LEGALISM – THE SCOURGE OF ADVENTISM – Part 1

LEGALISM – THE SCOURGE OF ADVENTISM – Part 1 “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also”. 1John 4:11 & 4:21. “After the descent of the holy Spirit, …,having shut the love of God out of their hearts. “ Upward Look, 358. 3,4. “How many are today manifesting the same spirit. When the debtor pleaded with his lord for mercy, he had no true sense of the greatness of his debt. He did not realize his helplessness. He hoped to deliver himself. “Have patience with me,” he said, “and I will pay thee all.” So there are many who hope by their own works to merit God’s favor. They do not realize their helplessness. They do not accept the grace of God as a free gift, but are trying to build themselves up in self-righteousness. Their own hearts are not broken and humbled on account of sin, and they are exacting and unforgiving toward others. Their own sins against God, compared with their brother’s sins against them, are as ten thousand talents to one hundred pence—nearly one million to one; yet they dare to be unforgiving.” Christ Object Lessons, 245.3 And this commandment we have from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. 1 John 4:21.  “Love is the basis of godliness. Whatever the profession, no man has pure love to God unless he has unselfish love for his brother.... When self is merged in Christ, love springs forth spontaneously. The completeness of Christian character is attained when the impulse to help and bless others springs constantly from within—when the sunshine of heaven fills the heart and is revealed in the countenance....Maranatha,101.2 “Connected with Christ, we are connected with our fellow men by the golden links of the chain of love. Then the pity and compassion of Christ will be manifest in our life. We shall not wait to have the needy and unfortunate brought to us. We shall not need to be entreated to feel for the woes of others. It will be as natural for us to minister to the needy and suffering as it was for Christ to go about doing good....” IBID, 101.3 “The glory of heaven is in lifting up the fallen, comforting the distressed.... No distinction on account of nationality, race, or caste is recognized by God.... All men are of one family by creation, and all are one through redemption. Christ came to demolish every wall of partition, to throw open every compartment of the temple, that every soul may have free access to God. His love is so broad, so deep, so full, that it penetrates everywhere. It lifts out of Satan’s circle the poor souls who have been deluded by his deceptions. It places them within reach of the throne of God, the throne encircled by the rainbow of promise....IBID, 101.4 “Christ is seeking to uplift all who will be lifted to companionship with Himself, that we may be one with Him as He is one with the Father. He permits us to come in contact with suffering and calamity in order to call us out of our selfishness; He seeks to develop in us the attributes of His character—compassion, tenderness, and love....” IBID, 101.5 “If thou wilt keep my charge,” the Lord declares, “I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by”—even among the angels that surround His throne. (Zechariah 3:7.) By cooperating with heavenly beings in their work on earth, we are preparing for their companionship in heaven.” IBID, 101.6 “Undoubtedly the great difficulty with the majority of believers is that they are trying to live Christ’s life without first having died Christ’s death. They seem to have the notion that Christ died so that we need not die, and so through faith in Christ they hope to live without dying. Paul said, ‘They that are in the flesh cannot please God’ Romans 8:8, Graveyard Religion / 37 and ‘they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh’ Galatians 5:24.”1 A clear understanding of the importance of this fact is absolutely necessary if we are to have a successful walk with the Lord. “The new birth is a rare experience in this age of the world. This is the reason why there are so many perplexities in the churches. Many, so many, who assume the name of Christ are unsanctified and unholy. They have been baptized, but they were buried alive. Self did not die, and therefore they did not rise to newness of life in Christ.”2 [His Robe Or Mine, pg.36,37 by Frank Phillips] “Let no one make his feelings his idol, and bow his soul down to worship and serve his sensations. “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” It is your privilege to believe that Christ has borne your sins; for God hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. You are under the shelter of the sure refuge, under the cover of the atoning blood of the acceptable sacrifice.”   Signs of the Times, April 9, 1894, par. 2 “All LEGALISM, all the sorrow and woe by which you may encompass yourself, will not give you one moment of relief. You cannot rightly estimate sin. You must accept God’s estimate, and it is heavy indeed. If you bore the guilt of your sin, it would crush you; but the sinless One has taken your place, and, though, undeserving, he has borne your guilt. By accepting the provision God has made, you may stand free before God in the merit and virtue of your Substitute. You will then have a proper estimate of sin, and the godly sorrow of true repentance will take the place of hopeless discouragement and grief, for you will turn from sin with grief and abhorrence.  IBID, par. 3 [TO BE CONTINUED]