The Desire of Ages
by Ellen G. White
Chapter 31: The Sermon on the Mount
This chapter is based on Matt. 5; 6; 7.
Christ seldom gathered His disciples alone to receive His
words. He did not choose for His audience those only who knew the way of life.
It was His work to reach the multitudes who were in ignorance and error. He
gave His lessons of truth where they could reach the darkened understanding. He
Himself was the Truth, standing with girded loins and hands ever outstretched
to bless, and in words of warning, entreaty, and encouragement, seeking to
uplift all who would come unto Him. {DA 298.1}
The Sermon on the Mount, though given especially to the
disciples, was spoken in the hearing of the multitude. After the ordination of
the apostles, Jesus went with them to the seaside. Here in the early morning
the people had begun to assemble. Besides the usual crowds from the Galilean
towns, there were people from Judea, and even from Jerusalem itself; from
Perea, from Decapolis, from Idumea, away to the south of Judea; and from Tyre
and Sidon, the Phoenician cities on the shore of the Mediterranean. "When
they had heard what great things He did," they "came to hear Him, and
to be healed of their diseases: . . . there went virtue out of Him,
and healed them all." Mark 3:8; Luke 6:17-19. {DA 298.2}
The narrow beach did not afford even standing room within
reach of His voice for all who desired to hear Him, and Jesus led the way back
to the mountainside. Reaching a level space that offered a pleasant gathering
place for the vast assembly, He seated Himself on the grass, and the disciples
and the multitude followed His example. [299] {DA 298.3}
The disciples' place was always next to Jesus. The people
constantly pressed upon Him, yet the disciples understood that they were not to
be crowded away from His presence. They sat close beside Him, that they might
not lose a word of His instruction. They were attentive listeners, eager to
understand the truths they were to make known to all lands and all ages. {DA 299.1}
With a feeling that something more than usual might be
expected, they now pressed about their Master. They believed that the kingdom
was soon to be established, and from the events of the morning they gathered
assurance that some announcement concerning it was about to be made. A feeling
of expectancy pervaded the multitude also, and eager faces gave evidence of the
deep interest. As the people sat upon the green hillside, awaiting the words of
the divine Teacher, their hearts were filled with thoughts of future glory.
There were scribes and Pharisees who looked forward to the day when they should
have dominion over the hated Romans, and possess the riches and splendor of the
world's great empire. The poor peasants and fishermen hoped to hear the
assurance that their wretched hovels, the scanty food, the life of toil, and
fear of want were to be exchanged for mansions of plenty and days of ease. In
place of the one coarse garment which was their covering by day, and their
blanket at night, they hoped that Christ would give them the rich and costly
robes of their conquerors. All hearts thrilled with the proud hope that Israel
was soon to be honored before the nations as the chosen of the Lord, and
Jerusalem exalted as the head of a universal kingdom. {DA 299.2}
Christ disappointed the hope of worldly greatness. In the
Sermon on the Mount He sought to undo the work that had been wrought by false
education, and to give His hearers a right conception of His kingdom and of His
own character. Yet He did not make a direct attack on the errors of the people.
He saw the misery of the world on account of sin, yet He did not present before
them a vivid delineation of their wretchedness. He taught them of something
infinitely better than they had known. Without combating their ideas of the
kingdom of God, He told them the conditions of entrance therein, leaving them
to draw their own conclusions as to its nature. The truths He taught are no
less important to us than to the multitude that followed Him. We no less than
they need to learn the foundation principles of the kingdom of God. {DA 299.3}
Christ's first words to the people on the mount were words
of blessing. Happy are they, He said, who recognize their spiritual poverty,
and [300]
feel their need of redemption. The gospel is to be preached to the poor. Not to
the spiritually proud, those who claim to be rich and in need of nothing, is it
revealed, but to those who are humble and contrite. One fountain only has been
opened for sin, a fountain for the poor in spirit. {DA 299.4}
The proud heart strives to earn salvation; but both our
title to heaven and our fitness for it are found in the righteousness of
Christ. The Lord can do nothing toward the recovery of man until, convinced of
his own weakness, and stripped of all self-sufficiency, he yields himself to
the control of God. Then he can receive the gift that God is waiting to bestow.
From the soul that feels his need, nothing is withheld. He has unrestricted
access to Him in whom all fullness dwells. "For thus saith the high and
lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and
holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive
the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."
