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Chapter Thirty
Seven
The Scriptures a Safeguard
“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not
according to this word, it is because there is no light in
them.”
Isaiah 8:20. The people of God are directed to the
Scriptures as their safeguard against the influence of false
teachers and the delusive power of spirits of darkness. Satan
employs every possible device to prevent men from obtaining
a knowledge of the Bible; for its plain utterances reveal his
deceptions. At every revival of God’s work the prince of evil
is aroused to more intense activity; he is now putting forth
his utmost efforts for a final struggle against Christ and His
followers. The last great delusion is soon to open before us.
Antichrist is to perform his marvelous works in our sight.
So closely will the counterfeit resemble the true that it will
be impossible to distinguish between them except by the
Holy Scriptures. By their testimony every statement and
every miracle must be tested.
Those who endeavor to obey all the commandments of
God will be opposed and derided. They can stand only in
God. In order to endure the trial before them, they must
understand the will of God as revealed in His word; they
can honor Him only as they have a right conception of His
character, government, and purposes, and act in accordance
with them. None but those who have fortified the mind
with the truths of the Bible will stand through the last great
conflict. To every soul will come the searching test: Shall I
obey God rather than men? The decisive hour is even now
at hand. Are our feet planted on the rock of God’s immutable
word? Are we prepared to stand firm in defense of the
commandments of God and the faith of Jesus?
Before His crucifixion the Saviour explained to His
disciples that He was to be put to death and to rise again from
the tomb, and angels were present to impress His words on
minds and hearts. But the disciples were looking for
temporal deliverance from the Roman yoke, and they could not
tolerate the thought that He in whom all their hopes centered
should suffer an ignominious death. The words which they
needed to remember were banished from their minds; and
when the time of trial came, it found them unprepared. The
death of Jesus as fully destroyed their hopes as if He had not
forewarned them. So in the prophecies the future is opened
before us as plainly as it was opened to the disciples by the
words of Christ. The events connected with the close of
probation and the work of preparation for the time of
trouble, are clearly presented. But multitudes have no more
understanding of these important truths than if they had
never been revealed. Satan watches to catch away every
impression that would make them wise unto salvation, and
the time of trouble will find them unready.
When God sends to men warnings so important that they
are represented as proclaimed by holy angels flying in the
midst of heaven, He requires every person endowed with
reasoning powers to heed the message. The fearful
judgments denounced against the worship of the beast and his
image (Revelation 14:9-11), should lead all to a diligent study
of the prophecies to learn what the mark of the beast is, and
how they are to avoid receiving it. But the masses of the
people turn away their ears from hearing the truth and are
turned unto fables. The apostle Paul declared, looking down
to the last days: “The time will come when they will not
endure sound doctrine.”
2 Timothy 4:3. That time has fully
come. The multitudes do not want Bible truth, because it
interferes with the desires of the sinful, world-loving heart;
and Satan supplies the deceptions which they love.
But God will have a people upon the earth to maintain the
Bible, and the Bible only, as the standard of all doctrines and
the basis of all reforms. The opinions of learned men, the
deductions of science, the creeds or decisions of ecclesiastical
councils, as numerous and discordant as are the churches
which they represent, the voice of the majority—not one nor
all of these should be regarded as evidence for or against any
point of religious faith. Before accepting any doctrine or
precept, we should demand a plain “Thus saith the Lord”
in its support.
Satan is constantly endeavoring to attract attention to man
in the place of God. He leads the people to look to bishops,
to pastors, to professors of theology, as their guides, instead
of searching the Scriptures to learn their duty for themselves.
Then, by controlling the minds of these leaders, he can
influence the multitudes according to his will.
When Christ came to speak the words of life, the common
people heard Him gladly; and many, even of the priests and
rulers, believed on Him. But the chief of the priesthood and
the leading men of the nation were determined to condemn
and repudiate His teachings. Though they were baffled in all
their efforts to find accusations against Him, though they
could not but feel the influence of the divine power and
wisdom attending His words, yet they incased themselves in
prejudice; they rejected the clearest evidence of His Messiahship,
lest they should be forced to become His disciples. These
opponents of Jesus were men whom the people had been
taught from infancy to reverence, to whose authority they
had been accustomed implicitly to bow. “How is it,” they
asked, “that our rulers and learned scribes do not believe on
Jesus? Would not these pious men receive Him if He were
the Christ?” It was the influence of such teachers that led
the Jewish nation to reject their Redeemer.
The spirit which actuated those priests and rulers is still
manifested by many who make a high profession of piety.
They refuse to examine the testimony of the Scriptures
concerning the special truths for this time. They point to their
own numbers, wealth, and popularity, and look with
contempt upon the advocates of truth as few, poor, and unpopular,
having a faith that separates them from the world.
Christ foresaw that the undue assumption of authority
indulged by the scribes and Pharisees would not cease with
the dispersion of the Jews. He had a prophetic view of the
work of exalting human authority to rule the conscience,
which has been so terrible a curse to the church in all
ages. And His fearful denunciations of the scribes and Pharisees,
and His warnings to the people not to follow these
blind leaders, were placed on record as an admonition to
future generations.
