I'm moving.

For a while I have been wanting to get free of Google's services. I am still working on a good solution for email, but I have found something I am happy with for this blog and my other web hosting needs. The new site is at stevenwilliams.info and you can find my posts there. I am doing the same for my tech blog Everything *Nix. Let me know what you think of the new site.

The Delay

Over the years I have heard different people say that the Lord has to be coming in the next few years. I have even expressed this sentiment myself. When one has been hearing such sentiments for over 20 years, he begins to question the accuracy and reasoning behind those statements. This year marks 170 years since the Great Disappointment, what happened? When we say the second coming is soon, how soon is soon? We are going to explore the reasons behind why Christ has not returned yet. When we understand why the delay has been present, we can actually do something to change it.

The apostle Peter dealt with this question centuries ago. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9. God is waiting for as many who would to come to repentance. When no more will repent, there is no point in Christ delaying His coming.

What brings about repentance? Acts 5:31: “Him [Jesus] hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” Christ is the one who gives repentance and forgiveness of sins. We call this message the message of salvation or the gospel. This is what prepares us for Christ's return.

How is this message given? “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” Romans 10:13-15. The message is given by men.

Who gives this message? “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Matthew 28:19,20. The church was given the gospel to deliver to the whole world.

Matthew 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” This verse does not only apply to the second coming of Christ. In this chapter Jesus is answering two questions, when shall the temple be destroyed and when shall the end of the world come. In the minds of the disciples both events meant the same thing. Read in context, everything mentioned in Matthew 24 happens in order. If you look carefully at the events mentioned verse 14 happens before instruction to flee for those in Judaea prior to the destruction of Jerusalem. That means the gospel was already given to the world once. “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven.” Colossians 1:23. This is helpful because it gives us an idea of how we can get the message out and a rough time table for being able to do so. Before I go to details about how the apostles got the gospel before the world, I do want to say that Matthew 24:14 is applicable to our time because Revelation 14:6-12 shows that this message needs to go before all the world again.

So how long did it take the disciples to spread the gospel before all the world? Jesus told them to give it at His ascension. That occurred 40 days after his crucifixion which according to Adventist understanding of Daniel 9 happened in 31 AD. When did Paul write Colossians? There is a clue in the epistle itself: “The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen. Written from Rome to the Colossians by Tychicus and Onesimus.” Colossians 4:18. Here Paul is a prisoner, but he is a prisoner in a specific place, Rome. Acts 28:30 seems to indicate he was a prisoner in Rome for about two years. Acts of the Apostles gives us an approximate date for his imprisonment: “Had his [Paul's] trial been longer deferred, or had he from any cause been detained in Rome until the following year, he would doubtless have perished in the persecution which then took place.” AA 487.1 What persecution? “About this time a terrible fire occurred in Rome by which nearly one half of the city was burned. Nero himself, it was rumored, had caused the flames to be kindled, but to avert suspicion he made a pretense of great generosity by assisting the homeless and destitute. He was, however, accused of the crime. The people were excited and enraged, and in order to clear himself, and also to rid the city of a class whom he feared and hated, Nero turned the accusation upon the Christians. His device succeeded, and thousands of the followers of Christ--men, women, and children--were cruelly put to death.” AA 487.2. This fire is the great fire of Rome which occurred in 64 AD. That means Paul was released in 63 AD, and the gospel could have gone to all the world sometime from 61-63 AD. The time from Christ's ascension to this period is 30-32 years. That is an incredibly short amount of time to reach the whole world.

How did they do it so fast? They did not really have resources to do the job. Starting out there were only 120 of the disciples at Pentecost (Acts 1:15). They did not have money, and the fastest modes of transportation were ship and horse. Our church has 17 million members, who knows how much money, and modern technology for travel and communication. We should in theory have an advantage on the disciples from this standpoint, but it has taken this church 170 years to date with no completion of the work in sight to reach the world.

Could we have really given the message any faster? “Had the church of Christ done her appointed work as the Lord ordained, the whole world would before this have been warned, and the Lord Jesus would have come to our earth in power and great glory.” DA 633.3 (written by 1898). “Had Adventists, after the great disappointment in 1844, held fast their faith, and followed on unitedly in the opening providence of God, receiving the message of the third angel and in the power of the Holy Spirit proclaiming it to the world, they would have seen the salvation of God, the Lord would have wrought mightily with their efforts, the work would have been completed, and Christ would have come ere this to receive His people to their reward.” 1SM 68.1 (written in 1883). There are other statements that I have heard of that were written earlier than these that express the same idea. The point is the world should have been reached at least 39 years after 1844. That is a timeframe comparable with the first century church, but instead we have taken 5, going on 6, times longer to do it.

