Christ Triumphant - A Devotional by E.G. White
| Sin of Unbelief Leads Away From God |
|
Today's Text:
In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit. Isaiah 63:9
|
The Message:
From the beginning of sin Christ was with His people to dispute the authority of Satan, for He saw that the conflict must be carried on here in the earth. Satan withstood the Son of God in every effort to redeem His people. Enshrouded in the pillar of cloud by day and in the pillar of fire by night, Christ directed, guided, counseled the children of Israel in their journeyings from Egypt to Canaan. But how unwilling were the children of Israel to be led, how unwilling to be controlled by the voice of the Angel of the Lord! How eager they were in vindicating their own course, in justifying themselves in their rebellious feelings, and in following their own ideas and plans! It was the mighty Counselor who was enshrouded in the pillar of cloud and fire, and who was beholding the encampment of His people. It was He who corrected them in their evil ways, and encouraged them to trust in the living God to lead them safely to the Land of Promise. They were continually under the eye that never slumbers nor sleeps, and yet they murmured against Moses, the man whom God had appointed as their visible leader, and to whom Jesus Christ talked face-to-face, as a man talketh with his friend. Notwithstanding the fact that the Lord wrought through His servant Moses, yet when the enemy tempted them to evil surmising, jealousy, and faultfinding, they did not resist his temptations and stand firmly for principle. But their failure is explained by the Inspired Word, and a warning given to us upon whom the ends of the world are come, lest we also fall after the same example of unbelief.... The children of Israel fell under the power of the enemy by cherishing an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God, and when once they were found on the enemy's side, he pressed his advantage, and made them his allies to the utmost extent. The sin of unbelief, by which their confidence in the Son of God was destroyed, led Israel far astray. At the very time when they should have been praising God and magnifying the name of the Lord, talking of His goodness, telling of His power, they were found in unbelief, and full of murmuring and complaint. The deceiver was seeking through every means possible to sow discord among them, to create envy and hatred in their hearts against Moses, and to stir up rebellion against God. By listening to the voice of the great deceiver they were led into affliction, trial, and destruction.-Manuscript 65, 1895 (The Signs of the Times, April 25, 1895). |
|
Commentary:
My friend, how true is this with us today. Satan endeavors to lead us to unbelief, but he does this by tempting us to envy, evil surmising, jealousy, and faultfinding in others, that we may be imbued with his spirit and as such we are lead to unbelief.
In the time of Jesus the Jews had come to expect a Messiah that was not shown in the Scriptures. They harbored the belief that He would come as a conquering king that would free them from the oppression of the Romans and setup His everlasting kingdom here on this earth. But when He came just as the Scriptures foretold, they did not recognize the Son of God, and by their persistent refusal to believe the miracles from above, the testimony of His life, and the testimony of the Father Himself, they were lead to crucify their Redeemer.
The sin of unbelief in the time of Jesus lead a great majority of people to reject their only means of salvation, and to crucify Him on the cross. The same spirit of unbelief has come to His end-time people today. Great light from the Word of God is come to the people, showing that Jesus is the true Son of God, that the Father is the One true God spoken of in John 17:3, and that the Holy Spirit is not another being separate from God but is the Spirit of God and of Christ. When people who have been given the greatest amount of light that the world has ever seen, reject the message of who God is, they are moving themselves away from God and are in danger of grieving away His Holy Spirit.
My friend, to put a thus sayeth the church above a thus sayeth the Lord is to greive the very heart of God. If we reject the very testimony of the Father of His Son when He said "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:17 and 17:5) We are rejecting His testimony and are accepting the spirit of antichrist (see 1 John 2:22 and 5:10). When we do this, we are partaking of the same spirit that crucified Jesus on the cross.
My friend, we are right upon the borders of the heavenly promised land and God is preparing His people to bring a most wonderful message to the world, but unless we accept the One true God of the Bible, we are moving ourselves into a position where we cannot receive the seal of the living God, and will receive the mark of the beast.
May you accept Jesus as the true Son of God today.
God bless,
|
|
Video of the Week
|
Comments
Post a Comment