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Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, Nos. 39, 40
THE ONLY PEACE OF MIND
Volume
2
Numbers
39, 40
Copyright,
1949 Reprint
All
rights reserved
V.T.
HOUTEFF
Righteousness
By Grace, Righteousness By Faith, And The Righteousness Of Christ
The
Education Of Christian Youth — Where And How Obtained
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 39
1
TEXT
FOR PRAYER
Measure
not God's Work With Man's Yardstick
I shall read from Christ's Object Lessons, page 79, paragraph one:
"The great leaders of religious thought in this generation sound
the praises and build the monuments of those who planted the seed of truth
centuries ago. Do not many turn
from this work to trample down the growth springing from the same seed today?
The old cry is repeated, 'We know that God spake unto Moses; as for
this fellow [Christ in the messenger He sends], we know not from whence he
is.' As in earlier ages, the
special truths for this time are found, not with the ecclesiastical
authorities, but with men and women who are not too learned or too wise to
believe the word of God. 'For ye
see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not
many mighty, not many noble, are called; but God hath chosen the foolish
things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things
of the world to confound the things which are mighty.'"
This reading commands to pray for those who are considered wise, for
today as in times past the so-called great leaders of religion are on the one
hand sounding praises, building, as it were, monuments to God's servants of
centuries before, while on the other hand trampling down God's messengers of
their own day! They, too, in
effect say "We know that God spoke unto Moses; as for this fellow we know
not from whence He is." We
should pray that they realize their mistake of measuring the work of God by
the yardstick of man. And pray,
too, that we ourselves not fall unto such a practice.
Timely
Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 39
2
RIGHTEOUSNESS
BY GRACE, RIGHTEOUSNESS
BY
FAITH, AND THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST
TEXT
OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER
OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH,
JULY 31, 1948
MT.
CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO,
TEXAS
There is much talk among us about "righteousness by grace" and "righteousness by faith," also about "the righteousness of Christ." But of what profit will all this talk be to us unless we do something to find out what these really are, and how to make them our own. We should therefore not fail in this, and we cannot fail if we seek the Lord wholeheartedly as we study through the concrete examples which the Spirit of Truth has placed at my hand.
To begin the study I shall read two verses of scripture, first from
Romans, then from Hebrews:
Rom.
11:6 -- "And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is
no more grace. But if it be of
works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work."
We are called into the election of God, says the scripture, not because
of any good works of our own, but through God's grace.
We are, therefore, invited to become Christians, the children of God,
not because we deserve to be adopted by Him, but because of His favor toward
us. Indeed, there is no other way
by which we can be
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Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 39
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saved,
for we all have sinned and, therefore, how can we be saved except He, through
His grace, forgive us our sins and start us out anew?
This is what is called a new birth, the sum of which is that we deserve
no credit for coming into the household of God.
The credit is His.
By our natural birth we are born sinners, but by our spiritual birth we
are born righteous. As born
sinners we serve sin, but as born righteous we serve righteousness.
Hence it is not by works, but by "grace" that we are what we
are.
Heb.
11:1 -- "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
things not seen."
By faith, not by sight, we know that we are the sons of God, citizens
of His government. And as such we
submit ourselves to His rules and laws. As
such we honor and revere Him as our Saviour and King.
Let us now for example go back to Noah's day.
Noah lived in an exceedingly wicked world, as you know.
It was so wicked that, as merciful as God is, He could no longer
contain Himself while the wickedness went on.
At long last He commanded Noah to build an ark, and promised that all,
whether righteous or wicked, who would go into the ark would find deliverance
from the awful flood. Since they
did not merit such a favor, they were, therefore, offered deliverance from the
flood only through "righteousness of grace" -- they were to be
credited with righteousness and be given life which they did not merit.
Thus we see "grace" taking occasion to save sinners even back
in Noah's day. And so,
"where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." Rom. 5:20.
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Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 39
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In Abraham's time, too, only about 400 years after the flood the world
had sunk deep in idol worship, and God commanded Abraham to get out of his
father's house, out of his idolatrous country, and to go to another land, a
land that was to be for his own and for God's people only.
And as any, good or bad, who joined Abraham and his God were as freely
permitted to enter into the Promised Land as were the antediluvians permitted
to enter the ark, they too, therefore, were given "righteousness by
grace"; that is, they were privileged to take their stand for God with
Abraham, and to share the blessings, but not because of any good works of
theirs. Having endured to the
end, Abraham, whose faith failed not, became the father of all who through
"righteousness by grace" attain "righteousness by faith."
Hence you see that "righteousness by grace" starts us out
into "righteousness by faith," the reward of which is, "the
righteousness of Christ."
Later in history came the time that whosoever, good and bad alike,
joined the Exodus out of Egypt, found deliverance from Pharaoh's taskmasters
and from his pursuing army. This
deliverance they obtained not because they deserved deliverance, but because
of the "grace" of God toward them.
(See Ezekiel 20:1-8.) Thus
they "all...were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and
were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the
same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they
drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was
Christ." 1 Cor. 10:1-4. Yes,
through "righteousness by grace" none were excluded from
participating in the blessings then offered.
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Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 39
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Having been given "righteousness by grace" sufficient to
cross the sea, and having come into the desert, they were then given the
finest chance to exercise "righteousness by faith."
But only those who did exercise "righteousness by faith"
lived on and entered the Promised Land. Those,
though, who made no more use of "faith" in the desert than they did
in Egypt perished in the wilderness.
Finally, came the time for the faithful to possess the land.
And so it was that only those whose "righteousness by faith"
sustained them, crossed the River Jordan.
