By parables Christ revealed the mysteries of redemption. His hearers were familiar with the things of nature, and these he used to represent the spiritual truths he wished to communicate. All had an opportunity to hear his appeals as they were made in sympathy for men. In the synagogue, by the wayside, and in the boat thrust out a little from the land, he spoke to the people, feeding their famished souls with the bread of life. Christ presented his truths in parables, in the form of a story. The Pharisees would not listen to direct truth; but parable teaching was popular, and commanded the respect and attention not only of the Jews, but also of the people of other nations.
(RH September 26, 1899, Art. A, 1)
Christ knew there were many who would keep these lessons in mind until their hidden meaning should be discerned, but that others would never reach to their deep meaning. The disciples would come to the Great Teacher to inquire, and he instructed them. Christ gladly taught all who had interest enough to say, Explain to us the meaning of your words.
(RH September 26, 1899, Art. A, 2)
These lessons of Christ were to be repeated by his disciples. When Peter, Andrew, James, and John were called by Christ to forsake their nets and follow him, the promise was given them, “I will make you fishers of men.” Those uneducated peasants of Galilee were to fulfil the divine commission. Through them Christ's lessons were to be carried to all peoples, nations, and tongues.
(RH September 26, 1899, Art. A, 3)
In his zeal Christ was indifferent to his need of food and repose, and on one occasion his mother and brothers sought to draw him from his work. They thought if they could speak with him, they could draw him away from the multitude. But they could not reach him for the press, and they sent word to him that they were without, desiring to see him. But Christ was absorbed in the solemn and awful warnings he was giving to the people. He desired that his words should find a lodgment in some hearts. He could not be interrupted; his relatives could not draw him away. Under such circumstances, his duty to them was secondary. He did not rebuke them, but he seized upon this incident to convey a lesson that would be of great benefit to his mother, his disciples, and the concourse of people before him.
(RH September 26, 1899, Art. A, 4)
In answer to the message, he said, “Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?” Christ never manifested any lack of respect for his mother or his brothers; but this was a point where he could fix the attention of the people, and answer the question, which was agitating many minds, as to what they should do if they received Christ. He knew that some present would accept his words, and that this course would bring to them determined opposition from fathers and mothers and relatives. He read the hearts before him; and stretching forth his hands to his disciples, he earnestly said, “Behold my mother and my brethren. For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
(RH September 26, 1899, Art. A, 5)
This is the assurance given to all who follow the teachings of Christ that they shall become members of the heavenly family. Says Christ, Obedience to my Father in heaven is filial obedience. This is the bond of union between me and all who shall become members of the heavenly family. All who accept the word of truth will enter the hallowed circle that binds to me every believer as brother or sister or mother.
(RH September 26, 1899, Art. A, 6)
On the shore a company has gathered to see and hear Jesus,—an eager, expectant throng. The sick are there, lying on their rugs, waiting to present their cases before him. It is Christ's God-given right to heal the woes of a sinful race, and he now rebukes disease, and diffuses around him life and peace and health.
(RH September 26, 1899, Art. A, 7)
But the crowd continues to increase. They press close about Christ until there is no room to receive them. Then, speaking a word to the men in their fishing-boats, he steps into the boat that is waiting to take him across the lake, and bidding them push off a little from the land, he speaks to the people as they stand upon the shore.
(RH September 26, 1899, Art. A, 8)
“And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside, and the fowls came and devoured them up: some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprang up, because they had no deepness of earth: and when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up, and choked them: but other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixty-fold, some thirtyfold....
(RH September 26, 1899, Art. A, 9)
“And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive.”
(RH September 26, 1899, Art. A, 10)
Did Christ blind the eyes so that the people could not discern? He gave them great light, and from time to time added to the light by the exposition of prophecy. What, then, eclipsed the light?—The answer is given: “For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.”
(RH September 26, 1899, Art. A, 11)
In heaven it was said, by the ministering angels, The ministry we were commissioned to perform, we have done. We pressed back the army of evil angels. We sent brightness and light into the souls of men, quickening their memory of the love of God expressed in Jesus. He attracted their eyes to the cross of Calvary. Their souls were deeply moved by the sense of the sin that crucified the Son of God. They were convicted. They saw the steps to be taken in conversion; they felt the power of the gospel; their hearts were made tender as they saw the sweetness of the love of God. In all this they heard the Father's call, but it was in vain. Their hearts were given to covetousness; they loved the associations of the world more than they loved their God.