The Roman Church reserves to the clergy the right to
interpret the Scriptures. On the ground that ecclesiastics
alone are competent to explain God’s word, it is withheld
from the common people.[*See Appendix Note for Page 340.]
Though the Reformation gave the Scriptures to all, yet
the selfsame principle which was maintained by
Rome prevents multitudes in Protestant churches
from searching the Bible for themselves. They are taught
to accept its teachings as interpreted by the church;
and there are thousands who dare receive nothing, however plainly
revealed in Scripture, that is contrary to their creed or the
established teaching of their church.
Notwithstanding the Bible is full of warnings against false
teachers, many are ready thus to commit the keeping of their
souls to the clergy. There are today thousands of professors
of religion who can give no other reason for points of faith
which they hold than that they were so instructed by their
religious leaders. They pass by the Saviour’s teachings almost
unnoticed, and place implicit confidence in the words of the
ministers. But are ministers infallible? How can we trust
our souls to their guidance unless we know from God’s word
that they are light bearers? A lack of moral courage to step
aside from the beaten track of the world leads many to follow
in the steps of learned men; and by their reluctance to investigate
for themselves, they are becoming hopelessly fastened in
the chains of error. They see that the truth for this time is
plainly brought to view in the Bible; and they feel the power
of the Holy Spirit attending its proclamation; yet they allow
the opposition of the clergy to turn them from the light.
Though reason and conscience are convinced, these deluded
souls dare not think differently from the minister; and their
individual judgment, their eternal interests, are sacrificed to
the unbelief, the pride and prejudice, of another.
Many are the ways by which Satan works through human
influence to bind his captives. He secures multitudes to
himself by attaching them by the silken cords of affection to those
who are enemies of the cross of Christ. Whatever this attachment
may be, parental, filial, conjugal, or social, the effect is
the same; the opposers of truth exert their power to control
the conscience, and the souls held under their sway have not
sufficient courage or independence to obey their own convictions
of duty.
The truth and the glory of God are inseparable; it is
impossible for us, with the Bible within our reach, to honor God
by erroneous opinions. Many claim that it matters not what
one believes, if his life is only right. But the life is molded by
the faith. If light and truth is within our reach, and we
neglect to improve the privilege of hearing and seeing it, we
virtually reject it; we are choosing darkness rather than light.
“There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the
end thereof are the ways of death.”
Proverbs 16:25. Ignorance
is no excuse for error or sin, when there is every opportunity
to know the will of God. A man is traveling and
comes to a place where there are several roads and a guideboard
indicating where each one leads. If he disregards the
guideboard, and takes whichever road seems to him to be
right, he may be ever so sincere, but will in all probability
find himself on the wrong road.
God has given us His word that we may become
acquainted with its teachings and know for ourselves what
He requires of us. When the lawyer came to Jesus with the
inquiry, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” the Saviour
referred him to the Scriptures, saying: “What is written in
the law? how readest thou?” Ignorance will not excuse
young or old, nor release them from the punishment due for
the transgression of God’s law; because there is in their hands
a faithful presentation of that law and of its principles and
claims. It is not enough to have good intentions; it is not
enough to do what a man thinks is right or what the minister
tells him is right. His soul’s salvation is at stake, and he
should search the Scriptures for himself. However strong
may be his convictions, however confident he may be that
the minister knows what is truth, this is not his foundation.
He has a chart pointing out every waymark on the heavenward
journey, and he ought not to guess at anything.
It is the first and highest duty of every rational being to
learn from the Scriptures what is truth, and then to walk in
the light and encourage others to follow his example. We
should day by day study the Bible diligently, weighing
every thought and comparing scripture with scripture. With
divine help we are to form our opinions for ourselves as we
are to answer for ourselves before God.
The truths most plainly revealed in the Bible have been
involved in doubt and darkness by learned men, who, with
a pretense of great wisdom, teach that the Scriptures have a
mystical, a secret, spiritual meaning not apparent in the
language employed. These men are false teachers. It was to
such a class that Jesus declared: “Ye know not the Scriptures,
neither the power of God.”
Mark 12:24. The language of
the Bible should be explained according to its obvious meaning,
unless a symbol or figure is employed. Christ has given
the promise: “If any man will do His will, he shall know of
the doctrine.”
John 7:17. If men would but take the Bible as
it reads, if there were no false teachers to mislead and confuse
their minds, a work would be accomplished that would make
angels glad and that would bring into the fold of Christ
thousands upon thousands who are now wandering in error.
We should exert all the powers of the mind in the study of
the Scriptures and should task the understanding to comprehend,
as far as mortals can, the deep things of God; yet we
must not forget that the docility and submission of a child is
the true spirit of the learner. Scriptural difficulties can never
be mastered by the same methods that are employed in
grappling with philosophical problems. We should not
engage in the study of the Bible with that self-reliance
with which so many enter the domains of science, but with
a prayerful dependence upon God and a sincere desire to
learn His will. We must come with a humble and teachable
spirit to obtain knowledge from the great I AM. Otherwise,
evil angels will so blind our minds and harden our hearts
that we shall not be impressed by the truth.