Isaiah 57:15. {DA 300.1}
"Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be
comforted." By these words Christ does not teach that mourning in itself
has power to remove the guilt of sin. He gives no sanction to pretense or to
voluntary humility. The mourning of which He speaks does not consist in melancholy
and lamentation. While we sorrow on account of sin, we are to rejoice in the
precious privilege of being children of God. {DA 300.2}
We often sorrow because our evil deeds bring unpleasant
consequences to ourselves; but this is not repentance. Real sorrow for sin is
the result of the working of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit reveals the
ingratitude of the heart that has slighted and grieved the Saviour, and brings
us in contrition to the foot of the cross. By every sin Jesus is wounded
afresh; and as we look upon Him whom we have pierced, we mourn for the sins
that have brought anguish upon Him. Such mourning will lead to the renunciation
of sin. {DA 300.3}
The worldling may pronounce this sorrow a weakness; but it
is the strength which binds the penitent to the Infinite One with links that
cannot be broken. It shows that the angels of God are bringing back to the soul
the graces that were lost through hardness of heart and transgression. The
tears of the penitent are only the raindrops that precede the sunshine of
holiness. This sorrow heralds a joy which will be a living fountain in the
soul. "Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed
against the Lord thy God;" "and I will not cause Mine anger to fall
upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord." Jeremiah 3:13, 12.
"Unto them that mourn in Zion," He has appointed to give [301]
"beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for
the spirit of heaviness." Isaiah 61:3. {DA 300.4}
And for those also who mourn in trial and sorrow there is
comfort. The bitterness of grief and humiliation is better than the indulgences
of sin. Through affliction God reveals to us the plague spots in our
characters, that by His grace we may overcome our faults. Unknown chapters in
regard to ourselves are opened to us, and the test comes, whether we will
accept the reproof and the counsel of God. When brought into trial, we are not
to fret and complain. We should not rebel, or worry ourselves out of the hand
of Christ. We are to humble the soul before God. The ways of the Lord are
obscure to him who desires to see things in a light pleasing to himself. They
appear dark and joyless to our human nature. But God's ways are ways of mercy
and the end is salvation. Elijah knew not what he was doing when in the desert
he said that he had had enough of life, and prayed that he might die. The Lord
in His mercy did not take him at his word. There was yet a great work for
Elijah to do; and when his work was done, he was not to perish in
discouragement and solitude in the wilderness. Not for him the descent into the
dust of death, but the ascent in glory, with the convoy of celestial chariots,
to the throne on high. {DA
301.1}
God's word for the sorrowing is, "I have seen his ways,
and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to
his mourners." "I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort
them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow." Isaiah 57:18; Jeremiah
31:13. {DA 301.2}
"Blessed are the meek." The difficulties we have
to encounter may be very much lessened by that meekness which hides itself in
Christ. If we possess the humility of our Master, we shall rise above the
slights, the rebuffs, the annoyances, to which we are daily exposed, and they
will cease to cast a gloom over the spirit. The highest evidence of nobility in
a Christian is self-control. He who under abuse or cruelty fails to maintain a
calm and trustful spirit robs God of His right to reveal in him His own
perfection of character. Lowliness of heart is the strength that gives victory
to the followers of Christ; it is the token of their connection with the courts
above. {DA 301.3}
"Though the Lord be high, yet hath He respect unto the
lowly." Psalm 138:6. Those who reveal the meek and lowly spirit of Christ
are tenderly regarded by God. They may be looked upon with scorn by the world,
but they are of great value in His sight. Not only the wise, the great, the
beneficent, will gain a passport to the heavenly courts; not only [302]
the busy worker, full of zeal and restless activity. No; the poor in spirit,
who crave the presence of an abiding Christ, the humble in heart, whose highest
ambition is to do God's will,—these will gain an abundant entrance.
