Anchors of Truth

The Inward Outworking - Part 1

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Pr. Stephen Bohr

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Series Code: AOT

Program Code: AOT000029


00:12 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth from the 3ABN Worship Center
00:17 and the Fresno Central Church.
00:18 Truths That Matter with Stephen Bohr.
00:23 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth.
00:25 We are so happy that we can be with you tonight.
00:27 Last night's message was, The Acid Test.
00:30 And that message went into the Sabbath in a very special way.
00:35 And tonight we are doing the first part, Pastor Stephen Bohr
00:39 will be, of a message entitled, The Wiping Out Of The IOU's.
00:44 This is part one and it is also regarding the Sabbath
00:48 in this series entitled, Truth That Matters.
00:53 We are very excited to have Pastor Stephen Bohr with us
00:57 for this series.
00:58 Anchors Of Truth has been well received by our viewers
01:02 all over the world.
01:04 We have received so many emails and letters telling us
01:08 that these series that we have been presenting, one each month,
01:12 have been extremely encouraging and informative
01:17 in these last days.
01:19 And so we are really happy that we can have this series,
01:23 and especially that Pastor Stephen Bohr,
01:26 the Speaker/Director of Secrets Unsealed
01:30 and also the pastor of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
01:34 in Fresno California, as our speaker.
01:38 Before he speaks tonight, we are going to be privileged
01:42 to listen as Melody Firestone brings us a beautiful song.
01:48 And Melody, we're so happy to have you with us.
01:52 Tell me, what are you going to sing tonight?
01:54 God's Greatest Glory.
02:20 In the beginning of creation
02:29 when the world was formed,
02:37 though God and His splendor this world He had rendered,
02:46 still the best was yet to come.
02:54 God's greatest glory,
03:02 the world's love story,
03:10 written just for me.
03:20 Jesus is God's
03:28 greatest glory.
03:45 From His birth in a manger to His death on Calvary,
03:56 He fulfilled the Father's plan.
04:03 Jesus Christ, love's sacrifice,
04:12 giving hope to every man.
04:21 God's greatest glory,
04:29 the world's love story,
04:36 written just for me.
04:46 Jesus is God's
04:54 greatest glory.
05:03 Jesus is God's
05:11 greatest glory.
05:28 Amen, thank you so much, Melody.
05:31 We appreciate that music and we appreciate you
05:35 as an individual.
05:37 And right now we are going in just a few moments
05:41 to be joining Pastor Stephen Bohr.
05:44 And we are so happy that he is able to join with us
05:47 and to present a series entitled, Truth That Matters.
05:53 This is part of our Anchors Of Truth series.
05:56 We usually do all of these series here in West Frankfort,
06:00 but this summer, we have gone on the road
06:03 in what C.A. Murray refers to as Anchors Away.
06:07 We came to you from Los Angeles California
06:10 with Pastor John Carter.
06:12 Now we are coming to you tonight here in Thompsonville,
06:17 but also, with the miracles of technology,
06:21 from Fresno California with Pastor Stephen Bohr.
06:25 Next month we will be live coming to you from
06:28 Sacramento California for Pastor Doug Batchelor.
06:34 So these are three that are coming to you from California,
06:38 from three ministers who preach the gospel of Jesus Christ
06:43 in a very clear and straightforward manner.
06:47 We appreciate that so very much.
06:50 And tonight as the second part of our series on the Sabbath,
06:55 Wiping Out The IOU's.
06:59 And this is part one of the series on Wiping Out The IOU's.
07:07 But we hope that you are able to find some real deep new truths
07:15 concerning God's day of rest.
07:18 I've know Pastor Stephen Bohr for many many years.
07:21 I have never been disappointed even once in his ability
07:26 to find beautiful truth.
07:28 May God bless him.
07:33 Let's bow our heads.
07:35 Loving Father in heaven, we count it a great privilege
07:39 to be gathered here, to open Your Word,
07:42 to hear Your voice speaking to us,
07:45 through the many counsels that You give in that Word.
07:48 But Father, we need the help of Your Holy Spirit
07:51 because human wisdom cannot even begin to grasp
07:55 the great things from Your Holy Word.
07:58 And so we ask, Lord, that You will enlighten our minds,
08:01 that You will open our hearts, of not only those who are
08:04 gathered here, but those who are watching on television.
08:07 We ask Lord, that You will transform hearts
08:10 and change lives.
08:12 And we thank You for hearing our prayer,
08:14 for we ask it in Jesus' name, amen.
08:20 Since early in its history, the Seventh-day Adventist Church
08:25 has taught consistently that the Sabbath is the seal of God.
08:33 As far as we know, the first individual to discover this
08:37 from a study of Scripture was a sea captain
08:41 by the name of Joseph Bates.
08:44 In 1846, he wrote a small booklet.
08:48 And the name of the booklet is,
08:49 The Seventh Day Sabbath, A Perpetual Sign.
08:54 In that booklet, he presented the Biblical arguments
08:58 that show beyond any doubt, that the Sabbath
09:01 is the seal of the living God.
09:05 Now in the course of time, in a very short period of time,
09:08 in fact, Ellen G. White came to agree with Joseph Bates,
09:13 that the Sabbath is indeed the seal of the living God.
09:17 In fact, unequivocally and repeatedly, Ellen White,
09:22 in her writings, states that the Sabbath is
09:26 the seal of the living God.
