Vol. 28, No. 6 Straight and Narrow June 2019

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth. (Colossians 1:16)

AffinityToday the word affinity carries the meaning

of “a spontaneous or natural liking or sympa-thy for someone or something” (New Oxford American Dictionary), but an older definition of the word is “relationship, especially by marriage as opposed to blood ties” (Ibid.). It is in this sense that we find the word used three times in the King James Version of the Bible.[1]

The three places we find the word affinity are:And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh

king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daugh-ter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD,

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and the wall of Jerusalem round about. (1 Kings 3:1)

Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance, and joined affinity with Ahab. (2 Chronicles 18:1)

Should we again break thy command-ments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping? (Ezra 9:14)

There is certainly nothing wrong with mar-riage, as God instituted it. Inspiration says:

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. (Genesis 2:24)

Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. (Hebrews 13:4)

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Marriage is also a symbol of Christ’s union with his people:

For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:2)

So, we see that marriage, as God designed it, is a blessing and a beautiful symbol of God’s purposes and plans for his people. God never wished for his institution to be marred by improper alliances.

Before Israel entered Canaan, he gave strict instruction to his people concerning in-termarriage with people not of their faith:

When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Je-

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busites, seven nations greater and might-ier than thou; And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. (Deuteronomy 7:1–3)

Why did God make such a strong command to his people? Why were they not to give their children to these people for marriage?

For they will turn away thy son from fol-lowing me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.(Deuteronomy 7:4)

In fact, God’s people were to destroy these heathens.

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But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire. (Deuteronomy 7:5)

God could not speak more precisely. This concept was amplified by Paul in the New Testament, when he wrote:

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the tem-ple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will re-

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ceive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. (2 Corinthians 6:14–18)

Marriage is the fundamental structure that supports the family, the church, and then so-ciety, and it is based upon a fundamental point that two cannot walk together, except they be agreed.[2] God does not limit our asso-ciations only in marriage, but, rather, in all forms of life. Marriage is the example set forth to illustrate this truth in the most pointed way.

Now let us return to affinity and the three texts. Let us look at them and see how God views what is said. The first case is from 1 Kings 3:1.

And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daugh-ter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his

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own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.

Solomon married the daughter of the king of Egypt. This marriage was in direct viola-tion of the command of God. We are told:

From a human point of view, this mar-riage, though contrary to the teachings of God’s law, seemed to prove a blessing; for Solomon’s heathen wife was converted and united with him in the worship of the true God. . . . But in forming an alliance with a heathen nation, and sealing the compact by marriage with an idolatrous princess, Solomon rashly disregarded the wise pro-vision that God had made for maintaining the purity of His people. The hope that his Egyptian wife might be converted was but a feeble excuse for the sin.

. . . Solomon had begun to lose sight of the Source of his power and glory. As incli-nation gained the ascendancy over reason,

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self-confidence increased, and he sought to carry out the Lord’s purpose in his own way. He reasoned that political and com-mercial alliances with the surrounding na-tions would bring these nations to a knowl-edge of the true God; and he entered into unholy alliance with nation after nation. Often these alliances were sealed by mar-riages with heathen princesses. The com-mands of Jehovah were set aside for the customs of surrounding peoples.

Solomon flattered himself that his wis-dom and the power of his example would lead his wives from idolatry to the worship of the true God, and also that the alliances thus formed would draw the nations round about into close touch with Israel. Vain hope! Solomon’s mistake in regarding him-self as strong enough to resist the influ-ence of heathen associates was fatal. And fatal, too, the deception that led him to hope that notwithstanding a disregard of

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God’s law on his part, others might be led to revere and obey its sacred precepts. (Ellen White, Prophets and Kings, pp. 53.2–54.1)

Clearly, Solomon’s affinity with Pharaoh was wrong and worked against him and Is-rael and not for their good.

The next case of affinity is found in 2 Chronicles 18:1:

Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance, and joined affinity with Ahab.

Jehoshaphat was the king of Judah, while Ahab was the king of Israel. This alliance be-tween the kings was sealed by the marriage of Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, to Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat.[3]

Everyone knows about the character of Jezebel, but what kind of woman was her daughter, Athaliah, Jehoram’s new wife?

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What influence did Athaliah have upon him? We read:

Jehoram was thirty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, like as did the house of Ahab: for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife: and he wrought that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD. (2 Chroni-cles 21:5, 6)

Furthermore, inspiration tells us that upon the deaths of Jehoram and of her son, Ahaziah, Athaliah resolved to take the vacant throne. She slew all Ahaziah’s children ex-cept Joash, who was hidden.[4] Certainly, she was a wicked woman, and her influence was a terrible moral blow to the nation of Judah.

Some years after coming to the throne, Jehoshaphat, now in the height of his pros-perity, consented to the marriage of his son, Jehoram, to Athaliah, daughter of

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Ahab and Jezebel. By this union there was formed between the kingdoms of Judah and Israel an alliance which was not in the order of God and which in a time of crisis brought disaster to the king and to many of his subjects. (White, Prophets and Kings, p. 192.3)

The third case of affinity is mentioned in Ezra 9:14:

Should we again break thy command-ments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?

Here Ezra is praying, and he rhetorically asks God about the dangers of making affin-ity with the people of abominations. He is try-ing to impress upon the worshippers that they must not do this, or there would be no escaping of that remnant who had returned

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from Babylon. The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary notes:

Ezra views the sin in which he found his people to have fallen as having “grown up unto the heavens” (v. 6). Their sin was tan-tamount to a complete forsaking of God’s commandments, and in this condition they “cannot stand” before God (v. 15). Ezra’s public confession on behalf of his people (see Dan. 9:5–16) is based partly on the na-ture of the sin itself, and partly on the fact that they had revealed base ingratitude in turning from God so soon after He had for-given their sins that sent them into captiv-ity and had showered favor after favor upon them as they returned to Palestine. To fall again into the same transgression was, in Ezra’s estimation, unpardonable, and the punishment must certainly be nothing less than irretrievable destruction of the nation. (The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 3, p. 382)

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Ellen White shares these insights gained from inspiration:

The sorrow of Ezra and his associates over the evils that had insidiously crept into the very heart of the Lord’s work, wrought repentance. Many of those who had sinned were deeply affected. “The peo-ple wept very sore.” Ezra 10:1. In a limited degree they began to realize the heinous-ness of sin and the horror with which God regards it. They saw the sacredness of the law spoken at Sinai, and many trembled at the thought of their transgressions.

One of those present, Shechaniah by name, acknowledged as true all the words spoken by Ezra. “We have trespassed against our God,” he confessed, “and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel con-cerning this thing.” Shechaniah proposed that all who had transgressed should make a covenant with God to forsake their sin

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and to be adjudged “according to the law.” “Arise,” he bade Ezra; “for this matter be-longeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage.” “Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they should do according to this word.” Verses 2–5.

This was the beginning of a wonderful reformation. With infinite patience and tact, and with a careful consideration for the rights and welfare of every individual concerned, Ezra and his associates strove to lead the penitent of Israel into the right way. Above all else, Ezra was a teacher of the law; and as he gave personal attention to the examination of every case, he sought to impress the people with the holi-ness of this law and the blessings to be gained through obedience. (White, Prophets and Kings, p. 622.1–622.3)

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Here, unlike in the first two cases we have examined, the people acknowledged a great mistake and repented of their sin. As difficult and sad as it must have been, they broke away from their unlawful alliances, and then God could bless them.

You might be thinking, What does this have to do with me? I am not making affinity with Ahab, Pharaoh, or the heathen? Remember, beloved, that affinity is more than a literal marriage. It is a spiritual union, also. We might not be sending our literal sons and daughters off to marry the heathen, but what about our spiritual associations? Do we obey the command to be “not unequally yoked to-gether with unbelievers” (2 Corinthians 6:14)?

Today many have a shallow view of what truth is and of what loyalty to God means. Ec-umenism is commonly condemned by us as a people, and yet there are some who are fol-lowing these very concepts. As we noted in

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the March issue of Old Paths, ecumenism is based upon the lowest common denominator of belief about God. In modern-day ecu-menism, the doctrine of the Trinity is the ba-sis for fellowship. It matters not what the rest of what one believes is, for all is well and fel-lowship is assured if they all believe in the same God. Historically, Adventists, and espe-cially historical, pioneer, original-platform Adventists, have condemned this view.

There is certainly change in the wind today, however. Within the movement that some call the truth about God or the One True God movement, there has been fracturing among the various groups, churches, and ministries. This has happened over issues, such as the proper view of sin, the nature of Christ, the final atonement, and even a rejection of the spirit of prophecy, as revealed in the life of Ellen White. In an effort to combat that frac-turing, we are seeing an ecumenical ap-

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proach by some, claiming Ephesians 4:4–6 as the foundation:[5]

There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your call-ing; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. (Ephesians 4:4–6)

The idea is promoted that there is one God and that his people are to be one body. This certainly sounds like God’s ideal, but if we simply claim to believe in one true God, is that enough? No, it is not. While Paul speaks of one body and one spirit and of one God and one Lord, he also speaks about one faith. One faith cannot be manifested by simply agreeing to the same God, as is done in the larger ecumenical movement. One faith can-not be manifested when there are divergent views on fundamental doctrines. It is true that people can disregard such points and

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continue down the ecumenical lane, but this is not the unity spoken of in the Bible.

