Not Judging, but Doing
MB.123.001
"Judge not, that ye be not judged." Matthew 7:1 . The
effort to earn salvation by one's own works inevitably leads men
to pile up human exactions as a barrier against sin. For, seeing
that they fail to keep the law, they will devise rules and
regulations of their own to force themselves to obey. All this
turns the mind away from God to self. His love dies out of the
heart, and with it perishes love for his fellow men. A system of
human invention, with its multitudinous exactions, will lead its
advocates to judge all who come short of the prescribed human
standard. The atmosphere of selfish and narrow criticism stifles
the noble and generous emotions, and causes men to become
self-centered judges and petty spies.
MB.123.002
The Pharisees were of this class. They came forth from their
religious services, not humbled with a sense of their own
weakness, not grateful for the great privileges that God had
given them. They came forth filled with spiritual pride, and
their theme was, "Myself, my feelings, my knowledge, my
ways." Their own attainments became the standard by which
they judged others. Putting on the robes of self-dignity, they
mounted the judgment seat to criticize and condemn.
MB.123.003
The people partook largely of the same spirit, intruding upon the
province of conscience and judging one another in matters that
lay between the soul and God. It was in reference to this spirit
and practice that Jesus said, "Judge not, that ye be not
judged." That is, do not set yourself up as a standard. Do
not make your opinions, your views of duty, your interpretations
of Scripture, a criterion for others and in your heart condemn
them if they do not come up to your ideal. Do not criticize
others, conjecturing as to their motives and passing judgment
upon them.
MB.124.001
"Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who
both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will
make manifest the counsels of the hearts." 1 Corinthians
4:5. We cannot read the heart. Ourselves faulty, we are not
qualified to sit in judgment upon others. Finite men can judge
only from outward appearance. To Him alone who knows the secret
springs of action, and who deals tenderly and compassionately, is
it given to decide the case of every soul.
MB.124.002
"Thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that
judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest
thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things."
Romans 2:1. Thus those who condemn or criticize others, proclaim
themselves guilty, for they do the same things. In condemning
others, they are passing sentence upon themselves, and God
declares that this sentence is just. He accepts their own verdict
against themselves.
"These clumsy feet, still in the mire,
Go crushing blossoms without end;
These hard, well-meaning hands we thrust
Among the heartstrings of a friend."
MB.125.001
"Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's
eye?" Matthew 7:3 . Even the sentence, "Thou that
judgest doest the same things," does not reach the magnitude
of his sin who presumes to criticize and condemn his brother.
Jesus said, "Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy
brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own
eye?"
MB.125.002
His words describe one who is swift to discern a defect in
others. When he thinks he has detected a flaw in the character or
the life he is exceedingly zealous in trying to point it out; but
Jesus declares that the very trait of character developed in
doing this un-Christlike work, is, in comparison with the fault
criticized, as a beam in proportion to a mote. It is one's own
lack of the spirit of forbearance and love that leads him to make
a world of an atom. Those who have never experienced the
contrition of an entire surrender to Christ do not in their life
make manifest the softening influence of the Saviour's love. They
misrepresent the gentle, courteous spirit of the gospel and wound
precious souls, for whom Christ died. According to the figure
that our Saviour uses, he who indulges a censorious spirit is
guilty of greater sin than is the one he accuses, for he not only
commits the same sin, but adds to it conceit and censoriousness.
MB.125.003
Christ is the only true standard of character, and he who sets
himself up as a standard for others is putting himself in the
place of Christ. And since the Father "hath committed all
judgment unto the Son" (John 5:22), whoever presumes to
judge the motives of others is again usurping the prerogative of
the Son of God. These would-be judges and critics are placing
themselves on the side of antichrist, "who opposeth and
exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is
worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God,
showing himself that he is God." 2 Thessalonians 2:4.
MB.126.001
The sin that leads to the most unhappy results is the cold,
critical, unforgiving spirit that characterizes Pharisaism. When
the religious experience is devoid of love, Jesus is not there;
the sunshine of His presence is not there. No busy activity or
Christless zeal can supply the lack. There may be a wonderful
keenness of perception to discover the defects of others; but to
everyone who indulges this spirit, Jesus says, "Thou
hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then
shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's
eye." He who is guilty of wrong is the first to suspect
wrong. By condemning another he is trying to conceal or excuse
the evil of his own heart. It was through sin that men gained the
knowledge of evil; no sooner had the first pair sinned than they
began to accuse each other; and this is what human nature will
inevitably do when uncontrolled by the grace of Christ.