While we stand in need of resources and people, there is something the church is in greater need of to do the work: the gospel itself. Missionaries and resources will not be a problem if we have the true gospel. “Every true disciple is born into the kingdom of God as a missionary. He who drinks of the living water becomes a fountain of life. The receiver becomes a giver.” DA 195.2. “No sooner does one come to Christ than there is born in his heart a desire to make known to others what a precious friend he has found in Jesus; the saving and sanctifying truth cannot be shut up in his heart. If we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ and are filled with the joy of His indwelling Spirit, we shall not be able to hold our peace.” SC 78.2. No one who truly receives the gospel keeps it to themselves. They can't help but share it. Just look at all those that Christ healed of spiritual and physical maladies, they could not hold their peace even when He told them to do so. The problem is those in the church were either never reached by the true gospel, or they have failed to continue in it being converted every day. Part of the problem has to do with the fact that we don't really know what the message is. If we did, we probably wouldn't have more than one gospel being preached in the church. Alas, we do.

What can be done about it? Study, but differently. Two problems we have are we don't realize how central the gospel is to Scripture, and we don't study Scripture thoroughly enough. “The central theme of the Bible, the theme about which every other in the whole book clusters, is the redemption plan, the restoration in the human soul of the image of God. From the first intimation of hope in the sentence pronounced in Eden to that last glorious promise of the Revelation, "They shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads" (Revelation 22:4), the burden of every book and every passage of the Bible is the unfolding of this wondrous theme,--man's uplifting,--the power of God, "which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57. He who grasps this thought has before him an infinite field for study. He has the key that will unlock to him the whole treasure house of God's word.” Ed 125.2, 126.1. Understanding how central and key this subject is is how we understand the whole of Scripture, for there will be no portion of it locked to us.

“I have been shown that many who profess to have a knowledge of present truth know not what they believe. They do not understand the evidences of their faith. They have no just appreciation of the work for the present time. When the time of trial shall come, there are men now preaching to others who will find, upon examining the positions they hold, that there are many things for which they can give no satisfactory reason. Until thus tested they knew not their great ignorance. And there are many in the church who take it for granted that they understand what they believe; but, until controversy arises, they do not know their own weakness. When separated from those of like faith and compelled to stand singly and alone to explain their belief, they will be surprised to see how confused are their ideas of what they had accepted as truth. . . . Precious light has come, appropriate for this time. It is Bible truth, showing the perils that are right upon us. This light should lead us to a diligent study of the Scriptures and a most critical examination of the positions which we hold. God would have all the bearings and positions of truth thoroughly and perseveringly searched, with prayer and fasting. Believers are not to rest in suppositions and ill-defined ideas of what constitutes truth. Their faith must be firmly founded upon the word of God so that when the testing time shall come and they are brought before councils to answer for their faith they may be able to give a reason for the hope that is in them, with meekness and fear.” 5T 707.2, 707.3.

We tend to accept Bible studies without looking at the passages used in context. This is great when you talk with people who do not study their Bibles about our doctrines. The problem is when you run into someone who does study, and then they start pulling passages out that you have not seen or using logic you have not heard of. Unfortunately for many this point may not come until it is too late to reform. This is why we have different gospels going around in the church when there should be only one. With sincere, thorough study we will get back to the point where there will be only one gospel preached from our pulpits.

The delay has been caused by a largely unconverted church that is ignorant of the gospel. Our only hope of ending the delay is learning the true gospel and preaching it. May God help us to that end.

When Faith is not Faith

Often when faith is being discussed we are talking about something that is not faith as far as the Bible is concerned. We are told in Romans 10:17 that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. As we have covered previously with the example of the Roman centurion, faith is based on the word of God. There are some who think faith can be had while not based on the word of God. I am going to give an example of this and we will then look at a critical component of faith that is almost always overlooked.

Anyone reading this has probably heard of Christians who believe that faith is all that is essential for salvation, that Christ lived a righteous life for them, and they are now free to sin because of His sacrifice. Such Christians are not thorough readers of the book of Romans as Paul deals with the fact that an upright life is the only condition for heaven. The last verses of chapter one show how those who sin are worthy of death. In chapter two we see that compliance with the law is necessary for being declared just. Paul ends chapter three by stating that faith does not make void the law, but it establishes it. Chapter six deals directly with the question of whether we can continue to sin because of God's grace. The bottom line is Romans sets up the fact that we are saved from sin and not in sin. When a Christian expects to be saved in sin, we sometimes call that expectation faith when it deserves to be called presumption. They are presuming that God has promised to save them this way, and that is something that Scripture never teaches. Those who have gone into the grave with such views will be disappointed when they come out of it.