None others did. And for
our benefit the Apostle has left this counsel: "Let us therefore fear,
lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should
seem to come short of it. For
unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the Word preached
did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it."
Heb. 4:1, 2.
So far in our study we have seen that God is impartial, that He has
endeavored to save all peoples at all times in the same way as He is
endeavoring to save us; that He is not experimenting with Himself -- not
saving us one way and others another way.
The kingdom was at last set up in the Promised Land and the people were
left to continue in "righteousness by faith."
But as in times past "faith" again waned, and the nation
became unbearably wicked, -- so wicked that God could no longer tolerate it to
be called by His name while living in His land.
Forthwith both the temple and the palace -- the spiritual and the
physical -- were leveled to the ground, and the people were
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Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 39
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carried
away.
God nevertheless clung to His people as a mother clings to her
children, and after seven decades, having once again extended to them
righteousness by grace, God gave them the opportunity to return to their
homeland where they enjoyed revival and reformation, but only for a little
while. Rather than continue in
"righteousness by faith," they fell from "grace" and
became seven times worse than their predecessors.
Thus it was that if God was then to save any one member of the nation
He could do it only by offering another chance of "grace."
This time He gave the gift of His only Son, Jesus Christ, the Saviour
upon Whom the iniquities of us all were laid.
And hence, as mean and as wicked as were both Jew and Gentile, they
were all invited to the greatest gift of "grace," the grace which
only the life of the Son of God can give.
The Apostles themselves were not for any good deed of their own, but
through this gift of "righteousness by grace," privileged to partake
of the "righteousness by faith."
And so the unjust, the violators of the law of God, have always through
"righteousness by grace" been invited to come into
"righteousness by faith," the only righteousness that actually
receives the reward of "Christ's righteousness" and of eternal life.
"Now," says Inspiration, "the just shall live by faith:
but if any man draw back, My soul shall have no pleasure in him." Heb.
10:38. The just, you see, live by
faith, but the unjust by grace. "Grace,"
you note, is not the final touch of salvation.
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"Grace"
plus "faith," plus "the righteousness of Christ," are what
earn eternal life.
The law, moreover, does not save.
It condemns sin and upholds righteousness.
"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be
justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin." Rom.
3:20. Being already a sinner, man
is by the law condemned to death. Only
by "grace," therefore, can he be set free from the condemnation of
the law. The sinner,
consequently, is a law-breaker, and the righteous is a law-keeper.
"Grace," therefore, pardons, the sinner, lets him out of
prison, so to speak, and gives him another chance to overcome sin; but
"faith" keeps him free. The
sum of the matter is this: "Righteousness through grace" is
righteousness through pardon, while "righteousness through faith" is
righteousness through behaving, and it is crowned with "the righteousness
of Christ."
To repeat: "Grace" pardons our sins and sets us free -- gives
us another chance to make life what it ought to be.
Consequently, if you are under "grace" you are not under the
law, for "grace" has made you free from the penalty which the law
imposes.
Having failed to attain "righteousness by faith," the Jews
again fell from "grace"; and being by the law, condemned to eternal
death, they were again given "grace" -- a second chance -- through
the death of the Son of God. Those
who availed themselves of the "grace," came into the Christian
church henceforth to remain free, and were to sin no more save through
mistake, mishap, or through short-sightedness, sins of which we are forgiven
if we do not continue
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Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 39
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therein.
"My little children," says Inspiration, "these things
write I unto you, that ye sin not. And
if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous: and He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our's only,
but also for the sins of the whole world.
And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar,
and the truth is not in him. But
whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby
know we that we are in Him." 1 John 2:1-5.
The Christian church, though, did not long continue in
"grace," but it, too, in time fell even lower than the Jewish
church. Necessarily something had
to be done for her also if any of her members were to be made free, and if God
was still to have a church on earth. Unquestionably,
this "something" was none other than the Protestant Reformation.
But since we all know that the Reformation has not yet accomplished its
Divinely appointed purpose, has not reached the accord and faith which the
Church enjoyed on the day of Pentecost, it is obvious that another attempt of
revival and reformation is an absolute necessity.
But to know all this for a certainty, we must turn to "the more
sure word of prophecy," to the prophet Ezekiel.
Ezek.
4:1, 2 -- "Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before
thee, and pourtray upon it the city, even Jerusalem: and lay siege against it,
and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also
against it, and set battering rams against it round about."
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Here the prophet was commanded to portray a city, a Jerusalem -- the
capital of the church. This
Jerusalem, of course, is not really the geographical Jerusalem, but a city
that stands for what Jerusalem itself stood -- the Church scattered throughout
the "Gentile" nations. Moreover,
Ezekiel himself was actually told that this symbolization is concerning the
church while scattered among the Gentiles.
(See Ezek. 4:13.) Furthermore, Ezekiel is commanded to lay siege
against it, to take it! Now,
since this Jerusalem stands for the Church while among the Gentiles, and since
God commands His own servant, the prophet, to besiege it, to protest against
it, and to take it, it is therefore obvious that the Church, the Jerusalem
here portrayed, is shown as having been drawn away from God, and that God is
endeavoring to rescue her, to effect a reformation in her midst.
For such cause, therefore, is Ezekiel's siege.
Finally, since the Christian church, Jerusalem, away from its original
geographical location, was for the first time in history so attacked, or
besieged, by Martin Luther -- by the Protestant Reformation -- the fulfillment
of this prophecy obviously commences with Luther.
This fact will be seen throughout the chapter as we continue to study
it verse by verse.
Ezek.