MB.126.002
When men indulge this accusing spirit, they are not satisfied
with pointing out what they suppose to be a defect in their
brother. If milder means fail of making him do what they think
ought to be done, they will resort to compulsion. Just as far as
lies in their power they will force men to comply with their
ideas of what is right. This is what the Jews did in the days of
Christ and what the church has done ever since whenever she has
lost the grace of Christ. Finding herself destitute of the power
of love, she has reached out for the strong arm of the state to
enforce her dogmas and execute her decrees. Here is the secret of
all religious laws that have ever been enacted, and the secret of
all persecution from the days of Abel to our own time.
MB.127.001
Christ does not drive but draws men unto Him. The only compulsion
which He employs is the constraint of love. When the church
begins to seek for the support of secular power, it is evident
that she is devoid of the power of Christ--the constraint of
divine love.
MB.127.002
But the difficulty lies with the individual members of the
church, and it is here that the cure must be wrought. Jesus bids
the accuser first cast the beam out of his own eye, renounce his
censorious spirit, confess and forsake his own sin, before trying
to correct others. For "a good tree bringeth not forth
corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good
fruit." Luke 6:43. This accusing spirit which you indulge is
evil fruit, and shows that the tree is evil. It is useless for
you to build yourselves up in self-righteousness. What you need
is a change of heart. You must have this experience before you
are fitted to correct others; for "out of the abundance of
the heart the mouth speaketh." Matthew 12:34.
MB.127.003
When a crisis comes in the life of any soul, and you attempt to
give counsel or admonition, your words will have only the weight
of influence for good that your own example and spirit have
gained for you. You must be good before you can do good. You
cannot exert an influence that will transform others until your
own heart has been humbled and refined and made tender by the
grace of Christ. When this change has been wrought in you, it
will be as natural for you to live to bless others as it is for
the rosebush to yield its fragrant bloom or the vine its purple
clusters.
MB.128.001
If Christ is in you "the hope of glory," you will have
no disposition to watch others, to expose their errors. Instead
of seeking to accuse and condemn, it will be your object to help,
to bless, and to save. In dealing with those who are in error,
you will heed the injunction, Consider "thyself, lest thou
also be tempted." Galatians 6:1. You will call to mind the
many times you have erred and how hard it was to find the right
way when you had once left it. You will not push your brother
into greater darkness, but with a heart full of pity will tell
him of his danger.
MB.128.002
He who looks often upon the cross of Calvary, remembering that
his sins placed the Saviour there, will never try to estimate the
degree of his guilt in comparison with that of others. He will
not climb upon the judgment seat to bring accusation against
another. There can be no spirit of criticism or self-exaltation
on the part of those who walk in the shadow of Calvary's cross.
MB.128.003
Not until you feel that you could sacrifice your own
self-dignity, and even lay down your life in order to save an
erring brother, have you cast the beam out of your own eye so
that you are prepared to help your brother. Then you can approach
him and touch his heart. No one has ever been reclaimed from a
wrong position by censure and reproach; but many have thus been
driven from Christ and led to seal their hearts against
conviction. A tender spirit, a gentle, winning deportment, may
save the erring and hide a multitude of sins. The revelation of
Christ in your own character will have a transforming power upon
all with whom you come in contact. Let Christ be daily made
manifest in you, and He will reveal through you the creative
energy of How word--a gentle, persuasive, yet mighty influence to
re-create other souls in the beauty of the Lord our God.
MB.129.001
"Give not that which is holy unto the dogs," Matthew
7:6 . Jesus here refers to a class who have no desire to escape
from the slavery of sin. By indulgence in the corrupt and vile
their natures have become so degraded that they cling to the evil
and will not be separated from it. The servants of Christ should
not allow themselves to be hindered by those who would make the
gospel only a matter of contention and ridicule.
MB.129.002
But the Saviour never passed by one soul, however sunken in sin,
who was willing to receive the precious truths of heaven. To
publicans and harlots His words were the beginning of a new life.
Mary Magdalene, out of whom He cast seven devils, was the last at
the Saviour's tomb and the first whom He greeted in the morning
of His resurrection. It was Saul of Tarsus, 130 one of the most
determined enemies of the gospel, who became Paul the devoted
minister of Christ. Beneath an appearance of hatred and contempt,
even beneath crime and degradation, may be hidden a soul that the
grace of Christ will rescue to shine as a jewel in the Redeemer's
crown.
MB.130.001
"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you." Matthew 7:7 . To
leave no chance for unbelief, misunderstanding, or
misinterpretation of His words, the Lord repeats the thrice-given
promise. He longs to have those who would seek after God believe
in Him who is able to do all things. Therefore He adds, "For
everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and
to him that knocketh it shall be opened."
MB.130.002
The Lord specifies no conditions except that you hunger for His
mercy, desire His counsel, and long for His love.
