Beware
of
Rejecting Truth "The great danger with our people has been that of depending upon men and
making flesh their arm. Those who have not been in the habit of
searching the Bible for themselves, or weighing evidence, have
confidence in the leading men and accept the decisions they make; and
thus many will reject the very messages God sends to His people, if
these leading brethren do not accept them." Testimonies to Ministers and
Gospel Workers, page 106 Danger in Rejecting Light
It
is an astonishment to the whole universe that men do not see and do not
acknowledge the bright beams of light that are shining upon them; but if they close their hearts to the light, and
pervert the truth until it is interpreted to be darkness, they will imagine that their own criticism and unbelief is light, and will not confess their
opposition to the ways and works of God.
By
pursuing a course like this, men who might have stood fast to the end,
will place their influence against the message and messenger that God
sends.
But
in the day of judgment, when the question is asked, "Why
did you intercept yourself, your judgment and influence, between the
people and the message of God?" they will have nothing to answer. If they open their lips then, it will only be to say that they now see truth as God sees it. They will confess that they were full of pride of opinion, trusted in their own judgment, and strengthened the hands that sought to tear down that which God had commanded to be built up. They will say, "Although the evidence was strong that God was working, I would not acknowledge it; for it was not in harmony with what I had taught. I was not in the habit of confessing any error in the past in my experience; I was too stubborn to fall upon the Rock and be broken. I determined to resist, and not be converted to the truth. I would not reveal the fact that I thought my course was wrong in any degree, and my light went out in darkness." To such the words apply,
"Woe
unto thee, Chorazin! Woe
unto thee, Bethsaida!
for if the mighty works, which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes." The Sin of Rejecting Evidence
The
sin for which Christ reproved Chorazin and Bethsaida was the sin of
rejecting evidence that would have convinced them of the truth, had they
yielded to its power. The
sin of the scribes and Pharisees was the
sin of placing the heavenly work which had been wrought before them in
the darkness of unbelief,
so that the evidence which should have led them into a settled faith was
questioned, and the sacred things which should have been cherished were
regarded as of no value. I fear that the people have permitted the enemy
to work along these very lines, so that the
good which
emanated from God, the rich blessing which He has given, have come to
be regarded by some as fanaticism.
Selected
Messages Book 1, page 142
(Are
you thinking
this paper
is from
a fanatic ? . .
.Check back with
Ellen G. White,
she will
refer you
to her
source God) The spies hurry away to report to the rulers this work of Jesus, and that the "world is gone after him." In performing this miracle, the Saviour took a decisive step toward the completion of his earthly mission. The grandest evidence of his life was now given that he was the Son of God, and had control of death and the grave.
Hearts
that had long been under the power of sin,
in rejecting this proof of the divinity of Jesus, locked
themselves in
impenetrable
darkness and came wholly under the sway of Satan,
to be hurried by him over the brink of eternal ruin. The
Spirit of Prophecy Volume Two, page 366, Men,
women, and youth, God requires you to possess moral courage, steadiness
of purpose, fortitude and perseverance, minds
that cannot take the assertions of another, but which will investigate
for themselves before receiving or rejecting, that will
study and
weigh evidence, and take it to the Lord in
prayer. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all
men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." Now
the condition: "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he
that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the
Lord." This petition for wisdom is not to be a meaningless prayer,
out of mind as soon as finished. It is a prayer that expresses the
strong, earnest desire of the heart, arising from a conscious lack of
wisdom to determine the will of God. Testimonies
for the Church Volume Two, page 130 Those
who have put on Christ by baptism, by this act showing their separation
from the world and that they have covenanted to walk in newness of life,
should not
set up idols in their hearts.
Those who have once rejoiced in the evidence of sins forgiven, who have
tasted a Saviour's love and who
then persist in uniting with the foes of Christ, rejecting the perfect
righteousness that Jesus offers them
and choosing the ways that He has condemned,
will be more severely judged than the heathen who have never had the
light and have never known God or His law. Those who refuse to follow the light which God has
given them, choosing the amusements, vanities, and follies of the
world, and refusing to conform their conduct to the just and holy
requirements of God's law, are guilty of the most aggravating sins in
the
sight of God.
Their guilt and their wages will be proportionate to the light and
privileges which they have had. Testimonies
for the Church Volume Three, page 365 Opposition to Faithful Warnings
It
is not a new thing for a man to be deluded by the arch-deceiver and
array himself against God. Consider your course critically before you
venture to go any further in the path you are traveling. The Jews were
self-deceived. They rejected the teachings of Christ because He exposed
the secrets of their hearts and reproved their sins. They would not come
to the light, fearing that their deeds would be reproved. They chose
darkness rather than light. "This is the condemnation," said
Christ, "that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness
rather than light, because their deeds were evil." The Jews pursued
their course of rejecting Christ until, in their self-deceived, deluded
state, they thought that in crucifying Him they were doing God service. This
was the result of their refusing light. You
are in danger of similar deception. It
will be profitable for your soul, Brother G, to consider where the path
which you are now traveling will end. God can do without you, but you
cannot afford to do without God. He does not compel any man to believe.
He
sets light before men, and Satan presents his darkness. While
the deceiver is constantly crying, "Light is here; truth is here,"
Jesus
is saying: "I
am the truth; I have the words of eternal life. If
any man follow Me, he
shall not walk in darkness." God
gives to us all evidence sufficient to balance our faith on the side of
truth. If we surrender to God we shall choose the light and reject the
darkness.
If
we
desire to maintain the independence of the natural heart, and refuse
the correction of God, we shall, as did the Jews, stubbornly carry out our purposes and
our ideas in the face of the plainest evidence, and shall be in
danger of as great deception as came upon them; and in our blind infatuation we may go to as great
lengths as they did, and yet flatter ourselves that we are doing work
for God.
Testimonies
for the Church Volume Four, page 230 |