YAHUSHUA THE CENTER OF THE MESSAGE

Yahushua the Center of the Message

The third angel's message calls for the presentation of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, and this truth must be brought before the world; but the great Center of attraction, Yahushua, must not be left out of the third angel's message. By many who have been engaged in the work for this time, Yahushua has been made secondary, and theories and arguments have had the first place. The glory of Yahuwah that was revealed to Moses in regard to the divine character has not been made prominent. The Master said to Moses, "I will make all my goodness pass before thee" (Exodus 33:19). "And the Master passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Master, the Master Yahuwah, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty" (Exodus 34:6-7).

A vail has seemed to be before the eyes of many who have labored in the cause, so that when they presented the law, they have not had views of Yahushua, and have not proclaimed the fact that, where sin abounded, grace doth much more abound. It is at the cross of Calvary that mercy and truth meet together, where righteousness and peace kiss each other. The sinner must ever look toward Calvary; and with the simple faith of a little child, he must rest in the merits of Yahushua, accepting his righteousness and believing in his mercy. Laborers in the cause of truth should present the righteousness of Yahushua, not as new light, but as precious light that has for a time been lost sight of by the people. We are to accept Yahushua as our personal Saviour, and he imputes unto us the righteousness of Yahuwah in Yahushua. Let us repeat and make prominent the truth that John has portrayed: "Herein is love, not that we loved Yahuwah, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins"(1 John 4:10).

In the love of Yahuwah has been opened the most marvelous vein of precious truth, and the treasures of the grace of Yahushua are laid open before the church and the world. "For Yahuwah so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). What love is this,--what marvelous, unfathomable love!--that would lead Yahushua to die for us while we were yet sinners. What a loss it is to the soul who understands the strong claims of the law, and who yet fails to understand the grace of Yahushua which doth much more abound! It is true that the law of Yahuwah reveals the love of Yahuwah when it is preached as the truth in Yahushua; for the gift of Yahushua to this guilty world must be largely dwelt upon in every discourse. It is no wonder that hearts have not been melted by the truth, when it has been presented in a cold and lifeless manner. No wonder faith has staggered at the promises of Yahuwah, when ministers and workers have failed to present Yahushua in his relation to the law of Yahuwah. How often should they have assured the people that "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).

Satan is determined that men shall not see the love of Yahuwah, which led him to give his only begotten Son to save the lost race; for it is the goodness of Yahuwah that leads men to repentance. O, how shall we succeed in setting forth before the world the deep, precious love of Yahuwah? In no other way can we compass it than by exclaiming, "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of Yahuwah"! Let us say to sinners," (1 John 3:1). "Behold the Lamb of Yahuwah, which taketh away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). By presenting Yahushua as the representative of the Father, we shall be able to dispel the shadow that Satan has cast upon our pathway, in order that we shall not see the mercy and love of Yahuwah's inexpressible love as manifested in Yahushua.

Look at the cross of Calvary. It is a standing pledge of the boundless love, the measureless mercy, of the heavenly Father. O that all might repent and do their first works. When the churches do this, they will love Yahuwah supremely and their neighbors as themselves. Ephraim will not envy Judah, and Judah will not vex Ephraim. Divisions will then be healed, the harsh sounds of strife will no more be heard in the borders of Israel. Through the grace freely given them of Yahuwah, all will seek to answer the prayer of Yahushua, that his disciples should be one, even as he and the Father are one. Peace, love, mercy, and benevolence will be the abiding principles of the soul. The love of Yahushua will be the theme of every tongue, and it will no more be said by the true Witness, "I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love"(Revelation 2:4). The people of Yahuwah will be abiding in Yahushua, the love of Yahushua will be revealed, and one Spirit will animate all hearts, regenerating and renewing all in the image of Yahushua, fashioning all hearts alike. As living branches of the true Vine, all will be united to Yahushua, the living head. Yahushua will abide in every heart, guiding, comforting, sanctifying, and presenting to the world the unity of the followers of Yahushua, thus bearing testimony that the heavenly credentials are supplied to the remnant church. In the oneness of Yahushua's church it will be proved that Yahuwah sent his only begotten Son into the world.

