After learning about the apostasy and spiritualism in the SDA Church, what must the Church members do now?
Isaiah 58:1
Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 211
Thus "Peace and safety" is the cry from men who will never again lift up their voice like a trumpet to show God's people their transgressions and the house of Jacob their sins. These dumb dogs that would not bark are the ones who feel the just vengeance of an offended God. Men, maidens, and little children all perish together.
Ibid., p. 187
Shake off your spiritual lethargy. Work with all your might to save your own souls and the souls of others. It is no time now to cry, "Peace and safety." It is not silver-tongued orators that are needed to give this message. The truth in all its pointed severity must be spoken. Men of action are needed--men who will labor with earnest, ceaseless energy for the purifying of the church and the warning of the world.
Education, p 90
Of the rebuke that is love, of the blow that wounds to heal, of the warning that speaks hope, they have need to learn.
The Great Controversy, p. 165
To this appeal Luther answered: "The gospel of Christ cannot be preached without offense…. Why then should the fear or apprehension of danger separate me from the Lord, and from that divine word which alone is truth? No; I would rather give up my body, my blood, and my life."
Early Writings, pp. 269-270
I saw some, with strong faith and agonizing cries, pleading with God. Their countenances were pale and marked with deep anxiety, expressive of their internal struggle. Firmness and great earnestness was expressed in their countenances; large drops of perspiration fell from their foreheads. Now and then their faces would light up with the marks of God's approbation, and again the same solemn, earnest, anxious look would settle upon them.
Evil angels crowded around, pressing darkness upon them to shut out Jesus from their view, that their eyes might be drawn to the darkness that surrounded them, and thus they be led to distrust God and murmur against Him. Their only safety was in keeping their eyes directed upward. Angels of God had charge over His people, and as the poisonous atmosphere of evil angels was pressed around these anxious ones, the heavenly angels were continually wafting their wings over them to scatter the thick darkness.
As the praying ones continued their earnest cries, at times a ray of light from Jesus came to them, to encourage their hearts and light up their countenances. Some, I saw, did not participate in this work of agonizing and pleading. They seemed indifferent and careless. They were not resisting the darkness around them, and it shut them in like a thick cloud. The angels of God left these and went to the aid of the earnest, praying ones. I saw angels of God hasten to the assistance of all who were struggling with all their power to resist the evil angels and trying to help themselves by calling upon God with perseverance. But His angels left those who made no effort to help themselves, and I lost sight of them.
I asked the meaning of the shaking I had seen and was shown that it would be caused by the straight testimony called forth by the counsel of the True Witness to the Laodiceans. This will have its effect upon the heart of the receiver, and will lead him to exalt the standard and pour forth the straight truth. Some will not bear this straight testimony. They will rise up against it, and this is what will cause a shaking among God's people.
God is looking for those who will “cry aloud” about the apostasy in the SDA Church and give the straight testimony. However, those who do and those who emphasize the law of God are accused of being critical, judgmental, negative, legalistic, etc. We are reminded of an analogy in which someone is shouting to their neighbors in the middle of the night that their house is on fire. If those in the burning house told the neighbor to be quiet and went back to sleep, they would not live to see the next day. There are those who say to not worry about the apostasy, that it is not that bad and to let God take care of it. If this was true, He certainly would have done something long before this. God will hold us responsible if we say nothing or do nothing about this crisis. It is the same principle as speaking up when the Sunday laws come. Of course, there are members today who no longer believe there will be Sunday laws. God’s Word instructs us what to do in this dire situation. We see history repeating itself in the following quotes.
Battle Creek Letters, p. 79
Few can see the meaning of the present apostasy. But the Lord has lifted the curtain, and has shown me its meaning, and the result that it will have if allowed to continue. We must now lift our voices in warning.
Selected Messages, Book 1, pp. 194-195
The battle is on.... Where are His watchmen? Are they standing on the high tower, giving the danger signal, or are they allowing the peril to pass unheeded?
Will the men in our institutions keep silent, allowing insidious fallacies to be promulgated to the ruin of souls? ... Is it not time that we asked ourselves, Shall we allow the adversary to lead us to give up the work of proclaiming the truth?
Vigilant action is called for. Indifference and sloth will result in the loss of personal religion and of heaven.
Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 3, p. 280
What astonishing deception and fearful blindness had, like a dark cloud, covered Israel! This blindness and apostasy had not closed about them suddenly; it had come upon them gradually as they had not heeded the word of reproof and warning which the Lord had sent to them because of their pride and their sins. And now, in this fearful crisis, in the presence of the idolatrous priests and the apostate king, they remained neutral. If God abhors one sin above another, of which His people are guilty, it is doing nothing in case of an emergency. Indifference and neutrality in a religious crisis is regarded of God as a grievous crime and equal to the very worst type of hostility against God.
The Review and Herald, December 12, 1893
The salvation of sinners demands that every Christian shall act his part, and put forth a certain measure of positive power…. The word must be spoken in season and out of season to those who are beguiled by Satan, and led to do evil things. Satan is working through his agents, and shall the soldiers of Christ exert no positive influence to save souls that are walking in the broad road to death?
Counsels to Writers and Editors, p. 174
Keep the warning message of truth before the people; for the end is at hand. We are to cry aloud and spare not. Some will pay no heed, but others will repent and be converted.
In Heavenly Places, p. 328
It is time now to gather strength from the Source of all strength, to cry aloud and spare not, to press back the clouds of darkness, that the light of heaven may be revealed.
Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 2, pp. 283-284
By some there is shunning of the living testimony. Cutting truths must not be shunned. It needs something besides theory to reach hearts now. It needs the stirring testimony to alarm and arouse; that will stir the enemy's subjects, and then honest souls will be led to decide for the truth. There has been and still is with some a disposition to have everything move on very smoothly. They see no necessity of straight testimony.
Sins exist in the church that God hates, but they are scarcely touched for fear of making enemies. Opposition has risen in the church to the plain testimony. Some will not bear it. They wish smooth things spoken unto them. And if the wrongs of individuals are touched, they complain of severity, and sympathize with those in the wrong. As Ahab inquired of Elijah, "Art thou he that troubleth Israel?" they are ready to look with suspicion and doubt upon those who bear the plain testimony, and like Ahab overlook the wrong which made it necessary for reproof and rebuke. When the church depart from God they despise the plain testimony, and complain of severity and harshness. It is a sad evidence of the lukewarm state of the church.
Selected Messages, Book 1, pp. 205-206
Shortly before I sent out the testimonies regarding the efforts of the enemy to undermine the foundation of our faith through the dissemination of seductive theories, I had read an incident about a ship in a fog meeting an iceberg. For several nights I slept but little. I seemed to be bowed down as a cart beneath sheaves. One night a scene was clearly presented before me. A vessel was upon the waters, in a heavy fog. Suddenly the lookout cried, "Iceberg just ahead!" There, towering high above the ship, was a gigantic iceberg. An authoritative voice cried out, "Meet it!" There was not a moment's hesitation. It was a time for instant action. The engineer put on full steam, and the man at the wheel steered the ship straight into the iceberg. With a crash she struck the ice. There was a fearful shock, and the iceberg broke into many pieces, falling with a noise like thunder to the deck. The passengers were violently shaken by the force of the collisions, but no lives were lost. The vessel was injured, but not beyond repair. She rebounded from the contact, trembling from stem to stern, like a living creature. Then she moved forward on her way.
Well I knew the meaning of this representation. I had my orders. I had heard the words, like a voice from our Captain, "Meet it!" I knew what my duty was, and that there was not a moment to lose. The time for decided action had come. I must without delay obey the command, "Meet it!"
The SDA Church is in a crisis and the majority of its members do nothing about it. Some state that they do not see a problem where they are at. Is this a good enough excuse to ignore it elsewhere and quietly go along in their little sphere of the world? Some state that because the wheat and tares grow together in the Church that we do not need to cry aloud. Have they forgotten Cain’s excuse when he asked God if he was his brother’s keeper?
Christian Service, p. 13
Brethren and sisters in the faith, does the question arise in your hearts, "Am I my brother's keeper?" If you claim to be children of God, you are your brother's keeper. The Lord holds the church responsible for the souls of those whom they might be the means of saving.
Child Guidance, pp. 235-236
Those who have too little courage to reprove wrong, or who through indolence or lack of interest make no earnest effort to purify the family or the church of God, are held accountable for the evil that may result from their neglect of duty. We are just as responsible for evils that we might have checked in others by exercise of parental or pastoral authority, as if the acts had been our own.