They will be among that number who have washed their robes and made them white
in the blood of the Lamb. "Therefore are they before the throne of God,
and serve Him day and night in His temple: and He that sitteth on the throne
shall dwell among them." Revelation 7:15. {DA 301.4}
"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after
righteousness." The sense of unworthiness will lead the heart to hunger
and thirst for righteousness, and this desire will not be disappointed. Those
who make room in their hearts for Jesus will realize His love. All who long to
bear the likeness of the character of God shall be satisfied. The Holy Spirit
never leaves unassisted the soul who is looking unto Jesus. He takes of the
things of Christ and shows them unto him. If the eye is kept fixed on Christ,
the work of the Spirit ceases not until the soul is conformed to His image. The
pure element of love will expand the soul, giving it a capacity for higher
attainments, for increased knowledge of heavenly things, so that it will not
rest short of the fullness. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst
after righteousness; for they shall be filled." {DA 302.1}
The merciful shall find mercy, and the pure in heart shall
see God. Every impure thought defiles the soul, impairs the moral sense, and
tends to obliterate the impressions of the Holy Spirit. It dims the spiritual
vision, so that men cannot behold God. The Lord may and does forgive the
repenting sinner; but though forgiven, the soul is marred. All impurity of
speech or of thought must be shunned by him who would have clear discernment of
spiritual truth. {DA
302.2}
But the words of Christ cover more than freedom from sensual
impurity, more than freedom from that ceremonial defilement which the Jews so
rigorously shunned. Selfishness prevents us from beholding God. The
self-seeking spirit judges of God as altogether such a one as itself. Until we
have renounced this, we cannot understand Him who is love. Only the unselfish
heart, the humble and trustful spirit, shall see God as "merciful and
gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth." Exodus
34:6. {DA 302.3}
"Blessed are the peacemakers." The peace of
Christ is born of truth. It is harmony with God. The world is at enmity with
the law of God; [305] sinners are at enmity with their
Maker; and as a result they are at enmity with one another. But the psalmist
declares, "Great peace have they which love Thy law: and nothing shall
offend them." Psalm 119:165. Men cannot manufacture peace. Human plans for
the purification and uplifting of individuals or of society will fail of
producing peace, because they do not reach the heart. The only power that can
create or perpetuate true peace is the grace of Christ. When this is implanted
in the heart, it will cast out the evil passions that cause strife and dissension.
"Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier
shall come up the myrtle tree;" and life's desert "shall rejoice, and
blossom as the rose." Isaiah 55:13; 35:1. {DA 302.4}
The multitudes were amazed at this teaching, which was so at
variance with the precepts and example of the Pharisees. The people had come to
think that happiness consisted in the possession of the things of this world,
and that fame and the honor of men were much to be coveted. It was very
pleasing to be called "Rabbi," and to be extolled as wise and
religious, having their virtues paraded before the public. This was regarded as
the crown of happiness. But in the presence of that vast throng, Jesus declared
that earthly gain and honor were all the reward such persons would ever
receive. He spoke with certainty, and a convincing power attended His words.
The people were silenced, and a feeling of fear crept over them. They looked at
one another doubtfully. Who of them would be saved if this Man's teachings were
true? Many were convicted that this remarkable Teacher was actuated by the
Spirit of God, and that the sentiments He uttered were divine. {DA 305.1}
After explaining what constitutes true happiness, and how it
may be obtained, Jesus more definitely pointed out the duty of His disciples,
as teachers chosen of God to lead others into the path of righteousness and
eternal life. He knew that they would often suffer from disappointment and
discouragement, that they would meet with decided opposition, that they would
be insulted, and their testimony rejected. Well He knew that in the fulfillment
of their mission, the humble men who listened so attentively to His words were
to bear calumny, torture, imprisonment, and death, and He continued: {DA 305.2}
"Blessed are they which are persecuted for
righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when
men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil
against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is
your [306]
reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before
you." {DA 305.3}
The world loves sin, and hates righteousness, and this was
the cause of its hostility to Jesus. All who refuse His infinite love will find
Christianity a disturbing element. The light of Christ sweeps away the darkness
that covers their sins, and the need of reform is made manifest. While those
who yield to the influence of the Holy Spirit begin war with themselves, those
who cling to sin war against the truth and its representatives. {DA 306.1}
Thus strife is created, and Christ's followers are accused
as troublers of the people. But it is fellowship with God that brings them the
world's enmity. They are bearing the reproach of Christ. They are treading the
path that has been trodden by the noblest of the earth. Not with sorrow, but
with rejoicing, should they meet persecution. Each fiery trial is God's agent
for their refining. Each is fitting them for their work as colaborers with Him.