4:3 -- "Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall
of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall
be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the
house of Israel."
The wall of iron, illustrated by the iron pan, is a perfect symbol of
the separation which
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existed
between Luther and the so-called Jerusalem, the Church.
This was to be a sign, not to Judah, the antitypical two-tribe kingdom
among the Gentiles but to Israel, to the members of the antitypical ten-tribe
kingdom while scattered among the nations.
Ezek.
4:4, 5 -- "Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the
house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt
lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity.
For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the
number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the
iniquity of the house of Israel."
To lay one's iniquity upon someone else, is to free the sinner from the
penalty which he deserves. It is
an act which credits the sinner with "righteousness" which he has
not earned, and this is what Inspiration calls "righteousness by
grace." Previously the
iniquity of the Jews was laid upon Christ, and the nation was given a chance
to step out of her death-cell, so to speak, and to stand free in Christ.
Many, but not all, then availed themselves of this "righteousness
by grace" and stepped into "righteousness by faith."
This same "grace," you see, was again offered to the church
in the sixteenth century, for to lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon
Ezekiel means practically the same as to lay the iniquity of us all upon
Christ.
This grace through Ezekiel continues 390 days -- years (Ezek. 4:6).
After this period of time, the house of Israel, the Protestant churches, bear
their own iniquity; that is, after this given period of time runs out, then
this extended "grace" ceases and there is to be no other.
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Ezekiel
then bears their sins no longer. Then
is the time in which they must hold fast to "righteousness of faith"
if they are to be rewarded with "Christ's righteousness" and with
eternal life.
Ezek.
4:6, 7 -- "And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right
side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I
have appointed thee each day for a year.
Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and
thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it."
Ezekiel was to lie down on his right side, not only for the iniquity of
the house of Israel, but also for the iniquity of the house of Judah and thus
bear their iniquity, too, for forty years.
And so both houses (the whole of Christendom), are given the same
chance, the same opportunity. The
one comes first in time, and the other last.
Three hundred ninety years of "grace" are given to the
former, and 40 years to the latter, a total of 430 years.
During this period of time they are to triumph over sin, and at last to
attain "righteousness by faith," and to be rewarded with "the
righteousness of Christ." The
exact year in which this period of 430 years begins, we shall see as we
continue our study.
Ezek.
4:7, 8 -- "Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of
Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against
it. And, behold, I will lay bands
upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou
hast ended the days of thy siege."
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The uncovering of Ezekiel's arm, of course, means that the might of the
Reformation shall be seen, and the sins of Jerusalem shall be laid open --
shall be prophesied against.
Moreover, the things spoken of here are sure to take place, for Ezekiel
is bound down so that he cannot turn over and change the symbolization.
He cannot get up at will, until he has accomplished God's command,
until he has ended the days of his siege.
Then in the end of this time he is to arise and from then on let
everyone bear his own iniquity. Ezekiel,
therefore, while lying down is symbolizing conditions during the Reformation
from Luther's time down to the end of the 430 years.
Then Ezekiel arises and is made the watchman: "Son of man, I have
made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at My
mouth, and give them warning from Me."
And since this prophecy is now unfolded for the first time, Ezekiel,
obviously, is especially figurative of this final effort of revival and
reformation, of the effort after Ezekiel is through lying down and while he is
up and active. Consequently, the
same effort which Luther put forth in the sixteenth century is to be carried
out in a greater way now in the twentieth century, for such is the prophet's
charge.
The difference between the Reformation during the 430 years and the one
after, is this: During the 430 years "grace" lingered, whereas after
this period of time has run out, and while Ezekiel is up, those who fail to
attain to "righteousness by faith" will themselves have to pay the
price of their sins. No longer
are their sins laid upon Ezekiel, and no longer is Ezekiel lying down and
inactive; no longer are
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Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 39
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they
to be excused upon the ground of ignorance after the warning has been sounded
in their ears, for Ezekiel is plainly told:
"Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel:
therefore hear the Word at My mouth, and give them warning from Me.
When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him
not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his
life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I
require at thine hand. Yet if
thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked
way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and
commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because
thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his
righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I
require at thine hand. Nevertheless
if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not
sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy
soul. Ezek. 3:17-21.
Ezek.
4:9-11 -- "Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and
lentils, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee
bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon
thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof.
And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a
day: from time to time shalt thou eat it.
Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part of an hin: from
time to time shalt thou drink."
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The cereals mentioned in Ezek. 4:9 are six in number, and are of course
symbolical of spiritual food, the food with which the flock has been fed
during the 390 years. Six kinds
of cereals not only denote six kinds of truths, doctrines, handed to the flock
during the 390 year period, but also denote incompleteness of Truth, for
number seven, not six, is the Biblical denotation of completeness.
They are consequently the doctrines which the reformers brought in:
(1) The doctrine of faith that made the Lutheran denomination; (2) the
doctrine of the Spirit that made the Presbyterian denomination; (3) the
doctrine of grace that made the Methodist denomination; (4) the doctrine of
baptism that made the Baptist denomination; (5) the doctrine of the second
Advent of Christ that made the First-day Adventist; (6) the doctrine of the
cleansing of the sanctuary along with the Seventh-day Sabbath that made the
Seventh-day Adventists. (All
other sects with their additions, omissions, and deductions, have obviously
branched from these six denominations.)
One may raise an argument, though only a losing one, over the
denominations here named, but one can hardly raise any honest argument against
the fact that these six doctrines (cereals) are the main doctrines upon which
Protestantism as a whole is built. However,
be they these or other doctrines, the truth that they are only six, means that
a seventh truth is to be unfolded. Moreover,
these truths, says Inspiration, were to be given sparingly, by weight, -- not
everything that pertains to the subject, -- and all Christendom knows that
this has been the case.
