Transcript Beloved, Let Us Love

The Faith of Jesus
The Pioneer and Perfecter of Faith
Fred Bischoff
Review of Study #4
The "faith of Jesus" is vital for Adventists,
those living in the final day of
Atonement just before Christ's second
coming.
This faith can be seen in each of the six
messages that have come "in their
order" to prepare for the end of this
world's kingdoms, and the final
establishment of God's everlasting
kingdom.
Review of Study #4
The "faith of Jesus" is explicitly stated in
the climax of the Third Angel's
Message, on an equality with the
commandments of God.
In Advent history, this faith was
overlooked and not understood. It was
not presented with equal importance as
the commandments, "the law and the
gospel going hand in hand."
Review of Study #4
The Loud Cry message was given to unite
the faith of Jesus with the
commandments of God, but the light
was resisted and to a large degree kept
from the world.
This faith is still Adventism's missing
landmark, which alone will reverse the
unbelief and insubordination that has
delayed Christ's return.
Summary of Study #4
The faith of Jesus =
Adventism Missing
Landmark
Key Text
Heb. 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author
and finisher of faith; who for the joy
that was set before him endured the
cross, despising the shame, and is set
down at the right hand of the throne of
God.
Introduction
Now as never before we need to keep the
faith of Jesus, to see things as God sees
them.
Because His word is completely
trustworthy, by flooding our minds with
Scripture, interpreted by the Spirit, with
our hearts sensitive and submitted to
Him, we can come to grasp how God
views us, His initiative, His purpose, His
plans, His joy, His heart.
Introduction
We have no hope of an eternal future
without gaining this perspective.
By beholding Him, by perceiving His faith
working by love, we are changed into
the same image.
At this time in earth's history there is a
special work Christ is doing to
accomplish this goal, in a final way.
Introduction
He has called everyone who has an ear to
hear, to the glorious, joyful mission of
spreading this word.
Have you heard Him? Can you see what
He sees? Have you entered into His joy?
Let us spend some time listening and
looking. He longs for us to do this more
than we do.
Overview of Studies
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
"endured the cross" = gospel
"looking unto Jesus" = seeing
"for the joy set before" = future
"finisher of faith" = end-time
"endured the cross" = endurance
The Faith of Jesus
5. Enabling End-time Endurance
Purpose of Study #5
How did faith empower Jesus to endure?
12:2 says He "endured the cross"
The cross was God's clear judgment
against sin. Can we learn how to endure
by the faith of Jesus the "hour of His
judgment" in our day?
Purpose of Study #5
So how will this faith give us strength to:
12:1 "run with patience/endurance the
race" during this Day of Atonement
(noun form of verb in verse 2)?
10:36 have "endurance" (same noun)?
10:38 "live by faith" -- "not draw back"?
The faith of Jesus results in enabling endtime endurance.
Faith During Judgment
We have noted that each time the "faith
of God" was mentioned (Mark 11:22;
Rom. 3:3), it was in the context of
judgment.
We saw how Jesus counseled His disciples
to have this faith to avoid the fig tree's
fate.
Faith During Judgment
We saw that in this judgment God's faith
will be vindicated as effective as He is
justified as true and faithful.
We began to see that it is by keeping
both the commandments of God and
the faith of Jesus that those endure
when the Three Angel's Messages are
proclaimed during "the hour of His
judgment."
Basics of Judgment
In order to understand better how the
"faith of Jesus" is the essential element
for this final judgment, let's explore the
basic elements of judgment.
The pattern for judgment is seen first in
Gen. 3, as God came to Adam and Eve
after they sinned.
Three Phases
1. Questions (opening the books /
investigation): Gen. 3:9 where?; 11
who?; 13 what?
2. Decision (verdict / sentence): 14
Serpent; 16 Woman; 17 Adam
3. Execution: 21 blood covering; 23, 24
out of garden
Judgment on City
What is the city that is judged in
Revelation that had fallen once in Bible
history?
