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THE FREEDOM OF CHOICE

The Bible hath declared: I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live. (Deut. 30:19) And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death. (Jer. 21:8) SC 43, 44 The government of God is not, as Satan would make it appear, founded upon a blind submission, an unreasoning control. It appeals to the intellect and the conscience. Come now, and let us reason together is the Creators invitation to the beings He has made. Isaiah 1:18. God does not force the will of His creatures. He cannot accept an homage that is not willingly and intelligently given. A mere forced submission would prevent all real development of mind or character; it would make man a mere automaton. Such is not the purpose of the Creator. He desires that man, the crowning work of His creative power, shall reach the highest possible development. He sets before us the height of blessing to which He desires to bring us through His grace. He invites us to give ourselves to Him, that He may work His will in us. It remains for us to choose whether we will be set free from the bondage of sin, to share the glorious liberty of the sons of God. (SC 43, 44) Accordingly it is written: Choose you this day whom ye will serve Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. Thus it is absolutely true that in religion in the duty which we owe to our Creator and the manner of discharging it God has created man entirely exempt from the domination of others and from restricting circumstances; has made him free to make his choice, and decide his conduct for himself, spontaneously and voluntarily. Thus religious liberty is the gift of God, inherent in the gift of rational existence itself. Any service as to God that is not freely chosen by him who renders it is not a service to God. There can be no virtue in it; there can be none of God in it. Any service rendered as to God that is not freely chosen on the part of him who renders it cannot be of God; because God is love: and love and computation, love and force, love and oppression, never can go together. Therefore, any duty, any obligation, anything, offered or rendered as to God that is not of the individuals own freely chosen choice, can neither be of God nor to God. Accordingly when the Lord created whatever creature angel or man in order that that creature should be happy in the service of God, and in order that there should be virtue in rendering service or worship to God, He created him free to choose to do so. And this is individuality, and the divine right of it. God created man free. When man by sin was separated and lost from that freedom, Christ came to restore him fully to it. The way of God and of Christ, therefore, is the way of liberty. And the work of God through Christ with mankind in the whole history of the world has been to make plain this way and to give to man the absolute assurance of this soul liberty which is the only true liberty. Whom the Son makes free is free indeed. Come, then, let us study and let us have, and let us study that we may have, religious liberty complete, in principle and in experience, as it is in the Scriptures of truth. Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. (2 Cor. 3:17) Liberty is the state of being exempt from the domination of others, or from restricting circumstances. In ethics and philosophy, the power in any rational agent to make his choices and decide his conduct for himself, spontaneously and voluntarily, in accordance with reasons or motives. Inspiration declared:

1 BC 1087 Any man, be he minister or layman, who seeks to compel or control the reason of any other man, becomes an agent of Satan, to do his work, and in the sight of the heavenly universe he bears the mark of Cain. (1 BC 1087) We need Grant to all the freedom of religion that you would have them grant to you. And though a Christian will never sacrifice principle, yet he will ever be as courteous to those who disagree with him as to those who agree. (13 TR 29) Remember that everyone has the right to believe as he will, and that he must give an account of himself to the Lord only, not to you (or any man). (13 TR 28, 29) Restrain or deter none from an investigation of purported truth, but help them to prove all things, and to hold fast that which is good (1 Thes. 5:21). Do not try to make invalids of them or a fool of yourself by expecting them to accept your say-so. Urge them to see for themselves and to bear their own responsibility. (13 TR 28) Brethren, It is, therefore, high time to realize that people who must be held in ignorance of something in order to be kept loyal to the Church, are certainly not worth having; and that the only way to have them really loyal, and firmly established in the Truth, and saved in the Kingdom, is to teach the Truth and then give them freedom to choose so that they themselves might personally know what is Truth and what is error. To keep them in darkness of what the deceivers teach (if they be deceivers), is to keep them ignorant of what is in the air. It is to forever close Heavens communication line, and to make of the people spiritual invalids and automatons. The people must for themselves know what the Truth is, and for themselves must decide what to do with It if they are ever to be granted admission to the Kingdom. Both those who must be fenced in, or led with a rope or driven with a club as it were into the Kingdom, and those who build the fence, pull the rope, or hold the club will find the door closed, and will hear the Master say, Depart from Me; I never knew you. Ministers are not called to be taskmasters, nor conscience for others. They are called to be teachers of the Truth. (1 TG 51:4, 5) Here is seen that Inspiration does not at once lighten our path clear to the end, but that It does so step by step; that Gods Truth is progressive; that we can never really say we have all the Truth to carry us clear through to the Pearly Gates. (1 TG 11:10) But the sad fact is that rather than encouraging the people to be on the watch for Gods visitations, they are making it their business to keep the laity from coming in contact with Gods messengers and His progressive Truth, with meat in due season, with Gods messages for today. Anything that does not originate in their own conventions, the laity are told to have nothing to do with it. This they do simply because they themselves do not accept the Truths God sends; and because if any of their congregation came in contact with and accept It, they naturally will have to join Truth wherever Truth is. So it is their chief business to keep the laity in darkness and in fear that someone is to deceive them if they expose themselves to anything that their ministers do not approve. (1 TG 51:4) 5T 728 Let us beware that we do not refuse the light God sends, because it does not come in a way to please us. Let not Gods blessing be turned away from us because we know not the time of our visitation. If there are any who do not see and accept the light themselves, let them not stand in the way of others. Let it not be said of this highly favored people, as of the Jews when the good news of the kingdom was preached to them: Ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered. (5T 728) WHR 30 Now that Time and Truth have locked arms and are hastening on together, we must quickly take hold and follow on, too. We cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the Jews and of the nominal churches, and thus be left behind (Counsels On Sabbath School Work, pp. 28-30; Testimonies, Vol. 5 p. 728). We dare not. We must not. (WHR 30)