In the book of Philippians, we find a form of the word φρονέω (phroneō) used eleven times. Phroneō means to exercise the mind or to have a sentiment or opinion. It is used in the following verses: Philippians 1:7; 2:2; 2:2; 2:5; 3:15; 3:15; 3:16; 3:19; 4:2; 4:10; 4:10. As one examines most of these verses, it is clear that the unity Paul teaches is not any kind of belief an individual wishes to accept but, in-stead, is a unity where all have the same thinking or the same mind, and that mind is based upon and patterned after the mind of Jesus Christ.

Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. (Philippians 2:2)

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 2:5)

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Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. (Philippians 3:15–16)

I beseech Euodias, and beseech Synty-che, that they be of the same mind in the Lord. (Philippians 4:2)

It is impossible to have diverse fundamental doctrines and have unity and one body. The only way unity is achieved in such a case is if someone is willing to set aside their funda-mental doctrines about which others differ. That is not God’s way.

One can have a modern-day affinity with Ahab, if they wish. God will not force one into his program, but be assured that affinity with Ahab was wrong in ancient times, and it is wrong today. There are many modern-day

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Ahabs who compromise the truth or who to-tally sell it out. This the faithful believer can never do.

You might be thinking, That is too strong, and it is wrong to accuse or even to suggest that there are Ahabs in the One True God movement. I wish it were not so, but the record is clear that a new paradigm of thought has come into the people of God, with teachings that are as displeasing to God as was the life of Ahab and his wicked family.

Certainly there is a need for better gospel order and unity among those who are preach-ing the three angels’ messages and the origi-nal platform of Adventism, but when minis-ters, ministries, churches, and/or individuals join with those who have clearly stepped off that platform, they are signaling that they, too, are either off the platform or value that platform lightly and consider harmony with Ahab to be of more value than the platform of truth. Compared to their desire for unity, the

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platform is not to be considered. This was not the position of our pioneers and is not the po-sition that the Scriptures demand. We cannot walk together, unless we are agreed. This re-ally tells the whole story, and, remember, God will not be mocked. His word will not re-turn to him void. He is a God of truth.

I hope that all want to know the one true God and want to be in harmony with his peo-ple, but his people know more than that God is one and that he is the true God. They know more than that Jesus is the literal son of God. They realize that every wind of doctrine can-not be acceptable to God and to his service. They are well aware that Jesus being the Son of God is the foundation of Christianity, but they also know that Adventism was placed upon the pillars of our faith and that to de-stroy any of those pillars brings the wrath of heaven.

I saw a company who stood well guarded and firm, giving no countenance to those

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who would unsettle the established faith of the body. God looked upon them with ap-probation. I was shown three steps—the first, second, and third angels’ messages. Said my accompanying angel, “Woe to him who shall move a block or stir a pin of these messages. The true understanding of these messages is of vital importance. The destiny of souls hangs upon the manner in which they are received.” I was again brought down through these messages, and saw how dearly the people of God had purchased their experience. It had been obtained through much suffering and se-vere conflict. God had led them along step by step, until He had placed them upon a solid, immovable platform. I saw individu-als approach the platform and examine the foundation. Some with rejoicing immedi-ately stepped upon it. Others commenced to find fault with the foundation. They wished improvements made, and then the platform would be more perfect, and the

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people much happier. Some stepped off the platform to examine it and declared it to be laid wrong. But I saw that nearly all stood firm upon the platform and exhorted those who had stepped off to cease their complaints; for God was the Master Builder, and they were fighting against Him. They recounted the wonderful work of God, which had led them to the firm platform, and in union raised their eyes to heaven and with a loud voice glorified God. This affected some of those who had com-plained and left the platform, and they with humble look again stepped upon it. (Ellen White, Early Writings, p. 258.3)

Beloved, we need to understand the issues of truth and to respond according to the way in which we will receive the approbation of God and not of man. We have to count the cost and see what we value more—the appro-bation of God and of heaven or the approba-tion of mankind.

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Are we willing to stand for truth, even if it means we are a part of the little flock and not of a larger movement? Beware of unity based solely upon the acknowledgment of the one true God but leaves out or changes funda-mental teachings, which the one true God of the Bible reveals in his word.

If you have joined affinity with the wrong side, you can repent and still honor God. The people in the time of Ezra made that hard de-cision and you can, too, if you value the favor of God more than anything, even life itself. Choose life and fellowship with the true God and his Son. John writes:

I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy chil-dren walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. (2 John 4)

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. (3 John 4)

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Already the judgments of God are abroad in the land, as seen in storms, in floods, in tempests, in earthquakes, in peril by land and by sea. The great I AM is speaking to those who make void His law. When God’s wrath is poured out upon the earth, who will then be able to stand? Now is the time for God’s people to show them-selves true to principle. When the religion of Christ is most held in contempt, when His law is most despised, then should our zeal be the warmest and our courage and firmness the most unflinching. To stand in defense of truth and righteousness when the majority forsake us, to fight the battles of the Lord when champions are few—this will be our test. At this time we must gather warmth from the coldness of oth-ers, courage from their cowardice, and loy-alty from their treason. The nation will be on the side of the great rebel leader. (Ellen White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p 136.2)

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Allen Stump[1]. In most newer translations instead of affinity,

we find the terms “made a marriage alliance,” “intermarry,” “marriage,” etc.

[2]. See Amos 3:3.[3]. See 2 Chronicles 21:6; 2 Kings 8:26.[4]. See 2 Kings 11:1, 2.[5]. For example, see https://1God1body.org.

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2019 WV Camp Meeting June 11–15—LAST CALL!The West Virginia camp meeting will be

here very soon, and we do not want you to miss this great event. The theme is “Dimen-sions of Salvation.”

In the contemplation of this great theme of salvation we see Christ’s work. Not only the promised gift of the Spirit, but also the nature and character of this sacrifice and intervention are subjects which should cre-ate in our hearts elevated, sacred, high ideas of the law of God, which holds its claims upon every human agency. The vio-lation of that law in the small act of eating of the forbidden fruit, brought upon man and upon the earth the consequence of dis-obedience to the holy law of God. The na-ture of the intervention should ever make man afraid to do the smallest action in dis-

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obedience to God’s requirement. (Ellen White, Selected Messages, bk. 1, p. 234.1)

Plenty of camping space is available at Smyrna, and we have showers and toilet fa-cilities, as well. A fellowship meal will be pro-vided on Sabbath afternoon. While open fires are not allowed in the camping area, camp stoves are permitted.

Please bring your Bible and all the temporal things you will need. We have a limited sup-ply of sleeping bags and camping supplies for those who lack them and cannot acquire them. If you need some of these things, please contact us early to reserve them.

If you would like to come early and help with camp pitch, please let us know, and we will do all we can to make your stay as nice as possible.

For those who cannot personally attend, we plan to broadcast the meetings on the Inter-net and by phone. Details on how to listen to

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the services are on page 18. A copy of the schedule is in the May issue of Old Paths, and we will be posting a copy also at the Smyrna website the week of the camp meeting (http://www.smyrna.org).

For more information please call (304) 732–9204 or email at a1844preacher@icloud.com.

Allen Stump

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Is Faith Enough?John Calvin said: It is … faith alone which

justifies, and yet the faith which justifies is not alone.

Martin Luther King, Jr. said: Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.

John Newton, author of the great song “Amazing Grace,” noted: This is faith: a re-nouncing of everything we are apt to call our own, and relying wholly upon the blood, righteousness, and intercession of Jesus.

And, of course, the apostle Paul wrote: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (He-brews 11:1).

What is this faith, this vital aspect of Chris-tian life, and is it truly all the Christian

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needs? Interestingly, the word faith is only found twice in the Old Testament.

And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, chil-dren in whom is no faith. (Deuteronomy 32:20)

Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. (Habakkuk 2:4)

In the New Testament, faith is found two hundred forty-five times in two hundred twenty-nine verses, as well as over one hun-dred similar forms and synonyms of the word.

Sometimes faith is described as believing something, but faith is not simply believing something without actually knowing it. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.

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Some think faith is what a boy from a Sun-day school said: As near as I can make out, it is feeling perfectly sure of a thing when you have nothing to back it up, but that is not a definition of faith at all! It is a definition of presumption.

Faith is based upon the word of God: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).

I may want to believe that none of the peo-ple currently running for the president of the United States will be elected. I can say I have faith that none will be elected. I certainly have nothing to back it up. This is not biblical faith.

Think of the fourth commandment. Many have tried in vain to find an excuse in the Bible for keeping Sunday holy because they want to continue in their old ways. They ex-press a firm faith that God will not punish them because they have so much love for

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him, but their condition is exactly expressed in the above definition—they feel perfectly sure of a thing, when they have nothing to back it up. They are positive that Sunday must be the Sabbath, although they have not a single scripture to support their belief. They think they have a strong faith that God will not punish them for violating his law, al-though he has plainly declared the opposite. They have no faith at all. They are simply pre-sumptuous.

The whole issue of the seal of God versus the mark of the beast will be settled by the is-sue of the Sabbath. That will be the greatest test that has ever been placed upon humanity as a group. Only biblical faith will work at that time. Presumption will fail those who are trusting in a false god that has no power to save.