"Ask." The asking, makes it manifest that you realize
your necessity; and if you ask in faith you will receive. The
Lord has pledged His word, and it cannot fail. If you come with
true contrition you need not feel that you are presumptuous in
asking for what the Lord has promised. When you ask for the
blessings you need, that you may perfect a character after
Christ's likeness, the Lord assures you that you are asking
according to a promise that will be verified. That you feel and
know you are a sinner is sufficient ground for asking for His
mercy and compassion. The condition upon which you may come to
God is not that you shall be holy, but that you desire Him to
cleanse you from all sin and purify you from all iniquity. The
argument that we may plead now and ever is our great need, our
utterly helpless state, that makes Him and His redeeming power a
necessity.
MB.131.001
"Seek." Desire not merely His blessing, but Himself.
"Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace." Job
22:21. Seek, and you shall find. God is seeking you, and the very
desire you feel to come to Him is but the drawing of His Spirit.
Yield to that drawing. Christ is pleading the cause of the
tempted, the erring, and the faithless. He is seeking to lift
them into companionship with Himself. "If thou seek Him, He
will be found of thee." 1 Chronicles 28:9.
MB.131.002
"Knock." We come to God by special invitation, and He
waits to welcome us to His audience chamber. The first disciples
who followed Jesus were not satisfied with a hurried conversation
with Him by the way; they said, "Rabbi, . . . where dwellest
Thou? . . . They came and saw where He dwelt, and abode with Him
that day." John 1:38, 39. So we may be admitted into closest
intimacy and communion with God. "He that dwelleth in the
secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the
Almighty." Psalm 91:1. Let those who desire the blessing of
God knock and wait at the door of mercy with firm assurance,
saying, For Thou, O Lord, hast said, "Everyone that asketh
receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh
it shall be opened."
MB.131.003
Jesus looked upon those who were assembled to hear His words, and
earnestly desired that the great multitude might appreciate the
mercy and loving-kindness of God. As an illustration of their
need, and of God's willingness to give, He presents before them a
hungry child asking his earthly parent for bread. "What man
is there of you, " He said, "whom if his son ask bread,
will he give him a stone?" He appeals to the tender, natural
affection of a parent for his child and then says, "If ye
then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children,
how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good
things to them that ask Him?" No man with a father's heart
would turn from his son who is hungry and is asking for bread.
Would they think him capable of trifling with his child, of
tantalizing him by raising his expectations only to disappoint
him? Would he promise to give him good and nourishing food, and
then give him a stone? And should anyone dishonor God by
imagining that He would not respond to the appeals of His
children?
MB.132.001
If ye, then, being human and evil, "know how to give good
gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly
Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?" Luke
11:13. The Holy Spirit, the representative of Himself, is the
greatest of all gifts. All "good things" are comprised
in this. The Creator Himself can give us nothing greater, nothing
better. When we beseech the Lord to pity us in our distress, and
to guide us by His Holy Spirit, He will never turn away our
prayer. It is possible even for a parent to turn away from his
hungry child, but God can never reject the cry of the needy and
longing heart. With what wonderful tenderness He has described
His love! To those who in days of darkness feel that God is
unmindful of them, this is the message from the Father's heart:
"Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath
forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she
should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may
forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee
upon the palms of My hands." Isaiah 49:14-16.
MB.133.001
Every promise in the word of God furnishes us with subject matter
for prayer, presenting the pledged word of Jehovah as our
assurance. Whatever spiritual blessing we need, it is our
privilege to claim through Jesus. We may tell the Lord, with the
simplicity of a child, exactly what we need. We may state to Him
our temporal matters, asking Him for bread and raiment as well as
for the bread of life and the robe of Christ's righteousness.
Your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these
things, and you are invited to ask Him concerning them. It is
through the name of Jesus that every favor is received. God will
honor that name, and will supply your necessities from the riches
of His liberality.
MB.133.002
But do not forget that in coming to God as a father you
acknowledge your relation to Him as a child. You not only trust
His goodness, but in all things yield to His will, knowing that
His love is changeless. You give yourself to do His work. It was
to those whom He had bidden to seek first the kingdom of God and
His righteousness that Jesus gave the promise, "Ask, and ye
shall receive." John 16:24.
MB.133.003
The gifts of Him who has all power in heaven and earth are in
store for the children of God. Gifts so precious that they come
to us through the costly sacrifice of the Redeemer's blood; gifts
that will satisfy the deepest craving of the heart, gifts lasting
as eternity, will be received and enjoyed by all who will come to
God as little children. Take God's promises as your own, plead
them before Him as His own words, and you will receive fullness
of joy.