The problem I have just described is simply this: claiming a promise God has given without seeing if the conditions are met for claiming it. In the example above we have Christians claiming God's promise of salvation while they miss the necessity of repentance and yielding the life completely to God which is shown in obedience to His law. God never promised to save anyone without that one repenting and yielding. There are other Christians that assume God has provided forgiveness and now it is up to them to make themselves fit for heaven. I know these exist because I use to be one. Such ones still run into the same problem as the other group by claiming something that God has not promised. The only reward for both groups is disappointment until they accept salvation on God's terms. If we wish to exercise true faith and not presumption we need to be aware of the conditions of what God has promised.

To be thorough we need to look at some examples of this. In 1 John 1:9 we find the condition for forgiveness is confessing our sins. In Romans 4 we find it involves believing God. As you search the Bible you find more and more is said on this topic. We then need to examine if we have done the things that lie with us, and if we have then we can claim the promise in full assurance of faith. Such faith will not be disappointed because it truly leans upon God. In contrast we find the story of the children of Israel on Jordan's bank the first time around and we are told in Hebrews 3:19 that they entered not in because of unbelief. Because they did not meet the conditions of the promise, they did not see the fulfillment of it.

In closing the words of the apostle Paul are adequate: “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.” Hebrews 4:1.

Faith: Trusting God's Word

When we trust God, we must also trust what He has said. Trusting someone involves trusting that person's words or that person's motives. With God we can trust both His words and motives, for He is one that never errs and is always good. We are going to take some time and see what true faith looks like in regards to trust.

Scripture gives an excellent example in the story of the Roman centurion who requested the healing of his servant. The story is found in Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10. The reason why this is a great example is Jesus said so, “When Jesus heard it [the centurion's request and reasoning], he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” Matthew 8:10.

What made Jesus say this? “The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worth that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.” Matthew 8:8. His reasoning for desiring this follows: “For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.” Matthew 8:9. Jesus had initially told him that He would come and heal his servant, but the centurion instead presented the request that Jesus speak the word only. He recognized in his own authority that his words had power with his men. In Jesus he recognized One who had authority at least over disease and more since he felt that he was unworthy to have Jesus under his roof. All the centurion wanted was for the command to be uttered.

The phrase “speak the word only” is the essence of great faith. This faith needs no signs, visual effects or anything to assure it that God will perform what He has promised. Great faith recognizes that the promise is sufficient, it recognizes the authority of the word of God. Everyone who has such faith relies only on the word to accomplish what it says because of Him who spoke it.

The first book of the Bible, Genesis, starts off with showing the power of the word of God. Every day of the creation account it tells us that “God said . . . and it was so” with the only exception being the Sabbath. The Psalmist writes “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. . . . For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.” Psalm 33:6,9. When God promises us help for whatever we need whether it be money, transformation of character, strength to withstand temptation, any need, it will be supplied if we believe His promise. That same word that brought the worlds into existence is before you now for your recreation in Christ Jesus. This word has power to transform watery voids and sin filled hearts.

There is still more to cover in our discussion of faith, but to summarize true faith means trusting God's word to do just what it says. That word is what created the earth you stand on and everything upon it. It is that same word that James tells us will save the soul (James 1:21). Will you trust that word and be saved? It is up to you.

Faith: Trusting God's Love

Over the years I have never heard faith defined this way. It wasn't until within the last month that I really came to the conclusion that this is faith. True faith trusts in the fact that God loves us and knows and tries to lead us to what is in our best interest. Yet I have never heard it preached.

As my birthday came around this year, I thought back to my first birthday after conversion. I remember not really wanting to get any gifts, but I also remember a prayer that I made. In my time with God, I asked for a high temperature of 76 degrees Fahrenheit that day with mostly clear skies. The weather forecast didn't look too promising with rain on the way, but I thought that surely since my parents wanted to do something for my birthday that my heavenly Father would also. So I laid the request out there expecting that if that would be best He would do it, and if not that He wouldn't, but I couldn't see the harm in having one nice day. Not only was it 76 degrees with mostly clear skies, the church had potluck, I got to fellowship with my friends for longer than usual, and after the meal I got to ride in a convertible with the top down to our weekly Bible study. It was a great day far exceeding what I asked.

Memory lane took me to a time a few years later when I made the same request for different reasons. It had been a tough semester when my birthday came around this time. I was adjusting to the workload of the IT department, my heart had just been recently broken, the weather hardly ever seemed to be sunny in the canvassing program I was in, putting it simply I was miserable. So I asked for another 76 degree clear day because I wondered if God cared. That year was a partly cloudy day that was considerably colder than what I asked for.

The difference between the two occasions is very important. It was the same day of the year with the same request, but different reasons behind the request. When I initially asked for that kind of beautiful weather, it was because I knew God cared. The second time it was to prove if God did care. I didn't really understand why God didn't answer my prayer the second time, but there was a reason. I didn't believe in His love for me or that my best interest was on His heart, and that is why my request could not be answered.