Each conflict has its place in the great battle for righteousness, and each
will add to the joy of their final triumph. Having this in view, the test of
their faith and patience will be cheerfully accepted rather than dreaded and
avoided. Anxious to fulfill their obligation to the world, fixing their desire
upon the approval of God, His servants are to fulfill every duty, irrespective
of the fear or the favor of men. {DA 306.2}
"Ye are the salt of the earth," Jesus said. Do not
withdraw yourselves from the world in order to escape persecution. You are to
abide among men, that the savor of the divine love may be as salt to preserve
the world from corruption. {DA
306.3}
Hearts that respond to the influence of the Holy Spirit are
the channels through which God's blessing flows. Were those who serve God
removed from the earth, and His Spirit withdrawn from among men, this world
would be left to desolation and destruction, the fruit of Satan's dominion.
Though the wicked know it not, they owe even the blessings of this life to the
presence, in the world, of God's people whom they despise and oppress. But if
Christians are such in name only, they are like the salt that has lost its
savor. They have no influence for good in the world. Through their
misrepresentation of God they are worse than unbelievers. {DA 306.4}
"Ye are the light of the world." The Jews thought
to confine the benefits of salvation to their own nation; but Christ showed
them that [307] salvation is like the sunshine. It belongs to
the whole world. The religion of the Bible is not to be confined between the
covers of a book, nor within the walls of a church. It is not to be brought out
occasionally for our own benefit, and then to be carefully laid aside again. It
is to sanctify the daily life, to manifest itself in every business transaction
and in all our social relations. {DA 306.5}
True character is not shaped from without, and put on; it
radiates from within. If we wish to direct others in the path of righteousness,
the principles of righteousness must be enshrined in our own hearts. Our
profession of faith may proclaim the theory of religion, but it is our
practical piety that holds forth the word of truth. The consistent life, the
holy conversation, the unswerving integrity, the active, benevolent spirit, the
godly example,—these are the mediums through which light is conveyed
to the world. {DA 307.1}
Jesus had not dwelt on the specifications of the law, but He
did not leave His hearers to conclude that He had come to set aside its
requirements. He knew that spies stood ready to seize upon every word that
might be wrested to serve their purpose. He knew the prejudice that existed in
the minds of many of His hearers, and He said nothing to unsettle their faith
in the religion and institutions that had been committed to them through Moses.
Christ Himself had given both the moral and the ceremonial law. He did not come
to destroy confidence in His own instruction. It was because of His great
reverence for the law and the prophets that He sought to break through the wall
of traditional requirements which hemmed in the Jews. While He set aside their
false interpretations of the law, He carefully guarded His disciples against
yielding up the vital truths committed to the Hebrews. {DA 307.2}
The Pharisees prided themselves on their obedience to the
law; yet they knew so little of its principles through everyday practice that
to them the Saviour's words sounded like heresy. As He swept away the rubbish
under which the truth had been buried, they thought He was sweeping away the
truth itself. They whispered to one another that He was making light of the
law. He read their thoughts, and answered them, saying,— {DA 307.3}
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the
prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." Here Jesus refutes
the charge of the Pharisees. His mission to the world is to vindicate the
sacred claims of that law which they charge Him with breaking. If the law [308]
of God could have been changed or abrogated, then Christ need not have suffered
the consequences of our transgression. He came to explain the relation of the
law to man, and to illustrate its precepts by His own life of obedience. {DA 307.4}
God has given us His holy precepts, because He loves
mankind. To shield us from the results of transgression, He reveals the
principles of righteousness. The law is an expression of the thought of God;
when received in Christ, it becomes our thought. It lifts us above the power of
natural desires and tendencies, above temptations that lead to sin. God desires
us to be happy, and He gave us the precepts of the law that in obeying them we
might have joy. When at Jesus' birth the angels sang,—
"Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, good will toward men" (Luke 2:14),
they were declaring the principles of the law which He had come to magnify and
make honorable. {DA 308.1}
When the law was proclaimed from Sinai, God made known to
men the holiness of His character, that by contrast they might see the sinfulness
of their own. The law was given to convict them of sin, and reveal their need
of a Saviour. It would do this as its principles were applied to the heart by