MB.134.001
"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do
to you, do ye even so to them." Matthew 7:12 . On the
assurance of the love of God toward us, Jesus enjoins love to one
another, in one comprehensive principle covering all the
relations of human fellowship.
MB.134.002
The Jews had been concerned about what they should receive; the
burden of their anxiety was to secure what they thought their due
of power and respect and service. But Christ teaches that our
anxiety should not be, How much are we to receive? but, How much
can we give? The standard of our obligation to others is found in
what we ourselves would regard as their obligation to us.
MB.134.003
In your association with others, put yourself in their place.
Enter into their feelings, their difficulties, their
disappointments, their joys, and their sorrows. Identify yourself
with them, and then do to them as, were you to exchange places
with them, you would wish them to deal with you. This is the true
rule of honesty. It is another expression of the law. "Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Matthew 22:39. And it
is the substance of the teaching of the prophets. It is a
principle of heaven, and will be developed in all who are fitted
for its holy companionship.
MB.135.001
The golden rule is the principle of true courtesy, and its truest
illustration is seen in the life and character of Jesus. Oh, what
rays of softness and beauty shone forth in the daily life of our
Saviour! What sweetness flowed from His very presence! The same
spirit will be revealed in His children. Those with whom Christ
dwells will be surrounded with a divine atmosphere. Their white
robes of purity will be fragrant with perfume from the garden of
the Lord. Their faces will reflect light from His, brightening
the path for stumbling and weary feet.
MB.135.002
No man who has the true ideal of what constitutes a perfect
character will fail to manifest the sympathy and tenderness of
Christ. The influence of grace is to soften the heart, to refine
and purify the feelings, giving a heaven-born delicacy and sense
of propriety.
MB.135.003
But there is a yet deeper significance to the golden rule.
Everyone who has been made a steward of the manifold grace of God
is called upon to impart to souls in ignorance and darkness, even
as, were he in their place, he would desire them to impart to
him. The apostle Paul said, "I am debtor both to the Greeks,
and to the barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise."
Romans 1:14. By all that you have known of the love of God, by
all that you have received of the rich gifts of His grace above
the most benighted and degraded soul upon the earth are you in
debt to that soul to impart these gifts unto him. 136
MB.136.001
So also with the gifts and blessings of this life: whatever you
may possess above your fellows places you in debt, to that
degree, to all who are less favored. Have we wealth, or even the
comforts of life, then we are under the most solemn obligation to
care for the suffering sick, the widow, and the fatherless
exactly as we would desire them to care for us were our condition
and theirs to be reversed.
MB.136.002
The golden rule teaches, by implication, the same truth which is
taught elsewhere in the Sermon on the Mount, that "with what
measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." That
which we do to others, whether it be good or evil, will surely
react upon ourselves, in blessing or in cursing. Whatever we
give, we shall receive again. The earthly blessings which we
impart to others may be, and often are, repaid in kind. What we
give does, in time of need, often come back to us in fourfold
measure in the coin of the realm. But, besides this, all gifts
are repaid, even in this life, in the fuller inflowing of His
love, which is the sum of all heaven's glory and its treasure.
And evil imparted also returns again. Everyone who has been free
to condemn or discourage, will in his own experience be brought
over the ground where he has caused others to pass; he will feel
what they have suffered because of his want of sympathy and
tenderness.
MB.136.003
It is the love of God toward us that has decreed this. He would
lead us to abhor our own hardness of heart and to open our hearts
to let Jesus abide in them. And thus, out of evil, good is
brought, and what appeared a curse becomes a blessing.
MB.136.004
The standard of the golden rule is the true standard of
Christianity; anything short of it is a deception. A religion
that leads men to place a low estimate upon human beings, whom
Christ has esteemed of such value as to give Himself for them; a
religion that would lead us to be careless of human needs,
sufferings, or rights, is a spurious religion. In slighting the
claims of the poor, the suffering, and the sinful, we are proving
ourselves traitors to Christ. It is because men take upon
themselves the name of Christ, while in life they deny His
character, that Christianity has so little power in the world.
The name of the Lord is blasphemed because of these things.
MB.137.001
Of the apostolic church, in those bright days when the glory of
the risen Christ shone upon them, it is written that no man said
"that aught of the things which he possessed was his
own." "Neither was there any among them that
lacked." "And with great power gave the apostles
witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace
was upon them all." "And they, continuing daily with
one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house,
did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord
added to the church daily such as should be saved." Acts
4:32, 34, 33; 2:46, 47.
