THE STRESS OF THE USAGE OF THE REASON

Many experience stress when they should use the reason, when in the temptation they should see the difference between right and wrong reaction. Before them appear at least two alternatives, two life philosophies, two principles before which they are invited to decide.

Two motivations cover those two life philosophies. Let's assume that one of them is right and another by all means sinful. The man is bewildered because he alone does not have the wisdom to see which is the right one.

If he had the wisdom to unmask the philosophy which stands for the excuse for man's sins, then such wisdom would stand for the danger that he could unmask the motives of his own justice as sinful motives.

The man is in a stress. He would rather not to think or that someone else think instead of him. He would wish that certain sign exist or miracle which would show him what to choose. But, such a sign or miracle would not be just because they would hinder his free choice. The truth is to be accepted only on account of the choice of character which it reveals, so the seeking of the sign instead of understanding of the sense of the truth itself would show that the truth is being accepted by force and not by free will, because of man's wish. God could have made man in that way that he in his mind never falls into mistake but then man would not have the freedom to choose himself or reject God's character (revealed by the truth).

In the stress which induces us to use the reason, examine our motivation and choose the right one, man often reacts in immature way, by running away from the temptation instead by the victory over the temptation. He concludes: "I have to think about all that independently and objectively!" And then he makes a mistake and "confines" himself to think about everything alone, unconscious that he cannot be free and independent from his greatest enemy, his sinful and self- righteous nature. The cause of the prejudice and irrationality not beyond the man but in his motives. From them we cannot escape anywhere.

The only strength which can induce a man to impartially and reasonably think is the strength of love which is, through the truth recognized and dwells in God. Just by neglecting the voice of his sinful and self-righteous nature and by opening of the mind towards the sources of Godly inspiration, man gains the freedom to be limited to his own partiality and to understand the sense of Godly truth - the real unselfish love.

The second alternative is that a man should let himself to his own sinful motives, that they should define whether something is true or not. Then the man tries to feel the truth and as the character of his being differs from the character of the love he needs, he won't be able to experience the truth but he will, with his sinful heart, react to it indifferently or even arrogantly and rebelliously. If the acceptance of the truth we condition by the acceptance of the same by our sinful and self-righteous nature, we would always rather choose the sin and deceit which justify it.

So, a man has at least two alternatives out of which one provokes the trauma of his sinful nature just because it reveals the truth about love which he lacks, while the second alternative represents the excuse for his sinful and self-righteous motives.

The alternative - the encounter with the truth - provokes the feeling of one's own weakness to recommend him to the power of God. The consciousness about one's own superficiality recommends the man to God's wisdom. The consciousness of one's own sinfulness induces him to rely upon God's righteousness. The truth gives man the freedom to be raised above himself and realize the anticipated but otherwise lost sense of existence - love.

SPECIFIC GOD'S INTERVENTION

On account of the sinful life each of us experienced greater or smaller deviations in the usage of the reason and because of that we created difficulties in the understanding of the truth. We must not be discouraged if, in the seeking of the truth, everything is not immediately clear. Even the apostles themselves did not understand everything at once. When Jesus was preaching about the kingdom of God using the stories, he said: "Listen, then, if you have ears." (Matthew 13:9) Listening to the stories about the sower and weeds Christ's disciples maybe seemed to be satisfied and happy as those who have the ears to listen. But, "when Jesus had left the crowd and gone indoors, his disciples came to him and said, 'Tell us what the parable about the weeds in the field means.'" (Matthew 13:36) The future apostles did not understand Christ's stories but they were asking to understand them. Many today make statements that they do not understand spiritual truths and stop there. They hesitate to ask for the answer from Him as if God is indifferent regarding their lack of understanding or powerless to give them the answer.

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." (James 1:5)

"Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars: She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table. She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of the city: Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: As for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him: Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled. Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding." (Proverbs 9:1-6)

If we live according to the light of the truth which is already revealed to us, God will enable us to accept even greater light. "That is why the Lord is going to teach you letter by letter, line by line, lesson by lesson." (Isaiah 28:13) If we rely upon God humbly, He will direct us towards the truth in the way adjusted for us: maybe through elevated feelings, deep inner revelation or in some other way. Such specific God's grace for us will last until we are able to, normally - by simple studying of God's Word, reasonably understand the truth.