When Yahuwah's people are one in the unity of the Spirit, all of Phariseeism, all of self-righteousness, which was the sin of the Jewish nation, will be expelled from all hearts. The mold of Yahushua will be upon each individual member of his body, and his people will be new bottles into which he can pour his new wine, and the new wine will not break the bottles. Yahuwah will make known the mystery which hath been hidden for ages. He will make known what are the "riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Yahushua in you the hope of glory: whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Yahushua: whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily" (Colossians 1:27-28).

Yahushua came to impart to the human soul the Holy Spirit, by which the love of Yahuwah is shed abroad in the heart; but it is impossible to endow men with the Holy Spirit, who are set in their ideas, whose doctrines are all stereotyped and unchangeable, who are walking after the traditions and commandments of men, as were the Jews in the time of Yahushua. They were very punctilious in the observances of the church, very rigorous in following their forms, but they were destitute of vitality and religious devotion. They were represented by Yahushua as like the dry skins which were then used as bottles. The gospel of Yahushua could not be placed in their hearts; for there was no room to contain it. They could not be the new bottles into which he could pour his new wine. Yahushua was obliged to seek elsewhere than among the scribes and the Pharisees for bottles for his doctrine of truth and life. He must find men who were willing to have regeneration of heart. He came to give to men new hearts. He said, "A new heart also will I give you" (Ezekiel 36:26). But the self- righteous of that day and of this day feel no need of having a new heart. Yahushua passed by the scribes and the Pharisees, for they felt no need of a Saviour. They were wedded to forms and ceremonies. These services had been instituted by Yahushua; they had been full of vitality and spiritual beauty; but the Jews had lost the spiritual life from their ceremonies, and clung to the dead forms after spiritual life was extinct among them. When they departed from the requirements and commandments of Yahuwah, they sought to supply the place of that which they had lost, by multiplying their own requirements, and making more rigorous demands than had Yahuwah; and the more rigid they grew, the less of the love and Spirit of Yahuwah they manifested. Yahushua said to the people:"The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do ye not after their works: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, and love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. . . . Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone" (Matthew 23:1-23).

The remnant church is called to go through an experience similar to that of the Jews; and the true Witness, who walks up and down in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, has a solemn message to bear to his people. He says: "I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent" (Revelation 2:4-5). The love of Yahuwah has been waning in the church, and as a result, the love of self has sprung up into new activity. With the loss of love for Yahuwah there has come the loss of love for the brethren. The church may meet all the description that is given of the Ephesian church, and yet fail in vital Yahuwahliness. Of them Yahushua said, "I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: and hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast labored, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou has left thy first love"(Revelation 2:21-22).

A legal religion has been thought quite the correct religion for this time. But it is a mistake. The rebuke of Yahushua to the Pharisees is applicable to those who have lost from the heart their first love. A cold, legal religion can never lead souls to Yahushua; for it is a loveless, Yahushua-less religion. When fastings and prayers are practiced in a self-justifying spirit, they are abominable to Yahuwah. The solemn assembly for worship, the round of religious ceremonies, the external humiliation, the imposed sacrifice,--all proclaim to the world the testimony that the doer of these things considers himself righteous. These things call attention to the observer of rigorous duties, saying, This man is entitled to heaven. But it is all a deception. Works will not buy for us an entrance into heaven. The one great Offering that has been made is ample for all who will believe. The love of Yahushua will animate the believer with new life. He who drinks from the water of the fountain of life, will be filled with the new wine of the kingdom. Faith in Yahushua will be the means whereby the right spirit and motive will actuate the believer, and all goodness and heavenly-mindedness will proceed from him who looks unto Yahushua, the author and finisher of his faith. Look up to Yahuwah, look not to men. Yahuwah is your heavenly Father who is willing patiently to bear with your infirmities, and to forgive and heal them. "This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true Yahuwah, and Yahushua, whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3). By beholding Yahushua, you will become changed, until you will hate your former pride, your former vanity and self-esteem, your self-righteousness and unbelief. You will cast these sins aside as a worthless burden, and walk humbly, meekly, trustfully, before Yahuwah. You will practice love, patience, gentleness, goodness, mercy, and every grace that dwells in the child of Yahuwah, and will at last find a place among the sanctified and holy.

By:Ellen White
Review and Herald
March 20, 1894