So many have made excuses for not speaking up about the apostasy that the unsanctified have been and are taking over our churches, schools, hospitals, publications, media, and worst of all, the administration, while the majority remain silent. How tragic that this is a worldwide problem.
Joel 2:17
Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?
Ephesians 5:11-12
And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.
Manuscript Releases, Vol. 16, p. 3
Every Christian is a standard-bearer of righteous principles. Let there be no lowering of the standard, no countenancing of wrong movements. It was while men slept that the enemy sowed tares among the wheat. It is the unwatchful, sleeping condition of God's servants that implicates them with their associates in guilt. The only way to escape being an unfaithful watchman is to watch and not allow to continue the evils that can be checked. To sustain by silence a work that God cannot approve is to abet Satan's work, and this results in the loss of souls. No one should be at ease until he has done all that it is possible for him to do to counterwork evil.
Ibid., Vol. 2, pp. 230-231
As the end approaches, the testimonies of God's servants will become more decided and more powerful, flashing the light of truth upon the systems of error and oppression that have so long held the supremacy. The Lord has sent us messages for this time to establish Christianity upon an eternal basis, and all who believe present truth must stand, not in their own wisdom, but in God, and raise up the foundations of many generations. These will be registered in the books of heaven as repairers of the breach, the restorers of paths to dwell in. We are to maintain the truth because it is truth, in the face of the bitterest opposition. God is at work upon human minds; it is not man alone that is working.
The Bible Echo, April 23, 1894
Love for one another is not to be manifested by praise and flattery, but by true fidelity. The love of Christ will lead us to watch for souls; and if we see one in danger, we shall tell him so plainly and kindly, even at the risk of his displeasure. The religion of Christ is not to be controlled by impulse. We need to pray much, and lean wholly upon God. We need to hold the truth with firmness, and in all righteousness; but while we speak the truth with fidelity, we should speak it in love, as it is in Jesus.
Manuscript Releases, Vol. 16, p. 114
When God speaks to men, commanding them to bear His message to the people, it means something. Those who are commanded to bear a message must move out although obstacles of a forbidding character are in the way. Those who claim to know the truth, and yet lay every obstacle in the way so that light shall not come to the people, will have an account to settle with God that they will not be pleased to meet. God manages His own work, and woe to the man who puts his hand to the ark of God.
Many have accused those who cry aloud of fitting the following description. This is how Satan would have it. It actually refers to those who are tearing down the SDA pillars of faith, the historical beliefs that made up the SDA Church from its early days. It perfectly describes emergents.
Counsels for the Church, p. 243
Those who start up to proclaim a message on their own individual responsibility, who, while claiming to be taught and led of God, still make it their special work to tear down that which God has been for years building up, are not doing the will of God. Be it known that these men are on the side of the great deceiver. Believe them not.
Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 3, p. 261
Those whom God has chosen for an important work have ever been received with distrust and suspicion. Anciently, when Elijah was sent with a message from God to the people, they did not heed the warning. They thought him unnecessarily severe. They even thought that he must have lost his senses because he denounced them, the favored people of God, as sinners and their crimes as so aggravated that the judgments of God would awaken against them. Satan and his host have ever been arrayed against those who bear the message of warning and who reprove sins. The unconsecrated will also be united with the adversary of souls to make the work of God's faithful servants as hard as possible.
Those who cry aloud are in good company with Elijah, and Jesus, and others. However, those who do not learn to speak up now as apostasy runs rampant in our beloved Church, when it is time for the loud cry, they will be silent.
Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 3, p. 267
In the case of Achan's sin God said to Joshua: "Neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you." How does this instance compare with the course pursued by those who will not raise their voice against sin and wrong, but whose sympathies are ever found with those who trouble the camp of Israel with their sins? Said God to Joshua: "Thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you." He pronounced the punishment which would follow the transgression of His covenant.
Many SDAs are saying that we are not in the last days. It is those very ones who are not faithful watchmen on the walls. It is those very sentiments that show we are in the last days. The proof is not just because there are worldwide calamities, but because of the thoughts and actions of the majority in the Church who do not cry aloud except when they are partying and “. . . that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming” (Matthew 24:48).
