A House Divided, part 2

“A HOUSE DIVIDED.” These words come directly from the words of Jesus. In Matthew 12:25, He said, “A house divided against itself will not stand.” President Lincoln, in a speech that he based on these words, gave some very wise advice. He said, “If we first understand where we are and whither we are tending, then we could better judge what to do and how to do it.” How true this is today for Adventism. We must face reality. Only when we realize that we are in a divided house can we work to be a part of the solution.

A divided house is not new. A division came into the early church because of apostasy. God sought to lead His people back out of that apostasy through the reformation. At each stage there were people that would go so far and no farther. In the 1830s and 1840s, God sent the Protestant churches a special message of reformation, warning that the hour of God’s judgment was come. But most rejected it! With this rejection, they fell from favor with God. (See Early Writings, 237.) Only a few accepted God’s special message, and, out of that few, Adventism was born.

The devil hates this message regarding the investigative judgment, and he is trying to divide Adventism on this point. Tragically, he has been successful. We are living in a house divided. Let me explain. Some Adventist preachers say that we are, and always will be, slaves to sin, unable to keep God’s law perfectly until Jesus comes again. Others say that we can be delivered and set free from sin through the power of Christ and the Holy Spirit working within our lives. One group says we are hopelessly enslaved; the other that we can be set free.

In 1858, Abraham Lincoln said that our country could not long exist half slave and half free. His words proved true, and it took a civil war to solve the problem. Our church is in a parallel condition to the United States, at that time. We are divided. Some teach that you can be free from sin, while others teach that we are all slaves to it. Our church is half slave and half free. The more conviction both sides have, the greater is the guarantee of a civil war. And that is precisely what we have been experiencing in Adventism for several years.

 

Dividing Doctrines

 

Satan exults as he sees how successfully his different methods have worked to divide God’s people, through the years. One of his first major efforts was with the pantheism crisis around the turn of the century. By these theories he attempted to destroy the distinctive doctrine of the investigative judgment. Sister White wrote: “There are already coming in among our people spiritualistic teachings that will undermine the faith of those who give heed to them . . . I have seen the results of these fanciful views of God in apostasy, spiritualism and free-loveism. These theories followed to their logical conclusion, sweep away the whole Christian economy. They do away with the necessity for the atonement [which is a part of the investigative judgment].” Testimonies, vol. 8, 291, 292.

About the same time as the pantheism crisis, Albion Ballinger, one of our leading ministers, propagated the theory that Christ went into the Most Holy Place in 31 A.D. It did away with the doctrine of the investigative judgment, which began in 1844 when Jesus went into the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary. In 1905, Ellen White condemned the theory as contrary to the Bible, and, because of her opposition and that of other leading ministers, it failed to develop in the Adventist Church at that time. However, the devil kept trying until finally he was successful in persuading a large number of our people to accept this theory!

The teachings that were introduced by Desmond Ford in the 1960s and 1970s have their origin in Ballinger’s theories. It is the same old heresy and if you accept it you must throw out the investigative judgment and you will end up out of the truth. The Bible teaches that we are judged on the basis of our works. For every person, the deciding question will be, “Has this person kept My law?” The answer to that question proves whether or not you have been born again. If you have been born again, the Holy Spirit will give you the power to keep God’s law. (See Romans 8; 1 John 5; 1 John 3; Romans 6). You do not earn salvation by obedience. Salvation is a gift. But you cannot receive the gift if you have not been born again.

Ford’s teaching, which so influenced Adventism, and brought many to reject the investigative judgment, has born fruit and today the natural results—sinful indulgence—are rampant in Adventism. Thrown out with the doctrine of the investigative judgment is the standard by which we will be judged. Instead of teaching that one must keep God’s law to be saved, Adventist pastors now tell people that they can have the assurance of salvation, while they are living in sin, breaking God’s law. This presumption is plainly denounced by God. (See Christ’s Object Lessons, 155.)

These false doctrines have brought a division and civil war to the house. Those who have stood for the truth have been ridiculed and disfellowshipped. And the civil war will go on! Abraham Lincoln later said about the civil war in our nation: “It is possible that the Lord will let it go on until every drop of blood that has been extracted by the lash will be extracted again by the sword.” We do not know how long our war will go on. That is in God’s hands. But we cannot retreat from it. It will continue until there is only one side left and God’s truth has prevailed.