09:29 And as we begin our study today, I would like to present several
09:33 of those quotations from the writings of Ellen White
09:36 where she clearly identifies the Sabbath as the seal of God.
09:41 I could read many more statements than the ones
09:43 that I'm bringing here to you.
09:45 Actually, I could probably read 20 minutes of statements
09:49 from the writings of Ellen White where she identifies the
09:52 Sabbath as the seal of God.
09:53 But I've chosen just a few very clear references
09:57 from her writings.
09:58 This first of these is found in, Signs Of The Times,
10:01 May 13, 1886.
10:05 And this is what she says.
10:09 The Decalogue is the Ten Commandments.
10:27 Now you'll notice in this statement that she uses
10:29 two words interchangeably.
10:31 The word "seal" and the word "sign".
10:35 The next statement is found in the book,
10:37 Patriarchs And Prophets, page 307.
10:40 This is one of the five books of The Conflict Series.
10:44 And in Patriarchs And Prophets, page 307, once again
10:49 she identifies the fourth commandment,
10:51 the Sabbath commandment, as the seal of God.
10:54 This is what she states.
11:23 So she says that the Sabbath commandment contains
11:26 the seal of God, and there it is affixed to His law.
11:32 The next statement that I would like to read comes from
11:35 Signs Of The Times, November 1, 1899.
11:40 Once again, she's clear that the seal of God is the Sabbath.
11:45 This is what she writes, inspired by God's Holy Spirit.
11:56 And now notice she uses another synonymous word.
12:09 Once again she uses "seal" and "sign" interchangeably.
12:15 The next statement, we'll read a couple of more statements,
12:19 Special Testimony To Battle Creek, 1898.
12:23 On page 6 of this testimony, she states, once again
12:27 interchangeably "sign" and "seal".
12:37 There, she identifies the seal as the observance
12:39 of the seventh-day Sabbath.
12:41 So she says:
12:51 One final statement that I would like to read comes from,
12:54 Manuscript Releases, volume 4, page 425, where she states:
13:14 So time after time after time, in her writings,
13:17 she states that the Sabbath is the seal, or the sign, of God.
13:23 But now we have a problem.
13:26 Ellen White appears to contradict the
13:29 testimony of Scripture.
13:30 And I emphasize the word "appears" because she doesn't
13:33 really contradict Scripture.
13:35 You see, there are three verses in the writings of
13:39 the apostle Paul where he identifies the seal as
13:44 the Holy Spirit, or he relates the seal to the Holy Spirit.
13:47 And so some people within the Seventh-day Adventist Church,
13:51 and many outside the Seventh-day Adventist Church,
13:53 criticize Ellen White.
13:55 And they say, "She said that the Sabbath was the seal of God,
13:58 when Scripture makes it very very clear that the seal
14:02 is the Holy Spirit."
14:04 Now is there really a discrepancy?
14:07 Or upon further scrutiny and more careful consideration,
14:12 is there no contradiction between
14:14 Ellen White and Scripture?
14:16 I believe that there is no contradiction.
14:18 We have to study this thing carefully and not come to
14:23 hasty quick conclusions.
14:25 Allow me to read the three statements from the writings
14:28 of the apostle Paul where he identifies the Holy Spirit
14:32 as the seal, or as the sealer.
14:35 The first is found in Ephesians chapter 1 and verses 13 and 14.
14:45 Here, the apostle Paul inspired by God's Spirit, says,
14:49 "In Him," that is in Jesus, "you also trusted, after you
14:54 heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation;
14:58 in whom also, having believed," that is, we believed in Jesus,
15:03 "you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
15:09 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption
15:13 of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory."
15:16 Explicitly, the apostle Paul says, "You were sealed
15:21 with the Holy Spirit of Promise."
15:24 So Ellen White says the seal is the Sabbath,
15:27 the apostle Paul appears to say that the seal
15:29 is the Holy Spirit.
15:31 The second text from the writings of the apostle Paul
15:34 is found in Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 30.
15:37 Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 30.
15:41 Once again, the apostle Paul relates the seal of God
15:45 to the Holy Spirit.
15:46 This is what he states.
15:48 "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom
15:54 you were sealed for the day of redemption."
15:58 Once again, Holy Spirit and seal used together.
16:03 The third text from the writings of the apostle Paul
16:06 is found in 2 Corinthians chapter 1 and verses 21 and 22.
16:12 2 Corinthians chapter 1 and verses 21 and 22.
16:17 Once again, the apostle Paul relates the seal to the
16:22 work of the Holy Spirit.
16:24 And this is how it reads.
16:25 "Now He who establishes us with you in Christ
16:30 and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us
16:37 and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee."
16:41 Now we have a very important little clue here in this verse;
16:45 where the seal is placed.
16:49 Let's read it again.
16:50 "Now He who establishes us with you in Christ
16:54 and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us
16:59 and given us the Spirit..." Where?
17:02 Oh, this is a critically important detail.
17:05 "...in our hearts as a guarantee."
17:08 So the apostle Paul is speaking about the internal work
17:12 of the Holy Spirit in the human heart.
17:15 That's a very important clue.
17:17 Now how do we resolve this seeming discrepancy,
17:22 or this apparent discrepancy between what Ellen White says
17:27 about the seal of God and what the apostle Paul
17:30 has to say about the seal of God?
17:33 The fact is, that we're going to notice that Ellen White
17:37 and the apostle Paul are emphasizing two different
17:40 sides of the same truth.
