was evil, because he did not do according to his lord’s will. We know that righteousness only comes from union with the Father and Son; therefore, because of the carnal nature, all else is evil. As Paul tells us, “whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” (Rom 14:23)
The first servant, however, is worse. He knew the lord’s will. At one time, he must have done it, to know what it is. And yet, he turned away. He fell away from the truth that he knew, and therefore grew in guilt and condemnation, which was manifest in his more severe punishment. He became lukewarm, and notice something here; it says that the second servant “did commit things worthy of stripes.” All it says of the first servant is that he “prepared not himself, neither did according to his will.” We can imply from this that there were active transgressions, certainly, but it is interesting that the Scriptures point out his lack of doing good, rather than his actively doing evil. This is corruption, the turning away from the light, however evil one becomes as a result. Satan does not need men to be “very” evil, but if he has corrupted them, that is enough.
In the case of the first servant, his punishment is greater, because his guilt is what determines his torment. While the consistent sinner may do more evil, he feels less guilt. He does not so thoroughly do violence to his conscience while it is sleeping, but the failed saint is constantly rejecting the voice of Yah through His mind’s attempts to raise the alarm. He is not rejoicing in good, nor can he enjoy (in a carnal sense, at least) his evil. He is stuck in a cycle of torment, and he has no Sabbath, no rest day or night, before Yahweh.
I think the point I am making is clearly enough stated.
So, what does this mean? First, we are accountable for great light, let us admit that. We know the truth. We have heard the promises, and believe that they are true. Some in our spheres may have yet to believe them on a heart-level, but accept them enough to want to fellowship, to hear more, and to learn. Learning must not be a barrier to deciding, however. This is another snare, the idea that when someone learns enough, he or she will be ready for baptism. This also leaves people lukewarm, and prone to settling back into coldness. This is also an “evolutionary” process of getting better until one is acceptable, and is not really any better than the sin-repent cycle. If you know the choice before you, and realize you are capable of making it, that was all it took for a first century convert and, because this Gospel is unpolluted from the world, that is all it takes today, when one hears the victory message in its saving fullness. It has worked for us, who are quite a diverse group… from different countries, speaking different languages, growing up in different cultures. Because it has worked for us, it will work for anyone. All it takes is a decision to accept the gift of Christ’s divine life, and the covenant between Him and His people. It is yours for the taking, today, this very moment.
We are called to be consistent. What Satan loves is inconsistency, both on an individual and a corporate level. Like most principles of truth, not only is there a ditch on both sides of the road, but there is also a corporate as well as an individual application.
We don’t need to be reminded of this very strongly, but we know that the Israelites’ history as recorded in the Old Testament is a monument to inconsistency. They were up, then they were down. They were faithful, and then they were idolatrous. Just read through the books of Moses, or the first few chapters of the Book of Judges; we see Israel constantly in a state of disloyalty from which Yah rescued them, only for them to slip right back into the mud from which they had been pulled.
Individuals were saved. There were great heroes of the faith described in these books, but corporately, as a nation, Israel reflects the state of an individual sinner before Christ. After Christ came, then there was peace, then there was the Church of the Apostles. There was a conversion. Now there was a spirit of understanding; in fact the giving of the Holy Spirit was a sign of this. Before the Christ there was inconsistency; after Christ there was unity, as described in the Book of Acts, where we see miracles, mass conversions, and widespread evangelism.
This is the path of mankind, and also the path of a man, individually. Before Christ, there are ups and downs, cycles of exaltation and humiliation. Yah may be with an individual, calling, guiding, leading, and they may believe that this is as good as it gets; but when we receive Christ, there is something entirely new. There is an entirely new experience, where He is not constantly rescuing us from disaster, but He comes to us, dwells in us, and thereafter there is Pentecost in our lives.
Some might say, “But the Church age has been a disaster of inconsistency as well.” We cannot deny that, but when we read the history of the early Church, we see why. Paul warned the Church’s elders, “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.” (Acts 20:29) It is when individual men became inconsistent, especially those in positions of leadership, that the corporate Body again began to reflect corruption, uncertainty, indecision. It was then that the Gospel’s light faded and mankind again fell, this time into the darkness of the papacy.
As Protestants, we know that in the course of time the Father called for a Reformation, a work of restoration, in which the light began again to shine on humanity. We saw faith, rather than works, being held up as the standard for salvation. We saw the Sabbath restored to its proper place. We received again the blessings of feast days, New Moons, and most importantly, the invincible testimony of righteousness by faith. We have been drawn out of corruption, this little Remnant, as it is written, “I will gather the Remnant of My flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.” (Jer 23:3)
Because of corruption, because there was a turning away from the light, those who were called to do the will of Yah did not, and there was a scattering. This was the work of the Devil, to keep the people from continually committing to Yahweh. Whenever faithfulness was restored by a prophet, Satan came and corrupted it, gaining a temporary victory, and he was pleased to do so, even to have Israel faithful for a little while, because again, Satan prefers inconsistency to pure, unbroken evil. This furthers his kingdom more than effectively cold and evil men looking out for their own selfish desires.
But we read, “He that committeth sin is of the Devil, for the Devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the Devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His Seed remaineth in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” (1John 3:8, 9)
Of course, we frequently quote these verses, especially verse 9, to describe individuals’ victory over sin. This is what it looks like when individual men and women are born again. But remember that corruption has both a corporate and an individual manifestation. We can read this passage again with all of Israel in mind… that a nation, which consists of those who are born again, will not commit sin. A people, a Church, a fellowship, that is born again, does not commit sin, and this is the pure, refined, sanctified people for whom Yahshua is returning.