Ezek.
4:12-15 -- "And thou shalt eat it as barley
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cakes,
and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight.
And the Lord said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their
defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them.
Then said I, Ah Lord God! behold,
my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not
eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there
abominable flesh into my mouth. Then
He said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow's dung for man's dung, and thou
shalt prepare thy bread therewith."
As the barley cake that smote and ruined the Midianite tent did
forecast Divine aid for Gideon's victory over the Midianites, so the cereals
eaten as barley cakes do signify that the truths accepted were as of the
Spirit, as of Divine origin. In
the preparation of them, though, is where the objectionable part comes in, for
Inspiration points out that these were baked on "dung" instead of on
wood, emphatically denoting that these truths were defiled by men while being
prepared for the flock. And what
else could the preparation be but the private additions, omissions,
perversions, and misapplications by uninspired men who preach from the pulpits
on these subjects, and who write the so-called pure Bible truths and hand them
to the people?
There is no mystery in this, for everybody knows that the winds of
doctrine blowing from all directions, one contradicting the other, cannot all
be pure Bible truth. The only
surprising part is that Inspiration foresaw it so long ago, and that no one
discovered it before Inspiration Itself did unfold it.
God, of course, is not holding this against
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anyone,
for He says: "Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled
bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them." Ezek. 4:13.
Thus prophecy declares that such has been the spiritual food with which
the flock has been fed for 390 years, the years during the Reformation.
And who can deny it? Are
we, then, still wondering which denomination is dealing out unadulterated
Truth to its members? Prophecy
declares that none is, for such was to be the food for all throughout the 390
years! And if they do not get new
Heaven-inspired Truth after the 390 years are passed, then they must feed on
"dung" baked food forever, and die with it.
This, I say again, should not be a surprise to any, for everyone knows
that since all the denominations disagree with one another on the doctrines,
they cannot possibly all be right. It
may, however, be surprising to know that not even one is absolutely right.
The scarcity of even these man-contaminated truths, prophecy declares,
is brought upon the Christian world so that they be "astonied," that
they realize their poverty, their need of an absolute truth, so that when the
Spirit of Truth shall come, It shall find a responding chord in the hearts of
men, else they be consumed away in their iniquity.
To find exactly the beginning of the 430-year period, we must first
find the year the period ended, the year in which antitypical Ezekiel arose
and began to sound the warning, the year in which the Spirit of Truth unrolled
the scroll and brought in an abundance of Divinely inspired,
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pure
and unadulterated Truth (not baked upon dung), not by weight and not by
measure either, -- the truths which we have been feasting on from this series
of studies and which the Association has so freely and faithfully published in
the Timely Greetings and other publications, and has scattered world-wide as
leaves of Autumn -- a phenomenon which the Church has never before seen!
And when I say as the leaves of Autumn, I really mean just that, for
these leaves -- yes, millions of them -- are dropped everywhere among the
Laodiceans unsparingly, without price, and without obligation.
This message, as some of you already know, began to unfold in 1930.
Hence, if we subtract 430 years from 1930, we are taken back to 1500,
the time Martin Luther's call came, the time he began to study the Bible, the
time he started to prepare for the work of the Reformation.
This message was, therefore, by God Himself planned and timed back in
Ezekiel's time, all for your good and mine!
How thoughtful God is! And
how unworthy we are.
As the 430-year period during which our sins were laid upon Ezekiel, is
behind us, we ourselves, not Ezekiel, are henceforth to be responsible for our
sins if we now fail to give heed to the message of the hour and to attain to
"righteousness by faith." How
important, then, that we not neglect our opportunity now to accept what God
sends, and to attain to "righteousness by faith" in order that we be
rewarded with "the righteousness of Christ."
Thus only can we expect to escape the slaughter weapons of the angels
and to live and reign with Christ during the thousand years.
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According to this fresh unfolded prophecy there is to be no other
chance, you see, no other opportunity for the Laodiceans, the house of Judah.
This message to the Laodiceans, therefore, is the last message, their
final chance! Looking forward to
the people of this cleansing the prophet Isaiah wrote: "Awake, awake; put
on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy
city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and
the unclean.... How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that
bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of
good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!"
Isa. 52:1, 7.
Since we have seen that the 430 years ended in 1930, we had better now
find out when the 390 years ended, the time the 40 years of grace began.
To find this date we subtract 40 years from 1930, which takes us back
to 1890. What happened then to
mark the beginning of the 40 years? -- Just this: The denomination then wholly
rejected the message that was to unfold the truth of "righteousness by
faith" and the "righteousness of Christ," the very truth that
again began to unfold years later, the Truth that we are now feasting on!
God in His mercy, therefore, laid their iniquity upon the prophet
Ezekiel during those 40 years, -- gave them a chance through
"righteousness by grace" so that they might have opportunity now to
enter into "righteousness by faith," and thus reap the reward of
"the righteousness of Christ."
Here we see that history repeats itself: Ancient Israel's giving ear to
the evil report which the ten spies brought caused them to lose
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faith
in the power of God, and did therefore, set themselves back 40 years from
entering the Promised Land.
In like manner, the Denomination, you see, has from 1890 to 1930 been
wandering in the wilderness, as it were.
They have, we might say, been put on trial.
Here is where you plainly see that the ancient wilderness wandering was
typical. Here type meets
antitype. And their rejecting
"righteousness by faith," you perceive, did not mean that God was
defeated and that He would therefore never again bring to us the same Truth
which could have been theirs forty years ago.
