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Bonding The Health Message With The Gospel Part 2 of 2
The third angel’s message of Revelation 14:9-12 is a communiqué we are to present with clarity to the whole world. The Bible says it is to go with a loud voice. This means its principles are to be heard by everyone. This is an end-time warning. Every person is given the opportunity to make a decision for the beast or for God. It is a challenge to cease halting between two opinions. “Choose you, today, whom ye will serve.” And everyone in the world will make a choice. At stake is eternal life. The one side minimizes sin and is loyal to Sunday worship. The other reveres God’s character, willingly sacrifices everything to become like Him. With this as a backdrop, where does a “health message” fit into this awesome spiritual invitation? It seems like an irreverent intrusion into such a stirring appeal. It strikes one, at first glance, as if there is an improper mixture of the sacred with the secular. What do my medical problems, my body fitness, my health habits have to do with eternal life? With ancient Israel God tabernacled with them in the Most Holy place in the sanctuary. The assurance of that presence was a pillar of fire at night and a cloud by day above the Most Holy Place. The Presence within the camp brought heaven’s wishes for God’s chosen people. Under the Old Covenant, much of the inspiration came collectively to the body of His people through the ministration of the Priest and through the Presence associated with the sanctuary. God shared with Jeremiah in 596 B.C. (Usher) that a time would come when He would make a new covenant with His people. His law, His character would be in man’s inward parts, his body, his very being. (Jeremiah 31:33). Paul was given extraordinary insight into this dynamic change in God’s relationship with mankind. As he describes it, one almost senses he is impatient that others don’t grasp it’s profound significance. “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” I Corinthians 6:19, 20. Our bodies, our minds, our hearts, our very being now becomes another earthly sanctuary. We become the dwelling place of divinity! God tabernacles now in us. The presence of heaven can now become part of our very nature. By what authority has this change come about? Jesus’ death initiated an ownership transfer. We belong to Him. By that redemptive act, the moral image of God can now be restored in every heart. This is one of the grand promises to the final generation of the remnant who will be the last individuals to live on this earth before Jesus returns. “By the power of the Holy Spirit the moral image of God is to be perfected in the character. We are to be wholly transformed into the likeness of Christ.” Testimonies to Ministers, p. 506 (emphasis added unless otherwise stated for all quotations). “Through the agency of the Holy Spirit God designed that His image shall be restored in humanity, that a new and living principle of life shall be introduced into the minds that have become defiled by sin.” Ibid., p. 378. “Christ has purchased the entire being, mind, soul, and body. The price of man’s redemption has been paid, and all he has and is should be sprinkled with the blood of Christ, dedicated to God; for it belongs to Him. Our motto should be, ‘I am not my own; for I have been bought with a price.’” Signs of the Times, “My Witness No. 3” (8/1/1900). Then there must be something sacred about my health, how I treat my body, how I view myself in light of God’s ownership. “Your body is to be sanctified unto the Lord as a vessel unto honor. It is Christ’s purchased possession. Then preserve every power, every organ, as an instrument unto righteousness. Satan desires to have your brain power, and your will, but they belong to Jesus. Consider always, ‘I am not my own. I must carefully and holily cherish every part of Christ’s purchased possession.’ Our High Calling, p. 41. “This expression, ‘bought with a price’ means everything to us. In consideration of the price paid for us, shall we not yield our bodies and souls up to Him who has bought us with His blood? Shall not that which He has redeemed be kept in as wholesome and pure and holy a condition as possible? Christ has redeemed us; our very flesh He has saved at an infinite cost, giving His own flesh for the life of the world. The lower passions have their seat in the body, and work through it. The words, ‘flesh,’ or ‘fleshly lusts’ or ‘carnal lusts,’ embrace the lower, corrupt nature: the flesh of itself cannot act contrary to the will of God. We are commanded to crucify the flesh, with the affections and lusts. How shall we do it? Shall we inflict pain on the body? No, but put to death the temptation to sin. The corrupt thought is to be expelled. Every thought is to be brought into captivity to Jesus Christ. All animal propensities are to be subjected to the higher powers of the divided throne. Our bodies are to be regarded as Christ’s purchased possession. The members of the body are to become the instruments of righteousness.” E. G. White, Spalding and Magan Collection, p. 209. Inspiration has said even our affections were purchased. He owns them. Will we soil something God owns? Or will we enter into a life that makes them pure and refined? It was part of God’s original plan to dwell in some mysterious way within the bodies of all created beings. It was part of His original plan to have a dual relationship with His intelligent creatures. By dwelling in created individuals, they would be able to reveal in an ever rich way the glory of God’s presence emanating from them. There was to be a God-created, God-indwelling association. This oneness, this unity would be a blending of the divine and the human. “From eternal ages it was God’s purpose that every created being from the bright seraph to man, should be a temple for the indwelling of the Creator. Because of sin, humanity ceased to be a temple for God. Darkened and defiled by evil, the heart of man no longer revealed the glory of the Divine One. But by the incarnation of the Son of God, the purpose of Heaven is fulfilled. God dwells in humanity, and through saving grace, the heart of man becomes again His temple.” The Desire of Ages, p. 161. But sin changed the original plan. The prince of this world came into man and his nature became sinful. “As Adam sinned, all have sinned. . .” But Jesus’ death changed that. Again, the divine-human relationship that God originally desired can now be restored. God designed this temple in such a way He could enter by a door right over our hearts, but only we can open it. As we continue to mature our understanding of the spiritual importance of health, let us look at another element of our being – life.
