The Review and Herald

March 1, 1892

“Sanctify Them Through Thy Truth”

(Concluded.)

EGW

Do you teach your children that Jesus is soon coming? Do you read to them the promise, “In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also”? I began to teach my children about the love of Jesus when they were mere babes. I could not leave the work of training my children to the hands of servants. They were my first considerations. When visitors came, I told them that they must excuse me until I had set my children their little task, or provided some suitable amusement for them. It is the duty of every parent to do as did Abraham; for he did not betray his sacred trust. If you allow your children to grow up in rebellion against your authority, they will be receiving a training that will cause them to rebel against the authority of God. Their religious experience will be molded by their training in childhood, and they will not be controlled by the rules of the church. The influence of neglect in the home training is seen on every side; for this is the reason that so few of the youth are impressed by the Spirit of God. Christian fathers and mothers, are you seeking to train your children so that they will be as lights in the world? A well-ordered family is one of the best testimonies we can present to the world of the value of our religion. This living testimony has more weight than sermons and professions. RH March 1, 1892, par. 1

Then tell your children what God expects of them. Let Jesus put his mold upon them. Teach them moral independence. Teach them to look neither to the right nor to the left to engage in evil, but to do justice and judgment, and keep the way of the Lord. Give them the invitation of Jesus to come to him and find rest unto their souls. RH March 1, 1892, par. 2

Jesus says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” We are to wear the yoke of Christ, and then he bears the burden for us. When I was a little girl, I saw them yoking up the oxen, and I asked my mother why they put that heavy yoke on the oxen. She replied, “It makes the load easier to draw, and lightens the burden.” This is why Christ invites us to wear his yoke. “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden.” What has made them heavy laden?—It is because they have manufactured yokes of their own. They have not had the meekness and lowliness of Christ which lifts the soul above the heavy burdens, and makes the yoke easy. RH March 1, 1892, par. 3

Christians are to be laborers together with God. They are to lift up Jesus. He says, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” We are to talk of his love, of the mansions he has gone to prepare for those that love him; we are to talk of his mercy, and magnify his righteousness. Why is it that we have so little freedom in speaking of the love of Jesus?—It is because we have not educated the tongue to talk of his goodness and tell of his power. Why is it that we have so little freedom in prayer?—It is because we have not educated ourselves in the exercises of devotion. If we prayed three times a day, as did Daniel, we should be able to say, “I place my hand in the hand of Jesus, and I will not gratify the enemy by talking doubt. I will not dishonor my Redeemer.” RH March 1, 1892, par. 4

Jesus knows everything in your life and character. He knows your down-sitting and your uprising, and your words are all registered in the books of heaven. Not a sparrow falls to the ground without the notice of your heavenly Father, and the very hairs of your head are all numbered. RH March 1, 1892, par. 5

There are many who do not have vital faith. They do not realize that Jesus knows all about them. They do not have the faith of the poor woman who was compassed with infirmity, and who said, “If I might but touch the hem of his garment, I should be whole.” Jesus knew all about her desire, and her faith in him, and as he was on his way to heal the ruler's daughter, he passed by the place where this poor woman was, going out of his way that she might have a chance to act out her faith. And as Jesus came near, the crowds thronged about him, and the woman pressed her way toward the Master. Step by step she gets near to him. She pressed her way until by reaching her hand through those who stood nearest him, she touched his garment, and immediately she knew that she was healed. Then Jesus turned, and said, “Who touched me?” His disciples were astonished that he should ask such a question, and Peter spoke up in surprise, saying, “Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.” She told him the whole story; and did Jesus rebuke her? Did he turn coldly from her?—No, he comforted her. He said, “Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.” O, I would rather have one word of comfort from Jesus than all the wealth and all the mansions in Sydney. I would rather have one smile of approval from Jesus than all the gold of the world. I love him, I love him. I praise him for his wonderful mercy and goodness to the children of men. RH March 1, 1892, par. 6

It is our privilege to have an experience more precious than gold. We are to come in living faith to Jesus. We need not be among those who have only a casual faith, who get no answers of peace when they pray. We may have a living experience in the things of God; but we must take time to pray. We must take time to search the Scriptures, digging for truth as for hidden treasures. When Jesus came to the world, Satan had obscured the truth under the rubbish of men's opinions, and Jesus commanded his disciples to search the Scriptures, saying, “They are they which testify of me.” RH March 1, 1892, par. 7

We are to be sanctified through the truth, but Jesus declares, “Thy word is truth.” We can be sanctified only through a knowledge of the word of God, and that word is to become a part of our life. God has given you a Bible, and when your will is submitted to God's will, you will know what is truth. The law of God is the standard to which we are to come. It is the mirror which reveals to us our defects of character. But while it reveals our defects, there is no power in the mirror to cleanse us from the stains of sin. In looking into the law of God, we see our short-comings and failures, but there is no power in law to redeem the transgressor of law. A remedy has been provided for the sinner. A fountain has been opened for uncleanness, where Judah and Jerusalem may wash and be made clean. We must have repentance toward God. Why?—Because we have broken his law. We must have faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, because he is the sacrifice for sin. And where do we get repentance?—It is the Holy Spirit that imparts repentance to us. Jesus draws us to himself through the agency of his divine Spirit; and through faith in his blood we are cleansed from sin; “for the blood of Jesus Christ his Son, cleanseth us from all sin.” “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” But suppose that we sin after we have been forgiven, after we have become the children of God, then need we despair?—No; for John writes, “My little children, these things I write unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” Jesus is in the heavenly courts pleading with the Father in our behalf. He presents our prayers, mingling with them the precious incense of his own merit, that our prayers may be acceptable to the Father. He puts the fragrance into our prayers, and the Father hears us because we ask for the very things which we need, and we become to others a savor of life unto life. RH March 1, 1892, par. 8

Jesus came to suffer in our behalf, that he might impart to us his righteousness. There is but one way of escape for us, and that is found only in becoming partakers of the divine nature. RH March 1, 1892, par. 9

But many say that Jesus was not like us, that he was not as we are in the world, that he was divine, and that we cannot overcome as he overcame. But Paul writes. “Verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.” “For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Jesus says, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” RH March 1, 1892, par. 10

Jesus encircled the race with his humanity, and united divinity with humanity; thus moral power is brought to man through the merits of Jesus. Those who profess his name through his grace are to sanctify themselves that they may exert a sanctifying influence on all with whom they associate. Jesus says of his disciples, “Ye are the light of the world.” We are to be representatives of Christ, becoming sanctified through the truth. RH March 1, 1892, par. 11

There are rich treasures for us in the mine of God's word, and we must dig deep for the precious jewels of truth. The rubbish of human opinion must be swept aside, that the clear jewels of truth may be brought to light; for we want the truth on every point, that we may be sanctified through the truth. The Bible is the garden of God, and here we must learn to gather the roses and the lilies and the pinks of God's promises. We must hang them as precious pictures upon the wall of memory, and have our eyes fixed upon the glorious things of God, so that we shall be able to go through the world and not dwell upon its corruptions, or be polluted by its wickedness. RH March 1, 1892, par. 12

Fasten your faith to the eternal throne, and all the promises of God are at your command. When God gave his Son, he gave us all in that precious gift. “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” How glad would our Lord be to see our faces lighted up with the light of his Holy Spirit. He wants us to have love and joy and peace. He says, “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Then let us talk of the power of Jesus; for help has been laid upon One that is mighty. Isaiah says that “his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” So let us elevate our souls through faith in Christ above the lowlands of earth, and breathe the atmosphere of heaven. RH March 1, 1892, par. 13