Moreover, just as those who in Moses' time refused to advance by faith
died in the wilderness, so the men who in the years 1888-1890 were responsible
for refusing to advance in Truth, died before God came back with it the second
time. Finally, as the second
ancient effort to take the land succeeded immediately after Achan, the last
sinner in that day, was stoned, so the second effort of today must, too,
succeed right after the Achans of today are destroyed by the angels of Ezekiel
Nine.
What a rebuke for the leading brethren this is! What a lesson for us!
And how little chance they stand if they continue blindly to fight
back! The laity, though, who come
in contact with this Truth could be of great help to them if instead of
consenting to the opposition's unreasonable demand that the laity give up
studying these scriptures upon threat of losing their membership, they would
themselves demand from the opposition a better, or at least an equally
reasonable,
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20
exposition
of the scriptures in question rather than give up.
Foolish it is to reject Truth in order to retain your name in Laodicea.
Better to accept the Truth and retain your name in the Lamb's Book of
Life.
I say it is foolish to reject Truth merely on someone's say so rather
than to go to God in prayer and to act in harmony with your own convictions
through the Spirit that leads into all Truth.
To do otherwise is to deny any personal connection with Heaven, and to
put your trust in man, to make "flesh your arm." Isa. 2:22.
Do not, therefore, let the enemy talk you out of this Truth, especially
in the face of the fact that the opposition has nothing substantial, nothing
authoritative, or official, nothing to take its place.
And how foolish for one to try to ascertain Truth by the mind of the
opposition! It is as sensible as if you should solicit the opinion of a
Republican politician about your desire to vote on a Democratic ballot!
There would be some sense in going for help to someone who is unbiased,
but never any sense in going to one who is as opposed to this Truth as were
the priests, scribes, and Pharisees opposed to Christ's teachings.
If you do not see every point as clearly as you would like, why not
take the counsel of the Spirit of Prophecy?
Let me read to you a few paragraphs:
"...if a message comes that you do not understand, take pains that
you may hear the reasons the messenger may give, comparing scripture with
scripture, that you may know whether or not it is sustained by the word of
God. If you believe that the
positions taken have not the word of God
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21
for
their foundation, if the position you hold on the subject cannot be
controverted, then produce your strong reasons; for your position will not be
shaken by coming in contact with error. There
is no virtue or manliness in keeping up a continual warfare in the dark,
closing your eyes lest you may see, closing your ears lest you may hear,
hardening your heart in ignorance and unbelief lest you may have to humble
yourselves and acknowledge that you have received light on some points of
truth." -- Counsels on Sabbath School Work, pg. 29.
"Precious light is to shine forth from the word of God, and let no
one presume to dictate what shall or what shall not be brought before the
people in the messages of enlightenment that He shall send, and so quench the
Spirit of God. Whatever may be
his position of authority, no one has a right to shut away the light from the
people. When a message comes in
the name of the Lord to His people, no one may excuse himself from an
investigation of its claims. No
one can afford to stand back in an attitude of indifference and
self-confidence, and say: 'I know what is truth.
I am satisfied with my position. I
have set my stakes, and I will not be moved away from my position, whatever
may come. I will not listen to
the message of this messenger; for I know that it cannot be truth.'
It was from pursuing this very course that the popular churches were
left in partial darkness, and that is why the messages of heaven have not
reached them." -- Id., pg. 28.
"There is yet much precious truth to be revealed to the people in
this time of peril and darkness, but it is Satan's determined purpose to
prevent the light of truth from shining into
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the
hearts of men. If we would have
the light that has been provided for us, we should show our desire for it by
diligently searching the word of God. Precious
truths that have long been in obscurity are to be revealed in a light that
will make manifest their sacred worth; for God will glorify His word, that it
may appear in a light in which we have never before beheld it.
But those who profess to love the truth must put to the stretch their
powers, that they may comprehend the deep things of the word, that God may be
glorified and His people may be blessed and enlightened.
With humble hearts, subdued by the grace of God, you should come to the
task of searching the Scriptures, prepared to accept every ray of divine
light, and to walk in the way of holiness." -- Id, pg. 25.
Moreover, you never see the whole world at a glance.
You only see a part of it at a time.
Likewise you cannot expect to see the whole Truth all at once, but only
a little at a time. Cling to that
little, and as you continue in prayer and study, it will all become as clear
as the sun and you will begin to comprehend the subject in its entirety.
Brother, Sister, no longer pass up your opportunity.
Act now and make peace with God. Flee
now from the abominations, and take your stand at God's right hand if you wish
His blessing and life forevermore. "Today
if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts." Heb 4:7.
Realize that God Himself is speaking to you, that these are not mortal
words, not myths, that this is a message which has remained sealed through the
centuries, and which is now unsealed and brought to you as fresh as lilies
covered with summer's dew.
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One of the most important parts of this study, you see, is the fact
that during the 430 years -- from 1500 to 1930 -- the iniquity of us all has
been laid on the prophet of God. I
say, because of this abundant "grace" that has prevailed all through
the years, we are permitted to be here today.
Men, though, have taken advantage of God's "grace," and have
come to think that He has forsaken the earth, that He has left us to do as we
will, and to get along as best we can. We
all will change our minds as soon as God's forewarning is completed.
Hence, those Laodiceans who would avail themselves of the opportunity
to partake of this feast of fresh and unadulterated "meat in due
season," who would now at the last call hold to the "righteousness
by grace" already given them, -- they all may enter into the
"righteousness by faith" that is to be rewarded with "the
righteousness of Christ," and thus crowned with eternal life.
