Righteousness By Faith and the 1888 General Conference
Why Time Lingers
This is the significant truth for our time. As God is performing the atonement service in the heavenly temple, we are to work together with Him, and cleanse OUR temples from all sin. Jesus is waiting for His character to be fully expressed in His people on earth. We are to afflict ourselves and let God remove the sin from our lives. Some people feel that the only reason God has yet to return is because of His patience and longsuffering. Do not be mistaken, He cannot come back to a people who are halfway committed and do not take things seriously. He will not come back to a people who feel that just as long as they desire to do right in their hearts, ultimately everything will turn out good. He will wait for His people to wake up and realize they are to be holy as He is holy. Make no mistake, when God says he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still,
He means it! He will come back to a righteous people. God is patient and kind, and slow to anger and great in power,
but He will not at all acquit the wicked.
Nahum 1:3. No man who willfully disregards one principle of the law shall enter the kingdom of heaven.
Desire of Ages 317. God is longing for His people to accept His righteousness. Just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
Eph. 5:25-27.
As long as we, God's people, have the Laodicean spirit and feel that we do not need to have perfection of character, we prolong the Lord's return. Satan rejoices when God's people make the claim that it is impossible to be perfect. From his rebellion, Satan has asserted that God's law is unfair, and that no one can keep it. Even though Christ lived a righteous life, He did not intend for it to end there only with Himself. Christ boldly pronounces before the whole universe that His law is just, and that His people can keep it completely. Satan is calling God out to be a fool and a liar, and every time we sin and make excuses for our sin, we embarrass God before all creation. Every time we feel that "no one's perfect," Satan is delighted at our deception and taunts God, happily announcing that even God's own people are unable to keep the law. Satan is ok if we, as an Adventist church, observe the Sabbath faithfully. He is fine with our numerous health reforms, clinics, and missionary work. He accepts that we understand prophecy well, and adhere to the principles taught by the Bible rather than tradition. He knows that as long as we do not believe and strive to have perfection as our goal, his aim is ultimately accomplished and he can boast that even with all of our knowledge we still do not keep God's law completely.
How long will we give evidence to Satan's claims? When will we realize that perfection actually is possible and God is waiting for a people to run the race towards it? Satan has pulled the wool over our eyes, but it does not have to be so. Many people feel that even if perfection were possible, it will take more than a lifetime to achieve that status. This is not true. It will not take more than one lifetime for a person to let God work out complete obedience in their lives, because if it were so than it would be impossible for one to achieve it. Sooner or later, there will be a generation that realizes that perfection is attainable, allows God to perform His work, and the end will come rapidly. Why not let it be this generation? Perhaps more importantly, if it is this generation, will you be a part of it?
The Right Mindset
There is something that must be mentioned here. Even though perfection of character is possible, we must realize that it is not our flesh that is being perfected(because that has been crucified with Christ), but it is continually God working through us by His Spirit. Do not misunderstand and think that it is possible for us to ever to have the ability within our own selves to not sin. Everything we discussed under the topic of the nature of man holds true. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:8. We(the sinful flesh in us) cannot change our spots or wash ourselves clean. Our flesh must be crucified in Christ, and He must lead us in order to put away sin. God does not change the sinner in us to not a sinner anymore, but through the death of the sinner in us, God is able to live through us and become our righteousness. The Lord alone is our righteousness. (Jer. 23:6). It is not our own. It is God who forgives us for our sins, and it is God who works in us daily to deny sin and do His will. It is God all the way, through and through. Paul states that he can have the victory not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith
Phil. 3:9.
We are never to say or act as if we are perfect and better than anyone else. We are to be humble, just as Jesus was humble, realizing that any victory we have is not from our power, but a gift from God. To make the claim and boast that we ourselves are perfect is to cherish pride in ourselves, and to deny that it is God who works in us. Jesus told a parable of two men who went up to the temple to pray. One man, a Pharisee said God I thank you that I am not like other men-extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even this tax collector
, while the other man beat his chest and cried, God, be merciful to me a sinner!
Luke 18:9-14.
The one who recognized himself as we truly are is the one who went home justified, not the Pharisee. Paul tells us, therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
1 Cor. 10:12. Paul personally could not think of something that he was not doing or something that he was doing wrong, but he does not see this as though he was perfect. He says for I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.
1 Cor. 4:4. Paul did not consider himself to be a perfect man; he continually dedicated himself to God and pressed on towards Jesus. (Phil 3:12-13). Sanctification will always be necessary as long as we live in sinful flesh, because as long as our natural selves are sinful in nature we cannot overcome without help from God. No matter what victories we have sustained in the past, we always will need Christ to help us overcome temptation. Ephraim was a tribe of Israel, and it said, Surely I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself; In all my labors they shall find in me no iniquity that is sin.
Hos. 12:8. Sadly, Ephraim is not represented in the 12 tribes of the 144,000.
Pride will certainly lead to a fall. If you ever feel that you are above any temptation, then you cease to have faith in Christ and you will not have the victory. Let us learn from the lesson of Sampson. Because of his success he grew to feel that his strength was his own. When Delilah cut off his hair, Sampson was not stupid. He knew his hair was gone. However, he went out to fight his enemies, expecting to defeat them just as before. He willingly put his faith in his own inherent strength, and God could do nothing for him. Even when we defeat a temptation over and over again, and we feel that the temptation is no longer a problem for us, let us give the praise to God. Even if the temptation seems to have no power over us, let us still depend on God's strength, instead of thinking we can handle it without God interfering. We are to trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding
Pro. 3:5. Those who live in the last days will see their sinful nature and will realize that they have no strength on their own to stand. They will only overcome by continually faith in Jesus.