Babylon
What is the other city in Revelation that
fell twice in Bible history?
Jerusalem
We considered it in the fig tree story in
"Seeing as God Sees" study.
Jerusalem's Falls
Just as 2 of the final 6 messages, so the
story of Jerusalem's falls are for those
people who have identified with God.
Jerusalem's Falls
Daniel lived through the first fall of
Jerusalem.
John lived through the second fall of
Jerusalem.
Both understood what was happening.
Jerusalem's Fall #1
Recorded in 2 Chron. 36:12-21. Observe
the 3 phases:
1. Mocked the messengers (who had
opened the books on them) 12, 16
2. No remedy 16
3. King of the Chaldees, destroyed 17
Jerusalem's Fall #2
Recorded in Matt. 23:29-36; Acts 7:51,
52
1. Witnesses 23:31, 32; resist the Holy
Spirit 7:51
2. Left desolate 23:38
3. (not recorded in Bible)
Why Jerusalem Fell
In a spiritual sense, we could say that
Jerusalem had identified with Babylon
(Matt. 23:35; cf. Rev. 18:24; John
19:15), and that is what led to her fall.
Why Jerusalem Fell
That which Babylon has come to
symbolize (pride, self-exaltation, selfsalvation, the confusion of mixing truth
with error, the amalgamation of the
truth with the lie), had so become the
spirit of Jerusalem, God's own people,
that Jerusalem fell.
Why Jerusalem Fell
Jerusalem, the city whose very name
means "the teaching of peace" and that
was intended through her sanctuary
and people to reveal self-sacrificing
love, became filled with the strife,
unrest and violence of self-exaltation, of
self-love.
The Fall of Babylon
In between the two falls of Jerusalem we
find the history of Babylon's fall.
The Fall of Babylon
Dan. 5 very clearly outlines these same 3
elements or phases of judgment in
describing the fall of Babylon. Recall the
story--Daniel did not immediately
interpret the handwriting!
1. opened the books (history) 18-23
2. verdict & sentence (handwriting) 24-28
3. execution (Belshazzar killed; Darius
took kingdom) 30, 31
The Fall of Babylon
This is why Dan. 5 is so important to our
proclaiming effectively the Second
Angel's Message and its context. We
must explain the issues and the process
of judgment--tell and demonstrate the
missing, essential dynamic.
Faith of Jesus Stands
Since we are studying what it is that
enables end-time endurance, in other
words, what empowers us to stand and
not fall, it is vital that we understand
that the "faith of Jesus" is the opposite
of the spirit of Babylon.
Faith of Jesus Stands
As revealed to us in Jesus Christ, this
faith is the spirit of self-sacrificing love.
Those "that keep the commandments of
God and the faith of Jesus" are those
who have come out of Babylon, who
have allowed God to take Babylon out
of their hearts. It is only those who will
endure, and whom God can use to
proclaim these final messages of mercy.
Who is Judged
The first and the last of these six
judgment-hour messages are explicit
regarding who is being judged. Now it is
not just a local city in Chaldea
(Babylon) or a local city in Palestine
(Jerusalem). The message is to go to
"every nation, kindred, tongue, and
people" (First Angel's Message)--"the
earth" (Loud Cry).
Advent Mission Phase 1&2
Adventism's mission is to preach the
everlasting gospel, thus explaining what
will stand everlastingly, and what will
fall. God has raised up messengers to
begin proclaiming phase 1 & 2 of
judgment against the global system
that has developed as the final
incarnation of Rome.
Why Babylon Falls
This system is called the 4th kingdom in
Daniel and Babylon in Revelation.
The Advent Movement mission is to show
that it is falling as did Babylon of old
and due to the same issues that caused
the fall of Jerusalem twice.