LIFE – What is this life?
“Human life, which God alone could give, must be sacredly guarded.” Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 516. “Life is mysterious and sacred. It is the manifestation of God Himself, the source of all life.” Ministry of Healing, p. 39. Life is electrical energy God gave to man at creation. (Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 138). I belong to God. My life is His gift to me. It is one form of a divine manifestation in me. Oh, how I must honor that special gift. Henry T. Blackaby, in his 1994 book, Experiencing God, wrote these penetrating yet simple words: “Do you realize that the Lord does not just give you life – He is your life?” Jesus said, “I call heaven and earth as witnesses ...that I have set before you life and death ...therefore choose life ...that you and your descendants may live ...that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life.” Deuteronomy 30:19,20. “Nature testifies of an intelligence, a presence, an active energy, that works in and through her laws. There is in nature the continual working of the Father and the Son.” Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 114. What is this active energy that works through the laws of God? It is a vital force that every man is endowed with. “God endowed man with so great a vital force that he has withstood the accumulation of disease brought upon the race in consequence of perverted habits, and has continued for six thousand years. This fact of itself is enough to evidence to us the strength and electrical energy that God gave to men at his creation. It took more than two thousand years of crime and indulgence of base passions to bring bodily disease upon the race to any great extent. If Adam, at his creation, had not been endowed with twenty times as much vital force as men now have, the race, with their present habits of living in violation of natural law, would have become extinct.” Testimonies, vol. 3, pp. 138, 139. Was this vital force an essence that Adam and Eve could obtain from the Tree of Life? “The fruit of the tree of life in the Garden of Eden possessed supernatural virtue. To eat of it was to live forever. Its fruit was the antidote of death. Its leaves were for the sustaining of life and immortality.... Through sin man shut himself off from access to the tree of life.” Testimonies, vol. 3, pp. 233-234. In that tree was vital force emanating from the Creator. But for us today, our gift is of a specific amount of life. We can borrow from future reserves by inappropriate habits and shorten our stay in this world. “God has endowed us with a certain amount of vital force. He has also formed us with organs suited to maintain the various functions of life, and He designs that these organs shall work together in harmony. If we carefully preserve the life force, and keep the delicate mechanism of the body in order, the result is health; but if the vital force is too rapidly exhausted, the nervous system borrows power for present use from its resources of strength, and when one organ is injured, all are affected. Nature bears much abuse without apparent resistance; she then arouses and makes a determined effort to remove the effects of the ill-treatment she has suffered. Her efforts to correct these conditions is often manifest in fever and various other forms of sickness.” Ministry of Healing, pp. 234, 238. “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10. How is this manifest to us today? “...the life-giving power or the Holy Spirit, proceeding from the Savior, pervades the soul ...” Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 248. “The tree of life was a type of the one great Source of immortality. Of Christ it is written, “In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.” He is the fountain of life. Obedience to Him is the life-giving, vivifying power that gladdens the soul. Through sin man shut himself off from access to the tree of life. Now life and immortality are brought to light through Jesus Christ....” Medical Ministry, pp. 233-234. Spiritual health vivifies the body and invigorates health. Worshiping God as outlined in the third angel’s message is life-giving. There now emerges a very important principle as we start to unify health and spiritual ideals. Anything I do to preserve life, that vital force, optimizes Jesus’ dwelling in me. That includes following a healthy way of life and obedience to His character. Though the gifts are ours, they benefit us only as we use them wisely. “The natural life is preserved moment by moment by divine power; yet it is not sustained by a direct miracle, but through the use of blessings placed within our reach.” Acts of the Apostles, p. 284. Anything that I do to enhance the work of the Holy Spirit in my being, increases life and health of my body. Anything that I do to hinder the work of the Holy Spirit in my being, decreases life and health. The sixth commandment of the moral law says, Thou shalt preserve life.