MB.137.002
Search heaven and earth, and there is no truth revealed more
powerful than that which is made manifest in works of mercy to
those who need our sympathy and aid. This is the truth as it is
in Jesus. When those who profess the name of Christ shall
practice the principles of the golden rule, the same power will
attend the gospel as in apostolic times. 138
MB.138.001
"Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth
unto life." Matthew 7:14 . In the time of Christ the people
of Palestine lived in walled towns, which were mostly situated
upon hills or mountains. The gates, which were closed at sunset,
were approached by steep, rocky roads, and the traveler
journeying homeward at the close of the day often had to press
his way in eager haste up the difficult ascent in order to reach
the gate before nightfall. The loiterer was left without.
MB.138.002
The narrow, upward road leading to home and rest furnished Jesus
with an impressive figure of the Christian way. The path which I
have set before you, He said, is narrow; the gate is difficult of
entrance; for the golden rule excludes all pride and
self-seeking. There is, indeed, a wider road; but its end is
destruction. If you would climb the path of spiritual life, you
must constantly ascend; for it is an upward way. You must go with
the few; for the multitude will choose the downward path.
MB.138.003
In the road to death the whole race may go, with all their
worldliness, all their selfishness, all their pride, dishonesty,
and moral debasement. There is room for every man's opinions and
doctrines, space to follow his inclinations, to do whatever his
self-love may dictate. In order to go in the path that leads to
destruction, there is no need of searching for the way; for the
gate is wide, and the way is broad, and the feet naturally turn
into the path that ends in death.
MB.138.004
But the way to life is narrow and the entrance strait. If you
cling to any besetting sin you will find the way too narrow for
you to enter. Your own ways, your own will, your evil habits and
practices, must be given up if you would keep the way of the
Lord. He who would serve Christ cannot follow the world's
opinions or meet the world's standard. Heaven's path is too
narrow for rank and riches to ride in state, too narrow for the
play of self-centered ambition, too steep and rugged for lovers
of ease to climb. Toil, patience, self-sacrifice, reproach,
poverty, the contradiction of sinners against Himself, was the
portion of Christ, and it must be our portion, if we ever enter
the Paradise of God.
MB.139.001
Yet do not therefore conclude that the upward path is the hard
and the downward road the easy way. All along the road that leads
to death there are pains and penalties, there are sorrows and
disappointments, there are warnings not to go on. God's love has
made it hard for the heedless and headstrong to destroy
themselves. It is true that Satan's path is made to appear
attractive, but it is all a deception; in the way of evil there
are bitter remorse and cankering care. We may think it pleasant
to follow pride and worldly ambition, but the end is pain and
sorrow. Selfish plans may present flattering promises and hold
out the hope of enjoyment, but we shall find that our happiness
is poisoned and our life embittered by hopes that center in self.
In the downward road the gateway may be bright with flowers, but
thorns are in the path. The light of hope which shines from its
entrance fades into the darkness of despair, and the soul who
follows that path descends into the shadows of unending night.
140
MB.140.001
"The way of transgressors is hard," but wisdom's
"ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are
peace." Proverbs 13:15; 3:17. Every act of obedience to
Christ, every act of self-denial for His sake, every trial well
endured, every victory gained over temptation, is a step in the
march to the glory of final victory. If we take Christ for our
guide, He will lead us safely. The veriest sinner need not miss
his way. Not one trembling seeker need fail of walking in pure
and holy light. Though the path is so narrow, so holy that sin
cannot be tolerated therein, yet access has been secured for all,
and not one doubting, trembling soul need say, "God cares
nought for me."
MB.140.002
The road may be rough and the ascent steep; there may be pitfalls
upon the right hand and upon the left; we may have to endure toil
in our journey; when weary, when longing for rest, we may have to
toil on; when faint, we may have to fight; when discouraged, we
must still hope; but with Christ as our guide we shall not fail
of reaching the desired haven at last. Christ Himself has trodden
the rough way before us and has smoothed the path for our feet.
MB.140.003
And all the way up the steep road leading to eternal life are
well-springs of joy to refresh the weary. Those who walk in
wisdom's ways are, even in tribulation, exceeding joyful; for He
whom their soul loveth, walks, invisible, beside them. At each
upward step they discern more distinctly the touch of His hand;
at every step brighter gleamings of glory from the Unseen fall
upon their path; and their songs of praise, reaching ever a
higher note, ascend to join the songs of angels before the
throne. "The path of the righteous is as the light of dawn,
that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." Proverbs
4:18, R.V., margin.
