The Perils of Politics
Picture the scene: Someone is in deep concentration, tuning a violin. Is the pitch flat or sharp? In other words, is the tension on the string too loose or is it too tight? The violinist must figure this out immediately, because for the string to be too much either way would make the violin sound sour. The distinction is extremely subtle—the actual measurement in the frequency of pitch is very slight. But it is very important, indeed.
The movement of the tuning peg needs to be turned in the right direction—otherwise the out-of-tune string could get worse instead of better.
The quick, modern way to fix this problem is just to measure the specific frequency of vibrations each second by using a digital device. But realistically, every accomplished violinist needs to be skilled in the old-fashioned way of tuning the instrument—by playing 2 strings together until the harmony between them has the correct sound, “the right ring.”
Interestingly enough, this same expression, “the right ring” is also used by the Spirit of Prophecy in reference to our witness as Christians.
“The Bible must guide us in our dealings in daily life. We may make a profession of being followers of Christ, and yet if we are not doers of His Word we shall be like the counterfeit coin. We shall not have the right ring.”1
Just as the violin string will not be in tune if it is too tight or too loose—especially as compared to the other string—our sweet harmony as Christ’s ambassadors can turn sour if our speech and deportment do not take into humble consideration our own limited perspective, coupled with the legitimate perspective of others whom we are addressing.
For example, in our midst, many of us are grandchildren and great-grandchildren of believers who were persecuted in wartime. The suffering experienced under oppressive regimes had an impact that cannot be fully understood by those who have always enjoyed religious and economic liberty. Some grew up amid a vigorous backlash against that despotism. . . .
Others come from a parochial setting with a human hierarchical system. . . .
Some may have once been micromanaged with excessive rules and regulations and are embittered by inconsistent examples. Yet such an experience is far from universal—many others may have grown up as free-spirit weeds in the garden with minimal guidance and too scanty a dose of discipline. . . .
Whatever the case, the particular point we emphasize may end up being lopsided based on whatever we, as individuals, happen to perceive as being important.
So, how can we find that “right ring” to provide the most comprehensive present truth for smooth harmony in a rather complex mixture of experiences and perspectives? The solution is simple. Whenever we want to share sacred truth with others, we need to consider the timing, setting, and perspective not only of ourselves but also of our listeners—and seek a comprehensive balance.
Eternal truth, of course, is timeless. But the ideal moment to emphasize different aspects of it may vary. For example, in Martin Luther’s day, multitudes had been intimidated into buying indulgences in the vain hope that their good works would secure for them the approval of God. They lived in abject fear and had very little inkling of God’s abundant, merciful love for their souls. So, the present truth for that time was “the just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17). But that present truth was not only for their day. This precious truth about God’s grace must still endure until the close of time, for it is indeed a saving truth. It has lost none of its power.
Centuries passed and the advent movement came on the scene—through our Sabbathkeeping forebears who were the first to live, as we do, in the period of Laodicea. People discovered the enduring relevance of God’s holy law of Ten Commandments. Preachers could prove it from the Bible so convincingly that eventually they grew quite proud of their ability to win an argument with anyone on the point—because after all, they were right. . . . Dead right. . . . So, starting in the late 1880s, the Lord sent a special wake-up reminder that our righteousness is as filthy rags, and that Christ alone is the source of salvation and only by having a relationship with Him will we ever be strengthened to keep the law in spirit and in truth, from the heart. Yes, it was present truth, saving truth—and it has lost none of its power today. From the year 1890 we read:
“As a people, we have preached the law until we are as dry as the hills of Gilboa that had neither dew nor rain. We must preach Christ in the law, and there will be sap and nourishment in the preaching that will be as food to the famishing flock of God. We must not trust in our own merits at all, but in the merits of Jesus of Nazareth. . . . O that you may go forth as the disciples did after the day of Pentecost, and then your testimony will have a living ring, and souls will be converted to God.”2
Some stop here and declare, “This is our message. Period. End of story.” Again we must agree, it’s present truth, saving truth. It has lost none of its power.
But is this all we need to teach—or should perhaps some additional details also be provided? Jesus has bidden us to be “teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20). Are there various contexts in which the messenger of the Lord boldly declares, “This is our message”?