17:44 Ellen White is emphasizing the external visible,
17:49 whereas the apostle Paul is emphasizing the internal
17:53 invisible work of the Holy Spirit.
17:56 In other words, they're not contradicting one another.
17:59 They are complementing one another.
18:02 They actually are two sides of one coin.
18:06 Ellen White is emphasizing the external evidence
18:10 of the internal work of the Holy Spirit.
18:12 And the apostle Paul is emphasizing the internal
18:16 work of the Holy Spirit in the human heart.
18:19 There is no contradiction.
18:22 Now I'd like to use a biblical example.
18:24 Actually, we're going to use three biblical examples
18:27 to illustrate this relationship between the internal
18:31 and the external, so that we understand it
18:33 a little bit better.
18:35 And the first example that we're going to use is the
18:38 example of circumcision.
18:41 Now circumcision, of course, was an external act
18:46 that God commanded Israel to perform.
18:51 Let's read Leviticus chapter 12 and verse 3.
18:55 Leviticus chapter 12 and verse 3.
18:57 You'll notice that the external act, the physical act of
19:00 circumcision was commanded by God.
19:04 It says there, "And on the eighth day
19:08 the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised."
19:14 It doesn't say that it's optional.
19:16 God is saying that his flesh shall be circumcised.
19:21 Is that on order?
19:22 It most certainly is an order.
19:24 Is it speaking about the external act of circumcision?
19:28 It most certainly is the physical act.
19:31 Now, how important was the external act of circumcision?
19:36 Genesis chapter 17 and verse 14 tells us
19:40 how important circumcision was, the external act itself.
19:44 It says there in Genesis chapter 17 and verse 14,
19:48 "And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised
19:55 in the flesh of his foreskin..."
19:56 Is this a physical act, yes or no?
19:58 Absolutely.
19:59 "..in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be..." What?
20:04 "...shall be cut off from his people; he has
20:08 broken My covenant."
20:10 Was the external act a matter of life and death?
20:13 Absolutely.
20:15 God says, "If you're not circumcised physically and
20:18 externally, you will be cut off from My people
20:21 and you have broken My covenant."
20:23 This was such a serious thing, folks, that one time
20:27 Moses was coming back from Midian to Egypt.
20:31 And on the way, the Bible says that the Lord met him.
20:34 Now Ellen White clarifies that God sent an angel to meet him.
20:39 And the Lord, it says in Exodus, threatened to kill Moses.
20:46 And the reason why He threatened to kill Moses
20:48 was to emphasize and underline the extreme importance of a
20:52 ceremony that Moses had neglected to perform on his son.
20:57 Moses had not circumcised his son because his wife
21:01 did not want his son to be circumcised.
21:03 But Moses went back home and he told his wife what had happened,
21:07 and she herself circumcised her son when she heard
21:10 what a serious matter this was.
21:13 Now if you want to read this story, by the way,
21:16 it's found in Exodus chapter 4 and verses 24 through 26.
21:22 So the external act of circumcision was
21:25 the sign of the covenant.
21:27 It was a very important thing.
21:29 But there was a deeper meaning to circumcision.
21:33 There was something internal that needed to exist
21:37 in order for the external act to have value.
21:41 And in order to understand this, we must analyze
21:44 the experience of Abraham.
21:47 Go with me to Genesis chapter 15 and verse 6.
21:51 Genesis chapter 15 and verse 6.
21:54 Here, God comes to Abraham in a dream and tells
22:00 Abraham that He is going to have a son in his old age.
22:04 This will be the son of the promise from whom
22:06 the Seed will come, from whom the Messiah will come.
22:11 In fact, we know that Abraham understood this.
22:14 Because the Lord Jesus, in John chapter 8 and verse 56,
22:18 speaking to the Jews said, "Your father Abraham
22:23 rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad."
22:28 Did Abraham understand that through him,
22:32 the Messiah was going to come?
22:33 Absolutely.
22:34 Now did Abraham believe what God told him?
22:37 Absolutely.
22:39 Genesis 15 verse 6 says, "And he believed in the Lord,
22:44 and He accounted it to him for..." What?
22:48 "...He accounted it to him for righteousness."
22:52 How did Abraham become righteous?
22:54 He became righteous by an internal act of... What?
22:58 ...of faith.
22:59 He believed God.
23:01 And by the way, belief is something that takes
23:03 place in the heart.
23:04 The New Testament speaks about believing in the heart.
23:07 In other words, Abraham believed the Lord in his heart.
23:11 And that was an internal act of Abraham.
23:14 And the Bible says that at the moment that he believed,
23:17 it was reckoned to him as righteousness.
23:20 In other words, God took the righteousness that the
23:23 Messiah would develop, and He placed it to Abraham's account.
23:29 And Abraham was looked upon as if he had never sinned.
23:36 Now by the way, this act of circumcision took place
23:39 when Abraham was 84 years old.
23:42 Very interesting.
23:44 84 years old.
23:46 Not the act of circumcision, but actually the believing in God
23:50 and being accounted to righteousness.
23:52 Now, we come to circumcision in Genesis chapter 17 and verse 24.
23:57 Now Abraham is 99 years old.
24:01 How many years had passed since he believed the Lord
24:04 and it was reckoned to him as righteousness?
24:07 Fifteen years have gone by.
24:09 Abraham had not been circumcised.
24:11 He believed in the Lord and it was accounted to him
24:13 as righteousness.