MB.141.001
Strive to enter in at the strait gate." Luke 13:24 . The
belated traveler, hurrying to reach the city gate by the going
down of the sun, could not turn aside for any attractions by the
way. His whole mind was bent on the one purpose of entering the
gate. The same intensity of purpose, said Jesus, is required in
the Christian life. I have opened to you the glory of character,
which is the true glory of My kingdom. It offers you no promise
of earthly dominion; yet it is worthy of your supreme desire and
effort. I do not call you to battle for the supremacy of the
world's great empire, but do not therefore conclude that there is
no battle to be fought nor victories to be won. I bid you strive,
agonize, to enter into My spiritual kingdom.
MB.141.002
The Christian life is a battle and a march. But the victory to be
gained is not won by human power. The field of conflict is the
domain of the heart. The battle which we have to fight--the
greatest battle that was ever fought by man--is the surrender of
self to the will of God, the yielding of the heart to the
sovereignty of love. The old nature, born of blood and of the
will of the flesh, cannot inherit the kingdom of God. The
hereditary tendencies, the former habits, must be given up.
MB.141.003
He who determines to enter the spiritual kingdom will find that
all the powers and passions of an unregenerate nature, backed by
the forces of the kingdom of darkness, are arrayed against him.
Selfishness and pride will make a stand against anything that
would show them to be sinful. We cannot, of ourselves, conquer
the evil desires and habits that strive for the mastery. We
cannot overcome the mighty foe who holds us in his thrall. God
alone can give us the victory. He desires us to have the mastery
over ourselves, our own will and ways. But He cannot work in us
without our consent and co-operation. The divine Spirit works
through the faculties and powers given to man. Our energies are
required to co-operate with God.
MB.142.001
The victory is not won without much earnest prayer, without the
humbling of self at every step. Our will is not to be forced into
co-operation with divine agencies, but it must be voluntarily
submitted. Were it possible to force upon you with a hundredfold
greater intensity the influence of the Spirit of God, it would
not make you a Christian, a fit subject for heaven. The
stronghold of Satan would not be broken. The will must be placed
on the side of God's will. You are not able, of yourself, to
bring your purposes and desires and inclinations into submission
to the will of God; but if you are "willing to be made
willing," God will accomplish the work for you, even
"casting down imaginations, and every high thing that
exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into
captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." 2
Corinthians 10:5. Then you will "work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both
to will and to do of His good pleasure." Philippians 2:12,
13.
MB.143.001
But many are attracted by the beauty of Christ and the glory of
heaven, who yet shrink from the conditions by which alone these
can become their own. There are many in the broad way who are not
fully satisfied with the path in which they walk. They long to
break from the slavery of sin, and in their own strength they
seek to make a stand against their sinful practices. They look
toward the narrow way and the strait gate; but selfish pleasure,
love of the world, pride, unsanctified ambition, place a barrier
between them and the Saviour. To renounce their own will, their
chosen objects of affection or pursuit, requires a sacrifice at
which they hesitate and falter and turn back. Many "will
seek to enter in, and shall not be able." Luke 13:24. They
desire the good, they make some effort to obtain it; but they do
not choose it; they have not a settled purpose to secure it at
the cost of all things.
MB.143.002
The only hope for us if we would overcome is to unite our will to
God's will and work in co-operation with Him, hour by hour and
day by day. We cannot retain self and yet enter the kingdom of
God. If we ever attain unto holiness, it will be through the
renunciation of self and the reception of the mind of Christ.
Pride and self-sufficiency must be crucified. Are we willing to
pay the price required of us? Are we willing to have our will
brought into perfect conformity to the will of God? Until we are
willing, the transforming grace of God cannot be manifest upon
us.
MB.143.003
The warfare which we are to wage is the "good fight of
faith." "I also labor," said the apostle Paul,
"striving according to His working, which worketh in me
mightily." Colossians 1:29.
MB.144.001
Jacob, in the great crisis of his life, turned aside to pray. He
was filled with one overmastering purpose--to seek for
transformation of character. But while he was pleading with God,
an enemy, as he supposed, placed his hand upon him, and all night
he wrestled for his life. But the purpose of his soul was not
changed by peril of life itself. When his strength was nearly
spent, the Angel put forth His divine power, and at His touch
Jacob knew Him with whom he had been contending. Wounded and
helpless, he fell upon the Saviour's breast, pleading for a
blessing. He would not be turned aside nor cease his
intercession, and Christ granted the petition of this helpless,
penitent soul, according to His promise, "Let him take hold
of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make
peace with Me." Isaiah 27:5. Jacob pleaded with determined
spirit, "I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me."
Genesis 32:26. This spirit of persistence was inspired by Him who
wrestled with the patriarch. It was He who gave him the victory,
and He changed his name from Jacob to Israel, saying, "As a
prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast
prevailed." Genesis 32:28. That for which Jacob had vainly
wrestled in his own strength was won through self-surrender and
steadfast faith. "This is the victory that overcometh the
world, even our faith." 1 John 5:4.