Three examples:
1. “Be Ready” (the year: 1896)
“God gives no one authority to say that Christ delays His coming five years, ten years, or twenty years. ‘Be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh’ (Matthew 24:44). This is our message, the very message that the three angels flying in the midst of heaven are proclaiming.”3
2. “God’s Law and the Close of Probation” (the year: 1887)
“Present before your hearers in simple language the claims of God’s law upon men, while your own heart is softened and subdued by His Spirit. This is our message. God has given to man His rule of life in His holy law, to guide and control his words and actions. This law permits no neutrality. It has a bearing upon every man’s life and will not relax its hold until every case is decided for life eternal or for perdition.”4
3. “Christ Is Coming Soon, so Take Care of Your Health” (the year: 1903)
“The first messengers of the gospel were sent forth with the word, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand’ (Matthew 10:7). This is our message today. . . .
“We are to present the principles of health reform, impressing our hearers with the thought that they have a part to act in keeping themselves in health.”5
We need to realize that we live in a rather unique generation today—where more things are done instantly and invisibly without our direct intervention than at any other time in history (with the possible exception of the antediluvian age).
Even the English adjective “automatic” depicts a somewhat recent concept—meaning “self-acting, moving or acting on its own.” Interestingly, it is believed that this word was coined as late as 1812. The adjective was first used at an even later date in specific reference to types of machinery that imitate human-direct action. The year: 1940.
Most of us would agree that we who are living post-1940 have not only been exposed to automated machinery—at this point in time, our whole society and way of life could be virtually paralyzed without it. We’re living in an instant-gratification-based society with a constant expectation for things to happen automatically.
We can’t even repent without God’s intervention (Romans 2:4), and the idea of surrendering may seem to be a very passive act. After all, when you see two dogs vying for dominance, the one who submits rolls on his back with his front paws passively curled up at the mercy of the other. In humans, the universal sign of surrender is a similar type of submissive motion with the hands, illustrating that you are officially posing no threat to the other person and have no weapon to brandish.
So, is full surrender to Christ this type of passive act? Let’s look at this in a realistic, contemporary perspective:
“God has made provision that we may become like unto Him, and He will accomplish this for all who do not interpose a perverse will and thus frustrate His grace.”6
So, Christ will energize us to be overcomers as long as we don’t block the way with our perverse will. But many or even most of us can surely cite some aspects of our past experience that have been dysfunctional. What is going to remove all this perversity out of our will?
“Repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15). “Repent” is an action word. Jesus is telling us to do something. Yes, of course, He is the One that gives the idea and the power. But our life does not become “automatic” from that point onward! We’re not like the Boeing 777 jet effortlessly soaring above land and sea in smooth autopilot mode.
“While God can be just, and yet justify the sinner through the merits of Christ, no man can cover his soul with the garments of Christ’s righteousness while practicing known sins, or neglecting known duties. God requires the entire surrender of the heart, before justification can take place; and in order for man to retain justification, there must be continual obedience, through active, living faith that works by love and purifies the soul. . . .
“[James 2:21–24 quoted.] In order for man to be justified by faith, faith must reach a point where it will control the affections and impulses of the heart; and it is by obedience that faith itself is made perfect.”7
But why can’t we just sit back and relax with the “autopilot” switch on and let Christ do all the obeying for us? The answer is clear: Because that would actually deprive us of our moment-by-moment freedom of choice.
“It is not God’s purpose to coerce the will. Man was created a free moral agent. Like the inhabitants of all other worlds, he must be subjected to the test of obedience.”8 We’re not robots, so this test of obedience was not limited to Eden. It continues daily, moment by moment.
“‘So run, that ye may obtain [the prize]’ (1 Corinthians 9:24).
“Here the battle between self-control and selfish indulgence is set forth. There is work for us to do, stern, earnest work, to decide which shall obtain the mastery.”9
“In giving ourselves to God, we must necessarily give up all that would separate us from Him. Hence the Saviour says, ‘Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple’ (Luke 14:33). Whatever shall draw away the heart from God must be given up.”10
“There are those . . . [who] err in many ways, yet when the truth is believed by them from the heart, it will work an entire change in their life. They will immediately commence the work of reformation.”11
There is a work of mortification that has to take place. The root of this word means “death”—there’s a putting to death. Is there any creature in this world that likes to be put to death? No, such a procedure inevitably involves a struggle. “If ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live” (Romans 8:13, emphasis supplied). (See also Colossians 3:4, 5).