24:15 But now if you read this text, Genesis 17 verse 24,
24:20 the Lord tells Abraham to get circumcised.
24:25 Now the apostle Paul reminisces about this experience
24:28 and explains the meaning of it.
24:30 We need to understand that Abraham was saved
24:33 when He believed God.
24:34 It was reckoned to him as righteousness.
24:37 But he was not circumcised until 15 years later.
24:40 In fact, we're going to notice that circumcision was the sign
24:43 or the visible announcement that he had believed the Lord,
24:47 and the Lord had given him His righteousness.
24:50 Now the apostle Paul explains the experience of Abraham,
24:55 the theological meaning of it.
24:57 Go with me to Romans chapter 4 and verses 11 and 12.
25:02 Romans chapter 4 and verses 11 and 12.
25:06 Here, the apostle Paul is speaking about this
25:09 experience of Abraham believing in God and then later on
25:13 being circumcised.
25:14 This is what he says, inspired by God's Spirit.
25:18 "And he received the sign of circumcision..."
25:21 What was circumcision?
25:23 It was a sign.
25:25 "He received the sign of circumcision, a seal,"
25:28 interchangeably, "a seal of the righteousness of the faith
25:33 which he had while still..." What?
25:35 "...uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those
25:40 who believe, though they are uncircumcised,
25:43 that righteousness might be imputed to them also,"
25:46 verse 12, "and the father of circumcision to those who
25:51 not only are of the circumcision,
25:53 but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father
25:57 Abraham had while still uncircumcised."
26:01 Are you understanding the apostle Paul's argument?
26:03 He's saying that Abraham was saved when he was 84 years old,
26:07 when he believed God and it was accounted to him
26:09 for righteousness.
26:10 But the circumcision was given as a... What?
26:14 ...as the sign or the visible seal of the experience
26:19 of salvation that had come to the heart of Abraham.
26:24 And so you have the internal experience
26:27 and you have the external rite of circumcision
26:30 as an announcement, a visible manifestation,
26:33 of that experience.
26:36 Now the Bible tells us that circumcision was much more
26:39 than just taking the foreskin from the human body.
26:43 I want you to notice the deeper dimension of circumcision.
26:47 It wasn't only an external act.
26:48 The external act only had meaning if you had the
26:51 internal experience.
26:53 Let's read several texts.
26:54 Deuteronomy chapter 30 and verse 6.
27:01 Here, Moses is speaking to the children of Israel.
27:05 And he says, inspired by God's Spirit, the following,
27:09 "And the Lord your God will circumcise..." What?
27:13 Ah, is that an internal experience?
27:15 Absolutely.
27:17 "The Lord your God will circumcise your heart
27:20 and the heart of your descendants..."
27:22 What does that mean, "circumcise your heart"?
27:24 He explains. "...to..." What?
27:26 "...to love the Lord your God with all your heart
27:30 and with all your soul, that you may live."
27:33 Was there something internal about circumcision?
27:36 Absolutely.
27:38 The external act of circumcision without the internal experience
27:42 was valueless.
27:44 Notice Deuteronomy chapter 10 and verse 16.
27:49 The same idea of circumcision being an internal experience,
27:53 and the outward circumcision just as
27:56 the visible manifestation.
27:58 Notice what we find in Deuteronomy 10 verse 16.
28:02 "Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart,
28:07 and be stiff-necked no longer."
28:10 Being stiff-necked means; bullheaded, full of yourself.
28:15 In other words, what is meant by, "circumcise the
28:19 foreskin of your heart?"
28:20 It means that your selfishness is... What?
28:22 ...broken in your heart.
28:25 Now the apostle Paul also reminisces about his own
28:28 personal experience with the Lord, how before he was a
28:32 Christian, he boasted about, you know, being from the tribe of
28:35 Benjamin, circumcised the eighth day, and so on.
28:39 He says, "All of that, I discovered, was valueless
28:42 without Jesus Christ."
28:43 Notice what he had to say about circumcision
28:45 in Philippians 3 verse 3.
28:47 In Philippians 3, he tells the story of his conversion;
28:51 how he thought before and how he thought afterwards.
28:54 Philippians 3 verse 3.
28:56 The apostle Paul says, "For we are the circumcision,
28:59 who..." What? "...who worship God..."
29:02 Who worship God how?
29:04 "...in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no
29:08 confidence in the flesh."
29:10 In other words, we don't have confidence in circumcision
29:12 as a saving act.
29:14 He says, "We are the circumcision, who worship
29:17 God in the Spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus,
29:20 and have no confidence in the flesh."
29:22 Is circumcision deeper than just the physical act?
29:25 Absolutely.
29:27 Let's notice one more text.
29:28 Romans chapter 2 verses 28 and 29,
29:31 where the apostle Paul once again is speaking about the
29:34 internal meaning of circumcision.
29:37 He says there in Romans 2 verses 28 and 29,
29:41 "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly..."
29:48 What identified a Jew?
29:50 Circumcision.
29:52 The apostle Paul is saying, "For he is not a Jew
29:54 who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision
29:58 that which is..." What?
29:59 "...outward in the flesh."
30:01 By the way, was it important to be circumcised in the flesh?
30:05 Did we notice that?
30:06 The apostle Paul is not saying, "Oh you know that command
30:10 that God gave, that wasn't important."
30:11 No, no. He's saying that there has to be something deeper.
30:14 So he says, "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly,
30:17 nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh;
30:21 but he is a Jew who is one..." What?