Why Babylon Falls
These issues, which manifest an absence
of the "faith of Jesus," can be
summarized as:
1. Did not humble the heart
2. Resisted the Holy Spirit
Fall Out of the Circuit
Patience, Endurance,
Stand (Saints)
God
Keep the
commandments
of God and
the faith of
Jesus
God's
faith
working
by love.
Did not humble the heart
We
Resisted the Holy Spirit
Fall (Babylon)
Judgment in Messages
In this light of understanding the core
character issue of sin, and how God
uses these three phases of judgment to
deal with sin, we see that the 4 angels
(Rev. 14 & 18) which picture the final
messages to the world are all involved
with declaring parts 1 & 2 of this 3phase judgment on the final Babylon:
Judgment in Messages
1. The First Angel's message announces
the hour of judgment, and opens the
books back to Gen. 1, revealing God's
faith working by love from the very
beginning. He is declared worthy: fear
Him and worship Him!
Judgment in Messages
2. The Second Angel's message declares
the verdict on Babylon and opens the
books on her, showing the absence of
the faith of Jesus and its resultant lawkeeping.
Judgment in Messages
3. The Third Angel's message explains the
sentence against the final human
phases of Babylon. It is in the context
of this message that the endurance
resulting from the faith of Jesus is
highlighted to John. The burden of this
message is to highlight a people who
avoid the sentence against Babylon.
Judgment in Messages
4. The Loud Cry ("of the Third Angel" per
our SDA pioneers) repeats the 2nd
Angel's message in an entire chapter,
declaring again the verdict and opening
the books on Babylon by describing at
length her spirit of self-glorification (vs.
7) with its oppressive merchandising
(vs. 13) and violent coercion (vs. 24),
and the executive judgment that comes
against such faithlessness.
Who will Stand?
6th seal: Rev. 6:17 "For the great day of
his wrath is come; and who shall be
able to stand?" And so in our day, God
is preparing a people to stand in the
"great day of His wrath" when the devil
will throw everything he can at them,
and they will stand.
How Will They Stand?
And God Himself will hide His face from
them for a moment, and they will
stand.
And God will bring judgment against
great Babylon which falls all around
them, and they will stand.
How does this happen? It is not a miracle
saved just for some future end-time
crisis.
How Will They Stand?
He is now restoring to the human race
the understanding and experience of
how He designed them to function. The
description of that ideal is law, and the
method of restoration is gospel,
revealed to us in "the faith of Jesus."
How Will They Stand?
Those who:
-receive these two gifts (law & gospel)
that have been given at infinite cost
-keep them
-cherish them
-internalize them by the Spirit, come
what may, -It is those who will endure. (Rev. 14:12)
How Will They Stand?
They have received the two judgmenthour messages given especially to the
messengers--
Judgment for Messengers
Midnight Cry-They have received abundantly of the oil
of the Spirit, becoming wise virgins
(cherishing His way of seeing and
doing)
Judgment for Messengers
Laodicean Message-They have purchased from the True
Witness (not from other merchants like
the foolish virgins did) the gold tried in
the fire (which clothed them with His
perfection and enabled them to see
what He sees).
Endurance for Mission
It is with such an endurance that the
messages of enduring love and falling
self-love are proclaimed to the world.
Consider again this endurance connected
to the final preaching of "this gospel."
Matt. 24:14 is frequently quoted, but the
context is ignored.
"This Gospel"
"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be
preached in all the world for a witness
unto all nations; and then shall the end
come." What is meant by "this gospel"?
We need the previous two verses-"And because iniquity shall abound, the
love of many shall wax cold.
"But he that shall endure unto the end,
the same shall be saved."
"This Gospel"
The self-sacrificing love of many will sadly
wax cold as the demands increase of
iniquity (lawlessness resulting from selflove). But those who endure (those who
choose to continue to express faith
working by love in the face of
abounding lawlessness) to the end will
give a witness to the entire world of this
gospel; they will be saved. Then the
end will come.
