The Fruitage of Spiritual Gifts

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Chapter 9 — Adventist Church Policy and the Prophetic Gift

WE ARE DEALING HERE WITH the creative ideas of a divine message. Everyone who has read Mrs. White’s writing will have noticed the wide range of subjects discussed. There are beautiful words about heaven and eternity. There are moving spiritual appeals. There is firm and even stern reproof of every kind of sin. The story is told of the divine way of salvation—conversion, justification by faith, genuine sanctification in a victorious life, and growth in holiness through the abundant grace of Christ, with sweet comfort and hope for the discouraged. There is instruction for the aged, for youth, for parents, for men and women in all the walks of life. The messages deal with the state, the home, the church, as well as with questions of race and nation. They magnify the rights and dignity of the individual and plead for equality and liberty. They exhort the rich and defend the poor. And all this instruction is creative. It brings forth schools, publishing plants, sanitariums, hospitals, temperance societies, and extensive world-wide mission enterprises. It does something even greater in a way, the cap sheaf of all these activities—it fashions them all into the mold of a perfectly united organization. The astounding thing is that a woman who had never studied ecclesiastical policies or held an office set forth principles and made application of these principles that gave Adventists the most marvelous and complete gospel and mission polity of our age. FSG 112.1

History points to three indigenous foundations of human life and society. They are marriage, civil law, and religion. These are the roots of the three universal and basic institutions of mankind, that is, the home, the state, and the church. Of these three elementary forces, the latter—that is, religion—is the strongest. No other human instinct, not even that of parenthood, is as deep and lasting and creative in its fruitage as is that of the ideas of God and the longing for eternity. When we study religion we must think of it as both personal and organized. Personal Christianity is an experimental heart communion with God built on faith in His Word and a living experience. Organized religion is a group of religious people who unite for the purpose of strengthening one another in their spiritual concepts and moral power. They organize a church to protect and propagate their faith. In the past three or four decades much has been said about the dangers of organized religion. The enemies of God constantly say that they are not opposed to religion, but to organized religion. The truth, however, is that the so-called “unorganized religion” is a weak, mollycoddly thing that does nothing and influences nobody. Those who prefer unorganized religion generally entertain the vaguest fancies concerning God, morality, and eternity. We may dismiss the concept of unorganized religion as of no value. Personal religion and organized religion, when genuine, belong together as a church. FSG 113.1

The church of Christ is founded on three great pillars or sources of strength. They are, first, a definite doctrinal message; second, deep spiritual power of repentance, revival, and sanctification; third, a well-organized body on the basis of Bible order. These three characteristics of the church of Christ are very prominent in the advent brotherhood. In this chapter not doctrine but rather the early power and the needed organization as developed under the direction of the Spirit of prophecy will be dealt with. FSG 113.2