Remember, there can be no biblical faith without evidence. The Christian may have the “full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:22),

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and he will have no lack of material with which to back up his belief. We believe that there is a God, and all nature declares the fact. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). Romans 1:20 declares:

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, be-ing understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and God-head; so that they are without excuse: (Ro-mans 1:20)

The only way we can have biblical faith is to find it in the Bible. For example, when the Bible assures us that the Lord will come the second time (John 14:3) and that his coming is near (Revelation 22:12, 20), we know it, and we can point to the evidence that the word of God supplies. When we are told that in order to enter into life we must keep the commandments (Matthew 19:17), we dare not presume upon God’s mercy by walking in

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a way which he has declared leads to death. One cannot have biblical faith and cannot feel secure in a matter when there is nothing bib-lical to back it up.

To the outside observer, the Christian often seems to be walking blindly by accepting things as true when there is no evidence, but this is just the way it appears to the unbe-liever. It seems this way because the skeptic looks at things from a different standpoint. A painting will often present a vastly different appearance viewed from one position than that viewed by another person standing somewhere else, and there are things con-nected with God and his truth which those of the world can never understand.

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually dis-cerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14)

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Many things, like the atonement on Cal-vary, appear perfectly reasonable to the Christian and for which a perfectly logical reason can be given which appear as foolish-ness to the skeptic.

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18)

Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preach-ing to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness. (1 Corinthians 1:20–23)

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Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Corinthians 1:25)

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually dis-cerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14)

It is as true now as it ever was. There is no guesswork about biblical Christianity. Our faith and the basis and evidence for it can be sure. Jesus said, “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself” (John 7:17).

Faith is necessary to please God:But without faith it is impossible to

please him: for he that cometh to God must believe [have faith] that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that dili-gently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

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This verse should make understanding faith and having it important. In fact, it is so im-portant that Jesus said the believer’s faith had saved them. To Mary Magdalene, Jesus said: “Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace” (Luke 7:50); and to blind Bartimaeus, Jesus said; “And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immedi-ately he received his sight, and followed Je-sus in the way” (Mark 10:52).

Paul agrees that faith is the medium, or the vehicle, through which salvation comes:

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8, 9)

Ellen White fully agrees:

It is the grace of Christ alone, through faith, that can make us holy. (Ellen White, Steps to Christ, p. 59.4)

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It is through faith we become the sons of God:

For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26)

The Bible speaks about the armor used by the Christian in his battle against evil and says that the believer is to, above all, take the shield of faith:

Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. (Ephesians 6:16)

We are instructed that faith is an essential aspect of prayer:

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the

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sea driven with the wind and tossed. (James 1:6)

Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. (James 5:14, 15)

According to Hebrews 11, it is through faith that great works were accomplished. After listing the working of faith in several individ-uals, Paul notes that others:

. . . through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. (Hebrews 11:33, 34)

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Hebrews 12:2 states Jesus is “the author and finisher of our faith.” All faith begins and ends with Jesus, and faith is so strong and great that Jesus tells us that we only need a small amount to accomplish great things:

And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. (Matthew 17:20)

A. T. Jones, who had a plain, straightfor-ward way of explaining things, explained the biblical definition of faith in a short Review article, when he was the editor of the paper:

In order to be able to know what the Scripture means when urging upon us the necessity of cultivating faith, it is essential to know, first of all, what is faith.

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Plainly, it must be to little purpose to urge upon a person the necessity of culti-vating faith, while that person has no intel-ligent idea of what faith is. And it is sadly true that, though the Lord has made this perfectly plain in the Scriptures, there are many church-members who do not know what faith is. They may even know what the definition of faith is; but they do not know what the thing is; they do not grasp the idea that is in the definition.

For that reason, the definition will not be touched now; but, rather, there will be cited and studied as illustration of faith,—an instance which makes it stand out so plainly that all can see the very thing itself.

Faith comes “by the word of God;” to the Word, then, we must look for it.

One day a centurion came to Jesus, and said to him: “Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tor-mented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will

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come and heal him. The centurion an-swered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof; but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.... When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” Matthew 8:6–10.

There is what Jesus pronounces faith. When we find what that is, we have found faith. To know what that is, is to know what faith is. There can be no sort of doubt about this; for Christ is “the Author... of faith,” and he says that that which the cen-turion manifested was “faith;” yes, even “great faith.”

Where, then, in this is the faith?—The centurion wanted a certain thing done. He wanted the Lord to do it. But when the Lord said, “I will come” and do it, the cen-

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turion checked him, saying, “Speak the word only,” and it shall be done.

Now, what did the centurion expect would do the work?—“The word ONLY.” Upon what did he depend for the healing of his servant?—Upon “the word ONLY.”

And the Lord Jesus says that that is faith. (A. T. Jones, The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, December 6, 1898, p. 782.2–782.10)

Faith is simply taking God, who does not lie, at his word and depending upon that word to do the very thing it declares it will do, and if this is not great enough, the Bible says that God has given to each of us a mea-sure of faith (Romans 12:3).

Jesus used nature to teach a lesson on faith and to gently admonish those of little faith:

And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they

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grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? (Matthew 6:28–30)

It is through faith in the Son of God that we have victory over sin:

For whatsoever is born of God over-cometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:4, 5)

The Greek word for faith is πίστις (pistis), which is the noun form of the Greek word πιστεύω (pisteuō). To believe means to have faith, and one who has faith believes. So when we read: “For God so loved the world,

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that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not per-ish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16), we could say that whosoever has faith in Jesus should not perish!

Preaching must be mixed with faith (He-brews 4:2), and because of unbelief, or lack of faith, Israel could not enter into God’s rest (Hebrews 4:6).

Do you begin to see how so much, in reality, of all the Christian experience is centered around faith? Second Corinthians 5:7 says: “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” The Eng-lish word sight is translated from εἶδος (ei-dos), and it means what is visible.

Concerning our universe, astrophysicists have gathered enough data to have a grasp upon the mass of galaxies. Here is part of what we know: There is not enough gravity or gravitational force to keep the galaxies, like the Milky Way, in place. They should spin

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out, but there is a gravitational force holding these items together, of which we can only account for small fraction. This is the gravita-tional force of the universe, based upon the mass scientists can see. Scientists say that there must be gravity coming from a source we cannot see. So, now we come to dark mat-ter. Dark matter is said to comprises 85% of the known mass of the universe. It is theo-rized that is made of some kind of subatomic particles that do NOT interact with anything we know today. It does not appear to interact with observable electromagnetic radiation, such as light, and is, thus, invisible to the en-tire electromagnetic spectrum, making it ex-tremely difficult to detect, using usual astro-nomical equipment. The only way we know it is there is by its gravity. It is also theorized that dark matter does not interact with itself.

This might seem hard to believe. Have you ever heard of neutrinos? There are fifty bil-lion neutrinos passing through your body ev-

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ery second! Neutrinos are subatomic parti-cles. They have near zero (but not zero) mass, allowing them to travel at nearly the speed of light. With no inherent charge on them, they are basically neutral particles, zip-ping through space and racing with photons.

But why must they pass through you? Or anyone else? Photons hit solid objects and come to a halt. What makes neutrinos un-stoppable? The answer lies in understand-ing the fundamental forces of the universe. There are four of them – Gravity, Electro-magnetism, the Strong Nuclear Force and Weak Nuclear Force. Neutrinos are invisi-ble to the first three forces, and are only affected by weak sub-atomic forces. Since they don’t interact via any of these other forces, it allows them to pass through other objects (like the world around us) unscathed. A large number of neutrinos pass through everything on the planet and still travel unhindered because of this

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property. (https://www.yaabot.com/12005/50-billion-neutrinos-pass-through-your-body-every-second/)

What if this gravity is not caused by an un-seen mass?

The apostle exalted Christ before his brethren as the One by whom God had cre-ated all things and by whom He had wrought out their redemption. He declared that the hand that sustains the worlds in space, and holds in their orderly ar-rangements and tireless activity all things throughout the universe of God, is the hand that was nailed to the cross for them. (Ellen White, The Acts of the Apos-tles, p. 471.3)

Do you have faith to believe that? I do. Now, God may use dark matter but however it happens, it happens because of him.

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We have seen that faith is great and neces-sary for the Christian, but as great as faith is, is faith enough?

Is faith enough?Peter speaks of a progressive ladder of

Christian growth in his second epistle:

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceed-ing great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temper-ance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and

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to brotherly kindness charity. (2 Peter 1:3–7)

Peter says to add to our faith virtue, and then he also lists knowledge, temperance, pa-tience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and fi-nally charity. If faith were all we needed, why should other components be listed? The Greek word translated add is from ἐπιχορηγέω (epichorēgeō), which means to add or supplement. Notice that the last thing to be added, or supplemented, is charity, or agape love.

Paul says that it is love which allows faith to work. “For in Jesus Christ neither circum-cision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love” (Galatians 5:6). True faith works by love.

Faith and works go hand in hand; they act harmoniously in the work of overcom-ing. Works without faith are dead, and faith without works is dead. Works will

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never save us; it is the merit of Christ that will avail in our behalf. Through faith in Him, Christ will make all our imperfect ef-forts acceptable to God. The faith we are required to have is not a do-nothing faith; saving faith is that which works by love and purifies the soul. (Ellen White, Faith and Works, p. 48.3)

We are told that some people will not be saved, not because they did not know and un-derstand the truth but because they did not love the truth!

And with all deceivableness of unrigh-teousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. (2 Thessalonians 2:10)

We must not only believe the truth, but we must love the truth and the author of the truth! James noted:

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Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. (James 2:19)

Remember that to believe means to have faith. James says we may have faith that there is one God, but the devil also believes this and trembles because he does not love the truth.