the Holy Spirit. This work it is still to do. In the life of Christ the
principles of the law are made plain; and as the Holy Spirit of God touches the
heart, as the light of Christ reveals to men their need of His cleansing blood
and His justifying righteousness, the law is still an agent in bringing us to
Christ, that we may be justified by faith. "The law of the Lord is
perfect, converting the soul." Psalm 19:7. {DA 308.2}
"Till heaven and earth pass," said Jesus,
"one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be
fulfilled." The sun shining in the heavens, the solid earth upon which you
dwell, are God's witnesses that His law is changeless and eternal. Though they
may pass away, the divine precepts shall endure. "It is easier for heaven
and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail." Luke 16:17. The
system of types that pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God was to be abolished at
His death; but the precepts of the Decalogue are as immutable as the throne of
God. {DA 308.3}
Since "the law of the Lord is perfect," every
variation from it must be evil. Those who disobey the commandments of God, and
teach others [309] to do so, are condemned by
Christ. The Saviour's life of obedience maintained the claims of the law; it
proved that the law could be kept in humanity, and showed the excellence of
character that obedience would develop. All who obey as He did are likewise
declaring that the law is "holy, and just, and good." Romans 7:12. On
the other hand, all who break God's commandments are sustaining Satan's claim
that the law is unjust, and cannot be obeyed. Thus they second the deceptions
of the great adversary, and cast dishonor upon God. They are the children of
the wicked one, who was the first rebel against God's law. To admit them into
heaven would again bring in the elements of discord and rebellion, and imperil
the well-being of the universe. No man who willfully disregards one principle
of the law shall enter the kingdom of heaven. {DA 308.4}
The rabbis counted their righteousness a passport to heaven;
but Jesus declared it to be insufficient and unworthy. External ceremonies and
a theoretical knowledge of truth constituted Pharisaical righteousness. The
rabbis claimed to be holy through their own efforts in keeping the law; but
their works had divorced righteousness from religion. While they were
punctilious in ritual observances, their lives were immoral and debased. Their
so-called righteousness could never enter the kingdom of heaven. {DA 309.1}
The greatest deception of the human mind in Christ's day was
that a mere assent to the truth constitutes righteousness. In all human
experience a theoretical knowledge of the truth has been proved to be
insufficient for the saving of the soul. It does not bring forth the fruits of
righteousness. A jealous regard for what is termed theological truth often
accompanies a hatred of genuine truth as made manifest in life. The darkest
chapters of history are burdened with the record of crimes committed by bigoted
religionists. The Pharisees claimed to be children of Abraham, and boasted of
their possession of the oracles of God; yet these advantages did not preserve
them from selfishness, malignity, greed for gain, and the basest hypocrisy.
They thought themselves the greatest religionists of the world, but their
so-called orthodoxy led them to crucify the Lord of glory. {DA 309.2}
The same danger still exists. Many take it for granted that
they are Christians, simply because they subscribe to certain theological
tenets. But they have not brought the truth into practical life. They have not
believed and loved it, therefore they have not received the power and [310]
grace that come through sanctification of the truth. Men may profess faith in
the truth; but if it does not make them sincere, kind, patient, forbearing,
heavenly-minded, it is a curse to its possessors, and through their influence
it is a curse to the world. {DA
309.3}
The righteousness which Christ taught is conformity of heart
and life to the revealed will of God. Sinful men can become righteous only as
they have faith in God and maintain a vital connection with Him. Then true
godliness will elevate the thoughts and ennoble the life. Then the external
forms of religion accord with the Christian's internal purity. Then the
ceremonies required in the service of God are not meaningless rites, like those
of the hypocritical Pharisees. {DA 310.1}
Jesus takes up the commandments separately, and explains the
depth and breadth of their requirement. Instead of removing one jot of their
force, He shows how far-reaching their principles are, and exposes the fatal
mistake of the Jews in their outward show of obedience. He declares that by the
evil thought or the lustful look the law of God is transgressed. One who
becomes a party to the least injustice is breaking the law and degrading his
own moral nature. Murder first exists in the mind. He who gives hatred a place
in his heart is setting his feet in the path of the murderer, and his offerings
are abhorrent to God. {DA
310.2}
The Jews cultivated a spirit of retaliation. In their hatred
of the Romans they gave utterance to hard denunciations, and pleased the wicked
one by manifesting his attributes. Thus they were training themselves to do the