(RH September 26, 1899, Art. A, 12)
Christ tells the disciples the meaning of the parable. It is the kingdom of God that is represented. His word is the seed. “Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower,” says he. “When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the wayside. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.”
(RH September 26, 1899, Art. A, 13)
Christ is the sower of the seed. He came to sow the world with truth. Not one tiny seed of error does he cast into the ground. He sees that the precious seeds of truth do not have a fair opportunity when seeds of a perverted character have taken deep root. The plowshare of truth is needed, not merely to cut off the tops of the thorns, but to take them out by the roots. Therefore he makes the doctrines of his kingdom so plain that the truth appears in contrast with error; for truth, if planted and cherished in the heart, will uproot error. And all who have the privilege of hearing the Word, and who receive it not, must render an account for their rejection of the instruction and warnings given. They are represented as those who, “seeing see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.”
(RH September 26, 1899, Art. A, 14)
Some who heard the parables of Christ came to him privately, and asked for an explanation. This was the desire that Christ wished to arouse, that he might give them more definite instruction. Those who study his word, with hearts open to receive the impressions made by the Holy Spirit, will not complain that they can not see clearly the meaning of his word. All who come to Christ and inquire for a clearer knowledge of truth, will receive it. He will unfold to them the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven; and these mysteries will be understood by the heart that longs to know the truth. A heavenly light will shine into the soul temple, and will be revealed to others as the bright shining of a candle on a dark path.
(RH September 26, 1899, Art. A, 15)
Christianity in the Marriage Relation
EGW
Many professed Christians who passed before me, seemed destitute of moral restraint. They were more animal than divine. In fact, they were about all animal. Men of this type degrade the wife whom they have promised to nourish and cherish. She is made an instrument to minister to the gratification of low, lustful propensities. And very many women submit to become slaves to lustful passion; they do not possess their bodies in sanctification and honor. The wife does not retain the dignity and self-respect which she possessed previous to marriage. This holy institution should have preserved and increased her womanly respect and holy dignity; but her chaste, dignified, godlike womanhood has been consumed upon the altar of base passion; it has been sacrificed to please her husband. She soon loses respect for the husband, who does not regard the laws to which the brute creation yield obedience. The married life becomes a galling yoke; for love dies out, and frequently distrust, jealousy, and hate take its place.
(RH September 26, 1899, 1)
No man can truly love his wife when she will patiently submit to become his slave, and minister to his depraved passions. In her passive submission, she loses the value she once possessed in his eyes. He sees her dragged down from everything elevating, to a low level; and soon he suspects that she will as tamely submit to be degraded by another as by himself. He doubts her constancy and purity, tires of her, and seeks new objects to arouse and intensify his hellish passions. The law of God is not regarded. These men are worse than brutes; they are demons in human form. They are unacquainted with the elevating, ennobling principles of true, sanctified love.
(RH September 26, 1899, 2)
The wife also becomes jealous of the husband, and suspects that if opportunity should offer, he would just as readily pay his addresses to another as to her. She sees that he is not controlled by conscience or the fear of God; all these sanctified barriers are broken down by lustful passions; all that is godlike in the husband is made the servant of low, brutish lust.
(RH September 26, 1899, 3)
The world is filled with men and women of this order; and neat, tasty, yea, expensive, houses contain a hell within. Imagine, if you can, what must be the offspring of such parents. Will not the children sink still lower in the scale? The parents give the stamp of character to their children. Therefore children that are born of these parents inherit from them qualities of mind which are of a low, base order. And Satan nourishes anything tending to corruption. The matter now to be settled is, Shall the wife feel bound to yield implicitly to the demands of her husband, when she sees that nothing but base passions control him, and when her reason and judgment are convinced that she does it to the injury of her body, which God has enjoined upon her to possess in sanctification and honor, to preserve as a living sacrifice to God?