CSW 28 Precious light is to shine forth from the word of God, and let no one presume to dictate what shall or what shall not be brought before the people in the messages of enlightenment that He shall send, and so quench the Spirit of God. Whatever may be his position of authority, no one has a right to shut away the light from the people. When a message comes in the name of the Lord to His people, no one may excuse himself from an investigation of its claims. No one can afford to stand back in an attitude of indifference and self-confidence, and say: I know what is truth. I am satisfied with my position. I have set my stakes, and I will not be moved away from my position, whatever may come. I will not listen to the message of this messenger; for I know that it cannot be truth. It is from pursuing this very course that the popular churches were left in partial darkness, and that is why the messages of heaven have not reached them. (CSW 28) Inspiration declared clearly that the SDA church have long been preaching against the papists and against those who copy after them, the same as Davidia at the present time who have long been preaching against such Laodicean spirit, but now they are doing the very thing of which they once condemned others doing. Therefore, the price that the Laodiceans are to pay, they will, too, except they now repent. Will you not, my brethren, do all you can to rescue our leading men from eternal ruin which they are now running headlong into, and as you are following their footsteps they will cause you to plunge into the same. (2 SC 2:9) The SDA church instructed every member not to study with the Shepherd s rod and not to discuss it, not to make friends with those who believe in it, and not to allow them in their homes ( 2 SC 2:6). But now Davidian are doing the same attitude against us, by which sometimes they are more worse than the SDA church. May God forgive and have mercy upon His people. 3 SC 2:10 The foregoing quotations clearly set forth in the light of prophecy three requirements of great importance for Gods people who profess His name at this time. First, each and every child of God is personally and individually responsible to God for an experimental knowledge of the great plan of salvation. Second, no individual or group of individuals has any God-given right to interpose between the people and a message, or to hinder it in any way. Third, we must be in absolute harmony with the Great Ruler of the Universe, Who wills that a voice shall be heard arousing His people to action (Gospel Workers, p. 300). (3 SC 2:10) 5 TR 15 Such are the lukewarm church members who have not kept pace with the light, and who as a result have been left behind in every advance of truth. Whereas those who have been dissatisfied with their degree of enlightenment, who are either hot or cold, have marched on with present truth from generation to generation. Let the solemn truth never be forgotten, therefore, that never at any time has Gods church been led astray because of investigating new doctrines which knocked at her doors, pleading to be received. On the contrary she has many times been left in darkness because of indolence, indifference, and prejudice in investigating to find out whether or not the so-called strange teachings were from God. And sad to say, the same condition exists today. (5 TR 15) Let us ever remember, that when the Jewish leaders, in their conference they decided, Let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. (Acts 4:17-20). In that answer so promptly given, it seemed to that assembly that these mere common man and private and illiterate members of the church would actually convey the impression that it was possible for such as they to be

taught of God, and to know from God, things that this whole assembly of the highest officials and most learned ones of the church did not know and that they would pay no attention whatever the command of the council, but would go right ahead regardless of all that the council might say or do or be. Plainly enough in the view of the council such a course could mean only every one for himself, an individual independence that would overthrow all order and authority. Such an answer as that from such persons as those, to such an official and dignified body as this; such an answer from mere common persons to this august assembly: from mere private members of the church to the regular assemblage of that which for ages had been the highest official and divinely appointed order in the organization of the church: could not be considered by those officials as anything less than arrant presumption, and the destruction of all order and organization in the church which had been established through the commands of God, according to the priest and rulers in the days of the Apostles. Then the council further charge the apostles under heavy threat that they should so teach no more such doctrine. This sacred happenstance is a living reminder unto us, the Bible declared: Acts 5:38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: Verse 39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God. The unfolding of the prophetic scroll will reveal to all what manner of spirit (Gospel Workers, p. 302) they are of -- whether willing to exchange error for truth, or whether determined to identify themselves with the class who will forever be found Ignorantly Fighting The Truth. (6 TR 59) Brethren, because the Lord loves you, and because He is loath to make of you a vessel of dishonor, He addresses this tract to you. We, too, are heart-sick that you have, as the Jews of old, deeply involved yourselves in a war against the Spirit of Prophecy -- a war which you cannot win (6 TR 73). Brethren, it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. (Acts 26:14)

Yours in Christ Jesus,


A.D. JEZREEL

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