CO-DEPENDENCY OF PHYSICAL AND MORAL NATURES
There are three vital principles to help us understand this marriage between mind and God, body and religion. Our minds need actual divine illumination. God’s Spirit actually penetrates the inner recesses of our brains. But to enter the heart, the mind must be emptied of sin. “The religion of Christ means more than the forgiveness of sin; it means that sin is taken away, and that the vacuum is filled with the Spirit. It means that the mind is divinely illumined, that the heart is emptied of self, and filled with the presence of Christ.” My High Calling, p. 154. If my health habits affect how efficiently the Holy Spirit can work in me, then my habits relate to how successful I resist temptation and how complete my decision is for Jesus. This means our ability to rationally choose between the two alternatives outlined in the three angels’ messages is related to how effective my will operates. The power and strength of the Holy Spirit never makes a choice for me, but permits me to make the choice, just like Adam and Eve did before the fall. God, through His Spirit and man through his will moderates our ability to choose between two alternatives. Then we have the marvelous chance to make a decision based on reason. “Even your thoughts must be brought into subjection to the will of God and your feelings under the control of reason and religion. Your imagination was not given you to be allowed to run riot and have its own way without any effort at restraint or discipline. If the thoughts are wrong the feelings will be wrong; and the thoughts and feelings combined make up the moral character.” Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 310. Moral character is what we take to heaven. To activate this whole process takes energy, resolve, conflict, pain and a focused determination. Being saved is not passive entertainment. It requires work of a major magnitude. Boulders of huge proportions lie in the path we must travel. They must be rolled or lifted out of the way. God has promised if we choose to honor Him, to give us a hand in this task. His strength adds to our greatest effort just enough to get the boulder off the road. “Here is the work of self-denial upon which we must enter with cheerfulness, in imitation of the example of our Redeemer. The Christian’s life must be one of conflict and of sacrifice.... It may take time to attain perfect submission to God’s will, but we can never stop short of it and be fitted for heaven.” Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 538. Here lies the remarkable balance. “The influence of the mind on the body, as well as of the body on the mind, should be emphasized. The electric power of the brain, promoted by mental activity, vitalizes the whole system, and is thus an invaluable aid in resisting disease. This should be made plain. The power of the will and the importance of self-control, both in the preservation and in the recovery of health, the depressing and even ruinous effect of anger, discontent, selfishness, or impurity, and on the other hand the marvelous life-giving power to be found in cheerfulness, unselfishness, gratitude, should also be shown.” Education, p. 197 (1903). This matter has eternal value. It is a life and death issue. The health habits relate to how well His Spirit works in our hearts. “A close sympathy exists between the physical and the moral nature.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 43. This is a definitive statement. In the third angel’s message, John outlines the terrible consequences of disobedience. God’s mercy ceases, and the force of justice meets the rebellious heart. Now – a similar situation exists with our bodies! This subject is so important, this issue so sacred that Paul says: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” I Corinthians 3:16, 17. This text makes quite clear that how we treat our health will be an issue in the judgment. Eternity depends partially on the honor and respect we give our bodies. “To keep the body in a healthy condition, to develop its strength, that every part of the living machinery may act harmoniously, should be the first study of our life. To neglect the body is to neglect the mind.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, vol. 3, pp. 485, 486. And the mind is where we make choices and where God works. “And what is the work that we are to undertake here just previous to receiving immortality? It is to preserve our bodies holy, our spirits pure, that we may stand forth unstained amid the corruptions teeming around us in these last days. And if this work is accomplished we need to engage in it at once, heartily and understandingly. Selfishness should not come in here to influence us. The Spirit of God should have perfect control of us, influencing us in all our actions. If we have a right hold on Heaven, a right hold of the power that is from above, we shall feel the sanctifying influence of the Spirit of God upon our hearts.” Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 356.