“Some will not make a right use of the doctrine of justification by faith. They will present it in a one-sided manner. Others will seize the ideas that have not been correctly presented, and will go clear over the mark, ignoring works altogether. Now, genuine faith always works by love. It supplies a motive power. Faith is not an opiate but a stimulant. When you look to Calvary, it is not to quiet your soul in the non-performance of duty, not to compose yourself for sleep, but to create faith in Jesus, faith that will work, and purify the soul from all the slime of selfishness.”12
“This is our message to the impenitent, our warning to the backslider—Behold Jesus.”13 Does it require time out of our busy schedule to behold Jesus? Of course! Through Bible reading and meditation on it, we are to digest and absorb His Word. What about the 9 volumes of Testimonies for the Church? Those testimonies are specifically written “for the church”—for you, for me. Could any other message available to us be more relevant, more appropriate for right now in order for us to have “the right ring”?
Of course, the act of reading and praying does not save us in and of itself. But honestly now, without it, how else can we “behold” the character of Jesus intelligently? Our Lord is not some kind of cartoon poster on a wall. He is the living Word that has creative power to destroy our earthly, perverse, dysfunctional nature. Yet this occurs only as we invest the time, thought, and energy to train our minds to conform to His heavenly, pure, and holy nature by learning about it, thinking about it, and actively imitating it in our daily life—even when it doesn’t come naturally or easily at first.
Let’s pick up again that same passage from Manuscript Releases, vol. 10:
“The sinner sees Jesus as He is, full of compassion and tender love, and he becomes transformed by beholding this exhibition of suffering, because of the great love wherewith He hath loved fallen apostate man. ‘Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure’ (Philippians 2:12, 13). Man’s working, as brought out in the text, is not an independent work he performs without God. His whole dependence is upon the power and grace of the Divine Worker. Many miss the mark here and claim that man must work his own individual self free from Divine Power. This is not in accordance with the text.
“Another argues that man is free from all obligation because God does it all, both the willing and the doing. The text means that the salvation of the human soul requires the will power to be subject to the Divine Will power, which will can’t be forced, but there must be cooperation of the human and divine agencies.
“Man cannot possibly work out his own salvation without the ordained divine power, and God will not do for man that which He requires man shall do for himself, through his own earnest willing cooperation. . . .
“It is a united work, a union of the divine and human, dependent upon grace, and concurring with grace in willing obedience.”14
So, two things are necessary here:
1. The sinner’s consent.
2. The sinner’s cooperation put into action by obedience.
Have you ever felt as if your Christian walk was waning, as the quote above mentions, becoming “ineffectual and powerless”? The problem might be too much passivity, too much waiting for some kind of 21st-century “automatic” miracle to kick in somehow.
“When there is a determined purpose born in your heart to overcome, you will have a disposition to overcome and will cultivate those traits of character that are desirable and will engage in the conflict with steady, persevering effort. You will exercise a ceaseless watchfulness over your defects of character.”15
“Christ has given us no assurance that to attain perfection of character is an easy matter. A noble, all-around character is not inherited. It does not come to us by accident. A noble character is earned by individual effort through the merits and grace of Christ. God gives the talents, the powers of the mind; we form the character. It is formed by hard, stern battles with self. Conflict after conflict must be waged against hereditary tendencies. We shall have to criticize ourselves closely and allow not one unfavorable trait to remain uncorrected.”16
“To follow Christ means stern battles, active labor, warfare against the world, the flesh, and the devil.”17
“We are labourers together with God” (1 Corinthians 3:9).
“God wants no idlers in His field ... It is not wealth or intellect that gives happiness; it is true moral worth, and a sense of duty performed.”18 A sense of duty performed? Yes, you performed it—actively, not passively. But no, you can’t take credit for it, because it was a “duty.” For “when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do” (Luke 17:10), that refreshing humility may finally have “the right ring.”
“If we sink into cheap habits and common talk, we . . . have not the right ring. Self may pretend a great many things, and yet be untrue to the position it should occupy. But self may be lost in Christ, and Christ’s character appear.”19
So, may God help us—and may we actively, harmoniously accept His help—to have the right ring! Amen.