A general faith is entertained by many, and their assent is given that Christianity is the only hope for perishing souls. But to believe this intellectually is not sufficient to the saving of the soul. James tells us in his epistle that the devils believe and trem-ble, but this is not a saving faith that will justify them. There are thousands who be-lieve in the gospel and in Jesus Christ as the world’s Redeemer, but they are not saved by that faith. This is only an assent of their judgment to that which is a fact, but it does not transform the character. They do not repent and have that faith that

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lays hold upon Christ as their sin-pardon-ing Saviour; their belief is not unto repen-tance. There must be a faith that accom-plishes its work for the receiver, a faith in the atoning sacrifice, a faith that works by love and purifies the soul.

There will be need not only of faith but of a trust in God. This is the true faith of Abraham, a faith which produced fruits. “Abraham believed God, and it was im-puted unto him for righteousness.” James 2:23. When God told him to offer his son as a sacrifice it was the same voice that had spoken telling him to leave his country and go into a land which God would show him. Abraham was saved by faith in Christ as verily as the sinner is saved by faith in Christ today.

The faith that justifies always produces first true repentance, and then good works, which are the fruit of that faith. There is no saving faith that does not pro-

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duce good fruit. God gave Christ to our world to become the sinner’s substitute. The moment true faith in the merits of the costly atoning sacrifice is exercised, claim-ing Christ as a personal Saviour, that mo-ment the sinner is justified before God, be-cause he is pardoned.—Manuscript 46, 1891. (“Justified by Faith,” January 6, 1891.) (Ellen White, Manuscript Releases, vol. 8, pp. 356.1–357.1)

Ellen White further helps to explain how this all comes together:

When we speak of faith, there is a dis-tinction that should be borne in mind. There is a kind of belief that is wholly dis-tinct from faith. The existence and power of God, the truth of His word, are facts that even Satan and his hosts cannot at heart deny. The Bible says that “the devils also believe, and tremble;” but this is not faith. James 2:19. Where there is not only a belief in God’s word, but a submission of

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the will to Him; where the heart is yielded to Him, the affections fixed upon Him, there is faith—faith that works by love and purifies the soul. (Ellen White, Steps to Christ, p. 63.2)

Dwight Moody said that faith makes all things possible…Love makes all things easy.

Of course, James tells us that faith which is without works is dead. (See James 2:14–20, 22.)

In Luke 17:12–19 is the story of ten lepers who were healed by Jesus:

And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed,

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turned back, and with a loud voice glori-fied God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that re-turned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole. (Luke 17:12–19)

Did all ten lepers believe Jesus? At least some? Notice the insight that inspiration sheds upon this story:

These lepers were so corrupted by dis-ease that they had been restricted from so-ciety lest they should contaminate others. Their limits had been prescribed by the au-thorities. Jesus comes within their sight, and in their great suffering they cry unto Him who alone has power to relieve them. Jesus bids them show themselves to the priests. They have faith to start on their

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way, believing in the power of Christ to heal them. As they go on their way they re-alize that the horrible disease has left them. But only one has feelings of grati-tude, only one feels his deep indebtedness to Christ for this great work wrought for him. This one returns praising God, and in the greatest humiliation falls at the feet of Christ, acknowledging with thankfulness the work wrought for him. And this man was a stranger; the other nine were Jews. (Ellen White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 179.2)

For the sake of this one man, who would make a right use of the blessing of health, Jesus healed the whole ten. The nine passed on without appreciating the work done, and rendered no grateful thanks to Jesus for doing the work. (Ibid., p. 180.1)

Inspiration noted that they all had “faith to start on their way, believing in the power of Christ to heal them,” but only one had “feel-

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ings of gratitude, only one feels his deep in-debtedness.” Only one loved Jesus and what he had done. His faith worked by love and prompted him to return to thank Jesus and to give him worship. Ellen White also reveals the lack that the nine lepers had:

The nine lepers were healed of their lep-rosy and were not exercised thereby to be-lieve in Christ as the only begotten Son of God. Therefore their healing was not of the soul, as well as of the body. The sins of the soul were still defiling the men. In this we have our lesson. The healing of disease is no evidence that the sins of the soul are healed. The one man healed in body and soul manifested fruit in giving glory to God.

Faith in Jesus Christ as the Sin Pardoner will take away his sin and restore the sin-sick soul. He is cleansed; he is pardoned. We need now in our teaching to educate the darkened minds, that all may come to

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Christ and be healed of physical and spiri-tual disease. (Ellen White, Ms63–1896.29, 30)

So, while the nine lepers believed in the power of Jesus to heal them, they did not have a saving faith which works by love. They did not believe in Jesus as the only begotten Son of God who wanted to be their saviour.

So, is faith enough? The answer is yes and no. No, because faith is not the whole of the Christian experience but yes because it is enough for our salvation, if we properly un-derstand biblical faith.

We are told that the people of these countries will be pleased with our dis-courses if we dwell on the love of Jesus. Of this they never tire, but we are in danger of losing our congregations if we dwell on the sterner questions of duty and the law of God. There is a spurious experience pre-vailing everywhere. Many are continually

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saying, “All that we have to do is to believe in Christ.” They claim that faith is all we need. In its fullest sense, this is true; but they do not take it in the fullest sense. To believe in Jesus is to take him as our re-deemer and our pattern. If we abide in him and he abides in us, we are partakers of his divine nature, and are doers of his word. The love of Jesus in the heart will lead to obedience to all his command-ments. But the love that goes no farther than the lips, is a delusion; it will not save any soul. Many reject the truths of the Bible, while they profess great love for Je-sus; but the apostle John declares, “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” While Jesus has done all in the way of merit, we ourselves have something to do in the way of complying with the con-ditions. “If ye love me,” said our Saviour, “keep my commandments.” (Ellen White, Historical Sketches, p. 188.5)

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Allen Stump

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Waggoner on“Is Faith Enough?”

But some one will say, “Faith is good, and necessary, but it is not enough.” If that be true, then Paul kept back something that was profitable to the jailer, and this we cannot ad-mit. “But isn’t there some work that must be done? Are we not to obey the commandments of God”-Most certainly; the same apostle de-clares that we should “be careful to maintain good works” (Titus 3:8), and the works that God requires are works of obedience to His law; yet we still affirm that faith is all-suffi-cient for salvation. How is this? Let the Saviour’s own words answer.

On one occasion the Jews said unto Jesus, “What shall we do that we might work the works of God?” Just the thing that we want to know. Mark the reply: “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” John 6:28, 29. Would that these words

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might be written in letters of gold and kept continually before the eyes of every strug-gling Christian. The seeming paradox is cleared up. Works are necessary, yet faith is all-sufficient, because faith does the work. Faith comprehends everything and without faith there is nothing.

The trouble is that people in general have a faulty conception of faith. They imagine that it is mere assent and that it is only a passive thing to which active works must be added. But faith is active and it is not only the most substantial thing but the only real foundation. The law is the righteousness of God (Isaiah 51:6, 7), for which we are commanded to seek (Matthew 6:33), but it cannot be kept except by faith, for the only righteousness which will stand in the Judgment is “that which is through the faith of Christ, the right-eousness which is of God by faith.” Philippi-ans 3:9. (E. J. Waggoner, The Present Truth UK, July 31, 1890, p. 248.4–6)

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Tasty RecipeMacaroni and Cheese

Boil, after first peeling and chopping: 2 yellow or red potatoes for 2 minutes, add 1 small carrot and continue to boil for 5 min-utes, then add 1 medium onion and boil 7 more minutes. Drain and save the liquid.

In blender, combine: One 4-ounce jar pi-mentos with liquid; 1 cup cashews; juice of one lemon or of two lemons, if they are small; 1 rounded tablespoon onion powder; 1 table-spoon salt, 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of chicken-like seasoning. (Note: Michael uses Arlene’s Chicken Seasoning. This recipe will be published next month.) Then add the veg-etables and 1½ cups of vegetable water and blend well.

Cook: 1 pound of macaroni pasta, adding any vegetable water that remains. Once the

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macaroni is cooked, place it in a serving dish, and stir in the blended mixture.

Thanks to Michael Brown for this recipe!

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Are Works Enough?In our preceding study we asked, “Is Faith

Enough?” This was an interesting question that needed some explaining. Scripture teaches that we saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). We also become the children of God by faith (Galatians 3:26), and it is the prayer of faith that saves the sick (James 5:14, 15).

We also learned that Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), and that faith is so strong that just a small amount can move mountains (Matthew 17:20). In addi-tion, God has given to every man a measure of faith (Romans 12:3), and faith works by love and purifies the soul.

The Bible is very clear that we are not saved by our works. Paul wrote:

Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for

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by the law is the knowledge of sin. (Ro-mans 3:20)

For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abra-ham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteous-ness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works. (Romans 4:2–6)

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Je-sus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. (Galatians 2:16)

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Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. (Galatians 5:4)

So, should we be concerned about works? Works are certainly not an identical twin to faith, but are works perhaps an evil twin or a fraternal twin? Can works be something com-plementary to faith or do they stand in con-tradistinction to faith?

The goodLet us begin our study by examining some

verses that speak positively of works and of obedience. We need to know if works are im-portant and if obedience is necessary.

One day a man came to Jesus and asked him:

Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? (Matthew 19:16)

Carefully consider Christ’s reply:

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And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. (Matthew 19:17)

Jesus told this man if he wanted to have eternal life to keep the commandments. Jesus also said that a person is known by the fruits, or works, of his or her life. “Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16).