MB.145.001
"Beware of false prophets." Matthew 7:15 . Teachers of
falsehood will arise to draw you away from the narrow path and
the strait gate. Beware of them; though concealed in sheep's
clothing, inwardly they are ravening wolves. Jesus gives a test
by which false teachers may be distinguished from the true.
"Ye shall know them by their fruits," He says. "Do
men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?"
MB.145.002
We are not bidden to prove them by their fair speeches and
exalted professions. They are to be judged by the word of God.
"To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not
according to this word it is because there is no light in
them." "Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that
causeth to err from the words of knowledge." Isaiah 8:20;
Proverbs 19:27. What message do these teachers bring? Does it
lead you to reverence and fear God? Does it lead you to manifest
your love for Him by loyalty to His commandments? If men do not
feel the weight of the moral law; if they make light of God's
precepts; if they break one of the least of His commandments, and
teach men so, they shall be of no esteem in the sight of heaven.
We may know that their claims are without foundation. They are
doing the very work that originated with the prince of darkness,
the enemy of God.
MB.145.003
Not all who profess His name and wear His badge are Christ's.
Many who have taught in My name, said Jesus, will be found
wanting at last. "Many will say to Me in that day, Lord,
Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have
cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works? And
then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me,
ye that work iniquity."
MB.146.001
There are persons who believe that they are right, when they are
wrong. While claiming Christ as their Lord, and professedly doing
great works in His name, they are workers of iniquity. "With
their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after
their covetousness." He who declares God's word is to them
"as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice,
and can play well on an instrument: for they hear Thy words, but
they do them not." Ezekiel 33:31, 32.
MB.146.002
A mere profession of discipleship is of no value. The faith in
Christ which saves the soul is not what it is represented to be
by many. "Believe, believe," they say, "and you
need not keep the law." But a belief that does not lead to
obedience is presumption. The apostle John says, "He that
saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar,
and the truth is not in him." 1 John 2:4. Let none cherish
the idea that special providences or miraculous manifestations
are to be the proof of the genuineness of their work or of the
ideas they advocate. When persons will speak lightly of the word
of God, and set their impressions, feelings, and exercises above
the divine standard, we may know that they have no light in them.
MB.146.003
Obedience is the test of discipleship. It is the keeping of the
commandments that proves the sincerity of our professions of
love. When the doctrine we accept kills sin in the heart,
purifies the soul from defilement, bears fruit unto holiness, we
may know that it is the truth of God. When benevolence, kindness,
tenderheartedness, sympathy, are manifest in our lives; when the
joy of right doing is in our hearts; when we exalt Christ, and
not self, we may know that our faith is of the right order.
"Hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His
commandments." 1 John 2:3.
MB.147.001
"It fell not; for it was founded upon the rock."
Matthew 7:25, R.V. The people had been deeply moved by the words
of Christ. The divine beauty of the principles of truth attracted
them; and Christ's solemn warnings had come to them as the voice
of the heart-searching God. His words had struck at the very root
of their former ideas and opinions; to obey His teaching would
require a change in all their habits of thought and action. It
would bring them into collision with their religious teachers;
for it would involve the overthrow of the whole structure which
for generations the rabbis had been rearing. Therefore, while the
hearts of the people responded to His words, few were ready to
accept them as the guide of life.
MB.147.002
Jesus ended His teaching on the mount with an illustration that
presented with startling vividness the importance of putting in
practice the words He had spoken. Among the crowds that thronged
about the Saviour were many who had spent their lives about the
Sea of Galilee. As they sat upon the hillside, listening to the
words of Christ, they could see valleys and ravines through which
the mountain streams found their way to the sea. In summer these
streams often wholly disappeared, leaving only a dry and dusty
channel. But when the wintry storms burst upon the hills, the
rivers became fierce, raging torrents, at times overspreading the
valleys and bearing everything away on their resistless flood.
Often, then, the hovels reared by the peasants on the grassy
plain, apparently beyond the reach of danger, were swept away.
But high upon the hills were houses built upon the rock. In some
parts of the land were dwellings built wholly of rock, and many
of them had withstood the tempests of a thousand years. These
houses were reared with toil and difficulty. They were not easy
of access, and their location appeared less inviting than the
grassy plain. But they were founded upon the rock, and wind and
flood and tempest beat upon them in vain.
MB.148.001
Like the builders of these houses on the rock, said Jesus, is he
who shall receive the words that I have spoken to you, and make
them the foundation of his character and life. Centuries before,
the prophet Isaiah had written, "The word of our God shall
stand forever" (Isaiah 40:8); and Peter, long after the
Sermon on the Mount was given, quoting these words of Isaiah
added, "This is the word which by the gospel is preached
unto you" (1 Peter 1:25). The word of God is the only
steadfast thing our world knows. It is the sure foundation.