Obviously, all others will have to bear their own iniquity and pay
their own penalty. They will have
to perish.
True, you think you have need of nothing, but God Who really knows says
you are "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked,"
in need of everything. Would you
not take His advice and anoint your eyes with the eyesalve that you may see?
Finally, when the warning message has reached the people, then those
who do not profit by it, who do not reform, -- who fail to "sigh and cry
for all the abominations in the midst thereof," -- then it is that those
who do not now attain to "righteousness by faith," shall find
themselves without the "mark."
They will consequently have
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to
pay the penalty for their sins, perish under the slaughter weapons of the
angels. (Read Ezekiel Nine;
Testimonies For The Church, Vol. 3, pp. 266, 267; Testimonies For The Church,
Vol. 5, pp. 210, 211.)
Plainly, the house of Judah, since 1930 stands in the same need as the
house of Israel stood after 1890. They
all now need the message of today if they expect to have a home in the kingdom
of God. Moreover, it is plain to
see that what the house of Judah failed to accomplish after 1890 we must now
accomplish against greater odds and in less time.
The lessons that are taught in this chapter are these: First it is
pointed out that the period of "righteousness by grace" is now in
the past; that we have now come to the time in which our safety lies only in
practicing "righteousness by faith," if we expect to be rewarded
with the "righteousness of Christ," and crowned with eternal life.
The second lesson teaches that the Church does not yet have all the
Truth, and that which she does have is contaminated, "baked on
dung." Hence the great need
that we have Inspired Truth from the Throne of God; for with it we are saved,
and without it we are lost.
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THE
EDUCATION OF CHRISTIAN YOUTH--
WHERE
AND HOW OBTAINED
TEXT
OF ADDRESS BY V.T. HOUTEFF,
MINISTER
OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY
ADVENTISTS
SABBATH, NOVEMBER 13, 1948
MT.
CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO,
TEXAS
The well-rounded education of Christian youth is in three phases: the moral, the sacred, and the secular. These are obtained in three different schools: the home, the church school, and the public school.
Each of these schools has its own particularly important duty to
perform for the child's welfare. The
public school teaches the child how to get along in society.
The church school teaches him how to enter into life eternal.
But the home school, besides teaching him moral behaviour, lays the
foundation for all phases of education.
Moreover, the child not only begins life in the home, but also spends
most of his time there. The home
school, therefore, plays the most important role in shaping the child's life.
From this we can quickly see why a broken or an unorganized, careless
home can never meet the needs of the child.
Only by a miracle can a child brought up in such a home become a
decent, law-abiding citizen of the nation, and a respected member in the
church.
Yes, I say, only by a miracle can he climb to the top of the ladder in
the society of earth, to say nothing of his poor chances in the society of
Heaven.
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Let me illustrate the work of the home: The farmer casts the seed into
the earth, and proper conditions make it sprout and shoot its little blade
through the soil. To begin with,
though, the tiny plant feeds on the pulp of the seed while piercing its
delicate blade upward and sinking its tiny roots downward.
Thus while within the shell (the home) is the little plant (the child)
enabled to begin to shift for itself in getting food from the soil and
sunshine from the air to maintain life. This
very same principle works within the home: The child while at home must be
gradually at first and then fully put on its own by the parents.
If the parents fail to carry out this duty to their child, then the
child does not stand the fair chance in life which the Creator has ordained
that he should have.
At this point I shall read to you something about successful home
schools:
Gen.
18:16-19 -- "And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom:
and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;
seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the
nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
For I know him, that he will command his children and his household
after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and
judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken of
him."
It was Abraham's hospitality that brought such a great blessing to his
home -- the three Heavenly guests Who reaffirmed the promise of an heir.
And his accommodating act of showing
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Heavenly
guests Who reaffirmed the promise of an heir.
And his accommodating act of showing them the way to the city by
walking some distance with them, caused the angels to confide to him their sad
mission concerning Sodom. No
home, therefore, should be "forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby
some have entertained angels unawares." Heb. 13:2.
In the verses which we read a moment ago, we are told that Abraham was
to become a great and mighty nation because he would command his children and
his household after God, to keep the way of the Lord, to do "justice and
judgment." God recognized
that Abraham's home was to be a model home school, and thus this Patriarch of
the Ages became a "friend of God," and the "father of the
faithful." God, you see,
honors parents who run their homes right, who command their households after
Him.
Shall we now examine to see to what extent Abraham's was a model home
school? -- His son, Isaac, you know, was only about seventeen years of age
when the word of the Lord came to Abraham that he should sacrifice his only
son. The father faithfully obeyed
the command, and took Isaac on that trying historical as well as educational
journey. Not until the very last
minute was he told that he was to be the sacrificial victim.
But did he become upset or did he resist when told of it? -- No,
indeed. On the contrary, he did
all that he could to comfort his father, and willingly and cheerfully laid
himself upon the altar!
What does all this mean? -- It means that Isaac had received a perfect
training in his home, and so he respected both the father's
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judgment
and religion. He was submissive
to his God, and full of faith. Knowing
that God's way was for his best interests, he resolved that it would be better
to die than to disobey either God or his father.
We shall now go further and look for an example in Isaac's own home to
see what kind of parent and teacher he was.
Esau and Jacob were his twin sons, you know, and both of them were
raised in his home. If you read
between the lines in this familiar Bible story, you will find two teachers and
two sets of students in Isaac's home: Isaac loved Esau, and Rebecca loved
Jacob.