Love Waxing Cold
We
Their
faith
and
love
response
God's Plan
Iniquity abound
Others
Love wax cold
Our
faith
and
love
expressed
to
others
Love Enduring to End
We
Their
faith
and
love
response
God's Plan
Our
faith
and
love
expressed
to
others
Iniquity abound
Others
Endures to
the End!
"This Gospel"
"This gospel" that will go to all the world
as a witness, is the preaching and living
of the cross at the end time. "This
gospel" will be enduring love in the face
of abounding lawlessness.
"This gospel," this love is that expressed
by Christ Himself who by faith
"endured" to the end. (Heb. 12:2, 3
uses the same word as in Matt. 24:13.)
Advent Mission Needs FOJ
Don't forget the explicit connection of this
to our history as we saw in our last
study. Here are two more powerful
connections that show this end-time
setting, and what God is attempting to
do, described 127 years ago:
"John Sees a People"
"Elder E. J. Waggoner had the privilege
granted him of speaking plainly and
presenting his views upon justification
by faith and the righteousness of Christ
in relation to the law. This was no new
light, but it was old light placed where it
should be in the third angel's message.
What is the burden of that message?
John sees a people.
"John Sees a People"
"He says, 'Here is the patience of the
saints: here are they that keep the
commandments of God, and the faith of
Jesus' (Rev. 14:12). This people John
beholds just before he sees the Son of
man 'having on his head a golden
crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle'
(verse 14)." (1888 p. 211)
"Our Strength"
"God has opened to us our strength, and
we need to know something about it
and be prepared for the time of trouble
such as never was since there was a
nation. But here is our strength, Christ
our righteousness.
"Our Strength"
"Let us ask Isaiah who is to be our
strength. Well, he answers, and it
comes echoing down along the lines to
our time: 'For unto us a child is born,
and unto us a son is given; and the
government shall be upon his shoulder:
and his name shall be called Wonderful,
Counsellor, the mighty God, The
everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace'
[Isa. 9:6].
"Our Strength"
"Is not that enough for us? Cannot we
cover ourselves all over with it? Do we
need any of our own self esteem? No,
we cannot have that. We must hide in
Christ, and we can hide in the mighty
strength of Israel's God.
"Our Strength"
"Thus we work to meet the powers of
darkness. We fight not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities and
powers, and spiritual wickedness in high
places. And it is only in Christ that we
can meet them." (1888 p. 347)
Prophecy and Parable
Let's look at a sampling of Bible texts,
prophecies, parables, and other
counsels that show the need of faith
(the faith of Jesus) during the judgment
in progress and coming against
faithlessness.
"When Judged"
Rom. 3:3, 4
"faith of God without effect?" - "mightest
overcome when Thou [God] art judged"
God's faith is not made ineffective by a
response of unbelief; by His faith God
will be justified and will overcome when
judged.
If you keep God's faith you will also be
justified and overcome in the judgment.
"Withered Away"
Mark 11:21-25
"the fig tree which Thou cursedst is
withered away" - "have the faith of
God"
If you have God's faith, you will not
wither away.
If you have God's faith, you will say, you
will believe, you will forgive.
"Take Account"
Matt. 18:23-25
Take account = judgment (23)
No Faith: insist on payment; tormentors;
"if ye from your hearts forgive not" (26,
28, 34, 35)
Faith: compassion, forgiveness (27, 33)
Keeping the faith of Jesus to you means
you will demonstrate it to others.
Without it, you reject the King's gift.
God's Faith Covers
In this Day of Atonement God wants to
cover us. This is what His faith does. If
we reject the covering, how can we
expect to stand in the judgment?
The covering is not given merely to clear
our debt, but to make us like Him. If we
don't treat others like He treats us, we
have rejected His gift and insisted on
our own measure.
"To See the Guests"
Matt. 22:11-13
"... the king came in to see the guests, he
saw there a man which had not on a
wedding garment"
"Friend, how camest thou in hither not
having a wedding garment?"
