He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Matthew 7:29.

Clad in the vestments of humanity, the Son of God came down to the level of those He wished to save. In Him was no guile or sinfulness; He was ever pure and undefiled; yet He took upon Him our sinful nature. Clothing His divinity with humanity that He might associate with fallen humanity, He sought to redeem for humanity that which by disobedience Adam had lost, for himself and for the world. In His own character Jesus manifested to the world the character of God; He pleased not Himself, but went about doing good. His whole history for more than thirty years was of pure, disinterested benevolence.

Can we wonder that those who heard Him were astonished at His teaching? “He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” The teaching of the scribes and the Pharisees was a continuous repetition of fables and childish traditions. Their opinions and ceremonies rested on the authority of ancient maxims and rabbinical sayings, which were frivolous and worthless. Christ did not dwell on weak, insipid sayings and human theories. As one possessing higher authority He addressed His hearers, presenting before them momentous subjects, and His appeals carried conviction to their hearts. The opinion of all, expressed by many who were not able to keep silent, was, “Never man spake like this man.”

The Bible teaches the whole will of God concerning us…. The teaching of this Word is exactly that needed in all circumstances in which we may be placed. It is a sufficient rule of faith and practice, for it is the voice of God speaking to the soul, giving the members of His family directions for keeping the heart with all diligence. If this Word is studied, not merely read, but studied, it furnishes us with a storehouse of knowledge which enables us to improve every God-given endowment….

All who come to the Word of God for guidance, with humble, inquiring minds, determined to know the terms of salvation, will understand what saith the Scripture….

We need to humble our hearts and with sincerity and reverence search the Word of life; for that mind alone that is humble and contrite can see light…. The Lord speaks to the heart that humbles itself before Him.—The Review and Herald, August 22, 1907.

From From the Heart

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105.

I have a decided message from the Lord for the people who claim to believe the truth for this time….

The Bible is the voice of God to His people. As we study the living oracles, we are to remember that God is speaking to His people out of His Word. We are to make this Word the man of our counsel…. If we realized the importance of searching the Scriptures, how much more diligently we would study them! … The Scriptures would be read and studied as the sure evidence of God’s will concerning us.

The Bible is to be studied with special interest, for it contains the most valuable information that finite beings can have, pointing out the way in which we are to prepare for the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven, putting away sin, and putting on the white robes of character that will give us entrance into the mansions that Christ told His disciples He was going to prepare for them….

If we do not receive the Word of God as food for the soul, we shall miss the greatest treasure that has been prepared for men and women, for the Word is a message to each and every soul…. If obeyed, it gives spiritual life and strength. The pure, spiritual current that enters the life in a living experience is eternal life to the receiver.

God’s Word is our light. It is Christ’s message to His heritage, who have been bought with the price of His blood. It was written for our guidance, and if we make this Word our counselor, we shall never walk in strange paths….

The spiritual life is built up from the food given to the mind, and if we eat the food provided in the Word of God, spiritual and mental health will be the result….

We are each deciding our eternal destiny, and it rests wholly with us whether we shall gain eternal life. Shall we live the lessons given in the Word of God, Christ’s great lesson book? It is the grandest and yet most simply arranged and easily understood study book ever provided for human beings. It is the only book that will prepare men and women for the life that measures with the life of God.—The Review and Herald, March 22, 1906.

From From the Heart

It is time for You to act, O Lord, for they have regarded Your law as void. Psalm 119:126.

The Lord is soon to come. Wickedness and rebellion, violence and crime, are filling the world. The cries of the suffering and the oppressed rise to God for justice. In the place of being softened by the patience and forbearance of God, the wicked are growing stronger in stubborn rebellion. The time in which we live is one of marked depravity. Religious restraint is thrown off, and people reject the law of God as unworthy of their attention. A more than common contempt is placed upon this holy law.

A moment of respite has been graciously given us of God. Every power lent us of heaven is to be used in doing the work assigned us by the Lord for those who are perishing in ignorance. The warning message is to be sounded in all parts of the world. There must be no delay. The truth must be proclaimed in the dark places of the earth. Obstacles must be met and surmounted. A great work is to be done, and this work is entrusted to those who know the truth for this time.