Jacob was a helping hand to his mother, and thereby learned how to
prepare food that was both attractive and tasty.
Thus was he able to make a bowl of pottage which sold higher than any
other dish ever sold. Besides
learning the culinary art, he was intensely interested in religion, and fitted
himself to sit on the patriarchal throne.
On the other hand, Esau was interested only in temporal things, and
sacrificed his heirship to the throne for the sake of sports and ungoverned
appetite. Rather than become
skilled in his religious duties, he became skilled in hunting.
Consequently the heirship to the patriarchal throne meant no more to
him than the price of a bowl of pottage.
In these two youth we see two opposing aims in life -- one was given to
sports, the other to religion. Isaac
was well aware of this, but since he loved Esau more than he did Jacob, and
since Esau was the eldest son, he saw no reason
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that
Esau should not receive the blessing and sit on the patriarchal throne.
Rebecca, however, was quick to discern that Esau was unfit for the
position, and that Jacob would make good at it.
So it was that while on the one hand Isaac instructed Esau to prepare a
feast and come to him for the blessing, on the other hand Rebecca advised and
helped Jacob to impersonate Esau and obtain the blessing by taking advantage
of his father's dim eyesight. This
deception, of course, worked out as it did only because Providence was at
work.
Now, let us see what we have learned about the training of Esau and the
training of Jacob: Since Isaac was closely attached to Esau, and Rebecca to
Jacob, and since Esau was a failure and Jacob a success, can it not be
concluded that Rebecca succeeded in properly schooling Jacob, whereas Isaac
overlooked Esau's need of getting acquainted with God and with the duties in
the home that were his?
From this comparison I take the liberty to say that Isaac was a
somewhat indulgent father, and that Rebecca was a more firm and strict mother.
True, there must have been one kind of material in the make-up of Jacob
and another in the make-up of Esau, but Esau should have been reproved; and if
reproof could not help him, then the blessing should not have been offered to
him. No, firmness should never
give way to indulgence.
Next we shall peek into the home school which Jacob himself conducted,
and see what were the results. Considering
the facts that his family was larger (thirteen children in all) than the
families of his forefathers; that all of his sons
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were
accepted to become the progenitors of the subjects of the church eternal; that
his son, Joseph, had perfect control of himself, nurtured a forgiving spirit,
respected his father, clung to Heaven's precepts, and found favor with God and
man; -- I say that by all these facts we know that Jacob gave his household
the finest training possible. At
the very least, he raised one of the greatest and the most noble characters
the world has ever seen.
I believe that time will permit us to consider another good home
school, the home into which Moses was born.
Knowing that Abraham and his seed were to sojourn in a strange land
only 430 years, Moses' mother realized that the time of deliverance from
Egyptian bondage was at hand in her day.
But Pharaoh's decree demanded that every Hebrew male child be cast into
the Nile, and so in spite of it she determined to hide her newborn son.
Peradventure, she thought, he might be the one to lead the Hebrew host
out of Egypt and into the promised land, and if so, God would spare him.
Three months later, though, she found that she could no longer hide
Baby Moses, and so rather than take the inevitable risk of losing him, she
made a little ark, put the infant into it, and placed it in God's care on the
Nile. God took charge of the
situation and the child lived. Now
note the miracle: As soon as the king's daughter saw the child, she knew that
it was a Hebrew child, but rather than let him be put to death as Pharaoh had
decreed, she adopted him! Moreover,
Providence designed that the child should be raised in a Hebrew home.
Thus
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it
was that Baby Moses was Providentially returned to his own mother for care,
and all home expenses were paid from the king's treasure!
Evidently after witnessing all these miracles, the mother knew
positively that Moses was to be the deliverer.
And the home training which he was given during those twelve years with
his mother, Moses never forgot even amidst the rank and file of the world's
greatest royal throne of his day.
Indeed, the training one receives in the home, you see, is the
foundation of his entire future.
In vivid contrast to these good homes, I shall call your attention to
one or two bad home schools, and the results of them.
First I am thinking of Lot's home.
O, yes, I know that Lot was a great figure in Sodom, but no one would
hear his plea the night Sodom was to be reduced to smoke and ashes for the
winds to carry away and for the Dead Sea to lodge over.
No, not even his own children who were comfortably situated in their
respective homes would listen to him. Only
two of his daughters escaped the great conflagration, simply because the
angels snatched them out as brands from the fire.
What a failure was Lot's home! What
a great loss! Two causes underlay
all that came upon him: first, because he pitched his tent toward Sodom; and
second because he neglected to bring up his household in the fear of God.
Moreover,
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had
Lot led into Truth and righteousness even ten souls out of that vast
population of Sodom, he would have spared both Sodom and Gomorrah from
destruction.
May I now speak to you of another bad home, that of Eli's, the ancient
priest of Israel. He, as did Lot,
made a complete failure of his home, although time and again he was warned
about his neglect.
1
Sam. 2:27-35 -- "And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him,
Thus saith the Lord, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when
they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house? And
did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer
upon Mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before Me?
and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by
fire of the children of Israel? Wherefore
kick ye at My sacrifice and at Mine offering, which I have commanded in My
habitation; and honourest thy sons above Me, to make yourselves fat with the
chiefest of all the offerings of Israel My people?
Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house,
and the house of thy father, should walk before Me for ever: but now the Lord
saith, Be it far from Me; for them that honour Me I will honour, and they that
despise Me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold,
the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's
house, that there shall no be an old man in thine house.
And thou shalt see an enemy in My habitation, in all the wealth which
God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for
ever. And the man of thine,
whom I shall not cut off from Mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and
to grieve thine
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heart:
and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age.