NATURAL LAW
A fascinating question comes as we look at who the saints are in the third angel’s message. They certainly do not honor the papacy nor Sunday observance – image to the beast. They have faith in Jesus and a faith like Jesus. They also keep the commandments. We tend to consider this as only the Decalogue. But reconsider. “We cannot disregard the laws of nature without disregarding the laws of God.” Selected Messages, book 2, pp. 346, 347. “It is just as much sin to violate the laws of our being as to break one of the ten commandments, for we cannot do either without breaking God’s law. We cannot love the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength while we are loving our appetites, our tastes, a great deal better than we love the Lord. We are daily lessening our strength to glorify God, when He requires all our strength, all our mind. By our wrong habits we are lessening our hold on life, and yet professing to be Christ’s followers, preparing for the finishing touch of immortality.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 45. “...the laws that affect the health of the being, ... are God’s laws.” Selected Messages, book 2, p. 226. “Every law governing the human machinery is to be considered just as truly divine in origin, in character, and in importance as the word of God. Every careless, inattentive action, any abuse put upon the Lord’s wonderful mechanism, by disregarding His specified laws in the human habitation, is a violation of God’s law.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 17.
Self-Sacrifice Here is perhaps the most crucial part of this whole study. To resist sin requires self-sacrifice. To resist appetite requires self-sacrifice. Since we are by nature sinful, some discipline must enter our lives to strengthen our resolve. That is exactly what the health message is designed to do! It is our training ground to grapple with the larger issue – sin. “Those who have had the light upon the subjects of eating and dressing with simplicity, in obedience to physical and moral laws, and who turn from the light which points out their duty, will shun duty in other things. If they blunt their consciences to avoid the cross which they will have to take up to be in harmony with natural law, they will, in order to shun reproach, violate the Ten Commandments.” Counsels on Health, p. 105. To take up our cross, to practice self-denial in our habits opens the door to honor God’s moral law. “Let those who are teachers and leaders in our cause take their stand firmly on Bible ground in regard to health reform, and give a straight testimony to those who believe we are living in the last days of this earth’s history. A line of distinction must be drawn between those who serve God and those who serve themselves.” Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 158. Have you ever wondered what the straight testimony is? There are several issues that fall under this category. The straight testimony will eventually provoke half-hearted Christians to leave the church. Health reform is one of the straight testimony issues. Does the gospel and its full application come to us passively? “There is work for us to do – stern, earnest work. All our habits, tastes, and inclinations must be educated in harmony with the laws of life and health. By this means we may secure the very best physical conditions, and have mental clearness to discern between the evil and the good.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 28. How far will this discipline and self-denial go? “Those who have received instruction regarding the evils of the use of flesh foods, tea and coffee, and rich and unhealthful food preparations, and who are determined to make a covenant with God by sacrifice, will not continue to indulge their appetite for food that they know to be unhealthful. God demands that the appetites be cleansed, and that self-denial be practiced in regard to those things which are not good. This is a work that will have to be done before His people can stand before Him a perfected people. “The remnant people of God must be a converted people. The presentation of this message is to result in the conversion and sanctification of souls. We are to feel the power of the Spirit of God in this movement. This is a wonderful, definite message; it means everything to the receiver, and it is to be proclaimed with a loud cry. We must have a true abiding faith that this message will go forth with increasing importance till the close of time.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, pp. 36, 37. “Self must be entirely surrendered.... ‘If any man will come after me,’ said Jesus, ‘let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.’ Luke 9:23. Let us follow the Saviour in His simplicity and self denial.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 58. “As our first parents lost Eden through the indulgence of appetite, our only hope of regaining Eden is through the firm denial of appetite and passion. Abstemiousness in diet, and control of all the passions, will preserve the intellect and give mental and moral vigor, enabling men to bring all their propensities under the control of the higher powers, and to discern between right and wrong, the sacred and the common.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 59. We have followed a determined path to show how the health message and the last gospel call are co-dependent issues that are to be presented together during the loud cry for God’s remnant who will be translated having achieved moral perfection. The health issue will have taken on a special and heretofore untried elevated spiritual plane. The health message has in it all the wonders of optimizing health, life and longevity. Transcending these is a deeper spiritual matter. The application of a good healthy life style is a school, a discipline designed to develop self-denial and mastery of decision. This training is so valuable, its end result so precise, we have been given a preview of the training outcome. “If man should overcome this temptation (appetite) he could conquer on every other point.”! In Heavenly Places, p. 94. That’s perfection – that is being fully on God’s side. And – that in the end is what the third angel’s message is all about.
Franklin S. Fowler Jr., M.D.; EndTime Issues... of
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