terrible deeds to which he led them on. In the religious life of the Pharisees
there was nothing to recommend piety to the Gentiles. Jesus bade them not to
deceive themselves with the thought that they could in heart rise up against
their oppressors, and cherish the longing to avenge their wrongs. {DA 310.3}
It is true there is an indignation that is justifiable, even
in the followers of Christ. When they see that God is dishonored, and His
service brought into disrepute, when they see the innocent oppressed, a
righteous indignation stirs the soul. Such anger, born of sensitive morals, is
not a sin. But those who at any supposed provocation feel at liberty to indulge
anger or resentment are opening the heart to Satan. Bitterness and animosity
must be banished from the soul if we would be in harmony with heaven. {DA 310.4}
The Saviour goes farther than this. He says, "If thou
bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught
against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be [311]
reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." Many are
zealous in religious services, while between them and their brethren are
unhappy differences which they might reconcile. God requires them to do all in
their power to restore harmony. Until they do this, He cannot accept their
services. The Christian's duty in this matter is clearly pointed out. {DA 310.5}
God pours His blessings upon all. "He maketh His sun to
rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the
unjust." He is "kind unto the unthankful and to the evil." Luke
6:35. He bids us to be like Him. "Bless them that curse you," said
Jesus; "do good to them that hate you, . . . that ye may be the
children of your Father which is in heaven." These are the principles of
the law, and they are the wellsprings of life. {DA 311.1}
God's ideal for His children is higher than the highest
human thought can reach. "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father
which is in heaven is perfect." This command is a promise. The plan of
redemption contemplates our complete recovery from the power of Satan. Christ
always separates the contrite soul from sin. He came to destroy the works of
the devil, and He has made provision that the Holy Spirit shall be imparted to
every repentant soul, to keep him from sinning. {DA 311.2}
The tempter's agency is not to be accounted an excuse for
one wrong act. Satan is jubilant when he hears the professed followers of
Christ making excuses for their deformity of character. It is these excuses
that lead to sin. There is no excuse for sinning. A holy temper, a Christlike
life, is accessible to every repenting, believing child of God. {DA 311.3}
The ideal of Christian character is Christlikeness. As the
Son of man was perfect in His life, so His followers are to be perfect in their
life. Jesus was in all things made like unto His brethren. He became flesh, even
as we are. He was hungry and thirsty and weary. He was sustained by food and
refreshed by sleep. He shared the lot of man; yet He was the blameless Son of
God. He was God in the flesh. His character is to be ours. The Lord says of
those who believe in Him, "I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I
will be their God, and they shall be My people." 2 Corinthians 6:16. {DA 311.4}
Christ is the ladder that Jacob saw, the base resting on the
earth, and the topmost round reaching to the gate of heaven, to the very
threshold of glory. If that ladder had failed by a single step of reaching the
earth, we should have been lost. But Christ reaches us where we are. He took
our nature and overcame, that we through taking His [312] nature
might overcome. Made "in the likeness of sinful flesh" (Romans 8:3),
He lived a sinless life. Now by His divinity He lays hold upon the throne of
heaven, while by His humanity He reaches us. He bids us by faith in Him attain
to the glory of the character of God. Therefore are we to be perfect, even as
our "Father which is in heaven is perfect." {DA 311.5}
Jesus had shown in what righteousness consists, and had
pointed to God as its source. Now He turned to practical duties. In almsgiving,
in prayer, in fasting, He said, let nothing be done to attract attention or win
praise to self. Give in sincerity, for the benefit of the suffering poor. In
prayer, let the soul commune with God. In fasting, go not with the head bowed
down, and heart filled with thoughts of self. The heart of the Pharisee is a
barren and profitless soil, in which no seeds of divine life can flourish. It
is he who yields himself most unreservedly to God that will render Him the most
acceptable service. For through fellowship with God men become workers together
with Him in presenting His character in humanity. {DA 312.1}
The service rendered in sincerity of heart has great
recompense. "Thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee
openly." By the life we live through the grace of Christ the character is
formed. The original loveliness begins to be restored to the soul. The
attributes of the character of Christ are imparted, and the image of the Divine
begins to shine forth. The faces of men and women who walk and work with God
express the peace of heaven. They are surrounded with the atmosphere of heaven.