Disbelief in the love of God is what has led to the fall of many. Lucifer lost faith in the fact that God had his best interests at heart, and as a result went at work to secure his own good. The rest of the fallen angels also lost sight of this thinking that God was holding back something good from them. Eve questioned God's provision for all her needs as she sought wisdom at the forbidden tree, and Adam feared that his dying wife was all the provision God would make for him. Sin started with all of these unfallen beings through disbelief in the selfless, loving character of God and that He takes care of all withholding nothing good. “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” Romans 14:23. If we took the time to examine our decisions, we might realize that this unbelief is at the foundation of every mistake we have ever made.

When we realize and fully believe that God cares for us and knows what is best, we will not scoff at His admonitions but cherish them, we will not vacillate between right and wrong and we wouldn't struggle as we do. Why you may ask? Who would want to settle for second best? If God has our best interest at heart, whatever He asks of us is to that end. Yet in my own experience every failure has been marked by my trying to manage things for my best good when if I had trusted God's dealings I would have suffered a lot less if not at all. We will only obey God as we see that He has our interests covered and that we need not worry about those things under His care.

These thoughts are reinforced by the following quotation (which I ended up reading not long after contemplating these things), “Faith is trusting God--believing that He loves us and knows best what is for our good. Thus, instead of our own, it leads us to choose His way. In place of our ignorance, it accepts His wisdom; in place of our weakness, His strength; in place of our sinfulness, His righteousness. Our lives, ourselves, are already His; faith acknowledges His ownership and accepts its blessing. Truth, uprightness, purity, have been pointed out as secrets of life's success. It is faith that puts us in possession of these principles.” Education 253.

Sola Fide

Faith alone is one of the most vital treasures we take with us from the protestant reformation. It is often misunderstood, and as a result attacked or modified, but it is a true statement all the same. Faith alone is sufficient for receiving Christ, and Christ is the only one that can save the sinner.

The Scriptures are explicit about how Christ is received by faith only. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” John 1:12. Belief, faith and trust are interchangeable as they are all translations of the same root word in the Greek text. By believing on Christ we receive Him. “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Romans 4:5; Ephesians 2:8,9. These texts are plain enough that they really ought not to be taken any other way. There is more to be fleshed out in the use of them, but this is the way Christ is received. Faith alone is sufficient for the salvation of the soul.

There is a forgotten fact about faith, and that is that it is effective. It wouldn't surprise me that you are thinking of James 2 right now, but you don't need James 2 to understand that obedience is the end result of faith. “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.” “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Romans 3:31; Ephesians 2:10. As has been covered already, the condition of man is that he is a slave to sin and cannot obey. A transformation needs to take place, and God affects that transformation through faith. Just as it is impossible to earn any merit in the sight of God, so it is impossible to become any better by our own works. Faith alone will bring about an obedient life.

Obviously there are still going to be questions after you read this. What do you do with what James says in James 2:14-26? Isn't there effort involved in the Christian struggle? Don't you need faith and works? These questions will be answered in more articles, but the Scriptures bring out this principle of faith alone often enough that it is something we can take as solid. What needs to be covered now is how does this principle apply in day to day life.

Solus Christus

Christ alone is God's answer to the sin problem. Yet I have heard other solutions to the sin problem. One is to try a little harder. Another is to avoid temptation like the plague and thus overcome. Still others involve more of what the person can do than what God has promised to do. Worse yet there are some who deny that there is a problem. Only Christ can heal the sin sick soul, nothing else will do.

In the book of Romans Paul shares his experience with overcoming covetousness or rather his failure to do so. Most if not all Christians can relate in some way to the words he penned in Romans 7. He tried his best to overcome it, but found he could not. “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” Romans 7:18. Paul went through the myriad forms of the works and willpower formulas to find that ultimately nothing good came from him. Through that discovery he was able to make another. “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 7:24,25.

Paul struggled with covetousness; a sin that is esteemed as small. Logically we know it is not, but if it was esteemed as greater than it has been we would hear more sermons about it. I can count on one hand the number of times I have heard about it from the pulpit. Yet these small sins, these heart sins seem to be the most difficult to lay aside. We have formulas for reforming a smoker or a drug addict, but to reform the heart we have not. A good portion have been able to lay aside supposedly great sins, but these small ones are something else. Yet Paul found the solution for his heart sin, it is Christ. The heart sins seem to be truly the greatest, and if Christ can take care of those surely he can take care of the others because “there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12.

Christ alone saves from sin. The only way that He will save from sin is if we receive Him. This means giving up on the other solutions. Some of these solutions have a right place in receiving Him, but “the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” 2 Corinthians 4:4. Until we place our trust in Jesus, we are of them who believe not and will continue to be blind to the solution for our sin. Trust that Christ can take away your sin and live out His life in you. Now may our study be as to how He is received.