30:24 "...inwardly."
30:25 See, there you have the outward and the inward.
30:27 "...he is a Jew who is one inwardly;
30:30 and circumcision is that of the..." What?
30:33 "...of the heart..."
30:34 And then he says, "...in the..." What?
30:35 "...in the Spirit, not in the letter;
30:38 whose praise is not from men but from God."
30:43 Does circumcision have an external dimension,
30:45 physical dimension, visible?
30:47 Absolutely.
30:48 Does it also have an invisible internal dimension?
30:51 Circumcision?
30:52 Absolutely.
30:53 One thing does not annul the other.
30:55 They are two sides of one coin.
30:58 Now let me make something very clear about circumcision.
31:02 Circumcision was clearly established
31:05 as a Jewish institution.
31:09 It was established after the entrance of sin.
31:14 Furthermore, the Bible makes it clear, and that's going to be
31:17 our next point, that baptism replaced circumcision.
31:22 The New Testament, the apostle Paul makes that clear
31:24 that circumcision was replaced by baptism.
31:29 Furthermore, the Jerusalem council made it explicit
31:34 that people no longer needed to be circumcised,
31:38 that circumcision was done away with.
31:41 Reviewing once again, this is very important.
31:44 Circumcision was clearly established
31:46 as a Jewish institution.
31:47 It was established after sin.
31:50 It was replaced by baptism, according to the clear testimony
31:54 of the New Testament.
31:55 And the Jerusalem council in Acts 15 makes it very clear
32:00 that circumcision no longer needs to be observed.
32:05 Not so with the Sabbath.
32:08 Now I need to clarify that the reason I'm using circumcision
32:12 is not to draw a precise parallel between
32:16 circumcision and the Sabbath.
32:17 I'm using circumcision just to show that there are rites
32:21 and ceremonies that God gave that have an internal dimension
32:25 and have an external dimension.
32:27 I'm only using this as an example so that we can
32:30 then understand how the Sabbath has an internal meaning and
32:34 has an external meaning.
32:35 Now the Sabbath is different than circumcision, however,
32:39 in the sense that the Sabbath was created before sin.
32:46 The Bible makes that clear.
32:48 The Sabbath was made for all people.
32:51 The Sabbath was made for man.
32:54 And there is no evidence in the New Testament whatsoever
32:58 that Sunday or something else replaced the Sabbath
33:01 and that we no longer have to keep the Sabbath.
33:04 In other words, the Sabbath is in a different category
33:07 than circumcision.
33:08 The only reason I'm using circumcision,
33:10 and I will use baptism and some other rites as well,
33:13 is so that we can see that there's no conflict between
33:17 the internal and the external, but they actually
33:20 complement one another.
33:22 Now I mentioned that according to Scripture,
33:25 baptism takes the place of circumcision.
33:29 Now let's examine that concept in Colossians chapter 2
33:32 and verses 11 and 12.
33:40 Here, the apostle Paul explicitly states
33:43 that circumcision has been replaced by baptism.
33:46 This is what he says.
33:48 "In Him," that is in Jesus, "you were also circumcised
33:53 with the circumcision made..." How?
33:57 Ah, this is not physical circumcision.
33:59 "...with the circumcision made without hands..."
34:03 Now what does that mean?
34:04 "...by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh..."
34:07 So what does the foreskin represent?
34:09 It represents the sins of the what?
34:12 "...of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ..."
34:15 Now what is the circumcision of Christ that removes the
34:18 foreskin, spiritually speaking?
34:20 Notice verse 12.
34:21 "...buried with Him in..." What?
34:24 "...in baptism..."
34:26 So what replaces circumcision?
34:27 Baptism.
34:29 "...buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised
34:33 with Him through faith in the working of God,
34:35 who raised Him from the dead."
34:38 So baptism replaces circumcision by the clear testimony
34:44 of the New Testament.
34:45 Not so with the seventh day Sabbath.
34:48 Now let's talk a little bit about baptism,
34:52 which is a ceremony that now the Christian church celebrates
34:55 instead of circumcision, which was done away with.
35:00 Is there an internal and an external dimension
35:05 to the rite or to the ceremony of baptism?
35:08 Most certainly, yes.
35:10 Go with me to Mark chapter 16 and we'll read verses 15 and 16.
35:17 And we're going to read it carefully because this passage
35:21 has the internal as well as the external.
35:24 Notice Mark chapter 16 and verses 15 and 16.
35:30 This is the great commission that Jesus gives
35:32 to His disciples.
35:33 "And He said to them, 'Go into all the world
35:36 and preach the gospel to every creature.'"
35:39 Now listen carefully.
35:41 "He who believes..."
35:44 Is that an internal act?
35:46 The New Testament says you believe with your heart.
35:48 Abraham believed God and it was accounted
35:52 to him as righteousness.
35:53 So it says, "He who believes, it's not necessary
35:56 for them to be baptized."
35:58 Is that what He says?
35:59 No.
36:01 It's not either or, but both and.
36:04 He says, "He who believes," that's the internal,
36:07 "and is baptized will be..." What? "...saved."
36:11 Do you need to be externally baptized in order to be saved?
36:15 Now that's not talking about the exceptions
36:16 like the thief on the cross.
36:17 God takes those things into account.
36:20 You know, some people use that.
36:21 They says, "Well what about the thief on the cross."
36:23 And I tell them, "You're not a thief and
36:25 you're not on the cross."