For these souls the kingdom of God has begun. They have Christ's joy, the joy
of being a blessing to humanity. They have the honor of being accepted for the
Master's use; they are trusted to do His work in His name. {DA 312.2}
"No man can serve two masters." We cannot serve
God with a divided heart. Bible religion is not one influence among many
others; its influence is to be supreme, pervading and controlling every other.
It is not to be like a dash of color brushed here and there upon the canvas,
but it is to pervade the whole life, as if the canvas were dipped into the
color, until every thread of the fabric were dyed a deep, unfading hue. {DA 312.3}
"If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall
be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of
darkness." Purity and steadfastness of purpose are the conditions of
receiving light from God. He who desires to know the truth must be willing to
accept all that it reveals. He can make no compromise with error. To be [313]
wavering and halfhearted in allegiance to truth is to choose the darkness of
error and satanic delusion. {DA
312.4}
Worldly policy and the undeviating principles of
righteousness do not blend into each other imperceptibly, like the colors of
the rainbow. Between the two a broad, clear line is drawn by the eternal God.
The likeness of Christ stands out as distinct from that of Satan as midday in
contrast with midnight. And only those who live the life of Christ are His
co-workers. If one sin is cherished in the soul, or one wrong practice retained
in the life, the whole being is contaminated. The man becomes an instrument of
unrighteousness. {DA
313.1}
All who have chosen God's service are to rest in His care.
Christ pointed to the birds flying in the heavens, to the flowers of the field,
and bade His hearers consider these objects of God's creation. "Are not ye
of much more value than they?" He said. Matthew 6:26, R. V. The measure of
divine attention bestowed on any object is proportionate to its rank in the
scale of being. The little brown sparrow is watched over by Providence. The
flowers of the field, the grass that carpets the earth, share the notice and
care of our heavenly Father. The great Master Artist has taken thought for the
lilies, making them so beautiful that they outshine the glory of Solomon. How
much more does He care for man, who is the image and glory of God. He longs to
see His children reveal a character after His similitude. As the sunbeam imparts
to the flowers their varied and delicate tints, so does God impart to the soul
the beauty of His own character. {DA 313.2}
All who choose Christ's kingdom of love and righteousness
and peace, making its interest paramount to all other, are linked to the world
above, and every blessing needed for this life is theirs. In the book of God's
providence, the volume of life, we are each given a page. That page contains
every particular of our history; even the hairs of the head are numbered. God's
children are never absent from His mind. {DA 313.3}
"Be not therefore anxious for the morrow." Matthew
6:34, R. V. We are to follow Christ day by day. God does not bestow help for
tomorrow. He does not give His children all the directions for their life
journey at once, lest they should become confused. He tells them just as much
as they can remember and perform. The strength and wisdom imparted are for the
present emergency. "If any of you lack wisdom,"—for today,—"let
him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it
shall be given him." James 1:5. [314] {DA 313.4}
"Judge not, that ye be not judged." Do not think
yourself better than other men, and set yourself up as their judge. Since you
cannot discern motive, you are incapable of judging another. In criticizing
him, you are passing sentence upon yourself; for you show that you are a
participant with Satan, the accuser of the brethren. The Lord says,
"Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves."
This is our work. "If we would judge ourselves, we should not be
judged." 2 Corinthians 13:5; 1 Corinthians 11:31. {DA 314.1}
The good tree will produce good fruit. If the fruit is
unpalatable and worthless, the tree is evil. So the fruit borne in the life
testifies as to the condition of the heart and the excellence of the character.
Good works can never purchase salvation, but they are an evidence of the faith
that acts by love and purifies the soul. And though the eternal reward is not
bestowed because of our merit, yet it will be in proportion to the work that
has been done through the grace of Christ. {DA 314.2}
Thus Christ set forth the principles of His kingdom, and
showed them to be the great rule of life. To impress the lesson He adds an
illustration. It is not enough, He says, for you to hear My words. By obedience
you must make them the foundation of your character. Self is but shifting sand.
If you build upon human theories and inventions, your house will fall. By the
winds of temptation, the tempests of trial, it will be swept away. But these
principles that I have given will endure. Receive Me; build on My words. {DA 314.3}
"Everyone therefore which heareth these words of Mine,
and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man, which built his house upon
the rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and
beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon the rock."
Matthew 7:24, 25, R.V. {DA
314.4}
Click here to read the next chapter:
"The Centurion"
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