Reformation Principals are to be Upheld Today

Christ Triumphant - A Devotional by E.G. White

Reformation Principals are to be Upheld Today Today's Text: Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter. Revelation 1:19 The Message:      The principle that we are called to uphold at this time is the same that was maintained by the adherents of the gospel in the days of the great Reformation. When the princes assembled at the Diet of Spires in 1529, it seemed that the hope of the world was about to be crushed out. To this assembly was presented the emperor's decree restricting religious liberty, and prohibiting all further dissemination of the reform doctrines. Would the princes representing the States of Germany accept the decree and consent that the blessed light of the gospel should be shut out from the multitudes that were still in darkness?      Mighty issues for the world depended upon the action of a few heroes of faith. Those who had accepted the truths of the Reformation met together, and their unanimous decision was "Let us object to the decree. In matters of conscience the majority has no power." They drew up their protest and submitted it to the assembled states....      The banner of truth and religious liberty which these reformers held aloft, God has in this last conflict committed to our hands. Those whom He has blessed with the knowledge of His Word are held responsible for this great gift. We are to receive it as supreme authority. We must accept its truths for ourselves, as our own individual act. And we shall be able to appreciate these truths, only as we shall search them out for ourselves, by personal study of the Word of God. Then as we accept it as the guide of our lives, the prayer of Christ is answered for us. "Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth." [John 17:17.] The acknowledgement of the truth both in word and by example is our confession of faith, and it is only as we thus acknowledge the truth that others can know that we believe the Bible.     God will hold men accountable who have the plain teachings of His Word, but disregard them and accept the sayings and customs of men. And yet how many are doing this! They reject the light in regard to the Sabbath, and trample upon God's holy day. Ministers and people, with the Bible open before them, show contempt for the Word of God in His holy precepts, while they exalt a spurious sabbath, which has not other foundation than the authority of the Roman church. The claims of this spurious sabbath are to be enforced upon the world. The Protestant churches, having received doctrines which the Word of God condemns, will bring these to the front and force them upon the consciences of men, just as the papal authorities urged their dogmas upon the advocates of truth in Luther's time. The same battle is again to be fought, and every soul will be called upon to decide upon which side of the controversy he will be found.      When people are not willing to see the truth and receive it because it involves a cross, they are opening the door to Satan's temptations. He will lead them, as he led Eve in Eden, to believe a lie. The truth through which they might have been sanctified is set aside for some pleasing delusion presented by the destroyer of souls.      It is often the case that the most precious truth appears to lie close by the side of fatal errors. The rest that Christ promised to all who should learn of Him lies close beside indifference and carnal quietude, and multitudes overlook the fact that this rest is found only in wearing Christ's yoke and bearing His burden, in possessing His meekness and lowliness.-Manuscript 100, 1893. Commentary: My friend, in the time of the reformation, Martin Luther sought to reform the church from the errors that had come into the church over the centuries.  The teachings of the Church of Rome we not in harmony with the Word of God.  The traditions and practices of men pervaded the church and it was in need of reforming. The spirit of the reformation was to bring the church back to the truths of Scripture.  We are not to take the word of pastors or religious leaders without testing them by the Word of God.  We are to study the Word of God, comparing Scripture with Scripture that we know the truth.  That which is not in harmony with the Word we are to discard.  Of this the prophet Isaiah said "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." (Isaiah 8:20).  "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15). For the remnant church, we are on the other side of the reformation, and for many in the church we feel as though we have no need of continuing in the spirit of the reformation, but this is not so.  We are ever to keep the Word of God before us.  The deceptive work that Satan had done in the past continues today.  This is foretold in the book of Revelation where the Church of Philadelphia which had no condemnation became the Church of Laodicea which had no commendation.  "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:" (Revelation 3:17). The work of reformation must come to the remnant church today, for it has drunk of the wine of Babylon and has brought into the church the doctrine of the trinity.  Agents of Satan have crept into the church over the years and have, little by little, introduces error as truth.  Then as these seeds of error have grown over the generations since the prophet of God and the pioneers have been laid to rest, they have matured and born fruit in the churches adoption of the doctrine of the trinity. At its core the doctrine of the trinity denies the literal sonship of the Son of God, claiming that in order for Him to be divine, he cannot have a beginning.  To believe this is to believe a lie, for God said "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:17), and "God is not a man, that he should lie;..." (Numbers 23:19) therefore, the Son of God must truly be a son else the Father would not be a father.  Of this was foretold in the Scriptures "For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ." (Jude 4). The spirit of reformation must always be held by the true followers of Christ, for we are to always compare Scripture with Scripture that we may remain in the truth.  When error is found we are to stand up and warn the people, that they may also remain in the truth. My friend, the truth about God is that He is not a trinity, but is One God; He is the Father and we may know Him by His Son.  "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." (John 17:3). God bless, Video of the Week Sin, Jesus & You - Nader Mansour These three words summarize the Gospel message. In this study Nader explores the practical aspects of how our understanding shapes our experience.