Amen, Pastor Sean! The most important question that must be answered by all who profess to love God is "what must I do to be saved?" Here we see the question and the answer. This is why this chapter is always "stickied" and kept at the top of this forum. When I was called into the ministry it was made plain that this question and answer and this chapter was the burden God put on my heart to share with the church and the world.
But this morning God impressed me to point out that there is a natural bent to reject this message of love. We come into this world in fallen flesh. Jesus points this out in his opening remarks to Nicodemus. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. We must be born again of the Spirit in order to be fit for heaven. Yet, we hear it being taught by conservatives in the church that this is not true. That when we come into the world we are in a neutral position. Don't believe it. Believe Christ. We must be born again. In our fallen nature we are evil and need to be reconciled with God in order to do any good thing for the right reason. Our hearts must be cleansed from sin before we can love with all the heart.
This sets the stage to answer why it is that this message of love from God can be rejected. Not only rejected, but with hatred toward those who present it. The chapter opens with a revelation of this animus towards Christ.
Christ’s exercise of authority in the cleansing of the temple had roused the determined hatred of the priests and rulers. They feared the power of this stranger. Such boldness on the part of an obscure Galilean was not to be tolerated. They were bent on putting an end to His work.
When the truth was revealed by Jesus, it came from one who was not part of the power structure that controlled the religion of that day. Thus, the leaders feared the power that Christ revealed when he presented the truth that had been perverted by the leadership. In other words, they were losing their power because they were presenting not the truth, but lies.
How do we feel when we are shown to be wrong? If we don't want to know we are wrong, then what does that say about our love of the truth and our love for God? What Jesus stirred up was not something new in Israel. It was a perverse nation thathad been rejecting light for many years. And, when God sent prophets to correct the situation, it often led to violence towards those presenting the truth.
They remembered how prophets had been slain for rebuking the sins of the leaders in Israel.
Has human nature changed? Has fallen flesh become gentle and kind? No, it is only the laws of the land that help to keep the violence down. But, we know from Bible prophecy that the "beast" is about to speak as a dragon and those who love God supremely will be hurt and killed. And when the number of dead is reached, then probation will close and those living saints will go through a time of trouble such as never was. It will be the "religious" ones that persecute God's children.
But, with Israel it was God's chosen nation that was persecuting those who God had sent with a message to correct the error (lies) that had been coming out of the mouths of the leaders in the nation. The gospel message of salvation by grace had been perverted. Why did Nicodemus come to Jesus under cover of darkness? Because he feared the leadership of the church if they discovered his visit with Jesus.
And should his visit come to the knowledge of the Sanhedrin, it would draw upon him their scorn and denunciation.
We see clearly the risk that is present when God sends messengers to correct false doctrine in His church or even in other churches. But, is there a risk when the false doctrine takes hold in the organization? Did Israel suffer on account of having perverted God's truth? Yes, they did very much so.
They knew that the bondage of the Jews to a heathen nation was the result of their stubbornness in rejecting reproofs from God. They feared that in plotting against Jesus the priests and rulers were following in the steps of their fathers, and would bring fresh calamities upon the nation.
Has God changed? Does His church today suffer from rejecting reproofs? Yes, it does. There have been great calamities within our church because reproof was rejected. We remember the loss of the Review and Herald when they rejected reproof. We recall the loss of the Battle Creek Sanitarium when Kellogg and other leaders rejected reproof from God's prophet. The greatest loss suffered by God's church today happened when the message sent in 1888 was rejected by the leadership of God's church. Jesus was ready to come and the latter rain had begun to fall. The rejection of the latter rain led to modern day "Israel" wandering in the desert for 130 years. And, the continued rejection of truth has created the greatest crisis in the church's history. Three divisions within the church are in rebellion against, God, His Word, and His church.
The Spirit of God had sent light through Waggoner and Jones in 1888, what happened to them? How were they treated by church leadership? Their message was rejected, but that was not good enough. Their characters were attacked. They were turned away from God and lost their salvation. Church leadership played a part in the destruction of these two men.
The Lord has raised up Brother Jones and Brother Waggoner to proclaim a message to the world to prepare a people to stand in the day of God. The world is suffering the need of additional light to come to them upon the Scriptures,—additional proclamation of the principles of purity, lowliness, faith, and the righteousness of Christ. This is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. Many will be moved and humbled. After a time they will drink of the waters of life. Jesus proclaimed Himself the bread of life: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” John 6:51.
Jesus knew every soul that believed not, for Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who believed not and who would betray him. Many of the disciples walked away from Christ and no more believed on Him. We need not be surprised if the same experience should be realized in our day. If they went away from Christ at His words spoken to them, there will be those who claim to believe the third angel’s message—even men who have been long in the faith—who will be offended at His words that shall come through His delegated human agents.
If the light had been plainly, decidedly acted upon, those men who have followed their own finite wisdom would have decided to come over on the Lord’s side or have been separated from the cause of work of God. Oh, what shall I say? What can I say? Such men are bringing in false theories and principles and converting Elder Olsen to voice their unjust plans and methods, which are bringing the curse of God upon our institutions. 1888 1815.
And so it is today. The curse of God is upon many of our institutions, for they are not walking in the light God has so graciously sent. And how shall the messengers of God be treated today? And how shall they respond? Not as Job did to those who persecuted him. Not as did Waggoner and Jones, but, as did John the Baptist, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Abel, Ellen White, and our best example our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. In all ages Satan has persecuted the people of God. He has tortured them and put them to death, but in dying they became conquerors. They bore witness to the power of One mightier than Satan. Wicked men may torture and kill the body, but they cannot touch the life that is hid with Christ in God. They can incarcerate men and women in prison walls, but they cannot bind the spirit. Through trial and persecution the glory—the character—of God is revealed in His chosen ones. The believers in Christ, hated and persecuted by the world, are educated and disciplined in the school of Christ. On earth they walk in narrow paths; they are purified in the furnace of affliction.
They follow Christ through sore conflicts; they endure self-denial and experience bitter disappointments; but thus they learn the guilt and woe of sin, and they look upon it with abhorrence. Being partakers of Christ’s sufferings, they can look beyond the gloom to the glory, saying, “I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18.