Special Testimonies for Ministers and Workers, No. 6, p. 11
I raise my voice of warning against the mingling in our institutions, of the worldly element with those who believe; we have the danger signal to sound. If in our institutions persons are placed in positions of trust, they are educators. Others are taught to look to these persons for instruction, and in this is a snare to the unwary; their ideas become confused in regard to righteousness and truth. They hear those persons who have no respect for the truth, sneer and speak disparagingly of the truth, which should be held firmly and sacredly as truth.... And when men in the highest responsible positions make no difference between those who serve God and those who serve him not, they evidence that their eyes are not single to the glory of God; therefore their whole body is full of darkness.
The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, p. 953
I now raise my voice in warning; for you are in danger. The people are to know when peril is threatening them; they are not to be left in darkness.
Ezekiel 3:17-21
Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.
Christian Service, pp. 77-79
Let us arouse! The battle is waging. Truth and error are nearing their final conflict. Let us march under the blood-stained banner of Prince Emmanuel, and fight the good fight of faith, and win eternal honors; for the truth will triumph, and we may be more than conquerors through Him who has loved us. The precious hours of probation are closing. Let us make sure work for eternal life, that we may glorify our heavenly Father, and be the means of saving souls for whom Christ died....
We are nearing the close of this earth's history. We have before us a great work,--the closing work of giving the last warning message to a sinful world. There are men who will be taken from the plow, from the vineyard, from various other branches of work, and sent forth by the Lord to give this message to the world.
Sound an alarm throughout the length and breadth of the earth. Tell the people that the day of the Lord is near, and hasteth greatly. Let none be left unwarned. We might have been in the place of the poor souls that are in error. We might have been placed among barbarians. According to the truth we have received above others, we are debtors to impart the same to them....
We have no time to lose. The end is near. The passage from place to place to spread the truth will soon be hedged with dangers on the right hand and on the left. Everything will be placed to obstruct the way of the Lord's messengers, so that they will not be able to do that which it is possible for them to do now. We must look our work fairly in the face, and advance as fast as possible in aggressive warfare. From the light given me of God I know that the powers of darkness are working with intense energy from beneath, and with stealthy tread Satan is advancing to take those who are now asleep, as a wolf taking his prey. We have warnings now which we may give, a work now which we may do; but soon it will be more difficult than we can imagine. God help us to keep in the channel of light, to work with our eyes fastened on Jesus our leader, and patiently, perseveringly press on to gain the victory.
God’s people must unite in one voice to “clear the King’s highway” by putting away every sin and purifying the Church of those who continue to destroy it.
Isaiah 40:3-4
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.
Ye Shall Receive Power, p. 250
We are not to be satisfied because the message of warning has been once presented. We must present it again and again.
The Acts of the Apostles, p. 90
Only as they were united with Christ could the disciples hope to have the accompanying power of the Holy Spirit and the co-operation of angels of heaven. With the help of these divine agencies they would present before the world a united front and would be victorious in the conflict they were compelled to wage unceasingly against the powers of darkness. As they should continue to labor unitedly, heavenly messengers would go before them, opening the way; hearts would be prepared for the reception of truth, and many would be won to Christ. So long as they remained united, the church would go forth "fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners." Song of Solomon 6:10. Nothing could withstand her onward progress. The church would advance from victory to victory, gloriously fulfilling her divine mission of proclaiming the gospel to the world.
That is what the For My People Ministry will continue to do as long as God wills.
Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 2, pp. 284-285
Just as long as God has a church, he will have those who will cry aloud and spare not, who will be his instruments to reprove selfishness and sins, and will not shun to declare the whole counsel of God, whether men will hear or forbear. I saw that individuals would rise up against the plain testimonies. It does not suit their natural feelings. They would choose to have smooth things spoken unto them, and have peace cried in their ears. I view the church in a more dangerous condition than they ever have been. Experimental religion is known but by a few. The shaking must soon take place to purify the church.
Let the truth cut. I have been shown that why ministers have not more success is, they are afraid of hurting feelings, fearful of not being courteous, and they lower the standard of truth, and conceal if possible the peculiarity of our faith. I saw that God could not make such successful. The truth must be made pointed, and the necessity of a decision urged. And as false shepherds are crying, Peace, and are preaching smooth things, the servants of God must cry aloud, and spare not, and leave the result with God.