See, "Friend, how?" = investigation
Cast = sentencing
No Faith: no garment provided by king
Receive and Give
This shows also the importance of
continuing the process. We can accept
the invitation to the kingdom, but if we
reject putting on the garment, this is
the same as rejecting becoming like the
King. We are rejecting God's faith,
which see us in His image again.
"If Any Man Draw Back"
Hab. 2:4 in the LXX says this. This is
quoted in Heb. 10:38.
"Now the just shall live by faith: but if
any man draw back, my soul shall have
no pleasure in him."
Don't draw back. Keep the faith! Don't let
it go. Wear it. Treat others the same
way.
"Cast Not Away"
Earlier Heb. 10 said:
"Cast not away therefore your
confidence." (35)
= The faith of Jesus is our confidence.
Eph. 3:12 "boldness and access with
confidence by the faith of Him."
= He has given it to you. You have
accepted it. Don't cast it away!
"Need of Patience"
"For ye have need of patience" (Heb.
10:36)
= Same word as is in Rev. 14:12. It
comes from keeping the faith of Jesus.
No Patience
If we give up the faith of Jesus, God will
still be shown true by His faith and love,
but the judgment will show us faithless
liars who spurned His faith and love and
gave a false witness about Him.
Let's consider the basis of our confidence
and endurance in the words of one of
the messengers from the 1890's--
Enduring Confidence
"You have been, and you are, thankful
that you have confidence in God. This is
well; for it is a great thing to have
doubt and uncertainty removed, and
confidence in God established in the
mind and heart. It is, therefore, a thing
really to be thankful for, that you have
confidence in God.
Enduring Confidence
"Yet there is a greater thing than this to
be thankful for, and that is that God has
confidence in you. Indeed, it is God's
confidence in us that is all the ground of
our confidence in him.
Enduring Confidence
"Considered solely upon the merit of the
question, it is indeed a very little thing
that we should have confidence in him;
while it is a thing great beyond all
comparison that he should have
confidence in us.
"Just think what we were,—a people
laden with iniquity, alienated from God,
and enemies in our minds, by wicked
works.
Enduring Confidence
"Yet when we were all this, God
deliberately invested in us all that he
had,—the great 'price' of his dear Son,
in whom dwelleth all the fulness of God.
this is a marvelous display of
confidence....
Enduring Confidence
"And thus is established and illustrated
the divine principle that confidence
begets confidence; yea, that confidence
to the extent of what seems
recklessness will beget confidence even
to what seems recklessness;
Enduring Confidence
"for no person can fairly and seriously
contemplate the marvelous confidence
that God has shown in us, without
being won to a confidence in God that is
a perfect abandon of trust,—a trust that
holds firm and stead through every
vicissitude—fire, flood, suffering,
persecution, death itself—that this
world can possibly know." (A. T. Jones,
RH, January 4, 1898, p. 8)
"Before to Judgment"
If we keep the faith of Jesus, we will see
more and more what God sees, and
there will be less and less hidden. We
will hide less and less. This is the very
process of judgment in its first phase.
1 Tim. 5:24 "Some men’s sins are open
beforehand, going before to judgment;
and some men they follow after."
Are you willing to face you sins now?
"Saved" then "Destroyed"
Jude uses Israel's experience to warn us
against not continuing to keep the faith
of Jesus.
"...The Lord, having saved the people out
of the land of Egypt, afterward
destroyed them that believed not."
(Jude 5)
Rejecting the Gospel
Rom. 1:16-18 describes what will happen
if we reject the faith revealed in the
Gospel.
"From Faith to Faith"
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of
Christ: for it is the power of God unto
salvation to every one that believeth; to
the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For
therein is the righteousness of God
revealed from faith to faith: as it is
written, The just shall live by faith.
"Wrath" = Judgment
"For the wrath of God is revealed from
heaven against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men, who hold the
truth in unrighteousness."
