Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 4 (1883 - 1886)

Ms 6, 1884

Sermon/Notes on a Sermon by Mrs. E. G. White

Los Angeles, California

May 17, 1884

Previously unpublished.

(Notes on a sermon of Mrs. E. G. White, Los Angeles, California, on May 17, 1884, 2:30 p.m.) 4LtMs, Ms 6, 1884, par. 1

“It is time for thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void thy law. Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold. Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.” Psalm 119:126-128. 4LtMs, Ms 6, 1884, par. 2

We can see the influence the making void of God’s law had upon David. It was not as it is with many. It made him appreciate God’s law more highly. He esteemed it more than fine gold. He had traced out and seen the results of making void the law of God. He saw that those who transgressed the law had misery, while those who lived in obedience to it had peace and happiness with them and their families. As he sees the two classes, the obedient and disobedient, he does not fall in with the transgressors. 4LtMs, Ms 6, 1884, par. 3

The moral law is the foundation of all government in families and nations. When it is neglected, we can see the effects in the wickedness that follows. Wherein have the people now transgressed and made void the law? The ministers denounce it and teach that it is not binding upon men. As a consequence, men feel at liberty to ignore their own impulses for right and do as they please. (Related incident of two young men who reformed on hearing sermon on law.) 4LtMs, Ms 6, 1884, par. 4

God’s law is the great standard of right. First [commandment]: No other gods before Me. 4LtMs, Ms 6, 1884, par. 5

Fourth [commandment]: Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. There is no doubt in the commandment; all is positive. God sanctified the very day of His rest. The foundation of the Sabbath was laid when the foundation of the earth was laid. The man of sin has led the way in tampering with God’s Sabbath, and the Christian world has followed and has dressed up Sunday in Christian garb and presented it to the world. God hates robbery for offerings. Never before has there been a time when there was such a need for the people of God to vindicate and magnify the law of God. When we see the law made void, what position should we occupy? Should we compromise? No; because the world chooses to transgress the law is no reason why we should do so. There is a world that is going down to ruin. God bears long with evil and therefore men presume upon His clemency. But God keeps a reckoning with nations, as is seen in case of the Amorites. 4LtMs, Ms 6, 1884, par. 6

What shall we do in this time when iniquity is prevailing? Those who will take their stand to stem the current will have reproach and persecution. When will this persecution come? When the message goes with [a] loud cry. Those who do not love the truth do not want to hear. The truth of God is aggressive. Those who carry it must meet with opposition. They cannot submit to laws and to the powers that be when these are in opposition to God. After the resurrection, the disciples went forth and proclaimed Jesus, [even] though He had been proscribed and crucified. It was contrary to the law for them to do so, yet they did not desist even when thrust into prison and forbidden to preach. So we have decided to obey God rather than man. 4LtMs, Ms 6, 1884, par. 7

(Case of Peter cited, when imprisoned by Herod.) (Miraculous deliverance of Paul and Silas.) The light of truth would never have reached within those prison walls if Paul and Silas had not been imprisoned. We have a message to bear wherever we are, and we must be constantly letting our light shine. The conversion of the jailer was in the direct providence of God in the imprisonment of Paul, and if we obey the truth of God in the face of the world, we shall be brought into strait places. The whole world will not be in harmony with the law. 4LtMs, Ms 6, 1884, par. 8

We must expect to deny ourselves and to separate ourselves from the world. We are to look into the moral looking glass to see our defects. It is no marvel that men take the position that they are holy and without sin when they have trampled God’s looking glass under their feet. They cannot see themselves, except by a standard of their own making. By this they are perfect. The nearer men get to the Lord, the less boasting they will do. The farther men get away from the Lord, the more satisfied they are with themselves. Daniel was a man whom God loved, yet he confessed his sin and the sin of his people. 4LtMs, Ms 6, 1884, par. 9

There is a difference between us and those who claim holiness. While they do not keep the law, while they give nothing, they claim everything. But we who keep the law of God, who give all to the Lord, claim nothing. We have not the faith that we ought to have, since all heaven is interested in our welfare. We want a sanctification that will take all there is of us—brain, muscle, and all—a sanctification that will endure God’s search. We do not claim any holiness; we make no boast, but leave that for God to say. We cannot be holy while transgressing the law. 4LtMs, Ms 6, 1884, par. 10