How fittingly inspiration describes our current condition: “The prevailing spirit of our time is that of infidelity and apostasy—a spirit of pretended illumination because of a knowledge of the truth but in reality of the blindest presumption. There is a spirit of opposition to the plain word of God and to the testimony of His Spirit. There is a spirit of idolatrous exaltation of mere human reason above the revealed wisdom of God . . . But the spirit of antichrist is prevailing to such an extent as never before . . . The days are fast approaching when there will be great perplexity and confusion. Satan clothed in angel robes will deceive if possible the very elect. There will be gods many and lords many. Every wind of doctrine will be blowing [that is happening]. Those who have rendered supreme homage to ‘science falsely so called,’ will not be the leaders then. Those who have trusted to intellect, genius, or talent will not then stand at the head of rank and file. They did not keep pace with the light. Those who have proved themselves unfaithful will not then be entrusted with the flock. In the last solemn work few great men will be engaged.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 79, 80.

After describing these events, Mrs. White next describes the Sunday law crisis which she says will take place shortly thereafter. (See Ibid., 81.) Are we near this crisis? If you do not think we are near a Sunday law crisis, dear reader, you need to pray that the Lord will open your eyes! Signs all around tell us that it is right at the door.

It is through this crisis that the Lord is going to solve the problem of the divided house. “The time is not far distant when the test will come to every soul. The mark of the beast will be urged upon us. Those who have step by step yielded to worldly demands and conformed to worldly customs will not find it a hard matter to yield to the powers that be, rather than subject themselves to derision, insult, threatened imprisonment, and death. The contest is between the commandments of God and the commandments of men. In this time the gold will be separated from the dross in the church. True godliness will be clearly distinguished from the appearance and tinsel of it. Many a star that we have admired for its brilliancy will then go out in darkness. Chaff like a cloud will be borne away on the wind, even from places where we see only floors of rich wheat. All who assume the ornaments of the sanctuary, but are not clothed with Christ’s righteousness, will appear in the shame of their own nakedness . . . There are few really consecrated men among us, few who have fought and conquered in the battle with self.” Ibid., 81, 82.

What a solemn warning this is. We must ask ourselves, “Have I gained the victory over self? Have my words and thoughts been brought under the control of Christ?” A Christian does not allow his thoughts to run riot on anything that the imagination seems to suggest. The temptations the devil throws in at every step must be resisted. The devil tries in every possible way to get you involved in sinful thoughts. You cannot go to the grocery store without seeing lurid pictures. Billboards, television programs, videos, magazines, books, pictures and music all carry the devil’s messages. He works so hard in this line because he knows that if our thoughts are sinful, our feelings will also be sinful. And these together make up our moral character. (See Testimonies, vol. 5, 310.)

Another way the devil controls people is through their appetite. Have you gained the victory over appetite? This does not mean going to a monastery or a convent and fasting until you nearly kill yourself. That is what Ellen White calls voluntary humility and rigorous severe treatment of the body that is absolutely worthless. Paul says do not have anything to do with it. (See Colossians 2.) Victory over appetite involves eating temperately of good food, and eating for strength and not for drunkenness. Appetite is under our control, we are not controlled by appetite. This is a part of the battle that we must fight in order to conquer self.\

 

Liberalism and Kingly Power

 

Liberalism denies that we can win this battle. By denying such fundamental doctrines as the investigative judgment, the Three Angels’ Messages and the sanctuary truth, the power of the gospel is limited. Many will be lost because they have followed these liberal leaders and have been rocked into carnal security while they are enslaved to sin.

However, liberalism is not the devil’s final attempt to divide and conquer the people of God. Around the turn of the century, as Adventism was facing pantheism and the Ballenger crises, the General Conference leaders believed that they needed a strong centralized controlling power to safeguard against all the heresies that were dividing the church. Elder A. G. Daniels and his associates held that the General Conference should control all contributions (meaning all the power and decision making capabilities). This was one of the major disagreements between Elder Daniels and Sutherland, Magan and Ellen White when the self-supporting school in Madison, Tennessee was started.

Through this attempt to control the work by kingly power, the devil was very successful in dividing the house. This sin, which is all too commonly found among our ranks today, goes all the way back to the devil’s original sin in Heaven. He wanted to control others; in fact, he wanted to be a part of the godhead. Ellen White says God refused to let Lucifer be part of the godhead because he was not qualified. But that is what the great controversy started over. He wanted to be like God, but he was a created being.