"Hinder the Truth"
The righteousness of God has been
revealed in the gospel, "from faith"
seen there. But if it does not lead to our
believing, "to faith," it means we have
chosen to "hold the truth in
unrighteousness." God's wrath is
revealed against that. He will give us
up to what we have chosen.
Worship the Creature
The end result is that we will have
"worshipped and served the creature
more than the Creator." (vs. 25)
"The Lie"
Rejecting the gospel, not keeping the
faith of Jesus, refusing to let God's faith
become my faith, means I am changing
the truth of God into the lie. This is
what the devil did when he "abode not
in the truth" and thus speaks "the lie."
(Connect Rom. 1:25 to John 8:44.)
Unbelieving Christian
If I am a Christian, but persist in unbelief,
it means I am a foolish virgin with "no
oil" (Matt. 25:3); I am a Laodicean who
rejects the "True Witness" and His
merchandise (gold, white raiment,
eyesalve).
Without FOJ at the End
As we face the gospel, the choice we
have is to believe, receive, and keep
the faith of Jesus revealed there, or not.
Without keeping the faith of Jesus, the
only alternative will be to worship the
beast and receive his mark.
To Endure
In contrast, to endure against the dragon,
the beast and his mark, and the false
prophet and his image to the beast
(that is, to be part of those that do not
worship these fallen powers; Rev. 15:2;
20:4) my identity must be deeply and
fully settled by two marvelous gifts of
God:
Keep the Two Gifts
His description of how He created me to
function (law) and
His confidence in me (faith), revealed
through Jesus, that I can be restored to
the original ideal, His image (not the
beast's).
Boldness in the Judgment
I will then be with those who keep the
commandments of God and the faith of
Jesus. His love which He, the Finisher,
has perfected in me will give me
boldness to stand in the judgment
events, as it frees me from a self focus,
and enables me to be consistently
focused on His vindication. (1John
4:17-19).
"As He Is"
1John 4:17 "Herein is our love made
perfect, that we may have boldness in
the day of judgment: because as he is,
so are we in this world."
Summarize
The "faith of Jesus" will solve the sin
problem:
1. The "faith of Jesus" (as expressed on
the cross and as spiritual eyesight)
enables the sinner to see the
consequence of sin: leads to death
with no hope of resurrection (John
12:32 judgment of this world).
Summarize
2. The "faith of Jesus" (as expressed on
the cross and as spiritual eyesight)
enables the sinner to see how God
views him (condemns sin not the
sinner) and thus gives him security to
allow God to open the books on him
(face your sins) during the investigative
judgment.
Summarize
3. The "faith of Jesus" (as spiritual
eyesight and as joy set before) clarifies
the fallenness of this world's system
(Babylon with its self-exaltation is
judged), so the sinner leaves it and
calls others out of it, for a life of humble
service and suffering for others.
Summarize
4. The "faith of Jesus" (as spiritual
eyesight and as the joy set before)
empowers the Advent Movement for its
mission, and enables its individuals to
stand against abounding iniquity and
chaos, trusting God even when He
appears to abandon us.
Summarize
5. The "faith of Jesus" (as expressed on
the cross, as spiritual eyesight and as
the joy set before) restores the
principle upon which God's everlasting
kingdom is based, the gold standard,
and thus prepares people to live forever
with Him who is self-sacrificing love.
Summarize
For the "faith of Jesus" endures through
the end, knowing that no matter how
things appear, He is with us "even unto
the end" and "forever." (Matt. 28:20;
John 14:16)
Q&A
Q: "When the Son of man cometh, shall
he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8)
A: "Here is the patience of the saints:
here are they that keep the
commandments of God, and the faith of
Jesus." (Rev. 14:12)
Appeal
Are you committed to be in that group of
people?
Do you choose to receive the faith of
Jesus by studying it?
Do you want to tell God your plan is to
keep these two gifts, come what may?