Now is the time for us to lay hold of the arm of our strength. The prayer of David should be the prayer of pastors and laymen: “It is time for thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void thy law.” Let the servants of God weep between the porch and the altar, crying, “Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not Thine heritage to reproach.” God has always wrought in behalf of His truth. The designs of the wicked, the enemies of the church, are subject to His power and His overruling providence. He can move upon the hearts of statesmen; the wrath of the haters of His truth and His people can be turned aside, even as the waters of a river could be turned, if thus He ordered it.

Prayer moves the arm of Omnipotence. He who marshals the stars in order in the heavens, whose word controls the waves of the great deep—the same infinite Creator will work in behalf of His people if they will call upon Him in faith. He will restrain all the forces of darkness until the warning is given to the world, and all who will heed it are prepared for His coming.—The Review and Herald, December 14, 1905.

From From the Heart

I will give you a new heart. Ezekiel 36:26.

In the Bible the will of God is revealed. Through all time this book is to stand as a revelation of Jehovah. To human beings the divine oracles have been committed to be the power of God. The truths of the Word of God are not mere sentiment but the utterances of the Most High. Those who make these truths a part of their lives become in every sense new creatures. They are not given new mental powers, but the darkness that through ignorance and sin has clouded their understanding is removed.

The words, “A new heart also will I give you,” mean, A new mind will I give you. This change of heart is always attended by a clear conception of Christian duty, an understanding of truth. The clearness of our views of truth will be proportionate to our understanding of the Word of God. Those who give the Scriptures close, prayerful attention will gain clear comprehension and sound judgment, as if in turning to God they had reached a higher grade of intelligence.

The Word of God, studied and obeyed as it should be, will give light and knowledge. Its perusal will strengthen the understanding. By contact with the purest, most lofty truths, the mind will be enlarged, the taste refined.

We are dependent on the Bible for a knowledge of the early history of our world, of the creation of human life, and of the fall. Remove the Word of God, and what can we expect but to be left to fables and conjectures and to that enfeebling of the intellect which is the sure result of entertaining error.

We need the authentic history of the origin of the earth, of the fall of Lucifer, and of the introduction of sin into the world. Without the Bible, we should be bewildered by false theories.

The mind would be subjected to the tyranny of superstition and falsehood…. Wherever Christians are, they may hold communion with God. And they may enjoy the intelligence of sanctified science….

Cleave to the word, “It is written.” Cast out of the mind the dangerous, obtrusive theories which, if entertained, will hold the mind in bondage so that we shall not become new creatures in Christ.—The Review and Herald, November 10, 1904.

From From the Heart

Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:20, 21.

What shall I eat? and what shall I drink? and wherewithal shall I be clothed? are the questions which are occupying the minds of men and women, while eternity is dropped out of their reckoning. There are some who do not look upon the Lord Jesus Christ as the only hope of the world…. Those for whom He died are absorbed in providing themselves with temporal things that are not required. At the same time they are neglecting the preparation of character which would fit them for an abode in the mansions which He has purchased for them at an infinite price….

When temporal matters absorb the mind and engage the attention, the whole strength of the being is engaged in the service of self, and we look upon the worship due to God as a trifling matter. Religious interests are made subservient to the world. But Jesus, who has paid the ransom for the souls of the human family, requires that they shall subordinate temporal interests to the heavenly interests. He would have them cease to indulge in hoarding up earthly treasures, in spending money upon luxuries, and in surrounding themselves with those things which they do not need….

By choosing to lay up treasure in heaven, our characters will be molded after the likeness of Christ. The world will see that our hopes and plans are made in reference to the advancement of the truth and the salvation of perishing souls….

In securing treasure in heaven, we place ourselves in living connection with God, who owns all the treasures of the earth and supplies all temporal mercies that are essential for life. Every soul may secure the eternal inheritance…. It is the highest wisdom to live in such a way as to secure eternal life. This may be done by not living in the world for ourselves but by living for God, by passing our property on to a world where it will never perish. By using our property to advance the cause of God, our uncertain riches are placed in an unfailing bank…. Every sacrifice made for the purpose of blessing others, every appropriation of means for the service of God, will be treasure laid up in heaven.—The Review and Herald, April 7, 1896.

From From the Heart