36:28 It's that simple. Don't use that as an excuse.
36:30 Those are exceptions to the rule.
36:32 People on their death bed who can't be baptized.
36:35 God knows and He takes into account their heart
36:37 because they're not able to do it.
36:39 But God expects that if we can do it, we should do it.
36:42 And so it says, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved;
36:46 but he who does not believe will be condemned."
36:50 So is there an external aspect to baptism?
36:52 Yes.
36:53 Is there an external rite of baptism?
36:56 Do they annul one another?
36:58 Absolutely not.
36:59 The other text that I want us to notice about baptism
37:02 is found in 1 Peter chapter 3 and verses 21 and 22.
37:07 Once again, the two dimensions are presented in this passage
37:11 written by the apostle Peter under the inspiration
37:14 of the Holy Spirit.
37:20 Here the apostle Peter says, "There is also an antitype
37:25 which now saves us..."
37:28 So there's something that saves us, he says.
37:30 What is that?
37:32 "...baptism."
37:33 You say, "What? Baptism saves us?"
37:36 But there's more to the story.
37:37 It's just not only the external act.
37:40 Let's continue reading.
37:41 "...baptism, not the removal of the filth of the flesh..."
37:46 That would be external, right?
37:48 but the answer of a..." What?
37:51 "...of a good conscience..."
37:53 Is that internal?
37:54 "...the answer of a good conscience toward God,
37:57 through the resurrection of Jesus Christ."
38:00 So does baptism have an internal dimension?
38:03 Yes it does.
38:04 Does it also have an external dimension?
38:07 Absolutely.
38:09 Now I'd like to read you some statements from the writings
38:11 of Ellen White on the meaning of baptism.
38:13 She caught this nuance of internal and external;
38:17 the important of believing Christ in the heart
38:21 and then being baptized as an evidence of that,
38:24 as a public proclamation of that fact.
38:27 Ellen White, in the devotional book, God's Amazing Grace,
38:30 page 143, had this to say.
38:44 And she's speaking about the words that the Father spoke
38:46 to Jesus, "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased."
39:01 What happens at baptism?
39:03 God places His what? Signature.
39:05 So does God place that as a great big tattoo
39:07 on your forehead?
39:08 Absolutely not.
39:09 Where is the signature?
39:11 The signature is in your heart.
39:13 She says once again:
39:40 Ah, "who truly enter..."
39:42 Are there some who do not truly enter?
39:44 Absolutely.
39:46 She says, they are present; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
40:04 See, you receive Christ into the soul temple first.
40:07 And then you announce it how?
40:09 By baptism.
40:10 She continues saying:
40:21 Now here's another statement.
40:22 Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Volume 6, page 1075.
40:27 It's also an Ellen White statement.
40:29 Listen to what she says.
41:01 Now listen carefully.
41:03 "They have been baptized but they were buried alive."
41:09 Does that baptism mean anything, the external act?
41:13 Absolutely not.
41:16 Just like circumcision as an external act was worthless
41:19 unless it had the corresponding experience in the human heart.
41:24 She continues saying:
41:35 You say, "You can come out of the water
41:39 but the rite is meaningless unless you have truly died
41:42 and resurrected with Jesus Christ, spiritually.
41:46 Desire Of Ages, page 181.
41:48 This is a powerful statement.
41:50 Desire Of Ages, page 181.
41:52 Ellen White has this to say about baptism.
41:56 "It is the grace of Christ that gives life to the soul."
42:01 Where is that happening?
42:03 Inside.
42:04 "It is the grace of Christ that gives life to the soul."
42:08 Now listen carefully to what she said.
42:09 Some people think that Ellen White was a legalist.
42:11 Ellen White was not a legalist.
42:13 Ellen White has things in proper balance.
42:16 She said, yes the external is important.
42:18 For example, the way we worship God is very important.
42:21 Because God has rules of worship.
42:24 But unless the heart is right with God, all of the correct
42:27 methodology of worship is worthless.
42:30 Are you understanding me?
42:31 Now listen to what she says.
42:47 So let me ask you, what's more important,
42:50 the internal experience of forming a relationship
42:54 with Christ, or being baptized?
42:59 See, it's not either or. It's both and.
43:04 One is the visible manifestation of the internal invisible
43:09 work of the Holy Spirit.
43:12 And so it's not; oh no, if you have the internal,
43:14 you don't need the external. No.
43:16 Or if you have the external, you don't need the internal.
43:18 You need the internal which leads to the external.
43:22 Now allow me to give you one final example
43:24 before we bring this to a close.
43:25 Today we're only setting the stage for our
43:28 next study together.
43:29 Today we're not going to discuss the Sabbath directly.
43:32 We started with Ellen White statements, but we're not
43:35 dealing with the internal and external aspects of the Sabbath.
43:39 Tomorrow we'll deal with that extensively.
43:43 But we're setting the stage for that.
43:45 We're laying the foundation so that we can understand
43:48 how Paul says that the Holy Spirit is the seal
43:51 and Ellen White says that the Sabbath is the seal.
43:53 There is no contradiction.
43:55 They complement one another.
43:57 Go with me to Deuteronomy chapter 6
44:00 and verses 6 through 8.
44:02 This will be our final example.
44:04 Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verses 6 through 8.
44:08 Are you aware of the fact that God told the Israelites
44:14 to make little boxes of leather and to write Bible verses from
44:21 the five books of Moses on those little pieces of parchment,
44:25 and to place the little strips of parchment
44:29 into the little leather box.