Jesus was emphatic in the Sermon on the Mount when he spoke of the perpetuity of the law:

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to de-stroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. (Matthew 5:17, 18)

Jesus said nothing was to pass from his law. Under inspiration, James calls God’s law the royal law and the law of liberty:

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If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well. (James 2:8)

But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. (James 1:25)

Proverbs 29:18 says: “Where there is no vi-sion, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Paul declared that: “the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good” (Ro-mans 7:12), and David said:

My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness. (Psalm 119:172)

God’s commandments are the one standard of righteousness. Paul writes:

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But now the righteousness of God with-out the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference. (Ro-mans 3:21, 22)

Peter stated in Acts 5:32 that God gives the Holy Spirit to those who obey him. There are several beatitudes in the book of Revelation which are linked to obedience:

Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. (Revelation 22:7)

Blessed are they that do his command-ments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. (Revelation 22:14)

And, finally, the judgment of our souls will be determined by our works:

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Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his command-ments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judg-ment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. (Ecclesias-tics 12:13, 14)

The Jews wanted good works.Notice carefully the question the Jewish

leaders asked Jesus. They wanted to know what works (plural) they could do:

Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? (John 6:28)

The Jews were interested in working not just a singular work but works, plural, that they might do the works of God. Jesus told them:

Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work [singular] of God, that ye be-

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lieve on [have faith in] him whom he hath sent. (John 6:29)

God wants his people to have a good work, and that work is to have faith in Jesus Christ.

When one contrasts the lists in Galatians 5, one notices that Paul speaks of the fruit (sin-gular) of the Spirit versus the works (plural) of the flesh. (See Galatians 5:19–22.)

How does the Christian live?Recently, I was traveling and saw an airport

for gliders. These gliders use a regular air-craft to tow them high into the sky, and then the cable connecting the glider is discon-nected from the helper plane. The glider is then expected to fly, without the help of the tow plane.

We have seen that we must start with Jesus, but is there a point after Christ has started us on our Christian journey that he can discon-

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nect the spiritual cable he used to save us with when we began?

No, absolutely not! We are to believe in Je-sus at the beginning and all the way through. As Paul noted:

As ye have therefore received Christ Je-sus the Lord, so walk ye in him. (Colos-sians 2:6)

We are justified by God’s grace:

Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:24)

We receive the Spirit by faith and not by works:

This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? (Galatians 3:2)

We receive Jesus by faith into our lives at the beginning of our experience, and in the

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same way we received him, we are to also walk with him, by grace through faith!

A parallel text of cause and effect is Ro-mans 2:13:

For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. (Romans 2:13)

Is this text a contradiction to what we have seen elsewhere? No, not at all. A careful reading of the text does not say how the per-son is justified but, rather, that the person will be a doer of the law. In other words, we do not have the how, but the who! A person is not saved by good works, but all who truly are justified will become keepers of the law, not for a means of salvation but, rather, as a byproduct of salvation.

You see, beloved, we receive grace through faith for justification and grace through faith also for obedience.

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By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name. (Romans 1:5)

To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. (Acts 26:18)

It is by grace alone that we can obey God’s law, and, thus, our sanctification is by grace through faith.

The faith that justifies always produces first true repentance, and then good works, which are the fruit of that faith. There is no saving faith that does not pro-duce good fruit. God gave Christ to our world to become the sinner’s substitute. The moment true faith in the merits of the costly atoning sacrifice is exercised, claim-

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ing Christ as a personal Saviour, that mo-ment the sinner is justified before God, be-cause he is pardoned.—Manuscript 46, 1891. (“Justified by Faith,” January 6, 1891.) (Ellen White, Manuscript Releases, vol. 8, p. 357.1)

Beloved, there is no evidence of genuine re-pentance unless it works reformation. Re-member what Calvin said:

It is … faith alone which justifies, and yet the faith which justifies is not alone. (John Calvin (The Principles of Theology, p. 61))

Faith establishes the law of God.It is actually the believer’s faith which es-

tablishes the law of God in his or her life:

Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law. (Romans 3:31)

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Our faith does not banish the law of God but, rather, enables us to obey it.

God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? (Romans 6:2)

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his command-ments are not grievous. (1 John 5:3)

The unconverted person cannot obey the law of God. The Scripture of truth states:

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. (Romans 8:7)

The carnal, fleshly, or worldly mind is at war with God and not subject, nor can be subject, to the will of God. Only those who have fallen upon the Rock, Jesus Christ, can be subject to the law of God.

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The first step in reconciliation to God is the conviction of sin.

Being convicted of sin is the first step in reconciliation to God.

The first step in reconciliation to God is the conviction of sin. “Sin is the transgres-sion of the law.” “By the law is the knowl-edge of sin.” 1 John 3:4; Romans 3:20. In order to see his guilt, the sinner must test his character by God’s great standard of righteousness. It is a mirror which shows the perfection of a righteous character and enables him to discern the defects in his own.

The law reveals to man his sins, but it provides no remedy. While it promises life to the obedient, it declares that death is the portion of the transgressor. The gospel of Christ alone can free him from the con-demnation or the defilement of sin. He must exercise repentance toward God,

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whose law has been transgressed; and faith in Christ, his atoning sacrifice. [Acts 20:21] Thus he obtains “remission of sins that are past” and becomes a partaker of the divine nature. He is a child of God, having received the spirit of adoption, whereby he cries: “Abba, Father!” (Ellen White, The Great Controversy, p. 467.3, 4)

Sanctification is a biblical doctrine.Sanctification is a biblical doctrine, and it is

clearly taught in the Bible: “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification” (1 Thes-salonians 4:3).

Furthermore, sanctification is an entirely holistic approach to the individual:

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

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We usually do not think of the soul as some-thing different from the body plus spirit, but Paul seems to be searching for words to ex-press the depths to which God wishes to re-store the sinner. How does God do this? Jesus prayed:

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. (John 17:17)

It is through the word of God and the work of the Spirit that we are sanctified:

That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sancti-fied by the Holy Ghost. (Romans 15:16)

The work of the Spirit is plainly spelled out in John 16:13:

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatso-

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ever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

Since the law is a transcript of God’s char-acter, as we live in obedience to that law, we form characters in harmony with his law. We are told:

Never forget that thoughts work out ac-tions. Repeated actions form habits, and habits form character. Then in giving at-tention to the little things, there is no fear that the larger things will become stained and corrupted. (Ellen White, The Upward Look, p. 89.5)

Remember, according to Colossians 2:6, we walk just as we received Jesus Christ—by faith. But what is it like to walk with Jesus?

If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. (John 15:10)

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The life of Jesus was one of trust and obedi-ence to his Father’s commandments and with this walk, he had the abiding presence of his Father:

And he that sent me is with me: the Fa-ther hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him. (John 8:29)

Ellen White has added:

The followers of Christ are to become like Him—by the grace of God to form characters in harmony with the principles of His holy law. This is Bible sanctification. (White, The Great Controversy, p. 469.2)

For God to accomplish his work in us, we must cooperate with him. He will not force his way upon us:

Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have al-ways obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trem-

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bling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12, 13)

The point on which we must cooperate with God is the surrendering of our will to his, so that he can do his good work in us. Yes, we are in a battle, a warfare from which we can never quit, and that war is one of surrender. It is seemingly a paradox. As long as we are surrendered to God, we win and as long as we do not surrender our will to God, we are on losing ground.

The Christian will feel the promptings of sin, but he will maintain a constant war-fare against it. Here is where Christ’s help is needed. Human weakness becomes united to divine strength, and faith ex-claims: “Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57. (White, The Great Controversy, p. 469.3)

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Faith and works are two oars which we must use equally if we [would] press our way up the stream against the current of unbelief. (Ellen White, The Faith I Live By, p. 115.6)

Sanctification a progressive workWhile we cannot be saved by our works, we

cannot be sanctified without obedience to God’s law, for “repeated actions form habits, and habits form character” (White, The Up-ward Look, p. 89.5). Paul stated his simple formula, when he wrote “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31). Sanctification is a day-by-day process, and we are to die to self and to surrender our lives to Christ each day. We lay our plans and goals at his feet and ex-change them for whatever his well for us is.

Paul says we are to go forward to perfec-tion: “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfec-tion” (Hebrews 6:1).

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Paul encouraged the Philippians with the words that he was pressing forward:

Brethren, I count not myself to have ap-prehended: but this one thing I do, forget-ting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13, 14)

Dear reader, you have honestly evaluated yourself and know you have not gained Chris-tian perfection yet. While this is true, you are to progress along the way and as you progress, there will be a sense of your noth-ingness and a full dependence upon Jesus. Like Job, we will abhor ourselves and repent in dust and ashes (Job 42:6). Like Isaiah, as we see the holiness of God, we will say:

Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for

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mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. (Isaiah 6:5)

Like Job, there will be no boast of sinless-ness, “If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse” (Job 9:20). Such a person will never be boastful, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Gala-tians 6:14).

