October 20, 1898

“Search the Scriptures”—No. 2

EGW

The word of God is the great educating book, and it is to be searched diligently,—not as we would read a book among many books,—but it must be to us the book that meets the wants of the soul. Had the word of God been regarded as it ever should be,—as the voice of God to men,—children, youth, and parents would have made it not only their study, but their teacher and their guide, “that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” “For,” says the apostle, “by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”YI October 20, 1898, par. 1

Satan is constantly at work to obscure the vital truths that are essential for the well-being of man, making indistinct and unimportant the obedience that must be rendered to the commandments of God. It is his desire to keep the world from learning of Christ. He plans to crowd the mind so full that men can give no time to consider what they are to do with the knowledge they gain, what is the quality of their studies, or whether they are of such a character as to give them an increased knowledge of God, and of Jesus Christ, whom he has sent.YI October 20, 1898, par. 2

By Satan's subtle working, the truth has been placed out of sight, and errors have been substituted that have led men to idolize falsehood instead of glorifying God. The saving truths essential for the health of the soul have been regarded as non-essential, because the world does not exalt them, while Satan's sophistries are deemed so important that men devote their worship to them, and work to make every other human being disregard those things that God has sanctified.YI October 20, 1898, par. 3

Thus it is with the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. God's law is regarded as of no consequence. The true Sabbath, given to man as a memorial of creation, has been taken from its rightful place as a sacred command of God, and, instead, a false sabbath has been exalted and worshiped. Living, testing principles have been lost, as stars are said to become extinct in the firmament of heaven. But a message, the third angel's message, has come to the world, to exalt the truth to its right position, that it may stand fast as God's testing truth for these last days. God's requirements are to be given to the world in all their original freshness and power.YI October 20, 1898, par. 4

The words of Isaiah are given us for our thoughtful study, “And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”YI October 20, 1898, par. 5

This is the work to be done for fallen humanity. The old waste places are to be built up. We need now to learn from the great Teacher how to raise up the foundations of many generations, which have been left to decay. We need to learn how to repair the breach made in God's law, and to restore the paths to dwell in. We are to proclaim the third angel's message.YI October 20, 1898, par. 6

And how shall the work be carried forward? The apostle Paul says: “You, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: if ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church; whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.”YI October 20, 1898, par. 7

Then let our lessons be appropriate for the day in which we live, that we may be co-laborers with God. The work will go hard, but the message must be carried to the world. Men have made void the law of God through the masterly working of Satan. But Christ is on the field of action, working with those who are laboring for him, that truth may appear in its divine, unchangeable, and eternal character. The Holy Spirit is at work. Divine agencies are combining with the human to take the important truths from their worn-out setting, reframe them, and hang them in memory's halls, and call men to the obedience of God's commandments.YI October 20, 1898, par. 8

If the Bible had been made the book of study in the schools, what a different showing there would be in society today! It is for our present and our eternal good to inquire at every step, Is this the way of the Lord? Since the fall of Adam, it has been the fashion of the world to sin, and it is for our interest to know what sin is. John declares: “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.” The information is plainly given that sin is the transgression of the law. We need to compare our characters with the law of God, the standard of character for all who would enter his kingdom, and become citizens of the heavenly country. Let the students in our schools study the Book that has been so universally neglected. Let them read it with prayerful, earnest interest, lest they fail to be doers of the word.YI October 20, 1898, par. 9

Mrs. E. G. White