The devil leads men to seek for the same thing. The result is always terrible trouble. God’s counsel says, “It is right for the workers to counsel together as brethren; but that man who endeavors to lead his fellow workers to seek his individual counsel and advice regarding the details of their work, and to learn their duty from him, is in a dangerous position . . . For years there has been a growing tendency for men placed in positions of responsibility to lord it over God’s heritage . . . In 1905, I had to bear my testimony of warning against it . . . I write thus fully because I have been shown that ministers and people are tempted more and more to trust in finite man for wisdom, and make flesh their arm. To conference presidents, and men in responsible places, I bear this message: Break the bands and fetters that have been placed upon God’s people.” Testimonies to Ministers, 477–480.

God’ people have been shackled, they have been in slavery. The house has been divided in parts—half slave and half free. How long can a house stand in this divided condition? The Bible says not long. The sure result will be civil war, and it will go on until God’s people have been set free.

Does this mean, then, that we should all work independently, refusing to work with others because we might lose our total independence? Inspiration answers: “The Lord desires His workers to counsel together, not to move independently . . . In this work there is no such thing as every man’s being independent . . .This does not authorize any one man to undertake the work of ordering his brethren arbitrarily to do as he thinks advisable, irrespective of their own personal convictions of duty . . . Organizations, institutions, unless kept by the power of God, will work under Satan’s dictation to bring men under the control of men, and fraud and guile will bear the semblance of zeal for truth and for the advancement of the kingdom of God.” Ibid., 485–494.

It is in this context that she said that we are going down the track of Romanism. When you place men under the control of other men, you follow the track of Romanism. “All of Satan’s plans make of some men the slaves of other men.” That is the way the devil has worked from the beginning.

 

One Solution

 

How is this problem of a divided house to be solved? Many of God’s people are discouraged. They see civil war going on and they see divisions because of apostasy, fanaticism and kingly power, exercised in the church, and they are ready to give up. But there is a solution—and that solution can be found at the foot of the cross. There we see a lesson in humility, and a lesson in the denial of self and sacrifice for the salvation of others. As our heart is broken, we are freed from the desire to rule others.

In the cross there is also a lesson as to where this division, that was begun by Satan, would lead. You see, the division is also a division of the mind that causes a person to have sympathy for both sides. The problem of the divided house cannot be solved as long as people have divided minds.

An example of this is the angels who did not choose to follow Lucifer. Until the cross, a trace of sympathy lingered in their hearts for Lucifer. They said, “We are on God’s side but we still have some sympathy for the other side.” But at the cross, “Satan saw that his disguise was torn away. His administration was laid open before the unfallen angels and before the heavenly universe. He had revealed himself as a murderer. By shedding the blood of the Son of God, he had uprooted himself from the sympathies of the heavenly beings. Henceforth his work was restricted. Whatever attitude he might assume, he could no longer await the angels as they came from the heavenly courts, and before them accuse Christ’s brethren of being clothed with the garments of blackness and the defilement of sin. The last link of sympathy between Satan and the heavenly world was broken.” The Desire of Ages, 761.

 

A Division No Longer

 

The time is coming when there will no longer be a division in our house. The civil war will continue until one side or the other comes out conqueror. And we know that God will win the battle. He will set His people free and He does not need the majority to do it. He did not need the majority in Gideon’s nor in Jonathan’s time. He just needs a few people that are totally committed to Him.

As in the days of Christ, the house that is divided will not stand. It will perish, and every one in the house will go all the way to one side or the other. “In the day of final judgment every lost soul will understand the nature of his own rejection of truth. The cross will be presented, and its real bearing will be seen by every mind that has been blinded by transgression. Before the vision of Calvary with its mysterious victim, sinners will stand condemned. Every lying excuse will be swept away. Human apostasy will appear in its heinous character. Men will see what their choice has been. Every question of truth and error in the longstanding controversy will then have been made plain. In the judgment of the universe, God will stand clear of blame for the existence or continuance of evil. It will be demonstrated that the divine decrees are not accessory to sin. There was no defect in God’s government, no cause for disaffection. When the thoughts of all hearts shall be revealed, both the loyal and the rebellious will unite in declaring, ‘Just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints. Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? . . . for Thy judgments are made manifest.’ Rev. 15:3, 4.” The Desire of Ages, 5.

God will solve the problem of a divided house, but not everyone will be saved. Your salvation depends on which side you decide to join. Have you learned the lesson of the cross? The cross solved the problem of the divided house for the angels. It solved the problem of the divided house for the apostles. And only if we come to the cross and understand what it means will the problem of the divided house in Adventism be solved. Are you willing to endure whatever you need to endure so that you can be on God’s side of the question? That is what I want and that is my prayer for you.