None of the apostles and prophets ever claimed to be without sin. Men who have lived the nearest to God, men who would sacrifice life itself rather than knowingly commit a wrong act, men whom God has honored with divine light and power, have confessed the sinfulness of their nature. They have put no confidence in the flesh, have claimed no righteousness of their own, but have trusted wholly in the right-eousness of Christ. (Ellen White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 561.1)

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And the claim to be without sin is, in it-self, evidence that he who makes this claim is far from holy. It is because he has no true conception of the infinite purity and holiness of God or of what they must become who shall be in harmony with His character; because he has no true concep-tion of the purity and exalted loveliness of Jesus, and the malignity and evil of sin, that man can regard himself as holy. The greater the distance between himself and Christ, and the more inadequate his con-ceptions of the divine character and re-quirements, the more righteous he ap-pears in his own eyes. (White, The Great Controversy, p. 473.1)

Sanctification is an entire work.As we noted from 1 Thessalonians 5:23, the

dimensions of salvation are broad and wide. God wants all the aspects of the person to be sanctified and preserved blameless. God

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wants the spirit and body to be ready for the coming of Jesus.

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 7:1)

Notice that we are to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit!

Peter directly links the fleshly lusts as something that wars against our souls:

Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul. (1 Peter 2:11)

Paul writes to the Corinthians about our bodies being the temple of the Holy Spirit and how we are to glorify God in both our body and spirit:

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What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20)

This is an essential work, for we are told that nothing which defiles will enter into the New Jerusalem:

And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (Revelation 21:27)

But the question may arise about how we can we know who is defiled by sin and who is not. Certainly an all-knowing God knows who is righteously living by grace through faith and motivated by love, but how can the rest of creation know who really has true faith?

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They can know by how their faith has changed their lives. James noted:

Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the har-lot justified by works, when she had re-ceived the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (James 2:21–26)

James uses the examples of Abraham and Rahab, but in what way were they justified? Was this justification one of salvation? No, it was not. The whole of scripture is clear that

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works cannot save anyone, and any who will at last be saved will be saved by grace through faith. So, what does James mean? While Paul writes about one’s justification be-fore God, James writes about one’s justifica-tion before the watching universe. Abraham was to be called the father of the faithful, but he was not always faithful at first. Inspiration records some serious faults in Abraham. but God knew that Abraham had been changed by grace through faith. God could read Abra-ham’s heart well, but the watching universe, which cannot read the heart, must not be left to wonder about God’s wisdom or justice. No, not at all. God allowed Abraham to be se-verely tested in a way that could be seen, so all could clearly see his faith.

God had called Abraham to be the father of the faithful, and his life was to stand as an example of faith to succeeding genera-tions. But his faith had not been perfect. He had shown distrust of God in conceal-

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ing the fact that Sarah was his wife, and again in his marriage with Hagar. That he might reach the highest standard, God subjected him to another test, the closest which man was ever called to endure. In a vision of the night he was directed to re-pair to the land of Moriah, and there offer up his son as a burnt offering upon a mountain that should be shown him. (Ellen White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 147.2)

Thus, Abraham would be justified before the gazing creation.

James also mentions Rahab, who had been a harlot, but her life demonstrated a dynamic change. She became married and had a son who became part of the family line of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5)!

ConclusionJesus told each of the seven churches that

he knew their works (Revelation 2:2, 9, 13, 19; 3:1, 8, 15). Jesus knows our works, but he

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also knows our motives. Jesus knows if our works spring from proud hearts that are striving to earn salvation.

The proud heart strives to earn salva-tion; but both our title to heaven and our fitness for it are found in the righteousness of Christ. The Lord can do nothing toward the recovery of man until, convinced of his own weakness, and stripped of all self-suf-ficiency, he yields himself to the control of God. Then he can receive the gift that God is waiting to bestow. From the soul that feels his need, nothing is withheld. He has unrestricted access to Him in whom all fullness dwells. “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Isaiah 57:15. (Ellen White, The Desire of Ages, p. 300.1)

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Jesus knows if our works are motivated from fearful hearts that believe we must earn their way to heaven, but Jesus also knows if our works are works of love and service be-cause we are saved by grace through faith, and we want to serve him.

We do not earn salvation by our obedi-ence; for salvation is the free gift of God, to be received by faith. But obedience is the fruit of faith. (Ellen White, Steps to Christ, p. 61.1)

Beloved, God does not want you to live like orphans, but as children of his family who are obedient children of faith. He wants us “filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19).

Through the merits of Christ, we have ac-cess to the throne of infinite power. All heaven has been emptied. “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things” (Romans 8:32)? The Father

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gave his Spirit without measure to his Son, and we also may partake of its fullness. Jesus says:

If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. (John 14:14)

Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. (John 16:24)

What a privilege we have to be sons and daughters of God, asking for his richest mer-cies and blessings and knowing that because of the spotless righteousness of Christ we can stand tall in an evil world.

While the Christian’s life will be charac-terized by humility, it should not be marked with sadness and self-deprecia-tion. It is the privilege of everyone so to live that God will approve and bless him. It is not the will of our heavenly Father that we should be ever under condemnation and darkness. There is no evidence of true

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humility in going with the head bowed down and the heart filled with thoughts of self. We may go to Jesus and be cleansed, and stand before the law without shame and remorse. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but af-ter the Spirit.” Romans 8:1. (White, The Great Controversy, p. 477.2)

Through Jesus we can become one with God. Our lives as Christians should be lives of joy unspeakable and full of glory. As we be-hold the love and glory of God, we will be-come changed into his image. (See Psalm 1:1–3.)

While humanity is to be saved by grace through faith, we are to cooperate with the work of God in our character development. Works are not enough! It is … faith alone which justifies, and yet the faith which justi-fies is not alone (John Calvin). By God’s grace

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we are to form characters in harmony with the principles of his holy law.

It is only as the law of God is restored to its rightful position that there can be a re-vival of primitive faith and godliness among His professed people. “Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.” Jeremiah 6:16. (White, The Great Controversy, p. 478.3)

Allen Stump

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BroadcastServices Available

We wish to inform our new readers and to remind our old readers that we broadcast our main services each week, and we invite you to attend. Wednesday night prayer meeting is at 7:00, and the Sabbath morning services begin with song service at 9:15. A youth/adult Sabbath School class follows at 9:35, and the Sabbath worship service begins at 11:00. On Monday evenings we also offer a story hour at 7:00 (audio only). All times are either east-ern standard time or eastern daylight time. Current books being read at the story hour are When God Provides by Adriel D. Chilson and Ellen G. White: The Early Years by Arthur L. White.

All of these services can be accessed over the phone by dialing our new number of 1–646–553–5754 and entering the access code 780953#. For those who have Internet ac-

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cess, you may view and listen to all the ser-vices, along with any slide presentations at https://samba.live/live/smyrna/go. Log in us-ing any user name you wish, and you may see and hear the services, as well as use the chat board for prayer requests and comments.

You can listen to our services on your phone,

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or on a computer,

or on a mobile device.

Also, access by a mobile device, such as a tablet or a smartphone, is available by using the Samba Live app from the Google play store or from the Apple app store.

Editors

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Exercise Wins AgainSkeletal muscle is the largest organ of the

human body by mass. Usually we think of the skin as the largest organ of the body, but it only comprises approximately 10% of the body’s mass; whereas, skeletal muscle com-prises over 40% of the mass of non-obese people.

Skeletal muscles are muscles that we can control, from purposely blinking our eyes to moving the toes. Smooth muscles, on the other hand, contract without our conscious effort, such as when the stomach contracts to move food along the digestive tract. Cardiac muscles also contract involuntarily, but skele-tal muscles only contract when we tell them to do so.

The strength of skeletal muscles diminishes with age, due to reduction in both the num-ber of and the size of muscle fibers. This, in

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turn, affects mobility, physical function, and the degree to which we can participate in ac-tivities of daily living. The decline in these macro activities is the result of changes on the micro level. Older people tend to have less efficient metabolic pathways, for exam-ple, as well as altered muscle-maintenance systems and poorly functioning muscle stem cells. Muscle stem cells are responsible for regenerating skeletal muscle after injury, but they do not work as efficiently when we are older.

But there is hope!

Abundant evidence supports the facts that exercise is effective in preventing, in delay-ing, and even in reversing the negative effect late age has on muscle tissue and muscle function. The anti-aging benefits of physical activity include the prevention of muscle wasting and a reduction in the risk of devel-oping cardiovascular disease and hyperten-sion, but how does exercise accomplish this?

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We learned a few months ago about the positive effect irisin has on cognition and how irisin is increased by exercise,[1] but another substance to consider is klotho, another newly discovered hormone. Klotho has an ef-fect not only on physical function, but on mental function, as well. All human beings normally produce klotho, but its production can be increased by exercise. It is a powerful protein that has been linked to the preven-tions of muscle atrophy, of osteopenia (the precursor to osteoporosis), and of cardiovas-cular disease. We are still learning about klotho, but we know a few things.

For example, consider Alzheimer’s disease. One of the biggest risk factors in acquiring this disease is a genetic variant called APOE e4. Inheriting two copies of this gene can in-crease the risk of developing the disease more than eightfold.

Dr. Dena Dubal studies both klotho and Alzheimer’s disease in her laboratory at the

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University of California, San Francisco. She has found that some people produce extra amounts of klotho, and she has also found that many people with APOE e4 are well on their way to developing Alzheimer’s disease before they realize it because indicators are present that protein clumps are already be-ing formed in their brains. Of the people in her studies with APOE e4 and with extra klotho, however, no indicators for Alzheimer’s disease were present!

Klotho is mainly produced in the kidneys, but it is also produced in the pituitary gland, in the brain, and in skeletal muscles. When extra klotho is in the body, the brain operates as a younger brain—faster and sharper. Klotho also facilitates energy metabolism and skeletal muscle regeneration. Skeletal muscle regeneration normally slows as we age, demonstrated by slower healing from injury.