And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons,
on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.
And I will raise Me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to
that which is in Mine heart and in My mind: and I will build him a sure house;
and he shall walk before Mine anointed for ever."
These verses reveal that Eli was reproved for his carelessness in not
commanding his household after God. He
was even forewarned of the inevitable results of his laxness; that his
household, his entire posterity, would die in the flower of age if he thus
continued on. But Eli did nothing
about it, and therefore suffered the results which he had been warned about.
Are not these things written for our learning, for our ensamples?
Why, then, are more homes wrecked today as a result of bad home
training, or no training, than were wrecked in the days of Eli?
And, strange as it seems, this catastrophe occurs more often than not
in homes where the parents are so very particular that their children not
enter a public school but obtain their entire education in the church school.
Indeed, the fault does not lie with the church school itself, but in
the fact that the parents expect the parochial school to assume the
responsibilities of parenthood -- to
do that which the parents themselves fail to do.
And let me tell you that be it the church school or the public school,
neither one can take the place of the home school.
Besides, since the church schools are largely a family affair, to a
great extent ordered by the parents themselves, these schools already
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have
proved a miserable failure! If
you doubt this alarming statement, then poll your church membership, and to
your surprise you will find that the majority of them are the product of the
public school, and that the majority of the church school graduates are out in
the world. After hearing these
remarks, a sister polled her church and found that 70% were educated in the
public school; 27% in both public and church school; and 3% in the church
school only!
This is not all: You will find that the church members who are half
converted, or not converted, are usually, if not altogether, the product of
the church school. Still further,
you will find that the greatest champions against timely Truth, against
"meat in due season," and the promulgators of abominations in the
church, are generally the product of the church school!
My experience for years in the gospel work has proved to me that what I
am saying is true. Do not
misunderstand me; I am not accusing anyone.
I am only trying to help each of you for your own good to awake to the
situation, and to take heed to the Word of God.
Soon the authorities may begin to jail the parents, too, upon the
arrest and misdemeanor of the children, if the homes continue to carry on as
they now do.
A noted writer and authority on social relations and problems, Leon J.
Saul, has this to say in his book entitled, Emotional Maturity: "There
are no problem children, only problem parents and problem environments."
And if I now become your enemy because I tell you the truth, then will
you not yourself confirm these things?
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We have now seen the results both of good home schools and of bad home
schools, but we shall be most helped by looking into the system of education
which Inspiration recommended, and by making it our system for teaching the
young. It is this:
Exod.
12:22-27 -- "And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood
that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the
blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his
house until the morning. For the
Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He seeth the blood
upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door,
and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.
And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy
sons for ever. And it shall come
to pass, when ye be come to the land which the Lord will give you, according
as He hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.
And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What
mean ye by this service? That ye
shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, Who passed over the
houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when He smote the Egyptians, and
delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped."
Josh.
4:5-7 -- "And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the Ark of the Lord
your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone
upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of
Israel: that this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their
fathers in time to come,
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saying,
What mean ye by these stones? Then
ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the Ark of
the Covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan
were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of
Israel for ever."
God, we see, sets memorials for the important things of life so as to
provoke inquiries. Parents should
do likewise to create interest in the things they want their children to be
instructed in.
Deut.
6:4-9 -- "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy might. And these words,
which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach
them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in
thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and
when thou risest up. And thou
shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets
between thine eyes. And thou
shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates."
The important things of life should ever be held before the children,
and always in an interesting way, -- never in a way to make them tired of
religion, and never in a way that will cause the study to become a drudgery.
Both parents and children should ever remember that God is counting on
them, and that they themselves can either build or restrict
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their
futures. This we see most notably
in the following:
Because the work of Jesus was of tremendous importance and of great
consequence, God was exceedingly particular about the parentage of Jesus.
For this reason he chose the lineage of Abraham (a good tree), of
Isaac, Jacob, Judas, Jesse, David, and down through the line of lineage to
Joseph, who became the husband of Mary. Even
though Joseph was to be but a foster father to Jesus, God was particular in
choosing him.
And as careful as God was about who the foster father of Jesus should
be, He was even more particular in the selection of a mother for Jesus.
Thus God chose the Saviour's mother from the line of Joseph, the son of
Jacob.
How do I know what was the parental lineage of Jesus? -- Well, His
foster father's lineage I know from the chronology which Saint Matthew gives.
And His mother's lineage I know from Moses' prophecy of which I shall
now read: "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well;
whose branches run over the wall: the archers have sorely grieved him, and
shot at him, and hated him: but his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his
hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence
is the shepherd, the stone of Israel)." Gen. 49:22-24.
Not only was Jesus' parental lineage carefully selected, but so also
has been selected the lineage of every one of God's men who were entrusted
with weighty responsibilities. Why,
I ask you, would such precautions be taken if the parents do not bear the most
important part
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in
the life of the children?
It must now be remembered, then, that though the child obtains his
properly rounded education in three schools -- the home, the church school,
and the public school, his most important school is the home, for the child is
largely what the home makes him.
"And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto
the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all His commandments which
I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all
nations of the earth: and all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake
thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.
"Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in
the field. Blessed shall be the
fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle,
the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be
when thou goest out." Deut. 28:1-6.
It would do your soul good if you read at home about the parents' duty
as set forth in Counsels To Teachers, pp. 158, 159; Testimonies For The
Church, Vol. 3, pp. 143, 144; and the children's duty in Exodus 20:12; 2 Cor.
6:14-18; 1 Cor. 6:15-20.
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