Here is what is written of that remnant Jeremiah describes: “The Remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies, neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.” (Zeph 3:13) They do no iniquity, therefore they do not “commit sin.” (1John 3:9) A deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouths; in other words, “in their mouth was found no guile; for they are without fault before the throne of God.” (Rev 14:5) This, brethren, is us… here we are in prophecy. Not isolated saints but because we are each, individually, rescued from corruption, born again to do no evil, we are collectively, as a Church, set free from its power.
Individually, the cycle of sin-repent-sin-repent is broken. We have spoken about this over the past few studies, how Yah not only forgives us, but it is written that He “heals your backslidings,” (Jer 3:22) our very tendency to be corrupted, to turn away from the light. But how exciting it is, to see this working on a corporate level… not individuals here and there, but a people, walking together, working together, led by a single angel, the Third Angel of Revelation, to stand in unison against the Beast and its Image in these last days.
Yahshua heals the backslidings of His people; He heals their corruption and breaks the Enemy’s grip on them that keeps them walking in circles. In so doing He gathers His Church. This is a matter to take most seriously, with the utmost solemnity, even in its beauty. Because the people individually reflect Christ, this little spiritual nation prospers. Christ has come to break the cycle, the cycle in the heart of carnal man, and the cycle that we read about in Old Testament Israel – faithful one minute, and in need of a hero the next.
If you have not yet rested in these promises, rest in this, believe in this, and be healed of your backsliding. Then, unite with a people who – just like you – have had their backsliding healed. It is finished. It is over. We have a song… Creation Seventh Day Adventists have a song, “I’m through with sinning; I’m through with sin. I have a Savior; He’s a mighty good Friend.” Perhaps we should request that song that at the end of the study, because this is an anthem for the healed, a musical banner under which we can safely stand.
Because the Church is composed of this kind of Christian, and only this kind, it also breaks the corporate cycle, and Christ now returns for a people that are pure, and in no danger of ever falling away. Their evil is no more, and their corruption, the very transition into backsliding and transgression, is done away. This allows them to abide with the Father and Son, because Their Spirit is in them, they have been made “dead” to sin, so that the flesh may never again take prominence, as the principle of the flesh once did in Lucifer.
And remember this, it is not a matter of time. There are some who believe that all things become corrupt eventually. That is the evolutionary mindset again. This Church believes in Creation; we are Creation Seventh Day Adventists, and because of that we know that we are something new, made something new entirely. This Church does not fall away. This Church is eternal, because it is made of those who, by faith, have put on incorruptibility. Soon we will be incorruptible in the translated or resurrected flesh, but now we claim incorruptibility of the spirit and mind. The fidelity of the saint in the last days is not guaranteed merely because he has less time in which to be corrupted… to accept that idea is to turn from the face of the Creator and Savior.
The reason we overcome, even in this sinful flesh, is because we deny the very possibility of failure – ever, after any amount of time. We do not think of sin in terms of potential actions to either do or reject. No, instead of saying, “I would never do that thing,” it is, “I am no longer the person who would ever do that thing.” It is a subtle difference, but for some it may be very meaningful; the focus is not on the actions at all (for by works we are neither saved nor lost) but on the person that Christ makes us to be, and makes us to be forever. This is why it is life “everlasting,” because at no point does it cease to be that life which He has given us.
That is how you know that this Gospel is true, because while it encourages, and inevitably results in good works, it has nothing to do with works so far as “status” goes. We do not consider ourselves “good” because of our works; our works are “good” because One who is good does them – Christ in you, the Hope of glory, manifesting His incorruptible life, which has nothing to do at all with going in circles. The Cycles are broken. He is the narrow way, the strait way forward, and forward only. He is the motivation, and the power to accomplish. Ours is the agreement, the exercise of free will, and the bearing of witness.
We witness, we behold, and therefore we are changed, as we read, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of Yahweh, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of Yahweh.” (2Cor 3:18) Glory to glory, upward and forward. There are no cycles in that. There is no corruption in that. Yahshua was manifest to destroy the work of the Devil, both in us individually, and in a People that He is preparing for everlasting life.
We are willing. And we are looking for those who are willing to be made willing. That is all it takes, and then we shall tell them of the Savior, who will forgive their sin, cleanse their unrighteousness, heal their backsliding, and set them on the straight path to glory. Let us be ready, always, to cooperate with this most blessed work, and to unite in loving union with those who are.
David.
An Enduring Witness
“God is leading out a people, not a few separate individuals here and there, one believing this thing, another that. Angels of God are doing the work committed to their trust. The third angel is leading out and purifying a people, and they should move with him unitedly. Some run ahead of the angels that are leading this people; but they have to retrace every step, and meekly follow no faster than the angels lead.” [Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 1, p. 207]
“‘Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.’ Luke 12:48. We shall individually be held responsible for doing one jot less than we have ability to do. The Lord measures with exactness every possibility for service. The unused capabilities are as much brought into account as are those that are improved. For all that we might become through the right use of our talents God holds us responsible. We shall be judged according to what we ought to have done, but did not accomplish because we did not use our powers to glorify God. Even if we do not lose our souls, we shall realize in eternity the result of our unused talents. For all the knowledge and ability that we might have gained and did not, there will be an eternal loss.” [Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 362]
“Christ calls upon His people to believe and practice His word. Those who receive and assimilate this word, making it a part of every action, of every attribute of character, will grow strong in the strength of God. It will be seen that their faith is of heavenly origin. They will not wander into strange paths. Their minds will not turn to a religion of sentimentalism and excitement. Before angels and before men, they will stand as those who have strong, consistent Christian characters.” [Counsels for The Church, p. 327]