The good news is you can increase the amount of klotho circulating in your body by

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exercise, but klotho is different from irisin. Irisin is released by any intense exercise event but for klotho levels to increase, you must first be in state of physical fitness. A training period of twelve to sixteen weeks for sedentary people is necessary in order to see a noticeable increase in plasma klotho follow-ing an exercise event. In other words, if you engage in a challenging physical training pro-gram lasting twelve to sixteen weeks, you will see a significant increase in plasma klotho each time you thereafter engage in regular, challenging exercise. Exercise is a potent stimulus to increasing plasma levels of klotho after one has become fit, so those who are sedentary need to begin and then stick with a training schedule of three to four months (af-ter being medically cleared by your health provider) and then continue to maintain a regular, intense exercise program in order to increase the klotho circulating in your body.

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And what are the expected benefits of in-creased levels of circulating klotho? They in-clude better cognitive skills and less forget-fulness; increased energy metabolism; better regeneration of skeletal muscle; enhanced tissue healing; and, of course, stronger mus-cles. It has been found that those over the age of 65 will have proportionally more strength in their hands and legs the higher the klotho concentration is in their blood, and for those who are young, remember that high klotho levels also reduce the possibility of de-veloping cardiovascular disease. For young and old alike, relatively high levels of plasma klotho should help you function better, think sharper, and live longer.

Onycha Holt[1]. See the article, “The Brain and Dementia,”

pp. 11–16, in the March issue of Old Paths.

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Youth’s Corner — Winning an Outlawed

Cannibal(The following is Chapter 19 of Cannibals

and Head-Hunters of the South Seas by Charles H. Watson, published in 1926 by the Review and Herald Publishing Association.)

Far away to the north of Malekula is the large island of Espiritu Santo. In the northern coast of this island there is a large indenta-tion known as Big Bay. On the shores of this bay, Mr. Ross James and his wife established a mission about six years ago. Through years of dangerous and very trying service, these noble workers have won their way to success, baptizing after three years their first group of converts, and at the same time establishing their first out- station, to which they sent their first native teacher.

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However, before this time the interest of the missionary had been awakened in a pow-erful tribe that lived on the opposite side of Big Bay. They were reported to him as being a people of unusual intelligence, who were led by a chief whose power and skill as a ruler were both feared and respected far and near.

There in the highlands of the Sakan Penin-sula, far from the beaten tracks of the world’s highways, this savage ruler holds an unusual control over his fellows. They live in most primitive fashion — savage, cannibal, nude, depraved, and yet superior in a score of ways to their neighbors. The men are big and stal-wart. The women are tall and stately. The roads to their villages are well kept and well guarded. Indeed, the men of the tribe are al-ways fully armed, and are reported to excel in the use of their weapons.

But for some reason their chief is outlawed by the government. A large sum is offered for

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his capture, dead or alive. Still, no one has as yet gone to the Sakan Peninsula to claim it. Indeed, few of the tribe have ever come in contact with white men, and so they live in primitive savagery, though armed with some of the weapons of civilization, and thereby made more terrible.

To this tribe Mr. James went at last, and though forbidden to enter their territory, he met a band of their warriors on the beach, and began negotiations for the establishment of mission work in their villages. He was re-ceived with marked friendliness, but was wholly unable to secure an invitation to inter-view the chief.

Again and again Mr. James visited this peo-ple, but not once did he succeed in leaving the beach. Always he was held there by the warriors, and though they listened with inter-est to all he had to say, they remained firm in withholding permission to go into the vil-lages.

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At last this determination was seen to be yielding, and it was a happy day when our missionary was led through the dark woods into the village of the chief and granted an in-terview. Reporting the visit, Mr. Parker said:

“We were received in a very friendly way. The chief, taking us aside, held us in private conversation for over an hour. He is a strik-ing personality, tall and commanding, being not less than six feet six inches in height. Only a short time ago he forbade Mr. James to pass through his territory, but in our con-versation we tried to show him what our work for his people would mean in the better-ment of their conditions. He listened respect-fully, and was evidently impressed, for as we were leaving he said. ‘ You may come again, and 1 wish you to come often.’ He also pre-sented us with some foods, and desired that we receive his gifts as a token of friendship.”

Against most discouraging conditions, and always in great peril, has this door of oppor-

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tunity thus been opened. To begin mission work for this people, distinct as they are from all other tribes of the New Hebrides in physique, customs, and language, was the burden of the missionary’s soul. Writing to friends in the homeland, he said:

“The Lord can give us an opening among these people as soon as He has prepared their hearts for His work. Pray for these Sakan savages. Every evening our prayer bands meet for this purpose, and we have been greatly encouraged by the changes that we already observe.”

Answers to these prayers came in the form of special opportunities to influence the tribe favorably toward the mission. First a young man, the son of one of the chiefs, came to the mission for treatment of his leg, which was a mass of sores. He stayed seven months, and then returned to his tribe entirely cured.

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Then the brother of the leading chief, ac-companied by two young men, came across the bay and visited the mission. One of these remained as a permanent member of the mis-sion family, acting in the capacity of a teacher of their rather difficult language.

Eritan, the chief’s brother, was so favorably impressed by all that he had seen and heard at the mission that he decided to return home, “finish up” his heathen doings, build a house for the missionary, and send his three sons to the mission school, thus effectually opening the way for us into the Sakan terri-tory. But while Eritan and his companion were returning home, they were both shot and killed by their enemies. When the sad news of this killing reached Sakan, the wife of Eritan committed suicide by hanging her-self, and the spirit of revenge took hold of the hearts of the warriors.

After these sad happenings some time elapsed before the customary smoke signals

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were again seen on the Sakan beach. Eager eyes watched for the sign that would show that the death of these members of the tribe had not brought about any change of attitude on the part of chief and people. At last the Sakan young man was heard shouting excit-edly. “Missi, Missi, there’s a smoke at Sakan; come and see.” It was there in truth, and be-fore long the mission launch was on its way across the bay.

Just a few young men had come down to make an appointment for two of the chiefs. They said that they were all tired of the fight-ing and wanted help. They wanted the mis-sionary among them, and said they would build a house for the missionary as soon as the matter was settled. Mr. James arranged to meet them again in eight days.

On the appointed day clouds of white smoke were seen curling upward on the op-posite shore of the bay, which is thirteen miles distant, A large company of the people

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were on the beach, and among them were two of the chiefs, who first talked a long time with the boys who had been at the mission, and then called Mr. James aside to tell him that four of the important chiefs had decided for the mission. They earnestly requested that the government settle their trouble, but made it clear that they had not yet ap-proached the leading chief, Thingaru, the outlaw.

Mr. James arranged to meet them at an-other time, and in the meantime they were to approach Thingaru on the question of the mission. In this, however, they did not find much encouragement, for Thingaru was bent upon shooting his brother’s murderers. If Mr. James would agree to his doing that first, then the mission could come.

This proposition was promptly rejected by Mr. James, who then offered to report the murder to the government and allow them to take care of the murderers. On the following

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day all the interested chiefs met Thingaru, and in due time Mr. James received a mes-sage from him announcing that his proposal was accepted.

As soon as possible the facts of the murder were placed before the government represen-tative, who seemed pleased to learn that at last there was hope of permanent peace be-ing established. He promised to secure and remove the murderers, but required that Thingaru must refer all future disputes to him. So Mr. James rejoiced, as he conveyed this word to Thingaru, that this wild, hitherto untamable tribe could now rest from war and build a mission house.

Living in a native house and clearing the heavy forest growth from the land, Mr. and Mrs. James have with very little help from the natives built up a really influential mission, and on both sides of Big Bay have established a work that is changing the lives of the worst and most unresponsive of the cannibal races

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of the South Pacific. With fine courage they have prosecuted the work. Constantly risking life and health and permitting no opportunity to pass unimproved in their desire to save this lost people, they have persistently faced both the dangers and the difficulties, and have won.

The dark shadow of devilism is passing away from Santo as the light of the gospel is flooding into the hearts of its benighted in-habitants. In the new-found joys of a trans-formed life the savages are forgetting the wild orgies of their cannibalism. This “most depressing group of islands,” where not only white missionaries have been slain and eaten, but also scores of brown apostles of Christ have given their lives in attempting to evan-gelize its people, is surely being won. And on Santo, the most depressing island of the group, the victories are most decided.

The growth of the work during the last four years has been phenomenal; but while mea-

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suring growth, we must not forget that this is all made possible by the quality and courage of the men and women who have wrought in the work from its beginning. No true por-trayal of the sufferings and trials of our earli-est workers in the New Hebrides can be con-veyed by either word or pen. Of these the missionaries have neither written nor spoken freely. But ringing clearly through all the story of their service are the echoes of an en-during heroism.

When Mr. and Mrs. James first went to Es-piritu Santo, they were left very much alone. Sometimes the natives did not come near them for weeks together. Often they were se-verely ill with fever, and at such times they were in sad plight. There was but one native who seemed to have any thought for them, and he was a young man who frequently found them both down with fever and help-less. He would bring them water and wood, and do such work as he thought would be

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helpful. Then he would go home for the night and be back again the first thing next morn-ing to see if there was anything further he could do to help them. They did not know it at the time, but he was a leper. He is now a baptized believer in the Lord Jesus, and though still a victim of the dread leprosy, re-joices in the salvation which he has experi-enced through the gospel.