"Heaven and earth shall pass away," said Jesus,
"but My words shall not pass away." Matthew 24:35.
MB.148.002
The great principles of the law, of the very nature of God, are
embodied in the words of Christ on the mount. Whoever builds upon
them is building upon Christ, the Rock of Ages. In receiving the
word, we receive Christ. And only those who thus receive His
words are building upon Him. "Other foundation can no man
lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians
3:11. "There is none other name under heaven, given among
men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:12. Christ, the Word,
the revelation of God,--the manifestation of His character, His
law, His love, His life,--is the only foundation upon which we
can build a character that will endure.
MB.149.001
We build on Christ by obeying His word. It is not he who merely
enjoys righteousness, that is righteous, but he who does
righteousness. Holiness is not rapture; it is the result of
surrendering all to God; it is doing the will of our heavenly
Father. When the children of Israel were encamped on the borders
of the Promised Land, it was not enough for them to have a
knowledge of Canaan, or to sing the songs of Canaan. This alone
would not bring them into possession of the vineyards and olive
groves of the goodly land. They could make it theirs in truth
only by occupation, by complying with the conditions, by
exercising living faith in God, by appropriating His promises to
themselves, while they obeyed His instruction.
MB.149.002
Religion consists in doing the words of Christ; not doing to earn
God's favor, but because, all undeserving, we have received the
gift of His love. Christ places the salvation of man, not upon
profession merely, but upon faith that is made manifest in works
of righteousness. Doing, not saying merely, is expected of the
followers of Christ. It is through action that character is
built. "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are
the sons of God." Romans 8:14. Not those whose hearts are
touched by the Spirit, not those who now and then yield to its
power, but they that are led by the Spirit, are the sons of God.
MB.150.001
Do you desire to become a follower of Christ, yet know not how to
begin? Are you in darkness and know not how to find the light?
Follow the light you have. Set your heart to obey what you do
know of the word of God. His power, His very life, dwells in His
word. As you receive the word in faith, it will give you power to
obey. As you give heed to the light you have, greater light will
come. You are building on God's word, and your character will be
builded after the similitude of the character of Christ.
MB.150.002
Christ, the true foundation, is a living stone; His life is
imparted to all that are built upon Him. "Ye also, as living
stones, are built up a spiritual house." "Each several
building, fitly framed together, groweth into a holy temple in
the Lord." 1 Peter 2:5, R.V.; Ephesians 2:21, R.V. The
stones became one with the foundation; for a common life dwells
in all. That building no tempest can overthrow; for--
"That which shares the life of God,
With Him surviveth all."
MB.150.003
But every building erected on other foundation than God's word
will fall. He who, like the Jews in Christ's day, builds on the
foundation of human ideas and opinions, of forms and ceremonies
of man's invention, or on any works that he can do independently
of the grace of Christ, is erecting his structure of character
upon the shifting sand. The fierce tempests of temptation will
sweep away the sandy foundation and leave his house a wreck on
the shores of time.
MB.151.001
"Therefore thus saith the Lord God, . . . Judgment also will
I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail
shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall
overflow the hiding place." Isaiah 28:16, 17.
MB.151.002
But today mercy pleads with the sinner. "As I live, saith
the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but
that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from
your evil ways; for why will ye die?" Ezekiel 33:11. The
voice that speaks to the impenitent today is the voice of Him who
in heart anguish exclaimed as He beheld the city of His love:
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killeth the prophets, and
stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have
gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her own
brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is
left unto you desolate." Luke 13:34, 35, R.V. In Jerusalem,
Jesus beheld a symbol of the world that had rejected and despised
His grace. He was weeping, O stubborn heart, for you! Even when
Jesus' tears were shed upon the mount, Jerusalem might yet have
repented, and escaped her doom. For a little space the Gift of
heaven still waited her acceptance. So, O heart, to you Christ is
still speaking in accents of love: "Behold, I stand at the
door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I
will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me."
"Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of
salvation." Revelation 3:20; 2 Corinthians 6:2. 152
MB.152.001
You who are resting your hope on self are building on the sand.
But it is not yet too late to escape the impending ruin. Before
the tempest breaks, flee to the sure foundation. "Thus saith
the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a
tried stone, a precious cornerstone, of sure foundation: he that
believeth shall not make haste." "Look unto Me, and be
ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is
none else." "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not
dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will
help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My
righteousness." "Ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded
world without end." Isaiah 28:16, R.V.; 45:22; 41:10; 45:17.