We must have in mind that specific God's intervention does not have the purpose to give us the system which will be a compensation for the usage of our reason, but to enable our reason to function correctly. In this is seen the difference between God's and Satan's working methods.

SPECIFIC SATAN'S INTERVENTION

If we pray for greater revelation of the truth and do not live according to which has been given to us, then we reveal bad motives of our curiosity and find ourselves in the temptation to be the prey of Satan's traps.

That problem is being revealed in the appearance of the Church of the "Saints of the last days" of Jesus Christ or popularly called the Church of Mormon. In the beginning of the last century, in the place where more than one of Christian communities were active, Joseph Smith was born. Perplexed by the existence of a large number of religious communities which all appeal to one, the same Holy Scripture and interpret it differently, appealed in his prayer, to the Biblical promise:

"But if any of you lacks wisdom, he should pray to God, who will give it to him; because God gives generously and graciously to all." (James 1:5)

As the answer to the prayer he got the vision which showed him that "Bible lost its authenticity by being copied and that there exists other holy book which will help Bible to restore its original significance." Soon the Book of Mormon came to existence and with it the new Christian community.

When the missionaries of the Church of Mormon told me about this event, I asked them a question:

"Joseph Smith not only got clever and reasonable answer to his question but got one question more. How should I know whether the vision he got is from God or from the Satan?"

(Up to now a lot of prophets have appeared having mutual contradictory teachings with common assertion: that Bible lost its credibility and they are here to bring it back.)

The missionaries answered me:

"Pray to God and He will reveal to you whether Joseph Smith is real or false prophet!"

I answered them:

"Suppose that I turn to God in prayer tonight and as the answer get the vision in which an angel expounds the assertion to me that Joseph Smith is a real prophet. Let's imagine that I also got strong inner conviction and surety in godlike revelation authority. But, how am I to know that my conviction and vision are from God and from the Satan?! I will get one question more!

All in all - three questions:

Why so many religious communities?

Is Joseph Smith real prophet?

And is my vision from God?"

If we pray to God for the specific grace and the revelation of the truth and do not accept the revelation already given to us, we are then tempting God. Joseph Smith had Bible. The Holy Spirit made him realize the truth of God. But, instead to accept and live by the truth already revealed to him, he started to "philosophize" on the subject "which church is the real church?". He noticed that all the three churches in his place had weaknesses in their doctrine and that was his excuse not to live according to those revelations which God was directing to his common sense. He was waiting to learn the whole truth and specifically the truth about the real church. In that way he was tempting God by his blackmailing. Didn't he have enough understandable revelations in the Bible, which could fill his heart with faith, hope and love?

Joseph Smith was praying, but not for the courage to accept and live by the truth which is revealed to him through the Scripture, but for something new which he would be more ready to accept. He was proud of himself before God for he noticed the weaknesses of the churches with which he came into contact and therefore he felt privileged that God would particularly answer to his prayer. The Satan lay claim to this man because he persistently rejected the testimony of the Bible and Holy Spirit. And so, the young man found himself under the power of Satan.

Many pray for the revelation of the truth but not also for the courage to hear and accept it. When they get its revelation, they continue to pray as if nothing is clear to them until Satan gives them what they would like to be the truth. As the criterion of the truth they take that whether something appeals to their sinful heart or not. They want to accept the truth without meeting God to which the truth obliges them. That's why they take superficial attitude toward the truth without understanding so they seek the sign which will be compensation for the understanding and checking of the correctness of their philosophy of life.

They would be ready to accept the truth only if they would be compelled to accept it and because of that they seek some miracle or a sign. But, God does not act that way. When He reveals Himself to a man, He wants to make him reasonable and all specific God's interventions have only that purpose. "The reason shall guard you." (Proverbs 2:11)

If an argument, by which God asserts the authenticity of His inspiration, should be in the very "sign" or "miracle", how would we be sure that it is really from God and from the Satan?!