44:32 And God told the Israelites to take those and to bind them
44:37 upon their foreheads and upon their hand.
44:42 Imagine, imagine these Jews walking down the street
44:47 with this little leather box with little pieces of parchment
44:53 written with verses from the writings of Moses.
44:56 They're walking down, and they wore it actually on their
44:58 left hand, you know, and they have on their left hand here
45:01 bound, this little box, this little leather box, that they
45:05 made small, by the way, with passages from the
45:09 writings of Moses.
45:11 Did God command them to do that?
45:13 Yes He did.
45:16 But that was suppose to be an external act
45:20 that had internal meaning.
45:23 In fact, let's notice that in Deuteronomy chapter 6
45:26 and verses 6 through 8.
45:27 By the way, as you're looking for that.
45:29 Did God tell the Israelites to wear on the bottom of their
45:33 garments tassels of blue?
45:36 Do you think that was literal?
45:38 Do you think that literally God was saying,
45:39 you need to wear tassels of blue on your garments?
45:42 God was speaking literally.
45:45 But did that have some spiritual meaning behind it?
45:49 Of course.
45:50 Blue is a representation of God's holy law.
45:55 And so as they walked, you know, it was visible
45:58 to all of the nations as they walked.
46:01 And the nations would ask, "What does that mean?"
46:03 "Oh, that means that we keep the law of the Lord."
46:10 Incidentally, that's where we get the expression
46:12 "true blue" from.
46:14 Have you ever heard the expression, "true blue"?
46:17 Because God's commandments are the truth.
46:19 But they came to the conclusion that there was some merit
46:23 in walking around in a robe with tassels of blue.
46:26 They totally lost the meaning, the internal spiritual
46:29 meaning of it.
46:30 By the way, did they do the same thing with the Sabbath?
46:32 I'll get ahead of myself a little bit.
46:34 You better believe they did.
46:36 Now let's read this passage.
46:38 "And these words which I command you today..."
46:41 Listen to the condition now.
46:43 "...shall be in your heart."
46:48 Where do the words go first?
46:51 In the heart.
46:52 Is that the internal or the external?
46:54 The internal.
46:56 "And these words which I command you today
46:58 shall be in your heart."
47:02 That's before they're placed on the forehead or on the hand,
47:05 by the way.
47:06 First of all, where?
47:08 On the heart.
47:10 Verse 7, "You shall teach them..."
47:13 After they've been placed on the heart. Right?
47:15 That's the condition.
47:17 "You shall teach them diligently to your children,
47:20 and shall talk of them..."
47:23 After they're written where?
47:25 After they're written in the heart.
47:26 "...you shall talk of them when you sit in your house,
47:29 when you walk by the way, when you lie down,
47:33 and when you rise up."
47:36 And now notice what he says.
47:38 He's already spoken about the internal, right?
47:40 And you're suppose to teach these things and you're
47:43 suppose to talk about these things to other people.
47:46 Because you had an experience with the Lord where?
47:50 In your heart.
47:52 And now notice the external manifestation of this.
47:56 Verse 8, "You shall bind them as a sign..."
48:00 Isn't that interesting, that word "sign".
48:03 "You shall bind them as a sign..."
48:06 A sign of what?
48:09 According to the context, this is a sign of what?
48:13 A sign that they, what?
48:15 That they have written the words of the Lord where?
48:18 On their hearts.
48:19 In other words, it's a visible sign of their internal
48:22 experience with the Lord.
48:24 And so it says, "You shall bind them as a sign
48:29 on your hand..."
48:32 What do you use your hand for?
48:35 For work.
48:36 You do with your hands. Right?
48:39 In other words, it has to do with our conduct,
48:41 with our behavior, because we do with our hands.
48:45 Are you understanding what this is saying?
48:48 Okay so it says, "You shall bind them as a sign on your hand,
48:54 and they shall be as..." What?
48:57 "...as frontlets between your eyes."
49:03 Was God speaking literally?
49:06 Of course He was speaking literally.
49:08 But why did they need these little boxes with Scriptures
49:11 in them on their foreheads when they had the
49:15 internal experience?
49:19 What was more important, the internal experience
49:21 or the little box?
49:23 Both, as long as the little box was a manifestation of
49:27 the internal experience.
49:28 Are you with me?
49:29 And so as they walked, very peculiarly by the way.
49:33 They're walking down the street and they have this
49:36 little box on their forehead,
49:38 and they have this little box attached to their left hand.
49:42 And people say, "That's kind of strange.
49:46 What does that mean?"
49:48 "Ah, let me explain to you."
49:50 A good missionary purpose.
49:53 "Let me explain to you what it means.
49:55 It means that I am obedient to all the commands of the Lord
50:02 and I love the Lord with all my heart.
50:04 And I want His Word to be in my mind.
50:07 And I want His Word to influence my actions."
50:12 Are you with me?
50:14 Was the external important?
50:16 Yes, as long as you had what?
50:19 As long as you had the internal.
50:22 And then it says in verse 9, "You shall write them on the
50:25 doorposts of your house and on your gates."
50:31 Are you understanding the relationship between the
50:32 internal and the external?
50:34 Both are important.
50:37 Now notice Deuteronomy chapter 11 and verse 18
50:40 where you have the same idea expressed all over again.
50:44 Deuteronomy chapter 11 and verse 18.
50:48 God says to Israel, listen carefully to what it says.