Many a portion of Scripture which learned men
pronounce a mystery, or pass over as unimportant, is full of
comfort and instruction to him who has been taught in the
school of Christ. One reason why many theologians have no
clearer understanding of God’s word is, they close their eyes
to truths which they do not wish to practice. As understanding
of Bible truth depends not so much on the power of
intellect brought to the search as on the singleness of
purpose, the earnest longing after righteousness.
The Bible should never be studied without prayer. The
Holy Spirit alone can cause us to feel the importance of those
things easy to be understood, or prevent us from wresting
truths difficult of comprehension. It is the office of heavenly
angels to prepare the heart so to comprehend God’s word
that we shall be charmed with its beauty, admonished by its
warnings, or animated and strengthened by its promises. We
should make the psalmist’s petition our own: “Open Thou
mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy
law.”
Psalm 119:18. Temptations often appear irresistible
because, through neglect of prayer and the study of the Bible,
the tempted one cannot readily remember God’s promises
and meet Satan with the Scripture weapons. But angels are
round about those who are willing to be taught in divine
things; and in the time of great necessity they will bring to
their remembrance the very truths which are needed. Thus
"when the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the
Lord shall lift up a standard against him.”
Isaiah 59:19.
Jesus promised His disciples: “The Comforter, which is
the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name,
He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your
remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
John 14:26.
But the teachings of Christ must previously have been stored
in the mind in order for the Spirit of God to bring them to
our remembrance in the time of peril. “Thy word have I hid
in mine heart,” said David, “that I might not sin against
Thee.”
Psalm 119:11.
All who value their eternal interests should be on their
guard against the inroads of skepticism. The very pillars of
truth will be assailed. It is impossible to keep beyond the
reach of the sarcasms and sophisms, the insidious and pestilent
teachings, of modern infidelity. Satan adapts his temptations
to all classes. He assails the illiterate with a jest or sneer,
while he meets the educated with scientific objections and
philosophical reasoning, alike calculated to excite distrust or
contempt of the Scriptures. Even youth of little experience
presume to insinuate doubts concerning the fundamental
principles of Christianity. And this youthful infidelity, shallow
as it is, has its influence. Many are thus led to jest at the
faith of their fathers and to do despite to the Spirit of grace.
Hebrews 10:29. Many a life that promised to be an honor to
God and a blessing to the world has been blighted by the foul
breath of infidelity. All who trust to the boastful decisions
of human reason and imagine that they can explain divine
mysteries and arrive at truth unaided by the wisdom of God
are entangled in the snare of Satan.
We are living in the most solemn period of this world’s
history. The destiny of earth’s teeming multitudes is about
to be decided. Our own future well-being and also the salvation
of other souls depend upon the course which we now
pursue. We need to be guided by the Spirit of truth. Every
follower of Christ should earnestly inquire: “Lord, what wilt
Thou have me to do?” We need to humble ourselves before
the Lord, with fasting and prayer, and to meditate much
upon His word, especially upon the scenes of the judgment.
We should now seek a deep and living experience in the
things of God. We have not a moment to lose. Events of
vital importance are taking place around us; we are on
Satan’s enchanted ground. Sleep not, sentinels of God; the
foe is lurking near, ready at any moment, should you become
lax and drowsy, to spring upon you and make you his prey.
Many are deceived as to their true condition before God.
They congratulate themselves upon the wrong acts which
they do not commit, and forget to enumerate the good and
noble deeds which God requires of them, but which they
have neglected to perform. It is not enough that they are trees
in the garden of God. They are to answer His expectation by
bearing fruit. He holds them accountable for their failure to
accomplish all the good which they could have done, through
His grace strengthening them. In the books of heaven they
are registered as cumberers of the ground. Yet the case of
even this class is not utterly hopeless. With those who have
slighted God’s mercy and abused His grace, the heart of
long-suffering love yet pleads. “Wherefore He saith, Awake thou
that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give
thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, . . . redeeming
the time, because the days are evil.”
Ephesians 5:14-16.
When the testing time shall come, those who have made
God’s word their rule of life will be revealed. In summer
there is no noticeable difference between evergreens and
other trees; but when the blasts of winter come, the
evergreens remain unchanged, while other trees are stripped of
their foliage. So the falsehearted professor may not now be
distinguished from the real Christian, but the time is just
upon us when the difference will be apparent. Let opposition
arise, let bigotry and intolerance again bear sway, let
persecution be kindled, and the halfhearted and hypocritical will
waver and yield the faith; but the true Christian will stand
firm as a rock, his faith stronger, his hope brighter, than in
days of prosperity.
Says the psalmist: “Thy testimonies are my meditation.”
"Through Thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate
every false way.”
Psalm 119:99, 104.
“Happy is the man that findeth wisdom.” “He shall be as
a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots
by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf
shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought,
neither shall cease from yielding fruit.”
Proverbs 3:13;
Jeremiah 17:8.
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