One of the traders whose ship W. D. Smith very recently visited took occasion to warn him against trusting the natives at Malua Bay. “I do not think,” said he, “that you are safe here for one moment; at least from any human viewpoint you are not. The Bush tribes may shoot you when least expected to do so.”

“I am glad,” replied Mr. Smith, “that I do not have to view the matter of my safety from any human standpoint. If I did I am afraid that my courage would fail. This is certainly a dark and dangerous place, but where the

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darkness and peril of sin abound, grace abounds much more. We rejoice to witness the transformations that are being wrought on old Malekula. Our hope is in God. We rely on His promises.”

In the early part of the present year the re-ality of this peril was brought to the mission-aries in a very explicit manner. At the dead of night the sound of barking dogs and loud musketry, with the yelling of natives, wak-ened the mission family. A native woman was next heard shouting to the missionaries to keep within the house, as the Bushmen were attacking the mission. In a few moments the excitement had abated. The attacking war-riors had found the mission natives on the watch, and had withdrawn. But next morning abundant evidence remained of their unwel-come visit in the damage done to trees and in destroyed cocoanuts.

Early one morning, just after daybreak. Mr. Smith started to walk down the hill toward

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the sea, when, without warning, a savage rose from the grass in front of him, and point-ing a musket full at his breast, said in pidgin English, “Master, master, you listen to me. You stop; go back to the mission. We are fighting only your black boys. We have no feelings of bitterness toward you; it is only your boys.”

Mr. Smith had gone but a few paces when the report of a musket rang out in the woods. Then there was a crash of many muskets at the top of the hill. He hurried back to the vil-lage, and found the chief, Lilitil, shot through the abdomen and horribly mutilated.

It seems that at the discharge of the first piece, a woman had cried out. “The master is shot.” Lilitil, hearing this, snatched up his ri-fle and ran to defend Mr. Smith, but his ene-mies lay hidden in the long grass, and as he sped down the hillside, he received his death wound.

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The men of the village rushed to the spot, and aiming their rifles at the fleeing forms of those who had done the dastardly deed, pulled the triggers to shoot them down, when, lo, a marvelous thing happened — not one of their rifles was fired. They had been mysteriously restrained from exploding. The cartridge was in each rifle, but in every case it had failed to explode.

Later it was learned that two hundred of Tinambat’s warriors were waiting at the foot of the hill to avenge the death of their com-rades if any had fallen. Mr. Parker, who was soon called to the spot, has said that without question this would have meant the death of every man, woman, and child at the mission. Doubtless it was the hand of the all-seeing God that kept the power of death from leav-ing the rifles that morning, and thus saved the mission people.

In three hours Mr. Parker was at Malua Bay, with Mr. and Mrs. Smith. They took him

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to a place in the path to the village, and pointing out a twig closely tied to a tree, asked him if he knew its significance. They explained that this was Tinambat’s defiance of God, of the government, and of the mis-sion. “We are strong,” they had said, “and God and the government and the mission are nothing. We are able to destroy you all. You listen well to our words.” Such a defiant, boastful display of strength very naturally de-pressed our mission natives, and for a time they were disheartened. At first they thought of fleeing to another place, saying to Mr. Smith, “We shall all be dead men if we stay here.”

Mr. and Mrs. Smith bravely refused to leave, and gathering the people, recounted to them the occasions when God had delivered His servants from great dangers. They had a really wonderful meeting, and with weeping eyes many expressed faith in God and prayed for help in their extremity.

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Harry, a native who had been shot some months before, stood up in the midst of the much-moved people and said.“I am ready to die for my Master, Jesus. I will never leave this place unless they carry me off dead.”

His brother, Manoa, followed with similar words, and as he was speaking, a large num-ber of dusky forms were seen moving back and forth in the woods. These proved to be the warriors of a large tribe of Bushmen who had decided to accept the worship and locate on the mission. Their chief at once offered to mediate with the Tinambat men.

While they were still talking, another chief with his men arrived at the mission. These newcomers proved to be most friendly, and soon a message was sent to Tinambat. To the surprise of all, a friendly response was quickly given, and before the day ended, sev-eral men of Tinambat’s tribe had reached the mission, bearing a message from their chief that the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Smith were

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perfectly safe, and assuring them that they could come and go without molestation. They further assured them that it was the wish of their chief that the missionaries should not leave the island, but continue their good work for the people.

Thus have courage and earnest, persistent faith again and again met the most hopeless and discouraging situations on dark Malekula, and thus will our brave missionar-ies continue in their dangerous and often dis-couraging service to penetrate the fastnesses of sin in these cannibal islands.

The struggle is at times terribly severe. The powers of darkness seem to concentrate all their fury in opposing their work and seeking their lives; but God is wonderfully with them, and through them He will surely work till ev-ery place where cannibal devilism is now be-ing practised shall have been won, and the people that there sit in darkness shall have

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seen the light of the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

To be continued

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Hercules BeetlePhysically speaking, the Hercules beetle is

one bad-to-the-bone insect. It might very well be the strongest creature on earth, relative to its size. The Hercules beetle may be up to seven inches long (175 mm) and weigh al-most a quarter of a pound (100 g). They are capable of lifting up to 850 times their body weight! A human would have to be able to lift 70 tons to do an equivalent feat. No wonder it has the name Hercules!

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Male Hercules beetlePhoto courtesy of Didier Descouens

The Hercules beetle is found from southern Mexico to Bolivia in mountainous and low-land rainforests.

The males have a long horn, which they use to settle mating disputes. The females are smaller and do not have the long horn like the male.

Not much is known about the life cycle in the wild, but much evidence has been gained through observations of captive-

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bred populations. Females of D. hercules may lay up to 100 eggs on the ground or on dead wood. Once hatched, the larval stage of the Hercules beetle may last up to two years in duration, with the larva grow-ing up to 11 cm (4.5 in) in length and weighing more than 100 g. The larvae, which are coloured yellow with a black head, undergo three instars. In laboratory conditions at 25 ± 1°C, the first stage lasts an average of 50 days, the second stage an average of 56 days, and the third an aver-age of 450 days. The pupal stage lasts about 32 days, while adults can live for three to six months in captivity. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules_beetle; ac-cessed on May 23, 2019)

The Hercules beetle larvae feed on rotting wood. The adult beetles feed on fresh and rotting fruit. While in captivity, the Hercules beetle has been observed feeding on such fruits as peaches, pears, apples, and grapes.

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Female Hercules beetlePhoto courtesy Hans Hillewaert

As an adult the Hercules beetle is noctur-nal. It hides or burrows within the leaf litter during the day and forages for fruit at night.

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Hercules beetle larvaPhoto courtesy of Novita Estiti

Though the Hercules beetle may be physi-cally the strongest creature we know about, by size, it is certainly weak in intellect and does not possess moral power, and it is the

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latter that is important to God. While many humans seek for physical strength, they often compromise their moral powers to obtain their physical strength, but true power is in character, not in muscles.[1]

Character is power. The silent witness of a true, unselfish, godly life carries an al-most irresistible influence. By revealing in our own life the character of Christ we co-operate with Him in the work of saving souls. It is only by revealing in our life His character that we can co-operate with Him. And the wider the sphere of our influ-ence, the more good we may do. When those who profess to serve God follow Christ’s example, practicing the principles of the law in their daily life; when every act bears witness that they love God supremely and their neighbor as them-selves, then will the church have power to move the world. (Ellen White, Christ’s Ob-ject Lessons, p. 340.2)

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Allen Stump[1]. This is not to say that God wants humans to

be weak and sickly, but rather that the moral spirit is of infinitely greater value than the body.

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2019 Pacific Northwest Camp Meeting Update:

August 28 – September 1Meetings will be hosted at the privately

owned “Legacy Camp” in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. A schedule of events will be released in the near future.

There are a limited number of RV spots and small cabins available, but there are plenty of primitive camp sites, so you are more than welcome to pitch a tent! There are also local hotels for those interested. These meetings will be open to the general public, but we ask you to RSVP if you plan to stay on site.

There is an open kitchen, with electric range, refrigeration, outlets for slow cookers, etc. Those who are able should plan to pro-vide enough food for you and your family for the duration of camp, but, of course, the most

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important thing is to be prepared for spiritual food.

Outside a cabin

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Kitchen area

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Inside a cabin

There are shower houses and restrooms on site, as well, and cellphone reception is good. We tested both ATT and Verzion. We hope to live stream and record the services, but it is not the same as being here in person, so we encourage those who are able to come on out. We are looking for volunteers to help in

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the kitchen and other various areas, and if you have musical talent and would like to vol-unteer to lead out in worship we would love to hear from you. Questions, comments, or to RSVP, please contact Robert or Brooke Motsinger at 208–627–6227 or 208–627–6265. We are looking forward to seeing you at the camp meeting. We believe that God wants to share a large blessing, and we do not want to miss it!

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Round fireplace in sheltered meeting room

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Publisher InformationOld Paths is a free monthly newsletter/study-paper published monthly by Smyrna Gospel Ministries, 750 Smyrna Road, Welch WV 24801-9606. U.S.A. It is sent free upon re-quest. The paper is dedicated to the propaga-tion and restoration of the principles of truth that God gave to the early Seventh-day Ad-ventist pioneers. Duplication is not only per-mitted, but strongly encouraged. This issue, with other gospel literature we publish, can be found at our web site. The url is: http://www.smyrna.org. Phone: (304) 732-9204. Fax: (304) 732-7322.

Editor: ...................................... Allen Stump

Associate Editor: ...................... Onycha Holt

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