I came across this in one of the forums and searched to see where it came from, and doesn't show up anywhere except the poster, but it seems to be from a sincere brother. See what it says...
'The Astonishing Doctrine of God:
Matthew 7:28 KJV - And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings,
the people were astonished at his doctrine:Luke 4:32 KJV - And they were astonished at his doctrine:
for his word was with power.
Mark 11:18 KJV - And
the scribes and chief priests heard [it], and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine.
1 Timothy 4:6 KJV - If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of
good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.
Titus 2:10 KJV - Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity;
that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.
How can we too have this, where people will simply be astonished at the Doctrine of our God, in whom we believe?
We must "adorn" it, not merely speak about, think about, preach about it, or point to examples of it [though all good things].
Is it enough to say I believe and not as the just, which live by faith, even the faith of the Son of God, Jesus Christ? No. Never.
If we truly believed as Jesus, and preached as Jesus, lived as Jesus ["adorn", put on Him, His works], by the Holy Spirit, the whole wicked world would tremble and fear, for there would be manifest on earth a second witness to the power of God to overcome temptation and thus also every sin, in the here and now, even in the very Body of Christ...
Jesus, the Head, was the first witness, and the world will not long stand to listen or bear such, but it will produce the effect necessary and then Jesus will come...
Every Doctrine should be connected with the Plan of Salvation/Redemption.
"The central theme of the Bible, the theme about which every other in the whole book clusters, is the redemption plan, the restoration in the human soul of the image of God. From the first intimation of hope in the sentence pronounced in Eden to that last glorious promise of the Revelation, They shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads (Revelation 22:4), the burden of every book and every passage of the Bible is the unfolding of this wondrous theme, man's uplifting, the power of God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57. ... - Education, p. 125-126 -
http://text.egwwritings.org/publicat...pagenumber=125 Therefore, since the burden of every book and every passage of the Bible is the unfolding of this wondrous theme, being the redemption plan which is the restoration in& the human soul of the image of God, then this means that every single Doctrine/Practice of which Jesus taught/did also bears this same burden.
Listen to the words of Jesus, who truly was God with us [Matthew 1:23, etc], and God manifest in the flesh [1 Timothy 3:16], for He was born of the Spirit [John 3:6; see also Luke 1:35], yea, born of God, and Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. [1 John 3:9], For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. [1 John 5:4], We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. [1 John 5:18]
Therefore, it is not enough to speak of doctrines in and of themselves, important as they are, but they, as we, must be connected to the vine, they must be connected to Jesus Christ Himself, otherwise they will be without power, with saving Life.
If we talk about any doctrine apart from Christ and the plan of redemption it becomes of little use and loses all of its convincing power, and if we talk about the power of the Everlasting Gospel apart from Him we make that which is to be vibrant, dry, and so please allow me some time to share, that all may gain something most precious here, and then, once this step is accomplished, there is one more step to take, and it is to move beyond the mere preaching of it, to the actual demonstration of in each of our lives, as Christ also did.
The time to awake to Righteousness [even that Righteousness by faith, the faith of Jesus] is now...
... The officers who were sent to take Jesus reported that never man spake like this man. But the reason of this was that never man lived like this man; for if he had not so lived, he could not so have spoken. His words bore with them a convincing power, because they came from a heart pure and holy, full of love and sympathy, beneficence and truth. There is eloquence beyond that of words, in the quiet, consistent life of a pure, true Christian. We shall have temptations as long as we are in this world, but instead of injuring us, they will only turn to our advantage, if resisted. The bounds are placed where Satan cannot pass. He may prepare the furnace, but instead of working injury, it will only consume the dross, and bring forth the gold of the character, purer than before the trial. ... - Gospel Workers 1892, Page 244 -
http://text.egwwritings.org/publicat...pagenumber=244 Jesus said,
John 5:39 KJV - Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
Proverbs 40:7 KJV - Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,
Hebrews 10:7 KJV - Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
Luke 24:27 KJV - And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
Every single doctrine points to Christ, and the burden of every single doctrine is the redemption plan, even as it was Jesus own burden.
Let us look at some examples, and begin with the Everlasting Gospel itself, and do we present it selfishly or unselfishly, for merely our own benefit, or for God's own joy?
...Those who think of the result of hastening or hindering the gospel think of it in relation to themselves and to the world. Few think of its relation to God. Few give thought to the suffering that sin has caused our Creator. All heaven suffered in Christ’s agony; but that suffering did not begin or end with His manifestation in humanity. The cross is a revelation to our dull senses of the pain that, from its very inception, sin has brought to the heart of God. Every departure from the right, every deed of cruelty, every failure of humanity to reach His ideal, brings grief to Him. When there came upon Israel the calamities that were the sure result of separation from God, subjugation by their enemies, cruelty, and death, it is said that His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel. In all their affliction He was afflicted: ... and He bare them, and carried them all the days of old. Judges 10:16; Isaiah 63:9. ... - Education, p. 263.1 -
http://text.egwwritings.org/publication....;pagenumber=263 Woe unto us, if we have not understood the Heart of God in this, if we have missed the true importance, which is to say what is upon the heart of God, His burden for the salvation/redemption of lost men.
For what Jesus taught and lived, He received from His Father, that we might know the Father in Christ Jesus, for it was from the very Bosom of the Father that Jesus Christ was sent from to tell us, show us, demonstrate and example for us.
John 7:16 KJV - Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
I am sorry Father... I have not recognized your heart, my sympathy was not with you in your suffering, in your burden for the salvation of souls, in the living out your will... help, that we may do the will of our Father with understanding of the heart of our God and Father in Heaven...
It is written:
Daniel 12:3 KJV - And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
Daniel 12:10 KJV - Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
Who then are the wise, and what do they understand? Those who understand that it is all connected to the salvation/redemption of men, in Christ Jesus, the very understanding the burden of the Heart of the Father in Heaven.
Proverbs 14:2 KJV - The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
Proverbs 11:30 KJV - The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.
Jeremiah 24:7 KJV - And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.
John 17:3 KJV - And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Therefore, let us demonstrate the doctrines in the plan of Redemption and how they must be connected to Jesus Christ, and then lived consistently, and see the Salvation of the LORD. For He shall be lifted up as you have never before seen, and such a light shall attend that it will even open the eyes of the blind, and cause to stand those that are fallen down, and heal the broken hearted, and cause the water to flow and fall where there was only dry blasted desert and break up the fallow ground, and cause to melt the hardened heart, but it will only do so to those with Faith, and so believe...
...there are even many now which can expound every point of doctrine, and know the prophecies, and yet have missed their connection to Jesus Christ and so be lost, they can preach very excellent, and yet their life was not sanctified by that Truth which is preached...
...open your Bibles, and pray as you have never before.
Prove all things, hold fast to Him who is good....