(RH September 26, 1899, 4)
It is not pure, holy love which leads the wife to gratify the animal propensities of her husband at the expense of her health and life. If she possesses true love and wisdom, she will seek to divert his mind from the gratification of lustful passions to high and spiritual themes by dwelling upon interesting spiritual subjects. It may be necessary humbly and affectionately to urge, even at the risk of his displeasure, that she can not debase her body by yielding to sexual excess. She should, in a tender, kind manner, remind him that God has the first and highest claim upon her entire being, and that she can not disregard this claim, for she will be held accountable in the great day of God. “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.”“Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servant's of men.”
(RH September 26, 1899, 5)
If she will elevate her affections, and in sanctification and honor preserve her refined, womanly dignity, woman can do much by her judicious influence to sanctify her husband, and thus fulfil her high mission. In so doing, she can save both her husband and herself, thus performing a double work. In this matter, so delicate and so difficult to manage, much wisdom and patience are necessary, as well as moral courage and fortitude. Strength and grace can be found in prayer. Sincere love is to be the ruling principle of the heart. Love to God and love to the husband can alone be the right ground of action.
(RH September 26, 1899, 6)
Let the wife decide that it is the husband's prerogative to have full control of her body, and to mold her mind to suit his in every respect, to run in the same channel as his own, and she yields her individuality; her identity is lost, merged in that of her husband. She is a mere machine for his will to move and control, a creature of his pleasure. He thinks for her, decides for her, and acts for her. She dishonors God in occupying this passive position. She has a responsibility before God, which it is her duty to preserve.
(RH September 26, 1899, 7)
When the wife yields her body and mind to the control of her husband, being passive to his will in all things, sacrificing her conscience, her dignity, and even her identity, she loses the opportunity of exerting that mighty influence for good which she should possess, to elevate her husband. She could soften his stern nature, and her sanctifying influence could be exerted in a manner to refine and purify, leading him to strive earnestly to govern his passions, and be more spiritually minded, that they might be partakers together of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. The power of influence can be great to lead the mind to high and noble themes, above the low, sensual indulgences for which the heart unrenewed by grace naturally seeks. If the wife feels that in order to please her husband she must come down to his standard, when animal passion is the principal basis of his love, and controls his actions, she displeases God; for she fails to exert a sanctifying influence upon her husband. If she feels that she must submit to his animal passions without a word of remonstrance, she does not understand her duty to him nor to her God. Sexual excess will effectually destroy a love for devotional exercises, will take from the brain the substance needed to nourish the system, and will most effectually exhaust the vitality. No woman should aid her husband in this work of self-destruction. She will not do it if she is enlightened, and has true love for him.
(RH September 26, 1899, 8)
The more the animal passions are indulged, the stronger do they become, and the more violent will be their clamors for indulgence. Let God-fearing men and women awake to their duty. Many professed Christians are suffering with paralysis of nerve and brain because of their intemperance in this direction. Rottenness is in the bones and marrow of many who are regarded as good men, who pray and weep, and who stand in high places, but whose polluted carcasses will never pass the portals of the heavenly city.
(RH September 26, 1899, 9)
Oh that I could make all understand their obligation to God to preserve the mental and physical organism in the best condition to render perfect service to their Maker! Let the Christian wife refrain, both in word and act, from exciting the animal passions of her husband. Many have no strength at all to waste in this direction. From their youth up they have weakened the brain and sapped the constitution by the gratification of animal passions. Self-denial and temperance should be the watchword in their married life; then the children born to them will not be so liable to have the moral and intellectual organs weak, and the animal strong. Vice in children is almost universal. Is there not a cause? Who have given them the stamp of character? May the Lord open the eyes of all to see that they are standing in slippery places!
(RH September 26, 1899, 10)
From the picture that has been presented before me of the corruption of men and women professing godliness, I have feared that I should altogether lose confidence in humanity. I have seen that a fearful stupor is upon nearly all. It is almost impossible to arouse the very ones who should be awakened, so as to have any just sense of the power which Satan holds over minds. They are not aware of the corruption teeming all around them. Satan has blinded their minds, and lulled them to carnal security. The failures in our efforts to bring others up to understand the great dangers that beset souls, have sometimes led me to fear that my ideas of the depravity of the human heart were exaggerated. But when facts are brought to us showing the sad deformity of one who has dared to minister in sacred things while corrupt at heart, one whose sin-stained hands have profaned the vessels of the Lord, I am sure that I have not drawn the picture any too strong.
(RH September 26, 1899, 11)