"Even Satan can disguise himself to look like servants of righteousness." (2 Corinthians 11:14)

Here many persons experience the trauma. They are not ready to stand before God and to confront the responsibility to understand what is really the truth, but, as if they are by some miracle privileged to choose God without meeting Him, think that God would keep them from the trial and temptation. But, God wants us to accept the truth because of the truth, because it is the truth; out of love and not because we are compelled to it by some miracle or sign.

We accept the truth because we understood it, because we realized its purposefulness for our own good and that further means that we accept the truth because we have, through it, understood God's love toward us.

We cannot choose God differently but through His character which the truth reveals to us, so the seeking of the sign shows that we seek God out of interest and not because we really care for Him because of His character.

Trying to accept the truth without rational understanding is as we say to God: "I accept the truth because I have to accept it for the sign says that it is the truth and not because I see, understand and accept Your love in it!"

The seeking of the sign in such a way reveals our fear of the acceptance of the responsibility which the understanding of the truth brings to us. We are afraid of the encounter with the truth which will reprimand our running away from God and our compromise with sin. God respects the freedom of man's will and therefore allows Satan to give man the excuse for anarchy.

"And with all wicked deception for those who are to perish, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends upon them a strong delusion, to make them believe what is false, so that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness." (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12)

"If you indulge stubbornness of heart, and through pride and self-righteousness do not confess your faults, you will be left subject to Satan's temptations. If when the Lord reveals your errors you do not repent or make confession, his providence will bring you over the ground again and again. You will be left to make mistakes of a similar character, you will continue to lack wisdom, and will call sin righteousness, and righteousness sin. The multitude of deceptions that will prevail in these last days will encircle you, and you will change leaders, and not know that you have done so." (EGW RH 16.12.1890)

"On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.'" (Matthew 7:22-23)

"As Spiritualism more closely imitates the nominal Christianity of the day, it has greater power to deceive and ensnare. Satan himself is converted, after the modern order of things. He will appear in the character of an angel of light. Through the agency of Spiritualism, miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and many undeniable wonders will be performed. And as the spirits will profess faith in the Bible, and manifest respect for the institutions of the church, their work will be accepted as a manifestation of divine power." (EGW GC 588)

"We need not be deceived. Wonderful scenes, with which Satan will be closely connected, will soon take place. God's Word declares that Satan will work miracles. He will make people sick, and then will suddenly remove from them his satanic power. They will then be regarded as healed. ... Many who have had great light will fail to walk in the light, because they have not become one with Christ." (EGW Letter 57, 1904)

"I saw that soon it would be considered blasphemy to speak against the rapping, and that it would spread more and more, that Satan's power would increase, and some of his devoted followers would have power to work miracles, and even to bring down fire from heaven in the sight of men. I was shown that by the rapping and mesmerism these modern magicians would yet account for all the miracles wrought by our Lord Jesus Christ, and that many would believe that all the mighty works of the Son of God when on earth were accomplished by this same power." (EGW Ew 86, 1850)

"When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn." (Isaiah 8:19-20)

"The people of God are directed to the Scriptures as their safeguard against the influence of false teachers and the delusive power of spirits of darkness. Satan employs every possible device to prevent men from obtaining a knowledge of the Bible; for its plain utterances reveal his deceptions. At every revival of God's work, the prince of evil is aroused to more intense activity; he is now putting forth his utmost efforts for a final struggle against Christ and his followers. The last great delusion is soon to open before us. Antichrist is to perform his marvelous works in our sight. So closely will the counterfeit resemble the true, that it will be impossible to distinguish between them except by the Holy Scriptures. By their testimony every statement and every miracle must be tested." (EGW GC 593 1888)

In order that the authority of deceit get its "power", it makes an effort to deny the authority of the Holy Scripture. It is absolutely all the same whether it gives itself the right of unique legitimate interpreter of God's Word or, maybe, claims that the Bible is changed and so lost its authenticity.