50:51 I mean, this is so clear.
50:54 Next time, we're going to talk about the Sabbath.
50:57 Did the Pharisees keep the Sabbath?
50:59 How did they ever keep the Sabbath?
51:01 And everybody hated them.
51:05 Because their observance of the Sabbath did not
51:07 come from the heart.
51:09 It was a legal requirement, but it didn't come from the heart.
51:13 Is Sabbath observance of any value if we don't have a
51:18 relationship with the Lord in the heart,
51:19 if the Holy Spirit has not done His work in our hearts?
51:22 Absolutely not.
51:24 Now notice what it says there.
51:25 "Therefore you shall lay up these words of Mine..." Where?
51:30 "...in your heart..."
51:32 And then it amplifies it.
51:33 It says, "...in your..." What?
51:35 "...in your soul..."
51:36 Where is that?
51:38 Outside or inside?
51:40 Inside. In your soul.
51:42 And now notice what he says.
51:44 "...and bind them as a sign on your hand,
51:49 and they shall be as..." What?
51:51 "...as frontlets between your eyes."
51:55 By the way, these are called phylacteries.
51:59 Have you ever heard of phylacteries?
52:01 That word is used only once in the Bible.
52:04 In Matthew chapter 23 and verse 5,
52:06 where Jesus rebukes the scribes and the Pharisees
52:12 for their phylacteries.
52:14 In fact, let's read that text.
52:16 Matthew chapter 23 and verse 5.
52:19 Matthew chapter 23 and verse 5.
52:23 Jesus is speaking about the external religion of
52:26 the Pharisees without the internal work of the Holy Spirit
52:30 in their hearts.
52:31 In other words, they are legalists.
52:34 Everything they do is to be seen by men,
52:38 to impress men.
52:40 But they have no relationship with God.
52:42 Therefore, the external is worthless.
52:46 Notice what it says there.
52:48 Here Jesus is speaking.
52:50 "But all their works they do..." Why?
52:56 "...to be seen by men."
52:59 Is that the right motivation?
53:01 When you do things to be seen by men, is your heart right?
53:05 No, because you're trying to bring glory to whom?
53:08 You're trying to bring glory to yourself.
53:09 Are there people who keep the Sabbath who think that,
53:13 within the Seventh-day Adventist Church?
53:14 That's one of the reasons why people in other churches
53:16 don't want anything to do with the Sabbath
53:18 because of the way that we keep it.
53:21 It becomes a yoke of bondage.
53:24 It doesn't come from the heart.
53:26 And people come to hate the Sabbath.
53:28 If we kept the Sabbath the way the Bible says we're suppose to
53:31 keep the Sabbath, people would love it.
53:33 If we had that relationship with Jesus.
53:35 And next time, we're going to amplify this from the gospels.
53:38 Because Jesus had to fight against this all the time.
53:42 He had conflict after conflict after conflict with the
53:46 Pharisees over the Sabbath.
53:47 Most of His conflicts had to do with the Sabbath.
53:51 And some Christians say that Jesus broke the Sabbath.
53:53 No He didn't break the Sabbath.
53:55 He broke the Pharisees Sabbath,
53:58 but He did not break His own Sabbath that He
54:00 made at the beginning.
54:01 That would make Him a law breaker.
54:02 That would make Him a sinner and He would need a redeemer.
54:07 Now notice, "But all their works they do to be seen by men.
54:12 "They make their phylacteries.."
54:15 The little boxes with Scripture stuck to their foreheads
54:21 and stuck or attached to their left arm.
54:25 "They make their phylacteries," notice, "broad..."
54:31 Can you hear how they're trying to impress?
54:33 "They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the
54:39 borders of their garments."
54:41 That's talking probably about the tassels at the
54:44 bottom of their garments, you know.
54:45 And then they walk ceremoniously down the street, you know,
54:49 with these little boxes and the border of their
54:51 garments in blue.
54:52 And everybody looks and says, "Wow."
54:57 All a facade.
55:00 Because it's only the external without the internal work
55:04 of the Holy Spirit.
55:07 When you go further in Matthew chapter 23,
55:10 which we're going to do next time,
55:12 you'll find that Jesus even called the Pharisees,
55:14 "whited sepulchers".
55:18 He says, "Outside, you look beautiful."
55:20 You know, I've seen some amazing grave stones.
55:25 Like the one of C.W. Post in Battle Creek, Michigan.
55:28 The cereal man.
55:29 Whoa, a mausoleum.
55:33 But what's inside there?
55:37 Bones.
55:40 And of course, he's already decomposed.
55:42 So what happens if you took away the facade?
55:46 All you have inside is rot?
55:48 So Jesus says, "You are like whited sepulchers because
55:51 outside you look righteous before men,
55:54 but inside you are full of iniquity."
56:00 And so what's more important?
56:02 The inside or the outside?
56:06 Don't say the inside,
56:09 only the inside.
56:12 If you have the inside, you have the outside.
56:15 Isn't that right?
56:17 You know, if you asked a Christian today,
56:19 "Do you really think that you should be baptized in water?"
56:22 "Oh yes of course, of course."
56:23 "Oh really?
56:24 Isn't it enough just to love Jesus in your heart?"
56:27 "Oh no no, you've got to go through the external rite."
56:30 But when it comes to the Sabbath;
56:31 no, you don't have to do the external rite.
56:33 Just love Jesus.


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Revised 2014-12-17