Loma Linda Messages, July 15, 1904
...we must cry aloud and spare not, lest our silence be interpreted to mean consent. The time has come when each one must stand in his lot and place, prepared to call sin, sin, and righteousness, righteousness.
Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 3, p. 267
Who are standing in the counsel of God at this time? Is it those who virtually excuse wrongs among the professed people of God and who murmur in their hearts, if not openly, against those who would reprove sin? Is it those who take their stand against them and sympathize with those who commit wrong? No, indeed! Unless they repent, and leave the work of Satan in oppressing those who have the burden of the work and in holding up the hands of sinners in Zion, they will never receive the mark of God's sealing approval. They will fall in the general destruction of the wicked, represented by the work of the five men bearing slaughter weapons. Mark this point with care: Those who receive the pure mark of truth, wrought in them by the power of the Holy Ghost, represented by a mark by the man in linen, are those "that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done" in the church. Their love for purity and the honor and glory of God is such, and they have so clear a view of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, that they are represented as being in agony, even sighing and crying. Read the ninth chapter of Ezekiel.
Ibid., Vol. 5, pp. 209-210
The leaven of godliness has not entirely lost its power. At the time when the danger and depression of the church are greatest, the little company who are standing in the light will be sighing and crying for the abominations that are done in the land. But more especially will their prayers arise in behalf of the church because its members are doing after the manner of the world.
Testimonies on Sabbath School Work, p. 56
The Lord will raise up men to bear the message of truth to the world and to His people. If those in responsible positions do not move onward in the opening providences of God, bearing an appropriate message for this time, the words of warning will be given to others who will be faithful to their trust. Even youthful Christians will be chosen to “cry aloud and spare not.”
The Acts of the Apostles, p. 506
With the growing contempt for God's law there is an increasing distaste for religion, an increase of pride, love of pleasure, disobedience to parents, and self-indulgence; and thoughtful minds everywhere are anxiously inquiring, What can be done to correct these alarming evils? The answer is found in Paul's exhortation to Timothy, "Preach the word."
The Review and Herald, November 26, 1861
God's people will be tested and proved. The plain and pointed testimony must act a prominent part in this work. In these days of darkness and peril who is able to stand and speak the whole truth? Multitudes of teachers prophesy smooth things. They see no special cause of alarm in the present condition of the professed people of God. The people are asleep, and the teachers are asleep. They cry, Peace, peace, and the multitude that hear believe their report and are at ease. This makes the necessity greater for faithful teachers to bear the pointed, faithful testimony.
Crying aloud also means living a godly life.
General Conference Daily Bulletin, March 2, 1899
God requires things to be set in order. He calls for men of decided fidelity. He has no use in an emergency for two-sided men. He wants men who will lay their hand upon a work, and say, This is not according to the will of God. It is this miserable thing in dealing with wrongs that God has condemned.... When the work of seeking God with all the heart commences, there will be many confessions made that are now buried. I do not at present feel it my duty to confess for those who ought to make, not a general, but a plain, definite confession, and so cleanse the Lord's institutions from the defilement that has come upon them.
No one is “abiding in Christ” when they are “celebrating” and “emerging.”
The Review and Herald, September 24, 1908
The message I have to bear is that a much higher standard must be reached by God's people. I entreat all to heed this warning. I dare not cease to "cry aloud," and "spare not," and show God's people "their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." It is time that we all understood our true position, and that we give, in righteous characters, the evidence that we possess the truth.
In Heavenly Places, p. 299
There are many wrong things which we allow to pass by unnoticed, when by our godly conversation we might set an example of rightdoing that would be a standing rebuke to the evildoers. We cannot afford by our example to seem to sanction wrongdoing. There is a heaven to win and a hell to shun.
Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 3, p. 254
It is not enough to merely profess to believe the truth. All the soldiers of the cross of Christ virtually obligate themselves to enter the crusade against the adversary of souls, to condemn wrong and sustain righteousness. But the message of the True Witness reveals the fact that a terrible deception is upon our people, which makes it necessary to come to them with warnings, to break their spiritual slumber, and arouse them to decided action.
Are you awake? If so, you will be active in following Christ and will “cry aloud,” “spare not,” and show God’s people “their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.”
